One of my favorite parts of traveling is meeting new people and forming new relationships. That’s definitely something we’re concentrating on a lot here in South Africa, whether it’s with residents of Ocean View, with our own team, or with Cape Town natives.
Tonight we ventured to Addis, an Ethiopian restaurant in downtown Cape Town, to meet some new friends. John Watson is the nephew of Michael Nolan, a man who goes to my church back in Asheville. We met with John, his daughter, Jane, his son, Rob, and a few of Rob’s friends.
We walked into the three-story restaurant to the smell of incense, and we were directed to short little wooden chairs clustered around a small straw table. We sat and chatted about the work we were doing and Jane’s work as an accountant. After Jane had ordered for us, Rob came in with a few unexpected friends. One of them was his roommate, whose last name is Withers! Rob is a final year law student at the University of Cape Town.
John and Jane to the right, my crew in back, Rob, his roommate Steve Withers and his other friends in front
Me, Jane and John
Before the meal servers came around with a pitcher, basin and warm water to wash our hands and they set big red napkins in our laps. Then when the food comes, it’s on one large tray that covers the whole table. We unraveled rolls of spongey crepe-type tortillas, and used them to pick up the chicken, beef, shrimp, lamb, lentils and chickpeas. Every pile of food is flavored in a different way, and you eat from the tray family-style. After the meal, servers brought us warm moist towels.
John graciously paid for all of us—including the other girls I brought from my group and all of Rob’s friends. It was quite an incredible experience!
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