It has been a stormy week and I have been spending the last couple of days cuddled up in bed reading Nelson Mandela's 'A long walk to freedom' It's a great book, I definitely recommend it!


We finally had a break in the rain today and my friend Chris and I made a beeline for Kirstenbosch for a run up the mountain. We ran into what we shall hereon after refer to as the Niagra falls of the Cape. After nearly causing my lungs to implode jumping into the falls seemed like a great idea...with no forethought of the ride home in soggy underpants. We had a great time playing in the water and eventually made our way home for Horlicks and muffins. I really needed to get out of the house, I think I now might actually be able to make it through study week without loosing my mind.




On Wednesday we went to parliament, enjoyed a nice tour and a talk with one of the members of the ANC (African National Congress), the current majority party. It was interesting to see where such an intense history has been played out and learn more about how the government works in South Africa. There are two houses of parliament: the National Assembly of 400 members; and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) with 100 members. Members of the National Assembly are elected directly (using the proportional representation method - there are no constituencies) but members of the NCOP are appointed by the provincial legislatures. Each province, regardless of its size, appoints 10 councilors, plus there are 10 more from the South African Local Government Association, representing the six metropolitan districts of Johannesburg, Pretoria, East Rand, Cape Town, Nelson Mandela Metropole, and Durban.

The head of the state is the president, currently Thabo Mbeki, leader of the ANC. The president is elected by the National Assembly (and thus will always be the leader of the majority party) rather than directly by the people. A South African president has more in common with a Westminster-style prime minister that a US president, although as head of state the South African president does have some executive powers denied to most prime ministers.

There are also provincial legislatures, with memberships varying according to population. Each province has a premier. Provincial governments have strictly limited powers and are bound by the national constitution. There are also the six metropolitan governments, covering South Africa's largest conurbations.

In addition to the Western-style democratic system, there is a system of traditional leadership. All legislation pertaining to indigenous law, tradition or custom must be referred to the Council of Traditional Leaders. Although the council cannot veto or amend legislation, it can delay its passage.

GREAT NEWS: because our road trip group consists of all students and we have connections with professors at UCT we are going to be going on a wild dog track at one of the research sites in north eastern South Africa!! Wild dogs are very sociable and live in packs of up to 40 animals. We will hopefully get to see them on a kill; they are endurance hunters so basically the pack chases their prey to the point of exhaustion, and then cooperate to pull down the quarry. The wild dog is reviled for killing prey by eating it alive, but this is probably as fast as any of the 'cleaner' methods used by other carnivores. Mid -sized antelopes are the choice prey, but they can kill prey as large as faloes. The wild dog requires enormous areas of habitat and is one of the most endangered large carnivores in Africa. I am so excited!!!

On Friday I received a package from Linda Bulgreen...22 pounds of sweets!!!!! Needless to say I have become a new favorite with the students of UCT. Thank you Linda, the students, children and street people of Cape Town have been on a sugar high for the last week!!

Major (the man of our house) is leaving in 10 days!! Makes me sad to think that our time together is going to be over so soon. Major lives in New York, so it is going to be some time before we see him again. I could not have hand picked a better group of flat mates. Fortunately, Dana girl goes to school at UC Santa Cruz so we will be able to mourn the loss of Cape Town together. Kat will not be far either as she lives in the bay area and goes to school in Santa Barbara. There are so many students that I have met here that live in California, it is amazing that you can travel to the other side of the world and meet people that have been in your own backyard all along. It will be nice to have them around at home, though it will be weird to see them in such a different context.

That is about it for now, hope you are all well. Thank you for your emails, it is great to hear from you all. Enjoy the summer sunshine you northern hemisphere folks!!!