In transit…

08Jul07

Left Joburg last night and survived an 11 hour flight to Heathrow. With the heightened security, they were only allowing one bag on the plane instead of a carry-on and small item. They even confiscated my shampoo b/c it was 200ml instead of 100ml but I thought if I bought it at Joburg airport, it didn’t matter.

Watched Factory Girl on the plane. All I can say is didn’t know that Warhol was weird (assuming they portrayed him accurately in the movie) but the movie was interesting. I also watched Blades of Glory. I know I refused to ever watch that movie in the theater but hey, it was free and it was the only comedy on. I didn’t know Napoleon Dynamite was in it. Just seeing him and Will Ferrell wearing spandex and ice skating was funny enough. The movie was okay though.

Right now waiting for my flight to Frankfurt. It’s a two hour flight then I have to take a train to Kassel. Looking forward to sun and warmth…

Kind of annoyed at my ipod right now. It freakin’ reset and I needed internet to download the update. Now I need the power adapter to finish the update which I don’t have. Ironic how technology can become such a burden.

Joburg wrap-up later…

Filed under: Uncategorized   |  2 Comments

Animals and Rocks

30Jun07

I went on two tours today: Lion Park and Sterkfontein Caves. The best part of Lion Park was petting the baby cubs, listening to them growl, and feeding the giraffes (minus the slobbering). The drive through the park was okay but it’s just animal watching from the car window and taking pictures. It was good to see the zebras, springbok, lions, hyena, and cheetahs in their natural environments though.

If you listen closely, you can hear the baby growls from the cubs. So cute!!

No, that’s not me saying “come here!” It’s the same kid that’s in the giraffe video below.

This kid was on the same tour as me. He was scared of the giraffe and would only feed it one pellet at a time while I was trying to feed it handfuls.

Afterwards went to the Sterkfontein Caves. It was really cool to go underground and into the cave. I don’t think my pictures really do it justice. There was a lake deep into the cave where the tour guide scooped up a tiny shrimp. Seeing the lake within the cave was the highlight of the tour for me. There was also a part of the cave where there was a really small opening. We had to crouch and crawl to get through it. I’m short so it wasn’t too bad for me as I could just crouch and walk. Most people had to sit on their ass and slide themselves through. It was fun to go through that part of the cave. We also stopped where they found the ape man, “Little Foot“, but that section was closed off. They are still excavating that area for the rest of his body and have been doing so for the past ten years. Didn’t know that stuff takes that long to dig up.

I think I’m done with the tours. I did the historical/cultural one last week and today I covered wildlife and palaeoanthropology. Had my South African food and music experience. Went clubbing. Tomorrow completes shopping (checking out the rooftop flea market and going back to Rosebank mall to shop). I think might go to the theater to see a show this week but that isn’t definite. Other than that, I’m think I’m good in terms of experiencing JoBurg. Will definitely come back another time for a safari and Cape Town.

One week to go!

Go to the Flickr for new photos.

Filed under: video   |  2 Comments

Sophiatown & Ragga

29Jun07

Finally went out out last night. After work Lerato and I went to Newtown. It’s a nice little area that has been redeveloped that includes the Mary Fitzgerald Square, an outdoor venue for public events. Got some cool pictures of graffiti. I’ve been eyeing some other spots with graff but it’s always while I’m on the way to somewhere and can’t really pull over. I’ve made mental notes of where the spots are though and will have to go on a graff shooting spree before I leave.

We decided to get drinks at Shivava Cafe. We were going to order martinis but they didn’t have much of a selection. So, I defaulted to a jack and coke. I’m not sure if the waiter was new or just unfamiliar with the drink, but he asked me if I wanted a single or double shot and if I wanted ice. Then when he served it, my jack was iced in a tall glass and then there was a second glass for my coke. *shrug*

We had dinner at this really nice restaurant called Sophiatown. I wasn’t brave enough to try the worms or the dish with intestines. There were also other South African dishes like pap (traditional porridge), boerewors (bbq’ed sausage), and bunny chow (curry stuffed into a hollowed piece of bread.. totally thought it was rabbit!!) on the menu. We ended up splitting lamb chops with creamed spinach and pumpkin on the side and chicken curry. Since i wasn’t adventurous enough to try the hardcore South African food, Lerato introduced me to some staple dishes: umqusho and samp. Umqusho is sugar beans, butter, onions, potatoes, chillies and lemons made to simmer. It was really good!! Samp is ground dried corn kernels to make bread, very cornbread like in appearance.

Finally we were off to Horror Café for ragga! Ragga is pretty much like South African reggae but more dancey. The place was packed with people mostly my age and some younger groups. There were some older people there too. They don’t card here in South Africa, so I guess the minors can go to clubs and drink. Smoking pot isn’t legal here but apparently everyone smokes pot openly at Horror Café. And they were doing it indoors on the dancefloor and that is all I could smell all night. That and cigarettes. I reeked (sp?) by the end of the night. It was also really hot on the dancefloor and I have no idea how everyone kept their coats, sweaters, and beanies on while dancing.

I don’t really listen or dance to reggae, so I felt a little out of place at first. The music was really good though and I had so much fun dancing. There were a few guys who approached with me some weird ass questions/comments. I hate it when people talk to me at the club. I can never hear what they’re saying. One South African guy asked me which planet I was from… LOL, he must have been so high or on something else. Oh, and I don’t understand why everyone assumes I’m chinese just because I’m asian. Stop asking me that!! and then when I say no, don’t persist by trying to guess because you’ll never get it. Even guys at the bars in NY have tried to guess what ethnicity I am and it’s so annoying, not only offensive. Oh, this one South African chick in passing on the dancefloor told Lerato “oh mi chyna can dance” in reference to me, ahahahha. So, I guess I got approval?

After we couldn’t dance anymore and couldn’t stand people bumping into us making their way through the crowd, we left Horror. Waking up this morning was tough but staying out last night was so worth it. Had my first South African “donut” this morning with tea. It’s called koeksisters and it’s pretty much like an American donut but a little more cakey and cinnamonish. It’s shaped kind of like a potato and it’s sprinkled with coconut.

—

RANDOMNESS:

—

Word Learned:
“coconut” = a person who is black but acts white

Filed under: culture, entertainment, food, randomness, words learned   |  Leave a Comment

My Second Winter

27Jun07

It snowed last night! I was sound asleep when it happened but woke up to Liz’ text message this morning and looked out the window to see the traces of snow on the ground. Snow is nothing new after living in New York, but it was quite exciting to see it here in South Africa. Everyone else was quite excited as well as it hasn’t snowed in a really long time. I tried to look up when it last snowed but came across many discrepancies; one source said it hasn’t snowed in eight years and the other twenty years. Right now we have the fire place going in Sally’s house. It’s kind of nice. It’s been freezing these past few days with the cold front. Despite the excitement of the snow, I hate winter for so many reasons. I’m from Orange County. I don’t do cold.

Filed under: culture, news   |  Leave a Comment

Kwaito

27Jun07

Last night I went to Rosebank Mall with Lerato, Liz, and Natasha. It was a really nice mall. Didn’t get to shop, so I will have to go back! We had coffee at Seattle’s Best Coffee and chatted for a bit while Natasha waited for traffic to die down. After departing from Natasha, Lerato showed Liz and me around the mall. The mall has an entertainment complex called The Zone, where there’s a movie theater, bowling alley, and radio broadcast station for teens. We grabbed shwarma for dinner. I don’t even eat that stuff in NY but I’ve had it twice already here.

We watched I Think I Love My Wife with Chris Rock. It was pretty funny and entertaining. One thing that’s different with the movie theaters here is that you choose your seats when you buy your tickets, kind of like buying tickets for a show. That makes it really nice so you don’t have to worry about coming early to stake out seats.

After the movie we went to the music store so I could buy some South African music. Lerato introduced me to the genre of Kwaito, which she defined as South African pop. It isn’t anything like American pop music though, so I don’t know if pop is the right word. I’d describe it as music with slowed down house/dance-like beats with a reggae influence… reggaeton-ish. Artists usually sing or rap on the track in South African. Kwaito is also referred to as hip hop but I wouldn’t say so according to our definition. I think it’s too dance sounding to be considered hip hop. I ended up buying a cd by the artist Brown Dash.

Filed under: culture, entertainment, video   |  Leave a Comment

Am I really in South Africa?

25Jun07

Where I stay and work looks like any other suburb in a major city. I didn’t really feel like I was in South Africa, let alone the continent itself. Naive as it is, I guess when you think of anything Africa, one would think rural areas, wildlife, tribes, etc. Going on a three-hour tour this past Saturday helped me better understand South Africa’s history and culture and how Johannesburg has become one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world.

In visiting the various suburbs of Joburg, there was a stark contrast between the bordering neighborhoods of the rich and poor. It was interesting to observe the two extremes of living conditions and lifestyles that exist in one major city.

Check out my Flickr for new pictures. A lot of the neighborhood shots were taken from the inside of the tour van, so excuse the reflections and blurry shots.

Some short video clips of my tour:

Hillbrow, suburb of Joburg, where there’s a lot of crime, prostitution, and drugs.

Soweto… Going from a nice neighborhood to a poor one.

I hope to see some wildlife next weekend. I really want to go to the Lion Park and hold a baby cub and feed the giraffes! haha. Might have to settle for the zoo though for an all-in-one animal viewing. A safari would have been awesome, but no time for overnight or an all-day affair. I also want to visit the Cradle of Humankind; it is a bunch of caves where they found the first adult “ape-man”, well-preserved female skull (“Mrs.Ples”), and other fossils. Also on my list is to go to the Cullinan Diamond Mine. The 3,106 carat Cullinan, the world’s largest diamond, was found here.

So much that I want to do for my last weekend in South Africa! Won’t get to squeeze in Cape Town and wine tasting but that just means I’ll have to come back. It’ll be better to go there when it’s warmer anyway.

Did you know the World Cup is going to be here in 2010? I saw the two stadiums that they are building for it. One is for training and the other for the actual event. It’s going to be huge.

—

RANDOMNESS:

—

Food:
I ate ostrich biltong last week at work. Biltong is pretty much like beef jerky but it differs in ingredients and preparation. Let’s just say it was really tough and chewy to the point where I felt like I was going to break my teeth. Not that I would know, but I felt like I was gnawing on a dog chew toy. I don’t know how to describe the taste but definitely not my can of worms. The beef biltong I had was much better.

Drink:
Anyone ever heard of mixing red wine and coke as a drink? I forgot the name of it but it was my first time trying it over the weekend. I’m not a big fan of red wine but the coke makes it less dry and sweeter. It was good.

Filed under: culture, food, randomness, video   |  Leave a Comment

Logos Shmogos & Links

21Jun07

I’m not going to post much about work on this blog because that can become very nerdy and boring (you’ll see when you read my previous posts). This blog is mainly for me to share my experience here outside of work. However, I will occasionally post little snippets about work so you know WTH I’m doing here :) I may also request your feedback on design stuff.

I’ve been working on redesigning their logo. Today I completed round two. Here’s round one if you’re interested. I welcome feedback from you too.

Here are some more links to throw at you, which you can also find in the right column of this blog under blogroll:

- OSI Blog: the main blog page where all of the fellows blog posts are displayed… so you can check out what my fellow fellows are doing in Malawi, Botswana, Lithuania, and Warsaw
- My OSI Fellowship Blog: where i’ll be posting most of the stuff about work
- Flickr: all the Joburg pictures will be here

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that they gave me a 3G card to use because it was too laggy on the DSL at work to access the network. So, I have internet at the guesthouse now! No internet cafes! YAY. So nice to be reconnected :P

Filed under: work   |  2 Comments

I Heart You Mr. Delivery!

20Jun07

Dinner with Ivor and his wife was supposed to be tonight but it didn’t happen. I’m meeting him for coffee tomorrow morning instead. He’s coming at 8AM to pick me up. Such early mornings I’ve been having! So, I didn’t know whether or not to eat while I was waiting for him to return my call. I certainly didn’t want to eat a sandwich for the nth day in a row. Mr. Delivery to the rescue!

Basically, by the time I get out of work around 4:30-5:00PM, it is kind of too late to walk to go get food. I would only have an hour which would mean I’d have to rush and feel even more paranoid about it getting dark. I found a Mr.Delivery menu on my fridge last week and it has saved me again tonight. Basically, you can order food from participating restaurants but you only deal with Mr.Delivery; it’s like the middleman. Mr.Delivery has a website where you can peruse the menus and place an order.

Chicken burger with cheese and chips (fries). These chips were much better than Wimpy’s! They actually had some flavor, thank god.

Filed under: food   |  Leave a Comment

Joburg Buses

20Jun07

Eunice came by the guesthouse this morning so that we could figure out the bus. Public transportation here sucks. The schedules don’t tell you exactly what time the bus will be arriving at the stop but what time they are leaving from the previous stop. As if it isn’t enough to figure out where you’re going, you have to know which direction the bus is coming from. The bus was supposed to have arrived at 8:30am but we didn’t get to the stop until 9:30AM. Eunice wanted to wait to see if it’d still come but I was really doubtful.

A few buses passed by and didn’t stop and I was beginning to think we were waiting for nothing. The next bus wasn’t supposed to arrive until 11AM. Finally, a bus stopped for us but it wasn’t the correct one. We hopped on anyway. It took us down the road to another stop where we had to transfer which required a little walk and and climbing a big hill. Keep in mind that South Africans who have cars never walk anywhere, so walking up this hill was a bit much for Eunice. Coming from New York, I was like no sweat right? Wrong! That hill tired me out too. The altitude here doesn’t help much either. As we were approaching the second bus stop, the bus was coming so we had to run to catch it. The bus stops a few blocks down from Sally’s house so that was good. It took 30-45 minutes to get to Sally’s when it’s only a 10-minute car ride. Not worth it if you ask me. I’d rather just walk instead of waiting around for the bus, but then I wouldn’t be able to carry my laptop around.

If I were to take the bus again, I’d have to be at the stop by 7:30AM. So, in the end it was decided that Eunice will pick up in the mornings while Jan is out of town and Natasha will drop me off. They’d rather do that since I only have two more weeks left. I really hate depending on people but what else am I supposed to do? At least I’m always ready when they come to fetch me.

Filed under: transportation   |  1 Comment

One Week Done

15Jun07

There was a staff meeting today at 11AM. Each person shared what she has been working on for the past two weeks and what she will be doing for the following two weeks. Lerato was taking meeting minutes so I didn’t take note of everything. Sally is working on a toolkit for mobile advocacy. I didn’t get the full details but anything mobile always interests me. Sally, Jan, and Nicolle will also be going to Cape Town in two weeks to hold a digital story training for a local university. They are going to teach students how to make mini 2-3 minute documentaries using video cameras and video editing software. This sounds like a really great project that I wish I could partake in.

Finally, it was my turn to talk a little bit about what I’ve been doing this week. I was still waiting to have the meeting with Jan to go over the website so I figured I might as well address my questions about the website to the entire group. From our discussion, it was determined that they would like to update the logo as it is ten years old. Their 10th anniversary is also this year which is another factor is getting the new website up. Pink, purple, and yellow are the primary colors for the logo and Women’sNet color palette. They are not married to the sun in its current form (the sun being used as the “o” in the logo). They would also like to modernize the look of the sun by making it less “sketchy and more solid.” Sally is to send me digital files of the current logo.

In terms of site architecture, I asked if version 4 is final. I had looked over it and I had a few suggestions in mind in terms of usability so I was trying to see if they would be open to my suggestions. The site architecture was pretty final but they were happy to accept any suggestions that I had.

I guess my other main task other than the Drupal skin was to make an animation for them. I wasn’t really aware of this or maybe it was mentioned in the fellowship description but not really emphasized. We had doubt that I was going to get to it anyway, and it was decided that I would do that offsite. I need to verify how many hours I have to fulfill offsite as they wanted to know that and until what date would I still be offering offsite support. I made sure to also inform them of my other skills and that I would love to help in other ways than just design. Their eyes lit up at my mentions of podcasting, motion graphics, sound editing, etc., so hopefully I get to other work that doesn’t involve the web.

There is a New York based organization called Barefoot Workshops who is currently in South Africa and wants to meet with Women’sNet. Jan and I have been assigned to meet with them on Monday morning. I’m not sure what we are aiming to do but will find out on Monday.

Today concludes my first week at Women’sNet. I wish I could have been more productive as it took all week to get access to the VPN and host server. That leaves me only three weeks to redesign their logo, design the Drupal skin, implement it, and debug. Jan is also out for one week. I’ve created a Google calendar to map out my tasks. If everything goes to schedule I should be able to finish everything, but you know with designing and coding something always goes wrong when you least expect it! *knock on wood*

Filed under: work   |  Leave a Comment