A Primer

Molweni, all. Ninjani? Hopefully your answer is “sikhona.”

Look, you just learned three words in Xhosa! Unfortunately that’s also about all I know so far.

So, you’re probably all dying to know what I’ve been doing my first month here (and if you’re not, then you should really stop reading here; it’s only going to get more dull).

School:
Let’s see…I’m now into my fourth week as a student at the University of Cape Town. My classes are a bit more difficult that I would prefer; for example, it’s a gorgeous day today and instead of climbing Table Mountain I’m reading a very abstract textbook for Third World Politics. My independent study has been considerably re-directed by my well-intentioned but very opinionated adviser, but I have high hopes that it will still be interesting. My most favorite classes are Xhosa, for reasons that I think obvious, and Contemporary Art History, because, it’s a blast. Campus is beautiful, diverse like crazy, and you can buy a hearty dish of Indian food for under $2. All of the buildings are terribly important looking, old and made of stone with a sort of pseudo-Grecian feel. Devil’s Peak and Table Mountain tower above campus quite dramatically, and the city spreads out below campus, so the view is exceptional. Walking about is overwhelming in a good way; so many people, languages, and everyone dresses really smartly. Americans stick out like the proverbial sore thumb in their sweat pants and north face jackets.

Living:
I am currently a resident in Liesbeeck Gardens, a lovely res hall with the ambiance of a minimum-security prison. To get into the building, you must pass a security guard, swipe your card twice to enter, unlock the door to the flat, and then finally use a separate key to unlock the padlock on the door to my room. It makes me nostalgic for the innocence of Kenyon’s unlocked doors. My very utilitarian flat holds four people: myself; my American flat mate and fast friend Ella; my very aloof and mysterious Zimbabwean flat mate Farai; and my slightly more outgoing (but that’s not saying much) flat mate from Jo’burg, Saido. Both Saido and Farai seemed very unconcerned with my existence all together, but happily that is not the case with other residents in the building. As I am typing I am in the laundry room and have just made a friend, Toko, who is very nice and lives on my floor. She let me use her dryer, which was especially considerate, and she promised to “pop by” my room this week.

Cape Town:
Is cool. Devastatingly pretty. Haven’t explored it enough as campus is about 20 minutes from the center of the city and public transportation is not so hot here.

Okay, this was exhausting. That’s all I can handle for my very first blog entry. Truthfully, I’m not really feeling the vibe of this whole blogging thing (issues with uncertainty of appropriate tone and material, etc.), but hopefully it will grow on me.

Sobonana (that means, I’ll see you again),
Rebecca