It’s Sunday night and the river is hopping... I don’t know if that’s really what I wanted to say but I’ll go with it. There seems to be at least three parties going on right now. Their music is blending together as it travels down the river, making one awful sound, similar to a two year old trying to DJ? It sounds like it’s right next door, but it could be quite far away since the river makes every sound travel. So everyone partying, the expat Hailey is having a party, so is Raja’s daughter (the owner of the restaurant... who happens to make excellent curry which I have yet to try) and here I am, clipping my nails and contemplating baking.
Yes I said I was going to bake today, but it is now 6 pm and I have yet to pull out any flour or put on an apron ...never mind that I don’t have an apron...
I think subconsciously I may actually be terrified of my oven... no scratch that I am terrified though a more logical explanation could be that it was too nice outside to stay in and bake today!
Instead I wandered the grounds, looking for materials for a compost bin planning my dream garden, complete with a circular walkway and drip irrigation system (I don’t think we’ll be able to make that), a grey water collection site, and a compost! First thing tomorrow I’m going to ask if I use the stuff I found to make one... not only for the garden, but so that I have somewhere to put my kitchen scraps instead of feeding the hippos... and more likely the ants. I don’t really want to contribute to their survival.
Back to my nail clipping, I realized something rather odd today - which some may not want to talk about... like Jessica ( I know how nails gross you out), but it turns out that I had forgotten my nail clippers in Canada. So for the last 3 weeks my nails had gotten really long. Funny thing was, my right big toe nail was about 3 times longer than the left... strange right? Maybe it’s stealing all the nutrients from the other nails? lol ...
Anyways I also met some new guys who are here at TOCaDI to do GIS training until July, which is cool.. maybe I should join in and learn something...I was going to take that course at school once upon a time.
I likely will since I think I will have some time for the next little while... it looks like Gae (my counterpart) is going on vacation! Seems I could have arrived in July....cough.... so I will have no work to do... except to work on my amazing garden... I hope~ ... would appreciate any gardening tips you have! I’m learning tons from my daily google searches.. it’s amazing what the internet holds, and how much you can learn when you have endless hours to read! Well I have one more thing to accomplish and that is to brave my oven and make some scrumptious cinnamon buns, which are likely to burn, but I don’t care my love of all things bread is far too strong... lol and I’m also attempting this without a measuring cup.. we’ll see how good my eye is !
ps. Dad if you can figure out a way to seal a meal of yours and send it by mail I would love that !
_____________
Okay so I have accomplished making the dough and they look actually just like cinnamon buns... I have just now realized that my oven actually only has five levels... no temperatures... so what exactly is 375 ??? with 5 being the lowest and 1 being the highest... and btw I actually screamed when it lit... I totally thought I would blow up.... that BBQ incident must have really left some scars.....
and now I’m much too stressed to eat dinner... sigh.
SUCCESS! They are beautiful and yummy ... best thing I’ve eaten in my life ! Everyone I may have a new career.... bakery in Africa?
oooooo picture please upload..!!!.. ach i give up again.. too long .. but they look delicious and you will see the photo eventually !
~there’s always gonna be another mountain, always gonna want to make it move.... ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side, it’s the climb...
these struggles I’m facing, these chances I’m taking.... just gotta keep goin’ .... just keep pushing on...
Miley Cyrus - The Climb
there is a house built out of stone...this is a place where i don't feel alone, this is a place where i feel at home
~The Cinematic Orchestra - To build a Home
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Saturday, 28 May 2011
London Bridges...
This is all my belongings for the next year.. I will definitely be coming back with another bag...filled with winter clothes.. and dishes.. and maybe some souvenirs...
(picture to come...)
And I just thought I would post some of the pics I took in London.. they still had alot of the stuff up from the royal wedding which was cool.. just missed seeing someone famous.. don't know who it was though.. i think it was the Queen...
(picture should be here...but i waited two hours.. and gave up...)
Since I'm doing nothing while I wait hours and hours for these pics to upload... I thought I would try to write down the lines which catch my interest from songs I'm listening to... so here goes:
...please don't forget me...I'm going away... don't forget my name...I've thought it over I don't want to die here...
~ Meg & Dia-I'm going away
...another day gone by, yet I ask myself why? question my sanity...Hold on to me...
~Shawn McDonald-Hold On
...you could be my white knight...I will wear a white dress and you will paint a sunset...but the world can spin so madly and love can hurt so badly and stories can end so sadly...but this is not the end...
~Katie Herzig-Forevermore
...this could be the very minute i aware i'm alive, all these places feel like home...i can make my first steps as a child of 25...this is the straw final straw...you're the only thing that i've loved, scares me more every day...goodness knows i saw it coming...what have i done, it's too late for that... what have i become, truth is, nothing yet...
~Snowpatrol-Chocolate
...*banjo strumming :) ... and there came a word...they fell on the ground.. the voice of God, the face of God hovered in a cloud...consider what he says to you, consider what's to come...
~Sufjan Stevens - The Transfiguration
...I'm just a piece of light, on my own...Shine...is there a place for me?...
~Hannah Georgas-Shine
**sorry this has nothing to do with London...or bridges...
(picture to come...)
And I just thought I would post some of the pics I took in London.. they still had alot of the stuff up from the royal wedding which was cool.. just missed seeing someone famous.. don't know who it was though.. i think it was the Queen...
(picture should be here...but i waited two hours.. and gave up...)
Since I'm doing nothing while I wait hours and hours for these pics to upload... I thought I would try to write down the lines which catch my interest from songs I'm listening to... so here goes:
...please don't forget me...I'm going away... don't forget my name...I've thought it over I don't want to die here...
~ Meg & Dia-I'm going away
...another day gone by, yet I ask myself why? question my sanity...Hold on to me...
~Shawn McDonald-Hold On
...you could be my white knight...I will wear a white dress and you will paint a sunset...but the world can spin so madly and love can hurt so badly and stories can end so sadly...but this is not the end...
~Katie Herzig-Forevermore
...this could be the very minute i aware i'm alive, all these places feel like home...i can make my first steps as a child of 25...this is the straw final straw...you're the only thing that i've loved, scares me more every day...goodness knows i saw it coming...what have i done, it's too late for that... what have i become, truth is, nothing yet...
~Snowpatrol-Chocolate
...*banjo strumming :) ... and there came a word...they fell on the ground.. the voice of God, the face of God hovered in a cloud...consider what he says to you, consider what's to come...
~Sufjan Stevens - The Transfiguration
...I'm just a piece of light, on my own...Shine...is there a place for me?...
~Hannah Georgas-Shine
**sorry this has nothing to do with London...or bridges...
dreaming.
I don’t know if it’s the anti-malarials or just being in a new place but I’ve dreamt almost every night here which is really unusual for me! I think I could count the number of dreams I have in a year on one hand, at least the ones I am aware of. Last night was quite an interesting dream... I don’t remember much except getting onto a large bus, kind of like a GO bus and walking past lots of strange looking people. I didn’t like any of the seats in the front so I kept walking further and further, down stairs and into this really large area that looked like a cafeteria. Each spot had rows of what looked like flat tacos and pitas, you could choose one and it would roll up to look like a real one.
I remember choosing the only one that wasn’t meat, a mushroom one with vegetables and I’m fairly sure I was drooling in real time...I believe before I had gotten onto this bus I was at a giant ice skating show. It was really confusing and there were many ice rinks, for some reason I think there was a horse show as well. It kind of seemed like the kind of chaos at the Royal Winter Fair...anyways I got separated from the people I was with, I think Matt was there... and I got really lost. I kept ending up in deep dark tunnels that were dark and full of graffiti and had scary men in them.
I wonder what I’ll dream of tonight. They’re so vivid that when I wake up I am so disoriented and always completely forget I’m in Botswana.
This afternoon I went to the market, which was small but really nice! There were a few arts and crafts that were beautiful, made buy some expats, that I would love to buy but were a little bit too pricey for me. This man, who was definitely a jungle cowboy type had made leather whips, gorgeous knives and even leather purses which were so nice! The best part wasn’t there, he makes these beautiful dining sets, bars, chairs and shelves out of really unique wood... I would definitely commission him to make things for my future ranch ! Met alot of the white community today as well, all older than me... I wonder where all the people my age have gone? Do they not have kids? Anyways, I splurged and got a lettuce and strawberry plant, some Chinese Cabbage, sweet potatoes, lemons, and eggs. I pretty well spent the entire day shopping. Searched all of Shakawe for a bread tin, finally found something similar and there was no code for it, so I’m fairly sure I ended up paying too much for it. I also got some supplies so I can bake...maybe offer yummy sweets as peace offerings to make some friends. I’m thinking I’ll try to make cinnamon buns and some bread tomorrow.... is there a way to make bread without a bread tin?
The water level is rising on the river, apparently the hippos will start coming up during the day soon so maybe I will get to see some! Calla you may get some pictures after all! Hopefully it doesn’t send all the snakes into my front yard though...I don’t know how much protection those two cats will offer me :)
So I decided to download a movie to break up the monotony of the weekend, and it’s been downloading for the last two days... it’s about a fifth of the way finished, lol and I complained about a movie taking a few hours to download in Canada! One things for sure ... this trip is making me love Canada more and more...maybe I will be one of those people who stays at home their whole lives...eventually.
ps. it turns out that the blood is not blood at all. its rat urine. yum, even better. and egad itunes is now saying my movie will take 1125 and counting+ hours to download! that’s like 46 days !!! that’s an indication of how slow we’re talking here.. it’s like a sloth in slow motion...
I remember choosing the only one that wasn’t meat, a mushroom one with vegetables and I’m fairly sure I was drooling in real time...I believe before I had gotten onto this bus I was at a giant ice skating show. It was really confusing and there were many ice rinks, for some reason I think there was a horse show as well. It kind of seemed like the kind of chaos at the Royal Winter Fair...anyways I got separated from the people I was with, I think Matt was there... and I got really lost. I kept ending up in deep dark tunnels that were dark and full of graffiti and had scary men in them.
I wonder what I’ll dream of tonight. They’re so vivid that when I wake up I am so disoriented and always completely forget I’m in Botswana.
This afternoon I went to the market, which was small but really nice! There were a few arts and crafts that were beautiful, made buy some expats, that I would love to buy but were a little bit too pricey for me. This man, who was definitely a jungle cowboy type had made leather whips, gorgeous knives and even leather purses which were so nice! The best part wasn’t there, he makes these beautiful dining sets, bars, chairs and shelves out of really unique wood... I would definitely commission him to make things for my future ranch ! Met alot of the white community today as well, all older than me... I wonder where all the people my age have gone? Do they not have kids? Anyways, I splurged and got a lettuce and strawberry plant, some Chinese Cabbage, sweet potatoes, lemons, and eggs. I pretty well spent the entire day shopping. Searched all of Shakawe for a bread tin, finally found something similar and there was no code for it, so I’m fairly sure I ended up paying too much for it. I also got some supplies so I can bake...maybe offer yummy sweets as peace offerings to make some friends. I’m thinking I’ll try to make cinnamon buns and some bread tomorrow.... is there a way to make bread without a bread tin?
The water level is rising on the river, apparently the hippos will start coming up during the day soon so maybe I will get to see some! Calla you may get some pictures after all! Hopefully it doesn’t send all the snakes into my front yard though...I don’t know how much protection those two cats will offer me :)
So I decided to download a movie to break up the monotony of the weekend, and it’s been downloading for the last two days... it’s about a fifth of the way finished, lol and I complained about a movie taking a few hours to download in Canada! One things for sure ... this trip is making me love Canada more and more...maybe I will be one of those people who stays at home their whole lives...eventually.
ps. it turns out that the blood is not blood at all. its rat urine. yum, even better. and egad itunes is now saying my movie will take 1125 and counting+ hours to download! that’s like 46 days !!! that’s an indication of how slow we’re talking here.. it’s like a sloth in slow motion...
dreaming.
I don’t know if it’s the anti-malarials or just being in a new place but I’ve dreamt almost every night here which is really unusual for me! I think I could count the number of dreams I have in a year on one hand, at least the ones I am aware of. Last night was quite an interesting dream... I don’t remember much except getting onto a large bus, kind of like a GO bus and walking past lots of strange looking people. I didn’t like any of the seats in the front so I kept walking further and further, down stairs and into this really large area that looked like a cafeteria. Each spot had rows of what looked like flat tacos and pitas, you could choose one and it would roll up to look like a real one.
I remember choosing the only one that wasn’t meat, a mushroom one with vegetables and I’m fairly sure I was drooling in real time...I believe before I had gotten onto this bus I was at a giant ice skating show. It was really confusing and there were many ice rinks, for some reason I think there was a horse show as well. It kind of seemed like the kind of chaos at the Royal Winter Fair...anyways I got separated from the people I was with, I think Matt was there... and I got really lost. I kept ending up in deep dark tunnels that were dark and full of graffiti and had scary men in them.
I wonder what I’ll dream of tonight. They’re so vivid that when I wake up I am so disoriented and always completely forget I’m in Botswana.
This afternoon I went to the market, which was small but really nice! There were a few arts and crafts that were beautiful, made buy some expats, that I would love to buy but were a little bit too pricey for me. This man, who was definitely a jungle cowboy type had made leather whips, gorgeous knives and even leather purses which were so nice! The best part wasn’t there, he makes these beautiful dining sets, bars, chairs and shelves out of really unique wood... I would definitely commission him to make things for my future ranch ! Met alot of the white community today as well, all older than me... I wonder where all the people my age have gone? Do they not have kids? Anyways, I splurged and got a lettuce and strawberry plant, some Chinese Cabbage, sweet potatoes, lemons, and eggs. I pretty well spent the entire day shopping. Searched all of Shakawe for a bread tin, finally found something similar and there was no code for it, so I’m fairly sure I ended up paying too much for it. I also got some supplies so I can bake...maybe offer yummy sweets as peace offerings to make some friends. I’m thinking I’ll try to make cinnamon buns and some bread tomorrow.... is there a way to make bread without a bread tin?
The water level is rising on the river, apparently the hippos will start coming up during the day soon so maybe I will get to see some! Calla you may get some pictures after all! Hopefully it doesn’t send all the snakes into my front yard though...I don’t know how much protection those two cats will offer me :)
So I decided to download a movie to break up the monotony of the weekend, and it’s been downloading for the last two days... it’s about a fifth of the way finished, lol and I complained about a movie taking a few hours to download in Canada! One things for sure ... this trip is making me love Canada more and more...maybe I will be one of those people who stays at home their whole lives...eventually.
ps. it turns out that the blood is not blood at all. its rat urine. yum, even better. and egad itunes is now saying my movie will take 1125 and counting+ hours to download! that’s like 46 days !!! that’s an indication of how slow we’re talking here.. it’s like a sloth in slow motion...
I remember choosing the only one that wasn’t meat, a mushroom one with vegetables and I’m fairly sure I was drooling in real time...I believe before I had gotten onto this bus I was at a giant ice skating show. It was really confusing and there were many ice rinks, for some reason I think there was a horse show as well. It kind of seemed like the kind of chaos at the Royal Winter Fair...anyways I got separated from the people I was with, I think Matt was there... and I got really lost. I kept ending up in deep dark tunnels that were dark and full of graffiti and had scary men in them.
I wonder what I’ll dream of tonight. They’re so vivid that when I wake up I am so disoriented and always completely forget I’m in Botswana.
This afternoon I went to the market, which was small but really nice! There were a few arts and crafts that were beautiful, made buy some expats, that I would love to buy but were a little bit too pricey for me. This man, who was definitely a jungle cowboy type had made leather whips, gorgeous knives and even leather purses which were so nice! The best part wasn’t there, he makes these beautiful dining sets, bars, chairs and shelves out of really unique wood... I would definitely commission him to make things for my future ranch ! Met alot of the white community today as well, all older than me... I wonder where all the people my age have gone? Do they not have kids? Anyways, I splurged and got a lettuce and strawberry plant, some Chinese Cabbage, sweet potatoes, lemons, and eggs. I pretty well spent the entire day shopping. Searched all of Shakawe for a bread tin, finally found something similar and there was no code for it, so I’m fairly sure I ended up paying too much for it. I also got some supplies so I can bake...maybe offer yummy sweets as peace offerings to make some friends. I’m thinking I’ll try to make cinnamon buns and some bread tomorrow.... is there a way to make bread without a bread tin?
The water level is rising on the river, apparently the hippos will start coming up during the day soon so maybe I will get to see some! Calla you may get some pictures after all! Hopefully it doesn’t send all the snakes into my front yard though...I don’t know how much protection those two cats will offer me :)
So I decided to download a movie to break up the monotony of the weekend, and it’s been downloading for the last two days... it’s about a fifth of the way finished, lol and I complained about a movie taking a few hours to download in Canada! One things for sure ... this trip is making me love Canada more and more...maybe I will be one of those people who stays at home their whole lives...eventually.
ps. it turns out that the blood is not blood at all. its rat urine. yum, even better. and egad itunes is now saying my movie will take 1125 and counting+ hours to download! that’s like 46 days !!! that’s an indication of how slow we’re talking here.. it’s like a sloth in slow motion...
dreaming.
I don’t know if it’s the anti-malarials or just being in a new place but I’ve dreamt almost every night here which is really unusual for me! I think I could count the number of dreams I have in a year on one hand, at least the ones I am aware of. Last night was quite an interesting dream... I don’t remember much except getting onto a large bus, kind of like a GO bus and walking past lots of strange looking people. I didn’t like any of the seats in the front so I kept walking further and further, down stairs and into this really large area that looked like a cafeteria. Each spot had rows of what looked like flat tacos and pitas, you could choose one and it would roll up to look like a real one.
I remember choosing the only one that wasn’t meat, a mushroom one with vegetables and I’m fairly sure I was drooling in real time...I believe before I had gotten onto this bus I was at a giant ice skating show. It was really confusing and there were many ice rinks, for some reason I think there was a horse show as well. It kind of seemed like the kind of chaos at the Royal Winter Fair...anyways I got separated from the people I was with, I think Matt was there... and I got really lost. I kept ending up in deep dark tunnels that were dark and full of graffiti and had scary men in them.
I wonder what I’ll dream of tonight. They’re so vivid that when I wake up I am so disoriented and always completely forget I’m in Botswana.
This afternoon I went to the market, which was small but really nice! There were a few arts and crafts that were beautiful, made buy some expats, that I would love to buy but were a little bit too pricey for me. This man, who was definitely a jungle cowboy type had made leather whips, gorgeous knives and even leather purses which were so nice! The best part wasn’t there, he makes these beautiful dining sets, bars, chairs and shelves out of really unique wood... I would definitely commission him to make things for my future ranch ! Met alot of the white community today as well, all older than me... I wonder where all the people my age have gone? Do they not have kids? Anyways, I splurged and got a lettuce and strawberry plant, some Chinese Cabbage, sweet potatoes, lemons, and eggs. I pretty well spent the entire day shopping. Searched all of Shakawe for a bread tin, finally found something similar and there was no code for it, so I’m fairly sure I ended up paying too much for it. I also got some supplies so I can bake...maybe offer yummy sweets as peace offerings to make some friends. I’m thinking I’ll try to make cinnamon buns and some bread tomorrow.... is there a way to make bread without a bread tin?
The water level is rising on the river, apparently the hippos will start coming up during the day soon so maybe I will get to see some! Calla you may get some pictures after all! Hopefully it doesn’t send all the snakes into my front yard though...I don’t know how much protection those two cats will offer me :)
So I decided to download a movie to break up the monotony of the weekend, and it’s been downloading for the last two days... it’s about a fifth of the way finished, lol and I complained about a movie taking a few hours to download in Canada! One things for sure ... this trip is making me love Canada more and more...maybe I will be one of those people who stays at home their whole lives...eventually.
ps. it turns out that the blood is not blood at all. its rat urine. yum, even better. and egad itunes is now saying my movie will take 1125 and counting+ hours to download! that’s like 46 days !!! that’s an indication of how slow we’re talking here.. it’s like a sloth in slow motion...
I remember choosing the only one that wasn’t meat, a mushroom one with vegetables and I’m fairly sure I was drooling in real time...I believe before I had gotten onto this bus I was at a giant ice skating show. It was really confusing and there were many ice rinks, for some reason I think there was a horse show as well. It kind of seemed like the kind of chaos at the Royal Winter Fair...anyways I got separated from the people I was with, I think Matt was there... and I got really lost. I kept ending up in deep dark tunnels that were dark and full of graffiti and had scary men in them.
I wonder what I’ll dream of tonight. They’re so vivid that when I wake up I am so disoriented and always completely forget I’m in Botswana.
This afternoon I went to the market, which was small but really nice! There were a few arts and crafts that were beautiful, made buy some expats, that I would love to buy but were a little bit too pricey for me. This man, who was definitely a jungle cowboy type had made leather whips, gorgeous knives and even leather purses which were so nice! The best part wasn’t there, he makes these beautiful dining sets, bars, chairs and shelves out of really unique wood... I would definitely commission him to make things for my future ranch ! Met alot of the white community today as well, all older than me... I wonder where all the people my age have gone? Do they not have kids? Anyways, I splurged and got a lettuce and strawberry plant, some Chinese Cabbage, sweet potatoes, lemons, and eggs. I pretty well spent the entire day shopping. Searched all of Shakawe for a bread tin, finally found something similar and there was no code for it, so I’m fairly sure I ended up paying too much for it. I also got some supplies so I can bake...maybe offer yummy sweets as peace offerings to make some friends. I’m thinking I’ll try to make cinnamon buns and some bread tomorrow.... is there a way to make bread without a bread tin?
The water level is rising on the river, apparently the hippos will start coming up during the day soon so maybe I will get to see some! Calla you may get some pictures after all! Hopefully it doesn’t send all the snakes into my front yard though...I don’t know how much protection those two cats will offer me :)
So I decided to download a movie to break up the monotony of the weekend, and it’s been downloading for the last two days... it’s about a fifth of the way finished, lol and I complained about a movie taking a few hours to download in Canada! One things for sure ... this trip is making me love Canada more and more...maybe I will be one of those people who stays at home their whole lives...eventually.
ps. it turns out that the blood is not blood at all. its rat urine. yum, even better. and egad itunes is now saying my movie will take 1125 and counting+ hours to download! that’s like 46 days !!! that’s an indication of how slow we’re talking here.. it’s like a sloth in slow motion...
Friday, 27 May 2011
music. oh music.
this post will fail. there’s no way to convey into words this moment. if you have been there you may understand. it’s the moment when you are frustrated, or lonely, or looking for answers and you turn on your music and there’s a perfect song speaking to your soul. not just in words, but the melody and the rhythm. i love this moment when you remember how much you love something.
when you see your thousandth sunset but it stops you in your tracks as if it were your first. or that glass of wine that you smell as the server passes it around you to place it on the table. its the same with a perfect song, that takes you away. its something familiar and the words become your own.
today I learned that there are deaf members of the community and they don’t communicate through any standard form of american sign language but they have created their own system! it’s really interesting, i wonder if they would be able to communicate with others from another community? maybe i should do research on that...
I spent the day thinking about what to do for my thesis... and trying to decide which picture to submit to the photo contest, if my internet connection is strong enough to allow me to! If you get a chance i would love your opinion for which ones I should submit in each category. I can submit 5 for each. They should be posted in the folder travel competition here...https://www.dropbox.com/home/Photos/Travel%20Competition#:::48441975
I have yet again spent the day doing nothing. Well just nothing related to work. I made a budget for my expenses, surprisingly I think I will be spending more here than in Canada! I also looked up recipes that I will likely try out this weekend... while I do nothing. i’m dowloading a movie... and I’m pretty sure it will take all week to finish.. although it says that it will take 25 minutes...not.
I’m going to start gardening soon, and plant my mango tree :) it’s a huge garden and i’m really excited to try, since i really know nothing about gardens...maybe when i come back to canada i can plant one that doesn’t just grow grass!
well the sun is setting and i’m hungry so i think i will go attempt to make garlic bread, pasta and salad since I found tomatoes today :) tomorrow there will be a market for the first time, so i hope i can get some better deals than the store...apparently we know someone who sells eggs so i’m going to place an order .. so exciting :)
anyone want to send me a little guitar to play here in my nothingness?
This is the mysterious blood dripping from my ceiling, it has since reached the floor...
And this is the result of driving 180Km/Hr for 5 hours... and this is the pretty part...there isn't much left of the two birds we hit but some blood and a few feathers...
when you see your thousandth sunset but it stops you in your tracks as if it were your first. or that glass of wine that you smell as the server passes it around you to place it on the table. its the same with a perfect song, that takes you away. its something familiar and the words become your own.
today I learned that there are deaf members of the community and they don’t communicate through any standard form of american sign language but they have created their own system! it’s really interesting, i wonder if they would be able to communicate with others from another community? maybe i should do research on that...
I spent the day thinking about what to do for my thesis... and trying to decide which picture to submit to the photo contest, if my internet connection is strong enough to allow me to! If you get a chance i would love your opinion for which ones I should submit in each category. I can submit 5 for each. They should be posted in the folder travel competition here...https://www.dropbox.com/home/Photos/Travel%20Competition#:::48441975
I have yet again spent the day doing nothing. Well just nothing related to work. I made a budget for my expenses, surprisingly I think I will be spending more here than in Canada! I also looked up recipes that I will likely try out this weekend... while I do nothing. i’m dowloading a movie... and I’m pretty sure it will take all week to finish.. although it says that it will take 25 minutes...not.
I’m going to start gardening soon, and plant my mango tree :) it’s a huge garden and i’m really excited to try, since i really know nothing about gardens...maybe when i come back to canada i can plant one that doesn’t just grow grass!
well the sun is setting and i’m hungry so i think i will go attempt to make garlic bread, pasta and salad since I found tomatoes today :) tomorrow there will be a market for the first time, so i hope i can get some better deals than the store...apparently we know someone who sells eggs so i’m going to place an order .. so exciting :)
anyone want to send me a little guitar to play here in my nothingness?
This is the mysterious blood dripping from my ceiling, it has since reached the floor...
And this is the result of driving 180Km/Hr for 5 hours... and this is the pretty part...there isn't much left of the two birds we hit but some blood and a few feathers...
Thursday, 26 May 2011
I'm allergic to Botswana...?
So I’m back ! Sorry I was incommunicado for a while, and kind of still am... so much has happened in one week... where to start?! I guess I will begin with how I went off the grid for a bit. It turns out that here in Botswana when you buy a SIM card it comes with a PIN number and a PUK number. When you turn your phone off and then back on, as I did when it died, it very conveniently asks for these numbers. Of course not knowing what they were I just guessed every number I could think of, until it was locked.
So Friday I spent the day calling the Mascom (cellphone company) call center... Let me just say I will no longer complain about Rogers ! Basically no one could help, all of Shakawe was out of the SIM card I needed and then I headed to D’Kar for the week.
This D’Kar is not the one in Senegal, contrary to what I had initially thought... yes you heard correctly...I thought I was flying across Africa for three days ... hahahaha.
There was no internet in this place, and as you read below there was no internet in Shakawe the weekend before I left... nor was there electricity on the Sunday.
I hope no one was trying to get ahold of me! By the way I do have a new phone number, and the old one will eventually be fixed so don’t get rid of it ! I’m not sure which one will be cheaper for me to text from, but the good news is the on the number you already have I’m not charged at all when you call!
Anyways we drove for about 5 hours to D’Kar, which is even smaller than Shakawe and we stayed at the Dqae Qare Game Farm... don’t even try to pronounce that, it has clicks in it :)
The Assembly was really good, there were people from all of the trusts that make up the Kuru Family of Organizations and we talked alot, had some fun and I met tons of people, even two old men who want to marry me! It was dreadfully cold though... hahaha right.. it’s cold in Africa, no seriously... I think it snowed in South Africa yesterday and that cold came right on up to us.. I could see my breath in the morning! I actually started a trend for the week of wearing your blanket from your bed as a poncho :)
We slept in a tent but the farm has rooms if you like more comfort and even traditional huts made of grass which are so nice! The only downside to the camping was the toilets that were in a room made of reeds which had no door and large gaps in the sides. This was a little awkward to manage with about 25 people staying there as well !
The Game Farm had animals all over it just wandering around! The ostrich would pretty much let you walk about 5 feet up to them which was really neat and even better was that we were staying there with San people, who are great trackers!
I went on a walk with some of the men and they taught me so much about tracking and which prints are from what animal and even how to tell where you should set up camp and how to hunt animals! There is so much traditional knowledge that is really interesting, the sad part is that a lot of it is not recorded.
The best part I think of the whole week was the food ! There was a woman I met there named Jennifer who is doing research for her PhD and she helped out with the cooking so for dinners we had lasagna and soups and even salad with tomatoes which was delicious! I was definitely spoiled, but I think I’m inspired now to try and bake in my scary oven.
At night we would sit by the fire and try to stay warm. I would listen to the language and try to make sense out of the many clicks that are interspersed into their words. We told stories and even saw some traditional dancers.
There were some annoyingly interesting parts, like waking up every night because of the cold, never getting enough food because all of the men dove into it like animals as soon as it hit the table... and the best annoying part was when my boss and ride home got up in the middle of a session, excused himself and said I am going to Maun for another meeting, along with two other staff members... cough... what?
So there I was thinking .. why did you not tell me this on the 5 hour drive here? Or even the last three days?? Oh yea Liz you aren't coming back with us.. but by the way don't panic we have made other plans for you to get back... just so you know...
Nope. Not a word. Like I said .. a little annoying. But Moronga saved the day and explained it all to me.. after I worried and made plans to hitchhike back for about 12 hours :)
On the way back I dropped by the Letloa health office to meet my boss, I believe, for the health program and go some more understanding of how things will work and what the issues will be. Then for about 3 hours I got to ride in the back of the pick-up truck with two San guys. It was awesome, until the end when Moronga started to drive faster and there were potholes and cows...:S I learned so much from talking to them! Hopefully I can go out hunting with them one day, I’ve been promised to have some game meat prepared for me, and possibly to be able to go up to a cattle post, where I can possibly ride horses. A sidenote... I saw so many horses today driving back, and they were gorgeous! Quite a few foals as well... it’s amazing that they can just wander around and they don’t get stolen by people... I was definitely tempted to take one....
So I’m back in Shakawe and tomorrow is Friday :) Oh did I mention I bought a mango tree? Everytime I look at it I start singing Mango Tree by Angus and Julia Stone... which I do not have on my ipod and drives me nuts because I don’t know all the words.
**p.s. the blood dripping from my ceiling has grown ! Pics to come soon! And I believe I am allergic to Botswana... or possibly the mice in my house...?
So Friday I spent the day calling the Mascom (cellphone company) call center... Let me just say I will no longer complain about Rogers ! Basically no one could help, all of Shakawe was out of the SIM card I needed and then I headed to D’Kar for the week.
This D’Kar is not the one in Senegal, contrary to what I had initially thought... yes you heard correctly...I thought I was flying across Africa for three days ... hahahaha.
There was no internet in this place, and as you read below there was no internet in Shakawe the weekend before I left... nor was there electricity on the Sunday.
I hope no one was trying to get ahold of me! By the way I do have a new phone number, and the old one will eventually be fixed so don’t get rid of it ! I’m not sure which one will be cheaper for me to text from, but the good news is the on the number you already have I’m not charged at all when you call!
Anyways we drove for about 5 hours to D’Kar, which is even smaller than Shakawe and we stayed at the Dqae Qare Game Farm... don’t even try to pronounce that, it has clicks in it :)
The Assembly was really good, there were people from all of the trusts that make up the Kuru Family of Organizations and we talked alot, had some fun and I met tons of people, even two old men who want to marry me! It was dreadfully cold though... hahaha right.. it’s cold in Africa, no seriously... I think it snowed in South Africa yesterday and that cold came right on up to us.. I could see my breath in the morning! I actually started a trend for the week of wearing your blanket from your bed as a poncho :)
We slept in a tent but the farm has rooms if you like more comfort and even traditional huts made of grass which are so nice! The only downside to the camping was the toilets that were in a room made of reeds which had no door and large gaps in the sides. This was a little awkward to manage with about 25 people staying there as well !
The Game Farm had animals all over it just wandering around! The ostrich would pretty much let you walk about 5 feet up to them which was really neat and even better was that we were staying there with San people, who are great trackers!
I went on a walk with some of the men and they taught me so much about tracking and which prints are from what animal and even how to tell where you should set up camp and how to hunt animals! There is so much traditional knowledge that is really interesting, the sad part is that a lot of it is not recorded.
The best part I think of the whole week was the food ! There was a woman I met there named Jennifer who is doing research for her PhD and she helped out with the cooking so for dinners we had lasagna and soups and even salad with tomatoes which was delicious! I was definitely spoiled, but I think I’m inspired now to try and bake in my scary oven.
At night we would sit by the fire and try to stay warm. I would listen to the language and try to make sense out of the many clicks that are interspersed into their words. We told stories and even saw some traditional dancers.
There were some annoyingly interesting parts, like waking up every night because of the cold, never getting enough food because all of the men dove into it like animals as soon as it hit the table... and the best annoying part was when my boss and ride home got up in the middle of a session, excused himself and said I am going to Maun for another meeting, along with two other staff members... cough... what?
So there I was thinking .. why did you not tell me this on the 5 hour drive here? Or even the last three days?? Oh yea Liz you aren't coming back with us.. but by the way don't panic we have made other plans for you to get back... just so you know...
Nope. Not a word. Like I said .. a little annoying. But Moronga saved the day and explained it all to me.. after I worried and made plans to hitchhike back for about 12 hours :)
On the way back I dropped by the Letloa health office to meet my boss, I believe, for the health program and go some more understanding of how things will work and what the issues will be. Then for about 3 hours I got to ride in the back of the pick-up truck with two San guys. It was awesome, until the end when Moronga started to drive faster and there were potholes and cows...:S I learned so much from talking to them! Hopefully I can go out hunting with them one day, I’ve been promised to have some game meat prepared for me, and possibly to be able to go up to a cattle post, where I can possibly ride horses. A sidenote... I saw so many horses today driving back, and they were gorgeous! Quite a few foals as well... it’s amazing that they can just wander around and they don’t get stolen by people... I was definitely tempted to take one....
So I’m back in Shakawe and tomorrow is Friday :) Oh did I mention I bought a mango tree? Everytime I look at it I start singing Mango Tree by Angus and Julia Stone... which I do not have on my ipod and drives me nuts because I don’t know all the words.
**p.s. the blood dripping from my ceiling has grown ! Pics to come soon! And I believe I am allergic to Botswana... or possibly the mice in my house...?
May 21st...just so you know... end of the world?
Oh my ergonomic back. Why do you pine for the chairs of yesterday...why can you not reshape yourself to be strong and not need that additional lumbar support.
Egad... it’s Sat and I’m at work.. and guess what I’m actually working...well kind of... :)
__________
When I was a child I dreamed that I could live as a hermit in the mountains of Alberta, nestled in a valley beside a rushing mountain river and towering pine trees. I would have a log home that I helped to design and build, complete with a studio with a glass wall facing west so I could paint and play music while the sun set over the mountains. I would have horses and any stray animals which crossed my path in need of help; maybe a racoon, some ducks, a goat of course and my dogs and horses. I would picture myself content, happy and settled. What I had never considered was that even though I had things to do which made me happy and animals to take care of there was no human interaction, the very basis of our lives.
Without relationships we are nothing, how we understand ourselves and learn about our character is always in the context of relationships with others.
Sitting by my window, in my new chair ...yes I finally got one... watching the wind rustle the canopy of green above my yard and seeing the geckos run up and down the tree trunks I realize how beautiful it is here, how peaceful. The thing is the impact a place has upon you is filtered through the interactions you have with people. The silence may be comforting, rather than oppressive, if sharing it with someone. The beauty and interesting creatures would be exciting if one was able to show another. Without people everything is just a little bit stained, colours muted.
It’s sad that it’s taken me 25 years to learn this, and I still do find people annoying most of the time, but then again I find insects annoying and without them I wouldn’t be here either.
Well I’m off to do some washing and hopefully work on my cancer and wrinkle causing tan :)
________________
Washing is done. Dirt is swept. House is cleaned. Yes I swept the dirt today. This is the cleanliness of poverty, and of places where there are lots of leaves and no leaf blowers. It looks much better now, plus there’s less places for bugs to hide. During this process I also had the pleasure of discovering a half eaten mouse, perhaps my little friends left it for me as a gift?
I’ve changed their names by the way, to Cleo for the grey and Cheerio for the orange, although I don’t think Cheerio likes the new name so I may keep calling him Cassie. I also found dried blood dripping down my wall from the ceiling...I really hope that whatever is dead up there gets eaten or that will stink.
On another note I was listening to a podcast as I recovered from the two hours of sweeping my dirt and it was quite interesting, if not icky. They were talking about a new method to treat certain bowel issues, such as C. Difficile and chronic diarrhea, even irritable bowel syndrome. Are you ready for this, the method is called a fecal transplant. I know gross right? ...but kinda cool. They take a sample from a healthy donor and create a liquid with all the good bacteria and then transplant it through a tube into the other patients stomach. Apparently people who have been struggling with bowel issues for months, even years are cured within days! So then they went on to talk about the importance of getting the good bacteria for our bowels during childbirth and the problems we get when we’ve been born through c-section or even grew up on formula. They are even doing research into the influence of bacteria upon weight gain. Apparently there are bacteria that produce methane and these bacteria, considered bad I guess slow down our digestive system so it takes longer to absorb food, and thus we gain more calories... crazy eh?
I’m all like sign me up for the pro- and pre-biotics!
Anyways....
note to self - don’t eat apples. even Africa uses pesticides! (I just ate one and yes I am allergic...thought I may have been wrong)
_
phone=dead. internet=not working. tonight=boring... unless tonight is the end of the world!! isn’t it supposed to be hehehehe... guess we’ll see. I shall be laughing tomorrow morning :)
**This was not posted until about a week later...
Egad... it’s Sat and I’m at work.. and guess what I’m actually working...well kind of... :)
__________
When I was a child I dreamed that I could live as a hermit in the mountains of Alberta, nestled in a valley beside a rushing mountain river and towering pine trees. I would have a log home that I helped to design and build, complete with a studio with a glass wall facing west so I could paint and play music while the sun set over the mountains. I would have horses and any stray animals which crossed my path in need of help; maybe a racoon, some ducks, a goat of course and my dogs and horses. I would picture myself content, happy and settled. What I had never considered was that even though I had things to do which made me happy and animals to take care of there was no human interaction, the very basis of our lives.
Without relationships we are nothing, how we understand ourselves and learn about our character is always in the context of relationships with others.
Sitting by my window, in my new chair ...yes I finally got one... watching the wind rustle the canopy of green above my yard and seeing the geckos run up and down the tree trunks I realize how beautiful it is here, how peaceful. The thing is the impact a place has upon you is filtered through the interactions you have with people. The silence may be comforting, rather than oppressive, if sharing it with someone. The beauty and interesting creatures would be exciting if one was able to show another. Without people everything is just a little bit stained, colours muted.
It’s sad that it’s taken me 25 years to learn this, and I still do find people annoying most of the time, but then again I find insects annoying and without them I wouldn’t be here either.
Well I’m off to do some washing and hopefully work on my cancer and wrinkle causing tan :)
________________
Washing is done. Dirt is swept. House is cleaned. Yes I swept the dirt today. This is the cleanliness of poverty, and of places where there are lots of leaves and no leaf blowers. It looks much better now, plus there’s less places for bugs to hide. During this process I also had the pleasure of discovering a half eaten mouse, perhaps my little friends left it for me as a gift?
I’ve changed their names by the way, to Cleo for the grey and Cheerio for the orange, although I don’t think Cheerio likes the new name so I may keep calling him Cassie. I also found dried blood dripping down my wall from the ceiling...I really hope that whatever is dead up there gets eaten or that will stink.
On another note I was listening to a podcast as I recovered from the two hours of sweeping my dirt and it was quite interesting, if not icky. They were talking about a new method to treat certain bowel issues, such as C. Difficile and chronic diarrhea, even irritable bowel syndrome. Are you ready for this, the method is called a fecal transplant. I know gross right? ...but kinda cool. They take a sample from a healthy donor and create a liquid with all the good bacteria and then transplant it through a tube into the other patients stomach. Apparently people who have been struggling with bowel issues for months, even years are cured within days! So then they went on to talk about the importance of getting the good bacteria for our bowels during childbirth and the problems we get when we’ve been born through c-section or even grew up on formula. They are even doing research into the influence of bacteria upon weight gain. Apparently there are bacteria that produce methane and these bacteria, considered bad I guess slow down our digestive system so it takes longer to absorb food, and thus we gain more calories... crazy eh?
I’m all like sign me up for the pro- and pre-biotics!
Anyways....
note to self - don’t eat apples. even Africa uses pesticides! (I just ate one and yes I am allergic...thought I may have been wrong)
_
phone=dead. internet=not working. tonight=boring... unless tonight is the end of the world!! isn’t it supposed to be hehehehe... guess we’ll see. I shall be laughing tomorrow morning :)
**This was not posted until about a week later...
Friday, 20 May 2011
A long day to end a long week.
Ah. ok I feel like venting but I will try not to. Focus on the positive...such as people have invented email money transfers yay! So I can send money to my friends that way rather than through Western Union, which costs a ridiculous amount of money here and you can’t use your cards...I mean who carries cash?! So I have a solution :) EMT. Although by the time I get the money sent away the person I’m sending it to may starve.
Another positive things is that I won’t spend money since in order to withdraw it I would have to stand in line for an hour, as the entire village goes to the bank at months end. It’s crazy, and totally inefficient to have everyone’s pay day at the same time of the month.
Oh ! I met a man today who is working with the San to translate the bible into one of the languages, which is really awesome, it’s one of the click languages! He offered to bring me to a church meeting, of a group of expats at the house of the family who started the Kuru Organizations, turns out it was started by a Christian family.
Also my phone is not working right now as I locked myself out of it... oh Liz... and apparently no one works at Mascom, or at least they don’t answer their phones, and since there is no Mascom center in Shakawe I cannot do anything about it. Thus I need to get a new SIM card and a new number, sorry guys, but I may still be able to fix the old one..someday? So I have to buy a new SIM card, but the good news is that I have been told it would be better to have a Be Mobile card for the rural areas... so that is what I will get, blessing in disguise!
I am eating way too much candy and chocolate, stress eating...warning I will be coming back fat.
__________
You know it’s amazing what the human spirit can achieve. I can’t imagine what people are going through, in prisons, facing torture, abusive relationships where every day must pass so slowly and each day must be counted in hopeful anticipation of the day things may change. If I find sitting in an office, where I am free to speak and leave and be myself unbearable what must those individuals go thorough? How do they get strength to face the day? Either I am devoid of this positivity and hope or it is something that one gains through persevering in a situation. When you have no choice you just do it, or you break.
I wonder what my breaking point is?
**Note: this is my mid-day contemplative moment where I’ve given up on trying to look busy and decide to just stare at the sky and trees...which amazingly you can do for a very long time.
_______
On another note... yes I’ve updated this post three times today, I think that people’s life expectancies are lower in the developing world because of bugs. The amount of scaring they do must shorter life spans. I think I can feel my hair greying already.... Also I had a meeting with Galefele, who is my coordinator and I am going to D’kar for the assembly for the week! I also now have tons of work to do!! Seriously tons... the health program I am helping to redesign and implement we have to have ready to propose in ten days, meanwhile we’re going to this conference... so I will definitely be busy !! I’m talking outline, PMF, budget, risk register everything RBM and more.. ick. This is project management all over again! Too bad I hadn’t known about all of this a week ago, oh well onward we go !
Yay I love development?
Also ...
these are my current pet peeves.
ants
slow internet
expired chocolate..that I just bought
squeaky mice and splashy hippos
cats that trip me
answers that aren’t answers
people who ask me for the clothes I am clearly wearing, before even saying hello
my typos
mosquitos who go in ears
having a moody shower. it should not determine when it wants to work.
I don’t know why I listed those. Enjoy :)
Another positive things is that I won’t spend money since in order to withdraw it I would have to stand in line for an hour, as the entire village goes to the bank at months end. It’s crazy, and totally inefficient to have everyone’s pay day at the same time of the month.
Oh ! I met a man today who is working with the San to translate the bible into one of the languages, which is really awesome, it’s one of the click languages! He offered to bring me to a church meeting, of a group of expats at the house of the family who started the Kuru Organizations, turns out it was started by a Christian family.
Also my phone is not working right now as I locked myself out of it... oh Liz... and apparently no one works at Mascom, or at least they don’t answer their phones, and since there is no Mascom center in Shakawe I cannot do anything about it. Thus I need to get a new SIM card and a new number, sorry guys, but I may still be able to fix the old one..someday? So I have to buy a new SIM card, but the good news is that I have been told it would be better to have a Be Mobile card for the rural areas... so that is what I will get, blessing in disguise!
I am eating way too much candy and chocolate, stress eating...warning I will be coming back fat.
__________
You know it’s amazing what the human spirit can achieve. I can’t imagine what people are going through, in prisons, facing torture, abusive relationships where every day must pass so slowly and each day must be counted in hopeful anticipation of the day things may change. If I find sitting in an office, where I am free to speak and leave and be myself unbearable what must those individuals go thorough? How do they get strength to face the day? Either I am devoid of this positivity and hope or it is something that one gains through persevering in a situation. When you have no choice you just do it, or you break.
I wonder what my breaking point is?
**Note: this is my mid-day contemplative moment where I’ve given up on trying to look busy and decide to just stare at the sky and trees...which amazingly you can do for a very long time.
_______
On another note... yes I’ve updated this post three times today, I think that people’s life expectancies are lower in the developing world because of bugs. The amount of scaring they do must shorter life spans. I think I can feel my hair greying already.... Also I had a meeting with Galefele, who is my coordinator and I am going to D’kar for the assembly for the week! I also now have tons of work to do!! Seriously tons... the health program I am helping to redesign and implement we have to have ready to propose in ten days, meanwhile we’re going to this conference... so I will definitely be busy !! I’m talking outline, PMF, budget, risk register everything RBM and more.. ick. This is project management all over again! Too bad I hadn’t known about all of this a week ago, oh well onward we go !
Yay I love development?
Also ...
these are my current pet peeves.
ants
slow internet
expired chocolate..that I just bought
squeaky mice and splashy hippos
cats that trip me
answers that aren’t answers
people who ask me for the clothes I am clearly wearing, before even saying hello
my typos
mosquitos who go in ears
having a moody shower. it should not determine when it wants to work.
I don’t know why I listed those. Enjoy :)
Just some Photos
Since dropbox doesn't seem to enjoy slow connections I think this is my better option for posting pictures and since I have even less to do today...and even less motivation to find something to do ( I am a wee bit disillusioned about development after reading a depressing but insightful article) so I will post photos.
Ps. I wish I was in Haiti.
This is a gorgeous snake, a python, which we met at a Reptile Park in Gabarone, it's a really nice place I would love to work there !
We saw some animals on a short game drive at the Mokoldi Game Reserve outside the city.
Welcome to the WUSC office in Gabarone, It's tiny but it's actually a regional office, so they do lots of work!
This is my room and all my possessions.
This is where I get my groceries.
Ps. I wish I was in Haiti.
This is a gorgeous snake, a python, which we met at a Reptile Park in Gabarone, it's a really nice place I would love to work there !
We saw some animals on a short game drive at the Mokoldi Game Reserve outside the city.
Welcome to the WUSC office in Gabarone, It's tiny but it's actually a regional office, so they do lots of work!
This is my room and all my possessions.
This is where I get my groceries.
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Lymbo
I'm sitting in the office watching When Harry Met Sally, one of two movies I brought on my computer. Sitting eating chocolate and watching a movie made me reminisce of life in Canada. Who knew Rogers Video would be something I would eventually miss. I've never missed any of the consumerism of North America before. I usually flee in the opposite direction, hence my interest in development!... Very good movie by the way...in one scene Harry tells Sally that girls and guys can't be friends which I think that is good advice for me here. So far two out of three guys I have met outside of work have asked me for my number to 'check up on me.' If this is how it's going to be the whole time I think I will stick to women, old people and kids.
Children are always the safest, they have fun with your peculiarities, teach you words that are easy and play with you without talking! And if they become crazy or violent.. which children often do.. you can just outrun them or shout loudly and they usually run away from you :)
Speaking of running away from things, there's a country wide strike going on here of all public service workers, including some doctors, and all teachers! Right outside the TOCaDI compound under a huge tree. I think I can actually hear them right now, which is later than normal, it's almost 9 pm. Apparently its been going on for over a month now...I wonder if it will escalate, that would make things interesting :) Unfortunately I'm not allowed to go near or my insurance will be null and void... so what happens if they decide they want to come to me...?
...man this movie is distracting.. its taken me an hour just to write this far... lol...
A great thing happened today! I had just come back from work...by work I mean sitting in the office... and I saw a tail swish on the other side of the fence .. and it wasn't a donkey ! I guessed correct, it was a horse. I ran inside to get some carrots and thought foolishly, in the five seconds it took me to get back to the fence, that I would be able to charm the horse and train it to visit me so I could ride it. It would become my best friend and the owner would offer to sell it to me...
but...
that's not what happened. The horse walked away from the carrots! I broke one and crinkled the bag... and it ignored it! Then I noticed there was another, a grey... it also walked away. I tried to follow them but the fence stopped me before too long. But I know there here. So everyone so far has been wrong. There are horses in Shakawe! I won't go into the emotional whirlwind that threw me into... onto to better things.
Tomorrow we will have a staff meeting and hopefully they will say that I can go to a big conference with all the partners that work with TOCaDI. It's for the week, so it should be a good chance to network with other people and to figure out what's really going on.
...And they kiss! Aw... the end of When Harry Met Sally really is the best part of the whole movie.
Anyways I should go to bed.. at my crazy early bedtime of 9 pm... maybe that's why I don't sleep.. can you imagine, I've gone from going to sleep at 3 or 4am.. to 9 pm. It's crazy! I just have nothing left to do, and it's dark. When you spend your whole day checking email and facebook, there really isn't a whole lot to do when you go home. O yea, I forgot I named this post lymbo...that was supposed to be because today I realized I'm in lymbo... and that usually means everything is not as it seems. I haven't come to the end yet, maybe not even the beginning and so I should be patient and rest and look to God because he is the only one who truly know what is going on. Definitely easier said than done!
But back to going to sleep.. I hope there are no spiders waiting for me. I found one in my mosquito net tonight... those icky green ones with long legs that hang from their webs so sneakily... meh I guess it will build my 'street cred' here :)
I shall leave you with another photo....and I'm sorry about all the typos.. writing is way too emotional, it's exhausting so I don't feel like re-reading ..
The Good...
The Bad...
and haven't found the ugly yet...
P.s. I just went to use the washroom in the office and crickets attacked.. you know I actually said Jiminy Cricket!
Children are always the safest, they have fun with your peculiarities, teach you words that are easy and play with you without talking! And if they become crazy or violent.. which children often do.. you can just outrun them or shout loudly and they usually run away from you :)
Speaking of running away from things, there's a country wide strike going on here of all public service workers, including some doctors, and all teachers! Right outside the TOCaDI compound under a huge tree. I think I can actually hear them right now, which is later than normal, it's almost 9 pm. Apparently its been going on for over a month now...I wonder if it will escalate, that would make things interesting :) Unfortunately I'm not allowed to go near or my insurance will be null and void... so what happens if they decide they want to come to me...?
...man this movie is distracting.. its taken me an hour just to write this far... lol...
A great thing happened today! I had just come back from work...by work I mean sitting in the office... and I saw a tail swish on the other side of the fence .. and it wasn't a donkey ! I guessed correct, it was a horse. I ran inside to get some carrots and thought foolishly, in the five seconds it took me to get back to the fence, that I would be able to charm the horse and train it to visit me so I could ride it. It would become my best friend and the owner would offer to sell it to me...
but...
that's not what happened. The horse walked away from the carrots! I broke one and crinkled the bag... and it ignored it! Then I noticed there was another, a grey... it also walked away. I tried to follow them but the fence stopped me before too long. But I know there here. So everyone so far has been wrong. There are horses in Shakawe! I won't go into the emotional whirlwind that threw me into... onto to better things.
Tomorrow we will have a staff meeting and hopefully they will say that I can go to a big conference with all the partners that work with TOCaDI. It's for the week, so it should be a good chance to network with other people and to figure out what's really going on.
...And they kiss! Aw... the end of When Harry Met Sally really is the best part of the whole movie.
Anyways I should go to bed.. at my crazy early bedtime of 9 pm... maybe that's why I don't sleep.. can you imagine, I've gone from going to sleep at 3 or 4am.. to 9 pm. It's crazy! I just have nothing left to do, and it's dark. When you spend your whole day checking email and facebook, there really isn't a whole lot to do when you go home. O yea, I forgot I named this post lymbo...that was supposed to be because today I realized I'm in lymbo... and that usually means everything is not as it seems. I haven't come to the end yet, maybe not even the beginning and so I should be patient and rest and look to God because he is the only one who truly know what is going on. Definitely easier said than done!
But back to going to sleep.. I hope there are no spiders waiting for me. I found one in my mosquito net tonight... those icky green ones with long legs that hang from their webs so sneakily... meh I guess it will build my 'street cred' here :)
I shall leave you with another photo....and I'm sorry about all the typos.. writing is way too emotional, it's exhausting so I don't feel like re-reading ..
The Good...
The Bad...
and haven't found the ugly yet...
P.s. I just went to use the washroom in the office and crickets attacked.. you know I actually said Jiminy Cricket!
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
ah.
It’s raining it’s pouring...the evidence of climate change. Apparently it’s not supposed to rain in the winter here, well it’s been raining for the last day and night, non-stop. Wish I had brought some rain boots. My counterpart has not come in again. I don’t blame her there’s nothing to do here. Since I haven’t met with the coordinator I can’t even fill out my workplan, seeing as I don’t know what to do... even if I did I don’t know HOW to do it. I think I am over my head here.
Another important lesson learned #5 : Trust your gut!
I thought I would not be able to post or write a diary, but I was wrong. I have way too much time on my hands. I mean I know everyone says to take your time, things will change.. but even the locals here complain about just sitting around the office. Where are all the leaders? Why does no one know anything? Is there no transfer of knowledge from the coordinator down? This feels like a really long detention, where I have to sit in the corner and stare at a blank wall. I don’t know if I can be in a culture that doesn’t talk....! I find it hard enough in Canada... maybe i should have gone to South America...
This is the office I share with my counterpart.. mine is the one facing the green divider with the Canadian flags on it.. which I did not bring btw.
These are the cats that follow me, apparently they do have names but I call the gray Georgia and the orange Cassie.
Another important lesson learned #5 : Trust your gut!
I thought I would not be able to post or write a diary, but I was wrong. I have way too much time on my hands. I mean I know everyone says to take your time, things will change.. but even the locals here complain about just sitting around the office. Where are all the leaders? Why does no one know anything? Is there no transfer of knowledge from the coordinator down? This feels like a really long detention, where I have to sit in the corner and stare at a blank wall. I don’t know if I can be in a culture that doesn’t talk....! I find it hard enough in Canada... maybe i should have gone to South America...
These are the cats that follow me, apparently they do have names but I call the gray Georgia and the orange Cassie.
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Lessons
In my world and likely much of the NGO world the rule of thumb for learning is trial by error...in my case I think I learn all of my lessons like this.
Lesson learned #1 - Be patient. Watch the sun in the morning, watch it in the afternoon while getting a tan, then watch it set and finally enjoy the moon and the stars (surprisingly sparse..).. and when bored of that buy chocolate.
Lesson learned #2 - Don’t talk and walk when you’re in flip-flops in the bush. You will cut your foot open on a rusty coke can...why are there no recycling projects.. if there are there is not enough!?
Lesson learned #3 - Never give up in the war on bugs. Just because they outnumber you doesn’t mean you can’t win!
Lesson learned #4 - Create a plan for how to avoid giving out your number to men at the grocery store....
I will continue with these lessons...when I learn more .. as I've learned it's a slow learning curve here... except for the survival skills :) Today I had my first fat cake, which I remember my sister Jessica talking about, and it's delicious. I ate it with beef and water lily plant (it’s mixed together and cooked, and tastes kind of like tuna). One of my co-workers shared it with me on the way to the Namibian border, which is so close ! I think I will just cross over on weekends so I can get lots of stamps... I wonder if that costs anything? I thought I had lots to post but I don’t so I shall try and post some pics, although the internet is killer slow so we’ll see :)
Lesson learned #1 - Be patient. Watch the sun in the morning, watch it in the afternoon while getting a tan, then watch it set and finally enjoy the moon and the stars (surprisingly sparse..).. and when bored of that buy chocolate.
Lesson learned #2 - Don’t talk and walk when you’re in flip-flops in the bush. You will cut your foot open on a rusty coke can...why are there no recycling projects.. if there are there is not enough!?
Lesson learned #3 - Never give up in the war on bugs. Just because they outnumber you doesn’t mean you can’t win!
Lesson learned #4 - Create a plan for how to avoid giving out your number to men at the grocery store....
I will continue with these lessons...when I learn more .. as I've learned it's a slow learning curve here... except for the survival skills :) Today I had my first fat cake, which I remember my sister Jessica talking about, and it's delicious. I ate it with beef and water lily plant (it’s mixed together and cooked, and tastes kind of like tuna). One of my co-workers shared it with me on the way to the Namibian border, which is so close ! I think I will just cross over on weekends so I can get lots of stamps... I wonder if that costs anything? I thought I had lots to post but I don’t so I shall try and post some pics, although the internet is killer slow so we’ll see :)
Monday, 16 May 2011
I caved...
Yes... I have. I succumb to the human need to rant, to vent, to tell someone that I don't like millions of spiders crawling over my legs when I'm at my desk. I didn't think anyone liked this, but it doesn't seem to phase anyone else. I'm on a mission to rid the earth of all creepy crawly things... and it seems like everyone here is on their side! We moved the desks today and the fllor was mopped... but no one brushed off the thick layer of cobwebs and nests of spiders on the sides of the desks...
So what do I do? Stare at it ... all day.. no seriously for like 6 hours. Then I go home, have dinner etc etc. and come back to check email and... kill the spiders, equipped with my little dust pan and DOOM! my new best friend. I've already gone through a can. Definitely not getting cancer from the sun, or pesticides in my food... unless they get there from me spraying DOOM!
As you can seen there is currently tons going on in my life. Right now I am concerned with how to get my shower to have more than a trickle for more than half a minute... and not scald me ( who knew I would be complaining about too much hot water! ) .. and also crucially how to manage my butter.
Seriously it's complicated. I put it in the fridge and it freezes. I leave it out and it melts ... what do I do? I've opted for half days... is this bad do you think?
Sigh my hopes have just been crushed.. apparently Google voice does not exist in my country. How do they know where I am ! Creepy right? And we though the communists knew everything, try Mac.
I honestly don't know how I will stay sane here. I have resigned myself to the fact that I cannot have a chicken as the snakes will come.. eek. And a goat, dog, pony I won't be able to look after on our many field excursions... apparently I will actually be camping for most of this 8 month job. Much of my work involves meeting with community TB care promoters, and other than that I actually don't know yet :) So these villages are far away... like hours.. so we camp :)
Haha... I think that knife you got me Dad will come in handy !
So I have decided I will get a mango tree. I will look after it and when I leave it will give fruit to those who visit TOCaDI.. kind of like an analogy for how I won't see the results of what I do, if ever until years done the road.
This will be friend, any suggestions for names? Oh btw I do have two guardian cats that chill with me. I haven't really names them yet either, though I'm thinking of Georgia and Cat.
I am now accepting suggestions.
Also if anyone has a potential thesis topic... I am devoid of ideas. It seems that any interesting topic to me is of course controversial and likely to not be 'allowed' to research by the Bots government... how typical of me to only like what causes difficulty.
Anyways... it seems that I may not be made for the academic world... unless to be a martyr. I'm ok with that.
So this is my blog. Hopefully it will not be as dull and mundane as my life is right now. I will try to be witty and humourous .. it will be a learning exercise, and I will also make it educational and informative :)
Cheers!
So what do I do? Stare at it ... all day.. no seriously for like 6 hours. Then I go home, have dinner etc etc. and come back to check email and... kill the spiders, equipped with my little dust pan and DOOM! my new best friend. I've already gone through a can. Definitely not getting cancer from the sun, or pesticides in my food... unless they get there from me spraying DOOM!
As you can seen there is currently tons going on in my life. Right now I am concerned with how to get my shower to have more than a trickle for more than half a minute... and not scald me ( who knew I would be complaining about too much hot water! ) .. and also crucially how to manage my butter.
Seriously it's complicated. I put it in the fridge and it freezes. I leave it out and it melts ... what do I do? I've opted for half days... is this bad do you think?
Sigh my hopes have just been crushed.. apparently Google voice does not exist in my country. How do they know where I am ! Creepy right? And we though the communists knew everything, try Mac.
I honestly don't know how I will stay sane here. I have resigned myself to the fact that I cannot have a chicken as the snakes will come.. eek. And a goat, dog, pony I won't be able to look after on our many field excursions... apparently I will actually be camping for most of this 8 month job. Much of my work involves meeting with community TB care promoters, and other than that I actually don't know yet :) So these villages are far away... like hours.. so we camp :)
Haha... I think that knife you got me Dad will come in handy !
So I have decided I will get a mango tree. I will look after it and when I leave it will give fruit to those who visit TOCaDI.. kind of like an analogy for how I won't see the results of what I do, if ever until years done the road.
This will be friend, any suggestions for names? Oh btw I do have two guardian cats that chill with me. I haven't really names them yet either, though I'm thinking of Georgia and Cat.
I am now accepting suggestions.
Also if anyone has a potential thesis topic... I am devoid of ideas. It seems that any interesting topic to me is of course controversial and likely to not be 'allowed' to research by the Bots government... how typical of me to only like what causes difficulty.
Anyways... it seems that I may not be made for the academic world... unless to be a martyr. I'm ok with that.
So this is my blog. Hopefully it will not be as dull and mundane as my life is right now. I will try to be witty and humourous .. it will be a learning exercise, and I will also make it educational and informative :)
Cheers!
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