Move over Dou Liamond

Well as you all probably know, the California Independent Film Festival held its final night of screenings last night in Moraga and being only a quick jaunt over the bay and across the unscrupulous hills of Oakland we felt it was a no-brainer decision to attend. 

Now I know you may be thinking "well golly that is mighty interesting, but I didn't know they were that big of film buffs".  Well you are somewhat mistaken and as soon as the much anticipated Part 2 of our Tour de New Zealand makes it to print we will be able to offer you visual proof.  But you are also somewhat correct.  It turns out that this year's California film festival was putting a spotlight on Texas in Language of a Broken Heart, a film co-produced by our good friend from South Africa, Luke Coffee.  Luke is actually from Dallas, but lived and worked on films in ZA for a few months before being deported on Christmas.  Since returning to Dallas, he has jumped headfirst into the blossoming Texas film biz, getting tough guy parts in both Chase and Friday Night Lights, before landing a role as co-producer and supporting actor in Language of a Broken Heart. 

Now as you may have guessed from the title, it is somewhat of a Romantic Comedy (aka romcom), but  for all of those romcomsarecrappyandalwaysfeaturedouchebagslikeHughGrant-style haters, don't let that deter you.  It was actually a solid story, well acted, and overall a great flick.  Following the show, we made our way out to the boisterous lobby and rubbed shoulders with silver screen legends, but the best part was having dinner and drinks with the director, writer/lead actor, and Luke afterwards.  Very cool experience that I wish was more common following a movie.   Overall, the viewing was a great success, and we weren't the only ones that thought so as Language of a Broken Heart took home Best Picture.  Now that the hype has been set, your job is to keep your head on a swivel and an eye out for the award winner in a theater near you...

Oh yeah, that is who you think it is.  Hollywood Legend, and 2011 Maverick Award winner Dou Liamond Phillips:

Laugh it up Dou, but no Best Picture for you tough guy...

Coming to America

We have had a few questions regarding the future of the Dos Texpatriates blog now that we will be moving back to the States.  To this, we remind the inquirer that California is still a foriegn land to we native Texans and that the tag line, "Two Texans away from home" still rings true. So continue to check back for updates as we continue to navigate strange and foreign territories.

All Aboard the Breakfast Express

Before departing Cape Town, Jared and I decided that another must-do was to revisit one of Cape Town's quirkiest breakfast spots, the Atlantic Express.  Tucked between the barber shops and Chinese food restaurants on hectic Main Road in Sea Point, the Atlantic Express had peaked my interest from the first drive by.  When I saw a sign advertizing pancakes a few weeks later, I knew that it was meant to be.

One Saturday morning a few months ago, I convinced Jared to let me blindfold and escort him to a mystery breakfast. Although the importance of the blindfold took a bit of convincing, I managed to keep him in the dark until we were directly in front of the old school train.  Needless to say, he was suprised to find this overlooked gem parked on the sidewalk. This morning, we were happy to re-discover this magical carriage ready to transport us to a world of breakfast bliss.

Competitive Eating

Since arriving in Cape Town, one of our favorite weekend activities has been to head to the Neighborgoods Market at the Old Biscuit Mill on Saturdays for brunch.  Overflowing with delicious prepared foods, baked goods, meats, cheeses, and sauces, the market offers almost anything you can imagine would be delicious to eat.  A mistake that we make time and time again is to show up to the market hungry. Sometimes ravenously so. Sometimes this hunger is exaggerated by an accompanying headache, a reminder of Friday night's activities out on the town. Needless to say this is not the ideal state to show up in at a jam packed market with literally thousands of food options and very little seating.  For some (i.e. me), these choices can become quite overwhelming.  I will often wander around for 20 min, usually to return with either enough food to feed an army because I was unable to decide or just a beer, having been repeatedly defeated by the more ambitious diners.  Both Jared and our friend Liz, on the other hand, always head straight for the stand selling the rump steak sandwich, a messy but delicious meal that has them raving until the next fix.  Despite having eliminated the "what to get today" problem that plagues me so terribly, fighting for a spot in line and a place to sit can certainly get the competitive streak in those two going.  Despite the momentary rage at the person slowly lingering over their savoury crepe or Thai breakfast stirfry, no one leaves hungry and everyone leaves happy.

Full Moon Fever

Now that we have finally been given our departure date (Mar 23), Jared and I have been making lists of things that we absolutely must do before leaving town.  Only two items on the list earned a special star, which indicated things that we would have to miss our departure flight if we hadn't done.  One was eat lunch at Mzoli's. Check.  The other was climb Lion's Head mountain on the night of a full moon. 

This one was a bit harder because, as we all know, a full moon only happens once a month.  Knowing that our time in SA was soon coming to an end, we set Feb 28 as the "must climb" date. Normally, this would be totally do-able.  Although the climb is a bit steep and challenges some peoples comfort with heights (Mom: "I am not scared of heights, I just don't like being up so high"), we both knew that we were up for the challenge.  Enter the Sauvingnon sloppy fest and things get a bit complicated... lets just say that there were several times that I thought that I was going to either pass out, puke, or fall off the mountain and I was in better shape than my beloved companion.  Despite the physical hardships and sauvingnon blanc-flavored sweat, we made it!

Not only did we make it to the top, but we got to watch both the sunset and the moon rise.

Although we did not linger for the stargazing and wine drinking that was to come, we had an amazing sense of accomplishment and the light of the moon to help us down the mountain (which apparently wasn't enough to keep me from scraping my knee).

We have now officially checked the two specially starred items off the "to do" list, so there is a chance that we might just make that plane...

Mix Master Mzoli

Pretty soon after moving to Cape Town, Jared and I began to think more about the fact that not everyone in the city lived in a high rise apartment paid for by their company.  Some people didn't even live by the beach. (gasp!) Or have lovely views of the mountains. Or friendly guards to ensure their safety at home.  Now I don't want to present us as totally ignorant, blissful Americans completely unaware of the substandard conditions in which many South Africans lived, but there is still something different about seeing it for yourself.  As you leave the airport, the highway is lined with shacks piled together and stretching back for miles and miles.  The largest of which, Khayelitsha, is home to over two million people by some counts.  I am not going to go into the full history of how these townships were formed or why they still exist, but the fact of the matter is that many people that you will encounter while in SA either currently live in a township or have in the past. 

To me, it was weird living in Cape Town, trying to get to know the city and completely avoiding a huge sector that represented the daily realities for the majority of the population.  In general, people who don't live in the townships don't like to go there (reasons include: terrible crime rates, unlabeled streets, and general uneasiness).  A popular way for tourists and visitors to see first hand what the inside of a township looks like is to join a township tour. Jared had been on one such tour when visiting SA last year and said that while it was informative, it was kind of awkward, viewing these people and their lives as if they were a tourist attraction.  So that was out.  Through the organization that I volunteer with (the Kay Mason Foundation), I had the opportunity to go to Khayelitsha twice to visit a boarding house that we were setting up there, and that was great.  It was cool just to drive in and see how the city was laid out and drive around through the neighborhoods. 

Although this was a good start, we still had an itch to get inside and spend some time with the locals.  Not only that, we had heard about some great restaurants. Drinking beer and eating random food seemed like a good way to start.  

Last Saturday, we finally got around to visiting the most famous restaurant, Mzoli's, located in the township of Gugulethu, with our friends John and Liz.  And... it was awesome! Probably one of my favorite things that we have done in SA thus far.  Jared wanted to go back the very next day and deemed the meat the best he has had in Cape Town, which is quite a prestigious honor.

Mzoli's isn't just a regular restaurant, it is a full day event. Everyone dresses up, there are bands, DJs, a dancing contest, and even a magician!  Add this on to one of the most impressive grilling setups I have ever seen, good beers, friendly folks, and some excellent people watching and it is a pretty killer combination for a Saturday afternoon.

 

Although I don't think that we can now claim that we know what living in a township is "really like," it was just nice to spend some time in a part of the city that is usually overlooked.  Leaving that day after having made some new friends, tried some awesome food, and been fully entertained for hours, we understood that township life is not all about the overcrowded shacks or the stories of rampant crime, but is more about making the best of your situation and living life to the fullest. That and being able to whip up some mean bbq chicken with top-secret seasonings.

South Africa, Drakeley Style

 

As soon as the Drakeley family booked their trip to Cape Town, Jared and I began researching.  We knew the only the finest would do for this group and we were eager to show off all that the Western Cape had to offer.  Not suprisingly, it did not dissappoint.  As we played the "name your favorite moment" game on the Drakeley's last day, we had to circle the table three times to include all of the highlights from the past week and a half.  From the excellent dinners to the fantastic wine to the impressive wildlife, the Drakeleys were able to see first hand just how tragic it is that we have had to spend the last 5 months in such a dreadful place....

Luckily, the group persevered through the hardships and we were able to get in some wine tasting (ok, lots of wine tasting), a visit to the botanical gardens, a weekend trip to the garden route, golf, fishing, a safari game drive, and much, much more... Having visitors during our stay has given us the excuse to get out and enjoy all that this awesome country has to offer and sharing it with our friends and family makes it all the more meaningful.   And there really isn't any beating a visit to a winery with the namesake of the Jimmy Cup and watching him in his element....

World Cup Madness

Well, there are a number of things that I could blame my total ignorance of the huge event to take place here in Cape Town this week: a) I was out of the country for the last 2 weeks b) Americans don't understand soccer (football) hype anyway or c) I am just dense.

Either way, Cape Town is gearing up for the 2010 World Cup in a serious way (and no, we won't be here so you can't stay with me).  Today is the final draw which determines which teams play one another.  It is taking place here in town and right now, it is all people are talking about.  Not to mention that we have just a few celebrities in town, including:

Ms. South Africa, Charlize Theron

as well as the celebrity royal couple themselves, Posh + Becks:

oh, and let me just say that this last one was a personal sighting from bootcamp on Wed morning:

Thats right girls, it is Percy Montgomery the all-time record holder for caps (?) and points for the Springboks (SA's national rugby team).  Ok, full disclosure: I had no idea who he was and it took me a bit of googling to get his name right (Preston Winston? Monty Preston? Percy Wimberley?).  But I saw him, and he is here.

So tonight is the big night and although we did not make the guest list for the exclusive parties, I am sure that Posh and Becks will just be strolling around town later tonight and I will be able to see if he really is as tiny as they say and if her boobs really do make her pencil thin body float as the media states.  Wish me luck!

Cousin Lib in Cape Town!

After months of waiting, cajoling, and outright lobbying, we have a visitor!  Cousin Libby arrived last Sunday night and the adventure has been non-stop since.  Whether checking out local flora and fauna or getting a little crazy with our new expat friends, we have done our best to show her what Cape Town has to offer. 

Cape Town – The Beginning

When Jared proposed writing a blog so that our friends and family could keep abreast of our adventures while abroad, I have to admit that I wasn't totally gung-ho about the idea. Bloggers, in my mind, were weird little people that spent all day at the computer over-analyzing political/sports/fashion minutia or self-absorbed types that thought that everyone was really interested in what they were up to today. Obviously, at some point I came around to the idea. Despite the fact that we both have facebook, skype, gmail chat, and send regular emails, there still seemed to be a bit of a gap, which we hope this blog will fill….

So to help you get an image of this foreign African city that we live in, I'll offer this simple description:

"The town and the surrounding area are SO pretty. Tons of palm trees, a massive blue ocean and big, funny shaped mountains in the background"

….but we'll tack on a nice aerial tutorial photo just for kicks:

Our new city:

So, now to summarize the first 3 weeks and change since we have arrived. Here are a couple quick-hitters:


Driving Lessons – Three 2-hour sessions with our quiet and not so assertive driving instructor Sam. The first of which we didn't learn of until 9:00 AM (1 hour before the start) after having gone out for a celebratory sushi/sake dinner into shots and beers with some new friends of ours (who happen to be from Dallas…can't get outside the bubble if you try). Happy to report zero incidents, but it was quite a painful time. Ultimately we did so well that they gave us an upgrade on our company car.

Our New Ride:

Mouille Point (pronounced Moo-lee) – This is the lucky segment of the never-ending Cape Town coast that will be our home base until March. It has an old iconic red/white striped lighthouse (for you historical landmark fans), a putt-putt golf course (no Peter Pan Mini-Golf…doesn't even have a T-Rex), a creepy hedge maze, and a jogging path that features Cape Towns fittest coeds. It isn't really a beach, rather more of a rocky, ocean plant repository, which isn't too disappointing because the Atlantic coast is insanely cold. For beaches, we just need to make a scenic 15 minute drive to Camps Bay where all the rich and well-to-do like to reside. For good reason too. So other than the ocean, we have once again managed to find a place that has construction going on next door (4th year in a row). This project is a bit more interesting though, cause it is a new golf course surrounding the new World Cup stadium. Plus the construction workers here wear cool matching uniforms: teal pants with fluorescent yellow vests, red pants with yellow vest (a.k.a. the ketchup & mustard) or my favorite, the all-orange jumpsuit.

Our Apartment Views:

Chevron – so in case you guys really just don't listen very well, this is why we are here. My job is going well so far. Nothing of great appeal to discuss, but I will say that even working in a predominately English-speaking work environment can be confusing. Just because my co-workers speak English doesn't mean they want to. Most would rather chat in Afrikaans (Dutch-originated, sounds rough at times like German), Xhosa (a tribal language for an African subset that features the stereotyped 'pops' and 'clicks', and grab-bag (could be anything, bottomline is I don't understand it). Another challenge for me has been remembering and understanding names. With the two aforementioned groups and a large Indian/Malay cultures here, your Johns, Mikes, and Daves aren't as common. Other than that, I am just working on digesting how my hugely complex company operates and enjoying it thusfar. 

Lindsay's Boot Camp – Basically she works out in paradise so please don't feel too sorry for her. My office building is not quite this nice. I don't even have a window, actually I don't even have an office to have a window in.

Lindsay's Gym in Camp's Bay:

Food – They have it all. Seafood is the easy standout, being near the ocean and everything. But, they also churn out mean hamburgers, pizzas, bread (kind of random, but they make fresh loaves everywhere and they are really good), and most interesting of all: the game meat. So lets talk highlights: Namibian oysters (huge and crazy delicious), Kudu biltong (the most complex and multi-flavor-dimensional jerky I've ever encountered), Royale Cheeseburger (top 3 all-time burger despite Euro ketchup), Pinotage wine (cheap South African red wine that never disappoints). 

What is a Kudu you ask?:

Heritage Day – So week two of work I learn that Thursday is a national holiday, which was an awesome surprise. Combined with the fact that I had four days off my first week and I have every other Friday off work as part of the local Nine Day Fortnight policy, this allowed me to keep my streak of not yet working a full 5-day work week alive. It appears that the streak will end though during Week 5, but I am still holding out for another surprise. So what did we do on Heritage day you ask? Well if you noticed Mexican food wasn't really on the list of food highlights above, so we decided to celebrate our Texican heritage by whipping up some breakfast tacos and homemade salsa while jamming out to Buena Vista Social Club (do yourself a favor and pick up their greatest hits….the album is uber choice). Overall big success. So well in fact that we are going to self-cater our Texas/OU party in a couple weeks. We just need to find some margarita mix and good tequila.

Wine Country – For our first weekend jaunt out of town we drove to Franschoek to do a little bit of rigorous R&D on behalf of our upcoming visitors. As for location it is about an hour west of Cape Town and maybe 15 minutes southeast of the better-known Stellenbosch. It's a smaller more quaint town with a fewer number of wineries, but this makes it easier to maximize your wine intake. It was quite cloudy and rainy when we were there which allowed us to focus more intently on examining the wine. All together we sampled 27 wines, and left with 10 bottles as to run further tests on.

Research Team:

 

Whale Country – On the way back from Franschoek we decided to go through a town called Somerset West and visit Monkey Town (a megaplex of monkey madness from what I hear), but due to some horribly placed construction, we couldn't figure out how to actually enter Monkey Town so we called an audible and drove an extra hour in the opposite direction of Cape Town to catch the end of Whale Fest in Hermanas. Again, David Finfrock's nemisis was against us as we arrived in a cloudy downpour. There was lots of traffic and it was really hectic getting into town so with that and the rain we just ran into the first hotel/restaurant we saw, which happened to be this over priced white table cloth place.  As much as we weren't in the mood for a fancy meal, we decided to just wait out the rain and traffic there, knowing that lunch would take three hours.  Luckily, the hotel totally redeemed itself when we learned that Brad Pitt had stayed there a few years ago.  Moreso, it redeemed itself because it had huge windows looking down on to the ocean and we could see whales from there!!   We saw a mom feeding a baby (or what someone told us was a mom feeding a baby because we could only see the fins and backs rolling around next to each other), and about 5 or 6 other active types that were flipping their tails around for us.  It was pretty crazy….they must have known it was whale fest. To make things even better, on the drive home we were able to see a troop of Baboons running down the highway effectively filling that monkey void created from the Monkey Town tease. All together it was a pretty solid weekend.

Hermanus, a.k.a. Whale Territory:

Football – So I know that the suspense has been building the whole time you have been reading, asking "when is he going to address the fact that despite the scenic backdrops, exotic food, and all around badassness, that they are missing out on an entire NFL and NCAA season?" Well here it comes. So thanks to the miracle workers that invented the Slingbox (slingmedia.com … look it up) and African DVR technology I am proud to report that we have missed zero Cowboys games and only 2 Texas games (only because they weren't on DirectTV in Dallas). Yeah so we know that Romo is playing like a chump right now, Wade's man boobs are looking good, Jason Garrett is not a hot commodity anymore (sweet double quick fades on the 1 yard line), and everything is good so far with the Horns. 

Animal Watch – So being in Africa it wouldn't be right if we didn't keep a running tally on the animals that we have seen while we are out and about. So far here is what we got so far:

• Whales – No big deal, just a couple mom/child Southern Right Whale combos
• Mongoose – quite a tail on those little guys (no pix, dude was way too quick)
• Cape Hyrax – Evil looking fella, kind of like a fat groundhog
• Baboons – these guys are like a creepier, roided-out Chimpanzee

Cape Hyrax:

Baboon: