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From the scene – week no. 11
09/10/2023
What's happening on the site.
We have started pouring concrete for the columns, for technological reasons we have to divide the pouring into several phases. We are also continuing to tie the reinforcement of the lintels and the wreath. At the same time, we are still finishing the formwork so that the concreting of the individual elements can proceed smoothly.
We have a fire outside our house on Monday night, but we're keeping calm. It happens here quite often, the locals burn parts of the land. We go to sleep with the sound of a roaring fire and hope that our fence will remain untouched until morning.
We've been on a roll since Tuesday morning. We're anxiously awaiting the arrival of the bricks. And finally! After two months, when we had to change the process, the technology and the look of the building due to delays, the machines are finally here. We are so excited that we start training the locals this afternoon and "print" the first batch of bricks. The next few days are a bit of a struggle, we have to convince the local volunteers that we need to do as we say. We teach them how to regularly lubricate and maintain the bricks, and slowly we get going. By the end of the week we have the process down and the locals are able to work pretty much on their own. Everyone's mood is getting better. The locals are glad they don't have to spend all day just shoveling sand and dirt.
On Thursday, Honza arrives. Our court photographer. He's also bringing a drone and you can soon enjoy with us shots we wouldn't have gotten to otherwise.
Safari Nsobe
On Sunday we have a long-awaited trip planned. We are going to a nearby park for a safari. We start the tour with lunch at a restaurant. The wait is long, but they have good coffee in a French press. With a full cup we forgive everything. No sooner have we finished our meal than the monkeys rush past us and our awesome adventure begins.
We start the tour in the snake pavilion. The guide shows us a tiny harmless snake, the braver ones take it in their hands. It's not unpleasant. We continue on, various snakes look at us from the terrariums, some bites have no antivenom. The feared black mamba is not missing at the end. From now on, we're looking underfoot again for a couple of days whenever we go to a construction site. No sooner do we recover from the information about the poisons, the guide brings out a large constrictor. A few of us get over our fear and go to pet the snake. But to encounter it somewhere in the wild, well, best not to think.
They have an African crocodile just down the road. We learn a lot of interesting information, for example, that they live up to 150 years, that they open their mouths to cool themselves. He also told us a story where it was raining heavily and due to the rush of water, the crocodile got out of its enclosure and into the lake that is in the park and connected to its enclosure, so the guide hunted it in a canoe, jumped in and swam with it back to its enclosure. Well, you can see that Mr. Guide lives for it and it's a pleasure to see a man who enjoys his work.
We split into two groups, get in our cars and head out into the wilderness. We drive for a while and the first thing we see are cows. Yeah, nothing we didn't know, but they were just up to our waist and we could walk right up to them. And now it comes, suddenly we see antelope crossing a little further on, one after the other, crossing a small river and we just look on in admiration. We get in our cars, climb out of the windows to make the most of the view. Zebra, there's a zebra... We pull over and quietly approach for the best shots. It's beautiful. We drive on, shaking our heads at the termite dwellings, which are many and together look like a small cemetery. We meet antelope again. We take a longer circular route and reach the end. "Shall we do a smaller circuit?", Peter asks, and off we go. On the way we stop at lodges for accommodation, in the park it is possible to spend the night and watch the birds in the morning and the sunsets in the evening. Unfortunately we don't have time to sleep this time, we have enough work to do on the construction site. But it doesn't matter, we keep going, slowing down because of the uneven terrain when we look to the right. Giraffe! Less than 50 metres away. We stop and slowly walk closer. It's not escaping. We take pictures and admire the spectacle. The giraffe suddenly runs off, but only a little further and look, there's two of them. We know it's not easy to spot a giraffe in the park, not everyone is lucky. On the way out of the park, wild pigs are still crossing our path. We wouldn't want to see them just like that.On the way home we recall each other's experiences and arrive in time for dinner. We go to bed, wake up at 6am.
But look at the pictures, it's worth it.
And a little bit of life in Kashitu…