To everything (turn, turn, turn) there is a season (turn, turn)

        As the leaves begin to turn their autumn hues, these lyrics to that old song by The Byrds come to mind.  It's fall here. To think- two falls in one year! Two summers! I'm lucky. What that does also mean is two winters. These Capetonians keep telling me that winters here are pretty miserable, but I don't think they've ever experienced a Nor'easter in rural Pennsylvania farm country. Maybe I'm just resting on my snowy laurels, but I think it should be okay. 

I've had kind of a strange week. The cool tinge in the air makes it especially hard to leave my bed in the morning, and classes are decidedly winding towards exam time. I will have three sizeable papers due within a week in May, so I am sure to become well acquainted with the UCT library before I jet back home.  All schoolwork will be on hold this coming week as I journey to my next destination in Southern Africa: Mozambique. Not too bad, eh? I look forward to being able to snorkel with sea turtles and all kinds of pretty fish. Sea turtles, sting rays, and whale sharks! Oh my! I will be traveling with the same group of trusty companions, and we're turning into solid backpacking pros now.  My parents would be so proud of my newfound packing skills. I'm thrilled to be getting a chance to visit these places that I never dreamed I would see. If you would have told me a year ago that I would visit Namibia and Mozambique, I would probably have questioned your mental state. But I have, or will! I've also seen Botswana from across a fence and landed in Senegal, but I'm not sure if these count, or if they're technicalities. At any rate, I'm soaking up as much of Africa as I can. 

I've been homesick this week. Not quite sure why, just hitting some sort of wall, I guess. While I can safely say that I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, I feel stifled by the need to constantly be on the lookout. As we all know, South Africa is not the safest of places, and I am perpetually on my guard. Tragically, a UCT professor was murdered this week as a result of a carjacking. This happens everywhere, sure, but it seems like South Africa in particular is desensitized to these events. I can only hope that South Africa post-apartheid can continue to make amends with its past in order to fix the present. More than anything (except all of you, of course!) I miss the freedoms of having a car and doing things independently. I have pretty much always been an independent person, so learning to rely on others for safety has been a difficult adjustment. 

As far as awesome things that I have done this week, I hiked the famed Lion's Head mountain on Sunday for something called sundowners. Lion's Head is a part of the triptych that makes up Table Mountain: jagged Devil's Peak on the left, with the flat plateau that is so recognizably Table occupying the center, and Lion's Head gently curving off on the right, seemingly into the Atlantic. 

The hike was not ultra-strenuous, but definitely a hike. There was one point where you had to pull yourself up a series of chains and basically scale the mountain wall to get to the top. It was pretty cool. I say this all too often, but it's always true: the views are spectacular. As the sun sets on your left, the full moon rises on your right, and all of the city is illuminated as the lights come on to greet the evening. Sundowners is a popular event, and every full moon, Lion's Head is full of hikers eager for that incredible view. Below is Ian, Evan, myself, Amy and Josh on the top of Lion's Head with Devil's Peak and the full moon in the background. 

      A semester spent in South Africa climbing mountains and exploring. I'd say I'm a pretty freaking lucky girl.