The Passing of Madiba - 5/12/13

When people ask where I was when I found out Nelson Mandela passed away, I am able to say I was in South Africa.  At 8:50 pm when he died, I was at dinner with the guys of the project centre.  The girls had organised a "girls night" with Lorraine, our female advisor.   The guys decided to walk around Camps Bay, a beachy area of the city a short can ride away from the lodge and find some good food there.  We got to the beach around sunset.  The wind was blowing furiously toward the ocean, creating an interesting effect with the waves, as if the wind and the tide were fighting.  It was really cool to watch.  We climbed on some rocks to get a better view, and almost got blown off by the wind.  We found a really good seafood 

restaurant called Tuscany Beach, a little more upscale than we were 

planning but worth the trip.

We got back to the lodge around 10, and sat down to finish our work for the night.   My iPhone lit up with a notification from my CNN app.  I realised I had forgotten to shut its wifi off.  (We're only supposed to have one device connected to the Internet at a time, especially during peak hours).  Just before I did I glanced at the alert "South Africa's president to address the nation.  Watch live on CNN". I was puzzled. My phone had automatically adjusted to Cape Town time, and South African Google but I didn't think the CNN app would change for local news.  I shut off the wifi on my phone, and opened up CNN on my laptop, and saw the news right away.  "Nelson Mandela passes away at 95".

I told everyone around.  We were stunned.  We also didn't know what the reaction would be like.  There had been threat of more political riots recently by the ANC (Mandela's political party).  How would they take this news?  A few friends had gone to a bar for drinks, so we called them to give them the news, and to warn them to be careful.  (They got back a few hours later without incident).  We then called Scott (our advisor), who was less worried for or safety than for progress on our projects if the nation slows down to mourn.  He recommended that everyone work from home, which my team was planning on doing anyway.  I emailed my family to break the news and assuage any concerns if they shared mine.

The next morning I walked to a nearby cafe to buy a newspaper, which I'll be saving as a souvenir.  Life proceeded as usual for South Africa.  In the following days there would be flowers and cards enshrining any pictures and statues of Mandela in the city.  There was a memorial service Friday evening that some of the other students went to.  I was unable to go due to my weekend plans.  There were plenty of other events scheduled for the next 10 days that I    

                                                                               would try to attend.

South African flag flies at half mast