Blogs from Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, Africa - page 50

Sun18th I arrived at 5.30 after having a 10 hour flight with little leg room and although I had 3 spare seats next to me the arm rests didn’t lift up so I couldn’t spread out. I had breakfast at the airport while waiting for the shuttle. Once I arrived at the Backpackers, which is surrounded by 6 foot fencing, I went down to their swimming pool- as there wasn’t a spare bed yet. I got talking to a few people it is nice and relaxed here. In the afternoon I joined a group on a tour around Johannesburg. We went to a museum which was OK but a bit rushed and not very well laid out to find anything. Then we went under a bank to see an entrance to one of the gold ... read more

One of the reasons we had selected South Africa as a place to pioneer was because English was spoken here. Despite its being our first lanbuage, however, we learn more English every day: South African English. The English spoken here has a heavy Afrikaans accent to it, and most local people speak a several local languages. Local people often have trouble with English, which can make education difficult because English is the official language used in schools, most of the time. We can’t help but admire them for the fact that English is often their third, fourth or fifth language. It is not uncommon to find people that can speak all 11 of the official languages of South Africa. In spite of the British influence in this country, we believe our American English is closer to ... read more

Today we have been in Africa for six months. We left the U.S. on September 11 and arrived here September 15, 2006. Much of our life feels quite settled here while other parts feel as though we have just arrived. What we are sure of, however, is that our capacities have expanded greatly; we have learned to accept many things that we would not have tolerated, or even dared, only a short six months ago. We are only sure that we have much more to learn. One of the most positive aspects of our being here is our fitness level. With work and school being what it was in the U.S., we had both let that slip to a poor level. I am feeling much thinner, and Bob is happy to say he is down to ... read more

Well Sat it coninued to rain in Cape Town. I like to think CT was crying becasue I was leaving.. Anyhow after failing to dry my washing I went with Lena to Mimis which is the cafe I went to on my first day in Cape Town. In the evening me and some new volunteering friends went to Cafe Ganesh, which is reccomended in a travel guide, and is in Obs. I had falafel, then we went to Obs cafe for desert (choc cake). Sunday I was up early and the wonderful Ursula from AVIVA picked me up. Short trip to the ariport, good BA flight.. although I was right at the back... which I wasn't so keen on!! BA are official carriers of Sprignbox rugby.. Met at Jo Burg by Glyn and Alan from the ... read more

After 24hours of travel we arrived in sunny South Africa! Of course, arriving and finding out the airline had lost half our luggage was a fun, fun moment..... not. However, seeing Maria and Tyron (and meeting Tyron's sister Kelli) was awesome! We spent all day Wednesday at Sun City (2.5hrs drive from Joburg) with Maria, Kelli and Benedict, who's from Zululand and works for Maria and Tyron. It was fantastic weather in the mid-30s for most of the day, and though I had been last time I was here with Maria it was so great to go back as it really is a wicked place to go to, and Martin and never been before and loved it!! It was a really fun day, the slides (including the gut-wrenching "Temple of Courage") and wavepool are great fun ... read more