Settling Into Cape Town
Jim reminded me that I haven't written in awhile. I've been too busy catching up on some end of year work projects and visiting with family. We took a trip to Tampa for my doctor appointments (yay! good news! I only have to see one of the four doctors again—and not for another year), caught up with Jim's family and my Florida friends, spent some time visiting with my dad in Seagrove Beach, visited Worcester to see my brother and family, and spent a great week at my mom and Kel's for Christmas. Whoa, that was a whirlwind!
After four flights we arrived in Cape Town, South Africa. With back-to-back red-eyes and a seven hour layover in London, we’re very thankful for access to a lounge with fast wifi, free food, drinks, and showers! We'll be here until the third week of February. After arriving in mid-afternoon, we grabbed our rental car. Jim had to tap into his rusty stick-shift skills and adjust quickly to driving on the left. But he got us to our newest home—an Airbnb on Kloof St.
View from our new home.
Our first few days have been spent getting ourselves settled — scoping out the local grocery stores and figuring out which one is best for fruits and veggies, best for specialty items like fish, and best for ice cream. Ok, maybe not necessarily scoping out the ice cream since there are soooooo many gelato spots on our street—remember, it's summer here right now! I did scope out the baking sections though. :) So stay tuned on my baking escapades!
Speaking of baking, one of our biggest challenges in an Airbnb is that we just don't really know exactly what we are getting in the way of a “stocked kitchen.” Many listings claim a “stocked kitchen” only to find out they have one pot, one pan, two plates, two bowls, and a spoon. This means our first few days also include contacting our host with requests for items that may be missing or just not working well. For example, this Airbnb had only one pan, no salt and pepper shakers, and the hairdryer vibrated and sounded like it may explode at any moment. I know, I know, I could go out and buy those items, but I get pretty tired of having to buy things like pans, vegetable peelers, and hair dryers everywhere I go!
So, settling in includes checking out local thrift stores, discount stores, and the like to pick up some of those things that to me make my place a home: flowers, candles, etc.
Getting settled in our new home.
Next on the “settling in” agenda: finding a good local gym. As we've said before, this isn't a vacation. We work out—especially after birthday month(s) plus holiday season. I won’t speak for Jim, but my pants are feeling a little tighter than usual! We are lucky that we have a pretty good gym just a block from us—and with pretty views!
View from the gym.
Another thing we do to settle in includes setting up things like our “charging station.” Everyone has one of those in their house, right? I can’t be the only one that likes to have all my charging cables set up so I don’t have to constantly plug and unplug power cables! Well, power outlets in South Africa come in two versions: European and South African. Unfortunately for us, our Airbnb has South African power outlets, which seem to be unique to this country and aren’t compatible with “universal” power adapters. So we had to track down local adapters—just one more item on the search and find list to get settled in!
I know, where is the fun in all of this? Don’t worry, we did take a break yesterday to check out the big “Tweede Nuwe Jaar” Cape Town Street Parade. The festivities started at noon and went until 10 PM. What is Tweede Nuwe Jaar, you ask?
“Tweede Nuwe Jaar, which literally means “Second New Year,” is rooted in the slave history of Cape Town. Slaves were only allowed a single day off work a year, and they used the opportunity to celebrate. The tradition is alive and kicking today, and the annual event sees Cape Town bursting into a carnival of colour, music, dancing, and parades. The performers, known as the Kaapse Klopse, don colourful suits, face-paint, hats, and parasols. They strut their stuff through the streets, with brass instruments and drums, in the traditional ghoema musical style. The centre of Cape Town becomes a huge street party for the day.”
So far we've had beautiful weather and are adjusting to life in another country—things like “loadshedding.” That's when they shut down power in an area for a few hours to manage capacity. We got surprised with our first bout from 10 AM to 12:30 PM today. I guess sometimes they're scheduled and give folks a heads up, other times, they don’t. Another thing to figure out! Fortunately, we weren’t in the middle of making breakfast, but we did have to do some grocery shopping in the dark! Hoping for some penguin viewing this week between work calls. One of these days I’m really seriously going to stop working. Maybe.
Grocery shopping in the dark!