So it has been 2 weeks since I set foot on South African soil, as I already gave quietriotgirl shit about not updating her blog, I should write a bit about my experience, as i promised a lot of friends and in my last blog post.

So today I am moving in to my house for the next half year, an actual house with a roof and walls and without wheels. It has been 17 months since I called a house home, 17 months of living in my van, road tripping, sleeping on friends’ and strangers’ couches. I could get nostalgic and reminisce about my year and a half of nomadic life, but it’s this life that brought me to Cape Town, so it feels more appropriate to look ahead instead of back and talk about my new home (for the next half year anyway) South Africa.

So here are my first impressions: South Africans are really friendly, I haven’t met an unfriendly one in this two weeks, everyone seems helpful and even beggars (a lot of those here, they even go door to door) are polite. Security is big business here whether it’s guards at the station, in the train, at the supermarket, “armed response” for your house or neighbourhood, electrical fencing your property, and what not. I haven’t felt unsafe for one second here, but then that could be said to prove all of the above are doing a good job.

Cape Town is a beautiful city and Table Mountain is a sight I don’t think I’ll grow tired of. It’s not just Tafelberg, it’s the clouds draped over it, the so called tablecloth, and it’ Devil’s Peak on the left and Lion’s Head on the right. On the second day I was here I found myself looking up and using it to orientate myself. While Chicago is called the windy city and four seasons in one day is used to describe Melbourne, both are just as fitting for Kaapstad. The Cape Doctor, the south-east trade wind, is a force to be reckoned with, whether it’s providing a chilling draft whenever you leave a window open or messing with the MyCity bus’ automatic doors. And the day could start sunny and before noon Table Mountain could be obscured by clouds.

I haven’t gotten round to finding out all the places to hang out, but Lower Main Road in Observatory (or Obz as cool people call it) seems to have some nice bars and of course Long Street has a reputation to uphold. The Bombay Bicycle Club was the location for my first day welcome drink and is the nicest place I’ve been with the craziest cool cats. Almost any bar seems to have 2-for-1 happy hours just about all the time, just don’t spend it on Black Label (the beer not the whiskey) since it doesn’t taste like anything. De Waal Park is the perfect place to spend a babelas (hungover) Sunday.

Well, there is so much more in Western Cape: the Swartland with its lovely wines and charming farms (dankie Adi and Cornelia!), the granite rock of Paarl Mountain (hard to climb though) and I haven’t even been to the beach or Cape Point. So plenty more to write about in my next post.