Mark had his first day of swimming trials today, swimming freestyle and backstroke. He did well, winning his freestyle heat. So, he was thrilled. But, there are lots of good swimmers here. And, it is unlikely that he'll be on the Rhenish travel team. Rhenish prides itself on its swimming heritage, leaving success at rugby and cricket to the nearby Afrikaans schools. We learned that many of Mark's classmates have been swimming under international coaching for at least two years. (The coach who led practice yesterday morning went to college in Texas where she swam in the NCAA championships.) In contrast, Mark has been swimming on a team for four months. Tracy and I told him that Rhenish will be a great place for him to improve. The competition is strong and the coaches are excellent.
Catherine was at Rescurer's Daycare and had a good day.
I was a Stellenbosch University today, and I brainstormed topics for the hydro course I'll be teaching in August.
Here's something interesting about our banking situation. Standard Bank told me today that our account can be switched from non-resident status to resident status tomorrow (Friday). CPUT's first paycheck for me was approved yesterday and will probably hit the bank (via direct deposit) tomorrow. So, it's a race! If the bank wins, I get paid tomorrow. If CPUT wins, the check will bounce and I'll have to wait a couple weeks before they try again. We'll see what happens.
It was quite hot today (28 °C), so Catherine, Mark, and I took a short dip in our pool this evening after work and before dinner. It was just enough to take the edge off the heat.
--Matt