what does coffee cake mean to you?

living in a culture not your own exposes all kinds of misconceptions.  things that you tend to take for granted like "coffee cake" means cake that goes with coffee not cake that tastes like coffee. :)  i made said coffee cake today for our mom's group.  this came up a couple of times.

but it also happens in all sorts of situations all the time.  words that i don't know, words that i thought i knew, words i'm using that nobody knows...and other stuff.  for example what does pavement mean to you or robot or costume?  let me tell you what it means to a south african: pavement = sidewalk, robot = traffic light, costume = swimming suit.  there have been moments in my life here when talking to someone i have a completely different idea of what they are saying then what they are actually saying!  it's awesome!! 

i do love learning all the language stuff.  we're lucky in some ways because to communicate, for the most part, we don't have to learn another language.  but language is such a part of the place and the people where you live.  and here, it seems, language is huge!  there are 11 national languages.  many are african languages but in this area the most common african language spoken is xhosa.  other than the 9 african languages there's also english and afrikaans.  steve and i have a deal that i'll learn afrikaans and he'll learn xhosa.  (i certainly got the better end of the deal...don't tell steve)  the xhosa alphabet includes many letters that make clicking sounds. now i can click or i can talk but i've found that i can't actually do both at the same time. :)  as far as afrikaans there are actually quite a lot street signs, names, words just assimilated into everyone's vocab english-speaking or otherwise.  it seems like afrikaans could be quite helpful. 

we'll see if we actually learn another language but aaron will be.  the thought is to put him into the schools here and everyone learns english and afrikaans no matter what language they speak at home.  it will be exciting for him to have that background and that edge on the culture that we don't have.  i'm sure he'll be our translator in some situations.

i guess this is actually not that unfamiliar to most people just on a much smaller scale.  i mean anytime you walk into someone's home they have their own family culture where they just do and say things in a way that has a certain meaning to them.  for instances when you get married, you merge those 2 families and you find out in that first year a whole lot of that cultural stuff.  then over the years the 2 cultures become one and when you visit your parents you find that that is not your culture anymore.

anyway, this is getting long.  i'm sure you get the idea.  so embrace the differences and enjoy the experience because it will only be new for a while and then it will be so a part of your culture that you won't remember that it wasn't.  ;)

[reposted from Diana's Facebook page]

why our kid is like a kid...

so i think when i was a child i was mildly offended or maybe i just thought it was an odd coincidence that a young goat was called a kid and so was i...hmm.  oh well, but now that i have my own kid (child that is) i don't think it's a coincidence at all!!  aaron is just a like a baby goat!  although i haven't spent much time with goats i have a couple similarities worked out that i believe to be true.

1 - anytime there is anything that can go in the mouth it will go in the mouth

     a - grass, leaves, things on the ground of any sort

     b - pens, ooh he loves pens!

     c - yarn...did you see my recent pic upload?

     d - etc, etc you get the point but as a side note i have a hard time getting food in him, actual tasty, yummy food.

2 - he drinks from his sippy cup just like a baby goat from a bottle.  have you ever done that, at a petting zoo or something, feed a baby goat from a bottle?  very fun, def let your kid do it some day but aaron drinks the same way...he kind of tucks his arms in, gets in position, curls his tongue around the sippy part and goes for it!  he sucks very hard to get that water out.  anyway, check the pic below. very cute. :)

i'm still working to formulate other similarities so i can make a full report but this is all i have for now.  so just to sum up, kids are like kids and babies are a lot like goats. ;)

[reposted from Diana's Facebook page]

The Mountain

The first thing that you will see when you enter Cape Town is the Mountain.  It is impossible to ignore.  The city surrounds it and I feel like it defines the city.  Although there are many aspects of Cape Town that help give it its personality, I don't think that any other attribute (beaches, ocean, cultural diversity, history) has the same impact as the mountain.

View of Table Mountain from ferry out to Robbin Island.  Table Mountain is the flat part in the middle with Devil's Peak on the left and Lion's Head on the right.

Now, let me define what I mean by the mountain.  There is Table Mountain, which is the most recognizable image of the mountain and probably most visited, at least by tourists.  But the mountain (as Capetownians call it) encompasses all of the "mountain" that extends from the city bowl to Cape Point.  It has all been grouped into the Table Mountain National Park (check out the website).  The range of hills and mountains extends for 47 miles, along the entire length of the Cape Peninsula.

View of Devil's Peak from Rondebosch.  To the left of Devil's Peak is the side of Table Mountain.  Notice the campus of UCT (with the red roofs) just below Devil's Peak.

Two things about the mountain that immediately grab you are its beauty and its proximity.  When we first moved to Cape Town, I would walk up the hill to the campus, and would stare up at Devil's Peak, which is adjacent to Table Mountain and directly above UCT, and be amazed that it was so close.  Now, it is not particularly high mountain (just over 1000m or 3280ft), but because the city is so close to the mountain, it can feel like it is on top of you, although not every one gets to work under the shadow of the mountain like I do.

The walk up Stanley Road to campus and Devil's Peak.

I hesitate to go as far as I saying that the mountain is the heart of the city, but it is certainly close.  It is a part of everyday life for many of the residents of Cape Town.  It is very common on a Monday morning during the "how was your weekend?" conversation to hear people discuss the time they spent on the mountain.  Two weeks ago, it actually snowed on the mountain and there was a buzz around the department.  This last Friday, rain was forecasted for the weekend and people were scrambling to make plans that did not involve the mountain (although we went hiking anyway).  The mountain is also used as a navigational tool, directions are given relative to the mountain.  The most interesting impact of the mountain is in dreams, on occasion someone's dream will come up and there are an inordinate number of dreams involving mountains or steep slopes or hiking.  I don't think that is a coincidence.

The view of the mountain from our kitchen window.

Lastly, the mountain provides a certain measure of comfort.  While we were in the US, there was this sense of something missing.  We drove into Houston and saw the impressive downtown skyline, which is a comforting feeling, but just doesn't have the same impact of the mountain.  As I sit here writing this, I look out the window and can only catch a glimpse of the mountain (it is rainy and cloudy), but it is just nice to know that it is still there.  Just like the reminders that we get from God to reassure us that He is still there.  Cheers, Steve

Picture of Aaron on our recent hikes.  We got a little wet, but he enjoyed it anyway :)

PS.  We have now been on three hikes on the mountain on three consecutive weekends, so I feel like we are fitting right in as proper Capetownians :)

365 Days of Aaron: Week 13 (Days 84-90)

August 12, 2010 / Love this picture!  We were entertaining Aaron on our way up to WI to see my family before we left for South Africa	August 13, 2010 / My college roommates Ben and Will with all of our kids.  Will has certainly been working at it a little harder than Ben and I :)
August 14, 2010 / Aaron with Diana's grandma	August 15, 2010 / Picture of the Korpi cousins.  Bill, Grady, my Aunt Faye and Miirah made the 6 hour drive just for the day.  It was good to see them.
August 16, 2010 / We had to get Aaron one last giant Sonic drink before we left the country	August 17, 2010 / Aaron discovers his thumb!
August 18, 2010 (no pic) / from Aug 15 / Diana's good friend Melissa also came to the party at my mom's house	Wee 13 Bonus Pic / Diana's cousin, Katey, made Aaron a birthday cake with a lion on it and he is loving the lion

driving in south africa...

Proud owners of a "new" car!

i was chatting with elisabeth the other day and i was reminded of how funny the whole driving thing is here.  we knew coming here we'd be driving on the left (not the wrong side of the road...the left side) so that newness we expected...

here's the whole long story of how we came by our car and then driving.  so we don't have any money, right?  so we thought we'll just go to a dealership because they'll be better equipped to get us financing.  so we decide on a price range, something reasonable that we think we can manage and we actually find a car that fits all the criteria.  it's toyota corolla.  very nice, newish, automatic windows, ac, the whole biz.  even has automatic transmission which is kind of a big deal here.  we actually had a chat about maybe it would be better to get a standard, we would be more like the locals, etc etc but honestly we're just going to be better drivers if we don't have to worry about that.  the last time i drove a standard was high school, when my good friend, annette taught me (thanks annette!).  so anyway, we've got this guy willie the car dealer, who's great.  he's working all the angles tho trying to get us a loan and it is just not working out.  that's when we find out about this guy at one of the churches we've been going to that wants to sell his car.  terrance is amazing, he's willing to sell us his car and finance it too!  what a deal.  so no interest, awesome!... it's an older car...no big.  it's a manual transmission...bummer but do-able.  also did i mention most of the cars in south africa don't have power steering either!!  now honestly why would you do that?  i'm not sure how much power steering costs but that is a serious driving hazard!!  all that to say we bought terrance's car.  we are the proud owners of a white toyota corolla, i think it's a 2000.  anyway it has ac...that's something. and it was totally an answer to prayer.  God is soooo good!

so one of my early memories on the road, i'm driving to a friend's.  it's easy to get to her house that's why i've committed to doing it.  i figure i can manage.  i'm driving a long feeling pretty cool when i get to a traffic light AND the phone rings!  it's debbie, i'm trying to figure out if it's urgent, do i need the info she has for me in order to get to her house.  the light is red...maybe i can answer the phone...the light turns green!  i'm still holding the phone, the car's not in the right gear, there are cars all around me, i'm panicking!!  so i drop the phone, find the right gear, stall the car, re-start the car, and drive away.  phew!  this is a lot of stress!  on top of it all every time i turn a corner i about give myself a hernia!  i still don't get this no power steering.

ok, one final thing on driving here.  it actually has nothing to do with driving but once you are parked and you'd like to get out of the car there is a 15 step process to locking up the car...yikes!!  so most of you know i recently acquired a baby which has his own 15 step process.  i'm just waiting for the day when i lock my keys in the car (knock on wood).  1 - put the car in neutral.  2 - pull the hand break.  3 - turn off the ignition.  4 - put the car in reverse.  5 - lock the gear box.  6 - put up the window shades (because it is flippin hot here and the sun could actually melt your car if you don't). 7 - don't forget to take your radio faceplate and stick it in the glove box.  (our friends car was broken into just for the radio)  8 - get of the car and push down your lock.  9 - hold up your door handle as you shut the car door.  (otherwise your door won't actually be locked...wasting time.)  10 - crawl into the back seat and get your kid out.  11 - lock his door lock but you don't have to hold up the handle on the back doors.  12 - get all your crap out of the boot.  13 - make sure all the other doors are closed and locked.  14 - press the immobilizer.  (my favorite part.  i mean immobilizer, really.  that's just awesome!)  so i think that's it actually.  i hope you're not disappointed that there's not actually 15 steps.  but i think 14 is pretty good. :)  i could just make up one more...i mean how do you know i'm telling you the truth about the immobilizer anyway...this could all be made up. ;)

[reposted from Diana's Facebook page]