Spring Break, Part Four

Day Six: Kruger, South Africa - Tofo, Mozambique

After enjoying a few days of safari, it was time to relax at the beach. How long until we get there? An hour? Two? After stopping at a gas station (which had ridiculous prices being in Mozam), we asked the attendent how long it would take. Six...from Maputo. What time is it? Four? Oh dear...

In what was probably the most traumatic experience of all of our lives, we drove to our humble destination in Tofo. Potholes were everywhere. It was a long, slow drive with sudden frights every ten minutes because trucks would swerve into our "lane" to avoid the potholes. After losing about ten years of our lives, we finally arrived at Tofo. Of course, our hostel was not clearly marked, we got stuck in the sand and resorted to teams of two searching for anyone who could help.

Day Seven: The Beach

The next day, it was soooo relaxing. There was a beach, a beautiful beach, and that is all we cared about. We did absolutely nothing. It was great. We read, we swam, we ignored the brown water out of the faucets and we drank our lovely water bottles from South Africa. It was great. It was a place where you could just ignore the rest of the world. I feel like one could live there for twenty years and never be updated on anything outside your little beach.

Oh, speaking of nothing - that is what Mozambique is. There is absolutely nothing for miles and miles. You'll have small villages of about 100 people scattered here and there but outside that - the bush and the ocean. That's it. There was a decently sized community in Tofo and Maputo is a pretty big city but the landscape is just so barren and so empty that you can feel lost.

Day Eight: Tofo - Maputo

We left the beach a day too early, according to everyone's opinion, but we had to get back to Pietermaritzburg the next day...

We arrived in Maputo to a downpour. It was getting late since we had been pulled over twice in an hour because the police saw our nice rental cars and South African plates. We gave them bribes to leave us alone and we went on our merry way.

Day Nine: Maputo, Mozambique - Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

The end to our road trip was filled with driving, driving, driving. It took 12 hours to get back. By the time we arrived in PMB, we had enough of driving. But we did enjoy our time on the road and in new places, experiencing Southern Africa to the fullest. New people, animals, and landscapes had filled our senses to the brim with great memories.

From One Corner of the World to Another

On a lamp post near an intersection in a residential area of Pietermaritzburg, a small placard read, "Many Flee US Fires." Yes, California has officially arrived in South Africa. I feel like Frodo Baggins, ready to head back to the Shire, which has been ravaged by flames. California has become the center of world attention.

Good news is that everyone I know is safe. I know some people who have been evacuated and I know that UCSD is closed for the week. I'm pretty proud of the stories come out to me, though - stories of people giving each other places to stay, volunteer work, and food and water runs. I hope no one's house burns down. I just saw a picture of a cabin from Running Springs in flames so I'm not too sure how well my old house is doing there.

I wish I could send some of the rain that we've been getting here over to the States. Every morning, the sun is out and it is hot. By mid-afternoon, the clouds roll in for a frightening thunderstorm. We had hail yesterday and I saw lightning hit the ground about a hundred meters from my dorm room. As I type, ominous clouds are rolling in and thunder can be heard in the distance. Weather, it seems, is determined to make life difficult. Here and in California.

The Crew

Avi - UC Davis, CA, USA
Known for: Having his camera on his person at all times and coming up with the most amazing pictures ever!

Sarah - UC Santa Cruz, CA, USA
Known for: Being scared out of her mind while driving through Mozambique because trucks kept veering to our side of the road.

Tara - UC Santa Cruz, CA, USA
Known for: Eating an entire steak and still being hungry.

Kaitlin - UC Riverside, CA, USA
Known for: Having to pee every hour along with Tara.

Jacob - UC Berkeley, CA, USA
Known for: Being a "know-it-all" and just an overall Berkeley product.

E.J. - Rutgers, NJ, USA
Known for: Metrosexual who works at Express.

Tiffany - Rutgers, NJ, USA
Known for: Having a dance party in her car 24/7.

Karim - Germany
Known for: Being Tunisian.

Zam - South Africa
Known for: Getting pulled over 5 times because the Mozambique and Kruger police are corrupt and only want bribes. The only legitimate time he should've gotten pulled over was once in Kruger.

Becca - UC San Diego, CA, USA
Known for: Being Josh's girlfriend and having the nickname, "Mom."

Josh - UC San Diego, CA, USA
Known for: Navigator and Financial Organizer of the trip as well having the nickname, "Dad."

Classroom Notes

In my politics class, a Zulu stated that legislation over women's rights had to take into account cultural practices.

In my film class, a white South African was telling me about "reverse apartheid" and how all the whites are moving overseas when they get old enough.

Last night, my next door neighbor had an insightful discussion about the future of the world - debating about China, military usage, etc.

My art history class had a brief discussion about KFC and whether the chicken is good for you or not. Also, we talked about testicular cancer.

My religion class discussed the role of women in Islam.

Spring Break, Part Three

Day Three: Barberton Mountains

The best drive of the trip. Dirt road through the oldest place on earth. It was so beautiful that if I attempt to describe it, it wouldn't do it justice. So look at THIS!

Day Four and Five: Kruger National Park

Again. This is something that I can't really describe too much. We drove around in our cars in this giant game reserve called Kruger National Park and saw a whole bunch of animals!! They were all pretty close to the road - which is surprising, but I guess they all love the star spotlight! Completed the goal of seeing the Big 5 (leopard, lion, wildebeast, buffalo, and rhino) and was mighty satisfied. These PICTURES are still being updated - I hope to have this album done by tomorrow.

Spring Break, Part Two

Day Two: St. Lucia Estuary, South Africa - Mbabane, Swaziland

The group woke up and went on a boat cruise around the Estuary. It was like a real-life Jungle Cruise! There were hippos and crocodiles and horribly satisfying humor from the speakers! Didn't see any head-hunters though - just some tourists. After snapping a few pictures, we layed out on the deck and enjoyed the sun. It was nice and relaxing. After that, we meandered to the market to get some lunch. Hung out. Ate. Packed. Walked around.

Finally, we got into the cars and headed for Swaziland. We managed to reach the border within an hour and pulled up to a single gate with two guards. Slightly confused and wondering if we were at the right place, we inquired inside one of the buildings. After speaking to the only employee, we got our drivers to fill out forms and our passports stamped. We piled into the cars, the guards lifted the gate, and we were in! Welcome to Swaziland!

There is an immediate difference about Swaziland. In South Africa, the small towns have a decently sized population. In Swaziland, the small towns had numbers under 200. Everything was spread out. Nothingness. Uncultivated and barren land. Small huts would appear and every now and then there would be a sign,but it was quite desolate. Cars were barely seen at all on the main thoroughfare through the country. Dusk was arriving and we were continuing along - wait, why is Tara getting out of the car? Tara? Tara! Tara, why are you taking a picture of that hut? Sigh. Oh well, make it fas-- Tara, get in the car now! Oh man, there is a group of guys going up to her. Okay, Zam's there (Zam = local Zulu/South African). He doesn't look too happy. Okay, good. Get in the car. TARA! Don't get out of the car again!!

We eventually made our way to Manzini, second largest city in the country. It's probably as big as Gilroy. After getting lost because there are absolutely no road signs, we made our way onto a very nice looking highway. There were lights and signs and everything! Darkness had overtaken the country and we were hungry and tired. Finally, we made it to hostel #2 - Legends Backpackers. There wasn't anything so legendary about it. 10 beds in a box room that was probably the same size as my dorm room at UCSD - which was a single. We went to a nice hotel down the dirt road which had a nice restaurant.

Eating had never felt so good. And there was bread to start our meal! You have no idea how important bread is before your appetizer and meal. In South Africa, this is a rare occurrence and all of us mourn our lack of bread. The rest of the meal was like our others in restaurants in southern Africa - asking for water every 5 minutes, waiting for the check to be delivered to you, asking for the check after waiting 20 minutes, waiting for check for another 10 and then trying to figure out what is an acceptable tip. I love southern Africa - but if there is one thing that I say they need to work on, it is SERVICE. That and the whole AIDS, poverty, and crime thing.

Seriously, though, Swaziland has been hit hard by AIDS. Crime is actually less prevalant than in South Africa and it's true that you do feel safer there. I don't know if that's because it is run by a monarch or what but you feel okay walking on any sort of street. However, nearly 40% of the country is infected by HIV. Which is ridiculous. It's nearly that same amount in KwaZulu-Natal. I haven't talked much about HIV/AIDS because honestly - there are posters for testing and awareness but no one talks about it. They're tired of talking about it. It's like when you bring up Iraq in America. Everyone sighs and yawns and blanks out for a few minutes, hoping they're done talking about it. No one really wants to talk about everyone dying every single day. They just want to live their lives as free as possible with no worries. Of course, this is in the urban areas. The rural areas - you get AIDS and kiss your way of life goodbye. Social relationships are strained, you can't get to a clinic let alone pay for the medicine you need because you can't afford it, you get beaten up by your husband after telling him you have it and that he probably does too, and then you live your life in a weak and fragile state, watching your children mourn you as wither up and die. Not fun. Not good. And nearly half the population of southern Africa has it.

The worst part about it all is that I've seriously put some thought into what we can do to stop it. I honestly can't think of anything. Medicine? Funding? It all costs money - these countries don't have any. These people don't. So they will die. And the black upper and middle classes that are forming in South Africa will continue to buy their expensive cars and expensive clothes and live in their expensive flats. And the rest of the world will enjoy their expensive cars and expensive clothes and live in their expensive houses. How are we going to stop it? Education? Sure, but people still want sex. People want to live, to love, to enjoy. Abstinence? It would help a little. Not enough.

I guess we all just need to live life in moderation. The rich, the poor, the hungry, the powerful - we all need to care and not spend money just for the sake of spending money. We all need to change our priorities.

Spring Break, Part One

The beginning of the trip started out in Durban...about a day before it was scheduled to begin. One of the guys who was supposed to have reserved the rental cars didn't. Therefore, my girlfriend and I were thrust into a massive search for two 4x4 cars in one day. After visiting many rental offices and spending up all of my airtime, we found the ONE rental place that would allow us to go to Mozambique and had cars - Thrifty! My girlfriend and I returned to PMB so I could pack, grab my passport, and nap before returning to Durban in preparation for the next day.

Day One: Durban - St. Lucia Estuary

After our favorite cab driver arrived 45 minutes late, my girlfriend and I met up with the 9 other members of our journey at the airport. After an hour and a half of figuring out how to split costs, pay for insurance, and pack the cars, we were off! ...to McDonalds...in Durban. So, it was quite anti-climatic but we were hungry and it was near the highway. Tara got her happy meal and we continued on. We thought it would be a coastal, scenic drive, but the highway was actually a few km's inland so we were treated to fields of trees and green hills. Trees are a problem in South Africa. There are too many! Apparently, foreigners have bought land, are growing trees, sucking up the groundwater and riverwater which then ruins everyone's farms and such downstream.

Finally, we arrived at our destination - St. Lucia Estuary. We stayed at a hostel called, "BIB Backpackers." It was a nice place that had many European and Australian travelers. You are actually more likely to find an Australian on the road because they take 3-4 years out of their life to just travel the world. And it's not one month here, one month in Australia, one month there...it's 3-4 continuous years traveling. We piled into our huts and went on a small hike before going to the grocery store to get meat for the braai (BBQ). After seeing a Zulu traditional dance (Zulu dance count: 3), the meat was ready to be cooked and sleep soon descended upon us. Fatigue settled on most of us except for two, who decided to drink half a box of wine...which then led to an early morning wakeup call of vomiting. Yes. The road trip has begun.

Sweet Chariot

Our apartment hasn't been cleaned in two days and no one has seen the maid. Today, we had a new maid arrive to clean up the place.

Just before the break, our maid had said that she had to go to the clinic to check up on something. She was very nicely dressed in a black dress with thin black material that draped over her arms.

She should be okay.

I hope.

Class Update

The end of the first term of the semester. This means that there is a week long vacation, which I already went on, and a surge of grades coming back the week after. I don't really know why I haven't talked about my classes much - sorry everyone!

Art History - We had a new professor come in halfway through. This is a typical practice for courses that hold a big syllabus. One specializes in one part and one for another. Our old teacher was a elderly Dutch lady who talked barely above the volume of a mouse. Our new teacher is a crazy fifty-something who obviously enjoyed her time in the 60s. We've learned that San art (old traditional paintings found in caves in Southern Africa) are depictions of people induced by trance. She then asked/told us about various trance methods, tools, and techniques. Everyone was a little shocked until she said there is a test on Thursday. So much for the free experience of no work with only sushine, flowers, and bees for grades. We now have a fieldwork project where we examine different works of art in the Natal Museum. Fertility statues, ritual masks, and trance paintings. The library isn't extensive here and my background in art is limited so let's hope that there are some scholarly articles that I can quote!

Film Studies - Studying Hollywood films and learning new camera techniques. The class is somewhat easy until you have to work in groups. Then, after countless meanings where no one knows what to do, you end up with a completed project. This class is difficult in a way as you are tested on glossary terms and storyboarding. This class is good though because I feel like I've learned the things that my last film class teacher just assumed we knew.

Relgions in Africa - Just had a guest professor from Rice University who talked about similarites in hoodoo and voodoo in the South and traditional African religions. The discussion became very interested as we discussed their relations to Christianity and how they have basically reacted in the same exact fashion albeit a hundred years or so apart. Reminded me of my South African History professor from UCSD who said that South Africa is like the US, only half a century behind. This class is probably my most interesting class. I have an essay due soon so I hope that will go well.

Policy Issues and Community Service - My community service internship at the Salvation Army. The professor is probably the worst I've had in my life. The class has guest lecturers almost every week and we're having a class braai this Saturday. 40 hours of volunteer work, two tests, a research project, and a presentation all due very very soon.

Those are my classes. Tomorrow, I'll give you all a rundown on my trip to Swaziland, Kruger Nat'l Park, and Mozambique!