A Southern Braai

This weekend has been fun and full of African experiences, mostly involving food! On Friday night we went to an African restaurant where they served popular native cuisine family style. This included linefish, chicken wings, pap which is finely ground corn kind of like grits, and my personal favorite - oxtail! It was absolutely delicious and kind of hard to describe, but "the meat falls off the (tail) bones!" There was live jazz-type music and traditional dress and very cool art on the walls, it was a great experience!

The next day we went to the Castle of Good Hope which at one point was used by the Dutch to house soldiers, weapons, and prisoners.

Later

that afternoon we went to a braai, which is the South African equivalent of a barbeque. There was music, games, and delicious food! They served white sweet potatoes which before we realized what they were thought that they looked like regular potatoes but smelled like apples - a wonderfully pleasing combination! The main dish was lamb, I'm not really sure how it was prepared but it was served in small bits - almost like pulled pork - and was in a sweet barbequeish sauce. Divine!

Sunday was Madiba's (Nelson Mandela) birthday so we went to a street fair called the Ubuntu Festival where there was live music, vendors, and lots of spirit! In South Africa, the phrase "ubuntu" is very popular and used often to represent the level of respect that should be given to all people. It was a fun and vibrant place to spend a beautifully sunny African Sunday afternoon!