Wednesday, April 29th, 2015
4:00pm South African Standard Time
Weather 70° F Sunny
I hit the ground running after my Easter Break trip and things are
finally starting to settle down. There are two public holidays this week,
Freedom Day on Monday and Workers Day on Friday, so I only have 3 class periods
to attend this week because the rest either fell on the holidays or were
canceled by the lecturer. It is a much needed break because studying and school
has been what’s occupying the majority of my time. I still am able to make room
for new adventures and experiences, but I've had to step up my game this second
half of the semester.
Part of the reason the second half is more intensive is because I added
a Meteorology and Climatology course to my schedule. It has been a very
intriguing course and I am enjoying it very much. The most challenging part of
the course is that when the lecturer talks about seasons, they are backward
from ours in the US. What makes it even harder is that our textbook is an
American book, so it refers to the seasons, equinoxes, and solstices as they
are in the US, but for the tests they are referred to as they are in South
Africa. The lab portion of the class is a group project in which we are to
study young adults' knowledge of climate change. I am in a very diverse group
and am enjoying getting to know more local students and working with them
outside of class on our project. Just yesterday while we were working on
creating a questionnaire, one of the questions asked how they got to school.
When formulating possible answers, the other Americans and I said
carpool and the South African students didn't know what that was. We learned
that a carpool in South Africa it is called a “lift club”. If I heard lift club
before that meeting, I would have through it was a weight lifting club or
something. Ha, it’s a good thing we caught that, because the questionnaire is
going to primarily be taken by the local students.
I have had the opportunity to go on another trip since break. 15 other
international students and I spent April 17-19 on a farm that was a three hour
drive away from Port Elizabeth. The trip was part of our program fee through
St. Cloud State, so all of our group was there in addition to a few other
international students. The 2 farms we stayed at were enormous, spanning
thousands of acres over rolling hills and mountains. We stayed right in the
houses and guest houses of the farmers that hosted us and all of our meals were
provided and home coked by the farmers themselves. It was the best treat I
could have asked for on this trip.
We had a blast at the farm over the weekend. Upon our arrival, we were
greeted with a delicious lunch and then taken on a tour of the farm. On the
tour we go to help feed the animals and milk the cows. We each had to milk a
cow and then have the farmer squirt a nice drink into our mouths straight from
the teat. It was the freshest milk I had ever had, but I definitely prefer it
to be chilled first. Dinner was a delicious home cooked meal and we spent the
evening socializing over a campfire.
On Saturday we learned all about sheep shearing and actually got to
sheer a sheep ourselves. We learned all about the different types of wool and
how each is tested. South Africa produces less than 10% of the world’s wool
with Australia producing over 90%. Later on Saturday we went on a 2 hour drive
across the vast farm land in the back of pickup trucks to the base of a
mountain. The farmers said the first guy and girl to the top would each win a
bottle of wine. The race was on and I was determined to get that wine. The trek wasn't that bad until the altitude caught up with me and I needed to take
frequent breaks to catch my breath, but I kept in the lead the entire time and
managed to be the first one to the top and won the bottle of wine! It was a
cloudy day, so we didn't get a good view or see very far, but the sense of
accomplishment after making the climb was totally worth it. After our climb, we
loaded back into the trucks and continued driving across the countryside as the
sun began to come out. We stopped for lunch at a waterfall at the base of a
mountain and the farmers grilled brats for us. It was relaxing to be out in the
middle of nature with no civilization in sight. After returning to the farm, we
all got to take a try at some target practice with a rifle and had a
competition where the best shot also won a bottle of wine. After target
practice we were greeted with another mouthwatering home cooked dinner.
Following dinner we went on a game drive in the pickups with spotlights to see
the different animals roaming around the farmland in the night. We also got an
excellent view of the stars as we gazed up from the pickups roaming around the
open countryside.
On Sunday, we drove out to a different farm to hike to a waterfall on
their property. The farmer showed us how the river was fed with runoff from the
mountain and created new paths through the rocks to form the canyon it is
today. To get to the water fall you could bear the cold water and swim or take
the canoe. I got in the water with a few others, but we decided to take the
canoe instead of swim to the waterfall because the water was ice cold and there
was no direct sunlight in the canyon to warm up to when we got out. After
hiking back we loaded up and headed back to PE.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the farms. There was no cell service or
wifi at the farms, so being “unplugged” for a weekend was a blessing in
disguise because it allowed for natural fun with everyone in the group. I also did
a lot of self-reflection while I was at the farm. That weekend was the most
homesick I had felt so far on this trip. Being in someone’s home and having
them cook for us reminded me of being home a lot and I missed that feeling. It
was a nice break from school and hotel life, but it created a brief longing for
everything back home. I feel that reflection was needed because it isn’t easy
to leave everyone you love for this long and not have moments where you really
miss them. Needless to say, I am loving my trip and am excited to see what the
next 2 months bring, but know I will be ready to return to the comforts of home
at the end of June.
This last weekend I attended a LGBTI Festival in a township in the
northern end of Port Elizabeth. It was an exciting and unique experience to see
how they celebrate equal rights and diversity in South Africa. The festival
included dancing, drag queens, poems, and other arts and entertainment. There
was also a guest speaker from the police department who talked about how to
report a crime and answered numerous questions about how same-sex rape/assault
is defined in the law and what to do if it happens. There was also a march that
went around the township. It wasn’t visible to many people because we were just
in a residential part of the city. I asked why we didn’t march down a main street
in downtown and they said it was because they didn’t have the resources to
organize it. The festival went into the evening with a live DJ playing music. I
met so many new friends that were all locals and really got to immerse myself
even more in the vastly diverse culture here. Most importantly I helped support
the LGBTI community in South Africa and their fight for equal treatment and
rights.
Last week I went to a soccer game with my friend Kenna at the Nelson
Mandela Bay Stadium, which was built for the World Cup in 2010. It was the
first professional soccer game I had been to, so I was super excited to go. Since
the local soccer teams aren't very good, not a lot of fans were at the game and
it was nothing like European soccer games are. The fans that were there sure
had a good time as they sang African songs and cheered on their team till the
end. The concessions at the game were very unique compared to what we have at
sporting events in the US. There were two food choices at all the stands: a
pink colored hotdog or beef stew over rice. I tried both and, surprisingly, they
were very good, but I do miss the concessions we have back home. I also ended
up winning the bet of which team was going to win with Kenna, so I won back the
cost of my ticket. I guess my mom rubbed off some of her luck on me before she
left.
On a day-to-day basis life is good here. School keeps my days occupied
whether I am in class or studying. At night I study some more, hang out with
friends in the hotel, go to a braai, or go out somewhere in town. The weather
is most always beautiful, so I like to bring a text book and set out by the
pool and study in the fresh air and sunshine. I have had a few surfing lessons
through the university and am LOVING it! At my first lesson they had me lay on
the board in the sand and learn how to paddle and stand up. Then it was out to
the ocean to try it myself. I shocked myself and my instructors because I
caught and stood up on the first 4 out of 4 waves I tried. It was exhilarating
to actually be able to ride the waves all the way in over and over. After 4
waves I started getting tired and then caught less than before because surfing
is sure a workout paddling out every time. My instructor said I was his most
proactive first-lesson student he ever taught and said I should consider buying
my own board. I attribute my initial surfing success to all the knee boarding
and water skiing I have done at my cabin growing up and developing my balance on
water. At my last lesson, some friends come along and got some good pictures of
me surfing away. Surfing is definitely a highlight of my trip and my new
favorite leisure activity here. Even though I will be ready to leave in June, I
wish I could just bring the ocean and this wonderful weather with me back to
Minnesota.
Electrical wiring in township
Port Elizabeth Fire Station
Seasons in South Africa
Soccer Game
Blake milking a cow...Both hands!
Freshest milk you can get
Sheep shearing
Lunch time
