Monday, June 14, 2010

The Week That Was

World Cup Soccer began just 3 days ago in South Africa, the richest country in Africa but also the most crime ridden. I certainly hope that every available police officer is on duty during the tournament because it would be a public relations disaster if the tourists go home with horror stories of being robbed & assaulted. Regardless, the World Cup will bring in much needed income to South Africa as it continues to rebuild after the brutal Apartheid Era. I'll probably pay the country a visit in a decade or so; hopefully crime won't be as big a problem as it is today. Middle Earth's All Whites are back in the World Cup after a 28 year absence and will be facing off against Slovakia today. Hopefully, the All Whites will win & advance closer to the finals.

BP Global has been in damage control mode since late April because of the ongoing Deep Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Millions of barrels of crude oil continue to spill, damaging & further threatening wildlife, and BP still can't figure out how to fix the problem. They've tried several things but they have failed. What's worse is that the company is trying very hard to prevent the media from accurately reporting on the incident. I hope BP gets heavily penalized for this environmental disaster; also would be nice if the executives were forced to spend some time in prison for their actions. This incident is far worse than the Exxon Valdez oil spill back in 1989.

Rebecca, a former flat mate from last year, was in Christchurch for vacation, and decided to pay my flat mates Ben & Heather, and I a visit on Saturday night. After spending an hour talking and drinking champagne, we caught a bus to the city centre to have dinner at the Mayur Indian Restaurant. We each brought a bottle of wine to the restaurant because it's legal & to save money. I ordered a hot lamb dish with plain naan bread and rice; as for my friends, they ordered chicken & pork dishes with naan bread and rice. My lamb dish was actually spicy forcing me to order another naan bread & bowl of rice to finish off the hot sauce. The Monkey Puzzle white wine from Chile I brought also helped in the quelling the stinging in my mouth.

From the Indian restaurant, we walked further into town to check out the club/bar scene. Since it was a Saturday night, the area was bustling with activity, from wild party goers to no-nonsense police officers. From what I remember, we visited two clubs: one had karaoke (giving bad singers the opportunity to sing) and the other had a nice quiet seating area above the bar. When it was time to call it a night, we shared a taxi ride home.

Monday was my last day volunteering at the Christchurch Cadet Unit. The cadets spent the evening getting ready for a weekend Field Training Exercise (FTX). They were instructed to bring all their gear so that it could be inspected, packed, and ready to go come Friday. I would be unable to attend the exercise because I would be flying back to Canada. The training night was also devoted to recognizing & promoting cadets for their outstanding work in the corps and on the Junior Leadership course. When the training night was complete, several officers & I hopped over to the nearby Lone Star for a drink as a final sendoff before my journey home. They shook my hand and told me to come back to which I responded, 'That'll most likely happen in the new year because I'm looking for work as a teacher.'

Well, that's pretty much the week that was for me. With my departure of Middle Earth just around the corner, I've been packing my suitcases, and deciding on what should be left behind. My next & final post (for a while) will be written when I'm in transit to Canada.

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