it's march?!

So this past week was pretty jam packed. Last Saturday, me & two of my roommates went to the Soweto Gospel Choir concert at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens! Definitely one of my top experiences in Cape Town so far! Because it was an outdoor venue in an open, green field, everyone brought blankets & picnic food! It was beautiful and the weather was perfect. We had our picnic in a very reasonable spot on the lawn, but the minute the choir walked on, we sprinted up to the stage to sing & dance. Yes, the choir had choreography. And yes, I pretended like I knew the lyrics to all their songs... even though the majority weren't in English. I may or may not have mouthed "watermelon" continually to the beat to give the illusion that I was a dedicated fan and thus worthy to be weaseling my way to the very front. Rest assured that I knew all the words to Amazing Grace, Oh Happy Day, and a jam from the Lion King, though. I'm so cultured. ;) This choir literally rocked my socks off.... I was barefoot & grooving for the entire thing.

We'll just fast foreword through the whole school part of the week. Though, I did turn in my first paper here last week! Their grading system is quite different than back in the states, so it should be interesting to see what I end up making. Cross your fingers. I still think it's ridiculous to be in class with summertime weather like this, but oh well..

On Wednesday night, the "Extreme Home Makeover" for the St George's home for girls commenced. We found out about the work day from the Student Y society on campus, and didn't quiiiite know that it would last as long as it did, but I still really enjoyed it. The girls living in the home were sent to a nice hotel that morning and will arrive back home tomorrow to a completely revamped & renewed home! Part of me wants to go to the reveal and another part of me doesn't want to cry my little eyes out. So precious.

Today, me & my roommate Gabby ventured out to have a Market day in downtown Cape Town. We rode the very cheap "mini bus" a.k.a. "creepy van" for the first time, so that was yet another new experience under my belt. Though the buses are semi-known for their shadiness, the CD of the velvety voice of Luther Vandross over the van speakers soothed my nerves. Once we arrived downtown, we didn't quite know where we were, but through asking different vendors in the Court House lawn and in the flower market, we eventually wondered our way right into the Green Market Square. And let me tell you, it's my new favorite place. Sounds of street musicians and dancers radiate through the market as you browse through wood sculptures, colorful oil paintings, giraffe/elephant/rhino figurines, beaded necklaces, hand-made bowls/spoons, and drums. How I didn't purchase every single painting is beyond me! And anyone who knows me and my love for wall decor would have to agree. It's always interesting bargaining the vendors. I don't mean to toot my own horn or anything, but I think I have a gift in the land of bartering. Well, at least I think so. I was pleased with the prices I got.... the vendors could be laughing about how that tall American girl was a complete sucker, you never really know. My favorite moment had to be when we ate lunch at an outdoor cafe. There was a street musician playing his djembe & kazoo to my left and homemade art vendors to my right. And, as icing on the cake, I was drinking an ice cold Coca Cola. It's peaceful, beautifully simple moments like that that make the rough, confusing times of culture shock fizzle out. :)

Happy Saturday! -love, les

a few photos

no clothes dryer needed with sunshine like this

first rugby game! go stormers!

yes, this is for real...the shark warning flag

they look cool simply walking on the beach with boards,
I've gotta learn to surf! ..or just get a board ;)

it's official, friends!

I'm currently a bit too tired to write out stories.. rest assured there are definitely quite a few, though. From long days of classes, intense rugby games, braais (barbeque's), Hillsong church, serenades from Gavin DeGraw wanna-be's, wind that knocks you over & still possessing the balance of a two-year old while riding in UCT buses... I'll just save it all for another time. Enjoy the few (mega bites are a precious commodity here) photos! Sending lots of love from warm, sunny Africa :)

fun facts

• have spent roughly 13 hours total standing in lines.
• I live about 3 blocks from South African President Zuma's house. Legit.
• I don't have to buy a single textbook! What's that I hear? The Hallelujah chorus? Play on...
• though I have yet to actually meet the neighbors that live outside my bedroom window, I feel like we're old friends, of which I know all about: one is an aspiring Pavarotti, another never tires of listening to Lady Gaga, they have a baby; a very outspoken baby, one is fervently passionate about her pursuit to become the next member of Destiny's Child, and lastly there's a trombone player. no joke.
• the pizza here is unreal! I devoured a giant one entirely by myself yesterday. I have no shame, you can't regret something so beautiful.
• South Africans celebrate this holiday called Valentine's Day, it's today. while entering the grocery store, I was given a rose. looks like the Pick-and-Pay cashier is my new Valentine! I see lots of good things in our future, like coupon discounts!
• culture shock hit this morning while at church... where did the southern-baptist-lack-of-rhythm-church-service go? I'm so lost. ;)

Happy Sunday/Valentine's/Winter Olympics time!
lots of love, les

baby steps

This blog is written in a spirit of celebration: I'm almost on my way to being semi-grounded in this city! I know that doesn't sound like much, but let me just explain my tiny, but oh so significant, victories.

--- Hot drinks are a big deal here. I have yet to visit a house for a meal/party or a church service where it was not followed with a time of tea or coffee drinking. It's a time of continued fellowship, very cultural and delightful. I, unfortunately, have never had even the slightest taste for coffee. I know, how is that possible? I am Mike "I-would-drink-starbucks-every-day-if-I-could" Reynolds' daughter, and yet, coffee does nothing for me. I felt the same about hot tea. I continually accepted a cup of tea when offered out of politeness, but the entire time I drank it I was accosted with the extreme desire to load that sucker with sugar, lemon, and ice cubes.. let's get some Southern, sweet tea a kickin'! Had I not been trying to convince them that I am not an ignorant, selfish, American, I would've actually done it. Fast forward a week: after multiple mediocre tea-drinkings, I was chatting with my UK friend, Ollie, and she got me all fixed up! Turns out, regular hot tea with milk and (loads) of sugar is downright delightful! My oh my, how the tables have turned. I even made myself a cup out of pure enjoyment this evening. Granted, ANYthing is good with lots of sugar, but now I'm able to be genuine with my "thanks!" when handed a steaming cup of tea!

--- This may shock you, but I do not blend in as a native here. There have been several instances where- without even opening up my loud, American mouth- people have pegged me as a foreigner. And to be honest, I've been pretty upset about this. I literally could not understand what was stamped on my forehead that shouted, "Hey, I'm American and more than likely confused, feel free to mug me- I probably forgot to hide my money, it'll be in my wallet, which is right by my digital camera!" I spent nearly every waking moment researching the South African ladies around town to try and solve my problem... What are these ladies wearing that I'm not? Their dress and bags are not unlike my own. Their hair isn't red, but they have the opportunity to have my hair color if they went to the dye aisle in the grocery store- I know my color is there, I'll be using it in 4-6 weeks. So what's the deal? Then it dawned on me- these ladies 'don't play no games.' When walking down the people-infested and sketchy Main Road, native ladies sport a facial expression that immediately tells onlookers "don't mess with me, I can hold my own." Eureka! The minute I realized this, I literally spent time perfecting my blue steel look. The next day, I was asked directions by someone looking lost- score! A few days later while checking out at a local store, the cashier thought I was a local, and was surprised to find out I was from the states- score! Watch out, residents, there's a new South African in town.. And she's sassy.

--- This next accomplishment may be an even bigger feat than shark cage diving itself. I walked home from school all by myself! I didn't realize how elementary that sentence would sound. Which is interesting, because there is nothing elementary about walking twenty minutes down the streets in Rondebosch by yourself, especially as a young female. I had hoped that I would never have to walk to/from school alone, but my schedule decided otherwise. Yet another reason why I need to be-friend one of those fellows I see daily zooming by on Mopeds. Until that day, I guess I'll just continue working my look-of-steel and securing my money down my shirt (which is very handy until you forget to remove before you're at the check-out line. Awkward.). Meh, gotta do whatcha gotta do.

Cheers!

-les

shark cage diving

(cute, little guy)

I know what you're thinking, and I totally agree... I am WORKING that wetsuit, eh? Ha. I've never worn a wetsuit before, mind you, and it took a two people to help me in it and two people to help me out. Apparently, though, that was normal. Everyone was falling all over the place on that fLoAtInG, wAvInG, uP & dOwN boat. Thinking about it is already making me queasy, so let me rewind before I get too far ahead of myself.

The day began early with 2 1/2 hour bus ride (yes, it had a shark painted on the side as I had hoped) to Kleinbaai. It was rainy, dreary, and very ominous. Which I thought was all too appropriate for the upcoming adventure.

We arrived to a buffet breakfast: delicious fruit and juices. At this point I had no idea I'd be seeing those same fruit/juices again so soon, if you catch my drift... Anyway, I met lots of new people, they all loved my Jaws tshirt. Yes, I wore it loud & proud. The crew snickered, but that probably means they were seriously jealous. Right?

We shipped out at 11 and before we knew it we had spotted our cage; floating, all alone, with fish oils attached at every end to attract THE predator. First thing the captain said "don't worry, we're not gonna make you swim out to the cage & get in." Well, duh you're not! I'd be asking for my money back quicker than a nerd buys the new Harry Potter book.

They attached the cage to the side of the boat all the while men baited for the sharks- throwing out chum and tuna. During this time I realized I do not have the balance I thought I did. Years and years of ballet and dance suddenly went out the window as I fell/hugged on nearly every person on that boat. And the people that I didn't hug, got their toes stepped on... again and again. Suddenly "the girl in the Jaws tshirt" didn't seem so charming and clever, she was a bumbling/stumbling monster out to bruise every unsuspecting passenger on that boat. Embarrassing.

Back to the wetsuits, it's time. The first 5 people suited up, hopped in the cold water/cage, and braved the first batch of sharks. All the while, I was like a well-trained paparazzi on the top part of the boat. I got photos of everything: every little turn of a fin, whip of a tail, splash of some salt water, soaring of sea gulls, tossing of chum, etc.

Then it was my turn to suit up. As mentioned before, waaaay easier said than done. Though I appreciated the help of others, it was semi-embarrassing to have the old "chum man" with dreads and Jamaican hat on come out of nowhere to start pulling on my suit for me. I guess I was really looking like a struggler, he's probably dealt with my kind for years on that boat.

The minute the snug, little suit was on and I stood up it was like a major pressure change. Suddenly I was transformed into weak sauce. I immediately found the side of the boat, down wind of course, and couldn't contain the nausea... on a Great White shark below. Yeah. Not my proudest moment, but how many people can say they barfed on one of the world's most feared animals. It makes me sound semi-hard core when phrased that way, hey?

My turn! Me and 4 others got into the cage! Unfortunately, I was quickly filled with the realization that I had weights around my neck and was trapped in a cage that, if somehow came unattached to the boat during the high waves, would plummet down down down into the deep dark sea with sharks. Not a fun thought to suddenly be bombarded with upon the cage lid shutting. (And I'm sorry, Lauren, for the horrible imagery I just gave you- don't have nightmares.) But the minute we were under (holding ONLY the red bar in the cage, unless you had a problem with your hands and didn't want to return to shore with them) and I saw all the little fishies and a shark, my worries went away... as weird as that sounds. It was like the thought "I'm in South Africa, shark cage diving, off the coast of an island that was on nearly every one of Discovery Channel's Shark Week programs! This is awesome!" surpassed all the fears of a slow and painful death.

When that feeling passed, however, the sea sickness monkey jumped on my back again. My poor cage mates. You can imagine. I won't be eating cantaloupe again for a while.

Moving on, it was a great experience. And it really wasn't as miserable as throwing up continuously sounds. The sharks were intense and now I know that my stomach turns to jello on a boat in the ocean. Good to know, indeed.

We saw 9 different sharks, some reaching 3 meters long. One of which was a scary, crazy, big bro. He had scars all over his fin, that was flopping over in a ravenous way. He HAD to be the alpha-shark. The man. The head honcho. And he was angry. He bit the cage while some divers were in it. I was jealous, I wish that I could've seen that up close.

Well, I certainly think that was a long enough description. Hope this lovely Thursday finds you well! I start class Monday, so soon all these adventurous/fun stories will probably stop. Booo for real life and education. I've been enjoying being on vacation :)

love/miss you all! -les

Jaws: South Africa

FYI: the African sun is FIERCE. I am completely fried from our beach day on Saturday. It's not like I didn't wear sunscreen either, I wore spf 50 and yet my legs look like elongated tomatoes. Eh, no pain no gain, I guess. I'm feeling the pain, I hope the gain is coming soon. I shouldn't be surprised, my skin was whiter than baby powder.

Other than the aftershocks, the beach was delightful. We (me, schleiff, dana, gabby, chi chi & nelly) went to Muizenberg beach which was a 30 minuter train ride from our house. People kept warning us about how the train is pretty sketchy, but I found it quite pleasant. Granted, I was in a group. It cost 5.50 rand, which is less than a dollar. I think the clincher for me was the marimba-styled band that suddenly emerged from both sides of the train. I honestly don't even know if they knew each other. One man started strumming his little guitar and then suddenly men (and a tiny little boy with a trumpet) started to join in on his jam. It was really fun and a perfect way to get in the beachy spirit.

The beach was gorgeous and very very windy. Perfect for rookie surfers and kite surfing (which I've decided is the coolest thing ever). We thought that people were just flying giant kites, but they were attached to surfers gliding over the waves, making jumps, and doing tricks. Those fellows were downright cool... and they knew it. There was one girl, poor thing. I felt her struggle, she was much too tiny to control the wind, it controlled her... face first into the water. Still way better than I could ever do, so more power to her!

So, we spent the majority of our day simply laying out, reading a book, walking along the beach, and putting up to our ankles in the water. And it's a good thing we didn't feel like swimming... *insert Jaws theme music here* After about two hours on the beach, a police-like siren went off followed by fiesty whistles by the lifeguards. While looking around in confusion, what did I see? Nothing but a lifeguard running down the shoreside with a white flag with a picture of a shark on it. I felt like I was in a movie. It was so bizarre to be on a beach where the water had to be evacuated because I shark spotter called in an alert. That's something you only hear about, I never thought I 'd be around for one. Very exciting :) What blew my mind was that people got right back into that water the minute the alert ceased. Then came another alert, immediate evacuation, and white flag reveal. People pretty much left after that point. I guess two strikes & they're out. I was out before it ever began, I can think of much better ways to go than being eaten by a giant fish. Which is ironic considering what I'll be doing on Wednesday...

I'm going shark cage diving! I don't know exactly how it works, but they said we'd be in the cage (um, duh! we better!) and we'll see sharks in the water... I've heard rumor of the boat stringing meat out for them so we could watch 'em feed. Intense. And I'm still debating whether I should wear my Jaws tshirt while on the boat. As tempting as it is, I might not want to be labeled as "that girl" who looks as if she's been dreaming of this day her entire life. I haven't, I'm just feeling adventurous. I'm in South Africa, why not?? Well, I can think of a few reasons why not...

No worries, I'll keep you updated- unless Wednesday doesn't go very well, in which case I love you all... ;)

Happy sunday! -les

getting oriented

I'm currently typing this post with a sunburn on my arms and a swollen finger. Both incidents are blessings. Why? The burn is from the glorious summer sun & beach weather and the swollen finger is a burst blood vessel from drumming too hard on the djembe with South Africans. The drumming "injury" probably isn't something I should be bragging about, but I can't help it. It made me feel so legit. And anyone who knows me knows that African drumming was one of my main reasons for coming here. That, and the fact that I'm practically an honorary African because of those "dreads" I had for 2 weeks... ;)

Yesterday was... tense. The morning was filled with lectures from various speakers to give us "freshies" some advice/rules. It was going all fine and well until an officer of the local police stepped up to scare the living daylights out of us. When he started his presentation with "there are many people in this city that wake up with one thing on their mind: to commit crime!", I knew it was going to be a doosey. I had already heard a million warnings about the crime in South Africa, and I never longed to hear the specific stories of UCT students being mugged. My imagination already works pretty well, Mr. Officer. It probably didn't help that I had lil Schleiff sitting next to me about to shake her leg off her body during the speech. Sister gets nervous walking on OBU campus, where a crime hasn't occurred since the tail was so dubiously stolen from the golden tiger, so being told "don't ever resist a mugging, give up your money or eeeeeeelse...." was probably not as constructive as it was intended. Such warnings only made every female in the room decide to never breathe outdoor air again. Safety in numbers, my friends, safety in numbers. And relax, don-don, though the talk was intense, I am now fully versed on what to do and what not to do. Man oh man, we're certainly not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

The next lecture was one where I had to do everything in my power to keep from pulling out my camera and recording the entire thing for Keldon Henley. I think the entire faculty and staff at OBU would have had to scoop their jaws off the floor if they were present for that talk. The most intense AIDS presentation on the face of the planet. Suddenly the awkward STD talk during Ouachita's freshman orientation seems like a bowl of ice cream.

.....and then came the African drumming workshop! Sweet relief! I knew it was going to be a delight when the S.B.M. with dreads handed me a giant drum because he knew I could handle it (oooor because all the smaller ones had already been given out to all the other females..) :) We drummed, we danced, we conquered. By the end of it all I was sweating like a swine & had a cheesy smile worthy of a Tiger Tunes show. Forget classes, I'm taking my new skill of breaking beats to the streets. Prepare your heart, Cape Town.

miss you/love you

-les

PS I took that photo, it's not off a website or from a magazine! Such astounding beauty still feels surreal.

a quick tour

in our gargen, outside the front door.. the biggest palm tree ever!

kitchen... I suppose I should learn to cook :)


garden/clothes hanger/grill

our quaint little living area

outdoor shower :)

so far, so "lekker"

Just to warn you, this first post could be a bit long. Stop complaining, it won't be as long as my trip over here :)

Where to begin? I guess I should explain why we suddenly ended up in Cairo, Egypt for a day. The trip to South Africa had been going smoothly (thanks mainly to Dr. Kluck for giving me meds to relax while flying; did I mention I hate flying??) until our 9 hour flight from London to Johannesburg. About ten minutes into the flight I was fast asleep (thanks again, Dr. Kluck). When I woke up, I checked the flight map in the plane that shows how far we've flown and how far we had left. When I saw that we only had over an hour left I was elated! I literally thought I slept for 9 hours straight and celebrated with a vocalized "yessssss" (complete with fist pump in the air- no joke, I was excited). Little did I know that the one hour mapping was showing our soon to approach emergency landing in Cairo. A passenger on our plane needed some immediate medical care so the pilot took the first landing possible. Because of certain laws restricting how long a pilot/crew can work straight, we had to delay our flight.

The Cairo Airport took our passports and bussed us to a hotel. I type that last sentence so casually but it's pretty scary arriving in the middle of the night to a fairly deserted airport while men with machine guns patrol. Not having a passport while out in the most populated city in all of Africa was also unnerving. This whole experience actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Arriving at a 5-star hotel with all meals provided and a room to shower/nap in was beyond wonderful after traveling for about 35 hours. And thankfully the passenger sought medical attention in time and is, last I heard, recovering!

Fast forward 30 hours, we're in Cape Town! Even though every South African we talked to on our flights only talked about the crime of the country, I was still more than excited to finally be there. It's honestly the most beautiful city I've ever seen!

Our living quarters are precious. I live in a house with 5 other study abroad students: 3 girls, 1 guy (poor thing). It's a Mediterranean-like cottage complete with 4 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bath, full kitchen, dining area/den, porch and an outside shower in the garden. And yes, I used that shower this evening :)

On our first night in the house (last night), we walked (15 minutes) to the closest grocery store and bought supplies for our first dinner together. We grilled burgers. We may be in South Africa, but we're still Americans :)

Today was phenomenal. From 7:30 to 5:30 hundreds of study abroad students piled into buses for an in depth tour of the peninsula of South Africa. Words and pictures really can't describe its beauty. We saw countless beaches, penguins (yes, penguins), baboons, and historical sights of the city. For lunch we visited the Oceans View community center where we were greeted with a fantastic meal and even better stories. Groups and individuals performed dance routines (even a Michael Jackson tribute), sing songs and recite poetry. The performers were young people of the poverty-stricken and crime-infested community that decided to join the Performing Arts school to take their stand against being a victim of their circumstances. This was probably my favorite part of the tour today- seeing the passion of young kids who have all odds against them fight for their own future. And I'm not gonna lie, I squealed like a little girl when the MJ jams came on :)

We closed the trip with a pretty hefty hike up Cape's Point and then the Cape of Good Hope. It was quite tiring, but I had the voice of Mike in my head the whole time. I couldn't let my backpacking-nature-loving-leave-no-trace-outdoor-education-outdoor-ethics-following-father down :)

So, this was quite long and still didn't give half of the info or hilarious/awkward stories I had wished. But now that I finally have this thing up & running, I'm hoping the following posts will come quicker and won't be so hefty.

I love you all & I'll see you in the summertime :)

-les

PS if you're wondering about the title, "lekker" means 'good' in South Africa :)