Countdown

I get asked a lot when I'm coming home. So, for your reference my friend John Lee made a Countdown Website for my return to Oregon. Enjoy!

56 more days to dance with African children in the streets. 

Township Braai

VAC employee Andrew and his wife Takiyah invited all the interns to their house in the Nyanga Township for a braai this last Thursday. Andrew’s sister Ivy was cooking, and since she is an amazing cook we were excited already, but when we got there they surprised us with a local band and dancers. They played some really fun music and showed us traditional dancing. Then the little kids started pulling us all out into the street to dance with them (or just make fun of us trying to dance). 

The food was amazing. There was chicken and boerewors, with pap and other salads on the side. After stuffing myself to the brim I tried to work it off by learning a line dance. One of the local teenage girls tried to help me by pushing me into the right steps. Between the fun dancing and amazing food it was a great night. 

Nyanga Township

Braai!

Traditional African dancing.

They were so much fun to watch. This kid was hilarious. 

The local kids love to dance.

They were so good!

The kids also love having their pictures taken.

Learning how to line dance by car headlights.

Mzoli's

In the Guguletu Township it is a Sunday tradition to go to Mzoli’s for braai and dancing. Mzoli’s is a butchery that is open all week, but on Sundays they have a big braai with a DJ, transforming the whole block into a party. So, last Sunday I went with a group to get a bucket of meat and the Mzoli’s experience.  

Mzoli's open air eating and dancing area.

So much meat!

The braai.

There were no plates or eating utensils.

The meat was served with pap (maize meal porridge), salsa, and steamed bread.

Bainskloof

I found a new favorite place in South Africa! On the 13^th I went to Bainskloof Pass for the night with some coworkers. On Friday night we had a braai (or bbq) over the fire, and I got to meet my coworker's friends. Then on Saturday we walked down to the river and spent the day in the most amazing place. There was this perfect swimming hole with crystal clear water, a small waterfall, and places to jump off of the rocks. They even strung up a slackline across the entire pool, although none of us could walk very far without crashing into the water. It was so hot that the cold water felt great. Another fun day in a beautiful part of South Africa. I would love to go back immediately.

Bainskloof Gorge

The swimming pool.

The slackline.

Wine Tasting and Cheetahs

For the VAC weekly activity on Friday January 6th we went to a cheetah conservatory and then wine tasting. It was a beautiful day, perfect for sipping wine and visiting the amazing cheetahs.

A young cheetah.

They like to chase the plastic bottle.

Wine tasting on a sunny afternoon.

Delicious.

There was a party going on nearby and Legend decided that he really wanted to visit the singers.

London Layover

On my flight back from Mexico to Cape Town I had an eleven hour layover in London. My first time in Europe! I decided to take a hop on hop off bus tour, so that I could see everything. Since I was travelling between Isla Mujeres and summer in South Africa I was a bit concerned about not having appropriate clothing for the forecasted rain in London. It was freezing on the open air top deck of the bus, but other than that it was a beautiful day to be in London. 

Start of the bus tour just outside of Paddington Station.

I refused to go into Madame Tussauds because wax figures are the ultimate of creepy. 

BBC headquarters where U2 gave a free concert from the roof. 

Classic London telephone booth.

Big Ben!

View of Big Ben through the London Eye.

Monument to the Great Fire of London.

When finished the Shard is going to be the tallest building in London.

Amazing.

It was such a nice day.

Parliament.

This is my best attempt at getting a picture of myself. You can just see the top of Big Ben behind my head.

Everyone hears about how wonderful London is, but I didn't expect to like it so much when I was only there for half a day. I fell in love with the amazing culture and rich history. Old historical buildings like Buckingham Palace and St Paul's Cathedral are mixed throughout the city with stunning new works of architecture like the Shard and the Gherkin. I visited the street where punk rock started and where the miniskirt was invented. I saw the London Bridge and went by the fictional residence of Sherlock Holmes. It was so much fun to see the places I've read about in books, and seen in movies. I can't wait to go back and spend some real time exploring London.

Isla Mujeres Christmas

This year my family decided to skip Christmas and meet up in Mexico to end the year right. We spent a wonderful two weeks on Isla Mujeres, an Island just off the coast of Cancun. Everyday was filled with snorkeling, sunbathing, margaritas, and amazing food. Two weeks went by way too fast. 

Sitting in the water on our private beach.

View of the beach from one of our favorite beach clubs.

We did a lot of snorkeling in multiple locations around the island. One of the best things we saw was an octopus right out from our private beach. Elisabeth picked up a conch shell and the octopus crawled out while she was still holding it. We even got to see it ink in the water.  

I love to snorkel! 

Some of our favorite colorful fish. 

We got to meet the friendly stingray, Samantha, on a snorkel trip to Isla Contoy.

Mom and Samantha.

We love fun bar seats.

Delicious Mayan fish dish called Tik' n Xic. 

Christmas dinner (in bathing suits).

The local tradition on Isla Mujeres is to party all night on New Years and then walk down to Punta Sur, the southern tip of the island for sunrise. Punta Sur is the eastern most point of Mexico, which means that we were the first people in Mexico to see the sunlight of 2012.

Watching the first sunrise of 2012.

Cape Point

In December I visited Cape Point on one of the VAC Friday activities. Besides getting to see the Southern most Western point in Africa, I also got to see baboons! You have to be careful around these tricky monkeys though. 

Don't feed them and make sure to lock your car doors!

Matt, Jennifer, and I tagging our location.

Jennifer and I enjoying the sea breeze.

Cape Point.

Getting directions.

I also spent a while exploring the amazing tide pools. There were hundreds of sea urchin, anemone, and tiny sea stars.

So tiny!