South Africa, my future home ;-)

 

Two nights ago a group of 11 of us went to the rugby game. On the way there our taxi got pulled over for hopping a median. It was frightening for a minute until we figured out what was going on, and then it was fine. The game was the Vodacom Chargers (the home team) vs the Reds. The game was amazing. People are nuts about their teams! It is equivalent to soccer (futbol) here. The venders served chips, soda, beef jerkey, and then men walked around with donuts and heated containers of hot chocolate strapped to their backs with a tube connected to it to pour out and he carried cups and marshmallows. It was so funny. Also there was no drinking at the game. Surprising, huh? Rugby is such an awesome game to watch. The clock never stops, so there are never breaks. The refs barely do anything, and as soon as a player gets tackled someone snatches up the ball and the game continues. I love it. We ended up winning 27 to 24. To get a “touchdown”is 5 points and to get a “field goal”is 2. It was a good game.

 

After the game we came back to the area and went to the brewery at the waterfront. I was really tired, though, and I have laryngitis (no voice at all) so I wanted to sleep it off. I got some nachos and then left. On the way back to the boat a man roared at me. I think he was off one of the other boats, and was extremely intoxicated. As we passed he just stared at my faced and roared. It was fascinating. I knew there were lions in South Africa, but I didn’t know that there were some in Cape Town! It was strange and gave us a good laugh.

 

Yesterday we did a wine tour. It was probably the most beautiful landscape that I have ever seen. The wineries are in the area of Stellenbosch, about 45 minutes outside of Cape Town. We started at the Stumble Inn, a backpacker’s inn in the town. At 10:30 the group of us and others who were staying at the inn loaded into two buses and headed for the first winery. After two wineries we ate lunch, which included wine. After lunch we went to two more wineries. At each winery we tried 5 different wines, so we tried 21 wines in all (including lunch). I was being tasteful, though, and either spat or poured out most of the wine. My favorite are the sparkling wines, followed by the rose, and then sweet white . . . So good!

 

Last night a group of us had a girl’s night out, and attempted to go to this club called Tiger Tiger but you had to be 21 to get in for females and 23 to get in males on Saturdays, so we obviously couldn’t go there. What is that about though, we aren’t in the US! Gr. We ended up going to a bar close to that or a while and then going to Chrome on Longstreet, where I had been a few nights earlier. I had the best time there. It was an amazing night. Lots of dancing, lots of fun. I will never forget that night.

 

Today I woke up and realized that my camera is broken. There is a lens error. I think that I tried to turn on the camera and had my hand over the lens, and that messed it up. Although this is a simple repair, time is of the essence here. I had to buy a new camera, which are about double the price here as they are in the US. I bought almost the same camera as I had before. It is sad because I had just gotten my other camera for a Christmas present from my parents, but I figured that pictures are invaluable and I don’t want to compromise good pictures for a cheap camera. I want to get my old camera fixed when I get back to the US, and then sell one of them. 

 

Today was my last day, and it was an awesome day but sad. I do NOT want to leave yet. I still have so much to do and to see. I spent the day around the J&A Waterfront, spending my leftover Rand, using the internet, and hanging out with someone who I had met a few days before. We just hung out, watched the seals, enjoyed the company and admired how nice of a day it was out. I am really in euphoria here in Cape Town. Some Semester at Sea students already bought tickets to the 2010 World Cup which is to be held here. Other students are planning graduation trips to here. I don’t know when I get back, but I hope that it is soon.

 

Right now I am sitting on the ship in the Piano lounge. We were supposed to leave Cape Town 10 minutes ago, but there are high winds and rough seas. It is going to be a puke fest when we actually do end up leaving, sometime before 11pm tonight. You must have your stabilizers off while you exit the port, and that means that we will be rocking and rolling. There were some injuries last time we rocked, so I think we are trying to avoid it the best that we can. Anyway, I’ll say it again. I will very much miss South Africa and the unforgettable people I met.