Kookerboom Forest

Today was an early wakeup day for everyone at 6:00 am. We have communal showers here, men on one side and women on the other. I showered last night, though the only people I would have had to share with would be Ron and Hans, but I avoided the rush. I appreciate my private time with a hot shower. We need to be on the road by 7:00.

After traveling through the Kalahari, our first stop is the Kokerboom forest of strange trees, called the quiver trees ( http://www.encounter.co.za/article/88.html). The bushmen would cut through their hard bark and use the spongy inside for quivers for their arrows. For the trees to survive, they have to grow tall enough that animals cannot eat their leaves. If their leaves are eaten, the tree dies. Contradictorily, the tree is very slow growing, so it is almost impossible for the trees to survive, but some do. The trees we are walking amongst are 150 to 200 years old. It took us four hours to reach this forest, but it was pretty amazing.

Within this forest, there was one bush that was delectable to butterflies. It was loaded with them, making the bush look like a Christmas tree with twinkle lights on it as the butterflies flapped their wings open and closed. They were white with a black streak on each wing. Interspersed were a couple of orange ones, but different from Monarch butterflies.

John and Bruce found a slow leak on yet another tire and they tried getting the other spare off to replace it. We all stood by the bathrooms in the Quiver tree forest in the shade while they slaved away, but to no avail. The spare was rusted on and would not budge with all of their yanking, pulling, and banging. They even tried pouring a can of Coca-Cola on it since rumors have always said it will remove rust. It did not in our allotted time period, so either we are too impatient or it is indeed a myth.

When the consensus was that the tire was not going to get fixed at this afternoon stop, we drove the next three hours at a slower speed, finally causing the tire to actually go flat. We pulled up to the side of the road and Bruce put up an overhang on the side of the truck giving some shade and he fixed lunch. When life gives you lemons, make lunch with them. We ate, the crew worked on the truck’s tire yet again. Regardless of their stamina, patience and ideas, the tire was not about to be removed after their constant struggles for an hour’s time.

While this was happening, Doris started to develop some reactions to the Malaria medications and needed some medical attention. Bruce told us we would have to make a diversion to get her medical care, but none of us care about that, we were more concerned about Doris. We were forced to drive with one bad tire, but it sounded like John was having a difficult time getting the truck into first gear. We thought it would be about an hour to get to a clinic, but it was more like two with our impeded mobility due to the tire. We finally pulled up to a Wimpy’s service center, where we were dropped off. Bruce called the hospital and arranged a ride for Doris. While we were snacking and relaxing in air conditioning, the garage was able to fix the tire and Doris was driven back to meet us. It is now close to 5:00 and the overcast sky that we have had all day is getting darker, threatening an impending storm is nearby. There was a photo on the wall of Wimpy’s that showed the flood they had one year ago. Half of Wimpy’s was under water. We are supposedly only 20 km from our resting place for this evening.

An hour and a half later, we were on the road again; we stopped in a small Namibian town with a Spar supermarket. This really surprised me that here in Africa, in this small village of 2,000 people, they would have a Spar with scanners at the check outs like in Budapest and other European cities. What was even more shocking was to see a restaurant with “Belaton Hungarian Take Away Food”.

Our schedule has gone askew from the itinerary a bit due to the different circumstances that had not been planned for. We are at our accommodation near the dam, where we are again four to a cottage and we are sharing with Jean and Omo. We work well together and this is a good arrangement, hopefully for all of us, if we have to share at all. This cottage is really basic, though it has two bedrooms and each has two beds, the kitchen has no supplies at all. The bathroom is without toilet paper and none of us have any, so we had to yell for Bruce to come to our rescue. We seemed to be the unlucky ones; all the other cabins are supplied with it.

Dinner was at Bruce’s cabin, where we sat around and talked for some time after dinner. When we walked back to our cabin, it was black out. It was difficult to see each other walking side by side. We had forgotten our flashlights in the suitcases, like forgetting an umbrella when rain is predicted. We minced our way back, taking small steps, not to trip and fall. As we were approaching our cabin, we heard rustling sounds followed by clomping. Our hearts beat faster, and Ron yelled “Hello”, but nothing responded back. The sounds continued and we forced our steps faster and faster to our door. As we put the key in the lock and were about to turn it, we heard “Have a good night” from the security guard who was walking by.

Today’s mileage was 450 km totaling 1440 km thus far.

Pin It Now!

Namibia - Fish River Canyon

We were surprised last night being the longest day of the year that it was dark by 8:30 pm. The morning sun made up for it shining through at 5:00 am and heating the air significantly.

I literally rolled out of bed at 6:00 am since my hip was hurting and rolling was the only way to get up. My back had started to bother me before we left Hungary, but with all of the last minute university duties, I never had time to do anything about it. I held tightly to the belief that it was stress related and once vacationing, this would resolve on its own. I was mistaken in this assumption as it is getting worse rather than better.

Outside, it sounded like a bird convention on the river with every one of them vying for the right to be the leader of the group. There is apparently no Robert’s Rules of Order for sure amongst this bird group. It did sound more like the British Parliamentary proceedings in a heavily debated session.

With the sun shimmering on the river’s currents, the joyful noise of the feathered occupants was ultimately relaxing. Breakfast was not until 8:00, so we slowly meandered to the lodge, the same as where we had dinner last night. Our offerings included three different cold cereals, three choices of breads, and a wide variety of toppings: margarine, jellies, marmalades, honey, cheese spread, peanut butter, and Marmite. Bread is toasted in a hot cast iron skillet, a clever idea. Today, breakfast will be available until 10:00, later than what will be the custom for the duration of the trip, we were told. There is an optional river trip for 120 Rand for those who wish to go, so those who are will need to eat earlier than the rest of us.

Ron decided he would like to do this trip. Bruce said it was not too energetic, a low energy relaxing trip, as the currents were mild. They would be gone for about three hours. Having concerns about my hip and the ability to sit in a canoe for this length of time, I begged off. Since there are two to a canoe, Ron was teamed up with Thomas, the student intern.

My alternative choice was to sit on our patio outside the cottage and write, watch the birds, and just relax with the voices of the river’s currents. After a short time, I felt as if someone showered me with relaxation dust. I had not been this mellow in ages. I believe this was the best choice for me and hoped Ron was having as enjoyable a time.

At the start of the river’s edge, there is a patch of vegetation directly in front of my view. Every once in a while, a bright red winged black bird flew into it. Each attempt to get a picture of it was fruitless, as the bird hid amongst the plants as soon as the camera is focused. Many of the other birds look similar to sparrows or starlings. A heron was sitting on a tree branch stuck into the bottom of the river and poking up to the sky. The heron was there for so long, I thought perhaps it was part of the tree, until it decided to fly off, leaving no doubts.

By half past noon, the canoes still were not appearing in the water for their return to the dock. It was a little concerning, but they finally did start to show close to 1:00. Ron and Thomas were the last ones, which I had expected. I knew Ron would stop the canoe to take pictures along the way. When they did return, their canoe became stuck in some reeds and the guide had to go back to push them out. Everyone had complaints that the guide was not effectively guiding, but trying to rush them along and was way ahead of the group. The Swedish family of four, in the next cottage, were all back, showered, and dressed before Ron and Thomas returned.

Again, we had lunch in the lodge and then packed up for our next long drive of four hours before reaching our next nights accommodations. On the way, we had our first flat tire just as we passed the Ai Ais sign to tell us where we were at. It took about 30 minutes for Bruce and John, just the driver, to fix. The tires are huge and it is a multi-person task. All of us stood around and watched for some minutes, then decided we should be huddling in the shade of the truck. It was getting toasty in the sun. Once were on our way again, within minutes, we passed a car with a flat tire also. None of the ‘highways’ are paved, but only gravel or dirt covered.

We arrived at the Fish River Canyon National Park camp grounds run by the Namibia National Park system (www.namibia-travel.net). The cottages were certainly not as luxurious as last nights, but clean and sufficient. Each cottage sleeps four people in two bedrooms with a small kitchen area in between and a bathroom with shower to one side. We shared the cottage with Omo and Jean.

We only had time to drop our things in the room, then we drove to Big Fish Canyon. This is the 2^nd oldest canyon in the world, the oldest being in South Africa. It is the second largest in the world, with the Grand Canyon in the US as number one. The Fish and Orange rivers meet here. It developed predominantly during the pluvial times - a rainy climatic epoch - many millions of years ago, making it 180 km long, up to 27 km wide in some areas, and up to 550 meters deep. The Fish River Canyon probably formed about 500 million years ago. However, the gorge was not only created by water erosion, but also through the collapse of the valley bottom due to movements in the earth's crust.

Because the Fish River is being dammed in Hardap near Mariental, it only contains a small amount of running water. In winter, during the dry season, the river bed is often completely dry or reduced to only the occasional puddle. However, after rainfalls in summer the river can become a raging torrent.

The early San people’s legend was that the canyon was gouged by a frantic snake, Koutein Kooru, as it was being chased by hunters. The Fish River is, at 650 kilometres, the longest river in Namibia. Its source lies in the eastern Naukluft Mountains and flows south-west of Ai-Ais into the Oranje.

We hiked part of the perimeter. It was amazing to see and since I have not been to the Grand Canyon, it was a treat besides. We waited in the parking lot until sunset where the vista point did not disappoint us with a splendid scene, then had dinner by the truck.

Omo and Anna the nine year old spent a lot of the truck driving time playing hand games. This keeps all of us entertained with their rhymes as they play. After dinner, they did a “presentation” to show their advanced skills of hand coordination. The children are exceptionally intelligent and having lived in multiple foreign countries, they are well advanced for their ages. Yet, they still have the most endearing childhood qualities that immediately steal your heart.

We stayed at the vista until 9:00 pm, then headed back to the camp. A group of the crowd went to the pool for a dip, Ron included. I was tempted, but it is so difficult getting pants on and off with my hip, I decided not to bother for such a short time. My other concern was losing my contacts at the start of the trip and it took too much hip locomotion to go back to the cottage to take them out and then back to the pool.

The cottage was basic and the bedrooms had twin beds attached to each of two walls. The sheets were clean and they were comfortable, all that we could wish for.

We have traveled 260 km today for a total of 990 so far.

Pin It Now!

Snack Stops

The first day, we stopped at a rest area that
had a store. Bruce came onto the truck and told us to 'stock up' here.


Everyone scrambled off of the truck and into the store like a swarm on locusts descending on a field of wheat. Ron and I were in the mix as well, but once inside the store I realized I did not know what 'stock up' meant.


Besides beer and bottled water, this is what 'stock up' referred to. After seeing these flavors, you did not have to tell us twice what to stock up on!

Pin It Now!

Namibia Some Facts About the Country

Officially called the Republic of Namibia, this country is located in southern Africa on the Atlantic coast. It shares borders with Angola, and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east, and South Africa to the south. It gained independence from South Africa in 1990 and its capital city is Windhoek. It is the thirty-fourth largest country in the world making it about half the size of the US state of Alaska. After Mongolia, Namibia is the least densely populated country in the world with only 2.5 persons per km². A remarkable strip of land in the northeast, known as the Caprivi Strip is the vestige of a narrow corridor demarcated for the German Empire to access the Zambezi River.

Half of all Namibians speak Oshiwambo (Ovambo) as their first language, whereas the most widely understood language is Afrikaans. Among the younger generation, the most widely understood language is English. Both Afrikaans and English are used primarily as a second language reserved for public sphere communication, but small first language groups exist throughout the country. While the official language is English, most of the white population speaks either Afrikaans or German, both official languages until 1990 when Namibia became independent. Portuguese is spoken by blacks and whites from Angola.

Christianity is the major religion, with the Lutheran Church being the largest then followed by the Roman Catholic.

Pin It Now!

Onward to Namibia

It is the summer equinox here in the southern hemisphere. This is their longest day of the year while at home it is the shortest. For us, this will be the longest day of the year with the drive we have ahead of us. Our replacement tour is left Cape Town yesterday, the day we arrived. Gellé at Go2Africa, arranged for Backpackers Bus to drive us to meet up with them today.

Ron went to the Checkers grocery store, a block away from our guesthouse to get some breakfast things and brought them back to the main Ashanti house to eat with some tea.

Promptly at 8:50 am, our driver was there to pick us up, early by ten minutes. His name was very unusual and neither of us can remember it. He was very pleasant and as we were putting our things in the compact car, he apologized for the size of the car and as he was stating we would be driving for 10 hours today. Under normal circumstances, this would have put me into a catatonic state. I despise long car rides. The excitement made it less horrendous.

As small as the car was, it was duly comfortable sitting in the back seat. I could stretch my legs across the back and Ron seemed to have adequate legroom in front. Three hours into the drive, we stopped for gas and a lunch break. The convenience store is well equipped with hot and cold drinks and food items. We chuckled to see there was also a Wimpy’s fast food chain attached.

I love looking at foods in other countries in places like this. I chose a chicken breast encrusted in filo dough with cheesy pepper sauce. It was only 3.60 Rand, about 55 cents (7.2 Rand to the dollar) and worth twice the amount in deliciousness. Ron hungered for Wimpy’s and had a burger and fries. After eating, we changed seating arrangements in the car, with Ron in the back.

I suffer from highway hypnosis. Put me in a moving vehicle and I am sleeping like I have been drugged. From what I remember seeing between coma naps were hills that varied in size from smaller to a bit higher, but nothing close to a mountain in size. There were lots of shrub brush, but there was an absence of trees. The earth was a palette of browns that were only intermittently interrupted by spots of green to breaking the monotony. This sight seeing soon wore thin, so there was a guiltless pleasure in napping some more. At some points, the heat made it seem like sleeping in a tanning bed with all clothes on. The car did not have air conditioning, but with the windows partially opened, it was almost bearable. The driver said the temperature was around 40 C with little fluctuation throughout the year, this being one of the hottest spots in South Africa. He is from this area, but when he was a child, his father could not take the heat any longer and moved the family to the Cape Town area.

The people in this part of the country are primarily goat herders and miners in this area. Copper is the most commonly mined metal. We had it explained to us by the driver that the goat farmers would find semi-precious stones, polish them, and sell them at markets for extra money.

During the second 3 hour stint of our drive, we suddenly went from 110 k/m to a complete stop for goats crossing the road. The tail end was the shepherd and his three dogs making sure all had crossed over. Our driver said it is not unusual for the shepherd to spend a week at a time with the goats in the fields and then return home for a couple of days, then return to the goats again. I cannot imagine those two days are enough to cleanse the smell of goat from his body. Pity his family!

By the 6^th hour of driving, we made it to Springbok with an hour to go, we were told. Our driver asked if he could stop to buy a CD of music if he could find the right store. He added he would need the music to keep himself awake on the ride home. My goodness, man, you have to do this drive again today, without a sleep over somewhere. Someone would just have to shoot me if I had to do that.

When we finally made it to our destination, the South African/Namibian border, the driver tried calling our tour guide to let him know we had arrived. He had tried calling before this, but there was no cell service in the area. As it were, we had to backtrack a half mile to find the right location for cell service to kick in.

Our group had already crossed the South Africa-Namibian border. Our driver did not have his passport with him, so he could not take us through. I think he did some smart planning there. Our truck and group had to return to pick us up.

The truck returned to our side, where Bruce the guide, John the driver, and Thomas, a student intern all hopped out of the cab to greet and welcome us. John introduced himself as “I’m just the driver.”

Bruce opened up the truck for us to climb in and I was pleasantly surprised to see the wide age range of fellow travelers. Bruce announced “Everyone, give a warm welcome to Ron and Ryan, who will be joining us.” If silence was truly golden, we would all have been rich. No one in the group barely looked at us, let alone welcomed us. We skulked to the two empty seats and sat as quietly as the rest. I was not sure if it was hostility I was feeling around me or just highway weariness, but this was not the time to try bonding.

They drove us to the South African Border control and Bruce had Thomas walk us through the exit visa procedure. Then the truck crossed over Namibia again. They left us there with Thomas while Bruce took everyone else to get settled in the camp. They would return for us, but from the looks of all of the faces, doubt was playing in my mind. Do border controls come equipped with tents for abandoned tourists? I really was hoping not to have to find out.

With Thomas’s help, we made it through the Namibian side after filling out the documentation. There was a short line, but the two agents were very professional and we were passed through in under 3o minutes.

John, just the driver came back for us and delivered us to the campsite where the rest were already relaxing in their cabins. We were staying on the Orange River at Felixunite (www.felixunite.com) in rustic, but attractive cottages, en suite, right at the river’s edge. After we settled in, Bruce gave us a private orientation as to what we missed on the workings of the truck and shared duties. He was reassuring, competent, and said he would advise us when we will have opportunities to have needs met along the way: ATMs, batteries, etc.

After a shower and change of clothes, we went to dinner. Bruce will cook most of the meals and where we will be eating them will depend on our location. For tonight’s dinner, there is an open air lodge for us with tables and benches. Everyone has an assigned day to help with the cleanup so the chores are divided.

Impressively, once at the lodge, each member of the group came up to us and introduced him or herself. They had done a name game the night before, so knew each other’s names already. Many of them apologized for the quietness on the truck, but explained it was highway weariness. That was a great relief. We had thought they found out we were the U.S. Americans and were holding a grudge.

Our group multicultural is:

Sweden

The Rasmusson family from Sweden, but living in Uganda. Klas works for the Swedish Embassy. His wife Lena, son Rikard (13 yo), and daughter Anna (9 yo).

Also from Sweden are Anders and Inger.

Germany

Thomas the student intern

Hans and Suzi – They are retired and travel for three months of every year

The Netherlands

Dirk and Harm – Friends from early childhood

Inike and Wilfred – a young couple

Canada

Jean and Omo (pronounced Alma) – Jean is originally from England and Omo is from Nigeria, but both are Canadian citizens.

The UK

Rob and Vicky – a young married couple

Switzerland

Doris and Adrian – Friends traveling together

We bonded especially quickly with Omo and Jean since we had similar partnerships, though many people did not ‘get it’ about them for some time. For the two of us, they must have read it on our forehead, since we were never questioned about how we were related.

I learned that Omo is an attorney for the city of Toronto. She went to Canada for her university studies and stayed there. Jean is a reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Service. At this point, I had not had an opportunity to speak with Jean, but Omo was delightful and knew we were going to enjoy their company.

Bruce had made tasty hamburgers for dinner. Everyone blended especially well considering the short time we all knew each other. The kids were entertaining with their acrobatics and they succeeded in getting the adults to join in. After dinner, a group of the adults went to the bar, but we headed to the terrace outside our cottage for a final beer of the evening and a the thoughts of a pleasant rest.

The Gariep River is right at our door. The river was known to the Bushmen as the Nu Gariep (great river). It was formerly known as the Orange River named for William Prince of Orange in 1779. Other references to the orange name come from the Barbel fish that grow to 6 feet and dwell in the mud of the river. Their flesh turns orange when dried. The river is the border between South Africa and Namibia. The Gariep carries 23 per cent of the total water run-off of South Africa to the sea. This area is a combination of sedimentary mud, volcanic lava, granite, limestone, and metamorphic rock.

As we sat sipping our beer and having our souls massaged by the rivers currents, the sky was lit up with an explosion of stars. I have never seen so many stars in a night sky before. Breaking away from Eurocentric thinking, we learned that the constellations here are very different from what we know. Orion’s belt is three zebras who Aldeberan the unluckiest warrior failed to hit with his arrows. He could not go home without any meat, but was fearful of using his last arrow for fear for the lurking lion he would surely pass on his way home, the star known as Betelguese.

The Milky Way is retold as the grey ash and hot coals that an angry girl threw into the sky when her mother forbid her roasting her roots in the hot fire. The Southern Cross pointing the way south are four giraffes whose heads are visible where they are.

Today, we traveled from Cape Town through the Cedarburg Mountains to Citrusdal, then through Springbok on to the Orange River. We roasted in the heat of some areas and are now sitting with our coats on as we star gaze on the river in the cool breeze. We covered 730 kilometers today.

Pin It Now!

Welcome to South Africa

Johannesburg has one of the worst Passport Controls we have ever encountered in 43 countries. There are six lines for South African passport holders, three for other African states, and only two for all other countries. For heavens sake, this is a tourist Mecca, give us some credit here and have more lines for the rest of us. Strangely, they do not even want the people from most other African countries coming into the country, so why so many lines? Our designated lines were horrendously long, winding this way and that, taking over an hour to get our passports stamped. This is not unlike our experience from last year, so nothing has improved in a year’s time.

After finding our little bags and one suitcase we will leave with friends in Cape Town, we walked from the International terminal to the Domestic terminal. We will continue on to Cape Town in an hour, so we make our way to the relaxed and well equipped Diners Club lounge. It is not only spacious, but beautifully decorated, and there is a well filtered smoking room. Due to Passport Control, we only had 35 minutes to enjoy it. Children are playing games on the two computers, so e-mails from here will not be going out.

None of the porters that usually mangle tourists to assist with the luggage for a tip dared come near us. From the way I was clutching my bag, they must have thought I had a gun, not realizing it was cold hard cash.

From Jo’burg to Cape Town, Gellé found us tickets on Nationwide Airlines based out of South Africa. The plane, a 737, was spacious for the number of people aboard and the service was excellent. The flight was close to two hours with a snack being served. This was an add-on flight because we had originally planned on taking a tour from Jo’burg, but that was three mangled tour plans ago and credit card balances changed a number of times from then to now.

E-tickets are certainly taking hold. All of our tickets for short and long hauls were paperless. The only paper we had were our boarding passes.

When there are lots of details involved with a trip, I get nervous that something is going to go wrong. I think of that old movie West World where nothing can go wrong, go wrong, go wrong…

Thanks to Gellé at Go2Africa, we were met at the Cape Town airport by Elaine from Backpackers shuttle service to transport us to the Ashanti lodge for our first night. This new group that we are joining have already left Cape Town today. They all arrived last night and had their first night in Cape Town. Elaine had our names on a board and I had our voucher in hand, but she insisted it was all taken care of and did not need it. I chuckled thinking how in other countries, they would have wanted it in triplicate, and stamped with six stamps showing it is official. After finding her two other riders, we were on our way to Ashanti.

We had stayed at Ashanti for a week last year and were impressed, so this year, we thought we would try their guest house, which is not in the main building. We loved the main house, but the party people can be too much after a long day’s travel and we have another long day in a car tomorrow. The tour company wanted us close in town or we would have spent the night with our friends Don and Patricia.

The guesthouse is around the corner from Ashanti’s main building, in a historical monument building. There was no explanation on the plague imbedded into the wall near the door as to why it is considered historical, so I will take their word for it for now.

The building has a wraparound porch from the front door to the right back of the house. The security-gated front door protected a sturdy wooden door with a huge brass knob. The entry hall has a magnificently polished golden amber floor with different rooms off of it . Our room, number six was the second door on the right. Beautifully decorated, in African motif, this expansive room was luxuriously comfortable; it even boasted a fireplace. One bed was king size with an additional twin. Even with two beds in the room, there was still plenty of living space. In one corner, there was a seven-foot high wraparound wall, which hid the bathroom and the shower. The shower was a small semi-circle, which the sliding door came off when it rounded the bend in the track.

After being refreshed, we called Patricia and Don. Don came to fetch us to join them for dinner. We had met Patricia and Don last year for the first time, then they came to Budapest in May of this year. (See the archives in this blog for the day by day stories). Don wrote an article for GetAway magazine on the trip, the city, and our B and B.

They exude the feeling that we have been close friends for years, and we always feel welcomed and cared for when with them.

We finally were able to meet their son Gaelen and their daughter Romaney as well as her boyfriend Brent. All three are charming young people who are comfortable with all people is seems. They are as welcoming as Don and Patricia and are intellectual delights. Patricia made a splendid dinner and in spite of our exhaustion, we by being amongst good friends again was enough to recharge our souls.

Don mentioned that he hoped we would not be amongst a group of 23 year olds drinkers on this trip, since trips like this seem to draw this crowd. I think my face falling was enough for him to add “You guys know how to separate yourselves from the crowd, so just do it.” Sounds like a Nike commercial to me, but it did add to my concerns about this venture.

After much fanfare, Don drove us back again for a good night’s sleep. We have a taxing day tomorrow to catch up with the group.

Pin It Now!

The Start of Our Adventure

Today, we embark on our great adventure to parts unknown. I have been having a lot of anxiety over this trip since the plans have changed so often. It is really costing us much more than we had anticipated since we originally bought airline tickets to Johannesburg and returning from Cape Town. The additional airline tickets were not in the plan. The bright side is that when booked tour was cancelled, we received almost $2,000 in refund from Go2Africa for the second trip we booked to replace it. That was a pleasant surprise.

Gellé our agent at Go2Africa has been great all along, answering innumerable questions as they come up and sometimes a list of ten at a time. She has been so very patient with us while assuring us we will have a splendid time. We are hoping to get together for a coffee when we return to Cape Town.

Caring $1,700 in cash is giving me heart palpitations, but we need to give $350 each to the tour guide as land usage fees for Botswana. The rest is back-up if we don’t find bank machines along the way. The wad of bills is so thick it will barely fit in the money pocket I bought and it is too bulky to keep inside my pants as intended. I would look like I had a tumor. The bills had to be smaller than 100s, but I had misread the note and thought they had to be smaller than 50s. They also have to be issued after 1996 so they have the large heads of the presidents on them. Getting these here in Budapest has been a challenge, but we did it. Why they will not accept Euros is anyone’s guess. Gellé was not sure, but knew they would not.

We received taxi vouchers from Chris and Mark for Christmas, so we don’t have to take the shuttle to the airport. The taxi has been sitting outside waiting for us patiently, though early, we rush to let the driver know we do want to make this trip. Checklist: Passports? Check!, E-Tickets? Check!, Vouchers for the trip? Check! Small, soft sided luggage under 20 kgs restricted by the tour company? Check! Cash? Check! Pills for anxiety for carrying so much cash? Opps! Forgot that.

With more than two hours before the flight, we are now at the airport. It is the usual hurry up and wait syndrome of flying these days. There was no line at check-in; we were the first. It was the same with Passport Control, almost having to wake the officer to check our passport. Security was empty; no questions about liquids in our hand luggage, just waving us through without removing my laptop from the bag. The waiting area is deserted, not a soul around. until finally we found at least one. This is an airport, isn’t it? The plane should be quite empty if this is any indication. We were the only patrons at the airport restaurant. Like a sunrise, slowly appearing on the horizon, the lobby unhurriedly turned into the bustle of a busy day. So much for the thoughts of empty seats on the plane for a good stretch.

The flight on Lufthansa from Budapest to Frankfurt was uneventful, but it was only an hour and 10 minutes. Surprisingly for such a short flight, they had a snack service and two drink services. We bee lined to the Diners Club lounge once in Frankfurt, only a “10” minute walk, but in reality, more like 20 when uncertain about knowing where you are going.

We had to buzz to get in and it took some time for the attendant to work herself to the door to let us in. It is a no smoking lounge so we had to go outside to the smoking area buzzing to get in and out each time. This annoyed the attendant, but we were the only ones there, so she could put forth some effort. We only had about 40 minutes before our next flight.

The plane from Frankfurt to Johannesburg was a 3-4-3 configuration. We had seats at number 46 on the right side of a very full plane. There was only one monitor in each aisle, none overhead or on the seatbacks making it difficult to see. For those further back, it would be impossible to see the screens. The movies were Flicker and You, Me and Dupree, neither worth staying awake for. I slept most of the flight, awakened only by meals and drink services. We had flown Lufthansa in the past and were very impressed with the service, but this did not add to their reputation. It seems to have been greatly reduced since our last experience. This flight is 10 hours plus. I should have taken a sleeping pill, but was concerned about being groggy when we landed.

Pin It Now!

The Absolutely Last

This is the absolutely last blog entry before we take off on the Lufthansa flight today for Frankfurt, then to Johannesburg, but it has to be done.

My fantastic LP 3 students insisted that I have one more coffee with them before departing, so I carved an hour out of the stress filled days of planning, packing, and preparing to meet with them yesterday. As it turned out, it was good therapy for a number of reasons. The day before, I had problems with paying bills online, one of the documents I had scanned for next semester had to be done over completely, the “To Do” list kept growing instead of shrinking. Conversely, my nerves kept shrinking, not growing. I needed an hour of pure socialization.

We met at California Coffee Company. Seven of them were able to make it. We shared stories of Christmas and I was asked to retell stories of my childhood celebrations, which I did giving the versions from early childhood to later ones. They shared stories of their holiday celebrations too, which enriched the conversation, learning more about each other than classroom time ever allows. Best of all, we had lots of laughter, always the best medicine for stress.

The last story was perhaps the best, as I was about to leave, Imola had a confession. She somehow thought that we had class today; consequently, leaving a present they had for me at home last Thursday. This was the urgent need to meet with me today. They presented me with a pink crepe paper package with a purple ribbon and wire decoratively holding it together. The wrapping looked like a swan, but I had no clue what it could possibly be.

To say I was flabbergasted is an understatement. It was a bowl by a ceramicist who I have loved since first coming to Hungary. We have bought many of her pieces of work for gifts, but have never bought one for ourselves. It always seemed like an indulgence we could not rationalize at any moment in time, but always made the promise that ‘some day…’ I was given a beautiful bowl with the colors and style that I would definitely have chosen myself. It could not have been more perfect. I was so taken aback, it was astonishing. Usually, in instances like this, I start bawling like a child and I actually felt it trying to push its way out of my tear ducts. I think the fact that we were in a café allowed me to have some control. Coincidently, two weeks ago, I was thinking about American Christmas ribbon candy and how traditional that was growing up. The other present they gave me was a little metal box with ribbon candy in it. It was amazingly perfect.

After thanking them sincerely for the gifts, Balazs and I ran back to my place, I

walking a light lighter than earlier in the day. Balazs had to run to ELTE’s main campus and took Ron with him to have some papers signed. I grabbed some Euros, ran to the currency exchange to change enough to pay for our annual transportation passes. This year, the cost was 80,850 Huf each. That was 660 Euros, a big chunk of change. I made it to BKV at 3:31 and they close at 3:30, but I snuck in and bought them. The guard was standing at the door to unlock the door for me and let me out, locking the door behind me.

We had translating for Balazs to do, so he stayed on when he returned with Ron and then joined us to meet up with Fulbrighters at the Christmas Market. There, we had a cup of hot wine, then continued to Govinda’s, a vegetarian restaurant for dinner.

After dinner, we all went to the laser light painting show that was on display. They do this outstanding light show on the walls of buildings and on the ground. It is truly amazing and artistic. The artist is a woman named Dóra Oröm and the show will be on display until January 1^st. It was a
spectacular event, an incredible day fill with great people and a wonderful start to a

holiday season and our trip.

Photos by Ron.

Happy Holidays to all and a Healthy, Prosperous, Educational New Year.

Pin It Now!

Holiday Letter

In case I missed anyone, here is my all-holiday note to be inclusive.

Dear Friends,

As much as I dislike generic holiday greetings, our list of wonderful people to reach out to has expanded exponentially over the years thus making it impossible to write each of you individually.

December 14th marked our 5th year anniversary of living in Budapest. It is amazing how many things have transpired since the day we arrived, planning to stay a couple of months and then move on. The roads of life are many and varied and one never knows which path will have that special light to follow a dream.

This has been another exciting year both in and out of Budapest. I took off for a few days of rest and relaxation in April to Amsterdam, while Ron kept the bed and breakfast running. Then he took off for the States with the primary intention of attending his 80 year old sister's wedding. While he was there, he was able to travel some to visit other friends and relatives.

In August, we went back to Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival. We had no idea of the enormity of it when we bought tickets, but it was definitely a high point in our travel adventures.

On December 19th, we will take off for another great journey. We leave for South Africa. The day after we arrive in Cape Town, we will have a private driver to connect us with our tour group. Our tour will cover parts of Namibia, Botswana, and finally Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Our original tour was cancelled due to lack of bookings, so we had to modify our plans. Sadly,this tour leaves the morning we arrive, so hence the need for the private driver. At the end of the trip, we will return to Cape Town and spend a week with new friends there. Last year, we found them by renting their little apartment attached to their home.

Don is the Associate Editor for GetAway magazine, a travel magazine that focuses on all of Africa and is distributed to 80 countries. Patricia, his wife is a novelist with 5 novels, 6 childrens books, and three books of poetry to her credit. Two of her novels have been sold to movie studios in the UK. We immediately felt like long lost family with them.

They came to Budapest in May when Don had the writing assignment to go anywhere in the world for 10,000 Rand per person (Approx. $1,500. at that time). They stayed with us as B and B guests so he could include our B and B in his article as a paying guest. The article came out in the November issue. We are excited to see it in print, though he has send us copies online. To read more about them or their week here, search this blog for Don Pinnock or Patricia Schonstein.

We were also thrilled to open our home to Ruth and Henry Ferguson for a weeks visit. Ruth and I worked together at AIDS Case Management in Stanislaus County. It was wonderful to share time with them and catch up on all of the happenings from the time I left to the time Ruth retired. They are such neat people to have around. On a similar note, another nurse Karaan, also from the same Public Health agency and her daughter Heather spent a couple of nights with us. It is such a pleasure to share our experiences with those we have known from the past. My friend, now our friend, Dawn who I went to USF with, is in and out of Budapest as she is an educational consultant and spends a good amount of time in this part of the universe. She stays with us when she is in the city, giving us a sense of continuity with what is happening back home.

We have been fortunate yet again to make friends with the Fulbright Scholars who are studying or teaching here in Hungary. Those that are in Budapest grace us with their presence at least once a week for the 'game night' that Ron has made into a tradition over the years we have been here. They are a wonderful source of socialization and entertainment. They are bright, caring and generous people that add greatly to our lives. Kate, who is here on a dance and choreography Fulbright has been our buddy for many dance performances. Lynn, another Fulbrighter went with us and one of my students to Vienna for the day to see the Christmas decorations.

Ron has taken on the challenge of becoming a docent at the Fine Arts Museum. This is the only museum that offers free tours in English twice a day, six days a week. For the last ten weeks, he has been going to classes twice a week for three hours each time. He is learning art history and public speaking. In January when we return, he will do his first training tour. He has been really charged about this and has made friends with another Docent in Training or DIT as they refer to themselves. Mark is a great guy and is here with his partner Chris who is finance manager for EDS. They have been great fun to have around and share things with. I met a fellow named Laszlo, a Hungarian-American who returned here to live. He is also well educated and fun to spend time with. He has been a great social outlet.

As difficult as it is to believe, this is the middle of my 5th year of teaching at the university. I continue to love it, my students are a great joy and want to spend as much time with me outside the classroom as they do in it. I still find it challenging as they give me great latitude with the courses that I can offer beyond the required ones. This semester, I created the courses 'Ethnicities in the US, Part 1' and 'Critical Thinking'. Next semester, I will offer a Part 2 of the Ethnicities class, 'Critical Thinking, 'Survey of American Culture', and 'Gay and Lesbians in Film'. I have also received permission to create the first online course ever offered, but I have to work out the web space issue first. This will most likely be a summer project.

We will not have e-mail access until January 10th at the earliest when we will return to Cape Town.

This is a quick synopsis of our life and with this, we want to wish all of you a wonderful holiday season and warm wishes for 2007 to be more healthful and prosperous than any expectations could allow.

Ryan and Ron

www.budabab.com

Pin It Now!

I have to order books from the States for the classes I teach here. I usually spend anywhere from $150.00 to 200.00 each semester to get books for my courses. This semester, I ordered another six books and all arrived except the one for the new American Culture Survey course. This is the course for the new freshman, a lecture course. Since I have not had to lecture for some years now, I needed a book that was set up nicely into readable chapters. The course could have anywhere from 150 to 300 students in it.

The book was ordered October 25th with a 4-6 week arrival date. As of the last day of teaching, it had not arrived. In a panic, I went book shopping to every English language bookstore and those that sold English language books. I hit ten bookstores on Friday and was dismally disappointed at the void of available materials. At one university bookstore, I found a poor substitute. If the original book doesn't show, it will have to do. The days are ticking away until we leave and I really don't need this stress when there are so many other things that could be occupying my time and energy.

Pin It Now!

Last Week of the Semester

This semester has really flown by. It is hard to believe that we will be leaving one week from today. I have read and graded two Masters Theses, two teaching theses, over 3,000 pages of essays, wrote the curriculum for six courses for next semester, and created blogs for three of them. I am ready for a break and fun in the sun in South Africa and countries north.

All of my grades are done and there are only two more days of teaching left this week. Yahoo!!

Pin It Now!

Christmas in Vienna

Ron and I took one of my students, Balazs, to Vienna for the day. He is my unofficial Teaching Assistant and is continually looking for work from us to keep him busy. He is over here whenever we need something translated. Many times, he will stop by just to be social. It amazes me how many hours he can spend with me a day and then later call and see if I want to go for a coffee with him. He is the most determined student I have ever met, who wants to perfect his English. He even makes his roommate speak to him only in English, though his roommate is Hungarian. He really is a delight to be around. We both enjoy him immensely.

Sunday morning, the three of us met with Lynn the Fulbrighter and off we went to Keleti train station for our great adventure to Vienna. Our train was at 9:10 and we found our reserved seats in a smoking compartment since all of us smoke. Ron, Lynn, and Balazs played Scrabble on the way and I read my book. Neither of them had been to Vienna before and we have been there dozens of times, so it was exciting to see it through their eyes. Our mission was to see the Christmas markets and decorations more than the sights.

We arrived a little past noon, the sun was shining brightly, and the sky was clear. We found the first street market within minutes of our arrival. We putzed and puttered at the booths and then decided to stop at a restaurant for lunch. We knew that hot wine was waiting for us back outside, so we just had a snack rather than a meal.

When we bought our wine, the man let us skip paying the 2 Euro deposit on the mugs since I told him we promised to return them. Across from where we were standing, there was a clown making balloon animals. Balazs and Lynn were joking about wanting one and after fifteen minutes, the clown came over to Lynn. He started hitting on her and told her that he does not meet to many women his size or shorter. He made her a dog balloon in pink.

We took them to two of the palaces on the outside. There were Christmas fairs at both. Our public transport was included in

our train ticket fee, so we covered lots of territory walking or by taking trams. By the time we needed to head back to the last train at 8:00 pm, we were tired, but feeling fulfilled. It was an excellent day filled with laughs and merriment with good people. Who could ask for more at the holidays?

These are Ron's pictures.

Pin It Now!

More Christmas

We are wrapping up the semester at school. Things are getting hectic trying to prepare for a month’s vacation at the same time. Yet, we took some time away for more Christmas fun. The Applied Arts Museum hosts a special Christmas Fair with juried artists. They charge 400 Huf to get it, but it is usually worth it to look around.

After spending forty-five minutes at the tourist office trying to find out what weekend it was to be held, I came home to find an e-mail from one of my students telling me about it. There was a particular artist I was trying to find and she was going to be at this fair. That is why my student alerted me and asked to join us there.

Imola, my student, met Ron and I at noon. Our friend Dawn was staying with us and she tagged along. Dawn is a contractor for one section of the Soros Foundation. Imola is an enterprising young woman who is working as an agent for a large number of artists, which I happened to mention to Dawn. As it turns out, the different groups that Dawn is working with are looking for illustrators for children’s projects. The two of them hooked up for possible work together. Imola joined Ron and I as we browsed the different artists’ work. One particular artist made clothes out of cork. It was amazingly beautiful. If I ever wore a vest or tie, I would have bought one, but I don't. They were washable too, which was really different. Even the umbrella she had was 10 years old and looked brand new.

After a hour or more Imola and Dawn went back to our place to discuss business. Ron and I went with Mark and Chris, another couple to get some lunch. Chris had heard about another possible fair, so we checked that out too, but it was a bust. All in all, though, a good day.

Pin It Now!

From Aniko

Dear Dr. James,

There are no words that would be enough to express how thankful I am.

It must be hard to keep everything going based on what you wrote and I apologize for adding to the clogging of tasks.

You may remember what I said when we met late summer that I hope there is a good reason for me to do this extra term:) and now I know the reason.

I had to read these texts assigned, esp in the ethnicity class to get rid of a burden I had been carrying with me for a long time. There were things about my childhood that were left unspoken, hurts and feelings that never got comforted, and now it's out, which is a great thing.

One of the reason I chose humanities for my university studies, despite the fact I had always been better in sciences is because of teachers like you. Not because you make exceptions and are always helpful, but because you are interested in the whole person, and you don't just look at someone from one perspective. I know you make people work hard, but it is a work that builds and adds to the quality of that person.

So, thank you again for this term and all your efforts invested into my shaping:)

I appreciate everything you are doing for us, students!

Best regards,

Aniko

Pin It Now!

Christmas Market

The first weekend of December, we met some Fulbrighters and Ron’s new friend from the museum at the Christmas market. It was the opening weekend and we arranged to get there at 4:45 to see the opening of the Advent window. Unlike years past, there were no live musicians playing on the balcony of Gerbreud’s restaurant as a prelude. There was some recorded music and one of the windows opened to display some unusually non-holidayish gaudy picture of modern art. Each window is sponsored by a different company. The first year we were here, they were all a holiday theme. Since then, they have been the same ugly pictures of abstracts in hideous colors.

The booths are the same year after year too. Once you have been there, you know exactly where each vendor will be year after year. When I regret not buying something one year, I know where to head first the following year. For the uninitiated, it is new and exciting. This is our sixth year, so we go for the gluhwein, the hot spiced wine that is served all over the market. We had dinner there too, some fat sausages with thick mustard and perfectly deep fried potatoes.

It was so crowded, we could not walk around as a group, so we only lasted an hour before others decided to call it a night. The only booth I knew I wanted to return to was where I bought our sugar bowl, creamer, and butter dish last year. We needed another creamer for when Ron makes pancakes for serving the syrup.

Lynn, one of the Fulbrighters came home with us to use our WiFi and called all of her family for a post-thanksgiving greeting via Skype. Normally, she does this at cafés. I can see her sitting in cafés, looking like she is talking to herself in English.

Pin It Now!

Joys and Concerns of Teaching

I have decided on two research topics that are interrelated, which I need to pursue. Through my five years of teaching here, I have developed a great concern about my students’ health. They seem to get ill at a greater statistical rate than U.S. students. Each semester, I have at least one hospitalized, but many others suffer with major illnesses that seem to manifest just at the time that an essay is due. An allergy to research or writing perhaps, I am not sure.

Strangely, this poor gene pool must be heredity, directly from the grandparents. This leads me to the second piece of research into Hungarian genealogy. It seems that many of my students have as many as ten different grandparents. The way I discovered this is, each time a paper is due, a grandparent is being buried, and the student needs to rush back to their hometown for the burial. When you have the same students for 4 semesters or more, you begin to realize that they have run out of the customary four grandparents, exceeded possible step-grandparents, and are now working on borrowed grandparents for their funeral get-out-of-Budapest escapades. Further research into these matters will be something of an avocation, but keeping an Excel database of family tragedies would help also.

Pin It Now!