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!

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.

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...

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!

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!

Way Too Much Time Has Passed...

Hi everyone! So sorry it's been so long - the library's computers don't really load this website properly, so it makes it difficult to blog. Since I'm in Cape Town this weekend, I splurged for the internet cafe to skype with my parents and update you all on the past few weeks.

The last two weeks have consisted of working at the creche, where the kids that I work with (3-4 years old) don't speak any English and don't understand that I don't speak Afrikaans. Luckily, I've found that children can be pretty easy to understand if you read their body language or just start guessing what they want. I do feel pretty awkward when they ask me questions over and over in Afrikaans and I just have to smile and nod. Interestingly, these kids are actually taught more than the kids in the pre-primary school. I've already learned my shapes, colors, and how to count to five (although I would like to move on past five, but I don't think they're ready yet). I have also been learning Afrikaans through the soap opera that my host mother watches every night, 7 de laan, where things have finally gotten interesting after a month of nothing happening.

Two weekends ago I went on a safari trip along the Garden Route with three fellow volunteers and a random guy from the Czech Republic named George, who happened to book the trip the same weekend we did. Although we were a bit nervous that the trip would be a bit of a repeat because we had driven part of the Garden Route the previous weekend to go bungy jumping, it turned out to be an excellent adventure. The first day we went to an Ostrich Farm, where we would have had the chance to ride an ostrich if it hadn't rained the day before and left the ground all muddy. It wasn't terribly exciting, and ostriches stare at you a bit creepily, but it was still cool to see them. Next, we went to an elephant sanctuary, where we got to feed baby elephants! It was very adorable and they even gave us hugs. We spent the night at then nicest hostel I've been in so far, adequately named Backpacker's Paradise, where we sat by a fire and got to try ostrich steak, which is eaten quite commonly here. I don't eat red meat but decided to try it anyway, and it actually wasn't that bad. The next morning, we went to the Cango Wildlife Ranch, which is similar to a zoo but nicer since the animals are in more natural habitats. The best part was that we actually got to pet cheetahs! You had to pay a bit extra, and it turned out to be more of a photo-taking experience than a cuddling-with-cheetahs experience (the latter of which I would have preferred), but it was pretty awesome. In the afternoon, we went on a game drive, which was definitely the highlight of the weekend. It was very peaceful and calm watching the animals roaming around and it was cute when a baby rhino went up to our car only to scurry back to its mother a few seconds later. All in all, it was a fantastic weekend, and definitely filled in some of the more traditional "African" things I've been wanting to do.

Today I went to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, which is absolutely gorgeous. The weather was perfect today (it's usually freezing but it was actually warm for once) and I can only imagine what it looks like in the summer instead of winter. With only two more weekends to go, next weekend I'll be going on a township tour and the weekend after I'll be staying in Mamre for some relaxation (and to save some money). It's hard to believe my time is winding down!

P.S. Just to rub it in Cerianne's face, I'll definitely be trying to see Harry Potter this week/weekend.

Elephants, Crocodiles and Gorge-Swinging, Oh My!

The Journey:

The bus was a typical coach bus with two main differences from its American equivalents  One: no on-board toilet for the twelve-hour journeys without guarantee of any bathroom stops (and, knowing about this advance, I had pretty much stopped drinking anything for hours before the ride).  Two: the seats were probably two-thirds of the size of your average economy-class airplane seat, aka WAY TOO SMALL.  We were lucky, though – some passengers stood in the aisle until the first drop-off point, more than an hour from Gaborone.

It was an overnight journey, so the plan was definitely to sleep.  For me, sleeping on a bus never amounts to more than the occasional shut-eye until my head nods too suddenly and my neck screams.  But this was worse than it had to be: for the ENTIRE journey during which 95% of the passengers were clearly trying to sleep, the bus driver played the most aggravating music on the planet, a consistent reggae beat which was too twitchy to allow anyone to relax.  Worst of all was the song “Wake Up, Suzy” was either played over and over again or just lasted twenty minutes longer than it should have.  I guess I don’t know its actual title but, as “Wake Up” and “Suzy” were the only lyrics, I assume it’s a pretty good guess. 

At some point in the middle of the night, the bus stopped in the middle of the road and everyone had to get off.  Most of our group got off behind a crowd of people who, one-by-one, all stepped through a two-by-two ft wet pile of rags surrounded by bricks.  This was the infamous foot-and-mouth stop we had heard about, the brilliant solution to the spread of the disease: get off bus, clean shoes, return to walk on bus where you just walked with dirty shoes…Hmm.  Anyway, Isaiah and Bugsy got off the bus without anyone directly in front of them, so they walked past the rags only to have a bus official yell at them to return.  Athena and James began shouting, “Did you not have detailed enough instruction on what to do??  Were the directions not clear enough??”  This was hilarious even to the locals who had previously been rolling their eyes at the confused Americans; everyone had to admit that there had been absolutely no instruction whatsoever, and stepping in a wet pile of rags is hardly instinctive!

Safari day:

On Friday we were up at the crack of dawn to begin our safari drive at 6:30am.  When our driver, KG, arrived, we enthusiastically piled into the game drive truck only to find that the engine would not turn on.  We thus began the day by pushing the vehicle that was supposed to take us by lions and elephants.  Great.  The company we booked through, Dream Safari, was fortunately fantastic (and cheap!) and they got us onto a backup truck before we entered the Chobe Game Reserve.  We spent almost five hours driving around looking for animals and, despite having spent longer in the Kruger Park, last year I wasn’t bored at all.  Highlights included hearing the hippos (whose noise sounds like a deep, slow evil laugh), being surrounded by about twelve elephants including one wary mother elephant guarding her baby, and getting out of the truck on a small beach just to have tea.   

Next we went to Kazungula, the meeting of the Chobe and Zambezi rivers and the water border between not two but four countries: Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia.  We had no idea that, once there, we would be able to jump on a vehicle-transport ferry across to Zambia for no cost at all, as long as we didn’t go through customs on the Zambian side.  While still on the shore we noticed about eight canoes out in the water, each rowed by one man who would rush to the ferry as it was about halfway to Zambia, load his canoe with boxes, and then row away.  KG told us they were smugglers, paid by those on the ferry to transport the goods around the customs check at which the ferry passengers had to stop.  So illegal, yet the policemen on shore made no attempt to discourage it!

In the evening we enjoyed a relaxing three-hour sunset boat cruise on the Chobe River.  Apart from some more elephant close-ups, nothing terribly exciting happened until all the other passengers disembarked and the driver suddenly revved up the boat and jetted just the six of us off to a tiny island with no actual dock to speak of.  Where were we?  Namibia!  The only thing on the island was a rundown and certainly closed bar, but no fear because KG had two friends waiting for us who opened it up, if you call opening the door to let us in and grabbing us huge beer bottles to go all without turning the lights on, “opening.”  Such a hilariously wonderful surprise!

Lots of epicness in one day:

Waking up at 5:30am on Saturday, we made it to the Zimbabwean border right when it opened at 6am.  I don’t know if I’d ever been blatantly discriminated against before, but while my American friends paid $30 each to cross, I had to pay $55 for being British.  The Canadian price was even higher!  (Because Zimbabwe’s currency inflated to a point at which people were regularly paying millions at the grocery store, they now use US dollars.  Thanks to some really pushy Zimbabwean vendors who literally followed us around, we all purchased some of the old currency and are now all billionaires.  Hooray!)

The main point of our day was to see Victoria Falls, the world’s largest waterfall.   The falls were certainly breathtaking, and Bugsy came up with the best word to describe the scene: “Might”.  The mist from the falls was so intense that at some of the lookout spots we couldn’t actually see anything other than white cloud all around us, only the roar of the falls confirming that they were actually still right there.  Needless to say, we got soaked!

Just seeing the falls was not enough, however.  Four of us did the gorge swing and the Sarahs did the zipline.  What is a gorge swing?  Well, after being harnessed up to many, many different ropes as well as being harnessed to another person (in my case, Athena), you walk to the edge of a small wooden platform.  It’s a bit like walking the plank but instead of being at the edge of a ship you’re just teetering on the edge of a massive cliff, staring across at a wide gorge and down at the churning river.  Five, four, three, two, one, and you jump.  For the first three seconds, you’re falling completely free of any support, screaming higher, louder and longer than you ever have in your life, certain that you’ve lost your mind because you can’t possibly survive this.  Then the ropes that have so far fallen with you pull tight against their starting point about halfway across the gorge, way back up at cliff level, and you fall into a gliding swinging motion as you sail across the river, now totally calm and in absolute ecstasy, not screaming but hollering with joy.  Without a doubt, the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my life.  I believe a video will be available on facebook at some point!

In comparison, whitewater river rafting might sound rather tame but it occupied a full afternoon and was perhaps more pure fun overall.  Our boat guide, BK, gave us a quick talk on instructions and safety but it didn’t seem totally comprehensive.  He told us how to get back in the boat if we fell out, and informed us that crocodiles are not vegetarians, yet didn’t have much advice on what to do if a crocodile was present when we fell out other than “try to swim fast”.  Reassuring.  Anyway, I quickly discovered that rafting is one of the most amazing experiences out there: so relaxing on the calm sections of the river when we could admire the towering cliffs and so thrilling on the rapids when we were rocked from side to side and smacked in the face with cold waves.  The rapids all had very amusing names like, “The Devil’s Toilet Bowl” or “The Terminator.”  There was one massive wave that so nearly seemed to flip the boat over, but we all actually managed to stay in and upright.  We did jump out for a voluntary swim when BK said it was okay, but the lingering fear of crocodiles kept it short.  Equally fun as the rafting was the surprise rock climbing we had to do to avoid one section of the river.  I am determined to go rafting again, soon!      

All in all, one of the best weekends ever.  Thanks to my fellow Gabbers for making it so wonderful!