You lucky readers of my blog are going to get massive updates in the next couple of days. I’ve been super busy the last few weeks so updating has been lower on my list of priorities. I am alive, though, for those of you wondering so don’t worry anymore. Anyway, I have to remember back to what I have been doing the last few weeks.
March 21 was Human Rights Day and also ended up being a very political day, considering the elections are only a couple weeks away that make sense. We were supposed to go to an ANC rally in Uitinhage, a township a ways outside of PE. Once we got there we couldn’t find the stadium we were supposed to go to. As we were riding along, we somehow ended up in an ANC parade. It was kind of scary. People were very hyped up for that day and another situation added to the atmosphere of that day. The stadium that was supposed to hold the ANC rally was also said to be reserved by COPE, a rival party (they really don’t like each other. A few leading members of ANC didn’t like the direction the party was going and broke off, relatively recently, and formed COPE). The PE municipality, ANC run, said the ANC had rights to the stadium while COPE said the officially reserved it. The situation went all the way to the supreme courts and at 2am that morning it was decided COPE had the rights to the stadium and the ANC had to set up in a field across from it. So the rally wasn’t what it was suppose to be but it was still fun. We met a lot of people (we were the only white people there, besides the media, so people wanted to get to know us). Some in our group got in the middle of a big group of dancers. Some girls got marriage proposals. It was enjoyable but hot and after an hour or two most of us were ready to go.
Random stuff:
· I got scuba certified recently. It was really fun but I have no idea what I’m going to do with it once I get back to Minnesota. There are some funny stories associated with this so ask if you want me to tell.
· My flight home was completely changed and I had a mini meltdown before I got it fixed. I’m still coming home
I should probably tell you guys what has been going on at the AIDS Haven. There have been quite a few new kids arriving, four in all I think, in a matter of a couple weeks. One of the girls, Siki, is just a ball of energy. I don’t know if she speaks English well but she is always smiling and laughing when we are around. One day, when it was really hot, we decided to bring out the kiddie pool. That was hilarious. First of all, when the kids saw the pool they freaked out. Second, the kids started stripping down to their underwear, or nothing at all. Then, they didn’t even wait until the pool was completely filled before they jumped in. It was absolutely crazy. I’m not sure if the nurses liked it very much but we loved it. A couple weeks ago, the last time we volunteered before spring break, we took the kids out to a tea garden that had a giant playground for the kids. Things were in the shape of ambulances, pirate ships, dump trucks, castles, everything. At first the kids were really overwhelmed but eventually they got used to all stuff and had a great time. Other kids from a school came and played as well. It was nice to see the Haven kids can interact with other kids their own age that are complete strangers.
As for classes, nothing too exciting to report. I’m doing well in all of them, I hope. I am still glad I am not in the political science class (they just had a 4000 word essay due and have another one due in a couple weeks…I expect some major meltdowns). Marine biology is still as wonderful as ever even though the new prof scares me. She’s big. At least 6’3”. All my other classes are boring you really don’t want to know anything about them. If you do let me know
Well that was my quick update up to Cape Town so come back tomorrow and I’ll have it done…hopefully.
Peace.
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