I'm Baaaack!

Boy, was that a fast two weeks! I had a great time at home, even if it did snow every other day the whole time. I shoveled more snow in two weeks than I did all of last year. Okay, maybe not, but it sure felt like it. The cool weather was a refreshing change from summer heat - I'm not sure which is worse, an unheated apartment in the winter or an uncooled one in the summer. My wife recognized me at the airport, which was a good sign (my hair was a bit longer than usual, but that didn't seem to matter). The dogs weren't sure what to make of me for the first couple days, but they eventually settled into the old routines of tug-o-war and treats.

Re-entry into America wasn't as bad this time as it was when we moved back from Johannesburg. I don't think I was gone long enough. It is amazing, though, at just how many options we have for food, clothes, and a whole lot of stuff we buy but don't really need. I walked through the malls with new eyes, regularly saying to myself "That looks nice but I don't need it." That's a big change for me - in the past if I saw a nice shirt, I'd buy it. Even if I had one kinda like it already. Now I just think I'll wear the old one and move on.

At the grocery store, it was almost paralyzing at times. I'm used to having just a few yoghurt choices. I must have stood in Cub's dairy aisle for five minutes trying to pick from the 30 brands they have. Fruit on top or on the bottom? Fat free, low fat, or regular? Low calorie or with sugar? Custard-style or normal? Yikes!

I did some price comparisons on clothes and food. South Africa is actually cheaper on most basic items, which surprised me. For example, coloured t-shirts: they were $5 at Target and are only $3.50 at Woolworths (the upscale store). I can get them for under $3 elsewhere if I bother to look around. The same is true for slacks, shirts, and non-name brand items (Levis are outrageously expensive, but store brands aren't). Most food items are cheaper here, including milk, bread, meat, and most canned goods. Of course, non-commodity items are much cheaper in the U.S. Electronics, books, and cars are all much cheaper. And the U.S. stores have broader selections than South Africa, with higher quality. The biggest economic difference is salaries, which are 1/3 to 1/2 the amount here. So, even with the low cost of basic items, it's an expensive place to live if paid locally in Rand.

I spent a couple hours at the Centre today catching up on some e-mails and getting the new gossip. Not much had happened while I was gone, except one key passing. Mama Bopape's husband, who was struggling with a whole host of conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure and TB, apparently had a stroke and died on December 26th. He had been having a very difficult time with his health since about June 2007. I visited him in August and he was pretty weak and very thin. In November he had a spell of very low blood sugar and was hospitalized for a couple days. I saw him not long before I left and he was doing much better. We had a nice conversation, and he seemed to be more mobile than in the past few months. I spoke with Mama Nqo today and she said he was continuing to improve, but suddenly changed just before Christmas and never recovered. To add insult to injury, his sister also died last week (on the 31st), very unexpectedly although she had had HIV for a long time. Needless to say, there was a lot of sadness in the house. Funeral services are tomorrow and I expect there will be a lot of crying.

I also had a little excitement when I got back to my apartment. A friend from Minneapolis and his partner had been using the second bedroom in my apartment while I was away, starting about 4 days after I left. When I got back, I was surprised to see my bedroom in disarray. The closets were open, clothes were all over the floor, and items had been taken off my bookcase. When I asked my friend if he saw that, he said "Yes, and I thought it was a little funny. But, we thought that maybe you left in a hurry and didn't pick it up."

As you've no doubt guessed, I had a burglary. They must have had keys, as there were no signs of forced entry and the windows were all closed and locked from the inside. How they would have had keys I don't know, since I had both sets with me in Minneapolis. And my keys rarely left my pocket while I was here, except when I'd occasionally leave them in my backpack at the Centre (and no one could see them). It's possible someone took them and had copies made, but I think it's more likely that a previous tenant's keys got swiped or copied or that the security guards had a set. I did a quick inventory, and except for R1000 and my GPS device, nothing else appeared to be missing. I got away lucky.

Or so I thought.

Today, Cindy called me to say our cell phone account had been put on hold because the balance was extremely high. Like $7,100 high. She asked if I had my US cell phone, which I did because I used it while I was in Minneapolis. But, I forgot about my Blackberry (for those of you not up on technology, it's a small device you use to get e-mail when away from home, and it can also act as a cell phone). Sure enough, it's gone. In the two weeks I was away, someone made over 78 hours of cell phone calls from my Blackberry, each one at about $1.50 a minute. That's over 3 full days of phone calls. I managed to get some of it discounted, but it was still an expensive lesson.

A word to the wise: check your cell phone contract for you liability if your phone is lost or stolen. T-Mobile told me today that the customer is liable as long as the phone is not reported missing. Being 10,000 miles away from your phone for two weeks is no excuse. If you go away and don't take your phone, leave it with a friend or take the SIM card out of it so it's unusable.

It really could have been worse. If they truly had keys, they could have come when I was sleeping or any day when I was working. They didn't get my computer (I took it home with me), and they didn't steal the TV, stereo, DVD player, or a number of small items I had. Heck, they could have come back on several different days and cleaned out everything. When Cindy and I lived in Johannesburg we'd hear about whole houses being emptied, including carpets and curtains and woodwork. I now have new locks and no one else has keys, so I feel pretty safe and secure.

I have some busy days coming up. I know Yvonne is looking forward to having me back, so there should be some good stories there. There are two college groups coming in January, one from the University of St. Thomas and another from Bethel University (both, coincidentally, from the Twin Cities). And, a third group is coming in early February, this one from Belfast. All that plus covering at least one week's vacation for Tami at the clinic in addition to my normal schedule. My last two months (8 1/2 weeks but who's counting?) should go very fast.

More to come.