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

some pictures!

Hello again (I always seem to post twice in one day)...

Even though I have been bad about taking them, here are some pictures of Grahamstown! I haven't taken many more than this.

This (above) is a view of Grahamstown from the top of a hill on the outskirts. If you look closely in the right hand side of the picture, you can see a cathedral. This is the center of town - the Anglican Church. Just opposite the cathedral is the clock tower (off white, square) - that is the center of Rhodes. We are very close to town!


This is also Grahamstown. This is a photo of the township, on the outskirt section of town. Townships were created during Apartheid as places for colored and black people to live. Even though Apartheid was abolished 14 years ago, many of these communities have not been rehabilitated at all. Unemployment is at a HIGH percentage in this part of town.


This is one more final view of Grahamstown. This photo is taken from the ROOF of my res! The roof entrance is right near my room and I intend to spend a lot of time there :)

That is all for now - sorry there aren't more. I promise I will take pictures with the people I have met and other more interesting things like that!

--Lindapants

lingo & observations

This unorganized list that may be of use to you if you decide one day to visit South Africa. If not, I hope you find some of these observations and differences interesting :)

LINGO (some is South African, some is Rhodes)
-tomato sauce = ketchup

-dawny = a first period class (at 7:45am)

-jersey = sweater/jacket/cardigan

-hectic = anything that isn’t normal, easy, or status-quo (I generally hear the word in almost every single conversation I have with a South African student: “that lecture was quite hectic” or “She is a very hectic person, hey?” or “I hectically ran to the grocery store through the rain”)

-queue = line (i.e. at a store)

-marks = grades

-hash key = pound key (on a phone)

-SMS = text message

-surname = last name

-18/2/09 = February 18, 2009 = 2/18/09 (that is taking some getting used to…)


OBSERVATIONS
-Everyone drives on the wrong (left) side of the road here. Therefore, when crossing the street, instead of looking LEFT first, it is in one’s best interest to look to the RIGHT first to avoid being run over by a car (and they don’t stop here – I don’t think there is a law to “yield to pedestrians” like we take advantage of in the states).

-Unlike the crazy “hectic” northeast, everyone walks rather slowly here. One might even call it “meandering.” As many of you know, this is quite an adjustment for me as I am a speedwalker back home (and still sometimes unsuccessfully attempt to be one here)

-Rooibos tea is as common as normal tea and coffee here, and is the most amazing herbal tea EVER. It is packed with antioxidants and is really good for you! Rooibos, in Afrikaans, means “red bush” and is grown here in South Africa. I generally have 2-3 cups a day, or even more if there is the opportunity (it is THAT GOOD).

-Another note about hot drinks: coffee is always instant (even though I don’t drink it). I also found that throughout Burkina Faso last summer.

-Unfortunately, it seems that mayonnaise shows up more frequently in food/recipes than I might otherwise prefer… (mayonnaise isn’t really my favorite condiment, in fact I generally avoid it at all costs)

-The fruit is much smaller here. Like many other agricultural countries, South Africa ships its biggest and best produce to Europe and the US (next time you buy produce, check the sticker. You may be surprised at the number of miles it has traveled before actually consumed. I think that the bananas in the BC dining halls actually come from South Africa. Can anyone confirm that??)


Much love to all!
Love,
Linda

p.s it is 100 degrees here today.

keeping in touch

Hello again,

I just wanted to let you all know that internet here is a little bit different than at home. We have a limited bandwidth, and every two weeks if we use too much then we are cut off until the next cycle starts. Things like videochatting, facebook, and downloading anything use up the quota quickly.

The BEST way to keep in touch with me is through email. I have set up gmail to forward to my Rhodes email (to use less quota) and I check it frequently! I am also on gchat/aim somewhat frequently. I will be checking facebook and other blogs (and blog comments) far less (perhaps once a week or so).

Skype will unfortunately not work on my computer on this network. I am still looking into an internet café in town to get some skype time every few weeks. If you want to set up a skype date in the next few weeks, PLEASE email me and I will let you know when I plan to go camp out in the café.

Cheers!
-Linda

O-WEEK

One thing I have found thus far is that most people here frequently use abbreviations in their everyday conversations – and with the awesome South African accent, sometimes things can be quite difficult to understand. So when people were saying O-week, it took me a few days to realize that it is referring to the weeklong orientation for the first years and other new students. It has a reputation of being absolutely exhausting and ridiculous as the new students accustom themselves to the university. It is quite a comprehensive program, with lectures and discussions and events about every subject imaginable (from academics – with sample lectures and public health to a hall wine&cheese and campus-wide game nights).

The first thing I learned about O-Week was at 5am on my first morning. Every morning during O-week, we are woken at around 5am for the tradition of serenades. A men’s residence (res) comes and sings to us a few songs (usually complete with some kind of dance moves or costumes or something), and then we do a song/dance for them. Afterwards, we randomly pair up with a guy to “mingle” and exchange some small talk (which is always interesting at 5am…). At first I really didn’t like this (since I’m not exactly a morning person), but it has gotten better each day because it really bonds your res together. I hope to post a video of one of the serenades this morning but I might not be able to…

I registered for classes today, and I am taking Anthropology, Economics, Politics/International Relations, and Ethnomusicology. I am really excited!!! A semester free of the crazy nursing curriculum opens my schedule for the first time to take interesting classes just for fun, something I am not exactly used to back at BC.

I went to a Christian Fellowship meeting last night and met so many nice people! We played HUMAN FOOSBALL – such an absurd and fun game (it is a human version of a table version of a human game…)!! I might start attending church and events with these people, and I am really excited! I am potentially joining other clubs (they call them societies), and considering the African drum society, the wine tasting society, the mountain society (climbing and hiking), and the Choral society. As usual, I want to do too many things… (story of my life).

More to come later! Much love to all!
--Lindapants

the adventures begin...

Hello everyone,

I have arrived safely! Both of my bags and I made it to Rhodes on Sunday night - over 24 hours after I started traveling on Saturday afternoon.

A lot has happened in just a day and half. I am now mostly moved in to my all-girl mostly-freshman residence hall, so it has been fun and easy to make new South African and international friends (I am the only American student in this residence)! I am finally somewhat settled here, and after my first semi-full nights sleep on a real bed, I am feeling great today. International exchange orientation starts later on today and is throughout this week. Course selection/finalization is on Friday, then classes start on Monday.

My internet doesn't seem to work right now - I can only get onto Rhodes websites at the moment. I apologize if I have not responded to emails/comments/etc. Thankfully, one of my wonderful sisters has offered to post this for me :)

I hope all is well at home! Please keep me posted on things (and I will try to respond once my internet will let me check my normal email!)

Love,
Linda