Skip to main content

A Quick! Update!

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.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Taking Up With The House of Joy

Winter finally arrived in Cape Town, and with a vengeance. The weather today is blustery as all get out with heavy rains and winds and a few spots of light drizzling and cold gusts. At the moment it is positively pouring. A great day for nesting. Fortunately, I moved into my new abode today. Most likely, I will be staying here until the end of July. It should work out just fine, provided I can figure out the function of that weird red light that blinks in the corner of this room. The house is in Obs in a residential area near the main strip. It's a riverside walk away from work and not too far from the city center, either. It operates as a venue once a month for poets and musicians and has been dubbed The House of Joy. It has a nice kitchen and a large dining room. The couple from whom I'm letting are very kind. After getting settled, I went across the bridge to Lower Main Road for lunch at Hello Sailor . On the way home, I was able to stock up on spices and oils at the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Like a Muffin with Frosting

This is a metaphor about gender and my relationship to my chest without speaking directly about my chest. I'm like a muffin with frosting. I look like a cupcake, but I'm not. I'm a muffin. And listen, there's nothing wrong with frosting. I love frosting! Frosting is boss! Whether or not frosting is super incredible is not the issue! The issue is that I do not identify with the frosting, particularly because it does not reinforce my identity as a muffin and as it does contribute to other people thinking I'm a cupcake. Really, the only reason to keep the frosting is for other people who really like cupcakes and think that I might be one. Or people who really like muffins and frosting. But the point is keeping the frosting would be to reify the idea that the space I take is only for the pleasure of others--others who like frosting. And it hides my muffin-ness from the world and, most importantly, myself. You might say, fuck pastry rolls!! What is it about frost...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dave Eggers, we're in a fight.

I finally picked up one of your books. So many people I respect and adore think you're marvelous so I broke my once indefinite ban on male authors and picked up a book of short stories. Thus far, I'd enjoyed it. Interesting style and characters and all the other nice things people say about you. Today, I ran out to catch the last dregs of sunlight and read one. It was long and got cold while I was still pages from the end. Intrigued by the characters and wanting to get a sense of closure, I persisted. I may have lifted my ban too soon. I don't want to be too quick to anger, but is there anything at all enlightening in taking one of those cases of unacknowledged rape from the perspective of he who commits? Or perhaps, of course, it is not the responsibility of a writer to be enlightening. It is enough to just describe. Could more not have been done? You wrote it in a way that someone such as myself can see the underwritings of how women will often allow men to have se...
Post a Comment
Read more