Custody battle over East London dodo egg

Each morning, intriguing headlines from East London's newspaper, The Daily Dispatch, are plastered on telephone and lamp posts all the way to town. It's kind of hard to see Germans order flak jackets and Condoms make Tutu blush and not buy a paper (or check out the web site).

This morning's headline: Court battle over dodo egg.  

I had read that the East London Museum was home to what is believed to the the world's only dodo egg. It was brought to the museum by Dr. Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, a naturalist who was the museum's curator from sometime in the 1950's to 1971.  After she died at age 97 in 2004, the niece who inherited her estate initiated proceedings to reclaim the egg (and sell it on eBay?).

Knowing that the egg might disappear back into the family vault (or a private collection), the idea of going to take a peek piqued our interest so we made a trip over to the museum.  We arrived at 3:50 to learn that they were shutting down for the day.  Lights were being turned off and the staff was shuffling toward the door.  Thankfully, our request to see the egg was granted and we spent a few minutes in the gallery:

This is the dodo display - the egg is in the nest.

Upon closer inspection, we learned that this is actually a REPLICA of the egg. The real egg is stored elsewhere in the museum.

The case will be heard on Tuesday - stay tuned.

By the way, Dr. Coutenay-Latimer is best known for her discovery of the preheistoric coelacanth fish in 1938.  There is a sculpture of the fish outside of the museum:

Plans for the weekend: Karaoke at the Fig Tree tonight, Hiking on the Wild Coast tomorrow, and shopping, beach and possibly a boat ride on Sunday.  Our last weekend in Gonubie!

Screams in the night

I met a woman today who can’t leave her house after dark – especially on the weekends – for fear of being raped.  In her neighborhood there are 9 shebeens – or pubs; popular places for men and women to drink.

She told us, “The weekends are a mess.  If there are women at the shebeens with the men, they will most certainly be raped.  I hear screams of women in the night from all over the neighborhood.”

Her name is Sweetness.  In 2006 she founded Ubuntu Ma-Afrika, a non-profit organization that provides home-based care and education for people with HIV & AIDS, diabetes, depression, sexually transmitted infections, and victims of abuse and violence.  She does this because her beloved aunt died of AIDS.  Her aunt was embarrassed and afraid to tell people about her condition.  Without medication, it wasn’t long before she passed away.  With tears in her eyes, Sweetness told us that she believes her aunt would still be alive if she had accepted her condition and sought treatment.  Sweetness couldn’t stand by and watch others suffer; she needed to do something to help.

Her neighborhood is in a township outside of East London.  There are approximately 9,000 people in the township, many of whom are uneducated (there is only one school up to level 5), unemployed and poverty-stricken.  From 2 small rented rooms, she and the other leaders train volunteers to care for homebound patients, run awareness campaigns and educate, educate, educate.

In the room with us today were 3 other women.  I asked them why they volunteer.  The first began volunteering after she learned she was HIV positive.  The second, a retired nurse, just looked at us and said, “I hope now that you know about us you will help us.”  The third was very shy but let us know she’s been volunteering for 2 years.  A larger group of volunteers of all ages came through the cramped room to greet us.

Although the organization receives funding from the government, it’s never enough (and sometimes doesn’t come at all).  Their monthly rent is R500 (approx. $60 USD).  They lack the computers they need to keep proper records.  Because of their limited funding, they can’t do as many awareness campaigns as they would like.  Once or twice a month, a mobile clinic comes to the community.  That’s when the team springs to action.  As the 60-70 people wait in line for their turn at the mobile clinic, the Ubuntu Ma-Afrika volunteers are there to meet them, hand out literature, and talk about the many topics that make up their platform.

When I asked what the organization needed and how people could help, Sweetness shared this wish list: a decommissioned shipping container to convert into office space, clothes, food, medicine and, of course, money.  As I write this, Immi and I are brainstorming about how to launch a campaign to help.  If the organization can get a shipping container or a prefab building (which would be a luxury), the government would grant them a piece of land where they could set up permanent offices – rent free.

I am humbled and inspired by the strength and resilience of Sweetness and the many other South African women I’ve met on this journey.  I can only imagine how they may have suffered – as a society bound in the past by apartheid or as individuals still at risk for rape, abuse and violence.  I admire their ability to overcome obstacles, follow their passion and put whatever resources come their way to use in their community – and get by even when there are none.

Food, glorious food!

I am really enjoying our team dinners.  It's been a fantastic way to get to know everyone, discuss our projects and personal interests, and plan our sightseeing activities here in South Africa.

There are several people who enjoy cooking and have taken turns preparing feasts in the evening. Anil has made dal, Sharon has made ziti, Priya has made spectacular rice dishes that I wish I knew the name of and had the recipes for :-), and tonight Immi and Steffen made german potato salad, sausages, pasta and green salad:

Immi and Steffen

 Close-up of our feast:

 

 I had an apple pie workshop for Anna and together we created a masterpiece:

 

I've been trying to get Immi to "de-shine" my photos, but no luck, so here I am, with Anna, in my shiny glory:

Everyone enjoyed the pie, especially Tak:

And we had an unexpected guest at dinner: Smokey, our housecat:

Tonight we decided that we would go to Port Elizabeth on Saturday morning, spend the day exploring that city, and stay overnight in a hostel that Steffen has booked for us.  We'll get up before dawn on Sunday and head to Addo Elephant Park for a 6 am sunrise game tour and then wind our way back to East London.  Sounds like it will be a fantastic weekend!

Our first lesson in Xhosa

Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa. It's a tonal language and is easily identifiable by the clicking sound. Most of the people at Ruliv speak Xhosa and they were excited to teach it to us. Today we got a lesson:



Our first day at the office wrapped up with a braai to wish one of the members of the Monitoring and Evaluation staff, Stuart, farewell. Stuart is headed to a new job in Bangladesh. He said it's "rough living" but he and his wife have lived there before and are excited to go back. They both work in the field of rural development and "aren't at a point in life where they want it easy." So, with some grilled meat, we said "all the best" to Stuart and sent him on his way.

Tomorrow we visit an orphanage and take a visit to a township. We shopped this evening for treats and toys for the 110+ kids, ranging from 6 months to 18 years. Apparently, donors to this particular orphanage have not been as generous due to the uncertain economy. Hopefully with our toys and donation to their operational fund, we can bring a little cheer and relief, even if it's only for a brief time.

Africa Umoja

Umoja, meaning unity, is a fitting description for the group's first weekend in South Africa.  We got to explore a bit of Jo'burg as we got to know one another.

It's a very diverse group; we are 14 people representing 7 countries: Brazil, Denmark, Germany, India, Japan, United States and Uruguay; we span about a 20-year age range; our 'day jobs' include technical sales, process/lean six sigma black belt (who wouldn't like to have a job title with 'black belt' in it), human resources, web specialist, communications, staffing manager, and many more.  Since we spent time on many teleconferences over the past 3 months, we already knew something about one another, but it's so much easier to get to know people when you meet face to face.

Our weekend included a visit to IBM South Africa:

The highlight of the weekend was our trip to the Lion and Rhino park:

 

 

The white tiger cubs were definitely my favorite.

We are now in East London, a very industrial town on the Indian Ocean.  It's a river port, which makes it a prime location for a Mercedes-Benz plant; this plant makes all of the right-hand drive Mercedes for Europe.  We flew here on 1time, which I'll have to actually fly 2times - it's how we get back to Jo'burg at the end of the month.  The landing in East London was not what I'd call relaxing, it was more like a nose dive toward the runway.

Tomorrow we meet our clients.  I'm part of a group of four (Immi, Anil and Anna are the other three) who will be working with Ruliv, an NGO focused on helping rural businesses succeed.  Our task: to focus on marketing and communications.  We have a general statement of work for the project but we'll spend our first week speaking with the team at Ruliv and will more accurately define what we'll do for them.  I think one of the most important aspects of our project is to define a strategy that the Ruliv team can realistically execute on once we're gone.  We'll have the time to get the project going but we need to leave them in a position to carry the work forward.

Oh, and how did I learn about 'umoja?'  It's the title of an incredible dance musical, Africa Umoja, that many of us saw over the weekend.

Good Morning JFK

The schlep to the airport is complete, now it's wait time before fly time. Morning recap: I got lots of goodbye kisses from Lady and Ruby said Bon Voyage by barking up her breakfast. I dropped Freddie at Purdy's for the 6:24 and the dropped myself @ JFK. I'll be flying on the South African Airways plane in this pic:
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Getting ready to fly South, uh, to South Africa

Dear Blog, it's me, Melissa.  It's been over a year since I added anything here but I'm back.  I can't promise I'll stay forever, but I'll be around for at least a month.  I plan to fill you up with great pictures, videos and stories of my adventures in South Africa. 

I depart from good 'ole JFK on October 1, so you can expect to see me dusting you off and getting you ready for the big trip.  I see there are a lot of new things I can add - like a YouTube channel, an RSS feed, and nifty lists that I can use to share my itinerary and favorites from the trip.

Ok, I'm ready to get started.  Let's see what this puppy can do...

Birds, Bees and Ruby's knees

It's been over 1 year since we adopted Ruby. She's lost 14 pounds thanks to Freddie's Canine Fit Club (watch for the infomercial), can run up Binx Mountain with nary a heavy pant, has gotten her Sheltie spin back, and is the nemesis of any nature muppet on Timber Crest Drive and in Richter Park. But we knew there was a chance that her bilateral luxating patellas (loose knee caps) were causing premature arthritis and would likely need to be corrected.

I met with Dr. Pond yesterday and had him evaluate our little Doobles. He said that her kneecaps sit to the inside of her knee joints and could feel the arthritis. The muscle atrophy in her back legs is noticeable and he acknowledged that she would continue to bear weight on her front end unless the knees were corrected. Her tendons and ligaments have also adjusted to the kneecap defect. We agreed surgery was the best course of action.

Fortunately, Dr. Pond travels to Danbury and, thanks to Dr. Dattner at Brookfield Animal Hospital, we'll do the surgery in their brand new clinic. We'll do one knee at at time: operate, physical therapy, completely healed - and then move on to the other.

I explained it to Freddie this way: We can correct the problem now or get a K9-cart in a few years. Ruby is 3 and has a full life ahead of her. Stay tuned for more...

Fred the Tree Man

And this is a video of Freddie chopping down our Christmas tree! We always pick the prickly tree because E and Dan love to put the lights on the painful tree :-).

29.5 pounds!

This just in - Freddie reports that Ruby's weekly weigh-in shows her at 29.5 pounds! That is amazing - and all of the credit goes to Freddie for taking charge of the doggie diet & exercise plan. Ok, some credit to Lady, too. Ruby just wants to keep up with her on the trails these days. I wonder if I can turn this into a Big Idea...

Who's the best kisser?

Sunday, September 30, was the annual Danbury Animal Welfare Society Walk for Animals. This year I had lots of help walking and raising money. Tara, Dan, P, E, & F joined Lady, Ruby and me on our 1.5 mile walk in the lovely village of Bethel, CT.

Because of my work assignment in Calfornia, I flew to CT on Friday, did the Walk on Sunday, and then flew back to Cali. It was totally worth the hassle of traveling to spend the weekend with my peeps and pups - especially when Lady brought home the blue ribbon in the 'Best Kisser' contest - yay Lady!!

Livin' Large

Snouts and Kisses is the equivalent of a luxury spa retreat for dogs. The picture here was sent by Lynne and Ellen while Lady and Ruby were their guests. They had an extended stay as Freddie spent 10 days with me in California.

I was a little worried that Ruby's snoring would keep everyone awake at night, but Lynne said that the 'snore award' went to a Maltese about 1/3 the size of Ruby.

Speaking of size, she's down to 30.5 pounds - Freddie's doggie cross-training and diet program is really working!

I'll be home next weekend for the first time in a month - can't wait to see my girls!!

When a 3-legged dogs swims, is in it a straight line?

Our mystery has finally been answered. Lady swims in a straight line (So there, E!) We saw it with our own eyes yesterday when Lady swam in the Lake:

Ruby was under the impression that she could walk on the lily pads - see how well that worked out for her:

These pups were tired after a day of fun at grandma's lake house!! So tired, in fact, that Lady almost slept in the car on the way home.

The continuing adventures of Ruby Phatz

Ruby is now in a groove - losing a half pound per week. She's now at 33.5 pounds - with about 13.5 to go. I know we'll eventually get there. What's great is how active she is. Yesterday, Freddie took her running with Lady on the Yellow Trail at Richter. It's not a really difficult one, but it is up hill and through the woods. He said she kept up with them the whole way - which is difficult because Lady is one fast tripod!!

Last weekend, I took her to see a canine physical therapist. Her name is Gale Henderson and she is amazing. Her business, Paws and Paddle Canine Conditioning, is in a great setting up in New Milford, CT. She has a room set up to do evaluations and treatment for the dogs - it has all sorts of things for the dogs to walk up, down and over, and she even has an underwater treadmill. You can sort of see the room in the picture here. Gale said that Ruby is very weak in her back legs - especially her hamstrings. Her luxating patellas are also a concern, so it's important to keep up with the weight loss, stretch out her hip flexors, and build the strength in her back legs. I have a set of exercises to do with Ruby, including putting a spring-loaded rod across the doorway and having Ruby jump over it.

Everyday Steve Irwins

In the past couple of days, I've witnessed some of what I'm calling "Everyday Steve Irwins" - regular people who make a point of living in harmony with the wild animals in our neighborhood. Here's what I'm talking about:

Monday, 7:12 am, driving to work: I took a right out of Autumn Drive and noticed a deer bounding across Aunt Hack Road. I slowed down, but noticed the car coming toward me had stopped AND was wildly flashing his lights at me. Anyone who grew up in the country knows that there are always at least 2 deer, so the driver was making a point to warn me. Sure enough, a few seconds later, the second deer came across the road. The other driver and I went on our merry way, pausing to wave and give the 'thumbs up' - acknowledging our pause.

Tuesday, 5:45 pm, on my way to PT. I drive on a lovely back road (yes, they still exist here) and, as I'm passing the pond, I see a pickup truck stopped in the road. The driver is moving something off the road and into the grass by the pond. My first thought was 'road kill' but then I realize he's moving a little turtle to safety. By crikey, mate, good show!

All you everyday Steve Irwin's out there - keep up the good work!

34.5 pounds and loving life!

Ruby is feeling fit and frisky - her last weigh in showed she's lost another 2 pounds. At 34.5 pounds, she's hardly done with her diet, but I can see she's feeling better. She has a lot of energy and is very, very playful.

She does show a love for chasing cars. Very bad and needs work - we can't run the risk of Ruby sushi.

Ruby's "before" photo

Ok, this is how Ruby looked when she first came to stay with me:

It's too bad this photo doesn't show her tail. When people see her tiny little head, rather LARGE body, and small tail, then it's easy to see how obese she is.

I took her to the groomer yesterday and she got a puppy cut for the summer - now all of her flab is easy to spot. Kind of like mine when I'm at yoga class - but seeing it just makes me work harder. I hope that trick works on Ruby, too!!

dat-de-dah.......Ruby Phatz!

So much has happened since my last post! For starters, our "pup" is almost 2! Her previous family sent her paperwork and her birthday is July 9, 2005. Amazingly, that is 3 days before we officially adopted Lady - is that a sign?

She's 1.5 pounds lighter - and about 17 more to lose. Dr. Feinman said that 3 - 4 pounds/month is a safe rate, and we'll get her there with diet and plenty of exercise. She does fetch the tennis ball, so we've taken to playing outside after dinner. That has the added benefit of tiring her out and she sleeps very well. We're in training for the Danbury Animal Welfare Society's Hound Hike at Tarrywile Park on June 3.

Did I say sleep? Of course she is now hopping up the steps at night and sleeping in our bedroom. The first few nights were shaky - Miss Lady was none too happy - but they've worked it out. Lady still has "on the bed" privileges while the little one stays on her own doggie bed.

And, finally, she has a name - Ruby Phatz. Ruby is the name of a hapless house maid in the series Upstairs Downstairs, and Phatz is, well, because she's got plenty of it (for now).

Around the block!

I left for the office this morning around 9:15 and got home around 5 - so it was a long day inside for Lady and the Pup. When I got home and took them outside, she seemed to have a bit more pep in her step, so when we got to our 1/3 around the block spot - we just kept going. Her legs weren't so wobbly and she appeared interested in where Lady was headed.

Once we rounded the corner, though, and she realized where we were, she made a bee-line for home! It was like watching Street Sense move up from the 19th position to win the Kentucky Derby!

She didn't eat her dinner tonight but isn't begging for food. Maybe in the morning she'll be hungry...

Bilaterally fluxating patellas

Puppy Fatz is certainly finicky about her food but I've just discovered that she likes almonds! And she had most certainly found her voice - just try approaching the house! Now I have 2 watch dogs!

We've made it only about 1/3 around the block and then have to turn home because her back legs get very wobbly, especially her left rear leg. Her medical chart says she has "bilaterally fluxating patellas" - and I can see her patellas fluxating the farther we get from home. But, as soon as we turn around to head back, there's a little pep in her step.

Lady has little patience, although she's decided that she must have her leash on if PF has hers on - and I have a lot of work to do to master the 2-dog walk (especially with Lady Roadrunner).

I've been able to work home the past two days, so the pups have had a lot of outside time. Tomorrow it's back to the office - we'll see how they do in the kitchen/mudroom together all day!