Cape Town, South Africa and New Jersey “You Can Choose Your Friends, but You Can’t Choose Your Family" -Vacation, Day 4 - 9

August 20, 2012

              I left South Africa the day before my birthday. What an experience to not only have actually visited the “Mother Land” but to also be the first generation in my family to go.  Thank you Florence and Bruce for sharing your experience! I am so happy my friend and family can live this exciting adventure through me on GMarie’s Page.

As my plane ascended in the air, I briefly reminisced about my visit as the skyline of Johannesburg disappear into the clouds. Next stop is New York which is a little over 15 hours by air!  As I became more comfortable in my seat, I thought and anticipated seeing my family at the dinner which is planned for Saturday. A month previous, I asked my cousin Debbie to arrange to get the family together for a dinner.  I told her it would be so nice to have a gathering where everyone one was there but no one was being “laid to rest”.  I asked her to pick a central location that we could all meet up and “break bread”. Some of my relatives, I had not seen in over 20 years!  Before I realized it, I dozed off to sleep.

            I landed at JFK Airport around 6:30 a.m.. The feeling of being back not only in the United States but back home was very emotional. I have been in Saudi since September last year but have not been in the area for a couple of years. So I am daydreaming about all the things I want to do at home while I was making my way to the long line to go through customs. Reality set in when some guy rushed past me, bumped me and kept it moving with no apology. Welcome to New York!

I was scooped from the airport by my long time friend Scott and off we went to eat and get a SIM card for my blackberry so I can have some communications. I have all these ideas in my head on how I want to spend my birthday, but I am so jetlagged and exhausted, all I can do is get a hot shower, socialize a bit and get a good night’s rest. A Happy 50^th Birthday to Me!!!

It was so good to see my cousin Debbie. She was very instrumental in making all of the arrangements for the dinner such as selecting the location, making all of the calls and encouraging the family to attend. The day of the dinner was filled with last minute plans, which added an element of excitement and apprehension. The dinner would be held at the Olive Garden in Woodbridge NJ on route 1 & 9. There were some family members that didn’t attend due to previous engagements, not being able to travel, such as Aunt Clara or have "war wounds" still too sore to heal, but it appeared that a good time was had by those that did attend. Besides my experience in Africa, the dinner and seeing those that I have not seen in years was the highlight of my trip.



There is a proverb, “You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family. Disappointments and disagreements are some of the things that happen in relationships whether it is with family or not. But, seeing some of my family made me recall some of the time that has passed that I didn’t reach out as often as I should. I can’t even begin to imagine how devastated I would be if I reached out to a loved one and they have passed on without me haven’t reached out to them in years. Yes, there are some painful memories and members of my family that if I never saw again, I’m comfortable with that, …..really!  But I decided that there are some that I wanted to forever stay in contact with no matter what and regardless of the distance. I would like to thank everyone one that attended the dinner; Cousin Debbie, Asia, Hamilton, Jordan, Randy Jr., Alicia, Kenneth, Ms. Audrey, Dad, Yevette, Tanasia, Damon, Natasha, Jordan, Charlene and Bria. Four  generations!! If I forgot someone, I apologize.

I must add that we have a new member in our family, Nadir Jeremih, born July 24 at 1:13 p.m. He is the son of my brother Danny who is in Afghanistan and Stacy, both military personnel who secure our freedoms while we work, sleep and play. Always keep the military in your prayers.

Friends are wonderful and sometimes more like family than those that are, but family, although sometimes distant in miles and state of mind, are forever that…….Family.

All the best,

GMarie

Cape Town, South Africa (John & Lynn's Place) - Day 4

August 14, 2012

            Today is Monday, so back to work for Flo and Bruce. I really enjoyed them escorting me around this great place of Cape Town. They both got up early and told me they were leaving me the key just in case I wanted to go for a walk or something. I decided that I would sleep in today, then later, go through and organize some of the photos that Flo and I had taken the last few days. We had been nonstop exploring Cape Town ever since I arrived, so this was a good time to sort things out before leaving South Africa and continuing my journey to New York. They informed me that we would be having dinner with their friends, Lynn and John, this evening. So I had all day to myself. I didn’t do too much sorting but more snoring! But that’s fine, I am on vacation.

            Early evening, we were on our way to dinner, near downtown Cape Town. We arrived to the mesmerizing smell of curry lamb simmering. Mmmmmm, I was ready to eat!  We were greeting by John first, then Lynn. I felt the warmth of the fireplace going which was suitable for the chilly evening we just left outside. Beside the fireplace and company, their home radiated warmth by all of the handmade house good displayed throughout the house. Most of the items were made by Lynn’s very her talented daughter who showed us the most beautiful quilt I have ever laid eyes on!

            From the fun company and amazingly delicious curry dish to the homemade nougat, the evening was great!

       Thank you Lynn and John for welcoming me into your home and extending your friendship to me on my visit to South Africa! I appreciate and will always remember your warm hospitality!

All the best,

GMarie

Cape Town, South Africa (Cape of Good Hope, Boulder Beach & Lucky Fish Restaurant) - Vacation, Day 3

August 12, 2012

      I wanted to sleep in but today we are going to a few more places in Cape Town. Before we went on any outing, Florence suggested that we all work on our “messages” that we would put in a bottle and toss out to sea. The message could be a five or ten year goals, a letter to me or just a note to God. The note would also contain our email addresses so the recipients of our bottle could contact us to let us know the bottle’s destination. We wrapped the notes in saran wrap, insert the note in the bottle and melted candle wax on the lid. Oh,…we also included a dollar bill in the bottle….a stipend for the recipient’s trouble of emailing us!   So after a breakfast consisting of a vegetable omelet and coffee, Bruce, Florence and I were off to our first stop, the Cape of Good Hope.

      The drive to the Cape was scenic at best. The morning started off overcast, but became more beautiful by the hour. Along the route, we came across a cow standing by the side of the road just minding its own business and we also passed multiple ostrich farms.

       After about a 30 minute drive we pulled into the parking lot of The Cape of Good Hope. Often it is misunderstood that the Cape of Good Hope, although at the southern tip of Africa, is believed to be the meeting point of the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans. Actually, the southernmost tip is 150 kilometers away and is called Cape Agulhas and Cape Point. First we climbed the huge boulders where the water rushes and crashed on them. Then we followed the foot path that takes you on a high cape which offered a panoramic view of the ocean, wildlife and plants. The cape was a little too high for my liking, so I went half way and returned to the bottom to wait for Bruce and Flo. After, we took a few photos. Our next stop was Boulder Beach.

      Boulder Beach, not far from Simon’s Town is home to the African Penguins. The penguins can be viewed in their natural environment up front and personal. The penguins allow you to get close to them but don’t try to pet them because they will quickly wobble away! After partaking with nature and engaging with the wildlife, we are hungry so now we are on our way to the Lucky Fish Restaurant.

            The Lucky Fish Restaurant, located on the Kalk Bay, is considered “gourmet fast food”, and has a no frozen fish policy so everything that is order is fresh from the sea! My hunger allowed my eyes to be bigger than my stomach; I ordered the seafood platter which contained hake fish, calamari, shrimps and fries. At the owner’s insistence, I tried the fresh baked ciabatta loaf and was glad I did! The seafood was not only delicious but the portion was very generous and quite a value for the money!

           After dinner we walked along the pier outside of the restaurant. Multiple fishing boats were docked and appeared prepared for the early morning sail to bring in the day’s “catch”. We watched the playfulness of some of the seals as they swam in the bay, while other chose to just lay and catch the rays of the last bit of sun before it set.

            The last stop before heading back to Bruce and Flo’s place was to throw our “Message in a Bottle” out to sea.  We picked a beach area, not far from the house. We each took turns tossing our bottles as far out into the water as we could to avoid hitting the large boulders in the water. When it was my turn, I said a little prayer, took my stance and cast my bottle into the roaring waves.

      We drove back to the house, tired but hopeful that all of our dreams and desires that we wrote about would all come true.

All the best,

GMarie

GMarie’s Page Stats

Aug 3, 2012

            Initially, when I started this blog, it was to keep in touch with family and friends and to minimize sending multiple emails and pictures to everyone especially from a place where I consider the Internet service to be a bit slow. So a month before I arrived in Saudi (August 2011), I got the idea to blog my experiences from subscribing to blog sites such as Susie’s Big Adventure (www.susiesbigadventure.blogspot.com) and American Bedu (www.americanbedu.com). Blogging would be the perfect venue to get my information and pictures out to everyone.

           

I never would imagine that my readership would not only be my family and friends but other readers from all over the world!  My blog has invited inquiries such as folks asking about establishments I have visited in the “Kingdom” or a nurse or prospective Middle East employee asking about hair care products or info on where to get their nails done when they make their transition to work in the “Kingdom”. I was even contacted by Rahel, an Air Force sergeant, through my blog who was on her way to Riyadh to work. Her unit is co-located on the same compound as mine. She made several attempts to touch base with her sponsor but received no response. I made some calls to her military leadership, informed them that she trying to contact them and they took it from there to get their service member to the “”Kingdom” safely.

           

Through my readership, one of the women that live on my compound (thanks Charmie!) connected me with her friend, famous blogger Carol Fleming (aka American Bedu). It was an honor and pleasure to be recognized and interviewed by such a well-known icon. I humbly display my stats (August 2011 to August 2012) for GMarie’s Page: 

Pageviews by Countries

Entry	Pageviews
United States	3180
Saudi Arabia	791
Russia	158
United Kingdom	108
Trinidad and Tobago	50
Germany	43
South Africa	37
United Arab Emirates	29
Philippines	28
Spain	24

Pageviews by Operating Systems

Entry Pageviews Windows 3139 (65%) iPhone 381 (8%) Macintosh 361 (7%) Android 338 (7%) BlackBerry 173 (3%) iPad 165 (3%) iPod 112 (2%) Linux 81 (1%) Windows NT 6.1 5 (<1%) MOT 3 (<1%)

Thanks for reading!

All the best,

GMarie