Thursday, October 30, 2008

The Garden Route of SA

I arrived at the Knysna Island Vibe, actually owned by the same guy who ones the one I stayed at in Jeffreys Bay, and took a township tour with Oren, a tall, lanky, white SA guy with a raspy voice, and Sacramenta, a girl who works here at the backpackers. She said she lived in the township so I was confused as to why she was joining us.Township is the name given to the areas of SA where mostly blacks live, as opposed to the colored or whites. It was just the three of us and Oren, our guide, was extremely knowledgable about their lives. Once someone is granted a piece of land by the government council, you build yourself a shack - and I mean a shack. Then you apply for government housing which can take up to 7 years. It depends on your monthy salary what they will build you, but if you make under $150 (in US dollars) a month you get the whole house which is a 20 x 20 cinder block structure. Sacramenta took us to her parents home and then to the home she just received by the government which she waited 7 years to get. It is basically two rooms and a bathroom. It has electricity and running water, but you have to buy your appliances and fixtures so she didn't even have a toilet, sink, stove, yet. It was unbelievable how they live and they are soooo proud of what they have. Sacramenta showed us her new house and her parents welcomed us into their home. She is getting married in December and the grooms family actually has to give her parents a dowry of about 3-5 cows. I told her to wait a year and hold out for 15 cows, she is worth it. She laughed.

Oren also took us to the rastafarian community. The guy who showed us around had a pair of pants drapped over his head. I figured it was hot and it kept the sun off his head, but when he took them off, he had the longest dredlock I had ever seen. Just one long piece of hair that went down past his butt. They say Bob Marley had 28 species of bugs in his hair when he died, well Bob had nothing on this guy. Even Sacramenta was laughing. The rastas consider themselves Ethiopian decendents. They don't smoke, drink or eat meat or fish, but they do smoke lots of weed. No problem.

We went to the high school -1300 students and 41 teacher - but it has come a long way. Education is mandatory from 7 - 16 years old and then the parents have to foot the bill if you decide to go further. The preschool in this town had 76 students ages 2-6 and two teachers. The two rooms were sooo small. I was fortunate to have volunteered where I did. We also visited Celina, a natural healer who runs a soup kitchen, preschool and is a certified healer. She has such a hard life but a wonderful attitude and does so much for the community. It is unimaginable how most live. There is such a contrast here, it is either very poor or well off.

I took the BazBus to Oudtstroon, the ostrich capital of the world. Of course, I visited the ostrich farms and know more about them then I really need to. The guy at the backpackers made a braai (barbecue) of ostrich steak and sausage. It was really good. For breakfast it was ostrich egg. I say egg because one ostrich egg is equal to 24 chichen eggs. I also went to the Canga caves and another reserve where I got to pet 10 month old tigers. That was a highlight.

I made my way to Cape Town on the Baz Bus and took the peninsula tour today. This was a great way to get aquainted with Cape Town. This could be any city in Europe except you look down a street and their towering above the buildings are these amazing mountains. We followed the coast on our tour and it seems you can't stop taking pictures. We took a ferry to see the seals, literally thousands of them basking in the sun or swimming. We took a bikeride through some of the Cape Town National Park and hiked up to the lighthouse at Cape Point. We stood on the Cape of Good Hope, the southern-western most point in Afica and the spot where the Indian and the Atlantic Oceans meet. We went to Boulders and saw a colony of thousands of African penguins. We saw many whales along the coast, ostich, springbok, and baboons. The guide told us to close the windows when we saw the baboons because they steal food or anything shiny (like the trolls) anyway, there was a couple ahead of us who got out of the car and were taking pictures like stupid tourists and this baboon just goes in the car and takes this bag. It was the funniest thing. The zebra and giraffe along the way are like seeing cats and dogs by now.

Tomorrow I am going to Stellenbosh and a few other wineries and then I am heading home on Saturday.
Excuse the spelling and gramatics, but I only had a set time to do this.

See you in the USA!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Way out of my comfort zone!

I finished at the Madiba Bay Creche (school) yesterday. I took the new volunteer with me to get her aquainted with the teacher and the children and show her what I have been doing. I am actually glad I did three weeks since this last week I really saw a difference with the kids. The new girl is from Australia but grew up in SA until her teens so she can speak Afrikaans and some Xhosa which is a big plus. She is also tall, blond and beautiful. I hate her.
In the afternoon, I went kayaking with Liesa (German girl volunteering in a home for the disabled and mentally retarded) and John (our guide). The river is a bed of mud where you sink down to your ankles trying to float the kayak out. The fish were jumping like crazy making their way upstream to spawn and the river flows through a bedrock of slate and shale.
Today, I said my goodbyes at Island Vibe and was ready to move on. I took the BazBus to Storms River for the night. I went to the Tsiksikamma National Park today and hiked along the coastline where the mountains meet the Indian ocean. It is unbelievable - the waves crashing against the coastline, otters sunning themselves, mongoose abundant as squirrels. It is very surreal. I don't know if I really like this traveling alone thing. It is weird since everyone seems to be under 30. I miss my husband, my family and my friends.
Tomorrow I move onto Knysna for two nights, then to Oudtsthoorn for one night and then to Cape Town for three nights, and then HOME SWEET HOME.
I had dinner in a wonderful restaurant in the middle of what seems to be nowhere. I walked there, but asked if someone could pick me up since it would be dark - no problem.
They assured me it was very safe, but like I said, I am way out of my comfort zone and they totally understood. They also had a spa by the restaurant where David said he had a massage 2 weeks ago - small world.
It felt weird sitting alone in front of a roaring fire having dinner - curried hake, fresh vegies, rice and SA shiraz. The prices are ridiculously inexpensive. A glass of wine at Jeffreys Bay was about
80 cents, dinner under $5.oo. Here, A full gourmet dinner, wine and tip - $15. You don't get that in the USA.
There is a blazing campfire outside the place I am staying and a group of girls singing African music and playing drums.
I find it amazing how worldly everyone is. It seems everyone speaks multiple languages fluently, travel in a foreign country like they were in the next town, meet people as if it were a neighbor. I still have not met anyone from the USA.
I wish I had grown up with my eyes open wider, my horizons broader, my languages multilple - maybe in my next life.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Township Tour with Kuno 'Crazy Bastard'

After school yesterday, I took a walk to town and met up with Kuno, who works at the Island Vibe. He asked me if I would like to take a walk to the township to see the way the locals really live. We walked around the shanties and stopped at this 'healers' shack, she predicts the future also. She wasnt't there so we walked around to visit a family Kuno knew. We went inside this makeshift shack where 9 people live in an area of about 20 x 20. He then proceeded to take me to a local bar where the smallest beer was 750ml. I kept calling him a 'crazy bastard' and thought 'we're going to die'. He assured me it was safe. He is black and has dredlocks so he fit in, but everyone was looking at me like I was from Mars.
Everyone was very friendly and wanted to know what I was doing there. It was unbelievable to see how little they have and how they live. This area employs mostly fisherman and they have been on strike for 3 months so there are lots of men out of work. I asked this one guy who spoke some English what they did for food if he was out of work for so long. He said relatives and friends have been helping his family with food.
Today I went to the preschool in the morning and in the afternoon Karen (the other volunteer) and I went to the precschool where she works and started a garden. We definitely could have used a few guys to help us this time. I was exhausted.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore!

Friday, I was taken to Shamwari Game Reserve. After turning into Shamwari, it was about 20 miles of rocky road before we reached the Bayethe Lodge. I was escorted to my tent which was down a series of walkways, planks, stairs and bridges. All I could think of was how the hell am I going to get here by myself after dinner in the dark. My luxury lodge was a tent with a straw roof, hard wood floors, king bed with fresh flowers precisely placed, fully stocked refrig, very cool bathroom with an old fashioned tub, outside shower and a private plunge pool off my viewing deck, heat, a/c. Apart from being a tent it was really a luxury room. I looked up and saw gaps where the tent side meets the straw roof and thought about the spiders, lizards, birds, and other tiny creatures that also have access to my room... I was doing alot of thinking like 'what the hell am I doing here alone.' I asked the girl if there was a key and she said most do not use a key but if I would like one, stop at the office. "I think I will."
We met with our ranger about 4PM for our first drive into the bush. Headman was his name and he has been working at Shamwari for 11 years and was extremely knowledgable. A series on Shamwari was featured on animal planet for its conservation efforts. Headman promised us, (myself and two couples from England) that he would try to show us the Big Five ( Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo and Rhino) by the end of the weekend.
We climbed into our Jurassic Park type vehicle and Headman loads the rifle that is secured to the dashboard.
"Is that a tranquiler gun," I asked.
"One bullet could kill an elephant." Headman replied.
"Did you ever have to use it?"
"No," he said.
I felt my body relax and I stopped asking questions.
He set down the rules as he held the gun. "No standing, no calling to the animals, no littering. If I tell you to put on your seatbelts, do it immediately." We all just nodded our heads in agreement with the man holding the rifle.
We proceeded on a ride through the bush. It is called the bush because there are very few trees. Can you believe I actually asked that question.
We immediately saw warthog (very ugly animal) giraffe, zebra, monkey wilderbeast, impala, springbok. A massive giraffe came so close to the vehicle Headman pulled away concerned he might kick. The sun was going down and the temperature dropped dramatically, I was wearing three layers by now and wrapped in the blanket they provided. Headman stopped the vehicle on the top of the mountain and set up cocktails and snacks on the back of the truck as we watched the sun set. Clare and I bought a hat at the shop after the drive.
Dinner was in the lodge in front of a roaring fire with the same group from your vehicle. Bottles of red and white SA wines were poured and a 7 course goumet dinner while we bombarded our ranger with questions.
"Is it true John Travolta and Brad Pitt were here." Catherine asked the important questions.
"Yes," he said, "but I treated them the same as anyone else."
Clare and Justin walked me 3/4 of the way back to my tent and I jogged the rest of the way and locked the door. I figured I should go right to sleep since we were getting a 5am wakeup call from Headman for our morning drive. I didn't sleep well with the sound of the tent flappping and the rustles of creatures in the bush. In the morning I noticed the plastic from the tray of pastries and cookies was nibbled and crumbs on the table... so I wasn't hearing things.
I was up and dressed before the phone rang at 5 AM. On the morning drive we saw a herd of elephants, a leopard stalking a warthog. She and her baby were within 10 feet of the vehicle. Headman said it was a very rare siting. You could see the baby had one blue and one brown eye.
We saw a family of hippos in the river and the usual ... giraffe, zebra, gazelle, hyaena, etc.
We told him we need to see the white rhino and the black rhino, buffalo and lion. He laughed. I guess when you have 60,000- 70,000 acres of bush it is almost like finding a needle in a haystack. I said we were told he was the best.
Headman proved to be the best over the next 2 drives, we saw the white rhino and the black rhino, buffalo, elephants as Catherine keeps humming the tune to Jurassic Park in the back.
Headman stops the vehicle once in a while, takes his gun and gets out looking at prints or picking up dung... tracking the beasts.
As we were having our evening cocktail and snack we heard the incredibly loud roar of a lion in the distance. Headman's ears perked and he packed up the drinks and told us to put on our seat belts. The roar was extremely loud because the lion was maybe 2 miles away at that point. Headman tore through the pathways of the bush in search of the lion as we jostled and bounced in the back trying to keep warm. It was unbelieveable, because he did find him sitting in the grass. There is a reason they call the lion "king." He sat there so cool like we weren't even there and sounded a fearsome roar in our direction every once in a while.
It was an incredible experience.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Wednesday, October 15th

Today it rained and 33 kids showed up at the Creche. The teacher did not come - she had to go to court and testify about a burglary she witnessed a few weeks ago. It was myself and the aide who freely used a wooden spoon to keep order. Well, I wish I knew what I was in for, because coming up with lesson plans for ages 3 to 6 with a minimal understanding of English has been challanging. About 10% can grasp the concepts even though I show them as a group first. I am also having extreme difficulty remembering their names. Maybe its old age or maybe its their names. There are 2 Lisas and an Andrew and I have those down pat, but Manyangaza, Nzimela, Kdlovu, Khuzwago and Siwangaza are just not on the tip of my tongue. I don't think there is a last name I can pronounce.

I invited the teacher and the aide to dinner last night - my treat. We had a few beers at the bar and dinner here at Island Vibe. The conversation was very interesting. The teacher mentioned she feels like she is on vacation since I have been here...NO Kidding!

This afternoon we visited a lady and her daughter, both of whom have AIDS and look terrible. Very thin, very sad. Karen, Melissa, Kuno, Jordan and myself tilled a patch of soil in the tiny yard and planted some vegetables. The ground is very dry and hard, but I guess the vegies will grow because there is a garden at the school sprouting a variety of greenery.
We are soooo fortunate!

Friday I am off to Shamwari for the weekend. It's a private game reserve and of the largest in southern South Africa. I am so psyched to go on a Safari.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Sunday, October 12

Friday night David showed up at Island Vibe about 8PM. It was unbelievable to see him here in SA. We ordered a pizza and had a few drinks at the bar with the German girls and Colombian guys he met in his travels. The bar was hopping. He told me he went cage diving with the great white sharks and did the biggest bungy jump in the world. I am glad he showed me the pictures after he did it. The sharks looked like the ones from 'Jaws'. It was great to catch up and hear about his work and travels in Mozambique. What a different world.
Saturday he took a surfing lesson and we walked to town and the beach. The day went too fast because he had to leave early Sunday. John (the driver) dropped him at the airport, I hope he made the plane as we were a bit late. Then John took Solomi and me to a small animal reserve. We saw lion, tiger, giraffe, wilderbeast, zebra, blesback, and lots more. There was this huge pure white lion and we were about 10 feet from it. I have amazing pictures, but I don't have the time on the internet to publish them. It is crazy to see animals just roaming around as you drive through the reserve. They breed white lions at this particular reserve and we were able to pet the babies who were 7 months old. The guide told us to pet them hard because if you are too gentle, they think it is a fly and bite or swat at it. Iwas rubbing the bellies of these adorable white lions, it was soooo amazing.
So far I have not met anyone else from the USA. (except David!)

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Wednesday, October 8th

This is day three with the children and if I don't die it will be a miracle. The word 'hygiene' is definitely not in their vocabulary. They do not wash their hands before snack, after they use
the bathroom, or anytime. Toilet paper is used only for number 2 and there is not a tissue in sight despite the fact that 50% have runny noses. Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful summer day, but this morning it rained like hell and apparently parents do not send their kids to preschool in the rain so there were only 12 kids, whereas yesterday there were about 30 kids. I taught them 'Duck, Duck, Goose" and "Simon Says"... my contribution to South African education. There is a definite communication gap. They can say letters, numbers and sing songs in English, but they speak a mixture of languages. The teacher is really laid back, no schedule, no problem. The aide in the classroom is even more laid back. She told me she lost her husband to AIDS in June and would like to find a nice American husband. I don't think so...
I went into the closet today to get some blocks and she was wrapped in a blanket and sleeping on the floor. The teacher, who is really very nice, keeps the children in line by wielding a green plastic ruler and hitting them on the hand if they misbehave. This stuff wouldn't fly in the USA. There is a small playground outside consisting of some climbing equipment and the big thing to do is to roll old tires around.
Naptime is a half dozen mattress pads sprawled on the floor with 5 children lying perpendicular
on each, most of whom fell asleep for a good part of an hour.
The children are definitely getting use to me and try to cuddle next to me or get me to pick them up. As cute as they are I don't pick them up as to keep my distance from the mucus dripping from their noses.
I am meeting lots of people. There are several people here from Switzerland that have been more than nice. I am definitely a fan of the Swiss. The girl that is volunteering in the other preschool (creche as they call it) is from Sweden and also great.
Meals are served in the lodge and you sit at picnic tables. Breakfast is whatever you want... cereal, eggs, pancakes, fruit. Dinner is served promptly at 7PM. Last night was a Tbone steak, baked potatoe and salad. Tonight curry chicken, rice and salad. The food is pretty good especially since I don't have to cook it!
I'll try to publish some pictures, but my time on the internet is limited.