It takes two when it used to take one.

I had a very interesting easter weekend in Pretoria, I got to see an old friend, share a cabin with an interesting new friend and risk my life twice on the N1.

I got up on Friday, packed a couple days clothes in a backpack, got on my scooter, took my life in my hands and drove 40kms on a road no scooter belongs. The N1. The N1 is basically the big highway that runs from Johannesburg to Pretoria. The average speed limit is about 100 kph. My scooter tops at 75. The whole adventure was made even more shit-yourself-scary by the asshole South African drivers. They play this fun game called "Almost Kill The Guy On The Scooter". These are the rules:

I'm "it", so my ass is in the slow lane going slow and basically all the players drive past as fast as they can, half-way in my lane, as close as they can. the goal is to get as close as you can without actually killing the guy on the scooter. "Almost Kill The Guy On The Scooter" is not a fun game to play when you have to be The Guy On The Scooter.

So I survive the game and arrive in Pretoria where I am meeting up with an old friend that happens to be in South Africa with me. It was so cool seeing a fellow Nashvillian so far from home. It made me feel alright. Basically we spent the weekend doing nothing but walking around a big mall and shopping. It was comfortably boring (in a good way).

The place that I stayed for two nights is called a Backpackers. They have them all over down here. Basically you pay 100 rand a night ($13 basically) and you get a bed in a cabin, electricity, a bathroom with a shower you can use, and breakfast in the morning. its badass. The one thing is that you are commonly put in a room with a complete stranger. Luckly for me, I got the coolest roommate ever. His name was Ielsa and he was from Martinique, its a Caribbean Island that is technically part of France. He is an Acrobat, a Magician, and a Theater Actor in the French Circus. He got the offer to come to South Africa to get the SA Circus in shape for the World Cup. He is learning English from a small English to French dictionary he calls his "Bible" and at night he reads a 6th grade reading book called "Reading is an Adventure" from 1968. He is a pretty sweet dude, he showed me some magic tricks and told me some pretty sweet stories from the French Circus.

all in all it was a badass weekend. I even survived the return home round of "Almost Kill The Guy On The Scooter".

This is where I live.