a hui hou kakou

The list grows yet longer. I really should let yall know what I've been up too. I know this isn't the most personal way to talk to everyone. But it is easier. I've been inspired by Katy's regular updates to tell a little tale of my own.

First off here is my current mailing address, I should have it until the end of November. But remember mail might take a couple weeks to get here.

----Address deleted, because I´m no longer there.----

My summer after leaving Montreal was relaxed for the most part. I was home on the Big Island to visit some family, and some friends. I did not spend as much time with my friends there as I should have. More of them have left, and others I just didn't get around to visiting. Those I did visit brought me joy. Old faces from the past. I got a bit burned in the endless battle against strawberry guavas, as I told everyone I've talked with over the last few months. As well my skin felt the great bright ones effects as I rode around on my bike. It was exhilarating to ride over my island so much. To really appreciate it is a new feeling.

The night of the 3rd of July I gained little sleep. Getting ready for the long trip to South Africa. My laundry was being processed and I had to clean up my hard drive and update my multiple backups. I had mostly said goodbye to immediate family that night. So on the 4th I said goodbye to my dad and the lovely little whispy(the cockatiel).

My first flight included the majority of searches I had to endure on my journey. I had to take off my shoes twice at the Kona airport, and my bags were searched three times. I suppose this gave me a supply of anal security karma because I was not searched again until Dubai in the U.A.E..

Most of the forth I spent with family I hadn't seen in years over on O'ahu. My Widdy and May, Gail and Bill, a couple cousins and assorted family. I could have seen Aunt Jan as well but she was too busy to come by :P. In the afternoon I boarded my flight that would take me to Minneapolis. One of the few I was not in an exit row. But perhaps the longest >:(. I don't recall much from either that airport or the one in Detroit. As I came into Montreal I was a little worried about my switchblade as the customs sheet specifically mentioned them as being illegal. To prevent further trouble I left it with a friend in Montreal(thanks!). None of the later customs documents mentioned switchblades specifically. But ah well. I can always get another one.

Rahel was waiting there at the airport and I was overjoyed to see a friendly face so long absent. Well two months anyhoo. You really should come to Alaska or the Big Island while I'm around. But some day I'll be in Brisbane. I had the most wonderful time in Montreal with Rahel, Mariana, Emma, Jarrod, Sarah, Mariana's friend(I can't remember her name), Edger, lets see I must be forgetting someone..... I feel like I've left someone out!! Please remind me who someone in Montreal. Rahel that angel of a friend put me up for a couple nights.

That reminds me. If you have read this far my friend please do me a favor. Go back up to the top and look at the addresses. I know I have left some out or I don't know some of the addresses of folks I've met. But maybe you do. Please send this along to folks I might know whose address isn't there at the top. Or well anyone else who might want to hear a bit of blabbering on my part, and if you have the time write me back. I love to get messages you see. Email is nice, and even better is the heaven of physical mail. Letters, postcards anything.

So lets see. On the 5th we all hung out at Mariana's and then went down to catch the jazz festival. Great music. Oh and pitas at Saras on Saint Laurant are great. I wish I knew about that place during the semester at McGill. The 6th was breakfast somewhere east of the ghetto. Then just bumming around and hanging out at Sarah's for a barbie. No sleep that night just talking with friends.

Early start on the 7th with a bus down to NYC. It was fully seated and greyhound even had an overflow bus. All the folks going home from the jazz fest early. I can't imagine what it must have been like the next day. As always the interstate through new england was depressing. It is so overwealmed by smog. It always gives me the impression that all in the eastern US live under a sea of the fowl stuff. In NYC it was a short walk to the subway and a simple ride to JFK. There I got some of that great cheesy NYC food. Always something to be missed.

The flight to Reykjavik was nice. I woke up once to see Greenland off in the distance and it was so very beautiful. I had my camera sitting in my pocket but couldn't bring my self to take it out. I suppose the picture wouldn't have quite matched though. Coming in over the Kaflavik(sp?) airport I felt like I was coming back into Kona. The same sort of lava fields.

Iceland was pure heaven. I cannot begin to describe what a simply fabulous couple days that was. Thank you so much Asta. The first day we went and checked out the continental divide, her grandmas cabin on a lake, went hiking to a hot spring.... just saw a little of one tiny corner of Iceland. The next day was a bit of the city, horseback riding, and more random exploration. How I wish I could have more time there.....

It was my favorite airport as well in Iceland. Just didn't have the paranoid security feel of all the rest.

So on the 10th I was off early in the morning to London. Rather sad to be leaving so soon. In London my plans of seeing the city for the hours I had fell through. I merely half slept in the airport. Too tired to do anything else. Since I slept very little between when I was in Montreal and Reykjavik. Actually since before I left Hawai'i as I was packing.

In Dubai almost the same thing happened. I went into the city but after an exhausting search in the hellish summer weather Dubai enjoys I barely ventured out. It was in the mid-30s C when I arrived in the morning with 90 % humidity, and peaked in the mid-40's. Fortunately my room had an A/C. So I'll have to really see the souks another time. Coming into Dubai this was one of my suprisingly rare times of search at the airport which is always so very annoying.

On the last leg of my flights for the trip I asked again for exit row seating. But what did they do...put me in business class! I could not believe the difference, and I passed through first on my way to my seat and it was as large a leap as economy to business. So I really can't imagine what that must be like. But in business the service was much better of course. The seat was like a thrown. I mean wow. They had to make my veggie meals on the flight as they weren't in the plane. So the salad I had I think they just grabbed from first class because it was something else. On even fancier china...yes in business class they use actual china, and the silverwear is still metal. The economy silverwear seems to have recently converted to entirely plastic. Sorry to go on so much on the subject, I suppose I really am the country bumpkin no?

So then I was in Jo-berg. It's a completely modern city. Similar to a large mainland US city. The primary differences from the parts I saw were quite a lot of garbage and walls and fences everywhere. I mean absolutely everything was electrified and topped with razor wire. Some of the apartment complexes looked exactly like prisons. Complete with guardhouses. The hostel I stayed at for example had two layers of spike topped wrought iron fences plus razor wire. The prices for many things were the cheapest I've seen. Although some things are the same price or more expensive than in the states. Batteries for example.

So on first impression South Africa seemed very developed. The only things I see really holding it from first world status are in my opinion low wages. Incredible unemployment and of course the AIDs disaster. Wages seem largely similar in Rand to US wages in Dollars. However the cheapest things are one fifth US prices while the Rand is worth one tenth the Dollar. So this equals a much reduced purchasing power. Even without the many items with similar costs to the US. This for the people who even have jobs.

This being said there looks to be a healthy middle class, including not only many whites, coloureds and asians, but many blacks as well. There seem to be more cell phones among all the races than in the US. There is also a huge very poor class almost entirely black, and small upper class almost entirely white.

Soweto, which is the largest township in the Jo-berg area was quite bad in some ways. But not as bad as I would have thought. Most of it seemed like lower income areas of a large US city. The worst though, which were the unofficial communities were quite bad. A few chemical toilets and drinking water outlets provided by the government for use by thousands. A lot of folks seemed to expect the government to provide all the solutions though, and be failing at it. In most of Soweto the government has given the housing over to the renters free of charge so all that much be purchased is monthly electricity, phone and water. For the most part poverty problems are not qualitatively far different than those in the US. The problem is the massive quantitative difference.

Many of the blacks seem to hate the whites because they blame them for having no jobs, and many of the whites seem to hate the blacks because they blame them for violent crime. This has come up anyway in several conversations. A mess. Also many of all races have said they hate blacks from other countries as they push down wages and cause crime as illegal immigrants. But all seem to at the same time like whites from foreign countries to spread the word of the current situation overseas. All this is just cursory observation and likely to change or be modified.

The malls of Jo-berg are very opulent. But with very good prices by US standards. I saw Hyde Park and Rosebank malls in the northern suburbs. Make sure you book rides in advance if you are to take a train or bus at the end of holidays. I got delayed a day for this mistake and had to take the bus rather than the train as I had hoped. The greyhound was a little nicer than the US equivalent, and of course a fraction of the cost. The seats were about the same, but it was a interesting double decker bus, and had a stewardess who passed out free coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. The road system from Jo-berg down to Eastern Cape was less developed than the interstates of the US. With only two lanes for most of the way. The towns along the way were just like stops in the US. With the fast food and petrol stations. The scenery was beautiful. Nice varied countryside. It would be a good place for roadtrips as some of my friends here can attest. There were also some very poor areas to be seen from the road. Such as township looking areas outside Ghramstown.

Port Elizabeth is beautiful. Despite it's being the centre of the automotive industry in South Africa. Another modern, if a little run down, city. Its right on the coast with some beautiful clean beaches. A lot of wilderness near by. Although Eastern Cape has the poorest economy of the nine South African provinces, and only 20% official employment from what I've heard, there is comparatively little crime in Port Elizabeth. I have heard no horror stories from all the other internationals going here.

My roomates are Michael from Denmark, Olli from Germany, Pascal from Cameroon, and David from mainland China. David isn't his real name but thats what he wants to be called. They are all nice folks and I'm glad to have them as my housemates. Its a nice flat except my room, it is a little leaky and smells of mildew. They building manager is suppost to do something about it but has yet to. Unfortunately I was the last one to arrive. So I had last pick of rooms. There are a lot of Germans here and I mostly have been hanging out with them and some other folks from the U.S. I was surprised how many Europeans and U.S. folks were here. Also surprisingly there are no Australians. Also no South Americans. I should hang out with more South African's but it seems to be similar to McGill in that there is a separate international community here. The Europeans seem to drink all the time. Beer and wine is very cheap, about the cost of bottled water. I have no intentions of even trying to keep up though.

Besides walking and friends cars, yes this semester I know people with cars!!!, there is always the mini-taxi or normal taxi. Both very cheap. The mini-taxis are about 10-12 passenger vans that constantly roam and try to fill up to take people between popular locations such as uni and the grocery store. By the way university is varsity here. So thats a bit funny. How yall ozzies call it uni and the S.A.s call it varsity.

Lets see.. on saturday I went with some of my mates over to Jeffery's Bay to see a little of the surfing competition there. Unfortunately it wasn't happening that day due to lack of waves. It was still a nice little town though. Apparently where Billabong was founded. I thought that was an ozzie company. Any of yall ozzies want to correct me on that? It was nice to see some names from Hawai'i over here on the other side of the world. The Hawai'i folks actually had a separate category from the US. Something no other country had :)! So all the countries(ect) there were, NZ, AUS, SA, Brazil, Hawai'i and the US I think. I went swimming a little bit but it was too cold. It being winter and all.

Yesterday me and some folks went to a football match(soccer) it was a lot of fun. South Africa vs. Madagascar. The quarter-final of some competition. It was the first time the national team has played in Port Elizabeth. Again very cheap. Football is very much a black sport here and we got a lot of stares. The audience was less than 1% white. Maybe higher in boxed seating. But folks were friendly. We got even more stares walking away from the stadium, as we were definitely the only whites leaving on foot.

Ok I suppose thats it for now. I have to get to class. I'm sure I have left much out. But hopefully I'll keep up the habit of this little journal for yall. Since so many wanted me to keep them up to date on my time in Africa. If you don't want me sending you these emails just let me know, and please do let me know if I've left anyone out.

cheers, Loren

Appendix I: Exchange Rates (2002.10.01) Code USD/1 Unit Units/1 USD Currency AED 0.27230 3.67320 Utd. Arab Emir. Dirham EUR 0.98780 1.01290 Euro GBP 1.56900 0.63770 British Pound ISK 0.01165 86.32000 Iceland Krona ZAR 0.09516 10.55900 South African Rand

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