Drew: A typical week in South Africa...

So it seems like a lot is happening all around me.

Last Friday night, I went to my first official rugby game. It puts American football to shame. Sorry, I know this might upset all you guys who value manliness and express that through a keen interest in and love of football, but when compared next to rugby, our shoulderpadded athletes looks like a bunch of school kids on a cold day trying to do ballet after being wrapped up in much-too-large winter coats.

Dance Bearathon was a huge success, raising over $20,000 this year! Congratulations to Blake and all my other friends who took over in the wake of Josh's and my absence.

On Tuesdays, I usually volunteer at the AIDS clinic from 8:30 to 1:00, but on the way there, the driver asked if he could pick my partner and I up early because he had to be somewhere at 1:00. "Of course! No problem. Where are you going?" He responds casually with something about attending a lecture by Desmond Tutu. The Most Reverend Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu! As it turns out, I ended up getting to go, too. When was the last time you heard a Nobel Peace Prize winning apartheid fighter who has since served as the nation's moral conscience?

In other news, South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, resigned earlier this week after serving for 10 years as Nelson Mandela's successor. The African National Congress appointed their party's deputy leader as the interim head of state until next year's elections. Maybe this guy should just stay in power, though... After all, he just fired Dr. Beetroot and South Africa can now attempt to make progress on its HIV/AIDS epidemic. Now we just need a bit more funding at the HIV clinic...

I wish I could watch the first presidential debate. Of all the things I thought I wouldn't miss, my first presidential election ranks pretty high on the list. As long as I get an absentee ballot in the mail, though, at least I'll be upholding my civic duty.

Wednesday was a public holiday in South Africa. After slacking for the past few weeks, we determined that Wednesday would be spent in the computer lab working on soon-to-be-due papers. And other than a brief break to a late lunch and go to the gym, we did just that. On our return trip to our residence at about 9:00PM, Josh and I were discussing something as a strange-looking man walked by. It was in a dimly lit area, and upon hearing our accents he immediately turned around and started following us. Pretty closely, too. We upped our pace to a near jog, but still he seemed to be following a few meters behind. At this point, we detoured toward McDonald's, the nearest public place we could find. This man actually followed us in, and suspiciously stood in line to order food. When it got his turn, he indeed ordered something and Josh and I made good use of this window of opportunity and left without him noticing. We're both convinced that we narrowly avoided getting mugged. Oh, and the guy was white, just FYI.

Josh and I rode the train in to Cape Town today, much against the recommendations of pretty much everyone we know. Apparently, white people who ride the train get mugged. To this, I say, "If you ride 1st class where the only other person in the car is your attacker, then DUH!" We rode economy class for R7, or less than $1, each way, and spent 75 minutes riding each way with South Africa's working class. Were we apprehensive because of all the negative things we've heard about the train? Yes. Were we scared? No. It's justifiable to watch your back in a potentially dangerous situation, but I think it's racist for Stellenbosch's white community to avoid the train out of their trumped up fear of the Coloured and Black communities.