Pool Party at Swiss Chalets


Our friend Steve from Australia is staying at a little resort community outside of Windhoek. The Swiss Chalets reminded me of a certain dipping sauce I so miss now that I am away from home. (Quarter chicken dark please ;) We had overcast skies that Sunday afternoon but that did not stop us from having a great time lazing around the pool.
 

What is that mysterious looking meat in the centre left? That's exactly what I asked Tobias when he threw it on the grill. Toby Won bought a nice juicy shin steak for the brai. That bone seen through the middle is therefore shin bone, or the leg of a cow! When it cooked it curled up making it very unpleasant to look at. I am feeling nauseous just thinking about it!
  

Here I am enjoying the pool party vibe with my woggle!

  

A great day with a great bunch of expats, foreign students, and NGO's.
  

Back to La Dee Da's on Saturday



La Dee Da's was slow on Saturday but they did have a fashion show by Puma Namibia. It seemed that some people came just for the show. We had the dancefloor to ourselves for the most part. Here are some modeling shots I snatched:

Highly Recommended

OTS Turntables is software for controlling the play of mp3 and wav files. You can set up your playlist and mix in the next track with the mixer and effect console. You can also set up the automatic DJ to do the mixing for you. This is a highly recommended tool available for free from http://otsturntables.com/

 

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

Lately I have been craving a big messy subway sandwich. Sandwiches don’t seem to be overly popular here in Windhoek. There are many Pie Shops where people buy meat buys but few sandwich shops.

Last night I made my own toasted subs. I bought some nice fresh bread, sliced avocado, tomato, and gouda cheese. I baked the sandwich in the oven at 250 degrees for 10 minutes. The cheese melted so nicely all over the warmed tomato and avocado. I added sweet and spicy dipping sauce and salt and pepper. It was awesome.


 

Independance Day 2006: 16 Years of Independance in Namibia

Independance stadium was packed. It's too bad that most of the people were uninterested in the speeches by the President and public officials. It is my understanding hat most of the people were bussed in from poorer ares of the city. Many of my colleagues from work were uninterested in going. I enjoyed hearing the speeches and the festivities were overall quite entertaining.

My Minolta Dimage S404 has served me well since my last camera was stolen from me during a break and enter back in Toronto. I figured that it would take the test of time and last me through my time in Namibia. Unfortunately I was wrong about this. The camera started giving me errors when I turned it on and I lost many a great shot resetting so I get the photo.

I priced cameras here in Namibia but found them costly and limited in availability. I considered having one purchased in Toronto and shipped to me by family however the chance of it being lost or damaged in transit was too risky.

I checked EBay South Africa which is almost non-existent for a camera close to Namibia. It seemed that getting a camera in Namibia was going to be a problem. If you use EBay frequently you will know that many sellers from developed nations are skeptical about shipping to Africa. There have been quite a few scams that find their origins in Africa. Here is an example:

Dear seller,
I really want to buy this item and i need a seller who is ready to sell,I will be paying 750euro for this item and you will ship it to my client in Nigeria.
(1)I will be paying you by western Union Auction Payment(Bidpay).
(2)You will ship the item by FEDEX,DHL,UPS,EMS.
(3)You will ship the item to my client immediately you recieve my payment approval from the western union.

If you agree with these stated terms,send me your full name and address so that i can go to the western union office immeidately to make payment for the item.

Luckily I had a colleague on her way to Australia for a vacation. I immediately began checking EBay Australia for local deals. Time was running short so I had to quickly make the transaction so that the camera would be shipped before my colleague returned to Namibia.

The prices were very good in Australia so I had a wealth of options to choose. I opted to go portable and with a brand I have always trusted.

Welcome the Minolta Dimage X to my arsenal of cameras! This little number fits in my pocket, thus I can take it everywhere with me. It arrived in fantastic condition. Only downside is that it comes with one of those wacky Australian adapters! I hope to be able to get more ground level photos on the site in the coming months.
 

Dear Michael,
Are you eating well?
Raw Vegetable Salad:

Chop two ripe tomatoes into bite sized chunks
Dice one green pepper into bite sized chunks
Drain one can of canned corn
Add spicy feta cheese cubes
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix thoroughly
...yum

ITS User Group Conference 2006-Gaborone, Botswana

The Gaborone International Conference Centre. We spent most of our time in this building attending presentations, seminars, and speeches. The hotel was by far one of the nicest I have ever had the pleasure to stay in.

Inside the conference centre. Here in the lobby we had daily tea at 10am and 3pm. In the evening it was drinks before dinner in the main room.

Simon and Juanita in the conference centre. I work in the same department as Juanita every morning in the ITS Support Centre. Simon is the Manager of Auxiliery services and was our designated driver for the trip.

Here we see Rudolph our systems administrator, Tjivee representing finance, Sadia our bursar, and Chuma the assistant registrar.

Tjivee, Sylvia representing human resources, Hayres represting finance, Juanita, Rudolph and Simon having tea on the lawn after the opening session.

Antonia representing the dean of students, Chuma, Sylvia, unknown, Marsha director of ITS support (who I also work closely with), and Tjivee. Standing at back, Juanita, unknown, Rudolph and myself.

ITS organized a formal evening on Monday where everyone was required to dress up. We had an amazing dinner with just about everything you could imagine. There was also a live band playing both african and western hits.

Here is the entire crew reprenting the Polytechnic of Namibia just before entering the main hall.

Gaborone was not overly impressive. I can say that the people are amazingly friendly and for the most part service was far superior to that received in Namibia. Botswana has a fairly strong currency and economy so I suppose my expectations were high. The city seems to be poorly planned but quite possibly it just suffered growing pains as the economy soared.

Antonia, Chuma and Tjivee are not impressed by the shopping! This is the main promenade in the central business district.

Shmoozing before dinner. Tuesday's evening was supposed to be a pool party but we got rained out.

ITS managment took us out to the bar after dinner. We were commended as being ITS' oldest client now going on 20 years.

We were invited to the University of Botswana where we took a tour of their beautiful campus. The grounds are quite large and state of the art.

The girls at KFC demanded I get a picture of them.

The drive to Gaborone was long and arduous. It took us 12 hours each way. You can imagine sitting in a car for 12 hours! The worst part is, for the most part, there is nothing to see. Botswana is flat, very flat. There were few animals en route and often we would go hours without even seeing a human being!

We didnt pass many towns on our drive. Even gas stations were few and far between. This is a very informal gas station we found when we were in desperate need of petrol.

Invasion
We spotted this little guy at the border post between Namibia and Botswana. He seemed to be laying eggs as his rear was planted in the ground and he was wiggling around. My colleague told me that very soon these things would be all over Windhoek. They can't fly, but they move pretty quick overground and are super creepy.  

Went to the 21^st birthday party of a young Namibian woman last Saturday.  The ceremony was much like that of a wedding.  We were all required to dress formally and our clothes had to be within the range of red or black.  The birthday girl was led in by her father as Boys 2 Men crooned on about how hard it was to say goodbye to yesterday.

It was quite a dramatic scene.  All of the pertinent family members had to give a speech as the young woman was made to sit up on a pedestal at the front of the room. Unfortunately for me most of the speeches were in Afrikaans, but 'buya buya buya danke' anyhow. 

We had a really nice dinner and afterwards some party games for the best dressed man and woman.    

I did not take pictures at this event as it was more of a private family affair.  The family is of Baster origin.  You can find out more about the Rehoboth Basters here.  The Basters are a very proud group.  The tradition in this culture is to celebrate the 21^st birthday for a boy or girl with a huge party.  The child is awarded with a gold key if they have been good and not gotten themselves into too much trouble in the first 21 years of their life.

I had to get up early and prepare for my trip to Botswana so I was gone before the dancing started. 

I will be traveling east and into Botswana as we attend this years annual ITS user group conference. The conference is it to be held at the Gaborone Conference Centre. We will be meeting with other institutions throughout the world that use the ITS enterprise wide education management software. I look forward to brushing shoulders with people from South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ireland and possibly Bolivia.

We are staying at the Grand Palms Hotel Gaborone. There are lectures and workshops planned for most of the day but the nights are rumored to be great fun. I look forward to sharing my photos late next week. I shall return Thursday March 16, 2005.

  
Botswana, one of Africa's most stable countries, is the continent's longest continuous multi-party democracy. It is relatively free of corruption and has a good human rights record.

It is also the world's largest producer of diamonds and the trade has transformed it into a middle-income nation.

Botswana protects some of Africa's largest areas of wilderness. It is sparsely populated, because it is so dry. The Kalahari desert, home to a dwindling band of Bushman hunter-gatherers, makes up much of the territory and most areas are too arid to sustain any agriculture other than cattle.

Politics
The government wants the remaining Bushman population of the Kalahari game reserve to move to nearby towns. It denies reports that some Bushmen have been forced off their ancestral land.

In the late 1800s Britain formed the protectorate of Bechuanaland, preventing territorial encroachment of Boers from the Transvaal or German expansion from South West Africa. In 1966 Bechuanaland became independent as Botswana.

Botswana was a haven for refugees and anti-apartheid activists from South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s, but had to tread carefully because of its economic dependence on the white-ruled neighbour, and because of South Africa's military might.

More recently, the country has seen an influx of illegal immigrants seeking respite from the economic crisis in neighbouring Zimbabwe.

Botswana, which once had the world's highest rate of HIV-Aids infection, has one of Africa's most-advanced treatment programmes. Anti-retroviral drugs are readily available.

However, the UN says more than one in three adults in Botswana are infected with HIV or have developed Aids. The disease has orphaned many thousands of children and has dramatically cut life expectancy.

Botswana is trying to reduce its economic dependence on diamonds. Safari-based tourism - tightly-controlled and often upmarket - is an important source of income.

Quick Facts
    * Population: 1.8 million (UN, 2005)
    * Capital: Gaborone
    * Area: 581,730 sq km (224,607 sq miles)
    * Major languages: English (official), Setswana
    * Major religions: Christianity, indigenous beliefs
    * Life expectancy: 36 years (men), 37 years (women) (UN)
    * Monetary unit: 1 Pula = 100 thebe
    * Main exports: Diamonds, copper, nickel, beef
    * GNI per capita: US $4,340 (World Bank, 2005)
    * Internet domain: .bw
    * International dialling code: +267

Source: BBC
  

After the wonderful time at the Oanob Dam last weekend. I suggested we check out the Avis Dam which serves Winhoek's water needs and is located not far from the city centre.

 

It was as picturesque as Oanob and offered some excellent hiking. Here we are high above the dam looking out to the water below.

La dee dee, la dee da

On Saturday we had a night out at La Dee Da's a local nightclub. There we witnessed a performance by local artists 'The Dawg' and 'Sunny Boy'. It was a fantastic mix of crowds and we had an amazing evening!

'The Dawg' doing their thing. They really got the crowd going.

Outside Jim and I got some advice on women from these two gentleman. ;)

Bobotie is a South African dish consisting of spiced, minced meat baked with a custard topping. The recipe probably originates from the Dutch East India Company colonies in Batavia. The name comes from the Indonesian word 'Bobotok'.

Bobotie is a dish of some antiquity: it has certainly been known in the Cape of Good Hope since the seventeenth century, when it was made with a mixture of mutton and pork. Nowadays it is more likely to be made with beef or lamb, although pork lends the dish moistness. Early recipes incorporated ginger, marjoram and lemon rind; the invention of curry powder has simplified the recipe somewhat but the basic concept remains the same. Traditionally, bobotie incorporates dried fruit like raisins or sultanas, but the sweetness that they lend is not to everybody's taste.

Bobotie was transported by South African settlers to colonies all over Africa, and recipes for it can be found originating from white communities in Kenya, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. There is also a delicious variation that was popular among the 7,000 Boer settlers who settled in the Chubut Valley in Argentina in the early 20th century, in which the bobotie mixture is packed inside a large pumpkin, and the pumpkin baked until tender.

Ingredients
1 kg minced beef
1 slice of white bread, crust removed
200ml milk
2 eggs
100g butter
20ml lemon juice
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of crushed garlic
½ teaspoon mild curry powder
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped, blanched almonds
6 fresh orange or bay leaves
50g seedless raisins or dry fruit (optional)


Cooking instructions

Preheat your oven to 170ºC. In a shallow dish, pour 100ml of milk over the bread and leave to soak. In a frying pan melt the butter over a medium heat, and add the onion and garlic. Cook for a minute or two until the onion begins to colour, and then add the curry powder, turmeric and pepper. Cook for another minute, stirring well, and remove from the heat. Drain the milk from the bread and add the soaked bread to the mince, then add the cooked onion mixture, salt, lemon juice and almonds, and the raisins if you decide to include them. Mix the meat mixture well, kneading it with your hands to amalgamate the flavourings.

Generously grease a baking dish and scatter the cumin seeds inside. Spoon in the meat mixture, pressing it down to ensure a flat surface, and bake for 40 minutes or until it begins to colour on the top. Beat together the remaining 100ml milk and the two eggs and pour the mixture over the meat. Roll the orange or bay leaves into cylindrical 'cigars', and poke them into the mixture so that a little of the leaf roll protrudes above the surface of the egg custard, and bake the dish for another 10 minutes.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Labels: Recipes