state of affairs
In high summer, so in February, have Johanna and I have a trip to our friends and Mitfreiwilligen after Johannesburg made there in the project for street children . Work " Kids Haven " After that we went into one of the strangest and most beautiful countries I have ever seen. Lesotho
Hill Country - almost cut off from the rapidly advancing hurrying time flow of the rest of the world - a bit reminiscent of JRR Tolkien "Shire" in "Lord of the Rings". Traditional round huts at regular intervals are distributed in the valleys between towering mountain ranges, the highway (gravel road) has traveled to some extent at walking speed ... but faster the donkeys do here, not usually anyway . And in between are children of this country -. despite one of the highest AIDS and HIV rates around the world - is incredibly rich in happy, smiling children.
Many villages have no water or electricity, they are located on steep slopes, far apart, and are often accessible only by foot. When people see a car, they turn to greet, and get closer. Tourism is almost not there. English no one can just Basotho.
After our Citi-Golf up the steep pass had been tortured, we do realize that we are high ... but that? 3090 meters above the sea! This We had not expected!
We passed the Katse lake that is part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. This is selling the water from the mountains of South Africa. From there, in huge pipelines in the province of Gauteng (Pretoria and Johannesburg).
This "deal" Lesotho preserved from total ruin.
The Katse Staudam is the largest in Africa, far larger than the Aswan Dam in Egypt.
Most locals are dressed traditionally travel like this: with the donkey or cow, but it is also luxurious: with a horse!
The A3 motorway is - as we found out only later - only four-wheel ride to. However this one yes from the mountain valleys back into the countryside. At this point, that looks so harmless, we could only drive at walking speed: 30km in 3 hours - without a single break!
That night we fell into bed just dead!
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Then we had to say goodbye to Allison, a dear fellow campaigner from the States for half a year our lives easier, and has made our hearts heavy at parting. It took a while to get used to the void of the missing person.
Allison (right) and Veronica (left) in the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden.
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And so went the summer gradually over ... and the "Diarrhoea-season increased.
Our problem: When babies have diarrhea, dry them very quickly. Since enough with us in the baby-house, despite all efforts, not every child can be supplied, dehydrated children do so much that they have to drip (drip) - so the hospital.
Since children in South Africa not simply be give in the hospital, but usually as long as they remain in need until they are released (sometimes several days), is an "Emergency" (emergency) is not a matter of short duration. But then at times more than ten children per week in the hospital had, and we had spent almost 20 hours a day, have not slept sometimes even two days in a row, we all have broken down more or less.
It was an incredibly interesting experience to not only come up to his (physical) boundaries, but also to go out: Everyone reacts differently, some are apart or tearful, some frantic or aggressive. The latter was true for me. After this time the first time all were broken. So I got sick because my body did not want anymore.
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At that time, then came my mother and her friend Mira to Cape Town to visit me. I had just got it and even though I was sick the first week, I could do with the two a little trip along the south coast of South Africa.
We were at the southernmost point of the African continent or the adventurous Swartberg down. The Route 62 and the "Little Karoo" We were very pleased and at "Ronnie's Sex Shop", we felt like the Wild West that Lucky Luke and Jolly Jumper could not have been more. In the "ostrich capital" Oudtshoorn we bought the cheapest giant eggs in Buffalo's Bay and enjoyed the powerful and soothing, and wonderfully warm Indian Ocean.
highlight was seeing the "Addo Elephant National Park near Port Elizabeth, where we find hundreds of thousands of elephants and warthogs in the wild, zebras, turtles, buffalo, ostriches, meerkats, birds and much more allowed.
have also the surrounding area, together we made uncertain, the Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain, Robben as Iceland and much more.
The Cape Agulhas is the southernmost point of the African continent, where Indian and Atlantic Ocean to meet.
The Swartberg pass was in 1881-1886 by Thomas Bain, the leading architect of the 18th Street Century in South Africa built. The 27 km long unpaved mountain pass and the pass at 1583 m altitude are among the most beautiful mountain passes worldwide.
Well, some wave comes as a surprise ... but the water is so warm! :-)
In the wild they are just as beautiful but at the zoo!
elephant males are usually solitary and come together only occasionally. However, draw a female elephant herd and their calves through the bush.
The Cape of Good Hope is a lägendärer place which attracts people for hundreds of years. Some - a bit too daring - Seafarers found here even her grave!
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to the parliamentary and presidential elections, there is not much to say: they were less historical and less spectacular. Long queues at polling stations, no riots, laborious counting ...
The ANC (Mandela's party) has won, but not the two-thirds majority ... Coalition talks are still ongoing.
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Then came a "period of normalization." The roller-coaster ride as it calmed the raging sea after the storm ... the waves smoothed out.
life began ... sometimes boredom?
Yes, I think a couple of hours she was there!
Unbelievable!
But the events of recent days brought back excitement into our everyday lives:
Jonas and our buddy, "Phil" (a volunteer in the German School Cape Town) have drowned while surfing almost, I have however run over by a hair a woman with two babies ( not my fault!) and Anil was with two Irish guests victim of an armed robbery in the neighborhood ...
There remains only to say: "Life Adventure"!
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The last part of my year will soon be over. I will try as much as possible of this wonderful country and its people receive and are learning from the foreign culture. Only recently I noticed how great the gap between our volunteers and the "locals", the locals here. Not insurmountable, but there are some already built on both sides of the bridge and carried. But I am a guest here and have to adjust to. With the most difficult for me is that the person is older always has the right and deserves all the respect ... no matter what rubbish this person told - perhaps even more drunk. These differences are difficult to perform and for me not always easily accepted. I'm very rooted in my culture, even though I like to dip into other, because each has its advantages, which you can make their own.
Thank you for your attention and support it gives me a super great time and experience-rich, thanks!
soon, hopefully!
Bye, your Freddie.
