My home away from home! My window and balcony are on the top right!
4 February 2010
Well real life has hit after this week, but I can’t complain too much because I am sitting at my kitchen table over looking the Indian Ocean as I write this. My first class was Monday and it was a music class about African jazz music. The week started well there but classes got progressively harder as the week went on. My schedule looks like this:
Monday: volunteer at House of Resurrection 8-12, Jazz class from 2-5
Tuesday: volunteer at House 8-12, senior seminar 2-5
Wednesday: Occasionally Service Learning class in the morning, South African Literature 2-5
Thursday: South African Politics 2-5
Friday: No class!
Now I know that doesn’t look like much but I have never been assigned so much reading in my life!! It’s also intimidating because our grades are all made up of 2 or 3 essays and 1 or 2 exams and that is all ek. Class is just much different here. My whole group has all of our classes together and they are all in the same building which is already feeling repetitive. The teachers are laid back but still appear as if they will be very challenging. The school in general is more laid back, I just got home from the library, and it was a nightmare. The organization and technology here seems so far behind what I’m accustomed to and it just made for a stressful situation. I feel much, much better now that I’m home and will be eating dinner soon!
The weather has been fabulous this week. Yesterday I put in at least 8miles of walking and running between going to get groceries, going to class and running home, walking to dinner, and going out and about! I love being so active; it’s a great stress reliever. Last night we went to a popular place called Barney’s because we heard there is good music on Wednesday, which was very true. We walked in and the guy was playing John Mayer, I couldn’t have been happier unless Michael would have been there so I could have bought him a beer since I’m legal here haha!
More good news… we have a new internet provider to try so hopefully I will be able to use the internet more frequently which is great news because the homesickness has hit. I’ve been fine and happy but have had moments where I just want to talk to my parents but due to various different reasons I just can’t. On the other hand I’ve so enjoyed not being on the internet much at all and not being connected to a cell phone. Yesterday I realized I haven’t watched any tv since I’ve been in Africa and I have not slept in past 8:15am so I’m definitely taking it all in!
I think I also started feeling homesick because I’m really starting to recognize that I’m not in good old MN anymore. Safety is definitely an issue here which is difficult and feels restraining because girls can’t go out on their own and we really need to travel together. It’s really difficult but it is good for me to experience and understand but I wish it was not the way it is here. I knew safety was an issue but did not expect it to be such a big issue. Everything feels different, race continues to feel like an issue and I can really sense that racism is still present here. Despite these things I do love it here but am grateful for all that I have at home. There seems to be so much more I wanted to write but I know I’ve already written a novel. More exciting news will come this weekend as we are going on a safari to see elephants and lions tomorrow and having a big 3 course meal and a braii! Say an extra prayer for me if you happen to read this so I feel at ease about going to school here at NMMU! All my love!
Megan
My fabulous flat mates before our first group potluck, each flat dressed in a color on the flag. We are on our balcony right after the sun set!
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