Monday, May 11, 2009

I love the weekend

It really is amazing how different the weekends are than the week days. Weekends allow for freedom, travel. I feel like weekends are what have made this experience so meaningful. So I try my best to take advantage of every one.

Friday I woke up late and walked up to the Rhodes Memorial (ironically, commemorating the English imperialist) at the absolute top of campus. There is a great view of the city and the ocean and I sat at the cafe with an iced coffee (basically a coffee shake) and read. Then I relaxed on the grass. Much needed alone time.



Then I went to a LAWCO event at the campus pub... it was really interesting to hear how passionate some of the volunteers are about serving in South Africa and using the law to combat the despicable injustices of this country.

Saturday Andrew and I hiked Devil's Peak... it was a pretty strenuous hike, which some parts leading through a dark forest with tall trees and others straight up in the beating sun. It took about three hours to get to the top, and the view was easily the best I've seen in Cape Town.



Unlike at the top of Table Mountain, you can actually see 360 degrees around you, from Lion's Head to the sea and Robben Island to the entire City. Absolutely spectacular. We chatted with an interesting pair of Capetonians for a bit and then headed down, stopping only to watch a hideous looking mountain goat do his thing. We then had a celebratory beer at the cafe at Rhodes Memorial It's pretty awesome (something I didn't realize until later) that you can see the sea and an entire city from the top of a mountain. It's so Cape Town. It's alsi great that we walked out of our flats with the mountain in view and ended up at t he very top 3 hours later.

Saturday night a bunch of us went out for a friend Sean's birthday to Long Street. One of the best nights I've had in Cape Town. It was followed by one of the best days. Sunday we went to Mzoli's (the famous restaurant in Gugulethu). The meat was incredible as always (we devoured a bowl of lamb, chicken, and sausage) and then danced with everyone else. There were so many people there (people were literally spilling into the street) and everyone just had an incredible time. I ran into a guy I had met on my home stay and we also met some really cool guys from Zimbabwe. Going back there reminded me how amazing friendly the people who live in this suburb are.

It's an image that will stay with me when I think about studying abroad-- watching the African sun setting over Table Mountain, stuffed with meat, perfectly content.

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