The Home Stretch

We are hitting the final stretch here. What was once months left, turned to weeks, and now days. I’ve recently realized that I’ve experienced enough here to satisfy my “checklist”. Between adventure, travel, and must-sees, we’ve done it all. Now it is time for me to make peace with Cape Town, to soak in the last days and gain some closure. Thus, as you will see, my daily itinerary has changed quite a bit. What was once a life centered on activities, is now one rich in relationships and wonderful company. Because, what I now understand is that the “things” I’ve done here have provided me with stories and memories, yet the people I’ve met here will change my life forever.

In the past 2 weeks I've…

----Travelled to Stellenbosch with Byron to see Plush live with some new friends: Nick, Carin, Carla, Hilke, Liesa, Nick, and Dale (aka “the night walker”). Of course the evening wouldn’t have been complete without a late-night visit to McDonald’s, which-let me tell you- is a 5-star hotel here compared to Ronald’s American houses (think, two stories). For those of you who haven’t heard the band, I highly recommend their new CD. I managed to stay awake for whopping four minutes on the car ride home. Thanks for driving, By!

----Watched Due Date with Mike and Rafe for the 3^rd time in two months. “Why are your dad’s ashes in a coffee can?” Just watch it.

----Stood in line for Tiger Tiger (a dance club) for 1.5 hours with some Northwestern folk. Part way through the line a girl asked us which one of the “52 US states” we were from. I was tempted to tell her I was from the state of Boston, in case she was counting that as 51. *A common misconception here is that Boston is its own state since the area of Boston is much better known than the state of Massachusetts. Luckily we gained entrance into the dance club and had a fabulous time.

----Lunched on quiche at Mango Ginger as a group of seven (missed you Sam) before taking Eliza to get her nose pierced. The woman that did the deed was covered head to toe in piercings and tattoos, in places I’ve never imagined. Tattoos on her fingers and knuckles, piercings on her neck…she told us she had pierced either side of her nose over ten times so Eliza was not to worry. Needless to say, that fact helped little, but Eliza was a trooper and the nose ring looks great on her. Of course, we had to stop at a health food store en route back home, into which we excitedly entered and out of which we immediately fled, after seeing how delicious everything looked and how much money Cathy’s Date Balls and things were about to drain from our wallets.

----Witnessed Sino’s baptism. It was a beautiful event, a renewal of vows, so to speak.

----Dined on half price sushi at Food Lover’s Market before going to see Water For Elephants in Cavendisch. Before that night, I wasn’t aware that all are given specific seats in movie theatres here; you book them beforehand. Gone are the days of arriving half hour before a movie even after you’ve purchased your ticket, just so you aren’t kissing the screen or behind the tall guy in front. But, be forewarned, there are no ushers.

----Spent over an hour on a bouncy castle at Tegan’s 21^st, themed around childhood fantasy. What began as quick jol on the “bounce house” (ahem) turned into a mass chaos of bodies running and back and forth as the blow-up child’s toy gave way under the pressure of a clear weight overload. It was nearly impossible to resist the flow of the black hole of random limbs tangled around deflating pieces of the jumping castle. At one point, Ashleig and I became stuck in place, feet in the air, heads touching the ground. What a wonderful birthday that was.

----Watched Despicable Me on a laptop while crammed on a bed with seven other people. It was a feat, let me tell you. Yes, I do believe I used that word correctly; feat: an achievement that requires great courage.

----Spent the day in Stellenbosch with Ashleig, Nick, and Byron. We went to breakfast in town at Jan Cat (everything is in Afrikaans in Stellis, heads up). From there they gave me a tour of the campus and we were off to go wine tasting at Tokara. Because many of the wineries make most of their profits on wine bottle sales versus tastings, they often offer tastings for free. This is the perfect opportunity for poor university students like us who have no intention of buying wine but would be more than happy to partake in free samples. We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging at a park just outside of campus, surrounded by the beautiful Stellenbosch mountains. I fell asleep immediately upon entering the car on the way home.

----Attended Jaryd’s 21^st at Neighbourhood. Tegan brought along her pink, furry cowboy hat, with which we took around 20 pictures, all with different guests wearing it.

----Went to three church services in one day. I attended church on main campus service in the morning, went for a run, and then went to both the Common Ground and Church on Main Claremont evening services with Mike and Rafe. It was one holy day!

---- Saw Rosemary Towns End, (Chris, Jaryd, and Cyle jamming together) perform at Zula Bar. They were fantastic! It was an occasion that both my local and American friends attended. It is always interesting to compare and contrast the “going out” dynamic of the two cultures.

----Chowed down at the Eastern Food Bazaar with homegroup. This time, I was well versed in the largely oversized (or maybe just right?) portions that is EFB food. Of course, I did feel compelled to order an extra plate of hummus and pita bread seeing as half of my homegroup had never tried it before. The necessities in life…

---- Played squash for the first time with Coach Mike Hobbs. It was great fun, and I have a newfound respect for squash players. However, the right side of my body was embarrassingly sore for days.

----Hiked lion’s head with Melissa, Hellen, and Shewaga (they had never been!). Besides the numbness in my entire right side (yes, from squash) it was a wonderful hike with wonderful company. Because of the scattered clouds overhead, the sunset was an extraordinary array of deep pinks and reds.

----Spent a Friday night making pizza (aka watching Mariah, Geo, and Sam make the most delicious home-made pizza I’ve ever eaten [besides yours, Fred Kass]) and playing bananagrams. It was good to be with all the girls again for a nice, relaxing Friday evening in.

----Woke up at 4:45 AM to be driven to the White Shark Lodge in Kleinbaai (about two hours drive). We went the 8 of us girls plus about 4 others to finally, after a long awaited 4 months, go SHARK CAGE DIVING! The sharks are fascinating animals, not frightening, but rather intriguing. It is very clear that they are not at all interested in attacking/hurting/snacking on us in any way. They simply want the dead tuna head that floated in the water in front of our cage. The cage held five people and was fully submerged under water with the exception of about 1.5 ft of air space on the top in which we could catch a breath between dives. I went in the cage twice (going in again with a small group after everyone had had a go) and had the opportunity to stand on the very left and then the very right side of the cage, surrounded on 3 sides by water. There were a couple moments during which the shark would bump into our cage while turning one way or another. One such time, Taylor and I let go of our holds on the grip bar and just clung to each others’ wetsuits…talk about survival instinct. It was an amazing (but cold) experience to say the least. I have two simple suggestions for future reference: 1) put your wetsuit on the right way the FIRST time, 2) pee BEFORE you put it on.

----Watched the Bulls vs. Sharks rugby game with great company at Ruth’s house. She made a huge batch of delicious butternut soup and pudding for dessert and somehow managed to break her spatula while sanctioning order in the house (wink wink)! What a woman. And, of course, Mike and Jono had me convinced that one of the rugby stars was actually the actor that played Prince Caspian in Narnia. Thanks for that one guys.

----Played a few tennis matches with Storm, Dave, and Tom. Every since I taught Dave the endearment and tenderness of the word “betch” when used in a sentence such as “Luvv ya, betch,” he has begun to greet me regularly in such a way. Of course, it does not work unless said with an American accent, which he happens to be brilliant at. Must be why they picked him to be Ryan Reynold’s stand in in Safe House.

----Lunched with Dylan at Cocoa Wah Wah. He made fun of my tendency to eat breakfast food throughout the day (don’t deny it, you did).

----Spent a lovely afternoon over coffee with Ashleig at Cocoa Cha Chi. We talked about the abroad experience and how it is like living in an alternate reality. It was so wonderful to hear about her many adventures during her time in the UK and about her life in general. She is preparing to lead a missions trip soon! What an amazing woman!

----Celebrated Jo’s birthday with a short and sweet cocktail hour at Banana Jam.

----Made chocolate chip and banana pancakes for a crowd of unknowing Africans who still think pancakes should be thing and very large (aka crepes) during our Disney movie marathon at Tom’s house. I was asked several times for this recipe, to which I replied “your ‘pancakes’ plus the very necessary bit of baking powder.” They really were delicious though, but after four batches and three Disney movies (The Incredibles, Mulan, and Lion King) I had had my fill of pancakes for a few years.

----Became an official member of Church On Main. As I walked up to the front of the room to be mentioned with the other “newbies”, the lead elder smiled at me and said “Just in time, Bryn.” So true…

----Worked out at the Virgin Active gym with Rafe (aka sat in the jet pool for a while).

----Gone on countless runs around the Rondebosch Commons with Mariah.

----Attended Lisa’s final art exhibit at the Hiddingh Campus. Her work is beautiful. She even surprised me afterwards by organizing a homegroup date at Cocoa Wah Wah. When I arrived there, they had arranged a message with the magnets on the wall: “Farewell, Bryn. We love you.” It’s too early for goodbyes guys, seriously. But, it was a very sweet gesture. Highlight of the afternoon: Catching Chris “I don’t smile for pictures” Dudley on camera with a grin on his face! GOTCHA!

Worked? Went to lectures? Hmmm….

I sure do love this place.

Mama Kass visits

When parents come to visit, it usually means days of museums, tours, and fancy lunches, it usually means hotels and mature, censured conversations and saying goodbye to friends for a little family time. When Sarah Kass comes to visit, it means normal life plus one. Whether or not she enjoyed every moment of the usual, she saw and experienced it all, and I’m so grateful she did.

Rafe and I picked my mom up early on a Thursday morning. Much to my surprise, she was ready to go right away (I’ve got energetic genes, you know). We took a walk into town, picked up our rental car, went to a flow yoga class, at YoYoga and went to dinner on Long St at a restaurant called Fork. Mom soon found that driving here is not quite like it is in the states, simple because of the fact that most rules don’t apply. Oh, and the whole driving on the left side of the road but on the right side of the car made a slight difference. It didn’t make things any better that I am completely comfortable with driving without knowing exactly where I’m going, seeing as this is inevitable. So, needless to say, we saw much more of Cape Town than we had intended in that week.

On Friday, we took a tour of Robben Island—what a testament to human strength, that museum is. As usual, I parked in the furthest parking lot from the dock and there we were, running to the boat (I wish I could tell you this is unusual). Just as standard, I fell asleep on the beautiful boat ride there. Then, to continue the amazing normalness of the situation, we were so busy talking that we couldn’t get a seat on the bus after the walking tour and instead sat on the steps in front of the bus doors that were broken and stuck wide open. After our tour, we got Marcels!!! That evening, we went out to dinner with Georgie, Blades, and grandpa Don Williamson at Andiamo in Greenpoint. We arrived late after parking 4 blocks too far down the road (it’s just getting more and more standard isn’t it?). Carb-loading never tasted better

Saturday, I woke up around 4 am to eat breakfast. Sierra and I drove to the start of the Two Oceans Half Marathon, where we nearly stepped in line behind the 56k runners. That would have been a shocker. The race started promptly at 6 am but we didn’t move from our places for a good 5 minutes. Most of the race was in the darkness of the early “winter” morning. It was such a great vibe, running through Constantia and Kirstenbosch, and then finishing at the UCT Rugby Fields, where I met up with my mom and some friends. From there, we went to the Old Biscuit Mill for breakfast and then drove to Stellenbosch for Church on Main Family Camp. We arrived in time for lunch and then walked into town with a group of Church on Mainers for ice cream and coffees. That evening, we had dinner with everyone and attended the evening church service and then spent time chatting and playing games and such. It was lovely that my mom was able to meet and spend time with everyone.

Sunday, we woke up for the morning Easter service at Family Camp and stayed for tea and hot cross buns. Then we were off to go wine tasting for the day. In the rainy dreariness of the day, the wineries were all the more cozy. We got back in time to attend the evening church service in Claremont where mom met everyone else!

Monday, we hiked table mountain in perhaps the worst hiking-table-mountain weather imaginable. Mom kept saying “But, this is so much more memorable!” I grudgingly assured her that table mountain on a nice day is plenty memorable. It was definitely an adventure. After around four hours of hiking in the cold, ferociously windy, rainy weather that had enveloped the mountain, we got hot chocolate at the base of the mountain and returned home for hot showers and then walked into Rondebosch. That evening we made dinner for the Strubens Digs and went over early to prepare. The night was long and full of laughter. We ate and played games and worked hard to understand the mixture of South African, Zimbabwean, and American references.

Tuesday, we went to afternoon yoga and then to Food Lover’s Market for smoothies. Then I took mom on a tour of UCT. I forgot just how beautiful the campus is; I take it for granted after having trekked there 5 days a week for lectures. But, it is truly picturesque. That evening, we went to dinner with Mariah and her parents and Sam to Aubergine, a restaurant in the Gardens. We ate rabbit and butternut soup and melon sorbet…delicious!

Wednesday, we went to morning tea at the Mount Nelson with Hellen and Brittany. To put it plainly, it’s hours of chatting, drinking fine teas, and eating pastries, in a covered terrace, on beautiful couches, with a view of the Mount Nelson gardens (perfectly groomed) behind you…not too shabby. It was refreshing to spend time just sitting and talking especially with such great company. Then my mom and I went paragliding. You can ask her about that, it’s probably not the most comfortable, calm thing she has ever done, but she was a trooper. When we got to the landing spot, right by the shore, we promptly hiked back up to Lion’s Head and then hiked the mountain (again, not the most mentally calming activity, especially in the rain). By the time we descended the mountain, it was around 6, and I took my mom to Rafiki’s for some banana and avo pizza. That night, Rafe and I stayed up working on assignments that were due the next day, and I totaled around 3 hours of sleep before waking up early to turn in my paper.

Thursday, we drove part of the peninsula tour, but didn’t make it far before we wanted to walk around. We walked along the beach on Camp’s Bay and then at Clifton before heading farther down the coast. We passed through Sandy Bay and Hout Bay and drove along Chapman’s Peak Drive to Noordhoek (the “whitest beach”), where we jumped out for my “brief” nap on the beach, which turned into an hour, while my mom walked around and read. Then we went for coffee and browsing in the town. That evening Izzy and family, Sam, Mariah, Geo, Taylor, Eliza, my mom, and I went to the Eastern Food Bazaar for dinner. Note of caution: the portions=HUGE! We ate a lot. Enough said.

Friday, we woke early to hike up to Rhodes Memorial to watch the sunrise. Then we went to yoyoga. My mom ventured back to Kirstenbosch while I went running with Mariah, and we met back up again later to go to coffee at Cocoa Wah Wah with Dylan. Then, Mike and I drove Mama Kass to the airport to say goodbye for a while…I hate goodbyes. In honor of mom’s leaving Cape Town, my friend Jaryd and I made banana pizza at the Strubens Digs that evening. THANKS MOM, FOR A GREAT VISIT!

This is Home now

It’s been a while, hey? Hi all. The days are flying by, I tell you.

There is one kind of robber whom the law does not strike at, and who steals what is most precious to men: time. ~Napoleon I, Maxims, 1815

The past month has been a whirlwind of glamour mixed with indelicacy, topped off with a surprisingly wonderful feeling of normality. Who knew that Cape Town could not only be a place of vacation and luxury but also home? I surely did not, but it has been a welcomed truth, and, unfortunately, it means that, the more that time passes, the closer I come to leaving what is now home.

To keep from writing another novel, I will glance over my life in the past month here. Hopefully my love for this city will become apparent as you read. In 30 days I have…

Spent one hilariously random night at Clifton and Sea Point with a jolly crowd. Before we left, Jo, Simon, Matt, Rafe and I shared in some laughs at Stones, waiting for Mike to get off of work at Pancho’s. Then we all laid on the beach until the wee hours of the morning, when a local left the warmth of his bedroom to tell us how loud we were being. We left for sea-point where I learned how to properly use a see-saw. The night ended around 4 in the morning.

Travelled to Clifton to soak in the last summer days of brilliant, scalding sunshine.

Eaten my body weight of samples at Old Biscuit Mill. One wonderful morning, Sierra, Mariah, and I ran a long 9-mile run on the coast and then went to OBM for brunch. It was a sweet reminder of Sunday Brunch at Tufts.

Hiked table mountain at least once a week, often with Taylor but also with some folk who had never hiked it before. Nursery Ravine, Skeleton’s Gorge, India Venster, and Platteklip Gorge. Taylor figured out that hiking on the exposed edge means we can wave to the cable car, so we now have to allot at least 30 minutes to that activity every time we hike. Another day, Taylor and I encountered a kingdom of dossies about 20 minutes from the summit. We stopped dead in our tracks for about 15 minutes, trying to decide how to continue and contemplating turning around for fear of our lives. If you don’t know what a dossie is, don’t look it up, for our sakes. Their eyes could cut glass, I tell you. In total, I’ve probably hiked Table about 15 or so times.

Spent time with Elizabeth Schulze (Katherine Perry’s freshman and sophomore year roommate) and Northwestern friends who are here for the quarter, completing their journalism internships.

Shipped out on a sunset “booze cruise” on the waterfront to Camps Bay and back. The pilot of the ship had to remind a small group of us that the catamaran was, in fact, NOT a trampoline. He also was not pleased when a friend and I thought climbing onto the roof seemed like a grand idea. By 11 pm, I was exhausted and managed to watch about 15 minutes of Despicable Me with Mike and Rafe (who came to fetch) me, before falling asleep.

Watched the rugby finals (UCT vs TUKS), sitting above the field, feet hanging off the edge, with Mike, Rafe, Izzy, Lans, Taylor, and Eliza. The finals were away, but broadcast live on a huge screen on the field, as if we were all watching a drive-in movie. The difference is, there isn’t a cash bar at old-school drive in movies.

Spent many a night at the Strubens Rd digs, watching youtube videos about sharks with Byron, listening to music with Mike, riding towards campus early morning with Mark, doing homework with Rafe (aka half working, half goofing off), attending Dan’s homegroup, reading FMLs with Matt, laughing hysterically-about anything really- with Nandi, and watching Jenna bake marvelous sweet treats.

Cebrated: Cinco De Mayo with a Pancho’s dinner and many margaritas, Mariah’s birthday with a dinner at Café Paradiso, Brittany’s birthday with a day cruising kloof street, lunch at Rick’s, and a nap on the beach, James’ birthday with an American-themed BBQ (think jorts), Byron’s birthday with an eventful night at tin roof and then an evening of singing and dancing at Polana, a restaurant on the waterfront with live music on Fridays (this eventually led to a conga line and a huge dance circle with some 50 somethings), Lisa’s birthday with a beautiful 21^st, vintage-themed, and then late night at Rafiki’s afterwards. Twenty-first birthdays here are celebrated much differently than they are in the states. Lisa’s parents even surprised her at her party, driving to Cape Town from Jo-Burg, where Lisa is from. It was wonderful!

Made dinner (chicken wraps) and talked about life with Tom and Nandi.

Attempted to: hike Devil’s Peak without a guide (people got nervous when they started to doubt my directional skills…sounds about right), summit Lions Head twice –once Niqui, Mike, Storm, and I stopped for health reasons, and the next Eliza and I had to hike down due to poor weather—, win the program vs program soccer tournament (we were clearly the underdogs), boycott the farewell dinner (I don’t want to say farewell), become best friends with a musician in Goldfish- a band I’m obsessed with, here- when I saw him at Mercury where my friends in the band Rosemary Towns End were performing live, and beat the crowd down lion’s head when Julia, Isaac, Taylor, Scott, Ilana, James and I hiked up for sunset.

Went to a wine and cheese festival in Stellenbosch for the day. Geo, Sam, Mariah and I ate a life’s worth of cheese bits, and I particularly enjoyed the Rosè…from every possible taste venue, before meeting up with the other 9 people we had travelled with. We danced, nibbled, drank, and attempted to find the best and worst mullet at the festival. We made “friends” with locals and tried our best to seem Afrikaans instead of American “naughty girls” (a brand of wine, don’t worry).

Finally got to be on tea and coffee duty at church only to stupidly leave my phone at the top of my bag on my chair. Someone capitalized on the opportunity and snagged it, but all is not lost. I’m down a bit of mula, but I’ve got a new mobile. AND, I completed the foundations course at Church on Main!

Went to the airport with Mike to pick up Rafe after he’d been away. I’m a much bigger fan of hellos than goodbyes. It was so nice to go to the airport to greet instead of wish farewell. Of course, we spent the evening NOT doing work, eating pizza (you know better than to order jalapeno, now), and drinking tea/eating rusks with friends. I even tried to learn guitar, but stuck to familiar tunes (wink wink). Think, "We're the 3 best friends that anyone could have..."

SPENT THE WEEK WITH MAMA KASS (that I will devote it’s own entry to).