It's Almost Holidays!!

Goldfish DJ... with the cool Dj-ing thing (read on to understand)

Goldfish Concert at Kirsenbosch

Table Moutain

The City Bowl- You can see school in this picture it is just down (left i guess) of the big field of grass- you can see the smaller field and the red roofs/ white buildings and maybe even the swimming pool if you zoom in.

Me on Table mountain Looking down on the city

Heather + Marina (our backs is facing the range of table mountain)

Camps bay side of Table mountain- an excellent run-in photo if I may say!

Camps Bay/ Lions head

Proud

Hello Snowy Ottawa (and other parts of Canada),

I am hearing about and seeing lots of pictures of all the snow you guys are having at home and am kinda glad I am missing the shovelling. Hope you are enjoying it and remembering not to hold your breath while lifting those heavy shovel-fulls!

We had pretty much the opposite weather here in cape town. We had 5 extremely hot days- hot enough that afternoon sport was cancelled and everyone just went swimming, followed by 3 days of overcast/ drizzle which everyone takes as a nice break and gets all exciting about wearing closed toed shoes and jumpers.

We had a fantastic weekend that was jam-packed. On Friday Kady, Franzi and I went over to one of the PE teacher’s house to hang out and chat for a bit. She is living with her 21 year old cousin and we all got on very well. We ended up sitting and chatting for most of the night and then heading out to town. Saturday was a beautiful day but very hot! Since it was perfectly clear Marina and I decided it would be the day to go up table mountain in the cable car. Instead of cabbing to the cableway we decided to walk because “it looked quite close” and we are cheap. Needless to say it looked MUCH closer than it was. We ended up climbing up there on somewhat of a back country route and when we finally got to the cable car we needed to sit and rest for a bit. (But it was free- so totally worth it!) The cable car ride is amazingly beautiful. It is a round cable car and the floor spins so everyone has the same amount of view. My only complaint was that the trip must have only taken 5 min which really downplayed the pain we went through climbing it.

Once we got to the top it was even more amazing. Since it is so narrow at that part you can walk from either side or to the end. On one side you have a view of lion’s head and camps bay, the other direction there is town, the waterfront and devils peak. If you look further along the mountain you can see the ridges stretching along the coast. It really was so beautiful and as marina says I did get a little camera happy. (I have many pictures- too many to post here!) We ended up sitting on a rock overlooking the city of cape town eating our picnic and trying not to roast in the sun. We spent about 2 hours wandering around up there and then headed back down and feeling rejuvenated decided to walk home! After our hike back to school (we tried to take a direct route- terrible idea and extremely embarrassing, we felt like we were going to be on the 6 o’clock news) we lay facedown in the swimming pool until dinner.

On Sunday Marina and I joined Sara (the PE teacher’s cousin I met on Friday) and went to a concert with her and her friends in Kirstenbosch (a beautiful botanical garden that features afternoon concerts all summer). It was a really cool vibe- everyone sitting around on picnic blankets and you get to bring your own food/drinks so it was pretty much like everyone sharing and getting a bit of everything. The band we ended up seeing was Goldfish- the one we saw for my birthday except they were even better this time because they had a full band and a couple different singers. It’s a different style that usual but quite big here and was soo much fun. Once the music started everyone got up and we ended up being quite close to the front since the bishops boys went and they are big fans so quite intense about being as close as possible. I have many pictures! The coolest part is that the DJ guy has a new mixer that shoots beams of light up so instead of moving the record around all he has to do is move his hands above it and it manipulates the light which changes the sounds. very cool! They are touring in the states soon so you all may be hearing of them!

Monday we went to a braai at Bishops since one of the stooges- George is going home to England for the week (yes… the week) to look at Unis. It was good fun and we made the most fantastic lamb. Everyone MUST try a braai- much better than bbqs but a lot more work. We are planning on having a big one at St Cyps since we have a braai right beside our pool. A lot of other Gaps were there so it was nice to catch up with everyone. (I was the only person not from England, Australia or South Africa- very much the minority)

Tuesday we worked at the Jr. Interschools Gala- a BIG deal with was pretty cute since some of the kids are tiny and we know them quite well now. Unfortunately we came last (NOT a very athletic school) but the girls had fun and did a really cute cheer at the end. Plus the head of the Prep school- mrs. Woolley cam to watch them and they were all very excited about that!
Tonight Marina and I are going out with Nicole Uys’ mum- Charlene who is taking us around town and then having us over for dinner- steak is on the menu- wahoooooo!!! And then tomorrow Uncle Eric and Auntie Marlene are swinging by for a quick visit and then we are all heading up to a beach cottage up north. It is supposed to be beautiful and we are really looking forward to a relaxing weekend with good food and being able to sleep past nine and still be able to eat. Also the cottage that we are going to is situated on the warm coast so we will be able to lie in the sun and actually get in the water without getting a brainfreeze! SO excited to see someone from home- they are coming a little early too so we will be able to take them on a quick tour of the school, but obviously no where near the gap wing since there is a man with us.

Next week is looking quite hectic- Monday is St. Paddys day so we are heading down the an irish pub in town that plays terrific live music- green beer is on the menu. (Kev, Em, Joan, Peter, Mum, Dad and Geoff- remember the days of green sprite? I feel like we should all be going to Jack Astors and the kids should be getting the nice booth.) Then Tuesday we are going out on a Gr 2 outing to Simon’s Town (to see the penguins, have a picnic etc) which should be fun and I am excited to see the penguins again (not to mention small children around penguins). Then Wednesday we are going back to the orphanage Mama Amelia’s to have a pre-holiday visit and then Marina leaves Thursday morning at 4am and I have a couple days here and then leave Saturday morning.

I will give a quick blurb about holidays:

I leave the 22nd a fly to Joburg where I am staying with Trilby’s parents (a great relief since Joburg is possibly one of the most dangerous cities in the world and is known as more dangerous than the rest of Africa). Luckily she has offered to pick me up and drive me where I need to go so I will be in very good hands. I leave the next Monday at 8 am on a overlander trip to the Okavango and the Delta. I am doing it by myself but it is Uni holiday time as well so there should be lots of people my age. The first day we cross into Botswana and spend that night camping on the bank of the Lotsane River. The second day we travel to the Maun where we board a plane that takes us into the delta. We spend 2 days in the Delta, traveling along the river, going on nature walks and camping under the stars. The next day we got to The Makgadikgadi Pans National Park which was once a lake and follow that by going to Chobe National Park (2nd biggest National Park in Africa and renowned for its high population of migratory elephants. We get to go on a boat cruise and game drives and hopefully see the big 5! The 6th Day we cross into Zambia by ferry and see Victoria Falls. I think I will opt to take the optional Zambezi Sunset cruise because it is supposed to be amazing (Unfortunately it is also paid in American dollars L ). The 7th Day is a free day where nothing is including so instead of digging further into my bank account I am going to spend the day traveling back home to Cape Town.

The following Day- 30th of March Marina and I start our overlander trip to Namibia. Luckily it starts in Cape Town fairly close to school so we will be on our on turf. This trip includes a day hiking and canoeing the orange river and 2 nights sleeping on the river bank. We also travel to the Fish River Canyon which is meant to be amazingly beautiful. The fourth day we continue north and arrive at the Sesriem Canyon where we set up camp and do a hike. The next morning we wake up early in order to hike Dune 45 for sunrise- supposed to be a life changing experience. On our way to Swakopmund we cross the Tropic of Capricorn and then are given a day for free activities- I think we are going to try Sandboarding! Luckily Namibia takes Rands so it will be much more economical. We finish off the trip with one extra night in the hostel and then a 19 hour bus trip back to Cape Town. (lucky I have the entire 3 seasons of Greys Anatomy on my ipod!) and arrive just in time for the beginning of term! **Mrs. Clouthier: on the last day of term we get to go see a wild like preserve of Flamingos!! I will be sure to take lots of pictures for you!

That’s all for now- Uncle Eric and Auntie Marlene arrive in one hour and I still have to pack/organize a couple things. Looking forward to a good last week before some amazing holidays. The jr. Marines are in town for the week so town has been pretty funny and I think my French is improving by the minute!

Love to you all

Xx Heather

The End of Feb and Beginning of March

Heather and Desmond Tutu

Before Matric Dance

A converted Canadian

Mungie and Heather at Global Breakthrough (He was slightly over dressed!)

DJs at Global Breakthrough

Marina and I before going out!

I am writing you all from a very sunny and muggy cape town today- March so far (yes, all three days of it) has been beautiful and they are predicting a whole month of sun and lovely temperatures :) :) Supposed to be an improvement over the EXTREME heat of Feb! Today is also the beginning of parent-teacher interviews- Horray! (just as bad for the teachers as the students I have now realized!) so everyone is very busy and we, as the Gaps, get to pick up the slack. I had my first experience running a grade 4 classroom this afternoon... very interesting to say the least and although they were supposed to be quietly working without interruptions for 2 hours I still read none of my book!

Last week was not too eventful. However Friday was a very exciting day! On Friday morning I had the honour of attending a service held by Desmond Tutu at St. George's Cathedral in Town. I was accompanied by my Boss, Jenn Wallace (thankfully! apart from not knowing where I was going in the church I also realized cape town is almost as dangerous early in the morning as it is at night- the logic being that people are more likely to be alone and have more money on them than at the end of the night). We were part of an intimate (and international!) group that gathered in the lady chapel where the service was held. Sitting in the front row (there only was one row) next to Archbishop Desmond Tutu as he performs a service was a pretty unreal experience. My favourite part was during the service when you get up and shake hands with everyone and he went to each person individually and spoke to them. I was lucky enough to talk to both him and his assistant, Mrs. Browne who were VERY kind and welcoming and of course I got a picture (Jenn took one by an accident before we were ready and it was QUITE frowned upon!). Also his granddaughter came on exchange to St. Cyps from her school in the states for a year so he is very affiliated with the school and spoke very highly of it which was nice. Jenn and I followed up our cultural morning with chocolate muffins and a much needed catch up on how work is going.

That morning was also the Gr 1-3 gala (AKA DANGEROUS!) so i got over there pretty fast to lifeguard.. some very close calls. It was really fun though and the kids loved it. Pretty cute to see 10 little gr 1s doing the "doggy paddle race" and having 27 parents video taping the event. We also finished off with an impromptu staff race which was me against the PE staff- all fully clothed. I am pretty proud to say I won- although I think it has something to do with me and marina's daily laps.

We had a fun and relaxing weekend with a couple trips to town and a night out at this big DI-ing event called global breakthrough- where up and coming djs get together and perform. It was pretty cool since they are becoming like world-renound and Marina and I felt we had been very cultured in house music by the end. It was also one of the boarding matron- Carmen's 23rd birthday so she had a pool party and braai on sunday which was a good time all around.

Tonight I am going out with Nicole Uys (Girl who goes to st cyps who did her exchange at sedbergh) and her family for her birthday dinner. I am quite excited to escape boarding house food and to see all her pictures of Canada. (i am giving her some mayple sugar candies for her birthday- she talks about how much she misses them all the time!)

This weekend is lookign pretty packed- we are hoping for a clear day one day so we can go up table mountain in the cable car. Also spending one day with the librarian who Marina works with and is going to show us some parts of town that are hard for us to see otherwise. We are trying to get some of the "warmer temperature" things in this weekend as Uncle Eric and Auntie Marlene are coming the next weekend and we will be busy with them and then its holidays!!! (VERY EXCITED!!)

Alright off for a swim- Hope you enjoy.. Thanks for the comments, not getting too many. perhaps only 5 people acctually read this blog??

xx Heather