the big H word

HIV/AIDS is the virus that is killing South Africa. With one in four people infected, everyone is affected. Children are raised by grandparents as their parents died a long time ago. The rates just continue to increase. This country is quite liberal, especially in regards to sex. Quite different to some very Christian African nations.

So there are condoms everywhere. In every toilet in the University of Cape Town- there is a massive box of condoms. I was impressed coming from Queens where you would be shot or at least deeply frowned upon for suggesting encouragement of safe sex.

I thought this article was funny- Britain donating condoms in anticipation of the world cup...or in anticipation of a lot of horny Brits on holiday.

lol.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/09/condoms-south-africa-world-cup

My work for the past week is to research different HIV programmes for high-risk youth. While there might be condoms in all the toilets, it doesn't mean that people are using them. And with statistics like one in four, your chances are not looking positive. My boss wants to create a new HIV/life skills course for high-risk young adults. For those living in townships surrounded by poverty and violence. She wants to make the course fun and engaging- to try to teach life skills to prevent violence, to respect women and relationships. Sexual violence and HIV are interconnected and women are three times more likely to be infected. And with one in four women being victims of sexual violence, things are not looking good. So the goal: find a programme that works and change society. It's overwhelming at times.

Waka Waka...It's time for Africa

I really don't know anyone who hasn't heard the World Cup songs- Wavin' Flag and Waka Waka...though according to Amelia- the USA has completely ignored these songs and the world cup and africa in general. However, in South Africa people are obsessed with these two songs. They are played everywhere, all the time. It's exciting. It leads to impromptu dance parties in the toilet queue with strangers (though she could dance better than I could).

Interesting football songs/mashups with these two songs:

http://www.footballandmusic.co.uk/world-cup-mashups/

Moving

We had to move houses from the lovely, leafy suburban neighbourhood of Pinelands to the Observatory. Obs is a bit more dodgy but certainly more lively. The hipsters have moved into this neighbourhood and put in their own cafes and bars amongst the city houses. It should be a fun adventure. We (Amelia- the other American intern and me) are the only ones in the house at the moment. It's a brand new house (two houses actually), renovated to a big, long-term hostel place. However, the house is currently massive with just us two. It's an interesting place. The kitchen and lounge are in two separate houses. Getting out of bed for late night munchies requires unlocking four doors and crossing the terrace in the cold darkness, while the mysterious neighbourhood dogs barks away. Interesting. I think I might miss 18 Stranmillis Park....though not that much.

On Moving Day, I also realised that a) South Africa is a lot more expensive than planned for and b) I have a lot of crap. My suitcase has already rapidly expanded. Those 20 kilos are going to be hard to keep below on the 5th of August....and I still need to buy three more vuvuzelas.

parking: take two

With my car's poor turn radius, lack of experience and driving capability- parallel parking is a problem. Especially on a massive hill where the cars are parked very close together. But you look over in desperation at the situation and see a man in a fluorescent vest waiting to help you back up into the spot. These parking attendants are in every car park just waiting to help you for .20p. They are a godsend. Sometimes a bit annoying as they show you a spot in an empty car park, but they still mean well. Although there income may result in a less than a fiver for the whole day and night, they still sit out there in the cold trying to track down the an odd job to make some money for food. They don't beg or pester you like some other people in the city but genuinely help you (especially people like me who are inept at parking :). Without a few of these attendants, I would have been stuck- literally.

driving

I had to hire a car last week. At first I was terrified, given my driving record and driving being on the wrong side of the road down here. Turns out I am a better driver on the left than the right lol. Everyone kept telling me, 'oh this is South Africa, rules don't really apply'. Apparently they do apply and I have just been breaking all of them. Take turning left on a red light. Acceptable in the US and UK. My assumptions about South Africa following the same rules were unfounded and I am just lucky I haven't received a ticket. Also, the curbs are extremely high. And my crappy rental car has a turn radius of a tractor. It makes for a very awkward and long process to turn around while on-lookers laugh.

Theft

Everyone knows that South Africa is notorious for crime. This story made me chuckle though.

Two areas of concern: 1) why the police didn't notice that their station was being robbed...says a lot about the police. 2) slightly stupid robbing the police- or not depending on number one lol.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/africa/10414055.stm

Penguins

Everyone knows that I love penguins. And last Sunday I had a lovely day to myself driving down to Simon's Town, which is a lovely seaside village notorious for having penguins on their shores. I was in heaven and spent the morning stalking the adorable things and then enjoying the sunshine with a glass of wine by the harbor. Here is the short video that still makes me giggle looking at the waddling penguins. I really do want one...