Last night was my first German class and, boy, was it an experience! I had nothing to do all day until class started at 5:30, so I watched a movie, took a nap, and made some food. I got ready to leave around 5 and double-checked my IPSU course book for the location. I saw that the first meeting was actually at 5, so I rushed out and made it about 20 minutes late. They were completely understanding though, and a lot more people came in late.
We spent the first class getting acquainted by playing an introduction game. Then the lecturers taught us about where they're from. We learned a lot of random German conversation and played another game where we guessed which phrases were German and which ones weren't. I have class again Thursday and we'll do more basic things.
Auf wiedersehen! :)
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday's Post: Classes pt. 1
Monday evening I had my first Drawing class
I have Drawing with Emmi and two other girls from Concordia. The class was fun but felt really long. It started at 5:30 and went for 3 hours so we were pretty hungry and tired by the end. We played an ice breaker by saying our name and a word, then drawing an abstract shape. After that we drew mass, line, and scribbled gesture drawings of each other's poses. Then we drew each other's faces over and over with charcoal attached to a long stick, in order to draw more with our bodies. Next we each got an object that we kept under our desk to feel the surface and draw how it felt to us. Finally, we took our time drawing the texture of our faces by closing our eyes and moving our hands across our faces, drawing what we felt. We concluded the class by placing all our drawings in our own drawers and then our teacher walked us out.
The class seems like it's going to be a lot of fun. There are only 7 of us and our teacher is awesome, plus she seems like she has a lot of things planned for us. I have this class every Monday so I'll let you know how it goes!!
I have Drawing with Emmi and two other girls from Concordia. The class was fun but felt really long. It started at 5:30 and went for 3 hours so we were pretty hungry and tired by the end. We played an ice breaker by saying our name and a word, then drawing an abstract shape. After that we drew mass, line, and scribbled gesture drawings of each other's poses. Then we drew each other's faces over and over with charcoal attached to a long stick, in order to draw more with our bodies. Next we each got an object that we kept under our desk to feel the surface and draw how it felt to us. Finally, we took our time drawing the texture of our faces by closing our eyes and moving our hands across our faces, drawing what we felt. We concluded the class by placing all our drawings in our own drawers and then our teacher walked us out.
The class seems like it's going to be a lot of fun. There are only 7 of us and our teacher is awesome, plus she seems like she has a lot of things planned for us. I have this class every Monday so I'll let you know how it goes!!
Monday, July 29, 2013
Let Them Eat Cake!... Or Not.
We've noticed small differences in the food here in our two weeks so far, such as the burgers are sweeter, nothing is as salty as we'd expect, cheese isn't shredded but instead comes in blocks, and so on. But the longer we are here, the more we start to crave our favorite foods from home, and the more we discover about our new home and what it has to offer. Lucky for me, there is never a shortage of chocolate. And we can't complain too much about the lack of salt because the little store at our residence gate has traditional American snacks like Lays and popcorn. But it wasn't until today that I realized, sometimes... You can't always get what you want.
Emmi's birthday is Thursday, so I've concocted this entire plan to bake her a cake and sneak it back here in time for her birthday (seeing as we don't have ovens in Concordia). Today is the only day she has class when I don't so I decided to do some grocery shopping and get the cake mix I need. I went to Food Lover's Market at the mall and came back with two arm-breakingly heavy bags, but no cake mix. I looked everywhere! Not in the aisle with the sugar, not with the eggs, not by the sweets; it was nowhere to be found. On my way out, however, I found a store right next to the market with a bunch of sweet stuff. I went inside, arms full of groceries, to ask if they had cake mix or knew where I could get some. The first lady passed me onto another, and that one looked at me like I was crazy. So, I gave up on that expedition and carried my bags home. Here I am, obviously full after a delicious lunch with my new groceries, but still sad because I can't find cake mix :(
So the search continues... You all know how I am at party planning, but this time I'm a little worried. Will this be the 22nd birthday Emmi will never forget? Or will we be digging in to breakfast muffins disguised with candles? Stay tuned!
Emmi's birthday is Thursday, so I've concocted this entire plan to bake her a cake and sneak it back here in time for her birthday (seeing as we don't have ovens in Concordia). Today is the only day she has class when I don't so I decided to do some grocery shopping and get the cake mix I need. I went to Food Lover's Market at the mall and came back with two arm-breakingly heavy bags, but no cake mix. I looked everywhere! Not in the aisle with the sugar, not with the eggs, not by the sweets; it was nowhere to be found. On my way out, however, I found a store right next to the market with a bunch of sweet stuff. I went inside, arms full of groceries, to ask if they had cake mix or knew where I could get some. The first lady passed me onto another, and that one looked at me like I was crazy. So, I gave up on that expedition and carried my bags home. Here I am, obviously full after a delicious lunch with my new groceries, but still sad because I can't find cake mix :(
So the search continues... You all know how I am at party planning, but this time I'm a little worried. Will this be the 22nd birthday Emmi will never forget? Or will we be digging in to breakfast muffins disguised with candles? Stay tuned!
Saturday, July 27, 2013
VCE
Good morning from South Africa!
This morning I had training for a VCE, (Volunteer Community Engagement, I think?) program. We, as international students, have been given the opportunity to visit a local primary school once a week to interact with the children and teachers by doing activities with them for an hour. I chose to go to Kayamandi Primary School, where I will be partnering with students from 4-6 years old. Each Friday the other students in my group and I will leave around 8 a.m., spend an hour with the children, have a little time for reflection, then head home by noon. We will do a reflective journal writing, prompted by a topic and due at noon. Depending on the prompt, I plan to make this reflection my actual blog post for Saturdays, so stick around for that.
I am very excited to meet the children and teachers and everyone I will be working with. It will be nice to fill my time learning about a culture different from my own. I expect it to be challenging, not only because these are children, but because we've been told that most cannot speak more than a few words of English. The Kayamandi students' natural tongue is isiXhosa, which is a class I almost took. Thankfully there is Google, so I may try to teach myself a little conversation language before next week.
I can't wait to share my experiences with you all! :)
This morning I had training for a VCE, (Volunteer Community Engagement, I think?) program. We, as international students, have been given the opportunity to visit a local primary school once a week to interact with the children and teachers by doing activities with them for an hour. I chose to go to Kayamandi Primary School, where I will be partnering with students from 4-6 years old. Each Friday the other students in my group and I will leave around 8 a.m., spend an hour with the children, have a little time for reflection, then head home by noon. We will do a reflective journal writing, prompted by a topic and due at noon. Depending on the prompt, I plan to make this reflection my actual blog post for Saturdays, so stick around for that.
I am very excited to meet the children and teachers and everyone I will be working with. It will be nice to fill my time learning about a culture different from my own. I expect it to be challenging, not only because these are children, but because we've been told that most cannot speak more than a few words of English. The Kayamandi students' natural tongue is isiXhosa, which is a class I almost took. Thankfully there is Google, so I may try to teach myself a little conversation language before next week.
I can't wait to share my experiences with you all! :)
Friday, July 26, 2013
Classes
We registered for classes today, I'm an official Stellenbosch student! :)
We are limited to 60 SA credits, or 15 US credits so I have 4 classes. The first is Drawing, which is Monday evenings. I'm excited for this one because it lets me continue drawing while I'm away from WVU's program and our professor, Ron. Next is Jewelry Design on Wednesday evenings. This is the one I'm most excited about because we get to make and keep our own jewelry! I decided I should make use of a semester abroad and take something that will benefit my curriculum at home, so I'm taking German on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. This way, I can pick up German 102 in the Spring and be done with the language requirement. Thursday mornings I have a class called HIV and AIDS: A South African Perspective. I have no idea what to expect of this one; I didn't attend the first meeting because I had no clue I was going to take it until this morning. But! I'm really excited to learn about the country I'm living in for so long.
Classes start Monday, wish me luck! Good night from South Africa :)
We are limited to 60 SA credits, or 15 US credits so I have 4 classes. The first is Drawing, which is Monday evenings. I'm excited for this one because it lets me continue drawing while I'm away from WVU's program and our professor, Ron. Next is Jewelry Design on Wednesday evenings. This is the one I'm most excited about because we get to make and keep our own jewelry! I decided I should make use of a semester abroad and take something that will benefit my curriculum at home, so I'm taking German on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. This way, I can pick up German 102 in the Spring and be done with the language requirement. Thursday mornings I have a class called HIV and AIDS: A South African Perspective. I have no idea what to expect of this one; I didn't attend the first meeting because I had no clue I was going to take it until this morning. But! I'm really excited to learn about the country I'm living in for so long.
Classes start Monday, wish me luck! Good night from South Africa :)
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Culture Shock: The first of many...
Hi!
I apologize for not posting yesterday. Since we pay for internet by the GB I try to write my posts offline and then copy them over, but yesterday I forgot to do that. The post I wrote was about culture shock, and then I realized it would be just as appropriate to write today's post about culture shock as well... So here is one lumped together post, and I'm sure as the semester goes on there will many more!
I had an idea of culture shock in my head before I came here. The way the exchange coordinators described it made me think it was something that happened all at once within your first week or so and makes you either hate or love the new place in which you're living. I expected culture shock to be overwhelming and exhausting, and sometimes it actually might be. However, I've learned that culture shock is just another mechanism of learning.
There is so much here that is different from home that we Americans have had to adapt to.
-There are homeless beggars on the streets of Morgantown. However, here, they don't speak your language and sometimes they are children.
-The street signs are located on the curb of the street; I'm sure you can imagine us trying to find our way around during the first days.
-The drinking age is 18 so the culture is very open to alcohol sales and consumption.
-Not everyone is willing to accommodate the Americans by speaking English. This has been one of the hardest realizations so far for everyone. My friend Lisa is taking a mainstream course, which she was told would be taught in English, but the professor spoke in Afrikaans the entire time. When she approached the professor after class and asked why she wasn't speaking English, she got the reply, "this is South Africa, you can't just expect me to speak in English all the time." She has a valid point, but a student behind Lisa felt the need to chime in and let her know that she shouldn't be in South Africa if she doesn't know Afrikaans... ouch. Which leads to my next point...
-We are learning that not all South Africans are as friendly as we had thought. We have mostly mixed with the international students, a group of people facing the same struggles as we are, so we are all friendly with each other. However, a small minority of South Africans our age are not willing to be open minded about our being here. We girls all wanted to find somewhere to dance Saturday night, and we happened to walk past a place called Tollies, which had a big crowd and loud music. Keep in mind we are entirely sober. A few of us made our way to the dance floor while the others looked for a restroom. While we were dancing, a random guy reached over and ruffed up my hair. It was weird, but I took no offense; I just laughed and kept dancing. Later, we found a few students we knew. While everyone was talking to them, Molly and I walked out to dance to one of our favorite songs. We were facing each other when a different random guy walked up behind Molly with a lit cigarette (you can smoke pretty much anywhere here) and stuck it in her ear. He looked at me and laughed as if it was some prank. Now, there are a lot of jerks in college towns and Morgantown is no exception. But never in my life have I ever seen someone stick a lit cigarette anywhere on someone else's body... except for some creep on the evening news who is going to prison for child abuse. It was a huge shock to us all, and a wake up call that you constantly just have to be ready for that kind of thing.
-Moving on..Restaurant service is slow, but maintenance and cleaning services are very quick. Any restaurant or bar we have gone to has had several uniformed staff members that walk around and take glasses and plates off tables the moment they are emptied.
-Not only is it quick, but there is service everywhere. Workers still pump gas here. There is an attendant in our laundry room who takes out our laundry and folds it for us. Security guards cover our campus. Each big grocery store has several workers at the entrances and exits, almost like guards.
I am sure there will be plenty more to post about culture shock, but I think this gives you a pretty good start. The first week is almost over and registration ends tomorrow at noon, so wish us all luck on getting set up and finally settled in!
Wishing you a wonderful day from South Africa!
Corie
I apologize for not posting yesterday. Since we pay for internet by the GB I try to write my posts offline and then copy them over, but yesterday I forgot to do that. The post I wrote was about culture shock, and then I realized it would be just as appropriate to write today's post about culture shock as well... So here is one lumped together post, and I'm sure as the semester goes on there will many more!
I had an idea of culture shock in my head before I came here. The way the exchange coordinators described it made me think it was something that happened all at once within your first week or so and makes you either hate or love the new place in which you're living. I expected culture shock to be overwhelming and exhausting, and sometimes it actually might be. However, I've learned that culture shock is just another mechanism of learning.
There is so much here that is different from home that we Americans have had to adapt to.
-There are homeless beggars on the streets of Morgantown. However, here, they don't speak your language and sometimes they are children.
-The street signs are located on the curb of the street; I'm sure you can imagine us trying to find our way around during the first days.
-The drinking age is 18 so the culture is very open to alcohol sales and consumption.
-Not everyone is willing to accommodate the Americans by speaking English. This has been one of the hardest realizations so far for everyone. My friend Lisa is taking a mainstream course, which she was told would be taught in English, but the professor spoke in Afrikaans the entire time. When she approached the professor after class and asked why she wasn't speaking English, she got the reply, "this is South Africa, you can't just expect me to speak in English all the time." She has a valid point, but a student behind Lisa felt the need to chime in and let her know that she shouldn't be in South Africa if she doesn't know Afrikaans... ouch. Which leads to my next point...
-We are learning that not all South Africans are as friendly as we had thought. We have mostly mixed with the international students, a group of people facing the same struggles as we are, so we are all friendly with each other. However, a small minority of South Africans our age are not willing to be open minded about our being here. We girls all wanted to find somewhere to dance Saturday night, and we happened to walk past a place called Tollies, which had a big crowd and loud music. Keep in mind we are entirely sober. A few of us made our way to the dance floor while the others looked for a restroom. While we were dancing, a random guy reached over and ruffed up my hair. It was weird, but I took no offense; I just laughed and kept dancing. Later, we found a few students we knew. While everyone was talking to them, Molly and I walked out to dance to one of our favorite songs. We were facing each other when a different random guy walked up behind Molly with a lit cigarette (you can smoke pretty much anywhere here) and stuck it in her ear. He looked at me and laughed as if it was some prank. Now, there are a lot of jerks in college towns and Morgantown is no exception. But never in my life have I ever seen someone stick a lit cigarette anywhere on someone else's body... except for some creep on the evening news who is going to prison for child abuse. It was a huge shock to us all, and a wake up call that you constantly just have to be ready for that kind of thing.
-Moving on..Restaurant service is slow, but maintenance and cleaning services are very quick. Any restaurant or bar we have gone to has had several uniformed staff members that walk around and take glasses and plates off tables the moment they are emptied.
-Not only is it quick, but there is service everywhere. Workers still pump gas here. There is an attendant in our laundry room who takes out our laundry and folds it for us. Security guards cover our campus. Each big grocery store has several workers at the entrances and exits, almost like guards.
I am sure there will be plenty more to post about culture shock, but I think this gives you a pretty good start. The first week is almost over and registration ends tomorrow at noon, so wish us all luck on getting set up and finally settled in!
Wishing you a wonderful day from South Africa!
Corie
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Playing Catch-Up
Sorry I haven't been able to post! I caught a little cold after a rainy day in Cape Town so I've been trying to relax and sleep it off. Now, where did I leave off...
20/07/2013
Saturday was our day in Cape Town. As I said, it was a little rainy but the sun peaked out a few times. We took buses to the waterfront and walked along the pier. We saw two dolphins swimming in the shore by the rocky beach and took a few pictures. Then we had a lunchtime snack (we were still pretty full from breakfast at McDonald's-- silly Americans!) at Mugg & Bean. LOVE that place; it smells like coffee and baked goods-- perfect for a cozy rainy morning.
Afterwards we explored the mall a bit and found a few shops we'd like to go back to during a girls' shopping weekend. Next we explored town just a bit and found a harbor cruise. We rode the Queen Victoria out through the harbor and saw a few seals, one of which was snuggled up in a tire. We had a few minutes after the tour to head back to the buses and then we drove up the mountain and saw the residential area before heading home.
21/07/2013
Sunday was a relaxing day so there isn't much to write about. I'll take this spot to write about the people I've met so far. There is my flat-mate, Emmi. Across the courtyard are the boys, Nick from Seattle, Evan from Iowa, and Joe from Ohio. They are still waiting on one more roommate. One floor above them is Molly from Iowa, Lisa from Virginia, Kasey from New Jersey, and their newest roommate Kathryn from Seattle.Across the hall from them are Claudie, whose family is actually from South Africa so she is fluent in Afrikaans, Rebecca, and Maura. We have also met a few other people from Concordia: Natasha from N.C., and her roommate, Iris, from Finland; Another Rebekah, Taylor, Emily, Jordan, and Amy. The majority of international students here are either from the U.S. or Germany. We've met a few friends from Germany: Tobias, who is studying to be a Lutheran pastor and is here for a year, and his flatmate, Sven; Max, Tim, another Max who I met at the airport, as well as Birtr, Stephanie, and Moritz (airport, too).
22/07/2013
Monday began our week of "first meetings." The international students are taken care of very well here and the Post Graduate and International Office (PGIO) helps us with a lot. We have a few options for courses; there are IPSU courses, designed specifically for international students and taught in English. Then there are mainstream courses, taught in either Afrikaans, English, or 50/50 Afrikaans/English. Most international students don't take mainstream courses, but there are a few that will take them if they are in English. For example, Molly and Nick are taking biology in English. The classes are longer, usually three classes per week plus a lab, just like at home. IPSU courses, however, are only once or twice a week, and I have yet to see an IPSU course scheduled for a Friday.
We are only allowed to take 60 SA credits, or 15 US credits. I am taking Drawing on Mondays for 4 credits, Jewelry Design on Wednesdays for 4 credits, German on Tuesdays and Thursdays for 3 credits, and isiXhosa on Wednesdays and Thursdays for 3 credits, all with a total of 14 credits. I know for sure Drawing and German will transfer back, but I will have to find a way to make Jewelry and isiXhosa work.
So far I have had first meetings for Drawing and Jewelry. The date for isiXhosa says Wednesday the 23rd, so I'm going to go tomorrow and see if the class is there. German doesn't meet until next week.
Classes will last until Oct. 25th and then we have the option to take exams during a 1st or 2nd round. If you opt for 1st and fail you can try again for the 2nd round. I'm hoping to take 1st round and then travel.
That covers us up to today!
23/07/2013
As I've said, I have been sick the past few days with a cold. This morning I walked to town for isiXhosa, only to get there and check my course book to see it is tomorrow. So, I walked down the street to the mall to find a pharmacy. I found Clicks, which has a pharmacy, but couldn't find any decongestant. I settled for a throat spray and then bought a hair dryer so I no longer have to walk around in the cold with wet hair (probably how I got sick in the first place).
Other than that I've been asleep the majority of the day and went to my first meeting for Jewelry. I'm really excited for that class because we get to make earrings, rings, a bracelet, and a necklace, all of which we get to keep! Then we walked a girl in our class to her next first meeting since she didn't know where it was (look at me getting these directions down!). Finally we walked home and had a quick dinner.
Student life is a bit boring compared to at home since we can't stay on the internet much and we don't have TV. Classes only take up a small portion of the day and the gym is across town. Not to mention it's very rainy and cold right now. I think in about a month or so things might pick up a bit but right now we're doing a lot of just trying to fill in empty time.
Until tomorrow, good night from South Africa!
Corie
20/07/2013
Saturday was our day in Cape Town. As I said, it was a little rainy but the sun peaked out a few times. We took buses to the waterfront and walked along the pier. We saw two dolphins swimming in the shore by the rocky beach and took a few pictures. Then we had a lunchtime snack (we were still pretty full from breakfast at McDonald's-- silly Americans!) at Mugg & Bean. LOVE that place; it smells like coffee and baked goods-- perfect for a cozy rainy morning.Afterwards we explored the mall a bit and found a few shops we'd like to go back to during a girls' shopping weekend. Next we explored town just a bit and found a harbor cruise. We rode the Queen Victoria out through the harbor and saw a few seals, one of which was snuggled up in a tire. We had a few minutes after the tour to head back to the buses and then we drove up the mountain and saw the residential area before heading home.
21/07/2013
Sunday was a relaxing day so there isn't much to write about. I'll take this spot to write about the people I've met so far. There is my flat-mate, Emmi. Across the courtyard are the boys, Nick from Seattle, Evan from Iowa, and Joe from Ohio. They are still waiting on one more roommate. One floor above them is Molly from Iowa, Lisa from Virginia, Kasey from New Jersey, and their newest roommate Kathryn from Seattle.Across the hall from them are Claudie, whose family is actually from South Africa so she is fluent in Afrikaans, Rebecca, and Maura. We have also met a few other people from Concordia: Natasha from N.C., and her roommate, Iris, from Finland; Another Rebekah, Taylor, Emily, Jordan, and Amy. The majority of international students here are either from the U.S. or Germany. We've met a few friends from Germany: Tobias, who is studying to be a Lutheran pastor and is here for a year, and his flatmate, Sven; Max, Tim, another Max who I met at the airport, as well as Birtr, Stephanie, and Moritz (airport, too).
 |
| From L to R: Kasey, Rebecca, me, Lisa, Evan |
 |
| From L to R, back: Molly, me, Emmi, Lisa; front: Joe, Evan, Nick |
Monday began our week of "first meetings." The international students are taken care of very well here and the Post Graduate and International Office (PGIO) helps us with a lot. We have a few options for courses; there are IPSU courses, designed specifically for international students and taught in English. Then there are mainstream courses, taught in either Afrikaans, English, or 50/50 Afrikaans/English. Most international students don't take mainstream courses, but there are a few that will take them if they are in English. For example, Molly and Nick are taking biology in English. The classes are longer, usually three classes per week plus a lab, just like at home. IPSU courses, however, are only once or twice a week, and I have yet to see an IPSU course scheduled for a Friday.
We are only allowed to take 60 SA credits, or 15 US credits. I am taking Drawing on Mondays for 4 credits, Jewelry Design on Wednesdays for 4 credits, German on Tuesdays and Thursdays for 3 credits, and isiXhosa on Wednesdays and Thursdays for 3 credits, all with a total of 14 credits. I know for sure Drawing and German will transfer back, but I will have to find a way to make Jewelry and isiXhosa work.
So far I have had first meetings for Drawing and Jewelry. The date for isiXhosa says Wednesday the 23rd, so I'm going to go tomorrow and see if the class is there. German doesn't meet until next week.
Classes will last until Oct. 25th and then we have the option to take exams during a 1st or 2nd round. If you opt for 1st and fail you can try again for the 2nd round. I'm hoping to take 1st round and then travel.
That covers us up to today!
23/07/2013
As I've said, I have been sick the past few days with a cold. This morning I walked to town for isiXhosa, only to get there and check my course book to see it is tomorrow. So, I walked down the street to the mall to find a pharmacy. I found Clicks, which has a pharmacy, but couldn't find any decongestant. I settled for a throat spray and then bought a hair dryer so I no longer have to walk around in the cold with wet hair (probably how I got sick in the first place).
Other than that I've been asleep the majority of the day and went to my first meeting for Jewelry. I'm really excited for that class because we get to make earrings, rings, a bracelet, and a necklace, all of which we get to keep! Then we walked a girl in our class to her next first meeting since she didn't know where it was (look at me getting these directions down!). Finally we walked home and had a quick dinner.
Student life is a bit boring compared to at home since we can't stay on the internet much and we don't have TV. Classes only take up a small portion of the day and the gym is across town. Not to mention it's very rainy and cold right now. I think in about a month or so things might pick up a bit but right now we're doing a lot of just trying to fill in empty time.
Until tomorrow, good night from South Africa!
Corie
Friday, July 19, 2013
First Post from Africa
Hello, All!
We finally got internet access this afternoon. Our time difference from WVU is 6 hours so it's almost midnight here. I took a 4-hour nap earlier so I'm wide awake and ready to write a little.
It turns out that I can use my blog for honors credit, so I will try to post a little bit each day about what I've been up to.
I'll try to catch you up on the journey getting here now...
I flew from Pittsburgh to NYC Sunday morning and spent the day exploring the city with my friend, Molly. We ate lunch at The Grey Dog, then dessert at Little Cupcake Bakery. That night I boarded for Doha, Qatar. I landed there on Monday night and stayed at the Oryx Rotana near the airport. It was very, very nice and everyone was very friendly. The next morning I left early for Cape Town, with a technical stop in Johannesburg.
I finally arrived Tuesday night and got to my flat in Concordia around 9 p.m. I met my roommate the next morning. She is a fellow American, Emmi from Montana. We had a long day of orientation and then explored campus and the mall, then went to dinner at a restaurant called Does (?).
Thursday was another day of orientation. We learned a little Afrikaans and isiXhosa, which was really fun, and then talked about registering for classes. I'll explain more about classes in a later post. It was also Mandela Day! We celebrated Madiba's birthday by watching videos and writing inspiring quotes on paper tiles to place on the wall as a mosaic.
That night we participated in the South African tradition of a braai, or barbeque. It was so much more than a typical American barbeque, though! We played drums at our tables, had lamb from a huge grill, and then danced until it was time to go back to campus. Then we went to a local place called Bohemia, followed by a sports pub called Springbok, then finally home.
This morning we set up our internet and computers. It rained all day so we all stayed in and napped. Which brings me to right now.
I've left out a lot of detail, but you can see how busy I've been. I'm having a lot of fun and learning a lot. Tomorrow we are spending the day in Cape Town so I might not be able to post. I will make up for it Sunday, promise!
Good night from South Africa!
Corie
We finally got internet access this afternoon. Our time difference from WVU is 6 hours so it's almost midnight here. I took a 4-hour nap earlier so I'm wide awake and ready to write a little.
It turns out that I can use my blog for honors credit, so I will try to post a little bit each day about what I've been up to.
I'll try to catch you up on the journey getting here now...
I flew from Pittsburgh to NYC Sunday morning and spent the day exploring the city with my friend, Molly. We ate lunch at The Grey Dog, then dessert at Little Cupcake Bakery. That night I boarded for Doha, Qatar. I landed there on Monday night and stayed at the Oryx Rotana near the airport. It was very, very nice and everyone was very friendly. The next morning I left early for Cape Town, with a technical stop in Johannesburg.
I finally arrived Tuesday night and got to my flat in Concordia around 9 p.m. I met my roommate the next morning. She is a fellow American, Emmi from Montana. We had a long day of orientation and then explored campus and the mall, then went to dinner at a restaurant called Does (?).
Thursday was another day of orientation. We learned a little Afrikaans and isiXhosa, which was really fun, and then talked about registering for classes. I'll explain more about classes in a later post. It was also Mandela Day! We celebrated Madiba's birthday by watching videos and writing inspiring quotes on paper tiles to place on the wall as a mosaic.
That night we participated in the South African tradition of a braai, or barbeque. It was so much more than a typical American barbeque, though! We played drums at our tables, had lamb from a huge grill, and then danced until it was time to go back to campus. Then we went to a local place called Bohemia, followed by a sports pub called Springbok, then finally home.
This morning we set up our internet and computers. It rained all day so we all stayed in and napped. Which brings me to right now.
I've left out a lot of detail, but you can see how busy I've been. I'm having a lot of fun and learning a lot. Tomorrow we are spending the day in Cape Town so I might not be able to post. I will make up for it Sunday, promise!
Good night from South Africa!
Corie
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