It's winter..

I have been very lucky as far as weather goes so far in Cape Town, but that luck ran out yesterday. It started pouring rain and gusting wind. It looked and sounded like a hurricane. To make things even more fun and exciting, I just discovered the extent of my roof leak! I may need to acquire more buckets...

I have had a good chance to learn a lot about some of the people at my work this week. One man was the president of the student body in Congo, which is apparently basically equivalent to being a political opposition group. The students comment in the media and are a very powerful force in their society. As such, the president is under a lot of pressure to agree with the majority government. The man I work with was even bribed, and was asked to work for the government following his presidency (which is what most people do). He refused, as he did not support the policies of the government at the time. Following this refusal, and some involvement in public commentary surrounding a fraudulent election in Congo, he had to flee the country and has been living as a refugee in South Africa ever since.

A woman I work with, from Burundi, acted as a peace keeper for the UN during a conflict in Congo. She has now been chosen to spend two months in California working with university students (I believe she said they are international law and policy sutdents) in order to teach them about African conflict and its effects on the people. She is one of only a few people chosen to go in all of South Africa. She is an amazing lady with a lot of interesting stories.

Last weekend, my flatmates and I, plus one other intern, got the chance to go on a safari at Aquila Private Game Reserve. It was a really cool experience, and we got to get up close to a bunch of different animals, like lions, elephants, zebras, rhinos, annd hippos. No one could adequately explain to me why the lions didn't just jump into the jeep and kill us all. The only response I got was "don't worry, they like to chase the vehicles and attack the wheels and the door, but we've never had one try to jump in.." Questionable.

We also went to a party in Nyanga township with a bunch of other interns. We got to meet a lot of locals, especially children. The kids couldn't get enough of us! We all played and sang and danced for hours. They were all super adorable, and loved getting their pictures taken and playing with the digital cameras. A band came in and played music for us, and we got to sample lots of local food. It was a really cool experience.

I've also started doing hot yoga at a really cool studio in the city centre. It is on the tenth floor of a building, and has only one studio which can be (and typically is) filled with almost 70 people. There are a whole team of interns who go regularly, and it is definitely one of my favourite places in Cape Town so far.

This weekend is supposed to be filled with hiking through caves, parties, and markets. Fingers crossed that the hurricanes stay away. ;)