The beginning of the second weekend.

Today we get an extra hour and a half of sleep and only have to wake up at 7:30AM. Only.

We wake up and trudge off to breakfast. At first, all the normal things...yogurt, granola, cereal...and then Rooibos tea, sausage, and tongue. Apparently Rooibos tea comes from a prickly red bush comprised of a bunch of spindly stalks. They drive over it tractors which pinches the stalks causing them to bleed their essence. After being dried out in the sun, they are processed into smaller bits that you can then steep. Although I've had Rooibos in the US, I only come to appreciate the taste and various benefits. Rooibos has an extremely high level of antioxidants, does not contain caffeine, and I really like how you can steep it for a long time because it has no tannin.

On the weekends we have a cold breakfast which still includes a great deal of meat. On the weekdays we've had some amazing breakfasts starting with a course of fruit consisting of a mixture of papaya, lychee, strawberries, passion fruit or granadilla, and various other fruits. We eat some gooseberry or orange & aloe spreads along with fresh cream better and bread. We also have a meat course which varies between lamb sausages, ham, sausage & asparagus savory crepes with a cheese sauce. Along side we have some nice cheese sauces as well.

After meeting up with everyone else, we drive out to the Capetown waterfront and do some sightseeing and shopping. It is now time to look around, relax, and find small gifts for some of our supporters at home. The malls are modern with an assortment of many higher end stores you would see in the US. A group of us walk around the mall and find a nice restaurant. One thing that we've particularly enjoyed in South Africa is the calamari. It is so tenderful and flavorful that I've tried to eat it at almost every meal since my first taste. The calamari in the US is rubbery by comparison and it will never be the same for me again. As we head back to our cars, we bring out our umbrellas to fend off the incoming rain only to have them collapse by unusually strong gusts of wind. One of our number has to wrestle his umbrella into submission but it ends up warping under the strain of the wind.

Continuing with our day of relaxation, we head over to Groot Constantia, the oldest winery in South Africa. It is old and famous enough that apparently Jane Austen mentions the wines of this place in some of her books. This tradition continues as we peruse walls displaying the latest trophies coming from international competitions and other art. The wines we taste are well balanced though maybe not as intense as some California varietals. We pause for a moment to buy a couple bottles of medal winning wine not available for tasting before heading outside to look around.

As far as I can tell, South Africa is a land with many different types of terrain. Always off in the distance there are mountains with their heads in the clouds. These mountains seem to jut out of a terrain of gently rolling hills and plains showing the different textures and patterns of the crops planted on them. The vineyard pattern surrounding us is reminiscent of Napa valley in California minus the majestic backdrop of mountains. As we walk the property, we become absorbed in taking various photos of ourselves against this scenery and exploring the land around us. There are various buildings echoing the architecture of an era long gone made all the more striking by the weather. Though the day is overcast, the sun bursts out of cloud cover at various intervals creating a deeper constrast between light and dark. The constant feel and sound of the wind is broken up by the cries of a small dog guarding his property as we pass by.

The relaxation of the day is in contrast to the intensity of the week. I've spent everyday of the week (including unstructured days) with my client, delving into his business and personal life in order to understand him. We've had intense debrief sessions each day to examine different clients and ask advice from some of the more experienced trainers. Over the week, we've seen people grow as they learn to connect to their clients and South African co-consultants. Though I am going solo as a consultant on this venture, the help of experienced roving consultants has been readily available. Perhaps we started out a little frazzled as a group early in the week as we sought to get our minds around the work facing our clients. However, it is amazing how well we are matched to our clients. We've seen some people start out meek and gain confidence over the week in their manner. I know that I'm learning to become freer and less formulaic in my prayer as I become closer to some of the concerns of my client. Things aren't perfect but neither should they be if we are to grow without stricture into a structure set by God. And yet, the intensity of the week is affecting us all differently. Some consultants seem to be energized by the lack of sleep and others (me) are beginning to pass out quite easily at night. And so the release of this Saturday is needed by all for different reasons.

It is a good day.