Texts from Africa

Beginning:  12:27 CDT on Thursday, July 27th, 2014
Listening to:  Diane Cluck’s album “Black with Green Leaves” (2002)
Reading:  The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
Rereading:  Composers at Work:  The Craft of Musical Composition 1450-1600 by Jessie Ann Owens and A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Dear Internet:

I am happily back in the United States after nine months working in South Africa from September 2013 till June 2014.  As soon as I landed, State-side work quickly resumed.  The early part of this summer was spent traveling between the Midwest and East Coast for festivals and performances.  A couple of times in between trips, I got to enjoy a handful of days at home, spending time with loved ones, taking in the First World with new perspective, and allowing myself some time to crash.  Nearing the summer’s end, I’ve found my feet again and am now settled back into a rough routine:  I’ve new-found work I’m delighted with (:D) and hopefully more work to come!

I’ve decided to revisit this blog with the idea of preserving experiences from my time abroad.  There are so many rich memories I wish would not fade, so many lessons to digest, so many questions that remain in the wake of living and working in South Africa of all places.  By documenting these experiences, I hope to come to a greater knowledge of how the nine months past impact my understanding of the world today.

The idea for a “Texts from Africa” blog occurred on the eve of my departure from Chicago to South Africa late last summer.  It had been my intention to maintain the blog while abroad; however, this proved too difficult in light of technological limitations and a great deal of work.  (One of my fellow volunteers from Germany did succeed in maintaining a blog while in the country, but posts were few and far between.  Check it out if you can:  Martins Auslandstagebuch!)  Beginning now, I will endeavor to update regularly (!) as long as recollection.

So, here goes!  Inaugural blog posts are honestly intimidating!  But I promise to do my best and wrestle with the feeling till it’s pinned down. . . .

Trailing off for now,
Laura