So here's a funny story...

On Monday, an older couple from Holland came to volunteer at Botshabelo for three weeks...and subsequently kicked us out of our room around 2pm. We then moved to the unfinished two-story hotel (and by hotel we mean little house), where we would get to have separate bedrooms. Unfortunately, after hours of searching through a million keys, it became undeniable that one of the rooms was locked, and not opening any time soon. At 4pm, we moved from the hotel to the Chalet, which is four little studio apartments in a row. Picture NYC efficiency style. The good news about the Chalet is that we each got our own room--fully equipped with a REAL SHOWER AND TOILET RIM (please be grateful for your stand-up showers and toilet rims!!!)--it unfortunately, was a one step forward two steps back situation. Although we now had legit bathrooms , and the most amazing view EVER (check out the pictures...yeah, that's the view from our room!), we no longer had a fridge, oven, stove, or a kitchen table. PLUS, there are a bagillion more bugs. At least this is our final destination, and we wont have to move anymore.

One of the drawbacks of Ayla’s room is that it contains the breakers for the whole Chalet. And the power likes to go out. A lot. In fact, Monday night it went on and off for a few hours, until it decided to stop working for good sometime during the night. Tuesday morning Ayla went to take a shower, but it quickly became apparent that the water wasn’t getting hot and that the flow was getting lighter by the moment. So she turned it off and went on her way to the village to conduct more interviews with Ilene. Fast forward a few hours and we return to our home. As Ayla put the key in her new door, she heard a sound...and knew it could be nothing good. Turns out, instead of shutting her shower off, she turned it on full blast (but didn’t know since there was no water when the electricity went out) and her brand new bathroom and “kitchen” were flooding. OY VEY.

And now for Wednesday...

SCRATCH ALL OF THAT!!! So all of that...happened yesterday. But today, our friends, is a new day.

We began our morning with a hefty clean. Unfortunately for our 6-8 legged friends, we forced a massive eviction. Ilene (AKA “The Daddy Long-Leg Whisperer”) must have removed about a bagillion (no really, we counted...a bagillion!) Daddys. This eviction was so big, in fact, we had to call for reinforcements to remove the BIGGEST, GROSSEST, BROWNEST slug you’ve ever seen from Ilene’s bathroom (check the picture above)! So after hours (literally, hours) of backbreaking cleaning, our rooms were spotless and we felt at home...phew!

We went to return the cleaning supplies, took a shower, and we were on our way out for the day...until Ayla couldn’t find her computer modem. Interesting. She knew exactly where she’d left it (which never happens for her), but it was nowhere to be found. And then...Detectives Ayla & Ilene discovered a clue! Dirty, muddy, footprints on the wall, strategically located right underneath a tiny open window. Hmmm. It didn’t take long for Detectives Ayla & Ilene to piece together what happened. It was then, that we discovered dirty, muddy, fingerprints above the window. CSI! Where are you when we need you?!?! We couldn’t lift the prints!

It was clearly one of the Botshabelo kids who had climbed into Ayla's room and got away with her modem (because seriously, it was a TINY window)...and the villagers have no idea what a computer even is...so Mamma Marion had a little chat with the boys. So far no luck. Keep your fingers-crossed. It should turn up in the next few days (that is, unless they sold it for 5 Rand—which is less than a $1).

And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better...later this afternoon, we moved AGAIN!!! The Cloetes didn’t feel safe with us in the Chalet, so we’re back to the two-story hotel (AKA little house). Sans a kitchen sink. And kitchen/living room furniture...and the biggest bonus of all: NO BATHROOM DOOR! And an extra extra bonus: the Holland couple won’t let us cook in their kitchen (AKA our kitchen until we moved for them). Boo. And the SUPER DUPER BONUS: We got to clean again.

But, we’re grateful because we’ve still got the South African mountains out of our new windows. And tomorrow is a new day.

***PS: This is a joint post from Ayla & Ilene***