Friend-sick

On Thursday in the evening we went out for dinner to Greens, a really nice restaurant but it turns out just about any restaurant in Cape Town is kinda great… On Friday I agreed to meet Leo and Charlotte in Muizenberg, a little town on the coast of False Bay, home of the white sharks and the best place to have your first surfing lessons. I wasn’t planning on going surfing myself because I would head there straight from work and I hadn’t picked up my surfboard yet. I’ve been walking around Muizenberg a little bit, been sitting on the beach watching a group of young kids getting surfing lessons and had a chat in a surfshop. Eventually it turned out Charlotte got sick during their trip to Cape of Good Hope and they were going to go home, so I also got in my beetle for a nice drive back to Bantry Bay. I drove past Constantia (wine estate) which looks really nice, I’m definitely gonna visit there somewhere in the next few weeks.

On Saturday Leo and me went to the foodmarket again, I really shouldn’t make a habit of this haha! Food was delicious again, but soon we decided to go get my surfboard and head for Muizenberg again. Again it didn’t work out because we had some trouble getting the roofrack on the beetle and so we ran out of time. We already had gotten tickets for the cinema the evening before when we arrived there too late so this time we really had to be there in time. Therefore we went home again and chilled a bit until it was time to leave. The movie was very good, the audience a bit over-aged… Strange that in Cape Town, 80% of the cinema on Saturday night is filled with 65+ when in Holland you rarely see older people going to the movies!

On Sunday we planned to go to Stellenbosch (wine estate) in the morning and then go surfing in the afternoon but Karien told us on Saturday the weather was going to turn around so we decided to drop Stellenbosch for sure and see what the weather was gonna do before deciding to go surfing. In the end it was raining the whole day so we left the surfing out as well, I am going to get my chance soon enough. It was really nice to have a cool-off though because it has been really hot and very windy over the past few days. We chilled a little bit, in the evening we got dinner at Beleza and watched some football with Marcel and Thomas and got ready for another week of work. I also called home and I don’t know if that made me feel a bit awkward or that the past few days of plans-not-working-out and doing a lot of nothing is the problem, but suddenly I missed my family and friends quite a lot. So guys, don’t worry.. I am definitely thinking about you!

Monday and Tuesday were ordinairy working days, I survived my first ward round on Tuesday morning with not too much trouble. At least prof now knows I excist. On Wednesday morning I got out of the front gate and was on my way to my car when I saw a man upsidedown in a garbage tray. His shopping cart was standing at the corner of the sidewalk. I was very much in doubt whether I should give him a few rands maybe or something to eat. In just a few seconds so many things crossed my mind, from why I should give him something to why I shouldn’t and just because I didn’t know what to do I drove off and left him there. In the hospital I got confronted for the first time with a sad little boy, crying because his mother couldn’t come to visit him today. Of course I’ve seen a lot worse things already over the past weeks but this was the first time for me to realise how hard it must be for a lot of these kids in the hospital to have to be there for such a long time. I also realised that the majority of these boys (I’m in charge of the boys ward right now) doesn’t see much of their family during their admission to the hospital, because they will be there for a long time and they come from far. It’s often not possible for family to come visit every day due to all the reasons you can think of: money, distance, other children to take care of, work and so on. After work I stayed a little longer to play with the boys and we had a lot of fun: this can really cheer up a whole day.

Thursday Valentinesday: this is quite a big deal in Cape Town. If you don’t have a booking at a restaurant you won’t be eating out tonight: all the girls wear red and you see men buying flowers and chocolates everywhere. One of the nurses even wondered why us girls physiotherapists came to work today: weren’t we supposed to be lazy at home with our chocolates? Although I didn’t really have anybody to celebrate this day with, it still made me happy to see all this love going around town and I bought flowers on the way home to cheer up our single-girls-apartment. Friday was just another working day again, and it was raining again. Table Mountain looks so mysterious when it’s wrapped in clouds. In the evening we went to Dizzies for dinner because Charlotte was going to leave early the next morning for her BazBus trip. We had a nice evening and went home to get Charlotte some sleep.

Saturday Surfing Day: we took another shot at Muizenberg beach. Almost too late again but Leo managed to rent a surfboard and we hit the waves. Unfortunately because of our late arrival we couldn’t get an instructor anymore so we floated around a bit trying to catch the few good waves that were there. A nice first try to get the feeling: next time I’m going to take a lesson and hopefully learn how to be standing on my board… On Sunday we took the cable car up Table Mountain, as we had planned to go to Stellenbosch in the afternoon. But again: late! Leo decided to use her last hours in Cape Town to pack her stuff and get all the last things done and I went to the beach and gained some colour. A dive in the pool was the perfect finish of the hot afternoon. In the evening Karien and her mother came back from their five day trip to Swellendam. All their stories made me decide I have to get my butt in my beetle as well and just drive off one of these next weekends. They were tired so they decided not to come with me to the Buena Vista Social Café, and I went there by myself because it was really about time for me to get out of the house. This café is Dirty Dancing part II all over again!! The atmosphere was great (until I planted my heel on a lady’s toes-in-open-shoes) and I even met a few people. Even though I am still a beginner it was nice to have a few dances with different people, and the mojito tastes wicked here… A very good way to end my weekend.

On Monday evening I went with Karien, her mother, Frank (Karien’s colleague) and his sister and her friend to Theatre in the District. This takes place in District Six, one of the suburbs that nearly was completely destroyed during apartheid. Young kids from ten to sixteen years old perform a show with dance, singing, music, poetry and so on. It was a marvellous show and showed very well the difficulties that Cape Town struggles with still. Tuesday another ward round and a quiet afternoon at the hospital, and in the evening I went out for dinner with Valdo, whom I had met at the Buena Vista. After dinner we had a last drink in Long Street, unbelievable how busy it is there on a Tuesday night! I guess this is what backpackers cities are about… The rest of the week drifted by and on Friday I got home late because I had to have my speedo cable fixed in Brackenfell. I was just about to make something for dinner when Karien and Els came in and asked me if I wanted to join them eating out. We had tapas at a very nice little square somewhere in the middle of Greenpoint. After that we went to Fashion TV, a club in the centre. We met the other Dutchies there. Although I didn’t feel too comfortable with all the models walking around with heels and eyes both sharp as razorblades and me being underdressed (understatement of the year), it was nice to get out and dance again. But it turned out this wasn’t the place to meet soulmates so when I got home I hadn’t met anyone new.

On Saturday I joined Karien and Els again, this time on their trip to Spier (wine estate), Franschhoek (wine area) and Stellenbosch (wine area). Spier is quite commercial and has shops, restaurants, a craft market, cheetah’s, eagles, art and so on. It is however a very nice estate and the wine is very drinkable! Franschhoek and the road that leads there is so beautiful, I can’t even try to describe it. We went to a nice estate of which I have forgotten the name already and had a bottle of wine with antipasti and a French cheese platter (sorry for describing the food into detail but everything tastes so good here!) and when we had enough we had a short stroll through the centre of Franschhoek, looked at some shops, had another glass of wine (which was actually called Karien) and drove off to Stellenbosch to have dinner. Again another very nice place, where we did some wine tasting and had a wonderful evening meal (ostrich and springbok are things you won’t find easily on the menu in Europe!).

Then on Sunday I got up early and went to Canal Walk to do some shopping. This is a shopping centre in the suburbs which contains about 450 shops so I thought I would succeed but although I spent enough money I didn’t even really come home with what I was looking for… the curse of every woman, haha. In the afternoon we went to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, where in the summer period there is an afternoon concert every Sunday. We didn’t really hear the band name but they are supposed to be the best selling rock/pop bang in South Africa, and well deserved I have to say! It had the atmosphere of the average summer Tuesday evening in Valkenburgh Park in Breda, only this is bigger and no one leaves any junk behind, not even the smallest piece of food. Very special because in Breda the park always looks like a dump (exaggerating is allowed right?).

On Tuesday Joe Cocker will be performing at the exact same stage but unfortunately this is all sold out . Anyway, we had a very ‘easy’ Sunday afternoon. In the evening I took Karien and Els to Buena Vista but soon we all got a bit tired so we went home, played some cards and went to bed. On Monday I went back to Kirstenbosch straight from work because we did see the concert but we saw very little of the gardens and since it’s only a five minute drive from the hospital, it was convenient to spend the rest of the afternoon there. I walked around for at least two hours, what an impressive and beautiful place this is. With right the most beautiful garden of South Africa. On my way back I took another road for a change and stopped for a bit at Llandudno beach, on of the most beautiful and relaxed atmosphered beaches of Cape Town. Unfortunately I soon started to get cold and I didn’t have a sweater with me so I couldn’t stay for the sunset but hey… it’s only a 10 minute drive away and next time I’ll know to bring a blanket, a sweater, food, wine and friends.

Talking about friends: I started this story with telling you how easy it is to meet people here. I still think that when you want to, you can. But I also notice that I am starting to pull back into my own world again, not opening up as much as I would like. I instantly notice a change when I just smile and say hello to people on the street, compared to when I don’t; I just don’t always feel like it. I think I am going to call Hazel this weekend: I met her at the Lokshin dinner (township food, remember?). It will be nice to go and see some different places again, I am starting to get the hang of it now and: me like it! It’s just that I miss my good ol’ friends&family who know me so well and need so little explaining at times. I guess this is what I meant by being kicked out of the comfort zone and although it’s almost like a struggle sometimes for me, it definitely helps me grow and makes me a better person. Well. In my own opinion then. Luckily you can’t check :). See you in two weeks!