winding down

three more days of classes. i can't believe the semester is almost over. but i'm very ready for it to be over. i really enjoy UCT; it's a beautiful school and my classes were interesting for the most part, but i'm tired of it. i guess that's normal. i'm just feeling extremely ready for all of these papers and exams to be out of the way. 

the weather is getting less than great here, also. yesterday it looked like a hurricane outside - extreme winds, rain coming down almost sideways. i'm so thankful that when we first got here back in january, the weather was hot and sunny. i don't think any of us thought that that weather would ever end, though.

i suppose it sounds like i'm sick of it here, but i'm not. things are just winding down and i'm ready for certain things to be over. i'll be home in one month. wow. 

i've gotten so used to it here, with these people, that sometimes when i stop and actually remind myself of all the people i have at home, i get surprised. i'm going to miss everybody here a lot. we've been spending a lot of time in our living room, watching various tv shows on dvd. it sounds lazy, and okay, it kind of is, but it's been a great way for us to spend time together and bond. i like that there are always people around to be lazy with.

we have our interstudy farewell dinner on thursday night. i remember seeing it on the itinerary at the very beginning of the semester, and thinking how far away it seemed. i'm excited for it, though. it'll be good to get everybody together again; there are certain people that i can literally go without seeing for at least a month, even though we all live so close to one another. we're going out for dinner and drinks downtown, and it should be really fun.

i wish i had something more substantial to talk about, but the past few weeks have been pretty monotonous, if you can believe that. i think i've moved so far beyond the honeymoon stage that i feel like this is my real life... and real life sometimes involves writing papers and studying, and being bored once in a while. who would have thought!

i climbed lion's head last week with katelyn and alec; here's a picture of alec and i at the top. there's a 360 degree view at the top of all of cape town; it's fantastic.

!!!!

after much hemming and hawing over what to do during the thirteen day break that i have between my final exams, i came to a conclusion, and bought a plane ticket to italy.

insane? maybe. awesome? definitely. i'm going to visit andrew, who is heading there in a week and will be in europe until august. so, although it's a long flight, it's kind of perfect, and i'm insanely excited. i leave may 30th and get back june 8th, and then i'll have one more final on june 10th, and still have a few days to kill before i leave for the states on june 16th. 

my goal for this semester, clearly, is to go for broke, and i plan on having the time of my life while i spend a lifetime's worth of babysitting/bartending/coffeemaking money. life is good.

in other news, nicole went back to america for a week, and got back last night laden with poptarts, gushers, and mini-boxes of american cereal for us. awesome. honey nut cheerios? yes please. we were embarassingly excited about it all.

nothing is really happening, but:

i finally joined a gym here, so hopefully i can become a real person again and get in okay shape before i come home. being on a five-month vacation = gainage of party poundage. ew.

i have four big papers due in the next two and a half weeks, so apparently now is when i have to start doing real work. it's not fun, but i guess it's a small price to pay for the experience i've had here.

some of my friends (jen, sara) are home already and it's kind of weird. i'm glad i have some more time here, but there are definitely certain things that i'm really starting to miss about america. namely,

my coffee maker

efficiency

panera

coffees larger than 12 ounces

fahrenheit

being able to walk around by myself safely

driving/my car

television.

it's fall here, and leaves are changing colors. wrap your head around that.

andrew got world cup tickets, surprisingly, and i'm jealous. i hope he actually makes it here next june, because it's going to be insanely fun and crazy here.

feliz cinco de mayo! i'm going to go to the gym now with katrina and then make some mexican food. adios.

extended weekend in kwazulu-natal

yesterday i got back from a looong weekend in durban and the drakensberg mountains with katrina and nicole. we had a really great time and it was good to get out and see some more of south africa.

in durban, we went to a market, had indian food, went to a beach, saw a great band play, and met some cool people both when we were out and at our hostel. durban is a cool city in some regards, but it was kind of overwhelming at times and difficult to figure out where the "good places" were to hang out. luckily we had some advice so we weren't totally lost, but the city just doesn't seem as tourist-friendly as cape town is. i guess we're spoiled here, but i'm really glad that i'm studying in cape town. i think it's good when traveling confirms for you that you are happy with where you live. 

our time in the drakensberg was the highlight of our trip. we rented a car, and after getting lost for ONE HOUR around durban, trying to find the highway in order to get OUT of the city (i was driving... a slightly stressful situation), we finally were on our way. the drive was beautiful and scenic, through mountains and valleys. our hostel was nice and it was therapeutic to get out of the city for a while.

on saturday we went through the sani pass into lesotho, the "mountain kingdom." the drive up was insanely rough and bumpy, but gorgeous. after the final treacherous ascent, we finally made it up into lesotho, where it was significantly colder than it was at our hostel and also raining. 

we only saw a tiny bit of lesotho, but i'm so glad we visited. the village at the top was simply a handful of circular huts, and there are sheep and shepherds strewn about. as a sort of coming-of-age ritual, teenage boys are sent out to be shepherds, by themselves, with their flock, for about six months. they then return to their homes for six months and the cycle continues. some of them choose to pursue different careers once they're adults, but some of them choose to become shepherds full-time. their lives are so incredibly different than ours, and different than anything you can find in the U.S. the country seems to be untouched; it is completely secluded up in the mountains.

before heading down again, we stopped at the highest pub in africa. outside it was dreary and cold, but inside i was surprised to find an entirely different atmosphere - it felt like a warm, cozy ski resort, full of people and guitar-playing and happiness. i could have stayed there all day, but (kind of) unfortunately we had to descend back into south africa.

in all, it was a fun trip. it felt good to get back to cape town, though. i always feel that way, which is a good thing.

the bestest of the besties

long time no write. mom and marie left last night, and are actually still traveling right now. it's so weird to think that since they left i've gone to sleep, woken up and had a whole day of classes and homework, yet they're still en route to wisconsin. 

we had a really great time. we did so many different things: a trip to botswana & zambia, a weekend in stellenbosch, kirstenbosch botanical gardens, kalk bay, camps bay, clifton beach, a drive to cape point, hout bay & the world of birds (africa's largest bird park and yes it is as creepy as it sounds)... and they did robben island and the city bus tour on their own. and probably more things that i can't remember. anyway, my point is that we did a lot, and although it was exhausting at times it was good because it forced me to get out and do things that i had wanted to do anyway. and of course it was great to have them here and spend waaay too much time together. i think marie's going to need some serious friend time when she gets home.

it's cold here today! upper 60s today, probably in the 50s right now. at home, we would be busting out the shorts and sandals for this weather, but here, people wear winter jackets and we complain about how freezing we are. i guess fall has begun, and i'm just hoping the rain holds off for a while. we are all totally not prepared for this weather, so i think a fall-clothing shopping spree is in order soon.

on wednesday i'm heading to durban with katrina and nicole. we're staying two nights on the beach in durban, and then going into the drakensburg mountains which are a couple of hours away. we're going to hike and hopefully get into lesotho as well. i'm really excited and happy that we're going, because i'm not sure if i'd make it through an entire week of classes this week. wow am i a complainer.

i apologize for the fact that this entry is really mundane, but i'm not sure what else to say, which is ironic since the past three weeks have been packed full of activities... but i don't really feel like recapping our trips and whatnot. even though i sound bored, i'm completely not, and i'm very very happy. i had some much-needed mom and sister time, and now i get to get back to some much-needed friend time. life is good.

ubuntu: i am because we are

a group of us have started volunteering at an organization called ubuntu africa. it was started by an american girl who studied abroad here only a few years ago; while she was here, she volunteered at an orphanage and fell in love with it so much that she came back to start this new organization on her own, which is incredibly brave and admirable. ubuntu africa is located in khayletisha, a township about a half an hour outside of cape town; khayletisha is the largest township in cape town, with between 500,000 to one million people and is by far one of the most poverty-stricken and dangerous areas in the area. driving in, all you see are miles and miles of shacks.

ubuntu africa is a center for HIV positive kids; there are currently 42 kids who are a part of the program, but over 200 are on the waiting list. there are 240,000 children infected with AIDS in south africa alone, and over 80% of them do not have access to the anti-retroviral medication that they need. the majority of the children at ubuntu have lost one or both parents to AIDS; some of their parents have been murdered, and a shocking proportion of the children have been infected with HIV through rape, sometimes by their own father.

ubuntu africa provides health care and counseling to HIV positive children and their families, but it focuses specifically on improving the well-being of the children in all aspects, not just medically. ubuntu is a place for the kids to come and play, be with their friends, and get the attention that they are so desperately lacking at home. they are picked up from school and brought to the center, which is simply a church that is rented out by the center. the children are fed dinner each day by ubuntu; this may be the one real meal they receive all day.

we've started visiting once a week, and have brought the kids toys and coloring books; last week we brought music, and you'd be impressed with how well these tiny kids can dance and how many of them know every word to beyonce songs, even if they speak limited english. we've also discovered a small abandoned house next door to the center that we're planning on painting, furnishing, and converting into a hang-out place for the older kids; this will give them a fun place hang out together, away from the little kids. we're also going to clean up the yard so the kids can play outside safely.

every time i visit, i am struck by the excitement and positive energy that radiates out of these children. they are always excited to see us, and are full of love and hugs and laughs. sometimes i step back and think about what is actually going on both inside their bodies and inside their homes, and it literally knocks the wind out of me. despite the illness that is ravaging their bodies and their families, they just want to be loved and have fun.

i encourage you to visit ubuntu africa's website. i know that times are tight, but if you find it in your heart to make a donation of any size, the money would go an incredibly long way here. the organization is young and needs funds in order to grow; my friends and i, specifically, need money to fix up the house for the teenagers. even if a donation isn't feasible, i urge you to read about the organization and about the AIDS epidemic. education is important. people need to know what is going on here, especially because of the lack of initiative both by the government here and by others around the world.

eunice

eunice is our cleaning lady. at first, she came on tuesdays. lately she's been coming on tuesdays, or wednesdays, or thursdays... or maybe both wednesday and thursday, if she doesn't get it all done in one day. eunice cleans our main rooms, but not our bedrooms. she cleans the bathtub, but more importantly, she organizes all of our shampoos and conditioners and shaving creams, etc., around the tub into neat rows and clusters. it seems that she organizes these things according to who she thinks uses what. 

most of eunice's time is spent on our couch. i'll wake up, and she'll be sitting on our couch reading our magazines. i say hi, she says hi, and then she goes back to reading. last week i came home and eunice was sitting outside at our patio table, chatting with a friend. she often makes tea for herself. she keeps her lunch in various peoples' refrigerators, and not necessarily in the refrigerators of the apartments she is cleaning that day, so she's bound to come into any apartment at any time on any day.

one of my friends walked into her apartment to find eunice sprawled on the couch. her shirt was folded up, revealing her large stomach, and her wig was sitting next to her on the couch. when she saw my friend, she said "ahhh, it's so hottttt..." how do you respond to that? yes, it is hot indeed, however i'd feel more comfortable if you put your wig back on your head and put your shirt down while you're sitting on my couch.

this just exemplifies the work ethic here. i'm not implying that people don't have a work ethic, or that they're lazy, but the idea of time and productivity is so different. in the united states, a person would get paid by the hour and they would have to get a certain amount of houses or rooms cleaned per day. obviously, eunice has no such guidelines, because she does a little work, makes some tea, talks to her friend, reads the newspaper, organizes our shampoo, maybe cleans the floor, sits down to rest, watches soap operas on our tv, eats her lunch... she literally hangs out in our apartment for hours and hours. i find it hilarious. her outlook on work is just amusing to me.

in other news, we were ecstatic to discover that the tv show 30 rock is on here, mondays at 7:30, so i'm looking forward to that tonight. we also got a dvd player and new speakers, which has revolutionized the way we hang out here. i love our apartment. it's become a central location for people to hang out since people are always passing by or through.

i've been eating a mango or papaya a day. mangos are fifty cents here and delicious. it's awesome.

nicole, katrina and i booked flights to durban for the end of april. very excited. must start planning things to do/place to stay.

the pope has been traipsing around africa lately, and i think that this is maybe the worst advice that anyone can give africa right now.

it hit the upper sixties here last week, and people were wearing ugg boots and sweaters. really?!