Failure to Launch!

Last night was an incredible evening as Intelsat employees and customers gathered at a spectacular hotel in Jo'burg to watch and celebrate the launch of New Dawn.  The night went off without a hitch until the actual countdown to the launch itself when the rocket boosters failed to ignite.  No one is sure right now what happened but I am linking a website with an explanation about the aborted launch as best they understand.
http://mybroadband.co.za/news/telecoms/19415-New-Dawn-satellite-launch-delayed.html

To top off Jon's disappointment over the launch failure, we got stopped by Jo'burg police at 2:00 am in a road block. Jon didn't have his international driver's license with him and the cops were ready to take him to jail for the night.  Jon offered to drive home, get the license and return to the officers but they wouldn't go for it.  After much discussion, Jon asked "the question" we have been taught by locals when in this situation: "How can we resolve this situation between us tonight?" 800 Rand later ($110 US) we were on our way home.  Welcome to Africa!

But the party was an event all by itself.  It was held at the Westcliff hotel, an extraordinarily beautiful property.  It is an Orient Express hotel and I hope you will go to the link and explore if you are interested. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves, the hotel service was impeccable and the Intelsat employees responsible for planning the event did an amazing job right down to the last detail.

The Westcliff

The Main Party Room

Another View of the Room





Ferzana and Ange from the Jo'burg office.
They are wearing traditional African costumes that every attendee received as a gift.

Amazing table centerpieces

Jon making his rounds and speaking with everyone he could.

Addressing the room

New Dawn Satellite Launches Wednesday!

I don't even pretend to understand the science and technology behind this but I do know that Jon's "debut" in his new position as Managing Director of Intelsat's Africa office is this week with the launch of their newest satellite, New Dawn.  I am going to post some links below for you to read about the satellite and to even watch the launch live on Wednesday.  I am also posting a link to the local classical radio station here in Jo'burg where Jon did an interview on Friday night about the launch. 

Keep your fingers crossed that all goes off without a hitch!

Read Intelsat's press release about New Dawn
Watch the launch live
Listen to Jon's radio interview

Cultural Horizons Expanded on Friday

Norscot Manor

Friday was a good day for me.  It started Friday morning with an American Society function.  We visited a beautiful place called Norscot Manor, an original 1920s plantation home named Norscot by the owner in honor of his Norwegian heritage and his wife's Scottish heritage.  The manor house has been turned into a community center and one of the many rooms of the mansion is home to the Water Color Society of South Africa.  We heard the curator speak of the history of water color art and how paintings are chosen to be displayed by the WCS of SA.  I don't know if this attitude is typical of most art curators but she turned me off a bit when she said there were only two types of people she was truly interested in-artists and art buyers.  Being neither of those, at least at that moment, I felt a bit unwelcome.  But the morning improved when we had tea and brunch in the gardens and I had the chance to talk to about a dozen women, mostly American expats, and spent the next 2 hours laughing and telling stories about moving, family, life in SA and everything else women talk about when not around men!



Afternoon took me to another part of Jo'burg, called Randburg.  This is the home to the regional headquarters of the church that Clinton, our domestic, attends. He invited me to a special Friday service there.  I was honored he asked me and a bit nervous to go but I thought about it and decided that if I am going to come all the way to SA to live, I need to get out of my comfort zone once in a while to experience new things.  It was quite something!  The bishop and his helpers wore camouflage to illustrate their point of waging war on satan.  I had trouble understanding everything said because of the heavy accents and the loud yelling into the microphone. There was a lot of standing, individual prayers but all out loud, laying on of hands, driving out the devil, letting in the holy spirit... you get the idea.  There were about 500 in attendance and I and another woman were the only whites there.  Regardless of one's personal religious beliefs, it was a powerful experience for me to see the fervor and faith of so many people. They may have very little materially but they were certainly rich in spirit and hope.  I took away that at least.  A typical African evening storm blew in while at church and the service was even more powerful with the thunder punctuating the bishop's cries to drive satan away.  I also had to drive back home in it during Friday night rush hour to make our next event, which was seeing Evita the musical at our local theatre with our neighbors Tony and Tess. The theatre is part of this giant casino/hotel/restaurant/shopping complex built to resemble an Italian village.  It reminds me a little of a Disney World theme park.  



Exterior of Montecasino



I had 5 minutes to change and jump in the car with the neighbors.  We met Jon at the theater as he also had a late evening appointment with the local classic radio station for an interview about the upcoming launch of the newest African satellite, New Dawn.  I will post some links for that. 



Interior of Montecasino.
The "sky" is painted ceiling. The shops, restaurants, casino,
and theaters are all inside.



Love to all-Jody

I Should Have Paid More Attention in Math Class!

Be prepared for the graphic pictorial evidence below. 

This is what happens to apricot thumbprint cookies when you don't correctly convert ingredients to the metric equivalent:

The Wall Walker

In spite of our Herculean and ingenuity-inspired efforts at containing our cat inside our walls, feline curiosity and prowess prevails, thus the opening photo on the blog this week.  So far, it has been little but curiosity and lots of pacing.  He had "gone over" the wall a few times but returns quickly to the front door.  He is entertaining if nothing else, but he is also wonderful company.

Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens



Jon actually relaxing a little. See the ampitheatre in the background. There are concerts on Sundays.



Monday, March 21st, was a national holiday in SA-Human Rights Day.  We spent the day picnicking at the botanical gardens about 30 minutes from home.  The Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens are a very popular place for Jo'burg families to relax and picnic.  The highlight of the park, to me, is the Witpoortjie Waterfall, which Jon took an excellent photo of.  We found a spot under a tree on part of the manicured lawn and spread out our blanket and enjoyed watching the kids run and play, parents chasing after the most errant ones, and fending off baby soccer balls as they rolled onto our blanket.  It made me miss Jonathan and those days of family outings.  We did a bit of walking and eating and reminiscing and people-watching and then packed it in as the clouds began to build in the distance.  Afternoon storms here are dark, loud, windy, drenching and can turn a beautiful day into a mad dash for the car to escape sidewalks turned into rushing rivers and dirt parking lots into rugged terrain best suited to an amphibious vehicle.

Life in Africa

Not too many exciting personal adventures in the past week to talk about.  We are settling in slowly.  Still waiting on internet and phone service for our home.  Appointment times and prompt service aren't necessarily part of SA's customer service policy.  We are learning to be patient and do without.  However, there are and continue to be a lot of stories coming out of all parts of Africa related to politics, economics, human rights and many other topics. There have been a lot of questions from family and friends about North Africa's unrest and the security of South Africa.  If you look at the image at the top of the blog you will see just how large the continent of Africa is.  SA is quite stable and where we live in Jo'berg is very insulated.  Of course there is crime, corruption and safety concerns, but those are common in any big city. 

But when you have time and if you are interested, I have attached several links below to visit to learn more about what is happening across Africa.

I have also attached a link to a story about a coup attempt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Jon flew to Kinshasa, DRC the day the coup happened.  He and his 2 colleagues arrived that evening. If Jon ever gets a few minutes (which he rarely has) I will try to get him to post more info about his trip on the blog. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly a garden spot.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/27/congo-coup-attempt-president-palace

Clinton, our domestic help, and Clopas, our gardener, both come from Zimbabwe. Click on the link below to read a brief history of Zimbabwe's recent (last 10 years) turmoil. Zimbabwe used to be known as Rhodesia for those of us who were in school before the many name changes in Africa took place.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1064589.stm

According to ABC News, the largest number of new refugees in the world are from Zimbabwe, with almost all of them seeking sanctuary in South Africa. Clinton came here 10 years ago when political troubles first began.  It is the more recent immigrants that are facing difficult times.

Click on the link below to read about recent Zimbabwean refugees.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/a-13-2009-02-18-voa32-68672907.html

Click on the link below to see a NY Times slide show of life in a refugee camp.
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/01/24/world/0124-ZIMBABWE_index.html

I have attached a link if you would like to view videos or documentaries regarding Africa in general.
http://www.headlinesafrica.com/

Our best to all,

Jon and Jody