Cape Town's Date & Time

Monday, January 25, 2010

(1/24) Camps Bay, (1/25) International Orientation

(1/24) Finally found a running buddy. We ran from our flats through campus, which is pretty much all up mountain and then back. I was a sweaty mess by the end of the run, but it was nice to be sweating from exercise rather than extreme heat.

My flat mates and I headed to Cocoa Wah Wah for brunch and free internet time. I spent most of the time of CNN. I feel like I have missed out a lot on the whole news factor since being here, like Conan leaving NBC! And of course other things.

We headed to Camps Bay for some quality beach time. Unfortunately getting there was a bit of a disaster. The public transportation here is quite different. There is the train, mini buses, and cabs. Mini buses are super cheap but only run up and down streets, so it may require you to catch more than one. Also, you are guaranteed to be jammed in with as many people as the bus can hold, and in the heat that can be unfortunate. The trains are reliable, but only during day time hours. Cabs are the most expensive, but it is the most direct form of transportation. So each of them have their strengths and weaknesses. We had been pretty lame and had stuck to just the cabs and train, thus decided to try this whole mini-bus situation out. We caught a mini bus that agreed to take us all the to Camps Bay, unfortunately half way there they decided not enough people needed to get to that part of town and dropped us off at the Mecca of Mini Buses to catch another one. Immediately after we got out a cop pulled us aside and yelled at us for being here without a larger crowd (aka males) and quite literally escorted us to the single cab in sight. Of course this cab charged us up the wa-zoo, and where as normally we could bargain or just head to a different cab, the cop literally stood next to us until we got into the cab. Lesson learned, only take the mini bus if you’re sardined next to your comrades, not strangers.


Camps Bay is beautiful. There are the mountains in the backdrop, with a strip of cafes, bars, and boutiques lining the white sand beach. Skydivers were descending right over us and overall it was a great day to be at the beach. We (a group of 30 of us, I feel like such an annoying tourist when we walk together) split into a bunch of different groups to get cocktails and dinner right on the beachfront. I had my first mojito and I promise you it won’t be my last. I had an incredible seafood mix salad served with fresh avocado. Avocado is seriously served with every meal; I am in heaven. After dinner we made our way to the “hot spot” bar of the area called Club Caprice. There was a huge line, but being in a group of 25+ girls, we quickly made our way straight in.

Top: My seafood dinner

Middle: First mojito!

Bottom: Georgia, Alex, Juli, and myself at dinner

Club Caprice was ridiculous. I felt like I was in an upper Manhattan scene with a ton of rich yuppies that don’t know what to do with their money so they purchase outrageous things. Immediately walking in bottles of champagne were bought and passed around. Don’t get me wrong; it was incredible, but so bizarre. We honestly spent the night like queens and didn’t exactly make it home until late, late that night (basically morning). I had a great evening, but I could never maintain that sort of night lifestyle, just give me a damn beer and a bon fire.

(1/25) Woke up this morning way too early, with a mildly roaring headache. Juli, my running buddy, and I made the epic decision to run and sweat out some of our last night’s drinks. We managed to get pretty darn far for being hung over and completely sleep deprived. Go us. I really enjoy running, I feel like I am starting to learn the street names and different routes through campus.

Speaking of campus, we had our first seminar today. But before heading to the lecture halls, Lina, my roommate, and I dropped of our laundry. In Cape Town it is unheard to do your own laundry, let alone own a washer and dryer. You quite literally take it to a laundry shop and leave instructions of how you prefer your wash, the laundry person weighs your load, and you come back a few hours later to clean, folded laundry. To be honest, I love it. Life is good.

“School” today wasn’t exactly school. We are having an international orientation, which is a five-day prep for this upcoming school year covering everything from academic expectations to HIV. Tomorrow we have to turn in our high school diplomas and pre-register for class. Finally!

Lina and I made an incredible dinner (lemon chicken with potatoes and asparagus) while watching Egypt vs. Cameroon match in the semi-finals for the African Cup of Nations. I need to catch up on my futbol knowledge before the World Cup starts up! After last night, we decided to keep tonight low key (seriously, my liver wants to punch me in the face).

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