Sandton Sun Intercon (Towers)

... it is that they were able to recover in any measure. Forget that they should be so happy and easy going. <br><br>I read a quote that resonated with me (paraphrasing) "A man can endure anything as long as he feels that he is not alone" - perhaps that is true of the people at St Thomas's. Their community and their faith keep them tightly connected to one another and their freedom (hard fought and recently given) feeds their undeniable happiness. <br><br><br>

... is very slim. Private systems are used.<br><br>Security is huge business. In my brother's kitchen are numerous bunches of keys. I have asked them to get all the bunches together and lay them out on a table for me to take a picture, but my guess is it will fill a shoebox. Everything is locked and double-locked. Vicious dogs are everywhere. Cars have gear locks (a stainless steel pin that gets inserted and which has a key) as well as alarms, steering ...

... kruger national park. we just learned that it's a ric************ property. this place is sick (as in unbelievable). one of the most amazing things we've seen out here (that i've forgotten to mention) is the stars at night. i've never seen anything like it, not even in all of my science classes (ha). you can see planets, galaxies (no joke) and all of the well-known constellations (orien's belt, southern cross, etc.). it's like they ...

... prescribed at the last hospital. We decided that since she was slightly better, I would continue on the trip for the next 4 days and meet in her Jo-berg. However, when Alli got to Jo-berg she went to the ER and they diagnosed here with a ruptured appendix which had formed an absess which then ruptured also. She was septic (bad bad infection) and had surgery right away. Her mom and aunt were able to fly here the next day however, I didnt find out for days after b/c I was ...

... we had staved off the worst of the jet lag and were ready to start a bit of tourism. Johannesburg's Apartheid museum was not built for the noblest of reasons according to our host. It was not a philanthropic gesture on the part of local business to document some of the country's horrific past, but there because the government would only allow the huge Goldreef casino to be built if the museum was to be its neighbour. Regardless of the reasons why the museum exists, within ...

... the grounds of the former prison with the idea was that the new South Africa's highest law court would reside in the same place where once its people were denied people justice and rights. Our mini tour also took us around the city we saw the city buildings, places where Gandhi and Mandela had their offices in the city and drove past the squares now named after them. We also drove through the poorest part of the city Hillbrow and saw the richest suburbs ...

... and truly scary crime stats (this is the place to come if you want to get mugged) but don't worry I am staying in a hostel miles from downtown and the dodgy inner suburbs. Businesses owned by white people pretty much gave up and moved out of downtown Jo'burg in the early 90s but that doesn't mean there aren't things happening there. Just things that might not be on the right side of the law. The city centre of Jo'burg is not a place to just go wandering ...

... 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.

... afternoon. --------------------- We hadn't done a dawn-start for a while so it was a bit hard getting up early enough to catch the 5.45am bus to Pretoria! (it was raining too, which didn't help) We were catching the bus service that connects the mine in Ellisraas, 88km away, to Pretoria and Johannesburg. We were a little apprehensive about it but it was absolutely fine, on-time and cheap! We stayed at Blue Chilli Backpackers in the Hatfield area which is very studenty and ...