10 THINGS MATIES MISS ABOUT STELLIES DURING THE HOLIDAYS
Holidays seem great – food and drink is free, there’s always clean underwear and your parents faff over you like you’ve been missing for a year. If you live in another city, you get to see all of your all friends that didn’t come to Stellies. But these joys may be short-lived for any true Matie, as the Eikestad’s call starts droning at the back of your mind. Some of the things you might start missing a few weeks into your holiday are…
- Saving on petrol by walking everywhere. If it’s on campus, it’s within walking distance. And Bohemia happens to be 5 metres from the HB Thom.
- The Eikebome on Victoria. It’s easy to think you’re in a European town off the coast of Nice in France if you squint.
- The lack of judgement in relation to your diet. So what if you gain a few kilos? At least no one is glaring over your shoulder whenever you don’t eat your veggies – or when you get up at 02:00 to make a midnight snack.
- No elderly people. Being surrounded by young people 24/7 makes you feel young – even if you’re in 5th year. When the oldest people you see on a regular basis are your lecturers, it’s weird seeing them in bars again.
- Not worrying about waking up family members when you come home. Flatmates are one thing – you can buy them off with booze. But a grumpy dad in the throes of a mid-life crisis is not something you want to see when you stumble home at 5 AM.
- The Somali shops. Always willing to shave R1 or R2 off your pack of Winston Blue, with a never-ending supply of greasy samoosas at R5 a pop and open until late, these guys know how to do business with young people. And they’re super nice to boot.
- Never being alone. Res might get a bit much for some, but it’s never long before you start wondering why everything is so quiet around you.
- The bib steps. It just feels right to smoke a ciggie there in between study sessions.
- Maties Wi-Fi (when it actually works). Crazy fast download speeds can be attained if you know how and where. Just ask your engineering friends about it.
- The Bohemia Local pizza special. If you don’t know what it is, you must be from UCT.
By Karl Kemp