I am hiding in my bedroom with a throbbing headache and backache hoping this isn’t the onset of malaria or the stomach bug that Dave has had since last week. I took tylenol and it isn’t working at all, maybe I will try Motrin next. I decided to take a nice hot bath hoping that it would ease some of the muscle pain. I started the tap running, retrieved my cup of tea, and returned to find the water in the tub was a shade or two darker than than the tea in my cup. Ewww! Dave suggested that I look at it as a mineral bath and climb in anyway. After the initial yuck factor I did take my bath and the hot water did help the backache, a little bit anyway. Moments like this I am ready to pack it up and head out of Africa.
Debating the topic of where to next, next as in where to live after Malawi, has become the newest hobby in the Cyberbones household. Real Post Reports is probably the most visited site on our internet. See a show on TV about Istanbul, head to Real Post Reports and check out Turkey. Get an e-mail from a friend new serving in Dubai and loving it, run look up the UAE. There is no single favored post, instead it is more the post of the day. You can pretty much measure how the day is going by where we want to go next. On a good day we are looking at exotic sounding hardship posts. Does anyone want to come visit us on Mauritius? Has anyone even heard of Mauritius? On a bad day we are looking at any place that is closer to home, has fewer mosquito born illnesses, and more access to Starbucks. Starbucks will be a major bidding consideration this next time. Have I ever mentioned there is NO Starbucks in Malawi? I really need a caramel macchiato people!
Yesterday Dave was in the living room folding clothes and absently staring at the computer screen saver, which is just random pictures from our iphoto files. Several pictures in a row of Germany flipped by and Dave muttered “I could go back there.” Wow, not something I thought I would ever hear him say. I stared at him until he finally shrugged and said “What? It was easy to live there.” Of course today he is all “Let’s go to Italy.” Probably because we celebrated Columbus day by watching Under the Tuscan Sun over coffee this morning while the kids were at school.
Alonzo’s only request is that where ever we go it should have a commissary. Apparently he is having Pop-tart withdrawal issues, and I didn’t include any in our consumables. Bad mommy! The other day we watched a show about Korea. When it was over he looked at me and asked very seriously, “Does Seoul have a military base with a commissary. “Yes” I answered. “OK Let’s got to Seoul.” Hmmm....I may need to look that up, wonder how the schools are? I am with him though, a commissary is sounding darn good to me right now, frozen pizzas, Pop-tarts, squishy white bread, and mac and cheese...yummy!
Colin simply wants to go to Tokyo because that is where his best friend from Germany moved to, failing that he wants to go back to Germany or maybe Jakarta. I think he may be tired of new experiences and is looking for the familiar.
Grayson seems to care the least, probably because he thinks he is Indonesian and can’t remember living in the states anyway. As far as he is concerned we move every few years. That’s just what our family does. Poor confused kiddo.
As for me I just want to go someplace easy. Some place without really loud birds that wake you up before 6 am every flipping morning. Why can’t the wildlife understand I’m NOT a morning person? Someplace where I don’t have to go to every store in town to do my weekly grocery shopping and still come home without some stuff because those items are simply out of stock everywhere. Butter anyone? Some place where a Coca Cola shortage would be ludicrous. Yes, we are having a Coke shortage, and yes I realize that sounds trivial but some days I just want an ice cold Coke! Besides if a country can run out of Coke you can imagine what other things we run out of. So yes DC sounds lovely and so does Frankfurt. But then again so do Taipei, Mexico City, Bangkok, and Hong Kong. All that awesome food just waiting to be eaten.
All this speculation is a bit premature. We don’t get our bid list until sometime next July or August, and even after we submit our bids it will be wait, wait, and wait some more to find out where we are going. Still playing the “what if” game seems to be hard to resist. I think it is part of human nature to want to plan for the future and that can be hard to do when you have no idea of what continent you will be living on in 2 years time.
Nice hot mineral-bath spa treatment anyone?
14 comments:
I showered in water like that. The 'minerals' turned my hair into the texture of matted wool. I think a soak, if it were hot without fumes, would be pleasant though. Especially when head and body aches just won't go away. Hope you are feeling better soon!
Feeling better today so not the stomach thing or Malaria, thank heavens. There was no smell so figured why not?
Looking at that bath, I'm thinking it's definitely your turn to go someplace easier...
You are a brave woman to get in that bath!
Oh wow. I agree. Time for the Cyberbones crew to move somewhere nice. (Taiwan is awesome! As we have already discussed.) I am glad you are feeling a bit better. I hope your internet gets and stays better too.
I can relate to the hardships of a developing country. Donn toyed with the idea of joining the foreign service at one point and I said no, I could not deal with moving every 2 years. We've moved often enough as it is!
I hope you get an easier post next time too. Of course once you're gone, you'll miss things about Malawi. And yes I've heard of Mauritius. It's where people think you are if you tell them you live in Mauritania. I had mail go there too.
mexico city, mexico city, mexico city. did i say mexico city??? ;o) you ARE a brave woman, but i already knew that. you have taken it to a new level. ;o) miss you TONS. wish i could pop in for a starbucks some mornings - more mornings than not lately. :o( when are you coming to visit again??? i hope soon. we are all having mullins withdrawals.
Don't come to San Jose for the Commissary, it's horrible. However, San Jose has great grocery shopping (Pop Tarts are currently in the pantry). The city of San Jose isn't all that great, but the suburb we live in is great. Housing for families with kids is amazing. Basically, I think you should try San Jose. :)
My water in Saudi is that same color these days... But we do have a commissary. Hoping you get better, and I agree that doing all the research before the bid list comes out makes it all easier later on!
I'm impressed you got in that bath! I think obsessing over the next post is part of this lifestyle, definitely. Glad you're feeling better.
I'm encouraged to hear you've soaked in that tub and are still with us. Our water is always that color and after I peeked in our cistern (which I never should've done), I decided that a bath was no longer an option. I like Dave's take on it though- "a mineral bath". I've never been a germ-phobe, but am bathing the baby in distilled...
You guys definitely deserve an easier post next time around. Do you get equity points? Do they even factor in later in your career? I know it's our saving grace. I keep telling myself- "half way to half way".
As young as your baby is I would stick with the distilled water a bit longer, especially as she gets to the fist sucking point in development. For myself I figured I am showering in that water so as long as it doesn't stink why not? I'm getting in that water one way or another. I have swam in stock tanks, rivers, and the ocean where I know the fish are doing their business, could this be worse? PLease don't answer that! Never peek in the cistern, though, not worth it.
I have no idea if we get brownie points for these kind of posts later our career, but we totally should. I keep telling myself that Christmas marks the halfway point of this tour here then it is all downhill. Less than a year until the bid list. Somedays it works, other days not so much.
Love this post for basically one reason - I thought I was the only person that researched potential posts and daydreamed about where to next months in advance so now I feel normal. Unfortunately, I couldn't read the post in total peace since my 2 and 4 yr. olds are sitting on my lap and the 2 yr old is crying for me to scroll down so he can see the frog. It's been a few months since I've been to your blog with them around, but they remember the frog with the snow falling(?). I hope you get a better post next time with at least a knock-off starbucks!
I had snow falling around Christmas, I missed it this year living in the tropics, so it has been awhile since you have let them see it. Happily a recently opened coffee shop does make carmel lattes which are not exactly the same thing as a caramel macchiato but much better than nothing at all!
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