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Reports

During my travels, I received free accommodation for a night in exchange for writing a daily travel diary. This diary documented how I reached my next destination, the hosts who welcomed me, the food I was offered, and other experiences along the way. Below, you will find the archives of these extensive reports. Please note that English is not my native language, and most entries were written quickly, often around midnight. Enjoy!
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Saturday, 6 October 2001
--> Johannesburg (SA) 2nd day

Today I was able to wake up quite early for my strange standard. At 9?o’clock I was present and having breakfast with Lesley-Ann Van Niftrik.

At 9 o’clock I was expected at the radio studio of SAFM, South Africa’s national radio station, where talk show host Tony Lancaster interviewed me.

The other two guests on the radio programme were a cook from a local restaurant (who had prepared Stuffed Beef for us all to taste) and there was a lady that had been living on winning prices (cars, kitchens, holidays) in competitions and even wrote a book about how to do that.

After this chat on air, Lesley and I had croissants and coffee on a sunny terrace of a lunchroom and joined her for some Saturday morning shopping.

I have written earlier that I am unfamiliar with the fact that everybody here gets served by others, as I see that.

Lesley-Ann had been married, but when she got divorced she suddenly lived on her own and realized that she did not need a person serve her and clean up the mess she would make in her own kitchen.

And her house, as most houses, is built with an extra smaller house in the back garden, where the personnel used to live and sleep.

However a lot of people still have servants doing the housecleaning, Lesley-Ann saw that she could also help out, instead of being helped herself.

So when she told her servant that she was not needed anymore after the divorce, Lesley-Ann told her that she would help her son to get through the university. “That is the least I can do,” she said, as her kids are all grown ups and as her servants’ son would otherwise never make it to higher education. Now that son is staying at her place while studying at the Johannesburg University.

I think that is a good example against those people who always say that they can't change the world by themselves...

For dinner Lesley-Ann prepared a good chicken dinner with salad and potatoes as we discussed about the use and misuse of Big Brother – yes, since a few month they South African edition is running 24 hours a day on digital satellite television.

The entire country never watches BB, but they all seem to talk about it…

I spent most of the complete day behind her office computers as I had plenty of photographs to upload of the safari-days and write some reports. It’s called, working on the backlog. I do want to write you interesting reports (tell me if they are of not), but every so often I have to give in a day in return…

Tomorrow I’ll be flying off.
Again? Yep.

Good night Jo’burg!

Ramon.


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