getaround

for the future

Dear friends and family,

I have decided to switch to tumblr for aesthetic reasons. My new web address will be http://foreversavage.tumblr.com/. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Love,
Kelsey

In other news: Just got back from a weeklong holiday in Cape Town. While it was nice to have a break from the hustle & bustle of Johannesburg, the VA Waterfront in CT was eerily similar to Disney World and all of the stores were carbon copies of the Urban Outfitters catalogue (and priced similarly). In Cape Town I could really feel the 2010 World Cup buzz.

HIGHTLIGHTS: eating some nice chicken shwarma, raiding a classy afternoon tea (I drank three personal spots in two hours), exploring the city’s history by visiting EIGHT museums in the span of five days (R40 total =$.55 each), ending three of our days by taking naps in the cutest movie theatre in South Africa (R60 total=$2.74 each).

time & place

Who knew that daylight saving time wasn't worldwide? The above map indicates which countries still participate in this useless practice. Here's an article with some fun DST facts.

Also-- there's going to be a movie about nation building in South Africa coming out in mid-December. Guess who is playing Mandela?

Coming soon: Update on Botswana with some graphic pictures of a slaughtered cow!

It's a Mug Story

The moment shit got real was when I notice the five inch switch blade brazenly being displayed in the fist of one of the two men quickly approaching. Great. This is it. The bona fide Joburg experience. The one I had been continually warned about by my mother's friends in the comfort of coffee shops, doctor's offices and suburban dining rooms. The advice was generic, but I always nodded my head in appreciation. Walk in groups (Check). Don't go out after dark (Check). Walk with a purpose (Check). Don't wear flashy jewellery (Check). We had done everything right. Still, there we were, all of our valuable possessions replaced with bulging eyes and smirks of disbelief.

Everything happened so fast. Similarly to my many dumps off horses, I only remember flashes of "the incident". One second I'm steadily cantering along; next thing I know I see the ground about to collide with my face; now I'm laying in the dirt watching my horse roam around the ring acting confused by his newfound lack of direction. Beginning. Middle. End. At first we were joking about the number of geckos we had seen on today's journey to our favorite fair trade coffee roastery and espresso bar; then we're being assaulted by a man wearing a glow in the dark rosary and another in a Manchester United zip up; after that I was helplessly cursing the lose of my beloved Spudnick (i.e. my laptop) and cluelessly debating on how to proceed. Beginning. Middle. End.

I was a little ambivalent to post on the mugging just because I didn't want to dwell on "the incident" and because it has been taking up so much of my spare time (filing police reports and insurance claims… just kidding, I’ve got a lot more free time without constant connection to the cyberworld). Yet, when I’ve been telling colleagues about “the event”, there has been one overwhelmingly consistent response: Welcome to South Africa. I came to South Africa to genuinely experience a different lifestyle, and that’s what I’ve done, in all its glory and discouragement.



On a lighter note: Check out my second guest appearance on fee-oh-na’s weekly chocolate bar rating.

Make it Rain

Remember how I used to complain about the lack of rain? Well... I guess I got what I wished for. It has been raining almost routinely every evening for the past two weeks. Today, however, it hailed.

Yup, that's a sheet of ice.

Here's a picture of one of the ice balls.

p!nk

Pink - Please Don't Leave Me (High Quality)

Weirdest. Music. Video. Ever.

Now imagine this playing on a flatscreen that's looming over your head while trying to enjoy a relaxing breakfast after an early morning jaunt to the airport.

updated.

In the midst of a month long finals period, sprinkled with weekend traveling.