Hello!! Wow, what a week it has been! My travels began with the move out of Bravo St. on May 1st. It was a task that did not seem possible, and would not have been with out the help of so many: Lace, Sutts, Mal, Scootty, Maddie, Salazar, Emily and Bus Bus you are all champions! I can’t believe we actually made the deadline!
Friday came and with no home to return to Bus and I were left with a dog bowl and the clothes in my backpack. How simple things were already becoming. Jess was kind enough to take us in for the night, letting us crash on her futon, thanks to Sam too for the space. Art walk that Friday brought us all together in an unplanned farewell at the San Sebastien Winery. I am grateful I had the opportunity to be with everyone together one last time.
Hunt came up Saturday and we spent the day wondering, a few errands here and there but taking it easy for the most part. In the evening he graciously drove me to the airport where I was finally off!
The flight to London was not bad for the most part. Unfortunately delays at the Dallas airport turned out to be a major stressor. I had to run clear across the airport to the international terminal (the skytrains were turned off due to weather) only to discover that my flight now wouldn't be leaving for another 3 hours. This of course caused me to miss my train from London to Liverpool. I managed to catch another one though, and after 6 hours of blurred but beautiful green fields and red brick I finally made it to Shafa.
I was only there for one full day for which it rained but it was still worth it. Shafa showed me around the big city and his school (U of Liverpool). We ate a traditional English breakfast of sausage (I had veggie sausages that were fried to a degree that was pretty awful), eggs, toast, tomatoes, mushrooms and beans. We did a little bit of shopping and while I was prepared for things to be expensive I still couldn't help but be shocked by the outrageous prices next to my meager USDollars.
The next day (Tuesday now I think) I turned around and reluctantly got right back on the train headed to London Euston. From there it was the underground (they really do say 'mind the gap' repeatedly at every stop) to Heathrow Airport which is pretty much a small city in itself. I had to take another train at the airport once I figured out which terminal I was in.
The British Airways flight to Cape Town was actually pretty sweet, with decent food, personal bottles of wine and unlimited entertainment to chose from. I watched Bride Wars and Benjamin Button (Lace, I don't blame you for not wanting to see it again, how incredibly long it was!) And before I knew I was back in my homeland.
It was early morning at this point, and as I did not see my name anywhere I decided to venture outside. The fog rolling in off the mountains was absolutely incredible, a magical blanket for the whole town. Mystified and FREEZING I stood waiting until I heard my name called over the loudspeaker, requesting that I meet my party at the information desk. I wandered over to find my new friend Sly (short for Sylvester). He had a huge smile and bundle of dreads looped under a beanie, he’s a really cool guy (it turns out that Sly is my driver to and from work). At the airport he was wearing sweats and a thick fleece hoodie and I immediately knew I was nowhere near prepared for the weather here.
We headed to my new house first, passing a few townships on the way to Obs (short for the Observatory, where I live now). My landlord, Lindiwe, met us at the house and handed over my new room key, house key and gate key. There are metal barred gates on all entrances here, even local shops etc, where you have to be buzzed in. My room was not exactly what I had expected. Pretty tiny, pretty dirty, and very dark. I have 2 windows that look out to the concrete wall that surrounds the property, not exactly a lovely view. Due to the wall little sunlight makes it in, making for very poor lighting. The more time I spend in it though, the more it seems to become my own. Mom I have your card up on my windowsill, it makes for a homey addition. Second only to a raincoat the one thing I really regret not bringing is pictures of you all. My walls are so barren and lonely (hint, hint).
The house is large, with 17 available rooms, 15 of which are filled. There are 3 bathrooms that never seem to have TP (that’s another interesting story, I keep buying it and it keeps disappearing within a couple hours). The kitchen is nice and open. Even though there are 4 fridges there was very little space left for Scott and I to put our groceries, we kind of had to cram stuff around. We managed to grab a cupboard shelf as well were we store our bread and instant coffee (ugh!). I woke up the first morning, due to be at the VAC office for orientation early, only to find that there was not a single coffee-making device in the house. With this many students in one place how could this be possible?! I have now discovered that real coffee is pretty uncommon here. The restaurants rarely have drip coffee, mostly serving only espresso drinks. Scott and I have had to grudgingly settle for the instant coffee for our mornings, let’s just say it’s a touchy subject.
We are the only interns in the house, with everyone else studying at U of Cape Town. There’s a whole bunch from Michigan, some from Germany, one from Australia, anther from Norway, and a few others from around the US. It’s quite the international mix to say the least. Our first weekend here the house hosted a hip-hop themed party. It was fun, a good chance to get to know our new housemates and meet many more friends.
I don’t even know where to begin with Cape Town itself, it’s like no place I’ve ever been. The full description might have to wait for another posting, when I have more pictures and a cheaper Internet connection. We do get wireless in our house, but unfortunately it is a little costly and you are charged by the amount of megabytes used. The service has to be paid for in advance, which seems to be true of a lot here, including electricity and cell phone minutes. By the way if you did not know Scott and I both were given phones by VAC, I will write the numbers below. Please call us we would absolutely love to hear from you, and with Skype being so cheap now how could you resist!?
Describing my internship at the Astra School will have to wait as well, for one things are somewhat up in the air right now, due to the fact that I am not exactly pleased with the situation. In short I do not feel like I am really needed and am not too happy with were they have placed me right now, a mostly Afrikaans speaking 5th grade class (far away from counseling opportunities). I am searching for other opportunities and it really does seem like there is a lot going on in town where I could be of service. I am most eagerly looking at the Centre for Conflict Resolution located in the Obs neighborhood, although I am doubtful as a requirement to work there is that I be a South African citizen.
Hopefully that’s enough for you all to chew on for now, I will be writing more soon when internet is more easily available like I said.
My love to you all, I miss home more than I imagined I would. How lucky I am to be surrounded by so much love and encouragement all the time. You all really are the best. xo.
CONTACT INFO:
Mac's cell: 011 27 725229133
Scott's cell: 011 27 799437840
(011 is the international code, 27 is South Africa's country code.)
Both our addresses:
197 Lower Main Road
No comments:
Post a Comment