circles, spirals and color.

Just got finished with my first class with the UCT capoeira club.

I couldn’t be happier. They are all reeeeally really really really good and super fit. It will definitely be a challenge for me, but I am incredibly thankful for Carcará’s superior training at the U of R. Even though almost everyone is better than me, I know that that actually just doesn’t matter at all. I’m going to be so good when I get back to Rochester. Back flip by December? Maybe…

Plus, I went to a free jazz show yesterday at the college of music. Just an alto sax and piano. If I could reduce life to two things, it would be capoeira and jazz, so yeah, my ears and body are both thanking me for pleasuring them so.

Not very many people wear tie dye here. I wore my brightest rainbow tie dye shirt to Stones last night and got a lot of really amusing positive attention for it. “Oh hey man, sporting the hippie vibe, cool!” It’s kind of goofy, but I met some pretty cool people as a result.

I had my first IES class today, the Environmental Management and Sustainable Development course. It is a pretty good group of people. It’s also kind of depressing, though. Devastating, actually. (learning about ecology and the ravaging of the environment, that is.) It’s okay though, that’s why we’re studying it as a subject and not just musing about it.

Two more things:

My favorite piece of South African lingo is definitely that they say, ‘Is it?’ for everything. It’s like in place of, ‘Is that so?’

“I lost my phone.”

“Is it?”

haha.

And lastly – if I die here, it’s going to be because I get hit by a car. I’m fairly optimistic that this won’t occur, but the scariest part of my day is absolutely crossing the street. The cross walks never turn ‘go’ and people drive somewhat maniacally.

On that note, going dancing is definitely in order for me soon. I can’t wait until it warms up more so I can do more outdoors things, too.

Here’s a quote from one of my readings:

“No one should have their creative or spiritual potential limited by expectations to conformity.” – Olive Schreiner

Cheers, vaya con dios.

Nkosi sikelel iAfrika

I guess I’ll start with the sonnet I wrote in Langa the other night.

O afrika, god bless your people’s land.

from heart to limb, effuse your spirit now.

to you we owe the long lives we have spanned;

for history, it’s you who takes the bow.

One Sunlight hovers in a golden glow,

One Love dwells lively in the whole of space.

combined, the earthly being starts to grow,

revealing self and other, time and place.

in Afrika, diversity is real;

(it takes two turns to catch up with your eyes)

the Voices are what make your insides feel

the harmony beneath all else which lies.

Sing, Afrika, Sing and you will be heard –

The People need the truth that’s in your word.

School started yesterday.

Here is a brief description of my classes:

Religion, Spirituality & Ecology.

It’s about the equilibrium of all things. How we messed it up and how we’re going to formulate a new globo-cultural ethos to fix it. World saving stuff, you know.

I’m so impressed with this class even though there have only been two lectures so far. It’s genius and it’s absurd that this sort of thing isn’t the main focus of all discussions everywhere. Everyone in it seems to be quite well spoken and to have valuable insight on the issue. The professor is also a funky Norwegian lady with a lot of knowledge.

History of South Africa in the 20^th century.

Since high school, I haven’t taken a class strictly about history. Religion and politics, sure, but this is just history. Nice. The lecturer seems great and I am excited to learn about gold.

South African Political Thought.

Studying the development of the way a culture thinks is awfully interesting. We’ve started with Rhodes… Wow! I can’t believe I’ve never learned this stuff before. South Africans know American history, why don’t we know any single thing about Africa? I really like the professor of this class, he is very earnest and open to whatever we care to bring to his table.

Environmental Management and Sustainable Development.

This is my IES class and I haven’t taken it yet, but basically it’s like the science version of my first class. The teacher of this class gave an awesome presentation which enticed me to sign up:

“How old are you? How long do you want to live? What’s the world going to like then? We’re changing our planet and we can no longer do it as haphazardly as has been done in the past. Let’s study it.” Something like that only a lot more powerful.

This past weekend I spent in a homestay in the township called Langa. (here are the pics. I'm trying to include them in the blog but I think the connection is perhaps too slow.) Townships are basically designated zones into which black people were forced when the white people started taking over. They still exist today. What do you think of when you think of a township?

I guess I expected mostly poverty, but it’s not necessarily that way. There is rich and poor in the townships as there is everywhere else. My family’s house was quite plain and small with no decorations or art save a single tall standing vase in the living room. There was a kitchen and a few rooms. Nevertheless, they had a Samsung television and a Sony sound system. My mother’s name was Viola and with her lives her 17-year-old daughter named Lilitha. They speak Xhosa – it’s a click language! Whoever thought I would be learning words with clicks in them.

Our group arrived in Langa in several 10-seater minibuses on Friday night, each of us going to our own individual houses (although some people were paired up to be together.) Langa is considered to be a fairly small township, although 200,000 people seems like an awfully large population of a community that is ‘small,’ if you ask me. There are many different sections to it. The first section I recall had roofs mostly of tin and houses that were all in one conjunct kind of fashion, separated by walls with their front yards spilling into the roads. Kids were everywhere.

I wouldn’t say that I personally fancy township lifestyle, however there is definitely something to be said for such a cohesive community of people. When I say kids were everywhere, I mean they were running around joyously in the streets, playing soccer, riding on little playmobil-type tricycles, chasing each other, laughing, dancing, running into the arms of these strange young foreigners coming to tour their home. They know each other. More importantly, they know themselves. They know themselves and their families and their friends’ families and they know where to go and what to do all the time. That’s pretty awesome.

Friday night I spent mostly in a chair in the corner of Viola’s kitchen, watching these and those goings on. There were a lot of knocks on the door of visitors and neighbors coming in for a chat. They were all quite friendly and stopped to introduce themselves to me before carrying on their business in Xhosa.

I’m definitely a fan of sitting and listening to people speak another language. It’s quite nice. There’s no pressure because I am in no way responsible for the content of their conversation – I just sit there and let the cadence of their speech lull me into quite a meditative and contemplative state. I would describe Xhosa as spiraling upward and back while still carrying on in a forward-moving linear fashion. The tones are open and full, like the sound of a trombone. Your whole jaw is involved in forming the chamber of your mouth which will allow the words to resonate properly. ‘Ingooooooooosi,’ that’s how you say thank you. And to say, ‘I like the moon,’ is, ‘da-ee-tan-da nnnnniaaannga.’ But be careful, because judging by the reactions I got from the Xhosi to whom I said these things, the word for ‘the moon’ and ‘this place’ are one and the same. Kind of cool, in an existential way.

Friday night not a lot else happened. I guess they enjoy watching tv. Although I generally repudiate mental saturation by television, it seemed somehow cultural to watch Predator and Bad Company and goofy African soap operas in the company of Viola and their family friend.

Saturday morning we got a tour of Langa. This day I got to see that some people in Langa aren’t living so badly at all. One family had a BMW and a huge house with a beautiful sun room. We went to the Catholic church, which was the central force for infrastructure at the time of Langa’s establishment, creating schools and medical facilities and whatnot. We saw the sports center, which was several big rugby and soccer fields, and they told us about how sports is a huge factor in uniting South Africans. We know this from Invictus and the world cup, of course.

We also saw the cultural center, where musicians and artists gather to do awesome things together. A man put on a short play for us (just a long monologue, really) and we watched this group of kids in a marimba ensemble perform. They just blew my mind, really, they were so young! David Burchi would love their spirit, not to mention their rhythm. Way more genuine and enthusiastic than any percussion ensemble in the states. Plus, the songs were beautiful.

We saw the Amy Biehl memorial and the site of the gunning down of the Guguletu 7. That was pretty weird. I remember watching that Amy Biehl documentary in Mrs. Wolf’s class sophomore year and groaning about it and of course never considering that I might actually be in the very spot where she was killed.

Our tour guides were great. One of them wrote a poem about the Guguletu 7 that won a national prize and recited it to us on location. Melesesue, Mike and Sabu. Sabu’s family owned a restaurant and many of us in our group spent the night there hanging out on the roof talking to locals and getting to know everyone around us.

That night was probably my favorite part.

It’s just this:

Africans are so freaking intelligent. I think they’re just really motivated to learn, and that’s awesome. Politics, economics, history, religion – they can school any American in any debate about anything. That makes talking to them super cool, because they also have a genuine understanding of who they are and even who we are and what it’s like for everyone to just be themselves but to coalesce in society, in modernity. Venus was on one side and the moon was on the other and we had many amazing conversations about life, Africa, water, the future, music, the past and so on.

At some point Will, Sam, Abe, Melesesue and I walked down to the corner where there was a big fire and people cooking chicken burgers – which is basically a huge drumstick between two pieces of bread. We walked around just a little bit together and then made it back to the restaurant and eventually back to our houses.

Sunday I was dead on my feet. I was pretty intensely affected by the energy of the whole experience. Something Melesesue said to me:

Africans are the most powerful people because they have maintained a strong and cohesive connection to their ancestry, to who they really are and where they are coming from, despite all else. They’ve got it. They’re all in this together and they know so. When it comes time for them to rise up, it’ll be something the world has never before seen.

So that was the home stay in the township.

I’ll think I’ll probably be able to go back there because I am going to be volunteering with a group called Ubunye. I’ll go to a township once weekly and have a class of ten or so 11^th graders and I’ll go and do things like goal-setting workshops (using a curriculum provided for me by the Ubunye people.) This I am excited for.

The week prior to the township consisted mainly of UCT orientation and logistical things. I went to the beach one day – the Indian Ocean! Amazing. The sand is the kind of sand that is nicely packed down with a powdery surface on top. Beneath the surface, the sand is moist enough that castles and towers made from it will easily hold shape. The sand closer to the water is the kind that you can squeeze with your fist and allow it to drip into drippy castles and towers that harden with an underwater fairytale sort of look.

So here I am, it’s been two days of classes. I’m really psyched for all the school stuff that is to come. I’m going to learn a bunch and be really smart. That’s the goal.

I never thought UCT would be too cool for me, though, and it just might be. Everyone looks super sharp all the time. Funky hair and well-put-together outfits and man, there are just so many people! I am thankful I did my undergrad at a fairly small institution, although this is definitely exciting and fun. The food is good, though, and I’m beginning to get to know my way around pretty well. Plus, I see people in my group often enough. I don’t want to see them too much because it’s hard to make friends when you’re with people you know, but luckily we are all pretty much on the same page in that respect. I met one girl in my religion class this morning whom I liked a lot. Her name is Naram, maybe? She is doing her masters in African studies and perhaps has inspired me to look into doing the same thing.

Last night was a full moon and we did the full moon ritual. (Bag me, bag me, bag me!) Next time it will be on the top of Lion’s Head, a nearby peak next to Table Mountain.

Afrika, man. Everything here is so profound.

I’m feeling the love, I can’t really help it.

om.

Oh yeah, and I just finished my book, The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. If you want to dig the South African mentality, or even if you just want to read a really awesome novel, I strongly recommend this one. Peekay is the man. (and thanks to Gary Butler for loaning it to me)

Photo batch uno:

here are my pictures from south africa besides those from the world cup:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anisvea/sets/72157624521729278/

there are more not in the set. I also need to make a batch of 'going out' pics.

Today Lilya and I explored town! I got just what a wanted out of the day. A nice lunch, a few purchases (purse & sunglasses), some water, some city, the wheel of excellence (ferris wheel), the market and a lot of walking and train riding. Joy!

This weekend I will be going on a homestay in a township. (!!!)

hurray!

minor adventure overview

The most noteworthy are:

1. I hopped onto a moving train

2. One of the 'girls' in my program turns out to be 32.

3. A bunch of mace was sprayed in the bar I was in last night.

4. I met my perfect match (but so far he's disappeared on me)

Our orientation for the University of Cape Town has begun. Last night there were around 300 of us in a room, each with a djembe, and a group of drummers from West Africa led us in a bunch of songs for almost an hour.

The last few days have been rather tame, but I think that is somewhat necessary. After all, it's winter.

I'll go into a little bit more detail soon. Things are definitely interesting.

Let it begin

Today marks a week since I left for Cape Town!

The experience thus far is a bit difficult to word process, but to say that this will be the best five months of my life is certainly no hyperbole.

I think I’ll start with how thankful I am to be with such an inclusive and fun loving community of people. There are 21 of us on this program – we are here with IES, or the International Education of Students. It is a group diverse in character and rich in spirit. There are four boys…Most people are from the coasts (although there is one girl from Kansas) and most people didn’t previously know each other, although there are five of us from my home institution, the University of Rochester.

This week has been orientation and it definitely reminds me of the kind of wild nights that are supposed to be had during college orientation, the ones that set the tone for the year with a proper amount of enthusiasm. We’ve been doing everything all together and hey, it turns out that we love each other. (sweet)

I’m used to having a 24/7 hangout lounge and it’s kind of hard to not have one place where everyone is centrally located (although most of us are connected because we live in the same apartment complex) but luckily two of the boys have an apartment with a living room with couches and a sound system and they love having people over. That has been the nightly gathering spot; the watering hole, if you will.

Anyway, everyone I’m with is really cool. Not a moment to waste.

Okay, so now I’ll start at the beginning.

I got in at 11pm. The airport was sparsely populated and it didn’t take long to get my things together. I was to be picked up by my couch surfing host, a guy named Shane Smart who turned out to be one of the most considerate, generous and humble people I’ve ever met. A good person to give you your first impression of Cape Town. He took me driving around a little bit, through the city and up to the top of this hill with a view that overlooks the Atlantic, the new stadium, the whole of Cape Town and the beautiful and majestic Table Mountain. The mountain was lit up with big spot lights at the base of it. I guess they do that sometimes, in this case for the World Cup, which was to end the following day.

This is a good place to marvel at the mountain for a moment, which is kind of hard to do since breathtaking life doesn’t transfer onto the typed page very well. It’s breathtaking. Every time I round a corner and see the grandiose mountain it trivializes everything I’m thinking about or doing completely. The words ‘wow’ and ‘ah!’ and ‘awe!’ and all those other exclamations are born from this very sort of thing. And you can see it from everywhere (including my balcony). Yes. A positive affirmation of everything that is.

Shane had another couch surfer staying with him when I got there, a lovely Argentinean woman named Corina. On Sunday, (the following day) the three of us went all over together. Shane took us around the Cape peninsula. Holy crap, man, I think I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves as far as the scenery goes. It’s unbelievable. Ridiculous. My reaction to it emotionally resides some place in that gray area where fury and passion and awe mingle to stir your inner mysterium tremendum, if you will.

The towns and little bay areas we stopped at were all cool and cute and there were many independently owned shops with beautiful and interesting things. Each place reminded me of a small oceanside town along the Pacific Coast… Except these places were along the Indian Ocean.

That’s right, the Indian Ocean. I can’t believe I’m seeing it. Que bueno, no?

We saw the penguins and the southernmost tip of the Cape. We saw a lot of greenery, a lot of ocean and a lot of sky. Shane took us to a lot of beaches to check out the surf because he is a water surfer in addition to the couch kind. I liked seeing lots of beach spots. I can’t believe the juxtaposition of ocean and mountain. Thank you thank you thank you, what a grace. The weather is totally fine, considering that it’s winter. It’s extremely variable. Yesterday I was wearing a short sleeve shirt and jeans and other days I have had to wear at least 5 layers. So basically it is like late March in Rochester… which is completely alright with me because every day it is only going to get better and better and better and better and better exponentially.

After we drove around the Cape we went into the city to get into the Fan Fest for the final match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. One of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had.

Mmmm….Ooooo……Mmmmmm…..Oooooo…..Mmmmmmmmmmmm…. yeah.

I’m not a very good estimate, but there must have been close to 25,000 people there. And yes, you could see perfectly – the screen was huge! There were vendors and food and drinks et cetera. The spirit of the crowd was super high and excited. It was very internationally represented, although most people seemed to be South African.

‘South Africans.’ Talk about diversity. I mean, America is a melting pot or whatever…but not really. People surely interact with people of cultural backgrounds than their own, but here there is what you might call proportional representation everywhere you go. Thank God. I think it is because they consciously did away with segregation in such a modern era. Obviously things take time to change, but people are shamelessly forthcoming about race and really everything and I love it.

So the World Cup was really fun. I met a lot of people because everyone was friendly and nice. Shane’s friend Mark was there and he was a really funny happy guy in a red aloha shirt. Spain won. You could see the mountain and Venus.

Venus is here! I’m so surprised. Venus and I became well acquainted during my time in Phoenix because I would go outside and look at her every night. I guess she is over the equator so she is visible from both hemispheres. Man, the first time I went outside and saw the stars was an exciting moment, indeed. I think I saw the other half of the Milky Way! WOWOWOWOW!!!!!

Venus, the mountain, the people, the football… We had gotten there four and a half hours early, too. There were bands and stuff in the time preceding the game. Ayoba, ayoba, that’s what you say here. It’s kind of like a South African version of sababa, maybe. It can mean whatever you want, but basically the gist of it…well, I don’t want to swear, but sometimes all you can say is ‘fuck yeah.’ (Shout out to Cait Munro right here)

I guess that’s pretty much the reader’s digest condensed version (Mr. Kelly) of Sunday, July 11^th.

Monday was my day to move in. Corina and I spent the morning walking around Shane’s neighborhood. He lives in a place that is hard to pronounce but is on the north side of the bay. Which is SWEET because while it is extra rad to be nested at the base of the mountain, I think the mountain view from across the bay is a necessary and equally glorious supplement.

Corina and I walked to the mall and I got a cell phone. Nokia, nice. We ate pizza! It was pretty good. Everything is spiced here. Philip, whom I sat next to on the airplane, told me I would think of him when I ate the food because he told me how much more flavor it has than American food, how everything has many spices and is just generally more complex. Well, he was right. And the food is mucho ayoba. I haven’t had a bad meal yet. It’s basically just a lot of dishes, many of them contained all sorts of prepared meat with sauces and texture.

We then went back to the apartment and Shane picked me up and took me to my very own apartment just below the university. (It is on a mountain, remember.)

What a cool apartment it is! Today I decorated it with rainbow colored tissue paper. I am in the process of making a Photosynth of my room but the internet is very slow here.

That’s one thing that is interesting – the Cape Tonians are super modern in some areas and extremely undeveloped in others. I consider that very positive because it means there is a huge potential for a positively booming market here.

In fact, mark my words – Cape Town will be the headquarters of the new world order. They have their problems right now, but the solutions that will come about to make everything all better are going to make this place the sort of heavenly abode that the world will naturally have to follow because it will perfectly harmonious. I’m so serious and it is possible (yes it is). Boom shankar.

I have a big room, big bed, big desk, a BALCONY and a couch! Yaaaaaaaay. My roommate is Amy and she is lovely and easy going and a good person with whom to share a flat.

Monday night our group met for the first time. I’m not going to lie, I was somewhat hesitant at first. I took on a very receptive mode and played myself with subtlety. My reaction was pretty much, ‘Half of these people I might normally spend my time with, the other half probably not.’ That might still be true, but I am nevertheless terribly overjoyed that we are all forced to one. It’s like a family. It’s like Phi Sig.

Our directors introduced themselves and boy are they the kindest and most lovely and caring people. Maxine, Naomi & Portia. We got cell phones and internet, ate a gatsby (like a garbage plate with spices and in a sandwich!) and were on our merry way for the night.

Monday night was the perfect blast off. We spent the whole time at a place on Long Street (the center of Cape Town’s nightlife) called the Dubliner. There was a dj who was playing a variety of nineties hits, Eurotek music and modern music and he was personally singing all the lyrics! Very amusing. I saw a woman pee in the sink in the bathroom. Everyone who went out had a blast, I think there were 11 of us that night. Also, my new friends Will and Ben and I took a ride with some girls who gave us an extensive explanation of all the places on Long Street that night which I will have to remember for the future. Hooray!

Tuesday we started orientation at noon. Sorcha (a friend with whom I worked teaching preschoolers back in Rochester this past year) and I went and bought groceries in the morning. There is a little neighborhood (kind of reminds me of Columbia City but slightly larger) down the street a little ways with shops and cafes and probably everything we’ll need. Rondebosch is what it is called.

Orientation was swell. Just filled with details we have to know.

Tuesday night we went to a place in Rondebosch called Side Bar where we met another group of American students studying abroad, CIEE. I must say… not to be boastful, but our program seems to be far superior. They are aren’t allowed to move into their residences until tomorrow (tomorrow is Saturday), they didn’t have cell phones yet, and after being in Cape Town for two days they still hadn’t met with their whole group. There are also around 130 of them. IES was a good choice.

Wednesday night we started at a place near us called Stones. It is a big place with maybe 18-22 pool tables. Okay, one weird thing – the billiard balls here are small and light! It made for a very difficult and long game at Side Bar the previous night. I’m no pool shark but I know it wasn’t just my skill.

Aaron Weissman, my friend from the U of R, studied abroad here last semester and is still here now! So he came to Stones with us (with his friend, also) and afterward we all went to Long Street together. We went to a place called the Waiting Room and cruised around to a few other spots as well. It was super cool to see Aaron, a nice little dose of home to verify my experience.

Yesterday ‘Mystery Sam’ finally showed up. He is the fourth boy who was absent from ZA for the first few days of our program. We were all kind of curious about him and now that he’s here it’s kind of exciting. We all ate at the Baxter theatre, a place very near our apartments (which are in an area called Rosebank).

Afterward all the U of R students minus Sorcha (Susie and Leigh and Charlie/Charlene) plus this charming and bright-faced girl from Chicago named Lilya and I walked down the main street and went in lots of stores. We walked all the way to a mall about a half an hour away. It was big and looked like a mall in the US. I was super tired after that and went home and napped for awhile.

Last night was probably my favorite night. We went to this place called Zula’s to see this dj spin some old school funk and r & b. The dancing is awesome here, I feel totally free and energized. Aaron and his friend Jackson came out with us again. It was quite enjoyable.

Today was the last day of orientation and this afternoon I decorated my room and worked on uploading things. This whole documentation thing is awfully hard, but I know it’s worth it. It’s also kind of fun.

So basically I’m in love and things couldn’t be better. Om namah sivaya, praise the Lord. (Shout out to Jessalyn)

Some terminology for the FYI element of life –

Black, white and colored. Colored people are the people who are not black and white, like Indians and Hispanics. It is not racially offensive. Good. I’ve always thought that if we use the word black we might as well use the word colored. I get that it’s about the stigma, but I think it’s time to get over that. So black, white and colored. And it’s not weird to talk about. Like I said, people are forthcoming.

Now, now now, and just now. Cape Town is another one of those places that chills with the clock. Now is sometime soon, just now is some time soon but with a lot of room for the future, and now now is somewhere in the range in between.

Okay. CAPE TOWN. Update number one.

Hope it wasn’t boring for anyone, I know that it’s pretty long. Pretty darn long. If I stop updating ever someone should email me and encourage me to continue because I don’t want to lose track of all this lovely life.

Rainbow nation indeed. Pictures soon to follow! For now I only have ones of the World Cup, but the ones of nature and friends are doubly spectacular.

World Cup Pics

paz y luz

jessie