A week of closure with
many end of the year luncheons, grading of final assignments and planning the
logistics of the last week at Wits (cleaning office, keys back, et cetera). My
students turned their final second semester assignment last Thursday and I
spent the beginning of the week shoring up my grades. On Monday, we had our
division end of the year luncheon on main campus at the facility for faculty.
Mariann and I were both recognized for our contribution to the division and the
school, which was appreciated. It still hasn't "registered" with me
that we're having end of the year
celebrations… but I'm sure after this upcoming week (my last), it will really
hit home. One of my fraternity brothers and close friends, Joe Jarvis was in
Johannesburg this week with his girlfriend. They just got back from a safari in
Kruger and were on their way to Cape Town. We were able to connect - get a
drink and catch up. It was great to see him and hear about his experiences.
It's wild - the last time I saw him was at a cabin last Fall and here we are
8,000 miles+ from Ohio! On Thursday, I had the School of Education end of the
year luncheon. I appreciated hearing about my colleagues' achievements from the
past year, reflecting on events, and being recognized by the head of the
school.
It was a relaxing final
weekend - my last weekend by myself, before Nick and Andrew come back from
India and John arrives. I spent Saturday "putzing" and went to the
koppies to read. Unfortunately, I underestimated the sun and ended up as a
lobster. On Sunday, I went over to Gerhard's for breakfast and Gerhard and I
set off for Baviaanspoort thereafter. Baviaanspoort, east of Pretoria, housed
an internment camp where my great-grandfather was sent for a number of years
during World War II (for being a German national in British South Africa). There
is little information about Baviaanspoort aside from random links that you can
find on the 10th page of a Google search. We arrived in Baviaanspoort and
stopped at the correctional facilities, asking for directions. The guard told
us that the only internment camp was in "Zonderwater" which was 15km
away. We turned around and asked a few other people who told us the same.
Zonderwater, after a later search, was an interment camp for mostly Italian
POWs captured in north Africa. So it's still a mystery: 1) Where was the
Baviaanspoort internment camp? 2) Were there two camps or just one? Bottomline:
we were in the area that my great-grandfather was held.
John arrives on Sunday
morning, which I am so looking forward to; it will be a great capstone on a
wonderful year. I am eager to show him around Johannesburg, have him experience
the culture, and the beauty of the country. We have a great itinerary planned:
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November: Johannesburg (John Arrives)
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November: Johannesburg
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November: Johannesburg
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November: Johannesburg
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November: Johannesburg - Cape Town
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November: Cape Town
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November: Cape Town - Stellenbosch - Franschoek - Betty's Bay - Kleinmond
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November: Kleinmond
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November: Kleinmond - Cape Town - Johannesburg
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November: Johannesburg - Mbabane, Swaziland
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November: Mbabane, Swaziland
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November: Mbabane, Swaziland - Maputo, Mozambique
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November: Maputo, Mozambique
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November: Maputo, Mozambique - Inhaca Island, Mozambique
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November: Inhaca Island - Maputo - Kruger Park
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November: Kruger Park
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November: Kruger Park - God's Window/Blyde River Canyon - Johannesburg
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November: Johannesburg
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November: Johannesburg - Atlanta (Depart 1:00pm EST)
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November: Atlanta - Detroit (Arrive 11:15am EST)
John leaves on Friday, 9
November from Sacramento and does not arrive until Sunday, 11 November ~ 27
hours traveling and 10 hour time difference. We'll relax the first few days he
is here, see the city, Soweto, Wits, et cetera before going to Cape Town. We'll
check out Cape Town and the surrounding areas before going and staying at Onkel
Theo and Tante Magdalena's summer home at Kleinmond. We'll then go back to Cape
Town, see Onkel Theo and Tante Magdalena before heading back to Johannesburg.
The morning after getting back into Johannesburg we'll leave for Mbabane. We'll
explore the city (not much to it), hike in the beautiful hills, and get our
Mozambique visa ($10 compared to $90 at the border). We'll drive through
Swaziland to Maputo, Mozambique. We're staying with some friends that I met
(with Rob and Ben) when we were rafting through the Zambezi River - they are an
awesome Portugese couple who are both living/working in Maputo. If we can,
we'll go to Inhaca Island, which is about a three hour ferry from Maputo and
considered one of the best diving spots in the world (clear water/white sand).
From Maputo, we'll drive to Kruger Park and stay outside of the park at a
facility run by the University of the Witswaterand (oh, the perks of teaching
at Wits). We'll drive through the park for a day (and of course see tons of
lions, leopards, cheetahs, and buffalo…fingers crossed!). Before heading back
to Johannesburg, we'll go "God's Window" in Limpopo and see the Blyde
River Canyon - which is supposed to be spectacular. Gerhard and Marlize were
nice enough to host us for two nights before we both take off on the 29th of
November. Whew! (Ironic: yep, that's all
that we're doing!)
Check out the Google Map
I made of our trip:
With that being said,
this will be my last blog post until we get back to Johannesburg on the 27th…
Sala kahle and hakuna matata!
