So my lovely little sister has been begging for a blog post. Which is understandable, she misses me. And I miss her too. So here's an update on life here in Cape Town post-proposal. (Feel free to skip next 3 paragraphs if you're only interested in garden route details)
First of all, I didn't realize how funny it would be to get used to saying the word "fiance". Since Stoycho regularly gets referred to as "boyfriend" it's interesting to make that switch in your vocabulary. I have a lot of sentences nowadays that start off "My boyf-f-fiance..." but that's fine, he's doing it too. Also, another thing I didn't realize is how many stinking wedding blogs were out there. My cousin sends me 2 links and that has turned into hours of clicking links to other blogs and sites, and reading them all is actually exhausting. So I've learned to at least limit myself on those, because in the end it won't be about what other people did or what we didn't do, it'll be about the two of us (and our close friends and family to celebrate with us). Also, trying to plan any sort of wedding details other than who you want involved without a date and from another continent is pretty much impossible. So now i'm just brainstorming and enjoying looking at lots of pretty pictures and insightful words from people who have been through it before.
But, you faithful reader (?), did not start reading this blog in the hopes that I would talk about wedding stuff, and I usually don't all the time, but I just had to say that. You did, however, come to read about the amazing place that is Cape Town and more so South Africa. So here's what's up here.
First of all, internships are now up and running full force. Eric, Brent, and Jeff are averaging 2 meetings a day to try and figure out which projects they'll model to get started at the Mfuleni ECD center. Myself, Jen, and Suzelle are trying to sit in on as many of these meetings as possible while still trying to meet our obligations for the City of Cape Town (I had one deadline today that I'm waiting for an email reply on before I can meet it). The e-Marketing team is busy working away as well. We've had a big presentation for these projects with our professors/SASDI advisors that included a delicious dinner then a few hours of presenting/talking/questioning and almost getting seriously ripped off by a cab driver. But everything worked out in the end, or it will be by Friday when our updated presentations are due.
So to get away from the stress Connect-123, Curious Travel, and David (with Outward Bound I think?) organized a trip to the Garden Route for us. Now we didn't fully understand what the "Garden Route" was but we kept hearing it's a must and everyone has to do it. So Belmont paid for my trip as well as Eric and Brent's because we paid them too much money (although i feel like that's not anything new...) or at least most of the trip. R2500 for some of the best most exhausting 4 days of my life. So what did we do you ask, well here it goes:
Friday: after being at our lecturer/internship advisors' house til 22h30 and not getting home until 23h15 or so we woke up the next morning to hit up our 08h00 lecture with said lecturers and then were picked up by David in the quantum (the south african version of a church van/15-passenger, except it holds 14 passengers). We then drove back to Perspectives to pick up the others/grab our bags and were on our way by 09h45. Traffic was fine, we went through the Huguenot Tunnel which was really freaking long. No hold your breath contest, it went under a mountain and for like 3 or 4 mins at least. We were supposed to burn CDs for the CD player in the quantum but we all forgot/ran out of time. So we listened to the CDs that David and Sandy (the owner of Curious Travel/super awesome) brought. One was a pop CD that was made by a serious Rhianna fan. I'm not kidding when I say 10 of the 22 songs were Rhianna. Another 2 were Shakira, 2 more were Katy Perry and then there was a weird Limewired version of "Low" with Flo-Rida and T-Pain. Ok so I could have stopped to explain my misery with this CD at 10 Rhianna songs/songs featuring her. It was awful, but that means everyone in the van got to here my issue with Rhianna and how her songs normalize abusive relationships and it's totally unacceptable. We then made a stop about 2 hours in at Graham Beck wine farm in Roberts (i think?) and had a light lunch/wine tasting. That was fun and a nice way to start off the trip.
After that we hopped back in the quantum to drive to Outdshoorn (don't ask me how to pronounce it, I still don't know). There we went to the Cango Wildlife Park which was kinda like a zoo and we saw some awesome animals, like crocodiles, otters, a pygmy hippo, cheetahs, lions and the best part was they had white tigers there and the guide told us that their first pair of tigers actually came from the Nashville Zoo years ago! (begin It's a Small World). A few people paid to have a "cheetah encounter" with the cubs, but Brent, Eric and I took a walk around the rest of the place to see what we could find which included: snakes, lorakeets, meerkats, a porcupine, etc. (I'll insert pictures into this later)
Then we stopped off at Pick n Pay to grab some stuff for breakfast and lunch the next day and went to our first backpacker's lodge, Karoo Soul. David started the braai and we all sat around and argued the rules of Mafia. Then after a delicious dinner we played 30 Seconds. Also known as South African Catchprase but with a board and pieces and cards and no electronic device... oh and SA terms/people. My team came in second-Shout out to Jen and Jake! After that we went to bed.
Saturday: It was a nice and early start since our Adventure Tour at Cango Caves began at 09h30 and we had to pack lunch for the day too. The cave tour was awesome, considering we got to crawl through fun parts of the cave most people don't get to see. That took up the morning, then we swung back by the lodge to grab the lunches we had made earlier and headed towards George... Jeorge... heck I don't remember, the next place is the point- or wait, Wilderness maybe. We made a stop for lunch at an overlook point of the Oteniqua pass. It was beautiful. I'll put a picture up soon (This was one of the things i remembered my camera for). After that we went to an ostrich farm. There a few of the guys got kisses from an ostrich, a few girls got a hug, and me, Jen, Katie and Kathryn all got to ride ostriches. It was great. Terrifying even with the help of 2 ostrich jockeys, but great.
Did you know ostriches only have 2 toes AND since they don't have teeth they eat about 2 kg of small stones/rocks a day to help them digest? Oh and the males' skin is naturally navy blue.
Back on topic- post ostrich farm we went to our 2nd backpackers lodge, Fairy Knowe, and unpacked then headed to the beach to play Ultimate Frisbee, but with silly South African rules that cost my team the game by 1 point. We go back to the lodge to find out that there's going to be a concert going on that night by a group called Guns N Lasers, but first was dinner at Pomodoro's, a delicious pizza/pasta place. Then back to the lodge for the concert that didn't get good until GNL actually came on around 22h00 or so.
Sunday: Sunday was PACKED. First of all we got up nice and early after being up late for the concert going on outside our windows and went canoeing to a nice hiking trail that led to a waterfall (which we then hiked back and canoed back). It was awesome, seriously some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever experienced in a canoe/small personal watercraft. Then back to the lodge to pick up our bags and head on to the Worlds Tallest Bungee [off a bridge]. I took some killer pictures w/ Eric's camera while almost all of the guys threw themselves off of a bridge. After a few hours of sitting around there we then went to a zip line adventure place. So basically it was about 8 or 10 zip lines all above a waterfall of varying lengths and speeds. it was so. much. fun. like, i want some in my backyard. So by this point we're out in Storm's River and we get back, shower and then head to dinner at this little niche 60's style restaurant. It was pretty tasty and kinda funny to see in the middle of nowhere. After that we all came back and pretty much went to sleep (all 12 of us were in one room...). So we were almost all in bed by like 21h45 or so.
Monday: after more sleep than we'd had in days we got off to a bit of a late start but hit up a suspension bridge that was kinda back on the way towards Wilderness. Then we were supposed to go to the beach again before a hike, but we nixed that and just did the hike which was a great decision on our part because we actually hiked to this super remote beach. The most beautiful sight I've seen and we all felt like we really deserved it after such a long exhausting weekend. After enjoying our time there we walked back and headed for lunch at another pizza place and hopped back in the quantum to head home. It took a little longer than expected with traffic construction and it being a public holiday, but we got back around 22h30 and then I accidentally stayed up til 01h00 because I hit a second wind amidst the exhaustion.
So that's the main points of the Garden Route. I'll add more detail when I get pics up soon (possibly). If not, check Facebook they'll definitely be up there.
11.3.11
the blog post you've all been waiting for...
the beginning: stoycho buys the plane ticket to South Africa.
So, when I first came to South Africa Stoycho had mentioned coming to visit me here, either on spring break or after his semester was over. After a little price researching and waiting for the price to drop by a few hundred dollars, he bought his plane tickets. That was Feb. 6, apparently he had eaten chinese food the day before but forgotten to eat the fortune cookie, so he enjoyed that with his leftovers just after purchasing the tickets and this is what it said. Apparently the brilliant idea dawned on him just a few days later...
After a month of waiting, he got here this past Sunday. Over the course of the few weeks before that he had maybe dropped a few hints, and we had been planning this romantic beach picnic at sunset for weeks that he was abnormally excited about. oh and my best friend clelie asked me what my ring size was for a "birthday present".... that was a little fishy. but all in all I was clueless. So we decided that our picnic would just fall on the most convenient and prettiest day, which happened to be Tuesday. So we picked up a bottle of Champagne-style wine, some fruit, a beach towel, and headed out for Clifton Beach at around 5.30pm. We got there around 6.15, with sunset due at 7.14, and this is what we saw....
aaaand this picture below is when i'm still pretty clueless. we had to switch spots from our perfect little rocky cove, which was taken over by 3 girls with unlit fire batons, cameras, beers, and an illegal substance. they were loud and annoying and didn't seem to mind that they intruded on our romantic date... so i venture to find our new spot and here it is.
And then the sun went down, and as we enjoy the view and the empty-ish beach i turn to stoycho and ask him "so you were so excited about tonight, is it everything you wanted it to be?" he said it was, for the most part. After a few more minutes of sitting in silence he turns to me and says "do you know why i was so excited to bring you out here?" "no" "because i knew at the end i would get to do this..." *pulls out ring* "will you marry me?" "seriously? Seriously?" "I've talked to my parents, i've talked to your parents, i've talked to everyone i need to talk to" *a few more seriouslys* "Yes!" "are you gonna put the ring on?" "ok so you know how i said this was perfect?, i was lying, now it's perfect"
March 8, 2011 7:35 pm
fin.
27.2.11
WARNING: not for those with weak stomachs, but a good story nonetheless
The story starts a few weeks ago when I receive an email from the Connect-123 staff about a volunteer opportunity to take kids from a township out for a day to do some fun activities they might not get to do otherwise. Eric and I receive the email and immediately sign up to go, it sounds like a great opportunity!
Within a few days we get our confirmations, and then email Belmont to get the convo form emailed to us. I also emailed the program coordinator of the organization and asked if anyone was coming from our side of the Cape to get over there and if we could potentially get a ride. She said that was possible and would ask, and then we waited.
A few days into this past week people in Connect start talking about it, who signed up, who didn't, who got spots who didn't, the usual. As of Wednesday night there were 3 of us, Eric, myself and Katie. So Eric calls a taxi for Saturday morning at 7:15am for 3 people, and they give us a pretty good deal to get out there. (R250 to the far side of Muizenberg isn't bad at all). Then Thursday rolls around and we find out that maybe more people are signed up than we had expected, for some reason a lot of the volunteers had dropped out last minute so they sent out an SOS email to the wait-listed volunteers. 3 more Connect people got in, Brent, Liz, and Jake. So now we had 6 people to split the cab between or to find a ride for.
Then Brent got sick Friday. We were down 1 person for all of 60 seconds because Jeff immediately stepped up to take his spot. Crisis averted.
So we called the cab company to let them know "hey, it's 6 people, not 3 you have to pick up. make sure you send a big enough car." they said alright, still R250, see you at 7:15am. by this time i still hadn't received an email about us catching a ride with other volunteers (and i never did).
so 7:15 comes around way too early and i'm 5 minutes late to meet downstairs. Emerging from the turnstile at 7:20, i see that we're all still sitting in the lobby and no cab has arrived yet. Wonderful. Then katie comes downstairs 5 minutes after me and says she got an email from someone about being able to catch a ride with them... Which was weird because I sent that email about a ride, not Katie, even though i included her on the list of people who need rides.
7:30, still no sign of a cab or Katie's ride who was to show up at 7:15 also. Now Cape Town isn't necessarily known for it's timely manner, but when you've been called twice in 48 hours and double confirmed the time, it's best to make sure you're actually delivering. So we call the cab company because we're stressing out a little bit... Guess what? They don't know what we're talking about, they never got a call about 6 from the perspectives building to muizenberg, who were we? Eric explained the situation, and they got a cab there in the next 10 minutes, Katie came with because her ride was running late and the volunteer coordinator said over the phone it would be best if she could just send her on over.
We get in the cab and drive what we're sure is the "long way" but the cab driver agreed to honor the R250 quote. We get to the Capricorn Pick n Pay at around 8:10. Then we had a nice volunteer debrief, and got on the Golden Arrow bus to the township that was a few blocks over. But the bus driver didn't know which community center we were going to, so we were lost in the middle of a township in a giant bus. great. after asking directions to about 6 people and making a phone call to the people from the organization that were already there, and finally a friendly person on a motorcycle driving in front of us to show us how to get there, we finally arrived.
This paragraph and from here on out is where the warning kicks in:
We got tshirts, met our kids, signed a form, and were off to Hout Bay! It was a very windy drive through Constantia Nek to get there and the bus driver had no regard for his passenger's stomachs. The people in charge passed out breakfast, and then, Eric turns to me and asks me to look after his 3 girls for a minute, then he bolts to the front of the bus, grabs a bag and pukes. Just after that happens, one of my girls turns to me and says "i'm going to vomit." I panic, then follow eric's move to go get a plastic bag, but i didn't move fast enough. I arrive back to our seats to find puke everywhere. After some cleaning and relocating, Keisha, the one who puked, got put next to a window to cool her down, and my other 2, Jamie and Bianca attach to another volunteer and have little-to-no interest in me for the rest of the day.
We arrive in Hout Bay and half the group goes to the beach and the other half goes on the boat to "Seal Island". Disclaimer: It is not THE Seal Island featured on animal planet/discovery channel series. That one is on the other side of the cape, on the Indian ocean side out of False Bay. We were in Hout Bay, the Atlantic freezing cold side. I was in the group to go to the beach, we walk around for a bit, play in the water some, the kids find jellyfish to throw at each other, and then some karate instructors come out to exhaust the kids. Then it was our turn to go on the boat.
We get in line and head for the back of the boat since the front would get absolutely soaked. After about 15 minutes or so of sailing we get to the "island" aka big rock covered in seals. No sharks or anything, it was cool, but just as the boat was turning around to head back to shore the same kid taps me on the shoulder and says "i'm going to vomit". i immediately turn to the crew member next to me and say "i need a sick bag please. now." he does not come back in time, however luckily we were on a boat, so i held her as she puked over the side of the boat. Then the ride back was very bumpy and we got very wet, the captain lied by saying back right was the driest spot.
next up: lunch. fish and chips all of a mile down the road. it was chaos, and cold, and windy. things were flying everywhere and kids were covered in reddish-purpley "tomatie" sauce (aka really cheap ketchup that doesn't even really resemble ketchup except maybe in consistency). no puking.
then we drive out to the World of Birds. it's a bird/animal sanctuary, although the most popular animals were the monkeys not the birds. we only had an hour and a half to pull off this massive place with sugared-up kids. it was rough, but we did it and then they played around for quite a while.
we then head back to their community center. they hand out library books to read on the bus (worst decision ever.) so i had to keep myself, and my already-puked kid from getting sick while being begged to read books to all the other kids. then they handed out more snacks... Keisha still wasn't feeling well, but we had made it back. the bus was parked and we were filing out when she covers her had with her mouth, taps me on the shoulder, and tries to indicate to me that we need to get out of the bus 5 seconds ago. I turn to push our way through, but too late. Puke. everywhere. All over my feet/legs, all over the floor, all over her. WE WERE SO CLOSE.
and what made it worse? Kids were less likely to move once she had thrown up. traffic slowed even more. we finally got off the bus, tried to wash up (there was no soap to be found), and then went outside to end the day with pictures being handed out, with more snacks.
we get back on the puke-ridden bus to head back to the cars, and it turns out almost every volunteer that day was willing to drive us back home, free of charge. so the 6 of us piled into 2 cars and we came home.
i tried to stay awake/be productive, however after being puked on 3 times i should have figured i would get sick too. and so this is where i've been, in bed, on the computer for about an hour in between 3 hours of sleeping at a time. in the past 24 hours i've slept at least 18 of them, and now i'm hoping i didn't actually get sick that will last for days and it was just my body letting me know "yesterday was rough. let's not do that again".
but the weird part is i think i would do it again... it was a chance to let these kids be kids, for once. most kids in that township have parents who abuse alcohol, or drugs, or them, or all three. and this weekend was payday weekend, which means many people were under the influence of something... when we were leaving the township a fight broke out not even 20 feet from the community center the kids were in. it was a startling image i don't think i'll ever be able to get out of my mind, leaving that little haven inside of such a dark place. Thank goodness for carers like Natolie and Elizabeth who help give these children a chance at something other than the lives of their parents. This is the South Africa that needs our help, and these are the Educare centers changing the face of South Africa, one child at a time.
Within a few days we get our confirmations, and then email Belmont to get the convo form emailed to us. I also emailed the program coordinator of the organization and asked if anyone was coming from our side of the Cape to get over there and if we could potentially get a ride. She said that was possible and would ask, and then we waited.
A few days into this past week people in Connect start talking about it, who signed up, who didn't, who got spots who didn't, the usual. As of Wednesday night there were 3 of us, Eric, myself and Katie. So Eric calls a taxi for Saturday morning at 7:15am for 3 people, and they give us a pretty good deal to get out there. (R250 to the far side of Muizenberg isn't bad at all). Then Thursday rolls around and we find out that maybe more people are signed up than we had expected, for some reason a lot of the volunteers had dropped out last minute so they sent out an SOS email to the wait-listed volunteers. 3 more Connect people got in, Brent, Liz, and Jake. So now we had 6 people to split the cab between or to find a ride for.
Then Brent got sick Friday. We were down 1 person for all of 60 seconds because Jeff immediately stepped up to take his spot. Crisis averted.
So we called the cab company to let them know "hey, it's 6 people, not 3 you have to pick up. make sure you send a big enough car." they said alright, still R250, see you at 7:15am. by this time i still hadn't received an email about us catching a ride with other volunteers (and i never did).
so 7:15 comes around way too early and i'm 5 minutes late to meet downstairs. Emerging from the turnstile at 7:20, i see that we're all still sitting in the lobby and no cab has arrived yet. Wonderful. Then katie comes downstairs 5 minutes after me and says she got an email from someone about being able to catch a ride with them... Which was weird because I sent that email about a ride, not Katie, even though i included her on the list of people who need rides.
7:30, still no sign of a cab or Katie's ride who was to show up at 7:15 also. Now Cape Town isn't necessarily known for it's timely manner, but when you've been called twice in 48 hours and double confirmed the time, it's best to make sure you're actually delivering. So we call the cab company because we're stressing out a little bit... Guess what? They don't know what we're talking about, they never got a call about 6 from the perspectives building to muizenberg, who were we? Eric explained the situation, and they got a cab there in the next 10 minutes, Katie came with because her ride was running late and the volunteer coordinator said over the phone it would be best if she could just send her on over.
We get in the cab and drive what we're sure is the "long way" but the cab driver agreed to honor the R250 quote. We get to the Capricorn Pick n Pay at around 8:10. Then we had a nice volunteer debrief, and got on the Golden Arrow bus to the township that was a few blocks over. But the bus driver didn't know which community center we were going to, so we were lost in the middle of a township in a giant bus. great. after asking directions to about 6 people and making a phone call to the people from the organization that were already there, and finally a friendly person on a motorcycle driving in front of us to show us how to get there, we finally arrived.
This paragraph and from here on out is where the warning kicks in:
We got tshirts, met our kids, signed a form, and were off to Hout Bay! It was a very windy drive through Constantia Nek to get there and the bus driver had no regard for his passenger's stomachs. The people in charge passed out breakfast, and then, Eric turns to me and asks me to look after his 3 girls for a minute, then he bolts to the front of the bus, grabs a bag and pukes. Just after that happens, one of my girls turns to me and says "i'm going to vomit." I panic, then follow eric's move to go get a plastic bag, but i didn't move fast enough. I arrive back to our seats to find puke everywhere. After some cleaning and relocating, Keisha, the one who puked, got put next to a window to cool her down, and my other 2, Jamie and Bianca attach to another volunteer and have little-to-no interest in me for the rest of the day.
We arrive in Hout Bay and half the group goes to the beach and the other half goes on the boat to "Seal Island". Disclaimer: It is not THE Seal Island featured on animal planet/discovery channel series. That one is on the other side of the cape, on the Indian ocean side out of False Bay. We were in Hout Bay, the Atlantic freezing cold side. I was in the group to go to the beach, we walk around for a bit, play in the water some, the kids find jellyfish to throw at each other, and then some karate instructors come out to exhaust the kids. Then it was our turn to go on the boat.
We get in line and head for the back of the boat since the front would get absolutely soaked. After about 15 minutes or so of sailing we get to the "island" aka big rock covered in seals. No sharks or anything, it was cool, but just as the boat was turning around to head back to shore the same kid taps me on the shoulder and says "i'm going to vomit". i immediately turn to the crew member next to me and say "i need a sick bag please. now." he does not come back in time, however luckily we were on a boat, so i held her as she puked over the side of the boat. Then the ride back was very bumpy and we got very wet, the captain lied by saying back right was the driest spot.
next up: lunch. fish and chips all of a mile down the road. it was chaos, and cold, and windy. things were flying everywhere and kids were covered in reddish-purpley "tomatie" sauce (aka really cheap ketchup that doesn't even really resemble ketchup except maybe in consistency). no puking.
then we drive out to the World of Birds. it's a bird/animal sanctuary, although the most popular animals were the monkeys not the birds. we only had an hour and a half to pull off this massive place with sugared-up kids. it was rough, but we did it and then they played around for quite a while.
we then head back to their community center. they hand out library books to read on the bus (worst decision ever.) so i had to keep myself, and my already-puked kid from getting sick while being begged to read books to all the other kids. then they handed out more snacks... Keisha still wasn't feeling well, but we had made it back. the bus was parked and we were filing out when she covers her had with her mouth, taps me on the shoulder, and tries to indicate to me that we need to get out of the bus 5 seconds ago. I turn to push our way through, but too late. Puke. everywhere. All over my feet/legs, all over the floor, all over her. WE WERE SO CLOSE.
and what made it worse? Kids were less likely to move once she had thrown up. traffic slowed even more. we finally got off the bus, tried to wash up (there was no soap to be found), and then went outside to end the day with pictures being handed out, with more snacks.
we get back on the puke-ridden bus to head back to the cars, and it turns out almost every volunteer that day was willing to drive us back home, free of charge. so the 6 of us piled into 2 cars and we came home.
i tried to stay awake/be productive, however after being puked on 3 times i should have figured i would get sick too. and so this is where i've been, in bed, on the computer for about an hour in between 3 hours of sleeping at a time. in the past 24 hours i've slept at least 18 of them, and now i'm hoping i didn't actually get sick that will last for days and it was just my body letting me know "yesterday was rough. let's not do that again".
but the weird part is i think i would do it again... it was a chance to let these kids be kids, for once. most kids in that township have parents who abuse alcohol, or drugs, or them, or all three. and this weekend was payday weekend, which means many people were under the influence of something... when we were leaving the township a fight broke out not even 20 feet from the community center the kids were in. it was a startling image i don't think i'll ever be able to get out of my mind, leaving that little haven inside of such a dark place. Thank goodness for carers like Natolie and Elizabeth who help give these children a chance at something other than the lives of their parents. This is the South Africa that needs our help, and these are the Educare centers changing the face of South Africa, one child at a time.
21.2.11
school and the ensuing chaos
so school has officially started up and surprise! we're enrolled in master's level classes!
it's fine though, we're surviving. 8ams 3 days a week aren't exactly fun but we see the same professors multiple times a day so they know our faces, and they're willing to help us out.
we have an awesomely difficult reading list, or at least it's difficult for the group of non-business-minded bunch that we are... anyways it consists of:
The World is Flat-Thomas Friedman
Blue Ocean Strategy- I forget the author
Re-Imagine!- Tom Peters
along with excerpts from many other business books.
luckily i have other book suggestions to keep me sane, such as No Future Without Forgiveness by Archbishop Desmond Tutu suggested by the wonderful Dan Ritter. I'll get around to that sometime in the near future!
we have this lovely book store down the street from us called The Book Lounge and they are all wonderful people willing to help us find the crazy books we need for these classes.
oh and my internship, i've decided! i'll be helping SASDI make a documentary on it's current work in the South African townships! it'll be me and Jennifer, and one other mystery member we'll find out in a few days!
ok attention span has disappeared. i miss you all dearly. i'll post more interesting things (oh and pictures, i have pictures!) soon!
it's fine though, we're surviving. 8ams 3 days a week aren't exactly fun but we see the same professors multiple times a day so they know our faces, and they're willing to help us out.
we have an awesomely difficult reading list, or at least it's difficult for the group of non-business-minded bunch that we are... anyways it consists of:
The World is Flat-Thomas Friedman
Blue Ocean Strategy- I forget the author
Re-Imagine!- Tom Peters
along with excerpts from many other business books.
luckily i have other book suggestions to keep me sane, such as No Future Without Forgiveness by Archbishop Desmond Tutu suggested by the wonderful Dan Ritter. I'll get around to that sometime in the near future!
we have this lovely book store down the street from us called The Book Lounge and they are all wonderful people willing to help us find the crazy books we need for these classes.
oh and my internship, i've decided! i'll be helping SASDI make a documentary on it's current work in the South African townships! it'll be me and Jennifer, and one other mystery member we'll find out in a few days!
ok attention span has disappeared. i miss you all dearly. i'll post more interesting things (oh and pictures, i have pictures!) soon!
16.2.11
So it turns out I'm really good about thinking up blog posts, but awful at actually writing and posting them. OOPS!
Recap of the last few days:
Sunday night: front row then backstage for Goldfish. It was awesome!
Monday: classes started. it was chaos, but nice to have something to do. my hurt foot was not fun to deal with though. went to my internship advisor's house for dinner in hout bay. it was beautiful!
Tuesday: first workshop got double booked, then moved, then rescheduled. met up for meetings on the internship project options, drinks night at sunset on signal hill, that was also beautiful! and then i came back to SLEEP!
Today: skyped into a Bridge Builders meeting, forgot how much i had missed them! tried to catch the jammie to class but it was so packed eric brent jeff and i could not have fit on there, so instead we had to call a cab and be 10 minutes late to a class with a professor who vehemently hates people being late for class. we'll be fighting for spots on the jammie from here on out. 3 hours of Entrepreneurial Strategies. 8-11! (the first two hours are from the rescheduled workshop from yesterday) visited a township for the first time for a few hours. we went to a few EDC's in Mfuleni that SASDI works with (i'll explain these abbreviations in a later post). it was unbelievable. we'll be going back on tuesday night to stay with them and see how the orphanage/home/school system works out in this little network of shacks. my ankle is doing infinitely better, i can walk again! now trying to make a good dent in my homework for the week. maybe going out to see jeff's friend DJ at a club called Tequila Town??? he doesn't go on until 1 and tomorrow we have an 8am lecture (business in context) and then nothing again until about 3 soooo guess who's going to come back inbetween and sleep!? (whether or not i go).
ok, that was a nice 10 minute homework break. I'm going to relocate from mugged to my apartment where the wind is so unbelievably crazy, it's scary. more on my life when i have interesting things to say!
Recap of the last few days:
Sunday night: front row then backstage for Goldfish. It was awesome!
Monday: classes started. it was chaos, but nice to have something to do. my hurt foot was not fun to deal with though. went to my internship advisor's house for dinner in hout bay. it was beautiful!
Tuesday: first workshop got double booked, then moved, then rescheduled. met up for meetings on the internship project options, drinks night at sunset on signal hill, that was also beautiful! and then i came back to SLEEP!
Today: skyped into a Bridge Builders meeting, forgot how much i had missed them! tried to catch the jammie to class but it was so packed eric brent jeff and i could not have fit on there, so instead we had to call a cab and be 10 minutes late to a class with a professor who vehemently hates people being late for class. we'll be fighting for spots on the jammie from here on out. 3 hours of Entrepreneurial Strategies. 8-11! (the first two hours are from the rescheduled workshop from yesterday) visited a township for the first time for a few hours. we went to a few EDC's in Mfuleni that SASDI works with (i'll explain these abbreviations in a later post). it was unbelievable. we'll be going back on tuesday night to stay with them and see how the orphanage/home/school system works out in this little network of shacks. my ankle is doing infinitely better, i can walk again! now trying to make a good dent in my homework for the week. maybe going out to see jeff's friend DJ at a club called Tequila Town??? he doesn't go on until 1 and tomorrow we have an 8am lecture (business in context) and then nothing again until about 3 soooo guess who's going to come back inbetween and sleep!? (whether or not i go).
ok, that was a nice 10 minute homework break. I'm going to relocate from mugged to my apartment where the wind is so unbelievably crazy, it's scary. more on my life when i have interesting things to say!
13.2.11
"rock hopping"
So for quite a few weeks our program coordinators with Connect-123 have been talking about a fabulous trip to “Bainskloof”. It was intended to be a “rock hopping” adventure followed by wine tasting with the new Connect-123 interns and students. Now none of us really knew what was meant by “rock hopping” we assumed a hiking trail with a few boulders and rocks in the way and a river nearby (because we were informed there was a water source nearby). So we all got up nice and early on a Saturday morning to meet David, our guide, and hop on a “Quantum” (like a 15 passenger van used for commercial or private transportation, made by Toyota, purchase of one is subsidized by the government).
Our hour and a half drive is a spectacular view of the wine farms all around the outskirts of Cape Town. They also include the farming neighborhoods that surround the farms where many grape pickers live so they have a short commute to work. But the wine farms were not our first stop “Bainskloof” was, or as we learned driving up the Pass, was actually called “Bain’s Kloof”. What we learned on our drive up the Bain’s Kloof Pass, first of all, is that the name is redundant. “Kloof” means pass, gap, or ravine in Afrikaans. We also learned how the area got its name. Andrew Geddes Bain was a paleontologist who was more known for his road engineering than his fossil finds. Despite that he believed the area later named for him was rich in fossil-finding potential, so he used his road engineering clout to allow him to dig for fossils on the government’s time and money, while simultaneously building a road. His discovery here contributed more information to his big finding in Port Elizabeth where he discovered Oudenodon bainii Owen, a herbivorous mammal-like reptile.
However, the history lesson is not the interesting part of my story, the actual rock hopping is. So we get to the Bain’s Kloof Ravine and quickly find out why it’s called “rock hopping”, because it’s all rocks. Big boulders, small pebbles and everything in between for quite a few kilometers, and apparently it’s a raging river during the winter. About an hour and a half in to our excursion we came upon a decent-sized swimming hole where we stopped for lunch and where I watched all the other crazy people in attendance jump off extremely tall rocks into the water. After a few hours there, we clean up, pack up, and get headed back to the Quantum.
Now the way there was very slow going for me, as most of the rocks were easily bigger than I was, so trying to scramble over them wasn’t as easy as it was for others, but little did I know the way back would be even slower going. About halfway back to the Quantum, I was the lone straggler who was gaining both confidence and speed (in this area each step must be carefully thought about before executed). So I was climbing up a few rocks, yet I couldn’t quite reach the next one up when I realized that there was a smaller one that would get me about 6 inches closer to the next big one, just the help I needed! So I carefully plant my foot on that rock and prepare to lunge to the next boulder. My right foot is mid-swing to the boulder when the little rock slips out from under me and in between the two bigger boulders below me and my left foot just goes with it. After a flourish of curse words and a few seconds trying to get my foot out, I am free and more or less crawl to the boulder I was trying to get to. Adrenaline kicked in, and I was determined to get out of this rocky death trap, so I quickly caught up to the group lounging in the shade. I sat for a few extra minutes only to realize my ankle was starting to hurt, but we were so close to it being done with I don’t really mention it. After struggling to get out of the ravine I confess my injury to the trail guide and he gives me some ice and an anti-inflammatory. Also, because of my stupidity we were now running thirty minutes behind.
We visited our first tasting site and quickly moved on to the second, but after some directional confusion and then sweet talking by our Afrikaans-speaking trail guide, David, manages to get the second tasting location to at least give us a glass of champagne since they had closed, you guessed it! thirty minutes earlier. Thankfully no one outright blamed me for the tardiness.
We arrive back at Perspectives (home) and David checks out my ankle, says its fine but if it swells much more I’ll have to see a doctor. I then hobble upstairs, put some soup on the stove and put it on ice, and with the exception of an hour or two, I have been in that same position. I can walk fairly well, but I’ll still be making a trip to Campus Wellness Services tomorrow. Until then I’m going to get more ice and enjoy being inside while everyone else goes to the beach. Don’t worry, Connect-123 knows about this and they’re checking up on me regularly, and although a little swollen my ankle is not sprained nor swelled to the size of a balloon. I just get to have a nice relaxing Sunday on the couch before classes start tomorrow.
10.2.11
today is the opening of parliament
and with that opening comes the president's state of the nation address. in this address he will discuss many things like crime rates and land use. however one of his focal points is economic development. now here's where the irony kicks in... i live on the street perpendicular to parliament and for the last 2 days and especially today things have had to shut down due to the opening. there are barricades along the sidewalk and our favorite little coffee shop, mugged, that is usually packed is deserted. so much for economic stimulation.
9.2.11
An utter loss of control
The things I feared about leaving the country for an extended amount of time have come to fruition. It is not homesickness in it's usual form. It is more a desire to be back home so I can be there to take care of the things I am passionate about. Right now my beloved friends in Bridge Builders are struggling yet again with Belmont's willingness to accept them as they (we) are. And while I desperately wish I was there with them I am not. It's almost a feeling of abandonment on my part, and I know they don't feel that way but it's still a feeling I'm having to cope with.
7.2.11
I promise this isn't neglect
It is simply trying to kill time between here and Friday, when classes start. This is such an amazing place, but you can only go to the beach and get sunburned so many times before your skin just needs a break. However the past few days have included some fun adventures.
Saturday we did the "City Sight Seeing Cape Town" Tour, the Red Bus edition. So basically it's this huge 2 story red bus that drives around the city and drops off/picks up tourists. It's a hop on/hop off kinda deal so we spent our day trying to get more acquainted with our surroundings, but it's still confusing. We spent some time at the Waterfront which was nice, with some really cool arts & crafts but still definitely catered to the international tourists. We also drove up to the cable car station at the base of Table Mountain. We didn't take it up because we're intending to hike it sometime soon (Eric already has). (for pictures from this, see facebook as they're are too many to upload here)
last night we did some fun stuff, we watch South Africa's favorite band: Goldfish at St. Yves Beach Club (for which i was SEVERELY under-dressed). I figured concert at a beach club attire. Nope concert at a beach club attire (with many people definitely 40+ there, it was weird). so there was that AND Eric didn't get carded even though he's only 18 and I did. That definitely wasn't fair. Stupid bouncer. oh well, Eric, Jen and I rocked it anyways. except for the whole getting pushed around by people thing.... yeah that sucked. Next time I go out and decide that I'll stand in the back but STILL get pushed around, I'm breaking toes. also, note the goldfish-shaped disco ball, which i recognized immediately thanks to the late Humphrey Schubert.
got my student ID card today. definitely the funniest/dumbest picture ever. i guess that's what i get for making a face at the camera when i got impatient over sitting there for way longer than it takes to take a picture. i can't tell if it got the beginning or the end of the face i made. probs the beginning.
in other news, Stoycho is coming to visit me over his spring break! i'm extremely excited. 27 days... but it's not like i'm counting.
Saturday we did the "City Sight Seeing Cape Town" Tour, the Red Bus edition. So basically it's this huge 2 story red bus that drives around the city and drops off/picks up tourists. It's a hop on/hop off kinda deal so we spent our day trying to get more acquainted with our surroundings, but it's still confusing. We spent some time at the Waterfront which was nice, with some really cool arts & crafts but still definitely catered to the international tourists. We also drove up to the cable car station at the base of Table Mountain. We didn't take it up because we're intending to hike it sometime soon (Eric already has). (for pictures from this, see facebook as they're are too many to upload here)
last night we did some fun stuff, we watch South Africa's favorite band: Goldfish at St. Yves Beach Club (for which i was SEVERELY under-dressed). I figured concert at a beach club attire. Nope concert at a beach club attire (with many people definitely 40+ there, it was weird). so there was that AND Eric didn't get carded even though he's only 18 and I did. That definitely wasn't fair. Stupid bouncer. oh well, Eric, Jen and I rocked it anyways. except for the whole getting pushed around by people thing.... yeah that sucked. Next time I go out and decide that I'll stand in the back but STILL get pushed around, I'm breaking toes. also, note the goldfish-shaped disco ball, which i recognized immediately thanks to the late Humphrey Schubert.
got my student ID card today. definitely the funniest/dumbest picture ever. i guess that's what i get for making a face at the camera when i got impatient over sitting there for way longer than it takes to take a picture. i can't tell if it got the beginning or the end of the face i made. probs the beginning.
in other news, Stoycho is coming to visit me over his spring break! i'm extremely excited. 27 days... but it's not like i'm counting.
4.2.11
Today was a day for trying new things..
DISCLAIMER: i wrote this yesterday, but got too lazy to upload accompanying pictures, so here it is. btw registration was a nightmare.
Most were failures, but some worked out nicely. But before i get to the fun stuff (don't worry pictures included) i'll fill you in on the rest of what's been happening.
I'm making significant progress in Nelson Mandela's A Long Walk to Freedom. And considering it's a 630 page book, i'm proud to be in the 240's. I made such a good dent in it partially because Eric, Brent and I went to the beach yesterday. We also tried a new way to get home, a minibus taxi. It looks like a hybrid shuttle/15-passenger van. it's R6 to get to your destination/person and beats the heck out of taxi prices. We have a new favorite daytime mode of transportation.
So today was Pre-Reg part 1, it wasn't too bad. Jeff and I met a guy named Nikita from Germany, he was starting his first semester of 2 at UCT. after that we came back to the apartments on the jammie to take naps and get lunch. Then is when i opened my first can of "Refresh". A sparkling water drink with a hint of fruit. That was a failure. Artificial sweetener + pineapple flavor didn't work out so well. But it was an awesome looking can, so here's a picture of it.
around 4 or so Eric and I left to meet Kathryn at UCT for the annual Fresher's Braai (translation: Freshmen Barbecue) It was an awesome drive out there, threatening rain, but we saw zebras. Not your typical black and white striped, they were more brownish either because of dirt or just not being black and white. It was still pretty cool. So we get to UCT and i realize i've left my waterbottle on the Jammie Shuttle (the bus between campuses) and i curse my luck. We get to the braai and have a chicken sandwich that was interestingly flavored/grilled. There was where I tried my second failed drink of the day: Sparletta Creme Soda. Imagine what blue-green rose scented perfume would taste like, and you have this drink.
it was hard to choke down and i was really thirsty because my waterbottle was lost in Jammie-dom. After 45 minutes of no one talking to us at the braai we head home, and just in time because as soon as we caught the jammie it started to rain. but, even better news! my waterbottle was sitting there confidently awaiting my return next to the driver. i wish i could explain my pure joy at this sight.
Now i'm sitting in the coffee shop next to my apartment enjoying my first margarita in Cape Town. The only downside, today has been the hottest day of the year so far, so ordering it frozen didn't change anything about the way i received it. other than that it's a big success. it's no las palmas, but it's still good.
in conclusion, things i've tried in the past few days:
minibus taxi: win
refresh water: fail
braai'd meat: eh..
sparletta creme soda: bigger fail
south african margarita: win
---------------------UPDATE! 04 Feb 2011!------------------------
today included a tasty carrot cake cupcake from cakebread down the street from us
Most were failures, but some worked out nicely. But before i get to the fun stuff (don't worry pictures included) i'll fill you in on the rest of what's been happening.
I'm making significant progress in Nelson Mandela's A Long Walk to Freedom. And considering it's a 630 page book, i'm proud to be in the 240's. I made such a good dent in it partially because Eric, Brent and I went to the beach yesterday. We also tried a new way to get home, a minibus taxi. It looks like a hybrid shuttle/15-passenger van. it's R6 to get to your destination/person and beats the heck out of taxi prices. We have a new favorite daytime mode of transportation.
So today was Pre-Reg part 1, it wasn't too bad. Jeff and I met a guy named Nikita from Germany, he was starting his first semester of 2 at UCT. after that we came back to the apartments on the jammie to take naps and get lunch. Then is when i opened my first can of "Refresh". A sparkling water drink with a hint of fruit. That was a failure. Artificial sweetener + pineapple flavor didn't work out so well. But it was an awesome looking can, so here's a picture of it.
around 4 or so Eric and I left to meet Kathryn at UCT for the annual Fresher's Braai (translation: Freshmen Barbecue) It was an awesome drive out there, threatening rain, but we saw zebras. Not your typical black and white striped, they were more brownish either because of dirt or just not being black and white. It was still pretty cool. So we get to UCT and i realize i've left my waterbottle on the Jammie Shuttle (the bus between campuses) and i curse my luck. We get to the braai and have a chicken sandwich that was interestingly flavored/grilled. There was where I tried my second failed drink of the day: Sparletta Creme Soda. Imagine what blue-green rose scented perfume would taste like, and you have this drink.
it was hard to choke down and i was really thirsty because my waterbottle was lost in Jammie-dom. After 45 minutes of no one talking to us at the braai we head home, and just in time because as soon as we caught the jammie it started to rain. but, even better news! my waterbottle was sitting there confidently awaiting my return next to the driver. i wish i could explain my pure joy at this sight.
Now i'm sitting in the coffee shop next to my apartment enjoying my first margarita in Cape Town. The only downside, today has been the hottest day of the year so far, so ordering it frozen didn't change anything about the way i received it. other than that it's a big success. it's no las palmas, but it's still good.
in conclusion, things i've tried in the past few days:
minibus taxi: win
refresh water: fail
braai'd meat: eh..
sparletta creme soda: bigger fail
south african margarita: win
---------------------UPDATE! 04 Feb 2011!------------------------
today included a tasty carrot cake cupcake from cakebread down the street from us
2.2.11
Oddities
So yesterday after many hours of sitting in a lecture hall being talked at, i finally decided to make a list of the things that are a little (or very) different regarding their language, especially regarding higher education. Just so you'll know what i'm saying when i come home and don't think i've completely forgotten the english language.
Queue: This is the most important one for you to know. Queue. It is a noun and a verb. You can stand in a queue or you can just queue. Either way, it's a line.
Fruit and Veg: a local produce market, but also just the blanket term for fruits and vegetables. So, the question might be asked "Did your veg go bad? I know you forgot to put it in the fridge"
Peninsular: yes, this is indeed how they spell and pronounce the word for a land mass surrounded by water on 3 sides. So on Sunday we all went on a "peninsular" tour.
Paper: It's longer, and if i had to guess its 8 1/2" by 11 1/2 or 12". So i don't know if that means all my papers will have to be longer? it's kinda funny no matter what.
Braai: A braai is a barbecue. South Africans believe that their way of cooking raw meat over fire is extremely special, and these braai's are regular big community gatherings. We're going to one Thursday for all the freshers so I'll let you know if their way of smoking meat is inherently superior.
UNIVERSITY EDITION!
Freshers: Freshmen. First years. New students. They have a million different names, but here they are almost always called "freshers".
Faculty: This is not the professors and staff members who are responsible for your learning environment, instead it is the term they use for colleges within a university. So for all you Belmont kids, instead of the Mike Curb College of Music Business, it would be the Mike Curb Faculty of Music Business, or the Music Business Faculty.
Writing Exams: You don't take exams, you write them. So instead of "Oh i have to go take my exam for my 9am class" it's "Oh i have to go write my exam for my 9am class".
Rewriting Exams: Apparently if you fail an exam you get the opportunity to retake it, i'm sorry "rewrite" it. So they specifically told us not to book our flights until at least 2 weeks after our last exam (which could be in mid-May, or could be June 10) in case we have to "rewrite". Do they REALLY expect us to be that terrible of students... and the grading scale totally works in our favor...
Grading Scale: This is how in "our favor" it is.
75-100%=1st Class (A)
70-74%=upper 2nd Class (B+)
60-69%=lower 2nd Class (B or B-)
50-59%= 3rd Class (C)
49% and under= Fail (F)
hopefully these will translate into nice grades at Belmont.
UCT's network: So internet here is a struggle. UCT spends millions of Rand a month (R7=$1 more or less) trying to get internet access for the entire campus, which is spread across the entire city. For that reason, all students are limited to 1G a month of internet usage (it used to be 400MB). Granted we aren't on campus so it's really not a big deal. What is a problem is they require you to use McAfee Anti-Virus if you wish to get on their network, or they have some one for Mac users. So, i will NEVER be taking my computer to UCT with me.
UCT Printing: They outsource their printing to a local company. they put the printers in the labs and libraries and service them. So i can't just pay to print with a R.50 piece, i have to go to this company's office and put credits on my card. I'm not a fan of this idea.
Pre-Reg and Registration: With being an international student comes hoops to jump through. In this case it is entitled "Pre-Reg". Oh what's that you say? Well, it's actually 2 different things and BOTH are called "pre-reg" and NO ONE differentiates which one they're talking about. "Pre-Reg" is either when you turn in your documents to IAPO so they can sort everything out with the South African gov't to prove you're legal and a student OR it is when you pick your classes you want to take, sort of like at belmont when you meet with your advisor and make a tentative schedule that you never stick to. Both processes involve many queues. Then there is actual registration. It doesn't occur on Bannerweb or the internet at all for that matter. It is instead you standing in line for hours just to hand over some paperwork and hope that they later put it into the system correctly.
Timetable: Now i know this one is pretty normal, a timetable is a schedule. So for example there is a course timetable that you follow, not a schedule. Buses are on timetables too.
Other things to keep in mind,
VULA=UCT's Blackboard
PeopleSoft=UCT's BannerWeb
that way when i complain, you'll know what i mean.
Queue: This is the most important one for you to know. Queue. It is a noun and a verb. You can stand in a queue or you can just queue. Either way, it's a line.
Fruit and Veg: a local produce market, but also just the blanket term for fruits and vegetables. So, the question might be asked "Did your veg go bad? I know you forgot to put it in the fridge"
Peninsular: yes, this is indeed how they spell and pronounce the word for a land mass surrounded by water on 3 sides. So on Sunday we all went on a "peninsular" tour.
Paper: It's longer, and if i had to guess its 8 1/2" by 11 1/2 or 12". So i don't know if that means all my papers will have to be longer? it's kinda funny no matter what.
Braai: A braai is a barbecue. South Africans believe that their way of cooking raw meat over fire is extremely special, and these braai's are regular big community gatherings. We're going to one Thursday for all the freshers so I'll let you know if their way of smoking meat is inherently superior.
UNIVERSITY EDITION!
Freshers: Freshmen. First years. New students. They have a million different names, but here they are almost always called "freshers".
Faculty: This is not the professors and staff members who are responsible for your learning environment, instead it is the term they use for colleges within a university. So for all you Belmont kids, instead of the Mike Curb College of Music Business, it would be the Mike Curb Faculty of Music Business, or the Music Business Faculty.
Writing Exams: You don't take exams, you write them. So instead of "Oh i have to go take my exam for my 9am class" it's "Oh i have to go write my exam for my 9am class".
Rewriting Exams: Apparently if you fail an exam you get the opportunity to retake it, i'm sorry "rewrite" it. So they specifically told us not to book our flights until at least 2 weeks after our last exam (which could be in mid-May, or could be June 10) in case we have to "rewrite". Do they REALLY expect us to be that terrible of students... and the grading scale totally works in our favor...
Grading Scale: This is how in "our favor" it is.
75-100%=1st Class (A)
70-74%=upper 2nd Class (B+)
60-69%=lower 2nd Class (B or B-)
50-59%= 3rd Class (C)
49% and under= Fail (F)
hopefully these will translate into nice grades at Belmont.
UCT's network: So internet here is a struggle. UCT spends millions of Rand a month (R7=$1 more or less) trying to get internet access for the entire campus, which is spread across the entire city. For that reason, all students are limited to 1G a month of internet usage (it used to be 400MB). Granted we aren't on campus so it's really not a big deal. What is a problem is they require you to use McAfee Anti-Virus if you wish to get on their network, or they have some one for Mac users. So, i will NEVER be taking my computer to UCT with me.
UCT Printing: They outsource their printing to a local company. they put the printers in the labs and libraries and service them. So i can't just pay to print with a R.50 piece, i have to go to this company's office and put credits on my card. I'm not a fan of this idea.
Pre-Reg and Registration: With being an international student comes hoops to jump through. In this case it is entitled "Pre-Reg". Oh what's that you say? Well, it's actually 2 different things and BOTH are called "pre-reg" and NO ONE differentiates which one they're talking about. "Pre-Reg" is either when you turn in your documents to IAPO so they can sort everything out with the South African gov't to prove you're legal and a student OR it is when you pick your classes you want to take, sort of like at belmont when you meet with your advisor and make a tentative schedule that you never stick to. Both processes involve many queues. Then there is actual registration. It doesn't occur on Bannerweb or the internet at all for that matter. It is instead you standing in line for hours just to hand over some paperwork and hope that they later put it into the system correctly.
Timetable: Now i know this one is pretty normal, a timetable is a schedule. So for example there is a course timetable that you follow, not a schedule. Buses are on timetables too.
Other things to keep in mind,
VULA=UCT's Blackboard
PeopleSoft=UCT's BannerWeb
that way when i complain, you'll know what i mean.
1.2.11
Sunburnt in South Africa
Dear friends,
If you ever find yourself on the African continent, please, under any circumstances wear sunscreen. I don't care if it's raining and you intend to be inside all day, or if it's super cloudy and threatening hail storms in the morning. Just put it on. After a day at the beach, then a day hiking around Cape Point my arms and shoulders are fried. Now I can't lift my arms above my head easily, and we did 2 sets of group shoulder massages... which leads me into what I've been doing for the last few days.
So the day of exploring Cape Town ended up being grocery shopping at Pick n Pay for lots of fruits and veggies for me and Kathryn, and sandwich meat and juice for the boys. Oh and Brent bought 18 eggs, apparently he's a big egg fan. Then we walked the 10 or so blocks back to Perspectives (our apartments) which was the worst and longest walk of my life possibly. Our new grocery shopping plan is little trips a few times a week, because we can't afford to carry heavy groceries. So after a delicious lunch we made ourselves, we decided to go to the beach! Clifton Bay #4 to be exact... although we did venture down to #3 1/2.
The beach was beautiful. The water was FREEZING. Like toes went numb after just walking in it for a few minutes. So Kathryn and I parked it in the sand while the boys got pummeled by the frigid waves, occasionally coming back to reapply sunscreen or get the feeling back in their appendages.
The next day was the beginning of our University of Cape Town Study Abroad student orientation, however i was under the impression that it was all "freshers". So bright and early on a Sunday morning we caught a cab to catch a bus, but not just any bus... a tour bus (insert groans here). Luckily our guide was full of age appropriate jokes and interesting information. So for a while we drove around Cape Town, and then headed to Boulder Nature Reserve.
Now you probably don't know the exact significance of Boulder, but to put it simply:
PENGUINS!
We stayed for maybe 45 minutes, but by that point we had watched them flick sand at each other, seen the little ugly fuzzy babies, and watch them walk and swim, so we were pretty much done. I mean no one spends that long at the penguin exhibit at the zoo, do they? (although this was infinitely cooler than a zoo)
Next up we headed to Ocean View, Simon's Town's version of District 6 (apartheid era segregated townships). We ate lunch in their community center and watched some amazing performances by their local children/volunteers. For pictures see Eric's facebook (my camera died at Boulder). Oh and Brent's mom, sorry, he forgot his camera this day so mine and Eric's pictures will have to suffice!
Alright, next up was the scenic Chapman's drive, through most of which i slept. Being on a coach bus with very little shoulder/anything on either side of you is unbelievably terrifying. Sleeping was definitely my best option.
Then we went to the lovely Cape Point. The most southwestern point in Africa (not the most southern) and NOT where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. We hiked up and down some ridiculous hills for a few hours and got VERY sunburnt (as mentioned earlier). After our adventures hiking we took a 90 minute bus ride back to the University and tried to figure out our way home, which wasn't easy.
The next few days will come in a new post later about weird things in South Africa, particularly pertaining to their education system. But, until then I'm off! We got some delicious food from the local "Fruit and Veg" market for extremely cheap so it's dinner time!!
If you ever find yourself on the African continent, please, under any circumstances wear sunscreen. I don't care if it's raining and you intend to be inside all day, or if it's super cloudy and threatening hail storms in the morning. Just put it on. After a day at the beach, then a day hiking around Cape Point my arms and shoulders are fried. Now I can't lift my arms above my head easily, and we did 2 sets of group shoulder massages... which leads me into what I've been doing for the last few days.
So the day of exploring Cape Town ended up being grocery shopping at Pick n Pay for lots of fruits and veggies for me and Kathryn, and sandwich meat and juice for the boys. Oh and Brent bought 18 eggs, apparently he's a big egg fan. Then we walked the 10 or so blocks back to Perspectives (our apartments) which was the worst and longest walk of my life possibly. Our new grocery shopping plan is little trips a few times a week, because we can't afford to carry heavy groceries. So after a delicious lunch we made ourselves, we decided to go to the beach! Clifton Bay #4 to be exact... although we did venture down to #3 1/2.
The beach was beautiful. The water was FREEZING. Like toes went numb after just walking in it for a few minutes. So Kathryn and I parked it in the sand while the boys got pummeled by the frigid waves, occasionally coming back to reapply sunscreen or get the feeling back in their appendages.
The next day was the beginning of our University of Cape Town Study Abroad student orientation, however i was under the impression that it was all "freshers". So bright and early on a Sunday morning we caught a cab to catch a bus, but not just any bus... a tour bus (insert groans here). Luckily our guide was full of age appropriate jokes and interesting information. So for a while we drove around Cape Town, and then headed to Boulder Nature Reserve.
Now you probably don't know the exact significance of Boulder, but to put it simply:
PENGUINS!
We stayed for maybe 45 minutes, but by that point we had watched them flick sand at each other, seen the little ugly fuzzy babies, and watch them walk and swim, so we were pretty much done. I mean no one spends that long at the penguin exhibit at the zoo, do they? (although this was infinitely cooler than a zoo)
Next up we headed to Ocean View, Simon's Town's version of District 6 (apartheid era segregated townships). We ate lunch in their community center and watched some amazing performances by their local children/volunteers. For pictures see Eric's facebook (my camera died at Boulder). Oh and Brent's mom, sorry, he forgot his camera this day so mine and Eric's pictures will have to suffice!
Alright, next up was the scenic Chapman's drive, through most of which i slept. Being on a coach bus with very little shoulder/anything on either side of you is unbelievably terrifying. Sleeping was definitely my best option.
Then we went to the lovely Cape Point. The most southwestern point in Africa (not the most southern) and NOT where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. We hiked up and down some ridiculous hills for a few hours and got VERY sunburnt (as mentioned earlier). After our adventures hiking we took a 90 minute bus ride back to the University and tried to figure out our way home, which wasn't easy.
The next few days will come in a new post later about weird things in South Africa, particularly pertaining to their education system. But, until then I'm off! We got some delicious food from the local "Fruit and Veg" market for extremely cheap so it's dinner time!!
29.1.11
Cape Town: In the Beginning...
So like i said in the previous post, travel was pretty uneventful. We got to BNA around noon, waited 'til almost 2 for our flight, spent an hour going from BNA to DTW. Then in Detroit we grabbed lunch, quickly because our flight to AMS had already started to board.
Then we sat on a plane for 8 hours and i thought nothing could be worse. But oh how i was wrong, because after spilling scalding hot coffee on my hand in Amsterdam, we sat on a plane for 12 hours!
Upon our arrival at CPT airport we got off the plane and went through customs... ridiculously easy. And the exchange desk closed right as we walked up (so i'm still walking around with US currency alongside my Rand). Then we came back to the apartments where we're staying. I'll take my own pictures once I move up to my permanent-temporary residence on Monday. For now I'm staying a few floors down from there. (601 vs. 1103).
Yesterday's dinner was at the Africa Cafe... Delicious! I posted the link below, but here's some of my own pictures.
There was a lot of really great mixed media/recycled art all over the place. We also got our faces painted, but didn't take pictures.
We intended to go out last night and explore some of Cape Town's night life, but exhaustion kicked in so instead we came back, purchased some internet time and (at least I) called home.
Today is our first big adventure day, so i'm going to go meet Eric, Brent and Kathryn downstairs! I'll try to take a few more pictures and show you the beautiful scenery.
By the way, it's a nice and toasty 73 degrees here with a high of 84.
Then we sat on a plane for 8 hours and i thought nothing could be worse. But oh how i was wrong, because after spilling scalding hot coffee on my hand in Amsterdam, we sat on a plane for 12 hours!
Upon our arrival at CPT airport we got off the plane and went through customs... ridiculously easy. And the exchange desk closed right as we walked up (so i'm still walking around with US currency alongside my Rand). Then we came back to the apartments where we're staying. I'll take my own pictures once I move up to my permanent-temporary residence on Monday. For now I'm staying a few floors down from there. (601 vs. 1103).
Yesterday's dinner was at the Africa Cafe... Delicious! I posted the link below, but here's some of my own pictures.
We intended to go out last night and explore some of Cape Town's night life, but exhaustion kicked in so instead we came back, purchased some internet time and (at least I) called home.
Today is our first big adventure day, so i'm going to go meet Eric, Brent and Kathryn downstairs! I'll try to take a few more pictures and show you the beautiful scenery.
By the way, it's a nice and toasty 73 degrees here with a high of 84.
28.1.11
I'm here!
So i'm assuming uneventful travel is a blessing in disguise. because no matter how much 25 hours of int'l travel can be obnoxious, nothing awful happened. no missed flights, no lost luggage. eric did lose 2 books, and we all maybe lost a little sanity but that really was it. tomorrow will be our first day to really explore cape town for all its glory.
we did eat dinner at this delicious restaurant The Africa Cafe! more about that later. but for now internet is more of a luxury here than a daily necessity so it isn't cheap and i need to sleep some! so goodnight, pictures and fun things will be hopefully posted tomorrow!
we did eat dinner at this delicious restaurant The Africa Cafe! more about that later. but for now internet is more of a luxury here than a daily necessity so it isn't cheap and i need to sleep some! so goodnight, pictures and fun things will be hopefully posted tomorrow!
26.1.11
with 3 hours left
I am repacking over and over again and trying to get things to fit in my suitcase. it's just not happening. ugh... this is stressful
24.1.11
Pre-Trip thoughts (and worries)
This is entirely copied from my Blackboard post for my Third-Year Writing Abroad, so if it doesn't apply to you.. too bad. I'll come back and edit it later.
Dear friends also traveling abroad,
I hope you haven't experienced the pre-trip struggles that Brent, Eric and I have (or maybe I'm the only one who views them as struggles). After 6 emails in one week to the program liaison in Cape Town and no responses, I'm stressed and well on my way to nervous wreck. Thankfully, Dr. Monteverde and others have been more than willing to answer our questions, and my visa finally arrived last Thursday, which helped.
Confession time: I am a planner. I like to know when things are happening and how they’re happening. I like to be in control and I don’t like to deviate from that plan. So the thought of waiting around for a plane to take me somewhere that I’ve never been before is a little nerve-racking. Luckily I’m traveling with 2 other Belmont students, Eric Taft and Brent Shively so we just keep calling and sending text messages covering details and packing lists over and over again. As with writing, I’m great at planning but not so great at putting the planning in effect, so I have a very thorough packing list, yet very little packing done (I’ve still got 48 hours!). Eric, Brent and I found our other friends in the Connect-123 program this semester on Facebook so I’ve already been talking to some of the people that we’ll be spending all of our time with, and they haven’t packed either, really.
So my expectations for this trip definitely include ecstasy at the thought of it being summer in 48 hours! With all of this ridiculous snow Nashville has gotten I’m ready to get out of it. I’m also excited to have an internship opportunity while I’m there! That will be an experience many other people won’t get, and even though I know it will be a difficult situation with no transportation other than a bus or my own two feet to get there, it will be something irreplaceable. The university that we’ll be going to will be a little bit bigger than Belmont (15,000 students, and a decent portion international) but they’re having us attend freshman orientation! So we have not just one orientation, but three. I expect these first few weeks to be sort of like freshman orientation at Belmont and Welcome Week all stretched out to 3 weeks. Luckily we’ve got some really fun things to do in the meantime, with plenty of trips to the beach and the mountains already on the schedule (which Belmont definitely didn’t do). Hopefully the first 3 weeks will go smoothly, because our semester at the University of Cape Town doesn’t actually start until the middle of February.
I plan for this trip to be a really fun and new experience, but I also fully expect it to be a really big struggle. Having lived in Nashville all of my life I have realized it’s time to branch out, so now it’s just finding the inner strength to thrive in this situation and not let my anxiety or need to be in control of my schedule cripple this opportunity. It’s time for me to give up the reins, and just trust that this will be a wonderful experience of a lifetime. And I’ll get there, once I finish packing. Hope all of your travels go smoothly!
23.1.11
i have started packing!...
...and so far my suitcase has in it
- a college ruled 5 subject notebook
- 4 or 5 pair of shorts, both athletic and less casual
- 2 purple scarves
21.1.11
Pre-Departure information
So world, there is probably a handful of things you would like to know before I go to Cape Town.
1. How long?Answer: Jan. 26-June 12
2. Where?
Answer: The University of Cape Town, and where I'll be staying
3. How to get in touch with me?
Answer: skype-karlenp, facebook, email-karlen.paxton@gmail.com
We are mildly unsure as to the internet abundance there, so skype dates will have to be scheduled through email or facebook.
4. Time difference?
Answer: Right now it's an 8-hour difference, but when you guys "spring forward" we won't so it'll be a 7-hour difference.
that's the important info. other than that, don't txt me because my phone won't be traveling with me and if it does, it's extremely expensive. i'll have a cell phone for while i'm there, but that means you guys here in the U.S. won't be able to call me on it.
hopefully i'll be able to keep the blog up-to-date with information on what i'm doing, pictures and things like that! also since i'm doing a third year writing abroad online class i'll have required posts for that which i will probably just copy onto here if they're interesting enough.
please keep me updated on your lives while i'm gone.
i'll try to post again before i go/during the travel because that is never a dull experience.. especially because Eric, Brent and I are traveling together the whole way. so here's to 25+ hours of international travel!
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