strange creatures...

I forgot to mention how my Human Rights Day went... well, uneventful as I type away at this opinion editorial that I need to hand in on Friday... until the afternoon. I went out surfing in the morning for about 30 minutes just because it was such a nice day and the sand banks have made it a very easy paddle out for my lazy surfing day. I went back to my reading of this book called "Looting Africa" by my professor Patrick Bond where it speaks about whether these white ribbon, celebrity campaigns have been a waste of valuable resources to more geniunely active social movements like the ones happening right here in South Africa. There are protests on the privatization of water as even in the South African constitution, it is the basic right for all citizens to have access to this natural source of life. With privitization, those who are not able to pay the high costs of water (large portion of one's salary for the poor) get their water disconnected or have alternatives like pre-paid meters (shuts off if can't pay), or installation of ventilated pit latrines or worst, shallow sewers where the thin pipes are designed so that the women must follow "Maintenance Procedures" of cleaning the clogged pipes from feces. What right to water? Water privatization is already not working as is the example of Argentina and Paris' Suez. The have been inadequate in providing the service of water to the people.

Okay, after some deep reading (1 hour), decided for a second surf at low tide and once out on the break, my body is feeling sharp but mild stings from something in the water. The other boys in the water said it was fireweed and that I should suck it up. Um. no, it's stinging all over my leg and arms! So I paddled back in after 15 minutes and jogged over to the KwikSpar for some lunch. In the evening, John and Candice, my neighbors were having a braii (BBQ) so though that I would join them for some boerwors (yummy sausages) and steaks. So, I'm holding out my half-bitten boerwors in a hot-dog bun when something hits my head and on to part my arm and bun. I look at my arm and it looks like a very long stickbug I could shake off, but oh no, it was a GECKO on my boerwors! I screamed and tried to shake it off with one big swing. John who is South African said that he had never seen a gecko jump off the wall for food before. insane and why me. I gave the rest of my bun to Dude.