• 26May

  Back to Reality

  Category: Ashley Green  Posted by: Ashley Green at 7:39 pm   No Comments

  First day back at work and it has been a long day.  I returned with more to do than I had even imagined, but with a lot of deep breathing and sustained focus, I was able to get through the weeds and nearly above water.  I haven’t put much thought into my final blog, so I thought I’d revisit my first blog and go from there. 

  I have no idea what to expect in South Africa, and I love that, because I know that this trip is going to be life-changing for me.  Indeed, the trip was life-changing just as I had imagined.  South Africa is filled with beauty and wonder, and there is a spirit there that can only be captured first-hand.  Since I’ve been back, many people have asked me if it was what I had expected.  I just said “Well, I didn’t really know what to expect, but YES it exceeded my expectations”.  I also caught myself saying “If you’re looking for a travel destination abroad, this is your place!”  I can’t get over thinking about what a smart group of people I was able to go with.  I learned something from each individual on the trip, and made some friendships that will last a lifetime.

  I am very interested to see the way things are marketed, and the latest “must haves” that are popping up in retail.  One thing that sticks out in my mind is the SMS Marketing/Ditital Signage we got to see first-hand.  My boss has been flying to Nashville, Chicago, and New York to Digital Signage seminars, and it appears that this is the latest technology craze.   I found it extremely interesting to see that it is emerging in South Africa.  And, I had no idea that bandwidth was such a big issue in the country, making cell phones and 3G network technologies a ‘must’.

  I am also interested in seeing the native goods and crafts that are indegenous to the area.  I picked up a few wire beaded animal figurines and key chains that were well-known crafts of the Zulu tribe.  I also got an ostrich egg, a stone-carved hippopotamous, two wood-carved giraffes, and some ebony salad serving utensils. One of my favorites was the hand-painted canvas of lions in the jungle. 

  I love food and trying new things, but I’m not a big meat eater, so we’ll see how far I can go!  I must say I went all the way   I had snails, ox tail, kudu, eland, crocodile, lamn and a few other wild ones that I can’t remember.  It was all pretty good, but I do beleive that the good ‘ole cow was my favorite.

  I’d like to see what the agriculture industry is like: are there still family farms? What are their growing practices/regulations?  Do locals keep small gardens like we do?  I learned that there are still farms, many of which were taken away during apartheid, and then given back post-apartheid.  This has created a major skills problem, since most of the newly-named farmers do not have the knowledge of cultivating the land.  As far as small gardens go, Old Mutual is helping to train small families to grow their own gardens in order to support their families, and make a decent living.  It will be interesting to see how this develops over the next years.

  My mind feels like an open container waiting to be filled with new experiences, perspectives, feelings and ideas.  Hopefully it won’t end up as crammed as my suitcase – that could be dangerous!  Yes my mind is filled to the brim, and I most definitely experienced feelings I’d never dreamt of feeling before.  I don’t know how long the feeling of floating on a cloud will last, but I hope that I never forget it!  There is a certain magic to that country, along with a feeling of hope an inspiration.  I strive to take what I have learned and grow with it.  There are endless opportunities in South Africa, and I have a feeling that my journey of discovering them has only just begun.  Oh, and my suitcase did make it home safe and sound

• 25May

  May 18, 2009

  Category: Ashley Green  Posted by: Ashley Green at 9:04 pm   No Comments

  The night at Old Joe’s Kaia was one for the books.  The place is just my style:  it felt so cozy and quaint, and every corner of the room looked like a pagre right out of Cottage Home magazine.  I loved the way the French doors opened and how you could breathe the clean air all over the house.  It was refreshing.  And the dinner was so good!  I took a bite of the seared hamouli cheese and it was like heaven.  I’ve never had cheese do that to me!  A few glasses of wine later a talent show broke out.  I knew this crowd was smart, but oh my gosh are they talented.  Ken could play any song that was requested, and play it well for that matter.  And Shay has won state competitions for his incredible singing.  Ivy Scott’s singing took my breath away.  If I ever get married, I want her to sing at my wedding.  I was also very impressed with Pedro’s rendition of House of the Rising Sun.  And Michelle hit all the high notes when she sang Me and Bobby McGhee.  Everybody got down when Aisha started “Soul train in the house”.  It was so much fun!  It was one of those nights where I just felt alive and full of energy.  That night I got my first look at the stars in Johannesburg.  Words cannot describe that feeling.  The universe is so vast, and we often forget that we are all here, living together in this very vast universe.  There are so many things that happen in life that we forget about.  I don’t think I will ever forget those stars and how they made me feel.  And if I do, those stars will always be there to remind me.

• 25May

  May 22, 2009

  Category: Ashley Green  Posted by: Ashley Green at 8:51 pm   No Comments

  May 22 

  Today was a very long, exhausting, eventful day.  First we visited the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.  It was very calm and peaceful, which I did not expect since I’m used to seeing all of the hustle and bustle on Wall Street on TV.  Once floor trading ended in 1996, the automated system made trading more simple and efficient and not so chaotic.  There are 19 exchanges on the continent of Africa, but JSE is the largest.  Peter Redmen works in the surveillance department, where he looks after the integrity of the market to ensure that the conduct of business is accurate, and that the client is protected with the assurance that fraud will not be tolerated.  They use a highly sophisticated system that detects any unusual behavior in trading.  I was amazed to hear that the turnaround in detecting fraudulent behavior can be in just 30 minutes!  Peter explained insider trading so well.  Before I did not know very much about what it was, but now I understand the importance of it all.  I believe that the JSE has an extremely well-managed business with very little flaws.  This is so important for FDI in South Africa.  There are many people around the world that are afraid to trade in South Africa because of the corruption they hear about in the media.  The JSE has proven that trading in South Africa is quite safe, perhaps safer than trading in New York of London. This is critical for the growth of South Africa’s economy.  With a well organized system in place, JSE is setting the stage for tremendous opportunity in the country’s future.

• 25May

  May 19, 2009

  Category: Ashley Green  Posted by: Ashley Green at 8:50 pm   No Comments

  During the night ride at Kruger, a lady asked to sit beside me so that she could stretch her legs.  She told me she lives in Cape Town with her husband.  She was born in Johannesburg and moved to Cape Town with her husband for retirement.  Her husband is British, and used to be a pilot for South African Airways.  She has been fortunate to travel to the states, and has been to Atlanta herself.  She said she really loves America, that the shopping in America is unbeatable.  The conversation was going nicely, and I told her everywhere we had visited while on our trip.  When I told her that we visited Robben Island, she looked at me and muttered “isn’t it a waste?  There’s nothing to see there.” I was so surprised to hear that because everyone else I have spoken to thus far has been very enthusiastic about things of that nature.  She continued discussing the new government and how they are not taking the right measures for the future of the country.  She said all they do is spend a lot of money to have meetings to discuss the issues and make plans for change, but none of the plans are being implemented appropriately.  She said they are going about BEE in the wrong way by putting black South Africans in executive positions and they do not know the “western way” of doing business.   I sat quietly and listened, as I usually do, but the conversation bothered me.  It was obvious that she did not agree with the post-apartheid changes that have been taking place.  She did say that she believes the focus should be more on education than anything else, and I agree that education is extremely important, so I hope that the new government does focus on educating the new generation.  But is the “western way” the only way for a successful economy?  I think not.  Change needs to come and it needs to come quickly.  The country needed BEE to speed up change, and not just keep things the way that they are.  I understand that this lady is older, and it seems more difficult to change your ideas with age, but it was still very difficult to hear a woman speak about how hopeless the country is when all that I have seen on this trip is hope.  What I’ve realized is that there are always going to be nay-sayers wherever you go, but you should always have hope and never let the negative people bring you down.   There is so much hope in the world, and we should all embrace life in the most positive way possible.  That is the only way to make change happen.

• 25May

  May 20, 2009

  Category: Ashley Green  Posted by: Ashley Green at 8:49 pm   No Comments

  Kruger Park was absolutely amazing.  It was such an adventure to ride on that jeep looking for wild game.  And it was even more exciting when one was spotted by someone just on the ride.  Maggie spotted the black rhino and that was so exciting!  For some reason hearing that it was endangered and a rare find made it even more exciting.  I literally got chill bumps as we were riding away.  Another exciting see was the wild dog.  He looked so happy, just prancing around with that big mouth and smile.  It was hard to believe that those are impossible to domesticate, because this one seemed so sweet.  The elephants were really beautiful as well. 

  Our last night at Kruger was very special.  We had an outside dinner by the fire, and the weather could not have been any more perfect.  The lamb was so good, and as always the wine was unbeatable.  Everyone was in high spirits.  I think I laughed more than I ever have that night.  There was something that Shay said that had me slamming my hand on the table I was laughing so hard.  And then Ben introduced Dwayne’s new name: “DEEEE-WAYNE BLUE BALLS”!  He had the whole group cracking up.  A few of us stayed up after dinner, where we had to be extremely quiet not to wake the visitors, which made it even more difficult to stop laughing.  We all practiced our silent laugh, and many were followed by a snort J  Then the conversation turned a little more serious.  I have learned so much from this group of people.  This is by far the smartest group I have been emerged with in my entire life.  By hearing other people’s perspectives, I have realized that I am very unaware of a lot of things that are going on between races and cultures in society.  Honestly, I think I’ve been quite sheltered most of my life, and I am so glad that is changing.

  I am so thankful for this opportunity to see South Africa and to experience it with such a great group of people.  I will never forget this for the rest of my life.

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