as devendra would say, all my thoughts touch too much

between reading adam smith, chinua achebe, simon gikandi, and assorted international law for various block 3 courses, my head is spinning. this is the first time i have been surrounded exclusively by students and teachers who are primarily into human rights. i was walking back from lecture last night with a friend from uconn, and she said to me, "do you think if i told our lecturer (cathi albertyn from the required course) that i want to be her, that it would freak her out?" we laughed but it was funny because it was true. constantly thinking: how can i be more like these folks when school is over? how can i get to where they are (or a parallel place)?

we have four zimbabweans, one ghanaian, and americans from all over america; all of whom have done interesting volunteer work or internships. the zimbabweans especially are interesting because they have been on the ground for so much of what us americans were reading about before this trip, and they are constantly saying insightful things no matter what the class or the reading in question is.

i've made more connections in the last few weeks than i made in months back home. not sure why this is. maybe it's because this is a concentrated community in terms of lecturers and students with the same interests. maybe it's because our program director ayesha kajee is an extremely well traveled and well connected journalist and academic, and she's already set up some amazing things for us (same goes for her as for cathi albertyn!). maybe it's because there's a natural hospitality and openness here you just can't get in new york, despite the dynamic NGO, law, and non-profit communities the city boasts. maybe it's because here i feel compelled to go out more, since what constitutes home is a bit foreign anyhow.

i do miss brooklyn, though, if only for the freedom of moving around after dark, and for things being open late (past 5pm) and for the great public transit. culturally, it's not drastically different here in johannesburg, at least not among young people. there's no language barrier. even the accent is slight. we all listen to the same music and we go to similar bars and wear similar clothes and have the same social patterns and text message addictions. we all love facebook and myspace and instant messaging, and house parties and shopping and eating out and music videos. there's a lot in common to talk about.

all that said, though, i can't think of a single american nineteen year old boy who's as thoughtful and intelligent and articulate as the wits boys of similar age i have met in the program. (yes, small sample, just an observation.) are young white males in american universities thinking about critical race theory and development economics? even more unlikely, how many of them are starting conversations about these topics with their female peers?

we are probably fortunate, however, to have in the program this year a group of people who are not misogynistic or racist and by nature pretty thoughtful and considerate. it has led to good class discussion, even during the awkward first week.