Back in Canada

Last Saturday I arrived back home in Ottawa, Canada after a 33 hour journey home from Joburg.  There was some snow on the ground (which I was expecting) and it was freaking cold (which I was also expecting).  I did forget just how dark it is here though.  I'm used to full sunlight at about 5:30 am right now, so dark until 7:30 am is very very weird.  I keep thinking I'm getting up super early, but I'm actually not.  It also gets dark crazy early as well so I think I'm staying up super late... or at least eating dinner super late, but I'm actually not. 

My house, the day after I arrived back in Canada

Driving on the right side of the road hasn't been too much of an adjustment, at least not as a passenger; I haven't actually driven here since I got back.  The driving does seem a lot easier here though, because even though it's winter, there are no crazy taxi drivers to worry about (see my driving in South Africa post). 

I also seem to have no concept of money.  I've been converting things from South African rands back to Canadian dollars (roughly) for so long, but I'm not sure what a Canadian dollar is worth anymore.  After a day of Christmas shopping, I think I'm doing better with how much money is worth... unfortunately I don't have as much of it anymore.

It was awesome however coming home to all my old clothes (that are basically new since I haven't worn them in so long!), the jewelry I left behind, and pretty much everything I missed from back home.  Since coming home I've had Kraft dinner twice, St. Hubert's once, and poutine once.  I have a feeling a diet is not happening over these holidays.

So I'm not sure how many of you knew my original plans for Christmas break, but my family and boyfriend were supposed to be coming down to South Africa for a true South African holiday (Joburg, safari, wine country, and Cape Town).  However, plans were cancelled when I found out my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  Since then, my sister Rachel has organized an amazing benefit concert happening on December 30th from 3pm-8pm at Greenfield's Pub in Barrhaven.  We're going to have live music, a silent auction, and 50/50 tickets.  For anyone interested in attending please message me or email me for tickets (they are $15 and can also be bought at the door).  For those who cannot attend but would still like to donate, please visit this website: http://pcc.convio.net/site/TR/Events/General?pxfid=1530&fr_id=1060&pg=fund


TL;DR: Visit this website: http://pcc.convio.net/site/TR/Events/General?pxfid=1530&fr_id=1060&pg=fund

Sick

This weekend I was not feeling so lekker (nice, or in this case, well).  I did manage to make it to the Taste of Christmas though yesterday.  If you remember from my Holiday Week blog, I went to the Taste of Joburg at the end of September.  This was similar, but with less restaurants selling cooked food and more stands selling gifts.  I did however get to try a super springbok burger and some excellent eggnog ice cream.  I also found some pumpkin ale and bought some immediately.  I was definitely missing that this "fall" (or spring as it were).  Actually I was missing all pumpkin flavoured things in general.  The man selling it asked me if I'd had it before and I said I hadn't had this one specifically.  He of course knew I came from North America and that there are plenty pumpkin flavoured beers there.  I thanked him profusely for something I thought I would miss out on this year.  Unfortunately the brewery is located in Cape Town and only distributes to bars and liquor stores in that area.  Before leaving, I had a glass of red wine.  My friend Roz had the German measles (rubella) a couple weeks ago and said the symptoms I was showing were similar to the ones she had just before the rash started.  She said that the "African" way to determine if you have the measles is to drink a glass of red wine because the rash will come to the skin surface the next day if you do have it.  Thankfully I haven't broke out in a rash so I'm hoping that means I definitely don't have the measles.  Before leaving I bought two cupcakes (orange/mango and double chocolate) from Roz's cousin to take home.  They were both delicious.

Other than that, my weekend has mostly consisted of watching movies and taking naps, besides the huge hail/thunderstorm today. 

Hail in my garden

Afrikaans Lesson

Well having been here for almost 6 months, I've picked up on a bit of Afrikaans.  Also, one of our students is taught completely in Afrikaans so I need to know a bit of Afrikaans to interact with him.  Let's start with the basics:

Hello - Hallo (pretty much the same)

Goodbye - Tot siens (or sometimes just bye)

Yes - Ja

No - Nee (pronounced knee-a)

Nice - Lekker (a common word used in both Afrikaans and English here)

Please - Asseblief

Thank you - Dankie

Since most of the language I've learned revolves around the circle time we do in the morning (since that is when I have to speak to our Afrikaans student most), I'll include that as well. 

How are you? - Hoe gaan dit?

Well - Goed

Who's at school today? - Wie is by die skool vandag?

What number? - Wat is die nommer?  (For the next few questions, I can sometimes guess if he's saying the right answer or not, sometimes the therapist behind will confirm whether it was correct or not)

What month? - Wat is die maand?

What year? - Wat is die jaar?

What day is it today? - Wat is die dag vandag?

What sound? - Wat is die klink?

What is the colour of the week? - Wat is die kleur van die week?

What is the shape of the week? - Wat is die vorm van die week?

How many? - Hoeveel?

We're all done - Ons is klaar

Have a nice day - Lekker dag

I also know most of my colours, some months of the year, most days of the week, some shapes, and can probably count up to 8 without mistakes.  Now on to the ABA speak that I've learned because of this little man.  

Very good! -Baie mooi!

That's it! - Daars hy!

What is it? - Wat is dit?

What are you doing? - Wat doen jy?

Play - Speel

Jump - Spring

What do you want?  - Wat wil jy he? (the e should have a hat on it, too lazy right now to look for the symbol) OR Wat soek jy?

I also have been taught a few choice words for certain upsetting situations.  I would like to keep this PG, but for those who really really need to know this information (and specifically from me instead of the rest of the internet), message me.

Also, thank you to Google Translate for helping with spelling.  I only used Google Translate because I know what the end product should sound like.  For the few times that Google couldn't help me (meaning gave me incorrect translations), I went straight to the source (my colleagues).

Finally, I apologize for the delay again!  Just a lot going on wrapping up the end of the year here.  Also, I'm sorry I couldn't write pronunciations for all the translations.  Most important points: j in Afrikaans = y sound in English, and g in Afrikaans = that gutteral sound you make at the back of your mouth with a raised tongue.  That's probably a bad description as well.  Next time you see me, ask me to speak a bit for you, but I'm warning you, my accent sucks.

Nelspruit

This past weekend I got to visit another part of the country, primarily a town called Nelspruit and the Panorama Route nearby.  Nelspruit is about a 4 to 5 hour drive east of Johannesburg, close to the Kruger Park.  I went with my colleagues and friends Catherine and Eliza since they went to high school there and have friends there.

We left Friday after work and had a good, uneventful drive there.  I drove all the way on the left hand side!  Unfortunately we arrived in the dark so I couldn't see the beautiful scenery, but that made it all the more beautiful in the morning.  After checking into our guest lodge (the norm here, hotels are the more expensive option) Friday night, we went out with Cath and Liza's friends.  We went to a couple bars, but my favourite was the last where I got to see some traditional Afrikaans dancing.  It's basically just a man and woman holding hands on one side and holding waist/shoulder on the other and dancing around the floor really quickly.  Not so weird I guess, but they were playing club/pop music that people would be grinding to in America.

On Saturday we drove to Mac Mac Pools.  We were also planning to go to a view site nearby called God's Window but apparently it is under construction.  So we just went to the pools, again with a group of friends.  Liza and I decided to go for a walk to see the Mac Mac Falls, apparently just a two kilometre walk from the pools.  We had a great walk, saw lots of bugs, valleys, mountains, and eventually made it to the falls.  Unfortunately one of my flip flops (called slops here) broke on the way so I had to finish the walk there plus do the walk back with only one sandal.  It was quite uncomfortable but it was worth it.  Liza and I have vowed to be prepared next time with running shoes (called tekkies here), water, and sunscreen.  After arriving back at the pools we had some lunch (a boerewors roll, a popular South African sausage) and then headed back to Nelspruit.  That evening we just hung out, watched some rugby, and had some pizza.

On Sunday we decided to drive to the Three Rondavels since we missed God's Window on Saturday.  I asked my friends, and for those of you who don't know (like me), a rondavel is a small round hut with a thatch roof.  Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy so we didn't get perfect pictures, but the mist covering the mountains and then revealing them again was amazing.  I took a movie but won't be able to post it until I get home for Christmas because of the slow internet here. 

It was an excellent weekend and can't wait to go on another weekend trip to see more of this beautiful country!

On the walk from Mac Mac Pools to Mac Mac Falls

Mac Mac Falls

Jean LeCastor at the Three Rondavels

Catherine, Liza, and I at the Three Rondavels

"Underneath the African sky"

Plugs and Bugs

I didn't really do anything very South African this weekend, so this blog will just be about some things in South Africa that I've found interesting or slightly creepy!

First off, plugs.  Before coming here, I spent quite a while trying to search for South African plug converters.  Apparently it is one of very few countries that use this type of plug.  Also, another confusing thing is that they actually have two types of plugs, plus occasionally also use European and American plugs (for things only produced in those countries I suppose).  So, inevitably, my outlet areas always look very messy.  One thing I love about their outlets though is that they have switches for them, so if you want to save power, you can easily just flip the switch.  However, it is strange that even though it's easier to save power, it is much harder to recycle here.  No one ever comes to pick up recycling at any residential buildings.  If you would like to recycle, you need to bring your recycling to a gas (petrol) station or grocery store and separate it there in to plastic, glass, paper, and tin (no bottle or can return unfortunately). 

Notice the three different plug types in the power bar, my American plug converter, and the switches

And now onto the bugs.  While walking to my car the other morning, I noticed a dying bug near my neighbour's door.  I took a picture because I had some suspicions that it might be a Parktown prawn, and on closer inspection, I believe that it was.  Strange thing is that last night, I saw a live prawn in the exact same spot.  They're pretty cool looking bugs, but I'm really really hoping I never see one in my apartment... or anywhere near where I have to be for an extended period of time.  What makes this bug extra cool though is that the aliens ("prawns") in District 9 are actually based on this prawn and the reason why they are named as such. 

Dying prawn

African Craft Market

Sorry for the delay of posting.  If you haven't noticed, I will usually post by the end of the weekend.  Unfortunately, I've been trying to attach some really cool videos that just won't work.  So here's the post, sans videos.  
 
On Sunday I went to the African Craft Market at Rosebank Mall.  It's extra big on Sundays as they take over the roof of one of the parking garages in addition to the permanent craft market.  I was just window shopping this time to see what kind of stuff was available, but I'm sure I'll be visiting again before returning to Canada for Christmas.

The main floor of the permanent craft market consisted of mainly similar stalls containing wooden masks, stone sculptures, fabric paintings, musical instruments, and jewelry.  Every stall had the owner (or employee, not positive I guess), calling me over saying "Welcome! To look is free! Come in".  After I started looking, the first question was usually "Where are you from?", I answered Canada and of course the response was "I love Canadians! Best price for Canadians! Toronto?".... "No, Ottawa"... "ohhh" (they had no clue).  It was a bit intimidating, but I stood my ground and didn't buy anything (mainly because I had barely any money).  The second floor of the permanent market was really just a regular store that happened to sell crafts.  They had a cash register, credit card machine, price tags, and everything!

The rooftop market had absolutely everything from art to jewelry to antiques to food to clothes and accessories (plus more!).  I had a great time wandering around and I think I spent about 3 hours there.  Plus there was a lot of live music to listen to while browsing.  As I said, I've tried very very hard to attach videos here but I can't figure it out.  I have a picture, but I wish the videos would work because they were great and so fun to watch!

Soweto Marimba Youth League

Zoo Lake and Klipriversberg Nature Reserve

Yesterday I went to the Zoo Lake park to check out the Artists Under the Sun, a free art exhibit in the park the first weekend of every month.  Even though the website said they started at 8:30, they were still setting up when I arrived after 9.  Some artists were set up though, and one was kind enough to show me all his work and tell me about it as well.  Unfortunately, I can't afford any art right now, so I was just looking, but there was some very nice stuff there. 

Since I parked at the wrong end of the park, I walked all the way around the lake while I was there.  Definitely not the cleanest lake, but there was a big sign explaining that that was because of all the birds that roost on the small island in the middle of the lake, safe from humans and predators.  There were some super cute ducklings that I took a few pictures of, but I really pissed off Mama Duck.  She was hissing at me like crazy.  I ran away for fear of embarrassment of being attacked by a duck.

Today, I returned to the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve to try to find the excellent views of the city promised by my guidebook.  When I first went to this nature reserve, I chose the wrong path and didn't get any views of the city, but did get to see some hartebeest and a bontebok (I think).  This time, I studied the map a bit more carefully (and figured out where north was) and decided on the Beacon Trail.

As I was hiking, I came to a fork in the trail.  I decided to go left.  After about 200 meters in that direction, the trail came to another fork, but the trail marker only pointed back down.  I didn't know what was going on, so I decided to go back down the way I came, and choose the original right fork instead.  I am very, very glad I decided to do this.  As I was climbing up the hill in that direction, I saw some sort of small, quick antelope jumping through the grass.  It was too fast for me to get my camera out, but as it disappeared, I noticed some zebras in the same field.  I got some pictures of them, but didn't want to get too close in case I scared them.  I kept climbing, feeling pretty good about my decision to choose this path, even though I was pretty sure I wouldn't get my city views.  Just as I had given up, I climbed my last hill up to what I can only suppose was the "beacon" (a small cement pole) and bam! there was Joburg!  After taking some pictures, I continued on my way back down the hill.  I saw a bontebok, maybe the same one I saw last time, and eventually joined up with the path I didn't take.  I'm glad though that I turned around because this way, the view of the city was sudden.  If I had gone the other way, it would have been gradual: possible, then probable, then definite, but definitely not as exciting. 

Zoo Lake

Can't even tell the city is just on the other side of the hill

Zebras!

More zebras!

Jean LeCastor in the nature reserve with the city to the north

Driving in South Africa

As many of you know, I drive to and from work every day here in South Africa, and I drive on the other side of the road (namely left).  Finding an automatic car was difficult; I even tried driving my employer's manual car (in a field, and then on this small loop of roads that a teenager and parent were also using for driving that day), but it wasn't particularly successful.  Thankfully we decided that the stress of driving on the wrong side of the road was enough, let alone learning to drive a manual.  So now I have my 2002 (I think) grey Renault Laguna.  Wouldn't be my first colour choice for sure, and it's a little slow to change gears sometimes, but it gets me to and from work. 

Driving on the wrong side of the road was very stressful at first.  Thankfully I had been a passenger for about a month before driving here so I was used to riding on the left at least.  Actually when I first arrived, my employer waited at the back of the car for me to choose which side of the car to get in.  He didn't trick me; I was concentrating too hard on getting it right.  I have definitely walked to the wrong side of the car though, usually when alone, and always when preoccupied with something else. 

I live very close to two of the therapists I work with, so when I first started driving here, they let me follow them home everyday and then came to pick me up in the morning so I could follow them to work.  That definitely helped so I didn't have to concentrate on the directions and when to change lanes, and just focus on actually staying in the lane.  I'm a lot more comfortable now, and don't find driving in South Africa too hard.  My friends here have asked if I've adapted to the crazy Johannesburg drivers.  I haven't found them all too crazy.  Usually the only crazy ones are taxi drivers.  The taxis here are actually minibuses that pick and drop off passengers pretty much anywhere.  So when driving, you just need to be aware that they will stop anywhere, cut you off, and honk for no apparent reason.  Once you've accepted that fact, driving is a lot easier and you don't get upset (usually).  Another strange thing here is that people don't usually stop for pedestrians.  Here, pedestrians are usually the ones who stop for cars.  I was actually honked at once for stopping for a pedestrian.  I have found though that sometimes drivers here are a lot nicer than they would be in Canada or the United States.  For example, they stop to give way to people when they find that it would be impossible for them to turn right (remember turning right here is the one where you cross oncoming traffic).  Finally, another strange sight on South African roads for me was the "bakkie" (pronounced "bucky", means pickup truck) full of people.  Workers often ride to and from work in the back of pickup trucks.  It's occasionally awkward when you stop behind them at a red light (aka robot) and they're all staring at you.  I asked my South African friends what to do in this situation and they said that they didn't know and also found it awkward.

That's it so far for my South African driving experience!  Hoping it will continue to be smooth and without accidents!

My car

Steering wheel on the right!!!!

Minibus taxi picture from Google

Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens - Spring Edition

I visited the botanical gardens again this Saturday to see what had changed since my last visit.  As you'll see in my sweet collage pictures (thank you Rachel for telling me about instacollage), it is a LOT more green here now.  Unfortunately that means a lot more rainy as well.  I'm not sure what kind of climate I was expecting when coming here (besides some idea of average temperatures), but I guess maybe because I arrived in winter when everything was brown and dry, I'm surprised every day by the green grass, trees, and flowers. Hopefully I'll be able to visit the gardens again in summer to see what else has changed.

Walking path comparison

Top: Below and above the waterfall in winter; Bottom: Below and above the waterfall in spring

Some wildflowers on my walk

"Look my dear, a little frog"

South African Lingo 2

So after I wrote my last South African slang post I realized there was a lot more I didn't include.  The most common greeting here is "howzit".  I'm still not positive if it is a question that should be answered (like "how are you?") or if it's just a greeting and you reply "howzit" or "hello" back.  So far, I've heard it used both ways.  I guess I'll keep treating it as a question for now.

Another common thing for people to say is "is it?" in the context of "oh really?" regardless of which verb or pronoun should actually be used.  For example, if I say "My mom just won a flight to Cape Town", people will probably reply "Is it?".  Same as if I'd said something like "In Canada we eat peanut butter and jam sandwiches", the reply would still be "Is it?".  It bugged me when I first arrived here, but I've gotten used to it now.

Something else that used to bug me was people saying "just now" or "now now" or even "now" when they mean soon.  For example, if I said  "Are you going to lunch?" and the reply was "Yes, we're going now now" it might mean 15 minutes from now.  I've gotten used to this also and I've even used "now now" when I mean "soon".

If you've seen Invictus, you might remember everybody calling each other "bru".  I guess it means  "bro" or something.  So far, I've only used it to be funny.  I don't think I can use it seriously.  Everyone here though does call each other friend, brother, sister, bru, etc, very often.  Way more than Canadians call each other friend, buddy, or guy.

A final South African word for today is "sharp" or "sharp sharp".  It means cool I think.  So for example, if someone asks you how you are and you say "fine" they might then give a thumbs up and say "sharp".

Holiday Week

This past week I've been on holiday from LUC Academy.  No particular reason besides it was the end of our third term.  Because summer is in December here, the school holidays (and the school year) are a bit different.  We get three weeks off in December and then three other weeks distributed throughout the rest of the year between terms. 

I stayed in Joburg for the holiday but did get to do some exploring of my city and also run a few errands that had to get done. 

After relaxing and doing nothing on the first day of holidays, last Sunday I went to the Taste of Joburg to try some interesting food.  They gave us a menu while waiting in line and I started picking out things I know I like (especially from the Thai place).  But then I woke up and realized that I should be looking for African food or at least something I wouldn't get in North America.  So I settled on a "Duo of Springbok" (leg and loin, coco bean ragout, shitake, tamarind, two way pureed and roasted cawliflower) and a "Neck Meets Tail Terrine" (trio of ostrich neck and star anise, pork belly and citrus, oxtail and red wine terrine with tomato atchar and chakalaka salad).  I was a bit nervous when I got the terrine.  It looked a bit like the head cheese that I used to slice when working in the Farm Boy deli.  Thankfully it tasted nothing like the head cheese smelled.  It was actually very good.  The springbok was also very nice.  I was expecting it to taste like venison but I thought it tasted more like beef.  I also found some craft beer.  I had Darling Brew's Bone Crusher, a very yummy wit beer.  I finished off with a delicious Cranberry, Pomegranate, and Rooibos cupcake.

Monday I went to the China Mall with my friend Roz (a therapist at LUC Academy).  It's basically just a mall with lots of stores filled with things from China and primarily owned by Chinese people.  The most successful purchases of the day were my wall stickers.  They took a while to put up, but hopefully help make my apartment look less like a prison (as the people with whom I've skyped have described its appearance). 

Tuesday was an errand day.  I finally bought some patio furniture.  It's not very pretty or special but it will serve its purpose for the year.

On Wednesday I went to the Joburg Zoo.  The reviews online were not particularly positive but I hadn't been to a zoo in a while and it wasn't too expensive so I decided to go anyway.  I was impressed by the number of animals I saw, especially since the reviews made it seem like you were unlikely to see very many.  However, I was not impressed with the maintenance of the zoo.  Many of the paths were not well maintained and not placed directly beside the animal enclosures.  Also, there were signs indicating to go inside "The Ape House" if the apes were not outside, so I went in (since the doors were open).  However I found an abandoned looking enclosure with someone welding something at the far end.  When I realized I probably shouldn't be in there, I went out the way I came, but got the evil eye from some person who suddenly appeared in the first exhibit which looked like a "science room" (I don't know how to properly describe this, but an area behind glass where people work, not animals).  There was another "science room" in the zoo for visitors to examine the conservation efforts of some endangered frogs.  However the room that held the frog tanks was dirty and looked like it was falling apart in a couple places.  Overall though I wasn't disappointed with my visit.  As I said, I hadn't been to a zoo in a while and it was nice to see some animals in Africa, but not nearly as nice as it would be to see them in "the wild" (please imagine Marty from Madagascar saying that). 

Can you see who's waiting inside?

Monkey (a gibbon I think) with a newborn

On Thursday, I went downtown with my friend Elaine (another therapist at LUC Academy) and her husband.  I was very happy when she invited me to come with them.  I'd wanted to go downtown but I was nervous to do so by myself.  We started off by walking through Gandhi Square to the Carlton Centre, the tallest building in Africa.  We went up to the top for a view of Joburg.  Far off to the north you could even see "The Dome" that I drive by everyday to and from work.  After that we drove to Newtown and walked around a little bit.  We then went to the SAB (South African Breweries) World of Beer and went on a tour there.  It wasn't anything too special and there were quite a few unnecessary videos about beer around the world.  And of course thanks to Dan I already know the basics of beer.  The most interesting parts were the ones about Africa.  We got to try some traditional African beer (the kind made in villages) and learned about the history of the big breweries in South Africa.  At the end there were two "free" beers (included in the entrance fee), chutney chips, and peanuts.  We ended our day at the Oriental Plaza.  It was kind of like the China Mall but Indian.  We had some samosas for lunch and then visited the spice shop before heading home.

To the east

To the south, you can see some mine dumps far in the background

To the north where I live... very far north

Friday was another errand day.  I headed to Home Affairs to see what had to be done about my visa (long story short, I need a small extension).  It was boring and far (in Randfontein) but about as successful as I could have hoped for given the horror stories I had heard about Home Affairs.  They didn't do anything for me then, but gave me the requirements and told me to come back in April.  I spent the afternoon relaxing by the pool.

Yesterday I visited the Groenkloof Nature Reserve near Pretoria.  Like most of the reserves I've visited, the website informed me of the animals that live there, but I didn't have any particularly high hopes of seeing any.  Amazingly though I did get to see some animals!  Giraffes!  I was very excited.  I took tons of pictures.  Later on my walk a turtle was sitting right in the middle of my path.  As I got closer he hid in his shell, but I got some pictures of him from far away. 

The sky is limitless

Overall I had a very good, relaxing holiday.  Now only two and a half more months of school before the Christmas holidays when I get to explore the country with my family and Dan!

School Outing

Yesterday was our last day of the third term at LUC Academy.  Usually on the last day of term, we only have a half day and take the kids on an outing.  We decided we would try to take the kids to a movie (namely A Monster in Paris, the only 2D animation showing nearby at an early time).  Most of them had been to the movies before with their families with varying success.  When planning the outing, we were all very confident and excited.  However as the day drew nearer, we got a little more nervous.  The rest of the schools were already on holiday and the theatre might be busy.  What if our kids are loud, disruptive, and throw tantrums?  I had resigned myself to the fact that I would probably be sitting outside the theatre with at least one of them. 

Amazingly, the day went beautifully.  One of the boys who usually tantrums when getting out of the car anywhere was amazingly happy to go.  We arrived to the movie right on time, to an almost empty theatre.  We all sat the kids down at the back of the theatre with their popcorn and drinks and sat back, wondering what was going to happen.   The kids were surprisingly quiet, only a few small outbursts like random tacts or echoics from the movie (and occasional mands for more snacks, bathroom, etc.).  One of our boys who would do anything for attention, and is usually constantly saying hello to us or telling us he loves us, was mostly quiet.  Thankfully his therapist told him to whisper in the theatre (which he can do) so when he saw me as he was coming back from the bathroom he whispered to me "Hello Wendy".  He also loves to dance to music (and loves telling us to do so as well) so when the music came on, he stood up, started dancing, and you could hear little whispers coming from his direction "Dance Catherine" (one of our therapists).

I think the keys to our success were the snacks and other supplies we brought for the kids if they got restless (threading for one, and clay and action figures for another).  One of the boys manded for his beads during the movie and once he was threading, he kept quiet and happy.  The other boy accidentally dropped one of his action figures during the movie, jumped from his seat, and for the first time independently manded for information in the natural environment by saying "Where Spiderman?".  When he found him, he quickly jumped up and yelled "Spiderman!!!".  I don't know if anyone told him to be quiet; we were all trying to keep from laughing.  This boy was also asked earlier in the day where Wolfman (one of his action figures) works and he decided he worked in the Wolfman station (generalization from police station and fire station).  We have heard this before from him; usually if he doesn't know where someone works, he says they work in [name/title] station.  Poppa used to work in the poppa station until we found out where he actually worked and taught our action figure boy.  Anyway, given this you can imagine how surprised we were when we asked him "Where does Buzz [Lightyear] work?" and he answered "No man, Buzz doesn't work".  Lesson learned little man.

Overall the day went off without a hitch and now we really feel like we deserve a week long holiday.  No pictures this time, to protect our kids' privacy. 

Sunday Stroll

Yesterday I went for a walk in the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve just to the south of Joburg.  My guidebook promised that animals (like wildebeest, hartebeest, and even zebras) definitely lived in the park and I just hoped I would be lucky enough to see one of them.  As I entered the park I saw a little fox-like creature run across the path in front of me.  If you remember from my visit to another nature reserve, the only animal I saw that day was the one that ran across the path in front of me as I entered the park.  So naturally I felt a little disappointing deja vu.  However, as I continued my walk, I saw what I suspected were wildebeest across a small river from me.  I took about ten pictures, getting as close as I could without entering the high grass in front of me (for fear of snakes, whether a legitimate fear or not, I wasn't prepared to find out).  As I continued along though, eventually there was a bridge so I could cross over to their side.  They were all still in that field although they slowly moved a little farther away as they saw me coming, but I got some even better pictures from that side.  I also discovered an antelope looking creature.  With help from my guidebook and google images, I think I can semi-confidently say it was a bontebok. 

After seeing these animals, I felt pretty happy about the day.  However, my guidebook had also promised beautiful views of the city to the north if I climbed up the mountains.  So when I saw a sign for "look-out point", I followed it.  Unfortunately, I climbed the wrong mountain and my view of the city was blocked by other mountains, but I did still get a nice view of the park.  I guess I will just have to go back and try again for my city view.

Spring is here!  Grass starting to grow where fires had burned

Black wildebeest; just try looking at this picture without thinking: Stampede, in the gorge, Simba's down there!!!

There were a few ruined buildings in the park, not sure what they were but here's part of one

Bontebok with wildebeest in the background

Possibly a dassie, there were tons of these little guys running around the rocks

A South African Music Experience

Last night a couple friends and I went to see Johnny Clegg at the Montecasino Teatro.  When I heard his concert announced on the radio a couple of weeks ago, I got pretty excited.  Sure, I'd only ever heard one of his songs ("Dela"), and sure, the only reason I knew that song at all was because it was in George of the Jungle, but ever since downloading music was possible, I downloaded that song (yep, back in the Napster days) and added it to all my burned CDs.  And now, it is on all my driving (aka sing-along) playlists.  Last year, Nina (a friend from WMU) even caught me singing and dancing along to this song in my car on the way to a meeting.  So to sum this all up, it's probably my favourite song ever.

I asked one of my friends here if she liked Johnny Clegg and if she would be interested in going to the concert with me.  She said he was really good and we have to go, so last weekend she, her sister, and I bought tickets.  Since we were a little slow on the procuring of the tickets, we were in the very last row of the very highest balcony.  It actually wasn't that bad though.  We still had a pretty good view, and a lot more leg room than most theatres I've been to.  We also discovered that being in the last row means you can stand up to dance whenever you want, without fear of bothering the people behind you.  Something that really surprised me about this theatre was that you could bring drinks (purchased from the theatre bar) into the show!  Apparently this isn't a regular occurrence in South Africa though because the girls I went with were quite surprised by it as well. 

The show itself was excellent.  He played a couple songs that he said were from a new album but I think mostly he played his older, more well-known songs.  I even recognized a couple from the radio here (so I actually did know more than one song).  Almost all of the songs were great, happy, and easy to dance to.  He also had some Zulu dancers come out for a couple of the songs and the Soweto Gospel Choir sang for about 5 songs.  It felt like a real African experience.  I had enjoyed the concert so much that by the time he had played his encore song and introduced the band, I had resigned myself to the fact that my song, the reason I came to the concert in the first place, wouldn't be played.  But after the band introductions, the music started up again.  I couldn't believe it.  Dela was the last song of the night and I enjoyed every second of it!

Catherine, Eliza, and me in our seats in the very last row

Johnny Clegg

Zulu dancers performing a traditional dance

Johnny Clegg, his band, and the Soweto Gospel Choir performing Dela

South African Lingo

South Africa has 11 official languages, including English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, and Sesotho, the five languages that make up their national anthem.  And in addition to trying to understand all the different accents, there are also some vocabulary differences that have had to be explained to me during my time here. 

Probably the most common and hilarious difference is that they call traffic lights "robots".  So you may hear the instruction "turn left at the second robot" if you are driving in South Africa.  I was warned about this before arriving though so I never had to wonder exactly what kind of robot they were talking about and why there was more than one.  Another small point about traffic lights in South Africa is that the middle colour is apparently orange, not yellow.

A South African robot

Another hilarious difference is that water heaters are called geysers (pronounced geezer).  So you may have to worry about your broken geyser, or figure out how to turn on your geyser while in South Africa.

Some of the more common differences are that fries are called chips (as are potato chips), a sink is a basin, cookies are biscuits, and the yard is the garden.  These things don't really matter, it's usually easy to tell what someone is talking about from the context... but the differences do matter when you happen to be teaching language to children with autism.  So I've had to adjust my vocabulary as well.  I've been told by the therapists that a couple of the kids' new words even sound "American" (they can't hear the difference between Canadian and American, hell I barely can).  I've tried adjusting my accent slightly when doing therapy, saying things like "banawna" for banana, and "wa-tah" for water when providing corrections and prompts so as not to confuse the kids.  I'm not sure how much of a difference it makes, but it certainly provides entertainment for the other therapists.

Cradle of Humankind

Yesterday I went to the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO heritage site where many important fossil discoveries have been made, including "Mrs. Ples" and "Little Foot".  I don't think I'd heard of these fossils before coming here, so don't feel bad if you haven't either.  In any case, they are early hominid fossils that have helped to piece together our evolutionary history. 

I started at Maropeng, the visitor's centre at the Cradle of Humankind and museum. I arrived just before a tour was starting so I decided to join them, even though you can go through on your own.  Our guide told us about the history of the universe and about the Cradle of Humankind site.  There are 13 excavation sites on the 47000 hectares and two additional sites that have been added because of additional discoveries.  The museum was alright.  It started with a boat tour going through the four elements of life, which was mostly disappointing.  The exhibits were nice, but some of the interactive parts weren't working properly and most of the information was reminders from biology or anthropology class.   The fossil exhibit was cool since there were actual fossils, some of which had been discovered nearby.  After exiting the museum though you can climb up the building and check out "the best view in Gauteng".  It was a very nice view and you could see for miles in every direction.

After Maropeng, I headed to the Sterkfontein Caves, the actual site were Mrs. Ples and Little Foot were discovered (and where they are actually still trying to properly excavate Little Foot).  The caves were very cool.  I think our guide said we went 60m underground.  Our tour guide was awesome, kind of sarcastic and really funny.  He did tell us a serious story though about the lake in the caves that has been rising for the past few years.  Three students from Wits University (I think) went on a scuba diving expedition to determine how far the lake went.  They swam for kilometers and never found the end.  And on the way back, one of them got lost and died from hypothermia.  Since then, they haven't allowed any other divers in the lake.

The way out of the caves was a pretty tight squeeze.  I thought they were kind of exaggerating when they said that at the beginning of the tour so they couldn't be liable or anything, but there were times when I went through on my bum, squatted and did an "ape walk" (as the guide called it), or bent over to make it through. 

Maropeng, the visitor centre of the Cradle of Humankind

Jean LeCastor finally makes an appearance!  For those of you who don't know Jean, check out my facebook album Jean LeCastor Tours Europe. You might also be able to find him in Florida, spring break 2012, and occasionally in Michigan. Here he is at the entrance to the museum.

Jean LeCastor on top of the museum for the "best view in Gauteng"

Our tour guide, apparently named Maropeng, at the Sterkfontein Caves.  He was showing us how to use the sun dial.

Elephant shaped rock structure inside the caves

Jean LeCastor in front of one of the excavation sites at the Sterkfontein Caves