Language, language, language!
I so terribly miss being able to speak to people in their native tongue! I was spoiled in Morocco. By the end of my time there, I could converse fluently in a random dialect of Tamazight, and make myself understood in Moroccan Arabic. It was heavenly, being able to ask questions, overhear people talking about me, and just not feel adrift and idiotic. Here, everyone speaks English, except when they don't want me to understand. Then they use Shona, Zulu, Ndebele, Setswana, Sesotho, Afrikaaner...
I still know when people are talking about me though. A nod of the head, a certain tone of voice. I miss the days when I could play dumb and then hop into a conversation with the knowledge of what people really thought of me already in place. Now I just have to guess.
On the other hand, my body language skills are vastly improved since I came from teh US. I can speak without language.
And, if I don't want them to understand me, all I have to do is pick a Moroccan language, and they haven't a clue. :)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
S.Africa => Zim
Around the 5th of August, we left South Africa for places further north. We had just finished a really cool 3 day hike through the Blyde River Canyon. It's an absolutely gorgeous part of a lovely and diversely geograph-ied country. It's only four of us now, as Whit has stayed in Mozambique, so as to become a Divemaster. She's got a sweet internship near the breeding grounds of whale sharks. I think she'll have a lot of fun. JmC and Al. accompanied Whit up to her new diving playground/training spot. Meanwhile, AWS. and I went to Joburg to meet with his family. Reuniting in Nelspruit, we proceeded to hitchhike up to Bourke's Luck Potholes (odd name, eh? gotta love Afrikaaner names... and that's not the half of it). We were then dropped in the middle of nowhere by a surprisingly ghetto "hiking info"center. Broken windows, shredded insulation, no doors. We had no map thanks to a miscommunication between park staff, but knew to look for yellow footprints. We had at least three days worth of food, sleeping bags, no tents, and about an hour and a half left of daylight. After semi frantic searching, we found the yellow footprints and launched into the hike. Upon the due course of the hike we found our huts, and many a beautiful waterfall, and many an attractive boulder to boulder. We jumped of a cliff into deep, cold, blue water. We successfully protected our food from the depredations of baboons. We finished the hike and headed for Zimbabwe.
The biggest difference? Worse infrastructure, slightly higher prices, and way less racial crap. It's inescapable in S.A. You WILL run into it at least once a day. Not between white foreigners and black S.Africans. No, between Afrikaaners and black S.Africans. A marked lack of trust, and not a bit of of hateful fear displayed from the former towards the later. We made it through just fine on the "black" transport, but many were the times an Afrikaaner laughed us off for crazy, lectured us as stupid, or just shook their head at us. Fortunately we met some wonderful Afrikaaner's too, which gave us hope. After all, it's still only 15 years or so since apartheid, and honestly, they've come a good way in that short time. May they continue down such a path!!!
Zimbabwe has surpassed expectations. People have been helpful, friendly, kind, and practical. If something goes wrong, you find a way to fix it. Since things often go wrong, people are adept at fixing them. Hitching is easy--many, many people do it. The landscape is really lovely, and the country is home to what must be the greatest concentration of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in any one country. I feel like I can't move for bumping into another!
We went to Great Zimbabwe. UNESCO, of course, and wow, how cool!!! Probably the coolest archeological site I've ever visited. Really pretty landscape, too. Then to Matobo National Park by Bulawayo, which is wild and stunning, with bunches and bunches of cave paintings.
And then Al. got malaria. So we stayed with our (wonderful) host until he got better. Thus, we have had opportunity to check out Bulwayo's art scene pretty thoroughly. Beaten down, but not destoryed, and our (wonderful) host is working to restore it. There has been lots of good cooking. It's been nice to pause after moving on and on so frequently.
Thanks again to our (wonderful!!) hostess.
Today we hope to move on.
The biggest difference? Worse infrastructure, slightly higher prices, and way less racial crap. It's inescapable in S.A. You WILL run into it at least once a day. Not between white foreigners and black S.Africans. No, between Afrikaaners and black S.Africans. A marked lack of trust, and not a bit of of hateful fear displayed from the former towards the later. We made it through just fine on the "black" transport, but many were the times an Afrikaaner laughed us off for crazy, lectured us as stupid, or just shook their head at us. Fortunately we met some wonderful Afrikaaner's too, which gave us hope. After all, it's still only 15 years or so since apartheid, and honestly, they've come a good way in that short time. May they continue down such a path!!!
Zimbabwe has surpassed expectations. People have been helpful, friendly, kind, and practical. If something goes wrong, you find a way to fix it. Since things often go wrong, people are adept at fixing them. Hitching is easy--many, many people do it. The landscape is really lovely, and the country is home to what must be the greatest concentration of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in any one country. I feel like I can't move for bumping into another!
We went to Great Zimbabwe. UNESCO, of course, and wow, how cool!!! Probably the coolest archeological site I've ever visited. Really pretty landscape, too. Then to Matobo National Park by Bulawayo, which is wild and stunning, with bunches and bunches of cave paintings.
And then Al. got malaria. So we stayed with our (wonderful) host until he got better. Thus, we have had opportunity to check out Bulwayo's art scene pretty thoroughly. Beaten down, but not destoryed, and our (wonderful) host is working to restore it. There has been lots of good cooking. It's been nice to pause after moving on and on so frequently.
Thanks again to our (wonderful!!) hostess.
Today we hope to move on.
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