Top 5 reasons to move to Bloomington, Indiana

1. Becoming a Hoosier. After all, Hoosiers is one of Julianna's favorite movies.

2. Finding out what a Hoosier is!

3. In case you were wondering, southern Indiana is not flat. In fact, it has rolling hills, forests and a few lakes, and is known for its beautiful fall colors.

4. The doctoral program in Higher Education and Student Affairs at Indiana University, which Jim will begin in August.

5. An excellent assistantship offer for Jim at the Center for Postsecondary Research at IU that covers tuition and health insurance and provides a monthly stipend. (Yes, Jim accepted the offer!)

While we are excited about what lays ahead, we are sad about having to say goodbye to this place and our friends here. Honestly, the mere contemplation of having to pull up roots and begin again with establishing ourselves in a new place, developing new relationships, finding a new church, and of course Julianna finding a new job, is exhausting to us. It is a new set of unknowns to try to let go of and place in God's capable and trusthworthy hands.

On another note, we have never moved somewhere and actually known that we would be living there for more than a year or two. This program will likely take at least four years. So...come for a visit!

Fun recent eats

1. Jim's butternut ravioli

2. Fish (snoek - a local fish, delicious!!!) and chips, smothered with vinegar, lemon juice and salt, on the beachfront. No, that's not a grimace on my face - it was actually quite sunny and I was having trouble keeping my eyes open for the shot. Come on Jim I can't wait much longer: gotta eat!

3. Bokkoms, a Cape West Coast specialty: dried, salted fish

4. Apple-current pecan scones with fresh French press coffee

5. A braai (barbeque/grill out) of bacon wrapped pork chops (stuffed with curry, red onion, fresh basil and apricot) and grilled aubergine/eggplant, summer squash/patty pan, nectarine and plum

Animals seen on game drive

What an amazing experience to sit in our land rover watching elephants ripping up grass and listening to them chew it! Our group of 6 people plus guide & tracker sat enraptured for 45 minutes next to this group of 12 elephants.
We also saw a lot of giraffe - notice the red-billed ox picker (bird) on his head?
And lions! We came upon 6 cubs, 2 lionesses and this 1 male in the morning; then in the evening we found them again and watched the cubs eating a recently killed warthog.
A waterbuck, which is always found close to water (its refuge in case of predators)

Game Reserve

Welcome to Kapama Private Game Reserve in Mpumulanga province! After a flight to Johannesburg and a six-hour drive (scenic but long) we arrived safely at the lodge. We spent two nights here, with meals and game drives included. (Thanks to Jul's work for the recommendation and connection...)
Below, the pool overlooking a watering hole. After getting up at 5 am for a game drive, we spent the majority of the day here relaxing (and swimming laps). At one point we saw a small family of nyala (a type of antelope) quietly approaching to drink. Amazing. Above, a shot of our ranger, Richard, and tracker, Enoch. I believe Richard was reversing out of the bush after spotting two rhino.

Scenes from the Cape Winelands