Phantom Forest

Week 2 started off at a primary school that was about a half hour away, and quite literally in the middle of nowhere. I asked how the 60 or so kids got to school (no houses anywhere around, no buses), and I was told the teacher wakes up before the crack of dawn every morning and takes several trips in her 15 seater van to a town about 15 minutes away and brings the kids to school in several trips-school starts promptly at 7:45. Can you imagine? These kids were by far the most elated kids to see us of any thus far, maybe because there isn’t a soul to be seen for miles! We should have brought the video camera. Each one wanted to be picked up by us over and over again, it was both nice and exhausting! We spent the morning playing sports with the kids, soccer, volleyball, keep away and some of their own games they wanted to teach us. When we left the kids were crawling all over our car which was terrifying, I can’t believe they all survived!

The rest of the week has been about the same as last week outside of trying to learn cricket one afternoon, but yesterday afternoon was notable. The kids were making ribbons for HIV (think the pink ribbon for breast cancer) and there was a note on the board for “HIV Questions” at the end of the period. Come the end of the period, we find out the questions are for us. We’d luckily read a remarkably graphic pamphlet about HIV during the primary school lesson on Monday (the explicit nature of which we were foolishly laughing about with each other), and so, while still completely unprepared, we had some knowledge. Once the questions started, they didn’t stop, and the lurid content of the questions was shocking-apparently the kids here are quite often “active” around the tender age of 10 or 11. In America if you heard these questions, the kids would be trying to be funny, but here, they were completely serious. I’ve never had such a blunt conversation in my entire life, so it was interesting to find myself having it for the first time with children. At one point the teacher very seriously asked for our advice as her sister’s husband is HIV positive but her sister is not and they want to try to have children. My immediate instinct was to just say no, but luckily Dave and I settled on advising her to talk to a doctor about it at the same time (as it turns out, with medication, there can be a very small chance of your baby getting HIV through pregnancy). At another point that same teacher jokingly made an extremely vulgar extended gesture that would have had her fired in an instant in any other country. It was a memorable experience and we were forced to leave after our ride had been waiting for 15 minutes, even though the questions were flying up until we walked out the door.

On an entirely different subject, my amazing husband woke me up this morning with a “Happy Anniversary”. Assuming he was just being silly, I responded with the like, until he quizzed me on said anniversary. Umm, our first ski trip? Silly me, it was our 18 month wedding anniversary (how could I forget? ), and Dave had made plans to go to a fancy restaurant suggested by the Todes’, family friends of the Ettingoffs that have been to Knysna several times. The restaurant was called Phantom Forest, and for a mere 300 Rand per person (less than $50-and the beers were less than $2!), a car would take you up a mountain to the lodge and serve you a 6 course meal. It’s rare that I have a 3 course meal and I’m pretty sure I’ve never had 4 or more, so it promised to be a fun and unique date. When we got there however, heartbreakingly, nearly every single thing on the menu had something in it that I hate. I’m not THAT high maintenance but I have pretty simple taste preferences-I’m a meat and potato girl if you will. Things like truffle oil, anchovy and caper aioli, fennel, olives-I can’t do them. So the excitement was dampered, but I told Dave if they could somehow take these ingredients I hate and make it into something I enjoyed, this restaurant really must be as amazing as we’ve heard. And they literally brought us out a plate of olives in the middle of this discussion, which was hilarious. That said…

This restaurant was as amazing as we’d heard. It started off with a fennel tomato soup (in this case I actually hate both ingredients!) that I decided was “not bad”…”actually not bad at all”…”this is wonderful”…”umm..are you going to finish yours?”. Next up was a shrimp ravioli in a “martini” sauce which was actually a cream sauce-AMAZING. Tied with 2 other courses for best. Next up was a pallet cleanser-cucumber, mint, and apple sorbet-for me it was the cucumbers that were obviously going to ruin this course, and for Dave it was worse, both the mint and cucumbers. But no, it was delicious, somehow cucumber+mint+apple=lime sherbet, or so it seems. We’ve now arrived at the main course which was the only disappointment, and that was just on Dave’s side-clearly the anchovy and caper aioli was just too great an obstacle to tackle, and made the kingclip fish pretty much inedible for our simple tastebuds. On my side however, the gemsbok was better than steak (I’ve already told you about me and steak), and there was plenty to share with Dave. Course 5 was a cheese course and I actually skipped it but I’m sure it was wonderful. Now-Sue-this is for you-Course 6 was dessert and sweets generally do nothing for me (salt is my downfall). Of course, much like the rest of the meal, it surprised me. I’m unsuccessfully begging Dave to go back there on Friday so I can eat it one more time. Although the selections will probably have changed, what if they haven’t and we’re leaving on Saturday morning... "Everything in moderation" has never been my strength! My selection was mint chocolate ice cream with a chocolate fondant (read: cake), a fruit compote that I didn’t need, and a little chocolate cone that I didn't get to either. Dave got a crème brulee that he raved about but I had no extra time or room for such things, so I can’t attest to that. So, cross your fingers for me on Friday…