Wandering in London

Peter and I and Emily's friend from St. Olaf, Chris, fought the 35 degree weather and cold drizzle to explore London! It was great fun seeing Big Ben, Westminster, all the squares, a Dahli museum, and the Thames. We even had time to watch "Meet the Fockers" as we tried to stay warm on our wanderings. It's been fun because I recognize a lot of the sites from my last visit last November, but it's been much less of a shock this year coming from s.a. instead of tanzania...although walking from the tube to emily's apartment at 7am was quite a cold shock. Tomorrow off to the science museum and fish and chips.

Hello London!

It's morning in London and we're chilling in my high school friend Emily's cozy flat in London! Randomness. We left S.A. at 8pm last night and flew through the night arriving at 6am this morning. It went quickly. I fell asleep over Kinshasa, DRC and woke up over Paris. Typical.

It should be a fun weekend here. Emily has 4 friends from St. Olaf also visiting so her three bedroom flat will be cozy. Pete and I had a great last few days in Cape Town. We went out with our guide's son, Kurt, who took us to a local bar called Jo'burg. It was awesome! We had a few drinks, danced, and chatted until the early morning. A great way to celebrate our last day in the Southern Hemisphere.

No specific plans yet in London, but we're going to go to Emily's school, the London School of Economics, and then we'll be walkingaround before going to a jazz bar tonight...should be a good time. We'll be flying back on the 31st to Chicago arriving at noon and then driving back to Luther. More exciting travels await! Off to explore.

Amorphous Travel

Peter and I are sitting in an internet cafe on the hopping Long Street with all the bars and nightclubs in Cape Town. Earlier today we had our last session and said goodbye to the Luther kids. We then had a crazy idea...why not move our tickets up and go to london? And so we did. It was only a $100 dollar charge so tomorrow night at 20.30 we are flying british airways to london heathrow. we're keeping our return flight on the 31st to chicago, so we'll just get one more country in. We've had a great time in cape town, but after a week we feel like we've seen enough. We were fortunate to have our tour guides son chilling with us so we have gotten the full tour of Cape Town. Last night we went to a stage performance of "Sarafina," a musical about the 1976 Soweto Uprising in South Africa that was kind of the beginning of the huge protest era. It was incredible! First of all we paid 100 rand which is like 18 bucks, and the show had almost all of the actors from the 1985 run that was on broadway and was nominated for numerous tony awards. One of the actors even played the part of Rafiki in Walt Disney's theatre production of the Lion King. Needless to say the singing and dancing were unmatched. It was an amazing end to our trip because it encapsulated everything we've been talking about in terms of the struggle against apartheid, the lives of the majority of africans, and the incredible, diverse yet divisive country that is South Africa. I loved it!

After Sarafina we had a last night celebration out on the town that didn't end until 6am! That left me enough time to pack, take a two hour nap, and shower. The first thing Peter and I did when we got settled in our new hostel was to sleep for 3 hours!

The other interesting event of the day was the Cape Town police station. I found out that I have some insurance for my stolen goods, so I went to the police station to file a report so I could get the insurance money...2 hours later I left with a copy of everything I needed. It was a chaotic place with a huge queue of people waiting to talk to police officers. The statement itself took an hour to write down and after calling and faxing durban I finally got the info i needed. Quite another interesting look at the S.A. justice system though.

So we're off again tomorrow and hopefully will be staying with my friend Emily...haven't asked yet, but I am pretty sure she's in London! I'll let ya know how the adventures are!

Hello Comfort

Well, after a downer of a trip in Durban/Pietermiertzburg, we have arrived in a beautiful bed and breakfast in King Williams Town, near East London. We have already jumped in the pool and are having a barbeque (called a braai here) tonight with some traditional dancing. Should be a good time. We took a little internal S.A. flight today and tomorrow have more lectures and meetings about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

In terms of the stolen goods, Inspector Blood is on the case. He is the policeman that first came to the scene. I also decided to do a little "Tanzania style justice" by calling up the cab driver who picked me up. I told him to check pawn shops in the area and if he found the cameras I would reward him for his efforts. We'll see if anything works...I'm not too hopefully, but ya never know. In the meantime I'm trying to stop thinking about it.

As always, a line for the internet so I'm off...hope all is well back home. Bundle up, it's about 85 degrees here today!

Cheers. Go S.A. cricket!

Dark and Light in South Africa

Hi friends.

It's been a crazy 24 hours here in South Africa and I've experienced both the dark side and light sides of this country.

Yesterday I was walking near the beach in Durban and had a knife pulled on me and my backpack stolen. There was four of us walking together and they tried to grab one of the girls' bags so I swung my elbow around and hit the theif, then three guys closed up around me and they pulled out a knife and said "give me your money." I had my money in my money belt and before I could pull it out and give it to them they took my bag. The police took 15 min to arrive and were very unhelpful. They busted into this apartment building where I saw the thieves run into, but their pulled guns and brutal treatment of the residents revealed nothing. I was almost more scared being with them than when I was assaulted. The bummer is that my cameras were both in there. So frustrating! Fortunately, I had all my old video tapes in the room, but I lost quite a few pictures. At least I put pics online from TZ so I think the plethora of cameras in our group should tie me over. My academic journal was also in the bag which is frustrating to lose. I feel bad, so irresponsible, but there really wasn't much I could do. We were on a busy street, in the middle of the day, in a group. I guess we took as many precautions as we could, but sometimes it still happens.

Later that night I went to a Township where it is supposedly dangerous, but I encountered the nicest people I have met in South Africa. We went to a bar, danced, watch cricket, and experienced how fun this place can be.

So, my mind's spinning and I'm ready for a break. Anna and I are going to a movie to take a break and then off to East London tomorrow. I'll explain more later, but I am fine and all is well. Don't worry! I'm alive and still have more experiences ahead.

Dark and Light in South Africa

Hi friends.

It's been a crazy 24 hours here in South Africa and I've experienced both the dark side and light sides of this country.

Yesterday I was walking near the beach in Durban and had a knife pulled on me and my backpack stolen. There was four of us walking together and they tried to grab one of the girls' bags so I swung my elbow around and hit the theif, then three guys closed up around me and they pulled out a knife and said "give me your money." I had my money in my money belt and before I could pull it out and give it to them they took my bag. The police took 15 min to arrive and were very unhelpful. They busted into this apartment building where I saw the thieves run into, but their pulled guns and brutal treatment of the residents revealed nothing. I was almost more scared being with them than when I was assaulted. The bummer is that my cameras were both in there. So frustrating! Fortunately, I had all my old video tapes in the room, but I lost quite a few pictures. At least I put pics online from TZ so I think the plethora of cameras in our group should tie me over. My academic journal was also in the bag which is frustrating to lose. I feel bad, so irresponsible, but there really wasn't much I could do. We were on a busy street, in the middle of the day, in a group. I guess we took as many precautions as we could, but sometimes it still happens.

Later that night I went to a Township where it is supposedly dangerous, but I encountered the nicest people I have met in South Africa. We went to a bar, danced, watch cricket, and experienced how fun this place can be.

So, my mind's spinning and I'm ready for a break. Anna and I are going to a movie to take a break and then off to East London tomorrow. I'll explain more later, but I am fine and all is well. Don't worry! I'm alive and still have more experiences ahead.

Waiting in S.Africa

Well, we're experiencing African time today. We got up at 7am to leave for a small, rural area with some cultural sites and speakers; however, our escort we were supposed to meet half way didn't come for another 2 hours. We waited and waited and waited, playing cards adn listening to my ipod until the batteries were dead. Now we have a lunch break because we missed most of our appointments.

Things are going well otherwise though. We've had a busy schedule but it's been very rewarding. We meet with Brian Mitchell, one of the main perpetrators during the apartheid regime. It was freaky to have a guy who massacred 11 people speaking inches from me. after he talked we went to teh village where the massacre occurred. It was crazy to see the state of their living conditions even though they are supposedly liberated. White priviledge is everywhere here, just like in the States, and it's very humbly to drive anywhere in our group of 25 mostly whites.

Sunday is the next big day for us. A free day in Durban! I think I'll be meeting up with a friend I met in Tanzania named Des. Anna, and Des and I are thinking of hitting up the beach, now as the surfing capital of South Africa. Monday we're off to East London and then later that week to Cape Town where we'll end our journeys. As always a long line to use so i must go, but keep checking for updates! For now, cheers from S.A.!

Finally I'm Here

Hi Friends!

I have arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa and am alive! Internet access has been scarce here because of our busy academic schedule for the J-term class I'm taking, but I am having a great time. The weather is beautiful and we're studying some intense stuff: the Truth adn REconciliation Commission which was used as a way to bring the country back together after years of apartheid...essentially segregation in South Africa. The days have been full of talks, traveling, and journal writing, but I'm having a great time. All is well and I had a great end of the adventure in Tanzania. We went to Zanzibar to the beach where I got a sunburn, ate lots of fish, and went snorkeling in the Indian Ocean! Tomorrow we leave for the Durban area which is in the Southeast of South AFrica. AFter that we'll eventually head to Cape Town where I'll stay until January 30th when I return. Sorry for hte sporatic updates, but hopefully the service will be better in Durban. Hope all is well...talk soon!