So now that I have come to the realization that cape town is more than just a vacation...I have developed some favorite hangouts. First, there is Cocoa Wawa, where I am sitting now. Cocoa Wawa is always crowded with an embarrassing amount of American study abroad students seeking some free internet and good food. I come here to do homework all the time (like I am supposed to be doing now) and come at least every other day for lunch....the fact that it's a 30 second walk from my house is just a bonus.
Then, there is Babbo's in Observatory. for the past few weeks, my friends and I have been regular attendees on Wednesday nights after our Arcadia core class ends at 9. We eat some of the best pizza I've ever had (and i've had some great pizza) and watch the soccer game (really I just sort of cheer when everyone else does because I always end up talking and forgetting to pay attention) and then we head to Stones for a little while before calling it a night.
Another event that I am beginning to implement into my weekly routine is the Old Biscuit Mill farmers market on Saturday mornings. Now people-this is not your typical farmers market-this is one of the coolest markets I have ever seen. In fact, I wouldn't even call it a market. Located sort of near the city (in all honesty I have no clue how to get there) there are lamp stores which also sell jewelry and gifts; house-ware boutiques that sell yummy bread and all of these different kinds of pesto. There is this incredible bead factory that takes my breath away everytime I walk in (how sad is that...literally I couldn't speak and my friends didn't know what was wrong with me...i was literally in a euphoria). This is just a fraction of what this place had to offer There are are 2 giant tents-one with local designers-clothing, shoes, jewelry, artwork-literally everything, and the inventory changes form week to week because it is all sold so quickly! The other tent has all local food vendors. The amount of delicious sights are overwhelming. You have to get there really early or you wont be able to see anything because it gets so crowded! Seriously, if they had this in Fairfield it would be featured in the Connecticut section of the NY times and mentioned in all the lifestyle magazines-its amaaazing and so worth waking up early for!
So enough about food. I joined a local gym! I have been searching for a gym that closely resembles the Southport Racquet Club that I am so comfortable with. Virgin Active is a top-notch athletic club in South Africa and I think in many other countries as well. There are so many reasons why I love it. First of all, there are no American study abroad students. It is a place where I can fully become fully immersed in everyday South Africa and really feel like I am living here. My time at the gym has become time away from my crazy roommates and from my friends that I am with at all the time. The gym itself is also one of the most incredible buildings ever-and it literally has the nicest facilities I've ever seen. The state-of-the-art cardio equipment looks over an olympic-sized swimming pool. There is a whole section for circuit training, at least 20 classes to choose from each day and this giant lounge with free internet-the showers are also nicer than the one in my flat-and the air conditioning is not to shabby either! It's strange because although I am surrounded by South Africans, the gym is so nice and it doesn't actually feel like I am in Africa while I am there!
Moving on...I mentioned in my last post (which feels like ages ago) that I had begun SHAWCO. I am still loving it, but something sort of funny has been happening the lsat couple of weeks. So during my first experience, I fell in love with this little boy named Lamla who helped me pronounce everybody's name and was just the sweetest kid. Well, 2 weeks ago, little Lamla was wearing a pair of extremely feminine, pink shorts. I was really confused and didn't know if Lamla was a boy or a girl. My friend, who shares a classroom with me convinced me that Lamla was still a boy and probably just had these little shorts as a hand me down from somebody. Still, I was skeptical. I developed this master plan to divide the class girls vs. boys for the following week. I didn't even have to do that. When I went to Shawco yesterday, I was greeted by Lamla, clad in a blue skirt and pink jacket....with fur trimming on the hood. Lamla is officially a girl and I am officially an idiot.
Although I am now leading a somewhat typical life down here, I am nevertheless taking advantage of some really cool opportunities. A couple of weeks ago, our program assistant, Emma drove a few of us out to Long Beach (not in Long Island, Dad) to watch the sunset and the full moon. As you can probably tell by the pictures, it was unbelievably beautiful. We sat on one of the big rocks, made a couple human pyramids and took about a zillion pictures altogether. People were really jealous when they saw our pictures! (I mean that in the least pretentious way possible I swear!)
In terms of trying something new, (and I mean really new) I went to my frist death metal concert last weekend. After our weekly braii (term for South African Barbeque) some of my friends and I headed to Observatory to hear Emma's brother's band play....I had never felt so out of place (except for maybe that time on the train). First of all, you should be briefed on the scene. In a sea of Gothic 20 somethings dressed head to toe in black with piercings and crazy long hair ...I was wearing a white skirt and a button down top from J-crew. I was the epitome of a needle in a haystack. But I went with it. Rocking my head from side to side until I had such a head ache from the music that I needed to get the hell out of there. Good times.
I think it was the following morning that the Arcadia program took us on a field trip type of adventure to a bird and monkey museum and to the famous Seal Island. While this would have been the perfect trip for my brother Eric (an animal enthusiast), it wasn't my favorite. to be frank, the monkeys were kind of smelly and rude (they peed on 2 of my friends!). And I have a somewhat fear of birds-I won't be going back there any time soon.
My latest excursion was this past Monday-to the UCT verse University of Stellenbosch rugby game. Now,I give tours at the University of Rochester, and when prospective families ask me about the school spirit, I usually try to change the subject. AKA I have never been able to support my school at a big college sporting event. UCT and Stellenbosch are ranked as having the top 2 rugby teams in South Africa. Needless to say it was a big game. We took a fan bus from the UCT campus...which was insanely fun. People were going nuts. There was a rush to get into the packed stadium and I don't think people stopped cheering and screaming and beer-showering one another for a minute of the game. We lost, but that didn't matter to us.....the game must have taken a lot out of us, because we passed out after about 4 seconds on the bus ride home- a successful night to say the least.
I think that's all of the highlights! Congratulations to you if you have made it to the end of this lengthy post, then you are all caught up! I can't believe it is already nearing the middle of March. I am getting ready for my spring break trip through Namibia (not Nivea....or Numbia, mom) and will be sure to post on all of my exciting adventures!
Missing everyone very much!
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