4/14/09
It’s been a jam-packed busy weekend here in Cape Town. On Sunday I did laundry for the first time (here). It’s a tricky process because you need Two 5 rand coins and one 1 rand coin. But here’s the tricky part, there are OLD 5 rand and NEW 5 rand. There are machines here in the building that take both but you have to have two of the same. And the dryers only take the OLD rand. Confused yet? Join the club.
I also organized my room and truly settled myself. I did a stair workout in our building (all 18 floors 3 times), then enjoyed the roof deck pool area while some guys barbequed on the grills up there. Yummmmm. That night, a few of us went by the beach for dinner at Nando’s. We were there just in time for sunset and I got some gorgeous photos. My first sunset in Cape Town was absolutely breathtaking.
It’s been a jam-packed busy weekend here in Cape Town. On Sunday I did laundry for the first time (here). It’s a tricky process because you need Two 5 rand coins and one 1 rand coin. But here’s the tricky part, there are OLD 5 rand and NEW 5 rand. There are machines here in the building that take both but you have to have two of the same. And the dryers only take the OLD rand. Confused yet? Join the club.
I also organized my room and truly settled myself. I did a stair workout in our building (all 18 floors 3 times), then enjoyed the roof deck pool area while some guys barbequed on the grills up there. Yummmmm. That night, a few of us went by the beach for dinner at Nando’s. We were there just in time for sunset and I got some gorgeous photos. My first sunset in Cape Town was absolutely breathtaking.
FYE: The locals seem to like taking my picture. It was just before sundown and while my friends relaxed on the beach, I seized the opportunity to get some photos of the sun and the waves. Only a few hundred feet from my friends and surrounded by other tourists, I felt safe doing this. As I was taking my photos, I couldn’t help but notice some (friendly) South Africans surrounding me. They looked all giddy and so happy to see me, as if I was a friend of theirs or something. My senses heightened a bit, I continued on my photo shoot. They finally got my attention and asked if I wouldn’t mind taking a picture of them with their camera. At this point there were three guys. I took their picture and then they asked if I would get in the photo with them. Feeling safe enough, I agreed. They were so excited to have photos of me! Next thing I know, a few girls joined in. They all wanted separate pictures with me! I still can’t figure out if they thought I was someone famous or just entertained by the color of my skin. I ended up getting a huge kick out of it. Then again, this evening, Jamie and I went to change in some NEW 5 rand for OLD 5 rand to do laundry. On our way back to the apartments, we noticed the local book shop was open. Earlier, we had been talking about how they sell children’s books and cupcakes in lower level. Descending the steps and starting to explore the shop, we found a crowd of people walking around in fancy outfits and carrying wine glasses. When we saw the shop owner handing out free glasses, we realized we weren’t welcome. As we turned around to head up the stairs, a woman with a professional-looking camera around her neck asked us for a photo. Jamie would’ve protested, but I instead threw my arm around her and said, ‘this is what happens when you hang out with famous people.’ Turns out we will make the local paper for ‘attending’ the book release. Hee hee. HERE IT IS: http://www.flickr.com/photos/booksa/page2/ or you could google “Danielle Surprenant and Jamie Day” …it’s hysterical.
my fans
On Monday a whole crew of us hiked Table Mountain! My fellow child lifer, Jamie, had caught up online with, Murray, a guy she was doing ANOTHER volunteer program with, Mercy Ships, who lives here in Cape Town. He and his family led the 8 hour trek. We started on the Kirstenbosch side (the side we DON’T live on) at Cecilia trail. After a ways, we jumped on to Skeleton Gorge and took that all the way to the Table’s Top. Once there, we hiked the entire length of Table Mountain over to the “Cable Cars” the less adventurous way to see Table Mountain. We ate up there and explored the shops before descending down Plettiklop Trail on the opposite side of the Mountain (the side we DO live on). The entire day took us a full 8 hours. We hiked through trees, rocks and caves; over grass, rock, brook, bridge and even beach sand; up steep inclines, rocks and ladders and saw the most magnificent views. Murray, the South African, and his family gave small tutorials about the land, the city and the plant life. It was such an all around fabulous day and I was so happy to share it with such quality people.
all of us at the highest point of Table Mountain
Afrikaans:
Dapper = Brave
Goed (hoot) = Good
Fynbos (Fine Bas) = Plant life…Table Mountain has more Fyn Bas on it then in all of the UK combined
Protea = Cape Town’s National Flower and Symbol
Cape Town’s Population = 3.5 Million
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