August 15, 2006
Finally Off My Ass In Africa (Day 320)
During my college years, in order to keep up on journaling as well as to escape boredom and quiet the mind I used to write during lectures. No professor ever seemed to notice, too occupied scribbling on their overhead projectors and pacing like caged lions ready to pounce on any inattentive student. As I hurriedly transferred my thoughts to paper, my pen struggling to keep up with my mind, I would make a point of glancing up at the teacher and board periodically so if I was noticed I was seen as a student devoted to her education and meticulously taking notes. As a result of this practice I learned two things. One, the information in your diary will not help on a political science final; and two, if you haven't written in your journal for an extremely long time recapping is useless, so you might as well start from the present and address the past when you have more time or a longer lecture.
Now, five years later this knowledge comes into play once again. Seeing I have completely failed as a blogger and abandoned my duty to write consistently, my blog is close to two months behind (as I'm sure you have noticed). So now here I sit fighting the urge to turn this blog into a bullet list of locations and events, yet not wanting to disappoint those of you who truly want to know more than what is currently rattling around in my (sometimes referred to as "hard") head.
To give you a taste of the moment, I'm sitting at a large weathered wooden table in a bar where the floor is dusted lightly with sand. To my right are two small Mozambican boys, probably children of a cook or bartender, both closer to being toddlers than teenagers. The younger one holds his tiny baby sister in a classic African sling made from a sarong and tied over the left shoulder cradling the baby to his chest. As he plays and hops about the bar her head bounces left to right and yet she continues to sleep. Window panes behind me blurred with a layer of film resulting from years of humid sandy sea breezes look out to Mozambique's Tofo beach and then beyond to the white capped Indian Ocean.
Today is our fourth day in Tofo and for the past few days we've done little more than walk along wet foamy sand and devour delicious seafood curries, cracking the crab shells with our teeth and hungrily licking sauce from our fingertips. Earlier this morning Jared and a few friends set out on a sea safari to swim with the whales, manta rays and whalesharks while I on the other hand have devoted myself to you.
For those of you who no longer email me, too bitter about my failure to blog or email you myself probably have no clue as to where I've been or what I've done between departing my Grandmother's house in Brisbane and arriving here in Mozambique. So, I will break my recap rule. I can only hope it's entertaining...
Following a month and a half of working nine hour days chatting with Chiloh, my newfound friend and co-worker serving lemon-lime and bitters and mounds of pasta to untipping Aussies, I set off to explore the east coast of Australia starting in the Whitsundays and working my way back to Brisbane. In regards to the north-east coast of OZ:
Now, five years later this knowledge comes into play once again. Seeing I have completely failed as a blogger and abandoned my duty to write consistently, my blog is close to two months behind (as I'm sure you have noticed). So now here I sit fighting the urge to turn this blog into a bullet list of locations and events, yet not wanting to disappoint those of you who truly want to know more than what is currently rattling around in my (sometimes referred to as "hard") head.
To give you a taste of the moment, I'm sitting at a large weathered wooden table in a bar where the floor is dusted lightly with sand. To my right are two small Mozambican boys, probably children of a cook or bartender, both closer to being toddlers than teenagers. The younger one holds his tiny baby sister in a classic African sling made from a sarong and tied over the left shoulder cradling the baby to his chest. As he plays and hops about the bar her head bounces left to right and yet she continues to sleep. Window panes behind me blurred with a layer of film resulting from years of humid sandy sea breezes look out to Mozambique's Tofo beach and then beyond to the white capped Indian Ocean.
Today is our fourth day in Tofo and for the past few days we've done little more than walk along wet foamy sand and devour delicious seafood curries, cracking the crab shells with our teeth and hungrily licking sauce from our fingertips. Earlier this morning Jared and a few friends set out on a sea safari to swim with the whales, manta rays and whalesharks while I on the other hand have devoted myself to you.
For those of you who no longer email me, too bitter about my failure to blog or email you myself probably have no clue as to where I've been or what I've done between departing my Grandmother's house in Brisbane and arriving here in Mozambique. So, I will break my recap rule. I can only hope it's entertaining...
Following a month and a half of working nine hour days chatting with Chiloh, my newfound friend and co-worker serving lemon-lime and bitters and mounds of pasta to untipping Aussies, I set off to explore the east coast of Australia starting in the Whitsundays and working my way back to Brisbane. In regards to the north-east coast of OZ:
I hear Cairnes is amazing.
I didn't go to Cairnes.
I didn't go to Cairnes.
Upon arrival in the Whitsundays I quickly found myself surrounded by a swarm of 18 year old English backpackers who didn't seem to understand the concept of "pacing oneself" when drinking. Luckily I found some amazingly cool Americans and a mature Brit who helped me laugh our way through three miserable days on a rip-off sailing trip, and the rest of the time I spent horseback riding and eating home cooked meals around a fire on a farm in the Queensland outback.
In Brisbane once again I met up with Mom who had just arrived from America, said my last goodbyes to Grandma, Sammy (my cousin and tour guide) and Aunty Margo, and we set of for the south. Mom and I spent the next week driving from Adelaide to Melbourne munching on unique market finds and wine tasting while trying to decipher maps, discussing familial and social issues and admiring the beautiful yet freezing scenery.
On July 6th I flew to Capetown South Africa where, after three months, I met up with Jared once again.
Here I will stop the summary because as usual this is droning on in such a fashion that I'm beginning to bore myself. But no worries that's not all I have to say abut Australia. I've actually written a number of things about OZ, South Africa, Zimbabwe, I just haven't posted them yet. It seems that every time I write something I'm unable to finish it and then two weeks later my unfinished, unposted work seems, well, outdated. So in addition to being a poor recap blog this is also an attempt to give some perspective to the articles I will post after this. So instead of babbling on in a fashion lacking any entertaining value I will insert a timeline here:
00/04/06 Last Blog
06/05/06 Living with Grandma/working at La Dolce Vita
--
14/06/06 Fly to Whitsundays and slowly make my way back to Brizzy (sailing trip and farmstay)
--
26/06/06 Arrive in Brisbane
27/06/06 Mom Arrives in OZ
29/06/06 Mom and I fly to Adelaide
30/06/06 Mom and I drive from Adelaide to Melbourne
06/07/06 Fly to Capetown (South Africa)
07/07/06 Travel around Capetown and Stellenbosch with Jared
17/07/06 Jared and I Fly to Johannesburg and meet up with our friend Chris
-- Stuck in Joburg bored out of our minds
20/07/06 Bus from Joburg to Bulawayo (Zimbabwe)
21/07/06 Minibus from Bulawayo to Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)
-- Hanging out in Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) and Livingston (Zambia) enjoying the falls,
having tea on Livingston island, riding in speed boats and bungy jumping
25/07/06 Chris' Birthday!
27/07/06 Train back to Bulawayo, say goodbye to Chris, then minibus to Masvingo
(Zimbabwe)
-- Visit Great Zimbabwe Ruins and relax on lake near Masvingo
01/08/06 Bus to Mutare (Zimbabwe, border town)
-- Relax in Mutare at Anne's Place
04/08/06 Enter Mozambique (Chimoio)
05/08/06 Bus from Chimoio to Vilanculous (Mozambique)
--
08/08/06 Jared's Birthday!! Take boat trip to Bazaruto Archipalegio and camp on islands
10/08/08 Minibus to Tofo
--
15/08/08 Still in Tofo...ready to go
Hopefully that gave you a true sense of my activities over the past 2 months without the pathetic attempt at quality writing, and as a result I can return to the thoughts rattling around in my head at the moment.
...
Tomorrow our plan is to either head to Maputo (Mozambique capital city) and then fly north or fly north directly from here. Our hope is to make our way into Malawi by the 20th or so and find a place to volunteer by the 1st of September, but to be honest I don't know if things will workout quite that way for me. While in Australia I pondered a lot of issues and one thing I decided was that I need to give something back rather than continue to wander along as a priviledged traveller clueless to the need and heartache I wade through everyday. I still want to volunteer but unfortunately volunteering and Europe hold equal rank and the bank account is running dangerously low. So, although in most ways I'm a carefree traveller, the worries are beginning to build and with it thoughts of changing plans. I fear the end is dangerously near. With every dollar spent the announcement rings in my ears:
In Brisbane once again I met up with Mom who had just arrived from America, said my last goodbyes to Grandma, Sammy (my cousin and tour guide) and Aunty Margo, and we set of for the south. Mom and I spent the next week driving from Adelaide to Melbourne munching on unique market finds and wine tasting while trying to decipher maps, discussing familial and social issues and admiring the beautiful yet freezing scenery.
On July 6th I flew to Capetown South Africa where, after three months, I met up with Jared once again.
Here I will stop the summary because as usual this is droning on in such a fashion that I'm beginning to bore myself. But no worries that's not all I have to say abut Australia. I've actually written a number of things about OZ, South Africa, Zimbabwe, I just haven't posted them yet. It seems that every time I write something I'm unable to finish it and then two weeks later my unfinished, unposted work seems, well, outdated. So in addition to being a poor recap blog this is also an attempt to give some perspective to the articles I will post after this. So instead of babbling on in a fashion lacking any entertaining value I will insert a timeline here:
00/04/06 Last Blog
06/05/06 Living with Grandma/working at La Dolce Vita
--
14/06/06 Fly to Whitsundays and slowly make my way back to Brizzy (sailing trip and farmstay)
--
26/06/06 Arrive in Brisbane
27/06/06 Mom Arrives in OZ
29/06/06 Mom and I fly to Adelaide
30/06/06 Mom and I drive from Adelaide to Melbourne
06/07/06 Fly to Capetown (South Africa)
07/07/06 Travel around Capetown and Stellenbosch with Jared
17/07/06 Jared and I Fly to Johannesburg and meet up with our friend Chris
-- Stuck in Joburg bored out of our minds
20/07/06 Bus from Joburg to Bulawayo (Zimbabwe)
21/07/06 Minibus from Bulawayo to Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)
-- Hanging out in Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) and Livingston (Zambia) enjoying the falls,
having tea on Livingston island, riding in speed boats and bungy jumping
25/07/06 Chris' Birthday!
27/07/06 Train back to Bulawayo, say goodbye to Chris, then minibus to Masvingo
(Zimbabwe)
-- Visit Great Zimbabwe Ruins and relax on lake near Masvingo
01/08/06 Bus to Mutare (Zimbabwe, border town)
-- Relax in Mutare at Anne's Place
04/08/06 Enter Mozambique (Chimoio)
05/08/06 Bus from Chimoio to Vilanculous (Mozambique)
--
08/08/06 Jared's Birthday!! Take boat trip to Bazaruto Archipalegio and camp on islands
10/08/08 Minibus to Tofo
--
15/08/08 Still in Tofo...ready to go
Hopefully that gave you a true sense of my activities over the past 2 months without the pathetic attempt at quality writing, and as a result I can return to the thoughts rattling around in my head at the moment.
...
Tomorrow our plan is to either head to Maputo (Mozambique capital city) and then fly north or fly north directly from here. Our hope is to make our way into Malawi by the 20th or so and find a place to volunteer by the 1st of September, but to be honest I don't know if things will workout quite that way for me. While in Australia I pondered a lot of issues and one thing I decided was that I need to give something back rather than continue to wander along as a priviledged traveller clueless to the need and heartache I wade through everyday. I still want to volunteer but unfortunately volunteering and Europe hold equal rank and the bank account is running dangerously low. So, although in most ways I'm a carefree traveller, the worries are beginning to build and with it thoughts of changing plans. I fear the end is dangerously near. With every dollar spent the announcement rings in my ears:
"Please fasten your seatbelts and return you seatbacks and tray tables to the upright position..."
And whether it accompanies the roar of crashing waves, the call of chapa drivers or the laughter or street kids, it's always there, and it's gradually increasing in volume. But until then I'll pack and unpack my bag, barter at the markets, plan on volunteering in Malawi and travelling in Europe; I will continue to stand in awe as women stroll leisurely down the street, baskets on their heads piled high with oranges and peanuts their babies strapped to their backs, and I will love every minute of it. So if time is slowly making it's segue from a distant thought to an ever present countdown it means I shouldn't be wasting my time sitting here writing ridiculously long summary blogs. So, lacking a better conclusion, this concludes this blog. I'll be posting previously written stories about my travels in OZ and Africa as well as new blogs so stay tuned... oh yes, and sorry about the two month hiatus.
Comments:
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i love that you aren't melodramatic at all about not blogging for two months. i mean, we're just minorly suffering out here without you.
You dropped this sweet tasting teasing morsal of information about "women with baskets on their head and babies strapped to their backs", and then took the image away again. Jazzy i want to see Africa, i want to feel and understand her. Forget Oz, feed me Africa i'm hungry!
Hey Jazz great blog, good to hear your news again. Maria is just saying she wants to go to Africa now, which I echo. We are both envious, especially as we are in the 9to5 routine thing again.
All the best in Africa,
Ade
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All the best in Africa,
Ade
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