2008- Reflections on the Year

2008 has been quite a different year!I have calculated that through my various trips this year, I have spent more than 90 days in a tent-a surprising amount since almost 95% of these days have occurred in the last 6 months (including my wedding night!). Can anyone beat that? Allison? Tom? So, my tent has been my semi-permanent home for my vagabond lifestyle--which has been great for most of it, although I am tiring of it. Even more alarming is the number of meals I've eaten off a one-burner stove--I don't want to count but am sure it exceeds 100! Oh, how I long for an oven...

However, it has been a year of amazing adventures & outdoor activity--a canoe expedition with girls & many cycle training days started off the year. Then 3 weeks of cycling in PEI with 12 girls & 3 other BC leaders was amazing. Then 6 weeks cycling down the coast with Chris (making cycling weeks total = 9) & then our 7 week adventure in South Africa. On top of that I also trained & practiced and am now a certified kayak guide for day trips. Yikes. So much has gone one that I am finding myself reflecting a lot these days on all these adventures & feeling very fortunate for such great friends, family & organizations which have allowed all this to happen.

All this, of course in the year when I also got married--an adventure in itself that I believe worked out wounderfully in the end. I must admit, it was a great year for me.

So what is in store for the next year? I cannot even begin to imagine. A very different one in which in a few short weeks I will find myself a Junior SS teacher of English, Geography & Math. Yikes! And although I have many plans in my head, who knows which ones will work out and which are need for our little village.

Predictions are that it will be a more difficult year for us, and for all of you (both the priest at mass & the running mag believe this!) But as I sit in a country of desert and am amazed by how everyone lives here on so little water it isn't hard to imagine that we can't all live well with just a little less...and still have happy lives with love, family, friends & meaningful work--paid or unpaid.

So I look to the year ahead as a year of new opportunity-- a chance to re-evaluate & "look wider" :) May it bee the same for you.

XO Happy New Year.

Driving In South Africa--Arrive Alive!

I've begun to be a driver in South Africa as it is one of our main occupations and we've already travelled 10 000km to get here to Windhoek. This I think is no simple feat & I would have happily left it to Chris who has driven on the left in several other countries already. But alas...

Yes, driving on the left is a fair challenge--particularly when reversing or parking. But I adjusted fairly quickly. What is more difficult is driving with a stick shift...doing all the shifting with the left hand. The VW shift we have is also more precise than the ones at home, making it fairly normal to miss. That and reverse is forward & to the left, next to 1st gear--the first time I tried to go into first & reversed instead!! Luckily there was no one behind me. & I've improved since then!

However, its not our driving that is really the problem--coming from a country with some of the lowest speed limits in the world with strict laws, we drive fairly well. South Africa, with optional insurance, safety belt & optional adherence to most rules of the road-- has admitably, some fairly bad drivers. Take the speed for the best example.

The speed limit on most highways (even 2 laners) is 120km/hr max--pretty fast, esp. if there are some potholes. I generally drive at 100-130km/hr max. I've frequently been passed while going 120km/hr--very quickly, probably people going 150-160km/hr!!! When you pass a slower vehicle you need to get back on to the far left lane quickly because otherwise someone will be on your tail...and South Africans LOVE to tailgate. The worst is the minibus/combi drivers--which is funny because there max speed is supposedly 100km/hr.

Speed traps do occur--however, many just don't pay. Currently there is a campaign out that if you pay off your overdo fine then you only need to pay 1/2...this is because the courts are way over booked with speeding violations. Rewards for speeding & paying! Come again?

There is some good news--
1. Chris is one of the best drivers I've ever met, so its good he's doing 75% of the driving
2. Driving here is much better than most developing countries--esp. India & Peru---& the roads are fantastic.

3. and best of all..South Africans have found a way to regularly use the hazard lighting button...to Thank you when you pull over to the shoulder to let them pass!! :) :P

South African Political Correctness

Kruger National Park

We've just finished a week in Kruger National Park, one of the world's premiere African game regions. A typical day for us began at 4:15 AM when we'd exit our tent and quickly get into the car for our morning game drive. You are locked in your campsite (for your protection) until 4:30 and the best animal viewing occurs at dawn when it's still cool and the predators are still finishing their hunt. Our drive would end around 9, and then we'd have a long slow breakfast usually involving a game of Scrabble while overlooking a water hole. Chloe would win the game (she's currently on a four game winning streak) and then we'd head off to our next campsite. By noon, the heat was overwhelming and most animals (with the exception of the antelope, zebras, giraffes, and elephants) were seeking shelter under some sort of tree cover. We would head to the human watering hole (fortunately, most campsites here have a swimming pool), where we would lounge about for a few hours before heading out on a sunset drive around 5 PM. It was dark by 7PM, and we'd head to the tent. Any time we were up beyond 8PM, it was considered a "late night". Sleeping bags & the tent fly were unnecessary (even the meshing of the tent seemed to trap too much heat!) and it was very hot most of the night.






We went on three separate guided walks (walking without a guide and gun is forbidden) to learn more about the environment we were watching. One turned into a white rhinoceros hunt, as we followed tracks and other field signs through the forest. In another, we encountered an aggressive elephant and were forced to retreat to the vehicle. One of our guides had to fire his rifle to discourage it.


We were quite successful in our viewing though. Several viewing of lions, hyenas circling our campsite at night, hippos wallowing in the pools, crocodiles waiting for opportunities, rhinoceros grazing in the grass. We even had a rare leopard sighting when the small antelope we were trying to identify was suddenly chased into the bush. All in all, VERY COOL!

Bunny Chow

Bunny Chow exemplifies Durban to me. Technically perhaps, it is classified as an Indian curry dish--but really it is much much more--it's a cultural melange~Africa meets Europe meets India. And really, that's what Durban is all about. With the largest India population outside of India it's not difficult to fathom that Indian curries, bazaars & fashions are common here--and are much enjoyed as part of the Bunny Chow. However, mixed within the curry is not your typical Indian vege's...like lentils, chickpeas, peas or cauliflower. Instead some more European foods, probably which grow better in this diverse Zulu land--brown beans, & cabbage for instance.

Lastly, Bunny Chow's essence is in the fact that all of it is placed in a bread bowl--a quartered white loaf which is hollowed out in the middle--a very European (whether Dutch or British) item as baked bread is almost unheard of in India (they eat flatbreads). And Voila! Bunny Chow. Who'd of thought such a mix would be so delicious--but it is. If only human melanges could blend as well as food. Durban in a nutshell.

PS-Check out the spices! Also another good example of an interesting cultural combination!

Livin' it up in Durban

This week we've been living the high life on South Africa's east coast. Thanks to Dad, we've had a week at a timeshare resort in Umhlanga Rocks where we've enjoyed such luxuries as:
A refrigerator - cheese lasts more than a day
A freezer - Ice cream, nuff said
Oven - used four out of the past five nights!
High speed internet - fast enough to use our computer to call home
King-sized bed - an entire family could live here
Tennis courts - including free racquet rental
Air Conditioning - to fight the humidity

All in all, luxury compared to the tent we normally sleep in. We took a boat tour with the Natal Sharks Board this morning and watched them check all the shark nets surrounding Durban's beaches. Saw lots of dolphins, too. We also watched them dissect a great white shark that died in the nets recently. Very interesting. Chloe won a poster and some shark's teeth for paying attention to details and being more energetic than the school kids in answering questions.

It's actually been quite rainy this week (but still 24 degrees) which is nice since it's given my sun burn a chance to recover (Check out our Flickr pictures for the embarrassing photo). I'm still very suspicious of the small burned area that looks like the girl guide trefoil. I'm suspicious that Chloe may have some creative ways of spreading sunscreen on my back.

More photos

We're in Durban now & we've uploaded some pics to flikr.

The address is http://www.flickr.com/photos/31870881@N06/ We will continue to periodically post photos there--so this is your last warning to bookmark the site!