Stellenbosch

22 hours of flight time later, and here I am, Stellenbosch, South Africa, where it never gets colder than 50 degrees.

A few initial observations about the place:

1: Stellenbosch is beautiful.

I walk out of my dorm every morning and look at this:

Stellenbosch Mountain

That majestic silhouette in the background is the breathtaking Stellenbosch mountain, which I climbed (well, mostly) my first week here.

A view of the Cape Mountains, from the top of Stellenbosch Mountain

The entire Cape Town area is surrounded by mountains like this one, including the unbelievably challenging Tafelberg (which I'll describe later).

A lot more sun here than you'd get in Evanston - it doesn't take long to get a tan.

Oh yeah, Stellenbosch is also in the heart of wine country. Really, really good wine country.

It's hard not to look smug when tasting Beyerskloof.

Shiraz and Pinotage are the big ones here, but also some Chardonnay and Sauvignon as well. Also quite a bit of bubbly. All delicious.

Buildings here are mostly in the Dutch colonial style, which means gorgeous white facades and simple, stylish trim. This pic isn't mine, but it gives you a good idea of what I mean:

Everything is so lush, so green, with the occasional palm tree to remind you that you have officially left the gloomy cold of Evanston 22,000 miles behind you.

2: Stellenbosch is really Afrikaner.

I had been told that "everybody in Stellenbosch speaks English", but you could have fooled me: the lingua franca in these parts is Afrikaans, stranger.

Afrikaans itself is a bit bizarre as languages go. It is less than 150 years old as a standardized, written language. It derives from old Dutch with influences of French, German and indigenous African languages. When written, it looks like English with every letter rearranged to confuse the reader, and when spoken, it sounds like someone trying to speak Dutch with a cigarette wedged between their lips.

Afrikaans is still the most spoken language in South Africa, as it is spoken by both whites and "coloureds" (The word "coloured" means mixed-race and is not at all offensive here. Don't take this out of context, I might run for public office one day). However, it still has a somewhat bitter legacy as the "language of the oppressor", which goes back to the 1970s when it was required in schools.

That said, Afrikaner culture and language is integral to Stellenbosch and is fiercely defended by both the people and the university: an anecdote told to one of my colleagues goes as follows. A Stellenbosch professor began the first day of class by asking how many students spoke Afrikaans. When about half the class didn't raise their hands, he told them that he would instead teach in English. He was later reprimanded by the administration and told to teach in Afrikaans.

Fortunately, the Afrikaners do not mind speaking to us Americans in English, but it sometimes feels like listening to a foreign language: heavily accented and with a bit of laboring vocabulary.

That said, here's a crash course in Afrikaans.

Hoe gaan dit? (huh khahn dut) - How are you?
Goed, baie dankie. En met jou? (khood donkie, en met yo) - Good, thank you. And you?
Ek van die Verenigte State kom. (Uk fun dee furunikhduh stotuh kum) - I come from the United States.
Ons kan en Engels sprekken, asseblief? (uns kun en Enguls spreken ussubleef) - Can we speak in English, please?
Ek klas gaan toe. (Uk klus khahn too) - I'm going to class.
Jy's welkom. (Yees velkum) - you're welcome.
Van wat praat jou? (Fun vut praht yo) - What are you talking about?
Voertsek (foortsik) - Piss off
Jou ma se poes (yo ma suh poos) - I'm not going to translate this one. Suffice to say it has to do with somebody's mother and that if anyone ever says it to you, fight them.

Most of the signs here will be in Afrikaans first and English second, or just Afrikaans. The food is visibly Dutch, including the succulent "Vetkoek" (bread fried with butter) or "Boerewors" (literally "farmers' sausage"). On top of it all, most of the places here are named after Afrikaners: Neethling Building, du Plessis Library, Banghoek road, etc. etc. etc.

3: Try though it might, Stellenbosch is pretty English, too.
Sticky toffee pudding, Marmite, chip shops, bangers and mash...you can find it all here. They drive on the left side of the road, too. Most notably, the primary and secondary school system in South Africa is modeled on the English system.

This is Bishop School, a boy's boarding and day school in Cape Town. The school uniform is coats and ties with shorts, and students are separated into houses. (*sigh* Yes, like Hogwarts.)


4: Stellenbosch is a bit behind the times racially and socially.
 On the way in from the airport in Cape Town, while admiring the beautiful countryside, our eyes were drawn to a huge encampment of ramshackle houses stretching from the edge of Stellenbosch outwards to the north.

"What's that?" we asked.

"Oh," our guide replied evasively, "that's Khayamandi. It's one of the townships."

Hmm. Something tells me that this "township" is not going to rank up there with Kenilworth.

Like any good fellow, I decided to kick off my stay in Stellenbosch with a visit to the local watering hole, a dingy, poorly-lit hellhole charmingly rustic pub called Springbok. When we all got there, I ordered a shot of whiskey, and the barman asked, "You're not from around here, are you?"

"What tipped you off?" I replied.

"Two things. One, nobody orders whiskey by the shot. Two, I don't usually see whites hanging out with blacks and coloureds around here."

I look back at the other Americans and realize that by South African standards, only five of us are white, with one black girl and a few of what I suppose are "coloureds" here. I look around and realize that of the other sloppy, loud, incontinent drunks cheerful, merry clientele, we are the only group with any diversity at all. Whites talk with whites, coloureds drink with other coloureds, etc.

Wow. I try to blend in whenever I go abroad, but if the thing to do here is just hang out with Whitey, count me out.

Also, it has not escaped me that most buildings here (including my own), round off the quaint, cononial look with a high fence lined with razor wire.
5: I'm really happy here.
That last section seemed a bit grim, so I just wanted to add that there's too much to do to be bored, too much good food to complain and too many kind, hospitable strangers to get bitter. I'm already in love.