Southern African Safari

Finally, I will tell you about our Christmas / New Year holiday safari extravaganza that took place absolutely ages ago, but still deserves a little love on this here blog. So buckle up. Its a long ride.

We started our journey with a flight to Walvis Bay, Nambia, a tiny airport in the middle of a honkin' huge sandy desert. After some hassel for my overloaded passport pages and our inability to dictate the exact address of our residence for that evening, the power crazed customs officer let us enter and off we went to find Swakopmund.

The weather was far cooler than we had imagined it would be in the desert Namib, but our place on the coast kept up somewhat bundled up in our light jackets and sometimes even scarves. We road 4-wheelers through the desert, seeing a chameleon and a very poisonous white lady spider, as well as sandboarded head first down steep dunes. At meals we were served portions of meat that would have satisfied giants.

After two nights in Swakopmund, we boarded a big ol' black overland truck with our cook - Loraine, our guide - Trymore, our driver - Zeb (all 3 Zimbabweans), and the rest of the tourist bunch - 2 Koreans, 1 South African, 5 Australians, 2 English (one being Felix), 2 Kiwi, and 4 Americans (3 Inglishes and a deaf woman from California - so brave and adventurous), later to be joined by 2 Argentinians.  A pretty diverse and interesting bunch, all very nice and most probably thinking Boley and Connie were cooler than the Chill and myself, although most of them were younger than me.

The first stop on our grand tour was Spitzkoppe, a breathtaking location where we camped under the brightest and most bountiful stars I've ever seen. We climbed rock formations, enjoyed a stunning sunset, Felix built a campfire, and we saw drawings from bushmen.

From there we headed to a cheetah farm (in hindsight, I think it was mean - they say they do it because the cheetahs kill livestock, but if they lock up the cheetah from the livestock certainly they could do the reverse since a cheetah is wild and livestock are not), but dang those oversized kittens are cute! We got to cuddle and play with them, although we were still on our toes - you can't forget they're killers with all those big teeth in their mouth!

Next we stayed in Etosha, one of Namibia's national parks, where the desert landscape slowly transformed into a low brush and then into bush, although the ground was mainly covered with sand. Lots of fine safari game was spotted and a great salt lake.

And then we crossed the border into Botswana where we headed straight to the Okuvango Delta, the world's only inland delta that empties into the desert, not the sea.  In order to get to our campsite, we took local dug out canoes called mukoros with skilled guides from the region who stand at the rear of the canoe and use a pole to push the boats along the channels of the delta. Some of the channels are made from hippos.  We camped for 3 nights without running water and our toilet was hole we dug. Upon arrival at the campsite, Boley started feeling slightly poorly. He thought it would pass, we gave him some aspirin, he took a nap. The short of it, he didn't get better. Not for the whole 3 days and nights we were in the sweltering delta. He got worse and then even worse, and then once we were on our way out of the delta, he passed out.  {warning: this is a start of a small rant - feel free to skip} The owner of Delta Rain campsite in Maun, Botswana did not think this was an emergency, so she quit answering her phone and did not give her driver permission to take my dad to a hospital. She thought it would be fine if he waited at least another 3 hours to get medical attention. DO NOT STAY THERE - SERIOUSLY! She also later tried to profit from our medical emergency by selling us plane tickets for twice their price and overcharging us for accommodation {end of rant}. Luckily, we had booked a helicopter flight over the delta and the pilot used that flight to take my dad directly to the hospital. Dad had to stay in the local hospital for 2 nights with a bad case of malaria and extreme dehydration.  The staff were thorough and competent and he felt a lot better when we left. Our big overland truck had left by then, as they had to stay on schedule. But due to a breakdown and a very large stretch of driving, with a short flight, we were able to catch up with them without having missed much.

Boley was not yet up for a day of driving in an open truck into Chobe National Park nor was he up for camping there, so we left him to continue his recovery in a very pleasant lodge with air conditioning while we went on a mini adventure. We saw a lot of animals most with their new offspring. Ahhhh! Baby hippos are about as stinkin' cute as they friggin' come. Camping in the park under stars was very romantic and memorable, although we did have a significant amount of rain to compete with after dinner.

Crossing yet another border into Zimbabwe, Boley was finally feeling better (nothing near 100% yet) and set off with Constance at his side to see the great Victoria Falls. They were rushing so they could return to Chobe the following day and Boley would not miss this epic park. Chobe is known as land of the giants due to its explosive elephant population. Pheer and I were more relaxed with our schedule, exploring the small town of Vic Falls and searching for a decent chocolate cake. While Mom and Dad were at Chobe the following day, we wandered to the falls and they did not disappoint. I can't really describe and pictures are no good, so I'll just have to suggest you see it for yourself!

After a night out with all our big truck buddies (which included a dance performance by Constance and Boley), it was time to start our journey home.  Our flight was to leave around 12:30pm, not a crazy early start but we did have to cross yet another border over to Zambia, pay and wait for visas, and get to the airport.  Felix, in all his great wisdom, turned down the first taxi ride that was offered to us when leaving the Zimbabwean immigration. This may have been smart for negotiating with the next taxi, but unfortunately, there wasn't a next taxi, and we were forced to walk 1000 miles across the long bridge, carrying our luggage, in 98% humidity at 101 degrees F while we were nagged and nagged and nagged about agreeing to taxi prices for when we finally got to the other side. There was also a man selling a wooden giraffe and, no for the 75th, we don't want it! Another visa, another line in immigration, another taxi ride and we were at Livingstone airport about to board our flight to Johannesburg, but there was yet another hiccup. We were not listed on the flight. No, of course we weren't. We were on the 12:30pm flight out of Victoria Falls airport, a five minute taxi from the hotel we slept at the night before! (I'll take the full blame for this snafu - forgot to check the tickets and had Livingstone firmly rooted in my brain. Whatta idiot!) Luckily, for a fee, they switched us onto the Livingstone to Jo'burg flight that was nearly at the same time, held the plane for us, and we made it to Jo'burg where we spent uneventful evening in a B & B and caught the flight to Entebbe the next day.

All in all, it was a pretty incredible vacation. We had a fabulous time and I was able to cross a couple places off my bucket list.  Boley's malaria took another two rounds of medication to kick it completely - not the souvenir he was looking for, but a good story, nonetheless, and he was so brave. We'll see if my parents ever return, but in the meantime, please come visit me, just take your malaria meds!

Find more pictures on facebook
This is so beautiful it made me want to cry

(I'm overly emotional lately)

Surprise Ski Holiday in France

So I know I said I was going to tell you about our safari...that we took way back in JANUARY. And I will, I will, but in the meantime, it might be nice to tell you about last weekend.

Wednesday, Felix got on the Skype from his office and chatted at me:

P: what are we doing this weekend?
A: we're supposed to have dinner with Anna on Friday. I'm supposed to sell some glass on Saturday.

And then nothing.

Then a phone call around 5pm:

P: hey, what's up?
A: not a lot

(blah-dee-blah-dee-da)

P: we're going to Switzerland tonight.
A: what?!
P: to go skiing. why not?
A: are you being serious right now? I can't even tell if you're being serious.
P: I'm serious. talk to you later. bye.
A: whatever. bye.

Pheer comes home around 6pm, sits on the couch and gets out his computer (what he does basically everyday after work), so I don't think anything is up. Then asks me if I have packed. I say of course not, because I think he's being a silly face and is not serious, but, as you might have guessed from the post title (way to give it all away, Angela), he was serious.  And we threw some stuff in a suitcase (luckily, I had all my gear from my trip to Sweden AND, as the gods (aka Phil's mom) would have it, even Phil's ski jacket in case I was seriously cold in Stockholm) and called a taxi and off we went.

We flew overnight to Geneva where we rented a car and then headed for the hills (or the mountains, in this case). We stopped for a fabulous French lunch in Chambery and were sitting mountainside on a pub patio in the sun by 3pm.  Phil called around for a place to stay and managed to find a chalet that had an open room.

Chalet skiing is common place in Europe, but I don't think it has yet hit the US. It is the best thing ever, so step it up 'murca and get some! Most chalet holidays are a week long and booked in advance. They might even include airfare and lift passes. The chalet we were in had 5 rooms and the 4 other couples were really great company and lots of laughs. There were two English chalet 'boys' in their 20s who spend the entire ski season at the chalet cooking and cleaning for tourist for a pittance in order to have access to the slopes at least 5 days a week. In the morning they cook your eggs and bacon to order and provide a wonderful spread of French pastries and baguettes.  When you come back in from the slopes, they have freshly baked cakes, more pastries and a hot tea waiting. Then its time for a dip in the hot tub, maybe a little time in the sauna before showering and preparing for the evening meal of four courses. It goes without saying that the final cheese course was big hit with us, but we were often too full to completely indulge.

The one downside to our chalet was that was not located directly on the slopes and we were forced to call a shuttle that would pick us and drop us off at the bottom of the mountain. At the end of the day, we would have to call again for the five-minute drive home. That part was pretty tough ;)

We had fresh snow Friday and tons on Saturday. Sunday it was a cool 65 degrees (18 C) so we managed without our jackets and hats but did have to tackle some slush at the bottom.  Meribel is part of Les Trois Vallees (the three valleys) which is one of the largest ski areas in the world - 183 lifts and many more runs, so we barely did any part twice.  Saturday we went to a closing party of one of the apre ski bars on the mountain, Les Folie Douce. There we drank all afternoon, enjoyed crazy cross dressers, belly dancers, and table dancing and then somehow managed to make it down rest of the mountain without killing ourselves.

Here are a few photos:

Mont Blanc is over my shoulder

so much champagne - most of it being sprayed on everyone

Phil spent a whole season skiing and working at this pub in Meribel when he was 21  -
one of the reasons he chose Meribel for our getaway

We had a blast. I hope we do it again. Maybe we'll even plan a little in advance and go for the whole week. Let us know if you want to share our chalet!

Some Stuff That Happened A Whiiiiiiiiile Ago

Oi! Over a month has gone by and this blog without a single post. I'm worthless.

Let me see what I can tell you that might be of interest and without boring your socks off with the world's longest and most outdated update.

Starting with my 29th birthday. Can you imagine? Just the other day I was talking to Phil about a friend who is 26 and said, 'I guess she's not that young, only a year younger than me.' I still think I'm 27. What happened to the past two years? Although I'm clearly confused and maybe getting early onset dementia, I do remember that it was a beautiful day, spent with a few close friends on our veranda, drinking champagne, eating pulled pork sandwiches and receiving gorgeous bouquets of flowers. I cannot complain.

We spent our first Christmas without any family this year. Sounds depressing, I know, but actually it was fine. Phil's parents had sent gifts and sweet cards in advance that we saved for the day and we only had to wait one more day for the arrival of my parents on the 26th.

Christmas Day was spent with a group comprised largely of the French persuasion and one Dane.  Along with the English tradition of Christmas crackers (toy poppers not dry carb waffers), we enjoyed an astonishing array of French delicacies in the form of four courses: foie gras and a mushroom tapanade type thing for a starter, beef bourguignon and mashed potatoes as the main, five cheeses for the first desert and, to top it all off, profiteroles with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream. We also managed mojitos and wine throughout the day and had the company of six kiddos under the age of seven to keep it Christmassy with new toys and sugar highs.

We then had a second Christmas on the 27th with Constance and Boley which included more Christmas crackers, a huge turkey, an amazing new yoga mat (highly recommend and good for the planet!), and tons of other great gifts - I've even entered this century, owning a smart phone. I'm sure it will help me with my Tweeting and Linking In if I ever figure out how it works.

New Years was spent at Kyaninga Lodge in Fort Portal where we walked around crater lakes, played croquet and watched fire works to ring in 2013. The drive home provided some excitement when the breaks quit on the van I was driving as we were passing a motorcycle and a bus was approaching while cruising at high way speeds. Banange! (OMG - in case you are forgetting the Luganda I've taught you). Luckily, we didn't die and it only took 15 minutes to fix us up in the nearby town. Phew!

As yooj, you can find a few more photos on the face. We're not anywhere near April yet, but I'm determined to catch you up. Next time I'll tell you about our southern Africa safari.

In other, and more recent, news:

This might be a nice thing to do

TED Talk that blew my mind

Social Enterprising in Stockholm

I have so much to share. Too much, in fact. Since the last time we spoke, I have aged one year, now enjoying the last tenth of my twenties. I have celebrated my first Christmas in Uganda - twice (if that makes sense) (and cooked my third turkey). I have been to Fort Portal, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa. However, the details on that, how Boley survived malaria, and why checking from which airport your flight is departing is important will all have to wait.

For now, I'm on week 5 in Stockholm, Sweden. The sun has finally decide to show its gorgeous face the past three days, if only fleetingly. It has given me the will to continue living and LEARNING.

I was selected to participate in the Social Enterprise Outreach Accelerator. What the heck is that, you ask?  Well, its like a business incubator, but for social enterprises and its even faster. What is a social enterprise? and what is a business incubator??? Well, let me tell you. Basically, a social enterprise uses business principles to address social challenges. They're driven more by social impact than by profits, although sustainability through profits is the goal.  So my social enterprise, Good Glass, creates a social impact through recycling - helping the environment and those living in Kampala by cleaning up a portion of the trash, and through fair wage job creation - enabling those who wouldn't have a job to provide for themselves, send their kids to school, afford to go the doctor and eat three meals a day.

The business accelerator is teaching me how to better direct Good Glass to ensure its growth and sustainability. As a start up company operating in a developing country, we have a lot of challenges, and although this accelerator cannot solve them for me, they are providing me tools to address and overcome them. So far we have had seminars and coaching on how to write and use a business plan, creating a social value proposition, how to measure social impact, how to create a business canvas, business modeling, financial management, how to build and nurture creative partnerships, networking, and social finance. Still to come we have understanding the investor perspective, customer focus, communication & presentation, how to scale your business and pitch training. Phew. Its a lot to take in, but I'm loving it. We're also given free time to work on each aspect regarding our own business and the topics of the seminars. Its intense, but I think what I'm learning here will not only benefit Good Glass, but will also translate into anything I decide to do with my future.

My first week here, Latasha was able to visit from Turkey. We had a blast finding new restaurants and sampling local beers. It was wonderful to have a buddy to get out with and explore this new city. Stockholm is beautiful and very accessible in that its not too big, has great public transport, and everyone speaks English. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see it in the summer as then the water fronts would be thawed and people would be out and about as opposed to bundled and hurried.  Still, even in this winter weather, I enjoy getting out for a fika - coffee and snacks with friends, visiting a few of the museums and even going to yoga.

I hope to update you more about my time here and my holidays. In the meantime, drop me an email with an update on you!

Some links:

an interview about me and Good Glass

a YouTube that made me smile

I'm now on Linked In and Twitter because they tell me that's important 

(links to the right)

Some Weekends Away

I have this grand plan to spend one weekend a month outside of Kampala. I'm not sure how realistic this plan is, but I have three months under my belt and the next two planned (one of them being more than just a weekend - a proper two week vacation!), so I feel its maybe acceptable that February would be a no-weekend-awayer (plus, its a short month any way) and March is already booked. But I'm getting WAY ahead of myself.  Let me just tell you a little about the last three weekends I spent in glorious nature, with wonderful friends, getting some heavenly relaxation.

The first was back in September when there was a going-away trip planned for my dear friend, mentor, and yoga teacher, Helle. Helle has been so much to me for the past four and half years since I started regularly attending her yoga classes. I'm so sad she has gone, but so grateful for all that I was able to learn from her. She is sorely missed but I hope our paths will cross again soon, maybe at her new home in New Zealand. 

The weekend was spent at One Minute South on Bulago Island in Lake Victoria. We had the whole place to ourselves with a magical chef who made incredible vegetarian food. We enjoyed yoga, meditation, Tai Chi and 108 sun salutations. We also relaxed by the pool, hung out by the camp fire, and braided each others' hair. It was truly a special weekend that I will never forget.

The outing in October was of a more adventurous nature. We headed to the Nile to enjoy the world's most dangerous kayaking competition.  We camped, party (Glastonbury style - in the mud), and witness some of the most gnarliest kayak moves on the planet.  We also finally got around to visiting Hollie on her island.

Most recently (last weekend), we went to a new lodge outside of Lake Mburo National Park for a marriage course. The course is to help couples learn to communicate, find out each other's priorities in areas you may not commonly address in everyday life, etc. I think initially the course scared the Chill. On the way to Mburo, Felix asked, "Now what is the weekend all about?" and I said the way I understood it, we wouldn't have to share anything with the group, just with each other and that it would be about helping to make sure we remain happy in our relationship. He then said with conviction, "Well, whatever it is, I'm sure we're strong enough to get through it." I think he was envisioning more of a couples challenge weekend: last two standing win.  The instructors of the course were incredible, making all the topics easy to approach as they were so open and honest about their relationship. We also got meet and hang out with people we hadn't previously known.  In addition to the course, we took a nap, I led early morning yoga, pet a bush buck and drank too much wine. I highly recommend it.

Have you had any weekends away lately? 

Perhaps for Thanksgiving?

Which reminds me, I  am so very grateful for you.

Thanks for reading this blog.

Love Birds

There is a beautiful love story that takes place in the top of our tree every night. It is best observed while reclining in the hammock as not to strain one's neck or tire one's legs while standing at the veranda's edge.  This love is not crazy or spontaneous. Its consistent and its sweet and it goes something like this:

Every night at 6pm this guy comes along and perches upon this branch.
He does not  try to change the meeting place by hopping
over to the palm or frangi pani tree.

Every night she joins him. They might sit facing the house for a minute,
pretending to be strangers that unexpectedly met at the bar.

But, inevitably, they will turn to take in the view of the city and cuddle up
close to each other, much too quick for mere strangers.
They just can't resist. 

They flirt. Grooming themselves, rubbing their beaks together and nuzzling
cheek to cheek.  They regurgitate palm nuts they have collected previously,
passing the nuts back and forth, sometimes letting them fall to the ground,
sometimes enjoying the treat.

Sometimes you can't tell where one ends and the other begins.
This is their game until the sun goes down.

Its such a lovely and reliable relationship. Every night is the same but neither participant seems bored or annoyed by the ritual. Every night the spark is still there. I feel lucky to witness this intimate exchange of these charming little love birds.

In other news, I stumbled upon this blog the other day http://www.humansofnewyork.com/ 

Apparently millions of people have done this before so it may not be new to you. 

It made me cry. It made me laugh. It made me happy to be here.

A Year of Decorating at Plot 38

Sometimes the way my life has turned out truly baffles me. As I have mentioned before, there was a time when I thought my life's calling was to be an interior decorator. This did not pan out for multiple reasons, and I'm happy for that, but I cannot believe how far I have veered away from this passion I once harbored.  I probably spent more time and effort coordinating colors and posters for my freshman dorm room (that I only lived in for 4 months) than I have put into our three bedroom, two bathroom, plus a small office home that we have lived in for nearly four years. Can you imagine?

Not only does living in a developing country provide some perspective on a daily basis about all the things one can live without, but we have been thinking we were leaving this place for years, so I thought there was little point in investing the money or the effort. Not to mention, there's no Ikea or Pier 1 here, making home decorating a bit more challenging.  However, I managed to rise to the occasion and have made a few improvements here and there over the past year. None of them major, but I thought you might like to see.

NB: None of these rooms were styled before the shot - keepin. it. real. up in here. Also, there are not before photos because that takes some pre-planning and I forgot that step.

 we had a huge new bed mad awhile back. its ginormous. I love the mosquito net palace. I love the space. I love feeling like I'm in a safari lodge. Don't mind that the duvet cover is the wash. Also the bedding is super plain and I'm looking to spice it up with some throw pillows when I find an appropriate fabric. The bedside tables were made to match the bed and provide additional storage space. You can hardly see, but there are new lamps on the bedside tables, too. They're touch lamps. Monica was super impressed. But seriously, how the hell do those things work? The art is of a buddha in Thailand.

 I refinished our dresser. it used to be very yellowy wood. This was not what I was going for but the process went wrong at some point and this is what I got which I then decided I liked after some convincing from the Chill. The rug was gift from Jack. Made in Afghanistan and so warming for the space. I also painted the frame around the mirror which used to be yellowy wood, too. And a new lamp shade.

 this is a beautiful map of Uganda I had framed and it hangs in the hall.

 This is the second guest bedroom for when we have two sets of guest. Its mainly used as overflow storage for glasses. Notice no bed coverings on the guest beds because it is so dusty up in here that we would have to wash them regularly even with no one sleeping there. Seems like a waste of water. However, the room does look nice with a made bed, so just imagine. This one usually has a red duvet.  New kitenge fabric squares and local paintings spice up the walls. This is our old bed and night tables. This room used to have 2 twin beds. One of those now lives in my office and the other was given away. New(ish) lamps from Thailand.

 New mirror, new light covering. The rack is for drying our unmentionables which are not to be hung on the line in the yard (we don't have a dryer). Why? I don't know, but that is how it is.

hall bathroom - sea shells from my visit to see Elsie in Moz

 lots of new towels that match (only one pictured), new curtains made from old curtains that were handed down to us from Phil's sister, new shower curtain and bath mat which you can't see but is simply gray.

 when I was supposed to be writing my dissertation, I painted the entire house. most just white over white to cover the dirtiness that comes with time, dust and dogs, but here, in the first guest bedroom, I chose to go with gray. New light cover and some plane paraphernalia

. 

 Also new bedside lamps, framed map with shipping routes and stamps on it (originally was wrapping paper from Urban Outfitters). The bedding in this room is a red, white, and gray stripe with dark gray sheets. So nice. Someday, I'll try to remember to take a pictures and show you, or you can visit and snooze on it yourself.

 Not much new here, but I made a new seating arrangement last week and we're giving it a whirl.

 I had new cushions made for the veranda because the doggies chewed the last ones when we went to South America (in 2009). D'oh. Then I had that big box behind the hammock made to store these pretty new cushions so the dogs couldn't get to them. New lights from Thailand. To the right, not so much in the picture, is a weight machine Felix recently purchased. It does little to enhance the charm of the veranda but perhaps will enhance the Chill if he ever manages to use it.

 Now mainly used as a messy crafting area, the dinning room has a large framed 'aged' map, a birthday wall hanging given to Pheer (as it is often pronounced here) by Kabito, our night guard, and an Ethiopian lunch box decorating the walls. Where the framed map is hung, we used to have a massive paper map held up with sticky tack. I feel more grown up with all the glass and wood surrounding our art.

Ethiopian crosses in the hall way.

 One shelf in the living room has become a Good Glass display.

The other holds the books which I decided should definitely be arranged like a rainbow. Felix still hasn't noticed...

And last, but certainly not least, my parents gave me this real painting by a famous local artist for my graduation. I love it the most and it makes my living room look great and pulled together, or so I like to think.

So that's about it for small home improvements here at Plot 38 over the past year.  I know its not much and its not fancy, but its us. And I dig it.  Someday I'll show you my office when I get something for the day bed sorted and also, in my dreams, I will eventually show you a slightly remodeled kitchen.