Blogs from Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa, Africa - page 10

Sorry for the depressing title. I would love to put up pictures and write about my never ending adventures and how great everything is but something is consuming my thoughts. MY COMPUTER IS BROKEN!!! ya, that's right. AGAIN. So I wasted $100 and R100 on getting a new battery sent here. It worked for a few days and now...nothing. So anyway, a nice friend is letting me use their computer. I am saving pennies (feel free to save some for me) and I'm going to have to do the big switch over and buy a mac when I get home. How? Not really sure...I think I can work for about month and get myself a pretty nice, reliable mac for school and everything. So everyone, when I get un-bitter and over this whole thing I will ... read more

RUNNING WITHOUT SHOES, FLYING WITHOUT LEGS It’s clear he’s already strung as tight as Jimi Hendrix’s guitar, so for me the question is a rhetorical one. But I ask it anyway. “Are you nervous when he competes?” “Always,” he says tersely, then pulls a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lights up. Despite his apparent weakness for the butts, he looks incredibly fit. If there’s an ounce of fat on this guy I can’t see it. His elbows are perched on a railing in Stellenbosch University’s Coetzenberg Stadium as he surveys the field of runners. The orange composite track is perfectly lined, the lanes curving in the turn where we stand now awaiting the graceful lean of the athletes. His son, Juan Van Deventer, is pacing with the other runners near the starting line of ... read more

Well guys. Bad news: still no computer. It is so sad! I want all my picture off of it soooo bad! I am scared of losing them forever. Anyway, the last few weeks have been busy. School is starting to pick up and I don't like it one bit. I had a HUGE paper that I just finished. It is due in the morning. It was about the counterculture movement in th 60's in America and if the rock music of that era was political. Pretty interesting...except not. And I have another paper due Wednesday for my English class. Luckily, it is about a very good book called Venture to the Interior. I would definitely recommend this book...talks about South Africa after WW2 and compares European/African life...even uses some Afrikaans words! Very good book, I like ... read more

Hallo! So...just wanted to write about a few things that have been going on recently and some very exciting adventures to come in the next month. First, I am very excited to let you guys know that I joined the Bhakti Yoga Society on campus. We meet every Wednesday for 2 hours in the evening for meditation/chanting followed by a discussion on a topic - the last two have been on reincarnation and the vedas. Then on Thursdays for one hour during lunch we practice yoga. Can I just say WOW. I have never done anything like this before - the chanting is an incredible experience. We begin by simply chanting the Mantra : Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Then we bust out the prayer ... read more

So, I am officially burnt, bruised, and burned out, but I have had an amazing week. Since I only have class on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I have been trying to go on some adventures on my long weekends. This weekend I have been surfing, cliff jumping, hiking, and of course braaiing! On Wednesday I decided to join the surf club with a couple of my friends. That night, my friend Stanley made some of us a wonderful dinner. He is from Zambia, and made us a tradition Zambian meal. We had pop (kind of like rice, but very different), veggie gravy, and nshima chicken. It was delicious, and we couldn’t use our silverware, hands only! On Thursday, I went surfing! We all meet outside the Neelsie (the student center) and packed into four vans (surfboards ... read more