DISPENCE » South Africa

Walk there, in Swaziland

Spencer — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:35:26 +0000

After 37 days of work I finally got a day off so I decided to hop a bus to Swaziland. I got myself to a hostel in Joburg to catch a ride on the Baz Bus. It a van bus thing that goes door to door to hostels around South Africa.
I waited early in the morning and saw the Joburg rush hour for the first time. The streets where packed with what we would call vans but they go by mini buses, or mini combis here. But they are really just vans. Locals filled the shoulders walking to work. Everyone was walking. No bikes. It took a conversation a few days later to realize people don’t ride bikes here. After being in China for so long Im surprised I didn’t notice that for myself but the fact is everyone commutes by foot. Driving past villages everyone walks to town over dirt paths from their homes.
Before getting to Swaziland, the bus passed through Nelspruit. There was less residential security here in the form of walls and barbed wire. The barbed wire was less prominent and some homes lacked walls altogether. This was some sight after coming from the fortified northern suburbs of Joburg.
When we finally reached the border to Swaziland the driver told us to get out. Take your passports and walk there in Swaziland, he said. So all us white people in this bus walked across the border and got all the stamps we needed.
Not far into the country I could see orange lines of fire winding up hillsides. A friend of mine in Joburg told me locals are afraid of tall grass because they say evil spirits live there. So the burn the grass down. As the sun set the mountains were spilling smoke as the snake of fire worked its way through dry, tall yellow grass.
I slept on a game reserve at Sondzela backpackers lodge, ate chicken stew out of iron dutch ovens cooked in coals of a campfire outside. Later with a beer I sat by that fire and for the fist time checked out the southern hemisphere sky. I was finally out of the city and could see the milky way clear as… milk. I didn’t look for too long. Maybe it will become really disorienting to constantly see an unfamiliar sky. No matter where Ive traveled before – always in the northern hemisphere – the sky is the same. The area around me might be foreign and different but the sky is the constant. Thats not the case here. Weird.
After a breakfast of Swazi porridge I took a van past some Zebras to catch the bus to Durban.
Cinder block houses with corrugated metal roofs dotted the landscape as the road led to the South African border. Seven hours later I was in Durban.
Durban is a nice, big city with a beach on the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean. I walked to the beach with some people I met at Tekwini Backpackers. For lunch I ate Bunny Chow. Thats a loaf of bread served vertical with the center dug out and filled with curry. Good stuff. Theres a huge Indian population in Durban and it shows.
I took a mini bus for the first time. These are the public transportation for blacks. Whites simply dont take them. This is the easiest situation that people will tell you not to do. It might be dangerous. Well, I rode on three different combis all packed with local blacks with no problem at all.
I kept feeling all weird because I was only on of a small handfull of whites anywhere. But then I realized with that traveling in these vans, packed in with locals is nothing to be afraid of, they are not gonna steal my backpack. Why would they? Why should I feel any more uneasy riding in a confined space with blacks through their downtown neighborhoods than what I did with Chinese people in China? Because there is some stigma attached to black people, especially here. Thats a bummer because I don’t think I have anything to worry about.
Now I’m in Port Elizabeth. That took a 15 hour bus ride yesterday. Peanuts. Now Ill check out he beach here. I can see the Indian and Atlantic oceans mixing already.

Germany Advances!

Spencer — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 21:52:34 +0000

That’s how I watched Germany beat Argentina. Sitting with the engineers we can see the ESPN feed of the games. It’s patched to us from the IBC on our return path. Even though the screen is tiny, the image is great and I like watching and hearing the ESPN broadcast better than the local show here. Even though it’s the same “world feed” video wise, I like to hear two talents calling the game. And for that matter, it’s in English, not Portuguese like the games are often in the office.

In other exciting news, I played paparazzi today with two players on the Ghana team. They were in the mall shopping. I ran for a good 100 meters backwards getting video of them …walking. This was after we interviewed them. The whole thing really got my adrenaline going. That’s got to be a good thing. There’s nothing like seeing real newsmakers and covering it.

There was a Lamborghini outside the Michelangelo Hotel the other day. I thought these only existed in video games and movies!

And I was walking around yesterday and came across a sky bridge between the Sandton City mall and the Intercontinental Hotel. There was a nice view. And there’s my camera in the reflection…. See the sun? This is looking north!

Two Weeks To Go

Spencer — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:45:11 +0000

We’re down to under two weeks to go at the World Cup. Things have been expectantly busy. Even though today was a “rest day” (no games) we still had plenty to do. I spent the day running around Mandela Square getting interviews. At the convention center, the International Sports Press Association held a shoot out between all the Miss World contestants of the remaining eight teams. That was fun to watch, to say the least.

I’ve extended my stay in South Africa. I changed my plane ticket to return to the States in early August. I’ll be traveling along the southern coast from Durban to Cape Town, then head north to Namibia and Zambia before coming back to Johannesburg via Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Of course I’ll be posting stuff here. In the mean time, check out these cool mic flags:

Like a Wavin’ Flag

Spencer — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:12:12 +0000

Ok, the World Cup has two songs. I like this one a little better I think. There’s a live version too.

Game on!

Spencer — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 21:02:28 +0000

In more than one sense, it’s been game on non-stop for the past nine days. Not only have their been three games a day, but work has taken me all over the place. From interviewing players, FIFA officials, major international football figures and Steve Nash and Ian Thorpe, to going on a safari, to attending the US-Slovenia game I’ve been keeping busy.

Through it all so far, one song has been stuck in my head. Much like “Beijing Welcomes You” at the Olympics there, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” by Shakira is omnipresent. The official World Cup song is pretty catchy and it never hurts to go into the big Sony Dome in Mandela Square and watch the music video in 3D. Here’s the 2D version:

But sitting around watching this is boring. Luckily, I’ve been able to leave the compound. Yesterday I went on a safari with Fernando Schwartz, the reporter I’m working with, and some ESPN International VIPs. It was pretty cool. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take a bunch of photos because I was, after all, working, busy shooting the elephants, giraffes, hippos, rhinos and zebras. Not to mention cool birds and a bunch of other African wildlife.

And! I was fortunate enough to go to the US Slovenia game. It was a Ellis Park in Joburg not far from our offices here. We drove through downtown and I saw the MNU headquarters building straight from the movie. This is one of the highlights of my trip so far.

MNU Headquarters

I couldn’t ask for better seats.

Plus! I finally got to lay my eyes on some real 3D cameras. Well, 2D cameras put together to create 3D images. Cool!

Check out more photos here.