on your MARK, get set, go!

4-22-12

Bon Voyage Stellenbosch! Hello Franschoek!

After breakfast, Dari took me to Franschoek on her way to Cape Town. The whole ride there was breathtaking. We just kept meandering through the mountains. Albeit on the wrong side of the road.

The mountains here form almost a perfect circle around Franschoek. Inside the mountain range are the wine vineyards that encompass the whole town. Inside the vineyards, the town. It is here that I have settled in at the Otter's Bend Hostel. Once stepping out of my door, I am confronted with several rows of pear trees, a quiet river, a horse farm, and wine vineyards as far as the eye can see. The only word I can think of to sum up what I see is charming. It really is. I have not done too much exploring but I think that on the other side of the creek from me, is most likely where the kids live that I will be working with. It quickly goes from gorgeous to, well, not exactly gorgeous.

The couple running the hostel/farm are Mark and Mary. They have been here for 27 years! They are incredibly sweet and had been a little worried as they were expecting me a few days ago. I felt terrible for the miscommunication. They have pretty much said that I have free reign of their farm. I may have to try my hand at roping some cattle, harvesting some crops, and .. ok.. I don't know. I am just looking forward to starting a fire later down by the river and I'll go from there.

I just spent $250 Rand, or just over $30 at the market. The only thing that I purchased that I was 100% sure I knew what it was, was a rotisserie chicken. After that, things got VERY interesting. Trial by fire. One thing I know I need to avoid is the milk. I had cereal/milk at breakfast with Dari this morning. After she dropped me off here at Otter's Bend, breakfast haunted me for a few hours. I'll leave it at that. I usually love grocery shopping. This time however, it was a scary adventure. Also, the whole walk home I was wishing I ran into that dirt bike driver from Costa Rica that carried things on his head while driving. I didn't factor in the mile walk home when making my purchases. Oh well, great exercise.

Tomorrow morning I will be heading to Kusasa to meet the founder Doug Gurr. I'm very excited. In the meantime, I need to figure out some sort of alarm. I have not slept past 6:30 once since leaving the States but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Maybe there is a rooster around here somewhere.

My African adventure is off to a great start and my trip as a whole has already surpassed my expectations. I can't wait for more!

Wish me luck! I'm not worried about finding a rooster, but with Kusasa!

The Future Is No Place To Place Your Better Days