Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Dear Cape Town,
I’m back in Austin, for a hiatus. I stayed in Cape Town for 3 months… it feels like a dream, a truly wonderful dream. So I might go back to dreaming for another year… we’ll see what happens. …
I love to travel because it allows you to reinvent yourself, in essence, to be your true self. And nobody you encounter along your journey questions your authenticity, since they are meeting you as you are for the first time. They imagine you’ve always been this way. And you have, you’re only now getting to show this specific part of yourself because the world is allowing you to. On the other hand, most people who have known you have difficulty believing that there are more layers to peel away. It’s a shame really because unless you allow yourself to grow, to transform, to vibrate and shine, you become a reflection—an image of how others see you.
I guess this is what people say when they mean they are traveling to find themselves. After realizing you can choose who you are, you consequently ask yourself, well who do I want to be? And then you become it… if you’re smart. I’d like to think most people who travel are smart because they’ve at least gotten so far.
It’s not surprising then that I love the people I meet when I travel. They are adventurers and explorers and geniuses and they are getting more interesting by the second. They let the wind blow and the sun rise. They are firecrackers. They are superhuman because they believe it. Time is no longer an enemy, and moments seem less fleeting because it’s all worth it. They realize time isn’t money, time is travel, and the only days wasted are those which suffered the fate of being born during pre-enlightenment, or those which suffer the fate of being born during a bad economy.
I like to pretend that I have money; it works quite well. I’ve learned to deceive myself and others. After all, I did convince my father at four months old to move across the world. And so now I continue to convince myself to take myself around the world, and I continue to try to convince other people too.
My mom and sister made their way to Cape Town, South Africa for a whole 6.5 days. I told them this really wasn’t enough, but something is better than nothing. The week they visited me was also my last week in Cape Town and it made me realize all the things I will miss until I come back again….
The way the sun shines through the forest, to let you see the trees…
The people who won’t let you get anything for free…
The creativity that happens, not because someone tried to create it, but because it just happens…
The sunsets and sunrises that can’t be captured in photographs, but you try anyways because they are just so beautiful the thought of keeping them to yourself seems selfish…
Getting to share the city with people you really want to share it with…
Climbing mountains and realizing that you can climb mountains…
Feeling excited, because you’re scared, but because you’re also excited…
The best damn pizza, milkshakes and veggie burgers you could ask for!
The fact that even the poorest kids have a soccer ball…
The mystic..
Astronomers and their crazy constellation computer programs, tryin to challenge my libraness….and forgiving them because they showed me the amazing view from Lion’s head…
Finding snow again after not seeing it for about 12 years…
The ability to take roadtrips every weekend in a different direction to somewhere new…
Working at Cow, the Cows and asking Steyn to play his music all the time heh…
Walking through a jungle of monkeys….
The farm in kommetijie…
The cliff at cape point matthias and I discovered, with a view better than the top..
Of course all the amazing people I met, who know who they are..
Being the first American or first Indian people had ever met…
and much much much more...
Till we meet again!
I love to travel because it allows you to reinvent yourself, in essence, to be your true self. And nobody you encounter along your journey questions your authenticity, since they are meeting you as you are for the first time. They imagine you’ve always been this way. And you have, you’re only now getting to show this specific part of yourself because the world is allowing you to. On the other hand, most people who have known you have difficulty believing that there are more layers to peel away. It’s a shame really because unless you allow yourself to grow, to transform, to vibrate and shine, you become a reflection—an image of how others see you.
I guess this is what people say when they mean they are traveling to find themselves. After realizing you can choose who you are, you consequently ask yourself, well who do I want to be? And then you become it… if you’re smart. I’d like to think most people who travel are smart because they’ve at least gotten so far.
It’s not surprising then that I love the people I meet when I travel. They are adventurers and explorers and geniuses and they are getting more interesting by the second. They let the wind blow and the sun rise. They are firecrackers. They are superhuman because they believe it. Time is no longer an enemy, and moments seem less fleeting because it’s all worth it. They realize time isn’t money, time is travel, and the only days wasted are those which suffered the fate of being born during pre-enlightenment, or those which suffer the fate of being born during a bad economy.
I like to pretend that I have money; it works quite well. I’ve learned to deceive myself and others. After all, I did convince my father at four months old to move across the world. And so now I continue to convince myself to take myself around the world, and I continue to try to convince other people too.
My mom and sister made their way to Cape Town, South Africa for a whole 6.5 days. I told them this really wasn’t enough, but something is better than nothing. The week they visited me was also my last week in Cape Town and it made me realize all the things I will miss until I come back again….
The way the sun shines through the forest, to let you see the trees…
The people who won’t let you get anything for free…
The creativity that happens, not because someone tried to create it, but because it just happens…
The sunsets and sunrises that can’t be captured in photographs, but you try anyways because they are just so beautiful the thought of keeping them to yourself seems selfish…
Getting to share the city with people you really want to share it with…
Climbing mountains and realizing that you can climb mountains…
Feeling excited, because you’re scared, but because you’re also excited…
The best damn pizza, milkshakes and veggie burgers you could ask for!
The fact that even the poorest kids have a soccer ball…
The mystic..
Astronomers and their crazy constellation computer programs, tryin to challenge my libraness….and forgiving them because they showed me the amazing view from Lion’s head…
Finding snow again after not seeing it for about 12 years…
The ability to take roadtrips every weekend in a different direction to somewhere new…
Working at Cow, the Cows and asking Steyn to play his music all the time heh…
Walking through a jungle of monkeys….
The farm in kommetijie…
The cliff at cape point matthias and I discovered, with a view better than the top..
Of course all the amazing people I met, who know who they are..
Being the first American or first Indian people had ever met…
and much much much more...
Till we meet again!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
love me some travel contests
http://vantastic.worldnomads.com/
http://www.cinemark.com/promotions/funnypeople/
http://www.cinemark.com/promotions/julieandjulia/default.asp
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Are we in Africa yet?
My landlord was a lunatic, so I left.. that’s the short story, and now I’m residing in a hostel on long street .. I’ve been here for almost three weeks now… this has to be a record. And if it’s not I will be beating my own imaginary record in a few more weeks.
Tonight, I was sitting in my hostel lounge room, laying against the cozy powder puff sheeted couches, gritting my teeth and keeping warm by reading- proud of myself since I usually keep warm by getting online and holding my portable internet modem against me when a hostelmate/local South African walked up and said, “You know what you look like? A Kardashian!”
My immediate reaction was to say “OH NO” as I’ve unconsciously paired looks with personality. I’m also trying to stop drinking milkshakes at Royale and Pickwicks so calling me a Kardashian isn’t exactly what I’m trying to hear right now.
To this, the hostelenemy replied, “Oh you must not be Arab or Indian so that was offensive, are you?”
“I am Indian.”
“Oh sorry.”
So then he leaves, and he doesn’t believe I’m not a Kardashian. I’m reading first of all, but anyways he comes back and offers me a cupcake.
Anyone who knows me knows, if I could be a piece of food I would be a cupcake. Yellow with vanilla frosting and it’s not a metaphor for Indian on the inside, white on the outside.. it’s just a matter of taste.
I couldn’t accept this precious gift, as then I would be underhandedly admitting he was speaking the truth.
So I pass- and I win the war…
I come back to my bedroom to share this semi-exciting bit of hostel gossip with my one of my dormmates when I snap back into reality and realize I’m still surrounded by 30 Korean and Japanese backpackers who don’t speak much English. Apparently this hostel has 5 stars online in those countries. I’d call Laura- my ex-roommate/American partner in crime, but she’s in Jo’burg. It’s times like these I really miss home, and miss South Africa even more. I can’t write anymore as a German is coming to pick me up… perhaps HE will take me to South Africa….. a hot hot land where nobody knows who the Kardashians are.
Tonight, I was sitting in my hostel lounge room, laying against the cozy powder puff sheeted couches, gritting my teeth and keeping warm by reading- proud of myself since I usually keep warm by getting online and holding my portable internet modem against me when a hostelmate/local South African walked up and said, “You know what you look like? A Kardashian!”
My immediate reaction was to say “OH NO” as I’ve unconsciously paired looks with personality. I’m also trying to stop drinking milkshakes at Royale and Pickwicks so calling me a Kardashian isn’t exactly what I’m trying to hear right now.
To this, the hostelenemy replied, “Oh you must not be Arab or Indian so that was offensive, are you?”
“I am Indian.”
“Oh sorry.”
So then he leaves, and he doesn’t believe I’m not a Kardashian. I’m reading first of all, but anyways he comes back and offers me a cupcake.
Anyone who knows me knows, if I could be a piece of food I would be a cupcake. Yellow with vanilla frosting and it’s not a metaphor for Indian on the inside, white on the outside.. it’s just a matter of taste.
I couldn’t accept this precious gift, as then I would be underhandedly admitting he was speaking the truth.
So I pass- and I win the war…
I come back to my bedroom to share this semi-exciting bit of hostel gossip with my one of my dormmates when I snap back into reality and realize I’m still surrounded by 30 Korean and Japanese backpackers who don’t speak much English. Apparently this hostel has 5 stars online in those countries. I’d call Laura- my ex-roommate/American partner in crime, but she’s in Jo’burg. It’s times like these I really miss home, and miss South Africa even more. I can’t write anymore as a German is coming to pick me up… perhaps HE will take me to South Africa….. a hot hot land where nobody knows who the Kardashians are.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Coming to Cape Town
4/17/09
So I’m here in cape town and it is 1 am… traveling has a way of making you contemplate your entire universe all over again. I arrived here exactly one week ago. I’m not sure what I expected… I had a feeling I would love this city, but at the same time I was heading for the first time on my own to a place I had never been before, and one that you don’t exactly hear is the safest place to bet on. Aside from the words ‘hectic’, ‘shame’ and ‘oh is it’, I’m constantly hearing the world ‘brave’… people telling me I’m so brave for coming here. Honestly, I never thought of it that way and I’m still not convinced. How am I brave? I’m experiencing a place where the rich and the poor coexist, perhaps not peacefully but more because they have to. The poor live in townships where they never experienced another life and are barely surviving in a literal sense. The rich are survivors themselves… things we take for granted in America… not having electric fences and barred doors and windows. Not worrying about beggars attacking you if you don’t pay them, or smashing through your car window at a stoplight to grab your purse, simply walking down the street without considering that you might get mugged, or being able to walk around after dark alone as female without fear that you might get raped. I bought my first can of pepper spray I might add! I’m not trying to be melodramatic and there are a few things you worry about in any city; also most of the people I have met have not actually been the victims of crimes such as these… but they are aware of it and do have to think about it--- something that has become second nature to them. And I’m brave for coming here? On basically a working vacation?
The only way you could possibly call me brave is if you look at my bank account. My mom updated me an hour ago… perhaps the reason why I can’t sleep anymore and am currently writing this…. To let me know that my current checking account amount resides at $142.40. I bought a load of photography equipment before coming here, the cost of which was deducted from my account today… along with my rent & deposit, never a fun feeling. I am getting paid here though… working as an intern for an agency called Cow Africa, a funky little creative boutique advertising shop. And I have to say I LOVE IT. I’ve spent the first week writing copy, brainstorming, and punking people all over town candid camera style, which has given me a scenic tour of the city. The people I work with are awesome as well… they end work early on Fridays to laugh, drink milkshakes and eat fries (chips ) together. I feel as if I know them already.. it is kind of strange.
Strange in a good way, not at all in the sense I mean it when I say it’s quite strange that I have no money and am living in another country. The current rate of exchange is $1,000 rand = $100. And it seems no matter where you are the world, landlords suck. I found a beautiful room in a house, within walking distance of work that even has a backyard & hammock, albeit with an electric fence, which also includes a landlady doubling as a roommate. She’s a 39 yr old female having a full-on midlife crisis. The first day I checked out the place I moved in, as she has an obvious charm along with the house. We ate dinner that night and she and I talked happily and freely. The next day we got in a tustle over rent --- I’m paying $4,000 rand for a month---- which means I’m getting ripped off. But like I said, the house is cool, and so are the roommates--- 3 more actually, mostly other foreign interns getting ripped off as well .
Following this tustle we drank wine and talked again for hours where I realized that she has gotten screwed over quite a bit in her life. Dated a guy longterm whom she opened a business with, who did not include her as an owner in the business… then she was in legal battle with him for a few years, was pregnant with his baby and had a miscarriage… and then found out a few years later from her sister, that she slept with him. And not that I even need to add more to this story, but her sister’s wedding is in two weeks and she doesn’t have a date. So I don’t blame her for getting irritated and equally annoying at the drop of a dime… okay I do, sometimes “you are as miserable as you want to be.”- wise words from a coworker. I do give her credit though, South Africans have to be tough and she’s one of the tougher ones.
But that doesn’t quite help me now does it. I’m considering what I’m going to do after this month. Depending on how the internship goes or other interviews, I could stay here. I interviewed in Dubai before I arrived which means I could end up back there as well… which financially would be amazing--- but in many other ways would be quite tragic. I could also head to Australia, my parents seem to be a fan of this idea, maybe so they can visit, and my uncle has sent me some local currency hoping to jumpstart my journey to the outback where my cousin currently resides. And it all sounds lovely right? Being a struggling creative is not fun… is it too late for med school? I’m not gonna lie though, there is a certain beauty in not knowing the future, you truly begin to live day to day. And despite the fact that I’ve felt uncertain for quite a long while now, I’d still take feeling uncertain while traveling over the opposite any day.
Especially in Cape Town. This city is breathtakingly gorgeous. The beach, the mountains, the sunsets, the lights, the sky, the vibe, the music, the mish-mash of culture and architecture—it all works so well together. The first day I arrived I got a scenic view of the entire city bowl at night along side Table Mountain and a sky who’s sun had set but still held rich purples oranges and reds- making me feel as if I landed on another planet, a beautiful one. I also headed to a local bar/music venue called Rafikis, where the lead singer of a famous African band named Freshly Ground, was special guesting along side a few Brooklyn musicians. Everyone in the bar was dancing and grooving and I was surprised, in the best way possible, at how laidback the vibe was…as a national celebrity could be jamming so effortlessly and easily with the locals.
Music is not all that keeps people on their feet. The crime perhaps gives everyone a little jolt in their step, but the locals are in love with their own city as much as the foreigners and are experiencing as much as they can until perhaps they won’t be able to anymore. Zuma is about to be elected president in a few days. The current candidate of the ANC party- the same party Nelson Mandela belonged to, but there is no other similarity.
I have learned quite a bit here in my first week from some of the amazing people I have met, about race relations, language, politics, poverty, and the capacity of complete strangers to be completely accommodating half way around the world. I’ve laughed more this week than probably in past 6 months and I have 10 new facebook friends !…that’s more friends than days I’ve been here, which only validates my point.
Tomorrow morning I’m awaking bright and early to hike Table Mountain with a couchsurfer I haven’t met yet. Probably a pretty good start to the second week of my first month in Cape Town. And at this very moment, I’m having a hard time imagining this is real. I’ve gotten carried away typing on my old familiar laptop… only to finally look up and realize that it is in fact the middle of the night, in a new country, where I now know some people….and I’m okay... I think.
So I’m here in cape town and it is 1 am… traveling has a way of making you contemplate your entire universe all over again. I arrived here exactly one week ago. I’m not sure what I expected… I had a feeling I would love this city, but at the same time I was heading for the first time on my own to a place I had never been before, and one that you don’t exactly hear is the safest place to bet on. Aside from the words ‘hectic’, ‘shame’ and ‘oh is it’, I’m constantly hearing the world ‘brave’… people telling me I’m so brave for coming here. Honestly, I never thought of it that way and I’m still not convinced. How am I brave? I’m experiencing a place where the rich and the poor coexist, perhaps not peacefully but more because they have to. The poor live in townships where they never experienced another life and are barely surviving in a literal sense. The rich are survivors themselves… things we take for granted in America… not having electric fences and barred doors and windows. Not worrying about beggars attacking you if you don’t pay them, or smashing through your car window at a stoplight to grab your purse, simply walking down the street without considering that you might get mugged, or being able to walk around after dark alone as female without fear that you might get raped. I bought my first can of pepper spray I might add! I’m not trying to be melodramatic and there are a few things you worry about in any city; also most of the people I have met have not actually been the victims of crimes such as these… but they are aware of it and do have to think about it--- something that has become second nature to them. And I’m brave for coming here? On basically a working vacation?
The only way you could possibly call me brave is if you look at my bank account. My mom updated me an hour ago… perhaps the reason why I can’t sleep anymore and am currently writing this…. To let me know that my current checking account amount resides at $142.40. I bought a load of photography equipment before coming here, the cost of which was deducted from my account today… along with my rent & deposit, never a fun feeling. I am getting paid here though… working as an intern for an agency called Cow Africa, a funky little creative boutique advertising shop. And I have to say I LOVE IT. I’ve spent the first week writing copy, brainstorming, and punking people all over town candid camera style, which has given me a scenic tour of the city. The people I work with are awesome as well… they end work early on Fridays to laugh, drink milkshakes and eat fries (chips ) together. I feel as if I know them already.. it is kind of strange.
Strange in a good way, not at all in the sense I mean it when I say it’s quite strange that I have no money and am living in another country. The current rate of exchange is $1,000 rand = $100. And it seems no matter where you are the world, landlords suck. I found a beautiful room in a house, within walking distance of work that even has a backyard & hammock, albeit with an electric fence, which also includes a landlady doubling as a roommate. She’s a 39 yr old female having a full-on midlife crisis. The first day I checked out the place I moved in, as she has an obvious charm along with the house. We ate dinner that night and she and I talked happily and freely. The next day we got in a tustle over rent --- I’m paying $4,000 rand for a month---- which means I’m getting ripped off. But like I said, the house is cool, and so are the roommates--- 3 more actually, mostly other foreign interns getting ripped off as well .
Following this tustle we drank wine and talked again for hours where I realized that she has gotten screwed over quite a bit in her life. Dated a guy longterm whom she opened a business with, who did not include her as an owner in the business… then she was in legal battle with him for a few years, was pregnant with his baby and had a miscarriage… and then found out a few years later from her sister, that she slept with him. And not that I even need to add more to this story, but her sister’s wedding is in two weeks and she doesn’t have a date. So I don’t blame her for getting irritated and equally annoying at the drop of a dime… okay I do, sometimes “you are as miserable as you want to be.”- wise words from a coworker. I do give her credit though, South Africans have to be tough and she’s one of the tougher ones.
But that doesn’t quite help me now does it. I’m considering what I’m going to do after this month. Depending on how the internship goes or other interviews, I could stay here. I interviewed in Dubai before I arrived which means I could end up back there as well… which financially would be amazing--- but in many other ways would be quite tragic. I could also head to Australia, my parents seem to be a fan of this idea, maybe so they can visit, and my uncle has sent me some local currency hoping to jumpstart my journey to the outback where my cousin currently resides. And it all sounds lovely right? Being a struggling creative is not fun… is it too late for med school? I’m not gonna lie though, there is a certain beauty in not knowing the future, you truly begin to live day to day. And despite the fact that I’ve felt uncertain for quite a long while now, I’d still take feeling uncertain while traveling over the opposite any day.
Especially in Cape Town. This city is breathtakingly gorgeous. The beach, the mountains, the sunsets, the lights, the sky, the vibe, the music, the mish-mash of culture and architecture—it all works so well together. The first day I arrived I got a scenic view of the entire city bowl at night along side Table Mountain and a sky who’s sun had set but still held rich purples oranges and reds- making me feel as if I landed on another planet, a beautiful one. I also headed to a local bar/music venue called Rafikis, where the lead singer of a famous African band named Freshly Ground, was special guesting along side a few Brooklyn musicians. Everyone in the bar was dancing and grooving and I was surprised, in the best way possible, at how laidback the vibe was…as a national celebrity could be jamming so effortlessly and easily with the locals.
Music is not all that keeps people on their feet. The crime perhaps gives everyone a little jolt in their step, but the locals are in love with their own city as much as the foreigners and are experiencing as much as they can until perhaps they won’t be able to anymore. Zuma is about to be elected president in a few days. The current candidate of the ANC party- the same party Nelson Mandela belonged to, but there is no other similarity.
I have learned quite a bit here in my first week from some of the amazing people I have met, about race relations, language, politics, poverty, and the capacity of complete strangers to be completely accommodating half way around the world. I’ve laughed more this week than probably in past 6 months and I have 10 new facebook friends !…that’s more friends than days I’ve been here, which only validates my point.
Tomorrow morning I’m awaking bright and early to hike Table Mountain with a couchsurfer I haven’t met yet. Probably a pretty good start to the second week of my first month in Cape Town. And at this very moment, I’m having a hard time imagining this is real. I’ve gotten carried away typing on my old familiar laptop… only to finally look up and realize that it is in fact the middle of the night, in a new country, where I now know some people….and I’m okay... I think.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Final Round Final Video
So i made it to the top ten in one of the most amazing contests ever created! This is my final video about Austin, TX. If you could pass on the link if you like it, i'd appreciate it! A few posts down is the video that got me into the top ten.
It's been a whirlwind few weeks, so I haven't posted recently, but I'm leaving to intern for a month in Cape Town on Wednesday so I'll definitely have something interesting to share soon!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
The World Through My Eyes
I've posted some pictures from my adventures around the world. Most photographs were taken with a Sony Cybershot DSC-W90, which takes excellent outdoor daytime shots! Some were taken with a Sony HDR-SR1 Hard Disk Drive Camera, and a few test shots with a Canon Xti SLR. Here's a link to my picasa gallery where you can view and download.
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