WOW Word-Of-the-Week #320: Socital Influence
September 21, 2010 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #320: Socital Influence
Societal Influence – things said or stated that affect our behavior.
Do you believe that our society has an influence over behavior? Do you believe that any society has an influence over behavior in the past? Do you believe it is possible that societal influence could be wrong?
Ironically, as I write this I am in South Africa where the influence of the Dutch, English, and Portuguese societies had a major influence in how the South African people have lived. The following story is another excerpt from Chapter One of my book, “Nice Girls Do… Things Like That.”
The Sky Cap of Life
Tahlulla, the owner of a wellness center, was born in 1957. She is the second of five children, three girls and two boys. She was raised in New England. When I asked her if she had any memories on selfishness growing up she said, “Since there were five of us, you never got a whole of anything. We shared everything. Period. Societal influence, on the other hand, is probably where I got the message to ‘not be selfish’ and to give to others.
So what comes to mind for me is what I call the sky cab of life. I feel like I am in the airport at the baggage claim carousel. First comes the large baggage (family, broken relationships, addictions, etc.). Then comes the baggage that contains the missed opportunities, bad choices, and current circumstances. Next the baggage labeled fragile filled with a host of emotions, fears and long term suffering. And then there is always the lost luggage containing the hopes and dreams.”
Now to carry all this baggage (the sky cab of life) is truly a choice; and the choice is this: you can choose to become physically ill by chasing your universe, exhausting and depleting your bodies systems and vital organs (which is more and more prevalent with the unexplained illnesses, autoimmune disorders, cancers, etc.) Or you can choose to become physically well by staying still and allowing your universe to revolve around you.” “Selfish……….I don’t think so.”
This week think about what has influenced you. Do you feel societal influence has played a role in why you might feel that being selfish is a bad thing? Are you carrying a lot of baggage that’s not yours? Here’s a thought, put it back on the carousel and leave it at the airport for good! And now, see yourself on your next trip, where all you bring, is a small carry on.
This week focus on what “baggage” you’re carrying around based on a societal influence. Can you lighten you load and let go of it? Are you aware of how much freedom you have?
Reader Responses
“Can one argue the obverse that “individual(s) can/do influence society? Kind of the “chicken or the egg” conundrum.” – John
“This is one of your best WOWs.” – CW
“Well thought out and well-written. DAMN good read. Thanks for sharing it with me. If this is what you can produce on a trip around the world; may I suggest you go more often.” – PC
FUN-travel: South Africa – Safari
September 18, 2010 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South Africa – Safari
The ABC’s of Africa
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
BB = Big Bummer
RBB = Really Big Bummer
TA = Totally Awesome
VG = Very Good
Day 13 – Wednesday, September 15 – Port Elizabeth to Hoedspruit (Greater Kruger National Park) – sunny, hot, 90’s
Boys Bucking Heads
- B– 8:05 am flight
- BB – have to drive 2 hours to airport (do the math)
- A – plane takes off 15 minutes early
- B – have 3 hour layover in Joburg
- A – catch up on email
- B – takes 45 minutes to figure out how to get WiFi in airport (no one seems to know for sure)
- A – take off on time – arrrive 1:40 pm – baggage delivered in parking lot by tractor
- B – drive one hour to lodge (only 30 miles but 30 mph speed limit)
- A – staying at Simbavati River Lodge on banks of the Nhlaralumi River in Timbavati Private Game Reserve (borders on Greater Kruger National Park) has expansive deck with breathtaking views overlooking the river
- A – lunch being served, afternoon game drive is from 4 to 7:30
- AA – first safari ever! first 5 minutes run into elephant herd of 20 – then 3 giraffes – then 4 zebras – then lots of impalas – then pride of 5 lions lounging & napping after dinner of baby giraffe – more elephants
- AA – OMG – this is major Wild Animal Park on Steroids!
- C – the thrill of seeing all the animals
FF (FUN Facts) – AA = awesome adventure
Levon the Lion
More FF – Impalas are the “McDonald’s” of the bush – their fast food for the lions, quick and easy – lowest on the food chain, they are voracious breeders, all babies born at the same time
Day 14 – Thursday, September 16 – Greater Kruger National Park – 2 game drives – sunny, hot, 90’s
Walter the Water Buffalo
- A – awake to symphony of birds chirping and baboons hooting
- B – knock on door saying it’s 5:30 and morning drive is leaving (we never got our 5:00 wake up knock) jump up throw on yesterdays clothes, attempt to get a least a half cup of coffee and we’re off
- 1st drive – 5:45 to 9: 15 – 5 kudus – then more elephants – then 1 leopard sprawled out on high termite mound – then southern yellow billed hornbill AKA the “flying banana” & Kudzu from Lion King – then springboks – then pack of 6 hyenas laying in road – more impalas
- A – lunch @ 3 with show of young elephants butting heads & playing in river
- 2nd drive – see pair of African hawk eagles perched high on branch stubs of dead tree – then herd of water buffalo 600 strong surrounds our jeep as we sit & stare each other down – then water bucks – then for the Big 5 finale “Rudy the Rhino” at the water hole! (witnessed him fully & properly mark his territory by doing his business “pooping” and then kicking it to fully spread it around & stepping in it to insure he carries it with him in his every step as he ventures on – then 3 more giraffes – more impalas
- A – back to lodge and hippos are on banks of river right in front of deck
- A – after dinner sit around the campfire
- C – have seen the “big 5”
FF– elephant, leopard, lion, rhino & water buffalo make up the “big 5”
Day 15 – Friday, September 17 – Morning Game Drive & Johannesburg – cloudy, overcast, cooler, 70’s
- B – not many animals out
- A – find another pride of lions (3 young males) lounging & napping after big breakfast of water buffalo – poor boy was jumped at the water hole – see 3 more giraffes and a 2 week old baby – more impalas, spring boks & water bucks
- TA – small airport & like flying pre 9-11, no metal detectors or bag check to speak of
Leona the Leopard
FF – elephants trample everything that gets in their way, even huge trees (which is one of the ways their tusks get broken off) – absolutely amazing how the animals just “blend into the landscape” & how the hawks sitting in dead trees appear to be extensions of the stubby branches
Rudy the Rhino
Safari Recap: Kruger is famous for seeing the “big 5” which is why we wanted to come. It was very dry and brown with lots of dead trees. We thought we would see a larger volume of all of the animals. On our last drive we drove and drove with very few animal sightings. The winter is the dry season and the summer is the wet season. The weather this time of year is warm to hot during mid day and cool to cold at night. Trust me, when they say to bring layers of clothes they’re not kidding. So glad I grabbed my coat at the last minute before we left the states. Remember that you are driving in a convertible jeep and the sun hasn’t come up when you start. I highly recommend you bring a hood, vest, jacket and gloves if you want warm hands. They do provide blankets which are great for taking off the morning chill. As it warms up, you start peeling the layers off.
FUN-travel: South Africa – Eastern Cape
September 18, 2010 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South Africa – Eastern Cape
The ABC’s of Africa
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
BB = Big Bummer
RBB = Really Big Bummer
TA = Totally Awesome
VG = Very Good
Day 11 – Monday, September 13 – Cape Town to Port Elizabeth to Alice – Full day tour – sunny, warm, high 70’s
Traditional Dancers
- B – 9:40 am flight (means I have to be up and out by 8:00 am)
- BB – plane delayed, doesn’t depart until 12:30
- A – had Zuks (our guide) phone # so could call – arrive 1:30, drive on the settlers route
- 1st stop Grahamstown, historical city called City of Saints because of its many churches
- 2nd stop Fort Beaufort with Martelo tower, type of fort used by British in the 1800’s
- BB – takes 3 hours and very hot – mid 90’s & windy
- A – arrive Mak & Mak guesthouse (family home) – welcomed by traditional dancers (girls between 12 & 15) have Xhosa traditional food for dinner
FF (FUN Facts) – getting the flavour of the difference between Westerncape & Easterncape – very rural areas with traditional huts
Day 12 – Tuesday, September 14 – Alice to Port Alfred – Full day tour – sunny, hot, high 90’s
- 1st stop Fort Hare University – first black University in SA – educated many African leaders like Nelson Mandela & Desmond Tutu – tour their De Beers Centenary Art Gallery – featuring African art depicting life during Apartheid days in the Townships and rural areas – stop at archive building, 4 stories filled with 4 rotating art collections, audio & video, newspapers and books
- 2nd stop King Williams Town via the Great place where King of Xhosa’s lives, have tour of complex, 40 huts each decorated differently for each of his chiefs and we see the King – go to the locals market in heart of city
- 3rd stop home of Steve Biko, now a national monument
Cemetary of Steve Biko
- 4th stop his grave
- 5th stop (after 2 hour drive part through thick smoke from a wild fire) Barthust, historical little town where 1820 British settlers were distributed from to their different farms, some of them still there generation after generation
- 7th stop Port Alfred – 4:00 arrive, beautiful scenic little town named after Prince Alfred son to Queen Victoria – stay at Link’s House and once again are charmed
Women at Market
Not So FF – Steve Biko, anti apartheid activist died in the hands of the South African Police fighting for the liberation of the oppressed
Eastern Cape Recap: These were two very long and tiring days. If you are interested in the history of SA and want to experience small towns and villages and how the locals live, then you would appreciate it.
FUN-travel: South Africa – Cape Town
September 17, 2010 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South Africa – Cape Town
The ABC’s of Africa
Green Market Square
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
BB = Big Bummer
RBB = Really Big Bummer
TA = Totally Awesome
VG = Very Good
Day 7 – Thursday, September 9 – drive to Cape Town – half day tour – windy, cloudy, 60’s
- B – no hot water in room
- A – offered another room with really hot water
- TA – receive complimentary bottle of wine for inconvenience
- A – 9:30 am pick up and drive to Cape Town – arrive 11 am
- TA – Walden House, lovely old Colonial home with 7 suites – get upgraded to master suite with fireplace & just remodeled with double headed shower – full city, Table Mtn. & Signal Hill views from our wrap around balcony
- A – take drive up to Signal Hill – full views of Cape Town – drive along coastal communities – drop off @ 1 pm for ferry to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 20 years – return to Victoria & Alfred Waterfront – walk around – street musicians & acts abound – back to Walden House by 6:30 – wonderful dinner @ Beleza on corner $30 includes bottle of Pinotage
FF (FUN Facts) – Cape Town is called the Mother City – blending of Eastern, African and Western ways of life constantly evident in architecture, dress and local customs
Robben Island
Day 8 – Friday, September 10 – Cape Town – half day tour – windy, sunny, a bit warmer, high 60’
- A – incredible spread of food, both hot & cold at guest house
Table Mountain Tram
- A – 9:30 depart for walking tour of Cape Town – go to Castle of Good Hope, built by Dutch between 1666 and 1679, houses the Military museum – walk through downtown Company Gardens
- A – shop at Green Market Square – vendors selling African masks, stone & wood carvings, fabrics, drums, jewelry, etc.
- B – lunch, wait too long & just so so
- A – nice walk back to Walden House
- A – dinner at Miller’s Thumb $40 – eat kingklip fish
FF – food & wine is extremely reasonable
Day 9 – Saturday, September 11 – Cape Town – Free day – sunny, windy, warmer, high 70’
- BB – sharks not breaching due to beached whale they ate (tummies are full now)
- A – hop on double decker city sightseeing bus
- A – table mountain aerial tram is open
- B – 35 minute wait to buy tickets
- A – only takes 4 minutes to top (3200 ft) and floor rotates 360 degrees
- B – still have vertigo and a bit afraid of heights (can’t look down)
- A – seat in middle of tram stationary
- TA – perfectly clear day, can see for miles
- A – continue bus tour, get different perspective on top (drove the same route on Thursday in car)
- A – end up back at Victoria & Alfred waterfront shops, have lunch, shop
- A – back on bus with drop off at Green Market Square, more shopping
- B – bus no longer running, must walk back to guest house (1 mile) been walking lots already
- A –Maharajah Indian restaurant on corner, VG lamb curry, vegetables, rice & of course bottle of SA wine
Cape Baboons
FF – why you want a driver/guide here? They drive on the wrong side of the road and you can drink more wine!
Day 10 – Sunday, September 12 – Cape Town – Full day tour to Cape of Good Hope – sunny, warm, high 70’s
Cape of Good Hope
- A – 9:00 am start @ Bo-Kaap neighborhood, lively, bright colored painted houses – drive south on east side to keep sun on our side
- 1st stop Kirstenbosch Botanical gardens – 22,000 southern African flowering plants in a setting of mountain streams, pools and rolling lawns
- 2nd stop Simonstown – Boulders beach has resident colony of jackass penguins
- 3rd stop – Cape Point in Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, said to be the romantic meeting point of two mighty oceans, the Atlantic and the Indian – Sir Francis Drake called it “the fairest Cape that we saw in the whole circumference of the Globe.”
- A – see roaming bontebok, ostrich and baboons
- TA – west side drive to Chapman’s Peak very steep, winding & a lot like Big Sur
- A – back to Beleza for another great dinner & even eat dessert this time, in celebration of my dad’s birthday coming up next week
Westerncape Recap: This is the first time we have ever stayed at guest houses instead of hotels. All of them were rated 4 stars and we were quite impressed with the service, food, and rooms. Our neighbor Jeff is from South Africa and when I complained about how expensive the quotes were for this trip he suggested B&B’s. Hotels are quite expensive here. Now that Chris is retired, we no longer have a need to continue our loyalty to both Marriott and Hilton hotels. We are going to use our points up for free rooms when we are in cities where rooms are expensive (like Paris at the end of the trip.) Jeff also suggested using his brother Stephan who has a travel agency in SA. And we are glad we did! We have felt very safe and comfortable everywhere we went. The cities have ranged from beautiful and quaint to very cosmopolitan. We specifically chose to come at this time because we wanted to see the sharks’ breach. The best time for that is in their winter months of June, July & August. We were at the tail end so didn’t get to see them in Shark Alley. One of the surprises we hadn’t thought of was all the spring flowers that were in bloom. Overall we give the Westerncape 2 thumbs up and highly recommend seeing it.
Jackass Penguins
FUN-travel: South Africa – Franschhoek & Wine Region
September 8, 2010 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: South Africa – Franschhoek & Wine Region
The ABC’s of Africa
Nelson Mandela Statue
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
BB = Big Bummer
RBB = Really Big Bummer
Day 5 – Tuesday, September 7 – Hermanus to Franschhoek – low 50’s – very windy & cold – warmed up to 70 inland
- A – bag finally arrives after midnight
- RBB – cut open, rifled through, items missing (highly suggested you shrink wrap your bag)
- A – pick up 10 am for 90 minute drive to Rusthof Country House in heart of the historic French Huguenot valley of Franschhoek (Napa Valley of SA)
- A – delightful town – take walk, have lunch @ Rueben’s & glass of Chardonnay/Pinot blend (quite good & never heard of before)
- TA & VG – dinner at Le Quartier Francais (like the French Laundry in Napa)
FF (FUN Facts) – TA = Totally Awesome & VG = Very Good
Day 6 – Wednesday, September 8 – Franschhoek – sunny, warm 70’s
- A – wine tasting tour starts 9:45 – landscape of Cape Dutch wine estates sprinkled throughout valleys between massive mountains
- A – 1st stop Lynx – very boutique vineyard – buy VG blend bottle Shiraz/Mourvedre/Viognier
- A – 2nd stop Kanonkop – see biggest bottle of wine ever – 18 liters = 24 bottles
- A – stop at prison where Nelson Mandela was released on 2-11-1990
- A – drive to Stellenbosch – South Africa’s second oldest town – est. 1685
- A – 3rd stop Rust En Vrede – impressive spread of stainless steel vats & cellared bottles
- TA – 4th stop Bilton Winery – pairs custom made Belgium style chocolates w/their wines YUM! – buy Matt Black blend of Cab/Shiraz/Petit Verdot/Merlot/Pinotage/Mourvedre
Rust En Vrede Winery
- A – 5th stop Glenwood – very boutique – only 4 barrels made of their top wine
- A – 6th stop Boekenhoutskloof (longest winery name in the world?) buy 4 bottles of VG wine, 1 of which we had last night
Bilton Wine & Chocolate Pairing
FF – Cape Dutch Style – thick white washed walls, small-paned shuttered windows designed to keep out summer heat – thatched roofs with elegant gables keep houses cool in summer and warm in winters