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Published: January 10th 2007
As you can all see, the countdown is getting dangerously close to my day of departure!
Orientation Week has been amazing in getting us prepared mentally, emotionally and physically. Every day we have lectures/seminars on different animals, conflicts and situations we may encounter. My only disappointment so far was being brought back to reality concerning elephants and hippos (my favourite animals). I KNOW they're dangerous and I KNOW they're animals, but years of watching Disney movies have disillusioned me to the point that I just really, really want to hug one.
There are 38 (maybe 39, counting me..) people going on this trip, all with different backgrounds and from schools across Canada. They all seem really nice and enthusiastic, though I think we've all been stressed with last-minute preparations. In the next couple of days I have to go and beg for, borrow or (should worse come to worse) possibly steal a meningitis vaccination...I knew I would forget something! Apparently it's not imperative, but the regions we're heading into are classified as "high risk". I'd rather not be sent home with a swollen brain membrane and avoiding this will be well worth the $115!
There have been some fantastic speakers, notably Maj. Beardsley from the Canadian Forces who served overseas in 93-94 during the Rwandan genocide. He brought our status as global citizens into very real light - as University scholars we represent only 1% of the world's population. This, among with other presentations, lectures and readings I've encountered over the course of the year, has encouraged me to stop being such a narrow-minded and indifferent North American. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to go into these regions and to meet such resilient people who have strength beyond my own scope and capacity. I hope I can bring stories back with me that will inspire other people to take action and take another look at their priorities and lifestyles.
Each day we've been taking Swahili lessons with a girl from Kenya. What a fantastic language! After learning French, Swahili seems so intuitive and makes so much sense. I can now officially say:
Jina langu ni Sarah, mimi ni mwanafunzi. Leo tarehe kumi Januari elfu mbili na saba.
This is loosely translated to "My name is Sarah, I am a student. Today is January 10th, 2007". I'm sure it's a grammatical catastrophe, but it's crazy fun to speak.
Tonight Kristen and I are going to a McGill sanctioned event involving drinking in huge tents on their campus. It's called Snow AP and I'm all for bringing something like that to Queen's next year! Big ups to van Vogt for giving me full reign of the green beast couch, even if it does squeak like mad.
Here's one that might make my dad nervous: "Ninaweza kutymia kadi ya benki?" --> "Can I use my Credit Card?"
And on that note: Beer Time!
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Lara
non-member comment
If you wanted to know about Hippos...
If you wanted to know about Hippos you should have asked Travis he has a website you know...they are crazy!