Lowveld Life

Here we are, in the lowveld... the country... the bush... rural Africa.  The drive from Johannesburg took most of the day, which is hard to understand since the GPS predicted only 5 hours.  Things are just slower here, and this is good for the soul. We stopped for unexpectedly amazing food, found some good shopping, and the roads are just slow-going.  We were warmly greeted in the late afternoon light by 2 warthogs rooting on their knees on our grass, monkeys up to no good in a neighbor's braii (barbecue), and impala and bushbuck grazing everywhere.  The impala are so delicately featured, slim, and pretty with their shiny coats, reminding Ian and Maggie of their cousin Nora! There are also baboons, plenty of antelope of many varieties, and rumor has it a family of 3 giraffes have moved in to camp, but we haven't run into them yet.  We've had several "what was that?!?" experiences driving these extremely back roads- we still don't know what we saw!

This warthog and his buddy snorted a welcome to us

Why, it's a soccer field, of course!  Field cleared and set up
by some soccer crazy Spaniards who live here!

Our house is basic but totally comfortable.  It is built of brick and corrugated tin roof, it looks and smells so much like our house in Kenya years ago- down to every last detail of the interior.  We are situated in an old game lodge area, now known as Wits Rural Facility, not in any town but in the greater municipality of Bushbuck Ridge.  Despite the sparse population, we have found a rich sense of kindness and have been warmly welcomed.  We've been to houses for dinner, had playdates 3 afternoons running, and there will be a braii in our honor tomorrow night.  Maggie has found a long lost soul mate of a friend, Samantha, who cried last night as she wished that Maggie could actually be her sister.  Ian, after one short hour of playing soccer with some local village boys (none of whom speak fluent English), was spotted doing a silly dance with them and they had all made up nicknames for each other. Stares of curiosity meet us as we drive down the street (I am driving now too!  On the left side of the road, in a stick shift, on largely unpaved and unnamed potholed roads!), and then the stares turn to wide smiles as you wave and smile at them.  It is said that the Shangaan people are about the nicest you will meet in the world, and I believe it.

Barefoot soccer- Ian too for a while!

Maggie having fun at a village playdate

One welcome we could have done without came just about 45 minutes prior to our arrival here... we had read the guidebook for the area which warned about "over-eager traffic police resting under shade trees"... Well 3 lady officers who had been lounging under a shade tree were suddenly pulling us over.  The first one came to the window and said "Do you know why I pulled you over?  You are in trouble.  Now you have to come with me to the police station".  Well, the kids burst into tears (don't tell Ian I told you! He denies it.), and I leaned over and said "REALLY??".  To this she replied that of course we could pay here instead, in cash, but she could not give us a receipt.  Since we passed in a no-passing zone (debatable...), it would be R1500 (a little over $150).  Need an ATM to pay?  No problem, they offered to take us to one.  When Matt paid the fine in full in cash and then told them he was a professor going to work at WRF, I think she felt a little bad.  She suddenly became very interested in us and very sweet, but did not reduce our fine at all.  Two days later, the very next time on this road, another traffic police car followed us at least 30km.  Matt drove 10km per hour under the speed limit and passed no one, until they finally gave up on him making a mistake!

Maggie's photography on a game drive

On a much more pleasant note, today I was given a personal tour of Tinswolo hospital (where Matt has been working this week), which was a flashback to Kenya as well.  The smell of strong cleanser masking the earthy aroma of old concrete, illness in the wards, new life in the "martenity ward", so the sign reads.  The nurses still wear white, many of them with nursing caps.  The open and airy hallways are lined with patients and family perched on hard metal chairs for long hours waiting for their services, but no one complains.  The cost of a visit to the hospital?  130 rand, under $15.  This includes anything that might happen at the hospital, even xrays, being admitted, or having surgery.  The clinics are free.  The morning at the hospital starts with a lengthy prayer/sermon in Shangaan language in the main waiting area.  My NP friends will love to hear that "Primary Care Nurses", the South African equivalent of the NP, run the outpatient clinics entirely, run the family planning clinics, and much else at the hospital.  Most of the doctors are foreign, from all corners of the world.  HIV and drug-resistant TB are rampant here.  In some villages, 1 in 5 people is HIV+.  Matt is helping the Agincourt rural health group study the rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as obesity and hypertension.  My new friend Rhian, a community liaison for the research group, has a job lined up for me in the clinic should we find ourselves back here again... I could get a whole new education here.

The most beautiful setting for a (very cold!) pool!

We have been busy fitting in fun and tourism as well, of course.  The kids and I visited the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Center for a game drive and some serious education on endangered species, especially the Cheetahs.  I left that place with a heavy heart- the stories of individual animal successes and failures, and the greater issues of why most of these species are endangered- man, of course, and our consumption of land, resources, and the animals themselves through poaching.  On a much more peaceful and happy outing, we arose before the sun the other day and drove about an hour south to visit the Elephant Sanctuary.  While these tours can have up to 20 people, no one else booked the early morning brushing and feeding experience with these gentle giants, so we had them to ourselves.  So big, so strong, so gentle, so smart, with such soulful brown eyes.  They love to be brushed, and make a low rumbling sound not unlike a cat's purr as you brush them.  There are really no words to describe that whole experience!  The Sanctuary does a beautiful job of educating you on the elephants themselves and the issues that face them as a population.  These big boys are the only ones at this location- Keto is 14 and Casper is 27 years old- they roam free during the day except when they are interacting with humans, and they are the very lucky elephants who have survived against many odds.

Maggie giving Keto his morning brush down 

Trying to talk Ian into a kiss from Casper- no go!

Walking hand in trunk- literally.

Matt getting a kiss from Keto

We are in the full swing of this trip now.  There reaches a time in every trip of any significant length when you find you are really not thinking about home as much, your worries of a few weeks ago seem very distant, and you are focused on right now.  That is the essence of travel, for me.  Somewhere along the way it has started to feel normal to drive on the left, think in celcius, think in rands versus dollars, measure distance in kilometers.  We are calling cookies biscuits and stoplights are robots, and it no longer feels foreign. We needed this change in perspective- every one does from time to time.  There is something to reminding ourselves that we do not have to be high maintenance people. Struggling to get around town or showering by lantern on occasion and dealing without our everyday comforts and luxuries reminds us that they are just that- luxury.  We don't need them. It is refreshing to not be bound by things when most of ours are a world away; it clears the way to be present for the experiences and relationships that are happening right now.   The next time I feel plaintive about something insignificant, I will remember the young girls pushing wheelbarrows of water barrels down the highway, and the smile and wave she gives to the strange passerby.  I will remember the laughing barefoot children who are eager to make new friends when I need an attitude adjustment, and I will be forever grateful for my blessings in life.