My Huis (My House) + A Friday Night

A little Afrikaans for you..I am learning slowly but surely! Anyways, here are a couple of updated house pics.

The living room thanks to all the hand-me-downs from the fam:



The Room Reveal!



Choosing the right room gets you closet space AND a chair!



Look at what my mom got me in Cape Town!!



And that's about it. I went to a mall last night (I know so 7th grade) with the roommate- we had a nice little outing consisting of wine, thai food, the movie Everybody's Fine (which I bawled my eyes out in- probably not the best movie to see when youre across the ocean from your family), cappuccinos and finally a R50 cab ride with Andres from Maputo (Mozambique)...it was an amusing night to say the least.

Fun fact: There is no liquid butter to put on your popcorn here...there IS on the other hand..salt and vinegar powder, butter salt powder, fruit chutney (chutney = sauce made from fruit put on meats mostly), aromatic (old bay-ish) and cheese powder..FYI if you ever get to a movie theatre on my side. Well I'm off but one more photo before I go.

Packing this

to go here!!!!!!!!




I leave on Monday. Super stoked. Taking it easy tonight but going to the open air market and breakfast tomorrow with the roommate and a braai with the head boss tomorrow! An exciting end/start to my week. No work this Friday or next Monday due to Easter! These people love a good public holiday and I am all about it.

bears beets battlestar galactica!

I thought I would reference The Office when showing you MY office is! Here's an outside pic.




Tuesdays here are Tortilla Tuesdays with my roommate- Tahila, and the other American intern, Aaron and his wife Elena. So we had tostadas at their house- Elena made the tortillas from scratch! Turns out they arent a hot commodity over here....Wednesdays, the roommate and I go out for Happy Hour in Hatfield Square. Buy one get one's are never wrong! But tonight!! It's dinner at our house - last week it was lasagna, salad and garlic bread with Malva Pudding ( my favorite SA dessert) and tonight its pesto pasta with Sundried tomatoes and mushrooms with veggies and Milktart (another SA fav) --Pics to come, I promise!

Here are Malva Pudding and Milktart pics.

M.I.A.

Sorry I haven't been a better blogger! I've been pretty busy. Got a good weekend coming up though. More updates to come. Happy Late St. Patty's! There was a big concert in Hatfield Square last night- which is where all the college kids hang out- and I feel REALLY old there. Like REALLY old. Had falafel last night and it was delish. That made up for my senior like tendencies. Just can't hang anymore.

And apparently I'm way behind in the music scene but this Justin Bieber guy looks like my little bro! Mike-this will definitely get you the ladies!!

Check it out.



TTFN! -Ash

Another Welcome to Africa Moment

I adore this commercial. It's not good by any means, but I really think its the lady's dancing and her proud face at the end that get me. I had to share it with you. It cracks me up everytime. Come to think of it, SA tv commercials are just straight up terrible...except for this one. It does kind of make me want to buy the spices...

Roadtrippin' Round the Dirty C

The Dirty C would be Cape Town of course, which isn't dirty at all but quite gorgeous. We were riding dirty in this though:



Granted there were 7 of us, but it was still very Vegas Vacation- the SA version- feeling. We had tons of fun but in a very short amount of time. I flew in Friday at 11am (thanks Elaine!) and met my mom's side of the fam at the airport. They live here in Joburg but were in the middle of taking a 3 week roadtrip around the country..and my mom was lucky enough to tag along. I decided to meet them in Cape Town during week 2. Anyway, we went straight to the guesthouse that we were staying at in Simon's Town, which is where the Navy resides. These are some pics from the 2 guesthouses we stayed in:











My Spot:


We saw penguins!






That night we also headed down to the V & A Waterfront but I forgot my camera. But this is what it looks like:



What would a trip to the CT be without some scenic pictures?















Pics of Simon's Town:

This one is my fav-






After touring around the Navy Museum the next day, we headed out to the Winelands for the Spier Wine Festival. Sadly, there was no grape stomping to be found but lots of goodies, good wine and such a nice day. They have a huge grassy area to picnic on with a pond, 2 resturants and a market where you can make your own picnic. Its SO lovely. Every one of you should visit!





We stopped at a market after to pick up some food to braai (bbq) and had an awesome dinner watching the sunset. Unfortunately, I had to leave early Sunday. I did get to have lunch with some more fam and headed home shortly after. Oh the life I lead.

A Football Inspired Jam

This is the "official song" of the World Cup 2010 South Africa. Nice little jam on a Monday morning. Weekend update coming this evening...my evening that is.

PS- I got tickets to the USA vs. Algeria game for June 23rd here in Pretoria. Carlos Bocanegra will be mine! Just look at that face. I already claim dibs.