Cape Town and Tstitsikama

Tammy and I went on holiday for 8 days to Cape Town and Tsitsikama. We arrived at 2300 in Cape Town and when to our hostel, which was not that hard to find, but put two girls in a big city in a car and they obviously get lost. When we finally arrived at the hostel we were very tired and went straight to bed. The next morning we went to Cape Point, it was a very nice place with a lot of nice views, we had to climb very high in order to enjoy the view, but it was definitely worth it. We also went to Simons Town and saw pinguins, which is a very weird thing to see in South Africa. The next day we went to visit Table Mountin which was also amazing, the view and the nature is so beautifull... After Table Mountain we drove along the coast and saw some very nice little towns and we decided to go have drink at night in Camps Bay, which was very nice but the people there were a bit snobbish. The next day we went to a themepark and enjoyed the rollercoasters and stuff like that, the park was a bit small so we were home early and decided to go to Waterfront, which is a very nice plays with bars and shops. On Sunday we were a bit tired of partying so we went lying on the beach and had a lazy day. On Monday we had to wake up very early because we had to drive for 7 hours to Tsitsikama, when we arrived there we went to the Storms River National Park, where you can do hiking, swimming and snorkling. We went for a hike on a mountain, it took us an hour to get to the top so we were very tired when we got down again, we went for diner in Tsitsikama and the next day we went snorkling and did some hiking trails. On Wednesday we drove back to Cape Town and on the way back we stopped in Plettenberg Bay and I went skydiving! I jumped out of a plane at 10.000 feet, it was the most amazing thing I ever did! On Thursday we flew back to Jo`burg. It was a very nice trip, and luckily I am going back there in June with my parents!

Sodwana Bay

Last week I went diving in Sodwana Bay, the most beautifull spot in South Africa to dive. And it was very nice, after we drove 8 hours we arrived on Tuesday in Sodwana Bay, we had a very nice diner and afterwards we went to bed because the next morning we had an early dive, at 7.00, so we had to be on the beach at 6.30. The first dive was very nice, we saw a huge blue spotted rea, it was twice as big as me, so that was very beautiful to see. At 10.30 we did another dive and saw a lot of different beautifull fishes. In the afternoon Tamara and I went to bed because we were so tired of the dives and later we went to the beach and walked there for a while. The next day we again did two dives and we saw again beautifull things in the water. Friday we did our last dive early in the morning and we saw a big turtle swimming under water, which was an amazing thing to see. We drove back Friday afternoon and came back at 23.00 after an exhausting drive. It was a very nice experience and I will definetely go diving there again in June!

Weekend in Potch

Last weekend we stayed in Potch, I really needed to work on my thesis, because I had a deadline of my second part of my thesis on Monday. Saturday we went out to Boubon`s, it was very nice although we got a little drunk ;-). Sunday our Afrikaanse teacher came to pick us up and we went to her house and had a nice braai and a swim. Sundaynight we went to church, it was very interesting for me to see that church is very different here from the churches in Holland. It was much more modern and nicer than in Holland and I think that a lot more people would go to church if we had churches like this in Holland. Tuesday evening we went out for pizza with some friends and afterwards, when we came home, we heard music coming from the campus. So we went to have a look and there was a concert going on: Tree 63 was playing, it sounded like U2, it was very nice. This weekend we are going tol Krugersdorp again: Dennis and Markie are celebrating their birthdays so that will be a nice party again!

Diving in Wondergat

Last weekend I have been diving in Wondergat. We went there on Saturday morning at 530 so that we had the whole day to dive. We went camping, so we had to put up our tent and as soon as we had done that we went for our first dive of the day. The visibility was not very good, but it was a nice place to go diving for the first time at another place than the pool. We did two dives on Saterday and at night we had a braai and there was a moon eclipse so I watched the beginning because I was too tired to watch the whole thing. On Sunday we woke up very early again and we did the other dives that are necessary for my certificate, but we did all the dives so now I have it. We are going diving in Sudwana on the 27 of March until the 31 of March, I saw pictures of it and it is very beautiful there, we can dive with sharks there! Well I put the photo`s of Wondergat on the site, the underwater photo`s will follow soon!

http://mjmar.spaces.live.com

Valentine Party

This week we had a lot of work to do for our assignments for school, I am glad to say that my first assignment is almost finished, 11 more to go... So we thought that we were allowed to party on wednesday night, because it was valentine`s day and because wednesday is students night out. So we invided Naudene, Sunette and Louise to come and have drinks at our place and then go to Bourbon Street. We had a lot of fun and danced all night, but thursday morning we had to wake up really early because Tamara and I decided that we had to go to the gym, so we were really tired thursdag night when the profs were coming over to our place for diner: we made stampot and they enjoyed it very much.

Next Monday I am going to start with diving lessons, so Tamara and I can go diving when we are in Cape Town!

Weekend in Pine Haven

Last weekend we went to say in Pine Haven, near Krugersdorp, at Tamara`s family. They came to pick us up on Thursday. On Friday we went to Gold Riff City, where we went into a mine and into rollercoasters. On Saturday we went to Soweto where we visited the house of Nelson Mandela, where he lived before he went to prisson. We also stopped at the Hector Peterson Museum, which was especially founded because he was the first child that was murdered during the peaceful uprising against the Apartheid regime. It was very interesting and shocking to see what happened that day and how the police just started using guns against the children. We also saw the place where the stadion is being built for the World Championship: they are actually building it in Soweto, the most criminal part of the country, but I think it might be a good thing because the government will be forced to do something about the situation in this area. After our visit to Soweto, we had a braai and a little party at the house of Tasch and Mark, we al got really drunk and they really liked the song Rood of Marco Borsato so we played it ten times or something! On Sunday we were supposed to go to church so Tamara and I were ready at 9.30, but the others had hangovers and weren`t in time to go so we are going next time we`ll visit them! On Monday we drove back to Potch with Naudene, at 5.45, it was very early so when we got home we went for a jog and went back to bed!

Weekend at the farm

Last weekend Tamara and I were invited by Naudene and Martinus to spend the weekend at he gamefarm of Martinus` parents. Naudene picked us up on friday and we drove for ywo hours to a little place called `Swartruggens`. When we arrived we immediately went for a gamedrive and saw lots of animals. Later we had a braai at the house where we were staying and we had a discussion with Martinus about the Apartheid-regime and the consequences of it nowadays. Saturday morning we went for a swim in the lake after a walk of 1,5 hours, the water was very clear and cold but it was nearby a waterfall so it was very beautifull. In the afternoon we visited friends of Martinus in town which was very interesting and good for our Afrikaans. We went to a hill on the farm to watch the sunset, which Wwas very nice to see. On sunday we went to get the quad and Tamara and I drove through the farm with the quad, it was a good thing that we drove the quad on sunday, otherwise we would have been driving it for the whole weekend. Later we had to catch the horses and we went for a ride. At night we had a braai again and packed our bags to go back to Potch the next day. On monday morning we had a little crisis: Naudene closed the gate of the farm incorrect and the people that were building houses on the farm couldn`t get in, so they just left and went home and didn`t come back.... It was strange to come back in Potch on monday because it was so quiet and peaceful at the farm. But we had a really great time and we`ll definitely are going back there soon!

The other photos are at: http://mjmar.spaces.live.com/

So we finally settled down a little, Tamara is here and we bought some bikes. The first week we didn`t do much, except for biking around Potch and get lost on the way to the shoppingmall, twice. I went to the introduction seminar for the courses that I am going to take here, and I must say I am going to be quite busy although I won`t have any classes, except for Afrikaans. I am taking 4 courses here and have to write 3 assignments for every course of 4000 words each. Tamara and I also went to a Dam resort where we could swim, which was very nice.

Arrival in Potchefstroom

Well, I am glad to say that I arrived safely in Potch. I arrived here saturday morning and at that point I was the only international student in the house, so at night I was a little bit scared because of all the strange sounds around the house. But fortunately another student arrived at night: Anna she is from Germany. I was glad that she arrived so I wasn`t all alone anylonger. On sunday there isn`t much to do around here: people go to church and everything is arranged around that. So I was just reading a little and sitting in the sun. The classes only start on the 12th of February so I have still 2 weeks of vacation here, although I do have to get started on my thesis. Today Tamara is arriving in Potch and we were invited to go to a gamefarm of a friend of mine this weekend, so I am really looking forward to that.

Wintercourse

The last week of the Wintercourse has been very exhausting. Wednesday we had a closing seminar with interesting lectures, unfortunately I missed the one of Prof. van Genugten which was very interesting, but they changed the programme last minute so I wasn`t able to participate in this lecture. After the seminar we had diner and drinks in Tilburg. On thursday we had to leave very early: the buss would take us to The Hague at 7.15. In The Hague we visited the International Criminal Court, and although they didn`t tell me anything that I didn`t already know, it was very interesting to visit the ICC. After our visit to the ICC we visited the Hall of Knights and the Second Chamber, where a debat was being held. The debat wasn`t very interesting for the South African students because they couldn`t really understand what was being discussed. Later that day the buss dropped us off at the hostel where we would send the night. We went shopping, but the shops closed earlier than usual because of the storm. We had diner at an Italian restaurant and drinks at the hostel. The next morning we woke up at 5.30 because the South African students had a plain to catch! I wasn`t really sad that they were leaving, because I will see them again next week. I made some nice friends during the Wintercourse and I am glad I was part of the organization this year.

South African students

With only 2 weeks to go before I leave for South Africa, it is nice to have a group of South African students in Tilburg right now. They arrived last tuesday and Tamara and I went to pick them up at Schiphol Airport. Tuesday evening we planned a `welcome to Tilburg` diner, which was a good opportunity to get to know the students. Wednesday we went iceskating, which was very funny, because most of them had never seen ice before. Although I expected that they would be terrible at iceskating, they were actually very good. Tomorrow we will go to the Zaanse Schans, for some real Dutch stuff.