Passports and Visas!

It was another beautiful and hot day in South Africa.  We walked the girls to the park this morning to let them play on slides that were way to hot to be going down.  The slides were actually soft they were so hot.  The girls didn't mind they just found other areas to play.

This afternoon we did a little celebrating by going out with our social worker!

I'm posting these pictures because I can hardly stand the cuteness... 

 Nick ate kudu today, he saw it earlier this week and wanted to try it.

It had a sauce over it that he said was a little spicy and it was grilled on the outside but was a bit raw on the inside.  He thought it was really good.  I'm not a meat eater, so I enjoyed a fabulous salad with couscous and a spicy dressing. 

I have NEVER traveled anywhere in Africa where we have not been pulled over by the police.  This trip was no exception.  Today we got pulled over, this was our second time this trip getting pulled over.  The police officer made it clear he wanted a bribe or our driver would get a ticket.  Nick was holding the money and slipped the officer some cash...  He totally over paid on the bribe (he gave him what would equal about $18).  Nick is no longer in charge of handling money matters in South Africa.  I haven't actually told him yet, but hopefully he reads this post and hands over all his money to me.

Yesterday we had our visa interview at the US Embassy.  It all went well, so today we went back to the embassy to get the visas...  

We now have the passports and visas in our hands and have moved our flights up.  We will arrive home on Friday afternoon to figure out and settle into life as a family of 7!

$55.00 Load of Laundry

I believe the standard size of the doors in South Africa are a bit shorter than the doors at home....

I know Nick is tall, but at home he doesn't risk his life (or forehead) when he walks through a door. He barely scraps by without shoes on, but as soon as he puts his shoes on he has to duck so he doesn't hit his head.

We are staying at a guest house that we have really enjoyed. I asked if we would be able to do some wash while we stayed here and we were told that it wouldn't be a problem. So after the first week, I asked where I could do my wash and was told to leave it on my bed. I explained that I really didn't mind washing my own clothes, I would actually prefer to do my own wash. This was met with, "It's not a problem at all, please just leave it on your bed."  When all was said and done I had a small load of clean wash (smaller than I do at home on our small cycle) and it cost me $55.00. Nick and I both through it was a mistake, so we questioned the cost but were told it was right.  Nick said to me, it's probably that expensive because they must have washed it by hand...  That theory was proved wrong when one of Nick's missing socks was brought to us, "I found this stuck to the inside of the machine."

Now anytime one of the kids spills on themselves or one of us Cork laughs and says, "Well that will cost you $15.00!"

Today we spent a bit of time at the embassy taking care of some stuff.  It was the hottest day yet since we have arrived.  The kids had fun playing outside with bubbles and water to try and stay cool. Here's a few more pictures of these two because they are just so darn cute!

***This is a follow up to the blog post.  After talking with our social worker, she also thought the cost of our laundry was high, then asked if it had been pressed.  We honestly didn't know, a little missed communication I believe.  We don't iron anything at home, we just rewash if something is wrinkled.  Upon looking at the arm of one of Nick's t-shirts we realized it had been pressed (as probably all of our laundry) for an additional cost. Needless to say Nick better be enjoying his pressed underwear because he is never getting that again!***   

Soweto

We toured Soweto today.  Soweto is where the girls have lived since they have entered the Johannesburg Child Welfare System.  The area also holds a lot of historical value.  

We started our tour with the last house that Nelson Mandela lived in, the house has huge walls built around it like all the houses in the area.  It is in a very nice area of town.  Outside of the gated walls are these plants with colorful stones all around each of them.  These stones are what people left after he had passes, similar to how we might leave flowers in the US.  

Our fist stop in Soweto was the FNB Stadium, this was built for the World Cup in 2010, and it is massive. Today it is still used for football (soccer games) as well as big ruby matches.  It is in an area of Soweto that doesn't appear to be too busy on a typical day but would be bustling on a game day. There is a train stop right outside the stadium as well as plenty of areas for public transport.

We checked out all different neighborhoods in Soweto.  It is a very diverse area both ethnicity wise and socioeconomically. We stopped and spent a bit of time at the Hector Pieterson Memorial/Museum.  If you are not familiar with Hector Pieterson he was one the first students to be killed during the 1976 Student Uprising in Soweto, he was only 13 years old.  He has since become a symbol of youth resistance to apartheid.

We also stopped and took a tour of Nelson Mandela's home that he lived at with his wife Winnie. This is a small house like all the houses around it, not to far (less than a mile) from where Hector Pieterson was killed.  This is the house Nelson came back to after being released from jail.  

 These are the Soweto towers...  People bungie jumping between them.

There was so much to see and learn.  Some of today was a bit heavy, it's so hard to believe that so much has happened in Soweto in just the last 50 years.  This area has really played a huge roll in the countries history.

Tonight we decided to walk over to Moyo's for an early dinner, this is a traditional African Restaurant.  The girls loved the food, the atmosphere, and the entertainment.  We even brought along our own finger magician...  Corky!

The meal I ordered was soooooo HOT!  My lips were tingling, I broke out into a sweat, and chugged so much water the waiter could not keep up.  It reminded me of an incident that happened yesterday at the Sunday Market.

Corky and I were walking around and there was a stand with cheese at it.  We slowed down to take a look and we were offered a sample of cheese.  The lady asked, "You like cheese?"  I believe I replied, "Yeah, we're from Wisconsin."  I take her cheese and pop it into my mouth as does Corky.  The next thing I know my mouth is on FIRE...  Seriously, 911 Emergency!  I'm looking at Corky and he cannot talk or stop coughing.  I debated scrapping my tongue when she hands me another piece of cheese.  I take it because I figure cheese is suppose to cool your mouth off and honestly it can't be hotter then the last piece- it just wasn't possible.  Corky's eyes are darting around looking for anything to drink.  I begin laughing because I just can't believe cheese can be so HOT and I can't believe there is no relief in sight.  We skedaddled out of the area before Corky could fall over from his coughing fit...  Good news, Cork found a Coca Cola, he didn't even try to talk the seller down in price to buy it.

Later on when we were discussing the market I mentioned what a good trick Cheese Lady played on us...  I'm not sure Cork thinks it's as funny as I do.

Stay tuned...  Tomorrow I will tell you all about our $55.00 (US dollars) small load of wash.

Sunday Market

We had heard about the Sunday Market and decided it was something we had to check out.  So after breakfast Corky and I made our way to the market ready to wheel and deal.  Our strategy was to first walk around, see what was being sold and find out prices.  Then we would do a second lap once we had decided what we wanted to buy and how much we were willing to spend on the items.  Everyone gave us the line, "I give you my best price because you are my first customer and first customer brings good luck."

We studied every item very closely to make sure we knew exactly what we wanted to purchase...

Corky liked to pull out the phrase, "I'm sorry it's all I have."  When he was wheeling and dealing.  At one point Corky got caught in his own lie.  When he reached in his pocket to take his money out, his pocket turned inside out, so all his money (which was way more then what he said he had) went flying, along with a credit card.  I was dying across the room watching Corky scramble to pick up all his money...  That he apparently didn't have.  I may have even yelled, "ROOKIE MISTAKE!" to make sure he captured everyones attention.  Corky just smiled and laughed.

As I sit here typing this Corky is still giving me tips on how I give in to easy and I don't talk the sellers down enough.  He just confessed that he "bought crap he didn't even need" because he talked the people down to a lower price then me and wanted to show me that I could have gotten it for less.

It wasn't just a shopping day...  It was another day with animals!  

The girls were exhausted from walking around in the sun, so late afternoon naps happened today. Which means the kids got to stay up and party a little later then usual.  Overall it was another great day in South Africa!

Giraffes, Zebras, Lions and More!

We had a little weekend fun today in the form of checking out some animals. We got up close and personal with a few of the animals. Philasande has little to no fear, petting and touching any animal she was aloud to touch. Sino prefers to watch the animals from a bit of a distance. 

The girls have really taken a liking to Uncle Corky.

I'll try to write more about what we have been up to tomorrow.  

I'm a bit tired out tonight from all the sun and fun!

Court Day

We had a big and long day in court today.  The girls did great and after all was said and done it was determined that we are theirs and they are ours.  We are so humble and thrilled to now be the parents of these sweet girls.

Let me first introduce you to Little Sister otherwise known as Sinothando, pronounced See-no-ton-doe.  Her name translates as "we love", and boy do we ever love her!  She goes by Sino, which is pronounced See-no.  She is 2 years old, hates baths, loves to be rocked to sleep, is always a few short steps behind her Bigger Sister, and has a belly laugh that can make the whole world smile.

Next I'd like to introduce you to Bigger Sister Philasande, pronounced Pill-ah-san-day.  Her name translates as "go forth and spread/become many."  She will go by her full name or the shortened version Phila, which is pronounced Pill-ah.  She is 5 years old, hates bedtime, loves glow sticks, always has one eye looking out for Sino, and loves to jump out and scare people.  Look at that smile people, it couldn't get much bigger.

I had held off on buying the girls new clothes because I was unsure of their size.  When I was out shopping with my friend Beth before coming I decided to buy them adorable matching dresses with hearts all over for court.  I went to put them on this morning and realized they are WAY too big. Their shoulder width is thinner than the neck hole on the dress.  So we panicked had a quick change of plans at the last minute and found other outfits that worked just fine.  The girls were so proud to be dressed up.

Without going into too much detail, court was not smooth sailing...  It was determined right before our appointed time that two major documents had to be redone.  This delayed us by about 3 hours.   Our social worker, the people at the court house, and our judge worked really hard to get the paperwork redone and still hear our case today.  We are so thankful!

We have one more big step in the adoption process before we can come home, and that is obtaining visas for the girls.  We are hopeful this step can be accomplished in a timely manner.  We can not wait to get home and have all the kids under one roof to begin settling in as a family of 7!

Thanks so much for all your love, support and good wishes you sent our way today.

XOXO- The German Family of 7

The Place of Light

We spent our day learning about different South African cultures and having some traditional food.  Many of the foods we had tried before with the exception of caterpillars, ostrich meat, and crocodile meat.  I didn't actual try those, but Nick did because he will try anything.  Bigger Sister really enjoyed the traditional food.  She hasn't been eating much but today she ate most of the traditional meal.

I will let some of the pictures from today do the talking.   

In  unrelated news, Nick is set to leave next Thursday to return home to Cullen, Geremu, and Nasuuna. We are hoping to not be too far behind him.  So tonight Uncle Corky arrived in South Africa!  For those of you that followed along on our Uganda journey you may remember Corky. This is my father's brother that joined me in Uganda when Nick had to leave and return to the US.  He's back again (because he is just that amazing) and brought along some of his best tricks for entertaining kids far from home.  Fingers crossed that Corky almost poops his pants in South Africa can again provide us with some solid blogging material.

Tomorrow is a big day, we head to court.  We would appreciate any positive thoughts, wishes, and juju you send our way. 

Ulale Kahle or Good Night