Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh wait....

Hey all:

It's been a little while, and for that my apologize. To sum it up quickly, Internet access in Africa is less then perfect (to put it politely). I've finally found a place that's down to 20 rand (about $3.33) an hour. This computer is giving me some fits though, so we'll see how well this works out.

 

In my mind, most people head to Africa to escape luxury living. Surprisingly enough, I've been living quite high on the hog here. Life is treating me very well; some old good karma must be coming around to me. Let me explain my travels since Mumbai (which feels like a lifetime ago). On a side note, while I liked my people oriented last email, my African experience doesn't really lend itself to that approach. I'm forced to return to a more traditional, time driven explanation of travels.

 

I arrived in Africa with limited expectations (in my opinion, one of the best ways to travel, minimal expectations=minimal disappointments). I've had a very different experience then I expected, but a good experience none the less. This email will cover: Hostel Hunt, Touch-down, Savannah, Rhythm &; Blues, The Family, Bushing-It, Sweet Sugar, Thumbing-it, Thanksgiving, Visas Part 2, Jurassic Park, Lightening Shows, A Korean Interlude, George, Jack-asses, Christmas Lights, The "Tablecloth", and Clive. Once again, my plate looks full so lets get moving.

 

Hostel Hunt: Wake-up Call

 

I arrived in JoJohannesburg (Jo'burg) in mid-morning with no plans. I'd sat next to a friendly Jo-burg resident whom I thought might be acaccommodating but then I discovered his Jehovah Witness side and quickly rethought my situation. The progression through customs and immigration was very easy. No real hasslers in the airport. I immediately withdrew South African rand from the atm and broke the big bills at a bank within the airport (very concenient I had no place to stay and didn't really feel like being taken by the taxi drivers. I found a mediocre bookstore, and searched through their travel books on South Africa. A backpackers hostel presented itself, not far from the airport. I astutely (or cheaply) memorized the number and left the book in the store. They picked me up and lodged me in a dorm room for 100 rand (around $16). AH! I'm not in Kansas, or South-East Asia anymore... $16 for a communal room. Everything worked out though. They had a pool, that I unfortunately didn't get into. I arrived and then realized I may have given Mia, my friend in Mozambique that I used as an excuse to return to Africa, the wrong arrival date! On top of that, I had no idea how my arrival/meeting in Mozambique would happen. So I spent the day hunting for phone cards and talking with Mia, along with airline receptionists. My major worries about a lack of Mozambicans turned out to be found-less

 

Houston, We Have Touch-Down

 

The flight to Beira, Mozambique (not the capital for anyone wondering) was adequate. I flew on my smallest plane ever, they didn't ask me about seat preferences since I was guaranteed an aisle or window. The plane had three seats across TOTAL, one on the left of the aisle and two on the right. When we approached Mozambique from the air,  I started getting really excited/nervous. Visa processing assuaged my fears, with only a slight blip. I had to cough up $25 usd, could have been worse, but then the immigration official was yelling at me. It took me maybe a minute to understand what he was complaining over. He just repeated "BIG HEAD, BIG HEAD" to me until I realized the $5 bill I'd forked over was of the older variety, before the Lincoln's head had been enlarged to bobble-head proportions. Luckily I had another 5 that satisfied his "Big Head" requirements :) I quickly passed through my style of customs, where the official asks "Do you want to declare anything?" I say "nope." He says "bye," and that's that. Meeting Mia and her boyfriend Dan was simple, because they met me at the airport. I had visions of being stuck in a little airport somewhere outside of the middle of nowhere, but they grabbed me immediately.

 

Savannah: Mozambicans

 

My life of luxury did not begin upon arrival, thankfully. Mia and Dan quickly introduced me to traveling in Mozambique (Moz), which is remarkably similar to how I remember travel in Ghana, enter the minibus. We boarded a mini-bus for 5 minutes, walked for 15 and then met another Peace Corp Volunteer (PCV), Kara. We all hopped on the back of an open truck bed, and were off to Savannah, a nearby island retreat. Unfortunately we didn't get far, because our truck ran out of gas! We sat in the back with a group of Mozambicans for maybe an hour, until another truck came and we caught that one. The new truck had apparently just finished transporting fish though, so our forty minute odd ride to the island wasn't exactly pleasurable...at least we arrived. The island itself was marvelous. We swam in the warm Indian Ocean that reminded me of bath water. We ate amazing seafood, highlighted by crab so soft we pulled it apart by hand. A few other PCV's met up on the island and I really enjoyed myself. Kara and I turned out to have very similar literary tastes. The PCVs have really impressed me, but I guess the organization is quite self-selecting. I read for hours on the beach. At one point, a gecko-style lizard crawled up my body and rested on my back for a while. Our transportation back ended up well but started on shaky ground. We got ferried off the island only to hear we'd missed the latest truck by a few minutes. The locals thought the next truck would leave when the fisherman finished, in 4-5 HOURS! (welcome to Africa). I fell asleep on a concrete floor when Mia spotted a couple leaving who were more then willing to drive us back. They were Australian missionaries who treated us very well. So I went from gripping the side of a truck bed to stay on the car to sitting in a cushy seat in the back of a private van; life can be funny like that sometimes, especially here.

 

Rhythm & Blues

 

Mia and Dan took me to a PCV going away party for two volunteers about to finish their 27 months in-country. I found the whole experience quite eye-opening. Really living in a country is so different from what I've seen/felt on the road. Even in Korea, I never immersed myself anywhere near what PCVs do. The party was dominated by Mozambicans, with PCVs and other randoms sprinkled about the dance floor. I was awed by peoples dancing skills for a few hours before I took the plunge and asked one of the Mozambicans to dance. Mia and Dan asked a girl to dance the Posada with me, which I really stunk at. My favorite memory from the evening is the woman saying "uno, dos, [pause] thres, quatro" over and over again in my ear. :) I guess those dancing skills in Korea don't translate well to the real floors of Africa.

 

The Family

 

When arranging this part of the trip, I knew it'd be different then the rest of my journey. Originally I understand Mia's parents and Dan's Dad would be traveling with us for a major segment. I later learned that Dan and his Dad were breaking off almost immediately, and Mia's sister was also coming: I'd essentially joined Mia's family vacation. I've known Mia's family for 7 years, and we've always gotten along well. But getting along with people over a card table and traveling with them 24/7 for a few weeks is a different thing entirely. I can't say enough for her families kindness/inclusiveness. I fit in immediately as their third child. It actually became a somewhat regular practice that I passed as their son, which was much easier then explaining the long relationship. Mia's family opened doors for me that I certainly would have never managed to open on my own (especially with my bank account). The hardest part of staying with them is how easily I fit in, and how much they reminded me of Oak Park. I don't think I was really conscious of how much I missed my immediate family until I spent a few weeks back in a healthy family environment. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to thank them enough. Dick, John, Amanda, and Mia, thank you for letting me join your family for a few weeks, I really enjoyed myself.

 

Bushing-It: Van Damn, nope, Van Dousey

 

We all met up in Beira and traveled the three odd hours to Van Dousey, where Mia and Dan call home. I wasn't sure what I expected, but Van Dousey wasn't exactly it. I have to applaud Mia and Dan for really living in Mozambique. It seems like many people travel somewhere but still manage to surround themselves with home. I saw it in Korea all the time, tried to avoid it sometimes, but never had to deal with such differences like Mia and Dan must everyday. They have electricity most of the time and a water pump next door. But no couches, no entertainment, no computers (Mia's father just brought her laptop), no foreigners around (except Zimbabweans who have fled Mugabe's Heart of Darkness). Mia and Dan are really fluent in Portuguese, since they both have to teach 8-10 grade Biology in it every day. They're school is entirely different then Korea, 50 kids a class with lesson plans and real tests. I found Van Dousey impressive and humbling, mainly because I think it'd be so much harder then South Korea. The food situation would actually drive me insane. I'm not sure if I could ever live in Africa for an extended time, simply because I don't like the food that much. Van Dousey has one restaurant that serves chicken (or disgusting beef) with rice, and that's it! South Africa's food has been better, but still not extremely impressive. We slept in Van Dousey for a few nights. Amanda and I slept in a tent on the floor to avoid the silver-dollar size furry spiders that creep around Mia's floors at night.

 

Sweet Sugar: Cashews Were A Bad Choice

 

We visited a sugar plantation with a group of PCVs who are friends with a wonderful South African couple that work there. Everyone stayed at their house and had a nice time. My biggest problem was I ate tons of cashew nuts before we left. People sell cashews all along the sides of the road. I was hungry and they tasted good. Little did I know that cashews can give you stomach problems. I spent the majority of the sugar cane night in the bathroom, with the worst stomach problems I've had in 16 months abroad. Thank goodness I brought anti-diarrhea medicine from Korea (thank you for all the help Angela!).

 

Thumbing-it: Hitching Beats Driving

 

Amanda, Mia and I had to hitch from the sugar plantation outside Beira to Vilin Kulich, our next location. Dan's father rented a car, but three parents and Dan, with baggage, filled up the little sedan pretty quick. We set out relatively early due to the minimum of six hours that were staring us in the face. Kara (the PCV) explained the art of hitching to me: mostly maximize the number of women on the road, minimize the men, and put your hand out with somewhat of a limp wrist. It took thirty minutes to get our first ride. The truck let us on and was going past our stop, but it moved so slowly we had to eventually depart. We then sat on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere for an hour. A bus wanted us to pay for passage, but it was both expensive and slow. Buses in Mozambique don't leave until they are full, meaning when you buy passage you simply sit on the bus while it fills up. Not joining that bus was an excellent decision on Mia's part. An Italian guy stopped for us and opened up his truck bed for our trip. He absolutely refused any reimbursement and got us there quick (he happened to be going to the exact same place). Funny enough, we made it to Vilin Kulich in around half the time it took the parents and Dan to get there. They ran out of gas, having stopped at four progressive stations that were all empty! After the gas truck came, complications erupted between the transfer of gasoline to the car, forcing them to receive it at a trickle. They finally got gas and were on their way, later in the evening, when they got TWO flat tires. Cell phone coverage kept going in and out. Finally Mia and a very nice woman from CARE went and picked up all of the car's occupants. It was to late to tow the car so Mia hired a man to guard the vehicle. Our guard was maybe 5 feet tall and arrived with bow and arrow! The next day Mia's family went out to the car with repairmen, who simply beat the tires until they stopped bubbling under water; fixed! HA No wonder they break all the time.

 

A Turkey-less Thanksgiving: PCV Paradise

 

I forgot it was Thanksgiving, never having been a big fan of the holiday. We met some Americans traveling through Vilan Kulich who wanted to have a big celebration. These two women had just graduated from Brandise and were looking for Americans to eat with. We put it on the dinner and met lots of random people. By the end of the evening we'd separated from all odd amalgamation of travelers and had moved back towards a core PCV (plus me and Dan's Dad) group. The PCV in Vilan Kulich were both remarkable. I immediately hit it off with Juliet and Erica. They both work with CARE in the health branch of Peace Corp Mozambique. I'm not sure if I've ever intellectually connected so well with anyone like I did with Juliet. Meeting both of them was quite refreshing. Peace Corp really does have some amazing volunteers. Juliet is a temporary project manager at CARE, working in a job I can simply drool over.

 

Visas Part 2: A Tale of Two Countries

 

Mia's family and I bused down from Maputo (pronounced Mu-pou-tou). The ride was uneventful except for the border crossing. Leaving Moz was quite a process. We sat in a line for at least thirty minutes, probably much more, until our bus driver finally expedited the process by grabbing our passports and getting the exit stamps for us. We then walked over to the South African immigration office, what a difference! I'd been given a free, six-month visa upon arrival in Jo'burg previously. The visa is bar-coded, so the immigration officer simply scanned the old visa and gave me a new entry stamp (apparently my visa is multiple entry). I found the whole process quite impressive. I don't think anywhere I've traveled has completely computerized the immigration process. Kudos to South Africa. Oh yeah, then we had to do one of the strangest things ever. While waiting for the South African authorities to check our bus, some people pointed us forward. We eventually reached this box, where everyone passing into South Africa stepped in and then out of. In the box was some type of liquid, my guess is chemical, but who knows?!? No one said anything and we never got an explanation. We all wondered if they wanted to see how many suckers they could get to step in some box, if so, they got all of us!

 

Jurassic Park: Enter The Animals

 

I've generally avoided animals on my trip. In trying to experience culture, I haven't made animal viewing a priority (I told Juliet and Erica that animals were somewhere slightly above museums towards the bottom of my list). But the first few weeks of my Africa trip were completely out of my hands, me simply trying to fit into Mia's family's vacation. Exceptions must be made to any principle, and visiting Kruger National Park and seeing animals in their natural habitat was a worthwhile exception. On our first morning a pack of wild dogs walked past our car and we spotted a leopard lounging in a tree. While we thought these were relatively normal spottings at the time, I've since learned that there are only three packs of wild dogs in the park and leopard are extremely difficult to find. I mean these animals are in their homes, and we're only allowed to drive on the assigned roads. I couldn't help but think of Jurassic Park, where the tourists can only view the animals from their cars. The park officials are very adamant that you aren't allowed to leave your car. We did go on a nature walk with two park guides, who were both fully armed. Mia, Amanda and John (Mia's Mom) were charged by elephants on our walk. As cool as the live elephants were, the highlight was undoubtedly hearing lions roar right nearby. I still think I spotted them running away, but we never got a good look at them. Their roar is overpowering, I can't verbalize the power and beauty we witnessed that morning (and it was the morning, we had to get up around 4:30 for the walk!). In our three days at Kruger, we saw lions, a leopard, boars, hippos, tons of elephants, impalas, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, ox, etc. etc. After three days I was finished with animal watching, but they were a special three days. We saw the small pack of five lions on our last evening, really putting a capstone on the experience.

 

Lightening Shows: Flashback to Car Vacations

 

The next week centered on our rental car. We traveled down from Kruger through Drakensburg and ending in Jo'burg. Amanda and Dick were the only drivers on the rental, so I'm thankful for their long hours behind the wheel. I couldn't shake the feeling throughout the trip that I was on a family vacation to Colorado or something. South Africa's geographic diversity has been my biggest surprise. We drove through rolling green hills and heavily wooded forests, up mountains and over water, meeting nice South Africans at various bread and breakfasts along the way. We couldn't find accommodations in Ermelo, this random town we stopped at once it started getting dark one night. The local hotel receptionist called around everyone, finally finding a little availability Hawk's Nest B & B. We arrived and I went to check out the situation. The owner asked if I was part of the party that had just called. I said yes and she asked how old my three children were! HA I got a good chuckle out of that one. Her husband espoused his fears for South Africa's future in a five minute monologue over breakfast the next morning. Having been exposed to all different walks of life of people in South Africa, I still can't decide where this country is going. While I do believe it has potential, the level of violence and insecurities oftentimes frightening That's one thing I can say I never fully appreciated about Seoul, it's such a safe country. I got sidetracked. We ran into many lightening storms and a bit of rain (luckily missing most of the rain although we traveled through the thick of the rainy season). We stayed at a very nice B & B named Ant Bear, where the owner reminded me of my backpacking days of old. He traveled for 7 years! Going up from Cape Town to Cairo hitching, simply awe inspiring. I'm not going to do that anytime soon, but he snapped me back into my $1 a night days in SE Asia.

 

A Korean Interlude: Ahn-yea-ha-say-yo

 

We stayed at The Cottages in Jo'burg with Mia's parents. It took us a few hours to find it the first night, but the lodgings were well worth the wait. When discussing my travels I mentioned to someone that I'd taught in Korea. They got very exciting, saying that three Koreans were staying in one of the cottages whom spoke little English. The next morning they all came to breakfast. I wasn't sure how to break the ice, but finally said Ahn-yea-ha-say-yo (an awful englishization of hello in Korean). Before I knew it we were off in a full-fledged conversation, or as close as we could get to it with my limited Korean language skills. I found the whole situation so enjoyable, I spoke with them for maybe an hour that day. Later on I helped them checkout and split the bill properly, and then helped one of the women move next door the next day. Speaking and dealing with Koreans brought me back to the good old days of Seoul. The woman I helped move at breakfast with two knives because they didn't have chopsticks for her! My Korean was rusty but started to come back after a little while; I really hope I can learn it properly at some point in the future. The hotel staff was very appreciative and commented at how much brighter their Korean guests looked now that they had someone to communicate with. The Koreans were ridiculously gracious, taking photos with me (I took a photo too) and be very thankful. It was a very nice all-around experience.

 

George: Waterfront Movies

 

Mia's family departed bit by bit, eventually leaving Mia and I to travel on to Cape Town. In Korea I'd worked near Claudia, a really nice woman from South Africa. On my last night in Seoul we'd sat down over a few pints and dreamed about Cape Town, from her memories and my fantasies. Claudia's father still lives here, and she told me to look him up when I arrived. I had no ideas what to expect, but quickly realized I'd moved into another family. George's two children are both grown, but he immediately welcomed us into his home with open arms. He insisted on picking us up from the airport and gave us our own set of keys to his waterfront flat. We've stayed with him for nine days now, and his generosity continues to amaze me. He taken us out for multiple meals, my favorite of which was last Saturday at the wine gardens. After tasting various wine for thirty minutes, we had a pleasurable two hour leisurely meal. I'm gaining back some of the weight I'd lost of the trip after eating with Mia's family and now George for the past three weeks! While his apartment isn't exactly centrally located, we can still hop on the train and be downtown in 45 minutes. The joys of staying in a real house also can't be underestimated. He has glorious things like leather couches, real beds, a functioning kitchen, POWERFUL SHOWERS, a dvd collection/entertainment system. Our stay in Cape Town has been different then the rest of my trip, really nice in a new way.

 

Jack-asses: Adorable Penguins

 

Who knew penguins lived in South Africa? Visiting the penguins overlapped both Claudia and George's must-do lists. We first saw the funny creatures at the aquarium but a few days met saw them close-up at Boulders Beach. These penguins just lay around the rocks, wobbling around. They are absolutely adorable. I think they've become somewhat acclimated to humans, sort of like pigeons because they didn't really run away when people approached. The Jackass penguins are so cute, I can't get over it.

 

Christmas Lights: In Search Of A Real Pint

 

After climbing a medium sized mountain outside of George's back door Mia and I went for a pint down the block. Unfortunately, the bar didn't have any draft beers (what kind of bar doesn't have any draft beers!?!). When getting the bottled beer list, this guy next to us asked us twice if we wanted to go for a "real pint." We considered it and said why not. Before even getting names Mia and I were in the back of his A.J.'s car with his girlfriend in the passenger seat. They showed us around Cape Town that night and the next day, getting to some of the local spots we never would have found without guidance. They both do a few too many drugs, but still showed us a good time. We all got blitzed the next night and we stumbled home the few blocks from his house to George's place. They couldn't believe we hadn't seen the Christmas Lights downtown yet, and took us downtown that first night to remedy the situation. The Christmas lights are a ridiculous joke, I mean like 3 or 4 scenes lit up in lights. :) So funny. Talking to A. J. and Cheryl was enlightening, just to see how some Boer people think/act. They both speak Afrikaans with her first language being Flemish. He's a chef and she's a bar manager. They were the most openly racist people I've probably ever met before. While I don't agree with their beliefs, being exposed to their viewpoint was eye-opening.

 

The "Tablecloth": Screaming Legs

 

A few days ago Mia and I scratched off another must-do when we climbed Table Mountain. The climb takes about ninety minutes, and is quite tiring. The views from the top are rewarding though, and I'm personally glad we walked up and down (you could cheat and take a cable car. The backs of my legs aren't as happy as I am about the climb, but they'll recover and be all the stronger for the journey. Table Mountain overlooks Cape Town and the Oceans that collide around the city (Side note: the Atlantic Ocean is COLD. The Indian Ocean is pleasant, bordering on hot tub level in Vilan Kulich). Locals call the cloud cover that occasionally engulfs the mountain as the Tablecloth. Being surrounding while the midst flies through you is really an experience. Our only complaint was the lack of a promised restaurant on top of the mountain; some extra water would have been really appreciated when we hit the pinnacle. Outside of the restaurant, the temperature on top was cold. I couldn't stop walking for long or risked shivering. Mia turns blue when cold, so neither of us stuck along on the top.

 

Clive: Contacts Continued

 

One of my Dad's friends emailed us to say he had a nice Cape Town contact. We had our lodgings covered, but thought meeting another person would always be nice. Clive took us out around Cape Town yesterday. I ate some excellent line fish (self explanatory). We went shopping in a real mall, and I bought tons of books (which I now need to pack!). While Clive couldn't help up with Cape Town accommodations, he immediately volunteered his place in Jo'burg for us. I swear there must be something in the water in Cape Town. We're going to get picked up and stay with Clive's son tomorrow night when we reach Jo'burg. My friends network continues to simultaneously expand and awe me all the time.

 

Future=Unknown

 

I'm not sure when I'll be able to email again. I'll be in Mozambique for Christmas, after having traveled to Lesotho for a few days. It looks like I'll be in Rome for New Years and then need to work out my plans after that. France and England are definitely in, with a possible trip to Ireland fit snug in-between those two. If anyone will be around Europe in January or February, let me know; I always love meeting friendly faces on the road.

It's great hearing from any of you whenever. I can't wait until I get back to the States for a quick reload before my travels begin anew. Feel free to email me with any questions/comments/concerns. Sorry about the length on this one, the lack of Internet access backed me up a bit.
Have a happy holiday everyone,

Ben

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