Rusks

I was recently reminded that there is a good chance most of you reading my blog don't know what a rusk is. Here is a picture. Best dipped in coffee or tea and really good when you splurge and get the ones from Woolworths or rather, get your friend to splurge for you. If you happen to be in the Toronto area, I know a place where you can get 5 boxes of expired rusks for the price of 1. I wouldn't do it though...

UCT

Today I headed to a few of my old hang outs. Cavendish shopping mall and the University of Cape Town. The mall was a decent place to cruise through. Saw some interesting things, got the phone card I was looking for and put a dent in my Euros. Then I headed up to campus for lunch. There are so many great places to eat there but I had to get my toasted cheese and tomato sandwich, now available on whole wheat! Accompanied by an orange Fanta at last, I sat and watched student life go by. UCT is quite different from any other place in Cape Town I would say. Can't quite explain it but it is. Had a latte at another spot that used to sell mostly sandwiches and listened in on conversations around me, including an amusing one which involved a girl clarifying what exactly she had given up for Lent. Her friends claimed she'd given up the Jammie shuttle (that gets you from lower campus to upper campus) entirely, she said no, she just had to walk up or down once. Still not clear if that was once a day or once during Lent. I'll try to post a pic so you know why walking up to campus everyday can be less than desirable. For now, just remember the varsity is built into the side of a mountain.

My Ride

A Moment, from yesterday

Student: "How do you spell units?"

Me: "Well, what letter do you think it starts with?"

Student: shrugs shoulders

Me: "Okay, um, well, oh hey, you know G-Unit and 50 Cent**?"

Student: "Yeah!"

Me: "So, how do you spell Unit in G-Unit?"

Student: "Uh, u-n-i-t"

Me: "Exactly and this is units so..."

Student: writes units

Moral of the story...please somebody tell me.


**If you don't know who 50 Cent and these G-Unit characters are, they are I guess you would say gangsta rappers who've hit the mainstream and therefore lost some of their gangsta cred. Granted 50 Cent was shot 7 times or something so what do I know about cred? G-Unit are his entourage, homeis from the hood, who get to make records because 50 made it. With lines like "I love you like a fat kid loves cake" 50 is a true wordsmith.

And now, for your viewing pleasure

Finally some photos for you to look at.



The sunset on my first night back in Cape Town.




The bars add a certain coziness I can't quite describe



This is me



Lion's Head - to my right



Some of the 12 Apostles to my left

It's Greek to Me

Yesterday, somehow, I reached down into the depths of my brain and pulled out of I guess grade 9 math class with Ms. Tomiuk, the Pythagorean Theorem. Say what? Yeah, that along with the formula for caluclating the area of a triangle (1/2 base x height incase you need to know) and a desperate attempt to teach tricks for doing mental addition or sums, subtraction, multiplication and division. I'm attempting to help someone catch up in grade 10 math of which they've missed about a month of. Not having any clue of the curriculum, I'm just guessing what she needs to know. Needless to say, it's tough. Luckily, I'm working with her one on one. As for the other group of students, they got wind of the fact that the scary teacher wasn't showing up today so there was a whole lot of Harry Potter reading, Nancy Drew reading, colouring, drawing and coming and going to get water. In an attempt to restore some order, I made the kids sit quietly for a whole minute before they could leave. Technically they never made it as a kid shhhhhhd someone with 8 seconds to go. Good times all around.

Yesterday, I continued the family white rental car curse and locked my keys in the car. Genius or Genus as some of my friends would say. It was alright in the end. Got to hang out in a semi-dodgey downtown area where I was warned to keep my mobile away for fear of it being snatched in a run-by robbing. As mentioned before it was freakin' hot yesterday. I don't know if it was the heat or my brain trying to remember BEDMAS (the order in which to complete mathematical equations)but it took me hours to fall asleep. This may or may not explain why I feel exhausted. I don't actually think it's the complete answer so I'm trying to figure out why my energy levels are so low. Thanks to blood pressure tests conducted by Dr. 4 year-old, apparently my blood pressure is low. Maybe there are still traces of those questionably obtained anti-biotics in my system.

I keep hearing news of strange goings on at my former place of employment and yes, I'll tell you all, even my former co-workers reading this, with complete honesty, I made the right call. I would be losing it, as you can probably guess I still kind of am, over some of the crazy stuff happening. Besides, if I was back in TO, I'd be wondering if the heat in my apartment actually worked (sorry AC) and NOT getting to watch West Wing reruns every night! Yessssss. That is one of the highlights :)

Got to go get my toast.

Math tips, alphabet and number teaching tips, energy boosting tips and name remembering tips all welcome.

Happy Hump Day

The Heat is On

Well it's hot here again, I mean back in the 30s, which I'm not complaining about. I spent the weekend mostly indoors and asleep. I got hit with a pretty bad cold and the much anticipated return of a nice solid cough. I was just going to tough it out but my host suggested I head down to the pharmacy, drop his name and score some anti-biotics. So I did. After an intense three day course of anti-biotics and cough medicine, I'm feeling much better. There was no warning about the anti-biotics making you drowsy but they certainly did something to me. Combined with the drowse-inducing cough syrup it was a woozey couple of days.

I did go down to the Victoria & Albert Waterfront Mall with the family, where I enjoyed some mall wandering and a great seafood dinner.

Yesterday I started some one-on-one tutoring at my volunteering. We're supposed to work on English, which is tough because her spoken English sounds so good. I guess the focus is to be on comprehension and learning "big words". I am often asked how to spell things for students during homework time, which has never been my strong point. Add a weakness in spelling (as I'm sure you've noticed), to coming late to reading recreationally and top it all off with being a member of generation spell check, I find myself secretly typing words into my phone to see if the text complete will lead me in the right direction. How terrible is that?

Oh my gosh, I almost forgot. Yesterday, having to be in town rather than exclusively in Woodstock, I hit up my old stomping ground - Royale Eatery. It has greatly expanded from 5-years ago - starting out as 1/2 the first floor restaurant it is now, it now occupies 3 floors with - Royale Eatery, Royale Kitchen and The Waiting Room or something like that. Now with salads, pizza and pasta to choose from, I couldn't stray from a classic Royale with Cheese burger. I think I go there every day for the rest of my stay here and try a new delicious burger. I had my long-awaited, much anticipated sweet potato fries. The answer to why these are so delicious, I now believe is in the white sweet potatoes or yams used and the availability of a sweet chili dipping sauce. Mostly I like them with a lot of salt and next to a delicious burger of which I ate all 150g of. This meant a dinner of tea and 3 rusks was quite enough.

Anyway, I'll probably have to return to Royale at least once more but with a number of food places still on my list, it'll be hard to squeeze them all in. They do have live music at night, so perhaps I'll head back there one evening as I have yet to tap into the CPT music scene as effectively as when I was a student.

Thanks for reading

Photo From London

Evidence of the snow and proof that I was indeed in London.
Photo taken by an international photographer and artist.

Expired Stuff

Have you ever wondered what happens to all the food that expires without ever getting sold? You know, the price gets lower and lower but still it just doesn't get cleared from the shelves. Well today, on my way to pick up my car, I was walking through the taxi station and BAM, what did I see? I couldn't believe my eyes but it was Irn Bru! Now they sell Iron Brew here in a reddish - Dr. Pepper coloured can - and it is something different. This was the blue and orange can, pride of Scotland and it so wamred my heart I immediately walked up to the woman selling and said 'how much?' - Two for 5 Rand. Sho, she didn't even try to cheat me because of my appearance as happened a couple days ago when I payed 6 Rand for one flavoured water, when they were selling 2 for 6 Rand). But I digress.

She grabbed me two cold ones from deep down in the basin of ice and I happily handed over 5 Rand. I couldn't believe it. Irn Bru is tough to track down and you cannot get it in cans in Canada. You can hardly even find it in London. Anyway, I hopped into a mini bus and as I waited for it to fill up, I happily surveyed my purchases. Hmm, is this can rusty, I thought to myself as I checked for the origins of the beverage (South Africa but certified by Scotland or something). How long must it take for a pop can to get rusty I wondered. Let's see if soda has an expiriration date. Sure enough, there on the bottom was the date, 2008 08/07. Either way, that's July or August of 2008. Not really that long ago but if you think about it, how long must it take for pop to expire? I'm thinking a heck of a long time. I downed Irn Bru #1 while still cold just to check it out. Seems alright. I'm hoping rust has something the body needs in it though because I've got one more to go and can bare to chuck it or give it to someone.

In conclusion, I'm thinking expired food gets sent this way. Just another way to keep people on this continent down. Make them (and unsuspecting tourists trying to get some local flavour) sick off of goods that no one else will knowingly consume. Maybe not, maybe just not enough people in Scotland are buying Irn Bru. Either way, I'm pretty excited about finding it. Probably won't ever see it again. Must have a big night out in order to use it for its ultimate purpose as a hang over cure. So I've heard anyway.

Have a great weekend everyone.
No luck on photos for some weird reason.
Just use your imagination. I do have in store a pic from Glasgow of a shiny new can of Irn Bru, bought in 2007 - perhaps from the same batch that expired recently.

Untitled

Well, yesterday I discovered the hard way that, as it turns out, the mini bus taxis aren't always available when you need them. I've started volunteering at Ons Plek, in the early afternoons, which means I have to leave earlier than usual to head into town and then on to Woodstock. Instead of standing around waiting for a mini bus I started walking, hoping one would pass by and pick me up. Well, they did start going past me but they were all full. I should have known, as they don't like to leave the Camps Bay area unless they've got a full load, unlike on Main road where they drive up and down picking people up and dropping them off all the time. As the taxis drove by and I was still walking, I realized there was a very good chance I'd be walking all the way into town. So anyway, I spent yesterday afternoon on what would turn out to be an hour and a half long hike. Luckily it was a cooler day, sunny but a nice breeze. It was a good test for my knee which held up alright and a great way to get some forced activity in. I did mean I had less than an hour at Siviwe (Ons Plek 2nd house) before I had to rush off to St. Agnes Orphanage but there were 4 other volunteers there already so it didn't seem to be a big deal. Besides, I could just say I was operating on Africa time.

Today I'm heading out to pick up my ride so hopefully I won't have to go through that again. At least now I know of a good route if I'm ever interested in going for a walk one morning. Could be a good way to rebuild some endurance and stamina for when I'm in New Zealand. I also finally got to take photos of the canons just down from Signal Hill that I've never had a chance to.

Anyway, this feels like a boring post to me. Maybe because the movie Stepmom is on in the background and Julia Roberts' bad hair and hilarious style are providing an odd distraction.

Better get my act together and head into town. Wish me luck, not really in the mood to walk all the way there this time.

Luna

Back to the Drawing Board

Well after all this waiting, I have just been informed that there isn't really space for me in the Morning Scool at Ons Plek as I had hoped. Shame.
Apparently I'm still welcome to help out in the afternoon but this will be tricky to juggle as I already have an afternoon committment. I may be able to alternate between the two but I'm not sure that would be best for the students.
I guess I can always spend my mornings at the beach...

Marie biscuits, overpriced fruit, grape Fanta and more

Well hello again, today, I went to volunteering again. Still haven't heard back from Ons Plek so will have to call in the morning. Anyway, went to the place in Woodstock and as I was going to arrive a little early, I walked around looking for my 5 Rand fruit friend. As I couldn't find him, I opted to buy 3 peaches on their own. The guy gave them to me and asked for 10 Rand - sho, not the deal I was looking for. Instead, I bought myself a grape Fanta to quench my thirst. Oh, I got down from the mountain by walking at first but about 6 minutes in, I was greatly relieved to come across a mini bus taxi, which are running again, for the moment.



I also stopped into an old time favourite, Shoprite, in Woodstock. Good for some slightly less expensive food, a definite savings compaired to Pick 'N Pay in Camps Bay. Came across Marie biscuits, an old and cheap favourite. Will have to get some more exotic biscuits next time but I can't over-indulge all at once. As luck would have it, outside the Shoprite, a man was selling fruit and there was a mixed bag, just one left, calling my name out. This wsa 6 Rand and had a slightly varried selection. Good to have anyway. Also bought some museli/granola which they do exceptinonally well here.

As you can see, I've thrown in some photos of the view from the living room of the house I'm staying in. I used the web cam on the computer to capture the caged beauty. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Alison

A Photo!

Hello all, here I am in Kierstenbosch Botanical Garden. It was a lovely day out and it was wonderful to just stroll around the gardens, set right into the side of the mountains. I was overcome with a great urge to take off for the top so I took a few steps up a path just for a taste. Good thing it was just a taste because the knee is not ready just yet. Settled for a nice relaxing lunch instead.
How's that for a first photo?
Don't expect more anytime soon. Sorry.

Ons Plek

Here is where I'm hoping to spend my mornings.

Please give a read. It is a very well thought out and organised organization. Why the 's' and the 'z' just mixing it up - a little South African spelling with some Canadian on the side.

http://www.onsplek.org.za/

Take some time to look it over. Not so much for myself as for those truly involved and living this life daily.

Cheers

Newlands

I'm spending the weekend at a friend's in Newlands. Newlands is right near the rugby and cricket pitch where the Cape Town teams play and is much closer to my old stomping ground. I feel as though I'm back in familiar territory. Thus far, we've ordered Chinese food, which we have yet to eat as we are waiting on a third party, and have attempted to make our own glazed bananas. A complete and utter failure. Although it did result in many laughs and we will get to eat a bowl of sugary, sugary bananas so it's not all bad.

Oh, the main accomplishment is that I've made a deposit to hire a car. I have to wait until next thursday but I managed to get an automatic! Very hard to come by in these parts. Major issue - I don't think it has power steering. What? What? How do cars exist without power steering anymore? Yeah, play around with that one. I might be better off on a bike. Anyway, this should increase my freedom and make sure I don't fall further pray to the whims of the mini bus taxi strikes. I do love a good strike/protest but how inconvenient really ;) I'll be sure to ride the mini buses from time to time anyway because I do genuinely love them and it is more fuel efficient to carpool than not.

Not sure what else the weekend holds but it should be nice to be in a different part of town, just to mix things up.

Hope you're all keeping well.
Sala kahle.

Alison

No Photos

Sorry about the lack of photos. Haven't gotten a medium to upload them sorted yet. If I do find a place, then you'll be overwhelmed with sunset photos. I don't like to carry my camera around much but I suppose I will have to start.

Day 2 of the taxi strike means I'm still not volunteering. I've found another place though to go to in the mornings. Once I start there, next Monday I think, I'll write more.

Happy Thursday.

Lunch time.

Like Art?

Check out my friend's website.

www.juliananeufeld.com

She's making a go of it in Toronto.

Polls and Protests

Thanks for voting in my first ever poll. I guess ultimately agree that 600 Euros is one sweet pay day. It's the lifelong emotional damage, which I've already supressed, that I'm most concerned about ;)
Now, what to spend that money on...

Judging by the time of this post if you happen to bother to do the math, you mght think I should be volunteering right now. This is true, however, I've run into a bit of a snag, as has most of the city. The mini bus taxis are on strike! The government wants buses to take over transportation in and around Cape Town to ensure they have a proper system in place for the 2010 World Cup. This will put lots of people out of work and replace the mini buses I find so convenient. There are few problems with them - could be dangerous to get into from a personal safety and a vehicular safety perspective and they allegedly have mob type affiliations and are used to transport drugs and I'm guessing launder money, as well. However, they are affordable and efficient. Just yesterday, I felt right back at home once I hopped in for my first ride in 4 1/2 years. With signs like 'please keep the taxi clean, it is not a junk bin' and 'better to arrive late to work than early to hospital' how can you not feel good once crammed inside with 15-20 other passengers. I actually rode in a new one yesterday, I was delayed slightly when the driver pulled over for petrol but he was sure to make up the lost time as he raced down main road.

Hoping the strike doesn't last long as it keeps me even more stranded and I'd like to get back to homework time with the kids. I'm sure hundreds of thousands are hoping it doesn't last much longer either - the long walks many of the domestic workers face are obviously less than ideal.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on the expansion of public transport. If these mini buses go, I will certainly miss the money collector, his whistle and yelling out - aiy oh, Mowbray, Claremont, Wyenberg.

Best 5 Rand I've Spent

Yesterday on my way to volunteering, I had some time to pass so I wandered around the bus station, ensuring I looked like I had a purpose of course and with, as my dad would say, 'my Glasgow face on.' I found that for 5 Rand (let's say 80 cents, 70 US cents, 50 pence?) I could buy a bag of fruit. In this magical bag there were delicious green grapes, 2 different types of apples, a super juicy plum, a banana and a peach that looks like a large apricot, which it very well may be. All the fruit here is delcious, which somehow, I had forgotten. I'm pretty certain I'll be purchasing these bags of fruit on the regular.

Full Cream Milk and Savanna Dry

Well I realized or realised yesterday that I was pouring full cream milk in my cereal and coffee. I'm pretty sure this isn't whipping cream but it does help explain why I was staying full well into lunch time. I'll have to do something about that though as I thought I preferred the taste of skim and for health reasons I do. Today, we are low on milk so I went for my old university favourite cereal with water. Haha, unless you knew me through my uni days, you wouldn't have seen that coming. Sorry to gross you out.

Last night, I met up with another old friend who I worked with when I was here last. He had to head back to work - hectic times at the office - so we just went for a walk down in Camps Bay and then stopped for a drink. I didn't drink alcohol last time I was here but remembered a friend's favourite drink was Savanna Dry Cider. Being a cider fan myself, I went for it. It was delicious. Must harrass the LCBO upon my return to carry it. There is a chance the taste was amplified by the whole occassin - reuniting with an old friend by the ocean. Hard to know for sure ;)

Today will be my first day at the orphanage. I get to help out during homework time. Let's see what I can remember from my school days. Hopefully it's nothing too complicated. I never was good at naming the parts of a sentence. Wait, what's a pronoun again?

Time for more instant coffee.

Oh, it was cooler here last night, which I am going to credit for the crazy dream I had in which a friend informed me it was freezing in Cape Town - like 10-15 degrees. I was excited because it meant I could wear my sweatpants. Luckily I'll wear them in 20 degree heat, like I'm doing now.

Since I've Got the Time

A few things about Cape Town and South Africa.

1 - SA has no indiginous trees - all trees found here have been imported from far and wide, some dating back to the colonial days. This includes palm trees, whic sure are nice to have around but are essentially fake. SA is a land of bushes, hence red bush tea - better known as Rooibos.

2 - There is an election coming up in April. Probably a good thing I'm getting out of here by then as much as I love politics, old Zuma scares me. Why? Presha, Zuma Zuma Zuma heh! Okay, he's not the video game, or Gwen Stefani's second child, he is the new leader of the dominant ANC party and has some dodgey charges brought against him. Apparently he's bringing forward some very socialist ideas that are scaring away foreign investments. Crazy socialists! cough cough. But in all seriousness, I'm not sure what's going on and I certainly don't know what's best for the country. I just don't think Zuma is it. I don't think he's best for anyone.

3 - Last time I was here, vegetarians didn't stand a chance. I have since learned, it's taken hold and has become quite trendy. Still, I'm going to eat an ostrich steak and maybe some wharthog ribs. Poor little Pumba - hakuna matata was his motto though so I feel I'm absolved of my meat eating sins.

4 - Uh were you hoping for some historical information or what here? I'm just writing what pops into my head. Apparently, that's not much. Actually, I better click post. This might not work as I clicked send on an email 20 minutes ago and it's 'still working'.

Have a lovely day everyone.
Thanks for reading.

More about London

I guess I never said to much about my time in London. I mentioned the great Indian food which is impossible to pass up but didn't discuss my 2nd day there. I accidently slept in until 10:30 after claiming to be more of the 8:00 - 8:30 type of riser (please, someone vouche for me) so this cut into my time a little. However, I was still treated to a lovely walk along the River, ending up at the Tate Modern. It was a marvelous day out, about -2 and sunny - felt like an Ottawa spring thaw day. We stopped at an outdoor book market where I got to read some priceless words of colonial wisdom. Got to love the Brits and their ideas from the 1900s. Enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Tate Modern and took in a little of their permanent collection. I don't necessarily "get" art but I do enjoy looking, or perhaps the correct word here is glancing, at it.

Then we took a taxi ride home for convenience, speed and site seeing. Finally got up close to Marble Arch, which if you have ever taken a hop on hop off bus tour of London, you will know gets mentioned about four thousand times but you never seem to actually go past it.

Then of course it was off to Heathrow and then a night in the Hilton and time for more buffets as I've already mentioned. One interesting thing was a South African I met, kept saying 'are you sure we can take all of this?' and I had to assure him, yes, it's an all you can eat buffet, you can have whatever you want and as much of it. I tried to set a good example by taking extra fruit and snacks for later and telling him how I had taken all the tea bags and coffee from the room. He thought this was funny and probably thought it inappropriate as well.

That was London, the good times :)

Caffeine Headaches and False Alarms

Well, I'm back online. They have internet access here but I feel badly asking to use it all the time. Hopefully I'll get the login and then be able to access via my PSP, although typing on that thing will drastically cut down on how much I post here. Probably a good thing.

I've been experiencing headaches for the past 3 days, which I can link to a number of things. My first thought was exclusively dehydration and heat. I've been drinking water though so it didn't totally make sense. Then I thought it could be the muscle pain my shoulders, neck, back and entire body really has been in. My numbness (which some of you may have heard me complain about) has been acting up, in full force really. Finally, I realized that the headaches are connected to the most obvious answer of all. Caffeine withdrawal! I hadn't had a cup of coffee since the flight to Cape Town. Luckily, I took all the instant coffee available from each hotel room I stayed in and I've been drinking that. I think the soar neck still adds to the problem but with caffeine intake on my side, I'm doing much better.

Last night I went for dinner with my dear old friend Ida. It was lovely to reunite after 5 long years. I worked for her last time I was in Cape Town and she's invited me to spend the weekend with her next week. Seeing her meant I could unload my smuggled goods - an iPod for her granddaughter - at last. Oh, did I mention I got pulled aside at customs? I was about to stroll through the "nothing to declare" exit when I foolishly smiled at the guy in the "goods to declare" section. Well he asked me to go through there but much to my relief, he just asked me a few questions like 'do you have anything to declare? like cigarettes and alcohol?' and when I said no, he let me pass. Close call.

These posts are too long so I'll just break it down so far.
Yesterday went to Spier, place in wine country, for a picnic. Nice day in the shade. Last night dinner with Ida. Today rainy at first but now sunny and a cool breeze. This afternoon, going to orphanage to find out the situation. Hopefully get into some kind of routine just now (aka soon).

One note about false alarms. There are all these beeping noises all the time and 2 sets of armed response guards on patrol in this neighbourhood. Last night something went off but it must have been a false alarm since it was quieted quickly. No one let me know though so I tried to remain stealth for the next 1/2 hour or so.

Not sure when I'll get pictures up, haven't taken many yet anyway. I'll see if I can get something sorted though.

Feel free to post some words in Spanish if you guys know any. The grandmother and I seem to have a lot of time together - including going on walks - and really, I have no clue how to say anything!

Ole! (yes, I know, only appropriate to use Ole in Spain itself)

I Have Arrived

Alright, I'm here and it's beautiful. Was it a drama free final flight? You decide...I already have my answer.

Getting from the Hilton to Heathrow went off without a hitch. Getting our 600 Euros took some time but we finally got our pay day. Then, for me, it was off to Frankfurt. Fine there other than a lack of TVs on the flight but I think I fell asleep so that shows my fatigue level.

Then, we (me and a kind elderly British couple who got stuck on the same flight as me) wound our way around the Frankfurt airport to check in. We didn't have boarding passes yet. Much to my surprise and what shall I say? anger, disappointment, disbelief - yeah, disbelief - the flight from Frankfurt to Cape Town was oversold, as well, and there was no space for me. Again, I was offered compensation and the option of waiting a day or going through Johannesburg. Totally could not handle this so I broke down on a random bench. Some nice German lady asked me if I was okay so that helped. Anyway, headed to the gate anyway in an attempt to get on going standby. They tried to get me to take the money and the Jo'burg flight, which I really had no interest in but I also didn't want to not get on the direct, miss the Jo'burg and wind up in a hotel in Frankfurt overnight.

I took a chance and made it on at last. Oddly, people who checked in as standby after me, got on right away. I don't know what it is, maybe I seem like a push over or young and carefree but the whole thing has just been mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting.

Alas, here I am, in the most beautiful city I have ever seen. It is 30 odd degrees, sunny and the house I'm at, looks out at a palm tree and then the ocean. The ocean just goes on for miles and miles (obviously) and right now there is a sail boat off in the distance.

I have met Lily and Dominic - who both speak Spanish, so perhaps I'll pick some of that up while I'm here. Dominic (the 4 year old son), also speaks English. There is a puppy here - not sure what kind but he seems friendly and active. Also there is a gardner, whose name I'm not sure of yet and a housekeeper named Veronica.

Now that you all know I'm here safe and sound, I'm going to go lie down for a rest. I'll try to get some pictures up but for now just imagine peaceful beauty with a large dash of heat.

The weary traveller

Oh and not, I didn't meet any god or God people, that was good people. My bad. Thanks for pointing it out though. And for the record - My time, is worth more than 600 euros. Although right now, getting paid for being unemployed is sitting alright.

Travelling Alone

I meant to say, I'm 2 for 2 on getting 'randomly' chosen for the bonus pat down search. Look, I may be lonely but the security pat down is not an appropriate substitute for meaningful human contact.

I've met some god people though.

Pat Downs, Airport Hotels and Meal Vouchers

That pretty much sums up my trip so far. Oh and a lot of hanging about vraious airports. Guess where I'm going next? Guess! Yeah, um Frankfurt. Cool, I've never been to Germany. Apparently there was no space left on tomorrow's direct fight to Cape Town so indirect it is for me and only 2 other passengers who got bumped. The rest got sorted on the direct flight. Forget never trusting Goodlife, never trust the airlines. Compensation for another day of my life is 600 Euros or the equivalent in any currency and hotel accomodation. Oh but the system was down so we don't have that money yet.

Food wise, it's been buffet after buffet after buffet for me so I'm probaby up 5 pounds already and I haven't even had my first bottle of coke, batch of sweet potato fries or Tempo bar yet.

I did have a lovely time in London though - delicious meals, coffee, nice company, cute cuddely dogs and a wonderful place to rest.

Going to see if I can set up my first survey on this blog. Oh and the snow in London, although it does exist and therefore it is chilly, it was actually absolutely beautiful out today - walked all along the River to the Tate Modern, had a nice meal and checked out a few pieces of art while I was at it.

Can't wait to get to the sunny 30 degree weather and smell the ocean.

Hope you're all well.

Just to run it down - flight to London couldn't land so flew to Amsteram, spent the night there, rose early, flew to London yesterday, sat on runwa for hours (had a nap), made it into London with help of friendly Aussie, went for India dinner and activities mentioned above. Got to Heathrow, sent to special desk, blah blah blah, no phone cards = using BA agents phone and then having it promptly swiped from my hands (sorry Dad, I did NOT get that phone back for another call). Should fly to CPT tomorrow and arrive Friday.

Snow in London = Arghhhhhh

Well it's a good thing I'm not in a huge rush. Why you might ask? Well because they kicked me off my flight to CPT. I wish it was due to some shananigans I got up to but no it's because of snow delays = oversold flights = boo for me.

So no I'm nt yet in the air again, I'm waiting to be assigned to some hotel and find out my details for tomorrow. With 2 minutes to go on my internet time, I best sign off.

International travel is sooooo glamorous, no?

Amsterdam It!

Well, I am in snowy London but only after a night in Amsterdam, hours flying back and forth over London for a few hours and then sitting on a runway, waiting for a gate that never opened up. Got the old stairs and bus in the middle of Terminal 5 and thrown in for good measure, was hostile treatment from customs.

Anyway, got to jet to take advantage of my shortened time in London. So far have had some great Indian food, a nice walk about town, some delicious coffees from my gracious host and a lot of lounging in comfortable furniture.

Hope all is well wherever you are.

Hopefully more to come.

Going, going, going...

Gone.

Next post should come from me in another country, rather than just from here in the centre of the universe.

Here's hoping I get to watch the Super Bowl in the airport and on the plane.

Good night Canada.

Where and When

London, England - February 2nd - 4th

Cape Town, South Africa - February 5th - March 31st

Sydney, Australia - April 2nd - 4th

Adelaide, Australia - April 4th - 7th

New Zealand - April 7th - 30th
Starting in Auckland and heading all over the country

Fiji - April 30th - May 3rd

Flying from Fiji, to Bangkok, to LA, to Toronto
May 3rd - 4th

Toronto - May 4th - 6:50 am
Who wants to greet me?
Odds are I'll be jet lagged and grumpy :)

Crunch Time

Less than 24 hours before I am flying across the Atlantic and things are coming together. Got a few important last minute things taken care of today, got to visit with a few friends and have some lovely, much appreciated good bye phone calls. I've been getting some emails as well and all the well wishes are very much appreciated. Although, they make it a little hard to pretend that I'm not going to be far away for 3 months. On the other hand, it is only 3 months, for now anyway.

I've managed to cram 3.5GB of tv shows and movies onto my PSP and even got an audio book for some light reading. To offset the fact that I'll be listening to the book, I selected Noam Chomsky's Free Market Fantasies - Capitalism in the Real World. I hope customs doesn't check my play list or it might be a while before I make it through. Maybe the nickname "Commie" I earned at work was somewhat appropriate after all. A debate for another time I think.

For anyone who is wondering, my bag is heavy, my knee won't like it and I want to take stuff out but can't choose what is lease useful in there. I just hope it's not over the weight limit or my airport driver will have a handful of stuff to take home with her.

I shall post my itinerary separately in case I don't have a chance to and you are unsure of where I am at what times.

Stay well everybody.