Fall in Cape Town

Cape Town's transformation during the Southern autumn has left the Southern Suburbs covered in red, orange and yellow leaves. The temperatures do not fall below 55, but the wind and (light) rain can cause a chill. Beautiful crisp and clear days continue to impress -- in fact, my clearest day in Cape Town permitted me to see the Drakenstein Mountains without any haze or fog across the Cape Flats from the UCT Upper Campus. The summer wildfire season or general smog always obscured part of the Drakenstein, but the winter northwesterly winds brilliantly clear the air.

The Southern Hemisphere, in general, offers a cleaner environment and moderate temperatures. The relatively smaller population down here (just about 10% of the global total) produces less garbage and carbon emissions than our (wealthier and more numerous) neighbours in the North. Since weather patterns generally move west to east (and not north to south), very little Northern Hemisphere pollution reaches the South. Also, oceans cover the vast majority of the Southern world, leaving a calmer climate with fewer temperature extremes.

Responding to the Body and Soul

I regret the lull in blog activity during the past few weeks. Again, catch-up will be necessary to explain the adventures of my Garden Route weekend road trip. The trip set me back and caused a rough week of adjustment in Cape Town -- my computer's hard drive stopped working and I injured my left hand and lower back. I spent most of last week taking care of the body and sorting out my computer. My hand and fingers became very swollen, but the swelling subsided with ice and Advil. I still have a bruise on the hand, but the pain no longer impacts the area. I'm also relieved that my lower back no longer aches when I lift an item, open a window or sneeze.

Finally, I rented a computer for the remainder of my time in South Africa. I will deal with the repair and Lenovo customer service when I return stateside in July. The laptop rental arrived just in time to get me through the final stretch of essays before my exams at the end of the month!