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Your Perfect Family

I found this exercise at a great blog called FluentSelf, and thought I’d give it a try. It’s from a book called Wishcraft by Barbara Sher (which you can download for free here). Havi gives a better explanation than I do, but basically if you could pick 5 people out of history to be your family members, whom would you choose? Imagine that those 5 people are sitting in your living room when you walk in the door. What do they think about you? Imagine yourself in each of their minds and write down what they are thinking. Only write good stuff! They are your perfect family, they know you better than anyone, and they love you. The idea here is that your ideal family sees only your great qualities, and always believes in you. This exercise is to help you believe in yourself.

I chose Rachel Carson, Einstein, Gandhi, Billie Holiday, and Queen Elizabeth I. Here’s what they had to say about me.

RC: Maureen loves the planet and is passionate about protecting it. She appreciates Earth’s beauty, and wants future generations to have access to that same beauty. She has the knowledge and dedication to achieve this task.

Einstein: Maureen has a creative and analytical mind. She asks important questions, and is good at finding creative solutions to problems.

Gandhi: Maureen is caring and sensitive. She has a huge capacity for empathy.

Billie Holiday: Maureen knows the blues. She sees pain and suffering in the world, but she doesn’t let it get her down. Instead, she uses it for motivation and inspiration.

Queen Elizabeth: Maureen is a force to be reckoned with. She laughs in the faces of naysayers, and ignores those who try to tell her what she can or can’t do. She is a strong, independent thinker.

Street Sense

“500 kwacha each.”

I caught the hint of mischief in her eyes. Plus, a few days ago I purchased the same thing from a much older woman for only 250 kwacha.

“Really?” I asked. “Are you sure they aren’t 250 each?”

“Ok, 250 each.” She smiled impishly. She’d been caught.

I could only chuckle to myself as I walked away munching on my slice of fried sweet potato. This is Africa, as they say. 10 cents for a slice of sweet potato isn’t that much more than 5 cents, but since I knew better I couldn’t let her get away with it. Besides, I’m not one of those rich tourists. I’m a traveler on a budget, especially until I get my replacement bankcard.
The electricity had been out all day, so I wasn’t able to cook the pasta I had been planning to eat for lunch. I held out as long as I could, but by 4pm the electricity stilled hadn’t returned and I was hungry. Not that I mind too much, I actually love an excuse to eat fried sweet potato from the street market. You pick out the slices you want and they are wrapped in a piece newspaper for you to take home. In this instance, the 2 slices I bought were gone before I reached the gate of the backpackers, by which time the electricity had of course returned.

Zambia produces its own electricity from a hydroelectric dam on the Zambezi river, but most of it is sold to South Africa. Almost every day I’ve been here has seen the electricity go out for at least a few hours, most often in the evenings. I haven’t actually been to the falls yet, but I’ve been told that it is dry during the day because the dam is closed. Apparently, you need to go very early in the morning or in the evening to see a big flow over the falls. I don’t think this is the case on the Zimbabwe side, but I don’t know if I’ll have the chance to compare.

In the meantime, I’ve found a way to help and do something useful while in Livingstone! Thanks to Marshall, one of my Peace Corps friends who was relocated to Zambia, I found out about an Italian NGO running an orphanage and training center just on the other side of town. They have a restaurant named Olga’s, which serves to raise money for the center, and is just down the road from the backpackers. I visited the restaurant on Saturday and spoke with Giovanni and Sister Josephine about volunteering. So tomorrow I will be going to see what I can help with. There is the possibility that my sewing skills may come in handy, or I may just play with the small children. Either way should be a lot of fun!

Fresh Pastries and Police Raids

I love the smell of fresh baked bread. This morning I decided to have coffee at Wonderbake and read a new book I picked up at the backpackers. As I was relishing the familiar smell, enjoying the cool breeze coming from large a/c vents, and watching the women walk by in brilliantly colored dresses, a pick-up truck screeched to a halt just outside. It was filled with men in police uniforms. The officers quickly jumped out of the back and ran over to some street vendors on the sidewalk. They snatched up the stools the vendors had been sitting on and took them back to the truck. The stools were like those from a kindergarten classroom, and the officers looked a little ridiculous sitting there with them between their knees. Once they were all in, the truck took off again. It all happened in less than a minute, but it caused a small ruckus. I asked someone standing by what had happened, and a woman explained that the police were cracking down on illegal street vendors. This is interesting since every street you walk down is filled with people selling produce, air time for cell phones, electronics, and just about anything else you can think of. I have no idea if they are all illegal, or if some are somehow legit. I tried to imagine Livingstone without the sidewalks being cluttered with small blankets covered in trinkets. Nope, couldn’t do it. Oh well, the excitement had passed. I sipped my coffee, took a strong sniff of the air, and dove into back my book, resuming my relaxing morning.

Free livin'

Yesterday I arrived in Livingstone, Zambia. I’m stoked to see Victoria Falls, although due to my lack of funds I’m in no hurry. I have to be here for at least a week until my new credit cards arrive. Luckily I’ve found a sweet place to stay. Livingstone Backpackers has a pool, hot tub, free wi-fi (although very finicky), and it’s only $5 a night. I’m totally set, now I just have to figure out what I can do in Livingstone for free. That should be an adventure in itself.

Cape to Cairo officially begins

On September 5th I left Cape Town with fellow traveler, Nick. Our first destination was Namaqualand National Park in the Northern Cape. We were hoping to see the blooming of the wildflowers, which is supposed to be an incredible site. Arriving on time to see this is an exact science, and we missed the main bloom, but there were still tons of beautiful flowers to be seen.

From there we traveled up to Ai-Ais National Park in Namibia. I was a little worried about having trouble crossing the border, since my South African travel visa had been expired for almost 3 months. I was fined R1500 (about $190), but luckily I was told that I could pay when I re-enter the country. Score! Ai-Ais is popular because of a hot spring there, so you know I was stoked to check it out. It turns out the hot water from the spring is diverted into a pool. Rather then relax in steamy hot water, you swim in a luke-warm pool. The air temperature was pretty cold, so I wasn’t into it.

The next day we headed north to Fish River Canyon, but were sidetracked to the Canon Lodge in Gondwanaland when Nick noticed some buildings blending into the mountainside. We decided to check them out and found a cool resort and sustainable farm. All of their food is grown and made on the farm. After several delicious meals we were finally ready to head on to Fish River Canyon. This beautiful area is very much like the Grand Canyon, so I felt right at home.

A couple of Swiss travelers we camped next to suggested visiting the Giant’s Playground and Quiver tree forest near Keetmanshoop. I had already fallen in love with the quiver trees on the drive there. The Giant’s Playground is a boulder field, with huge rocks stacked on each other, as though they were a child’s building blocks. Keetmanshoop is a small town with not much going on, but the Quiver tree campground was a nice place to stay, and they have daily cheetah feedings that you can view up close, and even pet the cheetah.

After leaving Keetmanshoop we had a long drive to make it to our next destination of Sesriem, from which you enter Soussusvlei, the most beautiful dunes in the world. We had the good fortune of stopping to camp at the Lovedale farm. A very interesting man named Jacobus gave us a tour of the enormous farm, and told us everything we could ever want to know about farming sheep. That night we feasted on bbq mutton.

Soussusvlei was beautiful and frustrating at the same time. The “town” of Sesriem, is really just a campsite and a reception desk from which to purchase entry into Soussusvlei. There is a gated entrance into the campsite, and then an internal gate on the road to Soussusvlei. From Sesriem it is a 65km drive to the dunes. The entrance fee to Soussusvlei is fairly reasonable at R80 per person, plus R10 per car. The campsite, however, is a huge rip-off at R300 per car plus R150 per person. The catch is, if you want to enter the park in time to see the sunrise, and stay long enough to see the sunset you are forced to stay in the campsite because they control the gates. I would have had no problem with this if the staff had been friendly and the utilities well maintained. However, the main receptionist was on a power trip, the showers barely worked, and the ‘toilets’ at the dunes were bad even by Madagascar standards. Also, if your car gets stuck in the sand, you’re on your own. There are no park rangers or telephones, and no cell-phone reception. There are no other campsites in the area, but Nick and I camped on the side of the road just outside the gate for free. Other than that, the dunes were amazing. I think the pictures speak for themselves.



From there we went northwest to the coast, and a little town called Swakopmund. There are more cool dunes in here, and some of them even sparkle! The first 2 nights we stayed at the Seagulls Cry campsite, but had some items stolen while visiting with other campers. Turns out leaving the car doors wide open in a dark campsite and walking away is a bad idea, go figure. It was an unfortunate experience, but a valuable learning lesson about choosing travel partners. Consequently, I am on my own again. For the next couple of days I stayed with a really cool girl named Eva and her cousin Elias. Now I’m staying with Tashia and Dalene in Windhoek. I’m telling you, there are such awesome people on Couchsurfing. I feel like I’m making best friends all over the world, and I love it!

Today I head to Livingstone and Victoria Falls. Believe it or not, I am excited to be back on the bus. When planning trips, most people instantly start looking for flights to their destination and rental cars to get around. They don’t even consider taking the bus or a train. People are totally missing out! I love using public transportation, and here are a few reasons why:

1. See the countryside
Sure, it’s a 10-hour bus ride instead of a 2-hour flight, but think of all the beautiful landscapes, funny farm animals, and unusual attractions you’ll see. There are great photographic opportunities, especially when you arrive or leave a city at sunset (which I will be doing today from Windhoek). Plus, if you factor in the ride to the airport, the time you wait before boarding the plane, and standing around to get your baggage afterwards, the time difference probably isn’t that much.
2. Meet cool people

Turns out, that creepy-looking guy sitting next to you is actually a German diplomat, and has cool travel stories from all over the world. He even flew with Nelson Mandela once. You never know whom you’ll meet, or what crazy stories you’ll hear if you talk to people.
There is also the chance that a local will give you good advice about where to go, and may even help you get there. Once I had a 10-hour layover in Port Elizabeth. A local offered to show me around the city for the day, and we had a great time! (Thanks Farai ☺)

3. Music therapy

No one to talk to? Awesome, this is my chance to finally listen to the new music I picked up in Cape Town. I think Blk Sonshine is my new favorite band. Really, when do you ever get to just sit and listen to music?

4. Cute kids

Kids can be a great source of entertainment, especially when they are doing funny things like stuffing their mouths with marshmallows (I so wish I had taken a picture). If the kid is actually interested in you (and the mother doesn’t seemed disturbed by you), it’s a great opportunity to do kid things, like coloring. Worried about crying kids? Carry some marshmallows with you, just in case.


5. Environmentally friendly

Don’t forget that air travel has a huge impact on the environment. Here is a chance to reduce your carbon footprint. Plus airplanes are pumped full of nasty chemicals, so you will be saving your body too.

6. Saves money
Not only is public transportation cheaper, but also it may allow you to spread your money to more people by stopping for food at local shops. I always take overnight buses, that way I won’t have to spend money on a hostel.

7. Practice your language skills
Even if you only know a few basic phrases, people in other countries will love hearing you speak their language. You will probably learn a lot as well, so be sure to have a notebook with you. This is another time when little kids come in handy. If you’re in Madagascar, know that they will laugh hysterically at you. Don’t worry, it’s a good thing.

Many people avoid public transportation because they are afraid. Certainly there are a few places where taking trains may be dangerous, but more often it just requires being cautious and aware of your surroundings. Remember, what you focus on is attracted to you. So think positively and smile at those around you. For me, this works every time. So go take a bus trip somewhere…go now!

Photos

I have started uploading my pictures to Flickr. You can view them at http://www.flickr.com/photos/maureenleemaloney/

My old pics are still on Photobucket at http://s51.photobucket.com/albums/f382/sunshinedreamer07/