What goes around, comes around........
How do you know when you are back in Tanzania? For those of you who don't know it is when you get out of the airplane and you realised within the first couple of minutes that your face and clothes are soaked. That is just the way I like it.
The world around me is so green from the rains during my absence and it is really beautiful living 5degrees south of the equator. Saturday morning was definately one of the most beautiful mornings I have seen in such a long time. I do not know if it is because of the cold that I experianced in Europe or it is just maybe a change in the mood. On Saturday afternoon it started raining and I realised I left the window of my car open. I ran outside to go and close it and I just stood in the warmth and rain with that very destinctive smell of soil......Man, I guess I know why I love working with water. It purifies me!
So, since my return I have notice so much changes. Personally and with everything basically around me. Super14 rugby is on full day on Saturdays for the next 2-3 months and I just remembered how much I missed whatching rugby the whole day and somewhere in the afternoon prepare a BRAAI and drinking beer the whole day.
Another change I have noticed is that the travel (not trumpet) bug has bit me. I basically just landed and the very next day already start looking for a place to go on holiday too. First I thought of Comoros Island, but 150USD per night I think is quite expensive for me especially after my Euro tour. I thought of going home for about 11days (only 3 days leave) but I do need to be around cause Dirk will go away for a couple of days and actually I do want to see new places now. I found out of a much better place actually not being 4/5star at all. Pemba Island.
This island is just of the coast on the border of Tanzania and Kenya and I saw it from the airplane and it was soooo beautiful from above. Covered with turquois water and it quite looke far from everything. So research I have done this is where I will go from Friday the 14th to 17th April. Flight tickets will cost me as a Tanzanian resident around 95USD for a return and a room around 55USD per night B&B. I have seen photos of the island and it is really fucking beautiful. They have a colony of about 120 - 200 spinner dolphins swimming basically just offshore and apparently the best kept diving spots in the world. We will go on the Saturday on a dhow from 8 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon and do 3 dives and have lunch on one of the deserted islands close by. So for about 350USD I think it is a great deal, just sorry they do not have any PHOENIX beer. It is really funny what the cold can do to someone!
So, it seems that I will go this weekend to Mwanza on the shores of Lake Victoria for working purposes. Thanx Dirk, I will go and see if George can really drink. Show him that alcohol flows in my vanes! So, flying seems like my normal transport these days. At least I do not have to be 2 hours in advance at the airport.
I kind of realised that Gordon is back when I woke up this evening at 11pm and decided to go to work. I really got a lot of email out and now, well typing this posting and it is almost 4am. Just wondering what later this will bring.....what can it be? I guess just a shit load of work....uhmmm
So, for all you out there, I really miss you all. Jess, you are probably enjoying your ass off in Thailand. Sandrine, welcome back in Germany. Nachi, how the fuck are you doing? Man, I had so many problems posting a comment on your blog. Joel bru, nice chatting to you and have fun. Anne, what's up girl? Timo, don't let the studies pin you down. Mitty, Mathias & Hubsi, I miss you guys. I want to party! Joern, how are you doin? Kerstin, what's up gal? Anyone knows what happened to Uma? Amuuuuu, where the fuck are you? So, for everyone else who I didn't mention, have fun in the name of LOVE!
Ciao
It’s time to talk about it………
One of the many reasons for going to Germany was to go either resolve certain issues or end a situation that kept me from being me. This is a situation that started off basically a year ago and it started off under unusual circumstances. Both of us had real hard issues to deal with and very difficult decisions to make and we kind off dragged it out for now to be known as is for too long.
It kept us both from dealing with reality and as it was brought to my notice that somehow I was only living a dream or even worst, an illusion. I do not think it is wrong to live a dream as long as it doesn’t change the real you and everything about you. What do I think of this relationship? Well, all that I can say for now is that I did learn my lesson the hard way. I’m probably still very sad how things ended and deep down I’m still very angry. Other questions about this relationship I can not answer now and time will tell. Honestly I do think I gave it my best shot and I gave everything I had and I believed that it was genuine and pure.
But sadly I have to acknowledge that my heart spoke a total different language, other than my head. The thing about me is that I rather do believe in the good of people rather than focusing on the bad. Life is too short to really feel depressed and why is it just so difficult to be happy? People aren’t happy for a lot of reasons and sometimes I feel that mostly of them aren’t happy because they know the road to their happiness, but are so afraid of taking that road.
I do not resent any moment spending time with her accept maybe for the last day that I have seen her. I think we all have said a lot of things that weren’t true and being able to say Goodbye under those circumstances clearly ruins the image that is stuck in our heads and it kills memories that were quite astonishing, incredible and beautiful. Maybe it was really what we needed, but for me to this day it feels so wrong to end a friendship (maybe not a relationship at this point anymore). To this day I still believe that she was the most amazing thing that could have ever happen to me, but somehow I know the timing isn’t right. For now I do not wish for us to be together again in this specific point in time and I do not know if ever. Right now I need to be alone astablishing everything that I found so great. Time has a fascinating way of resolving a lot of problems and teaches us how well to deal with a situation differently. I just wanted to let her know that my feelings were true and how it will end up? I do not know and I do not want to think about it right now. Just remember that NEVER is a long time, don’t wish one day goodbye to just so that another morning could break.
Darling, everything will be OK.....I promise you. Don't be too hard on yourself.
So, I’m standing here at a crossroad in my life where I knew a year ago that this day would come. Maybe I was just afraid of it and scared to take those decisions in my life. But that is a sign I guess where someone gets mature by taking those decisions and set the platform of our lives which will determine our destiny whatever that might mean.
I have discovered in Mauritius that I have the talent for reading people and understanding body language. I kind of enjoying being perceptive, but overall it makes me sad to see so many people around us are so sad. I really wish that there was some way I could change the world and make people see that everything out there aren't just all bad. Actually, most of it is fucking awesome. I have to admit that I have fallen in the same trend and it took me a long time to change my mindset and feelings towards life just because I was longing for someone so badly that I didn’t realize that MY whole world around me have been filled with negativity. What I have promised myself a long time ago is to change my whole outlook towards life and make MY little world filled with positivity and at the end of the day it is just this that truly determines someone’s happiness and well being. Some people find that by dedicating their lives to work and by having a family, nice car or house or whatever, they are happy.
For me, it is different. For me, I need to know that people around me are really happy and every time I try to change the world just to change the way I feel. I’m really not a depressed person and I kind of see myself as someone that truly enjoys life to its maximum and experience all the things that were kept from me, because of our politics in South Africa. Not that I regret my past life, not at all. It taught and made me the person who I am today and I know that there are a lot of people out there that appreciate who I am, what I stand for and what I’m trying to accomplish in my life. I do know that there are people out there who love it to call me their friend and are glad to be associated with me.
But like I have said previously, I’m standing at this crossroad in my life where I do have to make certain decisions that will affect my life for years to come. For now, I have to think of myself. I think of my work situation and what will happen next year and where I will go. During my trip through Europe I have realized that it is important to think about it, but do not loose track of time or do not wish everyday to go by just to live for that day. Focus on what is real, what is happening right now and deal with those topics that are important now in your life. For me, Edina did not work out and it is tough and she might have taken my dreams with her, but she couldn't take my spirit or my soul and now I need to decide what I will do next.
I have met so many great people in Europe and I have reunited with so many friends & family. It kind of felt to me that I relived a period of my life that was real 7/8 months ago on a very small island! A lot of the people I know say that Mauritius was an island of broken dreams, but I would like to disagree. I see Mauritius as a place that taught me the true value to life and made me understand what life was all about and it made me realize who I am and what I have to offer to so many people. How I am going to do it? I know that I can not change the world, but I can make people around me feel internal happiness even if it only last for one evening. At least you can smile and that will definitely be a life changing feeling that you will miss for the rest of your life if you do not try and revitalize a feeling like that. I know Mauritius will never be the same again, but I will like to go back and stand on the beach in Flic en Flac and say thank you for everything that the island gave and taught me. I know sometimes people create a place away from home that is just perfect other than reality, but Mauritius is not that for me. I am not ashamed who I am and where I’m from. No, not at all! The people I met back on the island would tell you that there is no one else in the world that loves South Africa more then I do. It is just an amazing place, but right now, it is not the place where I want to be.
I truly know that I do want to go back someday, but just not now. There is no other place I rather want to be than here in Tanzania and even if previously it did not sound like it, I know it is a period of my life I was meant to live and I need to take from it what I can. My mind has opened in so many different aspects where previously it was kind of blocked and I did not want anything to enter just because of the fear of loosing someone special or a feeling I had. Now, that is bullshit. I will not allow it again for someone to keep me living my life. Directly it was not her fault, but indirectly yes it was. I do not want to blame anyone or anything for my mistakes or believes, but myself. The key is from now to focus on just that that is so important and that is living everyday to its maximum even if it means work.
How will I go forward? I have established a small structured plan how to do it. I will go out and meet a lot of new people like I was use too. I will make friends again and I will go and see the world and experience all those things that are so different to me. I want to experience everything I possibly can while I have the chance too. I want to meet those people that wants to meet me and basically, I will live the moment. That is just what I think life is all about. Being proud, but being humble. Being confident, but being true. One thing is for certain and that is that I’m not living an illusion anymore. I’m Gordon and you could consider yourself lucky to be my friend. For those who don’t want to be anymore, it will be sad, but it is your fucking choice and you are entitled to what you want. Just do not walk next to me and bullshit me, because I will turn around and you will be sorry to have ever met me.
This morning was an absolutely beautiful day even if my rugby team got caught in the act last night. The sky was so blue and cloudless. I was wearing my T-shirt and shorts again and the world was so green after the rains. It is an incredible feeling to walk out in the bush and you smell the sand or dust after the rains and you see all the animals are so free. Why do we always have to complicate our lives so much? Live are meant to be simply and easy and it should not be difficult to really know what you need to make yourself happy.
Believe is basically the only tool we have to tell ourselves that one day it will get better. Bullshit, if you are not happy right now you could only blame yourself. IT IS YOUR DECISION! So now, I know what I want to do and have to do and I will go ahead and do it. With or without you! Your choice! Like I have always said…..It doesn’t matter what life throws at you, you should be really happy to be able to walk this earth and while we are talking about walking, you better walk tall and proud.
I do believe in good instead off the bad and I do love you all.
Ciao.
Frankfurt & all About it!
It is Saturday morning and this morning I woke up and thought about what I have done exactly one week ago. It made me realise a lot of things and that I'm really happy just being me.
To start off this posting, I just had to wait a while to basically re-climatize again in my new surroundings or rather reality and I have to say that I could not have been happier than ever before. Not that my Europe tour was bad in any sense! NO, not at all! But it did open my mind in a lot of ways and made me realize how lucky I really am. Let me get back to the original heading of this post first.
So, Friday night (One week ago) I left Paris with a lot of thoughts in my head including that my trip was getting to it's end and I just went out to enjoy my last couple of days in a foreign country. OK, I know, almost every place is foreign for me. But it's all about what you make from it.
I arrived in Frankfurt am Main to go and visit Kerstin. By now I basically found my way around Germany all on my own and I really felt confortable traveling alone. It's just sometimes important to share your experiances with the person you truly love and .....Ja. was auch immer. Not that it is a problem for me anymore, it's just that to let you all know out there you can really enjoy everything out there all on your own. So, landed at Frankfurt International airport, found my way down to Flughaven Haubahnhoff (Airport Central Train Station) and and caught the S8 train to Frankfurt Haubahnhoff. Only 3 stations away on the S-Bahn (Strasse Bahn).
Getting on the train I met up with this guy speaking English. The first question you probably would always ask someone speaking your language in a foreign language dominated country (to you of coarse) is actually: "So, where are you from?" This guy replied that he is from Germany and my first remark is that you actually speak fucking good English! So, going over where we're from and we're we were going too and then that most famous sound over the train intercom that says: "Nachster Halt.......Frankfurt Haubanhoff......Austeigen Bitte". This was my stop! I called Kerstin up and she told me to take the "Sudwarts" Exit and so I did. Waiting for about 15minutes, I saw the first time the car I have heard so much off....That Red French Renault Clio and inside was Kerstin and another girl I met back in Mauritius, Anne-Katrine. Nice one Gordon, this weekend will all be about chick (tussy) things. Handbags, What I need to where and bla bla bla!
So, said Hallo to both of them and trying to sort out the boot of the car to fit my gigantic suitcase (koffer in Afrikaans & German) and first we had to get rid off Kerstin's amazingly huge white icebear. So, then we set for a local bar. That's what I like about Germany, first the greetings and then the Bar/Pub or the nearest bottle store. Not Becks Gold.....Tussy Bier! So, the problem as always was to find parking in Germany first....We went into this pub and exchange info from both sides of the last 3 months or so. Man, was it fun. Drunk in a way, but fun. We set home and went to bed with me still dressed with my work clothes and my suitcase (koffer) still in her car at the bar.
Next morning, we first had to go and fetch the car so that I could catch a shower with clean clothes and way from the tie. Our plans were to go to the Commerzbank building (the highest building in Frankfurt with every 4rth floor with a garden of a different theme but also the office of Anne-Katrine), but unfortunately of security reason they had to notify the security in advance to bring someone new to the building and....ja, we ended up going to another tower close by. Who would trust an African/me in a banking city like Frankfurt anyway? So, a lot of floors going up, 5 Euros later and finding out that Kerstin has closterphobia we reached the top. Amazing! Just soooo fucking amazing and you could see all of Frankfurt and that is where I have taken most of my Frankfurt pictures from.
After that we took a tour to Frankfurt seeing places like The First Parliment House of Germany and of coarse the Dom (Cathedrial). Every town or city in Germany has at least 35 Doms. After that, well it was time to go and rest or Kerstin rather. The evening we went out to a typical Frankfurt restaurant serving ciders. Well, this is not like Savanna or Smirrnoff....It was basically applejuice with a lot of alcohol. Kerstin told me that if you are not use to it, it could kind of fuck you up in a strange and weird way and it could make you do things that you would rather try and forget the next morning. Something like waking up the next morning with a very huge ugly woman sleeping next to your side and the worst part is that you can not even remember her name. Something in the region of chewing your own arm off just to get away before she could wake up and maybe bleeding to death could be better off than being humiliated in such a way. I guess it is a man thing! Kerstin took her camera with to try and capture something extrodinary/humiliating like this, but darling, I have news for you. This is one South African that can keep his head and if I have to admit it myself......Not even tequila or at least 5 bottles of rum can make me do weird things. I do swollow a lot and note that I'm only referring to alcohol.
Here I met another friend of Kerstin, Katrine. She is 21 years old and on her way to get married (I think this year sometime) to a guy called Oliver. Great people. I had this amazingly big pork (T-bone type) steak with mustard. OH my god, fucking awesome. Basically we ended speaking a lot about women (see, women together always tries to dominate their opinions on men and believe me I had to choose my words very accurately & correctly or I would have got the very cold dogbox, Schweinekalt) in job positions that were previously classified as men dominated positions. It ended up that by the mouths of these 2 girls that they do feel that men in Germany still holds all the high management positions. Sad but true. The first world (developed) countries are selling bullshit to the rest of the world. Shame on you fucking sleezy bastards. Look at South Africa, we are not first world by far, but at least we are doing what we are saying. Schweins! I hate politics!
So again, we went home, swollowed a couple of glasses of wine with Kerstin (Ja, sometime I need to drink wine to fit in and ja, Gordon can drink wine as well. It only gives me headaches and I do prefer beer) and then it was back to bed again. Sunday, well....Amazing! We were late for a champagne breakfast, but we ended up having breakfast around 11:30am at Kerstin friend's house with her fiancee. I had Weiswurst and I did love it. Try it with sweet mustard....Bru, awesome shit. After breakfast we ended up going to a town where Kerstin grew up in and we visit a fort/castle from the Roman Empire period. Kerstin told me that the last time she was at this fort was about 13 years ago....So, she took me with! Nice one gal! We also went to the Palace where the real big guys in the royal family stayed....Sorry, 2 much German words and I already have forgotton a lot of them.
Then again it was back home where Kerstin went to rest again. In the evening we went out to a spanish restaurant (Leon's.....bla bla bla) and the food was amazingly good (Tapas) and we did had a real nice time there. This was the final evening we spent together and it was as well my final evening in Germany. We went home and again like normal (Kerstin is actual very persuasive) making me drink wine. She had a conversation with Joern and then her dad on the phone. Her dad (who lives in Berlin or close to it) informed her that she was seen in Frankfurt with a big guy (I was told by Sandrine or someone in Berlin that I kind of dressed like the Russian Mafia) at the Roman Fort earlier the day and......well, security alert in Germany.
But the best was that after a good couple of glasses of wine and me being very persuasive at times got to play this one song (Jump....and it was also in the movie Love Actually.....where Hugh Grant got dancing in the window as England's Prime Minister) and Kesrtin started dancing. Imagine this real cute girl up on a chair doing some real pole dancing type thing and groovin along a real tussy song....Uhmmmm ja. It was really good although very funny, but I promised her that I will not show the video to anyone. So, don't bother to even ask me at all.....The answer is NO.
So, Kerstin really excited for the following day going to University after her foreign semester and her Internship (9 Months) and me knowing that it was time for me to go back home. The next morning whe said our Goodbyes and we were off to our NORMAL/REALITY lives. I really had such an incredible time with her and with everyone in Germany, London and Paris. I am so glad that I have so many good friends out there, but for now, I have to focus on my own life. And once again, I'm really happy to be ME again.
So, guys, if you go to Germany....Prepared to drink a lot. 'Cause I will go back and next time.....well leave it up to then.
Ciao
Bienvenue a Paris!
Well, in Germany I thought you could plan a whole trip down to the minute, but being advised by my friend Timo that to be on the safe side, rather plan things to at least an hour. So I did and ended up by taking a flight earlier than scheduled and it left me in total chaos!
I ended up 2 hours earlier at Charled De Gaul Airport and I immediately got in touch with my director's scretairy to arrange a driver for my pick-up at the airport. To cut a long story short, I ended waiting for this guy at least 1.5 hours on the airport, but the good thing is that he did show up. He took me to my hotel in Port Malliot and I decided that eventhough I would only be in Paris for 1 day, I needed to see at least the Arc de Triomph and of corse the Eifel Tower.
I got into my room, drop everything down, grabbed my camera and handycam and hit the cold streets of Paris. I soon made my way to the Arc de Triomph and was so amazed by the way these guys could drive without any traffic lights or lane markings entering & exiting the 12 lane circle and note that these guys are from Europe and they do drive on the wrong side. It was really cold and I got great pictures and soon I sttod with the decision of going or not going to the Eifel Tower. This African boy was not too clued up with the publice transport service of Europe and therefor needed to get on foot to every site I wanted to see.
It was quite easy finding the Eifel Tower from the Arc De Triomph. Who could miss suck a big Tower of steel covered by at least a million lights. It took me at least 1 hour to get to it, but I'm pretty happy that I did see it. I really wanted to summit the Tower for only 11 Euro's, but there were too many people in a qeue and the clock was ticking. I had to get at least on French steak while I was in Paris. I got the necessary photos and headed for a Steak Grill on the Mac Mahone Boulevard for supper. The food was really great and quite expensive I have to add.
The next morning was the big day. Of course Gordon can not go and see the "Big Boys" with only shorts and T-Shirts and so I had to dress up for the occasion and I wore a tie.....What the fuck bru? The discussion was quite promising and I met all the people I needed to see, but I did realise something very important on this day. I was already thinking of what I will do next year when my contract in Tanzania are finished eventhough it was 12 months to go. I told them that the most important thing now on my schedule was to finish this contract as good as I could and then we will talk.
So, things are quite promising for next year, but first things first. Finsih what you have and then you see. I was told to arrange a meeting again next year around the same time and then we will see. I was quite amazed about the confidence these guys had in me.....for now I need to proof at least that I'm worth any penny I earn. Save the last dance for me. I heard something real interesting today on a movie and it goes something like this:
We can not plan our future for definate. All that we could do was to use the facts by hand to make the best possible decisions for now and the rest will follow. Very inspiring words I have to say. Lets give it a go!
I left Paris around 18:20pm on Friday evening and came to my last stop, Kerstinin Frankfurt am Main in Germany. The rest will follow in the next posting. For now, just enjoy the pics, because I did enjoy it by taking them. Miss y'all.
Ciao
Back to Wuerzburg!
So, Tuesday night I was back in Wuerzburg. Like I have stated in my previous posting that Tuesday night will be a night with all the boys out together at least one more time.
I have seen the one day movie project that was captured on the day of my return to Germany , titled "Under the Bridge" by the German boys and I also have to admit that it was really good.....The beer drinking day making movies in the snow was quite an experiance, but I really enjoyed it. Later that evening we hit the road for some food and we eventually decided to settle for Mexican in a restaurant called Enchilada in Wuerzburg. It was really great being together with all the boys and we did actually got pissed in a strange way eventually. Roaming the streets at 10pm at night on a Tuesday evening in Wuerzburg was not what I normally could call fun, but I did really enjoy hanging out with the boys.
We eventually decided after supper to hit a pub or bar, but sadly everything was either occupied with youngsters or it was closed. For god sake, it was an Tuesday night in the busy life schedules of the hardworking German population. We eventually found a bar called "Two Jour" (and this was not a spelling error by the way) and we immediately liked the place (or I did), because of the nice playboy pictures on the wall. Man, we got really wasted and unfortunately/fortunately I pulled out my handycam and captured a lot of the special happenings of this evening. Hummmmm.......Nice One Charlie!
Around midnight we headed for home with the special notion of drunken guys in need of real food after a party gone really good we headed for McDonald's first and can you believe it, they closed the doors basically right in our faces........because it was midnight of course! Anyway, with no food I had to say Goodbye to Mitty......It's always a sad thing to say Goodbye to people! With drunk Gordon, Mathias, Timo & Hubert on public transport was a thing that no one ever should see. The poor/rich German population could not believe this sick German freaks and this real sick English speaking dude on their bus service, but who could give a fuck. We all headed for Timo's joint to crash for the night.
With me passing out on Timo's bed while the others were busy with all their shit (I have the pics to prove it and a video clip from Timo) I think we had to call it another night. Boys don't talk out of the bedroom at least.......Nice one Bru! So, Wednesday came up and Timo took halfday of school. We were invited by his dad for lunch that afternoon in Wuerzburg and we headed for a real cosy restaurant. I really do like Timo and his family. Great People I have to admit. Well, I decided that this would probably be the last time I would eat a real schnitzel and was that a fucking schnitzel. What did those German people think? This big South African dude loves fucking eating?????? OK, I do, but the matter of fact was that they brought me this gigantic mother of a piece of pork schnitzel. OH my god and it was really good and I really struggled getting the piece of schwein down my throat. Unbelievable big piece of meat.....Mother!
So, on our way back, Timo forgot to purchase a parking ticket and we all know how strict they are in Germany, and Timo got a 20 Euro fine.......He forgot a ticket on his dashboard that he previously purchased it earlier this day, I this biatch of a traffic police chick gave him a fucking 20 Euro fine, because his ticket was 2 hours over the prescribed time limit.....If he didn't left the ticket in the window, he would have only got a 5 Euro fine, but please explain to me how this fucking shit works....Timo, give me inside info on the letter to this biatch!
So, the evening we were invited to Timo's parents place for supper and ho my god, can his mother really cook for you......Amazingly great real German food! Yummy.......! It was an absolutely great evening for photos, because it was really snowing awesomly and I did try and give it my best shot. So finally, I had to say Goodbye to them as well, but not for good and I did make a promise that I will see them again.
So, Thursday was my big day. The day I will fine out what my future in Degremont could be and I was on my way to Paris. I set off for the Wuerzburg Haubahnhoff (Central Train Staition) and was it my lucky day. I got to ride on a ICE at speeds over 230km/hr on a train and that my friends was soooooo fucking amazing. I sett off to Frankfurt airport to catch my 17:50 flight to Paris.
It was really great to see all my friends again and I really enjoyed spending time with them as well as with their faimilies & loved one's. Absolutely just a great experiance.
Ciao
Reunited on UK, huh?
I can not believe that I would have ever seen Nafiz again after Mauritius. This boy is doing really good and he works at Fulham and Chelsea. Shit teams, but OK.........
London Bridge
Having the time of my life. Only one way and that is forward.
Tip of the Day - Don't fuck with Faith....!
So, I have informed all of you guys what I have done up to Friday. Just after I blogged my last posting, Martin (my Buddy from SA) came and found me at a local pub called Lord Nelson. I have actually lost my way to his hous and the only thing I found very suitable to spend 5 hours, was this pub which gave free internet to any of it's clients only if you had a beer or two or three.....
So, Martin came and picked me up at at the bar and we set off to his house where I have met all 8 of his house mates and their boyfriends and bla bla bla. All of them were quite cool and there was this one chick who played amazing guitar and she she astonished me with her voice. The sad part was that she only new christians music except for Matellica's Nothing Else Matters. The cool thing about his house mates was that they were all from South Africa and it was really cool to meet up with some local boytjies in a foreign country. Friday night was not a big night for one good reason and that was because of my hangover from the previous night. Eish.......
So Saturday morning I set off to meet my cousin in Wimbledon. It was really great to see her and I kind of needed to associate myself with people that knew me for very long and I haven't seen her for about two years. We kind of talked about our family members and what was new and exciting in our lives and it was really and I mean really great to see her and a very familliar face again. After our session at a local coffee shop we met up with her b-friend at an Australian bar called walkabout. Soon the alcohol was flowing fiercely through our vanes and then I became loud again as per my custom. Hummmm.......Anyway, around 5pm I set off home to meet up with Martin to find out what our plans were for the evening. We cruised along on the couch till around 8:30pm and then we set of for SOKKIE (Discofox), a South African way of dancing customed to mostly Afrikaans speaking people.
I have actually found out how much Afrikaans people lived in London and that was only a small majority apparently. God, so much people. Earlier the day I had this conversation with my cousin (Moncherie) of how we ran away from home and actually we find even more local people around us anywhere we might find ourselves in the world. What is the idea behind this feature? Anyway, party went well and as we left I found that someone was selling Boerewors Rolls just outside the bar. Lekker, fuck, I miss South African meat.......
On Sunday it was another day to meet up with old friends of mine. This day was particulary special because I met up with Nafiz. Dada took me to a restaurant and we had steak. Afterwards we decided to go whatch a movie called The Weatherman (Guys, don't waste your money on this shit.) After this Nafiz wanted to show me some tourist attraction sites and we went to Hyde Park and the London Bridge. I found the bridge pretty spectacular during the evening and it was amazing spending time with Nafiz. Just wished we could have had a couple more days. I set off home and again we just laid back on Sunday evening.
So Sunday evening I saiid Goodbye to Nafiz and Martin and hopefully next year I will team up with them again. Monday morning I decided to spend the whole day with my cousin and I stayed over for the night which ended up quite amazing and knowing that I have learned even something more special about my cousin. I do really like her B-friend and it was really satisfying to speak to someone that knows me for basically forever and I kind of feel that I have grown so much closer to her. I really would love to see her back in South Africa and I do really wish the best of luck for her and her future and Moncherie, thanx vir alles girl. Jy is regtig 'n ster and volgende keer gaan ons hard saam kuier. Ken op en loop trots, want jy is 'n ster.
So, this morning it was all about getting back to the airport and off on my way to Germany again. It was a real tiring travel experiance but I have to say I am home safely and will go out tonight with the boys again. Timo, Hubsi, Rusta (Not really anymore) and Mitty. Timo picked me up from the train station and we had just soooooo much fun shooting a project video in the snow and cold and I think I would really like to see the edited version of this music video. It could only be amazing.
Well, on Thursday I'm off to Paris and I will return on Friday night where I will move in with Kerstin and hopefully hang out with Lars as well. This is really the last of my buddies that I will see on my Euro tour. On Monday evening, well I'm on my way back to Tanzania for another 12 month stint and I got to say I have found peace in my soul. This was really all I needed to actually move on and was this just an unforgetable experiance. Guys, I do love y'all and I will hopefully see ya all in good health next year.
May the SOuth African force be with all of you. I love y'all and miss y'all already soooo much.
PS: The photos are on my flickr photoblog, so check them out. Moncherie, asseblief komment op myu blog as jy dit gelees het an laat my weet wat jy daarvan dink. Ma, jy ook.
Ciao for now.
Emeralddogs and O'Neils......
Does it sound weird and a bit Irish? Yeah, you have guessed it right.
Last night Joern returned home around 6:45pm and it was time for dinner. Where should we go.....I really didn't care much as long as it is fun.....like always. So, we decided to hit the subway once again and headed for Leicester. It's funny what 2 months in London can do with you. I mean, Joern has been here since the first week in January and he knows the subway by heart. In-fucking-incredible.....OK, yesterday I spent the whole day on the subway and when it came to making decisions, I kind of knew that I rather would prefer the Circle Line train up to Westminister and then take the Jubilee line to Canary Warf.....to go and see Martin......I knew at this stage that changing train on another specific station is shit, because the Jubilee connection was a walk to far....and that means 20m instead of 35m.....This is why this people is soooo fucking lazy, but yet again time is money, right? Alright, I had a comment this morning that I'm already a Londoner....uhm, yeah right.
Like I have said before....Last night we went to Leicester and we pulled in at a steakhouse call Angus Steak Restaurant. Joern's steak was really incredible, but with my luck I had to swallow mine with beer. I'm complaining about the steak, but on the other hand swollowing it with beer just gave it another reason to drink more......man, I love holidays.
After dinner we had to decide what was next on the schedule...German Brauhaus or a Irish pub with 3 levels. I've decided to go rather to the Irish pub for 2 reasons. The first is that I just have spent 1.5 weeks in Germany and the second the Irish pub/club, O'Neils are open till 1pm I think. The first hour at this Irish joint was quite shit, 'cause I will still loaded with a 300g steak with mash. What Joern didn't know was that I had a steak just before he came home, so.....I was loaded. We finally decided that it was time for party. I told him that if he wants to go big, I have to change from beer to Captain Morgan (Dark rum with Coke and NO ice) and so we did and so the party really started.
With our luck there was a live band this evening and once they came on stage and I saw this guy is close to 50 and he had a very distinctive hard rock voice, I knew we are going to be in deep shit the next morning.....(Joern had to go work, but there was no way we were going to leave early with this band) Catch my drift? The start off was the following.......We hate education, we love sex, we love drugs and we LOVE ROCK & ROLL.....Oh my god, the first song was "Another Break in the Wall - from Pink Floyd" but in a hard rock version.....Just fucking incredible.....And the one great song came followed by another including U2's "Still haven't found what I was looking for"........Oh my God. 3 hours and 120pounds later we decided that it was time for home and did we evaluate our market value? And were we drunk? Sehr Gute! Ich Liebe London!
So, then we were off towards home and unfortunately or rather fortunately the subway closed down around midnight. So we had to catch the bus home and the closest pickup point was at Picadilly Circus, bus #94. On a way to the station, Joern withdraw money and I found a guitarist playing music on a side corner. I asked my African brother (from Senegal) if he knew any U2 songs and he pulled out "Elevation" It was just a moment to remember forever. I gave him half of my change and we left and a couple of steps further down I turned back and asked him if he knew "Don't Worry, Be Happy" and of coarse he did. He played it and Joern and I were singing along very loudly and later another girl came to join us and we made a party to remember on the streets of Picadilly Circus.......Just so fucking extrodinary and amazing. It was definately one of my best decisions to have come to London.
So we got home (and do not ask me what time) and went to bed. I have to admit this morning up and untill now, I was really (and I mean really) fragile. So, lets see what will happen tonight. I will move in just now with Martin and that means...........Well, you guessed it. I will let y'all know what happened.
Ciao
PS: Joern brother, enjoy Hambourg and see ya again on Monday. It was really amazing to spend time with you again. Deutschland.....Hellow!
Great Brittain and the Rest......
So, it is Thursday afternoon and I'm parking off in a Internet Cafe in Nottinghill, London. I have seen this place once before, but only in a movie with Julia Roberts & Hugh Grant.
Well, I decided to come down to London purely for 2 reasons and and one of them wasn't to see Big Ben. My cousin lives down here and I haven't seen her in 2 years and then it was a chance as well to meet up with Joern and have a great couple of beers. The kak thing is that bars close at 10pm and they fucking chase you out like a dog just to close the bar. This really fucking sucks. But otherwise the people speak English, we had a beautiful blue sky even though it was really cold and I have travelled the London Subway between Zone 1 & 2 extensively. I really do like this train ride thing....I wish that those govermental fuckers back in South Africa would stop stealing the money and put a public transport system on the go.
So, Meeting up with Joern was great. We dropped off my clothes at home and ran for the bar to swallow extra couple of beers before closing time. Afterwards we headed for a local club/hangout joint to get at least some more beers. We really had fun talking about all kinds of shit and he will leave tomorrow for Hambourg to check out his gal over the weekend. My plans are to go and see a buddy of mine from South Africa from tomorrow on, Saturday meet up with my cousin Moncherie and Sunday it is Fiz's day. Ja, that is schedules and it is really funny how quick the days go bye.
Next week this time I will be in Paris and a week after that I would have already spent 3 days in Tanzania. but I do not want to think of that right now. I'm still trying to decide which Burger King is the best, Wuerzburg or London......tough one, I like those tripple cheese & bacon burgers....Awesome shit bru.
So, that was at least another posting to keep you guys updated. It's time for beer so, I have to go now. Hey, just something........
If you read my blogspot, please do comment. I really would like to find out who really is interested in my shit. That's all for now. Have fun and I miss y'all.
Ciao
To Be or Not To Be.......
Faith will determine how we will travel this earth, but destiny will determine where we will end up.
It has been a quite interesting couple of days and so I have learned so much about "alien" people and even so much more about myself. I guess it's now the time to take that serious decisions about my life and view it from a different perspective to basically grab hold of it. It seemed now that I kind have wondered off the road in a way, but my eyes was opened by a dear friend and I do thank her for that. I just want her to know that I'm not angry with her anymore, it was bound to happen and someone strong had to show me the way into the right direction again.......
So, today was one of those days where I had to decide what I will do next and eventually settled on the idea of visiting London. Not that it was part of the original plan, but at least I could go see someone so dear to me and who is part of my family. I haven't seen her in at least 2/3 years and I think it will be great now while I have the chance. She is my cousin and she is so fucking hot. I will also go and see my best friend from South Africa who is currently working in London and then there is Joern and Nafiz (I will call Nafiz tonight to see if we can meet up in London). I am so glad that I will catch all these guys together in only a space of 6 days. After this I will return back to Germany and then fly imediately again to Paris for business.
The time here in Wuerzburg was really interesting for me. I've met up with a great group of friends and had really a great time. I have met Anne's parents a while ago and we got together after that for supper and I have to say that they are really great people and they do have an incredible daughter. I only feel sorry that I will not see them soon again. Then there is Timo and his family. Absolutely amazing people. His mother Suzanne (I have added a link on my blog to her Blog and Flickr account) was really an interesting person to meet. I have heard so much German lately and sometimes I wish I could communicate a bit with a wide variety of people in English, but this is Germany and people in Germany really only speak German. But Suzanne was different. She really tried to speak English (So did Timo's dad and brother Daniel as well) and I really appreciated this fact. It was an amazing experianced and I just felt so much home when they invited me into their homes.
Oh god, it was really such an incredible feeling to be around so much great people in one place and I really do think that I will miss Wuerzburg so much. Today we went to Theilheim, the home "village" of Hubert and experianced the carnival festive feeling and it was so great. As Timo parked at the parking bay and we climbed out in the cold we walked towards the party bus (or that is what I would like to call it. It was a tractor with a trailer made up for the parade.), Tina (Hubsi's gal) came running towards us and greeted us both with a hug. Man, I felt so at home. It didn't matter where I went in Germany, I always felt at home. We parked off in the cold with a couple of cold one's and decided later that we should settled inside the townhall, because this African can not deal with cold, especially not with this cold. I need my 30 degrees celsius and clear blue skies!
We had so much fun together and it really feels sad to leave tomorrow for London, but I need to experiance as much as possible in this short amount of time that is available to me. I dedicate this blog to all the great people of Wuerzburg whom I have met during the last couple of days and thanx for letting me be part of your lives eventhough it was only for a couple days. I also want to say thanx to the people of Sternbacks, New-K and Uni Cafe for keeping up with my bitch ass shit. Amazing experiance and I will do blog again about this experiance.
Genuine European Snow!
Seeing & Touching snow for the first time was really an incredible feeling. Even though it was 3 degrees celsius this morning, I really knew it was so much colder then the 0 of yesterday and see what happened, it snowed and this was just my day!
At the Parade!
Hubsi, Tina and me enjoying the true spirit of Karneval life in Theilheim. Tina is Hubsi's school sweetheart love for 6 years now.....or so I was told.
Posing for the Camera!
This was a photo taking inside the townhall of Theilheim. Timo posing for the camera and being descent for once not drinking. Well, the glass in his hand was Jack Daniels on the rocks, but honestly it was mine.
Endure the Cold!
Hubsi and me at the Karneval in Theilheim. I just had to visit Hubsi's home "village" and going to say goodbye.
Rehabilitation!
This is what happens once you enjoyed karneval in Theilheim in Germany. Even clowns do not find this funny.........
