Robben Island

I finally got the chance to go to Robben Island today. The island is most famous for its prison, with Nelson Mandela and other political activists being held there during the anti-apartheid struggle, but I learned that is was also at one time a defensive outpost for the Dutch, a leper colony, as well as a World War II naval center (not at the same time of course).
The ride out from Victoria Warf was less than stellar, as I got really seasick despite the seemingly calm waters (the way back was much worse). However, once we made it to the island we were quickly escorted to a waiting bus where we were giving a driving tour of the island as a whole. Our guide was very funny but also very knowledgeable and pointed out the various buildings and sites that mark the island. We saw the site of the original prison, which was knocked down, as well as the tiny shack that housed Robert Sobukwe, one of the most influential and important figures in the anti-apartheid movement. The only political prisoner to be kept on Robben Island (the other anti-apartheid members were deemed "terrorists" of the state), he founded the Pan Africanist Congress, a branch of the African National Congress (the ruling party in South Africa today) and organized anti-apartheid movements throughout the country, most notably against the Pass Laws, which required blacks to carry identification papers on them at all times. He was arrested and housed in solitary confinement for his imprisonment, which was renewed at the discretion of the government every year. Ultimately he spent six years on Robben Island, where he was allowed to read and study (he earned a degree in Economics from University of London) but he had no contact with his fellow prisoners besides secret hand gestures during his daily exercise while the other prisoners were being lead to the limestone quarry. Sobukwe was eventually moved to Kimberley where he lived with his family under house arrest, and he finished his law degree and opened his own practice but fell ill from cancer and died in 1978.
We were then taken to the stone quarry, where prisoners from certain areas of the prison were forced to do hard manual labor from seven in the morning until four in the afternoon. The prisoners were all well-educated men, however, and when the guards attempted to force them to work harder by abusing them, many fought back in court (prisoners were allowed to bring cases of injustice before the wardens). Most often the prisoners one, and eventually the quarry became less of an area for physical labor so much as a place of intellectual labor. A former prisoner spoke to us about how the guards allowed the prisoners to set up "school" while they were supposed to be working, and men were taught everything from, depending on their educational levels, reading and writing to high levels of philosophy or law. Many inmates left Robben Island with University degrees.
The prison was not at all an intellectually stimulating environment, as the government did not want the inmates spreading their political beliefs. The tour through the cells was indicative of this, and when you consider that the prisoners were kept in cells barely large enough for a bed and the metal pot they used for a toilet until the late seventies for upwards of ten hours a day, it's easy to understand why so many people feared the prison on Robben Island. The rules also enforced the apartheid ideals, where inmates were classified based on their race and treated differently according to that distinction. For example, based on what race a prisoner was, he was given a different portion of food from the inmates of a different racial group, thereby harboring resentment against the racial group that got more food or fostering a feeling of superiority over another group that got less food. The prisoners peacefully protested this treatment by subverting those rules, sharing what little they had between themselves for the good of the whole.
By 1991 all of the anti-apartheid activists were released from the island thanks to Nelson Mandela's bargaining, and every year on the date of their release many of the prisoners return to Robben Island to commemorate their experiences. A pile of stones in the rock quarry is added to during this time by each of the prisoners as a reminder that every stone is different and useful in its own way, but united they make a stronger and taller structure.

Four Weeks of Cape Town

So today I've officially been in Cape Town for four weeks (I'm calling it a month) and already I feel that I've experienced, discovered, and loved a lot. Today actually started out rather abruptly and early as we had a fire drill here at the res at 3:45am. Needless to say that was less than pleasant, and I'm told we'll be having another within the month. Oh boy.
But classes today were relatively low-key, despite my utter panic when I thought I was in the wrong classroom for my tutorial. I guess when I literally ran out of the room hoping to check online what classroom I was supposed to be in the boy who thought he had Econ in Leslie Social Science 4G realized his mistake, and I made it back to the right classroom with moments to spare before the class began. I was quite relieved that I hadn't missed my first tutorial and permanently tarnished my attendance record.
The most exciting thing I experienced today was my first day of volunteering with SHAWCO, UCT's oldest student-run volunteering program that takes UCT students out into the townships to work with students in the classroom and out on the fields, interacting and educating and just having a good time with kids ranging from pre-school to high school. I'll admit I was a bit nervous about the whole situation, as I haven't had a lot of experience with middle school-aged kids, but SHAWCO provides lesson plans and supplies for us, so all we had to do was follow the plans and things would run smoothly. Yeah, not quite.
I was assigned with three other volunteers to work with the fifth graders, and while their reception of us as we walked off the bus was excited and enthusiastic, they were more than a hand-full once we got into the classroom. For ten kids you would have thought each of them had the energy of three: they were bouncing off the walls, grabbing magazines and scissors from each other while we made name tags and decorated them, they threw beads at each other despite our admonishments, and when we tried to get them to set down some rules for the rest of the semester they couldn't have cared less what we thought or what rules we made for them.
Despite all of this however, the four girls I and another of the volunteers worked with while we made name tags were actually quite sweet, and were super interested in knowing everything they possibly could about us. One of the girls I think has my whole family tree memorized, based on her eagerness to know the names of everyone in my family. Another was thrilled when I let her wear my Celtic rings, the ones I got in Dublin/Scotland and the one that matches Mom's ring, and I was rather embarrassed that they fit her snugly! I was afraid I wasn't going to get them back because I couldn't get them off her fingers, and she wasn't overweight and probably measures about a foot shorter than me. Proof that I have little kid hands.
I found it rather interesting how the children at the center like to touch: when they first meet you they like to touch a part of you, like your leg or your arm. When we shared our name tags with one another and introduced ourselves, I went up with one of the girls because she was embarrassed to go up alone, and wouldn't talk unless I put my arm around her shoulders. She knew all of the students in the classroom, so I don't know what she was so afraid of, but as long as she had some physical contact with me she was willing to share a little bit about herself. The other girls were fascinated by my hair and my earrings, touching and playing with them while they should have been paying attention to Lauren, our volunteer leader today. I think next week our warm up should be ten minutes of just running around outside like crazy people to try and get some of that overwhelming energy out!
There's no guarantee that all of them will be back next week, but I'm hoping that they all return so I can start to get to know them. I feel a bit drained and a little like a victim of a hurricane or something, but surprisingly enough I'm excited to go back. Hopefully now that the kids have met us and the anticipation has abated a bit they'll be a bit more receptive to direction and structure. I'm not putting too much money on that theory however:)
I'm sorry I don't have any pictures to show from today, but I left my camera at home so I'll definitely try and bring it next time so you can all see Manenberg and the kids we're working with.
In some ways the last four weeks have really flown by: it seems like every moment is filled with some sort of excitement or we're doing something fun and entertaining. I guess because this city is still so new to me I feel like almost everything has been fun and entertaining, which I suppose is a good thing, but I'm getting the sense that that's just sort of the vibe of Cape Town. Everything's very chill here, it's not like any city in the states that I've been to where thing's are rushed and you're always in a hurry and time is money. Here people are just relaxed, and they take time to stop and chat and see how things are going.
And it's absolutely beautiful here: I mean, the weather of course is wonderful but the scenery too. There are parts of the city that I'd love to just amble through, because the houses are painted these bright electric colors or the architecture is so varied from one place to another because of the back-and-forth colonization between the Dutch, the French, and the British. I love learning about the history of a place that I know nothing about. It's incredibly refreshing.
In some ways the last four weeks have really dragged by: sometimes the whole relaxed atmosphere drives me absolutely bonkers, because I have places to be at and people to see and when the Jammie isn't running on schedule or people are walking incredibly slowly in front of me I want to rip my hair out. Having to do everything in person regarding classes and school is a huge pain in the butt when you have to walk back and forth across campus four times in an hour or less. I miss my friends at school and get very nostalgic when I read Facebook posts about stuff that people are doing that I'm not a part of. I miss my parents and brother a ton, and it's hard not being able to just pick up the phone and call them when I'm having a rough day or when I'm super excited about something. I miss my little Jellybean! Not having a car is terrible! And there are Yaris cars all over the place here, so it only makes me miss my little red golf cart all the more.
But I do love being here, and I'm am ecstatic that I made the decision to come to what some people thought was the end of the earth and I put in the work to make this happen. Even if I were to leave tomorrow I think I'd come away with a lot more than I came here with.

Old Biscuit Mill

Saturday starts early here: it's market day. A few suburbs over is the Old Biscuit Mill, where locals gather under the two big permanent tents to buy locally grown produce and locally produced goods like wine, breads, cheeses, or chocolates. I'd been excited to get here since I heard of it last weekend, and frankly it was everything I'd hoped for and more. Each tent is overflowing with people eager to purchase the freshest and best ingredients, and the atmosphere is ripe with contented perusal and happy murmuring as people look over the goods for sale. Some of the stands sell prepared food, such as freshly made paninis, steak sandwiches (literally the best steak sandwich you'll ever eat, made on chiabata bread drizzled with olive oil, fresh tomatoes and lettuce, sprinkled with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper and I recommend the onion glaze, and topped off with huge chunks of perfectly cooked and super-tender steak) or even desserts such as apple tarts or chocolate dipped chocolate chip cookies the size of your face (also incredibly delicious). Scattered around the tents are long benches where you can take your edible prizes and enjoy to your heart's content with friends. A few girls from Liesbeeck and I were there for two hours, and if I'd had more money on me I probably would have spent the whole of it on the amazing foods on display. Definitely a Saturday morning staple from now on!

Shark Cage Diving Update: Underwater Pics!

I sort of randomly ran into the guy who I split the underwater camera with, and he gave me the print outs and a disc with the photos so I wanted to share some of them with you all so you can really get an idea of what the shark cage diving experience was like. As I said before there were times when, if I'd been dumb enough to stick my arms out of the cage, I could have literally touched the sharks. The pictures aren't exactly Nat Geo worthy, but I'm still pretty excited that a few of them came out really nicely! Enjoy!
On a side note, I went to an information session put on by the company that took me on the shark cage diving trip (they're called 2Way Travel: they cater to international students in South Africa) and they spoke to us about some amazing trips they organize for our mid-semester break and shorter weekend trips around the country or into the nearby countries) and they raffled off a few things. Turns out I won a free shark cage diving trip! I was a little disappointed that I didn't win a four day trip to Kruger National Park to camp in tree houses but hopefully I can find someone willing to buy my voucher so I can start a fund for a 10 day trip to Botswana to see Victoria Falls and go on a walking safari in one of the most beautiful game preserves in the world. It's toted as a once-in-a-lifetime experience, where we'll get to see the big five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhino), go to a lion rehabilitation center and walk with lions, go on sunset boat rides, do a night safari, etc. Only R12,800: so if you have any donations you'd like to send, just email me and I'll get you my address here:) Many thanks!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

My first official day of classes began much like all the other days here have started: to the sound of traffic and mini taxis out on the road below my window zooming by, hollering and honking at 6:30am. Not the most loving way to start off Valentine's Day, but at least I don't have to worry about over-sleeping for classes.
Firstly I walked myself across the suddenly teeming campus trying to find the Humanities Graduate building, which is further down the main strip of campus than I'd traveled before: very interesting territory. The course convener, Nigel Penn, is a bit monotonous but if you pay attention he has a very entertaining and dry sense of humor. Southern Africa to 1900 should be a deep and comprehensive course that covers South Africa from the pre-colonial period until the 1880s or so, and with no actual assigned books to read (two recommended, however) I'm optimistic that the workload won't be too overwhelming (although the two essays count for 50% of the grade and the final exam counts for the other 50%!).
Forty-five minutes later (classes here run for only forty-five minutes, but most classes are at least three times a week with a tutorial or seminar, basically another semi-related class, added on during the same period on another day, so you're really taking more classes than just the ones you signed up for) I was headed back across campus for my African Languages and Literatures Studies 1 class, which oddly enough is housed in one of the many science buildings on campus. The first thing the convener said when he began class was, "This is African Languages and Literatures, Studies 1. If you thought this was biology, you were wrong. That's next door" and then a significant portion of the class tried unsuccessfully to inconspicuously make their way out of this enormous lecture hall. Oops.
I was a bit surprised that both classes were overwhelmingly dominated by study abroad students and white people. I know from talking to my flatmate Serame that a lot of countries in Africa only allow students to go to outside universities, such as UCT, if they're studying something like engineering or other sciences. Serame himself wasn't allowed to leave Lesotho unless he studied engineering, so that's what he's doing, even though he hates it. Education, in any subject, is more important to him than his overall happiness, and he hopes that one day he'll be able to pursue something he actually enjoys. I feel awful for him: I'll never complain about having to take an Early Period requirement in the English department again.
After my two classes today I was able to catch up with some friends from the CIEE program at the main cafeteria area on campus, then headed up to the Student's Union center where we signed up for come societies and volunteer organizations here on campus. I chose to sign up for an organization called SHAWCO, one of the oldest volunteer groups in the country (I believe it was founded at UCT in 1941 or so) which takes students off campus and into the townships to provide education and tutoring to students at community centers. There are different sub-programs to work with, but I chose a program called Star, which provides arts and crafts, drama, and English tutoring to students 7-13. I have training on Friday, so I'll know more then about what specifically I'll be doing once a week for three hours. I also joined the Wine and Culture society: I'm not entirely certain what they provide, besides the obvious, but it sounded like an interesting way to get involved on campus but not seriously committed to anything. Something fun and different from school back home. We'll see how that plays out.
We had to go down to the Sports Center on Middle Campus to sign up for clubs and physical activities, and I chose the Hiking and Skiing club (apparently there's skiing here in the winter, although I find that hard to believe, especially today when it was around 90 degrees and absolutely cloudless) which is basically an outdoor club that coordinates hiking, biking, camping, rock climbing, outdoorsy things. I've heard there are some amazing hiking trails in this area, so I'm eager to get out and explore!
Then it was off to the CIEE Office to ask about opening a bank account (no luck on that score) and sign up for a volunteer program through CIEE at the TB Hospital nearby. I hope you're all sitting down for this: they need volunteers to help with the younger patients, mostly infants and toddlers, who are left there by their families and are grossly under-developed due to lack of interaction and socialization. We were given a tour of the facilities two weeks ago, and I can't get the image out of my head of this almost two-year-old boy who couldn't even sit up because he was so behind in his development. I know it sounds particularly out of character for me to be working with children in any capacity, but I'm on this kick of trying new things and racking up all sorts of experiences, because you don't know who you are until you test yourself and push your understanding of you. So, I'm pushing: we'll see what, or who, pushes back.
Despite my best intentions to head over to Claremont in search of a good used book store (I have plenty of novels that need reading for class), I ended up heading back to the res early this afternoon to get some work done, only to find that when dinner time rolled around and I was ready for left-over pasta, I had to eat it cold because we don't have a microwave. Honestly, how did people exist without microwaves? It boggles my mind. Did they just not have left-overs? Or was everything just cold and unappealing after the first night? And our stove still doesn't work, despite the assurances of the girl at reception this morning that someone would be around to repair it today. I keep telling myself these are all character building experiences. So cold pasta inhaled, I'm spending Valentine's Day trying to find a gym in the area and figuring out classes for this summer and next semester, and reading some poetry assigned for tomorrow's literature course. At least the poetry is of the romantic genre...

Cue Jaws Theme Music: Shark Cage Diving!

What started as an early morning turned into a spectacular day with Great White Sharks!
I was picked up here at the res at 6:40 this morning for a two hour drive out to Kleinbaai; a small town east of Cape Town on the coast, famous for its Great White Shark tours and home of White Shark Projects, the company that runs the tour I went on that also does conservation work and research on Great Whites. The scenery out was lovely, and the breakfast included in our day, as well as the coffee, was greatly appreciated.
There were forty people total in the group: a mixture of International study abroad kids like myself from UCT; other Americans on vacation; and a family of Germans (who were really hard-core and brought their own gear with them! I had no idea that diving was popular in Germany...?). Once briefed, we were escorted down to the waterfront to board the boat and head out towards the infamous Shark Alley. Two small islands off the coast--Dyer Island and Geyser Rock--attract the sharks due to the Cape-fur seals that live there. The smell of the seals was awful, but their romping in the water was pretty cute. They don't stray too far from the safety of the rocks unless they have to feed though.
The boat passed safely by the rocks and we set anchor with the side of the boat into the wind so that the chum, or dead fish soup, would float away from the boat to attract the sharks. It's actually illegal to feed the sharks, so what the crew does is throw the chum into the water and use a piece of tuna tied to a rope and a wood and foam seal decoy to get the sharks close to the boat and the cage for optimal viewing. The crew then lowered the cage into the water, which is attached to the side of the boat at all times and allows viewers to hold their heads above water while the lookout keeps an eye out for sharks. When he spots one coming, he directs the divers to look and everyone dives under, keeping all appendages within the bars of course. While the dive suits are thick, that water temperature was about 14 degrees Celsius, so it's pretty freaking cold, but once the first shark appears you really don't pay attention to the water temp. Within minutes of anchoring and setting the cage, the first shark appeared, and divers were settled into the cage. Even from the deck of the boat you can get a good view of the animals: their dark tops are hard to see in the water, but the white undersides and sometimes scars make them distinguishable from the water. At first they just sort of circled around the boat (I say they because by the end of the afternoon we had THREE sharks making passes at the bait, and at times two of them would try for the same piece of fish at the same time: it was so cool!) but soon they were really going after the bait and especially the decoy: at times their heads even came out of the water! None of them breached like you see on the Discovery channel though, but it was awesome nonetheless.
When I actually got into the water I was so excited and cold that I wasn't really scared at all, which was surprising. I went half-sies on an underwater camera with another guy on the tour, so he took the pictures while we saw two different sharks making passes at the bait. One seemed smaller (I say this with a sense of irony: all Great Whites are huge) and had several deep scars on his head, making him easily recognizable from the others, but the second shark that glided past seemed almost as large as the eight person cage we were in. His whole body was an enormous grey barrel, and he even gave us a Jaws profile, coming up from below almost perpendicular to us to try and sneak up on the bait. I can only hope that when the pictures get developed we were able to capture at least some of the cool shots from the two trips we made into the water (I mean, how can you only do it once?!)
The sharks were literally close enough to touch at points, and it was absolutely amazing being in their environment with them. As much as people are so afraid of them and make them into such monsters, I was just enthralled by how graceful and beautiful they were.
This experience was definitely worth it, and hopefully if you have the chance to get to South Africa you take the opportunity to try something like this. You might even find that facing something so fearful could really be one of the most incredible events of your life!

PS though: bring some Dramamine or something, 'cause even when they say the water's "as calm as a lake," you're going to feel nauseous by the end of the day. I swear my chair is rocking right now and it's not a rocking chair :/

Simon's Town

So today was more of an adventure than I would have thought it'd be...
After the group gathered themselves together to make our way to the train station, the mantra hurry up and wait runs through my head as our meeting time stretched on for almost thirty minutes. I'm still getting used to the fact that not only am I surrounded by college students, who can't seem to get themselves together on time on a normal day, but that I'm dealing with college students in Africa, where time is quite literally almost irrelevant at times. I don't think the idea of time is money ever sank in here, and I know we Americans are actually made fun of for our constant appraisal of time and speediness.
But I digress: we finally made it to the train station, a two minute walk from the res, and waited (I really am getting good at it!) for the train to come. Little did we know that when the train arrives you have about twenty seconds to get on, and no one checks to make sure you've boarded. Well, let's just say that the image of someone running down the platform as people inside the car hold the doors open and grab said person to heave them into the car is not as exciting as it looks. It's terrifying. As the last person in the group to board, I literally had to leap onto the moving train as it sped away from the platform. I think it's the only time during this entire experience that I've been truly frazzled. But, I made it onto the train in one piece, and we now have a really funny story to tell people:)
The trip by train to Simon's Town is absolutely stunning as you move south down the peninsula along the water. It's maybe forty-five minutes from Cape Town, so it's a great late morning trip if you're just dying for some great seafood or want to get out of the city for a little bit. We had a great lunch at this little restaurant on the water, then walked around the vendor's stalls looking for souvenirs: I almost bought this gorgeous ebony wood bowl with carvings all along the outside, but when the seller and I agreed on R80 for it, she got a call from her sister and tried to up the price on me. I had to walk away, which was such a bummer. Her loss.
Simon's Town used to be the center of the British Navy in the southern hemisphere, and today is the base of the South African Navy, so we had to stop at the South African Maritime Museum while we were there. It's full of really interesting artifacts from the long history of the Navy in the area, with things from photographs, uniforms, artillery, a replica of a submarine, a helicopter, and diving equipment.
A quick stop at the beach to get our hot feet wet was in order before we reboarded the train (I wasn't at the back of the group this time!) which quickly filled with end-of-the-workday passengers. And when I say filled, I mean literally filled, to the point where people were hanging out of the open doors and some were even sitting on the metal pieces connecting the train cars. It was insane! And scary! But we elbowed our way off in time for our stop without too much trouble, and no one was pick pocketed, which apparently happens all too frequently.
Now for the rest of the evening I'm scheduled to get some laundry done and go to bed early, as tomorrow I'm being picked up at 6:40am for the cage diving. Wish me luck!

The Beach and South African Museum

Hello Again! Sorry it's been so long: time is literally flying by here! I can't believe I've already been here for two weeks. Sometimes it feels like I just got here, and then at other times I feel like I've always been here... very bizarre.
I'll make this post quick as I'm about to leave for Simon's Town, but just a recap of what I've been up to:
Sunday one of the socials (clubs) on campus, RAG, took every0ne to the beach in Muizenburg for the day. The weather was perfect despite an overcast morning, but I'm starting to get used to the fact that here the weather on any given day will change several times over before nightfall. The train runs directly from close by the res to the beach, so it's super easy to get there, which is really nice. Unfortunately I forgot to put sunscreen on my ears, so they were a bit crispy by the time I got back to the res.
Monday a few of the CIEE girls and I took the Jammie to one of the smaller campuses in town, called Hiddingh Campus, where you can walk downtown to check out the museums, restaurants, and shops. We took a stroll to Greenmarket Square, where tons of vendors set up to sell goods from all over Africa (and those of you who love a bargain can barter to your heart's content for things like Kenyan masks, jewelry, wooden bowls, carvings, and spears). If you ever come to Cape Town, Greenmarket Square is definitely a cool place to check out.
Yesterday we thought we'd head back towards Greenmarket to look at some of the museums in the area. The South African Museum seemed like the place to start, and at R5 for student entry (that's less than a dollar for those of us who aren't that great at math!) we couldn't say no. The exhibits were really great: from African rock art dating back 80,000 years to dinosaur skeletons, whales and other sea creatures, and even a wonderful photography exhibit. I literally wanted to spend all day there, but the rest of the group decided it was time for some ice cream and shopping, so I was dragged away:( I have every intention of getting back soon though to finish my explorations and check out some of the other great museums in the area.
We strolled down Long Street, arguably the main artery of the city, and found a place called the Pan African Market: a four-story maze of tiny shops full of African goods, where you can literally find anything you're looking for. While my friend Rohanna found a carved wooden mask and managed to talk the seller down from R250 to R100, I picked up some awesome jewelry (I managed to leave all my jewelry at home, and have felt practically naked without it!) for a veritable steal. I made friends with one of the vendors who sold me a wooden and beaded necklace, Isaac, who also works at a restaurant nearby called Mama Africas. He promised that if we called ahead and told them we knew him, we'd get a table, no problem. I've head the restaurant is amazing, so I'm eager to try some name-dropping if it'll get us in!
After we left the Pan African Market, we found another shop (I can't remember the name but I'll definitely get it when I go back) with three floors of goods: beautiful artwork, more jewelry, carved ostrich shells, tapestries, etc. I was looking for some cool souvenir ideas when I met a woman named Helen, who was very helpful is showing me some of the great tapestries and mancala boards she had for sale. While I didn't end up buying anything from her, she promised me a good price on the tapestries should I come back; and that she won't forget me as her daughter's name is also Kate.
So today we're off to Simon's Town with one of the RAs, Farai, to check out the cool shops out there and grab some lunch, so I have to go but I'll try and post pictures of that tonight when I get back as it's going to be a full day for me tomorrow of White Shark Cage Diving!

Surf and Turf

It's been another busy couple of days, with registration on Friday (a three hour process where everything's done in person, on paper, and then input into the computer... why they don't cut down on the manpower and have the students do the work on the computer themselves is a mystery to me) and several activities put on by the RAs and Housing Committee for the res.
Friday afternoon about sixty of the residents of Liesbeeck were treated to a trip down to the Victoria and Alfred (Alfred was Queen Victoria's son, it's not a typo of her husband's name as many people seemed to think:) Waterfront, where the posh go to eat fresh seafood and do some serious shopping. The group was herded onto a small charter boat that then took us out on the water to get some wonderful views of the city and enjoy the sea air. We all had a great time although the breeze was pretty cool, and many residents ended up huddled in the few blankets stowed on the boat.
That night we decided to get out onto the town, so Farai, one of the RAs, took us over to Claremont to Cubanas, a Latino restaurant and bar. We splurged on fruity drinks (hardly splurging when they run about R25-R30, which is around four bucks!) and some Latino fare, but all-in-all it was a low-key kind of outing. Trying to get a cab back to the res took quite a while however, but we managed with Farai's help.
Yesterday was pretty entertaining, as we were once again loaded into the tour buses (the only way to economically transport 50-60 people, so we always look like a bunch of young tourists) to head over to one of the largest townships in the area, Guglethu, to a restaurant called Mzoli's. What an experience! Basically for R20 (less than three dollars) you get to the restaurant around 11am to get a seat (because if you get there any later you won't get a table, and you have to stand outside the covered outdoor seating area) with your cooler full of your favorite drinks and snacks. The next two and half hours or so are spent drinking and eating, meeting up with friends, watching the late-comers trying to find parking on the narrow crowded streets, and the children and dogs meandering through the crowds. Finally you begin to smell cooking meat, and literally the atmosphere changes: people start to get excited, plates and napkins are passed around, and when the time is right a representative from each table is sent up to the grill with a large plate or bowl or whatever carrying container they may have to fill up with as much meat product as possible. Literally that is the only food you get at Mzoli's: meat, meat, and more meat. The food is passed around from person to person, and everyone digs in. No utensils here.
DJs come in and set the mood, and while we were there yesterday one of the most famous DJs in South Africa, DJ Spu, was working his magic, and the place was literally jumping as everyone got up and started dancing, yelling, and singing along. The CIEE students who came weren't as familiar with most of DJ Spu's stuff, so we felt more like observers than participants, but it was still extremely entertaining nonetheless. After five hours (Mzoli's is an all day affair, but we decided we needed to get back to the res to recover from the overload of protein) we boarded the bus again and barely made it out of the maze of streets because of all the cars parked along the sides of the road. But we did make it and soon enough we were back at the res, satiated and exhausted.
A few of the other CIEEers and I decided that after picking up some essential groceries (mainly fruits and veg!) we would regroup and try this restaurant literally two minutes walk down the main road, called The Fat Cactus Cafe, where supposedly the margaritas were to die for and the food was delicious (I'm not quite sure what's going on with the Latino food theme...). Well, four pitchers of mango and lime margaritas later, between seven of us, along with some amazing food, and we were all convinced that The Fat Cactus was going to be our go-to spot for the rest of the semester. We even have the work schedule of the waiter who served us, who has the driest sense of humor imaginable and loved to mess with us Americans as much as possible:)
Today the RAs and House Committee have a beach day scheduled for us, so now that the clouds are just starting to clear it looks like it's going to be a fantastic beach day. Tonight one of the other RAs, Kensani, has planned a girl's night in at her apartment with a bunch of the CIEEers (she wants to straighten my hair, so we'll see how that goes) which I'm looking forward to, and we're having our own Superbowl party in the basement lounge at three in the morning. Everyone's bringing some sort of food, so I suppose I'll have to come up with something as well, but frankly I feel like all I've done here is eat! I'm going to need some time to recover...

The Res: Liesbeeck Gardens

Howzit Everyone!
As promised I'll tell you a little about my home away from home so I can prove to some of you skeptics that I'm not in fact living in a mud hut and that I actually have a single room bigger than my one at Skidmore! Pretty exciting, although there have been a few bumps along the way...
So we got to Liesbeeck Gardens (pronounced Liz-beak) on Saturday at 10am only to find that our rooms had not been cleaned, and many of the vacation housed students hadn't moved out yet. This was rather upsetting, as many of us had aspirations of unpacking and finally getting our things out of suitcases and just figuring out what our temporary home was going to look like. The RAs were kind enough to take us over to the mall in Claremont where we bought some small necessities (laundry detergent, sunscreen, towels, etc.) until our rooms could be prepared. Unfortunately even by 4pm many of the rooms were still uncleaned and several students had to stay in more temporary housing while other students moved out. It wasn't too dreadful though, as we were treated to a wonderful braai out by the pool (yes, we do in fact have a pool right next to the Res, so cool!) where we stuffed our faces and played some basketball on the courts there.
I'll admit it looks a little like a prison (we even have a warden and two sub-wardens) but overall the res is really nice, with running water, working electricity, and even a computer lab and wireless internet access. Overall I'm really pleased with it, and really can't complain about too much:)
However, we soon discovered that the bedding and kitchen supplies provided for us were less than stellar, as much of the bedding I'm convinced had been recycled since the beginning of the program, and I chose to sleep in my sleeping bag for the first couple of nights until we could go out and buy new bedding. Not an expense I was thrilled to make, but necessary nonetheless. However, the program director and our fearless leader Quinton Redcliffe called a meeting this morning to apologize for the confusion with moving in, as well as the provided bedding and kitchen supplies, and has assured us that CIEE will cover the cost of the new bedding so long as we have our receipts. I'm praying I can find mine...
As for the kitchen utensils... We're missing quite a few, and the pots and pans are, let's say, well worn, but everything seems to be functioning despite. Our oven doesn't close all the way though, and I'm told that you have to harass maintenance a few times before things get done because they're all lazy: the receptionist's words, not mine. But my friend Kat and I used the stove top last night to make pasta and chicken so at least that works. We don't have a microwave though, so that's next on the list of unexpected purchases.
The rooms are set up in suite styles, with four single rooms, a kitchen, and two bathrooms per suite. I'm living with another CIEE student, Mercy, who's super nice. My other two suitemates will be UCT students, and while one just walked in as I was sitting down to write this, the other hasn't yet arrived. I'm very excited to get to know both of them, as so far the students I have met have been the nicest people ever.
Otherwise I'm still acclimating myself with the campus, although I'm proud that I was able to make the Jammie ride (the buses on campus are called Jammies, I think that's so cute) from Upper Campus to the Res without a problem. (UCT is so large that the campus is split into six campuses: Upper, Middle, Lower, Hiddingh, Health Sciences and Breakwater to accommodate the 25,000 students) International students are required by law to register with the University, so yesterday many of us spent two to three hours standing in line at the International office waiting to get pre-registered, which was literally supplying a copy of your passport, visa, and a piece of paper with contact information and such. A bit frustrating, but that's the way things are around here: everything's bureaucratic and time consuming. Such as approval for courses: in order to take a course, you have to be approved by the faculty, or essentially the department, to take the course. This requires that you obtain what's called a "pink form" because of its color, from the faculty office (faculty are essentially colleges, so because I'm taking English and History courses I'm considered part of the Humanities faculty), fill that out with the course information, and then present it and a copy of my transcript to the head of my department (for example, the head of the English Language and Literature department) who then determines that I'm qualified to take the desired course. She signs off on my pink sheet, which I then present at registration (which happens on Friday and is essentially the same as pre-registration, only now I'm signing up for classes). Basically it's a lot of walking around this HUGE campus and waiting in reception areas for people to finish lunch and spend all of four seconds looking over your transcript and then signing your pink form. But, at least the weather's nice and the campus is really pretty, and I'm going to have the most toned legs imaginable because everything is up a hill or a flight of stairs. Whoever decided that putting an enormous campus on the side of a mountain was clearly not thinking properly.
Anyway, I'm going to leave off with that so I can get myself back over the campus (I'm typing this out on my laptop on the wireless internet: finally!) for a wine and chocolate tasting:)