A Day in the Hijab of Shama

7/9/2011


Ishataktulaka jiddan ya Habibi!!!!!! Ok just had to get that outta my system. It has been 10 days in our new home, Alhamdulillah. Today my 8yr old played cricket for the first time with the neighbourhood kids. He was nervous about going out to play. He’s shy whether he wants to admit it or not. So it took some convincing (physically shoving him out the door) before he reluctantly went out. And of course they welcomed him right away and that was that. Now I can’t get him to come back inside even to eat.

Our new home is just the right size and on a circle, so there is no car traffic constantly going past. It’s still far enough from the commercial centre for me to get a decent cardio workout when going for groceries or internet café. Speaking of internet cafes, I must get my own internet established soon. It costs R10 per half hour at the café which is not bad (if I wasn’t so dependent on the web) but these guys want to charge me for every download onto my OWN usb drive. You see, I download educational videos and a select group of cartoons for my kids from YouTube. This pay as you download thing is just not clicking for me.

All I need is a functional Blackberry and I can pay R59 a month for unlimited internet and then tether it to my laptop. But noooooo it couldn’t be just be that easy. My dear Mommy sent me a Blackberry all the way from the US. She spent tons time tracking the joker from seller and then even more tons of money via FedEx and then I too spent a grip on this end (taxes) to get the device. I was so overjoyed and anxious to get connected to my loved ones again and then…………nothing. It won’t pick up a signal! After 11 calls yes count them ELEVEN calls to Vodacom customer service (that’s the service provider here) and reconfiguring the entire phone with 11 different customer service reps who all answer calls with, “how can I make you smile?”)…..they could not make me smile.



7/11/11: I miss my hubby. I miss my daily talks with my Mommy. I miss my 6 to 7 calls a day to and from Angelique. I miss fiqh class at PGMA. I miss downloading Islamic lectures off the internet. I miss changing my fb status as soon as something witty comes to mind. I miss the view from my balcony. I miss free wi-fi. I miss Pizza Roma. I miss making an appointment with my Dr. just so we can shoot the breeze. I miss emailing all my friends on a regular. I miss summer weather. I miss non-fat yogurt. I miss Costco. I miss the ladybugs that used to fly into my window. I miss having my own bathroom (with a toilet; we now have a flat pan). I miss my microwave. I miss instant meals. I miss a washing machine. I miss having the feeling back into my freezing limbs. I miss central heating. I miss my van. I miss everybody and everything.