A Thanksgiving to Remember

Our neighbors who live upstairs joined us to celebrate

 From the Dutch to the Spanish, Aussies to the Japanese, the country of South Africa has had its fair share of foreign visitors throughout history. Nevertheless, the one group who never made it to the shores of this beautiful land were……...the Indians and pilgrims! There has never been a feast of Thanksgiving celebrated in South Africa, thus resulting in the absence of one of my favorite holidays of the year, Thanksgiving. Once my fellow Americans and I came to this realization a few months ago, we knew exactly what we had to do. We were going to bring Thanksgiving to South Africa, the American way. With 13 Americans in the GRS family, we could not let November 24^th pass us by without recognition. How un-patriotic!

Me, Kimberley intern Lauren, and my 2 roommates Rebecca and Kelly

            Preparation for our feast began Wednesday night when my roommate Audrey, whose parents were in town for the week, teamed with her mom to bake four AMAZING pumpkin pies. We walked into the house after having been out with our friends for a few beers and the aroma of pumpkin filled the house! It was so wonderful and definitely made the realization of Thanksgiving so clear to all of us. We couldn’t wait for the next day to come.

Laura, the master chef, is on the left

Sure enough, Thursday morning came and the cleaning and cooking began around noon. We swept, vacuumed, mopped, and surprisingly turned our intern house into a semi-decent looking home! The question of whether we could actually keep it this clean for more than a day made us all laugh because we definitely knew the answer to that….no way. Nevertheless, it looked good for the day and that was all that mattered. The kitchen quickly became an assembly line and mashed potatoes were first on the list. Expecting a group of about 50 people, we knew there had to be tons and tons of food because we didn’t want anyone to go hungry on the one day you are supposed to leave feeling overly full. So the peeling, cubing, and 

boiling of the potatoes began, headed by my roommate, Andrew. Working beside him was another assembly line of interns headed by Rebecca, who was in charge of the stuffing. The preparation fro the meal was certainly one of the most fun parts of the day. Here I was, with all my friends in the kitchen, just chopping away and having a great time together. This was what Thanksgiving was all about. The potatoes and stuffing turned out to be a success and next up was the chicken. Yup, that’s right, I said chicken. Apparently the turkeys that live in South Africa max out at about 9 pounds. The thought of a 32 pound turkey, such as the one my parents had in there own fridge back home, would have made the butcher look at you like you had three heads (which did in fact happen to one of my roommates). Thus, we decided to make some alternative choices for meat to serve, and this included cooking 4 chickens…..the other white meat. My roommate Laura spearheaded this job, as she was the master chef among us all. In the meantime, my roommate Charlie took over the grill and cooked up some pork, sausage and steak along with grilled peppers and onions. I began to laugh when I realized how non-traditional our meal would be with pork, steak, chicken, and even lasagna (compliments of one of our office friends). But then I realized that this was perfect, an international feast of internationals.  

All the interns!

        

    The invitation invited everyone over for 4 pm and the first group arrived around 4:20. We weren’t quite ready when the guests arrived, as we were still running around doing last minute preparations. We even had to phone up our neighbors who live above us so we could cook a chicken and the corn soufflé in their oven! I was still at the stove sautéing my green beans when they walked through the door as well. Lucky for us, everyone was content to relax on the porch with a few beers in hand. The crowd began to roll in around 5 pm and by 6, we had a full house. Luckily, the meal was finally ready! I couldn’t believe how much food we actually had been able to make. It was incredible looking at the table. We had chicken, turkey (compliments of Audrey’s parents), grilled pork, sausage, steak, cranberry sauce, gravy, roasted butternut squash, pounds of mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, a green salad, lasagna, sweet potatoes, grilled vegetables, corn soufflé, and a whole table of desserts waiting for us. It was such a good feeling knowing that we had nothing to worry about in terms of our guests leaving hungry. My roommate Laura gathered everyone around the buffet table, thanked our guests for coming, and told them to dig-in!

My favorite guests, Ivan and Benjamin (Center and Right)

    All the food was a smashing success. Everyone loved it and there was plenty to go around, including leftovers. We were able to provide everyone that left with a little ‘to-go’ assortment of all the extra food that they wanted. It was great! The dessert was a great success as well.

            I had such a wonderful time visiting with everyone. My favorite guest that arrived was Ivan, our office doorman, along with his friend, Benjamin. Those two guys make me smile each and every morning that I come into the office and I couldn’t have been happier to share this day with them. I also got to visit with my boss’s wife for the first time, as well as Ntuthu’s (our bookkeeper who I work next to) two little boys. It was such a happy  

and fun time for everyone. There were drinks flowing, guitars playing, and singing throughout the night. By 8 pm, people started trickling out and by 9, the house was empty. Clean-up was surprisingly quick, compliments of the paper and plastic ware that we used. By 9:30, you would never have known we had a crowd of 50 people at the house just 30 minutes prior. My roommates and fellow intern friends finally sat down for the first time all day, took our shoes off, and talked about how great the night had been. It truly was the best Thanksgiving away from home that I could have ever asked for. Although I missed my real family in Rhode Island, I had a tremendous time celebrating with my South African family. I felt extremely lucky to be blessed with so many amazing friends and such a great group of roommates. This would definitely be a Thanksgiving to remember for years and years to come.

Trevor licking the Green Mint Pie dish clean

Rocking the Daisies Music Festival

Apologies for my delayed blogging!!! I've been having such a great time and staying quite busy in Cape Town that with both work and fun I've been way behind on the blog! But here I am, back to tell you all about the music festival I went to last weekend called Rocking the Daisies. Known country wide by music fans and the like, Rocking the Daisies is an annual weekend concert featuring South African artists held at a Cloof Wine Estate, just 45 minutes outside of the city. It is very similar to the famous Bonnaroo Concert held each year in the Tennessee, except a bit smaller with about 11,000 attendees. 

With three music stages, chill-out lounges and gourmet food vendors, there was never a lack of something to do. I can't forget to mention the ladies only Daisy Den with hairdryers and showers. Most festival go-ers camp out for the weekend on the festival grounds. Not wanting to miss out on ANY of the fun over the weekend, my roommates and I decided to camp as well. After inspecting our garage at home, we uncovered a 12 person tent purchased by last year's intern class. A trial set-up was held the weekend before by my guy roommates, Charlie and Andrew. They assured us that with a little bit of duct tape and some engineering, the tent would work just great at the Daisies. Rebecca (my other roommate who attended the festival) and I just smiled and said, 'Alright, lets do it!' 

The most exciting part of the weekend was that we were being joined by six more of our intern friends, four from Port Elizabeth and two from Kimberley. I had not seen these friends since August orientation in the United States. I was beyond excited to catch up with them and hear all about their sites!! The four interns placed in Kimberely drove down seven hours and met us in Cape Town on Thursday night. They crashed at our house and explored the city on Friday while we were all at work. As soon as the clock struck 5 p.m., we bolted out of the office, ran home to gather our sleeping bags, tent, etc., then hit the road! Someway and somehow, a 45 minute drive to the festival turned into a three hour drive after going down numerous dark roads leading to no-where. Lots of empty fields, u-turns, and a few honks later, we finally arrived to our destination! It was 10:45 p.m. at this point and setting up the massive 12-person tent in the dark still loomed in our near future. We found some clear camping space, made some drinks, and got to setting up the tent! 

Trying to put up a MASSIVE tent in the dark

Putting up a 12-person tent is a laborious process to begin with. Add in the pitch dark, broken rods, and a few tipsy tent builders to the mix, the process becomes ALOT harder. Nevertheless, we were determine to have a place to crash for the night. The masterpiece was complete after forty minutes....a fabulous wilting tent half pitched falling to the ground. It would definitely work for us though. Simple living is what we are all about! Little did we know that in the daylight, we would become the laughing stock of our neighboring campers. We were proud of our hard work and knew the only way to congratulate ourselves was to start having a great time! We ditched our tent and headed to the performance grounds. 

The 12-person tent is the wilting yellow one in the back left and the green canopy was our structure for shade over the weekend.

Main Stage

Friday night turned out to be amazing. Our Kimberly friends arrived around 1 am after a 10 hour drive and joined us at the main stage. We all had such a great time catching up, listening to music, and dancing the night away! Before we knew it, it was 4:30 am and a bunch of us headed back to the campsite to call it a night. As I was falling asleep, with the tent slowly deflating on top of us, I smiled to myself and couldn't think of any other place I would rather be at that moment. I was having a great time away from the city with all my friends....I knew it would be one heck of a weekend!

Having minimal camping experience under my belt, I was oblivious to the fact that whether you like it or not, the sun is going to rise in the morning. And its not only going to be early, its going to be BRIGHT! As I rubbed my eyes and rolled over to look at my watch, I was surprised to see it was only 7:30 am. I heard voices outside the tent and curiosity got the best of me so I slipped out of my sleeping bag, cracked my sore back, and headed outside. What a beautiful day it was! I could tell it was going to be one hot day out. My friends and I reminisced about the night before, exchanging excitement for what a great place this was and how much fun we were already having. Without any delay, we wanted to keep it all going. 

Lake time!

Saturday morning we gathered everyone together and headed to the big lake on the festival grounds for a refreshing dip. It was now 8:30 am but already about 75 degrees! By mid afternoon, the temp would reach 95 degrees!!! We certainly were not the only ones with this grand plan. The lake was fully crowded on all sides with tons of people, most in bathing suits and a few with inflatable rafts and water toys. We spent the afternoon checking out the music venues, the lake, and hanging back at the camp site sharing stories over a box of wine. The box of wine here in South Africa is surprisingly delicious! And cheap......which is the best part. After lots of swimming, music, sun and wine, we were ready for a nap by the late afternoon. All ten of us lounged on the ground outside our tent and took a nice, long, peaceful hour long nap. You could have heard a pin drop it was so quiet. This mid-day nap was to be essential in making the most out of the night that was ahead of us. 

Lake at Sunset

Another Dance stage

Needless to say, Saturday night was just as great as Friday. The music was awesome and I even bought a CD of my favorite performer from that night. He's a Cape Town native! Sunday morning came in a flash and six of us woke up by 7 am to watch the South African Rugby team play in the semi-finals game vs. Australia which was being shown on the mega-screen at the main stage. Rugby in south Africa is much like football is in America.....a big deal. The main stage ground was absolutely packed with viewers and there was little to no place to sit by the time the game started. Despite a hard fought match, the Boks (South African Springboks) lost in the last few minutes of the game to the Aussies. Everyone was pretty bummed out about the win since the SA rugby team are defending World-Cup champs at the last championship four years ago. Brushing off the loss, we headed back to the camp site to wrap up our things and head home. It was definitely a tearful good bye to all my friends who weren't heading back to Cape Town with me. However, we promised to make plans in the near future for another visit together. I'm happy to report that we kept our word and I now have a trip planned to Port Elizabeth for Halloween next weekend!!! Can't wait!

My favorite performer of the weekend

Luckily, we drove back to Cape Town with no mis-turns and made it in the usual 45 minutes. Rocking the Daisies is thus far one of my funniest weekends that I've had here in the past two months. Looking forward to many more great experiences to come!

National Heritage Day / National Braii Day

September 24th is National Heritage Day here in South Africa. It is a public, national holiday and just like in the United States, this usually is blissfully accompanied by a day off from work. However, when September 24th falls on a Saturday, we are not quite so lucky. Such was our luck this year. We all certainly managed to make the most of the holiday nonetheless. Celebrations began in the office on Friday where we had a tea time discussion about the origins of the holiday and every one was asked to bring in something that resembled their heritage and where they came from. My roommate Charlie did a great presentation on how the Holiday started and then discussed his own heritage and family. We proceeded to go around the board room and each person spoke for a few minutes about their background, their family, and what token of heritage they brought to share. Lots of people brought food, pictures, and even a dvd of South African music! It was so interesting to hear all about my friends and fellow employees backgrounds and family origins. I felt like I was really getting to know each and everyone much more which I really enjoyed. I tasted Jewish Challah bread, German pretzels, Danish cookies, Italian biscuits, and much much more. What a delight! 

Some of the office crew after our Heritage Day Talk

As the time came for me to share my heritage, I proudly pulled out a picture of my dad and I, explaining how my Italian roots come from his side of the family. I continued to brag about how awesome my Nana's Italian meatballs are and how she is the best cook in the whole world. I couldn't leave out her Italian stubbornness and of course how my dad and his brothers just 'happen' to suddenly develop thick Italian accents when they are all in a room together. I made sure to proudly include my Irish roots as well which I attribute to my mom's side of the family. I gave my mom credit for being the tannest Irishwoman I know. Although I know there's much more to my composition besides just Italian and Irish, these are the two I relate to and identify with the most. I loved talking about my family with my co-workers because it is a part of my life that means so much to me. I'm so proud of the fact that I come from such a large, loving family. As I've grown older, I've come to learn that not everyone is as privileged as I am to know where they come from. Although they are crazy at times, I absolutely love my family because they mean so much to me and have really been the roots to my existence. Heritage day is such a wonderful way to reflect upon this and it was a nice reminder of how lucky I am to be blessed with amazing people in my life. 

When the real Heritage Day rolled around on Saturday, it brought along gorgeous sunshine and 75 degree weather. Perfection! I woke up after a wonderful night's sleep and walked the two minute walk around the block to a local Saturday morning farmer's market that I've come to frequent and love. The vendors are all so nice and the fresh vegetables are lovely. The market is housed in a big open hall with many different types of sellers ranging from fresh vegetable farmers to bakers, smoothie vendors, chocolate connoisseurs, coffee baristas, organic fishermen, poultry farmers, etc. I stocked up on vegetables and delicious freshly baked bread. I returned home and then hit the road for a light run along the water, soaking in the salty breeze and watching the waves crash along the boardwalk. As I was running home, I ran through the Company Gardens, a beautiful park between my house and the city center. The Gardens were teeming with hundreds of families having picnics, playing live music, and just having a wonderful time. There was such a good vibe in the park and I couldn't help but smile running through. One of the big differences that I've noticed living in South Africa opposed to the United States is how dedicated Africans are to their family and how much they cherish familial values. This could not have been clearer than the image in the park on Heritage Day, a pure celebration of what it means to be together and enjoy the simplicity of each other's company. 

When I arrived home, it was a unanimous decision for my roommate Andrew and I that the only proper way to celebrate our Rhode Island (yes, he too is also from RI) and Italian heritage was to do what we do best.....sit on the beach and get a tan!!! So as our ambitious four other roommates headed out the door to hike for three hours, we turned in the opposite direction armed with our towels and books, and went straight for the beach! 

Camps Bay beach is a simple ten minute drive from our house and although you are still in South Africa, one would believe you traveled all the way to the Caribbean. Beautiful palm trees, sparkling blue water, and waves galore. The beach was filled with Holiday beach-goers and the roadside restaurants were populated with brunch-eaters and the like. Camps Bay is a much more public beach than the ones that I had been to prior. It reminded me much like Fort Lauderdale, with a bit of a commercial feel. Nevertheless, a beach is a beach and I loved every minute of it! We met up with two of our friends from work. One of them, Ryan Janks, brought his three year old son Erin with him as well. Erin was lots of fun and kept us entertained for hours on end. The best part of the afternoon was when all of the sudden, a crowd of 100 people start dancing on the street in a FLASH MOB! I couldn't believe it, I'd never seen a flash mob in real life but have always wanted too. In case you are unfamiliar, a flash mob is a coordinated dance put on by a very large group of people who minutes before are simply going about as normal civilians. Then all of sudden, a massive coordinated dance breaks out on the street! It was so much fun and the dancers were great. I can now say I've witnessed my first ever flash mob!

FLASH MOB!

After basking in the rays for a few hours we packed up and headed back home because in just a few hours we were hosting our first BRAII!!! A Braii is basically a cookout/bbq in South African terms. National Heritage Day happens to also be National Braii Day. Thus, my roommates and I thought it would only be appropriate to celebrate the holiday as Africans do. We invited our neighbors over, three South African girls who live on the third floor of our house. We also had a few friends from work over and our neighbors brought friends as well. It turned out to be a lovely evening with some grilling on the porch, lots of drinks flowing, and fun being had by all. I must say, it was the perfect way to end my very first National Heritage Day. I really hope it won't be my last because I'm starting to fall in love with this place! 

The gals (my roommates) before the big Braii

Some roommates, some neighborhoods, and lots of friends!

Charlie grilling away on our tiny charcoal grill

Great Neighbors

Running around Cape Town

Running has always been a passion of mine. As many of my fellow running gurus know, there is nothing in the world like waking up at dawn, tying up those shoe laces and heading out the door to be greeted by the rising sun. Rain or shine, it is quite possibly the best way to start the day. Fresh, crisp air, the sun beaming on your face, and a full world outside just waiting to be explored. 

The best part of running for me is that it is an opportunity each and every day to explore my surroundings. My best runs have always been those where I don't plan ahead, take a few left and right turns unknowingly, and work my way back home. I've come across amazing things by just getting lost and taking in my surroundings. Running in Cape Town has been no different. I have absolutely loved running around my neighborhood and developing a familiarity with the area. I feel like each week I find something new and exciting that is just a few minutes away from where I've been living all along. It's been the best way for me to grow familiar with Cape Town and it has helped me feel much more comfortable with my surroundings. 

My daily running route around the neighborhoods

I quickly came to realize about five minutes into my first run here that Cape Town is MUCH more hillier than Rhode Island. As a matter of fact, the two don't even compare. But I've always had a nag for hill running and fortunately, I've really enjoyed the challenge. Each morning, I venture out around my neighborhood and run up toward the base of Table Mountain through gorgeous neighborhoods on the hills of the mountain. I love getting to see all the school children heading off to school in their school uniforms while their parents are dressed in snappy suits and ties. After cresting the hill tops in the surrounding neighborhoods, I make my way back down the mountain and the view could not be prettier. The whole cityscape stretches down below and if I time it correctly, the rising sun paints the sky         a beautiful orange. 

Water Reservoir...view from Lion's Head Mountain

On most mornings, my descent down  the mountain ends at the water reservoir about 1/4 mile from my house. There is an 800 meter cement track around the water reservoir that is populated day and night by runners like myself. It is a gated area with guards at both ends so I feel extremely safe in the area. I can't help but think back to the days I used to run around the Barrington High School Track. Fortunately, this track offers much better views not only of the city bowl down below, but of Table mountain on one side and Lions Head on the other. At every turn around the track, it's a breathtaking site. Lots of times I'll forget how long I'm even running along the reservoir because I get lost in the pure beauty. Luckily, I usually make it back to reality in time to realize that the 9 a.m. work day doesn't wait for runners like myself lost in a daze.  

View from Dog Park

 One of my favorite discoveries from running is the amazing dog park just around the corner from my house. The dog park is a great venue where dogs run at their free will and play with each other while their owners have picnics on the green grass or read on the many benches nearby. Lots of people don't even have pets but simply go for strolls in the park or set up a blanket to enjoy the afternoon.  The first time I ran through the park, I couldn't believe it had taken me two weeks to find this great place. Trees and green grass populate the entire park, a beautiful large fountain sits in the center of the park, and there  are SO many dogs. I'm a big dog lover so the park is a great place to live vicariously through others.

 

Large Fountain in the middle of the Dog Park

The best part about the park is that each night around 5 pm, there is doggy school, where dogs are taught to sit, stay, heel, and be obedient. I literally laughed out loud as I saw this because I couldn't help but think about the time that my family and I took our own dog Striker to Doggy School only to find out that two days later, he would be a Doggy School drop-out, earning an F in the course. Needless to say, we all knew he was special to begin with.

More of the Dog Park

Just last weekend, I ventured on a long run to the Promenade, which is a 3 mile boardwalk all along the coastline. It was the most beautiful run I have taken since I've been here. Despite the grey overcast weather, I felt at home by the ocean. The boardwalk was streaming with walkers, joggers, young and old. It was so beautiful. I definitely plan on marking this route as one of my favorites for the longer weekend runs!

Waterfront Promenade

St. Mary's Cathedral....my new Parish!

Apologies for the delay in blog entries. Between work and trying to experience all the great things Cape Town has to offer, it's hard to sit down and actually write about them! Needless to say, I'm back and here to report on my new found parish, St. Mary's Cathedral!

Having been raised in a devoted catholic family my whole life, I had every intention to continue attending services here in South Africa. Lucky for me, St. Mary's Cathedral is a beautiful Roman Catholic Cathedral just a five minute walk from my house! It has wonderful architecture on the outside and is actually the oldest Catholic Cathedral in South Africa! The parish is a great mix of all different types of people, from native Cape Towners, (both Afrikans and Zulu), to visitors and passerbys. The thing I love about the Catholic church is that no matter where you go to worship, even if it is thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean, you know you will feel right at home because the mass is always the same. I walked out of the church after my first mass a few weeks ago on a Sunday night so overjoyed by the fact that I had found a parish that I was very happy with and reminded me of home. Plus, The celebrant, congregation, and everyone involved are so nice and friendly. 

The celebrant at St. Mark's is an energetic priest who says a great mass. Just last Sunday at 10 am mass, he stood at the altar at the end of the mass and said 'I heard a bunch of "amens" at communion so there must be a few Americans out there this morning.' He then encouraged us all to raise our hands and introduce ourselves to the congregation and where we were from. I slowly raised my hand and said I was from Rhode Island. His response was priceless...."Miss Rhode Island, Miss Congeniality!" Haha I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that all the way across the world and the few things anyone knows about Rhode Island is the hit comedy Miss Congeniality! But I guess if it weren't for Sandra Bullock, he wouldn't have known about Rhode Island (as most do not) so I can't really complain! 

I'm happy to report that I now feel that I've established a solid Sunday tradition for 10 am mass. Although St. Mary's is no St. Luke's or the Providence Cathedral, it's just up my ally and exactly what I was looking for. All in all.....success!

Lazy day at the Beach in Llandundo :)

By the end of my first official 5-day work week, I had never been more happy to say hello to the weekend! Although it was a great week at work getting introduced to all the intricacies of the office, it was the first time I've worked a 9-5 job in a while from Monday through Friday so it took some time getting used to. The walk home from work on Friday was so relaxing and enjoyable knowing that I had 2 full days to continue exploring all around Cape Town! First things first, my roommates and I arrived home and poured ourselves glasses of wine to celebrate. The night was pretty low key just hanging around in the apartment because of the rain. Nevertheless, we had a great time. 

All my roommates and I on our deck before heading to the beach!

Saturday arrived with glaring sunshine and 67 degrees out...such a nice surprise! It was a former intern's last weekend, Sarah, here in Cape Town. She had been here since August and was leaving on Tuesday so we wanted to make her last weekend memorial. Therefore we packed our bags and hit the beach!!!! Keep in mind, it's winter here in Cape Town. It's nice quite warm enough for bathing suits but definitely still comfortable enough to sit on blankets with a t-shirt and shorts and enjoy the beautiful beach. 

Sarah swung by the intern house and picked the five of us up and we all headed to Llandundo. Llandundo is about a thirty minute drive away and much less crowded than the more populated beach, Camps Bay. It's a bit farther drive but definitely worth it. The drive there is absolutely amazing. Although I've never been to California, I couldn't help but think that I was driving along the Pacific Coast highway. The road curves all along the ocean front for miles and miles with beautiful waves crashing below. Good thing I wasn't driving because I certainly wouldn't have been paying attention to the road. Approaching Llandundo, you are greeted by hills of gorgeous houses with incredible views of the ocean. It was one of those moments that makes me think twice about the fact that I'm actually in South Africa rather than Laguna Beach, California. Then I saw the Caution sign in the parking lot.......and I remembered where I was:

My fear of swimming into a shark subsided almost immediately as I stepped out of the car and saw the aqua colored waves crashing on the shore, with beautiful white sea caps in the distance. This is a popular beach for surfing and I can see exactly why. The waves were forming magnificent tunnels. It was at this moment that I convinced myself when the weather gets warmer and the water temp rises a bit, I'm going to learn to surf! The minute my toes hit the white, soft sand, my body immediately relaxed and the smile on my face got even bigger. We all spread out our blankets and towels and sprawled out to soak up the gorgeous sun. 

We were greeted by a few other GRS friends and after a full afternoon at the beach climbing rocks, playing frisbee, snacking on wine and cheese, we took a few final group pics and headed on home. It was overall a wonderful, relaxing afternoon and a great way to bid farewell to Sarah. Oh and did I mention, also a great way to catch up on my tan!

Our attempt to build a human pyramid

Hooter, Alice, Sarah, and I (all GRS employees)

The 2 men of the house.....Charlie (Left) and Andrew

View from the beach....Para-sailer jumping off Lion's Head Mountain and landing on the Beach