So, I went "down" to the beach....

Yes, that's right, I already managed to practice my grace and poise on the steep hills of Camps Bay by taking a tumble on the sidewalk on my way "down" to the beach yesterday. I thought about posting a nice picture of my battle scars but I figure for those of you who know me, you've seen enough of those throughout the years, that there's no need to waste the space on something so familiar and unsightly!

So, at the bottom of this blog is a slideshow of some of the beautiful scenery from my first week here in Cape Town, or if you click on the link to the right that says La Shona's PicasaWeb, that will take you to another website that will post all of my photos. I apologize for not having names under all of the pictures, but many of them were taken through the car window, or on a very quick drive around, and so what I have done is put the name of the place at the beginning of the many pictures of place, and then when it changes (or I can remember the name of the next place) I list it. As you can see, there are some beautiful spots here.

Last night we had a blackout. There have been "rolling blackouts" that have been scheduled in different areas to conserve electricity, because there just aren't enough power plants to handle the load. But last night this area was hit due to another problem that left us without power from 8:45 PM until about 10:30 AM.

I still am with my host family. Still need to find a place to live and buy a car. I have my cell phone, AA (like AAA minus the "American", except for this little American I guess). Got my bank account set up today--Yeah!!! That is a huge relief, as it took us 3 trips to the bank, and on the 4th try was able to get the account set up. But that doesn't mean my scholarship money is here yet, so I'm not celebrating too much yet. And because I'm "over 25", I don't get the FREE student account, so I have the account that costs $$$$ every month, which hurts abit, because that takes away from my scholarship---plus I didn't get the free movie tickets and all the student discount package. I never thought I would feel age discrimination at 42, but I'm feeling it!

I'm thinking I will probably become a much healthier person by living here. The eating habits of my host family are healthier. Drive thrus--not common, except Kay said at McDonald's--Imagine That! Kay took me downtown to the bank today, and after our errands we sat down for a rest at an outdoor place at St. George's Mall and ordered something from Wimpy's. Kay ordered hot tea, which she drinks often---no matter the temperature outside.

I ordered iced tea and a Tuna Mayonnaise sandwiche. The iced tea is not like home, but rather comes often from a can is usually lemon or peach flavored--with a pretty strong flavor. The Tuna mayonnaise, was just that, like our tuna salad, but with tuna and mayonnaise only. I shared with Kay the ways in we prepared tuna salad---she thought it sounded like an awful lot of work! I laughed about that, and had to agree. But I told her that my mom always told me that it made it go farther by adding the eggs and celery and onion.

Going back to the tea. Andrea, Kay and John's youngest daughter, and I were discussing tea the other day. She was laughing about how she and her family drink hot tea all the time no matter the weather and hot it may be. And I laughed and told her we are the same with iced tea and we will drink it no matter how cold it may get ouside.

I see Brittish influences around in some of the customs, foods, words and certainly in the accents a bit.

Okay, enough rambling on for now. I must get some rest as I have a big day ahead tomorrow. I will be participating in a Rotary event with some other scholars to help raise $ for Habit for Humanity. It is an outdoor concert, somewhere! And I have no idea what I will be doing, but it doesn't matter, it will just be nice to meet some of the others I've been emailing.

But, first John is going to take me to look at cars before we go!

Enjoy the photos and I'll chat again soon!

L

I ate ostrich.....

You read that right, I ate bobotie, a mince meat pie, made with ostrich meat! And I had seconds, because it was quite tasty!

And for those of you who know that I don't eat chicken on a bone, know that this is a big step for me.

Tuesday was a beautiful day in Cape Town. The weather is fantastic. John and Kay are wonderful hosts.

John took me to see about a checking account, which we are still working on, and then drove me around the beautiful countryside, stopped by Constantia Winelands, and viewed Hout Bay from the winding cliff top roadside and back to their home at Camp's Bay, where we had our dinner of bobotie, wild rice, salad and white wine. Then off to the beach to grab some ice cream, I chose banana split and pistachio and a walk on the beach at sunset....it was beautiful.....pictures to come soon....my battery is dead on the laptop and I have to buy an adaptor. Right now I'm using John's apple. I'm doing well enough to find the right keys!

Today is Wednesday and John had to be in court and so I'm enjoying the beautiful weather, had lunch here at the house with Kay. I introduced Kay to our method of making "sun tea", so she has some sitting out on the deck right now! She had never heard of it before. I'm thinking South Africa has the perfect climate for sun tea!

I'm down in the basement right now using the computer, obviously, as it is cooler down here, but I honestly do not mind the weather as it feels wonderful to me.

In the evenings this time of year the southeaster comes pouring in, the winds really start to howl. They refer to them as the "Cape Doctor". The winds clear the smog, pollution away, but it sure does whip up some noise---but I kind of like it, as it sounds pretty musical to me.

Well, for now I will go and get back to enjoying the sunshine and will keep in touch as best I can. The next few days may get a little crazy as I must search for a place to live, a car to drive, etc.

Take care,

L

I Made It!

After a year and a few months of anticipating this day, it is finally here! I have made it to Cape Town, South Africa.

I left the Indianapolis airport at 2:24 PM on January 27th and arrived in Cape Town at 8:00 PM on January 28th. Cape Town is 7 hours ahead of Indiana's Eastern time zone.

After a quick stopover at Washington Dulles it was a 14.5 hour flight to Johannesburg and then after a tricky maze through customs, and departures at the Joburg airport, it was onto Cape Town.

I was met by Rotarians Trevor Wilkins and John Powell, who have been a great help to me. John and his wife Kay are my host family while I'm here.

Right there at the Cape Town airport was Desmond Tutu! My first famous South African sighting!

When we walked outside, I noticed the strong winds, which John told me were mild. These winds are referred to as the "Cape Doctor". But the temperature feels comfy....should make for good sleeping tonight.

Tomorrow I will get started on my list of things, including setting up a bank account, looking for a place to stay, and the list goes on.

I just want to say a big "THANK YOU" to everyone who helped me get here. From Rotary, to my friends and family.

I think I will sign off for now and get some rest.

L

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The Countdown.....

Well, I am frantically preparing for my departure to Cape Town. Of course, I've been preparing for a long time, but there's so much that you can't do until closer to the time to leave. I just returned from visiting my brother and his family in San Antonio for 4 days, and was supposed to go to visit my parents and brother in Orlando for 3 days, but with so much left to do to get my house emptied out and stored, unfortunately, I had to cancel my trip.

I just finished up work and my leave of absence officially starts Monday. I'm packing up my rental house that is filled with things collected for the past 42 years and putting it in storage. Trying to figure out just what to pack to take for a year abroad, gifts for people I meet and things I can't live without that I might not be able to easily get there.

I've made list after list of things to do, and still I feel that I will forget something, as I'm sure I will. And though I know I can buy just about anything I will need when I get there, I just don't want to forget something I can't--like my driver's license, or something that may cost a lot to purchase there when I could have taken it with me.

Stressful days these are as I make lists, pack up the house, run errands, tie up loose ends, turn off utilities, get prescriptions filled, eyes checked, bags packed to regulation, say my goodbyes to as many friends and family as I can fit in, and the list continues.

These last few weeks have been very overwhelming as I try to juggle training a new person to take over the reigns of a job I've had for 8 years that has become a huge part of my life. And then I would come home to the challenge of deciding what to keep and what to pack up and store for a year. There were a few times the stress of it all just boiled over into a pool of tears and I would have myself a good cry, and then pick up and move on.

But I am excited about my upcoming adventure. I'm also nervous, anxious, apprehensive, sad and scared. And I think that is to be expected right now and that those emotions will change as I get through more of what needs to be done, and get on that plane, and set my feet on the ground in South Africa, and with each day that I move forward in my journey those emotions will change. That is just part of the growing process.

So, on Sunday, January 27th, at 2:24 PM I will be flying out of Indianapolis to head to South Africa. Until then, I will be busy packing!

Stay tuned for more adventures!