April 15, 2003

Hello to all of you again

No, I am not dead. Just the usual problems of trying to access a computer at a time the internet is working here. My life continues to be interesting, going from one disaster to another some days. More about that later.

My friend, Charles Chiponda, is away in Kenya and Uganda on a Rotary Group Study Exchange for 5 weeks. This leaves me alone to run the lodge but that is not a problem. I was going to go to the rural areas with friends for the Easter break but it will be a big 4 day weekend at Umgusa Lodge so I must stay here. Disappointed as I enjoy myself the most here when I am out in the rural areas.

Went out to my school at Silozwe last Wed. afternoon/evening for a farewell dinner as school is out for a month now and I may not get there just before I leave to come back to Canada. Had a great party. Took my CD player and we played music, had a braii and other food, cold drinks, beer, etc. Came home late, around 11pm.

Went to a concert two Saturdays ago at the big auditorium at City Hall. A big name singer called Oliver was performing. I love his music. It goes from 8pm until dawn. Can you believe it. At about 11pm I went to buy a couple drinks from the bar. It was packed and no order, just chaos, trying to get a drink with everyone pushing and shoving. I hooked my thumb into my back pocket to protect my wallet as I was fearful of a pickpocket. When I got back to my friends I had my wallet but when I checked my front pocket where I kept my cash it was gone. I never felt a thing. Slick as can be.

They got about $10,000 cash (20 X $500 bills) which is about $10.00 in our money. I felt like an idiot. Think it is the first time in my life I have had a pickpocket get me. As I was now broke, we did not stay until dawn, went home about 2pm.

But the big disaster happened on Saturday night. Out at my lodge at Umgusa. I was there until about 9pm when it got quiet. Went home and left the staff to lock up as they always do. When I got back the next morning the police were there. We had a break-in. They got in a back door, got through our steel bars on the dispensing bar area, into our storage room, broke open our safe and got all the money from Friday and Saturday - &602,000Zim.

First time ever. I always take the weekend money home on sunday night and bank it on Monday morning. The police are investigating but I am not optomistic. I had to put the money into the business account from my own account just to cover the cheques I had written. I have now order new burgler bars for the doors, an alarm system based on sensors and a new safe from Chubb which will be bricked into the storeroom wall. Maybe that will slow the bastards down!!!

I have caught my guard sleeping at night so many times that I sent him away to "think about it". He phoned this morning begging for his job back. Had been sleeping on the streets for the last three nights and promises it will not happen again. So I am letting him come back until the end of April on a trail basis.

Home life is good here. I have a TV and VCR now so can watch the local television and rent videos. Cooking is fairly basic as lots of commodities are not available. Things like lettuce to make a salad. Eat lots of sadza, rice, steak, pork, chicken and what they call "soup" here which is a mixture of onion, tomatoes, gravy mix and then cooked and you pour it over your food, expecially rice. Eat a lot of banannas. At 8 cents each they are cheap.

Well, a month to go until I get home. I am looking forward to seeing many of you and showing you my pictures. See my family at Dee Lake.

Love to you all, Doug