HippoDanceCommander

And no, that's not a clever title. So my friends, it's now time for me to do a quick countdown of animal attacks. Chronologically speaking, the first was the vervet monkey who tried to steal Daniel's candybar. Unfortunately not on tape but Devan does a fairly accurate impression. Number two was the gibbon that swung out of a tree and ran at Devan (Not really an attack per say, but still pretty funny. Also not on tape but word on the street is that the gibbon does a pretty good impression). I'd love to say that the sharks made the list but as we spent the entire day (9-5) on the deck of a boat and only saw one shark, at a distance, from above the water, who then quickly swam away, leaving us nothing to ... read more

As I am too full of delicious meats to think, this shall be brief. Today (Nay, the last 3-4 days) have been too overwhelming to really talk about. In all honesty, my mind can no longer process quickly enough to allow me to relate what we've done. Let me give you a quick run-down. In the beginning, we were in Capetown. We went up Table Mountain, a tremendous plateau in the shadow of which Capetown exists. From its summit you can see ocean in over 180 degrees. It's a natural monument beyond compare and... As you can see, I can't relate the experience. Next we went to Robben Island which is an experience I think everyone should have, if only to come face to face with what unbridled prejudice can do. Finally, we toured the townships, ... read more

Due to the World Cup and all that, pickings were slim when it came to finding lodging in Berlin. Devan eventually discovered the Eastern Comfort Hostelboat floating in the river just on the western side of what remains of the Berlin Wall. Very cool. As you approach the boat you wander down along a stretch that runs along the river bank. Unlike the more touristy sections of wall, this one hasn't been picked down to the rebar by souvenir hungry tourists (Interesting note: the sections of wall that are most commonly seen have actually been themselves walled off to keep tourists away. Ironic?). Eventually you come to a breach in the wall through which you can see the psuedo-beach bar surrounded by a picket fence (our neighborhood tavern which due to their choice of music, we ... read more

Dear everyone I know, Go to Prague. Now. No, don't wait. Go. Quickly, before everybody else I just told beats you there. In fact, don't even read this. Just go. Still here? Okay then. Here's the breakdown. I've never felt this way about a city before. Ever. Seriously dude, I think this one's the one. I'm gonna ask her out. I bought flowers and everything. I know I may have left an unsatisfying impression with my description of the airport before, but what I left out of that description is that, in spite of the rocky landing, we were overjoyed to see rain on the tarmac as we touched down. I've never been so happy to see rain (you know, given the horrific heat we'd been marinating in the whole time we were in Rome). The ... read more

Well, yesterday was quite the day. We headed out rather early to visit the Colloseum where we spent 10 euro on what was essentially nothing more than a way to bypass the line. It was supposed to be a tour but after about 15 minutes with our tour guide, we had no choice but to flee. "It was very important to be a good gladiator. Gladiator comes from the sword of the gladiators because the sword was called a gladio which is where we get the word for the gladiators from. It was very important to be a good gladiator... the would fight all kinds of animals too. They would fight lions, and tigers, and all other kinds of animals... they would fight elephants...and they were called gladiators which comes from the name of their sword..." ... read more