Winter Days at the Farm

Once I returned to South Africa after 5 weeks away, I was greeted my mother at the airport who was already here. Two days later, mom and I drove up to the Karoo to visit my Gran and Uncle Dene and Aunt Patty on their farm. I experienced the coldest South African weather yet, temperatures of -2 Celcius, about 28 F, without central heating! Brrrr, it was freezing, especially in an old farm house with stone floors designed for hot, summer days. The weather limited our activities to being bound up by cloth and visiting in Gran's cottage where at least there was a small heater.

The winter landscapes of the Karoo were just heavenly because of the cold. The "Sneeuberg" mountains in the distance were appropriately named for once, as sneeu means snow & berg means mountain. The fields were covered in a delicate, glistening frost in the morning & the colors of the area, golds and purples, looked just divine in the soft winter light.

When the weather is so cold & your housebound with little to do, the days are centered entirely around the meals & eating. Mom & I took a day to make pumpkin fritters and later she baked a cake for Gran, 3 months in advance of her birthday, just for fun! As you look through the photos, also notice Katrina holding my foot. Katrina is my grand-mother's caregiver by day & my mom did something special by asking her to give us foot treatments, something she does regularly for my Gran. So with woolie hats on our heads, we sat outside soaking up the strong morning sun & had our nails cut to the most superb pedicure scenery I've ever imagined!

By our last day, the weather had warmed up enough for Dene, Mom & me to go on a hike by the kloof (cliff) and have a braai (bbq) by the river. As usual, it was a tearful goodbye for Mom & Gran. This annual trip my mother makes to see her mother is always marked by never knowing if it will be the last. The whispery winter drive away at dawn was filled with tears, buffered by the beautiful running ostriches & guinea fowl on the road side, taking in the quiet of Sunday.

Istanbul in a Nutshell

**I had an incredibly difficult time narrowing down my assortment of Istanbul photographs and so decided to create an album on Picasa instead. Click here to see a "sampling" of the sumptuous decor and architecture of the city: http://picasaweb.google.com/sbrinklee/IstanbulWithKarlijn#


Istanbul, Turkey was a total dream and was completely random. When booking my flights from America back to South Africa I finagled a free 3.5 day layover in Istanbul from Chicago enroute to Cape Town. My good friend Karlijn, who I met in Cape Town, had recently returned to her native Holland and was able to pop over for a quick visit along with me!

We made a good traveling pair, similar budgets, similar pacing, similar interests. We took advantage of being in Sultanhumet, the nexus of the ancient Istanbul, just a minutes walk from several of the major sites. We toured 1-2 major places a day and spent the rest of the time walking the cobbled, winding streets, poking around in shops with fancy textiles we couldn't afford, drinking cay (pronounced chai, for tea), nibbling on rice pudding or chocolate pistachio baklava, and perusing the spectacular assortment of bazaars.

Some of the major places we visited were (in order as shown in the photos):
1) the Ayasofya - built as a church in 537 AD during the Byzantine Empire, it was later taken over as part of the Ottoman Empire and converted to a mosque. Therefore, many of the Christian symbols were erased of covered over as part of the transition. Several earthquakes over a couple dozen centuries have required many makeovers and rehabs for this site. It now functions solely as a museum and has a long way to go to being restored to its "former" glory. Still, it is a mammoth space to behold and be held within. It is overpoweringly spacious and worn and oozes with spiritual breath.

2) The Cistern of Philoxenos - a subterranean reservoir in built before 475 AD. Made up of 224 columns, this place drips with water & classical music.

3) The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, aka the Blue Mosque - was completed in 1617 and is still used as a mosque today. From a distance, the exterior seems so out of this world it's almost fake - like a scene out of Disney World. However, on closer inspection, Disney is no rival and there is no such thing as "camp" regarding this elegantly designed structure. It is stunningly beautiful, with incredible attention to all detail. Thoroughly, in and out, it is a masterpiece of intricacy, color, line, and pattern.

4) The Topkapi Palace - the residence of the Ottoman Sultans, starting from 1465 and onwards. It is an incredible space - gargantuan, with a massive, college-campus feeling from the spread of the buildings and grounds. Every major room was housed in a separate building, connected by a string of pathways and covered terraces. There was a special room for the library, great structures for the kitchens, a circumcision room even. Intricately laid pebble mosaic floors create a carpet from one building to the next. As you gaze at the exterior walls, blue, red, and green tiles lead your eyes upwards to the phenomanal arched walkway ceilings. It is a feast for the eye.

5) the Grand Bazaar & the Eyptian Spice Market - on 2 separate days we tackled these attractions. Like a modern-day mall, many of the stalls in these markets are covered, with window and glass doors and permanent fixtures. Vendors go on for what seems like miles, with pile after pile of a lot of the same: turkish delight, spices, scarves, glass lanterns, mosaic tiles, hand-woven rugs, olives, cheeses, cherries, cashews & hazelnuts, hand-made leather shoes. Take Christmas and multiply it by 10 - it was exhausting with all the haggling, nagging men pulling at our sleeves, trying to tell us how much better their wares were from the next Joe!

The one part we felt we missed on was the culture - the people. Karlijn worked in Ethiopia for a year & with my 10 months in SA under my belt, we decided it would be hard to travel a new culture in the world for more than 3-5 days and to not do "something" more connected to the place (ie non-touristy). My time working with people, learning the nuiances of other cultures has been incredibly defining in my travels of the past year. I hadn't realized it, but over these 10 months, there has been a travel shift in me. I may still have wonderlust, but at the same time little desire to hop around from one country to the next, when one can spend so much time revelling in the nooks and crannies of just one place.

But, minus the people connection, it was a special time in an exquisite place with a wonderful friend. We really couldn't have done any better in 3.5 days if we had to do it all over!

My was heart was well over "Knee High" by the Fourth of July

Does it get any better than this? No flags, just warm, warm hearts and a bonfire to match. This 4th of July was spent amongst my best of friends, Britt & Kim at Kim's family farm near Huntington, Indiana. Enjoy the cheer!

Plus Special: Dress Up in Aunts' Evening Wear

5 Sweet Summer Days Chicago

Oh, man, to describe the homecoming! From the Korean dinner simmering on Robert's stove at first arrival TO making ice cream in Kim's old pot TO watching vegan Britt eat a hamburger with glee TO playing croquet and eating mulberries in Hulmboldt Park like it's never changed TO communal fires and city skeeters TO bumping into old friends by coincidence at a restaurant TO my brother only being 3 hrs drive away TO finding the grace of flatland at the Heiney family farm....Chicago holds a lot in the palm of its hand. Boy do I miss it. And girl, am I glad I got to go back for a swarm of delights and wonders.

Only 2 years after leaving, people change, people stay the same, people marry, mess up, impregnate, lose weight, gain hair, grow businesses, develop works of art, nest further into their homes, change their paint color and become all the wiser. The pity was it was only for 5 days, short, sweet and packed into the most retrievable part of my memory.

New York in a Whiz

New York New York. Every time I visit this grand city it is tempered by something new. This time was the possibility of landing there for a couple years to study for a Masters Degree. Columbia Teachers College & New York University were the main aims to the visit. Columbia certainly won my heart and has me sore over its costliness and consideration of how to make it work.

But in between interviews were loads of lovely interactions with the New York crew: Erin, Chelsea, Scott, Paul, Claire, Ryan, and Chris. It was the least touristy of any of my visits to New York, thus there was time spent at a bar on a river boat, walking the new train-track greenway park, exploring a crafts festival in an obscure part of Astoria, a house dinner in Brooklyn and a night time film in a Manhattan park.

The prices of New York food felt overwhelming on my South African budget and the youthfulness of most people seemed abnormal. But as always, parts of the city called to me, especially the mosaics and murals of the underground.

Blog of America

After having spent 3+ weeks in the US of A, I am full of many new impressions and reinforcements of old. My first purchase after a 19 hour flight to New York was a cafe latte and a muffin - all for a total of $8.06, the same cost as a nice, full meal in South Africa. My second purchase was a box of Sudafed - also $8 - to alleviate the pounding ears my flight almost busted. These first acts of consumerism on American soil set the precedent for the rest of my trip (so far).

Prior to moving to SA, I sweated over health insurance possibilities, opting for a limited travel insurance policy. When I fell sick in February, I was blown away by the afford-ability of a Doctors visit, a mere $25. In just three weeks in the USA, with one unlucky cold and a plane ride combo to wreak havoc on my ears, I've spent almost $400 on appointments and medication. All this makes me realize even more so, how expensive America is compared to where I've been living.

The falling economy is set to dampen spirits further. I came home to find old high school teachers and teaching friends with pink slips looming over their heads and careers. Some older teachers have gracefully stepped away, whilst class sizes threaten to grow and high quality public educators fight to keep both their jobs and students. It brings Africa closer to home and I'm realizing American public education is about to take a dive for the worst. What is this nation establishing when the crippled economy means prioritizing cutbacks for the education of its young?

South Africans have been asking me about the American economy non-stop, but since Wall Street collapsed 2 weeks after I left the USA, I've had little experience to relate. I have now had a real taste: deserted shopping centers with shutdown business, legendary stores gone, several young people my age out of jobs, government office closings, empty parking lots, cashier job cuts and longer lines, house "for sale" signs lining the streets, radio talk hosts tirelessly discussing the economy and ways to save and survive, the list goes on...

But America is not all doom and gloom. In the midst of this crisis, the people here remain some of the most generous I have ever known. On this trip, I have collected over $1,500 from locals to purchase books for St. Paul's Primary School where I teach. One keep group of the Mt. Holly 5th Grade Safety Patrol is dedicating their summer Saturdays to run a lemonade-stand fundraiser! I find this generous spirit is huge and full of action even in these difficult times.

On a more personal level, I have had a marvelous 3 weeks traipsing across the South East, from visiting my sister in Washington, D.C. to checking out grad programs in Athens, GA. My family is all doing well. Both my parents work like trojans, trying to keep their heads up, grateful they both have jobs. My mother's garden is tremendous - green and full, her shade trees providing me with the most peaceful window scenery. Dad has been busy as the mulch-master, taking on lots of odd gardening jobs with the support of Aunt Lynn to help my other Aunt Teenie with her larger-than-life gentleman's farm. And my grandmother "Grand-Dub", God love her, never changes - she's still mowing her lawn, cleaning her house, protecting her garden from the local bunny brigade and snacking on cheese straws in her down time. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

One of my trip highlights was visiting Mt. Holly, NC where I lived for a full year before moving to South Africa. I received an amazing homecoming, driving down HWY 27 to the vision of Spencer Mtn. hovering above the Catawba River. Crossing that bridge again brought me back into the incredible community this small town provided me last year. Honestly, can life get any better than a strong-armed hug from Cindy Suddreth, Margaret singing at the Farmer's Market, Scott Griffin's candle burning for me in the window, hard core dancing with 8 year old Bailey Kaylor or the pitiful cry of Bob-the-shaved-and-mangy-Cat on return from the dead? Need I mention that Robert, the autistic child I worked with last year, can now say the alphabet and his sister, Rachel, made the all-star diving team?! Life is full back here at home. It has moved on in my absence but it felt so good to return to the nourishment of love in constant supply. It is so good to know I have a home to return to in Charlotte and Mt. Holly, pulling on my heart strings and calling me back, back, back....

D.C. to Takoa Falls and back home again

The messy trajectory of my trip back to the USA was reminiscent of a tourist's jaunt through a new country. From NYC to Charlotte, D.C. to Baltimore, to Athens, GA and back to Charlotte again. Not to mention another leg to NYC, and then to Chicago & Istanbul & the lovely Karoo. But with grad schools in mind, dropping Susannah off at Georgetown in D.C. afforded me the opportunity to visit Baltimore to see MICA. And Charlotte's proximity to Georgia also gave me good reason to check out UGA in Athens.














With all this driving back and forth, I still managed to squeeze in a lot. The problem with visiting is you can never say "no" to anything, so my calendar was choc a bloc full! I managed to trek to a couple of bountiful Mt.Holly Farmers Markets and to feel completely swooned by the response of folks missing me over the last year. I was able to attend the small town wedding of Leah & Josh and dance my heart away with Bailey Kaylor (age 8) and my aunts. I had the opportunity to see Rachel Schleicher's new diving moves and to spend Father's Day with my dad. Any maybe best of all, I witnessed my childhood bestfriend cradling her newborn.

Staying with mom, we were able to make good use of our time together, with picnic lunches at her job. Honestly, even mowing the lawn felt like a beautiful, fruitful activity! And Dad and I managed a good ride on the old bikes. For a first, my mom was able to join some family in Mt. Holly & it made my heart swell to have some of my favorite faces mixing around a table again. Time does heal, but it takes some really furtive effort as well.

It's a proud life people live in this part. Everyone trying to make the best out of what they do, to believe in how they spend their hours, to work towards larger community and to love the families they've created over time. It is a Southern fantasy, an American dream of sorts, all woven with the realities of uncertain incomes, familial rifts, the monotony of tired feet, and the aching need to fill the void left at the end of the day.