Pap, pronounced pup, is for dinner. A data specialist who works for the Agincourt site invited Jeff and me over for dinner tonight. He made chicken, a spicy sauce of tomato, corn, and peppers, and pap. You wash your hands in a bowl of hot water and eat with your hands---actually, your right hand, because your left hand shouldn't touch food. It was delicious! The pap is made sort of like grits. The corn meal (mealy-meal) they use is ground down so much that it is just white with no corn bits left. They add it to hot water, bring to a boil, stir, and put a lid on it. At some point you remove the lid, add more meal, stir, lid, unlid, then stir the heck out of it. At this point it is basically a paste. Stirring is hard work. Cho scooped out slabs of it with a plate, and there you have it. Simple, not at all nutritious (pure empty carbs), but it is cheap, tastes good, and fills you up for a while.
The food was really good and perhaps better was the entertainment from another guest and his comrades from Acornhoek. They are local guys. Smart, sarcastic, teasing, and generally fun to be around. In the time Jeff and I talked to this guy (maybe 90 minutes) we decided to start a basketball team with him, hike in the mountains, go to a strip club and go to his house Friday night for dinner. He, of course, is a much better pap cook than our friend Cho. Also, he mentioned that his friends call him a "douchebag," which was even funnier to me with the local accent. Really a fun night.
Unfortunately I am beat after such little sleep so I'm going to bed early. Tomorrow I'll post today's pictures, which include a beautiful flight, many animals, and general landscape magnificence.
Exotic vs. familiar
Sometimes traveling makes one aware of shocking differences; other times one becomes aware of just how similar things can be across the continents. South Africa is not the most exotic locale in the world for an American. The vestiges of European colonization, urbanization and development make Johannesburg a vital international urban center with many recognizable features. At varying times today I have had two impressions: the first, that differences are small and on the surface. I felt this way taking a cab to the airport, checking in, going to the gate, etc. Sure, they drive on the other side of the road, the gates feel more like an American train station than an airport, and the stores have different names. But I did notice I was having the same interactions with people that are had anywhere else. Unfortunately I don't yet have an ear for the SA accent--accents, really--so conversations are awkward. But they also sell the same stuff and run the same services as anywhere else. There are guys greeting you at the airport who want a big tip for arranging your transport and hotel even though they aren't sanctioned by the airport in Joburg just like there are in Seattle, BWI, New York, and Boston.
My second set of nascent impressions is that things really are different. I watched a bit of the local TV news at breakfast and read the front section of the local paper at the airport. From this small sample, it appears that race permeates most issues. A white farmer sets dogs on an innocent man with colored skin; controversy over the female provincial minister's appointment of an all-male all-white cabinet. Letters to the editor and callers to the TV news reflect passionate party identification and views on race and gender. That in and of itself is not different from the US, but I think some of our politically correct sensibilities might find some of this discourse hard to swallow.
The history of SA is still playing out, including apartheid, race, development and poverty. Being humans living in modern societies, we have a lot in common. But the weight of each place's history plays out differently in every day life.
My second set of nascent impressions is that things really are different. I watched a bit of the local TV news at breakfast and read the front section of the local paper at the airport. From this small sample, it appears that race permeates most issues. A white farmer sets dogs on an innocent man with colored skin; controversy over the female provincial minister's appointment of an all-male all-white cabinet. Letters to the editor and callers to the TV news reflect passionate party identification and views on race and gender. That in and of itself is not different from the US, but I think some of our politically correct sensibilities might find some of this discourse hard to swallow.
The history of SA is still playing out, including apartheid, race, development and poverty. Being humans living in modern societies, we have a lot in common. But the weight of each place's history plays out differently in every day life.
First day
I arrived at Johannesburg around 9:30pm Thursday night, but of course it was less than 24 hours since I had boarded a 12:55pm flight in Seattle on Wednesday. Customs and baggage claim were a breeze. Then, having no plan for the next 12 hours before my flight to Hoedspruit, I wandered a bit to see what was available in the airport. I ended up taking a free shuttle to a bed and breakfast just a few minutes from the airport, after I had found an ATM with some yet-to-be-known transaction fee and exchange rate.
After arriving at the hotel it took a few minutes for me to get comfortable because I just wasn't sure about this choice of accomodations. I locked all the doors and windows and thought about where I could hide my passport. It seems to be a very legitimate and safe place, however, and the beds are clean, so I soon fell asleep. When I woke about four hours later I felt very rested -- probably because of many hours of unconsciousness on the flight from Amsterdam. The shower was a very welcome feeling after more than 24 hours of travel. Since then I discovered slow wifi in the room and caught up with emails, while my laptop slowly bleeds down to its last hour of power. I need to buy an outlet converter today.
I'm going to breakfast at 6:30 (still more than an hour away!) and then taking the car back to the airport for the 10:15 flight. I am excited to see something in the daylight! I'll take my camera on this plane (and yes it is a plane, not a jet) in case there's a decent view.
After arriving at the hotel it took a few minutes for me to get comfortable because I just wasn't sure about this choice of accomodations. I locked all the doors and windows and thought about where I could hide my passport. It seems to be a very legitimate and safe place, however, and the beds are clean, so I soon fell asleep. When I woke about four hours later I felt very rested -- probably because of many hours of unconsciousness on the flight from Amsterdam. The shower was a very welcome feeling after more than 24 hours of travel. Since then I discovered slow wifi in the room and caught up with emails, while my laptop slowly bleeds down to its last hour of power. I need to buy an outlet converter today.
I'm going to breakfast at 6:30 (still more than an hour away!) and then taking the car back to the airport for the 10:15 flight. I am excited to see something in the daylight! I'll take my camera on this plane (and yes it is a plane, not a jet) in case there's a decent view.
