Due to some technical difficulties, it has been a while since I blogged last. My computer battery died completely. Not the kind of death where you can just plug it in, but a very dramatic, very unexpected death. This took away the portable aspect of my laptop. Which wouldn’t be a problem at home, but our room here only has one outlet—a feat of architectural brilliance. Anyways, it took a while for my laptop battery to get here. Which shouldn’t come as a surprise since the Apple representative helping me on the phone spent a solid 5 minutes in silence looking for “Africa” on the drop down menu listing countries. A lot has happened since last time I wrote so I’ll just stick to a greatest hits list:
1. Spent our last night on the Garden Route at the Starlight Hostel in Plettenberg Bay—I mention this is case anyone reading this happens to find themselves in Plettenberg on a KFC World Tour or en route to the East Indies (people have ended up in weirder places), you have to stay at this hostel. It The dorm rooms resembles a ski lodge it is run by a man named Hercules—both of which are perks that are few and far between in Africa. He said that Hercules is his given name—so apparently it is sheer coincidence that he looks like Stone Cold Steve Austin. He hired this Brazilian bar boy named Gus who just got to South Africa 2 weeks ago and makes him wear a uniform that I probably shouldn’t describe in a public forum.
2. Saw Goldfish in concert—Two Sundays ago, we went to a club in Camps Bay called La Med, it is right on the beach and has a large outdoor section where people can sit outside on lounges. Goldfish are these 2 South African DJs that were playing. They are amazing. The two of them mix electronic music while playing saxophone, keyboard, flute and bass—it is amazing to listen to and even cooler to see live. They call their music “Electro-Jazz” and if you like either genre of music whatsoever, you have to check them out. This might take all the bandwidth in Africa, but here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTkSbOGHffY
3. Old Biscuit Mill Market—The past 2 Saturday mornings we have gone to the Old Biscuit Mill Market. This place has effectively replaced the void in my week left by Saturday morning cartoons in a way that I never thought was possible. It is the foodie equivalent of back-to-back episodes of Recess and Pepper Ann. At the risk of turning this into a food blog…. This place is incredible. It is a gourmet farmer’s market with absolutely everything you could imagine—artisan breads, seared ahi salads, flatbread wood fired pizza, falafel, Belgian waffles, springbok sausages, incredible mojitos and the most incredible roast beef sandwich I’ve ever eaten—just to name a few. Outside, there are big bales of hay and inside there are long tables with tall candles in wine bottles. Everyone just sits around all morning, and well into the afternoon, eating and drinking and schmoozing. It’s a really tough life. Oh and Darth Vadar and a Stormtrooper were at the Old Biscuit Mill last weekend, which is exactly what farmer's markets in the states are missing. We could learn a lot from South Africa.
4. My data was finally captured!—This is great news because before I was studying abroad, without actually being a student. Since I had registered along with everyone else, I was under the crazy impression that I was enrolled in classes. Wrong. So wrong. I checked the online version of Blackboard here and it turns out I am not technically a UCT student. So I went in to the enrollment office on campus to ask what the deal was and the woman there informed me that my “data had not been captured.” Being my data, I can only hope it was out there toppling statues of Saddam and evading capture, but I really needed it to be in the computer. Every time I raised my hand in lecture I expected someone from the cuts to shout, “She doesn’t even go here!!” at which point my professor would transform Tina Fey and tell me to go home. Disaster averted. We are now 2 weeks into classes, my data was finally captured, and I am officially a student here.
5. Hemisphere—Last Thursday we went to this club called Hemisphere on the top of the 32-floor ABSA building overlooking downtown Cape Town near the waterfront. At Hemisphere and a lot of other clubs here, there is a dress code and guys can’t get in without dress shoes or a collared shirt. Right before we left, Connor decided to hop in the cab and join us—which was wonderful news, except he was wearing jeans, lace up Vans and a flannel. A hipster in Los Angeles, and a peasant in Cape Town. We decided we’d just talk to the bouncer and have a couple of girls flank him on our way in. We walked up to the bouncer and he took one glance at Connor, whipped out his radio and called for backup, saying, “We’ve got a man here in trainers.” The first time that has ever happened in the history of trainers or calling for back up. Another big bouncer rolled up and we started talking to him, trying to use the standard “We’re-silly-Americans-who-don’t-know-better-and-wear-trainers-to-clubs-and-even-sometimes-while-skiing” card. But it wasn’t working so well. Until Connor reached in his pocket and pulled out a pack of chewing gum. I have never seen anybody’s face light up the way that bouncer’s did when he saw this chewing gum (well, at least since last week when Danny found out about the all you can eat night at the Chinese restaurant around the corner). He started eyeing the pack of gum and then, almost timidly, asked Connor if he could have a piece. Connor became an instant celebrity. The other bouncer saw the gum and tripped over himself trying to get to Connor to grab a piece. It was all smooth sailing from there. The bouncers ushered us into the elevator, but had Connor asked, I am fairly sure they would have carried him up the 32 flights of stairs, while shirtless.
6. Kirstenbosch—Spent Valentine’s Day at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. They have an outdoor summer concert series and everyone brings picnics and wine and sits outside listening to the performance. The gardens are absolutely beautiful. They look manicured and wild at the same time and a Table Mountain is the perfect backdrop. I am sure it could have been really romantic—had Ellen not been my date, and had the band playing not been Jamali and Friends. Once we arrived, we learned that Jamali was the winner of the South African version of making the band. Picture Destiny’s Child and 3LW singing Aretha Franklin covers. And when they said Jamali and Friends, they really weren’t kidding. The performers were Jamali and literally anyone they were friends with: friends of the family, MySpace friends, friends with benefits…Point being, I’m not sure exactly who they were but they definitely weren’t professional singers. Moral of the story, if you are looking for a South African contribution to music, definitely check out Goldfish and run for cover when you hear Jamali.
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