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February 10, 2005
Mini-Adventures
Crystal and I hiked to the nearby SuperSpar today because I was quite literally out of food. It was less of a hike and more of an adventure than we had expected. Overall, the three miles we had to walk were much shorter than they initially seemed to be. About half of the walk was inside the campus gate, and the rest was on a two-lane highway that forms the main road through Bellville. Needless to say, there were quite a few horn-happy South African citizens who made our walk slightly less enjoyable. All in all, though, we had a good time and, more importantly, bought lots of food! I can't wait until we get weekly rides to the nearby Pick-and-Pay, though, because the selection at Spar is definitely lacking.
I'm taking a trip to my professor's apartment today to help her figure out some computer issues. Lucky me: two trips in one day! It's nice to get off campus once in a while so I don't feel so fenced in all the time. And speaking of fences, it bothers me that there are locked gates across all the exits in my dorm except for the main entrance. I suppose that they don't have the same awareness of fire safety here, as I have yet to see a smoke detector or fire alarm in my dorm, but I'd like to know that if something were to go wrong, like the dryer that caught fire in my dorm a few nights ago, I would be able to escape. Perceived safety comes at a price, I guess.
I bought my return ticket to Vermont today, which has taken up a considerable amount of my daily allowance of 1 hour online. Therefore, I shall keep this entry brief and write later. I hope all is well in the United States...
Posted by rgutwin at February 10, 2005 07:28 AM
Comments
Who came up with these names? SuperSpar, all one word? Pick - and - Pay, with hyphens? These clearly suggest different modes of business: the former expects you to engage in sparring, while the latter just wants you to pick your food, pay, and get out. Interesting.
Don't smoke in bed, and don't put any fabric soaked with flammable liquids (gasoline, polyurethane, paint thinner) in the dryer. And hang a rope ladder out your window, just in case anyone else does those things. Or pick and pay some Jaws of Life so that you can cut open the gates in the case of a fire. Yup.
All is pretty well in the United States except that North Korea has nuclear weapons. And that is not so well, at all.
Posted by: Diana at February 10, 2005 11:00 AM
sounds a little like haiti with fencing frenzy. do make sure you know routes out of areas (like in Haiti there was the roof and then a tree down - in the event of an emergency) - just doing the mom thing here...part of my job...
Posted by: mom at February 10, 2005 12:08 PM
One of the main issues is that I have two different sets of bars on my window that are sautered to the building, so there will be no climbing out of windows. There's only one possible exit, which is at the opposite diagonal end of the square of buildings. Another unsettling tidbit of information is that there have been two fires at HWS so far this semester, so the possibility of such a thing here seems less distant.
Posted by: Rebecca at February 11, 2005 03:02 AM
I think you mean "soldered," which is pronounced "sautered." At least no one will climb in your window and take your stuff!
Posted by: Diana at February 11, 2005 08:00 PM
Actually, the word is "welded". Soldering is a low temperate action using a relativly soft material as a joining agent. It's typically used in electronics and plumbing.
Welding is a very high temperate action which fuses the two pieces together, and is typically as stong (under correct conditions) as the metals themselves.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weld and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solder for much much more than you would ever want to know on the subject.
Posted by: Paul Gutwin at February 13, 2005 08:15 AM
Oh, man. I think I just lost my credability as a power tools enthusiast.
And I knew that about soldering, too, which makes it all the worse. Ask me about wood, though...
Posted by: Diana at February 14, 2005 01:29 AM