I Guess the Rains Down in Africa

Wow. I’m, like, speechless. This weekend was a whirlwind of childhood dreams come true, pampering and fake adulthood, strengthening of friendships and utter hilarity. Think Wildest Dreams meshed with Toto’s Africa with a sprinkling of I Love College.

Okay, so Sally, Caitlin, and I left around 9 AM Saturday morning in a private van with our driver, Garret. Though I’d been planning on napping and reading the entire ride, I had too much fun chatting with the girls and Garret (who told us that his favorite animal is “his wife”) to sit back in my seat for even a minute. We had a hilarious time, and our journey hadn’t even yet begun.

We arrived at Inverdoorn Game Reserve and Lodge around noon with a couple bottles of wine that we’d picked up at a nearby liquor store, because we obviously refused to be ripped off by the high prices of our Lodge. Garret lugged an entire box of our alcohol to our room for us, thinking that his official capacity as “chaperone and chauffer” (his words) would make the illicit alcohol less conspicuous. Meanwhile, Cait decided to upgrade from a Standard Room to a Luxury Chalet with some birthday money from her grandmother. The gigantic chalet (we literally didn’t go five minutes without using that word) had a television and opened up onto the rolling savanna, so we spent most of our free, non-safari time hanging out/drinking wine in the chalet. (Chalet chalet chalet chalet)

Before our safari, we sat on the porch, enjoying the fresh air and each other’s company, when a snooty English woman (who happened to be our chalet neighbor) threw us a disdainful glance. We apologized for our noise and asked if we needed to keep it down. She replied no, we were fine, but that’d we’d need to be quieter at nighttime. We immediately acquiesced and told her we’d see her at 3:30 PM for our ride. “Oh, I think you’re meeting at 3:30, but we’ve made… other arrangements,” she sniffed with a flippant wave in the air.

As soon as she retreated into her room, Cait, Sal, and I busted up. Caitlin, verbatim (as I remember it), remarked, “you guys. That lady is classy as f*ck. AND WE’RE IN THE SAME CHALET AS HER.”



Sally and I practically peed our pants laughing as Caitlin expanded on her remarks. “You know how I know she’s classy?” Cait asked rhetorically. “Because she’s made *othah arrangments*, she’s too good for us normal people,” she self-answered in a perfect imitation of the woman’s voice. It was one of the funniest things I’ve ever witnessed.

The three of us headed to the reception area for our *peasant, non-other* arrangements—aka an incredible!!! safari with driver Sean. We saw an unbelievable number of animals—lions, rhinos, water buffalo, wildebeest, giraffes, springbok (which Sally, Cait, and I enjoyed saying over and over), oryx (spelling???), and cheetahs. It was absolutely exhilarating and so fun. The weather was perfectly cloudy and crisp, so the animals were out to play. The landscape looked… well, kind of like what you might imagine a safari landscape to look like. Golden-yellow and tan shrubs sprouting out from the dry brown sand, interspersed low-lying green trees and shrubs with purple mountains rising formidably in the far distance. I felt so at peace and so happy.

Upon our return to the lodge, we watched Madagascar for a little while in our chalet before enjoying an incredible steak dinner then passing out rather early.

We woke up at 5:30 AM for our sunrise safari on which we were assured we’d see more “water” animals. It actually started drizzling/raining (I guess the rains down in Aaaafricaaaa), which was really refreshing and attracted more animals! We got to see a herd of zebra, more giraffes, water buffalo, rhinos (and a rhino baby!), and… Wait for it… ELEPHANTS. YES it’s true!!! It was amazing!! I just about sobbed seeing two beautiful, amazing, wonderful elephants chomping away at some tree branches. Such gorgeous creatures. It was the cherry on top of two wonderful safaris.

But wait. There’s more.

After resting for about an hour in our chalet after breakfast (and after talking to my mama with the WiFi!!!), Sally, Cait, and I experienced something pretty amazing called the Cheetah Encounter. We literally got to pet a cheetah and it was glorious. Velvet, the cheetah, was born in a really shady and corrupt breeding facility in which she and her siblings were terrible mistreated for the first few months of their lives. Luckily, Inverdoorn (our safari place) discovered this mistreatment and rescued these cheetah pups from death. They’ve rehabilitated Velvet’s brothers, but due to a tail injury sustained in the breeding facility, Velvet will never be fully released into the wild. Instead, she’s taken on walks, trained, fed with slow-moving animals, and introduced to visitors—like me!

In a crazy turn of events, the three of us were the only ones on this “public” meet and greet with Velvet, so we ended up having a private Cheetah Encounter. Snooty English woman had paid extra for a *private* arrangement with her cheetah, so I made sure to mention how excited I was that both of our groups had managed to have private encounters!!! (I think she hated me.)

It was such an incredible experience—truly once in a lifetime!!! It seems amazing that this is my life, that I’m living and learning in such breathtaking places—but it is. And I am. And I promise that I have not taken it for granted, nor will I. But I must admit—I will be excited to go home in two (TWO!!!) weeks.
But before that, I’ll be compiling a music video to the song “Africa”—I’m not joking.

Wish me luck for my last week of IHP classes!!!
With lots of lion love, elephant endearment, cheetah chest bumps,
Aubrey Noelle

Finishing in the City Center

(From April 10)

This was really a wonderful weekend. I got to know more urban parts of Cape Town, as well as a sobering historical site and the most delicious brunch place around. I’m falling in love with this city.

My burgeoning love really began to blossom on Saturday morning, when Sally, Jenn, Izzy, Savannah, and I hitched an Uber over to the Old Biscuit Mill. We’d been told that it’s a sort of food market, and I was expecting a farmer’s market sort of thing with tons of fresh veggies and fruit straight from the vine/tree/root. Boy, was I misled. The Mill was more of a hip, bourgeois, Santa Monica-ish outdoor fair market thing that absolutely, 100% hooked me in. Adorable clothes, rugged jewelry, wine by the glass for only $2, and stall after stall of specialty foods filled the converted biscuit mill. It had kept its rugged brick walls but abandoned its roof to embrace the cloudless sky, and the installation of a zany fountain with brass buckets and some cool contraptions encapsulated the alternative vibe. My friends and I wandered through the food stalls, tasting delectable latkes, dim sum, fresh sandwiches (that one was me), fried mac and cheese balls, soft pretzels (me again), glasses of South African wine (me twice), and alcoholic slushies (you guessed it—me).

Izzy and I chatted with the woman working the wine stall, and we learned that she actually hails from Ohio and is at the University of Cape Town for her Master’s degree. The three of us discussed travelling, and I gave her some advice on her upcoming trip to India, when I suddenly realized—I can give people advice on travelling to India. I can give people tidbits on what restaurant to visit, which Airbnb to avoid, which tour guide to recommend, in numerous countries on five continents. Oh my god. I think that was the moment that I realized, for real, the extent of my travels and the incredible way in which the world has truly become my home. I’ve fallen in love with countries and with people and places along the way, and I’m amazed at how lucky I am to have travelled to and lived in so many places in such a short amount of time. Ten countries in under a year… Wow.

BUT enough nostalgia for now—that’ll come in my final post!! I think that our conversation warmed our wine-pourer to us, and she gave us rather generous ‘glasses’ that probably were at least two glasses-worth of wine in each one. Feeling good and buzzed, I flounced over to the clothing market and surprisingly handed over no money for any clothes or jewelry (I did slyly fork over my phone number, but that’s a different story). We finished our time at the Mill with a screwdriver slushie and hopped in an Uber to get to the waterfront.

The waterfront was so beautiful, but we had little time to enjoy it, as we quickly boarded a boat to Robben Island. The ride itself was about forty-five minutes, and I enjoyed both the fresh breeze and ocean views as I read my book and relaxed in the shade. Upon landing, Sally and I realized that about ten other IHP students had booked the same tour as us—so we had a bit of an American student takeover on our tour bus! We first spent forty-five minutes in a large tour bus on the edges of the island, seeing the village and amenities of the former prison, as well as a penguin colony and a really gorgeous panorama of Table Mountain and the coast of Cape Town. The more sobering half of the experience was a tour through the actual prison with a former Robben Island prisoner. Listening to his horrific tales of torture, resistance, and eventual freedom made me both sick with the evil of humanity as well as hopeful for the strength and resilience of humans. It was also so inspiring to listen to a former prisoner. He literally took us into his old cell and recounted his experiences. It’s difficult to comprehend the mental and emotional strength that an individual must possess to give tours of such a painful site to numerous tourists, but I admired it even if I couldn’t fully understand it. I am forever indebted to his fortitude, as it gave me the opportunity to learn about a painful, repressive history.

After such a difficult experience, it was so pleasant to watch the sun’s orange-red glow leak into the gorgeous indigo ocean. I’d so missed watching the sun set on the water, and it makes me even more eager to get back to the Pacific and enjoy the familiar sight from my favorite beaches! I really savored the end of the day, though, and tried to emanate my gratitude for the beauty and history to which I’d been exposed into the open sea air.

That night, I took a “nap” at 8:30 PM that turned into a full night’s sleep, obviously. Really lived it up on my last Saturday in Bo’Kaap!

I woke up early-ish this morning and read Infinite Jest for a few hours before walking down the hill to a little brunch place called Clarke’s for some food and (more importantly) some WiFi. I ended up running into like four or five other IHPer’s, which was just so fun and made me feel really at home in the city. I also enjoyed catching up with the outside world over the most delicious breakfast I’ve had in a really long time. Avocado goat cheese toast and a heaping bowl of oranges, figs, pomegranate seeds, mango, etc. etc. I was overwhelmed by the fresh, healthy, filling scrumptiousness in front of me. I even took a picture for Instagram—that’s how pretty it was!!! It was a fabulous morning.

I trekked back up the hill around 1 PM for an extremely intricate seafood lunch prepared all day by my host mother. The whole family came over to the house to either say goodbye to me and Savannah or simply to enjoy the food—I couldn’t tell which! By 2 PM, though, I was practically fainting from the heat, and I laid in bed sweating and half-heartedly fanning myself with a bookmark as I drifted in and out of consciousness.

At 5:30, Savannah and I said our goodbyes to our host mother (our host father had left long before to head to the beach) and hightailed it down to the bus waiting to transport us to our next and final homestay destination—Langa.

A few words about the little information I know so far about Langa. Langa is the oldest and the smallest black township in Cape Town. Back during apartheid, racial segregation of housing led to the displacement of millions of non-white South Africans, and townships were created to house these men, women, and children outside of city centers. Though apartheid is legally over, its legacy as far as spatial segregation lives on in that numerous families have continued to reside in their designated townships. Langa has a bad reputation in the city. When conversing with Cape Townians in the city center, they’d always get a rather horrified, worried look on their faces when we informed them of our homestay. We’d reassure them that we’d be with homestay families and that we’d been well-versed in necessary measures, and they’d resignedly but still anxiously impart us with the well-meaning advice of “Stay safe.”

All of this build-up led to a bit of anxiety as we rode in the bus to the township. We turned left off of the freeway into the neighborhood, and I scanned the streets incessantly, hoping to intake all of the visual information that I could. Little kids ran along the sidewalks and played games, stray dogs (that looked nice and well-fed!) nosed through grass on empty lots, and numerous city centers brightly and proudly proclaimed services. We pulled into Lovelife Center, the location of our classes for the next two weeks. We were ushered into a main room with chairs and drums and were treated to an uplifting, hand-clapping, smile-inducing musical performance with traditional South African and Zimbabwean instruments. It was truly so fun and joyful and alleviated a lot of my worries about Langa (as I’m sure it was meant to).

I also realized a few things about my community while sitting there in that room as it reverberated with music and good-natured laughs. First of all, thank god for Jenn. I think we exchanged like 10 words over the span of an hour and still managed to communicate five worries, three secrets, numerous inside jokes, and summer plans through finishing each other’s sentences, communicative looks, and small nudges. She’s one of the handful of lifelong friends that I’ve made on this program. And as I looked around the room, at the faces of about half of my peers, I felt so warm and fuzzy and excited to enjoy these last few weeks of travelling and decades of memories with them. The other half… It was strange. I’d spent the same amount of time in classes with them and had afforded them the same opportunities to befriend as I had the other men and women with whom I feel so close. And yet… I felt, if not outright dislike, at least a sort of ambivalence toward them. And guess what—I think that’s okay. I think that’s good. I’m glad I haven’t just allowed myself to follow the sway of noncommittal friendliness and instead really sought out individuals with whom I can laugh and enjoy myself and feel comfortable and candid. I think that the strength of my feelings (both positive and negative) are signs that I’m asserting myself in the right way and that I’m finding the right people with whom to surround myself. Yay Aubs!

Dorothy (my new homestay partner) and I followed our homestay mom and her granddaughter back to the house around 7 PM, following the conclusion of the welcome ceremony. I about passed out carrying my gigantic body bag through the streets of Langa, and my hips were literally aching by the time we breathlessly pushed through the door of the house. We quickly set our stuff in our rooms, then enjoyed a fantastic dinner with the aforementioned two family members and our home stay sister while watching “Our Perfect Wedding.” I already love having Dorothy as a home stay partner, because she’s so kindly straightforward and talkative and interesting that she engages our homestay family while I can sit and listen and try to get over my intial shyness. She is also fab to talk to, and we have a similar love for books, so I think that there will be many a silent nights of just reading in our room.

I have some initial feelings about Langa that I could share, but I’d rather give it at least a full day before I make any judgments, either good or bad or what have you. It’d be too weird to make any statements about a neighborhood when I’ve been here less than four hours and not even in daylight!
So, I bid you adieu, and I hope you had as wonderful a weekend as I did!

Much love,
Aubrey

Anarchical Arguments, African Art, and the Deep Blue Sea

(From April 8)

Woah… the last time that I wrote feels so long ago, I barely know how to summarize my life since then. But, I’ll do my best.

So, surprise surprise, I ended up NOT going out on Tuesday night, because, as we already know, I’m lame, and I ended up falling asleep in my bed waiting for a text from Sally, alerting me to the place to meet. My host mom was literally so disappointed in me, she barely looked at me the next day. Lots of shame tbh.

On Wednesday, we split into groups to visit sites revolving around food and food security in the city. I personally saw a small-scale urban farm near Phillipi horticultural land. The farmer was kind of zany… He made a lot of extremely contradictory statements that seemed almost endearing at first but quickly became too problematic for me to respect. I’m sure my disapproval began to come through in a nasty looking frown on my face, but I really couldn’t control it. I spoke with Michael after the visit, and he seemed pretty relieved to find that I had noticed the glaring inconsistencies as well. Often on this program, groupthink can run rampant, and if you’re aware enough to notice that discussions are careening off the path of rationality, it can feel frightening and lonely wondering if you’re the singular person calling for critical thought and adherence to reality. Therefore, I’m finally finding my people, in a sense, that have managed to stay analytical and tethered to real life. Because honestly, this program has begun to remind me a lot of The Bachelor. You know, these girls and this guy come into this completely artificial situation in which they’re jetting around the world, having experiences and meeting people in these completely superficial and irreplicable environments, and then expecting the feelings they develop and the ideologies they espouse to carry back over to real life. But often, they don’t—because we are seeing the fringe of society, a periphal minority (that people call the majority literally all of the time, which is just not true). I’d say half of the guides whom have led me around on various visits readily admit that they commit crimes and engage in illegal activity—and those are the ones that actually just say it. I’m starting to ramble a bit, but I guess that’s just me attempting to reach back out to the rational at home, watching the program unfold and laughing with popcorn at the antics of the crying girls and jetlagged hysteria. God, I can’t wait for the finale.

Anyways, Michael, Eli, and I ended up separating from the main group for lunch and conversed about race and identity and really cool topics that I usually feel to uncomfortable to discuss with people in my class because *see above*. As I spoke and sometimes disagreed with the others, I realized that I’m actually starting to form some pretty sophisticated opinions on the subject and that I’m actually pretty comfortable with the way I see myself and with my own identities. I was worried, because during the first week or so here, I felt so unsure and my identity seemed so fragile; but I’m starting to reconcile the seeming inconsistencies in who I am and to crystallize (quite comfortably!) my own *self*. Yay!

I’m also trying to approach class in a constructive way when I get frustrated. Instead of simply zoning out or unkindly bursting out “WRONG. WRONG WRONG. YOU ARE ALL WRONG,” which could, as you might imagine, be counter-productive, I have returned to my methods of India, in which I absorbed what was being said with (hopefully) an intrigued and kind looking face, then scribbling down and articulating my arguments with certain statements. One of my least favorite things about Harvard (woah sorry big topic change, take a sec to catch up) is that people often think saying “I disagree” or “not in my opinion” is enough to validate their differences from you. But that’s so unproductive and meaningless—if you can’t articulate why you disagree, or if you find that maybe, when you try to think of reasons to defend your own opinion against that of another… Then maybe that’s not actually what you believe. To say you disagree without validation is lazy—it allows you to settle into your rut of formed opinion without ever peeking your head over the side of this whole which you’ve dug for yourself to look for some other ideas which may be even more aligned with your actual beliefs.

WOW long way to say that I refuse to be lazy and I refuse to engage in groupthink, SO my recourse must be to constantly prove to myself why I find my thoughts right and those of my peers incorrect. Constantly. Which must be why I nap for two hours every single day after my nine hours of class. UGH.

But, I got a bit of a mental break yesterday during a site visit to Hout Bay and Hangberg, two of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in Cape Town and honestly the world. A drive around Signal Hill (on which my home in Bo’kaap rests) and to the seaside elicited “wow!’s and cheers from the ten of us in the car. The clear blue water with rocky shores and seaweed peeking out of the waves, winding roads around shrubby hills with breathtaking views, and, in a little bay of a fishing community, bobbing sailboats of varnished red, blue, and green. I was thrilled by the sights. We also got to watch a woman throw bits of fish to a seal, who would do little hops out of the water and twist and turn in order to retrieve the yumminess. She also possessed a tiny, very young puppy—it’d probably just opened its eyes—and I nearly cried while cuddling it to my chest. I miss my dogs so much.

On this visit, which was related to housing, our guide incorporated not only the hard facts of the community but also numerous opportunities to marvel at the nature in the area and enjoy the Cape Townian environment. At one point, after a difficult hike up to a viewpoint overlooking Seal Island (an island literally covered in barking seals!), our guide engaged in a rather somber lecture on the fishermen of the community and the rampant informal settlements. In the middle of his talk, though, he suddenly and calmly interjected, “Oh look, a whale,” and we all turned eagerly to the ocean to watch a whale spout out some water and breach for a second or two. IT WAS THE COOLEST.

Being in such a beautiful place, surrounded by water and mountains with brush and hiking trails reminded me so much of—you guessed it—California. As I get closer to going home (twenty-four days!!!!), I find myself remembering things and missing things that seem unbelievably random. Yesterday, for example, I began to desperately miss this one intersection on La Palma near my hairdresser’s and dear family friend’s home. The people, of course, I miss dreadfully, but yesterday, I missed the literal intersection and the feelings of anticipation and excitement associated with that intersection. Funky, right? I am literally just sooooo homesick and so excited to see home and my family, I can hardly contain it. I swear I’ll appreciate all of them a thousand times more than I already did!!!

Yesterday, after returning home from this housing visit, I quickly changed and dressed up a little then met Sally and Eli for First Thursdays. First Thursdays is a new phenomenon in Cape Town in which on the first Thursday of every month, galleries and museums open up with free admission for late hours. We wandered through art galleries and South African markets and a nearby bar to enjoy the culture and nightlife of the city. I felt very ~cultured~ examining art and appreciating the artists (especially Lisa Littlewort, her work is amazing and exquisite), but the fact that I felt so cultured and mature probably means that I’m usually not… Oh well. I loved slipping into some idea of what I think is cultured. And the artwork was very beautiful.

Today was literally the longest day yet on the program. Class began at 8:30 AM and did not end until after 5 PM. We had only short breaks and a transient lunch during which we had to eat quickly then walk briskly to our visit. I am utterly exhausted and kind of frustrated by the packed schedule to which we’re subjected. I feel unable to absorb all of the information, because I’m just tired after hours and hours of class. It’s hard to pay that much attention!!! Sally and I hit up a free WiFi zone after class, then I ate a quick (and delicious) upon my homecoming, and I passed out on my bed for two hours without the energy to turn the light off.

I was going to edit and finish a paper, as well as skim through some class readings, but maybe I’ll give myself the Friday night off and just lose myself in Infinite Jest until I drift off to sleep. I’ve got a packed and busy and fun weekend coming up—and I can’t wait!!

Kisses,

Aubrey

A Day for Me

(From April 5)

A rough start to the week—but a good one, academically, intellectually, consumer-wise. I have a feeling this will be a shorter blog post, as I’m feeling slightly less inspired and a little less willing to engage with my thoughts than usual.

Yesterday was a regular old Monday. Hours of class and presentation, including an extraordinary presentation by my IHP and Harvard peer, Samantha. I felt like I was learning a lot, my mind was incredibly intellectually stimulated, and I was pretty self-satisfied with my ability to stay mindfully engaged the whole day, even though it took a lot of effort. I visited the Bo’Kaap Museum with Sally after class, a museum dedicated to the evolution of the neighborhood in which we are residing for the remainder of this week. It wasn’t quite what I expected, but I still learned a bit and met a native of New Orleans!

I rested in the house for the remainder of the night, doing homework, reading my book, and watching Shonda Rhimes’s wonderful lineup.

Today involved a really difficult lineup of classes and discussion that left me feeling frustrated, angsty, and isolated. Luckily, I have a friend like Caitlin, with whom I can relax and laugh and simply be without worrying about judgment or sadness. She assisted me as I engaged in some retail therapy at the South African Forever 21 and a nearby market. We also went to a local souvenir shop for some postcards and a liquor store for some wine, which we’d drink during our next experience.

Along with Super Sally, we drove up to the top of Signal Hill, the hill which we visited on the first day of our program. We settled in around an hour before actual sunset and discussed important and intriguing parts of our lives and our experiences. I simply loved enjoying the view, the moment of reflection, the delicious South African wine, the crispness with two people whom I love, appreciate, and respect so deeply. It was wonderful.

Tonight, I may be heading out on the town in order to enjoy Cape Town’s nightlife before retreating into the periphery of Langa township, which is far and isolated from the center of the city. When I told my host mom that I was planning on going out, she literally exclaimed, “finally!!!” This coming from a devout Muslim who abstains completely from alcohol. This makes me think that it really is about time I venture out of my bubble.

So, though there are many things to discuss and think about and reflect upon, I’m giving myself the night off. I’m going to relax and enjoy myself and be happy, because I’ve been wearing myself down, focusing so closely and stressing myself quite unnecessarily. SO tonight is all about Aubs—and I can’t wait!

With love,

Aubrey Noelle

Culture, Climbing, Coffee

(From April 3)

A packed, educational, beautiful, relaxed weekend—not a combination of adjectives often uttered in sequence, especially on an IHP program. Yet, Cape Town provided the perfect set of activities to compose two days that allowed for a wonderful intro to the city.

            I woke up (sadly) to an alarm on Saturday morning, a necessity in meeting with my Neighborhood Day group in order to figure out our presentation. Savannah and I schlepped down our hill around 10 AM in order to meet with our other group members and cobble together a coherent idea. We ended up settling down at a WiFi-generous location called Honest Chocolate Café, at which I was surprisingly able to refrain from buying any merchandise. Of course, I literally still had Nutella on my mouth from my breakfast sandwich which Jenn literally had to point out about a half hour into our meeting, so my restraint isn’t actually that commendable. Admittedly, I was pretty distracted during this meeting by my first WiFi access in about twenty-four hours, and the inundation of Snapchat and Facebook notifications was mesmerizing. I nailed down my part of the presentation, though, and Jenn and I headed out of the café around noon in order to begin our real weekend.

            We walked to the Slave Lodge, a museum dedicated to the history of slavery in South Africa and Cape Town in particular. I was actually really surprised by this; I had been completely unaware that slavery existed in such a reaching form in South Africa. It wasn’t actually abolished here until 1834, and its history here in Cape Town had been relatively ignored and its victims unrecognized for over a century. The Slave Lodge museum did a really commendable job at paying homage to the slaves here in Cape Town, their contributions to the city’s culture, and to the immense hardships they faced. Saying I “enjoyed” the museum sounds a little weird, but I learned a lot and was very humbled by the information.

            Jenn’s friend from school, Sarah, met up with us and gave us some insider knowledge on the city gained from half a semester studying abroad here. It was fun to watch her and Jenn interact and talk about people and places from back in the US—it made me excited to reunite with all of my friends and family and attempt to explain the experiences that I’ve had!! We ate at a cute little café with outdoor picnic tables and a delicious burger (not as good as the one in Rio, but will any burger ever be as delectable?). When I tried to order coffee at the restaurant, they explained that the region had been having so much trouble with the water pressure that they actually weren’t able to make coffee. Literally, whaaat? My mind began to race with hypotheses of these ramifications, and how it mirrored the water crisis in Sao Paulo, and whether people living further from the city were also having these issues, and how climate change may or may not be responsible. I guess you could say this program has changed the way I think, as three months ago, my reaction would have been “f*ck it, I’m going to Starbucks.” So, I mean, that’s good.

            After lunch, we wandered into a really cool, artsy market, reminiscent of those in India and Istanbul, in which I spent literally every cent of cash that I had on me. Woops. Bargaining is a little stressful here in that if you try hard enough, you can probably get them down to a third of the price they originally quote. As I’ve established, I am such a bad bargainer, it’s embarrassing, so I probably pay WAY too much for everything that I buy. Oh well—it looks too cool to pass up!

            I got back home in the late afternoon and promptly took a nap, because that’s what I do. Savannah and my homestay parents departed for different evening venues, so I had the house to myself. I organized my suitcase, watched Night at the Museum (crazy Saturday night, wooo!), and ate a delicious dinner.

            It’s so hard to describe the food here, but I’ll attempt. I also don’t know how representative of South African cuisine my homestay’s food is, but it’s delicious and interesting. It’s like a mix of Indian food and American South food. One night, for example, we had crispy, finger-licking fried chicken and creamed corn; tonight, I had a curried beef with roti. Food tends to be really savory, and I’ve had some great, fresh veggies and fruits. Tea seems to be really popular here (probably a British holdover), and there are KFC’s—yes, Kentucky Fried Chicken’s—on literally EVERY corner. It’s like more common than Subway or Starbs in the US. So hilarious. I’m eating more healthily here than I did in either Brazil or India, which is a nice change. Meals here leave me feeling a little lighter, less bloated, and less exhausted, which is great!

            After my wild Saturday (woohoo, Ben Stiller!), I woke up early (aka 7 AM) to meet up with Izzy and Jenn for a hike up Table Mountain, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. We weren’t quite sure how to actually get to the mountain, so we stopped at a nearby Hilton Hotel’s concierge for directions. Serendipitously, a tourist from DC just so happened to be departing in a taxi for Table Mountain at that moment, so we hopped in the car with him!!! He graciously paid for the ride, saying “you’re college students—I remember those days.” We were obviously off to a great start.

            After a few false starts in attempting to find the trail, we began the trek up the mountainside—and boy, was it treacherous. We were literally rock climbing—as in, using our hands and feet to clamber up these giant, practically vertical boulders. After a few minutes, I was too exhausted to be scared, but we took numerous breaks in order to catch our breath and appreciate the increasingly stunning views. I don’t know how tall this mountain was, and I don’t have WiFi to find out, but both Izzy and Jenn are college athletes, and it took us two and a half hours to get up this freaking mountain. At times, I literally looked straight up, 90 degree angle, and felt positive, with a sinking feeling, that there was no way in hell I’d be able to reach the top. But guess what—WE DID IT. I honestly was so proud of us, and felt super gratified and rewarded once looking out over the sweeping vistas of Cape Town. We ate lunch at a touristy but fun restaurant on the top of the mountain, took numerous pictures at what felt like the peak of the world, and simply enjoyed each other’s company. It was truly beautiful—company, views, and the endorphins of physical activity converged in a single moment. ILY Jenn and Iz!

            We took a five-minute gondola back down the mountain, and were kind of amazed at the difference in experience between hiking and gondola-riding. We agreed that hiking, while utterly exhausting, was so much more rewarding!!!

            Back to Bo’kaap we went, and back to napping I went. Duh. I met up with Jenn and Eli in a city-wide search for WiFi—surprisingly, almost all cafes and shops are either completely closed on Sundays or shuttered up early in the afternoon, so we were pretty desperate in our search. Eli and I finally settled upon a new-age Irish pub thing, and my WiFi was actually good enough to videochat with my parents for the first time in about a week!!! I cried a little bit talking to my dad, but recovered quickly. I’ll be seriously stoked to see them again. Only question is whether I’ll cry a lot or a lot when I land at Long Beach Airport.

            Wow, I am currently exhausted—I guess hiking up five vertical miles can do that to a girl whose daily exercise has become shoveling ice cream into her mouth! (Half kidding.) I’ve spent the night reading my captivating novel, working on my term paper of 3,000 words (which is lol-worthy, considering one of my finals this past semester was to write TWO 3,000 word essays in the span of eight hours for a law school course), having heart-to-hearts with my fab roomie, and drinking cup after cup of scrumptious coffee. Feels like I’ll be able to get to sleep pretty easily, though, as my eyes are fluttering shut on their own volition. So, goodnight, dear readers, and I hope your weekend treated you as well as mine did me.

Peace, love, naps,

Aubrey

PS—I got a fab room back at school—thx for all of the crossed fingers!!!

C'est La Vie

(From April 1)

Hi there, friendly people!

Happy weekend to you all. Unfortunately, although it is technically the weekend for me since it’s Friday, I still have quite a bit of schoolwork to which I must attend in the next few days, so it’s not a real restful weekend like the ones I’ve had over the past month or so. It’s all part of that commitment to bettering my learning!!! (Which is sounding much less attractive now that I have to put together a group presentation on a Saturday morning…)

The past few days have been packed with lectures on the history and economics of Cape Town and South Africa as a whole. They’ve been utterly fascinating, and the caliber of our lectures is out of this world. Many of them have been advisors to the UN, and one of the lecturers showed us a graph integral to the understanding of the economics of Cape Town—and he was one of the contributors to the study! Learning from the forefront experts in the fields about which we are learning really enriches our academic experiences. So that’s pretty cool!

I got smashed by a wave of homesickness yesterday while texting my mom. She was comforting me about some issues about which I don’t even feel like thinking about right now, and she made me feel so much better, but not being able to hear her voice and realizing that I couldn’t just run into her arms and make her give me a hug brought tears to my eyes. I’m excited to go home.

After taking an hour long nap yesterday then bidding adieu around 9 PM to go to sleep, my host mother appraised me with slitted eyes. “You like to sleep a lot, don’t you,” she ventured. I confirmed the statement. “I could tell,” she responded, with a little bit of sass. Another host mom disappointed in my lack of raginess. Well, I suppose that’s just me. C’est la vie.

My long ten-hour sleep that I thought would completely defeat the jetlag still felt much too short. I woke up groggily to my 7:10 AM alarm then attempted to sound chipper when my host father rapped on the door to ensure we were getting ready. We ate a quick breakfast of Kellogg cornflakes (reminded me of India) and some fruit, then got on our way.

A little bit about Cape Town and where I’m staying, etc.

Cape Town’s weather resembles Southern California’s quite a bit. It’s a little bit wetter, honestly, but it’s currently fall here, and it’s in the 60’s—perfectly balmy. Never thought I’d say this (literally never), but it’s kind of nice to wear a jacket again! I’m living on the base of Signal Hill, which is a hill (duh) that makes up the eastern border of the Cape Bowl. I look out onto Table Mountain (v famous) and Lion’s Head, a mountain that looks vaguely like the profile of a lioness. Behind Signal Hill is the more rounded bay of Cape Town with the oval-shaped stadium that was built for the 2010 World Cup and is probably more recognizable from pictures. When I first saw the Bowl, I was slightly jarred, as it seemed more cosmopolitan and less nature-y than I’d imagined. I think that’s because the other side of Signal Hill is what I’ve been picturing, so I’m excited to explore that, too. I have a fabulous view from my homestay’s balcony and look out over the entire Bowl, which lights up at night and sparkles in the darkness. I also loved that today, as soon as I rounded the corner of my building and started down the outdoor flight of stairs, I smelled a fresh ocean breeze. I stopped in my tracks (to the slight confusion of Savannah, my roommate) and spread my arms wide and savored being back next to a big salty body of water. EEP LOVE IT.

To get from my homestay to my classroom, we walk straight down a massive hill, past some beautifully cheery, brightly colored homes that have come to symbolize Bo’Kaap neighborhood (look it up—they’re so pretty!). We walk past numerous restaurants, cultural centers, museums, and business places to get to class, which means we get to observe the city center of Cape Town at its busiest and most “real” every day. That’s pretty cool. I’ve already created a list of things I’m dying to see and do before I leave—and I only have four weeks left!!!

Okay, back to my day. Neighborhood Day, one of my favorite parts of this program, was today, which means we visit a small patch of the city and explore it to learn about its history, population, and lifestyle. I went with a group of five to Claremont, which is really close to the city center and has a hip college town vibe with yoga studios, stylish (and cheap!!!) clothing stores, and delicious food. I had to be dragged away from the Forever 21-type establishments before I cleaned out my bank account. Upon returning to Bo’Kaap, I ate a delicious dinner of fried chicken and konked out for a two-hour nap.

A bunch of friends are going out tonight because it’s Friday woohoo!!! But I’m conserving my energy for a weekend full of activities and sight-seeing and physical activity. Time to snuggle into bed with Infinite Jest—and maybe a class reading or two—then get to sleep.

Small detour for a second, because the inability to access WiFi and therefore anything on my phone besides my camera has pushed me to engage in the most desperate of mobile activities: flipping through my old photos. I think about who I was in April of last year (happy April!), and I realize that I’ve been out of the country, pretty independently, for five of the last twelve months. I’ve seen three Wonders of the World, I’ve traversed five different continents, I’ve forayed through nine different countries… And I’ve changed. A lot. I’ve left people behind as I’ve outgrown them, and my burgeoning maturity (don’t laugh at that, Mom) and my strengthening self-esteem have allowed me to recognize the differences between a true friend and an abuser of my generosity. And so the ones that I have decided to shed, due to differing levels of kindness, worldliness, and empathy, give me no qualms, and I spare only a fleeting thought of “good riddance” as I swipe past their pictures.

It is those who have left me behind, before I’d attained this new maturity, and self-respect, and who may have appreciated me more had I possessed these a few months earlier, that give me pause. And it makes me wish that I could meet some of these people again, as the woman I am today, someone of whom I am proud and love a little bit more, so that they could appraise this Aubrey—and maybe some things would have turned out a little differently.

BUT c’est la vie. In a few hours, while I’m (hopefully) dead asleep, my rooming situation for my senior year at Harv will be decided by fate. Fingers crossed that I get a room all to myself for the first time at Harvard!!!

Contemplative and appreciative and isolated from the rest of the world,

AubStod

Settling Into Cape Town

From March 30

After the blur and business and intense learning of the last twenty-four hours, I can tell that the next five weeks of my life are going to absolutely fly by.

After taking a melatonin pill last night to ensure that I didn’t wake up at 4 in the morning (which would be about 11 PM Brazilian time), I conked out and didn’t wake up until… the alarm of somebody else which sounded an hour and a half before I wanted to arise. Awesome. I took advantage of the extra time to delve into Infinite Jest, a thousand-page odyssey set in Boston, Massachusetts that I began two weeks ago and had hoped to finish before coming to South Africa. Tough luck, but hopefully I will finish it quickly now that I have extremely limited distractions—but more about that in a bit.

In every other country to which we’ve travelled, we have been afforded at least eighteen hours of uninterrupted chill and rest before programming begins. Not so with Cape Town. As I said, we were shepherded around town all of yesterday, then given an 8:30 AM call-time with the expectation that we would have “recovered” from jetlag. LOL YA OK.

But, we all composed ourselves and mustered some excitement for the scavenger-hunt-like activity this morning. We were given a one-page list of walking instructions and leading questions then allowed to roam the city center in groups of seven. My group happened upon some fascinating sights, including:

• The former sight of the Racial Classification Board, a governmental organization that decided the designation of “white,” “colored,” “black,” and numerous other sickening labels that would decide everything about the rights and lives of the citizens. I have yet to find out how apartheid differed from Jim Crow in the South—or whether it did at all—but it was still jarring to see the relics of two benches, one with the inscription “Whites Only,” the other with the inscription “Non-Whites Only.”
•  The site of the first public library in South AfricaThe Centre of the Book, an institution dedicated to cultivating a love of reading in South Africa
• The Supreme Court of South Africa—fascinating, as I hope to one day work at (or across the street/town from) its American equivalent *wink wink*
• Cape Town’s City Hall—the site of Nelson Mandela’s very first speech. Actually, the balcony on which he spoke was blocked from the public behind locked gates, but after explaining our identities and situation to a few people inside of the building, we were taken on a private tour by one of the higher-ups through the hallways and out onto the actual balcony. SO cool!!
• We then nabbed a quick lunch (not Indian, phew), then headed to a public library for class. I had to be cajoled through the numerous stacks of fascinating books, as I almost halted in the middle of the library to check out like fifteen novels. We sat through about four and a half more hours of class—which I would have fallen asleep in were it not for the fascinating material and my determined resolution to really and truly make the most of Cape Town

A few days ago, I realized with a start that my time on this study abroad program is almost over and that I have not nearly begun to make of it what I hope to. In India, I was overwhelmed—emotionally, sensorally, psychologically—and it was personally impossible for me to invest my full attention and intellect in the academia and culture. I was simply too exhausted and too busy trying to survive with my sanity intact. In Sao Paulo, I fell in love with the city and with my host family. I visited museums and went to a few nightclubs (okay, only one) and hung out with my host sister and niece. However, I played Sudoku in class and spent too much time rolling my eyes at boring, repetitive lectures. Cape Town, I’ve decided, is my place. I will do every reading (or almost every reading); I will think critically about the issues with which I am presented; I will explore the nooks and crannies of the nature, the museums, the clubs, and the stores of this city with excitement and an open mind. (Starting tomorrow, because I opted for an early night of sleep in lieu of a jazz festival. I’m jetlagged, okay!??!)

After class, we drove a short distance to Bo’Kaap, a Muslim neighborhood in the city centre and our homes for the next ten days. Yes—ten days. We have two homestays here in Cape Town, meaning two partners, two families, two households, two sets of rules, two types of cooking, etc. etc. My homestay mother—whom I call Mama—calls Savannah and I her “darlings” and cooked us a delicious dinner and showed us her stunning view of the city of Cape Town (two amazing views in a row—I’m so lucky!!). My homestay dad, Papa, bought me delicious ice cream from a nearby market, so clearly, they already know me well.

There’s no WiFi in my homestay, which I strangely and kind of shockingly was hoping for. I think that in Sao Paulo, I checked Facebook/Snapchat/Twitter too often; that I thought of who was messaging me or who wasn’t messaging me with an unhealthy mindset; that I obsessed over the mundane and petty back home and back at school too heartily. It made me uneasy. I want to totally devote my attention and energy to Cape Town, and I hope to return to the contemplative, inflective state that I’d acquired in India.

I never would have imagined that I’d forgo WiFi happily and eagerly. I never would have thought that I’d breathe a sigh of relief in finding I had no Internet. And that makes me wonder—have I changed? I’ve attributed all of my new qualities—a recognition of certain inequalities; attentiveness to detail; more intellectual and meaningful observation and conversation; a fiery resolution to stick by my ideals; an invasive negativity that can cloud my shiny, naïve optimism; uneasiness with going out on the town; and many more that I’m just beginning to realize as I actually list them—to my surroundings; I’ve recognized them as temporary, fleeting mechanisms with which to cope with these foreign environments. But what if that’s me now? What if I return to America, to California and Boston, and realize that I’ve carried with me these new outlooks and ideas and ways of approaching the world? Or perhaps, in a potentially scarier outcome, what if I shed these traits and slip back comfortably into the life of the Aubrey that departed for New York two and a half months ago? I feel so in flux, and I wonder if others will think that I have changed when I come back home.

I will be finding out soon, though, because this program really is almost over. I almost teared up today, thinking of saying goodbye to Sally, Jenn, and Caitlin. I honestly don’t know how I’ll function without their constant presence—I already miss Sally’s laugh, and it’s only been four hours since I’ve seen her!!! Excepting one weekend in India, this is probably the furthest I’ve been from her for a period longer than three or four hours, considering we were homestay partners then neighbors then spring break buddies. How absurd that I’ve grown so close so quickly to these lovely people and that we will never be so physically close for such a long time ever again. UGH but wait I have another month and I don’t want to cry on my first night in this homestay!!! So, I think I’ll end this post right about now, and reaffirm my gratefulness for this opportunity, my joy in recognizing how lucky I am, and my determination to make the most of Cape Town and really reflect on what I’ve accomplished so far.

Lots of love,

Aubrey

BR --> SA

At the moment, I am quite literally dizzy with exhaustion, given my draining transatlantic travels and the incessant, immediate “go, go, go” attitude of our South Africa country coordinator. So, this will be a rather shorter post, but hopefully I cover enough in the next few paragraphs to encompass my current excitement, disappointment, confusion, and longing.

On Monday, I woke up late and lounged around the hotel until lunchtime, at which point I dropped off ten more postcards at the nearby post office (be on the lookout!!!). We gathered for a quick intro session on South Africa and then hopped on a bus to head to the airport.

While it felt ridiculous that we were leaving four whole hours before our plane's departure, we ended up having only twenty minutes to scarf down a quick dinner before boarding. Upon finding our seats, we realized that our program had been interspersed with the professional South African men's soccer team. It was exciting, I suppose, but they kept messing with me when I was trying to read my book, so that wasn't too fun. Our in-flight entertainment system was completely broken on this flight, so we made a bit of a ruckus due to our boredom. We were yelled at multiple times by our flight attendants (and I mean yelled), and at one point they turned on the seatbelt sign due to "turbulence" but I'm pretty sure it was just because they wanted us to stop congregating with one another.

I only got about 2-3 hours of sleep on this "red-eye" and was utterly delirious coming into Johannesburg. Due to South Africa's customs system, we had to go through customs, collect our baggage, re-check our bags, and go through security once again to make our connecting flight to Cape Town. It was a little bit too close for comfort, and I was pretty positive we were going to miss it, but I got another stamp and we got on the plane, so things worked out.

We landed in Cape Town around noon and proceeded to another bus that would take us to a look-out point over the city. While on the ride from the Sao Paulo airport to the city center, I remember being absolutely overjoyed, practically euphoric, at all of the sights and newness. I didn't really feel that this afternoon, and it worried me for a few reasons.

1) I've been looking forward to visiting South Africa for years. It has always been one of my top travel destinations, and I expected to feel some sense of fulfillment upon reaching this country I've dreamed about for so long.

2) It's a new country!!! I love to travel!!! Why am I not stoked out of my mind???!

And perhaps most disconcerting of all,

3) Shouldn't I feel some sense of returning home? According to some DNA tests taken by my family recently, I am almost a quarter West African. I thought that touching down in the continent that served as home to a quarter of my ancestors would feel comforting or revelationary. But I just feel tired and confused and lost. It doesn't seem familiar in the way that New Orleans did when I went there a few years ago, and I sort of expected it would.

BUT, I'm trying to cut myself some slack. So, rebuttals to my three anxieties.

1) I have only been lucid in Cape Town daylight for about two hours. Plus, I've always dreamed of going on a safari or something, not necessarily staying in a city. So, I have to give myself some time to explore and grow to appreciate this other part of South Africa.

2) I'm exhausted. I have been travelling for about fourteen straight hours, and I have been living out of a suitcase for almost three months now. (Actually, including Costa Rica, it'll be three straight months in three days.) This is my last country before home, and as excited as I am to be in this incredible, thought-provoking, wonderful place, it's hard to be ecstatic when in the back of my mind I"m counting down the hours to my flight to JFK. 

3) Perhaps it was foolish of me to even think this in the first place. But I've struggled with my identity so much on this program and in life, and I've felt rejected by people that I consider peers, and perhaps I was just hoping that the land itself would accept me in a way that would mitigate all of the turned backs and disbelieving glares. Maybe I was attempting to misplace a burden on a continent that I instead will have to deal with personally and internally. And maybe it's like going to Toronto when you have Aztec ancestors and expecting to feel connected to the location. I guess I won't really know until I get to know South Africa and until I get the opportunity to travel to West Africa.

So, as I'm dealing with all of this psychological and emotional trauma, our director is chattering away, taking us up to a mountain to go on a short "walk" and listen to a half-hour talk about the city in the windy, dreary weather. We were absolutely not having it, to be honest.

But not to worry!!! We got TWO WHOLE HOURS to rest before our hour-long safety talk and twenty-minute dinner that was--wait for it--Indian food.

I can't even talk about it.

In every other country, we've been given at least a day to recover from jetlag and culture shock, and in some cases, three days go by before our first class. But not here. We have NINE HOURS of class tomorrow before moving into our first homestay. 

I feel like I'm gonna vomit. No, actually. I'm so tired that it's turned into nausea and I think I may pass out. Hopefully I don't roll off my top bunk...

Anyway. I'm looking forward to getting to know the city, and I'm hoping that my feelings of disappointment and lethargy are simply symptoms of my insane need to get to sleep.

If I go to sleep at this minute, Ill get about nine hours--so, I'm gonna conk out. 

Good night friends.

With love, from South Africa,

Aubs

PS--I will have extremely limited WiFi here most likely, so posts may have to come in weekly clumps of three to four posts!!