For now I am skipping Thursday, I went to the Apartheid Museum, I have started to reflect on it, but it will take me awile.
I am about to venture off toward Soccer City, the location of the opening match. Car horns and vuvuzelas have been blowing since the sun came up.
Now for Feffer's match predictions:
South Africa and Mexico is very interesting. Mexico seems to be in top form and I feel would be a tough match for anyone. South Africa is going to play the best match of their lives today. With the support they have, they will play far beyond their ability, and they're a decent side to begin with, also playing well right now. Logically I want to say they will draw 1-1, with SA scoring a first half goal with the lift of the moment, and Mexico equalizing later, wearing Bafana down with their talent and experience. I dream though of a late Bafana winner to give this nation a memory to keep forever.
France and Uruguay will play tonight, the first of many in the series of heart vs. talent. Few teams can match the talent of France, but they still havn't themselves post Zhidane. If they don't figure out how to dig deep and play with each other, they will see an early exit. Heart wins this match, Uruguay 1-0.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Wednesday 9 June
Today I started in Sandton City, a suburb of Joburg. My understanding of Sandton is after the Apartheid, many businesses moved outside of the Joburg central business district. Sandton has very nice restaurants, shops, hotels and business parks. Today all of South Africa was to show their support of Bafana Bafana approximately during lunch time. Sandton was the center of all this with the team riding through the city on a double decker bus. Every inch of Joburg had people blowing vuvuzela, honking horns and celebrating their team. I will try to attach a video of one brief pocket, I dont think I got any sound. We’ll see if it works.
I was wearing a Bafana jersey for the days festivities. I crossed paths with a few Argentine fans. One approached me enthusiastically repeating “Bafana Bafana, Bafana Bafana.” I speak no spanish, he spoke no english, so we could’nt talk about much. I tried to tell him that I was in fact an American just jumping on the bandwagon, but it didn’t get through. He continued on to communicate that Argentina and Bafana are best of friends, perhaps from the same blood lines, and then implied that we should trade jerseys. He was wearing a tank top version of an Argentina jersey. Although I slightly preferred my shirt, I couldn’t refuse the offer, perhaps subconsciously attaching it to swapping jerseys after a world cup match. The cut off sleeves were nice in the sun all day, but I was no longer representing the in-fashion side.
I took a couple breaks in the festivities to catch museums. I first went to the Johannesburg Art Museum. It was lovely, it had regional art, some of which gave a bit of history. It had an exhibition about Cuba’s struggle for freedom from Spain. They compared Cuba’s struggle with SA, putting it in a positive light. This was refreshing, as I have hardly learned a positive thing about Cuba in my US-centric education. And then, there it was. Two rooms, 12 screens, showing different perspectives on the last world cup final between France and Italy. Here are a few examples, there was a screen committed to each of the following:
The normal match
A dot representing each player to show the movement of both teams
Lines representing movements of the players’
Cannavaro
Zhidane
Animated Zhidane
The guy who says what camera should be shown
Two seemingly intelligent fellows just talking about the match
The outside of the stadium
Security cameras inside the stadium
There were a couple others as well. I spent a long time watching the dots. The back lines almost never get more than 30 meters apart. I also spent a bit watching Zhidane, he is definitely brilliant, but very comfortable. He did lots of standing. I may have stayed the entire day, but I am still disgusted that Italy won that match, they must be the least innovative/dynamic team in the world. They have as much talent as anyone, yet they insist on playing a bland counter attacking style.
I also went to the Africana Museum in Newtown. It was interesting, I was a bit burnt out at that point, but I learned a bit about Ghandi’s time in Joburg, which was cool. I always enjoy learning of people’s development. More on that to come.
Overall, the energy in the streets was the main interest of the day. The blowing and honking was constant. At one point about 40 construction workers were playing with a soccer ball in busy downtown streets. A police car patiently waited until the game drifted out of his way. There is no doubt this country is in solidarity behind their team, but what lasting impacts will this tournament have. Last night we spoke of 9/11, and how it brought NYC together, and our country. What lasting impact has that unity had? Completely different circumstances, but what long-term impact can an event achieve? I guess the answer varies greatly depending on the event, we’ll see. That’s all for today.
Today started with Wendy taking me to meet a missionary couple working in the townships north of Johannesburg. It was great to see and learn about their work, progress, and vision in a place with innumerable challenges. They have started a preschool that they hope can be a model as they look to establish similar facilities. All the teachers in the preschool are southern Africans (some are from Zimbabwe). They also support area churches, with an emphasis on strengthening leadership. I appreciate that they are looking to provide resources for South Africans to make their communities better.
Wendy then dropped off at a local stadium to watch a warm-up match between Portugal and Mozambique. It was sold out, so I walked around the stadium for a bit, then went on a mission to find free wireless. This was very difficult. The majority of coffee shops and other “hot spots” are through a nationwide server that requires a subscription. After about an hour of opening my computer in different places, I was finally able to connect. I bought my first vuvuzela while I was at the stadium, and quickly learned that it takes a bit of skill to blow. I am pretty bad at it. When you walk around with it, everyone wants you to blow it, this has been a serious embarrassment for me. Everyone here knows how, so they are shocked to hear such a pathetic vuvuzela sound. Some people cringe then smile and try to encourage me, others just laugh at me and walk away.
Before I came home I stopped at a flower stand. They had flowers there that I didn’t existed. I was quite excited, I eventually admitted that I was from the US after many circles around the shop.
We had dinner with Wendy’s brother Andrew, and two of his kids Matthew and Kellen. They are lots of fun. This may come as a bit of a surprise, but we talked lots about football. I hope to bump into them again before I head out.
Wendy then dropped off at a local stadium to watch a warm-up match between Portugal and Mozambique. It was sold out, so I walked around the stadium for a bit, then went on a mission to find free wireless. This was very difficult. The majority of coffee shops and other “hot spots” are through a nationwide server that requires a subscription. After about an hour of opening my computer in different places, I was finally able to connect. I bought my first vuvuzela while I was at the stadium, and quickly learned that it takes a bit of skill to blow. I am pretty bad at it. When you walk around with it, everyone wants you to blow it, this has been a serious embarrassment for me. Everyone here knows how, so they are shocked to hear such a pathetic vuvuzela sound. Some people cringe then smile and try to encourage me, others just laugh at me and walk away.
Before I came home I stopped at a flower stand. They had flowers there that I didn’t existed. I was quite excited, I eventually admitted that I was from the US after many circles around the shop.
We had dinner with Wendy’s brother Andrew, and two of his kids Matthew and Kellen. They are lots of fun. This may come as a bit of a surprise, but we talked lots about football. I hope to bump into them again before I head out.
Monday Addition
One more brief story from Monday, I was coaxed into a barbers chair while walking through Joburg. It was a bad idea, he left me with only a mustache. I took one picture, I meant to take a better one before I shaved, but I didn’t get around to it. Oh well, er it go.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Monday, June 7
Before I start describing my adventures, I need to give a huge shout to my hosts in Johannesburg. I am staying with the most beautiful family in South Africa, the Chandler family. Mark and Wendy, along with their daughters Laura and Melissa have been so very gracious to me as I get my feet under me.
Sunday we started the day at church. The Chandlers attend a very warm Anglican Church near their home. I enjoyed the service. We then went to a large park/gardens area in the mountains outside of joburg. This was probably the best Sunday afternoon ever. We had a picnic, dozed off for a bit while listening to a South African choir. We walked through the gardens (South Africa is known for its huge variety of beautiful flowers) up to the base of a waterfall, then up the mountain to the top of the fall where we caught a glimpse of the black eagle. We returned to listen to the choir a bit longer then headed home for dinner and Pictionary.
Today was my first day wandering, but with some purpose. I had to get a phone and and try to learn about getting around Joburg. It must be one the least tourist friendly cities in the world. The only way to find out how to get somewhere is to ask each time, there are no printed materials for any buses or trains.
So anyway, I started at a bus station at which I was told different things by many people of how to get in to town. Eventually, I was pointed towards a larger street to catch a bus or a public taxi. Public taxis are VW bus-like vans that fit about 15 people. They have regular routes like a bus and can be hailed like a taxi, different hand signals are used to let taxi drivers know where you want to go, so they will stop and pick you up if your signal matches their route. The buses are like anywhere else, but again, you have to know what bus to take, the only way to really get information about a bus is to ask someone.
At the main road there was a joburg tourist info center. I was very excited to see this, but all I got from it was a placemat map of the Central Business District. I decided to walk down the road a bit before catching a public taxi. When I was ready to try for a taxi, a man in a small truck hailed me, cut off a couple cars and picked me up. His name is Walter, he is a messenger, he noticed when he drove up the road, and was perplexed as to why I was still walking when he was coming back towards town. We had a nice chat, he is very excited about Bafana Bafana, as am I. While we were at a red light, a policeman approached us to inquire why Walter had stopped at the red light. As Walter began to answer “because it was red”, the policeman interrupted with another line of questions to figure out why a white man was in the car with a black man. It was very nice, it felt just like home. My first stop was park station, the main train station, to learn about how the trains run. Walter insisted he drop me right in front of the main entrance “to make the best impression for his country.” Thanks Walter.
At park station, I hoped to get schedules and maps of trains. This failed. They do not have such things to give out. I got my cell phone activated along with a couple other tasks, then went to Wimpy’s for a late breakfast. Wimpy’s is a South African fast food spot with a pretty extensive menu, perhaps in the Denny’s/kings/EatnPark genre with a bit quicker service. I tried to ask my waiter what he likes to eat/recommends. He didn’t understand so I clarified, “What would you get if you were ordering.” Still perplexed, he pointed to one of the more expensive meals on the menu, I told him I’d have that, and he put in the order. He returned a moment later to clarify that I was buying him breakfast as well...he thought I was literally asking him what he wanted. So my cost of breakfast quickly doubled, but I made a new friend. He asked if he could keep the receipt, I guess as a keepsake.
I left Park Station to walk around a bit. There were street vendors surrounding the area. I was excited to find jerseys being sold for about $20. I ended up buying 4, two for other people, I felt pleased with my restraint.
My next mission was to stop at the bus information center in Ghandi square, fairly close to park station. I spoke with a couple people along the way. I asked for a map at the bus station, the man said he was going to pick some up right then, and he’d be back in about an hour. I wandered for an hour, in the end he only had World Cup maps that showed only how to get to and from the stadiums. I at least got a timetable and the intersection to wait at for my bus to return home.
I then wandered up towards a close by area called Newtown, I will have to tell you about it later because I got distracted by the South African Breweries (SAB) Museum. I went through the hour and half tour of the history beer worldwide then South Africa, then how beer is made. It was a bit overdone at times, but well worth it as we got a sample, the glass we drank the sample from, then two full glasses at the end, all included in the tour cost of $4. I shared the drinks at the end with a couple Australian lads here to support the socceroos and their tour guide. As we were debating the strengths and weaknesses of different teams, the chariots of fire theme song came on. It’s hard to explain, but it was a bit of an emotional moment for me.
It was now time to return home. I found the proper intersection after a couple more small distractions, then stood at the wrong corner at that intersection a couple times before eventually getting on my bus. The day ended well with another lovely meal with the Chandlers and an evening game of Outburst.
Sunday we started the day at church. The Chandlers attend a very warm Anglican Church near their home. I enjoyed the service. We then went to a large park/gardens area in the mountains outside of joburg. This was probably the best Sunday afternoon ever. We had a picnic, dozed off for a bit while listening to a South African choir. We walked through the gardens (South Africa is known for its huge variety of beautiful flowers) up to the base of a waterfall, then up the mountain to the top of the fall where we caught a glimpse of the black eagle. We returned to listen to the choir a bit longer then headed home for dinner and Pictionary.
Today was my first day wandering, but with some purpose. I had to get a phone and and try to learn about getting around Joburg. It must be one the least tourist friendly cities in the world. The only way to find out how to get somewhere is to ask each time, there are no printed materials for any buses or trains.
So anyway, I started at a bus station at which I was told different things by many people of how to get in to town. Eventually, I was pointed towards a larger street to catch a bus or a public taxi. Public taxis are VW bus-like vans that fit about 15 people. They have regular routes like a bus and can be hailed like a taxi, different hand signals are used to let taxi drivers know where you want to go, so they will stop and pick you up if your signal matches their route. The buses are like anywhere else, but again, you have to know what bus to take, the only way to really get information about a bus is to ask someone.
At the main road there was a joburg tourist info center. I was very excited to see this, but all I got from it was a placemat map of the Central Business District. I decided to walk down the road a bit before catching a public taxi. When I was ready to try for a taxi, a man in a small truck hailed me, cut off a couple cars and picked me up. His name is Walter, he is a messenger, he noticed when he drove up the road, and was perplexed as to why I was still walking when he was coming back towards town. We had a nice chat, he is very excited about Bafana Bafana, as am I. While we were at a red light, a policeman approached us to inquire why Walter had stopped at the red light. As Walter began to answer “because it was red”, the policeman interrupted with another line of questions to figure out why a white man was in the car with a black man. It was very nice, it felt just like home. My first stop was park station, the main train station, to learn about how the trains run. Walter insisted he drop me right in front of the main entrance “to make the best impression for his country.” Thanks Walter.
At park station, I hoped to get schedules and maps of trains. This failed. They do not have such things to give out. I got my cell phone activated along with a couple other tasks, then went to Wimpy’s for a late breakfast. Wimpy’s is a South African fast food spot with a pretty extensive menu, perhaps in the Denny’s/kings/EatnPark genre with a bit quicker service. I tried to ask my waiter what he likes to eat/recommends. He didn’t understand so I clarified, “What would you get if you were ordering.” Still perplexed, he pointed to one of the more expensive meals on the menu, I told him I’d have that, and he put in the order. He returned a moment later to clarify that I was buying him breakfast as well...he thought I was literally asking him what he wanted. So my cost of breakfast quickly doubled, but I made a new friend. He asked if he could keep the receipt, I guess as a keepsake.
I left Park Station to walk around a bit. There were street vendors surrounding the area. I was excited to find jerseys being sold for about $20. I ended up buying 4, two for other people, I felt pleased with my restraint.
My next mission was to stop at the bus information center in Ghandi square, fairly close to park station. I spoke with a couple people along the way. I asked for a map at the bus station, the man said he was going to pick some up right then, and he’d be back in about an hour. I wandered for an hour, in the end he only had World Cup maps that showed only how to get to and from the stadiums. I at least got a timetable and the intersection to wait at for my bus to return home.
I then wandered up towards a close by area called Newtown, I will have to tell you about it later because I got distracted by the South African Breweries (SAB) Museum. I went through the hour and half tour of the history beer worldwide then South Africa, then how beer is made. It was a bit overdone at times, but well worth it as we got a sample, the glass we drank the sample from, then two full glasses at the end, all included in the tour cost of $4. I shared the drinks at the end with a couple Australian lads here to support the socceroos and their tour guide. As we were debating the strengths and weaknesses of different teams, the chariots of fire theme song came on. It’s hard to explain, but it was a bit of an emotional moment for me.
It was now time to return home. I found the proper intersection after a couple more small distractions, then stood at the wrong corner at that intersection a couple times before eventually getting on my bus. The day ended well with another lovely meal with the Chandlers and an evening game of Outburst.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Intro post
So this is going to be a ridiculously long post. This will be very unusual. I will mostly discuss my interactions with South Africa, but in this post I will attempt to establish where I am coming from. I don’t necessarily expect my posts to be read, but it feels like good accountability to actually keep a journal. Already I have had numerous sights, sounds, and conversations to process. I wish I could process them all through his medium, but it would be way too much. I would like to start by discussing what I might accomplish on this trip.
My plan is to spend this time during the world cup traveling around South Africa. I don’t know how I will manage to get around, but I’ma try. I may have to learn how to ride a motorcycle, but don’t tell my mom. After the tournament is over, I plan to travel over ground about 1800 miles up to Nairobi, where I will fly back to the states from in early August.
There are a few major questions I would like to explore. The first is, how do we develop people? One of the first things I learned out of college is there is hardly an ounce of randomness in anyone. Every thought, action, behavior, etc.. is learned from somewhere. Starting at a child’s birth, those around that child determine who they will become. I think we need to be much more intentional in developing every aspect of a child. To do this, we need to figure what we want to them to look like. Values? Skills? Education? Faith? Relationships? The list of considerations goes on forever. Then how do we get them there. Modeling? Discussion? Experiences? Failures? Direction? Structure? Freedom? Of course there is no correct answer, but it feels like there are some dangerous trends in the way young people are being developed. I think this is partly because of the lack of being intentional, but also some questionable priorities. Whether or not a child is intelligent, athletic, attractive, successful, respected, are emphasized over honest, disciplined, caring, dependable, respectful. In other words, what they do is blurred with who they are. In my young observations, the latter has a great deal more to do with our quality of life than the former. Enough of that for now, on to the next idea.
The questions I have been playing with much of this year deal with truth. What is true and how do we know? I know, this basically gets down to the meaning of life and after a few people have tried to figure it out already, we still don’t have a great answer. That still doesn’t change the importance of the question. How can we determine what we do without knowing why? I am very young in this question and hopefully won’t butcher philosophy in discussing it.
So here is my current sticking point in my search for truth. Existentialism and pluralism seem to be the dominating philosophies of our day. I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel their pull. With the exposure we have to different philosophies, beliefs, religions and cultures, how can we possibly say that anything is right or wrong? It feels like we are disrespecting others and their experiences. The problem is we have no way then of establishing right and wrong of everything is acceptable. I have to believe there are principles that must be upheld. Society will fall apart without them. But when every culture, religion and philosophy is accepted, there are no principles. You can say some things are common sense, don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t rape, be kind, love each other. It doesn’t work. Without absolute truth, without an answer to why we do things, the what is left up to individuals. Individuals develop their values based on their culture, beliefs and experiences. In our age of understanding and exchanging of ideas, murder, theft, rape, greed, corruption and hatred are just as prevalent as any other time in our worlds history. Accepting everything will never improve anything, using our own judgement to accept some things is foolishness and equally ineffective, meanwhile, I am on a continent that is irreparably scarred from one group insisting they knew what was right. Sigh. I don’t know the answer, but I do believe that we need truth. Now for some hope.
In the past year I have found one statement that I feel I can prove to be true through observation. RELATIONSHIP IS IMPORTANT. Many people know this is down through the core of their beings. I guess I am learning it a bit late. Our quality of life has a direct positive correlation with our quality of relationship. When Americans go to impoverished nations to give they always do more receiving. They experience a foreign joy from people may only have relationship. They don’t have careers and meetings and material possessions that foster shallow and strained relationships.
This idea affirms my belief in God. The Judeo-Christian creator establishes the importance of relationship from day 1, or I guess day 6 when He created man. Man was created in God’s image, to walk with God, to communicate with Him, to return His love….to be in relationship with Him. These themes of relationship cannot be ignored in the Bible….Gods top priority is relationship and He created us the same way. If we were not created, if we were random, if our existence was based solely on our ability to survive, wouldn’t power and success and wealth and pleasure be the biggest factors in our quality of life? I don’t intend to discount evolution, I believe God created a dynamic world, but I cannot believe that a world with such depth and intricacy is random.
Along with these ideas, I will comment on football(soccer). I hope to keep comments on this topic to a reasonable length, but as most football fans in America, I am deprived of enough outlets. Hopefully I will have people to talk to here so I won’t waste as much of your time. Well, at 1am eastern time, the sun is up in Joburg, Im out.
My plan is to spend this time during the world cup traveling around South Africa. I don’t know how I will manage to get around, but I’ma try. I may have to learn how to ride a motorcycle, but don’t tell my mom. After the tournament is over, I plan to travel over ground about 1800 miles up to Nairobi, where I will fly back to the states from in early August.
There are a few major questions I would like to explore. The first is, how do we develop people? One of the first things I learned out of college is there is hardly an ounce of randomness in anyone. Every thought, action, behavior, etc.. is learned from somewhere. Starting at a child’s birth, those around that child determine who they will become. I think we need to be much more intentional in developing every aspect of a child. To do this, we need to figure what we want to them to look like. Values? Skills? Education? Faith? Relationships? The list of considerations goes on forever. Then how do we get them there. Modeling? Discussion? Experiences? Failures? Direction? Structure? Freedom? Of course there is no correct answer, but it feels like there are some dangerous trends in the way young people are being developed. I think this is partly because of the lack of being intentional, but also some questionable priorities. Whether or not a child is intelligent, athletic, attractive, successful, respected, are emphasized over honest, disciplined, caring, dependable, respectful. In other words, what they do is blurred with who they are. In my young observations, the latter has a great deal more to do with our quality of life than the former. Enough of that for now, on to the next idea.
The questions I have been playing with much of this year deal with truth. What is true and how do we know? I know, this basically gets down to the meaning of life and after a few people have tried to figure it out already, we still don’t have a great answer. That still doesn’t change the importance of the question. How can we determine what we do without knowing why? I am very young in this question and hopefully won’t butcher philosophy in discussing it.
So here is my current sticking point in my search for truth. Existentialism and pluralism seem to be the dominating philosophies of our day. I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel their pull. With the exposure we have to different philosophies, beliefs, religions and cultures, how can we possibly say that anything is right or wrong? It feels like we are disrespecting others and their experiences. The problem is we have no way then of establishing right and wrong of everything is acceptable. I have to believe there are principles that must be upheld. Society will fall apart without them. But when every culture, religion and philosophy is accepted, there are no principles. You can say some things are common sense, don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t rape, be kind, love each other. It doesn’t work. Without absolute truth, without an answer to why we do things, the what is left up to individuals. Individuals develop their values based on their culture, beliefs and experiences. In our age of understanding and exchanging of ideas, murder, theft, rape, greed, corruption and hatred are just as prevalent as any other time in our worlds history. Accepting everything will never improve anything, using our own judgement to accept some things is foolishness and equally ineffective, meanwhile, I am on a continent that is irreparably scarred from one group insisting they knew what was right. Sigh. I don’t know the answer, but I do believe that we need truth. Now for some hope.
In the past year I have found one statement that I feel I can prove to be true through observation. RELATIONSHIP IS IMPORTANT. Many people know this is down through the core of their beings. I guess I am learning it a bit late. Our quality of life has a direct positive correlation with our quality of relationship. When Americans go to impoverished nations to give they always do more receiving. They experience a foreign joy from people may only have relationship. They don’t have careers and meetings and material possessions that foster shallow and strained relationships.
This idea affirms my belief in God. The Judeo-Christian creator establishes the importance of relationship from day 1, or I guess day 6 when He created man. Man was created in God’s image, to walk with God, to communicate with Him, to return His love….to be in relationship with Him. These themes of relationship cannot be ignored in the Bible….Gods top priority is relationship and He created us the same way. If we were not created, if we were random, if our existence was based solely on our ability to survive, wouldn’t power and success and wealth and pleasure be the biggest factors in our quality of life? I don’t intend to discount evolution, I believe God created a dynamic world, but I cannot believe that a world with such depth and intricacy is random.
Along with these ideas, I will comment on football(soccer). I hope to keep comments on this topic to a reasonable length, but as most football fans in America, I am deprived of enough outlets. Hopefully I will have people to talk to here so I won’t waste as much of your time. Well, at 1am eastern time, the sun is up in Joburg, Im out.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
on my way
I am sitting in the airport in London waiting to get on my 12 hour flight to Johannesburg. I am excited. I think I could live on a british airways flight. They fed me almost every hour, they even put the muffin in front me when I was sleeping so it was there when I woke up. There are so many things to watch. I have a little tv to myself. At first this didnt feel right, I felt there was value in sharing the experience of an inflight movie with my fellow passengers; laughing together, crying together, falling asleep together, whichever might be most appropriate. But the choices are just too good!! New movies, classics, documentaries, sports highlights, tv shows, someone should check if we can get the british airways channel in the states. On the way over I watched an aerial tour of south africa and the history of the England-Germany football rivalry. I am trying to get everything I have to do out of the way now so I can watch the tv as much as possible on my 10 hour flight to joburg.
I will work on my big introductory post on my flight....maybe.....depending on what I find to watch. I have lots of ideas that I hope to pursue on my trip, so I will try to lay them out at the beginning. Until then.
I will work on my big introductory post on my flight....maybe.....depending on what I find to watch. I have lots of ideas that I hope to pursue on my trip, so I will try to lay them out at the beginning. Until then.
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