Thanksgiving at Kubrick’s House

This year for Thanksgiving, a group of Americans (mostly PC South Africa) converged outside of St. Lucia on the north coast of South Africa at a villa built and owned by the Italian Embassy (I believe). At the moment this villa is being rented out to a John’s Hopkins HIV/AIDS project that a few PCVs are currently working with and the project directors agreed that we could use this location for our Thanksgiving weekend. Well, this villa, which easily slept the 15 or 17 people that attended, is sprawled over a hillside overlooking sugarcane fields and surrounded by some of the most beautiful Flamboyant trees (beautiful red blooms). But it was not the location and surroundings that stood out. In fact, it was the design of the house itself. At the end of the ‘grand tour’ we were given upon arrival we were brought into the living room/TV room. It was then that I realized where we were. A Stanley Kubrick film! The solid pastel wall colors, indoor columns and archways, large fireplace, and long, winding hallways are classic Kubrick and around every turn I expected to see the twins from The Shining waiting to make me a permanent resident.  When I wasn’t relaxing poolside or preparing the stuffing for our Thanksgiving feast, I spent a glorious work-free weekend in an alcoholic stupor. While our meal turned out delicious, I also was finally able to see Obama’s election-night speech (amazing and uplifting), visit a beautiful beach at Cape Vidal and finally see a black rhino, which to that day had eluded me on all of my previous game drives. All in all, a wonderful weekend and to this day, I still give thanks that we must have been in one of Kubrick’s lost comedies!