The Joy of Gratitude

We had our last and final workshop today at the WP Blood Services Center in Cape Town.  What a wonderful group of people!  I always say as a speaker, I am only as good as my audience and this audience really was ON today!  They came ready to learn, transform and walk out with new ideas and insights.  This group was made up of the people who directly interact with the donor population.  We talked about empowerment, self-worth, priorities and finding the courage to play bigger in the world.  My favorite part was doing the communication exercise where they all learned a bit about themselves and what their tendencies are when they live day to day.  What a crack up!  One group talked about sex the whole time!!!

Chris in action

A few people had ah-ha moments (thanks to Tina!) and one woman shared hers with the entire group which was hard for her to do but she did it!!!  One of the things I find is that no matter where I am in the world, people are all the same.  We all have the same fears, anxieties and worries and seem to think we are alone…and we are NOT!  Change starts with one individual who makes a choice to do something different, something unique and something to honor their many gifts to give.

Tina in action

After the wonderful experience and sense of giving Tina and I have been blessed with here in this country, we wanted to give something back so we decided that we would give blood.  The process was fairly simple and “painless.”  Once they found out our blood alcohol levels were ok (just kidding..) we went through the typical screening process.  Unfortunately, Tina’s iron level was too low so she could not give.  She gladly watched as they stuck a needle in MY arm!!

In the process of giving..Chris and Cindy

Tina and I went to a GREAT restaurant for dinner called The Green Dolphin.  The whole theme of the restaurant is “dedicated to the preservation of Jazz.”  We heard a great live Jazz band called The Lee Gelder Bloem Quartet.  We always seem to meet the funnest people on this trip.  We stopped a waiter named Zulu to take our picture and as he took it another waiter, Brian, decided to stick his head in the picture last minute to our surpirse.  We had such a good time talking to these guys!!

Tina, Chris and…surprise – Brian!

Tina and Zulu making sure their eyes were open!

Tina and I discussed at dinner how blessed we feel for being given the opportunity to go on this trip together.  It has been perfect in every sense of the word!  We would not change a thing.

We head back to JoBerg tomorrow and then leave for the States on Monday night.  Even though we have had a spectacular time, we both are feeling a bit homesick today and are ready to go home.  We miss you guys!!

Until tomorrow..

Chris-Tina

Tail???
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Gail, Chris and Tina toasting with their Amarula

One follow-up note to yesterday’s dinner:  We now are Wanna-Be members of the “Amarula Club”.  We enjoyed our little aperitif while Gayle told us the story of this delightful beverage.  The facts:  The African Marula Tree produces round fruits (a member of the mango family) that are favorites of the Elephants, in fact it is sometimes called… wait for it…the Elephant Tree!  The “Tale”: You become a member of the Amarula Club when you, let’s just say become overly intoxicated from drinking Amarula…Chris-Tina’s new goal in Africa!  (Brazzier’s on!)
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Justice, Gail, Zali and Chris at The Tribe Restaurant

Tina and I had a great day today with our SANBS group!  What an awesome bunch of people!  We had our second day of training and I could not be more grateful for the opportunity of being able to do my work in this beautiful country with these amazing people!
Juice!

Instructions Required! (See warning label on picture)

I chose to stay away from the juice today since I had such a “concentrated” experience with it yesterday (clearing of the throat sound).  We had an amazing lunch which Tina and I took back to the facilitation room so we could prep for the afternoon session.  I was eating what I thought was some kind of BBQ’ed ribs that were delicious!  Gobbled them down, finished prepping and started our afternoon session.  I asked everyone how their lunch was and told them how awesome I thought the “ribs” were.  I was then informed, ever so gently, that I had eaten Ox tail!  (That explains the actual vertebrae that were left on my plate when I was finished!).  I have to say, they were good though!!  I can now officially say I had “tail” in South Africa….WOW!

Tina and I then had the distinct pleasure of dining in the Melrose Arch area of Johannesburg with our new friends Gavin and his lovely wife Ilana.  What a blessing!  Within minutes we were talking about ascension, 2012 and Africa’s role in the “new world.”  (Jay – I owe you BIG for the introduction!  Love you for it!!)  We had an absolutely lovely waitress, No (her name is “No”) who made our dinner that much more enjoyable with her beauty and sparkling personality.

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Gavin, Chris, Tina, Ilana at Melrose Arch

Tomorrow we only have one short session (1 hour compared to 8!) and then we are off to Cape Town on Tuesday.  We are so looking forward to Cape Town because we have heard sooo many wonderful things about it.  Our list is soooo long of what we want to do while we are there!  We also found out that the sun does not set there until 10pm!  We are thinking we need to give the town a heads up that Tina and I are coming!  🙂

Until tomorrow….

Chris-Tina