Tuesday November 14th to Monday November 20th

I know I’ve been a wee bit neglectful of this blog for the last little while and for that I apologize. It is very important to me, to be able to share my experiences with the people back home that I care about, and random strangers through the internet, via my blog. But rest assured that when I neglect to update this thing, it is one of two reasons, I am either out traveling and living more stories of which to share, or I’m way too busy with work to think about inventing stuff to keep everyone entertained.
So now that I’m actually dedicating the time, let me tell you a story, a story of an extremely busy, stressful, exciting and one of the most rewarding weeks of my internship, thus far. The week in question was Tuesday November 14th to Monday November 20th 2006.

Tuesday November 14th 2006
It all began early one grey Tuesday morning, as I woke up at 4:30am to catch a bus that would take me to Johannesburg and then on to Nelspruit, the capital city of Mpumalanga, the eastern most province of South Africa. It was a double-decker bus, of which I had the chance to get the front seat of the top deck. Pretty cool, as I got a bird’s eye view the entire trip through the flatlands, down the escarpment and into the bushveld. For those of you who don’t know, the continent of Africa, back in prehistoric times, suffered a huge uplift which forced the centre of the continent to surge upward, and resulted in a mountainous region as you get closer to the coast. Seeing as Pretoria is at 1330m above sea level and Nelspruit is at 674m, there is quite a difference.
Jaqui, my boss and the director of EcoLink, picked me up at the bus station in Nelspruit and after a few stops to get groceries and a few miscellaneous items for EcoLink’s birthday celebration, we made our way to White River and EcoLink.
I arrived just as the EcoLink staff (insert picture of the staff) were getting ready to head home. I shared a few hurried hellos and hugs and then, after they had left, went to get settled in to my cottage. Shortly afterwards, Jaqui took me into White River to help her download a flash slideshow presentation that she had prepared for a speech she has planned for EcoLink’s 21st birthday.


(Back Row: Eric, Thembi Shabalala, Jane Malope (purple), Kate Mathonsi, Khensani Sambo, Jaqui Goldin, Solly Mashego, Kesiah Mashele and Moses Thabethe. Front Row: Richard Shube, Thandi Magagula, Justice Mokgotho and Daniel Madidimalo. missing: Tshepo)


Jaqui rallying the team


Lunch at EcoLink

After a few minutes of trying to figure out how to get it working, we managed it and then headed back for dinner with Sue Hart, Jaqui’s aunt and the founder of EcoLink.

Wednesday November 15th 2006
Every morning, the EcoLink staff start the day with a song and prayer. Religion plays a large role in their lives, as can be noticed by the star badges surrounded by green and black felt that many Africans in this region wear, this is the symbol of their church. I’m not entirely sure what denomination they are, but I believe it is a form of Christianity. The music they create out of nowhere never ceases to amaze me. There is no deciding on what song they will sing that morning. One person begins and the rest follow. It is truly organic, fluid and natural. It is a sense of awe and wonder that will stay with me for many years to come.

Morning Song


That morning I had the opportunity to go out with Daniel into the field. We went to the Sivukile Woman’s group. An organization that was sponsored as one of EcoLink’s Earth Care program. Here these women grow crops to sell at local markets for supplementary income (*note* this may not be accurate, as I never really got the whole story of the co-op, but this is what I believe to be the case). Daniel was out there to check out their water situation. There is a small stream just beyond the co-op, it is heavily polluted and is not good for crop production, let alone drinking water. They have a few tanks in which they pump the water from the stream, and purify it using a variety of methods. Daniel and I went out with an Irish man who was working with the women to purify their water.


Woman working in the field


Rural South AFrica

As we were heading back to EcoLink, I had the chance to climb an abandoned water tower to get a better view of the surrounding terrain. It was abandoned because the pump that was used to fill it broke a number of years back. The locals sent it in to the government for a replacement but when the replacement finally arrived it turned out to be the wrong size, and thus rendered the water tower completely useless. Just another example of the reasons behind the water scarcity in South Africa. I did, however, manage to some great shots of the surrounding country side of Mpumalanga.

Mpumalanga Scenic Tour


Upon our return to EcoLink, in the late morning, I was getting bored just sitting around with nothing to do. If you don’t have a designated job out there, EcoLink can be a bit boring as there is none of the conventional sources of entertainment, internet, TV. etc., so I made up my mind to go to the Resource Centre and hang out with the youth group, who were there because they needed to practice their songs for the 21st birthday party. I had been a bit anxious about going up there last time I had been out at EcoLink because they all spoke their native tongue around each other and, with out Jaqui as a buffer, I was just the awkward white guy in the corner who doesn’t say anything. This time I was determined to go up there, step out of my comfort zone and get to know these kids (when I say kids, I mean young adults between the ages of 17 and 25, the term “youth” in this context refers to young adults who are finished secondary school are currently unemployed or can’t afford to go away to university).



Youth Practice Session





When I got up there, I met up with Maurice (nickname: Kosho), he was standing on the veranda just hanging out. I started up a conversation with him. There were a few awkward moments, as the case in any cross-cultural exchange, but eventually the conversation got flowing. I can’t remember the context of what we were talking about, but I remember Maurice telling me a story about how living to the age of 60 was considered to be a long life here in South Africa. This really took me aback, because I had always taken it for granted that living to 80 was the norm. It was just another reality check for me. As this trip was ripe with them.

Shortly, we were all gathered in the Resource Centre to practice the Crèche procession that was to take place on Friday. The word Crèche is used to refer to a pre-school in South Africa. EcoLink will, in February, be opening a pre-school for disadvantaged children in the area. It is a way to get them ready for primary school. The idea behind the procession is that on Friday, the youth were going to lead all the guests down to the Crèche where they will consecrate it, celebrate it and show that it will be open for business early 2007. There was song and dance and even a special guest there to help out with the dancing and increase the awkwardness factor for the group.

Youth Practice Session 4


Afterwards, I just hung out with a few of the kids in the afternoon. We kicked a ball around, sat in the shade when things got too hot and just talked about the differences between Canadian society and South Africa. As an interesting side story, there was a German film crew out at EcoLink this week. They were doing a documentary on Sue Hart’s life and EcoLink, called “life of the Daktari”. They had been out 2 years ago to film the organization and were out this time to film the 21st birthday party. They had just arrived as I was playing soccer with Maurice, Puleng (in English, Rain), and Tso. They decided to do some stock footage of us kicking the ball around. So I might be in this film, which is pretty cool except for the fact that now the whole world will know how bad I am at soccer and just how un-coordinated I truly am! I just hope I come across as decent in editing!
Then again at 4pm everyone when home and I headed to Sue’s house to watch the Bold and the Beautiful with Jaqui and Sue. When there is nothing else to do and no one to talk to in the evening, you take advantage of any entertainment you can get, even if it is a soap opera.
As I returned to my cottage, I ate some supper and tried to get some sleep, as I was off on a new adventure the next morning, Kruger Park, with the youth group!


Thursday November 16th 2006
5am came pretty early, but I was ready for it. Excited for what the day would bring, I hastily got ready and headed out the door. Justice, one of the EcoLink staff who lives on the grounds, was just pulling up as I left my cottage. Into the EcoLink Kombi I climbed and we were off into the rural villages. We first made a detour to pick up Tsehpo (pronounced sepo) another staff member who would be chaperoning the group. A few minutes later I was dropped off in the town of Dwaleni, one of the two major towns in the area, the other being Jerusalem. There I was met with great enthusiasm by Maurice, Puleng and other Dwaleni members of the youth group. Hanging out with the youth there as we waited for the Kombi’s to show up was the first of many highs of the day. The kids were all goofing off, hoping into random trucks passing by for a bit of a joyride, chatting up the girls as they walked by and running off in any direction. It was unorganized, chaotic and wonderful. It’s really funny how personal safety issue here in Africa are completely different from that of North America. If there is a truck driving down the road, chances there is about 2-3 passengers in the back amongst all the gear, seatbelts are practically non-existent, and there are no signs around construction zones (I mean its common sense not to walking around in there, right?).


Kids in a Kombie


Tshepo and Puleng

When the Kombis arrived, we all packed in. on the window, “this vehicle is certified to carry 17 seated passengers, ” a quick head count and we’re 20 jam-packed into this mini-van sized vehicle, rocking out as Mariah Carrey blasts out the speaker not 10 inches from my head.

Kombi Ride 1


Next stop: Jerusalem, to meet up with the other half of the youth group. We were waiting for about a half hour for the second kombi to show up. But there are always ways to entertain ones self. Random dance offs in the street for one.


Cynthia and Khensani

Maurice Street dance



Maurice, Tse and Puleng

Finally, both Kombis had arrived, all the kids were loaded up and we were on our way to the Kruger Park. First, another quick stop at Hazyview to pick up some food for the journey. Pap and Chicken, sweets, chocolate bars, chips and pop were on the menu for today. As well as some “hot” stuff, and by that I mean alcohol. These guys were determined to enjoy themselves!
It was about 10:30 before we arrived at Numbi Gate. The big game trucks were there waiting for us. There was just a matter of going over the rules. Now I still have no idea what the rules were, as they were given in the rural language (Zulu or Xhosa, or a combination of both). But I did catch the part that no “hot” stuff was allowed in the park and that this trip was for “Educational” purposes. Thus all the cheap wine and liqueurs were confiscated.


Everyone in a game truck



One thing that is worth mentioning at this point is that not only was the tour held in Zulu/Xhosa, but that is what everyone was speaking all day. I’d reckon that the entire day was about 90% Xhosa/Zulu and 10% English. But truth be told, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Let the game drive begin! We saw giraffes, elephants, monkeys, buffalo and warthogs! We drove from Numbi Gate all the way to Paul Kruger Gate, the main gate of this huge game park, which spans two provinces, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. The game drive lasted about an hour and by this time everyone was getting a bit worn out.


Elephant


Giraffes


Gift Shop!!!



We later returned to Numbi gate, passed through it and went beyond it, off the paved roads and onto a secret trail that led to Kids in Kruger, a tiny enclosed building that had a few bathrooms, and a kitchen. The Kruger Park staff fed us all a meal of pap, chicken, rice, vegetables and juice. We sat in a semi-circular enclosure eating out lunch. Afterwards we played a few games, one where a bunch of cards were handed out to everyone and the staff member would describe, in English, the contents of a card and then who ever had that particular card, from each team, had to run up and put it in the chair first. It was a lot of fun, and the competition was fierce! But my team won the final show down. The next activity was we were given a sheet of paper and told to design a t-shirt for sale in South Africa. We were given glue, scissors and a pencil and told to decorate it using only natural resources, items form the surrounding environment. Again, I was on the winning team. But what was interesting was the design that my team chose. As it was the end of November and Dec 1st is world AIDS day, we decorated ours with a red AIDS ribbon and the slogan “We Care” at the bottom. It was yet another reality check, and a bit touching that these kids, in an activity meant for fun, brought out the reality of their world.


Posing for Photos


Winning the Card Game


Cheering on the team


The winning T-Shirt design


Kids in Kruger

Once all the fun and games were over, we all climbed back into our respective game trucks and headed back to the gate to wait for the Kombis to show up and return us all home. The “hot” stuff that had been confiscated was returned and the guys didn’t waste anytime in dishing it all out. A 2L bottle of some cheap wine was on the drink menu for the afternoon. Using used pop bottles for cups, drinks were passed around. Not wanting to be the wet blanket of the group, I took my share. Though I knew that it probably wasn’t the best idea to get drunk in the middle of rural Africa, so I paced myself and only took a few sips or gulps (however you want to look at it) and passed on my glass to someone else.


Group Shot

The Kombis arrived and we all piled in, according to town, Jerusalem in one and Dwaleni in another. Luckily for my group, the Dwaleni kids, both Khensani and Thembi (our other two chaperones) were both going to Jerusalem. Let the wine flow! Crank up the music!! Dance, dance dance!!! (Insert the video clip of the Kombi ride home). I turned my head and camera to take a few passing shots of the country-side as it zoomed by. Turning back inside, all the guys had their shirts off, they were swinging them out the windows as flags. The dancing got more livelier as everyone got drunker. Dance, Sister Batina, dance! Next thing I knew my shirt was being pulled off, I’m dancing, and they’re teaching me all the cool dance moves. (Just as a side note, I’ll never be able to look at someone in Canada go “I’ve got your nose” to a young child the same way again. Apparently, in South Africa, that same motion, of having your thumb in-between your index and middle finger, is a symbol for intercourse. Seeing the Canadian do it was quite hilarious, especially when it seems so harmless to me!).


Partying in the Kombie

Kombi Ride 2



Things get a little more lively


Really cool photos


I just had to join in!


Friday November 17th 2006
Friday was the big day! EcoLink was 21 years old!
The day started out a bit stressful for myself as It had been planned that I would attend the celebration at EcoLink and then catch a bus to Johannesburg that afternoon so that I could meet up with my Uncle Richard, who was arriving in South Africa on business that same day. As I had already made plans with my roommates and co-worker Nikki to go down to the Indian Ocean coast, near Durban, I was cutting everything real close. This weekend was already shaping up to be a very busy one! The plan was: to get the bus from Nelspruit to Johannesburg spend the night with Uncle Richard at his hotel and then catch another bus to Durban where I would meet up with Kieran, Rebecca and Nikki and we’d spend the rest of the weekend lounging on the beach.
As I tried desperately to book a spot on a bus, any bus, it was looking more and more likely that I’d have to either not go on to Johannesburg and Durban or skip EcoLink’s birthday and catch the 11am bus to Joburg. By Godsend, my other boss at the CSIR, Tony Turton (who was the keynote speaker at the celebrations) was planning on driving back to Pretoria that afternoon after the party. If I could get as close to Johannesburg as possible, I could just get a taxi from Pretoria to Johannesburg and still meet up with Richard. So once that little dilemma was sorted out, it was on with the preparations!


Anthony and Sue


Getting Ready


MC DJ Penny Lubisi and Maurice

Buses were rolling in all morning carrying the women who were going to cook the meal for 200+ guests and performers for the party. The staff and I were scrambling about trying to get everything together in time. A great big pat on the back and hearty handshake goes out to Solly and Khensani, who both worked to solve some last minute crises that emerged unexpectedly. First, the wrong sized tent was delivered and set up so Khensani had to make some urgent phone calls to get that sorted out, while Solly was up half the night trying to rain-proof everything, as the night before, there was a huge thunderstorm!
But after all was said and done, things went off without a hitch. The performers were excellent; the speeches were inspiring and heartfelt. As Tony put it, everything was so organic and just flowed, despite some things going wrong, like one of the main performers (the Swazi men traditional dancers), being left behind by one of the buses!


Youth Group with Majorettes

I Africa



Youth group preforms songs from their play

Creche Procession


After the party was over, it was into the car and on our way to Pretoria. Tony made the entire journey a lot more educational as he gave me a history of how oxen wagons used to follow the same trail over the escarpment carrying supplies to the mines in Joburg, how the strip mining (for coal) works, and a detailed description on the power situation in South Africa, among other stories.
Daniel also came up from EcoLink. He had some business in Pretoria to take care of for his wife. We were dropped off at Entabeni by Tony at about 6pm. At 7pm my taxi came, the one that was going to take me all the way to Johannesburg. He dropped off Daniel at a taxi (kombi) rank in Pretoria and then shipped me off to the five star hotel, the Park Hyatt in Rosebank, a very upper-class neighborhood of Joburg. I went for rural Africa to total upper class in a matter of a few hours. When the taxi pulled up to the front doors and I got out and hauled my backpack out of the trunk, the valets really had no idea what to do with me. I had to explain that I was here to visit with my uncle. Taking my bag for me, they showed me to the front desk.
A key was made up, I hopped into the elevator with a huge grin on my face, “Man! Can you believe this place?! People actually live like this?!” well, they don’t actually live in the hotel, but you know what I mean. I just got to Room number 808 and had just slipped my card into the door when Uncle Richard opened the door. It was a great reunion. It’s kind of funny, that I had only seen him last June at my sister’s wedding, but it was still a very memorable encounter. When you are this far away from home, any visitor is an amazing rendez-vouz (I’m running out of adjectives for “meeting”). I was just grateful, that everything worked out as well as it did.
I quickly took the time to freshen up and met my Uncle in the lobby. We got into a chauffeured car where they took us to a square full of upscale restaurants. We choose Moyo’s an authentic African restaurant, or as authentic as it could get for being that high class, as I had developed a taste for African cuisine. You know pap and chicken, what I’d been eating all week!


Myself and Uncle Richard

I was kind of worried that the conversation would be a bit forced and struggle a bit, as this would probably be the longest one-on-one time I’ve ever had with my uncle, ever! But it wasn’t. We chatted about my internship, his work with the world bank in the IFC division, family news, etc. it was a great evening, and way too short! It seemed like no time at all I was in a taxi on my way to Joburg central station to catch my 8:30am bus to Durban.

Saturday November 18th 2006
My bus ride to Durban was uneventful, crowded and long! But finally at about half past 4 I arrived and was met by Kieran. Rebecca and Nikki were waiting in the car. They had been in Durban all afternoon, shopping and doing touristy things. As we were staying in Port Shepston, about an hour west of Durban, they were a bit tired from their day. We quickly did a tourist blitz of some roadside markets selling African wares, and then returned to Port Shepston. It was raining all day so there wasn’t really much point in staying in Durban for any longer that we had to.
After I got settled in, we got ready to go out to Margate, a small community about a 20 min drive from our beach house. The beach house belongs to Tony, our boss, he was kind enough to lend it to us for the weekend. We had dinner at a seafood restaurant, called Larry’s, and then went for a walk around town trying to find a good club to go dancing. The only thing we could find that had a reasonable cover charge was this hole in the wall called “Backstage.” It looked totally dodgy. It was literally a hole in the wall, with neon lights above it that said “Backstage.” We tried it anyways and it turned out to be a decent place, although very Afrikaner. The music was cheesy, but still we danced, drank and had a good time.


From Left to right: Rob Nikki, Kieran, Ree and Rebecca

Sunday November 19th 2006
The next day we spent on the beach. A 5 min drive from Tony’s house, we lounged in the sun, played in the water, built sandcastles and just had a ball. It was so much better spending a birthday on the beach rather than in the cold, cold snow. But I sure as hell paid for it, I got royally sun burnt all over my upper torso. I’m just not meant to tan. It’s a sad fact of my biology that I’m struggling to deal with. I just burn. No matter the precautions.
That evening, we had a very beautiful dinner that was prepared by Rebecca, Nikki and Ree (Nikki’s roommate). Then birthday cake and lots of wine. Over all it was one of the most memorable birthdays I’ve had in a very long time.
(insert Pictures from the Beach)

Monday November 20th 2006
The following day we got up early, did a deep clean of Tony’s beach house and then headed out on our merry way up north to Pretoria. The week was just an amazing experience right from the beginning. Tons of memories that will stay with me for a very long time. I know many people might not have made it this far into the post, as it is a 6 page post! And that’s not including the photos and video clips!

Well that about sums it up. I hope you took your time in reading this, because it is going to be my last comprehensive post for well over 3 weeks as, come this Thursday, I’ll be on a plane to Zambia and Victoria falls, then in Botswana, and finishing up my vacation in Mozambique and Swaziland! I’m so excited!
Rob.