June 1 – Chandler and Katerina Visit Me!

I went for breakfast at Cocoa WahWah, which was the first little introduction to South Africa for my brother, Chandler, and cousin, Katerina. Then we went grocery shopping, running, and into town in the afternoon. I showed them Company’s Garden, Green Market Square to buy a few gifts, and Bo-Kaap (the colorful house neighborhood).

Then we walked to the Waterfront where we checked out the shop market and the food market and got some delicious Hungarian flatbread. We also went to Mitchell’s, a kind of full circle moment for me as it was one of the first places my housemates went to as a group. It was a cool new experience for Chandler and Katerina.

May 31- Family Arrives!

I studied in the morning and went indoor rock climbing in the afternoon. Then in the evening, I picked up Chandler and Katerina from the airport!! I can’t believe they are already here! I have been waiting all semester for them to come!

May 30 – Splurging at Neighborgoods

I went to Neighborgoods market again, and I splurged. I got a nice leather bag by the brand Rowdy. Real durable leather bags are pretty expensive in the states, but they are much cheaper here ($50!). I have always wanted a good one, so I went for it. I will have it for the rest of my life and be reminded of Cape Town whenever I use it.

I also splurged on food. I got a yummy poached egg with bacon on a potato fritter, and then a waffle with speculose.

In addition, I went on one of my favorite really long runs through Newlands, up to the Contour path and down the blockhouse trail and Rhodes Memorial. It had been raining, so all the streams were bursting and the waterfalls were full.

May 29 – Last Event With Housemates!

Today was our last event with all of our housemates. We got dinner at Addis in Cape, an Ethiopian restaurant on Long Street. It was super fun eating really good meat with their version of flatbread with your hands.

It is very sad that our time here is coming close to an end. I have another three weeks, but a few people leave on Monday! Half the crew headed back after the dinner, and the rest of us went to the Waiting Room.

May 28 – Camps Bay

We went on a hike along the Pipetrack, a trail along the base of the 12 Apostles that overlooks Camps Bay and starts at the crossroads for Lions Head and the Cable Car. We were going to try to do a more strenuous hike up the 12 Apostles called Kasteelspoort, which starts in Camps Bay, but there was road construction and we couldn’t get to the trailhead. This ended up being a nice alternative.

It was cloudy, but on our way back some of the fog burned off and we got to see the view of Camps Bay and the ocean.

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May 27 – Woodstock Exchange

I went with Olivia, Evan and Skyler to Woodstock Exchange, a hip set of buildings with various cafes and stores, to get nice tea from a tea shop. I got some rooibois and honeybush (both unique to South Africa) flavored tea to give as a gift to my mom. She is a true tea lover.

Later in the afternoon, a group of us went to Seapoint to walk along the promenade. It was a nice walkway along the ocean with a grassy park lining the other side with interesting features such as a ginormous pair of sunglasses. We walked on the beach a bit too, which was really nice. We timed it so that we would be able to watch the sunset and it was gorgeous.

The walk goes from Seapoint to the Waterfront, where we had dinner - I had a seafood pizza. I am trying to do some things we have not done here yet before we all leave, and I can’t believe it took us until the end of the semester to do this lovely walk!

 

May 24 – A “Very Christow Christmas”

Since our house feels so much like a family, we decided we needed to have our own little variation of Christmas. Everyone made food, which was a hodgepodge of different things, but everything was delicious. Sara and I made goat cheese and mashed potatoes.

Load shedding happened from 6-8:30, so we got all the food prepared ahead of time, and then enjoyed each other’s company in the candlelight. We lit a fire and listened to some Christmas music. It was a really nice evening, and we had so much extra food we all ate leftovers together the next night.

I am studying for final exams a lot this week to get ahead, as my brother, Chandler, and my cousin, Katerina, come in a week! I am so excited for them to come! I have two finals while they are here which is a bit of a bummer, but when I am done, we are going on a trip to Kruger!

My Water Resource Management final requires a lot of prep work. We have to write two essays in three hours, with 10 papers referenced in each, but we are not allowed to have any notes, so we need to memorize! It is time to start reading some papers.