Classes Commence

I've (nearly) survived my first week of classes at UCT, and it's been quite an experience navigating this vibrant international university. Conveniences taken for granted in the states (online registration, helpful school webpages) haven't been integrated here yet, but so far I've managed to more or less settle into my school routine. I'm taking only three classes - including a course in advanced South African politics - because I want to focus on my education outside of the classroom while I'm here. On that note, my volunteer program starts next week. I'll be creating and implementing an after school program for kids at the Baphumelele children's home - http://www.baphumelele.org.za/educare.php. In addition, once a week I'll be hanging out at a local TB hospital and playing with the kids who are forced to leave their families and live there during treatment. I can't wait to get started!

Cape Town continues to amaze and challenge me. I've found it really refreshing to spend time in a society that's so open. In the states, it's not PC to constantly harp on issues of race and gender. But here, everything is about race all the time, and people aren't afraid to make racial issues a part of their daily conversations. Is a club or bar primarily frequented by whites or blacks? In the classroom how does racial segregation play out in who-sits-where? How do rugby and soccer matches differ according to racial interaction? If you are trying to describe someone here, the first thing you say is, "She's that black girl" or "He's that Indian guy." In the states, you would always find a way to tiptoe around the issue and describe hair color or height instead. The civil rights movement is so new here, and it's exciting to see everyone so engaged. Obviously a renowned university like UCT is not necessarily representative of the South African population as a whole, but it's been an eye-opening experience to actually be able to openly discuss race without fear of being labelled a politically incorrect bigot. And honestly, there seem to be more genuine interracial friendships and interactions here than I've ever seen back home.

Bring on Friday and the weekend!

 

Garden Route Excursion

I've just arrived back from a five day backpacking excursion along South Africa's famous coastal Garden Route. I'm exhausted, and the thought of trying to get my blog up to speed is daunting to say the least. I still don't feel there is any way I can do justice to my experience so far. But I'll just briefly outline my past week.

Friday - My 21st birthday! I had a perfect day, and in the evening my housemates and I cooked tacos together. Everyone then went to a Mardi Gras party in Obs (a district next to Rondebosch), and I didn't have to pay for a single drink all night. It was the perfect way to spend my birthday with my new friends.

Saturday - Crawl out of bed at 5:45 AM for a 6:00 AM taxi departure. (Yes, it was brutal). The taxi took six of us to a bus station in Cape Town, and we then boarded a bus for a ten hour ride to the charming town of Knysna. The bus ride was everything you would expect from an African transportation adventure. Massive delays, broken air conditioning. However, we arrived safely and checked into our hostel, Island Vibe. Dinner was at the waterfront - fresh seafood and game including ostrich and springbok. 

Sunday - Beach day! However, the hike to the beach ended up being a ten-kilometer hike including dodgy abandoned railroad tracks and bush-whacking. At one point we seriously tried to hitch hike. But eventually we landed on one of the most stunning beaches I've ever seen. Dramatic cliffs, lush vegetation, white sand, craggy rock formations...and we had the place almost entirely to ourselves. We swam, we napped, we played baseball with some Argentinians we met. Everything was pretty perfect (except for the scorching sunburns that resulted). We caught a shuttle back to the hostel in the evening followed by a sunset dinner of oysters. One of the highlights of the trip came that night when we introduced s'mores to all the European travelers staying at our hostel. 

Monday - Bungy jumping. The Blouk

rans Bridge jump is the highest in the world - over 700 feet. Three of us did the jump, and it was absolutely crazy. The location is the most beautiful gorge imaginable. I'll let a few of my pics tell the story:

Too bad the camera couldn't come down and show me at 700 feet! Anyway, it was a crazy experience - biggest adrenaline rush possible.

That night we braai-ed at the hostel and made a ridiculous amount of food. I feel disgusting eating so much meat while I'm here, but I really feel like I would be missing out otherwise. For our last night at Island Vibe we slept outside on the porch under the stars. It sounds better than it actually was - I woke up to some huge bug bites. 

Tuesday - We caught a minibus to Plettenberg Bay. Our hostel there was called Albergo's, and it was much closer to the beach than Island Vibe. A few of us went to visit The Elephant Sanctuary, where you can take the elephants for a walk, ride on them, and feed them. Elephants are definitely up there on my list of favorite animals! In the afternoon we spent more time on the beach, and dinner was at a Mozambique restaurant followed by a group split-up so we could have respective girls' night ins and guys' night outs.

Wednesday - For the last day of our trip we went zip-lining in Tsitskiamma, a national preserve that looks like it's straight out of Jurassic Park. We went over waterfalls along a deep ravine that winds through the misty rainforest surrounding Storms River. It was raining lightly, but they gave us rain jackets, and the grey skies provided the perfect backdrop against the gorgeous vegetation. 

We bummed around in Plet in the afternoon (we had to check out of our hostel that morning), and our overnight bus left at 10:30 that night. The ride was massively uncomfortable - no reclining seats, overcrowded, bumpy. Needless to say we didn't get much sleep. However, it was great to be back in Cape Town this morning. I finally figured out where and when my classes are, and introductory lectures actually begin tomorrow! Unfortunately I still feel like I'm on vacation, but once classes start hopefully things will finally begin to calm down. Time to go enjoy another fabulous, warm South African evening.  

South African-isms

Slowly I'm beginning to incorporate the local lingo into my daily interactions. A few key words:

howzit - hi / what's up

brew - bro

braai - barbeque 

now now - pretty soon

just now - any time between 15 minutes and 6 hours

hubbly - hookah 

taxi - a minibus packed with people that ricochets down the street and honks noisily at pedestrians

cab - private taxi

sundown - watching the sunset on the beach with beers

black - dark black Africans

coloured - mixed racial ethnicity

hectic - lots of meanings including fun, exciting, crowded, etc.

jammie - bus 

Things are still hectic (meaning wonderful and busy) and hopefully I will be able to begin updating regularly once everything settles down. For now I'm simply taking everything in and trying to make sense of it all. Soon to come will be a few initial observations on issues of gender and race, but just now I'm going to get ready for another crazy summer evening. Within a day or two I will also know whether I will be camping through Namibia next week. I can't imagine being in a more amazing place!

Settling Down in Rondebosch

For the first time in days I finally have a few spare minutes, and I'm really not sure where to begin. It's difficult to articulate the immense energy, beauty, and life of this place. Some parts are so familiar and others are more different and wonderful than I could ever have expected or imagined. People talk about the contrasts and contradictions of South Africa (first world clashing with third world), yet Cape Town is not simply an amalgamation of different cultures and socioeconomic conditions. Everything is synthesized, and the whole is so much more complex and rich than the sum of the individual components. It's amazing how entirely aware I am of being in Africa despite the westernization and European influences. The air and sea and mountains have such a distinctive flavor, and I have never met people anything like South Africans. 

Our days are filled with orientation tours and exploration, our nights with music and dancing. The UCT students take us to their favorite bars and clubs, and we meet locals as well as people from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia. Despite a lack of sleep I think we are all running on the natural vitality of this place. Yesterday was a guided tour of the entire peninsula including the Cape of Good Hope. We drove by wineries, saw the penguins, hiked the trail at Cape Point. And somehow, a few of us still managed to stay up until 5:30 to watch the Super Bowl.

Once I'm settled into a routine in Rondebosch (the beautiful village at the foot of UCT and Table mountain) I'll report on more specifics. For now I just feel so blessed to be here, and I wish I could somehow better express how amazing this experience has been so far.