So, what exactly are we doing here, you might ask? Well, today was one of those days where we learned some obvious lessons: At about 8:30am, Ebin, the ranger in … Continue reading Don’t Fence Me In: Time for Manual Labor
Knock, Knock Please Answer Me Back, I Promise I Won’t Bite
For the past couple of nights, the front rooms of the volunteer house have been haunted by a persistent, rhythmic knocking. Starting around 11p, we can hear “knock, knock” around … Continue reading Knock, Knock Please Answer Me Back, I Promise I Won’t Bite
Game Drives: 101
Best things about game drives:
– animals!
– no seatbelts
– basically being chauffeured around
– free Jane Fonda approved (I’m sure she would) “bumpy-ride” complete ab workout
– pretending you are some sort of professional photographer who knows how to take pictures and just explains the bad ones by saying “argh, he moved!”
Worst thing about game drives (if you have bangs)
– the “Something About Mary” Hair Effect
When a 24 Yr Old Finds Out I am 36 and Asks Why I Don’t Have A Family…
And I am slumped over at a bar in less than a one-horse town (no eligible people at the bar), having an allergic reaction to dust, looking pretty similar to Sloth from Goonies:
And really my only response is “dating is hard in New York”, to which she doesn’t believe me and looks at me the way one looks at a Pinterest bake fail.
I Didn’t Want to Get Eaten by a Cheetah Whilst Taking a Photo, So All You Get Is This Terrible Photo
“Please don’t die one of those stupid, highly preventable deaths” is a recurring thought:
– don’t get run over by your own car
– dont die sky diving because you forgot to bring your parachute (or check that it was there)
– don’t not “mind the gap”
– don’t “overwork” yourself to death by not going home, not eating and then turning into an mummified corpse at your desk
– don’t become obsessed with video games and die playing
– always shut the lid on the airline toilet before you flush so that you don’t get sucked into that vortex that totally does exist
In Africa, the big one is definitely “do not get eaten by a wild animal whilst trying to take a picture of it”.
If one is in an open air vehicle and an animal approaches and for whatever reason, you cannot get away (always make sure your car has gas) then be very still, at least if it attacks no one will assume it was your fault for wanting to take a selfie with your new friend.
Cut to today – we came across a cheetah and her four Cubs (note, my phone seems to think I am referencing the Chicago Cubs and it won’t let me uncapitalize the word Cubs). They were lounging in the sun about 30 meters away; we happily snapped away.
Then they decided to get up, stretch and walk to us, at some point in the walk I realized that looking through my phone lens was giving me a distorted view of how far away they were; I looked up and this giant, recent mother of a cat is approaching the hood of the car, about to get to my, completely open side.
I froze, wondered why no one else seemed to mind (totally different when you know what you wouldn’t be the sacrificial lamb) and thought “I’m missing a great picture, shut it dumbass you need to NOT be taking a picture right now”
She kept walking a disappeared into the bush. Other people got great pictures, but I leave you with this
Volunteering: Day 1
I am in Port Elizabeth, volunteering on a game reserve!
Highlights from Day 1:
– tracking a cheetah using a radio signal, but not actually seeing the cheetah
– coming across a herd (family? Group?) Of giraffes that sort of had this effect:
– helping a tortoise get right away up
– discovering that the toilet I’m using doesn’t have a toilet seat (very jarring discovery), deciding to be a diva and mention it (a new seat is coming tomorrow and people wonder why the last two volunteers didn’t complain)
– hearing stories of the “young” volunteers who arrive at the age of 19, don’t know how to boil an egg, want to party even though they signed up for an assignment in a game reserve and who generally want to take selfies with dangerous animals. Luckily no one has used the term “millennial” yet. Some young ones arrive over the weekend, fingers crossed
– discovering that there is hot water for the showers! Discovering that there is no cold water for the showers, getting a mild scalp burn in attempt to de-dust my hair
Johannesburg: City of Gold (and now food)
Aka: Mo’Money, Mo’ Problems
Johannesburg was founded in 1886 after surprise, surprise, some people found gold and the city sprung up in a matter of weeks.
We all know what happened next – the city boomed, finally the world got mad about Apartheid and imposed sanctions, businesses moved out to a new suburban growth spot, the city fell into decline etc etc
Today the city is once again growing (there are a lot of abandoned buildings that are just waiting to be turned into luxury apartments)
Probably one of the number one ways to attract up and comers to an area? Food Halls (and funky design stores). Oh and fancy coffee shops, there are so many coffee shops
In the past week I’ve had more coffee and more wine than when I was working (which says something- I guess this is why there are a lot of unemployed alcoholics)
Neighbourgoods is on Saturdays in Braamfontein and Arts on Main is on Sundays in Maboneng – both have food from all over (paella, curry, sushi, beignets, cevapi and alcohol)
