From murder comes reconciliation, hope

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/12/09/biehl/index.html

Trance party!!

Last weekend I went with Sanja to this Trance Party. It was awesome! I had never been to one so I didn’t really know what to expect. Its really cool, people go and camp there under the stars and it’s a party that goes on from 5pm Saturday to 3pm Sunday. Some trance parties are for a couple days but this one was only 2 days. It was very cool because there are little tents that sell all kind of stuff, from souvenirs to food, coffee, alcohol and even drugs… Anyway, the party was really fun, I did not know this but South Africa is the capital of Trance (according to one of Sanja’s friends) and also Israel (although trance parties are illegal in Israel).
Anyway this weekend was not nearly as exciting because I had to work at the ABFT stand at the Waterfront. We sold new Tshirts that Caroline designed and we raised some money for the art program. It was good but a little boring to be sitting there, specially when some people where rude.
The Green Point Stadium (which will be used for the 2010 World Cup) is 4-5 blocks away from my house, and they have started demolishing it because they are going to build a huge one now. Which will cover a lot of people’s ocean view and will only be filled for 1 match of the World Cup, oh and by the way they are spending millions on it, which they are cutting from all kinds of programs that would otherwise benefit the Capetonians… hmmm oh and also drinking alcohol in public places and prostitution are illegal in SA… but they are actually considering legalizing these activities for the soccer (hooligan) fans that will come. Sounds smart, right? I am so glad I will be long gone by then…

Stars and Safaris and other stuff

When I was young and I watched the Lion King I had this really romantic image of Africa. You know, I thought that I would be able to hug little lions and hug the giraffes and zebras that would be wondering around… anyway I was 10 years old and didn’t know better…
Now that I am actually here and I see how things really are it could be further from the truth. I have to admit that Cape Town is even more modern than Merida (hate to tell you this Merida people… I know you hate it…) but really! And the whole animal thing is usually only for tourists... the people at the Foundation have never seen any of THE BIG 5 that are advertised everywhere as the “main attractions”… they have never been in a safari, and never will… safaris are sooo expensive, just getting in to a park for a day is about 100 dollars and this does not include the guided tour, the accommodation, the food… its ridiculous!! The media and the tourist companies have put these ideas in our head that Africa is all about the big animals that you see wondering around… but no. Hate to tell you but they are all in National Parks…
Also, in the Lion King I remember that at night he could see many stars, and this IS true about Africa. Since we are in the Southern Hemisphere, there is less light pollution (I had never heard this term before but it makes sense) there are far more cities in the Northern Hemisphere and this is why you can see so many starts here, its amazing. You can actually see the milky-way, and even another galaxy! It looks like a big blur but it’s amazing!!