I have finally made it to the leg of my trip that I have been so excited about. I cannot tell you how long I have wanted to backpack across Europe. While London and Paris are the two lest that I am most excited about Amsterdam is pretty cool.
The arrival at the airport was a bit overwhelming. I did not speak the language, need to mail thins to the states, find my hostel and not kill anyone with my huge backpack. Luckily all was achieved with little problem, I only got seriously lost once.
On my only full day in the city I did some serious sightseeing. I went early to the Anne Frank house in order to avoid the long live. It was really sad but a must see. To know that 8 people hid in three small rooms for so long was odd. The most moving part of the house was the very end. I did not realize that Anne's father survived the war, he was the only on in the family. After his release form the concentration camps he knew his wife had died but he searched for months for his kids. He put ad's in the paper, went person to person asking, ect. She died 1 week before the liberation of the Jewish people, at a time when she thought all of ther other family members were dead. Her father died in 1980 after he had published her diary and set up the Anne Frank Foundation.
"We cannot move to the future, without learning from the past" Otto Frank, 1977.
After leaving the house I took a canal cruise. It was neat to see all of the houses, including the smallest house in Amsterdam that is only 1 meter wide! It is 5 storied tall though. Can you imagine how narrow and steep the stairs are in that place/
After the canal cruiseI bought my ticket to Paris. I am so excited. The price was three times what I had planned to pay, but how many times do you really get to do something like this? I asked the women why it was 120 euro and she said it was becuase I was traveling over the weekend. Apparently if I had stayed in Amsterdam until Monday my train ticket would have been 43 euro. I am too excited to get to Paris though.
Next, I did some light shoppig. Light becuase I kew I just paid a small fortune for my train ticket. I did see some awesome necklaces that i think my mom could make and I bought this cool wax braclet.
My iAmsterdam card gained me free access to the Amsterdam history museum, so I wandered around there a bit. My timing was peferct as it had just started to rain when I arrived.
And then I did it.....took a walk through the red light district. It was ummmmmm interesting. Maybe sad is the better word for it. Several people asked me to try to get a picture of the pot menu at the coffee shops. Well doing that almost made me loss my camera. Only after I deleted the picture did the bartenders / barista leave me alone. LOL. But I did get some other photos that are interesting, and no they are not of prostitutes. Is it shocking to anyone that this area of Amsterdam is where the best restaurants are?
Yesterday I went to the Van Gough Museum it was amazing. Made me think that mom should start painting again, The two most famous can gough paintings "starry night" and "the bedroom" were either not there or undergoing restoration. It was neat to see his lesser known works though, and to hear more about his crazy life. I bought a couple of postcards of his lesser known works.
Did I mentation the length of day here? It was something I should have thought of but really did not. I am typing this at 10pm and it is still completely bright outside. The sun is setting somewhere around midnight.
PARIS TOMORROW. Hope Parisians are nice like Jessica said. Everyone here at the hostel seems to disagree with her.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Company
It was reaffirmed to me at the KLM checkin counter the need to mail things back to the states. I was 2 kg over the baggage weight limit. Guess the hornbill and giraffe get to travel to the Netherlands in the cabin of the plane.
Next post from Europe!
Next post from Europe!
Back in Joberg
Sitting in the Joberg airport, or madhouse as I call it. Super tired but have another 12+ hour flight to go. Did I mention that I hate flying???
Gaberone
Back in Gabs. Staying at this odd but seemingly appropriate bed and breakfast. But when I say breakfast I mean odd looking sausage on a plate with cold bread and instant coffee. There so called American Breakfast. LOL.
Jessica got her hair braided just like many of the girls here. I am 99.99% sure that she is the only white girl to ever step foot into that salon. The salon was painted pink, both inside and out, and when Jessica took a picture of it the owner came over and accused her of trying to steal her idea. Sorry to tell you lady but your "idea' is a neon pink bulding named: Hair Salon. Not the most coveted of ideas.
Overall there was not much work left to do. I finished entering all of the training sample data, and emailed it to Cerian, we went on a wild goose chase for data, and we found a way to mail the surveys back to the states. This lack of work left us with a lot of down time and a complete lack of transportation.
The public transporation in Botswana consists of these terriflying VW buses called combis. I refused to ride in them. Yes it was only 2 pula, but there was no map as to where they travel. No actual stop signs. And it was 99% male. The way to hale a combi you ask? Well....that is still unclea. I do know that the passengers of the combi are always yelling number, as in how many seats they have left. If one does pull over to pick you up they ask where you are going then decide if they want to take you. I chose cabs instead, and boy did we pay for it.
We did see a movie though. It had been to long since i had seen a film. It was Marmaduke.
Thats about all we did those 5 days. I did watch a lot of world cup.
Jessica got her hair braided just like many of the girls here. I am 99.99% sure that she is the only white girl to ever step foot into that salon. The salon was painted pink, both inside and out, and when Jessica took a picture of it the owner came over and accused her of trying to steal her idea. Sorry to tell you lady but your "idea' is a neon pink bulding named: Hair Salon. Not the most coveted of ideas.
Overall there was not much work left to do. I finished entering all of the training sample data, and emailed it to Cerian, we went on a wild goose chase for data, and we found a way to mail the surveys back to the states. This lack of work left us with a lot of down time and a complete lack of transportation.
The public transporation in Botswana consists of these terriflying VW buses called combis. I refused to ride in them. Yes it was only 2 pula, but there was no map as to where they travel. No actual stop signs. And it was 99% male. The way to hale a combi you ask? Well....that is still unclea. I do know that the passengers of the combi are always yelling number, as in how many seats they have left. If one does pull over to pick you up they ask where you are going then decide if they want to take you. I chose cabs instead, and boy did we pay for it.
We did see a movie though. It had been to long since i had seen a film. It was Marmaduke.
Thats about all we did those 5 days. I did watch a lot of world cup.
World Cup
I have really gotten into the world cup these last few weeks. The announcers here are partucularly funny. My favorite annoucner commented the Brazil vs. Ivory Coast match. My favorite quote from him "it was an orgy of aggression."
Air Botswana
I have been on multiple airlines in the states and abroad, but I have to say air botswana tops the list. On a short 2 hour flight we were fed very well, given full cans of soda (shockingly no little cups!), and given enough leg room. The plane was prop, but it was the smoothest prop flight I have ever been on. At one people Jessica and I were laughing when the captain came on and said to expect turbulance....yeah we did not feel a bump at all. Adding to the hilarity was that the captain came out after the flight was over and apoligized for the rough flight. LOL.
There were a few odd things about air botswana. (1) They don''t turn the plane on until just before takeoff, making it a hot box. (2) You cannot go to the bathroo prior to takeoff on board the plane, much to Jessica's dismay. (3) The plane held 30 people and there was a grand total of 10 on it, but the women would not let me move to an empty row.
There were a few odd things about air botswana. (1) They don''t turn the plane on until just before takeoff, making it a hot box. (2) You cannot go to the bathroo prior to takeoff on board the plane, much to Jessica's dismay. (3) The plane held 30 people and there was a grand total of 10 on it, but the women would not let me move to an empty row.
Gabs!!!
Our final 6 days in Africa. Wow the time has gone fast, but I am super excited to start the next leg of my journey. We are flying to Gabs today. In the original plan we were driving, but all of the cars are broken down. 2 hours in a prop plane = unhappy Erin
Weird Things about Africa
- Hair Mayo
- Herbal Blood Supplement
- The Coutry of Zimbabwe
- Peoples names (Including: Starr, Timex, Laugh, So Many Micheal Jackson's, Pumpkin, Rolex, and Innocance)
- Jessica (she told me to add her to the list!)
- Botswana Currency (7.5 pula = 1 US dollar, the coins thebe are worth less than a penny each)
- Text messages from the government to our cell phones warning us about hippo and croc attacks
- The prices of basics (A bottle of conditioner was 8 US dollars)
- Gangsta Rap
- Techno Power Ballads
- People holding hands (Not really something I can describe well in the blog, but an interesting sight none the less)
- Wart hogs as lawn mowers
- Jessica yelling at her boyfriend in the middle of the Kasane Chinese Market
- The fact that all of my clothes have not seen a washing machine in 6 weeks. Hand washing in the sink does not cut it.
- Victoria Falls!
- The look on the owner of the hair salon when Jessica told her she wanted weave / braids. I amd pretty sure she is the first white girl to ever go into the salon
- The lack of personal space
- Cutting in line
- Rehoboth Guest House in Gaberone Botswana. They thought we were odd, we thought they were odd. First time a lodge that they tried to get me to go to church
- Restaurants in Botswana. Or shall I say the lack of them. Really Gabs??? Only fast food??
- People staring at us everywhere we go
- The fact that kids yell "white person, white person" when we would drive past (TaTa only later translated what they were saying to us)
TO BE CONTINUED.
The Incident
Jessica and I were robbed. There is not a simple way to start a post like this.
While in Zim, at our hostel, there is a salon. All of us have said multiple times that we would kill for a pedicure. So when we were appraoced by the manager of the salon for a mani, pedi, and massage if seemed ideal. Well turns out they are good at their jobs, we had a very relaxing time, but they pilfered through out walled while we were there. We shoul have seen it coming. Their boss came up after our massage and they asked us not to tell her that we had gotten massages. They said she had not paid them in 2 months so they were taking some money on the side. Upon relfection this is a major cluse as to how the rest of our "relaxation" was going to go.
Anyways, when we got to the Botswana / Zim border we pulled out our wallets to pay Starr. But I have no US dollars left, and Jessica was 50 short. They got a total of 90 from us. Which annoyed me a bit. But I am trying to look at it like they are desperate and did what they had to do. Jessica was just mad. It was only $40 from me. Thank goodness, I had been paying cash for most things.
While in Zim, at our hostel, there is a salon. All of us have said multiple times that we would kill for a pedicure. So when we were appraoced by the manager of the salon for a mani, pedi, and massage if seemed ideal. Well turns out they are good at their jobs, we had a very relaxing time, but they pilfered through out walled while we were there. We shoul have seen it coming. Their boss came up after our massage and they asked us not to tell her that we had gotten massages. They said she had not paid them in 2 months so they were taking some money on the side. Upon relfection this is a major cluse as to how the rest of our "relaxation" was going to go.
Anyways, when we got to the Botswana / Zim border we pulled out our wallets to pay Starr. But I have no US dollars left, and Jessica was 50 short. They got a total of 90 from us. Which annoyed me a bit. But I am trying to look at it like they are desperate and did what they had to do. Jessica was just mad. It was only $40 from me. Thank goodness, I had been paying cash for most things.
The Language Barrier
During our elephant ride today Jessica's guide gave her specific details on how the elephants are trained. According to him the elephants are trained in English becuase that is the language they understand. Who knew elephants understood English better than the 6 other national languages of Zim??
Best Day Ever
I had heard talk of how amazing the falls are, but NOTHING compares to seeing them.
Honestly, those 36 hours in Zim were the most amazing in terms of the beauty but the most depressing in terms of the people.
We were staying at Shoestring Backpackers, and while not the nicest place I have ever stayed I did have a roof over my head. So who can complain?
I intended to do the Vic. Falls bungee jump. It is the highest bungee jump in the world at 211m (i think). Before I bought the jump pass I wanted to see someone do it. Thank god I watched, becuase the second that person jumped I looked over at Jessica and said there is NO FREAKING way you are getting me off this bridge on a cord.
Instead we opted for the helicopter ride over the falls, the boat ride at the base, a hike through vic falls national park, and the elephant back safari. Not a bad day right? How many people can say in one day they rode a helicopter and an elephant?
VICTORIA FALLS ARE AMAZING. I can see why it is one of the wonders of the world. There are no words that can do it justice. You just have to to and see it. If any of you get hte opportunity to go DO IT. It cost a lot of money but it is so worth it. The hike through the falls was awesome, and we got soaking wet. No pictures from that obviously.
What sucks about Zim you ask? Easy answer but a mean one none the less.....the people. Everyone is out to rip you off in this tourist town. It is one of those places where you need to negotiate the price of EVERYTHING.....something I am not good at. When you walk out the hostel inot the shopping district people swarm you asking for money, you shoes, if you need anything, if you will buy something, if you are lost. It just gets so exhausting. Originally I was sad that we could only stay 2 days, after bealing with that I realize the timeframe was perfect.
Don't get me wrong though, as you may be guessed from the title we had the most amazing day. Regardless of the fact that we were robbed. Oh, did I not mention that? See a later post for the story.
Honestly, those 36 hours in Zim were the most amazing in terms of the beauty but the most depressing in terms of the people.
We were staying at Shoestring Backpackers, and while not the nicest place I have ever stayed I did have a roof over my head. So who can complain?
I intended to do the Vic. Falls bungee jump. It is the highest bungee jump in the world at 211m (i think). Before I bought the jump pass I wanted to see someone do it. Thank god I watched, becuase the second that person jumped I looked over at Jessica and said there is NO FREAKING way you are getting me off this bridge on a cord.
Instead we opted for the helicopter ride over the falls, the boat ride at the base, a hike through vic falls national park, and the elephant back safari. Not a bad day right? How many people can say in one day they rode a helicopter and an elephant?
VICTORIA FALLS ARE AMAZING. I can see why it is one of the wonders of the world. There are no words that can do it justice. You just have to to and see it. If any of you get hte opportunity to go DO IT. It cost a lot of money but it is so worth it. The hike through the falls was awesome, and we got soaking wet. No pictures from that obviously.
What sucks about Zim you ask? Easy answer but a mean one none the less.....the people. Everyone is out to rip you off in this tourist town. It is one of those places where you need to negotiate the price of EVERYTHING.....something I am not good at. When you walk out the hostel inot the shopping district people swarm you asking for money, you shoes, if you need anything, if you will buy something, if you are lost. It just gets so exhausting. Originally I was sad that we could only stay 2 days, after bealing with that I realize the timeframe was perfect.
Don't get me wrong though, as you may be guessed from the title we had the most amazing day. Regardless of the fact that we were robbed. Oh, did I not mention that? See a later post for the story.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The Sound of Music
What is up with the music in Botswana? All we hear is techno power ballad via our translator. Gangster Rap via our car hire to Zim, and Gospel music from our cabbie to the boat ride.
There are two songs that all of us will forever remember. Drunkin Lovin and Carve you like a cantaloupe. Lovely right?
There are two songs that all of us will forever remember. Drunkin Lovin and Carve you like a cantaloupe. Lovely right?
Travels in Zim
For the second time on this trip I thought my chances of seeing one of the coolest places in the world was in jeopardy thanks to broken down cars.
How could I make it within 16km of Victoria Falls and not actually see the falls? The answer, I could not. The solution, I paid a lot for a private car hire.
The Botswana Tourism Board has never led me astray and they were awesome in getting us to Zimbabwe as well. I think my folks back in the states were a bit freaked out about my travelling to Zim, but all is well.
Starr, our driver / person who gets us through customs quicker, was late but showed up none the less.
How could I make it within 16km of Victoria Falls and not actually see the falls? The answer, I could not. The solution, I paid a lot for a private car hire.
The Botswana Tourism Board has never led me astray and they were awesome in getting us to Zimbabwe as well. I think my folks back in the states were a bit freaked out about my travelling to Zim, but all is well.
Starr, our driver / person who gets us through customs quicker, was late but showed up none the less.
Travels with the Dutch
Johan you rock! I could not believe I was going to spend 2 weeks in Kasane and not actually make it into the National Park. It is supposed to be one of the most amazing parts of this region and I was going to miss it because of broken vehicles and a lack of money?
This is the scene where the lovely next door neighbor comes to the rescue. I guess after Jessica professed her love for him Johan felt he had to get us into the park. So Jessica, Kalanie, and Myself loaded into his beat up old 4x4 and went to see the animals.
It was breathtaking and sad at the same moment. I cannot even begin to list all of the animals that we saw, but the elephants dominated the landscape. Hence the sadness, the elephants have destroyed all of the trees in the park. Honestly there was nothing over 3 tree in height. People in our department have talked / studied this but to see it in person is pretty amazing. I never thought I would support hunting, but they really need to get the elephant population under control.
We saw a collared elephant. Can you imagine being the people who study elephants and have to collar that bad boy? Guess it would be worse to have to collar a hippo.
Did you all know that hippos are the deadliest of African creatures? These vegetarians are very territorial and will kill ya just becuase. At one point we witnessed an interesting encounter between and elephant and a hippo, oddly to me the hippo won. Also odd, he slept through the whole encounter. The elephant walked up to the hippo. The hippo slept. The elephant made a bunch of noise at the hippo. The hippo slept. The elephant threw dirt in the air, and shook it head before storming off. And stil the hippo slept. Never seen someone (yes, I say someone in reference to the hippo) win an argument in slumber.
Day turned out to be pretty amazing.
This is the scene where the lovely next door neighbor comes to the rescue. I guess after Jessica professed her love for him Johan felt he had to get us into the park. So Jessica, Kalanie, and Myself loaded into his beat up old 4x4 and went to see the animals.
It was breathtaking and sad at the same moment. I cannot even begin to list all of the animals that we saw, but the elephants dominated the landscape. Hence the sadness, the elephants have destroyed all of the trees in the park. Honestly there was nothing over 3 tree in height. People in our department have talked / studied this but to see it in person is pretty amazing. I never thought I would support hunting, but they really need to get the elephant population under control.
We saw a collared elephant. Can you imagine being the people who study elephants and have to collar that bad boy? Guess it would be worse to have to collar a hippo.
Did you all know that hippos are the deadliest of African creatures? These vegetarians are very territorial and will kill ya just becuase. At one point we witnessed an interesting encounter between and elephant and a hippo, oddly to me the hippo won. Also odd, he slept through the whole encounter. The elephant walked up to the hippo. The hippo slept. The elephant made a bunch of noise at the hippo. The hippo slept. The elephant threw dirt in the air, and shook it head before storming off. And stil the hippo slept. Never seen someone (yes, I say someone in reference to the hippo) win an argument in slumber.
Day turned out to be pretty amazing.
Jessica
Jessica told our camping neighbor that she loved him. Girl had way to much white wine. It was a riot. Plus, she was trying to force feed him pizza. Johan is pretty cool, but i would not declate my love to him. HAHAH. Jessica is awesome. So glad that she is here. It would not be the same without her!
Cars
If Brian blames the girls again for gilling the 2 cars I will kick him.
TaTa said he would punch him in the fave for 700 pula (90 US) or kick him in the groin for 1500 pula. LOL. Just joking, it's another professor that I would spend the money to hurt.
TaTa said he would punch him in the fave for 700 pula (90 US) or kick him in the groin for 1500 pula. LOL. Just joking, it's another professor that I would spend the money to hurt.
Score Recap
Baboon, 4. UF, 2.
Rice and Pasta Sauce bit the dust today.
Is it worth jail time to kill the bloody thing?
Rice and Pasta Sauce bit the dust today.
Is it worth jail time to kill the bloody thing?
Stupid Thing
Oh. I chased the baboon away again. This time my weapon of choice was a folding chair. LOL
Elephant
Driving through Chobe national park was amazing today. We have driven this road several times, but today we had our closest encounter with an elephant. Brian was driving toards Kasane when a herd of 6 elephants started to cross the road. In true Brian fashion he wanted to get as close as possible. The feamle leader of the head was no more than 3 feet from the front of our car. She did not seem to mind that were were there, we stayed still and she stared us down. I have it all on video. Did I mention that Brian has achieved rock star status in my book?
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Coolness
Sitting by the Chobe river watching the world cup and drinking a coke. Might have to subdue Jessica if the game gets any more exciting. US vs. Slovenia. Need I mention that i know nothing aobut soccer....or football as it is called here. How cool is it that I am in Africa watching the world cup when it is held in Africa for the first time ever. Not a bad way to spend the day. Even though the cars are all broken down.
Africa is a twisted SOB
Recap of the week's events.
We were all very excited that we could begin working again. After almost a week with no cars and therefore no working we were going a bit stir crazy. I gave my climate change presentation to the Chobe Enclave Trust Board and they granted us permission to work in the village. It was great to have Brian back with us, he really made a difference at this meeting.
So we packed up our camp in Kasane and decided to camp in the bush for 2-3 days while we worked. Eric, of course, was too good to camp behind the trust office and he therefore stayed in the lodge 2 hours away from us. Any clue how much he participated in the research? We camped in a town called Kavimba which was not the greatest place to camp but hey we were working.
When we went to pick up the survey from some of our assistants on 6-18-2010 Shylock noticed an odd streak on the side of the CAM. The CAM which had just gotten out of the shop 2 days prior. So he pops the hood and oil is gushing everywhere. We all knew it was bad. There was a crack in the engine. We could see it. The CAM is DOA.
Next problem, we are an hours drive from camp on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. And our 2 most naive / skitish group members, Kalanie and Jing, are back in Kavimba. So guess what, I had another first. We hitchhiked back to camp. What choice did we have really. The driver was nice enough to stop at the bottle shop on the way back so that Jessica and TaTa could buy a bottle of vodka. Becuase by this point we all really needed it. I wish he had a picture of us in the back of that truck. Me holding all my stuff that was in the CAM, including all of the training sample data. Jessica holding her vodka and box of surveys. TaTa grinning from ear to ear because all of this is normal to him. And Shylock wearing my powder blue sun hat to keep the dust out of his eyes. But we made it back to camp.
Next problem, all cars are broken again. We have people depending on us to work. We only have supplies for 3 days in the bush. Oh, and Jing needs to be in Kasane in 48 hours to catch a plane. Problems aplently.
Tim and TaTas uncle became our saviors. Tim Fullman sacrificed a day of field for to drive hours out of his way to pick up Kalanie, Shylock, and Jing. He has only a small car so we could not all be rescues. Several hours later TaTas uncle shows up with a 2 seater truck with a lid on the back. We can all do the math but that left 4 people to ride in a 2 seater truck. TaTa owns the car, he gets on seat. Jessica gets car sick, she should get a seat. The uncle in question drove far to get us, he deserves a seat. Me?!? I'm SOL. I knew my fate quick into the loading of the gear. The back of the pick up for me.
To add to the complexity of this drive. TaTa decides to tow the CAM back into town with us. So we to Mabele where the car died and chain the two cars together. FYI, I voted to push the CAM into the river. So imagine. TaTa and Jessica in the truck driving. Said uncle and myself in the CAM that is being towed. Uncle is "driving" the CAM. I am praying for a quick death. About every ummm......4-10 km the chain / rope breaks and the CAM just starts to drift into nowhere. Uncle would curse, I would close my eyes, Jessica was sitting in the truck with her fingers crossed, but TaTa would just say Jesus Christ and rehook the cars.
After about the 5th time the rope / chain breaks I get a text message. At the time the phone beeps to symbolize the incoming message TaTa and Uncle a using 2 rocks to cut a piece of rope, in the middle of Chobe National Park, barefoot, cursing, and sweating. All the message said was "How r things?" I could not reply to Eric at that point because things we were all in a pretty dark place at that moment.
Just outside of Kasane, about 2 km from the mechanic everyone start to relax a bit. It seemed we were in the clear. Uncle (whose name I cannot remember at the moment) and I are talking and we spot a heard of elephants on the right side of the road. Unknown to us as we stare at the elephants the chain breaks again. When did we notice the chain broke, oh yeah, when we drove right along side the truck while rolling down a large hill. Seems that they had not noticed the break either. S0 we just kept rolling down that hill and took a left at the base right into the mechanics shop. When he walks out and asks what is wrong with the car and we reply its dead he had an extremely odd look on his face. Yes its dead but it still rolls. About the only thing good about that piece of crap car are the cupholders.
We were all very excited that we could begin working again. After almost a week with no cars and therefore no working we were going a bit stir crazy. I gave my climate change presentation to the Chobe Enclave Trust Board and they granted us permission to work in the village. It was great to have Brian back with us, he really made a difference at this meeting.
So we packed up our camp in Kasane and decided to camp in the bush for 2-3 days while we worked. Eric, of course, was too good to camp behind the trust office and he therefore stayed in the lodge 2 hours away from us. Any clue how much he participated in the research? We camped in a town called Kavimba which was not the greatest place to camp but hey we were working.
When we went to pick up the survey from some of our assistants on 6-18-2010 Shylock noticed an odd streak on the side of the CAM. The CAM which had just gotten out of the shop 2 days prior. So he pops the hood and oil is gushing everywhere. We all knew it was bad. There was a crack in the engine. We could see it. The CAM is DOA.
Next problem, we are an hours drive from camp on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. And our 2 most naive / skitish group members, Kalanie and Jing, are back in Kavimba. So guess what, I had another first. We hitchhiked back to camp. What choice did we have really. The driver was nice enough to stop at the bottle shop on the way back so that Jessica and TaTa could buy a bottle of vodka. Becuase by this point we all really needed it. I wish he had a picture of us in the back of that truck. Me holding all my stuff that was in the CAM, including all of the training sample data. Jessica holding her vodka and box of surveys. TaTa grinning from ear to ear because all of this is normal to him. And Shylock wearing my powder blue sun hat to keep the dust out of his eyes. But we made it back to camp.
Next problem, all cars are broken again. We have people depending on us to work. We only have supplies for 3 days in the bush. Oh, and Jing needs to be in Kasane in 48 hours to catch a plane. Problems aplently.
Tim and TaTas uncle became our saviors. Tim Fullman sacrificed a day of field for to drive hours out of his way to pick up Kalanie, Shylock, and Jing. He has only a small car so we could not all be rescues. Several hours later TaTas uncle shows up with a 2 seater truck with a lid on the back. We can all do the math but that left 4 people to ride in a 2 seater truck. TaTa owns the car, he gets on seat. Jessica gets car sick, she should get a seat. The uncle in question drove far to get us, he deserves a seat. Me?!? I'm SOL. I knew my fate quick into the loading of the gear. The back of the pick up for me.
To add to the complexity of this drive. TaTa decides to tow the CAM back into town with us. So we to Mabele where the car died and chain the two cars together. FYI, I voted to push the CAM into the river. So imagine. TaTa and Jessica in the truck driving. Said uncle and myself in the CAM that is being towed. Uncle is "driving" the CAM. I am praying for a quick death. About every ummm......4-10 km the chain / rope breaks and the CAM just starts to drift into nowhere. Uncle would curse, I would close my eyes, Jessica was sitting in the truck with her fingers crossed, but TaTa would just say Jesus Christ and rehook the cars.
After about the 5th time the rope / chain breaks I get a text message. At the time the phone beeps to symbolize the incoming message TaTa and Uncle a using 2 rocks to cut a piece of rope, in the middle of Chobe National Park, barefoot, cursing, and sweating. All the message said was "How r things?" I could not reply to Eric at that point because things we were all in a pretty dark place at that moment.
Just outside of Kasane, about 2 km from the mechanic everyone start to relax a bit. It seemed we were in the clear. Uncle (whose name I cannot remember at the moment) and I are talking and we spot a heard of elephants on the right side of the road. Unknown to us as we stare at the elephants the chain breaks again. When did we notice the chain broke, oh yeah, when we drove right along side the truck while rolling down a large hill. Seems that they had not noticed the break either. S0 we just kept rolling down that hill and took a left at the base right into the mechanics shop. When he walks out and asks what is wrong with the car and we reply its dead he had an extremely odd look on his face. Yes its dead but it still rolls. About the only thing good about that piece of crap car are the cupholders.
Training Samples
Guess I am the only one who is worried that we have not done enough. Hey I did my share and helped with the surveys. Certain people better not question what I did here this summer.
Beetsha
The chief of a village we worked at during this trip has died. Our thoughts to his family. He did not speak English, but he was excited we where there. At one point he asked our translator where Jings chopsticks were, guess you had to be there to think it was funny. Thank god he did not die while we were there, they would have chased us out really quick.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Dinner
Jessica and I have cooked all of the meals this week. So tonight was Jing's turn. Dude is pathetic. Does he honestly believe that we think he cannot cook rice. Thats what he kept saying tonight. That he did not know how to cook rice. You are from CHINA!!!!!
I could not take it anymore and I finished cooking dinner. All the while he is telling Brian that if the end of the world came he would be far better off than the three girls because he can fend for himself. Dude cried when he got stung by a bee last week, had not stepped into a grocery store since we got to AFRICA, has not washed a dish in this country, and has complained non stop about dirt (he is up to 3 showers a day here). Yeah, you would be the most resilent of the group, HA!
I could not take it anymore and I finished cooking dinner. All the while he is telling Brian that if the end of the world came he would be far better off than the three girls because he can fend for himself. Dude cried when he got stung by a bee last week, had not stepped into a grocery store since we got to AFRICA, has not washed a dish in this country, and has complained non stop about dirt (he is up to 3 showers a day here). Yeah, you would be the most resilent of the group, HA!
Gilligan's Island
After our three hour boat cruise Jessica and I have the Gilligan's Island theme song stuck in our heads. She asked me which character I though she was. I don't know the show well enough to give her an answer. Which character would I be?
UPDATE: Well all of the characters except the old lady have been selected. Guess that leaves me to be Mrs. Howell. LOL. At least I am rich.
UPDATE: Well all of the characters except the old lady have been selected. Guess that leaves me to be Mrs. Howell. LOL. At least I am rich.
Movie
Who should play me in the screen version of National Lampoons Dead Doneky? Any suggestions?
Jessica and I are planning a moved based on true events, but there will be one major change. We sat around the pool yesterday afternoon playing cards and talking about our movie. It was deiced that someone had to die at the end. Jing and Eric were the ideal choices. Don't want to spoil the death but we did spend 30 minutes discussing how the death would occur. I think the people behind us thought we were plotting a hit.
Should I give a hint..........Sorry dude the villain always dies so ours had to be different. If you have been keeping up with the blog tht probably does not help you much.
Jessica and I are planning a moved based on true events, but there will be one major change. We sat around the pool yesterday afternoon playing cards and talking about our movie. It was deiced that someone had to die at the end. Jing and Eric were the ideal choices. Don't want to spoil the death but we did spend 30 minutes discussing how the death would occur. I think the people behind us thought we were plotting a hit.
Should I give a hint..........Sorry dude the villain always dies so ours had to be different. If you have been keeping up with the blog tht probably does not help you much.
Baboon Wars
First they were cute, now it is war. Baboons vs. UF
It started with stealing the candy, now the devils are opening the coolers and stealing items.
Yesterday, Jessica scared them away with a flaming stick form the fire. Today I went after one with an ax. We thought it was UF, 2. Baboon, 0. But the stupid little bastard got us back while we were at a meeting. Our bag of sugar, which was in a zipped weighted down bag was stolen as was Jessica's cell phone.
Thats right the freakin baboon stole her cell phone. I have been calling it all afternoon. Wonder if the thing is just watching it everytime it rings. She is bummed of course. I feel bad for her.
Ok, in this round I will give it to them. Baboons, 3. UF, 2. But it is not over!
It started with stealing the candy, now the devils are opening the coolers and stealing items.
Yesterday, Jessica scared them away with a flaming stick form the fire. Today I went after one with an ax. We thought it was UF, 2. Baboon, 0. But the stupid little bastard got us back while we were at a meeting. Our bag of sugar, which was in a zipped weighted down bag was stolen as was Jessica's cell phone.
Thats right the freakin baboon stole her cell phone. I have been calling it all afternoon. Wonder if the thing is just watching it everytime it rings. She is bummed of course. I feel bad for her.
Ok, in this round I will give it to them. Baboons, 3. UF, 2. But it is not over!
Recap
Don't know why I had not written any posts for a while. Honestly, with both cars broken and no leadership things were pretty slow. There are a couple of cool things to recap though:
- We took a most awesome boat ride down the Chobe River. I think it made this last awful week wort it. We went in the evening and all of the animals were coming down to the river's edge to drink for the night. My favorite was the baby elephant. HHe could not yet use his trunk so he just swung it aroud like crazy. It was funny. The guide said that he thought it was only a month old. There were tons of animals including: cape buffalo, impala, crocs, kudu, water monitors, elephants, and cool birds. Oh, also we saw the elephant herds swimming across the river. So strange I never even thought about elephants swimming.
- Shopping, think I have gifts for almost everyone now
- We found the best coffee place. It had been so long since I had anything besides instant.
- Baboon wars (but more on that in a moment)
- One thing that I have not gotten used to is the human / wildlife interactions. Warthogs, elephants, and baboons just walk down the middle of the road and no one seems to notice them. Even in our lodge there are no lawn mowers just warthogs eating the grass. Maybe I should take one home so there is no need to ever mow again.
- Mongoose!
- Meerkat!
- Warthhog with a broken leg was a bit sad. People just ignored it walking down the road gues they have more important things to worry about
- Jing.....where do I begin. Dude want to eat all of the animals. Everytime we see a baboon or lion he says he wants to cook it. Additionally he wants to wrestle it to the ground and kill it with his bare hands. It is so strange. There are eleborate stories for how he is going to kill and cook them. My favoraite involves a taxi cab, Jing, a lion, and lo mien noodles.
- Poor Jessica. This has not been her week to exercise. Yesterday (6-13-10) she went for a power walk up the large hill towards the Kasane airport. Halfway up a car waves here down, she later said she almost did not stop becuase she was alone, but turns out there was a pack of lions on the side of the road at the top of the hill. Then today she wanted to go for a run. I have veen going with her but today I got lazy. She left camp and started off. 2 seconds after she leaves the guard comes over and says that we cannot leave campe because they just spotted a leopard near the lodge. Well Jessica was gone, so we all (including the guard) ran after her because she was running right for the area where the animal was. Poor girl, don;t think she will exercise much more here.
- Caroline and Tim arrived!
- Saw a baby giraffe in Chobe National Park
- Jessica, Jing, Kalanie, and myself are no longer speaking to Eric. Great way to get work done.
I am sure there are more cool things I just cannot think now. It is getting late.
Peace Everyone.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Recap
So I did not write for a while. Honestly, when both cars were broken and there as not leadership things were pretty slow. There are a couple of cool things though to recap:
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