Holiday? WHAT Holiday?!?

Monday, July 05, 2004

Another day of work for me; a holiday for my countrymen. It went by fairly well. I was not deluged with requests or details like I feared. Things trickled in, and the two major items presented to me today I took care of pretty quickly. Robert even paid me a compliment by saying he noticed I was coping. Guess that’s better than just falling apart at the first request. J

I have received some feedback on this journal. I would like to state unequivocally that my friend Mike, who thought Pet’s place was too small for me, is not a snob. For all he knew, Pet and her family were wealthy landowners renting out cottages for expensive liquor money. J Had I known how big Casey’s house was, I would have stayed at her place, cats be damned. But living here on Pet’s property has its advantages, and I’m learning a lot from them. So, if you read this and think Mike is a snob, you’re wrong. He has high standards for himself and others, but that a snob does not make. Our friendship wouldn’t last long if he was a snob.

Casey’s computer has the wrong time by about an hour. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that and tried to knock off at 4pm. I wondered where Eddie was, but I decided to call Richard while I waited. I had written a kind of harsh email to him earlier about the cell phone bill. Overage charges blow, and I let him know it. But email is not as good as in person, so I called to be sure he knew I wasn’t fuming or anything. I also wanted to be sure he wasn’t mad at me for the tone. He had not read it yet, so I think I made amends before the fact. Anyway, he mentioned the time in Atlanta, and then said it was 4pm. I thought he was wrong, until I looked at my wristwatch. Ooops! I had to go back to the office like an idiot and re-log in and take care of a few other things.

Eddie will be getting his car fixed tomorrow, so he’s sending someone in his place. I guess that’ll be OK. I doubt Eddie would send me someone unreliable. I may need to give the guy directions though. I hope not. I kind of know how to get to work, but I’m not sure I could lead someone with confidence.

I had tea with Pet and her husband. We then had a traditional African dinner. It’s made of maize meal, and is cooked into this doughy ball. It’s almost like too-dry grits, and they served this sauce with it that was delicious. You eat it with your hands, tearing off chunks, rolling into a ball in your hands (to cool it off, b/c it’s HOT and it holds heat really well) and then mix it with your side dishes. We had collard greens (who knew that was served in Africa?!?), and a really tough pork chop. I don’t tear all the meat off the bones, so I think Pet believes I don’t like the meat. I do, but I never eat all the meat. I don’t eat gristle either. Pet finished the meal off with a couple of shots. I think it was called Amerito, but it tastes like Kahlua with perhaps a splash of amaretto. She put it in a fancy shot glass with an ice cube. It was really good, but powerful. Apparently, you sip it, b/c when I finished mine too fast (wasn’t sure if I was supposed to chug it or not, so I just drank it in 2-3 swallows), she had her husband get me another one.

Pet’s husband Morris is a really neat guy. He knows several African languages, although he apparently doesn’t teach Pet or their son very many of them. The meal we had tonight has its own word in every language of Southern Africa. They are making sure that I experience some cultural traditions while I’m here. It’s very cool.

I’m not sure how I will be able to travel. The site that Casey had referred to didn’t have many package deals that I could find. I need a total package deal, transport, lodging, etc. I want to be able to travel on some of the weekends while I’m here. It would be a waste to come all this way and never leave Harare. I hope I can find a good travel site soon.