I'm approaching the one month mark people. Is time flying for everyone else? I feel like I've been dropped in to some sort of parallel universe where my one week equals everyone else's one month or something. I still kind of feel like I just arrived!
But anyway, time for some updates! This week I don't have any coaching hours as it's school holidays here. The school calendar here is MUCH different to the one back home. They are on a term or quarter schedule. And after each term, there is a nice break or holiday. Oh, and the school year starts in January with the calendar year. That means that when kids go back to school in January, they are in the next grade level up, vs changing grades and starting a new school year every September like we do back home. So Term 1 starts in January and runs until mid-March, then Term 2 starts in April and runs until mid-June, Term 3 is July-mid-September, and Term 4 is October-end of November. In between each term is about a week-long break, sometimes longer, and the longest break for holidays is in between terms 4 and 1 (school will break from beginning of December to mid-January, their summer holidays). So, this week is school holidays. It's also the first public holiday of my time here! Tomorrow is Heritage Day! It is a day to celebrate and remember the cultural heritage and diversity of beliefs and traditions that make up the South African people. It's also known as Braai Day. What's a Braai you ask? WELL let me tell you! (As I've now been to two traditional South African Braais).
A Braai is fast becoming one of my favorite South African traditions. At it's most basic definition it is simply a barbecue. (Braai is the Afrikaans word for barbecue or grill). And many components of the Braai are very similar to the American backyard barbecue. (Grilling the meat over a fire, social gathering of people, etc.)
My meal from the braai last night! So yummy! An yes that is beef on my plate! I even tried roast lamb one night!
This one is at Kommetjie Beach, and there's Katie playing in the waves! (Katie is one of my friends dogs)
Another shot of Groot Constantia
But anyway, time for some updates! This week I don't have any coaching hours as it's school holidays here. The school calendar here is MUCH different to the one back home. They are on a term or quarter schedule. And after each term, there is a nice break or holiday. Oh, and the school year starts in January with the calendar year. That means that when kids go back to school in January, they are in the next grade level up, vs changing grades and starting a new school year every September like we do back home. So Term 1 starts in January and runs until mid-March, then Term 2 starts in April and runs until mid-June, Term 3 is July-mid-September, and Term 4 is October-end of November. In between each term is about a week-long break, sometimes longer, and the longest break for holidays is in between terms 4 and 1 (school will break from beginning of December to mid-January, their summer holidays). So, this week is school holidays. It's also the first public holiday of my time here! Tomorrow is Heritage Day! It is a day to celebrate and remember the cultural heritage and diversity of beliefs and traditions that make up the South African people. It's also known as Braai Day. What's a Braai you ask? WELL let me tell you! (As I've now been to two traditional South African Braais).
A Braai is fast becoming one of my favorite South African traditions. At it's most basic definition it is simply a barbecue. (Braai is the Afrikaans word for barbecue or grill). And many components of the Braai are very similar to the American backyard barbecue. (Grilling the meat over a fire, social gathering of people, etc.)
Here's a fireplace turned in to a braai for the night.
So anyway, braais are happening in abundance (in fact, I'm braaiing again tonight!) and I'm loving it. (How could I not love a tradition based around food?)
I'm braaiing tonight from a friend's house in Velddrif, about 3 hours drive from Cape Town. Tomorrow we are heading to the West Coast National Park to see some wild flowers and wildlife. I've been kind of go-go-going lately. Sooo pretty normal for me haha, as most of you might know. This last weekend I went for a bit of shopping and came home with piercing number 12. (!!!) (Is anyone really surprised?) Then I went for a very entertaining dinner party with some very stimulating conversations at a coworkers home (shout out to Derryn!) And Sunday I took another long walk on the beach, and did a cellar tour and wine tasting at a local Wine Farm called Groot Constantia. How it took me three weeks to make it to one of the wine farms here I'll never understand...there are quite a few here!
One of the shots of my walk at Noordhoek Beach.
Some of the crazy seaweed at the beach
One of the drives in Groot Constantia..it was beautiful!!
I've also been doing a fair amount of whale watching. Yes, I said whale watching. The whales come in to the bays around the peninsula here to mate, and they come right up next to the shore! It's amazing. I haven't gotten any really amazing photos yet, but I'm working on it! On one of our whale watching drives we stopped at a shark spotting station. That's exactly what it sounds like folks. There are these men that sit up in huts so far up the mountains and look out over the bays to see if there are any sharks and to warn swimmers on the beach if they see any. There is a color-coded flag system in place so beach-goers know what the threat level is. Black = too murky to see if there's a shark or not. White = there may have been a shark in the water recently. Red = there IS a shark in the water, get out now! And green = all clear. (So far since I've been here the flags have always been black). I had a nice long chat with one of the shark spotters on duty and learned quite a bit about the job and the process to becoming one..it's not as easy as you might think, there's a long shadowing process and you can't spot all on your own until you've spotted at least one shark in training.
My coworker, Keegan, and a shark spotter looking out over the bay.
A bit different than the regular lifeguards on the beach back home eh? Just one of the many new things I'm learning about here. And I'm learning LOTS! (Including a bit of Afrikaans!) I'm on my element people..learning more about myself AND the world around me every. Single. Day. (I even had a tarot card reading!) I couldn't be more amazed with how life works out. Have you ever had that feeling..you know that feeling that you are exactly where you're supposed to be? Well I'm not sure how or why it's happened...but I firmly believe I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. Everything else will eventually work itself out right? :)
I love and miss you all! Until next time...
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