Cape Town: Time Warp

This week, reporting-wise, was pretty boring. Only Monday and today did I actually write anything or go out and report. However, life-wise, it was interesting.

Today I got into the office and Mlungsi shoved a piece of paper into my hands; something about a football/soccer practice. Then we were in the car and headed out to Stellenbosch, which is basically Western Cape wine country. After about an hour, we parked at a soccer stadium and hopped out.

I found out once I was out of the car that this was South Africa's national team, Banyana Banyana, and they are the first women's soccer team in South Africa to qualify for the Olympics. They're currently preparing for the London Olympics, which start in July. I know who I'm rooting for when those come around.

They were a really nice bunch of women, though I'm pretty sure that any one could have beat me to a pulp if they'd been upset with me. Me and Mlungsi, also a neophyte reporter, got everything we needed between the two of us and went back to the office, and eventually ended up with an acceptable story. Sybrand, our editor, is really tough but only because he cares about the craft and he wants us to be better at it. He can be really intimidating, but as we get used to each other, I think he's a good guy.

The interesting part was last night after work, when we headed to O'Driscolls after work (yes, there are Irish pubs in South Africa). We got there at 5pm. We left at 10pm. Hypothetically, I may have sung Time Warp from the Rocky Horror Picture show with the bar singer and I definitely sang Don't Stop Believin' (everybody loves Journey, OK). And there was this middle-aged man that wouldn't leave me alone and kept telling me that my eyes were like "black ocean pools" (I have brown eyes, for the record). He gave me a book called "Demonized" and I was like "...thanks?" Luckily, Zach and Abby flanked me pretty much the whole night, so it was fine. We also made a new friend named Gabby, who is actually a really nice, legitimate person.

It was a weird night, all in all. Especially for a Wednesday, but that's Cape Town for you. It's always a party here. Anyway, I am done with work for the week!