Karoooo

I went with the Archaeology society to visit the scrubby Karoo over the weekend. I wrote a nice summary in my journal you can read when you get here. =) In addition to knapping stone tools, crafting ostrich eggshell beads, and attempting some pottery, we spent some time having fun. We cooked a lot, and all had "family" meals at the table together.


A botany student came along and helped us identify interesting vegetation, like wild rosemary and hoodia. The rosemary made divine potatoes, but the hoodia will curb the appetite for a week. Vince, our fearless leader, made some sweet syrup out of strange tiny berries.

To cool off after hiking a bit, we went for a (scary!) swim in the dam. It was soooo deep! You were almost a widow, I'm sure.

A Sparrow on a Barren Bough

"Pain has an element of blank;

It cannot recollect

When it began, or if there were

A day when it was not.

It has no future but itself,

Its infinite realms contain

Its past, enlightened to perceive

New periods of pain."

When Emily Dickinson wrote these lines, they may have corresponded to any of the pains i her life: the loss of her loved ones, her seclusion, or any of the days' woes. But primarily, they echo the ways of pain itself. Is life all about pain, moving from one to the other with such intensity that the good times are forgotten?

I remember my good times quite well, but lately the pain has crept up on me, attacking the life I try to lead here in Cape Town. Some nights I sleep in total peace, and some frighten me so deeply that I hide under the comforter. There really isn't even a reason to be afraid, yet when the feelings come, they are paralyzing. I wish you were here to be my comforting teddy. I miss the temporary sanity you lent me.

Going swimmingly

Wish you were here to play in the pool...

I'm trying to be productive this week. I finished book III of Argonautika, and I've bought Paradise Lost on audiobook to help me get through it. Runtime is a little over 3 hours, so it should be done soon, hopefully! I need to finish an archeology packet and go over Shakespeare's Sonnets and Comedies some more. I wish you were here for me to read to; it would be so much easier.

Longest. Day. Ever.

So I thought today would be a comfortable, pleasant day. I had planned on going to KirstenBosch Gardens with my friend from the NY, which seemed reasonable enough. At a fork in the trail after the more formal gardens were some options like "children's garden" and "useful plants garden," and also, "skeleton gorge."

Well, where did you think we would go? What we did find out was that skeleton gorge is really far away, and that after a while ( a really, really long time) we ended up AT THE TOP of Table Mountain! In shorts and sneakers. Up rickety ladders and chains.

What also seemed like a good idea was to follow the cable lift off in the distance and ride it back down. This also proved futile. It was not running.
So we had to hike back down, and spent a total of 6 hours (totally unprepared without even water or snack bars ) wandering Table Mountain in the sun.

I won't lie, it was actually pretty awesome. Photos tomorrow.