My Relaxing Weekend

This weekend was the perfect relaxing weekend after my Zulu Wedding adventure in Durban last weekend.

After a week of slathering aloe salve on my sunburned face then experiencing all of the skin on my nose peeling off and most of my cheeks and forehead, my face is now as smooth as a baby's bottom.  Apparently the African sun is pretty strong and I ended last weekend looking like those a-holes that spend spring break skiing in Breck and come back with the goggle outline on their face.  I'll spare you a photo of the monstrosity that was my face.

Friday afternoon I excused myself from a meeting a few minutes early to make my 5pm yoga class.  My therapist would be so proud of me for prioritizing a little "me time".  It was nice to have a little yin and yang to start off the weekend.

Even though I now have a plethora of TV channels, I still love to watch all of the nature programs on BBC Earth, Nat Geo Wild and Animal Planet.  I am obsessed with finding out how they make these programs.  I watched a show about 2 lion brothers that they followed for over 4 years!  Their father was challenged as the king of the pride and lost so they were suddenly tossed out of the the pride.  They had to survive as loner lions with no pride as cubs less than 1 year old.  How did they follow these lions for 4 years?  The camera was there when one brother followed a female in heat for miles across the savanna swamps.  When her consort, the king of another pride, roared a warning to him, he woke up out of his hormone induced haze and realized he had no idea where he was and his brother was nowhere to be found.  He wandered around in the dark roaring for his brother for hours.  I was near tears thinking they would never find each other until suddenly, his brother roared in answer.  The reunion was amazing.  The cameras were there when the brothers challenged the king of another pride and won the prize of claiming the pride (and all of the female lions).  The cameras were also there when the brothers took turns mating with the same lioness (cheeky lioness).  HOW DO THEY MAKE THESE PROGRAMS?????

Saturday was dedicated to more "me time", starting with yoga at 8am.  I spent a couple of hours reading out by the pool then I had a 90 minute massage and a mani / pedi.  It felt so amazing.  I love my massage therapist.  He really works out the kinks.  I cooked salmon and veggies for dinner and watched more animal programs.  November is Africa month on Animal Planet so I had a great selection of programs to obsessively google to see if I can figure out how they make them.  If anyone can shed some light on this process, I will be forever grateful!

Today I went on a little adventure with a few of the Colgate folks that are also staying at this hotel.  We went to the Four Corners Farmer's market.

Its a cool, hip outdoor space that doesn't really sell produce.  It is a collection of beautiful gardens and food / drink stalls.

There are many types of local food as well as an array of international food to delight the tastebuds.  The Polish girls had eaten a late breakfast so they sampled cannolies while I tucked into a delicious "sandwich" of meat piled on top of cornbread topped with lots of delicious things.  There was a cute "sushi bus" but I am not trusting sushi from an outdoor stand when it is 85 degrees and the sun is beating down.

Paella anyone?

My meal of cornbread topped with beef, chicken, cheese and a few tasty sauces.  

Delicious!

It was an absolutely beautiful day to be sitting outside listening to live music and snacking on yummy food!

We headed out of there around 3:30 so I could make my 4:30 yoga class.  This is my favorite class in the rotation because it is mainly stretching and a lot of meditation.  Exactly what you need to get ready for a new week.

Now I am updating you on my goings on.  A perfect end to a perfectly relaxing weekend.

Until my next dispatch from Jo'burg.  Totsiens and mooi loop!

Zulu Wedding Adventure

This past weekend I ventured to Durban, on the east coast of South Africa to attend the wedding of one of my co-workers.  This coworker has actually been married over 5 years and already has two children.  This was actually no ordinary wedding, it was an Umabo.  An Umabo is a special ceremony that takes place after the bride's lobolo, or dowry, has been fully paid.

Lobolo typically starts at 10 cows and then is negotiated based on several factors such as education level, previous marriages, etc.  In modern day Johannesburg, most people don't have room for 10+ cows, so the lebolo payment is typically converted to money.  Lebolo has become less common in modern culture but the thought behind it is the groom is literally invested in the relationship and the couple will most likely stay together if the groom is in it for at least 10 cows.
I actually found an online lebolo calculator and I calculated my own worth.  I am worth around R40,000.  Apparently it works in my favor that I haven't been married (yet!) and I don't have children.  I do have to be honest and say the value may be a bit inflated since the age scale only went to 35.  Lets knock off R5000 and say I'm worth R35,000 to make up for the age factor.

I didn't really come to South Africa with wedding frocks so what does a girl do?  

Wear basic black and dresses it up with accessories!

I wanted to fit in by wearing something traditional so I donned a doek, or head scarf.  As a blonde white woman, there was not much else I could do to fit in with the Zulu folks at the wedding.

The week prior to the wedding I was listening to the radio on the way to work and they were discussing actual wedding start time vs appointed start time.  Basically the summary was "white people weddings start on time, black people weddings start anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours late." (Yes, they are evolved enough to discuss cultural and racial differences).  The invitation stated the wedding would start at 11:00.  Anyone that knows me, knows this means Holly would arrive at the venue at 10:45.  At work we discussed the start time with the bride and she said "that is why you have my phone number".

The day of the wedding we begin our drive to the township where the wedding is being held at the groom's parent's home.  The GPS is no help at all so we try to navigate using google maps.  After wandering around quite a bit (google maps seems to enjoy taking us the scenic route every time) we find the street and spot the tent sent up in the yard for the ceremony.  As guests of the bride, we are supposed to wait until the bride arrives and follow her into the yard of her husband's family.  We grab a parking spot and confirm with the woman in the car next to us that, yes,  she is also here for Zwelihle & Nokubonga's wedding.

The waiting game then begins.  We arrived around 11:30.  We hang out in the car for a while, then we join the group in front of the tent.  There is a group of girls singing and dancing so I take a few videos and obligatory selfies.

Dance troop preparing for the wedding festivities

Who is this white lady taking a picture with us?

The wedding party begins to arrive around 1:00.  It is traditional for the bride to give several members of the groom's family blankets so we see the truck of blankets arrive along with the sacrificial goat.

We won't tell him that this party isn't for him

Blankets arriving to be presented to members of the groom's family

As the rest of the wedding party assembles there appears to be a Pitch Perfect dance / sing off beginning to take place.  As the bride's family approaches,  the groom's family begins performing traditional song and tribal dances.

It's time to throw down in a live dance / sing off!

Ceremonial drink

As the bride's family near the entrance to the groom's family property, a ceremonial drink appears to take place.  It is probably one of the Uncles who took the lead in the negotiation of the lebolo on behalf of the bride.

Around this time, I see the woman that had been in the car next to us approach.  She leans over to Ntombe and says something.  Ntombe looks at me with a panicked look so I walk over to see what is going on.  As I walk up I hear the woman saying "I wondered why I didn't know any of these people".  Excuse me?  What do you mean "we are at the wrong wedding".  Yes, folks, its true.  There were two weddings on the same street on the same day.  And we were at the wrong place.  Ntombe and I took off up the street to the location we were supposed to be at.  At this point it was almost 1:30 - the wedding was supposed to start over 2.5 hours ago.  What if we missed the whole thing?  How would we explain that to our co-worker?  As we rushed up the street as fast as our high heel shod feet would carry us, we noticed a group of people standing in front of the house.  This has to be a good sign right?  As we arrived at the house we saw the pile of blankets and much to our amazement and delight, the bride.  She had recently arrived and was preparing to lead her people into her groom's home.

Whew!  Made it!

The ceremony is steeped in tradition.  The bride's family takes branches and thrashes the groom.  The bride prepares a bed for her groom to sleep on.  She wakes him and washes his face.  There was a costume change from the traditional white wedding gown to a cow skirt for the bride and loin cloth for the groom and groomsmen.  I couldn't get many photos because we were not under the tent but here is a photo of one of the traditional dances performed by the groom and his groomsmen.

Traditional dance performed during the ceremony

The beautiful bride and her bridesmaids

All in, I believe the ceremony lasted about 3 hours.  There was a lot of waiting around while the bridal party prepared for different parts of the ceremony.  About 4:30 a nice gentleman took pity on me and brought me a chair to sit down on.  It made it hard to see the end of the festivities, but at this point I was not getting up for anything!

Getting to the reception was another adventure!  The invitation did not have an address for the Hall so we did the best we could.  We were able to google the general area but still could not locate an address.  Once we thought we were close to the right place we started asking folks walking down the road.  Amazingly three highly intoxicated gentleman were able to provide Ntombi with pretty good instructions (in Zulu) and she was able to guide us there with no issue.

My date for the affair, Ntombi, is another co-worker.  She helped me by wrapping my headscarf and being my co-pilot on this journey.  She helpfully pointed out to me that burning smell was the clutch on the rental car and that I was driving on the wrong side of the road on one occasion.

I knew that Ntombi was my African soul sister when she looked at me at the reception while we were waiting (again!) for the bridal party to arrive and said "I wish I was in bed right now".  After a day spent waiting and wedding, there was no place more I wanted to be at that exact moment but curled up in my bed at the hotel with a good book!

She is so talented - she designed and made that skirt!

The bride and groom arrived and the bridal party was announced and introduced.

The bride and groom dancing their way into the reception!

(the bride's 3rd outfit of the day)

The downside of starting the wedding 2+ hours late is you lose time on your rental at the reception hall.  The dinner and reception happened in a record time, finishing only 30 minutes late - around 6:30pm.

Ntombi and I were back at our hotel and I was curled up in bed with that book by 8:00pm!

Attending a traditional Zulu wedding was an amazing experience.  I was thrilled to be asked to attend and excited to share that experience with Ntombi.  She is an incredible young woman and will do well at Colgate! It is a day I will never forget.

Until my next dispatch from Jo'burg.  Totsiens and mooi loop!

Two Russians and an American walk into a Bar (Part 2)

Now back to my weekend in Cape Town . . . Where we last left off, I was having adult beverages with D2 deciding where our Sunday adventures would take us.

After our cocktails, we decided to walk back to the hotel.  I am not sure if I mentioned this but white people don't walk in Johannesburg.  From my balcony, I would see the occasional caucasian runner, but other than that no white people are on the road.  We decided to walk back to the hotel with the help of D#1's GPS.  My cell phone was no help at all because I learned that if I power off my phone my SIM card locks and I have to have the passcode to unlock it.  The passcode was in my desk drawer at the office.  As the only 3 white folks strolling down the sidewalk (or road when there weren't sidewalks) we were fair game for people to hit us up for money.  D2 legitimately had no cash - I did but I sure as hell was not going to pull out my wallet and start handing out cash.  We had one rather long uncomfortable encounter where a gentleman escorted us for several blocks saying he was just trying to eat but he didn't want to be forced to steal to do so.  The jaded New Yorker in me viewed this as a veiled threat so I just walked faster and didn't say anything.  He finally backed off and left us alone, much to my relief.  I thought D2 was going to have to bust out some karate moves to protect us!
I was pretty much done after this encounter.  My hotel had a nice looking bar & restaurant, I was pretty exhausted after my precarious climb down from the Cape of Good Hope peak so I sent the Russians on their way.  I can imagine they were probable ready to switch to speaking their native tongue for the evening anyway.

Sunday started with breakfast at Clarke's.  Clarke's is a hipster eatery that D2 had discovered the previous morning.  I had some delicious avocado toast to fuel up for the morning (not as good as mine but I enjoyed the creme fraiche).  After Clarke's we headed back to the Hop-on-Hop-off bus depot to begin our journey to Table Mountain.  Table Mountain is a flat topped mountain and part of Table Mountain National Park.


The flat top of the mountain is often covered by orographic clouds, formed when a south-easterly wind is directed up the mountain's slopes into colder air, where the moisture condenses to form the so-called "table cloth" of cloud. Legend attributes this phenomenon to a smoking contest between the Devil and a local pirate called Van Hunks.^[5] When the table cloth is seen, it symbolizes the contest. (Wikipedia)

Table Mountain covered by the "table cloth"

The question that I was asked the most on Monday when I got back to the office is "How was the weather?"  I can honestly say that we experienced all 4 season while we traversed Cape Town on top of the double decker bus.  I was very thankful I had my Ann VanDyke Cheetah Rescue center fleece to take off and on multiple times throughout the day on Sunday.

We arrived at Table Mountain to a beautiful blue sky.  The tablecloth has spoiled many a tourist's visit to Table Mountain.  Some crazy folks hike up to the top of Table Mountain (Crazy C that I work with did!).  The HOHO narration warned us that the table cloth can descend over the mountain with no warning and shut down the cable cars.

While we were downloading the Table Mountain app to buy our tickets D#2 asked if we should just buy a 1-way ticket.  I laughed and said "Round trip. Why?"  D#2 innocently responded "What if they close the cable car and we have to walk back down".  After I dusted off my jeans from collapsing on the ground with hilarious roaring laughter, I told D#2 that we would wait for the cable cars to start running again, even if it was on Monday morning. D#1 and I were in strong agreement on this point.

I've got Table Mountain and Halong Bay.  After February I will have Galapogos.  4 more to go!

After a quick ride up, we were left to explore the top of Table Mountain and enjoy the spectacular views.

Not steep or anything . . .

Blogs don't do the panorama photo justice

Obligatory selfie

7 Wonders of the World plaque

After our fill of fresh mountain air, we took the cable car back down the mountain to forage for food in Cape Town.  D#2 left us to go freshen up in the toilet.  We had seen the HOHO bus pull away while we were descending so D#1 and I went to the stop to wait.  Within a couple of minutes the next bus pulled up.  We waited and waited while people piled on the bus - D#2 was nowhere in sight.  D#1 pulled out his phone and started frantically messaging D#2.  Luckily a couple of new comers were purchasing tickets so that slowed down the boarding process.  I thought D#2 had been kidnapped or accidentally gotten himself locked in the stall.  Surely something tragic was keeping him delayed!  A couple of minutes later D#2 came loping up with his now perfectly coifed hair.  You can imagine the shit D#2 would have taken if we had missed that bus while he combed his hair.

Just for fun we jumped off the bus to stick our fingers in the cold Atlantic ocean.

D#1 jumped on his phone and looked for restaurants near the HOHO depot because we needed to switch to another line to hit the winerys in the afternoon.  Besides Clarke's, the area was kind of a restaurant wasteland.  The restaurant he found was located inside the Park.  In my mind I was picturing a snack bar but it was hardly that.  This restaurant gets the shout out for the best meal I have had in South Africa.  The server came over to take our order and D2 ordered the fish.  I had my eye on something else but the server had other ideas.  "You're having the fish too."  I am so glad that bossy server told me what I was having.  It was absolutely amazing.  King Fish I believe it was called.

Yes, I should have ordered white wine but remember, I didn't know I was having fish!

After lunch and 4 more weather changes, we were on our way to the winery.  Logistically the HOHO doesn't make much sense as D#1 - the logistics guy - pointed out to me.  But this is about the journey and I am a nerd and love listening to the audio on the HOHO bus.

The tasting room at Constania Vinyard was pretty awesome.  We had primo seats outside until the weather changed for the 87th time and we had to head inside to grab a spot at the bar.

View of the vineyards

After a bottle of wine, a girl needs to hit the loo

I got to enjoy this view from the throne.  D2 didn't notice the incredible view

The growing of the grapes

I love to take pictures of hilarious signs

The last bus back to the HOHO depot left at 5:10.  We ended up leaving about the same time as a couple and another gentleman and found out they were also headed back to the bus.  He was from Chicago but living in Dubai working for another CPG (consumer packaged goods) company so we talked shop a bit.  He had met the couple from Australia on the bus and had been siping wine with them for the afternoon.  As with most buses that you pile onto after an afternoon of drinking, you make friends quickly.  I was chatting with the Australian woman discussing the merits of the Upper East Side vs the Upper West Side.  They had lived on the UES during the early 1990s.  D#1 was snapping photos of a couple of girls who apparently hadn't taken enough selfies that day and we found out that one of them was from near Morristown, TN where CP has a plant and D#2 was talking to the girl that he had shared a seat on the bus with on our tour of the Cape of Good Hope.

I remember a friend of mine that used to commute from Connecticut to NYC saying that on Friday night you NEVER wanted to be on the 1:30am train to CT.  She always tried to be on the 12:30.  I totally got what she was saying after this bus ride.  The last bus leaving the vineyard had its fair share of folks that had over imbibed.  D2 had to scrape one girl off the floor and pour her into a seat.  The gentleman I was chatting with had a girl plop down next to him and start to chat him up.  She proceeded to get jealous when he started chatting with another girl that he found out lived in his hood in Chi-town.  It was hilarious and a bit uncomfortable to watch him try to reason with her.  We all know a drunk knows no reason.

It was an incredible and exhausting weekend.  I am so glad that I took up D#1's generous offer to join D2 on their trip to Cape Town.  I hope to make it back before I leave but if I don't, I know that I made the most of this weekend.

I really appreciate all of the nice comments I hear from you about my blog.  I hope that you find it interesting as I navigate my way around the southern hemisphere.

Until my next dispatch from Jo'burg.  Totsiens and mooi loop!

Two Russians and an American walk into a Bar (Part 1)

"Two Russians and an American walk into a bar" - no, its not the opening to a hilarious joke I am about to tell you. Instead, I will tell you about my weekend in Cape Town.  I jumped on a plane a couple of weeks ago with two co-workers, Dmitry & Dmitry to explore Cape Town.  Going forward, we will refer to them as D2 (or Dmitry Squared).
Saturday we took a full day tour of the Cape, heading down to Cape Good Hope.
Our first stop of the day was Boulder Beach.  Boulder Beach is famous for being the home to one of 22 African penguin colonies.  Around 1910 it was estimated that there were 1.5 million Cape Penguins but by 2010 the numbers had dropped to 55,000.  If the decline is not halted, it is estimated that the African penguin will be extinct in 15 years.  They believe this is a result of the lack of food as industrialized fishing has become more prevalent off the coast of Africa

Hey, this penguin photobombed me!

Penguins mate for life - either they have been together a long time, or Mama Penguin is a cougar!

After a few minutes snapping photos of the penguins, we headed on our way to the Cape of Good Hope.  The Cape of Good Hope is where the warm Indian Ocean meets the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean.  Actually the Cape of Good Hope is not the southernmost point in Africa.  That honor goes to Cape Agulhas, about 150km southeast of the Cape of Good Hope.

While driving down the highway, the tour guide called our attention to an official looking gentleman on the side of the road.  He is a minder for one of the many troops of baboon inhabiting the Cape.  As my good friend, AW told me "Baboons are assholes".  We received a 10 minute warning on baboons, food and the fact they will attack and potentially kill us if we walk around with a piece of pizza in our hand.  The outdoor seating area at the Cape restaurant was fenced in and there were monitors keeping and eye out for the roaming bandits.

This was as close as I got to the baboons

The first stop was the Cape of Good Hope visitor center where we rode a precarious funicular up the mountain so we could hike up to the light house.  They quit using the lighthouse as a warning to ships after a few crashes.  I can imagine it was quite hard to see way up on that hill!  The view was so amazing, I actually don't have a picture of the lighthouse.  I don't think it occurred to me to take one!

Just in case I don't get backdown to Cape Town to do whale watching, I can say I saw one breach and blow!

Photo of the actual Cape of Good Hope (which I will now hike across and down)

After a quick stop for a baboon free lunch, D2 and I joined back up with our tour group for a 40 minute hike from the visitor center to the Cape of Good Hope.  I was a little worried because Dmitry1 didn't finish his pizza and Dmitry2 only ate half is sandwich and BOTH of those went into Dmitry1's backpack.  Luckily we encountered no baboons on our hike only an Ostrich family.  We received a long speech about fitness levels and fear of heights related to the hike.  I do not like heights at all but he said "you don't have to walk next to the edge", so I figured I would be OK.  Everyone knows I am not a "walk next to the edge" kind of girl.

Me and D2 - they are obviously "walk next to the edge" kind of guys

Crazy selfie takers

The Cape in Panorama

I figured out where the "fear of heights" thing comes in and that is when you have to climb down from the high point of the Cape.  My climb down was steep and terrifying and I was praying I would make it down before the bus pulled away!  I did make it down successfully with enough time to take a couple of pictures at THE SIGN and watch some photographers get an amazing opportunity to shoot the waves crashing against the rocks.

We conquered The Cape!

Boy did I wanna be out on that rock!

After a drowsy bus ride back to the city, the bus dropped us off at the V&A Waterfront where D2 and I enjoyed an adult beverage and pondered our options for the next day's adventure . . . .

(This photo is what we call "foreshadowing")

I'm Moving . . .

Monday morning I will be checking out of Capital 20 West Hotel and moving to a new hotel.  Dorothy, the admin that has made everything happen for me here in South Africa, asked me if I was happy at this location.  This hotel has everything I need.  I could have daily housekeeping service, but the tree hugger in me decided that two days a week is sufficient.  Housekeeping washes my clothes, cleans the kitchen, changes my bed and replaces the towels.  I have a gym that has a couple of treadmills and an elliptical machine.  I have a balcony that overlooks the local water reservoir.  I am really lucky here - the other side of the building overlooks a Shell gas station and a very busy intersection.

I have a restaurant and a bar though I have never been to the bar and the restaurant is so slow I resorted to going to the gym then just popping in to order room service to be sent to my room.  After dining in twice and sitting in the restaurant for over an hour, I decided room service was a better option.  An hour is a long time to sit alone in a not very busy restaurant.

I thought, how much better can it get?  A lot better apparently.  I checked out the website of the DaVinci Hotel and Suites.  There is a gym, a pool and a spa!  A bar with a view of the city!  I will lose my balcony but I will be gaining the proximity to Mandela Square (an elevator ride away!) and lots of restaurants and shopping.  I am very excited about being able to take the elevator down to access all the shops and restaurants at Mandela Square.  I drive there every weekend to do my grocery shopping.  The hotel is adjacent to the train to the airport.  There is so much more activity in that area.  Dorothy seemed to think that is the downside to this location.  I am thrilled.  If I am honest with you, I have been a little lonely and isolated at the Capital 20 West.  The prospect of being able to access the shopping after work and walk around among other humans is very exciting to me.

As my move approaches, I realize how much of a creature of habit I am and how much I do not like change.  I think about the cafe in a gas station I pop in every morning to get coffee.  Will I still go there to get coffee?  Will they wonder what happened to the blonde American that used to order a double Americano every morning at 6:15am?  I am a 2 minute drive from my yoga studio.  Will adding another 8 minutes to my drive make me less likely to go?  Will the traffic be worse? (Probably).  How much further to access the highway?  Will there be more intersections?  Intersections are a concern because that is where you could get hijacked (carjacked).

The move is absolutely the right thing for me to do.  I just marvel that having lived in Capital 20 West for a little over a month, I am contemplating so much if I should make this move!

(Yes it is messy, I am in the process of packing!)

It is nice to have such a lovely view from the bedroom

I'll post photos of my new apartment next week.  Now I am busy trying to eat all my refrigerated food so I don't have to move it.  Hummus and carrots for breakfast anyone?

Until my next dispatch from Jo'burg, totsiens & mooi loop!

A Typical Day and a Few Random Musings

I am behind on updating you with my weekend adventures to the Elephant Sanctuary and Cape Town. Lest you think this is a 4 month vacation for me, I thought I would give you an example of what a typical day for me is in South Africa.
I get up around 5:15 though if I am honest it is closer to 5:33 after I let myself hit snooze twice.
I usually walk out the door between 6:00-6:10.  Yes, AM.
Dave, the guy driving me to work the first week, told me that this Shell Gas Station near my apartment has really lovely coffee so I typically stop there in the morning and get an Americano coffee.  I am not a "I MUST HAVE CAFFEINE!" person, but I like the ritual of drinking a cup each morning.  After 15 visits to the cafe within a gas station the guy I see every morning FINALLY asked me "Double Americano?"  I teased him and said "I wondered how many blonde Americans you have that come in and order a double americano every day".
I am usually at my desk around 6:30 logging into my computer and enjoying my coffee and my Wooly's gluten free blueberry muffin.  I am currently devastated because I have been to two Wooly's this week and they are both out of all of the gluten free baked goods.  I have really cleaned up my eating since I arrived and have basically eliminated food out of a package.  My one treat is my GF muffin each day.
I have peace and quiet from 6:30 to about 9am.  I spend this time working on the emails I have received from the US since I shut down my computer from the night before and working on different projects.
9am is when the meetings start in South Africa.
Meeting
Meeting
Meeting
Oh my gosh, the meeting ended 15 minutes early, let me check my email before the next meeting
Meeting
Meeting
Oh, crap, I missed lunch.  Good thing I have this bag of almonds with me
Meeting
Meeting
Did I go to the bathroom yet today?  I should drink more water!
Meeting
Meeting
I leave the office anywhere between 4:30 and 6pm.
3 days a week I try to go to yoga - Saturday, Thursday and one other day.  As much as I joked about having to walk past the gym in my apartment to get to the elevator, I find it very hard to drag myself down to the elliptical machine after spending almost 12 hours at the office.  I am giving myself the rest of the week, then I am really going to commit to going even if its just to do 20 minutes.  I want to get into the habit of working out before I head back to the US where the gym isn't just steps away.
I usually watch a couple of hours of TV just to decompress.  On a good day I have the options of BBC Earth, Discovery Earth, National Geographic and CNN.  On Monday, BBC, Discovery and Nat Geo had disappeared and instead I had the Disney Channel.  This is a bad day.  I did learn that Descendants 2 is coming out.  Kadie will be very excited.  The highlight of my week is Tuesday when Expedition Galapagos comes on BBC Earth
Then I go to bed to start the whole thing over the next day.
I didn't realize how much socializing I did after work in NY until I moved here and had absolutely nothing to do.  I found the yoga studio because the I was bored to death of the elliptical and bored to death of my own company (as an introvert, I don't say that too often!).  I needed to get out of the apartment for something other than work.
Saturdays I go to the grocery store and stock up for the week.  In Park Avenue, we have a cafeteria so I was spoiled by having easy access to food.  South Africa has a small restaurant in the office park but my experience my first couple of days here is it takes forever to order and get your food.  Since I usually have meetings through lunch, I typically pack a lunch from home.  I am also cooking in the apartment or snacking for dinner.  I have been to the grocery store more times in South Africa in 1 month than I think I have in all of 2017 in New York!  I did find a local Italian restaurant that delivers and and has gluten free options.  I've had their pasta and will try their pizza next time.  There is no Delivery.com or Seamless here.  How did I find the restaurant you may wonder?  I see a delivery moped almost every day on the way home from work so I repeated the name to myself over and over (Andaccio24) until I could get my phone out and google it.  (#resourceful)  The best thing is they have a location in the same building as the yoga studio so I may be having that pizza tomorrow night!
So yes, I am working a whole lot but I have been learning quite a bit and I hope that I am helping bring more process to the team and a different perspective on how to look at the business.
One of the amusing things about driving in South Africa is the random things you see laying in the middle of the road.  I mentioned the mini-buses in one of my previous blog posts but in South Africa if you have a Brat truck/car hybrid (yes, the same one from the 70s), you can also operate a taxi service.

I imagine when you are crammed into the back of a pick up truck, things may fly out onto the highway.  I see random shoes, hats, lunchboxes, etc.

Yesterday it was rather cool post our monsoon storms on Sunday and Monday.  Sunday there was baseball sized hail.  Everyone at the office was talking about the beating their cars took.  I saw some CRAZY photos.  Said storm led to a delay in my flight back from Cape Town and thus the delay in blog posting.  Anyway, yesterday on my drive to work I saw an exhaust pipe laying in the middle of my lane.  It was still smoking - whether from remnant exhaust or due to cold weather, I am not sure, but there is definitely a mini-bus driving about sans exhaust pipe right now!

Until my next dispatch from Jo'burg, totsiens & mooi loop!