Cast Away...in 19 days

I just got back from my doctors appointment! The doctor said that I'm healing really well, and pretty fast. Apparently my bone is "sticky" which seems to be a good thing. My spring break is only three weeks away, and I was scared that my foot would still be in the boot for my trip...but it turns out that my foot will be healed in 19 days!!! Thats about five days before I leave for my trip. PERF!

I'm feeling really good about this; I can't wait to be able to move around freely again, and it looks like it will be soon.

Classes

I realized that I haven't written much about my what classes I'm taking, whether I like them or what the academics are like at the University of Cape Town.

I'm taking three classes at UCT:

1. South African Politics II: I really like this professor, but I'm struggling a little because I don't really have a background in South African politics. This makes it hard to understand many of the examples.

2. Policy and Administration: This class focuses on implementing policy and the prof is specifically interested in policy disasters. We're looking at case studies of South African policy so I'm facing a similar problem of having to play catch-up in this class, too.

3.Medical Anthropology: This is probably my favorite class so far! The professor is amazing and a self described Marxist--most of the professors here don't really engage in a dialogue with students, but she does. There is, of course, a focus on South Africa in the class too, but I feel more comfortable with her teaching style and less confused by what's going on.

All of these classes are held in large lecture halls; I find I'm missing my small, sheltered classes where I get to discuss the reading with the professor. Its a little frustrating because its not the learning environment I've grown used to--the only time we discuss and interpret our readings are in small tutorials, which are basically TA sessions. I would say my first couple of classes have left me generally confused about when things are due and what reading to do for which class, but hopefully this will all clear up in the next few sessions.

In addition to these three classes, I'm also taking my class with the other Trinity students, which is tons of fun. We meet once a week for dinner and discuss our reading; there only five Trinity students so this is a nice break from the lectures. Plus, the class includes delicious food and wine!

Kirstenbosch, again

So, my blog has been a little stale these past couple days. With classes starting, things have been a little more hectic and there's been less time for blogging!

Last night, I went to a concert at Kirstenbosch. This time we also stopped at the bar before our picnic, which was a nice addition. Again, I wasn't overly impressed with the music, but I had a good time. And, I remembered to bring my camera.

Carded at the polls

Recently, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments about an Indiana law requiring that citizens present valid ID to vote. It appears that the law was aimed at keeping immigrants from voting, but this interesting article points out that there are serious implications for college students, too.

As a college student who loves to vote, this was of particular interest to me! The article questions why the government would make it harder for citizens to vote; I couldn't help but agree and further question why they would target a group of people so often criticized for not voting. Young people want to be part of change and have great vision for progress--isn't it the duty of the government to remove obstacles so the voting process is as fair and easy as possible? During a time with such excitement around politics, particularly on college campuses, its important to reflect on how a law like this can effect the democratic process in more ways then we expect.

"Carded at the Polls"

asleep at a bar

I've been trying to push myself (and my foot) to go out more; I don't want my foot to keep me from having fun. So, the other night I was excited to go out with some of my house mates to see a folk singer in bar. The bar is called the Armchair, which seemed promising because I figured that would mean I could sit down. When we got there, I found I was right--there were several couches and chairs. I grabbed a seat right away.

However, I think these couches may have been too comfortable because I fell asleep as I was listening to the music!! They performers were pretty good, but I think the combination of a dark room, a comfy couch, a beer, and my habit of going to bed early led to this little nap. It turned out, though, that I was not the only one to fall asleep at the show; the two girls sitting next to me also enjoyed a nice rest.

For those of you in my family, I think this a clear example of the Glover Disease--falling asleep early while reading, watching tv, and apparently listening to live music.

Grammar 101

I just thought I would post this fun article about the use of semicolons. I'll definitely be conscious of my use of semicolons after reading this article! Sooo, check it out.

Celebrating the Semicolon in the Most Unlikely Place

Ostrich

My sister, Emily, often tells me about the wonderful ostrich she ate when she studied in Cape Town; last night I finally got my chance to try this exciting, new meat. Emily was totally right--it was great! For those of you who haven't had the chance to try it, it's pretty tasty and reminds me of a mix between steak and chicken. I would totally recommend it.

I went out to dinner with the other four girls from Trinity last night, along with our professor for "Imagining South Africa." That course is just the five of us and we meet once a week on Monday for class and dinner. We read something for each week and then write response papers for our dinner and discussion. For next week we reading the book I wrote about earlier, My Traitor's Heart.

So, thanks, Trinity College for the lovely ostrich meal last night.

Pres Bush still in Africa

So, I just read this New York Times article about President Bush in Tanzania. Its an interesting article that says people are excited to have Bush in town, but that people are really talking about Obama. So, far I've found that people in South Africa are also eager to talk about the presidential race. Few have mentioned the Republican nominees, but everyone knows about the Democrats. As I mentioned a couple posts earlier, many South Africans are quick to draw comparisons between the racial politics here and in the United States. I'm not sure how similar the politics are, but certainly people are well informed about both national and international politics. Back home, it seems like there is often little dialogue about politics with people you don't know, but in Cape Town everyone wants to talk politics. I think because their transition to democracy is so recent, people are excited, engaged, and perhaps still angered about the changes going on around them.

I had my first session of South African Politics II this morning, and I'm excited to delve more deeply into a lot of these issues. The class focuses on the current political climate of South Africa; I'm hoping it will force me to closely follow current events and politics.

Here's a link to the article: Tanzania Welcomes Bush, but Obama is Topic No. 1 on the Streets.

Concert @ Kirstenbosch

Yesterday afternoon, I went to an outdoor concert at Kirstenbosch botanical gardens. This is a beautiful place only about a 15 minute drive from our house. The concert was set against the mountains in the background, and there were beautiful trees all along the grass. Several people commented that it looked like they might have filmed "Jurassic Park" there; I think the lush trees, plants, and grass against the mountains did feel kind of prehistoric.

We brought a picnic dinner and sat on blankets. I went with my house mates and a bunch of other North Americans in our program. There were tons of young people, but also lots of families and couples. It was nice to relax and enjoy the scenery.

The concert itself was not amazing. It was an Afro-ska band which reminded me of some of the concerts I went to as a freshman in high school. Once the concert started lots of people got up and danced, which unfortunately meant I could not see the band. I think I would have liked it more with two working feet.

At any rate, I think we might check it out again next weekend. I just love the fact that we can go to an outdoor concert in the middle of February.

Pres Bush visits Africa

President Bush and I are sharing the same continent for the next couple days. Sadly, he won't be making a stop in South Africa.

Here's an interesting BBC article about the trip. 'Mercy and Realism' in Bush visit