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Week 4 - Good bye Jo'burg, hello Cape Town!
We said we were going to try and make the most of our last few days in Jo'burg and that's exactly what we did. We both managed to get stinking colds and missed a few days of work, caught up with a few more Anglo friends and went out for dinner with our "landlords". We also managed to squeeze in a Chinese takeaway from Lucky Moo and a trip to the botanical gardens. Dipa was very sad as expected to say goodbye to the children at the school (picture of class attached) as well as the gorgeous babies at the orphanage. Following a packed week and frantic packing late Friday night we made our flight on Saturday morning to Cape Town. We were quite impressed with Mango and their humongous 32kg baggage allowance (more than what we had for the international flight here!!). Even better, the flight only cost us £30.
So Cape Town.....we feel like we have landed in another country! The contrast between Johannesburg and Cape Town is so extreme on all levels - scenery, climate, flora/fauna, architecture, ethnic mix etc etc. Soon after we landed on our drive to our new place to stay, we were greeted by the amazing mountains and crashing ocean....as well as the rain! We are staying in Muizenburg, which is a suburb on the city on the Southern Peninsula. Muizenburg is in an ideal location, sandwiched between the mountains and the ocean and only 20 mins. from downtown Cape Town. Although we don't have a sea view, we are only a stones throw away and get to look out over the ocean and mountains first-thing in the morning during the drive to work which we could never get sick of. The weather however has not been great and we have seen a lot of rain (perhaps even more than Manchester!!), some sun, wind and cloud....sometimes all in one day! It does however make the scenery even more spectacular and it gives the surfers perfect conditions for their sport (Muizenburg is famous for its waves and attracts alot of surfers). It also gives Jonny an excuse not to go on the Table Mountain cable-car!! We spent Saturday just getting used to our new surroundings and on Sunday we took a drive around the Southern peninsula, down to Cape Point and took in the amazing views (spotting whales, penguins and baboons along the way). We think we are really going to love it here!
We both started work on Monday. Dipa is working for a charity called Wola Nani (meaning "embrace" in the Xhosa langauge) for 2 weeks. The charity works with people suffering from HIV/AIDS and provides counselling, treatment centres and child support services, as well as offering job opportunities in different local craft-making (which are sold internationally). Dipa is helping out with the craft-making and marketing functions and is really looking forward to learning some new crafts and helping out to improve the marketing and logistics sides of the charity.
Jonny is spending 4 weeks in the Ophthalmology department (eye surgery) at Groote Schuur hospital. This is another public hospital and so treats the poorer section of the population. It will be a lot less hands-on than the last placement as Ophthalmic surgery is very delicate, technical and takes years to master. He is spending most of his time in "Q", which is essentially a walk-in eye A&E. Again, there is a lot of trauma work and he has seen many victims of attacks (including with broken bottles and thumbs in the eye!!).
We have both only had a few days at work and so will have more to write in the next blog. One of the highlights of the week has been the discovery of the "Rooibos Cappuccino", a drink based on redbush tea (a staple for all Southern Africans). We didn't know if we would find somewhere in Cape Town that did these but the local pizzeria in Kalk Bay does a fantastic one. Note to anyone who wants to try it: make sure you put some honey in it.
Finally, a quick catch-up on Jonny's "Animal of the Week". Week 3 is the Warthog, as usual a slightly random choice but they are pretty cool (see photos from week 3). Week 4's animal is a bit of a wildcard as it is actually a bird: the African Penguin - their waddling walk never seems to stop being funny (pictures next week)!
We hope you are all well and we are sending a special happy birthday message for Laxmi Aunty this week!
Dipa and Jonny x
- comments
Manny Nice one! Rachel and I are well-pleased that you are chilling in the Cape... Is Jonny going to get his surf-on?