Dear friends,
I can hardly believe that I will be departing Cape Town in almost two weeks. The past month or so have been busy with many final papers and the beginning of final exams. Lectures ended on May 20th and I took my Xhosa final yesterday. It went OK, I think. I realized that I learned more than I thought I did during that class, so that was a nice realization. Today I had my African Dance practical exam (where we had to perform the warm-up, across-the-floor exercises, and 4 dances that we have been working on all semester for an external examiner). That went well. I REALLY enjoyed that class so I was sad to leave at the end. Tomorrow I am taking the African Dance written exam (a waste of time in my opinion) then on Monday June 1st I am taking my Medical Anthropology final.
In other news, since I’m finished with my finals by June 1st (hip hip hooray!) I am planning a trip with my friend Maria to do a pony trek in Lesotho. Pony trekking has been a popular trip among the CIEE students—it’s a basically a 4-day trip consisting of horseback riding during the day to the most remote (and apparently the most beautiful) parts of Lesotho and camping/staying the night in villages during the evenings. Sounds pretty incredible, right??! For those of you who don’t know, Lesotho is a mini country-within-a-country in South Africa in the center-ish. There is another mini country inside SA also called Swaziland, which is in the north-east part of the country. Both are their own countries. Take a look at an SA map if you want, its pretty weird/cool. We are still working out transportation, though its looking like flying is (surprisingly) going be to our cheapest option. The plan is to leave either June 1st after my evening exam or early June 2nd and returning on either Friday the 5th or Saturday the 6th. So a short (and relatively cheap) trip that is sure to be an amazing experience and, I think, a perfect way to top off my amazing semester here.
As you can imagine, with my departure quickly approaching I am experiencing quite a mix of emotions. There is very big part of me that is very sad to be leaving Cape Town. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to live in the coolest city on earth (Ok, maybe I’m a tiny bit biased). Also I have met so many wonderful, fun, and interesting people who I am sad to be leaving, Its times like these that I thank the technology gods for inventions such as Facebook and Skype and e-mail because they will help me to keep in touch with these people. Many of these people live in SA (or other parts of Africa) so chances are slim that I will ever see them again so that is difficult to deal with. This also applies also to the mere acquaintances I have made who I see mainly in classes and on campus—I will really miss seeing their faces and enjoying there senses of humor and insightful contributions to class. Luckily for me chances are better that I will get to see some of the other CIEE students who I have really enjoyed getting to know. They are seriously the coolest group of kids who I have ever met. I am looking forward to reuniting with some of them in the States sometime in the future.
Also, I’m sure most of you have heard through the grapevine that I have been dating somebody here. Next week marks 4 months that we have been together… do the math and you’ll realize that we met quite early in my stay here – at the very beginning of February—and due to our immediate chemistry we have been together ever since then. His name is Valery, he’s been studying and living in Cape Town for the past 3 years although home for him is in Cameroon, West Africa. We have shared quite a special few months and leaving him is sure to be one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do. However I again bow down to the technology gods for the opportunities they provide, yet I curse whatever gods control how much stuff costs (the financial inflation gods?) because currently neither one can afford to fly to see the other anytime soon. For now so what is in store for he and I is still unknown, but we never know what the future holds.
You should know that despite that, I am still excited to be returning home! Especially since many of my friends have begun their summer vacations recently being here has been harder and as wonderful it has been to talk to them, hearing about their fun adventures at home is making me more and more homesick. In addition I really am missing the familiarity of home and most especially the people who are there, aka you people!! I really can’t wait to see all of you and give you BIG hugs and kisses.
So, as difficult as it will be to leave Valery and all of my other wonderful friends here, Dorothy is right- there is definitely no place like home.
See you in a few weeks!
Lots of love,
Melissa
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
a note
dear loyal blog followers (aka people who still check this thing. are you still out there?),
it is becoming quite clear that i am not the blogging type. i really thought i was going to be really great at keeping regular updates but i suppose over 3 months and 9 posts i've been proved very wrong. i feel quite bad because i know that many of you are dying to know what i'm up to here and are possibly feeling slightly dissapointed at my blog slacking, so my abundant apologies for that. i have been feeling this constant pang of guilt for not updating so i thought now that i am approaching the end of the semester (lectures end may 20) as well as the end of my stay here(only 5 weeks left)and a heeeeefty load of essays to write and tests to take, i will try to resolve some of this guilt by writing this note to say that it is quite likely that there will not be another update before i leave Cape Town. on that note, however, i have been journaling in my own personal journal and will translate some of my entries into blog posts this summer. so there is that to look forward to, as well as, of course, personal accounts if you ask me!
so in order to take the pressure of myself and relieve you of the task of constantly checking my blog to see if i've updated (ok, i'm flattering myself a little here), i am writing this apologetic note. i am looking forward to blogging over the summer upon my return, so i do hope that you will all join me on take two of my blogging journey.
love to you all. i miss you.
Love,
Melissa
it is becoming quite clear that i am not the blogging type. i really thought i was going to be really great at keeping regular updates but i suppose over 3 months and 9 posts i've been proved very wrong. i feel quite bad because i know that many of you are dying to know what i'm up to here and are possibly feeling slightly dissapointed at my blog slacking, so my abundant apologies for that. i have been feeling this constant pang of guilt for not updating so i thought now that i am approaching the end of the semester (lectures end may 20) as well as the end of my stay here(only 5 weeks left)and a heeeeefty load of essays to write and tests to take, i will try to resolve some of this guilt by writing this note to say that it is quite likely that there will not be another update before i leave Cape Town. on that note, however, i have been journaling in my own personal journal and will translate some of my entries into blog posts this summer. so there is that to look forward to, as well as, of course, personal accounts if you ask me!
so in order to take the pressure of myself and relieve you of the task of constantly checking my blog to see if i've updated (ok, i'm flattering myself a little here), i am writing this apologetic note. i am looking forward to blogging over the summer upon my return, so i do hope that you will all join me on take two of my blogging journey.
love to you all. i miss you.
Love,
Melissa
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Vac!
Hi everybody!
This is just a quick post before I head off on my adventures during break next week. I am leaving very early Friday morning with 2 other students: Sarah and Rachael for a week of traveling and hopefully lots o' fun and memories! Just a quick description of what we have planned.
On Friday we are catching the Baz Bus from Cape Town and heading up the Garden Route from Friday-Tuesday. The Garden Route is a route along the south coast of the country/continent with tons of stops, most of which are tranquil beach towns and the like. We will be stopping at Mossel Bay, Knysna, Port Elizabeth, and Coffee Bay. The Baz Bus is a bus service designed for backpackers. We bought a 7-day hop-on, hop-off pass for the days that we are riding the Garden Route and the bus will drop us off and pick us up right in front of our hostels (www.bazbus.com, if you're interested. its a pretty cool service. the website also has a nice map so you can get an idea of where exactly we will be). On Tuesday we will ride to Durban, where we will be staying until Thursday. Alison's Italy roommate Jess is studying abroad in Durban and we have already been in contact- she's ready to hang out and show us around! I'm very excited to have a familiar face in Durban and thankful to have a temporary resident take us around to perhaps some of the less tourist-y places. Also, one of Sarah's friends has family in Durban who we may be joining for their Passover seder on Wednesday evening.
On Thursday we are catching a plane to Livingstone, Zambia to see Victoria Falls. Vic Falls is a popular destination in Southern Africa and is one o the Seven Wonders of the World! There are several other groups of CIEE kids who will also be in Vic Falls for the second half of Vac so hopefully we can meet up with them while we are there. One of the things we have planned to do in Livingstone is an elephant-back safari. Needless to say, I'm pretty pumped for that. Sunday we fly back to Cape Town, on the same day that Maren,Mom, and Grandma Non will also be arriving in Cape Town! Turns out we will be missing each other at the Jo'burg (where we all have layovers) and CT airports by only 2 hours or so--how crazy is that!? It will be a busy but exciting few weeks for me.
Well there it is! I will be sure to keep a detailed journal of our activities during the week and then write an epic blog entry upon my return, as well as take loads of pictures, of course. Have a wonderful week everybody!
Love, Mel
This is just a quick post before I head off on my adventures during break next week. I am leaving very early Friday morning with 2 other students: Sarah and Rachael for a week of traveling and hopefully lots o' fun and memories! Just a quick description of what we have planned.
On Friday we are catching the Baz Bus from Cape Town and heading up the Garden Route from Friday-Tuesday. The Garden Route is a route along the south coast of the country/continent with tons of stops, most of which are tranquil beach towns and the like. We will be stopping at Mossel Bay, Knysna, Port Elizabeth, and Coffee Bay. The Baz Bus is a bus service designed for backpackers. We bought a 7-day hop-on, hop-off pass for the days that we are riding the Garden Route and the bus will drop us off and pick us up right in front of our hostels (www.bazbus.com, if you're interested. its a pretty cool service. the website also has a nice map so you can get an idea of where exactly we will be). On Tuesday we will ride to Durban, where we will be staying until Thursday. Alison's Italy roommate Jess is studying abroad in Durban and we have already been in contact- she's ready to hang out and show us around! I'm very excited to have a familiar face in Durban and thankful to have a temporary resident take us around to perhaps some of the less tourist-y places. Also, one of Sarah's friends has family in Durban who we may be joining for their Passover seder on Wednesday evening.
On Thursday we are catching a plane to Livingstone, Zambia to see Victoria Falls. Vic Falls is a popular destination in Southern Africa and is one o the Seven Wonders of the World! There are several other groups of CIEE kids who will also be in Vic Falls for the second half of Vac so hopefully we can meet up with them while we are there. One of the things we have planned to do in Livingstone is an elephant-back safari. Needless to say, I'm pretty pumped for that. Sunday we fly back to Cape Town, on the same day that Maren,Mom, and Grandma Non will also be arriving in Cape Town! Turns out we will be missing each other at the Jo'burg (where we all have layovers) and CT airports by only 2 hours or so--how crazy is that!? It will be a busy but exciting few weeks for me.
Well there it is! I will be sure to keep a detailed journal of our activities during the week and then write an epic blog entry upon my return, as well as take loads of pictures, of course. Have a wonderful week everybody!
Love, Mel
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Classes, Volunteering, Mini-busses, Travel Plans.
Molweni! Ninjani? Ndiphilile enkosi. (= 'Hello, how are you all? I'm fine thank you' in Xhosa. Aaaand thats about the extent of my Xhosa knowledge).
I can’t believe it’s been over a month since my last post. Time sure flies when you’re having the time of your life/ the only time you’re in your room is when you’re there to sleep or do homework. I have no idea where to start with this update, and since I don’t really have the time to write and well-organized and eloquent entry (I’m supposed to be doing homework right now), this is going to be a somewhat scattered and stream-of-thought-esque addition, so forgive me. See, a run-on sentence already. This is going to be rough.
Let’s see, where did I leave off? Oh right, UCT. Well it’s been a month classes (already? Holy moly) and the work is starting to pile up just a bit. I had my first paper due in my Medical Anthropology class last week and another one is due on Thursday for my African Studies class. I still feel like I’m on vacation here so I find it very difficult to get into work-mode but everything is getting done, maybe just not with as much intensity. It’s sort of nice to not be so obsessive over my schoolwork. Who knew I could have a life AND still do OK in school? Wow, my life is sad. Haha. I am enjoying all of my classes. My Med Anth class is still very interesting and I look forward to my lectures. Xhosa is getting progressively harder because we are starting to learn grammer and more vocabulary but I still enjoy class. The lecturer is really spunky and funny and I like her class a lot. My African Studies class (Race, Culture and Identity in Post-apartheid South Africa) is not really what I expected but it’s still pretty cool. African dance has been my favorite class so far—I really like the people in it and the class itself is incredible. Lately we’ve had a whole chorus of drummers (4 or 5) instead of just one to accompany the class and it has really helped to bring the energy of the class way up! Even when I’m exhausted I still can’t help but dance to the beat.
On Wednesdays I have been volunteering at the LEAP School, which is a high school for kids living in townships. Most of the kids come from poor and broken families where domestic violence is a frequent occurrence. LEAP is a specialized high school to teach the kids skills in science, math, and life skills. All of the students wear uniforms to school. Every Tuesday when I’m there they have a Community meeting where all of the students get together with the teachers and discuss topics like domestic violence, attitudes towards girls by guys and vice versa, and keeping the school, their homes, and their lives clean. On Thursdays they have Life Orientation class which guides them in finding their strengths and weaknesses, communication skills, etc.
I have been assigned to be the mentor for a group for five girls all in grade ten, Nqabisa, Vuyo, Nadia, Lucy, and Athi. They’re all 15. I have no idea what I can say to five 15-year-olds that can help them but this is a learning process for me as well as them. Luckily, the girls are very outgoing and fun and we are having a fun time together so far. They are all Xhosa-speaking so sometimes its hard because they talk in Xhosa amongst themselves and only speak in English when they’re talking directly to me, however they’ve agreed to help me with my Xhosa-speaking haha. I’ve only come to LEAP twice to see them so far, but I am going to be increasing my hours there are going for 2 hours each on Tuesday and Friday. This weekend we went to the mall together and enjoyed ourselves walking around and then getting lunch where we had a mini photo-shoot. I’m posting pictures ASAP! I’m unsure about what my role is exactly as their mentor but for now I think the best way to go about things is to gain their trust and be their friend first. Then hopefully we can start talking about more serious issues that they might have questions or want to talk about.
One crazy and unique thing about Cape Town are the taxis, affectionately know as mini-busses. These are large vans that drive up and down Main Rd with guys hanging halfway out the window shouting pedestrian they pass if they want to get in. I wake up, do work, and fall asleep to the sounds of cars whizzing by and men yelling “CAPE TOWN?” or “WYNBERG?”, but their accents are funny so it sounds like “CYYAPE TEEYOWN?” or “WYYBUURRGH?” hahaha. Many drivers are really aggressive/rude and will actually get out of the car and follow everyone on the street asking if they want to go somewhere. It’s funny at first but it gets pretty annoying. Yesterday when the LEAP girls and I wanted to go to the mall we had 3 different cab driving surrounding us trying us to get into their taxi, grabbing our arms and actually pulling us toward their taxis. I got so irritated that I actually shoved one away from me and was like “DON’T touch me.” He was all like ‘I’m sorry lady, I won’t touch you again, come to my taxi, yada yada yada” Those guys are crazy. Once you get into a mini-bus that’s an experience in itself. You’re usually squeezed into the back next to strangers, house music pounding in your ears while watching the van you are in zooming at very unsafe speeds between traffic haha. But getting around by mini-bus is just a part of living in Cape Town, plus it’s cheap (R5 no matter where you’re going. R5=5 cents. Again, can I say, holler!).
Cape Town is growing on me. I’m starting to feel at home here and the thought of going home is killing me. However, I occasionally get homesick so I am looking forward to next month when Mom, Maren, and Grandma Non come to visit me!! I can’t wait to see them and show them around this crazy city and introduce them to my friends.
In two weeks is a mid-semester break and I have just finalized my travel plans! I will be traveling with Sarah and Rachael, another CIEE student, up the Garden Route on the Baz Bus which is a very reasonably priced bus line designed for backpackers and young travelers. The Garden Route goes from Cape Town along to coast all the way up to Durban and there are at least 20 towns along the way where you can stop and spend a night. We bought a 7-day hop-on hop-off pass (for $119 dollars. Holler! I love the exchange rate) on the Baz Bus which will drop us off and pick us up a right in front of our hostels. We’ve heard great things about the Baz Bus, especially that it is very reliable. Another cool thing about the Baz Bus is that it only has 20-seats and since you spend a considerable amount of time in that bus you get a chance to meet and get to know the other travelers. So we will be on the Baz Bus along the Garden Route from Friday April 3 til April 7 (Wed) when we will be arriving in Durban! We are spending a day or two in Durban which is apparently a REALLY cool city, plus Sarah’s friend has family there, there is another ‘Berg student studying there this semester, and I will hopefully get to see Jess, Alison’s Italy roommate who is doing a program in Durban this semester as well! After Durban we are flying up to Zambia to see Victoria Falls, one of the 7 wonders of the world! We will be in Zambia for a few days so in addition to the falls we are going to be exploring the area around Vic Falls, taking an elephant-back safari (woot woot!), and museum-going. I am very much looking forward to the trip!
There’s so much more to say but why don’t you guys start with that haha. I will REALLY try to update again soon with more details about what I’ve actually been doing on a more daily basis. I will try to include anecdotes and things like that. But in the meantime, start with that and take a look at my pictures which should be up sometime this week. I miss everyone very much!
Love, Mel
I can’t believe it’s been over a month since my last post. Time sure flies when you’re having the time of your life/ the only time you’re in your room is when you’re there to sleep or do homework. I have no idea where to start with this update, and since I don’t really have the time to write and well-organized and eloquent entry (I’m supposed to be doing homework right now), this is going to be a somewhat scattered and stream-of-thought-esque addition, so forgive me. See, a run-on sentence already. This is going to be rough.
Let’s see, where did I leave off? Oh right, UCT. Well it’s been a month classes (already? Holy moly) and the work is starting to pile up just a bit. I had my first paper due in my Medical Anthropology class last week and another one is due on Thursday for my African Studies class. I still feel like I’m on vacation here so I find it very difficult to get into work-mode but everything is getting done, maybe just not with as much intensity. It’s sort of nice to not be so obsessive over my schoolwork. Who knew I could have a life AND still do OK in school? Wow, my life is sad. Haha. I am enjoying all of my classes. My Med Anth class is still very interesting and I look forward to my lectures. Xhosa is getting progressively harder because we are starting to learn grammer and more vocabulary but I still enjoy class. The lecturer is really spunky and funny and I like her class a lot. My African Studies class (Race, Culture and Identity in Post-apartheid South Africa) is not really what I expected but it’s still pretty cool. African dance has been my favorite class so far—I really like the people in it and the class itself is incredible. Lately we’ve had a whole chorus of drummers (4 or 5) instead of just one to accompany the class and it has really helped to bring the energy of the class way up! Even when I’m exhausted I still can’t help but dance to the beat.
On Wednesdays I have been volunteering at the LEAP School, which is a high school for kids living in townships. Most of the kids come from poor and broken families where domestic violence is a frequent occurrence. LEAP is a specialized high school to teach the kids skills in science, math, and life skills. All of the students wear uniforms to school. Every Tuesday when I’m there they have a Community meeting where all of the students get together with the teachers and discuss topics like domestic violence, attitudes towards girls by guys and vice versa, and keeping the school, their homes, and their lives clean. On Thursdays they have Life Orientation class which guides them in finding their strengths and weaknesses, communication skills, etc.
I have been assigned to be the mentor for a group for five girls all in grade ten, Nqabisa, Vuyo, Nadia, Lucy, and Athi. They’re all 15. I have no idea what I can say to five 15-year-olds that can help them but this is a learning process for me as well as them. Luckily, the girls are very outgoing and fun and we are having a fun time together so far. They are all Xhosa-speaking so sometimes its hard because they talk in Xhosa amongst themselves and only speak in English when they’re talking directly to me, however they’ve agreed to help me with my Xhosa-speaking haha. I’ve only come to LEAP twice to see them so far, but I am going to be increasing my hours there are going for 2 hours each on Tuesday and Friday. This weekend we went to the mall together and enjoyed ourselves walking around and then getting lunch where we had a mini photo-shoot. I’m posting pictures ASAP! I’m unsure about what my role is exactly as their mentor but for now I think the best way to go about things is to gain their trust and be their friend first. Then hopefully we can start talking about more serious issues that they might have questions or want to talk about.
One crazy and unique thing about Cape Town are the taxis, affectionately know as mini-busses. These are large vans that drive up and down Main Rd with guys hanging halfway out the window shouting pedestrian they pass if they want to get in. I wake up, do work, and fall asleep to the sounds of cars whizzing by and men yelling “CAPE TOWN?” or “WYNBERG?”, but their accents are funny so it sounds like “CYYAPE TEEYOWN?” or “WYYBUURRGH?” hahaha. Many drivers are really aggressive/rude and will actually get out of the car and follow everyone on the street asking if they want to go somewhere. It’s funny at first but it gets pretty annoying. Yesterday when the LEAP girls and I wanted to go to the mall we had 3 different cab driving surrounding us trying us to get into their taxi, grabbing our arms and actually pulling us toward their taxis. I got so irritated that I actually shoved one away from me and was like “DON’T touch me.” He was all like ‘I’m sorry lady, I won’t touch you again, come to my taxi, yada yada yada” Those guys are crazy. Once you get into a mini-bus that’s an experience in itself. You’re usually squeezed into the back next to strangers, house music pounding in your ears while watching the van you are in zooming at very unsafe speeds between traffic haha. But getting around by mini-bus is just a part of living in Cape Town, plus it’s cheap (R5 no matter where you’re going. R5=5 cents. Again, can I say, holler!).
Cape Town is growing on me. I’m starting to feel at home here and the thought of going home is killing me. However, I occasionally get homesick so I am looking forward to next month when Mom, Maren, and Grandma Non come to visit me!! I can’t wait to see them and show them around this crazy city and introduce them to my friends.
In two weeks is a mid-semester break and I have just finalized my travel plans! I will be traveling with Sarah and Rachael, another CIEE student, up the Garden Route on the Baz Bus which is a very reasonably priced bus line designed for backpackers and young travelers. The Garden Route goes from Cape Town along to coast all the way up to Durban and there are at least 20 towns along the way where you can stop and spend a night. We bought a 7-day hop-on hop-off pass (for $119 dollars. Holler! I love the exchange rate) on the Baz Bus which will drop us off and pick us up a right in front of our hostels. We’ve heard great things about the Baz Bus, especially that it is very reliable. Another cool thing about the Baz Bus is that it only has 20-seats and since you spend a considerable amount of time in that bus you get a chance to meet and get to know the other travelers. So we will be on the Baz Bus along the Garden Route from Friday April 3 til April 7 (Wed) when we will be arriving in Durban! We are spending a day or two in Durban which is apparently a REALLY cool city, plus Sarah’s friend has family there, there is another ‘Berg student studying there this semester, and I will hopefully get to see Jess, Alison’s Italy roommate who is doing a program in Durban this semester as well! After Durban we are flying up to Zambia to see Victoria Falls, one of the 7 wonders of the world! We will be in Zambia for a few days so in addition to the falls we are going to be exploring the area around Vic Falls, taking an elephant-back safari (woot woot!), and museum-going. I am very much looking forward to the trip!
There’s so much more to say but why don’t you guys start with that haha. I will REALLY try to update again soon with more details about what I’ve actually been doing on a more daily basis. I will try to include anecdotes and things like that. But in the meantime, start with that and take a look at my pictures which should be up sometime this week. I miss everyone very much!
Love, Mel
Thursday, February 19, 2009
UCT!
(btw I wrote this entry yesterday but had some problems with my internet so I had to wait to post it until today)
Hi everyone!
I want to start of by apologizing for my severe lack of pictures. I made an executive decision that Friday will be the day for me to upload pics since I don't have class at all (hoorah!) so I can go down to Rondebosch (the neighborhood over where the UCT campus is) and use the internet cafe. And I know I've been bad with never using my Facebook but I have received all of your wall posts and messages. Since FB eats up my megabytes like whoa I try to spend as little time as possible on there, usually only enough time to check to see if there are any new messages and then to quickly stalk some of you :-P. I have so many wallposts/messages to respond to that it would take me forever to do them all so I'll wait to do that on Friday in Rondebosch. I check my e-mail fairly regularly and the megabyte usage isn't quite as bad with that so if you'd rather shoot me an e-mail you're probably more likely to get response. I swear it's not because I don't like you its just that I like my megabytes better haha. :-P
Monday was the first day of lectures. So far I've had 3 out of my 4 classes and so far I'm loving it. Medical Anthropology sounds like it is going to be particularly fascinating and I really like the 3 professors who are going to be teaching. Yesterday was my first African dance class and OMG it was amazing. I am so sore today. We get to dance to a live drummer and everything. The teacher promised us that we would be in such amazing shape by the end of the semester and I totally believe him! I'm already struggling with Xhosa ... there are 3 different clicking sounds used in the language and they are difficult to master and unlike some of my classmates I am not proving to be a natural clicker. The classes are HUGE and are held in huge lecture halls. It was sort of overwhelming entering my Med Anth class for the first time, seeing a lecture hall full of about 150 students. Here they don’t have caps on class sizes, they just change the venue to accommodate the number of students who have chosen toenroll in the class.
The UCT campus is absolutely gorgeous and is always swarming with people. It is one of the most diverse universities inAfrica and possibly the world ... there is probably an equal amount of white and black students in addition to a decent Indian population. I often see girls wearing headscarves too. Many of the black students are from all over Africa like Cameroon , Lesotho , Kenya , Botswana , and Zimbabwe Cameroon
Hi everyone!
I want to start of by apologizing for my severe lack of pictures. I made an executive decision that Friday will be the day for me to upload pics since I don't have class at all (hoorah!) so I can go down to Rondebosch (the neighborhood over where the UCT campus is) and use the internet cafe. And I know I've been bad with never using my Facebook but I have received all of your wall posts and messages. Since FB eats up my megabytes like whoa I try to spend as little time as possible on there, usually only enough time to check to see if there are any new messages and then to quickly stalk some of you :-P. I have so many wallposts/messages to respond to that it would take me forever to do them all so I'll wait to do that on Friday in Rondebosch. I check my e-mail fairly regularly and the megabyte usage isn't quite as bad with that so if you'd rather shoot me an e-mail you're probably more likely to get response. I swear it's not because I don't like you its just that I like my megabytes better haha. :-P
Monday was the first day of lectures. So far I've had 3 out of my 4 classes and so far I'm loving it. Medical Anthropology sounds like it is going to be particularly fascinating and I really like the 3 professors who are going to be teaching. Yesterday was my first African dance class and OMG it was amazing. I am so sore today. We get to dance to a live drummer and everything. The teacher promised us that we would be in such amazing shape by the end of the semester and I totally believe him! I'm already struggling with Xhosa ... there are 3 different clicking sounds used in the language and they are difficult to master and unlike some of my classmates I am not proving to be a natural clicker. The classes are HUGE and are held in huge lecture halls. It was sort of overwhelming entering my Med Anth class for the first time, seeing a lecture hall full of about 150 students. Here they don’t have caps on class sizes, they just change the venue to accommodate the number of students who have chosen toenroll in the class.
The UCT campus is absolutely gorgeous and is always swarming with people. It is one of the most diverse universities in
It feels like a real college campus with so many people around. When standing on the Jammie steps (the steps you see in front of an impressive building fronted with pillars that you'll see in any Google Image search of then University of Cape Town) and facing away from the building you get an incredible view of Cape Town (the university sits on the base of Devil's Peak which is next to Table Mountain). It is especially beautiful in the early morning when I arrive on campus around 8:30 when you can see a layer of morning haze over the city. One of these days I'll have to take a picture of it.
My schedule is pretty awesome, I have to say. I'm getting spoiled here because this would never happen at 'Berg. All classes here are only 45 minutes long and usually meet 3 (or 4, depending) times a week for lectures and then once again in smaller groups for a tutorial (a 'tut' for short). Something about the scheduling here is that the entire university runs on a period schedule, just like high school. Classes meet during periods 1-8, with a meridian period from 1-2 during which all but few classes will never be scheduled. Period 1 is from 8-8:45, period 2 at 9-9:45, etc. For my 9am class, I usually leave my dorm between 8:15 to 8:30 in order to catch the Jammie (UCT shuttle system) from Liesbeek (my dorm building) to Upper Campus. The walk from Liesbeek to the Lower Campus Jammie stop is about 20 minutes. If I decide to walk all the way up to Upper campus where most classes are held it takes me a total of about 45 minutes so yeah, won’t be doing that, like, EVER. Haha. On the Jammie it is only about 7 minutes from Liesbeek to Upper campus. As of right now, I have zero class on Friday and 4, 5 or 6 hour gaps of time each afternoon with no class. The past 3 days I've come home in between (like today) to nap/grocery shop/blog but I imagine once things get rolling I'll stay on campus in the library and try to get my work done during the day.
In other news, today marks exactly 3 weeks in
There is residence hall here called
I love the exchange rate here. Ten rand is approx. 1 US dollar. Baller!! Meals on campus cost approx. R26 ($2.60) if you include a soda or something. I can do a major grocery run for about R300 ($30) and take a cab ride for R7 at the very most. OH and laundry is free here at Liesbeek. I am spoiled rotten here. Spoiled, I tell you!
Ok well I believe that is all for now. Sorry for the majorly long entry. So yeah, pictures on Friday! I miss you all very much.
Love,
Melissa
Saturday, February 7, 2009
I have no idea what to title this entry
I realize my last entry was somewhat vague and perhaps leaving some of you wanting more details, so in this little edition I'll go into a little more detail of some of the interesting activities I have been taking part in here. Tuesday was the first day of UCT orientation. After an entire day of sitting in a lecture hall hearing talks about safety, the class registration procedure, etc. was an African drum circle! We all walked out of the building and set up on the plaza were rows and rows of chairs in the shape of a semi-circle, each chair with a drum on it. As we entered the plaza and took our seats, 5 drummers (3 smaller bongos and 2 large bass drums) were playing a beat and we joined in as soon as we got our drums. The drum session was basically a call and response sort of thing, with the leaders doing something and us (attempting) to do the same thing back to them. At one point the leader actually taught us a little 3-part song that we could try in small groups or solo if we wanted. I volunteered to do it with my friend Abby alone and it was pretty fun! I wish I had brought my camera because it was a pretty amazing sight/sound, with probably 200-something drummers on the plaza playing at (somewhat) the same time. My hands hurt like crazy by the end of it! When the drum session was over they brought out refreshments and a marimba band started to play. I danced the night away with some friends to the marimba music--those guys were great!
Thursday we took a bus tour of some of the volunteer sights that we could work at if we wanted. With the way the timing worked out we unfortunately had very limited time at each sight but we got a chance to see the sorts of places that we could be spending our time helping during the semester. After that we made our way to the beach! Sadly it wasn’t really beach weather because it was sort of overcast and VERY windy and sorta cold so we just sat on the boardwalk/put our feet in the water. We had to take the train back to Mowbray (my neighborhood) so Neo, Lindizwe, and Thapz (SOL-mates) took us. When we were on the train, Thapz explained to us why we took the train instead of using the busses that took us to the beach. He told us that we were riding 3rd class and that it will be a good experience. We were confused because everything seemed pretty normal to us but a few stops later the train got absolutely PACKED. I was sandwiched between 2 people so tightly that I couldn’t even breathe fully and I was practically in a headlock of random arms holding onto the poles. People were shouting over each other in Xhosa (a regional language here) and the 20 or so CIEE kids were certainly the only white people in the car. At each stop the doors aren’t open for that long so when it was time for us to get off we had to shove our way through people to get through. We didn’t really know when to get off and Lindizwe was supposed to whistle when it was our time to get off but he didn’t so we had to ask the people next to us and when we stopped at Mowbray they just started shoving us towards the exit. I have never been in a place so crowded in my life…it was insane! It was rush hour (around 5:30) when we were there so the majority of the other people on the train were commuting back home from work. They were right, it was certainly a memorable experience.
This afternoon CIEE took us to a soccer game. Soccer here in SA is equivalent to football or baseball here-the fans get REALLY into it and there are cheerleaders and halftime and everything. The entire stadium was full of roaring fans with noisemakers and flags. Something the CIEE program director told us to pay attention to at the soccer game was the kinds of fans who were there. Well it didn’t take long for us to realize that the 100-ish of us were the only white people in the entire stadium. We all sat in the same little section and I think by doing that we sort of made spectacles of ourselves. Many of us did get really into the game … I know I certainly enjoyed cheering along with crowd for the Cape Town team the Santos, sometimes referred to as “the People’s team”.
Other random things: Barack Obama is a hero here. I see Obama shirts on the local people here all the time. I even saw an ‘Obama burger’ option on the menu of a local restaurant, the burger description being something along the lines of a classic American style burger. Pretty cool stuff. Oh and guess what? I get to go through election season all over again! Aren’t you all super jealous? Elections here are in April. It will be interesting to compare election season here to home, but I can already tell you that election fever has already spread. I see posters and t-shirts for the ANC everywhere. Apparently Obama’s victory in the states already inspired many young people to register to vote and get involved in the elections. I guess I won’t be getting away from the politics and schmolitics for a while. I registered for my classes and got my UCT student ID card yesterday! I will be taking and African studies class called Race, Identity and Culture which looks at identity in South Africa. Some of you know already but last semester I wrote a research proposal for studying identity in post-apartheid South Africa, so this class should be fascinating! I can’t wait. I’m also signed up for African dance, Xhosa, and Medical Anthropology. We start classes next Friday the 13th (dun dun dunnnn).
Whoa as I type I am experiencing my very first African rainstorm- thunder and lightning and everything. Ahh scary/cool.
Aaaand now I’ll attach a few pictures from my time here so far. More to come!
Sunrise from the plane as we approach London
Sarah and Table Mountain
Me at the Cape of Good Hope, the most south-west point on the African continent
My enormous room- on the left next to the window is a door that leads out the the balcony.
Soccer players & fans
Lots of love, Melissa
Thursday we took a bus tour of some of the volunteer sights that we could work at if we wanted. With the way the timing worked out we unfortunately had very limited time at each sight but we got a chance to see the sorts of places that we could be spending our time helping during the semester. After that we made our way to the beach! Sadly it wasn’t really beach weather because it was sort of overcast and VERY windy and sorta cold so we just sat on the boardwalk/put our feet in the water. We had to take the train back to Mowbray (my neighborhood) so Neo, Lindizwe, and Thapz (SOL-mates) took us. When we were on the train, Thapz explained to us why we took the train instead of using the busses that took us to the beach. He told us that we were riding 3rd class and that it will be a good experience. We were confused because everything seemed pretty normal to us but a few stops later the train got absolutely PACKED. I was sandwiched between 2 people so tightly that I couldn’t even breathe fully and I was practically in a headlock of random arms holding onto the poles. People were shouting over each other in Xhosa (a regional language here) and the 20 or so CIEE kids were certainly the only white people in the car. At each stop the doors aren’t open for that long so when it was time for us to get off we had to shove our way through people to get through. We didn’t really know when to get off and Lindizwe was supposed to whistle when it was our time to get off but he didn’t so we had to ask the people next to us and when we stopped at Mowbray they just started shoving us towards the exit. I have never been in a place so crowded in my life…it was insane! It was rush hour (around 5:30) when we were there so the majority of the other people on the train were commuting back home from work. They were right, it was certainly a memorable experience.
This afternoon CIEE took us to a soccer game. Soccer here in SA is equivalent to football or baseball here-the fans get REALLY into it and there are cheerleaders and halftime and everything. The entire stadium was full of roaring fans with noisemakers and flags. Something the CIEE program director told us to pay attention to at the soccer game was the kinds of fans who were there. Well it didn’t take long for us to realize that the 100-ish of us were the only white people in the entire stadium. We all sat in the same little section and I think by doing that we sort of made spectacles of ourselves. Many of us did get really into the game … I know I certainly enjoyed cheering along with crowd for the Cape Town team the Santos, sometimes referred to as “the People’s team”.
Other random things: Barack Obama is a hero here. I see Obama shirts on the local people here all the time. I even saw an ‘Obama burger’ option on the menu of a local restaurant, the burger description being something along the lines of a classic American style burger. Pretty cool stuff. Oh and guess what? I get to go through election season all over again! Aren’t you all super jealous? Elections here are in April. It will be interesting to compare election season here to home, but I can already tell you that election fever has already spread. I see posters and t-shirts for the ANC everywhere. Apparently Obama’s victory in the states already inspired many young people to register to vote and get involved in the elections. I guess I won’t be getting away from the politics and schmolitics for a while. I registered for my classes and got my UCT student ID card yesterday! I will be taking and African studies class called Race, Identity and Culture which looks at identity in South Africa. Some of you know already but last semester I wrote a research proposal for studying identity in post-apartheid South Africa, so this class should be fascinating! I can’t wait. I’m also signed up for African dance, Xhosa, and Medical Anthropology. We start classes next Friday the 13th (dun dun dunnnn).
Whoa as I type I am experiencing my very first African rainstorm- thunder and lightning and everything. Ahh scary/cool.
Aaaand now I’ll attach a few pictures from my time here so far. More to come!
Sunrise from the plane as we approach London
Sarah and Table Mountain
Me at the Cape of Good Hope, the most south-west point on the African continent
My enormous room- on the left next to the window is a door that leads out the the balcony.
Soccer players & fansLots of love, Melissa
Thursday, February 5, 2009
First update! sorry it took me so long...
Greetings from Cape Town! I am finally settled into my permanent room for the semester-- a HUGE single room (bigger than my room at home) that is part of a 4 room apartment with two bathrooms and a kitchen. One of my roommates is an American student from the same program as me. She, Ellie, goes to Skidmore and we actually have some mutual friends who go there too who I know from Hebrew school/youth group/Chavurah. As for my other two flat-mates, one of them is Neo (pronounced Nay-oh). He was actually a “SOL-mate” (SOL=student orientation leader) orientation leader for the CIEE program. The SOL-mates (about 20 of them) are all UCT students who showed us around Cape Town and helped lead orientation activities. I’m excited to be living with Neo and I think it will be helpful and comforting to have a SOL-mate actually living with us once all the orientation stuff slows down and we’re on our own a little more. Our 4th roommate hasn’t even moved in yet, so we shall see who it ends up being!
I have been very busy since the moment I stepped off the plane, hence the long wait for my first entry. CIEE orientation started as soon as we got to our hotel and continued until Sunday. Then Sunday we began UCT orientation which goes until tomorrow when we register for classes. During my very limited free time I have been exploring Cape Town a little. It’s hard to make any declarations about how I feel about this place since I’m still getting settled and am that whole “WOW I’m in Africa” state. But my initial impressions are that
a) if not anything else, this place is absolutely gorgeous. At first glance and from here on my 6th floor room it looks very much like Florida or California: bright colored houses with burnt-orange roofs surrounded by trees. But then when you look out past the rooftops you see the magnificent sight of Table Mountain, a landmark here in Cape Town. Table Mountain is a REALLY tall and flat mountain that overlooks the city. The University of Cape Town, my academic home for the next 5 months, is built at the base of the mountain. Often late in the day Table Mountain gets a “table cloth”— a mass of clouds over the top of it. It really is a magnificent sight. From other places you can also see the many township communities which are basically rows and rows of shacks where many South Africans live. We’ve already visited two townships in groups and I will be returning to them regularly for volunteering projects. These volunteering programs are a major part of the CIEE study abroad program that I am taking part in and many of them involve being role models, teaching math, science, English, music, and self confidence to the township children.
b) The weather is fantastic. 80-ish degrees and a cloudless sky every day. It’s also extremely breezy here which helps with making it not feel like I’m baking when I’m outside. Apparently later on it will get less windy and a bit hotter but I’m OK with that. This is loads better than negative temperatures and multiple feet of snow back at home! OK, I’m done bragging now :-D.
c) It will probably take me a while to become comfortable here than I would like. First of all this is a big city, which I’m not used to. I’m not accustomed to having to walk or take public transportation everywhere. I must desensitize myself from the children who approach me on the street asking for food and money, which happened to me yesterday for the first time and really shook me up. I also need to learn to be more aggressive/confident in nearly almost every social situation, from confidently walking down the street as to prevent looking unsure and make myself victim to a mugging, trying to order a drink at a crowded bar, pushing through the hoards of people all trying to get on the same bus, to hailing a cab and then calling him out when he’s not going the right way and trying to scam me and get the meter up (all situations I have found myself already). Also I’m simply not used to sticking out like a sore thumb. There is a good amount of white people here but especially in my neighborhood I feel like I’m always being stared at. The moment I open my mouth people will know I’m American so I have to be aware about where I choose to open my mouth and talk. Finally, the university teaching system here is way different than ‘Berg (huge lecture classes, a final that counts for 60% of the grade, no asking questions during lectures or much contact with the lecturer at all, etc.). And let’s not forget that I’m in a different country halfway across the world with different customs, expectations, politics, etc.
I certainly have a lot to get adjusted to so I must be patient. I’ll try to upload some pictures but I have to pay for my wireless per megabyte, so uploading pictures onto the internet is pretty costly but I will perhaps pick out a few favorites and post them here for you.
Soooo this is the end of my first entry. I’m already working on the next one and it should be up soon. I think of home and you all a lot. Sending you some African lovin’ and African sunshine!
-Melissa
I have been very busy since the moment I stepped off the plane, hence the long wait for my first entry. CIEE orientation started as soon as we got to our hotel and continued until Sunday. Then Sunday we began UCT orientation which goes until tomorrow when we register for classes. During my very limited free time I have been exploring Cape Town a little. It’s hard to make any declarations about how I feel about this place since I’m still getting settled and am that whole “WOW I’m in Africa” state. But my initial impressions are that
a) if not anything else, this place is absolutely gorgeous. At first glance and from here on my 6th floor room it looks very much like Florida or California: bright colored houses with burnt-orange roofs surrounded by trees. But then when you look out past the rooftops you see the magnificent sight of Table Mountain, a landmark here in Cape Town. Table Mountain is a REALLY tall and flat mountain that overlooks the city. The University of Cape Town, my academic home for the next 5 months, is built at the base of the mountain. Often late in the day Table Mountain gets a “table cloth”— a mass of clouds over the top of it. It really is a magnificent sight. From other places you can also see the many township communities which are basically rows and rows of shacks where many South Africans live. We’ve already visited two townships in groups and I will be returning to them regularly for volunteering projects. These volunteering programs are a major part of the CIEE study abroad program that I am taking part in and many of them involve being role models, teaching math, science, English, music, and self confidence to the township children.
b) The weather is fantastic. 80-ish degrees and a cloudless sky every day. It’s also extremely breezy here which helps with making it not feel like I’m baking when I’m outside. Apparently later on it will get less windy and a bit hotter but I’m OK with that. This is loads better than negative temperatures and multiple feet of snow back at home! OK, I’m done bragging now :-D.
c) It will probably take me a while to become comfortable here than I would like. First of all this is a big city, which I’m not used to. I’m not accustomed to having to walk or take public transportation everywhere. I must desensitize myself from the children who approach me on the street asking for food and money, which happened to me yesterday for the first time and really shook me up. I also need to learn to be more aggressive/confident in nearly almost every social situation, from confidently walking down the street as to prevent looking unsure and make myself victim to a mugging, trying to order a drink at a crowded bar, pushing through the hoards of people all trying to get on the same bus, to hailing a cab and then calling him out when he’s not going the right way and trying to scam me and get the meter up (all situations I have found myself already). Also I’m simply not used to sticking out like a sore thumb. There is a good amount of white people here but especially in my neighborhood I feel like I’m always being stared at. The moment I open my mouth people will know I’m American so I have to be aware about where I choose to open my mouth and talk. Finally, the university teaching system here is way different than ‘Berg (huge lecture classes, a final that counts for 60% of the grade, no asking questions during lectures or much contact with the lecturer at all, etc.). And let’s not forget that I’m in a different country halfway across the world with different customs, expectations, politics, etc.
I certainly have a lot to get adjusted to so I must be patient. I’ll try to upload some pictures but I have to pay for my wireless per megabyte, so uploading pictures onto the internet is pretty costly but I will perhaps pick out a few favorites and post them here for you.
Soooo this is the end of my first entry. I’m already working on the next one and it should be up soon. I think of home and you all a lot. Sending you some African lovin’ and African sunshine!
-Melissa
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