Kultur Shoek In Three Parts

Before I start, this post began writing on Tuesday or Monday, I believe, but due to an internet failure at the house, no longer working where there is mostly reliable internet, and cafe wifi being abominable, i've only been able to post it just now. And its not the quality of writing i'd really like and due to the rushed nature of borrowing internet it's a little scattered.

Act I: A conclusion

In the final week, I am home sick and tired. The home sickness is actually helpful because it reminds me that I should make this time count. The tiredness, however, is very much getting in the way. Weather reports are wildly innaccurate more than 24 hours out, though, so i don't really have a sense of what to expect. I still have yet to actually get on Table Mountain. I would love to have a nice long day-hike. Dayhike? Day hike.

Initially, I was really reluctant to be upset about being in Cape Town. I mean, I've read so many other people write things about Cape Town being the Europe of Africa, but I've been reluctant to sign on to that myself because there's something problematic about it. And maybe something voyeuristic about my desire to go to “the real Africa.” For two months. In one city. In the most giant continent on the planet. hm.

What I really wanted, though, was to see something different. I almost went to Grinnell, IA for college. Instead I went to Boston. In addition to Boston, my adulthood residences have been Seattle and New York. My international trips include Reykjavik, Paris, a festival in England, and Vancouver BC. I have never thought of myself as a city girl, and yet here I am working on urban development when I was really hoping to get peri-urban. 

As soon as I came to term with my disappointment, though, I was able to start opening myself to the things that are neat. So what, it's a city. The succulent craze that has taken over Brooklyn and weddings is also alive and well here, too. The San Francisco comparison is often made in reference to the wind, the temperate summers that are still cold cuz of the wind, the hills, hippy-ish tendencies, and the wind coming down the hill into biscuit mill and everyone's hippy-ish tendencies. Juice is available without preservatives. Most laundry detergent has fragrance in it. There's a couple bike lanes, dub step, and the national circus. 

I was hoping that, this Summer, I would learn if I wanted to pursue [adjective] development in Africa. But I don't think I really have a sense of that at this point. Essentially, I didn't really learn or experience any of the things I expected to or wanted to. But I did experience and learn a lot. And, in the end, that perhaps puts me in a better place.

Act II: This is, in fact, my beautiful house.

 I finally made it out to the District 6 museum. It was quite small but really cool all the same. Very well organised space. By focusing us on District 6 in the context of apartheid, rather than the other way around, it did a great job of reminding me that apartheid is something that happened to a bunch of people living their lives. Apartheid is most interesting (read: holding interest rather than exciting) in that people were affected by it not because it is a unique governmental policy.

I made it out to Muizenberg this week, too. Achilles and I hiked past St. James and climbed up the side of a restaurant instead of turning around once we realised the beach had no outlet. Muizenberg is beautiful and it was a sunny day with baby waves. Perfect for learning to surf. It wasn't for my fear of hitting my head, oceans, sharks, and the glare on the water provided by the sun that makes SHARK VISIBILITY DIFFICULT FOR THE SHARK LOOKER-OUTERS!! wtf, Cape Town? Not okay with the sharks.

Since eating is apparently still my favorite thing: restaurants in Cape Town have some things going on. Namely: ambiance, font, windows, presentation, and being chill as fok. Most places are happy to make substitutions and many seem to be quite aware of various food restrictions. However, most restaurants are not as good as I'd like to report. I'm chalking it up to the vaguely sweet bbq-sauce taste that is omnipresent. Or at least often present. Others disagree. Curry, though, typically amazeballs.

Dear Me was a success. Mostly-delicious meals with respect for food restrictions and great wine pairings. On top of this find is Tjing Tjing, a vaguely Asian-themed rooftop bar that has a cool vibe, couches, and cottage-chic architecture.

In addition to being a little ashamed of my complete and total love of the Biscuit Mill, I've managed to find the most like-home places in town. The bar with paper tablecloths that I remembered as: called the something and the something... but the somethings are both abstract nouns. AND where I just learned I can get pickle backs (Montana) !! AND somehow previously missed that you can throw the peanut shells on the ground. (The Redwood)

Also, made it in to 31, a bar on the 31st floor of the ABSA building with windows all around. Flashbacks from the ole alma matter. Couldn't resist.

So what I did get, in addition to the comforts of my subculture group, includes mostly, perspective. On myself, the US, other people. In that spirit, an aside:

Sometimes i feel like hipsterdom in some reaches has effected everyone. It turns out, in little ways, we all get irony. Everyone likes having stone-faced wedding pictures where they are an awkward distance away from their partner, with some kind of vintage furniture and maybe a rug in the middle of the forest. People like understated fonts when they're describing something awesome.

In some ways i feel like a hipster is not a type of person, but actually a design movement with maybe some vague ideology behind it. Like modernism or Picasso's blue period. 

Anyway, I've stopped being worried about it.

Act III: A little more conversation

more south african >> american translations

boot >> trunk of the car

lykker >> awesome

hectic >> adjective of choice for “busy”

quite >> adverb of choice for “very”

bru >> bro/brah

man >> punctuation of endearment

ag >> shoot. pronounced “achh,” kind of.

jol >> fun

fok >> fuck

::secret handshake:: >> thats just a regular handshake.

gherkins >> pickles

dill gherkins >> bread and butter pickles

just now >> a point in time, but not this one.

Emma actually said “I'll be here for dinner just now,” as she was leaving to go to school for an hour. And then “...in the very South African meaning of the word.” It can also be used to refer to the recent past, as in “we were there just now.” Whereas, “I'll be with you now,” depends on the person and situation, but typically means roughly 5 minutes.

Now, we are ready to take some of the words we've learned over this 7 week course and put together a dialogue:

Let's go to a Braai!

hey, bru! Howzit?

My friend! Howzit?

:: secret handshake ::

We're having a braai tonight, eh? Should be a real jol. 

Is it? It's been quite rainy just now.

Yao yeah but the sun's coming out. 

Yeah, hey. It's been quite hectic at work. Where's it?

Just down the road. Two robots down at Kyle's.

Sounds great, man. I'll see you.

Great, I'll be there just now. I'm heading to the store.

I can grab something, man. Do we have chips?

Ney, but we've got some yam.

Ay yeah! I've got baby marrow for skewers.

Lykker. Cheers, man.
Cheers!