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Published: August 27th 2008
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These one month assignments (of which my first three - South Africa, Malawi, Bhutan - are) have within them the design to be essentially vacations for the volunteers. By that I mean that every weekend is free of responsibility. I like to think I'm as hard-working as the next guy, but if there is anything residency has taught me, it's that I like me some vaca. I spent my first weekend here in Mthatha, the highlight of which was watching some bizarre game show. Game shows and commercials are really a window into a foreign culture, showing you what they consume and are amused by. I don't know what they says about Double Dare and the Jared Fogel Subway campaign, but we are who we are. Regardless, after that first weekend I pledged it would also be the last trapped on the complex. The weekends here have a synonym: beaches. Not really. I mean, you couldn't say "what are you doing this beach?" But as a literary tool in this entry, it is. Trust me, it works.
A couple weeks ago I went to Port St. Johns. Pretty cool, laid back. Took a hike to the top of this place
called "the Eagle's Nest." It was actually really hard to find, we walked around for a couple hours before being told the entrance to the trail was across the street from a sign that turned out to be tipped over with mud-obscured lettering. It was raining pretty hard, but worth the view. Mostly a fact of being very obvious in communities here (being tall, white, and wearing a backpack doesn't scream "local") I am predictibly approached by street vendors. The first that I encountered here were two teenage boys. The first wanted to sell me some toy helicoptors, the second a huge bag of weed. They must have a high opinion of Americans to have seen in me an equal chance of selling either one of these. I have a feeling it has something to do with Double Dare and Jared.
This past weekend I went to an awesome place called Bulungula. It is a Xhosa village primarily, but 4 years ago this guy set up an Eco-Lodge. Really cool. Compost toilets, "rocket" showers fueled with kerosene-soaked toilet paper, wind-generated electricity, solar power, etc. And it wasn't that rough, certainly better than my waterless living quarters this last week.
We signed up to go fishing with this local guy named "Mr. Z." I only have a couple rules in life, and one is: if you have a chance to go fishing with anyone named Mr Z, you take it. Didn't catch any fish, but that's not really the point of fishing, is it?
I'm leaving Mthatha in a couple days. First on to Durban to get my passport sorted out, then I am planning on spending a few days in Lesotho, a mountain country embedded in South Africa. They specialize in pony rides. Funny, that is also my specialty, I assume.
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Ricky Mast
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beautiful!
This is great! I'm a jealous and proud friend. These photos are incredible. Nice beard.