Yup... It's Another Update

Hi Everyone

Murray & I have just returned from another adventure to the shops. We shopped off at the Bank of America so we could apply for cheques & my debit card. Yesterday Murray wanted to pay for Shaun's car by doing an Internet transfer. We found it strange (or should I say different) that they don't do this. They wanted a cheque or 'check' as it's spelt here. Fortunately he had been issued with some temporary cheques which they were happy to accept. Our credit cards also arrived 2 days ago which is a great relief. We have not wanted to use our SA credit cards unless absolutely necessary so we have been working mainly with cash. I'm not used to carrying so much cash as I tended to use my credit card as much as possible in SA. On more than one occassions they've rung up my goods & I've suddenly wondered whether I had enough cash. Our credit & debit cards get posted to us - again different.

We did some more checking of cell phones this morning as things work so differently & we haven't had much help over the phone. Firstly we have to make sure the phone covers all the bands used here, in SA & ideally in the UK. We also have to make sure that the phones we choose a not 'locked' so that you can only use them on that network. We have to use T Mobile because they will give us contracts without a credit history. The phones must also be quad band. On top of this Shaun & Kelly have all sorts of other things that they think their phones should do. I'm the easy one. We have found out that T Mobile will only unlock quad band Nokia & Motorola phones after 30 days. Hopefully some dscisions can now be made.

We also went to several shops to try & buy a transformer so that I can use my SA sewing machine & overlocker. We were unsuccessful but we did get the name & address of a shop that definitely sells them. This will have to wait for another day. We had a fun experience going to 2 supermarkets that we hadn't been to before - 'Whole Foods' which sells a lot of organic food & generally food for the more health conscious person & 'Central Market' which is similiar but more like a market. The variety of fresh fruit & vegs was amazing & not too badly priced. The butchery sections were wonderful but a bit pricy. These 2 shops had been recommeded as people thought we might find some of the items there that we couldn't find in the normal supermarkets. They didn't really help in that regard but it was interesting.

Last Sunday we went back to Stonebriar Community Church in the pouring rain. The service was very different to the previous week. Their worship band was toned down & generally the service was more formal - we sang mainly hymns. They had the church's 60 voice choir singing - absolutely wonderful. Chuck Swindoll gave an a challenging but encouraging Father's Day sermon.We haven't decided yet whether we'll go back there tomorrow or try another church on the short list. Please pray that God will guide us to the right church.
Being part of a church, getting involved & getting to know peolpe will make such a difference to our settling in process.

Some of you may have heard that Kelly is back in Johannesburg for almost 3 weeks. She is staying with her best friend Kaylee & her family. I know that this goes against all the advice we've been given about not going back for at least 2 years but sometimes mother's aren't as strong as that. She has been really miserable & tearful at times. She is such a socialable character & misses her friends tremendously. She worked really hard for her SAT exams which kept her busy but now that's over she is so bored. She has very few of her possessions here (still coming in container), she can't work, she hasn't had any opportunities to make friends yet (youth activities at churches close for the summer) & she still has almost 2 months to get though before university starts. So we used some of Murray's air miles & sent her home - wise or unwise, time will tell.

Murray & I are going out again tomorrow afternoon to look at houses - some we're going back to look at for a second time & others we haven't seen before. We really need to settle on something. We fell in love with one house which we could literally walk into & not have to do a thing. It had everything we needed and a fair bit of grass in the back garden for the dogs BUT we then discovered that the road that it backs onto is going to become a 4 lane road next year & possibly 6 lanes at some point in the future. Lots of the houses have wall paper or very brightly painted walls. Even though we realise that we will have to do some painting etc, we don't want to have to do anything major because again everything is different, even terminolgy. We were told that one of the houses we're interested in is having some work done on it, such as hand scraped wooden floors put down, granite kitchen surfaces put in & some skip trowell work done. Do you have any idea what skip trowell work is? I thought it was something done in the garden but it is paintwork.

Cody & Jasmine seem quite happy & settled at their very fancy kennels. While Kelly was writing her SAT exam for 4 hours, Shaun & I went out to the kennels to take some more medicine for Cody. It's miles away & Shaun made me drive to get some experience on freeways. I was a nervous wreck by the time we got there - there were freeways joining in all over & ones splitting off. If you weren't in the right lane who knows where you'd end up. You can have 5 freeways going across above you. Anyway we could've seen the dogs if we wanted to but the general recommendation is that you shouldn't as its too unsettling for them. I really miss them.

Driving on the right hand side of the road is almost second nature now. The 2 hire cars we have are automatic so it makes things easier but Shaun wanted a manual car so he's now learning to change gears with his right hand. The dealer who sold us the car was surprised that Shaun knew how to use gears.

Well I must end off. Thanks again to eveyone for the news. Our Internet wasn't working for over a week due to faulty cables, the modem etc but we're up & running again.

Bye for now
Heahther

The Sunday Update (Okay, a little late...)

Another update from my mom.

--Shaun

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Hi everyone

Another week in Dallas. Every day I seem to have so many questions about so many things – How come drivers can turn right when the robot is red? How do I put fabric softener in a top loader washing machine without it running out onto the washing before the cycle begins? Where do we go to have our hair cut? (We all desperately need one – Murray has had some recommendations), How do you fill up with gas? (After a rather interesting visit to the gas station & some help from one of the employees, I think Shaun & I have got this sorted out).

I’m really trying to view everyday as an adventure & to not get annoyed, frustrated or critical when things are different from SA. – They’re not wrong, just different. You get so used to a certain way of life that change can be very uncomfortable. I’ve also become very aware, when speaking to people, of not continually comparing things in the US with SA. It maybe an innocent comparison but it can come across as critical. However, after saying all that I’m still battling to find two important items in the Willows’ home, pork sausages & decent tea. I also haven’t found anywhere that sells nice freshly baked rolls. Most seem to be prepackaged. I must add at this point that the variety of new & interesting things to try in the supermarkets is amazing.

I have spent most of this past week either going out with our realtor to look at houses or going though reams of houses that she has emailed to me so that I can short list those that I like. Every house has a detailed description, photos, virtual tour & list of all the info & statistics that you might want to know. Again I have seen some lovely houses but so few have grass in the back garden. When a house is described as having ‘large back yard grass’, it could be the size of an average home swimming pool or single garage. Kelly has come with me quite a bit & is very vocal about what is acceptable or not. She has fallen in love with one house, which I must admit is really nice but we’ll see. Murray also came out twice this week to look at a few houses that I had short-listed. Fortunately our tastes are fairly similar.

Today we went to the Stonebriar Community Church. They have 3 morning services with up to 1500 people at each. We went to the 9:30 service. What a wonderful change from the past 2 weeks. We really enjoyed the service & came away having been blessed. The worship band was amazing. It was sad that we only sang 4 songs because we were so enjoying the worship when it stopped. Unfortunately their senior pastor, Chuck Swindoll, was away but one of their associate pastors, Steve Farrar, preached an excellent bible based sermon from 1 Tim 2. For some reason it didn’t feel as if you were in such a large church. There were people of all ages in the service, which was great. We got info on all the activities that would be of interest to each of us. Unfortunately some of the college/student activities are closed for the summer & only start again in September. This is definitely an option as a church but we have already realized that in such a big church we will have to make the effort to get involved in order to get to know people & become part of things. I think that once we are settled in a church, I will be far more aware of new people than before. It’s only when you are the ‘new people’ that you realize how important it is to welcome new comers.

On Friday evening we were all taken to dinner by one of Murray’s colleagues & his family. The husband is Porto Rican, the wife is Korean & they have a son of 17 & daughter of 16. We went to a Japanese restaurant called Japon. The 8 of us sat around a central cooking area where the chef cooked our food. It was like watching the most amazing show, with flames, artistry & a lot of fanfare. I wasn’t sure about going to a Japanese restaurant but the food was delicious and we had a lovely evening.

It’s really strange not having an evening service but that seems to be the norm here. I think we’re probably going to go for a bite to eat. Thanks to everyone that’s written to us. It’s been really great getting news from home – any news is good. I will try & write personally to each of you as soon as possible. Unfortunately every time I think of trying to skype someone, you would all be sleeping. I’ll have to get more organized. Most nights I come home from looking at houses between 6:00 & 7:00p.m. & after being in & out of the really hot weather, I’m exhausted.

Well I must end off. Love you all.

Heather

Another Update

Another update from my mom...

Shaun

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Hi Everyone

Well, it’s hard to believe that we’ve been here for almost 2 weeks. I must apologise for not writing more often. We’ve been out & about a lot & when we’re home there’s still great competition to use the computer as our air freighted goods have still not been delivered. They have been in Dallas for over a week but have just cleared customs. We’ve been promised that they will be delivered between 1:00 & 3:00p.m. tomorrow. We will then each have a computer & will be able to Skype.

It has still been raining quite a lot however when it’s not raining it’s really hot already. Even though we had air conditioning in our home in SA it’s still quite an adjustment living with it all the time. Everyone turns the air conditioning up so much that it’s freezing inside. You need an overcoat to go to the shops, church etc even though it’s boiling outside. Kelly & I have spent quite a lot of time this week going out with a realtor (estate agent). Murray has joined us when he can & Shaun says he’ll look when we have short list. She is the same lady that took us out in December & is excellent – very knowledgeable & seems honest. She takes time to explain why certain types of roofing, wall finishes etc are not great, points out potential problems with the homes, explains why homes might not be good for resale e.g. near busy roads, railway lies etc. This is a great help as the homes are constructed so differently to SA & we don’t know the areas. Murray has also had input form colleagues at work. We’ve seen some lovely homes but there are only 2 or 3 that could be options. We’re battling to find a home that has what we need (or want) as well as having a bit of a back garden for the dogs. We really like an area called Willow Bend in Plano but grassy areas in the back gardens aren’t common – it’s all pool & patio so we’ve been looking in a lovely gated community called Starwood in Frisco. Here quite a few of the gardens back onto greenbelts & have gates onto them. Unfortunately this area is further away from SMU & Murray’s work but everyone seems OK with this. Even though we won’t rush into buying a home, I hope we find one soon. You can usually move in within about a month & it doesn’t have to be at the end / beginning of a month. Our container only arrives about the 6^th or 7^th July but who knows how long it’ll take to get though customs.

Today we went to the Willow Bend Church. A smaller church than Honeyridge & the total opposite to the one we went to last week. Very laid back & casual. The worship band was great although some of the words of the songs were rather superficial. Th sermon was a bit like a talk you would get in a school hall about the importance of friendship with each other. The title of the sermon was “Not good if detached”. To be fair it wasn’t the pastor preaching – he was away. Next week we’re going to try Stonebriar Community Church where Chuck Swindoll is the pastor. Evening services don’t seem to be the norm here. Occasionally special evening services are held.

Shaun & I have found driving on the RHS of the road not as daunting as it first seemed. However it does require your full attention especially when tuning left – you have to remember to go across to the far side of the road & watch the cars coming from the left. You instinctively look for cars coming from the right. (That might sound a bit confusing.) Kelly hasn’t driven yet as she is too young to drive a hire car. We’re even having to pay a premium for Shaun to drive as he’s under 25. Seems strange as teenagers can get their drivers licenses at 16. Hopefully we’ll buy 1 or 2 cars soon. Murray has been waiting for days to get responses from people about cars & cell phones.

Murray went away from midday on Thurs to Fri afternoon for a company team building session. They went to the Star Brand Ranch, about 1 ½ hours out of Dallas. It was quite a fun experience going to a ranch. Shaun’s was meant to have his first lecture on Wed evening but the lecturer had been in Nashville & due to bad weather couldn’t fly out to Dallas. He started on Thurs evening. He will only be having lectures on Wed & Thurs evenings – 3 hrs on Wed & 4 hrs on Thurs. Most of the lectures are done in the evenings so that the students can get jobs in the summer. Kelly has been learning for her SATs which she writes at 9:00am on Thurs 14^th June. This week she’ll really have to get down to some more serious studying – even though she has already done quite a lot, most of it has been in front of the TV. I have always done the washing first thing in the morning but now I’m also trying to get into the routine of doing the ironing early every day as well. This way I keep on top of it & it’s over for the day - certainly not my favourite chore. Last week Tuesday I changed, washed & tumble dried all the sheets & towels only to find that when the cleaning service came on Wed, they change the beds & take away all the dirty linen. Would have been nice if someone had told me this but I guess I should just enjoy it & not complain. We really are spoilt with all the domestic help we have in SA.

Shaun & esp. Kelly are really missing their friends so we’ve had some family movie watching. Last night we hired ‘Freedom Writers’. It was really good & is a movie worth watching. We’ve also been to the cinema to watch ‘Pirates of the Caribbean. At World’s End’ (not my type of movie) & Shriek 3 (quite sweet). On Friday evening we went to the Macaroni Grill for supper. Its serves all types of Italian food. What a great restaurant with great food & service. The company gives us a daily allowance for 45 days so we’ve been eating out a fair bit & buying some different foods from the supermarkets which we probably wouldn’t normally buy. They sell some really good freezer meals which aren’t badly priced. I bought a huge meal of cheese stuffed ravioli in a bolognaise meat sauce for $7. We can claim the allowance with restaurant & grocery bills.

Well that’s all for now. Missing you all.

Lots of love

Heather

P.S. For those of you who want to leave a message on the blog and don’t know how to do it, I will explain. At the bottom of each post, the number of comments will be shown. Click that link and enter your comment in the box that appears on the right-hand side. Then click “Publish your comment” comment to add your comment to the post. That’s all there is to it.

Cheers

Shaun

Classes, Driving and Other Stuffs

So my Dad hired another car on Tuesday and I had to drive it back home. It was little weird driving on the wrong side of the road (or the right depending on how you look at it). But frankly, because the car was an automatic it wasn't very difficult to get used to. On Thursday and Friday I drove all the way to varsity without any trouble. The two most difficult things to remember are to look left first and, to a lesser extent, avoiding turning into the wrong lane. My mom had her first go it this morning when we went to pick up some groceries and she agrees that it is not particularly difficult. Oh, and I also find myself trying to change into second with my left hand when pulling off. At least my ability to drive manual cars had become somewhat automatic (excuse the pun).

As you have probably guessed by my comments above, I also started varsity this week. One of my classes was cancelled, because the lecturer was stuck in Nashville due to some heavy storms. My other class was quite long, but at least I only have to go in once a week for each class. It's also pretty far to drive to get to varsity.The traffic is generally always flowing, it just the distance and speed limits that drag the journey out. On the upside, there are plenty of lanes on the freeway (about 4 on average) and they are making it even wider.

Strangely enough, I am missing Oros. Yes, I know that sounds weird, but I used to drink litres of it every day. Carbonated drinks and fruit juices are more the norm here. Most of them come in zero calorie versions, but despite that fact, there is only so much super sweet, carbonated stuff I can drink. There are almost no mix-a-drink concentrates here. Koolade (spelling??) and Tang are pretty disgusting, either because they are too sweet or because they just taste nasty. We finally found some proper concentrated stuff today and we will try it out later.

Other than that there isn't much else for me to report. If I think of something else I'll add it, otherwise I am sure my mom will have more to say.

Signing off for now...
Shaun