mosi nets, power cuts, loose grasp on the local language - anyone else live off the beaten track??

[liger]

...but with access to Mumsnet obviously, so maybe not that unbeaten a track but...
what do you enjoy, what do you find difficult?

I am a SAHM living in Indonesia, there are good things and bad things about being here with a 2 year old and it would be great to share them, anyone else?

I think this is a long-shot, but I think a while back I saw a Mumsnetter in Nigeria, and one who had lived in Cameroon would love to hear from you?

hello all,

ants in kitchen - yup
cockroaches in strange places - yup
mouse with long nose in house - yup
occassional visiting frog in house - yup
HUGE monitor lizard found dead on the street outside our house - yup!

funnily enough I was swooped on by one of those lovely eagles in Ethiopia. It was after my spahgetti dinner but missed thankfully, its wing brushed my cheek it came that close and I was sitting on a verandah! Not easily forgotten.

The main news here is that the little playgroup my ds attends is to close, so much consternation and gossip amongst the small expat community and there is a meeting next week to talk about what happens next. As we are leaving it doesn't really affect us but I will go along for fun!

Sorry I have been quiet for a while, I have been taking time to rest and sleep as I am pregnant, just 7 weeks. So a whole new adventure of morning sickness and strange smells in a foreign land.

Hope you are all well

liger x

Yay! Congratulations Liger!

Cockroaches. Yuck. I lived for five years in Cuba when we were kids and one of the funniest memories my sister and I share is her putting on a t-shirt and finding there was a cockroach inside it... you can picture the scene... her screaming and me slapping her randomly all over her upper body before squishing it. I mean, it's funny now and she laughs about it but she wasn't laughing at the time, believe me! (I, however, being a cruel elder sister, was PMSL throughout!! )

Congratulations, Liger! What lovely news.

One of those kites must have hit our bedroom window yesterday because there was a perfect imprint of a wing on the condensation on the outside of the glass.

PGL, was it one of those ENORMOUS cockroaches, about 3" long, that take days to die? Poor dd found one in her undies drawer when we were in Bali. Poor dh was deafended by the pair of us screeching our heads off!

awww, thanks you two. There aren't many people to share it with here, and I've not yet told the folks back home as they will worry and I will worry they will worry. So its nice to enjoy sharing good news.

We might be going to Bali soon for some R&R! Hope we don't run into the 3 inch cockroach!

PGL, your story made me laugh! I remember slapping dh square on the forehead, i was so focused on the mosi that had landed there it didn't register that i might hurt him!

Congrats Liger! Hope you're feeling well.

Cameroonmama I will have you know that I have NOT been to Shoprite every day this week. For example I didn't go today, as I'm going tomorrow. So there. If I don't go every couple of days, though, how can I be sure it's still there, that it all wasn't a wonderful dream?

Anyway, DH & DS due back tomorrow from a week in London. DH rang tonight to say he had almost everything on the lengthy shopping list I sent with him. If he's not brought cheddar, he'll be sleeping outside with the mosquitos and the cats.

Cars: we own one gas-guzzling 4x4 and one seriously shite red Peugot that looks like it's been around since the Middle Ages. Total Africa taxicab material: no seatbelts, windows you push closed with your bare hands, exposed wiring, leakage into back seat in heavy rain. We don't leave here for nearly a year and every Ghanaian I know is engaged in a bidding war over the Peugot. Nothing holds its value like an old used car in Africa.

Lol Coco about the car - I sold my 15 yr old Corolla for a princely sum! Will have a cheddar sandwich tomorrow and think of you

Liger, that is absolutely brilliant news, many congratulations, I hope you are not feeling too tired and yeuky and are getting loads of rest. We love babies

Coco we have some great south african friends moving from Cameroon to Accra at the end of Nov, maybe you will be bumping into each other in Shoprite

yes suedonim, it was a proper biggie! And what a mess afterwards. I'm surprised my sis didn't get all OCD about scrubbing herself clean afterwards tbh!! I would have!

LOL at the mozzie, liger!

Eeuugh, that's disgusting PGL, your poor sister!

Liger, dh dispatched that particular roach but I dare say there are others....

Lol at the fights over old cars. We have a Pajero at the moment but it belongs to dh's company. If/when we move companies we have to buy our own vehicle.

Coco, I'm chortling at the thought of your dh spending the night outdoors if he fails in his mission to bring cheddar. At the moment, we have some Kerrygold cheddar. It's stuff I'd turn my nose up at home but here it's like the holy grail.

At least when one lives in far-flung parts, it doesn't take much to make one happy. All afternoon yesterday I couldn't help gloating at the prize I found at the supermarket - cardboard boxes! When we leave this apartment we'll need to pack our personal bits (the furniture all belongs to the company) and boxes are like gold dust. Sometimes even the packing firms don't have them.

Anyway, had better go and inspect dh. He seems to have some weirdie bug, a bit tummy-ish, a bit headachey. He's not the moaning type (that's me!) so it must be genuine.

hello everyone,

so the rainy season is definitely here, we had an hour of big rain at lunchtime today, and the weekend was a washout. Puddles and standing water everywhere, and of course mos's too. Have just heard tonight of two expat boys who have malaria, and a baby girl has dengue.

I have been letting ds play out alot less recently, so we are both going slightly loopy, but even when I smother him they still manage to bight him somewhere obscure on his face. I'm a magnet for mosi's anyway and now I am pregnant I don't want to take any risks. Inside and insanity it is. We are off to Bali for the week this weekend, where things should be a bit more relaxed.

Advice and consolation welcome, I just don't want to have a bout of anything when we are getting close to leaving now.

We also had the school meeting I mentioned (the parents who have done most of the organising/running of school/playgroups are leaving and want to had it on), everyone there has a child that needs to go somewhere during the day and the majority showed complete and utter apathy. Fascinating that putting a group of people in a room can result in such a stereotype no matter where they are from, what they do and how much they have in common

Today has been the first day where I haven't been overwhelmd by sickness and had the energy to do the bear minimum. I've been dreaming of food that is impossible to get unless I take a long flight, like salt and vinegar crisps, and humous spread very thinly on warm pita bread - yummmmmm!

okay enough about me, hope you are all well

liger x

Oh Liger, you poor thing re the sickness. I hope it's easing off for good now and that you have a fabby time in Bali. I've had a horrible tummy bug since Tues and been so miserable, esp with all the building work going on here which means I've been surrounded by NOISE NOISE NOISE from 7am to 8 or 9pm each day. I'm still in pj's and we're supposed to be leaving here in less than five hrs for the airport to fly to Paris.

I don't know what to recommend about the mozzies - you'll know all there is to know, I'm sure. Do you have nets, tho? They've proven to be v effective in Africa.

Will come back to this thread when I'm more coherent, lol. Take care, all.

I'm in Vietnam, but havebeen to Laos and Cambodia quite a lot. We just had a typhoon here last week. For the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to see boats coming down the road....

My Vietnamese is quite good now. I'm the only blind foreigner here though, so I had to learn it very quckly. On the other hand, I get to hear what the locals really think, which is often very hurtful at first. I use my "decent" language skills to explain things to them. Many tourists ask me if its difficult to get around. Its much more challenging trying to change the mentality of the people.

hi globetrotterinvietnam! how long have you been there?

We're in 'proper' winter here now. Under snow and likely to stay this way now until spring, which could be as late as April or May . Been doing lots of sledging to warm up so that has been fun, but I'm not a fan of snow driving! The lane to get to our house at the top of a steep hill is not do-able without snow chains and a lot of bravery... so I find myself calling DH down to get me a lot!

Roll on my blissful hot summers.........
Sigh

Hope you're feeling a bit better now Liger

Liger, I hope you are feeling better soon, a bit of ginger in some boiling water always helped me. Mossies and malaria are my speciality obviously I know more about African strains but will have a look in my malariology book to gem up on SE Asia and get back to you. In the meantime I hope you having a good bit of randr in Bali. I am quite

Sue, sorry to hear you are feeling rotten too. There is a massive novovirus, v&d bug going round and round school here wiping out all and sundry. The only kids not affected are mine, I put it down to their African immune systems I presume you are going to Paris for your son's wedding, is it that time already? I hope you feel better before the wedding, and that it all goes well. I look forward to hearing about it.

Princess, snow brrrrrrrr poor you, I shall send you some of my hot African sun when we arrive in January

Globetrotterinvietnam, what are doing in vietnam? My bf has just come back from a holiday there and absolutely raved about it.

Princess, I've been here for almost a year now.

Cameroon, how hot does it get over there? I set up a charity here to gaain rights and help for disabled people. its very challenging..... One day, something really nice will happen, but in the meantime, there's a lot of work to be done.

DH has returned with plenty of cheddar, a smattering of Stilton, a couple bars of Green and Blacks and a great big box of Godiva truffles. Which is so very wonderful that I'm going to forgive him not finding unsweetened chestnut puree. It was a longshot.

The mozzies here are ridiculous with all the rain. Several expat kids down with malaria, and Liger I know what you mean about not leaving the house. I'm only on C+P against malaria while breastfeeding and of course baby DD is on nothing, so I don't much let her out of the house! She stares wistfully out at the banana trees and I can tell she wants to go exploring, but it's like Transylvania in the garden with all the bloodsuckers out.

I keep telling myself that it's not so bad as next year by the time she's walking we'll be in Brasilia, and there's no malaria there.

Hello, Sue here, signing in from Paris on dd1's laptop!! I don't know how I managed it but I got on that flight on Sat and am now having a fab time in Paris.

The apartment is nice in itself but dirty and under-equipped; a French home with no wine glasses!!!! But it's so fab to have all four dc around and of course the food and the shopping are all adding to the fun. I even had my hair cut yesterday and felt sooooo sophisticated as well as 10yrs younger.

Ds2 gave us THE best news when he met us. He has just been awarded his PhD in Psychology. After a hiatus, he decided to 'go for it' and is now the proud possessor of the record time for a PhD in his department - 3yrs and 3weeks. Mind you, having witnessed the madness of traffic during the current transport strike in France, we are actually more impressed that he is brave enough to drive down the Champs Elysee than call himself 'Doctor'.

I forgot a little gem from dd2. I asked her if she was enjoying Paris (she's been here briefly once before) and having a good time. "Yes," she said "I really must come here more often."

Anyone there?

Hey Sue, good to hear you have been having fun in Paris and congrats on your ds's Phd, how fabulous!

Are you back in Lagos now? What will you do for Christmas? How was the wedding?

Not much time to post at the moment, buying, sorting, packing and Christmas, plus the three dc on my own as dh is in Nairobi for 6 weeks, leaves me little time. The good news is dh has found us a wonderful new home, an amazing old 1940's house, what a change from West African concrete blocks

How is everyone else? Liger are you getting over your morning sickness? Princess how is the cold? Globetrotter, how is the work? It sounds very interesting, I'd love to hear more about it. And Coco you posh old thing, how are your mossies? I meant to say that C+P is no longer effective... As long as the baby (or you and dc of course!) is not bitten around dusk or dawn and I presume you are all sleeping under nets, then the risk of malaria is small, however the whole bites and scratchy business is more of a nuissance imo. Mosiguard was the only repellent that ever worked for us.

Good to hear from you, Cameroonmama, I thought I'd been abandoned here! Yes, we're back in Lagos, for two weeks. Dd and I leave on 14th to go home. Poor dh is working Xmas so he'll get home on 28th Dec. There are a couple of wedding pics on my profile, if you're interested. Also a report of the chaos we caused at the airport in Paris. Embarassment

Your new home sounds lovely, I bet you can't wait to get there. My mum's aunt & uncle lived in Tanzania in the 50's/60's and she had a beautiful house. Princess Margaret stayed there when she went on a visit one time! The photos are v evocative of colonial days. When are you leaving the UK? Is your dh home for Xmas?

Sue. How radiant your whole family looks and how lovely to finally see you.

But what a shame dh won't be back for Christmas, that's really tough. Where is 'home' in the UK? Dh will be back on the 15th and we will have a christening for ds2 the following day. A quick Christmas, then the shippers come on the 27/28th and we fly out all together (for once!!) on Jan 2nd. Phew, not long to go, but so much to sort out....

Welcome back to the heat, sue. DS came out of school today, sweat dripping down his reddened little face and said, for the first time ever, Mummy it's HOT. Oddly enough, he's never before complained of the heat. There's always a point in the year where the temperature just ratchets up that notch from quite hot to mildly hellish and it always takes me a few days to get used to it.

Many congrats on your DS's PhD. Wonderful news.

Cameroonmama, yes we do sleep under nets and I mop the kids down with Mosiguard (foul-smelling but effective!), and DS and DH are on Larium. But malaria is really bad this season, worst I've seen it. So I reckon it pays to be extra special paranoid with DD while she's so tiny.

Lucky you with the lovely house in Nairobi! I have one of the West African concrete blocks. It's actually a nice family home inside, but it won't win any prizes for looks.