New to another country and far from your own

Being new to a country comes with its own set of personal fears and insecurities.

I got to know another Saffrican on this side that worked with me on a project. Decent sort of fellow (really good, in fact) and both Mike and I really enjoy his company. I heard today that his work contract was not renewed. He was told on Monday, and given until Friday to finish off. They will pay out his contract period, which ends at the end of June.

No warning, no nothing. No feedback or reasons. Just a 'good bye' - 'see ya later'.

Scary stuff! You have no network / contacts to fall back on. You forge ahead with faith and hard work and hope and pray this never happens to you.

I am incredibly greatful for the job I have and will hang in there and do the best I can with what I have.

I also found out about Saffrican friends and family friends that have cancer and are undergoing chemo therapy and all sorts of procedures. These are the difficult moments we have to deal with. Not being there to have a chat and a glass of wine, and if need be, a good old cry!

I'm going to miss the homecoming of a long awaited little baby, and I miss sharing the experience of being pregnant and being a new mom with my really close friend and 'sister'.

I miss my family. I miss my friends.

The things I really love doing here are having bike rides and runs on well laid out and safe tracks, swimming in an amazing indoor heated pool, letting the girls walk to school and back home on their own, letting Jade run off to the park for a play on her own, having no fences or burglar bars or alarm systems linked to armed guards.

The things I miss that cannot be replaced are actual contact with family and friends. Skype, facebook, telephone calls and emails are good plasters, but not a patch to the real thing.

However, we still enjoy the adventure and love seeing the girls grow in confidence and expand their experiences. We love spending time together as a family and have grown even closer than we were.

I cannot believe our one year anniversary is around the corner! We will have to celebrate the first year with a couple of glasses of bubbly!