Category: Photos

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From The Mountains to The Sea

I didn’t get enough heights from my paragliding adventure and searched out that dizzying, gut-wrenching feeling caused by looking downwards from great heights the same afternoon after my Lion’s Head paragliding flight.

Cape Town Stadium Roof

The recently built Cape Town Stadium is partially covered by a glass roof, from which we can see Table Mountain on one side, the Atlantic Ocean on the other, the sun above us, and the pitch below us. With the day being close to 40 degrees Celsius in combination with the reflection off the glass, we all feel like we are being slowly cooked. However, I do not come to this realization until retreating back down to a more natural height.

Cape Town Stadium panorama

A fun fact about the stadium’s roof is that it is very flexible and ready for some of Cape Town’s windier conditions. The roof can flex both up and down as well as side to side to accommodate some of Cape Town’s harshest wind conditions.

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Flying into Cape Town

Paragliding over Cape Town

Stefan says to me, “On the count of three, we will start running.  And don’t forget to not sit down.”

“Right,” I reply. “I guess I’m ready.” I ineffectively try to wipe the sweat from my face on this scorcher of day.

I think of all the not-so-reassuring words that fellow flyer and classmate Matt has given me throughout the last couple days in preparation for this moment.  “Even in the worst case scenario, at least there will be little pain.”

I’m waiting for Stefan’s count of three to begin any moment and it feels like I’m waiting forever.  I find myself holding my breath in anticipation until I cannot hold my breath any longer because of my quicker heart rate.  I tell myself that I get more than my money’s worth for these types of adventures assuming that the best measure to use is heart rate per dollar.  My fear of heights causes my heart rate to scale quickly at such moments.

Paragliding Over Cape Town from Andrew Stein on Vimeo.

“One.  Two.  Three.”  We start running and of course I begin to try to sit in my harness well before it is time.  I receive a quick scolding and immediately stand up and resume running.

Before I know what has happened, we are seemingly weightless, Lion’s Head Peak is to our back and Cape Town’s coastline is ahead of us.  We hit a small thermal updraft and climb a little higher before beginning our descent.  Once I feel supported by the parachute above me, I begin to relax and couldn’t be happier that I was convinced to fly via paraglide over this great city.

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Langa Township

Opposite of many other large cities, in the core of the Cape Town dwells the wealthy, and the “suburbs” are where the poor reside within townships.  As part of the school’s immersion program, we spend an afternoon having lunch at and visiting one such township, the Langa Township.

Langa Township boys

Much of what we see there could be expected, but there are a couple surprises that I want to share.  First, within the township, there are a variety of socioeconomic classes displayed.  There are the large families who live in overcrowded, small tin houses juxtaposed to the smaller families enjoying fenced-in, cleaner-looking homes.

The second surprise for me is that regardless of where and how a family lived, many are in possession of seemingly luxurious goods such as nice televisions, stereos, phones, refrigerators, and even cars.  Anything in need of electricity is powered with stolen electricity off the power lines.

Langa Township woman

Finally, the last idea that I struggle with while touring this township is the fact that these families are opening up their homes to let foreigners like us photograph their lives.  They do receive monetary compensation for doing so; however, it still feels very intrusive and uncomfortable.

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More Shade, More Ice Cream

On the first day of our school-sponsored program here in Cape Town, each of the eleven teams is assigned to go out into the city and photography unmet needs that we find.

We all lather on the sunscreen, find our hats, sunglasses, and sandals, and head out to find what Cape Town is missing.  All of us a little more tan and sunburnt than when we left, report our findings to each other over dinner.  There are aspects of South Africa that qualify it as a “developing country”; however, Cape Town is missing many of those aspects.  In other words, most of the obvious needs in the city have already been met.  Consequently, most of us share photographs of areas desperate for shade and begging for more ice cream and lemonade stands.  I am guessing that the photographs from other countries such as Ghana that were also visited by classmates might have a slightly different tone.  Nonetheless, I am excited to be here, to explore this country, and to learn how business is done within its borders.

Penguins near Cape Town

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Destination: Cape Town

Being back in school has its many perks, one of which is the return of winter break.  Not only does winter break mean that I can escape Boston for most of December and January to go enjoy much more reasonable climates, it also means that I can spend time with family, see old friends, and find a little time to travel.  Break is filled with a quick post-exams trip to Vegas, followed by some Latka making and Chanukkah celebrating with the family, topped off with a trip over to Phoenix to cheer on Cardinal Football, and finally some time in the Bay Area to begin thinking about summer job prospects.  Through school, I am then “required” to travel to Cape Town, South Africa.  In teams of six, the whole first year business school class is sent to developing countries around the world to work with companies on weeklong consulting projects.

Because class does not start until the end of the month, I feeel that staying in South Africa for an extra two weeks beyond the program is more than logical.  The choice is between below freezing Boston or hot, sunny South Africa.  In Cape Town, on the scale of warm to very hot, the nights are occasionally cool, but nothing that a shirt and shorts can’t handle.

Table Mountain, Cape Town

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1300 Miles

Thirteen hundred miles at an average of 65 miles per hour takes 20 hours.  Then add an extra hour because from Grand Junction, CO to Milwaukee, WI, we will pass through a time zone.  That would mean arriving 21 hours after departing.  And lucky for us, it takes slightly less, but not by much.  The time is filled with books on tape, music, podcasts, discussions of grand plans for our apartment in Boston, and some sleep (but not by the driver of course).

colorado rockies

We tap the Rockies, enjoy Nebraska and Iowa from the highway, and then almost get to Chicago when we head North to Milwaukee to meet up with Becky.  This is the same Becky that we traveled with in Sicily about a month ago.  We stay with Becky’s friend’s friend just outside Milwaukee.  We arrive late, but have the whole next day to recover starting immediately with pancakes and coffee in the morning.  We then head into the city of Milwaukee, enjoy a couple beers at Lakeshore brewery, followed up by a walk along the lake, and eventually end back at the house for swimming pool games.  Today is another great break from the other part of this adventure, which takes place mostly on the open road.

the house outside Milwaukee

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Naturally Unnatural

The best national parks are those that seem naturally unnatural like Arches National Park in Utah.  And because today’s drive was a manageable six hours in the car, there is some time to explore Arches on the way to Grand Junction, Colorado.  Its sandstone arches and other fantastically unusual geographic formations that cover the Moab Desert are breathtaking.  We start our park exploration in the comfort of the Prius and are therefore oblivious to the rising temperatures outside.  At a temperature over 100 degrees, we step out of the car and quickly decide that the heat is not horrible, it being a dry heat.  About five minutes later, we change our minds.  It’s hot outside!  We take a hike to have an upclose view of a famous arch, and while walking in sandals, we start to feel that we are not entirely prepared for this adventure.  As we see others in their high-top hiking boots, we comment that the sand feels a little warm on our toes.  Nonetheless, we make it to the arch and back, grabbing a couple photos in the process.

Arches national park

Moab

In Grand Junction, we crash with my Aunt- and Uncle-In-Law in their place that overlooks the Colorado National Monument, which in the morning provides a tranquil and beautiful start to the day.

colorado national monument

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Red, White, Blue, and Double-Yellow Lines

The road from Rome to Deer Valley is short in time, but not in distance–especially when covering most of California in the process.  My yet to be named Prius is waiting at home in La Canada, CA nine-ten-eleven, and although it has been driven in my absence, the odometer reads only a couple hundred miles more than it did 5 months ago.  Little does the unsuspecting Prius realize that it will gain almost 5,000 miles in the next couple weeks.

After unpacking, packing, online tutorials for school, a fabulous family reunion in Santa Barbara, and two days of friends in the Bay Area, I pick up Gabe in Redwood City, and we set Park City, Utah into the GPS.  In the ten days that I was “home” in California before setting off across the country, I had no time to experience jet lag, culture shock, or sleeping in.

Deer Valley, UT

That said, before I know it, Gabe and I are enjoying our last In-n-Out Burger for a while when we pass through Reno, and it is more accurate if I pluralize “burgers.”  For lunch, we share a regular fries and animals-style fries, which I devour along with a cheeseburger, an animal-style double-double, and a Coke.  In between long stretches of open road filled with good tunes including a tractor playlist, “This American Life”, and in depth discussions about the wikipedia article on Mormonism, we make a couple more bio-breaks to refill the Prius and empty our bladders before eventually arriving in Park City.  Staying with a friend from university, we wake up the next morning to a beautiful day.  Our friend has to go to work in the morning, but her two roommates are gearing up for a hike and we invite ourselves to tag along.  We quickly realize that we should have waited for them to fully gear up so that the spandex, hardcore shoes, and camelbaks could have provided us a hint of what we were about to do.  Hiking up and around Deer Valley to about 10,000 feet, we learn a lesson about lung capacity while we enjoy the stunning views that surround us.

After a full recovery day in Park City of hiking, eating, cooking, and exploring Main Street, we leave for the very reasonable drive to Grand Junction, Colorado.  I am not sure if the hardest activity of the day in Park City was the hike or kneading the homemade pasta dough, but whichever the case, we had a fun-filled stay in Utah.

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Roman Reservations

Roman meal with the fam

While in Rome, I am put in charge of making the dinner reservations for the family. Having had some practice navigating foreign cities and finding places to eat over the last many months, I feel ready for the task. In addition, in my previous visits to Rome, staying with two friends very involved in the Roman cooking scene (both having had worked at restaurants), I am prepared to accept all of their food recommendations.

Here is how the dinners played out in chronological order for our week in Rome.

Ristorante Nino
Via Borgognona 11 (by the Spanish Steps)
+39 06 679 5676

Casa Coppelle
Piazza dell Coppelle, 49 (near the Pantheon)
+39 06 6889 1707

Riscioli
Via dei Giubbonari, 21
+39 06 686 4045
(Only went for appetizers and pasta as we are still full from our cooking lesson at lunch.)

Taverna Trilussa
Via del Politeama 23 (in Trastevere)
+39 06 581 8918

La Pratolina
Via degli Scipioni 248 (semi-near the Vatican)
+39 06 3600 4409

Riscioli
Via dei Giubbonari, 21
+39 06 686 4045
(Returned with everyone to taste more of the menu)

Pierluigi
Piazza Dè Ricci, 144
+39 06 686 8717
(Delicious Roman pizza)