Back in the States

We moved back to the US in September 2008. Our new blog is at http://chrisandsusanindc.blogspot.com. See you there!

Our Blog is moving ...

This blog site may LOOK cooler but we decided to move to http://chrisandsusanza.spaces.live.com because they have a more integrated site with built-in photo album capability and better off-line editing.
See you there!

The Comrades Marathon

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I have a pretty bad cold, and I've been waking up coughing a lot. This morning, my coughing fit woke me just in time to catch the 5:30 am start of the 82nd annual Comrades Marathon on TV. Don't let the name fool you; the Comrades isn't a marathon at all. It's an 88.3 kilometer test of sheer will and human persistence (a marathon is "only" 42k). In odd-number years they run the "down" from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, and in even-number years they run the "up" from Durban back to Pietermaritzburg. I watched on and off through the early hours of the morning. Chris woke up in time to see the first men finish (in less than 5 1/2 hours) and we hung around to watch the first ladies cross the finish line at just over six hours. Then we headed out for the lion park. When we got home at 5pm, people were still pouring across the finish line. Well, pouring might be overstating it. Some were walking, many were limping, a few were jogging, and more than a few were literally being carried. We watched until 5:30, when the race was "over" and the official 12 hour time limit had expired. To watch the last official finisher cross the line was a truly moving experience. To watch the first non-finisher be turned away at the line had me in tears. We watched for another 15 minutes or so, seeing people who had tried so hard, pushed their bodies to the limit for 12+ hours, and just came up short. I hurt for them. I cried for them. I gushed with pride at the ones who kept running, even though they knew there was no medal waiting for them. I hope they feel just as proud of themselves. In a movie I watched a few weeks ago, a great line caught my attention. "Winners forget they're in a race. They just love to run." These folks are winners. Maybe next year I'll be among them. Pietermaritzburg, here I come!

http://www.comrades.com/

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It doesn't *LOOK* like Africa

I was talking to my dad the other day. He's been sharing our blog with his class, and the overwhelming response from his students was that it didn't look all that African. So, by popular demand, we headed out to a place that actually looks like Africa: the Johannesburg Lion Park http://www.lion-park.co.za/ . It's about a 1/2 hour drive from our house, just on the edge of the countryside.

View additional photos at:

Lion Park

We went on a guided tour through the grassland where we saw zebras, wildebeests, bresboks, springboks (the South African national animal) and a few other species of antelopes. After stopping to observe them and get a quick lesson from our guide, our big old safari truck bounced down the potted, pitted, rutted dirt tracks to see the spotted (aka laughing) hyenas. They were one of the few animals behind fences, probably due to their reputation for both cleverness and agressiveness. They seemed just as interested in us as we are in them, trotting back and forth in front of the fence. Of course, someone felt compelled to break the rules. A woman had hopped out of her car and walked right up to the fence of the enclosure. We stopped for a minute so our guide could yell at her, and then we were off to the real business of the day, seeing the lions. The lions were NOT behind fences, they wandered at their leisure among the cars and trucks of the visitors (I gotta say, I was shocked).. The first lion camp we visited had 5 large adult males and a few females. By dumb luck, we had arrived on feeding day, which was ideal for lion viewing. Most of them were fairly still as they sat devouring horse carcasses. I was overwhelmed at the size. I don't think the TV or even the zoo effectively demonstrates the sheer size of these animals. Their paws were nearly the size of my head! The second group we visited was more like a traditional pride of lions: one adult male and a large group of females. Some of them were eating as well, but most appeared to have finished their meal and were napping in the shade of the trees. One of the ladies who had just finished her meal was cleaning her face and paws. It was kind of funny to watch this huge powerful animal behaving just like a house cat. The third group was a new lion family: a mama, a papa, and three tiny cubs (about 3 weeks). Well, even the three-week-olds weren't that tiny, they were just about Sophie-sized. We took plenty of time to ooh and aah, and then our tour was finished. We bounced and bumped our way back to the lodge where we started and sat for a few minutes to marvel at the experience we had just had. It was just incredible.

Video of a male lion having lunch:

We stopped at the lion park restaurant (the sign said "paws here for a meal") for a quick lunch, and then it was on to the second part of our adventure, "Cub World". In Cub World, the lions are in cages, including a cage with about 12 little babies (3-5 weeks) and 3 other cages with lions ranging from 2 months to almost-full-size lions. The Lion Park admission ticket is also good for one visit to the enclosure that houses 4 cubs around 3 months old. We got to pet them and take some pictures and try to plot how to steal one to take home with us. Sadly, we couldn't come up with anything :-) Cub World is also home to some cheetas, wild dogs, ostritches and giraffes. We watched a pretty vicious ostritch fight, but then we got to feed them. Then we bought a bag of giraffe feed and sat atop a tall platform waiting for Purdy and Gambit to stop by for a snack. Gambit wasn't feeling particularly sociable today, but Purdy came right up to eat right out of our hands. Her big beautiful eyes made an impression on everyone, but most of the kids were a bit frightened of her ENORMOUS purple tongue (check out the picture of it wrapped around Chris's hand). We took a few priceless pictures with her and headed back home. If (when?) you come visit, I promise, we'll definitely make a stop at the lion park. And hurry up, cuz I can't wait to go back.

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Lost in Randburg ...

So, I set out today to register for Telkom service so we can get DSL and then back to the car dealer for my temporary tags. This involved driving first to Rosedale (and no, my rider wasn't by my side ) and then to Randburg. I found both places fairly easily, but I missed my turn on the way back home since there are very few road signs here. I drove almost all the way to Pretoria before I realized that I messed up. Anyone wanna buy us a Garmin as a "welcome to Africa" gift?

We will post many more pics of Sandton and its environs as soon as we get an internet connection that works reliably. What we have now is "spotty" at best.

My New (Old) Car

I finally got myself a car, which is great because it is very difficult to get around without a vehicle. It's a 1995 but it runs great and was not very expensive.

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Home Sweet Home

Here are some pictures of our new home. It is about 500 square feet but with a 400 square foot garden yard out back. All windows and doors have locking bars and the whole complex is surrounded by a tall electrified fence with security spikes. There is a guard house out front with security personnel 24 x 7 and powered gates. We have a pog on a chain with a red panic button and if you press it, a response team will come armed with automatic weapons. Although I have no plans to take up Cricket, I found it prudent to keep a nice stout Cricket bat next to the bed just for safety's sake. Sandton is a pretty safe suburb, but there are people in this city living in desperate poverty and burglaries have been known to happen. There is covered parking right outside our door. Laundry facilities are about 20 feet from our door, but it is super lame because you need a very specific combination of coins to make it work (2 2 Rand coins and a 1 Rand coin for the washer, 3 2 Rand coins for the dryer)

Poor Sophie had an unfortunate encounter with the electric fence when she stuck her nose through the fence bars and touched one of the wires. She yelped and scurried away with her tail between her legs and wouldn't go out back for the rest of the day. I felt SO bad for her! Fortunately, the current is not nearly enough to be dangerous, just enough to be way too painful to maintain contact with. ( If you have ever been shocked by a car spark plug that is about how powerful it is)

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