The adventures of Hot pant, Sweets Cheeks & Trendy Knix, a Propella Shaft and a man named Shane...

I have just returned from a fab time away on hols. We had so much fun, lots of laughter and general South African Luxury. It was really nice to get a break from work. We did a lot of driving on our 10 day break around SA and I spent a lot of money on car parts to bring back to Zim. The car was amazing and did really well ... until our return -30 km's outside of West Nicholson, Zimbabwe...

Picture the scene: It is dark, there is no phone signal and we are in the middle of nowhere with Zimbabwe's bush all around us. Suddenly we heard a loud noise coming from my trusty Landy. We stopped and I had a look- dreading that it might be the fan belt- I have nothing that will substitute. I can't find anything so we cautiously proceed ... another 200 metres when, BAM, suddenly with a loud shattering noise we see a large piece of metal come up through the accelerator pedal and then drop down with a clanging thud onto the road below. Oria gracefully (!) manouvers the car onto the side of the road and we get out and look at what 'fell off' the car. A few metres back we find it- 15cm in length and 5cm thick, of a heavy metal cog- oh yes my Landy's propella shaft has just fallen off my car (this is part of the piece that connects my front and rear wheels together- see picture above)!

We set up camp, displaying various warning triangles and pray the right person will stop. But no, 4 drivers whizz past us ignoring our hand flapping motions.

Then when hope is almost lost, a round bellied Shane appears in a car ladden with goods smuggled from South Africa towing a trailer also filled to brim. He stops, gets out, looks at the part that 'fell off' my car and calmly says 'oh that's your prop shaft'. He then proceeds to get under the landy and muffles 'Yeah, I can get you going again'. This AMAZING guy, it turns out, grew up with Land Rovers. He quietly disconnects my universal joint and my 4x wheel drive so that we can drive the remaining 3 hours to home. Not only does he save us having to sleep in the bush and or possible theft attempts by getting us going again he also follows us all the way home to check we are alright- what a legend!

Zimbabweans can be truly 'Lekker bru'

Below Live footage of the breakdown and rescue...

School Trip

I went out to a rural primary school this last week to pre- test some of our public health material. 8 of us piled into my trusty Landy and headed out into the bush. The school we visited had no roof (it blew off in the rains) and the children sit on the floor. It is absolutely crazy to think that 10 years ago Zimbabwe's school system was the most respected in Africa. Today it is completely in ruins; a whole generation of children have not been educated. It is quite a frightening reality.

As part of one of the projects I run I have written a book on life skills for children from 5-18. We wanted to test out the workbooks for children aged 4-8 in a rural area. The children were sweet but is was so strange. They have not been in school so they have no concept of learning. They have not been conditioned to engage with a teacher. They just sit in silence, looking nervous- it is quite like talking to a brick wall. They don't even really know how to sing songs.

Lots of the questions for this age group in the workbook ask them to draw pictures and colour in. The children we gave the books to, did not know what to do with the pencils. They couldn't understand the idea of colouring in and just looked confused. A few children drew one straight line across the page. Isn't that crazy that children have not learnt to colour in- aged 8? They also really struggled to recognise pictures on a page- they don't have books so they have not every connected a picture to the real life object. I was left pretty stunned and very concerned- the task ahead here is enormous.

Siegfried update

Well sad news my friends; Siegfried will not be travelling with me to the UK with me when I return. I discovered that he is an African Leopard Tortoise and that this species does not hibernate. To attempt to hibernate him will cause him to die! To counter this I would have to build him a UV heated pen and he would need a large pen (since he will grow to be the size of a small dog- they are the 4th largest species in the world). Even I think this is a bit excessive- perhaps this is a hint to leave him in his natural 'African' habitat?!!

While on the school trip last week I came across another little chap happily walking along the road. Once he saw me he rapidly scarpered off and I let him / her be. He is a different species to Siegfried but still very cute. People here eat tortoise-I find this utterly terrible, maybe I should start a rescue centre in my spare time?!

Siegfried

I am pleased to introduce my new pet tortoise Siegfried. I found him walking on the lawn at work and we soon became firm friends! He is about 6cm long and I am guessing he is about 3 years old.... I think these guys can live to 180 so maybe my grandchildren will be around to meet him?!

Zimbabwe Shenanigans 4

(Fixing the Landy and some cool rocks in the Matopas).

Well it has been an age since I updated my blog; sincere apologies for that. Time here flies and then it is difficult to know where to start.

As you can see from all the photos I have been busy taking lots of trips outside Bulawayo exploring this beautiful country. I love getting out and going for a fun drive to let off steam after my working week. My car (and myself, it seems) come alive when off roading! There is nothing as thrilling as driving through a river!!! We have had lots of rain here and I have taken full advantage of all the river crossings. My mechanic has now forbidden me to drive through any more without fitting a 'snorkel' to my car to help it breath under water- no joke. My lights are half full of water and my horn sounds distinctly wet- which in Africa is a definite disadvantage!

I had a rather interesting experience when I fell down a waterfall and almost killed myself. 3 brave people saved my life- 2 of which couldn't swim.... 1 girl broke her foot and leg as a result (she will be ok but I had to put her into plaster myself)- and I got away with some interesting bruises, as pictured.
There is something about the intensity of everyday life here that necessitates going crazy every so often. I always have been a bit of an adrenaline junkie so this new environment is a bit dangerous for me as proved by the evidence!

All the outdoor adventuring and adrenaline seeking is causing me to have had to become a bit of a mechanic- Thank you so much Martin Housman- your mechanics weekend is saving my life! The men around her find it hilarious that I vehemently defend my Landy when they are all Toyota geeks. I have a continual barrage of banter about all Land Rover's faults....not helped when my clutch keeps dying. Quite a lot of the guys out here are 'rather old school' and attempt to rush to my aid when I break down. It both amuses and satisfies me though when I am the one that ends up having to get inside the bonnet of my trusty Landy to twiddle with various valves. My father used to say that you shouldn't own a car if you didn't know the basics- I hope he would be impressed with my ever growing mechanical language. Those of you that know me well will know how much I hate men trying to rescue me or patronise me with simple explanations. The first mechanic I sort out back in November cut me off mid sentence to ask my male passenger what he thought! Even my passenger commented afterwards that it was a bit of a stereotyped situation.

Otherwise life here pootles on. I often find things a bit hard and struggle to know what my purpose is here. It is so easy to be drawn into the NGO set- a complex power struggle which feels so removed from the reality of most of the world. 'Doing' things for the 'poor' is really a complete load of crap and so many of the motives of western development agencies are shallow and self seeking.

This last few weeks I have thought a lot about my father. I am about 18 months in and it still hurts like the most painful thing that I have ever had to journey through. Grief will hit me like a tidal wave- flooring me. It seems to come from out of no where and then it can be gone equally fast, leaving me gasping for air. I still battle the loneliness that it brings and resent having to have walked it alone. I am enjoying listening to some Podcasts from Mars Hill in the States- they are running a lent series on grief based on Lamentations. One theme they are exploring is the concept of Kriah which is a traditional Jewish mourning practice. Also known as the "rending of garments", it is a physical and visible demonstration of grief through the image of torn material (http://www.marshill.org/kriah/). I have been thinking maybe one day I will prepare some talks on bereavement. I sadly think there is such an immense need for people to be taught about how to support one another- doesn't that seem crazy?!

Well I must sign out now- love you all lots and you know any of you are welcome to come to Zim for a little adventure?!
xxx

Zimbabwe Shenanigans 3

Many thanks to Michaela from CT for these photos.
Me crossing the dam at Shalom- what is it with me and water falls?!!
Some writing on a wall- a good slogan for my life here I think.
Ruach the Landy in full action- you can see him smiling I think....
The wonderful Tafi in my funky new glasses

Zimbabwe Shenanigans 2

Above are some of my work colleagues, who are fast becoming friends, at the staff retreat week. Also is picture of my colourful bruises following my trip down the waterfall at Diana Pools and a snap of me driving through a river- deep concentration so to avoid being swept down stream!