Rocky Road

No, not the ice cream, but our ongoing struggles here.

We had organized our new rental house - everything was perfect. We just need to pay the deposit tomorrow. So Brad was frantically shopping online for beds, crockery and other essentials. He paid for the transaction, (a third of the total money we currently have available) but there was an error. He tried again, same error. So he checked the bank balance and found that the transaction was indeed processed - twice. The bank is holding two thirds of all our money in a "pending" status, but the order doesn't exist. And now we don't have money for the rental deposit tomorrow...

On the bright side, we are getting ready for Halloween this weekend. The kids have their costumes, and we went to a pumpkin patch today to pick out our pumpkins. It was quite cute, with little wagons to put your pumpkins on, and vintage tractors for the kids to play on. Nikhil had his heart set on a "gourd", a little miniature pumpkin about 10cm in diameter, so he got one of those too.

Then we took the kids to a neighbourhood park, and that reminded me why we moved to the States in the first place. The park was clean, safe, and well-maintained. The play area was paved with a spongy Astroturf-type material to minimize injury. The equipment was divided into a 2-5 year old area and a 5-12 year old area. There was a water fountain to play in, like the one in Nelson Mandela Square. All the parks in this city have these water features. The equipment was interesting and inventive and clean. The public toilets at the park were clean and usable! There was toilet paper! At the entrance to the park, there was a dispenser for dog-poop bags. Nikhil had to be dragged away.

We asked him what he thinks of our new home, the hotel room. He says he likes it, but it doesn't have stairs or a lounge. He got quite concerned today because his fishing rod is lost. We assured him it was not lost but in safekeeping with his grandfather, waiting for him to use when we go to South Africa for a visit. Well, now he wants to go to South Africa. He's also missing his hinged training chopsticks. He threw a tantrum when we gave him real chopsticks and broke the top to separate them - he wanted them joined like his old ones. We bought him a book of nursery rhymes that came with a CD. He treasures it because it's the only CD he has. No wonder he's being difficult - he's feeling his losses more acutely than he says.

Tomorrow is pumpkin carving night. Looking forward to it!