It's not me, it's you.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Goodbye

Sorry for the lack of blogging. I've been trying to make the most out of my last few days here and have all sorts of pictures to add. I fly out today to head home. Although I am excited to be more connected with friends and family and I miss my dog, the only thing I am feeling right now is sad to leave (well, and worried about how much my luggage will weigh).

It is grey and super foggy this morning here. I think South Africa is sad that I am leaving too.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Who should be president?

I have to admit that I am not much of a political junkie. I have a hard time picking sides on some issues and watching candidates spend oodles in campaign funds to make fun of other candidates seems like a waste of my time. That said, the choices are narrowing down and I need to start getting an idea of who I want to vote for as President this fall. Even though I know that votes don't impact the grand scheme of the election, I think it is important to occasionally inventory my opinions on certain issues and to participate in the process. aka to "rock the vote" ha ha

The point of this post is that I found a cool quiz online that let's you answer questions about some current political issues. It then shows which of the candidates you agree with the most. There is an option to turn off the candidate recommendations while you are taking the quiz, which I highly recommend. Afterward, you can turn it back on and see which candidates you are most aligned with, as well as their opinion on each specific issue.

Considering that my highest percentage of agreeing on issues was 51%, I still have a more thorough investigation ahead of me. It was still a great quick comparison tool and starting point. If you are like me and also pretty un-politically involved, check it out!

Friday, March 9, 2012

Ellen the baby

Exciting news: my sister-in-law Audrey had her baby late Wednesday night! I'm excited for the cool new addition to Noel, Audrey, and Cooper's little family. I'm also thankful for internet so I can see pictures of this little girl. Welcome to the world Ellen.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Table Mountain Sunset

view from the cable car on the way up

I live just on the other side of that smaller peak

The "Twelve Apostles" in the haze

looking over the city bowl

view from the cab ride home

Apparently during the summer here they offer a special price for the cable car ride to the top of Table Mountain. If you go right before sunset, it is only half the price. My marketing self thought That is crazy, it should cost more at prime times like sunset!, but my real life self was excited to jump on the deal. Last week, a small group of us rode to the top and met a friend who had hiked (he didn't have class that day) up the back side. The day was hazy with fog and made the mountains to the south seem so mysterious. I think it made the sunset better too. Side note: sometimes the sea mist here is so thick, the salt even burns my nose a little; it is great. The wind was pretty strong up at the top. Being used to abnormally sunny perfect warm weather, we were all cold by the time we got back to the bottom.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Dear Tarheels,

I'm sorry I couldn't be there to watch you beat Duke and win the ACC championship last night. I'm also sorry I didn't flood Franklin street with the more loyal fans. Since I missed the festivities, do you mind winning this other thing called the NCAA championship? I will be back by then and would really appreciate it. Thanks.

xoxo
Danielle

naptime

On Friday, I had some free time (ha ha) and was feeling lazy. I headed down to Clifton Beach. Now just to let you know, Clifton has four beaches partially separated by big boulders and cliff outcroppings named 1, 2, 3, & 4. Clever right? Anyway, if you ask a local or consult any type of guide book, you'll discover that beaches 1 & 2 are for the model-types and wealthy people, 3 is the gay beach, and 4 is the nicest and busiest beach. Side note: at beach #3, women can be topless! I was confused at first when I saw this going on, but have since been reassured that it is totally acceptable. I have not-so-secretly been wanting to let the girls free at the beach, but haven't built up enough courage to do it yet. Probably for the best.

Although I've walked along the stretch of all four of these beaches and found them quite acceptable, Friday I went to beach #4. I rented an umbrella from the umbrella guy, got my towel and book all set up, and then slipped in and out of sleep in a glorious 2-hour nap. I'm half tempted to go again this afternoon, but I'm trying to be good and hold out until tomorrow. Grad school is so hard.

To my left

Overhead

To the right

Saturday, March 3, 2012

animals of the garden route

I apologize if you have a slow browser because I just posted a jillion more pictures of all the animals we encountered on the Garden Route. We played with baby lions, dodged baboons on the road, pet cheetahs, and did a self-guided drive through a private game reserve.

The Garden Route

Last week I headed with Ginger and Auleen on a three-day journey along the coastal Garden Route. We rented a little stick-shift-steering-wheel-on-the-right-hand-side Kia and stayed at hostels along the way. We left Cape Town and headed south on the cape a little bit, then headed east and followed the coast (minus a quick stop in Outshoon) and ended in Port Elizabeth where we hopped a plane back home. Random fyi: Port Elizabeth is actually where my great-great-grandmother launched out of to head to America.

Luckily, Ginger was quiet the planner and had made an itinerary with approximate times, attractions, awesome restaurants, and planned stops for us. I was in charge of driving, eating banana chips, and providing entertaining conversation. Other than killing the engine once on the highway, I successfully fulfilled my duties. We saw a whole lot, enjoyed the perfect weather, and had an all around great trip.