Today is Saturday. The sun is shining outside and there is hardly a cloud in the sky. To celebrate Jeremy’s birthday (which was yesterday), we planned a tubing adventure down the Senqu River. Jeremy had arranged for some tubes when we were in Mt. Moorosi two weeks ago and a couple of days ago we borrowed an air pump to test them out. Sadly, both tubes had some sort of issue, but they ended up working just fine. We got up pretty early, as the plan was to meet 3 Peace Corps Volunteers at the river at 9am. However, that in itself does not explain why we got up and had so many things to do. You see, Jeremy had it in his head that there would be nothing better than floating down the river on an inner tube while eating chocolate cake and drinking lemonade. So we got up around 6 or so, Jeremy baked a cake, and we headed up to the school to get dinner (pork) out of the freezer. We didn’t know when we would be back in Bethel, and we needed the pork to thaw.
The other volunteers failed to show up on time, so we ended up leaving without them. But we were initially joined by a number of children who were pretty fascinated by the idea of floating down the river. It seems that the Besotho believe that there is a gigantic snake in the river that will eat you if you swim in it. But Jeremy let them try out the tubes as we waited, and they seemed to have a good time. That is, until they were eaten by the snake. Ha, just kidding. Jeremy also broke a rule by giving away a large portion of his cake to the kids. Lord knows that they will beg “Give me sweets, give me sweets” with renewed passion every time that he passes the kids by.
After about an hour of tubing, I was pretty cold, and we decided to get out and walk home. We pulled the bags that we hoped were waterproof out of the river. We packed lunch and put dry clothes into these bags. They were not waterproof. Lunch was salmon with what dry bread we had. It was fun though. And, as they say here, “this is Africa.” This solitary phrase seems to encompass so many of the interesting and potentially bothersome things that go down here.
Tonight, we will have a braai (BBQ) with the pork we got out of the freezer. We will also make some BBQ sauce.
That was today, but plenty has also happened since I last posted. First, the stupid horse came back. I guess we are all lucky. It seems that Thabang’s Uncle was going to try to make Jeremy and myself pay for the horse. That wouldn’t have worked out well, as we were not going to pay for it.
On the 21st, Jeremy’s school had a going away party for him. As was standard for him, he didn’t believe that anyone would show up. In actuality, either the villagers really like him, or they really like free food, because there was a large turnout. The schedule included speeches by the principal, faculty members, and students. Then, and remember, “this is Africa,” the faculty presented Jeremy with a beautiful African shirt. They brought it out, had him take his blanket off, and told him to put it on. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Well, the shirt was for a woman! That little fact explained why people started laughing once he put it on. It was a nice thought though. The dinner was chicken, some sweet baked beans, rice, and a nice salsa. It was a very good dinner.
On the 24th, Jeremy and I joined Ivan again for the follow-up evaluation of his “Quick Menu.” The service was much better this time, and we were actually able to order what we wanted off of the menu. I ordered chicken and chips, Jeremy had the pizza, and Ivan ordered an egg salad sandwich. The chicken was fried and the chips (French fries) were a bit soggy, but this is apparently how people like it. The pizza had a bit of zing to it, reminding me of a Mexican pizza I had once. It was excellent. Ivan then offered me half of his sandwich, since I didn’t really like the chips. It was brilliant! The bread was warm and fresh baked and the egg salad was wonderful. All in all, the experience was so much better than the first time. Though, the first meal wasn’t all that bad either. Still, I would eat at this restaurant any time.
Thanksgiving was very fun. A couple of days earlier, Heisi (one of Jeremy’s friends) got us a live chicken that we would kill for the meal. It was a natural (non genetically engineered) female chicken. Female chickens are harder to get here, because they lay eggs. And this chicken was no different. A fresh egg awaited us on Thanksgiving when we went to check on the chicken. Heise and Zivai joined us and helped with the chicken. Haise sharpened a knife and we went out to the chicken. After cutting off it’s head, we allowed it to drain before dunking it in a tub of hot water. This loosens the feathers and allows very easy cleaning of the chicken. We brought it inside and Heise showed us how to clean out the inside of the chicken without spilling bile over all of the meat and ruining it. We put our homemade stuffing inside the chicken and placed it delicately inside of the dutch oven for cooking. And get this…inside of the chicken were eggs that it had not laid yet. They didn’t have a hard shell and we cooked them with the chicken. Those eggs were delicious.
We baked a pumpkin pie (with squash) earlier that day and we also had mashed potatoes, stuffing, and peas. When Heise and Zivai joined us later that day, we had a fantastic meal! We waited that night for a phone call from home, but that wouldn’t come until the next night. After doing the dishes, Jeremy and I were incredibly tired and we went right to bed.
The 27th is Jeremy’s birthday, and we had purchased some boeries to braai later that night. Boeries reminded me of bratwurst, but it came in a long string like regular sausage. We cooked it over the fire. Along with sauerkraut, freshly baked bread, mustard, and potatoes, we had an excellent meal. I hope that Jeremy enjoyed his birthday celebration. As an added bonus, earlier that day, we finished all of his grading responsibilities at the school!
I have had a wonderful time at Bethel. The place has its flaws, and I can understand why these flaws would drive people crazy. There is fresh spring water just around the bend from Jeremy’s home, but he doesn’t have water. Let me tell you, not having water is difficult. I have not showered for 3 days and my clothes are incredibly stinky. In general, the people are nice, though you are still subjected to a good bit of “Give me Candy” and that high pitched “Hi, Hi” that some Africans feel the need to subject Americans to. But every night is like you are camping. It is dark, the sky is clear, it is quiet, and so very peaceful.
The dichotomy between existing with nature and utterly destroying it is blatantly obvious in some of these rural communities. Ivan works tirelessly to harness solar energy and to use the land in a renewable manner. Jeremy does the same. But he is also forced to dispose of his garbage in a way that would horrify environmentalists. People use the sun and soil to grow meager gardens, but you can’t help but feel that so much is going to waste.
With that said, I have relished this experience and it was fascinating to live in Bethel for the past two weeks.
This sounds incredible!
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