The Journey Inward

The week started with an intriguing Instagram message that categorized February birthday people. It said the following…

I do have that high energy, make a million plans, get people involved kind of vibe, but afterwards, I need a lot of time alone. I don’t know if I love weirdly, but I do feel, think and love deeply, though I don’t need constant communication or contact. I don’t really think wildly, but do possibly believe in things others give up on. Not always for the best. I don’t think I’m chaos, but I’m certainly heart and I do feel like I am blessed with people who get me. I celebrate creativity, emotion and unconventional thinking, for sure.

Next up were the cutest Henry pictures from San Diego. He’s such a doll!

The kids were fun this week, using manipulatives to learn fractions, creating a story of A time when I was ________ story that involved a strong emotion, such as pride, fear or elation, learning about the Civil Rights Movement and Apartheid, analyzing the genre of fables and folktales and learning systems, rules and laws that create or limit change in systems and communities.

Women in South Africa take their skin care seriously at all ages. The African sun is no joke. Products, facials, sunscreen and coverage are the order of the day, and many women walk with umbrellas for even more protection. There is a good deal of eyebrow tattooing, lash extension, hair extensions and the like, but there is no doubt that women here have beautiful skin.

My student who had to move abruptly last week has found a new home and school. I happily filled out her referral paperwork and hope it will be a good fit for her.

I was kind of over the tattoo idea, but I happened to linger on a tattoo artist’s instagram post and she immediately contacted me. We had some back and forth and now I’m open to it again. Maybe I just hadn’t found the right image that felt like it could go the distance.

Family members and friends are planning their visits, so I was so happy next year’s calendar came out to help us all choose dates and adventures.

My flight reminder came up in my inbox this week and it got me so excited for my March trip to Durban! I love the location of where I’m staying and anticipate lots of outdoor and nature time.

I have not experienced any fear or frightful situations in this country, but two of my coworkers had very harrowing experiences. My one colleague was approached at a red robot (traffic light) by a man with a gun. She had seen him on the side of the road and they made eye contact. She felt unsettled by it and left space between her and the car in front of her. He walked behind her a few cars back and she hoped he had moved on, but then he quickly walked up alongside her car until he was at her window, pointed a gun at her and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened and she drove onto the median and away as he ran off into the woods. She didn’t know if the gun was real or what his intentions were, but she was 10 minutes from her home in Johannesburg at 7:30 at night on a road she travels frequently. Very scary.

My other coworker arrived at the estate entrance where her daughters were having a play date within. A white Mercedes was there and no guards. She sat and waited. The man in the Mercedes got out shakily and then the guards emerged from their hut. It seems the man was held up by a group of young men while he was waiting to check in at the gate, and they stole his wallet, phone and car keys. The men shot a round into the guard house, hence they were inside hunkered down. She did not know if the guards were armed. She missed it by mere seconds. A reminder to stay alert and keep your possessions minimal and out of sight. Pretoria is much safer than Joburg, at least where we are in the East, but you must still be vigilant. People are desperate. It made me think of some false cards and a bit of cash I might put in a wallet that I could easily give up.

It has been quite warm here the past two weeks, with temperatures in the mid to high 80s every day. The sunsets have been exquisite. As I write this, we are having the first rain we’ve had in awhile in the form of a glorious thunderstorm, as Africa does so spectacularly.

I was so excited to get my second piece of mail this week, stamped 29 October! It was a South African flag post card from Gabrielle from the UN, where she visited in the fall! The guard was so happy to give it to me!

I continue to enjoy doing my Les Mills routine in the huge room at my gym. At most, there are 3 other people in there doing their own thing. I’m grateful for the variety of weights, the riser and air conditioning!!! One night it was empty and close to closing, and feeling into my whimsy word of the year, I did some cartwheels across the floor! Here’s one I took for my friend…

I continue to plug away at my protea painting most nights. It’s so relaxing and fun and yet I feel productive, too! My daughter said I should do puzzles, but this kind of feels like a puzzle, as it’s paint by number.

I haven’t had my hair colored in almost 6 months and I’m shocked by how much gray I have in the front. I have an appointment to have it highlighted on Saturday, but Lori and I discussed whether I should do the gray blending so many salons are doing now. Stay tuned…still thinking on it. It certainly would be less time and money! Lori’s hair is growing in beautifully! Sorry, no picture! Sent a video to Lori only.

I’m dreading doing my taxes this year with income from the US and South Africa and other things that seem complex and scary. I’ve put them off about as long as I can, so they are on the agenda for this weekend!

My friend, Yuri was my gym buddy this week (I bought a buddy tag or Sue’s daughter while she was visiting). We each did our workouts, then I sat with him while he ate dinner at the cafe and then we walked on the roof. It was fun to have him, but the gym was so packed at this earlier time (he goes to bed early), so I think it will be a one time thing. Neither one of us cared for the crowd. Planet Fitness Olympus is considered to be the gym for the beautiful people. I will say the fitness level in this country is quite impressive and this gym in particular. Whenever I tell someone where I work out, they say the same thing!

My colleague made me the most delicious tea Tuesday afternoon and I took it with me to my pedicure appointment and sent her a picture. This is Teighler’s lady and I thought I was done once my toes were painted. I bent down to put on my flip flops and she said, “NO! You’re not done!” She proceeded to wash and massage my feet and calves. I was so happy we weren’t done, even thought it was a long appointment.

My friend John and I marked our Friendiversary this week and did a different fun thing each day. I found our original text exchanges (372 on the first day alone) and sent the first few to him. It’s been a fun week of celebration!

I made some more fun and flexible seating options for the kids. They now have a standing desk/counter height chair desk, a fort, and a soft nook to add to the others. They love setting up their offices!!

To celebrate the Olympics, we watch footage of events each day and learn about the athletes. South Africa sent 5 participants this year, which is impressive for a country with almost no snow! They haven’t had a contingent since 2018. We also combine our two classes each day for events out on the soccer pitch. It is so fun! Even though at least one argument breaks out a day. Today’s event was cornhole, which I had NO IDEA Eunine had stashed in her room and now I’m going to beg her to play regularly! It may become one of our Wednesday afternoon sports with my Colleague Sports Team.

My bloodwork panel came back and I was shocked at just how thorough and in depth it was. I have never had that granular level of discovery done before and as it turns out, we found some interesting deficiencies. I’m looking forward to my appointment tomorrow to go over the results. I took out my identifying information and put it through AI to help me interpret and formulate questions. I was shocked to discover that a condition I’ve had for almost 28 years was actually a different variety that needs completely different treatment. With the combination of deficiencies, the symptoms were fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, skin thinning and depression. Other than hair loss and thinning skin, I have none of those, so I’m looking forward to feeling even better than I do now!!

I finished my parent conferences as well as my intervention conference this week and was so pleased to share the good news about my kiddoes. It’s so wonderful to connect with parents and share not just how the students are doing, but the stories that come in and go home!! Some very good laughs!

Arriving early this morning to prepare for this last conference, I stopped at the coffee truck to get my dirty chai. The barista informed me that he had no cups and asked if I had a flask. I had just bought an extra mug at Wooly’s last weekend to bring to school on the rare days I forgot my tea at home. I brought it to him and he filled it all the way to the top! Best start!!

We had a such a fun assembly today about books. The performers acted out opening scenes from a handful of books and grabbed kids from the audience to help. It was so cute! Later, we had our principal read his own book to us and take questions. The kids loved both.

I have a houseplant that is baffling me. It is always wilting. Sometimes it’s dry, sometimes it’s wet. As Liz well knows, all my houseplants get the same treatment…watering on Sunday. I looked this guy up and he’s considered a “dramatic” plant, wilting at the slightest discomfort, such as too much or too little water. Here he is in the sink before school…on a Thursday…because I came down to him dramatically bent over. Being more responsive to my plants’ needs was on my 2026 Goals, so he’s going to help me with his very visible display of (dis)satisfaction!