Hi all,its me agen ;-)

and you thought that you'd gotten rid of me...

 

Again, i must sincerely apologise for not having sent off more smaller mails, bi\ut this is just how it has worked out. so get that beer/coffee/tea, and relax. hopefully it wont put you to sleep...

 

Ok, so i left you when i was leaving the Harrison's place. Sjo, it seems like ages ago!

So i arrive at the Basel's place again, and we plan to go to Goat Island for a day on tuestay i think it was. it was Sunday when i got there. but for monday we were going to go to "one tree" hill. its this hill which is like a lookout over Auckland, some crazy guy has cut the one tree down, but its still a kiff place. i got a whole panaramic shot of it with my camera. there is also a place at the base of the hill that has masses of rocks, and people make sentances and stuff by arranging these rocks. so i went down the quick way, straight down (nearly saw my bum, cos the ground was soo wet) and made my own message! this was fun, but boy am i glad that Caleb and Nicki were there to help, cos some of those rocks were heavy! ill place the photos on the site when i get that all sorted out. will notify u when that happens. Tuesday was miserable (whats new) due to the fact that it had stormed the night before, and we decided that it wasnt worth going to the island if it wasnt going to be good, so we went rock-climbing. the place was closed, so we went sight seeing again. we came across this beach which was kinda brown from all the river water, but the swell had picked up. there were the odd 4ft waves lazilly rolling in, where there were a bunch of surfers eagerly waiting to have a go at one of them. i got some nice shots. (Well at least i think so) That night we played lazer force, which is like paintball with lazers for bullets. this was great fun, and i even managed to ste up a level! but boy was it tiring, we were running around for like an hour!

 

The next morning its off to the airport, and on the way to Canada.i tried to send my baggage straight there, but apparently i had to collect it in LA, and re-check it there. took a while to get that all sorted out, but I got done with plenty time to spare.

On route I had a stop-over in fiji for like 6 hours i think it was. just sat around the airport, and read my book. I laughed at all the sunburnt americans returning home from holiday. hasnt anyone told them about sunscreen,  and cancer for that mater! i got two postcards just to prove i was there, and boarded the plane for LA.

 

I have one word for LA, EGAD! it was the most disorganised, cant-cut-it airport that i have been to so far. and for a place that is one of the first stops for foreign visitors, that cant be good. i spoke to a few of the locals, and they reckon that it is indeed pretty crapy.

When i got to customs, (yes i had to enter the states in order to exit it half an hour later. no transfer intermediary place or anything) there was an incident. now bear in mind that this was one of the most rushed transfers that i had this whole trip, since i had to check out and in, in like 2 hours. So i get to the kiosk, after standing in line for like 20 min, and the guy looks at my stuff and says. sorry, you need a transfervisa. and im like WTF!?! what is that? no one told me anything about that? he almost turned me away right there. like where am i meant to go then hey? so he checks everything again, and then walks over to another guy, and they reckon that because im arriving within like a 30 day limit, i can use my Student visa to travel. Sjo! so i rush to get my luggage, which was also a bit of a wait, and head for the check-in a little way away. now this is where things start to get really messed up. the americans, in their aim to streamline everything (which i think is really a good concept, and really good on paper, but not always the most convenient.) have these automatic check-in terminals. so i get to this thing and am like "huh? what happens now?" so i ask the attendant standing by to help poor sods like myself, and she says just do this and this and that, and youre sorted. and smiles. so i do that and am making progress (you all know how computers can be sometimes. usually when you really need them to work) when suddenly this thing screams at me and gives me some funky looking message. i turn around to the lady, but she's helping some other people. dont you love technology? so i wait like 5 min. for her to finnish with these other people, and grab her and say, listen, i cant do this on my own. please lend a hand! sho she does, and it screams at her as well. sfter trying the same thing a few times with equally bad results, she calls her collegue (who is busy with someone else, so we wait again.) he says no, just do this and that and youre sorted. so she does, and it screams at her. now time is still ticking hey, it is one thing that waits for no one! so she calls this guy again (and we wait a bit more, again) and together they eventually manage to sort it all out. in the meantime, i was getting stares from everyone else, cos i was holding up the works, and stealing all the helpers. well im just as important as anyone, so i couldnt really care. especially then. so i get that sorted, and head off to the security check, to get checked in. now i must mention, that at customs when i checked in, they took a photograph, and digital fingerprints (its just a mini scanner, not messy like back home). why cant they say, this guy is all good, we checked him just now, and let me thru? no i have to go thru the whole thing again. and guess what? there was anther wait. the line was stretching so far, that they had security ous there to maintain order and stuff in the ranks. but why? there was no need for such a long line. there was only one scanner operating! one! out of a total of about 6 or 8! and the boarding time for the flight has already passed. then i see people cutting the lind, and i tune "hey! what kind?" and the ous reply that their pland is due and so they get preferential treatment. so i scheem nooit hey, and reckon i also deserve this, since my plane is also leaving at the same time. so no problem, i skip to the front (hey hey, something right at last!) now i dont know the full story as to how this came about, but now you have to take your shoes off and send them through the scanner with everything else. i think it was cos some guy smuggled bomb material in the soles of his shoes once. so i get past that ordeal, only to find out that the departure gate is like doeringaan at the end of the terminal! oh my gosh! so i mission, and eventually get there and stand in line. there were still people boarding. Made it! sjo, at least thats over. now for like a 7 or 9 hour flight across america. i cant even remember who sat next to me, i just tried to sleep as much as possible.

 

I arrive in Newark airport, and im thinking: we all know that these americans cant speak properly, but now the are spelling things all wrong as well! only later found out that Newark airport is in Jersey or something and that it is different from the NewYork airport in New York. blind. well anyway, i get there and follow everyone else and pass through security, doh! (like homer in the simpsons) i was meant to stay in the transfer area. no luck now, since between about 1 and 4 am the whole airport is in sleep mode. no one exits. there is only the occasional incoming flight. so now im stuck outside (Still inside the building, but outside the security check) and they wont let me back in until 4 am. not that it would do much since all the shops are closed. i cant even get a pie or something to snack on. luckily i had a packet of chocklate balls with me. a whole packet cant be good for one. oh, and also, since the batteries on that other watch that i bought in brisbane were flat, i was planning on getting an alarm over here. luckily i didnt need it, since i battled to sleep. i wasnt really tired, and just wandered around, and around, and around. slowly people started coming in, and before you know it there is a line by the security check, half an hour before it is scheduled to open. whats really annoying, is that when you can see the officials and all the rest, over there, pretty much waiting for the right time to let us in, and we here waiting. why cant they just let us in? oh well... im not really bothered about much right now, maybe it has to do with the fact that i just lived the same day twice because we crossed the date-line? probably not, but i just thought id mention that.

 

I arrive in Toronto, and what a difference! i dont know why there werent many people there, but i didnt have to stand in line once. there were always more staff at the desks than travellers. the people were so friendly and helpful, and i got through the whole process relatively qickly. so i step outside, and boy is there a chilli breeze. now the last time i spoke to tim, Trevor was going to meet me at the airport. but he was no where to be found. i look/wait around for a while, then go get some change to call tim's cell. i hate payphones.turns out he was there to fetch me after all, but he was a way away from where i was. and on a different level as well. oh well, not to worry...

So he picks me up and we head off for his place in Mississauga (i think thats how you spell it) which is just outside Toronto.

Tim pretty much dropped me off, and had to leave for work. no worries mate, i slept a good sleep for the rest of the day. woke up about hhalf an hour before he got back, and had a shower, change clothes etc. i was feeling dirty, having been in the same clothes for like 3 days! oh, and guess what? turns out that that was the day that the hot water was off for the entire building! it (the water from the shower) hit me cold and hard, like diving into a berg stream in winter time. well thats one way to wake up! Skipping ahead, the next day i also had a cold shower cos i couldnt figure out how the tap worked. i was all befuzzled. found out later that day, and it was plain sailing from there on. Sandy, Tim's girlfriend, arrived soon after he did. She's really cool, and we were always making fun of each others accent, yeah hey... i love it. hehe :-) Chris, another friend of Tims came round and we had a game of squash, which was nice cos i havent played that in a while, and was nice to get back into it.  later, we had a little get together with a few friends, and moved on to a local bar/club which was really cool. they give bouncer's crap over here hey, no respect. probably because they can, due to rights or whatever, i dont know, but they cant just smack ous if they feel like it. which i think is a good thing.

The next morning, we went to see one of Tim's younger sisters at a cheerleading competition, and i met the rest of the family. It was realy cool seeing everyone again. from there it was onto Niagra falls, where we had booked 2 rooms at a hotel, and crammed as many people as possible into them. then we go on a mission for beer! turns out we were a tad late, and all the places had closed, so we managed to organise for a friend who hadnt arrived yet, to grab some on the way. we grab supper at a subway (which is a nice chainstore that does 6" and footlong rolls, with pretty much any topping you can think of: cheese, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, ham, tuna, you name it...) and head for the casino, ater a few beers. up until this time i have been unable to draw any money from an atm (which some are called abm's over here) and only had like 45 dollars that i got at the cash exchange at the airport, for the rest of the week. but im good, and decide that i will spend a maximum of $25 for the rest of the night. heck, i felt bad cos i hadnt even contributed towards paying for the hotel, which was $25 per person in the end. so i go ahead and blow $5 on slots. its a mindless waste of money hey, and i dont even have fun doing it. i could have rather bought a beer! so i spend a bit of time walking around the place, checking it out with everyone that i came with. we met up with Sandy's brother (so sorry, i cant remember his name now. ive met so many new people now that its kinda like "out with the old and in with the new") and we decided to take a split on the roulette. we'd put our cash down on different places, and if one of us one, we'd split it with each other. fair enough, since we were betting on numbers and the odds were like 18:1 or something. I decided then and there to go big or go home, and put the whole $20 down. i put it on 22 black, cos i had a good feeling (i knew it was going to work) and Lucas, this guy from the movie Empire Records dit it and it worked for him, and bryce always says to put in on that also. so the money's down, and the ball starts spinning, and starts slowing down... slowly, slowly, slowly, and... 22 BLACK!!! Oh yeah! Now thats what im talking about!!! Whose your daddy??? i was ecstatic, and had a grin from ear to ear for pretty much the rest of the night and the following day. turns out we'd won $750, which split to give each of us a nice $325. not bad earnings for like 2 min. worth. now im not stupid, and quit while i was ahead. i put the origional $20 aside to spend again, and pocketed the rest. i put those chips into my deep pockets, and didnt let go of them. i mean geeze, i was walking around with about R1500 plus. i blew that little bit on roulette again, we all knew it ouldnt work a second time. then we were walking around and come upon the poker tables, i wasnt interested but (Chris, i think it was) wanted to play, but he had given his wife his chips to look after. turns out he likes to use them. so after much ado, and promising to pay me back, i reluctantly lent him 1 100 dollar chip, and he reckond that wed split the winnings again if we won anything. so im like ok. there was a $25 min, so we decided to have 4 rounds, and then we were both like nah... go big or go home! and let the 100 ride. we got a 19 which beat all the other players, and the dealer had a 2. so the dealer pulls out like 4 more cards to get a 21! No Way! how does he work that? we were that close <> unlucky. so the first thing i did after that was find the wife and get my chips back, i cashed them and didnt take them out again. well, i got a drink and paid for the hotel.

We got home later the next day, and parked off before going to Tim's parents place for dinner. Dinner was awesome, and i had a great time there. They have a really nice place, and a nice neighbourhood.

A nice thing is that it only gets dark here past 6pm (obviously cos it was still summer. that wouldnt be the case in winter)

I had to bring my flights forward by 1 or 2 days because Antonette had booked flights for the 7th and i was scheduled to arrive on the 6th, which left no time for sight seeing. so i did that, but got stuck for a while on a voice activated machine that says "say (whatever) to do (whatever)" and i say it and is says "sorry, cant understand" and then i had to repeat it again. eventually i got to speak to a person and sorted it al out. That day we had lunch with Sandy in Toronto, and went to the CN tower. man is it high! we also saw a documentary about the making of the tower, which was really interesting.

That night we went to play paintball, which is great, except u got to leave the arena once you are hit. then you have to wait like 15 min till the next round and hope you dont get hit straight out. it was kinda funny to see how serious some people take this game, all dressed up in proper cammo, and with their personal guns, etc..

A few things worth mentioning but i had no place to put them: Generally, they reckon its really nice there, cos each season is totally diferent and has its own unique beauty. I like their accent, cos its similar ro the americans but without as much nasal. (in general) and it is a really nice place, but still too cold for me.

I went to a Wal Mart for the first time. man is it nice. its got anything and everything you could think of, from gardening, to DIY, to clothes, to food...   The price of petrol (ok Gas) changes daily over here, sometimes even more than that, so you have to keep your eyes open for a decent price.

I went to Bjorn's place for the next day and a half, where i met his girlfriend Nat. We had supper with his father, Pev (is that right? i apologise if it isnt) and sister, Nina that night, his mother was in Florida. We went to the science centre which was kinda under construction in parts, so not all the displays were up, but it was massive nonetheless, and i had a really great time. there was this imax show, but the screen wasnt flat, it curved all around you so that you had a 180 degree field of view sideways, and probably a 100 degree FOV up and down. we went and had supper with his family that night, and then came home and we pretty much played games and watched anime, which was great because i just needed to relax a bit. plus i was getting a bit of a cold as well. its cool, cos im just getting into anime and Bjorn's already big into it, so he gave me a few suggestions of what to watch, and stuff. Nat gave me some pills for the cold, which ive been taking. thanx a lot for those, im much better now.

 

The next morning we had to get up really early to beat the rush hour traffic, in order to get to the airport on time. The sort of nice thing is that you go through the american border control before you get on the plane so you dont have togo through it when you get to the other side. the kak thing was that i waited in line for about an hour (no jokes!) before i got to actually get looked at, and then i had another little incident when i finally got there. turns out that i had put the wrong poit of reference on my boarding card. id put the Varsity's address, cos that was my final destination, and they reckon that i needed the Thompson's address. this is odd, because when i got to border control at LA previously, they said i should have put the varsity's address and not the Thompson's place, even though i wasnt going to either straight away, they wanted my final destination. go figure...

this wasnt too uch of a problem, and i sorted it out in under 5 min.

 

After a 2hr stopover in NewYork i arrived at Hartford (i think it was) and was met by Antonette, who took me back to their place in Guilford, a short drive away. She showed me the sights in and around the town. some of the houses there are massive, and right on the beach (which has no waves because of some landmass further out). the next day we pretty much sored out my stuff for varsity, and checked that i had all the right forms filled out, before going to fetch Sean at the airport. John arrived later that day as well. Mandy was still at varsity because they were going to be playing a lacrosse tournament. 

I saw an electronic keyboard lying around in their garage, and asked about it, because i was thinking of getting one when i got here (yes im gonna start playing. i want to learn music theory). they said that it hadnt been used in ages and they just gave it to me. score! Thanks a lot guys, its really nice, ill make good use of it :-)

the next day Sean and I were off to NewYork city. we caught the train, which is like a 2hr ride to grand central station. we caught a yellow cab to the emire state building (it was close so we didnt have to pay much). Is was amasing, totally awesome. you can see everything, the state of liberty in the distance, maddison square garden (which is a circular building), chrysler tower, central park, everything! the base takes up about a whole block. on our way to the subway we crossed a protest to legalise weed. was quite funny watching a bunch of stoners actually doing something. causing a ruccus.(LoL i said ruccus :-) ), we caught the subway to ground Zero where the twin towers used to be. that is just really amazing. to think how many people died there, and the enormity of it all...

we went to wall street, central park, which is a really neat pace in the middle of the city. the land is so vauable tho because of its location. saw people being transported in horse-drawn wagon thingies. saw some australian abborigionals performing on the sde f the road. honestly, i travel half-way around the world only to find im back in australia. hehe. seems that everyone is fascinated by everyone else's culture, etc., and they take their own for granted. (If that makes sense? u know what i mean...)

We then went to times square where we walked around for a while, and had supper. when we came out from the reasturant it was dark and all the lights from the billboards and screens were on. its really cool, and still masses of people. there were just always lots of people, no rush-hour, just a permanent mass. i wouldnt like to drive around the place tho, nearly every street is a one-way. immagine trying to navigate that. we went home earlier than planned, just because we were so tired. we'd seen everything anways.

 

The next morning it was up early, and off to the airport again, for the last time in hopefully a while! we (Antonette and I) flew down to Jacksonville, and then rented a car and drove to Gainesville which is about 2hrs away. between jacksonville and gainesville is what is commonly known as hickville, which to those uneducated people like myself, is a general term for any place where rednecks can be found. and apparently they are thick in concentration down this way. not so much in gainesville itself. She'd already booked a hotel room for the night, which was nice cos it was sunday afternoon already. so we just drove around town and got the lay of the land, and went to walmart for some supplies. The place kinda reminds me of Stellenbosch with trees all over, and the campus pretty spread out all over town, but it is really a massive town/city. i say town/city because it feels like a town, but is big enough to be a city, and it has pretty much everything that a city has.

Monday, and its off to meet Greg Kiker, my prof, and Stuart, my house mate, among other people. we tred to get directions to the department, but they were off, so after driving around for a little while we phoned Greg, and he directed us to the building where he works, and where i will spend most of my time. He looks different to his photo on the net, and remindsme a bit of Trevor (my uncle, unca chevs) in looks. met Stuart, who is a really cool guy, and has helped me out so much around varsity, showing me the ropes and all that. He's from Hillcrest area. i then met Wendy, who is like the department Pr lady, and she's very helpful and friendly as well. that day we walked around campus, got my immunization things sorted out. turns out i needed another MMR shot, but they gave it to me then and there, which was nice (it was also a prerequisite for registration). we looked at a bank, and went to apply for my social security number. this was kind of like the home-ffairs equivalent, but my how much better. we only waited in line for about 40min. (it was lunch time and there was only one operator) but it was air conditioned, there were seats for everyone, and generally very well run. and when my turn came, it was all sorted in a few minutes. it is busy being processed and should be here in about 2 weeks. most people reckon it is going to be more like 6 weeks, but hey, at least its not 3 months or something. Stuart took us to the digs, and helped unload my stuff. its a nice big old place with probably only one flaw; its a bit old. there is a lounge, a tv room with a massive TV, a porch, a back room, a kitchen, and 4 bedrooms upstairs. mine is the only one with an on-suite bathroom.

The other two guys are cool as well. Clay is just finnished and working, while Dave is still studying. the thing is its summer now and everyone goes on holiday. thats why im using Dave's PC. hes only gonna be back in a month (yes he said i could before he left). its kinda nice now because everything is really laid back, and i can sort things out in my own time, and get my bearigs withoud masses of people all around.

I just got a bank account with wachovia bank, they seem like a nice friendly bank, there is a branch like 2min. away from my "office" and they have branches all over the USA which will help if i ever travel.

went to a bar with everyone, and met some more people over there. everyone is very friendly, and helpful, and im just meeting tons of new people. plus the chicks dig the accent (i have no idea why), and they more forward over here also. Stu, and Jonno, and everyone reckons you should milk the accent thing for all its worth. i see no reason to argue otherwise, as long as they pretty :-)

 

This will be the last of my travel updates to all of you. from now on hopefully i can write more personalised, individual letters.

 

I would like to take this time to thank every one that helped me, met me, and put up with me in some way or another. You made my trip an unforgettable experience, and I had the time of my life.

 

For now,

Cheers for beers :-)