Greetings from beautiful Cape Town!

May 10: I do groan a bit every time I sit down to write another entry. But quickly the words start flowing and deep into my story I find myself. I should prepare you though; I don't feel too inspired to write right now, so be prepared to get a little sleepy while you read. So today’s already Mother’s Day; we’re four days from Jeremy’s birthday, seven days from the anniversary of my bat mitzvah, which was half my life ago. Wow, that’s a caffeine buzz kill. Speaking of caffeine, I found a Gloria Jean’s here in Cape Town, and I’m back to making myself a yummy hazelnut vanilla nut cup of coffee in the mornings. Well, yummy once I add the milk and sugar. I’m not quite skilled at using a French press, not quite sure about the right proportions to use, when to press it down, the right timing for stirring the coffee and water, and so on. I’m trying to remember what Jason used to do to make his coffee with his French press when we lived together in Cambridge during our last year at the Kennedy School (forever KSG), but that was before I got myself hooked. And I was only a hazelnut Dunkin’ Donuts coffee drinker shortly thereafter anyway so wouldn’t have bothered with any coffee maker at all. But I digress to the past, the irrelevant present, so now on to the more interesting.

We arrived in Cape Town a week ago Saturday afternoon, and already I feel the days slipping away. A month is starting to feel like a short amount of time compared to the six weeks we spent in Kampala. How silly is that? “Siwwy mommy,” as Jonah would say. We feel like we’ve arrived back home in California in a new place we call San Clemisco (that’s a cross between San Francisco and San Clemente in southern California). Cape Town is part San Francisco and, especially where we stay in Camps Bay, part San Clemente. Stretching from the hills to the coast, Cape Town feels like our beloved San Francisco. The architecture of the homes and the solitude of Camps Bay with its small stretch of retail shops, restaurants, and bars remind me of San Clemente, or at least how I remember it as a child. (Mom, I seem to think we went there once because someone we knew had a house that we used, if I recall correctly.)

The truly disturbing thing about South Africa, though, is the abject poverty situated just a fifteen minute drive away. Disturbing because of what this says about the differences between the living conditions of the haves and the have-nots. The extremes in this country could not possibly be greater. Well, I assume the differences were even greater under apartheid, but I’m not sure things have gotten better in terms of the living conditions for the majority of blacks in this country. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen, not in Uganda, not in South America, not in Central America, nowhere. The rich are filthy rich, and the poor are dirt poor. And the horrifying thing is that you can drive around here, completely ignoring the poverty around you without much difficulty at all. Freeways quickly wiz you past the endless informal settlements made up of small shacks with corrugated tin roofs and plastic sheeting.

What more can I say about this? I don’t know what is going to happen to this country. Once considered the hope of Africa, now it appears to have degenerated into a country with corrupt politicians, justifiably disgruntled masses, and little vision for eliminating (or even reducing) the gap between those who can afford to shop at the high-end shopping malls and the great many who live one thin piece of plastic from homelessness and far worse. America has its share of poverty, no doubt, but this is poverty on a whole different scale in the midst of jaw-dropping opulence. And it’s hard to stomach.

So, here I sit in our fabulous beachfront flat with its stunning ocean view, trying to push back the images of those just over Table Mountain who sit in their dwellings with a view of a port-o-potty or garbage heap. The weather has been mixed—some sun, some fog, a little rain. On gray days I’m reminded of Oxnard, where my mom lives, because of the proximity to the water, the marine layer, and the moisture in the air. Gray weather normally makes me sad, but this foggy weather makes me feel comforted inside, like knowing my mom is in the other room or making a quick run to the farmer’s market. And now that Jonah has his new parking garage, he’s content to sit by the balcony doors moving cars past the gates, down the ramps, up the elevator, and through the car wash for what seems like hours on end regardless of the weather outside. We’ve had slightly more sunny days than gray days, and there is no other word to describe a warm, sunny day here during this time of year than this one: perfect.

In some ways Kampala feels like a million years ago. It’s quite easy to quickly reacquaint oneself with the comforts of a more developed country. How lovely it is to brush my teeth with tap water, to eat a salad without wondering whether I’ll get sick (I just didn’t bother to eat one in Uganda to avoid stomach bugs altogether), to not think about mosquitoes or leaving a door open in our house for fear of getting too many in our place, to not worry about Jonah splashing his bath water into his mouth, to not sleep under a bed net, to not live with a filthy, slightly rust-colored coating of dirt on my body virtually at all times (which led me to break out in Kampala!).

Life was incredibly easy in Kampala in a different way. We lived in an oasis, barely had to lift a finger for anything, and had good friends to spend time with. And the more challenging parts just added to the adventure. I definitely miss it.

Let’s take things back to before we left Kampala. One thing I need to add from my last Kampala blog entry is that the police officer who extorted us—we’ll call him “Police Officer Judy” for Jonah’s sake—actually chased us down on a boda boda. I had no idea. I only learned this from Advah, after she read my blog and how I described our run-in with the law. Apparently, Police Officer Judy saw us on the main road and waved us down. As Guy had done many times before, Advah just pretended like she didn’t see the officer and continued on her way. He wasn’t in a car or on any motorized vehicle, after all. But, he did manage to hop on a nearby boda boda to chase us down. And, so, rather than simply being pulled over, we were chased down by Police Officer Judy before he extorted us. Fabulous addition to the story.

Okay, I’ll start with three weeks ago tomorrow, on Monday. Maya started day care that week; Advah, Guy, Maya, and Saba Arieh were out of town for the first couple of days that week anyway. So Jonah and I were flying solo during the daytime. Dear Jonah decided to wake up at 1:30 in the morning and stay awake until 4 am on Monday. Um, no thank you, little man. I can’t even remember now how we handled that situation, but I imagine it involved me sitting with him on my lap on the bed in his room. Otherwise, it’s a blur. We managed to make it to Magic Mornings that day, following its two week hiatus for the Easter holiday. Jonah was thrilled to be back! No Maya, but the water table and other activities kept him happily busy.

That night we had dinner with a friend of a friend of ours named Heidi. We met her at a yummy Thai restaurant that had a playground, which is where, of course, Jonah wanted to spend the entire evening. We got him to eat a little bit of vegetable fried rice, but that was about it.

On the drive home, I realized just how many more people are out on the streets during the late evening than there are during the day. It’s astonishing, actually. Short cuts through the dirt streets in Kampala teem with people returning to their neighborhood from work, picking up groceries or food being cooked on makeshift BBQs on the side of the road. Compared to the number of people we saw on the road that night, the number we saw the next day as Jonah and I returned from our day’s outing made the neighborhood seem like a sleepy little ghost town of sorts. No meat cooking on the grills, very few people walking around, shop workers bored and waiting for the time to pass.

On Tuesday, Jonah and I ventured over to Old Kampala to check out the National Mosque (also called the Gaddafi Mosque). Construction on the mosque began in 2003 and finished in 2006, with Libyan President Muammar al-Gaddafi officially opening it upon completion. Funded by Libyans, it’s apparently the largest mosque in Africa, according to its project manager. I wanted to see inside to find out how it compared to the beautiful mosques we saw in Istanbul.

Jackson drove us over to the mosque and waited in the parking lot as Jonah and I went inside. As we emerged from the car, a guard came over and handed me two long scarves—one to put on my head and one to wrap around my waist to make it appear as though I was wearing a skirt and not pants. I could NOT keep the dang scarf on my head. It kept sliding off or fully covering my face. Just made taking pictures a serious pain. The guard also served as an informal guide, showing us inside and describing the interior to us. To Jonah, the interior was just a huge, open space in which to run around in his socks. He loved that.

Compared to the mosques in Istanbul, the interior was quite simple. But the muted colors of peach and shades of green and gray, along with the carved ceiling and pillars were beautiful nonetheless. After showing us the main level of the mosque, the guide took us upstairs to the women’s section, where he asked to collect the small donation he’d earlier told me I’d need to give. It was pretty clear the donation was going straight into his pocket, considering where we were when he collected it. Fine. I can understand.

Out to see the fabulous views of Kampala from the exterior patio area, where I was told I still had to wear my head scarf after I inquired. Dang, I felt desperate to get that thing off my head, out of my face. After forty-five minutes, we returned to the taxi and headed back to Kabira, where we spent some time at the play center before heading to our cottage for lunch.

That afternoon we took Jonah to get his hair cut at the salon at Kabira. Jonah is pretty patient during his haircuts, thankfully. But once the barber brought out the clippers, forget it. Jonah didn’t like the sound, and that was that. I was able to turn the tide a bit by letting him play with various bottles I found on the shelf. Jonah started to get antsy, and the guy cutting his hair (Nash) told him he’d get a lollypop once it was all done. The promise of a lollypop was meaningless to Jonah, but when I told him he could wash his hands in the hair washing basin in the back of the salon after the haircut, he managed to pull it together through the finale. It’s a really great haircut. We had Nash lop off a lot of Jonah’s hair throughout because it was making him so sweaty, but Nash managed to keep it looking a bit longer in the front.

On Wednesday we were back at Magic Mornings again. Jonah immediately started his play at the water table, which had blue water with bubbles and plastic containers. Then he saw Genie cleaning plastic tables and chairs with the help of some little ones that wanted to assist, and Jonah spent the next hour and a half (no joke!) washing the tables and chairs with a scrub brush, then with a sponge, then a rag, all well after the other kids had moved on to something else. He even started washing the tree when he saw an older kid come back and do that. Then it was back to the water table, some boda boda riding, and time to go. I even started to get bored at one point because Jonah clearly didn’t need me around while he scrubbed away on the tables and chairs. Wish I’d had a book with me that day. Instead I had tea, talked to some other moms who were there, sat around.

In the afternoon, we went to the pool with Jonah’s washing basin. Jonah enjoyed a quick reunion with Maya, when she, Advah, and Saba Arieh stopped by quickly to pick up Guy and say hello to us. Jonah had asked for Maya many times a day since they left, and he was happy to see that she had returned to him.

On Thursday, Jonah and I had Jackson take us to the Kasubi Tombs, where he waited for us to take an hour-long tour. There was a lot of traffic on the way there, and Jonah was eager to get out of the car. He kept saying, “Uchumi!” thinking we were going to Uchumi supermarket at the Garden City Mall, where he loves to ride the little cars attached to the shopping carts. He said, “Uchumi. Drive car. Subi tombs has baskets.” After multiple explanations by me, he finally understood (or, perhaps more accurately, accepted) that we were going somewhere other than Uchumi, so he started to give Jackson directions on how to get there. “Subi tombs that way, peez,” as he pointed in the direction he wanted to go.

The drive took us into another part of town I’d never driven through before. It was poorer than the areas we’d typically seen on any given outing from Kabira—bad roads, more run down and makeshift stores. Tons of people were on the streets, walking to work, working at the market and stalls on the side of the road.

On the way to the Kasubi Tombs, we passed stores with some fabulous names. There are many great store names in Kampala, some reflecting interesting business combinations and others simply entertaining. Among my favorites are Sammy’s Salon and Computer Repair, Chez Unisex Saloon (they, of course, mean salon, but I think I like the name for a unisex saloon), Debbie’s Pub and Video Library, Tawifuk Cheap Store (one of the best!), Good Price Supermarket (straightforward, to the point), Shalom Clinic (shout out to my people), Needful Things, and one we’ve passed several times, Obama’s Kabalagala, or Obama’s [fill in the blank], considering how many stores are named for our great president.

Well, once we arrived at the Kasubi Tombs, Jonah marched on in, barely waiting for me to get myself out of Jackson’s car. We paid 10,000 shillings ($5) and were greeted by a guide who was going to show us around the grounds. Four kabakas (actually called “ssekabakas” because they’re dead, or “disappeared” as the Baganda say) are buried at the tombs—Mutessa I (d. 1884), Mwanga II (d. 1903), Daudi Chwa II (d. 1939), and Mutessa II (d. 1969). The descendents of the wives of Mutessa I must watch over the tomb, forevermore I guess. Currently there are forty-eight such descendents, so four come for a month at a time to cover all twelve months. From what I could tell, they just sit and hang out. Seems like a very boring way to spend one month each year. Yikes.

The main building with the four tombs is a thatched-roof hut, where we sat for a while to learn about the ssekabakas. While the guide talked to me, Jonah walked around inside, went in and out of the hut (though never straying more than a foot or so outside the entrance), and interacted a little with one of the descendents watching over the tombs. We saw the houses on the outer ring of the property, which were at one time inhabited by the then-kabaka’s many wives.

From the tombs, we returned to Kabira for an hour of fun at the play center before lunch and a nap. We spent the afternoon at the pool, where Advah, Saba Arieh, and Maya met us. Guy and Jeremy joined us for dinner at Kabira after we swam. Jonah was thrilled to spend the afternoon and evening with Maya. The two of them ran around after dinner, talked to each other, hugged each other. Dang, I miss those guys. The other day Jonah was particularly missing them, I think, because he kept asking for Maya and Advah. And when I asked him who we played with last week (some new friends we made…I’ll get there), he joyfully said, “Advah and Maya!” Poor guy is a bit confused.

On Friday, we went to Magic Moments (yes, a name change) at its new location in Mbuya. We got a bit lost trying to find it with Jackson, but once we got there, Jonah was lost to the activities in the garden. The new facility is fabulous. The great thing about the garden is being able to sit up at the top near the tea and cake and being able to see your child anywhere they may go in the garden. For me, of course, it’s easy. I just need to look for the water feature to spot my guy. That day he played in the sandbox a bit, at the water table, and in the Little Tikes play house. He didn’t bother stopping for a snack with all of the other kids (this has always been the case…Jonah tends to be the one kid who doesn’t want to stop playing to eat, so I follow him around with a banana instead) or going upstairs to see the tables of play-doh, painting, cars, etc.

Jonah had a great nap that day, and we played at home for a bit when he woke up. Amy, the housekeeper who cleaned our cottage on Jennifer’s day off, came by to drop off towels and such. Before she left, she asked me what a person needs to feed a baby to get them fat. The question made me very sad for so many reasons. Amy and I talked for about twenty minutes, as I explained to her what types of foods I gave Jonah. Turns out Amy has a six month old daughter, and she was seeking some personal advice.

That night we headed over to Guy and Advah’s house, where Saba Arieh cooked an amazing Shabbat dinner for all of us and Janet as well. We definitely miss Saba too. He’s an amazing guy, so active and adventurous, so warm and wonderful. He’s the kind of guy I think my dad was supposed to be, could have been had his life dealt him a different hand and had he made some different choices than he did. It was really nice to see someone I’ve come to care a great deal about get to enjoy all of the good that I know was also buried deep inside my own father, and it was nice for me to get to experience their relationship with them a bit too, if that makes any sense.

So we enjoyed a fabulous meal and great company, until just after 8 pm when Jonah and Maya both melted down into tears at the same time. It was actually a bit funny. One minute they were adorable, running around, having a great time together, and the next minute they were both in tears for one reason or another. It was time to go home.

On Saturday we were planning to meet Ian for lunch at the Munyonyo Resort (owned by the same guy who owns Kabira). We decided to go early to hang out by the pool and walk around the beautiful grounds. The weather was great, and the kids’ pool was particularly nice. The shallow water came up to Jonah’s waist, so he could actually move around a bit. But for the hour and a half that we hung out there, he preferred to sit on the steps and ride the little wall that divides the kids’ pool into little and big kids’ pools like a donkey. We met Ian at the main hotel building, which is gorgeous, and enjoyed lunch outside before he took us home.

We spent Sunday morning at the Garden City Mall, first with a stop at Java Dave’s for coffee (with caramel syrup!), then to Aristoc to pick up a couple of books, and Uchumi supermarket, where we went to buy Jonah’s organic oatmeal. During Jonah’s nap, I had a pedicure at Kabira (mostly because I didn’t want to buy nail polish remover just to take the purple nail polish off of my toes, only to have to throw away a bottle of the toxic polish remover…and for the massage, of course). We met up with Guy and Maya at the pool after Jonah’s nap, kicking the ball around the grassy area, while the kids ate pizza and we enjoyed cold beers. It rained a bit, but it was warm enough to stay outside and enjoy the comfortable temperature. (Advah and Saba Arieh were in Jinja rafting the Nile!)

Out last week in Uganda, on Monday, Jonah and I went to the last Magic Mornings at the Kololo site. So sad. We spent the afternoon at the playground. Maya and Advah joined us and stayed for dinner at our place too. Guy was off in the field, and Saba Arieh was off on an adventure.

The next day, Jonah and I met up with Advah at Java’s for a little breakfast. Maya was at daycare, and Advah decided to join us on our adventure to the kabaka’s palace on Mengo hill in Kampala and the Buganda legislature right down the road from it.

We found our way to the palace, again through an area I’d not been to before. We were greeted by a nice woman who took us into the tourist office, which was a small house with the office in back containing one desk and one chair and nothing else. A man named Tom met us outside to show us around. We couldn’t go inside the palace but were given a tour of the grounds and learned a great deal about the history of the palace. Jonah, of course, wasn’t too interested in the history. Instead, he wanted to climb on an old cannon with two other little kids who lived on the palace grounds. The kids—probably about three years old—were very interested in Jonah and kept touching him. My guess is that they don’t meet many white kids, so he was an interesting visitor of sorts to them.

People live on the property who care for the palace grounds and palace. They’re from one of the Buganda clans. Different clans serve in different capacities with respect to the kabaka. So, for example, members of one clan have to keep the fire going at all times outside the palace. Members of another serve as the guards to the palace. And members of yet another clan take care of the grounds. The people who care for the palace don’t get paid, but they get free housing and can have other jobs outside the palace.

The palace looks like a grand colonial building. Built in 1885 by Ssekabaka Mwanga II, the palace is considered the capital of the kingdom. Mengo palace is not used as a residence by the current kabaka. The kabaka stays at another palace, and, it turns out, the queen stays at yet another palace. Advah asked our guide how it was that they were going to make a successor for the kabaka with that arrangement. The kabaka and his wife have a daughter but need a son to become the next kabaka. Our tour guide had no answer.

Soon after the palace was built, Ssekabaka Mwanga II ordered his people to make a lake nearby and connect it to Lake Munyonyo, where the kabaka had another palace. Historically, the kabakas liked having their palaces near water so they could escape if necessary. Well, the canal was never built because some religious wars started, according to our guide, which put an end to the work trying to connect the two lakes.

The palace was last occupied when Prime Minister Obote attacked it in 1966. Earlier in the year, Obote had deposed the President (Ssekabaka Mwanga II) and rammed through a new constitution, giving Uganda a strong central government and eliminating most of Buganda’s long-cherished autonomy (even throughout the colonial period). Obote used the palace grounds for army barracks and administrative offices and to build a torture tunnel. The torture area was quite disturbing. We even saw some old human bones left over from the time it was in use.

The Mengo palace was renovated about ten years ago. Our guide told us they were looking for some “expensive furniture” to put inside so the queen could move in because she wanted to be closer to the center of town.

From the palace we drove down to the Buganda legislature, where we had an informal tour from a man standing at the door. Inside, we just saw the main room where the members meet. There are quite a few members, they don’t get paid, and it’s not quite clear to me what it is that they actually do. Their positions are ceremonial only, since the real work of the Ugandan government is conducted by the Ugandan Parliament and the country’s president and ministers.

On Wednesday, Jonah and I ventured back to Magic Moments in Mbuya. He went straight for the water table, moving water in pitchers from the table to two small bins on the ground. After a looooooooooooong time at the water table, having skipped snack and become the only one at the table, he made his way over to the little above-ground pool. He was in there, splashing around a bit, when two of the older boys ran in. These two guys often run around naked, and in the pool they went with no clothes. Jonah loved watching them flop around and splash. He tried to mimic them and cracked up doing so. After a little while, I saw one of the older boys in a crouched position. I could tell he needed to go to the bathroom, so I told him to get out of the pool and pee in the nearby bush. He got out, but it turned out he’d pooped in the pool (which explained his crouched position). I hurried the few kids in the pool out, and that was the end of pool time. Jonah wanted to know what happened, why all of the fun had come to a grinding halt. I explained to him that someone had pooped in the pool, and that we couldn’t use it anymore that day. For the rest of the day, Jonah kept telling me at random times in a very somber voice, “Poops in the pool.” When Jeremy asked him about his day, he simply said, “Poops in the pool.” It was all about poops in the pool.

After pool time, Jonah decided to go upstairs to check it out. He sat down to draw, played with cars, and even joined story time just before the morning ended. Back home we went. Jonah decided not to nap that day, so we hung out at the cottage. I asked him if he wanted to go to the playground or to swim, and he said he just wanted to stay home. So we did. We read books, “cooked” with his kitchen set, and pretended to drive in a taxi together. We took the steering wheel off of his little car and sat on the bed. Jonah was the driver, and I was the passenger. Jonah loved having me get in and out of the taxi, pay him for each ride, and call him “sir” when I thanked him for the lift.

The next morning was all mine. Advah volunteered to watch Jonah, while I went to the crafts market to do some shopping. She came to our place at 8:30 am. I had to make a quick stop at Stanbic Bank because the previous day the ATM machine debited my account over $300 without actually giving me any cash. The slip indicated that my account had been reimbursed, but it hadn’t. Argh… Still not resolved.

Jackson had dropped me at the Lugogo Mall, and since I couldn’t find any taxis there so early in the morning, I called him to pick me up and take me to the crafts market. And so he did. I spent a couple of hours at the crafts market across from 1,000 Cups of Coffee, where I was hoping to sit and enjoy a coffee while I was out and about. The shopping took up most of my time though, and I needed to get back to Stanbic to pick up the “evidence” (as they called it) to prove to my bank that I didn’t receive any cash from their ATM machine. I found a private hire taxi and headed back to the Lugogo Mall. The driver had wanted 20,000 shillings just to go to Kabira. I wasn’t going to negotiate. I told him I’d pay 10,000 (a very fair price) and that was it. Done. I got my evidence and sat at Good African Coffee to have a quiet pancake lunch and to read my book (Emma’s War, about a British aid worker who married a rebel in Sudan—really good). I at least wanted a few minutes to sit and relax. It was lovely and indeed relaxing. Jonah had a great time with Advah while I was gone. After she left to pick up Maya, he asked about her non-stop.

After Jonah’s nap, we went to visit with and say good-bye to some of the staff who take Fridays off. Amanda and Harriet at the gym, Prakash and Ismael at the front desk—these were our first good-byes. Prakash asked us to send pictures of Jonah in Cape Town. He told us that we were the only resident family everyone interacted with at Kabira. Jonah’s a very friendly kid, so that didn’t surprise me too much. We headed to the playground to play before dinner.

Friday was a public holiday (Labor Day), although Jeremy had to work in the morning. It rained from midnight until about 2 pm that day. Ugh! Again it was our last day, and the pattern we’d seen before our departure from every country continued—rain to drive us out of town. Irene said that rain was considered good luck in Uganda, so perhaps this “rain on the last day” syndrome isn’t a bad thing after all. We spent the morning at the play center, where Jonah was very grumpy. At first I thought it was just due to the fact that he knew we were leaving the next day and that he couldn’t play outside. Turns out it was probably more explained by the cold/virus he came down with the next day. Phoebe met us at Kabira for lunch, after which Jonah took a great nap while I packed.

In the afternoon, we headed to the play center, where we met up with Guy, Advah, Maya, Saba Arieh, and Jackie. I’d bought Jackie a couple of books and gave her a card with some money to thank her for all she’d done for us, the love she showed Jonah during our time there. She cried. She said she’d only known the love of her father and husband and now us. She said she’d worked at Kabira for so many years (nine, actually), and no one had ever shown their appreciation to her as we had. Amazing.

We had a fabulous Mongolian BBQ dinner courtesy of Kabira that night. That was to make up for the fact that the powers that be there wouldn’t prorate the cost of our laundry bill but instead made us pay for two months rather than six weeks of laundry service. The cost of the dinner for all of us (including Guy, Advah, Maya, and Saba Arieh) was definitely more money than what they should have deducted from our bill for the laundry. So it goes. The guys who actually work at Kabira agreed that the laundry should be prorated, but their boss wouldn’t go for it. This was their way of making it right, I guess.

Anyway, Maya and Jonah rode the boda boda up and down the patio corridor, taking turns riding and pushing each other. They were in heaven. It was so dang cute. Then it was time to give the boda boda to Jackie for her son and time to say good-bye to our friends. It was so sad to say good-bye to Advah, Guy, and Maya! We’d had a great month and a half with them. I wish we could have taken them with us to South Africa. We’re hoping to meet up in Zanzibar (or some other lovely beach place) when we make our way back to East Africa.

On travel day—Saturday—was a very long one. We were planning to wake up at 4 am, but Jonah decided to wake up at 3 am instead. We didn’t know it then, but it was surely because of the cold/virus he was coming down with. When it was clear he wasn’t going back to sleep, we got him out of bed and got him ready for the long journey ahead of us. He sat and watched some show about cars (not a cartoon), as we got our stuff and ourselves ready to go. He was in a chipper mood, calling for Ismael to come pick us up and asking to get on the airplane.

Jonah and I dozed briefly in the car on the way to Entebbe. We had our final Good African Coffee experience at the airport. We made our way through security with Jonah marching his way through the front of the line and on past the people checking passports so that he could get to the window and look at the airplanes.

The first flight to Johannesburg went quickly. The four hours seemed to fly by. We didn’t have much time in the Jo’burg airport—just enough to make it through customs and passport control and to grab a quick bite to eat. The second flight, although only an hour and a half, was much tougher. Jonah was a wreck by this point, so he cried until he just crashed. He slept for most of the flight. We picked up our rental car (an automatic that Jeremy and I can both drive—albeit on the wrong side of the road, like in Uganda) and made our way to our flat in Camps Bay. We met the guy whose place we’re renting, Paul, at the apartment. Paul is a great guy, has been very helpful, including bringing a high chair and boda boda belonging to his son to let Jonah borrow while we’re here. That night we walked to dinner, just a ten minute walk from our place. So cheap compared to our dinners at Kabira!

Our flat is on Victoria Road in Camps Bay, just at the edge of the neighborhood in the Hout Bay direction. We’re across the street from the ocean and have seen some amazing sunsets from the couches inside our place or standing outside on the balcony. The balcony runs the length of the second floor of the building, starting at our bedroom, passing the living room, and ending at Jonah’s bedroom. Our bedroom is on the left as you walk in the front door. Then you make your way into the communal area—the dining/living room—and then to a hallway, off of which are situated the kitchen, bathroom, and Jonah’s bedroom. The place is carpeted, except in the kitchen and bathrooms. I suppose on the colder nights that’s a good thing because it keeps the place warmer. There’s no central air or heat, so we rely on the open windows and doors for cool air and one electric heater to warm our room before bed as needed. Jonah, it seems, spawned from a polar bear (although I have distinct memories of giving birth to him), so the cooler nights suit him just fine.

Our place has a big, flat screen television on which we’ve watched a few movies and continue our addiction to reruns of the television show House. There’s a DVD player and, finally, we have a small stereo system to which we can connect our iPod. Hooray for that. Thank goodness I’ve been carrying around the AV cord for the last nine months. I think I can now say that there’s not a thing I’ve brought with us that I haven’t used…except perhaps some extra medicines, but those are always good to have on hand just in case. The living room has a low wood coffee table, which makes for the perfect place for Jonah to play with his cooking set or his cars.

Apparently, there’s only one fiber optic cable running from South Africa to Europe (or wherever), so people only get so much capacity to upload and download from the internet per month. Within our first few days here, we maxed out the internet capacity for the flat. Between Jeremy’s computer backing up to the Stanford network, my uploading of pictures to Kodak, and a couple of Skype calls, we zeroed out the balance for the unit (perhaps the entire three-unit building). Yikes. It’s not cheap to recharge either. Looks like I won’t be uploading the rest of my Turkey pictures or any of my Rome and Uganda pictures just yet.

In any event, last Sunday we were up early. Jonah woke up at 6 am (perhaps adjusting to the one-hour gain from our move here), but he’s been sleeping until closer to 6:45 or 7 since then. One morning he slept until 7:45! Felt great. We finished unpacking our things and then headed off to pick up Doris. Doris Simani and her husband Willie, who passed away last year, housed Jeremy when he lived here in 1994. “Housed” suggests something much less than what they did. He became like a son to them, and his importance in their lives surely grew when they lost their only child just before our wedding. Jeremy has been coming back to see the Simanis every couple of years since he first came to South Africa. And it’s why we decided to come to South Africa on this journey of ours—to spend time with Doris and for Jonah and Granny Doris to meet each other and have time together as well.

We sat and visited at Granny Doris’s house for a little while, as she talked about Willie’s passing and all she went through in his last years and last moments. We headed over to Canal Walk, a Las Vegas-style shopping mall—absolutely enormous with over 400 stores surrounded by a massive housing development. There were fancy cars on display throughout the mall, and Jonah was obsessed with seeing them. We enjoyed a nice lunch outside. The weather was spectacular. Jonah and I ran a few errands, while Doris and Jeremy finished eating. Jonah didn’t nap that day. We kept him from falling asleep in the car so he could nap at home, and then he resisted sleep in his bed. I make a quick run to the supermarket just down the road from our pad and came back to a very unhappy Jonah. It was early to bed that night.

I spent our first few nights and spare moments here furiously making my way through our Rough Guide book for Cape Town so that I could come up with my list of things to do while we’re here. On Monday, Jonah and I went to a spot recommended by Paul, the World of Birds in Hout Bay, just about fifteen minutes up the coast from us. Jonah agreed to be in his stroller, likely because he wasn’t feeling particularly well. I’m not a bird enthusiast (though I like them fine), but Paul said the place was nice for kids. Jonah actually liked the animals. We first saw the macaws, and he was quite interested to watch them eat. As we walked away from them, he said, “More birds eating.”

Next we came upon the “Magic Forest”, which is a curvy walkway with little gnomes and other figurines sitting in the plants just off the path. Then we spotted a little plastic tree house. It was pretty cool. Jonah, of course, immediately tried to break out of his stroller. The tree house had a porch area in front, where there were a few little chairs and a little table. Jonah spent a great deal of time moving the furniture inside and out in preparation for having Granny Doris visit for cake. I eventually coaxed him out of there with a promise to find another house.

After a bit of moping, he became interested in the monkeys and guinea pigs (mostly their water and wanting to talk about what they were doing with it or going to do with it). He was so-so on the flamingoes. At this point he was just walking on the circular path with me, but he eventually asked to go back in the stroller for the rest of our walk. We went through one enclosed section where there were more than a half a dozen different types of birds on the pathway we were supposed to go down. Together we asked the birds to move, Jonah politely saying, “Scuze me, birds.”

At the end of the circular path, we found ourselves at a “playground” where there was yet another little house. The area was more like a huge sandpit with tons of toys—many broken (memories of Kabira floating in my head)—dumped there. There was no floor to the house, just the sand on which it sat. Jonah turned to me and said, “That house is dirty,” as he looked at the sandy floor. He tried to rake out the sand to no avail. On another little house in the play area, he saw a bug on the roof. Jonah asked me, “What’s that?” “A little bug,” I replied. “Put that bug away,” Jonah said. I told him the bug was okay where it was, and later he asked, after the bug had left on its own accord, “Where little bug go?”

On our drive home to meet Jeremy for lunch, we caught beautiful views of the coast. The weather was superb that day. So in the afternoon, after Jonah’s nap, we set up a couple of little basins with water on his table on the balcony, and Jonah spent over an hour pouring water from one container to another and “cooking” some food for us, in addition to riding the boda boda around.

On Tuesday, I woke up not feeling so well, so I thought we’d have a mellow day at the Gardens Shopping Center about fifteen minutes from us. It’s just over the mountain on the way into the city bowl. I wanted to pick up a few things, including a new car for Jonah. His undercover police car broke and was sent off to the scrap yard, as we explained it to Jonah. And his Sunkist orange truck also had to be retired, after a little tire broke off.

At the shopping center, Jonah spotted one of these coin-operated cars for kids. It was a big bus. Well, not so big, but big enough for three kids to be on it. Jonah immediately asked to get in. I told him we needed to run a few errands first but that we would return to ride it when we were done. He was very patient as we did our errands—finding a mother’s day card and gift for Doris, picking up a coffee for me, buying a new little car for Jonah (found a little toy store that carries some great German toys, including a little police car with doors that open). We finally made our way back to the bus. I crouched down to get in the back of the bus while Jonah drove, getting out each time other kids approached. I got quite a few stares from adults, presumably because they hadn’t yet seen Jonah in the driver’s seat when they first saw me. Or, I suppose, because they thought I didn’t belong on the little bus. Not sure.

More importantly, I found us friends! One of the kids who strolled on over was a girl named Charlotte, who had her mom Dominique in tow. Dom and I started chatting, discovered that we had quite a bit in common—with kids around the same age (Charlotte turns two next month), Dom’s having worked in the environmental field before having Charlotte, and Dom and her husband Rob’s extensive year-long travels around the world just before Charlotte was born. And, funny enough, Rob works in international development. Rob came on over to the little bus about twenty minutes later. He does consulting work from home so has a flexible schedule. We exchanged contact information, and the next day Dom called me to see if we wanted to go to the aquarium later in the week.

From the bus, Jonah and I went to Woolworth’s to buy some groceries. They had a surprisingly good selection of organic products. I was thrilled. We went home for lunch and hung out here in the afternoon. Jeremy and I both had funky tummies.

Having seen a cool toy parking garage at the Gardens Shopping Center the day before, I became determined to get one for Jonah the next day. So on Wednesday, Jonah and I headed to the V&A Waterfront, which, if you see it on a map, looks like it’s the size of a huge amusement park. I read about a large toy store there and thought I could find a less expensive garage for Jonah, particularly an issue since I assumed we’d have to leave it behind. (At this point, it’s clear we’ll have to disassemble and bring it with us as a carry-on on the plane because it runs a close second to kitty cat in importance to him.) I also wanted to find some sunglasses for Jonah and decent coffee for me.

A nice guy helped show me how to get to the main mall from the parking garage, after I found myself in one I’d not intended to park in. We went to the toy store, where I found the same parking garage that the play center at Kabira had (except this one has all of the parts that had been missing from the Kabira version, including great ramps, gates, and a knob to turn the elevator). I got the store manager to give me a discount because the box for their last parking garage was so beaten up. There outside the toy store, of course, was a coin-operated vehicle, so we sat for a while in the ambulance as Jonah moved from one steering wheel to the next. Then it was off to Gloria Jean’s for a latte, milk for Jonah, and a shared croissant. We picked up sunglasses at a kids’ eyeglasses store (which, by the way, look super cute on Jonah, and he loves to wear them when it’s “bite” according to Jonah—that’s “bright”).

We strolled back toward the parking lot, where we found the Scratch Patch. The Scratch Patch is a cool rock store, and there’s a big area where kids can collect rocks to take home. You just pay for the size of the bag you want and fill it. Jonah loves rocks, so this was a fabulous spot for him. He jumped around the rocks, dug through them on the ground and in the various barrels. Jonah was most interested in collecting the light pink and quartz rocks, so I picked some as well to add variety. From here we headed home for lunch and a nap.

On Thursday, Jonah and I met Dom and Charlotte at the aquarium back at the V&A Waterfront. Jonah again wanted to spend time riding the coin-operated machines in front, so he rode the pirate ship before we went in to check out the fish. It’s a very manageable aquarium for kids, even ones Jonah’s age. Although Jonah was on the tail end of his cold, he was particularly grumpy. I realized later that night that he was coming down with yet another cold, presumably one he picked up on the plane or here. Poor little guy.

Anyway, we had a really nice time with Dom and Charlotte. They go to the aquarium once a week, so Charlotte was happy to show us her favorite spots. The aquarium has a play area downstairs, where Jonah wanted to ride the little coin-operated car, of course. And there was also a play area with a climbing structure and big, tunnel slide. Our fearless Jonah marched on up the stairs to get to the top of the tunnel slide. From the bottom of the slide, I told him to get on his “tush”. (The black woman working at the play area as a chaperone asked me what a “tush” was. It was cute.) I called up to Jonah, “Are you on your tush?” “Yeah,” Jonah replied. “Okay, come on down!” I hollered. And down he came, a little stunned at how fast the ride was but pleased to have done it (not that he chose to do it again).

Rather than stay for lunch, I decided to take Jonah home so he could get a good nap that day, which he did. Thankfully, neither cold has resulted in sleepless nights. He’s actually been sleeping really well here, waking up very happy and just chatting in his bed in the morning until eventually we hear something like, “Mommy, get my kitty cat,” after having thrown her out of his bed, or, “Daddy, want my milk!”

Jeremy took Friday off, and because it was such a gorgeous day, we tried to take the aerial cable car to the top of Table Mountain. Alas, it was closed due to high winds. As Jeremy said, it’s better they actually stop running it if they think it’s not safe to ride. So we headed toward Company’s Gardens to walk around and take in the gorgeous weather.

Established in 1652, the Company’s Gardens were created to supply fresh vegetables to the Dutch East India Company ships that traveled between the Netherlands and the East. When the company went bankrupt in the late 18th century, the gardens fell into disrepair. The British occupied the Cape the same year and closed the gardens to the public. It wasn’t until the late 19th century when the municipality took over the gardens that it was reopened. Today, it’s a fabulous open green space in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city, situated right next to Parliament, the President’s Cape Town office, and several museums.

After parking the car and finding a café to buy me some coffee (we’d run out of sugar at the house, so I couldn’t make it at home), we strolled through the gardens for the rest of the morning. Jonah loved watching the squirrels (which got a little too close for comfort), following the birds, pushing the stroller. I love when we have the luxury of time to let Jonah roam these types of open spaces as he pleases. It’s fun to watch him explore and learn more about what interests him and the things about which he’s curious.

That night, two of Jeremy’s former students—Jessica and Andrew—came over to our house for dinner. Jonah was really cute as we all hung out, acting like such a little adult. As we sat around and ate cheese and crackers, Jonah sat with us, enjoying his brie and water crackers and asking for more and more and more.

Yesterday we met up with Dom, Rob, and Charlotte for a morning hike in the hills just below Table Mountain in Vredehoek. Jonah and Charlotte sat in backpacks with Jeremy and Rob, chatting to each other and at one point singing together. It was really super cute. After we did the short loop hike, Jonah and Charlotte came out of the backpacks and found another hiking path that they wanted to climb on their own. And so they did, picking up sticks and pine cones along the way. From our hike, we went to a great park and playground just down the hill. Deer Park Café opens out onto the park, so we grabbed a bite to eat for lunch.

Jonah decided not to nap yesterday, so we grabbed our beach gear and headed for the sand. We strolled down to the main beach at Camps Bay, where we sat in the sand, built sand castles, and dug holes. Jonah was covered in sand and so happy. It was pleasantly warm out, even after the sun went down. Really perfect weather.

And today, Mother’s Day, what a fabulous day we had. I woke up to the lovely sound of Jonah’s chattering. I jumped out of bed to take pictures of the full moon before it set for the day. When I got back inside, Jeremy announced that he was making me breakfast in bed and gave me a homemade card from Jonah. Jeremy made me eggs and toast, which Jonah wanted to eat as well. “Eat mommy’s eggs,” he said to me. Okay. After breakfast, I sat in bed reading my book for a while before taking a leisurely shower and making myself some coffee.

We spent the morning over at Granny Doris’s house, having taken Jonah’s parking garage with us to keep him occupied. Doris had said to Jeremy that she hoped to have some time to just play with Jonah while we were here, so this worked out perfectly with the garage and all. As soon as we walked in the door to Doris’s house, she gave Jonah a gift. He was very excited. It was a new car with doors that open! Better than the new police car I’d picked up at Gardens earlier in the week (only the size of a matchbox car), this car was the size of his former undercover police car. It seems that he likes the small cars for his parking garage but the bigger cars to carry around.

From Doris’s house, we headed back to Camps Bay (with Doris) to have lunch at Blues. On the second floor of the little shopping center in Camps Bay, we had a fabulous view of the ocean below. I had delicious salmon, mashed butternut squash, and sautéed potatoes. And a café latte to finish it off, of course. Yum. The weather was superb. The cool breeze coming off the ocean felt great. The temperature of the air was perfect. The sun was out. Ahhh, so nice.

Jeremy dropped Jonah and me off at home while he took Doris home and ran to the supermarket. Jonah decided not to sleep that afternoon (ummm, did he not know it was mother’s day!!??), so I set up the various buckets and such with water on the balcony and read a book and drank a beer while Jonah kept himself happily occupied. Considering that I always play with Jonah when we’re together (never doing my own thing while he does his own thing), it was my little treat to enjoy the afternoon on the balcony doing what I wanted to do.

The weather is supposed to turn again tomorrow. Can’t complain too much about that, since we had such fabulous weekend weather. I haven’t decided what Jonah and I will do tomorrow. It’ll depend on how chilly it is in the morning. On Tuesday we’re meeting up with Dom and Charlotte. And on Wednesday, my fellas and I are going to take Doris shopping for groceries and new knee braces. Thursday is Jeremy’s birthday, so he and I are going out to dinner to celebrate while Jessica watches Jonah. And on Friday, Malala, a friend Jeremy made when he first lived in South Africa, is coming to stay with us for the weekend. It’ll be great to see him. Next Sunday is Doris’s birthday, so perhaps we’ll take her to the wine country for a nice lunch. Busy, busy!

And on to Jonah’s latest… Overall, he seems quite happy in South Africa. He’s thrilled to be playing with his sevivon again (that’s dreidel in Hebrew), which we’d put away since Israel because we certainly would have lost them in the other places we’ve since lived. He still asks for Maya and Advah quite a bit. When we first got here, he asked for Jackie and Irene as well. Whenever he’s playing with his parking garage, he asks about Jackson and Ismael, our main taxi drivers in Uganda. He pretends Jackson and Ismael are getting in and out of the cars in his garage.

We realized this week how much Jonah has changed, even since we were home in March. He really is like a little boy. We’ve said that for a while, but now it just feels so much more true. He carries on conversations with us, remembering things from his day that he will tell us about on his own or explaining how things are to us about something or another. He can play for long stretches of time on his own, especially if I’m in another room. I hear him talking away as he moves his cars around the parking garage, lifts the gates, pushes the cars down the ramp, moves the elevator up and down (which he always insists I do if I’m in the room).

He still loves light switches, buttons, and anything that can be turned on and off. Jonah knows when the electrical outlets are on from the red stripe that shows on one side, and he insists on turning them off when they’re on and shouldn’t be. Go, eco-Jonah!

His problem-solving skills are becoming much sharper, although at the moment I can’t think of any really good examples. I know I’ve just been impressed with things he’s done when he’s been faced with new dilemmas.

For the first time, Jonah recently described what he was drawing as he was using a pen and paper, this time snakes and slides. I didn’t ask him what he was drawing, he just offered the information.

It appears Jonah’s kitty cat has taken on greater importance in his life. Last week one day, he asked to bring his cat with him in the car. Then, while playing with his cat before we left, he picked her up, gave her a kiss (with a loud “mmmmuh!”), and gently put her down on the table. I suppose this is all understandable, since his cat is one of the other few constants in his life right now, aside from Jeremy and me.

He’s talking up a storm. He’s been putting together some incredibly long sentences lately. He also remembers little things we say to him on any given day, and he’ll invoke the name of something or the description of an object when we least expect it. Here are some of the most recent notable things he’s had to say:

While we were still in Kampala…

“Left turn,” while Jonah proceeded to turn his boda boda left toward the parking lot from the pathway on which we reached our cottage. “Right turn,” as he turned right to head back to the pathway. When he said “Left turn,” I first thought it was a good guess. Then he said, “Right turn,” and I was a bit stunned. Not sure he’ll get it right every time, but this was impressive.

“Town shoes” are what Jonah calls his everyday, laced shoes because he has his sandals, which are his “pool shoes”, and his everyday shoes, which I call his man-about-town shoes.

“Your hair smells like butter,” I said to Jonah right before he got into his bath one night. Jeremy asked him, “Why does your hair smell like butter?” Jonah replied, “Eating my pasta.” That was about an hour and a half before, when he put his buttery hands in his hair after finishing his pasta.

After spending Shabbat dinner over at Advah and Guy’s house, Jonah wanted to know before going to bed where Saba Arieh had gone. I told Jonah that Saba Arieh was with Maya at her house. Jonah replied, “Saba Ariet!” I corrected him and said, “Saba Arieh.” Jonah laughed and said, “Saba ArieT!” “Saba Arieh!” I said back. “Saba ArieP!” Jonah responded, amidst great laughter. Jonah has a great sense of humor.

Jeremy asked Jonah one morning when looking at a book about different modes of transportation, “Where did you ride a trolley?” “Canada,” Jonah replied. “You didn’t ride one in Canada. Where did you ride one?” asked Jeremy again. “Istanbul,” said Jonah.

“Can’t go in my house ‘cuz soaking wet,” Jonah let us know after having returned to our cottage from the playground where he'd gotten wet while playing in the sandpit. The house he was referring to was our closet.

“What happened to my hat?” Jonah asked me when he took apart the strap of his hat held together with Velcro.

“What happened?” Jeremy asked Jonah upon seeing that Jonah had moved his crib out of our room, where he took his afternoon naps in Uganda. Jonah replied, “Put my bed in my room.”

Lately, Jonah has become quite concerned when we get to the page in Jonah’s Mama Voted for Obama book that has an aardvark holding a piece of celery with ants on it. He says with great distress, “Ants on it.” The other week, I said to Jonah, “It’s okay. Aardvarks eat ants.” Jonah replied, “Aardvark doesn’t eat ants anymore.”

As I was changing Jonah’s diaper in his room, he looked up at the air conditioner (AC) and said, “Put on A-B-C-D-E-F-G.”

One morning, Jonah started playing with the telephone in our cottage (unplugged, of course). He was pretending to call various people. The door to his “house” (our closet) was coming off the hinge, so he decided to get in touch with the front office to fix it. “Someone fix the door in cottage please, yeah?” Jonah asked. “Bye, bye.” I guess when he got no response, he turned to our cleaning woman, Jennifer. “Hello, Jennifer. Jennifer fix the door peez,” he said to her on the phone. That afternoon after I’d called the restaurant to order a latte, Jonah took the phone back and said, “Hello, coffee latte, medium.” He even knows that I like it medium and not strong. ;)

After seeing Maya go into the bathroom to use the toilet on several occasions, Jonah has started to ask to go potty on the toilet. I’ve just been pulling down his shorts and sitting him on the toilet (with his diaper still on) because I know he’s not requesting because he’s really ready. He just likes to do as Maya does. One day the other week he said to me, “My needs go potty.” (“My” is Jonah.) So I put him on the toilet, and he started making a peeing sound that sounded like “shhhhhhhh”. Hilarious.

While still in Uganda, Jonah sang the A-B-C song all the way to the letter P with, I think, only one mistake.

One day when Jonah tried to play with the microwave, Jeremy said to him, “We don’t play with that. It’s an oven.” Jonah replied, “It’s not the oven.”

Since we’ve come to South Africa…

“It’s daytime. Where’d the dark go?” Jonah asked me one morning.

While lounging in his crib after waking up one morning, he said to me, “I don’t need kitty cat on my face today,” which is where kitty cat usually sleeps. Then he said in the same breath, “I’m tired. I’m not tired.”

As Jonah sat on my lap in the dark before going to sleep, we were talking about our day. He was particularly chatty that night. He told me about his bath with daddy, letting me know that the water went out of the bathtub. He said the water wasn’t too hot. Jonah also asked me where Jackson had gone. I explained that he was in Uganda. “He not in Uganda,” Jonah replied. I told him that Jackson was in Kampala, and that seemed sufficient. Then Jonah said to me, “Toda raba, taxi,” like he used to say when we were in Jerusalem, thanking the drivers in Hebrew. He also said, “My eyes are fragile.” That one confused me, but the next day, when he said it again, Jeremy was standing there too. Jeremy told me he’d told Jonah the day before to be careful not to poke his eyes because they were fragile.

“People open the gate to let the school bus go out.” This perhaps is Jonah’s longest sentence yet. He said it a few days ago, while playing with his new parking garage.

Two phrases we now hear fairly often are: “I don’t need [fill in the blank]” and “I don’t want [fill in the blank]”. So today he said to me, “I don’t need my hat.” And while playing with his garage, he told me, “I don’t want this car.” Or, Jonah will say, when I give him some new food to try, “I don’t like that, mommy,” and out he spits whatever I’ve just put in. At least he’s willing to try new foods. I always tell him that he just needs to try something and that he can spit it out if he doesn’t like it. That usually works.

“Granny Doris has an owwy. Granny Doris has a band-aid. Granny Doris has a band-aid on her leg.” This was part of the commentary from Jonah before going to sleep the other night. And then, “This is not my new sippy cup, mommy.” Jonah was having a particularly difficult time getting ready for bed that night (on account of being so tired and not feeling well, I think), and in an effort to distract him from his grumpiness, I told him that I was bringing in his new sippy cup before bed. By “new” I meant not the one he’d been using the last several days. By “new” he thought I meant a brand new sippy cup. So he wasn’t happy to see his other sippy cup. Not at all. Then he kept telling me throughout our story and while chatting together afterward that it was not his new sippy cup. And he told me that again before putting him in his crib for his nap today too.

“Out there ocean is beautiful, mommy,” Jonah said, as he lay in his bed after waking up one morning.

“There’s not more milk in there yet,” Jonah let me know, as he tried to drink some milk from his sippy cup.

“I don’t want soup in my mouf. I want pasta in my mouf.”

During a family dance party, as we were listening and singing along to Nelly's "Hot in Herre" (with the line "It's gettin' hot in here, so take off all your clothes"), Jonah said, “Leave my clothes on.”

Again, while reading Mama Voted for Obama, when we got to the page with the mastodon, Jonah said to me, "I checked it online." "Oh?" I said. "What did you learn?" "It's not a mastodon," Jonah said. "What is it?" I asked. "It's a woolly mammoth."

And while Jeremy was changing Jonah’s diaper this morning, Jonah said, “That’s a little penis down there.” I inquired, “A little penis down there?” “No, a big penis!” Ummm…I don’t even know what to say about that one, except that Jeremy and I laughed.

Picture descriptions: Enjoying Company's Gardens with Table Mountain in the background; beautiful sunset from our balcony; Langa township in Cape Town; view of Camps Bay, the large cluster of houses; our place along Victoria Road, the third from the left along the water; beautiful sunset from our pad; Jonah rides his boda boda along the path leading to our cottage in Kampala; adorable Jonah at the Thai restaurant in Kampala; view of National Mosque in Kampala; outside the mosque; inside the mosque; Jonah sending the bus down the slide to Irene at the Kabira play center; Jonah helps Genie clean tables and chairs while at Magic Mornings; Kasubi Tombs; area around Kasubi Tombs; same; at the Kasubi Tombs, Jonah standing in front of tombs of wives of ssekabaka and house of descendant of one of wives; enjoying the water basin at Kabira; Jonah playing with some friends at Magic Moments; a typical scene along the railroad tracks in Kampala, no longer used for trains but instead as a thoroughway; enjoying the pool at Munyonyo Resort; a relaxing lunch with Ian at the resort; Jonah riding a boda boda with a pal at Magic Mornings; view of downtown Kampala; view of Buganda legislature from the Mengo palace; Mengo palace; heading toward the torture tunnel at Mengo palace; Jonah says his good-byes to Amanda and Harriet; Jonah says his good-byes to Ismael and Prakash; and good-bye to Phoebe too; Maya and Jonah's last boda boda ride together in Kampala; Jonah patiently waiting for our flight to board; sunset from our Cape Town flat; view into our Cape Town flat from the balcony; visiting with Granny Doris at Canal Walk; Jonah holding down the fort at the World of Birds; Jonah's water play on our balcony; Bus Driver Jonah at Gardens Shopping Center; Jonah sporting his new sunglasses at the V&A Waterfront; collecting rocks at the Scratch Patch; Jonah LOVED watching the clown fish swim around us at the aquarium; Jonah enjoying his walk at Company's Gardens; more Company's Gardens with the Cape Town presidential office in the background; hiking with Rob, Dominique, and Charlotte just below Table Mountain; playing at Camps Bay beach; a setting full moon on Mother's Day, view from our balcony; enjoying a delicious lunch at Blues in Camps Bay; Jonah playing in the Kabira play center sandpit; playing with his new parking garage in our Cape Town flat; more Company's Gardens with the old Jewish synagogue in the background (right) and towering Table Mountain; more fun at Camps Bay beach; driving in our car to pick up Granny Doris; thrilled to be back in a bath tub!