A Mix

This post is kind of a mix of events, mainly outlining the transition between our time with Sybil, and then our time out in the bush with Pieter.

At the end of our second day in Chokwe, we drove across the street with Sybil to meet Pieter Ernst in his office at World Relief... but before that I went to the big market in town escorted by Sybil. Which was quite an experience. I bought a number of Capulana's, local cloth which is gorgeously screen printed. Sybil and I got a great chance to talk, and she was telling me how the crime rate in Chokwe has skyrocketed - with the main issue being theft. Carjacking is a big black market industry in Chokwe - essentially I could say, "Get me a Toyota Camry and I will pay you x amount of dollars," and they will typically head down to South Africa, shoot a driver of a Camry through the window, and steal the car... it's a terrible tragedy and what's even worse is the police are corrupt enough to just turn a blind eye to it. So unsuspecting to me, we ran into one of these thieves in the market, and Sybil struck up a conversation with him (She is pretty well known in town)... and later translated for me after he struck off down another alleyway in the market. Basically, this thief was looking at me (I honestly stuck out like a sore thumb - a straw hat, flip flops, a hawaiian shirt, and a camera is about as close to the epitome of a tourist figure as possible) with stealing in mind. He told Sybil that he would have stolen from me had she not been there... needless to say I was glad I was under Sybil's wing.

The little African girl you see is Morticai's twin sister. Notice the difference in skin tone

And the town shot is right outside the gate to Sybil's house - notice the amount of trash just piled up - the roads in Chokwe are absolutely atrocious and the town is riddled with trash and refuse...