Scatterlings of Africa*

The Newsletter of Lois and PZ's Mission in Africa

Volume 2 – Home and Hearth
May 2000
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The House at Hillsview

In this issue		  
  Well, its been a while so there is much to tell. This newsletter is about home and hearth and family.

The House
601 Hillsview
We found a house in a section of town called Hillsview. We live at 601 Hillsview. This is not a street address – it is a plot number. The numbers don’t go in order down the street. There are no house numbers. There are street names but very few streets are marked and only the major roads have street names that people know. This makes it interesting when trying to tell someone, either a new friend or a business that is delivering something, where you live.
  The house is a two story house with a reasonable sized yard. The landlord had to do a fair amount of fixing up to get it ready. The yard was a mess and the inside of the house needed plumbing and electrical work as well as cleaning. It has 3 bedrooms and a bath upstairs, a living room, dining room, big kitchen and bath downstairs. Like many such houses, it has "maid’s quarters", a room and a bath. This is usually in a separate building behind the house. In our case it is attached to the garage.

  There is also a courtyard with an outside sink (for washing laundry) and a second courtyard for sitting if we ever get outside furniture. Of course, we are not hand washing our laundry. We purchased a washing machine. We also have a microwave, a stereo and a VCR. We brought two computers from New Hampshire but had to buy monitors for them. We don’t have a dish washer or a clothes dryer. However, this is not exactly roughing it.
  Fixing the "Geezer"
There were many workmen around fixing up the place in the weeks prior to moving in. I often stopped at the house to check on the progress because we knew the owners of our temporary house would be back soon. Many of the workmen would ask for jobs since their jobs were temporary. One of the workman was an old man who was fixing up the yard area – cleaning out the junk and working in the garden. It seemed like he was way too old to be doing such hard work.
  One day a car pulled up with three scruffy looking guys. One said something I didn’t quite catch. I often have trouble understanding the Basuto people because their English is accented and filled with the South African terms for common things. Besides, my Sesotho is limited to "Good day" and "How are you". Finally, the speaker made it clear that he was here to "fix the geezer". I was alarmed because I thought maybe the old man had a heart attack or something – but then these guys did not look like doctors. Then I thought, "These are the local mafia enforcers and the old man owes them money". However, after much repeating and hand signaling, I understood that they were plumbers and they were here to fix the "geyser" not the "geezer". The "geyser" is the hot water heater and they do indeed pronounce it as "geezer".

'Geyser' seems to be a funny term for the hot water heater. If anything it's the toilet that should be called a 'geyser'. If you are sitting on it and you flush it's like a bidet. And if you are not sitting on it make sure you close the lid. ("Whoa - look at that spray! Did it get you?")
  "Security Unlimited"
We eventually moved in after the Security Unlimited (PTY) LTD company came and installed the alarm system. This is a system with alarms on all doors, motion sensors in the rooms and panic buttons scattered throughout the house. It even comes with remote panic buttons that you can carry in your pocket. When the alarm goes off it makes a gad awful noise and sends a signal to the company and 2 or 3 guys are dispatched to investigate. You can also hire guards from the company for day and/or night work. The Mission Central pays for the alarm system but not for guards. Many ex-pats either associated with the embassies or assigned on business have day and night guards. We, of course, have managed to set off the alarm a few times inadvertently like we did in the temporary house. I know when a real emergency comes we will be like the boy who cried wolf – "It’s those stupid white folk in Hillsview. They probably set off the alarm by mistake again."
  The house is fenced on all sides and the fence is topped with the requisite rolls of razor wire. There are metal security bars around all doors and 1st floor windows. As the name, Hillsview, implies we have some nice views of the surrounding hills with pretty sunrises and sunsets. The nicest thing is that if you look out the second story window you can see the hills without looking through razor wire or security bars.
  An American gal from the next street used to live in this house. Says she, "There is a great view from the master bedroom." Says I, "I think the really nice view is from the kids room – our view is mostly of downtown." She says, says she, "Yes. You have a great view of downtown. You could see it burning during the uprising in 1998", says she. "Right!", says I. "Good thinking", says I. "I had not thought about that", says I. "Oi vay", thinks I.
  Family
We are all fine. The kids have adjusted well and so have we, sort of. For security reasons we avoid being out at night. We walk around the neighborhood during the day, but the children don't go alone. We have nice neighbors but we miss the easy abilty to pop over a neighbors house to visit and chat.
  Lois
CHAL is proving to be a challenge for Lois. She most enjoys her trips into rural areas and the mountains to visit remote hospitals and clinics. When she is there she can talk directly with doctors and nurses about their needs and concerns. When in Maseru she attends meetings with the government and big UN agencies like UNICEF and WHO. (Who's WHO? - It's World Health Orgainization). While in the meetings ( which can last forever!) she can advocate for action to meet the needs. Usually this is pretty frustrating, as there is seldom any inclination toward action. Most of the health planning occurs at the central (Maseru) level with little concern for the real needs of those doing the work outside of Maseru. The biggest problem for the CHAL hospitals and clinics is that there is never enough money to do what needs to be done. Even simple things, like visiting patients after discharge from the hospital can be difficult if you have no vehicle or no money to buy gas. The staff in the rural areas are very dedicated and hard-working.
  A big part of Lois' job is becoming a grant writer. She had some experience writing for grants when she worked at Helms & Company. Now she is trying to help the hospitals to write up their needs into grant proposals and to help them to find a donor who will respond favorably. Maybe it is $3,000 to start a chicken-raising project for a small village as both an income-generating project (50% unemployment in rural areas) and nutrition support for the malnourished kids in the village. Maybe it is $2,000 to hold a 2 day seminar for 50 people on home care for AIDS patients. She is starting a list, so don't be surprised if you see it posted on our web site in the future. Maybe you can help her to find some companies or foundations willing to help. She knows there are far more needs than she can even keep up with in grant proposals, but even if we just chip away at some, it will help. It is very motivating to the doctors and nurses to see that someone cares enough about what they need to even bother to help them put it into a proposal for funding. God willing, some of them will get funded.
  Von
Von is doing well at Machabang "College". It is like a high school. She moves around from class to class for each subject. Course expectations are high and she has had some trouble with English and Science. Her English is doubly hard since they mark off for spelling – British spelling. (It’s colour not color. My spell checker is American and marks all the British spellings as incorrect.) She has to work hard at her schooling but she seems to enjoy the school. Since she came in the middle of the school year, it is no wonder that she is struggling. I think next year will be better for her academically.
  There isn’t much available in the way of extra-curricular activities. However, Von has been doing scouts and has recently started cricket. She only played one season of softball back home but it is interfering with her cricket game. The biggest problem is batting. When the bowler (pitcher) bowls the ball (throws it), she tends to want to swing at it like in baseball, i.e. pulling the bat back. By doing this she knocks over the wicket and is out. If you understand that, you have studied the game. If you don’t understand it, forget it. If you come to visit I will take you to a friend’s house to watch a match on the telly and four guys with various accents form England, Scotland, South Africa or wherever can explain it to you in incomprehensible English.
  Von has made some nice friends but this is a pretty transient place and ex-pats often get reassigned and move to other countries. Already, some of the kids she was emailing before she came have moved away. By the way, we expect that Von will be visiting the US this coming July.
  Nu Ella and Min Joo
The little people are doing very well. They like school (Maseru English Medium Prep School – Maseru Prep for short) and have made many friends. Nu is excelling in school and is reading more and more. The grade levels are hard to compare with American grades. Grade 2 here is supposed to be like grade 1 back home and Grade 1 is like kindergarten. This would put Von in the equivalent of 6th grade back home and Nu Ella in 1st grade back home (Nu Ella is in grade 2 here). These are the grade levels that they were in at Deerfield Elementary. The grade level comparison is generally equivalent age wise but academically the grades seem to be more advanced here. Min Joo was assessed to be not ready for Grade 1 here. She was placed in "Reception" and is doing well. This grade seems a lot like our kindergarten and this is where she belongs. However, she is now two years behind Nu instead of one.

The Girls - All ready for School
 

Nu and Von are taking piano lessons. Min Joo was deemed to be too young. They are enjoying their lessons. The piano teacher lent us an electronic keyboard but we will have to buy our own soon, since she needs it back. Min Joo turned six and she had a nice little party at the house.
  PZ
I have a part time job. I am working as a computer teacher 2 days a week at Maseru Prep. I was dragooned into this as soon as the headmaster found out I knew something about computers. I think knowing how to turn one on was really the only requirement. The pay is abominable (about $8 an hour) but far above the average workman’s salary ($5 a day). I decided to take the job because I thought that I would be able to meet a wider range of people. I kept it to two days a week so I would have time to spend in the queues for everything.
  My day is one of constant chauffeuring. In the morning I take the gang in to school. First we drop off Lois. I used to take her CHAL but the main road is under construction and the road to CHAL is the detour route. It’s a madhouse. Now I drop her off on the route to the schools and she walks the rest of the way. Then I drop Von off at Machabang and then the little ones at Prep School. The schools are next to each other in Maseru West. If I teach, I stay at prep until school ends at 1:00 pm. If I don’t teach, I decide which queue I will stand on today and go stand there. Maybe it’s the bank, maybe it’s paying the phone bill, maybe it’s the grocery store. If there is no queue to stand on, I go do some other chore, like fix a computer for Marla O’Donahue, the wife of the deputy consul for the Irish Consulate. (That got me a bottle of whisky – well worth it. Besides, I really like Marla. She is an American, but not just any old American. She’s from my ancestral home - Lawng Guyland [That’s Long Island to you folks] and she tawks like me. I told her that I liked her because she tawked like me. She said she tries not to. ) At 1:00 I pick up the little ones and take them home. Then I go back and pick up Von at 3:00 p.m. Then I go back and pick up Lois at 4:30.
  At 5:00 we begin preparing supper. Nu and Min Joo play until suppertime though Nu usually has some homework. Sometimes they go to a friend’s house and sometimes friends come here. After supper Von works on homework, the little ones play and then have their baths. Lois does work related stuff or Mom related stuff. I think about working on the newsletter or sending emails. I don’t actually do anything. Just think about it. Finally, we go to bed and prepare to start the whole process over again.
  New Additions
We have some new additions to the family. We have two kittens and a puppy. The puppy is mostly German Shepherd female named Falada. This is Von’s dog. It is still very much a puppy and drives us crazy. It is always trying to escape out the security gate ("I’m free!I’m free!") or push her way into the house ("Hi! I'm Home"). Of course, it generally succeeds when we are late and in a hurry to get somewhere and we have to chase her all over the place. One time Lois opened the front door and before we could grab her, Falada rushed into the house and set off the motion detectors. I can’t blame the dog. I did that once too. The three guys from Security Unlimited arrive within 10 minutes. I wonder what they think when I apologize and tell them the dog set off the motion detector. ("Are all Americans this stupid. How did these guys go to the moon and invent the light bulb. Go figure" – I wonder what ‘go figure’ is in Sesotho)


Falada
  The cats are cute. Taffy is Min Joo’s kitty and is an orange and white male. He is up to taking on the dog who likes to harass the cats. Nu Ella’s kitty is Lauren, a gray and white that was the runt of the litter. She is also a runt in the brain department. She is doggy fodder. She can’t seem to figure out that Falada will torture her if she stands still out on the grass. You constantly hear her squealing as Falada uses her as a chew toy. Things have been better since the kittens have a house on the back porch, which Falada can’t reach.
  Activities
Although we spend a lot of time confined to the house, our free time seems to be taken up. We have a VCR and some videos. Some of the ex-pats have incredible video libraries since it is one form of entertainment that fits in well with the fortress lifestyle. Good videos are in demand - sometimes to the point of desperation. (see QN-7) We don't get TV reception. The one channel does not come in well. We could get a DSS - Digital Satellite System, like in the USA, and get umpteen jillion channels including American ones, but the kids haven't complained so we will save that for when we are truly desperate.
  We go out to eat now and then. Restaurants are very cheap if you convert to dollars, however, our missionary salary requires us to be frugal. There are some nice restaurants in Maseru and Ladybrand. We went out to eat for Mother's day and Lois and I went to Bloemfontein without the kids for my birthday. The rear windscreen (windshield) blew out on the way. It was exciting.

We also spent a week holiday in Durban, the Miami Beach of South Africa, just before Easter. We spent lots of time on the beach and went to a game park. We stayed with friends so the cost was minimal.On Easter Sunday we were back home and we had an Easter Egg hunt in the yard. (The Easter Bunny was careful to hide them out of reach of Falada.)
  There was some talk of trouble around the 10th of May. The German Embassy told their citizens to evacuate. The Irish said nothing would happen. The American Embassy said they did not expect trouble but be alert. We went to Ladybrand for a couple of nights (and took the kids out of school). Many business closed on the 10th but there was no trouble.

By the way, I volunteered to be a "warden" to replace the warden in our part of town who is leaving. The wardens are the means the embassy uses to keep Americans informed of important events. Each warden has a list of Americans they are responsible for contacting if there is trouble. There are monthly lunch meetings of the wardens at the Ambassador's residence. All right!

I thought that I might be able to hook up my computer to the phone with the list of phone numbers in my warden district. It could cycle through the numbers calling each person in turn. [Number 1]- Ring. Riinnnng. "Hello. This is your warden calling. I want to assure you that everything is fine. Stay calm. There is nothing to worry about. By happenstance my family and I are staying in South Africa tonight. Do not try to contact me. This is a recording.". Click. [Number 2]- Ring. Riinnnng. "Hello. This is your ....". I like having lunch with the ambassador but I'm not sure I want to be making telephone calls when the fit hits the shan.

Well, that's the news from Lesotho. Nice house. Kids are fine. Lunch with the Ambassador.

Later,
pz
     
  updated 5/30/2000
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  *Scatterlings of Africa-From the title of a song by Johnny Clegg.