Updates

I realize I haven’t updated in a while, so I apologize! Last weekend was fun with a good morning at the Old Biscuit Mill market and eatery. A quick walk there and plenty of delicious food to eat was a perfect start to the weekend. I ended up eating some Indian lentils and vegetables with rice for only R30. We are planning on going back this weekend to try even more food. They have so many good types of sandwiches, pizzas, Greek food, seafood, coffee, bread and cheese and hundreds of different spreads and sauces. There are also a bunch of shops surrounding the area with clothing and jewelry. It can go without saying that the girls were taking their time there. In the afternoon we went to the city to walk up and down Long St. I FINALLY got a pair of flip-flops. I have been wearing shoes the entire time here and have realized that my defined sock tan wasn’t going to cut it at the beach. I broke down and got a pair of Havaianas, which are the most popular sandals in Cape Town.

Sunday was one of the hottest days we have had in Cape Town. It was so hot that I could barely nap because that would mean I couldn’t fan myself and would wake up dripping in sweat. There was no point in trying to concentrate on reading or working on schoolwork since all we could think about was how hot it was. I hate to admit it, but it was a miserable day here. Monday was the same thing except to make it even worse, we had to go to class. Boo. I had put a Nalgene in the fridge to get some cold water when I got home (since cold water from the faucets doesn’t exist). I came home to find out that our power went out around 2pm and we couldn’t open the fridges in order to preserve our food. Needless to say we were once again melting in our house. We decided to take up Florentine’s 2 for 1 happy hour cocktails. Frozen mojitos are a fantastic cure to a hot day, I must say. The week has been cooling down and yesterday it rained for the entire morning and afternoon during soccer practice.

I got my first assignment returned to me this past week in my Principles of Ecology class. It was a simple lab report about population ecology and I could say more about it but that wouldn’t be too interesting. I ended up getting a 75 percent on it. Immediately I was like, “o gosh, what is Cape Town doing to me?” but soon realized that the grading system is completely different here than it is in the states. After asking my ecology friend Irfan, I realized that I got an “A” on the paper. Still somewhat confusing to me, but apparently 75 and above equates to an “A” and grades go down to around 45 percent, I believe. Either way, I am very pleased to have done well on my first assignment! I have been working on another paper for my history of South Africa prior to 1900 class. It is about slave resistance in the Cape colony from 1652 – 1820ish and how it can elude to what life was like in Cape Town and the rural areas. Thus far it actually seems to be quite interesting. I have been having a good time researching in the library, since we have to actually check out books and research here. Although I hate to say it, it has been a really long time since I have had to check out book after book to work on a research paper. It originally was due tomorrow, but our professor gave the entire class an extension until Monday. So now I am writing in my blog instead of working on my paper, ha.

On a World Cup note, there are 5 of us going to the USA v. Slovenia match on June 18th. We rented a car for the drive there and will be taking two days to get to Johannesburg. We are going to try to stop in Blomfontein to watch the matches on the night of our driving period. I cannot wait to be at the game cheering for the US. Singing the national anthem is going to be emotional! We are flying back from Jo’burg to Cape Town for only 130 dollars. There has been a lot of government intervention on the prices of plane tickets here and they have been coming down ever since. The government of South Africa is urging shop owners to keep prices the same as to create a sustainable tourism industry from the amount of people coming here. They want more than just people here for the World Cup, they want people to talk about how awesome this country is to get others to come. Unfortunately people are coming during the worst weather of the year but hopefully they will realize that it is much nicer in the summer.

I have been trying to figure out what I am going to do in July and I think I might have reached a decision. I created a membership for WWOOFing, which is World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Each country typically has their own database of farms and farmers who have posted their farm on the website and are willing to provide room and board for those who work on the farm. Most of the African countries are a part of the WWOOF Independent Organization, which I applied for. I want to try and just stay at a farm for the entire month so I don’t spend money, but still do something that I could not do anywhere else. Also, I have been looking into WWOOFing after graduation for the summer in Scandinavia so this will be a good opportunity to figure out how the program works. All I have to pay for is the transportation to the farm and from there on out, I work and eat. All of the farms are attempting to become fully self-sustainable with their crops and livestock and think it would be a really cool experience. I will keep you all updated!

No new pictures as of late since we haven’t been doing to much new things. I have been going to Scrumpy Jack’s for the Champions league matches this week and will probably continue that trend next week again. I have also been cooking a lot lately. Many stir fried vegetables and oven baked potatoes and veggie brats. Eating out is still just about the same price as making my own food though.

My parents and brother and sister in law are all very excited to come here. We have been putting together a list of activities to do, which is looking to be quite the adventurous agenda! I am excited to see them.

I will post some pictures from this weekend as soon as I get a chance…

Peace.