XVII. The Market; Tot Siens for now, Stellenbosch

This morning I went to one of Stellenbosch's Saturday morning markets. It was located at a wine farm just on the edge of town, so we took a group bus there since it was too far to walk. It was really cute - lots of amazing food. Lots of cute arts and crafts and clothes. Everyone kept on asking me and Neha where we were from...something about our accent just gives us away, every time! The scenery was beautiful. It was a perfect 73˚ sunny day. We tried some different foods - a waffle with whipped cream, quiche, meat pie, smoothie, cupcake...etc. It was all delicious. And the nice thing about being in a group is you can get one thing and split it up so you can try lots of different things and not burst from overeating.

At the end, we went and sat on the front porch of the winery and looked at the beautiful scenery. It's funny how even after being here for just two and a half weeks I sometimes forget how gorgeous Stellenbosch is. And then bam, all of a sudden, I catch a glimpse of grape-vine lined mountain sides and my breath is nearly taken away by how beautiful it all is.

Tomorrow I leave Stellenbosch for 12 days. I will be in Kruger National Park from Sunday through Wednesday on a safari!!! I will then go to Hamakuya, a rural village in Limpopo where I will be doing a homestay in a family's home Thursday through Sunday. On Monday I will fly to Johannesburg where I will be touring and learning about that city. And then on Friday, May 3rd, I will fly back to Cape Town and return to Stellenbosch. I'm sad to be leaving my new South African home so soon after getting here. I titled this week: Getting in the groove, because that's really what it was all about. And now that I'm finally getting in the groove, it's time to leave it for 2 weeks! But hey, I guess that will keep things fresh and force me to be alert, not get complacent, etc. I'm super excited for my trip. Still not happy about the thought of getting back on an airplane...still traumatized by the 24 hours of flight time to get here... but I shall survive. I will be essentially a nomad, sleeping in different places most nights until I get to Joburg. And I will also not have access to technology (internet, phone, etc) so don't expect any blog posts or communication from me until I get back. Wish me luck as I head off to the bush! Hopefully I won't get eaten by a lion! And remember, no news is good news!