It seems we’ve finally gotten over the hump of dreary winter here in Cape Town. A local Capetonian told me that we should expect spring in a couple of weeks. Coming from the land of endless winter, I was amazed to hear that here the dreaded season is usually a month long. However, while warm temperatures are in our future, August is supposedly the windy month. Hang on to your hats (and scarves and sunglasses and everything else)…
Speaking of whirlwind, it’s been pretty chaotic. I have about four weeks left here in Africa, only three at my internship with the last week reserved for play. I’ve been here long enough now, and despite loving it, I’m very much missing home and all things associated.
More friends have come and gone. Agnes, my energetic, bubbly buddy (who is moving to DC in August – yay!) is continuing her global adventure in London with some cousins. I’m quite jealous as I haven’t been back to London since I lived there my junior year of college and have been feeling an ache to go back. It seems whenever I travel – and wherever I go, for that matter – makes me want to continue travelling. Too bad my bank account doesn’t share this longing. My friend Jenny took a long weekend, in celebration of her 25th birthday to head to Zambia to visit a college friend who has been working at an orphanage there for a year. They’re going to bump along in her friend’s jeep, exploring Livingston, heading on a safari, and seeing Victoria Falls. If I could pick one other place to go right now, I think my next ticket would be there. Or Namibia. Or Mozambique. Or Tanzania…oh hell, I wish I could travel more. And yes, I know, I get no pity seeing as how I AM living quite the life here. Never happy with what we’ve got.
Speaking of traveling, my boss and his family are away on holiday for the three weeks and I am house sitting (with 2 happily mooching friends joining me). His house is cozy and homey, and a welcome escape from my stale, moldy rental (not to mention a great relief from sharing a kitchen with messy roommates). There are two dogs (Toulouse and Dyna), four cats (Ninny, Molasses, Couscous, Scouter) and a hamster (Squeezy). It’s right in the same neighborhood as my rental and the office so it’s not much of a change. There’s also a woodburning stove, big comfy couches, and hundreds of books to keep me occupied. We’ve been calling it our vacation home.
Work continues to keep me busy. With my boss gone, I’m left to handle the pardons project. While another colleague can sign off on big issues, I’m definitely holding the reins (not to mention, the other colleague is at a workshop in Uganda for a week). We were able to get our meeting with representatives from the Pardons Reference Group and were pleasantly surprised with how they listened to our position and engaged in hot discussion. The meeting was held in Parliament which was impressive. It sits on a multi-building complex with (not surprisingly) a million different security check points and lots of very official people wandering around. We had our meeting in the very room that the reference group meets in. I’m not sure how much about the content of the meeting I’m allowed to divulge so I’ll have to wait to give details. One of our main concerns about the whole process was the lack of victim participation. As this process stems directly from the “unfinished business” left after the expiration of the TRC Act, it seems only natural – and we would argue, imperative – that for those who are recommended for pardons for politically motivated crimes are not the sole voice describing what happened.
My project will continue long after I’m gone but it’s been incredible part of its formulation. My final main task is draft what will eventually become the first part of a large report on this project (as we expect it to have many phases). Until I leave, that will be my big focus.
To end on a fun note: tomorrow is Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday. The universe works in mysterious ways, as it is also my dog, Louie’s 1st birthday. And to think I almost named him Nelson…
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