Healing School Accommodation Randburg

... a brother. No offense to my sister, but I think having a brother to grow up with would have been something great. At the end of the trip Seb told me that I was the person he wanted to be like in a couple of years. His comment moved me in a unexpected way, and I don't think anyone has ever given me such a powerful complement. I wish both Kate and Seb the best of luck in Dubai and Sydney, respectively. I hope to see them both again someday.

The Johannesburg airport is ...

... to improve the conditions of living in the township?
There are lots of problems to tackle.
Since 1994 the mindset have changed, people are trying to do things by themselves rather than relying on the government, and local associations are trying to help the communities (HIV-Aids prevention and treatments, after school programmes for kids, computer trainings for adults, cultural activities...)

But money is a problem, they are not sustainable.
And ...

... drinking wine, vodka's, rum & of course Jeigermeister! It was when the Hugy Bugys were coming out & Rob was on his 3rd Jeigermeister I knew it was time to call it night. Robbie stumbled not long after. Safe to say the next day Robbie had no recollection of getting to bed and a thumping headache to say the least. But this excuse is not accepted & later that night we went out with our lovely tour guide & friend Livi for a few beers, cocktails & ...

... yesterday!) and a bit of the water polo - so my Olympic experience has been these and sync swimming! The evening was spent at Kath's and Gary's - we sorted photos and had some food. At the beginning of the trip we had tried to make sure all cameras had the same time and date, but somehow this didn't really work - Grahams was a couple of hours out, Floras was on Singapore time and mine was ...

... for the next 3 nights. The drive took about 25 minutes and we had a nice talk about politics along the way. He said the new government is OK but there are traces of corruption beginning to show. I told him that my government was led by George Bush and then just stopped talking. We both burst out loud laughing. It's nice to know the world thinks of GW the same way I do. The Westcliff is in the Northern Suburbs and fairly well secluded behind hills and gates ...

... long passage of shiny duty free shops and cafes was a new experience so I set off to explore. After walking the shops dead I decided to sit down and had a bite to eat as I had another long wait ahead of me before my flight boarded. Soon it was time to board my flight and I waited till my number was called and headed down the passage to the plane, along which we were searched and asked questions once again. I found my seat easily and settled in for the long flight......

... and white here, but thought it was only in downtown Jo-burg. But with the major security at our hotel and at the airport, we weren't sure. We finally got to our "lodge", down a long, dirt road, praying the entire way that it would be nice. We were really happy! Tuked away in a private game reserve area, this lodge ("Needles Lodge") has 5 guest rooms and a huge lobby/living room/kitchen area. The owner, Mike, built it 5 years ago. It's very clean - he has 2 helpers and a chef ...

... a complete column. There are several named formations including Cleopatra's needle and a room called the bridal chamber. It was in 1780 that a local farmer, Jacobus van Zyl, discovered the first chamber, which now bears his name. The guide turned off all the lights except for one small red one to demonstrate what the light would have been like for the farmer. The lights are only turned on in the caves when there are tourists there. This is to ...

... he have a family? Was he someones dad, husband, son, brother? And so I cried and cried and cried. Partly for that, and partly that in this country my first thought was my own safety, not to get out of my car, not to endanger my own life, not to try and save his perhaps. But I was alone and female and afraid, and I really don't know what I may do if there's a next time. I just feel thankful to be shown that I must live me life.

in a nutshell: We've spent the last 5 days on a little city-break holiday, staying in a backpackers' in Pretoria and visiting Jo'burg. We went on a tour of Soweto, the infamous Johannesburg township which played such a big part in the apartheid stuggle, and we visited the Apartheid Museum which was very good indeed. Back in Pretoria we walked around the city centre (you can do that in Pretoria during daylight hours!), went up to the Union Building - where the government ...