Pub Quiz

As much as I deny it, it is still winter in South Africa.  This breaks my heart as all I want to do is go to the beach.  I have hope that September will finally be the turn-around point with longer daylight hours and sunlight without cloud cover.  It is light out now when I walk to the bus stop, which is a significant improvement over the past trek in the dark.

Not only did I participate in a pub quiz this week at a bar on Long Street, but I was part of the winning team!  Leila, Sarah, and I went for milkshakes (what this bar is known for) and the chance at winning 500 Rand for the grand prize.  The winning team (me J) got to select one of five prize envelopes. Unfortunately my envelope was not the 500 Rand, but 2 free milkshakes.  It was slightly depressing, but we still won at least.  The questions pertained to many things and were random, but I’d like to point out that I did in fact know the capital of Wyoming.

President Zuma was in town this week.  I always know when he has been to Parliament because he gets a police escort to and from the building.  There are multiple cars and the sirens wail.  I can hear it in my apartment and see the cars leaving Parliament from the side of my window.  He stayed late a couple nights this week, so I was home from work when he left.

During the ‘delightful’ rainy weather for the rest of the week I stayed dry indoors.  The kayaking trip I was supposed to take on Saturday got postponed to this upcoming weekend in hopes that the sun will be shining. 

Instead we went to the local bars in the area.  Several of my friends are on their last week in Cape Town – Sarah who leaves for a 21 day southern Africa trip and Tze who heads back to start her masters at LSE.  Once again I will be having another roommate.  Liz (who got here at the start of July) and I laugh about how many people come and go but she and I are here for several months still.

Today was supposed to be another big protest by the ANCYL.  They declared that at 13:00, 10,000 of them would march to parliament to deliver a memorandum of their demands.  I did not get the day off of work this time although the ANCYL who is marching declared today a holiday trying to rally support.  It turns out that not nearly that many people participated.  The police escorted them on their path and had rolling blockades to keep the traffic out of the way of the protesters.

I keep forgetting to take pictures, so hopefully this week I remember.  I don’t like taking my camera lots of places anymore because I am paranoid that it will get stolen again.