Nellie's Photo Blog

‘They’ say a photo is worth a thousand words, so get ready for this 18,000 word blog post!

When we went to the District Six Museum I was most fascinated by the practice of communal oral histories and how they are collected and shared. After the opening of the museum they had these giant pieces of cloth where anyone who visited could write their memories of their time in District Six. After eight years of collection they were completed and local women then worked to embroider over the fading pen inscriptions to keep them forever preserved. As a new embroiderer I was enamored by it, especially by the plaque below it including the quote, “The inscribed cloth was transformed into a bright and enduring banner and has become one of the Museum’s permanent signposts of memory.”

Meika enthusiastically displays the product of the first of many Waffle Weekends. It has become a beloved and delicious tradition that I hope will continue into the fall. 

The hike up Lion’s Head for the full moon was a surreal experience. The view coming up was obscenely beautiful, as the model shot of me can display, but the view from the top quickly dwarfed the memory in our minds. As the moon rose over the darkening city and the lights flicked on bit by bit, illuminating streets like snakes, you didn’t want to blink and miss a millisecond of it. 

A scene from Soweto

Getting a lesson in hula-hooping from the children of the Boys & Girls Club in Soweto. The little girl in the orange shirt could go pro.

A question raised in a public art installation at the Constitutional Court near Johannesburg. 

Another beautiful day starts at Christel House

Kimmi and Rebecca eating a quick breakfast in the teacher’s lounge. I may never get over how crazy it is that I am now allowed in there without a hall-pass, growing up has it’s perks. 

At work in the Art room, during their winter school I got the chance to practice some of the painting techniques we had been teaching the students.

Some of the younger Firefighters watching one of the older teams’ matches during the soccer tournament in Maitland. It was very cool to be able to watch the younger generation revering in the older players, they truly are role models to all in their community. 

Getting my purse stolen, gosh those security briefings were right… ;)

Casually jumping off the largest commercial bungee bridge in the world. My bucket list is getting pretty empty after this trip.

The building we take our classes in may or 

may not have been sent from the future.

And inversely the walk to Upper Campus at UCT
looks like a page ripped out of a history textbook.

A scene from the Malay community known as Bo Kaap,
it looks like a box of crayons nestled under Table Mountain.

Theresa, Dan, Alex, Meika and I meeting Desmond Tutu. We went to his 7:15 AM Eucharist at St. George’s Cathedral yesterday morning and had the opportunity to chat and take a photo with him. I got blessed by him, and later got to sit near him as he casually sipped on a smoothie in the Crypt. A truly out of this world experience.