Johannesburg, Joburg or Jozi...

Weekend away? Why not!
Lets just take a two hour flight to Johannesburg, spend a day in Gold Reef City Themepark, then finish the day going to a tap dance show where the guys dance on the ceiling and on moving floorboards!
Lets just spend Sunday driving past beautiful views on our way to the Cradle of Mankind Caves, drive by some lions, giraffes and white tigers, then afterwards, go for a quick shopping spree in the huge Sandton Shopping Mall and then casually fly back to Cape Town as if it was the most normal thing in the world to do!

This is what my weekend could've been like... and guess what? This is what my weekend WAS like.

It was absolutely fabulous, darling!

I have realised that I om living on adrenaline right now, because I am always on the go! I wake up at six every morning and fall back into bed exhausted everyday at ten. The time inbetween is spent travelling, eating  (nomnom!) and spending money. $$$

In the sprirt of the Oscars that were on last night, I would like to thank the following people for giving me the chance to have this incredible experience:
Herschel, for letting me be here and putting up with us.
All the Exchanges, for their hilarious Spanish phrases.
Mrs. de Wolf for having the very good sense to pick me.
Cape Town for existing.
My mom and dad for making me exist.
All the trees here for the shade they have given me from the burning sun.
(I am not going to thank the sun, because all it's done is try to turn me into the colour of a lobster!)
And ofcourse I want to thank Him for creating this world for me to live in.
Amen.

Fun Fact: Did you know? That Joburg is the biggest artificial forest in the world?

At Long Last!

Guys I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to write a blog on everything we've done!
Even the main points are too much, because we make sure we do something exciting EVERY SINGLE DAY.

What did I do yesterday? I pierced my ears again. I now have two holes in each ear. Don't worry guys, this wasn't a spurr of the moment thing, I was actually thinking about it for a long time. You'd be surprised how many people have asked me if my parents (my real ones back home) had gotten really mad at me. I hadn't told them I was getting them done, I didn't even subtely bring it up, but the only reaction I got from them was:

"Don't forget to take out your old ones, the school might catch you." There was no guilt trip, no angriness, no excited shriek, not even a "meh"... Just when I thought I was being rebellious.

Lazy sunday morning? No way. Up at eight, dressed and ready at Annick's house by nine. We drove to a little harbour called Hout Bay, filled with little market stalls and smelly fish. We decided we wanted to take the boat to 'Seal Island'. And let me just tell you, it was FREEZING, and smelly. We arrived in little shorts and tanktops , but the wind was blowing, the moutains and sea were covered in dew and practically everyone had a thick jacket on... It wasn't really a successfull trip, but the million and one seals were cute. We had a bite to eat along the shore in a place called 'the Dunes', and on our way out we got stopped by the waiter. No, not because we had forgotten something, but because we hadn't paid the guy enough tip. He started shouting and complaining and accusing, it was like being back in class with a selfish teacher. The problem was easily resolved by us, firstly, keeping our mouths shut, then saying; "Sorry, we uhh, we no speak English. *A bit off Dutch chatter* Bye!" The waiter was not expecting that, but I guess it's just all part of the South African experience for us.

On Saturday it was my Sweet Sixteen! Everybody who I vaguely knew the name off and I liked was invited. The day was spent chatting, eating, some people played tennis and some even swam! People here are very original with their presents... I got three Africa neclaces! But they are all unique and special in their own way. #cheesy, but very true.

One of the girl schools in our area is called Springfield was hosting a fashion show on Friday night. So what else would a girl (and a few boys) do but go to it and enjoy the view of pretty clothes and shirtless boys.

Need I say more? What about... If I could move my family here and live here, I would. It's that amazing!
Although I do prefer our own school system, somehow I always feel.. doormekaar (Afrikaans for unorganised) here.

A Very Exhausting Day, but so worth it!

RCHP!!!!!!!!

Don't you just lovedoing something extremely last minute! I know I do. And this was just the cherry on top of my trip :)

We started off the day going to Robben Island, saw the usually things; the prison cells, the houses, Nelson Mandela's cell. It was a shame though that our tour guide had a really thick Xhosa accent, because I wasn't able to get the full picture in my head of what the island used to be like. A few interesting stories did stick with me though. There was one about a lady who had managed to escape and swim to the mainland, 17k away, in under two hours. And if that wasn't impressive enough, she only had one leg doing it! Unfortunately her name has slipped my mind...

The afternoon was spent shouting 'war cries' at the Herschel interhouse swimming gala. The house Dani and I are in, is Rolt, So one of the hacka's that we had to sing was;

Rolties, wo nabo beyeza
This one's not for laaities
Or for sissies
Rolties, wo nabo beyeza
War paint and we're swinging
Our knobkieries
Rolties, wo nabo beyeza
We are coming
Beware, we are coming closer....

Sounds very Afrikaan doesn't it? But don't ask me what the words mean.... I wasn't really paying attention for that part. If you would really like to know, I have a great friend called Google Translate who would be more than happy to help you.


Everyone: "Tessa are you going to the concert tonight?!"
                 "What are you going to wear?"
                "Are you just excited as I am?!!"

Me: "Sorry guys, I can't go with you because we weren't able to get tickets, so I won't be getting dressed up. I am excited for you guys though!" This was the answer I had to give to all of the fan-crazed people going to the concert... But then:

Dani: "TESSA! I just got a called from my mom; we're going to the Red Hot Chili Peppers tonight!"
Me: "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!" Bare in mind that it is now around 16.00 and the concert gates open at 17.00. And so the story continues...:

While Dani and are getting all dolled up and wolfing down our dinner, we find out that Matthew and Pieter are sitting right next to us! So once we were there, they came and sat beside us, then Emma, Annick, Domas and Carlen (another friend) came and joined us. It was an amazing night. The music was great, the people were pumped, and considering that these guys are, what, in their 60's (?), they had an unbelievable stage presence. At one point, one of them was even doing a handstand.

The next day half the school was completely exhausted, but every single one of them said it was so worth it!