The Coldplay concert at Cape Town stadium on wednesday was unforgettable. The venue is gorgeous (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Town_Stadium). The show started off with The Parlotones, a south african band from Jozi, who resonate a nice rock sound. They're coming to DC9 in a few days, so I highly suggest everyone check them out. Coldplay started off with a song from their newest album and are extremely good live. The visual appeal of their set was also quite remarkable. They came out for an encore (of course) and played a few more songs. The drive to Cape Town for the show was awesome.
Afrikaans lesson #5
Haai - shark ("hi")
Braai - Barbeque ("br-eye")
Random Facts I've come to learn:
1. They call traffic lights "robots" here
2. Women usually go out in flats
3. Dom Pedro's rule
As for the latter fact, a Dom Pedro is a common dessert drink here. It's basically vanilla ice cream with whiskey, or kahlua, or any other type of liquor. Fairly ingenious. Perhaps we have something like this in the states, no clue, but they taste sublime.
Friday ended with a braai prepared by many of the members in the group. They don't use charcoal here, but actual wood, in an open brick setup. We had boerewors, chicken sosaties, and braaibroodjies (...they're all delicious). Out came the wine and beer as well and the conversation got very interesting as the hours went on. It was a great ending to the week, and I got to know more of my labmates here better. This group really is like a family, and everyone has a different role it seems. It's only been a few weeks, and I miss home, but leaving here will be hard, I can already tell.
Today was quite a journey. We were wheels up at 10:30am, (leigh and myself) and headed to Simon's Town, primarily to see some south african penguins. They don't really do much, they just kind of putter around, most of them look like they're sleeping. They don't smell bad, which is what I've been told, and many were shedding some of their 'feathers'. Unfortunately, it's a large fine if you touch or 'disturb' them. While walking through the guided passageway, we discovered one just underneath the steps, close enough to touch if we wanted, let's call him Jeeves. I took a close-up picture, as if I were the paparazzi, and Jeeves drove his beak at my camera...we backed away, shared a good laugh, then headed forward. Jeeves is below:
After leaving, we headed to seafood restaurant on the water with a spectacular view, ending with a dom pedro con whiskey.
Leigh then took me through long beach, the south african derivative, and then through Chapman's peak towards Hout Bay. The roads are extremely windy and the views are gorgeous. We stopped any chance we got to document the sights appropriately. The coastlines are full of boulders and rocks, against green brush, yellow and purple flowers, with impacting waves. The water color varies from a deep teal, to a sky blue. There are a plethora of mountains here too, though they never have any earthquakes, which makes me conjecture that the plates must have shifted probably a few millennia ago, leaving the topographically gifted land in its wake.
We went to Table Mountain, where everyone tells any tourist to go to get a perfect view of Cape Town to meet up with Stewart and Helene. Cape Town is massive and I finally get to see the sunset and subsequent full moon on wednesday from Lion's Head, juxtaposed to Table Mountain. We then headed to the Cape Town waterfront, featuring many restaurants and a diverse array of seagoing vessels. We then picked up Storm from the airport, fresh from Jozi, and as I arrived back home several hours later, I decided to keep it a chill night and get some sleep for the morning bike to Strand for surfing.
Once again, the biking was exhausting. There are an insane amount of bikers (with bicycles) around these parts, with the proper attire and biking equipment. They usually pass me on my trek. I had to rest a few miles in, and a fellow biker told me to get back on and ride with him. He was about 200 lbs., built like a tank, with your typical south african accent. We chatted a little and he critiqued my riding style and taught me the proper way to use my gears and when I should use them. We trudged up one hill which pushed me to the breaking point of stopping, but I really didn't want to disappoint him, so I didn't stop. He rode with me all the way into Strand, and told me I should get an extra tube (for the bike wheel) at a store in Stellenbosch that he knows. And with his help, I got there about 25 minutes faster than the last time I biked.
Today's surf instructor was Emiel. A late 20-something, with a calm and relaxing demeanor. We pretty much picked up where I left off the week before with Lilly. He examined my technique again, gave me more pointers and then we headed into the water. The weather was much better today as it was sunny and there was no wind whatsoever which made the freezing water quite comfortable. We talked a bit about climate change while we were on the water. It looks like I've massively improved from last week: I wasn't only able to get up on the board, but I was able to sustain my balance, steer the board, and maintain the correct posture for the entire ride on the wave. Looks like next week we're going to use an 8 foot, instead of 9.
After the 2 hour long coma I took from my journey home (took about half the time as I did last time), I picked up some grapetizer (SO GOOD) and now I'm in the lab. The x-ray is non-responsive, so hopefully I didn't break anything.
PS This is a great ad I saw on TV.
I'm about a third of the way through my time here, and it's surpassed all my expectations. I'm even sort of establishing a rhythm and a better work ethic than back at home. The group members here are so helpful and do many favors for me, but also let me learn and do my own things so I can really grow and thrive in this new environment. It's much appreciated, which is why I'm cooking a mexican dinner for them as well.
Miss you America and all my beautiful friends in it.
CK
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