January 8, 2007
Monday, January 08, 2007
By Emily DavisToday we truly experienced the meaning of African time. We arrived at Parliament to discover that renovations had been done over Christmas break and unbeknownst to us, our tour had been moved to tomorrow. So, we had to be flexible and decided to spend some time in the botanical gardens behind the Parliament. Almost all of us ended up at a tea house where many of us sampled Rooibos tea, which is supposedly fertilized by bat guano. It was so relaxing to be sipping tea and eating scones among trees and plants that were so foreign to us.
We spent the afternoon in Stellenbosch, a University town that is primarily Afrikaans. We spent some time wandering around in the sun, getting ice cream and checking out the stores. Some of us found a small curio market where we haggled for authentic South African crafts. The rest of the afternoon was spent at Stellenbosch University, speaking with Amanda Gouws, a friend of the Heuns. She is a professor of political science at the University and specializes in gender studies and the transition to democracy of South Africa. While we had had student presentations on these topics, it was great to have this information reinforced and have the gaps filled in.
Amanda, her two daughters, and her husband joined us for dinner at the Delaire Winery, “situated on the crest of the panoramic Helshoogte Mountain Pass, overlooking the Banhoek Valley and framed by the mighty Simonsberg and Groot Drakenstein Mountains.” (poetic, I know) We enjoyed Ostrich, Salmon, and Bobotie – a South African dish. We spent half an hour taking pictures of the winery and the surrounding mountains. The winery was kind enough to remain open past their usual 4 pm closing time in order to accommodate us, and we were truly grateful. We enjoyed the food, fellowship, and fine views of the winery. You will all be jealous once you see our extensive collection of pictures.
Much Love,
Emily
