Procrastination
So here I sit at the UCT library, which - btw - is beginning to empty out because it's almost dinner time, and unfortunately (yes - unfortunately) my wireless is working. In fact, it's working REALLY well, because there's like no one here and I have the bandwidth all to myself. But this faculty is encouraging internet procrastination (e.g.: email checking, blogging, NYT reading, etc). And what I SHOULD be doing is writing this stupid paper for War and Society, because I HAVE to have it finished before AL gets here on Saturday night, so that we can play together. *sigh* Well, I have 200 words, and it only has to be about 2000. So I'm 1/10 of the way done. And I have all day tomorrow and all day Saturday to do it.

Oh, right, so what I meant to blog about is the fact that I haven't changed the clock on my laptop, so it still reads eastern standard time. I like to think of "ya'll" and what you're doing, way back there, seven hours behind me :)
- posted by Nicole @ 10:19 AM

 
Wednesdays in Cape Town
Wednesday - more affectionately known as "Hump Day", as in "get over the..." - has been the pinnacle of my week through this rapidly concluding month of March. I begin my Wednesday with a late start (I have early classes only on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday) with War and Society at noon. Then I get on a bus and head to the townships to volunteer. I signed up with the community service group on campus to coach field hockey in Nyanga once a week. I've had some experience coaching before at Sweet Home field hockey camp, but I think boot camp would have been more useful in preparing me for Nyanga. It's pretty intense. First of all, the kids I coach are all boys (granted, everywhere outside of the US, hockey is predominantly a men's game), and I expected to have at least a mixed group, but that part really doesn't matter that much. More significant is the average age of the group, which likely falls between 7 and 10 - VERY young to be playing hockey. Most of the older kids opted to play soccer, and it would have been easier to work with older kids, because hockey is just naturally more complicated and takes more skill than kicking a ball down the field. Also, the older kids speak english much better than the younger ones. I have some SERIOUS language barrier issues. I know they understand a little bit of english, but it's hard for me to gauge how much they udnerstand, because they're a little shy and reluctant to speak english in front of me. Our first session was chaos. ANARCHY. But that was to be expected, especially because SHAWCO's capacity for management and organization is essentially non-existent. Mission number one: learn some Xhosa (the language spoken by the majority of the black population in the Western Cape). Fortunately, that night I ran into one of my friends who speaks Xhosa, and had him teach me a few words and phrases (I was like, "I need 'ball', 'listen', and - most importantly - 'DON'T HACK THE STICK'.")

Armed with my new linguistic skills, I returned next Wednesday. Knowing even only about 10 words of Xhosa made ALL the difference in the world. It wasn't even that I was saying anything they couldn't understand if I'd said it in english, it was just the fact that I was speaking their language - it grabbed their attention, and surprised them. This, combined with a slightly improved organizational regime and the fact that they were getting to know us a little better allowed for a MUCH smoother outing. The time passed so quickly, and some of the little monsters are actually quite good at hockey! We've got some real natural athletic ability going on. Not to mention that they're the most beautiful children I've ever seen...

I love volunteering, and it's a lot of fun. But, let's face it, after 3 hours of screaming at rambunctious little township kids under the heat of the African sun, I NEED A BEER. How fortunate that my favorite South African band should be playing free concerts at the Waterfront every Wednesday night in the month of March? This band kicks some SERIOUS ass. Their music falls somewhere between reggae and ska - it has a strong reggae beat, but also has a trumpet and saxophone. We're total groupies, it's kinda ridiculous. And there's nothing like relaxing with friends over a bottle of Savanna Dry listening to some good music to round out Wednesday in Cape Town.
- posted by Nicole @ 5:58 AM

 
March 22
PS: Seven months till my birthday.
- posted by Nicole @ 6:15 AM

 
Youth
Needless to say, the work load at UCT is not exactly equivalent to the work load at Yale. Not only do I have time for a social life, I also have time to read for pleasure. I just finished reading a book called Youth, by South African author J.M. Coetzee. It was really interesting for me because it takes place in Cape Town, right in the suburbs where I live, around the university. It explored the anxieties and uncertainties of young kids, just starting out in the world, traveling, trying to figure out how everything works, offering a potent warning against the dangers of sacrificing dreams for the sure thing. The final chapter was really powerful, and I actually read it twice before I totally got what it was trying to say. A lot of it boils down to the crippling effects of a fear of failure - which is definitly something that I suffer from. It was a really good book. I'm a firm believer that books find you, and that there are certain books that you are meant to read at certain times in your life. I'm looking forward to reading one of Coetzee's most famous books next, called Waiting for the Barbarians.
- posted by Nicole @ 6:06 AM

 
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight"
Never knew this song originally came from South Africa. This from the New York Times:

JOHANNESBURG — As Solomon Linda first recorded it in 1939, it was a tender melody, almost childish in its simplicity — three chords, a couple of words and some baritones chanting in the background.

But the saga of the song now known worldwide as "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is anything but a lullaby. It is fraught with racism and exploitation and, in the end, 40-plus years after his death, brings a measure of justice. Were he still alive, Solomon Linda might turn it into one heck of a ballad.

Born in 1909 in the Zulu heartland of South Africa, Mr. Linda never learned to read or write, but in song he was supremely eloquent. After moving to Johannesburg in his mid-20's, he quickly conquered the weekend music scene at the township beer halls and squalid hostels that housed much of the city's black labor force.

He sang soprano over a four-part harmony, a vocal style that was soon widely imitated.

By 1939, a talent scout had ushered Mr. Linda's group, the Original Evening Birds, into a recording studio where they produced a startling hit called "Mbube," Zulu for "The Lion." Elizabeth Nsele, Mr. Linda's youngest surviving daughter, said it had been inspired by her father's childhood as a herder protecting cattle in the untamed hinterlands.

"The lion was going round and round, and the lion was happy," she said. "But my father was not happy. He had been staying there since morning and he was hungry." The lyrics were spartan — just mbube and zimba, which means "stop" — but its chant and harmonies were so entrancing that the song came to define a whole generation of Zulu a cappella singing, a style that became known simply as Mbube. Music scholars say the 78 r.p.m. recording of "Mbube" was probably the first African record to sell 100,000 copies.

From there, it took flight worldwide. In the early 50's, Pete Seeger recorded it with his group, the Weavers. His version differed from the original mainly in his misinterpretation of the word "mbube" (pronounced "EEM-boo-beh"). Mr. Seeger sang it as "wimoweh," and turned it into a folk music staple.

There followed a jazz version, a nightclub version, another folk version by the Kingston Trio, a pop version and finally, in 1961, a reworking of the song by an American songwriter, George Weiss. Mr. Weiss took the last 20 improvised seconds of Mr. Linda's recording and transformed it into the melody. He added lyrics beginning "In the jungle, the mighty jungle." A teen group called the Tokens sang it with a doo-wop beat — and it topped charts worldwide.

Some 150 artists eventually recorded the song. It was translated into languages from Dutch to Japanese. It had a role in more than 13 movies. By all rights, Mr. Linda should have been a rich man.

Instead, he lived in Soweto with barely a stick of furniture, sleeping on a dirt floor carpeted with cow dung.

Mr. Linda received 10 shillings — about 87 cents today — when he signed over the copyright of "Mbube" in 1952 to Gallo Studios, the company that produced his record. He also got a job sweeping floors and serving tea in the company's packing house.

His eight children survived on maize porridge, known as pap. When they passed a grade in school, their reward was an egg. Two died as babies, one of malnutrition, said his daughter Ms. Nsele, now 47.

"Chicken feet and pap, chicken feet and pap," she said. "That was our meal for years and years."

When Mr. Linda died in 1962, at 53, with the modern equivalent of $22 in his bank account, his widow had no money for a gravestone.

How much he should have collected is in dispute. Over the years, he and his family have received royalties for "Wimoweh" from the Richmond Organization, the publishing house that holds the rights to that song, though not as much as they should have, Mr. Seeger said.

"I didn't realize what was going on and I regret it," said Mr. Seeger, now 86, adding that he learned only recently that Mr. Linda received less than the 50 percent of publishing royalties Mr. Seeger says he was due. "I have always left money up to other people. I was kind of stupid."

But where Mr. Linda's family really lost out, his lawyers claim, was in "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," a megahit.

From 1991 to 2000, the years when "The Lion King" began enthralling audiences in movie theaters and on Broadway, Mr. Linda's survivors received a total of perhaps $17,000 in royalties, according to Hanro Friedrich, the family's lawyer.

The Evolution of 'Wimoweh' A lawyer for Abilene Music, the publishing house for "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," did not return repeated calls for comment.

But Owen Dean, a South African copyright lawyer who also represents the family, said the amount was a mere pittance compared with the profits the song generated.

The Lindas say they knew no better. Ms. Nsele said she remembered hearing her father's tune on the radio as a teenager in the 1970's and recalled: "I asked my mother, 'Who are those people?' She said she didn't know. She was happy because the husband's song was playing. She didn't know she was supposed to get something."

Indeed, few people knew until Rian Malan, the South African author and songwriter, documented the inequity in 2000 in Rolling Stone magazine. In a telephone interview this month, Mr. Malan said he was stunned "by the degree to which everyone was relying on the Lindas never asking the question" of why they were paid so little.

Mr. Malan's article embarrassed several major players in the American music industry and brought both Mr. Friedrich and Mr. Dean to the family's defense.

The Lindas filed suit in 2004, demanding $1.5 million in damages, but their case was no slam-dunk. Not only had Mr. Linda signed away his copyright to Gallo in 1952, Mr. Dean said, but his wife, who was also illiterate, signed them away again in 1982, followed by his daughters several years later.

Ms. Nsele contends the family was hoodwinked by a South African lawyer, now deceased. Mr. Friedrich said the lawyer appeared to have worn two hats, simultaneously representing the family and the song's copyright holders. In their lawsuit, the Lindas invoked an obscure 1911 law under which the song's copyright reverted to Mr. Linda's estate 25 years after his death. On a separate front, they criticized the Walt Disney Company, whose 1994 hit movie "The Lion King" featured a meerkat and warthog singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."

Disney argued that it had paid Abilene Music for permission to use the song, without knowing its origins.

But for a company built on its founder's benevolent image, the case "had all the makings of a nightmare," Mr. Dean said — a David and Goliath story in which Disney raked in profits from the song while Mr. Linda's children toiled as maids and factory workers, lived without indoor plumbing and sometimes had to borrow from their lawyer for food.

In February, Abilene agreed to pay Mr. Linda's family royalties from 1987 onward, ending the suit. No amount has been disclosed, but the family's lawyers say their clients should be quite comfortable.

A representative for Disney would not discuss the circumstances behind the lawsuit, but the company said in a statement that Walt Disney Pictures had licensed " 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' in good faith" and was pleased that the litigation had been resolved "to everyone's satisfaction."

Some injustices cannot be redressed: in 2001, Mr. Linda's daughter Adelaide died of AIDS at age 38, unable to afford life-saving antiretroviral treatment.

"I was angry before," said Ms. Nsele, who, as a government nurse, is one of the few of Mr. Linda's descendants who is employed. "They didn't ask permission. They just decided to do anything they wanted with my father's song."

"But now it seems we must forgive, because they have come to their senses and realized they have made a mistake," Ms. Nsele said. "The Bible says you must try to forgive."

"Not 'try,' " her 17-year-old daughter Zandile corrected. "It says 'forgive.' "
- posted by Nicole @ 6:01 AM

 
Lion's Head
Last night, I partook in a quintessential Cape Town experience and went with a bunch of friends for "sundowners" (ie: drinks at sunset) at Lion's Head. Lion's Head is a part of the Table Mountain range, and it stands between the downtown "City Bowl" area and the ritzy Atlantic coastal areas, Clifton and Camps Bay. When we talked about going, my friends described it as a "hike" up the mountain. Apparently, something was lost in translation, because what they really meant was CLIMB. SO glad I wore sneakers, but I still wasn't, like, mentally prepared for what turned out to be quite the expedition. The first half could legitimately be classified as a "hike", but once you get halfway up the MOUNTAIN, it gets a little more intense. There are some areas where you have to use chains to scale a flat-faced sections of the mountain. Then, on top of it, there are those perpetual gale-force Cape Town winds doing their best to blow you off the mountain (or blow your shirt off, which posed a whole different set of problems...). But once (if) you get up to the top, the view is absolutely incredible. You have a view of Table Mountain overlooking the City Bowl to one side, and then the back part of the range (known as the Twelve Apostles because of the 12 separate peaks) stretching out on the other side behind Camps Bay. Also, you can see Robben Island - the prison where Mandela was held for 27 years - eight miles off the coast. The sunset itself wasn't as spectacular as some I've seen, but the way that the light reflects off the mountain makes it look like a life-size oil painting. It's incredible, and very surreal.

Of course, hiking up to see the sunset inevitably means that you hike/climb/stumble/fall-in-a-barely-controlled-manner down the mountain in the dark. I laughed at myself the entire way down, because the situation was just that ridiculous to me. Luckily, we went with this guy who's a real avid hiker, and who does this climb on a fairly regular basis, so he led the way along a fairly moderate path. Oh, did I mention that I was doing this after playing field hockey for two hours that afternoon? Can I also mention that the muscles you use to play field hockey are the same muscles you use to climb a mountain???? Can I tell you about the pain I experienced when I tried to get out of bed this morning??????? But I survived, and I have to say that seeing the Southern Cross rise above Table Mountain was probably one of the coolest moments of my entire life.
- posted by Nicole @ 6:20 AM

 
Frustration, or Forget You've Ever Heard of Broadband
If you've felt hurt by my lack of communication, do not dismay, for you are not alone. I am currently not communicating with ANYBODY because I CANNOT GET MY WEBMAIL TO LOAD ON A DIAL-UP INTERNET CONNECTION. It literally takes a half an hour to load, and then by the time it does, the session has timed out and it kicks me off. You cannot imagine the frustration. I've been sitting here in the library for an hour and I have read ONE (1) message in my inbox. It takes every ounce of self-control I possess to refrain from standing up in the middle of the library and throwing a tantrum. My wireless connection on my laptop is no faster than the campus computer labs, though it has the added benefit that it's never randomly CLOSED at the times I have most need of it. I've taken steps to solve this email problem; I've just signed up for a gmail account, which I hope will load faster. I just think the Yale webmail is too big for the connection speed. So, if you have urgent need to get ahold of me about something, either post on my blog (which loads relatively well), or try sending an email to my gmail account, which is my firstname.lastname@gmail.com.
- posted by Nicole @ 4:47 AM

 
Oscars from RSA
I had typed up, as usual, a list of my picks, but by the time I managed to get to a computer, the Oscars had already aired in the US, so I figured it was pointless to post it. There really wasn't much disparity between my Oscar picks and Globes picks anyway. It was interesting watching the Oscars in another country. Unfortunately, I missed the first hour and a half because I had choir rehearsal :( But mommy taped it for me, so I can watch Jon Stewart in all his glory when I get home. (Mom - what are the chances you taped some of the red carpet as well???)

I'm feeling pretty lazy today, because it's hotter than an elephant's ass here, and I didn't sleep AT ALL last night, between the heat and the squadron of mosquitos that was kamikaze dive bombing me all night....So here's my less-than-inspired post-Oscar breakdown, in non-sequitur format:

1. It's the first time I've ever seen Keira Knightley look less than perfect at an event. Really - fire your stylist IMMEDIATELY. That dress and make-up looked ridiculous, Keira, and you have SO much more class than that.

2. Reese DEFINITLY wore the Oscar dress (MUCH MUCH better than the dress she wore at the Globes, which should have disqualified her from the award). However, I found her acceptance speech to be affected and disingenuous. And way too long.

3. There is justice in the world - Rachel Wiesz won best supporting actress for the Constant Gardener. And she was the most beautiful, classy woman at the event this year.

4. I knew Philip Seymour Hoffman would win for Capote.

5. Just a side note on Charlize. Living in her native land as I currently am, I have discovered that the actual, correct pronunciation of her name is “shar-LEEZE tear-OWN”. The way it was pronounced when they read the nominations was the source of much humor (or "humour") among my South African companions.

6. I'll never watch the Oscars again, because Constant Gardener didn't win best film editing.

7. I found out why Crash won so many awards. Not that I don’t think it doesn’t deserve it – I can’t say, I actually haven’t see it, though I’ve heard good things. But instead of launching a multi-million dollar add campaign for the Oscar race like all the big studios, Lions Gate mailed thousands of dvds out to members of the academy, to make sure people saw their film.

8. George Clooney is Overrated. Yes, that's a capital "O"

9. I had the privilege of seeing Tsotsi (pronounced "Tote-see" - and why was Will Smith presenting for this category??!?!) in South Africa. It’s really intense. If you care about me and my well-being, I recommend not seeing it till I get home. But if you must, just keep in mind it takes place in Johannesburg, and I live in Cape Town, and the two are very far apart. Upon accepting the award, the director said "Nkosi Sikele Afrika", which is the first line of the South African national anthem.

10. Ang Lee is adorable.

11. John Williams got robbed and I'm pissed. People SO take his brilliance for granted.

12. Anne Bancroft died this year?!?!?!? When?!?!?!
- posted by Nicole @ 4:03 AM

 
Temperature
I happened to be checking out the weather back home in Buffalo on weather.com, and I noticed that the forecast looked something like high of 25 or 30 degrees. And I thought to myself - wow! That's exactly what the high for today is in Cape Town...in Celsius....
- posted by Nicole @ 5:32 AM