GPUG Amplify South Africa 2018 - Post Conference

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

After a long couple days, and especially after Day 2 presentation marathon, I decided to sleep in a bit this morning. I had a commitment at midday to meet with the Premier team. Premier has sponsored my trips to South Africa over the last two years, which has allowed me to participate in both reIgnite GP and GPUG Amplify South Africa conferences, so I wanted to take the time to thank them for their continuous support. We had lunch at Turn 'n Tender Steakhouse, located in the upscale Waterfall district.

Mariano Gomez, David Joosten,  Renier van der Merwe, Wilma van Eck, Jako Diedericks
After lunch, I was in crunch time to get some presents for the wife. I decided to head to the nearby Mall of Africa, South Africa's largest mall built in a single phase, featuring 300 stores on 32 acres of retail space.

Mall of Africa - Exit 12
After a good hour and change of lingering around the mall, I headed back to the hotel and had a chance to share some local music with my Uber driver, Bongani. We had quite a bit of fun talking about life in South Africa and his upbringing.



My good friend, Pieter Cornelius had arranged dinner at Tiger's Milk Cedar Square with a number of his colleagues from Braintree, along with the team from Dynamic Communities. It was truly an awesome evening, and if you ever need some food directions, go for the massive burgers :). The place is also known for its extensive selection of beverages, including its own brewed Tigers Milk Lager.

Left: Angie Ryan, Pieter Cornelius, Mitch Holfeld, David Musgrave
Right: Mariano Gomez, Katie Froeber, Loodt van Niekerk, Ross Pelser, Jennifer Musgrave

After returning to the hotel, we went to the bar for a final round of drinks, then it was time to pack. I could have actually done it in the morning, but where is the fun in that.

Thursday, May 24, 2018

This was my last day in South Africa, so the morning started with breakfast at the hotel with Jennifer and David, then for last minute shopping. I picked up a couple of hand made bracelets and a pendant, all in tiger eye stones of various hues. It was also a nostalgic moment as I would be saying bye to my buddy David. Although we've done this for almost over a decade now, it's never easy to say goodbye.

David and Jennifer Musgrave

We finally managed to exit the buildings and into a beautiful morning outside, where we spent a few minutes walking around the property, before returning to our rooms for our suitcases to check out.



We had one final commitment and that was to go meet up with our good friend Tim Gordon (LinkedIn). Tim is the director of AlphaSoft Dexterity Consultants and the developer behind DexSense, intellisense for Microsoft Dexterity.

Tim Gordon

Tim had invited us over for a braai at his house, which we gladly accepted. We spent the morning discussing a few development topics, before we all jumped into full gaming mode. After lunch, it was time for me to leave to the airport and catch my flight back to the USA. At the airport, I ran into Katie and Angie from Dynamic Communities, who were also on their way to the USA via Amsterdam. We sat down after clearing passport control and had a beer (or two) each.

Mariano Gomez, Angie Ryan, and Katie Froeber
My flight was leaving earlier so I made it to my gate just on time for a final security check, then onto the plane.

This concludes my series of articles about GPUG Amplify South Africa. I will be writing a wrap up article with links to all articles written and my final thoughts on the event.

Until next post,

MG.-
Mariano Gomez, MVP

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