78uuu lumière des étoiles

Dusty:Starlight:Culture



New! Improved! With Illustrations!
2004-08-31   6:42 p.m.

Whew. Classes today. Meetings. Politics. Department Switcheroos. In yay news, I've been asked to teach a Cultural History of Lit class next semester, and if that sounds like some sort of strange, made up title to you, don't worry - it sounded that way to me too. In fact, my reply went something like this: "Yes! Of course I want to teach it! What is it?", which of course I can only say because I am getting to know the boss so well. The response to my question? Whatever I want it to be that fits into certain thematic links. I just LOVE it when that's the answer to that question! Also: Destination Elsewhere has picked up one of my articles and a colleague at work has asked me to assistant edit some work she's doing on a text book. That last one is super yay news, because that's one serious publication credit to my name, and some good extra cash. eeeeeeeee!

We got our pictures back today, and I don't even want to talk about how much it cost. Bleh. But they are beautiful, and will help tell the story much better than my meandering, disjointed narrative ever can. I'm putting a few up here in (somewhat) sequential order, and I'm putting up a couple notes here from my Kruger days (Kruger = A national park in SA). Enjoy.

Day: 2

Time: 3:47 pm

Date: August 3, 2004

Place: Kruger National Park, Orpen Gate

Journey: Orpen to Lataba, Kruger National Park, South Africa

Yesterday we visited a Shangaan cultural village just outside of Hazyview, which is in the Mpulapanga province. It was right between Kruger NP and the Drakensberg Mountains. That meant a breathtaking and painstakingly slow drive up through steep steep mountain passes. We were all really worried about snow since last week, while we were in Jo'burg, we had heard about sudden snow storms trapping buses, vans, cars, and even soldier's 4WD vehicles in the mountains of near-by Swaziland. It didn't feel cold enough to snow, but we were still a little worried. I was glad I wasn't getting anywhere near the driver's seat that day.

The Shangaan call themselves Vachangana which is deceptively difficult to say - not because of the pronunciation but because of the patterns of accents on syllables so different than those in English. I keep messing it up and feeling bad. I'm still trying to practice saying Mosi-oa-Tunya, which is Kololo for "smoke that thunders". That seems a much more appropriate name than Victoria Falls. I can't imagine thinking of some pale, pudgy English woman who'd never set foot in Africa the first time I see the falls, but then I'm not David Livingstone, am I.

It is kind of sad, seeing all these local names erased, even today, in favor of the more western or European ones. I wonder why that's never gone away? What, can't all those German tourists say "Mosi-oa-Tunya" rather than "Victoria Falls" when they're planning out their visits? What I found really disturbing is that there is still a "Jan Smuts Ave" in Jo'burg - Jan Smuts being one of the fiercest advocates (not to mention architects) of the Apartheid and White Supremacist movements. I know we can't re-name all the streets after Mandela, but I think even "Avenue Z" would be better than Smuts ave.

I don't know, maybe I'm getting caught up in my self-righteous stubbornness, maybe I'm not thinking about the possibility that it's important to have a reminder of Smuts so that more people don't turn into him or something. I don't mean to criticize, just question - but sometimes those things just come out all wrong, don't they.

We spent the night with the Shangaan, and I had the unfortunate luck to get smushed in between a shy teenager who wouldn't talk to me and a ridiculously arrogant Afrikaner tour guide named Chal (sounded like "shawl") at dinner. Oh, the agony. I had to listen to him brag about himself for practically an hour, because I didn't want to offend my hosts by getting up and walking away. Chal runs a game ranch where wealthy Europeans come to hunt. They shoot anything they want - Elephant, Lion, Cheetah, Giraffe - whatever isn't on the endangered species list for that year. In fact, he was telling me, the more Elephant they shoot the better; the over population of Elephants in Botswana and Northern South Africa ( bridging even into Mozambique) has really been causing some problems. Because Elephants are so destructive, the overcrowding situation has been wrecking other animals' natural habitats. In fact, Chal told me, they're going try putting some Elephants on the Pill. Then he proceeded to make a really sexist remark that I won't even repeat here since I'm classy.

Chal has to pay the gov't of whatever country he gets the animal from the equivalent of $15K US. This money goes to conservation efforts and has greatly improved restoration and preservation programs. Chal then charges the hunters anywhere between $20-30K US to get their trophy. I said something about some people having such ridiculous amounts of money that they can spend twenty thousand dollars to hunt down a giraffe (like that would be hard), and then Chal said something else distasteful about how money equals importance or something. Seeing my growing disgust, Wayne leans over and whispers in my ear, "Typical Dutchman".

Though Wayne was born in Durban, is South African and is fluent in Afrikaans, English, and Zulu (!!!), his family is originally from Ireland - something he was picked on a lot about as a kid. "A lot of 'em are showy like that and stuck up," he said later of the Afrikaners. Alfred made a face - he's as Afrikaans as you can get, and is neither showy nor stuck up. Alfred did kind of sigh and nod in agreement with Wayne's sentiments, though I don't know if he just didn't want to start something after such a long day or what.

Chal aside we had an amazing time - the food was great - it was Mealie Pap (which takes some getting used to but it's all we ate in Ghana) and some really good green vegetable that I can't remember the name of and we can't get at home. There was also some kind of tomato and peanut sauce - I could have eaten the whole pot of it, but without silverware (which they don't use here), it would have been hard.

It's funny - you have to eat so slowly here because you're not using silverware (you're using the mealie pap to scoop up whatever sauce and vegetable concoction is presented to you) that you fill up kind of fast. I think at home our pictures are going to be like flip-books showing our incredible shrinking waistlines. I hope it's not like it was in Ghana, where we both got a little sick and I came home and eensy bit anemic because there just wasn't much food to eat anywhere we went. I can't afford that - not with coming home only a week before work starts up again. I need all the energy I can get.

At the village we slept on the floor in a guest hut - met a woman named Christine who's going the same route as us, same time as us. Serendipity? Anyway, she's had an interesting life - born in England, moved to Canada, now in Sydney. I'd love to be able to say the same when I'm 40. She's sweet and offered us a bunch of her beers. She'll ride with us through Kruger and into Zambia, but she's flying from there to Nairobbery in Kenya. I told her I'm jealous and that those are our hopeful and tentative plans, Kenya and Tanzania, for 2006 or so.

When we were shown to our door-less hut, we were told "not to worry" about the snakes (me to steve: "snakes?"), since the floors of the huts were covered with fresh cow dung every week and snakes don't like the smell. Well neither did I, really, nor did I like the bushmouse crawling on my tummy in the night, trying to burrow in my sleeping bag in the middle of the night. I sat up and said, aloud, "I know it's cold, but you can't come in," and then shook him off. When I did this I accidentally tapped Steve, behind me, on the head and Joe, in front of me, on the feet. Both sat up with fists flying. They were on edge all night I think. See? Boys are afraid of snakes too.

Before we got into Kruger today, we walked around Blyde River Canyon and Bourke's Luck Potholes. Miles and miles of beautiful sky - miles and miles of clear cold water. When we got into Kruger I wasn't sure what the deal would be, but sure enough, like Gavin back in Jo'burg assured me, there were semi-paved roads and you were allowed to drive yourself through. The park is the size of Israel, though (literally!), and the roads aren't exactly named (though we did have an awesome map), so once again I was glad to have Wayne.

I felt that in more ways than one today when I saw how good he really is at spotting game. Try as I might, I'd look and look and look as we'd creep along the Veldt. But Wayne would always find something we all would miss - sometimes picking up on the queues of other animals (like Kudu, Impala, or Wildebeest, which are just everywhere) in order to determine what else might be around.

On our drive this afternoon, we spotted the following:

Impala (tons)

Warthog (which I heard is for dinner tonight)

Zebra - the kind with the shadow stripes (I have to look the name up later)

Giraffe

Elephant

Leopard!!!!

Wayne said that with as many times as he's been in Kruger, he's only seen a leopard twice. I was so excited that when we got to an ablutions block so that I could pee, I told the woman who was washing the floor. "You are very lucky today!", she said to me. I certainly feel that way.

The campground we're at now is located inside Kruger NP - there's electric fencing all around it and a huge gate that closes at 6 pm sharp. If you're late, you're fined $400 US. Likewise, if you get out of your car when you're driving through Kruger, you're fined $1,500 US!!! The gate at night is only opened and shut for official park safari vehicles, one of which we're going on in an hour or so for a night drive. I'm so excited, overwhelmed, in a daze. It's all so unreal, and it's only our first day in a safari park. This is amazing, blissful, this is heaven. Alfred said later on tonight we should watch and see if anything will come by the fence. We already saw Buffalo just a few meters away.

So excited - and so cold (it's 50F today!)

We partied all night!

We slept in there!

Blyde River Canyon, right at the edge!

Steve found a baby Bushbuck in our Campground before we went on our afternoon drive. It wouldn't let us pick it up. Oh and it kicks REALLY hard.

Big cats act like the small ones we have at home - nonchalant and oh so blasé.

Cute and Small, but deceptively so - they bite. Hard. Stupid Partridge.

Sometimes, I swear, you think they're posing for you (Zebra, Giraffe, Kruger NP. Can you figure out which is which?)

MMMmmm. Giraffe skeleton. It's what's for dinner. Hyenas eat what's left over after a kill. Lions took this giraffe down a few days before, which totally made this little guy's week.

Mr. Elephant was a little mad that we interrupted his lunch and charged at our car, but that's another story for another day. tee hee!

xo,

T