Update on Jim's Studies

It is high time that I provided an update on my studies here at the University of Cape Town. For those who need a reminder, I am enrolled in the Master’s of Philosophy in Education (with a concentration in Higher Education) which is comprised of four courses and a thesis. I took two courses last semester and am finishing up the other two courses during this semester: Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, and Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. My professors are once again fabulous, and I am enjoying getting to know my South African classmates.

A mid-class break for tea and biscuits is a must in South Africa! Tea-time has been religiously observed in every one of my classes (I have no problem joining the locals in this ritual!). There is always a tray of goodies waiting for us, with all the fixings: real tea cups and tea spoons, a carafe of hot water, instant coffee, tea - both regular black tea and rooibos tea (or ‘red bush’ tea; South Africa is the only place where this type of tea is grown), milk and sugar, and of course biscuits.

‘Biscuits’ in South Africa are what we Americans might place in the ‘cookie’ category. Many of South Africa’s biscuits are great for dipping, while most American cookies are not conducive to such action. Some similar cookies in the States might be animal crackers, graham crackers, Nilla Wafers, and those butter ring cookies made by Salerno that we all put on our fingers when we were young.

Upon completion of these courses I plan to turn to the thesis full-throttle. I have already begun to do some thinking/writing on what I’d like to pursue…but from my current vantage point, it is a rather daunting task! Nevertheless, I am very excited to get into it more fully when the time comes.


This is the entrance to the building where my classes meet each week.

My sister is engaged!

Welcome to the family, Craig!!

Loads of fruit and veg!

One of our friends from church has begun to buy fruits and vegetables from a wholesale market here in Cape Town (the same place where many grocery stores get theirs, too). Because she has to buy in large quantities, she pulled together four friends to make it work, including us. Our most recent box of fruit and veg (South Africans commonly shorten ‘vegetable’ to ‘veg’… Americans say 'veggies' - why?) consisted of the following:

19 onions
5 avo-s
14 peaches
28 bananas
14 pears
3 ½ pounds of carrots
3 ¼ pounds of grapes

Any tips on how to use it all up?!

(The cost was 70 Rand, or about $9. That's a very good deal, even by South African standards!)

Visit to Knysna and "The Heads"

Knysna is a neat village a few hours east of Cape Town, known mainly for its beautiful forests and oysters. Although we didn’t partake of the seafood, we did enjoy a few hikes in the area as well as the local beaches. (Some of the hikes have been posted below.)

The town of Knysna is situated on a lagoon which is connected to the Indian Ocean by a narrow water passage between two hulking cliffs, known as The Heads. Some years ago the British Navy considered this the most dangerous port in the world…but once safely past these rocky sentinels, the lagoon certainly offered ships a safe and secure harbour.

This boat is sailing between The Heads into the Knysna lagoon

The Heads viewed from across the Knysna lagoon; through the gap you see the Indian Ocean

Hike along Jubilee Creek (in search of gold)

This hike, near to Knysna (see previous post), followed Jubilee Creek to several gold mines that were excavated during a brief gold rush in the 1880’s. Although the gold lasted for less than a decade, we hoped that we’d find the world’s largest nugget in the creek somewhere along our walk. That didn’t happen. But the walk was nice!

Jim is standing in front of a tree fern. And oh wait, what's that gold nugget next to your foot?!

Good times with Randy and Heather

Recently Randy and Heather moved from their apartment on the horse farm in Noordhoek to a new place in the winelands. Noordhoek is located on the Atlantic side of the cape and a solid 45 minutes drive from the University of Stellenbosch (where Randy is pursuing a D.Litt). They now live in an equally beautiful location that is only 10 minutes from campus. We enjoy chilling with Randy and Heather – and their awesome, quirky dogs – regularly.

Heather is artistic and super good at decorating. She reupholstered their second-hand furniture herself, and designed and painted all the wall ornamentation.


Randy is holding droerwors, the South African version of American slim jim’s, invented in the 19^th century for long-distance travel in the warm South African climate. Yummy. Also very popular is Biltong, the South African version of beef jerky.

Can You Translate This Please?

Recently received this sms (or, text message via cell phone) from a friend here. Can YOU decipher it?

Hi friends pls join me on sun 2 celebrate my bday. braai frm 1pm@ 12 PittStr, Plumstead. bring your cozzy&an odd pair of socks. pls RSVP 4catering purposes. thx. T:)

hints:
braai = cook-out/grill/barbeque
frm 1 pm = from 1 pm = beginning at 1 pm and continuing, but don't arrive too close to 1 pm
cozzy = swimming costume = swimsuit
odd pair of socks = no idea what she means by this! some kind of game?

A Day in the Winelands with Mark and Blanche

Jul and Blanche in Tokara Winery, near Stellenbosch

Boschendal wine estate est. 1685; manor house in background built 1796

Lunch at Boschendal. Yes, those sandwiches and the homemade lemonade were Very Tasty.

(above and below) Located on the western slopes of Table Mountain, Groot Constantia is considered one of the most beautiful vineyards in the western cape. The manor house was built the same year the vineyard was established by Simon van der Stel, in 1685.

Enjoying a wine tasting at the estate. (do we look like we know what we're doing?!)

Hike along Klein Keurbooms River

This hike in Wilderness National Park follows the winding river/stream and ended up at a waterfall and swimming hole. The area around Wilderness is famous for its indigenous forests. If you don’t know what indigenous means, look it up! We've learned that South Africans can get in heated discussions about indigenous plants and trees, and there are efforts to rid certain areas of non-indigenous plants, such as pine and eucalyptus trees. In the Cape Town area, there are very few indigenous trees, though there are forests of pine and eucalyptus – a sore point for some. But in Wilderness there are indigenous forests of milkwood, yellowwood, ironwood, alder, assegai, white peach, saphron, and more. Very cool! (and hey, I used the word 'indigenous' six times in that paragraph)

A few minutes into the walk, we saw a family of baboons up on a cliffside, eating breakfast (berries and seeds) and hollering at each other. We stopped to photograph them and it sure seemed like they looked right back at us! So for the next while, we were both a bit spooked, as we kept hearing their chattering and hoots, and we wondered what we’d do if one suddenly appeared on the path! Fortunately that didn’t happen and we eventually calmed down. Yeah, fun to see from a distance but you don’t want to get close! (they have big, sharp teeth and can get aggressive with humans)




Milkwood trees don’t grow very tall and usually create dense forests. Certain vines love them as well, which is why I (Jul) had to duck my head to get through this ‘tunnel’!

For my brother Matt

Saw these and couldn't help but think of you, bro.
(taken back in January when Rachel was here. We both agree that it would be quite apt for you to get your next haircut at NapyCutz.)

22 March – Two Oceans Half Marathon

Although I (Jim) am not naturally drawn to long races – or any footrace for that matter – I have done a few half marathons in the past few years. So when I caught wind of the Two Oceans Half Marathon (21 km) and Ultra Marathon (56 km), I signed up for the Half and began my training. (By the way, it is called “Two Oceans” because the Ultra (unfortunately not the Half) passes along both sides of the cape peninsula, providing fantastic views of the Atlantic and Indian oceans).

The race began early (6 am!) in part because the Ultra, which begins at 6:25, takes so long and would be no fun at all in a hot, mid-day sun. Honestly I was not quite as excited about this race as I have been about past races, in large part because I was preparing for it alone. My older sister, Katie, and other friends (Chip Sanders, Jennifer Felske, and cousin Jeremy Pennington, to name a few) were missing! But once I arrived at the start and joined the 7,500 other runners I began to smile. The energy, hustle and chatter, the anticipation floating all around you – it’s catching.

Aside from one nagging problem, the run itself went smoothly – a few more hills than in other half’s that I’ve done, but beautiful. And that ‘nagging problem’… let me just say that I learned a lesson: do not gorge on a large steak dinner, followed by an equally large dessert, the day before a race!! You want to be feeling good on race morning, not bursting and less than comfortable in the lower regions. Throughout the race I had some major intestinal “traffic problems” which some pain and discomfort. Needless to say, I finished the race but felt pretty bad the rest of the day. Friends, I beg you, please learn from my mistake!



(the finish line and tents were set up on the rugby fields of UCT campus, so those are some of the campus residences in the background)