Hola de Escondido

Hi there,

Greetings to all our friends and family from our new home on the other side of the big blue-and-green marble.

We have decided to hang around in the U.S. for a while as our bottoms are making rather strong objections against any mention of transatlantic voyages.

In a nutshell...

(1) Rump-steak (Top-Sirloin as it is called here) turned out to be among the cheaper cuts in America and since that's our favourite it suits us just fine:).
(2) Charcoal is hard to find and we were forced to downgrade to briquettes until Jac's 100 ton shipment landed from South Africa.
(3) We stay in a cozy little studio apartment until a bigger apartment becomes available. The place has its downsides, but it is rather nice to be able to have a bath or sit on the toilet while laying the table and preparing dinner:). The road that passes our unit very conveniently turned out to go just about everywhere...except to the beach:).
(4) Bella works hectic twelve hour shifts three times a week to keep us alive. She is getting much better at handling the workload after her 5 month vacation in South Africa and she even manages to smile and walk in a straight line when she gets back from the hospital.
(5) Jac is still desperately trying to resolve issues with his visa, but God has already tarred so many of our dirt-roads that we simply cannot look ahead with doubt. My bet is that it would probably take less effort to sort out my visa issues with U.S. immigration services than it took me to sort out my internet banking account with my bank in South Africa:).
(6) The Westminster Seminary campus is a little slice of heaven and we received a very warm welcome. They have a nice big lawn, a great bookstore and we attend chapel on campus too:).
(7) Our apartment is a mere 20 mile drive to our favourite beach (Encinitas). Large firepits, fewer buildings to spoil the scenery and long stretches of sand for refreshing walks all add to the magic.
(8) Our most recent house rule is to spend our Sundays to explore the literaly hundreds of hiking trails around the coast and the surrounding mountainside. Our surroundings are breathtakingly beautiful!

We look forward to hear from all of you and duly appreciate all the support so far.

Adios,
Jac en Bella