20. Quick Pics

Here are 4 pictures from my trip to the Game Park at Imfolozi yesterday!  Enjoy!!

Love the tongue!!

Have you ever seen a lion.... with a Mohawk?

Seeing Double!

19. Randomness

Here's some random things I've learned about this week.

See if you can figure out what is what for the first 2. (scroll down for answers)

1. MONKEYS' WEDDING  is the expression used for...

a)  a commotion on the road

b)  a sun shower

c)  a reunion between old friends

2. KANGAROO  PETROL  is

a) when gasoline prices take a sudden jump

b) when you actually have a person pumping gas for you

c) when the gas is dirty and it makes your car jump and sputter

ELECTIONS

South Africa is having municipal elections on May 18th. 

This momentous occasion gives everyone the day off!! Schools and businesses are closed.

Even though the elections are municipal, you vote for a party and not a person.

The national parties all run at the municipal level.

The ballots have pictures of the leaders as well as their names due to the high level of illiteracy.

ZULU EASTER

The Zulu way to celebrate Easter is quite different. Church starts Friday night and the people stay there right through until Sunday morning! All night!! All day!! They have a worship service Friday night - with lots of singing etc all night. During Saturday apparently there are different things for the youth and adults to do. The kids crash and sleep but the adults stay up. The people pay a small fee for food and everyone eats together. 

BANANA SPLITS

Even though bananas grow everywhere around here - including in people's back yards - banana splits are not part of the local diet. But fear not -- this Canadian and her American friend - introduced this delicious treat to a small subset of the population - namely the school staff. Complete with bananas, ice cream, chocolate sauce, sprinkles, nuts, whipped cream and a cherry on top, this decadent dessert was devoured! And loved!

FACEBOOK

My dear daughter taught me how to make cute little penguins and sharks to add to your facebook comments or messages. So since you are a faithful reader of my blog I will share this amazing little secret with you!! It is like making a happy face  :-)   and it changes into a cute pic.  So  - penguins are  <(")    and a shark is  (^^^)

PICTURES

Blogging without pictures isn't as fun - but it is a whole lot faster.

TIME and HOLIDAYS

Time sure goes quickly. Somehow an entire school year has finished for Rachel and she is currently DONE her first year of university! How did that happen?!

Time sure goes slowly when you're apart from certain people. I've been here for over 2 months now. In 1 month I return back to Canada. I'm sure the next few weeks will fly by. 

I have the next 11 days off of school. Friday - Good Friday, Monday is Family Day, Tuesday is a school holiday, Wednesday is Freedom Day (Apr. 27)  which is the day that is the anniversary of the 1st democratic election in 1994, Thursday and Friday were supposed to be school days but after much back and forth we have it off, and May 1st is Workers' Day (communist roots) so we get the Monday off.

Family Day is every year on Easter Monday. The country used to have Easter Monday off but in an attempt to recognize those of various faith groups they cancelled Easter Monday as a holiday (although they still have Good Friday) but still wanted to have a long weekend - so they created Family Day instead! 

Since Easter is so late this year all the holidays have merged together in the same week. Usually it is not like this.

ANSWERS

Monkeys' Wedding  = b   a sunshower

Kangaroo Petrol       = c  when the gas is dirty and it makes your car jump and sputter

Happy Easter and Happy Passover!

Thanks for reading!!

18. Zipping Around Zambia

Welcome to Lusaka, capital city of Zambia!

I just got back from a whirlwind week in Zambia. (April 4 -10) It was an amazing time - a good balance between hanging out with my good friends, Steve, Jamo and their 3 kids from Guelph and seeing some of Lusaka and area. This post will have some pics of street scenes in Lusaka. Most are taken from the car window - a bit challenging when you're moving along at 60 - 100 kph. (For as many that were in focus there were probably twice that number out of focus.) (I've no clue why this turned out double spaced with messed up formatting. It is not that way at the composing level and all my attempts to align things make it worse - sorry.)

Billboards and signs are prolific. The main industries represented on these billboards are cell phones and banks. Every bank ad reassures the reader how they really care for you and will listen - no matter who you are....! 
The war on cell phones is amazing! It is such a huge industry. Besides billboards, there are stalls along the side of the road as well as guys walking up and down at the traffic lights selling airtime! Apparently the vendors earn 5% on the sales. A tough way to make a living. (My favourite thing that was being sold at a red light was jeans! Think of all the time you'd save without having to try on 20 pairs to find one you like.....)

                                                  

Success! A sale! Let's move off

the road to complete it! 

This is the edge of a huge complex that is being built - offices, mall, hotel and more. The roads around it are a mess - but while you're waiting in traffic - rest assured - you can always top up the minutes on your cell.

     

 Being the capital city, Lusaka is home to many and diverse groups. Driving along the roads, I saw Diplomatic Offices from many countries. There are lots of Christian and other international aid organizations and NGO's such as UNICEF as well as church headquarters. National government offices are in the mix as well. This building is the Supreme Court.

The area that I was staying in was very nice. Here's a view up one of the residential streets.









Not too far away in distance but light years apart in atmosphere is Kalingalinga Street. This major street is full of shops, many of which are also outdoor workshops. Along this road you can find almost anything from braais (bbq's) to clothing to gates being welded to beauty "saloons" to car repair places and of course .... shops selling airtime! They also have some late night bars - with late night being around 5 am closing!!! (I know this 'cuz we saw the remnants leaving on our way to catch my early morning flight.)

Omo is laundry soap - this wall is hand painted!!

One of these things is not like the others....

 













Getting around town...

For those without a vehicle the main way to get around town is by taxi. Taxis here (and in Eshowe) are vans that hold more people than seats usually. There are taxi stands along the roadways and at various strategic locations. There is always a way to get more people or bags of veggies or maize meal etc. into the cab - or even on the roof (well - not the people...) The crowded vans (think 30+ degrees,  stuffy,  hot, smelly....), plus the "stuff" everywhere, plus the crazy driving makes for an experience I will gladly pass by.

This pic makes them look not too bad. I've seen much worse.

 

Bicycles are also used - often with a full load! 
Notice the power box on the left!











 










In certain areas of the city there are fruit
and veggie stands (plus airtime)
 - both large and small.
(? I think it's casava.)

And the last image I wish to leave you with is one of a petrol (gas) station -- don't complain that the price of gas is high!! Look at it here!! 8647 Kwachas per litre!! (Roughly converted it is about Cdn $1.75 per litre) But 8 thousand just looks pretty bad to me!!

 

Thanks again for stopping by and sharing in some of my adventures! 

Comments and especially emails bring a smile to my heart!

 

17. Welcome to the Indian Ocean!

It's school "hols"  and I've got the week off. I thought I'd give you a "lighter post"  after the one on stats.

On Saturday (Apr. 2)  Sindi and Hannah came home from Rhodes University. We went to the beach on Sunday in Mtunzini. It's about a 45 minute drive east (thanks B.A. not west) to the coast. (I know my father-in-law will find it on the map..... It's 140 km N of Durban) It was raining most of the morning so we didn't rush out. When we got to the beach it was just overcast and fairly warm - but with no bright sun it was quite pleasant - and quite deserted. 

The beach is on the Indian Ocean. It is part of the Umlalazi Nature Reserve which includes dune forests, lakes and a lagoon/wetlands area. (Our class is going on a trip to the forest here in May. It will be the first time most of the kids will be at a beach.)

Entering the beach via a boardwalk from the parking lot we were treated to large dunes. As far as one could see in both directions there was sand - no hotels to block the view like the beaches I've been to in Florida.

We had a nice walk along the beach. Here I am - stepping into the ocean! Refreshing isn't it?

The waves were quite high and apparently surfers like coming here. By the time the waves came to shore they were crashing far enough out that we could walk on the water's edge. All except one wave that is...... as you can see from my pants - it broke quite late and I got QUITE wet!

The Macs!

  

I didn't see any shells there but there was a lot of driftwood.

Off the parking lot on the way home was this Red Duiker. It is a type of antelope but is quite small - maybe as high as my knees.

 - YA!

Thanks for stopping by. As always -You can bring a smile to my face. Simply leave a comment or send me an email.

16. Sobering Statistics

The other day was Pension Payout Day. This is an opportunity for unemployed people to receive some money from the government. (basically welfare). The queue was already very long when we drove by at 6:30 am. There are different  "stations" where people are assigned to collect their payment. The grocery warehouse beside the school, the KFC restaurant, the Spar grocery store and the post office area few places that I'm aware of. I believe that there are various payouts on different days such as child benefits and umemployment insurance. TodaThe line up on this day seemed a bit shorter than the one of a few weeks ago. Perhaps it is a different payout day.

These are snaps I took out the car window. It is not too representative. Across the street the queue was about 5 people deep and extended down the block. 

Unemployment is a huge problem. I looked up some stats. I think unemployment in the 15-64 year old group - basically those eligible for the labour force - is around 30 - 38% in the province that I am in - Kwazulu-Natal (KZN). The Not-employed break down into 2 groups. First, the unemployed which means they are available and looking for work. The second group is Inactive. This group is potentially available but did not look for work. There is a subset called Discouraged work seekers. This might be due to the fact that there are no jobs for their skills or they've given up hope of finding work. A few of the listed reasons for not trying to find work are:

1. Awaiting the season for work
2. Health reasons
3. Disabled or unable to work
4. Housewife/homemaker (family considerations/child care)
5. Lack of money to pay for transport to look for work or no transport available. (so sad)
6. Student or retired

Some other interesting stats: 

In KZN ....As of 2007...

71% of households use electricity for lighting - which means 29% don't!!

80% of households had access to piped water - which means 20% don't!!

50% of households had a flush toilet

37% of households were using pit latrines - with well over half having no ventilation 

11% of households had NO toilet

BUT  --  There is another South Africa.......  I was in Durban today at the Gateway Mall -- pretty large and pretty upscale - including stores such as Nike, Sony, Apple and much more.....

15. Come Saturday Morning

Come Saturday Morning - I'm going away with my friend

There is a lovely tradition that I've quickly adapted to (really - it was easy....) -- Saturday morning at the market. Now this market is not quite (at all) like the Guelph Market in appearance - but it is in its ethos:  a coming together -- a hub --  a celebration of local food -- an opportunity to connect with friends and meet new ones. The Eshowe market is called  Made @ Home. It is located in the front and side yard of a local resident, Ilona, (who happens to be my pottery teacher.)

We'll travel for miles in our Saturday smiles 

The market has 3 main areas - the cafe --  the market area -- and the garage sale area.

* The garage sale area is basically a consignment shop. One never knows what will show up there. I've seen everything from furniture to shoes to art supplies and there's always a large selection of books. The organizer collects 10% of the sale and the seller gets the rest in cash. There is also a community notice board.

A view into one part of the market area.

 * The market area has various regular items: The usual food line up is fresh produce, home baking (sweet and savoury as well as fresh bread), home canning of jam, chili and other sauces, honey, samosas, biltong (jerky), and did I mention home baking! Then there is the handicraft area - locally made jewelry, cards, pottery (by Ilona), sewing, and traditional bead crafts.Various locals provide the goods for this area. They don't have to stay to sell though. It is all done by Jeanine - who coordinates the market and garage sale area as well as being an artist who has some of her own items included.

* The best part of the market is the cafe. Ilona is a tremendous baker. Every week (she's up most of the night) she prepares about 6 items. There is usually a quiche and a savoury muffin (extra large) such as feta and spinach. Then there are the sweet items. Some of the recent offerings include apple strudel (amazing), plum cake, grenadilla (passion fruit) cheesecake (with homemade cheese), pecan pie and the list goes on and on. Then there are hot drinks. The prices are amazingly reasonable - and the portions are not skimpy. Eats are 16 Rand and hot drinks are 9 Rand. (The current conversion rate is 7:1) So brekkie is $3.50. (And if you can't stay - you can get take-away.)

One week's offerings

We'll Saturday laugh more than half of the day

* The other best part (can you tell I've been hanging out with kids) is the social element. The people in this community are very loving and connected and friendly. There are lots of hellos and visits. I've met and had conversations with lots of people. Some people make arrangements to meet at a certain time. Others just show up and see who they know - rearrange the chairs and move in.

Cafe - the market part is to the left.

* Birthday breakfasts for groups of friends are common.

* My first Saturday there the couple sitting beside us were from New York state - Buffalo area. They are over doing work on their PhD's in Social Anthropology.

The opening is to the kitchen.

* It would be hard to decide if there are more hugs or more coffees served in a morning.

And then we'll move on - 
But we will remember long after Saturday's gone...

14. A Marvelous Night for a Moondance

Sharing the amazing moonrise and full moon

of the past 2 nights!!! 

Tried to post on FB - but Blog won....More people read this anyway.

I discovered you can click on a picture and it will enlarge for a closer view.