Trip to South Africa

We started our trip to South Africa from Lusaka, Zambia. We took a bus to Gaboronne, Botswana. It was a 24 hour bus ride (very long) but we arrived safe and sound and without our bags. The good news is that the owner of the bus company was there when we arrived and she made some phone calls to check about our bags. Evidently, we were supposed to hand walk them across the border into Botswana. We didn't know since they were inside the bottom of the bus and Bob had asked if they would be transferred to the other bus across the border. But we did receive them the next night with everything in tact. The customer service was great and the owner gave us 500 Pula for our troubles and we each received a staff shirt as well.

Now off to Johannesburg and guess what another bus ride. This one was about 5 hours and the bus was a lot better. The bus we rode from zambia got crowded, there were even passengers standing at times for over 2 hours. Bob and I sat in the back of the bus on seats for four passengers but they squeezed 5 of us together. I had a large man sitting to my left and everytime he fell asleep he would fall on me. I had to physically push him away each time. Finally, I got up and stood.

Once in Johannesburg we took a taxi to the airport and off to Capetown! We stayed in Capetown for 3 nights. On New Years Eve we took a Day trip to the Cape of Good Hope (where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic). It was beautiful but very windy. Don't forget to view our pics on

http://s880.photobucket.com/home/mrsather

We also visited the penguins and took a boat out to visit the seals. Along the way we saw wild ostrich and baboons. I understand the baboons are very common, in fact they are a pest. They have learned to open car doors when left unlocked. They target women with bags (they learned they often carry food!). Our tour guide was attacked by a female baboon and he had to punch it in the face. He said if it was a male he would have been in very bad shape. The sites along the coastline were beautiful.

We saw on one of the cliff sides a German looking castle. It really looked out of place. At one time there was a German man who travelled to Cape Town, loved the area and decided to surprise his wife by building this home. Once it was finished he went back to Germany and brought his wife when he arrived there he showed her the home and her response was "I don't like it and if you don't sell and get rid of it I will divource you". Crazy huh!

We spent New Years Eve on the roof of a backpackers hostel over looking the city. The party itself was boring, the music was not to our liking but we did meet a mother and son (16 years) from Argentina and they were interesting to talk with.

Jan 1 we were on our way to Nature's Valley, another bus ride of about 9 hours. But now we are travelling on the Baz Bus which is a cool bus of no more than 22 people and it stops at various backpacker hostels throughout South Africa. We bought a 7 day pass and could get on and off as we wanted to.

We spent 4 nights in Nature's Valley. It was a lovely area, lots of vegetation and trees.We saw a boboon here. He had come into one of the housing areas. He also stole food from one of the campers. At this place they had a few horses and one horse in particular thought he was human, he would go up to the door into the reception area and stick his head over the door. The door was in two pieces so the bottom could be closed and the top open (like on the show with Mr Ed the horse) We also heard an interesting story, once there was a young girl staying ther (about 4 years old) and she would ask of the workers there for a small bowl of milk everyday for her "pet". After some time one of the workers thought he should check what kind of pet she had. It turned out the girl was feeding a Puff Adder snake! He would come and dring the milk from the bowl. Yikes!

Also while we were here we went on a few hikes. One was to a waterfall and it was great because they had a dog there who actually was our guide on our hike. We felt relieved when he accompanied us since the dogs had just been out chasing the baboons and we didn't want to run into them along the way. So he was our protection. Also, the trail was a bit difficult to follow at times so this dog would keep us on track. Once we arrived to the waterfall I jumped in for a dip. No one else around, it was beautiful and very peaceful.

From Nature's Valley we went to Port Elizabeth and spent one night there. We got there late int he day and left early the next morning. Now off to Durban which was a long bus ride. Maybe 12 hours. Here we spent one night and left early the next morning. But I did get to see the ocean since our backpacker place was just across from the beach.

Frm Durban to Swaziland, another long bus ride but in Swaziland we stayed two nights. We really enjoyed our accomodations here. The place was beautiful. It was relaxing and we enjoyed the hike around hippo lake. On our hike we saw Zebras, Wildebeast, wild pigs and heard the hippo breathing (didn't see him but saw his dung along the trail).

Bishop's Ordination

I was very fortunate to be able to attend an ordination for our new Bishop of Solwezi. He is the youngest Bishop to hold this position and he has only been a priest for 9 years. His name is Charles Kusonde.

The celebration Mass was wonderful with plenty of local choir music and dancing. There were many bishops, priests, sisters and religious in attendance. One of the Archbishops presided and the Vice president of Zambia also was there. This event made me realize how much our religious leaders need our prayers. They come under attack very often so we must pray that they remain faithful and perservere through difficult times.

Pope Benedict even sent a gift to the parents of the Bishop. I thought that was a nice touch since they would have been his first spiritual teachers.

The Accident

During one of our visits to Solwezi we unfortunately saw a terrible accident. It was Mid May 2010 and we were on the side of the main road trying to hitch a ride back to our village. We were stationed in front of a church and the locals had just ended their service and were in front of the church greeting each other. There were many people there enjoying the wonderful afternoon. As we were watching the approaching traffic, we saw one car coming and it pulled off the road toward us and then turned toward the church into the crowd of people. Instead of stopping it accelerated right into the crowd. We saw it hit a number of people. It was an awful sight! The car rolled over and then the people pulled the driver from the car. Since I was by the roadside I flagged down a car and told him to get the police. There were so many people all around and we were not sure what they would do so Bob said we should get out of there. We got a ride back toward town and good thing because we heard that the people got out of control. They basically started a riot. The police came and shot into the air and used tear gas but the people burned the car and even started throwing rocks at random cars passing so the road was closed and we had to go back to the house for another night.

Bi-Election in Mufumbwe

We sure found out what an election can do to a village! In April 2010 there was a lot of campaigning going on because of a bi-election. The MP (member of Parliament) in our district died not too long ago so his seat was open. MMD has been the ruling party here for many years and the opposition party UPND has been campaigning hard recently. We even had a visit to our local village from the Vice President of Zambia. Often the campaigners will come thru the villages and give away things like hats, chitenges (womens wrap arounds), bikes and even money. So people are glad to receive these things but may not be loyal to the party giving them. We also had fighting in our village. Some members of the UPND party (most were from outside of our area) created a fire over our main road and then used catapults (slingshots) to shoot rocks at cars travelling over the road. They damaged a number of vehicles. So now the police come and use their weapons to fire into the air and they also used tear gas. Many of the locals were fearful so they ran into the bush (their fields) to hide. The police then went around thru the village looking for those who have been known affiliates of the opposition party and arrested them all. One of these was my neighbor. She was not involved in any fighting but was found in her house. She was taken away. Some days later there was more fighting in Mufumbwe, our Boma (27K away from our village). For safety and security reasons, Peace Corps came and picked me up to take me to our provincial house until after the madness ended. I really didn't feel threatened but things could have definitely got out of hand.

Pictures

I know a lot of you have been waiting to see some pictures. You can check out all of our photos here. http://s880.photobucket.com/home/mrsather

There will be plenty more to follow.

Off on Vacation

Bob and I are off on an African Safari to Chobe National Park tomorrow (Jan 29). We will stay there for 2 nights and three days. Keep us in your prayers as we embark on this great adventure. We will let you know how it goes!

Greetings from Zambia! We just finished training in Lusaka. We did receive some great information about how we can work in our villages. We also had a counterpart (local villager who we work with) join us for some of the training. It is a great opportunity for a local Zambian learn more about what the Peace Corps is all about. Especially that we are not in country to give away things but to educate and impart knowledge so that our projects are sustainable. Bob and I are excited because on Jan 27 we will take some vacation days and visit Livingstone which is home to Victoria Falls and also take our first Safari at Chobe National Park in Botswana. Hopefully we will see some real African Wildlife.

Since we were gone from our village for the Christmas and New Years holiday it was a bit distressing to return and have the villagers ask "give us New Years or Christmas". Meaning they want something. This time of year people lack food and money so it is tough.

Thanks to those who have sent packages. We surely appreciated your kindness. We have enjoyed the treats and I have started to share some of the books with the children. They are so happy to color or look at pictures of things they never have the opportunity to see. It is sad but even though they are supposed to learn English in school, someone in 8th grade has a hard time reading primary books. And what they do read, they don't understand the stories, they just read words.

The village is beginning to feel like home more and more. We have met many people and now many use our names which is a lot better than being called "Mazungo" which basically means person who speaks English or white person.

We will let you know how our trip goes! Don't forget to send us mail, we love letters and promise to write back