So how'd you get the name, "Sly"?
Trip Start
Jun 29, 2009
1
4
18
Trip End
Aug 10, 2009
Cape Town,
Western Cape,
South Africa
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
I can't imagine how the lame men felt in the New Testament... we're talking more like 20+ Years. That is a precious gift alright.
Anywho, Marisa and I were instantly welcomed by entire wall murals of World Cup excitement! This country CANNOT WAIT to host the biggest sporting event on earth next summer. Preparations are being made rapidly, and the people are absolutely thrilled! But we'll get to more about that later...
Traveling through customs I saw one of the most hilarious women ever--definitely someone I would want to safari with. Probably about 65 years old, bright blonde, hair-sprayed, curly hair, flaming red lipstick so liquid it looked as if it was about to drip any second, and COVERED in leopard print from head to toe. This woman was decked out. We're talking leopard hat, shirt, vest, PANTS, and even her purse. Suddenly my thoughts of being "prepared" were dwindling... I didn't hold a candle if this was required in Africa.
As Marisa and I stood in line talking to a few other Americans, I could already feel that I wasn't even close to being a native in this place. People were returning home, and it was clear that was not my story. I got my passport stamped, was asked if I was bringing any foreign food (the attendant only went through Marisa’s bag, though, so the black beans and Reeses are safe, Marti), and then we continued to push our massive cart of luggage out to the waiting area.
The sight was truly like something out of a movie.
WE'RE IN AFRICA!!!
A huge line of people stood behind a waist-high gate holding signs—family, friends, colleagues, or in our case, STRANGERS. As Marisa and I scanned the line for our names, we finally found ours close to the doors. Waiting for us were two black men with smiles on their faces. They lit up when we made eye contact and began walking toward them. We introduced ourselves, and they did too. The first, Isaiah, “like from the Bible” --a ripped, athletic VAC intern (like ourselves) with a huge smile, who just arrived 10 days ago from the Bronx, NY. The second, Sly--a short, quirky South African with a full head of dreads who works for VAC, mainly transporting interns to and from the airport. At first I wanted some confirmation before just walking out into the night with these two, so we made some conversation, and I asked them a lot of questions. They were legit, so we went out to the car, shoved our bags in, and joined them.
Everything was backwards—WEIRD.
Also, it was like 70 degrees at 10:00 pm… winter? Really?
We drove through downtown Observatory, or “Obz” – the student-oriented section of the City where we are living. They pointed out some of the top hang-out spots
So we were told that we were staying at the River View Lodge—not quite what we expected (we thought we’d be taken to our houses), but we were staying together, so we felt okay about it. Isaiah assured us that he’d stayed there his first night, and that it wasn’t so bad.
Welcome.
We were greeted by a white South African woman who spoke so quickly, I could hardly understand her English! The accent is absolutely beautiful, though. I am growing to love it already!!She took us to the room, and, long story short, this “hotel” really felt more like a hostel. But Marisa and I were together, we were given a key to lock our door, and there was a security guard patrolling around downstairs. I’m describing it a lot scarier than it really was—it had a homey feel! Breakfast was to be served for us in the morning in one of a few lounge areas on the lower floor. It was a cute place, just not the most comfortable. Especially after discovering the lack of hot water.
So, we set our alarm, hoping we’d be able to fall asleep at 6:00 pm American time… who were we kidding—no problem there!! At 8:45, we awoke to the sunshine and the sound of the busy South African 2nd of July outside.
After taking SHORT advantage of the freezing cold showers (which we interpreted as, “welcome to Africa, sissies”), we had some breakfast (toast, oatmeal, etc—not too bad!!), packed up our bags, and waited for Sly to pick us up “around 10, 10:30, okay?”
South Africa time is interesting. We asked Sly the night before if he realized we had to be checked out by 10:00. He said, “Yes, I’ll be here.”
We checked out at 10… like good American girls do, and sat on a bench right outside with all of our bags until about 10:45 when Sly pulled in the parking lot. I have now come to find out that checkout isn’t really as strict as it seems. Neither is pick-up.
