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?

Coco, you should see plenty around you, they look like pick ups but with a back bit attached yeuk for the brown water, we used to have the same problem in Dar es Salaam. Did they use all the clean water to keep all those footballers clean do you think? Tell me - how on earth do you make finger paints????

Sue I am at the cost of bread and no baking powder. I am really living it up over here in the East, I won't even begin to tell you what we can get here... Seriously now, can I not send you over some sachets of baking powder and some yeast? Please let me.

We have decided on the school! We have gone for the most local one as the traffic, whilst certainly not Lagos standards, is getting increasingly worse and I didn't want to be stuck in the car for the best part of a couple of hours a day, leaving the two boys at home. It has very UK, villagey type feel, now all we have to do is cough up the fees. Yikes.

Hello everyone! This is prncess snow life in a new guise. I changed my name about ten days ago when it looked like spring had really settled in (plus the new name sums me up perfectly!). You can guess what happened though... the snow came back! Ah well!

It's been one of those periods where everything goes wrong at the same time, from big things, like DH's gran in the UK taking ill and wanting to see everyone before her time comes, to smaller things, like a pack of dogs robbing our cockerel of his tail feathers. Sigh. But chin up and battle on (feel like I have been saying that an awful lot lately!).

Gran is doing ok now and has been cheered up by a visit from DH and DS. She is 94 and spent her life until the 1960s running ranches in Kenya single-handedly. Somehow I think she'll get through some winter blues just fine.

Glad to see everyone is doing ok. Lovely to read your post Liger. Shocking bread prices, suedonim . I shall have to remember that for sure the next time I think twice over a 35 pence loaf here (they used to be 15 pence a few months ago) and count myself lucky.

Wishing everyone peaceful times. Will pop back in again soon in my wellies and pyjamas.

Hi there Wellies, great name!

Sorry to hear about your dh's gran, what is her name? I ask because FIL is the ripe old age of 88 next year, fit as fiddle and well known in Kenya in the 60's especially in the field of conservation. Perhaps they know each other

Beautiful blue skies and slight breeze here, you couldn't wish for better.

Hiya!
Quite possible, isn't it. She is from the Hamilton family, and married in to the Hoey family. Her name is Mary. They moved around a lot over the years (her father was a DC) - will try and remember where. Then she ran two cattle ranches in laikipia, and then a dairy farm in naivasha.

"Beautiful blue skies and slight breeze" I have just been looking out the front window tryig to see if I can cheat and drive cross country to get to work in town later rather than tackle the steep lane on my own in the snow. I am such a scaredy-cat wimp!

Bother, just lost my post...what I was saying was, I'm no goddess, CB, just greedy. I want to make scones!! And anyway, I found baking powder today so no heroics required from me. Hope you have water now. I once had to boil gallons of drinking water to bathe dd. It felt sacrilegious. Btw, how do you make finger paints?

CM, thank you for that offer, it's v kind. As you can see, the situation has been resolved. Tbh, most things are available, it's a matter of tracking down which shop is selling it this week. I'm glad you've decided on a school - is it the one with the purple uniform? (Dd is reading over my shoulder and now wants to go to a school with a purple uniform!)

Hello W&pj's. I'm sorry to hear about your trials and tribulations but couldn't help chuckling at your poor cockerel's condition. Are his feathers growing back yet?

Interesting to hear about people in Kenya. Has anyone else read any of Kuki Gallmann's books about her farm in ??Kenya? They're very good.

Oh, and I meant to clarify that not all bread is £4 here! It's that the salt bread we like is not as generally available as sweet bread so we have to take what we can. Yesterday's loaf was a fancy multi-seed effort hence the cost. Normal loaves are about 90p, which is still quite pricey for Africa, I think.

Hee hee! no, no new feathers yet. He really does look ridiculous without them too. But it hasn't affected his performance or his voice. He works as hard as ever, bless him.

Haven't heard of those books. Going off to google them now. Sounds interesting. GMIL wrote a book about her memories too, which I love dipping in to every so often.

Lol at the thought of a 'working' cockerel, snigger.

Is your GMIL's book in print? Sounds fascinating, I love reading that sort of thing. It always sounds as though it happened in another centruy yet it's only 50yrs or less since people lived that way.

She's quite a character is old Kuki, I hear. There is a festival up on her ranch quite soon, if our camping gear arrives we may go and investigate!

My FIL is also writing his memoirs. These people lead such interesting lives. He was in the Kings African Rifles having been born in the bush to a missionary family, he then went on to become a DC, then into National Parks in Tanzania (helping to set up the Serengeti!!). I feel my life is quite dull in comparison I shall ask him if her knows Mary. Interestingly, we are heading up to the Laikipia plateau during the Easter hols, to a place in the Ol Pajeta reserve...

Have you been baking up a storm Sue ? Tell dd that sadly the new uniform will be a dull old navy blue (yippee!)I have paid the whopping deposit so there is no turning back now.

This is an 'only in Africa' moment - poor dh was travelling last night to Delhi via Dubai and on arrival he has discovered his pair of finest almost new black loafers have been knicked out of his suitcase, the lock intact. Now why would anyone in Dubai or Delhi force open a suitcase and then lock it for a pair of shoes?? Hmmm, now would that happen in Nairobi?? Oh yes....

Haven't read the whole thread but wondered if there were other Mumsnetters in the West Indies. I'm not there yet but hope to be soon

Peasoup, there's a Mumsnetter called Anorak who is in Bermuda. Try this thread where there may be others.

Kuki is still in Africa? That's great - she sounds a feisty woman. I bet the festival will be fun.

I've been making more scones, I have such a yummy new recipe. Not that my figure needs scones, I'm trying to avoid fattening things atm.

Following my £4 loaf last week came the £5 coffee today. A new cafe has opened in the shopping mall here so I checked it out this afternoon. A latte is N1300, which is £5.20. Methinks I shall be sticking to my usual haunts for coffee in future - a shame as the new place is very nice indeed.

About the shoes, that's just mean. I don't know whether to tempt fate or not by saying we've been lucky so far.......

at the coffee!!! I think there would be another war here if the price of coffee went up. What would anyone do without coffee to fill the time???

Cameroonmama - FIL sounds fascinating. I think DH's GF was also in the King's African Rifles - so Mary's DH, William Hoey. Will have to check. You'll have to let me know what Laikipia is like. That was where she had her biggest adventures by the sounds of things. She misses Kenya so much still but never returned after leaving in the 60s.

Suedonim - her book is called Turn the hour M.H. Hamilton (using her maiden name).

Cameroonmama - just dipped in to her book quickly and she mentions her DH worked for a while with someone called Archie Ritchie helping to set up Game Reserves. That's not your FIL by some bizarre coincidence, is it?

Wellie, no that's not him, he is a John (Steve) Stephenson The name Hoey sounds familiar to me, I will get sleuthing!

at the coffee Sue! Some of the coffee joints here are pretty pricey too. I blame it on the UN personally.

I've added that to my list of 'Want to read' books, W&pj.

Coco are you around? Someone is hoping to visit Ghana and was looking for some advice here. I have a feeling you are in the UK just now..

I found the mother-lode of baking powder today! I went to a small mall in search of SR flour today and the shelf was groaning under the weight of the baking powder. It was in cans the size of Tate & Lyles 2lb Golden Syrup tins!! That's a lot of scones.

There's been some nasty robberies this weekend. Some of the boarders from dd's school were at a mall when some men tried to rob Shoprite. They couldn't get in and in frustration sprayed bullets round everywhere. Luckily none of the children were hurt but three other people got hit. In another robbery, where a car follows you home and tries to rob you as you go indoors, two security guards were killed.

Sue that sounds dreadful, thank goodness none of the kids were hurt. Things have quite quiet here on that front recently as everyone has been a little preoccupied...

Hooray for the baking powder send some scones over here! I just love the way, in Africa, you come across a little delight like that and it makes your day.

we've got a old new 4X4 car and it can tackle potholes. Unfortunately it can't tackle 3 small people's car seats in the back so dh has had to do some rigging and jigging to strap in the baby's seat! Somehow I don't think it would pass muster in the eyes of Mothercare's finest car seat fitters

as long as they are safe, it doesn't matter at all, cameroonmama

sounds horrible, suedonim
Makes me so grateful to live in somewhere so calm.
Seems silly to say that about Bosnia but really, even compared to living in a Sussex village, this is very peaceful.

But well done on the BP!

about the 4x4. I'm a bit more used to a saloon car again but I can't say as I like it.

I agree about the small pleasures here, things that make your day which folks back home would be totally about.

I don't think scones would make it over to you but I can give you the recipe which is new to me.

We've been to see other apartments today, in case we have to move from this one. I have actually seen the place we went today, about a year ago, and I have to say, it's gone downhill in that year. The pool is almost empty except for a scum of mozzies and other insects and the available apt reeked of diesel, which they tried to tell us was new paint, when it obviously wasn't. I think if you'd struck a match in there it would have gone boom.

The apartment sounds divine .

I would love to be baking scones but unfortunately I have no baking implements as yet, nor sofas, nor beds, nor kids toys and so on and so on ... but I have got a 4x4

Sue, has the judge made his announcement yet on the legality of last year's Presidential elections? Are things about to go pear-shaped or are people not too worried?? Things have hit a bit of an impasse here and even the saintly Mr Annan is sounding impatient.

Bosnia sounds delightfully calm w&pjs, feel free to gloat away.

Yes, the tribunal ruled for Yar'Adua. I'm not sure that there will be too much fall-out. Compared to others, he's been modest in his personal aspirations and most people feel he's not doing too badly, considering the circumstances. It seemed recently that Kenya was on the verge of power-sharing - is that not happening now?

Am at your lack of 'stuff' - are you camping out?? Or living in your 4x4?

i got the impression on the radio Sue that the people think he is doing a good job, hurrah! Whilst I was busy worrying about Nigeria I should have been looking closer to home and checking on Cameroon who are now in the midst of rioting and unrest too Its a difficult road to democracy in Africa.

It was looking all a little shaky here yesterday, more demonstrations planned, Kofi Annan seeming pretty depressed, then, magically he seemed to pull it off and Kibaki has agree to create a Prime Minister who will share power with him. The demos were called off and calm and peace restored. For the moment.. We went out for a Sushi to celebrate

Hello, thought I'd barge in to the world of expat MNet .... we live in Lusaka and have been since 2004 - it's lovely here tho NOTHING ever happens. Which is probably a good thing. And we have a Hilux Surf. Best car ever, until you get to about 30wks PG then you can't get in or out!
We're having daily power cuts at the mo (don't live in same part of town as prez, who by the way also has entire road closed whenever he goes anywhere - yawn), what exactly IS load shedding? Have never really managed to find out properly...
I'm 31 weeks PG at mo with DC2, returning to UK in 5weeks to give birth, with 1st hospital appt at 37weeks - any advice? Last time was so much easier - only DH & bump to worry about, now the chaos of the whole exercise is terrifying me! Will be staying with my elderly parents in Worcs for 6 weeks, worried how DS will adjust... in fact just worried about everything!