I'm bringin bloggin back...

I have been neglecting my blog. There's not really any excuse, other than I have actually been very busy (which is a good thing) and probably more than a little lazy (not quite so good). And having spent all day writing emails, the last thing I want to do in the evening is write my blog... The trouble is, now there is quite a lot to catch you all up on!! So get comfy, kids!!

Robben Island

The last time I blogged was over a month ago. The week after Table Mountain was painful - my legs actually refused to work for a good 2 or 3 days. I am very pround of my achievement but am in no way feeling the need to do that again IN MY LIFE. Unless we involve some cable-cars, in which case I could easily be persuaded. The next Saturday the same gang booked seats on a tour around Robben Island. This is the prison island where they formerly incarcerated political threats, most notoriously of course Nelson Mandela. It had been used as a prison for criminals for a long time prior to this, and now continues as a living museum. The guides have all served sentences there, and now moved back with their families to live and work in order that the stories contine to be told. It is a very humbling experience to walk into a cell which previously held the man who is leading your group around, or people known by him. It brings it all home very hard.

Field Trippin

Monday 30th April 2007 - alarm call goes at 3.30 in the morning and I am up and dressing ready to get a taxi to the airport with the rest of the students. We catch a flight to Jo'burg, loaded down with all our camera equipment (the guys carrying the big rig D50s around the airport get some funny looks!), and the other end get started on a 5-6 hour transfer to Karongwe private game reserve. We should arrive around 4ish, in time to unpack and familiarise ourselves with the location on a quick dusk game drive. Should. But this is Africa, remember? About half an hour out from the airport, our transfer van is pulled over by a random police inspection. Apparently public transport operations (by this they mean transfers and taxis etc etc) have to be licensed not only for the vehicle and the driver but also for the particular route they are driving. And naturally, our driver doesn't have the correct paperwork to satisfy the demanding traffic cops. Of course!! It takes nearly 2 hours for him to arrange to take action on the immediately delivered suggestion that he go and pay the fine at the nearest police station, which is only 15 mins away. Which means that we are left sitting by the road in the middle of nowhere, with a 5 hour journey still ahead of us. Splendid! We eventually get moving again, and the hours slide by... we reach 5 o'clock and ask how long it is until we should get there. About 40 mins, apparently. 40 minutes later, we pass a sign which informs us there is still about 50km to the nearest main town. Now it's getting dark and the driver admits he doesn't know how far it is until we get there. Which really means he is lost, doesn't it? Yes it does. Hmmmmmm. We spend about 20 mins trying to turn the bus around in a dust track(there is a trailer on the back with all our expensive camera gear, whic makes 3 point turns quite a hair-raising experience), and eventually arrive at our destination, tired and hungry, at 9.00. Thankfully everone is laughing, and after a yummy braai dinner, all turn in for bed.

We get up everyday at 5 am, troop off in one of 2 open top landrovers and hopefully after catching the magnificent African sunrise over the bush, spend the morning chasing/filming/not moving around too much in front of wild animals. I quickly resume my place in the pecking order as "butt of all jokes" thanks to Falk, our camera tutor for the trip. At least I'm useful for something!! I am supposed to be filming a "behind the scenes" thing for the students but sadly the cameras are all being used quite a lot. A keen bunch, this lot! The week proceeds rather quickly, with soaring temperatures during the beautiful days, and freezing night-times. I soon fall into the habit of wearing ALL my clothes at once, and then peeling back the layers as the sun rises into the morning. I wake up in about 3 t shirts and a huge fleece, fleecy beanie and socks and trainers, and by lunchtime I'm in a strappy top and flipflops. Evening requires the reverse proceure. I also make good use of my bush geek hat, purchased complete with a foldaway flap to protect the back of the neck from the sun. My father would be proud! There was much hilarity with my initial demonstration, but once the sun got burning they were laughing on the other side of their faces, mwahahahaha!

Aside from bush fashions, the week produced many unforgettable moments. The first time I nearly stepped on a black mamba outside my tent in the dark (it was only a baby but I could have died, serious!). My first African sunrise. My first African game drive! The first time I saw giraffes. And a white rhino. And elephants, about 10 meters away!! The realisation that there is so much of God's passion and beauty evident in His creation (not the first time though!) and the awestruck wonder of a full moon rising through the trees, coloured bright red by particles in the atmosphere. A full-on meteor flashing through the sky while we drive along under the stars to find a lion pride, staying visible for about 20 seconds. I leave the bush somewhat breathless, and eager for my next trip!

All Good Things...

Once we are back from the field trip, it is time to begin the somewhat labourious process of logging and digitising footage into recognisable and useable clips for editing. Over the next 2 weeks I run in and out of lectures, juggling a few more responsbilities I have been handed for the smooth running of the Academy. The days go by quickly, and I often find myself working late into the night. I do get a chance to edit together my Making Of film, which energises me for the whole process. It's been a while since I used Final Cut Pro but it soon comes back to me, and I am actually amazingly pleased with the finished project. So are the other lecturers involved, which is even better, as I feel I have been able to show what I can do. The end of the course comes quickly, and all of a sudden we are saying goodbye to the students who only arrived what seems like a couple of days ago. It is a sad but exciting time, and everyone is making plans for what comes next. It makes me feel a bit homesick, actually. My time is not yet over, and I have to stay focused on the following couple of weeks before the next course starts. My manager is going to be away until after the next course starts, so we only have a few days to sort things out together and she leaves me with a long long to do list BUT she says she is confident that things will get done, which is a nice thing to hear.

Preparations

So have spent the last week catching up on all the admin (and there is ALOT) and generally preparing for the next course. It's been cold cold cold here in recent days, so the jumper and electric heaters have been out in force. The cold isn't that extreme, especially compared to English winter BUT Cape Town houses are just not built to cope with any kind of drop in temperature. There is absolutely no understanding of the concept of central heating here. At all.

In-between working, I am developing a bit more of a social life, mainly revolving around church. I have been to the cinema (Fracture - very interesting movie) and a board games night (where I met a girl who was just back from 12 years in London - the past 4 1/2 of which she had been working for Paula's parents at their praye healing ministry - WEIRD!!). Church was cancelled last weekend due to high risk of flooding at the golf club we use as a venue, so Marlies and I staying in and watched DVDs - we got hooked on a new series called Heros, quite amazing by the way! I have been helping out at a soup kitchen for the homeless in an area called Mowbray, which has been a pretty amazing experience. I managed to get my butt along to a cell group this week (only 10 weeks into my trip... doh) and we did creative worship, which was awesome. I have been feeling a little distant from God the past few weeks, and due to laziness and de-motivation on my part mainly, but this was an awesome way to re-connect without the usual guilt over quiet times due to my short attention span. Yesterday morning there was a workshop on looking at ministering into areas of poverty, and how to help facilitate long term development and transformation in needy communities rather than just handing out relief in times of crisis. Very inspiring, and I felt God stirring stuff in my heart again - such an amazing feeling after weeks of nothingness!! So I am eager to see how this grows...