Jacob reached the top of his ladder

For those of you who are not following South African news, there was an election this Wednesday. Big turnout. We're talking nearly 80% of registered voters. They're putting Canada's 59.1% to shame.

I'll admit that electoral politics is not one of my major interests, but South Africa's campaign, which essentially started once Jacob Zuma replaced former president Thalo Mbeki as the leader of the African National Congress in 2007, has been very engaging to follow. For the first time since 1994, members of the ANC broke off to form their own party, the Congress of the People; Zuma's rape and corruption charges followed him throughout this process, the former dropped in 2008 and the latter three weeks before the election; and in the end, it was the ANC that took away a nearly 2/3 majority in the election this week.

As the Mail and Guardian said this morning, Zuma's success was based highly on his and his party's clever campaigning, which "framed the 2009 election as a face-off between well-off blacks and whites on the one hand and the poor black majority on the other -- rather than on an examination of the government's record in power." I'm interested to talk with professors and others at the Centre for Civil Society (our partner school in Durban) to find out more about where they think Zuma will go as a leader in the coming months, and what that might mean for crime, health, and poverty in the country.

Here's part 1 of Al Jazeera's coverage election, including a discussion with a panel made up of ANC and Democratic Alliance party members and an ANC critic:



5 days and counting! I need to make a sleep sheet...

Welcome to 4am googling

There is an urgency with which I am beginning to prepare myself for my course in South Africa. Despite the loud Weezer song blasting from the apartment below, my impetus for staying up is entirely driven by my sudden need to find out the Zulu word for 'bathroom'. The randomness of these urges is starting to get a bit ridiculous.

In any case, welcome to what I hope will be my blog for my trip to South Africa in May-June! I'll be doing my best to communicate throughout both the field research course in Durban as well as during my three weeks of post-course travel down the SA coast. My travel buddy (is there a better term? companion feels too suggestive), Courtney, and I will also be hanging out in the Benelux area of Europe for a week after, running purely on adrenaline and credit.

I'm a veritable travel virgin at this point, if you don't count my multiple cross-Canada adventures (Thanks Dad!) and a few weeks in the Caribbean and Mexico sipping fancy drinks and buying $14 bracelets. This status is almost a sin in the program I'm in - International Development - and I suppose rightly so. This course looks like it's going to be a fantastic way for me to open up to new ideas, put me in touch with my strengths and limitations, and help me better connect with the people I want to eventually serve. But seriously, I'm sure you're reading this mostly for the sarcasm, bad puns, and potential shout-outs whilst away, so I'll do my best to limit the discussion on 'personal development.'

Many of you will know that South Africa is considered a middle-to-high income nation, but the inequality that exists within the country is unbelievable. I won't comment tonight/this morning on South Africa's complex history, because I know my lack of sleep would not do it justice. Reminder for future topic: justice.

Take care, all. Here's to getting packed and booked and paid enough between now and May 1st so I can afford to eat the delicious Indian food of Durban!

By the way: itholethe :)