The return...

Its been 2 weeks since I last blogged.

Feels like forever!

I have missed checking in on all my friends blogs and must apologise for this.

I must however fill you in on a little something that would help to explain why I have not left tons of love-filled comments as per usual.

We have dial-up here on the farm.

Yes, I just said dial-up.

Yes, you are probably groaning in sympathy.

Thank you for your care.

Just to explain furthur...it took me 10 mins to open this blog. My blog. 10 mins.

So, I double clicked on the little Internet Explorer icon that brings up all my friends that live in my computer.

Then I went and poured myself a glass of coke.

Came back.

Still no action on the precious computer.

Got a little anxious, but saw that the little green lines were loading at the bottom of the screen, so that meant at least there was progress.

Went and saw what was on the tv.

Came back and Google was there! Typed in my blog address.

Drank more coke.





Drank more coke.





Ate a cookie.




(At this rate Im going to put on weight everytime I want to blog)




Success!! My blog page was open.

Me: Click "sign in" on blog page.
Drink coke
Me: What! Still no sign in page?
Drink Coke
Me: Ok, this is beginning to slightly annoy me.
Drink more Coke
Finally! Blog sign in page open.


You can probably guess how the rest went. No need to torment myself furthur.

But..I am now here and Im going to do the unthinkable..Im going to try and load pictures! This might take awhile..at the moment, the date on the top of the page says 17th December. If you only however read this on the 18th or 19th you will know why.

I left SA on a bright and sunny Saturday morning on the 29th November. Leaving Ryan and my little flat and all my friends was heartbreaking. But, I had to concentrate on the fact that the ship was delayed, I had already given up my job and couldnt stay in SA for very much longer with no work. So, I packed my bags, gave notice at my flat and got on a plane to come and see my family that I havent seen for the past year.

After way too many hours of being in the air, (10 to be exact) I landed at Hong Kong Airport. This is where the fun starts because I had a 19hr wait at the airport to catch the next 12hr flight to New Zealand.

I did something very smart in my books.

I went and waited outside the doors of the First Class Airport lounge and asked everyone who went past if I could come in as their guest!!
I am sneaky I know. But every First Class passenger can bring a guest into the lounge, completely free of charge! So, in my opinion, why did I have to find a hard bench to lie on and try and sleep/watch that my luggage doesnt get scooped, when I could go into the lap of luxury.

After being there for a little while, I did get in!

Oh Joy! Happiness! Absolute elation!

Why am I so happy do you ask?

Is it maybe because they have HUGE showers and bathrooms, equipped with everything you need to feel better after such a long flight?

Answer: Yes

Is it also maybe because they have computers with FAST internet that you can stay on for hours for free?

Answer: Yes

Is it maybe because while you are on these amazingly fast internet machines, they bring you coffee and biscuits?

Answer: Yet again, yes.

There were also rooms that you could go and lie down in, complete with sleeping chair-thing, tv, music and aircon.

And of course, a buffet (Elastic...are you reading this? You would be proud) I ate 3 times at the buffet. Before you all shake your heads in disbelief, I was there for 19hrs remember?

While I was in the bathroom, I thought about my blog and what I could say on the next one (this one!) I then took these "cool" and "not so cool" things about my trip:

Cool: Buying a new bag before I left to use as a super-big-can-fit-the-kitchen-sink-bag for my travels.

Not so cool: Having the handle break when getting off the plane in Hong Kong.

Cool: Getting a box of yummy chocolate covered Almonds as a present from someone at work.

Not so cool: Having the above-mentioned Almonds all fall out into the bottom of the above-mentioned broken bag filled with too much stuff to find them until I got to NZ and could unpack.

And 2 very cool things I discovered once I got onto the plane to come to NZ:

We got the new plane! With cool seats and new audio visual equipment!!

And lastly..something that really is very cool indeed..being with my family...

Going for a bare-back ride with Ian, my little brother

Out in the city with Colleen...

So, thats about all from me for the time being..

ps: In the time it took me to upload these pics, I ate a choc bar, went and fetched somewarm warm to wear, put on socks and warm item of clothing, checked the tv guide and watched 5 mins of Pursuit of Happyness.

Thats all.

:)

Hello

Im in New Zealand.

I got here on Monday afternoon.

I miss Ryan.

Until I feel a little better, I will leave the "leaving, flying, landing" post for another day.

Just dont forget about me ok?

Thanks.

Last day...

Today I feel sad.

No, change that, I feel very sad.

Today is my last day at work, my last day in South Africa and my last day with Ryan.

I feel completely miserable.

I get on a plane tomorrow morning at 09.50am. As much as I was looking forward to going to see my family, Im feeling so heartsore to leave everything behind here. It always seems as though I am leaving somebody behind, with the love of my life in South Africa and my family in New Zealand.

Why does this have to be so hard? Why couldnt they just both be in the same place?

If you're reading this and you pray...pls pray for me for strength.

Ps: If you read this blog, please can you leave a comment so that I can follow through to your blog through the comments, as I dont have any blogs saved on any sort of reader, so when I leave here, I wont know whose blogs I read... :(

Pss: As from today, my new email address is lolli_ka_bolli@yahoo.com.au
I have changed it on blogger, so if you reply to a comment, it will come to that address...

Happiness!

Lauren often does a post as to why she is happy today.

Now its my turn.

The number one reason why Rochelle is happy today:





SHE WILL BE HERE ON MONDAY 1ST DECEMBER!!!





SHE IS GOING HOME TO NEW ZEALAND ON THE 29TH NOVEMBER!!!! (and yes, it takes an entire weekend to fly there, and yes, I have a 14hr transit in Hong Kong!)



God is beyond amazing. He has provided me with the means and money to buy a ticket to go home and see my family before I go on the ship next year.

The God I serve is truely awesome.

Thats about all I can manage to say for now..its hasnt really even sunk in yet.

PS: Its a complete surprise for my parents, so they have no idea I am almost on my way!!!!

I want to go home now...

Can anyone help with a 15 000 Rand air ticket to go back here for Christmas?

The ship is going to be delayed until 2009, so Im really down and just wanna go home - I got these pics today and just burst into tears at my desk. Am I a big 22 year old baby?

I will answer that.

Yes.

PS: I have looked at these only about 3 katrillion gazillion times today. Do I get teary eyed everytime?

You guessed it...

Why pets hate Halloween...

I know, I know, before you all start throwing calenders at me,its already mid-November, but I have been meaning to post this since Halloween, so it still counts.

So there.

Mondays...

...Are just too terrible for words.

Honestly, they are the worst day of the week. Just when you get used to the weekend, Monday comes along and spoils everything.

Mondays should be included in the weekend.

Who wants to start a campaign with me?

This weekend was a busy one to say the least.

But, before I get to that, I must address the question of the "9 inch heels" :) I use it as a figure of speech and so in fact, there were not actually 9 inches, but out of interest I did measure them and they are 4.5 inches. Which is bad enough to stand on for 6hrs a day, 2 days in a row. Here are the suckers. Sympathy is needed..go ahead. Especially since I have to do this again at the end of November. What is that I hear you say? I have a hole in my head? Yes dear friends, the need for some extra cash does strange things to ones reasoning.

I managed to get some colouring in books and crayons through my work to donate to a Christmas party that was held at one of the government hospitals nearby. I went along to it and to visit the kids that were in the hospital.

I went there thinking that I was going to be the one to make a difference in the kids lives, but came away feeling as though they were the ones who made a difference in my life.

The hospital is a typical South African government one. Underfunded and under staffed. They have to make do with broken/faulty machines and facilities that are in desperate need of upliftment. But, the nurses here are wonderful. They hardly get paid anything and yet, they give of themselves everyday. The children who are there are from families that cannot afford private health care and so, when the kids get sick, they land up there. Some children have been there for months. Parents dont stay nearby and dont have the transport to visit the children often and so, they get very lonely and bored. We stayed with them for 3 hrs on Saturday morning and gave them presents and treats. Because it was a Christian based party we prayed with some of the mothers who were there with their tiny babies who more often that not were HIV positive. Here are some of the precious children we spent time with.

If only people could appreciate what they have. Some of these kids have been there for months, have tubes coming out everywhere, but still smile when we come past. Its heart-wrenching and makes you realise that your problems arent so bad after all.