A part of History

Saturday night we were a part of history. South Africa participates in many rugby tournaments throughout the year so I am always confused about which one means what. The past few months(June-October) all the domestic teams have been competing for the Currie Cup. This Cup is only played by South African teams and each province(similar to states in principle) has several teams that represent them. There are 14 teams in all, if you are deeply interested in finding out more about the history,etc. click here.  Jeff says this Cup is like the Superbowl.
Our province has three teams, our city's team the Lions, haven't won the Currie Cup in 12 years. Yep, that's a long time. We are often on the wrong end of many jokes made about the Currie Cup. So this year when we were advancing through the stages and staying at the top of the log, people were getting hopeful. Last week Jeff and I got tickets to the semi-finals through a friend(thanks Joey) and took Asher to his first rugby game. What a trooper. Here we are supporting the boys!

We beat Western Province(which has several national team(Springboks) members) which is difficult to do. This week we played the final again on home ground at Ellis Park(Coca-Cola Park now) against the KZN Sharks(also has several Springbok players on their side). You have to understand that historically we are pipsqueaks next to these two towering teams. We were definitely the underdogs coming in, but we had a good season behind us and lots of confidence. The stadium was packed out and again some loving friends(thanks again Joe and Siyanda) got us tickets. This time the whole family was supporting the team. The vibe in the stadium was intense and so much fun. The game began and I wasn't sure how it was going to go. To everyone's surprise we killed the Sharks. I mean gave them a beating. What a game! Final score 42-16. So proud of the boys and happy to finally break the losing streak.

The girls

The boys

Scrum

FIRST Family Photo(can you believe it?!)

Siyanda, Jeff and Asher chilling

Fans going wild

7 months of Asher

Guess who is 7 months old today???

ME!!

Happy Boy!!

Asher loves to laugh and smile. We love that we have a happy boy!

Soon-to-be crawler?

Look at those cheeks!!

This is how you smile for the picture Max

A new addition to our home and family

His name is Max. He's a thuroughbred Jack Russell(which Jeff has always wanted). He's just a little guy still but we love him already. He came to live with us Sunday evening and has adapted quite quickly to life in the Viljoen house and lifestyle.

Getting acquainted

Having a chat

Casey is keeping him at night to take him outside to do his business, showing good responsibility(part of our plan there). Asher is enjoying him somewhat, I mean how much can a six month old and six week old puppy bond? We are trying to get Asher used to him at this stage and having supervised visits :) Any advice from dog owners with babies? He'll be an outside dog, since I am allergic(though I haven't had a bad reaction to Max just some extra nose blowing).

Our friend Fifi with Max, fast friends.

This is my first pet ever(except for the goldfish in college,which sadly didn't last long) so I am fresh in this area. Thankfully Jeff and Casey have both had several dogs so they are helpful. Here are some of the first pics of Max and the family. I need to get some of Casey and me with him.

A funny thing...

Yesterday we spent the afternoon with a friend who is actually more of a second mother to Jeff and so a second mother to me and another ouma(grandmother) for Asher. She makes amazing food and always has great desserts(which we love). As we were eating our dessert yesterday I took a bite and the taste shot back to my jaw(you all know that experience, the super sour and sweet combination gets you right in the back of the mouth). I said "mmm, that's tart!" Jeff and Carle looked at me strangely and Jeff then explained to me that they don't have a word for that in South Africa(well not in Joburg anyhow). Carle(who is Afrikaans) also said there is no word for that in afrikaans either. We all had a good laugh and Jeff said "welcome to our marriage." More laughing over that as I thought to myself, how true is that statement. Here I am living in South Africa for nearly nine years now, working with University students and building lots of friendships with South Africans, shoot married to a South African even and there are still lots of those moments all the time where I totally miss what is being said.

Some examples: Casey(13 yr old cousin): I am gonna go dos.-translation : I am gonna go sleep.
Emmy(college roommate living in Durban who is American by the way): One more night on my ace.-translation: One more night on my own.
Woman selling me a coffee at Wimpy: There you go my skat.-translation: There you go my treasure.
I only knew that one because Casey likes to call Asher that often and I knew it was something sweet but had to ask her for the translation.

Anyone else have stories about missing the cultural cue or phrase?? Please share, I won't feel so dumb :)   I will leave you with some pictures of our visit with Ouma Carle.

Asher and Ouma Carle

Asher loved the bed he napped in, slept for 2 1/2 hours.

Friends

Two days ago we had a staff meeting where the moms were invited to come as well. My friend Niai had their little girl, Thandi, six weeks before Asher was born. They have been fast friends. Here are some cute shots of them playing together and having a chat.

Asher caught trying to take Thandi's hand.

"Thandi, may I have your attention?"

"Asher, you have some food on your chin."

"Thank you, let me return the favor."

"Asher, you are such a good listener."

Mom wanted to get in on the photo shoot

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The Rugby World Cup is here!

We live in a rugby-loving nation in South Africa. Last friday there was a big parade in Sandton to cheer the Springboks(nation's team) onto New Zealand as they defend their World Cup title. Today marked the beginning of the games and Sunday the South African Springboks play their first match against Wales. The U.S. also qualified this year and play Ireland on Sunday before the Springboks play. Oh the excitement. I will be cheering for both home teams. Not sure what will happen if South Africa plays the U.S. I will be truly torn as the Springboks tear Team USA to shreds.

Anyway, this morning my two men were busy watching New Zealand hammer Tonga. Asher was busy playing with his rugby ball most of the day after that. Soooo cute. I will post more photos from the Sunday matches.

Asher becomes a U.S. Citizen

As promised here is our family's newest U.S. Citizen. Asher Viljoen.  There is a bit of a process involved in getting everything finalized. We had to get his unabridged birth certificate first(which takes 2 months), then I had to get my highschool transcripts sent over because Jeff is not a U.S. Citizen. Then I had to book an interview at the embassy. We both had to come with our passports and marriage certificate(also unabridged) and even give a little oath. The woman behind the glass asked me some questions to make sure I had in fact lived in the states for 5 consecutive years, including what was my highschool mascot. Good thing I remember that; Go SPARTANS! After two hours his application was accepted and in less than a week his passport was ready for collection. The entire process  took 5 months. You could definitely do it quicker if you knew you needed your transcripts and have them mailed before baby arrives. Anyway, here's Asher proudly holding/nibbling on his passport. I am excited to teach him about half of his heritage as he grows up.

 Yes, Asher is a Georgia Tech fan. Go Jackets!

 His daddy will teach him about his South African heritage.

 Already knows rugby well :)

Meet the Viljoens

I decided to start a blog of stories about our family and ministry in South Africa. This will be a hodge-podge of things. I have been so inspired by all the blogs lately that I am getting creative and making my own. I needed to completely change blog sites to feel free to post whatever I wanted to. Is that wierd? Anyone else out there ever feel that way? Letters from Jozi is the title because my family lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. We are a mixture of people as well. My husband(Jeffrey) is South African and I(Kristin) am American. My husband's cousin (Casey, 13) lives with us and we are currently in the process of adopting her(very near the end actually, just waiting for the courts to finalize it for us, soon we hope). This past March we had our first biological child, Asher who is currently 5 months old. So you can expect family pics and updates and lots of questions for the experienced moms out there. Please feel free to comment. I know we all have lots of questions for each other.

On that note I would love to include a family photo of us, but we don't have one. My husband is promising one this week. Hopefully I can upload it soon and maybe replace this current pic of the beautiful Joburg skyline. :) In the meantime, here's the crew. Meet the Viljoen(pronounced Phil-yoon for the Americans) family.

Coming soon: Asher gets his U.S. Citizenship.