Let's Play Catch Up

I got internet access today! What a joyous occasion. On Saturday, Avril Whate the medical director here picked up Molly and I and drove us to our host family's home in Athlone. We are staying with George and Irene Snyders. Molly and I share a room with two twin beds covered in floral pink sheets. We settled in and unpacked. The Snyders invited us to spend the day with their extended family. They have two daughters and a son. Their daughter is married to a South African former soccer player who is quite famous and will be working with ESPN on World Cup coverage here. The Snyders have 6 grandson who were running around and playing all day. We went to the Oyster and Champagne Festival out in Durbanville on a vineyard. They had live music, food, drinks, carnival stuff for kids, etc. It was fun to get to know their whole family. We stopped at Fruit & Veg on the way back to grocery shop for dinner and their produce is soooo fresh here! I was in awe by the variety and quality of it. Back at their son's home they daughters and son cooked up this amazing dish call seafood potje. It's made in a three legged iron pot and cooked over hot coals. Needless to say it was a tasty meal accompanied by food, food, and more food.
On Sunday Molly and I ventured over to the mall about 10 minutes from our home stay. It looks very much like a mall at home. When we got home we had Easter lunch with George and Irene. We lounged around the rest of the day.
On Monday we joined the boys Jay who is a 4th year medical student at Temple University and Ryan a 4th year medical student at Michigan State. We attended a briefing session about the healthcare system, do's and don'ts, and other useful information put on by Avril and Marion (local coordinator). Both ladies are wonderful, honest, and have been of great help so far. We met up with Erin, a 4th year medical student at Penn State, who has already been here for 2 weeks and went to the mall together. We all had coffee and got to know each other better. That's enough about those three days!