Last week was kind of rough for me (which is why I haven't really posted much). I was feeling really frustrated with my internship, I was missing home because I missed a wedding in the family, and I got food poisoning! The only thing that kept my spirits up was knowing that there was a four day weekend coming. Thursday was Women's Day. It's a national holiday that celebrates the women's movement during the apartheid. We all had the day off and most of us had Friday off as well!

Here is a summary of what I have done in the last week and a half (I posted pictures of most of this stuff as well):

Thursday the 2nd: We biked through the city with about 700 other bikers! This is a monthly tradition and happens on every full moon night. It isn't supported by the city but it's kind of hard to stop 700 bicyclists riding down the middle of road. The ride lasted only about an hour and we ended it with a nice cold beer. Just what we needed!

Friday the 3rd: During the afternoon I went with some other VACorps interns to get a tour of a local brewery. It was so cool to see how beer is made.. There is actually a lot that goes into it! Of course the tour ended with a couple of beers On Friday night we went back to Club 31. We had a lot of fun dancing the night away until 4am, just like last time!

Saturday the 4th: We were all pretty tired from the night before, so we got somewhat of a late start to the day. We eventually made our way into the city by train. We walked around the Company Gardens, which is a big park in the middle of the city. It was a beautiful day, so we just walked around and enjoyed ourselves. It was relaxing and low key and just what I needed. We went to Long Street that evening. Long Street is pretty much our go-to when it comes to going out. It's right in the city center and is basically a strip of bars, clubs, restaurants, and boutiques. At the end of the night we thought it would be a good idea to go to the Food In. This is where you can get some late night Indian food (never a good idea). Last time I went I felt really sick afterwards, so I'm not sure why I agreed to go back.. and yes.. this is the night I got food poisoning.

Sunday the 5th: We went to Mzoli's! Mzoli's is pretty hard to explain. To really understand it you have to experience it. It's basically a huge meat market/BBQ/dance party in Guguletu (one of the townships). When you get there you go pick out the meat you want. You then take it to a big room full of grills and give it to the men for cooking. Then, it's time for a feast! I'm not much of a meat eater, so it was pretty overwhelming at first. It also didn't help that my stomach was still hurting from the night before. Despite feeling terrible, it ended up being a lot of fun. Definitely something I am happy I got to experience while in Cape Town.

Monday to Wednesday= work. I am going to post an internship update soon, so stay tuned for that.

Thursday the 9th: Since none of us had work due to Women's Day, we went out on Wednesday night. Once again we were moving pretty slow when we woke up, so we got another late start to our day. We eventually made our way to Sea Point to walk along the boardwalk. We FINALLY had some sun again so we knew we had to take advantage of it! We spent the whole day walking around Cape Town and enjoying the sunshine. We ended the day at the Eastern Food Bazaar (which is VERY similar to the Food In). I played it safe and got some rice. My stomach wasn't quite ready for anything more extreme than that.

Friday the 10th: Another day off! Every Friday VACorps has activities we can attend. This week it was ice skating at the casino… Definitely something I did not think I would do in South Africa. It was actually a lot of fun. One can only ice stake for so long though, so we quit early and went to get a couple drinks. Later that night we went to see Diplo. Diplo is an American DJ and pretty big in the states. The tickets were super cheap, so we had to go! I'm really happy we went because I had so much fun!

Saturday the 11th: We had tickets to go to Robben Island (which is where the prison is that Nelson Mandela was held in). Unfortunately due to the stormy weather the tour was cancelled. We couldn't really do much because the weather was so bad… so Chelsea, Kelsey and I went to see Magic Mike. Not the best movie and the acting was terrible, but it was definitely entertaining for a rainy day!

Sunday the 12th: Today we spent the majority of the day at the Hout Bay market. Hout Bay is a coastal neighborhood about 25 minutes from Observatory (where we live). It's kind of similar to the Old Biscuit Mill, which I have talked about before. Lots of local crafts and foods are sold. There was live music at this market though and a lot less people/tourists than the Old Biscuit Mill. Overall it was a great day and an awesome way to end the long weekend.

I work early tomorrow and am optimistic that it is going to be a good week! Stay tuned for an internship update.