Actually, we were able to find fuel on Wednesday evening shortly after the truck had delivered it. We've heard stories that the crisis may not be resolved until February, but it does seem to be confined mostly to Botswana.
We are enjoying the festive season (how Batswana say happy holidays, although most will say Merry Christmas). It does not seem like Christmas though as we are sweating our way through each day and our flat is practically empty. There is no tree (but we do have a Yankee Candle Balsam Fir candle) and no presents (but we have each other). We are reading, watching movies, and visiting friends (Helen, Zane, Bill are all still here - most of the rest of the complex have left).
The chaos that greeted out return back to Gab on Monday has slowed into a certain emptiness. Most people have left to return to the villages by now. We went shopping this morning and it was quite a pleasant experience. We enjoyed an eclair (like the ones we used to have at the German bakkerei in Okahandja during Peace Corps training) and even got a shady parking space. Oh, the simple pleasures of life. We have been out shopping most days this week for something to do, mostly buying only food items.
Every grocery store in town is selling miniature mincemeat pies and Spar also has pecan tarts. I think they are delicious. There are a lot of specialty food items, partly because it's Christmas, partly because it is month-end pay time.
We went to see the third Narnia movie "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" the other day. It was as much for the air-conditioning as it was for the movie. I enjoyed it but not as much as the other two. Russ was a sport to come with me.
And it is finally quiet in the neighborhood too. For the past three days, there has been a house alarm sounding non-stop, making sure that everyone in the neighborhood knows that these people are not home and the security people don't care. It just stopped for some reason an hour ago, so we should also be sleeping better tonight(we had to close the windows because it was so loud but that also made the room hotter).
I miss not playing Christmas music every hour of day on the days preceding Christmas. We sold our stereo unit to the new neighbor. But it is in my head.
I was reading an Oprah mag over at Rosemary's, and then I realized it is South African Oprah. It was pretty cool how a very American mag smoothly transitioned to another country with specific ads and stories.
We will have a quiet evening at home and then go to the Anglican cathedral for a service tomorrow, followed by what Helen promises is a proper English Christmas lunch. She warned us to stop eating today in preparation for it. I'm ready!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Now you see it, now you don't
Because Russ finally got his papers in order last week (after spending over 20 hours at Immigration), we were able to leave the city with peace of mind and head out to Tuli Block for the weekend. We drove in caravan with Bill, Helen, and Zane five and half hours to the northeast into a remote corner of Botswana bordering South Africa and Zimbabwe. Southern African history buffs will likely recall the failed Jameson Raid (an ill-planned attack on the Boers from Cecil Rhodes and the British South Africa Company)which essentially ended Rhodes' plans to expand Rhodesia and the Cape to Cairo railroad.
We moved into a whole other climate zone and it was hard to believe we were still in the desert country of Botswana. While it was still hot, it was also quite humid. What was most noticeable though was how incredibly green it was. As we walked along the "green, gray, greasy Limpopo" river (Kipling's fairly accurate description), it felt like we were in the jungle with dense vegetation, spindling vines and low lying trees. This is high season for birding and Helen was keen to point out birds of particular interest such as the fish eagle, the woodland kingfisher, the starling, white-browed weaver, and red and yellow-billed hornbills.
However, it was low season for viewing animals because of all of the brush. We did manage to see several zebras, giraffe, warthog, waterbuck, kudu, impala, and wildebeest. Trouble was that poaching on the reserve is such a problem, the animals are a bit skitterish. We got mostly their backsides as they leapt back into the woods. We saw some fascinating smaller animals, such as the dwarf mongoose, tortoise, and chameleon. Oh, and a Mozambican spitting cobra, which startled us at about a meter's length. It was a baby and climbed up into a bush to make itself bigger. Even a cobra hood on a baby cobra is impressive and we kept a respectfully safe distance.
We ate well. Our krall consisted of three simple but well-decorated rondavels with a lovely grass lawn, and a separate outdoor kitchen lapa. We sat around a fire every evening and watched the stars. We napped, read, and took walks in the veld. Zane and Russ came across some animals on their treks. We played cards. Bill taught us how to play brag and that is our new favorite game. It rained at night, and we probably got ten inches over the course of three days, making for some really muddy roads. But the car handled it wonderfully.
We woke up early yesterday morning with strong feelings that the timing was not right to go to Zimbabwe today. It felt too rushed with Zane needing some help (his car is still not working) and then having to come back early to take care of some important business. Also, the traffic is quite tremendous given that everyone wants to leave town. So we contacted our friends in Harare to let them know that we will visit them later in January.
So we spent a good part of yesterday morning getting the car finally registered in our name. Ali, the son of our friends Khalid and Alla, sold us the car and was helpful in navigating the transfer process. It took us over an hour and half to find the right office, but once we were there, it was remarkably quick (unbelievable really given the long queues at every other government office we have ever been to here). When we brought Ali back home, we sat down to have Iraqi tea with his parents and then found out the big news - there is a major fuel shortage crisis in the country and most of southern Africa. What we know is that something happened to a refinery in South Africa and there is a severe shortage of unleaded fuel. This explains the extremely long lines at some gas stations. People have been queuing in line for half the day only to find that there is no more petrol out until the next truck arrives. So, we could not have gone to Zimbabwe even if we had still wanted to. Fortunately, we still have half a tank to get us around town.
It brought back a strange deja vu. I was only a kid when the fuel shortage hit us in California. Odd license plate numbers fueled on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Even plates on the other days. There was a certain order to it. Yesterday what we saw was chaos. Not the coup d'etat chaos so common in other parts of Africa. Just pandemonium. The Botswana Defense Force (with their automatic rifles, which is a fairly common sight in Africa anyway) had been called out and were blocking people from entering gas stations or mall parking lots that had access to the stations. This caused incredible traffic jams on major road. We however were able to avert most of it and got many errands done.
Like making copies of our car registration and passports and getting them certified at the Broadhurst police station. Across the street is the Broadhurst mall, which is our favorite shopping area because it is so African. This is where I find really delicious tomatoes and grapes, cheaper than at the markets (who have recently inflated their prices for Christmas and everyone's big end-of-year paycheck). There is an outdoor flea market with stalls of food and new and used items, as well as a regular indoor mall. There is always good gumba-gumba music blaring from one stereo box or another.
We checked out what the two big hotels in town are serving for Christmas lunch and may choose to go to one of those. It is way too hot to cook anything.
So we will be here through Christmas weekend and then see how things go next week. We might go to South Africa for 7-10 days and do a little camping. A lot of it will depend on the gas situation. We are enjoying the quiet complex and having time on our own.
We moved into a whole other climate zone and it was hard to believe we were still in the desert country of Botswana. While it was still hot, it was also quite humid. What was most noticeable though was how incredibly green it was. As we walked along the "green, gray, greasy Limpopo" river (Kipling's fairly accurate description), it felt like we were in the jungle with dense vegetation, spindling vines and low lying trees. This is high season for birding and Helen was keen to point out birds of particular interest such as the fish eagle, the woodland kingfisher, the starling, white-browed weaver, and red and yellow-billed hornbills.
However, it was low season for viewing animals because of all of the brush. We did manage to see several zebras, giraffe, warthog, waterbuck, kudu, impala, and wildebeest. Trouble was that poaching on the reserve is such a problem, the animals are a bit skitterish. We got mostly their backsides as they leapt back into the woods. We saw some fascinating smaller animals, such as the dwarf mongoose, tortoise, and chameleon. Oh, and a Mozambican spitting cobra, which startled us at about a meter's length. It was a baby and climbed up into a bush to make itself bigger. Even a cobra hood on a baby cobra is impressive and we kept a respectfully safe distance.
We ate well. Our krall consisted of three simple but well-decorated rondavels with a lovely grass lawn, and a separate outdoor kitchen lapa. We sat around a fire every evening and watched the stars. We napped, read, and took walks in the veld. Zane and Russ came across some animals on their treks. We played cards. Bill taught us how to play brag and that is our new favorite game. It rained at night, and we probably got ten inches over the course of three days, making for some really muddy roads. But the car handled it wonderfully.
We woke up early yesterday morning with strong feelings that the timing was not right to go to Zimbabwe today. It felt too rushed with Zane needing some help (his car is still not working) and then having to come back early to take care of some important business. Also, the traffic is quite tremendous given that everyone wants to leave town. So we contacted our friends in Harare to let them know that we will visit them later in January.
So we spent a good part of yesterday morning getting the car finally registered in our name. Ali, the son of our friends Khalid and Alla, sold us the car and was helpful in navigating the transfer process. It took us over an hour and half to find the right office, but once we were there, it was remarkably quick (unbelievable really given the long queues at every other government office we have ever been to here). When we brought Ali back home, we sat down to have Iraqi tea with his parents and then found out the big news - there is a major fuel shortage crisis in the country and most of southern Africa. What we know is that something happened to a refinery in South Africa and there is a severe shortage of unleaded fuel. This explains the extremely long lines at some gas stations. People have been queuing in line for half the day only to find that there is no more petrol out until the next truck arrives. So, we could not have gone to Zimbabwe even if we had still wanted to. Fortunately, we still have half a tank to get us around town.
It brought back a strange deja vu. I was only a kid when the fuel shortage hit us in California. Odd license plate numbers fueled on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Even plates on the other days. There was a certain order to it. Yesterday what we saw was chaos. Not the coup d'etat chaos so common in other parts of Africa. Just pandemonium. The Botswana Defense Force (with their automatic rifles, which is a fairly common sight in Africa anyway) had been called out and were blocking people from entering gas stations or mall parking lots that had access to the stations. This caused incredible traffic jams on major road. We however were able to avert most of it and got many errands done.
Like making copies of our car registration and passports and getting them certified at the Broadhurst police station. Across the street is the Broadhurst mall, which is our favorite shopping area because it is so African. This is where I find really delicious tomatoes and grapes, cheaper than at the markets (who have recently inflated their prices for Christmas and everyone's big end-of-year paycheck). There is an outdoor flea market with stalls of food and new and used items, as well as a regular indoor mall. There is always good gumba-gumba music blaring from one stereo box or another.
We checked out what the two big hotels in town are serving for Christmas lunch and may choose to go to one of those. It is way too hot to cook anything.
So we will be here through Christmas weekend and then see how things go next week. We might go to South Africa for 7-10 days and do a little camping. A lot of it will depend on the gas situation. We are enjoying the quiet complex and having time on our own.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
At long last
Yesterday the fourteen boxes that I shipped from New Jersey back in October arrived at our door. The pallet was still shrinkwrapped, so any irrational fears of the big bad customs agent seizing my splenda or hair color were put to rest. Everything is in great condition, thanks in large part to my mom who so efficiently packed more than half of it back in August. While it seems as though we are celebrating Christmas early with the specialty food items, new clothes, books, and magazines, the reality is that I packed way too much. We would have been uber-prepared for anything though - cold desert winters, minor medical emergencies, complete boredom, and more. In hindsight, I know my rationale was that better to use this stuff than to keep it all in storage or throw perfectly good items away. Que sera sera. We are trying to look at this as an exercise in simplifying and downsizing our life which seems to become easily cluttered with STUFF.
It's another rainy day, and that is perfect for unpacking and sorting things out. The rain is steady and the temperatures are on the cool side. I have a nice new raincoat that I did not think I would use here but it is light and has worked out well (must write Lands End to thank them). The umbrella I bought last month is for sun; it is not waterproof, and I think that is funny.
The social scene at the housing complex has kicked into full gear since the block party celebrating the end of school last Friday. Last night we made pizzas with Rafa and Rosemary; tonight there is a happy hour, tomorrow a braai out in the bush,and hopefully a couple of group walks/hikes. We do have a short to-do list of errands and shopping to do as well. I think the time will go by quickly before we leave for the Tuli Block in eastern Botswana on Friday.
It's another rainy day, and that is perfect for unpacking and sorting things out. The rain is steady and the temperatures are on the cool side. I have a nice new raincoat that I did not think I would use here but it is light and has worked out well (must write Lands End to thank them). The umbrella I bought last month is for sun; it is not waterproof, and I think that is funny.
The social scene at the housing complex has kicked into full gear since the block party celebrating the end of school last Friday. Last night we made pizzas with Rafa and Rosemary; tonight there is a happy hour, tomorrow a braai out in the bush,and hopefully a couple of group walks/hikes. We do have a short to-do list of errands and shopping to do as well. I think the time will go by quickly before we leave for the Tuli Block in eastern Botswana on Friday.
Monday, December 13, 2010
After the rain...sun
Friday was the last day of school with early dismissal, and the administration actually scheduled a faculty meeting. There might have been a mutiny because of that but they fed everyone quite well, and thus the near-tragedy was averted. Teachers are actually at school today and tomorrow cleaning up, meeting, and organizing for next year.
Friday night's block party was a lot of fun and most of the neighbors turned out for lots of grilled food, drinks, and snacks. It was one of those lovely summer evenings where a sweater is never needed and the stars are brilliant.
Saturday on the other hand was incredibly hot. In fact, too hot to do much of anything. We soaked our feet in cold water, took cold showers, and went for an internet session just to take advantage of the a/c. Russ helped Helen find a Charlie Brown Christmas tree in the bush for her party last night. It kind of looked like a big tumbleweed but she decorated it with white lights and tinsel. We went over to Game City mall for ice cream and more a/c, then over to Rob's flat for a drumming session. Then we took another cold shower before going to bed.
Sunday, in stark contrast, was a lazy, misty day, with temperatures in the 60's (a drop of over 60 degrees from the day before). It started off overcast when we went to church. They specifically prayed for rain and the next thing we knew it started to sprinkle. A sprinkle turned into a steady rain and then into a downpour. We bought lunch at the market and settled in for a short nap, movie, and lounging around. It was awesome to do absolutely nothing of any productive merit.
Last night, Helen had a group of people over for a carol sing, mince pies, and mulled wine. It was lovely and since it was raining, we were inside with candles. Something I remember from our Christmases in Africa before - the cities will essentially empty out, everyone back to their home village. It will really go into effect this next week. Some of the churches shut down completely because there is no one there. That always struck me as very strange since Christmas is maybe the only day some people go to church.
We woke up to more rain, but in a desert country that can't go on forever. We are already starting to see the sun come out this morning but the temperature is thankfully still on the cool side. Patches of grass are developing in our yard, but it is not exactly what I would call a lawn yet.
We are still living the amptly named Police song in terms of our status here (how is that for code?) Hoping to leave for Tuli Block at the end of this week and Zimbabwe next week but really taking things one day at a time.
Friday night's block party was a lot of fun and most of the neighbors turned out for lots of grilled food, drinks, and snacks. It was one of those lovely summer evenings where a sweater is never needed and the stars are brilliant.
Saturday on the other hand was incredibly hot. In fact, too hot to do much of anything. We soaked our feet in cold water, took cold showers, and went for an internet session just to take advantage of the a/c. Russ helped Helen find a Charlie Brown Christmas tree in the bush for her party last night. It kind of looked like a big tumbleweed but she decorated it with white lights and tinsel. We went over to Game City mall for ice cream and more a/c, then over to Rob's flat for a drumming session. Then we took another cold shower before going to bed.
Sunday, in stark contrast, was a lazy, misty day, with temperatures in the 60's (a drop of over 60 degrees from the day before). It started off overcast when we went to church. They specifically prayed for rain and the next thing we knew it started to sprinkle. A sprinkle turned into a steady rain and then into a downpour. We bought lunch at the market and settled in for a short nap, movie, and lounging around. It was awesome to do absolutely nothing of any productive merit.
Last night, Helen had a group of people over for a carol sing, mince pies, and mulled wine. It was lovely and since it was raining, we were inside with candles. Something I remember from our Christmases in Africa before - the cities will essentially empty out, everyone back to their home village. It will really go into effect this next week. Some of the churches shut down completely because there is no one there. That always struck me as very strange since Christmas is maybe the only day some people go to church.
We woke up to more rain, but in a desert country that can't go on forever. We are already starting to see the sun come out this morning but the temperature is thankfully still on the cool side. Patches of grass are developing in our yard, but it is not exactly what I would call a lawn yet.
We are still living the amptly named Police song in terms of our status here (how is that for code?) Hoping to leave for Tuli Block at the end of this week and Zimbabwe next week but really taking things one day at a time.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
English lessons
Yesterday, I was working with one of the Japanese students whose English is quite limited. We were reading a passage and then she was supposed to answer questions to check her comprehension. Here was some of the passage:
"Meryl played the pools for the first time on Thursday. On Monday, she learned that she had won 75,000 pounds. She hired a coach to take her family for holiday in Blackpool."
And I thought, "what kind of English am I trying to teach this girl?" She was completely bewildered, and frankly, so was I. Not to mention the blank stares I get at other times when I slip up and mention the dumpster instead of a skip, a can instead of a tin, gas instead of petrol, sweater instead of jersey, an eraser instead of a rubber, fries instead of chips, chips instead of crisps, a trashcan instead of a rubbage bin, and so on and so on. Sheesh.
School is winding down and there are many class parties today, primarily in the lower school. Nothing like stuffing them full of sugar and then sending them home. The kids are ready to leave and so are we. Still PATIENTLY waiting for our shipping and visas. Russ is completely finished with teaching, reports, and grades. Hallelujah! Tomorrow night, our housing complex will have a block party. We received an invite from one of the kids who had carefully written out "Party on Friday for adults and kids. 6:30 to LATE. Bring food and drinks. It will be fun. Love the party planning committee". Cute.
Last night, Katie invited me to a gathering of psychologists and social workers. I really enjoyed meeting the group, made up of Batswana and ex-pats. There is a strong mental health network here, and it seems that the larger population is more psych-savvy than I remember in Namibia. Of course, as Russ keeps reminding me, the last time we were really in Namibia was ten years ago. Things do change, even if I have locked our Namibian memories and experiences in a time warp.
Today we are going to see our friend Beverly from Luderitz! She is in town for a conference and it will be nice to catch up with her since we last saw her in 2003.
"Meryl played the pools for the first time on Thursday. On Monday, she learned that she had won 75,000 pounds. She hired a coach to take her family for holiday in Blackpool."
And I thought, "what kind of English am I trying to teach this girl?" She was completely bewildered, and frankly, so was I. Not to mention the blank stares I get at other times when I slip up and mention the dumpster instead of a skip, a can instead of a tin, gas instead of petrol, sweater instead of jersey, an eraser instead of a rubber, fries instead of chips, chips instead of crisps, a trashcan instead of a rubbage bin, and so on and so on. Sheesh.
School is winding down and there are many class parties today, primarily in the lower school. Nothing like stuffing them full of sugar and then sending them home. The kids are ready to leave and so are we. Still PATIENTLY waiting for our shipping and visas. Russ is completely finished with teaching, reports, and grades. Hallelujah! Tomorrow night, our housing complex will have a block party. We received an invite from one of the kids who had carefully written out "Party on Friday for adults and kids. 6:30 to LATE. Bring food and drinks. It will be fun. Love the party planning committee". Cute.
Last night, Katie invited me to a gathering of psychologists and social workers. I really enjoyed meeting the group, made up of Batswana and ex-pats. There is a strong mental health network here, and it seems that the larger population is more psych-savvy than I remember in Namibia. Of course, as Russ keeps reminding me, the last time we were really in Namibia was ten years ago. Things do change, even if I have locked our Namibian memories and experiences in a time warp.
Today we are going to see our friend Beverly from Luderitz! She is in town for a conference and it will be nice to catch up with her since we last saw her in 2003.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Driving me crazy
We have been doing a fair amount of driving around town lately, so I thought I would ruminate a bit about how that's been going.
Adjusting to driving on the other side of the road has not been a problem. What is funny is how we will say "left hand turn" when really it is a right turn, because we are in a turn lane. There are other things that get turned around like that in our heads. The same goes for walking and it gets a little confusing when we are supposed to walk on the left but then forget.
Pedestrians have the right of way and take egregious liberties with that. For example, people will walk right out in the middle of the street at considerable peril and there is nothing to do but stop. The same goes for the cattle and goats. For some reason, I have more patience for the cows than I do the people.
In general, I find the driving aggressive but not any different than other places we have been in Africa. On the other hand, most drivers are exceptionally courteous and efficient at navigating the roundabouts (rotaries).
The speed varies from very slow to death-defying speeds. This partly depends on the type of car from the weighted-down combi vans to the Mercedeses, BMWs, and other high performance cars. Our little Rav4 is right in the middle.
Driving around Gab is interesting. Most of the main roads are divided highways so you cannot always just make a left hand turn just because you want to go that way. We go to school one way and return home a completely different way. There are also a lot of one way streets.
There are some funny billboards. Like the ad for a bank "Give the man with dreams what he needs", or for Nivea lotion "For the man who has everything" or the one from the Tax Board "Africa time is ok most of the time but pay your taxes on time" (Maybe they need to be seen to be completely appreciated). There are other ones espousing the goodness of Cornflakes and a (seemingly)thousand cellphone competitions (Blackberry vs iPhone). Some of the billboards are quite serious addressing social issues like alcoholism, HIV, and rape.
Getting directions is not an easy thing to do. Many of the street names are long and hard to pronounce. Even people who have lived here their whole lives don't give directions as we are used to. So, if we want to go somewhere, we look up or get the plot number and then find it in the map book. That is how we know to go anywhere. Other times people talk about which roundabout to turn at but that will only get you in the general vicinity. Luckily, Russ loves maps and we have been able to navigate rather easily.
I love going to the petrol station, because like most everywhere else in southern Africa, it is full service. The attendants pump gas, check the oil, and wash the windows. It's excellent. It should be great though at roughly US$5 a gallon.
Adjusting to driving on the other side of the road has not been a problem. What is funny is how we will say "left hand turn" when really it is a right turn, because we are in a turn lane. There are other things that get turned around like that in our heads. The same goes for walking and it gets a little confusing when we are supposed to walk on the left but then forget.
Pedestrians have the right of way and take egregious liberties with that. For example, people will walk right out in the middle of the street at considerable peril and there is nothing to do but stop. The same goes for the cattle and goats. For some reason, I have more patience for the cows than I do the people.
In general, I find the driving aggressive but not any different than other places we have been in Africa. On the other hand, most drivers are exceptionally courteous and efficient at navigating the roundabouts (rotaries).
The speed varies from very slow to death-defying speeds. This partly depends on the type of car from the weighted-down combi vans to the Mercedeses, BMWs, and other high performance cars. Our little Rav4 is right in the middle.
Driving around Gab is interesting. Most of the main roads are divided highways so you cannot always just make a left hand turn just because you want to go that way. We go to school one way and return home a completely different way. There are also a lot of one way streets.
There are some funny billboards. Like the ad for a bank "Give the man with dreams what he needs", or for Nivea lotion "For the man who has everything" or the one from the Tax Board "Africa time is ok most of the time but pay your taxes on time" (Maybe they need to be seen to be completely appreciated). There are other ones espousing the goodness of Cornflakes and a (seemingly)thousand cellphone competitions (Blackberry vs iPhone). Some of the billboards are quite serious addressing social issues like alcoholism, HIV, and rape.
Getting directions is not an easy thing to do. Many of the street names are long and hard to pronounce. Even people who have lived here their whole lives don't give directions as we are used to. So, if we want to go somewhere, we look up or get the plot number and then find it in the map book. That is how we know to go anywhere. Other times people talk about which roundabout to turn at but that will only get you in the general vicinity. Luckily, Russ loves maps and we have been able to navigate rather easily.
I love going to the petrol station, because like most everywhere else in southern Africa, it is full service. The attendants pump gas, check the oil, and wash the windows. It's excellent. It should be great though at roughly US$5 a gallon.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
The broken record
(You can re-read this as often as we have heard it).
For weeks, the news (or lack of) from the Immigration office has been along the lines of "your paperwork is not yet processed", "we are missing this", "black ink not blue", "this needs to be stamped" (notarizing everything is a very big business here) and so on. I don't even think this is particularly because we are in Africa, rather more just standard government bureaucracy found anywhere in the world. I guess since my blog is public, I should probably not talk much more about our status, except to say that if you are a Police (music group) fan, you can figure it out by the name of one of their songs. This past week in particular has been an intense roller coaster of going to the police, central immigration office, universal immigration office, and getting more passport photos. Stop the ride, I want to get off!
But in the words of Al Michaels from the 1980 US vs USSR hockey game, "DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?" (the alternative and more optimistic title for this blog). We did have something truly incredible happen to us this week. One of the complications we have faced in the whole immigration debacle is that without residency and work permits, we cannot receive our shipping without paying a huge import duty (more than the contents' actual worth). Up until Thursday, we had no idea where it even was after leaving New York in October. But I contacted the shipping company and asked if we could go ahead with the papers we did have. We made a copy of every receipt and anything that looked halfway official. Magdeline took us to the customs office and we were not terribly optimistic because we did not have ANY of the right paperwork. I anticipated needing to explain a lot. After winding through a labyrinth of generic gray cubicles piled with extraordinarily massive stacks of papers, we found the woman with whom we needed to talk. She looked completely disinterested with her job and more so when we arrived; she did not look up when we stood at her desk and continued to stamp away. Well, when she finally looked through our papers, she did not ask questions and gave us the go-ahead. The woman from the shipping company was shocked because she also did not expect us to clear. So when our boxes actually do arrive, it will be free and clear and according to Magdeline, this is nothing short of a miracle. Now we are praying that the inspection goes well. I did not pack anything on the restricted list (like a cd player) but we are told that everything is at the discretion of the officer on duty (maybe I did pack too much Splenda). We are definitely getting quite an education and have learned a tremendous amount about the process of living overseas.
This whole situation has consumed a lot of our time this week, and that has made us a bit weary. But I have been baking (and subsequently eating) and that is relaxing. We had Shelley and Pete over for dinner with their kids Caleb and Malea earlier in the week. Shelley is the other American teacher at school (from Seattle but has lived in LA) and she is someone with whom Russ and I have both talked to quite openly about life the States. She shares my love for In-n-out,fish tacos, real salsa, and has a great sense of humor. Pete is a pilot here for medical rescue flights. Russ and I put together a taco dinner, using Indian roti for shells. The guacamole was great and I found some halfway decent tortilla chips. Also had a bean,corn, and cilantro salad, a big pitcher of sangria, and pineapple. The kids reminisced about Taco Bell and it was an enjoyable evening
Last night after Russ spent another four hours at immigration, we went out to the Mountain Valley Inn in Gabane with Zane. A collection of thatched huts situated fifteen kilometers from Gaborone, this bar also served food. For P20 (about $3.50), we were given a cardboard box with marinated beef which we then proceeded to grill ourselves. Then the same box served as a plate as we were given a hearty serving of pap (mielie meal) to eat with the meat (with our fingers of course). It was absolutely delicious. The downside to eating pap is that it sinks like a rock in your stomach. Had a few beers and ciders under the clear sky and listened to some kwaza kwaza music. Russ even came out on the dance floor for quite a while (which for those who know, may be miracle number two of the week). We had a great time.
Now we are at school (as I am for any blog). There is a farmer's market going on and I am hoping to pick up some eggs and lettuce. Christmas music is blaring and I think there might be some crafts as well. Russ tried his hand as a cricket batter in the annual Dads vs Lads cricket game, and I am starting to understand the rules of this seemingly BORING game. Taraz and his oldest son played exceptionally well. Thankfully it was only a 20-over match, which meant it only went on for two hours compared to the all-day matches or even the one or five day test matches. I am pretty convinced I will not love this game, but I can appreciate it a tiny bit more.
For weeks, the news (or lack of) from the Immigration office has been along the lines of "your paperwork is not yet processed", "we are missing this", "black ink not blue", "this needs to be stamped" (notarizing everything is a very big business here) and so on. I don't even think this is particularly because we are in Africa, rather more just standard government bureaucracy found anywhere in the world. I guess since my blog is public, I should probably not talk much more about our status, except to say that if you are a Police (music group) fan, you can figure it out by the name of one of their songs. This past week in particular has been an intense roller coaster of going to the police, central immigration office, universal immigration office, and getting more passport photos. Stop the ride, I want to get off!
But in the words of Al Michaels from the 1980 US vs USSR hockey game, "DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?" (the alternative and more optimistic title for this blog). We did have something truly incredible happen to us this week. One of the complications we have faced in the whole immigration debacle is that without residency and work permits, we cannot receive our shipping without paying a huge import duty (more than the contents' actual worth). Up until Thursday, we had no idea where it even was after leaving New York in October. But I contacted the shipping company and asked if we could go ahead with the papers we did have. We made a copy of every receipt and anything that looked halfway official. Magdeline took us to the customs office and we were not terribly optimistic because we did not have ANY of the right paperwork. I anticipated needing to explain a lot. After winding through a labyrinth of generic gray cubicles piled with extraordinarily massive stacks of papers, we found the woman with whom we needed to talk. She looked completely disinterested with her job and more so when we arrived; she did not look up when we stood at her desk and continued to stamp away. Well, when she finally looked through our papers, she did not ask questions and gave us the go-ahead. The woman from the shipping company was shocked because she also did not expect us to clear. So when our boxes actually do arrive, it will be free and clear and according to Magdeline, this is nothing short of a miracle. Now we are praying that the inspection goes well. I did not pack anything on the restricted list (like a cd player) but we are told that everything is at the discretion of the officer on duty (maybe I did pack too much Splenda). We are definitely getting quite an education and have learned a tremendous amount about the process of living overseas.
This whole situation has consumed a lot of our time this week, and that has made us a bit weary. But I have been baking (and subsequently eating) and that is relaxing. We had Shelley and Pete over for dinner with their kids Caleb and Malea earlier in the week. Shelley is the other American teacher at school (from Seattle but has lived in LA) and she is someone with whom Russ and I have both talked to quite openly about life the States. She shares my love for In-n-out,fish tacos, real salsa, and has a great sense of humor. Pete is a pilot here for medical rescue flights. Russ and I put together a taco dinner, using Indian roti for shells. The guacamole was great and I found some halfway decent tortilla chips. Also had a bean,corn, and cilantro salad, a big pitcher of sangria, and pineapple. The kids reminisced about Taco Bell and it was an enjoyable evening
Last night after Russ spent another four hours at immigration, we went out to the Mountain Valley Inn in Gabane with Zane. A collection of thatched huts situated fifteen kilometers from Gaborone, this bar also served food. For P20 (about $3.50), we were given a cardboard box with marinated beef which we then proceeded to grill ourselves. Then the same box served as a plate as we were given a hearty serving of pap (mielie meal) to eat with the meat (with our fingers of course). It was absolutely delicious. The downside to eating pap is that it sinks like a rock in your stomach. Had a few beers and ciders under the clear sky and listened to some kwaza kwaza music. Russ even came out on the dance floor for quite a while (which for those who know, may be miracle number two of the week). We had a great time.
Now we are at school (as I am for any blog). There is a farmer's market going on and I am hoping to pick up some eggs and lettuce. Christmas music is blaring and I think there might be some crafts as well. Russ tried his hand as a cricket batter in the annual Dads vs Lads cricket game, and I am starting to understand the rules of this seemingly BORING game. Taraz and his oldest son played exceptionally well. Thankfully it was only a 20-over match, which meant it only went on for two hours compared to the all-day matches or even the one or five day test matches. I am pretty convinced I will not love this game, but I can appreciate it a tiny bit more.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thanksgiving, part two
Friday night’s Thanksgiving dinner was absolutely wonderful. Earlier in the afternoon, we brought another table over from Rosemary and Rafa’s flat, borrowed dishes and teacups from Nazi, and finished our preparations for the nine friends who were joining us (Zane, Helen, Bill, Rosemary, Rafael, Taraz, Nazi and their two boys). Luckily on Fridays, we get out of school at 12:30. We had lumenarias and candles all around and classical music in the background.
The menu consisted of four roasted chickens, garlic green beans, mashed potatoes, roasted butternut squash, cranberry jelly (imported from Germany), Greek salad, and seeded whole wheat rolls. Helen’s partner Bill made a huge tureen of gravy and a British style stuffing (it was like a corned beef meatloaf that was quite good). For dessert, we offered pecan pie, a melk tart (custard pie) and watermelon. It was really delicious if I can say so myself.
Russ started the evening off with a round of American history and thanksgiving trivia, giving silent homage to his Uncle Don who was notorious for stumping everyone each November. The group was surprisingly into it. Next, everyone said something for which they were thankful followed by the silence that comes with eating when hungry. Colorful conversation included topics such as Formula One racing, interpretations of the Koran, and old American television shows that had been seen in the far corners of the globe. (Colombo, I love Lucy, and the Beverly Hillbillies were some of the favorites). It was a lovely evening and Russ and I were both thankful that we could give something back to the friends who have done so much for us.
Yesterday morning we were up early to go to the annual Kgale Siding Craft Fair. It was a massive array of vendors selling everything from beaded work to pottery to sculpture to plants to baked goods. We picked up a few small things and were glad to go early because it turned out to be a very hot day.
Later in the afternoon we went to the local (air conditioned) sports bar (O'Hagan's) with Zane and Bill to watch a rugby match between England and South Africa. I used to know all the players on the Springbok side when I lived in Namibia, but that was a long time ago and Zane filled us in on the team's strengths and weaknesses. The reining world cup champions beat England and it was an excellent way to spend the afternoon.
We also had Thanksgiving leftovers and probably will today too. Keeping the tradition alive. I really do enjoy a turkey (ok, chicken) sandwich with mayo, lettuce, and cranberry sauce.
Today was also incredibly hot and hopefully that means rain is on the way. We went to the mall because of the air conditioning and then to the school for a swim. We are thankful for the relaxed pace this weekend. Russ is almost finished with most of his school work (just a few more reports and then grading final exams). It is really hard to believe that we will be out of school in two weeks!
The menu consisted of four roasted chickens, garlic green beans, mashed potatoes, roasted butternut squash, cranberry jelly (imported from Germany), Greek salad, and seeded whole wheat rolls. Helen’s partner Bill made a huge tureen of gravy and a British style stuffing (it was like a corned beef meatloaf that was quite good). For dessert, we offered pecan pie, a melk tart (custard pie) and watermelon. It was really delicious if I can say so myself.
Russ started the evening off with a round of American history and thanksgiving trivia, giving silent homage to his Uncle Don who was notorious for stumping everyone each November. The group was surprisingly into it. Next, everyone said something for which they were thankful followed by the silence that comes with eating when hungry. Colorful conversation included topics such as Formula One racing, interpretations of the Koran, and old American television shows that had been seen in the far corners of the globe. (Colombo, I love Lucy, and the Beverly Hillbillies were some of the favorites). It was a lovely evening and Russ and I were both thankful that we could give something back to the friends who have done so much for us.
Yesterday morning we were up early to go to the annual Kgale Siding Craft Fair. It was a massive array of vendors selling everything from beaded work to pottery to sculpture to plants to baked goods. We picked up a few small things and were glad to go early because it turned out to be a very hot day.
Later in the afternoon we went to the local (air conditioned) sports bar (O'Hagan's) with Zane and Bill to watch a rugby match between England and South Africa. I used to know all the players on the Springbok side when I lived in Namibia, but that was a long time ago and Zane filled us in on the team's strengths and weaknesses. The reining world cup champions beat England and it was an excellent way to spend the afternoon.
We also had Thanksgiving leftovers and probably will today too. Keeping the tradition alive. I really do enjoy a turkey (ok, chicken) sandwich with mayo, lettuce, and cranberry sauce.
Today was also incredibly hot and hopefully that means rain is on the way. We went to the mall because of the air conditioning and then to the school for a swim. We are thankful for the relaxed pace this weekend. Russ is almost finished with most of his school work (just a few more reports and then grading final exams). It is really hard to believe that we will be out of school in two weeks!
Friday, November 26, 2010
Giving thanks, part one
Yesterday, I found myself quite introspective. Russ and I decided to consciously take on a spirit of gratefulness and went around the school thanking people for what they do. Whatever problems the school might have, there are some wonderful people here. It is a odd feeling to be celebrating a holiday inwardly; no one here knew or cared much about the holiday which means so much to us. It was like we had a secret that we were kind of sharing.
There is something to living away from home that creates a certain disconnectedness, a feeling that because we are out of sight, we are somehow out of the minds of people back in the US. Russ and I had a long discussion earlier in the week about how while home is wherever we make it, there is a larger circle of friends and family that we are naturally missing.
I am thankful today for a great many things: my wonderful caring husband Russ, our families back home who we were able to skype with over the past two days, the new friends we have made here and the fun we have with them, for the second summer I am having (I really do like wearing sundresses and sandals), for better fruits and vegetables than I expected, for our slower lifestyle, for the brilliant blue sky with expansive puffy white clouds, for the coolness of the mornings and evenings, for the freer evenings ahead for Russ and me (his students move into exams next week), for the kids in our complex who always make me smile, for Imelda who cleans our house (she is really a gift), for reliable internet service here at the school, for so many friendly Batswana (their smiles are infectious), and for the upcoming vacation time. I do not miss the gross commercialism that so invades the rest of the world, particularly today. There is certainly Christmas advertising in the stores here, but it is fairly mild. So that is another thing to be thankful for.
Last night, we went over to Jill and Steve Thompson's house for Thanksgiving. They have only been in Botswana since January, but have carved out a life and career overseas for the past fifteen years. They reminded us so fondly of our friends Irene and John who we met thirteen years ago in Namibia and who had similiar backgrounds. Their house was a haven every time we visited them in Windhoek. Shelley, the other American teacher at the school and her family came as well. Working or contracting with the State Department has its pluses, and their house was a lovely garden compound hidden behind high walls, and had a full kitchen with all the appliances (a convection oven! a food processor!). I have to say I miss having a microwave. We sat outside and ate and drank over delightful conversations. We feasted on smoked turkey with all of the trimmings, even pumpkin pie. True to form, I think we ate too much, but there is nothing like this kind of comfort food. It definitely sets a standard for tonight, which I don't expect to be as gracious in our small flat, but still will be a very enjoyable evening with our friends. I will leave that for another blog later this weekend.
There is something to living away from home that creates a certain disconnectedness, a feeling that because we are out of sight, we are somehow out of the minds of people back in the US. Russ and I had a long discussion earlier in the week about how while home is wherever we make it, there is a larger circle of friends and family that we are naturally missing.
I am thankful today for a great many things: my wonderful caring husband Russ, our families back home who we were able to skype with over the past two days, the new friends we have made here and the fun we have with them, for the second summer I am having (I really do like wearing sundresses and sandals), for better fruits and vegetables than I expected, for our slower lifestyle, for the brilliant blue sky with expansive puffy white clouds, for the coolness of the mornings and evenings, for the freer evenings ahead for Russ and me (his students move into exams next week), for the kids in our complex who always make me smile, for Imelda who cleans our house (she is really a gift), for reliable internet service here at the school, for so many friendly Batswana (their smiles are infectious), and for the upcoming vacation time. I do not miss the gross commercialism that so invades the rest of the world, particularly today. There is certainly Christmas advertising in the stores here, but it is fairly mild. So that is another thing to be thankful for.
Last night, we went over to Jill and Steve Thompson's house for Thanksgiving. They have only been in Botswana since January, but have carved out a life and career overseas for the past fifteen years. They reminded us so fondly of our friends Irene and John who we met thirteen years ago in Namibia and who had similiar backgrounds. Their house was a haven every time we visited them in Windhoek. Shelley, the other American teacher at the school and her family came as well. Working or contracting with the State Department has its pluses, and their house was a lovely garden compound hidden behind high walls, and had a full kitchen with all the appliances (a convection oven! a food processor!). I have to say I miss having a microwave. We sat outside and ate and drank over delightful conversations. We feasted on smoked turkey with all of the trimmings, even pumpkin pie. True to form, I think we ate too much, but there is nothing like this kind of comfort food. It definitely sets a standard for tonight, which I don't expect to be as gracious in our small flat, but still will be a very enjoyable evening with our friends. I will leave that for another blog later this weekend.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Copy that!
When I am not in the ESL or Learning Support rooms or a classroom, I take up residence in the science faculty room for internet access. This room also houses the school's SOLE color printer. Can you see where this is going? While the school has a few other black and white printers around campus, the schmancy color printer is the one of choice. It is amazing to see what comes through here. The room is quite hub of activity as teachers come to pick up their printing, which can be quite superfluous. While this is neither exclusively an African OR a teacher trait, it absolutely blows my mind as to what people choose to print. The kicker today - someone printed off 25 pages of a color catalog from the internet. Sizse, the technology guru here, patiently changes tonor about every other week and paper needs to be replaced about every other hour.
Some of you will remember the dog woes Russ and I have talked about. Our neighbor Lawrence had a dog who was constantly barking, especially when we went out in our backyard. Actually, he would always say that the dog belonged to his wife and not him, but fact of the matter is there was still a dog in his flat (I say his because since he is the teacher, the flat has been allocated to him). Anyway, the dog has now gone back to the Humane Society and we have a quieter neighborhood.
Looking for a sizable watermelon to take to the Thanksgiving dinner and pool party we have been invited to tomorrow by an American couple. While we have been promised turkey and pumpkin pie, it is too hot to have all the traditional dishes that I will try to recreate on Friday night for our friends who have never experienced a Thanksgiving dinner.
I forgot to mention that we went back to Sanitas this past weekend. Sanitas has the lovely cafe in the middle of their garden nursery that we discovered the previous weekend. We spent a few hours there as Russ corrected papers and I read a book while we also just talked. Finally found a proper cup of tea with warm milk and a real scone with clotted cream, so I was quite pleased with the whole afternoon. On Sunday afternoon, we went for drinks at the restaurant at the Mokolodi Game Reserve and that was an equally pleasant experience. These are welcome breaks for us both as Russ and I can unwind and talk about so many different things. The rest of the weekend was spent visiting friends and going for walks in the camel thorn tree forest close to our house. We usually run into cattle on these walks but our presence does not seem to bother them. It has been fascinating to watch the progression of new growth. Flowers, groundcover, and leaves are sprouting all over the place.
Some of you will remember the dog woes Russ and I have talked about. Our neighbor Lawrence had a dog who was constantly barking, especially when we went out in our backyard. Actually, he would always say that the dog belonged to his wife and not him, but fact of the matter is there was still a dog in his flat (I say his because since he is the teacher, the flat has been allocated to him). Anyway, the dog has now gone back to the Humane Society and we have a quieter neighborhood.
Looking for a sizable watermelon to take to the Thanksgiving dinner and pool party we have been invited to tomorrow by an American couple. While we have been promised turkey and pumpkin pie, it is too hot to have all the traditional dishes that I will try to recreate on Friday night for our friends who have never experienced a Thanksgiving dinner.
I forgot to mention that we went back to Sanitas this past weekend. Sanitas has the lovely cafe in the middle of their garden nursery that we discovered the previous weekend. We spent a few hours there as Russ corrected papers and I read a book while we also just talked. Finally found a proper cup of tea with warm milk and a real scone with clotted cream, so I was quite pleased with the whole afternoon. On Sunday afternoon, we went for drinks at the restaurant at the Mokolodi Game Reserve and that was an equally pleasant experience. These are welcome breaks for us both as Russ and I can unwind and talk about so many different things. The rest of the weekend was spent visiting friends and going for walks in the camel thorn tree forest close to our house. We usually run into cattle on these walks but our presence does not seem to bother them. It has been fascinating to watch the progression of new growth. Flowers, groundcover, and leaves are sprouting all over the place.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Much ado about nothing
First thing yesterday morning, we were told that DEFINITELY we would be going to the Immigration office for what would be the final step in achieving residency. So Russ and I juggled our schedules and waited for Diesel the driver to take us down to the office. Diesel is great about greasing the bureaucratic wheel at most government offices, so we were happy to wait for him. One hour turned into two, two turned into four, and then without much resignation Lydia, the administrative secretary, told us that the right paperwork was not yet done and that perhaps we should check back on Friday. With a smile, I told her that Russ' tourist visa expires next week, and with an equally wide smile, she told me it would be no problem. So, as Linda Newell told me many years ago, "trust the process." Ok.
THE QUEUE FOR THE DAY is at the bank (45 minutes), not to deposit a check into our own account, but to make a payment for a holiday trek into the Tuli Block in eastern Botswana. It's a cash-based society with few people willing to take credit cards. It is only November 23, but the end-of-the-month crowds have already started. It does seem that the end-of-the-month phenomenon where people are paid and spend their paychecks takes a good two weeks straight out of thirty days.
The December holiday essentially starts on December 10 and we are planning on going to the banks of the Limpopo River in the Tuli Block for a few days, then return to Gab to hopefully collect our shipping. If everything goes as planned AND we have our visas sorted out, then we will go to Zimbabwe for three weeks. If not, then we will stay in Botswana where we have another invitation to go up to the Moremi Game Reserve.
Setswana saying that I learned today - "You are making me hungry" (you say this to someone that you see a lot or run into frequently). Funny.
My lime green toenail polish is apparently causing quite a stir with the grade 3 girls. That makes me smile.
I really like working with my three ESL students who I see at least two to three times a week. There is a grade 6 boy from China, a grade 4 girl from Japan, and a grade 2 girl from Norway. They are delightful. Most of the other work I do is in reading groups with students who have learning issues.
Kgale Hill and the surrounding hills around the city are starting to remind us of the Berkshires in the middle of summer. Everything is so green and the vegetation is filling in previously barren and rocky land. Even in our backyard, grass is starting to grow although I would hardly say that we have a lawn.
THE QUEUE FOR THE DAY is at the bank (45 minutes), not to deposit a check into our own account, but to make a payment for a holiday trek into the Tuli Block in eastern Botswana. It's a cash-based society with few people willing to take credit cards. It is only November 23, but the end-of-the-month crowds have already started. It does seem that the end-of-the-month phenomenon where people are paid and spend their paychecks takes a good two weeks straight out of thirty days.
The December holiday essentially starts on December 10 and we are planning on going to the banks of the Limpopo River in the Tuli Block for a few days, then return to Gab to hopefully collect our shipping. If everything goes as planned AND we have our visas sorted out, then we will go to Zimbabwe for three weeks. If not, then we will stay in Botswana where we have another invitation to go up to the Moremi Game Reserve.
Setswana saying that I learned today - "You are making me hungry" (you say this to someone that you see a lot or run into frequently). Funny.
My lime green toenail polish is apparently causing quite a stir with the grade 3 girls. That makes me smile.
I really like working with my three ESL students who I see at least two to three times a week. There is a grade 6 boy from China, a grade 4 girl from Japan, and a grade 2 girl from Norway. They are delightful. Most of the other work I do is in reading groups with students who have learning issues.
Kgale Hill and the surrounding hills around the city are starting to remind us of the Berkshires in the middle of summer. Everything is so green and the vegetation is filling in previously barren and rocky land. Even in our backyard, grass is starting to grow although I would hardly say that we have a lawn.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Not living on bread alone
Tuesday was my early day at school and Russ’ late day (because of softball practice which fortunately ends next week). It is also usually a pretty good day to go grocery shopping. There are six chain stores here in Gab, and four of them are extremely close to the flat and school, which is a good thing because if one store is out of something (as it often is), you can quickly run into another.
Here’s a rundown. Woolworth’s is not your grandmother’s five and dime store and is in a class of its own. I heart Woolie’s for its organic, free range, comforts-of -home food options. This is where I get our red leaf lettuce every week and other treats like hummus, pita bread, and pineapple. Spar is the southern Africa answer to Stop n Shop as it has has most everything and the selection is good. Payless and Shoprite are my go-to stores when I don’t find what I need at Spar. The two other stores which are slightly out of the way are OK which is great for vegetarian and Indian food options, while also cheaper on staples; Pick n Pay has fantastic meat and bread departments and is second to Woolie’s for produce and hard to find items. Liquorama is the package store in the area, and World Foods is an outfit that caters to the restaurants but sell retail foods from overseas (we have been able to get German mustard, smoked beef bacon, polenta, pickles, cranberry sauce - for Thanksgiving next week and other delightful delicacies).
Here are some of the things on my list on any given week: Freshpak (rooibos) or Five Roses (black) tea; Black Cat peanut butter (not as frosting-like as Jif but still more than we are used to); Fig or berry jam; Ouma rusks (like a biscotti or hard biscuit); Whole wheat seeded rolls or bread (baked on premises); Bulgarian plain yogurt (fruit on bottom for Russ); Some kind of meat (chicken or lamb most often; but beef and wors also common choices, fish in this landlocked country is a poor option); Corn flakes (bought in one kilo boxes), weetbix or granola; Provita whole wheat crackers; Kalamata olives (taken out of brine and put in olive oil); Avocados, green beans, lettuce, bananas, pineapples, lettuce, other fruits (basically whatever looks good); Juice (guava, mango, pineapple – orange does not at all taste like Florida orange); some kind of vegetarian option (there are some so-so frozen soy products); Cheese (options are few, but occasionally we can find brie, camerbert, mozzarella. Woolie’s has stilton. We mostly get cheddar or gouda. Processed cheese abounds); English-style meat or veggie pies; Staples like rice, potatoes, lentils, peanuts, raisins, oats; Eggs (a teacher at school has chickens, so sometimes we get them from her); Crisps (potato chips) like Simba chutney or standard salt and vinegar; always a few cans of Coke and Coke Light; Handy Andy is a cleanser for around the house; Chocolate (usually some kind of a Cadbury bar).
So no, we are not starving. In fact, I have probably gained five (no wait, 8)pounds on the tea and rusks alone which I love.
It is a misty, cloudy day and the coldest one I have experienced in my time here. Kgale Hill is enshrouded in fog and it feels like we are more in East Africa than the desert. Great sleeping weather.
My queue for today was at the pharmacy where I logged about fifty minutes. We have good medical insurance, and it was no problem to fill prescriptions written in the U.S. The irony: while Botswana has the best HIV anti-viral treatment program just about anywhere in the world (free to everyone), our health insurance does not cover birth control, which while at a nominal cost still misses the point.
The rest of my day besides seeing a couple of children was to try and recover Russ' documents. We opened the computer and all of his documents were missing. He did a backup last week so all is not lost but it does mean some extra work. Sigh.
Here’s a rundown. Woolworth’s is not your grandmother’s five and dime store and is in a class of its own. I heart Woolie’s for its organic, free range, comforts-of -home food options. This is where I get our red leaf lettuce every week and other treats like hummus, pita bread, and pineapple. Spar is the southern Africa answer to Stop n Shop as it has has most everything and the selection is good. Payless and Shoprite are my go-to stores when I don’t find what I need at Spar. The two other stores which are slightly out of the way are OK which is great for vegetarian and Indian food options, while also cheaper on staples; Pick n Pay has fantastic meat and bread departments and is second to Woolie’s for produce and hard to find items. Liquorama is the package store in the area, and World Foods is an outfit that caters to the restaurants but sell retail foods from overseas (we have been able to get German mustard, smoked beef bacon, polenta, pickles, cranberry sauce - for Thanksgiving next week and other delightful delicacies).
Here are some of the things on my list on any given week: Freshpak (rooibos) or Five Roses (black) tea; Black Cat peanut butter (not as frosting-like as Jif but still more than we are used to); Fig or berry jam; Ouma rusks (like a biscotti or hard biscuit); Whole wheat seeded rolls or bread (baked on premises); Bulgarian plain yogurt (fruit on bottom for Russ); Some kind of meat (chicken or lamb most often; but beef and wors also common choices, fish in this landlocked country is a poor option); Corn flakes (bought in one kilo boxes), weetbix or granola; Provita whole wheat crackers; Kalamata olives (taken out of brine and put in olive oil); Avocados, green beans, lettuce, bananas, pineapples, lettuce, other fruits (basically whatever looks good); Juice (guava, mango, pineapple – orange does not at all taste like Florida orange); some kind of vegetarian option (there are some so-so frozen soy products); Cheese (options are few, but occasionally we can find brie, camerbert, mozzarella. Woolie’s has stilton. We mostly get cheddar or gouda. Processed cheese abounds); English-style meat or veggie pies; Staples like rice, potatoes, lentils, peanuts, raisins, oats; Eggs (a teacher at school has chickens, so sometimes we get them from her); Crisps (potato chips) like Simba chutney or standard salt and vinegar; always a few cans of Coke and Coke Light; Handy Andy is a cleanser for around the house; Chocolate (usually some kind of a Cadbury bar).
So no, we are not starving. In fact, I have probably gained five (no wait, 8)pounds on the tea and rusks alone which I love.
It is a misty, cloudy day and the coldest one I have experienced in my time here. Kgale Hill is enshrouded in fog and it feels like we are more in East Africa than the desert. Great sleeping weather.
My queue for today was at the pharmacy where I logged about fifty minutes. We have good medical insurance, and it was no problem to fill prescriptions written in the U.S. The irony: while Botswana has the best HIV anti-viral treatment program just about anywhere in the world (free to everyone), our health insurance does not cover birth control, which while at a nominal cost still misses the point.
The rest of my day besides seeing a couple of children was to try and recover Russ' documents. We opened the computer and all of his documents were missing. He did a backup last week so all is not lost but it does mean some extra work. Sigh.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Fun in the sun...and the shade
We had SUCH a good weekend. With Gab known as a fairly sleepy city, we sure did a lot. I loved every new place we discovered. Late Friday afternoon we drove out to the Yacht Club at the Gaborone Dam with Helen and her partner Bill (who is here for 2.5 months from the UK), Zane, Chris, Afro and Roger. The club is open to the public on Monday through Friday and the bar at the top gave us a splendid view of this large body of water. We enjoyed our sundowners and then went down to the beach for a braai. This group likes to eat and that works for us; it seems like many of our activities are focused around food. I love that the evenings are so comfortable that I do not need a jacket.
I spent part of Saturday at the Riverwalk Mall, which has the best bookstore in Gab. It is easy to just lose myself there for an hour or so looking through travel and non-fiction books. But it also was an extremely productive morning as I was able to return two things without a long wait or hassle and I was also in and out of the bank fairly quickly. Small successes!
That evening we went out to Caravela, a Portuguese restaurant located downtown, with Helen, Bill, Rosemary, Rafa, and Zane. It was lovely sitting in their garden, which reminded us of O Portuga in Windhoek. The food was very good and it was a relaxing evening. I had the house special chicken and Russ had the traditional steak with egg in gravy.
We went to the Anglican Cathedral Sunday morning. Their first service starts at 7:30 because of the heat but they had large fans affixed to the walls. It's a wonderfully blended and vibrant congregation. After that we drove casually around the somewhat deserted city and found a bakery in the African mall and had a greasy, creamy, utterly delicious donut. Then somehow we ended up at Sanitas which is an amazing oasis in the middle of nowhere. Sanitas is a large nursery with all sorts of plants and trees. They also have a lovely tea garden and we spent another hour having the third part of our breakfast which pretty much carried us over to dinner. It was hard to even imagine we lived in the desert surrounded by so much lush foliage. I told Russ he could come here to correct his papers!
Russ really cranked out a good amount of school work. I was really impressed. He wrote four final exams which will be given in two weeks and wrote a number of reports (report cards here are in narrative form along with a grade).
Later in the afternoon we went swimming at the school's pool, which was a welcomed break in the day (and a nice perk too!) Shelley, the other American teacher, was there with her two kids as well. Last night, we poured over maps and books to get some ideas about how we might spend the December holiday which is coming up quickly. Instruction ends on the 9th and teachers are released on the 16th for a month. Stay tuned...
I spent part of Saturday at the Riverwalk Mall, which has the best bookstore in Gab. It is easy to just lose myself there for an hour or so looking through travel and non-fiction books. But it also was an extremely productive morning as I was able to return two things without a long wait or hassle and I was also in and out of the bank fairly quickly. Small successes!
That evening we went out to Caravela, a Portuguese restaurant located downtown, with Helen, Bill, Rosemary, Rafa, and Zane. It was lovely sitting in their garden, which reminded us of O Portuga in Windhoek. The food was very good and it was a relaxing evening. I had the house special chicken and Russ had the traditional steak with egg in gravy.
We went to the Anglican Cathedral Sunday morning. Their first service starts at 7:30 because of the heat but they had large fans affixed to the walls. It's a wonderfully blended and vibrant congregation. After that we drove casually around the somewhat deserted city and found a bakery in the African mall and had a greasy, creamy, utterly delicious donut. Then somehow we ended up at Sanitas which is an amazing oasis in the middle of nowhere. Sanitas is a large nursery with all sorts of plants and trees. They also have a lovely tea garden and we spent another hour having the third part of our breakfast which pretty much carried us over to dinner. It was hard to even imagine we lived in the desert surrounded by so much lush foliage. I told Russ he could come here to correct his papers!
Russ really cranked out a good amount of school work. I was really impressed. He wrote four final exams which will be given in two weeks and wrote a number of reports (report cards here are in narrative form along with a grade).
Later in the afternoon we went swimming at the school's pool, which was a welcomed break in the day (and a nice perk too!) Shelley, the other American teacher, was there with her two kids as well. Last night, we poured over maps and books to get some ideas about how we might spend the December holiday which is coming up quickly. Instruction ends on the 9th and teachers are released on the 16th for a month. Stay tuned...
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Pula and power
Yesterday was a monumental day.
We had our first real downpour yesterday (pula is the Setswana word for rain, also the name of the currency). It rained for almost 18 hours continuously, starting the previous evening. Up until now, we have had violent thunderstorms, but the rain only lasts about 10 minutes. This rain was the steady, cool rain that makes one want to stay inside with a book curled up on the couch. There are still huge puddles around, almost to flood levels in the some areas. This did not affect the students at all - they loved to play and splash in it during break time. It really cooled things off too; even now the temperature is quite pleasant in the low 70s.
However, I don't think the rain caused what is now an unprecedented loss of power. The power went out at 1:00 pm yesterday throughout the city and most of the country. It still is out for most of the city (the school's electricity came on at 6:00 this morning as did a couple of other areas). But the electricity at the housing complex is still out (it temporarily came on for two hours last night, thankfully for the refrigerator's sake). No one can remember when it has been out for this long. I expected to see more generators. I was in the grocery store yesterday and they seemed to be functioning just fine without power. However, there were people still in queue for the ATM after the power went on like somehow the money would still come out. Nothing like camping when you least expect it but we probably got an extra hour of sleep out of it.
I was in the middle of an ESL lesson yesterday when Russ came knocking on the door, completely out of breath, telling me we must go now nowto Immigration. This is something quite fascinating about Africa time which I learned a long time ago. Time can move very slowly, but when something actually really needs to happen, it must be now now as opposed to just now (which can mean it will happen anytime from ten minutes to four hours). So I hurriedly made a plan with the other teacher and off we went with Diesel, the school's driver. We were lucky to have him with us. Russ had already been down to Immigration earlier in the morning, filled out four pages of the residency application (again, as we had previously sent this in August), then found out we both had to do it simultaneously. The glitch was that we did not have the right size photos. We had sent "passport size" 2x2 photos which were too big. So our first stop was to the center of town where Diesel knew of someone who could take the photos quickly. We pulled into the parking lot where there were two guys with a chair, a sheet for the background, and a camera. We are the ones who should have had a camera to capture all of this. For 70 pula ($10), we each got four smaller photos, and then all the way to the other side of the city where the Immigration office was located. The officer was friendly enough, but Diesel really turned up the charm. The fee was paid from the school, our fingerprints were taken, and now it will take another four to eight weeks. But Lydia who is organizing everything from the school will try for an exemption, seeing as Russ' visa expires in three and half weeks. Russ missed a whole morning of classes, but that is common. Many people here have immigration issues, and when the call comes down from Lydia that it is time to go now now, they find coverage. It was the big excitement of the day. On the way home, Diesel paid our water bill, which was also nice because he cut to the front of the line (knowing people as he does).
I met a wonderful woman from Vermont who has been a psychologist here for the past six years. Apparently there is quite a community of mental health workers working as freelance contractors in Gab, which gave me some ideas of what I might do. It is very difficult to register with the government (let alone get a work visa) so these people mostly work under the radar and primarily with the ex-pat population.
An update on Zane's car still out in the middle of nowhere. It seems as though it is the crank shaft and it will take some time to fix, but it is safe at the chief's house.
We had our first real downpour yesterday (pula is the Setswana word for rain, also the name of the currency). It rained for almost 18 hours continuously, starting the previous evening. Up until now, we have had violent thunderstorms, but the rain only lasts about 10 minutes. This rain was the steady, cool rain that makes one want to stay inside with a book curled up on the couch. There are still huge puddles around, almost to flood levels in the some areas. This did not affect the students at all - they loved to play and splash in it during break time. It really cooled things off too; even now the temperature is quite pleasant in the low 70s.
However, I don't think the rain caused what is now an unprecedented loss of power. The power went out at 1:00 pm yesterday throughout the city and most of the country. It still is out for most of the city (the school's electricity came on at 6:00 this morning as did a couple of other areas). But the electricity at the housing complex is still out (it temporarily came on for two hours last night, thankfully for the refrigerator's sake). No one can remember when it has been out for this long. I expected to see more generators. I was in the grocery store yesterday and they seemed to be functioning just fine without power. However, there were people still in queue for the ATM after the power went on like somehow the money would still come out. Nothing like camping when you least expect it but we probably got an extra hour of sleep out of it.
I was in the middle of an ESL lesson yesterday when Russ came knocking on the door, completely out of breath, telling me we must go now nowto Immigration. This is something quite fascinating about Africa time which I learned a long time ago. Time can move very slowly, but when something actually really needs to happen, it must be now now as opposed to just now (which can mean it will happen anytime from ten minutes to four hours). So I hurriedly made a plan with the other teacher and off we went with Diesel, the school's driver. We were lucky to have him with us. Russ had already been down to Immigration earlier in the morning, filled out four pages of the residency application (again, as we had previously sent this in August), then found out we both had to do it simultaneously. The glitch was that we did not have the right size photos. We had sent "passport size" 2x2 photos which were too big. So our first stop was to the center of town where Diesel knew of someone who could take the photos quickly. We pulled into the parking lot where there were two guys with a chair, a sheet for the background, and a camera. We are the ones who should have had a camera to capture all of this. For 70 pula ($10), we each got four smaller photos, and then all the way to the other side of the city where the Immigration office was located. The officer was friendly enough, but Diesel really turned up the charm. The fee was paid from the school, our fingerprints were taken, and now it will take another four to eight weeks. But Lydia who is organizing everything from the school will try for an exemption, seeing as Russ' visa expires in three and half weeks. Russ missed a whole morning of classes, but that is common. Many people here have immigration issues, and when the call comes down from Lydia that it is time to go now now, they find coverage. It was the big excitement of the day. On the way home, Diesel paid our water bill, which was also nice because he cut to the front of the line (knowing people as he does).
I met a wonderful woman from Vermont who has been a psychologist here for the past six years. Apparently there is quite a community of mental health workers working as freelance contractors in Gab, which gave me some ideas of what I might do. It is very difficult to register with the government (let alone get a work visa) so these people mostly work under the radar and primarily with the ex-pat population.
An update on Zane's car still out in the middle of nowhere. It seems as though it is the crank shaft and it will take some time to fix, but it is safe at the chief's house.
Monday, November 8, 2010
A slight change in plans
After a week of teaching Grade 6b, having been told that I was needed for "consistency" until the end of the term, I am now no longer in the class. I am more needed for ESL and Learning Support for the primary and middle school. So, being the flexible person I am, I have switched gears and am working one-on-one with students for whom English is difficult or have other learning issues. I am also learning much about the school; there is a real fly-by-the-seat attitude where sometimes big decisions are made quite spontaneously, for better or worse.
I was sad to leave the grade 6 students. They were really a lot of fun. We were able to talk about it on Friday afternoon and I will continue to work with them to process the loss of their permanent teacher.
Zane made it back last night by taking three buses, having left his car at the chief's house back in the village. He will make the long trek this weekend to recover it and will travel half the way earlier this week to buy the parts with the mechanic. He really had a wonderful attitude about the whole thing and that is one of the things I like about him.
Living here is wonderful. Russ still continues to find school very challenging with certain difficult individuals and teaching within the antiquated, rigid Cambridge system that monopolizes the education systems within the former British empire. So we are taking things one day at a time. But work is only one aspect of our life here, and the rest of it is delightful. We really enjoy our group of friends and have settled in to the routine of getting around here.
We did decide to hire a housekeeper once a week and I do not feel guilty at all. It is just too much to keep up with the dust. Imelda has worked for Zane for years and is from Zimbabwe. I like her a great deal and we are both learning Setswana together.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring!
I was sad to leave the grade 6 students. They were really a lot of fun. We were able to talk about it on Friday afternoon and I will continue to work with them to process the loss of their permanent teacher.
Zane made it back last night by taking three buses, having left his car at the chief's house back in the village. He will make the long trek this weekend to recover it and will travel half the way earlier this week to buy the parts with the mechanic. He really had a wonderful attitude about the whole thing and that is one of the things I like about him.
Living here is wonderful. Russ still continues to find school very challenging with certain difficult individuals and teaching within the antiquated, rigid Cambridge system that monopolizes the education systems within the former British empire. So we are taking things one day at a time. But work is only one aspect of our life here, and the rest of it is delightful. We really enjoy our group of friends and have settled in to the routine of getting around here.
We did decide to hire a housekeeper once a week and I do not feel guilty at all. It is just too much to keep up with the dust. Imelda has worked for Zane for years and is from Zimbabwe. I like her a great deal and we are both learning Setswana together.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring!
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