This time, however, I actually took stock of its name: Anglo African. The rest was history, and now the blog is up.
I'm still not sure what form this blog is going to take, so bear with me in these first few weeks as I figure out the best means of delivery.
First off, I just want to thank all of you for helping me get here. The outpouring of support and the enthusiasm that everyone showed starting when this trip was just a pipe dream was overwhelming and touching.
The strangest thing about being here isn't the food, the school, the people, or anything like that. It's the sky. It's completely different. The stars are different at night and its exhilarating disorienting. To look up and see the southern cross instead of Orion and the Big Dipper and realize that I am literally on the other side of the world is a singular experience I will never forget. The other thing that slipped under my radar, and I didn't realize it until early this week, is that people walk on the other side of the street. I knew that cars did, but that's a little more obvious; I mean, there's lines. So, for the first two weeks I was literally bumping into everyone on the street.
This place is wild. On a weekday you can see, on one block, in one eyeshot, men in business suits, army officers with high tech weaponry, donkeys (yeah), and women with babies on their backs balancing crates on their heads. All that and a dazzling array of Dutch Euro fashion. Here are a couple pictures of some notable hot spots:
This is the Olde 65 pub. It's a Zimbabwe-owned place and is the location of some of the more heated, and truly mind expanding, political and cultural debates I've ever had. Oh, and they have drinks, too.
At Rhodes, you either live in Res (short for Residence Hall- they abbrev. everything here), which is on campus, or you live in digs, which are off-campus residences. This is the digs of a few South Africans and Zimbabweans I've become close to. It has been named, with absolutely no sarcasm whatsoever, The Monastery.
Here's what's growing out side my window (which has a wonderful view of the Chemistry department- I was coming out of the shower the other day and didn't realize that there was a full class that could have looked in if they so chose.)
I'm not sure how well that came out, but it's an orange tree that grows in our courtyard.Alright, everyone, I'm going to call it. Expect posts at least a couple of times a week. And please, leave comments. If there's anything in particular you want to know about, I'll try to find out.
Soundtrack for this post:
Lil Wayne, Let the Beat Build
Nina Simone, Baltimore
Andre 3000, Hollywood Divorce
Talking Heads, Sugar on My Tongue
Joy Division, Love Will Tear us Apart
