ZULULAND

I left Tueday, March 18th for my second research trip to villages in KwaZulu-Natal (called KZedN by the South Africans) to learn more about their culture, lifestyle, and financial situations.  Once again I traveled by Greyhound (a deluxe and expensive way to travel on PCV budget) and was able to sit in the upper deck, front row, so had fantastic views. Sometimes it reminded me of Montana, like this one~

I decided to blog more of my journal this time, and will likely add to my Limpopo trip so I have a better account for my future memory (which means my lack thereof).

My first overnight was in Glencoe at the home of a teacher. Thuli,  from Laura's school, who was very gracious.

 Kids from the neighborhood congregated around, and finally came into the house and sang some church songs to me, so I share a camp song with them as well.  Great fun!  Then we had pap (cooked white corn meal, the staple of many diets here) with hot bean sauce and lamb for supper.  Her husband owns a bar in a nearby town and I think well run bars must make money here, as they live in an impoverished neighborhood but have this newer home with all the glitz.


Early to bed and early to rise.  She has a SUV and fills it with riders to the next town, where she dropped me off to meet Liz, then she parks her vehicle and takes a transport out to her village school. Liz came by public taxi to meet me, we hung around until the grocery store opened so I could buy some food to take to her place, then we sat in taxi for an hour for it to fill (this is a familiar story?!).



 Dropped my bag at her house then went to school until early afternoon and I did one interview with the school's admin person.




Went back to eat, then walked to a mission up the road. Came back and she cooked me a PC style dish of onion/green pepper/fresh diced tomatoes/ Raja curry powder with garlic, add in chick peas and cooked rice.  Pretty tasty!  She has electricity and a hot plate, but chose not to spend the money on a fridge.  Pretty simple cooking and lifestyle!

Liz, in her rondoval that is about 15' in diameter

We went over to her host family's house at 8:00 and watched their favorite nightime soap (her bonding activity) and to bed early.  She gave up her bed and slept on the floor.  Up the next morning, she scrambled eggs and put it between two pieces of bread for breakfast, then on our way to school again, where I conducted several more interviews.

Jonelle, a PCV who I met the first week in Pretoria, picked me up that afternoon.   She works with a NGO based in England, and has limited use of their truck for travel to the schools they help support.  We saw these giraffes near the road on the way.  The lodge is new, and very modern; living in the lap of luxury.   She is very appreciative of this, but is very isolated, as there is NO public transportation to this place. I had a great room to myself, but it came with a pet...one of the biggest spiders I have ever seen! 

We went for a morning walk and spotted these guys along the way, along with numerous antelope.

There is a guest lodge below that David Rafferty (for whom the NGO foundation is named after) started, and I was invited to go on a historical walk with the guide who did a dramatization of the Fugitive's Drift battle for us.This area is known for the Battlefields between the Brits and the Zulus. 

After two great nights there, she then took me to PCV Laura at another village.  Laura lives in a little house next to her host parents, and has no electricity or water in her house.  The village and her family just got electricity, but it has not extended to her place and that's fine by her.  We went for a walk up to a cave; one of the neighbor boys joined us. We ate by candlelight that night, and watched a movie on her computer.

The next day I spent at her school doing interviews of the teachers and once again, heard some amazing stories of how the village people live.  Here I am in front of the library with some of the learners.

Her host father is a successful retired worker with a work pension, plus a government pension.  He wants to help start a pre-school and had the woman who would run it come over and we visited.  Went through the S. W. O. T. process, which he liked very much.  There were many important factors they hadn't considered.  After two great nights here I went back to Glencoe with Thuli, spent another night with her, hung around her house watching BBC the next morning, then took the bus back to Joburg and arrived home about 8:00 p.m.  A wonderful trip!