Have you ever glanced down at your fingernails and noticed that they are oddly blue? Most commonly this would occur in colder climates—places such as Minnesota in the winter, but it can even happen here…in AFRICA. Whatever perceptions anybody from America could have of Africa, Cape Town will without a doubt quickly eradicate from your mind. No one walks around in bright colored clothing, except for the in-fashion girls wearing striped plastic rainboots or pink suede Eskimo boots. There are no elephants or lions roaming around, although I have caught sight of a few monkeys…nowhere near as many as in Matheran, India though. And it is COLD! I have been trying to tough out winter with happier thoughts of spring and live without a coat, but some days are challenging. At night I sleep under three blankets, and two are doubled over. My toenails are not yet blue, thanks to the bright green socks I got from South African Airlines on my way here, but they’re getting there. Maybe South Africa is called the rainbow nation not because of the range and diversity of skin tones, but rather because of the amazing amount of colors white skin can turn over the seasons. Doubtful, but nonetheless it’s been a cold day and catching a glimpse of my fingernails sparked me to write a blog.


So while I’m at it, let me tell you all a little bit about how the University of Cape Town is set up so you can gather an appreciation of the adventure I embark on every day as I dutifully and excitedly make my way up the mountain to attend lectures. UCT is located on the slopes of Devil’s Peak mountain. The campus spans from about 300 feet, or approximately a football field’s length, west of where I stay and continues on directly up the mountain for about a mile. There is a lower, middle, and upper campus, but it is upper campus, at the VERY TOP, where almost everyone’s lectures take place. So every morning I wake up around 8:27, have a breakfast and begin my hike. To break up the walk I stop at middle campus to use the international center’s computers to fill my daily email needs, and then 7 minutes before class I rush up the rest of the way to my psychology lecture, which is always and without fail amazingly interesting. All 311 steps to get there are worth it. It would be great for Macalester to get a critical psychology course that could deconstruct mainstream psychology and pull out the more marginalized voices and views and see that psychological studies, findings, and theories really only, or mainly, apply to white men in the Western world. It’s a fascinating class to take here and ties all my interests in very well. This is oftentimes my only lecture of the day on upper campus so I then go to the library and try to navigate books and extract information from them, and if I happen to check them out for that necessary purpose of writing a paper, I will next time remember that check out time for books here is only a week before fines begin building up. No warning. Nothing. And I will also remember that as an undergraduate student, I may only check out 6 books at any given time, but of course that also is contingent upon me not having late charges. :) Ah, the life of a foreign exchange student…forever trying to figure out the system in which they find themselves. And after telling you all this, I have to say that I, as a foreign exchange student in Cape Town, have it superfluously easy. That has been one of the only downfalls I have identified in making the choice to come here. It is a very specific experience of “Africa,” where the living is easy and very cosmopolitan. It’s nice, but I definitely hope to get out more. P.S. for a beautiful view of upper campus, go to www.uct.ac.za.


Before I end I want to send out a special HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY to my likkle brother, Mason, or as I call him, Skinner. When he was about to be born my parents asked if we had any suggestions for his name and I promptly suggested “Britt…an, yeah Brittan.” And when that idea was rejected, I came up with “Bunny Ears” and “Mr. Petecloud.” However, neither of those was chosen either, and so somewhere in his growing up stage I came up with Skinner and thanks to the invention of nicknames I’m able to call him that without his official name being changed. But anyway, he’s that special age where he will soon get to start driving a car, which I’m sure he is all too excited about. The last time I was home, he would hang out with us (me and my buddies who came home with me) until we went to bed, and then he would swiftly make his move into the garage to work on his Thunderbird, a car he bought from my great aunt Ada. I would walk by the kitchen and notice the light shining in from the garage and just chuckle. He was loving every minute of whatever little thing he was doing. It’s been so fun to watch him grow up and grow into his body and personality. It was already nearly four or five years ago that he passed me up in height. He now looms over me, but he is still 15 inside. Although I don’t see him much, I always love the time when I can come home and hang out with him. He has a gentle spirit and a fun personality and he allows me to pull him into my circles of friends, where he has a way of catching on to inside jokes and joining in. And I can’t overlook his fabulous DDR skills. DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) is an X-Box game where the player stands on a dancing mat and places their feet wherever the screen instructs. He has become a master and creates such a fun atmosphere when playing the game. So yeah, Happy Happy Birthday, Mason. His email is mclynk818@hotmail.com to send any birthday greetings.


His birthday is also the day I have decided to sign my Bahá'í declaration card, declaring that I am Bahá'í! If you haven’t heard about the Bahá'í Faith, it’s very interesting and you can read more at www.bahai.org. Although many Bahá’ís already think I’m Bahá'í and I feel I’ve been living my life according to the teachings almost since forever, I’ve just decided that now is the time to actually sign the card. The card is really only for administrative purposes, but because it can also personally be a spiritually significant thing, I thought it would be cool to sign on Mason’s birthday because, as my little brother I feel he’s brought out a lot of my spiritual qualities and has inadvertently taught me a whole lot about love, patience, hope, as well as unknowingly let me practice some parenting skills, although I definitely let my parents take over most of the time. When I was in 9th grade, I wrote a story about Mason called, “Boy, What a Pet.” We were supposed to write about a pet we’ve had, but never having had a pet, I had to write about having a little brother. It was then that I realized how lucky I was to have a little brother/pet like him. So two exciting things in one day!

Lastly, don’t forget that I love hearing from people at home! So drop me a line at blynk@macalester.edu, or even better send a letter to me at
Brittany Lynk
#1 Florence Villas
9 Nursery Road
Rondebosch
South Africa
7700