So, my weekend was pretty great. Saturday morning I went on a wine tour with Wine Soc to a couple of great wineries. The countryside was beautiful! I enjoyed several great wines (loved the chardonnay) and learned quite a bit about the process of wine making.














On Saturday night I went to a little hole in the wall in Obz called the armchair theater and enjoyed a phenomenal band called Blk Sonshine. They were amazing, I strongly recommend checking them out. When I first arrived in Cape Town a friend gave me their CD and that was pretty much all I listened to for the first two months of my stay here. As a result, to me Blk Sonshine is Cape Town, so it was pretty great to see them live. After the concert I headed with my friend Mpho to 'the Top Spot' for a night of dancing. I was having a great time though I became quite aware that I was the only white person in the whole venue. I never thought that I would even notice that sort of thing...but I did. And while I felt welcomed I was very aware that I stuck out like a sore thumb. I had a great time and met some really wonderful people.

Sunday I went to Kirstenbosch Gardens where Freshly Ground was playing. The music was great and I enjoyed a nice picnic and wine on the grass with some friends. It was nice to get to finally hear Freshly Ground...they are a band made up of all UCT students and have really gotten popular in the last year.

So, I had quite a musical weekend it was really nice after a very stressful week.

Yesterday my zoology class had an excursion to a stream where we did some data collection and analysis. We did a physical survey of the river and collected and identified specimens from the river. We are looking at the effect of the trout farm on the naturally flowing stream.

I am planning a road trip with several other students. We are planning on completely circling the country of South Africa hitting many game reserves on the way. I will put up my itinerary when it gets a bit more finalized.

On Monday I went to Table Mountain and Robben Island some friends. What a wonderful day! We got up early and took a taxi to the base of the mountain where the cable car picked us up. The top of the mountain was incredible, but really really windy. I wasn't quite prepared and about froze my butt off up there, but the view was more that worth it. From the top of the mountain I could see just how vast Cape Town really is. The mountains in the distance and the beautiful ocean and city nestled just below. Stunning!!!

 





















After a little hike around the top of the mountain we headed into town for a walk around the waterfront and a nice lunch.






Around 1:00 we were picked up by a boat that took us to Robben Island. It was a great ride, fun to watch as Table Mountain slipped further and further away in the distance. The tour of Robben Island was fantastic. It is amazing what the men in this prison went through and what they accomplished while in prison. Our tour of the prison itself was given by a man that had actually spent 11 years in prison. His stories of prison life were interesting. We walked around the prison yard and the cells.





I was able to see the cell where Nelson Mandela spent so many years, incredible.








We were then given a tour of the rest of the island by a guy named Thabo; he did a great job of showing us around. His stories were fascinating. He told us of how the island was previously used as a leper colony, and showed us the leper graveyard and their church. He told us of the only man who escaped the island and how he did it by stealing a boat. He showed us the quarry where the prisoners worked from many hours in the hot sun. He told us how the prisoners taught each other and the prisoners made the prison into their own university. Many of the prisoners came in with little education and left with degrees.






After the tour we were able to walk around and came across some very friendly penguins, they are so cute!!! And Curious!! The boat ride back was great, the skipper let me stand at the front of the boat, the wind and occasional splash of sea water in the face worked wonders for my sea sickness. We enjoyed a great dinner and good company. What a wonderful day. I have to send out t big big THANK YOU to Jamie's mom Kathy and her friend Ann. They treated us the whole day, we were all very grateful and I hope they know how much we appreciated their generosity.

Ahh.... Now about my Field camp!

What an amazing five days! I met so many of my classmates and professors on a completely different level. We collected data for four different research projects and when not working, we did a lot of playing.




When we met on campus we were separated into seven groups of ten that would be our core group for the next five days. We all loaded into our given Kambi (van) and headed off. George was my designated group leader, I didn't know it at the time but I really lucked out in being placed in his group (though his driving was rather questionable). What a terrific leader!!!!! We arrived at our camp at the Geelbek Environmental Center in the West Coast National Park on Wednesday the 23 of March.




The center was beautiful, George got us to there early so we could have our choice of sleeping arrangements. We each picked out our beds and got settled in. Turns out the camp used to be a stable, and we were basically staying in what used to be the stalls, not a bad place to be a horse. There were several bunks in each room, and it definitely had the 6th grade science camp feel.












After exploring a bit and a nice dinner, we got to bed at a reasonable time. It was going to be an early start the following day.


Our first day of data collection was for a research project on the effects of wave action on the rocky shores. This project is basically looking at weather all rocky shores constitute just one type of habitat, or if there are different types of rocky shore, all of which need conservation. So, we got up at about 6:00 had breakfast and headed for Cape Columbine. We looked at several transects and quantified species percent cover for all of the organisms present. We then took a sub-sample of each species in order to find their relative biomass.

So, that was the first day. It was a really great bonding experience in that we really had to watch out for each other as the waves came crashing down on us as we took our samples. We all ended up pretty wet and cold so George broke out the chocolate and we were easily appeased. We had lunch on the beach and spent the rest of the day at the camp playing Frisbee and enjoying the sunshine.

The next day of data collection was for the conservation of the fish in the West Coast National Park.

Basically, we went out onto the lagoon on a beautiful day and fished in areas where people are not allowed to fish. It was a great project not only because the findings might be really important, but after we were through dissecting our specimens we got to eat them. This project kept our whole camp very well fed! I didn't actually catch any bony fish, but I did catch four juvenile shy sharks.


Saturday's data collection was for the Langebaan NaGISA Seagrass Survey. This projects aim was to contribute a data set from South Africa to the global NaGISA project, the aim of which is to compare sea-grass communities on a global scale. On addition we were looking at how sea-grass affects the structure of the community and how the apparent decline in sea-grass abundance is impacting the Langebaan system. The sampling site was at Klein Oosterwaal beach, also a great site for lunch! After the collection, we went back to the camp to undertake the tedious task of separating and identifying the many many organisms found in our five transects of the areas. What a lot of work that was!!!

Sunday's data collection was for a project in quantifying marine debris. This was basically a glorified beach clean up. The beach was beautiful!! 


All of the data collection went really well, and I learned a great deal due to the vast amounts of knowledge stored in good ol' George's head. That man knows so much!!! He was really fantastic, constantly feeding us chocolate and fascinating bits of wisdom. We were so spoiled. We really mastered the art of eating way too much and napping just about anywhere our heads could land.

The nights at the camp were really great. Each group took turns cooking the meals; we certainly did not go hungry!! The night my group cooked...well lets just say the rest of the students missed out on a wild party in the kitchen. Every night after dinner we had a speaker who talk of their given research, and then...the merrymaking began. There was lots of card playing and a beverages consumed. The campfire talks lasted well into the nights. We talked politics, biology, future plans, and of course the jokes flowed. I laughed a lot and made some really wonderful friends. The rest of this semester is going to be phenomenal.

The last few days have been amazing!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY LISA (it was on the 15th) I finally got to talk to my parents on the phone and it was sooooo great to hear their voices. They sound like they are doing well and dealing quite well with my rather neurotic cats. I also got to talk with my best friend Lisa and it was so wonderful to hear from her!! It is amazing how much I miss old familiar voices. It is equally amazing that we are able to talk from so many miles away.


I went to karaoke on Wednesday night. I had such a great time and howled, "I'm every woman" on the mic with several of my girlfriends. Needless to say we were the most enthusiastic, albeit tone deaf group to grace the stage. But, we had fun.

Yesterday I went to my first Capoeira. For those of you who don't know what this is...


Capoeira - a Mischievous art form

Many people see it as a martial art -- others as a dance, and there those who believe that it is their religion and cultural identity. It is a native Brazilian Indian word given to a small partridge whose male is very jealous and engages in fierce fights with its rivals. Capoeira blends elements of dance, music, rituals, acrobatics, and fighting.

Brazilians call Capoeira a game. Capoeira is "played", not fought.

The Roda

A circle is made, called a roda. Music is played, and everyone sings and claps while two players interact in the center. The leading instrument is a berimbau. Also played is a drum called an atabaque and a pandeiro (tambourine). A berimbau is a one stringed, bow shaped instrument with a gourd attached to one end to give resonance.

It's subtle blending of gymnastics and dance moves make the capoeira game unique in the world of martial arts. The challenge for the player is to harmoniously meld together in a powerful flow the balance and flexibility of acrobatics, the grace and strength of dance, the speed and cunning of the fight, and the rhythms of the music. If these components are isolated, the essence of capoeira is lost

A Brazilian Martial Art, Capoeira was born in the "senzalas", the places where the slaves were kept. It consists of a stylized dance, practiced in a circle called the "roda", with sound background provided by percussion instruments, like the "agogo", the "atabaqui", etc. It incorporates "maculele", done with blades, and "maracatu", done with sticks. Highly acrobatic, energetic and difficult to master.


I had so much fun!!! It is such a good workout and the people are really great. The aerials that these guys can do are amazing.

Last night we went to see "The Syringa Tree" what a wonderful performance. It is a one woman show and really was phenomenal. I am sure there are reviews online if anyone is interested.

Well, that is about it for now. Take care!

Yesterday was gorgeous!!! My lab was canceled so what did I do...head to the beach of course!!! Kat and I got home and prepared for some fun in the sun. We got to Clifton via mini bus (an experience in itself). There is just something great about being crammed into a van full of complete strangers, swerving in and out of traffic hearing the door man yelling, "Cape Town!!!" Can't help but love it! We arrived at Clifton in one piece and spent several wonderful hours soaking in the rays. It was such a beautiful day; I am so so so lucky!  Nick and Jamie met us for the sunset, and what a beautiful one it was! After a long day at the beach and playing in the waves we all went to dinner at enjoys some pretty decent food. What a perfect day.