Jeremy Goes to Johannesburg

This past weekend we spent in Johannesburg, We piled all our suitcases, diaper bag, computer, cosmetic bag, all our luggage back in our little hatchback and made it into Johannesburg just before rush hour. Jeremy, bless his little heart, slept the whole way, which was a real answer to prayer as we were very nervous about driving in the big city traffic.

We stayed at Sandton Suites, an apartment complex that rents out some of its apartments as a hotel. So…we had a kitchen, eating area, living room, two large bedrooms with two ensuite bathrooms and a large outdoor patio. The place seemed huge! After being cooped up in hotel rooms for the last 2 weeks it felt very strange. We realized that since we had picked up Jeremy from the baby house, we had not been further than two metres away from him. It was a strange thing to put him down for a nap and then leave the room to cook supper in the kitchen or watch TV in the living room. He seemed so far away from us!Jeremy is doing wonderfully! He is such a smiley happy baby. He is nursing well, sleeping well, travelling well and he is so sweet. One advantage of having an apartment we realized, is that there are more options for Jeremy. Until now, he was either in his carseat, on the bed, or in our arms. We missed things like baby swings, exersaucers, and bouncy seats. But in Johannesberg, suddenly there was a couch! Wow! We soon got used to sitting him in the corner of the couch with a big pillow across his lap for support. That allowed him to sit up and look around, and look at the books and toys we propped up in front of him.

Jeremy is getting stronger daily too. He holds his head up like a pro, and has now begun to “stand” a little on his legs. Until now, when we held him up, he did not put any weight whatsoever on his legs. It’s neat to see him change.

First impressions of Johannesburg are it's hectic and busy, and it is made up of walls. There are high walls around everything. Every house, store, school, office building, shopping plaza, everything has at least a six foot high wall, most topped with barbed wire or electric fencing. As a result, it doesn't feel like an inviting city. You don't see houses or store fronts, instead it's like driving down a hallway. It takes a little getting used to.

We only had a short time in Johannesburg, but we feel like we’ve done all the important things that we had hoped to do. We went to the apartheide museum on Saturday, Church and the Bruma Market on Sunday, and toured Soweto on Monday. (More to come of those experiences.)

Right now we are leaving Johannesberg (yes, I’m typing in the car), and are on our way back to Durban. Hopefully, cross your fingers, Jeremy’s citizenship papers are ready and we can move on to his passport application.