Wow, time is passing way too fast! I'm continuing to enjoy my time here and seem to be falling in love with this place more and more each day if that is even possible. I'm still in denial that I will be leaving not too long from now...

Haven't really had any big events in the past few weeks... Went to Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned) last weekend. I put a few pictures up from that in my 'Cape Town Adventures' album. Besides that I have just been enjoying my time as Stellenbosch student. Fall is officially here and it absolutely gorgeous. Low 70s in the day, 50s at night. Finals begin in a week and then I will have three full weeks off before I leave. Plans for a trip to Namibia or Mozambique are in the works.

In other news, there has been a bit up unrest in South Africa recently as you may or may not have heard. An Afrikaaner extremist (white, pro-Apartheid), Eugene Terre'Blanche, was murdered on his farm a week or two ago. The ANC Youth League Julius Malema is thought to be involved. Violence is a huge problem in South Africa, especially violence against white boers (farmers). Many South Africans are worried about the violence and it's impact on the upcoming World Cup. I would have thought that people here would be excited for the opportunity to host the event, but thats not really the case. A lot of locals have expressed the fact that they think its going to be a disaster... apparently people are even starting to return their game tickets and cancel their flights. Over a fourth of the total tickets for games are still up for grabs. It should be interesting to see what happens!

This past weekend we had both Friday and Monday off due to the Easter holiday. We decided to take advantage of the long weekend and rented a car. Saturday Abbi, Alexis, and I got up early and headed into Cape Town for a popular market in the Lansdowne neighborhood. I can't even explain to you how great it felt to drive! I have gotten used to either walking or hiring a driver everytime I want to go somewhere. It was nice to have some freedom again. Anyway, at the market there was an aray of excellent food and a tent selling clothing made by local designers. After the market we decided to drive out to a local vineyard called Fairview and go wine tasting. In addition to wine, they had cheese tasting. It turned out to be such a relaxing day.

Then, Sunday I got up super early and Alexis, two other friends, and I roadtriped to Lambert's Bay for what we called a 'Divorcee Weekend'. Lambert's Bay is a small, quiet beach communitee about three and half hours away on the west coast. We stayed in a cute guesthouse and pretty much just relaxed on the beach in sweatshirts like 50 year old women would do on a trip. Winter is setting in here so it gets cooler and cooler each day. Swimsuits weren't really an option at Lambert's Bay. Sunday night we had dinner at this place right on the beach that serves fresh seafood. It was basically a three hour buffet. They just kept bringing out food! We returned home to Stellenbosch yesterday and reluctantly turned in the car.