The Journey Inward

My first weekend in Pretoria and time to explore a bit while doing some errands. Today I took to the highways and felt totally comfortable. I only hit my wipers instead of my blinkers twice today, instead of every single time like most days! (They’re reversed.)

Traffic lights are called robots and at the red robots today, there were teenagers putting on shows using crates. They’d then put their hands together in prayer hands and smile at the drivers, hoping for some money.

Pretoria has an abundance of strip malls and some indoor malls, as well.

My first stop was the Menlyn Maine Market. This was a large outdoor market with many artisans selling tea, body lotions, sauces, clothes, chocolate, shoes, art and so much more. I bought some jewelry, a watercolor kit, a dark chocolate date bar (healthy!), a sweater and Christmas gifts for the girls. I saw so many other things I would have loved! I had a delicious chai tea latte and enjoyed the sculptures. I stayed for about three hours and my parking cost $.56. I could have had my car washed in the lot for another $.20. At one booth, two young women pounced on me when they heard my accent! They said they practice their “American” accent all the time, though they were too shy to try it for me! I explained about all the different accents around the country, but they mostly knew New York! Finally, one tried it and I said I liked her South African accent better. She told me it’s been voted the sexiest accent in the world. Why mess with that? They were so fun! I loved a unique dress at one stall and the woman was so happy to explain to me how she designs them. They’re one size fits all. She only had a bright green left and I preferred the bright orange or yellow, so she’ll bring more next month. She sold out so quickly today. I panicked when I saw that low carb is a thing here, too, but felt better when I saw the Lucky Bread shop just steps away. I reported both via text to Kristin right away! There’s a place for both of us here! I bought a chai tea latte there and enjoyed it (second best ever) in my Damn Good Coffee cup (by the way, no luck finding a mug…missing my dog mug courtesy of Jaclyn, my Secret Santa, two years ago.

At one stall, I got a brief watercolor lesson and added to a watercolor picture that will be raffled off when it’s done. I bought a watercolor card set to try out.

I passed through the section of Pretoria called Faerie Glen and it made me happy.

There were some beautiful views of the hillsides as I drove around. They are covered in red roofs, which most of the communities have.

My next stop was to buy some home gym equipment. It’s so shocking to check out and be told you owe 2,500. That’s actually $144.21.

I went to Mr. Price’s Home (Mr. Price does clothes and sporting goods at his other stories, too) to look for a desk and bookcase. I found both, but the floor models were the only ones left and no one seemed interested in disassembling them. Still, I found other housewares I needed, so not a waste.

Leaving the parking lot, I committed my first crime in country. When I handed the attendant my ticket to scan (even though it’s automized, a person still stands there), he pointed out the time. I think I might have overstayed my welcome? Unclear. He said I needed cash. I did not have it. He said to go to the ATM. By now there was a line behind me. He opened the gate and said to go around. By now, cars were to my right and then incoming cars, as well. I blocked traffic, then made a sharp turn into the Burger King lot. As I came back around to go back in, I could see he was not looking for me at all and was busy with other cards. I decided that perhaps his wave had not been to turn around, but to say, “Forget it. Just go.” I left.

From there, I drove to Planet Fitness, which is .4 miles from my house (.64 kilometers as I’m trying to be better at all my conversions). I was struck by how big and modern it was, inside and out. Unlike in the States, it is tastefully decorated, with no purple and yellow to be found. There were four floors of fitness, including a lap pool and a rooftop track! There are rooms for spin class, but it’s not called that (it’s called cycling), hot yoga and pilates, all free with membership. There is a Booty Factory room, which promises I’ll go home with a better butt, and tons of equipment. He told me there was Hydrox up on the roof, but it turns out I heard wrong and instead of the original Oreo, there was this bootcamp thing that seemed super intimidating (Gigi later told me it’s Hyrox). It involved climbing a rope with a super heavy weighted ball and putting it on the roof. Hmm. A very nice young gentleman spoke to me about America and South Africa and later, as I was jogging around the track, his buddy was taking pictures of his back and biceps against the city and sunset. Perhaps I rubbed elbows with a fitness influencer. Shocking he didn’t want to feature me, as well, in his photos! I can also go to other PFs and will try one with Pilates reformers. The price for all this? $17! $4 less than i pay in New Jersey. For anyone wishing to visit, I also get 4 free weeklong passes for a guest! Hint, hint! I did not see any cleaning supplies to wipe down machines after using, so either they don’t do that here or I was very rude. Also, the young man who took me around at the gym said I’m probably mistaken for an Afrikaner a good amount. He said there are a large majority living here in Pretoria. He described Pretoria as chill and has 11 different main languages heard here, most common being Afrikaans, though English is the common language.

Back home, I went for a walk before it got dark and tonight the light didn’t go out. We got a little pink sky before the pitch blackness.

I got to talk to two daughters and Sara today, which made me smile. I talked to Jan for several hours last night. I also washed my hair for the first time in my rain shower. It was delightful.

Stay tuned for tomorrow because I meet Walter! For those of you who don’t know, my friend Lori introduced me to Walter when I told her I was thinking of taking this job. They had gone to high school together in Germany and stayed in touch when she came back to the US and he went back to Johannesburg. I reached out to Walter on June 30 and we’ve either talked by phone or Whats App texted nearly every week since. Initially we talked exclusively about South Africa, but it turns out we have much in common besides! When Lori was visiting me, we had a video call, but it was on a phone and I didn’t have my glasses on, so I really didn’t see much more than a blur! Walter and I talked in the same time zone on Wednesday and he helped me figure out my stove from an hour away! Anyway, he’s driving up tomorrow to spend the day together!