Mosi-Oa-Tunya- The Smoke that Thunders

Pictures from the Zambian side of Victoria Falls

The Falls from the Plane

The Falls at nearly full capacity. We couldn't see in many parts due to all the mist!

Laura and I after our soaking.

Victoria Falls bridge separating Zambia from Zimbabwe and the site of the 3rd highest bungee jump.

Zimbabwe side Zambia side

Zambia and Botswana

Just got back from a long weekend trip to Victoria Falls in Zambia and Chobe National Park in Bostwana. The flight to Livingstone was only 2 hours- the same amount of time as traveling to Cape Town! I went with a fellow American, Laura, who is staying in Pretoria for 6 months, whom I met through a mutual friend, Susan, back in San Francisco. The first thing we did was meet up with my coworker Maurice and his wife Daisy (expats from Holland) on the African Queen sunset cruise down the mighty Zambezi River. Just the thing to help us all get into relaxation mode after a stressful couple weeks at work!

NSM 2008

One thing that has made my transition here easy is the group of people I work with everyday. Without them, not only work, but life would be difficult. They care for each other and have welcomed me with open arms. We all got together this past weekend for the National Sales Meeting and also had some meetings before that starting with dinner at Glenda's house to kick off the launch of our new product portfolio. Good food, great company...

Winter has arrived

I took another quick trip to Bloem late last week and when I woke up the next morning, it was 2degC. Brrr... Our National Sales Meeting was held this past weekend just 40 minutes outside of Joburg in the bush at Kloofzicht Lodge near the Cradle of Humankind. The mornings were freezing cold evidenced by all the frost on the ground and smoke rising from the water. As the morning continued, more smoke rose as the air got warmer and ground remained cold. It was a gorgeous sight. Not only that, animals were everywhere just next to the road and bungalows. Eland, springbok, impala, buck...just eating away.

Port Elizabeth

I am just finishing a short weekend business trip to Port Elizabeth. Having just got back from the U.S. I wasn't in the mood to spend too much time here and was eager just to be in Joburg to settle. So, although I've flown to PE twice already, I still have not seen PE. Hopefully, the next time I visit (which may be in 2 weeks), I'll get a chance to explore. The great thing though about this trip was the chance to meet people from PE, East London, and Bloemfontein and converse with them about life in SA.

2 weeks in America

My trip back to San Francisco and Minneapolis was great. Running along Marina Green and Chrissy Field, drinking wine in Sonoma, surfing in Santa Cruz, hiking at Big Basin, seeing my family, shopping with mom, catching up with good friends, and eating lots of great food especially sushi- I have nothing to complain about. One small luxury I realized I missed was being able to order soy lattes at coffee shops. The first shop I saw arriving into the States out of customs in D.C. was a Starbucks. I couldn't resist and ordered myself a tall soy latte. :)

6 months...

It's been quite busy for me between work and play. The month of April has just flown by and not only have I reached my 6 month anniversary here in South Africa, I am looking forward to my trip back "home" in a week. It's crazy how time passes. I am convinced that time goes faster as you grow older. I celebrated my 6 months by flying to Bloemfontein in the Free State for work (joke). Although Bloem is not really any place to brag about, I at least finally made it there and experienced being in the middle of the country. I think this was my record for shortest trip- Left at 3pm on Wednesday and returned 10am on Thursday.