Hello! In two days, my time here is Cape Town is limited to two more weeks. The time is flying by and I am loving every moment of it.

On the work front, all is well. On 28 October, we held another Racism and Xenophobia Dialogue, this time in Wesbank. It was held in a school and we were able to have students participate. It was great to have children join in the discussions and hear what they have learned and believe. I have continued working on developing a literature review for Beyond Ratification. The work was slow coming as it appears that while people are concerned where the SADC countries stand in relation to their goals, no one has examined why the current and desired states are so far apart. Writing a literature review is difficult when there is, well, no literature to actually review. After discussing this with Judith on Thursday, she suggested that I instead focus on compiling data about the countries' statuses in a spreadsheet. It will include where each stands in the ratification process of the Protocol, the current numbers of women in parliament and when the next elections will be held, if each has signed the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), as well as what laws are in place regarding gender issues and if there are clauses in the constitutions guaranteeing equality. Yes, we know, it's going to be a large spreadsheet. Unfortunately, at this point, it does look like my trips to Johannesburg and the Eastern Cape will not happen. Originally, I was going to be going to Joburg to present my plan for the Beyond Ratification to representatives we are working with from four other countries. However, that has been postponed until the beginning of next year. SAMGI will also be travelling to the Eastern Cape to hold a community dialogue on the other side of the country. We were hoping to be able to have the trip this month, but due to funding delays, it has also been postponed until early 2012.

The weather here in Cape Town can't seem to make up its mind. One day it is 65° and raining, the next it is 80° without a cloud in the sky. However, the weather was gracious enough to allow me two beautiful hikes last week. Thursday, a group of us interns hiked Lion's Head in the evening for the full moon. We reached the top, sat down and had some snacks and watched the sun set beautifully over the Atlantic. We then walked to the eastern side to watch the full moon rise over Cape Town. I have posted pictures, though no photo could ever do the incredible view justice. I happened to sit next to a British man and as we were both snapping away on our cameras, we joked that no one will believe us when we say "I swear, the moon was HUGE that night" and it's probably true. The pictures really don't relay the beauty and size of what our eyes soaked in. Then, Friday we hiked Constantia Nek for our Friday VACtivity. The weather was awesome (though quite windy) and the panoramic views were absolutely stunning. And there was planking involved. 99.99% of the time, planking is never okay. Lying down on the stairs just so you can have a new Facebook profile pic and calling it planking is not cool. HOWEVER. If you happen to climb a mountain halfway across the world and there is a concrete cylinder at the top, you may proceed to lie on top of it and proclaim yourself awesome. I did just that. :) I hope to get in at least another hike or two before I leave. I'm pretty surprised, and a little bummed, that it took me nine weeks to get my first one in, but every hike that came up I either had to work or was too sick to climb a mountain (generally it was the latter).

As far as food goes, I'm continuing to be a champ, though on a smaller scale. As my funds dwindle, so does my ability to eat out. The past two weeks, I have generally limited my outings to the Biscuit Mill. Two weeks ago, I had this thing called the "Man Dog". Despite being a woman, I decided to tackle it anyway. It was awesome. A German brockwurst, bacon, rocket, caramelized onions (yes Mom, onions!), ketchup and mayonnaise on a sourdough bun. Super good. Last week, I had a Greek version of the shawarma, gyros. It had chicken, tomato, tzatziki, lettuce and fries on a pita. It was delicious. Shawarmas might be my new favorite food. I first had them when Judith invited us interns over to her house for dinner after our first RX Dialogue to relax and celebrate the success of it. Her cooking is amazing and I hope to be able to have it again before I leave. About a week ago, I went to Sticky Fingers here in Obs and had their bacon cheese fries. It is exactly as it sounds (fries topped with melted cheddar cheese and bacon) and just as awesome as you could imagine.

Well my time here is quickly dwindling down. I still have much to do (a trip to Robben Island (next Sunday!), checking out the Kirstenbosch gardens and celebrating Thanksgiving at the U.S. Consulate, to name a few). While I am so grateful to have had this amazing opportunity, as I lie here on my bed over 10,000 miles from home and listen to some Christmas music (early, I know…blame iTunes and their 69 cent songs), I sure do miss my friends and family. No worries guys, I'll be there before we know it!