July 18th

This passage is from a recently read chapter from Long Walk to Freedom:

"But now the white man had felt the power of my punches and I could walk upright like a man, and look everyone in the eye with the dignity that comes from not having succumbed to oppression and fear. I had come of age as a freedom fighter."

My experience here has been transformative and inspirational. I feel political active again (something which died or was hindered in Washington -one would think the opposite would happen), which feels nice to be so passionate again and mentally provoked. Traveling alone has causes a lot of great self-reflection and becoming comfortable with who you are as a person. And it has concreted within me, what I know about already about myself and shown me things about myself that I had wondered about (if I was capable of doing certain things and how I would fair in new situations), which have all been positive (to me, at least). I wonder what else I will feel when I return back home to the States... but, I will let you know when that happens. 

But back to the point, today is Mandela day. I spent my 67 minutes of this day, which honors Mandela's 67 years of fighting injustice at the Siyaphila crèche in Nyanga, where we celebrated Madiba birthday. It was (also Siyaphila's 2nd birthday the day before) really great afternoon of service. The little ones had so much fun - we played with balloons, painted faces (I thought I could be, but found I was not a good face painter) and made masks for them to wear as they decorated biscuits and ate cake - and we did too. Also today, I finally visited the District 6 Museum, which was an area  in Cape Town where Colored, Indian, and African people were forcibly displaced and removed because of apartheid. It was a reminders of the sad injustices that Madiba fought against. I am so thankful for him and that he made South Africa a better place. I saw it quoted that we should be thankful for just breathing his air and I agree. I feel so lucky to be in South Africa. I hope that every day could be Mandela day. 

 

 

 

Glimpse into Robben Island

L to R: Entrance to Robben Island (Did you know that before it's infamy Robben Island used to be a place where they kept the lepers?);  The yellow house on the left is called Sobukwe House. Sobukwe was a freedom fighter, who broke away from the ANC and founded the Pan Africanist Congress. He was held  24-hour solitary confinement as a "visitor" on Robben Island. Sobukwe was never given a trial and during his time on the island was never allowed to speak to anyone. He would die years later still under house arrest. The buildings on the right are where they kept the guard dogs;  This is the limestone quarry where maximum security prisoners were used for hard labour. The conditions were harsh and the limestone caused lung damage and also damage to the eyes. One example is Nelson Mandela, who cannot produce tears, because of damage from the hours of direct sunlight and reflection of the light on the stones.  This quarry was also the only time for prisoners were able to talk and share revolutionary literature; and trying to look beyond the wall and barbed wire.   

L to R: Nelson Mandela's prison cell; our tour guide, who was a former prisoner, sharing his experiences on the island;  scenes of the empty prison; and a tour of our guide's former cell and his sleeping arrangements. 

For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. - Nelson Mandela

Top 5: blogs

I haven't done a top 5 in awhile now... maybe in years. But, after a Friday night date with my lovely friend Elise, where we always end up talking about pretty things, art, design, internet, music, and fun blogs,  I thought I would do one of my favorite blogs. I think that I could probably speak passionately about it and food for hours. I probably spend too much time reading blogs (def. more time than writing in my own), but can you blame me? It is what I do to zone, de-stress and find inspiration.

1. Cup of Jo - This is my go to inspiration/ make me happy blog. She even makes me want to live in NYC (for a weekend). Great ideas, photos and fashion. Also just featured in Martha (oh heyyy!)
2. Oh Joy - Amazing fashion and design (love this or that) blog and the food pictures are to die for! If I could eat my computer screen, it would be for her pictures of SoCal eateries in her photos.
3. buzzfeed - Hello time suck - this is the procrastination central blog- full of wacky news, crazy pictures and other random/silly/goofy stuff that I enjoy. 
4. Jezebel - not as good as it used to be, esp after the redesign & need for quantity over quality, but still a staple in my reader. Love the gossip roundups in the AM & "you might have missed this" b/c I typically do.
5. Gotta pay some homage to the boyfriend's blog, b/c it pays part of the bills, DCist. Plus, the only blog on here that is local, to me. 

Seoul of Asia

Above and below, are photos of my favorite place in Seoul, the Cheonggyecheon stream. After the closing dinner at this AMAZING Korean fusion place, we walked by the infamous stream that was becoming a stage for the G20 meeting.  Along the stream, there were floats that represented Korea's culture and the other countries attending the November 11-12th meeting. It was so beautiful and vibrant, like when I visited during Christmas in 2008 and there were thousands of Christmas lights. I loved it!

There was also this excited energy and air in Seoul that was probably due to the G20 meeting. I just wish that I was around to see it. Plus, I was finally getting used to the time zone as we were leaving! But, I had fun and I think I was most pleased to figure out the city and learn that every thing that I thought was far apart was really close together. Also, I was happy to do some shopping and pick up some yummy treats, like yuzu tea and Korean seaweed, for the trip home. Yum yum!

Goals

I want to be this woman. I bet you that I will be able to do pigeon pose when I am 83, which is probably when I will be dead. I have the weakest arms and no core strength. Hopefully, I can get some in 60 years. "Forever Young, I want to be forever younnnngggg...do you want to live forever.."

Image from BP/Barcroft Media