home safely!

...and that is about all I have to say. My trip went relatively smoothly, especially since I didn't see anyone I knew at the JFK airport when I was lugging over 100lbs of luggage in various forms (massive suitcase, trekker backpack, small backpack, shoulder bag). I was a huge mess. But I arrived in one piece into my parents' loving arms at noon in Boston today. It is wonderful to be home and to see my family.

Love,
Linda

All my bags are packed.

Somehow.... they actually are. I don't know how it happened, but I know my good friend Liz had a lot to do with it earlier this afternoon.

Leaving is bittersweet, and goodbyes over the last few weeks have been really difficult. This semester has been defined by the wonderful and beautiful people who have entered into my life and changed it! It is very hard to close this dynamic chapter of my life, even if it was only for five short months.

I am THRILLED to be seeing my family in two days, and then working at my favorite place in the world - camp deer run. I am blessed to be going home to a very supportive and wonderful family and community as I begin to process this semester.

My last two weeks here have been amazing. I had a fantastic trip to Johannesburg and spent time with good friends and their families. Some highlights: went to the Confederations cup final game (USA vs. BRAZIL!!), Cradle of Humankind, Constitution Hill, game drive, Soweto, and saw a lot more of the city. I think the best part of that trip was meeting the families of my good friends and spending time with them :)

Arts Fest has proven to be absolute sensory overload, as expected. Some shows have been AMAZING, some not so good, but I don't regret going to any of them. Grahamstown truly comes alive during fest, and it has been really fun seeing it overflowing with people from all over South Africa and the world.

Please pray for my safe travels starting tomorrow. It will take me 24+ hours to get home. Here is the breakdown:

1.5 hrs from Grahamstown to P.E. Airport
a few hours in P.E. hanging out with my friend Katie who lives in P.E.
1.5 hrs P.E. to Johannesburg
a few hours in the JHB airport
8 hours JHB to a stopover in Dakar, Senegal
8 hours Dakar to JFK
a few hours in JFK airport
1.5 hours JFK to Boston
2 hours Boston to Wolfeboro

That is a rough total of 24 hours, give or take (I don't remember how long I am waiting in airports)

WHAT A TRIP! STARTING TOMORROW MORNING!

All my love to you faithful readers.

Much love,
Lindapants

Wrapping up.

I am finished with exams, and leaving Grahamstown tomorrow. I will be back in a week for the Arts Festival, but it will be VERY different because most of my Rhodes friends (with the exception of a few other exchange students) will be gone. Tonight is my last night in Dingemans (my res)! Tomorrow I leave for Johnannesburg and will be staying for one week with a few friends. I’m currently avoiding the project of packing up my room. I don’t like packing, and goodbyes are even worse. I am definitely REALLY excited to see my family and thrilled to be working at camp, but I also really don’t want to leave.

I just got back on Saturday evening from an amazing trip to the Wild Coast to the Bulungula Lodge. It is an eco-friendly backpackers run mainly by locals in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. I felt like I was on the end of the world. I took approximately 250 pictures and I would love to show you some, but this site isn't letting me upload pictures at the moment. Don't worry, I will post more soon, but I might not for a few weeks.

Since I will be moving out of res, I won't have the regular access to internet that I normally have. I will definitely make a point to check email when I can. Hopefully I will be able to post once or twice more before I leave SA.

My prayers are with those of you preparing for the summer at camp!

Much love,
Lindapants

WINTER WINTER WINTER

Happy summer to those of you in the northern hemisphere! To my fellow southern hemisphere-ers, welcome to winter! It has been getting cold in Grahamstown lately, sometimes so cold that I wish I had a hat (and some more sweaters) but sometimes I have my window open (like now, for instance). Today was a beautiful "winter" day, reminiscent of an early spring day in the northeast - sunny and beautiful, but a little chilly when the wind blows.

With winter always comes the flu, unfortunately, and I have already paid my dues... twice. Last weekend I had a bad cold/flu, and then this past weekend I came down with a stomach bug. Yay for a little taste of South African medicine...! Today I feel MUCH better - maybe even ALL better by tomorrow! yay!

Last weekend I went to the Mariya uMama weThemba Anglican Monastery and spent a night there with two dear friends, Cortney and Liz. It was a really refreshing weekend both spiritually and physically after finishing up term and moving into the exam time (and the last phase of my semester here). We concluded the weekend with an amazing girls' night at Cortney's house (where I have dinner every Thursday night) with our friend Sarah. (Sarah is a close friend from my res, and she is going on exchange to Bellarmine University in Lousiville, Kentucky next semester! So we have bonded over that American connection :) !! ) We made peach cobbler, chocolate cake, and gluwein, and watched way too many episodes of 30 Rock. Gluwein (pronounced glue-vine) is hot spiced red wine. The way you make it is like hot spiced apple cider - you just let it simmer for HOURS...and the kitchen smells amazing :) I will definitely be bringing this tradition back home and to BC!

Last week was swot week, a week dedicated on the Rhodes academic calendar solely to STUDYING. If you know me and my academic tendencies, I am very deadline oriented, and can't really study for anything more than 2 days in advance (unless it is like a HUGE test like the SATs or NCLEX or something). So I found myself frolicking around Grahamstown, discovering two different museums, becoming a regular at local coffee shops, and just hanging out with friends. I also finally extended my visa in Port Elizabeth so I can stay (legally) for the ARTS FESTIVAL in July.

I had a weird realization today, that I will be in New Hampshire in four weeks exactly. On July 7. That time is going to fly. Between now and then, I will be taking my last two exams, spending five days at Bulungula Lodge on the Wild Coast (an eco-tourism sustainable lodge - check out the link, it looks beautiful! I can't wait!), spending a week in Johannesburg with three of my closest friends from South Africa, and then spending a week hopping around the festival, and seeing as many shows/exhibitions as possible (it will basically be sensory overload and overall speechlessness for 4 days straight).

I hope I haven't bored you with my ramblings.

Much much love from SAFRICA,
Lindapants

So... I think I can dance.

Helllooooo friends and family!

I am officially finished with classes for the semester! The only academics I have between me and summer break are four exams to be taken over the next four weeks. I have already taken two of my finals, both for different aspects of ethnomusicology. On Wednesday, I had my transcription final, where we had to listen to two different pieces of music and write them down. That one was easy. Yesterday, I performed a Shona Mhande for my performance final. The Shona people are from Zimbabwe, and the Mhande is a rain-making dance ceremony that happens at the beginning of the summer to ask the ancestors to send rain for the crops. The lyrics are call and response style:
Leader: Dzinonwa muna Zambezi, dzinonwa muna Sawa (We drink in the river)
Response: Mhondoro dzinonwa, mhondoro dzinonwa (the lions drink)
Lindsay videotaped it and posted it on youtube (Dancers are me, Lindsay, Sarah, and Lisa and we are accompanied on drums and singing by the rest of our class)... so you should probably check that out. And apparently, our dance was effective. We were in the first group and by the time the third group went, it was really cloudy and looked like it was going to rain. I really loved this performance class and looked forward to it each week - I'm sad it is over!

Love,
Linda

HIV/AIDS and South Africa

I forgot to write about a very memorable experience I had last week.

I went to an HIV/AIDS candlelight memorial service in the township on Friday. It was a really exhausting and sobering morning, especially considering to think about the many people affected by this horrible disease. Just to give you an idea, 5 new people are infected each week by HIV in Grahamstown alone.

The service lasted from 11:20 until 2pm, and was filled with singing and speeches. There were hundreds of people there, and a few high school groups came. There was so much joyful and hopeful singing despite the tragedy of AIDS, and the reason for the gathering. I was touched and amazed by the resilience of people, especially those who are daily affected by the tragedy of HIV/AIDS and the challenges of poverty.

I like icecream.

I think my favorite flavor is moose tracks, but icecream actually has nothing to do with this blog post.

Classes are wrapping up. Everyone has assignments, tests, essays, etc. going on this week. I do too. And I still somehow manage to find the time to write this entry… can we say procrastination?

While many of you were celebrating Memorial Day with various parades, picnics, and other patriotic family festivities, Africa was celebrating Africa Day! South Africa is unfortunately not among the many countries that observe it as a public holiday, but Rhodes celebrated Africa Day by inviting the former president, Thabo Mbeki, to lecture students and staff. It (obviously) drew a large crowd, and even though I arrived an hour before he was scheduled to speak, I didn’t get a seat in the main theatre! Nonetheless, I am really glad I went. The main theme of his speech was to empower the future leaders of South Africa to own up to being a part of the African continent! The influence of South Africa in the rest of Africa is enormous, and he challenged the students to be leaders in the country that, in many ways, leads the whole continent.

I have had a few unique healthcare opportunities over the last weeks. I went to a developmental clinic in the township a few weeks ago with a team of occupational therapists, a speech therapist, a physiotherapist, and a dietician from the hospital. The clinic assesses and treats children with developmental delays including Down’s syndrome, autism, meningitis, and some who suffer from cognitive delays due to neglect and malnutrition. Last week, I went with some of the therapists to the preschool for children with developmental delays, and we helped out with their music class. Those children are just precious!
Yesterday, I went on occupational therapy home visits and we visited patients who needed fitting for wheelchairs. The wheelchair situation in South Africa is frustrating, because the government-provided wheelchairs are backordered for months, and even years. The Rotary foundation has therefore stepped up and donated wheelchairs. The problem is that the rotary wheelchairs are poor quality and made in China, so they don’t fit right, they break quickly and the spare parts are thousands of miles away. All of this makes for a very difficult challenge for the occupational therapists who work with these patients. After spending a few months in different places in the hospital, I have learned that the government often fails to provide the necessary means for quality care. This is often very frustrating for the doctors, nurses, and therapists who do not have the proper resources available to care for the patients in the best way.

I haven’t done much traveling lately, hence the lack of pictures, but it has been really nice to chill with friends around Grahamstown. I also have a few trips coming up in June, and so it is nice to have some down time. Honestly, the time has passed so quickly! I have about six weeks until I board the plane in July. That time is going to fly.

I hope summer is going well back home! Please keep me posted on your lives. I love long emails and skype dates!!!

Love From South Africa,
Lindapants

Today is a big day.

Not only is it Mother's Day, and an excuse to tell our mothers how wonderful they are and give them flowers; Elizabeth is graduating from Wheaton! Mom, thank you for always always always loving and supporting me. You are incredibly patient, encouraging, and wise, and I am so thankful for the way you and Dad have raised me, E, S, & A! Elizabeth, I hope you know that I am so so proud of you! I look up to you in so many ways, specifically your passion for theology and your faith and the way you intentionally love people.

I wish I could give both of you the biggest hugs ever and tell you I love you and everything I love about you! I think this is the most homesick I have been thus far. Since I can't be there for hugs, I have decided to commemorate Elizabeth and Mom with a few pictures. Because let's be serious, that is how my family commemorates a celebration. We take pictures. I can GUARANTEE that Dad is snapping away today. I bet there will be at least 300 pictures from this weekend. Anyway, here are some of my favorite recent(ish) photos, featuring Mom and Elizabeth.

See what I mean? Mom LOVES family photos. Look at that excitement. SMILE BIG TODAY! IT IS YOUR DAY!Like mother, like daughters...?"Oh Amy, even if mom is weird, I am still happy just looking into your eyes"

Aw look at that cute pouty face. awwww.

Despite my homesickness, I am definitely not in any way ready to leave. My friendships with the people I have met here continue to grow deeper, and I feel like that has happened especially over the past few weeks. Also, this morning I had the chance to attend a service at an Anglican monastery just outside of town. The vibrant community and fellowship this morning was a refreshing way to start my day.

So I guess I should stop avoiding work now.

Love you all.

Since when is April over?

Dear Everyone,

I miss you! Life sounds like it is crazy back home, with graduation, the academic year ending, and other life events all over the place. My prayers are with you all. Congratulations to ELIZABETH (my incredible sister), and to all the other wonderful seniors who are graduating!! As always, please keep me posted on life :)

Election Day was a few weeks ago on April 22nd. It was a relatively non-violent day (definitely peaceful in Grahamstown), and South Africa boasted an incredible voter turnout! Here, Election Day is a public holiday, so everywhere in Grahamstown was closed, and all classes were cancelled. I think that is how election day should be in the US. Oh well. It was an exciting day for many of my South African friends, since this was their first voting election! Jacob Zuma, of the ANC, won by a 64% popular vote. Oh well. Maybe next election...


HOGSBACK is a beautiful place!! I went last weekend with 4 other girls (Liz, from Tennessee, and Allegra, Lindsay, and Kacey from BC. Kacey was visiting Lindsay for the week). Hogsback is supposedly the place that inspired Lord of the Rings.

This is my friend Liz :)

We went hiking to two different waterfalls that day. This one is called "Bridal Veil" and this picture only captures the bottom 1/3 of it. (From left: Kacey, Lindsay, Liz, Allegra, Me)

Group photo after the hike

Me and Allegra at the Hostel, called "Away with the Fairies." It was a really cute woodsy place, and home to the scariest treehouse in the world. Well maybe not officially but it was 15m high with these rickety steps to the top.

This past weekend, I went on the Cathedral student ministry's Church Camp to Assegai Trails, a beautiful retreat center just outside Grahamstown. It was a wonderful and refreshing weekend, with many opportunities for much-needed reflection time and Bible study on who God is and what that means in our lives. It was a great time for me to reflect on how God has provided such wonderful community and friendship in my life here in South Africa! I am so thankful.

Cindy and Liz, scared of a spider as big as my face on the trail. I guess that is an exaggeration, but it was rather large. And close. I could see its venomous fangs. JK, LOLZ.

From left: Me, Liz, Cindy, Zinzile, Matt. We went on a lovely morning hike before the activities of the retreat began.

Potjie! See old post (the one in April with alllllllllll the pictures) for a description of this Afrikaans food tradition. YUM.

Classes are going well. Politics has begun a new theme, and we are studying the relationship between stories/myths/documents that have ultimately fueled specific incidents in societies. I love taking humanities courses. Anthropolgy also just started a new module: "Identity and Diversity." We are currently studying the question: "what is race?" and it is extremely interesting in the context of South Africa. Ethnomusicology is also interesting, we are now learning our fourth dance/song (that originates in Zimbabwe), and I am preparing a research project that compares the music of two different churches here in Grahamstown: a more charismatic church, and an Anglican monastery just outside of town. Economics... is a lot of work. I have a test tomorrow! Sometimes I wonder why I am taking economics. I know I will be glad one day.

BACK.

I am back from April vacation! I travelled along the Garden Route with three other girls (Lindsay, Allegra, and Alice) from the states. We took this awesome bus called the Baz Bus, which is a shuttle that picks you up from your hostel and takes you to your next one. It was GREAT! Very convenient and safe, since we didn’t have to find our way around new places to find our hostels. Here is a brief outline of our trip. I don't have all of our pictures, because we designated photographers each day, and haven't had the big photo swap yet (I'll probably post more later)

-Port Elizabeth: the closest city to Grahamstown. We stayed at my friend Katie’s house for one night before continuing on our journey. It was so nice to be in a home with a family (and not in res) – they were very welcoming and hospitable!

-Tsitsikamma/Storm’s River Valley: This is the beautiful “garden of the garden route,” with forests and mountains and the ocean really close by. Also home to the highest bungy jump in the world (although none of us ended up doing it…). We spent 2 days here hiking and ziplining, staying at a funky hostel in the middle of NOWHERE.

-Knysna: a touristy town on the water. We only stayed for about 24 hours, after walking around town, getting a scenic tour of the beautiful views, and going on a short tour of the township. I was resistant to the township tour, because of the concept of touring others’ poverty and horrible situation. The tour was very educational and very interesting to compare to what we know and have seen in the township in Grahamstown. The township in Knysna is situated in the hills with a GORGEOUS view of the water, but this does not make up for the schism between them and the opulent white neighborhoods just up the road.

The four of us (Lindsay, Alice, Me, Allegra) in Knysna

-Mossel Bay: a beach town, about halfway to Cape Town. We stayed here for three nights and enjoyed beaches and SKYDIVING (that’s why we didn’t do the bungy… one thrill at a time)!!!!! Don’t worry, I went tandem, which means I had a professional harnessed to my back. We took tons of pictures, and I got the video! We stayed at a really amazing hostel that is a renovated Victorian mansion – stunning. We liked Mossel Bay.

-Stellenbosch: A town just outside Cape Town, home to wine country, beautiful mountains, and a major South African University (where Katherine Knopf is going, and I got to see her! And her parents!)! We stayed here two nights over Easter, and went to a small and welcoming Anglican church on Easter Sunday. We also went on an amazing wine/cheese tasting tour with our friend Courtney. Stellenbosch is gorgeous (SEE PICTURE BELOW!)

Here is a view (from a vineyard in Stellenbosch) of Table Mountain in Cape Town! We climbed that!

Us + Courtney, wine tasting in beautiful Stellenbosch!

-Cape Town! We spent 5 nights here at a really nice backpackers (thanks to Lauren Galinsky’s fantastic recommendation!)! Things we saw/did: Kirstenbosch botanical gardens (gorgeous HUGE garden right in Cape Town), Camp’s Bay beach, Table Mountain (we hiked up and took the cable car down), art gallery, I met up for coffee with Meg Mateer (who is studying at UCT for the semester!!!!), Cape Point (aka the Cape of Good Hope and where the Indian and Atlantic oceans begin to meet!), Boulder’s Beach (where thousands of penguins live!). Cape Town is an amazing and beautiful city. We left Cape Town on Saturday evening on a 13-hour overnight bus trip. I arrived exhausted in Grahamstown on Sunday morning at 9:30am.

Camps Bay

One of the 2010 World Cup Stadiums!

It was quite a trip, and a much-needed vacation from Grahamstown and from academics. The four of us had a great time together. We made lots of new interesting friends from around the world, such as a reality TV producer from LA and a SCUBA instructor who is from Australia but works in Greece.

It is good to be back in Grahamstown. Even though it is small, Grahamstown is a really nice place to call “home” in South Africa. I feel like know this place and these people! I also have my own room and looooots of clean clothes again!!! I am slowly re-acclimating back to academics (even though I am currently avoiding an economics essay). Familiarity and community is refreshing, and I am excited to get back into the routine of classes, volunteering, Bible study, etc. I LOVE travelling, but it is definitely nice to be back. It is getting chilly here since we are getting into Autumn. It is crazy how everything is opposite here!

Just to give you an idea, here is my basic timeline for the next few months.
-April 20 (yesterday): Term 2 begins (semesters are broken up into two terms)
-April 22 (tomorrow): Election day! Pray for South Africa! Here is an interesting article, and a pretty good summary of the situation here.
-May 29: Lectures end. Yeah, I am not used to going to class throughout the entire month of May. This could be a challenge…
-June 1-5: “Swot week” – study days for exams. I’ll probably travel somewhere. Not sure where yet!
-June 6-26: Final exams (That is a LONG time, hey?). When I told some South Africans here that sometimes people have two exams in one day back at BC, they FLIPPED out.
-June 26-July 2: Not sure exactly what I’ll do, I might visit some of my friends in Joburg. Or just bum around Grahamstown/Eastern Cape
-July 2-July 7: ARTS FESTIVAL! The festival lasts until the 11th, but I can’t stay for the whole thing.
-July 7: fly home.
-July and August: BW/DR for the summer!

I hope you all are doing well. Please stay in touch! I definitely really miss home, but I am nowhere near ready to leave yet. Good thing I am only about halfway through my 5 months here.

Cheers,
Linda

Less words, more photos.

Since there are many photos on this post, I feel a little bit less obliged to write something lengthy. Especially since my last post was so wordy. Personally, I am a visual learner, so when I can see something I internalize it much more than if I read about it. So, guided by captions, I will let the pictures tell the stories this time.

READING CAMP
(for description, see last post)

All of the kids with some of the volunteers

Holding "Flat Tire" with the owner in the background. He collects reptiles, and showed the kids a few of them including a python. Named "Monty" :

Monty was molting. Check out the kids' faces in this photo! :)


Potjie
(Pronounced "poy-kee," this is an Afrikaans celebratory food tradition when they cook yummy stew in a massive pot over a fire. This potjie was with the mountain club.)

This potjie was accompanied by "poi" which is when someone has this chain with two lanterns/torches on the end and swings them around. Mesmerizing.

Alexandria
One of the craziest hikes I have ever done. I went with the mountain club (I still really think BC needs one of these), and it was a group of 10 of us. 7 of us were international students, from London, the Netherlands, Canada, and the US!

First we hiked through the forest. I often found myself hiking in the front, dealing with gazillions of spider webs. Like this one. That spider's body (not including legs) is about the size of a quarter. Slightly intimidating!!

Then, after crossing a beautiful field and walking down the road, we hiked along the beach for MILES. It was the most untouched beach I have ever seen. If you look in this picture, we hiked all the way to (and beyond) the cliff at what looks like the end of this beach.

Me and Merran. She is an exchange student from Canada!
Then we hiked up the side of the cliff in a sandy part, using a rope to pull ourselves up. If you look closely in the photo above, you can see the people ahead of us walking up the side of the cliff.

Then we were in the dunes.

We were hiking next to the cliff like this for a while. Then we got to the hut, which was in a wooded part of the dunes and overlooked the ocean.
Waking up to another beautiful day! On the deck of the hut, overlooking the Indian Ocean.

After hiking through the woods, then using another rope to get up a massive sand dune, we reached the most beautiful landscape of dunes I have ever seen.
I felt like I was in the Sahara desert...
...but the ocean was right there.
Then we went back into the forest and climbed over a few hills to get back to our minibus.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

As I said last time, I am looking forward to our big 2-week vacation starting this coming Saturday! I can't WAIT. My next post will probably be all about April vac :)

Much love,
Lindapants

Odds and Ends

As the title of this post indicates, here are just some thoughts about things happening in my life over here. I have broken it into sections so it is easier to read...

Elections

Below is a not-so-brief synopsis/list of facts/opinions/musings of what I have learned about politics here in South Africa (mostly second hand information from my South African friends). The election is April 22nd.

-Party loyalty is HUGE. The ANC is the leading party and likely winner solely because it is Nelson Mandela’s party that pulled SA out of apartheid in 1994. People feel indebted to this party and therefore obliged to vote for it no matter what. Even though Jacob Zuma has been charged with rape, corruption, money laundering (among other things), and had no formal schooling, people are still ready to vote for him out of loyalty and lack of education about policies and other candidates.

-People continue to vote along racial lines. Even though apartheid was overturned 15 years ago… it was only… 15 years ago. Many people here still identify with their racial group due to the entrenchment of apartheid policies within South African culture. Undoing the damage is going to take more than just time. Ok, so here is an issue for you to ponder: The justice in land redistribution. Background: Since so much land was seized from black South Africans during the apartheid regime and redistributed to white South Africans, some discuss the idea of land redistribution back to black South Africans. This is a tricky question, however, because the whites have owned the land for over 50 years now. The question: How could one justly take that land away from the whites who have lived there for a few generations now? What about the black and colored South Africans living in townships who can’t pull themselves out of poverty? Can there ever be justice in this situation? What do you think? Welcome to my politics class, the land of never-answered never-ending questions and puzzles about liberal democracy.

-Political parties are also very regional. Here in the Eastern Cape, people generally talk about ANC, DA (Democratic Alliance, and note their strangely similar campaign logo to Obama) and COPE ("Congress of the People," a new rising breakaway party from the ANC). In KwaZulu-Natal, people are primarily talking about IFP (Inkatha Freedom Party) and ANC. Joburg and Cape Town will have different stories too. Really the only party that is effectively crossing regional lines is the ANC, which is one of the major reasons why their victory is imminent.

-The new rising generation of voters (i.e. university students) was born into a free South Africa, and they therefore do not have the same loyalty to the ANC as the older generations do (and they also have education, which most of the country lacks). This new generation is starting to take initiative in voting not by party, but by policies. It is a really exciting for many of my south African student friends who are attempting to make an informed choice, even if ANC victory seems inevitable. Just last night there was a formal debate between representatives from each major party. I didn’t attend (I wanted to let the voters get seats) but I heard it was a very interesting evening of debate and questions. Also, recently the youth leader of the ANC was scheduled to come visit Rhodes. That caused quite a stir because of the many strong feelings about Jacob Zuma and the ANC. It is sooo interesting to be here at the univeristy in such an exciting time for the students and for the country!

Reading Camp

This past weekend I volunteered at a 24-hour reading camp for about 20 10-year-old kids from the township. Run (kind of) through the Anglican monastery here in Grahamstown, this program helps with remedial reading education in weekend and week-long camps throughout the year. It was an amazing, exhausting, beautiful, challenging, and rewarding experience.

The kids who came are all learning English as their second language. Their first language is Xhosa (the main indigenous language here in Eastern Cape, pronounced with a click in the beginning). The children were all very bright, SO well behaved, and so excited to learn! This camp provided them with extra attention to give them a boost with their confidence and with their reading skills. Saturday morning consisted of 6 different stations to work on phonics, writing, reading comprehension, etc. Lindsay (from BC) and I were in charge of the reading comprehension station, where we read a story with them a few times and had a simple discussion about plot, characters, setting, etc.

This was just as much READING camp as it was CAMP! On Friday and Saturday afternoon, the kids got to do fun activities like hiking, campfire with marshmallows, games, songs, stories, arts and crafts, abseiling, etc. It was so fun to watch them experience the excitement of each new activity and join them in that exciting activity! Sorry I don’t have pictures – but Lindsay took a lot, so our experience was well-documented. Remind me to show them to you when I see you next :)

CAMP CAMP CAMP!

Speaking of CAMP, a few of you have been asking if I will be back this summer. The answer is YES! I will be working at Deer Run again this summer for the second 3/4 of the summer, starting second session. Yay! This means that:
a) I get to have another summer at one of my favorite places in the world with some of my favorite people... and
b) Since I am starting work at camp later, I get to stay for the the first few days of the Grahamstown Arts Festival, the biggest arts festival in the whole of AFRICA! That's right, in this tiny little town out of all places in South Africa! I am stooooooked to see how it transforms to accomodate thousands of extras for about two weeks.

Coming Up in the near future:

-a Potjie on Friday (this big cookout thing that I actually don’t know much about, I will tell you more later when I am more informed. Apparently we eat stew… outside…)

-a hiking trip on Saturday and Sunday (yay!!!)

-three tests next week – Anthropology, Economics, then Politics. Should be a fun week.

-BC course registration (for senior year?!)

-APRIL VACATION!! Much needs to happen before I will be frolicking for two weeks with three other Americans on the infamous GARDEN ROUTE and then the Mother City, CAPE TOWN. I can’t waaaaaaaaait until April 4th!!


Sorry for a wordy blog post. Thanks to my faithful readers for getting to the end :)
Much love to all! Please let me know how you are doing and stay in touch!

--Lindapants

Lessons Learned

I have learned a lot here in Grahamstown in the last five weeks. I obviously can't really record ALL of the lessons, but here is a short list of a a few I have (somewhat painfully) re-learned in the past week:

1. The sun will still burn the unprotected skin on a cloudy day. Especially the South African sun...in the summer...by the water...not wearing sunscreen (I am too embarassed to even post a picture. ow.)

2. When there is a fire drill or alarm, you are required here (at Rhodes) to take a blanket outside with you. (Sensible, right? Somehow I never learned this advice back at BC despite the 5+ fire alarms in the middle of winter in 90 last year)

3. South Africa has a very very high rate of HIV infection. I went to the hospital for the first time on Friday. I joined the medical team for rounds in the hospice ward. I would estimate that 75% of the patients (in hospice) have opportunistic infections due to AIDS. I think about 50% of the patients we saw had TB. UNAIDS estimated that in 2007, six million people were infected with HIV in South Africa.

4. I actually did seem to lose my school work ethic somewhere over the Atlantic (well, come to think of it, I lost it back in December. Before Christmas). I have found it quite difficult to sit down and do work here. As soon as I try... the words "I'm in South Africa" start creeping into my mind and make me find something better to do. Like... having rooibos tea and rusks with res friends. Or chilling on the roof. Or posting on my blog. Or going to the beach. I think you get the idea...

5. I am not always ... "proud to be American." I was not surprised to see that Coca-Cola products, KFC, and MTV are longstanding incorporations into the daily life of South Africa (and much of the rest of the world, for that matter). Some food for thought: As Peter Raven, from my Anthropology textbook, says, "if everyone lived like Americans, you'd need three planet earths... to sustain that level of consumption." And, "on average, one North American consumes hundreds of times the resources of a single African."

On that note, I will be turning off my light and getting some rest before the start of another crazy week. Much love to all at home and abroad. Miss you!

Love,
Linda

Giraffe, Politics, and a Roadtrip

Hello everyone!!

So life lately has been both really busy and really fun...here is a summary.

Last weekend on Saturday, Geoff (our BC program coordinator) took us in his truck to two nearby game reserves. We left early in the morning so we could see more animals – they all hide and sleep during the hottest part of the day. It was a really fun and adventurous day, complete with a picnic at a bird-watching hut, prickly pears, and a little bit of off-roading to see the following: giraffe, ostrich, zebra, baboon, springbok, kudu, antelope, tortoise, and MASSIVE earthworms (i.e. 3 feet long). It was a really fun trip :) Here are a few of MANY pics:

We saw these signs... but not all of the animals on the sign. Maybe next time!

To my fellow Deer Runners: every now and then, did you ever wonder what a springbok looks like? I was never in that cabin, but here are 3 grazing springbok!

Ostrich!
Allegra, Lindsay, and Me - 3 out of 4 of the BC girls here at Rhodes. This is us in the bird-watching hut.

GIRAFFE IN THE ROAD (obviously.)
A herd of (what I THINK is) some kind of reedbuck, but it also could be antelope. As soon as we pulled up, they all started STARING at us. We silently took as many pictures as possible but they quickly ran away.
And last but not least, ZEBRA!

Last week I took my first Rhodes test - in politics! The test was quite HECTIC, but I love that class because it is really challenging me to critically think about social issues & ideals and government. Not easy, but REALLY cool :)

This past weekend (yesterday and today) I went to Jeffrey’s Bay with two other BC girls (Sheneita and Lindsay) and two friends from my res (Sarita and Katie). Jeffrey’s Bay is a beach/surf town about 3 hours away from Grahamstown, so we rented a car and took a road trip. The beach was beautiful, and the town really quiet and relaxing (almost ghost-town quiet, we couldn’t figure out where everyone was)! We stayed in a really cute homey backpackers hostel (with a LOT of character) in the center of town just a 5-minute walk from the beach. It was a fantastic group of girls, and we had a lot of fun travelling together! Overall, the trip was just stunning… even though it didn’t all go exactly as planned. These trips never do… Here are a few pics of J-bay:

Sheneita from BC (left) and Sarita from Joburg in our awesome hostel.
Katie, from Port Elizabeth - our lovely reliable safe driver!Sheneita and Lindsay, on the beautiful J-bay beach.
We woke up to see the sunrise this morning. And... nobody complained! Impressive. Although it was cloudy, the sky was beautiful and the beach was so peaceful! We also saw lots of dolphins playing in the waves! Stunning.

Well, that's it for today. Please let me know how you all are doing (How is/was spring break?? How is COSMOS? How are classes/How is school?? Do you know your summer plans? How is Europe/Asia/Austrailia/South America/North America/Africa??)!!!!

Love,
Lindapants

Has it really been almost 3 weeks?

In some ways I feel like I just got here... but I also feel like I have been here forever. Time always seems to pass that way...

DISCLAIMER: This is a long entry, so I will break this post up into sections to make it easier. If you are pressed for time, here is a short summary: I am settling in, and it is really great to finally have some kind of routine! I am making friends, loving classes, and getting involved!

Now for the longer version…

LIVING AT RHODES

I LOVE my res! I have met so many wonderful and lovely new friends! We had a formal welcome dinner Wednesday night with the 2 other girls’ residences with whom we share our dining hall. It was lovely! Dining hall food in general has taken a little bit of getting used to (I am now vegetarian!) but mostly because of the strict mealtimes. You are required to eat in your specific dining hall, and only at specific times: Breakfast 7-8, Lunch 12-2, Dinner 5-6:30. I am slowly getting used to it, but I definitely have some snacks in my room to help with late-night hunger after such an early dinner. Now for a few pictures of life in my res...

My friend Joy and me on the roof in front of a beautiful double rainbow!

Some girls in front of my res before the formal dinner on Wednesday! Note the Dingemans sign at the top of the picture – this res has definitely been around since the 1970s.


Another group of lovely ladies before the formal dinner!


CLASSES

My routine here is much different than back at BC. First-year students usually take four subjects, and most first-year classes meet five times per week, including four 45-minute lectures and one 45-minute tutorial (discussion section). So I am in class for the same amount of time as a normal course load back at BC. (…Which is actually way less than what I am used to, since, as a nurse, I have many more hours than a normal course load). This system makes for a confusing schedule, because classes meet at different times and in different places every day. I am slowly getting used to it, and finally settling into a routine. Classes are FASCINATING and I love them so far! I am still taking politics, economics, anthropology, and ethnomusicology. I could talk for a while about each… but the most FUN is the weekly ethnomusicology music lesson! We are currently learning a rain dance (simultaneously including drums, song, and of course choreography) that originates in Zimbabwe. SO COOL!

EXTRA-CURRICULAR

My volunteer placement(s) is still TBD, but will most probably be the HIV/AIDS testing/treatment center (the Raphael Centre) and possibly the local hospital. I am really looking forward to getting involved in these organizations. Like many universities, Rhodes is really a bubble and is far removed from the reality that Grahamstown is for most of the inhabitants. I am (and have been) really ready to get outside this “bubble” and get to know more of the community. In terms of other involvement, I officially joined the gym/spinning and the mountain club (RUMC). RUMC takes hiking and climbing trips every weekend and also opens the climbing wall twice a week. Basically it is amazing. Why don’t we have a mountain/hiking/outdoors club at BC??

TRAVEL PLANS

I am making travel plans to see more of South Africa than Grahamstown (it is a wonderful little place, but there is much more to see in this amazing country)!! First on the agenda is a trip to a local game reserve on Saturday (I think to see elephants and maybe giraffes!!!) Next weekend, I plan on going to Jeffrey’s Bay, a beach town not too far from here known for its surfing and sand dunes. You can even go sand boarding on the sand dunes (like snowboarding, just on SAND!)!! I will be traveling with the other BC girls here as well as other South African friends! Those who have been to SA, any specific destination recommendations?

CHURCH

Church hopping has engulfed my last two Sundays here. Some say there are enough churches in this small town to go to a different one every Sunday of the year, and many of those churches are within walking distance of campus. I am probably going to start attending the Anglican Church regularly but stay involved with the Baptist student fellowship. I will play things by ear! (If you recall, in the last pictures I posted I pointed out the tall Cathedral in the center of town – this is the beautiful Anglican Church, where I will be attending!!)


CONGRATS for reading this whole thing !!
Please everyone keep me updated about your lives! I love hearing from you, and I do check my email regularly :)

Love,
Lindapants