The First Real Weekend!!

Friday night we were welcomed by hurricane type winds and rain so we decided (had no choice) to stay in and have a chill night!!! They assure me they do not have hurricanes or tornados but these winds are crazy! Cindee, one of the social workers was telling us that people don’t own umbrellas because they never stay open. She said it gets this windy nearly every time it rains so people only use rain jackets!! Thank the Lord I brought mine!

Saturday we had a relaxed/sleep-in morning. Finally having time to catch up on Jetlag and finish laundry. That night we were picked up by Greg and Gabi (another connection from back home), PTL!! They were the sweetest/most generous people and took us to Signal Hill. Signal hill is right next to Lions head so we were able to orchestrate our self geographically and put more pieces of the city together. They also treated us to dinner at one of the friendliest restaurants. I’m pretty sure on both our entrance and exit every worker greeted us with a kind word and smile. Oh and one even bowed, hahaha.

(Tia, Gabi and I at one of the lookouts)

We then spent the night at Greg and Gabi’s talking and drinking tea They spent past 2 years teaching English in Korea so they understand what it means to be a foreigner K. We exchanged funny cultural stories and they told us more Capetonian words.

For instance:

Robot= stoplight

Boot= trunk

Cubby hole= glove compartment

Specs= eye glasses (makes sense)

Indicator=Blinker

SMS=text

Petrol=Gas

Scratch= snoop

And they always sat fetch when they refer to getting something or someone (ex. “I will come fetch you at 5 o’clock”)!!!

Being with them and seeing where they lived was nice because we were able explore a different side of Cape Town. And though it is going to sound strange it was freeing because they actually had a shower (all we have is a bath). Not to say there is anything wrong with a bath, but it can be time consuming and well kind of awkward. Not to mention the fact that our cold and hot water taps are separate. They only work one at a time so you need to perfect the water temperature before you get in; turning one on, one off, one on, one off!! I bet by the time I get back to the states I’ll have perfected the whole bathing thing and I may even choose not to shower. It is just nice to have the choice. Although, it makes us realize what the kids at our agency come from and for many it may even be that they don’t a bath!

Sunday morning they took us into Hout Bay and we went to a local weekend market. They had discovered the market the weekend prior and wanted to treat us to breakfast. There were multiple vendors with all different foods but I ended up getting a salmon omelets with a latte from a coffee shop called Bean There. The power did go out for a 20 minute span but luckily we had our food and just had to wait for the coffee. Greg and Gabi said we needed to try Biltong, Milk tart and koeksister r so while we were at the market we sampled all 3. Biltong is basically a moist jerky; milt tart is almost like a vanilla pudding tart; and koeksister is basically a long twisty donut, deep fried in syrup. All 3 being very specific to South Africa. Along with a native fish called the Kingclip. Which in my 23 years of living is the BEST fish I have ever tasted!!!

(Hout Bay)  

We then walked around the bay, stopped at multiple overlooks on the freeway and went to a inlet half way up table mountain. It was a bit of a trek but once we were there, it was amazing! I cannot wait to experience more beauties of this city!! So far it has been a week and I already feel insanely blessed!!! Again, with out these wonderful friends reaching out I would be very lost and most likely suffering from cabin fever!!

(The group that climbed half of Table Mountain Sunday afternoon)

That night we then went to Greg and Gabi’s church and for the most part it was very similar to what you would find in the states. The people were all very sweet and friendly and they had a tea and biscuit time after the service. In fact, we met a man who was moving to New York in September and had the opportunity to talk travels!! I told him that if I knew any one in the area I would connect him! So, for those of you reading, if you know or have any connections in New York, pass them my way!!!

I wish you all could experience the uniqueness of this city but hopefully my pictures and explanation will do it justice!!! I feel this opportunity is so special because we are seeing almost every area of Cape Town: the good, the bad, the sad, the beautiful, etc… I know it will be confusing and hard when we go from tourist to social worker but all I can do is pray for a non-bias lens and eternal perspective!

Be encouraged and remember to floss! (For those of you who know me, know I am very keen on oral hygiene and one of the 15 year old girls had 4 of her front teeth pulled today. I may be neurotic but people it is very important to floss!!!)

Grace and Peace

-Kay