I have now been living in South Africa for a month! The important things first. I haven't been shot. I'm not homeless*. I haven't died of dehydration nor starvation**.
Everything so far has been fantastic, if a little hectic. I stepped onto the plane on the 30th August, almost two years since I stepped onto a plane from Finland back to the UK, and had a relatively nice flight. This time I decided not to visit Ethiopia (it was truly a once in a lifetime experience that I can only sum up as 'mildly better than Barcelona'), but still had the worst layover I've ever had, followed by another 6 hour journey in which they managed to break my suitcase. I also got left at the airport but I eventually left, and somehow my bike made it through in one piece. One piece, that had been split into multiple pieces before I left...but it came in as many pieces as I put in the box. Already I've had a couple of rides out along what Phil Liggett (Tour de France commentator) called 'my favourite stretch of road on the planet', with good reason, since I saw a whale on the way up one of the climbs, and it had just the right amount of undulation to keep oneself working just hard enough whilst enjoying it. It's also twisty enough that any cars can't pick up any speed.
Regarding the cars, everyone warned me they would be terrible, but after a month and near enough 3200 km (2000 miles) driven thus far, it's not been a problem at all. Even the taxis are fine; much rather this than a few days of driving anywhere south of Leicester (having driven many times down the M1/A1/M6/M40, a flat line can be drawn across the country at which point drivers lose all sentience, which continues down through France, Spain, and Italy, whilst missing out Netherlands/Baltics/Nordics, all of which drive wonderfully). Most of the drives have been magical, either along the coast when heading to rowing early doors
Some days have meant less driving than others, since some days involved wine tasting. This paragraph will be quite short; wine is good. Sitting in the sun is good. Food is good. Amalgamating all three is certainly a winning combination. I haven't actually been that drunk beyond that though. I had one night of drinking a fair amount after my first South African braai by South Africans in South Africa, as opposed to a braai in South Africa involving no South Africans and a braai by South Africans in the UK at my youngest sister's Christening...in November.
One of the days driving was limited due to my tyre blowing up spectacularly. Never changed a tyre before this, but it's pretty easy. Now I got my own grown up car!
I'm sure if I had needed help, I would've got it, as everyone here has been incredibly helpful. The admin system is the usual bureaucracy, but has been made easier by excellent secretaries and getting hold of the right people in banks and so on. Half the time I seem to end up with morons first who tell me that I don't know what I know that I know without getting the memo that I hate to be told that I'm wrong, but then I get to smile smugly when it turns out I was indeed right. I would have been absolutely stuffed though if it weren't for several people; Phil, for making the lab not seem a hugely daunting beast, Lydia for making sure I actually got here and avoiding getting kicked out of the country, Tarryn for showing me some of the best bars in Somerset West, my boss Nico for giving me a reason to be here, and my aunt Sally for literally everything, not least a phone contract, but also for looking after me in June, and when I tried to do everything at once when I got here! Actually, as I write this whilst I wait for the traffic to clear so I can take the hire car back, my car is sat in her garage after she set me up with one of her neighbours who is a fantastic mechanic and whom checked everything through before I bought the car (Theo at Supa Quick Fish Hoek if anyone reads this!). I would've been stuffed without her. Nobody noticed that my passport says UCT though not UWC until I got to one of the banks!
Somehow during everything I have managed to do some work, and we submitted a proposal last week, after deciding we might, then not, then would but in April, then deciding two days beforehand that we should. Students have been good, the guys at iThemba labs and UWC have been fantastic, and I can't wait to finish acclimatizing and get some of my own projects going properly. The lab basically doubles as a nature reserve, I guess because it's a large open space, and the animals are quite used to human presence. A bit too used to human presence actually; last night I left the lab late as I was looking at apartments, and go to my car parked at the far end. I grab my key, unlock it, and immediately sense a sudden movement to my right about five metres away in the darkness. I immediately assume I am done for and sprint for the car, start it up...and see in my mirror a springbok happily running away.
Other animals so far have been a very photogenic seal this morning, a huge waddle of penguins (that is the actual scientific name for a group of penguins), a tribe of goats at a vineyard, the odd odd (not a typo, there have been a few strange) newt/lizard-type creatures, and whales down at Hermanus as well as on the bike ride. The trip to Hermanus actually involved a meal in a setting which is easily in my top three settings ever sat in a cave looking out over the bay as whales did their business. For the record, the others were sat at the foot of the Acropolis accompanied by some incredible food with my grandad, and my first conference dinner at the IoP 2013 which was inbetween carraiges at the National Railway Museum in York, fantastic not only for the setting but because of the copious amounts of wine which is probably the main reason I want to stay in the field! I insisted I went there every time we went to York apparently according to my mother, so I'm glad not yet to have got bored of the place.
I don't think I'll get bored of it here either.
Song of the month: Africa, by Toto, obviously.
*I do have 6 days left in my current apartment, but I probably won't be homeless after this, I can always live in Khayelitsha
**I did get heat exhaustion in my second week and felt like death, but Sally looked after me and made sure I wasn't dead, and after about 3 days all was back to normal. I did spend all Saturday in the sun rowing then sailing with Carl (cousin) and then rowing and drinking Sunday, but by God what will happen to me in summer?!
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