Wow. Nineteen days have passed since my last post. Sorry everyone. I do have a bit of an excuse though, of course. :) Unfortunately on Friday the 14th I got really sick and was actually holed up in my room until the following Wednesday. That meant that I missed out on all the excitement that usually takes place on the weekends including my beloved Biscuit Mill. And yes. I was devastated. Being sick sucked, but mostly I just longed for great food. Thankfully though, my body graciously repaired itself and I have since redeemed myself with my taste buds and stomach as we have been having great food adventures as of late. But first...

Work! It is going great. A week and a half ago I finished up working on the Trilogue with a fellow intern. That was incredibly stressful and, while I know Judith, our director, had to do some heavy editing, I would say it wasn't such a bad first shot at a proposal. :) I have since returned to working on Beyond Ratification. As I mentioned last time, I have finished my country profiles (at the time of my last post, I had completed the research, but had yet to type them up and format them. That has since been completed). I am now working on general research into the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development and developing a literature review. The purpose of this project is to put pressure on the governments within the SADC to sign and ratify the Protocol and to take strides towards achieving the goals outlined within the legislation. In many of these countries women's rights are severely lacking, in some cases abysmal, and if this project helps to change even one woman's life, it will be a great success.

Our trip to the Eastern Cape is yet to be determined, but will be happening some time next month. Tomorrow, we will be having another dialogue in Wesbank, here in Cape Town.

Last Thursday, I got an awesome new tattoo. It's an outline of a heart behind my left ear and I love it. I've posted a picture of it in my photos. :) Last Friday, the VAC group went on our weekly activity, this time to Duiker Island to see all the seals. We took a boat ride out there and it was so much fun. Friday was a beautiful day and we were even able to see a couple of dolphins. Saturday morning we hit up my dearest friend here in South Africa, the Old Biscuit Mill. Then Saturday afternoon a group of us went to this beautiful beach in Muizenberg. Some surfed (shark bait? no thanks), while some of us, myself included, decided to soak up on the sun on the perfectly textured white sandy beach. A small group of us decided to go exploring in search of a kite fair that was reportedly happening. We did end up stumbling upon it and chose to walk around instead paying the R15 (roughly the equivalent to US $2) to get in. Though our preconceptions about the fair were largely way off base, the walking around aimlessly was entertaining. On Sunday, four of us decided to go try something else a little off the beaten path and head into town and over to the convention center for what was advertised as an "international fair". It promised jewelery, clothing, shoes, some food, and other exciting stuff from around the world. It only cost R10 to get in as well. R10 to get cultured? I'm in. Unfortunately, in this case, we got what we paid for. The "international" vendors promised were all of the same ethnicity, that being Indian. Most of the super, awesome stuff that was advertised ended up being cheap, poorly made clothing and a million shawls. There were a few henna stands as well. We walked around for a few minutes, headed out and had lunch. We figured since we were in town, we might as well do something so the four of us walked to Greenmarket Square, an outdoor market of sorts where vendors set up and sell trinkets, paintings, bags and the like. A great souvenir place, really. And if you know how to negotiate, it's actually a lot of fun. See, the vendors tend to take one look at us (us being interns), think ah a stupid tourist I can charge a ridiculous price to, and many times they will ask for two, three or four times what something is worth and act like they're giving us a deal. You know, typical capitalists. I've watched other people though, and I like calling them out. Needless to say, it turned out to be a successful Sunday.

Alright, alright. I've stalled long enough. :) Time for some eating and telling. Saturday at the Biscuit Mill, I was a bit nostalgic and went for an old favorite, my first meal at the Biscuit Mill: the Gourmet Panini Chicken Delight. Certainly delightful and an excellent choice, if I do say so myself. Which I do. I wrapped up my meal with some awesome fro-yo. It was a mix of vanilla and pomegranate. Super delicious. On Monday, I went to this place called the Eastern Food Bazaar. It's a definite must if you're ever here in Cape Town. Huge portions, tiny prices. I had lamb shawarma. Incredible. Despite the overwhelming portion size, I ate it all, to my taste buds' delectation. Last night, a few of us decided to try the Indian restaurant here in Observatory that we had all heard great things about, but had yet to experience ourselves. It was my first Indian food experience. I'd say it was successful. After asking our waiter what every thing on the menu was and then asking his recommendation, I went with chicken korma with roti. It was creamy and delicious and my mouth is watering as I write of it. Finally, today Mel and Jen, two fellow interns, invited me to lunch since they were in town for the day. We stumbled upon a food market and decided to eat there. It was like a mini Biscuit Mill and, as it turns out, it runs every Thursday. Oh Lord, have mercy on my wallet. I got a super good fried chicken burger (for R20, or around $2.50!!) and the three of us got some fudge that was just too enticing to decline. How I've missed that market every Thursday for the past seven weeks is beyond me, but it's probably a good thing because the temptation is going to be awfully hard to resist for the next four Thursdays.

Okay, so this post ended up being pretty long and I apologize. The past couple weeks have flown by and the days appear to be simply gaining speed. In two days, I will have only one month left of my stay in Cape Town. I continue to thank God for giving me this opportunity and allowing me to enjoy it to the fullest. I do want to get gross and romantic here for a second and thank my boyfriend, Kevin for all his love and support throughout my whole trip. He didn't even question me when I said I wanted to come to Africa. He simply said okay and helped me start planning. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and to a point, I'm glad my time here is dwindling down because I feel that if I have too much more absence, my heart will burst from the fondness it is harboring. Thank you for everything. :)

Well that's all for now folks. I shall (try) to post again soon. :)