Thursday, July 10, 2014

Our Final Two Days in Mahfikeng....

Well it is hard to imagine that we are into the home stretch.

Departing Mahfikeng and Returning to Johannesburg:
3 weeks have flown by very quickly and we are preparing our final presentations and collateral for the client this week.  We left Mahfikeng on Wednesday AM and returned to Johannesburg where we will conclude our stay.  I figured I would capture some memories that may be connected or disconnected.  As the author of this blog I retain full editor rights which is great.

My Corporate Corp Services Sub-Team:
I have the pleasure of working with two talented team members and one graduate student Bokang that have been great.  Aruna(L) is from Austin Texas through India and Paola is from Costa Rica.  We call ourselves the "Dream Team" but perhaps I might have declared that myself but I can't seem to recall. 

Charlie's Angels -- Ooops, I meant Tarik's Angels.
The Hotel:
The hotel we have stayed at in Mahfikeng is the Mmabatho Palms Casino Hotel.  As many of you know, I do not gamble so not one penny has gone into the Casino since my last 3 weeks here.
Beautiful Pool -- Way too cold to Swim....its Winter Here... 

 
A Weekend Social Night

 
Indeed I got may haircut while I was here in Mahfikeng, but it was not truly here.  The guy doesn't even post prices!

 The South African Food:
The food has been really good since we have been here.  Although we have been in South Africa for a few weeks, it would not be the case that we actually have been eating just traditional cuisine.  Most of the food we have eaten has been at the Hotel as there are limited alternatives in rural Mahfikeng. That being said, we have certainly had our fun eating the food and it has caused my waistline to be in an ongoing race for my age!!  The South African love meat for sure and less so on the vegetables. I have made the command decision that I will delay my annual physical by a month so I can focus on "regulating" my vitals again once I return to the states.... now onto the food.

Kingclip, which is a great fish and my favorite one in South Africa.  It's often fried but I have tried to have it grilled mostly and it often comes with chips, aka Fries.
 
Kingklip Fish 

Although the Kingclip fish is very healthy and low in fat is often accompanied with chips that balance things out. As you can see from the SMALL order of fries below they likely absorb most of the oil that they are cooked in.                                                                     
Chips - aka Friesr




 Pap is a popular local corn starch served with entrees.  It has a look and taste of grits mixed with mash potatoes. Similar to grits, its almost more interesting what you are having with it than the pap itself.
From the left is onion rings, filet and pap.

South African Buffet on Campus:

 
The picture above is a campus Lunch Buffet that they arranged for us on two occasions
Chicken breast is in the center, and looking at the 1'oclock position and going clockwise you have:

1.  Beef Stew
2.  Cabbage
3.  Pumpkin
4.  Samp (white corn)
5.  Ldeambi (bread)
6.  Megodu
Eland Steak at Tau Game reserve....my favorite dish of the entire journey!


Vegetarian buffet we had arranged for our Vegan Teammates

Specials Menu @ Ocean Basket Restaurant....So yes, I settled for Kingklip Curry

The Kingklip Curry and chips(oh well) was marvelous!!
Beef rump, boerewors and lamb cutlets, topped with onion rings


Our Daily Hotel Menu...Exchange rate is basically 10 to 1 so move the decimal one to the left

 
Oxtails Were My Favorite During The Journey

 
My Last Oxtail Meal.....with Mash Potatoes... 


Random Photos Before Our Departure From Mahfikeng     
Back to Johannesburg.....
4th of July Photo with all the USA members.  Yes, we were working on campus! : )

Weekend Fun on The Golf Course Next Door....I would have spent more time here if I knew of it...   
  
Me and Effie, Fellow teammate from Canada

Ever gone Golfing with Gazelles on the Golf Course?

Beautiful Golf Course....Great Day...I haven't played since 2004.....
Look at the Ice Forming on Trees from the Evening Freeze!!  Time to Get outta here!!

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