Nothing has slowed down a bit here in Cape Town (with exception to my metabolism)! I can't believe it is almost over, I am 2/3rds the way finished, and the reality is, I am devastated. I thought about this fact the other day, when my 6 week mark past and I realized that I actually LIVE here. I have a lady who does my eyebrows, a lady who does my nails, and a guy I visit every morning to get a Cappuccino. These are my people, and because I have them, I feel fully embedded in South Africa. Obz is a really small place, with only one main road, so in a way it is a small town atmosphere. Everywhere you go and every time you leave your house, you run into someone you know. It is an awesome feeling being an Obz local. I am living a regular life here in Cape Town (with exception to my wild social life---actually, who am I kidding, it isn't much different when I am home).

So, Valenentine's Day came and went-no Valentine, no flowers, no chocolate...NO LOVE-shocker! Oh well- apparently the cupid couldn't find me here in SA! It was my roommate Maya's birthday, so I did at least get to go out to dinner. We went to a Kurdish restaurant in Greenmarket Square. Because it was V-day they had a full 3 course buffet, live music, and a belly dancer. My 4 roommates and I ate by candle light, drank wine, and glared angrily at the 40 lovey dovey couples that surrounded us.

Our Friday adventure last week was the best so far. We took a group of about 25 people to go wine tasting at 2 different wineries. If I was thinking clearly I would have gone home after the first winery to save myself from the embarrassment and hangover that came after the 2nd wine estate. We hired a private minibus called the BOOGIE BUS to drive us to the wine country- don't let the word private fool you, it was no different from the other rusty, broken down minibuses that drive on the main road everyday. The only difference was that Steve, the owner of the Boogie Bus, glued old CD's and license plates to the inside of the bus. That decor paired with his "new rocking sound system," his disco ball, and 15 crazy UCT students was a recipe for disaster! Steve drove us into the upper-class winery with rap music playing so loud, the boogie bus was bumping as we pulled in next to Range Rovers, Mercedes, and the like...needless to say, we looked incredibly tactless. But that was just the drive in! Let's just say the winery employees were thankful when we all stumbled back to our boogie bus and got the hell away from their posh wine estate. The next stop...LA CARONE wine farm. The owner of the farm, closed it down for us, he must have known what was coming! We sat out on the deck, tasted another flight of red and white wines, and then headed to the bar to buy some bottles. I was so excited about my bottle, I couldn't wait until dinner, so I opened it immediately. We still had to go on the tour, so I just drank the wine straight out of the bottle-VERY VERY CLASSY! So there we were, 25 drunk (mostly American) students listening to the owner talk about how to harvest wine and demonstrating the process, when I pulled out my cork to take another sip and it broke. I started to laugh to myself, and when I looked up I made eye contact with 4 others who saw my catastrophe. My giggle turned into a full on "Nancy Fleming" cackle that disrupted the entire tour. NATURALL Y the tour was cut short...nobody could concentrate after my display of retardation. I turned bright red because I was so mortified- I am surprised I haven't gotten used to this embarrassment thing considering it happens quite often these days. The owner of this estate took us down to his garden and braii area and let us loose. We enjoyed wine, dinner, and the sunset over the mountains...it was quite the afternoon. And then it came time to leave. On our way back to our bumping BOOGIE BUS I thought it would be nice to take a picture of the gorgeous statue at the entrance of the wine estate. Only problem was that the statue was located in the middle of a fountain. But that didn't stop me. I rolled up my jeans, took off my shoes, and stepped into the fountain to get the perfect shot...right as I was posing I was attacked from behind! As my reaction time was slightly impaired due to the wine, I didn't have time to defend myself from my assailant. I went head first into the fountain.Visualize an upper class fancy, relaxing wine in a serene setting! Well this picturesque scene was overtaken by my splashes and screaming and there I was making a scene once again. On Saturday, Maya made a huge French feast for about 20 people at our house. There were 8 nations represented at the table, and we each sang Happy Birthday to her in our prospective languages. I was the only American, and everyone already knew the Happy Birthday song, I decided to sing Feliz Cumplianos a Ti! It was quite a hit, and despite what everyone else says about my singing voice, I sounded gooood! The rest of that weekend was spent at the beach and at the Kirstenbosh Garden Summer Sunset Concert where the Rudimentals were playing. It is a South African Reggae Hip Hop band that has become my playlist of choice!

Because I didn't write last week, I have forgotten about what days I did what- that's the problem when you live in Cape Town, you never know what day is which because it is a party every night of the week. Anyways, I went to a restaurant at the Waterfront which has the biggest wine bar in the entire world. They had 600 different bottles of wines, and 250 by the glass. The wine menu was triple the size of the food menu!

Thursday was my big day. I had to put on my first presentation for the Mozambique Trip. We had a HUGE turnout. About 30 people showed up to the office (good thing I took the booze purchase upon myself and bought a CASE of champagne instead of 8 bottles as Sean suggested)! The presentation ran smoothly and everyone seemed very impressed. The champagne kept flowing and our presentation turned into a slight party in our fancy office…it was a huge success and I was very proud of myself. On Friday night we had a going away party for our German friend Ludwig. I kept my drinking at a minimum because I had to work on Saturday morning at 8 am. When I arrived at the harbor to go diving, I was informed that in fact I was going diving, instead I was going to be skippering the boat!!!! I have tried to block out the 2 hours I was behind the wheel of a very small rubber boat with about 5 foot swells and a 25 mile per hour wind gusts, but one thing I can tell you, it that we all survived…barely! I was standing at the wheel falling over because of the chop, my eyes were watering so heavily from the wind that I couldn't see, and every time we went through a wave I screamed. I am sure my cursing and screaming didn't fare well with the passengers on the boat…I mean when the person in charge of your life out at sea is a first time boat driver, is nearly blind from the wind, and is screaming FUUUUUCK every couple of minutes, one can't be feeling too secure! Who put me in charge of actual human life? YIKES!

On Sunday, Eric, Jen, Elena and I went on an adventure to Simon's Town to see the Jackass penguins that live on the beach! It was awesome, we drove slowly and stopped in all the little coastal towns along the way…it was a very touristy Sunday but it was nice and relaxing! I have my first and only visitor coming on Wednesday and I am so excited to show someone my life here in Cape Town! My friend Cody is coming to visit and we are going on a short roadtrip up the coast, so the next blog should be quite interesting. If I can barely handle myself here in Cape Town, I can't imagine how crazy it's going to be! Sorry this blog isn't too exciting, that's what happens when I don't write everyday-I forget what I have done! I hope are you all happy, healthy, and safe! Love and miss you all…let me know how you are all doing!

Cheers,

Kate