Day 50 - Saturday

Departure! One last trip to the Garden to feed the squirrels nuts. We had a lot of nuts left. Fat, happy squirrels in our wake. Parting words to Cape Town, "an Irish coffee should not be served in a wine glass, it's a hot beverage!"

Day 49 - Friday

Time to get serious about getting ready to go. Went to Company's Garden for a working breakfast. My Fall calendar is filling up too quickly! We went to Mexicano for a snack and worked on hemp jewelry. They have a big sign out front that says, "Parking for Mexicans Only". The first time we were there, a couple parked out front, then checked to make sure it was ok. Clearly did not get the novelty of the sign. This time, we ran across our first group of Americans in town. 3 girls who sat in the booth next to ours. They were loud and obnoxious as ever. I see where Americans get the reputation. For the first time since we've been here, I couldn't avoid hearing the entire conversation. One of them claims she cannot donate blood now because she slept with an African. Another like so could like not like finish a like sentence without like saying "like" like 5 times. Jeez ... Finally, we finished up our souvenir shopping and bought a new suitcase to bring back all the stuff we accumulated. After going to the Backpacker's to say goodbye to the students, came home and started packing. I couldn't sleep, as I never can before a trip, and read half of the book I was saving for the plane.

Day 48 - Thursday

Finishing up work and getting ready to go. Looking forward to good Internet access again! Also looking forward to not having to deal with it next week in Ireland. It's amazing how little work I get done without it. Everything I do involves the web to a large extent, and it's been torture trying to accomplish things without it. 2 hours today completing something that should have taken 15 minutes. Need to find a way to change that for next year.

Went to the V&A Waterfront to bring receipts to the VAT office. I have about R2,000 coming back in taxes. Yay me! Dinner at Mitchell's for the last time. Listening to South African accents all around me, I realize I really miss hearing the voices of people who talk like me. Aside from the study abroad group at the game lodge, I haven't seen another American since we arrived.

Note to self, an African Toilet is made with banana liquor, Amarula, and Nachtmusik. Leave out the Nachtmusik and it's a Hard On.

Day 47 - Wednesday

Said goodbye to the casino, and actually took some cash home this time :)

Day 46 - Tuesday

Goodbye coffee with Steven and last night at the casino. I'm really going to miss gambling with Rand! So much fun for so little expense.

Day 45 - Monday

Last day of class today. One of the students read a blog entry and left me realizing that my blog is so boring! I haven't really invested the time to make it interesting. I guess I've just been having too much fun doing things to spent time writing about them. At lunch today, the boy was interested in the spring rolls. He likes bread, and of course 'it is a roll made in the Spring'. Sadly he was disappointed. I encouraged him to try a burger instead and deeply regretted that after he returned it on the bathroom floor that night. I'm going to have to learn how to cook before next trip.

Day 44 - Sunday

Like our first week, so is our last. It's raining. Went to the mall and ate at Dros. The kid's play room is great. That's something we're missing back home. Places that cater to adults and kids at the same time. A separate "bar" side of the restaurant is great for the parents while the kids are happily playing together in their own room. After dinner, we saw Ice Age 3. The theater was obviously built very nicely, but sadly is poorly maintained. That seems to be true of a lot of places here. Service jobs don't seem to be well managed, and service, as well as food quality, is inconsistent from day to day. I'm starting to realize a lot of the things I take for granted back home, and missing them!

Day 43 - Saturday

Morning working at home. Am completely fed up with the little combo washer/dryer unit in our Flat. Clothes take hours to wash and always come out wrinkled. The space saving benefit is not worth the cost. Was outside for the noon cannon today. It's so loud! If I didn't know what it was, I would be deeply concerned.

Fed the squirrels and the bunny again. We wanted to go to the Observatory tonight. The only night it's open to the public since we've been here. Sadly, the sky was too overcast to see the stars. So, we went to the casino instead :) I'll have to keep my regular job as gambling is apparently never going to be more than an expensive hobby for me. Sigh. Stopped at KFC on the way home. Just had to try it. Gravy and coleslaw were both horrible beyond reason.

Day 42 - Friday

Took the train to Kalk Bay, a beach town with Sedona-like shops. Ate at Cape To Cuba, a neat restaurant by the tracks and ocean. Then to Muizenberg, which is a surf town. Awesome surfing beach here. Lots of surfers in the water. It's a cold day, and I'm sure the water is freezing. Didn't stop the surfer's though. Found a nice pizza place by the beach for dinner. It was dark by the time we boarded the train home. The night train is a bit dodgy, and we are an extremely small minority group of 3.

I really want a small computer to carry around. Tired of lugging this laptop.

Day 41 - Thursday

I'm going to miss working in the Company's Garden and feeding the squirrels nuts. Wish there was somewhere like this close to home. Spent another day close to home. Tabi got her tattoo. Getting ever so hard to blog every day. Totally immersed in laid back Cape Town life this week. Looking forward to getting back to work at home.

Day 40 - Wednesday

Went to the bead shop to collect beads for more jewelry making. Found a tattoo shop where Tabi worked out a design and made an appointment for Friday. Road in a bike rikki. Casino hotel is booked! Spent the day around CBD instead. Miss home and having a real desk/computer to work!

Day 39 - Tuesday

ASU email not accessible today. Did some work offline and had lunch at the Dubliner .. again. Tabi really digs the shepard's pie. Can't wait to try it in Dublin! Brought laptop along, but email still not working. Tabi bought some hemp and showed us how to make jewelry. First time I've done anything 'crafty' since I started college so many years ago. It was fun, we sat at Mexicano all afternoon and I made my first bracelet :)

Day 38 - Monday

Things are starting to slowly wind to a close. Beginning to think about the things we need to do before we leave. Had our last regular class at UCT. No field trip today. Just wrapping things up and preparing for final project presentations next week. Had a long working lunch after class, just sitting back and watching the locals carry on their daily life around me. Already starting to reflect on the experience and how it will change things back home. Ok, so I still have 3 weeks before home, and 2 of those in Cape Town, but certainly still on the back side of the journey.

On another note, blogging daily is a challenge! The days are passing by so quickly!

Day 37 - Sunday

Up before the sun for another game drive. This time, watched the sunrise over giraffes in the park. Found two elephants. They were a bit grumpy and didn't really like us hanging around. Chased our vehicle off several times. Having a wild elephant snorting and coming towards you is a bit unnerving. They get bigger fast. Jonathan turns the engine off when we're close, then stands up in his seat to tell us about them. Whenever they start to give warning signs, he's very quick to drop back in his seat, fire up the engine, and start driving away. Thankfully, the engine starts up every time. Whew. He got a call over the walkie that the lions were grumpy this morning, and says, "let's go see". After being run off by grumpy elephants several times, I'm a little nervous as we open the gate to enter the lions territory. We discuss briefly who should be the one to jump out and be left behind if we have to leave in a hurry. We find the lions right away. They are clearly alert and watchful. We keep a "respectable distance", which is still pretty close. After watching them a bit, they start pointedly moving towards us. Jonathan quickly gets us moving back towards the gate, stating that we should get out of their before they block our only exit. There are two gates for this area, but the other isn't working. I'm happy to move out of the lion's den.

We found zebra and some other animals. Jonathan tells us about a lot of the plants as well. Like which ones to eat, brush your teeth with, and the one with tasty milky looking sap that will kill you. Didn't try that one. We drove around for a while looking for the cheetahs, but they were hiding. We did see a lot of cheetah food about; a herd of 60 that is now only a couple dozen.

Back to the lodge for breakfast. Then, Tabi and the students left for a 3 hour drive to the highest bungee jump in the world. They just *had* to go. A concept I just don't get. I don't want to walk on that bridge, let alone jump off it. Ronny and I stayed at the lodge and visited the cheetah conservation center where we finally got to see some cheetahs up close. Adorable kitties. I want one. The we visited the reptile center and Jonathan let us hold one of the snakes. They have lots of snakes, some crocodiles (we didn't get to hold those), and a few turtles. We had lunch and Ronny left for another game drive for kids. The only other "kids" with him were 3 teenage girls. I took advantage of some time alone to work. After dinner, the boy and I were walking from the restaurant to the lodge and ran into a bush hog (similar to a wart hog). It was 10 feet away and coming towards us when Ronny spotted him and panicked. All I saw was a giant beast with horns that shouldn't be running loose coming for us in the dark. Scared the crap out of both of us. Turns out, he lives under the porch at the lodge. Can't believe no one warned us about that!

Students survived the bungee jump, but didn't get back to the lodge until 8:30, and it was 1 am by the time we were back home in Cape Town. Longest day ever!

Day 36 - Saturday

Left early for the Garden Route Game Lodge. The lodge is awesome. The students all stayed in small chalets next to the lodge. They are cool little cabins on a hill with private patios and excellent views of the game farm. Ronny and I had a nice room attached to the lodge, also very cool. After lunch, we packed up on drinks and headed out for our first game drive. The park is enormous and separated by electric fences with big dual gates. Driving from the lodge property and onto the farm through the gates reminded me of Jurassic Park. Our guide Jonathan was extremely good at maneuvering our Land Rover around the park, and very knowledgeable about the animals. We saw a couple giraffes, a family of rhinos (cute baby rhino that daddy wants to kill so he can mate with mommy again), several lions (two sisters and their mating male - dad!), and many wildebeest, buffalo, and springboek (cheetah food). As well as several birds and other animals I forget.

Jonathan picked some termites from a hill to feed the students. Apparently high in protein and very sweet. We watched the sunset and enjoyed cold beer along the route. The farm gets very cool in the valleys, especially after sunset. We huddled in blankets for the drive back. Had a nice dinner at the lodge and entertainment by a couple of youth dance troops. We met another study abroad group from a college in California. I had a night cap with their instructor. The CA students ran around the bar in togas, while mine settled in the lounge for a game of Mafia Sadly, no one at the lodge had fireworks to celebrate the 4th for us. However, they did have a roaring fire in the fireplace that burned a hole in the wooden mantle. I guess that counts ;) Slept very well.

Day 35 - Friday

Resting today for weekend excursion tomorrow. Coffee at the Main Street Cafe and played cards for awhile. Cape Town is so laid back. Everywhere we go, we sit for awhile and play cards. I'm still not used to the slow service. We often have to chase down the waitron for another drink, or to pay our check. Nice that they'll let you sit and play cards for hours though :) Went to the bead shop on Long Street, then to our mall to rent a movie for the night. Stayed in and got lots of sleep.

Day 34 - Thursday

There is a bush maze in Mouille Point called Serendipity. A nice old man runs it. This is claimed as the 3rd largest maze in the world. He has an old newspaper article about it with a photo, where it looks full of bushes and trees. The old man says a tidal wave wiped out half of it (I guess I can look up if that was the tsunami). It's currently being rebuilt (regrown rather). So now, the maze is sparse, but there are wires and makeshift fences put up along the bare paths. It's still a tough maze to solve. Took us some time to find the middle. There, you discover a small wooden table and benches and can make a wish. After finding our way out, the old man let us choose a poem from his book. He likes mostly western poems, and asked me to read a couple to Ronny. When I was done, he smiled and said he loved hearing the poems read in a western accent. Apparently we all sound like Texans to the Capetonians.

An outdoor putt-putt is next to the maze. We played a couple of games. Nothing near the elaborate miniature golf we have in the states, but still fun to play ocean side. We had dinner at the Dubliner where the shepherd's pie is awesome. Then shopped at Greenmarket Square for more souvenirs. Still need to buy a new suitcase to bring back all the stuff we've accumulated.

Day 33 - Wednesday

Beautiful day. Wine and cheese picnic on the beach at Camps Bay. Tabi and the boy created a fine sand castle. The beach is absolutely fabulous, if you can ignore the occasional passerby selling sunglasses, chess boards, and a host of other odd things. We bought a pail and shovel from the only seller who walked casual by and waited for us to come to him. I know this is a way of life for some people, but the high pressure sales tactics that quickly degenerate to begging is getting really tiresome. I said no, geez, NO. Sigh ... anyhoo, the beach was great, we really liked it. Had dinner on a patio overlooking the shore to watch the sunset again. That just doesn't get old.

Day 32 - Tuesday

Ratanga Junction. A smallish amusement park. Several good rides, and only R109 entrance fee. So, for about $12, one can't really complain :) The park itself is awesome; set up like a jungle with lots of foliage along the walking paths. Went to Ronny's favorite place for dinner after: Dros. He only likes it for the indoor kid room with a trampoline and games. He played for hours with a couple other little boys. Tabi and I love it for the dessert shots. Mmmm...