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Published: February 27th 2007
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and its raining!!
Well sunday I wnet to Kistenbosch. Quite a taxi ride out of Cape Town. very beautiful. Lots of thigns to see and do, and very interesting even though I am not so green fingered!! A conservatory, a Nelson Mandela plant that took 20 years to make, a smelling garden, a practical planst garden, an aboreum? something or other for trees! The mjusic was African Jazx,, but also quite bluesy I thought. I really enjoyed it here, just great to be outside and see so many beutiful thigns. I need to go to Kew now Liz!!
Getting a taxi hoem was funny.. there were no taxis!! A massive queue of peoipel all waiting at the rank. After 45 mins.. I shared a cab to Long Street with some other UK people, and then got another cab to Obs and Aviva Hosue, with a taxidriver called Bernie - who is my all time fave cab driver in Cape Town. He was so friendly and polite, and it was a beautiful trip home. Made up for the long wait for the firts cab!!
Sunday night more new people in Aviva house!
Monday I wnet to a NIA class in
Obs, a combination of yoga, pilates and aerobics! Great to be active. Was a lot of fun, I have been before in Cardiff. Very good mentally as well as physically. Took the train to Muizenbrug then walked the costal path to Kalk bay which is beautiful. I wnet via St James beach. Lots of hippy shops, art galleries and eateries. Direct train back to Obs, and a nice quiet evening!!
Tuesday I sorted out my photos, (Mike M is a star!!) and hit Long Street with Christine and Eliza to do soem gift shopping. Went to Green Market square - the craft market. Not to be confused wirth Green Point Stadium Market which is every sunday and is the same stuff but massive!! Got some nice thigns and didn't haggle - how can I when the exchange rate is so good, and it is their living? Without which they wouldn't eat etc. Bought the SA Big Issue which is great!
Tuesday Night was the Aviva Braii or BBQ. I went to Rotary Club of Claremont first thought - the speaker was an ambassadorial scholar, Jen. I sat next to Dr Paul again and picked his brains on HIV
etc. Facinating,a nd soemthign I'd really like to get more involved in. Also a guest that night was Rotarain Peter Hugo who is the Finance Diurector at Bap Orphanage, so it was great to meet him!
The Aviva braii was well under way when I returned..ie most people drunk.. We had spicey saussages again, and I had a nice glass of SA red. Most people went clubbing to Tiger Tiger, a meat market! And I went out to a much better local pub to play pool with some of the volunteers.
I had a great break as I did lots of things I had been wanting to do for a while!
Wednesday was tough for some peopel to get us as there had been various drunken events the night before and lots of people didn't get much sleep - I did - I can sleep throguh most things!! Off to Bap today for my last shift. Spent a lot of btoday with the younger children. Powercut today, but came back on again in time for my microwave dinner!!
Thursday was a good day for me. My last full day so Is poent lots fo tiem cuddling
and kids, esp Keketso:-) I think I love him most as I saw him in hospital and now he is back and happier. Did older kids bathtime on my own with one careworker and it really was fun today. I got to hug all the kids and play around with them with pjs and so on. It was perfect. I really do like bathtime now!
The whole HIV Aids thing really gets to me sometimes. Compare Brazil and SA - their responses to HIV. Also there are whole issues over medical care and all sorts of things that I won't go into now. BUT ARTs and so on, and meeting kids here with HIV Aids shows you how happy they are and for me the best quote I have read about HIV is that 'living with HIV is all about exactly that - living'! Anyone who thinks it is about dying, or the kids look like they are dying etc - that's just not what I saw. So great to be able to see a kid smiling and playing, no different to any other 4 year old.
Friday 2nd March was a sad day - my last morngin at BAp., I did teethbrushing so go to see most of the kids individually. Helped put shoes on and take the older kids across to creche, like leavign a child on the firts day of school type feeling! Spent a bit of time with the babies who don't go to creche. Thenbakc to Aviva house. I think mostly I feel guilty that I have better opportunities then they have. I won't forget them.
Friday lunchtime I wnmet to RotaryClub of Cape Town. The speaker was the PR manager of SABC like the UK BBC, and it was interesting. trevor looked after me - had a lift back to the Waterfront. I went sailing on a schooner thing for abit! The hit V & A mall.. loitered around the clinique counter and got a free makeover.. and treated myself to a mascara .. all the girls here put shed loads of make up on - even when working at the orpanange.. so at least now I have something!! Not a make up free holiday anymore now though! For me it was about priorites! I don't want SA to look at me, I want to look at SA for example.
Went to Babo for dinner and had ostrich burger - which was tasty but kind of like dark chicken ish!??
In the evening as it was a US girl's birthday we went to Grand West Casino, which is like disneyland. I hated it, as this morngin I was at an orphange and in the evening was watching people gamble away their wages etc!! Looked around and there was a ice rink, cinema, fake ceiling with stars on it, and clubs etc, but me, Eliza and Lena went to Cool Runnings in Observatory and had a much better time!! Lots of students, some very forward men (no thank you!!) and it has a very cool vibe, bit reggae, lots of modern musioc, and bit r and b too I think! I like it!!
Which brings me to Saturday - today by last day here!! Started with the malarone today for Kruger. And the funny thing this am was a girl has an 8 year boyfriend, but really fancied a guy here for 6 weeks.. so last night they hooked up.. and this morning her boyf flew from Europe to surprise her!! He didn't catch them or anything but it was like something out of a soap opera..!! Incidentally everyone seems to be cheating on their other halfs!
Anyhow, some extra things on South Afrioca:
Great Food/drink in SA
Cadbury's top deck - milk chocolate with a white top layer!
Savanna Dry cider
Breakfast of museli, yoghurt, honey and fruit.
SA crime - so far so good, but it is high and I have been very cautious. Fake husband routine working well!
Rikkis are supposed to be the best form of group transport - a yellow dodgy minibus thing!
That horrible supermarket is everywhere - here it is called Pick and Pay and has the same stripey carrier bags!!
Mr Price is the SA equivalent of primark!
MJP wins the bloggers prize for most comments in SA
Liz - Keketso is not Et!! I mean the childrens programme where there are kids who live in a big house and come to the beach and a creature comes out of the sand and makes wishes for them - the samiyan or something.
Anyhow Keketso and Nanana are my favourite children if it is right to have favourites!! I love them all.
For more Bap info - I'll tell you when I get home or see Eliza's blog www.littlewhitelize.blogspot.com
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lizzie
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Please work on spelling or will send back with red pen corrections!!!
Aboreum is a place where there are lots of different trees. There's actually one near Wallingford and we use to pass in all the time! (Been on romantic strolls there with D.) If you move to London will take you to Kew ;-) Ostrich is a bird so I guess it'll taste a bit like a chicken!! Maybe the little sand creature was Yoda?? Clinique make-over????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love and hugs Lizzie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx