Sunday, August 6

As you might have guessed, my last e-mail was ended abruptly. I was in the school faculty computer office and I got word that my "ride to the shebeen is here," so off I had to go. A shebeen was a black African "speakeasy" in the days when blacks were not allowed to buy alcohol (coloreds were). So people, usually women, had small illegal operations in the townships, supplying a kind of homemade beer, or other drinks if they could get them.

By the way, what is a "Stoney"? This is a question I have been asking everyone, black and white, ever since I found the answer. To begin with, I asked why I didn't see more ginger beer in my travels, thinking it was a popular drink in South Africa. It is available, I was told, it is called Stoney and comes in a brown can. But why it is called Stoney has to do with the days when it came in bottles. It was a more or less homemade brow, like the regular beer, but non-alcoholic. It was typically packaged in recycled bottles, which of course lacked caps. To close it, people would find a round stone, similar to a marble and place it on top, then put a piece of paper over the top of the marble and the neck, and tie the paper down with a string or a piece of wire, just under the rim of the bottle neck. Thus, the name Stoney. If the stones were round enough, they became marbles. SO far no one has figured out the answer, though I offer hints.

I would love to tell you more about the school, but since I am now far away, in the most northeast corner of SA, I will describe my first experiences in the veldt. We flew up Friday over the Karoo desert, which reminds me of flying over Utah or Nevada. We arrived at Hudspruit airport which is much larger than one could imagine because, it turns out, it is the base of the South African Air Force. I then drove with part of the Delheim crown, south to a timeshare where they are staying with the Thiels, the other grandparents of little Rudy. Luckily for me, there was not enough room, so I am staying down the road in a little inn that is much closer to Africa, with views of the mountains instead of a golf course. On the way south well traveled twice up and down over th4e "excarpment," dramatic cliff that reveal a rainbow of geologic origins. Where the river cutts through, there are amazing fortions that would even give the grand canyon a run for its money.

Yesterday we went to the local mall for some shopping. It was fascinating to see. They is no colored population in this part of Africa, everyone is black -- except the white tourists heading into the park, and some white locals in the tourist business, or with houses or timeshares like the Thiels. There were two malls on opposite sides of the street. One was larger, had more or less an all black clientele and on this Saturday (and likely every Saturday) was busy. As my video will show, they were all well depressed, apparently well fed, and buying huge baskets of upscale foods including cape wines, interesting cheese and meats. Anyone will tell you that black south Africans like meat. (Is this there way of reminded me they were once hunter gatherers? No matter, it is true.)

I needed to replace my small carry bag so I headed forth into the market where I ended up bargaining in French with a man from Senegal. He would only come down a little on the price, but expressed serious concern that Vera and I were walking alone in the market without a man to protect us and feared for the safety of my camera. In fact, we felt quite safe. Everyone was friendly and the vegetable stalls were immaculate, they would even give New York's greengrocers a run for their money.

This is rich countryside. Do you remember last year when I said that the area around Suzhou was so fertile that the saying was there were fish in the rice paddies? Well here the saying is, if you put a gum boot in the ground, a rubber tree will grow. Half of the world's bananas are grown around here. There are thousands of acres or oranges, avocados and, surprisingly, macadamia nuts (still expensive..).

We made friends with several traders along the sides of the road. I wanted to buy something because it was clear that the workers were the sellers -- so often I fear the sellers are just on some small commission from some mass merchant with goods probably made by children in Malawi or something. I bough two elephants for $10. They will be a nice addition to the decor in my office, along with the much more expensive ostrich egg (with a map of Africa on it) that I bought in the township.

I have to go. More soon -- the lions and elephants await. I hope they had breakfast. (I had eggs benedict).