Leaving South Africa

After more than two months in South Africa, I'll be back home on Monday (before that I am going to Kruger National Park for a couple of days). I'll probably blog some more after I get home, but this will be my last post while in Africa. I have had a tremendous time and have learned some things, most of them outside the classroom. If you didn't realize it already, Earth is a big place. There are many unique places where people have a completely different way of life from our own. Yet, fundamentally, most people want the same thing: to be surrounded by people who care about them. When we care, the world becomes a better place.
I would like to thank my family and all those who visited the blog over the past couple months. I hope everyone has a great summer.

Karoo

The Karoo, meaning "great thirst land" in Afrikaans, is a remote semi-desert area that covers about a third of South Africa's total land area (while in the Karoo, I probably saw more than 100 times the number of stars in one night as I had previously seen in my life). This part of the country is very sparsely populated with only small towns. One of these towns, with a population less than 100, is Matjiesfontein, built by Jimmy Logan in the late nineteenth century. While far from any other development (Cape Town is 150 miles away), Logan developed the town as a health resort and built the Lord Milner Hotel. Matjiesfontein has not changed much in the past hundred years; as such, it has the peculiar charm of not being touched in our increasingly globalized world, with the benefits and costs that come along.

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first democratically elected president in 1994. During apartheid (this Afrikaans word means apartness) between 1948 and 1994, Mandela played a prominent role in the struggle against the government (including leadership positions in the African National Congress), which led him to become a political prisoner. The government charged him with sabotage and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Fortunately, pressure on apartheid South Africa caused the collapse of the government. Mandela spent 27 years in jail, most of the time at Robben Island, located off the coast of Cape Town (the picture above shows the cell he stayed in). While at Robben Island, Mandela's prison number was 46664, being the 466th prisoner in 1964. Among South Africans, including white Afrikaners, Mandela is revered, largely because when elected president, he used his position to unify the country, when he could have easily done the reverse. Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. His autobiography is titled Long Walk to Freedom.

Stellenbosch

The image above was taken outside the entrance to the dorm I am staying at. The entire Cape Town/Stellenbosch area is quite mountainous, with several different chains running through the area. The area has a Mediterranean climate-dry, warm summers and cool, wet winters. Southern California, south-western Australia, and the land surrounding the Mediterranean Sea have similar climates.

Knysna Heads

The town of Knysna is located near the Indian Ocean (my visit allowed me to touch my second ocean, the Atlantic being the other). The ocean is separated from the city by a narrow channel-considered at one time to be the most dangerous harbor entrance in the world by the British Royal Navy. Over 400 ships have gone done here. This channel is flanked by the Knysna Heads, comprised of sandstone, which offer great views. Like the Cape of Good Hope, the beauty of this place is stunning-I would very much like to go back.

Riding an ostrich

While I have never ridden a horse, I now can say that I have ridden an ostrich. Although a unique experience, these animals are rather ugly and don't smell too good. Also, they are capable of killing people and large animals with their claw on their foot.

Boulders Beach

Boulders Beach, located near Simon's Town, is home to a colony of 3000 African Penguins (from 2 breeding pairs in 1982). There are only two other penguin colonies on Africa's mainland (the rest are located on islands). These penguins were formerly called Jackass Penguins because they sound like donkeys when they bray. The African Penguin population was reduced by 90 percent over the course of the 20th century.
Simon's Town served as the winter harbor (June to September in the Southern Hemisphere) for many trading ships, as it was safer than Table Bay near Cape Town. In addition, the city served as a naval base for the British Royal Navy from the early nineteenth century to 1957 (interestingly, British officials at Simon's Town were responsible for Napolean Bonaparte's health when he was exiled to St. Helena Island in the south Atlantic from 1815-1821 and the base played an important role in stoping the African slave trade). It is currently a naval base for the South African Navy.

Cape of Good Hope

Yesterday, I visited the Cape of Good Hope, which is considered to be the most south-western point on the African continent (the most southern point is at Cape Agulhas. Cape Agulhas also has the distinction of being the official location where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. However, based on water temperature, this location actually varies). In 1488, the Portuguese explorer Bartholomew Dias became the first European to round the cape-there is evidence that the Chinese, Indians, or Arabians accomplished the feat before, but from the opposite direction. Dias initially named it the Cape of Storms, after the weather he experienced there. However, the king of Portugal renamed it because of the potential the route to the East had to bring riches to Europe. This is one of the most spectacularly beautiful places that I have ever been. My only other recollection of being so awed by the physical world was on a hike that led to Lake Michigan in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore.

Hiking Table Mountain

Over the weekend, I hiked to the top of the 1,086 meter Table Mountain in Cape Town. The name comes from the unusual top to the mountain, which is essentially a flat surface. Lengthwise, this surface is about 3 kilometers. Oftentimes, the mountain will be covered in clouds. This occurs when moist air from the ocean is lifted when it runs into the mountain. As this air rises, it reaches its dewpoint, forming the clouds. The "Mensa" constellation, appearing only in the Southern Hemisphere, is named after Table Mountain. This gives Table Mountain the distinction of being the only geological feature in the world that has a constellation named after it. In addition, the mountain is the only location where the Table Mountain Ghost Frogs resides.

Greetings from South Africa

Since we are already two weeks into the quarter I figure I better start blogging. I arrived in Cape Town, South Africa early Wednesday March 28th after 20 hours of flying and a 12 hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany. From the Cape Town airport, the group traveled to the university town of Stellenbosch, the second oldest city in South Africa (you can probably guess what is the oldest). The city was founded in 1679 and is about 30 miles from Cape Town. Stellenbosch university was established in 1918 and has around 20,000 students. The university is noteworthy among South African institutions of higher learning in that most lectures are delivered in Afrikaans (this is significant; I may explain in a later post.) Afrikaans, one of eleven official tongues the country has (English is another), originated from the Dutch language, although it is grammatically simpler. Southern Africa is the only place in the world where the Afrikaans language is native. The English words "trek" and "veld" come from Afrikaans.

I leave for South Africa on Monday March 26th. Through this blog, I hope to keep friends and family informed wih my activities while abroad. Thanks for visiting.