100 Years of Solitude

Tuesday:
I have a cold!!!  It sucks.  Thank goodness I brought Throat Coat tea and Tylenol Cold relief with me.  So I feeling much better, and hoping to sleep it all off in time for UWC orientation tomorrow!  As of this moment, I am drinking tea, and watching a movie I have been craving to watch for a few weeks.  Thrilling. :)
Today we went on a tour of the Langa township.  I was a bit apprehensive about the concept of a group of american tourists walking around a poor neighborhood, and treating an area where people actually live as a spectacle and attraction.  I am happy to report that the reality was far less creepy and concerning.  Instead there was a huge range of incomes and cultures, many programs aimed at bringing income to the area, and great food.  We ate at a really great restaurant for breakfast and lunch as we finished up our program orientation, there was a dish with eggplant and sweet potato that was especially delightful.  On top of all of that we had fabulous weather.  It was very nice.
Before I left Eugene, I bought 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, which I thought would be a fitting literary backdrop to my potentially isolating adventure.  I am 150 pages short of the end of the novel, and while the jury is still technically out, I believe I will have a much easier go of it than the majority of the books characters.  All of the people I have met, with the program or from the country have all been lovely and friendly.  Soon I will register for classes and gain a better understanding of what my routine will be in Cape Town.  I cant wait! 

Wednesday:
Today was devoted to UWC orientation.  It was nice to meet other exchange students, both from other schools in the US and all over the world.  We learned about out health services, the registration process,   and the many accolades of the institution.  UWC has an interesting history as a university. It was originally founded as an instrument of the Apartheid government, then it was the cradle of afrocentric ideologies and anti-apartheid sentiment, and is today, committed to providing education to as many students as possible from all backgrounds.   One thing I didn't realize was that about 80% of the students at WUC come from a background of poverty.  Perhaps my definition of poverty is different from the one the college administration was using when they came up with that statistic, but I found that number to be quite striking.
So far in South Africa the thing that has surprised me the most was just how much diversity there is everywhere.  This means all kinds of diversity.  Today was the first day fastimng for Muslims observing Ramadan, and the signs of this were evident around the community, which was something I had never seen before.  In the US our general racial categories are defined by the concept of hypodescent or the idea that if someone has even the littlest fraction of African (or any) heritage they are categorized as African American (or the appropriate substitute .  This is an over simplified but easy racial lanscape to traverse.  In South Africa, I could not even begin to categorize the people I see.  There is just too much variance.  It is refreshing, thrilling and confusing!  While I doubt that even a lifetime of preparation could give me the right or ability to make sound statements about racal construction or identity, the South African "Rainbow Nation" has been brilliant to observe, and I cannot wait to see more.


real life update: Tonight I am making a list of meals Anna and I will eat this week so we can effectively go grocery shopping tomorrow.  If any one has meal recommendations that can be cooked on a hot plate, let me know!  We are in need of your suggestions.  Hugs from SA!