Rugby, penguins, and weekend fun

On Saturday Marty and Hilton took me to a rugby match, the Stormers (South Africa) vs. the Crusaders (New Zealand.) Before the game we went to a beer garden outside a brewery where I tried Castle lager. We had time to take a drive, and even though it was cloudy, the coastline is so incredibly beautiful that it still looked nice. We also went to Rose Memorial, near the University of Cape Town on the way up Table Mountain, where we had tea and scones looking over the City.

At the game, I finally got to have a borevors roll (2 actually,) and the game was fantastic. Well, let me rephrase. Even though it rained, the stadium was completely packed, and it was fun to watch the game. It was definitely the South African thing to do that day. In fact, I was thrilled because it was the first time since being here that I really got a glimpse of the “rainbow nation.” All races and ages were sitting together in my section rooting for the Stormers. Even when they started losing, the feeling of defeat and disappointment came over everyone as a group. After we lost, we all rose together and solemnly trudged to the pub, where we drank a beer practically in silence.

We saw more of the cape on Sunday, and it was a much nicer day for sight seeing. Hilt drove us all along the coast, to see the penguins on the rocks by the ocean (who were avoiding the great whites.) We also stopped by an ostrich farm, and kept an eye out in the coast towns for baboons (but didn’t see any, unfortunately.) Some of the beaches were completely beautiful, with houses right near the water. I have some amazing pictures if I could ever load any of them on our geriatric internet. We ended the day at Halk bay, where I had the best fish and chips of my life “27 secons fresh," as Hilt joked.) I couldn’t stop saying that I’m pretty sure I can never have fish and chips again because it was so amazing that I know it can never be that good again.

Sunday night two board members had the whole LEAP faculty to their home for dinner. They gave us a traditional South African meal with a roast, potatos, salad, and merangue and trifle for dessert. It was nice to get to know people who support Dance for All on a regular basis. They really believe in the program and the opportunities it provides for its students. These people are so gracious to have us at the school. I felt a little out of the loop at the dinner because the LEAP people had been sight seeing all weekend together, and I wasn't involved. But, I think it was also good to have a break from the intensity of the program. It was nice to meet again on Sunday night, catch up, and swap stories. With the amazement of week one settled in, we prepared ourselves for the second week to come.