One thing we realize about living overseas is that people are interested in our day-to-day lives more than what work we are accomplishing. In fact, people ask us much more, "what do you do with your day" than what major projects we are involved in. Or even, "where do you buy your food?".  So, we thought we would take you along, over the next few months, on our daily life! Each week or so we will pick a day that week and snap some pictures along the way. That way you can see the mundane, the exciting and a sneak peak into South African culture.

28 June 2009

Well, like any normal Sunday, we roll out of bed when our kids wake up which was at about 6:45 a.m. this morning.  It is winter and that means it is dark and cold in the mornings.  What do I mean by cold?  About 55 degrees in the house, South African homes don't have heat.  Luckily it warms up a bit during the day, but it's still pretty cold.  Once we got dressed and ready to go, we went a few blocks down the road to our church, Muizenberg Community Church.  We love it, it is eclectic and reflects the town of Muizenberg that we live in... very multi-cultural and multi-racial.

This is the singers on our worship team.  Aren't they lovely?  The lady who is second from the left is our pastor's wife.  Her name is Minah and she is one crazy lady, we love her. 

Here are some of the youth.  They sit in the back row during the service just like in America:)

Our church is one big family.  In Muizenberg, the town where we live and work, a large percentage of the people are from all sorts of different African countries.  Many of them are refugees, looking for a better future.  So, our church is full of people from all over Africa, it is great.  After church no one leaves, we all stick around and have coffee and tea together.  If you walk around the room you will hear all sorts of different languages spoken.

While the adults are drinking their tea, the kids know exactly what to do.  A sweet lady, Kathy, gives them juice and biscuits (South African term for cookies) after every church service.  They line up in a straight row and wait their turn.  See Garett in the back?  He was a slow poke, you've got to act fast to get to the front of the line.  

After church we head home for some relaxing.  On the way home, these are some of the sights you will see.  One thing I always notice is that the public phones are a busy place.  Sunday is a day for family.  But, what do you do when you live far away from your family?  Call them!  This is the public phone at the end of our street. These guys are from Congo.

Here are some other fellows on their way home from church.  It was a beautiful day for a walk to church!

Another big event is the Sunday Flea Market.  It happens every Sunday rain or shine.  It is about two blocks from our house so I decided to pop over there with Garett and see what interesting things were happening.  The flea market is where all of Muizenberg and the surrounding towns gather.  You can get anything at the market as you will soon see.  

Here is the street along the market.  Cross at your own risk, pedestrians do not have the right-away!  See those two guys?  They are the car guards and they keep people's cars safe from the crooks.  The drivers will give them a small amount of money when they leave.

As Garett and I enter the market we meet Malemu from Malawi.  Say that 10 times quickly!  He has some lovely hand crafted items to be purchase for a bargain.

It's packed in the market, you kind of need to push your way through.  Nobody seems to mind as long as you don't get bothered when they push back.  They must be polite pushes though!

This flea market is known as being a great place for some real bargains.  You can find almost anything here.  Let's take a look at what is available today.  

First, we can find ourselves some lovely underwear.  Also modeled by this stands mannequin.  I wonder where they get all this stuff, especially the mannequin.

You can also get socks.

If, when you put on your socks, you notice your feet need some grooming, then the flea market can help you with that!  Plus a few random door stops just in case that strikes your fancy.

For those that get hungry when you go shopping, these ladies will cook some amazing samoosas for you.  They are delicious and if you haven't had a samoosa in your lifetime then you really haven't fully lived.

Moving on, perhaps a new lamp for your living room?

Or a South African necklace, they come in all colors.  I do like them and if you have ever gotten one from me for Christmas, this is where I probably bought it.

If all this shopping is making your joints ache... have no fear, you can purchase a knee, wrist or ankle brace!

Garett and I noticed this funny stand.  A guy was selling popcorn.  He had the machine, the sign, the popcorn containers and two salesman.  Only problem, he had no popcorn.  He seemed to be enjoying his day, none-the-less.

Lastly, we checked out the Sour Figs table.  These are a Cape Town thing.  I really don't know if you can get them any where else in the world.  Any one out there want to fill me in if you can find them in your corner of the world?  They grow on a Cape Town plant in the sandy areas so when you get them they are full of sand.  They are extremely sour and you are supposed to eat them raw or cook them with lots of sugar.  We don't like them but they are around a lot.  People often sell them out of the back of bakkies (small pickup trucks) and you can hear the seller from a mile away calling, "Soooouuur Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiigs!!"  

Garett and I headed home, it was so nice and sunny outside, we were enjoying ourselves!  On our way we found a chameleon on the sidewalk.  Garett insisted I take a picture.  He named him "Doody".  We kept him for two days, fed him flies and then let him go.  He is still living in the garden behind our house much to the delight of the boys.

The rest of the afternoon we spent in preperation for a big soccer match.  The U.S.A men's soccer team made it to the finals of the Confederation Cup (which was being played in South Afrca).  We played Brazil and did quite well.  Anyways, I planned on having Nachos for a bunch of Americans that were coming over to watch with us.  I ended up driving around for 45 minutes trying to find tortilla chips... not easy.  I finally succeeded and the nachos were great!  Here are some of our friends.  We had fun and finally fell in bed at 11:30 p.m.  The U.S. team lost but it was fun.  

Well, that's our day.  Hope you enjoyed the ride.  Check back in the coming weeks for other days of the week.  They might be a little shorter, I just got carried away with all the amazing things at the flea market!

-Lindsey