The US of A

So, I have been in the United States of America for nearly two weeks and have learnt a few things. This is not my first visit here, but i feel I am older and wiser now.

Firstly, everything is BIGGER AND BETTER. The food is HUGE, the portions are HUGE, the stores are HUGE, the cars are gigantic and the people are also pretty big themselves.

Secondly, this place has really weird politics which most of its people are shocked to learn about (and yes, they are learning their own laws from an 'African'). I am happy to be an American...very useful little blue passport...but I can safely say i do not support their political ways.

Thirdly, most Americans seem to know where South Africa is because of the World Cup but still do not distinguish between Africa and South Africa.

Okay, that said. It is a wonderful country, full of lots of wonderful, shinny things, giant packets of M+Ms and Oreos, speedy fast internet which is uncapped and unsecured in most places, super advanced phones and laptops and millions of TV channels. It is safe and lovely and snowy and cold.

So, at the moment I am sitting in our neighbours house in 'The Willows' which is the community in which my mom's house resides. It is in the town called Chesapeake Beach in Maryland. It is a house built by my grandfather about 50 years and has been left to my mom now. It is a lovely old house right on the water but is only really inhabited for a few weeks a year.

We are off to New York City on Sunday for a few days and then off to San Francisco for a week and then Los Angeles for a week. And then back to sunny South Africa.

That is all I have to say for now. There are photos on facebook and i will write more as it comes :-)

Have a happy new year!

HOLIDAYS!

I have not blogged in a while so i thought i would share some storied of my adventures over the past week or so.

I finished my coursework for my masters on Saturday the 13th. I handed in my social justice project a few days before that and had my take home exam on friday the 12th. It was a looooong 24 hours and probably the worst exam i have ever done- it was long, stressful, tiring and just overall bad! I have 4 hours of sleep, 3 red bulls and a lot of coffee! But it is over and I wait until Dec 10th to get my results.

I celebrated my freedom by sleeping for 12 hours- yes, I am old and i no longer party! It was a beautiful, wonderful, peaceful sleep and the best 12 hours i had had in a while! I also drank some wine with Jacqui which made me happy too :-D

I had one week on Cape Town before i left for Durban and wanted to make the most of it. I spent this week enjoying 2 for 1 burgers at spur on Monday (yum yum), watching a movie at half price movies on Tuesday (Life as we know it- depressing but happy movie), going to the soccer on Wednesday (mucho exciting), having some girlie time on Thursday and ending my week with a lovely trip to Hermanus filled with good food, wine and whales!!

A wonderful week to end the year in Cape Town. Now I am back in hot and humid Durban in my little, now purple, room. I have left my 'less than perfect' red car (which i still love) in Cape Town and returned to a 'even more less than perfect' grey car here. As i arrived in Durban, my mom informed me that she locked the keys in the car and we needed to break into the car so we could drive home from the airport. Luckily this type of thing happens all the time in my family, and the back window can easily be removed. So out the window came, we retrieved the keys and got in the car. My mom then informed my that the spark plug or cylinder was out and the car was a little 'stuttery'. So we had a very, well bumpy, drive back to home. We made it- thank goodness! And had some popcorn for supper.

Since my eventful arrival I have done pretty much nothing. I managed to locate a charger for my laptop which had broken, so i was back to action with le computer in hand. I learnt that my harddrive could not be fixed and had to be wiped in order to work again, so i lost all my hard collected movies- this made me sad! I have moved a desk into my little purple room so that i can work on my thesis, and i have watched some mindless tv.

Tomorrow i shall visit the hairdresser- Whoop Whoop! And on Friday I will go to the doctor for a check-up. Tomorrow night i also have thanksgiving dinner which is being cooked by my dad's American students, which shall be exciting and taste good! And this weekend i plan on seeing the new Harry Potter.

Between that, i fill my time thinking about my thesis and planning on working on it but then sms Rachel and go out and eat cake and drink coffee. perhaps next week I will do more....

That is my exciting masters holiday life in a nutshell!
Enjoyable and stressfree- just the way i like it! :-D

this is amazing!

http://whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com/

This is the best website! I laughed and laughed!

exam stress

So, exam time is here. Some of you may be thinking- "But why...you are a masters student! Surely Masters students no longer have exams. When does that hell end?!?"

But, yes, I have exams. The Law School at UCT dictates EVERYONE must write exams; all courses must have an exam. Some courses are sneaky and get around it but most just make us suffer.

I suppose it is not too bad since i have progressed to the 'take-home exams', where you have 24hours to write the paper. Much better but still...exams!

So during exams it makes me laugh because never has my room been this clean, my dishes done every day, the gym been frequented so much...I will do anything and everything to avoid studying! And i think i am not the only one...

Right now i should be studying but instead I have watched about 20 episodes of Sex and the City and am blogging away. I put it down to the fact that it is too freaking hot to study! BAAA! Exams in winter...much better!

Anyway, I think this picture I found while googling exam stress (yes...i know...why not study...i don't know!) sums up everything about exams!

SO for all of you procrastinating and reading my blog, at least it is only for 2 more weeks!

ahhh...one again my people make me proud!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/opinion/29krugman.html?src=me&ref=general

Bring on November 2nd and lets see what the monkeys do...

Mr Elephant

http://www.garfield.com/comics/vault.html?yr=2010&addr=100829


This is my relationship with my stuffed toy, Mr Elephant. Mr Elephant has been around for AGES! I love Mr Elephant and always will :-)

p.s. I am sorry this is a lame blog and that i have not blogged in a long time. Nothing exciting has happened that has inspired me. But hopefully that will change....

time

I find time one of the funniest concept around. Sometimes it goes fast and other times it crawls by. When you want it to go fast it does not, and when you want it to go slow it does not. It can go speeding along for one person and at a snails pace for another even though it is the same time. The same time functions in different time zone and even in different cities. Everyone looks at the same time and uses the same time. Time really dictates everything. Imagine a time when you were not rushing to beat the clock; not scheduling meetings every hour and not trying to cram everything in. Time...it is a strange concept.

I feel like time has been a major theme this week. It has been a horrible week for me for different reasons and i wish it would go faster and be over. I feel like i have the same 7 days, 24 hours a day, as i have any other week, but now i have empty time and space to fill and it is hard. I have the same amount of classes, reading, assignments as ever...but there rest of the time seems to drag. The nights are longer and i really wish the time would fly by then, but you know that they say 'when you stare at the clock, it will never move fast'.

Time...it is everywhere and part of everything and it can be good and bad. It is a weird concept.

These are my thoughts...that is all :-)

Wall Street

On Saturday night, as most couples do, I went to the movies with Amandla and because he does not like movies and I did not have the deep desire to see anything in particular, he got to choose and we watched 'Wall Street'. This is a sequel to a earlier movie called 'Wall Street' with some people in it and it was a big hit and had a lot of catch phrases (i have not seen it).

Anyway, this movie is about the financial crash of 2008 which rocked the ship we all sail on, especially those with American family roots. I am not a ecos student; i do understand it and have never really had the desire to correct this. I have a basic understanding of some concepts, and i have a basic understanding of the financial crash. This movie explains it how it happened- built up over time, people knew it was coming, and then finally the massive implications it had (not for the everyday people, but for the big shots).

However, this is not what struck me about the movie. What struck me was 'the game'. When one big shot banker was asked "what his number was? The number that he could earn and that would be him saying enough and retire" he replied "more!" and that is the truth. The financial world is a huge game- trading, selling, exchanging, betraying...it is all a game. It is not about the money..those guys have so much money they could buy a country. It is about the game. One screws over another, who gets revenge, who gets screwed etc etc etc. It is a cut-throat world where people (there are a select few women who make it) eat eachother for breakfast.

Also, this movie showed me that greed really does make the world go round. Why do people want more; they are greedy. Why are bigger building being built; fastest cars being made; gigantic houses be sold...people want bigger and better...it is greed. It is quite realist in nature (i am tutoring firs year politics)...people are greedy, self-interested and live in a state of anarchy which allows them to do anything they want, moral not applicable.

Now, it is not the only world like this. All industries are cut-throat. As a friend once said to me, "if you aren't a shark, you aren't going to make it". And it is true; you need to be strong and know what you want. But, this movie showed me you also need some strand of morals, whether it be a parent, partner or just a special project, that keeps you grounded and prevents you from going crazy from the greed and the game.

All this said, the game is fun sometimes (especially if you are winning), and buying big fancy stuff is nice (when you have money). I would not make it in the financial world, but i would like to reap some benefits of it ;-)

Anyway, go watch the movie...it is very cool and has taught me many life lessons.
Now, i am going to go back to my love affair with 'Modern Family'

Farewell young friends...

p.s. i have lost all the marbles in my head...

a little pity party!

So have not blogged in a while mainly because i have had nothing i wanted to talk about. Things have been a bit rough on this side and i don't like blogging about the bad- i don't want to start a pity party, but after reading my friend Jen's blog i have realised that life is a pile of stinky pooh and that most people feel this right now, so i am going to tell you about mine...

I would like to find a rose among the crap but, as most of you know, when i get in a mood like this...it is hard to knock the happiness into it. To put it in context- in 2nd year i was told that "i sucked the happiness out of the room"...and i feel we might be broaching on that again.

One of the...um...issues is the THESIS! Well, i have somewhat of a supervisor but i have not officially asked her to supervise me but we are meeting next week. I have a topic that i am excited about but after a very de-motivational talk on Tuesday i do not think i will hand in in February. Now it wasn't really my plan to hand in in February but the honest truth is that i am sick and tired of being at UCT. I am tired to walking on campus and not knowing anyone, of having to do assignments i do not care about and being treated like a student. I am tired of it. I want some respect! Undergrads who think they have made it in life because they are at UCT...leave me alone and let me walk past you, you stupid inconsiderate idiots!

Back to the thesis, I am going to try and finish my proposal this weekend and then that will be a major step forward. But it is hard to fit it in- i have two courses which involve NGO work (which i love but it is hard to fit it in) and i know i am less involved this year in every regard but i feel like i have no time at all.

I feel like i have not actually seen my housemates in ages because well...i live here in theory. When i am home, i am either sleeping or working. Else i am on campus, the gym or Claredon. That's how my life goes.

Now, i am a lucky person. I have very supportive people in my life who have helped me through a lot, but right now i feel like go away from here and not having to deal with life!

So now i am going to put my earphones on, go to campus, battle to find parking, give a tut to a bunch of very ungrateful first years, and then keep on swimming...

University...time of your life...well i hate to see where it goes from here

A time of the past

There is this Jack Parrow song that talks about how much he misses things of the past- all sorts of random things about what he did when he was young. Now, i am not really a Jack Parrow fan but as i was driving home today it was playing and it encapsulated what i was thinking at that moment.

I am at home in Durban for the week and thinking about how easy the life here is- washing is done, bed made, food prepared, TV, internet. Easy life. But i know it is only easy because i am here for a week at a time in holidays. If i lived here all the time my parents would harass me about getting a job or studying more or what i was doing with my life. It would never be like it was when you were in school.

When I was in school, i would have all these benefits of home everyday and my parents knew it was normal for me to live at home, so there was little harassment- except about being out late or not studying. But i was a good child, so there was little harassment. Now that i have left home, if i had to come back here after studying or because something happened, then i would not live the good life; it would not be a normal transition for me to move home (regardless of what that new york times article said). I would not be left in peace to lounge around watching E Channel or the Disney Channel; i would be harassed about my next move, about getting a job, about pulling it back together. Maybe there would be one or two weeks of peace but it wouldn't last.

So, after coming to this realization the other day, i have realised that enjoying those homely delights on a regular daily basis is a time of the past. i will never be in that position again. Sure, i am still studying and have long holidays to come home and enjoy it, but i always know it will come to an end. Now, don't get me wrong...i am not saying i want to move home. No no no...my parents would drive me insane. What i am saying is that you should enjoy the homely life you have while you still have it- enjoy someone to look after you, because soon it will be gone and you will be out in the big bad world and you won't be able to slip back home and enjoy those years again.

So, when you hear that Jack Parrow song, listen to it and think about your youth and the things you cannot do anymore. But then there is one line where he goes something like, but if i was doing those things then i would not be doing what I am doing now and would be missing out. So i guess thats the message- we grow up and sometimes it sucks and we want to go home, but we are becoming adults who are doing bigger and better things :-)

The time of goodbyes

The world is a wonderful but horrible place. You live in a place but there are so many more to see and most people have got this curiosity to go and see all these places. It is a gift and a curse. It is a gift to have the ability to travel so easily and see so many fantastic things, but it is a curse leaving behind loved ones and saying goodbye.

Tomorrow, one of my best friends leaves for a six month (minimum) traveling trip. Lucy and I have been friends for many many years- I think it was grade 6 that we really became friends, and we have remained so through high school, university and now whatever state we are in at the moment. Tomorrow she is getting on a plane for her first overseas trip. She is going to London for a bit and then around Europe and then back to London to work for a while, and then where-ever the wind takes her. It will be a once-in-a-lift time, amazingly fantastic trip and i am so so jealous!

But now, she is the forth person since July I have said goodbye to. Hallie has gone to Taiwan, Lisa has gone off to Japan, Kate off to China (yes she was there before but then visited and then it was goodbye again) and now Lucy to London. Now all these chaps are leaving for Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh and all sorts. More goodbyes. And before all that, Jo left for South Korea.

It has been a heart-breaking time. I feel like my social life has shrunk but my skype list has doubled. I spend my friday nights sending emails instead of going out. I am so happy for all my friends who are off on all their adventures and I know my time will come. But it is incredibly hard to say Goodbye and think about not seeing their faces for so long.

Who knows what this life holds for us, but what I do know is that it is an adventure and you just have to go with the flow. So to all my friends reading this from all over the world, I hope you are having an amazing time...and think of me thinking about all of you :-)

twenty- somethings

Now, I am stealing the idea from my friend Jo and her blog...but i think it is a different point I am making.

There is an article...go read it. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/magazine/22Adulthood-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&sq=20%20somethings&st=cse&scp=1

Now, this a quite a long article but from the begining part, all i feel is angry. We are twenty-somethings and we are confused. I have never been more confused in my life. What to do next year? Where to live? What to study? Thesis topics? the list is endless. Life is hard...and sometimes being a twenty-something sucks. I know it is lame, but sometimes i just want to be a thirty-something who is organised. Who decided on a thesis topic, wrote it, got a masters, got a job and has a family. She is put together and has her head screwed on tight. But the fact of the matter is that we are not there yet. We are young, confused people...but isn't that what being a twenty-something in this day and age means?

This article seems to think not:
"We’re in the thick of what one sociologist calls “the changing timetable for adulthood.” Sociologists traditionally define the “transition to adulthood” as marked by five milestones: completing school, leaving home, becoming financially independent, marrying and having a child. In 1960, 77 percent of women and 65 percent of men had, by the time they reached 30, passed all five milestones. Among 30-year-olds in 2000, according to data from the United States Census Bureau, fewer than half of the women and one-third of the men had done so. A Canadian study reported that a typical 30-year-old in 2001 had completed the same number of milestones as a 25-year-old in the early ’70s."

Now please...tell me if i am wrong but you seem to be advocating somewhat of a rather anti- independence stance here. Things have changed! In the 1960s, you could not travel the world at the drop of a hat. I remember my dad telling me he had to take a boat to the USA and that was the first time he saw TV. There was no internet, no email, no lonely planet and definitely no teachKorea. There were two professions for women- teacher or nurse and you only did that till you got married. The number of parents who were married and had a kid by 25 is unbelievable! But is that what we are advocated now...most definitely not! Most of those moms tell us to stay young and independent...live you life...don't settle down just yet!

I am 22 years old. I have completed two of five milestones...i have failed! But i think besides my drives license the first time, that is the only thing i have failed. How many of those 25 year olds have a masters degree or even a freaking honours degree. By the time i am 30, i plan on having two masters degrees...and i think that that's okay. Now days people live to like 80 years old. So after those 30 years, i still have some time to achieve the rest. I will achieve those other three milestones. I will get 5 out of 5...but i can guarantee you that it will not be in the next 7 years.

We live in a different era. Women can do anything they want to. There are female presidents, Black presidents. There is genuine equality in most parts of the world. I can talk to my friend in Japan with the drop of a hat. I can fly across the world in 8 hours. With the click of a button I can have something delivered from 30 000km away. This is the world twenty-somethings live in. You know why we haven't achieved 5 out of 5...because there are 2 million other things we have to decide first.

So you know, New York Times...go stuff yourself! I am quite happy with my own goals and will get to yours later

can't we just escape reality for a little longer. ..

I know I have not updated this in a while and I have a lot of back-blogging to do. I need to blog about the African Schools Debating Championship, which is where I have been for the past week, and lots of other things. But right now, I just feel like blogging about all these feelings swimming around my mind and body.

I feel very sad. I was at ASDC with my lovely friends all week. It was hell at times but it was a break. To put it simply...I would leave my hotel room in a complete mess in the morning and when I returned home, it was sparkling clean with new towels and all. That is what I felt like most of the week, I would leave early in the morning tired and irritated anticipating a horrid day, and i would return home happy and filled with satisfaction that it went well and filled with happy friend feelings.

At ASDC 2009 i was an adjudicator and I made some of the best friends i have and this year at ASDC, even though i was organising it this year and was much busier, I felt like i got to rekindle those friendship with people I had not see in ages.

The nature of this competition (which i will tell you about in another blog post) is one that is unique because it brings together schools from around SA and countries from around Africa. It is a one and only event in South Africa. What really fills you with happiness is seeing the kids enjoy this event. I was head of registration which means I chose the teams and invited them. For me the African nature of the competition was more important, and i wish more countries could have come, but it is expensive to travel. But those countries and schools that did come, LOVED IT...and i know this because they told me every day. Do you know how wonderful that is! Kids who are learning and enjoying the tournament that had given you nightmares for the past 6 months; teachers and chaperons who are thanking you for this opportunities and teams who are so eager to come next year. It really makes it all worth while.

Yes, there were technical hitches and this morning was a major one where our fearless leaders decided to not be fearless and it was chaos that resulted in me nearly crying and feelings getting hurt. Not a great way to end the tournament but everyone is home safe and sound right now, which is all that counts.

So, as of 4:30 today i was feeling some sadness that it was over and i left my ASDC friends for another year, but relief that it was done, pure exhaustion for a week of nonstop work and of course fear for the reality that is waiting for me at UCT!

Now to add it all off, you all know I have been having car troubles...well they have not ended. And on my way to the airport to fetch Bontle, the car dies AGAIN and it is the clutch AGAIN and i have to get a giant yellow truck to tow me AGAIN! This time though, i was not stuck in Kramer, I was on the side of the N2 in a not-so-safe area at 5:30 meaning there was maybe an hour of sunlight left. I was angry beyond belief because i had had this exact problem fixed a week ago, fear that something terrible was going to happen while we wait, and pure and utter exhaustion for being alive. I think i can safely say i was a person there is body but not mind because i had given up...this was the last straw. I was sitting on the N2 waiting to be kid-napped/robbed/mugged in my piece-of-shit-breaking-for-the-third-time car after having a hard week and imagining a even harder one coming.

I made it home after the worlds slowest, but most helpful, AA man towed the car and then pushed it into the garage. I called my mom, cried. I called my dad, cried. And then i just cried more because i have spent this entire term dealing with car issues. I have made zero progress on my thesis, i have missed a week of class, and i have made absolutely no progress on my NGO project for my social justice class....and it is one week till the end of the first term.

So right now, I dream of leaving this place and coming back to one where all my clothes are clean, my work is done, my thesis topic is signed and sealed and my F**king piece of shit car actually works. I wish that the hotel cleaning ladies could clean my mess up.

Now, this is a emo post but it is all about all the emotions you can feel and how you can feel them all at one. I am happy, relieved, sad and exhausted. I feel like i do not want to come out from under the covers because it feels like Brazil's fire tornado is waiting for me outside. This feeling reminds me of Dido's 'Sand in my Shoes' song, where she does not want to unpack so she can forget for one more night that she is back.

So right now i am going to hide from reality for a little while longer; stay under my covers and pretend that I am not here.

Naomi Campbell

So, Supermodel Naomi Campbell was called to testify at the Hague for the war crimes trail of the former Liberian president, Charles Taylor. Naomi Campbell was VERY unwilling to come and testify saying it was a 'nuisance' to have to go! In addition, she refused to have any of her testimony filmed or pictures taken, and she brought her own legal team to 'protect her'. When testifying, she has given a testimony in contradiction to Mia Farrow and her former assistance Carole White.

Now, Naomi Campbell could be the link to put Taylor is jail for funding the blood diamond trade in Sierra Leone. The conflict and trade of blood diamonds was horrific- people died, raped, hand chopped off, child soldiers, massive human rights abuse and war crimes! And if the ICC could connect Taylor to funding this, it would put this dictator and war crimes criminal behind bars for life, which would be a huge triumph for justice and human rights everywhere! How any rational person, i would assume, would be more than willing to help this cause!

But, not Naomi Campbell. Campbell has been said to have received diamonds from Taylor at a charity party in South African in 1997, which would connect him to buying diamonds and trading. Now two people have confirmed seeing her get diamonds but she first denied it by saying she received a large bag of 'stones' from an unknown person. She did not know these were diamonds and she did nothing with these stones. Then it changed that she knew it was diamonds and gave them to the Nelson Mandela charity...but this was denied by the charity. So what actually happened?!? Apparently, Campbell received a big uncut diamond and kept it with her. But she denies this.

Now i ask you, if she was innocent, why the hoo-haa about coming to testify...you were innocent and nothing happened. So, it leads you to think that she did receive a diamond. If she did, for goodness sakes...tell them because you could be the final fundamental link between Taylor and the blood diamond trade! And this is a good thing! So what are you worried about? Your reputation...well you are a 'past your prime' supermodel who has earned a reputation that, i certainly think, would destroy any hope of ever being a respectable person. Are you worried about your safety and your family...fair enough, you are dealing with a serious issue and a serious dictator. But still....for once in your worthless life, do something right. Either you received the diamonds or your didn't. If you did, you are a fool who should have known better than to a) take anything from such a terrible man and b)not tell someone about these diamonds which you should have known, or what have known sometime later (if you had a brain) were blood diamonds.

Now, we have all seen the movie 'Blood Diamond' and know about the brutality of the conflict and the diamond trade. So, all i can say is that if i ever met Naomi Campbell, i would spit on her face because if Charles Taylor walks away free, it will be her fault for covering up the only evidence there is to put him behind bars!

Now, this may be one-sided and this is the story of how I understand it and I, obviously, think she is guilty. So, this is just my two-cents...agree or disagree, but i think it is very suspicious behaviour from Naomi Campbell.

The Cape Town Book Fair

So, on Saturday I went to the Cape Town Book Fair (alone because all my friends have gone overseas!).

I have been twice before and this year was quite disappointed. There were not as many stalls as usual and, most significantly, there was no exclusive books stall. Apparently, there has been some conflict among the organisers and shops which led to Penguin and Jacana both pulling out. There were a lot of South Korean, Chines, Arab and Japanese stalls, which is weird because really...the majority of South African's cannot speak any of those languages. I have come to realise that the book fair is not a place for a public nobody in the publishing world but for people to try find publishers and authors to get published and people to advertise and launch books.

Nevertheless, I went to two talks. There were not many to choose from and definitely not many interesting ones. One talk was a launch of the UKZN press book 'The Curse of Berlin: Africa after the Cold War' by Adekeye Adebajo (who is a very prominent scholar), which was very interesting and looks at Africa's problems with integration and how this is not the solution for Africa and how Africa needs a new regional leader to unite it. Something like that; very interesting and i recommend you take a look at it. The other talk was by the HSRC Press on the book 'Trade Unions and Party Politics', which was not so interesting but then again trade union and me are not academic friends.

I did find UCT Press, which is a first. I have always heard they existed but did not know who or where they were. They have some very interesting books coming out. The academic press stands were there in full force, and despite the resigning of both UKZN and HSRC Press' publicity/press directors, they had some good books, a good stand and the usual schmoozing of people.

All in all, the food was bad, there were no real bargains on books and there was not much to see. So, if you did not make it this year, do not despair because it was nothing to marvel at.

you've got a friend in me

So, as I sit on my bed on my one night off a week, I thought about the past day and wondered why the world can be so mean sometimes and how people can really bring happiness to a sad day.

This morning, just after I had woken up and as I sat down to enjoy my muesli and coffee, I got an sms from my good friend, Jacqui. Her lady-friend, Winnie-the-pooh, had ended their relationship via sms! Well that is just plain mean! So instead of going to gym, I headed over to my friend’s house. Before getting there though, I needed to get some wine and was a little concerned because it was 9am and what bottle store would be open. Well never fear, the bottle store was open…I guess for those early risers or something like that.

I arrived at Jacqui’s to already see Jen, Clair and Jenny there with the same idea, and we sat down at 10am to enjoy some wine, niknaks and chocolate. A good healthy start to the day. Considering I had no classes today, I figured why not have some wine, and so the drinking began. At 12, Jen had to leave to go to a meeting but as she left Bontle arrived and we went off to get some more supplies. Some vodka, brutal fruit, lemon twist and Steers were purchased and back to Jacqui’s we headed. Throughout the afternoon more people came with more varieties of goodies to eat and drink and at 5:30 I got into my little red car (after sobering up of course) and drove home.

I felt like I had been away like I would have been if I had a job- 9 to 5 in the office. Except, I had gotten no work done and has spent the day on a mattress in the sunshine. The perfect job if you ask me. Except that I had to come home and do a reading for my workshop tomorrow, which was kind of lame.

What an interesting day. People, busy people who are not only studying but also running community projects and working part-time, dropped everything and came to the side of a friend in need. It is amazing to know that there are real friends in this world who do come to your side when things go wrong; who will drop whatever they were doing, hop on their bicycle and arrive at your house with booze in hand. They will tell jokes and funny stories the whole day while you listen to some strange music and enjoy the sunshine.

The world can be a mean place with heartbreak, disappointment, sadness and pain, but it too can be a world composed of wonderful groups of friends who create memories like today which make you a little less scared of the big bad world. Sometimes life sucks and sometimes you heart gets broken, but you will always have your friends who will help you put it back together again.

An interesting and entertaining day that has left me with a little smile on my face :-)

the car parts underworld

There are many sterotypes in this world about woman and cars- they all drive terribly; they drive too fast; they do not know how to change a tyre and, most significantly, they know NOTHING about cars. Now, i am not going to try disprove this, but rather try and enlighten some of the females out there about the 'Cape Town Car Underworld'.

I have a little car of my own- a red hyundai getz and i love this car with all my heart. It is just perfect for me. I learnt how to drive in it; drove it from Durban to Cape Town and now it transports me around this city. The other day, this car died. Yes, it died. The car was making some funny sounds and smells, so i thought that it should go to the mechanic. I took it there on Tuesday and on thursday the mechanic called me back saying i should come in. He sounded very serious and i was quite nervous! So i arrive at the mechanic and he says, "come look at the gear box"...okay, i think...where is it? More importantly, what does it look like. Now the mechanic tries to explain what is wrong with it. Now really, this was just a waste of time. I have never seen a gear box before so i know nothing about it at all. And he is trying to tell me why it is broken and i am thinking..."But, can you fix it and save my car!" Eventually he realises i have no clue what he is saying and tells me that he can replace it (and the clutch because that is dead too) but it will cost.....between R8000 and R10 000! Sho! I wanted to cry!

However, not all hope was lost because my bestest friend Lisa told me about all the car underworld where you can get second hand parts for cheap. So i went to this website (partssource.co.za) and put up the parts i needed and a contact number and i waited and less than an hour later someone phoned saying they had a gear box for me for R3500...and it was a hyundai getz 2009, so practically new! Great news. So off i went into Blackheath (near belville) to get my gear box and it was a success. A very industrial area but a good place- Supreme Spares and it has lots of spare parts for all sorts of cars. A good place to go if you need some parts, and nice people working there too. I ended up getting a clutch at Midas, so nothing exciting there. When i returned to the mechanic an hour later, gear box in hand, he told me we need a clutch fork too. SIGH! So, he got in the car this time and we went off to find this fork. Well, this is the real car underworld now. First stop, Korean Boys! Which specialise in Hyundia second hand parts. It was Saturday at 12:10, so most places were closing. After a bit of bribing and smiling, the man let us in to see if he had one. But, no luck there. Next stop, Bridge City. Now this place, as you walked in you saw a car dashboard hanging on the wall surrounded by light cases and engines. Seriously! He went to the back, which i can imagine had even more parts everywhere, but again no luck! So last stop was Clifton's. This was a real dump and super dodgy! As you walk in all you see is shelves of car parts! We asked him for the clutch fork and my hopes rose as i heard the man digging through metal, but alas, no success! Now it was too late to go anywhere else, so the little red car had to spend the weekend in the workshop :-(

Bright and early Monday Morning I was harassing my mechanic about 'this fork', and some success was rendered. We found a fork that was not an identical one but one that, according to the salesman, should be fine. So now I sit and wait in anticipation to see if anything has happened and make a wish upon anything and everything that my little red machine will be back on the roads asap.

So if your little cars break down, do not worry too much because I am a pro at the car underworld and can help you out :-)

'Act like a Lady, Think like a Man'

'Act like a lady, think like a man' is a book by comedian Steve Harvey and it is all about what men think about romance, love, relationships and that kind of stuff. I am not normally into these self-help, relationship books but a friend of mine gave it to me raving that one has to read it! So i thought i would give it a try...

Now, first off, there should be a warning on this book- "Do not read unless wanted to get married immediately or are over 30 years old!" This book tells you have to get the ring, how to know what he wants, how to handle meeting kids, how to make your family love him. All these are very important things but if you are 22 and in your first serious relationship, these things freak you out! And that is what this book did. I starting asking my boyfriend questions like, "Do you think I am a lady"; "Do you feel like you need me"; "Do you feel like I need you"; "Should i have waited 90 days before getting serious in the relationship" and the ever so famous "is this going to last forever" question...and let me tell you, he thought I had lost the plot. This book, coupled with a friend of mine and her relationship issues, could ruin any functional relationship! Gees louise! Not a fun time!

This is not to say there weren't any good points. The book is amusing- it makes fun of men and their inability to sit and tear apart a woman's every issue for hours on end; it makes fun of women and their crazy obsession with over-reading into everything and some of the stories about couples are do outrageous you can only laugh about them. In addition, it makes you understand (as cheesy as this sounds) how men do show their affection and how you should interpret their actions, and most of all it really drives home how women are in control of what happens to them. This is something that stuck out to me- you are only treated badly if you let yourself be treated that way. Set some standards; make some rules and make sure you VOCALISE these rules, and not in a 'i am telling you telepathically from my brain to yours' way. Decide what you want and tell him and if he really is into you, he will listen and if he thinks you are insane, let him go! Wise words Steve Harvey, wise words!

All in all, this book is fun. You should read it, think for a bit and then put it down and leave it alone and re-read it in 10 years time when you have your life together a bit more; you have a career, a salary, a house and a plan...not when you are sitting on a bed, surrounded by books that are suppose to give you an idea about a thesis topic!

So, if you have a rainy day and want to read something, have a little melt down and nearly ruin your perfectly good relationship...give me a call and i can help you out :-)

this is dedicated to anyone who has ever had to think up a dissertation topic

So, it has come to be that time of the year again...thesis time! And what is the first step in writing a thesis...coming up with a topic and that is the point I am at right now. I actually wish that my supervisor would tell me what he was interested in and then I would do that! How am I supposed to know what I am a)interested in, b) that is not out of my depth, c) is specific enough to do in a few months and d) can be done in 25 000 words...and not to mention e) GET A GOOD MARK! AHHHH!

There are several fears that attacked a student trying to write a thesis and one of the major fears is the fear that everyone else knows exactly what they are doing and you do not. This is not a feeling specific to thesis writing...think about. No one ever wants to be the kid that is chosen last; the one who is the slowest; the one who gets the answer wrong. No one wants to be the kid who hasn't got a clue while surrounded by people who do. That is what happened this morning...

This morning I had two meetings- one with my thesis group and convernor and the other with my supervisor. The first one rendered me shaking in my seat because I felt like everyone else was so much further than I was...they had concrete ideas and plans and knew what to do.... whilst I had a vague place of interest but no actual examples or links or anything. My convernor tried to give me ideas, but i walked out of that meeting thinking I was doomed!

The next meeting I was terrified of. My supervisor is a very impressive, high profile law God who has never met or taught me. All I could think was..."try sound smart!" but that is kind of hard when you have no clue what you are doing! EEK! Anyway, my fears were unnecessary because he was a great guy who gave me good ideas. And I walked away with hope and anticipation to go and read all about these ideas.

Now, as I sit at my laptop googling anything and everything transitional justice related, I wonder how many people at this present moment are doing exactly the same thing and thinking they too are doomed! I bet it is millions across the world...and each one of those millions sit and thinking...."Why does everyone else know what they want to do except me!!"

The academic life...definitely not for the faint hearted!

worst day ever!

So, at this moment in time I am sitting in the ever so busy Cape Town airport waiting to be picked up. A mere 24 hours ago, I was sitting on my blue couch in the lounge watching TV without a worry in the world...and then...

First of all, I had to start packing. Now, as most people know, i hate packing! I seem to gather stuff and then it is a battle against the force of the suitcase and scale to make it close and be underweight! Anyway, as i sat shoving- literally- stuff in my bag, i realised I do not have any keys to my house in cape town. Now you see, I keep the gate remote on my car keys and left those in my room in cape town which is looked. Never fear i say, i will call Meg, but Meg has a job now (Yay) and won't be there; and neither will AJ, Olivia, Hallie or anyone! So then i go, eek! What to do. Next option, use keys I have here for doors in house...but i never was given a front door key and it has never been much of an issue coz i use the remote to get in and our...but with no remote! So now i need to get a key to Lisa to ensure I can get in. But Lisa's phone is not working so i cannot get hold of her and meg can't either. and Meg has to leave at 8am. Finally, I get hold of Lisa and tell her to phone Meg but it is now like 1am and Meg is asleep. So i have to make a new plan but now I am tired and sad because I hate leaving. And this is admin and all i can think about is what a friend said to me...'if you are continually coming up against obstacles then it is not meant to be'...and i am lying in bed going- AHHHHH! I don't want to leave Durban! Eventually, I get hold of AJ who can give Lisa a key but she has work at 12noon, so Lisa has to go before then, but AJ will be out from 8-10, so Lisa has to go after that. Well, at that point i left my fate in Lisa's hands to make a plan (because she is good at that :-) ) and I went to sleep. At 9am, i get a call from AJ saying she cannot give Lisa a remote but can give a key to the front door, which is fine...as long as it is not latched. So i guess i will find out soon enough.

So after the key mess...I have to go to the airport which is far now because they built a new airport in Durban. And the petrol light comes on but there are like no petrol stations for 20kms...sigh! So me and my dad risk it...what else could we do! And get to the airport, i go through and wait for my plane!

Now the plane is an hour late! Because of all the world cup traffic! More than packing I hate delayed planes! And then we take forever to get on the plane and travel at slowest speed ever. At least I got to watch House on the plane.

Then I arrive, my bag arrive (thank goodness) and i get a phone call from Lisa saying her car has broken down on Liesbek Driveway and she is stuck. So she says take a cab but i still need keys from her. So i say i will wait for her to fetch JP's car and come fetch me. And here i wait...

I suppose in hindsight it doesn't seem that bad, but when you are sad to leave and then all this crap happens, it really makes you irritated and sad! But i guess there is nothing you can do when life is literally throwing poo at you but to sit and take it. So i sit here and write this and think, as my friend TI says, "It could be worse...you could be fat and ugly"! So now i am sitting at waiting and laughing at the irony and hoping i get home sometime before the soccer starts so at least i can enjoy that...with a stiff drink because, lets face it...i need it!

An exciting weekend

So, yet another weekend has past and exciting things have happened that I am here to tell you about :-)

Friday started bright and early with a visit to Durban's Early Morning Bead Market down near Warwick Junction. This market is full of ladies who spend their time making beaded necklaces, earnings, hats, key rings and anything you can imagine (even a beaded vuvuzela!). These ladies travel from the northern KZN rural areas every friday and sell their items at real cheap prices, usually to other retailers who then sell them to tourists for triple the price. It is a great place, but early is key! Since it is pretty hard to park down there, you need to get there between 6:30 and 7am, however, it does go on until about 10am. I bought a zillion pairs of earrings (at R10 a pop!) and a very big necklace that I am not sure when I will wear, but it is very wonderful. Our American houseguest dropped R250 on a beaded vuvuzela...those tourists! What I really wanted was an traditional wedding hat, but practicality caught up with me because, really, when would i wear that :-) It is a spectacular place to see and I will take you down there anytime you are here :-)

As a reward for waking up so early, my dad took me out for breakfast at a little, rather strange place, called Panchimaltos. It is a dutch restaurant in the middle of town right next to the Durban court house, so you usually get a lot of lawyers and judges eating there. It is a tiny little place that you could walk straight past and has been there for the past 14 years. It has fantastic breakfasts and really good prices. Plus, if the owner likes you, he will treat you to some homemade pastries on the house. A definite go to!

The rest of Friday was spent waiting in anticipation for the Brazil Netherlands and Ghana Uruguay games. The first game...well what a surprise. We are definitely a Netherlands supporting household but, it is safe to say, we all thought they were going home. But alas they won against the mighty Brazilians! Excellent News! Then came the ever so disappointing loss by the Black Stars. Look, i don't want to talk about it...lets just say, nothing will make me happier than seeing Uruguay lose 20 nil to Netherlands!

Saturday was a market filled day once again. I went off to two markets; once called 'Green with Envy' which is mainly a food market where we bought lots of yummy humus, feta, bread, cheese and olives. Plus the best coconut and poppyseed cake I have ever had! Then onto the 'I heart Durban' market. 'I heart Durban' is an sort of marketing campaign to promote different and new things to do in Durban. They have a market and a party once a month. I like to call it 'Cape Town exporting to Durban' because it is the Cape Town arty alternative vibe. The market was quite disappointing; very small and not too exciting. But now I can say I have been.

The rest of that day was spend waiting for more soccer, which was not too exciting really. Argentina went home and Germany has shown the world that they are not to be overlooked. And Spain won, rather unconvincingly, against Paraguay. So what I thought would be a South American based semi-final has turned into something very different. I vote for a Netherlands Germany final!

Sunday was a exciting day. We went off, with some more family, to the Prawn Shack. This place is about 110km out of Durban in a place called Amatikulu, and is a remote little restaurant. It is owned by an eccentric character who life is the beach! It is a 'food experience' where you taste 7 courses over a few hours ranging from prawns (obviously) to steak, pasta, soup and desert! Its on the beach, so you can take a break from your food and go for a swim, and in Durban you can swim all year long :-)
A really cool place!

The weekend ended with a trip to the movies to watch Eclipse, the third twilight movie. Yes, i am a fan and yes i have read all the books and seen all the movies (more than once), but let me tell you...I hated that third book. I have never read a more boring piece of junk book before. It took me like six months to read because it was so dull I never wanted to read it. I did finish it unlike some of my friends who just wikipedia'd the ending because they could not bear to read anymore! It was crap! So i expected the movie to be crap too, but i was pleasantly surprised! Maybe because I went in with low expectations it seemed really good but i enjoyed it. It was true to the book, expect it left out an odd 300 pages of the really boring crap! It has lots of love- beautiful vampire and werewolf love and a tiny fight scene of like 5 minutes. If you are a fan, go watch it; if not...then i don't recommend it :-)

That's it for now,
Have a good week!

a travel guide to Durban :-)

Finally, it is July 1st and new internet cap has arrived and i can tell you all about the past week :-) I have not written in a while, so this is a long one...but totally worthwhile :-)

So, what has been happening in the last week? Well, it has been a busy past few day; well busy by Durban's "just chill and enjoy the sun" standards. The weekend started with a trip to Florida road, Durban's version of Long Street, which was filled with foreigners getting ready for the Brazil Chile Game. It was packed! We eventually found a table at Bangkok Wok...right next to some Portuguese men :-) We had great thai food there- curry and stir-fry...i definitely need to go to Thailand now! The game itself was not very exciting but the company was fun. Got a little awkward when Meg P had to save me from this very determined Portuguese man! But that's what friends are for :-) The party continued...but in the aid of avoiding unnecessary groping and because i had to be up EARLY the next day, i left.

On Saturday morning, we left, bright and early, to the farmers market in Shongweni. It starts at 5am and they recommend you get there no later than 7am so the good stuff is still there. Well, we got there at 7:30, and there was plenty of wonderful things to buy. Mainly fruit, vegetables, cheese, baked goods and meat. But some other random food items, as well as art and random bits and bobs. After spending far too much money, we sat down to have breakfast. Now this is what the market is really known for- its great breakfasts! Croissants, bacon, eggs, omelettes, vetkoek, breakfast in pita, fruit salad, avo samies...anything and everything! As well as some good coffee :-) I definitely recommend taking a trip, if you are in Durban. It is open every saturday till about 10am. Very Very cool! :-)

From the market, we went on to Nottingham Road. My parents have just finished building their 'retirement home', which has only two bedrooms- the main room and guest room/study...ie, no space for the kids! Nottingham Road is about an hour and a half from Durban, in Natal Midlands, and is where my dad grew up. It is surrounded by some of South Africa's top private schools- Kersney, Michael House and Hilton. It is a strange little dorpie- literally a one shop town, but it is known for its brewery, The Nottingham Road Brewery, which makes beers called the 'Pickled Pig', 'Whistling Weasel' and the 'Tidily Toed'. It is super good local beer. If you ever see it in a shop...give it a try :-)

The house is in a wonderfully quiet area with cows and buck running everywhere. We were lucky because it was a beautiful day; not cold at all! I spent most of it reading in the hammock on the veranda! I could i have stayed there all weekend...Sadly, there is no furniture, so it may have gotten a bit rough in the night :-)

Anyway, we had to get home by 8pm because it was USA vs Ghana and we had to watch it! And what a game. I know i should have supported USA but Ghana all the way friends! They are Africa's hope and i hope they make it far! The Ghanian government had said it will sponsor Ghana fans, because they have fun out of money, to stay on as long as Ghana is in the game. If that goes not get them all the way...nothing will. I think we must all by Ghana Flags :-)

Sunday was dominated by the anticipation of the England Germany game...which was an amazing game. All i can say is, yes yes Germany deserved to win...but soccer...get with the program and use technology and replays! For goodness sakes!

Yesterday was super awesome! I went to Goudans, which makes the best and spiciest bunny chows in the world! It blows your brain but it is so good. The bunny chow is so funny because it was originally used because the indentured indians did not have enough time to eat their lunch, so they would put it in some bread to keep it and then eat it later. Well, that is one of the stories...there are loads! Goudans in the arch rival or Govender's which is just 100 meters up the road. I think Goudans is better :-) It is a great place, which really represents the new South Africa with people of all races! And you know if Indian people eat there, the food must be good! it is cheap and spicy...Definitely worth a visit (corner of Umbilo and Eatton Road in Glenwood)!

Tuesday was a very exciting day for me. I have lived in Durban pretty much my whole life and today I had a day of new places I have never been. First off, we went to lunch at this place called 'little Gujart'; a little vegetarian restaurant. Yes, it was a curry overload, but it is the official food of Durban. This place, though, was not spicy which was a good change and had no meat, which was a nice change too. And it was so cheap! R140 for lunch for 5 people plus drinks! I don't know what street it is on, except it is in town and very little but packed full all the time! Good food!

Then we headed to Warwick Junction. Warwick Junction is one of those places with a reputation of 'don't go down there because you will be mugged/stabbed/killed'. Well, let me tell you, that is definitely not the truth. It is a market which is divided into different areas- you have fruit and veg, clothes, beads, spices, herbs and animals. It is a traditional market mainly, so by herbs I mean traditional medicines and there are some sangomas there, and my animals, I mean live chickens which can be de-headed at your request and a wide range of traditional foods available such as tripe. Warwick Junction was created by the city as a place to house all the informal traders. Basically, a long time ago, all these traders set up all over the city, and the city of Durban didn't really know what to do- they did not want to get rid of them but did not want to have them spread everywhere. So they created one area where the sellers could rent a area to sell, and over time, Warwick Junction expanded and grew to what it is today. The evil city manager, Mike Sutclife, wants to destroy the market and make, yet another, shopping mall. Never fear though, because the people of Warwick have united together in a form of union organisation and have put up such a fight that it does not look like it will happen...we hope! If you come to Durban, it is a definite place to visit...and lots of presents you can buy for your foreign friends :-)

Finally the day ended with a visit to Ike's Bookshop. Now this is not a new place for me but rather a regular spot. It is an old bookshop that focuses on academic books and has everything you can think of. It is found right at the bottom of Florida road, near bean bag bohemia (a big spot for durbanites), and had been there for ages! You walk upstairs and see the walls signed by all the past authors who have had book launches there and will be amazed at the books you can find- for SA politics, to Marx, to sporting books, to anything! It is a great place to go, with great prices and a good vibe! If you haven't been there...GO! Also look out for launches they have- I am going to one tonight in fact :-)

Well...that has been what i have been doing for the past week. A fun-filled week and i hope this has enticed you to visit durban and try these new places :-)

the ups and downs

Bafana Bafana did us proud! They have not made it through and the critics will say they have let us down but it is not true. They beat france; a team ranked approximately 70 places ahead of them; a team which is a former world cup winner. They won without their first string goalie! They are an amazing team which has made us proud. It has been full of ups and downs in every match. First, Bafana tied with mexico is an amazing display of their skill and spirt. They we lost, very sadly, to Uruguay and our goalie was sent off. But now we have come back with an amazing win against France. It was an intense game. The first goal sent us all on a high! Fantastic! Then the red card! Excellent news! Funny how when it happens to the other side everyone cheers but for us it was a huge betrayal. Then we had a couple shots at goal that missed, and then that wonderful and rather awkward second goal! Things were looking up. But then one of our players had to be taken off on a stretcher...very sad! But Bafana and their supporters did not let that hamper our spirit. We kept fighting. Some say we lost the plot a bit in the second half, and I agree, the team did seem to stop attacking as much. But we still tried and had some great shots at goal! The real down point though was the France goal. Not a great goal on their part, and not all our fault, but a blow to our confidence. We tried to rise up and attack but the spirit seemed a bit down. Nevertheless, we defended our hearts out and still beat the odds and won the game. The critics said Bafana was doomed to lose 5-0; they said we had no chance and were not in the same league as the rest. Well they were wrong and we show'd them all. Bafana Bafana may have not made it through, but our boys ended on a high note...on the top of the game. They won our game, they played like stars and did you did the country proud! Bafana Bafana, I will support you always!

Life seems to be one of those things that has ups and downs; good things and bad things and it seems to parallel a soccer game quite a lot. You play your heart out and sometimes it is not enough; sometimes you are lucky and they other team messes up; sometimes you get injured and have to bow out; and sometimes you succeed and score a magnificent "Tshabalala" goal. There are highs and lows, good times and bad but all in all...it is supposed to be fun. When you stop having fun, you should take a half time break and rethink your strategy because, after all, you are there to enjoy it and try your best. At the end of the day, it is only a game (though many will disagree :-) ).

I seem to find myself stuck in a match where i am losing quite badly and am sitting in the change room trying to regroup so i can come back and dominate in the second half. It has been a rough first semester- very rough and with marks coming out in 10 days, the cloudy seem very dark. To be honest, I am scared to go back out there. i would rather stay in the change room; actually i would like to sneak out the back and drive far away. Avoidance...the best way to deal with everything :) Sadly though, we all have to face reality, even when we try really hard to run from it. People have said to me that the reason last semester was so rough was because I took on too much and didn't have enough time for fun. That is definitely true. So they say don't do that again; work out what was bad and don't do it again. However, that is easier said than done. Some things you just can't change. I kind of think my degree is lame and the prospect of having to take another semester worth of courses does not make me excited in the least. The prospect of doing reading after reading and writing and writing- no excitement there! Part of me wants to get this stupid masters over and done with, but that requires writing, on top of the courses, a 25 000 thesis by February next year; a thesis which has no topic at the moment. And a topic, as i am sure many of you know, is no easy feat.

Wouldn't it be easier to just sit in my purple room on my blue bed forever and ever? Why can't i just take that route? Why can't life be fun and games all the time? I know we harp on about the bad and we hardly think of the good, and we forget the good things we have in life, but sometimes the bad seems really bad.

I know I have to play my second half; I can't give up. I have to go out there fighting and have to be confident it will all work out, but right now, I don't feel it. I think i need some AYOBA to try and shake me into action. And I hope that AYOBA will come soon!

Stand tall, stand proud

Well well well...what a devastating heartbreaking game I witnessed last night. In so many ways it broke my heart and even after a good night's sleep I am still devastated. I will not pretend to be a soccer expert or even know all the rules. To be perfectly honest, I think the world cup opening match was the first game I had even watched in full. But, I do know that soccer is similar to hockey and i do know the rules of hockey. Nevertheless, there are times when even the completely oblivious do notice that rules are being broken and abused. Yes, I agree with the critics, Bafana did not play very well. It was not our best performance and we really did need to step it up. But on the other hand, I do not think that we deserved to be advantaged to the degree we were. Two of our players are out for the next game; a game that is our only chance of getting through. Were these red cards warranted is the question on everyone's mind...and of course, where does that ref live so we can go and kill him! I feel that the ref, one could say, was almost one sided and completely bias against us. We were the weak links and we were disadvantaged. We are ranked 83rd in the world against a country that is definitely in the top 20. However, the dramatic performance put on by Uruguay was utterly absurd. I hope they know what if soccer doesn't work out, they can all go into drama. Falling all over the place, clutching the faces and chests like something had just taken a swipe at them. How, i ask you, does someone's mouth start bleeding when no ones foot came in contact with his mouth. Was it the grass? Because thats all he touched. The goalie slipped and the guy fell, very over the top! He could have easily stood up. What, is he made out of glass! Honestly! I do not understand why the ref did not penalise him for being RIDICULOUS! If that is the sign of a top team, then obviously skill has nothing to do with it, and we should start practicing falling!

The moment that red card, completely unwarranted for several reasons, came out i nearly started crying. Firstly, two players were off-side and the line's man was right there! Secondly, there was no foul play. The goalie did not intentionally trip him and they player completely exaggerated his pain. Thirdly, why a red card? Why not a yellow card. Have you ever seen such a uneven match! I do not understand why the refs are not standardised because things like that have happened in past games and no red card! There have been two red cards in the tournament, as far as i know, one to Australia and one to us. Is it standardised at all. Some games have 4 or 5 yellow cards and other nothing and, believe me, there is foul play in all of those games! I just do not understand at all! And then to award a penalty. This is the first one of the tournament and again was it warranted? I can honestly say no! That game should have been stopped at the moment the players became offside, a goal kick given to SA and the ball flown to the other side of the field. No red card and no goal! And worst of all, apparently red cards cannot be queried in world cups, so we are stuck with completely unjust situation. All the ref can do is apologise to us, and will that be enough to lift the hopes of the team and people in South Africa? I doubt it. I hope that ref knows what he has single-handedly done! He has destroyed any ounce of hope that this country has for getting through the first round. But more than that, any hope at using this sport as a reconciliation tool is over. Simply by witnessing those scenes of people leaving the game early because we were losing is sign enough that we are not truly united behind our country yet. Yes it was cold, but you would have endured it if we were winning. We have been through a lot as a country and have literally pulled off a miracle, but we needed something new...a form of round two of reconciliation. We have managed to get White people into Soweto to watch soccer, which is traditionally a 'Black-man's sport'. We have united a nation with flags all over peoples' cars. But we needed to get further in this world cup to unite us. Can you honestly see South Africans uniting behind a Spanish Brazil final. I know we all knew that Bafana would probably not make it to the final, but imagine if they had. I know we are all proud to have our country as the focus around the world and anything else was a bonus. But really...every ounce hope that all 49 million South Africans had was destroyed by the bad and unjust decision of that ref! And I can guarantee, that that moment will not be easily forgotten!

I know soccer is unfair at times. The fact that France qualified over Ireland when their goal was scored by a hand ball is evidence that soccer is not fair. The fact that it is one of the only sports that does not use a third umpire means that there are gaps and mistakes are made all the time. How can one ref run all over the field expecting to see everything. Soccer needs to come on board to make it more just. It is not good enough that they get 50% of the decisions right. If there had been some forms of technology used in the game last night, things would have turned out very different!

As you can tell, I am very angry about this and very sad. But I am still behind our boys 150%! I believe that we can pull off a miracle and beat France. If South Africa is known for anything, it is defying the impossible. We won the 1995 Rugby World Cup when no one thought we would even beat Australia; We moved from Apartheid to Democracy without a civil war and we are able to live unified and peacefully, for the most part, in our new democracy. If we can do all that, we can beat France! I am behind you Bafana Bafana all the way and I believe that if every person in this country and in this world can united behind our glorious team, they can pull it off. Yes people are angry, I am angry, but we have not given up. There is grace in losing but there is nothing to be proud of if we give up. We have less than a week to pull it together- players and supporters. Let us stand proud and support our boys even if the match is not going our way! Let this devastating unjust beating united us, not divide us. Let us silence the critics and the negative attitudes and united behind BAFANA BAFANA!

the opening match and soccer fever

Soccer fever has hit! The opening match was fantastic! I have never felt a spirit like that before. I headed down to the fan park with my friend Lon, and met up with my friend Lucy and her family. There were thousands (they say 25 000 people there) and the vuvuzela's were amazing. I am not a pro at it yet...but i am getting there. I had my bafana bafana shirt and SA flag waving high. I have never been so proud to live in South Africa. We all sang the national anthem at the top of our lungs and held out breath hoping Bafana would win. Let me tell you, Lon and I were nervous! We desperately, like every other South African, wanted our boys to win! When that first goal was scored (and what a magnificent goal it was), we went crazy! I have never heard noise like that. It was deafening. The vuvuzela's, the flags, the shouting, the jumping! It was spectacular! And then when Mexico scored, it was deafeningly silent. Not a sound, no flags waved, no vuvuzela's. All 25 000 of us were silent. If there were any Mexicans there, they were smart enough to keep quiet! But a few minutes later, we recovered and the supporting started again...even louder than before! And when that ball hit the pole and didn't go in, we were devastated! What a let-down. Nevertheless, a draw is excellent anyway! Bafana Bafana did us proud! They played amazingly and i have faith that they will make it through!

Next, was the American England game. Considering i was born in England, i should be supporting them. But i am also American, with my mom being American and me inheriting the citizenship from her. So i was split on who to support. In the end, i decided that England gets my vote because, honestly, Americans cannot play soccer! So it was my mom and brother for USA and me and my dad for England. Can't say i was too patriotic after that game...my team did not play very well at all. Nevertheless, it was an exciting game and we wait with baited breath to see who makes it though. I still hope its England!

Tomorrow, I am off to my first match- Spain vs Switzerland! I am so excited! I cannot wait. The Durban Stadium is amazing and, even though i have little aligence to either team, the atmosphere will be great. Plus, Spain is said to be a team which could win the world cup, so thats exciting too! Right now, it is very chilly in Durban (ironic considering its world cup advert is 'the city that has summer all year long'!) so hopefully it will warm up for the game. Boy oh Boy i am excited!

And not to forget, Bafana's second game tomorrow night against Uruguay. Good luck to them! I will be wearing my shirt and waving my flag once against, hoping for a win!

Feel it...it is here! :-)

AYOBA! It is here! World cup fever has finally hit...hard! Yesterday was 'United behind Bafana Bafana' day and at 12 noon we all blew our vuvuzelas and hooted out cars. It was amazing. I wish i had been in Sandton where the real celebrations took place. There were thousands of yellow bafana bafana tshirts everywhere- all races, classes and nationalities. What they say about sport uniting a nation is definitely true for South Africa!

The nation is crazy with world cup fever. I officially have my bafana bafana shirt and vuvuzela and am waiting in anticipation for the world cup to start tomorrow!

AYOBA!!

the first blog

So, this is the first post on my blog. How exciting!

I am sitting in the Cape Town international airport waiting for my flight to Durban where i will be for the next 3 weeks. It is winter break, so most people go back to where they originate from for a little bit. I am quite excited because it is the Soccer World Cup and I am going to two games in Durban. Should be very exciting indeed! The patriotism that has suddenly hit South Africa, with flags on cars and house and the bafana bafana shirts, is really heart-warming (even if my flag was stolen off my car!). It should be an interesting and exciting next month in South Africa! If nothing else, at least we got some nice roads out of it :-)

These holidays are much needed. It has been a long semester, and one that probably did not go so well at the end of the day. I am considering changing to a more human rights focused degree instead of social justice. I feel that this is more inline with my interests and future (whatever that might hold). There have been many dramas- friendships, relationships, housemates, degree...many many stressful things this term. So, a nice home cooked meal, where there is always electricity and someone else to wash my dishes, the clothes and make my bed, will be very much appreciated!

Yet, it is always sad to leave Cape Town. Especially since two of my very best friends are leaving sunny South Africa for Southeast Asia (Japan and Taiwan) at the end of July. So things seem to be changing once again. Many people left at the end of last year, so i feel like my enormous friendship group has shrunk down to two :-(

Nevertheless, this blog will ensure that the next six month of this year are extra exciting and fun-filled! There are things I have not done in my 5 years in Cape Town and now seems like a good time to start.

Well, I best be off. Time to board the plane.
Have a great day!