Leaving Cape Town - Or Else I'll Have to Live Here

Hi All,

After 2 weeks, I'm finally leaving Cape Town. I'd be quite happy to stay here for another month or another few year s, but I must make my way towards Johannesburg to, if nothing else, fly home. There is a gang of people at the backpackers who have all been here for about the same 2 week period as me and no one wants to leave as we have a fun time running around together. I think I'm being talked into getting a facebook account so that I will be able to keep up with them all. Aw.

Earlier in the week I had my 15 minutes of fame in Cape Town. The crew came to Longstreet Backpackers in the morning and they filmed me packing up my gear in the dorm room and then reenacting a phone call to a woman named Abigail at Heartworks, the store we were going to visit that morning.

Once at the store, they filmed me filming her while people walked around the shop and wondered what was going on. Afterwards, we went to lunch and then had the interview at the beach with Camps Bay and the 12 Apostles (some big mountains) in the background.

To the question of how my life philosophy has changed since I've been in Africa, I had to admit that I wasn't sure what my life philosophy was before I came since coming here I'm doing a better job of embracing the improv mantra of "being in the present". There is so much going on both in Cape Town specifically and Africa in general that I'm always missing out on some story and it's impossible for me to visit all the places that have been recommended. What I'm getting better at (though I still struggle) is staying focused on where I am and what I'm doing right now and letting go of the feeling that I need to do it all. Not sure if that counts as a life philosophy but that's what I'm trying to focus on now.

The Dream people are checking into the budget to see if they can film me again when I hit Durban. Reason being, I met a woman who is a filmmaker and I've got plans to meet her and find out more about what she does, how she got started, etc. and they're interested in seeing that.

The rest of my time here has really been about being a tourist. Went to see the Cape of Good Hope (the most southwesterly point

of Africa - how random). That is not where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet, and yet it is still a scenic, lovely, windy time.

On the way, we stopped by the Boulders park to see penguins. They are lovely to look at, though right now, they don't do much besides molt. Tomorrow, I will rent a car with some Irish women from the gang and drive out to do some whale watching and find the point where the oceans meet - the southern most point in Africa. I'm going to have to give driving on the left side of the road a try... though I'm a bit nerviosa.

Have been on a wine tour, am going on a boat ride today and spent some time the other day wandering the Bo-Kaap neighborhood with incredibly bright houses and Cape Malay influences and food. Lovely, delicious, diverse.

Cape Town has been fabulous and though it's hard for me to leave, I can't wait to come back.

Catch up with you in a few more days!

Miss K

"Y'all come back now, ya hear?"

Cruising in Cape Town

Hey All, Howzit?

That's the South African equivalent of "how you doin?". While I don't use the local lingo yet, I am starting to understand it. "Lekker" means good and when you tell someone something they can't believe, they do not say "shut up!" or "really?", they say "is it?". The only thing I love more than that is that when you thank someone, instead of saying "you're welcome" people say "pleasure". I doubt that it always is a pleasure for them bringing you a coffee or selling you a postcard, but it sounds nice.

Cape Town reminds me a bit of San Francisco. There is a very touristy waterfront, there is an island off the coast that used to be a prison and there are a ton of funky boutique stores and restaurants for your eating and shopping pleasure. South Africa, of course has Nelson Mandela and the US has, well... enough of this comparison stuff.

In the last few days, now out of my funk and rockin' Cape Town like the Superstar I am, I decided to let events for the day with the film crew unfold and have been playing tourist instead of freaking out (at least not full time).

I took a tram (which they call a cable car and technically, it is a car of sorts traveling on an overhead cable but I can't think of it as a cable car so call it a tram), yes a tram to the top of Table Mountain and took in the stunning views of Cape Town, Camps Bay and the surrounding mountains. Some people abseil down the mountain (basically repel down it on ropes), some people hike down, I took the tram. Did I mention it spins 360 degrees while moving along the cable?

Yesterday I went to Robben Island, a former prison and now a World Heritage site. Full of political prisoners, the most famous being Nelson Mandela, it was opened as a prison in 1963 - the same year Alcatraz closed. The tours are led by former inmates, which is very interesting as they speak from experience. Our guy talked about training in Angola to fight the apartheid system and being caught and arrested. He said he's not bitter about being in prison as all the former inmates realize that reconciliation is the only way to move the country forward. All that and a penguin colony too!

What else, what else... a township tour, a visit to the local aquarium to see the South African marine life and some giant spider crabs from Japan, which were very scary/impressive looking, and divers feeding the sharks.

In Cape Town, I feel more like a tourist, seeing sights in an environment that is not that different from the environment I live in. It's less like the rest of Africa where I felt like I was on a giant adventure and everything was so new/different/fabulous/frustrating.

But I did jump off the beaten path. Went to a place called "The Farm" which is associated with Longstreet Backpackers where I'm staying. Here, a man named Andre raises farm animals and takes in orphaned children. I spent a full day there talking with Andre and the kids while a pig sniffed my ankle and a goose bit my leg (revenge for killing his cousin in Madagascar? perhaps). I gave one of the girls, Asavella, my camera and she ran around taking photos... including this self portrait. I then stayed for dinner and met and interesting group of South Africans who had come over, including a filmmaker from Durban I will try to meet up with as I make my way to Jo'burg. You can read more about what Andre is doing at Hope for the Children.

The film crew is coming tomorrow - I've made arrangements to visit a store that sells crafts made by local artists, much of it from recycled materials. I also have a list of 12 introspective essay questions to consider tonight. "12. From a strictly "life philosophy" perspective please tell us how the time you have spent in Africa has changed you as a person". Oh dear.

Will definitely check in after the shoot tomorrow to let you all know how it goes. I'm thrilled that there will be an interview in a location in Africa and that there will be someone else to worry about the lighting and sound besides me.

All that and there plans among the backpackers for karaoke on Thursday night and I already have a guy who wants to sing "I Got You Babe" with me. Cape Town won't know what hit them.

Until the next installment,
Miss K

The evil crab says "keep reading".

Play That Funky Music White Girl

Hey All,

The last few days in Namibia I have been in a bit of a funk about this trip.

I can tell I'm getting more homesick because almost everything now reminds me of people back home and of home itself. The foggy west coast of Swakopmund, Namibia? Just like San Francisco. The outdoor plaza of a shopping mall in Windhoek, Namibia? Just like Oakland City Center (if Oakland had no Asian people). But then, as I was people watching from a restaurant in the mall called "In's Wiener" (what?), a woman walked by in a dress with poofy shoulders and a matching head wrap that came to two points on each side of her head reminding me both of the Flying Nun and a cape buffalo. I suppose I'm not at home after all.

Homesickness and fashion aside, I feel like I'm losing focus on the dream. I haven't filmed anything since the Habitat team in Malawi in early September. I have nothing scheduled to film in Cape Town when a film crew will spend 2 days following me around. I have no idea what I'm going to do with all the footage when I get back. I don't know how in the world I think I can have a show when I don't have the foggiest idea of what you need to do create one. How long will my money last, how will I eat, what will I do? On and on my tale of self pity goes. Are you crying yet?

But then this morning at 3:30am, as I was sitting on another bus filling out the departure card for Namibian immigration, I decided to list something new for my occupation. On the last half dozen cards, I have been putting "filmmaker". This morning in the box marked occupation, I wrote - "superstar". Knowing that I have officially entered South Africa as a superstar has done wonders for my self esteem and motivation. It makes me smile when I think of it.


Favorite Namibian City Names

• Otjiwarongo - where we stayed for 5 hours waiting for our bus to be fixed
• Okahandja - where the wind goes sweeping down the plain
• Gross Barmen - where, what, they spit in your beer?

Am now in Cape Town and, although all I've done so far is have a shower and eat some lunch at a restaurant called Lola's that's like a Haight Street/Castro/East Village/London big, gay disco, I LOVE IT!!

I trust I will come up with something to do with the film crew. I am, after all, a superstar.

Miss K