Happy New Year from Clarens SA

Happy New Year to family, friends and neighbors! I am missing you very much but realize that 2008 brings our return home and reunion with our loved ones. Hopefully, you haven’t forgotten us and we can catch up on all of the news and cultural events we have missed. May God bless you in 2008 and give you peace and hope, the greatest of gifts! Service in the Peace Corps is a gift but it comes with sacrifices, not only for the volunteer but their family and friends who must fill in the gaps for them. The gaps cover everything from parenting (thanks Al for rising to the task), counseling grieving friends, paying bills and taxes, and taking care of rental property. No matter how carefully one plans for their absence, contingencies and crises arise that cannot be handled from 12,000 miles away. So we are very grateful that our family and friends have supported us and allowed us to abandon our roles in the US to serve AIDS patients in a mission hospital in Zululand. Sometimes we feel very guilty for shirking our place in our home community and our responsibilities as parents, but this has been a fabulous opportunity to use our skills and learn about South Africa. The motto on the blog site is “Do Some Good, Have Some Fun.” At this point in our service, our accomplishments may not be discernable but we sure have had a great time. Enough adventure for a lifetime!

This is the third phase of our Drakensberg Mountain road trip and we have spent the last four days in Clarens, the Free State at the north end bordering Lesotho. Clarens is an art town (don’t look for a pharmacy or supermarket) loaded with art galleries, ceramic studios, metal sculpture, foodie havens with every imaginable jam, pickle, cheese, condiment available (most homemade so I have had to put my Food and Drug training to bed), gourmet restaurants with camembert and fig in pastry, rocket and pear etc. The town is very charming with darling b and b or self catering facilities with oh so precious names like Cottage Pie and Toad House. The setting is at 6000ft next to Golden Gate National Park, aptly named for the fantastic red and gold geologic formations with green lichens growing up the mountain sides. The setting and artsy atmosphere reminds me of Sedona, if Sedona’s rock formations with blown up ten times the size. The park is full of wildflowers and birds this time of year, which is spring here in the high country. The activities here seem to be hiking the mountains or green valleys, touring the art galleries, or enjoying the restaurants and brew pubs. The town is picture perfect with a sandstone church with rooster weather vane, beautiful town square, open air shops and cafes and NO BARBED WIRE anywhere. The spot is great for coots like us but is also full of young couples and motor cyclists who drive from JoBurg (3 hours) for the day to enjoy the gorgeous setting. Tonight we will be celebrating New Years Eve at the Grouse and Claret, and open air restaurant where the evening temperature is 75 degrees. Perfect relaxing and enjoying the setting.

After touring the Midlands Meander for four days, we spent two days at Royal Natal National Park in the north end of the Drakensberg Mountains. The Amphitheater mountain formation stretches 8 km across and is 10000ft high. The light and shadows of the mountains change continually all day, creating mystery and awe. It begs to be climbed but is often shrouded in fog and mist. We caught glimpses of the forms, waterfalls, cascades and huge rock slabs as we hiked the Tugela gorge, a famous valley between the rock slabs. The Drakensberg is named for its sharp peaks like Dragons teeth; the Zulus named it after spear heads.

Tomorrow we head back to Mountain High to plunge back into our jobs and try to squeeze some productivity and sustainability out of the next 6 months. Our goal is to teach computer literacy to any staff member or resident that wants to learn how to use a computer. However, the teaching will be after work hours so it will be interesting to see if anyone shows up. As the weather grows colder I am hoping to have a marathon fleece hat sale, with proceeds slated for the continuation of the occupational therapy program after we go home. We are already feeling the imperative and push for limited time left and not much to show for our efforts. We have learned a huge amount from the experience and a different value system, especially pertaining to urgency and time schedules. We hope when we return to America, our new skills of patience and flexibility will go with us.