We're on a Trip, not a Vacation!

Kyusik and the boys left about two hours ago, so I am all alone in the cottage now. We managed to do one last lunch at Gavas, the Zimbabwean restaurant that we really enjoyed once already.  Their slogan is "sadza with soul." They have lots of outdoor seating, and it's very family friendly. The last time we were there, there was a bouncy house that the boys used. We ordered the whole grilled bream (fish) again because we liked it so much, as well as a roadrunner (chicken) stew, and half of a grilled chicken with chips. The dishes all come with a side of sadza (maize meal similar to polenta), the equivalent of collard greens, and sugar beans. They also bring a little container of house-made spicy sauce. You only need a tiny dollop because it's so hot! Once your dishes arrive, they come by with a metal pitcher of soapy water and a bowl so that they can pour water over your hands to clean them.  Afterwards, Kyusik wanted to drive downtown. There's not a whole lot to s...

     Here’s what I do on a regular day at the cottage. First, I wake up at around eight to nine. Then I start doing my thirty minutes of the math workbook that Mommy got for me. Depending on when Mommy gets up to make breakfast, I either do my thirty minutes of my world history book, or do it after breakfast. After I finish my math and my history book, I get to play thirty minutes of Prodigy. Prodigy is a math game where you battle with magical spells and catch monsters. Sometimes I also have to do a blog post like this one. We usually eat lunch at the cottage, but sometimes we go out to eat. Sometimes we go out to the store, called Pick ‘N’ Pay to buy ingredients. Then, we have to exercise. We do twenty push-ups a day, and either swim laps in the pool or run. The pool is very cold because it is not heated. Then I can play Pokémon or Minecraft. During the day, when we have nothing else to do, we build pillow forts and play around with pillows. We have dinner, and on speci...

 Here’s what I’d do on a regular day at the cottage.First, I’d wake up from seven thirty to eight. Then, I’d get out of bed and start doing my math workbook Mommy got for me for thirty minutes. Once I’m finished, I’d go wake Mommy up and tell her I finished my math and she should get out of bed and make breakfast. And then, she’d tell me she wants more sleep, so I go wait until about nine to ten thirty and come back. But once I get back, she’s on her phone reading NYT articles. Then I have to keep asking her, “Get out of bed! Get out of bed!”. Then she finally gets out and starts making breakfast while I play Prodigy. After I’m done with Prodigy, I’d go have breakfast. Then, Daddy would wake up and have breakfast while I do my other workbook, “Summer Bridge Activities”. Then I'd do my Chinese and I’d go swimming. Then I’d go take a shower, play video games, and go to sleep. Here’s what I learned about Zimbabwe: 1) they have a very corrupt  government 2) lots of people are poor...

    Today we went to a sanctuary called Wild is Life. We stepped out of the car and went through the gate. While Mommy signed the waiver, we ran to see some birds. There were two parrots and two peacocks! Then we sat on a huge swing and watched a baby elephant with an injured leg have a goat jump on top of it to cheer it up. Then, our guide introduced himself. His name was Shawn. Shawn led us up a path to some giraffes, and he gave us all some branches with leaves on them so we could feed them. It was so fun! Then we fed some pigs with carrots, apples, and other fruits and vegetables. Then, we went down to a building to eat. We were given hot towels to clean our hands and led inside. There were cookies and tea, and a bunch of other pastries and treats. We ate most of them. It was very yummy. Next, we walked outside to see some elephants. We learned all their stories and why they came here. Then some workers gave them their milk. The milk bottles were huge, but the elephants fi...

Today we went to a sanctuary called “ Wild is Life” which apparently had a pangolin. When we got in, we saw a baby elephant with a little baby goat. While Mommy was signing a waiver, we saw a cage full of birds, and past that, we saw two peacocks. Then, Mommy came and said we couldn’t go past the cage. Inside the cage, there were some parrots, and a black bird. Then we saw some swings which we went on. After a bit, a guide named Shawn told us our schedule. Then, we went to feed some giraffes and pigs. Luckily, the giraffes did not really drool like the last time we fed them in Safari West. Then, it was time for a little snack. When we got in, we went to the nearest table and sat down. But it looked better than I  thought it would be. It was a big platter full of sweets. Then, we went to watch the elephants get fed. They were fed elephant food and got to drink a big bottle of milk. They told us about their story’s, but some of them were sad. Like for example, one of them was go...

Since the boys didn't thoroughly document our time in Capetown, I am going to fill in some gaps with this post.  Having suffered through the suboptimal food in Bulawayo, we were thrilled to get an approximation of Thai food during our overnight stay in Joberg. We also picked up some French pastries and other goodies the next morning at the French bakery Paul, which was within walking distance of our hotel, before we departed for our flight to Capetown. Upon arrival, we got our rental car and drove to drop off our luggage at the flat where we'd be staying. It was really lovely with views of Table Mountain, which were often obscured by the clouds as it rained most of the time we were there. It was also exciting to finally have access to a washer, as it had been over 2 weeks since we last cleaned our clothes in a machine rather than the sink! It will be so nice to use a dryer when we get home. Although the electricity situation is not as bad as in Zim, South Africa does do load sh...

Here are some videos of the boys feeding an elephant at Imire.