Coffee, bays, and charity walks: my weekend in Cape Town

Hello from Cape Town!  I have to admit, I think I slightly underestimated the South African winter.  It is quite cold here!  Tomorrow it is supposed to be 14 degrees.  I have no idea how cold that actually is, because I don't have any feeling for Celsius temperatures, but I am told it is quite cold.  I think the problem for me is that in general the buildings aren't heated, so even if it is only a little cold outside, the houses often get quite cold.  It was so cold last week that I was forced to do something I would NEVER do in the US:

Yes, I am wearing socks with my Sperrys.  I'm not proud of it, but it's true.

Please allow me to take you on a small tour of Anhouse, where I stayed my first week in Cape Town:

Here is the Anhouse kitchen.  It has all the conveniences you would need to cook here.  I personally didn't cook much, mostly because I knew I'd only be living here for a week and it was too much trouble to buy ingredients.  Easier to buy pre-cooked meals for a week.

The entrance hall.  Lovely floors.  There is a meeting room and a TV room off the hall.  I watched some TV with some of the residents, including a South African soap opera, which was awesome because all of the characters speak different languages, so you get to hear three or four different languages going on at once, all in the same TV show!

The front of Anhouse

This cat lives around Anhouse.  He is super friendly and talkative.

 Now for a tour of the HOPE Africa offices:

Melanie and Khilowe, two of HOPE's interns, are hard at work sorting paperwork.  I helped them buy punching holes in the pages and putting the papers in binders.  These two ladies are awesome!  

The HOPE Africa offices are in a building owned by ASCA (the Anglican Church of Southern Africa).  It's a beautiful building that used to be a house for retired bishops.

The HOPE staff all eat lunch together.  Friday's lunch was delicious, as you can see.  Fresh cheeses, interesting and tasty crackers and bread, pickled watermelon, and jelly beans (provided by me at the request of the staff, flow all the way from Virginia!)

Over the weekend, I was able to convince some of my Anhouse roommates to take me signtseeing.  Actually, it wasn't that hard to convince them.  All I had to do was say "I have a car.  Who wants to go do something fun with me?" and here was the result:

Walking around Bo-Kaap.  This is one of the most photographed neighborhoods in Cape Town, according to Lonely Planet.  It has cobblestone streets and colorful houses and is situated on the slopes of Signal Hill.  Many Muslims live in this area, and it is common to see a mosque tucked in between the houses.  It is a lovely section of town.

A pretty house in Bo-Kapp

More from Bo-Kaap.  The peak you see sticking up is Lion's Head, part of the same spine of rock that makes up Table Mountain.  Next to this neighborhood is another section of town called De Waterkant, which I believe is my favorite neighborhood so far.  It includes lots of beautiful homes, as well as some upscale shops and cafes.  We stopped for coffee and breakfast in a FABULOUS coffee shop called Origins.  I should have taken a photo of the cafe because it was beautiful inside.  The coffee was even more beautiful.  I bought a bag to take home so I can have fresh coffee in my french press mug instead of drinking Nescafe.  You have no idea how excited I am about this.

Table Mountain from the car window.  The cloud that often covers it is called the 'tablecloth'.

On Friday after work, I took a walk and stumbled upon the Rhodes Memorial.  It was really beautiful and offered great views, so I vowed to come back and take some pictures, which I did upon our return home from our morning in town:

Apparently a bridal party had the same idea:

The view from the memorial.  It's totally worth the 15 minute slog up the very steep hill to get there!

Above is a photo of the upper campus of University of Cape Town.  If that photo doesn't make you want to go to college here, then you're nuts.

These strange birds were all over the rugby pitch, pecking at the grass!  I don't know what they are, but they have these long curved beaks. They're pretty cool looking.

Later on Saturday, I convinced one of the guys to take a drive to Hout Bay with me.  We drove over the spine of the mountain and came out here:

Hout Bay is a fishing community a few miles south of Cape Town.  It is easily the most stunning place I have ever been in my entire life.  We saw seals playing in the water right by these boats!

Hout Bay, taken from the road above it.  The sun had just gone over the mountains and the light was incredible.  Like even more incredible than you can see in this incredible photo.

On Sunday I participated in a charity walk called Blisters for Bread.  This is an annual event that supports a school lunch program in town.  The Archbishop of Cape Town is a patron of the program, so a big group of people who work for his office or one of the church's programs came out to the walk.  It was fun to hang out with my coworkers outside of the office, and the walk was in a gorgeous area!

So, that was my weekend in Cape Town!  I am staying in town through this Friday because my house in Hawston is not quite ready yet.  I have enjoyed a few extra days in the city, and Emily, the YASCer who is stationed here, arrived on Sunday.  I was so excited to see her!  The only problem is that I was sleeping in her room in Anhouse, so I have moved.  That worked out GREAT for me, though, because I am staying with Mari, one of the HOPE employees, and her husband Ari.  They have a lovely flat about a 10 minute walk from Anhouse, and they are fabulous cooks!  I'm really being spoiled this week.  I kind of don't want to leave them.  Like right now, I'm writing this snuggled up under some warm thick blankets on a super soft mattress in my own room with its own bathroom. I wonder if Mari and Ari would want to adopt me....

Anyway, today Emily and I took some time to further explore Cape Town together.  I'll post some photos from that soon, maybe later this week.  For now, good night from what is clearly the most beautiful city in the world!

As promised: pictures!

My first night, one of the guys in Anhouse, the place where I am staying, decided to make cookies.  He didn't have a recipe, he just started making them.  I was really skeptical.

Lo and behold, they turned out delicious.  Sort of snickerdoodle-like, which meant of course I had to explain what a snickerdoodle is.  Also, cookies are called biscuits.  I said that in the US we have biscuits, but it means something different.  Which meant that I had to explain what a biscuit is.  Easier said than done.  I described as 'like a roll, but more buttery and fluffy'.

There was a full moon the second night I was in town.  Anhouse is on the campus of Cape Town University, which is in the Southern suburbs.  So, this is looking west from the lower slopes of Table Mountain, roughly towards Stellenbosch.  You can't see it, but there are more mountains just under the moon.

The excellent view of Table Mountain, taken from the yard of Anhouse.  It's much closer than it looks in the photo!  But still a great photo, and probably my favorite that I've taken so far.

The view from my room.

The yard

Also taken from my window

This is actually from the Amsterdam airport. There were those little things of tulips everywhere!

That's all I've got for now.  Totsiens from Cape Town!

I wish I could show you a picture

I woke up in the shadow of Table Mountain this morning.  The weather in Cape Town is beautiful today.  I'm told it is warmer than usual for August.  It is quite sunny and the temperature has climbed from around 60 this morning to probably closer to 70 now.  Sadly, it is supposed to rain for the rest of the week after today, but I like rain.

My flights were relatively uneventful.  I was delayed out of Richmond, but Delta decided that half an hour was PLENTY of time to make an international connection in Detroit, so they didn't rebook me.  Let me just say that it is a good thing I am a runner, because the only way I made my flight to Amsterdam was by running through multiple terminals of the Detroit airport.  I showed up sweaty and out of breath, and the man sitting next to me did not look too happy about his seat assignment.  On the flight over to Amsterdam, I watched a fabulous selection of movies, including Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Bridesmaids, and Crazy Stupid Love. I was laughing out loud during Bridesmaids, (it's so funny, I couldn't help it!) and the man next to me was looking even LESS happy about sharing a row with me. Once in Amsterdam, I had a few hours to kill before my flight down to Cape Town.  I walked around the airport and read a bit of my book.  I had to make sure I didn't fall asleep, since I landed at midnight East Coast time and took off again 4 hours later.  It was cool to walk around and not hear any English.  One man started talking to me in what I assume was Dutch, and I very eloquently answered, "What?"  He says ,"Oh. Only English?  I'm sorry, I didn't know"  so I guess he thought I might be European or something, which I took as a compliment.  I do have a giant complaint about the Amsterdam airport:  they make you go through security at every gate!  That meant you had to start the boarding process 2 hours before your flight left by going through the gate security, where I had to dump out the water from my Nalgenes.  I was not at all happy about this, but it turned out to be a good thing since the place you waited in at the gate didn't have bathrooms.  I was actually happy to board the plane for once.  That system is really cruel to a woman with a small bladder.  On the 11.5 hour flight down to Cape Town, I slept for about 5 hours (but I woke up for all the meals of course) and watched another movie.

I was met at the airport by Jenny and Donna from HOPE Africa, as well as Holly, a YASCer from last year, and all of her housemates.  She was getting on the plane I just got off for her flight home!  It was so crazy for the HOPE staff to be saying goodbye to her and hello to me at exactly the same time.  Holly has been super helpful to me preparing for my time over here, and I am sure she will be missed around the office.

I am spending this first week in Cape Town to get to know some of the people in the HOPE office, which is the organization that helps fund and oversee the clinic where I will be working in Hawston.  I am staying in Holly's old room at Anhouse, the Anglican student house on the University of Cape Town's campus.  It is literally on the lower slopes of Table Mountain, so hence the view this morning.  Some of my new house mates told me last night that a zebra named Stripes often wanders into the back yard, but sadly my colleagues at HOPE said they were pulling my leg.  I'm hoping to be able to climb the mountain before I leave town this weekend, but if not, I will plan to return and climb it soon.

One thing I am super excited about:  there is lots of yogurt available in South Africa!  Yogurt is the one food I really can't live without, and they have it in abundance here, and in awesome flavors like guava!  It's going to be a good year.

So I am settling in well.  I can't wait to post my pictures of the last 2 days, but sadly it will have to wait until I figure out the internet connection on my own devices.  I am using a borrowed laptop for this afternoon.  Hopefully I'll have it all together by the end of the week, because believe me, when you see what it is like here you will be super jealous of me!

Love from the bottom of Africa, the end of the Earth!

Travel light

My bags are packed!  Actually, just one bag.  Why only one, you ask?  Great question!  Remember how I believe the purpose of this experience is service?  I want to be a part of the community where I will be living, and that means living like a local.  So, why would I want to bring a bunch of stuff from here?  I'm trying to go without a lot of baggage, both literally and figuratively.  I'm going to travel light!

Once I had my mind set on only taking one checked bag, it became sort of a challenge for me.  It was a good exercise in what it means to 'need' something.  I decided early on in the packing process that if I couldn't get everything I thought I needed into one suitcase, then it was because I was packing too much stuff.  This was a great philosophy, but it was slightly complicated by the fact that South Africa actually does have real seasons.  It's not like I'm going to Haiti, as several of my fellow YASCers are, where it will be hot all the time.  During the winter (that's right now), South Africa could have temperatures as low as the mid-40's at night.  While that's warmer than winter in Virginia, and it actually sounds pretty nice compared to the upper 90's we had here a month ago, it necessitates packing a jacket or two.  In the summer (that's December, January, and February), it might reach the 90's during the day.  So I had to pack some bulky stuff in addition to shorts and t-shirts.  But still, that's no excuse for checking two bags!

So, what exactly did I pack?

This is my trusty suitcase.  I've had it at least since college, and I've taken it to Ecuador, Nicaragua, the Caribbean.  Most recently, my mom borrowed it to take it to Istanbul on vacation.  The sticker is my identifier - it says "Pi Beta Phi Supports the Generals".  Horray for alma mater and sorority shout-outs!

These are all the shoes I'm taking for a year, plus a pair of shower shoes and my lovely nursing Crocs (not pictured).

It just so happens that I already have scrubs in the color that Hawston Hospice uses!  Navy blue bottoms, white tops.  Classic and stylish (for a nursing uniform, anyway!)

Some warm gear for cold weather

I tossed in some scarves.  Never know when you might need a scarf for a little additional coverage, or for a little decoration.

A few button-down shirts

A few t-shirts.  I find I never have enough t-shirts.

Some clothes to run in.  Running is like breathing.  I HAVE to do it, wherever I am!

My personal pharmacy.  I'm bringing the largest bottle of Dramamine you can buy.  Anyone who has ever sat near me on a bus, plane, train, boat, or even a car on a windy road will tell you that this is a good idea.  (Sorry, Sean, for almost throwing up on you on that bus during orientation.  I warned you not to sit next to me.)

Toiletries.  I think I'll be able to get a lot of stuff I need there.  I'm only taking things that I think might be hard to find, or things that I prefer a certain brand.  Sunscreen is a good example of this.  I'm sure there is sunscreen in South Africa, but I am allergic to a lot of brands of sunscreen, so I'm bringing some of my trusty Neutrogena and Banana Boat.

Is it all going to fit??

It BETTER all fit!  I'm going to MAKE it fit!!

IT FITS!!

It fit so well, in fact, that I added a few sweaters I wasn't planning on bringing.  I feel that I should add a disclaimer that I did have to put my fleece jacket in my carry-on.  It just didn't scrunch down well.

I'm also bringing my cell phone, camera, and an iPad (instead of a computer), as well as a few paper-back books, a New Testament, and a Book of Common Prayer.  Any other reading material that I decide I need I plan to buy on the iPad. 

So, that is how I pack for a year.  I hope I didn't forget anything important.  Oh!  I better go throw in my passport...  just kidding!

My flight leaves Richmond at 12 noon tomorrow, Sunday, August 18.  I land in Cape Town on Monday, August 19, at 9:30 PM local time.  That's a 27.5 hour travel time.  Good thing I packed all that Dramamine! 

My next blog post will be from South Africa!  Until then, tootsiens (goodbye in Afrikaans)!

What I've been up to

What have I been doing with myself my last week before I leave? 

Yes, I went to the Outer Banks with Jacob for 4 nights, so we could have a little alone time before I go.  The next time I stand on a beach, it will be on another continent and a different ocean.  Today (August 14) is also our third anniversary!  We celebrated last night at our favorite restaurant in Richmond.  Jacob is very happy with his fried chicken and mac and cheese, some good old Southern cuisine:

I also have some pretty sad news.  Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my dog Goldielocks.  Sadly, Goldie had a malignant tumor that had to be removed.  Jacob and I opted not to run pathology on it, so we don't know if it has spread or if it is likely to return.  She is an old dog (probably at least 12), and we wouldn't want to put her through anything traumatic like chemo anyway, so we decided we didn't want to know what might happen in the future.  So, the tumor is gone, and we will pray that we never see it come back.  For now, Goldie is doing fine and enjoying the extra attention she has gotten because of her surgery.  When I say goodbye to her on Sunday, I'm going to assume it might be for the last time.  She'll be in good hands at home with her daddy, and hopefully she'll still be around next year when I get back.  But if not, I will know that she has been a very happy doggie for the last four years since we adopted her, and she has made me as happy as a mommy can be.  I love you Goldie!

I don't know!

Less than two weeks from today, I'll be on a plane to South Africa!  Good thing my visa finally came in the mail on Saturday!

I spent the weekend with my in-laws in Crozet, VA.  I'm going to miss them.  I'm also going to miss the Blue Ridge.  I know I'll have other (bigger) mountains in South Africa, but these are MY mountains.

Jacob and me at a brewery in Nelson County, VA

The Geigers have a good view from their front yard!

As I get closer to my departure date, I've noticed that people have started to ask me more specific questions.  Ashley had the idea of an FAQ post for her blog, so I'm sort of stealing her idea.  Here are some of the questions I've been asked lately:

Question:  I know you're working for a hospice clinic.  What exactly does will you be doing day to day?  

Answer:  I don't really know.  My job title is the 'Home Care Coordinator and Support Group Facilitator'.  So likely I will be helping out with day to day patient care in their homes, and sitting in on support groups.  That's about as specific as I know.  I'll let you know more when I get there.

Q:  Where will you be living?  

A: 1 Church Street, Hawston.  I hear it is a 3 bedroom house next to the clinic where I will be working. 

Q:  Will you have roommates?

A:  I don't know!

Q:  What will your first few weeks look like, right when you get there?

A:  I don't know.  I'll be in Cape Town for a week before heading out to Hawston.  I don't really know what I'll be doing there, but I assume some sort of orientation.  I think I'll also have an orientation period at the clinic once I get there.

Q:  Will you be able to stay in touch with people at home?  

A:  I don't know, but I hope so!  Internet access is supposed to be relatively good in South Africa.  Does that mean I'll be able to skype with my husband every day?  I don't know!

Q:  What will you do in your free time?  

A:  I don't know, and I don't even know how much free time I'll have!  I don't really know what my work schedule will be like.  I assume it will be a 40 hour per week, day shift hours mostly, but that's just a guess.

Q:  Did you quit your job to do this program? 

A:  Yes, I quit my job.  

Q:  What will you do when  you get back?

A:  This is the biggest I don't know of all!  This year is going to change me, and I really believe that if I tried to tell you what I want to do when I get back, the answer will be totally different a year from now. 

Q:  What are you packing?  

A:  I don't know yet.  I'll write a blog post about this next week, once I've figured it out for myself.

Q:  What is your husband doing while you're gone?

A:  I don't know... sitting around missing me, obviously.  Also working, because one of us has to have a 'real' job.

Q:  Why do you answer 'I don't know' all the time?

A:  Because that's the way I want it!

I've started to develop an 'it is what it is' attitude about a lot of these details.  The way I see it, the most important part of my job in this program is to just be there and be available to the community in whatever way they feel is appropriate.  That means being in the moment and accepting things for what they are.  In my daily work, I will happily do whatever is most beneficial for the clinic.  I don't really need to know the specifics until I get there.  If my internet connection is slow, it's going to be slow, and knowing that ahead of time might help me prepare for the reality of it, but it's not going to make it go any faster!  I'm not sure exactly what I'll need to pack, but I'm pretty sure they have clothes and soap in South Africa, so I can get a lot of the things I'll need once I'm over there and have a better idea of exactly those things are.  According to some people who have had international experiences like this before, having as few expectations as possible is important.  There will be things that surprise me and amaze me and terrify me, and that will happen regardless of whether or not I have a picture in my head of how this experience 'should' go.  So, to all these questions, maybe instead of 'I don't know' I should say 'I'll let you know when I get there.'  Now you have an incentive to keep reading my blog!

When I'm Gone

Check it out:

18Aug13   12:15pm   Sunday
Air   Delta Air Lines        Flight# 4077   Class:U Seat:04-C

      From: Richmond Internationa 18Aug13   12:15pm   Sunday
      To:   Detroit Metro MI, USA 18Aug13   02:11pm   Sunday
      Meal: None Equip: CRJ-Canadair Regional Jet Status: Confirmed
      Stops: 0

18Aug13   04:00pm   Sunday

Air   Delta Air Lines        Flight# 252    Class:U Seat:33-G

      From: Detroit Metro MI, USA 18Aug13   04:00pm   Sunday
      To:   Amsterdam, Netherland 19Aug13   05:55am   Monday
      Meal:  Equip: Airbus A330 Jet Status: Confirmed
      Stops: 0

19Aug13   10:05am   Monday

Air   Delta Air Lines        Flight# 9599   Class:U Seat:26-F
      From: Amsterdam, Netherland 19Aug13   10:05am   Monday
      To:   Cape Town, South Afri 19Aug13   09:35pm   Monday
      Meal:  Equip: Boeing 777 Jet Status: Confirmed
      Stops: 0

I finished my final night of work at the hospital last week, so this week I've basically been sitting around contemplating the fact that I'm about to leave everyone I know for a year.  It's funny; since orientation, I haven't felt overwhelmed by what I'm doing.  Maybe a little anxious sometimes, but mostly in a good way.  I'm just excited to get over to Cape Town and get started!  My husband Jacob is doing really well with the fact that I'm about to leave him, or at least he was doing well until I started following him around singing "Cups" by Anna Kendrick.  'When I'm gone, when I'm gone, you're gonna miss me when I'm gone...' 

Anyway, my visa application has been sent off to the South African Embassy, and supposedly it only takes 5 days to process, so hopefully I'll have it back by the end of next week.  It was a little anxiety-provoking to stick your passport in an envelope and mail it, but the lady at the post office assures me that's what tracking numbers are for.  I've also finished all my routine appointments that I wanted to get done before I leave.  Even the dentist.  I HATE the dentist.  But I guess I have a really good excuse not to go back for a year!  Today I'm getting my travel immunizations.  I actually don't need much.  Just typhoid and possibly a Hepatitis A booster.  After today, all I'll have left to do is pack enjoy time with my family.

Speaking of family, here are some cute pictures of them!