Leaving on a jet plane…

This weekend was a packing frenzy. After some last minute shopping and errands (including shaving off the majority of my hair), I’ve got my life, at least for the next three months, packed into one large suitcase, a messenger bag and a backpack. Being a Lifehacker/Gizmodo-obsessed guy, here is a small selection of the things I packed:

Clothing

•  Since South Africa is located in the southern hemisphere, I’ll actually be traveling to Africa during their wintertime. According to my guidebook, Jo’burg won’t dip below 40 degrees F, which will be a welcome respite from the below-freezing temperatures of Chicago winters. I’ve packed a few long-sleeved shirts, my toasty Under Armour and a fleece. I hear it’s been raining all week, so I made sure to bring rain gear as well.
• The temperatures will be in the 70s during the daytime – hello T-shirts and shorts!

Electronics

• DSLR, camcorder, lav mic, digital recorder, laptop, external HD and related accessories necessary for multimedia journalism. I ended up having to buy a small and light tripod for steady shots. I hope nothing breaks. 

Security

• After my mom was pick-pocketed on a bus in Rome during a family vacation, I became obsessed with security. Crime is problem in South Africa, so I’ve packed locks, Pacsafes and a money belt. In addition, I’ll probably buy a cheap dummy wallet to thwart muggers. 

Medicine

• I’ll be in a malaria zone for around 10 days, so I’m bringing a few dozen Malarone pills and some mosquito repellent (~30 percent Deet concentration is good). 
• I’m not sure how friendly my stomach will be to food in South Africa, so I’ve brought an assortment of digestive medicine from Tums to Cipro. 
• Sunblock. I don’t burn easily in the sun, but this is Africa. 

—

A friend asked me today how I’m feeling about studying abroad. A jumble of mixed feelings, I told him.

I’m excited and nervous about South Africa. For one, I’m not just visiting the country as a tourist. I’ll have to live and work in a foreign country. I must quickly understand the issues concerning South Africans and report them professionally and authoritatively, as if I were a South African. It’s going to be difficult, but it’s a challenge I welcome wholeheartedly. 

While South Africa and the United States have similar historical and social elements, there’s still a cultural gap I’ll have to overcome. I don’t speak 10 of the 11 official languages in South Africa, which will make it difficult for me to interact with a significant percentage of the population. I hope I’ll be paired with a photographer who can interpret Xhosa for me. Still, establishing rapport with people and cultivating sources will be interesting in a foreign country. 

And of course, there’s still the issue of race I’ll have to navigate. As an Asian-American, I’m not entirely sure how I’ll be perceived in South Africa. While there is a contingent of Chinese-South Africans in Jo’burg, I wonder if I will stand out. Furthermore, it’ll be interesting to see how South Africans will treat me. Under the apartheid regime, Asians were arbitrarily categorized as either coloured or white and were able to petition to have their statuses changed, which is really good evidence for the social construction of race. South Africans of Japanese origin were mostly seen as whites, while other Asian subgroups were considered to be coloured. I guess I’ll find out how prevalent these past preconceptions are in modern South Africa.

Well, I better rest up for my flight to Amsterdam tomorrow. I suppose my posts will become shorter, but I’ll try my best to keep on blogging my experiences!