Hi friends,
This week has been pretty quiet in the office. Both Monique and Sashley have off work this week since it is exam week for students and campus isn't too busy with student activities. While they are out, I have been working on a couple of individual projects. Firstly, I created a few lesson plans and informational handouts and worksheets for the Advanced Leaders Program. I finished those this afternoon and sent them off to Tonia and Monique for their review. Secondly, I started working on the comparative assessment of the Leadership and Social Responsibility office at UWC to those of other institutions. So far I did a comparative analysis of Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in California. Tomorrow and next week I will begin looking at other universities in the States that have well-developed leadership, community service, and social justice departments. Lastly, I have spent some time this week beginning to plan Tim and my trip to Port Elizabeth.
For the Port Elizabeth trip, we will be hiring (renting) a car and I will be the driver. We will need 5 days for the trip! If you didn't know, already I AM SUPER EXCITED about adventuring our trip to Port Elizabeth. On the way there, I would like to stop in Cape Agulhas, where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. In Port Elizabeth, I really want to go on a safari and see all the animals in the reserves! :) On the way back, I would like to stay overnight in Oudtshoorn and explore the Canga Caves. There are so many beautiful things to see! Tonia's partner is from Port Elizabeth, so she has been helping me figure out accommodations of places to stay and where we can go. Today I created a potential itinerary and budget as a starting point so that Tim and I can sit down and create our plan! Hooray!!!
This weekend the weather is supposed to be beautiful (*fingers crossed*), so Njabulo is planning to join us in a hike up Table Mountain on Sunday. Can't wait! On Saturday, Tim and Njabulo are working at a 5k race their department is hosting, so we will have a quiet evening so they can rest (they need to be there from 4-10am!) But, Njabulo said he might take us to Mzouli's for eats afterward, which is a braai restaurant in the Nyanda township. It would be an awesome cultural experience! I am hoping the weather is nice next weekend too so that we can spend one day at Cape Point and the other day in Stellenbosch. Cape Point is about an hour south of here and has penguins, monkeys, and beautiful lighthouses we can climb. We also saw some excursions with biking and kayaking at Cape Point in some tourist pamphlets, so that is a possibility too. Stellenbosch is the wine grassland region of the Western Cape, about half an hour away. We will be able to go to one (or maybe a couple!) wineries and see the beautiful landscapes. One winery, called Spierd, is also a Cheetah reserve--which sounds amazing to see. I can picture myself now running around with some cheetahs while sipping wine. Ah, the wonders of Africa. (Just kidding...)
As you can see, I have been taking advantage of this quiet week to begin some adventure-planning! I am really hoping we can get to everything we have on our bucket list. When I look at my calendar it feels like we have plenty of time left to fit it all in, but I know it will go by FAST and many of our plans are weather dependent.
Looking forward to the weekend :)
Kaity
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
Glimpse of Cape Town
Hi everyone!
Tim and I had a very wonderful weekend full of sunshine! :) On Friday, we spent the evening with Julia and some of her friends. Julia works in Res Admin and has been our liaison since our arrival. Friday was her birthday so we had cake and good conversation. On Saturday, Tim and I went to the Waterfront again. We went to the aquarium and spent some time walking through the red barn and blue barn, which are filled with shops and stands of people selling traditional African art and crafts.
On Sunday, we went on the Cape Town Bus Tour throughout the city. It was truly incredible! My colleague, Munya, and his friend Nothi (pronounced Naughty) came with us on the tour. We had the best time! The tour bus took us all around the city and showed us all of the historical areas. The city has an absolutely amazing and beautiful history. I will go into more detail at a later time. We got to tour the Castle of Good Hope, go up to the base of Table Mountain, and cruise through Camps Bay.
Below, you will experience a virtual Cape Town bus tour through some images from our trip. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome about the City Sight-Seeing Cape Town Bus Tour! Please be sure to fasten your seatbelts and keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. Do not feed the animals, and children, please do not talk to strangers. Enjoy the tour!
Alright passengers, it appears we have made it safely back home and our journey today is complete. Thank you for joining us on the lovely City Sight-Seeing Cape Town Bus Tour. We hope you enjoyed your trip and are sure to join us again soon. Please look forward to more photos in the coming days. Sincerely, your captain.
Sending love to everyone,
Kaity
Tim and I had a very wonderful weekend full of sunshine! :) On Friday, we spent the evening with Julia and some of her friends. Julia works in Res Admin and has been our liaison since our arrival. Friday was her birthday so we had cake and good conversation. On Saturday, Tim and I went to the Waterfront again. We went to the aquarium and spent some time walking through the red barn and blue barn, which are filled with shops and stands of people selling traditional African art and crafts.
On Sunday, we went on the Cape Town Bus Tour throughout the city. It was truly incredible! My colleague, Munya, and his friend Nothi (pronounced Naughty) came with us on the tour. We had the best time! The tour bus took us all around the city and showed us all of the historical areas. The city has an absolutely amazing and beautiful history. I will go into more detail at a later time. We got to tour the Castle of Good Hope, go up to the base of Table Mountain, and cruise through Camps Bay.
Below, you will experience a virtual Cape Town bus tour through some images from our trip. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome about the City Sight-Seeing Cape Town Bus Tour! Please be sure to fasten your seatbelts and keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. Do not feed the animals, and children, please do not talk to strangers. Enjoy the tour!
The V&A Waterfront with Table Mountain in the background. I love how still the water is and how the mountain looks painted in the background.
The Waterfront. How beautiful!
Tim soaking up some sun at lunchtime. The view from the restaurant was wonderful :)
Lion's Head Mountain and the city of Cape Town below.
Nothi and Munya on the bus ready for our tour!
Long Street is well-known for its bars, pubs, shops, and nightlife. Can't wait to go out to Long Street one night and party it up!
The tower above the entrance to the Castle of Good Hope.
The courtyard in the Castle of Good Hope. Oh, and Nothi photo-bombing my shot! :)
We decided there was a lack of torture happening in the Torture Chamber, so we thought we would spice it up...
City streets.
I love this house, especially the ivy!
Tim and I overlooking the city of Cape Town below. This was from the bus stop at the bottom of Table Mountain. I have my *fingers crossed* that we get to hike Table Mountain this weekend!
Camps Bay
Life is a highwayyyyyyyy
Nothi and I at dinner :)
One last breath-taking view of the city of Cape Town and the bay from the base of Table Mountain.
Sending love to everyone,
Kaity
Saturday, May 26, 2012
1st week recap
So I'm not really sure what to blog about tonight. I meant to blog a couple of more times this week but things kept coming up. Went to the mall to try to find an adapter for my tablet but they were all sold out. Another afternoon was spent successfully getting my tablet connected to the internet, hence why I am not blogging from my office computer. I was quite thrilled to have internet on my tablet through wireless, but unfortunately no android apps can access the proxy for the internet that the school has set up. This means that I can't download more kindle books or install a paint app to do my fun posts. So I guess I'll just say right now that no matter how much you want there to be poorly drawn paint animations in this post, there will sadly not be any. I do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause anyone. Also I'm on book #5 so far so hopefully I will be able to get my kindle app going before I run out of books. I should be able to take books out of the library as well so I mind end up doing that instead of downloading more books. There is such a rich history here at this university so I am sure they have some great books to read. On Monday Mark, who works over in Res Admin, was talking to me about the history of UWC. Apparently when Mandela was elected he asked several administrators and faculty members to join him in his administration. In fact I even think he said that the South African constitution was signed here at UWC. In other words, like I said, there is a rich history at UWC that I want to learn more about. Mark also spoke about how important the students at UWC are. Democracy in South Africa is nowhere near as old as it is in the U.S. and therefore it relies strongly on the youth of South Africa to help to support and nurture it.
Well continuing right along, I believe I left off stating that we landed in Cape Town. If I left that out well then surprise! I have not been stuck on the plane in a holding pattern above Cape Town international airport for the last week, but instead have been living comfortably in a guest res at UWC. I know Kaity has already blogged a lot about how nice the people are and let me tell you that she did not exaggerate at all. The people we have met here have definitely made our transition possible. Every day it seems that we meet someone new who is up to adventure with us. I know in my office I recently learned that one of the folks in my office who goes by Mr. Res Life, but who's named Njabulo, loves to hike and can take us up Table Mountain and Lion's Head. He also offered to take us into one of the townships to a very popular place to get more of a feel for culture of South Africa. Hopefully Kaity and I will find the time to fit everything in before we have to head home. I know she is busy planning our trip to Port Elizabeth that we will hopefully get to do sometime around mid-June. We are still looking for others though to help to show us all that this beautiful country has to offer.
I guess I should also backtrack for a second and explain what I've been doing work wise since I've been here. When we arrived on Friday Munya from CSSS picked us up at the airport. He was very kind and friendly and has gone out of his way, several times, to help me and Kaity out. In fact, he is taking us on a tour of Cape Town tomorrow which I am really looking forward to. Sorry for getting off track again. Anyway, I got a quick tour of the office where Kaity works and got a chance to meet just about everyone. They are all super friendly and nice. They made me feel right at home even though I am not working in their office. Instead I am working in Res Life, which I came to find out has only existed since January. Needless to say some things are a work in progress and it is a little confusing at times trying to keep busy. Especially since my supervisor, Faeza, left on Wednesday for a 2 week study tour in the U.S. and the other main coordinator, Candice, has been in and out this week. However, I have helped out where I can. I reviewed some reports for House Committees, which are similar to hall councils, as well as looked over a new constitution for the Central House Committee here at UWC. Again think RSA if you need a comparison. I think this was some good experience and it did cause me to come again to a realization I have been having. For as much as people fight or refuse to get along with each other over differences, it really is amazing all of the things we have in common. I wouldn't be surprised if a student back at BGSU had more in common with a student here at UWC than they would with their roommate. There just seems to be something that all human beings share regardless of where they come from, what language they speak, or what their culture is. Just reminds me of how silly it is when we chose to only focus on what makes us different and allow those differences to create to illusion that we have nothing in common. Then instead of celebrating our differences and learning from each other we let our differences become a way to define ourselves and to define the "other" creating the false idea that the other is someone who is not civilized, someone is not quite as human as us. Realizing how similar we are too one another makes me think of how some go so far out of their way to define themself and to define the other.
Well I'm not sure how coherent that was, so I do apologize. It is getting late here, and I've had a long day. So needless to say I will keep it brief...yes I know I have already failed at that...but I will try nonetheless. Anyway, I learned that students on HCs at UWC are guilty of the same thing many students back in the U.S. are guilty of. Spending way too much money on food when it comes to programming. This is the part that caused me to have that above realization. Clearly there is currently something in the nature of students, at least in the parts of the U.S. and South Africa I've worked in, that cause them to have programs where students come for food and leave. It just makes me wonder what other basic underlying characteristics do we share and how much in common we would have if we learned to recognize them along with what we can learn from each other. Anywho..where was I. Ah yes... Remember folks "it's about programs, not pizza" (LoConte, personal communication, 2011). So I made my recommendation to not over buy food for 300 people and to be ok with the fact that when the food is gone it is gone. I encouraged them to be more creative with program ideas and hopefully food won't need to be the focus of a program. Besides writing these reports I am also leading a team in charge of surveying students about their interaction with Res Life so far in the hopes of assessing the work Res Life has done so far this semester and also what needs to start and stop happening in order for this new office to reach its goal of supporting students.
So that's basically what I have been doing so far. All the documents are created and ready to go, just need to wait to Monday to start distribution so I will blog again next week about how that's going. I will also probably blog again tomorrow and include some photos from this weekend’s adventures. Until then.
~Timocskasy
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Snapshot of Awesomeness
Hi friends,
Tomorrow will be our ONE WEEK in Cape Town! Can you believe it?! It's already flying by. But, this week has been seriously awesome so far! So many great things going on. :)
Yesterday we "hired a cab" to take us to Canal Walk mall for an evening adventure. The cab driver we hired was recommended to us by students and staff on campus. He is a student at UWC and owns a small cab company called Campus Transport that drives UWC students around Cape Town for cheaper than the other public cabs. Pretty cool, right? The driver was fun and seemed like someone cool we could maybe hang out with in the future. He mentioned he could possibly take us to a braai (bbq) in one of the townships sometime--which would be such a great experience! Oh, and the mall was very nice. I got a new blow dryer since I blew mine (haha) and we had a nice pizza dinner.
Today I went to Belhar primary school (K-8th grade) with Munya and Sashley. Munya and Sashley were presenting to 4 classes of 7th and 8th graders tips for entrepreneurship to educate and inspire them. The classes were very receptive and it was super fun to see what youth education is like in Cape Town. There are a couple differences from the States. Here, students in public schools wear uniforms, and they do not wear uniforms at private schools. Also, the schools teach the students two languages--English as the first language, and Afrikaans as the second. There is one class per grade level that teaches Afrikaans as the first language to support students who grow up speaking Afrikaans at home. Cool, right?
Below are a couple photos from the program. At the end of the day, we were able to watch students from the Afrikaans-speaking class present a project in English (see the last photo). I can't wait to go back in a couple weeks for the next entrepreneurship lessons!
Tomorrow will be our ONE WEEK in Cape Town! Can you believe it?! It's already flying by. But, this week has been seriously awesome so far! So many great things going on. :)
Yesterday we "hired a cab" to take us to Canal Walk mall for an evening adventure. The cab driver we hired was recommended to us by students and staff on campus. He is a student at UWC and owns a small cab company called Campus Transport that drives UWC students around Cape Town for cheaper than the other public cabs. Pretty cool, right? The driver was fun and seemed like someone cool we could maybe hang out with in the future. He mentioned he could possibly take us to a braai (bbq) in one of the townships sometime--which would be such a great experience! Oh, and the mall was very nice. I got a new blow dryer since I blew mine (haha) and we had a nice pizza dinner.
Today I went to Belhar primary school (K-8th grade) with Munya and Sashley. Munya and Sashley were presenting to 4 classes of 7th and 8th graders tips for entrepreneurship to educate and inspire them. The classes were very receptive and it was super fun to see what youth education is like in Cape Town. There are a couple differences from the States. Here, students in public schools wear uniforms, and they do not wear uniforms at private schools. Also, the schools teach the students two languages--English as the first language, and Afrikaans as the second. There is one class per grade level that teaches Afrikaans as the first language to support students who grow up speaking Afrikaans at home. Cool, right?
Below are a couple photos from the program. At the end of the day, we were able to watch students from the Afrikaans-speaking class present a project in English (see the last photo). I can't wait to go back in a couple weeks for the next entrepreneurship lessons!
Lastly, I have had a few simple "wins" that make my heart happy! I was able to clean my bathroom yesterday and vacuum my room today! I feel so much better when my space is clean. Munya was able to fix my internet so it will hopefully not flake out like it did last night (fingers crossed). Tim told me that I could access iheartradio for free music--which works! I am currently streaming Kiss FM from Albany. Super pumped. BUT even better, I figured out how to transfer the music from my iPod to this netbook so I can have music when I am chillin' in the room or office! :) Sashley invited me to go to the movies to see "The Lucky One" (a super chick flick) with her and some friends next week--hooray! AND she is considering coming to Port Elizabeth with us for an adventure in June.
All AWESOME things, right?
"The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does." --James M. Barrie
Kaity
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Falling in love...
...with Cape Town. :)
Just finished my second day of work in the Leadership and Social Responsibility Office. In all seriousness, I am going to love working here! The office culture is fun, upbeat, silly, collegial, and friendly--all things that suit me well. I share an office with Monique, who has been very helpful in showing me the ropes as we get settled. Sashley, Munya, Arnold, and my supervisor Tonia are also wonderful. I can learn so much from them and will have a great time while doing it.
Yesterday I went to a session with Birgit, the CSSS department chair, and learned about the national context of higher education in South Africa and where student affairs (or student development as they prefer to call it) fits in. I learned a lot about the history and culture of UWC, which is truly a phenomenal history with political and social justice roots. It is quite incredible. Sashley and Arnold gave me a great campus tour. The library is 14 levels and has a phenomenal spiral ramp up the center to get to the top. The student center is a great space for student interaction and there are campus is pretty easy to navigate. Today I had the pleasure of meeting with each colleague in my office to learn about them and their roles in the office. Then, I spent some time relaxing with Monique and going over some of Tim and my adventure plans and learning more about where we can go and how to travel safely. To end the day, I sat down with Tonia to discuss some of the projects it seems I will work on during internship. The things it seems I will probably be working on are below:
1. Working with SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) helping to coach and prepare them for the national conference in July. SIFE has three values of people, planet, and profit, so the students in these groups are very community and social responsibility focused, which I love. I have the opportunity to go to the competition with the SIFE team from our campus and Monique to see them compete! The competition is in Jo'burg from July 10-13 and there are 27 SIFE teams in South Africa that are invited to compete! I am so excited! It will be a great trip and a wonderful opportunity to see the amazing programs that different student groups across the country have completed.
2. Helping with the Advanced Leaders Program (ALP). ALP is the second class, following the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) offered by my office for student leaders to develop their leadership skills. Students need to apply and be chosen for the program after interviews, and only those who have completed ELP can progress to ALP. I will have the opportunity to help create lesson plans for a few of the ALP sessions and co-facillitate a few classes with Arnold or Monique!
3. Help plan Mandela Week. Nelson Mandela's birthday is July 18th. Starting that day, UWC participates in a week of community outreach and service initiatives where they encourage students and staff to give back to the community. I will be helping Sashley to plan projects and opportunities, and to work with student groups to help their ideas come to fruition. From what I understand, all participants in Mandela Week plan to spend 67 hours doing service, and if a certain number of people participate, this equals the number of hours Mandela spent in prison. This is an opportunity to commemorate that and give back. Unfortunately, I leave Cape Town the day before Mandela Week begins, so I will not be able to see the project through fruition, but I can still help plan!
4. Strategic vision planning. The Leadership and Social Responsibility office is currently facing a problem where they have so many projects and responsibilities, that they are feeling very diluted and unable to focus strongly on the areas that relate back to the university's strategic goals and have the most impact on student development. Therefore, this internship I will be working with the team to help strategically assess the work of the department. We will analyze their progress this year (challenges, successes, if they met goals, if their goals need to be changed). We will also assess staff member commitments and how much time is spent on different projects to see if their job responsibilities need to be shifted or if projects can be shifted or dropped. To give more insight in this, we will assess the reach and depth of the impact of the projects, their significance to the strategic mission, their costs and benefits, and also benchmark our programs against other universities.
In addition to these items, I am sure that I will have the opportunity to help with other tasks in the office! Thursday I get to go with Sashley and Munya to speak to 8th graders about financial literacy. Munya works in the office to promote entrepreneurship and financial literacy for UWC students and people in the community. I will get to go with them to see their presentation to the youth to help them learn to save their money and encourage them to stay in school and be entrepreneurial. I think it will be a fun opportunity!
To wrap it up--I am super pumped to be here! I truly am. :) Every person I meet has something to teach me, and every conversation or thing I see and do is new and exciting and eye opening. The diversity at UWC is astounding, and everyone truly is genuinely kind. After talking with Christy and some others here and back home, we have also learned that my previous assumptions about public transportation was a bit exaggerated. Some of the people here in Cape Town are fearful, but it may be because of their perceptions, or because they haven't tried public transportation themselves. As long as we practice skills of street smarts, and travel in groups, we will be just fine. :) I am ready to explore! Saturday, Munya is taking us on a Cape Town bus tour, and then Sunday we want to go to Table Mountain or try another adventure since the weather seems like it will be great!
More to come soon. Sending love back to the states!
Kaity
PS: Shoutouts to Mom, Jessie, Annie, Dani, Bruce, Corey, Kristin, Christy, and others for all the support, love, and encouragement as we adjusted to being here. It is with everyone's wisdom, kind words, and support that I know I can enjoy my time away from home and have an amazing educational experience in my short time here! Thanks <3
Just finished my second day of work in the Leadership and Social Responsibility Office. In all seriousness, I am going to love working here! The office culture is fun, upbeat, silly, collegial, and friendly--all things that suit me well. I share an office with Monique, who has been very helpful in showing me the ropes as we get settled. Sashley, Munya, Arnold, and my supervisor Tonia are also wonderful. I can learn so much from them and will have a great time while doing it.
Yesterday I went to a session with Birgit, the CSSS department chair, and learned about the national context of higher education in South Africa and where student affairs (or student development as they prefer to call it) fits in. I learned a lot about the history and culture of UWC, which is truly a phenomenal history with political and social justice roots. It is quite incredible. Sashley and Arnold gave me a great campus tour. The library is 14 levels and has a phenomenal spiral ramp up the center to get to the top. The student center is a great space for student interaction and there are campus is pretty easy to navigate. Today I had the pleasure of meeting with each colleague in my office to learn about them and their roles in the office. Then, I spent some time relaxing with Monique and going over some of Tim and my adventure plans and learning more about where we can go and how to travel safely. To end the day, I sat down with Tonia to discuss some of the projects it seems I will work on during internship. The things it seems I will probably be working on are below:
1. Working with SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) helping to coach and prepare them for the national conference in July. SIFE has three values of people, planet, and profit, so the students in these groups are very community and social responsibility focused, which I love. I have the opportunity to go to the competition with the SIFE team from our campus and Monique to see them compete! The competition is in Jo'burg from July 10-13 and there are 27 SIFE teams in South Africa that are invited to compete! I am so excited! It will be a great trip and a wonderful opportunity to see the amazing programs that different student groups across the country have completed.
2. Helping with the Advanced Leaders Program (ALP). ALP is the second class, following the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) offered by my office for student leaders to develop their leadership skills. Students need to apply and be chosen for the program after interviews, and only those who have completed ELP can progress to ALP. I will have the opportunity to help create lesson plans for a few of the ALP sessions and co-facillitate a few classes with Arnold or Monique!
3. Help plan Mandela Week. Nelson Mandela's birthday is July 18th. Starting that day, UWC participates in a week of community outreach and service initiatives where they encourage students and staff to give back to the community. I will be helping Sashley to plan projects and opportunities, and to work with student groups to help their ideas come to fruition. From what I understand, all participants in Mandela Week plan to spend 67 hours doing service, and if a certain number of people participate, this equals the number of hours Mandela spent in prison. This is an opportunity to commemorate that and give back. Unfortunately, I leave Cape Town the day before Mandela Week begins, so I will not be able to see the project through fruition, but I can still help plan!
4. Strategic vision planning. The Leadership and Social Responsibility office is currently facing a problem where they have so many projects and responsibilities, that they are feeling very diluted and unable to focus strongly on the areas that relate back to the university's strategic goals and have the most impact on student development. Therefore, this internship I will be working with the team to help strategically assess the work of the department. We will analyze their progress this year (challenges, successes, if they met goals, if their goals need to be changed). We will also assess staff member commitments and how much time is spent on different projects to see if their job responsibilities need to be shifted or if projects can be shifted or dropped. To give more insight in this, we will assess the reach and depth of the impact of the projects, their significance to the strategic mission, their costs and benefits, and also benchmark our programs against other universities.
In addition to these items, I am sure that I will have the opportunity to help with other tasks in the office! Thursday I get to go with Sashley and Munya to speak to 8th graders about financial literacy. Munya works in the office to promote entrepreneurship and financial literacy for UWC students and people in the community. I will get to go with them to see their presentation to the youth to help them learn to save their money and encourage them to stay in school and be entrepreneurial. I think it will be a fun opportunity!
To wrap it up--I am super pumped to be here! I truly am. :) Every person I meet has something to teach me, and every conversation or thing I see and do is new and exciting and eye opening. The diversity at UWC is astounding, and everyone truly is genuinely kind. After talking with Christy and some others here and back home, we have also learned that my previous assumptions about public transportation was a bit exaggerated. Some of the people here in Cape Town are fearful, but it may be because of their perceptions, or because they haven't tried public transportation themselves. As long as we practice skills of street smarts, and travel in groups, we will be just fine. :) I am ready to explore! Saturday, Munya is taking us on a Cape Town bus tour, and then Sunday we want to go to Table Mountain or try another adventure since the weather seems like it will be great!
More to come soon. Sending love back to the states!
Kaity
PS: Shoutouts to Mom, Jessie, Annie, Dani, Bruce, Corey, Kristin, Christy, and others for all the support, love, and encouragement as we adjusted to being here. It is with everyone's wisdom, kind words, and support that I know I can enjoy my time away from home and have an amazing educational experience in my short time here! Thanks <3
Sorry for the Delay!
Hi Folks!
Sorry it has taken so long for me to get my first blog up, but the internet has been in a battle with me. Well not exactly me, but my tablet. So for now my tablet has sulked away in defeat, but hopefully it will rise again. Until then I have finally been able to get access to my work computer and can use the internet there, hence why I'm finally blogging.
So before I get to the "actual blog stuff" I wanted to explain what my posts will generally be about. Overall I will have two types of blogs. One will be an animated tale of our adventures (once my tablet wins out and beats the internet). For those familiar with Hyperboleandahalf.com you should feel right at home. If you have never heard of that blog I highly suggest it. In fact I believe that you will have a lot of fun if you go visit that site. Did you get the joke? Do you want to? Well then go check out that blog! It's written by the very funny, yet sadly depressed Allie. Anyway, the other type of blog that I will post will be more serious reflections and explanations about what I am learning and doing out here. They will most likely include photos and will most definitely include ramblings, which I apologize in advance for. I promise not to make one long blog about everything that has happened so far, but will instead break it up into a few belated posts.
So where to begin...
Sorry it has taken so long for me to get my first blog up, but the internet has been in a battle with me. Well not exactly me, but my tablet. So for now my tablet has sulked away in defeat, but hopefully it will rise again. Until then I have finally been able to get access to my work computer and can use the internet there, hence why I'm finally blogging.
So before I get to the "actual blog stuff" I wanted to explain what my posts will generally be about. Overall I will have two types of blogs. One will be an animated tale of our adventures (once my tablet wins out and beats the internet). For those familiar with Hyperboleandahalf.com you should feel right at home. If you have never heard of that blog I highly suggest it. In fact I believe that you will have a lot of fun if you go visit that site. Did you get the joke? Do you want to? Well then go check out that blog! It's written by the very funny, yet sadly depressed Allie. Anyway, the other type of blog that I will post will be more serious reflections and explanations about what I am learning and doing out here. They will most likely include photos and will most definitely include ramblings, which I apologize in advance for. I promise not to make one long blog about everything that has happened so far, but will instead break it up into a few belated posts.
So where to begin...
I guess I will go back to where it all started. Drive down to Newark Airport was fun. Lots of last minute "TURN RIGHT NOW" messages being yelled at us by the GPS. Fun 8 lanes of traffic going down to just 1. But eventually we made it in one piece. My Uncle informed me that before security at terminal B there is a lot of places to eat and so I was looking forward to enjoying one more meal with my parents before departing. However, since we were flying United, we actually flew out of terminal C. This meant that our meal would have to consist of Dunkin Donuts instead. However, it was still tasty and we did get to watch some live entertainment (a pigeon which somehow got inside and constantly patrolled the tables looking for something to eat). Despite having fewer food options, it did mean that the time to get through security and check-in was considerably quick, unlike what we would have been facing over in terminal B. Once passed security it was time to enjoy some NY pizza and some Auntie Anne’s pretzels before departing for London. It must be noted that before checking my bag I did add yet another luggage tag to my bag. This one was a nice NY Jets Helmet. Thanks Mom! and go Jets!
Even though we took off at about 7:30pm and landed in London at about 7:00am there was only about a couple of hours that I had a chance to sleep on the plane due to the fact that we were traveling back in time. So needless to say I landed in London quite exhausted. However, after a long wait in customs and a very helpful woman Kaity and I were navigating the London Tubes like pros. We were able to see lots of the sights (pictures below!) and even had a chance to visit a great museum and eat at a very nice pub. It was interesting having to order the food at a counter then pick out our seats and sit down. It seemed a little bit reverse as to what we are used to in the states. However, the meal was delicious. It was BBQ chicken with bacon and cheddar cheese. However, it wasn't on a roll, but was instead in a small casserole dish. Again, not something that I am used to, but it was very good. Overall, after a long day of walking around London we headed back to the airport, ate at a great little restaurant, boarded the plane, and headed off to Cape Town!
Even though we took off at about 7:30pm and landed in London at about 7:00am there was only about a couple of hours that I had a chance to sleep on the plane due to the fact that we were traveling back in time. So needless to say I landed in London quite exhausted. However, after a long wait in customs and a very helpful woman Kaity and I were navigating the London Tubes like pros. We were able to see lots of the sights (pictures below!) and even had a chance to visit a great museum and eat at a very nice pub. It was interesting having to order the food at a counter then pick out our seats and sit down. It seemed a little bit reverse as to what we are used to in the states. However, the meal was delicious. It was BBQ chicken with bacon and cheddar cheese. However, it wasn't on a roll, but was instead in a small casserole dish. Again, not something that I am used to, but it was very good. Overall, after a long day of walking around London we headed back to the airport, ate at a great little restaurant, boarded the plane, and headed off to Cape Town!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Kaity's Self Realizations
Hi there,
Being someone in the field of student affairs and having studied student development theories, I found myself spending time the last couple nights examining myself. Today is Day 3 in South Africa! :) I am REALLY excited to start my internship tomorrow and get a better feel for my department, and my colleagues, and what I will be working on while I am here. I can't wait. However, this weekend, I have had a lot of time to relax, and rest, and reflect on being here. It has been difficult, in all honesty. Since we got here on a Friday, we were given time to rest and relax this weekend-- which is very kind, but also difficult for someone like me whose mind was racing with 8,000 questions and worries and ideas. This weekend has been a challenge for me, and I have questioned myself many times if I can be here for 2 whole months. Not at all because I don't like it here--the people are SO friendly, the culture is very intriguing, but because of some self-realizations I have had and want to work to overcome in my time here. The following are my self-realizations (long, but needed to write them out for my own reflection).
1. I am truly addicted to my cell phone and the internet. I crave constant communication with others. I guess I am a bigger "E" than I thought I was. I love to text and share snippets of my lives with others, and feel very lost and alone when I am not able to catch up with friends and family. Not having a cell phone was actually anxiety-inducing for me--seriously, no joke! Pathetic, I know, but it is totally true. Having the internet in my room has been a saving grace for me this weekend. Since we haven't met too many people yet, we have had quite a bit of down time. It has made me feel less alone and more comfortable to be able to email with my mom and sister, and to message with some friends. There's something about a quick conversation with them that makes me feel at ease. If I didn't have the internet, I would probably be panicking, haha. Makes me feel a bit pathetic how reliant I am on technology and communication, but it is definitely a true self-realization for me.
2. I feel trapped without access to transportation and have completely taken for granted my sense of safety in the U.S. Let me explain. We are staying here in the guest residence hall, with people from all over who are guests to UWC. There is a lovely family from Iraq, one from China, and people from all over South Africa and other African countries like Zimbabwe and Kenya. Everyone we have talked to has essentially given us the same message: it is NOT safe for white American people to use public transportation throughout Cape Town, especially at night. This is the first time--I think that I can ever remember--that I actually feel like I would be sought out as the target for crime or violence. Generally, wherever I have lived in the past, I always felt a sense of security, or at least as if I was not going to be targeted because of my race. On the UWC campus, I don't feel unsafe at all. The campus is very safe. We went to the Waterfront today (a very nice tourist location) and that was safe too. But the outskirt town around us is supposedly filled with crime, and the people there are will see us white American students as easy targets. Therefore, everyone we have talked to has told us that we would be most safe if we travel by car. They highly recommend we don't take the train or bus, and they say that between 10am and 5pm we might be okay on the taxis. But, we don't have readily access to a car. They have offered us a driver for when we want to go out, but that makes me feel so guilty and like we would be inconveniencing someone and taking advantage of their hospitality. My supervisor also said she could take me to get my license and I could drive the university vehicles. That would be awesome, although I would need to learn to drive standard and how to travel on their highways....and the left side of the road. Haha! So anyway, this weekend has been my first experience feeling like my safety will be in jeopardy if I am not very cautious in the town, and it is one of the first times I have felt the lack of autonomy and feeling of being trapped from not having my car. It has been 3 days, and I am learning so much about myself!
3. I don't know how to relax, and I can't stand the quiet. This realization is pretty straightforward, and it is something I knew to be true. I guess I didn't realize how true it was until now. I don't know how to relax. I can't shut off my brain, haha. But really! I require constant interaction and entertainment. If I am sitting still, I am asleep. No joke! Having free time makes me anxious. I like multitasking, juggling activities, always being on the move and occupied. Having time to just relax has been hard. But something I think in time I will find to greatly enjoy, and will help me be able to learn to relax when I am back in BG. I have also realized how accustomed I am to noise. Whether it be music, tv, personal conversation--I love being around noise and feel weird without it. There is one TV in our residence hall in the main living area. I have my iPod, but it wasn't working the past couple of days until I just figured out how to reset it. There is no Hulu, Netflix, Pandora, or anything like that available in South Africa. When I am in my room, it is quiet. I am starting to get used to it, but it is taking time. I am used to watching TV, while studying, while doing laundry, and facebooking all at the same time. So, slowly, I am learning to take it slow. Go with the flow. Hakuna Matata.
Alrite folks, that wraps up tonight's realizations. I am really excited to work on these in my time here in South Africa! And, I am just as excited to start my internship tomorrow! I think now that I am coming to terms with some of these self-realizations, I am learning to cope with them and to take it easy. I need to be patient and give myself time to adjust and soak in the culture, the people, the sounds, the smells, everything. This is a once in a life opportunity, and I am excited to be here! We can do this, I just know it :)
Kaity
Being someone in the field of student affairs and having studied student development theories, I found myself spending time the last couple nights examining myself. Today is Day 3 in South Africa! :) I am REALLY excited to start my internship tomorrow and get a better feel for my department, and my colleagues, and what I will be working on while I am here. I can't wait. However, this weekend, I have had a lot of time to relax, and rest, and reflect on being here. It has been difficult, in all honesty. Since we got here on a Friday, we were given time to rest and relax this weekend-- which is very kind, but also difficult for someone like me whose mind was racing with 8,000 questions and worries and ideas. This weekend has been a challenge for me, and I have questioned myself many times if I can be here for 2 whole months. Not at all because I don't like it here--the people are SO friendly, the culture is very intriguing, but because of some self-realizations I have had and want to work to overcome in my time here. The following are my self-realizations (long, but needed to write them out for my own reflection).
1. I am truly addicted to my cell phone and the internet. I crave constant communication with others. I guess I am a bigger "E" than I thought I was. I love to text and share snippets of my lives with others, and feel very lost and alone when I am not able to catch up with friends and family. Not having a cell phone was actually anxiety-inducing for me--seriously, no joke! Pathetic, I know, but it is totally true. Having the internet in my room has been a saving grace for me this weekend. Since we haven't met too many people yet, we have had quite a bit of down time. It has made me feel less alone and more comfortable to be able to email with my mom and sister, and to message with some friends. There's something about a quick conversation with them that makes me feel at ease. If I didn't have the internet, I would probably be panicking, haha. Makes me feel a bit pathetic how reliant I am on technology and communication, but it is definitely a true self-realization for me.
2. I feel trapped without access to transportation and have completely taken for granted my sense of safety in the U.S. Let me explain. We are staying here in the guest residence hall, with people from all over who are guests to UWC. There is a lovely family from Iraq, one from China, and people from all over South Africa and other African countries like Zimbabwe and Kenya. Everyone we have talked to has essentially given us the same message: it is NOT safe for white American people to use public transportation throughout Cape Town, especially at night. This is the first time--I think that I can ever remember--that I actually feel like I would be sought out as the target for crime or violence. Generally, wherever I have lived in the past, I always felt a sense of security, or at least as if I was not going to be targeted because of my race. On the UWC campus, I don't feel unsafe at all. The campus is very safe. We went to the Waterfront today (a very nice tourist location) and that was safe too. But the outskirt town around us is supposedly filled with crime, and the people there are will see us white American students as easy targets. Therefore, everyone we have talked to has told us that we would be most safe if we travel by car. They highly recommend we don't take the train or bus, and they say that between 10am and 5pm we might be okay on the taxis. But, we don't have readily access to a car. They have offered us a driver for when we want to go out, but that makes me feel so guilty and like we would be inconveniencing someone and taking advantage of their hospitality. My supervisor also said she could take me to get my license and I could drive the university vehicles. That would be awesome, although I would need to learn to drive standard and how to travel on their highways....and the left side of the road. Haha! So anyway, this weekend has been my first experience feeling like my safety will be in jeopardy if I am not very cautious in the town, and it is one of the first times I have felt the lack of autonomy and feeling of being trapped from not having my car. It has been 3 days, and I am learning so much about myself!
3. I don't know how to relax, and I can't stand the quiet. This realization is pretty straightforward, and it is something I knew to be true. I guess I didn't realize how true it was until now. I don't know how to relax. I can't shut off my brain, haha. But really! I require constant interaction and entertainment. If I am sitting still, I am asleep. No joke! Having free time makes me anxious. I like multitasking, juggling activities, always being on the move and occupied. Having time to just relax has been hard. But something I think in time I will find to greatly enjoy, and will help me be able to learn to relax when I am back in BG. I have also realized how accustomed I am to noise. Whether it be music, tv, personal conversation--I love being around noise and feel weird without it. There is one TV in our residence hall in the main living area. I have my iPod, but it wasn't working the past couple of days until I just figured out how to reset it. There is no Hulu, Netflix, Pandora, or anything like that available in South Africa. When I am in my room, it is quiet. I am starting to get used to it, but it is taking time. I am used to watching TV, while studying, while doing laundry, and facebooking all at the same time. So, slowly, I am learning to take it slow. Go with the flow. Hakuna Matata.
Alrite folks, that wraps up tonight's realizations. I am really excited to work on these in my time here in South Africa! And, I am just as excited to start my internship tomorrow! I think now that I am coming to terms with some of these self-realizations, I am learning to cope with them and to take it easy. I need to be patient and give myself time to adjust and soak in the culture, the people, the sounds, the smells, everything. This is a once in a life opportunity, and I am excited to be here! We can do this, I just know it :)
Kaity
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Hello from South Africa!
Hello there!
We have officially been in South Africa for over 24 hours :) Hooray!
Our flight from Newark to London went well :) We spent the entire day on Thursday walking around London. It was crazy because we arrived without having made a plan of what to do, which is so unlike us to do! We went to see Big Ben, the Parliament, the Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. We watched the changing of the guards, which was pretty cool. Then we went to Covent Garden and walked around the shops, and we went to a little pub. Lastly, we went to the British Museum, where we looked at different cultural artifacts and saw an exhibit of old and new Olympic medals. The Olympic medals for the London 2012 Olympics were very pretty. Tim will have to post some pictures soon.
Our arrival to South Africa was great. Munya came to pick us up from the airport, and on the drive to campus we could see the mountains with Table Mountain in the background--it was beautiful. We have been here for just over 24 hours and have experienced so many emotions. As for me, I am very excited to meet people and learn the culture and get to experience South Africa. Everyone I have met has been very friendly, welcoming, funny, and willing to answer questions. My department is wonderful. I will share my office with a woman named Monique. Monique and Sashley are two women in my office who seem very fun and outgoing, and are excited to show me around Cape Town soon. I am really excited for orientation next week. I will be shadowing different people in my office and learning about the culture here.
This weekend is quiet, and it's been a bit nerve wracking. It is more difficult than I imagined it would be to be in such a different culture and place with only one familiar companion. It makes me feel great compassion for international students and the stress they must feel adjusting to the American culture. The residence we are staying in is quite nice, and campus is very safe, which is comforting. However, we have gotten mixed signals about us traveling off campus. Some of the staff members we have met want us to go off campus with a driver (a staff member driving us). Many of the students we have met told us though that we could take a cab or the bus by ourselves to go places. So, right now we haven't quite figured out how to navigate going off campus to adventure and to get items we need for our stay. Munya and D took us to the store last night, and Sashley took me to the grocery store, but as we unpack we realize we need other things from the town. I am hoping that next week when I am at work, I can find out more information about how to safely travel by ourselves so that we can start going to the Waterfront and other places to have fun and go food shopping ourselves.
Being the extrovert that I am, this weekend is challenging, but I think we can push through. Next week is finals week for the students, so campus is very quiet. And, because I just met my colleagues briefly in the office yesterday, Tim and I don't have any campus friends to hang out with yet. Tomorrow, some students who are from other parts of Africa will be arriving and moving into our residence, so hopefully we can spend time with them too! I think the most valuable thing I am learning is to just relax and be patient. And to ask questions. There are many different things here, and we can't understand or get help without asking. Things in South Africa move slower. (Not just the internet and phones lol, the processes and work do too). So, we need to be patient. Give the offices time to get us prepared and for us to adjust to the culture and learn how to travel and where we can go and what we can do. Learning to be patient and take everything in stride is a very difficult task, but an important one.
So, that is where I am at. I am excited to meet people and excited to learn about South African and the culture and how to travel safely and catch the cab and navigate around the town. But, in the meantime, I need to be patient. Take it all in. Relax. I miss everyone back home. I tried opening Skype and it wouldn't connect, so the internet might be too slow. Maybe it will work later in the week.
Sending my love home,
Kaity
We have officially been in South Africa for over 24 hours :) Hooray!
Our flight from Newark to London went well :) We spent the entire day on Thursday walking around London. It was crazy because we arrived without having made a plan of what to do, which is so unlike us to do! We went to see Big Ben, the Parliament, the Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. We watched the changing of the guards, which was pretty cool. Then we went to Covent Garden and walked around the shops, and we went to a little pub. Lastly, we went to the British Museum, where we looked at different cultural artifacts and saw an exhibit of old and new Olympic medals. The Olympic medals for the London 2012 Olympics were very pretty. Tim will have to post some pictures soon.
Our arrival to South Africa was great. Munya came to pick us up from the airport, and on the drive to campus we could see the mountains with Table Mountain in the background--it was beautiful. We have been here for just over 24 hours and have experienced so many emotions. As for me, I am very excited to meet people and learn the culture and get to experience South Africa. Everyone I have met has been very friendly, welcoming, funny, and willing to answer questions. My department is wonderful. I will share my office with a woman named Monique. Monique and Sashley are two women in my office who seem very fun and outgoing, and are excited to show me around Cape Town soon. I am really excited for orientation next week. I will be shadowing different people in my office and learning about the culture here.
This weekend is quiet, and it's been a bit nerve wracking. It is more difficult than I imagined it would be to be in such a different culture and place with only one familiar companion. It makes me feel great compassion for international students and the stress they must feel adjusting to the American culture. The residence we are staying in is quite nice, and campus is very safe, which is comforting. However, we have gotten mixed signals about us traveling off campus. Some of the staff members we have met want us to go off campus with a driver (a staff member driving us). Many of the students we have met told us though that we could take a cab or the bus by ourselves to go places. So, right now we haven't quite figured out how to navigate going off campus to adventure and to get items we need for our stay. Munya and D took us to the store last night, and Sashley took me to the grocery store, but as we unpack we realize we need other things from the town. I am hoping that next week when I am at work, I can find out more information about how to safely travel by ourselves so that we can start going to the Waterfront and other places to have fun and go food shopping ourselves.
Being the extrovert that I am, this weekend is challenging, but I think we can push through. Next week is finals week for the students, so campus is very quiet. And, because I just met my colleagues briefly in the office yesterday, Tim and I don't have any campus friends to hang out with yet. Tomorrow, some students who are from other parts of Africa will be arriving and moving into our residence, so hopefully we can spend time with them too! I think the most valuable thing I am learning is to just relax and be patient. And to ask questions. There are many different things here, and we can't understand or get help without asking. Things in South Africa move slower. (Not just the internet and phones lol, the processes and work do too). So, we need to be patient. Give the offices time to get us prepared and for us to adjust to the culture and learn how to travel and where we can go and what we can do. Learning to be patient and take everything in stride is a very difficult task, but an important one.
So, that is where I am at. I am excited to meet people and excited to learn about South African and the culture and how to travel safely and catch the cab and navigate around the town. But, in the meantime, I need to be patient. Take it all in. Relax. I miss everyone back home. I tried opening Skype and it wouldn't connect, so the internet might be too slow. Maybe it will work later in the week.
Sending my love home,
Kaity
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Packed and Ready!
Adventure it out there! TOMORROW!
Oh my goodness--the long awaited moment where we get to head off on this journey is finally here. :) I don't know if Tim has finished packing yet, but I managed to fit everything in my monster suitcase with room to spare. Pretty impressed with myself, but mostly just excited that I will have some room for souvenirs. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 7pm. We will be flying into London, where we have a 12 hour layover the whole day so we can do some sight-seeing. Then we hop on another plane that will take us directly to Cape Town.
Munya will be picking us up from the airport, and once we are settled into our residence rooms, we are headed to a welcome party hosted by the Center for Student Support Services (C3S). Tonia and Birgit will be there to welcome us and provide us "some eats" (love the term!). Super excited to meet them--Christy has said so many great things about these women.
Going to attempt to get some sleep now, although the excitement might keep me awake tonight! :)
-- Kaity
Oh my goodness--the long awaited moment where we get to head off on this journey is finally here. :) I don't know if Tim has finished packing yet, but I managed to fit everything in my monster suitcase with room to spare. Pretty impressed with myself, but mostly just excited that I will have some room for souvenirs. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 7pm. We will be flying into London, where we have a 12 hour layover the whole day so we can do some sight-seeing. Then we hop on another plane that will take us directly to Cape Town.
Munya will be picking us up from the airport, and once we are settled into our residence rooms, we are headed to a welcome party hosted by the Center for Student Support Services (C3S). Tonia and Birgit will be there to welcome us and provide us "some eats" (love the term!). Super excited to meet them--Christy has said so many great things about these women.
Going to attempt to get some sleep now, although the excitement might keep me awake tonight! :)
-- Kaity
Monday, May 14, 2012
Test Post
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test post with test image
post post post test test test
yay africa!
test post with test image
post post post test test test
yay africa!
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