Stones, Rugby, Mountain walk, JoBurg, Desai Family

Hoe gaan dit? Dit gaan goedmat my dankie! (How are you? I am fine, thank you - Afrikkan)

On Thursday, Anne and I went with my host sister, Xenthia and her boyfriend Kinton to Stones (night club). We were originally going to go to a jazz club, but by the time we were ready, the clubs were already full. So we went to Stones, which was a very interesting club. The music was mostly hip hop remixes. I felt like everyone there was on some sort of hallucenigenic drug, pretty trippy. It was a perfect club to people watch! I am telling you, there are some interesting people at night clubs here in South Africa! Xenthia is extremely nice and is very concerned if we were comfortable or not. Anne and I had a great time and got a chance to meet some of their friends (that were not on drugs, I swear) haha. But overall, quite an interesting experience.

Friday was the last day of school and we got out at 1:00. Teachers always stay an extra hour. Usually, school ends at 1:30 for my grade and Veronica and I are to stay until 3:00. After school, I went to Veronica's cross country meet at a nearby school. It was so fun! The kids were all learners from Eikendal and they were really excited to have me there. The ages ranged from 8-14. I took a bunch of pictures of them that I plan on sending them, which they are very excited about. It was interesting to see how many of the children ran BAREFOOT! There were about 6 different schools competeing and Eikendal raced very well. It was a beautiful day and I forgot to wear sunscreen. Let me tell you, the South African sun is muuuuuch different than in the states. I WAS FRIED! Now, I wear sunscreen like it's my job.

After the cross country meet, Veronica dropped me off where Anne is staying and Corvell picked us up to take us to the rugby game at Newlands!! We watched the Western Province (our team) play the Free State (another province team). We won! But the best part of the occasion was reuniting with my group. We call our group the SAC 17 (South Africa Crew, 17 girls). It was amazing how much we had missed each other! We couldn't stop talking to each other about our experiences :) After the game Corvell and Owen had a surprise for us. Owen, another big help with the trip planning, is on the Rugby Referees Association. So after the game, we went to the Referee Box in the stadium and met with some of the referees and got some free drinks! We got to talk to some serious rugby fans, which was hilarious. One man came up to my friend Jenn and I. He was completely drunk and was telling us about the US navy system. I couldn't tell you what he said really, I was too occupied wiping his spit off my face, YUCK! After the game, the A-Team (Corvell, Dayle (Corvell's son), and Jonny (Corvell's brother-in-law) drove us home).

On Saturday, Corvell picked us up from our host family household and we all rode to Rhoades Memorial to go hiking. We hiked uphill a mountain for about a half hour then entered the forest area where the hiking was pretty easy going. We got to see another side of the city, which was absolutely beautiful. Throughout the forest, we came across waterfalls, huge boulders that we were able to climb, and just pure beauty. It was so peaceful and it was so great to spend it with the girls. It was also so great to get in some physical activity, the hip hop abs that Veronica and I have been doing and the casual walking aren't enough for me! After the 4 hour hike, we all went to lunch and then went back to our host families.

Veronica's daughter planned a braai (barbeque) for Anne and I. We were dropped off there around 7:30 and got to meet some of Xenthia's and Kinton's friends. We had some beers and Xenthia made potato salad, a greek salad, and garlic bread. Kinton cooked fresh snoek for me (fish) and then they had some kind of meat. The food was absolutely lovely! It was also very nice that they did this for us!

Corvell picked me up from the braai around midnight and took me and a few other girls to a few bars in Cape Town. He just dropped us off and his son Dayle stayed with us the whole night and drove us home. We went to JoBurg, but as my friend and I were heading in, I ran into BRIAN BARTLE! He is from MSU and is studying abroad here as well! I met him through Cory Connolly, and we have been trying to meet up ever since I got here. He took us to the Dubliner which was right across the street. Piano bar, live band, and diversity filled the bar! It was such a fun night. I met a group from Kenya, which was really interesting getting to know them. Don't worry, I only had a few drinks, and I have been completely safe and SMART while I am at the bars. It was so much fun singing and dancing at the bar - and so crazy to run into a fellow MSUer in CAPE TOWN!!

On Sunday, Veronica invited her family over for a late lunh/dinner. We had potatoes, rice, steamed veggies and a pepper cream sauce, and a yummy pudding for desert. Her family was so welcoming and made me feel very comfortable. However, they spoke in Afrikaans half the time! They made fun of my accent and said that I ask a lot of questions when I speak. They asked a lot about America and were so interested. They really want to keep in touch with me and spend more time with me while I am here.

I have to get going now, I will update sometime this week some more. HOpe all is well! Love and miss you all!