1,687 miles later

1,687 miles of African travel and I come to startling realisations:

• I have a VERY Swedish-American accent--able to make toast into three syllables


• I like elephants nuzzling my hand as I feed them


• Caves are not all that scary--or so I kept telling myself


• There is a reason no one rides ostriches anymore!




• Roast veg, wine, and a seaside cabin are the stuff of beautiful dreams



• Small people are ideal for backseat travel

Thanks so much to the Hardies for allowing me to crash their holiday!

Living in a Car

Baboons in the kitchen, school waiting for very late transport, another group arriving, thirsty as the desert, bags to pack for holiday, phones ringing. I love those calming days at camp.

The backseat of the Hardie car will be more home for the next 10 days. I'm off on the Garden Route with my boss and her husband manana (tomorrow). Maybe I'll be missed. Maybe my chocolate chip cookies will be missed more! Along with normal vaca packing comes the stress of African packing--string tops, jumpers, medical kit, passport, coffee plunger, kitchen sink. Sure, you're thinking it's all to much, but who knows when I might need a screwdriver, and yes, I am taking that coffee plunger. Paddy will just have to suffer with instant coffee while I'm away!

We are planning to cruise the open road and bed down in a few hostels along the way. I have to say, the Hardie clan seems very cool and laid back about the whole thing--they probably packed tie-dyed shirts for the trip and I'll see the uber-cool side of the big J.H.!!

You can chat with me the 27 of Oct. Until then, wish me luck with the elephants, greenery, and backseat of the car.

Nod to the Americans

Paddy and I, with a little help from Siya, stocked the tuckshop with thousands of rands worth of sweets. Have to say, the shop doesn't look half bad!

And a nod to all the Americans, we have that elusive Mountain Dew. Only took months to find, but I pushed aside other shopping trollies (and a few shoppers in the way) and secured the Dew in honour of camp staffers everywhere who survive their hard summers by drinking the yellow nectar of the Dew goddess! Here's to you! (P.S. The Dew is made in Namibia. Odd!)

All Alone

Paddy and I are here--alone. It's really kind of cool. We're adults. This is our job. It makes sense that we have some responsibility in the job. So, when those temptations came to host the largest baklava party this side of Capetown has ever seen, we resisted, and sent all the pastries away, away, away! If our bosses came back to find crumbs all over the camp, how would they ever trust us again?!



Also, I helped to release a venomous snake! Yeah! It sat around in the camp office greeting the campers with its forked tongue for a couple days. We also put a hairy baboon spider in its home to help make the snake feel sociable (and less anorexic). But both survived the glass tank and where released a safe distance from camp where they can live out their days free of random campers banging on the glass.

Sugar Dragon

For one of the only times in ten years of camping I stepped in and overrode the teachers--the camp I was hosting was that interesting! It was a coloured group of pre-teens from 'B' and I took away their sugar, tea, coffee, coke, and limited them to one sweet from the camp store. They were not happy! I didn't realize that sugar is a HUGE part of their culture; a couple of the teachers looked murderous. I also threatened to cut their power if our staff was awoken by their screams again in the middle of the night!

So, five days (and two broken windows) after the kids arrived, we finally had a lovely group of rested campers, slightly confused (but pleased) teachers, my sanity, and all the kids smiling at me when they left. And, our staff slept. Yeah!!!

Being Stupid

Aside from my lovely new colour, read below, I am also hosting a teen group this week. The kids are from a poorer area of Capetown and are really energetic, love the tuckshop, and are freaked out by the puff adder we caught on camp. The teacher gave them a strict lecture, all in Afrikaans, last night after dinner; so of course I understood very little, except for my name, which I heard, then had seventy kids swing their gazes to stare at me intently. I must learn Afrikaans! Thus far, this group from 'B' have broken two windows; and the week is young. Please, no first aid, that's all I ask!

Also, had class today. No drama. Much gazing out the window because it looked so nice outside! (I do actually pay attention in class, don't worry; I'm a Hane--we over-achieve in everything!) There's only a few more classes left before the final and in-class presentations. Hmm. What to write my paper on? So many options...

I turned over last night to snuggle into fresh duvet covers, only to experience the dull pain of a colourful sunburn--thanks to the awesome power of the South African sun! I suppose this is what happens when working on the pool's paving all day with merely a vest on (and shorts, don't get to excited!). You probably know the story: a gentle ting; a slight reddening of the skin; a major colouring of the skin; a pain so severe I re-think my vow to never have children, because surely a sunburn pain is the worst pain ever! Yes, Americans are naive--seriously, I am now in the southern hemisphere--did I not learn anything from that painful experience in Goa, India?

Paddy thinks the red could fade to a lovely brown, which is great, except for the interesting tan lines that make it seem as though I am now wearing a white vest with coloured arms--not a good look when wearing dinner dresses--which isn't all that bad, actually, because I seldom wear dinner dresses, what with most of my life spent in jeans and hiking boots.

Okay, now I must go look energetic and alive for this group. Wonder what a short person's caffeine limit is???

Day Off

Saturday--day off! Woke up a bit early and hit the beach for some cool breezes and solitude. No tourists, which freaked me out a bit; nary a camera, sticky toddler, or picnic hamper on the whole stretch of sand. Headed back up the road when the wind got a bit chilly.

Then, hiked around town for a bit and discovered that all the tourists were buying African beads and coffee. Town's not quite elbow-to-elbow yet, but I can see it happening soon. I was able to pop my earphones in and stroll around to the tunes of vintage MJ, that's Michael Jackson for all of you music snobs!

Now, with a slightly sun-kissed face, I am about to host dinner for Vyan, as Nathan face-planted like a South African Tony Hawk and is at this very moment about to cost the Easom family a pretty penny due to a skilled dentist!

Dinner!!! Must jet!

Whale Farts

Yes, I know putting the 'f' word in the subject is just wrong, but it makes sense. Last night, about 8pm, the whales in the bay were quite loud. I thought they might have been nipping into the sea cabbage. Still, it's amazing to be reading in bed and hearing whales--I mean, whales for crying out loud! Very cool!

This morning the water was very still and not a whale to be seen. Perhaps I'll see more whales later this afternoon...