Campus Photos Part 1

Yesterday was my first field day so I was torn between posting those photos and campus photos. So some campus photos today and field trip photos tomorrow!

 

So we'll start with one of the most beautiful streets in Stellenbosch. This is Victoria Street and it runs right through campus and ends at the Jan Marais Nature Reserve. So whichever direction you head, it will definitely be beautiful. For those of my readers who are familiar with trees, the street is lined entirely with London Plane, a Sycamore hybrid, and also one of my favourite tree species. It's also nice to walk down Victoria Street because shade is a prized commodity on a hot summer's day (so every day so far).

This is the J.H.Neethlinggebou (I can't pronouce it right so I can't instruct you either I'm afraid) building which is the heart of the Faculty of AgriSciences. Forestry is a department in the Faculty of AgriSciences and the J.H.Neethlinggebou building has a lovely little courtyard where we had a faculty braai (pronounced like rye but with a b in front of it). This is also the west side of the centre of campus which is referred to as the "Red Square". It's really beautiful.

Here on the south side of the square is the Neelsie (Kneel-see) which is the Students Union Building of the University. The Studenteraad (US's student government) is on the third floor. The second floor and the first floor have a branch of nearly every major bank (including mine!), the post office, a convenience store (which is actually called 7-Eleven but I'm not sure it's the same company), bookstore, etc. It's pretty much the place I end up going whenever I have an errand to run.

And finally the Centre for Prospective Students! Okay I have actually never been inside this building, but I took a photo because it illustrates the fact that many of the University signs are in Afrikaans, English and Xhosa (which is one of the Bantu group of languages and uses the famous clicks for syllables). Also, you may notice the green detailing with the white trim. In Stellenbosch, historic buildings are all painted in the classic white and green. In fact, if you want your house to look historic, you buy the specific green paint (conveniently called 'historic green') and then you can pretend you have a historic house. Voila! Instant class.

And that's the end of the tour for now, but there will be more after plantation and wildlife photos later this week.