I am very lucky to be living at “Peter’s Place”. Not only do I love my compact and cozy apartment which feels like home, but it also comes complete with numerous amenities like the pool, cats and a dog. Oh, and who can forget the two tortoises.

But I have to come to discover that it wonderful because of something much better then all of this. That something is Peter and Jetske, the landlord and lady. They are very special people and I feel so blessed to be living here.

In fact, one of the key reasons that I actually survived the last two immensely gruelling weeks is thanks to them. Here are a few examples of how wonderful they are:

Last Sunday afternoon when I arrived home from the Board Retreat I was in desperate need of groceries. It was an incredibly hot and sunny afternoon and before I made the “death walk” across the four lane highway to the mall, I wanted to be sure that the grocery store would actually be open when I got there.

So off I headed to the pool area where I knew I would Jetske (she had emailed me while I was in Kasane to say she was missing me in the pool as I hadn’t been home all week to join her) what time the Spar was open to. Her response was to get out of the pool, go into the house and get changed so she could drive me over to get groceries. Her reasoning was that the sooner I got groceries, the quicker I could join her in the pool. So thanks to Jetske, I was able to get fresh fruit and veggies for the week ahead and still have time to float in the pool. She even made me supper that night so I could focus on working at my laptop.

But her caring didn’t stop there. Every night this week when I was dragging my ass home late at night, I came home to my outside and inside lights turned on and curtains closed. I even came home to a delicious plate of supper sitting on my counter one night. And I am sorry that I caused her to worry about me the next night because I wasn’t home from work until midnight.

Peter, my Batswana curmudgeon (just when I thought that Mike Wedge was the only curmudgeon in my life) loves to build things. When he is not at working as the Chief Engineer designing the new Hospital located on the University of Botswana campus, he can be found in his workshop madly sawing or hammering away. In fact I have even found he working on constructing stuff in the carport. When he is not hammering, sawing or painting, he can be found watching the latest rugby match on tv or relaxing on the verandah with a drink and a book.

It is a pleasure to torment him and he is equally happy to participate. Born a Brit but now a citizen of Botswana, he always bring a fascinating perspective to any conversation including tons of sarcasm. You see I miss that sarcasm here in Botswana. The Batswana have no concept of sarcasm and any attempt at it soars completely over their head leaving a very awkward gap in the conversation. With Peter, I practice my skills with a more then capable opponent.

As you are all aware, I have been finding my height differential a bit of challenge here in the apartment. Both Peter and Jetske are tall so sometimes things are arranged a little out of my reach. The first mission of mercy that Peter provided was a step stool for me to stand on so I could actually reach the shelf on top of my clothes closet.

His second mission was to ensure that I could actually see what I am cooking on my cook top. As I noted before, when I am cooking on it the pan or pot is actually at my chin level. So while I was away last weekend Peter was examining my cooking area to come up with a fix. Because the cook top was on a shelving unit that is actually attached to a tiled area of the wall he couldn’t alter the actual unit without having to re-tile the whole area. Instead he came up with a nifty solution. So this week I came home to find this:

So now I am able to see what I am cooking – thank you, Peter!  But I will never be as good of cook as you (He makes an incredible homemade Mac and Cheese).

These are just small examples of what they do and how welcome and spoiled I feel here everyday. It is a true blessing to be #2 (that is my apartment number) at Peter’s Place. Peter claims to not remember names and is feeling a little overwhelmed because for the first time, Peter’s Place has three females renting the accommodations. As the lone man in a compound of females, including Jetske, Tanyla, two female cats, a female dog and tortoise, he only has the gardener and a small male tortoise to rely on for male support. To torment us women, we are referred to as #1, #2 & #3. In fact, I tease Peter that I am going to become his wife #2. He shudders in distress….and I love it!

P.S.  I forgot to include a picture of his latest creation for me.  I was whining that I had no where to sit and stretch out once I got out of the pool so my swimsuit could dry off so Peter created this pool side area to please me, complete with astroturf and a table to put a book or laptop on. Isn’t he wonderful?