Update - 22 May 2014 : Voting, Job and Medical Aid

May 2014
 

This past month seems to have flown past, and although I have tried to keep in touch with everyone’s news, I am sure there is still some I may have missed.  Our news update is as follows... Easter was an enjoyable holiday, although I must admit I did miss all the beautiful daffodils and the promise of new life and Spring!!  Going into Autumn here also seems weird not seeing the beautiful shades of Autumn leaves, as everything here seems to be much more evergreen.  I am gearing up for a cold and wet winter, although I doubt I will be needing my thermals as temperature wise, it still seems a lot warmer than Scotland -  So it is back to remembering how to dress in layers so you can peel off like an onion during the day!!  Speaking of clothing, it would seem that the South African winter fashion is 'Tartan', so it feels like I am back in Scotland seeing all the shop displays.

As you would have noticed from my Facebook Cover banner, South African's voted recently.  Although it did not have the camaraderie spirit that I fondly remember from the 1994 elections, it was still a relief that Cape Town managed to maintain its DA support.  For those who are not familiar with the South African politics, Cape Town (Western Cape Province) is the only region that is not controlled by the President's party, the ANC.   

Work news is that my temp contract has ended, so I am back at home, relishing my free time before my next assignment or hopefully, permanent job.  Although it was a bitter-sweet feeling to leave, the job itself did lack the stimulation and people-contact I enjoy.  I cannot tell you how difficult it was to 'capture what you see', when there was obviously a typo!  But from a spiritual point of view, I think I realise why God had me work there - as I had thought of myself as a bit of a  perfectionist who never makes mistakes, so it was rather humbling to see for myself all the mistakes I did end up making, despite all my careful checking, so I guess I am just human afterall!!  The good news is that I now have a glowing reference from my boss, which I'm sure will help me find another job.  I sincerely intend on making the most of however long a break I have and hopefully will manage to get some serious writing done again, which I have been neglecting.

House-hunting is still on-going and we are still waiting to find something suitable.  Unfortunately, there just doesn't seem to be much stock available at the moment - and as soon as one is listed it is sold immediately! Aas there are many homes on open-mandates, as opposed to sole-mandate, we have at times had various Estate Agents trying to have us view the same place!

Other news is that we are finding the local news channels here not reporting on certain local events, and we have watched with interest on BBC World News of things that we are not being privy to know, which is rather disconcerting!

After much researching and comparing we have eventually joined a Private Medical Aid, which is a crucial need to have here in SA, without the NHS. Unfortunately the company, Discovery have set a 1 year waiting period before we can claim on pre-existing conditions, but we understand that this is common practice for anyone with an extended break in a South African medical aid.  In an attempt to keep healthy, Garry & I have started swimming in the morning at our complexes indoor pool, which is meant to be heated, but sadly still not warm enough for me!

Church news is that after unsuccessfully trying to visit another church in the area 3 times, I have concluded that Cape Grace is the Church where God wants us to remain.  I feel at peace about my decision to join this church and even enjoyed a great Bible Study with them last night.  I also feel confident that God has placed me at this church for a reason or a lesson, and so I look forward to seeing what that is...

Cassey is still doing great at school, although still struggling to learn Afrikaans, especially this week, where she's had to do Afrikaans Assessments on a speech and a poem, which was not an easy task, but she has done brilliantly.

Food news is that we have discovered that some foods here are also not as healthy in terms of their ingredients.  For one, the burger patties and pork sausages here have very low percentages of the actual meat in them, so we have had to try make things from scratch, in an attempt to remain healthy. This was a common practice we did in Scotland, ie checking the percentage of the main meat,  as one often does not realise how low some of these percentages can be and still be called that meat.  Just check next time when you are shopping for sausages, patties and fish cakes and you will see what I mean!

In ending, life in Cape Town is still very good and although at times circumstances will try to bring us down, we have had to remind ourselves how fortunate we are to have lived in so many countries around the world.  I truly believe that it is not a country that makes you happy, but what you bring to it, and sorry guys, but copious amounts of sunshine certainly helps too!! :)