Teach me how to Sokkie

It's sunday afternoon here in sunny Stellenbosch, Western Cape.  The past 48 hours have been extremely entertaining.  I plan on going into the lab a little bit later to get acquainted with the set-up and start some crystal growth experiments.

Friday was a chill day in the department.  It started with a seminar in the morning with Dr. Gareth Lloyd from the UK, followed by tea time with the speaker.  My brief stint in the UK and now here has really illustrated the importance of tea in daily life.  Afterwards, the entire group and company went to the Hillcrest Berry Farm.  The food was quite good and the view was breathtaking.

                                                                           Our view

Since eating out is quite cheap here, I calculate that if I were to eat out for every meal, it would be comparable to buying groceries in the states and making lunch and dinner for two months.  With that knowledge, we went to Gino's (http://www.ginos.co.za/) in the nightcap on friday for dinner and drinks. The rugby match was on, the food was delicious, and the place was packed.  We were there for hours sharing stories and discussing more serious realms of thought.  As the boys went home, I met up with some of the students at Cubana (http://www.cubana.co.za/Home.aspx)...

Two notable differences in bars over here vs. stateside:
-Shots ordered at a bar are typically smaller, but in this case, you were given 6 of them with your order
-A liquid cocaine is MUCH more enjoyable here than in the US

It was getting late, so we headed out.  There is actually a club/bar called 'entourage' here.  It was full of dudes and the same type of atmosphere as a blackfinn/mcfaddens hybrid bar.  These bars bring me back to childhood when the thought of a lasershow was quite exciting...every bar seems to have some sort of laser setup which is blinding at first.  It seems as though we all danced for 2 hours straight, riding the buzz from our cubana drinks and headed home around 2am.

Saturday at 10am or so, we headed out to get groceries and materials for later that night.  Afterwards, we set out to the local market.  After exploring for a little, we all got lunch to compensate for the volume of wine that was to be consumed a few hours later.

There are vineyards everywhere.  There is no need to buy tickets to a tasting or to make any appointment at any vineyard.  The two vineyards we were to had tastings of 8 wines or so at R40 (about $5).  These are also the best views I have ever seen of stellenbosch to date.  The pictures posted on FB will be a testament to that statement.

The first vineyard was Uva Mira (http://www.uvamira.co.za/home.html).  The higher elevation of this estate provides a subtly cooler climate for vine growth.  As a corollary, the grape has less sugar content.  The samples were quite generous with a good mix of white/reds, their best in my opinion (and one of the best I've ever tasted) is their Red blend, 2006.  The whites were mediocre.

Next was Ernie Els vineyard, owned by the South African golfer.  This was more of an open type atmosphere with the same gorgeous views.

Everyone always imagines the type of house and lifestyle they will have when they become older and more established.  The art of winemaking I'm sure can be painstaking and complicated, not to mention competitive.  But despite all of that, upon visiting these elegant establishments, the reward easily compensates for the labor.  You can see Stellenbosch for miles and miles, the air seems crisper, the heat is dry, and guests driving to your manor to taste your wine must be a humbling experience.  I'm not saying I will take my chemistry background to the art of the vine, but the idea is very attractive.

The trek back took us to Helene's to have dinner...she is quite the cook and entertainer along with her roommate hendrik (engineer).  We fought off the resulting food coma and headed out to Opskop.  Just imagine a large, wide-open dance floor, a large seating area, small bar space, a balcony, and a plethora of strobe lights that would drive an epileptic mad.  Jager bombs, springboks, soco and limes, and beer highlighted the evening.  Springboks are not only animals here, but shooters (http://www.in-the-spirit.co.uk/cocktails/view_cocktail.php?id=242).

They would play a few songs for the general public, but then would change up the music to accommodate only those who knew how to dance the Sokkie, a traditional afrikaans dance where the male leads and the female follows.  It starts off similar to a sort of waltz, then quickly erupts into spins, twirls, dips, etc.  Watching them all do it was intimidating and it was sort of suggested by the group that I find some south african girl, tell her I'm american, and ask her to teach me.

Nonetheless, I will hopefully become better at the Sokkie before my return.

Afrikaans lesson #2
'asseblief' - please

This will be one busy week.  Miss you all back home, and I will post pictures here soon (pics).

Totsiens,
CK