18 posts tagged “south africa”
The week started out crazy busy and stressful but by mid-week it just got real slow and quiet and crawling towards the weekend. A few people at work and some friends are either in London this week or going to be in London soon, I've been watching the tennis and watching Secret Diary of a Call Girl (with it's fantastic London scene shots) have been making me pine more than ever since being back. I really enjoyed the London summers (short as they were), somehow the sun shining there is a lot more special than it shining here in SA.
I went to a hawan last night. This was due to my cousin Shavern moving into a new house with his fiance. I had not been to one since my grandfather died some years ago. Childhood memories of sunday temple, not knowing the words to the bhajans, just the tune and melody engraved in my brain, familiar smells, running away from hindi school in the afternoons. Shavern cooked up a fantastic spread of vegetable and soya dishes (with butter ghee being the 'secret' ingredient), there was even roti and vermicelli for pudding. We were all impressed.
Headed out to Natal this weekend past to the central drakensberg to meet up with my family. This was the view from the cottage we were staying in at Champagne Lane. The weather was great on Saturday, sunny and cool, perfect weather for a hike. Unfortunately there were no trails around the property we were staying at due to developers buying and fencing off the land. So we drove to the national parks board about 8km away and set-off on what we had not anticipated to be a 12km hike. Took us about 3.5 hours round-trip with the destination being Nandi Falls, which was totally worth the effort!
So after several months of being back in South Africa and adjusting to life without on-demand, unlimited downloads, 4MB ADSL broadband, I decided to just go-ahead and get telkom's 2GB, 384kbps, ridiculously priced ADSL (compared to the UK and the rest of the modern world).
Telkom's telephone support service remains inconsistent, and depending on your luck, you can speak to a consultant almost immediately, or you can hold on the line for 30 minutes before you speak to a human being (no exaggeration). I ordered the ADSL line last week Thursday and found the telephone service on that day to be excellent. I was told that the ADSL takes 2 - 6 weeks to be activated and so on Monday morning I was surprised to receive a call letting me know that the ADSL line is activated. Not having expected the line to be ready so soon, I had not decided on an ISP. Later in the day I called up 2 different ISPs but was put on hold for way too long so I decided that I would select telkom as my internet provider. It was getting clear that it was a bad day for telephone support. I was on hold for 25 minutes before I spoke to a consultant. Admittedly the consultant was very helpful and arranged for her colleague to call me back to give me my login details. An hour later I received a call from a telkom consultant who gave me all the relevant details I needed to setup my adsl router. Later in the evening when I was home I tried to get the adsl working but was not coming right, so I call telkom's home dsl support line. I wait for another 20 minutes before I speak to a very helpful consultant but who did not manage to solve my problem. Afterwards I figure out that I was missing the correct filter for the telephone (which was causing a lot of noise on the line). Faizal helped me with the filter which got me connected! The line speed last night was decent.
So overall I have been happy with telkom's service. The consultants have been helpful, activation was quick for both the adsl line and the ISP. Telkom just needs more people, so that the time holding on before speaking to a consultant is not more than 5 - 10 minutes.
Perhaps South African State President Thabo Mbeki needs to read his "I am an African" speech again which he delivered on 8th May 1996.
earlier this year i put an ad out for a housemate to share my flat with me. i was not completely taken with the idea because i have had my fair share of difficult, crazy housemates. i had the ad out for about a month and interviewed a handful of people. at some point i got a call enquiring about the flatshare and the voice was softspoken, sweet and had a foreign accent that i could not quite place. the voice belonged to Nani who has now been my housemate since March.
Nani is congolese, is french speaking, completely strange and wonderfully interesting. she is also brilliant and entertaining and her laughter is infectious. it took some time for Nani to open up and share a bit of her life and self and stories and insight and take on life in general. i feel that we are friends and i am completely embarrassed and disgusted with my countrymen's behaviour towards african foreigners.
Nani, her family, friends and other foreigners in her situation are forced to be here in fear and for what when all they came to South Africa for is study and in some way create a better life for themselves which may not be possible in their own countries. Now they are forced to flee this place that could be said to be the 'land of the free'? Africa's equivalent of the once upon a time USA. A country where you can have a better life.
where is the respect for life, for your fellow human beings, for people who are in no better situations than the next South African, who are also surviving, trying to make a living, working hard and taking care of their families. where is the humanity. where is the love.
1st January 2008 was spent at the beach near Tongaat north of Durban. It was an incredibly hot day but thankfully there was a breeze and we had shelter from the sun.
I was supposed to be driving up to JHB today but at 2am this morning after trying to fall asleep without any luck, I decided to extend my stay in KZN. So far the family has been getting along fine and it has been a fairly pleasant visit.
My sister left this morning, most of her belongings in tow to start a new chapter of her life in JHB with her boyfriend and a new job. This means that I have been upgraded to the penthouse suite... he he. Ahhhh, air-con... it is wonderful.
My brother the fitness personal trainer has started me on a fitness plan which so far has been great. He is excellent at this.
Been visiting with my grandmothers, trying to coax their fast fading memories about our family history, our ancestors. One find was that my great great great grandfather was a white dude on my mother's mother's (father's side - I think) *shock horror!* Explains the freckles.
Here is a pretty picture from my day at the beach. There are more on my Flickr site.
Just when i was letting all the negativity get to me, I stumble upon this incredible blog dedicated to promoting the goodness of South Africa the country that I love.
It's funny, the about page is similar to several conversations I've had with a few people that we need to focus on the positive aspects and promote the positive aspects of our country, because by focusing on the negative, we are perpetuating almost creating this cycle of negative actions through our collective thoughts/consciousness
Check out the SA Rocks blog!
on friday the 31st august, i woke up early so that i could finish packing and get to work by 8am. left work at 4pm and headed to liverpool street station where i met rishina who had my stansted express tickets. had a quick nap on the train on the way to the airport. the train is quite convenient because it terminates just under the airport, no need to lug bags very far. it was crazy busy there, lots of queues. first queue at the check-in desk. had to check in my little backpack even though it was quite small due to the one bag for handluggage rule. (my camera and lenses in one bag and clothes in another). second queue at security point one where you have to remove your jacket, any liquids/gels, belt, keys,phone, anything metal through the x-ray machine. third queue, remove your shoes so that it can be scanned. Eventually got through security into the terminal and wandered around, had a beer and waited till the boarding gate opened. It is quite a walk from the terminal to the boarding gate at Stansted airport.
Chatted to some friendly Irish people that are regular commuters between Cork and London. Flight left on time, got to see an incredible sunset above a sea of candy floss clouds. Had a short wait at Cork International before I was greeted by Nirven (our host), Yash and Donna (who had arrived a couple hours before me). We were completely spoiled by Nirven over the next few days. My brain even had a holiday. I refrained from thinking much about the things that have been concerning me, my plans for the near future, the decisions that have to be made. It was a completely relaxing week. Thank you Nirven.
I could not bring myself to have Guiness but I managed to have a pint or two of Murphy's Irish Stout beer and share a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey. The Old Jameson Distillery in Middleton not too far from where we were.
In Kinsale we had awesome desserts and coffee at Jola's Restaurant which is in this beautiful stone loft style building with a café overlooking the downstairs main dining room. We booked a table and waited 40min before they opened for dinner purely because of the decor.
Also in Kinsale, I convinced the others to help me re-live childhood memories or the fun times on the "dodgem cars" in Durban, at a small fair. It lasted about 7 minutes but it was a lot of fun!
Some of the places we visited during our roadtrips were Limerick, Ennis, Ennistymon, Lahinch, Liscannor. Small interesting towns with a lot of character.
It was cloudy almost all the way there. About a half hour's drive before we reached the cliffs, the clouds parted and sun shone down brightly. It was stunning. Everything perfect, a slight breeze, beautiful setting sun, not too many tourists. We hiked off the beaten track past the official boundary sign
'Do not go beyond this point'
to get a better view. Really a must-visit place!
The grass in Ireland is green. It is a green that I have not seen anywhere else. I took a lot of photos of the grass...
The cows must love it.
and a bit of Mpumalanga as well. The climate is warm and humid.
Ireland is a beautiful country. The people are friendly and polite. It's very chilled out. On the roads, they give you way, there's no tail gating, or hooting madly and no matter what Nirven says, the rush-hour traffic is not bad at all. The houses have no fencing, high walls, burglar guards, barbed wire, or alarm systems. It's all so open, in view and blending in with the landscape and accessible. At least the bits that I've seen. On the national roads once you've crossed over into a different county, there will be a road sign with the number of deaths since 2004, it was less than 60. County Clare had 9 road deaths in 2003 and County Cork was about 30. I didn't sense any aggression from anyone (especially compared to when I came back to London and arrived at Liverpool Street Station). You only get what people are saying when they go on about the fact that they moved away from South Africa because of the crime when you are in a place where it does not weigh on you at all, when it is not necessary to be vigilant and cautious, where worrying about your safety does not have to be a way of life. When you don't have to wonder if your car is going to be there when you get back from the cinema or if someone is going to smash your window at a traffic light intersection or if your car is going to hi-jacked as you pull up to your front gate. Or like in my brother's case, the power trips and you go to the box to turn it on again when four guys attack you and hold a gun to your head.
Oh my gosh, i'm turning into one of those people... I love South Africa... I don't want to be thinking about all this negative stuff. Sometimes it can't be helped, especially when the grass is looking greener on the other side.
MadLove Wins XBox Compeitition
"MadLove’s Angel’s Fall track for Tomb Raider was ranked as the best track by visitors to the contest site. For the past month thousands of musicians and gamers alike from across Europe have been creating new music tracks inspired by the latest high-definition games on the Xbox 360. From the colourful fantasy of Viva Piñata to the gritty battles of Halo 3, DJs, bands and composers have created tracks cut to a wide range of latest Xbox 360 titles. Gaming and music fans alike then logged on to view and rate the entries, with MadLove emerging as the winner."
