Thank You~

Another incredible weekend - made even more outstanding with the arrival of Jack and Emma! A quick summary of the weekend: Friday evening, Patricia and I went out for Italian at La Perla (definitely will be a favorite of the trip!) and then had a quiet evening at her place. Saturday morning we woke up early and drove to the Salt River Neighborhood Goods Market, which is a farmer's market with mostly organic treats. Then we toured the District Six Museum.

Up until the 1970s, District Six was home to almost a tenth of the city of Cape Town’s population. In 1966, the apartheid government declared District Six a white only area under the Group Areas Act. By 1982, 60 000 people had been forcibly removed to barren outlying areas aptly known as the Cape Flats (the townships), and their houses in District Six were flattened by bulldozers.

Following the museum visit, we explored more of the city before heading home... as it was time for me to get ready for my first rugby match!!! It was so much fun and surprisingly, easier to pick up than American football - I'm definitely looking forward to watching a few more matches.

Jack and Emma arrived Saturday evening and we celebrated with another braai (this time a genuine braai with a true fire - no charcoal).

And Sunday, I spent the early hours of my birthday reading in bed while listening to the waves. It was perfect - probably also because I knew I had friends from home, albeit fast asleep and unadjusted to the 9 hour change. Then a group of us hopped in a bus and headed to Stellenbosch for a day of wine tasting and great food. We got back as the sun was setting - leaving us with enough time for naps to recharge - so we could head to Camps Bay for a few drinks at a bar... you wouldn't believe the people watching!

Tonight was home cooked dinner with good company...

Another beautiful day

Yesterday was the drive to Hermanus - the day started out beautiful but the clouds rolled in to bring the winter rains. The seas were really rough (it looked like what I've heard Missi's day on the Darula to be!) and I'm glad we were out on the water Saturday instead.

This sign is posted at a robot (AKA a stoplight) along the main highway with how much water the city was using - and the reservoir status!

Not only are we sitting on a whale tail bench (as Hermanus is known to be one of the world's best sites for land-based whale watching), but in the back of this picture is Danger Point which is said to be the location of where the first time the "women and children first" rule was carried out. There are paintings and such of the ship's sinking documenting that tidbit of history.

Our afternoon entertainment...

The picture below is of the top of one of the mountains on the drive back; just a couple of rocks to the casual glance, but it's known as the rhino and elephant team.

This is from a mountain overlooking Hermanus - slightly windy... Well, it's just the start of the work week and I'm already looking forward to next weekend - including the arrival of Jack and Emma!

not the typical week - but that's what's great!

Another week has past so quickly! In the last 6 days, I’ve spent 5 of them (or at least the evenings after work) with new people, most of them locals! Monday and Tuesday evenings, I went out to dinner with different people from the client and Wednesday evening I met a mutual friend of a coworker who comes to South Africa a few times a year to support different HIV/AIDS clinics in the townships throughout South Africa. (Townships were created as living areas for non-whites under the old political system of Apartheid and are made up of miles and miles of rows of many times tin shacks. A township tour is still on my list of things to do so more to come on them soon.) It was so interesting talking to her about her experiences and her work!

On Thursday evening, a few of us from my team went to dinner and then saw Oceans 13. Friday night, Patricia and I went to Kristin’s house for happy hour and dinner. (Patricia had been put in touch with Kristin through a friend.) Kristin has been living in Cape Town for a few years working in the film industry and teaching at the university. She made an amazing meal and the other guests were all currently living in Cape Town AND it was the first time I ate ostrich – not bad! She lives in the Woodstock area, which is 15 minutes from downtown, which can be described as a ‘hectic’ neighborhood. Patricia and I drove and fortunately we were able to park right outside her house. To explain ‘hectic’, one of the guys at dinner, Mike (who moved to Cape Town from Iowa 12 years ago and is a correspondent for NPR) lived less than 3 blocks away and wouldn’t walk home after dark. It was good to have a reminder about being aware…

And then today was another amazing day and I owe a thank you to Bill and Pete, for putting me in contact with JP, another native South African. I got up early this morning and as it appeared to be a cloudy, rainy day, I bundled up to prepare for a day out fishing on his 17’ boat. However, we were pleasantly surprised to see the sun was shining at Gordon's Beach on False Bay (the water on the other side of the Cape Point). The day was fantastic and I keep thinking how incredible this place is; it’s SO beautiful. At one point, I was driving us through the swells and scanning the water (long-formed habit of deadhead searching on the Mississippi) and we found 2 whales! I didn’t get any good pictures between worrying about the boat and wanting to see them but I’ll be more prepared next time! As for the fishing, we had a friendly competition between the ‘Yanks’ and the South Africans and while Patricia and I didn’t come through with the win, I did manage to pull in two small ones (a catfish and an I don't know what). After pulling in the boat, we enjoyed a few beers, watched part of the rugby match (South Africa vs. Australia) and by that point, I was exhausted... We drove home and now I'm preparing for another full day tomorrow with Hermanas, a BBQ, and perhaps some live music before another week of work...

G'night!

All moved in - and the Point!

Another weekend down – and the sense of my time here running out is already creeping in; there’s so much to see and do! Saturday morning, Patricia and I met Neil to take a look at a couple of apartments for her, followed by coffee on the Camps Bay strip.

We then met Wendy, a woman who works at the client and was letting me into the apartment. Someone at the client put our team in touch with Wendy because she heard Wendy had a furnished apartment available to rent. While my teammate took Wendy’s apartment, Wendy checked in with her friends and found this apartment for me. After looking at a beautiful apartment for Patricia, I was hoping I made the right decision and as soon as I walked back into my new place, any worries flew away. While we haven’t seen too much of the sun since the first weekend, the winter season is definitely allowing us to stay in amazing places due to the seasonal prices.

After unloading all my belongings (2 suitcases), Patricia and I set out for a late lunch and found a place with amazing curry; I had the local kingclip fish. Due the rain, we decided to explore in the car. It was late afternoon and I believe the words were, “Well, do you want to just go see the Cape of Good Hope?” Appearing as a consolation due to the weather, it’s funny just how far off that statement is from how I feel. So many things each day paint a smirk on my face as I wonder how I ended up with this opportunity to be here. From the South Africans’ accents to driving on the left; from the gorgeous scenery to needing my power adapter to plug in my South African mobile, I am constantly in disbelief that I’m actually here.

The drive to Cape Point was amazing (the picture above)! From Hout Bay, the road winds along the coast, hundreds of feet above the water, but right along the edge. The cliffs above the road are lined with nets to catch falling rocks; at one point the road goes into the cliff like a half tunnel with a ceiling but no outer wall. It’s hard to describe but I’ll be returning and will get a picture because the national park at the very tip had just closed when we arrived. No worries as I loved the drive down – definitely would be a fantastic motorcycle route! Also along the way, we spotted a road sign with a penguin on it. I’d heard and seen pictures from Stephanie’s trip, but I was clearly not prepared. They are adorable! And they were so close to us and the car – it was unbelievable. I could have spent hours watching them waddle their cute little way around! However, we continued on to make sure we made it back before dark and came upon a car that was stopped right in the middle of the lane due to some large rocks being on the road (or so I thought). I slowed and started to overtake the stopped car – and then realized the ‘large rocks’ were actually 4 baboons!!!

Sunday was a little less exciting; we visited one of the local malls for Patricia’s first visit to the client’s retail store and some grocery shopping. We did make it to another of Cape Town’s attractions, the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Even during their winter season, it was beautiful; my favorite section was the ‘Useful Plants’ area – check out the one we found!

Following the gardens, I cooked my first dinner in my new place – butternut squash soup and asparagus. Ok, bedtime for me – miss you guys!! I hope you're realizing that the pictures are partially aimed to convince you to come and visit me!

Drive on the left. Drive on the left. Drive on the left.

I left the office today just before 5 to make sure the downtown car rental facility would still be open, neglecting to consider that my would force my debut of driving in South Africa to occur during rush hour: bad idea #1. Anyway, I complete the paperwork and as we're approaching the car, I try to look like left driving is all I do. After last weekend's mistake of walking to the driver's side door of Neil's (the guy who showed me different apartments) car, today I wanted to avoid looking like a fool by approaching the passenger side door. After a successful demonstration of knowing which side of the car to get in, I took my seat and tried to orient myself; the car is also a manual. I've driven a clutch in Scotland (where you drive on the left) but that was 8 years ago and it was probably a ten minute drive! So, I was sitting in my newly acquired rental (still in the garage) preparing myself... the gear shift is on my left; I can do this; I will drive on the left side of the road; wow, this exit between the pillar and the next car is pretty skinny (my mirror thought so, too); I should have thought through my route back to the office before pulling out; oops, the blinker is on the right side of the steering wheel (as I turn off the windshield wipers)... Surprisingly, I made no wrong turns (as far as directions or onto one-ways in the wrong direction) yet it was still quite the relief to park the car back at the office.

Just after 6, Patricia and I packed up and as I was sitting in the car gearing myself up for driving on the left, I realized I wasn't finding the seatbelt. I turned to look where my fingers were coming up empty and found them grabbing at the air just over Patricia's shoulder - on my left. Oops again, the driver side seatbelt is on the right... I buckled up and refocused to get driving left on my mind. After the short drive to the hotel and again obeying the one ways, we parked and I suggested taking a cab to find dinner at the waterfront. I figured I have plenty of time to acclimate to the leftward driving, no need to drive through the city with no directions, in the dark, and walk from the parking deck to the restaurant in the dark (justification can be so easy when you've already made the decision!)

Tomorrow morning, we're driving over to the Camps Bay/Clifton area to look at apartments for Patricia and I'll move into mine. I'm thrilled at the idea of not touching my suitcase again for a while - such a nice touch to this gig!

naked chocolate and topless coffee?

The topless coffee is what I had previously known as bottomless coffee but naked chocolate remains a mystery. Some morning on the walk to work, I'll be sure to investigate.

I continue to be impressed by the friendliness of the South Africans I have met. First, I have never been called 'stunning' quite so many times (yes, they were probably referring to my work) but it's still a day-maker. Then this morning, I sat down for breakfast at the hotel and pulled out my book until the others arrived. The woman working came over with a glass of water for me (she knows I drink tap water each morning - my green tendencies continue over here) and I complimented her on the pretty fruit salad I saw her making yesterday morning towards the end of our meal. I read on and a few minutes later, she brought me a single serving of fresh fruit she had just cut up for me. I've encountered many people here who go out of their way for other people; it's wonderful.

Another team member arriving today - exciting!

Week 1!

It's almost midnight in Cape Town, marking exactly one week since I have left my San Franciscan home. And, not surprisingly, I’m still thrilled to be here. The jetlag caught up with me on Wednesday (my second day) and I was challenged (to say the least) to stay alert at some afternoon meetings. We were offsite for the client’s leadership meetings and my biggest takeaway was their emphasis on social responsibility. To conclude the afternoon session for their top 150 roles in the company, they showed An Inconvenient Truth. Prior to the movie, they reflected on their 4 major priorities right now, being to:
· Accelerate transformation (transformation refers to changes post-apartheid to promote equality)
· Drive social development
· Enhance environmental focus
· Address climate change
I’m so impressed with their effort to be aware and place such an emphasis on sustainability.

The evenings last week were filled with nightly team dinners exploring the different parts of Cape Town. The team is fantastic with great personalities and idiosyncrasies that I’m sure will keep us all entertained. We will be a complete team of 6 when another woman from the States arrives on Wednesday.

Friday morning, I decided that I may be looking forward to my weekends here even more than back at home because every weekend holds so much opportunity for new adventures and experiences. My first weekend was support of my theory.

Although the hotel I’m staying in is fantastic, I’m planning on moving into a bungalow or apartment on the Atlantic just outside the city (a 15 minute drive to work instead of the 5 minute walk) to take advantage of the beautiful coastline. So moving from the purple star to the green star… I set up an appointment for Saturday morning to look at a couple places in the Camps Bay and Clifton areas…

Neil from the accommodation shop picked me up Saturday morning and drove me along the scenic route to Camps Bay. He showed me the areas over there and a couple of apartments, including a cute little bungalow that was leading the charge until I saw a coworker's place. I'm now looking into finding an apartment in the same building or near a coworkers - the search will continue this week. I'm taking this picture from Tom's apartment building looking back towards the bungalow (which is above the last beach in the picture) Anyway, after the two apartments, I found a coffee shop and took in the sights (both the people and the surf) and read my book. Tom, a coworker, gave me a call and I went to go see his apartment (and read more on his balcony with the waves crashing in the background, of course). Friday night was another great dinner with South African red wine - quickly becoming a favorite evening drink of mine...

Saturday morning started out with a lazy 11am breakfast back in Camps Bay and a conversation about whether or not today would be appropriate for the hike up Table Mountain, which I'd been told would take anywhere from 1 hour to all day depending on who was asked. A few of us concluded that we'd hike up and take the cable car down, saving our knees and making sure we were off the mountain by dark and the incoming rain. We also had been told that one shouldn't go at it alone - perhaps in a group no smaller than 6 for safety in numbers. We park and hear that the cable car is closed due to high winds but that it may open back up. So Mike and I start up... It's beautiful! And also like climbing 40cm steps constantly for 2.5 hours. While hiking, the phone rings; it's one of our friends who chose to drive up Lion's Head (another Cape Town beauty) warning us of the incoming cold front that he sees from the vista overlooking the ocean. We decide to continue and worst case, we can always turn around early. More and more, I was encouraged each time I notice someone behind us because then we won't be the last people on the mountain. Success is ours and we close on the peak. We're happy to make it to the top with the gorgeous views of Cape Town, the Atlantic, and the 12 Apostles (12 peaks hugging the coast southward). However, it is then confirmed by other hikers there not only is there no cable ride down - but there's also no beer to re-energize us as the restuarant has closed as well. Long story short - and 4 sore knees later - we made it back down with only the wind reminding us of the incoming weather.

We cleaned up for the evening and went to the Water Front for dinner (which was incredible - curried banana and potato soup and kingclip fish for me - interesting and delicious!) I'm now back at my hotel, sipping jasmine green tea and listening to the thunder and lightening outside. Even though I've always found thunderstorms calming, tonight I'm particularly happy that I'm home instead of lost somewhere on Table Mountain :)

Okay, bedtime for me; another week to look forward to! And I get to read the last 30 pages of Get the Edge tonight! My best to everyone! Thanks for the fun emails!