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Archive for November, 2006

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I will stare at you so hard

Friday, November 24th, 2006

At this point in my travels, I’m pretty used to being the “different ” one – the white skin and blond hair being the obvious giveaway – having people look at me while walking down the street.  It was different here, though.  People stared.  Everyone stared.  And they stared hard, relentlessly, shamelessly, with mouth agape, turning their head to follow me walking down the road.  It’s darn hard not to feel it, and even harder to act as if it isn’t happening.  I think I wore a little smile of embarrasment as I walked down the road.  And it never changed the whole time I was in Pebane. [read on]

My head under her leg under my arm under her toe…

Thursday, November 9th, 2006

I decided to leave Zimbabwe after getting back from the Zambezi Valley.  News that my grandmother passed away had come (love ya, Gramma), and I wanted some time to myself.  Will, his friends, and his family were amazing in hosting me, and I thank them a million times over.  There’s lots more to see in Zimbabwe (including the obvious Victoria Falls), but it’ll have to wait for “next time”…  For now, I was headed back to Mozambique. [read on]

TWoGin’ it up in Zim

Wednesday, November 8th, 2006

Despite all the weekend fun – flying planes, searching for bushman paintings and petting elephants – I was now starting to get a deeper understanding into Zimbabwe and the people who live there.  Will assured me: “Through all of the turmoil going on here we still live a really good life.”  And I started to see more and more of what he meant. [read on]

Feet-sucking elephants

Wednesday, November 8th, 2006

The bus ride to Harare was fairly uneventful, except for the one time we got stopped by police, searching for money.  Everyone in the bus filed off, then filed on as everyone opened their bags and the police officer peeked inside.  Very unthorough; mostly a waste of time.  When I arrived in Harare, I was given a ride by a pick-up taxi.  I threw my things in the back and sat in the front.  Mistake #1.  As we drove along, the driver asking me how the police were on the road in to Harare, I looked back to check on my things.  Lo and behold did I notice the guy in the back going through my bag.  We were at a stoplight, so I jumped out in the back with him. [read on]

Maybe hitching ain’t my thing…

Tuesday, November 7th, 2006

I originally had no plans to go to Zimbabwe.  The last bit of news I remembered was about Mugabe demolishing housing projects with no warning and no justification.  They’re got their problems, I figured; I’ll just wait until some other day.  Well, as I got closer and closer to Zimbabwe, I met others who had been there, and assured me that it was safe.  Besides, I knew Will from back when I was in London, so I figured I’d check it out. [read on]

Secret Agent Man

Tuesday, November 7th, 2006

Most of the time I had been at the Pink Papaya, I had the place to myself. After a long day of travel, I was looking forward to a nice quiet night. It never happens that way, though. Usually when you want a quiet night, you find a place full of people; when you want a friend or two, you find yourself in a place alone. Without fail, this is how it works. Arriving back at the Pink Papaya, I was greeted by nearly a full house, although Helen wasn’t there. She had taken a group of people out to her Forest Retreat, the original reason I seeked out the Pink Papaya, and a place I never went to. [read on]

Hi. Remember me? Back online…

Monday, November 6th, 2006

Hi there. So, it’s been a while, huh? Yeah. Sorry about that. Internet access was less and less accessible in northern Mozambique (let alone electricity and running water), but I think that’ll change now.  I’m currently in Tanzania, about to head into Rwanda (no worries…genocide ended over 10 years ago!), and it seems that internet is much more widely available in these parts.  Anyway, let’s get back to it…

[read on]