Thank you for flying Zim Air!

Air Zimbabwe!!


How true and how fall- on- your -ass -laughing!!!!

I know I haven't posted in awhile but I've been too busy sourcing things - for those of you in the US - think of me next time you're in Target or Kroger!!!! Stories later!!

Showers in the time of Cholera

I'm going on week three with no city water. And that would be all fine and good, as I have a reserve water tank -however - our pump has been broken and reworked badly to where, it pumps out all of the water from the tank... In addition, something happened with the wiring of the hot water heater - so even when there is Zesa or the geni is running there is no hot water.

The reason for no city water is roughly in the ballpark of there being a cholera problem and there's not money to treat the water;therefore a shutting down of three weeks should clear that right up!!! There's some logic!!! Although there was some speculation that with the foreign press corps being allowed in country for the first time in years - that's where all the water went - in that they would report things in Zim were fine!!!!

To say all that to say - I'm not complaining - one learns to adapt - and in my case - that means taking a bucket of water from my pool and setting it down on the shower floor and using the "cup method" to shower. There's also bucket in the loo to keep that "flowing" as well as a tupperware tub next to the sink for washing hands. And that means my dishes have been washed with pool water for that amount of time. And it's all good!

There is great hospitality and shower-sharing (not in a dodgy way) among the community!! About every four days or so - I go on a shower walkabout and show up at someone's house begging! This is why in my bag there is always a small pouch with shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and razor my microfibre towel.

Needless to say, my time in Joburg this week has been spent taking lots of showers, washing my hands to an OCD extreme and even marveling in the flushing process!!!

And yet - I find myself missing Zim!!!

way-hey and up she rises......

Well that’s the best of the pirate shanties I can recall (someone look up the “Corsairs” – a pirate band out of Dallas and send me some music!!) Just returned from six days of sailing and bush-walking….

Lake Kariba – up on the Zambian border – a powerful hydro-electric home. We took seniors – It’s the ultimate senior trip – sailing catamarans and camping. And I do mean SAILING – in that we do all the work – no luxury cruises here – hauling ropes (halyards) to hoist mainsails and genoas, mooring lines – tills….constant motion and keeping a weather eye on the horizon. The photos (see facebook) will show it best…I can merely recount snippets to best tell the story. Some things, as we all know – must be encountered for oneself…

How does one begin to describe the absolute synchronicity of being in the midst of the dance of creation – not as it’s master, but as a participant?

There is no point of variable reference to properly describe the thumping of my heart when one of our game guides, Neil, and I had a group of seven students out in the bush, and we came across a herd of Ellies…and according to the footprints and clues (for we’re learning to track as well you see) there were young in the herd. We were able to walk quite close until the head cow decided we were FAR ENOUGH thank you and she started to walk toward us…not in a charge, but enough to have me put the boys behind me and back them up and enough for Neil to take the safety off his rifle….no zoo no cages….we were in the middle of the Elephant lunch spot….again NO PROPER WORDS…

Or to the fact that to me, the newbie (and the Star Wars fan) that hippos sound JUST like Jabba the Hutt when they “talk” to each other…and it’s a sound that’s magnified and funny (to me) when they’re at the stern of your boat as you’re sleeping for the night). Or using the “loo with a view”, which is a bucket with a toilet seat on a bucket dug into the sand with a three “walls” of shadecloth around it. The fourth wall does not exist and faces the lake. The trick when using the loo at night is to manage your torch (flashlight) with one hand – keeping it sweeping the lake to check for crocs (their eyes reflect, much like gators) while managing your trousers with the other hand…and hopefully you brought your own loo paper!!!

I’m a water elemental, and while I love boats, sailing is a whole other thing – to engage with the world all about – feeling the sea (huge ass lake), and the wind…one enourmous satisfied AHHHHHHHHHHH!

We spent time walking through the bush…and while I presumed I would be hot and grumpy – I actually could not have enough – every time the Rhoadies rifled up – I was there!!!! And similar to the sea – one simply cannot be surrounded by such LIFE all about and begin to have the understanding of all the falseness we really live with in life…ok me (I’m not you)….So much of my existence is based on smoke and mirrors and merely biding time and rushing about from one diversion to the next….and it took the rawness and real of the bush to expose that. It’s just a beginning thought and I’m nowhere near having it processed out…but it’s there just the same.

In the unlikelinesses of places….

Beignets anyone? I stopped by one of our local churches yesterday, a mega-church. They have an amazing coffee house with wireless internet! Threre were huge crowds, which is unusual for a Saturday but there were these multiple weddings – the weddings were over and the different parties had spread out for multiple photographs. Weddings are always a marvelous anthropological vignette of any society. All the various colors of clothing, babies tied around their mother’s waists and such joy and excitement in the air. But the moment that made my heart just leap, was the presence of a brass marching band walking down the driveway, in uniform, crowds of wedding guests following…The whole thing was extremely New Orleans. Now, I’m not from Louisiana, but it was a southern enough moment to give me a few moments of continental connecting. Chicken wrangling My housemate, Brooke, has apparently always wanted to have chickens. As opposed to the south, where we have chickens just everywhere, the northwest, I suppose doesn’t get to enjoy this phenomenon. Ergo, she took the opportunity of living in Zim as a gateway to have her own chickens. After 4 weeks of getting hyped up about chickens, she finally found someone to give her five. Now, Zesa went out this morning and I was bored, so I went along for fun, as it was early enough before church. There were two jack russells there – Pip and Nala – who would NOT shut up and who have been raised to be VERY protective of the chickens. Needless to say, I almost was bitten twice. For those of you intellectual types – you’re going to have to suck it up and deal with the next paragraph…. But…it was just like on the episode of Friends, where Phoebe and Rachel and Joey go to see Phoebe’s dad and this little Jack Russell is jumping up TO the car window and they look up and the dog is just perched there half through the open window and growling. Sort of like that, but happier dogs. Once we get three chickens in the coop – Becky starts to round them up ONLY to find out there’s a bloody HOLE in the coop – so we hard to start again. Thirty minutes later, Brooke had her chickens in a box in the backseat, while I drove INSISTING that she hold the top of the box down – I was NOT having those clucking buggers flying all about the Volvo – it’s bad enough I still have plywood on the back window!!! Still – good times! Cleanliness is next to something or other… Out of three bathrooms – mine doesn’t pump hot water (there’s a valve issue –it’s been noted by maintenance), and the two on the other end of the house – one shower only runs hot, one only runs cold. Well after my horse-riding lesson on Monday –I was the soul of ICK…what to do what to do. I’m hardly above just jumping in my pool only it’s still too cold (October is the peak of heat around here)…so I drew a half bath and used the big cup (or Greek yogurt container) method. My daddy would be so proud!!!!

On gerry cans, open showers and night driving.

My house no longer has a well (borehole). It used to, but that’s another story. School has a borehole, which provides, if nothing else, drinkable water, as well as distilled water coolers…therefore I borrowed a 20 litre metal gerry can, appropriate for water. Yet yesterday, the water cooler in my building was out of a bottle. And I knew I needed to fill the can for the weekend. Therefore, I stood at a sink, and filled the can, one 18 water bottle full at a time. (and much thanks to Stacie for the fabulous steel water bottle). I laughed inwardly at the pure ridiculousness the sight must have made, but somehow was content at the tedious and working process I went through to provide myself water – and cliché as it would seem – that water is much more appreciated by me, than say, if I had merely turned on a tap. Meaning of course – when I DO visit home, I’ll most likely have a strong gratefulness for the things we all so easily take for granted.

Such as shower curtains!! As my EIGHTEEN boxes of stuff have not even arrived to Durban yet (that’s the port town in SA) I’m still living off of what I brought in my four suitcases. Besides all the fabulous items of mine (more than half the possessions I own in the world) are my bloody SHOWER CURTAINS. So, needless to say, I’ve been taking “open showers” since I’ve been here. Hehehehe. And since our pump is temporarily broken – the trick is to go out and turn it on before you want a shower, and go turn it off when you’re finished. Unless you’re me and you’re so thankful for hot water and water pressure that the pump decides you’ve had a long enough shower and turns itself off.!!

As is understood, Zesa, or the power, is out a LOT. Not necessarily a lot at MY place (knock on wood) but city wide. Meaning, full moon nights are the best ones to drive because streetlights that work are like unicorn sightings. (Or emotionally available military men! ☺ ) But the Zim thing to do is drive with brights on - ALL THE BLOODY TIME. No one has EVER explained the idea of turning OFF the brights in opposing traffic. So there’s a great deal of driving batty BLIND.On

Good times – as always.

Public Service Announcement #1

For those of you who ever find yourself on the Zim/Mozambique border in this magical mountainous land known as the Bvumba…you must must SIMPLY MUST go have high tea (which is kick ass desert for the Yank crowd) at Tony’s. Cannot emphasize enough – as experiences go – forget the London Eye or the Great Wall or even the Pyramids (it’s hot and there’s sand). At Tony’s one would experience a delectable definitive and divine collection of concoctions. Think Willy Wonka or Viene from Chocolat. Now, multiply by about 25!!!

I indulged in the caramel “special”, and not being a foodie (inhaling a box of Somoas at girl scout season is about it for me), the best I can describe is a caramel de leche between a layer of chocolate and cream, and this perfect butter crumbly crust. The presentation made it almost too good to eat. (I said almost).

And the hot chocolates!!! Hot chocolate and cream, hot chocolate with espresso, or ice cream and of course – Chocolat – as the Aztecs intended, with a hint of ginger and chili powder. Truly I now know how Edmund felt when he drank Jadis' chocolate in the Narnian woods!!!

Adaptation

Although I don’t believe in evolution, I DO rationally believe in evolution/adaptation of species!!! Yet, it’s my belief and faith that such evolvement is God’s gift to help us cope with changing times and trends.

Now maybe my Narwhal belief isn’t quite so rational, but it goes back to a song my father used to sing to me, because it amused him how upset I got. It was a song about the unicorns missing the ark!! But when I learned about narwhals – I COMPLETELY believed that God merely adapted the unicorn to be marine animals ☺

Tis silly I know – but it’s the silly that keeps us laughing when things are difficult.

So it’s incredible how an entire nation can adapt to a lifestyle dictated by an impossible economy and it’s a lifestyle the west will never understand. I didn’t two weeks ago –and I’m just BEGINNING to scratch the surface.

To merely gather the necessary items for one’s household requires patience, persistence, good math skills and an ABSOLUTE sense of good humour!!! Something as seemingly simple as getting potatoes or carrots – well that can be picked up from any person on the side of the road. There is this precious woman who sells roasted peanuts on our corner on Sundays, for 30million per cup (roughly 30 cents). Needless to say we filled up a gallon bag and will continue to on Sundays. I noticed she does beautiful crochet work. She wasn’t griping or whining or even outwardly resentful to me as I obviously had the means she did not…she was simply doing what she knows to do. And she exuded a peace and gentleness.

Similar to what used to be the situation in Eastern Europe (before the joy of Tesco’s), one could spend a full weekend going from store to store or calling around to see who is selling milk or eggs. There is a tribal wind, an interdependency that I discovered when I was sick and recovering from cancer. It’s a facet that has been deeply missing from my life and “happiness” isn’t the word I would choose, but there is a growing joy about learning it. To daily HAVE to practice submission and surrender, to admit weakness.

And yes I’m still “new” and doubtless there will be days ahead where I cry in quiet frustration to myself over the unbalanced-ness of it all. But for now, I choose resounding faith and wonderment.