Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Heavy duty packing
I have almost got everything ready for leaving on Friday. By Canadian standards I am not taking much in the way of clothing - about 6 shirts and 4 pairs of pants/shorts. It is made more complicated by the fact that I am going to be in London/Paris/Amsterdam before heading off to Africa so I have to be able to handle the cold weather there. In spite of this I am still taking a lot more clothing than most people there would own - and I am leaving huge amounts here for my return.
Money is complicated. I have some pounds and euros for Europe and rand for South Africa/Lesotho. I think I my need to get some more rand since I forgot that I have to pay the driver who is coming to pick us up in Johannesburg. I will be sharing the cost with another volunteer, Penney Place, who is flying in from London the day after I get there (I will be staying at a nice hotel near the airport - probably have several showers and a steak there!). In total there are 8 Help Lesotho volunteers starting in mid-January. I think Penney is the nearest to 'Mamohau (that is not a typo, it is starts with a hypen). She is at Pitseng which is about 40 km I think. I have a reasonably good map, the only problem is that 'Mamohau is not on it, so I am still a bit vague on where I am in relation to other places.
I guess I will have to take my rain suit - which is a good thing. The last several years the rainy season has failed but they have been gettting some good rains this week which should really help with the food supply situation if they continue. The UN food aid has been cut to Lesotho this year, in spite of the fact that the need is greater - UN does not have the money to buy more and the overall need is higher than last year.
Money is complicated. I have some pounds and euros for Europe and rand for South Africa/Lesotho. I think I my need to get some more rand since I forgot that I have to pay the driver who is coming to pick us up in Johannesburg. I will be sharing the cost with another volunteer, Penney Place, who is flying in from London the day after I get there (I will be staying at a nice hotel near the airport - probably have several showers and a steak there!). In total there are 8 Help Lesotho volunteers starting in mid-January. I think Penney is the nearest to 'Mamohau (that is not a typo, it is starts with a hypen). She is at Pitseng which is about 40 km I think. I have a reasonably good map, the only problem is that 'Mamohau is not on it, so I am still a bit vague on where I am in relation to other places.
I guess I will have to take my rain suit - which is a good thing. The last several years the rainy season has failed but they have been gettting some good rains this week which should really help with the food supply situation if they continue. The UN food aid has been cut to Lesotho this year, in spite of the fact that the need is greater - UN does not have the money to buy more and the overall need is higher than last year.
