A Finger. Two Dots. Then Me.

So the term is over. The students are all at home or on holiday. My "1st generation" friend group is slowly trickling away and going home, wherever that may be. I haven't slept more than 5 hours in a night for at least a week. By all rights I should be grumpy, sad, and generally a real Christmas scrooge. Yet, that general malaise that I thought would overtake me and send me running and crying back home has not hit. I don't think it ever really will. I wake up every morning with a smile on my face, and fall asleep every night having  had one of those moments that are HOLY (more on that later) at some point that day. Needless to say, my life is fairly charmed.

So what have I been up to lately? This past week has seen a lot more room for activities. Last week was the last couple of days for the program this term, and we decided to just kick back, relax and have some fun. They made me look rediculous while playing 5-a-side soccer and I introduced them to baseball and kickball, which they instantly took to. Some serious talent. One of the kids even did this. Serious talent.

Then this weekend some friends of mine rented a car and we decided to drive down to Hermanus Beach to catch some whale watching and check out the scene. The drive itself was pretty spectacular, driving through the mountains with the beach views as far as the eye could see on the other side. On the way we stopped off at one of the beaches to check out some penguins, which might have inadvertently been one of the funniest moments of our trip. Either that or having Joel try to make Miller eat salty licorice, which is both a Dutch delicacy and also one of the most disgusting things I have ever tasted. Instant revulsion. Anyways, this is what all the penguins looked like, or at least this is how I remember them.

After getting back we checked out Obs Fest. Basically a block party right outside my house here. There was food, girls, music and more girls....and Mike Gerudo was coming! Some of our friends live in an apartment complex on the main street of bars/restaurants/debaucherous zones and so we hung out on the balcony most of the time while one of them spun the ones and twos to get the party started. All in all a pretty awesome weekend.

So onto a new week, and new adventures. Waterfront, rooftop movie, all you can eat sushi contests, Long Street nights, beaching it up, Boys Night Out, Kirstenbausch Gardens concerts, Old Biscuit Mill, Mzoli's and so much more. To bring this little blog post to a close, let me leave you with a nice little video that I can't stop watching. Seriously, must have watched it at least 15 times already. Thanks Michelle Fenn for the shout.

You can watch it here

All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.

Here is what I've been up to in the last few weeks.

Yay for Thanksgiving!

35 people from 10 countries hanging out. Yeah it happens.

Mzoli's grill station, smells so good.

Parliament trip for World AIDS Day...VIP Guests of Honor.

MEXICAN FOOD AND SOMBREROS!

Cheap and delicious Indian curry in Capital Gardens.

Right about to hike Table Mountain

Scaring my roomate haha

TABLE MOUNTAIN!

So much fun, so many things to do, so much time. Everyone must come to Cape Town, its only the best city in the world. Enjoy the song.

Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity

My great day today came down to luck. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. If I had decided to sit in another seat, or if I hadn't looked over at a specific moment, today would have just been another day here in Cape Town. Let me set the scene. I decided to grab dinner with some of my housemates at a restaurant down the street, and honestly I had to be talked into it. While the food was good (it really was) and the atmosphere and conversation lively, I was struck by a gentlemen sitting two tables away from us. I just couldn't shake the feeling that he looked familiar and that I had seen him somewhere before. As it looked like he was in a meeting, and especially since I couldn't place him exactly, I pushed it to the side and left after paying. That is where part two of my luck came about. I went home to check my e-mail and I see that I had received a "Happy Thanksgiving" e-mail from an organization that I have admired for many years, Hoops4Hope. While you can check out there website to find out more, the basic idea is that they attempt to teach life skills and development of underprivileged areas of South Africa and Zimbabwe through the sport of basketball. As i'm reading my e-mail, I notice that there is a picture of the director of the organization Mark Crandall, who just so happened to be the man I saw sitting at dinner. After shooting a quick and furious e-mail to him basically saying, "OMG YOU ARE IN CAPE TOWN RIGHT NOW?" he quickly responded graciously and invited me to a network conference today for NGO's working in Sport and Development, which is sponsored by Nike. It was being held up the Western Cape, about an hour outside of Cape Town at a spa in the winelands. It was both an interesting and eye opening experience. I noticed that even though there were many more well established or seemingly better resourced organizations than my own, we all were dealing with the same issues. Responsibility, model creation, sustainability, funding. These were terms bandied about and continuously discussed, from the large organizations to the very grassroots. At its core, this conference highlights that every NGO faces the same struggles constantly, even if the scale is different. The same questions, problems, and issues are constantly being grappled with in the non-profit sector. It was nice to know that we are not alone.

In the end, Nike gave away some free stuff (YAY FREE STUFF!), and Mark was kind enough to give me a Hoops4Hope bracelet made here in Cape Town. It was a wonderfully eye opening experience, both in terms of picking the minds of those that have been in the NGO "game" for such a long time and also in seeing that the same issues and struggles are felt across the large swath of the NGO landscape.

All these jokes have been pre-approved as funny by me

So two weeks ago I moved into my new place, and it is amazing. I am continuously amazed by how much better Cape Town gets every day.

I have a pool for those oppressive Cape Town summers

Foliage!

I had to learn how to cook.

On a funnier note, my friend Kristin and I have decided to resume the M-I-N-E game (shout out to K&E) which has led to hilarious punishments happening in the middle of a dance club, right when the waitress at a high end sushi restaurant came to give us our bill, and in the middle of a braii with all of our friends. The fun times being had.

Realization that she just said the word

She cheats and does jumping jacks instead of pushups.

Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.

I can't stop listening to these. They are amazing.

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken

So it has been a few weeks since I have blogged anything, but to say that I have been just been plain lazy is to paint me with the wrong brush. These last few weeks have been a flurry of work, outings, parties, food, exploring and moving. For one thing, I moved (AGAIN!) to a new house. One with a pool! And huge closets! A garden! Oh the insanity! It really is a nice place and I plan on living there for the duration of my stay here (Pics to come). I also climbed one of the new seven wonders of the world TABLE MOUNTAIN! Its strange, I have heard married people tell of how they are able to simultaneously love and hate their spouse at the same time. Until now I was never able to understand that sentiment, I always thought they were mutually exclusive. That is until I had the pleasure/torture of Table Mountain. All in all the hike took about eight hours of my life. Up endless stairs and ladders. Over a mile of swamp. Down 800 meters of slippery and steep rocks. It was hell on my body and mind. Yet at the same time, there is nary a more beautiful place in the world. It is absolutely gorgeous. While your body tells you how much you hate this place, your mind is constantly telling you how wonderful this place is. Mind Trip.

The edge of the world.

I love the ground

This past Saturday I also found a wonderful market with a few friends. Needless to say, on Saturdays I never have to buy food again. This place has EVERYTHING, and its FREE! Well not really, but there are enough samples there that you can make yourself a good size meal out of it. There's also dozens of vintage clothes shops, wine stores, antique stores, and even an art gallery. Best place ever.

So true.

Best bread ever. I submit it to the board

You couldn't buy any of this cheese unless you ordered in French. Legit.

The last really memorable thing that happened was my eating a chicken head and feet. That's right readers, yours truly ate it. He ate them bones and all. Not really, but still had some. If you know anything about Xhosa hospitality, it states that if offered something you must take it. It is incredibly rude not to. Knowing that I knew this tidbit, my friends offered me this delicacy to see if I would actually do it. After looking at my shocked face, they burst out laughing and said I didnt have to eat it if I didn't want. I decided to step up to the challenge. Here is what followed:

Not happy.

CHOW TIME!

There is plenty else that I have not mentioned. Yet, I think this will be the longest time between posts. I promise to be more diligent. Especially since its not my job.

Go West, Young Man, And Grow Up With The Country

So this week I was lucky enough to take part in a series of career talks that EwB has been building over its tenure at Fezeka. This week we were lucky enough to have both Vanessa September, a successful architect from Cape Town who is married to one of the writers of the South African constitution Justice Albie Sachs, and Thobela Mfeti, a recent recipient of Mandela Rhodes Scholarship who you can read about here.

Vanessa Showing Students Pictures of Cape Town and Her Own Work

Thobela Mfeti Captivating Learners

   











Both of these women had our learners captivated as they each told their story of trial and tribulation and eventual success. The learners were absolutely captivated by what they heard, and hopefully these talks continue to fan the flame of passion towards their own education and life.

A Room Full Of Bright Minds

What struck me most about both discussions was that without prior discussions with us, both speakers touched on many of the very same themes that we have been discussing with the learners. Hard work, Respect, Responsibility. These themes were repeated over and over again throughout the discussions. I think seeing such successful individuals repeat the same themes that myself and Vimbai are continually trying to teach them can only enhance their receptiveness to them. Special thanks must go to Roger for spearheading the entire concept and implementation of the career talks. Well Done!

How Many People To Make A Projector Work?

Learners Listening Intently To Vanessa September