After breakfast

The First Morning

Come and get it! The breakfast of champions. "Pap" (not pictured) is the South African version of grits, blacks eat it as a starch with almost every meal. Other hot breakfast starches are oatmeal a.k.a. porridge! They thought it was weird when I asked for cinnamon for my oatmeal. They thought cinnamon was only for making pancakes. In South Africa, pancakes are called flapjacks and they call "crepes" pancakes. So I have to keep that in mind while visiting restaurants!

Thoughts, first day in S.A....

Today, I will blog! I am finding that better than telling you, I can show you! What I have done is documented experiences or reflected on the experiences through film. Through questions, dialogue and other conversations, I have found that South Africa is arguably the most westernized of all the African countries; major malls, similar patterns of dress and foods abount. There are McDonald's, KFC, Subway restaurants and more. The west has arrived! However, I went to some areas and had some conversations that really brought me face to face with some issues that required more self expression. I did meet Africa and I tried to capture as much of her as I could. Below is what I have been able to upload so far.

Frustrated

Hey guys, I feel so badly because I had this LONG blog ready to post and the internet connection was interrupted and everything was lost. You wouldn't believe how hard interet access is to get here. Check back soon, I have transformed into the black Steve Speilburg; shooting videos everywhere and I have a TON to share. I mean a TON! As soon as I get to a reliable internet source, I will be posting away! See you soon! Did you know that here, the restaurants are super cheap. Like a filet mignon dinner is like 13 bucks!!! I was blown away. OMG, you need to check back to see how life is here! I have never seen so many black people in my LIFE! Well.... I guess I AM sort of in Africa...lol. Speak to you all soon!

Hey again!

Hey Guys, I made it! A whole lot of thigs have happened. AMSTERDAM!!! Here are some pics and videos! OMG, look how they label the cigarettes!

Ok, when I say it was a long flight, that is the biggest understatement EVER! But after three movies a nap and THREE meals, I made it to Johannesburg Africa.

You wouldn't BELLLLIEVE how hard it is to get on the internet here! Then, once you get on, it is so sssslllooowwww..... The guest house that I am staying in is really nice, they have about 5 dogs, two roosters and a few nesting birds...lol. You will see more soon! I am getting the hang of the currency here, it is SO hard to convert everything! Just watch and learn with me!

The Travel Begins

Sitting in the Lansing Airport, I decided to try a video post. Check it out! More to come!

The Day Before

Today is a day of packing, preparing and worrying. You see, I am leaving tomorrow and heading into the wilds of Costa Rica to study the pygmy mushroom...well, maybe not mushrooms, but I am going to play Diane Sawyer for a month interviewing some head honchos involved the biotech industry in the Gauteng Region of South Africa (pronounced "How-TANG"); I wanna know how they're getting the information out about their work, who is involved, what strategies work, and what the issues have emerged since they have started. Okay, I was so nervous about this trip that I had a dream about making a list of THINGS TO BRING! How lame is that? Why couldn't I dream that I was Mufasa on Pride Rock or something? I woke up at 6:37am today and ran to my notebook to write down the things that I had to get done. Yeah, the list was TWO PAGES LONG! I had to race over to Student Services Building on campus and make it to financial aid trying to haggle the awesome Ann Graves into releasing the George and Agnes Greenleaf International Experiences scholarship that I received. You see, it is hard to get a summer refund from a student account if you aren't currently enrolled in Summer classes. Why couldn't they just give me the money and ask me to bring back receipts? In the time it took for me to get from Student Services to the Administration Building, the three times I made the circuitous journey, something like 30 babies were born in India! Well, it all worked out. Thank GOD! I am in my friend's family room typing away and actually looking forward to over 24 hours of flying. I mean thinking about it, in a few hours, I will be an official international traveler! I hope I get to see Oprah's School! Thanks for reading!