The cover of the night with diamonds in the air....

April 8^th, 2011

The cover of the night with diamonds in the air…

I think my last post may have been a little bit on the negative side. That is how I was feeling at the time but I am happy to report that this week has been a good week and I am feeling better overall. The end of my Bo Kaap homestay was good. I was really excited to move on from moving around and be in one place for a significant amount of time. The last times with my family were great. Looking back I had some great times with my Bo Kaap family. They were really nice to me and I learned a lot about the colored and Muslim communities in Cape Town. I was a bit negative about them before, and they still stand as the hardest homestay, but I think I was a little unfair before.

Moving on, Tuesday morning we packed up our suitcases and headed out of Bo Kaap to all of our various ISP accommodations. I am living with four of my good friends from the group. We had a little (by little I mean a lot) of drama among the group when it came time to decided who was living with whom. I guess that is to be expected with 23 three girls. When all of that settled the five of us we busy scurrying for an apartment. By Monday, yes the day before we moved in, we signed for an apartment for one month.  The concept of finding a fully furnished and equipped apartment for one month the day before moving in is strange to me but I am not complaining.

Our apartment is right in downtown Cape Town. It is a two bedroom two bathroom apartment with a fully equipped kitchen. The complex has a gym and pool and laundry for our use. It is really nice and I really am happy with our find. We moved in on Tuesday morning and I was able to unpack my suitcase for the first time since I packed at my house on January 26^th. It was the best thing ever! We also have been able to cook for ourselves. Shower in a place where not twenty five people are showering. Have my own space.  It is the simple pleasures in life.

This month is not just a free time to hang out though. I have this massive research project to do. I have decided to do mine on the relationship between Christianity and African Traditional Religion; specifically among the Xhosa speaking South Africans and how this relationship manifests itself in daily life. All that mumbo jumbo means that a lot of the black South Africans would claim Christianity as their religion but still practice a lot of traditions and rituals from African Traditional Religion. I am curious because I find it weird that it seems people are picking and choosing from two religions. We will see how the whole thing plays out. I think one of the major challenges with this will be to get motivated to work on the project and not play around Cape Town.

 It is so surreal that I will be in Cape Town now for only about 35 days and then I will be home. I have been planning and looking forward to this year abroad since I was a freshman in college. It is really strange to think of it as coming to an end. I feel like I am at the beginning of the end. I am going to do all that I can to thoroughly enjoy and cherish this last little bit and not dwell on the small amount of time I have left. 

I think that may be all for right now. I hope that all is well at home!

Miss and love you all!

Sala kakuhle,

Keely

The Kitchen in our Apartment

My room in the apartment

View out of our window

Another view out of our window

Sunset

Another shot of the sunset