Cape Town is beautiful. The weather is beautiful. The hostel is ... bearable. My classmates are fantastic.
So far, I've been alternating between nervous and excited which is usually a good sign. I'm pretty disoriented still and I have no idea what to expect and I won't even really now what's happening until Tuesday or Wednesday I bet.
Some thoughts
On Internet:
While the hostel has it, my computer refuses to recognize it, and those who are able to connect are regularly kicked off. However, at this cafe, it's totally good. I don't think it's a Cape Town problem, I think it's a hostel problem.
On Race:
I have already heard three people make comments ... actually, less comments and more whispered points in conversation about how dangerous black people are, one older white woman, one man from Botswana (east asian? i think that gets classified as "Indian" here, regardless), and one black man from Zimbabwe. I... am not thinking clearly enough to give a useful perspective on this.
On Transportation:
The train from Pinelands in to Cape Town is awesome. Busy and bustling. Today, one man gave a sermon all the way into the city center, three women were sorting and bundling mustard greens (?), swiss chard, and chives. People were selling all kinds of things. The other day we took a train with a ton of youth running around and leaning their heads out the train doors and pushing each other around. "School kids are the same everywhere," Achilles, laughing. It was adorable, but the mother hen-ness i inherited from mom had me freaking out that they would fall out the train. Other than that it's super safe. Taxis are everywhere and easy to get and bargain with.
On Food:
Delicious and not too hard to stick to my diet... except that I love trying new things... so sometimes I do. I did manage to eat some amazing Ethiopian with my hands (no Injera). The water is totally fine to drink and the fresh vegetables are sitting well with me which is pretty exciting.
I'm having a hard time keeping my head straight and I think I owe the New School Economic Review a blog post, so that concludes today's edition.
If you have international calling, by the way, let me know if you want my South African number.
So far, I've been alternating between nervous and excited which is usually a good sign. I'm pretty disoriented still and I have no idea what to expect and I won't even really now what's happening until Tuesday or Wednesday I bet.
Some thoughts
On Internet:
While the hostel has it, my computer refuses to recognize it, and those who are able to connect are regularly kicked off. However, at this cafe, it's totally good. I don't think it's a Cape Town problem, I think it's a hostel problem.
On Race:
I have already heard three people make comments ... actually, less comments and more whispered points in conversation about how dangerous black people are, one older white woman, one man from Botswana (east asian? i think that gets classified as "Indian" here, regardless), and one black man from Zimbabwe. I... am not thinking clearly enough to give a useful perspective on this.
On Transportation:
The train from Pinelands in to Cape Town is awesome. Busy and bustling. Today, one man gave a sermon all the way into the city center, three women were sorting and bundling mustard greens (?), swiss chard, and chives. People were selling all kinds of things. The other day we took a train with a ton of youth running around and leaning their heads out the train doors and pushing each other around. "School kids are the same everywhere," Achilles, laughing. It was adorable, but the mother hen-ness i inherited from mom had me freaking out that they would fall out the train. Other than that it's super safe. Taxis are everywhere and easy to get and bargain with.
On Food:
Delicious and not too hard to stick to my diet... except that I love trying new things... so sometimes I do. I did manage to eat some amazing Ethiopian with my hands (no Injera). The water is totally fine to drink and the fresh vegetables are sitting well with me which is pretty exciting.
I'm having a hard time keeping my head straight and I think I owe the New School Economic Review a blog post, so that concludes today's edition.
If you have international calling, by the way, let me know if you want my South African number.
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