We took the "Jammie" to class today. This is basically the campus connector at the U, and instead of a 25 minute walk, it took us literally 10 minutes to get to class today. When we got to the stop, the driver of the bus was sleeping. How comforting.
Today we had another guest speaker, Steven. This man, I feel I could have sat down with coffee, and asked him questions for hours on end. I want to read his autobiography, if he has one. He was, unbeliveable.
This man was born in exile. His father had gone into exile where he had met his mother and he is one of five children. He has had numerous names, to hide up his identity, his house has been bombed a couple of times. Can you imagine that? How would you even know what your real name was once you returned or if you ever returned? Or try having explained to you why you move so many times when you are a young child. He could not attend UCT right after the end of apartheid because they had not changed the rules for admission because he did not know the two languages Afrikaan and English. He now knows eight different languages, he has an undergrad degree, two masters, one diploma, and his now going to be in Geneva soon to work on his Ph.D. Not to mention he did do one of his masters at UC-Berkeley as well. He now works with conflict management. He came back to South Africa because he believes in his country, and he thinks that they need black academicians that are in tune with their country's politics.
Our discussion was primarily on current events that are now happening in South Africa. You may have heard of Steven before because he was just in my previous lecture that I had on Wednesday. We discussed the root causes of xenophobia and how he did not think they were social or psychological but more dehumanizing. I wish I could have asked him more on his reasoning why they were not social or psychological. Also, he stated that this is not just a national issue, but it is a global phenomenon due to economic disparity and situations of contradiction.
We did ask him a question regarding to HIV, and asked him what was being done about it. When apartheid ended, Mandela's first thing was reconstructing the government, his worry was not yet HIV and it wasn't as big of an issue. He just did not have the time yet to do it, and it was at the end of his term.
Then the concept of xenophobia came up, and we had asked why was it not such a big deal in Cape Town as it was in Johannesburg. He said that the city has had much more time to prepare for it so the violence hasn't been happening. But, then I thought, it still should be occuring then, shouldn't it?
Then we had the trip to Robben Island. I did notice that I did not have my camera with me, or I thought I didn't (I found it in my purse when we got back, BOO). We stopped at a place at the waterfront for lunch and I had Kheema, which did not settle very well in my stomach later on. And many of us bought jackets and fleeces from Cape Storm for warmer comfort. A lot of us did not pack as much warm clothing as we would have liked to.
Then off to Robben Island. This island is 12 km away from Cape Town, so a 45 min boat ride. I was actually kind of excited to go to this place because I had read Mandela's book, "Long Walk to Freedom", hence the title. We had a former prisoner give us a tour of the prison him and Mandela were once in. We had asked him the question why would he want to give tours, wouldn't this be emotionally hard for him to do? He said it gave him the chance to focus, and tear away his anger. I guess I could see that, because it would take me a long time to get over something like that. He even now has drinks with some of the jail guards that he was once ruled by.
There is a lot of history towards Robben Island. It was first touched by the Portuguese, then the Dutch, and it was not only a prison, but a medical institution for those who were mentally and chronically ill or who had leprosy. It was used for a training camp during WWII. And there is a village there, with churches, a lighthouse that doesn't really work because before it was built there was 8 shipwrecks, and after it was built it had 18 more. There is 15,000 penguins on the island, and I have noticed that they fall down a lot. They do not really walk very well, and they are just so darn cute! I wish I just had a timeline to look at what happened where.
After getting back, we tried a fast food place and I have noticed that I have been eating a lot of "chips", meaning french fries. So, I am going to need to cut down on those. And then I tried some fabulous frozen yogurt. I am going to call it an early night, because I have to get up at 4:30 AM for a safari. Tomorrow's blog will probably be lots of pictures.
Miss you all, and hope all is well.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Watch out motion sickness, here I come!
So today was our trip to Cape Point. I will tell you, I took many many pictures, but it takes forever to load pictures. And I'm on my second blog for the evening and I'm getting very anxious. And ready to play Phase 10 and relax for a bit.
So we definitely were tourists today. We had walking shoes, raincoats, and cameras out. We even had a tour bus today. And, I've decided I get motion sickness from stick shift vehicles that are van/bus size. Our first stop was at Sea Point. This was a view of the Atlantic Ocean.
Now, I'm sure you have noticed the dark clouds. Yes, it rained today. Aaron told us to pray for good weather, and I did. Nope, not yet, don't see it. So, on our way to go on the boat to see some seals. I started to feel sick on the bus, and got off and thought maybe I just needed to eat. So, I had a granola bar, and felt much better just getting fresh air and off the bus. Then, it starts raining on the boat. I am putting my coat on when the boat is already moving and Hilary, Cole and I are all trying to stand with about becoming a man/woman overboard. This was a quite hilarious thing. And, Dad, an umbrella would not have done justice. Rain flies horizontally at you in South Africa, and I still would have been wet. But, my legs were wet, and I had a nice try T-shirt. So after we move inside... I start feeling sick again. And then I start feeling sick. Then it's time to start running to the bathroom, and it begins. I come back out with a smile, and I was happy the rest of the day. But, I never got to see a seal unfortunately. Touring is a lot of work. Motion sickness, long walks, etc.
That is part of Table Mountain in the back. Just wait till you see the view from my house that I am at. BEAUTIFUL!
So, Africa has penguins, and that was our next stop, Smithstown. This is when whatever is up there answered my prayers and gave us sunny beautiful weather. I thought of Happy Feet when I saw them. And now we were at the Indian Ocean. There was one girl who had never seen the ocean and she had her chance. It was great. I tried a new fish called Hike, and it was deep-fried, and really good. I waded through the Indian ocean and here are some more pictures of that. (2 Pictures here)
ThankAfter that, it was off to Cape Point. This is the most Southwestern point of the world. And it was unbelievable. We did a lot of walking, hiking, and it feels like I walked 30 miles today. I did buy some postcards, so those of you who had asked for them, with postage. Then I made the trek all the way down to the point. I did a lot of thinking during this, hence, I did a lot of walking by myself. I was thinking that I felt like I had not even felt like I was studying here today, and I really did feel like a tourist and here on vacation. I can't imagine what I'll be writing when I come back from the townships next week. There will be such a difference, and I'm patiently waiting to find out what happens. I guess that is why this class is a "Cross-Cultural Perspective". This place is beautiful, but the history South Africa has with HIV and apartheid just makes things hard to view, but you can't touch mother nature.
Before you know it, it starts pouring. I did not bring my rain jacket and I am wearing a garbage bag poncho which it was so windy that I was worried while putting it on that I was going to be suffocated while TJ was helping me put it on. Note to self: ALWAYS WEAR THE DANG RAIN COAT.
Well tomorrow is another class and off to Robben Island. This will be interesting, and I have to give background information on this to our group.
So we definitely were tourists today. We had walking shoes, raincoats, and cameras out. We even had a tour bus today. And, I've decided I get motion sickness from stick shift vehicles that are van/bus size. Our first stop was at Sea Point. This was a view of the Atlantic Ocean.
Now, I'm sure you have noticed the dark clouds. Yes, it rained today. Aaron told us to pray for good weather, and I did. Nope, not yet, don't see it. So, on our way to go on the boat to see some seals. I started to feel sick on the bus, and got off and thought maybe I just needed to eat. So, I had a granola bar, and felt much better just getting fresh air and off the bus. Then, it starts raining on the boat. I am putting my coat on when the boat is already moving and Hilary, Cole and I are all trying to stand with about becoming a man/woman overboard. This was a quite hilarious thing. And, Dad, an umbrella would not have done justice. Rain flies horizontally at you in South Africa, and I still would have been wet. But, my legs were wet, and I had a nice try T-shirt. So after we move inside... I start feeling sick again. And then I start feeling sick. Then it's time to start running to the bathroom, and it begins. I come back out with a smile, and I was happy the rest of the day. But, I never got to see a seal unfortunately. Touring is a lot of work. Motion sickness, long walks, etc.
That is part of Table Mountain in the back. Just wait till you see the view from my house that I am at. BEAUTIFUL!So, Africa has penguins, and that was our next stop, Smithstown. This is when whatever is up there answered my prayers and gave us sunny beautiful weather. I thought of Happy Feet when I saw them. And now we were at the Indian Ocean. There was one girl who had never seen the ocean and she had her chance. It was great. I tried a new fish called Hike, and it was deep-fried, and really good. I waded through the Indian ocean and here are some more pictures of that. (2 Pictures here)
ThankAfter that, it was off to Cape Point. This is the most Southwestern point of the world. And it was unbelievable. We did a lot of walking, hiking, and it feels like I walked 30 miles today. I did buy some postcards, so those of you who had asked for them, with postage. Then I made the trek all the way down to the point. I did a lot of thinking during this, hence, I did a lot of walking by myself. I was thinking that I felt like I had not even felt like I was studying here today, and I really did feel like a tourist and here on vacation. I can't imagine what I'll be writing when I come back from the townships next week. There will be such a difference, and I'm patiently waiting to find out what happens. I guess that is why this class is a "Cross-Cultural Perspective". This place is beautiful, but the history South Africa has with HIV and apartheid just makes things hard to view, but you can't touch mother nature.
Before you know it, it starts pouring. I did not bring my rain jacket and I am wearing a garbage bag poncho which it was so windy that I was worried while putting it on that I was going to be suffocated while TJ was helping me put it on. Note to self: ALWAYS WEAR THE DANG RAIN COAT.Well tomorrow is another class and off to Robben Island. This will be interesting, and I have to give background information on this to our group.
I believe in Karma...
DISCLAIMER: I would like to apologize in advance about my blog because I tend to word vomit as I write this, because everything always makes sense in my head, but sometimes it never works on paper. So sorry ahead of time.
One is what my title deals with. We were over at the bed and breakfast house on Tuesday night and I noticed they had dish soap. The people over there were complaining about their outlets not working, and then they finally got them to function. Hilary and I had decided since we had not cleaned ANY dishes since we had arrived because we didn't have soap, that it would not be bad to take the dish soap, granted the other house has a dishwasher in it. I didn't think Laurie was going to see me, (apparently she did) and I stuck the soap under my sweatshirt and walked out of the house. So I came home to wash all the dishes than 10 people use in one day. It was late, and with humidity and my hair I have found it is easier for me to just shower at night and put it up the next day. I get into the shower... and Katie yells, "We don't have any power in our outlets!" I thought in my head, "Good God, what did someone do now...". So we have Nate come over and check the circuits, and I have found out that when you turn the power off, it turns off the hot water. So, a cold shower, in the dark, shaving your legs is not easy. I get out and get dressed, and Hilary comes to me and says "It's Karma, we need to return the dish soap!" So we go back, saying that I left my phone on the kitchen counter. I set it back, and am about to walk out the door and come back and tell Stella, "We stole your dish soap so we could wash dishes and now our power is out." I come back, and the power comes back on. It's all Karma, I tell you. It is.
Yesterday was our first day of class. We had Zwelethu Jolobe come and talk to us about South Africa's history in regards to apartheid. There was discussion about crisis legitimacy in legalizing the trade unions, to two leaders DeKlerk and Nelson Mandela, and significant leadership changes. And he brought up the question, how do we reorganize power? He was talking about negotiation and about no end, no insight, and many of us will always be unsure of what tomorrow holds. We need to restart all over, and begin a new foundation. It needs to all be about truth-telling, and creating that official memory and history.
Here's a part of UCT, looking from the Rugby field. You'll noticed the architecture here is very European, because it was at one time ruled by the British and Dutch.
One thing that really impressed me with Zwelethu and his collegue Steven is about their interest in world politics, especially the United States. I was extremely shocked about how much they knew, and it almost made me feel that I was too ignorant, and that I need to know more. Maybe its because I am already immersed in the culture, and I know what to expect? I couldn't tell you. They asked us the question regarding same-sex marriage. In South Africa, same-sex marriage is allowed. What he said was, "how are you considered a civil and free country, when you make such uncivilized decisions?" I'll just say I have no idea, that he has an extremely good point, and that a key reason of whom I am voting for.
We had a campus lunch after lecture, and I started to have a little nostalgia already. I had peanut chicken curry (Yes, Dad I know you don't like the word, "curry".) And I noticed I was talking about my family a lot and stories. And I usually do that when I miss my family. So family, I miss you, and I hope you are reading this blog.
Then we were off to District 6. This is an area in downtown Cape Town, you could basically compare it to the Harlem Renaissance. These people were forced to leave their homes because they were of color, and not white. They were sent to townships and were no longer in the city. We learned the hardships many of them faced, and the man who gave us the tour of the museum, was a person sent away to the townships himself, and was telling us his story. He gave us this phrase saying, "Even if you are of different color, that doesn't make you any different than anyone else. The only way you are ever going to be different is if you cut everyone open and see what's inside. Then tell me what you see, and if we really are different." I was really moved by what he said, I really liked it. It's completely true. This museum had artifacts from District 6, such as signs for not allowing colored people to park, or that a public area was exclusive. Makes sense huh? Not. You can tell the authors of this sign need to take some Marketing classes. This is a map of District 6, people have written in where they had lived. And we can walk on this, I felt weird walking around on this.
So we had some extra time before dinner and walked around downtown Cape Town. I did go to a market/bazaar type deal and was a little nervous to do some bargaining. Niki, a woman who was with us from Interstudy walked around with me and coached me a little. I will tell you, I bought a pashmina shawl that was offered for 80 rand, and ended up getting it for 40. And stones for Colin for 20 rand. They're pretty my friend, you'll like them. I was very proud of myself. While walking back to our driver's, we ran into a demonstration in front of the court house right over by the district six museum. I tried to be nonchalant about it and acted as if it were not a big deal, but then we were passed by a police truck with people in it, and were saying profane words and then I was bothered and worried.
So, I tried Nando's yesterday. The chicken is halal, (which I realized why is was kind of expensive), and it grade A chicken. But I had wings and it wasn't bad! I would definitely recommend trying it, if you ever find one, I know they are in London as well!
On to tomorrow, we traveling to Cape Point, the most Southwestern Point in the world. Get excited.
One is what my title deals with. We were over at the bed and breakfast house on Tuesday night and I noticed they had dish soap. The people over there were complaining about their outlets not working, and then they finally got them to function. Hilary and I had decided since we had not cleaned ANY dishes since we had arrived because we didn't have soap, that it would not be bad to take the dish soap, granted the other house has a dishwasher in it. I didn't think Laurie was going to see me, (apparently she did) and I stuck the soap under my sweatshirt and walked out of the house. So I came home to wash all the dishes than 10 people use in one day. It was late, and with humidity and my hair I have found it is easier for me to just shower at night and put it up the next day. I get into the shower... and Katie yells, "We don't have any power in our outlets!" I thought in my head, "Good God, what did someone do now...". So we have Nate come over and check the circuits, and I have found out that when you turn the power off, it turns off the hot water. So, a cold shower, in the dark, shaving your legs is not easy. I get out and get dressed, and Hilary comes to me and says "It's Karma, we need to return the dish soap!" So we go back, saying that I left my phone on the kitchen counter. I set it back, and am about to walk out the door and come back and tell Stella, "We stole your dish soap so we could wash dishes and now our power is out." I come back, and the power comes back on. It's all Karma, I tell you. It is.
Yesterday was our first day of class. We had Zwelethu Jolobe come and talk to us about South Africa's history in regards to apartheid. There was discussion about crisis legitimacy in legalizing the trade unions, to two leaders DeKlerk and Nelson Mandela, and significant leadership changes. And he brought up the question, how do we reorganize power? He was talking about negotiation and about no end, no insight, and many of us will always be unsure of what tomorrow holds. We need to restart all over, and begin a new foundation. It needs to all be about truth-telling, and creating that official memory and history.
Here's a part of UCT, looking from the Rugby field. You'll noticed the architecture here is very European, because it was at one time ruled by the British and Dutch.
One thing that really impressed me with Zwelethu and his collegue Steven is about their interest in world politics, especially the United States. I was extremely shocked about how much they knew, and it almost made me feel that I was too ignorant, and that I need to know more. Maybe its because I am already immersed in the culture, and I know what to expect? I couldn't tell you. They asked us the question regarding same-sex marriage. In South Africa, same-sex marriage is allowed. What he said was, "how are you considered a civil and free country, when you make such uncivilized decisions?" I'll just say I have no idea, that he has an extremely good point, and that a key reason of whom I am voting for.
We had a campus lunch after lecture, and I started to have a little nostalgia already. I had peanut chicken curry (Yes, Dad I know you don't like the word, "curry".) And I noticed I was talking about my family a lot and stories. And I usually do that when I miss my family. So family, I miss you, and I hope you are reading this blog.
Then we were off to District 6. This is an area in downtown Cape Town, you could basically compare it to the Harlem Renaissance. These people were forced to leave their homes because they were of color, and not white. They were sent to townships and were no longer in the city. We learned the hardships many of them faced, and the man who gave us the tour of the museum, was a person sent away to the townships himself, and was telling us his story. He gave us this phrase saying, "Even if you are of different color, that doesn't make you any different than anyone else. The only way you are ever going to be different is if you cut everyone open and see what's inside. Then tell me what you see, and if we really are different." I was really moved by what he said, I really liked it. It's completely true. This museum had artifacts from District 6, such as signs for not allowing colored people to park, or that a public area was exclusive. Makes sense huh? Not. You can tell the authors of this sign need to take some Marketing classes. This is a map of District 6, people have written in where they had lived. And we can walk on this, I felt weird walking around on this.
So we had some extra time before dinner and walked around downtown Cape Town. I did go to a market/bazaar type deal and was a little nervous to do some bargaining. Niki, a woman who was with us from Interstudy walked around with me and coached me a little. I will tell you, I bought a pashmina shawl that was offered for 80 rand, and ended up getting it for 40. And stones for Colin for 20 rand. They're pretty my friend, you'll like them. I was very proud of myself. While walking back to our driver's, we ran into a demonstration in front of the court house right over by the district six museum. I tried to be nonchalant about it and acted as if it were not a big deal, but then we were passed by a police truck with people in it, and were saying profane words and then I was bothered and worried.
So, I tried Nando's yesterday. The chicken is halal, (which I realized why is was kind of expensive), and it grade A chicken. But I had wings and it wasn't bad! I would definitely recommend trying it, if you ever find one, I know they are in London as well!
On to tomorrow, we traveling to Cape Point, the most Southwestern Point in the world. Get excited.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Welcome to Table Mountain and Atlantic Ocean Views
Since we came to Cape Town at night, I wanted to go outside right when I woke up. Aaron had told us to look outside in the morning and there's a surprise. I go outside and look and see, Table Mountain and Devil's Peak. It was the most breath taking thing I have ever seen. I hope I didn't wake up the neighbors I was so excited. They probably woke up and heard four girls screaming their lungs out with excitement.
Today we did get a tour of Cape Town University and did go to the Waterfront, which were also beautiful. Our wonderful interstudy tour guides Ajith and Dianne showed us around campus and some hot spots, while Ouma and Sopheimo gave us an overview of safety, introduction, and had a Q and A session. UCT lies very close to Table Mountain, and the view was unbelievable. About 25,000 undergraduate students attend UCT and they are in final exam session.
As we were going through this Tour I realized, every darn trip I have been to within the United States and abroad for where I have been, I have always visited a university. It must have been because I have a father as a professor? I don't know. The architecture was outstanding. I heard about some great food places such as Nando's which apparently is one up from KFC according to Dianne and Adjith. Watch out my fine chicken friends.
Then we headed to the water front. We had lunch there and I am going to proudly say I ordered an alcoholic beverage. It's very strange that I am of age in this country, and it was weird that I was ordering an alcoholic beverage and did not get carded. The legal limit is technically 18 years, but we were told that girls do not have as much of a problem getting alcoholic beverages. Don't worry Mom and Dad, I'm being responsible. :) I have a margarita on the rocks with salt, and I ordered a pasta with chili with fresh mushrooms. A main joy was how much alcohol was here, its about two bucks for a beer, which is 14 rand. I must tell you, there were many students that were very excited about the inexpensive beer, its a good thing I like hard liquor. :)
We did a little bit of shopping, went to see the ocean, and just sat and chatted. This was a very touristic site. Meaning Americans, Japanese, the whole kit and kaboodle. My instructor did say that many people can tell who we are because we speak loud and wear tennis shoes. And I am back now finally with internet. Throughout the whole trip, I have not used an IPOD or a computer until now. It definitely was a weird feeling, and I am going to admit that I was tired when I got home and now I am fairly awake. :)
I have not had too much of a culture shock yet. It will probably have to be a couple of days I think. I don't know if it is because I have traveled to other countries yet or what. But so far I feel this city is a little more Americanized that I had thought, meaning downtown Cape Town. We are in a suburb called Mowbury right next to UCT. We can catch a "Jammie" what we would call the campus connector at the U to get to UCT. The mall we went to did have a Croc store (thank GOD), Birkenstocks, Gucci, etc. I did see a McDonald's big arch flying in.
I do think I am truly blessed to be here. I know I decided to come for a reason, but I haven't figured out what my reasoning is yet. I thought I was destined to be a science major, but I'm not sure if that is me anymore.
I am lucky for the group members that are here. They are so supportive, and I'm not going to lie we are keeping a quote book for all the funny things that have happened. We started it last night.
I will get pictures up eventually. I don't know when, but eventually. They are beautiful. I will be blogging often I have realized, just because I have access to internet and I sure as heck paid for it. So look daily, it should be there. Miss you all! I do have a phone here, (01127)0722630939, if you all feel the need to miss me that much. :)
Today we did get a tour of Cape Town University and did go to the Waterfront, which were also beautiful. Our wonderful interstudy tour guides Ajith and Dianne showed us around campus and some hot spots, while Ouma and Sopheimo gave us an overview of safety, introduction, and had a Q and A session. UCT lies very close to Table Mountain, and the view was unbelievable. About 25,000 undergraduate students attend UCT and they are in final exam session.
As we were going through this Tour I realized, every darn trip I have been to within the United States and abroad for where I have been, I have always visited a university. It must have been because I have a father as a professor? I don't know. The architecture was outstanding. I heard about some great food places such as Nando's which apparently is one up from KFC according to Dianne and Adjith. Watch out my fine chicken friends.
Then we headed to the water front. We had lunch there and I am going to proudly say I ordered an alcoholic beverage. It's very strange that I am of age in this country, and it was weird that I was ordering an alcoholic beverage and did not get carded. The legal limit is technically 18 years, but we were told that girls do not have as much of a problem getting alcoholic beverages. Don't worry Mom and Dad, I'm being responsible. :) I have a margarita on the rocks with salt, and I ordered a pasta with chili with fresh mushrooms. A main joy was how much alcohol was here, its about two bucks for a beer, which is 14 rand. I must tell you, there were many students that were very excited about the inexpensive beer, its a good thing I like hard liquor. :)
We did a little bit of shopping, went to see the ocean, and just sat and chatted. This was a very touristic site. Meaning Americans, Japanese, the whole kit and kaboodle. My instructor did say that many people can tell who we are because we speak loud and wear tennis shoes. And I am back now finally with internet. Throughout the whole trip, I have not used an IPOD or a computer until now. It definitely was a weird feeling, and I am going to admit that I was tired when I got home and now I am fairly awake. :)
I have not had too much of a culture shock yet. It will probably have to be a couple of days I think. I don't know if it is because I have traveled to other countries yet or what. But so far I feel this city is a little more Americanized that I had thought, meaning downtown Cape Town. We are in a suburb called Mowbury right next to UCT. We can catch a "Jammie" what we would call the campus connector at the U to get to UCT. The mall we went to did have a Croc store (thank GOD), Birkenstocks, Gucci, etc. I did see a McDonald's big arch flying in.
I do think I am truly blessed to be here. I know I decided to come for a reason, but I haven't figured out what my reasoning is yet. I thought I was destined to be a science major, but I'm not sure if that is me anymore.
I am lucky for the group members that are here. They are so supportive, and I'm not going to lie we are keeping a quote book for all the funny things that have happened. We started it last night.
I will get pictures up eventually. I don't know when, but eventually. They are beautiful. I will be blogging often I have realized, just because I have access to internet and I sure as heck paid for it. So look daily, it should be there. Miss you all! I do have a phone here, (01127)0722630939, if you all feel the need to miss me that much. :)
I am finally here...
Whew. I am here, and all in all the travel was not half that bad as I had expected!
Laurie and her parents picked me up at 4:15 in the morning on Sunday and were ready to roll. I had a small and big luggage to check, with a backpack and purse to carry on. So we piled into the Honda Civic and was on our merry way to the Lindberg Terminal.
The only big travel problem we had is that we thought we had to check in individually and found out we had to check in our group of 16 all together. So, the lovely gentleman Bradford (only lovely once we left and were all set) helped us.
Then we get to our gate, and spot Rev Run. Yes he was in first class, but I have no idea what he was doing in Minneapolis on a Memorial Day weekend. A girl, Katie, in our group did shake his hand and we did get a picture of him. But apparently he did not have a "firm handshake". Ha. I will admit that I had NO idea who this man was, and eventually got the update by fellow group members.
I basically slept from Mlps to New York City, where we had a seven hour layover in JFK airport. We spent time with Phase 10, Toblerone chocolate, book stores, and getting our boarding passes for South African Airways.
I have to say, South African Airways is by far the best airline I have ever flown. Next would probably be Emirates. We did have little TV's in the back of seats and I tried to watch There Will Be Blood and Juno and fell asleep BOTH times. Not to mention this plane ride was 18 hours in total, and I basically slept the whole time, except for meals. We did have a pitstop in Dakar, Senegal to refuel and add more passengers. We were fed four meals, yes four, and were not that bad. I did have a great plane buddy, also my suitcase and roommate buddy. I made sure to do exercises and drink plenty of water, because a lot of us were waking up from a nightmare of blood clots or feet falling asleep. We did also meet this couple from Johannesburg and they did give us the safety talk. Don't pick up rides, watch your bag at all time, watch out for bars, etc. They did tell me that Cape Town is not Africa, it's more like England. I was just trying to listen and not give my input, because I am remembering that I need to listen more here than talk. Which as many of you know, is pretty hard for me. And then before you know it we were in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Now this was the connection we were primarily worried about. We only had an hour and 45 minutes to get our luggage, go through customs, and recheck our luggage. Luckily, we did not have to declare anything coming into South Africa. With an a group of 16 Americans, the porters were able to point us out quickly and basically forced us to follow them knowing there was an incentive afterwards. These porters probably thought of us as stupid Americans, because they did get tipped really well. Now, Johannesburg was under construction, so we have to go about 400 meters from one part of the airport to the other... and from being in an airplane for 18 hours, that was a little rough with all the luggage and all. But we did it.
And now, I'm here in Cape Town. Our instructor Aaron, the interstudy group:Dianne, Ajith, Ouma, Niki, and Sopheimo, and another student with our group Kate, met us at the airport. We piled into two vans and came to our two houses. Now all houses were supposed to be student residential housing. But, we wouldn't have been very close together. Then a bed and breakfast opened up and we ended up using that one as well. And no, I am not staying in the GORGEOUS bed an breakfast, I am in the student residential house, which is pretty good actually. I honestly feel like I am a celebrity in the Real World tv show and all that is happening should be video taped.
Granted we did have jet lag, and I had slept a majority of our travel, I was wide awake. And I knew tomorrow was going to be a big day. So more Phase 10 came about and then it was time to hit the hay.
Laurie and her parents picked me up at 4:15 in the morning on Sunday and were ready to roll. I had a small and big luggage to check, with a backpack and purse to carry on. So we piled into the Honda Civic and was on our merry way to the Lindberg Terminal.
The only big travel problem we had is that we thought we had to check in individually and found out we had to check in our group of 16 all together. So, the lovely gentleman Bradford (only lovely once we left and were all set) helped us.
Then we get to our gate, and spot Rev Run. Yes he was in first class, but I have no idea what he was doing in Minneapolis on a Memorial Day weekend. A girl, Katie, in our group did shake his hand and we did get a picture of him. But apparently he did not have a "firm handshake". Ha. I will admit that I had NO idea who this man was, and eventually got the update by fellow group members.
I basically slept from Mlps to New York City, where we had a seven hour layover in JFK airport. We spent time with Phase 10, Toblerone chocolate, book stores, and getting our boarding passes for South African Airways.
I have to say, South African Airways is by far the best airline I have ever flown. Next would probably be Emirates. We did have little TV's in the back of seats and I tried to watch There Will Be Blood and Juno and fell asleep BOTH times. Not to mention this plane ride was 18 hours in total, and I basically slept the whole time, except for meals. We did have a pitstop in Dakar, Senegal to refuel and add more passengers. We were fed four meals, yes four, and were not that bad. I did have a great plane buddy, also my suitcase and roommate buddy. I made sure to do exercises and drink plenty of water, because a lot of us were waking up from a nightmare of blood clots or feet falling asleep. We did also meet this couple from Johannesburg and they did give us the safety talk. Don't pick up rides, watch your bag at all time, watch out for bars, etc. They did tell me that Cape Town is not Africa, it's more like England. I was just trying to listen and not give my input, because I am remembering that I need to listen more here than talk. Which as many of you know, is pretty hard for me. And then before you know it we were in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Now this was the connection we were primarily worried about. We only had an hour and 45 minutes to get our luggage, go through customs, and recheck our luggage. Luckily, we did not have to declare anything coming into South Africa. With an a group of 16 Americans, the porters were able to point us out quickly and basically forced us to follow them knowing there was an incentive afterwards. These porters probably thought of us as stupid Americans, because they did get tipped really well. Now, Johannesburg was under construction, so we have to go about 400 meters from one part of the airport to the other... and from being in an airplane for 18 hours, that was a little rough with all the luggage and all. But we did it.
And now, I'm here in Cape Town. Our instructor Aaron, the interstudy group:Dianne, Ajith, Ouma, Niki, and Sopheimo, and another student with our group Kate, met us at the airport. We piled into two vans and came to our two houses. Now all houses were supposed to be student residential housing. But, we wouldn't have been very close together. Then a bed and breakfast opened up and we ended up using that one as well. And no, I am not staying in the GORGEOUS bed an breakfast, I am in the student residential house, which is pretty good actually. I honestly feel like I am a celebrity in the Real World tv show and all that is happening should be video taped.
Granted we did have jet lag, and I had slept a majority of our travel, I was wide awake. And I knew tomorrow was going to be a big day. So more Phase 10 came about and then it was time to hit the hay.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Test run!
Hey everyone!
I've set up a blog for all of you to read while I am away in South Africa. Just a little background information to let you know what I will be doing.
It is a May Term session that I'll be going to in Cape Town, South Africa. Seventeen students are going total, and an instructor, Aaron will be with us. The class that I am taking is a "Cross-Cultural Perspective on the AIDS Pandemic". I will be staying in Cape Town, near Cape Town University, but spending a lot of time in Gugulethu, which is a township outside of Cape Town.
I leave May 25th, and come back June 14th. Lately I have been collecting medical supplies, shampoo, black socks and children's underwear. If you have anything you would like to give me, send it to me back home in Duluth because I will be going home for a week before I leave.
I hope you take the time to read this, I wanted to make sure I was able to share my experiences with you right at that moment!
I've set up a blog for all of you to read while I am away in South Africa. Just a little background information to let you know what I will be doing.
It is a May Term session that I'll be going to in Cape Town, South Africa. Seventeen students are going total, and an instructor, Aaron will be with us. The class that I am taking is a "Cross-Cultural Perspective on the AIDS Pandemic". I will be staying in Cape Town, near Cape Town University, but spending a lot of time in Gugulethu, which is a township outside of Cape Town.
I leave May 25th, and come back June 14th. Lately I have been collecting medical supplies, shampoo, black socks and children's underwear. If you have anything you would like to give me, send it to me back home in Duluth because I will be going home for a week before I leave.
I hope you take the time to read this, I wanted to make sure I was able to share my experiences with you right at that moment!
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