The past forty-eight hours have been a whirlwind. On the day we were to leave Gabs, we closed our bank account, packed our bags, said goodbye to friends, and sold the car to Zane. Everything went smoothly. The fifty minute flight was also uneventful, but our arrival in Joburg was the start of the adventure. We arrived early and I called Driaan, my friend Hannalie’s son who is studying in Pretoria. When he drove up to the curb, we could detect the strong smell of antifreeze. We thought it initially was a gasket, but turned out to be a disconnected hose. In any case, there was no water in the engine and it had to be towed. So we waited as Driaan called his brother Bassie to drive forty minutes to the airport and then we transferred everything from one car to the other. Driaan and Bassie live on the west side of Pretoria, and we were staying on the east side. Bassie loaned us his VW, so we drove to their place first, then Bassie drove us over to the flat so we would know where it was, then we dropped him back to his place, and we finally arrived at 11:45 pm, three and half hours from when we landed. We were exhausted and slept well.
Yesterday morning, I woke up and wanted to get some groceries. A tiny detail Bassie forgot to tell us about was the alarm. So I managed to set that off and most likely woke anyone who wasn’t up already in this small complex. After doing some light shopping at the KwikSpar, I got into the car again, and the alarm would not turn off. Fortunately, I was in front of a security system company and the owner found that the battery was not working properly. So we got that all straightened out and I went back to what will be our home for a few weeks to have breakfast with Russ.
Russ and I wanted to get a SIM card for the phone and look for an internet connection. We got into the VW, turned the ignition, and nothing. The engine turned over and the battery sounded strong. We thought it must have been an immobilizer switch. Out of his flat comes Oom (Uncle) Dorf, the self-appointed mayor and watchdog of this small housing complex. We explained our situation - that we had a doctor’s appointment later on and asked how could we access a taxi. Explaining how difficult it was to get a taxi in the suburbs, he took it upon himself to call Bassie and Driaan (they were both taking exams and did not answer), then started talking to the neighbors. Within a couple of hours, we had met three other people in the complex. One of them, Vannie, was an older man who ran a nursery business. He offered to take us of his way to the hospital, and then picked us up again when we were finished. The hospital is twenty minutes north of here and his business is almost in Joburg, but he did not hesitate to do either. Another woman Crystal drove me to a store where I could get airtime and a SIM card. In the meantime, Dorf called a mechanic friend to come look at the car and he could not figure out the immobilizer problem either.
We were at the hospital for a couple of hours. Our time with Dr. Bennett was helpful. Yes, Russ has some heart damage. Yes, he should be scheduled for an angiogram soon. No, Russ’ heart flutters are nothing to worry about. Yes, he is on all the right meds for now. His secretary Marti was even more helpful, getting Russ into the schedule first thing Thursday morning. We went through pre-admission at the hospital, where we got a bit of sticker shock. They required an 85,000 rand deposit (about $12,000) which we were expecting but when faced with the numbers is still mind-blowing.
It feels like southern California in January here. It is comfortably warm during the day, but not too much. However, it is quite cool in the evenings, much more than we expected, and I think we may have to buy some warmer clothes. The flat is really a small one-story house with living room, kitchen, one and half baths, and three bedrooms inside a walled community. We had a nice dinner of fish, rice, and peas and then watched a movie, of which there are hundreds to choose from here.
Driaan, who is studying engineering, came over later last night to try and fix the car. It was a good diversion for Russ. Together they determined it was a faulty fuel pump, so that grounded use of the VW. Driann however had fixed his Toyota and is lending it to us for a week, so we drove him back to his place and then came back here. We are hoping this is the end of the car troubles! We are taking it easy today.
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