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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
A Friday Afternoon Outing Printable Version PRINTABLE VERSION
by Marcia C. Schenck, United States Aug 9, 2006
Culture   Poetry

  

A Friday Afternoon Outing

Sun, wind, water. Cars, motorbikes, exhaust fumes. Dealers, nannies, shoppers. I!

In Camps Bay, all the rich people meet on such a nice and sunny Friday afternoon. You can see imported special editions of the most amazing Harley Davidsons, Jaguars, Mercedes Benz, and BMWs in abundance. On the sidewalk Gucci glasses meet Prada handbags, Cuban cigars walk Luis Vitton dresses and nearly all of them have one thing in common: They are white. Not exclusively of course, there are black faces every now and then dressed in Karl Lagerfeld or other European designers. Cultural revolution? Hybridization? Homogenization?
My mom and I sit in a fancy restaurant, sip at cocktails and try to finish our ice cream before it has melted completely. The total presented to us by a smiling white waiter comes to Rand 115,00, nearly as much as the child support grant the government pays single moms for the entire month (R180,00). You can either go out for a drink or buy milk and white toast for an entire month. That is throughout crazy and yet an accurate representation of life in South Africa.


















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Marcia C. Schenck


I am a junior studying International Relations, History, and African Studies in the United States, Mount Holyoke College. I was born and raised in Germany and South Africa.
I love learning more about South Africa. I volunteered at a local NGO and interned with the Department of Social Services and Poverty Alleviation last summer. This summer I spent in Geneva at the International Labor Organization. I am passionate about travelling, reading, and writing.
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