2011

Posted at 10:37 pm local time

I'm sorry to say that my computer problems went from bad to worse, and my laptop now refuses to work for longer than a few seconds after turning on before blacking out and giving up.  I guess I'll just have to deal.  Thankfully I'm now doing a bit of work for my cousin's husband's sister's husband, and he's loaned me a laptop so I can give my iPhone a rest because it's been my sole connection to the internet since before the New Year.  Oh well!

Speaking of the New Year, I certainly hope that my friends and readers brought it in in style.  I had a great time at a house in Morningside, surrounded by friends. South Africa's celebration of the new year is similar to that at home.  There are lots of parties, but they have fireworks.  People asked me if we had fireworks on New Years, and I told them that fieworks were usually reserved for Independence Day.  They looked puzzled.

So back to 2011.  I wasn't sad to see 2010 go.  It was a year filled with pain for me starting with a bang and twinge of epic pain which caused me to lose 15-20 pounds and go through a period of sincere agony.  Those of you familiar with the circumstances, I thank you again and again for helping me make it through them-- your assistance was invaluable to me.  It didn't get much better from there, as life had two more hurdles to throw at me, in the form of losing my dogs Lucy and Matisse.  Such incredible animals I will never know.  Matisse was not very intelligent, but he looked it, and was one of the most unconditionally loving beings I've ever had contact with.  Lucy was equally as loving, but was so smart she could even open doors, even ones opening inward.  If one of us got locked out of the house, she would be able to open the front door, and even had discretion as to who she would open it for.  I took the loss hard; those dogs were the reason I made it through my university career.

In September, we got another lovely little Aussie, named Cody.  I miss him so much and if I ever find myself feeling a little homesick, I scroll through the pictures on my phone and remember what's waiting for me when I get home.  He'll look much different, however.  He already does! Anyway, the year drew to a close with another great loss for my family, which I won't detail.  In short, for me, the only good news 2010 brought was a new puppy, and graduation from UC Davis with a BA in English and Creative Writing.  Good riddance.

2011 has been off to a phenomenal start here in Johannesburg.  I've got plenty of friends, I'm social, busy, always happy and and meeting new people.  Between Christmas and New Years, the entire city packed their bags and left.  Many businesses were closed.  Robots (traffic lights) were all kinds of messed up, but there were few cars on the road to be hampered by this, and the few that were there just ran them anyway.  One can't deny that this city has got character!  I did have some friends in town to keep busy with, and we all got up to some fun times at the places that were still open, which were few.  The criminals were also home for the holidays, so Joburg enjoyed a sort of serene stasis.  I found it very relaxing. 

And now that, too, has come to an end. The people are back, the roads busy and bustling.  The beggars that I'm so used to are back in the middle of the road, constituting living obstacles during active traffic that I have become so adept at avoiding.  All my SA friends have returned from holiday and are still rearing to go out.  Tomorrow night I believe we're all going to Clapham Gold  (a club in Four Ways) again and I'm preparing for a long, fun night!  I've definitely done my fair share here, and am continuing to have an amazing time.

That brings me to a bit of news.  I may be staying for an extra month, as long as I can get my Visa sorted.  I'll update when I learn the outcome of that.  Otherwise, it's home on January 19th.  I was thinking about how long it's been and how much has probably changed since late October.  Then I realized that it's been nearly 3 months since I last saw my dad, sister, Cody, my friends at home, my bed, car, parked without a club, left a window open... There are definitely very many things about home that I love and miss, and when I go back, I know I'll have a different sort of appreciation for everything I have there.  Until I do, I'm loving life, living life, and having a hell of a time with some incredible people in some incredible places. 

Here's to South Africa, and the life I never knew I had.  Cheers!

Adam