robbed!

I had so many ideas for what my next entry would be about. We're moving to Zimbabwe and writing about that excitement was definitely in the works, or sharing a bit about the "homework" I've given myself for while we're there. There were other thoughts in my head and I had written them all down in my notebook that I carry with me everywhere; I had decorated it to make it more interesting, pasted a calendar in there, recorded recipes, phone numbers, to do lists, thoughts about life, I wrote it all in one place so I wouldn't have a ton of little pieces of paper everywhere. It's really a good system for me and I like it more than just buying a day planner because I designed it to my liking. There is nothing worse than having that important piece of my life taken, except of course when other things are stolen at the same time...

After a hectic week of visiting with Jason's parents (not the hectic part), preparing for and helping out at the Community Health Club graduation for Jason's work, and then packing up our lives to fit into the Beast, we started our journey to Zimbabwe. First stop was Durban for a night out with our good friends Jamie, Justin and Heather.

Most of us are tired of the backpackers we've been staying at in Durban, so Jamie was determined to find a classy one that we could rely on that didn't seem sketch. She hit home and we met up at Gibela Lodge, located in a decent part of town, close to restaurants and bars. They were pretty booked so we were all going to share a dorm room together until a double opened up and Jamie and Justin snagged it since Jamie's moving to Tanzania soon. We got dolled up for the evening and went out for a night on the town, all within walking distance. We ate at a really nice Indian restaurant and then went out for drinks at Bean Bag Bohemia before calling it a night and heading back to Gibela around 1:00 am.

Since packing our belongings into the Beast, we were worried about the security for the truck. Normally we're diligent about keeping our valuables out of site but this place seemed really secure and no one seemed sketchy. Instead, they were lying around the room because we trusted the peeps in the room - there were 3 of us and the one other American, Molly, who's a Fullbright scholar. At 5:00 am, I woke up to the sound of my toiletry bag being moved. I saw a man grabbing it and because there is a liner inside, it makes a crinkling sound. I saw someone leave the room and close the door so I asked Jason if he had grabbed my bag but it was clear by his sleepy response that he was not the one. I had a fleeting thought that someone from the backpackers had come in to the room to take my cake and put it in the kitchen since we weren't allowed to have food in the room. That quickly didn't make sense and Jason had already run out of the room trying to find whoever it was that would take a toiletry bag. While he was out, I jumped off the top bunk waking Molly and Heather. Molly discovered her phone, that was right by her head on her pillow had been taken, and he purse was in the middle of the room with no wallet inside. As soon as she mentioned purse, I knew right away that mine was gone because I was standing right where it should have been. My phone was on the dresser and that was gone as well. Jason came back in and I asked him where his wallet was and sure enough, both his wallet and phone were also gone.

We ran outside desperate to find the guy or remnants of our stuff but to no avail. The man that runs the backpackers was shocked to find out we were robbed in the room because he hasn't had an incident in the 7 years he's worked there. Plus there are cameras all around the property so the thief's mug is all over the videos. It turns out that another group that was staying at the lodge had come home after us, around 3:00 or 4:00 am and the last guy in, that stayed out to smoke a cigarette, didn't relock the back door. They most likely were followed home from the bar and the guy waited till all was quiet inside, hopped the fence of the house next door then hopped the wall between the two properties. The unfortunate thing is that our room was in the line of site from the door and because it's a dorm room, it didn't lock. Most likely we scared the crap out of the guy when we woke up so he only had a chance to get into our room.

Maddening: R3,500 cash, our drivers licenses, bank cards, credit cards, phones, my passport, my handy dandy notebook, the capias samples that my mom had made, and my freaking toiletry bag that was a Christmas present. It looks like a purse and had nothing but my toiletries in it, like Burt's Bees foot crème, shampoo & conditioner, soap, deodorant that I can only get in the states, etc. It's frustrating because both Jason and my wallets were taken so that means we have no backup. Our trip to Zim is delayed because we have to wait for new bank cards/credit cards and of course my passport. We were able to get our same phone numbers back, which is nice and our phones were insured so we'll get new ones on Friday. Luckily we have great friends and they fronted us money so we could make the trip up to Joburg and get all these things sorted out.

Of course I keep going over it in my mind. I had a hard time sleeping Sunday night. In the last 2 days, we've heard of 3 separate robbery incidents that have happened in the last 3 days. Yes, it can happen anywhere in the world, but the frequency of the incidents in South Africa make it unique. And it makes it hard to continue loving this country. We let our guard down for a moment, and there was no reason why we should feel guilty that we did - every thing just happened to be in perfect unison for this guy to come waltzing into the backpackers and go into our dorm room and take our stuff.

So my next challenge is to just let it go. No one was hurt and we can replace most things that were stolen. Except of course, my notebook but I'll survive without it and create a new one of those too. Now I just have to make sure this doesn't make me too jaded. I can't let the anger consume me, I have to just let it go. Let it go, let it go...

the hazards of living...anywhere

Anger. Towards humanity. Frustration. At myself. The desire to punch a small African man in the face. Fire coming out of my mouth, singeing those around me (mostly Jason) with ugly words. This is how I felt Friday afternoon after my iPod was stolen. I walked out of the post office and a small man startled me by shoving a plastic bag towards me and asking if I wanted to buy something. He was so close he freaked me out so I told him no and that he shouldn't sneak up on people. A moment later I felt inside the outside pocket of my bag and realized my mistake. But it was already too late and when I turned around the little man was nowhere in site. Jason was across the street and felt the heat when I stormed to the car cursing myself for being so stupid and angry at the man for taking something that clearly didn't belong to him. I even marched back across the street to storm around for a few minutes looking for this small non descript African man, knowing full well that I didn't get a good enough look. But a pink leather iPod case isn't too hard to miss so I was at least going to look for someone that was manhandling something like that. Of course no dice so back to the car, where Jason again felt the heat of my anger until a few tears rolled down my cheeks because that's usually how my anger ends up manifesting itself.

As I typed the word 'iPod', I know it sounds silly to get up in arms about the luxury of it. I am happy that it wasn't my phone or my wallet or something that is a bit harder to live without. But it was mine, given to me by a good friend. My original iPod, that my brother sweetly bought for me, died while I was in Peace Corps. I tried to save some of my resettling allowance to replace it but after taking care of a few other things, I couldn't really justify buying one. Both my sister and my best friend Elysia happened to have old nanos lying around and they each gave me one. So at one point I actually had 2 iPod's, talk about luxury. While I was putting one to good use, I gave one to my friend to use. He had no kind of music listening device and it was just silly that one of my iPod's was collecting dust. So then this little, non descript, African man decides that he's going to invade my personal space and take something I really appreciate having on a daily basis. I'm kicking myself for leaving it in that pocket. I had a fleeting thought it wasn't the best place for it but I'm always on my guard, my bag close to my side and with my game face on. You know, the one that says 'don't mess with me I'm on a mission and I'll be mean if you do'.

At our next post office stop, I had to wait in quiet a long queue (that's what they call it here, not line). It was way past lunch so clearly I was getting to the cranky stage but there was a really nice man behind me that struck up a conversation. The usual inquiries about where I'm from, how long have I lived here, do I like it, etc. Of course I was a little bit more bitter and told him that I love the country but I was pick pocketed earlier and feeling a bit jaded. Of course I know that this can happen anywhere and it doesn't mean that South Africa is bad. It's not, plus this man was so nice, I couldn't help but have my faith in humanity restored. He even told me a story about when he lived in New York for a year he and a friend got mugged. He being from Africa, took the tough guy route and told the guys to shove off but his friend didn't and they took his wallet. Anyway, point of the story being that this kind of thing happens anywhere and I really did feel much better after talking to him.

So I thank the man with the kind soul at the Pinetown post office. Where ever you happen to be at the moment I am sending good thoughts and vibes your way. And to the small non descript African man, I hope karma comes around and bites you in the ass. I just wish I could see it when it does.

trying this simple'ology thing out...

I just found a link that maybe can help me improve my blogging...oh it sounds so nerdy, I know but really, I feel as though I'm missing a key element. And these guys are offering advice for free so I'm going to try it out. Here's the bit I have to post:

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

Sounds good so far...I'll update on my progress and whether it's worth it!!

wedding bells for katie

My little sister got married. I almost can't believe it. But I guess since her facebook status says she's married and she's now Katie Steinhoff and not Katie Hotard anymore, it must be real. She's off on her honeymoon and I couldn’t be happier for her. The celebrations surrounding her big day and the wedding itself were amazing. I was home for 3 weeks and I swear, it was the busiest time I've had in probably the past year! Every day was filled with tasks to check off of the to-do lists. When I collapsed into bed each night, I barely hit the pillow before being fast asleep. It was hectic trying to get all the things done for her wedding while still planning and doing stuff for mine as well but everything got done and her big day went off without any hitches.


Katie was beautiful and there wasn't a moment when she didn't have a huge smile on her face (ok - maybe during the 900th picture of the family).


The reception was at the Pearl Stable and it was set for 350 and we maxed that place out - there wasn't an open seat in the house! We danced all night and had our fill of fajitas and margaritas! Oh, and the best part was the nacho cheese fountain… it really doesn't get much better than flowing cheese on top of mexican food! Rickey, Jason and I were in charge of delivering all the presents to their house after the reception - we filled an entire van with all the back seats down plus the backseat and trunk of a smaller sedan. CRAZY! What generous family and friends they have - they are so fortunate to start off their life together set with all the kitchen ware and tools any family could want!
It was fun to see how her big day unfolded - sort of a good trial run for me. It was perfect for her but there are numerous things that will be completely different for my big day. For instance, we aren't having a church wedding so it won't be as formal. Not as many bridesmaids/groomsmen and definitely not as many people. It's fun to see how as sisters, we are so much alike but that our tastes are also so different.

I'm so happy that I got to see and talk with my entire family. The time with them is never long enough but just seeing them for the few days was worth it…plus we're all getting back together in Puerto Rico in just 5 short months!

Here's a picture of most of the cousins from the Hotard-Escudero family - we're missing Andrea & Chris and their 2 cute kids Jay & Ava, Fred had to work, Cessly was in Colorado and Jeff had to stay back in Louisiana for some studying (and evidently a date)...Oh and Cameron but he was technically there, he was just in the middle of his nap time.

Alex, Linden, Sofia, Diego, Joey, Rickey, Jamie, Jason, Graham, Anne-Marie, Lee
Bryn, Teresa, Marisa, Paul, Katie, Christy
Jennifer, Jon, Kara, Mia
Ryan, Zach, Anderson, Campbell, and little Ana

birthday bash

This year I got to celebrate my birthday at home in San Antonio with my family. Nothing big was planned but I did have to get my driver's license renewed. So off I went to the DMV - not as early as I hoped, but spending the few hours in the morning with my mom and Anne-Marie was nice. And even though nothing was on the agenda, I still wanted to look pretty, so I got dolled up in my new dress and some of Anne-Marie's Premier Designs jewelry. At the DMV I was told I needed my Social Security card because it had been too long since I had a TX drivers license. Unfortunately I had lost my card a few years ago while living in Colorado (flew out of my wallet going over Monarch pass in an open jeep, oops) so off I went to find the Social Security office.

After getting directions from my mom, then stopping at a gas station to figure out where I went wrong, turning around and at least finding the right street, I still was having some problems locating the building. While driving in a parking lot and craning my neck to try and find the silly office, I ran into another car that was coming up from the perpendicular lane. Ugh. I immediately burst into tears because who wants to get into a car accident on their birthday while in their sister's car! The other people were friendly, probably not sure what to do with this blubbering idiot. We exchanged information and after a million calls between me, my mom, dad and Anne-Marie, I was assured that it wasn't exactly the end of the world.

I circled around the area another couple of times, I finally found the office and had to wait another half an hour to get my number called. Then back to the DMV, where I got to skip the line only to be given another number where I had to wait another hour before getting called.

Despite the horrible car blunder, the rest of the day was actually really nice. Teresa and I made home made wheat pizzas for dinner. We even tossed the dough in the air a few times! They were delicious - spinach & feta, veggie, pepperoni & sausage and cheese.


Cupcakes for dessert, compliments of my dear friend Elysia, and poppy seed bread that my mom got up early to make for me. The Belisle's (minus Janet) came over and joined the chaos - it's always nice to have close family friends join in a celebration. After some presents and merriment, Katie, Paul, Teresa and I went off to the movies to see The Proposal, which had me in hysterics most of the time. I guess since 29 isn't exactly a major celebration year, I needed something to make this birthday a memorable one. The good news is my $5 a year touring policy through USAA is covering the damages to Anne-Marie's car and her insurance is covering the damages to the other car. It all works out in the end.