Silver Birch Roodepoort

... I then talked about studies in the 60's that had been done to disprove this as blacks consistently got lower IQ scores because they were demographically biased.

I was just very surprised that an educated person from a wealthy area (Orange County) could think like this. In the end it wasn't any of my business and she said she just didn't know that the research had been done. Whatever.

Started speaking to one of the guys that ...

... t it??; So curry breath notwithstanding, we found ourselves on a South African Airways flight to Johannesburg after six busy, and enjoyable, days in Hong Kong. This was another one of those late night flights that left at 11:50pm and served dinner about an hour after takeoff. I am amazed at how the children can be nodding off prior to boarding the plane, but as soon as the personal entertainment systems are fired up, and more food is placed in front of ...

... occasionally wander through camp)... the noise sounded again, we were all literally frozen to the spot, what on earth do you do if you come face to face with a hungry leopard!? We decided to take to our tents, maybe the canvas would provide a little more protection? On the way past the groups tents we heard the noise again, this time from inside one of the tents! We froze. We sighed. We laughed at our own stupidity. It was Ray, one of the guys on our trip, snoring like a ...

... saw most of the usual things...well, usual for me....Dot was nearly peeing herself with excitement, as I was on day 2 in the Mara! My mission over the next 4 days was to complete the Big 5 with a leopard.....I was not disappointed. We set off on a sunset drive and about 30 mins into it we pulled up alongside 3 of them.....well, in fact it was a boy sat behind me that quietly said "Leopard" as we drove past ignorant to what was hiding in the ...

... We walk over to Nelson Mandela Square for a nice seafood dinner. Don't try the sushis there as they tasted funny and I think I regretted the decision to keep eating them later on. It's Jen's B-day, but we are both beyond tired from the long week and drive back to civilization as we previously knew it, so we hit the hotel after a short walk around the area.

... wife, she was a energetic big smiley woman with a hardy handshake! She made us feel very welcome. We sat down on mats on the ground, shoes normally must be taken off but we were allowed to keep them on since it was a bit rainy and muddy. They taught us some Swazi words, and songs , one of them being the song they sing for the reed gathering ceremony. We didn't sing very well but we tried. I kept getting distracted by the group of young kids sitting next ...

... and progressive city. We went to the squatter camps were people live with no running water in their houses and no indoor plumbing. However, the plan is to have people moved from the squatter camps into housing by the time the world cup comes to SA 2010. From there we went to the famous Catholic Church were the young met to discuss rising up against Apartheid, Wandies ...

... we went out to dinner with the Jahns, three young people that Fiona and Tatiana knew from the camp, and the South African couple who will take over and pastor the Johannesburg congregation when the Jahns leave after their five-year stint is up. We went to a steak house in a shopping mall similar to what one finds in Europe or North America. Marjolaine and I ordered steaks of kudu, a large antelope indigenous to South Africa. The steaks and the conversation were both wonderful.

... Tamalyn and I looked at each other and decided to take our time. Jens and Sylvia had darted off, and started climbing quickly. Hemmy was not quite as fast as Jens and Sylvia, but she was faster than Tamalyn & I. Colin pulled up the rear of the group. I am not sure if he was being methodical and determined to take his time, or if he was hanging back and taking up the rear for safety's sake. Up the gully we continued. Stepping from one large rock to the next, all the while trying to ...

Warning: This is not an uplifting or inspiring entry so if you have a weak stomach, turn away. If you are having a nice day, you may not want to spoil it. But if you are having a really **** day week or month like me, then read on baby, cuz misery loves company. Well, the flight went ok for the most part. I mean, it was only about an hour so how bad could it have been. First thing that went wrong is when I walked up the wrong passageway to get out and ...