Women's Day

Happy Women’s Day!  Today is a national holiday in South Africa celebrating Women’s Day.  Here is a description of the day from Wikipedia:   

The day commemorates the 1956 march of approximately 20,000 women to the Union Building in Pretoria to petition against the country’s pass laws that required South Africans defined as “black” under The Population Registration Act to carry an internal passport, known as a pass, that served to maintain population segregation, control urbanization, and manage migrant labour during the apartheid era. The first National Women’s Day was celebrated on 9 August 1994. In 2006, a reenactment of the march was staged for its 50th anniversary, with many of the 1956 march veterans.

Although women's day was yesterday, it is also a three day weekend for most. So, we had Monday off school. I always have Monday off school, but it was awesome because I got to hang out with Laura. We had breakfast together: she had coffee, I had tea, and we both had mashed avocado on toast with lemon, black pepper, and fresh rocket. 

*Rocket* = A new vocabulary word for the blog, meaning: salad or lettuce 

Laura and I rode our bikes around, and we found a trail that went by a stream, through the woods, and out to a HUGE soccer field that gave you a view of the surrounding mountains like you would not believe. It felt like we were the only people who knew about this place. We sat there for two hours talking and looking at the mountains. As it got a bit later in the afternoon people started coming with chairs, blankets, picnics, soccer balls, rugby balls, dogs, and everything else. We were definitely not the first to discover the place.

We had an awesome day. Laura went home and I just finished helping my friend Laurin with his paper. He is presenting his paper tomorrow, and he wanted me to check it for English grammar. It took a few hours between checking, small chit chat, and tea...but I think it sounds great and he is ready. He even practiced reading it to me! I loved the whole experience. Now time for me to do MY WORK. Ahhhhhh!!!! 

Me. Laura.
Celebrating women's day on the huge field in the valley with mountains around us. Weather was perfect today. 

Shaazia.

Before I came to South Africa the international staff at Stellenbosch sent out emails asking if we were interested in having a South African "buddy" to meet with when we arrived and help answer any questions. I said yes. I arrived a few weeks early with my mom and did not hear from my buddy, Shaazia. I assumed she was still on holiday. When it got close to school starting I emailed her. There was no response. I was a little worried, or at least thought it was not going to work out.

It turns out she had a death in the family, and was dealing with personal things when I wrote to her. Once she came back she has made a monumental effort to be nice to me, show me around, and help me. She is from Johannesburg, and is finishing her bachelor this year with two majors. Today she told me she wants to go to graduate school in Amsterdam! (But she does not have plans yet).

I found out from the beginning Shaazia likes breakfast. I normally do not wake up so early, but both times we have met it has been between 8:00 or 8:30 am. She has showed me two awesome breakfast places where there is a wonderful atmosphere while you can still feel the morning around you. Both times she has accompanied me to the library afterwards to help me with something. She is a lovely person, and a friend. I am excited to get to know her better and hang out :)

Me. Shaazia. 

Happy Birthday Laurin!!! (August 6, 2015)

 Although Laurin was initially shy and did not want to have a big party which drew attention to his birthday, quite a crowd came out to celebrate. We had a great night celebrating, having some drinks, competing with other tables at trivia, and generally having a lovely evening. I had friends at the table, and also met new ones. Our group consisted of people from Germany, Ghana, Rwanda, Austria, Uganda, Senegal, Italy, South Africa, and USA (me!).

I hope Laurin enjoyed his birthday as much as we did. Now it is time for bed. Although the weekend begins, so does my work load. I have spent a little too much time having fun and not enough doing my reading. It has all been worth it though, and I will catch up on everything in the next few days!

Laurin: the birthday boy. 

The group: unfortunately before everyone arrived. 

Laura & Laurin. (When Laura arrived she gave Laurin one of her drawings for his birthday). 

Laurin. Sophie. Rene.
Laurin: from Germany
Sophie: from Germany
Rene: from South Africa 

Laura. Me.
Laura: from Austria 

Working together at trivia.
(I knew the answer to only one question. It asked which 4 actors (xyz) were in a movie together. I knew the answer was the movie, "A Knight's Tale." One of my all time favorites. 

Me. My buddy, George.
George: from Ghana. 

This was either Timmy or Jimmy. He was full of life, to say the least...  :-D
Timmy/ Jimmy: from Johannesburg, SA. 

Amina. Laurin. Sophie.
Amina: from Senegal.
Laurin & Sophie: from Germany. 

Cesar. Me. Amina.
Cesar: from Uganda.
Amina: from Senegal. 

Late to school.

This morning started out as a normal day. Wake up, shower, get dressed, and have a short talk with my roommate, Jonita, before we head off for our 9 AM classes. She said goodbye to me as I was getting my final things together. I left and sat on my bike only to find it impossible to pedal. The chain was making a noise, and despite my effort to fix it, my bicycle was not going to be taking me to school.

I do not like being late to class, so in a panic I knock on my other roommate, Shane's, door. I caught her in the exact moment she was leaving for work. I asked if she would drive me to school and she said yes. We got in her car and did not even make it around the corner before she realized she had a flat tire. She called someone she works with and was waiting for help. I sat in the car with her for a minute or two before deciding the fastest way for me to get to school at this point was walk. I thanked her and said goodbye and headed off to school by foot in the rain and wind.

I arrived to my Transitional Justice class a little wet, irritated, and embarrassed. There was a special speaker today from the Congo. The class went well and I apologized to my professor for being 20 minutes late. Between my failed bike and car attempt to get to school I thought she was going to think my story was a bit far fetched, but she was very nice.

Now time to study and I have another class at 5:00 tonight.

Laura and her coconut

You have all seen Laura in previous pictures. We have become friends and she is from Austria. We met up today for a hot chocolate and I immediately asked her what was wrong with her face, or if she knew what was on her face?!?!?! 

She had just come from art class and did not even realize she had paint on her forehead and cheek. She is studying to be an art teacher. She also bought a coconut a while ago which she can not figure out how to open. She brought it to campus today in hopes to find out, and she decided she wanted to draw it because she thought it was so amazing. I am in a digital photography class, and it has only just started to scratch the surface for me to think of nice and unique images in photography etc. But somehow, in the moment, it struck me how beautiful she looked in the sun--a rather hard wind blowing her hair, the paint on her face, charcoal on her hands, and intensely examining her coconut. I did not have my camera so I had to use my phone. Next time I will be prepared with a camera. Nonetheless I wanted to share these pictures because I think they are beautiful. 

Cape Town Sign

I forgot to add this to my Cape Town pictures earlier. I just think it is fun to see signs from different countries sometimes :) 

For the Lion King Lovers

I LOVE the Lion King. All grocery stores here have "Simba" potato chips! 

Simba Chips. 

Cape Town Trip comes to a close

Here we are at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. Table Mountain is behind us in all of these pictures. We accomplished a lot in two days and had a fantastic time :) 

Laura. Me. Aylin. Kathrin. 

Laura. Me. Aylin. Kathrin. 

Laura. Me. Aylin. Kathrin. 

Bo-Kaap

Our first stop in Cape Town was Bo-Kaap. It was originally called the Malay Quarter. Because of Cape Town's economic development and expansion in recent years, property in Bo-Kaap is becoming very sought after. The colors, cobble-streets, location, and unique architecture is very attracting. The Nural Islam Mosque is located in this area and was established in 1844. 

We stopped and asked two older Muslim men on the corner if we were allowed to go into the Mosque. They said we were not because we were not properly covered. However, they seemed to indicate it was a possibility if we dressed properly, but now was not a good time. For some reason it struck me as strange the way they said now was not a good time. Quickly, I found out why. A large group of men start to emerge from around the corner. The men on the corner informed us a funeral procession was coming our way. That is when I noticed a dark green casket in the crowd. One of the men specifically said, and almost encouraged me to take pictures. He said it was completely fine, and then he and the other man headed for the crowd without another word. Men started emerging from homes and corners. Soon an enormous group was walking with the casket into the mosque. This literally happened right in front of our eyes.

As soon as they went in the doors of the mosque closed, and things were quiet. We stood, watching what had just happened in front of us. That is when we met a woman who is a private tour guide. She was taking a man on a tour an he was off taking pictures somewhere while she waited for him. She told us that in their culture, only men are allowed to go to the funeral (and sometimes boys ages 7 and older). She also said they have to bury the body before sunset, so the person most likely died the night before or that morning. She said the funeral could take a few minutes to a few hours. We chatted with her for about 5 - 10 minutes, and as we were leaving the mosque doors opened and everyone started to emerge. The first two pictures are the men taking the casket into the mosque. The third, and last picture, is when they are all exiting after only a few minutes. They continued to carry the casket until we lost sight of them. I found it to be an incredibly interesting experience. 

I love the first picture I took. The men all walking up the street with the casket and colors behind them is so stunning to me. Especially because this was the last thing I was expecting to see in Cape Town yesterday. Very interesting experience. 

Quiet in Cape Town

Yesterday Laura, Aylin, Kathrin, and I traveled to Cape Town. It was Sunday (8.2.15). Even for a big city, Cape Town is quiet on Sunday. Many shops and restaurants are closed. 

We experienced two seasons in one day. Morning and night were winter, afternoon was summer. We left Stellenbosch in winter coats and scarves. By lunch we were taking everything off, putting our hair up, and sweating while eating outside in the sun, and by the time we were back home in Stellenbosch it was time for the coats again. 

We had a wonderful time!

Me. 

Laura. Me. (Table Mountain is behind us).

Kathrin. Laura. Me. Aylin. 

Laura. Kathrin. Aylin.
Right: A woman we met living in New York who is from Istanbul. She offered to take pictures of us together which was really nice :-D 

Me. Laura. Aylin. Kathrin. 

Me. Laura. Aylin. Kathrin. 

Wifi Trouble

Unfortunately uploading pictures is taking a long time tonight. I wanted to share our whole weekend with you, Saturday and Sunday, but I only got up to Saturday thus far. Check back tomorrow for our Sunday in Cape Town photos.

It is late and I will go to bed soon. The weekend fun is over, and it is back to work and school!

Thanks to all who have been following my blog so far. It makes me incredibly happy to know people are following what is going on over here. Please keep following, and share or remind people to read the blog who may have forgotten. Thank you and I hope everyone is well :-D

Boulders Bay Penguin Colony 8.1.15

Laura. Aylin. Kathrin. Me. 

Penguins. 

Hello there...

Me. Laura. 

Hiking past Cape of Good Hope

After arriving at the famous Cape of Good Hope sign where many line up to get their pictures taken, you can take a hike up to the rocks overlooking the ocean. Thankfully we arrived early enough before people started unloading from tourist busses. We officially saw the sign, continued to hike, and enjoyed the gorgeous weather. Any day in short sleeves is a good day for us!!!

Aylin. Me. 

Laura. Me. 

Laura. me. 

Aylin. Laura. 

Laura. Aylin. Me. 

Kathrin. Aylin. Me. 

Laura. (Love this picture of her) :-D

The Girls. Laura, Aylin, and me

Laura! 

Aylin. 

Me.

Cape of Good Hope

Aylin. Laura. Kathrin. Me. 

Aylin. Laura. Kathrin. Me. 

Aylin. Laura. Kathrin. Me. 

Ostrich 8.1.15

The following stories and pictures posted happened over the weekend (August 1st and 2nd 2015). A couple of the girls decided to rent a car and invited Laura and me to go. We said yes and our adventures continued to the Cape of Good Hope, Boulders Bay Penguin Colony, Cape Town, Bo Kaap, the V&A Waterfront in Capetown, and more. 

We started about 9AM Saturday morning. Aylin was driving. She was so nervous she was shaking in the beginning. She is from Germany and also not used to driving on the left side of the road. She got used to it fairly quickly, but still asked us to double check for her at every turn and roundabout. It is teamwork to drive on the lefthand side. Between help, English, German, and a stick shift on the left hand side...we did well. 

Right before reaching the Cape of Good Hope we ran into this fellow, the ostrich. As you can see he was about one foot away from the road. We stopped and took pictures. I never thought I would see a wild ostrich so close in my life. It was awesome :) 

Kathrin. Me. 

My friend, Ostrich.