Easter Weekend

Last Thursday, I had mixed feelings about the weekend ahead. As it was Easter Weekend, Friday and Monday were public holidays, which meant a four-day break from school. To be honest, four days in the village without school can quickly become boring and would usually be the perfect time to travel, but deep down I knew that this was an important weekend to be with my host families. Easter in South Africa is most comparable to Thanksgiving in America: nearly everyone travels to see family or hosts family visitors. It was particularly important for me because all six of my host sisters were home for the first time since December and most likely the last time before I leave at the beginning of June. So, despite the lack of excitement, I decided it was best to hang around the area. Which was especially a shame, because a good friend of mine was unexpectedly headed back to America. Her mom became ill and she decided it was better to be with her back home. Because of where she lived, she first had to travel to Durban and spend the night before carrying on to Pretoria. And while I could have tried to rush down and see her, I realized that it was going to be a lot of traveling for a very short good-bye, and I know that I will see her again in America. But it was still sad to know she was on her way home and all I was doing was twiddling my thumbs in the dark. Such are the challenges of Peace Corps.

In the front yard with my host sisters on Family Day,
the Monday following Easter.

The rest of the weekend turned out to be even more uneventful than I imagined, but the weather was at least nice. I spent a bit of time at school labeling books and re-watching episodes of Downton Abbey for about the fiftieth time. Much of my other time was spent at home hanging out with my host family – when they were awake that is. I had no idea just how important (and time consuming) church attendance was going to be until I saw it first hand. For those of the Zion faith, like my host family, there is a church service on Friday afternoon, then again on Friday night from 11pm until 6am, then again on Saturday afternoon, with a final service on Saturday night from 11pm until 7 or 8am. Then Easter Sunday is spent sleeping. When my host sister explained the schedule to me on Friday morning, I said I was going to have to pass on the Zion celebrations, and that perhaps I would try one of the other village churches on Sunday. Although in the end, I did not bother. At least I had a few chocolate bunnies to keep me company. Luckily, by today everyone had caught up on their sleep and was out and about in the village. There still was not a whole lot to do, but I had a chance earlier in the afternoon to take pictures with my sisters one last time and play a few card games. By all accounts, it was what Family Day was for and there really wasn’t any place I would have rather been.

Preparing for Winter

The two gas tanks I use for
cooking and heating.

Living without electricity obviously means there are a few differences in the way things get done here versus what I was used to in America. Cooking and heating the house would be two major examples. I have two small gas tanks in my hut that I use to accomplish these tasks. My host family, on the other hand, has a small, paraffin tank for cooking, and a medium sized, old-fashioned looking stove for occasional cooking and to stay warm in the winter. The stove they have now is different from the one they had when I first arrived (they upgraded in May of last year), but either way, they need something to burn to make it work. For most of the year, if they decide to use it, they collect dried cow manure, small amounts of wood, and any other paper products for burning. When winter comes, though, they rely on a much larger source of fuel: a big pile of wood.

The wood burning stove my family
uses for cooking and heating the kitchen.

The tractor pulled up with the wood for the winter.

Late yesterday evening, this winter’s fuel delivery arrived. As the sun began to set, a tractor pulling a large trailer of wood drove through the front gate and up into the yard. The source of the wood was the next village over. Apparently there is a “forest” where people chop down trees and sell them. Since trees in my area appear to be few and far between, it is hard to for me to imagine that there is a forest anywhere nearby, but they had to come from somewhere relatively close, so I suspect there are villagers that plant trees rather than maize on their farms. The cost of the wood plus delivery was a R750 (about US$75): a huge sum of money by all accounts here in the village. And the order 

About 45 minutes later, the pile is nearly complete.

was placed only early that morning. When I asked my host sister how mama knew whom to call (it is not as if you can google “wood delivery” on the internet), she said, “Everyone knows that these are the people who bring wood.” Of course it is – here that explanation actually makes perfect sense. It took about thirty minutes for the three guys to unload all the wood, by hand of course, by tossing it into a big pile in the yard. My host sister said it should last through the winter, until about September. I won’t be here to see, but I have a feeling they know what they are doing at this point.

Cape Town Vacation

It seems nearly impossible to believe, but I just finished my last big vacation in South Africa. It began last Saturday, with a trip to Durban to meet my friend Kelsey (a PCV living in Southern KZN) and then a plane ride on Sunday down to Cape Town where we spent the week. Although I have been there before, it is a spectacular place to travel with lots to see and do, so I was happy to have a chance to go back.

Cape Town!

At the top of pretty much everyone’s list of things to do in Cape Town is go to the top of Table Mountain. But since it is a very weather dependent activity, you need to be a bit flexible with your plans and go when it looks clear. Luckily, our backpackers had a perfect view of the top and on Monday afternoon, there wasn’t a cloud in sight, so we decided it was a good time to ascend. While we half-heartedly discussed the idea of walking the trail rather than taking the cable car, we came to our senses and just shelled out the cash for the ride. Kelsey was nursing a possible stress fracture in her leg, and I am just plain out of shape. Hearing that the walk could take over two hours and was at a bit of an incline, we both realized that starting off the week with an injury seemed like a bad idea. And it worked out for the best. The ride up and down was fun and the views at the top were beautiful. We tried to stay to watch the sunset, but it got pretty chilly, and frankly we were both bored. I love taking pictures as much (if not more) than the next person, but it didn’t look like we were going to see anything that remarkable – and it was just as easy to buy a postcard.

Our guide on Robben Island, a former prisoner.

We woke up early Tuesday for our trip out to Robben Island. Although it was cloudy, it never actually rained and turned out to be a nice morning for a tour around the former prison (Nelson Mandela was there for 18 of his 27 years in prison.) The 40-minute boat ride there and back was the only down side. Since it was a bit choppy, I felt pretty crappy after each ride, but luckily it didn’t last long. Upon our return to the mainland, we spent an hour or two exploring the shops and markets of the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. My big purchase for the day was a hand-decorated picture album that I plan to fill with photos from my time in Peace Corps. It will be required viewing for anyone that I see within the first six months back!

Kelsey and I at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

When we woke up on Wednesday, we were disappointed to hear the pitter-patter of rain on the window, but we had been watching the weather, and it wasn’t really a big surprise. Given the conditions, we spent the early morning taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi at the backpackers, then we decided to go to the South African National Museum since it was just a short walk away. By mid-afternoon the rain had stopped, but we didn’t feel like doing anything major, so we just went to see a movie. I realize that we didn’t need to fly to Cape Town to do most of these things, but sometimes it is nice to just have some down time.

The African Penguins at Boulders Beach on Cape Point.

On Thursday, we were back to being tourists with a trip to Hout Bay (to see Cape Fur seals), Boulders Beach (to see South African penguins), Cape Point (to see an old lighthouse), and the Cape of Good Hope (to stand on the southwestern most part of Africa). At one point we were given the chance to bike about 5km through a nature reserve, which sounded nice, so Kelsey and I gave it a go. Big mistake. I mean, I lived through it, obviously, but it was probably the least fun experience I have had in South Africa. The route was at the slightest downhill incline, which meant it wasn’t physically very demanding, but it was rather uncomfortable. Also, I didn’t realize this, but I’m scared of riding a bike. Well, I’m not really scared of riding, rather I am scared of falling off or being hit by a car. And since we were traveling on a paved road frequented by tourists in cars, that was not out of the realm of possibility. Luckily, it only took about 20 minutes, and afterwards we had lunch and spent the rest of the day traveling by tour bus or on foot.

At the Cape of Good Hope - the southwestern most
point on the continent of Africa.

We debated going on a wine tour on Friday, but since I can’t drink and we were both tired of tours, we bagged the idea and just hung around the backpackers most of the day watching TV. It was a bit weird, actually, since I haven’t seen anything for so long (this place had satellite TV with several hundred channels) but it was a fun way to spend the afternoon before we went out for our last night in town. Saturday morning, we woke up, headed to the airport, and flew back to Durban, and then Sunday I was back on a minibus taxi headed home to my village. As with all good vacations, it felt like the whole thing happened in the blink of an eye. Sigh. I do hope to visit again some day!