Mars and the ING Miami Half-Marathon

Another Lekker BBQ at the Volsteedts!

We recently had another superb South African braai (BBQ) in Fort Lauderdale, courtesy of the Volsteedts.

What a potjie!

EishKOM

What can one say about the ESKOM - situation in South Africa?

ESKOM, the country's national electricity provider is stumbling from one regional power failure to the next, costing the nation millions in lost hours. A local newspaper cartoon - Madame & Eve - is getting it spot on with their daily jokes.

Eish!

New Year's with the Ninnemans

Waking up to a glorious sunrise and a year bursting with promise - Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Fort Lauderdale. No new year's resolutions this time around, just a few goals.

Beautiful St. Augustine

Hiking Sugarmill Forest

Just before New Year's we hiked the 200+ year-old Sugarmill Forest and plantation ruins. It is interesting how much the vegetation changes from South-Florida to Flagler, Brevard County area only 100-150 miles North-East. It is beautiful.

Some of the first slaves in the South were brought here to work on what was then the largest Sugar plantation. It was destroyed by the Seminole Indians during the Second Seminole War of the 1830's. All the tribes in Florida united against the US forces and used guerrila tactics, retreating frequently deep into the Everglades, and making it near impossible for the chasing armies to catch them in the swamps and mangroves.

Eventually though, the whole Seminole nation nearly got wiped out in the war, with thousands killed. The few hundred survivors were deported to Oklahoma reservations. It (1835-1842) turned out to be the most expensive Indian war, costing the US $30 million.

Anyway - it was a great hike and if you visit we'll take you there...

New Year's - Back in Florida

This New Year

2 0 0 8 !

Have a Smashing New Year!

May you have a smashing 2008 with many exciting opportunities for growth, may you be able to learn many new things and skills, may you be able to add value in many different ways.

We are experiencing technical difficulties and will resume blogging as soon as we have ironed out some problems. Both Sarah and I have resumed working after 2, 3 weeks out of Miami, with friends, waking up late, and just having a great time in general vacationing in North-Florida.

We will propably change the look of our Blog soon, which we are excited about. Please watch this space -will keep you posted.

All the best
Marco and Sarah Bouwer

Hotel Touring in Orlando!

We were full of energy for the sightseeing expedition ahead of us.




Unfortunately, not everybody shared our enthusiasm.

Playing Tourguides in South Beach

Old man and mannequin - Bayside Area, Downtown, Miami.

Frostie the Snowman

Saturday Night Live

Our homegroup held our Xmas party in a gorgeous hotel room with a magnificent view of Miami and South Beach last night.

This group has been meeting for the last two years and we've grown pretty close. It was pretty special to meet one last time in 2008, with lives getting busy, couple's getting pregnant, and just life in general happening to us all.

'n Taaie Tameletjie

Die einde is in sig. Dit voel soos die laaste 3 km van 'n halfmarathon wanneer elke spier in jou lyf begin saamkreun en kla dat dit tyd is om die skare te systap, erens op 'n gemaklike sofa te gaan neerplof met 'n koue bier, en bewegingloos daar te vertoef wyl jy re-runs van die afgelope S14 beskou.
Ek het 4 maande se intense, kraakvars, maagdelike M.B.A.-materiaal oor om kaf te draf voor ek kan ontspan. Dit raak nou lank.
Sedert die begin van die mnd. is dit Finansiele Bestuur en ai, dis so 'n interessante EN onontbeerlike veld. Ongelukkig het Jaap hier (die uwe) skrapse Finansiele agtergrond, en ek suffer. Klastyd is dit soos om molasses te eet - vir 4 uur lank!

Hou bene hou!

Food for Thought

Franklin Graham het gisteraand 'n skare mense in 'n buitelug-arena toegespreek by die kerk waar ons besoek.

Dit was 'n vlugtig gereelde, maar baie besonderse geleentheid. Duisende mense daag op om hulde te bring aan die Elisa van ons tyd. Ons is nuuskierig. Maar dis sy nederigheid wat my aanvanklike skeptisme teenoor hom laat waan en sy opregtheid wat my oorwen. "I cannot save you, only God can do that for you." 'n Simplistiese boodskap, hard en reguit, sonder fancy tierlantyntjies (so gewild in kerke deesdae om mense te "lok"), en honderde mense kom tot bekering. The real deal.
Hy is hoof uitvoerende beampte van Samaritan's Purse, 'n wêreld-organisasie wat grootskaalse hulpverleningswerk in noodgeteisterde werelddele doen, gemeenskapsontwikkelingsprojekte bestuur, globale mediese dienste verrig en evangelisasiewerk doen.

This is a touching picture (above) from the Samaritan's Purse website, isn't it? No successful proposal, business plan, awarded grant, fundraising event, or any other unimportant work-related accomplishment comes close to stirring the heart like this picture does.
A smile will mean a lot to these kids. Imagine how these kids will treasure a can of coke!? Here in superficial Miami our colleagues bicker because the annual staff Xmas party is too ordinary. They buy cake worth $1000 because it will impress the guests. Only a new X-Box or I-Phone will impress the kids.

This Life

Maybe twice in my life I reached what I wanted to. Once we were playing "These Foolish Things" and at the end the band stops and I play a little cadenza. That cadenza - no one can do it better. Let's say it's five bars. That's a very good thing to have done in a lifetime. An artist should be judged by his best, just as an athlete. Pick out my one or two best things and say, "That's what we did, all the rest was rehearsal."
- Artie Shaw, as told in the book The Call, by Guinness.

Such a fantastic quote, there is so much to it on so many different levels. I can read it over and over again.

Mysterious Bee Disease Threaten US Crops

A mysterious bee disease, called colony collapse disorder (CCD) is causing havoc among the busy little insect colonies in the US, since the first report in 2005. Seemingly healthy honey bees would abruptly disappear from their hives forever.

While visiting N-Carolina, Sarah and I one day happened upon an agricultural presentation being given on this new phenomenon. Not a big deal, I thought. Wrong. Apparently, it is having quite an impact.
Bees play an integral role in the world food supply, and are essential for the pollination of more than 90 million fruit and vegetable crops worldwide. In the US alone these products pollinated by bees are worth more than $14.6 billion per annum. Since 2005 CCD have caused a 50-90% loss of bees in 25% of all commercial colonies in the US.

The first reports of the disease correlates with the first time that the US started to allow the importation of beehives from Australia and China. The popular theory is that these foreign bees have brought the disease, through mites they carry. Beehives were imported because agricultural corporations could not keep up with the demand for commercial beehives for the pollination of crops such as nuts, berries and other fruits and vegetables, especially in the West and Mid-West.

Beekeepers actually rent hundreds of hives during a season. Some of these hives travel thousands of miles/annum accross multiple state lines to do their job.

Our Smokey Mountains-Trip

Sarah and I are back from an unforgettable trip.
We visited North-Carolina's Smokey Mountains, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville, Cherokee, The Smokey Mountains National Park, The Biltmore Estate, climbed Grandfather Mountain, spoke to some real Cherokee Indians, saw snow(!), to name but a few.
Sensory overload, the lavish beauty of Fall in them there mountains is indescribable.

We'll put pics up as soon as possible.

NasCar Comes to South-Florida!

With the building of the racetrack down in Homestead, South Florida now has the opportunity to partake in what before could only be found in Daytona. As soon as tickets went on sale, I knew that this would be something Marco would love, especially since he's all about finding the "real America".

Sadly, tickets sold faster than hotcakes fresh from the griddle and I wasn't able to purchase them. Disappointed, but slightly relieved, I chalked it up to fate. I mean after all, I went to school in the deep south and I've had my fill of NASCAR. Then Robin called to say she had extra tickets and they were free!

When Marco got home from class, I told him I had a surprise. As soon as I mentioned what it was, he went tearing through his closet emerging 20 minutes later proudly displaying his "country" look- a pair of jeans, a striped blue shirt, and a baseball cap. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror he began to practice his southern drawl, "Howdy y'all! Y'all from 'round 'ere?" I could only groan as I walked by- I can assure you, the Afrikaans and southern accents don't mix well.

The amount of fan paraphernalia was astounding, it made Disney look like a small Five and Dime store! The moment we parked I lost Marco who couldn't wait to mix with "the locals" and was later found swappin' stories at the beer tent.

The races were flippin' amazing. We had great seats, right across from the pit which was highly entertaining. A few cars stood out and seemed to be in the pit every other lap- they reminded me of the Little Engine that Could, who's sole goal was to just finish the race.

I had to laugh though, at one point, I turned to get the camera from Marco and he was taking a portfolio of pictures of the sunset, completely oblivious to the "zroooooom-----" of the speeding cars next to him, the crash that had just occured, or the action that was happening in the pit.

Marco enjoyed every moment of it, especially the crowds and the vibe. However, when I asked him what he thought of the sport itself, he put on his "southern" accent and drawled, "W-e--ll, next time I reckon I'll just sit myself down in front of the dryer and watch the clothes tumble. I reckon it's 'bout the same effect."

Click below to experience a part of the race!

The Annual Alumni Awards Evening

The annual Showcasing Our Own-Alumni Awards Evening was held on Thursday, November 15th. A joyous night for me, as this signifies the end of a chaotic time of preparation and late evenings at the office. The evening was a wonderful success according to our measuring tools and I'm a few years older.

Alumni events planning was forced upon me.

I think I'd rather give birth to a porcupine than be responsible for another big event. I enjoy the Public Relations and fundraising elements of the job much more.

Pic: Some of the Alumni Association Board members and me - Dr.'s Ana Chunneyeva, Lawrence Simon and Chris Rossilli.