More corona

So we're stuck in this little studio apartment which sometimes gets to me but then I think others are stuck in far worse places than this, especially in my home country South Africa.  They seem to be handling the virus well but now there is so much hunger, the queues of people waiting for food grow longer and longer and my fear is that this will cause a civil war.  People are desperate to feed their children and will revert to crime if needs be.  Lots of supermarkets have been broken into.

My view

We were supposed to fly back to SA today, 9 May 2020 but because of the travel ban, we're unable to do so.  So far there have been 3 repatriation flights out of USA  and we were considering taking one of these but it would cost us close to R50 000 as the flight alone is over R15 000 pp but only takes you to Johannesburg. Then you have to be in quarantine for 14 days and then make your way to Cape Town on your own steam.

Greensboro made free masks available so we took a walk down to the Municipal offices and got our free masks.  It's such a schlep to wear them as they mist up my specs and I struggle to breathe but we wear it when we enter a shop.  We're never really close to a lot of people at any given point in time other than in the grocery store. I think I'd do a better job than Cyril though, :-)

Mass is done via Youtube every Sunday.  We choose to watch Fr Wim at St Nicholas in Stellenbosch. We managed to set up a sort of worship table.  The desk has to stand in for all the tablespace we need so it's altar, table and desk.  An all-round work station.

So far I cannot really say that the virus has impacted me much other than the concern that I might get it and I have an already compromised immune system through Sjögrens.  We take our vitamin C's and try and get outside into the sun every day, wash our hands fifty times a day and use our masks as needed.  I guess one can't do much more than this. 

Bits and bobs

We were hoping to do Stations of the cross on the Fridays of Lent but the virus had other plans so that fell flat. Then we hoped to be able to go to mass Easter Sunday but that also didn't happen due to the virus.  Very strange feeling to be in a foreign country and the one thing that is universal, the mass, is no longer available.  At least we got a surprise Easter basket at the Caf when we went to get dinner and breakfast.  You pay $5 per meal and you get it between 4pm and 6pm.  It used to be a warm dinner, but they found people preferred warming it up when they were ready to eat it, so all entrees are cold.  You can take 10 items if you order dinner and breakfast that consists of one entree, one breakfast which is either a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit (a lot like our scones) or a ham, egg and cheese croissant, which I preferred.  Lately, the biscuits have been like rocks. Then you add things like chips, nuts, muffins, desserts and drinks to make up the 10 items.

Our Easter basket filled with goodies.

So I decided to cook for Easter Sunday but first had to do my first online order from Harris Teeter, our preferred grocery store. That went quite smoothly and as it was my first, the delivery charge was waived.  I made 'ouvrou onder die kombers', mince meat balls in cabbage leaves but I first braised some steak with onions and when it was nice and brown, packed the stuffed cabbage leaves on top.  It turned out very yummylicious. I also cooked some Irish stew and I'd bought some beetroot.  John got his yellow rice with raisins.  I didn't have tumeric but found some curry powder in the communal kitchen and used that.  We ate on these two meals for days as I froze the leftovers.  Warmed up they were even tastier. I made microwave sago pudding for dessert. 

Lunch plate.

Sago pudding for dessert.

We try and walk a bit every day for exercise because even though we bought an exercise ball, we hardly use it.  So this one day we decided to walk in a different direction and discovered this meandering river with a nice bench to sit on.  Saw some ducks and just sat and enjoyed the scenery.  Everything is so green and it was quite peaceful at the river.  We've been back once since.  Now we need to be careful of the killer hornets as we actually had one in our apartment that John had to get rid of with a towel while I stood outside.  These hornets' sting is apparently lethal.  This happened before we even knew anything about them.  It's huge and I should have taken a photo of it but didn't know what it was at the time.  I just thought "wow, even the bugs are big in USA," lol.

A walk in the park

It's been a while since I posted something and lots have happened.  I have had to go back to ophthalmologist 3 times now and Monday 17 Feb will be the last time as my eye is all better, thank you. On Feb 2,  I decided to take a walk to the public library.  On the way, I walked through a lovely park, well it would be lovely in summer, I guess, once all the trees have leaves and the flowers are out. I love to read but Louisa gave me the idea of joining up to see what's on offer to get to know people. So far I haven't looked at the brochure I took on all the activities.  Uber is just so pricey and so I need to look out for things within walking distance.

So you could actually go improve your putting skills in this park.  In SA all those balls and everything else would be missing in action, :-).

In our search for good coffee, we landed up at Scuppernong Books.  It's like our Exclusive books with Seatle Coffee shop all in one. We won't be back.  Then we walked about on Elm Street and discovered Cheesecakes by Alex.  The coffee was undrinkably hot but was quite nice once it had cooled down.  I couldn't choose a cheesecake as there were far too many to choose from and all baked, so I went for the coconut tarts.

My personal trainer is happy that my arm is showing improvement every time we get together.  We meet every Tues and Thurs.  I'm supposed to do my own exercises during our meets but some days it happens 3 times and others, none.

On Wednesday 4 Feb, I got a new guitar but then I forgot I need non-slip mats on my legs else it slips down on my leg.  It's rather difficult to play like that so now I first need to go search for non-slip cloth.  I'm hoping Target will have.  I really need to go to Target for a sports bra.  Poor Preston, the personal trainer, will be knocked unconscious one of these days with my hooters.

It's been raining hard the last couple of days with a tornado warning yesterday, so I haven't ventured forth much.  Last night we went to Raaz Indian Restaurant again for our curry fix and we had to walk home in the rain.  We'd not taken our umbrellas so we were kinda soaked.

John's studies are going really well.  He's getting 100% for his tests.  Over here you need to get 91% for an A. I had to quiz him on his listening test before and he actually got 110% as the lecturer threw in 2 items that were not on the list for extra marks.

The cooking saga

So I decide to cook up a storm seeing as I have these packets of spices for curries, do dishes and do laundry at the same time.  The communal laundry room is right next to the communal kitchen so while the laundry goes, I reckoned, I'd cook.  First thing I had to do was to get everything over to the kitchen area, laundry, food ingredients from coconut oil to ready dough as I was going to make two curries and the steak pie since I couldn't find kidneys.  I'd asked Nasim, the caretaker, for another bar fridge to hold all this cooking as one was not going to be enough.  He'd promised since Monday that he would bring me one, it eventually arrived yesterday after my marathon cooking spree.

I put in the first load and how you pay is you insert your bank card and it deducts $1.50 for a wash and the same for the dryer.  With the laundry going, I prepare my first meal which is the chicken tikka masala and for this, I need half a large tin of tomato puree.  I had the tin and I had bought a tin opener but for the life of me, I couldn't get the opener to open the tin.  A guy comes in to cook himself some breakfast and I ask if he knew how to work the tin opener and he says yes very enthusiastically but give a few twists and gives up as it won't work for him either.  I must say that he did mention that he works for Proctor and Gamble and I guess his lily-white office boy hands were no match for that tin opener.  Me being a strong South African woman, was not going to let a little tin opener get the better of me and I battled on as I was now losing time. 

The chicken was all cut up and ready to go.  It was an easy meal to cook as all I needed was the tomatoes, chicken and the packet of spices mixed up in a cup of water.  If only I could get the darned tin open.  I battled for another little bit and then Nasim came in and I asked if he could help and he tried and gave up and went and fetched the same type of tin opener. I figured if I couldn't get this one to work, I wasn't gonna bother with the same type.  I eventually managed to get the tin open and by now it had a totally new shape and I could cook my first meal after I had to run back to the apartment to get garlic and ginger for the pie and again to get paper towel, spray and cook and butter.

With the first load of laundry done, I put in the second and prepped for the second meal which was even easier as all it needed was to brown the chicken and add the spices mixed up in a cup of water.  Easy peasy.  Then it was the turn of the steak pie.  I only had one pot so I had to cook, let cool and dish out into foil bowls which I had bought especially for this. I needed to roll out the dough so I cleaned an area and sprinkled some flour on there and then started to roll out my dough.  Doesn't some of the black stuff of the counter come off on my dough but by then I couldn't give two hoots.  I had to use an unopened 1.5l red wine as a rolling pin.  Then I had to make sure the dough rounds were big enough for the foil pie tins I had bought.  Managed to make two and a half pies out of the dough and had some left-over steak mix for another time. After baking my pies and eating the half one I made, I came to the conclusion that my dough was too thick.  I don't like thick dough on pies but nou ja.  It was at least edible with black countertop colouring and all.

By now laundry was all washed and dried and now I had the next mission, to carry everything back to the apartment.  Luckily or unluckily there are oven trays that I could use.  I couldn't leave my apartment door open and it's spring-loaded hinges so you have to unlock and push and slide inside.  On my first trip, I had one of the curries and rice and as I tried to manoeuvre it through the door, it slipped and nearly fell but I managed to hold on and just spilt some curry down the door.  Gave my left arm a bit of a wrench there. It took me about 7 trips up and down to get everything back, pack away the laundry and only then could I sit down and relax a bit.  Boy was I tired after that and I swore never again.  I anyway don't think there's much of a saving in cooking versus eating at the caf.  John doesn't think my no more cooking policy will hold as I enjoy cooking so much but it's just too much effort.  It's not that the kitchen is far, it's about 20m and up a flight of stairs but it's getting everything back to the apartment that's making it a not so nice experience.

Medical woes

Today I cried for the first time in Greensboro.  About 3 days ago my eye started showing signs of a stye and I thought, ag it's only a stye and will go away again.  Not this time.  Last night we went to Walgreens Pharmacy to buy some stye ointment and although the package says Stye, the small print says it helps for itching, burning etc but does not cure a stye.  Anyway, this morning when I got up, my eye was swollen almost shut.  So now to get an ophthalmologist.  I am on United Medical Care medical insurance and this was going to be my very first attempt at getting to a doctor. I sit down at my pc and I log into my medical insurance app to find a doctor as the doctor I go to has to be part of the network and if not, I would have to pay out of pocket. As mentioned before anything medical is extremely expensive so I had to make sure this doctor was on the network.  I called the first one on the list and got through only to be told that they only do eye surgery.  I called the second one on the list and the lady there gives me another number to call for the stand-in ophthalmologist.  I call there and get an appointment but now I have to make sure this doctor is on the network.  So I phone my medical insurance and ask them if he is on the network and they tell me that they don't have a list of docs on the network and that I would have to check online.  She walks me through how to do that and this doctor is not on the network. Ok, so I cancel that appointment.  I can hardly see through this eye and I can't seem to find a doctor to help me and I just burst into tears.  Then John took over.  He called another doctor on the list and was told that they only do retinas or some such.  Then he tries another doctor and gets me an appointment but I'm still pessimistic about this as anything could still go wrong.  I hadn't printed out my medical insurance ID card yet but they told John that the one on my phone would be fine.  I also haven't got my Greensboro ID yet but they said my passport would work.

A uber ride later, I get to the doctor.  My appointment is at 11h30 and I get there by 11h20.  You have to announce yourself at the counter, which is normal, but there's a queue because they are implementing a new computer system. Eventually, I get to the front and the lady is not happy that I don't have my medical insurance card printed out and to top that I don't have an ID. She explains that it would take a while as she now has to load me on two computer systems and I say that's fine.  After about 10 minutes she says we're good and I can take a seat.  Just sat down and she calls me again and asks to see my medical insurance card and she explains stuff to someone at the medical insurance office as they have to make sure that I'm covered or else to pay-up. The lady explains to me that they cannot call up United Medical insurance on their computer but that it would have to be phoned in, I guess by the insurance company.  She says this will take a bit longer.  Ok, I'm fine with that.  About 15v minutes later I get called by Felicia, a nurse, who first does eye testing and all of that.  Gets my medical history etc.  Then she goes off to test my specs and tells me Albert will be in shortly.  I have not idea who Albert is and what he would be doing for me.  About 15 minutes later again, Albert pops in and he asks some questions and checks out my eye, dilating it.  He says it's a stye that has infected my eyelid and that he would put me on a course of antibiotics and that I need to do a warm compress on the eye as regularly as I can, like every hour.  I had to put some rice in an old sock, and put it in the microwave for 20 seconds and keep that on my eye after checking that it was not too hot for my eye by first testing on the outside of my hand and then my cheek.  If it was not too hot for my cheek, it was ok for my eye.

I got out of that surgery by 13h36 exactly, Got an uber to Walgreens in Spring Street, which is the closest one to us.  The doc had sent my script there and all I had to do was to collect.  I go to the collect window and tell my story and the girl says yes she can see my script, halleluiah.  Then she asks me if I have a prescription card and I ask where I was supposed to get that and she says the medical insurance had to send me one as my meds would then be cheaper.  She suggests I call my medical insurance which I dutifully do cause who doesn't want a saving?  Now calling the medical insurance is not as easy as it sounds.  It's press 1 for this and 2 for that and a whole long waiting time.  Eventually, I get through and I'm told that with my plan, I have to pay upfront and then claim. So that is what I will do and hopefully get all my money back.

We don't have a printer here, which is quite a schlepp as I have to send all my printing to John on email and then he prints it at the university. So now he's been sent the claim form which he'll print and then I have to complete and then he has to scan it in so I can send it to the medical insurance for reimbursement.  I just find everything takes so much longer here than in SA.  I guess I will get used to it in the long run but I'll just start getting used to everything and then we have to leave, such a waste of time and energy.

Getting used to a different way of doing

The shopping spree did not happen as planned.  So last Sunday we went to mass, this time at 11h00 because then the organ played.  After mass we walked to the cafeteria for lunch and then got an uber to Indu Indian shop which was not at all as I envisaged.  Spices are so expensive and if I had to buy all the spices I needed, it would cost a small fortune and I would end up leaving it all behind in May when we go back to SA so I bought some packets of pre-packed spices for Lamb Rogan Josh, Chicken Tikka masala and Butter chicken. We got some authentic Indian tomato sauce which they call ketchup.  There was so nothing authentic about it as it was Maggie tomato sauce and tasted just like the ordinary one. 

One thing I noticed about food stores is that there is such a huge variety of things.  For instance, if you want milk, there are half and half, 2%, low fat, whole mile with vitamin D, etc.  You stand there for 10 minutes just trying to figure out which one to take. I wanted cream crackers and there was a whole aisle, I promise you, of crackers to choose from.  As I needed the crackers to make custard slice, I needed custard powder and as I couldn't find that anywhere, I luckily also did not have to choose cream crackers for now.  I need to get to Walmart, apparently, they have custard powder or else I have to order it online.

So then I felt like making steak and kidney pie and the steak was easy enough to find but you don't get kidneys in-store or butcher, you have to order it online and then you go online and they're out of stock.  If I could give anyone advice who will be staying overseas for just a short while, it's best to buy pre-packed food, not very healthy although the package will tell you no GMO or MSG or whatever but it's cheaper than having to buy every ingredient and getting utensils and spices and everything else that you need to do home cooking.  At least the communal kitchen has a biggish pot, a smaller one and a few pans but everything else you'd have to buy, like tin opener, peeler etc.

I now am the proud owner of a Wells Fargo banking account with my own card. Soon we will apply for our Greensboro ID's and a social security card so that we can work here. You are not allowed to earn any income without a social security card. 

We met with the pastor/music director at the Baptist Church just opposite us, and John might be starting an internship there and I was offered one as well at $100 per week.  Not much but better than nothing.  So hopefully we'll be able to generate $200 dollars per week between the two of us.  The pastor also has a classical guitar that he's never used and I would be able to practice on it and maybe join in the band.  I would rather sing though as I haven't touched a guitar since November because of the shoulder operation.

I've now been to gym twice with Preston Ellington, my personal trainer and it's going well.  Instead of just concentrating on getting my arm up to speed, he also wants to help me get more fit. The food in the caf don't help as it's top-heavy with starches.  On a good day, I could make up a plate with some protein and veggies, depending on the time of day.  We've discovered that if you go there after lunch, then only a few stalls still have food and it's mostly burgers, pizza and pasta. Best to then rather wait till 16h00 when they all open again for supper.

Uninvited guests

Shopping day but first John has to be at orientation again from 10 so we agreed to meet at 12 or so to take the bus to Friendly Centre where he has to open a bank account.  Then from there we'll Uber to Target, Walmart and Indu Indian shop.  I crave roti and curry so badly.  It's quite difficult to find fresh produce at local convenience stores.  You have to visit supermarkets which are all not withing walking distance. We've spent a small fortune on uber already.  More on the shopping spree later.

About 2 days ago I saw a small cockroach in the sink area and told Nasim who said if I should see another, he would organize fumigation.  So I saw another bigger one in the bath last night and let him know so fumigation will happen today at 16h00.  I hope we don't come home to some awful smells again.

Our place is looking kind of homey now but we don't spend much time here.  Once John's classes start I guess I would spend more time here cooking and cleaning. We were promised lovely warm weather come March and I can't wait.  It's freezing cold here and even though I had brought all my Winter clothes, it's not the same kind of cold as in South Africa so most of my clothes would be too warm for inside as the aircon is on in every building.  You need to dress warm enough for outside but then not die of heatstroke when inside or while walking.

I forgot that on Tuesday we also went to the UNCG gym.  It's free for John but I had to join on his membership so that I could get my arm strength back after the operation.  It was cheaper to do it this way than to see a physiotherapist which we heard was quite pricey here.