Advertisement
Published: March 15th 2008
Edit Blog Post
My wonderful roommates.
Kim, Jorn, Tom, and Jessie Hello! It’s been awhile since my last post, sorry that it has taken so long. I’ve been busy with classes, writing papers, and getting my life together a little more. So, what’s been going on with my life in the last couple of weeks? Quite a bit. I’ve had to get used to studying again and still making time for exploring the city and having fun.
Well, first of all, I had one heck of a day yesterday. I ended up staying up late for three of my housemates’ birthday party celebration and trekked to school at an early time of 7:30am. My housemates and I went to pick up some camping gear for our trip coming up to Namibia. We were able to borrow tents, sleeping bags and mats, a stove, and a backpack—all from the Mountain and Ski Club! We have a whole 10 days off of school, so three of my housemates and I are renting a car and driving to and around Namibia. It’s going to be a lot of fun with stops on the coast, near the famous 45 sand dune (which I still don’t know much about), and a couple of national parks. I’m
super psyched. And, now I’m not the only girl going, as we’ve picked up a fifth passenger in our four-wheel drive, Nissan X-trail.
Earlier, in the afternoon yesterday, I went with my SHAWCO (Student Heath and Welfare’s Organisation, shawco.org) group and our “learners” (students) on a fieldtrip. We went to Monkeytown, right outside of Cape Town. It was really cool seeing the nature/animal reserve park and seeing so many monkeys, at one time, with a lot of space to roam around and on top of the fenced walking path for visitors. It looked like they were treated well and loved, even though they were caged in. It was nice that my friend Elizabeth decided to join our group even though she’s in a different SHAWCO section. We bonded over the previous night’s adventures and I also hung out with two of my classmates from EGS (Environmental and Geographical Sciences) in my SHAWCO section. I think the students really enjoyed the field trip, as more of them showed up for this than do to the official class that we have on Thursdays.
What else has happened? President Mary Sue Coleman came and visited UCT on March 5th and gave
Cape Town
A view from our mini hike up Devil's Peak in Kirstenbosch. a lecture about our globalizing world and sharing information between universities (or “varsity” as they call it here). It was cool to see all the Michigan administration members here in Cape Town. And I saw some faces to the names I’ve been emailing with. And we met her for a little bit afterwards to talk about our experience and get a little update about what’s going on at the UofM campus (that’s the first I heard about graduation being held on the Diag).
Oh, and today I went with some of my roommates to a South African version of Vagina Monologues, which was really cool. Comparable to the VM at UofM and also Yoni Ki Baat (YKB). But what was really nice about this one was the small setting it took place in and the summary/explanation at the end of each of the women’s stories they told. There was a really nice question and answer session, too, that was meaningful. And we got to hear about the actor’s reactions to doing the piece and how it has affected their lives personally.
I posted some pictures in this post from awhile ago, when I saw the Rudimentals in concert
President Coleman
renewing our agreement with UCT's exchange program. in Kirstenbosch Gardens- which are beautiful! You should look them up on the internet. And another night at Café Ganesh, my house’s favorite hang out spot for live music on Saturdays and good food anytime. Also of Mary Sue signing for the continuation of the student exchange program with UCT.
I’m running out of time now for a proper post, but I will do another soon, before I leave for Namibia. Is there anything that anyone wants to know about specifically? Or for me to talk about? Leave a comment or message me, and I’ll address it. I thought it would be cool for one time I could go through what it is like living here and add some photos up from my house and school. Like a day in the life of me, lol. But that will be some other time, in a few weeks or so. I’ve got a test to study for in my environmental analysis, and a paper to write for economic history.
For those that want to talk sometime for practically nothing or free, download Skype. :- D it’s easy to use and can sometimes sound like we’re in the same room. And,
UofM buddies
Katherine, Kim, Zach, and me. for the record, I haven’t been mugged, knock on wood.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.124s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 6; qc: 51; dbt: 0.0962s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Nicholas Fish
non-member comment
Monkeys and Diag
I'm hella-jealous. I love monkeys. I used to watch them for hours in the zoo. Especially the spider monkeys with the long tails that they use to climb and swing . . . you should smuggle me back a monkey. And ya, grad's on the Diag this year. I guess renovating the stadium with luxury seating for the Michigan elite to park their fat asses without worrying about their cigars and cocktails being tainted by rain came before the students of the University that hosts it . . . but I'm not bitter. Maybe when you get back, you could start a new tradition of releasing a swarm of angry monkeys from South Africa in the luxury seats to start off the games. That would be pretty cool. Miss you.