This week was relatively relaxed,
which is exactly what I needed after my busy weekend. After a low-key week at
work and classes, Emily, Elizabeth and I spent Thursday evening at
the Waterfront where we enjoyed a scenic ride in the Ferris Wheel and some gelato.
On Friday, Emily, Megan, and I went
to meet with Yonela about our activist project. Unfortunately she had to miss
it because of a meeting. After the Human Rights weekend Africa Unite continued
to do more seminars on team building and leadership with the other activists so
she’s been really busy. It gave Emily, Megan, and I a chance to catch up over
smoothies and talk about what exactly we wanted to do.
I went home and got caught up on
internship applications and homework. That evening, I went to the Cape Cultural
Collective, a sort of community coffee house at the Slave Church on Long
Street. I loved it. At home one of my favorite things to do is go to local
coffee houses and watch local people explore their talents. Some of them are
good, a few of them are amazing, but all of them are inspiring. Throughout high
school and sometimes even now in college my friends and I will perform at
coffee houses and so I have a deep appreciation for the amount of courage and
work it takes to prepare for something like that, especially when it’s
generally not your top priority. It has made me realize how important it is in
life to create space and time for simple things that bring you joy alongside
your career, family, friends, etc. Not to say that those things aren’t joyful,
just that I find solace in being alone and taking a break from my routine to
appreciate something that isn’t consistently there.
My favorite part of the night was
actually the first act: an all-female marimba band. They were playing a mix of traditional
marimba music and adaptations of pop songs. They played Shakira’s song Waka
Waka from when the World Cup was held in South Africa and everybody was singing
along—it was such a blast.
On Saturday, Elizabeth, Trista, and
I went to the Art in the Park—a fair held three times a year where local
painters show display their work in the Rondebosch Park. I was standing there
looking at one piece because I was so in love with it and then the artist came
up and started talking to me. She told me that the one I was looking at was
one of her favorites because it was inspired by the colors she saw during her
visit to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I was so excited to hear this because my dad’s
whole family is from Santa Fe and it’s one of my favorite places in the world.
My grandma is a potter there and so I grew up exploring the markets where she
sold her work and a lot of the art and fashion I’m drawn to is inspired by or
similar to the things I see there. She gave me her card and invited me to her
house to look at more of her stuff. I’m planning on bringing my family there
when they come.
The rest of the day we spent just
exploring the city. We ended up walking almost six miles just popping into
different cafes and window-shopping. I love doing things like that because it
makes me feel like I’m actually living in a city rather than just visiting it.
Because I’m not going on the homestay for another week, I think I’m going to
spend another day this weekend doing that and hopefully hitting up some of the
museums that I always see on my walk to work.
 |
| High tea with Trista, Abby, Charity, Becca, Elizabeth, Maria, & Mary |
After we came home and digested,
Elizabeth and I headed to the UCT law school to get some work done.
I spent a lot of this week
reflecting on my experiences here and figuring out how to balance work, fun,
and time to myself.
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