Today, I have twelve days left in my contract here in Burundi. This chapter is coming to an end and I'm ready for the next. I really enjoyed my time in Burundi, living in shipping containers, participating in some Community Work initiatives, visiting the market and learning from some veteran geologists.
These last dozen days, I'm not going to soak it all up any more than I already am. Because I almost feel too anxious to move on to the next chapter to truly soak up more on my last few days here. I know I'll regret it if all I spend my last twelve days counting down and focusing on the adventure that awaits ignoring the one I'm on at the moment, so I won't.
What is there to soak up? I won't know till I leave. Giving myself these dozen days to soak up a summer of impressions, experiences and interactions isn't fair to myself and this country.
I'm going to instead spend these next twelve days like I spent this summer, go through the motions and know I'll have soaked it up all summer.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Chutes de Karera
When I first heard we were going to "Les Chutes de Karera" I wasn't sure I would be able to attend given few days left in my contract and the amount of work I have to accomplish. In the end, I didn't get ahead but I was caught up and could sacrifice the day. We cooked some chicken and had it dressed and chilled, brought some baguette, 2 cases of beer and a round of cheese. Picnic essentials ready we were ready to hit the road to see burundi's Porsches. I think I'm still the only one who finds that funny.
The journey took us through Gitega, a central province that we pass through whenever we go to Bujumbura. This time we stopped in Gitega's centre and strolled into a shop for some snacks and drinks. Chez Karine sold everything! The store of Indian descent sold Roti, Chapati, Samosas and other yummy treats. At the back I saw guitars up on the wall, I approached a sales rep to inquire. The guitar was a Lucky Star, for 90 000 FBU, a little steep in my opinion so I passed.
Back on the road we drove for another hour or so, South East into the province of Rutana. In Rutana we started to see the signs for the Waterfalls, none for Porsches as I pointed out to my colleagues. Still the only one laughing eh? We arrive at the falls and instantly forget we drove 3 hours to get here. The usual tourist things ensue; pictures by the falls, pictures under the falls, pictures alone, pictures in groups, silly ones and happy ones. My colleague Chris and I looked at the columnar jointing, the plateaus that had naturally been carved into the facade and thought to ourselves, we HAD to climb it. So we walked to both sides of the falls looking for a dry area to climb. I climbed about halfway wearing my boat shoes, polo and khaki shorts. NBD, but getting down from there without a rope or proper equipment was the largest deterrent from going higher. We climbed trees and snapped pics, swung on branches and had beer in the trees.
Some stairs were observed by a few others and we raced up them, reaching the top we took a path back towards the waterfalls. We were at the top, where the river flowed to the cliff, having already climbed up and down the dry side of the first quarter of the cliff and understanding that going down would be the hardest part... We instantly began jumping down plateaus to get to where the water was flowing, we knew we could climb back up! Knowing we could see the wide plateaus to jump down on it was a no brainer. A few Americans were there and commented on us being Crazy, one even stated he didn't understand how we'd get back up. We just chalked that up another win for Canada over the USA.
Took some more pictures, went exploring the river that flowed perpendicular to the falls and climbed up another side to discover a second set of falls just a few metres to the side of the initial falls we were on. After our hunger for climbing and adventure was satisfied, we climbed back down using the stairs. We watched the waterfall from the base, slightly damp from walking through shallow parts of the plateau river waterfall system we'd just explored.
It was then that we decided we were going to climb the wet side of the waterfall. It wasn't too high and it wasn't too hard. In no time at all we were on the first plateau on the wet side of the waterfall. What a rush! The water was ice cold, the view we had and the sense of accomplishment coupled with that adrenaline made us laugh uncontrollably the entire time we were up there. I went up to another level and the Burundians below all begged us to come down, we took some more pictures and we stepped down. Again satisfied and looking for something else to do, only now we were drenched.
Some locals explained to us that our other colleagues had gone to visit another set of waterfalls a few hundred metres away down another path, we decided we'd try and join them.
We ran into our colleagues while on the way there, only they had decided they were hungry and were going back to the trucks to feed. We continued to the falls with a 9 year old fearless Burundian, he climbed barefooted and didn't slow down! What a champ. We climbed took pictures and sat on the falls again.
Feeding time came and we had our dressed cold chicken with cheese sandwiches, delicious.
More beer and I bust out the disc! We start tossing and drinking, laughing; generally having a great time.
The day was absolutely spectacular, we laughed so much that my abs are sore today, we climbed so much my calfs and my triceps are sore today. I also have a bump on my head where I slipped and bumped right around my eyebrow. Something to remind me how unsafe it was to climb the wetside of a waterfall without any equipment.
Today, marks my 16th last day in Burundi. I'm glad I got to go to Karera and see the Waterfalls, only slightly disappointed there weren't any cars going over the edge.
The journey took us through Gitega, a central province that we pass through whenever we go to Bujumbura. This time we stopped in Gitega's centre and strolled into a shop for some snacks and drinks. Chez Karine sold everything! The store of Indian descent sold Roti, Chapati, Samosas and other yummy treats. At the back I saw guitars up on the wall, I approached a sales rep to inquire. The guitar was a Lucky Star, for 90 000 FBU, a little steep in my opinion so I passed.
Back on the road we drove for another hour or so, South East into the province of Rutana. In Rutana we started to see the signs for the Waterfalls, none for Porsches as I pointed out to my colleagues. Still the only one laughing eh? We arrive at the falls and instantly forget we drove 3 hours to get here. The usual tourist things ensue; pictures by the falls, pictures under the falls, pictures alone, pictures in groups, silly ones and happy ones. My colleague Chris and I looked at the columnar jointing, the plateaus that had naturally been carved into the facade and thought to ourselves, we HAD to climb it. So we walked to both sides of the falls looking for a dry area to climb. I climbed about halfway wearing my boat shoes, polo and khaki shorts. NBD, but getting down from there without a rope or proper equipment was the largest deterrent from going higher. We climbed trees and snapped pics, swung on branches and had beer in the trees.
Some stairs were observed by a few others and we raced up them, reaching the top we took a path back towards the waterfalls. We were at the top, where the river flowed to the cliff, having already climbed up and down the dry side of the first quarter of the cliff and understanding that going down would be the hardest part... We instantly began jumping down plateaus to get to where the water was flowing, we knew we could climb back up! Knowing we could see the wide plateaus to jump down on it was a no brainer. A few Americans were there and commented on us being Crazy, one even stated he didn't understand how we'd get back up. We just chalked that up another win for Canada over the USA.
Took some more pictures, went exploring the river that flowed perpendicular to the falls and climbed up another side to discover a second set of falls just a few metres to the side of the initial falls we were on. After our hunger for climbing and adventure was satisfied, we climbed back down using the stairs. We watched the waterfall from the base, slightly damp from walking through shallow parts of the plateau river waterfall system we'd just explored.
It was then that we decided we were going to climb the wet side of the waterfall. It wasn't too high and it wasn't too hard. In no time at all we were on the first plateau on the wet side of the waterfall. What a rush! The water was ice cold, the view we had and the sense of accomplishment coupled with that adrenaline made us laugh uncontrollably the entire time we were up there. I went up to another level and the Burundians below all begged us to come down, we took some more pictures and we stepped down. Again satisfied and looking for something else to do, only now we were drenched.
Some locals explained to us that our other colleagues had gone to visit another set of waterfalls a few hundred metres away down another path, we decided we'd try and join them.
We ran into our colleagues while on the way there, only they had decided they were hungry and were going back to the trucks to feed. We continued to the falls with a 9 year old fearless Burundian, he climbed barefooted and didn't slow down! What a champ. We climbed took pictures and sat on the falls again.
Feeding time came and we had our dressed cold chicken with cheese sandwiches, delicious.
More beer and I bust out the disc! We start tossing and drinking, laughing; generally having a great time.
The day was absolutely spectacular, we laughed so much that my abs are sore today, we climbed so much my calfs and my triceps are sore today. I also have a bump on my head where I slipped and bumped right around my eyebrow. Something to remind me how unsafe it was to climb the wetside of a waterfall without any equipment.
Today, marks my 16th last day in Burundi. I'm glad I got to go to Karera and see the Waterfalls, only slightly disappointed there weren't any cars going over the edge.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Camps Bay Saturday July 16th 2011
I woke up early Saturday morning, headed down to the Longstreet café like I’d done on so many mornings in Cape Town had a delicious espresso and a brie, tomato, mushroom sandwich. Got back to the hostel waited for my dorm mates to wake and eventually accompanied them to “Yours Truly” for more espresso and another bite. Yours Truly was the perfect example of the kind of café I’d like to own if I ever went that route. The place had great local artwork on the walls, delicious coffee, fresh pastries and amazing sandwiches. They also had an amazing assortment of magazines you could read while you were there and purchase if you wanted, including Monocle. Tasteful décor with comfortable couches and classy music really completed the environment. The girls indicated they had planned to head to Camps Bay, JJ and I didn’t have anything solid planned, we thought we might stroll down the waterfront and take in some local street buskers and try some more locally brewed beer. Since the weather was optimal for beaching, we asked if we could tag along, the waterfront wasn’t going anywhere.
We took a Minibus to Camps Bay, fantastic way of getting around town –if you know the route. 6 Rand will get you to Camps Bay, but don’t expect the driver to tell you anything more than: “Yes, I go by there at some point during the day”. The minibus system is also the sketchiest form of transportation I’ve ever experienced, some of the drivers don’t have driving licenses and text/drive or talk/drive on their cells. There’s anywhere from 10 to 15 Minibuses in Cape Town that are registered and part of a co-op. The rest of them are illegal minibuses, private drivers who are poaching customers from the co-op. It’s very difficult to tell them apart, they are all just super dodgy. Unfortunately, I think we took a minibus that went all over Cape Town before ultimately getting to Camps Bay. 6 Rand is still much cheaper than a 70 Rand cab ride, and on the bright side, we saw the town a bit more. Another added benefit to taking the Minibus is brushing shoulders with some locals, taking in some of the local language and culture. Cape Towners or Capeys, all take the Minibus; or have at some point in their lives.
Arriving at Camps Bay, I got a smell of the ocean and glanced over my shoulder at the Lions head, I knew this was a great choice. We’d arrived around 1130 and the beach wasn’t too busy yet. Luckily it’s the Cape Town winter and not many people go to the beach, otherwise we might not have had such primo real estate on the beach.
We set up shop and I busted out the disc JJ, Nele and I threw the disc around and almost lost it in the ocean a few times, Cybil sat smoked a cigarette and watched us. Great start to the day, eventually we got hot and went for a dip in the ocean.
Swimming in the Indian Ocean at Camps Bay was very refreshing, the water was just a touch over 10 C and the waves were just shy of 2 m. I swam out, until the waves turned to big swells and my toes started to go numb, turned around and just let the ocean carry back to shore. The others didn’t understand how I could stay in the water for so long without a wetsuit, I explained to them that the water was just right for a 30 C day at the beach with no wind and no clouds in sight.
After drying off listening to the Strokes, lying on the beach chatting with my new friends; JJ, Nele and I went over to a duo tossing a red Coca-Cola sponsored unofficial disc and offered to play with them. We attracted a few more people with my Discraft MEC disc and had fun laying-out. The initial guys we went to play with turned out to be an odd pairing of Australian and Cape Towner, they told me about some great bars the locals go to and where the good local bands were playing that night. I was stoked I had something new and exciting to do in Cape Town, finally getting off the tourist strip of Long Street.
We joined Cybil back at our home base, sat and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Table Mountain behind us Lions Head beside us and the Ocean cracking some serious waves in front of us. We discussed dinner plans and thought we’d try and find a spot on the patio of one of the bars behind the beach. We walked by at least 3 different bars that were packed beyond capacity. I guess, everyone had the same idea. We end up at a nice bar with a patio facing the ocean, watching the sun drop into the ocean over the horizon we glanced at the menu and realized why this bar was empty. Everything was way over-priced by S-African standards; but not Canadian standards, it was also an oyster bar! I got excited and thought to myself: “What a great way to end the day, nice white wine with some oysters watching the sunset”. I looked over at my friends and they didn’t seem to share the same opinion, I queried the group and concluded we should find somewhere else to go.
We walked up the street a bit and found a P n P (Pick and Pay) grocery store. We agreed we’d take a look inside and see if we could get some snacks and head back down to the beach and just watch the sunset there. I grabbed a tray of cheese with a wooden knife and some crackers, a 250g pack of Kudu biltong and an Appletizer (carbonated apple juice). I asked the cashier where the nearest LC was and she told me it was at Seapoint, which is the neighboring town! Not far, but we wouldn’t make it there and back for the sunset. We went to the beach and sat down to snack while we brainstormed. JJ suggested we just try and buy a bottle from one of the bars, we pooled our money together and he went and asked. The bartender was keen on selling a bottle of wine to us; then the manager came out and forbid it. JJ returned with the bad news, but it didn’t matter. We had great company, music, cheese n’ crackers, biltong and Appletizer; we watched the sunset together and quietly I think we were all glad we’d come to Camps Bay that day. In the end, not having oysters and white wine didn’t matter to me, the view, the company and the choice of music was perfect where we were.
We took a Minibus to Camps Bay, fantastic way of getting around town –if you know the route. 6 Rand will get you to Camps Bay, but don’t expect the driver to tell you anything more than: “Yes, I go by there at some point during the day”. The minibus system is also the sketchiest form of transportation I’ve ever experienced, some of the drivers don’t have driving licenses and text/drive or talk/drive on their cells. There’s anywhere from 10 to 15 Minibuses in Cape Town that are registered and part of a co-op. The rest of them are illegal minibuses, private drivers who are poaching customers from the co-op. It’s very difficult to tell them apart, they are all just super dodgy. Unfortunately, I think we took a minibus that went all over Cape Town before ultimately getting to Camps Bay. 6 Rand is still much cheaper than a 70 Rand cab ride, and on the bright side, we saw the town a bit more. Another added benefit to taking the Minibus is brushing shoulders with some locals, taking in some of the local language and culture. Cape Towners or Capeys, all take the Minibus; or have at some point in their lives.
Arriving at Camps Bay, I got a smell of the ocean and glanced over my shoulder at the Lions head, I knew this was a great choice. We’d arrived around 1130 and the beach wasn’t too busy yet. Luckily it’s the Cape Town winter and not many people go to the beach, otherwise we might not have had such primo real estate on the beach.
We set up shop and I busted out the disc JJ, Nele and I threw the disc around and almost lost it in the ocean a few times, Cybil sat smoked a cigarette and watched us. Great start to the day, eventually we got hot and went for a dip in the ocean.
Swimming in the Indian Ocean at Camps Bay was very refreshing, the water was just a touch over 10 C and the waves were just shy of 2 m. I swam out, until the waves turned to big swells and my toes started to go numb, turned around and just let the ocean carry back to shore. The others didn’t understand how I could stay in the water for so long without a wetsuit, I explained to them that the water was just right for a 30 C day at the beach with no wind and no clouds in sight.
After drying off listening to the Strokes, lying on the beach chatting with my new friends; JJ, Nele and I went over to a duo tossing a red Coca-Cola sponsored unofficial disc and offered to play with them. We attracted a few more people with my Discraft MEC disc and had fun laying-out. The initial guys we went to play with turned out to be an odd pairing of Australian and Cape Towner, they told me about some great bars the locals go to and where the good local bands were playing that night. I was stoked I had something new and exciting to do in Cape Town, finally getting off the tourist strip of Long Street.
We joined Cybil back at our home base, sat and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Table Mountain behind us Lions Head beside us and the Ocean cracking some serious waves in front of us. We discussed dinner plans and thought we’d try and find a spot on the patio of one of the bars behind the beach. We walked by at least 3 different bars that were packed beyond capacity. I guess, everyone had the same idea. We end up at a nice bar with a patio facing the ocean, watching the sun drop into the ocean over the horizon we glanced at the menu and realized why this bar was empty. Everything was way over-priced by S-African standards; but not Canadian standards, it was also an oyster bar! I got excited and thought to myself: “What a great way to end the day, nice white wine with some oysters watching the sunset”. I looked over at my friends and they didn’t seem to share the same opinion, I queried the group and concluded we should find somewhere else to go.
We walked up the street a bit and found a P n P (Pick and Pay) grocery store. We agreed we’d take a look inside and see if we could get some snacks and head back down to the beach and just watch the sunset there. I grabbed a tray of cheese with a wooden knife and some crackers, a 250g pack of Kudu biltong and an Appletizer (carbonated apple juice). I asked the cashier where the nearest LC was and she told me it was at Seapoint, which is the neighboring town! Not far, but we wouldn’t make it there and back for the sunset. We went to the beach and sat down to snack while we brainstormed. JJ suggested we just try and buy a bottle from one of the bars, we pooled our money together and he went and asked. The bartender was keen on selling a bottle of wine to us; then the manager came out and forbid it. JJ returned with the bad news, but it didn’t matter. We had great company, music, cheese n’ crackers, biltong and Appletizer; we watched the sunset together and quietly I think we were all glad we’d come to Camps Bay that day. In the end, not having oysters and white wine didn’t matter to me, the view, the company and the choice of music was perfect where we were.
Friday, July 8, 2011
South Africa, Madikwe Chapter: Safari Day 1
On July 7th 2011, my colleague Susan and I went on Safari for the first time. We were tired waking up that morning after traveling for nearly a day to get to the game reserve… Was it ever worth the travel!
On this fateful morning we saw a male lion walk less than a meter past the truck, roar and a female with her cubs walk by the other side of the truck just moments later. We saw a herd of elephants feeding on vegetation and even heard them pass gas. Rhinos and Impalas were also spotted on our first trek out into the game reserve. What a rush! The sheer beauty of seeing such majestic creatures in their natural habitat was truly breath taking.
We came back to the lodge and had brunch; the food was ok. I had a very nice hour-long full body Swedish massage while Susan had some Gin and tonics on the veranda overlooking the river with her Kobo E-Reader. Later that afternoon, we had a coffee and tea break; they also served some pastries, fruits and mini pizzas. That was when we found out the kiddy safari drive that occurred after us had spotted a leopard.
After the snack, we hopped back into the truck and headed out on another safari drive. Feeling pumped and hoping to spot the leopard, hahaha ok, last time I swear. We head out for a few more hours, see a pair of rhinos far closer than this morning and as the mother protected the young one, we truly got to see the width of the rhino. For perspective, it’s about as wide as a Yaris. It’s longer and it’s taller, it also weighs more and has a mind of its own. I now have so much more respect for the ninja turtles; Rocksteady must have been quite the force to reckon with. Forgive me if Beep Bop was the rhino, I can’t remember which was which. We followed the rhino sighting up wth a Warthog, which I alone on the truck found rather ironic, considering their pairing in the ninja turtles. There’s a saying around here, the wildebeest aka the warthog is made up of left over pieces of animals, horns from a buffalo, mane and tail from a horse, shoulders of a bull, legs of an impala and most importantly that there wasn’t any spare brains. Which is why the warthog shakes its head side to side mindlessly as it strolls around the grass grazing.
The true, wow moment of this end of day safari came when our guide Ernst got a call on the radio of a wild dog sighting, he lied about our position and reserved first standby (They don’t allow more than three cars at a time to surround any game). We drove super fast along some seriously graveled roads and caught up to the other car only to have the wild dog run by our truck. I joked about how awesome it would be to follow the wild dog in hopes he would find his friends and we could meet them all. Twenty minutes of turning around in circles through the bush, we encountered eight beautiful lanky wiry wild dogs. Incredible. The wild dogs all looked off into the East, we glanced in that direction and noticed three giraffes hoofing it across the hillside, we tried to catch up to the giraffes but they were too fast and able to traverse terrains we dared not attempt.
After all the excitement, we went to a nice quiet retired well of sorts with a beautiful camel toe bean tree surrounded by termite mounds and had some beer and biltong; South Africa’s version of beef jerky. It was an interesting combination of prosciutto and beef jerky. I loved it. Dinner tonight, was lentil soup first course with Eland main and Crème Brule dessert. We drank a delicious 2007 Pinotage from Stellenbosch and chatted by the fireplace to wrap up a beautiful first day at the Madikwe River Lodge
Baby elephant crossing
Lion beside our truck
Pack of endangered African Wild Dogs
EDIT: I realized after I typed it I made a huge mistake.. Wildebeast and Warthog.. The story is for the Wildebeast and for the record, I know there's a difference
On this fateful morning we saw a male lion walk less than a meter past the truck, roar and a female with her cubs walk by the other side of the truck just moments later. We saw a herd of elephants feeding on vegetation and even heard them pass gas. Rhinos and Impalas were also spotted on our first trek out into the game reserve. What a rush! The sheer beauty of seeing such majestic creatures in their natural habitat was truly breath taking.
We came back to the lodge and had brunch; the food was ok. I had a very nice hour-long full body Swedish massage while Susan had some Gin and tonics on the veranda overlooking the river with her Kobo E-Reader. Later that afternoon, we had a coffee and tea break; they also served some pastries, fruits and mini pizzas. That was when we found out the kiddy safari drive that occurred after us had spotted a leopard.
After the snack, we hopped back into the truck and headed out on another safari drive. Feeling pumped and hoping to spot the leopard, hahaha ok, last time I swear. We head out for a few more hours, see a pair of rhinos far closer than this morning and as the mother protected the young one, we truly got to see the width of the rhino. For perspective, it’s about as wide as a Yaris. It’s longer and it’s taller, it also weighs more and has a mind of its own. I now have so much more respect for the ninja turtles; Rocksteady must have been quite the force to reckon with. Forgive me if Beep Bop was the rhino, I can’t remember which was which. We followed the rhino sighting up wth a Warthog, which I alone on the truck found rather ironic, considering their pairing in the ninja turtles. There’s a saying around here, the wildebeest aka the warthog is made up of left over pieces of animals, horns from a buffalo, mane and tail from a horse, shoulders of a bull, legs of an impala and most importantly that there wasn’t any spare brains. Which is why the warthog shakes its head side to side mindlessly as it strolls around the grass grazing.
The true, wow moment of this end of day safari came when our guide Ernst got a call on the radio of a wild dog sighting, he lied about our position and reserved first standby (They don’t allow more than three cars at a time to surround any game). We drove super fast along some seriously graveled roads and caught up to the other car only to have the wild dog run by our truck. I joked about how awesome it would be to follow the wild dog in hopes he would find his friends and we could meet them all. Twenty minutes of turning around in circles through the bush, we encountered eight beautiful lanky wiry wild dogs. Incredible. The wild dogs all looked off into the East, we glanced in that direction and noticed three giraffes hoofing it across the hillside, we tried to catch up to the giraffes but they were too fast and able to traverse terrains we dared not attempt.
After all the excitement, we went to a nice quiet retired well of sorts with a beautiful camel toe bean tree surrounded by termite mounds and had some beer and biltong; South Africa’s version of beef jerky. It was an interesting combination of prosciutto and beef jerky. I loved it. Dinner tonight, was lentil soup first course with Eland main and Crème Brule dessert. We drank a delicious 2007 Pinotage from Stellenbosch and chatted by the fireplace to wrap up a beautiful first day at the Madikwe River Lodge
Baby elephant crossing
EDIT: I realized after I typed it I made a huge mistake.. Wildebeast and Warthog.. The story is for the Wildebeast and for the record, I know there's a difference
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Canada/Burundi day
On the eve of Canada day, my colleague chris and I stayed up till about 1 am. We were catching dragon flies and grasshoppers. We invented "Middle Game" a great fun version of caps, laughed and listened to music. The following morning, we had breakfast at about 9 and proceeded to clean and prep for our pizzas. Susan joined us and together, we made the sauce, chopped veggies, grated cheese and flattened dough. Susan also made some sweet dough to fry into "Beaver Tails" as dessert.
Mid afternoon, some Burundi co-workers came over, we sat down enjoyed laughs, some za and beaver tails over Burundi's locally brewed beers. Amstel blonde and Primus Lager, some modest very fairly priced drinkable beer. We also played some beer pong on this momentous occasion, dual country birthdays called for it. Not having the plastic dixie cups we are used to playing with back home, we substituted for what we had; porcelain coffee mugs. Really, really, really increased rebounds and difficulty; so we played with no swatting, no blowing and fingering, Gentleman shots on rebounds only.
Great fun, great day, the pizza turned out pretty well I think... Im biased, so you be the judge.
We had a pineapple, salami chicken onion green pepper pizza; a ham, pineapple, chicken pizza; a salami cheese pineapple and a banana ham pinapple pizza. The banana one was the least favorite, suggested by one of the south african expats, I can't really say I was a HUGE fan, if you picked off the banana and ate it separately... The banana wasn't bad.
3 days to South Africa, I can taste it.
Dennis a french expat and Chris Canadian recent Geology grad from Carlton enjoying the good times.
Susan currently completing her Masters in Geology at Carlton and I enjoying some Za
'
The Battlefield
Porcelain Beer Pong
Mid afternoon, some Burundi co-workers came over, we sat down enjoyed laughs, some za and beaver tails over Burundi's locally brewed beers. Amstel blonde and Primus Lager, some modest very fairly priced drinkable beer. We also played some beer pong on this momentous occasion, dual country birthdays called for it. Not having the plastic dixie cups we are used to playing with back home, we substituted for what we had; porcelain coffee mugs. Really, really, really increased rebounds and difficulty; so we played with no swatting, no blowing and fingering, Gentleman shots on rebounds only.
Great fun, great day, the pizza turned out pretty well I think... Im biased, so you be the judge.
We had a pineapple, salami chicken onion green pepper pizza; a ham, pineapple, chicken pizza; a salami cheese pineapple and a banana ham pinapple pizza. The banana one was the least favorite, suggested by one of the south african expats, I can't really say I was a HUGE fan, if you picked off the banana and ate it separately... The banana wasn't bad.
3 days to South Africa, I can taste it.
Dennis a french expat and Chris Canadian recent Geology grad from Carlton enjoying the good times.
Susan currently completing her Masters in Geology at Carlton and I enjoying some Za
The Battlefield
Porcelain Beer Pong
Thursday, June 30, 2011
On the eve of Canada Day
Tomorrow is Canada day, it also happens to be Burundi's independence day!
No one is working tomorrow... Well, I think we will work half the day and just chill tomorrow afternoon. I'm pretty excited, we've stocked up the beer, got the food supplies to make pizza and invited some of the local burundi co workers to stop by tomorrow should they feel like taking part in some beer pong, flip cup, pizza Canada day fun.
The 5th of July, I head down to Bujumbura a 4 hour drive to catch a flight to South Africa at 1:25 AM the 6th. I can't wait.
I've gotten in contact with the Ulti club in Cape Town, seeing as how I'll be spending 3/4 of my time in Cape Town, I wanted to see if I could get into some Ulti.
I need to bid... I need to...
I'm really glad to be able to say, that the Ulti community stands strong internationally, kind, welcoming generous people in Canada and in South Africa. I'm invited to take part in beach pickup on Sunday and a Winter League game with "Chilli" later on that week with the option of even practicing with them. Overwhelmed with joy, excitement and filled with anticipation. They also offered my colleague and I a ride from the airport to our hostel should we need it.
Reminds me of going to MUCbowl in New Brunswick and staying at a teams house, a team only a few of us knew.
I love Ulti.
A picture of the 4 students + Copens, from left to right. Susan beside me, Christopher, Copens being silly and Ellen in the front.
No one is working tomorrow... Well, I think we will work half the day and just chill tomorrow afternoon. I'm pretty excited, we've stocked up the beer, got the food supplies to make pizza and invited some of the local burundi co workers to stop by tomorrow should they feel like taking part in some beer pong, flip cup, pizza Canada day fun.
The 5th of July, I head down to Bujumbura a 4 hour drive to catch a flight to South Africa at 1:25 AM the 6th. I can't wait.
I've gotten in contact with the Ulti club in Cape Town, seeing as how I'll be spending 3/4 of my time in Cape Town, I wanted to see if I could get into some Ulti.
I need to bid... I need to...
I'm really glad to be able to say, that the Ulti community stands strong internationally, kind, welcoming generous people in Canada and in South Africa. I'm invited to take part in beach pickup on Sunday and a Winter League game with "Chilli" later on that week with the option of even practicing with them. Overwhelmed with joy, excitement and filled with anticipation. They also offered my colleague and I a ride from the airport to our hostel should we need it.
Reminds me of going to MUCbowl in New Brunswick and staying at a teams house, a team only a few of us knew.
I love Ulti.
A picture of the 4 students + Copens, from left to right. Susan beside me, Christopher, Copens being silly and Ellen in the front.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Shotgun Firsts
Today in Burundi, I had a few firsts. I went to my first aerobic class in Muyinga, Burundi and I watched a lunar eclipse happen from the closest I've ever been to the equator...(2 degrees south) Something I would've missed had I been in North America... Seeing as how it's still daylight there. This brief taste of the earth's magnitude and cosmic presence has humbled and inspired me at the same time. Burundi has been nothing but great to me, the work has been challenging and I feel I've had great opportunities to learn so much about myself and geology (I wish I could say I embraced every opportunity but that would be an exaggeration)
I go to South Africa for my holiday in 3 weeks, so far the adventures to ensue with my colleague are already looking rather epic. We've got three days on safari in the north and a 24 h train ride down to Cape Town from Jo-burg... Time in a beautiful city, the opportunity to swim with penguins and have some delicious Stellenbosch wine.
I'm very, very, happy to be in Africa and I don't think any amount of blogging or lack of... Will ever truly explain how happy I am to be in Africa.
PS Aerobics is hard.
I go to South Africa for my holiday in 3 weeks, so far the adventures to ensue with my colleague are already looking rather epic. We've got three days on safari in the north and a 24 h train ride down to Cape Town from Jo-burg... Time in a beautiful city, the opportunity to swim with penguins and have some delicious Stellenbosch wine.
I'm very, very, happy to be in Africa and I don't think any amount of blogging or lack of... Will ever truly explain how happy I am to be in Africa.
PS Aerobics is hard.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Coffee Plantation
This post is a little off the timeline, but I never got a chance to write the post until now. On May 27th, my colleagues and I got a chance to visit a coffee plantation in Masaka. It was on the way to one of the drilling sites we are exploring for mineral potential. We learnt about how the Burundi government used to have a system in place where all the beans were funneled into one lump bean stock and sold to roasters through the government. We were told that there were farmers who weren't happy with the system, because it meant mixing beans of various quality into one pile and sold for the same price. The Coffee Farmers who worked harder and cared for their beans more or had a better crop weren't being compensated adequately. Recently, the government has addressed this concern, changing the system to a three tier quality bean standard. The better beans being collected and sold for more and the lesser quality bean selling for less.
As far as I could tell, the Coffee plantation we were visiting was happy with the new system, likely because they were producing the "better" beans. Knowing what I've come know about the way politics tend to be in Burundi and having visited the plantation, I'm not sure the tier system is anything more than a cash grab for a few crooked politicians and farmers. We'd have to visit more plantations and actually compare the coffee beans side by side, for a proper assessment and I'm definitely not qualified to be making these allegations... But I just can't help but wonder.
We've been here a few weeks and I've come to realize this country is not poor, the country is rich in mineral resources and has lush vegetation. It is however deprived... Because of the civil war that just ended, the colonization or lack of infrastructure and over population... However you cut this cake, there's obvious reasons to why the country has almost no international presence outside Africa.
The people here are generally kind hearted and honest, that is true; keeping that in mind. There's also the aforementioned deprivation that acts on their behavior and I fear this tiered coffee bean system is a product of deprivation turned corruption.
Closing thought... I promise my rant will culminate on this thought. We saw a drowned rat get pulled from the first fermentation tank and no indication of any decontamination in the process of the beans that were in the tank. The rat was simply removed from the tank and tossed into the field. Is this really quality practice?
As far as I could tell, the Coffee plantation we were visiting was happy with the new system, likely because they were producing the "better" beans. Knowing what I've come know about the way politics tend to be in Burundi and having visited the plantation, I'm not sure the tier system is anything more than a cash grab for a few crooked politicians and farmers. We'd have to visit more plantations and actually compare the coffee beans side by side, for a proper assessment and I'm definitely not qualified to be making these allegations... But I just can't help but wonder.
We've been here a few weeks and I've come to realize this country is not poor, the country is rich in mineral resources and has lush vegetation. It is however deprived... Because of the civil war that just ended, the colonization or lack of infrastructure and over population... However you cut this cake, there's obvious reasons to why the country has almost no international presence outside Africa.
The people here are generally kind hearted and honest, that is true; keeping that in mind. There's also the aforementioned deprivation that acts on their behavior and I fear this tiered coffee bean system is a product of deprivation turned corruption.
Closing thought... I promise my rant will culminate on this thought. We saw a drowned rat get pulled from the first fermentation tank and no indication of any decontamination in the process of the beans that were in the tank. The rat was simply removed from the tank and tossed into the field. Is this really quality practice?
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Ulti in Africa
This morning, some colleagues and I went to Muyinga for some local town exploring. We brought a ball and a disc, played 4 on 4 soccer and taught some children to throw the disc. I wish I had my camera when we were throwing the disc in a circle and 3 goats wandered in, to chomp on some greens or to take a picture of the cow heard on our soccer pitch.
I did get some pics of the kids throwing the disc and a video of the children throwing a bit.
After we finished playing, we walked back through the market, quite the sight to see all the different shops and the various goods for sale. The tight quarters and packed alleys filled with people were overwhelming at times but not unbearable.
Fantastic morning!
Check out the video of the children playing Ulti on Youtube
I did get some pics of the kids throwing the disc and a video of the children throwing a bit.
After we finished playing, we walked back through the market, quite the sight to see all the different shops and the various goods for sale. The tight quarters and packed alleys filled with people were overwhelming at times but not unbearable.
Fantastic morning!
Check out the video of the children playing Ulti on Youtube
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Models are fun to mess around with but don't marry one -Geology Proverb
A week ago today, we landed in Bujumbura, Burundi. We left Toronto not knowing who we'd be working with and none of us completely certain of what this summer was going to be like. After 24 hours of travel(including the time changes) we landed in Burundi. So far, we've been here at the field office in Muyinga for most of the time. We've visited some of the areas the company has mineral rights to (15% of the country)and learnt most of local geology... I say most because there's still a lot to discover and more that's being debated.
Recently, we were given different tasks and our first few assignments, were all working towards the same goal utilizing our different skills to ensure the project gets the best out of us. I have to commend our President for choosing us all so well.
Our team of student geologists get along well and compliment each other very nicely.
The others here at the field office include some South Africans, French, Tanzanian expats and 40 or so Burundians. We've got a lot of people here and everyone is very friendly, most people work 10 or so hours a day some of us are working more. The time we spend at work flies by so fast sometimes, we don't notice we nearly work sunrise to sunset. Burundi being so close to the equator gets 12 hours of dark and 12 hours of light, give or take 15 minutes; probably the toughest thing to get used to.
I'm so used to waking up and jogging or walking while the sun rises or having coffee watching the sun catch up with my morning routine and having a few hours of daylight after the work/school day is done to play some ulti or have a beer on a patio. The first few days, I recall saying: "I can't believe its dark already" only to hear one of my colleagues and fellow student geologists say: "I can't believe we are in Africa"... Really puts things in perspective and reminds us of the great opportunity we've all been given.
The food has been pretty great, we've got two chefs (Donacien and Boniface) who have been more than accommodating cooking us crepes, omelettes, pancakes, fried eggs and bacon, bolognese pasta, goat brochette bbq, fish filets and many other foods we've requested or they've planned for us. The coffee has been delicious and free flowing, coca-cola tastes better here and the local beer Primus isn't bad! They also brew Amstel locally which is very tasty. Hard to believe but true, the wine here is on par with prices in Canada but the selection trumps most of the liquor store selections I've ever seen in Canada...
The mornings are hot and dry, lunchtime tends to be hot and slightly more humid. Anywhere between 2 and 4 pm it gets very hot and humid, the sun seems to go into ultra heat mode and you could probably fry an egg on most of our foreheads.
That being said, we aren't dying of heat... Because we can hide in our shipping containers. They've got a fantastic team of welders and metal workers on site who have revamped shipping containers to have proper doors, desks, bunk beds, windows and fans. Painting them white and positioning them under aluminum roofs providing the right amount of shade allows them to not turn into saunas during the hot days.
Looking forward to the rest of the summer, glad I'm in Africa every morning and excited to mess around with some (Geological) models.
Recently, we were given different tasks and our first few assignments, were all working towards the same goal utilizing our different skills to ensure the project gets the best out of us. I have to commend our President for choosing us all so well.
Our team of student geologists get along well and compliment each other very nicely.
The others here at the field office include some South Africans, French, Tanzanian expats and 40 or so Burundians. We've got a lot of people here and everyone is very friendly, most people work 10 or so hours a day some of us are working more. The time we spend at work flies by so fast sometimes, we don't notice we nearly work sunrise to sunset. Burundi being so close to the equator gets 12 hours of dark and 12 hours of light, give or take 15 minutes; probably the toughest thing to get used to.
I'm so used to waking up and jogging or walking while the sun rises or having coffee watching the sun catch up with my morning routine and having a few hours of daylight after the work/school day is done to play some ulti or have a beer on a patio. The first few days, I recall saying: "I can't believe its dark already" only to hear one of my colleagues and fellow student geologists say: "I can't believe we are in Africa"... Really puts things in perspective and reminds us of the great opportunity we've all been given.
The food has been pretty great, we've got two chefs (Donacien and Boniface) who have been more than accommodating cooking us crepes, omelettes, pancakes, fried eggs and bacon, bolognese pasta, goat brochette bbq, fish filets and many other foods we've requested or they've planned for us. The coffee has been delicious and free flowing, coca-cola tastes better here and the local beer Primus isn't bad! They also brew Amstel locally which is very tasty. Hard to believe but true, the wine here is on par with prices in Canada but the selection trumps most of the liquor store selections I've ever seen in Canada...
The mornings are hot and dry, lunchtime tends to be hot and slightly more humid. Anywhere between 2 and 4 pm it gets very hot and humid, the sun seems to go into ultra heat mode and you could probably fry an egg on most of our foreheads.
That being said, we aren't dying of heat... Because we can hide in our shipping containers. They've got a fantastic team of welders and metal workers on site who have revamped shipping containers to have proper doors, desks, bunk beds, windows and fans. Painting them white and positioning them under aluminum roofs providing the right amount of shade allows them to not turn into saunas during the hot days.
Looking forward to the rest of the summer, glad I'm in Africa every morning and excited to mess around with some (Geological) models.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Community Work
Every Saturday morning from 7 am to 10 am, Burundians get together as members of the community, they undertake road maintenance, garbage collection and other infrastructural needs for specific neighborhoods, cycling through an area.
Today, the three other students, two Burundian employees of Flemish Investment and myself went to help out how we could. Today's task was widening a road and filling washed away sediment using the dirt removed to widen the road. We got to meet the new Police Commissioner, Local Administrator and Minister of Health.
What a great way to initiate stewardship of the land. I am so glad I got to be a part of this initiative and hope to continue helping when I can.
Today, the three other students, two Burundian employees of Flemish Investment and myself went to help out how we could. Today's task was widening a road and filling washed away sediment using the dirt removed to widen the road. We got to meet the new Police Commissioner, Local Administrator and Minister of Health.
What a great way to initiate stewardship of the land. I am so glad I got to be a part of this initiative and hope to continue helping when I can.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Buj to Muyinga
We arrived on Wednesday night, after about 24 hours of travel we should have all been exhausted but the excitement of this new frontier had us wired. We met our Director of Operations at the airport and he gave us a quick briefing of what to expect these next few hours. Besides the damp humid air that hit us like a wall upon exiting the aircraft on the tarmac, there wasn't much culture shock.
We went to the Director's house/Flemish investment office in Bujumbura aka Buj in the South African embassy compound and his wife offered us some local beer "Primus" homemade corn bread from her sweet corn, grown in her garden and fritatas with veggies she also grew. We were then carted off to a hotel up the side of the mountain behind the President's house overlooking Buj and the Tanganyika lake with Congo mountains in the backdrop -Great view first thing in the morning.
Thursday morning was spent with Gillian, our Director's wife. She took us into downtown Buj, we saw the shops, grocery stores, hardware and electronic shops. After setting up a projector for our management team, we students boarded a Land Rover and undertook a 3 hour journey across the country to Muyinga where our field office is located. On this car ride, we saw people walking the sides of the roads with many bushels of goods on their heads, children with notebooks coming or going to school, as many as 4 people on a single bicycle and my favorite... Hitchin' a ride on the back of the bus.
Some people in Burundi get coal from the top of the mountain and ride it down to downtown Buj to sell. It's a few km and its a pretty steep mountain considering you are going from about sea level (or just above) to near 2000m elevation in about 30 km. These vendors do this on bicycles, they can do this up to 4 times a day I'm told. Riding down with a bushel of coal is tough but it's not as hard as the climb, so most of these riders hitch rides on the backs of trucks to climb back up the mountain. I found it rather noteworthy and curious how they all seemed to share the back of these trucks equally, sometimes sitting on the frames of their bikes and not even on the seats.
I've posted an album on Facebook and picasa I'll link here so you can peruse, but in the meantime here's a picture of what I consider, hitchin' a ride.
We went to the Director's house/Flemish investment office in Bujumbura aka Buj in the South African embassy compound and his wife offered us some local beer "Primus" homemade corn bread from her sweet corn, grown in her garden and fritatas with veggies she also grew. We were then carted off to a hotel up the side of the mountain behind the President's house overlooking Buj and the Tanganyika lake with Congo mountains in the backdrop -Great view first thing in the morning.
Thursday morning was spent with Gillian, our Director's wife. She took us into downtown Buj, we saw the shops, grocery stores, hardware and electronic shops. After setting up a projector for our management team, we students boarded a Land Rover and undertook a 3 hour journey across the country to Muyinga where our field office is located. On this car ride, we saw people walking the sides of the roads with many bushels of goods on their heads, children with notebooks coming or going to school, as many as 4 people on a single bicycle and my favorite... Hitchin' a ride on the back of the bus.
Some people in Burundi get coal from the top of the mountain and ride it down to downtown Buj to sell. It's a few km and its a pretty steep mountain considering you are going from about sea level (or just above) to near 2000m elevation in about 30 km. These vendors do this on bicycles, they can do this up to 4 times a day I'm told. Riding down with a bushel of coal is tough but it's not as hard as the climb, so most of these riders hitch rides on the backs of trucks to climb back up the mountain. I found it rather noteworthy and curious how they all seemed to share the back of these trucks equally, sometimes sitting on the frames of their bikes and not even on the seats.
I've posted an album on Facebook and picasa I'll link here so you can peruse, but in the meantime here's a picture of what I consider, hitchin' a ride.
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