(Written 27.06.08)
Our crates arrived just over a week ago. It had been a slightly complicated process to get them through customs and up the country, involving a clearing agent, a large sum of income tax and then helpful friends with empty cars who were driving North! We were glad to see them, and it is very nice to have more of our own things around. I am enjoying cooking with the spices my sister picked up for me in a Middle Eastern souk, Simon and Benjy have “Charlie and Lola” and “Postman Pat” decorating their walls, and we now have family photos up. I also needed the next size of clothes for Benjy, as he was fast growing out of the clothes we'd brought in our suitcases!
It also seems that we have found a car! There again we used a local agent, who works at the port and therefore sees the cars that are imported into the country. He rang at the end of last week to say that he had found a Toyota Picnic (a 7-seater – useful if we are transporting other people). After some negotiation (and prayer!) we agreed to the sale, and are waiting for the next step.
Family news. All of us are in good health, and apart from a couple of days of tummy bug for Marc and me, we have been thriving here! Simon has made friends among the other missionaries' children, and particularly enjoys being looked after by our neighbours' 8 and 10 year old girls. Benjy is showing signs of being as sociable as Simon, if not more so, and gets very cross if everyone else is sitting round the table and he isn't included! He is also very Weeble-like in wanting to sit up all the time, rather than lie down, and everything that passes anywhere near him is grabbed by his clutching hands. He is extremely smiley, and also has very good eyesight, so from the other side of the room he will try to catch his parents' eyes to exchange a grin. He has also started letting out ear-shattering shrieks when bored!
Benjy's sleep is gradually getting better. He has never been good at getting to sleep during the day (since he was about two weeks old) but it seems that his anti-malarial treatment intensified his problems. He was waking every 90 minutes or so during the night! But since we stopped the treatment he has gone back to only waking once or twice a night, which is much better for his parents! He is also taking daytime naps regularly and without any fuss.
We took the boys swimming one day, and had to pay for Simon's ticket but not for Benjy. That turned out to be the wrong way round, as Benjy very much enjoyed splashing in the pool whereas Simon refused to go any deeper than his knees!
Simon has begun to speak more French. After eighteen months in England he had realised that even the people who spoke French to him understood English, so while he clearly understands French perfectly, he had got into the habit of generally replying in English. Here, however, he has noticed that when he speaks English he is not necessarily understood, and has very pragmatically started increasing the amount of French he speaks. He particularly enjoys greeting people, “Bonjour! Bonsoir!” and is very polite, “Merci beaucoup!”
In English he is putting more and more sentences together. We have things like, “Put this one there safely!” or “Put it up there!”
We also had a historic moment recently when for the first time he told us a story of something that had happened when he was away from us. He had been playing with our neighbours' girls, Noémi and Athalia, in their sandpit. At teatime he solemnly said to us, “Athalia, eyes, sand! … Washing eyes!” I replied, “Oh dear, poor Athalia! Did she cry?” and he answered, “No!” as if that was a silly idea!
The two boys also interact more and more as Benjy becomes more interested in the world around him, and is therefore more interesting for Simon. When Simon comes to see Benjy in his bath, it's quite clear that Benjy is trying to get Simon's attention and deliberately splashing to make Simon laugh!
Our crates arrived just over a week ago. It had been a slightly complicated process to get them through customs and up the country, involving a clearing agent, a large sum of income tax and then helpful friends with empty cars who were driving North! We were glad to see them, and it is very nice to have more of our own things around. I am enjoying cooking with the spices my sister picked up for me in a Middle Eastern souk, Simon and Benjy have “Charlie and Lola” and “Postman Pat” decorating their walls, and we now have family photos up. I also needed the next size of clothes for Benjy, as he was fast growing out of the clothes we'd brought in our suitcases!
It also seems that we have found a car! There again we used a local agent, who works at the port and therefore sees the cars that are imported into the country. He rang at the end of last week to say that he had found a Toyota Picnic (a 7-seater – useful if we are transporting other people). After some negotiation (and prayer!) we agreed to the sale, and are waiting for the next step.
Family news. All of us are in good health, and apart from a couple of days of tummy bug for Marc and me, we have been thriving here! Simon has made friends among the other missionaries' children, and particularly enjoys being looked after by our neighbours' 8 and 10 year old girls. Benjy is showing signs of being as sociable as Simon, if not more so, and gets very cross if everyone else is sitting round the table and he isn't included! He is also very Weeble-like in wanting to sit up all the time, rather than lie down, and everything that passes anywhere near him is grabbed by his clutching hands. He is extremely smiley, and also has very good eyesight, so from the other side of the room he will try to catch his parents' eyes to exchange a grin. He has also started letting out ear-shattering shrieks when bored!
Benjy's sleep is gradually getting better. He has never been good at getting to sleep during the day (since he was about two weeks old) but it seems that his anti-malarial treatment intensified his problems. He was waking every 90 minutes or so during the night! But since we stopped the treatment he has gone back to only waking once or twice a night, which is much better for his parents! He is also taking daytime naps regularly and without any fuss.
We took the boys swimming one day, and had to pay for Simon's ticket but not for Benjy. That turned out to be the wrong way round, as Benjy very much enjoyed splashing in the pool whereas Simon refused to go any deeper than his knees!
Simon has begun to speak more French. After eighteen months in England he had realised that even the people who spoke French to him understood English, so while he clearly understands French perfectly, he had got into the habit of generally replying in English. Here, however, he has noticed that when he speaks English he is not necessarily understood, and has very pragmatically started increasing the amount of French he speaks. He particularly enjoys greeting people, “Bonjour! Bonsoir!” and is very polite, “Merci beaucoup!”
In English he is putting more and more sentences together. We have things like, “Put this one there safely!” or “Put it up there!”
We also had a historic moment recently when for the first time he told us a story of something that had happened when he was away from us. He had been playing with our neighbours' girls, Noémi and Athalia, in their sandpit. At teatime he solemnly said to us, “Athalia, eyes, sand! … Washing eyes!” I replied, “Oh dear, poor Athalia! Did she cry?” and he answered, “No!” as if that was a silly idea!
The two boys also interact more and more as Benjy becomes more interested in the world around him, and is therefore more interesting for Simon. When Simon comes to see Benjy in his bath, it's quite clear that Benjy is trying to get Simon's attention and deliberately splashing to make Simon laugh!
1 comment:
A lovely news filled, entertaining email, which made me feel I was there when all these things were happening. I'm heading to Africa today (just the wrong pole to see you!)
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