Thursday, March 7th

Soooo much has happened in the last 5 days!! I moved into my new apartment and met my roommate, Jacki from Florida. The apartment is lovely – modern and clean, right in the heart of the V&A Waterfront – with a big patio where I can people-watch to my heart’s content. Jacki and I are getting to know one another and seem to be compatible enough to cohabitate for a month. She is a retired respiratory therapist who has been travelling almost exclusively for the past 5 years! #retirementgoals

Our Remote Year(RY) group is pretty big – I think we’re 34 in total – and quite a cross-section of interesting people. Ranging from 22 years young to “retirement age” (Jacki prefers not to reveal her age to the group, but let’s just say she looks great). The majority of the group is American, but we do have a token Aussie, three Canadians, a pair of UK folks, a couple of Mexicans, and two Caribbean Islands represented.

The first week has been a blur of activities as we all get to know one another and settle in. We got to see the most amazing sunset from Tiger’s Milk in Camps Bay. Side note: the seafood and produce here are insanely fresh and delicious. We also got to learn how to speak isiXhosa – complete with clicking!?! And we learned more about one another through short presentations and photo slides. I can already see common threads in this group: an openness to learning and growth, and a true appreciation for cultural diversity. And adventurous spirit of course. I think I lucked out…

Our city leader, Nat, is a hilarious SA native who lives on a lemon farm with her partner and a dozen dogs. She is 100% my kind of people. The sarcasm is strong with this one. Our community leader is Flo from Mexico City, and she is quite simply the warmest human. She makes everyone feel comfortable and cared for, and ensures nobody ever feels left out. Not that that would likely happen in this group. It feels very inclusive, and everyone seems genuinely interested in getting to know one another. Flo shows us all what it looks like to be a positive force in the world.

The Oranjezicht city market is right on our doorstep and it is amazing. Lots of little artisan shops, tons of food and drink, and picnic tables where you can soak up some sun while listening to great music. I tried biltong for the first time – not bad actually. I also had an Amarula coffee slushie for breakfast one morning – yum! Oh and I had a really nice Swartland wine – I thought I was buying a glass, but apparently I purchased the whole bottle…🤷‍♀️🥂🤪

We did a walking tour of the CBD and District 6 one day. Stopped in at a really nice leather-making shop (note to self: must return). Visited a bookstore and some super cool coffee shops (Truth Coffee). We walked to Bo Kaap – a very multicultural, predominantly Muslim corner of the city – where all the houses are vibrantly colourful, and the smells from the shops are so enticing. We walked through the area where governments of past and present have sat and sit today. It was a great overview of some areas I’ll need to revisit.

One of my favourite activities so far was the drumming we got to do in Green Point Park. We learned some basic beats and even a simple song – while local kids danced along. I was NOT a natural, but I think I held my own. Some of the repetitive beats were actually very hypnotic, and I felt myself almost meditating at times. I absolutely loved it.

This weekend is full of really cool activities and I will try to post about them shortly… For now lets just say I am certain this is where I’m meant to be, and I love South Africa even more than I already knew in my heart I would.

Hugs!

TL