Sanctuary

In my head, there is a golden sunshine glow lighting up the room, the white curtains are playing in the breeze, or maybe everything has taken on the pink tinge of sunset. This is my sanctuary, my room, the place where I feel safe and quiet (or sad, or scared, or angry), it's where I am safe to be me. I know where everything is (except my UCT student card and keys - how is it possible that I have lost them, some cosmic-UCT force trying to send me 'Dear John' letter) and it is my sanctuary (it would be perfect if I was allowed to steal a beautiful black dog to come live with me)

There is debate about this, but I consider myself an introvert (see this TED talk on the power of introverts), I am very good at being friendly and chatty to strangers or semi strangers but I get my energy in the quiet times, curled up with a book in a world far far away (although I get lost in those worlds so I am on book detox for the moment, despite a 2-book-in-3-days relapse recently) or by being with people that know me well enough that I can just be me with them. 

So it is important for me, for my sanity and my ability to be friendly to the outer world to have places and people that are my sanctuary. That I can turn to when things are a bit hectic. I am lucky that I consider myself to have multiple homes (K and C I hope you don't mind me including yours, and, folks, I know you wouldn't have it any other way) but I am also grateful to have so many people in the inner circles of my heart that I can count on when I really want to hide away from the world.  

Yesterday while I was maddeningly still busy with a chapter that should be finished, in between our office re-organisation, with a headache made me want to whimper, on what was I am sure one of the coldest days of the year so far (I was wrapped in a blanket in my office) I had dinner plans and all I really wanted was to head home to be grumpy and work. But, for various reasons, I went and it was actually a really lovely evening and I was very pleased that I went (not least of all because there were snickerdoodles - which are supposedly a real thing?) 

So the flip side of realising that I need quiet time to re-energise is realising that I need to be careful about becoming too much of a hermit. I am finding that with mounting PhD stress, I am dreading most social interaction (particularly with people that aren't in my 'inner circle') but actually it is allows for an opportunity to think about something other than the PhD and we all need to eat, right?! (The other thing I do to avoid becoming a grumpy hermit or creepy cat lady without the cats is host couch surfers, who are inevitably on holiday and so bring a carefree happiness into my life for short periods at a time - although I am not hosting at the moment because I don't really have time, what with being in full PhD hermit mode.) 

So I am not really sure what the point of this blog was, but if you are finding yourself feeling frazzled and in need of escapism I can suggest a couple of my not so secret outdoor places to rejuvenate (I can't recommend my various homes because I would get annoyed if I found you curled up with a book in the sunshine on my bed - you can understand that I am sure!) Try Dalebrook, particularly in summer when you can combine it with a dip in the tidal pool, or listen to the trees creak in one of the quiet corners of Kirstenbosch, or enjoy having the beach almost to yourself at Windmill Beach. These are all places I feel safe to be alone in, but there are many and it depends what your preferences are, so explore, but remember to be willing to talk to strangers occasionally too! 

(Today there are no coloured words because I think the splashes of pink undermine my statement that I am an introvert... maybe... and it takes a long time and it is almost time for birthday tea.)

Nostalgia

(This is actually last week's post - which for various reasons (crabs, work, Robben-pickup-run) I failed to write up.) 

Graduating or getting new post docs, it's a transient life

I have been feeling nostalgic this week. I suspect it is related to a sneaky trip up to Johannesburg and the wedding of a friend I have had since Grade 1 in 1989! (And subsequently thinking about all the people that I have known since then and even before, and how much they impact my life). Or maybe it was bumping into the guy a friend of mine dated in our first year at UCT, or maybe it is the thought of saying goodbye to my office mate (today) and some of my favourite, closest friends in Cape Town that are returning to their home countries in the next couple of months, who have, over the years, wormed their way into the very depths of my heart and are more family than friends. Or maybe it is the thought of my eventual departure from UCT - but who am I kidding - I have been preparing for that for years!!!

UCT Jameson Hall - place of graduation and exams

It is inevitable that when you have lived somewhere for a long time just driving down a random street can take you down memory lane (when you are in a nostalgic frame of mind). Some things I am happy are just memories - seeing Hartleyvale stadium all lit up made me shiver with memories of the icy cold wind that had to be endured while watching hockey games (that I still don't understand fully - despite having played hockey at school). I am glad I won't have to do that again (the ex had many good qualities but I just could never get too enthusiastic about hockey - the really cheap wine at Western Province Cricket Club - yes - drinking it with lovely ladies while pretending to watch - yes - but hockey, not so much). Some of my most special friends have moved away from Cape Town, and driving down Queen Victoria Road, or the turn off to Pinelands (I have no reason to go in to the maze they call Pinelands anymore) brings them close to me through a myriad of happy (occasionally slurred) memories.

National Monument - but of course

Or maybe my sense of nostalgia is because last week I offered to give a "heritage" tour of UCT to a group of visiting Norwegians. (Any excuse to hang out with Norwegians!) Although the tour ended up being a fairly informal affair, I did do some research on UCT beforehand, and it was inspiring to learn about the long history of this institute I have been at for such a large proportion of my life, but such a tiny proportion of its history. I still am not sure who most of the buildings are named after and keenly remember getting a pub quiz question about UCT incorrect.




There is an official "UCT Heritage Trail" which you can explore although it seems to focus on the statues on campus, some of which are just plain bizarre! All this information is on the UCT website - which I am not currently on so am hopefully not plagiarizing too badly. Also see this site for an armchair tour. 

This is from Facebook so who knows
how authentic it is

 UCT originated as a tertiary education offshoot at SACS (South African College Schools - there is a joke: "How can you tell if someone went to SACS?" To which the answer is: "They'll tell you!") SACS has been around since 1829 and was the first school in South Africa (for boys only, of course!) and retains a certain prestige.

The tertiary section began to grow from about the 1880's and right back in 1887 the first women were allowed to register (it is a little annoying that it is phrased like that - even though it is me writing - but such were the times). The chemistry Prof who advocated the inclusion of women has had the chemistry building named after him - PD Hahn. Approximately half of the students currently at UCT are female. Some of the more famous ones also have buildings named after them: Cissy Gool was the first black woman to graduate from UCT (in 1932).

Some of the more bizarre art work
displayed on campus. (Keep in mind
I am a scientist and possibly breaking
all sorts of rules saying that)

Original 1918 design by JM Solomon
(1884 - 1920) with domed roof. 

UCT officially became a thing in 1918 and UCT as we know it, on the slopes of Devil's Peak in the 1920's. Jameson hall is named after a previous Prime Minister of the Cape that incidentally had been imprisoned for leading the Jameson Raid on the old Transvaal. It was meant to have a domed roof, but supposedly the money ran out (it still happens!)




In the apartheid years, it was nicknamed: "Little Moscow on the hill" because of its opposition to apartheid. It has 1/4 of the countries A-Rated scientists, 3 Nobel Laureates among the alumni and is the best rated university in the country (and won this years rugby intervarsity cup with a truly dramatic ending). There is no doubt that UCT has a lot to be proud of and yet the official heritage tour still includes some really weird pieces of art.

"The Skull Series"
by Neels Coetzee

"Hoerikwaggo"
by Gavin Younge

I think the most bizarre is "Hoerikwaggo" (the Khoisan name for Table Mountain) but I only see that (unless taking Norwegians around) at graduation and I think it looks a little like someone in a graduation cloak so that's pretty cool actually. The one that is in the heart of the John Day Building is the skull series. I have never really understood what is happening in this statue, but it was a useful platform for squishing us all together for our BSc graduation photos (which are pre-digital)

BSc graduants in a pre-digital age!

The Oracle
by Bruce Arnott

I do quite like the water feature "The Oracle" which has layers of symbolism associated with the "I CHING trigrams on the Taoist sun disc" but I just find it calming and pretty particularly since it has been empty and dirty for so many of the years that I have been on campus. And of course I love campus for its ivy, symmetry and amazing back drop... but you know that already!

City of Gold, red and orange...

I grew up in one of the most dangerous cities in the country (well in the top 50, it doesn't make all the lists, but it has a bit of a reputation). However, when we were growing up, we played in badminton in the streets, and made houses of the crisp autumn leaves at the corner of our road (I guess just floor plans - leaves don't make great walls). I walked home from school, crisscrossing the road to stamp through the biggest leaf piles or planning my journey to include as many mulberries and those tart pink berries (not sure what they are called) as possible, always choosing to walk on the side of the jasmine bushes. 

A summer-time photo from the Westcliff
(incidentally, a FABULOUS spot for high tea)

We played in the streets, rode bicycles or walked everywhere and my friends lived close by. You might argue that it was the suburbs and doesn't really reflect Johannesburg as a whole (JHB is huge and diverse) but it was my Johannesburg and I loved it, and still do. I was very pleased to have a sneaky visit up there last week. It is the change of season, and the mornings are clear and crisp, tinged with frost, the days sunny and warm and the leaves are falling to form piles of crunchy leaves perfect for stomping in (I refrained, but I was tempted). 

This is my sister's photo, taken in Rosebank. 

It might not be the city for everyone, but it, like every where has aspects of loveliness. In addition, for me it is full of happy memories and sunshine. I came back to Cape Town feeling (a little sad to say goodbye to my fantastic JHB family and friends but) refreshed and happy. Sometimes, a little bit of time away, a change of scenery, a different group of people, is just the thing to give you a little extra energy and enthusiasm to face the same tedious tasks you still have to get done and survive the current cold front. 

Another of my sister or brother-in-law's pictures,
when I see this view, I know I am close to
(one of my) homes. 

I just want to be clear, the fact that I love JHB (and Ramsgate) doesn't mean I love Cape Town any less. I think one of the ways to be really happy, is to be happy wherever you are, there is beauty every where, amazing people to meet and the potential for happiness everywhere! 

Another view from Westcliff looking over JHB

When I got back from JHB on Wednesday morning, I went straight to vote before acting as a "greeter" for the political party I volunteer with. This basically just involved being a smiley face in front of the voting station. Obviously there are people that just can't be bothered to give a stranger a head tilt, others will open up with stories that can warm the heart. South Africa - the whole of the large, diverse, controversial, beautiful South Africa, is an amazing and wonderful place. There has been good and bad in the last 20 years but I am proud to call it all home.

(Even if there are people that are willing to vote EFF)