Arrival:
Well we are here. After two flights and a seven hour lay over we have made it. I got up this morning at about 6:30am (11:30pm your time) and looked out the window of the plane to an awe inspiring sight. To the east, the sky was a bright orange with dark blue clouds siloheting the horizin. To the west you could see a mixture of orange and pink clouds above us, and dark blue below. I was bueatiful and a testimate to God's creation. At about 7:45am we started out approach into Cape Town International. We decinded into the sea of gray and broke through to another amazing sight. The area had just had a fairly large rain storm come though and the remnants of the of that were outlining the city. We flew in from the north going over the city and turning around over the ocean. A couple of minutes later we were on our final approach and finally touching down in Cape Town. Oh it was such a good feeling to finally be at our desination. We got off the plane and headed for customs. Drew had decided that he was going to not get his arrival form, so before we got in line to go through we contemplated on whether or not he would make it in the country. Well luckly he did and so we proceeded to get our bags. That in itself took about an hour. I don't know what was going on out on the tarmack, but it seemed like we waited forever to get the bags. I mean, I didn't expect that my gbag would be the last one off the plane. Oh well it's not like we had something to do at 10 o'clock, which we did but more on that in a second. After getting our bags we made our way to the airport arrival terminal. Standing there behind the waiting line was a gloryous sight. Hein Renekye, the head honcho for SCAS( Sports for Christian Action in South Africa), was there to greet us as we arrived. Drew and I shook hands with Hein and we made our way to start the next adventure.... driving. We met the guy who was there to show me to the car, and had a little bit of fun finding out that we had to pay him a deposite in cash up front instead of paying with a card as planned. So we headed back to into the terminal to get cash. I withdrew half of the amount, and Drew did the same for the other half or so we thought. We went back out and paid the man. Hein put down his contact number since we don't have phones yet. Once that was all stored away we went back into the airport, because the church that we were supposed to be working with wasn't sure the were going to proceed with the activities since it had been raining. Well sit down and just start to talk to Hein about things to do, what we need to do, and life in general. Hein the gets a phone call from th rental guy. In Drew and I's lack of sleep, we had shorted the guy on our deposit. So off we were again to get more money. Once that was taken care of we finally got a call form the church. They had decided to cancel their Youth Day. I am not going to lie, I was a little bit happy. My body was so worn out that I just needed a break. I mean 8 hours of sleep within the last 48 will do that to you. So Hein decided that he would show us the market and then take us to the place that we would be staying. The time had come... to drive.
The Drive:
Well I wish I ould tell you that I was a natural born stick shift driver, I am not. Getting out of the airport parking garage was a bit of a hastle. I think that I stalled out about five times before getting out of the building. Oh it was murder. I mean Hein had told us to wait on the side of the road outside of the airport because he was parked a level above us and would take longer to get out. Or so he thought I, however, knew better. Once out of the airport and on the road, things went a little smoother. I mean if I can get started, driving standard is a paice of cake. It is just the getting started part. We drove several kilometers away to town of Stellenbosch. This is were we would be staying and were SCAS is located. I wish I could say that I looked at the sceenery as we drove, but I didn't. I was totally concetrated on the road. I even, politely, had to tell Drew to quite talking to me because I didn't want to be distracted. I mean I am in a different country, on the other side of the road, driving on the other side of the car, and shifting with my left hand; I think that I get a little bit of a pass on this one. All though, Drew did say that the veiws were very pretty and I think he got some of them. So we finally got into Stellenbosch and to the market. I got out of the car and my heart was racing. I'm not going to lie and say that I wasn't a nervous wreck. My adrenalin was pumping. Hein said that we should walk around the market and go ahead and get a couple of things to eat. We then went and walked around the main street of Stellenbosch. It reminded me a lot of a small town In Colorado. There were little suvanier shops lining the streets with cafes on each side. The was around about in the middle of the town and an old church that was founded with the city at one end. I didn't get pictures, but I think that I will have the oppurtunity at some point. After about 15-20 minutes of walking around, Drew and decided that we were probably done sight seeing. So we met back up with Hein and headed to the house. The good thing is that I only stalled out twice in that parking lot, I think I am getting better at this standard thing.
The House:
We got to the bed and breakfast which was about a 5 minute drive from the main part of town. I stalled pulling in to the place at wich point Hein and Drew laughed, I didn't. I mean the parking spot is a drive way that has a pretty steep incline to it. We were lucky to get out of there alive, ok not really but I needed some dramatic effect. We then met Johan who owns the bed and breakfast. Johan is a tall fellow. I mean think Dirk but with less hair. Ok maybe a little shorter than Dirk. Anyway he showed us to our room and gave us a key. The room we are in is a very nice place. It is a lot like a hotel room with a kitchen and microwave. There is also a pool!!! however, since it is winter time I don't think that I will go swimming. I did bring my trunks though so we will see. We got into the room and Hein said that he would meet us for dinner here and show us where to go for cheap dinners. He also said that if you are going to take a nap, only take about a 2 hour one. Of course I said, how hard could that be? Just in case I set me alarm for 2:30. Well 2:30 rolled around, my alram went off, then the alarm went off and Ryan was still in bed. While I didn't sleep the whole time I laid in that nice comfy bed until about 5:30. So much for getting on a good schedule. Luckly I'm still worn out from the trip so sleep will be no problem. Anyway Hein knocked on our door and we were off to dinner.
Dinner:
Well the good thing about this trip is that I didn't stall. However, the street before we got to where we were eating, I reverted back to US driving and was on the wrong side. Luckly nobody was coming so we were able to avert any catastrophe. What can I say, I like to live life on the edge. Well we get to where we are eating and I come to find out that it is basically the cafeteria for the universtiy there. So, for my ACU readers, thnk of the Bean except it has three levels. On the bottom level is where you get your food. The second level has a bunch of shops, so like the Campus store and a couple of other places. The second floor also has a couple of ATMs and tiny banks. The third level is where the university administrrators have their offices. So think of were Dr. Schueb is adn you would have a good idea. We didn't go up there. Hein said that his wife had made dinner plans for them and so he had to go do that, but would meet us at the SCAS office a 8:00am. So he left and Drew and I had dinner. IT was actually really good, we had broccoli and cheese, rice, and chicken livers. So I have never had chicken livers before but they were really good. We finished dinner and started the journey back home. We only had one problem... we didn't remember how to get back. Hien was gone, and didn't have the prepay phones that he was going give us so we couldn't call him. Well that meant it was time to break out the handy, dandy GPS. Only problem is that a GPS needs a point of origin and a destination to get you someplace. Well we had a point or origin but no destination. So we started driving and me in my frustration, tiredness, and lack of knowledge where we were going, I reverted back to US drving. Well this time it almost cost us. I looked left instead of right, and was almost T-boned by oncoming traffic. Well we got to going on the road, hopeing that we would be able to find the place. I mean Stellenbosch is only the size of like Robinson (moderatly size town for those that dont know, think about 5000-10000 people). So we drove. We drove this way and we droe that way. We drove past nice houses, ok houses, and no houses. Finally after about 30 minutes of driving we made it back. Oh the bed never looked so sweet. Drew and I will be hitting the sack soon so we can be ready to be up at 8:00am. We are meeting Hein at SCAS so that we can meet the staff of do a couple of other things. Then it is off to get a feel for the town. I am going to try to blog about it, but don't know yet. I will take pictures this time though :P. Well this is Ryan Dillon signing off.
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