Monday, November 15, 2010
Short and Sweet
I was told by my wife that people had been wondering what happened to me. I am alive and well, but most of the time I am without internet. For the past two weeks the internet has been down at my house. I have been driving up to the main house twice a day to sit out on the porch and get internet signal. This weekend, however, we had a big storm that lasted most of saturday and all day sunday. The power was knocked out several times at the house. We had a lightning strike just outside our house, and by that I mean it touched down in the front yard. The entire house lit up, and the flash and thunder arrived at the same time. I watch pecan trees fold over across the road, and when I got up this morning I found that one of our 10,000 gallong water tanks had fallen off its tower. It burst on the ground, and left the tower a birds nest of twisted metal. As for my internet source at the main house, it was roasted by th lightning as well. My last retreat is a house down the road from me that still has internet signal. I am sitting a porch in a mans front yard, sending emails and typing this blog. I can imagine there wont be as much to read on here (my battery doesn't last long, and there are no power outlets out here), but it should be a welcome rest for the eyes. I will try and post each week if I can. The rice is coming up well, although the corn is doing even better. I just found out this morning that the farmer who planted the corn last year just realized that he may have used roundup ready corn. This would explain why the roundup we sprayed two weeks ago is not working. I said as much after the first week, but I was told that the formulations in South Africa tend to work slower. Well, it looks like I am going to need a new strategy, one that hopefully doesn't involve me chopping 75 acres of corn by hand. I'm practicing my spirituals just in case. Until next week.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Veld Fires and Animals
God Bless the Rains Down in Africa
A week ago today I got my first experience with what they call a veld (feld) fire. I had told the guys here at the farm that if they needed any help with the fires just to call me. That Sunday night we held a braai at the main house, and a storm blew up very sudden. That another thing about this place, all the rains seem to occur moments after a blue sky. It has caught me 3 times now with my laundry drying out on the line. Anyway, this particular storm was about 2 hours of lightning and about 5 minutes of rain. The rainy season is just starting here in South Africa, so they had about 3 millimeters of water before that. This causes quite a problem with fires on the mountains from the lightning strikes.
The night of the braai they had a small fire to attend to, but it took maybe 30 minutes to mobilize and put it out. What we didn't know was that lightning had struck just on the other side of one of the mountains near the reserve. We noticed it the next day.
Around 2 that Monday, we had decided to mobilize and watch this fire as it peaked the mountaintop. The flames were huge, but they seemed to dissipate when the broke the ridge top. We waited hours for it to come down the mountain, because it is too dangerous to fight the fires on such steep terrain. My friend Martin took me up a trail road on the side of the mountain that leads to an old man's property on the peak. The fire had been up near his house, and taken out his water tanks and some of his outbuildings. We had offered to come and help him, but he did not want Englishmen and Blacks on his farm, so he sent us away. He allowed Martin to come and help, because he is Afrikaans. When I rode back up with Martin, I asked if there would be a problem that I was with him. Martin said "I am going to tell him you are deaf and dumb, so you must keep quiet." We didn't get all the way back to the man's farm, but we found out the next day that he had survived and fought the fire away from his house with two 5 gallon buckets. This guy is at least 70 years old and lives alone. I did get to see his front gate. He has a statue of President Krueger (the old Boers President during the Boer/English war) at the gate, as well as many signs that say he does not allow Blacks, English, or women. I'm told he has a botanical garden and a museum, and that it's basically a small town on the mountaintop, just for himself.
But now I digress. We watched the fire on the mountaintop for about 4 hours, and decided that it would probably make its way down the other side, where the foundation also has property. A few men were charged with keeping an eye on the fire while the rest went back for dinner, or to finish what they needed to. I went back and had dinner, and got another call about 7:30 over the radio asking for all available firefighters. I radioed in and asked if they needed my help, and was told which fireteam I needed to get with. I jumped in with the foreman's father, who had a single cab truck with a firefighter unit in the back. This is basically a 150 gallon tank with a long fire hose. When we made the turn down from the house I noticed that the sky was completely a blaze orange color. The fire had come down the mountain and took off through the tall dried grass. Hundreds of acres of land were ablaze, and the first notion that came to my mind was "this must be what hell looks like." Now I have seen many fires in my lifetime. Acres of burning wheat, houses, even small forest fires. But this was unlike anything I had ever seen.
We pulled up with the rest of the team, and Dennis and I were charged with keeping the fire on one side of the road from traveling to the other, where our houses happened to be. We pulled up to the start of the fire, uncoiled the hose, and I was to keep the grass at the edge of the road soaked in water so it would not burn. We soaked every bit of about 2 kilometers of road, but it seemed the fire was burning so hot that it dried many places out, so then we had to go back and spray the fires out by hand. I had put fires out before, but never this magnitude. You basically have to wade off into the brush and water the fires out. But it is important to have a man back on your line, because one rogue cinder from the fire in front of you can start another fire behind you. We also had to soak the burning trees down, because they were more likely to blow cinders across the road.
We got the fire put out there after about 2 hours, and the crew decided that we needed to backburn the other side of the mountain, where the rest of the farm and houses were. This basically entailed starting our own fire at the base of the mountain, so that when the veld fire came down, it would have nothing left to burn. We were at the back of the fire line making sure that none of our fire got out of hand and crossed the road again. After about 4 hours we had finished, and all that remained to worry about was a small fire behind the hacienda (main house) that we could not burn in front of. Three men were charged, at 2 in the morning, to put on backpack sprayers and climb that part of the mountain and put the small fire out. I wondered as they began to climb if I would be able to do such a thing in the pitch black. Even thinking about it now I am still not sure. In about an hour they had the small fire out. It was definetely an experience I will remember for a long time.
This particular fire I do not have picture during, I only have some of the aftermath, which I will try and post today.
The next fire that I went to was two days later. We got a distress call from farmers that lived beneath a long mountain range that was completely on fire, burning down the mountain. It was only a matter of time before it got down into their fields and livestock. When we arrived at the fire, there must have been at least 50 people there with 15 to 20 fire trucks. The people here really know how to come together when disaster strikes. Here we started another backburn against the mountain, this one also being several kilometers long. The wind was with our fire, and it seemed to rush up to meet the veld fire midway up the mountain. The fire coming down looked like a volcano erupting. We finished the backburn, and everyone met up and the end, where the farm owners were thanking everyone and offering to braai as soon as fire season was over. This fire I got several pictures of, and I will try to post some of them as well.
On a lighter note, we also got some wildlife on the reserve in the past week. We had a delivery of 25 zebra, and 59 wildebeasts. One of the zebras got caught in the electric wire the first night, and stayed in it until the next morning. When it was cut out of the wire, it survived for a few days...Long enough to have a colt. Unfortunately the mother died, and without milk the colt was lost shortly after. I couldn't believe that they had survived at all through the first night, but the will to live is stronger than we might think. We are also supposed to be getting impalas soon, with 2 cheetahs following shortly after.
This past saturday night the guys offered to take me with them to Modimolle to watch the rugby championship here in SA. The more I watch the sport of rugby the more I am enjoying it. And being able to get off the farm was a big boost as well. It can seem a bit constricting around here at times when you have no place you can go. It makes it especially tough when the internet goes down, which tends to happen either 3 to 4 times a day, or stays off a whole day at a time. So far the past weekend every time I was supposed to skype with Sam and the boys the internet had gone down. This was mostly because we had a big storm yesterday, which knocked out the power several times. Hopefully I will get an opportunity to speak with them some this week. It really beats me down when I miss their call.
Last night I got treated to an authentic South African dish called poikie. I have to thank Martin and his wife Anita for making that for us. They have basically taken me and the younger guys here on as foster children, it seems. The poikie was good, it reminded me of stew. It was cooked in a type of dutch oven for 3 hours over a low fire. It had squash, beef, mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, and baby corn. There are several more ingredients I'm sure, but those are the ones I could pick out. I also got to try a drink called "Amarula" which is from the amarula fruit from SA mixed with a cream. It reminded me a lot of irish cream.
Well, its time I got off here and got something productive done. I'll post some pictures now before I'm done. Until next week.
The night of the braai they had a small fire to attend to, but it took maybe 30 minutes to mobilize and put it out. What we didn't know was that lightning had struck just on the other side of one of the mountains near the reserve. We noticed it the next day.
Around 2 that Monday, we had decided to mobilize and watch this fire as it peaked the mountaintop. The flames were huge, but they seemed to dissipate when the broke the ridge top. We waited hours for it to come down the mountain, because it is too dangerous to fight the fires on such steep terrain. My friend Martin took me up a trail road on the side of the mountain that leads to an old man's property on the peak. The fire had been up near his house, and taken out his water tanks and some of his outbuildings. We had offered to come and help him, but he did not want Englishmen and Blacks on his farm, so he sent us away. He allowed Martin to come and help, because he is Afrikaans. When I rode back up with Martin, I asked if there would be a problem that I was with him. Martin said "I am going to tell him you are deaf and dumb, so you must keep quiet." We didn't get all the way back to the man's farm, but we found out the next day that he had survived and fought the fire away from his house with two 5 gallon buckets. This guy is at least 70 years old and lives alone. I did get to see his front gate. He has a statue of President Krueger (the old Boers President during the Boer/English war) at the gate, as well as many signs that say he does not allow Blacks, English, or women. I'm told he has a botanical garden and a museum, and that it's basically a small town on the mountaintop, just for himself.
But now I digress. We watched the fire on the mountaintop for about 4 hours, and decided that it would probably make its way down the other side, where the foundation also has property. A few men were charged with keeping an eye on the fire while the rest went back for dinner, or to finish what they needed to. I went back and had dinner, and got another call about 7:30 over the radio asking for all available firefighters. I radioed in and asked if they needed my help, and was told which fireteam I needed to get with. I jumped in with the foreman's father, who had a single cab truck with a firefighter unit in the back. This is basically a 150 gallon tank with a long fire hose. When we made the turn down from the house I noticed that the sky was completely a blaze orange color. The fire had come down the mountain and took off through the tall dried grass. Hundreds of acres of land were ablaze, and the first notion that came to my mind was "this must be what hell looks like." Now I have seen many fires in my lifetime. Acres of burning wheat, houses, even small forest fires. But this was unlike anything I had ever seen.
We pulled up with the rest of the team, and Dennis and I were charged with keeping the fire on one side of the road from traveling to the other, where our houses happened to be. We pulled up to the start of the fire, uncoiled the hose, and I was to keep the grass at the edge of the road soaked in water so it would not burn. We soaked every bit of about 2 kilometers of road, but it seemed the fire was burning so hot that it dried many places out, so then we had to go back and spray the fires out by hand. I had put fires out before, but never this magnitude. You basically have to wade off into the brush and water the fires out. But it is important to have a man back on your line, because one rogue cinder from the fire in front of you can start another fire behind you. We also had to soak the burning trees down, because they were more likely to blow cinders across the road.
We got the fire put out there after about 2 hours, and the crew decided that we needed to backburn the other side of the mountain, where the rest of the farm and houses were. This basically entailed starting our own fire at the base of the mountain, so that when the veld fire came down, it would have nothing left to burn. We were at the back of the fire line making sure that none of our fire got out of hand and crossed the road again. After about 4 hours we had finished, and all that remained to worry about was a small fire behind the hacienda (main house) that we could not burn in front of. Three men were charged, at 2 in the morning, to put on backpack sprayers and climb that part of the mountain and put the small fire out. I wondered as they began to climb if I would be able to do such a thing in the pitch black. Even thinking about it now I am still not sure. In about an hour they had the small fire out. It was definetely an experience I will remember for a long time.
This particular fire I do not have picture during, I only have some of the aftermath, which I will try and post today.
The next fire that I went to was two days later. We got a distress call from farmers that lived beneath a long mountain range that was completely on fire, burning down the mountain. It was only a matter of time before it got down into their fields and livestock. When we arrived at the fire, there must have been at least 50 people there with 15 to 20 fire trucks. The people here really know how to come together when disaster strikes. Here we started another backburn against the mountain, this one also being several kilometers long. The wind was with our fire, and it seemed to rush up to meet the veld fire midway up the mountain. The fire coming down looked like a volcano erupting. We finished the backburn, and everyone met up and the end, where the farm owners were thanking everyone and offering to braai as soon as fire season was over. This fire I got several pictures of, and I will try to post some of them as well.
On a lighter note, we also got some wildlife on the reserve in the past week. We had a delivery of 25 zebra, and 59 wildebeasts. One of the zebras got caught in the electric wire the first night, and stayed in it until the next morning. When it was cut out of the wire, it survived for a few days...Long enough to have a colt. Unfortunately the mother died, and without milk the colt was lost shortly after. I couldn't believe that they had survived at all through the first night, but the will to live is stronger than we might think. We are also supposed to be getting impalas soon, with 2 cheetahs following shortly after.
This past saturday night the guys offered to take me with them to Modimolle to watch the rugby championship here in SA. The more I watch the sport of rugby the more I am enjoying it. And being able to get off the farm was a big boost as well. It can seem a bit constricting around here at times when you have no place you can go. It makes it especially tough when the internet goes down, which tends to happen either 3 to 4 times a day, or stays off a whole day at a time. So far the past weekend every time I was supposed to skype with Sam and the boys the internet had gone down. This was mostly because we had a big storm yesterday, which knocked out the power several times. Hopefully I will get an opportunity to speak with them some this week. It really beats me down when I miss their call.
Last night I got treated to an authentic South African dish called poikie. I have to thank Martin and his wife Anita for making that for us. They have basically taken me and the younger guys here on as foster children, it seems. The poikie was good, it reminded me of stew. It was cooked in a type of dutch oven for 3 hours over a low fire. It had squash, beef, mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, and baby corn. There are several more ingredients I'm sure, but those are the ones I could pick out. I also got to try a drink called "Amarula" which is from the amarula fruit from SA mixed with a cream. It reminded me a lot of irish cream.
Well, its time I got off here and got something productive done. I'll post some pictures now before I'm done. Until next week.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Well, I have missed my Sunday update by a day, but I will try to keep this up on a regular basis. Things have been going good the past week. I am beginning to get my bearings around here and get into the swing of how things go in Africa. It turns out that Murphy takes up residence here in SA as well as in the states. Just like at home, whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. We worked most of this past week putting in a new sprinkler system on the rice pivot. Each of the sprinklers will be individually controlled by a computer, so we can set up the field to water different areas with different rates of water. The system has been installed, and we spent most of Saturday testing the whole system. Each time we tested, new problems kept coming up. We tested and tuned sprinklers from 7 in the morning until dark that night. When it was too dark to keep working, we still had 5 sprinklers that weren't operating like they were supposed to. Hopefully we will have all the bugs worked out before the rice gets planted.
On Sunday, we had a fellowship at Dennis and Linda's house. We all got together and talked about how we got into the areas we find ourselves in, and how God has helped us make the "leap of faith" to come out here to the middle of nowhere. It was good to hear everyone's story, and to realize that so many people with like minded faith in God have found themselves in the same place 8,000 miles from home. I think this is something that we will be continuing on a weekly basis, and I think it will be good for all of us.
We also held another braai Sunday night. Lots of us got together and brought whatever we wanted to eat, which ended up being way too much for any of us. We had chickens cooked over a fire in a 50 kg oil drum, boerewors (a brat like sausage that is about 2 feet long and coiled up), lamb kebobs, steaks, and all sorts of sides. The braai had to take a break for a lightning strike fire that happened out on the edge of the farm. Despite all the wild animals that roam around, the biggest fear in most of the people of this area is fire. Everyone pitches in to make sure they can get them out quickly. An unkept fire in this area during this dry time can set the hills all around ablaze. Luckily, the rainy season is on its way. We are instructed not to have any open fires until we get a significant rainfall. After the fire was extinguished, everyone came back and we had a great time socializing and eating great food.
I also got to make my first trip into town this weekend. The nearest grocery store is in Modimolle (Mo dee mo lay) and takes about an hour to get there, most of which is down those washboard dirt roads. I got excited when we got there to see a KFC, although we didn't have time to stop. The grocery store reminded me a lot of home, although there is not quite the variety of items that one would be used to in the states. I got the main items that I needed, particularly clothespins and some spices for cooking. My meals have been very bland as of late, so I hope to remedy that with some of the cooking skills I have learned from watching Sam in the kitchen. Hopefully all that watching will have paid off. Coming out of the grocery store, a security guard double checks your items against your receipt, which was something that took a minute to get used to as well. Out in the parking lot, people would also come up to you asking for donations to funds that you weren't really informed of what they do. They basically just hang out in the parking lot looking for people to give donations.
Right now it is Monday around lunchtime, and I am doing laundry and watching the 80's Knight Rider on TV. Other than that I get soap operas that are sometimes in English, and lots of WWF wrestling. I don't think I have watched wrestling since I was 12, but when it is the only thing you get, you learn to cope with the cheesiness. My laundry would have been done yesterday, but while it was out on the line we got a rain. I was happy for the rain, but I wasn't too keen on re-running my laundry. I guess you take what you can get. I'm also over the peacocks, which happens quickly when you have to start mopping the presents off the porch.
Thats been about the extent of this week. I just got radioed that a portion of my seed should be here tomorrow, so this week should get more interesting. The animals for the reserve should also be here this week. I will work on getting some pictures posted as well, but the internet connection decides whether I can do that or not. Until next week.
On Sunday, we had a fellowship at Dennis and Linda's house. We all got together and talked about how we got into the areas we find ourselves in, and how God has helped us make the "leap of faith" to come out here to the middle of nowhere. It was good to hear everyone's story, and to realize that so many people with like minded faith in God have found themselves in the same place 8,000 miles from home. I think this is something that we will be continuing on a weekly basis, and I think it will be good for all of us.
We also held another braai Sunday night. Lots of us got together and brought whatever we wanted to eat, which ended up being way too much for any of us. We had chickens cooked over a fire in a 50 kg oil drum, boerewors (a brat like sausage that is about 2 feet long and coiled up), lamb kebobs, steaks, and all sorts of sides. The braai had to take a break for a lightning strike fire that happened out on the edge of the farm. Despite all the wild animals that roam around, the biggest fear in most of the people of this area is fire. Everyone pitches in to make sure they can get them out quickly. An unkept fire in this area during this dry time can set the hills all around ablaze. Luckily, the rainy season is on its way. We are instructed not to have any open fires until we get a significant rainfall. After the fire was extinguished, everyone came back and we had a great time socializing and eating great food.
I also got to make my first trip into town this weekend. The nearest grocery store is in Modimolle (Mo dee mo lay) and takes about an hour to get there, most of which is down those washboard dirt roads. I got excited when we got there to see a KFC, although we didn't have time to stop. The grocery store reminded me a lot of home, although there is not quite the variety of items that one would be used to in the states. I got the main items that I needed, particularly clothespins and some spices for cooking. My meals have been very bland as of late, so I hope to remedy that with some of the cooking skills I have learned from watching Sam in the kitchen. Hopefully all that watching will have paid off. Coming out of the grocery store, a security guard double checks your items against your receipt, which was something that took a minute to get used to as well. Out in the parking lot, people would also come up to you asking for donations to funds that you weren't really informed of what they do. They basically just hang out in the parking lot looking for people to give donations.
Right now it is Monday around lunchtime, and I am doing laundry and watching the 80's Knight Rider on TV. Other than that I get soap operas that are sometimes in English, and lots of WWF wrestling. I don't think I have watched wrestling since I was 12, but when it is the only thing you get, you learn to cope with the cheesiness. My laundry would have been done yesterday, but while it was out on the line we got a rain. I was happy for the rain, but I wasn't too keen on re-running my laundry. I guess you take what you can get. I'm also over the peacocks, which happens quickly when you have to start mopping the presents off the porch.
Thats been about the extent of this week. I just got radioed that a portion of my seed should be here tomorrow, so this week should get more interesting. The animals for the reserve should also be here this week. I will work on getting some pictures posted as well, but the internet connection decides whether I can do that or not. Until next week.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
My first week in South Africa
On Tuesday, October 12th I left out of St. Louis on a two hour flight to Atlanta. I then got my passport checked and jumped on a 16 hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. There were no stops, so I watched several movies (BTW Sam you can take Robin Hood and A-Team off the Netflix Queue), and made every excuse I could to stand up. I must say one of the weirdest feelings is when the you get on the plane at dark, and 12 hours later when the first passenger opens their window its the next morning, somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. You look at the time on the screen in the headrest in front of you to tell you when you should be sleeping. All in all I had two 30 minute naps on the plane.
When I arrived in Johannesburg it was 5:00 on the 13th, and I somewhere in between I had lost a day. The airport was hectic, and officers with dogs came around sniffing baggage, not for drugs but for agricultural products. I watched a man have to open all his baggage just because he was carrying an apple (which they confiscated). I decided it best to just take my rice seed to the agricultural customs and declare it on my way through. I came through customs out into a large open area where people pick up those arriving into the country. I think about 5 people asked me where I was going and offered to help me carry bags and show me the way. I had heard too many stories to even think about letting someone lead me around. I made my way to the hotel shuttle area, where another man came up to me about six times telling me where I should stand, and then telling me how everyone tips him for his service. I had 3 dollars in my boot (not wanting to carry any cash) so I gave him one of them. He then proceeded to tell me that he couldn't exchange just one dollar, even though he pulled out a wad of american cash when he took mine.
The hotel was very nice, with people serving wine for a social hour when I got to the lobby. I unpacked my things, and went down for dinner. To my suprise it was a chinese buffet that evening. Granted it was great food, and my first time trying braised lamb and an African bread pudding by the name of Malve. After that what I can only describe as jetlag put me to bed about 7:30 pm, only to wake up about 4 in the morning. So I watched cricket and raquetball and the last half of District 9 (also can be removed from Netflix). I also found out that South Africa is just about to premire CSI:Miami. Unfortunately David Caruso is just as rediculous in Africa as he is in the States.
The morning of the 14th Avis picked me up to take me to the Ukulima Farm, where I would be staying for the next two months. The drive out was beautiful, with rolling hills and palm trees. It was also a bit of a rude awakening. You see pictures and on TV about people in tin shacks, living 12 to a house. And it makes you count your blessings. When you see entire neighborhoods of tin shacks, people washing their clothes in washtubs, and people just sitting on the side of the road, you count them several times.
We arrived at the farm after two hours, with the last 20 or 30 mintues down a washboard dirt road. I wouldn't be suprised if I have to replace a few fillings. Everyone greeted me when I arrived, and I was shown to my house and given a gator to drive. The house is very nice, and has the majority of the comforts of home. It took awhile to get used to everything. I spent 30 minutes waiting on an oven to heat up only to find out that there are two dials to turn, not just the one. Outside in the yard on the first day I had about 6 peacocks calling, along with a variety of other birds. In every direction there are dark brown hills and mountains that look like they enclose the whole area. Things are very dry around here, and I was told that just days before I arrived they had been fighting fires on the hillsides all around, and thats why everything was dark, all the vegetation had been burned away. Their winter has just ended, and so far they have gotten 3 millimeters of rain. We were instructed not to have any open flames until the first good rain.
As for the rest of the week, things have been pretty normal. I have tried to get my bearings, and the lay of the land. I have met lots of people around the farm who have been very nice. I have been told that I am basically on my own out here, but they will be taking care of a lot of field work with me.Yesterday I was invited to a braai (which is South African for barbeque). We had a few beers, made pork steaks (or "In-Laws" according to Martin), Fish, Beef, and I made Ostrich burgers (which are good, but don't compare to good old Angus), and watched rugby. Rugby is a sport I think I could get into watching, but I think if I tried to play I would end up with a heart attack. Cricket on the other hand I watched for two hours the other night and still don't understand.
Last night I sat on the front porch and listened to the hyenas calling on the hill to our west. They tell me that about the only thing around here now are the birds, hyenas, and jackals...with about a million to one odds of a leopard. In just a few weeks they are bringing water buffalo, zebra, and impala to the refuge, with the cheetahs to follow shortly after. But the refuge is blocked off from our pivot and house by an electric fence that reminds me of a shorter version of the ones in Jurassic Park. It's really great to experience all this. I have been a lot of places, and seen beautiful landscapes...but when I looked around this place the first thought that came into my head was..."This is God's Country."
I also got to try Skype the past few days. The internet is pretty slow at my house, but if I go up to the main house it works pretty well. I have talked with Gene several times, and I got to talk with Sam and the boys yesterday. It's been less than a week and it feels like I have been away from them an eternity. It was so good to just talk with them and see them on the video, almost like sitting around the table with them. Little things like hearing about their day do wonders for the spirit.
That has covered most of the first week. I don't know if anyone will be reading this, but I hope it will serve as a kind of journal for my trip here. If I have to come back next year, maybe I can read it and remember what I am sure to forget. Sunday seems to be a day around here where I will be alone for the majority of it, so I am going to try and write then. Until next week.
When I arrived in Johannesburg it was 5:00 on the 13th, and I somewhere in between I had lost a day. The airport was hectic, and officers with dogs came around sniffing baggage, not for drugs but for agricultural products. I watched a man have to open all his baggage just because he was carrying an apple (which they confiscated). I decided it best to just take my rice seed to the agricultural customs and declare it on my way through. I came through customs out into a large open area where people pick up those arriving into the country. I think about 5 people asked me where I was going and offered to help me carry bags and show me the way. I had heard too many stories to even think about letting someone lead me around. I made my way to the hotel shuttle area, where another man came up to me about six times telling me where I should stand, and then telling me how everyone tips him for his service. I had 3 dollars in my boot (not wanting to carry any cash) so I gave him one of them. He then proceeded to tell me that he couldn't exchange just one dollar, even though he pulled out a wad of american cash when he took mine.
The hotel was very nice, with people serving wine for a social hour when I got to the lobby. I unpacked my things, and went down for dinner. To my suprise it was a chinese buffet that evening. Granted it was great food, and my first time trying braised lamb and an African bread pudding by the name of Malve. After that what I can only describe as jetlag put me to bed about 7:30 pm, only to wake up about 4 in the morning. So I watched cricket and raquetball and the last half of District 9 (also can be removed from Netflix). I also found out that South Africa is just about to premire CSI:Miami. Unfortunately David Caruso is just as rediculous in Africa as he is in the States.
The morning of the 14th Avis picked me up to take me to the Ukulima Farm, where I would be staying for the next two months. The drive out was beautiful, with rolling hills and palm trees. It was also a bit of a rude awakening. You see pictures and on TV about people in tin shacks, living 12 to a house. And it makes you count your blessings. When you see entire neighborhoods of tin shacks, people washing their clothes in washtubs, and people just sitting on the side of the road, you count them several times.
We arrived at the farm after two hours, with the last 20 or 30 mintues down a washboard dirt road. I wouldn't be suprised if I have to replace a few fillings. Everyone greeted me when I arrived, and I was shown to my house and given a gator to drive. The house is very nice, and has the majority of the comforts of home. It took awhile to get used to everything. I spent 30 minutes waiting on an oven to heat up only to find out that there are two dials to turn, not just the one. Outside in the yard on the first day I had about 6 peacocks calling, along with a variety of other birds. In every direction there are dark brown hills and mountains that look like they enclose the whole area. Things are very dry around here, and I was told that just days before I arrived they had been fighting fires on the hillsides all around, and thats why everything was dark, all the vegetation had been burned away. Their winter has just ended, and so far they have gotten 3 millimeters of rain. We were instructed not to have any open flames until the first good rain.
As for the rest of the week, things have been pretty normal. I have tried to get my bearings, and the lay of the land. I have met lots of people around the farm who have been very nice. I have been told that I am basically on my own out here, but they will be taking care of a lot of field work with me.Yesterday I was invited to a braai (which is South African for barbeque). We had a few beers, made pork steaks (or "In-Laws" according to Martin), Fish, Beef, and I made Ostrich burgers (which are good, but don't compare to good old Angus), and watched rugby. Rugby is a sport I think I could get into watching, but I think if I tried to play I would end up with a heart attack. Cricket on the other hand I watched for two hours the other night and still don't understand.
Last night I sat on the front porch and listened to the hyenas calling on the hill to our west. They tell me that about the only thing around here now are the birds, hyenas, and jackals...with about a million to one odds of a leopard. In just a few weeks they are bringing water buffalo, zebra, and impala to the refuge, with the cheetahs to follow shortly after. But the refuge is blocked off from our pivot and house by an electric fence that reminds me of a shorter version of the ones in Jurassic Park. It's really great to experience all this. I have been a lot of places, and seen beautiful landscapes...but when I looked around this place the first thought that came into my head was..."This is God's Country."
I also got to try Skype the past few days. The internet is pretty slow at my house, but if I go up to the main house it works pretty well. I have talked with Gene several times, and I got to talk with Sam and the boys yesterday. It's been less than a week and it feels like I have been away from them an eternity. It was so good to just talk with them and see them on the video, almost like sitting around the table with them. Little things like hearing about their day do wonders for the spirit.
That has covered most of the first week. I don't know if anyone will be reading this, but I hope it will serve as a kind of journal for my trip here. If I have to come back next year, maybe I can read it and remember what I am sure to forget. Sunday seems to be a day around here where I will be alone for the majority of it, so I am going to try and write then. Until next week.
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