The Nature of Study Abroad—Translation

Studying abroad is really overwhelming in some ways. Not in the personal ways of moving yourself, missing people and things, or dealing with money and that. Those things are true, of course, but it can also be overwhelming to find yourself in such an international context so suddenly.

What I mean is this—a new student to an area instantly tries to get a sense of where they are, how things are different, and how people are different. Not only are you presented with opportunities to interact with residents of the country, but you make friends with, live with, and become close to many international students at the same time. Meanwhile, you try not to make comparisons between things here and at home. Yet comparison is essential. We are translating currency amounts, measuring cups for cooking, temperatures, the meanings of words, perceptions of local issues and histories, explanations for global issues, and more. As this creature gets larger, out of nowhere, this person finds themselves sitting at a crossroads of different peoples and human difference in general, I think. At times just as a spectator, and other times as a participant. You're translating all the time in your head, and here we're both still speaking English!

I sometimes feel it would be easier to ignore all of this and become numb to the differences, but that seems like cheating and missing out. I often feel like I'm witnessing some of the most basic and common, and at the very same time intricate and complex, issues. It can small... like "How many times must we talk about my accent? Or Obama?" In this way, you learn to accept that you're a foreigner, people are interested, and you must be able to laugh about being American.

But take race, for instance. One can assume that in a country that has as horrible a history of racial oppression as South Africa, this concept would be quite important. And in a nation where apartheid was ridded, it is fascinating to still be confronted daily with its effects, and its legacy in a post-apartheid society. How people talk about it, how South Africans my age reflect on growing up, and how tensions still exist today. How they say that Cape Town is the city obsessed with race. These conversations may seem quieted at times, but it truly is like a silent noise within the city, something that doesn't go away and cannot be ignored. Or so it feels like to me.

And at other times, it simply explodes. Like headlines in the papers about "racist" polticians, or a recent Facebook group that was created to defame the new white, female premier of this province. It was instantly flooded by university age students, white and black, with thousands of terrible comments flying back and forth. Some were intelligent, but the vast majority were uninformed, juvenile name-calling and racist shouting. It was the vocalization of some of this silent noise that happens in this country surrounding race. And it is overwhelming!

Then my comparisons come in. I find myself looking for ways to draw parallels to the US. Of course we talk about race, and of course it is still an issue. African-Americans are historically and still disadvantaged in our country, and there still exist tons of debates surrounding racism, institutionalized oppression, and political policy as well. But, what if this is what race relations looked like in the US after the civil rights movement, or what some of the political conversations sounded like when the US was a young democracy? Unsure, developing, and somewhat fragile. More palpable. I don't know. This is where I kind of come to a stop, and say that I'm not entirely sure what I'm saying. And I admit that I've gone through this post several times trying to make things more cohesive and organized.

Maybe that's the point though. They often are not cohesive or organized. As a study abroad student, the longer you are here, the longer your mind tries to digest these things, and make sense of them. I'm not done, but rather feeling in this moment a little overwhelmed with doing so much internal translation, and feeling so often like a foreigner. That is also one of the points of this post, then. However, the spectator role allows you to start to see the truth of human nature, in an international and cross-cultural way.

There is also a bit of deception involved in understanding study abroad. Students aren't just visiting, they spend several months building lives in a different country. You seek out and build meaningful friendships that have trust, reciprocity, and some semblance of meaning. At least that's what I've been trying to do. You spend lots of time making your bedroom habitable, finding a social circle, and when things become manageable and comfortable... you pick up and disappear. Of course that is difficult. You literally leave a void, and people must even delete you from their cell phones.

My recently habitable bedroom.

This prospect is what has me feeling very uncomfortable right now. The fleeting and inevitable nature of this process has me weary of reaching out, and of getting attached to people. It is probably because I've never been very good at losing friends, in fact I am particularly bad at it. Especially when they've made an impact on me. Granted, this could all be avoided if I put less thought into things and just had fun... and I do this too, but it is not really my nature. I begin to ask myself "Why am I trying to build this friendship? I leave in a month."

I also don't like the idea of being part of the "study abroad cycle", where you know people that know you will leave. I'm often in contact with people that meet study abroad students a lot, or what I have dubbed the "student abroad machine". They know you won't be friends soon, and they're used to knowing Americans and watching them leave. I just don't want to be another person that comes and goes, I suppose. Oh well, perhaps I am.

Relaxing with friends at Breede River.

Creepin' on Obz

I was sorting though my 5,000-some photos that I've now accumulated since January, and came across a few neat ones from around my neighborhood. So, I decided to share!

The first is a panorama that I took in February, of Arnold Street, right outside my front gate. You can actually see our front wall and gate on the far right of the photo. The "I ♥ Obs" campaign is something that the Neighborhood Association initiated, so you see the logo on lots of business storefronts, car bumpers, and street poles. For me, it just sort of reflects the uniqueness of Observatory. This includes the varied stretch of bars, restaurants, and shops on Lower Main Road, the mix of races, ages, and nationalities that you find all over the area and interacting (including the international students), as well as the jokes that can be tossed around about how sketch it can be, crime and all (not so much a joke, actually). Whatever.  Despite these things, Obz is lekker.

Outside my house, on Arnold Street.

The next two photos were taken in late April. Friends from Mozambique and I were waiting to leave for a dinner and wine tasting in Stellenbosch, and another great sunset set in as dusk arrived. I like to call these the "cotton candy" sunsets, because both the blues and the pinks look like cotton candy flavors. Or the cotton candy flavored popsicles.  So, the sunset was basically delicious.

Sunset on Lower Main Road.

Another shot from down further.

Lastly, I really feel like you should see the creepiest piece of graffiti in the city. There is a lot of graffiti in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town (Obs and the other neighborhoods). Much of it is actually commissioned, and is put in community spaces like parks and building sides... it is quite neat.  It has different themes, some of it is old, some newer.  I don't know when this is from, or what the artist was thinking for that matter...

My creepy graffiti friend.

You'll also find criminals and other skellums (local word for shifty people) that write their names all over. Walls, street poles, sidewalks. It's called tagging, and I don't like it. Especially "Futsek", he's everywhere. I found this shifty, painted old man while walking to the dive shop one morning, as I was headed out to the ocean for the day. He was next to the train tracks, seemingly staring at people and trains that passed. Creep city...

Sunset over the Mountain Tonight

The sunset was breathtaking tonight.

Crime Hits Arnold Street... at my bedroom!

It was only a matter of time, really. I hadn't suspected, though, that of all 8 bedrooms and areas of our house, my bedroom would be the one that somebody tries to rob. My luck, I suppose.

So here's the story. I was sitting in my bedroom tonight, with the lights off, quietly watching a movie on my laptop. It was Poseidon (don't ask, I get bored, alright?). It was nearing the climax where the big wave is about to hit the ship when I heard the front gate open/clammer a bit, which is normal, since I live in the front bedroom. About 30 seconds later, though, I realized that I hadn't heard the gate on the front door, or the door itself. This piqued my interest a bit, so I turned down the movie. It should also be mentioned that I had one of my windows that faces the front yard open (Africa is hot), and I've started to keep blankets over them to keep the sun out (and bright). I then heard the grass rustle, and as I got up to investigate, heard my window move a bit. I quietly walked across the creaky hardwood floor to the locked side of the window, and pulled the curtains back. At first I didn't see anything, but upon looking further, saw a man about 3 feet from me, on the other side of the window I was peering through, crouching down with his hand inside my window.

I quickly yelled "Hey!" He calmly removed his hand, stood up, and began walking away. I moved to the open window he was at and yelled "Get the fuck outta here! And don't come back, we've got an alarm."

As he walked out, he kindly closed the gate behind him, and I still don't know how it got opened. I took a look at what he was wearing, and called the police. Remember, it's not 911, but 10111 here. I'm glad I remembered. To my contentment, the dispatcher struggled with my accent, but we worked through it. I gave them a description, and went to Kara to tell her. She's had her bedroom window closed every night for the last month, for fear of burglars. Ironically, about an hour earlier Mick and I convinced her that she had little to worry about, so she opened it for the first time. I told her about the incident, and upset, she closed it.

After a few minutes and no police, I figured I'd test my panic remote since the security company should probably be notified as well. It works! It took the police about 8 minutes to arrive, and our armed security response company about 4-5. The officer gave me the cell phone of the patrol vehicle in Observatory, since a direct call to them when there is a crime is much more effective (odd). Both parties said they'd look for the black male with a red knit cap and a green soccer shirt/jersey. Blog readers, please also be on the lookout. He wouldn't have gotten anything, though, since I don't keep anything near my window except a constantly locked closet. And we have bars to keep him out.

Then I finished watching Poseidon, which was a crime in itself. Just an excruciating and terrible movie. I'm more upset with Kurt Russell than the burglar tonight.

On a slightly unrelated topic, but related to the police, the following sign was posted on our fridge by the rental company:

I don't know much about the South African constitution, but that wouldn't fly in the US. I asked our landlord for more information, and apparently this happened in the next neighborhood down (Woodstock) last week.

The police come at like 3am and cordon off an entire city block, then proceed to search everyone's houses. And yes, they do have a warrant, apparently, to search the houses. I asked "for what?" The response: just to search. No mention of why.

They are looking for thieves and drug dealers, I hear, but that doesn't make me trust them any more. Or anybody else on Arnold Street for that matter. But hey, it was not a very big incident.

The view from my bedroom window

Woke up this morning and saw this view out my front window. It is pretty neat.


To answer some questions...
Kailey, the best way to get me is email. I don't know how often I'll be on Facebook, but I keep my mail program open on my computer to get messages whenever I log into my internet. It is shaun.aukland@gmail.com

I was also asked to post my address. It is:
Shaun Aukland
73 Arnold Street
Observatory, Cape Town
7925 South Africa

I think the only way that I can get packages is if it is sent airmail. Whatever that means, maybe the post office will know more? I just know that a girl from last semester only received two of her three packages. I think Lyndsey might be making me a hemp necklace to send, which I am excited for.

I'm leaving now (7:15am Sun) to my orientation. We're going to tour the Cape, go to the beach, and see lots of stuff today. I hope I don't get burnt. I also need sunglasses.

Cape Town Begins! ... with jetlag.

Surprisingly, the layover and subsequent flight were not that bad. Long, but not bad at all. I write this at 7am on Saturday, from my new bedroom, following my first day in Obz!
The second flight was fine. More crowded, but fine. I watched Eagle Eye, which turned out to be terrible, as well as an episode of Taxi. The rest of the time was spent sleeping or reading, with an overnight emphasis on sleeping. For dinner I ate lasagna with salad, and for breakfast it was sausage, eggs, bacon, and yogurt. I arrived at 6am Cape Town time, and after going through some fast customs, walked out of the arrivals gate with luggage in hand. A crew from IAPO (International Academic Programmes Office) were waiting for us. The 15 or so arriving international students loaded into two Sprinter mini-buses and were off to our respective homes.

The drive into the city was about 20 minutes, and was really enjoyable. We took the highway, and I only struggled with the idea of driving on the other side of the road. The steering wheel is also on the other side of the car from the US, like in England. Not that I've not seen this before in movies, or was particularly surprised by it, but just had a 'woahhhhhh' moment' as I started to process exits, turns, one way streets, etc. Everyone has said that the drivers in Cape Town are notoriously bad, but I haven't really seen that yet. There was a wide variety of housing, the most of which stood out was the makeshift townships lined along the road.

Here are some photos from the travel, including a photo of the setup I described from my first flight.


Onto my home! I met my landlord when I arrived, she was waiting along with some other roommates that arrived the day before. I carefully read over some stuff, and signed my lease. I need to pay my deposit and rest of the rent sometime today, I think. Anyhow, the house is beautiful. Even more impressive than what I was expecting. It had a nice living room, sizable kitchen, and super cool backyard. As I mentioned before, we have a swimming pool. I haven't used it yet, but will soon.

My bedroom is pretty nice also. I have a full or queen size bed, desk, night stand with shelves, and armoire type thing. The armoire locks, so I can secure stuff (a number of friends asked if I'd be able to). It even uses an old style skeleton key, as do many of the doors and gates around the house and yard. Our yard is enclosed with a gate (including electronic buzzer like my apartment), and the backyard has a concrete wall with barbed wire. The whole place is wired with a security system, with motion sensors throughout the house, bedrooms, and yard. This made me feel a bit better when I arrived. Also... each of the 8 roommates has a small remote panic button. It looks like a car door remote, but with one red button. It triggers the alarm system remotely and calls for response from the security company. I'm not sure if this makes me feel better or worse. Better because we have it... worse because there may be a necessity? And most of you know that one of my greatest fears is calling 911 and not having them respond. Forget the fact that the emergency number here is 10111, or that I don't even have a phone yet, now I'll just worry about not having that remote or have it not work. I jest though, I'm not too concerned about it.

Arnold Street Photos:


I've got 7 roommates. Two are from UW-Madison, two are from University of Michigan, one from Vancouver, one from Germany, and one from the Netherlands. The place is great, though, and each of us have unique rooms. The two upstairs have lots of closet space and skylights. The two caveats so far are 1) electricity and 2) some bugs. We just had the lights trip the breaker a lot last night... like about 20 times. Maybe we need to learn something about how to do things better, but there wasn't much plugged in. And there were some bugs that we killed, they may or may not have been cockroaches in the kitchen.

After getting here and meeting though, a few of us went out to get some non-airplane food. Things are so cheap... we went to a sit down place, and I got a pasta meal for like $4.50 US. Then we went to a grocery store. I bought an adapter for my laptop first and foremost, then went onto less essential things like food and water. :-)

Got some juice, fruits, cereal, milk, butter, pasta, sauce, etc. No Hamburger or Tuna helper to my dismay. No corned beef hash. What am I going to do here? We headed back to our place, and the jet lag had caught up with me. I crashed and slept a few hours in my room. Internet is expensive, and limited. Each of us have logons that work independently on our wireless router through Skyrove Internet. You purchase credit that represents megabytes, I paid about $51 US for like 1.8 GB or so. LAME.

Later on in the night, we had our first welcome braai (bbq), with chicken and sausage on our grill in the backyard. Then headed off to the bars on Lower Main Road. We went to a pretty busy place with pool tables. The boys beat the girls in pool three times... ouch. We weren't that great though. Alcohol is cheap here, too. Most drinks, including beer, are about $1.50. It made for a fun night. Anyhow, we headed home at about 2am, in a group of course, and hit the hay. My first day in Obz was tiring, and I've still not really recovered from the jet lag.

Thanks for reading though, and for the comments on the last post!  I like hearing who is reading. It wouldn't let me respond with the internet being spotty yesterday.  Lastly... I haven't told my roommates about my Snuggie yet.  I'd like them to know me personally before I reveal that little gem.  lol.  They'll find my blog, though, and know all about it.