I’m really leaving. Like, now.

Sitting in the airport, enjoying internet and electricity to power my laptop and waiting to get on the plane.

Went for tea (again!) with Kim this morning to say goodbye and then she drove me through to the airport (she’s just so lovely!)

It’s really, really weird to think that this is it. I am excited about going home, but also sad to leave.

(But great joy to discover that the flight that I booked to Cape Town – the cheapest to be found – is actually on a British Airways plane. Score!)

In summary: happy and sad.

I had a fast trip to Joburg. We spent more time in the airport drinking Gin and Tonics than anything else. (Delayed flights, being too early.) An interesting thing about travelling with work colleagues, is how the dynamics change. Inevitably I turn into part clown / part Mother type person leading the way, carrying the tickets and making insane suggestions. The hardest bit – I was the only non-smoker. Every smoke break, every bar, at the end of every trip, I stood by and watched them light up. It killed me – it was the ultimate test. I survived. I don’t think I am going to struggle again. Not after that.

The weather was beautifully fine. The speeches were long. IT people should never do presentations about IT. It is simply not a good idea. The IT presentation made my eyeballs hurt from trying to look alert. I wasn’t the only one, throughout the auditorium heads were bobbing and jerking, creative attempts were made to stretch ones legs under the seat in front, in a space only generous enough to fit ones foot sideways. The IT presenter was thoroughly in his speech, was one with his speech and remained blissfully ignorant of the resounding sounds of yawns and fidgeting and blind to the enviable audacity of those who left the room for sudden bathroom emergencies.

There was one of those motivational speaker type people. Those that tell funny stories and in-between the jokes spew the work propaganda – work hard, actions speak louder than words, pick yourself up when down – then more jokes. Subliminal messages seeping into our heads while we laugh I suppose…but then came his last part. The story of a young boy going with his father to a shebeen in KwaThema, it was his Gran’s birthday and they ran out of beers. He described the shebeen as a dark room with metal bars covering every window, an old hunched up lady with her head covered. Inexplicably he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, he squeezed his Dad’s hand and begged him to leave. He told us that his Dad yelled at him and said he must be a man. soon after, men he described as animals,  walked in behind them. One man put a knife into his Fathers  neck, he said his Dad was a large man, strong and tough, so  he watched as his father fought him until he was on the ground, but then there were more, and they had guns. He was shot once and his Dad died after the 9th bullet hit him.

I don’t know about anyone else in the room – but I was just finished with tears running down my face! I could see it like it was happening in front of me. I used to hear township stories daily, one of my dearest friends was married in Soweto. She was loud, smoked, wore tight jeans and a different hairstyle every other week. She would tell me stories. We would sit in the sun, drink savannahs – two girls from two completely different worlds, born only a couple of days apart, and she would tell me stories, stories I will never forget.

She was 25 when she died. I arrived at work and they told me it was suicide, I knew otherwise. Her husband fell in love with her because she was sexy, confident, cheeky and outspoken. His approval vanished the day she became his bride. A young girl at 25 – how little we knew.

Memories flooding back, back to my trips to Soweto, the Hector Pieterson museum, then the Regina Mundi Church. I saw the bullet holes in the walls and tried to hold back the tears as they sang and wailed at my friends funeral. The Cemetery. Buses and buses of mourners, the heat, the dust. My colleagues in their suits shovelling sand onto her grave. Her Mom, on her knees wailing, thumping her breast.

I found a bit of writing. I was in quite a state of shock after she died, but I am glad I wrote something at that time.

I loved to be in your presence, sitting beside you was enough.

When you were cold you would put your hand up my sleeve and rest your head on my shoulder

You had me convinced the world is great, colourful and exciting.

Coming from a township girl, how could I not believe you.

Two girls from two different worlds.

My nemesis, my partner in crime and fabulous conversations.

Two women from two different worlds.

The world needs to come to a stop for this untamed beauty and my friend is no longer here.

I now have 16 days left in the country. It’s weird.

Back in August, when I had 127 days left I wrote this post and said that I’d write a new list when I was somewhat closer to actually leaving. 16 days is a great deal closer, and since I’ll probably only have t’internet for the next four days it’s kind of now or never.

Things I miss about home:

Still friends and family (natch.).

Proper winter weather (and the opportunity to wear boots).

Horatio and Cuthbert (the cats).

Walking.

Walking while listening to music.

Walking in the dark (with or without music).

High-speed wireless.

Diet Coke.

The BBC.

A complete absence of Parktown Prawns.

Things I will miss about Jo’burg:

Still friends (natch.).

My girls.

Avocados.

Sweet Chili Sauce.

Pineapple Fanta.

Sunshine.

Knitting at Moyo with Kim.

Food prices.

Bean There Coffee

Vegas (the dog: despite his tendancy to eat clothes, he’s kind of grown on me.)

—————————-

I’m sure there’s more stuff, but these seem to the most important, since they’re what I can remember at the moment.

In summary: reflecting.

One week and one day left till I leave the City of Gold (and crime) forever. Or at least until I come back for a visit.

This past week I had the enormous delight of visiting one of Jo’burg’s greatest tourist attractions – the highly bizarre, and somewhat depressing, Montecasino. First I went for lunch with lovely Kim (and do visit her blog for a scathing, but amusing, review of old Monte) in order to satisfy her unborn child’s demands for Thai soup, and then on Friday I went back to see the much anticipated and entirely awesome ‘New Moon‘.

Tuscany. No, really.

One of the key problems with Montecasino is the fact that they have been voted (by some crazy people apparently) the number one destination to take ‘out-of-towners’. So the message here is – come visit Jo’burg and spend all of your time in Tuscan-themed casino  out in ‘burbs, full of sad old ladies paying all their cash into slot-machines and drunken teenagers. Or you could just go to actual Tuscany.

However, the cinema was putting on a midnight showing of New Moon, so off we went again, and despite the hoardes of drunken teenagers, nothing could ruin the awesomeness for me.

So, one week left, to visit the rest of the Jo’burg sites on my list, and finish writing resources, and a final prayer letter, and, oh yeah, pack. Horrors.

In summary: not procrastinating on the packing. Sort of.

Last night we had a party at our house.

Kylie, my awesomely crazy Australian flatmate, is heading back to Oz after three years of living in Jozi and so she had a farewell braai at ours yesterday.

About a 100 people came. Our house is not big enough for a 100 people. We are very thankful that yesterday’s rainstorm came in the afternoon.

It was a wonderful party though: R800 worth of meat was consumed, four pots of pap were made (and about two of those were actually eaten), drinks were drunk, the trampoline was bounced on, speeches were made, dancing wasdone and the tidying up didn’t actually take too long!

Sarah & Kylie

The theme was ‘Africa’ and most people came dressed in some traditional outfit or another. So I thought I’d share a wee photo of Kylie in her African dress, and Sarah – another of my lovely flatmates – preparing, at least clothing-wise, for her impending marriage to a Cameroonian bloke.

In summary: definitely going to miss wors; not convinced the same can be said about the pap.

Justin Bryant’s Season of Ash is the story of three young men facing their respective crossroads. David Themba, experienced by both brutality at student protests and a worldly education, envisions his political faction Kusasa bringing real change to South Africa. Bornwell Malaba works as an apprentice game ranger and only wants to remain in the bush as an employed full ranger. And Chanda Radebe, friend to both, wonders whose ideals his life will emulate. Distinct as the animals that inhabit the bush, these men share a passion for their beliefs.

Season of Ash takes place in a South Africa approaching the country’s first free elections. While the historical setting informs the plot, rich characters move the story. Their trials with political uncertainty, family relationships, and personal discovery create captivating portrayals of young men growing up.

Bryant writes with an elegant simplicity. His prose ranges from poetic to evocative, detailing scenes of natural wonders, luxury lodges, Soweto shantytowns, and soccer stadiums. But his characters embody the spirit of South Africa. Guided by a fervent optimism tempered by past oppression, these young men represent the generation standing to inherit the future of their country.

In amongst writing Bible studies, and final reports and other such delights, I’m trying to make the most of my final days in Jozi (17 left), saying goodbye to friends and visiting all of the best Jo’burg-y places.

One that has been on the list for awhile was finally ticked off this morning when lovely Kim and I went for tea at the rather wonderful Westcliff Hotel. If you’ve read my ‘25 things about me‘ post (and if you haven’t you should, ’cause it’s all about me and subsequently awesome) then you’ll know that one of my most-favouritest things to do in the world is go for afternoon tea (no.22), and although this time it was morning tea, that didn’t make it any less super.

Kim and I bonded over a shared tea and knitting snobbery (no milk, no acrylic, if you must know) and so going out for tea was a perfect activity. The hotel is stunning and fancy, the restaurant had a Polo theme (horses, not mints with a hole), the view over the forest that is Jo’burg was beautiful, the tea was Earl Grey with petals and served in clear glass teapots, and the food was nice and plentiful, which was handy since Kim is currently eating for two and I just like eating.

A very lovely morning and then back home for more writing of evangelism training courses and Colossians studies.

In summary: full of tea.

One month today I will be getting on a plane and leaving South Africa. Which is freaking me out just a wee bit.

At the beginning of the year (when I didn’t hugely want to be here) I was counting down to December and felt like it would never, ever come. Then I blinked and it was November 12th.

Today was another last – the last day on campus. I spent all day in my favourite coffee shop (which appears to be closing down – presumably because they’re too heartbroken at my leaving to carry on trading), meeting with my three lovely one-to-one girls, chatting through the awesomeness that is Colossians 3, dicussing the centrality and wonder of the cross, and rejoicing in the canon of scripture. As you do.

‘Twas a good way to end.

Lots more goodbyes to come. And much more writing of resources. So whilst I only have 30 days left in the country and 18 days left in the City of Gold, I’m trying not to wish or lament away the time, but get busy with what needs to get done.

In summary: trying to end well.

Ist Gauteng (das Sotho Wort für“Platz des Goldes”) auch die kleinste Provinz des Landes, ist diese Provinz sicherlich wirtschaftlich und industriell die Maschine des Landes, sogar des südlichen Afrikas. In Gauteng lebt eine multikulturelle Mischung von Menschen aus aller Herren Länder. Neben dem “Big Business” bietet die Provinz multikulturelles Entertainment: Restaurants mit Weltklasse, elegante Einkaufszentren und Musikveranstaltungen. Aus der Zentrale Südafrikas lässt es sich problemlos in alle Himmelsrichtungen reisen, z. B ein zweistündiger Flug nach Namibia oder Kapstadt, oder eine viereinhalb stündige Autofahrt zum Kruger National Park.

Was gibt es hier sonst zu erleben: weiter »

In August something terrible happened. One of my colleagues borrowed my laptop, plugged his mp3 player into it and somehow managed to utterly destroy my itunes library. I’ve tried various different methods for retrieving the masses of music but all to no avail. I know it’s still there, hanging around somewhere on my external harddrive, but the technological knowledge to get from there back into my computer and available to play again is not knowledge that I currently possess.

Not everything is lost: stuff that I had purchased from itunes and was on my ipod at the time has been saved but everything else – days and days worth of playing time – is gone. So, at the moment I’m all about searching out new tunes to provide background music whilst I write Bible studies and take lengthy plane rides etc, and joyfully in that search I discovered the very awesome These Broken Hands by Portland.

These Broken Hands

My adorable baby sister, Sarah, sent me a copy of the CD earlier in the year, but due to the incompetance of either the Royal Mail or the South African postal service I never got it. However, when I went home for my wee October visit my Dad had it playing in the car when he came and picked me up from the airport, I fell in love straight away and nabbed that copy to bring back to Jozi.

I also spent a good portion of my free time at staff conference listening to it, so the music is now rather aligned in my head with the temperature, sights and sounds of the Western Cape bush (not a bad association to have, I might add).

All this to say – if you’re looking for something new to listen to, I’d recommend these guys. As I understand it the album is available to download from itunes, and I’d especially recommend the first and final tracks – Carry You is soft, beautiful and had me singing along by the second time I’d heard it, whilst Eamonn’s Leviathan is just awesomely folky.

Go. Download.

In summary: enjoying lovely music.

I met him when I was 23 on my first official office job. The years before I had spent travelling and then working as a sales rep for a liquor company. The nine to Five stint was going to take some getting used to. He was a fast talker. Afrikaans, dressed incredibly smart for his age. Everything about his look suggested a serious young man, brought up adhering to strict standards and ready to conquer the banking world – but his eyes, they were full of delightful mischief. He took me under his wing, despite being a couple of years younger than I, and showed me the ropes. Before long we were willingly working the night shift, out night after night partying up a storm until the early hours of the morning. A fellow Scorpio, a fellow creature of the night, always wanting more, extremism to the highest point of exaltation. As our careers developed, our friendship developed into a flirty,  fun relationship, which everyone in the office witnessed and envied. We would have our cigarette breaks together and just sit and laugh at the most inane things. He made my work day fun. A thousand phone calls, he always had an idea in his head and I loved his impulsiveness. He wouldn’t just talk – he would act and act bravely – diving in head first. I always hoped that this courage would rub off eventually. We had a similar work ethic at that time, when I wanted to burn the midnight oil working on a project I loved, he was right there. Sometimes invading my PC , all applications closed except for notepad and ‘HELLO’ written in Bold.

Suddenly through sheer hard work, he became brilliant in his field and left to conquer the world. I will never forget how my heart sank when he walked out the building. It had been the most special work relationship I had ever had.

We have stayed in touch and I am not surprised to get a phone call from him, saying he is in CT for a couple of hours , inevitably I drop everything to see him, even if it is a fast coffee down the road.

Last week it was different, he was here for a night and a day – I knew this was going to be trouble! My friend has grown into a sexy, successful man. He still rages, is impulsive and has endless woman problems. I love him to bits.

I felt that same sadness, like the day he left work, on the way to the air port. He had a bottle of Fairview Cab in one hand, cigarette burning in the other. Trance music loudly paying in the car – Telling me about the party he went to in Amsterdam. Conversations flying, ideas, thoughts, plans, travel arrangements a thousand things happening at once. A typical Joburg ride. My heart sank saying goodbye to man who beats me in energy, enthusiasm and sheer craziness.

Working with students is an awesome job, and I love it very, very much, but sometimes it makes me sad because I’m not a student anymore and occasionally I really wish I was. And then exams arrive and I am so very, very, very glad about the fact that that particular period of my life is over and done with.

Jacaranda flowers at Wits

In South Africa finals are on at the moment. At this time of year the jacaranda trees are in bloom and the students have a bizarre tradition that if one of the purple flowers falls on your head whilst you’re on the way to an exam then you’ll pass it. Cue large numbers of students walking backwards and forwards underneath the trees on campuses throughout Jo’burg and Pretoria.

Wits students are currently in the midst of that special time of year. Which means that my weekly schedule is rather different than it was during the rest of the year. As opposed to the four days a week that I was spending on campus during term-time I’m now only there for one day a week. I go in for the whole day, meet up with my three lovely one-to-one girls and some of the other SCO ladies, and drink lots and lots of coffee.

Which perhaps makes you wonder what on earth I’m doing with the rest of my time? Well, for the rest of November I’m going to be working on writing some Bible study resources for SCO staff to use next year. It means working from home, which requires me to have a little more ’self-discipline’, but so far I’m really enjoying it and just hoping that the finished product will be helpful.

In summary: glad to have a degree already.

– Just to warn you. November is going to be noticeable for lots of posts about ‘last times’. Sorry, but that’s just how I roll. –

Last night was graduation at Johannesburg Bible College, and so was a last visit to the lovely buildings where I have spent most of my Tuesday and Thursday mornings for the last year.

I’m very glad that I got to go to JBC this year. Learned some stuff, made lots of friends and drank too much coffee, and I think being there twice a week and encouraged with some nice con-evo theology was instrumental in keeping me sane through some of the more ‘challenging’ moments of SCO life.

The Graduates

About ten of my fellow students graduated last night (having gone to college full-time for the past year). It was a lovely evening, a good chance to reflect on the year and pray for the future of the college and the graduates. Plus there was very nice food, and the college principal’s 9 year old daughter, Miriam, kept me entertained by doing a bit of impromptu Irish dancing.

And of course the inevitable moments of sadness, because in amongst last night’s crowd was another bunch of people to say goodbye too.

In summary: grateful and sentimental.

The Mysterious One

_________________

Brai at “the “beach”
Brai (BR – I — as in “aye” captain!)

My face was burnt. not to a crisp… but it is burned.
It was burned… but there was no ensuing tan.

Apparently the sun in Africa shines harder than other places. I mean, you know… more than the normal amount of heat that you feel from the sun. But I suppose that is due entirely the fact that California, *whispers* “the land of my love”, is such a perfect climate that I shall never enjoy any other sun. A few hours in the sun proved to kill my cheeks, just underneath my eyes. Sting. That’s a good word for it.

But on the bright side to Monumental things happened, though they did not seem so exuberant as they were happening.

One thing is that I touched the Indian ocean. Truly something I never thought I would be doing. It wasn’t as warm as they say, at least not in South Africa. We took a walk to the beach right after we ate, and we seriously could have been in Santa Cruz. I walked into an ice cream shop only to hear another american totally getting bashed on for being american. Kind of stunk at first. But they apologized and we all had an awkward, but good, laugh about it. But the point is… I never in my life thought I would be touching, seeing, smelling, soaking in the Indian ocean. It smelled exactly the same as everywhere else I’ve been.

Two.

I had a dream in January of 2008 that the world was ending. There was a massive flood and series of events leading up to that one large surge of water upon the land… but the end is what has always gripped me the most about this dream.

Everything had ended. The water had subsided. It was like everything was made new. – - – And I found myself walking along a body of water. With the waves coming upon the shore very softly. Lapping.

There was golden and green grass on a very soft earth and sand mix. It was peaceful. Just walking along side. I don’t remember if anyone was there with me or not. But that part may have just come true. Or at least it points to it some how.

As we were walking to the beach on Saturday (10-31-09) I walked along a peaceful body of water… everything was the same except for the side that the dream happened on. In the dream it was on the right, but when this happened, the water was on my left. But peaceful… yes.

I really don’t know what to make of times when i find myself living what I dreamed about years ago. I don’t know how to explain why I have dreams of coming events… at least in my life. I don’t claim to be a prophet to the nations or anything, but these dreams and precipitations happen more often than I really think about. Which makes some of my dreams that affect me enough to think they mean something very, very scary for me.

I think I will not only pay attention to my dreams… but pray more often… But now there is another reason for that…

Friday, 30 October 2009.
The day of particular poopiness…

But in my desperation I called out to God. And he heard me.

In my desperation and hatred of the situation I was put in I left the house the first moment I could. I just got in a taxi to run an errand to a large Costco® like store. We were buying office supplies.

They were talking with someone getting a temporary card for this club store, and the person they were talking to (Lionel) decided he would write me a note.

“The Lord is about to bring forth tremendous changes in your life. Visions will be on the increase. dreams will be on the increase. Don’t be afraid where the Lord Jesus, will pour out on you. Embrace what  He’s about to give. Don’t be afraid. Believe He’s faithful.”

I have a hard time believing that God will actually do this with me… but have you heard my dreams before??? I have them often. And supposedly now… they will be more often.

Church In The Park

It was super windy on sunday. Absolutely windy. really… like i’ve never experienced it before. Seriously… like something amazing. The wind blew pretty hard all.day.long. Nothing else will do as a word. It just blew.

The problem with that is that the wind is actually strong enough to pick up small particles of stuff (mostly sand) and carry it with it. In this process there is much sand everywhere you go here… there is also much face whipping. My Sun burnt face… stung most of the day because of this.

But the not so big problem/miracle that happened was that a bunch of people despite the cold and the wind stayed. And on top of that they made the call to salvation. I was so amazed my hands stopped hurting fora  few moments. Which leads me into a very personal thing that no one really knows about me…

When it’s cold… my hand hurt. And it was torture playing out there. Really. Playing piano was suffering for souls this time around. I was mad. And I started to think things like the leaders here don’t care about me or about what I feel like and all that stuff that can go through a person’s head when something doesn’t go in their favor!

…I also put myself to sleep when I’m playing worship music… that is… when I’m tired and sleep deprived to begin with. In college I would practice my important pieces and immediately feel like taking a nap. So often my rehearsal turned into a time of “recharging”. This happened on several occasions. To this day – and it can be proven by testimonials – it happens.

Guitar

Unlike the popular “strong bad email” (Search for Guitar) – which really… only a bunch of nerds know about – I am unable mash my fingers way up on the little strings and make the “meedly meedly” sound – BUT!!! I am a capable guitar player.

Many of my previous “struggle” writings could have easily been avoided if I had just been selfish and brought my guitar instead of a keyboard! But I decided to go with the more noble deed.

Guitar, since I was in college, has been one of my closest friends besides Jesus. Closer even than any friends that could actually speak and process emotion… that is until I met Loreena. But the guitar is still like my hiding place. It’s a place i can run to and feel comforted because i know that I can not only relax by playing music… but draw close to God.

If there has been one really hard thing to suffer with is not having a guitar at my hand to comfort me in desperate situations. But alas those days are over.

The Lord has shown His face on me. (Shown is and archaic form the past tense of Shine – and if you really want to get into it, it’s kind of like the past and present tense at the same time! God began to shine his face on me, and continues to do so even as I “pen” these words)

This week just enough money – no more, no less – was given to me as a blessing. R500 was handed to me from heaven.

I did not pray for a guitar. But God knew my heart. God saw my desperation and blessed me with one. Something I never really expected or asked for, but wanted none the less, maybe even needed, has been provided. This is just divine. No other word or situation can explain it. It was just enough money to purchase that guitar.

It’s a classical guitar to boot!

All to say… that this week has been one incidence of sheer divinity after another! Miracles that could never have happened are taking place in my life at an all time high!

And that’s without a ton of detail.

PRAISE THE LIVING GOD!!!

THE ONLY GOD WHO WAS, AND IS, AND IS TO COME!!!

THE ONE WHO SPOKE AND ALL THINGS WERE CREATED!

PRAISE GOD!

PRAISE GOD!

It’s nearly unbelievable. It’s uncanny. It’s perfect in timing. It’s soo… perfect.

At a moment when I really wanted to quit. At a moment when I thought I could go no further in sacrifice. At a moment when I thought I could trust God no longer… Such strange and mysterious happenings are happening. They are awe inspiring and cause peace to well deep within me.

____________________

COMING SOON!!!

The Account of Johannesburg.

…Victory Outreach is being used to change the world as we know it. God knew what he had in mind with this ministry.

The time is coming for goodbyes. There’s now less than a month till I leave Jo’burg and only 39 days till I leave the country, and whilst I am looking forward to many things about going home, leaving my lovely friends here is not one (of those things).

This week marked the beginning of that, as my lovely friend Cion packed up all of her stuff and headed back to America. So the last few days have been heavily influenced by spending lots of time before she left.

We had a braai for her last week and a brunch for her on Sunday morning, and besides that I’ve spent a great deal of time hanging out in her flat and helping her to pack up her life from the last two and half years, encouraging her to cull her wardobe and assisting in the weighing of luggage.

She flies this afternoon and I will miss her a lot. But also conscious of the fact that this is only the beginning of the many, many goodbyes that will be taking place over the next month, and really can’t believe that there’s so little time left here.

In summary: sad.

In the second week of October I had the great joy of a whistle-stop trip back home to my beloved homeland. I spent a lot of time on airplanes (and too much time in Dubai airport, where even the fish pond wasn’t enough to entertain me), spent brief but lovely time with my wonderful family, including meeting my newest niece, the delightful Lola, saw friends, and enjoyed walking safely and taking lots of forms of public transformatio.

However the actual reason for my trip home was to attend the wedding of my super-duper bff, Fiona.

And it was awesomeness personified.

Highlights included: helping to decorate the church and cater the reception, seeing a few lovely university friends, staying with Fi’s charming and hospitable family, playing the very English ‘Aunt Sally’ at the pub on the day before the wedding, bagpipes in Oxfordshire (and the fact that my accent has clearly morphed enough that the – Scottish – piper was convinced that I was a fellow countryperson) and the fact that my actual invitation to the wedding didn’t arrive in Jo’burg till a week after the happy couple were already hitched.

Being home was lovely and coming back was hard (particularly due to the long journey, and the fact that one of the flight attendants on the trip from Dubai to Jo’burg kept stroking my hair, which was pretty creepy) but improved greatly after I got some sleep.

Enjoying the last month and a bit in Jozi though.

Much joy and many felicitations (which is a word I have never used before) to Mr and Mrs Koefoed-Jespersen.

In summary:  looking forward to December 13th

I could probably write a book about the different experiences that I have had with law enforcement over the past 10 or so years, but I won’t.  I will explain what happened to me the last night that myself and James would probably be in Jo-Burg for a while.  I did not get arrested, I did forget my license, and we did switch drivers and got away without any hassle.

To start off, I went for a run today at the Sports complex that is on the other side of Duncan (i.e. street name in Pretoria) and decided to put all of my pocket items in my bag, one of which was my wallet that I put in my side compartment, for some reason that I can’t figure out right now.  Came home after a good run and taking some pictures around the complex, and got ready to head to Jo-Burg for a night with a couple of friends that went to school at the University of Johannesburg, Lerato and Balokile. As we got into the car and started to drive out of our apartment, I stated that I forgot my wallet (and so my license), but it was OK cause I had money in my pocket and the police never really do anything anyways around here, from what I had seen.

The end of the night we were dropping the guys off at their homes and ran into a road block.  I rolled down the window and she asked if I had my license. I looked at James, either thinking he could do something magical or that we had just talked about this earlier in the evening, I looked back at the officer and said I didn’t have it.  She went through a great long spiel about “if you get into a car you should have your license… before you put the key in the ignition you should have your license…” which was all true, but sort of funny.  Then she asked if I drank at all tonight, and I told here nothing but water.  So, I pulled over to the side of the road (which was in a suburb part of Jo-Burg), after hearing I might need to get breathalyzed, and waited for what was to happen.  Myself and James, mostly James, told her what we were doing and who we were, where we were from, that sort of thing. James said that he could drive and she right away said “why don’t you drive, since you have the license.” That was a great deal for us and she let a go.  It was definitely the grace of God that nothing else happened and for her being so gracious to us in just letting us go. I could have been close to jail in two countries, not just one.

Both Revin and Jeremy spoke about it on their shows and for the millions of males out there, it wasn’t really sad news – in fact most men thought it was great news, hearing about the breakup between Danny K & Lee-Ann Liebenberg.

I overheard the station manager Ravi Naidoo, on a call with someone confirming that Danny K has been removed of the bill for Joburg Day. That was pretty dissappointing, and for a brief moment it felt like there would be a small hole at Joburg Day. 94.7 to the rescue – they have secured Just Jinger to perform, I must be honest it has been a while since I listened to Just Jinger so it is going to be an interesting moment when I hear them again.

Insider

Gestern am frühen Abend aus Joburg zurückgekehrt, im Gepäck eine Menge Erlebnisse und noch mehr Laptops.

Der Reihe nach: Am Dienstag erzählt Rommel, dass er ein Gebot in einer Auktion von Mercedes-Benz South Africa abgegeben habe. 44 Laptops, 29 Workstations, 30 Monitore, einige Drucker und sonstiges Equipment. Mittwoch war klar, dass wir gewonnen hatten, donnerstags ging es auf den Weg nach Joburg, Mats und ich wollten uns diesen Trip nicht entgehen lassen.

Rommel, Mats und ich also ins eine Auto, Peter und Pendile in den großen Bakkie, es gab schließlich einiges zu transportieren. Wir kommen gut voran, der Bakkie ist langsamer, bald haben wir einen großen Vorsprung. Um halb 3 sind es noch 150km bis Joburg, 800 haben wir schon hinter uns. Dann kommt ein Handyanruf. Der Bakkie ist kaputt. Kurzerhand drehen wir um, mehr als 150km können sie eigentlich nicht zurück sein, leider wissen auch die beiden im Bakkie nicht genau wo sie sind. Nach über 3 Stunden finden wir sie schließlich, der Bakkie steht am Straßenrand etwa 300km vor dem Umkehrpunkt. Es ist 6 Uhr abends, die Sonne ist schon fast untergegangen, es regnet und gewittert stark.

An 3 Nylonseilen schleppen wir den Bakkie in die nächste Werkstatt, die etwa 100! km am Highway in Richtung Joburg liegt. Als wir den Highway nach über einer Stunde verlassen reißt das erste Seil, 100m vor der Werkstatt hilft nur noch schieben. Was für ein Glück! Wir beginnen zu ahnen, wie schief das ganze hätte gehen können. In der Werkstatt die gute Nachricht: Ein Problem mit einem Zylinderkopf, am nächsten Mittag sollte das behoben sein. P&P bleiben beim Bakkie, Rommel, Mats und ich fahren weiter nach Joburg.

Gegen 11 kommen wir an unserer Wohnung an, die uns die Anwaltskanzlei einer Freundin von Rommel zur Verfügung stellt. Vermutlich geht es dieser Kanzlei nicht allzu schlecht, schließlich ist die Wohnung mitten in Sandton gelegen, genauer Melrose Arch. Der Sportwagen- und Luxuslimusinendichte zufolge wohnen hier die „etwas“ Wohlhabenderen. Müde fallen wir in die Kingsize-Betten.

Am nächsten Morgen geht es früh zu einem weiteren Freund von Rommel. Sein Netzwerk ist echt beeindruckend. Shan stellt uns einen kleinen Bakkie zur Verfügung, damit wir wenigstens die PCs abholen und in seiner Garage zwischenlagern können. Mats und ich ab in den Bakkie und hinter Rommel einmal quer durch Johannesburg. Bei Daimler angekommen besichtigen wir zunächst die Ware. Zum einen lässt der Zustand etwas zu wünschen übrig, ist aber noch okay. Das größere Problem stellt die schiere Menge dar. Mats und ich halten es schlicht für unmöglich, Rommel ist wie immer zuversichtlich. Und tatsächlich gelingt es uns 30! 17 Zoll Röhrenmonitore, 2 1,20m hohe HP-Drucker (50×50cm Grundfläche), sowie einige weitere Drucker auf der Ladefläche zu „verstauen“, der Rest geht in den SUV. Mit Transportsicherheit hat das wenig zu tun, aber für die eineinhalb Stunden durch Joburg zur Garage reicht es Gott sei dank

Vor allem eines fällt auf. Meine Vorstellung von Joburg war „leicht“ falsch. Die Stadt ist ziemlich hügelig und vor allem unglaublich grün. Abgesehen vom CBD kommt man sich fast vor wie in einem Wald. Angeblich ist Joburg die Großstadt mit den meisten Bäumen weltweit. Richtig schön. Wenn man sich die 4 Meter hohen Mauern um die meisten Häuser und die darauf installierten Elektrozäune wegdenkt, hätte man eine ziemliche Lebensqualität. Zugegebenermaßen haben wir uns aber auch hauptsächlich in Sandton und Randburg bewegt, in Soweto dürfte das anders aussehen. Unsicher haben wir uns eigentlich nie gefühlt, nicht einmal am „Hijacking-Hotspot“- Schild (schließlich waren die Mauern massiv und Stromausfall war auch keiner).

Samstag machen wir 3 der Laptops und eine Workstation für Shan fertig, schließlich wollen wir die Kosten so schnell wie möglich gedeckt haben. Inzwischen sind auch P&P in Joburg angekommen, auf den größeren Bakkie umzuladen stellt kein allzu großes Problem dar.

Sonntag brechen wir in aller Frühe auf und sind schon am späten Nachmittag wieder in King. Der Zustand der Highways ist ziemlich gut, der Verkehr sehr gering. Und die Landschaft sowieso einmalig. Auf 2000m trafen wir sogar auf Schnee. Allrad ist nicht nur auf Dirtroads Gold wert In den nächsten Tagen sollte sich was meine Arbeit betrifft einiges entscheiden. Mehr oder weniger fest steht bisher nur, dass ich nicht nach P.E. gehen werde, was schon ein klein wenig schade ist. Kein Grund die gute Laune zu verlieren

Ganz liebe Grüße,

Paul

ps. für Laurens: Dr. House auf 52 Zoll Widescreen war schon gut (Da war mein HDMI endlich mal was wert)

It’s actually been an entire month and a day since I last blogged – shame on me. When I go visiting other blogs and the authors haven’t posted in a day or so I judge them for their failure to keep me entertained.

Hypocrite? Me? Never.

So, let me update you on what’s was ‘up’ in September.

I went to the SCO Associates (graduates) conference.

I started running an evangelism course for the Wits guys – and they started going out on campus and telling people the gospel (awesomeness!)

Home of the Wits SCO office

The new SCO Wits committee were elected.

I went to college and learnt lots of stuff about righteousness, sanctification and Hebrew poetry.

I continued to enjoy one to one gladness.

I did a great deal of crochet.

I enjoyed another of South Africa’s many public holidays – let’s hear it for Heritage Day.

I had some lovely time hanging out with lovely friends.

I started to get a little bit freaked out that the end of the year is fast approaching and so began to make vague attempts at looking for a j-o-b.

Joy of joys, my favourite older sister gave birth to her third daughter, and named her Lola.

And so for the final days of September, the following line was stuck on repeat in my head:

“Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl…“

At the Copa - Copacabana...

Good month.

Tomorrow is the great joy of Gauteng leadership training day, church on Sunday and then the almost unbearable excitement of Monday and a flight back to the northern hemisphere! Thrills.

In summary: surprised at how quick September came and went.

Gut in Joburg angekommen! Jaa Joburg..

In den nächsten Tagen werde ich einen längeren Bericht schreiben, die Fahrt hier her war ein ziemliches Abenteuer, unser Kilometerzähler zeigt über 1500km an und das, obwohl das GPS nur 950km angezeigt hat, als wir losfuhren.
Samstag oder Sonntag fahren wir zurück, sind hier Laptops und Computer abholen, die Daimler S.A. bei der letzten Inventur aussortiert und versteigert hat
Wir haben gewonnen

Gute Nacht.
Paul

*

My parents own a beautiful house in hartebeespoort dam. When I still lived in Joburg I would spend loads of time there. Having parties, or with my family but mostly on my own. I loved the tranquillity of the place. It offers a great haven to people living in the buzzing city. I know it is merely a dam, but it is a very special place to me. This time of year it is at its best! An Oasis in the desert.

Yes I am still a little bit home sick…

We’ve been talking about this now for some time and the excitement is still building and building and practically ready to burst. I honestly cannot wait to get there, it’s going to be fantastic. Johnny Clegg, Jamali and a host of other performers including Danny K and current and previous Idol winners.

Anyway I have to stop and do some actual work now, but if you are as interested as I am, then get to Highveld.co.za for more information or visit computicket to book your place. I have heard rumors that ticket numbers are low, so if you want to secure yourself a spot at the event, you better book before all the tickets are gone.

Cheers
Insider