Despite my thinking that I would sleep until 2 p.m., I find myself awake at 7:30 a.m. to the morning sunshine. Knowing that the group has tentative plans for breakfast at 9 a.m., I roll out of bed and proceed to settle in. While unpacking I hear the ringing of church bells and the harmonious voices of the congregation across the street. Their joyous refrains remind me that it is Easter, and I send out silent well wishes to those I have left at home. I had somewhat forgotten about Easter, as there is none of the commercialization and marketing here of the holiday as there is at home. I pull back my shades and open my window wide. Opening the door to my apartment helps to create a wonderful cross breeze. The burglar bar gate has been left locked though so no random individual can wander in. Yes, we have burglar bars on our apartment doors. They require a key for both entering and exiting, and when the four of us are conversing with each other in our doorways, it seems very much like a scene from some prison house movie, although I don’t believe that we would be the most likely candidates to be behind bars.
As I sit here writing this, I wonder what the rest of the day may bring. Knowing that it is Easter and Sunday, I’m assuming that in following the European model, many places will be closed for most if not all of the day. But no matter what the day may bring I welcome it. Because for the first time in many months I have time working for me instead of me working for time.
Our venture our for breakfast proved fruitful. A brief breakfast took place at a local café, where the waitron (they use this here and I like it much better than waiter or waitress) mistook my request for a bagel and “cream cheese” to mean a bagel and “cream and cheese”. So I was given a little bowl of shredded cheddar and cream, like the kind you might use in your coffee. Needless to say I didn’t try the new combo on my bagel. From there we checked the hours for the local grocery store (MKE will get a kick out of knowing that it’s called Pick-n-Pay; for those not from MKE our stores are called Pick-n-Save), and the internet café called 4 in Love. Alissa figured out that it sounds like “foreign love” which we believe is what it’s supposed to be, although not written that way. We then hit Pick-n-Pay to load up on some basics to keep back out our apartments. Apple juice, milk, rice and soups that can be mixed with water, yogurt, cereal (my snack food), and the obligatory bar of chocolate made up my list. We also picked up power adapters. Though I brought 2 full kits with, neither was equipped for the plugs here. It’s this massive three-pronged thing, and I’ve yet to see a kit from America that does contain the right element. Since the day is gorgeous, I took a few shots of the building, my room, and the view so that I’ll be able to show the folks at home.
Back at our humble abode and with things all put away the girls decide to head back to the internet café. As I had nothing major to communicate I elected to stay behind and review more articles for my 550 research proposal. With most of the precursor work done, I’ve just to write the darned thing. You may be thinking, “Good grief girl! You’re in South Africa…put down the schoolwork and go explore.” To you, I say that I will, but modify the phrase “Time and schoolwork waits for no man.”
Forgot to mention that the Hatfield flea market was open today with crafters galore. As we just arrived I didn’t feel the pressing need to purchase anything quite yet, but browsing gave me some definite ideas for the future. Tomorrow (Monday) is a holiday so we won’t start work until Tuesday and I’m not quite sure what our plans are yet. Perhaps we’ll venture further into town and see the Union building (Pretoria is the capital), or wander over to the University to get a sense of where we’re going.
The evening’s meal took us to Roman’s, a pizza place where you can get 2 personal pan pizzas for the price of 1. Everything is so cheap here compared to the States! With 7 South African Rand to every 1 dollar, I think that my entire meal cost maybe $6.00. We strolled next door for some ice cream and then back home where we chatted to each other from our respective “cells”, like inmates in some really upscale jail.
I discovered two things about my bathroom this evening. One great and one odd. First, it has AMAZING acoustics. My renditions of Dream a Little Dream and Come Rain or Come Shine have never sounded better. Now if I only knew that Figaro song… The second odd thing is that there’s this tiny interior window that opens into a bricked in nothingness. We’re figuring that it’s some kind of ventilation system so I leave it open when the shower’s in use.
I discovered two things about my bathroom this evening. One great and one odd. First, it has AMAZING acoustics. My renditions of Dream a Little Dream and Come Rain or Come Shine have never sounded better. Now if I only knew that Figaro song… The second odd thing is that there’s this tiny interior window that opens into a bricked in nothingness. We’re figuring that it’s some kind of ventilation system so I leave it open when the shower’s in use.
Talk over dinner ran to free time options for Monday and the rest of our trip. A safari tour to Kruger or a local wildlife park to try and see The Big Five is a possibility. Rebecca H. also made mentioned of the multitude of things to do if we wanted to fly down to Capetown. Somewhere in there she mentioned swimming/wading with penguins (yes, they have African penguins!) which would be amazing. I’m up for any and all. Who knows when I’ll be able to travel again so the more memories I can create from this trip to sustain me, the better.
We decided that we’re off to the Pretoria Zoo tomorrow. Since Pretoria is the capital, it’s supposed to be the largest zoo in S.A. I haven’t been to a zoo in ages but still love them all the same. I wonder if they’ll have animals like “The American Mustang” the way that we have African elephants and lions back home? We’ll just have to see.
No comments:
Post a Comment