Hey guys, It's been awhile since I've written so let me fill you in on what has been goin down in the southern hemisphere. After I wrote last, I was fortunate enough to be invited to a traditional Xhosa (ho-sa) wedding by one of my coworkers… It was by far one of the best experiences yet. The energy and vibe of this place was mind-blowing. This was my first eye opening experience into the poverty of Cape Flats, or as some others call it, the townships. The amount of relocated Africans was enormous. We must have driven the entire length of the Salt Lake City area and all of it was makeshift living, most of which were "pups" (small shipping containers) turned into one-room "homes". A very humbling experience.When we got to the house, there were women clapping their hands and singing in the Xhosa language. The women were completely uninhibited in the way they would dance, throwing their hands through the air while bobbing up and down simultaneously. They would sing for about 10 minutes, stop, then someone would start to yell a few words in Xhosa and they were back at it. It was a bit funny when I looked around to see a fairly large group of well-dressed white students all congregating together in the middle of the road clearly separated from the rest of the local neighbors who had come over to watch. We were definitely out of place. After giving away all the snacks I brought to three little kids playing in a twisted piece of metal, the bride took everyone's attention as she walked out and everyone started singing and clapping. She was led into the car by her father and began to drive slowly down the road. Let the caravan begin. We all got back into our cars and headed through the streets of the townships yelling and honking. It was really cool to see all the people smiling as we drove past pumping our tunes for the people to hear. The kids really like to give you the thumbs up sign and flick your thumb with it. Kind of like a high-thumb as opposed to a high five. We then shuffled into a church and waited for the line up to walk down the isle. As opposed to traditional weddings, at Xhosa weddings they dance down the isle. I thought this was really cool. Each person walking down (immediate family) had a partner and would do a sort of side shuffle towards the front then stop and shake their shoulders and lean in toward their partner then back a few times, clap, 360 spin, then start over again. This was really getting all of the people involved as many were dancing in front of their chairs. It looked like something out of the disco era. Then the bride walked it and it all started. The ceremony seemed to be a mix of the traditional wedding I was expecting but also involved family coming to the front and saying things like "Now you're a member of our family and in our family don't beat the women. We prefer to talk it out and not hit". I would assume that kind of thing was implied but I guess, for good measure, they might as well announce it in public. This went on for a while. There were also two reverends so that they could speak both Xhosa and English. Throughout the whole thing, about every 5 minutes or so, someone would yell something in Xhosa and they would bust out singing again. After about an hour, the bride and groom were off to Cape Town City Gardens for wedding photos. We decided to tag along… After pictures I decided to hop in the mini-bus that had been driving around the majority of the students. The guy driving had the most ridiculous sound system in his car and blasted techno the whole way back to the townships. The party wagon was fun besides the fact that I was temporarily deaf when I got to the township community center for the reception. This was another weird experience for me. When we got inside, all the close family and friends (black) made us sit around the tables that had been set with champagne flutes, plates, the whole bit. They all sat on chairs set up along the perimeter of the room. I asked around to see if anyone else felt weird about this and no one said anything. After eating and dirtying the tablecloth and using all the utensils, we moved and the second seating began. I felt really bad about all this, about how no one refused to take the option of being fed second, so I tried my best to help out with the switch. I rolled up my sleeves and put my skills to work by bussing the table and heading to the kitchen to run out fresh places of food. Now that got me a lot of looks considering that the rest of those serving were family members and hired (black) help. I could hear a small commotion in the room and I could tell through my peripheral that people were pointing. No big deal I figured, I was just trying to help. So after a long day, I returned home. While sitting at home, reflecting on the days festivities, I got a phone call from a UCT student named Ellory. He casually mentioned that he was going to a 50 cent concert later and wanted to know if I was keen. 50 cent in Cape Town? … I had to go. Apart from an adventurous ride home by myself in a city that I know nothing about, it was lame. No wonder good ol' fitty didn't do well on his recent album. That's probably why he came all the way to South Africa, to capitalize on his fading stardom. What was worst of all was that he and his posse were wearing shirts that read "thisis50cent.com" and they kept flashing "Come join the 50 Cent online community @ thisis50cent.com" on the projection screens throughout the whole show. What a sell out. I felt 1000 times more bad ass then him. I could care less that he's taken a bullet… I endured Purple Rain on DVD last year at during Christmas break… now that's pretty hardcore.

After all that I figured I'd take it easy a few days and get some work done. The rest of the week I was busy with work even though it was a public holiday on Monday and Tuesday. I had to go to workbecause my boss, Sean, would be leaving to visit the US for a few weeks and I was to be put in charge. With all the technical discussions out of the way, I was feeling pretty confident in my abilities to hold down the fort for a while. With Sean gone as of Wednesday I figured I deserved a day off so my roommate, Lee, and I went surfing at Muizenberg. It's a pretty entry-level place to surf with waves about 4-6 ft high. It was a good time apart from the 12 degree water. Later in the week, I met up with Paul and April and went to a wine exhibition near the waterfront. Paul and April are other VAC interns studying Child Psychology. They are technically on their honeymoon except for they aren't married yet. They are having the ceremony when they get home from South Africa. They are awesome people to hang out with. Really chill but motivated to go out and explore. They will be good people to know if I plan on visiting other parts of South Africa while I'm here. OK, back to the wine… The wine festival was really fun as I had never been to one. Towards the end, all the exhibitors packed up and left what wine they had remaining in the already-opened bottles. Naturally April had the brilliant idea to go around, collecting the almost-full ones. Since we weren't allowed to take these with us, we had to stuff out jackets. It's not easy to be inconspicuous while your handling 6 wine bottles under your arms. To top off the absurdity of the night, we sat outside of the tent with the array of wine we had just snatched and were having our own private wine tasting festival that everyone exiting the exhibition began to partake in.

Back to the reality. Since then I have been busily working as I have taken on additional projects from a few other surrounding businesses. This has made me begin to really value my free time. It's now Sunday at 9:30pm and I've been here since 8am… I really need to take the next two days off. As far as the environment, things here are beginning to change as the weather is starting to turn. It's been some time since I've woken up to the sunlight hitting the mountainside. It used to remind me of Moab. The conditions now resemble the Pacific Northwest, with its damp, misty mornings. It's nice in a way because I love waking up to the steamy smell of coffee on a rainy day, although it makes me wish I were in the company of a certain someone. The conditions nevertheless help ease the pain of going to the office. To end on, I decided to make a detailed observation. I hope that you can gain some insight into what it is like to walk down the streets of Cape Town.

***DISCLAIMER***

*I am not a great writer so my literary skills shouldn't be analyzed.

Today I noticed that people were acting strangely sedate. This type of weather seems to have peculiar effects on individuals, no matter where you're from. They seem to slow, almost simultaneously, to a synchronous beat. No hurries, no deadlines, no rush. Everyone seems to stop thinking of all that consumes them in their own personal versions of the external world. People seem more cordial. I'm finally getting acknowledgement when I give the usual passerby's "the nod". Perhaps they are starting to recognize me as a friendly and are trying their best to be more human.

Before today, things weren't always the same.

Sometimes I feel as if I'm committing a sin when I glance into the eyes of others. I typically receive an almost prudish, nonverbal reply, indicating that I am not welcome.

I imagine that without the bright sun, lighting every action, the misty, overcast environment makes them feel sheltered, harboring a sense of security.Confined by our field of vision, days like today make the world seem a little less aggressive. You don't have to always be on your guard, do you?.. I like to imagine that the passerby's are thinking about the things that make them feel satisfied, things that they should be grateful for. I assume they want to be friendly but that society has made them into the public-introverts that they are. Lately I find myself walking with more of a rough look about my face, in an attempt to elude harassment from groups of aggressive looking individuals. Quite the catch 22 if they believe that I mean to do harm and are merely trying to protect themselves.How do you stop the perpetual feeling of insecurity and mistrust has forced races to self-segregate for so long?