Of Two Minds

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 ...

Or is it that we just always forget to look for them? A warm shower under a starry sky on a cool night and a promise to myself to be kind, strong, forgiving, and motivated with the hope that I will someday forge the same compassion in my relationship with myself that I have found easily in my relationship with my boyfriend and take for granted in my relationships with my family. Yeah, I guess it has been a good two months.

Between facebook statuses and frustrated blog posts, I haven't done the best job of articulating my experience here and letting everyone know all of the great things that are happening. This Summer has not been what I expected nor what I would have tailor made for myself, but it has been engaging. I think I'm learning a lot though I can't yet decide exactly what. Aside from personal growing experiences, my time here has also been great for a number of reasons. Cape Town is beautiful. Its one of the cleanest cities I've ever visited and the night life is exciting. There are plenty of bars blaring the worst music 1990s USA has to offer, but there's a lot of great live music and interesting djs. The city is also built around Table Mountain , which makes for difficult navigation but gorgeous views. My walk to and from work lets me see it in all states of changing light and reminds me how privileged I am. but in a good way. Observatory, where I live, has a lot of cha...

General Conversation, Getting Around rand >> south african unit of commercial exchange R8 >> $1 cheers >> bye petrol >> gas ..., hey? >> ..., amirite? minibus >> minivans and the informal form of transit most people take. surprisingly safe, affordable, and reliable. the fare taker may attempt swindling you out of some rand, though. Food chips >> fries spinach >> swiss chard english spinach >> spinach sweet potato >> something that looks in shape/texture like a sweet potato, but has red skin and white flesh. apparently they also have orange sweet potatoes and white sweet potatoes. I have not yet spotted a white sweet potato. The red version is cooks up softer than orange ones like we have. yam >> yuca, maybe? i have never seen a vegetable like this in person before.  roughed up, almost pineapple-like brown skin, white interior. kale, unfortunately, does not exist here. peanut butter, strangely, does, mak...

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 ...

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 enoug...

Hey All! Wednesday morning I take off for South Africa. I'll be using this blog for the updates, so stay tuned! Also, I totally got a deal on skype so I can call cell phones and LAN lines all Summer. AWESOME. If you want, Skype is totally free and does not require a webcam, but that's kind of what makes it awesome. Go to skype.com Near the top, skype is written in blue and white. To the right of that is a menu bar. Scroll over "get skype" then, under Computer, select the type of computer you have. Download free skype. The rest should be straight forward but send me an email if you have any difficulties. Once you have skype, go to Contacts > Add Contacts You can search for me either using my full name, Alexandria Eisenbarth, or my skype name, alexandria.e I think Arizona and Washington are in the same time zone right now. I'll be 9 hours ahead of you folks. East coasters, I'll be 6 hours ahead of you. So if you live West, when its 8 am there, it...