^ That one isn’t mine. As I write this, my South African study permit is being processed by the consulate. This is a nerve-wracking experience for a number of reasons: 1) the instructions are heinously unclear, and vary by consulate – not to mention the unclear designation of what constitutes a minor in South Africa, it may or may not be 21 these days; and 2) I’m applying pretty close to the wire because the University of Cape Town mailed my letter to the wrong address twice. It doesn’t help that I had to get a copy of my “criminal background” from the Massachusetts CORI board – no walk-in service and it still costs $25 to process. Highway robbery. Or something. I had to get my application for this record notarized, too.

And will I get this visa on time? Will I even get a visa? I can only cross my fingers that the nice people at Travisa (a ludicrously expensive visa-expaditing service) pull through for me. That’s another thing, by the way – the visa only costs $77 but the actual price is significantly more expensive. Here’s the breakdown:

1. Consulate visa fee: $77
2. Travisa processing fee: $80
3. Doctor co-pay for physical/tuberculosis test: $25
4. Photo paper for application headshot: $10
5. Criminal record processing fee: $25
6. Overnight shipping to Travisa: $22
7. Overnight return shipping from Travisa: $22

Total? A hefty $261. Ouch! I suppose it’s good news that I’m studying with direct enrollment, then – the UCT application may have been a headache but I’m saving over $7,000. Makes that visa fee look like pretty small change.

The best news of all, however, is Vampire Weekend’s new album Contra – still a little baroque leftover from their debut but it’s still a nice departure from the original. Would all of these songs fit in on the first album? Probably, but there’s also something a little different in a really good way. Favorite song so far is probably “White Sky” – I know a few concert rips were floating around last year but it sounds SO good in-studio. It’s all streaming up on vampireweekend.com.

This spring I’ll be studying at the University of Cape Town. When I’m there, I’ll keep a blog of some sort about how amazing it is. If my laptop gets stolen (fingers crossed), I’ll just have to write about that too (though I’m not sure how, I wouldn’t have a laptop).

In the meantime, I’m taking this opportunity to complain about the bureaucracy and logistics of planning my visit. This afternoon I’ve tasked myself with buying a plane ticket. Between attempting to use Frequent Flier miles, trying to keep my flight under 48 hours long, and scheduling the flight around the feasibility of getting World Cup tickets, I’m exhausted just thinking about it. /rant

Underneath all the complaining, I’m incredibly excited. Before choosing South Africa, I knew a little about its history. Nelson Mandela, apartheid, social change, and of course the imperialism/colonialism that kicked it all off. That was reason enough to go – why visit a relatively static nation to study political science? I wanted to see something in the middle of some real change.

When I dug a little deeper, I found even more reasons to go. Cape Town is home to the Cape Malays, the Muslim population located on Signal Hill. The Cape Malays quarter of the hill is Bo-Kaap, and it is gorgeous. How gorgeous? Scroll back up.

Not only is it a beautiful area, it is an incredible chance to learn all about a particular Muslim population. Since taking Prof. Homerin’s “Muhammad & The Quran,” I have been looking for a chance to learn more and be exposed to all of it firsthand.

More of my bubbling excitement in a little while. In the meantime, check out this jackin’ house mix from Spoek, a Johannesburg DJ.