Umbrella Tree House Umhlanga Rocks

I carted my bags down to curbside at 2:15 AM and went off in search of a taxi to take me to the Emirates Airline office where I'd pick up the shuttle bus to Dubai Airport. I found one handily but then almost forgot my Blackberry on the back seat. Thankfully the taxi driver saw me whoopin' and hollering and stopped so I could retrieve it. Close shave!

The ride to Dubai was uneventful - no rank aromas or samerai ...

... high school. The median annual income of working adults aged 15-65 is ZAR 20,695. Males have a median annual income of ZAR 24,851 versus ZAR 16,927 for females.[6] .

We stayed at the Beverly Hills Hotel about 15 minutes north of the city on the Indian Ocean by the Umhlanga lighthouse. We had beautiful views of the ocean and an Olympic size ...

South Africa is really... white. Durban is dangerous at night and there
is a huge mall. They have blackouts every day for two hours at two in
the afternoon, and even the malls shut down.

... She and the Administrator were meeting with a woman from the American Consulate on a potential grant from U.S.A.I.D. (who happens to know Melanie and John as well). I was pretty embarrassed though as I had been playing with the one boy outside for a while and was all sweaty and my shirt and pants already had dirt, baby food, and slobber stains on them. Anna said that I will hopefully be able to start working with her at her clinic ...

... me Christianity is just another choice along with Judaeism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, etc., and what's right for someone is a very individual decision. Today, we had a really informative guest speaker from the Cato Manor Area Based Management and Development Agency (ABA). The agency is responsible for managing the Cato Manor municipality, one of five muncipalities that comprise Durban (http://www.cmda.org.za/). The history of the area is extremely ...

... hahahaha... it was fun going around a corner and not knowing whether I would come out of it alive but oh well... after 5 minutes literally, our arms were sore and our body still vibrating from the engine we headed of to the bathroom - Unfortunately for us, they were asking for blood and of course, Fiona had to talk those of us who could donate, to donate! Well I'd never done it before and while talking the nurses to death from nervousness, Andrew was having a little trouble ...

... cold depths of Pappie and Mamie's lac Beauclair in Masham. A big adjustment for us was to have to deal with understanding the violence and the high crime rate in many parts of South Africa. Houses and communities are gated, fenced in with barbed wire. Going out at night is not safe and precautions must be taken. Restaurants, hotels and homes are guarded by security systems or officers ...

Walking in a Winter Wonderland Well, this really has been a week of all seasons. I'll begin at my last night in Cape town, where some friends that I had picked up along the way made sure I was sent off in style. We went for a slap up meal at arnolds where we ate kudu, eland and springbok in pletyful amounts, then back to the backpackers for a drink... or two... or three.... Getting up for my 14 hour journey the next day was less than pleasant; but still ...

Seeing as it was getting awfully cold in the mountains, Kelly and I decided to make a run for the coast. We had heard that Durban was having nice weather. It's a city of about 3 million on the Indian Ocean that I had never heard of before we got here. It's got a sub tropical climate so I would suppose it's a lot like Florida. Except for Cubans, they have Indians. After a fairly long day of driving, we finally arrive in Durban. I'm still not used to driving on the ...

... face! An English accent on a man like me is quite a rareity in these parts. So as long as I keep quiet I should be just fine! So, it's been quiet an enlightening few days already. I've met many different kinds of people and experienced many things that have got me thinking. And I haven't even reached home yet. Off to Cape Town for a few days, and then back to Durban to stay with Aunt Ruth who I haven't seen since I was about 11. "I...am everyday people"