Buffet

Howdy, welcome to my word boofay.

In this post I will be trying to give a rundown of everything that has been going on besides the adventures. Of course quite a lot has been "going on," and I am a little OCD when it comes to detail, so once again we have lots of words to read. The post does start a bit grim, but brightens up at the end. Tried to give you the full range of flavors this time.

I always say that I am going to put up lots of pictures, but something always seems to happen before I am able to accomplish that, so no promises today. I know my father prints these and reads them to my grandmother; I am sure he will appreciate not having to print all the photos, but will really really appreciate reading all these words to her! hahahaha sorry pops.





To be blunt - I am doing well, but I miss "home." There are so many things about "home" that I miss. I miss my family. I miss Christina. I miss my friends. I miss my bike (sad I know). When doing all my artistic projects, I certainly miss all of my supplies I have gathered over the years, because I have to go out and buy new. I miss fast, reliable internet. I miss easily accessible technology. Hmmm let me carry on with just a couple more..... I miss four-burner stoves. Shit, I miss an oven. I miss cuddling (lame but kinda cute in a way, I know haha). And last but not least, I definitely miss me some Quizno's, Taco Bell, and Chipotle!

Besides not seeing people I really care about in a long time and it really starting to wear on me, and perhaps this is something that really influences all these feelings,

I miss not being able to go to a neighbor's house or just go about my day without having to lock and unlock doors, lock and unlock gates, lock and unlock gates again, ring buzzers, and swipe cards just to get there. I miss not having to always glance through fences at what lies beyond; not having to consistently see walls, barbed wire, locks, and cameras at every turn. I miss not having to always look over my shoulder to make sure that someone is not going to jack me as I walk two blocks to the grocery store, no matter what time of day it is. I miss not being stuck inside a complex that protects you from what is outside. In general, I miss the way of life that I am so fortunate to have at home.


What I am doing is not easy for so many reasons. Let me say I never thought that it would be easy. I did not think it was going to be "just like home" in any sense, and I embraced the challenge and I made this venture to Africa to be as far away from "America" as possible (in all senses). I can say that I have succeeded in that to say the least, and this experience will change me forever. :)


I cannot begin to describe the complexity of the experience I have had thus far. It has been everything I imagined it to be and wanted it to be, and one hundred times more.

Joburg is nuts. I can't speak for all of South Africa, but the place is nuts. It thrives with life and energy, but has a underbelly so dark that it chills the soul of the outsider. This post's underlying darkness is a reflection of the kind of fear that inhabits most South African residents and is creeping into me now. For the people here, this is life. I have talked to several residents of South Africa who say that they live their lives understanding that their safety is in question at any given moment, no matter where they are. They know they cannot live their lives in fear; they can only go about their business and pray they come out okay.




(If someone is reading this to grandma, you might want to skip a couple paragraphs)




As much as I would like to lie or just not talk about it, crime is kind of rampant. In one of the original posts I spoke about the NYU student who was robbed via ATM. I have been pulled over in cars and the cops demand money for no reason on more than one occasion. The student from Korea who lives in my res was driving a rental car and was held up for his cell phone while stuck in traffic. The same thing recently happened to my professor while driving his own car. The same thing has happened to my prac instructor. My neighbor was pickpocketed Sunday in the mall. Another girl in res was pickpocketed before that. As we were all crowded around on Friday, a girl in res told me about her mother being carjacked at gunpoint in the street at the end of their own driveway.



Last Friday, I heard screams in my res but thought it was just someone going crazy about soccer. When they continued, I opened the door to see the guard (we have a proximity fence, keypad, and 24 hour guard in our building) on the ground chasing after someone. On my way to see what was going on, I came across a black, spring-action, plastic pistol that was broken to pieces, and a crowd of people at the bottom of the steps. I could hear the crunch when one of the men that was holding down the perpetraitor headbutted him in the face.

Apparently, the guy had been scoping the place for a while. When he entered and talked to the guard, he said he was going to find someone named "?" from Gold Coast, and he let him pass. Next, he went upstairs and knocked on a girl's door and asked her if she knew so and so from Gold Coast. Then, after she said no, he went up to the room around the corner, busted in, and started hitting the guy in the room with a shoe?! Honestly, a shoe?! He broke the guys glasses and puffed his cheek up nice while struggling for his laptop. That is right around when the screams happened.

A persuit ensued around our building complex, then the guy was mobbed in the lobby. The idiot deserved to be headbutted if you ask me, but shit this is getting to be too much.

I came home today and there was a new lock on my door. It is on the inside. One of those chain locks, made to keep people out when you are in.


(Kids can take earmuffs off now)



So now I am in quite the predicament. I finished my exam and had an awesome installation last week, and this week started the transition to second semester with a one month internship program at Praekelt Consulting. It is a really interesting small company (with a really cool office) that is incredibly efficient while often dealing with massive companies within South Africa. I will be working with different people within the company for short amounts of time throughout my stay.

However, yesterday I realized that funding will permit me about another two months stay, maximum. No need to get into why that is because it is a long chain of events concatenating into this problem, but with current funds I could see staying past the end of July. That would mean that I would leave here without a degree, with no chance of transferring credits or any of the like. It would not be a total waste in that I have a ton of wisdom, experiences, and stories, but obviously I came here with a primary intention.

I have begun looking into alternative solutions: part-time design work, freelance photo, university and outside local funding, as well as contacting an old friend from OU to see if she can use her incredible skills and connections to make something happen. I will keep you posted on what happens, but right now it is looking like I will be back in August.

On a lighter note, I found Pho today! Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup that Wesley Trinh introduced me to back in Cleveland, and it may be the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. Nevertheless, there is a Pho place downstairs from my office and it was just as delicious as could be, fixed with all the trimmings.

Also, I recently (day after plastic gun) went on an overnight venture to (eventually) "The Vredefort Dome World Heritage Site." 2020 million years ago an asteroid measuring 10km in diameter slammed into the Earth at this spot. It is always incredible and often sublime to be surrounded by mountains, but imagine when you are aware that those mountains were created by a giant piece of space rock bigger than your town that smashed into the Earth 2020 million years ago! I thought the Rockies were impressive!

Tom, Dayan, Matt, and I stayed in a really nice lodge (that Matt paid for) situated on the Vaal River. We had some drinks, played soccer, and played some cards on Saturday before heading into the Afrikaans town of Parys to go to a bar. What. A. Dive. Tom was getting his back rubbed by a creepy fat old guy. Matt projectile vomited onto the floor, and within 5 seconds a guy appeared with a mop and just cleaned it up like nothing happened. Nobody winced.

Anyways, the next day we headed out to adventure. In the town of Parys you better believe they have an Eiffel Tower. See Tom, no more than one week after physically seeing the real Eiffel Tower, suggesting the typical tourist shot below.

That red building? KFC

Keep Our City Clean
There is a immovable stone lid to the waste bin

Of course the other images will not upload (as promised), so I will have to cut it short. Now that I have my internship I will be updating daily, just to get it all out there. Thanks for reading this installment.

Eish

Hello everyone, thanks for checking in.

Also, thanks to everyone for all the nice compliments about the blog. I really think those compliments may be the one reason I am driven to continue posting.

Blogging is still kind of a strange act for me, for three related reasons.

1. I think that it is understood that if I (or anyone else) have a blog, I actually think that other people want to know about what is going on in my life on a regular basis -- not just little updates and single sentences I put on Facebook, but the pages and pages of text and images outlining my adventures in Africa that I put up here. Originally, I thought it was kind of a conceited standpoint, but then I again thought about Facebook, Twitter, and all that jazz. People actually DO spend their time not only updating their own status and profile on a regular basis, but also spend vast amounts of time reading about or looking at pictures of everyone else. That being said, what makes me think that not just my status, but my entire adventures are worth interpreting? What makes me think that my life is of such great significance to others that they will actually read all these words out of sheer interest in what I have to say?

I know that because I have been so out of touch with everyone at home, this is really someone's only way to understand what I am up to. Either way, storyteller is a very interesting position to be in. :)

2. Blogging is only an interpretation of my experience. Just like that one photograph you take at an amazing event or location to try to "sum it all up," the blog can only represent a fraction of the true unique experience. When you snap that photograph I am referring to, how many times can you remember showing it to someone later (or maybe even yourself) and saying that "It doesn't do it justice, “it” was so much more than that?" That is how I feel about the blog.


3. Where do I begin to tell someone about the things that have happened to me since the last post? The wisdom I have gained and the things I have experienced cannot be put into words! Having/supplying/providing/smothering someone with too much information has been a problem that I have always battled with, so deciding what story to tell and then straining out everything but the juicy details (while still adding a personal reflection) can be quite the daunting task. I tried the frequent post thing, but you notice how well I have been sticking to that regiment.


Okay I have decided to make this just another separate rant post. I am sure someone comes out of reading this post thinking, “okay, so why the hell is he doing it then?” I really do enjoy it, just airing some thoughts on the matter. I would have completely omitted this section if I did not put so much time into it!