Suspicions

Have a bit of "bad feelings" over something that happened lunchtime today. Was home since we were in the process of buying an extra fridge/freezer. Had left the gate open as I was "just rushing in and out".

Of course I was delayed inside the house and when I returned to the outside I found 3 black men "loitering around" on my driveway, one having a conversation on a cellphone.

They were neatly dressed (shirt and tie) but behaved rather odd, like they were trying to check out the place. Apparently they had asked my gardener for a container of water for their car but they did in no way introduce themselves or explain the issue. Once they got the water they sped off (and I mean FAST) in a blue Nissan Sunny, we could net get the numberplates as they were driving too fast.

Hate the feeling that arise from this kind of "incidents", if someone steals a pump or a motor for the gate we will have to fork out quite a lot and then there is of course the whole "troublefree sleep"-issue. We certainly don't want a repeat of last year's armed robbery (it is about one year ago now actually)!

Theft and other forms of stealing is, sadly, a growing problem here in Zimbabwe. As the economic crisis continues more and more people simply have no other means of survival. A female friend was robbed of her cellphone while walking down the road the other day, 2 men threatened to beat her up.

Well let's just keep the fingers crossed and hope it is all false alarm. Too hot to work, think I will head home and chill before downing a few beers with friends later when it hopefully cools off a bit.

Just thought I would see if I can use this for our profile. Taken in Sweden 2003 

I don't like Mondays

The one and only hit that a certain Sir Geldof ever produced. I certainly don't sympathise with the person who states it in the song (a "school-shooter" who gives that as her reason) but I agree with the sentence in itself. When I get home on Mondays I normally feel totally exhausted and just want to sit and read all by myself. Try that with to little kids, the older one home from the week's first pre-schoolday and all fired up by that...

Otherwise we are coming up to more than 2 weeks without tap-water and it seems to be spreading all over Harare. Restaurant-owners are ferrying water daily to the near-by Newlands Shopping Centre, Mia's father in Mabelreign has no water since quite some time and so on. It is basically only in City Centre things are normal. The "authorities" are mum on what they plan to do, something that normally means they don't have a clue but is hoping for miracles.
Same with the fuel supplies, if you can not buy in forex you can basically forget all about getting any petrol or diesel.

And it is hot hot hot and still not much rain. This is not good at all, we just hope the rains will start any day now. Keep your fingers crossed...

Life still hectic & inflation

This week is another one that is some sort of "fly by" for various reasons. One of our cars got a problem and that always causes havoc in a place where you can basically forget about public transport. And the Ford seems to have some rather serious problem - all we needed since we plan to get rid of it. Will have to service it and keep all fingers crossed.

Otherwise the water situation is not any better at all, we had water for a few hours one day only. Managed to fill the tank from one neighbour's borehole though so we are OK for a week or so, let's hope it comes back soon.

It is hot and cloudy but no rains in our area sadly. We (read our gardener) planted maize so we are waiting eagerly, also for the rest of the garden of course. And Zimbabwe in general, a good rainy season would be most welcome.

Hyperinflation (now at over 400% according to state media) makes life "interesting". One does not even react at the fact that a loaf of bread costs more than the value of the largest bill in circulation... And for a normal lunch you are looking at around 400 000, or a wad of 20 notes - at least. People who need cash have to book with their bank in order for the bank to get some idea of how much cash they need to stock. And so on. Wonder when and how this will end...

Mistake

Can't believe what a silly mistake I made. Forgot to close a tap in our "tank-system" so that when Harare water disappeared again we were actually pumping our tank water OUT back to Harare system!! By the time I figured it out the tank was almost empty and of course no incoming water from Harare. Aaaargh!

Had forgotten that it was a birtday celebration yesterday for Mia's young sister Wedlyn who turned 6. Combined it with our brat Bradley who turned 5 a while ago. 2 rather tired visitors but it was all OK in the end - did not complain at all when we got home and in bed though.

Monday monday

It is Monday once more... had a nice weekend where we celebrated friend Tomas Stenstrom turning 40, something he combined with housewarming and "leaving"-party. Might sound like a strange combination but it seems that he will be transferred to ILO's Nairobi office after quite a few years here in Zimbabwe.


Was a nice party, kids enjoying themselves in the pool and the adults by downing an unpredecented amount of Swedish snaps + Black Label and a good number of beers. No wonder we still feel a bit "off" today, especially since we spent yesterday "winding down" by his poolside again




Still waiting for the rains to start. Every day now the clouds gather but still no downpour. And our watertank is almost empty after more than a week without muncipial water...

Another hectic week

Seems this week has been flying past. No water from City of Harare since Sunday so thanks all powers that might be that we installed the tank system before. Down to about half of it but even so it feels great!

Mia is doing exams and is busy busy and stressed but I have a feeling it is going fine. I have spent a few days compiling our first "home DVD" and that was a learning experience alright. Fun and frustrating at the same time and the ambitions I had were being hampered by reality ever so often... but at least now it is done and next time will of course be easier.

Battery. Car battery. Was driving Mia's Nissan since she needed the space in the Corolla for a much anticipated wardrobe we had made. Died on me on the way back after dropping Bradley at Montessori pre-school. Of course at the worst spot one can think of and I was really in the way of others. Got help to jumpstart it and just about made it home before it died again.

Called Eldridge and we went hunting for a new battery amidst other problems on his last day in Zimbabwe. Poor guy had a million outstanding issues before leaving this morning for Sweden with his family after more than 6 months temp work here in Zimbabwe. Don't think they will miss life in hyperinflation too much but November in Sweden weatherwise is just drab. Serious drab.

Found new battery at last and managed to get a few other things done. Already Friday, how did that happen???

Otherwise Harare is too hot to muster and we are all wating for arrival of the rainy season. Our lawn looks more like a desert at the moment.

Some guys wants to start early with driving! Eric simply loves cars and you can hardly get him out of it should he manage to find his way in. Keys is another darling "toy" and one better keep an eye on all keys.  

The Tank! We bought and installed just over a week ago. 5000 litres (almost, it doesn't get completely full) for those very frequent watercuts. And it has already paid off, yesterday afternoon some time water stopped flowing in! But we should be OK for quite a few days now if we ration it a bit. The system only feeds the house itself. 

The Plane incident

Who thought it is always nice to travel? Yesterday I had chicken salad for lunch at this place called "Bugattis" by Lake Centurion. Will never go back. Was nice but I started feeling "funny" almost immediately after. During the afternoon my stomach started making noises and I felt worse.

At the airport I start feeling tired and weak and really awkward in the stomach region. On the bus to the plane (that took for bloody ever) it just went worse and when we were in our seats I was starting to think I was going to throw up.

Of course the whole comes to a climax during takeoff when you can in no way leave your seat! I started feeling like my head, hands and arms were buzzing and tingling, cold sweat was all over me (could hear the guy next to me comment) and I had to call for help, honestly thought I was going to faint right there and then.

The flight attendant wanted me to bow down and put my head between my legs but I was like 100 I was going to vomit if I did that. The guy in next seat suggested lying down on the floor - yeah sure during take-off... not to mention how seriously dramatic that would have looked.

Anyhow, I recovered after some minutes, got a glass of cold water and later a whisky to keep me alive. Once back home it became very evident that I had eaten something bad since I am still suffering from a terrible stomach.

No more salads for me is all I say, at least not on the same day I am about to fly.

Southafrica really is more like Europe in many parts. Wifi-hotspots, huge shoppingmalls, the latest technologies, trendy caf�s and restaurants - but other parts are of course very poor and undeveloped. An extremely "split" economy actually and they have a huge task in trying to lessen the gap between "haves" and "have nots". 

Just trying to post something but Blogger seems "down". Anyway, am still in Centurion, between Joburg and Pretoria in Southafrica. Just waiting for a driver to take me to the airport where I will spend some time waiting for my flight later this afternoon. I prefer to be well on time and have finalised my work here anyhow.  

Lovely lovely! Am in a place called Centurion "between" Johannesburg and Pretoria. Staying at a hotel with a little artificial lake outside and a HUGE shoppingmall next full of nice restaurants and a billion shops. Had the most fabolous seafood platter last night in a place called O'Galito - recommended if you happen to be in the area. Am contemplating where to dine tonite, only thing is that it is quite boring eating alone

"Clean" data

Managed to forget my usb memory "stick" in my jeans and had it washed in the washingmachine... just shook out the water, let it dry up thoroughly and then put it in the computer. No problem whatsever! Talk about verified "clean" data - virusfree too!

Rain

Spent a "perfect day" at our friends Tom & Susan yesterday. Our kids thouroughly enjoying running around, swimming (well, at least trying to) in the pool and playing with whatever comes their way. We just idled, ate some nice food, had a few drinks and relaxed.

And as a perfect ending; rain! Good rain too, the kind that one knows is the start of the rainy season and we are all waiting for that now. Let us hope it becomes a really good rainy season now, a lot of people will then hopefully not go hungry. And our gardener has just planted maize so the timing is excellent!

Maybe difficult for some to understand but the start of the rains is really something we look forward to when it is just getting warmer and drier every day.

Computers computers

Can´t believe what has been happening. SCC bought a new server after the long series of problems with the old one (see earlier post). Took me ages to get it all set up and working, partly due to Microsofts damned "verification" system.

And Friday the new is DEAD, and I mean not a lifesign. After frantic calling to SA (where it was bought) and a lot of tinkering I managed to establish that the power supply is "gone". At least not a motherboard this time. Am flying to SA tomorrow for other purposes so am bringing the dead psu with me. Wish me luck in Customs... at least on my return Wednesday evening.

It has been HOT since last Saturday (started raining yesterday though) and to give the kids some relief I made a "mini-pool" for them Monday lunch-time. Interesting how different they react. Bradley says "it is cold" and slowly gets in, Eric is in before you get his clothes off...

The "Bicycle Incident"

Life has been rather stressful lately with travels all over the region (more on those later when I have sorted out photos taken), the general situation here in Zimbo and now during last week what I have coined "the Bicycle incident".

This is what happened; Tuesday 13 Septempter in the afternoon I was leaving my neighbor Peter that had assisted me with some diesel for the Toyota. When I come to the intersection between Coghlan Rd (that I was on) and Court Rd I check that no traffic is approaching and then I cross. It was getting dark so my lights were on. I see nothing to worry about so I cross.

Next thing I know something smashes into the passenger door and shattered glass is raining all over the interior of the car! My first though was that someone had thrown a stone or likewise in the window to make me stop and then use whatever force or tricks to rob me. So I continued down the street towards the military that I know guard a house there 24 hours a day but when I check the rear mirror I see a confused person trying to get up on his feet and a rather smashed bike lying next to him. He must have been coming down the non-lit separate cycletrack with really good speed (it is downhill quite a long bit before) and of course with no lights or reflexes and then totally ignored the "Give Way"-sign or just somehow didn't see me and then smacked right into the side of the car.

So of course I reverse to see how he is. He is bleeding from his right arm (good thing in this country...) so we load the remains of the bike in the car and proceed to our house only to realise that we definitely do not possess a first-aid kit or such. So we decide to take him to hospital but pass the police first so that I don't get trouble later for not following procedure. Mia comes along in case there would be some issue with people speaking a lot of shona and I not understanding the situation.

Once by the police they are certainly in no rush until they realise that the guy, Tapiwa, is bleeding all over their floor. Then we finally see some acitivity. They try to get an ambulance but no such are available and I explain that I already had promised to take him to hospital but could we please do the report quickly then? No, they feel it is better we take him first so I finish my part and then off we go. Of course he has no medical insurance so it has be Central Hospital that has a solid bad reputation because of very scarce resources and an enormous pressure. And you can guess who had to pay.

Once there things actually happen rather fast since it can not be disputed that he is dripping blood all over the emergency intake. It turns out that an artery is injured and I promise that very few would want to swap with him when they dig it out without any anaesthesia. They manage to stitch it though plus x number of stitches to close two rather bad cuts in the same arm. After that a tetanus shot and then off to a nightopen pharmacy and buy his medicine. Finally I drove him home and told him that I had done all I felt I had to do since in my opinion he was faulty and if he thought otherwise he had better take it via the police.

Then home and collapse, have a very late dinner without meat (we had just started the bbq/braii before...), note that the bread I was baking was almost rock solid since Ellen left it in the oven. Early to bed, completely drained. The next day I checked how much a new window would cost and did not enjoy the figures given at all. That was an expensive "visit" and probably cost us an extra warderobe we were planning for. It is of course totally pointless to try and get compensation from a young guy working as a security-guard, they are everything but well paid. Was supposed to leave for Mana Pools and the annual Game Count on Friday same week but did not feel good about it. Wanted to fix the window and also be there in case people would show up by the gate seeking "compensation" from the "rich" white man.

And of course he did show up Thursday evening together with some buddy. Bringing a letter asking about my "position" regarding compensating for his ruined bicycle, loss of income and "injuries". Said he had spoken to the police and the letter stated "cc Highlands Police". I asked him if he had any idea how much a new window and panelbeating was going to cost me, something he of course did not until I told him. I also told him that from my point of view he should be glad that I was not even going to try and get my costs covered from him and if he thought all was my fault then he should take it via the police and normal procedures. Checked with the police next day and he had not even been back to complete his part of the accident report and even less talked to anyone there!

Managed to find a new window last Friday at a better price than I thought. Panelbeating can wait until the report is done in case the police wants to inspect. Have taken photos of the place of the incident and the damages of the car just to be sure.

So much for a long weekend camping, walking and counting game :>(

Just a quick note

I really should be writing quite a long posting with pictures and all after having spent time in Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia lately. On top of that was involved in minor accident during last week so there are things to tell alright. BUT am also very busy workwise so until I find a slot to organise photos and write about recent events all you get is this "tickler" to let you know that life is a bit stressful at the moment.

Was not injured in the accident though, it was actually a cyclist that rammed into my car so "only" a shattered door-window and an injured cyclist that I had to take to hospital.

FUM, Llongwe, Malawi

I am at this moment in Llongwe, Malawi having a meeting at Farmers Union of Malawi, FUM. The IT Officer, Ines Tembo, is very interested in how this thing with blogging works and "what do they benefit from this" so I thought we would just post a few lines. More on this and other recent events later!