Mike and German roommate Philip
I have few words today. That's a lie, of course. This week has seen the collision of the third and first worlds and the collision of my life with so many others and I've not yet had time to process it all.
I'm sad today, not homesick, really, but melancholy. Which is of course to be expected. I wish I could divulge the cause or cure, but I can do neither and thus time will sort things out and make them right again, it always does. Perhaps someday I shall be able to pull of the beautiful solitude, that quiet, enduring strength that drives the most mysterious minds yet also keeps them contented.
When will I learn not to rely so much on other people? I guess it's quite right what they say: in the end, all you have is yourself.
(This all stems from exhaustion. I find that I have been tired since I got here. Hopefully this coming week will bring more sleep and some of that quiet contentment.)
Today I met three Americans, friends of a British girl staying with Mike. They were all obscenely wealthy and I found myself both jealous and annoyed. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have everything? But also, isn't it the most horrible thing that could ever happen?
One girl had graduated from SMU in 2009 and was here with Projects Abroad for a few months and had decided in the end to stay here. She had no job, but had signed a lease on an apartment after her placement had ended and is now in the process of looking for a job. And by looking for a job I don't mean that at all. She spoke of all of the jobs she could have taken, waitressing or whatnot, and how they were beneath her.
The same for the young couple who came here. They have been here seven months and are both unemployed, yet they drive a BMW and have never been into the neighborhood I live in. They talked about how they couldn't really be expected to have found work already because they have been traveling, and then it took them three months to find a house and then there was the World Cup and blah blah blah.
And I was immediately put off.
There is much to be said for walking the lines between wealth and extravagance. I wish for moderation and to always be grateful for what I have.
Friday night I was asleep before ten. Svenja and I put in "Dirty Dancing," which I'd never seen, and promptly fell asleep. Saturday was the wine tour, which was lovely but wildly underwhelming. I paid too much for a buffet that I don't regret simply because of mashed potatoes, a cold bell pepper salad, and chocolate mousse. But it covered lunch and dinner, so it was not all bad in the end. Yesterday night we went out to Long Street with a couple of volunteers. I was not really impressed nor that excited as instead, I just wanted to sleep. But we were out quite late and arrived safely home.
There is a lot of German speech flying back and forth. Svenja hates it because she came here to work on her English. However, it makes me sort of want to be in Spain or the Americas to work on my Spanish, so hopefully that's something I can begin doing as soon as I get home.
For now, I'm learning swear words in Afrikaans but am hoping to also learn to have basic conversations by the time I leave. However, I can say quite a few offensive things and I've only been here five days, so I think we're off to a pretty good start.
Today, we went to the beach at Muizenberg. I can already tell that it's going to be one of my favorite places here. We sat and watched the waves crash into the beach for the longest time before getting some lunch and then walking up to the Muizenberg Market, held weekly. I didn't buy anything since I didn't have any small bills or coins with me, but I did get to practice my haggling a little bit. Bargaining is such a learned skill and by the time I leave here, I'd love to have it quite together. I talked one man down to R12 from R20, but didn't want the keychain after I saw that it would have rusted eventually. But I could have done better. There's so much play acting that goes into the haggling process; you see something, you inspect the quality, you ask how much, you decided how much you're willing to pay, you counter-offer, you pretend you don't want it, you set it down, maybe you turn. The vender names a lower price. You pretend to think about it. You mull it over, maybe turn the piece over in your hand. Then you say no, the price drops...and so on. It's a timeless dance, really, a beautiful craft.
Tomorrow brings more work, something I'm not quite prepared for but am launching into anyway. So perhaps things will go smoothly this week. I am preparing to be the best damn networker/job placer that the Vrygrond/Capricorn has ever seen.
Wish me luck.
xx
love to all.
Also, for those wishing to write me love letters (I do love a nice romantic surprise), or send me packages (write a list of what's enclosed so the government doesn't freak out), or whatever:
Katherine Barry
c/o Mr. Dana Myers
Projects Abroad
4th Floor
Letterstedt House
Newlands on Main
Corner of Campground
Cape Town, South Africa 7700
No comments:
Post a Comment