Three weeks and five days to go

There is so much to catch everyone up on! First, I am out of the orthopedic boot and the ankle is healing very nicely. I am wearing an ankle brace and doing physical therapy excercises to strengthen the muscles, so I should be ready for all the walking I plan on doing in South Africa.

Second, all the shots and innoculations are done. Although the Western Cape is malaria-free, I'll be taking anti-malarials so that if an opportunity comes along to travel, the chance of encountering mosquitos won't preclude a great experience in a different part of the country.

Third, I keep finding more books to read. Below is a list of what I have read so far, not in any particular order.

Fiction:
Beethoven was One-Sixteenth Black, Nadine Gordimer
July's People, by Nadine Gordimer
The Power of One, by Bryce Courtenay
Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton

Non-fiction:
Tomorrow is Another Country, by Allister Sparks
Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiograpahy of Nelson Mandela
Africa & Africans, by Paul Bohannan and Phillip Curlin
South Africa, A Case Study, edited by Rita M. Byrnes
A History of South Africa, by Leonard Thompson
Culture Smart! South Africa: A Quick Guide to Customs & Etiquette, by David Holt-Biddle
Cape Town, by Simon Richmond (Lonely Planet guide)
South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland, by Mary Fitzpatrick et al (Lonely Planet guide)
Insight Guides: South Africa

Travel Maps by Globetrotter:
Cape Town
South Africa

Books I have on my bedside table but haven't read yet:
Bitter Fruit, by Achmat Dangor
None to Accompany Me, by Nadine Gordimer
Life & Times of Michael K, by J. M. Coetzee
My Traitor's Heart: A South African Exile Returns to Face his Country, His Tribe, and His Conscience, by Rian Malan
Disgrace, by J. M. Coetzee
Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography, by Mark Mathabane
The State of Africa: A History of Fifty Years of Independence, by Martin Meredith

So it looks like I'll be reading really fast on those long plane rides, while I am there, and a good long while after I come back!