What Can I Say?

Things are hectic.

It's a busy busy time.

I have not recovered from working 7 days straight to ensure our Leadership Camp went off without a hitch.

Of course there were many hitches.

It was a great time but there were disappointments that have been tough to process.

You can ask me about them some time.

The kids were great though. So happy to be there. Not quite understanding the effort it takes from ALL staff members, they want it to run for another week. Trust me, 1 week is enough. HL couldn't afford a 2nd week even if it wanted to.

I think I put on weight from all the papa I ate. And by 'I think', I mean I know. It was a stressful week and now we're hitting the ground running. 2011 my friends is going to be busy busy busy.

Did I mention I got to visit with my old Masotho friend from UCT/Zulu class the day before I went back to work? That was quite nice.

I could use another vacation...a couple of Savannah's will have to do.

Hayo Mowbray Kaap, Caaap Tiooown

Top Cape Town Moments of 2010

Interaction with Taxi Driver on the Cape Town to Wynberg route – After the driver has been hitting on me for a few minutes, most of which was inaudible due to his mouthful of gold teeth, I notice a potential wedding ring ‘um, so hey are you married?’ – what? Uh no, this? This is just to keep the ladies away. The women can be crazy sometimes. ‘Riiiiight, women can be crazy. So yeah, don’t worry, I’ll totally look for you along this route again.’

Lattes every day – And my favourite? A mocha-latte that I got in Sea Point, which involved a ball of chocolate at the bottom of my glass and a separate jug of espresso and steamed milk for me to pour over the chocolate to melt. It was amazing. Primi something or other had a great machiato-latte, chock full of caffeine and deliciousness that I will likely dream about just now.

Dinner with Tara and Mr. Boston – Oh Mr. Boston. Tara met him at a coffee shop and he seemed excited to talk to someone from his part of the world. So he insisted on taking her out to dinner and she invited me along to cramp his style. We went for delicious Ethiopian food. The highlight was when he chose the wine – Faux crystal as I’ve taken to calling it – he opted for a sparkling wine to go with the dinner. It was weird. It was hilarious. It took everything I had not to openly laugh. Maybe you had to be there but I think you know me well enough to also see the humour in me being in a situation where someone orders ‘champagne’ to go with dinner. Tara couldn’t look at me for fear of me rolling my eyes or her laughing. He paid for the whole meal so really, no complaints. He’s just a young man caught up in living the ex-pat high life in Cape Town. Mention of the ‘all-white’ New Year’s Eve party he was attending at Caprice in Camps Bay was another great moment – no, no, no, you have to wear all white. Ack, shame.

Surprise Christmas Gift – As I woke up at 3:45 am to get my free ride to Bloemfontein, I spotted a wrapped package on the table through my still blurry eyes. I read the nice Merry Christmas note attached from Tara and carefully opened the package as tradition at the MacDonald household would have it. Gumboots!!! What a thoughtful and wonderful gift. It’s been raining lots here in Hlotse so I will no doubt be using them soon. Now I also have to learn the traditional Gumboot dance.

Other great Cape Town moments include swimming in the ocean, sitting on the beach with friends, listening to friends sing From This Moment by Shania Twain over and over and over again (Shanya Twain is how it was pronounced), drinking a glass of wine atop a balcony overlooking Long street (I believe the location was formerly my favourite ‘club’ to go to, the name of which I cannot remember), running into Ida in a coffee shop, eating at Royale and generally just being around surrogate family and old friends.

Hiking Lion’s Head was amazing too. It was the perfect day, the view was amazing and the hike was fun! And my knee didn't mind it that much.

Until next time Cape Town

Bliggity Bloggity

Happy New Year everyone. 2011 is most likely going to be a great year. It seems like a great number for a year and so it is on this which I am basing my prediction. Also, the great music I bought in Cape Town is making me happy. I covered all my bases, new Tumi and the Volume album, Tumi solo album, latest Freshly Ground (of recent Shakira/Waka Waka World Cup fame in case you missed the memo), some reggae from Lucky Dube and of course, some house music so I can really start integrating into Basotho culture.

I am sitting here on New Year’s Day, listening to music, catching up on emails and drinking a beer. Why not? It’s the last of my holidays for a while. Monday is going to come quickly and things are going to be hectic (the director is in town and our camp starts tuesday) so I’m just keeping up the relaxed Cape Town vibe going as long as I can.

Also I managed to break my feet in Cape Town. My left in particular. I walked with my friend from town all the way to Camps Bay. It’s far, really far – like over an hour for sure, maybe two and I was wearing flip flops. I’d already been walking all day so now I have a swollen foot to show for it. I waited 2 hours for my friend who had repeatedly assured me he was on his way – not so. I was giving up when BAM, I took a last look around the train station and there he was. I was so happy to see him that all was forgiven and forgotten. We walked and talked for hours along the streets of Cape Town. It was a grand reunion and I can’t even explain why but it had me smiling a lot.

I also got to see my dear friend Ida. Ran into her by chance, in a city of 4 million. Okay I was in her hood but still, if I hadn’t wandered into that small coffee shop I would not have seen that familiar face. Um if you’re wondering, both the new Tumi and the Volume album and the Freshly Ground album are REALLY good.

I’m going to end this and write again soon cause I have a lot to say about Cape Town and being back in Lesotho. Happy, happy to be back even if it is to the land of no lattes.

Holler

House

Hate it or love it, I can't help but move to House music. It's pretty much the music of choice in both Lesotho and South Africa and I've finally got some of the big hits in my hot little hands. Yebo! Thanks to a friend from Gugs, I've got a great mix and I'm listening right now, bopping my head in a way that will not build my street cred.

Whatever, so what if people laugh when I try the Puma or the Sika Lekhekhe - meaning cut the cake which is a euphemism for something or other. If you watch the linked video - it's the dance done during the chorus - the part where it looks like the dancers are hashing a line up and down their leg? Obviously I'm really good at it...

I don't actually know that song but my favourite right now is Umilo. Um don't watch the whole video for the last song. I didn't make it. But I can cruise up and down the streets of Cape Town to this song or the streets of Hlotse, as well. Falling within House is a genre called Kwaito and as the song says, it's African made.

I'm talking about House music because my Christmas afternoon and evening were spent with a friend in the township of Guguletho and house was everywhere. I have felt welcome at every family gathering I have crashed, which is a great great feeling. Anyway I'm working on my hands free whistle to accompany my new moves and add to inherent sense of rhythm...

See the Lion? I'm FINALLY hiking the peak on the left tomorrow. My avid followers will remember this as something I was to do 2 years ago.

Welcome Home

Being welcomed home is a really great feeling. It's a nice sentiment and when said with real feeling, it can mean a lot. I arrived back in Cape Town on Sunday. I was quite tired. Having gotten up at 3:45 am to get a ride to Bloemfontein on Saturday I spent the day feeling totally out of it. Throw in the heat of the non-mountainous Free State and a day involving much driving around from this place to that place - looking for construction material and a PS2 - and I felt downright disoriented. The final saga involved racing to get a new SIM card for SA, desperately trying to find the tourist information centre (and finding it closed at 2 on a Saturday), driving to the suburbs of Bloemfontein to discover the address I had for the backpackers I was to stay at was now for a private residence, my phone still not being activated and then searching for an affordable alternative place to stay.

I was stressed. Luckily my co-worker stayed calm, although I could tell he was not exactly happy. Anyway, people were nice to me and tried to help. I found a place to stay at about triple the rate I had wanted. When it was discovered I was actually looking for something cheaper, the young woman called a backpackers and booked me in for cheap cheap. I was the only guest there that night and was treated to some delicious spaghetti bolognese made by a retired doctor with 3 medical degrees (including one from McMaster), over 300 horses, probably a private jet, a yacht, a graduate of Cordon Bleu cooking school (or maybe just some classes) and the holder of a world championship in 'matches'. It was delicious and I ate a GIANT plate of the spaghetti - I mean giant.

But I digress...in one of my biggest digressions ever.

When I arrived in Cape Town, I took a shuttle to Tony and Lili's house, not wanting the hassle of public transit. I spent some time catching up with Tony and Dominic (Lili was at a baby shower) and then started to slowly crash on the couch. As I settled down for a nap, Tony picked up a blanket, put it over me and said 'welcome home'.

The sentiment was simple yet genuine and I do feel welcomed home.

Cape Town

My View

The Dog - Luna - she can now 'sit'

'nuf said

Have I Told You Lately

That people seem to like Rod Stewart here?

Today, I jumped at the chance to get a free ride to Lesotho's capital, Maseru. The big city!! Ntate Semela was driving there to pick up some more tiles and cement for the new centre and I was just finishing up with the gender conference when he asked if I wanted to join him. He was taking 4 of the Gender Conference participants to Maseru to catch their bus home and I suspect he was looking for some non-teenage company.

Having heard rumours of coffee shops and a Pick 'N Pay and with not much to do with my Sunday I hopped in the car and went. It's about an hour or so drive from Hltose to Maseru and it was nice to get to look around Lesotho as we travelled from the Foothills to the Lowlands. Maseru is not a remarkable town. It is bigger, busier, has robots and more stuff in general. We dropped the girls at the appropriate taxi rank, got what we needed from a Home Depot-esque DIY store and headed for the mall.

It was weird. It's always shocking for me to go into places that seem like you might find them at home. Escalators, a movie theatre, hair salons, kiosks, elevators and just that general mall feel. We went into the massive Pick 'N Pay and not wanting to waste much time, just grabbed a few things - including the very hard to come by, Inside Story (that one was for you Liz). As we walked out, I kept looking around as though I'd landed on the moon. I knew I couldn't pass up the chance at a latte so I asked Semela if there was a coffee shop. YES! was his reply. No he didn't actually exclaim his reply at all but the point of the story is I got a latte and it was delicious and hot and strong and so tasty.

I'll write about the gender conference another time...or you can check out Tara's write up on the other blog - internsinlesotho.blogspot.com - for now, I'm just living in the moment of my latte.

Oh and I can't get Rod out of my head since we must have been listening to his greatest hits CD the whole ride back. (No Georgie Boy that I noticed, sorry Karl).

Lesotho is no Liberia

So I am following a great friend of mine's blog as she chronicles her life in Liberia as an intern? volunteer? project manager? country director? I'm not too sure as she seems to be all of these things. Anyway, her blog is the best blog in town. I both feel like I am there with her and also am aware that I have no clue what it is like for her at all. Whenever I read her blog, I know that I've got it made in the shade or sun or rain. Lesotho is not a post-conflict zone and at times, that can make all the difference in the world.

I remember the advice of an instructor at Humber - don't wait until you need to be evacuated to make friends with the military. Well I haven't seen anyone who belongs to the military here in Hlotse or in Pitseng. I smile and say 'lumela 'M'e, lumela Ntate' to most of the police officers I see dressed in smart looking uniforms but I don't even know if they carry guns. I haven't seen them so if they are packing heat, they are packing concealed weapons. There are security guards in some shops carrying either batons or machine guns or both but you stop noticing them after a while...maybe.

So I am writing this entry for my friend who is both necessarily surrounded by and friends with military of all sorts. She is doing hard hard work with what seems like little support and at times is receiving much criticism for it. She has jumped in with both feet or perhaps she has dived in, head first with a blindfold on. I know she is trying her level best and experiencing things daily that can only make you laugh or cry or lose your mind. It feels like a donkey's year since I have seen her, since we left the comfort of Parkdale, red wine, parody song writing and our status as world class slackers.

We had a dream of reuniting in Botswana because it seems like a nice place. For now, my dream is for her to keep up the great work, stay sane(ish) and escape for some R&R when she needs it. When I feel down or as if things are just too much, I know I can read her blog and feel much much worse. Naw I'm just kidding. I can think of my dear friend Jack Ass and know that one way or another, things will be okay.

And then a pig ran into our yard...

It has been just another sunny Sunday in Hlotse. Quite hot I'd say and with not much on the go for the day, Tara and I decided to do a little shopping. On the list - a hat to protect me from the sun, a head scarf to keep her hair out of her eyes, maybe some rubber boots, or gum boots rather and anything else that might catch our eye I suppose.

It was a surprisingly successful adventure up one of the main roads and through the market. I got a hat...featured below. Yes, I passed up

a chance at an Addidas hat. Yes you read that right, not an Adidas hat, an Addidas hat. They call knock off merch here something that sounds like Faux Kong. A reference to it being fake gear from China. I googled Riggs (which is what is on my hat) and apparently it's a branch of Wrangler, who knows, who cares, I got a deal on it - 10Rand off the first quoted price.

Neither of us bought gum boots as the prices were all over the map. Maybe next time...which is why we end up gumboot-less in the pouring rain and say 'why didn't we get them before?'. No matter, we've survived. Tara found a bandana. She ended up with a navy blue one, as she was unsure about black after I made a comment about a pirate. She had misunderstood though as I was talking about the Orlando Pirates - a football club in the South African league. But I don't know what's wrong with looking like a pirate anyway.

I hit the jackpot finding slippers and in my size too! I'm including a picture of them as well because I'm so excited about them. They remind me of old man/grandpa slippers so of course they are amazing.

We also got some tomatoes - way cheaper and tastier than at Shoprite - and had a great time in a music store we had previously overlooked. For 3 Rand we scored some traditional Sesotho music on tape! They even have the likes of Jay Z, Mariah Carey, Freshlyground, Peter Tosh, Lucky Dube and many more on cassette. Next we need some house music to really fit in.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty low key as we drank coffee, read books and chatted... And then a giant pig ran into our yard. We started taking pictures and a woman came running after it, while another woman yelled for the pig 'spiky! spiky!' That's what it sounded like anyway. Not sure if it's the pig's name or what but off it ran, as you can see here...

So that was my Sunday in Hlotse. Just a few more hours to to fill so I don't fall asleep at 8:30. Oh and as you can see in the picture of me and my new hat, I did some dishes, as well.

Fleas

Yup, I’ve got ‘em.

I’ve had bites since the flight over and I’ve been wondering what they are from. I’ve only seen 3 mosquitos here so far and although they do not carry malaria, they are apparently quite annoying. If they get into your house they will buzz in your ear all night and feast away. Despite their imminent threat (summer is essentially here), these pesky creatures are not the cause of my bites. I kept thinking they bites would go away and no more would show up.

No such luck.

So after 3 weeks of biting, itching and scratching, including a night where I woke myself up scratching my legs in my sleep with my feet, I sought expert advice. I asked 2 co-workers what was up and who was likely responsible for the bites.

NEWMAN! They replied. No, no they didn’t but imagine if they had? In unison they replied “Fleas!” Apparently they were in this house before and are in and around the yard so are a common visitor. Or I brought them in from the plane, who knows.

First thing Monday morning I am asking ‘M’e Malompho, the office manager, who knows the answer to every question, where to get some flea stuff. I cannot take it anymore. It’s fumigation time! Couches, mattresses, pillows and who knows what else. Good thing some of my friends gave me some after bite. It’s helping as is the anti-itch cream Tara brought but I will have some scars for sure.

For now I'm off to a co-workers bbq, just to make an appearance. Here's hoping 1 beer on this hot sunny day won't impair the work I am to do this afternoon. Or here's hoping it will.