From Joburg it was back to Limpopo and mid service with the rest of the SOM group. We stayed in a nature reserve way up north, about 18 km from the Zimbabwean border…
It was some good days, but hard getting our minds back to work. There has been some problems within our group which has taken a lot of energy of everyone, but I think we managed to sort things out because this first week in our 3. Community has been really great.
We are now in a very rural community in Blouberg called Buffelshouk. It is a very beautiful area with amazing mountains surrounding us. We asked about going hiking in some of these mountains, but were told by some locals that in one of the mountains people disappear, and in other mountains people are living and they apparently have amazing soccer fields there…
The level of unemployment and alcoholism is very high in this community, and people’s level of English is very low so communication is a challenge. There are now “real” shops in this community, but places to buy the local beer are not hard to find. If you see a house with a white flag, you know you are in the right place.
A local favourite seems to be chicken feet, which Claire and I experienced today when we took a minibus taxi from the nearest town. These busses are NEVER full according to the driver, and this one was packed with people and over 60 kg of chicken head, neck and feet….
New community also means a new host family and once again I have been lucky. Together with mum, 3 daughters and a grandson I live in a small house with 2 bedrooms and a kitchen/living room. My food so far consists of bread, pap, chicken liver, sausage (boerwors) and potatoes. I once had chicken but ended up taking the head by accident….
The bathroom is none existing, so everyday they put a (small) washing basin in my room. The toilet is outside, but during the night I’m suppose to use a bucket they place in my room every evening…..I’m getting comfortable with the rural African life, but NOT THAT comfortable;)
For information, I have decided on when I’m coming home, and my flight is booked on the 24th of July. We finish the program around the 21st of June and the plan is to travel for a month before I come home. I want to go to Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique, and finish of with a week or so in South Africa.
My mind is starting to focus on going home, but I still have 3 months to go and I’m determined to make the best of it and enjoy it to the fullest! When will I ever get the chance again to wake up at 5 am by the roosters, wash in bucket, eat chicken liver and pap, and sit in the dark every other night because of the power shortage?
Lol. This one, she also loves South Africa; The hospitality and kindness of the people, their different way and phase of life, the smiles on the children’s faces, the genuine interest and appreciation of what you are doing, the amazing sunsets, and the sky at night lit up by thousands of stars.
Wish you all a great weekend!!
XXXX
Friday, April 18, 2008
This one, she loved Zambia
How many people do you need to fill up a minibus taxi in Zambia?
- one to get passengers on their taxi
- one to take the money
- one to give your ticket
- one to pretend to be the driver
- two to pretend to be the passengers (so you’ll think the taxi is full and leaving soon)
- one who is the actual driver
This one, she loved Zambia! Zambia to me was in many ways similar to South Africa, but in other ways so different. I find SA so diverse; it is both developed and underdeveloped. You have the rural areas we work in, but also a well developed infrastructure and cities which remind me of Western Europe. Zambia had that “Real Africa” feeling, with the roads, people, houses and everyday life.
The bus ride from Lusaka (the capital) to Livingston ( 3.largest city (Correct me on this one Solveig) and major tourist attraction) was a 7 hour long bumpy drive. I honestly thought they were doing roadwork the last 200 km or so, but this was not the case. Heavy rain during the end of the rainy season had made the road even worst than normal. I could not believe this was the main road between these two cities. But one the bright side this was the only bus I took that did not get a flat tire and left me waiting by the road for hours.
In Livingston I met up with Lind. She is also a SCORE volunteer, but works for another NGO with (former) commercial sex workers. I met some of the girls she works with and their stories really make an impact. Like the 16year old girl with the 4 year old daughter. Luckily she has a (Norwegian) sponsor who is now paying for her to finish high school and hopefully she will get good enough grads to go on studying. Of all the girls Lind works with about 2\3 are HIV positive.
10 km out of Livingston is where you find the Victoria Falls. Since the raining season just finished the falls was massive. My pictures do not make justice at all.
After some days in Livingston we went to Kalomo, which is where Vidar and Samuel are working. Well, actually they work in the “bush”; the very rural areas around Kalomo. Every week or so they drive their bikes out to these areas and sleeping in tents for a couple of days. After I night there with pap, beans, and local beer for dinner I took the bus back to Lusaka where I stayed with Gillian, a Canadian volunteer, for a night before flying back to South Africa. I wish I had time to stay longer in Zambia, but I’m glad I got to see all the other volunteers and Victoria Falls. Also, I must admit that being back in Joburg and eating lunch at Mug and Beans at a nice mall wasn’t too bad either;)
xxx
- one to get passengers on their taxi
- one to take the money
- one to give your ticket
- one to pretend to be the driver
- two to pretend to be the passengers (so you’ll think the taxi is full and leaving soon)
- one who is the actual driver
This one, she loved Zambia! Zambia to me was in many ways similar to South Africa, but in other ways so different. I find SA so diverse; it is both developed and underdeveloped. You have the rural areas we work in, but also a well developed infrastructure and cities which remind me of Western Europe. Zambia had that “Real Africa” feeling, with the roads, people, houses and everyday life.
The bus ride from Lusaka (the capital) to Livingston ( 3.largest city (Correct me on this one Solveig) and major tourist attraction) was a 7 hour long bumpy drive. I honestly thought they were doing roadwork the last 200 km or so, but this was not the case. Heavy rain during the end of the rainy season had made the road even worst than normal. I could not believe this was the main road between these two cities. But one the bright side this was the only bus I took that did not get a flat tire and left me waiting by the road for hours.
In Livingston I met up with Lind. She is also a SCORE volunteer, but works for another NGO with (former) commercial sex workers. I met some of the girls she works with and their stories really make an impact. Like the 16year old girl with the 4 year old daughter. Luckily she has a (Norwegian) sponsor who is now paying for her to finish high school and hopefully she will get good enough grads to go on studying. Of all the girls Lind works with about 2\3 are HIV positive.
10 km out of Livingston is where you find the Victoria Falls. Since the raining season just finished the falls was massive. My pictures do not make justice at all.
After some days in Livingston we went to Kalomo, which is where Vidar and Samuel are working. Well, actually they work in the “bush”; the very rural areas around Kalomo. Every week or so they drive their bikes out to these areas and sleeping in tents for a couple of days. After I night there with pap, beans, and local beer for dinner I took the bus back to Lusaka where I stayed with Gillian, a Canadian volunteer, for a night before flying back to South Africa. I wish I had time to stay longer in Zambia, but I’m glad I got to see all the other volunteers and Victoria Falls. Also, I must admit that being back in Joburg and eating lunch at Mug and Beans at a nice mall wasn’t too bad either;)
xxx
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