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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