Zim Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Well, the time has finally come for me to commit to writing and upkeeping a journal of this great adventure! I have never been very good at noting all the dates and figures along our application process so please forgive me if my stats are not entirely accurate... all I know is that we are now counting down days to lift off and suddenly now it all becomes real... but I am jumping ahead of myself let me take you back to the beginning.My husband (although he was not yet my husband then) and I were living in PE in 2003 where he was completing his commercial pilots license and I was finishing off my teaching degree through UNISA. Our lives changed forever on the late November day when he got a call over the radio to say his father had died of a sudden heart attack. We needed to get home. Home is 2000kms away in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. After the funeral we realised the family company was in a big mess and we would have to stay on for a while to try and salvage something. All our young dreams of travelling the world were put on hold - just for a short time we thought... and as you know LIFE HAPPENS....Over the next few years we would committ to one project after another, we bought a house, we got married, we had two little boys, somehow we got a labrador - and a jack russell - and a cat! We were employing over 100 people - supporting over 100 families in a ravaged hungry country. how could we ever leave now? our great adventure had to wait, maybe forever?In 2009 our eldest (and only at the time) son got sick. I wont go into the details of it all because even now it freaks me out. But during this journey with him we realised that it was unfair to our children to put them through such risks. We spent a night in a terrible gov hospital because at that stage none of the private hospitals even had doctors. Although we didnt know it at the time, the little baby 'asleep' in the cot next to our son had been dead for at least 6 hours and no one had even bothered to check on him or attend to this. At that moment a seed was planted, a look passed between us and we knew as 2 young naive parents that this was not good enough, we were not doing enough to secure the future of our son. Most days were fine, bread queues, fuel queues, political instability, sporadic violence we learnt to cope with it all. But the moment our childrens lives were not respected enough was enough.So we began a loooooong process. I think I did the ielts first, then the aitsl assessment and so we went down the list. All the time my husband didnt really believe it was possible but he humoured me and encouraged me to keep going - and most importantly found the money to support my new obsession. in 2011 our second son was born and our focus shifted for a while and i was short on work experience within the last 5 years so back to work i went (if only i had known the with the introduction of EOI this requirement would change)... as soon as i had the minimum amount of work experience, in that application went and then the wait....... sorry more again soon. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toitjie Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 Cant wait to read more Zim. I always feel sad when I read about the horrors and traumas that mobilise people to move. I hope your journey our of Zim happens soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zim Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 Well its taken me a few days to get back here for more journalling! I decided to wake up early this morning to fit it in - there just dont seem to be enough hours in the day anymore.Well the wait to hear back from our CO was, as you all know, a bit of an anxious wait. Waking up and checking emails at 3 in the morning etc! But exciting that each new day held such potential to change our lives . Finally that email came through requesting a few documents - I think it was just Form 80 for my husband, PCC's, Medicals and a problem with my UNISA practical requirement letter (bummer....). So we launched back into paperwork mode having had lots of practise by now! I was dreading figuring out the whole UNISA story having heard some real horror stories but in the end I just spoke with a receptionist who organised it all for me within a day and popped the letter in the post! Of course the post to Zimbabwe is another story altogether and it was a month before it arrived. But we were waiting on PCC's anyway so no stress there.Once it was all in, the process halted once again with 'referred' medicals for whatever reason but our CO was great and kept us in touch and up to date. Of course I was closely following the immigration website as well but cant remember what that thing is called now where you check on your application online? Warned you that my memory is shot .At last one of my early morning checks on email produced the goods and PR was granted! Oh my goodness we are permanent residents of Australia! Still feels good to say that.In the meantime finances had seriously taken a downward turrn. We couldnt afford o leave now because my husbands business was in such a mess but we couldnt afford the activation trip either.... wait, see and pray. I HATE being patient. I want to get on with my life! With less than a month to go before our activation date expired there still was no plan. WE bagan emailing our CO to see if this date could be extended??? Were we really going to come this close and have it all slip away with the passing of a single day? I'd love to tell you but my kids have just woken up. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistermoose Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 s01e03 please 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCabes Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 lol mistermoose!Zim, SERIOUSLY!!! don't leave me hanging like this!!!My guess would be they said yes though! Would be more reassuring if your signature was updated and we could see further plans...Don't leave us in suspenders too long! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zim Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 Thanks for your interest guys! Inspiring me to keep going! Someone out there is actually listening So the case officer let us know that usually one waits for the activation date to pass and then makes an appeal citing your reasons and they better be good! Sounded like rather a risk and we began trying to sell our car - we only had the one but what could we do! It was and still continues to be very frustrating because we are owed so much money - still are...its whats holding us back here but its very hard to get what you're owed in a lawless country. However, with 2 weeks to go until the date paassed and still no movement on the sale of our car, someone who we thought we would never get money out of called to say they could pay us just a portion of what they owed and wouldnt you know it - exactly enough for flights, accomodation and 2 weeks spending money in PERTH! God is so good! We took this as a sign that we really were meant tto be going down this road.And of course we LOVED Perth! My husband was a different man without the stress of this pace on him daily. The kids just blossomed there, they loved the freedom of the beaches and skateboarding on the road after dark and seeing mom and dad (for probably the first time in their little lives) not struggling just to get out of bed and keep going everyday. We all felt so free! We knew this was for us from the moment we touched down at that airport. Felt like coming home. Sounds corny I know but really it did.Then we had to go back never have i been less keen on leaving a place! We even toyed with the idea of just being incredibly irresponsible and just not going back Of course we did and it was tough to get back to the grindstone. Tough not to tell your friends just how much you LOVED it especially! So this was mid year 2013 and I had my heart set on getting back by the end of the year. My husband of course thought i was being ridiculous and sat me down with lists of problems to solve, people to hound for our money, employees to retrench, properties to sell, the list goes on and on and on.... Of course I attacked it all with a vengeance. I wanted my eldest to start year 1 in Feb and I would do anything to get it done. Too much it seems - by late August I was not myself - I was having panic attacks although at the time I thought they were heart attacks. I went to see specialists who found an irregular heart beat that was making me so nervous but it was nothing that could kill me just frighten the living daylights out of me! And with everyday I spent huddled on the couch I just thought of another day lost on progress to get us back to Perth. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCabes Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 Wow Zim, what a long, painful journey this has been for you!Hoping the next installment has some happy news... hope Perth is not far in your future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zim Posted January 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 So... Things are about to look up... We didn't get back by the end of the year and my son couldn't start school in the new year but I realised it wasn't then end of the world! As I started to come around from the panic attacks and health worries my perspective had shifted and I realised what was really important. But now as the new year has come round we have really starting making some progress. My husband is finally getting the family business to a point where it can run under a manager, outstanding debts are coming in and we have sold our house and are living in temp accommodation for the next few months.Luckily being a teacher I am homeschooling my son to hopefully get him on a par with other year 1s once we arrive but being disciplined to so this in the midst of all the chaos is tougher than I thought!We are just beginning to look at flights now to probably fly out on April Fools Day, we'll do a week detour down to Cape Town to say goodby to my sister and mom and then off we go! 63 days away! Eish! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eva Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 I have enjoyed reading your story. It made me smile, love your positive vibe. All the best with sorting things out in the final stretch. Life truly is wonderful here.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronwyn&Co Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 What a great read, thank you! Your determination is very inspiring Zim. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCabes Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Zim, I think if you focus on the basics, (reading, 'riting, 'rithmetic), he will manage on the other side. We after-school as my son has a disorder and we need to keep him just a little ahead otherwise he can't manage in class. I taught him to read in Grade R using Letterland and the I am Sam books online. We use dreambox.com to keep an eye on maths as it's basically like games they play online but it teaches them a lot - I can already see a difference when he has to do homework. It also has an awesome parent dashboard that shows you exactly where they are in each area, they also don't limit kids to their own grade. Kids can work over a few grade levels so they can go further with concepts they understand really well while getting more practice and learning the ones they're not so clear on. You get a free 2 week trial or up to 65% discount if you buy through the homeschool buyer's co-op. I also like that they don't include lessons on money or time as it would hardly help to be learning the USA system. People also word time differently, like in the UK (strangely enought) I've heard them use the afrikaans type "it's half-ten", meaning 9:30.Sorry, long story over. Good luck for your last 2 months or so. Hope everything goes smoothly now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaandPaul Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Thanks for your sharing Zim. Oh my word, you had me in tears. I am so glad that you now have this opportunity to go an live in a place that is more peaceful. That is all that matters in the end, that peace of mind. All the stress you have been under - I really hope all your dreams come true in Aus!!!We are leaving the same sort of time - first week of April to Sydney - go well! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rozellem Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 McCabes, (just because I am a nerd and cant help myself).........in Afr/German half ten is 9:30, but in UK English it is in fact 10:30. Just to confuse the rest of the world. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zim Posted January 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Thanks guys, your comments are keeping me going and I think I may be getting addicted to this journalling thing! My husband always tells me I never 'talk', never express my feelings (he's the chick in our marriage ) now I can just direct him to my journal and he'll know what I'm thinking! LOLThanks McCabes for that advice about homeschooling - definitely going to check those things out cause at the moment I am stumbling through what I 'think' he should be learning!Well, we got our quote back from IOM yesterday and it is almost $1000 cheaper than booking through SAA direct which is wonderful, but only problem is that we cant stop off in jhb for a week to do our leg to Cape Town to see family so we'll have to rework things a bit!We decided after we moved out of our house and into this rental that our furniture is WAY too big and HEAVY. We were all set to go with the container but when it took 8 strong men to move our sideboard (railway sleeper) we just thought it wasnt feasible on the other side when we will be moving ourselves and in a much smaller house - Africa we will miss you in some ways! So we have been lightening our load and selling everything! We will take a few boxes of sentimental stuff and kids special things but for the most part it will just be us, our suitcases and BIG SMILES Funny thing is as our furniture is slowly sold I really dont mind saying good bye to my husband's family furniture that we inherited but my family stuff is just so much harder to let go of! I really hope we dont regret all this one day! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCabes Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 LOL Roz, no way!!! HAHAHA!Yup... again, why I'm glad that the site doesn't include time or money lessons... I can only imagine how confused the kids would be.Oh - another punt, dreambox aligns to the USA common core curriculum, which seems a little ahead of ours here if I look at what my son is doing compared to the packs we've got home that they will cover in grade 2. Some of the school stuff he's already "mastered" in the grade 1 material on DB... so hoping this proves a happy helping medium for us. Zim, there's also an online reading program called reading eggs that I've heard rave reviews about. My son didn't like it, but he has extremely low frustration tolerance and just didn't cope with the timed activities (fun times ahead as he starts proper tests and term assessments this year!). But it also has a neat parent dashboard, I found it very impressive, but it just wasn't going to work for us.I think it's most important to establish a love of reading, and a feeling of confidence when looking at maths. Board games are a fantastic way to build math skills (monopoly involves recognition and addition of dice numbers, physical knowledge of numbers to move your piece, problem solving to work out what you need to do at each destination block, reading practice with the community chest and chance cards, and working with money to buy properties and pay fines, make change etc.)Monopoly I would only try from maybe 7 though. Uno is fab for colour and number recognition, we took the "funny" cards out to start and just played with normal cards until he had that down pat.Go fish 10s is also great for teaching bonds to 10 - you have to collect pairs of numbers that together make 10, so 2 and 8, 6 and 4 etc. You just remove the face cards. Sorry... I would love to homeschool so I get carried away I would try keep the small family heirloom type stuff if you can... That must be so incredibly difficult All the best... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joweni Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Good idea Zim to leave behind that heavy stuff. We are also from Zim and we brought across our two favourite couches as well as other furniture but after 5 moves my husband has said that's it-says if we ever move again those couches are not going with us!! LOL. Bring a few sentimental things but in the big scheme of things, furniture is easily replaceable and the stuff you an get here is just so much easier to move around. Good luck with your journey and look forward to living in a country where things actually work 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronwyn&Co Posted January 29, 2014 Report Share Posted January 29, 2014 Zim if I were in your shoes and if bringing a container, I would definitely not be getting rid of quality furniture. It's impossible to find in Australia! You do eventually move into bigger houses when finances improve...just my 2c. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zim Posted February 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2014 Thanks so much Joweni for your encouragement that we are on the right track! Bronwyn&Co I hear you and good point but we are not bringing a container at all - just 4 boarding school trunks at this stage!So the last few days have been pretty productive I think, although I'm sure I'm not moving fast enough and its still going to be a mad rush to get on the plane - that's just how I roll....The Big news is that we have found a house... I have been looking at holiday rentals for when we arrive and because it was going to be over Easter its all mostly over 1000 a week... I was also confused about how long to book for because you never know when you are going to land that elusive rental. Well all my worrying was for nothing (as usual) when we heard through a friend that they have a friend who will be looking for tenants early April. Something I had so been praying about but now that its happened I find myself scrutinising and questioning it. The thing is ... its in Clarkson ... the older part... now I know nothing about Clarkson other than what I've read here on the forums and none of it has been good. But the house itself looks nice enough, new kitchen, paint and carpeting, a pool and a nice deck and back garden. The bedrooms are a little on the small side but its all about the adventure right? Right? So the owner says she used to have some dodgy people in gov housing across the street but that has since been sold to a lovely young family and other than that very nice neighbours, and as my husband says - for all we know we could be the bogans! We're not exactly very fancy people so I'm sure we'll fit right in with a bit of drama Another bonus is that this lady is also selling up all her furniture - some is a bit expensive but as we are arriving with nothing it would be so nice to at least be able to buy a bed and fridge to arrive to!So all in all a good week I think! Now if I could just sell some furniture on this side... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zim Posted February 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Hey cyber friends! Been a while since my last post but been a rather draining couple of weeks. Within the last 3 weeks my husband has run over our precious cat Smudge, we discovered our 3 year old Labrador Millie had liver cancer and had to be put down and our old jack Russell is really on his last legs and everyday I tell myself we need to take him into the vet to be put down but everyday I think ... Just one more day! This month has been a huge wrench for all of us and made us realise just how huge saying goodbye is. We had lovely homes all sorted for our cat and lab so it was just such a shock and one after the other has been too much people try and say in the nicest possible way that these things are for the best and they would have missed us etc etc but nothing covers up that horrible emptiness here without them.We also decided not to take the rental in clarkson, my cousin went and had a look at it for us and decided the street was really not ideal. So we are still aiming to find a rental before we arrive - I haven't booked any holiday temp accommodation because I KNOW God has something planned for us! Watch this space.... You've got 41 days God Which brings me to the most exciting happier news which is we have booked our tickets! One way to Perth! Wow! We leave Bulawayo on the 1st of April, go down to Cape Town for a week to see family and then off to Perth on the 9th! People seem incredulous when they ask where we will live, what we will drive, where we will work and I can't answer any of that! But this process has taught me that life is so much more than that and we are being liberated from so many shackles. Faith that it will all be ok is all I need! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryVR Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Hey cyber friends! Been a while since my last post but been a rather draining couple of weeks. Within the last 3 weeks my husband has run over our precious cat Smudge, we discovered our 3 year old Labrador Millie had liver cancer and had to be put down and our old jack Russell is really on his last legs and everyday I tell myself we need to take him into the vet to be put down but everyday I think ... Just one more day! This month has been a huge wrench for all of us and made us realise just how huge saying goodbye is. We had lovely homes all sorted for our cat and lab so it was just such a shock and one after the other has been too much people try and say in the nicest possible way that these things are for the best and they would have missed us etc etc but nothing covers up that horrible emptiness here without them.We also decided not to take the rental in clarkson, my cousin went and had a look at it for us and decided the street was really not ideal. So we are still aiming to find a rental before we arrive - I haven't booked any holiday temp accommodation because I KNOW God has something planned for us! Watch this space.... You've got 41 days God Which brings me to the most exciting happier news which is we have booked our tickets! One way to Perth! Wow! We leave Bulawayo on the 1st of April, go down to Cape Town for a week to see family and then off to Perth on the 9th! People seem incredulous when they ask where we will live, what we will drive, where we will work and I can't answer any of that! But this process has taught me that life is so much more than that and we are being liberated from so many shackles. Faith that it will all be ok is all I need!So sorry about your animals, we had to do the same two years ago when he had to have our dear little Fox Terrier put down, we got her a week after we landed in Australia way back in 1997 and she was our child, so hard ! Wonderful to see everything is falling in place with regards to your shift over here, how exciting, flights booked. You will be provided for, you will find the right accommodation. All the very best and looking to read more when you guys arrive in Australia. Good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCabes Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 My thinking: push comes to shove, I will buy a tent and camp out for a while, lol. I think it's just so difficult to sort absolutely everything out on that side, from here, and you really need to get there first. I know quite a few other forumites have managed but I think they are more the exception than the rule That said, God is awesome, and I'm sure things will come together and surprise you! All the very best - and sending a huge hug your way! I'm so sorry about your kitty and your lab. I hope your jack russel can hang in there just a little longer.Thinking of you - very exciting that the tickets are booked! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zim Posted March 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 So where did I leave off! Been a while and this journal is hard to fit in Ok, well God is really stretching the limits of my faith and no house to go to yet! I think we might be on to something though and hopefully in the next few weeks we will get it sorted. 18days to lift off!Been busy selling up a whole houseful of stuff and constantly have people traipsing through, opening cupboards, trying things on! I have learnt to just let it all go! I have met some of those most amazing people through all of this selling up and a few 'customers' have landed up staying for tea or just a chat for a couple of hours! Sometimes you have to just put that to-do list at the back of your mind and soak up the moments. One room in our house is now the 'shop' - my poor kids and husband, whenever they want something that seems to have disappeared they have to go scratch in Mom's shop!We have decided to close down our company and retrench all our staff after initially thinking we might leave it running. This has in itself brought down the unpleasantness of labour unions, tax authorities etc on our heads. So in amongst trying to do everything else we are attending very unpleasant meetings with people just generally trying to extort as much money as they can from us before we leave! Trying to close a business down in Zimbabwe is like trying to close a Facebook account - impossible!Going away for a girls weekend tomorrow - one last giggly night with best friends! Shew, this saying goodbye is really hard stuff! It's quite hard to comprehend and absorb for me. I wonder at why I am not much more emotional about it all, but to be honest I think the process is so goal orientated and crazy busy that you really don't have time to even go there in your head. Not very healthy for your soul! I really need to realise that wrapping up is not only about material things but also an emotional closing of doors and this needs to be given time as well...This journal helps, thanks for sticking with me. X 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BriD Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Hey Zim...Everything sounds very hectic your side! Good luck with all the wrapping up of things!I know what you mean about not being very emotional about things. My mom gave me a theory on that...she said I had been dealing with the future loss that I would have of the people I leave behind the whole time I have been preparing to get the visa etc. So by the time the end had come I had worked through a lot of the emotions and was now focusing on the task at hand. Maybe it is something like that...but anyways. You cannot force yourself to get all emotional, just deal with it as it comes.Enjoy your girls weekend away! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liesl7 Posted October 13, 2014 Report Share Posted October 13, 2014 Hey ZimHow about an update? How have you settled in? Did you end up following McCabes advise and camped in a tent... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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