View of Sandton in the distance and Johannesburg even further in the distance
Today was a long, emotional day. We woke up early and hit the road, headed to Centurion to visit the Haven, where Tisetso lived before we met him. For the sake of his privacy and it being his story to share, we won’t include much, but there were a couple things that we would love to share.
THE famous tuck shop
For many years, we’ve heard about this tuck shop and how Tisetso would be allowed to go buy sweets (according to the aunties this happened every Friday). We were finally able to come to the shop and, with the help of one of the aunties, bought thirty candy bars for the kids currently living there. Tisetso delivered these to the kids and was very popular with everyone (as if he wasn’t already).
Our Kindergarten graduate!
Another bonus for today was that we got more photos and documents and art from Tisetso’s younger years. It was such a sweet blessing to see his little hand and foot prints and compare them to how big they are today. He has certainly grown! We loved getting to hear stories from the aunties who cared for him and seeing him remember so many new things he had forgotten.
There were probably 50 taxis all lined up along the side of this road.
Driving around provided much to enjoy. We had a couple of interactions with our favorite taxis (see this post for more information from our last trip). We also encountered a military base that we had to drive through that made Brian and I both very nervous, both for ourselves and our car, ‘QuestLove.’ One speed bump was so high that we briefly bottomed out. Not fun!
Huh? ⬅️ ➡️ ⬆️
We encountered many signs that made near to no sense to us. These intersection signs always leave us scratching our heads.
Advertise here
There are a TON of advertisements as you drive along the road, but what’s interesting is how people advertise. Many people use these trailers, so you see random trailers on the side of the road.
KFC
In true Tisetso fashion, he wanted KFC for lunch. I noticed they had a hand washing station in the dining area, which I thought was pretty brilliant. Where else do you get your hands so messy as fried chicken? (Ok, I know ribs are up there, but work with me.) I also love the Colonel Sanders tie on the mirror. Presh.
After lunch and a coffee trip, we headed back to the flat to pick up and get ready to meet with the woman who runs the care home our daughter lives in. We were so thankful to meet with her today as she provided such wonderful insight and shared stories about our daughter. She loves crafts and is caring to others, cannot wait to see the ocean, and loves the color pink. 💗
We cannot begin to express how wonderful it was to meet with this woman who has spent such time loving her as she has done. Now we wait for Sunday!
Brian, his dinner, and my arm (Photo cred: Tisetso)
After our meeting, we walked across the street to a restaurant called The Codfather. It was delicious. I got Cape kingklip (a fish local to the Western Cape area), Tisetso got “sticky bbq pork ribs” (big surprise there), and Brian got the paella for two (and brought one serving home).
Cape Gooseberry
Tisetso also got a fruit salad, which was beautiful! In it were these little yellow berries. I was the brave one that tried them first. They tasted like a mix between a somewhat sour berry and had the aftertaste of a tomato. It wasn’t my cup of tea, but Brian tried one as well. We asked our server what they were and she asked the chef. She came back with the answer—gooseberries! I did a little googling and found out that, more specifically, they are Cape gooseberries. Fun!
We are now back safely and wondering (again) when we can go to bed. Brian and Tisetso didn’t sleep well again last night. Hopefully they will sleep just as well as I’ve slept the past two nights.