Thursday, June 16, 2005

Don't Worry, I'm Still Alive and Kicking!

Argh, I hate falling behind on my writing. So much has happened in the last week and it kills me not to be able to capture all the highlights on my blog. I've also been sick and overloaded with work. As such, I apologize in advance for the hodgepodge entry I'm about to write...

Last Thursday, Ricardo and I went to a little town on the Zimbabwean border called Espungabera. The trip out there was fabulous - we were in a 4x4 loaded with one ton of maize seeds in the back, bumping up and down on a dusty mountain road. We went through an elephant reserve (didn't see any animals...) and had to cross a river on a floating platform because there was no bridge! By the time we arrived I was so covered in dirt it looked as if I'd been to the beach! We were in Espungabera for 3 days working on various projects and meeting with clients from across the border. Each day we'd visit plantations and possible production plant sites, then go back home and strategize over beers and espresso.

The trip back to Chimoio was even more exciting, as our colleague Stefano drove 130 km/hr through the mato, making my stomach flip-flop at every curve. We got stuck at the bridgeless river because the platform workers had already gone home for the night. We had to spend 2 hours waiting in the middle of nowhere, praying that the workers would return. In the end, Stefano decided that we would take matters into our own hands and we drove onto the platform and started to cross the river wtih the help of some local boys. Halfway across, the real platform workers showed up and started shouting for us to turn back. They removed the wooden ramp so that we couldn't drive onto the shore, and we waited in the middle of the water as Stefano and the workers screamed at each other. In the end, they hauled the wooden planks back into place and we were able to continue our journey.

So I'm back in Chimoio again and have been ridiculously busy. I've been preparing one proposal after another, spending all day on the computer and becoming increasingly resentful of the fact that I'm getting burned out on writing. My brain feels like sludge when I'm done working, and I can feel the juicy details I like to include in my stories just dripping away, perhaps never to find their way to the computer screen or the pages of my journal.

In other news, I've been coughing for nearly a month now. Yesterday Ricardo laid down the line and made me start taking cough syrup again. We bought a syrup made in India that is, without a doubt, the nastiest medicine I've ever tasted. It has the consistency and flavor of melted margarine blended with Nutra Sweet. Yuuuuuuuuuuck!!!

Okay, I'm going to get back to my proposal now. Hopefully over the weekend I'll get inspired and compose more about the trip to Espungabera...

PS - Welcome to the world, Baby goddaughter. More on that later, as well.

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