Ballancing Work and Travel

Well there certainly has been a lack of updates on this thing since i returned to Pretoria hasn't there? There is a reason for this, in that i had a large water harvesting paper to complete for my boss. that took the better part of a week and a half.
now i am under pressure to get a few other projects done, namely; another working paper, this time based on the poverty nodes project that my boss has proposed (looks at push and pull factors of rural migrants to urban centers due to poverty), inputting of questionnaires for EcoLink's Early Childhood Development Program, and now that my water harvesting paper has been looked at i have a few touch-ups to go through and make.

And i have to get this all done within a week. because next Friday I'm going to Joburg for the weekend (just for fun because i want to explore the city), then to EcoLink on Monday - Wednesday, and then i want to go down to Cape Town from Thursday to Monday. It will probably the only time I'll have to visit the city, so I'm going to take advantage.

anyways, I'll try and squeeze in some blogging time, but I'm making no promises.

An African Soul

I found this poem in Anthony's memoirs, and i really liked it. it's about, as far as i can tell, the identity of white South Africans (particularly Afrikaners).

Now i don't know much about South Africa's history (something I'm trying to fix by reading "South Africa: The First Man, The Last Nation" - A book that, if you are interested in history at all, you should read, because it has a very unbiased portrayal of South Africa's past), so i can't pass judgment on any particular group for playing any role in the darker parts of this country's past. I simply really enjoyed this poem because it deals with the concept of identity. Something i truly find interesting.

What makes us who we are? The place of our birth? the colour of our skin? our family's past? or the culture to which we live in?

Anyways, now I'm rambling and close to losing my point, so I'll just leave you with the poem and the website on which i found an electronic copy (Go here). Though i found it in my boss' memoirs first.

An African Soul
(Homeland By Michelle Frost)

Within my soul, within my mind,
There lies a place I cannot find.
Home of my heart. Land of my birth.
Smoke-coloured stone and flame-coloured earth.
Electric skies. Shivering heat.
Blood-red clay beneath my feet.

At night when finally alone,
I close my eyes - and I am home.
I kneel and touch the blood-warm sand
And feel the pulse beneath my hand
Of an ancient life too old to name,
In an ancient land too wild to tame.

How can I show you what I feel?
How can I make this essence real?
I search for words in dumb frustration
To try and form some explanation,
But how can heart and soul be caught
In one-dimensional written thought?

If love and longing are a "fire"
And man "consumed" by his desire,
Then this love is no simple flame
That mortal thought can hold or tame.
As deep within the earth's own core
The love of home burns evermore.

But what is home? I hear them say,
This never was yours anyway.
You have no birthright to this place,
Descendant from another race.
An immigrant? A pioneer?
You are no longer welcome here.

Whoever said that love made sense?
"I love" is an "imperfect" tense.
To love in vain has been man's fate
From history to present date.
I have no grounds for dispensation,
I know I have no home or nation.

For just one moment in the night
I am complete, my soul takes flight.
For just one moment.... then it's gone
and I am once again undone.
Never complete. Never whole.
White Skin and an African soul.

Updates

So
I'm under a huge deadline, that i've put on myself, to get this water harvesting paper done by friday. So i haven't had the chance to update my blog or post any photos. you'll just have to sit tight and wait until the weekend for me to update everything.
in other exciting news. i might be going to Cape Town next week. just need to clear it with the boss.
Rob.

MONTAGE!!!!

So here is a short video of my trip. i'll be posting pics later.
enjoy!

My Triumphant Return

Well i'm back from my journys. got back this evening at 7pm. it is now 1am and i'm only just getting ready for bed. it's been a very long day, getting up at 5am, travelling for a couple hours by car, then 6hrs by bus and then spending all evening unpacking, doing laundry and getting ready for work tomorrow!
boy, what a day.
anyways, i'm back and will try to post pics and stories as soon as i can, but i've got a lot of work to do so it may not all happen until the weekend.
peace.
Rob

PS. Here is an updated map of all the countries that i've visited in my lifetime. i have a bit of a criteria that i use when judging which countries i've been to and it is roughly as follows:
I have to be able to remember being in the country (so my trip to the United States when i was super young, doesn't count thus no US on this map)
You have to actually enter the country. So Zimbabwe doesn't count, even though i went past the border control of Zambia and had my photo taken by the "welcome to Zimbabwe" sign. And...
You have to actually spend some time in the country. As such i don't count Singapore or South Korea, both of which i had a 1hr layover while flying to South Africa and will have the same going back.
So here is my map...



create your own visited countries map
17 Countries, 7% of the world