Blogs from South Africa, Africa - page 665

Feb 14-16 I left the Drakensbergs, and drove to Durban. I spent a couple of days at Umhlanga Rock, a very developped resort town on the Indian Ocean. It has white sand, sun, long beaches, warm ocean... It is a safe and pleasant place to kill a couple of days. I also visted Durban, which has a busy downtown, and an even busier Indian District, where there are market stalls in every sidewalk. It is an interesting place to loiter around. The Indian District is also the home of the Jumma Mosque, the southern hemisphere's biggest Mosque. It is completely surrounded by shops, I almost couldn't find the entrance. ... read more

So many of you may be wondering why I seem to have all this time to write emails and post pictures. That would be because my university has decided to go on strike. Our entire first week of class has been put off due to a campus wide strike. In the scheme of a 6 week module, one week is quite alot. So i'm just chillin, trying to keep up on my reading, spending time writing these blogs. Strike seems to be quite the thing here in SA and everyone remotely connected to the university has jumped on the bandwagon. Nothing is open on campus, half the students can't register, its definitely something that would never pass in the states. The premise is that salaries only increased by 4% this year, while inflation went up by ... read more

Two Hours after leaving Durbs I found myself in CT where the weather was pleasently hot but no where near as humid as Durban. Ahhh I wouldn't need to wash my clothes every 10 minutes on account of them going damp with sweat. Ahhh. Cape Town. So many things to do. Robben Island. Table Mountian, Cape Aguilar (Africa's southern most point) Cape Point (where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet), Shark Diving... First up was baggage claim then the trip to Ashanti where I was to spend the next three nights. Unlike the other places I had stayed at this was bigger and had more of a party atmosphere. The place was also and old converted colonial mansion house and had a 'funky' look to it. Also out of the back Bathroom you could see Table ... read more

Feb 13 Happy Valentine’s Day everyone; the shops here seem to be as eager to get your chocolate covered money as anywhere else in the Westernized world. Everywhere I go there are teddy bears and specials on pink lingerie…just like home. Weather: still lovely. Views: still beautiful. Still messing around with various bits of paperwork: I WILL get Internet access this week, I am DETERMINED.* It’s been a rough week for Maggie; while she had been feeling reasonably confident of her schoolwork, she was also beginning to challenge the system, in some ways without even realizing it. Still, I think that the whole experience will be incredibly important in her growth, and she still amazes me with her insight and logic. She seems to be making friends; was invited out by some girls Friday night and ... read more

I've added pictures in the gallery. They are of my visit to distribute food to orphanages, myself in indian dress and my visit to the Kavati festival in Chatsworth. ( I'll explain more later) I'm trying to put up more, but having trouble, so I'll let you all know if I get more up. Also wanted to mention my official address is 2 Briarwood 18 Maze Rd Durban 4001 South Africa Go well! Lauren... read more