Fancy, Fire, and Finals

I went shopping at the market on Sunday, which was a fascinating experience. The market is made up of seemingly endless rows of stalls, crowded together. The merchants sell all sorts of things, from paintins and sculptures to traditional masks and fabrics, from piping and sunglasses to clothing and food. All sorts of languages and conversations add to the roar of noise, from tourists speaking French, German, and English, to merchants laughing, joking, and bartering in Zulu, Xhosa, and Afrikaans. I spoke briefly with a doctor from Sudan who was selling his paintings while waiting to be admitted to the medical boards in South Africa. I discussed Christianity with a jewelry merchant from Kenya. I bartered and haggled to get prices I could live with, while still knowing that the merchants were always getting the better end of the deal. Over the course of the afternoon, my store of cash got smaller, my bag of purchases expanded, and my neck grew steadily more sunburned. All in all, it was a lovely afternoon!

I went to a very fancy dinner last weekend with several of my housemates. A student we know got a job as a hostess and waitress at a VERY swanky restaurant in Cape Town. It's one of those restaurants people like me only see in movies or on TV, with small portions of experimental dishes on large plates with intricate presentation and a ten-page wine list. We split a bottle of white wine, enjoyed cheese platters and perfectly-prepared seafood, followed by delicious desserts, and conversed in adult tones about literature. We felt very grown up and upper-crust. Throughout the affair, I imagined myself to be enjoying the lifestyle of the rich English aristocrats who lived in Cape Town in the eighteenth century. My imagination turned the restaurant terrace into the terrace of a friend's mansion, and we feasted and thoroughly enjoyed our evening.

Experiencing such ostentatious consumption in Cape Town further emphasized to me the dichotomy of existence in this city. The rich enjoy a privileged life with every luxury while the poor live in tiny shacks with no running water or electricity, wondering where their next meal will come from. A few days later, I read about a large fire in the township of Kyalitsha, in which already-impoverished families lost what little they had. Such occurrences break my heart and make me feel extremely guilty for enjoying nights like last weekend. Where is the balance?

On a completely different note, I FINALLY had my first final exam of the semester on Tuesday. The exam was precisely what I expected, since the professors had given us a good description of what the questions would be like. The only problem with the exam was the growing pain in my hand. After two weeks of relaxing, my muscles were not prepared to write for three hours! At least now I have an idea of what to expect, now I know that I'll be fine with the exams here. Only two more to go before I can relax in the knowledge that I've survived all my academic work for the semester!