You're special, with an R

Its been awhile since my last report, so I apologize for this long post, but thats what happens when you're on safari, in the middle of the (concrete) jungle where wild animals (soccer fans) are ever present and you have to keep your head on a swivel just to survive. I'll try to summarize what I've been up to since I've left Pittsburgh but there's quite a lot so here goes.

First, getting to South Africa was a pain. I arrive at the airport in Pittsburgh at 5am and they tell me that my flight to JFK has been cancelled. I ask them to rebook me on a later flight and they inform me that I'd arrive at JFK at 12:30. The flight to Johannesburg that I'm supposed to catch leaves at 11:15. Not only that but the flight goes through Atlanta! In fact, Delta is the only airline that flies to JFK from Pittsburgh, so in my sleepy state (I stayed up too late the night before consuming local brews) I thought to myself that I just needed to get to JFK. Worse case scenario, I catch the next days flight to Jo-burg. I call the airline, South African Airways, and ask them to rebook me. They tell me that I have to use my travel agent, based in Vancouver (opens at 11:30EST), to rebook and that I'd better hurry because the next available flight is on June 15th! Thats when the stress really elevates. I finally arrive at JFK and go to the SAA ticket center, which is closed, and call the travel agent. The tell me that only SAA can change the flight. I repeat the phone tag exercise 3 more times, with each side telling me that their hands are tied. Finally I get a hold of someone from SAA who is somewhat helpful. As I'm trying to book whatever flight I can, which would mean an upgrade at an additional cost of over 2K, she tells me to try standby. So I book a hotel and wake up early next morning (5am) to get in line. The ticket office opens and I'm the first in line. Remember that this flight is "sold out" so I'm not too optimistic. In any case, I explain what happened to the ticket dude, and he types on the computer for about 15 minutes, expressionless. I have no idea if I can get on or not but wouldn't you know, he hands me a ticket and I check in my luggage. Phew! Never thought I'd be looking forward to a 15 hour flight, and consider it relaxing, but thats what I did. After that it was smooth sailing/flying. Caught a connecting flight from Jo-burg to Capetown (2hrs) and after about a 45 min cab ride, I caught up to travel companions. It as about 4pm local time and I stayed up until 11pm which would have meant I stayed awake for about 36 hours. I was literally falling asleep at the bar, with a beer in my hand, watching USA beat England, 1-1. (joke)

Anyhow, now the good stuff. This won't have any continuity, as I'll just blurt out cool stuff that I've done, seen or thought.

• Hanging out with 3 bloaks from England. They like to use the word "mate". Its basically like saying friend. But its only used in a guy to guy sense. I wanna use it Calgary but only to refer to my female friends as "mates". Or ask girls if they'd like to be my mate. If they're offended I'll just say that I meant it the way the Brits do and I've picked up their sayings since I've been travelling and all. If they aren't offended, then they can meet Mr. Creepers... One weird thing they told me is that when they break up with a girl, the common expression used is "lets just be mates". Basically "mate" means everything but what I think it should mean.
• At fanfest in Capetown. They give us some hats, we drink beer, and cheer for Cameroon. They lose. Not a very African friendly World Cup so far.
• Went to Nelspruit to watch Chile beat Honduras. One of the best soccer spectator experiences of my life. Lots of Chilean support. Painted my face and bought a t-shirt. Nearly froze with just the t-shirt so I had to put on my jackets at halftime. This stadium was near Kruger national park, and its really what I think of when I think of Africa. (Thanks Disney's Lion King).
• Dried ostrich meat. Yummy. ps %% Its ok actually.
• Brazil vs North Korea game. I never thought that I'd be freezing cold when in South Africa watching Brazil play soccer... South Africa + Brazil + soccer = cold???
• Have some dude at the hotel bar in Jo-burg that likes to take one order at a time in the group of five I'm hanging out with.
• At the soccer stadium, you can drink Budweiser or Coke. Thats it. All this way to SA and I get to drink bad water beer.
• Travelling companions got sold seats on airplane that didn't exist.
• Saw Arsene Wenger, Hugo Sanchez and John Harkes.
• South Africans think we have a LOVELY ACCENT.
• Went to Soccer City in Jo-burg. Awesome stadium, relatively new and filled with 84,000 fans to see S. Korea vs Argentina. I was pulling for S. Korea but the bad guys won. It was a really cool experience.
• Met some Chileans at a bar. They told me there was going to be 8,000 Chileans at the game versus Honduras. My mates and I decide that we have to go see them play so we buy a plane and game ticket. Greg comes too. (He doesn't like it when I call him my mate, I don't really like it either.)
• Greg allows for a mate to hug him
• South Africans think we have a LOVELY ACCENT.
• Vacations shirts aren't really being vacationed. Its too cold.
• While trying to remain fit in Jo-burg, I realize how much of an effect elevation differences can make (1750 m vs 1050 meters).
• There are 11 official languages in South Africa. I have no chance understanding 10 of them and sometimes the 11th is a challenge. Heard the clicking language on tv... they click really smoothly!
• World Cup does a lot of false advertising. They often show these sugars in the stands enjoying the beautiful game. There aren't any. And if you think about it, how many girls make a long trip to watch soccer?
• Room is so cold, that towels don't really dry.
• South Africans think we have a LOVELY ACCENT.
• Lots of different cultures make up South African society. But not like they do in Canada. There are people that have been here for generations.
• There has been zero chances for me to get my dance on.
• South Africans think we have a LOVELY ACCENT.
• Met the most interesting man in the world. Lived on a boat for most of his life - offshore Africa - and now lives in the bush in Mozambique with the lions, elephants (Leprachauns and Santa Claus and...). Turns out he doesn't like crowds or people very much. Doesn't like electricity. I'm not sure he knows about the internet or twitter. I'm sure he lots of good stories but thats about it. Very interesting, but not very exciting to hang out with. Kinda like the Mona Lisa. Part of me wanted to tell him he was "very interesting - boop!"
• Stupid vuvuzela's
• I haven't seen Charlize Theron yet, but I won't give up!
• I want to do Ostrich riding.
• England does NOT like Argentina. At all.
• England goalie headline. "Green girlfriend dumps him. Another thing that slips through his fingers."
• Still planning on going on a one day safari, wine tour, up table mountain and to see my totem animal, my spirit mate that guides me through life, the penguin.

Thats it for now. I'll keep you posted when I can. Sorry for not posting more pictures but they are taking about 20 minutes to load! Looking forward to having some warm weather in Calgary!