friday.

10:18pm. Once again seated next to auntie Anne in bed at the lodge.

Today could be quantified as a productive day, since today was the day that my bed was delivered. Only three days of hunting, and endless mattress laying-upon later.

Also, today we met Catherine, one of my new housemates. She is lovely, friendly, and full of energy.

To start the day off however, we took a long walk from the lodge (which is in Mowbry), to my house in Observatory. Normally we take a taxi, but since it was such a gorgeous day, we let intuition guide us, and found our way there on foot. A beauty little promenade, except when it came to the part where we had to take the underpass to get to the next road. It was at the train station, and the underpass was a darkened tunnel running under the railroad which enabled you to get to the side. Although it was broad daylight, it might not be a route that I would take again. Dark, scary, and easily mistaken for a public urinal, it wasn’t someplace one would like to be caught alone and off guard.

Tonight we had dinner at ‘Greek’, a – you guessed it – Greek restaurant in Mowbry. (http://www.dining-out.co.za/member_details-MemberID-2457.html)
We went on Catherine’s recommendation and it was indeed a good one. Massive portions, delicious food, byo, and super reasonable. Dinner for two, with corkage and tip came to just under $40cdn. for serious.

Taking in the scenery and surroundings during dinner, it occurred to us that we could have been in any North American, European, or for that matter, Australian, city. I’ve said more than once how much this city (at least the parts we have seen), reminds me of Perth. Beautiful homes, tree-lined streets, narrow roads, small little neighborhoods, each with their own charm.

A guy came to the door today when the front gate had been left open to ask for money. On that note, it is worth mentioning that we have a front gate that locks, as well as a bar door at the front door, in addition to the front door. All of which have very secure locks. And all the doors and windows of the house have bars on them. This is standard on all homes. Its something we have gotten used to surprisingly easily.

Despite the shift towards a more clearly integrated South African society, at least to me, there is still a very obvious distinction between classes and racial groups. We have yet to witness a white person in a subservient role. Every kitchen in every restaurant, bar and café that we have visited has been staffed, and every manual labor role in every retail store that we have been in (aside from the larger chain stores in the malls) has been played, by blacks. Of note however, is the fact that while the restaurants, etc. kitchens have been staffed by blacks, every server has been white. Inneresting.

Tomorrow we are going into the city to play, and perhaps check out Table Mountain if there is time. We are hoping to go visit the school on Monday if T. is able. And on Tuesday we plan to leave for 4 days to visit the garden route with our own special twist. It’s all very exciting. And I still can’t believe we’ve only been here for 2.5 days.

Bonne nuit les enfants. Its been a ple-shah.

Ps. I think I got a sunburn.