Hauzit bru, Cape Town is lekker yah.

My first blog update..like ever I think; myface/spacebook doesn't count. I've been in South Africa for nearly 3 weeks, and have just under 3 weeks left. I have divided my trip into half travelling/backpacking, and half journalism work experience with the newspaper The Cape Times, which I will start tomorrow and am looking forward to.

People always say travelling is an eye opener because you get to discover other cultures. What I never really realised was how MANY different cultures you could experience in one trip. And I don't just mean because South Africa is diverse; I have actually met so many different nationalities that sometimes journeying the backpacker route can feel like travelling round the world. Last night I was helping a Japanese friend I made practice his English; he's learning here in Cape Town. I have been endlessly fascinated with discussing the subtle differences between Cellphone/Mobile; Trousers/Pants with my new American friend: the easiest language I've ever tried to learn. On my travels I've met 50% Germans in this country; quite bizarre but cool nonetheless. And have met British peeps I otherwise wouldn't have met; from scouserland would you believe; now THAT is the real culture shock.

But South Africa IS also extremely diverse. And in my opinion in quite an unsettling way. I've never been to a place which seems so defined, shaped and affected by race. Race differences breathes out of every corner of life. Relics of the aparteid system persist today; the legal, social political enforcement of racial segretation in this country that ended some 14 years ago; blacks lived in townships, had different jobs; were in seperate hospital wards. Today pretty much everywhere I go the lower paid jobs like Cleaners and builders, are still taken by black people and hostel/restaurant/shop/bar owners are nearly always white. It is quite unsettling to go to a shiny swanky surf shop with white surf dudes at the counter speaking with an auzzie lilt then leaving the locked metal gate for a door onto a dirty building site in central Durban where there are Zulu mamas carrying packs on their heads; quite a contrast. But this is all image; other things go on that I don't see; racism persists. In the newspapers I read of a story where white students from Free State University forced black staff to eat food soaked in urine and videotaped it. This sort of thing seems to sprawl the headlines daily, or the discourse of racism in daily life at least, and it's quite sad to see such things persist. But I wonder if this country can revive itself from such divisions when its rebirth seems so defined by race. Even the Mandela imagined "rainbow nation" and it's beautiful national flag is defined by seperation of colours: isn't racism always going to be perpetuated and maintained by such constructed collectivist race divisions?

This country is quite cool, and certainly very friendly. I am liking the native languages like Tsona, Xhosa and Zulu and their accents more than the white English or Afrikaans accent, which sounds rather like an English rah who was born in Germany but then migrated to Australia. The black people are extremely beautiful; as is much of the country: The Drakensburg mountains were spectacular; in one glance rather like Wales but on closer inspection quite alien because of the sweeping yellow hues in the grasslands, and bizarrre table-mountain peaks.

This blog is a little bit too reflective and opinionated for my liking; I sound like I'm trying to write for the Guardian or something..I haven't got there yet! Perhaps I should say what I've actually done...well i will in good time.

But I must mention the most exciting / scary thing that has happened so far. I was in an open 4 wheeler that broke down exactly the moment we became surrounded at several meters' radius by hungry lions in Inkwenkwezi game reserve. There was a gun involved, huge teeth were bared and hands were shaking...