Mountain Highs and Ocean Lows

Snickerdoodles, dark photographs are my bane. My friend Doug sent me these photos to post on my blog and here they are. The first, unseeable one is of some fish, directly above is Doug and to the left, I assume it is Doug as well - diving.

The quick update is that my car died on the highway yesterday at rush hour. Apparently the distributor points were burned (for any interested parties) and this morning the mechanic said it was the coil and it seems to be running quite well now.

I went to the Department of Home Affairs today and managed to get an application to change my status. Now just need to get the paperwork together. On my way to staying until November 20 now. :)

Exploring the Terra Firma

Scrap the pictures, keep picking the dark ones. This was just a artistic picture of some trees.
And if you look closely enough you can almost see the gap in this person's teeth, suggesting the "passion gap" I have mentioned earlier.

I have started exploring the area more. Taking Vuyo out in search of hikes and walking spots. Saturday we went to the Rondebosch craft market in the park and then a birthday picnic cut short to attend puppy obedience classes. Back to the party to catch the second half of the Rugby World Cup game of South Africa Springboks against Tonga. The Springboks are looking good to win the tournament and they play the USA on Sunday. I've been telling people that I am going to paint my face for that game (to do list: find some face paint).

Sunday, I tried to find a dog show and came home. Took Vuyo out to Sea Point for a walk, but forgot the leash. Fortunately? my car's seatbelts are tied to a bracket on the floor and I untied one and used that as a leash. Then off to St' George's Cathedral for the Evensong service.

Monday was a public holiday, Heritage Day. Parked my car for the day and read a book and went for a hike with some dogs and friends in the forest.

This week is Spring Break, so no work with the schools and half the Children and Violence Programme is on holiday.

A Green Wednesday being followed by a Purple Thursday

The cricket stadium with a view of Devil's Peak. The rugby stadium is just off to the right side.
South Africa vs. Pakistan in cricket
A soccer fan
The vuvuzela's are a requirement at soccer games. My friends claimed their ears were ringing afterwards.

Sagas continue in perseverance and waves. So I messed up a bit with application stuff. My holiday visa expires October 22 and I thought I could keep extending that as long as I could show financial ability. Nope. I should have applied for a temporary residence visa from the beginning. Now I need three more weeks on my visa and I can't get anything less than six months and I need a reason for it at that. So I can change my plane ticket and pack up and go home October 22 or take a letter from The Trauma Centre stating that I am volunteering for six months (and that is just to start the application process).

My car and my colds continue at much the same rate.

Two weeks ago, I went to a cricket game and a soccer game. I have learned a bit about how cricket is played. Fortunately it was the twenty 20 World Cup and so it was a much quicker game than other cricket matches (4 hours). Did you know that one team bats first and than the other team just tries to surpass their score? Once that happens, the game ends.

The soccer game was between a local Cape Town team (Ajax) and a Johannesburg team (Jomo Cosmos).

The New Addition to the Household

We added a Labrador puppy to our house Thursday night. Jules brought home two puppies from his uncle's litter in the Eastern Cape (one for someone else). Unfortunately, they spent Thursday night throwing up and so Jules did not get much sleep. What a rude introduction!

Then Jasmine (Jazz) also spent Saturday night throwing up and was taken to the hospital on Sunday. She has cat flu and is still at the vet on a drip. Fortunately Vuyo has had all his shots and has not shown any signs of being sick. But my housemate is having a rough start to being a dog owner.

Vuyo loves to play with Jazz, but is still learning to play gently and Jazz fights back. Plus, I am sure they are sorting out who will be on top at the house. :)

Hiking and Sporting

The title has to do with the forthcoming sport photos. But only hiking ones today. I went for a drive Saturday morning to do a little exploring and walk with Vuyo. We ended up stopping and hiking through some trails briefly.

The top photograph is almost the tip of Africa. Cape Point is sometimes falsely stated as the tip of Africa or where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. Not quite accurate.

On other points, I had some news yesterday regarding my future plans. This past week, I have been trying to ensure that I was registered to take the board exam in two weeks. I learned yesterday that I must first send in my application to register as a psychologist. I have had that application ready since February, simply waiting on a letter of endorsement from the Department of Health. The Dept. of Health sent me a letter endorsing me to take the board exam, so that is the next step I took.

The committee that reviews the foreign applications for psychology meets quarterly - next meeting 29 November. The next board exam is in January (while I am scheduled to be in the USA) and the deadline to register for that is 1 December. Currently then, I cannot take the board exam until April.

I think I have narrowed things to three options:

1) return home and wait until April

2) try to find a job doing something else in South Africa

3) pack it all up and move on to something else

People Hide Out in the Kitchen

Brad, my housemate's brother with Vuyo
Housemates - Cat and Fritz
Housemate - Jules

Vuyo is not allowed in the Kitchen and so people will tease him by running into the kitchen.

These are just pictures of us hanging out one night.

Ostrich Dances and Thieving Baboons

Ostriches at Cape Point. At the turn -off to Cape Point we saw over 20 baboons ahead on the road. Baboons are all over, see them walking along the road and they will go into people's homes and take food.
The Funicular...the ride to the top of the hill.
The lighthouse at the tip of Cape Point, said to be the most powerful lighthouse in southern Africa.
Some of us climbed over the wall to sit on the rocks. Brad in the foreground is my housemate Jule's brother, his girlfriend Lydia and her brother Matthew. Brad said we should lay down because the wind can suddenly come up.