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February 22, 2006
Power!
Since Sunday morning, we have had intermittent power here in Cape Town. Apparently one power plant supplies power for the entire city (except the city center) and for part of Johannesburg, as well. I don't know the exact reasoning for this, but there's an issue with the power, and it's basically being circulated around the city. There are scheduled shut off and on times (but they published times are not consistent with what's actually going on), and the power is off at peak hours. Last night, my roommates and I all went to bed at about 9 pm because there was nothing else we could do--it was dark, so no reading for school, no cooking, nothing. It's really not the hugest deal--it's a bit inconvenient to have to relocate lectures and such, though (yes it's going out at school, too, and considering that most classes here are large lectures in rooms without windows.. this presents problems). Also, I have been trying to finish up some matters relating to my research stuff through Case and have had a hard time getting to it without power or internet. I am almost done right now but because I didn't know when the power was going to be on, I don't have the materials with me to finish it up. I'll finish tonight, I hope.
My roommate and friend Sasha says that South Africa has a 1st world fascade imposed on a 3rd world infrastructure. I think she makes a good point, and while I might not say it's quite a 3rd world infrastructure, I do think that there is accuracy in her statement. This place is full of interesting dynamics, and I have decided that I have to carry around a little journal with me to jot them down as they come up. In some ways, this city is a lot like home. In other ways, it's completely different. The differences have certainly been highlighted by this pwoer situation, though. It's just irritating to have to stay in our house most of the evening--with the power out, crime has a lot of potential to happen.
Speaking of crime, while I haven't experienced anything yet, it's becoming more of a reality for kids on my program. A group of three got mugged on the way home (they were actually at the corner of their street), but only lost a couple cell phones and a bit of money. Crime definitely occurs here, but as we were told (and as it is seeming), crime is opportunistic. You never know what's going to happen, but it most often isn't violent--it's more about "separating you from your possessions", as I was told when I first got here. We're all learning to carry as little as possible, and you realize that what you have is expendable in most circumstances. It's definitely different than being in Cleveland, but at the same time, all the street smarts I learned there have been handy here; some kids on the program have had to learn it all for the first time. Fear is useless and cripling, though, so I will continue to explore and have an amazing time in this place (I'll just be smart about it). (Mom, if you're reading this, relax!!! You, too, Dad! I'm fine, don't worry about me!)
Alas, because of the shortage of power here, and not knowing when it might go out, I'm going to conclude this entry and continue with my commentary at a later time when I can make my comments worthwhile and meaningful.
Posted by jcg24 at 09:02 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
February 17, 2006
Stellenbosch and the wineries!
I went with a group of friends from my program to a nearby town called Stellenbosch, which is at the heart of nearby winelands. We stayed at a great hostel, called the Stumble Inn (aptly named for the state in which most of its travellers arrive after their days' activities), and toured 4 wineries in the area. We also checked out the town's night life, which was lively considering that the University of Stellenbosch was getting ready to begin classes today.
This town posed an interesting contrast to Cape Town; apparently it was an Apartheid stronghold for a long time and remnants of this past are evident. If you cross over one main road, suddenly the shops are not nearly as nice and no white people are on the sidewalks. Cape Town is definitely far from harmonious, but Stellenbosch definitely had a stronger flavor of Apartheid legacy. It was, however, a very charming town with great wine. I bought a few wonderful bottles, which I'm hoping to save until I get home to share. We'll see if they make it back!
The winelands:
Winery shots:
[Me "nosing" the wine]
The tour we went took was great; the guides were very informal and made it a lot of fun, particularly for people like us who aren't snobby about wine (because we don't know very much). I will come home an expert, however, because I joined the Wine Cultural Society at UCT, where I will learn the ins and outs of wine tasting. Be prepared to be impressed with my soon-to-be-acquired wine knowledge!
The trip was great fun and we still have at least one other winery to check out, called Spier. Apparently it's an all-day activity and is supposed to be fabulous.
Posted by jcg24 at 09:11 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Table Mountain Hike
I hiked up Table Mountain with some friends from my program. It was a rough hike, but the views from the top were worth it.
[View from near the bottom]
[Shortly into the hike with housemates Susie and Sasha]
[About half way up the mountain. The ships in the ocean look like they're floating in the air, with Cape Town below.]
At the top:
[Cape Town]
[The mountainside we'd come up]
Posted by jcg24 at 09:04 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Robben Island
Robben Island is the former maximum security prison of the Apartheid era, which housed political prisoners (as well as other criminals). The island has a long history as a space for isolation, and housed a leper colony in the past, among other things.
[Leper graveyard]
[Entrance to prison]
[The quarry where political prisoners were forced to work during incarceration, including Nelson Mandela and other heroes of the Anti-Apartheid movement]
[A picture of a picture; prisoners working in the yard at Robben Island. This picture is from the late 1800s, but the scene was almost identical during the Apartheid era, as well]
[A group cell which housed political prisoners, including our tour guide who was, at 13, the youngest political prisoner ever taken to Robben Island. Only 4 beds, mostly mats on the floor. Black prisoners were made to wear short sleeves and shorts all year round(even during the winter, which is not warm at all), while colored prisoners were given long pants, etc. 60 people were housed in a cell like this.]
[Nelson Mandela's cell at Robben Island. The leaders among political prisoners were kept in solitary cells.]
[This pile of rocks was created during a reunion of political prisoners at Robben Island after the fall of the Apartheid era. Nelson Mandela picked up a rock from the quarry they all used to work in and moved it to that spot. Everyone else followed in the symbolic gesture, creating a monument to their pasts.]
Posted by jcg24 at 08:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cape Tour and Boulders Beach
As part of orientation, we went on a tour of the whole cape. The scenery was amazingly beautiful. We traveled down the coast in a bus and made various stops; during this trip, I was able to hike all around the tip of the Cape, and made it to the southern most point on the continent of Africa. I took these shots on the hike.
[These are baboons which were resident on the Cape. While in the National Park, people are not allowed to eat because the baboons might attack you for your food.]
[These little creatures, whose name I forget, were all over the Cape Point]
This is the penguin colony at Boulders Beach on the Cape.
Posted by jcg24 at 08:44 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Cape Town Shots
This is the beautiful city of Cape Town. What I have here reflects the wealthier parts of town; sometime soon, I will have pictures of my neighborhood. I will also work on getting some pictures of townships and other poorer neighborhoods to show the contrast between wealth and poverty that exists here.
[These political signs are everywhere, posted mostly by political parties. Newspapers also post headlines daily around the city with very overtly political article titles.]
The Waterfront area (with a rainbow):
Posted by jcg24 at 08:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
University of Cape Town
This is where I go to school. It's a beautiful place, with a view of Table Mountain from anywhere on campus, and a great view of the city center down below.
[Jameson Hall]
[View of the city from campus]
This is the drum circle from orientation:
[Me with two of my housemates, Christy and Sasha]
Posted by jcg24 at 08:23 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 14, 2006
So much to tell, so little time
I have done so much over the past week, and it has all been amazing. Still not at a point where I can post pictures, but when I do.... South Africa's beauty will be known to all who read this lovely blog. I've done a lot of orientation stuff, but also went on a tour of the Cape Peninsula and made my way down to the southern most point of Africa. I also visited Robben Island, site of the maximum security prison of the Apartheid era which housed political prisoners. Today I hiked up Table Mountain. It's just so amazingly gorgeous here. Pictures to come soon, I promise.
School starts on Friday!! I'm excited. My courses are:
Liberation in Southern Africa (from the Department of Historical Studies, about liberation struggles)
Theories, Politics, and Action (from the African Gender Institute, about women's movements in Southern Africa)
Poverty, Development, and Globalisation (from the Department of Sociology, pretty self-explanatory)
They all look like they're going to be really interesting. Here, you have class and tutorials. The first two courses meet every day of the week and have one tutorial per week. The last course meets M W F and has a tutorial, as well. Less courses, but lots of class time.
Again, the internet cafe has its time limits, and I must stop writing, but pictures soon, I promise!
Posted by jcg24 at 10:03 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
February 06, 2006
Cape Town Wonderfulness
Cape Town is amazingly beautiful. I've never been anywhere like this before, but the landscape is just incredible. Yesterday's orientation event was one of two options (to which we were assigned), and my assignment (along with half of the 400 other international students here at UCT) was to go to Robben Island, the site of the former maximum security prision of the Apartheid Era (Nelson Mandela was kept there). However, after all 200 of us arrived by bus at the site to catch the ferry, we found out that the tours for the day were cancelled due to rough seas. However, we were given new tickets for next Sunday, and then a bunch of the kids from my program decided to go to the beach instead. The beach was so much fun and was so gorgeous; the skies are bright blue, the water is beautiful blue-green, and the sand is a clean white; interesting rocks jut up out of the sand, and cliffs surrounding parts of the beach create an interesting contrast. Then behind the beach is the wonderful backdrop of Table Mountain. Again, I'm slow on the pictures, but probably sometime this week I will post shots of this amazing place.
Today I'm still in orientation with some info sessions on issues such as HIV/AIDS, culture shock, and security, among other things. I am really looking forward to the African drum workshop tonight, though, because I will get to dance (and everyone knows how much I love to do that).
It is clear that this country has its problems, as do all countries, but it is truly an incredible place. One thing that has really caught my attention is that people with more economic/political/social power seem to actually care about helping people with less, which is definitely a contrast to many people from the States. Obviously not everyone is a wonderful person, but it does seem to be the general trend, which is fortunate considering the circumstances surrounding so many people's lives here. It really is a different feeeling than I get at home, especially at Case, and I appreciate it.
Posted by jcg24 at 07:17 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
February 04, 2006
Cape Town!
I am currently without a regular internet hookup, but more regular updates (with pictures) are on the horizon, beginning probably next week. Here is a brief update for now, though:
I got here on 2 Feb in the early evening and set up my stuff. The other kids in my house arrived in small groups, and they're all pretty cool. We began the next day (yesterday) with orientation stuff through interstudy, my program, by learning our way around the city, opening bank accounts, learning how to ride in taxis here, and fun things like that. Last night after all our orientation stuff was done for the day ,the whole group(all 50 of us) went out to this club in downtown Cape Town as part of our orientation, which was really nice. Then we were able to explore Lang Street until 1 am. A bunch of the kids from my house went to this other club which was pretty cool; the DJ was playing break beats for a while, and then he switched to early-mid 90s hip hop, including some Kris Kross, among other things. It was a lot of fun. The kids in my house are all pretty fun; I have a feeling that the semester with them is going to be good and we're going to have a great time together. It already seems like my house is tighter with each other than the other houses are. Today we had more orientation stuff, during which our program people tried to scare us so we'd be really vigilant about safety in the city, and also a bunch about academics and course registration. Then we went to a braai ("bray" - meaning BBQ) with a lot of good food. Next week we start the UCT orientation, which includes fun trips and lots of tours and other practical information, as well as final course registration. We've been on the move since the instant we got here, so the UCT orientation will be nice because it's not as many hours per day. When we get time, though, my house really wants to try and get to the beach ASAP and hike up Table Mountain. We'll probably do those things the following week, though, when we have free time.
It's so beautiful here -- the scenery and the weather. Table Mountain is this amazing backdrop behind this gorgeous old architecture that is UCT (pictures to be posted soon). The city is much like any other big city, but poorer on the whole (though the white people are rich, of course); there are a lot of poor people who ask for your money every time you venture out, including hordes of little kids. It's a bit hard to handle because I'm on a finite budget and I'm not sure what the culturally correct way to interact is in that situation. There are a lot of small things that are indicators of the legacy of apartheid, and it's kind of difficult to know how to feel about them because it's not my history, but it's still somewhat upsetting in these small doses that pop up around every corner. It's also a little nerve-wracking to walk around now because of our little scare session this morning; while I am entirely sympathetic to why crime occurs, it's still a little disconcerting. In Cleveland I'm pretty careful and pretty aware, and I walk around by myself and ride the rapid on a regular basis from the E. 120th stop, etc.; here, however, you have to be even more careful, so it's a little uncomfortable at the moment. I'm sure I'll get used to it, and I'm figuring out ways to carry as little expensive or important stuff around with me as possible.
I can't wait for school to start; I think it's going to be great. I have so much I want to get involved in, too. I'm excited, and it's so cool to be here, but really surreal in a lot of ways, too. I'm trying to work out my course schedule, and it's coming slowly but surely.
Unfortunatley, my time in the internet cafe is almost up, but I will add more as soon as I am able. Be sure to write:
jacqueline.greene@case.edu
or send mail to:
Jacqueline Greene
c/o IAPO
3rd Level Kramer: Law Building
Middle Campus
University of Cape Town
Cape Town, Western Cape 7700
Republic of South Africa
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