Sorry it's been a while...

Egyptian Goose at the Company's Gardens

Vodacom Stormers vs. the Reds (we're the Stormers - we Won!)

Hey All! So, things have been pretty busy here, and the internet's been as hard to get to as ever, but never mind the excuses...
Last weekend we went to a rugby game, which was really fun. There are guys wandering around with basically hot chocolate camel backs, and they'll sell you a cup in your seat. Pretty decadently awesome. Certainly cooler than the wander biltong (jerky) vendor. Our seats were good, and it was definitely better than the soccer game, where no one even scored. Maybe it's weird, but I just kind of enjoy watching people just wail on each other and being able to shout about it.
Culturally the soccer game we went to a while ago was very different than the rugby game. Soccer seems to have a much higher black attendance. Everything's a bit more laid back, and a little bit grimier. The stadium wasn't fully finished and there was no score board. At rugby there were various wandering vendors, nice score boards, play back screens and the vodacom stormgirls (basically your garden variety hooched-out chearleaders). Definitely different, and you just have to think about all of the reasons why.
Classes over the week were pretty good, just settling into a routine. Volunteering starts this week. I'm going to be at an organization called LEAP, which is a school that specializes in maths and sciences. It may be nerdy, but I'm already so fired up to encourage some young girls to love bio!
This past weekend we went wine tasting at a wine estate outside of Stellenbosch in the morning, and then picnicing at a place called Speir in the afternoon. I have to admit, it's pretty nice to be just a little wine tipsy at ten am in some lush wine estate, only to have it followed up by a picnic involving goat cheese. I'm not saying I could get used to it, but once was definitely great. That night we made some veg lasagna, then went out with a friend's flatmate's wife (Zola) and her friend (Crystal). It was such a good time, and it's so nice to actually feel like you know people who aren't American.
Yesterday a friend and I went to the Design Indaba fair in Cape Town. It's a huge design festival once a year. It was pretty interesting, but a lot of it was very familiar. There was a lot of screen printed fabric and bird-themed jewelry. I got a cool handmade ceramic necklace though, and lots of good ideas, so it was certainly not a bust. In the afternoon we went to Kirstenbosch botanical gardens and saw a concert in the park at night. The music was good, the mood was chill, and in general it was amazing. It's so cool to be able to look behind the stage and just see Table Mountain and Lion's Head stretching out beautifully against the sky. The crowd was pretty mixed, and it was so nice to see all of the families with small children just enjoying themselves. We might do it again, but this time remember to pack a picnic, or at least some snacks.
That's about it for now, and I'll try and be better in the future. I just feel bad posting without pictures too often. Internet here is paid for by the megabyte, not by time though, so it's hard to post pictures because they just eat up your allowance. I'm at a cute little coffee place now though that lets you have some wireless connection though, so it's all good.
Hope to hear from you all soon!