The last week was insane; we had a project due that just about killed me. Friday I was finally able to relax and jumped in on a game of ultimate Frisbee. Turns out the rugby field is a breeding ground for mosquitoes and the buggers just about devoured me whole. I have well over thirty bites and they swelled up to about the size of golf balls (don't worry mom we are in a non-malaria area). I looked like I just walked out of a really bad episode of E.R. After Frisbee a bunch of us went to my friend Chris's house and we had a pancake feast (better know to you folks at home as crepes). I thoroughly stuffed myself and headed to my flat around 11:00pm where my friend MJ picked Kat and me up and we headed on a little road trip down the coast. MJ gave us a real taste of South African driving on the way; I just about kissed the ground when we finally arrived at the house in Hermans. We stayed up and managed to get ourselves into a rather intense talk about politics (not recommended when you are one of two Americans in a room full of South Africans...anti-American sentiment is fashionable). I managed to get to bed before sunrise and the next morning we woke up and headed to the beach. It was a pretty nice day, but I was miserable from the mosquito bites, so we headed to the pharmacy to get some antihistamines. Then we had a nice lunch...and the rest of my time in Hermanus is pretty much a blurr because I was so pumped full of antihistamines, they did a fine job of knocking me out. And this is my excuse for having no amazing pictures to share...I was sleeping most of the weekend.

Hope you all had a great, less itchy weekend than I!!!

I thought that I was finally going to have a weekend with no adventures to share...fortunately my plans changed. I went on the most wonderful hike/rock climb up Lions head last night. It is defiantly on the top of my favorite hikes list. We started up the mountain at about a quarter to five in the evening and made it to the top just in time to watch the sun sink into the ocean. The view was breathtaking. As the sky began to darken a full moon appeared and the lights from the city began to shine...it was truly stunning. We hiked back down the mountain by the light of the moon. There were quite a few people in our group and I was able to climb ahead and get away by myself for a bit. I found a nice rock to sit on and was able to just take it all in, no one but me and the twinkling lights...it was nice to have some time to just think, helps me to slow down and put things into perspective. It was such a wonderful evening.



 





So...that was a nice surprise. I started the day with no expectations and wound up being blown away by this amazing city I am living in. I couldn't be more contented.

The weekend is over and I have to come back to reality and attempt to get some work done. There are so many projects to be written up!!!

This weekend was pretty great, Friday night I was a bit of a homebody. Didn't feel like doing much of anything, so after wine soc (the shiraz was great) I rented a couple of movies (it's about 80 American cents to rent a movie here) and had some friends over.

Saturday morning I got up and finally called my parents, it was great to hear their voices. Seems like forever since I last talked to them! Then I went to Capoiera and came home to watch my friend Mpho play rugby on TV...he did a fine job of running over the other team...looks painful.
 







We watched the Stormers play at Newlands stadium Saturday night (they played a pathetic game...Giesla was practically in tears). Then we headed into town (after running out of gas and cramming 7 people into the back of Braam's Baakie) to the Zimbabwe societies party at Sutra. It was a great night of dancing and I met some great people and got kidnapped by a couple of Zimbabwean girls who thought it was great fun to steal a foreigner. They were so much fun, haven't laughed that much in a while.










Sunday morning my friend Chris fetched me and I finally climbed the rock!!! What a hike. It is hard to put into words how beautiful the view is from the top of the mountain and pictures don't really do it justice. We couldn't have asked for better weather, it was a perfect day! I stood on the highest point on the mountain and could see 365 degrees around, the view was stunning. After the hike (I was completely exhausted) Chris's parents picked us up and we had a great dinner at their place while we worked on one of the many projects for our EGS class. Chris's parents are so great; it is nice to have a family to take me in...golden retrievers and all!


Sorry if this seems kind of rushed and like a list... I don't have much time to write, the workload is catching up to me!

School is really beginning to get in the way of my playtime...I have been studying most of the week and I will be spending most of the weekend working on several projects. I have two tests today, so after the second one a bunch of friends and I are going out for a couple of drinks...then back to work. So, I don't have anything really exciting to report unless you want to know about the state of the Leisbeek River or a critique of sustainable development.





I am in the process of changing my plane ticket, looks like I won't be coming home until the 5th of September. I am done with exams on the 22nd of June, and then 8 of us students are going to jump in a couple of land rovers and trek around South Africa for a month. Hopefully I will be able to bring back lots of pictures! I will be leaving Cape Town towards the end of July and then spending a month in Europe. I know I know it is a rough life...but someone has got to live it!

I hope everyone is well and enjoying life!

As I write this we are experiencing an amazing thunder and lightning storm...it's a shame, we were planning on going to Kirstenbasch gardens to see the Soweto string quartet and Plush play. The thunder and lightning is fun though, and Cape Town could really do with a good rain.

It has been an amazing weekend...so much is always going on around here; it is hard to keep up! Friday night I went to 'The Vibe' a club in town where a 12 piece afro-Cuban band was playing. It was a night filled with great music and salsa dancing...it's a shame I have two left feet, but I put forth my best effort!

Saturday I went to a Nordhoek beach (there was a shark attack there last week) with my friend Chris, what an amazing beach!!! The sand is so soft under your feet it is like walking through talcum powder.






I had a great time and as per normal ended up jumping in the water and had to ride home soaking wet...I don't think I will ever learn. I may never get all of the sand out of my hair. After a wonderful day at the beach I went to the Rugby game at Newlands stadium. There were about 25 in our group and we got seats right on the field, I could have joined the scrum! The stadium was packed, it was so much fun!!! What a violent sport though, the guys are enormous and they have no qualms about pile driving one another into the ground. Hectic.

This morning I was planning on going for a hike up Table Mountain with a bunch of friends from zoology. Unfortunately the mountain disappeared. When I woke up and looked out the window I couldn't find the mountain, it was completely covered in fog! This is the third time my hike up the mountain has been canceled; I am beginning to wonder if I will ever climb the rock. On the bright side... I got a lot of reading done today.

Looks like we are going to brave the rain, the concert is on!!! ~~More on this later!






The concert was amazing! We got completely soaked on the way there, but it was so worth it!!!! We arrived at Kirstenbosch and they were unsure if they were going to play, we went in and they had people sitting on the stage and played with everyone crowded around. It was a more intimate concert this way. Everyone who showed up really wanted to be there and everywhere you looked people were grinning and dancing. The music was fantastic. I could have reached out and touched the performers I was so close to them, it was almost as if we got our own private concert.

We are still having quite an intense thunder storm; no more than 10 seconds go by without the sky lighting up, there is something breathtaking about a good storm. Between the smell of the rain, the beautiful flashing lightning illuminating the sky and feeling the thunder crash in your chest...I love it.