BEEEEEEG SECRETS!!

well anyway, I have a mystery to unveil to the chosen few. Those who would like to know what the hell I'm on about, send your email address to mabakerscountdown@gmail.com

All shall be revealed....

An interview with ME

So my American blog buddy (would that make him a bluddy??) Bruce has sent me a list of interview questions... how exciting!

Here they are...

1) You live in South Africa, and many of the rest of us don't. For those that have never been, what would you say are the major differences, not so much physically, but culturally. What would Americans find odd and vicea-versa?

I think that SA is both very diverse and very conservative. The last time I was in the states I was kind of shocked by things like the youth swearing in their cellphone while sitting next to an old granny on a bus. Even a "skollie" (dodgy type person) here would, in my experience, have ingrained respect for their elders. I guess that's something in the African tradition as well. My gran was mugged once (she was mid-80s at the time)and she reprimanded the guy and he gave her stuff back. Another time, her wallet was snatched and then left outside her door the next day.
Now don't get me wrong, I love the States - esp New York City and ESP the bagels they sell there. INCREDIBLY GOOD for a carbs fan like myself!

2) Do South Africans see Barack Obama as the coming of the American Nelson Mandela?
ummmmmmm, i doubt it. I mean we are all inspired and whatever, but Madiba is Madiba and you don't get a second man who is made to spend his best years in prison for fighting Apartheid and then comes out and forgives everyone - even invites his jailer to tea - and preaches peace rather than revenge. Nah, we have dibs on Madiba magic in SA :)

3) The name of the boyfriend is 'The Band', which is totally confusing. Why do you call him that, what is the significance?
No no no. The Band is short for the husBAND.

4)In the end, when you are 80, do you want to be in the lap of luxury and able to give your children and your life long friends the benefit of your labors, or would you rather be poor and destitute, but with a lifetime of wonderful memories? Explain why.

The second, no question.
Luxury is great in small doses but I battle to relate to people who live in the lap of luxury. Especially in a country where you have people sleeping on the floor of tin shacks in the middle of winter probably just down the road from you. I'd rather have fun than big moolahs anyday! I think being really rich would be really lonely.

5) We should all have a list of things we want to accomplish in our lifetimes.....what is at the top of yours? What is at the bottom?
ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Crikey, it changes all the time. I'd love to write a book. I'd love to travel Africa properly. I'd love to see the gorillas in Uganda.

it seems a bit early in the year

for a week to consist of 4 mondays in a row.

"4 Mondays" you say, "But that's not possible!"

On the contrary, it is very possible...

On the first Monday:
Me and The Band had a little scrap...(sadly ours are nowhere near as dramatic as EXMI's, but it was a fight nonetheless). Sure, he had no idea (until I brought it up today) that a fight had even occurred or that I was offended, but still, to me it was there - a big, nasty, festering thing.

On the second Monday:
Victims of crime people. I know. There we were merrily watching a DVD when we heard Booster's cries for help. (Booster is our Hilux that we got for the trip, try to keep up people) The Band looked out the window and saw a guy fumbling in the car. Suddenly my soutie man became Afrikaans and shouted "Jou Bliksem!!!!" as he sprinted after the guy. He chased him round the neighbourhood and managed to recover a dvd player which he'd stolen from Harry's house. So the guy actually got away with nothing although he did break our window (the bliksem). It was quite exciting actually - the thief had left his bag of goods in our garden. It was like a little treasure chest - gazillions of watches, some gold bangles, bully beef (minivom).

On the third Monday:
I had ambitious plans to cycle home from work. I am doing the Argus SOOOON and haven't even got on my bike since about March last year. Brought all my stuff and voila. Puncture. So there goes that idea. So much for good intentions.

On the fourth Monday:
My boss called my colleague and I in and more or less told us we had bad attitudes. I KNOW! Now I am many things, but rude and disrespectful in the work context, I am not. She was upset with our feedback on her plans. She asked our input and we gave it and she didn't like it. There was no rudeness. Only constructive criticism. Last I checked this was a workplace, not a warm and fuzzy lets all be best friends play group. (So yes, the attitude has certainly worsened).

Fortunately, today is FRIDAY at last and the weekend is beckoning.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MEEEEEEE

Today Spacebook turns 200 posts old!

time flies like the wind, fruit flies like bananas

actually, time does not fly. Anyone who is back at work and reading this will concur. but let's not even go there...

instead of moaning (more) or having (yet another) tea break, i thought i'd spread some cheer from my favourite sickos at cyanide and happiness...

Travel in the time of Cholera

Seriously, where do i start? There is so much to tell you... so many funny stories and sad stories. But I will tell them in bits and pieces as the weeks go by... Make sure I tell you about the White Water Rafting(!!) and the Dhow trip! In the meantime, our trip briefly went as follows....

Ok the brief itinerary was this:

• we first went up to Mozambique to spend about 2 weeks on the island of Bazaruto.


• Then we headed accross to Zimbabwe. Spent a couple of nights in Harare (the capital of Zim) before heading to Mana Pools for 5 days ("The world's wildest game reserve" - so called because although all the big game are present there are no fences and pretty much no rules which means you can walk through the bush alone if you want - we did, of course).


• after a stop at Lake Kariba,


• we went over to Zambia and spent time in a town called Livingstone,


• before crossing over to Victoria Falls.


• Finally after 4 weeks of camping we spent our last night at the most insane 5 star reserve being pampered before heading back via Beit Bridge (Crazy insane border crossing between Zim and SA - I KNOW!)

So countries visited were:

• Mozambique (great place, very poor, Portuguese influence)


• Zimbabwe (the pockmark on the face of Mbeki's presidency... for any who may not know, Zimbabwe is in the midst of genocide and human rights travesties... inflation is in the MILLIONS of percents, people are starving, cholera is devastating the country, the leader is a psychotic despot who refuses to acknowledge the results of the previous election... BUT it is beautiful. The people are some of the best i have ever met. They are genuine passivists. Going to Zim I both fell in love with it and had my heart broken by it. But Zim will be it's whole own post.


• Zambia.... a let down after Zim. People weren't friendly. Felt a bit harassed there.

Currencies we used:

• American Dollars


• Mozambican meticals (25 to the US$)


• Zim Dollars (changes daily, but when we were there it was about 4million to the US$)


• Zambian kwacha (4885 to the US$)


• South African rands (around 10 the US$)

Ok a few cool pics for you.

BAZARUTO:

Sunset on Bazaruto

A dhow - we sailed over from the mainland to Bazaruto on one of these

My little friend "Now". He came and spent a day with The Band and I... so sweet. Holding a giant starfish.

HARARE:

A shop in Harare... the shelves are pretty much empty except for a few sweets.

Prices in Zim Dollars. A bit of a joke. Prices are generally handwritten as they go up on a daily basis. The official inflation rate is 231million percent. I kid you not.

Cars queueing for petrol... the queue goes all the way down the road. There was no diesel available in Harare when we were there.

MANA POOLS:

Sitting at camp watching a hippo grazing

Some zeebeez

The group: The Band, The Joshwaaaa, The Harry and The Caz

Lake Kariba

Lake Kariba at dusk

Victoria Falls

Standing in front of Mosi Oa Tunya "The Smoke That Thunders". Victoria Falls is a sight that literally renders you breathless. Niagara Falls is beautiful, but Vic Falls is RAW.

Just above the falls... see the mist rising in the background.

The Zambezi River

Sunset on a river cruise on the Zambezi

And again

Last sunset on the Zambezi

Back in South Africa