A Typical Week...

I've had some requests for more updates about life on a day-to-day basis here in lovely Cape Town. So, here is a recap of my past week:

Thursday - Class in the morning from 10 - 12. Neither class is particularly stimulating...there really isn't any point or content to Thinking in the Social Sciences, and Advanced South African politics has nothing to do with South African politics specifically. But oh well. Practice piano at the College of Music for an hour, then go to lunch with house mates at the local soup/sandwich/salad place. Come home and get reading done while laying out in the sun with the other girls in my house. Three mile afternoon run around Rondebosch. Come home, shower, have a quick dinner, and get dressed to go out. The girls and I decide to have a Girls' Night Out at Tiger Tiger, one of the ritziest clubs in Cape Town. It's where Prince Harry hangs out when he is in South Africa. We all meet at Danielle's house to swap makeup and try on each other's high heels, then head down to mainstreet where we barter for a cab to get us to the club. I will post pictures of this crazy/fun night soon!

Friday - I only have one class on Friday from 11:00 to 12:30. Once it's over, Kelly and I catch one of the jammies (free UCT buses) down to Long Street, which is downtown. We walk around, check out the flea markets, grab coffee, and just generally take in the people and vibes. Eventually it's time to head back to Rondebosch and take a quick afternoon nap. In the evening I head to a contemporary ballet performance at the UCT Baxter theater with a few house mates. The company is from Joburg and they are definitely not bad. We grab dinner after at Cafe Sophia (good tapas and seafood), then head back out to Long Street to celebrate the birthday of a girl on the program. We go to The Waiting Room, which has a wonderful roof balcony with a view of all downtown. But there isn't time to stay out late, because people are surfing and river rafting bright and early Saturday morning. After a quick late night ice cream stop at Steers, it's time to go home and get to bed.

Saturday - After a morning run and a few errands (groceries, room clean up, etc), it's off to Camps Bay to enjoy a day at the beach. The wind isn't bad, and I get a nice tan as well as some reading done. We get sushi in the evening and watch the sunset. To cap off the night we head to the Dubliner, which has great live music. When we request "an American song," the band plays a funny rendition of James Brown. Everyone dances and just generally has a fun Saturday night out.

Sunday - A few of us take the UCT jammies downtown to spend a morning walking through the Company's Garden and peeping in the museums. The Cape Town festival is going on, so there is live music and lots of people. The Company's Garden is one of the oldest parts of the city - it was planted as a vegetable garden in the 1600s to provide fresh produce for sailors rounding the cape. The afternoon is spent getting school work done and relaxing. My house cooks (pasta night), and everyone goes to bed early.

Monday - Wake up at the crack of dawn to hike Table Mountain. Even though we've done it before, Kelly has a friend visiting who wants to see Cape Town from the summit. We do an easy route that takes only an hour and a half, then take the cable car back down. I just make it to my 11:00 AM lecture. After a few hours of classes, it's time to head straight to volunteering at Baphumelele. The kids are a little hyper, but they enjoy playing an animal matching game, having an alphabet quiz, and learning the names of shapes. Mosie gets a yellow face for the day (instead of a perfect green) because she refuses to help clean up. We get home from Baph at around 6:00. Mindy is home after being in Kreuger for a week, so we have a relaxing welcome home dinner for her.

Tuesday - A light day of classes that ends at 1:00. I practice piano for a few hours in the afternoon, then go to my Step and Tone class at the local gym. In the evening Alex and I head over to Baxter for a free UCT Symphony concert. Afterwards we grab coffee from CoCo's and 50 cent DVDS rentals from the neighborhood video store.

Wednesday - Classes and Baph. I get to plan the lesson for today, so things go particularly well. It was a math lesson that involved counting and adding various animals, as well as cutting out some farm animals and pasting them in their barnyard in the proper numbers. In the evening most people head to Stones, which has lots of pool tables and 2 for 1 drinks. I play two games of pool (win one, lose one), but then it's time to head home for an early morning tomorrow.

Thursday - Go for an early morning run before my 10 AM class, and now I'm sitting here in the computer lab! This afternoon I will probably get errands done and begin research on a paper that is due in just over a week.

Anyway, life is busy and fun here in sunny Cape Town, and I feel so lucky to be in such an amazing place. We've done most of the mandatory touristy stuff, but it's remarkable how much I continue to learn and absorb here simply by living life and observing everything. I've picked up the slightest South African accent when it comes to asking questions - the intonation is different, and everyone understands you much better if you use the local phrasing. I know how to catch a minibus, the differences between the major South African political parties, and where the locals go to get cheap food. My experience here has been both increadibly eye-opening as well as tons of fun. Now it's off to enjoy another sunny afternoon...
Cheers!