SPAIN/USA/LEBRON

I think its so cool i was able to go to the World Cup and support Spain the year they finally won. When i was in Vegas last September, i had the forsight to put 20 bucks at 20 to 1 odds on the Netherlands to win the world cup. I was very close. In a little over a year i guess the New Orleans Saints right at 18 to 1 odds before the season started. 2 years ago i bet at 50 to 1 on the Orlando Magic to win the NBA championship and they lost to the Lakers in the finals. So im doing pretty good with this, just not good enough. As for USA, i think we showed improvement but we shouldve beaten Ghana. We played poorly. We let up and early goal in every game except the Algeria game in which they hit the cross bar in the first 5 minutes. Thats bad coaching. Why are your players coming out lazy and disinterested. Jurgen Klinsmann might take over, maybe thats a good idea. We need better than Round of 16. Lebron James did the right thing for his career. Hell have an easy chance of winning the NBA Championship for many years. Chemistry and some roll players will tell when and how many. Cleveland had done so much for him though, and it would have tasted sooo much sweeter winning in Cleveland with a "team" rather than in Miami with 2 other stars. You have 3/5 of team USA on one team in the NBA. If he cant win one now, hes garbage. I still think theyre not even the best team in Florida. Go Magic.

Exit Fest and Serbia

I got to my hostel which was just a college dorm and was put in a room with just one other roomate. A 20 year old in the German Military named Toby. Toby was quiet and a nice kid. I didnt meet him till we walked in at the same time at 7am the next morning. I put my stuff down and went to the festival to get my wrist band. I got there super early and while the sun was going down. The Fort was like something out of a Fairytale. I got my wristband and drank some Rakija (homemade alcohol with a honey or fruity taste and usually between 40 and 50 percent alcohol) and beer on the streets before i went in. Serbia has some of the hottest girls ever. It is also super cheap and the weather is beautiful. Last but not least they throw one helluva crazy festival. The first night was insane. the lineup was nuts and the venue made it even crazier. the dance arena are is in the moat, and the sound bounces off the brick wall and its soooo loud. There mustve been like 20,000 people there the first night in just that one area. The festival had 11 different stages all around the fort. I spent most of my time at the Dance Arena stage because it was my type of scene. The first night was Chromeo, Crookers, ______, and Boyz Noize. They played till 6:30 am and then Blakc Rose came on. I was there till about 7am. The sun rose during Boyz Noize and it was insane. While dancing i met a group of British girls that had a no boys rule. That changed quickly. I hung out with them for the night and danced my face off. Friday i went to the beach and hung out with the rest of the people who said "no sleeping at EXIT". The night was more of a techno type set and i wasnt as interested in it. I walked around and saw some other stages and stayed out till after the sun came up again. Went back to the beahc the next day whihc had a series of djs playing across it. I hit up the Tent village which was a party in itself and then went back to Exit. Saturday night was the best lineup of Laidback Luke, David Guetta, and Dirty South till 6:30 am again. We got there early and claimed great real estate in the stand over looking the whole pit area. There mustve been 40 or maybe even 50,000 people there going nuts. Laidback Luke was the best and i lost my voice half way through Guetta. During Guetta the sun came up and we had an amazing sun rise as the back drop to the fortress and the stage. The whole crowd stayed till about 5:30 am and then it got a little less packed. We left at 7 again and my calves are killing me from jumping up and down. It was an incredible night/weekend. I left Sunday afternoon to go to Belgrade for the night and next day. There was no where to stay on the night of the 12th in Belgrade because the festival ended then and everybody went to Belgrade to fly out. I had only 1 night to enjoy it, but i think i will be back soon. I found my hostel which was a great one, and put my stuff down. I did some exploring and visited some of the places i know about through recommendations of a friend of a friend and enjyo the history of Serbia and its buildings, some still torn apart from the war in the late 90's. It was crazy to see a building half blown up still like that. I checked my fbook and found out that my family friend/SAT tutor was in Belgrade at the same time and was staying with a local. I got his number and met them after the Spain game (my adopted team ever since my year in Spain) (Yesssss Va Por Elllos, illa illa illa Villa maravillaa. si si si). We went to the Communist bar but it was closed to we ended up drinking at a local karaoke bar instead. It was pretty cool and i couldnt read any of the words to any of the songs because it was all in Serbian but the girls were cute, the people were friendly, and the beer was cheap. We hung out there for a while and some Serb tried to buy the Spain jersey i was wearing, offering me the equivalent of about 50 bucks for it. Neverrrr. Its sentimental now. I went to the World Cup, supported Spain, went to 4 of their games, and they won for the first time in history. Amazing. Having just come from Exit i wanted to party again till 7am but there was nothing left open on a sunday at 3am and as soon as i hit the pillow i was out. I had gotten barely any sleep in the past 4 nights. I woke up at 11:58am and checked out of my hostel. The let me sleep in the common room on a bean bag for another 3-4 hours. I met back up with David and had a beer and watch the girlies walk up and down the pedestrian street. I had a 10pm bus to Budva, Montenegro which i made with time to spare and am sitting here writing this right now. I have about 10 hours left of my bus so time to recoop some of that sleep. Budva, Montenegro in the AM.

POLAND

My hostel was great and much better than the ones in Africa. Europe's so much easier to travel in. I spent the first day sight seeing in Krakow and drinking all around town. The beer is execellent and the vodka eve better. I saw Schindlers factory, and the wawel castle. The Jewish Quater, and walked all over Krakow. I booked my train to Novi Sad, Serbia for Exit Festival and got a sleeper train for most of the 18 hr ride. Poland was so cheap and the weather was beautiful. Krakow is a great city, i highly recommend it. The next day i went to Aushwitz to see the concentration camps. I left Krakow and it was warm and sunny. An hr and a half away in Aushwitz it was cold and rainy. It really was the saddest place ever. Its not something everyone should see. Maybe ignorance is bliss sometimes. Its too real there. I cant even write about it, my fingers dont want to hit the buttons. That night i watched the Netherlands vs Uruguay game with some young norwegian girls at the brewery and then went back to the hostel to chill, mentally exhausted from Aushwitz. My train was the next night so i had a day to kill in Krakow before i had to leave. Ania texted me and we met for dinner at 7ish at a good terrace restaurant in the Jewish Quater. We hit it off again and talked so long i had to rush to catch my train. I passed out on my train to Budapest and woke up when we were rolling into Bratislava, about 2.5 hours from Budapest. At Budapest i changed trains to regular seats and had 5.5 hours left till Novi Sad, Serbia and Exit Fest.

LONDON

I got to London and stayed 2 nights in a hotel there so that i could get my body back into shap for the rest of my trip. I had picked up a very bad Chest cold and possibly a stomach parasite in Africa and needed to see a doctor. I got to London and the first thing i did was research Exit Festival. Exit Festival is a gigantic festival that takes place in a gigantic historic fort in Novi Sad, Serbia about an hour and a half north of Belgrade. I found literally the last ticket online and secured it. exitfest.org, check it out. After I called American Express and got a list of doctors to go see in central London. He prescibed me to Antibiotics but couldnt do much for me becasue i was leaving so soon. I asked if it was OK to drink on the meds and he told me it was fine and that not drinking on anitbiotics was an old wives tale. I took it easy for the 2 days i was in London and will be back at the end of July for 2 DJs shows. I did the open top bus and saw all the sites, and settled in a bar to watch the Germany vs Argentina game. It was the day of the gay parade and there were tons of people on the streets. A lot of men in pink speedos dancing around the street. There was a stage and everything in Trafagar Square. I found a bar like 15 min before game time that had room for me. It was like 4 blocks from the main road and in a basement on a random street. I sat down and ordered a drink and the booth next to me filled up. I looked over and it was 7 americans that i went to the Argentina vs S Korea game with in South Africa. How random. I meet 7 people in south africa and then randomly bump into them in London 2 weeks later. Crazy. Being at the USA vs Ghana game, i didnt feel so bad for Ghana when they lost. Their fans were the sorest of winner when they beat the USA and they got what they deserved. on the 4th i had a flight to Warsaw and then was going to take a train the next day to Krakow becuase there were none running that late at night. I sat in the back of the plane and next to this lovely girl named Ania. We talked the whole flight. Shes from Krakow and was on her way back there now. We got to Warsaw and she waited with me to get my bags and i found a cheap ticket to get to Krakow on her flight that night. We found an airport bar and drank and talked between flights. Our plane was delayed to we went back to the bar for another beer. Eventually we were ready to board and i was able to sit next to her again. She had a boyfriend she didnt seem to have much contact with and didnt seem too excited about. I think shes 28 too, but we hit it off. Too bad. When we got to Krakow we split a cab and she paid for my part and made sure i got to my hostel alright.

CAPE TOWN

Got to cape town and knew immediately that i was no longer in africa. Cape town is so different from the rest of south africa and if i ever get back to SA it will be to go to Cape Town in the summer time. their summertime. the first night i went out to the famous Long Street which is lined by bars and clubs and is, especially now, very touristy. the street seemed to also be segregated. the whites were on one side and the blacks on the other. the pub was ofcourse all whites and mostly tourists. its funny how people from the UK seem to travel the most but always end up in the pubs. i chilled with a couple different groups of people at the pub and a crazy older lady from vegas. the next day i went to the waterfront and saw the new stadium then headed over to Clifton Beach in Camps Bay which is a very nice wealthy area with great beach named 1, 2 ,3, and 4. I've heard about clifton on a tv show that rated the worlds sexiest beaches, whatever that means. i took a nap on a rock near a homeless man and enjoyed the warmer weather and beautiful scenery. after that i hit table top mountain which is the back drop of cape town and has 360 degree views on the whole city and suburbs. Theres a cable car that runs up to the top or you can hike it. pressed for time, i had to use the cable car. the views were amazing and it was a clear day so you could see everything. i was up there for about an hour and as i was leaving a cloud front came in so fast it was incredible to see them moving like that. that night i met up with my old american friends from the usa england game Nick and Danny. We had a couple beers at the waterfront and watched the Japan vs paraguay game. It was a great game and ended in Penalty Kicks which Paraguay won. Japan will have a good team in 1 or 2 more world cups, theyre quick, smart, and shifty. The next day was the Spain vs Portugal game. I got up and put on my Spain shirt and headed to the waterfront next to the stadium to get my game face on. My buddy Liam that i met at the USA vs Ghana game was in Cape Town and was coming down to the waterfront to meet up and try to get a ticket. I went to a sweet bar and found a table that i shared with 2 girls and a guy from Cape Town. They were very nice and ended up buying us beers and showing us around cape town after the game. Im invited back to cape town and on their yacht whenever i chose to go back. We drank at the waterfront for a couple hours then headed to the game. on the way we hada find Liam a ticket. He was able to get a cat 1 ticket for face value and then i traded my cat 3 ticket and 30 bucks for a cat 1 ticket. great deal. We sat in the upper tier but at mid field and could see everything. It was a sick game and Spain won ofcourse. It was the last of the 4 Spain games that i got to see in person and it was a unbelievable and succesful trip. After the game we bar hopped with Alida, Nadine, and Riand, the cape towners, until around 4am. I almost ended up sleeping at Nadines house but then realized i had an early flight to Joburg the next morning and couldnt afford to miss it because i was flying out to london the next day. I made my flight the next day and finally finished Three Cups of Tea, (amazing story). I put my stuff down and met up with Lee my buddy from Britian and we hit up a couple bars for some farewell drinks with our south african home girls we had been hanging out with in Joburg. Very nice people and love to get us wasted. They do a very good job at it too. on July 1st i finally left Africa. i was there for over 6 weeks, 3 in south africa and drank a ton. Saw 11 games, made a ton of friends from around the world, and covered a lot of land. I shipped home my cold clothes and a flash drive of my pics and took my warm clothes out of my storage locker and repacked my bag of Europe. I was like a warrior resharpening his blade getting ready to go back out to battle. awesome methaphor. i think. any way, i bought some new books, my 3rd james patterson book of the trip, The Tipping Point (great book), and a small euro guide book. I got to the airport and had a drink at the bar and started talking with some Brit. He asked if i was going to Exit Festival because i told him i was going to Serbia. I did not know what Exit Fest was and i would later find out.

Durban back to Joburg to Pretoria

GOT OUT OF JOBURG AND CONTINUED MY MONTH LONG BENDER IN DURBAN FOR A FEW DAYS. ENJOYED THE SUN AND WARMER WEATHER AND CHILLED WITH SOME LOCALS. IT WAS A MORE RELAXING ATMOSPHERE AND CHEAPER TOO. FINALLY GOT TO SEE SPAIN PLAY AND WAS STUNNED ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE CROWD WHEN THEY LOST. THE FIRST GAME RARELY MEANS ANYTHING THOUGH AND IM SURE THEYLL PULL IT TOGETHER. HAD TO CATCH A FLIGHT FROM DURBAN EARLY ON THE 17TH TO GET TO JOBURG IN TIME FOR THE ARGENTINA VS S KOREA GAME. THIS SERIES OF GAMES STARTED SOMETHING LIKE 8 GAMES IN 10 DAYS THAT I WAS GOING TO. I GOT MY BAG, GOT A CAB, AND MADE THE LAST TRAIN TO SOCCER CITY BY LITERALLY LESS THAN A MINUTE. SOCCER CITY WAS AWESOME AND THE GAME WAS A GOOD ONE TOO. AFTER THE GAME WE WENT TO A AFRICAN RESTAURANT WITH SOME LOCAL GIRLS AND SOME OTHER AMERICANS AND WENT OUT TO SOME BARS. AT THIS POINT IM AT THE 10 DAY MARK AND THERES MORE ALCOHOL THAN BLOOD IN MY SYSTEM. THE 18TH BROUGHT THE USA VSA SLOVENIA GAME AT ELLIS PARK STADIUM WHICH IS IN A SHITTY AREA OF JOBURG. WE GOT THERE SUPER EARLY WITH SOME AMERICANS AND NEW ZEALANDERS FROM MY HOSTEL AND FOUND A HOLE IN THE WALL BAR THAT HAD A GATE OVER THE COUNTER AND SOLD CHEAPASS 32 OZ HANSA BEERS. IT WAS GREAT. WE WERE PREGAMIN WITH SOME CRAZY DRUNK SLOVENIANS THAT WERE DANCIGN AND FALLING ALL OVER. THIS WAS ABOUT 4 HOURS BEFORE THE GAME. AND HOUR CLOSER TO GAME TIME WE HAD TURNED THE BAR IN TO AN ALL AMERICAN PARTY. DURING THE GAME WE WERE ROBBED BY THE REFEREE AND SHOULDVE WON. IT WAS DARK BY THEN END SO I WENT TO A BAR IN ROSEBANK AND WATCH THE ENGLAND GAME WITH SOME AUSSIES AND BRITS. I RAN IN TO THE NEW ZEALANDERS LATER AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY WENT BACK TO THE BAR AFTER THE GAME IN ELLIS PARK AND THE COPS CAME IN TO THE BAR AN HOUR LATER, PUT THEM IN THE CAR, AND DROVE THEM OUT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND TOLD THEM, "WHEN THE COPS LEAVE, THE WHITE PEOPLE GOTTA LEAVE". I GOT A TICKET TO THE AUSTRAILIA VS GHANA GAME TO NEXT DAY AND DROVE UP EARLY WITH ABOUT 12 AUSSIES. AGAIN, WE GOT A GRILL, MEAT, AND A TON OF BEER AND WENT UP TO RUSTENBURG TO TAILGATE AND WATCH THE GAME. I WAS AN HONORARY AUSSIE FOR THE DAY AND IT WAS A GOOD TIME. AUSSIES SCORED FIRST AND I WAS SITTING IN CATEGORY 1 SEATS WITH ALL THE AUSSIES, IT WAS INSANE. I WAS GIVEN AN AUSSIE SHIRT SO I COULD FIT IN WITH THE SECTION. I GOT HOOKED UP CAUSE THEY HAD AN EXTRA TICKET IN CAT 1 AND I WAS IN CAT 3. SO I MY CAT 3 AND TOOK THEIR CAT 1 AND GAVE THEM WHAT I GOT FOR CAT 3. SO I BASICALLY PAID LIKE HALF PRICE FOR BETTER SEATS. I SOLD MY BRAZIL VS IVORY COAST TICKETS BECAUSE I NEEDED A DAY OFF AND SOCCER CITY WAS A PAIN IN THE ASS TO GET TO AND FROM. WE WENT OUT WITH THESE LOCAL GIRLS WE HAD BEEN CHILLIN WITH FREQUENTLY AND THEY TOOK US TO THE JOLLY ROGER WHICH WAS A BAR THAT WAS CHEAP ENOUGH FOR US BUDGET TRAVELERS. SEEMS LIKE ALL THESE SUBURB JOBURG LOCAL GIRLS ARE RICH. ONE HAD A SHIRT THAT READ, "COFFEE, CHOCOLATE, ME...SOME THINGS ARE BETTER RICH". I THOUGHT THAT WAS HILARIOUS. GOTTA RUN. TO BE CONTINUED.

Joburg World Cup 2010

Got to joburg on the 8th and it was already goin crazy. Got to my hostel late and went out with a large group of people to a couple bars. Its cold at night in joburg and I didn't have the right clothes. I was able to get some good cheapish stuff to keep warm and got a locker at the hostel for the month so I could keep my warm weather stuff there and not need to carry it around. I'd be in joburg before I go to croatia so I can get it then. On the 10th joburg really started to get crazy. There was a concert at soccer city to start it off. I went to nelson mandela square with a couple people and had a few drinks in the insane atmosphere. Mexico had a mariache band playing with a huge crowd of mexicans right around us. In the other area there were south africans gathered singing, dancing, and blowing those obnoxious vuvuzelas. The vuvuzelas are just loud and annoying. Originally I thought it was part of their tradition but its actually relatively new. They blow em all day and everywhere. On the 11th we went back to nelson mandela square to watch the opener. We thoguht there would be more tvs but it wasn't very organized along with a lot of the stuff in south africa. We found a nice spot and shared a table with a few south africans. The place was really buzzin. When tshabalala scored the goal the place was nutsss. After the game we called these local girls who picked us up and took us to a packed bar somewhere. There, I had an epiphany. Use the vuvuzela as a funnel. For beer. A much better use for it. Then next morning was a horrible hangover but we had to make moves early. I went over to the bakery to get some food before we went to pick up the rental car. I was crossing the street when so old lady literally ran me over. I have tire marks on my shoe. She rolls down the window and has the nerve to blame me. I give her some good old disgruntled new yorker shit and she drives away. Even the secruity guard was yellin at her. we scooped some meat and the rental car and were on our way. In the wrong direction. After about 20 minutes heading south we turned around and passed the netherlands team bus. We also found a liquor store and scooped 2 cases of castle. Now we were on our way. We headed up to rustenburg for the game in our mini hyundai 3 americans and 1 brit. We even got a cheap bbq so that our tailgate was complete. We arrived in rustenburg at around 330. 5 hrs before game time. The place was packed with english and american fans. We set up our grill and started the day. At 7ish we headed to the buses to get to the game. Our seats were 3 rows behind the net that the english scored on. At halftime I got some beers and while I was waiting in line. A big old english guy cut in front of my. So I tell him, hey I'm next. He pushes me and says no your not. I feel a grab on my hoodie and a younger englishman tells me not to mess with that guy and just let him go. So I jump back in line behind him and let it go. I'm guessing he was prob some hooligan I shouldn't fuck with. He apoligized after he got his beer for pushing me and I shrugged it off. A 1-1 draw was a good outcome and hopefully we can score more goals than them in the next 2 games. We got back to the car and tailgated some more. We were the last car left in the lot by 230ish. We still had to drive 2 hrs. So far joburg has been really expensive and disorganized. The public transport is not what it should be. They need atleast another year before they are ready. And sony fucked up nelson mandelsa square so fuck sony right now. Coulda been a lot better there. I'm off to durban for a couple days and then back to joburg on the 17th.