A Zoologist Living Out of Context: Anschauung

Anschauung (n)- direct intuition or perception of data with little or no rational interpretation.

Being in Africa feels right. Apart from the satisfaction of merely being exposed to other parts of the world, the Anschauung, I think, is a result of returning to a pre-historical home. The oldest remains of humans have been found in South Africa dating back to ten million years. Evidence suggests that this place is all of our homes.

This weekend, we experienced some of the wilder side of Africa by going to Tsitsikamma falls.

We were picked up in the morning and driven through the Eastern Cape, along the Garden Route, to Tsitsikamma Falls. Along the way, I saw a variety of biomes, from chaparral dotted with aloe plants to lush forests cascading down the mountainside. I saw birds of prey flying above, lots of cows, and even a few springbok grazing near the side of the road. The sky was cloudy and rain fell delicately, but ceaselessly. When we arrived at the Tsitsikamma camp at the head of the park, we had lunch and a lecture on the university by the head of the international program at NMMU. About one hundred international students were there; most were from the states but several were from Germany, Finland, Norway, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Of the Americans, there are a disproportionate amount from three nearby schools in Minnesota. Most of these stuck together in one large clump. The whole group takes the same classes together, which everyone else agrees limits their ability to learn about South Africans and branch out of their home environment. Also, the CSU students are the only ones staying for an entire year, which also makes our experience one that is more involved with the country and the people.

Most of the orientation was unplanned activities, giving the students opportunities to meet each other. Everyone I talked to was nice and agreeable but no one particularly stood out as a close friend [yet]. There was African drumming, a braai (traditional Afrikaner barbeque), volleyball, wall climbing, and hikes. Ziplining over the waterfalls of the Kruiss river was amazing. I didn’t feel scared the way everyone else seemed to; the views were beautiful and the canyon we crossed felt like a pre-civilization work of natural art. The second day was hot and clear during the day, giving us all sunburns, but the night was clear and beautiful. I saw my first southern hemisphere stars. The place was so remote that even with the moon mostly full, I could see the Milky Way cascading through the sky.

Tsitsikamma Falls. I don't know if you can see, but the cables in the photograph are what we ziplined with.

I’m having fun simply observing people as they live normally, from the Afrikaners to the Xhosa to the other study abroad students: what clothes they wear, how they walk, how they use their silverware. I noticed that nobody danced or even moved at all during the drumming lessons. I feel drums are such a call to movement, the way they reverberate in your sternum and resonate in your body walls. I couldn’t stand standing there while everyone had their arms crossed with nodding heads in time to the beat; I danced outside with all the bugs. I saw more kinds of moth than I knew existed, a spider as large as my palm, a gecko the length of an eraser, red-winged starlings, masked weavers, and lots of plants.

I tried interesting African food, from Afrikaner Sarmies (sandwiches) to bobotie (pronounced boe-boe-tee), which is sweetened rice with a meaty stew on top. They served boerwoers (sausages) and many kinds of meat, but I chose not to partake. I know I might be acting in a culturally insensitive way, but I don’t know how I could place cultural observance over the moral worth of a life. We drove back along the N2 and saw some of PE. In the afternoon, I went to the beach and dipped my toes in the Indian Ocean! The water is warmer and clearer than that of California and the sand is a lovely golden orange colour.

Today, we had to wake up early for an orientation session at the University. My flat mate and some of her friends and I walked over, not knowing where we were going. It’s quite a thrill to be challenged with new surroundings and having to learn my way around a new place. The campus is amazingly beautiful, with so many different plants, courtyards, walkways, and interesting architecture. Everyone brags about how NMMU is the only university in the country to be situated on a nature reserve. After the orientation, I walked around the school to familiarize myself with the manifold paths and then walked to the shopping center. I purchased a no-frills phone which has become activated, but I have to buy airtime to actually use it to talk. Hopefully I’ll do that tomorrow. We had a welcome session at a café on campus with all the international students and I sat with a guy from Botswana and a PE local girl who were so friendly and interesting. I’ve noticed most of the people who came in groups are sticking together, which I think is really too bad. No, I don’t really know anyone here, but I’m meeting new people every day from places around the world.