Random Notes from Cape Town

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• At first I felt unsafe and cold in Cape Town. Walking around this colonial and very modern city... if you have never been surrounded at a crosswalk by a bunch of very black people speaking a foreign language... that can be interesting.
• After making friends with a few locals I have seen a deeper side of Cape Town, and I really like it here.
• My new buddies have names like Skylar, Wilding, Molote, and Sarika. They have taken me to brais (backyard BBQs), briefed me on the ANC (Nelson Mandela's political party), toured a beautiful beach, and taught me some slang.
• Slang... ambiguous use of the word "now." South Africans will say "I'll see you now" or "I am doing it now," and now can mean 5 to 10 to 45 minutes.
• Slang... To express urgency, you can say "now now."  Example, "I am outside your door - OK I will see you now now."
• Slang... Another cool phrase is “It’s not a train smash” which means like “It’s no big deal.”  example…. Hey I am running late -- OK, it’s not a train smash.
• Slang... Instead of "bro," for Brother people say it like the word "brew."
• The BBQ (brai) is a serious part of the South African food and social culture.
• South Africans are the best grill masters that I have ever met. I have been to a few BBQs now at people’s houses and they are all AMAZING. Choice meat and great seasoning.
• The Zulu language is interesting. They have these three types of clicks and tongue-pops that are just so amazing to hear in conversation. Learning about dental, palatal, and lateral tongue clicking was one of those very special travel experiences where I realized how little I know about the world. These kinds of things really make me excited to travel again.
• More photos here.  (currently 30 photos from Cape Town)