On my lunchbreak I passed the sport club to pick up some tennisballs, as I am playing with a colleague today after work. Then I realised THAT is the time to be at the club, not after work. There were a lot of guys without shirts playing rugby… And for those of you who still remember the football match at Salas….:-) This time I did not laugh and whished I would have had my camera! Anyway, I changed the time for my tennis lession tomorrow and will play a couple of hours earlier….;-)
After that I will leave Harare for a safari weekend at the Pamuzinda Safari Lodge. Saar, they have horse back riding safaris! :-) But I guess I should not try to make you jealous in advance this time. I still remember the rain, the storm and the food poisoning I got last time I did something like that, when I went to Boracay.
Tonight I will go to ZIFF, Zimbabwe International Film Festival (http://www.ziff.co.zw). It has been on a couple of days, but this far I haven’t seen any films. I was planning to go and see some African films as you don’t get then too often in Europe. But shame on me…. To night there is the launch of the Swedish contribution, so it is more or less work. The film is called Zozo.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
I am a little disappointed. I was looking forward to going to Victoria Falls this weekend, but all flights are full! :-( Now I have to come up with another trip that is feasible over a weekend and with short notice. Any suggestions?
It also means I will most probably have to stay here a little longer as I really want to go to Vic Falls! Anyway, I am seriously thinking about if this is not the right time to go off on a around-the-world-trip. Anyone who wants to join?!
Oh! I have forgotten to update you on the latest news in The Herald. This weekend there was a priest who had run away to South Africa with the wife of a member of his church. Just a year earlier the very same pastor was the one who wed the two. The whole issue was about to split the congregation in two. Monday, the top article on the first page was about a Harare town clerk who accused his wife of breaking down their marriage because she was having an affair with a colleague and the parties were mutually claiming money from the other. This is the top news of a main news paper! Just above the article on the opening of the opening of the Harare Agricultural Show by, the president of Botswana Festus Mogae.
This morning I read about an other suicide on the front page. Two brothers had been quarreling over a piece of land for some time and now the fight ended (after a beer drinking session) with one of the brothers killing himself by stabbing himself several times in the stomach with a screw driver…..
I mean, I think in Sweden the surviving brother would at least have been investigated about the incident…
The Herald ended the article by encouraging people not to end fights with suicide, but instead seek the advise of elders or even the police. That is very wise and considerate, isn't it.
It also means I will most probably have to stay here a little longer as I really want to go to Vic Falls! Anyway, I am seriously thinking about if this is not the right time to go off on a around-the-world-trip. Anyone who wants to join?!
Oh! I have forgotten to update you on the latest news in The Herald. This weekend there was a priest who had run away to South Africa with the wife of a member of his church. Just a year earlier the very same pastor was the one who wed the two. The whole issue was about to split the congregation in two. Monday, the top article on the first page was about a Harare town clerk who accused his wife of breaking down their marriage because she was having an affair with a colleague and the parties were mutually claiming money from the other. This is the top news of a main news paper! Just above the article on the opening of the opening of the Harare Agricultural Show by, the president of Botswana Festus Mogae.
This morning I read about an other suicide on the front page. Two brothers had been quarreling over a piece of land for some time and now the fight ended (after a beer drinking session) with one of the brothers killing himself by stabbing himself several times in the stomach with a screw driver…..
I mean, I think in Sweden the surviving brother would at least have been investigated about the incident…
The Herald ended the article by encouraging people not to end fights with suicide, but instead seek the advise of elders or even the police. That is very wise and considerate, isn't it.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Some more picts
This is the bunch of "bearer's checks" that I spent the first three days here in Harare, five million zimdollars, before Operation Sunshine, when three zeroes were cut away and new bearers checks were issued, n.b. they are not called notes, but bearer's checks.
The Old Hararian's Sports Club
The pool and a part of "my" garden.
The front of "my" house and in front of that the "little" dog.
Names
This summer has made me think about names and why we have the names we have. Ok, the answer might be obvious, in most cases we have the names our parents gave us, but why exactly this name? The reason why I have been thinking about it this summer is that I have come upon names that to me seem very unusual and/or funny.
For all the differences between Philippines and Zimbabwe, the two countries have actually more similarities than I would ever have guessed (more on these similarities and differences in a later blog). For example both countries are to a rather big part English speaking, although it is not the “native” language and many have English names, but not only the average John, Mary, Jack and Jill. No, the namnes are much more creative, and the fact that they are in English makes it possible for me to understand them. In both these countries I have met people named things like; Lovely, Precious, Lovemore, Energy, Honest, Prudence, Marvelous and Godwell. That made me wonder if the name has any influence on who we become, or if it is only the hope of our parents that are reflected in the names they give us, and that they might in some cases get very disappointed...
Someone told me, that here in Zimbabwe the name might reflect the situation or feelings at the time of birth of the child. That makes you really wonder what went on the day the Godknows was born. And it makes you kind of feeling sorry for poor Loveless…
I also wonder if we would have been the same persons if we had other names. Both in the Philippines and in Zimbabwe people very often ask you for your name. Ok, if it is someone I know and someone I know I will have more contact to of course I take the time to explain my name, but for some small talk in the taxi or in a line or a shop, I just cannot be bothered making anyone understand my name. And I can assure you that if I would have persisted on giving the staff at Starbuck’s my normal name, I would have had to drink cold coffee the whole time in Manila… So, what I have done is that in situations like that I have used my second name, Susanne, which is much more internationally viable. It is really my second name, so it is not as if I am lying, but that is exactly the way it feels.
The first weekend in Manila I was out travelling together with a Swedish guy I met on the plane to Manila. He had much the same problem, his name is Torben. He also used the same method. He used his second name Michael. So there were not Gudrun and Torben travelling together but Susanne and Michael. Does it matter??
For all the differences between Philippines and Zimbabwe, the two countries have actually more similarities than I would ever have guessed (more on these similarities and differences in a later blog). For example both countries are to a rather big part English speaking, although it is not the “native” language and many have English names, but not only the average John, Mary, Jack and Jill. No, the namnes are much more creative, and the fact that they are in English makes it possible for me to understand them. In both these countries I have met people named things like; Lovely, Precious, Lovemore, Energy, Honest, Prudence, Marvelous and Godwell. That made me wonder if the name has any influence on who we become, or if it is only the hope of our parents that are reflected in the names they give us, and that they might in some cases get very disappointed...
Someone told me, that here in Zimbabwe the name might reflect the situation or feelings at the time of birth of the child. That makes you really wonder what went on the day the Godknows was born. And it makes you kind of feeling sorry for poor Loveless…
I also wonder if we would have been the same persons if we had other names. Both in the Philippines and in Zimbabwe people very often ask you for your name. Ok, if it is someone I know and someone I know I will have more contact to of course I take the time to explain my name, but for some small talk in the taxi or in a line or a shop, I just cannot be bothered making anyone understand my name. And I can assure you that if I would have persisted on giving the staff at Starbuck’s my normal name, I would have had to drink cold coffee the whole time in Manila… So, what I have done is that in situations like that I have used my second name, Susanne, which is much more internationally viable. It is really my second name, so it is not as if I am lying, but that is exactly the way it feels.
The first weekend in Manila I was out travelling together with a Swedish guy I met on the plane to Manila. He had much the same problem, his name is Torben. He also used the same method. He used his second name Michael. So there were not Gudrun and Torben travelling together but Susanne and Michael. Does it matter??
Monday, August 28, 2006
Rock paintings
This weekend I went to Domboshawa, just outside Harare for a short hike up a hill, where you could see some rock paintings and balancing stones. It was a very beautiful place and a nice place for hiking, but due to the situation we and two others were the only visitors that day. We had a very nice police officer guiding us.
Like a heavy weight on my shoulders!
The site was used for rain making ceremonies and on the rocks there where antilopes, bulls, elephants, hippos and rhinos etc. Very beautiful!
Friday, August 25, 2006
Sports and roads
I thought it was about time to start doing some sports again and as I had got the phone number of a tennis trainer I thought I could start taking some lessons again. My original plan was that we could play at the court at the office, but he suggested I should come down to the club where he is working. Just the name of the club made me immediately change my mind and yesterday I went to the club. It is called Old Hararians Sports Club. Isn’t it great?! I saw before my inner eye some old colonial style, very old fashioned and exclusive club. Maybe it had been and it still looked promising from the road, where I saw people all in white (of course) playing cricket on a field surrounded by trees in the setting sun. When I came closer I got a little more sceptic already when the guards at the gate did not even ask who I am or what I was doing there. Then it turned out that the whole place looked rather run down and derelict. I found my coach however. He turned out to be really nice and very good. He told me he is the coach of the Zimbabwe Davis Cup team, so guess if I am gonna get good!! (Magda, photos will come later!) He had even been to Novi Sad with the team in March 2005. It is indeed a small world and everywhere there is a Balkan-connection!
Somehow the description of the state of the club says a lot about the whole place, it was probably very nice once, but is now run down and derelict. There are some very nice houses and the city gives a rather neat and tidy impression, but there is a lot of mess on top of it. The roads were probably also rather good once, but are now full of potholes. On my way to the office I have from the first day been laughing about the signs promoting Pothole repair. Driving along the road bumping up and down and trying to zigzag between the holes without hitting any of the pedestrians or cyclists on the side of the road, it felt somehow rather ironic. Until a couple of days ago. Then I saw what was written above the text Pothole repair. It said “D Y I”. So it is actually a commercial for do it yourself pothole repair! Then it got hilarious! Who the hell will do that, and where??
On my way back from the sports club I took another way than I usually drive, I drowe through down town. They always tell you, you should not drive down town alone after dark, but it was not really dark yet so I took that way. I had also been warned not to drive past the State House (the president’s residence) as that road is blocked at certain times and as the guards outside are instructed to “fire without questioning” (according to Lonely Planet). But as I was on my way home I just looked at the map to find the shortest way there and didn’t really pay attention to what else I was passing. Not until I suddenly saw lot of really nasty looking and very heavily armed guards standing along the road. It was really scary. Afterwards I looked at the map and realised I had just been driving exactly where I shouldn’t!
Somehow the description of the state of the club says a lot about the whole place, it was probably very nice once, but is now run down and derelict. There are some very nice houses and the city gives a rather neat and tidy impression, but there is a lot of mess on top of it. The roads were probably also rather good once, but are now full of potholes. On my way to the office I have from the first day been laughing about the signs promoting Pothole repair. Driving along the road bumping up and down and trying to zigzag between the holes without hitting any of the pedestrians or cyclists on the side of the road, it felt somehow rather ironic. Until a couple of days ago. Then I saw what was written above the text Pothole repair. It said “D Y I”. So it is actually a commercial for do it yourself pothole repair! Then it got hilarious! Who the hell will do that, and where??
On my way back from the sports club I took another way than I usually drive, I drowe through down town. They always tell you, you should not drive down town alone after dark, but it was not really dark yet so I took that way. I had also been warned not to drive past the State House (the president’s residence) as that road is blocked at certain times and as the guards outside are instructed to “fire without questioning” (according to Lonely Planet). But as I was on my way home I just looked at the map to find the shortest way there and didn’t really pay attention to what else I was passing. Not until I suddenly saw lot of really nasty looking and very heavily armed guards standing along the road. It was really scary. Afterwards I looked at the map and realised I had just been driving exactly where I shouldn’t!
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Live from Harare
One funny thing about living in a country with no free press is that they still issue news papers and as they still have to fill the papers with something, but can not write about the important things, they write about things that probably never would make it to the front pages in another country. Some of my friends had the pleasure of receiving aricles I clipped from China Daily and sent when I was in Shanghai. Here we have The Herald and yesterday they had a story on the front page about a “Lonely Granny comits suicide”. The story was about a 75 years old lady who had hung herself. The reason stated for the suicide was that she had failed to find a man to marry. I think it is wonderful! Not that she killed herself and not that she could not find a man, but that she kept the hope of finding one till she got 75! Come on! Don't give up hope! Not even at 75!!!
Another less funny thing about living in the tropics are all the bugs and insects that are around. I have just been informed about the necessity of ironing all clothes after drying them in the sun. If you don’t you might have mango flies who lay their eggs in your clothes and they hatch into little worms that crawls in under your skin to grow there until they come out from your skin by themselves, or maybe it is the flies who hide in your clothes and lay egg under you skin, what ever. Just heard about a guy who stayed in a lodge where they hadn’t ironed the sheets. He got 42 worms! I am sure, I will die if I get one!
Another less funny thing about living in the tropics are all the bugs and insects that are around. I have just been informed about the necessity of ironing all clothes after drying them in the sun. If you don’t you might have mango flies who lay their eggs in your clothes and they hatch into little worms that crawls in under your skin to grow there until they come out from your skin by themselves, or maybe it is the flies who hide in your clothes and lay egg under you skin, what ever. Just heard about a guy who stayed in a lodge where they hadn’t ironed the sheets. He got 42 worms! I am sure, I will die if I get one!
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