Support Bilal's Stand!!

I’ve had the opportunity to meet Sultan Sharrief in person twice so far, and both times have been absolutely inspirational!

I first heard about “Bilal’s Stand”  http://www.bilalsstand.com during my Senior year in Michigan, there was a free screening in the science building next to Angell Hall, and I randomly saw the poster in the Fishbowl one afternoon. The fact that the film was a student project: FEX Project (Encouraging the Filmmaking EXperience) where Detroit high school students participated in, and the many issues the film touches on drew me in immediately.  After the screening, Sultan had a brief Q&A session. It was simply amazing to see how he has combined his passion for film, social justice, and his personal experience growing up in Detroit into Bilal’s Stand. As a Michigan wolverine, it was even more inspiring to learn of his achievements and be able to sit in that lecture room that afternoon!  The movie stuck in my mind, and I continued to track Bilal’s Stand & EFEX program updates after graduation.

It happened by chance that a colleague and I, Anny Chou, decided to start a Junior’s Program for Chicago Math & Science Academy (CMSA http://www.cmsaonline.net/). CMSA is a school located in Roger’s Park neighborhood of Chicago, and served to bridge the gap between lower-income families and higher education. Many of CMSA’s students were the first to attend High School, not to mention the first to attend college! However, these students lack a “mentor” for them to look up to, and ask questions about college that many of us may take for granted. For the launch of our program, we wanted to showcase a film that will inspire students on the value of college education... A film that will spark conversation long after the program is over, and to truly ignite their interest in attending college. This was when Bilal’s Stand popped into my mind.

After emailing Sultan Sharrief, he immediately responded and offered to conduct a screening for our program! I was ecstatic about the screening, and CMSA teachers could not believe it when we told them Sultan was coming down for the screening to host a Q&A session with the students!!  Having Sultan there was simply amazing… the students had so many questions, and our program’s mentors had the opportunity to chat more with Sultan over lunch.

To continue showing Bilal’s Stand in high schools and colleges across the nation, Sultan has recently launched a Kickstart campaign to raise $20,000. I hope this post has sparked your interest, and that you will take a minute to check out their website!!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blauvelt/bilals-last-stand-inspire-and-empower-1-mm-youth-w

Old Biscuit Mill + Observatory Festival: guaranteed food coma!

Waking up early has taken a toll on my Mom, dear me, she’s been waking up automatically at 6am daily which means, by default, I have to be up by 7:30am to welcome the day!  We’ve planned to go to Old Biscuit Mill for about two weeks now; it’s an old mill (flour?) with warehouse-like space that’s converted to a Saturday market, filled with yummy food, artisan bread/cheese/arts & crafts, and some very expensive furniture…

Starting our day of adventure, we stopped a taxi off the road to get into town. Note: there are 2 types of taxis in South Africa. A “taxi” is a mini-van, costs about R5 per ride, and is commonly used by locals to travel short distance.  The common misconception in South Africa: taxis are only used by “colored” people and that it is very, very dangerous to ride in one… of course, this is largely due to the legacy of apartheid in South Africa. Most of the “white” folks have a decent job, middle to upper class, and typically owns a car. Whereas the “colored” people were forcibly removed from Cape Town city during the apartheid, into surrounding suburbs in Cape Flat, and many lives in townships… Thus, these residents are much more reliant on public transportation.

This was actually our first time taking taxi in Cape Town, we took one last weekend at Simonstown as well, and both time have been very pleasant! Everyone in the taxi was friendly, and slightly surprised to see two Asian women jumping aboard ;)  We were trying to make it to Old Biscuit Mill, and were told that we had to transfer to a larger city bus near the bus terminal. One of the ladies was incredible and offered to show us where/ which bus to take! So we made it to the market within 30mins… on our very first bus adventure!

Once we arrived at Old Biscuit Mill, we were surprised by how Ëuropean the market was! You rarely saw anyone with different skin color, unless they worked one of the stores… After walking around, it was easy to see why. This Saturday market featured mostly artisan, organic stalls with international flavors such as Spanish paella, Dutch poffertjes, smoked snoek and more. The dishes used fresh ingredients and tasted amazing, we even found a booth selling roasted mushrooms!

After shopping & eating, we resolved happily to our food coma. My mom appeared to have enjoyed her first sangria, and we were two happy bunnies. Having the Observatory Festival this weekend, I hear it officially marks the beginning of Cape Town summer! We took a cab (metered private taxi) and headed to Obs with our full bellies. 

Here, we found a really cool car covered in graffiti arts, tassels on the bottom, wire ninjas on the hood… you name it! The artist was superb and pulled out an entire costume when my mom requested to take a photo together, he’s an ex-magician! We then found Lee working the currywors booth across the road! It’s great to bump into more and more Couchsurfers all over the city now~ Patrick was rocking his Observatory Neighborhood Watch vest too!

 

Chilling out on the grass, there was an A cappella choir singing on stage. With the sun burning down and the smoked snoek in our bag, we decided to call it a day and head home~ This was just what I needed, to wind down from a crazy week… Can’t believe my mom’s actually leaving in two weeks, it’s gonna be weird cooking my own food again… 

360degree, all around

This week just flew by, I felt as if I had my head down for the entire week, not taking the time to smell the flowers, enjoy the breeze, look up and marvel at the sight of Table Mountain…. Guess it was just one of those weeks where everything was played at 4x speed…!

Remembering the first 2months of this year, I was happily frozen in oblivion (read: Chicago winter) having graduated for 6months, took on my first full-time job, and still looking to find that balance between living as an adult v.s. the freedom of a student. All I knew was that I needed to GET OUT – to get out of my comfort zone, get out of the familiarity of US, get out to live and explore the world…

Chicago Skyline at night, from Michigan Lake

I remember when most people I spoke to thought I was crazy, moving to South Africa. Thinking back, I am beginning to see things from the other side of the glass. New college graduate, working my first real-life 9 to 5 job, how can I see the path ahead and figure out the best way to go forward?  Why am I not taking the safe route, get my feet planted on the ground and adjust to adulthood, solidify the new friendship circle I’ve finally begin to develop, enjoying the impending Chicago summer and all that the city had to offer… and so much more.

I could hear little bubbles as I wonder through Chicago; eating Pollo con Mole in Mexican town, writing Yelp reviews about Lakeview and the new vintage stores popping up around the block, lazy Sunday afternoons in Wicker Park, the bustling streets of the Magnificent Mile during peak hours… There’s so much here, but there’s so much out there too.  How do I balance the need for new experience, and the comforting stability to finally call a city my home? Chicago is an incredible city, and its international residents basically bring the world to my doorstep, yet I knew I find myself craving for much, much more…?

It’s been 7 weeks since I arrived in Cape Town. I am learning the delicate balance to adjust to a new job, new city, new country, meeting and building up new friends, trying new food and struggling to find good, authentic Asian restaurants…  Everything’s whirling and spinning like the coffee cup ride at carnivals, or the good old county fairs.  I wish there’s more hours in the day, and that I’d have more energy after work to immense myself in the city..  It's been a long journey, but I think I am finally beginning to appreciate taking the time to breath, enjoy a cup of rooibos tea on a lazy Saturday morning, stop, and smell the flowers...

Bustling streets of Woodstock, Cape Town