Day 3:
Well I forgot to blog last night before I went to bed so I am going to do it today. So, yesterday was a very uneventful day. Drew and I were still knocking off some jet lag, so we just did pretty much nothing the entire day. I must say it was nice to just have a lazy day. I know that in the next few weeks we are going to be working hard and going strong, so some rest before that was very welcome. Anyway the day started for me at eleven. Yes you heard it right, eleven. In fact, I think I got eleven hours of sleep that night. How about that for awesome? After I got up, I took a nice shower and curled up in the sunlight to read a book that I had been neglecting. We were going to head down to coast with Hein, but the fact that I got up so late and that Drew was nowhere to be found when Hein called; we decided to just chill for the day. As I said I began reading. Well I didn’t stop reading until it was almost time to go to Hein’s and eat dinner. It is a, or was a great book. I read a little bit before yesterday so I started on page 78 and finished on page 360. Not too bad if I do say so myself.
Heading to Hein’s:
Anyway we had to go to the “Spur” before we headed to Hein’s so we could get stuff to drink. I, being the healthy person I am, got a two liter Pepsi and felt no shame about it. After we got our drinks, we headed to Hein’s. The drive over there was really cool. It took us through the rolling hills next to Stellenbosch. Hein’s is located in a security community outside of town. A security community is what we would call a gated community in the states, except that there are guards at the gate letting people in and out. So we headed to the gate and told the guy who and where we were going to go. However, one thing Hein forgot to mention was that we would have to play twenty questions with the guy. I mean he drilled me on who, what, where, when and why. Then he asked for a contact number and the phone that Hein gave me is not exactly the latest piece of technology. So it took me a bit to try and figure out how to find A number so that I could give it to the guy. All the while he is railing on me about not being able to figure out the phone. I figured that since he began talking about me trying to give it out to a lady, that he was kidding. Once that ordeal was over, we made our way to the house. Now the gated community that Hein lives in is not your average one back in the states. Usually with those you have a sense of direction and order, not here. There were roads going everywhere. We had no clue what road to take. All we knew was that it started with a “Hu” that was it. People in South Africa speak English, but they speak with such and accent sometimes that it is hard to understand. This was one of those times. We know that Hein had given us more directions, but we couldn’t get them. So we guessed, guessed and we guessed wrong. We went up one street and down another. We went through wide streets and we went through narrow streets. We went through streets that were continuous and ones that had dead ends. Those were the interesting ones. You know dead ends in the US have lots of space to kind of turnaround in. These did not. They were just slightly larger than the car, which I took pictures of finally but that is for a later time. So after driving for probably 15-20 minutes, we headed back towards the gate so that we could take a different road. You see from the main road there were two other roads to turn down. We went left, this time we would go right. At that time I was getting a little bit frustrated and told Drew to call Hein. Drew called and right when Hein answered, we found the road. You have got to love it when that happens. So we made our way to Hein’s house. Now I forgot to bring the camera, but hopefully we will get to go back.
Hein’s House:
Anyway from the outside, the house looks small. However, when you get in the house it is a fairly moderately sized place with very nice furniture. We walked in and were motioned towards the couch were the first Rugby game was already playing. The game was between the Bulls and the Sharks. At about that time Hein’s wife, Elsaid, came in (I’m not sure how to spell her name, but I can pronounce it). We greeted her, and she set about preparing dinner. One thing that I have learned about South Africa is that there are no heaters. Hein’s was no different. It was pretty chilly in the house. Anyway, moving on. The meal was great. We had “chops” which I figure were lamb chops, grits, this good dipping sauce that went on the grits, a dark sausage (no clue what meat was in there), a hot link type sausage with cheese in it, and a small salad. It was definitely the best meal we have had in SA so far. So about half way through the meal we hear a knock at the door, and Hein’s son and one of his friends come bursting through. Hein has two sons one named Josh who is six and one named Jaden who is one and a half. So those two come running in, we introduce ourselves, and they scamper off. After dinner they come back down. Drew made the mistake of being done first and putting his plate away. So without any provocation, the two commence to jump on him and they wrestle around. That lasted for about ten minutes or so and then they got bored and ran off. About that time the second Rugby game started. This one was between the Cheetahs and the Stormers. Hein said that the Cheetahs came from the Free State and were known for their quick attacks and small size. I am not sure what the Free State is yet, but I will probably look into that one of these days. So that game started at about seven o’clock and at around 9:30 it ended. During that time we honestly didn’t spend a whole lot of time watching the game. We were too busy paying attention to Hein’s youngest and playing with him. He reminded me of my cousins when they were young and innocent. That was a joke by the way for the family that would be reading this. Anyway we left Hein’s and headed back to the room. It was very nice out with no clouds in the sky. The cool thing was the moon just clearing the mountains to the north east. It was a pretty sight indeed. When we made it back to the house I finished my book and went to bed. Finishing the book was why I didn’t blog last night. So that was the day. Like I said, I didn’t get pictures but I’m getting better. Well until next time. This is Ryan signing off.
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