Missing the Train, August 4

I woke up this morning before the sun rose at 7am. I got ready and walked to meet some friends at the train station to go to Muizenberg. The plan was that I would buy my longboard today while Bryce and his friends surfed. The surf report said 0-1 feet though, which means at Muizenburg that anything but longboarding is nearly impossible. But nonetheless we headed out as the sun was rising over Cape Town. I am now pro at riding the train to Muizenburg. It costs 15R roundtrip, and takes approximately 39 minutes. (We timed it today and placed bets on how long it would take, I said 35-40 minutes. I won the bet.)

We got to Muiz, and as predicted, the waves were very small and super mushy. It looked fun for me, but the other guys were shortboarding. They decided to help me get my board. I ended up buying a red painted performance longboard that is around 9’0. It has a fatty fin, and is super thin and wide. I’m excited to take it out, and see how it rides (pics are on fb if you want to check it out :) After finishing up the dealing process with “Lifestyle Surf Shop” we went to get breakfast at a local café. We ate big breakfasts for 20R, food here is pretty cheap (which is less than $3…although with the way the exchange rate is going, it might be more soon.) After eating we went to the train station, arriving just as the 9:45 train was leaving.

I had a class at 11am, and unfortunately the next train did not arrive until 10:20. Once it arrived, we boarded and sat anxiously, knowing that we would be late for class today. The train is around a 40 minute ride. I arrived at the train station at 10:59 am. Upper Campus, which is where my class was at, was uphill about a mile away. Needless to say, I booked it up to campus (being the nerd that I am), and arrived 14 minutes late in class, sweaty and breathing heavily. Now I know that if I’m surfing, I need to be at the train station no later than 9:40 am.

This evening I went to a bible study. I got a ride from one of the leader’s, Matteo. The bible study is called “Vintage Jesus” and is exploring a novel about discovering the true Jesus. It is put on by Common Ground Church. There are 11 other South African’s in the group. The bible study was pretty cool, and I think I will be going back again. After the bible study we got a little lesson on how to roll start a car, due to a problem with Matteo’s battery. Yep, it was a pretty good day (Oh, and I forgot to say that the weather today was again in the 70’s. Perfect! I’m starting to doubt that Cape Town ever gets rain.)