This is going to be the last entry before I leave on my trip around South Africa. I will be traveling for about 28 days returning to Cape Town on either the 17th or 24th of July depending on if people on the trip want to stay longer on the wild coast.

We had a nice going away dinner for Andrew just before he left at the Hussar grill, which was fabulous. The food at this little grill is absolutely phenomenal, we really went all out. We had several courses (including dessert of course!) some great pinotage wine, and the boys finished off the evening with some cigars. It was a lovely night! After a minor fit on my part and a few tears from Dana, Andrew said his good byes and began his journey back home. It is so strange being here without the man of the house!! We were really lucky to get placed with such a great guy. Unfortunately, he lives in New York so it will probably be a long time before any of us see him again. Andrew- thank you for an amazing semester we are all going to miss you!!!

I take my last exam ever on the 22 of June and then off my crazy adventure around South Africa. I have begun to take the pictures down off my walls and pack my belongings as I must be moved out of my flat before I leave on road trip. It is going to be sad to say good bye to Rhodes manor, I have grown rather attached to it. We have had a great semester here, enjoying our tea and battling with the cockroaches. I have come so accustomed to living with bars on the windows and a cage on the door that I think I might feel a bit vulnerable when I get home and there are no bars or razor wire or security guards.

I went to the market to shop for food for the road trip with Chris and Sarah. We spent three hours and 3,600 Rand in Pick n' pay and still don't have everything we need. By the time we were done shopping we were all so buggered we practically fell into the car. I am really excited to get on the road, but if I don't ever see the inside of a grocery store again I think I would be fine.

Dana, Kat and I had our last girls outing at the posh Mount Nelson. The Mount Nelson is a beautiful hotel that caters to the whims of the over indugent, like Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith. We enjoyed high tea and reduced ourselves to gluttony in the name of fine desserts. We ate until we were thoroughly satiated and drank tea until our eyeballs began to float. While it was a wonderful time and the food was to die for, I don't think any of us felt very comfortable. I could certainly get use to the life of the rich and famous, but for the moment I am enjoying the life of the starving student.

We had our last big party at Brentwood (an international house where we have spent many debaucherous nights). It was sad to realize that this is all coming to an end but great to see everyone one last time.

My roommate Kat left this morning on her road trip, and Dana will be gone by the time I get back. The Rhodes Manor crew are all going there separate ways, at least us girls live relatively close in California and will get to see each other when we get home.

Well, I suppose that is it for now. I will be taking tons of pictures and writing a bit on road trip so I will have quite a few entries to submit on my return. Stay well, and enjoy your summer!!!

If something can go wrong in South Africa...it will! Today I had the first of my last set of exams. It is nice to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. So funny though. About two hours into the exam there was an incessant beeping that did wonders for my concentration. Then, just as I was putting the final touches on my EGS210F mental disgorge the power went out for about 20 minutes. I couldn't help but laugh, and while it didn't do much for my train of thought at the moment it was nice to catch up on some sleep. I felt like I was in preschool again and we were taking nap time. Eventually the power did come back on and we were able to finish the exam. If nothing else South Africa has taught me how to relax and go with the flow. Always expect the unexpected and be prepared to improvise! If you wait until the day your paper is due to print it out, the printer will inevitably be out of paper, or broken, or on lunch break. If you are in lab and need to use an instrument...most of them will be broken, or missing an invaluable part in which case you will again improvise. No one is in a hurry in Cape Town...including all appliances and the Internet. If you need to use the Internet you may as well make a whole day of it because the Internet is so slow. You can practically write your paper while the web page it is loading. In South Africa, things get done at a snails pace...and that is just fine.

Molo!!

I met the family that will be taking me in for the last three weeks of my stay in Cape Town last night. They are really great and I think it is going to be wonderful to get to know them and have a warm place to sleep at night. We had a braai (despite the rain) and had a superb meal and talked about my future plans and I learned a bit about their family. The best part of the whole deal is...they have a really great dog. I am really excited to finally have an animal around. Her name is Chloe and she is a huge two-year-old rottie that thinks she is a puppy. She is so much fun! (Dr. Timm- these people are looking into finding your Great Dane puppies!!)

We have been having torrential rain for the last few days so I haven't been able to get out to do much. It has been fun though to sit on the balcony and watch the water fall out of the sky while enjoying a nice cup of horlicks.

It has been a weekend of new food and new experiences! During lunch on Thursday I went to the African café on campus and had pap for the first time. Pap is...well it's really hard to explain. It is made of maize and is sort of the consistency of rice. At any rate, it's really good. I had it with chicken curry which was really great as I have become a recent curry fanatic (hint hint in-laws to be). Then I went on a field excursion with my environmental studies class to the Bellville Landfill. I became acutely aware of the amount of rubbish I produce as I was surrounded with 75 years of detritus. Enlightening...but not somewhere I would want to spend much time. Recycle people!!!

On Friday I had lunch at an Indian restaurant down the street, I had my first bunnychow. No, it is not a plate of carrots. Bunnychow consists of a white bread loaf, hollowed out and filled with curry. So good, but really spicy! After Dana and I thoroughly stuffed ourselves we went down town to the district six museum. What an experience that was.


To give a bit of background... Under apartheid Cape Town's colored communities had no more of an easy time of it than the blacks. District six, immediately east of the city center, was the suburb that, more than any other, gave Cape Town it's cosmopolitan atmosphere and life. It was primarily a poor, overcrowded colored ghetto but people of every race lived there. The streets were alive with people, from children to traders. Jazz was the lifeblood, and the district was home to many musicians. Being so close to the city center, it infected the whole city with its vitality.


This state of affairs naturally did not appeal to the National Party government so, in 1966, District six was classified as a white area. Its 50,000 people, some of whose families had been there for five generations, were gradually evicted and dumped in bleak and soulless townships like Athlone, Mitchell's Plain and Atlantis. Friends, neighbors, even relations were separated. Bulldozers moved in and the multicultural heart was ripped out of the city, while in the townships, depressed and dispirited youths increasingly joined gangs and turned to crime.

Today District six largely remains an open wasteland, a depressing monument to the cruelty and stupidity of the government. A ray of hope, though, came on 27 November 2000 when President Thabo Mbeki signed a document handing back the confiscated land to the former residents of District six. Although it would be impossible for all 8,000 or so forcibly removed families to return (new constructions such as the Cape Technikon college now occupy part of the area), some do plan to reclaim their property and live again in a rejuvenated District Six.

Refreshingly, though, the District Six Museum is a touching and uplifting tribute to District six. It feels as if an entire community has been crammed into a single building: street signs, photographs, maps and trinkets flesh out the story of the community, while the unmistakable spirit of District Six lingers in the creaky floorboards and uneven stairs. An essential part of Cape history. The museum is as much for the people of the now-vanished District six as it is about them. The displays are moving and poignant: a floor covered with a large-scale map of District six, former residents having labeled where their demolished homes and features of their neighborhood were; reconstructions of home interiors; faded photographs and recordings. Most memorable of all is the staff, practically all displaced residents themselves, each with a heartbreaking story to tell.

After a moving tour of the museum we enjoyed Koeksisters and Rooibos tea talking about what we had just experienced. Koeksisters are plaited deep-fried dough smothered in sweet syrup. It's much like a syrup version of Spanish churros. You have to try everything once right!?!?!

When we got home Kat and I were visiting and our friend Nick stopped by for our weekly chat over tea. My flatmate Andrew came home a bit later...he got mugged!!! It happened just down the street in broad day light were I walk every day. I couldn't believe it. It was a good reminder to stay alert and not walk around with anything of value exposed. Poor Andrew, thankfully he wasn't hurt.

Friday night I went with Chris and his family to see a play called "The Tall Horse" at the Baxter Theater (right across the street from my flat). The dialogue was a bit difficult to understand as they were constantly alternating between Xhosa, English and French, but the puppets were amazing! One of the puppets was a 14-foot tall giraffe operated by two men on stilts. All of the puppets were so life like, it was amazing! After the show Chris's parents took us to dinner at the Hussar Grill, such good food!!! We discussed our road trip plans and what needs to be done before we leave. I am so excited to see the rest of South Africa!!!

Busy, busy, busy here in Cape Town. The semester is coming to an end (there are only three weeks left in the semester!!) and due dates are quickly approaching. I am currently writing a paper on land restitution in Mpumalanga, such an interesting case study!!! If you are interested I would love to tell you all about it. Plans for the road trip are well underway and our tentative itinerary is as follows (I put some of the web page links if you want to check out some of the destinations):

Leave Cape Town on the 22nd of June

1. Augrabies Falls

http://www.go2africa.com/accomm_temp.asp?id=2134

2. Kalahari -Gemsbok game reserve

http://www.africa http://www.south-africa-tours.com/kalahari-gemsbok-national-park.htmlnleisure.co.za/static/static_kalgemspk.html

3. Mapungubwe

http://www.southafrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/fauna_flora/mapungubwe-nationalpark.htm

4. Kruger National Park

http://www.krugersafari.com/park.html

5. Blyde River Canyon

http://www.southafrica-travel.net/north/a1mpuma3.htm

6. Swaziland

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/africa/swaziland/

7. Ndumo

http://www.drakensberg-tourism.com/ndumo.html

8. St. Lucia

http://www.southafrica-travel.net/kwazulu/e2lucia.htm

9. Hluhluwe-Imfolozi

http://www.places.co.za/html/1979.html

10.Cathedral Peak

http://www.drakensberg-tourism.com/cathederal-peak.html

11. Garden Route

http://www.sa-venues.com/garden_route.htm

I will be traveling in a small convoy of three 4X4 vehicles and twelve students, circumnavigating the whole of the country. We will be traveling for almost a month, returning to Cape Town on the 17th of July. I am getting really excited to see what the rest of this country is made of. It is going to be an epic journey!!!