Walk On-Braddigan

Allow me to give you a slightly eccentric walking tour of campus… let's start at Beit House:

My ethno class is the farthest walk, regardless of whether I am at the International Library of African Music for my practical, or the Environmental Sciences building for lectures. The ES building is on the front corner of campus, which I believe used to be a convent that was later bought by the school. It’s a nice walk, because you have to cross a little wooden bridge over a stream, and you can often hear piano music playing from the open windows of the music building (which is right next to the ES building).

Speaking of music, there is a guitar player who I have seen twice now, sitting on the wall next to the psychology building as I walk down to Ethno. There are occasionally street musicians who play on the corners in Grahamstown, but this guy looks like a student, and I don’t know if he is just playing for fun or not. Either way, he is really good… he seems to be playing classical style guitar when I walk by, although I am definitely not an expert. It is very enjoyable. Additionally, the only sculpture on Rhodes’ campus is also on my walk to Ethno (If I just walked past the theater as well, I could get my art fix every time I had class). It is metal and basically looks like a bunch of bicycles welded together to imply motion. There is also a comical sign next to it... it doesn’t say ‘do not climb the sculpture because you will get in trouble’ but basically ‘do not climb the sculpture because it’s tough luck if you fall off.’ Love it!

(Some random guys offered to take my picture... they were traveling from near Durban to Cape Town, preaching 'the truth', which seemed slightly complicated and involved a lot of signs and biblical references. We had an interesting chat, some of which I agreed with and some of which was just confusing. I am so glad that the gospel is straightforward... )

Another thing I love is the walk from my res to the dining hall. Firstly, the walk is only slightly longer than the walk from my house to my Grandma’s porch, and it is even more socially acceptable for me to wear my slippers during said walk. Normally I would not be caught out of my res dressed down (unless its Late Night at the library with Elle, in which case grunge clothes are required) but there are so many days that it is cold and I want to wear socks without tying the shoelaces on my sneakers. I miss boots so much! However, besides the charm of the cute little stone path past flowers a big old tree, the walk is worth it. Not that the food is particularly tasty, but the dining hall has its little charms. There is a sign above the toaster that says, “To avoid burnt offerings, heat settings should remain between…” Also, there is always tea, and although I have my own now (breakthrough: microwaves heat water, so why would I bother buying a kettle?), I still appreciate it.

(This is the view from the steps of our dining hall)

(Another set of steps from the dining hall... my slipper-safe walkway)

Next to the library is a big tree with these really cool birds' nests. I told you that I wasn't taking pictures of birds, but I lied. The nests hang down from the ends of branches and look like little woven pods, with the entrance to the nests a hole on the bottom. It is a super interesting construction, and they are attached to the branches incredibly well... it gets very windy, and the branches all whip around and the nests swing all over the place, but they remain firmly attached to the tree.

(I know you can't fully appreciate them in this picture and its hard to see, but here are some nests with the library in the background) 

One continuous challenge with our walking tour is the actual walking… I have yet to come to a solid decision about what side of the sidewalk I should be walking on. At home, I can confidently walk on the right side, and know that everything is as it should be. Here, things are more confusing… I originally thought “well, they drive on the left, so I suppose I had better walk on that side” but this is not a foolproof plan, and I still find myself narrowly avoiding colliding with people all the time. Stairs are the worst, because most of them have turns and landings, so you can’t see when people are coming. This makes walking slightly stressful, but don’t worry, I can handle it.