I don't hate it!

Y'all. They put feta cheese on everything here. It rules.

TIA (This is Africa)

Greetings, loyal readers (or lack thereof)! I know you all have been waiting to read the next chapter of my African adventures with bated breath. Stress no longer, my comrades! Here it is!

To be honest, not too much has been going on the past few weeks. Due dates are looming, so I’ve been doing quite a bit of schoolwork during my free time. And by schoolwork, I mean napping. But I’ve also done a good bit of exploring.

Sam, Meg, Halie, Jelly Roll, and myself all went to the Stellenbosch Farmers’ Market a few weekends ago and it was AWESOME. I would compare it to the Old Biscuit Mill (see previous post), but on a smaller scale. Lots of delicious food, local vendors and shops, and excellent people watching. I bought a spring roll for R5! That’s less than a dollar! And it was fantastic! I’m going back next weekend, and I’m definitely bringing my parents there when they get to Stellenbosch.

Last weekend I had quite the adventure. Sam, Corie, Zack, Brooke and I joined our Ad-Lib friend Liz and her roommates for a wine festival in a nearby town called Paarl. R70 bought you all the wine you could ever drink, shuttles to and from 13 different wine farms and a wine glass. I also had my debit card stolen! But, I digress. At the very last farm we went to, a relatively famous South African band called Zebra and Giraffe were playing and they were so good! Google ‘em!

This weekend was also packed. Saturday was St. Patrick’s Day, so most AIFSers booked it to Brazen’s (the Irish pub, which also happens to be our most frequented bar) for some green Guinness and good times. We played about 30 rounds of UpChickens, (which is one of the greatest games ever, I’ll explain later) and just enjoyed each other’s company. Some of our South African friends also made appearances! Then, on Sunday, we all went to Kirstenbosch, which, if I’m not mistaken, is a giant botanical gardens complete with a concert pavilion! We saw a band called FreshlyGround and they were great! They even played Waka Waka! We packed little picnics and all sat on the lawn listening to some sweet tunes. It was fantastic.

Blog posts will be more frequent, I promise. April will literally be packed with activities so I’ll have plenty to write about.

- G-dawg 

Token Americans

Since we arrived, Corie and I have been working very hard on our mission to get some South African friends. Well, not only have we succeeded, out of a campus of 25,000 students, we have literally found the greatest group of people to be friends with.

A few weeks ago, we joined Stellenbosch’s Ad-Lib improv society, in efforts to become as funny as we already think we are, and to make equally funny South African friends. And as luck would have it, we’ve been pretty successful! In one of those categories, at least. Last week, Ad-Lib had their first show of the school year, and that night was probably the most fun I’ve had since I got to Stellenbosch. I cannot emphasize enough how great these people are. They have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome and to introduce us to new people. Since Tuesday, we’ve hung out with various groupings of these new friends on a few occasions and each time I get more and more excited that I know them.

Until next time,

Ginny

P.S. Hi Jaco and Adriana! 

If it's yum-yum, I send it back!

This past weekend, Sam, Meg, Chris, James, Bernice, Halie, Sully, and myself all went to Cape Town for the weekend! Here is a brief rundown of our whereabouts:

Friday:

-       Finally made it to Cape Town after missing not 1, but 2 trains.

-       Drank more margaritas than I care to admit.

-       Tried to tackle Long Street, got too sleepy.

Saturday:

-       Went to the Old Biscuit Mill!

o   Had way too much delicious food including ice cream, hot dogs, thai noodles, sangria, etc.

o   Befriended lots of dogs

-       Went to the beach at Camps Bay!

o   Tried exploring with Sam, got lost

o   Did a little bit of swimming

o   Did NOT get sunburned!

-       Mama Africa for dinner!

o   Traditional African food, live music, good friends

o   Warthog, ostrich, springbok, and crocodile, oh my!

§  Warthog and springbok were tied for my favorite

-       Tried to tackle Long Street again, got too sleepy

Sunday:

-       Went to a cute lil’ café for breakfast

o   They had real iced coffee, so we were all happy campers

-       Missed only 1 train back to Stellenbosch

o   Sam and I resurrected the game of MASH (note: it’s still awesome)

-       Made it home to Stellenbosch

-       Stopped at Trumpet Tree on the way home

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend, and the moral of the story is Cape Town is great, and Cape Town is fun, but Stellenbosch is still number one.

 - G