Living without.

I wanted to spend some more time thinking about what it is to live without. I’m sure some of you just went through Lent and gave something up (as many people do). Did you give up chocolate? Or Soda? Or a grouping of “bad” things? Or instead did you add something to your life, like saying “than you” more or spending more time with your grandma? What did you do? 

 One of the lessons that you are supposed to learn by making these choices is how to appreciate your life more and the things and privileges you have.  Moving across the world has done something similar for us. Our situation is weird because we do have things; we live in a fully-furnished rental house (no television or radio) and someone has kindly lent us their car for the last month and a half. And yet, we came here with just a large suitcase and a carry-on each. My husband wears the same five shirts to work every day; we’ve bought him one since he’s been here. We have one five-pack of hangers for his shirts, I don’t hang anything right now. I have tennis shoes (called tekkies here) and two pairs of flip flops (a casual and a “dressy” pair- if flip flops can be dressy); I do not own a blow-dryer (but that may change this week as it has gotten cold). Living with such few articles of clothing has made me realize that I do not really need too much. I’d love a pair of loafers, but until I have a job, I don’t really need some.  I do laundry more frequently, which is fine, since I have a lot of time on my hands. But then I worry about all the water we’re using… I have started to live more frugally (and greener)- I wash out Ziploc baggies to re-use then for his sandwiches, I use small boxes lined with a grocery bag instead of buying a trash bin, I use every last bit of dish soap before starting the new bottle, I put old pizza boxes underneath the dog’s eating area instead of buying a mat, and I wash out used containers of pasta sauce to use for storage. Why did I ever need so many mis-matched plastic containers? I even saved a piece of tape to re-use in the future. How many of you have done these things? Why did you do it?

We have very few personal, sentimental things here. When we packed all of our belongings, everything seemed personal. I had to learn how to give up things that were too small, broken, aged, out of style, or useless. We still packed some of those kinds of things with our stuff. And so we still have a lot of stuff. We literally packed all of our belongings, minus furniture, in less than five hours with four people. It surprised me how quickly it all disappeared into boxes. But it’s not here with us; and I wonder if we really need it. And then I think about how it would be nice to have personal things, things with memories attached here with us. And then I think maybe that is because we do not have any personal relationships here, I’m to the point that I am missing having a personal relationship with anything. 

Note left in our mail box (I blurred out the phone numbers).

Then, I think about the poverty that I have seen in Tucson and here in Cape Town. In Tucson, we have a large homeless population because it is warm and a friendly community. I saw them often because we had a “hospitality house” for homeless people in our neighborhood. I often put out on the curb things that we no longer needed and might have been useful to the homeless. In Tucson, you see people sleeping on the sidewalk or on a bench. They hold up signs asking for money, saying they are a “disabled vet” or “will work for food.” Here, in Cape Town, poverty looks different. I have not seen anybody sleeping on the streets, I have not seen signs. They beg for money at street lights and corners, saying “sorry, sorry.” I have seen more women begging for money, and they are often holding their children as they do it. My cynical outlook on life thought that they were trying to manipulate me so that I would be more likely to give money; then I realized that they probably did not have family to look after their child. Here, I would not ever think of leaving stuff in front of my house because it might be an invitation for soliciting in the future. Here, people ring your bell to beg for food or money; and they put slips of paper in your mail box advertising their skills of house and yard work. 

Khayelitsha. Image source.

Here, there are neighborhoods called “Townships”, the most well-known is Khayelitsha, however there are many throughout the area. The townships, created under Apartheid, are made up of small shacks, crammed together in spaces of unused land. I heard that when they first settled in 1985, they had tents for shelter; as time wore on, they added more permanent walls in the piece of land as their tent used to be on. Here is the Wikipedia page about Khayelitsha, it is very informative. I imagine that the people who live there really have almost nothing in their homes; how can they when they have to sleep so many people, feed them, and clothe them. 

Houses in Khayelitsha. Image source.

I am lucky. I am lucky with the “nothing” that I have. I think that when we finally get our things, I really am going to have to go through it all again, and give away what I can.  It will be hard, but I do not NEED most of it. 

I want to be aware and present in the moment. 

I want to be kinder and gentler to myself and others.

This is what I have learned so far. 

Happy Easter.

 P.S. Look at my husband's blog- he has a new post up!

Song of the day: Simple Life by The Weepies. They don't have a video for the song, but someone put up a YouTube video with nice images to go along with the song.

I Spy: Neighborhood

Hello, I'm gonna start doing something that littlemissmomma started a few weeks ago, an I SPY segment. I really like her blog and crafts; I have to make myself only look at it a couple times a week. I took most of these pictures today while driving to the gym and back. It was very cloudy this morning, but it cleared up nicely by the afternoon!

Devil's peak at the intersection of Lover's Walk and Grotto.

Here, they put electric fencing on as many places as they can.

One of my favorite houses in the neighborhood; it has a bubbling fountain and is 3 stories high.

St. Paul's Anglican Church, just off of Main.

View from my dining room. Gray morning, no rain.

UCT campus, Table Mountain, in the background, is covered by the "Table Cloth" of clouds.

View from my street. Lots of cars parked on the street because we are so close to UCT.

This is a house on the corner of my street, it's name is Dyffryn (it reminds me of Harry Potter!)

It should just be called Rondebosch Video (it is a video and convenience store, not a cafe!)

This is the intersection of Main and Grotto; the gray building holds the Pick N' Pay that we do a lot of our grocery shopping at.

A man selling hand-carved wooden spoons and ostrich feather dusters.

"Happiness Unlimited" is actually very limited- the store is much smaller inside than it looks.

Mini bus taxi- can you see all the bodies in it? (This is a much newer van than what you would normally ride in.)

This is the Claremont Mercedes dealership, I really like the architecture.

Table Mountain with the "Table Cloth."

P.S.- Sorry for the bad photos.
P.P.S.- Uploading these took forever because I use a pre-paid wireless modem for internet!


Song of the day: Like a Prayer by Glass Cake. It's a cover of Madonna's hit song. What do you think?

Style: Some observations and things I have learned about this place so far.

• Clothing: Girls at UCT wear flats most of the time, I have seen very few high heels on campus (or in town). Maybe it’s the big hill they have to climb to get to campus. The girls wear “flowy” clothing and short skirts and shorts. Often, girls dress as though they had a time warp to the late 1080’s and early 1990’s. Whenever the wind blows, you think you’re gonna get a glimpse of something naughty, but you never do! They do not generally emphasize their breasts. Guys seem to take more clothing risks, such as wearing more colors (pink, day-glo yellow, etc.), different casual styles (surfer, etc.) and wear flip flops. 

Exhibit A: 1980's or 90's? Note the shoes, rolled up shorts, shirt falling off one shoulder, the hair, and the purse.

• Shoes: Most shoes are sandals and are thin, flat, and have no arch support- which is a problem for me as I am an old woman with the “Princess and the Pea” syndrome (I feel every bump and rock). The women love to wear bejeweled and beaded shoes and often have calluses and corns on their toes. Not many wear tekkies, or tennis shoes, which is what I traditionally live in most of the time. I might have to start branching out… You will also often see young people, mostly lighter skinned, walking barefoot on the sidewalks and into grocery stores. I keep wondering why they choose to do it- is it cool?

Exhibit B: Flat shoes and flowy dress. Image source from "Embracing Style", a blog about SA style.

• Heads: Out in the community I see more hats on women here and some women have short hair; female UCT students do not seem to choose short hair styles or pixie cuts (I have only seen two).

• Clothing stores: Pick N’ Pay Clothing is marketed similarly as to Old Navy, which they do not have here. One of the brands they sell is in the store is Cherokee. The Gap does not have its own store, but it has several racks in an overpriced department store called Stuttafords. Esprite is alive and well here, even though the brand was discontinued in the states (at least in Tucson) over a decade ago. There are some stores that you would recognize, such as Build-A-Bear Workshop, Timberland, Billabong, Guess, Claire’s, Levi’s. There are stores here called called SissyBoy, Metrosexual, and Mr. Price. There are designer stores at the Waterfront and at Canal Walk that you would not find in Tucson, such as Louis Vuitton, Mango, Armani, Jimmy Choo, Burberry, Gucci, Pringle, and Max Mara.

Song of the Post, inspired by the clothing and theme of this song: Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae. 

Our House in pictures.

The front of our house. The tree to the right is the frangipani/plumeria tree. Notice the bars on the windows- they're all on the inside (not the outside like in Tucson).

The hallway and our phone. I like the colors and the floors. I hate the phone's ringer. That is a large mirror in the back.

The Lounge (aka the living room). It is the first room on the left as you enter the front door. I love the bay window- it catches a lot of sunlight and the wind blows through it nicely. The couches are the most uncomfortable ones ever (many sore backs have been caused). Fire place not pictured.

The guest bedroom. The first room to the right off of the front door. The pillows were stolen for use on our couches to lessen the back pain!

Our bedroom. The second room on the right. Duvets and their covers are very big here.

The dining room. The second room on the left. It has a fireplace and gets great morning light.

The kitchen. The last door on the left. The stove is electric and the plates are flat metal discs (not coils). The fridge size is what would be considered "apartment sized" in the US. Because it is small and things go bad quickly here, we go to the grocery store almost every day for food. The owners are going to re-do almost everything! New cabinets, new window; hopefully new floors too!

The bathroom. The last door on the left. The tile is falling apart; the owners are going to re-do it all and make it a shower stall, replace the window and the vanity. They will also add a medicine cabinet, which will mean that we won't have to use our travel cases for storage.

The breakfast nook. Off of the kitchen. We do not use this room for anything, but it may become an office or craft room once we get our things.

Our back patio. It has three levels, two of bricks, one of grass. Not pictured to the immediate left is our laundry room. The structure to the front and left (you can see the corner) is the guest house that is being rented to a grad student; we both use the same entrance.

Our grassy back yard. It is enough of a yard for the dogs. It is a bit dry because it hasn't been watered this summer. The pink flowers you see are oleander.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed the tour! It is the biggest place we have ever lived and because we do not have our things, it feels very empty and unlived in. Our lease agreement does not allow us to hang things on the walls, but I noticed that we have a picture rail in many of our rooms. Have any of you used on of these? How did it work? I’m hoping to add some variation to the yellow walls. We now have an updated estimate of our things arriving 08 April 2011. Another month of waiting! I think that it won’t really feel like home until we have our things around us. As I mentioned in some of the photo captions, the owners (UCT) are going to be re-doing several rooms, fixing floors, and painting inside and out. I’m getting worried that this is going to be a major problem for me/us. I will have to be here most of the day to let workers in and out and the dogs will be on alert all the time (as well as stuck inside!). One possibility that we have been considering is to move to another, long-term, place before most of the work begins and before our things arrive. I really can’t face more home construction, unpacking boxes and then moving in less than six months! But at the same time, I don’t want to rush into a lease agreement and not take our time finding the right place. What is your opinion?

If you noticed, I asked questions in the post, hoping that you might answer. In the history of this blog, I have had over 250 views and only 14 comments posted. Please, please say something, even if it is just to say “hi, hello, or howzit.” We really need to feel as though we have not fallen off the face of the earth and been forgotten- so post comments on P’s blog too! Thanks in advance!

Love,

M

Birthday Fun

On 23/02/11 my husband turned a year older! Being new to the area and not wanting to be out too late, we settled for a nice lunch at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront and then a braai at home.  Here is the lovely P, smiling as always, on a bridge in front of the Clock Tower.

Here is a gigantic man built out of red Coca-Cola crates. 

Red Man

 We ate a an Italian restaurant named Hildebrand. It was originally a German restaurant, and when an Italian family bought it in 1964, they decided to keep the name. P had a steak, his favorite, and I had a Chicken Caesar salad with a poached egg on top! Different sidewalk troups came by to entertain and ask for money. Some guys in leopard print did acrobatics; I did not have a good view, but P liked them. My favorite was an aging man who played acoustic versions of "No Woman No Cry" by Bob Marley, "Don't Worry, be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin and "Hello" by Lionel Richie. I gave him a tip at the end because he had put me in such a good mood!

Then we rode The Wheel of Excellence, aka the Cape Town Eye, and we had some great views! I started to get my bearings more once I could see the land better. Some of these pictures might be blurry in places because the condensation from each gondola’s air conditioner drips down on top of each other as we go in a circle. The water also drops onto people walking below it (at first we thought we had been pooped on by a bird! lol).

A gondola

View of Table Mountain

Looking out onto the Atlantic.

 All in all, we had a good day. It was definitely a low-key birthday. I hope he enjoyed it all the same!

 And a special treat (since I never post pictures of myself):

New Soul

     It’s hard to believe that we have lived here for almost two weeks! We have pretty much gotten into a routine, which was nice since we don’t have much structure in our lives at the moment. Structure, as in regular work hours, hobbies, the gym, television shows, or family to build our time around. We have woken up anywhere between 6:30 and 8:00, made coffee, and eaten breakfast, which always includes a fried egg. It’s funny to watch P get so mad if his yolk breaks- he interprets it as a personal failure. Then we read or get on the internet for a while. Occasionally a workman comes over to tinker on the house; this appointment is what we plan our whole day around sometimes. Around lunchtime we usually cook something, or we eat out while we are doing errands. In the evenings, we have either sautéed, stir-fried, or grilled something on the braai (charcoal grill). Then, more reading or puzzling while listening to music on our lap tops.

     This week, P will start to spend more time in his office (once he has internet up and running), leaving me at home more. I’m not sure how this is going to go for me without television and having to monitor how much time I spend on the internet. I also know NO ONE here and can’t make a lunch date, etc. In the states, I could probably figure out how to meet people, but here, I don’t know where those places are. I have never been very good at making friends; I can make good friends, but I can be shy and over think interactions with new people. I don’t feel instantly comfortable with people, like some people I know, so I don’t typically start conversations with total strangers. At school or through my job is how I have met people in the past, and right now, neither of those things are in my life. I hope they are soon. Any thoughts on how I can make friends in a strange, beautiful new land?

     Saying all this, I have not necessarily felt lonely but I don’t have much to occupy myself with, now that P is working. If I have felt lonely, it’s because I’m missing all of you back home and wish I could talk to you. Skype has a telephone feature that lets us call people from our computer to any cell or land line in the States for only 2.3 cents a minute. You might be getting some call from a weird “520” number, and it might just be us calling you (so save it in your phones when we call)! We tried it out this morning with my sister-in-law and niece and it worked well, better than using Skype (even when just using vocals and no video) because the other person does not have to be at a computer. This was the first time we have gotten to talk to anyone from back home. We are 9, nine, NINE!  hours ahead here, so it can be quite difficult to figure out the telephone thing; think about a time that works for you (and us) and let us know so that we can dial you up!

 

These are the elegant flowers from a tree right outside our front door. 

They smell delicious too! Does anybody recognize them?

 I will be trying to post pictures of our house soon, the images seem to take forever to upload.

Love, M.

Song of the days: New Soul by Yael Naim. Listen and watch here.

Time Lapse of Cape Town

I have some stuff waiting to post, but I'm too tired to work on it tonight, so I'll leave you with this short time-lapse video of Cape Town. I love how artistic it is, but it only shows the "smooth" parts of the city.  Miss you all!


Seriously Beautiful Cape Town - Timelapses from Silver Bullet Productions on Vimeo.