Junes Contribution 1
Wednesday 26th July
George thinks it would be a good idea if I put up some thouhts while I am here. I have been here a week already and I have no idea of where the time has gone. Not surprising really when you visit any new place. I don’t ususally keep a diary but this might be fun to read after two years to see the differences.
First impressions
While being here is not like being in Europe or America there are so many things, which are familiar that it is very comfortable for me. There are children’s playgrounds, parks, traffic lights and cinemas. There are familiar names like Shell garage’s, Specsavers, Woolworth’s; a spar shop; but there are also chains I haven’t heard of but are clearly popular out here. The burger style joints are similar too; Nandos is one we have at home but there is one called ‘Bimbos’ here which I suppose is only for WAGs and blonds. I won’t be going in there. So on the surface it seems familiar. I am sure when I have been here a bit longer I’ll be able to scratch the surface and see what happens underneath.
Yet, there are also enough differences to make it strange and different, but in a safe way. I felt more foreign in South America than I do here. People do sometimes stare but not many. Children are more likely to than adults – hardly surprising children are always more curious. One woman (in Arabian style clothes) called me ‘white colour woman’ but not many really pay any more attention than they would to anyone. I still haven’t ventured out on my own yet. I went to town with Avia one day to buy some groceries and to get her some bits and bobs but have since learned I can’t drive here unless I get a resident’s licence so need to get special driving permit before I venture out. I could walk and probably will one day when I feel I won’t get lost. It’s not far to town about 20 minutes walk but there are no maps, so haven’t quite got my bearings despite George’s orienting day.
Francistown
The day after I arrived George gave me an orienting tour so I would know where things are but there were so many malls and areas I just am not sure yet. I can find the way from his work to here but not sure about other places. There are no pavements so you get dusty and it is hot from 1000– 1500hrs so need to try to get in early. All the goods in the shops are recognisable but the pavement sellers, of which there are many, there were a number of things that were difficult to identify: one of which was dried worms. Don’t think I will be trying those in a hurry! There are very few shops that cater for a tourist trade so most things on sale are practical and basic. No nice presents for anyone from here. No craft stalls with jewellry or nic naks. We needed a sofa for the living room and the choices were so old-fashioned that even your granny would think they were not for her. Hideous, big, lots of decorative carved dark wood and bad patterns. I had hoped for something ‘African’, but the kind that ethnic shops at home sell doesn’t happen out here, except in the tourist restaurants and hotels selling images of Africa. We did eventually find a plain sand coloured 2 seater which you might get in IKEA. (They have a Habitat in Gaborone apparently and it sells our version of African patterns and styles.) Ironic enough even for me.
All the buildings in Francis town are new or newish. Most onle story high. It seems a bit like a new town like Glenrothes. Lots of commercial, idustrial and domestic areas interspersed.
My first adventure
The pool George has is not usable yet. It is still too cloudy. He has to do a few more chemical mixes to get it right. Strangely the water would be very cold anyway and there would be no way I would go in. I feel hot most of the time but as soon as the sun goes down it gets cold. The air doesn’t hold the warmth. Not like home in the summer when you can sit outside till very late. I keep having to remind myself it is winter. I didn’t need any reminding last Saturday. George took Friday off work so we went to a lodge up by some salt pans so we could see a bit of the country and also the pans. We got up around 6am (yes on a holiday Saturday) to join a guided tour of the pans. We turned out to be the only ones on the tour. The guide told us it would be cold but I figured in Africa how cold can it get? Bloody freezing is the answer. (Apparently no-one swears here and it is especially frowned upon for woman so I have to watch my language. Really difficult. I reckon it is just a ruse on George’s part to get me to stop altogether). Anyway back to the story. We had blankets wrapped round us and it was still freezing. Because the rains had been so good this year the ‘lake’ hadn’t receded to show the pans so you couldn’t drive through them as in some years and this meant that the flamingos which are usually in their thousands, were not there. We saw one lone flamingo. However all was not lost we did see lots of pelicans, wattled cranes which are huge (bigger than our eagles), ostriches and herds of springbok. The sunrise was wonderful. What a colour the bush was, really lovely- very dramatic almost ‘out of Afrcia’ but without the elephants. We’ll have to come back in the dry season to see the flamingos.
The lodge we were staying at was ‘African’. It was decorated with giraffes on the curtains, lost of rustic features but not basic. The kind of Africa you could imagine Disney creating. Lovely. Lots of big comfy padded chairs to sip your G+T as the sun goes down. Felt very colonial. We even had a shower room that was attached to the room but outside so you could see the wilderness. Excellent sanitised start to my African adventure.
On the way home we took a wee detour to get another look at the pans/lake and as we were travelling along we saw very close to the road a herd of wilderbeast just grazing near a waterhole. We couldn’t believe it. For the first time I felt I was somewhere very different. It wasn’t like looking at a herd of cows. The other side of the road there were some more springbok grazing very close. It was truly amazing. I got quite excited. What am I going to be like when I see lions? Or elephants?
Travel companions
People hitch here all the time. Most can’t afford cars so they rely on people stopping for them. In saying that the cars that people do have are in good condition - nothing like the bashed up heaps driving around in Gambia or Peru. We stopped a couple of times to give women a lift. Each time we thought it was one woman and then out of nowhere comes more with their children. They are always quite shy of us but will talk if you ask questions. The last group has waited for an hour and half to get a lift.
Houses
In Francistown houses look like they do at home. Usually they are bungalows. The richer areas have bigger bungalows with lots of ground and electric fencing round them; the poorer ones smaller and less ground. In our street there are wide roads and lots of land. In the country side there is more variety. Some of the people live in round mud huts with thatched roofs. The richer they get the more they add. They have wooden corals round big areas and as more money comes in they develop more on the plot of land. We saw one plot with a mud hut; an outside brick built toilet, a bungalow with inside facilities. Interesting combination. Some of the mud huts had been painted; some had mud walls round them.
George’s colleagues.
I have met all of George’s colleagues now except the woman Alison who is on holiday but I think I will meet her before I go home. Like George, the two European guys are both in their late 50s but are seasoned African project workers. When George and I went out to his gold club one night all the guys in the bar (and they were all men) were well into there 50s too. There must be young guys here too cos I see a lot of young white woman out and about ‘doing lunch’ or shopping. The strangest thing I saw was a shop that gave massages and did nails but you could also hire a sunbed. Who on earth would hire a sunbed out here? Crazy. But then Avia thinks I am crazy anyway cos I sunbathe. She would never think of doing this. While we were in the bar I noticed that instead of serving nuts or crisps you can buy packets of dried meat – biltong - bit like the American beef jerky.
Avia
Avia is about 30 I guess although it is hard to tell. She seems to like it here but she only gets to see her husband at the weekend. He works as a picker on a farm about 40 miles away. She isn’t going to see her daughter till Christmas. It bothers her but there isn’t a lot she can do about it. She wants her to go to school in Zimbabwe. Today she asked me if I believed in God. I think my answer disappointed her. She believes in God and thinks that the devil is out to try to trap us at every opportunity. She said that those who don’t believe in God walk on their knees. I will have very sore knees I am afraid. She likes to watch programmes on the TV that are about angels, devils or religious. There isn’t much work for her to do here cos there is little furniture and no dusting so she watches TV a lot. I found it difficult at first to let her tidy up after me. One day I started the dishes and she said that she would do it. I let her and haven’t tried since. I suppose it must be what it is like for most men having someone to do stuff for them and magically their clothes are washed and dried and ironed. I must admit I could do with her at home but I doubt she would like Scotland – too cold.
Bye for now
Well that is my first week over. Nothing profound to say but liked writing about it. Not sure what it will be like if (when) I come out here for good. It has been great to be with George again though. Missed the silly old bugger. He has taken Friday and Monday off so we are off to visit Victoria Falls this weekend. Looking forward to that.
George thinks it would be a good idea if I put up some thouhts while I am here. I have been here a week already and I have no idea of where the time has gone. Not surprising really when you visit any new place. I don’t ususally keep a diary but this might be fun to read after two years to see the differences.
First impressions
While being here is not like being in Europe or America there are so many things, which are familiar that it is very comfortable for me. There are children’s playgrounds, parks, traffic lights and cinemas. There are familiar names like Shell garage’s, Specsavers, Woolworth’s; a spar shop; but there are also chains I haven’t heard of but are clearly popular out here. The burger style joints are similar too; Nandos is one we have at home but there is one called ‘Bimbos’ here which I suppose is only for WAGs and blonds. I won’t be going in there. So on the surface it seems familiar. I am sure when I have been here a bit longer I’ll be able to scratch the surface and see what happens underneath.
Yet, there are also enough differences to make it strange and different, but in a safe way. I felt more foreign in South America than I do here. People do sometimes stare but not many. Children are more likely to than adults – hardly surprising children are always more curious. One woman (in Arabian style clothes) called me ‘white colour woman’ but not many really pay any more attention than they would to anyone. I still haven’t ventured out on my own yet. I went to town with Avia one day to buy some groceries and to get her some bits and bobs but have since learned I can’t drive here unless I get a resident’s licence so need to get special driving permit before I venture out. I could walk and probably will one day when I feel I won’t get lost. It’s not far to town about 20 minutes walk but there are no maps, so haven’t quite got my bearings despite George’s orienting day.
Francistown
The day after I arrived George gave me an orienting tour so I would know where things are but there were so many malls and areas I just am not sure yet. I can find the way from his work to here but not sure about other places. There are no pavements so you get dusty and it is hot from 1000– 1500hrs so need to try to get in early. All the goods in the shops are recognisable but the pavement sellers, of which there are many, there were a number of things that were difficult to identify: one of which was dried worms. Don’t think I will be trying those in a hurry! There are very few shops that cater for a tourist trade so most things on sale are practical and basic. No nice presents for anyone from here. No craft stalls with jewellry or nic naks. We needed a sofa for the living room and the choices were so old-fashioned that even your granny would think they were not for her. Hideous, big, lots of decorative carved dark wood and bad patterns. I had hoped for something ‘African’, but the kind that ethnic shops at home sell doesn’t happen out here, except in the tourist restaurants and hotels selling images of Africa. We did eventually find a plain sand coloured 2 seater which you might get in IKEA. (They have a Habitat in Gaborone apparently and it sells our version of African patterns and styles.) Ironic enough even for me.
All the buildings in Francis town are new or newish. Most onle story high. It seems a bit like a new town like Glenrothes. Lots of commercial, idustrial and domestic areas interspersed.
My first adventure
The pool George has is not usable yet. It is still too cloudy. He has to do a few more chemical mixes to get it right. Strangely the water would be very cold anyway and there would be no way I would go in. I feel hot most of the time but as soon as the sun goes down it gets cold. The air doesn’t hold the warmth. Not like home in the summer when you can sit outside till very late. I keep having to remind myself it is winter. I didn’t need any reminding last Saturday. George took Friday off work so we went to a lodge up by some salt pans so we could see a bit of the country and also the pans. We got up around 6am (yes on a holiday Saturday) to join a guided tour of the pans. We turned out to be the only ones on the tour. The guide told us it would be cold but I figured in Africa how cold can it get? Bloody freezing is the answer. (Apparently no-one swears here and it is especially frowned upon for woman so I have to watch my language. Really difficult. I reckon it is just a ruse on George’s part to get me to stop altogether). Anyway back to the story. We had blankets wrapped round us and it was still freezing. Because the rains had been so good this year the ‘lake’ hadn’t receded to show the pans so you couldn’t drive through them as in some years and this meant that the flamingos which are usually in their thousands, were not there. We saw one lone flamingo. However all was not lost we did see lots of pelicans, wattled cranes which are huge (bigger than our eagles), ostriches and herds of springbok. The sunrise was wonderful. What a colour the bush was, really lovely- very dramatic almost ‘out of Afrcia’ but without the elephants. We’ll have to come back in the dry season to see the flamingos.
The lodge we were staying at was ‘African’. It was decorated with giraffes on the curtains, lost of rustic features but not basic. The kind of Africa you could imagine Disney creating. Lovely. Lots of big comfy padded chairs to sip your G+T as the sun goes down. Felt very colonial. We even had a shower room that was attached to the room but outside so you could see the wilderness. Excellent sanitised start to my African adventure.
On the way home we took a wee detour to get another look at the pans/lake and as we were travelling along we saw very close to the road a herd of wilderbeast just grazing near a waterhole. We couldn’t believe it. For the first time I felt I was somewhere very different. It wasn’t like looking at a herd of cows. The other side of the road there were some more springbok grazing very close. It was truly amazing. I got quite excited. What am I going to be like when I see lions? Or elephants?
Travel companions
People hitch here all the time. Most can’t afford cars so they rely on people stopping for them. In saying that the cars that people do have are in good condition - nothing like the bashed up heaps driving around in Gambia or Peru. We stopped a couple of times to give women a lift. Each time we thought it was one woman and then out of nowhere comes more with their children. They are always quite shy of us but will talk if you ask questions. The last group has waited for an hour and half to get a lift.
Houses
In Francistown houses look like they do at home. Usually they are bungalows. The richer areas have bigger bungalows with lots of ground and electric fencing round them; the poorer ones smaller and less ground. In our street there are wide roads and lots of land. In the country side there is more variety. Some of the people live in round mud huts with thatched roofs. The richer they get the more they add. They have wooden corals round big areas and as more money comes in they develop more on the plot of land. We saw one plot with a mud hut; an outside brick built toilet, a bungalow with inside facilities. Interesting combination. Some of the mud huts had been painted; some had mud walls round them.
George’s colleagues.
I have met all of George’s colleagues now except the woman Alison who is on holiday but I think I will meet her before I go home. Like George, the two European guys are both in their late 50s but are seasoned African project workers. When George and I went out to his gold club one night all the guys in the bar (and they were all men) were well into there 50s too. There must be young guys here too cos I see a lot of young white woman out and about ‘doing lunch’ or shopping. The strangest thing I saw was a shop that gave massages and did nails but you could also hire a sunbed. Who on earth would hire a sunbed out here? Crazy. But then Avia thinks I am crazy anyway cos I sunbathe. She would never think of doing this. While we were in the bar I noticed that instead of serving nuts or crisps you can buy packets of dried meat – biltong - bit like the American beef jerky.
Avia
Avia is about 30 I guess although it is hard to tell. She seems to like it here but she only gets to see her husband at the weekend. He works as a picker on a farm about 40 miles away. She isn’t going to see her daughter till Christmas. It bothers her but there isn’t a lot she can do about it. She wants her to go to school in Zimbabwe. Today she asked me if I believed in God. I think my answer disappointed her. She believes in God and thinks that the devil is out to try to trap us at every opportunity. She said that those who don’t believe in God walk on their knees. I will have very sore knees I am afraid. She likes to watch programmes on the TV that are about angels, devils or religious. There isn’t much work for her to do here cos there is little furniture and no dusting so she watches TV a lot. I found it difficult at first to let her tidy up after me. One day I started the dishes and she said that she would do it. I let her and haven’t tried since. I suppose it must be what it is like for most men having someone to do stuff for them and magically their clothes are washed and dried and ironed. I must admit I could do with her at home but I doubt she would like Scotland – too cold.
Bye for now
Well that is my first week over. Nothing profound to say but liked writing about it. Not sure what it will be like if (when) I come out here for good. It has been great to be with George again though. Missed the silly old bugger. He has taken Friday and Monday off so we are off to visit Victoria Falls this weekend. Looking forward to that.
posted by George Herd at 5:13 PM
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