Mexican Dinner Party

On Saturday, I went to a dinner party with my boss and his wife.  At first I was thinking it would be a formal affair, but I came to find out that the theme was Mexican.  We arrived, and a few people had on ponchos and painted on mustaches.  There was tequila, corona, margaritas, tacos, chicken fajitas, guacamole, etc.  Pretty much everything you needed to have a good time.  After dinner, people brought out their instruments, and we had a sing-a-long.  It was a really interesting night; a lot of fun.  This is a picture of my boss at the party.  Let me just say, he knows how to work hard, but he knows how to party harder!

Sunday was pretty slow.  It rained, and it was cold.  Today at work I worked on drawing some files in AutoCAD.  Its not very fun, but at least I have something to do to pass time.  Tomorrow, I am going to the job site to listen to a meeting about the bill of materials.  Should be interesting, and I don't have to be in the office tomorrow.  Tonight, Jorge and I rode our bikes into town.  We went to a place called the Waterfront.  It was like an outdoor mall area.  We walked around and then tried some pizza at a place called Mario's.  People at work told us how good it was, and they were right. Very lekker!

Another Week

This past week went by very fast.  Work takes up most of my time during the week, so there is not much to post.  Thursday and Friday were good work days, mainly because I was productive.  Yesterday, the office let out early to go to Sirocco, a local bar and eatery.  We were having a send off party for one of the girls who is moving back to Cape Town.  After that, I went out with a couple of co-workers to experience the Knysna night life.  It was very cool; it reminded me a lot of College Station somehow.  The bars all got really crowded around midnight, and I met many interesting people.  So far, today has been pretty chill.  I woke up late and have been relaxing.  We chose not to go anywhere this weekend because a cold front came through and the wind has been blowing, and its been raining a lot.  Tonight, we are going to a Mexican dinner party somewhere with my boss and his wife.  People here like Mexican food a lot, but they just have to cook it themselves.  Well, that all the news from the front.  Yesterday, I also learned how to say

"You better watch what you say, I understand Afrikaans!"

Nothing New

Sunday was pretty laid back.  Jorge and I rode our bikes to town and walked around the mall, which was pretty nice to my surprise.  I spent the rest of the day reading and watching soccer.  I was able to Skype my whole family who were all celebrating Father's Day together. 

Today was a pretty slow day.  I spent most of my time reading rules and regulations.  Then I made a spreadsheet that I hope will be useful at some point.  I believe that we will have a team meeting tomorrow morning, and hopefully I will have some more information to work with.  If not, then I will need to contact the civil engineers doing the stormwater management plan and discuss their methodology.  I have been real lazy since I got over here.  Since it gets dark around five, I go to sleep around nine, and I do not have to wake up till half past seven.  I need to start running I guess.

Mossel Bay, Kysna, and the Heads

On Thursday, Dr. Mulder took us on a drive to Mossel Bay.  It was a beautiful town, as it was built on the mountain side.  The bay that came up to the town was a deep blue, and I think that you can go cage diving there.  From Mossel Bay, we headed north, planning to go over the mountains and see the ostrich farm.  About half way up the mountain, there was a work crew that told us the road was closed up ahead.  Apparently, the area had about 10 inches of rain within two days sometime last week, so the road was still washed out.  Taking a detour, Dr. Mulder took us all to Botlierskop which was a private game reserve.  We had lunch there, and I ate kudu kabobs.  The wind was very bad that day, so we did not go on a game drive after lunch.  We did see elephants, impala, and wildebeest as we drove out of the park. 

We then headed back to Knysna.  Later that evening, Jorge, Dr. Munster, and I went on a paddle boat cruise out to the Knysna heads.  It was a fun experience, and they served us beer and food.  It was an evening cruise that left at 5 pm and returned to the dock at 6:30 pm.  It was disappointing as we did not get very close to the heads at all.  They claim that when the British Navy was at its peak, that they claimed the Heads to be the most dangerous and treacherous pass to enter and exit. 

Yesterday was my first real day of work.  I arrived at the office at 8 am, and became familiar with the layout.  First, I read a document on sustainable drainage systems (SuDS).  These systems are what will be implemented at the Crossways Farm Village.  These systems will trap as much storm water as possible, as they do not want all the water to run off the site. Designers want to capture as much runoff as possible and use it to irrigate vegetation, lawns, or crops for the dairy.  Each house will have a rainwater cistern, which will capture water from the rooftops of each house.  Later that day, I scanned through CAD files that the engineering had sent over to CMAI.  At this point, I am not real sure where I fit into the system.  I want to be productive, and not reproduce what they have already paid engineering firms to complete.  So, I am still trying to figure out how I will contribute to CMAI.  Friday was good because the office works through lunch and get off at three in the afternoon.  After work, we took a tour of the actual Thesen Island.  It is an amazing design and concept, definitely not seen in the USA.  That evening, I went to Dr. Mulder’s house, and we had a braai.  Him and his wife grilled lamb chops, sausage, and vegetables.  It was delicious, and we had a pancake like thing for dessert.  We drank a red wine from the Stellenbosch region called Jonty’s Ducks.  The vineyard that the wine came from is organic, and they use ducks to control the worm and insects.  It was a very interesting story. 

Today was Dr. Munster’s last day in Knysna.  We had breakfast at Ile de Pain, which is a famous restaurant located under our hotel room.  Once he left, Jorge and I discovered that the Lofts had two bikes for us to use.  We took off to get a better look at the Heads, which was about an hour bike ride.  We ate lunch at a restaurant the overlook the heads, and I had the grilled fish which was delicious of course.  I’ve decided that they do not make bad food in this area, as everything I have eaten has been great.  We got back about an hour ago, and now I am update the blog and pictures.  Check out Facebook for all the pictures.  Oh, here are a couple picks of our hotel room. 

'Till Next Time...

Since I left on June 11....

I flew out of Houston on June the 11.  The flight took off at 3:45 p.m., and London was the next stop 8 hours away.  The flight was good for the most part.  I was able to watch movies on demand, which was nice, but I should have been sleeping.  I only managed two hours of sleep, which would come back to bite me.  We landed in London at 7 a.m., their time.  We had a 12 hour layover there, so we decided to get a day pass for the Underground and the Red Buses.  We set off to see all the major sites that the town had to offer.  It being London, the city rained on us all day.  I guess I would call it more of a drizzle, as it was not enough to keep us from touring the city.  We mainly rode the Underground and walked everywhere else.  The first stop we made was Piccadilly Circus.  We had no idea where anything was, so we just started walking.  Within ten minutes, we had made it to the palace, but we didn't know it was the palace.  It just so happened that we were walking by the stables and some gates opened beside us.  We did not know what was going on, so we just waited.  Next, this black car comes cruising out, and it had the QUEEN in it.  I was not prepared with my camera, but I did get a shot of her vehicle as it was driving away. 

We both got a kick out of the fact that we had been in London less than an hour and had already found the queen.  We decided we were really good at being tourist.  That’s about as exciting as it gets though.  We stopped at all the major sites, and eventually made it back to the airport.  All of the photos have been uploaded on my Facebook if you wish to take a look.  I was so tired because of the lack of sleep, but our flight was taking off at 7 p.m., so I was able to catch up on some sleep.  The flight from Jo'berg was 11 hours, and luckily i managed to sleep about seven hours.  This really helped lessen the jet-lag later.  We landed at Jo'berg around 7 a.m. the next morning.  We again had a six hour layover, so we decided to get out and see the town.  Since we were crunched on time, we just took a free shuttle to the Emperor's Palace.  This was a hotel/casino that was modeled very closely to Las Vegas.  There was a little mall attached to the palace, so we just hung out there.  The drivers in Jo'berg are terrible, and the fact that they drive on the left side did not help my nerves.  We made it back to Tambo, and our flight left at 12:30 p.m.  We landed in George, South Africa around 2 p.m., and our professor was there to pick us up.  He drove us to Knysna, which was about an hour away.  We mainly just rested once we got there, and we got going the next day.  Our first real day in Knysna was on Tuesday.  We met everyone in the office that I am going to be working with, and then we made it into town.  I was able to get a cell phone and get some currency.  We explored the town, which is very nice.  The landscape here is amazing.  It was strange because Jo'berg reminded me of the South Texas plains, gently rolling grasslands.  Once we arrived in Knysna though, it turned to vegetative covered mountains.  The mountains follow the coast line, and they are great to look at.  I have not taken any pictures of the town yet or where I’m staying, but hopefully though will come soon.  I will comment that the seafood here is amazing!

Today we all went to the Crossways Farm Village.  This is the project that i will be working on while I’m here.  The development will focus on green engineering.  The estate will be built around a working dairy operation, and as people move into the development, they can invest money, cows, or crops into the development, and earn money in return.  It’s a great idea, and i will be back with more specific details.  Here are a couple of pictures that show the landscape of this new development.  Also, on the way home we stopped in at Jeffrey's Bay, a surfing mecca.  The beaches and waves are amazing there, and hopefully i can make a return visit.  All of my pictures can be found Facebook.