We had our last and final workshop today at the WP Blood Services Center in Cape Town.  What a wonderful group of people!  I always say as a speaker, I am only as good as my audience and this audience really was ON today!  They came ready to learn, transform and walk out with new ideas and insights.  This group was made up of the people who directly interact with the donor population.  We talked about empowerment, self-worth, priorities and finding the courage to play bigger in the world.  My favorite part was doing the communication exercise where they all learned a bit about themselves and what their tendencies are when they live day to day.  What a crack up!  One group talked about sex the whole time!!!

Chris in action

Tina in action

After the wonderful experience and sense of giving Tina and I have been blessed with here in this country, we wanted to give something back so we decided that we would give blood.  The process was fairly simple and “painless.”  Once they found out our blood alcohol levels were ok (just kidding..) we went through the typical screening process.  Unfortunately, Tina’s iron level was too low so she could not give.  She gladly watched as they stuck a needle in MY arm!!

In the process of giving..Chris and Cindy

Tina and I went to a GREAT restaurant for dinner called The Green Dolphin.  The whole theme of the restaurant is “dedicated to the preservation of Jazz.”  We heard a great live Jazz band called The Lee Gelder Bloem Quartet.  We always seem to meet the funnest people on this trip.  We stopped a waiter named Zulu to take our picture and as he took it another waiter, Brian, decided to stick his head in the picture last minute to our surpirse.  We had such a good time talking to these guys!!

Tina, Chris and…surprise – Brian!

Tina and Zulu making sure their eyes were open!

Tina and I discussed at dinner how blessed we feel for being given the opportunity to go on this trip together.  It has been perfect in every sense of the word!  We would not change a thing.

We head back to JoBerg tomorrow and then leave for the States on Monday night.  Even though we have had a spectacular time, we both are feeling a bit homesick today and are ready to go home.  We miss you guys!!

Until tomorrow..

Chris-Tina

So this morning Tina and I had a quick breakfast because our ride that was taking us to Table Mountain was early.  Tina thought it would be nice to take our coffee to go.  She very carefully made our coffee, handed me mine and said, “I can’t remember (there goes her memory again!) which one I put sugar in so we will have to look at them.”  I must have looked perplexed for a moment because I was trying to figure out how I would tell if there was sugar in it by looking…so I asked Tina, with a very sly look on my face, if she had “sugar vision.”  Hence, “sweet” became our word of the day……

We FINALLY took the cable-car up the face of Table Mountain to the top.  We had planned on doing it on Tuesday but it was closed because of the wind, so instead we went to the windiest point in South Africa…Cape Point…duh!!!  We also had planned on climbing to the top instead of taking the cable-car, but we didn’t take enough Essentiale the night before!   At 4,000 feet, we could see all of Cape Town and Tina and I made a bee-line to get to the furthest point out so we could have some “quiet” meditation time before the crowds came in and also to record the video we could not end up posting here.  We spent about 3 hours at the top, came down on the cable car as we watched poor souls climbing to the top looking up at the car with a face that said, “Damn, why didn’t I take the car!”

From the cable car

Tina between a rock and a hard place…

Chris thinking she could fly…

Our view from the top

We got back to the hotel and decided to take a quick nap before heading out to shop at the Waterfront.  I immediately began searching for my “man blanket” to sleep with.  What is that you ask?  Well, a couple days ago when I took a nap (I swear we do more than sleep and drink here!) Tina handed me a blanket from the closet and it smells just like men’s cologne.  Of course, I have slept with it EVERY night since!

The closest Chris has gotten to a man in a long time…

We had lunch at a great German restaurant, had some..wait for it…beers and then headed to an awesome Wellness Craft Center right in the middle of the Waterfront.  We went nuts!  We each bought several very rare crystals (yes, we bought more!), an African music CD, and all of your Christmas presents…all for $3.00!!!

Tina fit right in!

The required drinking photo

We headed back to the hotel after about 4 hours, sun-burnt shoulders and all (it was about 90 degrees here today) and then we….wait for it…took a nap…again!  Shopping makes one tired.

Helen, one of the ladies from the WP Blood Services where I am doing a workshop tomorrow (OMG I have to actually work!) picked us up and took us to this great restaurant right on the ocean called Petenaro’s.  We had such a blast!  We ate great food, fancy drinks and had wonderful conversations from Peru to politics.  Tina and I agree that we learned so much from the conversation and are so looking forward working with their group (about 85 people) tomorrow.    We also learned that when we are standing “in line” for something we are standing “in queue”.   We also found out in South Africa there are 8 days of the week…we can prove it!  (see below)  And we found out that when African women imitate Texas men, it is frickin’ hilarious!!!  Marika gave us a great account of an experience she had last time she was in Texas and Tina and I were rolling in the car on the way home.

Read the sign carefully!

Chris and crazy Helen

Madame Marika and Tina

We got back to our rooms to find that we had experienced “turn down service.”  We had our beds turned down, chocolates on our pillow, a weather card telling us the weather for tomorrow and step mats (or as Tina calls them “get up mats”) by the sides of our beds.  Tina decided that she would ask April to do this for her every night from now on…(hahahaha…my idea April!)

Our lovely turn down service

Off to work tomorrow…(I love my job!)

When Tina found out she had to listen to Chris AGAIN tomorrow…no Tina- Don’t Jump!!!

“Maynard” and “Homer” (don’t ask….)