The Real Life Boogie Man

the apartment

yes, these are dead roaches INSIDE the LED display of the stove  = constant willies

Wow - I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted!  Hard to believe that last year at this time I was in Afghanistan and Dubai. Time seems to be passing quickly, but all is good.  So much has happened over the past several weeks, so I will begin with the apartment.  I finally found a furnished two bedroom apartment in a suburb of Pretoria named Brooklyn.  It is located in an area with an upscale mall right across the street, tucked in among the green space.  There are also many restaurant and grocery options in this part of town and it's much nicer than the college area where my office and hotel are.  The walking around is easy, but since this country basically closes up shop at dusk due to night crime, nothing is really that close when you find yourself walking home after dark.  I take the bus to and from work each day and feel like a kid again waiting at the bus stop every morning.  I really like the apartment and so too did the roaches that had infested it courtesy of the former tenants.  Seriously, this made the roach problem in the Dominican look like baby play time, but these weren't as big.  I was finding them everywhere - even coming out of the speakers and behind wall shelving - truly not the welcome-to-your-new-place I was hoping for!  I moved into the place one week before JM arrived, so I bombed and sprayed and went nuts with chemicals to get rid of my house guests - enough to make a small dent and not cause JM to have a total cardiac upon arrival, but they were still showing themselves.  We had about one week here before we left for a two and a half week stint in Maputo and just made the best of it.  They were eradicated while we were gone, so we returned to a very clean and bug free environment - thankfully.  Oh yea, I have a cleaning lady who comes once a week - neither of us speak the other's language, but she seems great and does an excellent job ... all for $15 a week - I'm still loving these prices and favorable exchange rates here in South Africa!

 JM and I had an excellent time in Maputo together.  It was so much more fun and enjoyable for me to have JM there because it really should be enjoyed and experienced with another.  We saw some amazing jazz concerts, enjoyed drinks at the historic Polena Hotel, went to a modern dance performance at the French Cultural Center, took a ferry to Catembe Island for a really fun Sunday afternoon, enjoyed some excellent meals, haggled with the vendors (I'm very good at this. JM not so much :) ) and had some seriously entertaining nights with a group of friends we made - courtesy of Naby who I had been introduced to and hung out with the first time I was there.  Since every meal basically involves eating out, it was so nice after six long weeks to not have to do that alone every day and night.  The weather in Maputo is fantastic and I simply cannot adequately describe the great vibe that city has ... I really like it.  JM is of course quickly becoming a passable Portuguese speaker in addition to being the whitest person on the street - seriously, some of the little kids just stop and stare at the blonde hair and pale skin - it's been pretty amusing.  I am starting to understand the language much better when I hear it, but still sound like a moron when I try to speak it.

JM and "Dumb Dumb the dog"

Fantastic jazz drummer

Polena Hotel

inside the Central Market

Some of the fun friends we've made

Exceptional jazz concert

Now on the topic of my job... that's been really interesting.  I'm slowly acclimating to what is known commonly as the "African Way" which is hard to describe, but doesn't involve any sense of urgency or much accountability.  Things are accomplished but in their own good time and not according to anything as ridiculous as my construction schedule.  Two of my employees despise each other. They also both happen to be the strongest English speakers and who I work with and through the most.  The project is coming along, but slowly and I'm finally just accepting it as I have very few proverbial carrots and sticks to use for motivation.  I travel back and forth from Pretoria to Maputo for a few weeks in each place.  This is causing issues for me because I was originally supposed to be located in Maputo full time with JM, so when they changed that arrangement, they didn't change my contract in that regard.  By rights, they should pay for JM to travel back and forth with me, but that's not how it's going to work, so we will be renting cars from here on out and driving from Pretoria to Maputo - it's about 5 hours and includes a border crossing. We will at least have a car, can do many stay-overs in Kruger National Park on our way to and from and therefore increase our chances of seeing the Big 5 of the animal kingdom.  I think the Big 5 are elephants, giraffes, water buffalo, lions and cheetahs (never sure of the last two).  You can drive through the park on your own as it's apparently well marked and I really can't wait to experience it!  I hope we see all five and whatever else may cross our path - I really cannot even imagine seeing giraffes or elephants just out in the open like that.  Although I think actually driving in Africa - in particular Maputo - will be an experience in itself... wish us luck :)

Interestingly, I'm having one hell of a time with Witch Doctors.  The Witch Doctor (WD) issue is fascinating/frustrating/freaky all simultaneously.  There is deeply held belief here regarding the WD in Africa.  Modern medicine, Christianity, Westernization and exposure to the world via internet and TV don't seem to put a dent in the belief system surrounding the WD for many black Africans.  All of the HIV/AIDs training and treatment programs that have been funded here literally for decades will often be tossed in favor of the WD in some areas - this would include one employee in Gaza Province who has AIDs, was responding well to treatment and then disappeared with the WD and we have no idea where the guy is.  Apparently, one employee I work with closely (who I do not trust but holds most of the institutional knowledge of the program) is big into the WD while also being a church pastor.  He's rumored to been involved in WD ceremonies at our offices in the past, and this adds to the fear of him and therefore his influence over particular employees.  I was informed that he brought a WD into the office during my last trip - snuck him in during the night or some such thing - for the purpose of getting me to say "yes" to him where work was concerned.  Basically to control me.  The employee who told me this said she could smell the WD on him the next day - this was in reference to what they burn to incite particular outcomes.  Interestingly, she said WDs will do this at market places and those in the know will then be able to identify who and where they are.  Others wear specific types of head wraps, etc.  I was totally respectful while she was telling me this, but was personally on the "WDs are bullshit" wagon. But if you know me well, you would know that as strong as my bullshit factor is, there's still a wee bit of the Wino that wonders about this situation.  The next day, unfortunately, the electric was out in our offices and the day after that the internet went out ... both issues easily explained, but gave strength to the WD visit that had recently occurred.   I had to report the WD incident to our HR department where it is regarded as a very serious matter... I sincerely love having a job where Witch Doctor issues are serious HR matters - the world is an interesting place.

So, JM and I are back in Pretoria.  We've made our apartment very homey especially considering it's no longer a roach motel.  We've found some good market buys such as woodcarvings and batik cloth so it's getting pretty African around here.  We also will be seeing a ton of movies in the future thanks to the town pretty much shutting down at dusk - they are incredibly cheap here ... for instance, 2 people, popcorn and drinks at an evening show might run a total of $10 - $13 ... I've been to three already and two more with JM.  You can afford to see just about anything - from OK movies to great ones - without feeling the sting of overpriced anything.  We do not have a car, so we're very limited in what we can do at night.  The mall shops even close by 6pm, but the theater and restaurants will stay open later.  However, you then you have to walk home at night and nobody is on the street ... at least not anyone you'd want to notice you, that's for sure.  In Maputo we didn't have this issue and could stay out really late on the weekends and the streets felt like a big party.

The people in Mozambique and South Africa have been extremely friendly and helpful so far - as it usually goes, the public service employees in the airport, train and ferry stations  can be slack-jawed, mouth breathing, button-eyed idiots but that seems to be a common theme all over the world.  We're taking it easy this weekend and plan on taking a quick and very affordable trip to the Seychelles next Thursday - Tuesday.  I cannot wait for that!!!  A trip to the Seychelles has always been on my bucket list and obviously much more affordable to do from here - I can't believe I'll finally be experiencing that place and in good company which is a huge plus!  I will for sure be posting some pics after that.  I hope all of you are enjoying the end of summer and the beginning of football season!  I love football season and will be missing most of it again this year.  Also, we are headed into spring which is a weird adjustment considering the upcoming months.  I still miss my peeps at home and the Django and Fat Kid Ninja duo who are still hopefully doing well and behaving themselves during their stay with Team Kazemi. Until the next post, I hope you all are having excellent lives and keeping the witch doctor at bay :)

Drink of the day:  Pinotage baby!  I'm hooked :)