Day 71: London Calling

And we've made it to London, now safely ensconced in the American Airlines lounge, sipping on bloody marys and looking out on the gray morning skies.  The first leg of the trip home -- 10hrs from Johannesburg to Heathrow -- got off to something of a hectic start (lost reservations, confusion about charges, etc) that took about two hours to unravel but the rest of the trip went smoothly.

Bunny Chow, Etc. (Day 65)

This delicious feast you see in front of you is called "bunny chow" -- the exquisite street-food-of-choice for discerning South Africans who want both flaming hot curry and a meal that will keep them full for the rest of today and, in all likelihood, a good chunk of tomorrow as well.  It's wildly popular in Durban, and perhaps my only disappointment from that trip was having missed out.  Created long ago by Durban's sizable Indian population, the meal consists of (1) a loaf of white bread sans innards, (2) the hottest curry the proprietor will give you with a straight face, and (3) topped with the original bread that had been scooped out.  Fortunately, I found a stand at Arts on Main, one of my favorite weekend markets that we try to visit whenever we're not traveling.  And it was fantastic.

Zambia, Days 3 & 4: On (and In) The Mighty Zambezi

It’s a hard life spending a day white-water rafting through the world-class rapids of the lower Zambezi and then getting up the following morning at dawn to canoe by stunning flora and fauna along the upper Zambezi. (Although you might actually feel sorry for us if you saw our resulting sunburns.)

Your Guide Made WHAT Type of Pit-Stop?

Tuesday started off at dawn, with the requisite early deadlines and long wait times that come with any large group activity.  Nearly 35 “guests” and a dozen guides met at the neighboring African Queen Hotel to learn the all-important rules of the river. Luckily we paid attention to the “what to do in case your raft flips” portion…  (dun dun DUN)

"You strike a woman, you strike a rock."

Today, August 9th, is National Women's Day here in South Africa, a national holiday and a great opportunity for a four-day weekend.  Folks in the office dismissed it as "just a day for women" (which is a bit odd in phrasing, but we'll come to that later).  A quick check on the source of all knowledge Wikipedia told a more interesting story, worth quoting in length:

Zambia, Day 2 - Victoria Falls

TJ: We launched our first full day in Zambia by plunging straight into the reason for our visit: an outing to Victoria Falls.  Although only half the height of Niagra Falls, Victoria Falls are over twice as wide.  The curtain of water spreads across for roughly two kilometers and sends a pillar of mist nearly 500 meters into the air.  This may be the beginning of the dry season here, but we still got drenched while crossing the razor bridge at the edge of the cliffs opposite the Falls.

Zambia, Day 1

Johannesburg to Livingstone, BYO Vodka

We managed to catch our flight, one of the three weekly ones we’d found from Johannesburg to Zambia, despite a number of last-minute delays. (“Should I have packed my passport?”, “Are we sure the hotel knows to pick us up at the airport?”, “Who has the malaria pills”, and my favorite, “Where’s the train station again?”) Given scarcity of flights the plane was surprisingly empty, although a group of Russian mothers and daughters did their best to make up for this lack by loudly calling back and forth to one another while hopping from seat to seat and row to row, particularly during landing. But at long last we landed in Zambia at the smallest airport I’ve ever seen!

It's Pirate Day (Hip-Hip, Hooray!)

Our arrival in South Africa has come at the same time as many important cultural shifts. Mandela’s 94^th birthday, the ANC party congress (which prepares the country for its upcoming election), and most importantly, the arrival of theme days at our current employer.

CapeTown, Day 2 – Wine Country!

(Written by Jess, posted by TJ)

The breakfast we started our day with at the Acorn House is deserving of its own blog post, but there are more African experiences yet to be had, so a picture will have to take the place of those thousand words.

 Our Afrikaans friends – along with everyone else in South Africa – had sworn that no trip to Cape Town was complete without a visit to wine country. We grudgingly heeded their vaguely ominous advice and resigned ourselves to a day meandering through picturesque wine country, tasting some of the country’s best wines. (How we suffer!)

Town and Country in Cape Town

Last week the office flew Jess to Cape Town for work: one of the portfolio companies based in the area had run in to a bit of trouble and a large part of her internship has been working on the turnaround.  Since she had to be down there Monday and Tuesday anyway, we figured why not make a weekend of it?  The office was not only so supportive that it scheduled our flights, but thanks to a clerical error I was booked on the very early *Tuesday* flight back, giving me an extra day of wandering the city.  Perfect.

Yellow Fever Vaccinations

We just got our shots for yellow fever!  (Yes, yes I put things off a bit.)  But we are now ready for the HEART OF AFRICA!  And will be for the next 10 years apparently.  Wow, that's a long time.  What's in these things, anyway?  What?  A live virus you say?  Ummmm....

Anyway, ONWARD!  (More to follow in this space -- the vaccine kicks in in 10 days, and anything earlier to hint at our plans would just be spoiling the fun.)

On Safari in Kruger Park

We planned an impromptu trip to Kruger Park last weekend. Five hours from Johannesburg (and apparently only an hour or so from Mozambique), Kruger became Game Reserve in 1898 and is one of Africa's largest reserves at 7,500 square miles.

Dinner with Friends

Last night was our second-latest night out in South Africa after spending five (FIVE) hours out with new-ish friends. After two hours out I normally start getting antsy, and three is generally my limit, so it says something about what an amazing time we had that I was enjoying myself as much at the end of the night as at the start.

Our company was a co-worker and his new fiance, both Afrikaans. I'll start by explaining that "Afrikaans" does not mean black, which I somehow mistakenly thought our first few weeks here. Afrikaans is the language that originated with Dutch settlers in South Africa; it then picked up words from a whole mix of other languages, including Malay, Portuguese, the Bantu languages, and the Khoisan languages. My impression is that most non-black folks (in South Africa this means Indian, white, mixed - the last of which they call "colored") at least understand Afrikaans, although only the Afrikaans people themselves - the ones descended from the Dutch settlers - grow up speaking Afrikaans as their first language in the home. The language sounds quite similar to German, only friendlier.

Durban 2: A Day (and night) in KwaMashu

If you’re ever in South Africa, stop in Durban if for no other reason than to go on one of Street Scene’s excellent tours. I was sold from the first time I visited their website – they specializes in facilitating experiences that even a Durbanite would have a hard time accessing otherwise. It turns out the owner, Jonas, is also an incredibly cool guy, but that’s just a sidenote. J

TJ and I had been wanting to visit a township, and the overnight stay in KwaMashu struck us as a terrific opportunity. I should explain that townships aren’t common tourist destinations. Many aren’t safe to visit, and it seems that people who aren’t born in townships would never visit one. That said, it’s been a priority for TJ & me to witness beyond the wealthy neighborhood where we live and work, and to experience the life that the majority of South Africans live. That said, arranging such an experience on our own would be potentially risky in the best case scenario and possibly quite dangerous and foolish in the worst. Enter Street Scene.

Durban 1: The Road to Durban

We took last Friday off to head down to Durban, the old British colony on the eastern coast and named for the British administrator in Cape Town who was lukewarm on the settlement (the name helped to lock-in D’Urban’s support).  Now, the city is known less for its history or its huge port and more for its sub-tropical temperatures and expansive beaches.  Our coworkers were quite jealous.

Our coworkers also insisted that we jump off the main highway somewhere in the middle of our 570km drive to see the “Midlands Meander” described as South Africa’s version of a Route 66 with a number of “cute shops” etc.  “It’s adorable, you’ll love it.  Just get off on R103.” 

Weekend in Durban, Part 0 (the teaser)

The witch doctor spiritual healer hummed softly to herself and rattled the chicken bones in her basket before pouring them out on to the floor. She stared intently at the patterns they formed, her eyes occasionally darting to our group crushed together in her small room in the township of KwaMashu on the outskirts of Durban where we were spending the night (above). We still smelled of "Zulu beer", a mason jar of which had been passed around before we entered (smelled and tasted like rotten milk). She then lit some herbs and began a long, raspy prayer in Zulu frequently punctuated with English references to LordJesusSavior.  Her words to us -- and the words of the distant ancestors she was channeling -- were soft and difficult to make out.  

We had to struggle even more to listen, as a small cluster of barefooted girls no more than 8-years old had gathered outside the thin walls and were listening to -- and singing along with -- "Call Me Maybe" for what must have been a half hour...

Stuff 'n Things

This little guy lives to the left of the threesome. He just looks lonely.

Our Neighborhood: The culdesac where we live has quite an active canine population. Four separate gated homes, seven dogs, and two notable howlers.  [Well, actually three howlers, since Jess tries to provoke them every time she steps outside. -TJ]  They keep watch over our little neck of the woods, and whenever an interloper appears - be it mailman, car, bird, or breeze - whoever is first to notice sets off the alarm, and then it's quickly hail hail, the gang's all here (barking and howling). It's like living literally in the middle of a pack of wolves who howl at the moon each night. And morning. And afternoon.

In which Jess gets a sunburn, TJ gets a beer, and the downtown gets explored

We've been busy!

Traveling around last weekend was great but we returned a bit tired.  Moreover, it's been a busy week at work.  I've gotten out of a few late meetings to find an incredibly patient Jess the only one left in the office.  (I also try to hold on to the car keys prior to these meetings...)

We have adventures planned for upcoming weekends (stay tuned!), but this week decided to relax and explore the city we technically live in, but are so separated from here in the northern suburbs. We're not geographically far from the rest of the city but we're magnitudes away in terms of lifestyle - the few blocks we live in are the wealthiest in all of South Africa.

The city has a metro area stretching over 630 square miles and dozens of neighborhoods, but many of these are either sleepy (and wealthy) bedroom communities or the townships (which are neither sleepy nor wealthy).  Far more fascinating, however, has been the exciting transformation in some of the city's "no-go" downtown neighborhoods, which have been re-engineered from a veritable war zone into several vibrant if tiny communities over the past five years.  Sounds like some places to explore!

What follows below is a back-and-forth narrative about our weekend adventures...

4th of July Email to Coworkers

To: All Co-workers

From: Jessica Armstrong

Subject: Happy 4th of July!!

Today is the 4th of July, also known as Independence Day in the States, when Americans celebrate the country's independence from Great Britain. The day is a national holiday and people generally celebrate with picnics or barbecues, going to parades, and watching amazing fireworks shows at night. Unfortunately customs confiscated our fireworks, and TJ and I are limited in our ability to pull off a 10-gun salute. So, we decided to celebrate with all of you by offering the most American of desserts – apple pie and cheddar cheese! 

Oh Bambi, my Bambi

This is a Springbok. TJ was particularly struck by them this weekend, calling them some of the most beautiful and graceful creatures he has ever seen. They look a bit like deer but have reddish coats, solid white bellies, and black horizontal stripes across their sides.

In which Jess befriends a lion, TJ fights a Zulu warrior, and the car gets damaged.

[Edit: picture links fixed!  Here, here, and here.]

It's such a pleasure to take my feet off the pedals and prop them up on the desk where they properly belong.  While Jess took most of the off-road driving (including the first "battle damage" that Lefty has sustained thus far), I took most of the freeway driving.  Freeway driving here is intense in its own right as the locals would likely consider the concept of speed limit signs quaint, if they ever noticed them at all.  And with no on-ramps, you go from full stop to OHGODSTHERY'RERIGHTONTOPOFME very quickly.  

Jess and I decided to get out of Jo'burg for the weekend, and explore something beyond the northern suburbs.  (We intend to make a habit of these weekend escapes.)  And really, how can we just lay around all weekend when we're less than an hour's drive from THE CRADLE OF HUMANKIND?

Dinner Dialogue

Best meal yet in South Africa: savory lamb shank with mashed potatoes and buttered vegetables for TJ; pasta with butternut squash, bay leaves, and burned butter for Jess. And for dessert...  delectable, amazing, caramel-y, bananna-ish, rich, moist, and utterly amazing malva pudding. Here is a snippet of our dinner dialogue while savoring the last few bites of possibly the best thing I've ever eaten in my life, after epic failure of truly valiant efforts to go salsa dancing:

Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa

Today was our first day at Edge Growth, a social private equity fund in Johannesburg. To understand what the company does it's important to first understand the country's Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) program. BEE was launched in 2007 in an attempt to address inequality in education, skill development, and overall opportunity as a result of Apartheid.

Some adventures in cars (D +1)

Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton

The Republic of South Africa is one of the 30-or-so countries in the world that drive on the left side of the road.  An odd piece of trivia, sure.  But it's a useful if difficult one to keep at the front of mind while maneuvering a stick-shift at +80kph.  Once running a red light.  With the windshield washer dancing crazily despite the absence of rain.

ARRIVED

We have arrived in Johannesburg!!  And it appears there is internet connectivity in our apartment: while bytes seem to travel single file in a patient and very unhurried queue, this still exceeds expectations and should make blogging easier and any lack of notes to my mother inexcusable (Hi Mom!).  In fact, everything about this place exceeds expectations:  It's a very nice, small one-bedroom apartment above a private house in Sandton - one of the nicer neighborhoods and only 4.4km (2.7mi) away from the office.  Some quick pictures are below, but the walls are a pale pink stucco, the rooms are cozy, and in case of food poisoning (Jess reminds me) we have TWO full bathrooms.

A foggy (and then sunny) day in Londontown

We're in London, and so far so good!

It's great to relax after a very hectic few days, especially with my cuddly surprise gift, Prince Harry, pictured above. Thanks to excellent foresight and planning, we decided to move all of our worldly possessions into storage in the midst of a record heat-wave. [1] Moving TJ's things proved especially interesting as he apparently has an aversion to boxes. [2]

I learned this when lifting his boxes into the U-Haul truck. It turned out the circled numbers on each box - 86, 78, 93, etc - were weight. In pounds. I guess after his first few boxes weighed in in the high 70s and low 80s he just accepted this as the "New Normal" (insert geeky economics joke here). [3]

Packing and Breweries! (D -6)

Packing, it seems, may get easier with practice but certainly does not get more fun with time.

Graduation was surreal, of course.  I can't believe that two of the most transformative years of my life passed so quickly and with such an awkward convocation.  In retrospect, I will just claim that the First Epistle of DFW to the Graduates was read as we all listened on.  (And I'm glad to have reason to continue my tradition of reading this every June.)