Rain, Rain Go Away

Had plans to go to an organic open market this morning, however I woke up to heavy rain so it’s a no go. I am drinking Rose’s Early Grey tea and looking out at my brick wall. Unfortunately I blew my hair dryer on the first day so it’s air dry for me, not that it would matter with this rain right now.

The VAC team went on a wine tour yesterday. It was a very enjoyable experience; South African wine country is so incredibly beautiful. The rich autumn yellows, browns and greens seem almost fake or out of place against the hot red dirt. We visited 3 wineries in the Constantia area. They seem to be pretty big on whites here, unlike my self. This was my first tasting so I am in no way a connoisseur (like our ABC employees), but nonetheless it’s neat to hear about all that goes into the perfect wine (although it’s hard not to think a whole lot of it is bs, I for one did not taste the subtle hints of asparagus). VAC swindled us out of most of the wine tasting fees, so it really didn’t cost much. The bottles are very reasonably priced to, Scott and I bought a really nice Malbec for 110 Rand, which is about $14.

There is always so much happening here, the pace never slows down. There are about 15 interns here with VAC right now (remember Scott and I are the only interns in our house of 17). These folk and many more tend to usually have something planned every day/ night. I live in the heart of the Observatory that is known for its concentration of students as it is so close to U of Cape Town.  The street that runs through it is called Lower Main Road (also the street I live on). Lower Main offers a huge variety of eats and happenings. There are a whole bunch of really awesome little cafés. My favourite, a place called Mango Ginger, offers great wheat free pancakes, ginger tea, goat cheese quiche and really good ginger chicken mandarin salads. The whole organic-eat-well movement seems to have caught a pretty strong hold on Cape Town. There’s also a great used bookstore that’s always open late called Obz Books. The only problem is my allergies are so intense in there I always fall into a sneezing fit and have to leave.

I’m still getting used to making me way around here. There are 3 main types of transportation: taxi/cab, minibus and train. The taxis are your average personal taxi that we are used to in the US, only considerably cheaper than we are used to. The minibuses are little vans that are sort of like group taxis – they take many people at once, and they will not leave until they are full (their understanding of full is very different from just each seat being taken). They are super cheap at about R5 a trip (R8.2 = $1). The trains are cheap as well; I have yet to take one. The stations are huge and chaotic – a little overwhelming for being so new in town. Mostly we take minibuses, you just have to catch one going in the right direction and they let you off wherever you want. They aren’t safe to take at night though, so this is when we usually take the taxis. Or when it’s pouring rain out, like it is now.

Cape Town is a big city, much bigger than anything I am used to. Its nice to be in Obs as it’s sort of a smaller, calmer version of town. There is a supermarket around the corner from us called KwikSpar were we do our grocery shopping. It’s pretty small but has most things. We are advised to use the ATM in it, as it tends to be a safer bet. People are known to try to offer “assistance” to you at some of the machines on the street (mention you dropped something and when you look up your cash is swiped). It’s hard to get a lot of groceries though because you do have to walk it all back. I try to plan and get only what I can carry, that or Scott and I try to go together. Also you have to pay for your grocery bags (not much) but you don’t want to need like 50. I usually try to bring my backpack. It’s definitely a cool system though as it encourages people to recycle their bags.

That’s all for now folks. Take care.