Village health workers waiting to get their nutrition parcels outside the Hlomelikusasa container.

Nutrition day at Hlomelikusasa happens once a month. Here’s how it goes: Nokulunga goes into town and buys the nutrition which consists of dried beans, mealie meal, sugar, semp, dried soy mince, and oil. Handing out nutrition is a two day process with a line out the door, waiting to talk to Nokulunga and tell her how many orphans & vulnerable children (OVC) they are cooking for, or how many Child Headed Families (CHF) they have (the child headed families are kids being looked after by an older sibling, & in addition to food, they also get soap, candles, and matches). Each Village Health Worker (VHW) cooks for anywhere from 5-50 kids, so the nutrition is distributed accordingly. And then they have to carry it back to whatever bus or taxi they are taking to get home—and home could be up to 60km away. If they can, they get someone from home to help them carry everything, and whatever they can’t carry they balance on top of their heads! The nutrition they are given is supposed to last for 1 month, but we have heard many accounts of it only lasting 3 weeks. There are a lot of stories of “extra kids” coming to eat the nutrition so it doesn’t stretch the month. The meals are always the same, but they are very hearty, and mixed with vegetables, if the village health workers have their own gardens, which many of them do.

…. And speaking of nutrition… Last night I decided to make a celebratory Obama cake. Here’s the recipe, for those interested:

First of all, look around the kitchen. What do you have? Not much? Perfect!

I melted a candy bar w/ a tablespoon of low-fat margarine; separated 2 eggs and beat the whites until I got bored (about 45 seconds); mixed the egg yolks with some sugar, and hey, why not a little diet coke, too?; some flour (even though I decided to make a flourless cake, it seemed wrong not to put flour in); a splash of Amarulah; a pinch of ginger; and some coffee. Mix it all together, bake it just shy of smelling burnt candy throughout the house (about 45 minutes at 190c), and then voila!

Celebratory Obama cake. Mmmm... tastes like CHANGE!

GO OBAMA!!!!!

Trick or Treat!!!

We tried explaining Halloween to Fikiswa… and the concept was a bit murky, but we decided that we could celebrate Halloween on our blog. Here are our costumes:

Boo! Spooky 1/2 Portrait Alex!

Aaarrrgghghghg! Scary 1/2 Portrait Andy!

We have a Dario Argento movie stored on the computer, so I think we’ll watch it tonight and try to scare eachother to death—muahahaha!!!!!!!!!!

Andy and I decided it was time to flee Mount Frere for the weekend and head for the coast.

A&A at the Indian Ocean

Someone suggested Margate, which looked even crappier than Atlantic City (if that’s possible), but when Scilla told us about the bungalows where the Umngazi River meets the Indian Ocean, well, we were convinced. Think we made the ride choice?

View from the Umngazi River Bungalows

Andy outside our bungalow

The 3 hour drive to the coast was peaceful and breathtaking, and it was great to put thoughts of work to rest for 24 hours. We arrived at noon, managing not to kill any of the cows idly standing in the middle of the road, and immediately set off for the beach. It’s still off season here, and we had the beach entirely to ourselves, which was an absolute dream. The waves were crashing, but warm, and we paddled around for hours.

Purple lobster tail on the beach!

The next day we did the same, but decided to go for a hike, too. They told us we couldn’t go on a hike w/o a guide, but guides be damned!!! We did it anyway, and the only downfall was forgetting to put on enough sunblock (sorry Mom!).

Hiking along the Umngazi River

It was breathtaking. I hope we’ll be able to go again some weekend

I’ve fallen behind w/ posts, but a few weeks ago we went to a local school to meet with the principal and other officials to tell/remind them about ASAP & Hlomelikusasa, and introduce us.

School in Mt. Frere

We arrived at the school and there was a huge pot over a fire in preparation for a big celebration at the school. Then a bunch of 12-16 year old boys started grabbing chickens from a car and taking them over toward the fire. Bye-bye chickens. But it got worse: next the kids pulled a hog-tied sheep out of the truck and dragged it around the side of the building. I won’t sugar coat it—they slaughtered Mr. Sheep. I could see the whole thing happening from the window during our meeting. Gross.

School kids: always ready for a photo!

The faculty at the school are lackluster at best. We were introduced to them by the assistant principal as “brilliant teachers who will show you how to do your job” so it’s no wonder they all hate us. Well, at first we thought they hated us, now it seems more like they just don’t care. Sometimes the teachers don’t even show up to teach their own classes. We have now been there a few times (Andy focuses on maths/sciences tutoring, and I am doing art and writing), and it’s been hard. Many of the orphans/vulnerable children don’t understand English at all—that wouldn’t be a problem if all their exams weren’t in English. It’s frustrating, and sad that they get so little help and attention.
The tech teacher is the only one who seems happy and enthusiastic to have us there. Andy’s been helping a lot in the computer lab. There are about 15 ancient computers. When we got there they were all broken, but Andy fixed them (and by “fixed” I mean “plugged them in”—yeah, he’s a genius). Every single computer has a virus, and even though they turn on, they hardly work. But they have put in an application to Dell for 30 computers, so maybe they’ll at least get a few. We’ll see.
The tech teacher is also the head gardener. They’ve got a pretty great garden that the kids work on every day after school. It’s in the beginning stages, but stay tuned, we’ll keep updating the pictures and show you the garden as it grows. It’s already showing improvement, which is really fun to watch:

Garden after 1 day

Garden after 1 week

Garden after 3 weeks

The Gogos lunch comes once a month, and is quite a memorable event.
The Gogos (grandmothers who ASAP and Hlomelikusasa assist) are supporting and caring for their grandchildren, usually because their own children have died from HIV/AIDS. We met in a large room at the Roman Catholic hall, sort of like a school auditorium. I can hardly explain what it was like. As we walked into the room we were greeted by 40 gogos and village health care workers singing us the Hlomelikusasa song. It’s a great song, especially when you hear it sung through these powerhouse granny voices!

Gogos Lunch

The gogos and village health care workers were so nice and welcoming. One gogo even offered to slaughter a chicken for us! We had an interesting time telling her we don’t eat meat.

We spent about 4 hours watching them sing and dance, and tell stories of their childhood.

Gogos dancing & storytelling

The stories were hilarious—the gogos are a bunch of flirts! A bunch of their stories are about how they used to sneak their boyfriends into their bedrooms, or sneak out, BUT they also kept their legs crossed, as they had to take virginity tests on a regular basis!!! Virtinity tests have fallen by the wayside, but they are trying to reinstate them, since teen pregnancy is so high.

So here we are in Mount Frere, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Here are some first impressions:

• Though at first we were hesitant to live in a gated apartment building, we are now quite relieved. The parking is on a first come first served basis—we usually grab a space under the portal, but the other day we got in late, and just nestled the car right inside the gate, near the road. An hour later one of our neighbors came knocking and suggested we move the car further into the complex, because ‘naughty boys’ might throw rocks at the car since it was so close to the gate. Now we park as far from the gate as possible.

Our apartment building in Mount Frere

• There’s a scrapyard across the street from our flat. It’s better than TV.

Scrapyard

• Everything runs on ‘African time’—up to 3 hours late, or not at all.
• Don’t ask for tea, because it’s boiled milk and Nescafe or a tea bag. Water does not figure in.
• The handshake: First a regular handshake; switch into an upward hand clasp (if that makes sense); then down for another regular handshake.
• We’ve been to the SHOPRITE several times, and have found most of the necessities: eggs, cheddar & feta cheeses, Bran flakes, soy milk, cabbage, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, pasta, even veggie burgers! Andy and I are wondering if it’s because of the Pakistani/halal community, because no one else seems to have any problem with massive meat consumption. For example, check out this grocery store:

The 'Eat Sum Meat' grocery store

• The electricity goes out constantly. I’ve been putting off writing a report at the office all week because the power has been out for 4 days straight. We have electricity at home, but that goes out too. We finally bought candles, and we try to make the best of it (and the cold cheese sandwiches we’re relegated to).
• In addition to the power going out, so does the water.
• I’m only just starting to get used to some of the looks we’re getting. The most common look is: “Do those white people know they’re in Mount Frere? I think they took the wrong exit.”
• The street is always bustling. Here are a few examples of what you might see:

Chickens sold on every corner.

Hungry? Why not buy a sheep! Only R1200.

KFC, as promised.

Medicinal herbs for sale.

Cape Hair Salon, located in a container. Maybe I'll get my hair did!

• Everyone is exceedingly nice. Every time we say hello in Xhosa (molo or molweni), or thank you (enkosi), they look at us like we’re their first born learning how to walk. Such love! It has really helped the transition to Mount Frere, and our work with ASAP and the Hlomelikusasa office.
• Oh, and let me not forget to mention the rats! Well, the only evidence I have is the poop (Andy and I bought some caulk to seal the ceiling so the rat pooh can’t drop onto our heads at night), but we also hear them running in the  ceiling. I’m still not convinced it’s rats–they sound more like 15 pound dogs running full tilt across the roof. Oh, how I wish it was dogs and not rats…

A Vineyard in Franschhoek

A couple of weeks ago, before we left Cape Town, we went with a couple of friends to the Wine Country around Stellenbosch for a couple of days. The trip was wonderful - the weather perked up for the first time in over a week. We got out to Franschhoek around noon. The name translates as “French Corner” and for those lucky few coming here for Christmas is where we almost rented a house but then decided not to. Well, the bad news in that regard is that Franschhoek is really beautiful. We checked into our cute B&B and ambled out of town along a quiet country lane to a vineyard. The surroundings were eye pleasing to say the least - the town is in a quiet valley surrounded by 300 degrees of rocky mountains and full to the brim of vineyards. Our first tasting was about R15 ($2) and yielded a tasty Sauvignon Blanc. We then stopped for lunch, at our B&B host’s recommendation, at the Vineyard Brasserie.

Vineyard Brasserie

We were the only people there, the sun was still beaming down although it was cool in the shade, and we had an amazing lunch (yes, with another bottle of wine of course) rounded off with a cheese plate with the most interesting ginger-watermelon chutney. Yum.

This little guy was at the Brasserie with us

We whiled away the rest of the day with a further wine tasting, quick game of Uno and a ridiculously brief dip in the freezing swimming pool. Dinner at Reubens was excellent - it’s supposed to be one of the best restaurants in the country although personally I preferred our lunch, especially for the better vegetarian options.

Dessert at Reuben's didn't last long

The next day we drove up over the Franschhoek pass, pausing to admire the view over Franschhoek in the valley and to pick up a bottle of wine to give to our Cape Town host Priscilla.

The mauve-a-tron was in fine form as we wound our way down the back of the mountains and took the long way round to Stellenbosch, where we had a light lunch at Bean. Stellenbosch is the better-known center of wine country – there are approximately one billion wineries within the district. It is also a college town and much more metropolitan than Franschhoek.

We headed home after one last wine tasting, at Boschendal, which was not the place we thought we were going to but turned out to be a lovely estate. The wine wasn’t anything to write home (or blog) about, but perhaps by that stage we were spoiled and just being snobby about it. Over the two days we picked up quite a few bottles which have made it here to Mount Frere to comfort us on quiet nights in.

Tasting at Boschendal

It’s hard out there for a monkey, as we learned bright and early one morning at Monkey Land in Tsitsikamma National Forest. We saw squirrel monkeys, lemurs, baboons, gibbons, and a few others we can’t remember the names for. Oh yes, and a quick squirrel monkey gang rape. Apparently monkeys are retardedly horney.

Now let me back up a bit: We decided to take a road trip from Cape Town to Mount Frere, with pit stops in De Hoop Nature Reserve, Tsitsikamma National Forest, and a village called Hogsback.
In De Hoop we stayed at a wicked place called Buchu Bushcamp. We drove in on the most god-awful road I’ve ever encountered—and being from New Mexico, I’m used to god-awful roads. We got there a bit late, and didn’t get to fully explore it, but there were beautiful birds (and avid French birdwatchers); a sweet camp host who reminded me of Thurman Murman from Bad Santa; gorgeous sand dunes; and exotic plants.

Next we stopped in Tsitsikamma, home of the words highest bungee jump at 216 meters high. No, neither of us decided to do it. I had been bungee jumping at Victoria Falls once so I thought maybe I could do it again, and Andy thought maybe he should prove himself … but one look over the bridge and our knees started to wobble.  216 meters is really freaking high. Instead we took a walk to the “big tree.” Everyone seems to have a big tree. But it was big: 800 years old, and so wide around that it would take 8 people holding hands to reach all around it. We stayed at a backpackers called Tube n’ Axe, which was otherwise entirely occupied by 20 year old American girls all trying to sleep with the hot South African bartender (who reminded us both of Future Man from Bottle Rocket). After watching them play beer pong and flirt heavily, we decided to watch the stars from our tent and enjoy the uncharacteristically hot evening.

Our last stop was to a village called Hogsback. Their claim to fame?: The place JRR Tolkein based The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings. Upon further reading, it turns out that’s basically a load of crap, but they have run wild with the Hobbit theme. We stayed in a hippy-dippy backpackers called Away With The Faeries. The guy at the reception desk was wearing a T-shirt that said: Tap H2O Makes You Lesbian. If you know what that means, please let me know. Anyway, our double room was called The Hobbit, but if we’d splashed out, we might’ve been put in Frodo’s suite. Too bad for us. But we still enjoyed our room, and Andy even made a fire! The next morning we took an awesome hike down to Swallow Tail Falls and got to enjoy a lovely little waterfall. We took the “very difficult” path back to our car, and yeah, it was effing difficult. Practically straight up, hoisting ourselves up jagged boulders. Fun times!

And then, finally, on to Mount Frere!!! Stay tuned…

We just found out that one of the women we visited on our first township visit died from AIDS yesterday. We remember her very clearly because she was the first woman Baba took us to see. We gave her sheets, and a small blanket. Her tiny two-room shack was especially grim—it was dank, dirty, and had a terrible stench. The woman herself was skin and bones, and too weak to stand. She left three children: 16, 14, and 8 (I think), who are now a Child Headed family. It is so sad. Now these kids will have to fend for themselves. I can’t even imagine. They already barely had anything, and now they have even less! It’s devastating to think of what will happen to those kids—and there are thousands upon thousands more…