Adventures in South Africa: July 11th-12th Weekend

Yesterday I went on a tour of Bloemfontein. We began the day by stopping at a farmer's market and I got to try South African pancakes (which are essentially crepes). They were coated in cinnamon sugar and were very delicious. Next we stopped at a memorial for the women and children who died in concentration camps during the Second Boer War. We then drove through a township and learned a lot about Nelson Mandela. The tour guide taught us so much about the history and culture of Bloemfontein and it was very interesting. Some of the information I had learned through previous research, but it's a lot different learning something from a website and then hearing someone actually tell you stories about what you're learning. After the tour, I met with the med students to play some paintball. I had never done it before, but it was so much fun, and I'm thankful that the people here are so keen to make sure that we're enjoying our time here. After paintball, we got some dinner and watched some rugby on television. Today, however, has been a much less exciting day. I did some laundry (which was free, by the way, so that's exciting), met Zach and Jon for lunch, and then watched a couple movies. Tomorrow morning we'll be back in class with the English students and when they start their rotations in a week, we'll be joining them in the hospitals as well. Also starting tomorrow some sort of festival. I haven't heard much about it, and whenever someone says anything about it, they always mention that there's cheap beer and wine, so I guess South African college students have relatively similar priorities to most American college students. I have noticed that they've been setting up carnival-type rides, so I think it'll be a lot of fun. Some of the students are moving back into my building, so it's nice that this place isn't such a ghost town anymore. I've met so many incredibly friendly people, and I've really been enjoying myself thus far!

Farmer's Market