First full Day in Cape Town

---

Today I woke up at 1pm, definitely loving the vacation and not having to wake up at 6:30 every morning, especially after a 5am night. The bathroom has two separate faucets one for hot water and one for old water which makes the morning rituals a little more interesting. I have to cup a little bit of cold water and then cup some hot water to get the warm water face rinse. After a longer than normal morning ritual due to the individual faucets, the girls decided to go to some super grocery store (walmart-like) and I initially thought I would go with them to get some soap and other amenities that I needed for civilized living, but decided that I would go to the beach on my first true day in Cape Town, being the beach lover that I am. So I convinced one of the girls to pick me up some soap so that I don’t smell too much like a dirty Indian for the whole trip.

They dropped me off on the side of the road by a sign that said Clifton 3rd beach. Under the sign there was a staircase leading downwards toward the beach. The staircase down to the beach was longer than I expected but when I reached the bottom the beach was amazing. Fine white sand, blue water, and giant rocks dotted the coast as I entered a little cove protected from the wind by rocks and houses. I couldn’t help but thinking that these houses on the beachfront were the luckiest houses having a hidden private-like beach at their front doorsteps. I took a couple pictures, climbed some of the rocks and enjoyed the sun and warmth. I had also brought my mini soccer ball with me and did some juggling and running down the beach to get a little bit of a workout in. After about an hour at the beach the girls picked me back up on their way back from the grocery super store and we all headed home to watch the world cup games.

During the first game we all just hung out and lazed around watching the game. I was informed that we were enforcing “rules” for each person in which they would have to drink if they failed to follow those rules. Another member Dave would be penalized if he referenced any teen movies, Luda would be penalized for using any British phrases. Rules weren’t established for everyone yet, but they were a work in progress. During the match it was decided that I would be penalized if I failed to speak within a 15 minute timeframe, since I had been relatively quiet the day before. In my defense I was running on 4 hours of sleep from the night before, and was probably in a state of shock from the days amazing events. Also, everyone here is a crazy soccer fanatic and knows so much about the players and random facts. I on the other hand love soccer, but mostly love to play than watch and don’t really get a chance to watch the European league games on a normal basis and so I don’t know too much about the players.
(My lack of soccer knowledge was definitely made evident during the night game of Party Mochen where I failed to contribute to a list of Arsenal players.)

The second game was Portugal vs. Ivory Coast, which was sure to be an exciting game. But, I was disappointed by Portugal’s showing and the way they continuously threw their hands up throughout the match looking for a call instead of actually playing. It was definitely frustrating that they failed to pull a win out of the match, although the way they were playing and the way Ivory Coast was playing it was good that we at least tied. The rest of the house was rooting for Ivory Coast and so I am definitely alone in my hope for Portugal to advance to the second round.

After the game we went to a fancy dinner place where I ordered Kudu, a local antelope in the region. It tasted like a steak but was very delicious. After dinner, the three guys without girlfriends on the trip headed to a local bar, Dizzy’s, to catch the first half of the Brazil/Korea game and then watched the rest of the game back at the house with everyone. I wanted Korea to give a good showing and it was definitely well deserved when they knocked one in the back of net. I think they will be a good contender for this group and not go down easy against Ivory Coast and Portugal.

After the game we decided to play a different drinking card game “Asshole.” A game I hadn’t heard of before, but it was very reminiscent of the game 13, or big two/little two, president. You play either a single card, doubles, and/or triples and everyone else must try to beat what you have down. At the end of the game you sit in the order of when you won with the last two people being beer bitch and the asshole, which have certain tasks throughout the game. After a bunch of games the couples decided to leave the table and hit the sack while the three of us without girlfriends on the trip stayed up and played some beer hockey. After a bunch of games we all trudged into the living room with snacks and found game 6 of the NBA playoffs on and started watching that. The other two guys fell asleep and I stayed up working on my blog and watching the rest of the game. In fact Danny who had fallen asleep earlier in the night woke up and strolled into the living room saying “Good Morning” which kind of surprised me and made me realize I should probably get some sleep for the next day.

---

Comments

[atul]

dizzy!!! like Drizzy!!! and beer hockey. i have taught you well young padawan.

[Nicole]

Hey Cuz! I'm having the same problem with Portugal...it's getting harder to root for them (but their game against Brazil should be good!) Can't believe you were AT the Eng vs Alg game...I had to watch it at work...kept thinking I might see you on the screen :) ps. I love the blog! It's great to hear about all the stuff you're doing!!