This is my final reflection on my time here and before I begin I would like to say that I have really grown to love South Africa, and Cape Town in particular. I had heard so much from so many people, which is what made me want to come here in the 1st place; and I have not been disappointed. All the people had good and bad things to say, but always in the end there was a deep love of the experience they had had, and this is not just people doing research but a huge variety of people; medics working in hospitals, backpackers travelling into Africa, climbers on road-trips, people visiting relations, medics working with AIDS orphans and someone on a Christian ship bringing aid to rural areas. This huge variety of people had a range of experiences, some of which overlapped, but all very diverse. I guess this is a reflection of the kind of country that South Africa is.

It is a place where European and African culture blend beautifully and clash terribly; which results in the most spectacular successes and dreadful failures. It is a place where a 'Ghomangast' style of dis-symmetrical symbiosis occurs. You can see the effects of this colonial intrusion everywhere, both good and bad, but regardless of my opinions about the social situation here it is the most diverse place I have ever seen. Where you are as likely to see super-models and film stars as beggars and orphans. Where there are black business-men of the future and white farmers of the past. Where you can climb a mountain and surf a break in one day. Where you can get the most amazing fruits for tiny amounts of money, but pay a fortune for a gourmet meal. Where McDonald's sells real steak but people still starve. Where there is gang war about what prison you were in but an international community where there is truly a feel of the 'rainbow nation'. Where you can pick up condoms free in 80 percent of shops, but no-one uses them. Where people look both to the future and the past for inspiration. Where you can get world class health care but not afford to clothe yourself. Where there are hero's and villains, there is music and mayhem, taxi's and tourists, soldiers and surfers, and any other contrast you can think of.

I guess I have internalised this contrast by loving the people I have met and the places I have gone, but hating the systems and attitudes that burden this country. It is a place where the wounds of Apartheid have only just closed but the ugly scars still show. I am glad I came and extremely sad to leave and despite all the complaints that I have made and all the bullshit that you are forced to endure, Cape Town has found a way under my skin and close to my heart. I have seen the many problems here and South Africa is balanced on the edge of a dangerous precipice. I think that things are getting better and will continue to improve, but there exists the very real possibility of a descent into chaos. I can't wait until I can come back and try and help solve the problems and see the improvement's that I hope continue to enrich the lives of those who most need them.