Pictures!

Internet has been extremely limited and downloading pics takes a lot of GBs so downloading them is difficult. Here are some pics I finally got posted.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150371274234183.374953.719764182&type=1&l=76349c77e7

A typical shuttle experience through May’s eyes

Right now I do not have a car so there are shuttles that the company offers to the employees and they come pick me up. It is quite interesting and entertaining…It is one of my top highlights about going to work every day. They drive aggressively and swerve every which way, like a carnival ride  Earlier this week, my shuttle was suppose to pick me up at 7:30am and it never came. So I left the curb at 7:50am to get coffee and was back at a little after 8am to wait for the next shuttle at 8:30am. When it picked me up, I told him that he forgot about me. His response was “I didn’t forget, I was there at 7:35am and there was a car in front of me so I couldn’t stop and I didn’t see you so I left.” There was no way he could have not seen me, I was sitting in plain sight…but the comment about the car in front and him not being able to stop, was hilarious! Another trip was driving home one night and the shuttle driver was giving me phrases to say in Afrikaans and I was repeating them. He asked I knew what they meant and I said probably pick up lines or asking for sex….and everyone in the shuttle started busting up laughing. He asked how I knew…and I just gave him that look that said “I know how you men think.” Yes, the shuttle rides are fantastic!

Weekend

Friday night I went out to dinner with a bunch of co workers. The restaurant was right across from work and had really good sushi. I don’t think I have ever ordered that many bottles of wine, but by the end of the night we had ordered 6 bottles and drank it all! Food is cheaper here and that is WONDERFUL! One thing that was different than normal was that in our group we discovered that we had an Olympic gold medalist. This person was in the 1988 Olympics and won 2 gold and 1 bronze. Work people keep getting more interesting by the day! I am loving that. We then headed to the Roxy Bar and where many kept partying and I enjoyed the entertainment and random men coming up and singing karaoke. The ceiling at this bar had these art pieces that glowed in the dark and were just a neat accent to the place.
Saturday I walked to the Greenmarket Square where there are a lot of arts and crafts items made from the locals. It challenging to look at all this stuff and trying to decide to buy it knowing I would have to somehow bring it back 2 years later…haha. Around that area was also this homeless lady who was blind but was sitting on the corner singing songs about Jesus. It was really sweet to listen and watch and people weren’t mocking her or offended as some people might have been in the US. I then walked to the Central Train Station and Golden Acre area where they sells lots of cheap junk made from China but they had these cute kids dancing on the street. They were from some local community group but were dancing for money and I could have watched them dancing all day long. I ended my evening with pizza that people from my shuttle recommended. I think Zeeks is better in Seattle, but I am sure I will find a place somewhere here

Altoids

As most of you know, I have a deep love for Altoids. Before leaving the states, I loaded up and ended up packing over 60 boxes in my suitcases  Some things may have been left behind because I couldn’t fit them in the suitcases, but eliminating the Altoid boxes wasn’t an option. Thanks to some amazing girls from my Ladies Bible Study, I was able to bring a variety of types and today I decided to share my love with my co-workers. There are several that really love the mints, and there was one lady who fell in love with my peppermint type. She told me later today that she went into my office and saw the box but was disappointed to see that there were no mints left…so what did she do….she told me she dumped the crumbs that were left into her hands and licked it…I created an addict with one box of altoids. Oh my I was laughing so hard! I feel like I could already have finished my time in Cape Town because I introduced them and got them addicted to these wonderful mints!

Words I am learning

S.A lingo/ US Lingo
Braai = BBQ
Robot= light
To Let = To Rent
Flat = apt./house
Self cleaning = hotel w/ a kitchen
Cheers = goodbye
Ya = Yes
“Zed”= Z
Energy = calorie
Air con = air conditioner

Me: I learned some new South African words this weekend
co-workers: what?
Me: Shag
Co-workers: sex
Me: in the US that means to go catch a ball, and hooter
... Co-workers: means horn
Me: In the US mean Boobs
Co-workers: What do you call hooters in the US
Me: Horn or Honk
Co-workers: That is no good either sounds like Bonkers...and Bonkers mean "to get your bonkers on.."

Oh my so much to learn :)

Work

I survived my first week at work and the group is pretty great so far. I think that I will be able to contribute a lot and also learn a tremendous amount from them. Saturday night a bunch of the HR team took me to an African restaurant called Ocean Basket in which it has cheap but good seafood. I told one of the girls that everyone in the states would probably get to know her as awesome. She is engaged and her fiancé is a pirate hunter…no joke!! He is in the military and right now is hunting pirates, can you say AWESOME!!! Not only that, this girl really is amazing. She is trained in Opera, has the cutest dimples, and just hilarious! Sunday I got the amazing opportunity to work and interview candidates all day, can you say LOVED IT! (Can you hear the sarcasm?) Sunday night I got to meet up with a wonderful woman who I was introduced through from an amazing lady from Seattle. She took me to her church and just has been a blessing in helping me during this transition. It has been a good first week...stay tuned for whats next...might include some wine and cheetah petting!

Drive around the coast

My boss called me up a couple of Sundays ago and asked if I wanted to see the coast…of course I said yes! We started the Coast drive in Muizenberg where I got to see some whales! We got out of the car and just stared at them for like 15 minutes. It was pretty neat to see them so close to the shore and just basking in the sun. This town is also where there are the colorful huts that you may have seen on postcards. We then drove through Fish Hoek (has the warmest water to swim in) and Simons Town (cute town that also has some kind of dog statue in memory of a dog that apparently was loyal to the military so when the dog died it was given a military funeral!) We then stopped at Boulders Bay and got to see penguins and a dundi (brown animal that is somehow related to the elephant...) I am looking forward to going back to that beach because you can also go swimming and the penguins will swim around you all in the wild. We then drove through the front entrance of the Table Mountain National Park in hopes of seeing some wild baboons…but no luck. We continued to Noordhoek (best surfing,) Houts Bay, and the last area which included Camps Bay, Clifton Bay, and Sea Point. I can definitely see myself living there at some point as it was absolutely spectacular! The beaches are so blue and beautiful. We were so lucky to get to see as many animals as we did and the weather was perfect. This drive for sure made me fall in love with Cape Town!!