Laptop

At 9-o-clock pm Central Africa Time, my laptop disappeared from my room.
This morning I called the police and within 30 mins two police officers and a detective were at my door taking down information and dusting for finger prints. They found finger prints and are now scanning them to see if they belong to a suspect. Time will only tell.

Post Cards

Oh and please!! I want more post cards for my wall. I will only be accepting them till the end of january. Thank you for those who have participated! 

Volunteer Adventure Corps
102H, Building 20
Waverley Business Park
Kotzee Rd., Mowbray 7700
Cape Town, South Africa

Good Morning South Africa!

The long awaited Blog update has finally arrived with adventure and extreme sports tacked on right be hind it! So… for those that have not seen it yet or do not have facebook, here is a little something extra for your viewing pleasure.
...failure...wont...upload...

Before I begin with my travel dictation I must warn those young travelers that there will always be something that you leave behind while traveling. Do not get too fixated in that fact; it is because you have immersed yourself so passionately into your travels that you left behind what ever it is you have left behind. Do no regret nor remorse over that lost item because surely you can find a reason you didn’t need it. With that said, I will now dig deep into my memory bank to uproot whatever it was that I did three weeks ago.

OBSFEST
Obsfest is an annual celebration in which the area of Cape Town I currently inhabit explodes with music, art and festive events! Sadly, with my cell phone getting pick pocketed, I got to experience about 4 hours of it before having to go home and get what rest I could before stepping onto a six AM flight to Johannesburg. (Prior to this event we had been given great warning/build up for what may lay install for some unwary participants – with that said I left my camera at home. You can see photos and read about the event here - -) So there I was, off to experience a wonderful adventure into Kruger National Park with two close friends Kristen and Jenny, I must give Kristen all the credit for planning a fantastic trip.
After a long day of travel for all of us, we arrived late at our destination for an introductory evening safari! This was a fantastic prelude showing us what was install for the next three days. Kristen, Jenny and I managed to get some pretty good snap shots, but they will not be appear here as you will later find out why. This was also the fist time I would meet Scott (A hilarious and good natured Brit) and Konstantinos (Also hilarious, and ready to get down Greek). Two fellow travelers I would soon be sharing stories with, and, unknowingly, drag into Mozambique (I guess it was my fault). The next three days where great with two full day safaris and an early morning nature walk, all while being able to sleep in a tree house! (I will try and produce a photo of this, as it was a very impressive tree house) Fortunately we where lucky enough to experience the BIG FIVE, though it remains debatable whether or not we actually did. The next forty-eight hours, I recall, being the most exciting so far on this trip. (only about 20 minuets of it actually)
Just after breakfast at Marc’s Tree House Lodge everyone that was leaving that day was than being transported back to Johannesburg where many had extending flights. For Kon, Scott and I, we had requested to be dropped of in a town called Nelsprit. This was where I would say my farewell to Kristen and Jenny and greet my new adventures. Within 10 minuets of arrival I realized I had left my passports on the bus with Kristen and Jenny. With no cell phone to contact them, I had to scramble to find what brochures I had picked up hoping that on one of them there would be a number I could call. It was 2 in the afternoon and we where just about to get a cab into the city center so that we could catch a bus to Maputo, Mozambique. I was just thankful I had my Debit Card. After 20 minuets I had reached the driver who had dropped us off to what I thought might be my impending doom. He informed me that he had turned around and was on his way back to give me my passports. I just dodged a bullet. We caught our bus that afternoon and even had time to eat some food. That night we were stamped out of South Africa and Stamped into Mozambique. The next morning we would get on a bus to Paradise.

So I typed all this up two days ago thinking i would get back to it... I didn't. Upon request, I am just going to tell you what happened in brief.

Scott, Kon and I got to Tofo in one three pieces and had a blast despite the fact that Kon had trouble getting money and I left my digital camera. Five days later we got on the 4am bus back to Maputo. Kon eventually made it back to Athens. Scott and I continued on to Swaziland. Swaziland was cold and it rained one day while we where there. Lots of hiking and cultural things to do there. Than I continued down the south african coast leaving Scott behind me. I stopped in Durban and Port Elizabeth before landing in Storms River where I jumped the worlds highest bungee bridge. There is a video of me doing it, but for some reason it won't upload on blogger. Everyone is just needs to go on my facebook and watch it there. Than I traveled the rest of the way down to Cape Town on December 24th. Went to a 007 new years party. Everyone had tuxes, but I pushed it and went as Q. Wearing a lab coat to a party is always a great idea. In any occasion. well honestly not a whole lot else is going on. I am beginning to feel the count down begin. 41 days left. 

Margarita Monday's, Touch of Madness Tuesdays, Wild Karaoke Wednesdays, Tiger Tiger Thursdays, and Freak out Friday's. 

While living in a city is great, it really doesn't give you much time to relax. This weekend I get to use my roommates car so I will get to go exploring a bit more. Do some hiking and maybe snorkel with sharks. Last sunday a bunch of us went to the water front and explored the Two Oceans Aquarium. We just got there in time to see the sharks getting fed. 

Also for 50 bucks you can go swimming with them. 

My friends Kristen and Jenny really like sharks. 

On Sunday saw a Boomslang in the very popular Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.

And last Friday's wine tour through Stellenbosch.

Mr. connoisseur 

Another Day, Another Shooting, Another Loaf of Bread

I'm sorry to all for not updating very much this past week or two, but I just experienced a week of South African clubbing, wine drinking, and delicious food eating. Not to mention work every morning. Will update with photos and stories soon. 

Si-Si

Beers, Bats, and Battle Star Galactica

Right when this photo was taken an eruption of screams and the sounds of machine guns came from the taxi mall a few blocks away. Today was the day the Cape Town Police where checking all the taxi drivers for their licenses. Unfortunately all the unlicensed drivers where threatening to shoot any licensed driver if they picked up any passengers. They where running with the motto 'if we can't, they can't'. This moment made humans seem like a very evil entity amongst the world. With the bliss full mountains in front of us and the frightened screams behind, Cape Town was surly exposing its excitement. Please remember that the negative things seem to dominate the media and are often the most remembered. With this is mind, the incident that I just told should not be blown out of proportion as there are an infinite of positive factors that make Cape Town a great place. For the readers who are thinking about visiting, in no way would I describe cape town as a violent or scary place. 

Now, apologies for a long awaiting Blog Post. There is not much else to say since I last posted except.... 

Jenny and I have started our project over again, of which, has been successful... so far. Our project is mostly the cause of my busy life. Working 7 days a week does not leave much time to explore, nor blog.
Today a second arctic seal has made its way into MCM to hopefully become healthy. The last seal, Alfred, has unfortunately fell into a worse state than he was before. Kira, the woman taking care of these cute seals, is hoping that the seals will get better now that they have friends.
Kareoke has become a huge hit among the american groupies in cape town. Jenny and I are now trying to bring it to MCM, the aquarium which we work. Alister, the technician, told us that he has the works to pull it off. So hopefully tea club will welcome the new tea time activity.

Last week I attempted to complete my diver certification. I did not complete it; though I did get to dive with seals and watch a southern write whale breach about 50 meters away from the boat. It did that about 4 times....

There is also a delicious treat called a Full House Steak Gatsby. This is a heart attack treat that is filled with chips, steak, fried eggs, and cheese, and is about the size of my thy. This is only one third of just the steak Gatsby. 

VAC played their first soccer game last friday that we lost.

Also I just learned that the last name of the First President of  Zimbabwe was Banana.

Doodles of Poodles and Oodles of Noodles 

Dive Master Simster 

Money money money

Since I arrived in africa, the worlds economy has been falling about apart and yet I seem to be getting wealthier and wealthier. For the past two days the exchange rate has been around a 11 rand to one dollar.  (exactly $1 = R11.4794747)When a beer is 14 rand and I can by a weeks worth of food for 150 rand one starts to have second thoughts about buying that new pair of pants.  

Well not to much has happened since last weeks post. Jenny and I had to restart our experiment, and soccer practice has now started every tuesday and thursday. To answer many peoples questions - yes I am growing my hair out... whether it will turn into dreads or not, I do not know. Perhaps I am merely reminiscing the elongation of my hair. 

Here is another beautiful picture of Cape Town in the morning.

 

Delicious - Something that makes you feel beautiful inside.

Simy

Good News Everyone

Another Blog Post from our friend from South Africa!
So this week I got my stitches taken out, went caving on table mountain, Africa Burn Happened (and I couldn’t go), I made sea urchins do it, and now I’m on a 35 day experimentation process that requires working 7 days of the week. At least 5 hours out of the day is dedicated to counting urchin larvae about the size of a flake of skin. They are pretty cool little dudes and I’m fathering about a half million of them. Here is a photo of what they look like under a microscope at 20 times magnification.

It would make a pretty gnarly tattoo. I document them every day and monitor their growth as well as their numbers. It is all very exciting work. So besides work, I’ve been sleeping eating, keeping myself fairly clean, and adjusting to the new culture. I just learned the other day that South Africa recycling has a higher recycling rate than any where in the united states because the homeless go through all the trash. And I don’t even have a recycling bin. Well that’s all for now gotta go start counting Urchins.

~Urchman

Public Transportation: Getting Africa to Work

I have to say that the morning cab rides are pretty much the only reason I get up in the morning. The thrill and excitement I get waiting for a cab at the corner of Station Rd. and main literally makes me sweat. My cab’s theme this morning was Mariah Carey. I shit you not, this thing even had a bright pink and gold glitter Mariah Carey sticker right above the grill. My friend Jenny pointed it out to me as we got out to walk to work. I also got to ride shotgun, which is always a kick dodging in an out of traffic. You are always the one who is the first to know if something is about to go wrong. The great thing about this cab was that every door was handless on the inside. This made closing the door difficult, as I am sure you can imagine. With Mariah Carey blasting on the stereo and hanging on for dear life as the cab was tossed mercilessly to and fro on the wet road, I just new today was going to be a great day.

And in the end, I even went to the hospital! It was exciting.

Here is The Carvery. It is a restaurant near where I work. Is it just me or does it look like they serve kids here? Like, they will serve you kids. You will eat children. Would you like the flank steak? More like the Frank steak.

Scooby Doo any one?

Also the aquarium in which I work is taking care of a puppy arctic seal. It is pretty much the cutest thing in this entire universe and its real. Unlike any of the crap puppies Kim shows on his Blog! Unfortunately they recovered him dehydrated and hungry so now they force feed him fish filled with life saving drugs and inject fluids under his skin. It’s a gross procedure and leaves the pup looking like he has tumors all over his body. 

All of the MCM employees at 10 o-clock sit down and enjoys a cup of tea during tea club. Here is a candid picture I took so nobody would notice and get mad. They noticed…
So your all wondering why I went to hospital. Well I cut my thumb open really deep, deep enough to get 5 stitches. All i'll say is baby alligator. They have sharp teeth. 

My room has empty walls so I am asking everyone to send me a post card of where you live or something cool looking so i can put them on my wall. It is a little art project i'm doing. 

You can send to this address. 

Volunteer Adventure Corps

102H, Building 20

Waverley Business Park

Kotzee Rd., Mowbray 7700

Cape Town, South Africa

And what about all of this I'm not updating my blog enough?! You guys are just to needy. 

Simone

Wow! the Toilets Really Do Flush the Other Direction!

Dear World,
I am now in Africa! Though many complain that this isn’t. I am currently residing in Cape Town, South Africa. I live in a house with three others in a part of town called Observatory. It is where all the students and interns live, basically a party 24/7. Here is a picture of my house:


I live with two older dudes. One is from Iran and is studying to get his P.H.D. in mechanical engineering. (When he was describing it to me it sounded like his study had a lot of explosive parts to it) He is 29 and has a wife and 2 year old son, who fortunately live in Iran. Justus, my other roommate, is, I’d guess, 50ish years old and is from Uganda. He is a pediatrician and is expanding his knowledge on new technology to study brain wave patterns. He also has a daughter studying Law at the University near by. There is one other roommate who I hear is studying to be an architect, but none of us have seen him. So basically I live with two old farts that claim they have ‘seen it all.’ This is much different compared to all the other interns. They live in houses that hold 10-12 students/interns of similar ages. I honestly don’t know whether to consider my self lucky or what.

So I have a job here too while I am in Cape Town. I work at a local research aquarium where I will be doing various studies on sea urchins. Exciting stuff! The best part about working here is getting to work.



These are the mini buses or taxis that Jenny and I, jenny is another intern I am working with, take to work. You don’t need to worry about missing one because they come very frequently like one every second. It is uncommon not to see one. So this is how the process works. You stand on a corner and wait for one of these bus things, which are most often old VW vans. There is a driver and a caller and the caller whistles and yells out where that particular mini bus/taxi is going. All you have to do is lift a finger and it comes screeching to a halt. You are then crammed into a small vehicle with 15 other people. You start to get real comfortable sitting next to some one you don’t know.

 The caller in the back and the driver in the far right. 
Right after I got in we stopped and waited 20 minuets for the bus to fill up.
The min bus is the best way to get around, though they are very unreliable. The drivers are the most talented people I have witnessed. I was riding in one of these vans the other day when it passed in between two semi truck while driving in the middle of the two lanes. Quite freaky.


The community here is great. They want to get you involved in as much as possible. Which is great because there are lots of things to do. I am already signed up on the VAC Soccer Team and am currently studying to get my diving certification.

Here is a pictures of a southern right whale that I saw on Friday. (Total of 6 where spotted) We also saw baboons, but I didn’t get a picture.

Mountains also surround Cape Town, but I’m just too lazy to upload another picture. Until next time,

Sir Simealot.

Last Day in the States

Dear fellow blogsters, friends, family, and other people reading my blog,

So two days ago I went walking with Meridith McNeal. Quick blurb on Meridith (who may quite possibly be one of the most down to earth high spirited persons I know.) She and Mike Bliss, my brother’s dad, live in Brooklyn, New York, where I have been ‘preparing’ for my South Africa trip for the last five days. Meridith likes to walk, is an artist who runs a gallery and works with a non-profit called RUSH. She is very colorful in nature and as I see it, an ideal Portlander. She is also a pro at hula hooping, which by the way Portland people reading this blog, is something we should try and give rise to in Portland. Hula hooping and jump rope. Meridith is at its simplest a really cool and very individual lady.

So went walking with Meridith from their house in Brooklyn to an area called Red Hook where I have only been once before… which is also a place that many might relate to Portland. Here is what we saw on our meander through Brooklyn:

We walked pass this building and I can remember thinking while looking across the street that I had never wondered where one might acquire a casket. I suppose it is not one of those things people get excited about buying. But what inspired this inquiry was ‘South Brooklyn Casket Co.’ A title such as this relinquishes the notion that caskets are a very common and much needed commodity. I found this to be a cleaver title due to the business owner’s choice of Casket over Coffin. It prevents a walker by to jump to conclusions. Perhaps these caskets are made to hold the sweatiest of candies or the softest of pillows or the sharpest of knives? There are tones of things a casket could be used for, other than of course, holding bodies. Right? Well Meridith immediately informed me that it was a mob front. So any hope I had of giant boxes being filled with the highest quality falafel were shattered. Just as she told me this, a long box came walking out the front door undoubtedly labeled with the letters C.A.N.D.Y. I had now idea who to believe. Did these letters mean that the most delicious delicatessens lay within this chest or did they stand for something different, much different? Corps’s And Narcotics Delivered to Youth? I may never know.

Here is a shot out to all the homies in P-town. Welcome to the Indi Market. It’s where the cool kids go. I actuly think that it has absolutely nothing to do with Indi Kids, but I got a chuckle out of it.

Well off to Cape Town South Africa where my adventures begin. (this is a dated comment) 

Simey

First Post: I'm a Blogger!?

So this is a blog. You know I find this very weird. Its like I'm writing in a diary. Like one you keep all your deepest and darkest secrets. You know, something that you would prefer other people not to know about. Embarrassing things and thoughts that other people might find offensive. So now that I know practically anyone can read this I will be filtering all of my experience heavily so as to protect my identity and dignity. WELCOME TO THE MOST BORING BLOG, EVER.