"Waka Waka - This Time for Africa!!!"

Before I let too much time go by, I wanted to blog about my recent trip to Johannesburg, South Africa!  Yep, I got to travel on business.  Not Matt.  ME!  I watched 4 entire movies on the airplane, read several magazines, got room service, 8 hours of sleep at night, and did a little shopping.  I'll probably never get that opportunity again, but it certainly was fun while it lasted!  Matt dropped ME at the airport and he stayed behind with the kids.  (I won't mention that he had Kumari to help him and it was only 7 nights.  :-)  He did great with the kids and they were all happy and healthy when I returned home.  Boy, I really did miss them and it felt really strange to be out there on my own.  Thanks, honey, for not complaining about being a single parent and not saying a single word about all the money I spent.   The kids needed some souvenirs, didn't they?  Of course, I needed some too.

I was actually not alone, as I had the advantage of going with one of my co-workers.  That was a good thing for both of us as neither of us had traveled much without our husband right beside us to take care of all that important stuff.  We did fine though, but were glad we could cling to each other.

Due to Kuwait's work week being Sunday - Thursday, Betty and I (yes, for those of you who know my family her name is Betty Jo!) got to travel two days before the convention started.   The first day after we arrived, we went on a day trip safari to Pilanesburg Park.  It was great!!!  Hot, but great.  Our tour guide picked us up from the hotel and we headed about 2 hours outside of Johannesburg.  I have to say that the drive to the park was every bit as interesting, and sad, as the safari itself.  Here's a few pictures of what we saw along the way:

Heartbreaking, isn't it?  It was a beautiful drive, which I didn't expect.  But, it was just heartbreaking to see all of those sheds that people were living in.  They were everywhere - too many to even begin counting.  There were little kids running around, women and men walking around.  The sheds were literally that - dirt floors, no running water, and one room for the entire family.  I just can't even imagine....  we are SO incredibly blessed in America.  I felt a sick guilty feeling passing all of that up and going on my "safari" while I stayed the week in a nice 5 star hotel and got my room service.  It really got me to thinking.  I haven't brought this up to my sister yet, but I think I might like to go back on a mission trip there one day.  Never in my life would I have ever thought I would have that desire, but I just kept thinking how fun it would be to walk around in those villages and try to help those people in some way.  I'm not sure what I would have to offer, other than a warm smile and a hug, but they need people like that right?  Terri - put it on your bucket list!  I think it would be a fun thing to do together...  what do ya think???

I have to mention our tour driver.  He was a man who has driven Oprah and Gayle around the same park!  Yes, in the same exact vehicle we were in.  He told us all about their day together and everything they saw.  He also has worked on several movie sets on location in Africa.  He scouts the place, then meets with the Director for approval and has everything catered while the crew is there.  He also had a small wreck with Nicole Kidman, lol!  Pretty interesting, huh?!  We thought so.  He was very knowledgeable and had lots of stories to tell.  He also showed us (as we were driving through the intersection) where he was hijacked 2 years earlier.  Did I mention we got a speeding ticket on the way there?  Oops!

So, onto the park we went.  We basically drove around all day, stopped for a quick bite of lunch and then drove some more.  We saw Giraffes, a huge heard of Elephants, Hippos, Monkeys, and a lot more.  Wart Hogs were everywhere!

This is turning out to be a long post!  The next day, we went to a local market and bought some souvenirs. The second you walk in you are hounded to "look at my stuff!"  They know you have money and they want you to spend it.  Of course, they all have the same items and it gets a little old after a while.  Everyone was friendly and you definitely have to bargain with them.  I found I could pretty much chew them down to half of what they initially told me. We also got to watch some African dancers which was really fascinating.  They were really good singers and dancers!!  I had fun watching that.

The rest of the week was pretty much spent in our hotel.  We were unable to go out at night, due to the crime.  The hotel was attached to a nice mall area, but by 5:30 pm the shops were closed down and everyone was gone.  Due to the high crime, people try to get home before dark.  We stayed in a nice area, but there are still gates and barbed wire around EVERY house.    See below...

Besides being in training all week and learning a WHOLE lot, the last fun thing we got to do was attend a dinner at the Lion Park and watch a night feeding.  It had more of a zoo feel, but it was still a lot of fun.  My pictures didn't really turn out very well, but we actually got to go inside a cage and play with some baby cubs. I didn't get too close, but did have my picture snapped a few times with them.  My camera setting doesn't work well at night (or maybe I don't know how to work my camera) so I'm still waiting on a few of those pictures.  Here's one picture of Betty and I at the mall, then the others from the Lion Park.

This was interesting to watch.  That male is just down right mean!!!!  It was unreal.  There were about 7 other lioness lurking around.  You can see a few of them in the shadow.  Obviously, there was plenty of food for all of them but he wasn't going to have it.  The male dominance really showed and was interesting to watch.  A few of the females were brave and would try to sneak on the other side of the stump for a bite, but as soon as he saw them he would roar and chase them down.  Poor little ladies...  He needs to learn to mind his manners!

 Just thought this one was cute of the baby on the woman's back.  It was the last picture I snapped.

In honor of Matt and his obsession with Shakira, I named this post "Waka Waka" for her song about Africa!  Sorry I wasn't able to bring her back as a souvenir!