Home At Last

     In the 70's, Steely Dan wrote a song based on the "Odyssey" called "Home at Last". The lines that came to mind this morning after sleeping seven hours in my own bed without my feet sticking off the edge were...

Well the danger on the rocks is surely past
Still I remain tied to the mast
Could it be that I have found my home at last
Home at last

     I think it's appropriate for the day since I'll be going in a few hours to start my work on Super Liga! Seven more games in seven days between Houston and Chicago. The rolling caravan of sports television production doesn't end just because you finish one job, you get up the next day and start all over again.
     What does change is the addition of experiences, and by far, the World Cup is an experience all of it's own. After unpacking all the trinkets, CDs, vuvuzelas, and gifts I brought back, I realize that the most wonderful gift I have was sharing the time with new friends.
     All of the producers, editors, engineers, and technical staff brought together to accomplish the many hours of programming were excellent in their own right. These new friends are what I'll miss the most, and given the opportunity to do it again, I'll look forward to Brazil if that happens to be in the future in 2014! My congratulations also to Univision for what was truly a heroic effort that produced great successes!
     I didn't predict the winner of the World Cup but I've already made amends to the Spanish supporters before I left South Africa.

     Alba was the loudest of all the fans during the game and I congratulate her and her devotion to what ended up being a very good match to close out the competition.

     Monica was not as loud but was as happy in her Spain hat and scarf after the victory.
     Now let's see if the Dynamo can actually win the Super Liga this year!
     For those of you that have followed the blog, I thank you for reading and giving me an audience to share with. I won't be posting on a daily basis anymore but as always, you are more than welcome to drop by, add your comments, and share whenever you'd like!

6 Minutes to Game Time

     Yep, the last game is here and I forgot to post earlier! Holland wins it's first World Cup tonight I think. We've all be waiting for this day, I cannot believe it's here. The fountain at the IBC which has not been running was finally on yesterday. Today it was off again. I got so excited I took a picture.
     It should be a wonderful ending to a very long trip and there will be some wrap-up posts to follow up. Besides, next week, I'm in Chicago working Super Liga!

     Mandela was here for both opening and closing!

Three To Go

     It's come down to three days, 72 hours, 4320 minutes... not that we are counting. Once again I took two days off of the blog and they were very enjoyable. On Thursday I went with a group to Bruma and finished my shopping for the trip.
     On Friday morning, I got up and went to the Apartheid Museum and spent several hours there. It was very similar to the Houston Holocaust Museum or the D-Day Museum in New Orleans. Visiting the sins of the past are always difficult, but because the time of apartheid was so very near in proximity, the museum was especially interesting.
     There was a wealth of video from the 80's and that particularly was gripping in a way that black and white film footage from World War II doesn't quite portray the immediacy of the time. I bought an interesting book on Steven Biko from his student writings and am looking forward to reading some of it on the flight back.

     It was curious that I was classified as a non-white to enter the museum.
     After resting for a few hours, it was back to the IBC to work on Contacto and a nice meal afterwards.
     I haven't totaled up my win/loss record on picking games but was disappointed that Germany didn't make it to the finals.
     For that reason, I will pick Alemania (Germany in spanish) to win today. I think if I spent another week here, I would probably be talking in Spanish exclusively. Something for Sean to look forward to when I get home.

One More Today, Two More and We're Outta Here

     We got in at noon today and several of us went and got egg, bacon, and cheese sandwiches and enjoyed the sunshine out in the courtyard. It's now five hours later and the clouds have returned but it is still not as cold as it has been.
     I was surprised that most folks like myself are pretty much down to one meal on these work days. We get into the office, check and make sure things are working, and then walk over to the cafeteria and have a meal.
     Once the day get's later, things get busier and you may have a bag of chips or as I've been doing just a few times, a dessert. So while sitting around the table today, I found out pretty much everyone's clothes are a lot more loose.
     Fernando has walked in while I was composing today's blog so I asked him if he had any insights on Africa. He says the most interesting aspect is the honesty and friendly nature of the people even though some of them live in extreme poverty. He mentioned a story from one of the very first days when he was videotaping one of the hotel workers, and the gentlemen started dancing and explaining a wedding custom we did not know. He says the people are very open and not afraid to share their emotions.

Here's a shot of Fernando and Michelle on the bus ride to the IBC just this morning.

Everyone is starting to smile more knowing that the days here are coming to an end.
Bob and Erick are excited to not be crammed into one of the vans in the morning.

So the last bit of news we need to discuss is whether or not the German machine keeps rolling against Spain tonight.
I've explained that I have several German friends and just a few Spanish (from Spain) friends although I love Cervantes.
German makes it to the finals I'm convinced!

And Then There Were Four, And Seven Makes One Week!

     I'm sure that those of you following the blog have noticed my absence the last two days. Rest days are not just for the teams! We actually had a nice Sunday at the African Arts markets and I recorded a little bit of two groups that were entertaining the shoppers.
     The fourth of July came and went without much fanfare as a BBQ (braii) that was scheduled got canceled due to lack of interest.
     Yesterday was another short day with a leisurely lunch up the hill from the hotel where I had a ham and cheese sandwich! Yummy!
     I've spent a little portion of the afternoon today watching the Tour de France over the cobblestones and will look forward to keeping track of that during the rest of the month. Old habits are hard to break!

     I thought I'd talk today a little about the less positive things we've seen while in the country. It's been my rule to highlight the positive aspects, but now that my departure is nearing, I don't want to forget some of the things I've seen.

     April Strong had warned me that I'd see barbwire around every house and for the most part, that is the rule. The first couple of days we were here, there was a tent encampment on the way to Soccer City. A few days before the opening match, it seemed to have disappeared. The BBC had reported about similar things happening in Cape Town.                                                               

     On the way to the national park and Sun City, we passed a platinum mine, the new gold for South Africa.
We were told that the miners make about 2500 rand a month which is roughly $380. The photo is of a village very near the mine.This is still a third world country with third world problems.
     On the other hand, the ordinary people - drivers, maids, food service workers - have been genuinely wonderful, cheerful, and a delight to be around.
It is truly a land of contrasts...
     There are four teams left and seven days to go. I am going to cheer for the Netherlands tonight because in Spanish they are known as Hollandia. I still can't figure out why the nation of Holland isn't around and why in this language it's sometimes called Paises Bajo, lower lands. So Go Holland, Netherlands,  or even better yet - The Mechanical Orange!

The Brazillians And April Are Not Happy!

Rather than dwell on the fact the Brazil exited the 2010 World Cup earlier than expected, we will move forward and talk about happier things today. For some reason, I kept thinking of April Strong in her Brazil jacket yesterday. Join me now April and get on the German bandwagon!
Everyday, at least three or four times a day, Frank the camera operator, makes Cuban coffee. There is an old Turkish proverb that states, "Coffee should be dark as night and sweet as love,". This would describe Frank's special mixture to a tee.

It may be the one thing I miss most about being here. Like most of the best things in life, it is prepared with care and a passion and will certainly kick-start your day or make the 11:00 PM show recordings much more civilized.
Tomorrow marks another day of shopping so if you have any requests, get them in soon. There is limited space unfortunately for vuvuzelas!!!
I'm going against reason and picking Spain in support of Alba, and in the other match, due to knowing more Germans than Argentinians, I pick Germany.
The things I do for Ramona and Falk! I do actually believe that Germany may win it all.
One last shot of coffee, it's off to work, and have a great weekend.

Welcome to the Quarters

Hello again, oddly enough I don't have a lot to say today. I had a nice blue cheese steak last night and it came with fries and a kind of sweet potato that looks like an avocado.
I figure that when I don't have any news, I can always talk about food. Today marks the next to last Friday in South Africa. The days are getting shorter!

Here is a shot of the safari buffet. There's some califlower, a creamed spinach serving, some fries, a little cheese and bread, and in the upper left some octopus. Yummy!
So it's time to pick today's winners... getting tougher now that it's down to eight but I'm going with Brazil and my upset Ghana.
You know if they lose, they'll be Gone-A.
As long as I'm using bad puns, do you know which teams' uniforms cost the most in the World Cup?
The answer is Italy... all the players were wearing Italian shoes!
Go Go Ghana!

I Did Play Sun City!

After almost thirty days of 12 plus hours a day, we sort of had a day off. Univision arranged a trip to Pilanesberg National Park (and game reserve), a fantastic lunch, and a few hours at Sun City.
It was a struggle to get up at 7:30 AM to make the bus but all of us on the late shift did and were really treated to an unbelievable experience.
The scenery driving to the park is not unlike a lot of West Texas in the mountainous region.
Once there we board 12 or 20 person vehicles with guides that took us through the park to see the animals.
Fifteen minutes in this is what we saw!

It's incredible to see these animals in their natural habitat. I was also very happy with my Cannon Sure Shoot, although not an expensive camera, it captured the scenes very well.
In all we saw monkeys, giraffes, hippos (though not very well), a herd of elephants from a distance, a pair of lions, and various caribou and wildebeasts.
Afterwards, we drove and had a really nice lunch buffet at the edge of the park in a hotel/resort place.
Another 30 minute drive dropped us off at Sun City and we saw the "palace" an wandered around for an hour or so.
This was a shot of a fountain at Sun City.

After that the Contacto crew headed back to the IBC to record last nights' show and we were back to the hotel by 1:00 AM.
Today is a short day but the games begin tomorrow so it's back into the old routine.
I'm very glad I had this opportunity to get out of the city and see a little more that is the splendor of South Africa.
Now if Capetown were just a little more accessible!