Thursday 28 July 2011

If I was Justin Bieber

Kia ora! (I was born in New Zealand. Going back to my ROOTS)

This is what IB feels like.
As this term draws to a close, the IB machine has been cranking up and is about to attack us next term. I am glad to be able to take a break soon. Phew! On the bright side, I spent the whole of Thursday in a T shirt and shorts until 6pm! (say: wow!)

Well, last week wasn’t that bad, since we had Friday off as a public holiday. The late King Soubhuza II’s birthday.

Swaziland must be the ONLY country in the world where the entire country’s internet can go down for 20 hours due to ‘upgrading’! Hahahaha.
Some stalls at the fete 

Last Saturday, we held the annual school fête … A big event in Mbabane apparently. -(‘Anything is a big event in a country like Swaziland’- Amilcar of Mozambique.)- It was great, with tens of stalls up selling all sorts of food and games. It was not as big as it was hyped up to be, but it was a great event all the same. 
To that person who pinched my precious Wimbledon wallet: I don't like you.

Last week I had several pieces of work/tests. I studied for Maths and French, and did quite miserably. However, in the economics test, I DIDN’T study, and got 27/30! My 1500 word TOK essay, which I had just winged during two hours of mid-term came back as 18/20. Lesson learnt: Don’t study, get bad results. Last minute study, get 90%. XD

What else did I get to this week? Well I have started coaching beginners/intermediate tennis. Coached Rori last week, and I must say, I was very impressed with how much she learned in the first session. She was hitting perfect forehands after one hour, having started with nothing. (What I am really saying is I was very impressed with my coaching skills :P ). The activity is supposed to expand to about 3 people next week.

Yeah... This is what the net looks
like after my serves... oops :/
Last week, to de-stress I went to the tennis court by myself and just served. Served like crazy.. As if the ball was Mrs Kissun’s head (KIDDING). It was such great stress relief,and I was serving absolute BOMBS. Over about 45 minutes I hit about 112 serves roughly. Erm… The tennis net here is not up to standard. (right) 

Oh yeah, by the way, I was reading the news of rugby. Apparently at the RWC England are going to play Argentina in their away strip. Which is Black. NZ media and public got so mad at this… Um… I don’t really see the issue here. I don’t think England are trying to annoy or ‘play mind games’ with the All Blacks. (who would?) Even Richie McCaw said its no big issue. Calm down NZ media! But come on All Blacks! This year is your year! We gonna take the World Cup!


Oh by the way, someone keep some EGG SAUSAGE for me eh! Hahahahaha. Yes, I still read the Fiji Times from here now and again! :P How does it taste? I was laughing when I read that!

Speaking of the media, I wish I could become a celebrity just so I could attack the media. I read an article about Justin Bieber in Hawaii with Selena Gomez. (Don't judge me. There's a reasonable explanation). Is every single move documented and analyzed and scrutinized? One of Justin’s twitter updates got torn apart by a newspaper HALF AN HOUR after it was published! Poor guy. And to all those girls who are furious at Selena Gomez as if she stole JB from them personally, sorry, but GET REAL. Ok, I don’t know how the heck I started talking about Justin Bieber but while I am, I’d just clarify I’m not a huge fan of him, but I’m not a hater. He gets so much hate from everyone, but I’ll be different. His music is not bad. I’ll admit what most people won’t. He’s a pretty chill guy too. Just saying.

Gosh was last week THAT uneventful that I’m talking about Justin Bieber? Thank God it’s nearly end of term!

On a more serious note: Some things just make me lose hope in humanity. But then almost always that hope is revived by actions of others. The bomb blast and shooting in Oslo were shocking. At least 90 people, mainly teenagers shot dead. Some of the Norwegian students here lost friends. I don’t know what sick minded person can shoot an eleven year old kid dead, but… The Norwegian community here was understandably in shock. Everyone else is feeling a bit down in general. But out of this terrible event, I think one of the most beautiful things I have seen was the support and care given here by students of different races and religions and regions of the world. If only the world was a bit more like this. It would be a better place.
Thoughts and prayers to those in Noway.
Ok. This might or might not be my last update from Swaziland this term. (Yes yes, I know, that last sentence had no point at all). I'll try one from Hong Kong. It’s been a great term, from bushfire to the 24 hour run to the fete to the rugby tournaments. Not done yet though unfortunately! Moce for now. ;)
:-DKN
Mrs Kissun must not read this.

Wednesday 20 July 2011

10 Ways you could die in Swaziland

what?
1-      You decide to go swimming in the river and a crocodile suddenly NABS you.

2-      You go out during the day in your t-shirt and shorts, and come back late to find the hostel/house locked and you can’t get in and you die from hypothermia during the night. (you don’t have any credit on your phone because of MTN's ridiculous rates)

3-      You live on the food of Waterford Kamhlaba.

4-      You get into a kombi with not enough money, and when you can’t pay they shout something like 'find your own way to Manzini!' and throw you out in the middle of nowhere, and then suddenly a lion turns up and EATS you.

5-      You go to a nature reserve and lose your map. You spend days trying to find a sign of human civilization in vain.

6-      The kombi driver insists on fitting 20 people into a 15 passenger kombi (really happens!) and eventually oxygen runs out and you suffocate.

7-      *starts raining outside* ‘RAINBATH!’ :D
(I should mention Swaziland has the highest death by lightning rate in the world)

8-      You assume traffic will stop at the red light in Mbabane.

9-      You are playing rugby, and some idiot tries to chip and chase but kicks the ball deep into the bush and someone has to go get it. You go to get it and then get bitten by a poisonous snake and an ambulance is called which is on ‘Swazi time’ and by the time arrives it you're dead.

10-   You climb a mountain and bet your mates you can reach the bottom first and run all the way down not taking into account that mountains here are a bit taller/steeper/rockier than at home and you fall and break your neck and die.

Special mention- you do the I.B. programme.

Hello! J
All these things could really happen you know. Maybe I’m being a little paranoid. Anyways, do you see the risks I have to put up with every single day? Yeah. It’s a dangerous place.

Me, Ximena and Eli on the way to
 community service (term 1)
Oh by the way, its quite funny. You know how we have ‘Fiji time’? (no not the newspaper) Swaziland also has its own thing called ‘Swazi Time’ as well! At least I am used to it! :)  (though some of the Europeans are not!).

So, what happened this week? Not really much. All my closer circle of friends are out on trips. Stephen, Emily, Anna and Kyle are on a Geography trip to Durban, while Dimitri and Sofia are on the Wilderness tour. It’s been a quiet week, but sometimes a quiet week is nice.

hey! Remember these things?
Maths is very difficult, I am still enjoying it though. I wanted to change higher maths to higher English at one point, but the poor English teachers are ‘overworked’. Mr Pugh has fifteen students in his class! He said he took SEVENTEEN (17!) last year and almost died! Oh life is so hard. I wanted to tell him my old English teacher had 40 students, while she probably got one third of his salary. Pffft. The teachers here wouldn’t last a week at home.  Anyways, I have decided to go on with higher maths. For now. I could work a little harder.

icy field
Tuesday got so cold that the playing field frosted up! Serious! Gosh. Never seen that before.

InFocus is a group of students I have joined. Every Thursday evening, from 9-10pm someone presents their country. It was my turn last week, and I thought I did an ok job of it. Thanks Sekaia for the Suva pictures! Very nice! Got a few laughs from the audience. I talked of history, economy, politics, and culture. When it came to sports, I gave a proud talk of the rugby (and netball), but I used the soccer team more as a joke.

TOK class: A man is lying dead in a field, an unopened parcel beside him. There is noone else in the field. How did he die? 
Jennifer: 'paper cut?'
Teacher: -_- 'his parachute didn't open'
LOL

bloody aussies
Speaking of sports, FIJI LOST TO JAPAN? Wow. Great. Good luck against the All Blacks next week. Two red cards, and on top of that three yellow cards? Must have at least been entertaining. Come on, I would love to see them have a good showing against the Kiwis!
 I hate it when I am forced to support the Crusaders, and they STILL lost! Courageous effort from them, playing ALL their games away from their own stadium. That’s very impressive. Well done to the Reds though.

I don’t believe I have anything left to say. Oh yeah! I watched Pirates of the Carribean today with some mates. Loved it! The cinema here ain’t that bad, though its 40 minutes away. Not nearly as good as Village 6 though. 
this page needs a sentence in PURPLE!!!!!!
Oh, if anyone wants a souvenir from Swazi, do let me know. If you want something from Hong Kong, er... yeah. Let me know. And I'll let you know if I can afford it. I'll be back in about a month. Didn't actually expect to be back so soon, but I can't wait. It's not the place, it's not the people. It's the work! Argh.

Anyways. Moce for now. Bizu, I'm practising for that game of pool! Nathan, I am gonna beat you in tennis.


Remember: Chill sometimes. (Its not that hard.)
DKN

Sunday 10 July 2011

The Lost Blog

Hows you? What? I can't here you from hear. 
Well, its not been the best week for me so far, but hey, I've survived it. :)


So why is this called 'The lost blog'? It was supposed to be called 'Next stop, nowhere!' buta few days ago I had prepared this ultimate blog, then it accidentally got deleted by this guy who looked like me. Anyways, now I have to start from scratch. That's why its been a little while since I updated with a 'real' post. (and partly due to the fact Dimitri gave me Blackadder Season Three on my laptop).
Last week was our midterm break. At Yat Sen, midterm meant assessment. Over here it means break. (Not bad eh? Especially when you consider the fact that our three terms are only 12 weeks each!). So Wednesday was half-day, and Thursday to Sunday we get to do whatever we want. 

If anyone wants to talk about the Blues or Andy Roddick, turn to your nearest wall and start the conversation. Because trust me, it will be more interested than me. :P
I first went hiking/camping in the Malolodja nature reserve with Dimitri and Basti (Germany). I don't know if that's the correct spelling, but then neither do you! That was an effort, but it was really nice. The scenery there is like nothing I've ever seen before. Green mountains all around you, and no trace of civilization. Believe me, if Dimitri had not had his map we would have been in BIG trouble! 


We left on Wednesday afternoon and made camp after about 2.5 hours hiking, losing the track as well. The teeny tent was pitched right beside a river. In Swaziland, one must always check beforehand that the river does not have crocodiles. Haha. Africa. Anyways, dinner was at around 6:30pm- cooked spaghetti bolognaise! (Ok, heated. Canned food is really advancing nowadays). 
We were asleep by 7:30. Or at least trying to sleep. It wasn't the coldest night ever thank goodness, but it was not warm either. After a relatively good sleep, we woke up in the morning- 8am. (2 hours after Dimitri). 13 hours, but we are IB students, and can sleep at any given time, a result of sleep deprivation. I could not resist getting up at 2am to peek at the stars without any light pollution whatsoever. And you know what? It was completely worth it.


Am I the only one to notice that 'Hello Kitty' has no mouth? Did the creator kinda forget or something? I mean if I ever met the creator I would be like: "よお! あなたは猫に口を向けることを忘れました!" ("HELLOOO! you forgot the mouth!") and he would be like: :O  "呪い, 呪文!"  ("damn")


Another steep 3 hour climb up and down and even around mountains, we made it back to the road, and took a kombi to Ezulwini. There we went to Legends Backpackers, which was right behind the shopping complex. Already staying there were Emily, Anna, and Levi(Finland). Ezulwini is the fancy part of Swaziland, kinda like Denerau. That night we had a Brie, or Barbecue outside, which was nice. 
The next day, we travelled to Manzini, the other main city. It was basically a bigger (and dodgier) version of Mbabane. With us was this Chinese guy name Tao. (Like Taoism). A typical tourist with a flashy camera and acting completely kaicolo. 
Look at the camera Adolf!
Some Swazi-Fiji synonyms (Swazi-Fiji)
kombi- minivan. (there's no regular bus service)
Brie- Barbecue.  Dirt road- Road
takkies- canvas Tipex/Witeout- twink

We went to House on Fire that night, and I didn't get drunk, though Emily did! Hahaha. We got back at around 2-3am.
The last day was a lazy day. We hung around the backpackers, me doing my homework, a Theory of knowledge (TOK) essay, and then had to pack that night. We left the backpackers early on Sunday, and got back to school. A calm, peaceful day, ready for another tough week. Argh!


this is exactly what it looked like,
but this is not an actual photograph.
 TOK is a minor subject we do, and though it sounds pretty cool, it is kinda like a circle: completely pointless. (as well as going round and round). >>Instead of circle I was going to use 'Fiji in the Pacific Nations Cup', but they have points now they beat Samoa. Fiji is the only team that can get thrashed by Tonga then thrash Samoa the next week. Good work boys! Take the PNC this year!<<

Oh! I finally, FINALLY saw Saturn through a telescope. W.O.W. Yea, I did see its rings, I actually saw the shape of the planet. That's definitely one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I don't know how many of you know, but I am kinda a space maniac, especially when I was a kid. I'm still kinda a kid now. Aren't we all?


On Wednesday I received SUCH a nice surprise, when someone told me I had a letter. From Phyllis. Thank you Phyllis! You really made my day. :) If anyone else wants to right  write, you can find me by mailing it to:
Daniel Naidu_(next line)_Emhlabeni Hostel_Waterford Kamhlaba_PO Box 52_Mbabane_Swaziland.
Be sure to address it to SWAZILAND, and not SWITZERLAND. I know the two countries sound alike and both have extremely good tennis players right now, but they are really quite different.

If next term goes as planned, I should be visiting Lesotho, Mozambique AND Zimbabwe! I have a French trip to Lesotho, midterm is planned to be at Mozambique, and Emily is inviting us to Zim. Sounds awesome no? =)


Rugby is like Buddhism, it

Community Service at Milwane
game reserve, Term one
Its prep time now, we must be in our cubies (they are much to small to be called rooms). Every day from Mon-Thurs betweem 6:45 and 8:45 boys is prep time. You can be in the common room, but only to use the internet. Must be quiet. Boys are not allowed in the girls hostel and vice versa. 
Ximena has just gotten chased outta the boys hostel because she spent the first two minutes in my room getting some notes. Quite ridiculous. Reminds me of our maths trip next year. Because obviously whenever boys and girls are together we're gonna have s...weets. Talk about trust.
^^that was sarcasm

Anyways, its prep time (technically we can't do 'homework'), so time to do some 'prep'! 
Stay alive! :)
DKN

Tuesday 5 July 2011

A Few Must-Know facts about Swaziland

  •   Swaziland is very slightly smaller than Fiji. Fiji is the 155th biggest country in the world. Swaziland is the 157th. (156 is Kuwait)  
  • Distance from Fiji to Swaziland: 13,931.5km. (google maps). That's longer than the Earth's diameter itself.
  •   The current King is King Mswati III. He has 14 wives and 24 children.
  •  King Mswati III is one of the last absolute monarchs in the world. Swaziland is one of the few absolute Monarchies remaining today.
  • Mbabane is the capital city. Pronunciations range from ‘Mba-ba-ne to Mbabon, even amongst locals. The other major city is Manzini, about an hour away. Neither town is the size of Suva. Closer to Lautoka maybe.
  •  The main industry is the service industry. The main trading partner is South Africa.
  •  Emalageni is the currency
  • The main highway is amazingly good. Makes Fiji's Queen's Road look like a driveway.
  • One must be careful of snakes, crocodiles, lions, leopards, and mosquitoes. (which may carry malaria in some parts)
  • Borders: to the West/South/North, South Africa. To the East, Mozambique.
On a more shocking note…
  • ·         More than 60% of the population lives on less than one US dollar per day.
  • ·         Swaziland has the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate in the world. 26.1%. That is one in four people.
  • ·         Among 20 to 30 year olds this rate increases to an extraordinary 52%.
  • ·         Swaziland also has the lowest life expectancy in the world of 48 years (WHO). 32 years according to Wikipedia.
DKN

Saturday 2 July 2011

24 hours of madness

Sawumbona!
^^Siswati is not an easy language is it? ^^


What is 24 hours of madness? The 24 hour run of course!
The 24 hour run is a two yearly (or should I say biennial nice words eh?) event for raising money for the community service projects. We are to run as many 400 metre laps as possible in 24 hours, in teams. Our team was called burning calories. (hey, I did NOT make up this name, so stop laughing!) But the name was voted democratically... Hmmm, you gang in Fiji should look this term up in the dictionary... 
Burning Calories! After the run.


monster on the track
Anyways, burning calories owned the track, and though the results are not out yet, I'm quite sure we took it! We had runners for the full 24 hours! Myself, I managed 115 laps or so, a bit short of my target of 150. But hats off to Mohammed Tune of Ethiopia(pictured right) for running an absolutely ridiculous 333 laps! (But then again, he is from Eastern Africa...) no I'm joking. Wherever you're from, you should not be able to do that.




Stephen and Dimitri- team tactics?
The run started at 5pm on Friday afternoon, after a hard school day and me having 5 hours sleep the previous night. Now wasn't that smart?. (Er... Jorja, that was a rhetorical question, and Bizu, that was sarcasm.) I ran a quick 16 laps in about 50 minutes before heading off to dinner. After dinner, a quick 16 laps again (which is 6km- no joke!) and then a first aid stint with Kyle. Manning the first aid tent was COLD! Wow. Two hours later (and like 8 victims clients patients) I couldn't walk, my calves(again I say muscles, not animals) were frozen! I went and lay down for a couple of hours before adding over 45 laps between 11pm and 2am. (some walking). By 2am, when the temperature was -6 or -7 degrees, (which I didn't find out till the next day) was not very funny anymore.. I went to the (indoor) student-run tuckshop and stayed there! Wow. That's my first experience with negative, and you gang in Fiji just stop complaining about your cold 18 degrees weather!


By the 50th lap you're running round and round and you start being philosophical- as in- 'What the hell am I doing?' or 'What's the point of this?'


Burning calories 'snake'
I made my friends laugh by showing them some (Fijian) people on facebook complaining about the 18 degrees cold! Did you know Fijian refers to everyone living in Fiji now? Did you? Did you? Thought not. See? This blog is EDUCATIONAL as well! (I better not say that. Would just turn everybody away)


Anyways, me, Leo, Emily (not Emily Lo, she was in Fiji at the time), Tofa, and Anna were stuck in the CCLD room until 4am, because it was too cold and windy outside! I got to bed around 5am.
Oh yeah! This was my 99th lap I think.
Another shift of First Aid at 7am had me wake up at 7:30 (still on Fiji Time) but it was cancelled, since the First Aid Tent (or the FAT) got blown down in the night. I ran 25 consecutive laps till I reached 100. After that, about half an hours rest, they decided to hold a competition: whoever can run 2 laps in 3 minutes gets a free hot dog! I'm sure you all understand, 'free' + 'hot dog' + 'Fijian' so of course I ran it. I ran 2 minutes 58 seconds hahahah! Yes! My ego just went up by 10 points.


Mrs Owar (ESS teacher): "Organisms are always dying. Like when you see a mosquito near you, what do you do? Yes, you eliminate it."


Sanyu and Lolah-
Team Fast and Furious.
It was shortly after this I realised I had injured my left knee. I could not run anymore. Argh. For the next 6 hours, I walked about 9 laps. Total 115 laps, or 46km. That's from Suva to Pacific Harbour. Not bad. More than most people but not nearly the highest of the day. From our team, Stephen and I ended up hurt, and Dimitri sick (he decided to run from 12am to 7am in the freezing temperatures, which wasn't very smart. (hey, no sarcasm this time!)). The three of us Probably cost our team another 100 laps.


The run ended at 5pm on Saturday. An awesome event! Oh oh oh and if you're not too mamaqi please agree to sponsor me! 20 cents a lap is all I'm asking for. Its for a good cause! (seriously). Just let me know here or on facebook.


Shame Sekaia, I couldn't find any glow-in-the-dark coloured font. Have to return to purple. What colour next week? Someone suggest it.


Andy Roddick's victory over...
does this not look like
Emily Lo?
As for my tennis predictions, well, I know they failed, but Djokovic is still taking drugs! 


I been here just a few weeks, and I snapped two tennis racquets already! Ace and Smiley. -Yes, yes, my racquets have names. Don't laugh. Only Stitchy is left. (guess who named it Stitchy?) I really have to find a place to string them. But I was striking the ball nicely. Gonna teach Shekhar and Chris a tennis lesson when I get back! (just don't mention that to them eh Itu?). It'll be a surprise!

Ok. Thats all for this week I guess? There was more, but if I write longer posts noone will read it. Based on last weeks tennis predictions, I will NOT predict the Super 15 results, but hopefully Blues make the final for the first time since 03. 


FML- Feel Magnificent and Live! :)


Over and out
DKN
(aka Agent D)