Lending a helping hand...

Thank goodness my brother decided to take my mom's car to use in New York. We put it to good use to help move around some donated toys and clothes with the goal to get all of it back to RSA. Chris flew into New York from South Africa for 24 hours so we could together bring back at least half of the 300 lbs of toys, clothes, and crayons. A log of the toy's journey: Ontario Cananda, Michigan, put on a Greyhound bus headed to Port Authority in Manhattan, via taxi to Brooklyn, 1/2 on to RSA and 1/2 stored in New Jersey. A crazy ride for this stuff all for the good to bless lots of little ones in Alexandra (the township that the church I attend works with extensively).

The Greyhound station and mid-town Manhattan outside of Port Authority.

I want to say thanks to Judy for entertaining me and helping me with the Manhattan portion of the leg! This is her lifting the bins out of the taxi in Brooklyn (where my brother lives).

Chris digging through the stuff.


All 6 bins, 300 lbs of stuff outside Jeff's apartment.

I (heart) America

I just got back from a quick trip to the US for work which gave me the chance to get together with old friends and see family. This time I stayed East and confined my visit to New York (direct flight to/from Joburg) and Boston (for work). Some things in America I miss: public transportation (trains, buses, subway), walking around the neighborhood on your own, food (good chinese, brunch food other than an english breakfast, Starbucks soy lattes, Dunken Donuts to name a few), running outside, long-time friends, and family. Thanks everyone. Especially to those who traveled from D.C (Tina) and Philly (Judy) to NY to see me!

View of Manhattan from Brooklyn

Mother's Day Lunch with the cousins, Jeff, Emily, Tina, and baby Stephen

Tina, Peter, and I at The Cloisters

Driving over the Brooklyn Bridge

Judy and I getting italian ice

Yummy cupcakes...

Cape Town beaches...

I took a business trip to Cape Town 2 weeks ago and our dinner plans cancelled so I took the chance to walk on the beach down the street from my B&B. Too bad I didn't bring my running shoes on this trip. It would have been an awesome run.

Public holidays are GREAT!

May 1 was the last of a run of public holidays in South Africa. In fact, last week was the first full week of work in a month! Cheryl, Annie, and a couple of girls and I went to the Magaliesburg mountains to hike. Unfortunately, the day started off overcast and rainy but we went anyway and took our chances. The sun eventually did show itself. It was great to just get out of Joburg and be outside.

2 Star Diver!

I took what I expect to be my last diving trip in South Africa this past long weekend to Sodwana. Also decided to get my 2 Star (equivalent to Advanced) certification so I can now officially dive to 30m. I realized why I like diving- all the worries and stresses of life go away due to the nitrogen uptake. You really don't think about anything! We had ok weather conditions with strong currents above and below the surface, and also rain on one of the dives which actually was a blessing in disguise because the storm opened up the skies and cleared the water for the last day where we ended with a lekker dive at Chains on 2 Mile reef. We could see the bottom from the surface!

Dewald, Heidi, me, Johann, Elsie

Election Day in SA

Tomorrow marks apparently the biggest, most anticipated election since 1994 when Mandela was voted into the presidency. There are 26 parties to choose from, all of them except one (the ANC) knowing they will not win. The goal for the rest of them is to spread the vote so the ANC does not receive 2/3 of the vote which prevents them from being able to change the constitution. Another reason I heard why people go out and vote knowing their vote may not make a difference is so they have a right to complain afterwards. Hmmm... (And btw, they actually give everyone the day off to go and vote so tomorrow is another public holiday for us!)

Interesting times as the leader of the ANC has been quite controversial the past year but over the weekend, at the final rally for the ANC, Nelson Mandela rode in with Jacob Zuma to support him in the campaign. I'm sure that helped win many many undecided votes. Here is a picture from my visit into Soweto last weekend where there were many small rallys and fundraisers being held for Zuma and the ANC including this car wash.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090421/wl_nm/us_safrica_election_3
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090421/ap_on_re_af/af_south_africa_election_4

A tourist in Soweto

After 18 months living here, I finally made a point to go visit Soweto (stands for South West Township). I found Mandy's tour company (Imbizo Tours) in the guide books and gave her a call. Saturday turned out to be a fantastic day. It was a small group of us two from England, one from Holland, and me. While I did get to see all the typical tourist spots, it didn't seem like we were ticking off a list of sites. Rather, we journeyed through the range of living conditions and neighborhoods from multi-million rand homes to shacks. We had candid conversations with Mandy about life there before and after Apartheid and also bought food- pumpkin and cabbage- for the families in the shantytown of Kliptown as a Sunday treat.

site where the freedom charter was signed

buying pumpkin at the market

cabbage

the river in Kliptown where they do their washing

handing out cabbage to residents in Kliptown

hector pietersen memorial- he would have been my age!

me, Mandy, Silvia

The afternoon tour went into the night where we ended the day with dinner in Newtown- a neighborhood in Johannesburg I've been wanting to visit to check out the music scene but it's too dangerous if you are unfamiliar with the area.