Updates!

What a crazy four months this has been!


I love being back at school. I love being busy again, and I love waking up in the morning to face a day filled with things to do.


And those things have kept me BUSY! Some days I would leave the house at 8 am and not return until 11 pm. Needless to say, I also love my Sunday-morning periods of laziness. But it’s been worth all of that running around (especially when I look in the mirror to find that more than 20 pounds have disappeared!).


First of all, classes have been going very well. Initially I was worried that it’d be a bit difficult to get back into the swing of things academically after such long hiatus, but it’s been a very easy transition. I’m able to connect the concepts discussed in different courses with my actual life experience, almost on a daily basis. I’m thrilled to be able to fulfil another minor dream of mine and learn French (how’s this for globalization: I’m basically an American, studying a European language at an African university, with a professor who is Brazilian). Also, I’ve noticed how learning French is a mini-tradition in my family: mom studied it in college, and my sister did in high school.


Since my undergraduate degree program takes only three years to complete, I’m considering either an Honours degree, or a Master’s. Two different people in the last two weeks have told me that they saw a doctorate in my future, so perhaps there’s that in my future as well…


On the extracurricular side, things are just as interesting. I’m now a front page journalist (visit UCT’s Varsity Newspaper)! Working on the paper has sharpened my journalistic talents, and has helped me to improve my interview techniques. I covered a speech given in April, and that was a great exercise in filtering out the rhetoric and getting to the “meat” of what was being said.


On the radio, we’ve hired a new station manager, who is dedicated to taking the station to new heights. He’s given me a semi-promotion, so that in addition to doing general news, I’ll also have a daily business news report! During this vacation I’ll be busy researching for that.


I’ve also joined the sub-committee of the Cape Town Globalist, which is the student-run current/global affairs magazine (similar to TIME Magazine), as a contributor and sub-editor. This is a great chance to get more experience writing and editing.


Our choir had two beautiful concerts this semester, as well as a two-day workshop, and if I can brag for a minute, we performed beautifully! I can already see improvements in my own singing, which is always nice. We’re going on a charity benefit tour in September, which I’m helping to plan, and for which we are all excited.


And, next year I will be an Orientation Leader! This is something I knew I wanted to do the minute my own orientation started, and I’m definitely looking forward to welcoming all the freshmen next year. It’ll be a great leadership and teamwork experience. And it doesn’t hurt that it means I get to spend more time in Cape Town…and it REALLY doesn’t hurt that it’s a paid position.


--

So school is going very well, but what about life in general? Well, this week marks one full year of my living in South Africa. WOW. It has gone by so quickly. So, a few observations after a year of living here:


-Compared to other African (and other) countries, I’m very fortunate to be in South Africa. While the country does have it’s problems, it’s one of the, if not the largest, economies in sub-Saharan Africa, and there are many things we have here that people in other countries can only dream about. I’m privileged to be attending a world-class university, with a parent who is gainfully employed. We have access to good health care. The country’s constitution grants us many freedoms that others in the world do not have. The nation serves as an example to surrounding nations.


-I’ve managed to teach myself to stop speaking Spanish so often. Learning it in high school, and interacting with Spanish-speaking people in the US as often as I did, I was unaware of just how integrated Spanish was into my vocabulary. It’s funny when I order quesadillas here because I have to mispronounce the word for people to understand me.


-The winter holidays absolutely do not compare to those in the States. I don’t just miss the snow and the winter cold, I miss the festivity! There’s no real holiday spirit here that I’ve noticed—people seem more excited to have time off from work. Instead of Christmas carols, all I heard around Christmas was more house music. Depressing.


-I HATE IMMIGRATION.


-Customer service here, in some aspects, isn’t that great. This relates to the immigration issue a bit, but I’ve found in one or two cases that I’ve almost had to beg people to do their jobs. And the bigger problem I see is that people here are used to it, and therefore don’t challenge it.


-Speaking of challenging things, I’ve definitely become more assertive. I certainly like the realization as I get older that I don’t have to take crap. I’m more in touch with myself than ever before, and it’s easier for me to voice opinions that I might have otherwise internalized. I know what I want and am driven to do what it takes to succeed.


-No matter where I am, and no matter what flavour of mess is going on in my life, I continue to be blessed with great friends, for whom I am eternally grateful.


Of course, not everything is perfect. There's family drama, as always. I could always use more money haha. I miss my family and friends in the US like you wouldn’t believe (and that means YOU!).


But honestly, I’m a lot better off.



Listen: "I Choose" -- India.Arie

On My Grind.

You will just have to forgive me in the coming months. This being busy thing is no joke, and unfortch, the number of updates here may diminish a bit, although I will work hard to make sure that does not happen.

In addition to taking English, Media and Society, Sociology, and French, all of which meet every day, I am writing for the school newspaper, writing for the student-run global current events magazine, doing the news for the radio station, and singing in the choir. I'm going to try to fit in a part time job in there somewhere, somehow (but don't be fooled; I still take donations! haha). Add cooking dinner, finding time to clean the apartment, grocery shopping, and numerous other errands/meetings/discussion groups, setting up my empire (people will KNOW MY NAME en masse by the end of this year), finding time to relax...I need a secretary.

Real pictures soon, hopefully! Still working on getting the camera fixed. Much love!


Listen: "Work It Out" - Beyoncé

Updates!

So after sorting out the whole mess with my address (they were sending things to Easton), I finally received my official acceptance to the University of Cape Town!

As you can see, this place is gorgeous. Now, I loved, and still love, Ithaca, both the college and the city. It's the perfect suburban college town, with lots of things to do, natural beauty, and great views of Cayuga Lake, especially from campus. But Ithaca pales in comparison to UCT. Located in one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, the main campus is situated on the base of a mountain, and is minutes away from lovely beaches. I've only seen pictures so far, but some of the views from the mountain tops, both of the city itself and the nearby Atlantic Ocean (take THAT, Cayuga Lake!), are absolutely magnificent. I'm definitely going to need to get my camera fixed before heading there.

I got my housing information too, and THANKFULLY I won't have to repeat the, for lack of a better word, interesting freshman dormitory experience. Actually, my experience wasn't too bad--the worst part was the floor bathroom, and the horrifying condition in which it would almost invariably end up during the weekend, when the cleaning staff was off-duty. That's something every college student should experience, I think, but only once, which is why I'm thrilled to have been placed in a campus apartment. I'll have three roommates at the most, but we each have our own, large-for-college, single bedrooms, with a shared bathroom and full kitchen. These residences are usually reserved for second-year students, or students over 21, like myself, which (hopefully) means that there's a better chance I'll have relatively more mature roommates. And I can cook, which means saving money on food, and not wasting food with a traditional meal plan. (With a meal plan, you pay even if you don't eat--say you skip lunch to study? You're still paying. Decide to eat off campus with some friends? You're still paying. Not to mention the un-eaten food that gets made by the foodservice staff, that probably gets discarded at the end of the day...) Being able to cook and having an apartment means I can also entertain...Hey, girl, hey!

So of course, now I'm in the OCD stages--planning, making shopping lists, researching airfare (it's a 14+ hour drive, NOT doing that again with a packed car; plus it's cheaper to fly), getting advice from current students/alumni via Facebook, etc. And of course, counting down 'til February 3....

***

In other news, it's still warm. I feel like it's been summer since June. Granted it was "cold" here in June and July, but it never got below 40 degrees F. Now, I wake up and it's already 68, usually getting to the mid-70s by afternoon. If the weather could stay like this all summer, it'd be great, but I know it's going to get hotter...yuck. The weird part about that is that, it's NOVEMBER. It should NOT be this warm. I love the cold months, so this is definitely something to get used to. (Feel free to email me scanned copies of maple leaves. Kthanks.) I've been checking the weather patterns in Cape Town (CT) as well, and it doesn't seem to get as warm there, which is nice. But I've heard notorious things about CT weather, most notably that it often changes two or three times during the day, and that you should always carry an umbrella and an extra piece of warm clothing to throw on, because at some point, you'll probably need it. If that's true, the unpredictability of that is sort of exciting to me...and I'd rather take those kinds of conditions over sweltering heat any day.

No to mention the fact that I'm missing cold-weather institutions like Thanksgiving and the usual things that come along with it--the Easton/P'burg game, the Bonfire at the high school, the candle lighting in the circle, seeing old friends, the food, and of course, Black Friday. In the stores, I've already seen Christmas decorations for sale... as I walked up and down the aisles in a t-shirt and shorts. My friend Alan asked for a picture of a menorah and a palm tree, and it certainly looks like I won't have any trouble finding that!

***

It's rather interesting to see all of the changes that the world is going through, and to realize my generation, and those that follow, will have be extraordinarily creative--and prayerful-- to find unconventional solutions for our problems. It's equal parts scary and exciting, but I'd rather be excited. Excited to work hard and to make an impact. There's certainly no shortage of issues to deal with...

And it's definitely interesting to see where all of my fellow high school graduates have ended up post-college...some teaching, some traveling, some entering the corporate world, and others that just make you say, wow! My friend Neil, for instance, was recently working in Wyoming with the Deer Habitat Initiative, doing field research in the desert and woods around Saratoga. Another friend moved to Australia. Of course that makes me feel better about moving across the world--at least I'm not the only one! This move made me realize how much I want to travel though. I'd love to live in a few more different countries before I'm 40, and the way things are going, I'm well on my way towards that goal! People keep telling me to write a book...

***

SIDEBAR: If you have children, or know someone who does, you might encourage them to take a closer look at their childcare. I have a friend here whose three-year-old daughter had soap put in her mouth by the director of her daycare simply because they "lost patience." In the mother's own words:

"When I arrived to fetch my daughter, one of her friends (3yrs) says "Morgan's crying , she had soap in her mouth 'cause she was talking". No teacher approached me. No teacher came to get my attention, or for that matter made any attempt to talk to me. So I asked the teacher about this, she confirmed it very firmly. Her words " We Lost Patience" ( these are daycare tachers of children from 2-5 years!) Apparantly after talking through sandwich time, not responding to being humiliated by standing in the middle of a circle of adults and teachers, consistant ignoring of teacher and possibly climbing a fence.....she was sent to the head mistress," who put soap in her mouth.

After reading my friend Tanyetta's story about how her child, along with the rest of his class, was left unattended outside during recess (Tanyetta was later told that she had "unrealistic expectations" after assuming that someone would always be doing their job--watching the children), and hearing this one, I encourage all of you to check on your childcare! We don't want things like this happening unneccessarily to any more children. Don't be afraid to take action!

***

I'll end this post by with a question. Last month my dad and I took a trip to the south-eastern part of the country to visit some old friends of his, a couple who he's known since before I was born. It was a very nice trip, but one thing left me slightly puzzled/uncomfortable.

While casually chatting with the Mrs. on our first night there, I mentioned that I cook.

The next day, and for the rest of the week, she levied the daily kitchen duties to me. I was to decide and plan a menu for each night, and cook it.

Now, I like cooking, and I think--and have been told--that I'm good at it. I cook here at home because my dad doesn't know how (he can, however, turn eggs into baseballs simply by boiling them for 3 HOURS).

But, well, for all intents and purposes, we were on vacation at this couple's home. We were visitors.

Now I understand the whole friends-who-are-family thing, and how I would be included in that, as I am their friend's son. And I certainly don't mind helping out in the kitchen. And to be fair, both Mr. and Mrs. worked during the day. I cooked, and everything was delicious, of course :-)

But, as a visitor, specifically a first-time visitor, should I be expected to be responsible for every meal, even down to the grocery shopping? Isn't the point of being a visitor, and a guest in someone's home, to take some time off??? I mean, sure, we're familiar, but that familiar? So soon? In my opinion, I should know you for at least a month before it's ok for me to know where you keep your sugar honey iced tea (thanks, Tanyetta!). Am I crazy?

***

...Ironically, I'm off to cook now.

Listen: "Radio" - Beyoncé

A Flame, Rekindled

I got a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I suppose I should start at the beginning.

My dad used to work for EasyBiz, the official distributor and supporter of QuickBooks software in South Africa. (He actually mentored the current head of the Customer Support Department.) The support staff there regularly refers customers who are using older versions of QuickBooks to my dad, so he's constantly in contact with the office. So it only makes sense that he contact the office and at least set up an interview for me.

Of course, with my very limited work experience, I'd never actually been on a "real" interview before. I mean, sure, we had mock interviews in high school, in which I excelled, but this here was the real thing. So I polished up my basically-empty resumé, wrote a glittering cover letter, and told myself to relax. Didn't work of course, as I was more nervous than Amy Winehouse without her crackpipe, but on I went.

The interview itself went pretty well. I was extremely nervous for the first few minutes, and when that happens I usually get pretty quiet, which isn't necessarily helpful when someone's asking you questions. But somehow I managed to settle down and open up a bit, and after about 20 minutes or so, was asking some questions of my own.

I took a short tour of the department in which I would be working, Customer Support (via phone, email, and the occasional office visit), and found my would-be coworkers to be very laid back. By the end of the meeting, I felt confident about the job. Apparently, my interviewer felt confident about me, because the next day he called me in to meet his boss. You'd think I would have been even more nervous this time around, right? I suprised even myself with how relaxed I was in that meeting. I was saying all the right things, smoothly and effortlessly, making eye contact, and appearing very confident. THANK GOD because to be honest I had done no real interview prep or anything, so I knew that I wasn't just "winging it;" I had help.

Of course, peppered throughout the meeting were the obligatory "if-we-hire-you" clauses, but afterwards I was told it was an unoffical yes (pending some paperwork).

I GOT A JOB! A REAL job with a steady paycheck! And benefits! And regular hours! Me!

Now, from the outside, it may not seem like a big deal; people get jobs all the time. But for someone like me, who only a few months ago could only dream at the possibility of such things, it's amazing. It's a sort of confirmation that I did the right thing in moving. I'm realizing that those things which I used to dream about, and later started to give up on, can and even WILL happend. It makes me feel like I'm worth something. It's the first time in a long time where I've felt as if I was appreciated on an intellectual level. I mean, not to brag, but I'm pretty smart; in the last few years, I haven't had the chance to display that properly. Now, using my own computer skills, and the things I'll learn in the next few weeks, I'll be able to instruct and assist others. "Contributing to society" won't just be a phrase or some far-off hope anymore.

Then there's that new "grown-up" feeling. I'm sure everybody has days when they wish they could just be a lazy bum and do nothing all day, but I can tell you from experience that it gets old, really fast. You start getting fat, and you start getting stupid. Seriously. (When episodes of Maury mean more to you than the news, it's time for a change.) It'll be nice having a routine: get up, get dressed, go to work, go to the gym (I'm not lying, being a bum makes you fatttt!), go home. It'll be nice to stop feeling so far behind everybody else. It'll be nice, at the end of the day, to feel as if I've accomplished something.

And OH YEAH, a really nice thing about working? MONEY. On a regular basis. A real, dependable income (with the opportunity for raises. Raises! Who'da thunk it?!). Going into MY OWN bank account. No more signing checks over to someone else, no more using someone else's debit card, no more keeping my cash in an envelope buried in the bottom of a suitcase so no one finds it. And just think of the freedom that financial independence allows. No more saying "hm, I'd love to do x, but I might not have money next week for y, " etc. etc. I can budget now! I can save! I can plan; I can DO THINGS. No more "forced" dependence on others.

YAY!!!!!

For the time being, my dad will have to drive me back and forth to work each day,which will work for now, but can only mean one thing in the near future.....I'LL BE DRIVING. MY OWN CAR. We're already looking into a few different options, but I'm looking for something like this:





VW Polo Hatch 1.6 (sort of a mini-Golf, [not sold in the US] and GREAT on gas)


Just think, though! Me! Driving! I've wanted to drive since before I could even reach the pedals. I used to dream of the day I turned 16; I imagined myself camped outside the DMV at 12.01 am on my birthday haha. Obviously, that didn't happen, and I've since had to rely on rides from friends, or public transportation. Which is cool, but there's something special in being able to decide for yourself when and where you want to go, without having to depend on someone else or follow their schedule. Not to mention being in control haha--if I'm hot or if I'm cold, there'll be no one to argue with over the a/c (can i GET witness?!) OR the radio.

All that to say, I hope you people who already have these things really appreciate what you have. Driving, having your own money, or working may seem a matter of course to some, but these things truly are blessings. As unfortunate as my situation may have been, there are still others who have it far worse than I did/do. We should all be grateful everyday for the blessings we see.

YAY!!!!! (Sorry, can't help it.)

(All this has me thinking though...what if I were to work for a few years, and then go back to school? Establish myself financially and build up my credit?That way, I'd be able to finance some of my education myself, and have the least possible debt once I graduate. Nothing concrete, though. Just a thought I'm having. Any thoughts/suggestions?)

---

In other news, I got a BlackBerry! No surprise, really--ever since owning a Treo, I've fallen in love with smartphones, if for no other feature than being able to back up your contacts to your computer (has anyone else ever broken their phone and lost allll their numbers? Yikes!). It's awesome too--instant access to my email (which means I'll reply pretty quickly), GPS, Internet, and my favorite feature, BlackBerry (BB) Messenger, which provides free instant messaging from BB-to-BB, worldwide. If you have one, let's exchange PINs! If not, email me for my number.

I've figured out way to send regular text messages as well--most phones allow you to text an email address, in additon to regular numbers, and since all my email addresses are linked to my phone as well, I can read and reply to your text. This is the perfect way to get around international SMS costs--it's free for me, and it'll cost you the same as any other text. So if you'd like, text me at yk4k@yahoo.com. Just keep in mind the 6 hour (or 7 hour, once you turn the clocks back) time difference (from the east coast) please lol.

A special shout out to my all my readers, and a warm welcome to the freshman class: the Fabulous Lady Tee, and the hilarious Tanynetta! Spread the word!


And my dad says "hi" in his own version of an American accent.



Listen: "We Break the Dawn" - Michelle Williams

Cousins, Chickens, Dignitaries, Apples, and Zucchinis

In the past few weeks, I've come to the conclusion that my family is very fertile.

I spent about 3 weeks in Swaziland (which explains the decline in communication--I was busy every day and didn't have a lot of computer time), where I was born, where my mother was laid to rest and where her family resides. These are the people I really remember from our various vacations here so long ago. I have five aunts and uncles, and a grand total of 26 cousins! I'll save you the trouble of trying to pronounce all of their names and just include a pic:




For most of my time in Swaziland, I stayed with one of my uncles and his family, which includes my aunt and three cousins. I remember this group most of all, because the kids are around my age--Vuma and I, for instance, are only 4 months apart in age. There are pictures of us as babies together, then a little bit older, sharing our toy car collections. It's funny, because even today we have a lot in common. Including making faces:




But we can be handsome too (here with my camera-shy aunt)




Then there are the two girls, Nozazi:





And Tebe, who was only a little tiny thing when I last saw her:



It's great to have cousins around my age, and we all have things in common, including music (they fight over my iPod), fashion, tv, even academic interests.

My uncle works at a bank, but also runs a farm, where he raises chicken and cattle. After "processing," the meat is sent to local distribution centers and supermarkets etc. When I was first told about it, I thought, "Oh, ok, a small chicken farm." To my surprise they have almost 17,000 chickens! The first day I went to the farm, the chickens were just wee little things:

(And that's just a fraction of them)



Did you know it only takes about 5 weeks for a chicken to mature? I went back a week and a half later and these things doubled in size:




Though I have no intention of being around for the slaugthering process, I must say it's interesting to see the chain of events and everything that's involved in getting the products to the stores.


Along with family, there were friends of the family that I visited with as well. One of my mom's closest friends, my "Auntie" Constance, is now the Deputy Prime Minister of Swaziland (something close to the US Speaker of the House). I surprised her one day after church by greeting her and introducing myself--she was so shocked to see me, it was precious. I then met with her at her office, which was a little bit intimidating because of her position; but then she invited us for dinner at her house, where she cooked everything, and it was there that she felt more like the Auntie Constance that I remember. This is the woman, who, along with her sister, is solely responsible for my love affair with BMWs. When we last visited Constance, her car was in the shop, so she was using her sister's BMW 3-series. I fell in love with that car over the course of that week. But of course, the day before we left, Constance got her car back and gave the BMW back to her sister...I wasn't sad about leaving them behind, but the car? I cried and cried and cried lol. Here's a pic of me and the Deputy Prime Minister (!):





My cousin Nozazi's university is in Jo'burg, so I rode back here with her and her parents. The past few days have included visiting more clients and continuing to get set up. Tuesday was nice for me, as one of our clients is a television advertising company, which I might be able to get an internship with. It was exciting to meet people in my field of interest, and even more fortunate that through my dad, I already have a strong contact with them.

Then we were looking for a place to have dinner, when we came across this shopping center, which, besides having a great little Italian restaurant, Zucchini, that will probably become one of my new favorites (Sette Luna comes to mind--Hey, Gabby!), had an Apple Computer store (another brand that I'm passionate about). That got me excited, as my love affair with Apple started in 2005 at Ithaca, and has grown stronger and more fervent ever since, even though I haven't yet been able to actually get a Mac. But at this store they had last year's model on sale at a great price. The great thing about Apple is that they make solid computers/electronics, and they also update their models every year or so, meaning that last year's model (which is still an excellent, fast product) comes wayyyyyyyy down in price. I took advantage of those price drops when I bought my iPod for 38% off the regular price. All in all, a very nice day for me indeed.

I was also able to talk to some friends for a few hours online with my webcam...after a few minutes we were laughing and joking like I'd never left.

This weekend I'm going to do some bed shopping, as the one I'm currently sleeping on hates me and likes to hurt my back; then mailing some college apps in between clients.

So, I'm staying busy, and hoping you are all well!








Listen: "Black and Gold" - Sam Sparro