Address to the Nation

So i've had a pretty cool morning here in Cape Town. Today was President Mbeki's opening address to parliment. I stood outside parliment for a little while as i watched everyone get ready for the president's arrival. theni wandered down the street to see if i could get a look at his motorcade (BTW- Motorcade is a new word that has entered into my vocabulary, regarding the procession of motorcycles and security vans that follow important dignitaries, before last weekend i'd never heard of such a thing. Do we have these in Canada? are they called Motorcades?) as it passed by. IT was kind of cool, there were a few protestors and onlookers but nothing that really warrented the kind of secutiry that was actually present. i'd guess where i was standing, in a wide open area, there were only about 100 people there to watch.
then after Mbeki had come and gone i went to watch the address on a tv screen in the department of parlimentary affairs (i dont't think thats the right name for the building, but it was just off of parliment). I sat there for about an hour, chatting with other onlookers and trying to hear what was being said over the buzz in the reception area. It was a really neat thing to be a part of. then when it was all over, i stood on the streets as all the members of parliment left and got onto their coaches to return to wherever they were going.
Now i'm just waiting for the rain to lighten up so i can go out and play again. i'll probably just end up wandering the city for the next couple of hours. its fun to do in a new city.