I'm heading to Cape Town tomorrow. Post South Africa I predict the fleeting memories I have of the last month er so will be replaced with wine tours, beaches, and shark diving. To remedy this, I'm trying to get it all down before I take off.
This might turn into bullet points as it gets later and I get more tired..
Let me start off by saying, we finished The Wire. Good show. Not as spectacular as I was hoping (BSG still wins), but seasons 4 and 5 came through.
My last post concluded with some low key weekends at Bunda and trying to make nice with local kids. I'm still working on the latter. Lately, the most kid interaction I get is random youngsters yelling some version of my name from extreme distances when I'm walking to work. Most times I don't recognize it until I've almost passed by so then I need to turn and wave my hand in acknowledgement. It's a step, at least.
Taking up where we left off:
Our pal, Brian, finished up his field work giving us reason to celebrate. We headed into town to for swanky Italian food and wine, but this was PhD field work so a road trip was in order.
I think we convinced him with our repeated "You'd love Zomba" comments, but whatever the case, he decided that was the place to go. Heading back to the plateau's lil' cabin in the pine/cedar forests was delightful. The first night, post the 6 hour drive, we celebrated. It started with wine and then moved to cane and finally rum. It was a bit messy, but all-in-all well worth the slight hangover the next day. Sure, we started off our day lazing around, but we quickly changed gears and headed down the plateau into town for breakfast. (Obviously back to Bethel and the Christian bookstore.) This exerted all the energy we'd built up from the morning so we opted to go back up the plateau for much needed resting. That afternoon we trekked down the road to what had earlier been spotted as a possible swimming destination. The water wasn't frigid, but it was far from warm. We'd managed to relax for a half hour next to our little waterfall and bypass a close encounter with a baboon before the local water authority came by and asked us to leave. By this time we were ready for another rest-turned-nap and headed back to the cabin.
The trip details get a little blurry after this, but over the next couple days we went out for another celebratory supper, found a second waterfall for wading, hiked to top of the plateau, and managed to finish our homemade veggie chili.
Once again, Zomba delivered.
On the drive back we stopped in Dedza for some food at the local pottery shop/hostel/restaurant getup. The shop was delightful. It was open to a big pottery making/baking/painting room and everyone working was singing and laughing. I had a tough time deciding on which pottery was souvenir worthy though. The best memorabilia is the stuff you actually use. The shop was filled with a plethora of pretty clay kitchenware including tea sets (illogical packing procedures required), dish sets (again packing issues and just getting one plate meant separating the group), clay sinks with pretty hand painted scenes (If I had a bathroom that needed a sink... ), plus other odds and ends all made of clay. The most useful/packing friendly things I could find: 2 vases and a medium sized creamer. All with the Dedza stamped on the bottom. ("Look for the stamp to see where it's made" -Dad.)
With Brian leaving in a couple weeks we spent a lot of evenings hanging out (working out a proper tea to whisky ratio) and chatting about the ways of the world.
"Brian, do you remember that episode of Trailer Park Boys?"
"Oh yea. Classic."
Bubbles and Ricky impersonations.
Fits of laughter.
All the while NWA playing in the background..
Actually, with a mix of educational background and general knowledge of all things wilderness, he ended up schooling me on wildlife conservation.. not to mention African birds or how to identify a black mamba or puff adder. I've since identified my first road-kill snake and watched an episode of Venom in Vegas. Snakes may well be under appreciated.
The weekend before B-Man departed we took another trip only this time, for the first time, we headed north. Up until now Murph and I had only ventured south so we figured we'd 'two bird, one stone' it and visit some aquaculture farms in the process. Faculty at the college set us up with an 'aquaculture rep' who would take us around to the local farms in the neighbouring town, Mzuzu. Unfortunately the drive to get there took ages. When we finally arrived and settled, we were sporting swim gear and heading for the lake in under 5 minutes. As it turns out, Nkhata Bay is a popular spot. The place was mostly filled with expats on vacation. Most of our weekend consisted of eating, reading, and swimming. I realized after this 5 day trip that there's only so much relaxing possible before I crave physical activity.
The bus ride back was quicker than the one there, but for some reason (possibly sever hearing loss from prolonged blaring music), the driver blasted the radio the entire drive. On a positive note, I did stop a small child from crying. Sure, I used cookies to distract him from whatever was making him sad, but it worked. Let's just say I left that bus with a few friendly 'thank-you' head nods.
Other events to report:
I finished a couple more books. Bryson's A Short History was a delight. The first half was so good it gave me goosebumps. The second half was very interesting, but lost some luster. I don't want to blame the shift to geological sciences as the turning point, but they did coincidently coincide...
Currently: Eating Animals. So far so good.
Folks from MI came over for a visit. It had little to do with our positions here, but seemed to fill our days with meetings and workshops. It was really nice to see some familiar faces - especially when they bring care packages from home.
Murph and I ventured to a campus 'end of semester' party. Maybe it was their elation from finishing exams, but everyone was exceedingly friendly and keen to get us out on the town again come 2011. Things I learned from that party: There's no point trying to keep up with people celebrating the end of exams and at some point in the near future I'll learn basketball.
Work wise, I'm now working away at a constructed wetland proposal. This has taken up a lot of my time and involves reading wetland-chemistry papers and teaching myself wetland design... It's done a very good job at distracting me from hordes of "home for the holidays" facebook updates. I'm happy for you people, really I am, but after a dozen I can't help feel homesick. Alas, it was expected... Cape Town has big shoes to fill, but I'm hopeful it will at least distract me from thoughts of familyn friends, Christmas dinners, cookie-baking afternoons, wintery walks, stockings on Christmas morning, and televised hockey games.
And with that I'm off to bed. Thanks for reading, folks. If you read this far, you're fabulous and deserve another Christmas cookie with a side of egg nog.
I'll see you all in 2011.
<3
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Jeez, it's been awhile, but I'll try and make this a nutshell version.
First up: Our journey to Liwonde National Park.
It was our next weekend adventure destination post Cape Maclear and turned out to include some of my fave spots. (It's likely I'll over use 'fave' by the end of the trip. I apologize in advance.) Conveniently a couple friendly faculty were heading out that way and kindly offered to drop us off at Liwonde. Driving in a car vs. taking a bus was almost too nice. It wasn't just the radio serenading us with country gospel or the time we saved, but mostly the make-shift tour guides who told us stories of all the beauty spots we'd pass.
When they dropped us off to our lil' river-side resort they made sure we were safe n sound, and setup in the best of the inexpensive places in town. Needless to say, they were lovely driving buddies.
Murph and I spent our afternoon wandering around the town and investigating the bank situation. (We learned a la Cape Maclear that you've gotta know your nearest ATM to avoid stopping the fun due to lack of funds on hand.) It didn't seem like a touristy town, but everyone was pretty friendly. They did opt for the stop-n-stare approach, while the kids chanted either "mzungu" or the less popular, "give me money".
Our first night was spent drinking next to the river with our eyes peeled for hippos. It might have been the beer mixed with the heat, but that spot was amazing; a perfect mix of tranquil and laid back.
The next morning Biff met us in time to catch breakfast and head out for our boat safari plans. There were zero hippos the night before, but the morning was spent surrounded by 'em. Our guide took us up the river into the National Park to visit the local hippo pods. Not surprisingly, they were completely uninterested in our presence, but a few did show off their mouth-opening skills, plus some jumping acrobatics. Other animal sightings included purdy birds along with warthogs and impalas. I'd say the icing on the cake was the elephant herd who were havin' a feast of tree-bits and wading in the marsh. Amazing.
After Liwonde we headed to Zomba aka the old Country capital. Murph had set us up at the Trout Farm camp on top of the plateau. You guessed it; they farm trout. The elevation makes it cold enough and also means pine/cedar forests. All those familiar pine smells floating around meant lots of east-coast hike nostalgia plus hometown, NS fall memories.
The cabin didn't have electricity, but we were ready with a deck of cards and our stock of Malawi Rum and water. This is the recipe for fun while staying hydrated. It's also a combo that reminded me just how awesome I am at Asshole and brought me back to a sailing trip to PEI circa 1990 something. Needless to say, I spent the majority of the night being referred to as President George.
Despite our mild group hangover, we left at 6am the next morning for a 4 hour hike around the plateau. Our guide took us to some classy lookouts and one of the dams, plus some pine-filled shortcuts that were FernGully qualtiy beautiful. After we got back we packed up and headed down the plateau for town. Before leaving Zomba tho we made some time to stop at the local cafe/christian bookstore for lunch. If you ever find yourself in Zomba, go there and get dessert.
Up next was our trip to Balntyre.
It offered up some perks we don't have in Lilongwe. Blantyre has the country's only South African mini superstore chain - Game. Our one friend happens to be from South Africa and described it as a Cosco mixed with a Canadian Tire. For us it meant Murph could find a proper backpack and I could invest in a yoga mat. I say invest 'casue it was ridiculously overpriced, but up to that point, I had very little success at advancing my beginner yoga skills. After that we made a visit to the country's only theatre (Cine City Theater; clever). Since we were till recovering from the previous night's Trout Farm events we opted for snacking on butter-less movie popcorn and settling into an evening viewing of Salt. After our fill of chain stores and movie theaters we wandering around town and concluded that Blantyre was surprisingly free of hustle and bustle. It was nice and there's definitely lots more to explore, but it was missing that city-buzz that I'd fallen for in Lilongwe.
The next day the plan was to head back to Lilongwe, but sadly en route, I started feeling pretty badly. This was a first for me since I arrived here, but it got exponentially worse within 45 min. Murph and I concluded it was the slightly sketch Kips Snacks from the night before. Ugh, that was a low point. Once we made the next pit-stop, I somehow exited the packed-to-the-brim bus, while Murph gathered up our bags and met me on the side of the road. The bus went on, leaving us in a tiny 'not on the map' town... I still owe Murph for jumping into big bro-like action while I uselessly tried to regain some composure. Since we were only 45 min outside of Blantyre and the journey home would be another 5 hours, we headed back to Blantyre so I could rest up. Eventually I started recovering and the next day we made the trip home to Bunda.
The next couple weekends included less travel and more Bunda. Biff made a trip trip out for the necessary visa-renewal, I (shockingly) made it through Silence of the Lambs, we found a delightful Indian restaurant (reminiscent of India Gate), and I discovered a shop where I can add a bit more class to the 'dressy attire' I've been getting away with on campus.
Most recently tho, Murph became our very own certified advanced scuba diver, I discovered just how easy it is to make pizza dough (try it tonight!), completed one full-blown pushup, and booked a flight to Cape Town for Christmas :) I'm also in the process of shamelessly trying to make nice with the local kids using a frisbee and a hacky sack (someday kids and I will get along...) and watching The Wire with Murph. (I could live without season 3, but so far season 4 is TV gold.)
Ah! Tiny work related update: I filled in for a prof last week which meant teaching a 3rd year aquaculture class. I was 100% shocked by my level of lecturing enjoyment and offered up my fill-in services whenever required. Fingers crossed I'll get to stand in again.
Well, this turned out to be less nutshell-sized than I'd imagined. If you got through it all, I'm impressed and we can be friends forever. Either way, thanks for visiting folks. I'm sending you all love from Malawi.
First up: Our journey to Liwonde National Park.
It was our next weekend adventure destination post Cape Maclear and turned out to include some of my fave spots. (It's likely I'll over use 'fave' by the end of the trip. I apologize in advance.) Conveniently a couple friendly faculty were heading out that way and kindly offered to drop us off at Liwonde. Driving in a car vs. taking a bus was almost too nice. It wasn't just the radio serenading us with country gospel or the time we saved, but mostly the make-shift tour guides who told us stories of all the beauty spots we'd pass.
When they dropped us off to our lil' river-side resort they made sure we were safe n sound, and setup in the best of the inexpensive places in town. Needless to say, they were lovely driving buddies.
Murph and I spent our afternoon wandering around the town and investigating the bank situation. (We learned a la Cape Maclear that you've gotta know your nearest ATM to avoid stopping the fun due to lack of funds on hand.) It didn't seem like a touristy town, but everyone was pretty friendly. They did opt for the stop-n-stare approach, while the kids chanted either "mzungu" or the less popular, "give me money".
Our first night was spent drinking next to the river with our eyes peeled for hippos. It might have been the beer mixed with the heat, but that spot was amazing; a perfect mix of tranquil and laid back.
The next morning Biff met us in time to catch breakfast and head out for our boat safari plans. There were zero hippos the night before, but the morning was spent surrounded by 'em. Our guide took us up the river into the National Park to visit the local hippo pods. Not surprisingly, they were completely uninterested in our presence, but a few did show off their mouth-opening skills, plus some jumping acrobatics. Other animal sightings included purdy birds along with warthogs and impalas. I'd say the icing on the cake was the elephant herd who were havin' a feast of tree-bits and wading in the marsh. Amazing.
After Liwonde we headed to Zomba aka the old Country capital. Murph had set us up at the Trout Farm camp on top of the plateau. You guessed it; they farm trout. The elevation makes it cold enough and also means pine/cedar forests. All those familiar pine smells floating around meant lots of east-coast hike nostalgia plus hometown, NS fall memories.
The cabin didn't have electricity, but we were ready with a deck of cards and our stock of Malawi Rum and water. This is the recipe for fun while staying hydrated. It's also a combo that reminded me just how awesome I am at Asshole and brought me back to a sailing trip to PEI circa 1990 something. Needless to say, I spent the majority of the night being referred to as President George.
Despite our mild group hangover, we left at 6am the next morning for a 4 hour hike around the plateau. Our guide took us to some classy lookouts and one of the dams, plus some pine-filled shortcuts that were FernGully qualtiy beautiful. After we got back we packed up and headed down the plateau for town. Before leaving Zomba tho we made some time to stop at the local cafe/christian bookstore for lunch. If you ever find yourself in Zomba, go there and get dessert.
Up next was our trip to Balntyre.
It offered up some perks we don't have in Lilongwe. Blantyre has the country's only South African mini superstore chain - Game. Our one friend happens to be from South Africa and described it as a Cosco mixed with a Canadian Tire. For us it meant Murph could find a proper backpack and I could invest in a yoga mat. I say invest 'casue it was ridiculously overpriced, but up to that point, I had very little success at advancing my beginner yoga skills. After that we made a visit to the country's only theatre (Cine City Theater; clever). Since we were till recovering from the previous night's Trout Farm events we opted for snacking on butter-less movie popcorn and settling into an evening viewing of Salt. After our fill of chain stores and movie theaters we wandering around town and concluded that Blantyre was surprisingly free of hustle and bustle. It was nice and there's definitely lots more to explore, but it was missing that city-buzz that I'd fallen for in Lilongwe.
The next day the plan was to head back to Lilongwe, but sadly en route, I started feeling pretty badly. This was a first for me since I arrived here, but it got exponentially worse within 45 min. Murph and I concluded it was the slightly sketch Kips Snacks from the night before. Ugh, that was a low point. Once we made the next pit-stop, I somehow exited the packed-to-the-brim bus, while Murph gathered up our bags and met me on the side of the road. The bus went on, leaving us in a tiny 'not on the map' town... I still owe Murph for jumping into big bro-like action while I uselessly tried to regain some composure. Since we were only 45 min outside of Blantyre and the journey home would be another 5 hours, we headed back to Blantyre so I could rest up. Eventually I started recovering and the next day we made the trip home to Bunda.
The next couple weekends included less travel and more Bunda. Biff made a trip trip out for the necessary visa-renewal, I (shockingly) made it through Silence of the Lambs, we found a delightful Indian restaurant (reminiscent of India Gate), and I discovered a shop where I can add a bit more class to the 'dressy attire' I've been getting away with on campus.
Most recently tho, Murph became our very own certified advanced scuba diver, I discovered just how easy it is to make pizza dough (try it tonight!), completed one full-blown pushup, and booked a flight to Cape Town for Christmas :) I'm also in the process of shamelessly trying to make nice with the local kids using a frisbee and a hacky sack (someday kids and I will get along...) and watching The Wire with Murph. (I could live without season 3, but so far season 4 is TV gold.)
Ah! Tiny work related update: I filled in for a prof last week which meant teaching a 3rd year aquaculture class. I was 100% shocked by my level of lecturing enjoyment and offered up my fill-in services whenever required. Fingers crossed I'll get to stand in again.
Well, this turned out to be less nutshell-sized than I'd imagined. If you got through it all, I'm impressed and we can be friends forever. Either way, thanks for visiting folks. I'm sending you all love from Malawi.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Are you for scuba?
In Malawi, Mother's Day is an October holiday and shuts the place down. Murph and I took advantage of already having celebrated our mothers and headed for the lake to meet up with Biff.
The bus ride was not exactly comfortable. Halfway there we were stopped by immigration officers and told we'd have to abandon our bus comrades 'cause we weren't carrying more than photocopies of our passports (poor decision). Maybe it was because he took pity on us, maybe we were convincing when we explained our visas had yet to expire, or maybe it was obvious we were newbs and much to clueless to be troublemakers, but in the end he let us go. When we finally got back on the bus, a fellow bus-mate let us know she'd prayed for us. I suppose we seemed like we needed some higher assistance, but at that point the thought of spending a night in a foreign small town was pretty distressing and we'd have taken any help we could get.
Apart from the uncomfortable seats and sardine-like associations, the bus offered up certain conveniences. When we pulled over for pit stops people would come to the windows selling a vast array of snacks or Fanta plus some useful thatched mats. With all the stops the trip was 9 hours and halfway we felt like livin' on the edge, so we opted to try the bag-o-fried potatoes and coleslaw (with a slice of tomato for the health conscious). It was pure sketch and we were well aware we may pay for it later, but with ample salty, oily carb goodness, it was worth it. This act prompted the newest motto, 'go big or go home'. Plus, in the end we were in the clear and our stomachs remained happy campers.
The first night we stayed with Biff at the college next to the lake. It was here that I realized African life can be hotter and sweatier, but while we were in town heaps of band members were camping out at the residences for a local music festival. Positive: amazing live entertainment; negative: 5 am wake ups to gospel choirs.
Next stop: Cape Maclear
It was an odd combination of swanky expats, sweaty backpackers and relaxed locals, but thus far it tops weekend destinations. The town isn't big and lacks some essential amenities like an ATM, but easily makes up for it with perfect weather, nightly picturesque sunsets, and being 80% beach. Our days were spent finding shade, cold beverages, and water activities and the nights were spent finding cold beverages, food, and beach chairs. Prior to the trip I was a scuba virgin, but once I master equalizing and that damn mask clear, I'll be unstoppable.
Conclusions: It may not be environmentally friendly, but there's something to be said for ketchup-size, packets of gin added to pineapple Fanta. Also, sharing a bus with live chickens seems much more difficult than it is.
The bus ride was not exactly comfortable. Halfway there we were stopped by immigration officers and told we'd have to abandon our bus comrades 'cause we weren't carrying more than photocopies of our passports (poor decision). Maybe it was because he took pity on us, maybe we were convincing when we explained our visas had yet to expire, or maybe it was obvious we were newbs and much to clueless to be troublemakers, but in the end he let us go. When we finally got back on the bus, a fellow bus-mate let us know she'd prayed for us. I suppose we seemed like we needed some higher assistance, but at that point the thought of spending a night in a foreign small town was pretty distressing and we'd have taken any help we could get.
Apart from the uncomfortable seats and sardine-like associations, the bus offered up certain conveniences. When we pulled over for pit stops people would come to the windows selling a vast array of snacks or Fanta plus some useful thatched mats. With all the stops the trip was 9 hours and halfway we felt like livin' on the edge, so we opted to try the bag-o-fried potatoes and coleslaw (with a slice of tomato for the health conscious). It was pure sketch and we were well aware we may pay for it later, but with ample salty, oily carb goodness, it was worth it. This act prompted the newest motto, 'go big or go home'. Plus, in the end we were in the clear and our stomachs remained happy campers.
The first night we stayed with Biff at the college next to the lake. It was here that I realized African life can be hotter and sweatier, but while we were in town heaps of band members were camping out at the residences for a local music festival. Positive: amazing live entertainment; negative: 5 am wake ups to gospel choirs.
Next stop: Cape Maclear
It was an odd combination of swanky expats, sweaty backpackers and relaxed locals, but thus far it tops weekend destinations. The town isn't big and lacks some essential amenities like an ATM, but easily makes up for it with perfect weather, nightly picturesque sunsets, and being 80% beach. Our days were spent finding shade, cold beverages, and water activities and the nights were spent finding cold beverages, food, and beach chairs. Prior to the trip I was a scuba virgin, but once I master equalizing and that damn mask clear, I'll be unstoppable.
Conclusions: It may not be environmentally friendly, but there's something to be said for ketchup-size, packets of gin added to pineapple Fanta. Also, sharing a bus with live chickens seems much more difficult than it is.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Biff, Birthdays, and Bunda Mountain
I'm already falling behind so this one has turned into a recap of my Birthday weekend.
Normally I'd celebrate with Turkey dinner (minus the Turkey) and a lil' drinkin', but this one was special not only because I'm overseas, but our bud Biff finally made it over here. The combination of the two, along with the new media he's brought along (latest Mad Men episodes), made for celebration.
We celebrated with some beer pong and balloons. It wasn't as social as the dinner party the weekend before, but there was substantially more singing and reminiscing.
The next day we prepped Biff for his lakeside departure meaning we headed to town for supplies while recovering from Birthday shenanigans.
Fall has always been my favorite season. I know it mostly relates to my Birthday, but who can beat those colourful leaves and perfect, almost-jacket temperatures. As it turns out October is the hottest month in Lilongwe. It's at least 30 degrees everyday and after our hike on Sunday, I realized SPF 45 didn't cut it.
The trek up the mountain was a shock to my poor legs, but my lungs were the most upset. Once we got to the top, the view was well worth the struggle; purdy flat, farmland, sporadic trees, and less-than-friendly birds. Topping it all off were the very informative convos with our new grad student pal. He's studying in Edmonton, but originally comes from South Africa so it's a combo of smarts prompting discussion.
So conclusions (or things I learned this Birthday): I should not participate in beer pong after drinking an entire bottle of wine, doing laundry by hand is a workout, and hikes are always worth the early mornings.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
The beginning of African Adventures
So I packed up two suitcases of clothes and personal affects (mostly toiletries, medicine and books), headed across the Atlantic, and down to Southern Africa. This begins the 6 month CIDA internship in Malawi where I'll be mashing up lots of research with travels and general adventuring.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Bugs.
Surprisingly, after all the preparations I didn't think about any bugs other than mosquitos. This is a prelude to a short cockroach story for your enjoyment. Murph and I are staying at a guest house on campus and it's equip with the amenities you'd have at home. Now, there are differences between the home-kind and the here-kind, but for the most part it covers all the bases.
The first night I was here I walked into the kitchen during one of the scheduled brown-outs and watched two cockroaches run across the counter. I can only conclude that these cockroaches were trying to show up their fellow cockroach buddies and decided at some point steroids were the way to go; frakin' massive little guys. I did what any girl would do and let out a scream, but got it together pretty quickly drawing on heartwarming memories of Wall-E and his little buddy. The next day Murph exerted his manly instincts and sprayed some insect killer, most likely taking years off our lives. That night we witnessed what can only be described as a horror scene with gigantic cockroaches vacating the cupboards under our sink and running across our kitchen floor. This is where Murph was stationed for stomping. I think memories of that will haunt me for a good, long while. I know the war isn't over, but we won the first battle
I think sharing that story was part of the healing process and you were the lucky recipient(s).
Sunday, October 3, 2010
First attempt at banana bread with a 4 hour time difference.
It was an honest attempt. And by that I mean Murph and I discussed it beforehand, bought the flour, and consulted the 'Country Guide: Local food' section recipe.
I think I should have sensed the bad omen when after preheating the oven I realized Joseph, the house helper had left (or permanently keeps) a used roasting pan in the oven. I tried to let the smoke air out, but I'm pretty sure there's a hint of smoky meat-taste in the bread. It wouldn't be all that bad if the flour I used was all-purpose or some version of gluten-y grain flour, but as it turns out, we got the big bag of corn flour that's used to make the ever popular nsima porridge. So, the combination of that, the smoke, and my suspicion that their baking powder is in fact soda made the first attempt gritty, smoky and salty. I was proud of my cast iron makeshift loaf-pan greasing ability though. And somehow I managed to cook it perfectly so it's nice and moist gritty, smoky, salty banana bread.
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