April 14, 2007 - Whistle while you work...

This entry will be fairly short. Rebecca H. had left at 4 a.m. this morning for the Mpumalanga region with Cathy and Peter. As for me though, it was nice to sleep in and not have a set schedule to be worried about. Once up and showered though, I turned on the iTunes on my computer and set to work to at least start some of my major projects. Sometimes it will take me a while though, as I need that hook to get me in and writing. Rebecca B. and Alissa headed to the school to work on the computers there because of the internet access. As I had my laptop and felt that the internet would’ve been too much of a distraction, I just stayed in my apartment.

Midway through the morning I decided to venture down to Hatfield square to see the crafts at the market. Much to my dismay, I discovered too late that the market is only open on Sundays. So instead of trucking right back to the apartment, I tooled around in the shops for a while and then went back home.
At roughly dinner time Rebecca B. and Alissa ventured back home and we went out to dinner. I offered the option of Herr Gunter’s as we hadn’t tried that place yet. However upon sitting down in the outside seating, we learned that it was strictly a bar and didn’t serve food. That meant a change of location since we were starving. Strolling down the street we came upon the News Café, another place we hadn’t tried yet. Again, we were able to sit out on the terrace.

Being outside was great for people watching. This particular street is always busy with the car-parking guys (whom you tip to help you find a spot), students doing their shopping or dining out, and tourists taking in some local color. This evening though, it was exceedingly busy. The Pretoria rugby team, the Bulls, had a match that evening and had won, so that meant that cars galore were traveling up and down the road with Bulls flags flying and horns-a-blaring. And remember, these are the little European car horns so they’re that cuter high-pitched tone. It seemed like every other person had a jersey on and was celebrating. That coupled with the fact that a benefit concert for animal rights was taking place in the square behind us made for a very entertaining evening.

The News Café in itself had the best food I’ve yet to experience here. I had a chicken and bacon wrap with this honey-mustard mayo dipping sauce, chips (remember those are French fries) and a whiskey-sour to drink. I’m not normally a drinker, but on rare occasions I’ll have one or two, with the whiskey-sour as my choice. Particularly because I like it well enough to finish the thing, but not so well that I’ll down it and want another. It came to the table a little differently though. Instead of it being fully mixed together, I received a tumbler of ice, a shot of whiskey, and a shot of sour, and then had to mix it myself. Not quite the same as at home, but still good overall.

The three of us also indulged in a rarity. On the drink menu, they had Absinthe available. A beverage that many may know is illegal in the States because of its supposed hallucinogenic properties, but it’s not illegal here in S.A. I’d read about the drink in many books over time and it plays it’s part in movies I’ve seen as well. Knowing that we may not have the opportunity again, we saw fit to take advantage of the time here and ordered a round.

The result…let’s just say it’s not something I’ll need to order again. If you adore black licorice then this may be for you, but the small amount I had was more than enough to satisfy my curiosity. It’s served in brandy glasses and the fumes and liquid itself are extremely potent, but the only way you’re going to experience that drug effect that they say it has is if you consume a gigantic amount. And frankly, if you can drink that stuff copiously then you may already have a problem you need to worry about. But as far as experiences go, that’s another I can check off my list.

The final homework score came to Reagen – 0, classes – 3. That’s right, I didn’t complete any one thing in particular but I did complete most of them a good ways through so that finishing them shouldn’t be too hard to do. Until next time…