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[waterand-blood]

I was interviewed for a local magazine called Parade regarding fashion and style. You can read the article when you click this link:

http://issuu.com/mbocks01/docs/the_parade_october_2015?e=13052102/30602414

The writing needs a bit of work, but I’m still honoured to have been asked to speak on my thoughts and opinions surrounding fashion and style! This article was published just a few days after Fashion Weekend, where I was working as the Designer Coordinator. I can’t help but think that it would be much harder to gain all these opportunities if I were still in New York.

Wish you were here,

Danielle

[waterand-blood]

Hey guys! Today my mom and I travelled to a town called Chitungwiza, which is just about 45 minutes outside of Harare for a music festival called "Shoko Festival". A lot of people at the festival referred to the town as "the hood", which I can't speak on, but what was evident was that The festival brought out a lot of the young creative people who were local, from other townships, and from other countries. We were followed around by throngs of excited children, met a dope artist who is a part of a group from Germany, in Zim to perform for the festival, and got to spray paint a wall. Yumi and I ended up jamming for a while in the centre of a spontaneous music session with local artists, kids, and one of the guys from Germany. The energy and experience was fantastic! A bit overwhelming at times with all the attention we would get as obvious foreigners, but very cool nonetheless. Hope you enjoy/enjoyed your Saturday. Wish you were here, Danielle

[waterand-blood]

It is HOT in the Southern Hemisphere!

[waterand-blood]

While talking with my friend Tino in the court yard of Moto Republik, this avocado came crashing down right in front of us! Take that, Wholefoods!

[waterand-blood]

Since returning to Harare from South Africa back in August, I've joined a creative co-op called Moto Republik. It's a shared workspace where people in creative fields can rent space to work on their projects. We get access to wifi, a business mailing address, and meeting rooms. Eventually they'll have a business services centre where we can print, scan, send faxes, etc as well as a rooftop café (which is pretty much all I care about, haha!) The people here are awesome. They insist that I learn Shona and how to take a Kombie (which is a little van that people pack in to to get around. I refuse). One of the guys only speaks to me in Shona so I run away whenever I see him coming! While here, I work on my clothing designs, as well as help to plan Zimbabwe Fashion weekend. I've also decided to start selling accessories inspired by traditional beadwork, so I've been using my time to work on that as well. It's great to have a space such as this one to work in, since power cuts are a constant. Some times we go 2 days straight with no power, which means it can be difficult to get even the most basic things done.

[waterand-blood]

It's the beginning of summer here, so EVERYTHING is blooming! It's actually quite beautiful. There are dusty red roads with no side walks, and some places have a lot of litter, but despite all that, flowers burst through just about everywhere you look! Every day I walk about 3.5 km to my office, and then 3.5 km back home. Some days I do that twice. There's no formal transportation system in Harare, and taxis can add up, so I've started walking. It's a nice way to clear my head and see my mom's neighbourhood. I recently got a bike, so as soon as it's fixed, I'll start riding. Unfortunately people here are terrible drivers for the most part (bribing is super popular, so some people just bribe their driving instructor and get a license!) so when I start riding, I'll have to be super careful. I'll also have to remember that they drive on the opposite of the road.

[waterand-blood]

Friends + Family: I've decided to start a blog in order to share my experiences while living on the other side of the world. Not because I think of my life as so extraordinary that I need to fill you in on all the minute details of my day to day, but because by writing to you each day, it makes me feel closer to you. As if the distance I chose to put between us is not so great. And so that I commit to memory these experiences and have a way to look back at them. I wouldn't want to forget any of the wonderful things I've done or the people I've met. I hope this will mean something to you. I hope you read it often and know that in all the things I do, I'm thinking of you. Wishing you were here, ❤️ Danielle