Go The Heats!

The Miami Heat basketbal team won the coveted national title Tuesday night after narrowingly defeating the Maverick's 95-92 in a thriller of a sixth game in Dallas.

Driving home from friends was an experience! Hundreds, no thousands, of screaming, clapping, chanting, singing, flag-waving, celebrating, delirious Heat fans congegrated in the main roads, hugging and waving.
The last 7 miles home took me nearly an hour. Go Heat!

Pic: Two household names in Miami - Dwayne Wade (left) and Shaquile O'Neill.

Leaving On A Jetplane

I dropped Sarah off at the Miami International Airport. She's on her way to the Ukraine to teach there with our church team. The first week she'll be visiting her cousin Tammy and her family outside of Kiev.
She'll fly back towards the end of July, after a probable quick stop in London.
God speed.

NY - Chinatown

Both Sarah and I refused to act like tourists on our last full day in New York and it turned out to be a great decision. Chinatown first and second on our itinerary.

Oh my shattered nerves! There I were, standing in the hub of Chinatown and it actually looked, felt and smelled just like Taichung, Taiwan - which was still home less than a year ago. Complete with the Taiwanese flag. The open fishmarkets, the old lady crouching outside her store, the crammed, jampacked stores, tofu smells, the neon signs hanging from every available nook and cranny on the dirty brick walls. We didn't want to leave.

We sat in a park later, drinking Jin djou nai tsa (pearl milk tea - the real McCoy!), watching teenagers play handball. They all speak American, but even the dress code are the same as my students back in Taichung.
It was like being in the Twilight Zone!

Pic (left): Some nice, fat bullfrogs for the pan. Three for $5.

NY- Empire State

Woe to those who do not heed the past. If we thought the wait for Lady Liberty was long, the torment of the Empire State was like descending into one of Dante's infernos of hell. For days we had been saying we'll to go to the top and it became a ritual - put it on the 'sights to see today' list and each day continously move it to the next. In my mind I could hear the murmur of our friends and collegues, "What?! You were in NYC and didn't go to the Empire State?!? how could you!" So, with a mournful glance around, I nodded my head to the various other less than eager participants- the German family, Lousianna family, and Texan family I recognized from our ferry trip to Ellis Island- and shuffled into line.

Around 10:00pm we finally made it to the elevator and as we stepped in I sighed in relief. As the doors shut, I leaned against Marco wondering exactly how many skyline photos we really needed for this to be such a quest. I mean after all, we had shots from the plane, from the ferry, from the car, from the bridge... As the steel, gray doors siliently slid open, I let out an ominous gasp. There before my eyes was yet another line!

By 10:45pm we had finally made it to the top. Ironically, after 5 skyline pics Marco's camera battery died. Was it worth it? Well, at least I can hold my head high and say yes, I've been to the top of the Empire State Building!

NY- Wall Street

Sunday afternoon found us in a Pentacostal church that my friend Julia and her fiancee Bob attend. It was truly an experience and after 3 hrs with no end in sight, we decided to quietly slip out and head to the city's financial headquarters.

Bob was a great tour guide! Not only had he worked in that area for a number of years, but he knew all kinds of little side streets and small sights that we would have never discovered had we been on our own. On the way we stopped by George Washington's church where I actually saw a priest rap and hip-hop! It was quite a show and the church was packed to say the least.

Marco was thrilled to not only see the NY Stock Exchange, but also to actually see The Bull. Made of brass, what it lacked in luster in the front, shone like a beacon from behind. From watching various other tourists, the back end of him was more picture worthy!

The infamous court house from Law and Order. (Right, bottom)

New York- Lady Liberty and Ellis Island

Monday morning we decided that we should at least check out Lady Liberty, since after all we were in NYC. Not noticing the fine print warning to arrive early in our tour book, we arrived at Battery Park around noon. "Oh look!" I squealed, "there must be something exciting going on," as I montioned to the hundreds of people lined up. It slowly dawned on me, to my utter dismay, that the "excitement" was the line for the ferry and to my horror it sank in that if I was to see her, I too would have to stand among the thousands waiting. 4hrs, 2 hot dogs, 8 rounds of the theme song from Gilligan's Island, and 1EMT call later... we finally were able to board.

As we jetted across the open sea, for the "eternal" 10 minute ride to the Statue, I noticed there was a haze of reds, blues, yellows, and browns at her base. Now although I know NY is a seasonal state, there was no way that there were that many trees with changing leaves. Nope, thousands more were waiting for my much sought after seat... one that I valiantly pressed on for. There was no way that I was about to give that up, so we waved good-bye to her as we continued on to Ellis Island.

By the time we arrived to Ellis Island, Marco was feeling seasick and tired of all the crowds and people. His couraged waned when he the saw the numbers pressing toward us, elbowing and pushing for just one small, hard, blue chair to rest their weary, touristy bottoms on. With much coaxing and the promise of a beer, he agreed to get off the ferry and view yet another museum.

I won't go into detail about the island, you can read about it in Island of Hope by Martin Sandler. However, it was pretty amazing to actually walk the halls and see the remmants of the past left behind.

Side photo: Currencies to be exchanged for US dollars upon arrival.

New York - Art

On Saturday Julia took us to the American Museum Of Natural History.







Across from Central Park, on the East side, we visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Quite special to sit in front of artwork I have only read about.

New York - Midtown

Today - Friday - our first full day in the city. A gazillion things we wanna see and only 5 days left.
It's true that New York was built (and made) by the immigrants that entered this country, but a few individuals provided the $$$. One such fellow was Mr. Rockefeller and we did an interesting tour of the Midtown district, with over 12 of these skyscrapers having been owned and build by this philantropist. Back in 1930 he had a budget of $160 million to build the Rockefeller Centre.
There is a richness in art, symbolism and family history here. When the Stock Market crashed in '33, Rockefeller Jr. bought an oilfield in Texas (tax purposes) and promised his 8000 employees that they'll keep their jobs. They did and he paid them.


We also visited the NBC Studios, where David Letterman, Conan O'Brian and the national news studios are situated. Big letdown - tourist trap and we would have spent our time better sitting in a cwoffee(New Yorkian) shop with a bagel people watching.

The afternoon took us to the East side and the United Nations HQ. Garments and robes and languages from all over the globe was apparent - Sarah was in seventh heaven.
Did a very interesting tour.
Each of the 190-something member countries pay monthly membership fees according to their gross national income. This is bad news for America, the richest country in the world. Basically this means they carry the 150+ poor member countries. Very generally speaking, that is. I thus understand the vibes of irritation and frustration in Washington towards this less then efficient global organisation. As a permanent member, the US's plans and policies are more often than not veto'd by either China or Russia - despite the country's huge fiscal contribution.

New York, New York! (Day 1)

We finally arrived in the Big Apple late Thursday afternoon. Excitement and anticipation gripped both Sarah and I and we decided not to let time slip, but to get our first glimpse of the city before nightfall.

Dropped our luggage off at our good friends Bob and Julia (Pic below) in Long Island and after a 40 minute train ride we emerged from the New York subway into a new world in Times Square. (Pic 1) Total sensory overload after quiet Suburbia!

Fair-weathered, Beautiful Ohio

We're in Cincinnati, Ohio with Sarah's family and it is breathtakingly beautiful here.

Actually we're in the Northern outskirts of the city - among rolling ridiculously green hills, green forests, an abundance of kritters to be seen everywhere and warm, sunny Northern Summer's weather. People here speak English (unlike Miami!), they're friendly, the lifestyle and the driving is not fast-paced and the sun only sets at 9.

Yesterday was Memorial Day and we took to a big forested park, took a hike through woods around a lake, saw families having picnic, guys playing ball - just like I always imagined America to be like (watching too many Hallmark Movies!). I love it!

Cincinnati Airport, where we landed, is actually accross the border in Kentucky. Where we are in Southern Ohio, we're 25 minutes drive from South-Eastern Indiana and also from Northern Kentucky, where Cincinnati is actually situated.
I jogged past a new lake-development this morning. Six-bedroom mansions build in the colonial style with the backdrop of a lake to make them more marketable. Starting in the 900's.
In Miami that's what you'll pay for a small 3-bedroom house in Coral Gables or Coconut Grove!

Off to spend some time with the fam.

Off to New York and Ohio

As I'm typing this, the midnight clock has tolled. In a few hours from now we'll be flying to Ohio for a mini-family reunion.
Then on Tuesday off to New York to play tourists in the city of cities.

We'll only be back on June 7th and BouwerBlog will thus be neglected until that date.

Seaworld, Orlando!

Sunday we spend in Seaworld with our friends, John and Jolanda, visiting from across the pond in the UK.
Certainly a more tranquil outing than yesterday's WetnWild, and I'm bringing my parents here for sure when they visit in December.

The shows we saw were all pretty entertaining and the animals are amazing. Got my biggest thrill feeding and patting a few dolphins. It's certainly something else.


Pictures are worth more than words so I included a few.




The Aquariums were awesome and we saw some weird fish and some spectacular species too.







This spectacular sea dragon wasn't sure if it wanted to be a sea horse or a piece of seaweed.


Sarah talked to just about any stranger she could find!

What!? It's My Birthday!

Today started off pretty eventful and it was mid-day before I realised it was my birthday - 21 May. A year since the previous one! Time is absolutely flying.

Our full, fun schedule in Waterworld kept us occupied. Birthday forgotten, but many totally enjoyable moments with great friends and a loving wife. I felt privileged to have had such a great start to my 32nd year.

Jerry Seinfeld had this humorous take on birthdays:
What's the big deal? How many times do we not celebrate that somebody was born? Every year, over and over again. All you did was not pass away for 12 months. As far as I can tell, that's all you've done!

Jokes aside - THANK YOU very much to those who send their congratulations. It's always a privilege to receive 'em.

Slip'slidin' at WetnWild, Orlando

WetnWild on Saturday was fantastic. Rides galore - all featuring water of course! - and we had a rave.
All four of us got badly burned, Sarah lost lots of skin trying out the art of knee boarding and I lost a leeetle pride and ego failing to go on some monstrous suicide slide.

We left only as the sun was fading in the distance.



Pic. 2 - Sarah and I at the start of Old's Town. It's a small cobble stone-street town with exact replicas of the old shops and pubs, selling old stuff and other tourist bait. It's beautiful and there's a Fair happening on the side.





Jolanda and I admiring a vintage car in Old's Town, Orlando.

Shark Vally in the 'Glades

I took John and Jolanda for a 15 mile bike ride through the Everglades to get the stiffness out of their legs after the long plane trip.

It's the dry season and not swampy as usual. Pretty hot, but the surroundings were beautiful. As was our mosquito bites afterwards!

Pic: Caught myself an aligator! He was too lazy to move under the hot sun and made easy camera fodder.




Pic 3: This dude is a softshell water turtle and he nearly bit me arm off!

Pic 4: Aligators like this big mommy can be seen lying all along our little bike path.

I GOT THE JOB!

Today I was officially informed that my application for the position of Development Officer for Alumni Affairs and Communication has been successful.
I start next week.

The Week Ahead...

Today I'll receive feedback from two PR positions I've interviewed for. Sarah should also hear this week regarding the position she applied for at the school in Pinecrest.

Our friends John and Jolanda arrives from Londen on Thursday and we look forward to playing tourguides in Miami. We're planning on heading to Orlando the weekend with them, and visiting some of the theme parks. Wet'n'Wild and the Kennedy Space Centre is on the agenda.

Sarah finishes her school year on Friday and we both know that it is absolutely Grace alone that sustained her through a very difficult year. After Friday a long, well-deserved Summer break lies in wait, during which time she'll be going to the Ukraine, and propably a quick stop in Londen.

The Road Less Travelled

Two roads converged in a forest and I, I took the road less traveled. And that has made all the difference.
- Robert Frost

Lazy Sunday's

Sarah at our communal pool. Sunday's are fun with all the kids playing in the pool and people havin' their barby's. Familiar family noise.

FUNtastic Busch Gardens!

Sunday, 2 May 2006 - Tampa.
Wildlife, wild rides, wondrous live shows and too much to do and see in the space of the Sunday that we had.
Busch Gardens Africa is a marvelous park - two days is not enough time. Ek het oopbek rondgeloop en staar na die konstante beweging om ons.

The Serengeti Plain's recreated plains, 65 acres large was quite impressive and I thoroughly enjoyed all the animals that was on display. This included a gorilla breeding pair with a week-old baby.

Thousands of birds, reptiles and some funny-looking mammals. Then there was the animals in the cages too!
Then, my personal favorite was the Brewmasters Clubhouse, where you can sample all the best from the Annheuser-Busch portfolio. I did some sampling. James and I even found a tree with beer bottles growing on it (see picture).

The Sheikra is the only dive-coaster in the US, it plummet's 90 degrees straigt down, from 200 feet high - sheer stark raving madness! No, I did NOT ride it. My certifiable friends and wife however, did.

However, I did do the Kumba - a 60-mph, 100-foot plummeting, 360 degree spiralling rollercoaster ride. It is ludicrous.
Ek het dit gedoen om Sarah se gespot te stop, om my manlikheid aan die ander vrinne te bewys, die Republiek se naam hoog te hou tussen die Yanks, my eie duiwels te besweer. En helaas, om weer te gaan brekfis geniet op 'n tweede leë maag...

O moer, dit was verskriklik! Tollend, draaiend, drukkend, vry. Knikkerende, gillende, kwylend, half-bewustelose Afrikaner kotsend hoog tollend in die humiede Florida-lug.
NOOIT weer nie!
En Sarah wat laggend uitklim en skril gil sy wil dit WEER doen!!?!!

The Great White Tampa Dragon Boat Race

Residents of the Tampa Bay area are propably used to seeing motorboats, yachts and yetskies cruise about, but Saturday dragonboats ruled the waters in the Garrison Channel.

The Great White South Dragonboat Race is the largest dragonboat event in South-Eastern USA, besides the nationals, that'll be held in August. 55 Teams participated in this well organized event, held in near-perfect conditions. Some of the teams came from as far as Canada and accross the US, and there was a fantastic buzzing atmosphere throughout.

Our Miami Puff team could only manage a dissapointing 8th spot, after winning the Miami Hong Hong season event. Three teams - one from Canda and two from New York totally outclassed the rest, but there were not much to choose from the next best 7 teams and no more than 2 seconds separated any of us during the heats.

There were even two teams compiled of breast-cancer survivors, which was awesome in itself. They received a standing ovation from the crowd upon finishing the race.

Friday night's drive to Tampa, Tampa itself, the awesome nightlife and the time spend with out teammates were well worth the sore limbs and tired eyes Monday at work.
Sunday we met up with friends and DID Busch Gardens, the famous Busch-Annheuser adventure park.