Still here and going strong you'll be pleased to hear
For those of you who did English Literature at school do not panic as the title is not the moment where you have an hour to write your essay and definitely do better than my F grade.
Actually the title of this post is true as hot ,sweaty ,humid Summer is nearly gone and for the first time last night it was actually a pleasure to put on thin jumpers. I know that sounds completely mad but until you have tried to concentrate at work or at home or sleep through the night in a sweaty humid Durban Summer you won't really understand the relief.
As ever what you all really want to see is some of Manda's photos so before you suffer my inane ramblings any further here we go:
First up - a trip to Lesotho, a mountainous Kingdom surrounded by South Africa
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| Lesotho version of the Apple i5 |
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| Public toilet - own paper to be supplied. You may want to find a bush instead!!! |
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| Our 5 star accommodation - nothing but the best of course for the Simmons' |
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| 32 degrees centigrade but shepherds dress as though it is 32 degrees Fahrenheit (that is zero in the new fangled centigrade thingy) |
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| Public transport service |
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| 4x4s only on the infamous Sani Pass or you can walk it!! Manda and I turned down the latter option |
We have also just come back from a road trip of 2,500 miles. South Africa ,which if I haven't mentioned it before I will now, is a big place so we decided to go South towards Cape Town and see where we got to before turning back. Pictures interspersed with a few thoughts coming up
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Beach bums!!! |
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| Closest we'll get this year to the white stuff |
We travelled along the Wild Coast also known as the Transkei where the Blacks were literally dumped during the Apartheid era and where Nelson Mandela was born and is buried. It is remote, because the roads are limited, but beautiful. Incredibly if you speak to a white person they will be horrified that you drive in the Transkei off the main road. On our way back we not only dared to drive off the main road but picked up people who needed a lift from one town to another. Were we mad? We don't think so. As we have said before South Africa has a very long way to go before true equality and mixing of the people and trust is one of the biggest issues, from all sides.
We then entered the Cape and what struck us was the change in the people and indeed the language spoken. We have heard little Afrikaans in Kwa Zulu Natal, just Zulu and English. Suddenly Afrikaans was the predominant language. Spoken not only by the White Afrikaners but also by the 'Coloureds. I have to admit that the distinction between Blacks and Coloureds was one we assumed was made up by the regime during the apartheid era but there is no doubt that the people deemed Coloureds or Mixed Race to be politically correct are generally very different in appearance. The whole issue is massively controversial. One of the guys who works with us is from a Cape Coloured family (which he himself would say) but he is very dark and related a story to us of when he was a kid. He was put in a police prison cell for playing on a football pitch for Whites because the police thought he was black whereas his brother was not because he was deemed Coloured. The regime used the split to keep themselves in power and again the Coloureds were put in a separate area.
After the Cape we decided time was against us so spent 2 lovely days in the Winelands in Franschoek eating and drinking and then turned for home. The route we took was through the Karoo desert and on up to the Southern Drakensberg mountains over the highest pass in South Africa and then home via a quick trip to the coast again. I could bore you silly, if I haven't already, with a lot more details of our trip but it was an experience we won't forget.
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| A prize if you can guess what this sign means |
Of course we are here to work and the good news from my point of view is that we have appointed an accountant to do the job I am doing which of course was always the plan. We had a lot of interest and pleasingly we have appointed a local guy who lives a short distance from the Health Academy in Edendale. He is young but has good experience so I hope to have a lot more time soon to do more teaching. Manda will continue with her two projects so it looks like it will be back to normal ie Manda working all the hours and me relaxing and enjoying myself. Tee hee!!!
Also we finally have a new football pitch and may even move to working full time in Edendale this month as the building is 'almost' finished but we await of course for the installation of the computer system and the internet. If you have ever moaned at home about internet speed and reliability then you should try working here. Reliance on the internet is now so ingrained in day to day work that you wonder how life carried on before it. Quite well actually, and as one who was taught Pounds , Shillings and Pence at school and grew up in a time when a machine called a calculator didn't exist I should know.
We are now well into our 10th month and we start to wonder what life will hold for us after July. We would both like to work abroad again but seem to have different ideas of when that might be. We have Monty's (step father) 90th birthday and Adrienne's (niece) wedding to look forward to but Manda who has always worked is worried she will be bored if she has to sit around for a number of months. As somebody who spent 5 years sitting around without any problem I can't see what the issue is.
If you are interested in where we might end up and whether there is a place you might like to visit to see us then look at the Accounting for International Development website.
But enough of this. To be sung -Que sera sera , whatever will be will be, the future's not ours to see.........
Another short lesson in how we now talk as adopted South Africans:
Eish!!! - an exclamation used for absolutely every situation. Example - Spencer it's your birthday next week (hint).You're how old? Eish". This blog took so long for me to do my birthday has long gone
Eibo!!!- See above
Is it!!!! - Not actually a question more like a statement -"You've got something green stuck in your teeth" Response - Is it!!
And an even shorter lesson in the Zulu we have learned:
Niyabonga - I thank you
Siyabonga - We thank you
Niyabona - Hello from me
Siyabona - Hello from us
Injani - How are you?
Nabila - I'm fine
Yes we know that this is pretty poor for 9 months of immersion in the Zulu culture but of course as all good Englishmen know (and expect) everyone else should speak to us in the Queen's English.
Which reminds me, if you haven't seen the film Zulu recently then it can be streamed on You Tube. A young Michael Caine keeps a stiff upper lip whilst repelling the Zulu army. Of course it took another 20 years to make a film of the Zulu victory over the complacent Brits 6 hours earlier at Islandhwana. Not such good box office in the UK. If you ever get a chance to visit Rorkes Drift and Islandwhana you will have a tear in your eye after the true story is related. A marvellous experience
We still have plenty of things to keep us going in the next few months:
1. The move to the health academy in the township of Edendale. Yes 5 days a week of travelling 50 miles each way to work but the charity will function much more smoothly with everyone together.
2. The hoped for return of many kids to the Health Academy with the new football pitch which has now been laid.and looks very impressive.
3. A brief trip to Israel for Jordan's wedding. She is Manda's sister's eldest daughter. A chance also to see Alex and Katya. Ben is well ensconced in Bogota , Colombia teaching English so it may be a while before we see him.
4. Paul and Barbara Berry coming for a brief trip in June to see us. We have been very lucky to have had a number of visitors already - Naomi and Jon, Anne and Mike, Trevor, Petrina and the girls. It has been great to see them all and there is still time for you to book a trip. We would love to see you.
5. The results of the elections and the result of the Oscar Pistorius case. ANC with big majority again and not guilty of murder are my two predictions.
6. Maybe a long weekend in Cape Town and see the whales too
7. The Durban film festival in July which was the first event we attended last year so will be a nice way to end things
8. Leyton Orient being promoted from League One to the Championship after winning at Wembley in the play off final. Okay Manda couldn't care less but she'll have to put up with me either being totally depressed for a week or so if we lose or a grinning lunatic for many months if we win. And yes Manda and all the other halves who don't understand the obsession 'WE' includes me as part of the 'team'
FINALLY, you'll be pleased to hear if you've made it this far,a few more random pictures below to show a another bit of the countryside. Hard though to capture the landscape in pictures.
Love to all
Spencer and Manda
