Time is truly an interesting thing when you are given an opportunity to examine it.
I distinctly remember the first semester of my senior year in college. And towards its finale – the unrelenting feeling of hopelessness regarding the upcoming day. Every second could be counted, every moment can be recalled. Between all the different stresses that lingered, a lifetime was indeed lived in a week. A homework assignment would be given, and a lifetime would have been lived by the time it would have been handed in. Hours spent at home, the lab, or the library…doing daily tasks from write-ups, reviews, to my thesis…every second was accounted for (with vivid detail.)

And now where I am there are no assignments. No labs, no meetings, no reviews, no assignments. I’ve been in Africa for as long as that semester, and I’m astonished by how quickly this time went, and how painstaking the former was. I can’t believe there since has been another class that has been subjected to Dr. James’ lab. I wonder how they all did…
I’ve been here already for one college semester. These days are flying - I’m guessing I’ll be home before I know it……or before YOU know it! Mwhwahahaha!
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Now since I really don’t have anything much to report on or talk about…I’d figure I’d get you guys to do some talking by asking a question. Here’s the deal: are there any instances in real life where there is a difference made between someone winning, versus another guy simply losing? I’ll explain: about four doors down from where we live is a bar owned by some funny and kind Afrikaners. To our great amusement and entertainment, they have a pool table. Ian and I go when we can, and shoot a few games over a couple beers to talk about the day. I’ll admit, he’s a much better player than I am – he’ll have all but one remaining when I’ll have only gotten one in.

But earlier, I had won a game against him based on luck than anything – he accidently grazed the 8 ball and sank it prematurely, effectively handing me the win. Now, it isn’t so much that I beat him – more so, he lost rather than I won. I cannot on good conscience say that I’ve beaten him. Now in a game with rules and regulations – I would have won (albeit undeservedly.) My question: are there real life instances where is a distinction between a winner, and the guy that didn’t lose? (Winner/Loser vs. Someguy / Loser) Someone ask Gimbel – I’m curious as hell.
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So not every day is a great one, and not every story is a good one.

Last night (Thursday night, 21st) my supervisor was killed in a car accident. Ian and I were eating dinner, bullshitting over the day when Dai came in and told us the news. Apparently he tried to overtake a truck by passing, and hit an oncoming truck at 160km/hr. It really is a complete shame – he seemed to be the one person to go to really get things done. We went and saw the car this morning. Completely unbelievable. If I had a photo it would not do it justice. I have never seen a car wreck look this bad before. It looked like that the car first was pushed underneath the oncoming truck, and was then rear-ended by the one he was trying to pass (he was driving a 4-door Nissan.) The whole car completely sandwiched and is maybe 8 feet long now. There is not one inch of this car that wasn’t destroyed.

Afterwards, we went to his sister’s home not far from here to give our condolences. I ended up meeting his widow and son, and his mother. I held the hand of a woman older than my grandmother that was mourning for her son younger than my father. I’m guessing these are the lessons I’m supposed to be learning in a Harsh Reality.

A very surreal moment. Sorry, Mr. Hermann. You will be very much missed.

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We’re hoping that this weekend will get our mind off of it. According to Damara tradition, the funeral cannot take place for a week. This weekend we were all planning on going camping out in the desert, on the outskirts of the mountain Spitzkuppe. You can look it up online – I’m hoping to take plenty of pictures, including those of Bushmen Rock paintings. Very cool stuff. We’ll be leaving tomorrow morn, and coming back Sunday morning, so its no big trip – just an opportunity to do something fun. All we got packed is food, a sleeping bag, and plenty of water and sunscreen. I’m jealous of all you guys getting snow and wind. It’s been about 115 for the past couple of days…damn its hot…

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As it turned out, this weekend was exactly what I needed. There’s nothing like camping, and there’s especially nothing like camping when it’s done in the middle of an African savannah. We left early around Saturday morning, just in time for the sun to be hid among a grouping of rain clouds. Spitzkuppe is a series of mountains, mainly used by the local population for “semi-precious” mineral mining. Basically this means that you can buy unpolished topazes and aquamarines alongside the road en route. We decided to start climbing early, and attempted one of the smaller peaks that overlooked our camp site (around 250m.)

Word of warning – never take 4 guys, and put them into a situation in which they feel the need to prove themselves.

Since we easily accomplished such feats and were of course, REAL men – we audaciously decided to climb the main peak of Spitzkuppe, which is a measly 1,584 meters. Between 3 and 4 hours later, we finally reached what would be our summit, about 150-180 meters from the top. Unfortunately, one needs climbing equipment to reach the summit. (Ish, this is one more reason for you to visit!) We saw Bushmen rock paintings, rock springs, endemic insects, and a family of Marmats, small mammals that resemble a cross between Brando and foot long guinea pigs.

We spent about an hour at the top, to both admire the view and to wait for our brains to receive ample supplies of blood. After the cramping and dizziness wore off, we gracefully tumbled towards the bottom. While it does help to have gravity on your side, we’ll admit that going down hurts much more than going up. Sudden pressures on your ankles, and enough rough rocks to ache the hands of a blacksmith, everyone received their share of bruises, cuts, scrapes, sudden and unexpected brushes with death, tumblings, food cravings, and minor bouts of dehydration. Oh yes – in the 26 hours we were gone, the four of us drank about 10 liters of water. Not a whole lot….but all in all, a fun time for everyone!

Note to Kristen: I received your message!!!! And no, it wasn’t too late to call, but since I was in the middle of nowhere, I had absolutely no cell phone reception. Damn this African terrain, why can’t it be like America with cell phone towers every 90 feet?