Cape Town--Part 3

As you read this, I want you to imagine me with umbrella and galoshes because that’s exactly what I look like today! It has been COLD and rainy. Yuck. I have never been so thankful for galoshes in my entire life! But I digress…

The rest of my time in Cape Town was spent mainly visiting with friends—not nearly as much tourism. Wednesday, Niv and I went to see The Syrian Bride at The Labia Theater (pronunciation is KEY on that one!) which shows foreign films. It was a great film which I would highly recommend! After this, Niv, Jon David, and I went to dinner and (of course) got into the Israel discussion (Niv used to work for APAC, a pro-Israel lobby) and then (of course) onto the religion discussion. I think that one thing that many of us could say after this week is that we’re painfully unaware of others’ religion, but also not nearly educated enough about our own. After talking until almost 3 a.m. we decided to give up the ghost until another day.

On Friday we had planned to go to Robben Island with a friend of Jon David’s who was a prisoner there. Unfortunately, the wind was terrible and ferries didn’t run. I’m hoping to make it to Robben Island when Mommy and Katie come, but at this rate, it’s not a very good bet. Instead, Niv, Elliot, Jon David, Ted, and I trekked to Kirstenbosch Gardens, as Niv had not yet seen the gardens. I know that I have described them before, but I must say again that it’s like the Birmingham Botanical Gardens on speed. Absolutely incredible! We ate lunch at the café there and Niv and I shared a pot of tea, tea sandwiches, biscuits, and chocolate cake. It was really lovely. The rest of the day was spent helping Elliot and Niv prepare for seder and then visiting Wasabi, a sushi restaurant in Cape Town.

To retire the story at this point would be remiss, however, because after our dinner at Wasabi, we were in for quite a South African experience. If you’ve ever wondered if security features on cars which are supposed to keep thieves from stealing your car actually keep YOU from stealing your car, the answer is YES! JD has what is called an immobilizer, where the engine will not start with just the key, but also requires a signal from a little clicker. When this clicker doesn’t function correctly, let’s just say you get another 4 hours of quality time with your closest friends! The five of us waiting for hours suddenly turned into camp with games of Miss Mary Mack, slapjack, and Black Magic. So, crisis averted and a good time had by all—except Jon David, of course, who was a little concerned about the car.

The next morning, we found that JD could transfer a battery into the clicker, and all was well. I then went to help Elliot and Niv with seder preparations. It was Elliot’s first time to host a seder, and I think we can all agree that it went very well. For those of you who have never attended a seder, it is a Jewish meal designed to celebrate the Passover story. There are symbolic foods, prayers, and acts which are intended to educate those present about Passover and the Jewish faith. Of course, you can’t have any normal seder with Elliot and Niv, and it was really more like Jewish Whose Line Is It Anyway, with skits and reading parts, etc. We all learned a lot, which was good since only one of the 14 guests were Jewish! Though this story is a part of my own faith tradition (and even a popular Vacation Bible School story), I must say that I had never paid nearly this much attention to its content, so I was glad to have a chance to learn a little more about the story.

Sunday was Easter and Jon David (who is Presbyterian by way of the Charismatic church) was gracious and allowed me to choose the church service. Missing Highlands and the Rutter Requiem, I chose St. George’s Cathedral, the Anglican Cathedral which is the seat of the Anglican Diocese in South Africa and former home to Archbishop Desmond Tutu. I got to hear the Mozart Missa Brevis, so I was relatively satiated. By this time, our friend Ben had arrived from Grahamstown, and was with us for church, as was Niv (his first Christian service!). It was different than all of us were used to, but a beautiful service all the same.

Jon David, Ben, and I chose to share a little of our culture with our friends in Cape Town, and invited friends over for Southern Sunday dinner in honor of Easter and of South African Family Day (the next day). We spent the day making macaroni and cheese, banana bread, peach cobbler, green beans, corn, and brought in some KFC! You know you had KFC on Easter in the park, don’t lie. And, to top it all off, we made some super-sweet sweet tea! It was really a lot of fun. To top the evening off (after another long religious discussion—we’re good at these), we watched Big Fish.

Monday was just a wrap-up day. I had brunch with Elliot and then went to the internet café while JD slept and studied (he had quite the presentation later in the week). The treat of that night was going to Africa Café with Katy and her friend Jeff who were in town on holiday! Africa Café serves a little of all kinds of African cuisine and includes singing and dancing! It was great to eat with friends! JD and Jeff even got to reminisce about Alabama (while Katy and I gagged).

I left on Tuesday with rain overhead and returned to a busy, sunny Jo’burg, and there I’ve remained! Hope you’ve enjoyed my adventures! Extra notes for today include that I have the best friends in the world: a postcard from Lenor in DC, a postcard from Allison in Las Vegas, and pictures of daffodils from Natalie--you all know me and love me so well! Also, my brother got to play tambourine with Sheryl Crow last night. He's a big deal. Now, as Daddy always tells me, “get back to work!”