What's your dog's name?...Stavros?...that's AWESOME

Back from diving with sharks, and I'm still whole.

This weekend was the best for just relaxing and taking in the sights, alive and intangible.  Friday started with dinner at Bhukara followed by about four hours of dancing at Catwalk (fog machines, upstairs sokkie, downstairs dancing, sticky neon colored circles on many patrons' faces, wait staff wearing barely anything, and the typical loud music).  It was quite fun actually, though the bathroom could barely be called a bathroom.  The only thing white, or barely white for that matter, was the porcelain toilet, everything else was all colors not under the rainbow.  Next was Nu-bar, the more popular of bars in the area.  As with most bars, this place also has elevated areas for just women to dance on (I can't really complain).  The music wasn't bad, and the crowd was fun.  Next bar: Springbok's.  It's open 'til 5am I think, we only made it to 2am.  

Apparently David Guetta had a show on Thursday night as well, which I was not able to procure tickets for.  

Saturday morning, I was driven to Somerset West by Helene and bf.  I vastly admire her white, hatchback BMW, since it reminds me of my Mazda3 that I miss driving so dearly.  If I were to live here permanently, I would have her (my car) sent over, just so I can have one of the only left-hand drives in the area.  The shuttle scooped me up from there and we headed to Gansbaai.  The route was extremely beautiful, one side there are mountains, and the other is the ocean.  Hermanus was one of the cities we passed through which boasts excellent amenities for tourists and is an ideal place to watch the whales.  I caught a few pictures here or there and saw a whale or two.

  

The town of Gansbaai is small, but quaint.  Upon arriving to the shark diving guest house, I was greeted by Chrissie who layed out the agenda of the afternoon, collected payment and pointed me towards the lunch spread they had in the corner.  The company was mixed, a small family with their two boys, a group of study abroad students, a few 20-somethings going solo, etc.  The captain of the ship pointed out a few ground rules in case we get sea-sick, do's and don'ts and the modus operandi.  From there, we embarked on the vessel, about 25 of us total, and headed into 'shark alley'.  Other diving operators work in the area as well, though there's really no competition among them all, it's a very symbiotic relationship.    Once we've reached the desired area, one man in the back of the boat chums the water.  He puts packets of tuna in a large trash can that's bolted to the boat, and it's filled with seawater to the top.  The water splashes out into the ocean as he agitates the mixture and refills the can periodically.  From here, we wait.  There were plenty of seagulls keeping us company and a few seals here or there, but no sharks yet.  At this time, I got to know the gentleman next to me, a brazilian named Ronald who works for Coca-Cola and was heading to Swaziland the next day for work, very nice guy.  

Our captain spotted a shark and eight people fashioned wetsuits to enter the cage first.  During this time, the crew tries to keep the shark around by enticing him/or her with larger pieces of tuna and a decoy, shaped like a seal.  The decoy was black (of course) and was indented like an artwork with negative relief from shark bites.  They hung out for a bit, then vacated the area.  A little bit later, two more showed up and the next group went into the water (around 14C).  The only exposed parts of your body area small portions of your face, and your hands.  There are designated areas to place your hands and your feet while submerged in the cage.  The captain then tells you which direction the shark is coming from and to grab a breath and go under.  As you can imagine, they were massive, a good three meters or so coming right towards the cage, at which point you instinctively pull your hands away from the railing.  The most enjoyable part was watching the sharks swim slowly next to the cage, then in an instant, swim away.  If you focus on the anatomy of the shark itself and look at each part in isolation, you develop a much better appreciation for the creature.  

After the dives, we boated by the nearby island to see the thousands of seals congregating on its shores, and then started to head back, but not before we spotted some african penguins in the water as well.  They had dinner for us back at the guest-house and we dispersed soon thereafter.  

I was dropped a few miles away at the Roundhouse B & B and was checked in by Dave, the owner.  From his accent, I'm fairly confident that he was a Brit, and one of the nicest I've ever met.  He was extremely accommodating and the property was gorgeous.  I quickly showered and headed down the road to catch the sunset...the most beautiful one I've caught here in S.A. thus far.  As the sky got darker, the water resembled liquid mercury against the extremely jagged rocks, that seemed more suited for a volcanically active location.  

Afrikaans lesson #7

bru - 'male-friend'

vry - to make out (pronounced as 'fry')

After sushi and gelato with Leigh, I hit the lab and will be returning in a few hours.  Next weekend is the Cheetah reserve at Spier hopefully, and dinner with my new friends.

Thursday marks the one month mark here.  It's gone by so fast.  I'm not ready to leave this warmer climate for home yet.  The messages from back home have been more than copacetic.  Until then, the folks here have opened themselves up to me and it means the world.

It's nice to see some American flags here.  

New pics will be posted soon.

Miss you all,

-CK

Reality Often Astonishes Theory

Ladies and Gentleman, I give you Cape Town...

This picture and many others like it, were taken from Lion's Head, near Table Mountain.  The four of us trekked to the base and headed up the rock just before sunset.  This is quite a view to experience so there were a fair amount of people at the summit.  The path towards the top orbits the base and with a direct correlation between elevation and 'rockiness'.  One side showed the sunset that became much more pronounced right before dusk:

We found a nice spot on top, slightly removed from the scores of people already up there.  While walking through the crowd, there must've been at least 5 different languages I heard...this really is something to experience no matter where you're from despite the potential peril with hiking up the paths of appreciable difficulty.  When the sun went down, there was a good hour to wait for the moon.  Luckily the clouds were dispersing and we had a front row seat for the light show.  It rose with a fiery orange color, the largest I've ever seen it.  The color became less pronounced as it ascended but really leaves you breathless when you take in the city lights and the juxtaposed dark silhouettes of table mountain.  One of the best experiences I've had here and in my life (33°56′05″S 18°23′21″E).


Afrikaans lesson #6
dof - 'stupid'
howzit, hoesit, hoezit - "how is it (how are you)?"
hoezit my china - "how is it my friend?"


The explanation for the last phrase is as follows (taken as the best answer from a forum):  the origin of the term is to be found in the early 19th century Cockney (London) rhyming slang "China plate" for "mate.


The chemistry is coming along slowly but surely.  Len is off to India tomorrow for a week, and I think I've got my hands quite full until he comes back.  We were able to thread some lecture bottles to use some unique gases for our research and crystal growth experiments: vinyl chloride (precursor to PVC piping), other vinyl halides, methylmercaptan (otherwise known as methanethiol, the extremely pungent smelling chemical they put in natural gas to give it a smell at all, since natural gas is odorless), methylamine (smells like raw fish that's been left out too long), and nitric oxide, which upon exposure to my compounds in chloroform, turn the solution a dark red.  A color change in organic chemistry is quite rare unless you're doing a titration of some sort or dealing with heavily conjugated compounds, neither of which occurred today.  The red color to my understanding may be the binding of the nitric oxide inside the cavity of my compound, to form a possible charge transfer complex, where the pi-systems of both molecules interact and one essentially donates electron character to the acceptor, hence the color change (should you feel ambitious).  TGA experiments are being carried out on the resulting crystals followed by continuous data collections with all the crystals I have grown since I've been here (around 16).  


Monday I went to a salsa dancing class for beginners...that was interesting.  It wasn't too hard, but while drinking a grapetizer and watching the intermediate class give it a go, what we learned was kids stuff.  I'll probably go again next monday.


Tuesday night took me and a few other colleagues to the waterfront in Cape Town for the SACI dinner (South Africa Chemical Institute).  The amount of guests numbered in the 70s or so where everyone pretty much knew everyone else.  I think in situations like these, I try my best to remember names, be proper, and just pretty much not say or do anything to embarrass my country.  Our waiter's name was Xola (with a CLICK!).  I really couldn't help but think of this clip from Russell Peters:

I sat next to the event organizer and met a few more graduate students from UCT as well and I got to know a little more about the people in Len's group.  It was quite an honor to be in attendance with high caliber chemists and being acclimated into the group, and at times being the subject of their humor (mostly Matteo's), all in good fun of course.


I've been doing some deep thinking lately.  About where I'm at, where I've been, where I want to go, the image I have of myself now and how it may be different than the image I actually project.  A few people linger in my mind, sometimes the most random ones.  Stepping back from things at home has given me a different perspective on my life stateside.  Don't know if it's a good or bad thing yet.  


Tomorrow is friday (chill day).  I'll be out with Hendrik tomorrow night, probably not to Opskop, but maybe Springboks Pub?  Saturday is shark diving in Gansbaai including a night's stay after the dive at a bed and breakfast in THIS gem of a property.  


Caps play the pens tonight, I better wake up to a WIN.


We are a week from the halfway point here as well.


Can't wait to see everyone again.


CK

"Tell your American friends that the Bull taught you how to cycle." -Koos

Spring is getting warmer here in [usually] sunny Stellenbosch.  This week has seen a rise in average temperature with highs around 35 C.

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.

Pics and More pics

Miss you America and all my beautiful friends in it.

CK

Jordana Bevan

just got back from another amazing movie

Submarine

so amazing

it came out last year

it's fantastic

under the radar

the theater plays "1000 to see before you die"

I've seen a few of them already, but matteo brings me along to see really good ones

he's good with movies

I miss home dearly

things have been good here, everyone is great to me

we're having a bbq tomorrow

coldplay was great

and I get to see penguins on saturday

I do miss home though

...I'm not ready to concede to the situation

perhaps it's the feel of the movie

it's really a fantastic movie

there's this post doc here

vincent

a really fun guy, older, about 37

great man

matteo is the italian post doc

full of hilarity

I get food at 10:30 and then again at noon

and asked me if it's my lunch or prelunch

I've met his friend federico, also an italian, very nice guy

helene, is a doll, a big sweetheart, who's fun to be around

she's taught me the swears, and other afrikaans words,

especially for, You are very pretty, and sweetheart

Yeah iz baie moy, liefie

respectively

leigh is very nice

proper

very good company to be around

Len is very endearing and the genius you would take him to be

just a brilliant way of thinking

doesn't have to talk much, and when he does, so insightful

sean, is so gifted

play so many instruments, very great at chemistry

young, he's got his whole academic career ahead of him

he will excel

laura jane, is a sweetheart, adorable and thinks of all the wonderful small things that most people breeze over

anneli, is beautiful, her and matteo bicker, but it's loving

I called her a poplap the other day

which is usually reserved for a married couple

but was sweet in explaining to me the gravity of the word

skattlebol is sweetheart too I think

I go to the same deli almost everyday

it's an older lady there who's at the register, but she's very attractive for being older

a little bigger too, but short blonde hair and blue eyes, with that adorable south african accent

remembers my name

I seem to talk, and they usually tell me when girls pass and look at me, because of how different I sound

it's quite nice

many beautiful women around here

not many obese people, they watch their figure

the style is a little different

but they rock it well

and there's a surplus of mullets sported by the men here or there

everyone loves the rugby matches, the springboks or the bokkies, as they call them

so into it

it's contagious really, these guys are the quinteseential definition of MEN

something I want to do, but I'm realizing it's just not in the cards

I can respect it for sure though

it's a wonderful piece of their nationality and culture

I just met welmarie at opskop last weekend

danced a little

and did the sokkie with her briefly

was very patient with me

two days later, went on a hike with her to Jonkershoek with other chem department members

they were all so very nice

accomodating

it's a sort of hospitality that I've never seen back home

the kind that makes you want to stay forever

and the kind that makes you sad, because it's lost on many others

I wish people met these people down here

so much hustle and bustle back home, they do their work here too, but they're more content with life it seems, no matter what they do

seems as though they're just concerned with helping people

for as unsavory as it sounded from others, it's quite the opposite

they love their tea

they have tea time after a speaker talks at a seminar

in the paaldanskamer

it's just the culture

haai is the afrikaans word for shark

so the joke is to say hi, though it could be haai, as a warning

so one must be careful saying 'hi' or 'haai' at the beach

driving by the coast yesterday on the way to cape town was absolutely beautiful

I couldn't shoot a good picture

maybe it's better that way

the beach was full of waves, whitewashing along the shore and further out

we saw seal island from afar

and the road is incredible, just your typical two lane road, one going to, one coming from, but there's sand dunes and vegetation all the way up to the road

sand covers the outside lines, followed by smooth asphalt, and the other side continues with sand

extraordinary

that stadium last night was gorgeous, capacity is normally 64,100

according to wiki

it was breathtaking

A proper post will follow sometime soon, these words seem to just flow during my conversation with Kayla today

I'm ready to ride giants kunu!

It's another sunny afternoon here in Stellenbosch.  I have been inundated with exercise-related activities this weekend and my body's hating me for it now.

Friday night started off at OPSKOP again (the place with the Sokkie).  Hendrick introduced me to the 'strawpedo'.  Some people when they sip beverages from a bottle buckle their lips to leave enough space for air to move into the bottle for pressure equilibrium as they consume their drink, others place their lips over the entire bottle and drink, whilst creating a pressure imbalance in the bottle (with plastic bottles, this is typically when the bottle buckles).  A strawpedo is more or less a bent straw that is inserted into the bottle of 'juice', and the consumer drinks the bottle by placing their lips over the entire bottle opening with the straw protruding out.  This allows air to enter the bottle to help displace the liquid and prevent pressure buildup and as a result of this simple system, the liquid flows out incredibly fast, so of course it's our first drink at Opskop.  More dancing, and Sokkie ensued and I'm getting MUCH better at it.  I'm quite excited to show everyone at home, though there's really no bar/club that would understand it.  Only in South Africa.

I got home at 3am on saturday morning, got up at 7:30am, and headed by bike to Strand (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strand,_Western_Cape) (about 25 km away) for my surfing lesson at Son Surf School (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Son-Surf-School-Strand/131560490246348) to commence around 9am.  As I am not an experienced cyclist, I had struggled to keep up the pace and the versatile topography of the route didn't help either.  There's bike lanes mostly everywhere along the route, except a few rough spots.  I reached the school at around 9:15am and was greeting by Mik, the owner who I had been in correspondence with over the phone.  He introduced me to Lilly, my instructor.  Lilly is what you'd imagine a surfer girl to be, blonde hair slightly above her shoulders, slender, average height, with a chill demeanor.  I changed into my wetsuit (not an easy task) and waxed up the board.  We then went over terms for the board and some surfing basics.

Surfboard
Top deck - top
Bottom deck - bottom
Rails - sides
Spine - middle, usually represented by a strip of different material
Nose - front
Tail - back

Lilly: "When you're in the water, make sure you don't grab the fins, because they can be quite sharp.  You can cut yourself, then you can't surf anymore for the day because we don't want friends to join us."

On a side note, a recent CNN article talked about a british man who went swimming near Cape Town in a place called Fish Hoek, and was attacked by a great white and lost his right leg after ignoring signs about a shark presence.  The flag types are below:

There was a white flag out the day he swam.

Anyway, after covering the basics, we went out into the water (COLD).  We then went on to cover how to lay on the board, where I need to be, how to properly paddle, etc.  I layed down on the board when waves came, and rode them as they came in (still lying down) to understand the balance of the board and get the proper posture.  Then she showed me the right way to pop-up.  Your strong foot is perpendicular to the direction of the board spine and is your back foot.  The other foot is positioned about 45 degrees offset, however on top of the board spin and my hands are in front of me in a "crouching tiger, hidden dragon" type style as Lilly so eloquently put it.  Nonetheless, I was able to stand up on a few waves for a few to several seconds each time.  If I stay with it, I will eventually make my way to a smaller board type, which are more difficult.   It was a fantastic experience and she also invited me to grab drinks with her next weekend in Stellenbosch.

With all the worry about shark attacks on surfers in these parts, it's remarkable how the thought of them doesn't even enter your mind when you're in the water.  I have too naive of a surfer's brain to understand it, but it seems like the sweet reward of the perfect wave rides in tandem with the risk of death by shark and the two are in perfect harmony.

Nevertheless, I biked back, which took even longer since I was already exhausted.  Since I hadn't eaten at all that day, my quest to get home wasn't only a desire, but more of a primal urgency for my health.  I got home, let gluttony do its work, then slept for several hours thereafter.  I decided that since my body was at war with me, I should take it easy and go in the lab to do some work.

I tell people I play with X-rays, but they probably imagine me with some sort of ray-gun type device, shooting x-rays at people/inanimate objects and laughing diabolically.  The machine shown below is the x-ray diffractometer.  This instrument is much more valuable than the one we have at Georgetown (x-rays are more intense, this has dual x-ray sources, mounting mechanisms are MUCH easier, etc.).  You place your crystal on a small piece of glass, the x-rays are then generated from the sources on the right, go through a metallic cylinder (collimator), that focuses the x-rays onto your sample, and the electrons are scattered in your sample, to the detector on the left.  You need to achieve a certain level of resolution for publication.  The larger your crystal is (as well as the nature of it), usually the less amount of time you have to expose it to x-rays to get proper resolution.  Smaller crystals require longer periods of x-ray irradiation.

Afrikaans lesson #4
Fok - swear word (what it sounds like)
Kak - swear word (not what it sounds like)

I went into town to get some groceries as well.  I also had a big mac meal from McDonalds, which only really cost me $4.  I've been good at taking care of myself here, watching where I'm going and knowing where I'm at, at all times.  Unexpectedly, I have not met any unsavory people here thus far.  I did notice something when I was walking back home though.  The trash cans on most street corners are of two varieties, one for "wet waste" and the other for "dry waste".  I think the definitions are subjective, do I put my spent morning apple in the wet, or the dry, I digress.  I passed a man who was drinking the rest of 'his' water from a bottle, then placed the empty into the trash.  He didn't walk away though, he lingered there and was rummaging through the wet waste for more sustenance, I'm guessing.  There are poor people here like anywhere else, but seeing that happen in front of me gave me a chilling perspective on the matter.

Today, as seems to be the trend of every weekend day, I woke up early again.  I went out with Welmarie, whom I had just met on friday at Opskop, along with other people from the chemistry department to go hiking at Jonkershoek Nature Reserve (http://www.capenature.co.za/reserves.htm?reserve=Jonkershoek+Nature+Reserve).  Table mountain in Cape Town was the original plan, however the treacherousness of those routes proved to be too dangerous for Waleed to lead us (our 'guide').  The company was fantastic: three libyans, two germans, two south africans, and an american.  We are all affiliated with the chemistry department and it seems as though there will be more excursions like this in the future.

The conditions were freezing cold with rain coming in from the mountains.  As cold as it was, it's gorgeous to see the clouds lingering around the mountain tops, pictures do not do it justice.  We set out for waterfall route #1 (a mere 3 km journey).  The route was fine, with hills and troughs of all amplitudes, until we started to travel parallel to the creek.  At this point, we would have to leapfrog to various rocks protruding out of the water to get through, with everyone at one point falling into the amber colored water (beautiful).  We ended at the waterfall with no casualties, ate lunch, and admired the scenery.  At times, it seemed like the brush we were maneuvering through was more suited for the amazon.  The trek back came with the winds at our backs and the sunlight breaking through the clouds, perfectly paired with the net negative change in elevation.

The pictures from Strand and Jonkershoek are uploaded as well (Pics).

Next weekend may be shark diving?

Love and miss you all back home.

CK

In chess, it's called Zugzwang...when the only viable move, is not to move

So it's been a few days, my apologies.

We just got the ethane and ethene gases in and setup the apparatus I need to do my studies on.  There are many other gases around that I have been playing with as well.  It will soon be my turn on the x-ray diffractometer and I already have 3 samples ready to go.

This week has been a little more grueling.  I'm putting in more hours in the lab and reading more, will have to do some writing soon as well.  Yesterday morning, I went for a run, which I really don't often do.  I think I did a good 2 miles...quite pitiful in many respects, but for a person who doesn't run very much, it was nice to do.  Then I met up with Matteo at the Neelsie to watch the Italy/USA world cup of rugby game.  These games, are EXTREMELY entertaining.  The rules are somewhat lost on me but I'm learning them quite fast.  The USA put up quite a fight actually, got two tries, but lost 25-10.  Purchasing a springbok uniform is in my future.  Many of the american rugby players actually play for other teams in international leagues, one of which is Todd Clever, the USA captain for the Lions in South Africa's elite league.

I have also booked a surfing lesson in Strand (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strand,_Western_Cape), about 25 km away from Stellenbosch.  Len has let me borrow his bike for the 15 mile trek to and fro.  The lesson includes wetsuit (the water is freezing), surfboard (most likely a longboard since they're easier), and a 75 minute lesson all for the low low price of R200, or $25.  Should I get better, I see myself doing this every single weekend and eventually getting to a shortboard set-up.  That is the goal.

Next weekend, will hopefully be shark diving.  Details TBA.

There is a movie theater here in the Neelsie, which doesn't show up to date movies really, just ones already out on dvd.  I met up with Matteo and his italian friend Federico, and we saw Mr. Nobody.  The movie ticket was R10, or $1.25.  I HIGHLY recommend the movie.  Easily one of my favorites.

The first gift shipment has been sent back home yesterday as well.  There will be many more to come so please don't feel left out if you haven't received anything as of yet.

Afrikaans lesson #3
paaldanskamer - "Pole dancing room"

I'm a bit torn on when I should go on safari, either around here or Kruger Reserve.  The Kruger is the largest reserve in South Africa and they have many packages for safari viewing.  People just basically want to see the Big Five game (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Five_game), which is basically the five most difficult animals to hunt here.  Virtually none of these reserves guarantee seeing all these animals though.  So the larger the reserve, perhaps the less of a chance to see one of these animals, there's the rub.  Prices are high, almost $1,000 for a few days trip, but I can't leave here without doing it.

Miss you all.

CK

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