Heart it Races

On Saturday Kat and I went out with my cousin Bianca. We went tobogganing! which was silly and fun, and then we went bowling, too.

Saturday night the Lexia gang went to a halloween house party in Observatory (area in Cape Town) thrown by some other American exchange students here. There was lots of food and drinks and jello shots, and there were at TON of people there, about half of which were American (even one from Irvine) and then others from South Africa, Botswana, Angola, Egypt... It was the most fun I've had in a while, and as silly as it sounds, it was really nice to chat with other Americans, partly to share experiences about being in South Africa, but mostly just for the feeling of having a beer and listening to bad american pop music and mingling with boys and girls and feeling somewhat in your own element for a night.

Yesterday we went hiking in the Cederberg mountains and got to see all the ancient rock art paintings from the indigenous Khoi-San people here. Today we went to the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, which were very very beautiful. It was nice to just stroll around and take a nap amongst the flowers.

Tonight we're throwing a little Halloween party at our place.

Tomorrow we're going... somewhere, who knows anymore. Wine tour? And then out for a traditional African Meal. Thursday we're going on a tour of the peninsula.

Friday starts the program break! Kalahari Desert, Zambia (victoria falls) and Botswana. I am beyond excited.

I don't know if I'm going to get internet again before I leave, so if not... see you in about two weeks. and flood my inbox so I"ll feel really loved and overwhelmed when I get back.

added pics to the last album. here's some:




Obs Party

Team Padkos Strikes Again

So on Friday, five of us played in a soccer tournament for Wellness Day on campus. We were three girls and two boys with limited to no soccer skills (except for Kat), playing against tall, male, soccer warriors who have probably been kicking the ball around since birth. Needless to say it was a bit daunting, but what we lacked in skill we made up for in spirit. Being the underdogs we had our friends, crowd, and even the MC (yes, there was an MC. It was kind of a big deal) cheering for us the whole time. The score was 6-1 (the 1 being a shot they sort of gave to us at the end...) but we did get free shirts, water bottles, and lasting campus fame as those foreign exchange kids (MC suggested we were from Sweden... and one from Japan!) who brought the lesson of spirit and heart in the face of adversity to South Africa. oh, wait...

So, the soccer pics are up. As are pics from the Baxter and pics of Kat, Avril, Avril's Mom, and I playing around with wigs and hats. I love my host family. Here are a few, the rest are on the site:


With the star of The Magic Flute at the Baxter

Team Padkos Cheer Squad

Game Time

Number of Goals Made...

and a random pic of me, ari, and dan being bored before class:

ps. today was the last day of classes. icecream was had.

ps. (not sure why the ps is being used for anecdotal purposes, but here goes)Since the weather warmed up here, I have been getting eaten alive by bugs. Last night I went on a bug killing rampage right before I went to bed. If you had walked past my window at around midnight you would have seen a girl, magazine in hand, flailing wildly at mosquitoes, june bugs, and other flying/biting/generally annoying creatures as she jumped exasperatedly between bed, chair, and desk. Managed to kill seven or eight before giving up and hiding in my bed, the covers pulled up to my chin in defense. (evidence of this strategy not working uncovered in the morning, when definite mosquito bite was found on neck)

GO BOKKE!

Last night we went and saw a production of the opera "The Magic Flute," except it was "African-ized" with Marimbas instead of an orchestra and Xhosa dialogue and other really cool touches. It was so so so so so cool. !!! Really, it was like nothing I've ever seen before and I wish you could have seen it. Afterwards we saw the main guy standing out in the foyer and we were giddy Americans and awkwardly asked him to take his picture with us, which he did. I'll put the picture up sometime.

but the real news is the belated weekend update.

My Uncle Roger, Auntie Caroline, Auntie Rita, Uncle Phillip, Auntie Gail, and Cousin Kyle flew down from Johannesburg and picked me up at school and we went to Hermanus, a beach town at the Indian Ocean known for its many whales during this time of the year.
The weekend was really fun and was characterized by lots and lots and lots of food and lots and lots of alcohol (for me, anyway). On Saturday evening/night alone I think I had about 10 or 11 shots/drinks. yikes! But it was really fun regardless of my semi-permanent buzzed state and we saw lots and lots of whales and the beach was beautiful and the food was tasty and the company was wonderful.
The big event of the weekend was the Rugby World Cup, as South Africa was in the final against England. I'm pretty sure EVERYONE watched the game and it was a big weekend of celebration and general pandemonium. We won 15-6 and it was kind of a big deal. But yeah, anyways. That's the general weekend re-cap if anyone cared and here are some pictures and there's more on my picasa.

mwah.

rapid-fire updates:

• went to afrikaans teacher's other school and watched kids' concert
• ate afrikaans meal in stellenbosch
• went to see AWESOME theater/movement piece on slavery in South Africa called CARGO. Can't gush enough about this.
  
• today took a tour of parliament, also very cool.
  
• this past weekend went to hermanus with the family from johannesburg, which was so so so so so so fun and wonderful. bigger update and pictures to come when time permits.
• for now, random pics of other said events are up.
• currently, in a botswana-planning tizzy.
  

Outside the restaurant lookin' gangsta with my candy cigarette.

Yummy food.

Kat knits, wears cool dresses.

Thats all for now kids. Hermanus update soon.

hey all. put some random pictures up including our trip to kalk baby on sunday, the iziko museum, and district 6 museum yesterday. and as promised, bafana-bafana t-shirt pics.

lately things have been a little slow. working on papers and our proposals for our big research projects coming up. this weekend some family are coming in to cape town from johannesburg and we're going to Hermanas, which is a really nice beach area with whales and things so i'm baie excited for that.

i'm also pumped for our upcoming program break. kat and ariel and i are going to botswana and i couldn't be more excited! more deets later.


Wall Progress

Bafana-Bafana


District 6

Iziko

Procrastination Knows No Borders

So about that whole "avoiding work no longer" thing I was going to do...Papers are even less fun when Claire is not around to share alternating moods of panic and futility and caffeine cravings. And to read my brain and supply the right words.

Yesterday we went to Kalk Bay. We walked around, saw a whale, Whitney got stuck on a wall... We saw an improv theater group. mm... we watched the Rugby World Cup semi-finals game of South Africa vs. Argentina. Springboks won so we are going to the finals. More fun than watching the games is watching our host families go crazy watching them. YEBO!

ok, i have some bafana-bafana shirt pics that i took so i'll try to put them up later. i also have some pictures from today. we visited the company gardens and district six and a few museums.

blah blah i'm really just avoiding this paper i have to write. but i'll avoid it no longer.

and because this post needs a picture:

Langa

ps. send some updates. useless tidbits preferred.