Kloofing

This Sunday we went canyoning, also known as kloofing. I'm not sure the full extent of the word, but we abseiled (repelled) down waterfalls and jumped off rocks into a pool. It was all in this serene, beautiful valley and I enjoyed myself immensely.

Here's the valley:

Me rapelling, Jessica prepared to save me:

The pool:

I ended up jumping from 12 meters (~36 feet) which was terrifying and exhilarating.

I know that I carefully documented my love for the Madrid metro here, so I'm going to share about the VERY different kind of public transportation we use in Cape Town: Minibus Taxis.

They are built to fit maybe 12 people, but the drivers normally fit about 20 in. They drive down regular routes, (up and down Main Road in between Cape Town and Observatory) and honk their horns, yell, try to attract your attention so you'll get into their minibus. People are squeezed in so tight people often have to get out so new people can get in. You pass your rand up to the driver or (in many cases), another man who helps him out by opening the door, stuffing people in and collecting money. I've heard that some of them are really decked out, but I've only ever been in normal to rundown minibuses. The drivers don't have a lot of respect of driving laws, which is a problem for me because I'm still really confused about drivers following laws (everyone's on the wrong side of the street!).
They're pretty safe in the day if you make sure that you're getting in taxi's that have people in them.

I can't say that I enjoy a minibus ride more than I enjoyed the metro, but they are definitely a different way of getting around. One thing the Spanish and South Africans have in common is a MUCH smaller personal bubble than Americans are used to.

As promised

This is a picture of everyone from our wine-tasting welcome dinner. How adorable are we?

At the end of the world

Yesterday we went on a tour of the Cape Peninsula with our tour guide, Colleen. (Colleen is quite the character; she is in complete control of what we learn on the tours and it is often information about how people have died in a particular place or about how sharks hallucinated in this cape or that this rodent is closely related to elephants or that this house sold for 7 million rand)

We saw penguins! They are just as absurd in person.

We also went to Cape Point, which isn't actually that geographically significant, but it is almost the tip of Africa and feels like the end of the world.

My sunburn has progressed to what I hope will be its final stage: extensive peeling. I am hoping to emerge a butterfly on the other side.

And Tutu too.

Today we got out of the house at 8:30 (maybe closer to 8:40) and piled into a van to visit the South African Museum's collection of Rock Art and talk about representation and interpretation.

We got to St George's cathedral and went into the crypt when we saw DESMOND TUTU! It was amazing. I couldn't believe my eyes -- I went back and forth a couple times, trying to figure out if it was really him. We all got to shake his hand and take a picture with him (forthcoming) and then he was gone! Apparently he goes there every Friday for mass and a smoothie, and our host had engineered for us to be there when he was. He was so nice and happy and small!

Black, White, and Red All Over

I've gone to a cafe to use their free internet just to share these highlights from the weekend:

Bo Kaap: the Muslim area in Cape Town, brightly painted and at the base of the mountains.

Sunset from Table Mountain. It's comforting to have the sun set over the ocean again.

Cape Town from Table Mountain. So sparkly!

We went to the Old Biscuit Mill Market, an awesome prepared food Farmer's Market, where I ate almost all of this delicious ostrich burger:

The beach! So beautiful!

I was stupid on the beach and I forgot to apply sunscreen very well. To give you an idea of my sunburn, here is the line on my wrist from my bracelets:

It hurts all over. Very sad.

34 degrees

Cape Town is hot (but they use Celsius, so I've been in practice) and beautiful and so different from Spain and the US.
We're in a suburb right outside of Cape Town, Observatory. It's quite the hippie town and I'm looking forward to getting familiar with the five or six cafes on Lower Main -- the street that makes up all of Observatory's downtown.
Orientation has consisted of rules, tours, and watching the sun set over Table Mountain. It has also been getting used to my new internet limit -- 1 kilobyte a month. I'm afraid that I wont be able to upload as many pictures as I. On top of that, it is unwise to take photos in public in town (showing your camera). I hope that my blog is still worth it for you to read.

Things I will miss from Spain

That everyone stays us late
Cafe con leche and giant sugar packets
Zara
Jamon
"Vale, vale"
Pastelerías
My host mom
Wandering around Madrid
Friendly Madrileños
Olive oil
Adorably dressed children
The metro
Christmas lights
Bocadillos
Toast with tomato mashed up on it (this is delicious)
Streets always being cleaned
Better potato chips
Retiro
Farmacias -- you tell them what's wrong, they give you medicine.
Tapas
Botelleon
Ease of traveling around the country
Plazas
Garapiñadas
calle Goya
Siesta
Tortel
Bars not being sketchy
Average height, while not the same as mine, is closer
"No pasa nada"
Huevos estrellados con patatas fritas
The lisp


No doubt this is a little melodramatic, but I think in the future when I look back on this quarter I will associate it mostly with being young and I will miss that a lot.