7 reasons why I haven't been blogging as much as I should

1. I'm very busy with other projects. Ok, admitted it's just one project, but t has been taking up most of my time and leaves me none for other things. If it makes you feel better, I'm also neglecting my sewing, making the photo ablums, ... pretty much everything I should get done. (Now I'm stressing myself out)
2. The Hubby has been learning to fly with a paramotor, which is basically just a lawnmower engine and a parachute, so he has been very proud about that and it has been exiting, I admit, to go and check that out every so often.
3. I have a very demanding daughter, and there are days she just doesn't want to go with our cook/nanny, so I end op playing with playdough and reading stories the entire day. Don't get me wrong, I equally love both, but it does keep me from blogging here.
4. I'm trying to get back into sports. Bad excuse since I only started of yoga again yesterday and - since the smallish one was in the room while I was doing that - I ended the course halfway, because she had smeared shea butter all over herself, and me, and was demanding a massage.
5. I've also been running errands a lot lately. Going to San Pedro and to Grand Bereby to replenish our food stocks that were getting low.
6. Then aside all that I do try to be social - I mean off the internet in the real world, remember what that's like? - every so often.
7. Sometimes I do have to take care of the Hubby a little bit too. He also got the thing I was sick with a couple weeks ago, so I had to nurse him a lot lately... And you know how men are when they get sick so, basically that's already a full time job for ya

between here and there

We usually follow a five month/one month program, which means we spend five months over here in Ivory Coast and one month holidays in Europe. Now I have gotten so frustrated from being in Europe the last couple of times I told my husband I would rather not go any more, or if we do, we spend the entire holiday somewhere other than Belgium.

So this time, we set off with the idea that we'd be here until september... unless for some reason it would be necessary for us to go sooner. Which meant nine months over here.

Now I thought that would make things easier once I was here. You should know normally, about three months in, I get this desire to go back, and all I do really is looking forward to our holiday. And since that holiday is so far away now, I thought that longng would be postponed, more so because I generally really don't like our holidays.

But guess again! We have been here for three months now (what did I tell you) and already I am looking forward to leaving. But looking forward to what exactly? I can hardly blog or read my email over there. I have to run behind the little one all the time - that doesn't bother me, but combined to the fact that I cannot go out because all activities are to far away and I don't drive... It's a recipe to go bananas.

I seriously couldn't tell you... Except I want to do some shopping... If only we could get our webshopping delivered here, there would be no reason whatsoever to go to Belgium every five months any more.

Safe for the shopping. I'm good here. I'm fairly happy most of the time. There's hardly any appeal to go to Belgium, so what is this longing??? I think we have been conditioned by the 5 month system. I think the fact that we know this is not OUR house, makes us not feel like we are living here, just residing. Another thing that makes it equally bad is that we never know when we're moving. We could just as easy be here another six months as another two years. Now how are you supposed to settle in under those conditions?

Over those four years we've been doing the moving game, I never really felt at home in my house. I always did my best to decorate where I live, but it's not the same as when you are there indefinately. There's always those little things you don't do... or hesitate.

Pfffff.

I want to shop!!! NOW

Told the husband he needs to find an excuse to go to Abidjan, but he says he has none... grr

Yay for the virtual world

I just had to share this. If it wasn't for the web... I think I would have gotten sick and tired of being here a while ago. At least since I have internet at home, I can have real conversations about the things that move me with interesting people.

Living in a small community, in a remote part of the world, far far away from civilisation can get very lonely, and even worse, very very boring. But having internet, I can now overcome that problem.

If I feel like shopping, I can go online and browse any type of store I like.

If I want to have a conversation, I can open msn or Facebook and chatter away. Looking for some info or support, just a few simple clicks and off I go. The virtual world is my oyster!

Now, I have to admit, even though I've been online ever since I was 16, I've only really started picking the fruit that is social media... Less then a year ago, I joined Facebook and ever since... no kidding, my life has really changed. (Now I don't want to propagate Facebook, they have serious flaws... but still)

I tapped into a faboulous onlne community of mostly women with the same philosphy of life we live by, and my life hasn't been the same since.

So to those who say internet is bad and doesn't add valuable things to life... you are doing it wrong!

News from the trenches

By trenches I mean sandy beaches with coconut palms, of course.

So I'm in bed sick with not-malaria. I hope this not-malaria will pass soon, but at least it gives me a stolen moment to blog a little.

It's supposed to be the dry season over here, but it's been raining at least two days a week now... People are really puzzled. Ever since we moved to Africa, it seems as though the seasons are playing tricks on people. With the no-rain year at Ferme Suisse and the six months neverending-rainy season at Mbongo, I think we'll have had it all... It has quite harsh repercussions for crops, this unpredictable weather.

Our gardener has stepped into a spell and ever since he has these weird lesions on his legs. He hasn't been able to come to work. I just hope he'll be ok. Eventhough they all adhere to some religion or other, they're all still animists to the core.

Not So Lazy Sunday Routine

I've noticed we've been establishing this wonderful routine on Sundays. This is how it goes:

The little girl wakes us up, around 6.30 or 7 in the morning. We put the dog outside for his morning pee and start cooking breakfast. Most often it is scrambled eggs, omelette or pancakes/some juice/fruit and chicoree for me.

We take our time eating breakfast and chatting away. Then we asses the situation.

If both our little critters are very active, we'll go off on a walk (and end up carrying both of them to get back), which last about an hour or so, sometimes we stop by our neighbors' house.

If they are too tired, we will just chill in front of the TV and watch some TV series on DVD until 11.

At 11 or 11.30 we drive to Béréby and have lunch at Jardin d'Italie, mostly pizza and mousse au chocolat. And then we are off to La Baie des Sirènes for the afternoon. We spend our time there swimming with the daughter and the dog (who really likes swimming in the ocean nowadays), building sandcastles, playing in the shower. On most occasions, another family will join us and the kids will play together in the sand.

Those are the most wonderful Sundays, that leave us completely recharged for the week.

What's your routine?

Stability... for now

The country has stabilized again, for now, since a new government has been established a week ago. At the time all is quiet again, there have been no more marches. People just go on with their daily activities.

I go around San Pedro a lot lately, and am getting to know quite a lot of people. Most of the shops here are owned by women who's husbands are working in the larger companies. Some of them have been here quite a while.

I met a woman today (I had actually met her before, but we only really talked today) who has lived in San Pedro for 12 years now. She owns a little gift and furniture shop. She kept the store open even through the "evenements", and only closed three days!

I went into her shop to buy a doll for DD. I might have to tell you the story behind this: she got a doll for her christmas from her mamie, but it disappeared from the luggage, and I didn't bother to bring my old baby dolls from Belgium. Now she really liked baby dolls,and when we went to Abidjan, that was the first thing she ran to in the toy store. So we decided to buy her one, but cheapskates as we are, we got the cheapest. You can imagine after mothering that baby doll for about an hour, it's arm came off.

Now, three weeks later, that poor doll has no limbs left (some of the dismemberment is to blame on the dog too). So I decided it might be time to get her a better doll.

Meanwhile, little cutie is asking about her mamie and dede a lot, and runs into the back room whenever it is open, to fetch the photoalbum. It really breaks my heart.