Etosha! 6/29-7/1

We got our first taste of many long, but super fun drives through Namibia on our way to Etosha National Park...

Where we were greeted by animals of all kinds...just to share a sampling...

eagle(?)

lion

springbok=deer

zebra & wildebeest

affectionate zebra

elephants!

more elephants at watering hole at night

beautiful sunsets

Capetown Highlights 6/26-6/29

Arrival of the Little Red Backpack

Brent took the opportunity while in Capetown to gear up, purchasing shoes, warm clothing and, everybody's favorite little red backpack.Miscellaneous Dan Shenanigans
Always a highlight

Sharing our Fun
Only the best taxi drivers were treated to the baboon video...

If you havent seen it on youtube yet, treat yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT99yD836aY

Visa Shoutout
"The preferred card of Table Mountain..."

Table Mountain
I'll admit it, I'm a bit spoiled. When you start your 20s out in a place like San Francisco, its tough to find other places that even come close to tempting me to move. Sydney made the list when I visited in January, and Capetown is now the second addition. In fact, its now at the top of the list...

Beach for Sundowners

Hair
Before... (I've known Dan for 24 hours and Treskow for 15 min at this point)

After! (And now I've known Treskow for an hour)

Sorry Mom

This was our cage...

and this was our shark!

Actually just one of the 6 we saw during our 4 hours on the boat,
all juveniles but up to 12 feet in length!
Even this little guy went in...

Travel Friends

Introducing Dan and Megan...

And Nicole and Brent...
And Mohammed...
with Michael T still on his way!

Joburg Highlights

Nelson Mandela's house in Houghton (super swanky suburb of Joburg)

Signs of apartheid still linger in downtown Joburg...
Soweto - famous township of Johannesburg where much of apartheid's history can be seen...
Hector Pieterson Memorial (first to be killed in Soweto uprisings of 1976 - at 13 years old)
Vilakazi Street - where Mandela, Tutu both lived and Pieterson was shot at Orlando West High School
Bowling Club (that would be British lawn bowling, Cecil Rhodes style...). I've never been more smokey smelling in my life.
Chris! Thanks for being a super fantabulous host!

And save me a bed for 2010 - I'm coming back in 715 days (or less!)

Johannesburg=Joburg=Jozi=Freezing!

Remember when I said I was traveling to super hot countries where i wouldnt need my jeans (or, come to think of it, my favorite black north face fleece thats part of my SF uniform)? Yeah, scratch that. I froze my butt off in Joburg. My friend Chris Maloney from Stanford that I stayed with here even warned me in an email before I left SF:

"Hey KC,
Just FYI...don't forget that you'll be in South Africa in the middle of our winter-time, so do bring some warm clothes. It's a bit colder than Stanford in January...temps at night fall to close to freezing in Johannesburg, but by day rise into the high 50s, and it's typically quite sunny and dry. Cape Town will typically have windy and rainy weather every other day or so this time of year, also with highs in the 50s. So bring a windbreaker/raincoat for sure, and some warm sweaters/sweatshirts--layers is the way to go, though nothing like winter in NYC.

The thing most overseas folks aren't prepared for (at least in Jo'burg) is that being inside in homes in wintertime is oftentimes colder than being outside--as no one has heating (rich or poor), since winter is so short (maybe eight weeks of truly cold nights) and then it's nice the entire rest of the year. I have an electric heater and blankets, like most South Africans, but just FYI.

See you soon.
C. "

What a thoughtful email right? Too bad I didnt listen. Chris was right on about the whole inside is colder than outside thing too. I wore almost every layer i brought with me to sleep on his (very comfortable and cozy) couch. What this means for Kili...well, we'll just figure that one out later...

Freezingly yours,
KC

The "Not So Much" List

Ok, Im starting a "not so much list". As in "KC, how did you like Frankfurt airport?" "Hmmm...not so much..." Both Frankfurt airport and Lufthansa get this award so far. My trip into Frankfurt was great - I just had my little backpack and I walked around the town for about 5 hours, had a glass of appel wine, took some pictures and headed back to the airport. i learned that frankfurters (do they really call themselves that?) like their bicycles and never ever ever cross the street unless the light tells them they can. Oh, and theyve rediscovered german pride after years of WWII shame. the black yellow and red flags are everywhere. while I wouldnt say Frankfurt is the MOST interesting city I've ever wandered around in for 5 hours, it does have its charms.

Now Frankfurt airport, thats another story. Even after killing 7 of my 10 hours in layover purgatory by leaving the airport, I still had another 3 to tour this lame airport. No tempting restaurants, no interesting shopping (at least that i could afford), though they did have a sex shop (right next to the childrens clothing store...). Anyway, my impression was not helped by the fact that despite all the time i had on my hands to guarantee that i was the first person to board the flight, i instead ended up being among the very very last. I actually spent the 20 minutes before my flight running through the airport following the security person that knew where my credit card had run off to (long story, but I basically resigned myself to the embarrassment and inconvenience of having lost my primary - though thankfully not only - credit card in the first 24 hours of my trip...turns out i dropped it on the floor when passing through passport control...story better told in person)

As for Lufthansa's place on my list, well, its for more traditional reasons. Its hard for an airline to be less fun to fly internationally than United, but after this trip, Im rethinking that. Lufthansas lovely feather pillows and free booze (united now charges, even on international) were definitely outweighed by its cramped seating, awful food and lack of individual monitors or good movies. but what really got me were their seat back rules. thats right. rules about when you can put your seat back. Having eaten before i boarded, i had no interest in waiting for the airplane food. so i decided to sleep. so i decided to put my seat back. and was promptly told by the stewardess that it was "not time for sleeping yet" and so i must keep my seat up for the comfort of the person behind me. Do any of you have thoughts on this? Is there seat back etiquette that I should be aware of?

In Germany...

In Germany they are very serious...

and like bicycles...

and straight lines...
and quaint buildings...
and hauptbanhopfs!

So far so good!

Made it halfway! I`m sitting in an internet cafe in downtown Frankfurt next door to the Hauptbanhof and trying to figure out the best way to spend my five hours in Deutschland. Seeing as my $20 only got me 10 euros when i changed it at the airport, I`m feeling pretty good about my decision to stay clear of the eurozone this summer!

Departure from SFO was super smooth...Chien took me to the airport and we shared one last cup of tea before saying goodbye. Despite being pretty emotional people and despite the fact that we don´t really know when we`ll see each other again (she leaves for bschool in London before I get back), we did good on the tears front. I`m proud of us.

So, if saying goodbye to chien was the lowpoint of the trip so far (all 12 hours of it), the high point has to be scoring a bank of seats all to myself and sleeping flat out the entire way from SF to Frankfurt. All the more amazing because when I checked in, I didnt have a seat assignment (uh oh) and when my name was finally called at the gate, I was greeted with a middle seat in a middle section (double uh oh). But, one flash of my United mileage plus card with premier status (thanks Visa!) and I was moved up to Economy Plus (comp`d) with extra leg room in the one row of the super packed flight that wasnt packed at all.

One more overnight flight to go! Next post: Jo´burg.

A Classic Shot

T-36 hours! Thanks Chien for making my last days in SF so special! xoxo, KC

Life Without Jeans Begins

Tonight I'm packing up all my clothes (well, really, Chien is doing that while I tell you about it) and I'm down to just what I'll have with me for the next 2 months. And so begins...dunh dunh dunh...life without jeans. After much debate, it was decided that jeans are just too heavy, too hard to clean, too impractical for the 2 month trip to very hot places that I have planned. Considering that I´ve probably worn jeans most everyday for as long as I can remember, this is not an insignificant sacrifice!

What mysteries does this new life hold? What revelations will come to me while i try to fumble my way through life without my beloved citizens, joes or sevens? Stay tuned...