My post today should have been about my Jewelry Design course that took place last night, except it didn't. At first I was really excited to receive the text from my professor reading "Check your email for details about class. No class today." However, the email stated that the Wednesday class had been canceled due to too low enrollment numbers. This was the class I was most excited about so I was a little bummed out, plus the cancellation threw a bit of a kink in my plans...
I have to keep German because I need a real language to transfer back to WVU. I would rather take French but it is Monday and Wednesday, and I have Drawing Monday. I needed one more class to add because Jewelry was 4 credits, bringing me down to 10. I thought about adding an English course that would've fit perfectly into my schedule but it was only 2 credits, and I know that the other courses will not transfer back for as many credits as they account for here; Seeing as I need 12 credits to maintain scholarships, I had to play it safer than taking exactly 12 credits. So, long story short, I am now in Afrikaans on Monday and Wednesdays. Complicated but taken care of!
Tomorrow is our first day at the Kayamandi Primary School, which I'm really excited and just a little nervous about. I meant to read up on some isiXhosa beforehand so I could talk to the kids a little bit but I just haven't had time. Can't wait to tell you guys all about it!
Goodnight from South Africa!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Classes Pt. 2
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! :)
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! :)
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! :)
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