Thursday August First
Sorry all! I’m getting a bit behind in my posts. Think back
in your life, if you will, all the way to Thursday, the first of the month.
Noteworthy moments of said day:
I started my day with Sisa at Under the Arch. I’ve sort of
developed a very indulgent habit during the academic week. When I have an
awkward break between classes, I fill it with quick shopping trips. One of my
favorite pass times is apparently frivolous spending and coffee drinking. As a
result, I am steadily working my way through the menu at Under the Arch. Horlicks
shall never be tried again; mochaccinos most certainly will be revisited. So
after history today, with an hour to spare, I found myself outside Sisa’s
little shop. Today’s beverage adventure: Red Espresso.
The line was kind of long when I first arrived at the arch,
but the most spectacular phenomenon was taking place. The line of people stopped
a few feet from the door to the 4’x 4’ space of the actual coffee shop. Each
customer got to go in and order individually – sort of church confessional
style. One by one we each got to have a little coffee appointment with Sisa.
Red Espresso: Freshly pressed Rooibos leaves grown in South
Africa, prepared a bit like a cappuccino (steamed milk etc but no coffee), with
a dash of cinnamon, topped with a decorative/delicious spiral of honey that
cuts through the foam. Heaven.
After Drama 3, my friend Elri (a really quite spectacular
girl in my Drama class and my dining hall. She’s incredibly smart, kind, and
very active on campus. On house comm for her res, involved in the drama dept.
and an important member of Wine Tasting Soc) offered me a lift back over to my
res for lunch. For the second time since arriving in South Africa… I rode on
the wrong side of the road (and on the wrong side of the car). I almost lost my
mind when she took the first left hand turn. I also silently took notes,
knowing I would probably be driving a rental car for various road trips in the
near future.
I found myself on the wrong side of the road once again
after lunch, but this time in Roxanne’s car on the way to Checkers for a quick
errand. Shout out to Roxanne and Claudia – two of the sweetest most beautiful
girls I have met here. They live in the res next door to mine (subsequently we
eat in the same dining hall) and have gone out of their way on several occasions
to be sweet and welcoming to the exchange students. I don’t know if you guys will
ever read this post, but on behalf of all exchange students, thank you for your
unfaltering kindness. I have made it a personal goal to approach exchange
students I encounter when I return home the same way you have so graciously
treated us.
Anyway! Moving along. That night, I, along with many other
exchange students, found ourselves in a large classroom in the Geography building
for…WINE TASTING! We signed in and sat down at a long table, set with various
wine glasses. At the front of the room was about 30 bottles of wine, wrapped in
newspapers, their labels concealed for the blind tasting event. We jumped right
into it with a white wine that was pretty tasty. <<<<That
description is the extent of my wine tasting expertise. I have a lot to learn. I’m
looking forward to going back.
The theme of the meeting was good wine on a budget. For each
wine we sampled we were meant to identify/describe the color, the smell and the
taste. We then rated it out of 10 and guessed how expensive it was.
Sadly, I couldn’t stay for the entire event because I wanted
to go an improv show, my friend Ryan had advertised in my Drama lecture the day
before. In high spirits (PUN!) Gillian, Patrick, and I wandered with a new wine
tasting buddy over to the Union building for the NatCaf (“Naturally Caffeinated”)
show.
Upstairs, we walked through wrought iron gates (similar to
those gates in subways) to a large on campus bar with hardwood floors. On the
far wall was the bar itself. In the middle of the room, picnic tables were arranged
end to end, forming a semicircle around a large black platform. A lot of people
were already assembled, and we grabbed some of the last available seats at the
picnic table farthest from where we’d entered.
After a few moments of waiting a member of the improv troupe
hopped on the stage. He reminded me so much of Wayne Brady, both in a
personality and physical appearance, it’s not even funny. Except it was. He was
hilarious. In fact, the entire show was. After “Wayne” did his intro, 6 more
members of NatCaf hopped on stage and sat in chairs, waiting for further
instructions.
The hour long show consisted of a lot of theater improv
games, very similar to Whose Line is it Anyway. My only complaints were that sometimes
it was hard to hear the troupe members and a few times we missed out on what
were apparently hilarious jokes because they either used jargon we didn’t know
or referenced specific Rhodes/Grahamstown–isms. We’ll catch on though. So glad
we went! Oh and there are auditions for the troupe on Sunday! Wish me luck!
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