Some lists about our trip

Things I will never ever do again:

• Travel with British Airways.
• Not bring a change of clothes for *myself* for the trip to court. (I brought changes of clothes for both girlios but not for me. Big mistake when one of said girlios decides to barf all over me in the car on the way to court - for the second time in a row).

Things I *won’t* miss:

• The startling blasts of vuvuzelas, everywhere, all the time.
• Freezing cold at night in houses that are not insulated, with single-paned windows and gaps under the doors. I slept in several layers and still froze. The girlios’ hands and feet were icicles every morning.
• The “big white van” that took us most places, since it tended to make Esther carsick.
• People telling me that Esther must be cold and needs more clothes.

Things I will miss:

• Seeing the way the African people smile when they see our girlios.
• Nice African people greeting Esther with a “How are you?” and Esther saying (several seconds too late) “Fine, and you?”
• Seeing Esther get to play with other little African kids.
• The big bathtub that we used every day so that Esther could play in the bath for like an hour (and later Sylvia too).
• The excitement in the air about the World Cup. It was awesome!
• How easy it was to get all kinds of South Africa-themed souvenirs, because of the World Cup. I can’t imagine it will ever be that readily available again.
• Blue blue blue cloudless sunny skies during the day.
• The friend I made, Jo-Marie (one of our drivers).
• Living so closely with 2 Africans (the live-in babysitter and her daughter at the house we stayed in) and thus getting to know the African way a bit better.