Day 8-11 "Party Time"

The rest of the trip was filled with adventure, laughs and fun. Thank goodness. I think pictures are better than words, so I will just give the highlights with their respective images.

Swimming with penguins
Shark Diving
Table Mountain hike
Sunset from Table Mountain
Winery tours
Beach time

Overall, the trip was a huge success and I feel lucky to have had the opportunity. It was a time of fellowship and learning...I am going to dearly miss my time at McCombs after May. Cheers.

Day 7 Cape Town “The Brit’s b-day”

No offense, but this day was ridiculous. We had already had so many company visits that I had a hard time keeping track of them. It was like a tease to look out at Table Mountain as we were waiting on Chevron to get their act together. I think I almost had a mini break down, since we had no free time the entire trip…but here is what I remember:

Mothers to Mothers, Global Carbon Exchange and Ethical Co-Op visits. Don’t have much to say about any of them, since this morning was painful.

HOWEVER...Investec was very interesting. Joel Stern, the inventor of the finance term EVA was present in a major way. The presenter was also hysterical because he looked extremely sloppy/nerdy/british with stains on his shirt and pants that were falling off…yet he was obviously intelligent and had a lot of interesting things to say about South Africa’s economy. Joel kept interrupting everyone with his loud opinions and interesting banter. I actually agreed with most of what he was proposing…but his delivery was interesting and fun to watch. Basically, Joel was a huge proponent of having investors choose between cash dividends (taxed) and stock dividends (to reinvest and create value). Joel also had some interesting views on the sub prime crisis. All in all, it was an enlightening visit with some good stories to share afterward. On with the party.

Later, we had a group dinner in honor of David Rudick’s birthday at a great little Italian restaurant. The dinner was so much fun since we had been working so hard all week. Everyone was in great spirits, drinking wine and throwing up the horns whenever we sang to David. After dinner, we headed out for a dance party. Most of us didn’t get in until 4 am and my feet were sore from dancing. Go figure.

Day 6 Botswana  Cape town “Let’s go tour a random country club…Really??”

So, today we met with reps from University of Botswana and the Botswana Congress party. I was more intrigued by the Botswana Congress party and their socialist beliefs. It was interesting to hear how government controls basically everything and that the people are totally supportive. It was really difficult to hear, but from what I got they are in full support of the socialist concepts.
After we left the meeting, it was an extremely long day of travel to Cape Town. One thing that I found entertaining was on the plane, after they closed the doors, the stewardesses came through and sprayed some spray ALL over the place. It was so disgusting to breathe in the spray, but hilarious to watch all of my friends in disgust.
Once we got to Cape Town, we checked into our hotel. Tania and I literally jumped up and down in joy at how nice the hotel was compared to the Botswana hotel. It was like night and day…we were so happy.

Day 5 Botswana-“Africa Light”

So, our first visit was to the Baylor Children’s Clinical Center of Excellence. This was definitely the best visit thus far. Upon arrival, I was struck at how nice the facility looked—it could have easily been an upscale hospital in Austin or Orlando. Once we got into the hospital, I was pained to see the waiting room filled with little children and their mothers. It was packed and made me nervous that they resented us rich white kids for coming in and touring the facility. Once we were in, we were greeted by American pediatricians who were working in Botswana to help the HIV epidemic.
“57% of all deaths for kids less than 5 years old is caused by HIV/Aids. This is the highest of any country.”
“In 2003, there were only 5 pediatricians for 2 Million people”
It was clear that Botswana had the highest rate of HIV than any other country in the world. In addition, there were not many doctors who were willing to treat children, because historically the thought was that children will not be working or add anything to the community. There is also a stigma surrounding the disease, and people who are infected are less likely to get help or get medication because they are too embarrassed or ashamed. This mindset causes the disease to spread because people are not appropriately using the drugs. It was such a sad, but educational experience and I was pleased to see non-profits and doctors taking an interest in this epidemic.
Our next visit was to the U.S. Embassy where 2 representatives discussed the economic policies of Botswana and the role that the U.S. government has played in the development and financial help with the growing HIV/Aids infected population. These women were extremely well versed in the foreign policies and had much to say about the upcoming election and government run industries. It was interesting to me that Botswana has a somewhat socialist society, but the natural resources have sustained the economy and helped it thrive. I was shocked to hear that the government has historically run a surplus, with too much funds from foreign demand for natural resources. They actually call it “Africa Light” because it’s not like other countries in Africa with respect to For example have decreased in demand greatly, hurting the economy in future developments. This really surprised me because the government is the wealthiest economy, yet it has the highest rate of HIV/Aids. That didn’t make much sense to me, but I’m sure there are plenty of factors that go into the eradication of a major epidemic like HIV. Very sad…but a reality.
Our next visit was to a cultural tribe and a mini safari through the Mokolodi Nature Reserve. I thought the cultural visit was hilarious. The tribe women were very welcoming and taught us their culture through a visual representation. For example, they mimicked what would happen if someone is sick by having one of the women come out and stand on cow poop and look up to the sky. Sam and Andrea acted out a wedding and consummation, which is always funny. The chief was the only man and had about 6 wives because the idea was to make as many babies to help build the community. It was a great visit and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Afterwards, we went on a mini safari and got to see elephants, ostrich, and other animals. It was a great end to our day.

Day 4 Johannesburg Botswana “The boys downstairs…”

Holy crap…today was not my finest performance. Working on 2 hours of sleep, visiting 2 companies and driving 6 hours is not a good idea. We went to Dell in the morning to learn about the South African division and their challenges/distinctive traits. Since I am very familiar with Dell’s North American division, I thought this was an interesting visit. They discussed their BBBEE rating as well as their second tier position to HP and the actions they are taking to stay competitive in South Africa. After Dell, we visited Coca Cola South Africa and learned of their community outreach efforts. Pretty interesting stuff, but again…I was working on 2 hours of sleep. Painful.
The bus ride to Botswana was surprisingly fun. I sat in the back with Sam, Leins, Drakeley, Westy, Pajer, Marcy and Federico, who spent most of the ride making up songs in a David Ruddick accent and poking fun at previous comments made by people on the trip. Mix in some massages, naps and dancing in the aisle and it went by surprisingly quick. I love my friends. We could be sitting in a box for 16 hours, and I would be laughing my head off the entire time. Good people.
Customs wasn’t quite what the President of the football club described. My heart was beating really hard because I was worried that they wouldn’t pass me through because of my page situation. Luckily, I cleared with not even a smile or smirk from the “friendliest customs officials in the world”. Hmm. Suspect, Mr. President.
We made it to Botswana where, unfortunately, our hotel left much to be desired. It feels like a hostel, which I retired 8 years ago in Europe. Our bathroom has roach spray in it and the blow dryer wouldn’t turn off. Federico said he planned on sleeping on towels, which made me laugh. It’s not that bad…I feel like I’m in real Africa.  We had dinner, which meant I ate vegetables and rice because I didn’t want to eat crocodile tail and weird meat. (All of guys were eating ostrich jerkey on the bus, which grossed me out.) The people seem nice here in Botswana and I think the currency has a funny name. Pula. Has a cute ring to it. This is my first night off, which is a nice change. I think we will be playing many games of Uno and card games here in Botswana over the next couple of days. Should be a nice pace before we head to Capetown…which is promised to be A-mazing.  Cheers.

Day 3 Johannesburg “This trip is a mullet. Business in the front, party in the back”

This was officially the never ending day. Dean Hirst decided to play a practical joke on us and packed 4 company visits into the day, leaving the hotel at 7:30 am. Ugh. We started out at the Rand Merchant Bank, where we met with Rudolph Gous, South Africa’s most prominent economist. I found his discussion to be very informative, filling us in on South Africa’s state of affairs in comparison to that of the U.S. One key point that I found interesting was that South Africa previously imposed exchange restrictions on banks, which inevidably acted as a protective shield with the recent global financial crash. I was interested to hear about South Africa’s policies and views on the U.S. Not surprisingly, they did not seem too impressed with us at this time, yet they were still . Since our consumption funds their economy, our recessionary decline is greatly impacting South Africa, regardless of the previous restrictions. However, I learned that their stimulus packages are invested in infrastructure, providing jobs and bringing the country up to speed with mature nations.
After the bank, we visited the Wits Business School and met with a gentleman from the rating agency that rates companies on the BBBEE (Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment). This is a social reform that South Africa recently enacted to overcome the racial inequalities that currently exist. Basically, the reform is an attempt to keep African companies, as well as multi-national firms doing business in South Africa, socially responsible. The BBBEE rates companies on factors such as black ownership in the company, education for blacks, etc. I think the BBBEE is a good idea, however, there are some flaws within the system, such as corruption and system manipulation. Overall, the topic is extremely important in African society, but I felt like the talk was a bit “mind-numbing” and I found myself pinching my legs to stay awake. 
We then headed to South African Football Association and met with the President. He talked about the upcoming World Cup, held in South Africa and all of the preparations and expectations surrounding the monumentous event. The speaker cracked me up because he kept talking about U.S. customs and how strict our officials and police are and how “chicken” Americans, Canadians, and Australians are when it comes to authority. I found it humorous because the countries he mentioned are countries that have relatively low corruption rates, compared to that of South Africa.  But he was nice and we had a nice chat.
Our last stop of the day was to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. By that time, I was pretty exhausted and didn’t retain much of the information. But it was cool to visit and I got a nice pic in front of the ticker. 
We headed to the group dinner back in Nelson Mandela Square. Of course, it was a ton of fun with lots of wine and jokes. I need to start bringing my flip video camera to start capturing the ridiculousness. Some of us went out to continue the party. (Yes, me.) After many glasses of Pinotage, a bunch of us took the party to Westgate’s room. I didn’t end my night until 4am, where I was downstairs at the computers, sending half-baked emails to loved ones. One of the hotel workers was of Zulu decent and I made friends with him while I was emailing. We ended up teaching each other words in our respective language and played about 25 games of tic-tac-toe. We really couldn’t communicate too well, except for “I win” and big smiles. It was pretty hilarious, but I was the only one there to laugh about it. Went to bed just in time to get in 2 hours of sleep before another marathon day.

Day 2 Johannesburg “One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist”

After a night on the town, Dean Hirst had us up bright and early to depart for a tour of the city. We began the day in Soweto, a township that houses underprivileged South African’s. The tour was a humbling experience, to say the least. I found myself choking back tears as we met with those living in these shanties and toured through their community. What struck me the most was how JOYFUL these people seemed. Their smiles were genuine and bright, so welcoming and excited to meet us. The living conditions were extremely meager, with families of 5 living in shacks, yet the children were laughing and playing and seemed to love life. I mentioned my thoughts to our tour guide who agreed with me, saying “Most Americans spend all of their time and energy chasing the dollar. These people have nothing, yet they have joy because all of their value comes from family and love” It was truly inspiring and I just wanted to pick up the little kids and shower them with hugs. (Although, I refrained with the thought of crazy Madonna and Angelina in the back of my head) It was a great experience that I would not have been able to experience if I was traveling on my own.

After we toured the townships, we went and ate dinner at a local restaurant. Pretty gross. (Sorry, Dean Hirst) After lunch we toured past Nelson Mandela’s house as well as other prominent landmarks in Johannesburg. We then headed to the Apartheid Museum where we toured the history of African culture and the racial injustices that have plagued the nation. We were handed tickets that either said “white, colored, or black” and were directed into different entrances. It was sobering. The museum was filled with incredible stories of old Africa. It’s amazing to see where they were and the passionate fight to overcome such repressive history and precedent. It was such a different experience to see it first hand, instead of reading it in a textbook. I felt sad but enlightened at the same time.

After an emotional day, we headed back into town to have a cocktail and prepare for a night of festivities. The city was so cute, and some of our friends got into a random pick-up game of football (soccer) in the middle of restaurant square. It was a really charming area and I was enjoying the beautiful weather (75 degrees and blue sky) while I drank an Irish coffee with my friends. We just sat and laughed….it’s the best.

Around 6pm, we walked to a beautiful restaurant called Moyo. It was a 5 story restaurant with candlelit waterfalls and live music. Before we dined, we went downstairs into a basement/cave for drum lessons. Seriously, this was a blast. The drummers in the front were filled with energy and ‘soul’. We ended up dancing, drumming, singing and laughing so much that we were all sweating by the end of the session. I LOVED watching the drummers perform and showcase their love and passion for the art. The intensity of the drums combined with the spirit of the performers had me mesmerized. By the end we were all on the stage with morrocas, drums and tamberines—dancing the night away.

I was sad that it was over, but was ready for a traditional African dinner that awaited us. The dinner was AMAZING…light years away from lunch J We enjoyed a 5 course meal with endless wine and good company. A couple of us got our faces painted in by some of the African women. (Of course, I did.) The 3 hour dinner left us all satisfied and ready for bed. The night was such a unique and memorable experience, one that I will remember for a long time.

Day 1 Austin-->Dakar-->Johannesburg “30 friends + free alcohol + 16 hours to kill = 25,000 feet of fun”

We made it with the help of trivia, jokes, 4 meals, and sleeping pills. Good stuff.

First freak out happened when I realized that I didn't order extra pages in my passport to get into Botswana. That was fun. Luckily, our travel agent made some calls and calmed my nerves. Woops...you'd think traveling throughout 5 continents would have taught me a thing or two. Not so much.

Our first night in Jo Berg was quite entertaining. We hit up Nelson Mandela Square for some delicious dinner and drinks. Closely followed by drinks in our room, laughter, and dancing at the local club. We met some other MBAs from Columbia Business School and shared some drinks and sweet dance moves. Good time had by all.


I heart my friends.