Spring Break in the Kalahari

     My first impression of the volunteers who greeted us at Modisa was "Man!  There're so many of them!"  When I was at the Elephant Valley Project, we never had more than 4 volunteers at one time, and at Moholoholo there were about 6-8 of us.  It seemed like SWARMS at Modisa, and in fact, there were about 25 of us!

     The second impression was "My God---they're so young."  The first week I was there, the "senior" volunteer was Mofrid.  This elderly person is pictured here, and in my eyes,
she looked like a young super-model.  She was all of 36 years old.  When she went home to Norway after my first week, the volunteer next oldest to me was 26 years old.



     And, like young people the world over, these kids liked to PARTY!  All week long, most everyone retired early and got up early, but Saturday nights were for partying.  And party they did.  I would wake up in the wee hours and hear the music blasting and hear the laughter and shrieks and reflect that while I had never travelled to Fort Lauderdale for spring break, I was, at this late stage in my life, experiencing the Fort Lauderdale spring break experience, only in the middle of the Kalahari!  
     And what a strange sensation it was, to hear music and loud cheer emanating from what has to be one of the most isolated places on Earth!  
      I enjoyed it--from a distance--but I enjoyed it.

    Well, of COURSE, I felt every single one of my 61 years, but the volunteers themselves didn't seem to care.  They were uniformly friendly and generous-spirited.  We shared books, fears, and experiences,  past and future, and some confided their problems to me.  I was flattered to be made to feel one of the group.

     Here are some shots of the volunteers!