Rounding out Week 1

To begin this update, I would like to give a shout-out to my Ride:Well family, who I thought of lots this week while you were at the Venture banquet! I even made... I mean “invited” my roommates here to watch the ’09 Ride:Well Video (courtesy of Josh McNeilly and the wonderful world of Facebook) Thursday night about the same time as you all were gathering for the banquet. I hope it went well- miss you all!

After a busy week at the office, we were informed that Joyce would be coming to stay and accompany us on our journeys for the weekend. This was a welcome surprise, and so the weekend began with a trip to get fitted for Congolese cultural dresses, to be handmade by a friend of her family. The fabric she gave to us to have them made is absolutely BEAUTIFUL, and I can’t wait to see how they turn out!

Friday evening brought with it whole new sides of Vixa and Joyce we were yet to see. As it turns out, not only Joyce was staying with Vixa for the weekend, but also 2 of Vixa’s brothers - Raul and Yannick. We learned so much about Vixa (our co-worker and driver, who lives across the street) that I hardly know where to begin. One thing is certain... one should never trust in anything he and Yannick agree on, haha. You should have seen them over card games on Friday and Saturday night, switching between French and Swahili to keep us from catching on to what they were saying. I dont think I’ve laughed so hard in a very, very long time. I’m thankful for the friendships that have come so easily out of spending this time together. I’m looking forward to getting to know them better, for sure.

When not trying to play an “honest” game, we did take time out for tourism to go down to Cape Point. We did a bit of light hiking, much to Joyce’s dismay. It was gorgeous! Though I have to say, myfavorite part was likely the drive through Simonstown, where we stopped to see the many whales in the bay. I’d never seen whales before, so I was pretty excited.

The weekend also consisted of lots of cooking... its funny its only been a week and we “finally” cooked for those poor boys who are clearly starving. I made pancakes, Rachel baked cookies. Yannick is certain that no matter what we make, his is better. This was actually good news for us, for if his is better, we’re convinced we shouldn’t waste our time with sub-par meals, and next time he comes for the weekend, he is going to cook for us! I’ll let you know how that turns out, though...