Facing The Music

I’m currently bundled up in my room in what used to be Alex’s blanket. I say what-used-to-be because Alex and Kristine are somewhere over the Atlantic ocean right now asleep from Ambien or watching their last few episodes of the OC on Alex’s computer. I miss them terribly and they haven’t even been gone for 24 hours. I know, I know, I'll see them soon but without them here, the end of my semester abroad is very, very real. My house is empty and although it was already cold before they left, it has been a bit more brisk without them here. If I keep talking about this, I’ll probably start crying in my empty, cold house and we can’t have any of that.

I was going to write about our trip up to Namibia but I’m not quite ready for it yet, so all you get is that picture.  Instead I’m going to share something I have been putting together since January- a playlist of songs that will forever remind me of Cape Town.  Each song has some significance to life here, a life that has flown by and one that is oh-too quickly saying farewell.

Cape Town South Africa 2010 Playlist

Best Days- Matt White: Alex and I played this too loudly on our computers almost every morning for close to two months. Everyday was the best day.

1901- Phoenix

Make You Feel My Love- Adele: Kristine and Alex can both tell you that I listened to Adele a lot, maybe too much. It took Alex and I two days, upping my iTunes play count on the song, to figure out who originally sang this one. It wins.

Battle Studies Album- John Mayer 

Fidelity- Feist: The last song Sarah, our neighbor, and I listened to before she left.

Strawberry Swing- Coldplay: Re-realized my love for Coldplay because of this song. It was always on my studying playlists.

Beautiful Mess- Jason Mraz

Sold My Soul- Goldfish: Goldfish is a band from Cape Town that we actually went to see back in January. They make a lot of good music but this song is one that I heard the most. They are a perfect example of music that Capetonians love and I’ll miss hearing them back in the U.S.

Wouldn’t It Be Loverly- My Fair Lady: Some of you may know that I have a secret love for musicals, this is one of my favorites and a song I found myself singing even when I wasn’t listening to the music, particularly when I was walking to and from our house.

Little Secrets- Passion Pit

I Got A Feelin'- Black Eyed Peas: A staple song for getting excited for just about anything but on one night in particular this song came on the radio in a cab on our way to a club called Tiger Tiger.  As we sang along with the driver, I asked him if he liked the Black Eyed Peas. He looked confused and corrected me saying, "No, this is the Tiger Tiger song." He was right, Tiger Tiger is gunna be a good night.

For Emma- Bon Iver

Baby- Justin Bieber: The girls that I tutored loved Justin Bieber, a lot. Whenever I hear this song I think of them immediately and how we sang our hearts out every week to it.

Wavin’ Flag- K’naan: We have been hearing this for quite some time, pumping us up for the World Cup and it still hasn’t gotten old. Well not yet anyway.  If you are around Kristine when it is playing, you are in for a treat.

Memories- David Guetta & Kid Cudi: I think we heard this song every time we went out. Memories is right.

California- Phantom Planet and I’ll Be There For You- The Remembrants: I put these songs together because they are the intro songs to two shows that we will always associate with Cape Town and 154 Station Rd.

Empire State of Mind- Jay-Z & Alicia Keys

Chasing Pirates- Norah Jones: Love her. Love this song. As of right now I’ve played it 30 times in Cape Town. Is that an obsession? Maybe.

Train Song- Ben Gibbard & Feist

Animal- Miike Snow: I downloaded a bunch of music the weekend Kristine and Alex went on the Garden Route and I worked for endless hours on a paper. This song was one of them and ended up being a favorite.


With friends leaving everday, my last week in Cape Town will for sure be a bittersweet one. Maybe a Namibia post will appear tomorrow. Maybe.

Met liefde van Afrika,
Callie

And The Rockets Red Glare...

Howzit! It’s 4 in the afternoon and I am drinking a glass of wine at my desk (we are working on finishing our last few bottles from our Stellenbosch trip) while Kristine and Alex are packing up and cleaning their rooms.  Today is their last full day in Cape Town and I am in disbelief because the past 5 months have by far been the fastest 5 months of my life.  The time has flown by and I feel like we just got here.  And I don’t want them to go. I’m not ready to pack up and go home so it’s a good thing I have another week until I have to board that 12-hour plane ride.

You might have noticed we have significantly increased our posting frequency the past few days, which is the result of two things. The first is that there is just that much excitement going on in Cape Town that we can’t help but to spread it, or at least try to. The second is that I have set a goal of updating the blog every day until I leave because there is a lot we never got to cover. So don’t be surprised if something pops up on here from let’s say mid-March :)

Last night was the USA v. England game. If you didn’t watch the game or if you cheered against the US, I have a bone to pick with you. The game took place in Rustenberg and we had one lucky friend who got a ticket which I am slightly jealous about. We had a couple game viewing options here in Cape Town but in the end we went with the boldest choice- we watched the game at a bar owned by an Englishman and it was full of England supporters.  The bar was packed but alongside the 10 other USA fans, we definitely showed those Brits some American spirit.  We painted our faces, sang/shouted the national anthem along with some other American tunes, cheered loud and obnoxiously and had a great time.

After the game, we went back to our friends’ house where we were greeted by some “you got lucky-s” but game well played. People from six countries were there and while there were no Brits, there were definitely some England fans. We spent the rest of the night dancing, singing to impromptu sing-alongs and participated in some friendly nation rivalry.  It was definitely one of the most fun nights we have had in Cape Town and we wouldn't have had it any other way.

One of our sing-alongs: In the Jungle
                            

Met liefde van Afrika!
Callie

Sweet, sweet biscuit!

Although it’s difficult to believe, our time is coming to a close. While we are excited to get home and see all of our family and friends, we cannot believe we have to say goodbye to this beautiful city. We all plan on returning at some point, but the uncertainty of how long it will be has us begging for more time. With our days numbered we have each one mapped out to the minute so as to make the most of our remaining moments. That being said, high on our list of priorities (other than obviously celebrating the WORLD CUP) was attending the Old Biscuit Mill. We arrived around 11 a.m. and proceeded to eat and drink the place out of food and beverages…. Okay, not quite, but it sure felt like it! We sampled cinnamon buns, vegetable wraps, rare rump sandwiches, butternut paella, lattes, macaroons, double flat whites and finished the day with strawberries in champagne.







We each left with a respective desert that included (pictured below): carrot cake with cream cheese frosting surrounded by dark chocolate chunks and topped with caramelized almonds, vanilla cake with raspberry frosting topped with fresh, real raspberries and finally the mother of all tarts topped with every fruit under the sun. While the day was cloudy (we took it as an ominous goodbye or see you later, rather) our afternoon ended on a wonderfully SWEET (once again, see desert descriptions) note. You’ve treated us well Old Biscuit, you’ve treated us well!









Met Liefde Van Afrika,

Alex

P.S. On a completely different note, GO TEAM USA! Beat those English chumps!

Can YOU FEEL IT?

Today, day one of the World Cup, was an absolutely amazing day for the three of us. We went into town almost six hours early to secure our spot at the Fifa Fan Fest to watch the South Africa v. Mexico game in Joberg with over 20,000 of our closest friends, and then quickly traveled to Green Point Stadium in Cape Town to go crazy nuts at the Uruguay v. France match. We made a video of parts of day- the pre-game excitement, singing of the national anthem, celebrating South Africa's goal and cheering on Uruguay. Hope you enjoy!!! We are going big for the USA v. England game tomorrow. More to come…

BAFANA BAFANA!!!!!