beaches, boys and botanicals

February 9, 2009

So it has been a few days since my last entry and I've been really busy. Friday morning we had to wake up early to register for classes, which needless to say was not fun. Back home we just have to sign online and it takes 5 minutes, but here you have to wait in line for a really long time so that they can register you online. And then you have to wait in line for a really long time to get your ID card. Blah.
Other than that though we havn't had any more orientation or school stuff so a bunch of us went to the beach Friday and Saturday. Friday we took the train to Fish Hook, about a 40 min train ride. I'm sure that I will continue to say these repeatedly about everything, but it was so beautiful I felt like I was in a movie about paradise for the first hour or so. It has been so hot out (February is the dead of summer here so it's the hottest month) and I was completely covered in sweat when we finally arrived at the beach. Its cool because the train runs up and down the coast so you literally walk out of the train station and then walk 50 feet and you're on the beach. All the locals will warn you that the water is really cold but it really wasn't that bad, it was so refreshing. Cape Town has some of the best surfing in the world and I can see why because the waves are really intense. I tried to body surf with some of the boys but wasn't getting it that well. On Saturday we went to Muizenburg, which is also on the Atlantic coast but is just a few stops before Fish Hook on the train. I didn't enjoy the scenery quite as much there but there were a ton more people there (partially because it was a Saturday) but there was also a youth surfing competition going on. It was pretty cool to watch. The waves there were much more intense that the ones at Fish Hook.
The craziest part about our afternoon at Muizenberg was that about 40 minutes or so after we got there an alarm started sounding that I initially thought was ambulances or something, but then it turned out that it was a shark alarm! I wasn't in the water at that point but everyone started clearing out really quickly, although there were still some surfers that were pretty far out. I'm not sure how often they have sharks in the area but it was crazy because they sound the alarm and make announcements over a huge loudspeaker and there were hundreds of people there so it was intense to be there. I had forgotten at that point that Heine had told us that you can't swim very far out at Muizenberg compared to some of the other beaches because sharks are closer there than the average. Craziness. Its so amazing to be able to go to a beach that so different from any of the ones I've ever been to before.
I have been frustrated by the dynamics with guys that are present here in comparison with home. Back home I have a ton of guy friends, and arguably more guy friends than girl friends in some places, so when I go out at home I am naturally friendly and outgoing with guys and I generally don't have to worry about them thinking that because I am being nice that I want to get with them. But here, especially because I am American, but also because the culture is simply different, I really have to be careful to who I talk to when I'm out and how I talk to them. Local guys will often readily assume that if you dance with them or maintain a friendly conversation with them at a bar that you want to go home with them. It has been frustrating for me because I want to get to know locals but I don't want to give the wrong impression. It is easier at all student parties though.
On Friday after the beach the idea was that Ruby and Lyle were going to take us on a crawl of Long st, which is the main strip of bars and clubs in downtown Cape Town. We were all really excited about it, and as a result I chose to do that instead of going to another club that Moses invited me to, but it ended up being pretty lame. All of the clubs on Long St require cover and there are other bars but it didn't seem like Lyle and Ruby were really sure of where they should be taking us. At the end of the night a lot of the group had gone home and it was me and this girl Suzy and a few others left at this bar called Stones. We were all dancing and annoyingly this creepy local kept trying to dance really close to Suzy and it was making both of us really uncomfortable. I stepped in between them and it made the guy back off a little but it was frustrating because one of the guys we were with was right there and easily could have made some sort of gesture to keep the guy away from us but he didn't. Its frustrating because it seems like our American boys don't always pick up on the creepiness the way that other girls do. Other of my American guy friends here are often very helpful and supportive in situations like that because they understand that the experience here is different for girls than it is for guys and that they can and should play a part in making it a safer, more comfortable environment for us. Overall though it is all under control, and nothing that me and my friends can't handle by being smart and aware.
Last night we went to somewhat of a homecoming party for UCT students at this huge venue called Springbok in Newlands, about 10 minutes away from here in the southern suburbs. It was packed and I actually got completely separated from all my friends for about an hour. It was the first time I have been alone for a prolonged period of time since I have arrived here. It wasn't really nervewracking or anything because the party was for students only but I met a few people that I may not have met had I been in a huge group of Americans. I like it better that way, I feel like it is a more authentic experience.
Today I slept in a bit and then woke up and me and Mel went grocery shopping in Rondebosch center, a big town center right next to the UCT campus about a 10 min walk from here. It was honestly one of the first times since I have been here that I felt kind of like I was at home. Soooo many people were out walking around, you could tell many of them were going to church. This place is seriously so diverse. You see people of so many different colors and creeds walking around. Its so much more interesting than home, I love it.
Mom and dad will be happy to know, and my friends will likely be surprised to know that I am indeed buying all my own groceries and cooking real meals of food. You should be proud.
This afternoon we went to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens on the base of Table Mountain about 15 min from here. Completely ridiculoudly beautiful view of the mountain with gardens and different kinds of plants everywhere. I could get lost in there. I never thought I would do shrooms again but this place is so fucking beautiful that it makes me want to. We are definitely going back. People were picnicking all over the place. They throw concerts there every Sunday afternoon in the summertime and we went to the one today. The venue is sick... its on a downsloping hill right in the middle of the gardens with an incredible view of the mountain on the left and the city on the right. Everything here is so beautiful that pictures do not capture it at all!
One of my IES classes starts tomorrow. We have intensive class from 2-5 Monday through Wednesday this week and then on Thursday we are leaving for the Western Cape for the night, although I am not yet sure what we will be doing there. Our UCT classes start on Monday, a week from tomorrow. This week I am hoping to do a hike of Table Mountain, maybe abseil off of it, and also I think a group of us are going skydiving on Wednesday morning. Sick!