Getting The Beat Of Africa

Well, this is it, the end of the blog. I wanted to share our experience of travel, Africa and particularly the World Transplant Games and what a miracle transplant can be through the life of our Anna. I hope that I was able to convey some sense of wonder and magic that this medical miracle offers to patients and particularly for us and our Anna. And the games, well, they are just so special and unique. At the gala dinner there was a final round of people trading jackets and pins and whatever with each other for souvenirs. As the four of us were saying our good byes we were surrounded by Iranians looking for something to trade....an Iranian woman athlete in her grey outfit with head scarf reached out to me with a plastic bracelet carrying the colors of the Iranian flag. She wanted a trade. All that I had was my new Chico necklace that I bought at the Livermore outlet mall. Happily I took the necklace off and placed it over her head and on her neck. She was more than happy. So now, that necklace that has traveled with me from Livermore to Dubai to Durban, South Africa will now travel to Iran and adorn a new neck and sit in a new box....but I wonder how it will really be...whether it will be allowed to be worn....whether it will ever leave the new box home. But most importantly, for me, it just felt so good to give that to her along with the hug. That is the transplant games, acceptance, acknowledgment, living in the same world, sharing joy together, no boundaries, plenty of competition but no enemies. This is the way the world should be, no enemies, just peaceful and friendly relationships.

Tonight was the closing of a very successful games and tomorrow everyone begins to head out. Some are going home and some are touring to the game reserves.  Anna and Casey will be visiting a wild cat rehabilitation center and see the animals at Hluhluwe as we did. They are very excited. Anna will carry her medals with her there and then on to Cape Town before coming home. Doug and I leave Durban tomorrow on the plane for home. I think we are ready. Doug could not leave with out bringing home his special prize, a drum. He was met in the lobby of our hotel this morning by the drum man......they had an exchange and he has packed the beat of the drum into our second bag to check.

We agree that this was a very rich place to visit. It was rich in so much to learn, in how multi-faceted the experiences were and so much to ponder. South Africa still has quite a ways to go in its growth and development but it has a will and a way will be found. It has big problems to solve with HIV, TB, poverty and cultural ideas that must change to become part of the modern world.

But it has also a lot of beauty and spirit as well....

 And, thank you to our friends Frederick and Ruth Ann for taking care of us and showing us around. it would never has been the same or as accessible without you.

 You made all of the difference and allowed us to see so many sides of this interesting place putting all of the pieces together to create a whole, a whole wonderful time.

And readers, thanks for sharing the journey with me.

The Valley Of The Thousand Hills

Today we ventured forth on a Street Scene tour of a Zulu village in The Valley of a Thousand Hills.
We traveled with our tour guides outside of Durban into a more rural setting where there are modern traditional villages. This particular village is using the tour industry to create  a business for its people and educating visitors about their way of life.

 The feeling at this village was very different when I went to the other tribal area and had tea with Mama Kumalo. There was rural beauty and a sense of order and peacefulness. Our guide told us of the old ways of the people from how they got their food through farming and hunting to how they courted each other for marriage. We stood by the river hearing stories of the olden times, "back in the day". As we stood there some frisky goats ran down the road and we enjoyed being out of the city and in the countryside imagining the times when these people lived fully as a part of this land.

We went to visit the Head Man. He is the leader of the village. There are kings (leaders of the province), then chiefs (leaders of the tribes) and then Head men. They are elected by the people of the village and chosen for their qualities that can best serve the village. Responsibility, knowledge of the traditions, and ability to lead are the important qualities of the one chosen. We went to meet this Head man. As we entered his dwelling we were told that the women are traditionally to sit on the left of the room and the men on the right. There is a practical reason for this order. "Back in the day" when there were tribal wars and there may have been a threat it was easier to hide the women and children behind the door on the left side if there was an attack. The men would grab their shields and spears and run for the door.

The Head Man of this village with a visitor...

The traditions and rules of the village are still upheld and followed here. If anyone breaks the rules or steals there is a review with the Head man who has the power to punish if necessary with whippings or even banishment from the village. The result is a peaceful and rule abiding community.

We also visited the healer of the village who uses traditional herbs and concoctions for all types of ailments. One becomes a healer after feeling a "calling". The calling can come in the form of a dream or in the form of being depressed about one's life. If you are depressed it may be that the spirit is calling you and you are not following the call. We came upon this man dressed in bright green crushing herbs in is mortar with his large pestle.

We were invited in to see his collection of herbs and healing magics. Quite abruptly he reached for a bottle, opened the top and took a tiny amount of liquid putting it on Doug's arm. Within a few seconds Doug could feel a sting. They called this an injection medicine. It allows the herbs to go into the skin. Doug was surprised and it was not comfortable. Did this medicine man see something in Doug that needed healing? Was this a magic potion just for him? We do not know.

 Next we were invited to have the Zulu beer. We had heard of it but when it was offered to all sip from the same cup, rather pitcher, we declined. But then, we had another chance at our Zulu lunch. At the beginning of our tour we first stopped in Durban at an open market where the people in all areas  go to shop. We were each given a task to buy vegetables for our lunch. They traveled with us to the village and then were given to a woman who cooked for us while we were meeting the Head Man and the Healer.

Our meal was vegetarian with potatoes, cabbage, sauted "spinach" (chard, greens), a tomato and potato dish and a traditional ground corn porridge. The flavors were delicious. Anna thought it was the best food that she had in South Africa. Maybe it was. We then got another chance to try the beer. Well, it was definitely not a favorite.

I was impressed with the simple nature of living in this village. Besides being poor, no riches and only the most rock bottom basics, the life seemed to have a high quality of life to it. There was a social order, kindness, children in school, shelter and food. But, the Head man's second wife did admire Anna's shoes and pointed to her own. Her toes were showing through.

I think Anna wished that she had another pair to give her. We learned that it is OK to gift them things. Sorry that we did not know that before or we would have brought gifts.

Leaving the village we looked over beaded wares and then were able to find a spectacular overlook that viewed the thousand hills.

Very Interesting....Learning about Africa in ways I never thought I would.

Tomorrow, the closing ceremonies and the gala dinner.....

And then, we are coming home!

Happy As Can Be......and Other Interesting Things...

 Now, what was my time? How did I place?

Fantastic!

 So Happy!

A silver and a bronze!

And now the story. Anna swam against the British locomotive.....and she gained on her like a zippy jet ski finishing just .3 of a second behind. Soooooo close! It earned her a silver and a giant smile. She was so satisfied with her performance and that she was beaten by less than a sec. And then, Anna swam the backstroke in the medley relay. The team came in third with another bronze. This was a giant accomplishment to medal yet again.....She has made her mark and now....no going back...Anna Modlin, the amazing swimmer is back on the scene! What a resurrection....We are all so excited for her.

The "locomotive" and the "jet ski" hugging in congratulations!

And the other interesting things............

Anna's victories were sandwiched between two other rich experiences. This morning Doug had the opportunity to meet the director of the Microbiology Department and Lab at the university hospital. We got a tour of the TB lab. It is here where all of the TB cultures for the province is done. They discussed the problems of TB and Doug introduced the idea that Lawrence Livermore Lab may have technology that could be the subject of a collaboration. It was an exciting and very interesting meeting for Doug, me and Ruth Ann.

And then this evening Ruth Ann and I went to see a play....

 I saw posters for this play when we first arrived in Durban and so wanted to see it. It was so fantastic. It was a one woman play about the time when Amy Biehl, the American, was murdered in Cape Town in 1993. It was big news at the time. I remember it. The play takes the perspective of the mother of the young black man who murdered Amy. Through wanting to write to Amy's mother and connect with their shared tragedy, a deeply compassionate telling of the terrible event was portrayed. The story was told about what happened that day as well as the background of her son and the feelings of the people of South Africa at that time. It was captivating, moving and deeply thought provoking. We loved it. Following the play we were also taken with the beautiful art displayed in the theater.

 

Today was a tapestry of science, art and dreams come true......

Meanwhile the Games continue until the closing ceremony on Saturday 

and tomorrow the four of us go together to

The Valley Of A Thousand Hills....