Lianna recognizing how quickly time is slipping by

Another amazing week has come and gone, and I really can’t believe how quickly time is slipping by.

This past weekend, we had a truly lovely weekend.  Staring on Thursday night, we made a picnic dinner (fried rice for me Siobhan and Meaghan, perhaps not the most appropriate picnic food) and set off to hike Lions head.  After catching a minibus into town, and then another to the base of the mountain, we started our climb.  It wasn't a bad hike, about an hour, and it offered my favorite view yet.  As we watched the sun sink into the ocean from the top, you could turn around and watch the (almost) full moon rising over the city, and the lights of the buildings slowly turning on.  So amazing.  After a bit of hanging out and a lot of photos, we headed back down, this time in the dark.  Friday we went into Bo-Kaap, the Muslim part of the city.  We had lunch with an amazing view, a visit to a museum, and a fair amount of just creeping on streets, looking at the brightly colored houses. After a bit we all got hot and headed to Long Street for some food and refreshments. In my search for coffee I ran into a kid we've met out a couple times - it continues to amazeme at how small this city actually is. After that we headed out to dinner at fat cactus, and then prepared for a night at the electro dance club Assembly.  Loud crazy techno music isn't normally my scene, but competing on who could dance the most ridiculous kept us occupied for most of the night. Saturday I woke up the crack of dawn - 7 am, and headed to the Mowbray train station to meet Brenna.  We were headed out on a hike with a group of kids that some of our coworkers work with.  We took the train to Fishhouk, a little past our normal beach, and met up with the van.  We hiked up to these old World War two Radar stations and buildings and the view was fantastic, you could see the teal ocean and the mountain range beyond.

We ended our hike at the beach, where all the kids got to play in the water while I caught some rays (a bit chilly, plus I forgot my suit).  That night we went out to a free concert on Cliffton beach, where our history teacher’s wife was performing (apparantly shes pretty famous).  I was expecting a small crowd but a great night, and was shocked by a packed beach.  Apparently it was a big deal, and it was so amazing. The sunset over the water as we listened, danced and sang along to the music.  From the beach you could see the lights of people hiking down Lions head, the same thing we had done two nights before. After the concert ended, we fought the wind and went out to dinner and then to check out the Camps Bay area – I’d say we were a little underdressed.  Sunday was filled with French toast (for me and Meaghan) and homework (for everyone else), but we pulled ourselves together to go to Kirstenbosch for another concert.  At the entrance we got 5 free tickets from some kind strangers, and then discounted ones from a scalper.

(Although that should probably tell you how good of a musician this man was).  We had a picnic and listened, and while it wasn't the best music it was defiantly relaxing, and for 17R a person, it was a pretty cheap night.

When you're lying down in the gardens, listening to the music and gazing up at Table Mountain, it’s hard to comprehend the poverty that exists here. In a place that is so beautiful, there are so many problems. At the concert the announcer asked us to SMS (aka text) to vote to establish Table Mountain as the eighth wonder of the world.  Apparantly there is some type on contest.  However, last week I was reading on The Onion - a satiracal news site, an article making the claim that the gap between the rich and poor has now been claimed as the eigth wonder of the world. The joke went on, "describing the global wealth divide as the ‘most colossal and enduring of mankind's creations,’”  and “The vast chasm of wealth, which stretches across most of the inhabited world, attracts millions of stunned observers each year, many of whom have found its immensity too overwhelming even to contemplate. By far the largest man-made structure on Earth, it is readily visible from locations as far-flung as Eastern Europe, China, Africa, and Brazil, as well as all 50 U.S. states,"  there is even a quote from a person from Jo'burg.  I am a huge fan of The Onion, but I feel like this one is really worth praising. Here I am in the most unequal place in the world, and each day I look out my window at a potential eight wonder of the world.  It is hard to wrap your head around.

That’s the hardest part about this program.  Here we are, having the time of our lives one minute, enjoying the culture, experiencing new things, living in this gorgeous house in a lovely neighborhood, and then the next second you’re driving by the townships, suddenly very aware of the extreme poverty here.  This is the most vibrant, amazing place I had ever been, with beautiful beaches, mountains and buildings, and ten minutes away people are living in shacks with no running water, no health care, and not enough to eat.  Not to mention that these people don’t get the chance to ever experience half of the things that this city has to offer.  It makes me so aware of just how very privileged I am, not only in my daily life at home, but also here, where I can one day wake up and hike up the mountain, explore a new part of town, try surfing, or go to a concert.