Monday, August 8, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Let's go to the Delta...TOMORROW!
I guess I shouldn't be that surprised, considering the entire time in Botswana has been about spontaneous decisions involving travel, but I still am pretty amazed that we managed to organize three nights in the Okavango Delta just one day in advance! Rugby Sarah, Athena and I were the only members of the Gabbers Crew left but our ten hour bus ride through Botswana felt like we were coming full circle to our first trip to Kasane with the rest of the group. Driving northwest from Gabs, the landscape just feels dry - scraggly bush and hard, light brown ground with only occasional grass. The transition into the area around Maun is drastic, as all of a sudden it's as if you cross a line between desert and oasis to find yourself surrounded by the greenest trees and swamp water. We stayed at the highly-commended Bridge Backpackers in Maun, a hotspot with a great bar area by the beginnings of the delta's water and a choice of tiny dorm rooms or camping. We'd booked individual dorm rooms but were unpleasantly surprised to find we had mice for company. This turned out to be a good thing on our second night there when Athena assertively asked for alternative accommodation when it was obvious that mice had been actually climbing on my bed and Sarah's nightstand; as a result, Sarah and I got to sleep in one of their luxury tents! There was a very decently sized room in the tent, consisting of two real beds and no mousy guests! Way to go Athena!
In between our two nights at the backpackers', we did an overnight Mokoro (canoe) trip into the real delta itself. The Backpackers organized four mokoro guides for the three of us and one other American, Christian, so that two of them poled the mokoros we rode in and the other two poled the mokoros with all our camping equipment and food. The Backpackers also sent along our very own personal chef, which made us feel like we were camping in real luxury. He cooked three meals for us in total - beef stew for dinner, a full "English breakfast" brunch, and pasta for lunch - and also brought us sandwiches for the first lunch and cereal for FIRST breakfast. It felt almost ridiculous, but it was so so so so tasty! The mokoro rides themselves were actually not the most entertaining activity as we had to just sit in them for almost three hours on the ride out to the campsite, but at least initially the delta itself was quite a sight - I've definitely never been rowed through marshes before! Both from the mokoros and on walks on some of the delta's islands, we saw lots of elephants. They really are incredibly beautiful animals. It's both scary and thrilling when you watch an elephant shake a huge palm tree with its trunk until fruit and leaves fall down. Needless to say, our guide didn't let us get too close! We also found giraffe bones that someone had spread out under a tree in the rough formation of its skeleton. Thanks to this experience, I can now say "I found giraffe bones" in Setswana, perhaps one of the most useful phrases one could hope to learn. Ke bonye marapo a thutlwa!
As a thank you to our guides and cook, and also just to show off, we sang the Botswana national anthem for them before we left the campsite. When we returned to the Bridge Backpackers and told one of the people in charge, he asked us to sing it for him too; when we did, he immediately declared that we would all get free drinks at the bar! Note to self for all future travels - learn the relevant national anthem and perform it as often as possible!
Now that we're back in Gabs, and especially now that Athena and I have just said goodbye to Sarah, it's hitting home that I'm leaving tomorrow. I will really, really miss Maru-a-Pula and all the students - the number of fun times and hilarious jokes we've had here is far too high to even imagine. I definitely want to come back at some point in my life, although who knows what the circumstances of that occasion would be. At the same time, right now I'm getting increasingly excited to see everyone at home again - in that sense, it's been way too long. I have a weirdly good flight schedule - I leave Bots at 5pm tomorrow and arrive in New York by 7 in the morning , including a two-hour stop in Joburg's airport and an even shorter stop-over in Dakar just like last year.
Thanks to everyone for following the blog! Don't think that it means you're going to avoid hearing endless stories from me in person when I get home...
In between our two nights at the backpackers', we did an overnight Mokoro (canoe) trip into the real delta itself. The Backpackers organized four mokoro guides for the three of us and one other American, Christian, so that two of them poled the mokoros we rode in and the other two poled the mokoros with all our camping equipment and food. The Backpackers also sent along our very own personal chef, which made us feel like we were camping in real luxury. He cooked three meals for us in total - beef stew for dinner, a full "English breakfast" brunch, and pasta for lunch - and also brought us sandwiches for the first lunch and cereal for FIRST breakfast. It felt almost ridiculous, but it was so so so so tasty! The mokoro rides themselves were actually not the most entertaining activity as we had to just sit in them for almost three hours on the ride out to the campsite, but at least initially the delta itself was quite a sight - I've definitely never been rowed through marshes before! Both from the mokoros and on walks on some of the delta's islands, we saw lots of elephants. They really are incredibly beautiful animals. It's both scary and thrilling when you watch an elephant shake a huge palm tree with its trunk until fruit and leaves fall down. Needless to say, our guide didn't let us get too close! We also found giraffe bones that someone had spread out under a tree in the rough formation of its skeleton. Thanks to this experience, I can now say "I found giraffe bones" in Setswana, perhaps one of the most useful phrases one could hope to learn. Ke bonye marapo a thutlwa!
As a thank you to our guides and cook, and also just to show off, we sang the Botswana national anthem for them before we left the campsite. When we returned to the Bridge Backpackers and told one of the people in charge, he asked us to sing it for him too; when we did, he immediately declared that we would all get free drinks at the bar! Note to self for all future travels - learn the relevant national anthem and perform it as often as possible!
Now that we're back in Gabs, and especially now that Athena and I have just said goodbye to Sarah, it's hitting home that I'm leaving tomorrow. I will really, really miss Maru-a-Pula and all the students - the number of fun times and hilarious jokes we've had here is far too high to even imagine. I definitely want to come back at some point in my life, although who knows what the circumstances of that occasion would be. At the same time, right now I'm getting increasingly excited to see everyone at home again - in that sense, it's been way too long. I have a weirdly good flight schedule - I leave Bots at 5pm tomorrow and arrive in New York by 7 in the morning , including a two-hour stop in Joburg's airport and an even shorter stop-over in Dakar just like last year.
Thanks to everyone for following the blog! Don't think that it means you're going to avoid hearing endless stories from me in person when I get home...
Friday, July 29, 2011
Laura: I'm Coming Home, I'm Coming Home...
So I pretty much fail at this blog thing (blame the internet situation?) because a lot has happened since I last wrote: I entered a new decade in life, ended up reading 5 Kathy Reichs novels (in my defense, she ends every chapter with a cliffhanger like "But that wouldn't be the only surprise of my day" that leaves you wondering WHAT'S THE OTHER SURPRISE?! so you keep reading), and Bernard was shot on 7 de laan (don't worry, he lived). I'll try to do a quick recap on the past two weeks:
Two weekends ago (16th/17th): This weekend was very jam-packed since it was our last full weekend in Cape Town. Saturday morning we went to the Neighbourgoods Market, which is by far the best farmer's market I've every been to. All the food looked delicious and it was hard to choose, but my love for pancakes won out. After shopping in the afternoon, I finally saw Harry Potter (great birthday present btw Cerianne). As an added bonus, movie tickets in South Africa are a lot cheaper in the states, which was pretty exciting. Sunday morning, we went on a township tour, which I probably can't actually give justice to in a few sentences, so ask me about it in person if you want to hear about it. Sunday night I watched the Women's World Cup final, where my heart was broken as the USA lost in penalty kicks. I was so upset and filled with energy that I ran the two blocks back home (my host sister lives with her husband), which I realized was a mistake after dogs started chasing me. Nonetheless, I survived to see the rest of the week.
Last weekend (23rd/24th): For the first time, we stayed in Mamre for the weekend and didn't travel to Cape Town. Saturday, Sarah (the other volunteer) and I, went to a netball tournament with our host sister, Zaria, who coaches a team at the school she teaches at. It was nice to see a sport tournament again, even though I don't fully understand netball, and definitely made me miss the days of my own soccer tournaments. Sunday was my birthday (thanks for the shout out Cerianne) and actually was more eventful that I predicted. We went to church in the morning, although I didn't understand much because it was in Afrikaans. Then my host mother made a huge lunch and Zaria and her husband Orrin came over and we all ate together, which was fantastic. We then traveled to Canal Walk to see a movie with Zaria and Orrin and on the way home I saw the most awesome shooting star I've ever seen. It was the perfect ending to the day.
Today I said goodbye to my host mother and the pre-primary school kids. It was very sad to be leaving them all, but reassurances that we could keep in touch made me feel better. It feels weird to say goodbye to South Africa (at least for now), but I'm excited to be home in summer weather!
Two weekends ago (16th/17th): This weekend was very jam-packed since it was our last full weekend in Cape Town. Saturday morning we went to the Neighbourgoods Market, which is by far the best farmer's market I've every been to. All the food looked delicious and it was hard to choose, but my love for pancakes won out. After shopping in the afternoon, I finally saw Harry Potter (great birthday present btw Cerianne). As an added bonus, movie tickets in South Africa are a lot cheaper in the states, which was pretty exciting. Sunday morning, we went on a township tour, which I probably can't actually give justice to in a few sentences, so ask me about it in person if you want to hear about it. Sunday night I watched the Women's World Cup final, where my heart was broken as the USA lost in penalty kicks. I was so upset and filled with energy that I ran the two blocks back home (my host sister lives with her husband), which I realized was a mistake after dogs started chasing me. Nonetheless, I survived to see the rest of the week.
Last weekend (23rd/24th): For the first time, we stayed in Mamre for the weekend and didn't travel to Cape Town. Saturday, Sarah (the other volunteer) and I, went to a netball tournament with our host sister, Zaria, who coaches a team at the school she teaches at. It was nice to see a sport tournament again, even though I don't fully understand netball, and definitely made me miss the days of my own soccer tournaments. Sunday was my birthday (thanks for the shout out Cerianne) and actually was more eventful that I predicted. We went to church in the morning, although I didn't understand much because it was in Afrikaans. Then my host mother made a huge lunch and Zaria and her husband Orrin came over and we all ate together, which was fantastic. We then traveled to Canal Walk to see a movie with Zaria and Orrin and on the way home I saw the most awesome shooting star I've ever seen. It was the perfect ending to the day.
Today I said goodbye to my host mother and the pre-primary school kids. It was very sad to be leaving them all, but reassurances that we could keep in touch made me feel better. It feels weird to say goodbye to South Africa (at least for now), but I'm excited to be home in summer weather!
Monday, July 25, 2011
Cerianne: Swazambique!
It was within the twenty-four hours before departure time that we even began considering the idea of renting a car and driving our whole weekend trip rather than risking the inconsistency and uncertainty of public transportation. Somehow we were able to find a sketchy company with an unmarked car rental office that had a seven-seater, automatic Toyota Noah available for the very next day. Thanks to my British passport and thus my assumed "experience" driving on the left-hand side of the road, the car rental dealers designated me the official driver. Various potential problems included but were not limited to massive and unexpected potholes, animal (cows, goats, chickens, MONKEYS) crossings, the tinted windows that were impossible to see out of at night, the deadlines to cross borders before they closed in the evenings, the chaos and expense of crossing the borders themselves, the frequency of carjackings in South Africa, and the ridiculousness of the google map directions for our first destination, Swaziland ("Turn left onto unknown road...", "Turn right..."). Oh, and the suspiciously squeaky brakes.
Believe it or not, the eight or so hour drive across South Africa was almost completely uneventful. It was only just before the Swazi border, already at nighttime, when I pulled out of a petrol (gas) station without my headlights on for a few seconds before realizing and quickly switching them on. Not fast enough for the cop who must have been waiting to pounce. I can now say that my first time ever being pulled over by the police occured in South Africa. Typical. The policewoman was pretty nice though, and when I apologized for the mistake she let us go on. Once in Swazi's capital, Mbabane, we had to drive around all manners of hilly, bendy, badly marked, unpaved roads before a policeman was able to give us helpful directions to Julie's house. Julie went to Harvard's GSE and now works for the American embassy in Swaziland; she very kindly offered us her dining room floor to crash on for two nights, which just made for a hilariously fun slumber party situation for the six of us.
Our purpose for being in Mbabane was to give an American college information session at UWC Waterford, a top high school in southern Africa. The school was perched on a beautiful hill with awesome views, and it was cool to tour it to get a sense of how it was similar to and different from MaP. Unfortuantely, some of or time in Mbabane was spent getting a new tire after a flat and trying to figure out what was wrong with our brakes, as the car had begun shaking when we used the brakes on hills.
Crossing into Mozambique was immensely confusing. The second we parked at the border, a few English-speaking men rushed up to us with offers to help us cross. They seemed to have the full approval of the officials behind the counters and yet there was something just totally sketchy about them. One particularly pushy man said he wouldn't tell his "chief" that we had cameras and, before we knew what that even meant, he had run off to grab an official-looking guard to check the trunk of the car. Once the guard left, the man "helping" us began demanding money, saying that I had made a deal with him and that he had helped us to avoid custom fees on the cameras. There was no evidence that we would have had to pay fees anyway and I certainly hadn't made a deal, so we literally shut the car doors in his face to get away. Despite not really believing him, I think we all breathed a huge sigh of relief when we got out of the border crossing without encountering the so-called chief!
Maputo definitely has a vibrant life to it that both Mbabane and Gaborone lack, but it is unfortunately also the most trash-covered city I've ever seen. Sidewalks in the city, roadsides in the town, and even the water-edge - all infested with litter and didrt. The city is dirty in the sense of corruption too, as we discovered on our way out when another policewoman tried to get us to pay her 1,000 metacais in order to avoid a ticket. When we refused to pay the amount, she dropped her asking price all the way down to a drink! Then she said, "Anything! Just give me something!"
In sharp contrast, the island of Inhaca ("In-yaca") is stunningly beautiful. With a population of 6,000, a tiny main village, and practically deserted beaches, it exudes a feeling of tranquility. We spent just under four hours strolling around, playing in the Indian Ocean, admiring starfish and crabs on the beach, and eating tasty seafood in the village. Our travel there was not so tranquil, however. We took the local government boat rather than the more expensive tourist ferry for the three-hour journey from Maputo and got to clamber off onto a small motoroboat for the last stretch of shallow water before the beach. Even the motorboats didn't go right up to the shore, so we, along with a lot of locals, pulled off our shoes, hoisted up our pants, and hopped out itno knee-deep water to wade the remaining 30 or 40 meters to the shore. Unconventional, but great fun! Once on the island we unfortunately wasted quite a bit of time arguing with some officials who insisted we pay an island entry tax; it was a frustrating experience because none of the locals had to pay so we were unsure of how legitimate the officials were and, moreover, because it was an entirely unexpected cost.
I would say this trip was quite significantly more stressful than the last, particularly with regards to the car. For me, however, the car rides - with our hilarious games and interesting hypothetical discussions in addition to all the ridiculous road obstacles - were actually what made the journey so memorable. I know the six of us were all sad to end the trip knowing that it was our last time traveling all together.
Believe it or not, the eight or so hour drive across South Africa was almost completely uneventful. It was only just before the Swazi border, already at nighttime, when I pulled out of a petrol (gas) station without my headlights on for a few seconds before realizing and quickly switching them on. Not fast enough for the cop who must have been waiting to pounce. I can now say that my first time ever being pulled over by the police occured in South Africa. Typical. The policewoman was pretty nice though, and when I apologized for the mistake she let us go on. Once in Swazi's capital, Mbabane, we had to drive around all manners of hilly, bendy, badly marked, unpaved roads before a policeman was able to give us helpful directions to Julie's house. Julie went to Harvard's GSE and now works for the American embassy in Swaziland; she very kindly offered us her dining room floor to crash on for two nights, which just made for a hilariously fun slumber party situation for the six of us.
Our purpose for being in Mbabane was to give an American college information session at UWC Waterford, a top high school in southern Africa. The school was perched on a beautiful hill with awesome views, and it was cool to tour it to get a sense of how it was similar to and different from MaP. Unfortuantely, some of or time in Mbabane was spent getting a new tire after a flat and trying to figure out what was wrong with our brakes, as the car had begun shaking when we used the brakes on hills.
Crossing into Mozambique was immensely confusing. The second we parked at the border, a few English-speaking men rushed up to us with offers to help us cross. They seemed to have the full approval of the officials behind the counters and yet there was something just totally sketchy about them. One particularly pushy man said he wouldn't tell his "chief" that we had cameras and, before we knew what that even meant, he had run off to grab an official-looking guard to check the trunk of the car. Once the guard left, the man "helping" us began demanding money, saying that I had made a deal with him and that he had helped us to avoid custom fees on the cameras. There was no evidence that we would have had to pay fees anyway and I certainly hadn't made a deal, so we literally shut the car doors in his face to get away. Despite not really believing him, I think we all breathed a huge sigh of relief when we got out of the border crossing without encountering the so-called chief!
Maputo definitely has a vibrant life to it that both Mbabane and Gaborone lack, but it is unfortunately also the most trash-covered city I've ever seen. Sidewalks in the city, roadsides in the town, and even the water-edge - all infested with litter and didrt. The city is dirty in the sense of corruption too, as we discovered on our way out when another policewoman tried to get us to pay her 1,000 metacais in order to avoid a ticket. When we refused to pay the amount, she dropped her asking price all the way down to a drink! Then she said, "Anything! Just give me something!"
In sharp contrast, the island of Inhaca ("In-yaca") is stunningly beautiful. With a population of 6,000, a tiny main village, and practically deserted beaches, it exudes a feeling of tranquility. We spent just under four hours strolling around, playing in the Indian Ocean, admiring starfish and crabs on the beach, and eating tasty seafood in the village. Our travel there was not so tranquil, however. We took the local government boat rather than the more expensive tourist ferry for the three-hour journey from Maputo and got to clamber off onto a small motoroboat for the last stretch of shallow water before the beach. Even the motorboats didn't go right up to the shore, so we, along with a lot of locals, pulled off our shoes, hoisted up our pants, and hopped out itno knee-deep water to wade the remaining 30 or 40 meters to the shore. Unconventional, but great fun! Once on the island we unfortunately wasted quite a bit of time arguing with some officials who insisted we pay an island entry tax; it was a frustrating experience because none of the locals had to pay so we were unsure of how legitimate the officials were and, moreover, because it was an entirely unexpected cost.
I would say this trip was quite significantly more stressful than the last, particularly with regards to the car. For me, however, the car rides - with our hilarious games and interesting hypothetical discussions in addition to all the ridiculous road obstacles - were actually what made the journey so memorable. I know the six of us were all sad to end the trip knowing that it was our last time traveling all together.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA!!!!
Hope you're having a fabulous South African birthday!
My gift to you: I haven't seen Harry Potter yet either...woops...
My gift to you: I haven't seen Harry Potter yet either...woops...
Friday, July 15, 2011
Laura: Two Weeks Notice
This weekend marks my last two weeks in South Africa. This past week was my last one at the creche, which would have been sadder except I don't think the kids grasped that I am going back to the school next week. However, since the pre-primary school gets out earlier than the creche, I will visit them in the afternoon before I leave for a proper goodbye.
Sadly, I must admit that Cerianne has won: I was not able to see Harry Potter on Wednesday but must wait until tomorrow. Despite my many phone calls to the bus company, there were no daytime busses that would get us to the movie theater in time to see Harry Potter in the closest movie theater, which is an hour away. Seeing it tomorrow will make for an excellent weekend though. I will also be going on a township tour on Sunday morning, for which I have been waiting my entire trip. To complete my exciting weekend, I will come back to Mamre on Sunday in time to watch the Women's World Cup finals, hoping for USA to beat Japan. I've tried to watch the games but mostly failed, even trying to wake up at 1am for a repeat of the USA-France game that ended up not being on. However, I am very determined to watch the final on Sunday and will not let the lack of tv channels stand in my way!
Other than working at the creche, watching 7 de laan, and attempting to keep up with the World Cup, I read Pride and Prejudice this week, which I know will make my sister happy. Pride and Prejudice is #6 on my list of books I've read so far, in addition to Half the Sky, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Kite Runner, Into the Wild, and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I just started Devil Bones by Kathy Reich (the book series which the TV show Bones is based off of), since my options are beginning to dwindle as I don't have enough room to keep books that I buy and thus must turn to the Mamre library. If anyone has any recommendations for book #8 and possibly #9, let me know!
Sadly, I must admit that Cerianne has won: I was not able to see Harry Potter on Wednesday but must wait until tomorrow. Despite my many phone calls to the bus company, there were no daytime busses that would get us to the movie theater in time to see Harry Potter in the closest movie theater, which is an hour away. Seeing it tomorrow will make for an excellent weekend though. I will also be going on a township tour on Sunday morning, for which I have been waiting my entire trip. To complete my exciting weekend, I will come back to Mamre on Sunday in time to watch the Women's World Cup finals, hoping for USA to beat Japan. I've tried to watch the games but mostly failed, even trying to wake up at 1am for a repeat of the USA-France game that ended up not being on. However, I am very determined to watch the final on Sunday and will not let the lack of tv channels stand in my way!
Other than working at the creche, watching 7 de laan, and attempting to keep up with the World Cup, I read Pride and Prejudice this week, which I know will make my sister happy. Pride and Prejudice is #6 on my list of books I've read so far, in addition to Half the Sky, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Kite Runner, Into the Wild, and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I just started Devil Bones by Kathy Reich (the book series which the TV show Bones is based off of), since my options are beginning to dwindle as I don't have enough room to keep books that I buy and thus must turn to the Mamre library. If anyone has any recommendations for book #8 and possibly #9, let me know!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Cerianne: About Halfway Through
The news we've all been waiting for: I'm going to see Harry Potter TOMORROW!!!! So, hah, Laura. I still don't understand why it comes out in southern Africa (INCLUDING Botswana) two days before it comes out in the UK and US but it's fine with me! A bunch of us are going to the only mall at which it's showing tomorrow, so we'll see it before we head out for a second long-weekend trip on Thursday. This time we're going to Mbabane in Swaziland and Maputo in Mozambique for a total of six days. I'm not expecting anything quite as epic as gorge-swinging but I'm still really looking forward to traveling with the Gabbers Crew again.
Over the last week, Rugby-Sarah and I have had a really cool opportunity to get some insight into the work of Dr. Ava Avalos, a Ministry of Health doctor who specializes in HIV/AIDS. The initial taskforce meeting at the Ministry to which she invited us was really interesting for me because it gave me some ideas for how a humanities and social sciences person can get involved in the public health side of international development. Now, Sarah and I are helping to do some preliminary planning for a conference on HIV/AIDS in November - it's been a totally unexpected way to get to learn about another aspect of Botswana.
Went horseriding on the weekend! I can't even remember the last time I went riding but it was great!
Over the last week, Rugby-Sarah and I have had a really cool opportunity to get some insight into the work of Dr. Ava Avalos, a Ministry of Health doctor who specializes in HIV/AIDS. The initial taskforce meeting at the Ministry to which she invited us was really interesting for me because it gave me some ideas for how a humanities and social sciences person can get involved in the public health side of international development. Now, Sarah and I are helping to do some preliminary planning for a conference on HIV/AIDS in November - it's been a totally unexpected way to get to learn about another aspect of Botswana.
Went horseriding on the weekend! I can't even remember the last time I went riding but it was great!
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