Looking back...

I was chatting to a friend the other day and he asked me if i had achieved everything i wanted to on this trip, if it was a success and if i was satisfied... my immediate answer was yes but it also made me think about what my objectives were before this trip, the reasons i came over here and what i've gotten out of being in the states!

Within a couple weeks of me being here i realised that yes, maybe i had originally come here for the wrong reason... trying to make something out of nothing, fix something beyond repair, etc but i came to terms with that very quickly, moved on and decided to make the most of me being in the states! I made a list of things i wanted to do and places i wanted to see... visit my twins in denver, go skiing again, get to the bna xmas party, go to nyc, see a bit of florida, get back to disney, go to new orleans, work hard, make some money, meet new people and see old friends and all and all everything bar one was done... i haven't made it to new orleans yet, but i have plenty of time for that yet, besides it was substituted by key west... a fair compromise :)

These last 6 and a bit months i have worked hard, i've done some travelling and met some great and some not so great people, i've done some growing and some forgiving... i've also realised that the success to a relationship of any kind is compromise...

The most important and special part of my trip to the states is me meeting Stu... a kind, wonderful, caring, funny and sexy man who makes me feel special and who i love deeply! Stu is proof that all things happen for a reason and that there are no regrets in life, only lessons to be learnt... so looking back, yes my trip has been a success and i am more than satisfied!

I am now ready for the next chapter to begin... let the journey continue :)

6 days and counting...

i can't actually believe that i have less than a week to go before i jet off to the states... as they say, time waits for nobody!! in the next 6 days i have loads of goodbyes to say, 2 exams to write and one big farewell to have... oh, and pack, EISH!!

it's definitely with a heavy heart that i'll be getting onto that plane but i know once i'm there loads of fun will be had and i'll be doing all the travelling i want to do and i'll get to see my twins again... which i'm really excited about!

last week i spent a week in the Eastern Cape and completed the very grueling Otter Trail but i'll post fotos and stories about that adventure as soon as i have time to stop and breathe!

anyhoo, just wanted to give you a quick update :)

Sjoe, where has the time gone?

As i write this i have 23 days left until i depart for the states and i'm not quite sure how i'm going to fit all i have to do into my days! Just to give you an idea... this week is my last week at work and i have 3 shifts to work as well as having an event to attend every night. Monday a birthday party in Ballito, Tuesday dinner with a friend, Wednesday i'm working, Thursday is free for now (but it is phuza Thursday, so anything could happen), Friday i'm working my very last shift (YIPEE) and then have a wine tasting evening... yum yum, Saturday have shopping to do for the Otter Trail next week and then dinner with friends at Moyo and Sunday is family day... eish, i'm tired just writing that and don't forget i have to fit studying in there as my exams are coming up very shortly as well!!

As mentioned above, myself and 10 others are doing the Otter Trail next week... really can't wait to get lost in the middle of nowhere for a while and away from the real world! We leave early on Monday morning on our road trip which will take about 14 hours but are breaking it up and taking it slowly. We are stopping in Coffee Bay on Monday night and staying at the Coffee Shack, it should be a good party. Tuesday we complete our road trip and stay at Wild Tongue, where we will be doing our carbo loading and resting. Wednesday morning we set off on the trail and will be trailing until Sunday where we return to Wild Tongue on Sunday night and then set off early on Monday morning to return Durbs! All in all, it sounds like an awesome week of adventure and i'll have loads of fotos to share! :)

the bar in casa la chapman, best pub in town and the location of the birthday party in Ballito. this pub is owned by father Richard and located at his home, it is also fulled to the max with "stuff" from all over the world

why the long face... it's a rusta wildebeest :)

States bound update

It's a month and counting now til i get on that plane... states bound!! :) i have a job, a visa, a plane ticket and a place to stay... i also have a heart that wants to take off, so everything is in check!!

I'll be leaving on a jetplane on 9 October, landing in Orlando the following day after almost a full day of travelling and then making my way to Vero Beach, Fl which will be my home sweet home. My job involves working as a waitron at a very exclusive country club called Johns Island for 8 months, until 31 May 2009, after that i'll decide whether or not to extend my contract! I'll be sharing an apartment in Palm Estates, Vero Beach with fellow employees of Johns Island.

This is going to be a whole new experience for me... i'm doing the states differently this time, oh and my friend Julz is coming along for the ride... watch out America, a little bit of South Africa is arriving!! :)

Spring has sprung :)

Spring has arrived in South Africa and here i am, sick in bed with flu... oh the joys, but after my last experience with the flu which landed me with a dodgy ticker i've decided to take it easy and not push myself!!

Winter was a very busy season for me, loads of events from mid-xmas and The July to Madam Zingara and the Durban Airshow, not to forget supporting Trish as she ran the Comrades and helping out the the KZN Rowing Regatta... i think my liver got a big wake up call, but i had an awesome (yes i used that word) winter and met some fantastic people! :)

But i think the biggest developement is my pending return to the states (37 days and counting), i got my visa, resigned from Billys (really enjoyed that) and am now just waiting on the plane ticket but everything is in place... except my head, which is lagging a little but coming around slowly!! As much as i'm excited about going back to the states, i've been home for 2 years now and have settled back into the South African way of life and am really enjoying myself, but i know i need to go... for many reasons, its a chance of a lifetime!

I'm now in the middle of studying for a couple of exams i write before i leave and planning a trip to Cape Town and the Otter Trail at the end of September... loads to look forward to in the next couple of weeks... so, as the song says, "Wake Me Up When September Ends" :)

Wake me up when September ends...

... cos i'm leaving on a jet plane at the beginning of October, Florida bound! :)

Going back to the states has always been in the pipeline but i haven't been able to get it right... until now and i'm super stoked! I've got a waitressing job at one of the top golf estates in the states, Johns Island Club in Vero Beach, Fl... the job sounds almost to good to be true but it is true and i'll be there (visa pending) at the beginning of October! Watch this space for more details :)

In other news, i've just finished another semester of studying... this degree is slowly but surely getting done and who knows maybe one day i'll have some kind of qualification from an actual university and not just honours from the university of life! :)

The Billys crew

This Sunday just past was my work xmas party... yes, xmas in June, this is what we do! :) we had an awesome day, the first half was spent chilling at the dam on bean bags around a fire while some of the crazy boys went Wake-boarding... bbbbbrrrrrr. For the second half of the day we took over Taco Zulu for lunch and a few too many drinks, but fun was had by all! :) i am gonna miss the crazy bunch i work with but i'm moving onto bigger and better!!

The bestest waitresses in Durbs, oh and the bossman :)

(USA back track 3) Never eat yellow snow!

OK, so i have arrived in the US of A... been to New York and slowly became accustomed with life in Denver, CO! In the first couple of months in the state, the family took me sightseeing... mostly into the mountains. It was incredible to see the mountains and the ski resort, especially coming from a coastal city. The real excitement came when the white stuff (i'm talking about snow) arrived... as i like to called it, in a truly South African accent... proper snow! I'd seen snow in England, but once you've seen snow in the Rockies, that stuff that falls in England is no snow... it's just white rain.

In December of 2004 we made a trip into the mountains (for a week) to Steamboat Springs for my first skiing experience. I was so excited... had a half day lesson and off i went! Skiing is an amazing experience... the extremely cold wind rushing up your nose and the fear that you might do a face plant any second... it's fantastic! I caught onto the concept pretty quickly and soon i had mastered the green slops (beginners) but was not quite brave enough and my knee was objecting to graduating to the blue slopes (intermediate). Steamboat Springs is a beautiful cowboy town about 3 hours drive from Denver, a great place to learn to ski and have a little fun!

The slopes of Steamboat Springs

My next skiing experience came on 2nd January 2005... went with friends of the family to a ski area called Loveland... it's the closest ski area to Denver, it's not a resort... just a mountain with some great slopes! After doing a few warmup runs down the greens i decided to give the blues a try. Needless to say on my first run down a blue slope i landed on various parts of my body on a number of occasions... but i never gave up and eventually made a run all the way down a blue slope on my skis (however you spell the plural of ski)!

Earlier this year i also ventured into the mountains to part take in a little skiing. I didn't know what to expect because i hasn't skied in over a year and i was skiing at a new resort, Copper Mountain. But as it turns out skiing is like riding a bike... you never forget, to turn you pick the foot that is facing away from the mountain up and that's basically it!! Oh and to slow down (that comes in handy) you make an upside down 'V' with your skis... snow plough as they called it!

What could be better!

Skiing is great fun and a good sport to keep you in shape, so hopefully i'll have the opportunity to ski again someday! :)

(USA back track 2) Rocky Mountain High and the mile high city

For some of you... ok, most of you who haven't been to visit me i thought i'd show you (thanks to the fantastic technology of Google Earth) where i live! I live in a city of Colorado called Aurora... it's pretty big and about 20 min outside of Denver!

Home sweet American home

Home sweet home a little closer

So, that was my little tour of the sleepy city of Aurora! Colorado is a fantastic state, it's clean and there is some much to do, especially in the mountains (as you will see in later posts)! It's a state of 2 halves... one a desert, the other, Rocky Mountain High! Denver is called the Mile High city because it's... you guessed it, a mile above sea level! There are some places in the mountains where you go above 2 miles... especially when skiing. Colorado also has all the major American sports teams... Colorado Avalanche (ice hockey), Denver Nuggets (basketball), Colorado Rockies (baseball), Denver Bronco (football) and Colorado Rapids (soccer or football), who all do pretty well!

This has been my home for almost 2 years now (not the place on the left, that's the Capitol Building)... and a very good home it has been, but as we all know, there is no place like home! It's not long now and i'll be moving country and house (in about 8 weeks) and can't wait!

PS. i think the best song to fit this post is Aurora by Foo Fighters :)

(USA back track 1) Watch out USA... here I come!

June 20 2004... i leave the shores of Durbs again and after an extremely long flight (now that is what i call a long-haul flight)... something like 30 hours of travelling, i touch down in the Big Apple on June 21 2004! Next challenge, putting on a sweet, friendly face (the only one i have) to get past immigration (they are not my favourite people)! So my first experience of New York... the guy taking us to the au pair school on Long Island falling asleep at the wheel... i mean, i'm the one who has been awake for 2 days but he falls asleep... needless to say i got the fright of my life and was wide awake from then on!

The au pair school was located at St. John's University campus, it very interesting and it was good to meet all the other au pairs (although i was the only one who spoke English as my first language, this becomes a tread throughout my 2 years here)... kind of like being part of the UN!!!!

The highlight of my stay at the au pair school was our trip into New York City on the last day! It was mindblowing to see all the buildings and sights we have all seen on TV and heard so much about! Times Square was our first stop... all the posters and billboards, it was amazing and the naked cowboy was there to entertain us all (what will they think of next, a gay, rapping cowboy... oh wait, there is one already)! We then had a walk around Rockafeller Centre, unfortunately all the flags had been taken day in honour of the death of Ronald Reagan! All aboard the bus and off we went past more famous landmarks... Madison Square Gardens, Wall Street (got to touch the brass bull's nose for luck), the street which was used at the location for Friends (it wasn't the actual set, just the street the set was based on) and finally we got to the site of the WTC. I don't know how to put in words what it was like to stand there and look down into that huge hole... very airy and sad! You don't realise the distruction until you see it first hand... it wasn't only the trade centre that was distroyed but every building around it, except a small church... very airy!

The WTC site... looking down instead of up

Next stop the Stanton Island ferry, we were just going there to come back, mainly to go past the symbol of NYC... the Statue of Liberty! Pretty cool, saw loads of little sea taxis (with the famous black and yellow checks), the NYC skyline and the statue itself... it's huge! We then made our way back into the heart of the city and were given 2 hours to do our own thing... a group of us decided to head straight to the Empire State Building! After standing in a pretty long quene with the rest of the tourists, we made it onto the platform... don't look down!!!! The view is absolutely amazing, you can see for miles, the thing that amazed me most was the number of tiny yellow ants (cabs) there were and the size of central park... it's huge!

The Stanton Island ferry with Ms Liberty in the background

All in all, we covered most of NYC in about 5 hours... i'm gonna have to go back there one day (i'll have to wait til my next trip to the states), but it was an experience and a fantastic way to start off my American experience! The next day (June 25) all the UN of au pairs was rounded up and dispersed into the states... i headed for Denver!