ok so it turns out the person who was murdered was eugene terre-blanche, a guy who was a member of the nationalist party. i guess he played a big role during the apartheid years and pretty much he was a big flaming racist. he was killed by 2 of laborers on his farm over a wage dispute- so a little different from what i was first told. some racial tensions did erupt from it, especially when julius malema, the head of the anc youth league sang a song called kill the boer- or something along those lines. but as of now, it doesn't look like any civil war is on the horizon. phew.

on a brighter note, it's sunday, sunny and beautiful. i'm writing post cards and listening to showtunes. oh yes :)

just a few pictures since the last one i posted!

nevermind. the pictures won't post- but now you know i had every intention of putting them up. will soon.

happy easter all!

though i was a bit sad i could not spend it with my biological family in pop-pop's sun room eating ham, my holiday was good nevertheless. on good friday we had a huge potluck feast in royal lodge which was delicious and a great time to bond with our cape town family. this morning i was so inspired by the thought of the resurrection that i went for a run. yes. jamie weist jogged through the streets of mowbray -until i noticed a scary man behind me. then i sprinted all the way back to royal lodge. sooo thank you, scary man, for that extra push of cardio. and thank you god for actually motivating me to exercise. i just returned from an evening service at church on main. it was awesome. the holy spirit was so present and the fellowship was great and comforting as always. love it there!

good grief i haven't even written about autumn break on this thing. well, as i said before, i got a hop-on, hop-off bus ticket and traveled along the garden route (aka most beautiful string of towns and nature in the world). granted, i haven't seen much of the world but you get the picture. so to sum up the trip in a nutshell i will just say, lots of laughing, dried fruit, horses, dogs, wilderness, knysna tim, the urinator, billy madison quotage, swimming in waterfalls and the world's highest bungy jump. i had the time of my life. but wait- there's more! upon my return to cape town i saw elton john live in the botanical gardens- on his birthday! it was such a great time and he sang circle of life. so beautiful. annnnddd the day after that i met my mom and sister in joburg and we went on game drives and had a grand time. the animals were amazing and it was an incredible experience going into the park really early and seeing the sun rise. the elephants and zebras were probably the best. the elephants because they were insanely plural and close. and the zebras because they were zebras. after the game drives we went back to cape town and painted the town red. so all in all, fall break = literally the time of my life.

life right now is relatively normal. biology is terrible but friends, mountains and times are great. oh but i actually just heard tonight that the head of the afrikaans party was assassinated by members of the anc and supposedly, the afrikaans party is be plotting a counter assassination (which could end up to be jacob zuma, the president). from a terribly pessimistic position, a civil war could potentially break out. SO. be praying for the country, its leaders and meee please!

i am off to bed now because i'm hiking lions head mountain for sunrise tomorrow. yippeee! finally a hike!



<3 jamie

yesterday was the most absolutely frustrating day of heat i have ever experienced! i'm pretty sure it got up to 100 and all the while i was trying to read about the formation of gametes in the testes. i pretty much just ended up sleeping on my bio book in the hiddingh library. today is supposed to get cooler and even rain! thank the heavens! and the rainy season starts soon as well. i don't care if people say it's unpleasant; i'm pumped for it.

this past weekend i went camping with uct's student y. it was really great! i made new friends and got into the word and made stick bread and hung out inside the whale. it is fantastic how easy they make it to feel welcomed not only into the organization but also in the country.

shawco is going awesomely and rather than dreading my fridays because they're long, i've really come to look forward to them because of the kids. they're just so immediately enthusiastic and affectionate and you can tell they have so much love to give. i am happy to be able to receive it! well that is, except for when they try to pull my nose ring out.

i am in the process of planning fall break right now. a few of my friends and i are probably going to rent a car and spend a few days driving the garden route. we'll most likely stay overnight at backpacker hostels and i am trying to make a bungee jump happen along the way- in the world's highest jump! dun dun dunnn. but hey, i'm here so how can i NOT do it. and isn't spending a semester abroad all about taking risks and doing outlandish things?

oh and also, since my last post, i had one of the best days OF MY LIFE. last saturday i hit up old biscuit mill, the greatest food market in all the world. i ate some of the best food i've ever had and browsed around in a bead store which is pretty much what i envision heaven to look like. then we went to kirstenbosch gardens for the soweto gospel choir concert. before the music started we read and listened to music and met a lovely couple named poppa dave and deborah who invited us to their country home for a weekend. the concert completely blew my mind. and we danced in the front the whole time. afterwards, we ran through the gardens to a hidden oasis and drank from it. i'm pretty sure that's the water everyone drinks in cape town to make them so beautiful. on our way out of the gardens we played games with students we met. then we walked home. yeah. walked. the whole hour and a half. the day ended with pizza, a tiny bit of studying, pearl harbor, and peace train playing on the way home. MAGIC. well i've got to get to class but hopefully i can keep this updated more frequently from now on. if red button ever gets their stuff together and fixes my internet! grrr!

miss all of you back home!


<3 jamie

well! it has been a while since my last post, but my internet doesn't work very well so i've been constrained to the hospitality of internet cafes.

highlights since my last post: went to the cape of good hope (the southernmost tip of the continent). it was probably the most beautiful thing i've ever seen in my life. and then we found somebody's ashes in a box under a rock. mood killer.

also, i started going to the hillsong church of cape town, which is literally a god-send! i've only been once, but it was so amazing that i've been looking forward to going back all week.

classes are also glorious, and i am officially in love with uct's theatre campus. that's right. they have an entire campus. walking into its library today was like the moment in beauty and the beast when the beast gives belle her own library. yep. that amazing.

this weekend is the anniversary of nelson mandela's release from robben island, so i am going to a film festival to celebrate that. should be interesting.

shawco begins this weekend also. that's the volunteer organization i'm working with that goes to the townships and helps to teach kids. i'm doing the arts sector, so we are going to be staging a production about the world cup happening in south africa. i can't waaait!

that's about all for now. royal lodge is fun and we eat lots of pb & j. i'm still becoming more independent and street smart. hooray for that!


until next time.

<3 jamie


and for anybody who was wondering, my address is:

Jamie Weist
c/o Arcadia University
Postnet Suite #69
Private Bag X18
Rondebosch
7701
South Africa

that's for regular mail. if you want to send me presents...i don't really know. i don't really need presents. ok that's all. now wait- pictures!

so i just had lunch in an internet cafe and was so caught up in the free wifi that i forgot to pay for my food. who would have thought that with all the crime in cape town, i would be the perpetrator? woops.

everything is still going smoothly. i'm starting to make my way places by myself and starting to get a little less paranoid- though not too much. i need to stay alert.

i am potentially registering for investigating community theatre (SO EXCITED), african dance I, and a bio course (something needs to count for credits right?)- along with my contemporary south african issues class. can't waiiit to see everything fall into place- assuming it does...

soo yep that's pretty much it for now. we have a braai (barbecue) tonight at uct so hopefully i'll be making some new international friends! yippeee!

i've almost been here for a week but it feels like so much longer! this week we went to robben island which was really awesome. even the ferry ride there and back was beautiful. i think today is going to be an organizing day and maybe i'll go to the beach. who knows? i've got 5 months to experience everything so i keep having to remind myself to pace myself. i am itching to start orientation at uct and try to get involved in their theatre program. i also can't wait to start putting myself to use and volunteering.

these pictures uploaded a little haphazardly- but they are from top: me at robben island, joseph the cheetah, a bunch of us at high afria, the beach, university of cape town!