Africa Post Three
Molly and I met an American couple staying as tourists at one of the lodges here on Lajuma. They are from Baltimore, newspaper journalists covering southern pan-Africa. They'd lived in Johannesburg for nearly a year now and seemed to have a good grasp of happenings and society in the area. An enviable job. It was good to talk to other Americans.
Hard to believe my time in South Africa is already half gone. It really is too short a time to do something like this... oh well, there's always next time, right? :D
This internet cafe is a funny place. If you stay two hours, you get a free coke. Just now, a flock of uniformed schoolboys descended from outside to play Warcraft 3, babbling in Afrikaans with the occasional reference to "night elf" or "shaman."
Afrikaans is an interesting language to listen to. German, obviously, has a few sounds we don't use in English, but Afrikaans really sounds like English. It feels like you should understand what people are saying, except, you don't.
The radio DJs here freely switch between English and Afrikaans, either catering to speakers of both languages or assuming that everyone knows both. Most of the songs, of course, are in English, indicative of the British pop charts, I think, after listening to some of the songs. There's also some local music in Afrikaans.
My German is coming along painfully. I think I'm stunted in the area of languages, or perhaps diligence. I can count to 17 or 18 (though I can't pronounce 16) and I say simple greetings -- danke, gutenacht -- but most importantly, I'm learning how to insult people.
Some of the LETU crowd knows German is a harsh-sounding language... you needn't resort to nasty words when insulting unsavory characters... so I'm learning the word for "matchbox," which sounds despicable and suitably insulting.
**************************
After last town day, we spent Tuesday at the Barn. The archaeologists were tired and spent the afternoon reading and cataloging several dozen pottery shards we'd collected. I measured their thickness and took photos.
Wednesday (Feb. 1) we got up and piled into the van. Botswana day! Me, Tazz, Molly, Karin, Katie, Inga, Christina and Ian drove north across the Limpopo River to a private nature reserve in Botswana called Kwa Tuli. There, we were greeted by our guide, known simply as Jerry. We drove out to one of the nicest campsites I've ever seen... again, I apologize I can't show pictures right now because of the internet here.
It was really really good to chill after being tired for the last several days... my sunburnt shoulders were peeling and all sorts of unpleasantness.
The camp consisted of a common area with hot water and gas stoves, completely furnished: plates, cutlery, mugs, couches -- and I nearly did a jig -- a beat-up little guitar.
The tents had beds, furniture even, with porches and bath tubs and mirrors and dressers... they were more like little cloth houses. I have this sweet video clip touring the inside of one.
Due to the sleeping arrangment, I volunteered not to stay in a tent and tossed my stuff in the common area. My bed was a hammock... which I liked a lot. The skies were brilliantly clear both nights, and the wind blew just enough to sway me a bit -- just lovely.
How shall I describe the terrain... at the risk of deeply insulting my numerous Botswanan readers, let's just say: take South Africa, remove all the grass and money, add more monkeys, and you have Botswana. I thought South Africa was a poor country, but as African countries go, I take that back. Thus was my short and inadequate impression of Botswana.
On Kwa Tuli, the terrain was, to me, quite ravaged. Most nature reserves seem undisturbed, with terrain taking your focus from the occasional lucky peep at a frightened animal. This was completely different.
Tracks, dung, animals were everywhere. The landscape was devoid of grass, the shrubs eaten by kudu and impala, all the large trees were knocked over and stripped of bark by the elephants. It wasn't a forest so much as a playground, or warzone, for the animals. Of course, some of the recent change is due to artificial influences, but I still question how so many animals can survive in that landscape.
It happened to be very dry while we were there, so most of the elephants had moved off. We saw a few of them on three occasions, once briefly at night and twice from a great distance. Kudu and impala (both deer-like creatures) were incredibly numerous; on the third and final day, we hardly took note of them.
With the exception of a morning hike on the second day, we rode about the reserve on a "safari" truck: a 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser with a roofed observation deck. And, other than chilling at the camp, that essentially describes our trip. It was lovely, but we were ready to go by the third day.
Tazz and I tried repairing the little guitar but only succeeded in proving the inevitable... one of the tuning pin gears wouldn't stay fastened and the strings kept coming undone. In the end, I played it with only four strings... not quite the full sound you expect from a guitar.
On the up-side, I had less fingering to think about and could focus on getting some new sounds from those four strings; now I have some new ideas... so if you want to practice, break a few strings and try it out. :D
We left Kwa Tuli at 9 AM after a morning drive-about and accompanied our guide Jerry to his hometown. There, we got to see the town chief officiating a dispute. The people sat in a circle around him while he heard all sides and made a decision.
Electricity, of course, is hard to come by and very expensive to set up. We saw a butcher at work on a cow in a field, hanging the legs from tree branches. A shiny red hide dried in the sun. There was a little more grass. Donkeys and goats roamed freely. A water tower leaked.
Jerry showed us his home, commented on the gearbox he couldn't find to fix his tractor. He wore his .375 bolt-action bull rifle on a leather sling for a few minutes, just as he had on our morning walk, before remembering to take it inside. We ate a bite of fruit from a tree in his yard and said hello to his wife, who came in from working on a field.
I'd noted a little silver star pinned to his shirt. It was a sign for his church, which he was quick to show us. Apparently, he is also a part-time pastor at a Christian church in the village. Before Ian could stop him, Jerry launched into a 10-minute sermon.
He used examples that would make sense to Africans, rather than some obviously unfamiliar biblical metaphors. You could see the glint was in his eye. His words were suddenly more urgent and passionate than anything he'd told us on safari. Ian finally segued the discussion into a comment on the time, but Jerry wouldn't let us go until he'd prayed.
He told us how they prayed... stand in a circle, close your eyes, fold your hands into your armpits and in this way, he asked God to give us a safe journey back and keep the river down for our crossing back to South Africa. Not my expected goodbye with a safari guide.
The drive back was without incident... the river had risen but we were still able to ford across. We didn't have lunches so I drank Mountain Dew and ate chips all the way back... they're tasty but ugh... not by themselves all day.
**************************
After we got back on Friday afternoon, I went for a run, took a shower and started cooking chili and cornbread. Someone has to educate these Europeans on Earth's finer delicacies... it turned out alright, considering I lacked some unimportant ingredients, like CORNMEAL for the cornbread and CHILI POWDER for the chili. Maize bread and red onions in the chili... every dish we make is a rough South African equivalent. ;)
Saturday I hiked up to the peak of Lajuma again, this time in the morning by myself. I got up without a hitch, enjoyed the view and had a couple wrong turns on the way down. Two hours later than need be, I made it back. You know how the Psalms talk about your tongue sticking to the roof of your mouth when you're really thirsty? It's true.
Sunday Alandra and I cataloged one of the larger sites of the area. It's a wash-out area at the bottom of a small hill, forested. The site is a low rock wall, crumbling in one part, sheltered against weather. There are a number of potsherds, beads, bracelets and an ax head.
I got sunburned all over again and I have a nasty cold and I nearly ran out of food (lots and lots of peanut butter and tea :D ), but most of those are my fault so I will just prepare better next week!
Miss you guys.
Hard to believe my time in South Africa is already half gone. It really is too short a time to do something like this... oh well, there's always next time, right? :D
This internet cafe is a funny place. If you stay two hours, you get a free coke. Just now, a flock of uniformed schoolboys descended from outside to play Warcraft 3, babbling in Afrikaans with the occasional reference to "night elf" or "shaman."
Afrikaans is an interesting language to listen to. German, obviously, has a few sounds we don't use in English, but Afrikaans really sounds like English. It feels like you should understand what people are saying, except, you don't.
The radio DJs here freely switch between English and Afrikaans, either catering to speakers of both languages or assuming that everyone knows both. Most of the songs, of course, are in English, indicative of the British pop charts, I think, after listening to some of the songs. There's also some local music in Afrikaans.
My German is coming along painfully. I think I'm stunted in the area of languages, or perhaps diligence. I can count to 17 or 18 (though I can't pronounce 16) and I say simple greetings -- danke, gutenacht -- but most importantly, I'm learning how to insult people.
Some of the LETU crowd knows German is a harsh-sounding language... you needn't resort to nasty words when insulting unsavory characters... so I'm learning the word for "matchbox," which sounds despicable and suitably insulting.
**************************
After last town day, we spent Tuesday at the Barn. The archaeologists were tired and spent the afternoon reading and cataloging several dozen pottery shards we'd collected. I measured their thickness and took photos.
Wednesday (Feb. 1) we got up and piled into the van. Botswana day! Me, Tazz, Molly, Karin, Katie, Inga, Christina and Ian drove north across the Limpopo River to a private nature reserve in Botswana called Kwa Tuli. There, we were greeted by our guide, known simply as Jerry. We drove out to one of the nicest campsites I've ever seen... again, I apologize I can't show pictures right now because of the internet here.
It was really really good to chill after being tired for the last several days... my sunburnt shoulders were peeling and all sorts of unpleasantness.
The camp consisted of a common area with hot water and gas stoves, completely furnished: plates, cutlery, mugs, couches -- and I nearly did a jig -- a beat-up little guitar.
The tents had beds, furniture even, with porches and bath tubs and mirrors and dressers... they were more like little cloth houses. I have this sweet video clip touring the inside of one.
Due to the sleeping arrangment, I volunteered not to stay in a tent and tossed my stuff in the common area. My bed was a hammock... which I liked a lot. The skies were brilliantly clear both nights, and the wind blew just enough to sway me a bit -- just lovely.
How shall I describe the terrain... at the risk of deeply insulting my numerous Botswanan readers, let's just say: take South Africa, remove all the grass and money, add more monkeys, and you have Botswana. I thought South Africa was a poor country, but as African countries go, I take that back. Thus was my short and inadequate impression of Botswana.
On Kwa Tuli, the terrain was, to me, quite ravaged. Most nature reserves seem undisturbed, with terrain taking your focus from the occasional lucky peep at a frightened animal. This was completely different.
Tracks, dung, animals were everywhere. The landscape was devoid of grass, the shrubs eaten by kudu and impala, all the large trees were knocked over and stripped of bark by the elephants. It wasn't a forest so much as a playground, or warzone, for the animals. Of course, some of the recent change is due to artificial influences, but I still question how so many animals can survive in that landscape.
It happened to be very dry while we were there, so most of the elephants had moved off. We saw a few of them on three occasions, once briefly at night and twice from a great distance. Kudu and impala (both deer-like creatures) were incredibly numerous; on the third and final day, we hardly took note of them.
With the exception of a morning hike on the second day, we rode about the reserve on a "safari" truck: a 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser with a roofed observation deck. And, other than chilling at the camp, that essentially describes our trip. It was lovely, but we were ready to go by the third day.
Tazz and I tried repairing the little guitar but only succeeded in proving the inevitable... one of the tuning pin gears wouldn't stay fastened and the strings kept coming undone. In the end, I played it with only four strings... not quite the full sound you expect from a guitar.
On the up-side, I had less fingering to think about and could focus on getting some new sounds from those four strings; now I have some new ideas... so if you want to practice, break a few strings and try it out. :D
We left Kwa Tuli at 9 AM after a morning drive-about and accompanied our guide Jerry to his hometown. There, we got to see the town chief officiating a dispute. The people sat in a circle around him while he heard all sides and made a decision.
Electricity, of course, is hard to come by and very expensive to set up. We saw a butcher at work on a cow in a field, hanging the legs from tree branches. A shiny red hide dried in the sun. There was a little more grass. Donkeys and goats roamed freely. A water tower leaked.
Jerry showed us his home, commented on the gearbox he couldn't find to fix his tractor. He wore his .375 bolt-action bull rifle on a leather sling for a few minutes, just as he had on our morning walk, before remembering to take it inside. We ate a bite of fruit from a tree in his yard and said hello to his wife, who came in from working on a field.
I'd noted a little silver star pinned to his shirt. It was a sign for his church, which he was quick to show us. Apparently, he is also a part-time pastor at a Christian church in the village. Before Ian could stop him, Jerry launched into a 10-minute sermon.
He used examples that would make sense to Africans, rather than some obviously unfamiliar biblical metaphors. You could see the glint was in his eye. His words were suddenly more urgent and passionate than anything he'd told us on safari. Ian finally segued the discussion into a comment on the time, but Jerry wouldn't let us go until he'd prayed.
He told us how they prayed... stand in a circle, close your eyes, fold your hands into your armpits and in this way, he asked God to give us a safe journey back and keep the river down for our crossing back to South Africa. Not my expected goodbye with a safari guide.
The drive back was without incident... the river had risen but we were still able to ford across. We didn't have lunches so I drank Mountain Dew and ate chips all the way back... they're tasty but ugh... not by themselves all day.
**************************
After we got back on Friday afternoon, I went for a run, took a shower and started cooking chili and cornbread. Someone has to educate these Europeans on Earth's finer delicacies... it turned out alright, considering I lacked some unimportant ingredients, like CORNMEAL for the cornbread and CHILI POWDER for the chili. Maize bread and red onions in the chili... every dish we make is a rough South African equivalent. ;)
Saturday I hiked up to the peak of Lajuma again, this time in the morning by myself. I got up without a hitch, enjoyed the view and had a couple wrong turns on the way down. Two hours later than need be, I made it back. You know how the Psalms talk about your tongue sticking to the roof of your mouth when you're really thirsty? It's true.
Sunday Alandra and I cataloged one of the larger sites of the area. It's a wash-out area at the bottom of a small hill, forested. The site is a low rock wall, crumbling in one part, sheltered against weather. There are a number of potsherds, beads, bracelets and an ax head.
I got sunburned all over again and I have a nasty cold and I nearly ran out of food (lots and lots of peanut butter and tea :D ), but most of those are my fault so I will just prepare better next week!
Miss you guys.
A Botswanan hammock sounds nice. Gives you another opportunity to soak up God's creation.
Sorry you're sunburned and have a cold. Perhaps you'll be better when you read this next week. If you want me to personally deliver some cornmeal and chili powder - just say the word and I'll zip right over. :-)
Mom