Thursday, February 18
Today was a pretty low key one. After yesterday being such a heavy day, we wanted to keep today light and fun. To keep that goal in check, we started with school. I let Tisetso decide on more fun words to write, which produced some fun results. About half way through, we really needed a break. I set the timer for 15 minutes and we played Ben 10 during that time. He was sufficiently worn out at the end of the 15 minutes, which means I was barely able to breathe.
We managed to finish school and headed to the mall to buy another(!!!) suitcase. We are each allotted two, so it won’t cost any extra to bring home (thankfully). We found one quickly and decided to get lunch while we were out. It was Brian’s turn to choose and he picked a Chinese inspired place. It seemed like a good fit. They even had something Tisetso was interested in eating (no small feat for a place that’s not KFC or a burger place). All of my interest in the food turned sour when I noticed a smooshed cockroach on one of the steam baskets Brian’s dumplings came in (of course after I had eaten). I was barely able to stomach anything else after that. I kept thinking, “This is what our typhoid shot was for. This is what our typhoid shot was for.” To be honest, I didn’t anticipate utilizing my typhoid shot in a mall in Sandton.
After gagging a little and trying not to hurl, I was ready to go. Brian wanted to grab a coffee on our way out. At the coffee stand, they had containers of marshmallow fluff (exactly where I would think of looking). We had peanut butter at home and I really wanted a fluffer nutter (a sandwich with peanut butter and marshmallow fluff). I really wanted to make one for Tisetso. I impulsively tossed one of the containers on the counter right before Brian paid.
With the fluff and luggage in tow, we headed back to the flat. I painstakingly made a fluffer nutter for Tisetso. Then had to practically shove it down his throat because he didn’t believe me that he would love it. Thankfully, he finally took the plunge and took a bite. Then one more. Then finished the sandwich. Then requested another one. Success!
We laid low for the afternoon. We played Legos together and, when I was invited to not play, I decided to do some writing. Tisetso was curious about my typing a blog post and I realized he’s probably not had much interaction with a computer, so I pulled up a blank document and had him work on typing his name. It took a while, but he did it. I wanted a picture, but he was less than willing.
Our dinner was a take and bake lasagna from Woolworth’s. It looked so good and I had high hopes. Tisetso complained about me dishing his veggies, so I let him dish mine. He kept piling them on (how kind), but I ate them all. Sadly, the veggies were (in my opinion) the best part of the meal. The lasagna was so horrendous, I tossed the whole thing in the trash after we were done. Tisetso needed encouragement to eat his veggies, so he and I had races to eat each bite until he was finished.
We finished our day off by watching Robin Hood and eating popcorn (a snack Tisetso seems to love as much as I do—which is a lot). I could have done with less cockroaches, but it was a good, restful day.