I have officially taken up yoga. This might not seem like a big deal to some of you, but those of you who know me best know that I don’t exercise. And I mean that in the most drastic of ways, I literally do not exercise, in fact I actively avoid exercise at almost all costs. I was the kid who hid behind the bleachers during laps two and three of the mile in eighth grade P.E. class. Not that I don’t like being active, I love keeping a busy schedule, walking places, and being outdoors, but if you try to stick me in a gym and tell me to do 30 minutes on the cross trainer and I will gladly run in the opposite direction (well- it may be more of a light jog). That being said, I paid R100 (about $15) for 10 days of unlimited hot yoga and I absolutely love it. I have gone every single day since because as it turns out, I have a good deal more will power than I ever gave myself credit for.
Yoga is just one of the little details I haven’t mentioned yet that make up my daily life here in Cape Town. Transportation is another one. In a big city with no car at my disposal, my transport options are very limited. The first and by far most utilized is walking. Starting with the 20-25 minute trek up the base of the mountain and the 5 or 6 flights of stairs that it takes to get to my first class, I find myself walking for a solid portion of the day. I wish I could adequately describe just how many stairs there really are, but lets just say pre-yoga phase, I definitely considered the walk to campus exercise in itself. I not only have to budget time in my mornings for the walk, but also for a 15 minute cool down period once I get there, and even still I will inevitably go to class looking like I just ran a marathon.
There is of course the option of the Jammie shuttle. The Jammie, nicknamed for Jamison Hall, is a free shuttle for students and runs to and from campus in almost any direction. It would be incredibly handy if it were just a little bit more predictable. There are only maybe six routes the Jammies take, but waiting for the right one can take anywhere between 30 seconds and 30 minutes and I’m pretty convinced that some days one will simply decide not to run altogether. They are always crowded and smell at least slightly if not unbearably of body odor. While I would rather walk to school any day, the Jammie is my transportation of choice to go downtown, especially since the alternative is a minibus.
The minibus is a staple in the personality of Cape Town. Hundreds of them run daily up and down main street, from the city center to the suburbs, honking, yelling, swerving and picking up passengers off the side of the road. A minibus has about 15 seats but seats about 22. There is always room for one more; standing, squatting or sitting on a strangers lap, they will squeeze in as many people as humanly possible. Aside from the driver there is a caller who hangs out of the window or the open door yelling repeatedly at passersby on the top of his lungs in a barely discernable accent, hoping to find one that wants a ride. This makes it easy to catch one if you do need a ride, seeing as there are dozens and dozens of these shouting, stuffed people movers speeding down the street at any given moment in either direction. It costs about R5 (75c), so I really only take it when I’m carrying groceries or in a part of town that isn’t walking distance, but its an essential element of the city, if for no other reason, than to provide the background noise.
Getting from point A to point B has definitely been a constant challenge in my day-to-day life, but I think I’ve finally got the hang of it. And while a car would really be a miracle worker in this situation, I frankly wouldn’t give up the embarrassing rock-out-dance-music seshs on the Jammie, or the awkward cultural immersion of the minibus, or the alone time of the afternoon walk home for anything. And while it’s no spring break extravaganza, it’s the little things, the details, the habits and the frustrations that make my life here real, and its all part of the experience.
Namaste.
Emily
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