Misc Observations

Here are some random thoughts and observations that I have been making notes of as we've been moving along through Africa. Thought I'd get them onto the computer before I lose my little pieces of paper....

• Every single country we have been to, we have seen young boys pushing tires around with sticks. Funny how universal some childhood games truly are.
• Buying food through bus windows is such a reliable and cheap way to have a meal. Every time the bus stops to load and unload people, you are sure to be presented with the opportunity to buy a snack. Standard fare includes: boiled eggs (our favorite), fried bread, oranges, ground nuts (peanuts), and soda pop (that is if you can drink the whole bottle before the bus leaves - they want their bottle back!). The most entertaining stop we had was when we pulled into a rather major bus terminal but were only one of about 6 people on the bus. Upon pulling into the station, I stand up to stretch and just about die laughing as I proceed to get poked in the head with a bagful of bread suspended on a long stick (we were in a tall bus). I couldn't see the man selling the bread, just a bagful of bread persistently knocking me on the shoulder and head. Hilarious.
• In Malawi especially, there are lots of roadblocks. The minibuses usually fall victim to them the most often. And when the cops see us crammed in there, they invariably want to see our passports - just because they can, I think. Apparently, the minibuses get fined for being overcrowded.....so is it really profitable for them to cram us all in like that??
• Women are fearless about breastfeeding here. Babies are hanging off moms' chests everywhere we look and breasts are whipped out without hesitation to appease a hungry child. It is such a contrast to North America where we require private rooms or complete coverage with blankets. It is really refreshing to see it done so openly here.
• It will never cease to amaze us how frantically people will board a boat/bus/train when it may not be leaving for 2 hours!
• Men often greet each other with what I will call a lingering handshake. After the initial grasp, they continue to hold each other's hand while talking. It is not uncommon to see men walking down the street holding hands. Cute.
• One day sitting waiting for a bus, I noticed a very poor boy clinging to two very used water bottles trying to clean them out. I had just finished my water and instead of tossing the bottle, I handed it to him. Never have I seen a face light up so much.
• People constantly try to charge us extra on public transportation for our large, yes, but neatly compact backpacks. However they don't blink an eye at the local woman who climbs on board with two huge bags of rice, baskets of oranges, and bags of cassava root that are ripping open and spilling all over the place!
• Women carry EVERYTHING on their heads. Except for their babies which are tied onto their backs with a simple piece of cloth.
• In Tanzania, a lot of goods are transported on huge wooden wheelbarrows pulled and pushed by men. A very hard day's work indeed.
• South Africa may be a more modern country, but the evidence of crime is everywhere. Every single house we see has a complete security system - gates, security response, barred windows, and absolutely no cars parked on the street at night.

We are still in Pretoria. We spent the last two days stocking up on supplies for the car and getting familiar with the Land Rover. What is the deal with this car anyway you might be wondering? Well we have these very cool friends back home, John G. and Jenn, who own this Land Rover here in South Africa and keep it parked at John R.'s house here in Pretoria. They have given us their blessing to use the 1989 Rover for our journey through this region. So we spent the last two days with John R. who is an amazingly generous and helpful person. He is the 'caretaker' of the car while it is here, so he gave us all the in's and out's of how to run it and stocked us up on any incidentals we might need in any imaginable situation. Not only that, but he treated us to an amazing BBQ which included warthog ribs! Yum! So we are fully stocked, including petrol (which will be a painful endeavor each time we have to fill up), and will spend the rest of the day organizing and planning our route for tomorrow. We should be able to give you more regular updates again as internet should be abundant and cheap through South Africa.

Cheers to all, and go Italy! :)