Birthday/Drakensberg/4th of July

Birthday/Berg /Independence Day!

Hello! I am writing this from my study carrel where I should be focusing on my HIV/AIDS presentation I have coming up, but I am taking a bit of a study break! Down here in South Africa I am experiencing “winter” which means the highs may drop down to the low 70s once in a while. The great thing is that people seem to freak out when it gets that low, out come the fur-lined hooded jackets and scarves! What is even worse is I don’t think I have worn capris in a couple months now. Mid 70s means time to break out the jeans! Anyways I am really missing summer at home, so I have been trying to recreate it here in South Africa! Winter is a great time for bbqs and picnics of which we seem to be having one per weekend, but there have been a couple big ones. First I had a picnic in the Botanic Gardens (one of my favorite places in Durban) for my 24th birthday. It was a lovely day, lots of my friends came by with yummy snacks and we all just lounged on blankets and enjoyed the day. I did manage to choose a somewhat obscure part of the park so my friends had to trek around to find me which turned out to be pretty funny when some of my guy friends tried to be clever and bring me a huge box with bricks in the bottom, serves them right! They put a couple bricks in the bottom of the box with a cute poem about taking me out to dinner but only if I also brought along some hot friends. Everyone had a great time and I actually had to be the one to wrap it up when I needed to get to Carolyn’s for a dinner and show we were going to see that night. The next day on my actual birthday I had a few friends over for pasta and to help me with the wine and cake I got the day before as gifts. We watched a movie that came in my wonderful birthday box from my parents and grandma and just relaxed. As many of you probably know I’ve never been a huge fan of birthdays but this one was so nice, just low key and my friends were so sweet which made it really special!
The next big bbq was a huge one for the 4th of July. The 4th of July is my favorite holiday and this was my first one outside of the USA. Preparing for the party turned out to be a huge ordeal but regardless it was a great day. We went to the Palmeit Nature Reserve and roasted hotdogs and hamburgers on the edge of the river. I made a cake that looked like a flag and we listened to classic rock like Top Petty and the Ealges. About 15 of my friends came out, and I told them all about what the 4th is like back home, then we had a lively talk about US politics. I also made sure it was American by calling it a bbq not a braai, and only using American English. Usually here I give up and say the SA words like crisps instead of chips because it helps the confusion, but not on America day! Later on 3 of my friends from Joburg came out and we all went dancing. It was a huge group of us which was a blast. The girls from Joburg stayed at my place which was really fun, there are two girls in Joburg that make me sad I switched schools, we just get on so well! Anyways funny story one of the girls grew up in Portland and I found out she used to scoop ice cream at Snow Goose on Fir Island. She asked if I had ever heard d of Conway and I just had to laugh. Small world hey?
I also spent a day up in the Drakensburg (mts) with Carolyn looking at the house she is building up there. It is so beautiful up there, the mts (hills) are breathtaking. Her place is really neat it is very open and modern, but it is only partly finished she is going to add a deck and shutters and such which will make it a interesting twist of modern African. In the Berg it is actually really cold so for the first time I had on a sweater and my fleece and I was chilly! I can’t wait to go up there when it is finished.
I am now halfway through my winter class on HIV/AIDS and boy am I learning a lot! I am the only westerner in the class so it is so interesting to learn about this disease in a diverse context. In America most people would have the same viewpoints, but here we have people who still have very traditional views and we talk about things such as that many people still believe HIV is caused by angry ancestors. I have this week off to work on a presentation on counseling and testing as well as a paper. I will be finished with this class in 2 weeks and then I will have one week off to prepare for my next quarter. This quarter should be pretty hectic. I am taking a class on poverty and inequality as well as one on sexual reproductive health. I also have to get my proposal in for my thesis by September. But since I took a winter class I will be finished with classes in September and I can fully focus on my thesis. Other than that things are still great!
Take care!

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