From cubicle K

Hello all! I am cramped in an internet cafe in Sunnyville, Pretoria (Tshwame) surrounded by 25 young African men and women. The atmosphere feels a bit like a college computer lab, with one old man (me) in the corner. The cost is 6 Rand an hour so I can't beat it.

As an update on my travels, I arrived last Sunday but only one of my two bags made it. Sadly, missing is my 50 lbs. bag of youth uniforms I am taking to Kigoma. SAA is to deliver it to me, but it has been 5 days with no success. I may just give them an address in Tanzania and then I don't have to carry it around with me;)

The weather is quite nice -- 50's and 60's during the day (converted from Celcius - x * 9/5 + 32) with a strong sun, and cool at night (high 30s). We are staying at a Bakpacker's Village and it is quite rustic. At night, I stare up at the thatch roof and feel a breeze through the tent-material wall next to my head. To those who know me well, they know I spent a full New England winter preparing for this, except for the warm showers. Love those old, oil burners! We have befriended some of the Village's staff and are able to talk football (soccer) with most of them. An interesting piece from today's conversation with Mama involved an explanation of where Spain was, what language they spoke, and what Spaniards are like. As background, Spain is playing South Africa in the Confederations Cup here tomorrow night. The question made me appreciate her similar inquisitive nature as through her question I came to realize how little I know about South Africa and the places I am going (Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia), and how many similar questions I ask. They might sound silly to them... I also came to appreciate the resources I have back at home that would allow me to do more research.

As my hour dwindles down here, and as the sun goes down, I need to head back to the village to do some more homework. I will probably dine on some chicken with peri-peri sauce and some samp. If I am lucky, then the local eatery will have some malva pudding. I will be posting a picture soon...

Shahp, shahp,
Christian