mostly unrelated to south africa or study abroad, but...

This morning I saw an article about Georgia State Representative Bobby Franklin (I don't even feel like he's worthy of having his name capitalized) linked on a friend's facebook page. I didn't know who he was until I read the article, but apparently he's trying to pass legislation that would "make abortion the legal equivalent of murder and require miscarriages to be investigated by authorities." (http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/22/georgia-anti-abortion-bill-would-require-investigations-of-miscarriages/). Additionally, the Republican (naturally) wants to redefine victims of rape, sexual assault, harassment and stalking as "accusers." This makes my blood boil all the way from South Africa. I do not understand rich conservative white male political figures and their obsession with regulating uteruses that they have never and will never have. On top of education issues and further budget cuts, this gives a terrible meaning to the state of Georgia, and a lot of the US as a whole. I love being American and I love the United States, but being abroad when all this despicable shit is happening makes the idea of eventually returning pretty difficult.

more of the garden route and cape town

bungee jumping on the garden route

Last week ten of my study abroad friends and I traveled the Garden Route from Cape Town to Tsitsikamma National Park. The route actually runs all the way to Port Elizabeth, but we only made it as far east as Tsitikamma for the world's largest bungee jump.

The jump is 216 meters (708 feet for those of us who don't really know the metric system) from the top of the Bloukrans Bridge almost into the Bloukrans River below. The bridge is the highest in Africa and the third highest in the world.





The jump was really only terrifying for the first two seconds, during which I screamed as loudly as I could. Once I realized I was falling and that there was nothing I could do about it, I sort of relaxed. By the end of my jump as I was hanging upside down I felt my heart rate return to normal and accepted that I was safe.
But I was still relieved when Spiderman came to save me




A lot of people have asked if I'd do it again, and the answer is probably not. Not because it was a terrible experience and I didn't enjoy it, but because it was just so incredible and powerful when I did it that I wouldn't want to change that. But it was foggy the day I went, and I heard the views of the ocean are pretty incredible..

environmental changes

I have terrible skin in Cape Town. I can greet people in Afrikaans. I will update with photos and information soon.

back home in cape town

I'm back from my four day Garden Route road trip. I survived riding in a manual transmission car on the other side of the road and I also survived the world's largest bungee jump. I have tons of pictures to upload, but I am way too tired to do it tonight.
It feels so weird to come home to Cape Town after being away. While I haven't been here long, coming back to my house and my room and my neighborhood feels strangely comfortable and familiar.

beaches, beaches, beaches

Muizenberg beach, the home of South African surfing:


because of the huge numbers of surfers and the constant threat of sharks, Muizenberg has shark spotters who spend the day with binoculars, looking for sharks. if the shark flag flying s black, as it was today, spotting conditions are poor. if it's white, a shark has beens spotted and EVERYONE SHOULD LEAVE THE WATER IMMEDIATELY.







yes, my stomach is very sunburned.

the market, the beach and lion's head

Yesterday I went to the most thrilling market I've ever seen. It's the Neighborhood Goods Market in Cape Town, which has clothes, arts and incredible food. I wanted all the clothes I saw and I didn't think I could get more excited until I saw the food. I have a slight obsession with healthy and/or organic food, and the market did not disappoint. I had the most amazing skewer of 12 different local mushrooms cooked with olive oil and spices and about 10 samples of different homemade pestos and tapenades. My friends and I were on the way to the beach when we stopped so I didn't buy anything to take home, but I definitely plan to go back next week and make some purchases .

We spent the day on the beach. Apparently Lonely Planet rated Cape Town #2 in the world for best beaches, and despite the cold water, I can see why. We spent some time on Camps Bay beach and then walked over to Clifton. I wish I had brought my camera because both had the most incredible views of Table Mountain. I still can't get over how beautiful Cape Town is.

Last night I went on my first date in a foreign country. I met this guy the other night named Alex who insisted on taking me out to hike Lion's Head mountain. I was terrified that it would be Table Mountain hike 2.0, but the terrain wasn't nearly as difficult and we went in the early evening when it wasn't as hot. Apparently Lion's Head is also a popular jumping off point for hang gliders.

The view at the top was amazing. I could see all of Cape Town, Camps Bay and Hout Bay.






I am so in love with South Africa right now. I love the people, I love the weather, I love the food, I love the culture. I love being packed into a share taxi listening to loud Kwaito music. I love spending the day on the beach and hiking up mountains in the evening. I love eating delicious mushrooms. Almost everyone I've met on my program has asked themselves, "Why didn't I come here sooner?" I'm sure things will seem a less exciting when I start developing a routine, but for now, I am completely infatuated with the place.

my new home

I am so much happier in my new house than in the dorm. My roommates are great, and the house is so comfortable and in a lovely location.

Here's a comparison of the dorm versus the house:

a kitchen with broken appliances

a terrifying bathroom with a temperamental toilet

prison-like


So imagine my excitement when I saw this...







I think I'm pretty sensitive to my surroundings, and living in a nice place makes an enormous difference in my happiness. Maybe I'm soft and prissy, but having a home to return to when I'm thousands of miles away makes the transition a lot easier.

i gave in

I gave in and moved out of the dorm. This morning CIEE organized a grievances meeting for the dorm residents, which included a lot of complaints about toilets not flushing, kitchens being filthy and squatters residing in the rooms. So when the option came to move out, I couldn't resist saying something. I'm now living in a lovely house with one other CIEE girl and eight other international students from all over. I'm going to post pictures soon, but I am so happy, and while this may make me seem spoiled and weak, I'm going to be infinitely happier here for the next five months than I would have been in the dorm.

squalid-ish conditions

So, for the next five months I'm going to be coexisting with two African guys and a Mexican girl in the worst living conditions I've ever experienced. I realize this makes me sound really spoiled, and I don't doubt that I have been for most of my life. I chose to live in the UCT dorms because I wanted to meet real South Africans instead of living with a bunch of Americans in a house. The dorms are basically like an apartment for four students with a kitchen, four bedrooms and two bathrooms. You can imagine that dorms in general aren't very nice, and this is a dorm. In South Africa. So it's significantly worse than anything I can imagine in the US.

But it's a real roof over my head and a real bed, which is much more than a lot of people in South Africa can say.

While I'm uncomfortable and not exactly excited about my living conditions for the next five months, I have to remind myself that I am here to experience what I wouldn't have experienced in the US. I've grown up in a beautiful house, stayed in amazing hotels all over the world, and lived in fairly decent dorms in college. I've been incredibly fortunate. And now, although it takes some self-convincing to believe it, I'm really fortunate to be able to have the experience of living in a crappy dorm apartment with African dudes. I know it won't be easy, but I know that I'll come out of it with a new appreciation for nice things, and probably a lot more.

Of course, if it gets too unbearable, I'll just check into the Mount Nelson for a few days.