Monday
Jimmy flew in and I went with my driver, Pearnel, to go pick him up from the airport. I was so excited I even made a sign for him. It said Jimmy and it had a South African flag on it. I have to say it was awesome! Anyways we left pretty early but when we got to the airport we could figure out where to pick up domestic flights(Jimmy flew into Jo-Burg first so his flight was domestic) and Pearnel didn’t know where to go because he was so used to picking people up from the international side and it was dark out and like all things in Africa, the signs didn’t help at all. Well we finally found the area where domestic arrivals were and parked but it had started to rain and we parked pretty far away so we had to run through the rain to where to domestic arrivals were. Then, Jimmy’s bag was broken on the plane so we had to walk back through the rain with his broken bag. It was pretty hectic but still amazing! It was so nice to have Jimmy come visit me. But it was late so I just introduced Jimmy to the girls, showed him the house, and then we went to sleep.
Tuesday
Unfortunately on Jimmy’s first day we had to wake up at 6 am to go to my work, but it was really cool to show him where the magic is done, hehe. We had a pretty productive day. We were trying to figure out what to do because we needed to find a cheaper vacuum pump and it was frustrating because all pumps were quoted at the same price so Shona told us we needed to make our own. So we were trying to figure this out and Jimmy helped and we finally decided that trying a air mattress pump might work. We went to a place similar to Sam’s Club and picked up a pump. I think Jimmy wanted to stay and look around because it was a really cool store. Anyways so we finally made it home, we took a nap because Jimmy still had really bad jet lag and then we went grocery shopping because we had no food. That was fun because I missed making food for more than just me and it was nice to decide what we were going to make together. After we made dinner we decided to go out with the girls to Stones for 8 rand night(its like a dollar for a beer) to chill and play pool. It was really fun. I killed Jimmy in pool but I think it was because the balls and pockets here are smaller than in the states. It was really nice to have my boyfriend there too because no creepy guys hit on me. Overall we had a pretty relaxing day.
Wednesday
Jimmy got the privilege to come to school with me on Wed! Yay, not, but it was really nice to show him my campus and we went to the Barn. The Barn is like a pub they have on campus and they sell this sandwich like thing called a Gatsby. The Gatsby is huge! I swear I could eat for an entire week by just having one Gatsby. But anyways Jimmy and I split a chicken Gatsby and I think he really liked it. Then we went to the bookstore on campus to try and find a college shirt for Jimmy. Well they don’t have regular college shirts here like they do in the states. They only have Polo Ts so we decided it wouldn’t be worth it to get one. I didn’t want to look preppy. Anyways both Jimmy and I had papers to do so we stayed in tonight and figured out the car situation to go to Simon’s Town tomorrow.
Thursday
Today was Simon’s Town day! Day to see the penguins! But to get there we decided to rent a car. Jimmy had his first experience driving in South Africa! Wow did he learn how to drive on the other side of the road quickly! He was really good at it, I think it would take me longer to get used to. Anyways we went to Simon’s Town and walked around and saw all the penguins, there were so many of them. we also got to swim with them because they have a beach where to penguins hang out. It was really cold though! I thought I was going to die going into the water but I think that its colder because it is closer to the Atlantic Ocean. Anyways Jimmy finally made me go in and it was really fun because they waves were big and I was swimming with penguins!!! How cool! So after we hung out at the beach for a little we decided to head back and stop in a couple of the towns on the way back. Jimmy and Adria really wanted KFC so we stopped at KFC for lunch, I couldn’t believe I was eating KFC in Africa, I don’t even eat it in the states. After KFC we went to Kaut Bay to walk around and look at the shops. Jimmy got tricked into paying for parking because none of us girls said anything quickly enough(People here put vest on and act like they are parking checkers and they will tell people they know are tourist that they need to pay for parking but you really don’t have to, they are just normal people). Anyways it was bad because it was on 10 rand, a little over a dollar. So we walked around and looked at some shops and then we went to where the light house was and watched the ocean crash against the walls. The water went so high! Well after a while Renee was getting tired so we left and went home, plus Jimmy and I needed to shower for dinner. We were going to go to Spear, this place where you can pet cheetahs, for dinner but they were booked so we needed to figure out what we were going to do. We went to Obs Café to have coffee and figure out what we were going to do(This was the start of Jimmy’s obsession with Obs Café, they are really good though). In the end we decided to go down to the water front. It was a good choice. We went to this really nice seafood restaurant that had an amazing view of Table Mountain. Plus, I got to eat lobster! I haven’t had lobster in like 3 years. It was so good! Overall dinner was amazing!
Friday
Unfortunately I had to go to class today, but I didn’t make Jimmy come. He ended up going around Ons and checking everything out. But Friday night we had plans to go to the Baxter theatre to see Othello. We got ready and decided to take a cambi there. It was Jimmy’s first cambi experience and it was sooooo funny! The guy who was collecting the money was really funny. He was from South Africa but he said he lived in the states for a while. He keeping joking about being best friends with Snoop Dogg and telling us about all the parties they had. He also keep hitting on Mallory and Ashley. It was funny because he was so blunt about it and I think he was just joking around. I don’t think Jimmy thought it was as funny though but it was nice for him to see the interesting people you can meet on the cambies. Anyways so we finally got to the Baxter and we were a bit early so we went to the bar to have girlie drinks before the show. The show turned out to be amazing! It turns out it was students from UCT who were the actors and actresses and they were so good! I haven’t seen theatre since high school and now I want to go more offend. You feel a connection with the characters you don’t get when you watch movies.
Saturday
Canyoning! Yes, I decided to take Jimmy Canyoning and he loved it. It was so cute though because he was really afraid at first. The guy who runs it says that is normal. Guys usually talk a lot but then they are more afraid of it than women. But he wasn’t bad! It was also really cute because between each waterfall you have to walk through the river and it is really slippery. Well Jimmy slipped a fair amount of times but he would also turn back and put out his hand to make sure I didn’t slip, it was sooooooo cute!!! I also got to play photographer and so when I get home ill have to show you guys all the picture from the day. We got to do five waterfalls, I was exhausted by the end, I slept the entire car ride home. Anyways we were starved by the time we got back so we went to this Indian food place in Obs that the girls go to all the time. It was so good to get a full stomach, but after the long day(we had woke up at 5 am) we needed a nap so we decided to take a nap before the party(we were having people over at our house that night) . well I told one of my roommates to make sure we were up in like an hour but she never woke me up so Jimmy and I slept through the entire party. Its ok though, we were worn from the long day with Mother Nature. I’m so glad we went!
Sunday
I decided to take Jimmy to the church that I have been going to down here. It was really interesting to see how he would like the songs in Xhosa and all the dancing. I think he enjoyed it, but he wouldn’t dance that much. Anyways after church we went to the store to get stuff for South Africa’s version of Jazz in the Park at Kirstenbousch. Kirstenbousch is the gardens in Cape Town and it is absolutely beautiful. Well they hold concerts on a hill that overlooks the mountains and tons of people come and have wine and cheese and listen to African music, so I decided it would be a good idea to take Jimmy to the gardens. Well we got there early so we decided to walk around and see the gardens and all the statues they have. It turns out they have a footprint statue!!! How cool and it looked just like my tattoo so I needed to get a picture with it. Well it sits on this tree stump and so I decided to sit on the stump so that I could but my feet next to the big foot, bad idea! I ended up sitting in tree sap and I got it all over the butt of my dress! It was so embarrassing because it looked like I pooped my pants! We went to the bathroom and tried to get it off but it wouldn’t come out. Jimmy made me feel better though and reminded me that I don’t know anyone here so I shouldn’t be embarrassed. So we walked around a little more and then went back to listen to the music. It was really cool to lay there, listen to music, eat cheese, drink wine, and watch the sun go down behind the mountain but it was even more amazing because Jimmy was there with me! Despite the tree sap it was an awesome day!
Monday
I only went to work for a half day today and so Jimmy and I got to go downtown to the Green Street Market. It was cool and Jimmy got to see all the African art and he got to try and bargain with the Africans. He ended up getting his mask here! We also went into this cute African art store and got some stuff for his grandma and mom. Overall we had a productive shopping experience. But then we decided to head up to Table Mountain. We wanted to take the cable car up. After running around the market to try and find a cambi to take us there we ended up having to take a cab, but it was worth it. The cable car was really cool and it spun as you went up so you got a 360 degree view as you went to the top. On the top of Table Mountain you can see both the Atlantic Ocean side and the Indian Ocean side. It was beautiful! Also Jimmy and I had brought a picnic to eat up there because the girls who had gone before said that there were tons of people picnicking on top of Table Mountain. She was wrong! No one was picnicking but I was really hungry so we sat and had our own picnic, it was nice. Then we looked around more and went in the little shop they had. This is where Jimmy bought me my awesome Safari hat! We stayed for like 2 hours and then we headed home, watched a movie and hung out with the girls.
Tuesday
My last day with Jimmy, I cried a couple of times this day. We decided that on the last day we were going to take it easy and go to the beach. We took the train to Muzienburg beach. It was nice we ended up getting food at this cute little shop. I got a Calamari sandwich and it was awesome! And Jimmy got some sausage that he ended up likely so much he got another one. Then we went to the beach, played in the water, laid in the sun, played in the water some more. It was really nice, not as cold as Simon’s Town. We also walked along the beach and Jimmy found a snail, it was really awesome because he picked it up. I have a picture don’t worry. Anyways we relaxed the entire day and watched kids play in the water and people surf. It was super nice. And then when we were heading back with both got Coke in a glass bottle! It tastes so much better out of a glass bottle and unlike Mexico you get to keep the bottles here! We went back on the train and ended up packing and just enjoying the last night together.
Wednesday
Jimmy left and I cried all day!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Hermanus Retreat
March 3rd-9th
This week was uneventful other than the movie night at Judy’s on Wednesday Night and the weekend retreat to Hermanus. So our group took a trip down the coast to a little town called Hermanus, which is known for the whales, unfortunately whales are not down here in March. However, the place we stayed at was really nice. We stayed at John DeGruchy’s Winery/Farm. Im not sure it is used for either of those purposes but it was just a hug piece of land that was unbelievably beautiful. So we stayed there because we were there to meet with John to talk with him about his book on reconciliation. But the best part of the weekend was relaxing and going hiking. There were many trails set up to hike and on the second day Ashley and I went to the waterfall and went swimming. It was so cool! The water was really nice and we got to go right next to the waterfall. It was so peaceful! Then we had a braai that night with John which was cool because we got to talk with him and Pearnel’s(our driver) wife and Melikaya’s(our director) girlfriend. They are all from South Africa and were all really interesting to talk with. Also when we were there we went to the downtown area because they have a festival set up on the weekends. It was really nice because 5 of us went to this restaurant and had seafood!!!! I miss good seafood! And it was unbelievably good and it was cheap! Also they had really cute shops downtown and a beautiful view of the harbor(this is where the whales usually are). Finally on the last morning we took the longest trail up to the cross which was on top of one of the mountains. It was a difficult hike, but we all made it! And I had a really nice conversation with Kalyn, another girl in the house, on the way down the mountain. Overall the weekend was extremely relaxing and it was amazing to see God in the beauty of nature!
This week was uneventful other than the movie night at Judy’s on Wednesday Night and the weekend retreat to Hermanus. So our group took a trip down the coast to a little town called Hermanus, which is known for the whales, unfortunately whales are not down here in March. However, the place we stayed at was really nice. We stayed at John DeGruchy’s Winery/Farm. Im not sure it is used for either of those purposes but it was just a hug piece of land that was unbelievably beautiful. So we stayed there because we were there to meet with John to talk with him about his book on reconciliation. But the best part of the weekend was relaxing and going hiking. There were many trails set up to hike and on the second day Ashley and I went to the waterfall and went swimming. It was so cool! The water was really nice and we got to go right next to the waterfall. It was so peaceful! Then we had a braai that night with John which was cool because we got to talk with him and Pearnel’s(our driver) wife and Melikaya’s(our director) girlfriend. They are all from South Africa and were all really interesting to talk with. Also when we were there we went to the downtown area because they have a festival set up on the weekends. It was really nice because 5 of us went to this restaurant and had seafood!!!! I miss good seafood! And it was unbelievably good and it was cheap! Also they had really cute shops downtown and a beautiful view of the harbor(this is where the whales usually are). Finally on the last morning we took the longest trail up to the cross which was on top of one of the mountains. It was a difficult hike, but we all made it! And I had a really nice conversation with Kalyn, another girl in the house, on the way down the mountain. Overall the weekend was extremely relaxing and it was amazing to see God in the beauty of nature!
Fifth Week- the week of random events
Feb 25th - March 2nd
Got my hair braided!
Well I said I was going to do it and I did! I got my hair braided. Little braids too! It took forever though. Adria and I went to this new place in Obs and the girl who did my hair couldn’t even speak English but she was super fast at braiding. However, it still took three hours! It was nice to have Adria there and we had a really nice convo. In the end, it looked amazing! I loved it!
Beach then Rugby Game!!
So our teacher had a conference this Friday and we didn’t have our second class. Therefore, me and like 5 of the other girls took the train to Muzienburg. We relaxed, I read on the beach and we hopped in the water, I couldn’t go in because of my hair, but it was still nice to put my feet in. however we got ridiculously sandy and so I hair to take a shower to get the sand out of my hair. Therefore I spent like and hour rebraided the bottom of my hair, but it still looked nice. Then we headed off to our first South African rugby game! Yeah ross, I know ur jealous! It was really cool, really crowded though. We had to walk through big crowds to get to the station and then in the station it was hard to get to your seat because there were so many people. But when you got to your seat it wasn’t that bad. Something else that’s different from the states is that they don’t serve beer in the stands, they serve donuts and hot chocolate, isnt that weird! To drink you have to go into the bar underneath the station so about half way through the game like half of our girls got bored and went down there. Me, Britney, Renee, and Ashley stayed and watched the game. It was really fun because people got really into it! The South Africa team got killed though! I couldn’t believe how bad we did, but hey I don’t really know that much about it though but Britney who plays rugby said we played really bad. It was still interesting to watch and Britney keep me informed on what was happening. O yeah, while we were watching the game the guy in front of us turned around to talk with us. It was so weird but so nice to hear an American accent! It turns out he is from cali and he is doing business in cape town. It was so nice to talk with him about America and familiar things (I have been deprived an American accent for a while!). but soon they left because our team was getting killed. We decided to stay because the other girls hadn’t gotten back yet. Well the game ended and they still weren’t there so we went down to the bar to find them. Well it turns out that the girls meet an entire rugby team from Argentina that was visiting to play a tournament. They were 52 of them! And like when Milton brings his rugby team home, they were loud and rowdy. It was funny though, because we couldn’t understand what they were saying but they keep jumping up and down and chanting. It was fun because you would just jump with them but you didn’t know what was going on! Well it turns out that they wanted to keep hanging out with us and they had their tour bus so they offered to take us back to Obs and go to the bars in Obs with us. Since there were fifteen of us we figured it would be ok, plus I met their coach and personal trainer before we left so I felt more comfortable about it because they were adults. So we took the entire rugby team to Obs! The ride there was interesting because only some of them spoke English and so it was fun trying to figure out what everyone was saying. But they were really nice, we both talked about what we were doing in Cape Town and what we thought out cape town, etc. Finally we got to Obs and ended up at Stones, where we always go. I think we overwhelmed the bar though, because 60 of us walked in! it was funny to watch the Argentinans try and order. I had to order for some of them because they couldn’t speak English. But it was fun to just hang out and joke around with everyone. Well this was also the night I met Patrick, probably my best guy friend in Obs. Pat is one of the bartenders at Stones and while I was ordering for one of the boys I apologized to him for bringing so many people in and overcrowding them. he laughed and said it was ok and then asked where I was from. We ended up talking(don’t worry Jimmy I told him I had a boyfriend!) and he was really nice! He is from the DRC and is here studying and working in Cape Town. That nice I met so many awesome people!
Winery Tour
So after our crazy Friday, we had a planned winery tour. Kristina’s, one of the girls in the house, dad has an old business partner that now owns a winery in Stellenbosch and even more important, he is from Green Bay Wisconsin!!! How cool is that! Again it was so nice to hear a familiar accent and it made me even more excited that Jimmy was coming in like 2 weeks. Anyways the winery tour was really fun. I don’t really like wine, but I have never really tasted good wine. So we got to taste like 8 wines and I found that wine isnt that nasty and I actually like white wine. He also showed us around the winery and told us about how it worked and why they did certain things. He was so enthusiastic about it, it was even more exciting. Finally we got to try one of the wines straight from the barrel, cool! Overall it was really nice because I have never been on a winery tour and it reminded me of home because the owner was from Wisconsin. Maybe one day ill own a winery in South Africa and live there for their summer and then go to the states for our summers. What an awesome job!
Holistic Fair
The holistic fair is a “hippy” fair that they have in Obs. Its really awesome though because they have stuff from all over the world. They have food from India, China, Indonesia, Greece, Africa, etc. They also have people selling stuff from all over. Also everything is so much cheaper than it in is the stores in Obs. It was really cool to look at all the stuff from all over and I got some really cool African gifts.
Got my hair braided!
Well I said I was going to do it and I did! I got my hair braided. Little braids too! It took forever though. Adria and I went to this new place in Obs and the girl who did my hair couldn’t even speak English but she was super fast at braiding. However, it still took three hours! It was nice to have Adria there and we had a really nice convo. In the end, it looked amazing! I loved it!
Beach then Rugby Game!!
So our teacher had a conference this Friday and we didn’t have our second class. Therefore, me and like 5 of the other girls took the train to Muzienburg. We relaxed, I read on the beach and we hopped in the water, I couldn’t go in because of my hair, but it was still nice to put my feet in. however we got ridiculously sandy and so I hair to take a shower to get the sand out of my hair. Therefore I spent like and hour rebraided the bottom of my hair, but it still looked nice. Then we headed off to our first South African rugby game! Yeah ross, I know ur jealous! It was really cool, really crowded though. We had to walk through big crowds to get to the station and then in the station it was hard to get to your seat because there were so many people. But when you got to your seat it wasn’t that bad. Something else that’s different from the states is that they don’t serve beer in the stands, they serve donuts and hot chocolate, isnt that weird! To drink you have to go into the bar underneath the station so about half way through the game like half of our girls got bored and went down there. Me, Britney, Renee, and Ashley stayed and watched the game. It was really fun because people got really into it! The South Africa team got killed though! I couldn’t believe how bad we did, but hey I don’t really know that much about it though but Britney who plays rugby said we played really bad. It was still interesting to watch and Britney keep me informed on what was happening. O yeah, while we were watching the game the guy in front of us turned around to talk with us. It was so weird but so nice to hear an American accent! It turns out he is from cali and he is doing business in cape town. It was so nice to talk with him about America and familiar things (I have been deprived an American accent for a while!). but soon they left because our team was getting killed. We decided to stay because the other girls hadn’t gotten back yet. Well the game ended and they still weren’t there so we went down to the bar to find them. Well it turns out that the girls meet an entire rugby team from Argentina that was visiting to play a tournament. They were 52 of them! And like when Milton brings his rugby team home, they were loud and rowdy. It was funny though, because we couldn’t understand what they were saying but they keep jumping up and down and chanting. It was fun because you would just jump with them but you didn’t know what was going on! Well it turns out that they wanted to keep hanging out with us and they had their tour bus so they offered to take us back to Obs and go to the bars in Obs with us. Since there were fifteen of us we figured it would be ok, plus I met their coach and personal trainer before we left so I felt more comfortable about it because they were adults. So we took the entire rugby team to Obs! The ride there was interesting because only some of them spoke English and so it was fun trying to figure out what everyone was saying. But they were really nice, we both talked about what we were doing in Cape Town and what we thought out cape town, etc. Finally we got to Obs and ended up at Stones, where we always go. I think we overwhelmed the bar though, because 60 of us walked in! it was funny to watch the Argentinans try and order. I had to order for some of them because they couldn’t speak English. But it was fun to just hang out and joke around with everyone. Well this was also the night I met Patrick, probably my best guy friend in Obs. Pat is one of the bartenders at Stones and while I was ordering for one of the boys I apologized to him for bringing so many people in and overcrowding them. he laughed and said it was ok and then asked where I was from. We ended up talking(don’t worry Jimmy I told him I had a boyfriend!) and he was really nice! He is from the DRC and is here studying and working in Cape Town. That nice I met so many awesome people!
Winery Tour
So after our crazy Friday, we had a planned winery tour. Kristina’s, one of the girls in the house, dad has an old business partner that now owns a winery in Stellenbosch and even more important, he is from Green Bay Wisconsin!!! How cool is that! Again it was so nice to hear a familiar accent and it made me even more excited that Jimmy was coming in like 2 weeks. Anyways the winery tour was really fun. I don’t really like wine, but I have never really tasted good wine. So we got to taste like 8 wines and I found that wine isnt that nasty and I actually like white wine. He also showed us around the winery and told us about how it worked and why they did certain things. He was so enthusiastic about it, it was even more exciting. Finally we got to try one of the wines straight from the barrel, cool! Overall it was really nice because I have never been on a winery tour and it reminded me of home because the owner was from Wisconsin. Maybe one day ill own a winery in South Africa and live there for their summer and then go to the states for our summers. What an awesome job!
Holistic Fair
The holistic fair is a “hippy” fair that they have in Obs. Its really awesome though because they have stuff from all over the world. They have food from India, China, Indonesia, Greece, Africa, etc. They also have people selling stuff from all over. Also everything is so much cheaper than it in is the stores in Obs. It was really cool to look at all the stuff from all over and I got some really cool African gifts.
Crazy week 4
Feb 18th to 24th
Clinics with OTs
So this week at work, Renee and I had our first meeting with Shona. At the end she told us that she thought it would be a good idea to go into the clinics with the OTs to see what they do to help us design the chair for them. So Monday we got to go into the townships with the OTs. The first place we went was in Mitchell’s Plain, one of the townships in the Cape Flatts, and it was a little house where they take care of disabled children while their parents are at work. There were about 8 or 9 children in wheelchairs there that the OT were going to see. The OT’s job is to check the alignment of the children and if their alignment is off they have to modify the chair by cutting the metal or foam. It was really cool because Renee and I got to hold one of the children. She was five but she looks like she was two, she was so tiny and so adorable! But we also got to help modify the foot rest on her chair and then I got to help one of the OTs modify another child’s chair. They also teach the caretakers how to stretch the children so that they are healthy and don’t become stiff. It was really informing to watch them. It was also really impressive because they worked really fast and got through all of the children. Next we had to go to another caretakers place in another township(can’t remember the name to this one). This place was not in a building but a shack built outside the ladies house. However, when you went in it looked like a normal house inside. It was really cute too! The walls were yellow and they had pictures up that the children had done. I couldn’t believe it! It just goes to show u that it doesn’t happen how big a house is, its what you do to it that makes it home.
Braai on Friday
We decided to have a braai again and everyone brought food over. It was nice because there weren’t too many people. Plus some of the girls, like 8 of us, and some other people we live with sat in the living room and played some games Renee came up with, like this game signs. It was really fun to just relax with everyone.
Market in Woodstock
So all the girls decided that we were going to go to this market in a town closer to downtown called Woodstock. Well since there is like 13 of us, we had to take two cambies. Well lets just say I chose the wrong cambi. Our cambi driver, first forgot to drop us off in Woodstock, so we ended up going all the way into downtown to the cambi station. Then they turned around to take us back and you could let they didn’t know where they were going. We turned around a couple of times and then they dropped us off in front of this random warehouse, what they thought was the Old Mill. Well I just we need to be at the Old Mill Factory, so we weren’t even at the right spot. So we went into a couple of shops and asked directions. No one seemed to know what fair we were talking about but they did know where the mill was, it was like 15 blocks away… and people keep telling us to be careful. So here we were walking around in a sketchy part of town, five girls in cape town, it was not good. But we walked quickly and with confidence and we finally made it. I was so glad because it was really hot out and I was sick of walking. It turned out it wasn’t a fair but an outdoor shopping center with a section where people were selling a ton of food. It was cool though. They had this really awesome bead store that we went into, so in the end it was worth it and we learned an important lesson, Cambi drivers don’t always know where they are going.
Dancing on Long Street
Long Street is the place to go in Cape Town. Since there isn’t really a dance club in Obs, the girls decided that we wanted to go to Long Street and go dancing. We all got dressed up and ready to go out, Julia you’ll appreciate that I made my roommate listen to Britney while we got ready. Anyways we took a taxi downtown to this club we heard about. Well it was more like a bar and there was a ridiculous cover charge so we decided to walk around and see what else was on Long Street. There were a lot of really cool looking dance clubs and bars but everyone had a cover charge. We finally found this bar called Jo Burg that had a little dance floor. It turned out to be just the right place! We all danced together, it was hot and crambed but it was fun! And I meet a lot of random people. I meet this guy who was visiting from Saudi Arabia and we played pool with this random people from Cape Town. It was nice to take a break from dancing. But I spent most of my time either talking with random people or dancing with Ashley and Adria. But soon a lot of the girls left. Well Renee, Mandi, and I were not ready to leave. We stayed and danced until 4 in the morning. It was so much fun!!!! And we got a free ride home because our friends from Obs, these crazy French guys, took us home. I love having a night out to dance!
Brunch at Judy’s
After dancing all Saturday night we had to get up and go have brunch at Judy’s, she is the lady who started to South Africa program. It was hard to wake up but Judy made an amazing breakfast!!! This was also the first time that we had been to Judy’s. Her place in on the waterfront and has an amazing view. She has two balconies. One overlooks the city with Table Mountain in the back and the other looks over the Waterfront, the harbor where the mall and all the really nice restaurants are. Along with the amazing view, the inside was really nice, very bright with a lot of light coming in from the windows and it had a nice modern style, white with a lot of accented colors. It was unbelievable. I would love to live in a place like that, but it is def too expensive. Someone asked Judy how much her one bedroom was and it was 500,000 American dollars! Wow, looks like I wont be living there in my life time. But anyways Judy definitely deserves a place like this. She is an amazing woman. Her husband died like 3 years after they got married and through a series of events she ended up traveling the world and helping refugees in a ton of countries. She has worked for the president, written ten billion books, traveled to so many countries, and meet so many amazing people—she knows Desmond Tutu personally. Her story was really cool to her because everything she did kind of fell into her lap, it was so cool to see how things turned out! But she def worked hard to get to where she was and she ended up losing one of her legs when she was helping refugees in Sudan, so life hasn’t been easier for her but she def knows she is blessed. It is so inspirational because it just goes to show that when you put your trust in the Lord and understand that his plans for you are ten times more amazing than yours are, then you will end up living an amazing life like Judy with so many stories and so many amazing friends. I’m excited because I cant wait to see how my life turns out. As Judy told us, its already started to become interesting because look at where you are now, you’re in South Africa!
Clinics with OTs
So this week at work, Renee and I had our first meeting with Shona. At the end she told us that she thought it would be a good idea to go into the clinics with the OTs to see what they do to help us design the chair for them. So Monday we got to go into the townships with the OTs. The first place we went was in Mitchell’s Plain, one of the townships in the Cape Flatts, and it was a little house where they take care of disabled children while their parents are at work. There were about 8 or 9 children in wheelchairs there that the OT were going to see. The OT’s job is to check the alignment of the children and if their alignment is off they have to modify the chair by cutting the metal or foam. It was really cool because Renee and I got to hold one of the children. She was five but she looks like she was two, she was so tiny and so adorable! But we also got to help modify the foot rest on her chair and then I got to help one of the OTs modify another child’s chair. They also teach the caretakers how to stretch the children so that they are healthy and don’t become stiff. It was really informing to watch them. It was also really impressive because they worked really fast and got through all of the children. Next we had to go to another caretakers place in another township(can’t remember the name to this one). This place was not in a building but a shack built outside the ladies house. However, when you went in it looked like a normal house inside. It was really cute too! The walls were yellow and they had pictures up that the children had done. I couldn’t believe it! It just goes to show u that it doesn’t happen how big a house is, its what you do to it that makes it home.
Braai on Friday
We decided to have a braai again and everyone brought food over. It was nice because there weren’t too many people. Plus some of the girls, like 8 of us, and some other people we live with sat in the living room and played some games Renee came up with, like this game signs. It was really fun to just relax with everyone.
Market in Woodstock
So all the girls decided that we were going to go to this market in a town closer to downtown called Woodstock. Well since there is like 13 of us, we had to take two cambies. Well lets just say I chose the wrong cambi. Our cambi driver, first forgot to drop us off in Woodstock, so we ended up going all the way into downtown to the cambi station. Then they turned around to take us back and you could let they didn’t know where they were going. We turned around a couple of times and then they dropped us off in front of this random warehouse, what they thought was the Old Mill. Well I just we need to be at the Old Mill Factory, so we weren’t even at the right spot. So we went into a couple of shops and asked directions. No one seemed to know what fair we were talking about but they did know where the mill was, it was like 15 blocks away… and people keep telling us to be careful. So here we were walking around in a sketchy part of town, five girls in cape town, it was not good. But we walked quickly and with confidence and we finally made it. I was so glad because it was really hot out and I was sick of walking. It turned out it wasn’t a fair but an outdoor shopping center with a section where people were selling a ton of food. It was cool though. They had this really awesome bead store that we went into, so in the end it was worth it and we learned an important lesson, Cambi drivers don’t always know where they are going.
Dancing on Long Street
Long Street is the place to go in Cape Town. Since there isn’t really a dance club in Obs, the girls decided that we wanted to go to Long Street and go dancing. We all got dressed up and ready to go out, Julia you’ll appreciate that I made my roommate listen to Britney while we got ready. Anyways we took a taxi downtown to this club we heard about. Well it was more like a bar and there was a ridiculous cover charge so we decided to walk around and see what else was on Long Street. There were a lot of really cool looking dance clubs and bars but everyone had a cover charge. We finally found this bar called Jo Burg that had a little dance floor. It turned out to be just the right place! We all danced together, it was hot and crambed but it was fun! And I meet a lot of random people. I meet this guy who was visiting from Saudi Arabia and we played pool with this random people from Cape Town. It was nice to take a break from dancing. But I spent most of my time either talking with random people or dancing with Ashley and Adria. But soon a lot of the girls left. Well Renee, Mandi, and I were not ready to leave. We stayed and danced until 4 in the morning. It was so much fun!!!! And we got a free ride home because our friends from Obs, these crazy French guys, took us home. I love having a night out to dance!
Brunch at Judy’s
After dancing all Saturday night we had to get up and go have brunch at Judy’s, she is the lady who started to South Africa program. It was hard to wake up but Judy made an amazing breakfast!!! This was also the first time that we had been to Judy’s. Her place in on the waterfront and has an amazing view. She has two balconies. One overlooks the city with Table Mountain in the back and the other looks over the Waterfront, the harbor where the mall and all the really nice restaurants are. Along with the amazing view, the inside was really nice, very bright with a lot of light coming in from the windows and it had a nice modern style, white with a lot of accented colors. It was unbelievable. I would love to live in a place like that, but it is def too expensive. Someone asked Judy how much her one bedroom was and it was 500,000 American dollars! Wow, looks like I wont be living there in my life time. But anyways Judy definitely deserves a place like this. She is an amazing woman. Her husband died like 3 years after they got married and through a series of events she ended up traveling the world and helping refugees in a ton of countries. She has worked for the president, written ten billion books, traveled to so many countries, and meet so many amazing people—she knows Desmond Tutu personally. Her story was really cool to her because everything she did kind of fell into her lap, it was so cool to see how things turned out! But she def worked hard to get to where she was and she ended up losing one of her legs when she was helping refugees in Sudan, so life hasn’t been easier for her but she def knows she is blessed. It is so inspirational because it just goes to show that when you put your trust in the Lord and understand that his plans for you are ten times more amazing than yours are, then you will end up living an amazing life like Judy with so many stories and so many amazing friends. I’m excited because I cant wait to see how my life turns out. As Judy told us, its already started to become interesting because look at where you are now, you’re in South Africa!
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