"A man without culture is like a zebra without stripes" Days 5, 6 and 7 (September 7 - 9) Sunday morning we had free time in Soweto. The parading musicians rounding the neighborhood since before dawn led some students to attend church services, others relaxed at Lebo's, and I joined 7 others on a bicycle tour given by Lebo himself. We learned a bit more about Soweto and had a good time darting through traffic (at least I did-- others weren't so sure.) Lebo is a celebrity in town, so everyone was smiling and waving at us. When the tour was over, it was time to load up the bus and leave Soweto. We gave Lebo and Maria a "Seattle Then & Now" book that we all signed as a thank you and as we pulled ... read more

Sawubona! (hello in Zulu) -- Days 2 though 3 The past few days have brought two extremes-- elite wealth and absolute poverty. Because this is a business-focused UW course, we are visiting multiple companies throughout South Africa, which the students have all studied and prepared for. We added to that knowledge by meeting with a lecturer for the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) to talk about the challenges and opportunities facing South African businesses. This provided a solid base for questions and understanding at our first company visit, to First National Bank in Johannesburg. After a long security check-in process, we werewelcomed with coffee, tea and breakfast items to a stunning board room, complete with padfolios for each of us and a "goodie bag" full of info on the company. FNB executives gave a very ... read more

It's Go Time! After months of waiting, I'm now finally less than 36 hours away from getting on a flight that will (eventually, after a stop-off in Amsterdam) take me to South Africa! Yes, I am packed already, although I reserve the right to re-pack for fun. I get to go to South Africa with a UW Exploration Seminar-- a one-month study abroad experience that will count as credit towards the students' degrees. As part of the course, we had pre-departure sessions all last week, meaning we were in class, in very hard chairs, from 8:30am-5pm Monday through Thursday. Besides the fact that I haven't had to sit in a classroom desk for years, the week was really informative. We had some amazing guest speakers, watched some interesting movies-- check out Tsotsi sometime!-- ate a delicious ... read more

I can pronounce Sepulveda! Apparently the only vacations I take lately are partly funded by the my employer... not a bad gig if you can get it. This time, after working at a UW off-site orientation in Orange County, California, and getting to see my family in Fountain Valley, I ventured up to LA to hang out on the beach, eat way too much Del Taco (seriously people... it's good bad-for-you food) and visit some friends. I spent the week speeding around in a PT Cruiser, which I am convinced they rent to all the tourists so we are easily identifiable. I kicked off my downtime by purchasing a $10 beach chair, $12 sunglasses and hitting the sand. Of course I got sunburned-- it's what I do when I venture out of rain-soaked Seattle for any ... read more