Alle Jahre wieder kommt nicht nur der Weihnachtsmann, sondern auch mein Geburtstag. Wie in jedem Jahr werde ich auch kommende woche wieder eine kleine feier veranstalten, diesmal am Freitag, 28.12.2007.
Wo: Richtpad 16 in Lilienthal
Wann: so ab acht...
Bitte um kurze Rueckmeldung wer kommt und falls eine uebernachtung organisiert werden muss.
CU next week!
P.S. ab Montag bin ich unter 04298/3394 oder 0175-1195290 zu erreichen. Back to South Africa 09.01.2008.
A happy festive season and all the best for 2008 to everybody!
Friday, 21 December 2007
Thursday, 20 December 2007
A long weekend in Durban…
…or how to eat a lot of spicy food in 3 days.
Vinnys wedding was on the 15th of December, so we made our way to Durban to enjoy a relaxing long weekend (17th December was a public holiday). The wedding was very interesting, my first Indian one. Very colourful and lots of people (around 500 I’d say). The rest of the weekend was very very relaxed, unfortunately the weather was not too nice, so we did some Christmas shopping and met with friends or thelo’s family.
Some pictures can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bschoderer/WeddingOfKarenAndVinny
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| From Wedding of Ka... |
Vinnys wedding was on the 15th of December, so we made our way to Durban to enjoy a relaxing long weekend (17th December was a public holiday). The wedding was very interesting, my first Indian one. Very colourful and lots of people (around 500 I’d say). The rest of the weekend was very very relaxed, unfortunately the weather was not too nice, so we did some Christmas shopping and met with friends or thelo’s family.
Some pictures can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bschoderer/WeddingOfKarenAndVinny
Friday, 14 December 2007
Vinny's Bachelors
Vinasen is getting married this weekend, so of course there had to be a bachelors ("Junggesellenabschied"). For one night we (about 20 people) drove to warmbaths, about 2 hours away from Johannesburg and known for its warm springs and temperatures where Kevin (Vinny's brother) had organised a few chalets for us.
The highlights included some soccer and cricket matches, exquisite cooking skills of kingston (that beans were hot man...) and nigey, some lovely cookies and of course lots of drinking (about 95% of the group was Indian, what else would you expect :o) )
To check out a few pictures (courtesy of Alan) click HERE.
Thelo and I are going to fly down to Durban this weekend for the wedding, I am very much looking forward to it (my first Indian wedding, and they are usually big) as well as a long weekend because Monday is a public holiday.
And less than a week later I will board the plane to good old Germany...
Thursday, 15 November 2007
BCS on Breakaway
In order to give the division the opportunity to get to know each other outside the office, Glen, our executive head, took the whole of BCS (Business Consulting Services) onto a breakway to Sparkling Waters, a resort about 1,5 hours outside of Johannesburg.
Activities included teambuilding exercises, swimming in the pool (it was still quite cold though), a braai, more team games and and and... (drinking of course).
The highlight was a canopy tour sliding from platform to platform to through a gorge.
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| From BCS Breakaway... |
Unfortunately only the early groups could go for it as the weather got worse and too rainy to continue. Everybody enjoyed themselves nevertheless, proof can be found here:
Sparkling Water Pics
Canopy Tour Pics
Thursday, 08 November 2007
After the pool comes into the pool
At one of the recent Poker nights the guys to decided to play a game of pool as the warm-up with the losers having to jump into the pool (at night and it not yet that warm down here). Well, Alan and Paschal lost the bet, the results can be seen HERE.
Tuesday, 30 October 2007
Neulich im Gym...
...lief doch mitten in der V-Box class (thai-bo) die techno version von Bluemchens "Ich hab nur von Dir getraeumt". Und da hoert man ueberall das Land sei im Aufschwung...
Diesen Schwank musste ich einfach mal loswerden ;)
Diesen Schwank musste ich einfach mal loswerden ;)
Tuesday, 23 October 2007
Visitors aus der Heimat
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| From Guys - Cape Town |
My first visitors made their way to South Africa at the end of September, Andreas, Matthias and Philipp (Andreas took a bit longer due to the courtesy of Air France). I put in a few days leave and we travelled the country. Highlights included
- A South African braai
- Mixing German and Indian cuisine
- Safari in Pilanesberg
- Crayfish, (Languste), Wine tasting, Moyo’s, clubbing at the Hemisphere above downtown (ABSA Tower) and stunning landscapes in Cape Town
- Table Tennis tournament and hilarious horse riding in the Drakensberg
- Deep Sea fishing (and baiting) in Umhlanga, Durban
- A farewell evening including Poker and the Lionking at Montecasino
to name a few (feel free to add guys). The weather could have been better sometimes, but I enjoyed having you over!
Due to the huge amount of pictures being taken I had to make a selection which can be accessed in these folders:
Joburg
Safari
Cape Town
Drakensberg & Durban
From Guys-Joburg
Monday, 22 October 2007
Well done bokke!
They did it! After 8 weeks of an exciting tournament in
After the Saturday's victory over a better than expected playing English side in the final, gold and green celebrations lasted the whole night in the streets of Joburg and everywhere else in South Africa.
The players could be sure to have the support of a whole nation (even news presenter's and member's of parliament were wearing green jerseys to work) and being part of it is quite an experience, surely comparable to
Tuesday, 25 September 2007
Gut Holz!
For the second time since in South Africa I played Kegeln at the German country club, this time with my colleagues from the Vodacom Web Team. Although there were some reservations at first to enter the German country club ("We will wait for you outside at the parking"), everybody seemed to have good fun while playing and having German food and drinks (My first Beck's in a while).
No surprise, the youngsters rocked the show after initial hesitations.
On the other hand I was quite surprised of the sophisticated German skills by some of my fellow colleagues, especially when it comes to ordering food and beverages ;)
To have a look at the pictures click HERE.
Cricket Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa
Since being in South Africa I have become a big fan of cricket, watching and playing (Action Cricket indoors). Surely I cannot miss Twenty20 (short version of the game, very entertaining) games of a world cup hosted by South Africa.
Tickets are very reasonable, so we went to see a warm up double header in Pretoria (Pakistan beat Sri Lanka and host South Africa beat arch rival Australia) and a regular world cup game at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg (Sri Lanka beat disappointing New Zealanders).
Quite an event an both times lots of fun. Check our the pictures for the Pretoria and Wanderers games.
The South African squad (Proteas) had to exit the tournament losing to India who eventually won the tournament in an exciting final against Pakistan on Monday.
And for South Africa, well, the Springboks (Rugby squad) will have to bring the Rugby world cup home from France now to make this "mad-about-sports" nation celebrating ;o)
Wednesday, 05 September 2007
You know you are German if...
Taken from Facebook.com (Vorlage fuer den recht billigen Abklatsch STUDIVZ.net):
1. You separate your trash into more than five different bins.
2. Your front door has a sign with your family name made from salt dough.
3. You carry a "4You" backpack.
4. You eat a cold dinner at 6pm.
5. You call your cell phone "handy" and a projector "beamer".
6. You have no problems with nude beaches and saunas.
7. You have asked your Asian-American friend, "No, but where are you *really* from?"
8. You have gotten splinters from environmentally friendly toiled paper.
9. You call an afternoon stroll "Nordic Walking".
10. You are shocked when you have to pay for dental care.
11. You own a pair of jeans in a color other than blue.
12. People start talking about Hitler and Hofbräuhaus when you tell them where you're from.
13. Tenth grade was all about dancing lessons.
14. You work 40 hour weeks and have 6 weeks of vacation a year, but complain about hard times.
15. Your childhood diet consisted of Alete and Zwieback. Your college diet consisted of Miracoli and Döner.
16. You were educated about sex by Dr. Sommer.
17. You yell at people for jaywalking.
18. You grew up watching "Löwenzahn" and "Die Sendung mit der Maus". And Baywatch.
19. You think college tuition is an outrage.
20. You routinely go 100mph on the highway and tailgate heavily.
21. On your last day of high school you made your teachers sing Karaoke and jump through hoops.
22. You wear brown leather shoes.
23. Your first audio tape was Benjamin Blümchen and Bibi Blocksberg.
24. You have ended an English sentence with "..., or?".
25. You can tell at least one Manta joke.
26. You're a college student in your 11th year.
27. Your first sexual experience was on Sat1, Saturday night at 11pm.
28. You spent hours in school learning to pronounce "th".
29. You expect chocolate in your shoes on December 6th.
30. You complain that in other countries everything is dirty
1. You separate your trash into more than five different bins.
2. Your front door has a sign with your family name made from salt dough.
3. You carry a "4You" backpack.
4. You eat a cold dinner at 6pm.
5. You call your cell phone "handy" and a projector "beamer".
6. You have no problems with nude beaches and saunas.
7. You have asked your Asian-American friend, "No, but where are you *really* from?"
8. You have gotten splinters from environmentally friendly toiled paper.
9. You call an afternoon stroll "Nordic Walking".
10. You are shocked when you have to pay for dental care.
11. You own a pair of jeans in a color other than blue.
12. People start talking about Hitler and Hofbräuhaus when you tell them where you're from.
13. Tenth grade was all about dancing lessons.
14. You work 40 hour weeks and have 6 weeks of vacation a year, but complain about hard times.
15. Your childhood diet consisted of Alete and Zwieback. Your college diet consisted of Miracoli and Döner.
16. You were educated about sex by Dr. Sommer.
17. You yell at people for jaywalking.
18. You grew up watching "Löwenzahn" and "Die Sendung mit der Maus". And Baywatch.
19. You think college tuition is an outrage.
20. You routinely go 100mph on the highway and tailgate heavily.
21. On your last day of high school you made your teachers sing Karaoke and jump through hoops.
22. You wear brown leather shoes.
23. Your first audio tape was Benjamin Blümchen and Bibi Blocksberg.
24. You have ended an English sentence with "..., or?".
25. You can tell at least one Manta joke.
26. You're a college student in your 11th year.
27. Your first sexual experience was on Sat1, Saturday night at 11pm.
28. You spent hours in school learning to pronounce "th".
29. You expect chocolate in your shoes on December 6th.
30. You complain that in other countries everything is dirty
You know you're South African if...
Taken from Facebook.com (Vorlage fuer den recht billigen Abklatsch STUDIVZ.net):
1) you can sing your national anthem in four languages, and you have no idea what it means in any of them. Same goes for "Shosholoza".
2) you call a traffic light a "robot", a pickup a "bakkie" and everything remotely fun/enjoyable/tasty as "lekker"
3) your employees dance in front of the building to show how unhappy they are
4) you get cold easily. Anything below 16 degrees Celsius is Arctic weather
5) you know what Rooibos Tea is.
6) you know someone who knows someone who has met Nelson Mandela
7) you go to "braais" not barbeques.
8) you know that there's nothing to do in the Free State
9) you can do your monthly shopping on the pavement
10) you consider hijacking cars as a profession
11) you reckon that the petrol in your tank may be worth more than your car
12) People have the most wonderful names: Christmas, Goodwill, Pretty, Wednesday, Blessing, Brilliant, Gift, Precious, Innocence and Given
13) "Now now" can mean anything from a minute to a month
14) you continue to wait after a traffic light has turned to green to make way for taxis travelling in the opposite direction
15) your travelling at 120 km/h and you're the slowest vehicle on the highway
16) you know that a bullet train is being introduced, yet we can't fix potholes
17) you know that you have to take your own linen with you if you are admitted to a government hospital
18) you have to prove that you don't need a loan to get one
19) you know that prisoners go on strike
20) you consider it a good month if you only get mugged once
21) you take lunch with you when go to the Post Office/Bank/Municipality
22) you love biltong and droëwors.
23) you pay with Bucks, not Rands
24) you don't worry if you don't have a drivers license or registration disc, as long as you have a hundred bucks.
25) you consider a bakkie being a vehicle, not a bowl...
26) you can never find the street your looking for, because the street sign is always missing or unreadable.
27) Cricket and/or Rugby is all the sport you need.
28) you perfectly understand the term "Bring a chop, dop en n pop"
29) the word "Eish" makes you worry horrifically, the word "Sharp" makes you worry somewhat less..
30) the police advise you not to stop if they wave you down in the middle of the night, but rather speed past them and drive to your nearest police station.
31) you continuously vote until the right party wins.
32) your insurance is higher than the repayments on your car.
33) you start joking about the crime rate.
34) Christmas is about watermelon, beach holidays and swimming. Even though we hand out Christmas cards with snowmen on them.
35) Aussies are usually considered nice people until we play them in cricket/rugby, after which they turn into the scum of the earth
36) You know and use the term 'die ref is blind'.
37) You have no idea how to calculate miles, gallons, yards or pints. Or the Farenheit scale.
38) You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from South Africa
1) you can sing your national anthem in four languages, and you have no idea what it means in any of them. Same goes for "Shosholoza".
2) you call a traffic light a "robot", a pickup a "bakkie" and everything remotely fun/enjoyable/tasty as "lekker"
3) your employees dance in front of the building to show how unhappy they are
4) you get cold easily. Anything below 16 degrees Celsius is Arctic weather
5) you know what Rooibos Tea is.
6) you know someone who knows someone who has met Nelson Mandela
7) you go to "braais" not barbeques.
8) you know that there's nothing to do in the Free State
9) you can do your monthly shopping on the pavement
10) you consider hijacking cars as a profession
11) you reckon that the petrol in your tank may be worth more than your car
12) People have the most wonderful names: Christmas, Goodwill, Pretty, Wednesday, Blessing, Brilliant, Gift, Precious, Innocence and Given
13) "Now now" can mean anything from a minute to a month
14) you continue to wait after a traffic light has turned to green to make way for taxis travelling in the opposite direction
15) your travelling at 120 km/h and you're the slowest vehicle on the highway
16) you know that a bullet train is being introduced, yet we can't fix potholes
17) you know that you have to take your own linen with you if you are admitted to a government hospital
18) you have to prove that you don't need a loan to get one
19) you know that prisoners go on strike
20) you consider it a good month if you only get mugged once
21) you take lunch with you when go to the Post Office/Bank/Municipality
22) you love biltong and droëwors.
23) you pay with Bucks, not Rands
24) you don't worry if you don't have a drivers license or registration disc, as long as you have a hundred bucks.
25) you consider a bakkie being a vehicle, not a bowl...
26) you can never find the street your looking for, because the street sign is always missing or unreadable.
27) Cricket and/or Rugby is all the sport you need.
28) you perfectly understand the term "Bring a chop, dop en n pop"
29) the word "Eish" makes you worry horrifically, the word "Sharp" makes you worry somewhat less..
30) the police advise you not to stop if they wave you down in the middle of the night, but rather speed past them and drive to your nearest police station.
31) you continuously vote until the right party wins.
32) your insurance is higher than the repayments on your car.
33) you start joking about the crime rate.
34) Christmas is about watermelon, beach holidays and swimming. Even though we hand out Christmas cards with snowmen on them.
35) Aussies are usually considered nice people until we play them in cricket/rugby, after which they turn into the scum of the earth
36) You know and use the term 'die ref is blind'.
37) You have no idea how to calculate miles, gallons, yards or pints. Or the Farenheit scale.
38) You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from South Africa
Tuesday, 21 August 2007
Vodacom Country Challenge - 10k run
Last Sunday Kevin and I joined quite a few hobby runners (and professional ones) on the Vodacom Country Challenge, a racing event around the Vodacom Campus in Midrand. It consist of a 10k track, 21k track as well as a 5k fun run, we opted for the 10k one. It turned out to be quite tough due to the very hilly profile (and the fact it took place on a sunday morning at 8am! the picture was taken at about 7.45am), not comparable to the flat one I did in London or the good old "norddeutsche flachland", but lots of fun nevertheless.
We are already looking for the next one...
long time no blog...
...but there has not been much happening in July. Except a petrol strike maybe where 10% of all petrol station ran dry (including the one opposite my complex), but that was resolved in about a week.
Otherwise just work work work....
Otherwise just work work work....
Sunday, 01 July 2007
My RunX
It took a while, but here it is, my new car:
It is a silver Toyota RunX 1.6i Sport.
I have been driving it for 2 weeks now and after numerous complaints I finally managed to get the pictures online:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bschoderer/RunX
In the end a practical decision, but I am very happy with it as it has been running smoothly for 1500 km being a very nice drive.
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| From RunX |
It is a silver Toyota RunX 1.6i Sport.
I have been driving it for 2 weeks now and after numerous complaints I finally managed to get the pictures online:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bschoderer/RunX
In the end a practical decision, but I am very happy with it as it has been running smoothly for 1500 km being a very nice drive.
Schnee in Johannesburg...
...und die Welt steht Kopf. Gibts hier ja sonst nicht. Als ich Dienstag auf der Arbeit erscheine, fragt mich jeder Zweite, ob ich mich wie zu Hause fuehle. Thelo klingelt mich um 6.00 Uhr wach, da es bei ihr schneit... Dabei hab ich den Schnee selber gar nicht gesehen. Naja, zum Glueck hab ich das Foto oben von einem Kollegen bekommen.
Der Winter hier insgesamt ist (fuer mich) sehr angenehm. Nicht allzu kalt (bis auf Ausnahmetage) und es scheint so gut wie immer die Sonne, so gut wie kein Regen. Fuer mich persoenlich sehr viel netter als der deutsche Winter.
Sunday, 24 June 2007
Playin' Poker
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| From Poker at Alan... |
With the guys it is the first time I am playing for money, little amounts though and it is always good fun. After having picked up the essential English Poker language vocabulary ("Bitches are wild)" as well as Poker Games Omaha and Five Cards i already look forward to the next session. Due to some luck I even managed to go home with a bit of money (about 150 bucks). However, Big winner was Kevin:
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| From Poker at Alan... |
Lesson of 2 sessions: Having your better half around while playing poker has a negative impact on the amount of money you are taking home ;o)
See you next time guys!
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
Meet my Housemate 2
I mentioned it before, since the End of April I have a new housemate. When Agrineth moved out, Senti moved in:
She is the left one on the picture next to her sister Mamokete, who also works in Vodacom, on our sofa. Her full name is Sentebaleng.
Luckily we are getting along well, chatting about this and that in the evenings. I know now what "America's next Topmodel" (presented by Tyra banks) is and maybe I am able to pick up some Zulu and Xhosa in exchange for some German...
She is the left one on the picture next to her sister Mamokete, who also works in Vodacom, on our sofa. Her full name is Sentebaleng.
Luckily we are getting along well, chatting about this and that in the evenings. I know now what "America's next Topmodel" (presented by Tyra banks) is and maybe I am able to pick up some Zulu and Xhosa in exchange for some German...
Thursday, 31 May 2007
Devesh's 2nd
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| From Devesh's 2nd ... |
On May 19th it was a big day for little Devesh (Thelo's nephew) as he turned 2. The amount of presents will be probably enough for the whole next year and included a stunning bicycle and a go-cart (and a little Werder Bremen soccer ball ;o)).
What was announced as a small party hosted about 65 people in total, but I was told that was just a small part of the family. I tried to memorize as many names as possible, but that is not easy (separate blog entry about South African names will follow). Such a kind family, I really enjoyed afternoon and evening. And collected about fifty invitations to visit their homes ;)
I am sure Devesh (who by the way is the only South African calling me Benny) had a great day as he looked satisfied when falling asleep in his mother's arms in the end...
For all the pics click HERE.
Tuesday, 22 May 2007
Winter is coming...
...und ploetzlich ist es schweinekalt... am Wochenende noch gemuetlich warm, faellt die temperatur gestern nacht mal eben auf -5 grad. Hab mir dann auch heute erstmal einen vernuenftigen Oelheizkoerper gekauft, der von meinem Vermieter bringts nicht so wirklich, ist mehr so ein etwas groesserer Toaster.
Heute war sonniger schoener tag, aber sehr kalter Wind.
Fast wie zu Hause...
Aber selbst fuer mich ist das teilweise nicht wirklich angenehm, da kann man sich ja denken wie das fuer die Einheimischen hier ist. Auf jeden Fall sitzen momentan 75% aller Teilnehmer bei einem Meeting mit Jacke da, lustiger Anblick.
Heute war sonniger schoener tag, aber sehr kalter Wind.
Fast wie zu Hause...
Aber selbst fuer mich ist das teilweise nicht wirklich angenehm, da kann man sich ja denken wie das fuer die Einheimischen hier ist. Auf jeden Fall sitzen momentan 75% aller Teilnehmer bei einem Meeting mit Jacke da, lustiger Anblick.
Sunday, 20 May 2007
Cyril's 30th
A few days before my Germany trip Cyril and Vanessa invited for Cyril's 30th birthday into the Saigon in Rivonia. Celebrations included some delicious Thai food, a thai massage (see pictures), my introduction to the South African "suitcase" (ein leckerer Kurzer) and meeting many nice people.
Thanks guys, it is always a pleasure enjoying your two's company!
The album can be found here:
Thanks guys, it is always a pleasure enjoying your two's company!
The album can be found here:
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| Birthday Cyril |
Tuesday, 15 May 2007
Being home...
...was very nice and included:
Cheers!
- Surprising (almost) everybody
- Watching Werder being kicked out of the UEFA CUP :( at Jule's
- Driving to Airbus to pick up a phone
- A poker night in Bremen Findorf
- A German Braai evening including bike tour in Meinershausen
- A 60th birthday party (what a long day) ;) in Lilienthal
- "Dancing into the May" at Bjoern's and the Bremer Domshof (city centre)
- Trip to Duesseldorf
- Visiting Vodafone Germany
- Enjoying Alt Beer in the Duesseldorf Altstadt with Maggi, Sandro and big Rob
- English breakfast with Big D. Daniel Weber in Dortmund
- Stone Shopping with Vanessa and Moritz in Celle
- Watching DSDS finals (German Idols) at Andi's, Congrats to Mark Mitleid.
- and much more...
Cheers!
Wednesday, 02 May 2007
The German ABC
There are quite a few German influences in South Africa and also Germans (and Austrians) living down here. My colleague Louis, who is eagerly learning German, took me and Thelo the the German country club in Rivonia to play some Kegeln (NOT Bowling) with his German class the other day, unfortunately I do not have any pictures of that event.
Also German can be learned at school with helpful songs as being performed by Anneline and Thea in this award deserving video:
Directed by Bob (behind the camera) next to his and Thea's bar in their very warm and inviting residence in northern Midrand the German ABC is being performed at its best.
Thanks again guys for a lovely evening.
Also German can be learned at school with helpful songs as being performed by Anneline and Thea in this award deserving video:
Directed by Bob (behind the camera) next to his and Thea's bar in their very warm and inviting residence in northern Midrand the German ABC is being performed at its best.
Thanks again guys for a lovely evening.
Sunday, 29 April 2007
Surprise Visit to Germany
Anlaesslich des 60. Geburtstages meines Dads heute (happy birthday!) und eines Besuches bei Vodafone in Duesseldorf naechste Woche bin ich kurzfristig und unangekuendigt fuer ein paar Tage in Deutschland.
Zu erreichen bin ich bei meinen Eltern (04298-3394) oder auf dem Handy (0175-1195290).
Back to South Africa am 06. Mai abends.
Zu erreichen bin ich bei meinen Eltern (04298-3394) oder auf dem Handy (0175-1195290).
Back to South Africa am 06. Mai abends.
Friday, 27 April 2007
Meet my housemate
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| From Townhouse Mid... |
After several enquiries from home I finally managed to catch a picture of my housemate Agrineth together with her boyfriend Thulani. We have been sharing lounge and kitchen for almost 3 months now. Unfortunately she is moving out by the end of this month, I hope my new housemate will be as nice!
When her family is over the house gets lively and the kids love the pool ;o)
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| From Townhouse Mid... |
Saturday, 24 March 2007
Johannesburg Zoo
From Johannesburg Zoo
South Africa has quite a few more public holidays than (northern) Germany which is a very nice thing being able to have a relaxing day in the week or a three day weekend. Last Wednesday the South Africans celebrated the Human Rights Day. Enjoying the wonderful and sunny weather Thelo and I decided to visit the Johannesburg Zoo. Not as exciting as a Game Drive, however, being close to the elephants and lions is impressive. Many families used the spare day for a picnic at the zoo.
Have a look at the animals HERE.
Cricket Part Two: The live Game
Not as exciting as a Werder Bremen Game in the Weserstadion, yet a very amusing experience watching 3 hours of live cricket, Highveld Lions vs. Nashua Titans. In a quite close and interesting game the Joburg based Lions beat the Titans by taking all their wickets.
All in all a very nice afternoon in the Wanderer’s stadium in Melrose.
For the pictures click HERE.
Saturday, 17 March 2007
Cricket
Zugegebenermassen hatte ich so gut wie keine Ahnung von diesem Sport und hatte mich bisher auch nicht sonderlich dafuer interessiert. (wenn man mal von einem Englangurlaub vor ca. 12 Jahren absieht, bei einmal auf einem Campingplatz mit einem komisch geformten Baseballschlaeger wild auf einen Ball eingedroschen wurde).
Nun hat vergangenen Sonntag, ich vermute mal vollkommen unbemerkt der deutschen Oeffentlichkeit, die Cricket Weltmeisterschaft in den West Indies begonnen, eines der groessten Sportereignisse, zumindest fuer die Briten und den ehemaligen Commenwealth. Hier in Suedafrika ist das Ganze ein ziemliches Event, schliesslich hofft man als momentan Weltranglistenerster, endlich den Seriensieger Australien vom WM Thron schubsten zu koennen. Wenn man sich einmal die Regel erklaeren laesst und weiss was ein Over, ein Run, ein Wicket oder das Batting bzw. Fielding team ist, ist das Spiel gar nicht so kompliziert und eigentlich sogar ganz interessant.
Hab mir gleich mal Australia vs. Scotland (keine Chance fuer die Highlaender) und parallel Kenya vs. Canada („fine cricket from the Kenyans against disappointing Canadians) angeschaut und gestern die suedafrikanischen Proteas, welche Holland doch sehr imposant ("New record of 17 Sixes") platt gemacht haben. Weitere Teilnehmer sind z.B. Indien, Pakistan, England, Irland, Neuseeland, insgesamt machen 16 Teams mit und das Turnier laueft ueber etwa 7 Wochen.
Achja, dann hat Werder diese Woche auch noch im UEFA CUP gewonnen, also sportlich gesehen eine schoene Woche ;)
Thelo hat die neue Begeisterung fuer den Cricketsport zum Anlass genommen und Tickets fuer ein Spiel morgen in Joburg besorgt, naechste Woche dann mehr dazu.
(Ich sehe schon die eingefleischten Fussballfans kopfschuettelnd vorm PC sitzen ;o))
1. Fazit: 1 Monat Suedafrika
Tja, die Zeit rennt wieder einmal und jetzt ist es schon ueber fuenf Wochen her, dass ich ins Flugzeug gen Sueden gestiegen bin.
Und ich muss wirklich sagen, dass ich die Entscheidung, das Ganze hier durchzuziehen, nicht bereue. Sicher fehlt mir so einiges, aber es gibt so viele neue Eindruecke, die einen jeden Tag aufs neue erfreuen. Durch meine diversen Auslandsaufenthalte kenne ich das zwar durchaus, allerdings ist Suedafrika doch noch mal ein anderes Kaliber.
Insgesamt bin ich froh, dass alles einigermassen reibungslos geklappt hat, beispielsweise die Arbeitserlaubnis am Flughafen, die Wohnung, der Job etc. Inzwischen kann ich wirklich sagen, dass ich mich ganz gut eingelebt habe. Einige Baustellen gibt es noch (neue Vertrag und neue Arbeitserlaubnis, Auto etc.), aber auch da bin ich zuversichtlich bis Ende des Monats mehr zu wissen.
Ein paar Worte moechte ich noch zu einem der haeufigsten Kommentare, die ich vor meiner Reise erhalten habe, verlieren. „Oh, Johannesburg, das ist doch ein heisses Pflaster, oder? Zumindest habe ich das das von XXX gehoert.“ Ich glaube, Johannesburg hat einfach ein Imageproblem. Ist halt nicht die schoenste Stadt und sicherlich gibt es eine hohe Kriminaltaetsrate, aber es gibt auch nette Ecken und man ist halt wachsamer und haelt sich an einige NO-Gos. Auch das gehoert ja irgendwie zur kulturellen Erfahrung dazu. Ausserdem kenne ich inzwischen genug Leute, die hier schon sehr lange LEBEN.
Uebrigens ist die Kritik angekommen, ich werde mich bemuehen, mehr Fotos online zu stellen, auch von mir, denn „Ja, ich bin wirklich hier“. Hab in Nachverhandlungen auch endlich meine Allowance fuer Laptop und 3G Card durchgekriegt, so dass ich bald auch zu Hause Internet haben werde, was das Ganze etwas einfacher machen sollte.
Alle Bilder finden sich immer in meinem Online Album (http://picasaweb.google.com/bschoderer)
Cradle of Humankind
Vergangenes Wochenende haben wir uns kulturell betaetigt und das Cradle of Humankind besichtigt, ein world heritage site.
Im Prinzip ist es eine recht grosser Bereich nordwestlich von Johannesburg, in welchem viele Fossilien und Uebereste aus sehr vergangenen Zeiten gefunden wurden. Heute gibt es an verschiedenen Standorten Museen ueber die Geschichte der Menschheit, Hoehlen oder einfach nur eine schoene Landschaft zu besichtigen.
Ein paar Eindruecke gibts HIER.
Nachts durch Johannesburg
Kuerzlich fahre ich eines abends so gegen 22h von Thelo zu mir nach Hause (ist eine Strecke von ca. 45 Minuten, Johannesburg ist unglaublich weitlaeufig) da merke ich auf etwa halber Strecke, dass meine Rueck- und Bremslichter es nicht mehr tun (durch das hilfreiche Aufblenden der anderen Verkehrsteilnehmer). Was tun?
Ich hab mich dann entschieden die restliche Strecke, haupsaechlich Autobahn, mit meinen Warnblinkern zurueckzulegen (treffenderweise heissen die hier „Hazards“).
Ich muss schon sagen, dass ich erleichtert war, zu Hause angekommen zu sein ;o)
Wie sich spaeter herausstellte, waren die Sicherungen fuer die Ruecklichter an Thelos Auto durchgebrannt was dann schnell behoben war. Trotzdem freue ich mich darauf, mir demnaechst endlich mein eigenes Auto zuzulegen.
Ich hab mich dann entschieden die restliche Strecke, haupsaechlich Autobahn, mit meinen Warnblinkern zurueckzulegen (treffenderweise heissen die hier „Hazards“).
Ich muss schon sagen, dass ich erleichtert war, zu Hause angekommen zu sein ;o)
Wie sich spaeter herausstellte, waren die Sicherungen fuer die Ruecklichter an Thelos Auto durchgebrannt was dann schnell behoben war. Trotzdem freue ich mich darauf, mir demnaechst endlich mein eigenes Auto zuzulegen.
Friday, 16 March 2007
New Years Eve 2006/2007 in Berlin
Pics are online:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bschoderer/SilvesterBerlin20062007
A little South African flavour in Berlin... Thanks Miss T.!
http://picasaweb.google.com/bschoderer/SilvesterBerlin20062007
A little South African flavour in Berlin... Thanks Miss T.!
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| Von Silvester Ber... |
Saturday, 03 March 2007
4 Way Stops
Auffaellig sind fuer mich als Europaer natuerlich immer die Unterschiede zu Deutschland. Ein sehr grosser Unterschied besteht wie man schnell fest stellt im Strassenverkehr. An das Fahren auf der linken Seite, dem Einsteigen auf der richtigen Seite und an das anders Parken gewoehnt man sich recht schnell, hab ich in Kapstadt ja auch schon oefter geuebt.
Schwieriger wirds (zumindest anfaenglich) bei anderen Regelungen, z.B. den hier ueblichen 4 Way Stops. Heisst im Klartext eine Kreuzung, innerhalb welcher in alle vier Richtungen ein STOP Schild zeigt. Es muessen also immer alle anhalten. Dann die Frage, wer hat Vorfahrt (rechts vor links oder wie oft vermutet links vor rechts gibt es nicht). Es faehrt immer der zuerst, der als erster gestoppt hat, Verstaendigung oft ueber Blickkontakt. Schwer zu glauben, aber es scheint zu funktionieren. Undenkbar in Deutschland, ich vermute mal, das wuerde zahlreiche juristische Prozesse nach sich ziehen....
Gleiches gilt auch beim Abbiegen bzw. Kreuzen des Gegenverkehrs. Stoppe ich zuerst, darf ich fahren.
Man gewoehnt sich an alles :o)
Friday, 23 February 2007
Vodacom South Africa
From Vodaworld
Seit knapp einer Woche arbeite ich jetzt bei Vodacom (www.vodacom.co.za), im Prinzip der suedafrikanischen Vodafone (50% gehoeren Vodafone, die anderen 50% der suedafrikanischen Telkom). Vodacom ist der groesste der drei Netzbetreiber (neben MTN und Cell C) mit knapp ueber 20 Millionen Kunden. Genauer gesagt bin ich eigentlich bei Simeka Consulting (www.simeka.co.za) als Contractor angestellt, welche mich bei Vodacom einsetzen. Nach ein paar Tagen Kennenlernen und IT-Setup befasst sich mein erstes Projekt mit der Online- bzw. Portal Strategie von Vodacom. Ein durchaus spannendes Thema, auf welches ich mich sehr freue. Endlich was zu tun ;o)
Ausserdem kann ich Kontakte knuepfen und mich um einen neuen Vertrag bemuehen, der erste gilt schliesslich nur fuer drei Monate. Positiv gestimmt bin ich allemal, Vodacom ist sehr dynamisch und es gibt viele Projekte, da sollte was zu machen sein. In Midrand (zwischen Johannesburg und Pretoria) haben sie Ihren Hauptsitz, einen Komplex mit mehreren Gebaeuden und natuerlich einer kleinen Shopping Mall.
Wie in London bei T-Mobile sitze ich hier in einem „open plan office“, also Grossraumbuero, gewoehnungsbeduerftig da etwas laut aber durchaus positiv, da man auch viel mitbekommt. Mein Boss ist Ami und sehr nett, die Kollegen, die ich bisher kennengelernt habe ebenfalls sehr freundlich und hilfsbereit.
Eine paar Bilder gibt es hier:
http://picasaweb.google.com/bschoderer/Vodaworld
Zum Abschied ein Buch
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Immer dran denken, ich bin ja nicht aus der Welt, nur auf der anderen Seite ;o)
Tuesday, 20 February 2007
Wohnung gefunden!
From Townhouse Mid...
Dank der tatkraeftigen Unterstuetzung von Thelo habe ich auch recht zeitnah eine schoene Behausung unweit meines kuenftigen Arbeitgebers gefunden.
Ein paar Bilder dazu gibt es hier:
Viel Spass beim Schauen.
Kontaktdaten
Hier meine neue Adresse:
Midrand 1686
Howzit?
Hallo liebe Besucher!
Willkommen auf meiner kleinen Seite, auf welcher ich versuchen werde, einige Eindruecke meines Lebens im suedlichen Afrika wiederzugeben. Wenn moeglich mit Bildern, damit ihr auch alle schoen neidsch werdet ;o)
Am Anfang wird das Layout noch basic sein, ich arbeite dran...
Ben(ni)
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