Cape Town!

On Friday I flew to Cape Town with three of the other Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars from Jo’burg for an orientation conference. The conference included all of the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars in southern Africa as well as a few African outbound scholars. I had been really excited about this opportunity both because I was really excited about getting to visit Cape Town and the chance to meet all of the other scholars. It turns out that this year’s South African scholars are mostly Americans with a few other nationalities here and there, including German and Swiss. We gathered at the Mountain Manor Backpackers Lodge at the base of Table Mountain and began the day with a light lunch. Lunch was a treat because it was brought by the Cape Town scholars of which my friend Jon David is one, and it was great to see him after a few weeks—we both had lots of stories to tell about getting settled in. Before we got started, some of us did some exploring and found this wonderful mural:

After lunch and socializing we went to the Cape Regional Chamber of Commerce for a talk about the South African economy. Here are some highlights: 70% of Africa’s electricity is produced in South Africa; Gauteng Province (where Jo’burg is located) makes up 34% of SA’s GDP; Cape Town gets 1.6 mil visitors/year; SA has a 25% unemployment rate; Namibia is 85% dependent on the SA economy; SAPP, the South African Paper and Pulp company, supplies much of the US’s paper supply.

The day culminated with a walk up Lion’s Head, which is across from Table Mountain. To get you oriented, here are a few pictures.

Table Mountain--see, it looks like a table!

Cape Town from the base of Lion's Head

Table Mountain from Lion's Head

The bay and more of CT from Lion's Head

Me and Jon David climbing Lion's Head. Who took this picture and didn't tell us that Jon David's eyes were closed?! Shame.

A parasailing trip we saw as we hiked up Lion's Head. Jon David and I put that on "the list" for when I come to visit. Katie and Mommy, should we put that on your list?

The entire group in the cave at the top, drinking champagne. Thanks, Trevor!

We climbed up the peak and had champagne and snacks in a cave near the top. We then began our descent to the surprise drum circle Trevor Wilkins (the illustrious coordinator of the weekend) had planned for us. We played drums and generally had a good time while the sun set in front of us over the Atlantic Ocean (yes, I thought about you all so far away!)

Drumming with our drum master--getting "crazy like him"

The entire group drumming with Table Mountain in the background

Next was dinner at Trevor and Liz’s, which was lovingly prepared by Liz. It was wonderful, and a great chance for us to chat with some new friends. Ben (Ole Miss) and I spent our evening describing to Aadila (South African outbound to San Diego) the Southern fascination with football. We decided that she probably just needs to marry a “footballer.” She was excited to hear about the customs and wants to come see it in person when we return to the states. I don’t think I’ll take her to a BSC game…but maybe Ben or Jon David can take her to Ole Miss or UA.

The following day was a long day of meetings about Rotary. We learned a lot about the programs with which we can be involved, what our finances will be, what Rotary’s expectations of scholars are, etc. It was a generally informative and very interesting day. I thought you might like to know a little about the SA legal system (which is only 12 years old), so here are some interesting points: there is a Constitution much like ours, a Constitutional Court, and a house of Parliament; abortion, gay marriage, and felon suffrage are legal while corporal punishment and capital punishment are not; and only 2% of prisoners in SA are women! During dinner on this day, we had yet another chance to explain the South to our friend Bianca who will travel from Namibia to Houston for her Rotary year. She was so confused about the white clothing rule. Anyone know a good reason for that other than “just because”?

Ilya, Elliot, Lisa, Ursula, Ashley, Charlotte, and Priya enjoying "sundowners" at the Royal Cape Yacht Club

Our final day in Cape Town began with a dragon boat race—this is exactly what it sounds like—along the Victoria and Alfred (V&A) Waterfront. We even saw seals!! You can imagine where my focus was…Here are some pictures of that event.

I'm in the purple shirt. If you look carefully you can see the dragon painted on the side of the boat.

Here's a better view!

Aren't I cute? And doesn't Ilya look scary?!

We're saying "winners," but that was a total lie. Sorry, Christopher.

Next we drove out to Stellenbosch to the Rustenberg Wine Estate whose dairy herd is attended to by Trevor’s son-in-law. The estate had a beautiful English garden of which I promise to post pictures once I receive them. We drank wine and had a braai (South African barbecue) and generally enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Check it out.

Aadilah (Durban), Lisa, and Amy (Houston, TX) at the Wine Estate. You can't see the dead cow in the background, which is good, but I still felt I needed to tell you about it.

The entire scholars group

Next we traveled out to Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden for a concert on the green. Kirstenbosch is located at the foot of Table Mountain. Pictures of that to come. Afterward, the group was hungry and we headed out to Primi for a pizza dinner. Elliot (CT scholar) and I shared the Austin Powers pizza (yeah, baby) and discussed our plans for the year. Primi serves long island iced teas in teapots—what a great idea! I always think I should go into the restaurant business…This was a great way to wrap up the weekend and talk with all of our new-found friends. We now all have somewhere to stay no matter what city we visit, and people to take care of who will be going to San Diego and Houston! It was a great, celebratory event and wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of Liz and Trevor Wilkins and several other key Rotarians. We were so blessed!

Today I return to the real world of school and work. Maybe by tomorrow I’ll have caught up on my sleep from the weekend and can begin to get some good work done (my dad’s email signature rings in my head—“now get back to work!”).

Love to you all and to your families and friends. Know that I miss you and love you. Would love to see some pictures of all of you—even if they’re boring! Oh, and happy belated birthday to Stephanie and early birthday to Peter Ward and Lynn Miles! Lynn, make Gail take you out somewhere fun.