girl's day out.

Spent the day in the Company Gardens. After brunch, walked around the South African National Art Gallery. It was overcrowded and the quality of the art was mixed, but it was impossible not to find some interesting (a lot of political) stuff. Then we were attacked by pigeons and squirrels--I had a face-off with one. And took a crazy minibus ride on all of the back-roads to avoid traffic. Barely came out alive, definitely without a regular heartbeat. Ready to watch a live performance at Zula and get the blood pumping again.

copious amounts of cheese

Attended the South African Cheese Festival. Did our rounds in two huge tents full of wines, dips, cheese and crackers, pates, breads, etc. Only to learn that we just touched the tip of the iceberg. No way to make it to all of the tastings, but we tried our best.

afrikaburns: part 3

DAYTIME:

• Painted a design on a tapestry. 
• Took a trip to Alice and Wonderland when we walked through a little door into a tea party that served cupcakes that read “eat me.” 
• Had a personal dance party with our own private dj. Were soon handed cold beers. You know, just because.
• Did probably the best people watching of my life. Some on glowing bikes, some on pirate ships, others in fuzzy-bunny-slipper-motorbikes, or moving concert stages.
• Visited a matchmaking love shack tent that provided heart cupcakes, heart lollipops, wine, and filled out a survey to set us up on a blind date that night. 
• Given shell necklaces to wear.
• Ate bourbon cherries (they came with pancakes in the morning, but we missed it.)
• Sat and talked in the middle of the desert in a little field of glow-stick-y phallic plastic things (the kind you get from Disney Land). 
• Frolicked in a neon-flower garden with children (there were people there of all ages!). 
• Went to a bathroom that had only three walls and overlooked desert and mountains at sunset.
• Watched a yoga class in the same place we later took a long nap in. Were handed baby-wipes to freshen up with by a fairy princess (AKA: little girl dressed in white).
• Ran into my tutorial professor dressed as an avatar. Got very excited that I called the resemblance day one of class.

 NIGHTTIME:

• Painted a face on a canvas. 
• Looked at flying dragons in the sky.
• Walked through a red womb-looking wooden tunnel/sculpture. At one point there were two women in there doing unpleasant things to unpleasant piercings that I care not to rehash in too much detail.
• Got a group of people to dance the Horah (Jewish dance which is like the grape vine in a circle) while we watched Taroh cards being projected on a screen. 
• Saw a man juggling high-tech balls that lit up according to the rhythm he caught and threw them in, and danced to another dj. 
• Hung out in an octopus garden. It was a smallish room, made of cloth walls, full of dangling sea creatures made of string and fabric that glowed under its accompanying black light. Also, one of the walls had Planet Earth projected onto it and had two lawn chairs outside to watch it on.
• Watched a woman spin fireballs around. 
• Sucked on some sour lollipops.
• Returned to Alice and Wonderland to dance to drum and bass. 
• Attended literally the best party I’ve ever been to. In the middle of the U-formation was a truck that had a three-wall living room in the back with comfy couches, framed pictures, and lamps. The Living Room looked out onto a giant Lego man and a huge dance party. There was an insanely amazing DJ who remixed songs including Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Superstition. The truck also had a wooden sculpture thing that would occasionally spurt fire. Oh, and there were fireworks as well. No biggie.
• Danced in The Igloo (small club that looked like an igloo). Which is where Emma and I returned late-night to chill in nooks that were filled with cushions and pillows.

Our days and nights at AfrikaBurns consisted of floating in between all of these places and our tent, giving (rather, mostly taking) gifts, and picking up old and new friends along the way.

We rejoined reality Sunday afternoon. But I was ready to return to AfrikaBurns before I left.

afrikaburns: part 2

So after being helped by multiple men, a Japanese woman, and a band called Crème Brulee and the Seasonal Fruit, we were back on our way. With nothing surrounding us but sand, dust, and the occasional shrub, we drove another hour and a half further into the middle of nowhere. Shocker. Finally, we drove over a hill and we came onto some lights in the distance. Tents were set up in a giant U-shape, which was so big that many choose to bike all weekend. With a little extra help from our neighbors, we set up our tent in the dark and windy cold and set off to explore a bit.

If you have the time, or don't need to pay for internet by the information, you should look at these pictures because they're amazing. I really don’t know how to describe it, because it was nothing like anything I’ve ever seen before. But I suppose this description begins to touch on the feeling of Afrika Burns: a circus-themed 1960s time-warped version of a communist Candyland combined with a contemporary art exhibit in the desert. 

afrika burns: part 1

Friday, with a car full of 1 cowboy hat, 2 jars of peanut butter, 3 loafs of bread, 4 blankets, 5 girls, and 6 gallons of water, we set off for Afrika Burn(s?) (which is based on Burning Man in Nevada).

This is their mission statement:
“Our intention is to generate society that connects each individual to his or her creative powers, to participation in community, to the larger realm of civic life, and to the even greater world of nature that exists beyond society”.

What we understood: The idea is that a bunch of people camp out in the desert and provide everything for their own survival. Nothing is bought or sold for the duration their stay (Thursday to Tuesday). Things are only gifted with no expectation for anything in return. There are costumes and art installations and tents and parties. The last day, this big wooden sculpture of a man is burned…

So really we had no idea what to expect. Our anticipation only grew on our 5-hour drive—especially since there was so much dust from the desert that we couldn’t see anything in the road ahead or behind us.

Upon sunset, we realized that one of our tires was shredded, our other tire was flat and we didn’t know how to change the tire, or have an extra spare (anyone surprised?). So we became stranded on the side of the road in the middle of the desert. Every time a car passed (all going to Afrika Burn because there was literally nothing else in sight) a fresh blanket of dust covered us. Luckily every other car that passed us stopped. And everyone who stopped was beyond helpful and kind. Coming to Afrika Burn, they were all in the community-mindset of sharing, giving, and trusting strangers. A mindset that we quickly took on as well. As a New Yorker, it was pretty alarming. This is when we realized we were no longer in Kansas (or Cape Town).

baph monsters

I'm not sure how much to include or exclude, on behalf of the kids. I was a little torn about the idea of including specific information--especially since we've all talked so much about the controversy of "slumming" and of being careful to not exploit them. However, they mean so much to me already. I would be leaving out such an important part of my life here if I didn't talk about them. Being influenced by all of those Cosmos and Teen People's out there (or is it Men in Black?), I've decided to refer to them by their initials. Hopefully that's something.

So here we go. It's about time: These kids are amazing. We have a really a special group (though I'm sure everyone says that). They're all nuts. Before we can say, "Moloweni!" (hello!) they are in our arms. They are fireballs of energy who just want to climb and dance and run and be bounced and chased and thrown and shaken all day. We sing their names to the tune of this Xhosa song we learned the first week of orientation. They all know it and all love it. Absolute best dancers. Been dancing and drumming since they were in the womb. We taught them duck, duck, goose. But without the same language and with the desire to help them learn how to count, told them to just say "1, 2, 3, 4...Go!" But the "go" didn't really catch on. So now they think the premise of the game is to count to ten and run all over the place and sit in that spot. Somehow this hasn't gotten boring to them yet and I doubt it will by the time we leave. Little gremlins.

We started the day coloring in hand-writing worksheets ("J" is for "Jester"). Then they made paper-bag puppets they all named after themselves. Followed by some good ol' "Simon says...," which was somewhat lost in translation. What began with us demonstrating, "Simon says touch your knees...Simon says jump three times..." immediately turned into "Simon Knees"...while pointing to shoulders... Okay, so we still have a long way to go.

But it also is amazing to see their development in such a short period of time. For example, K is clearly dyslexic. When copying a word, she writes the entire thing as if it was in a mirror--including her name and the alphabet and all of her letters. But a few weeks ago she wrote it all correctly! Or how Z, who is usually quite the trouble-maker and threw a fit last week, brought a book today and was completely well-behaved the entire class. As a routine, we rounded the day out in a scrambling mess singing the "clean up song," "the hokie pokie," "baby shark," "head shoulders, knees, and toes" and "down down, baby." As long as they're moving their bodies they are apple-pie-happy. Crazy and wild as ever. Never gets old. Rewarded with a star sticker on their hands, they then parade around and flaunt it. If only we could incorporate some nap-time. Then I'd be a very happy camper.

Also, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE BOOKS, ZEYDE! So wonderful.

obs.erving

Just a few examples of the really cool graffiti in Cape Town. Strangely, I didn't see any of it until Talya. These happen to be in Obs (Observatory), a cool nearby neighborhood.

queen of tarts

Because I am lazy, I've copy-pasted the first review I found online of my new favorite breakfast/lunch place:

Queen of Tarts is such a delightful little restaurant I would recommend it to anyone and everyone! The decor is cute and funky, the service is friendly and very personal. You are greeted with a smile as soon as you walk through the door and immediately feel happy and relaxed! And then there is the food! WOW!! Everything is fresh fresh fresh! A must visit for all those that enjoy breakfast and home made yumminess! And do not miss out on their chocolate tart!

Sums it all up. Only comment I'd add would be: "Adorable."

crystal

Hiked to Crystal Pools with Anna, her sister, and her friend from high school. This was at the very beginning of the walk and was one of the only pics I got to take, before my camera died. But this is what we had to look forward to. It's just one of five of the bodies of water along the hike.

jazz fest

Went to the Cape Town International Jazz Festival for the night. It was really cool. Five different stages. Tons of performances. But because of the insane wind (classic Cape Town), the performer I really wanted to see (Bilal) was moved to an inside stage and was given much later time to perform. After being there for a couple of hours, we decided we were ready to go. Too bad. But still fun.

sky diving. golden.