Thursday, February 15, 2007

Last day of the Summit... and off to Kruger!

I'm sitting in the Summit right now, it's the last day of what seems to be a productive 3 days for the OR Tambo District... And I love this place! One of the speakers just took the podium and started his speech by breaking into song. The whole auditorium got up and started clapping and singing. I don't understand the words as the song is in Xhosa, but I always feel passion, see the smiles, and join in by clapping along. When the song ended, everyone started chanting and praising 'Thandizolo' (sp?) who is the king of the Amapondo tribe that has attended the summit for the last 3 days. Each day when he has walked into the summit, regardless of what is going on or who is speaking, all stops and people greet him until he takes his seat.

Sports Day yesterday was fantastic. It was really great to interact with my coworkers and the people of the municipality outside of the office. It was a beautiful day - sun shining, nice breeze - and everyone just seemed so happy. We braaied, we talked, we sang, we all watched the soccer match of the Officers v. Councilors. All in all, quite enjoyable. It's nice to see everyone on a social level. Everyone was so excited that I had my camera and I got some good photos and video footage everyone singing.

Am signing off for the week tonight as I am traveling this weekend up to Kruger National Park, which is supposed to be one of the best game reserves in the world. Doing safari drives and walks on Saturday and Sunday.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Sounds amazing! Like your new furry friend. You will have a lot of great stories to share with our recruits when you come back to Boston :)