Interesting philosophy on litigation, huh? This is what we were told in our legal meeting last week. The Human Rights Commission is under scrutiny by parliment for failing to utilize the equality courts. Apparently, the commission mediates a little too much for parliment's taste. Either way, I thought this was a hillarious quote. What a strange comment on the adversarial process.
It's been a while since my last entry, and a lot has happened since then:
I finished my Character and Fitness application, after spending hours at the bank trying to get certified checks issued in US Dollars... not an easy task when you are in South Africa on a volunteer visa... I also paid for my BarBri class. I am so glad to have things taken care of. It's hard to imagine that in a matter of months I will be a qualified attorney :)
I spent the start of last week in Cape Town, and it was amazing. It was nice to have a break from work :) We stayed with some of our friends from South Africa, and all the Michigan Law School Interns were in Cape Town that week. We had a great time :) When I arrived on Saturday, my friend Gary picked me up from the air port, and we went to the waterfront. We saw a "South African Idol" (like American Idol) perform live, and we had an eating contest at a pancake restaurant. I won, of course :) Pancakes = yummy! We also got our faces painted and went on a submarine!! :)
I met some of his friends, and we had a great time. Later that day, we picked up the other interns from the airport and headed to the beach for a waterfront dinner. It was so beautiful. Thereafter, we proceeded to the flat of our generous host, Stan. He returned home from a wedding shortly thereafter, and others chose to go out for a super late night on the town. I elected to stay home and catch a good night's sleep.
On Sunday those of us who attend church went to church together. It was really nice to go to church with a group of friends, especially because I am used to going alone. We met the rest of the crew for brunch where Gary introduced us to his friend Chris, a member of parliment. We quizzed Chris regarding his opinions on Jacob Zuma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Zuma). :) Thereafter we headed to the waterfront where we looked at postcards, admired the ships, scenery, and seals... and ended the day with a nice dinner in a fancy restaurant.
That Monday we spent the majority of the day at the beach :) It was so nice to be lazy... and I got a great tan. We ended the evening with a braii at Stan's place. He lives in a flat in downtown Cape Town, right down the street from the Parliment Building. We had the braii on the roof overlooking the city. We cooked together, and I taught then how to open a pineapple the Asian way (of course ;). It was great. The view was terriffic. The food was yummy. And we all enjoyed eachother's company so much. I couldn't have asked for a better evening.
On Tuesday we took a drive to Cape Point where we saw the place that the Indian and Atlantic Ocean's meet. It was incredible. Possibley one of the most beautiful places in the world. My pictures look like post cards. Driving back from Cape Point, we saw baboons and Ostriches :) And we stopped at Boulder Beach to see the penguins! We ended the evening at Noema and Abam's house (two of the interns working in Cape Town), where Shella cooked an amazing dinner: Jerk chicken with coconut rice and banana chutney... yum! :) It was so sweet of her to prepare a home made meal for us.
On Wednesday we visited the National museum and walked through the company's gardens. In the afternoon we headed back to the waterfront so some of the interns could purchase souveniers. From their we headed to Robben Island where we learned about the prison and visited Nelson Mandela's cell. The tour was sobering, but enlightening as well. Our tour guide had been a political prisoner at Robben Island with Mandela, so it was fascinating to learn about the prison from his perspective. He also told us about Mandela's garden, and the ways that politlical prisoners would stay up to date on current events and keep in contact with those on the outside. Those prisoners turned the prison into a museum after the fall of aparthied. Isn't it amazing how God can take terrible things like political imprisonment and help those who have suffered from them move forward with dignity to accomplish great things? :) Following our tour of Robben Island, we met our Assistant Dean for dinner, and later that evening we met Stan at his kareoke event. Stan is an actuary, and he's trying to encourage his colleagues to become more social :) The kareoke night was part of this effort :)
The following day we headed to Table Mountain and hiked up the mountain a little ways. I think we chose a difficult path because it was basically a staircase made of boulders. I only went about half way up, and thereafter headed down to meet Shella for brunch. Following brunch, Shella, Abam, and I went to a craft market downtown. It was fun to see all the different crafts on display. People are so creative!
That afternoon we said goodbye to our Cape Town friends and headed to Franschoek for our law school retreat. During the retreat we each presented on the work that we are doing in our internship placements. I enjoyed hearing about the work my colleagues were engaging in, and I presented about the right to basic education and problem of violence in schools. My presentation was well recieved.
Franschoek is quite possibley the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The mountains are picturesque, and the hillsides are covered with vineyards. We went wine tasting a few times, once on horseback... and I hiked up Mount Rochelle with Emily, Noema, and Dean Baum. We also visited neighboring town, Stellenbosch, famous for its wineries.
Following our retreat in Franschoek, we headed home... which, for me, was quite a feat. I ended up stuck in the airport for 8 hours. My flight was delayed "indefinitely"... (note to self: Kulula.com is cheaper than South African Airways for a reason). Luckily, I made the acquaintance of a professional soccer team: the Maritzburg United Football Club. (http://www.maritzburgunited.co.za/Player_profile.htm) I watched soccer with the soccer players and took a bunch of pictures with them. They said that they would give me a free hat and t-shirt when they come to Durban next. :) They also said that I helped make their 8 hour delay a little less gloomy! :) Isn't it nice to be friends with professional athletes? :) Hee hee...
Well, eventually I arrived home... and this week has been going well so far. The weather in Durban is lovely, and I am making good headway on my externship paper :) MY COMPUTER IS FIXED!! So it's much easier to get work done. :) It is great!
And speaking of work, I better get back to it. I want to have my rough draft done by Thanksgiving... :)
Cheers!