Last Weekend Before Classes

Bain's Kloof

Chrissy and I had a wonderful last weekend of ‘freedom’ before classes began on Monday (Valentine’s Day). (Just a note: I would venture to say that the general population here is significantly more aware and knowledgeable about US history and current events then the other way around. Here in South Africa there is the understanding that the activities and policies of the US have a great influence on the lives of those throughout the world whether in regards to security, governance, or the economy, etc.  Unfortunately, some Americans do not feel the same way. In understanding that we live in a globalized world, Americans cannot afford to ignore or disregard what is happening in Africa. It is my hope and belief that this mindset of Americans has (and will continue) to evolve over the next few years. This topic is for another post entirely!)

Before the weekend festivities, Chrissy and I spent 2.5 hours at the bank securing some logistics with our student accounts. The upside of spending that long at the bank is that we were able to have some GREAT conversations with the people we met. In particular we had a fascinating conversation with a man from Zimbabwe. We are encountering interesting opinions in regards to the interpretation of recent American history (post-9/11). For example, I found myself dispelling ‘conspiracy theories’ about US involvement in the attacks as well as the role of the FAA.  It is interesting to learn that some of these beliefs are widely held as true in other parts of the world; accordingly, US communication to the world regarding both 9/11 and the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has clearly not achieved ‘desired results.’ Additionally, the topic of US ‘strategic engagement’ in places like Iraq as oppose to the DRC and Zimbabwe is definitely a reoccurring conversation in South Africa. I’m learning a lot and loving the engagement with different backgrounds, experiences, opinions, and perspectives.

After the bank and spending Friday around our flat, Chrissy and I traveled to Edgemead to attend our friend Cavan’s Braii. We met some really fun people and (per usual) I found myself in a political conversation about the Middle East. J The only down side of meeting great people and having engaging conversations is that I went to bed at 6 am, knowing that we planned to spend the next day hiking. On Saturday a group of 5 of us travelled to Bain’s Kloof (about an hour outside of Cape Town near Wellington) for a short hike and afternoon of swimming in the Witte River. Bain’s Kloof Pass, completed in 1853, is a road across the Limiet Moutains. The drive is absolutely beautiful and Bainskloof village is used for many environmental workshops. As you can see in the pictures, the hike mostly consisted of jumping and climbing over rocks! It was absolutely beautiful, a little bit of a work out, and a great way to start getting a tan J

Following our time at Bain’s Kloof we stopped by Canal Walk Mall, got pizza, and spent more time with friends before heading to another Rotary Scholar’s house gathering/party. Given the day’s events Chrissy and I were pretty tired and spent most of the night at our apartment with friends. In other news, I’m slowly starting to understand Rugby after watching a lot of the Seven’s games from the tournament in Las Vegas this weekend (I’m assuming that nobody reading this even knew there was a rugby field in Vegas, ha!). Sunday consisted of relaxing, McDonalds for lunch, and going to Kirstenbosch Gardens for a summer concert to see Zebra and Giraffe! The concert was people of all ages with baskets of food and wine; very similar to the Jazz in the Sculpture Gardens in Washington DC.  

Following the concert, a group of us went to see the sunset at Clifton Beach. As much as I love the District, upon returning to DC I will definitely miss spending relaxing nights watching the sunset on the beach. 

Sunset at Clifton