Almost forgot...

With all the excitement about our bid list, I forgot to mention that I had the luxury of traveling to Pretoria, South Africa about two weeks ago. Granted it was for a medevac and I travelled for four days and only got to spend 30 hours of it in South Africa. Still, what I did see of Pretoria was beautiful. It actually reminded me of southern California and since it was winter there - the weather was incredible. It was a high of 70 with clear blue skies and I got to spend one night at a beautiful hotel. It used to be a private mansion but has been converted into a luxurious guest house. The owners were the most lovely people and the chef made breakfast and dinner each day for all the guests. While there, I got to see the Embassy in Pretoria and meet a few other Foreign Service officers from other countries in Africa. Pretoria is the medevac point for most of Africa, so anytime someone needs medical care they are sent there. Luckily, it wasn't too serious for me. I had an eye infection for over a month and my vision got so bad that I could not see anymore - literally it was as if I was going blind, which was scary. It only took the doctor in Pretoria ten minutes to diagnose me and prescribe drops to fix what was just a virus/conjunctivitis type thing. He said it is quite common - almost like a pink eye. Unfortunately, no one here in Nigeria was able to diagnose it correctly - hence the need for medevac even though it sounds ridiculous to travel so far for an eye doctor appointment! The good news is that within 24 hours of starting the drops, my vision started to get better and I am almost back to normal.

Even though I was only there a short time, it was like a little vacation. I actually went to a mall (they don't have those here) and ate a big, fat hamburger at the food court (they don't have those either.) It was sooooo good. I miss hamburgers and good steak. The beef here is not quite the same - actually pretty awful - so the "double-decker max" burger was quite a treat!

I would love to go back some day - maybe even serve there - but definitely for a longer visit. Eric and I are going to try to visit our friends in Botswana next year before we leave Africa - so we will have to fly through Joburg to get there. Maybe we will take a few extra days... I really want to go on at least one safari before we leave since we won't be back in Africa again for a few years.

I wish I had thought to bring my camera - but just know that Pretoria is beautiful and I would highly recommend it to anyone thinking of visiting.