Fynbos and class
Here I am at one plus weeks. Been doing an unusually large amount of reading for class each day, will hopefully decrease in the weeks to come. I have lecture for 1.5 hours and discussion for 1.5 hours for the Globalization and the Natural Environment. For class there has been about 5 hours of reading for each day. Reading plus discussion plus cooking equals a full day. Next week we have some field trips which I am looking forward to. Field trips mean I get to see new things and there is no reading for field trip days. This last week we took a tour of the cape peninsula, which is not the southern most point in Africa. We also had a tour of Cape Town proper.
Last Friday we went up Table Mnt in a cable car. At the top another guy on the program and I decided not to ride back down, but instead take a 5 hour stroll back to the house. Table mountain is great. The whole area is covered in a type of vegetation called Fynbos(fain boss) and until recently was a floristic kingdom, now there are only 6 kingdoms. The entire northern hemisphere is just one kingdom. The area has several times the number of plant species present in the UK. It makes for some very interesting strolling. Yesterday we went to the beach. Pretty much like other beaches, but with more wind.
There is a strange feeling of insecurity here. Everyone warns about being alone and about being out at night. There seems to be an unseen danger of crime. People talk about being mugged, but it is not an expected event. Expect in the sense that it does not fit with the level of development/ modernity in the city. The problem however does not exist from the residents of the city. It is a problem of the drastic income contrast between the city and the surrounding townships coupled with a high unemployment rate, +25%. There is this feeling of danger lurking in the shadows. Or at least that is the feeling I get from everyone else. I haven’t found a situation I feel threatened in yet, but I have only been here a week and half and am still getting used to the place.
A Protea of some sort.
Flower
An Erica
A pine tree with flowers...not a pine tree then
Red Flower
Lizard on rock
Lizard on rock with two tails
Fynbos on Table Mountain
Flower, an iris?
Cape Town from Table Mountain
Last Friday we went up Table Mnt in a cable car. At the top another guy on the program and I decided not to ride back down, but instead take a 5 hour stroll back to the house. Table mountain is great. The whole area is covered in a type of vegetation called Fynbos(fain boss) and until recently was a floristic kingdom, now there are only 6 kingdoms. The entire northern hemisphere is just one kingdom. The area has several times the number of plant species present in the UK. It makes for some very interesting strolling. Yesterday we went to the beach. Pretty much like other beaches, but with more wind.
There is a strange feeling of insecurity here. Everyone warns about being alone and about being out at night. There seems to be an unseen danger of crime. People talk about being mugged, but it is not an expected event. Expect in the sense that it does not fit with the level of development/ modernity in the city. The problem however does not exist from the residents of the city. It is a problem of the drastic income contrast between the city and the surrounding townships coupled with a high unemployment rate, +25%. There is this feeling of danger lurking in the shadows. Or at least that is the feeling I get from everyone else. I haven’t found a situation I feel threatened in yet, but I have only been here a week and half and am still getting used to the place.
A Protea of some sort.
Flower
An Erica
A pine tree with flowers...not a pine tree then
Red Flower
Lizard on rock
Lizard on rock with two tails
Fynbos on Table Mountain
Flower, an iris?
Cape Town from Table Mountain
Labels: uct
posted by kejiesheng at 2:31 PM
3 Comments:
Glad you had time to post this week. The walk about with classmate was most informative for us 'armchair' travelers. Looks like a lot of flowering succulents. (the iris-like is more like a gladiola me thinks)
Good you noted the security feelings present there. It will be very interesting to reassess later with your experiences.
The area of Cape Town is very attractive and the weather looks particularly inviting, especially right now when it's 14 degrees!
Have a good week ;)
Well the U.K. isn't exactly known for it's biological diversity. For instance, on the December "Wildlife of Britain" calendar hanging in my room, which I believe a certain someone found at the local dollar store, the featured animal was the badger.
No hatred toward the badger; I'm just glad that the colonies are faring better than the motherland.
Have fun exploring. =)
here's a fun experiment you can do. find some white-corded earphones. put them in your ears, and tuck the other end into your pocket. walk around alone late at night. record observations. post on blog.
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