My time at Lajuma is already halfway over, which seems a little crazy. In some ways, I feel like it’s going by really quickly, and yet also like I’ve been here for quite awhile. I finally had to apply for my visa today. The Home Affairs building in Louis Trichardt was a labyrinth of dark passages and jail cell-esque rooms. There was a huge line of people, and I was anticipating having to wait a long time. However, it seemed that nearly everyone else was there to register an infant, and I was the first person to apply for a visa that day, so I didn’t have to wait at all.

I was also anticipating being questioned about why I was in South Africa, etc. However, the paperwork was pretty short and there were no questions. I’ve heard that sometimes it takes a really long time for the actual visas to be processed, but I at least have a letter proving that I’ve applied, so hopefully it won’t be a problem.

When I walked out of Home Affairs, there were some vervet monkeys crossing the road. I considered taking a picture, but decided against it because a) there are vervets at Lajuma that I already have pictures of, and b) it was my first time walking around town by myself, and the only time I’ve had even the slightest chance of not looking like a tourist. As part of a giant group of mostly white people that walk around town every Monday, we’re often recognized as the “students from the mountain”. Walking around alone I think I stuck out slightly less.

In addition to learning my way around town, I think I’m becoming much more accustomed to living on the mountain. Even the sound of bush babies screaming in the middle of the night (they sound not so unlike a person being tortured) has started to seem like white noise.

Speaking of nighttime (this is actually totally unrelated, but this whole post has been a pretty random train of thought, so bear with me), the other night I was walking with another research assistant, and we saw a white horse, escaped from a neighboring farm, just standing in a field. It was a really misty night, so it looked especially ghostly, and was a bit startling. Apparently the horses used to just roam free around Lajuma, so people who have been here awhile are pretty used to seeing them.

I guess I’m running out of things to write about, though I should mention that (again, this is completely unrelated to everything else) I saw a baboon eating a baby bushbuck the other day. There were a bunch of us standing around, watching with morbid fascination as it chomped down on the bushbuck skull and ate the brains. So, with that lovely image in mind, I think I’ll end this post and go make myself some dinner.