End of the Year

Alright, so it took me a while to get around to blogging. While in London, I was so busy studying and finishing up my semester that I didn't have time to blog. And ever since I got home I've been just enjoying the time with my family and friends. And Christmas snuck up pretty quickly.

After being home a short time, all I can say is I miss London. That city and I just got along nicely. I'm really excited to get back to Syracuse, but for now I'm just hanging out in Novi.

So what's next? I may be back in the states, but I have no idea where I'll be in May. Last year I didn't completely decide to go to South Africa until about March, so at this point I can't predict my next summer. I do have a feeling that I'll love it, though.

I know I'll be back in London soon. And after spending six out of the past seven months traveling, I'm getting right back on a plane as soon as I can and heading out on another adventure.

It's the Final Countdown

Well, the time is here; just 10 days left in London. I was told that the semester would fly by, but didn't I just get here? As much as I'm really excited to see my family and friends, be reunited with my BlackBerry, and get back to American portions at restaurants, I've really loved London. I'm going to do some posts from Michigan reflecting on my semester, but I wanted to give an update right now.

Last weekend my flatmate and I went on a school-sponsored visit to a show called La Soiree. It was like a circus/vaudeville freak show. It was pretty jaw-dropping and had some really memorable acts. I'm rounding out the final days in classes, so the work has been kicked up a notch. It is the end of an academic semester, as easy as that is to forget. On the work front, I'm really happy with how far I've gone with my internship. I've met some great people and learned a lot, and I'm excited to finish up.

Which leads me to my next point, I've been offered a new job when I get back to campus. I'm thrilled to announce that I've been selected to be on the Syracuse Social Media Team. My job entails me assisting in the facilitation of @SyracuseU, which is the official Syracuse account on Twitter. Combine two things I like: Twitter, and talking about Syracuse and you can see why I'm really excited about the job. It's also a great way to learn more about a field that I'd like to have a career in one day. I've really taken a liking to social media/digital marketing and new trends in marketing, and I plan on pursuing a job within that realm upon graduating. It seems like a great way to break into the marketing department of a company that I'd like to work for and then build from there. A lot of companies are hiring recent grads to fill new positions in this area because they figure we understand the medium better than most people. That is something I'd completely agree with. (PS, follow me on Twitter!)

So even though next semester I'll be blogging from Syracuse, and not South Africa or London, hopefully I'll still have some exciting things to talk about. As for now, I'm enjoying the fact that I have a few more opportunities to enjoy the city with my friends here.

London Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers! It was a strange Thanksgiving, just because it wasn't really Thanksgiving at all. I had class as usual, and had to call it an early night because I had work today. One of my flatmates parents is in town, though, and they cooked us dinner while we were at class. It was wonderful to come home to a fully home-cooked Thanksgiving meal. It was nice to have family around, even if it wasn't my family. I'm really excited to see my mom, dad, and brothers in a few weeks. (Speaking of which, my middle brother just got into Harvard Law...can't believe it!)

As is customary this time of year, I like to share what I'm thankful for. I am extremely grateful to have been given the opportunity to travel as much as I have the past few months. I'm really thankful that I go to such a good school that has a well-established London program, and I'm really thankful to the city of London for being a great host this semester.

And today marks the first Black Friday in a while that I've missed, which to me is almost as upsetting as missing Thanksgiving. I LOVE the madness that surrounds Black Friday (even though three years ago I had to work the electronics department at Target at 5am on Black Friday...not fun.) If I were in the states, I would be shopping all day. Today was just another normal day.

What are you thankful for?

Average Day at Work

So yesterday I walk into work and I get handed a really cool task. The company I work for has been designing a large banner and some other promotional materials for use at conferences, events, etc. I've been helping out, and they take my feedback seriously, which as an intern is really cool. Seeing as how their main target market is American & Canadian students, they listen to what I have to say (especially when it comes to things like Facebook and stuff like that.)

I got handed a camera and told that they needed a picture of London for the banner. I had a few hours to run around the city and snap as many pictures as I could. I was given a few specifications (horizontal, colorful, something depicting "iconic London.") I don't think I've ever been more excited about a work project, so far. I'm not a master of photography, so I was challenged to actually take a quality picture (the four photo majors that I live with would laugh pretty hard at some of the ones I took.)

I felt like a contestant on a reality show. I had a simple point-and-shoot camera, a few hours, and the limited knowledge of London that I've gained in a few months here. I had a deadline to meet: my boss wanted to send the banner to the printer that afternoon. PRESSURE! Of course, I wanted lots of options to turn in, so I BOOKED IT around the city. I'm a pretty fast walker, I can navigate the tube well, and I consider myself pretty good at weaving in and out of traffic (people, bikes, busses, cars...I only almost got hit once!)

So I basically spent the whole day running from place to place taking pictures like a tourist. I went back to a few places that I had been before that I think of when I think "London." When I went to Buckingham Palace it was actually almost time for the changing of the guards, which I hadn't seen yet. I stuck around, and it is actually a much bigger ordeal than I expected. Got a few pictures there, and then it was back to pounding the pavement.

It was a beautiful November day in London: sunny, and not too cold. I wanted to share a few of the pictures I took.


Changing of the guard


I like the Eye peaking out...


This one took some work. Had to position myself properly, wait for a bus, and hope I timed it right. A few tries later, and once enough people gave me funny looks for squatting, I got the shot!

I Amsterdam

This weekend I went to Amsterdam with all of my flatmates. We were all really excited for this trip, mainly because it was the first thing we booked, but we booked it really far in advance. It has been staring back at us from our calendar for months. Finally, the weekend came! As soon as I got into the city I realized that my camera was dead, so I had to rely on my friends' cameras. I'll post a few of my favorite pictures once they upload their pics, but for now, I have nothing to show from my trip.

While in the city, we just walked around and explored. It's a fairly small city, so it wasn't a problem to get to where we wanted to be. We played on the well-known "I Amsterdam" sign, which is great for pictures. We also toured the Anne Frank house, which was bigger than I expected. It was unfurnished, so I bet when there were eight people and some furniture in there it quickly got a lot smaller. We also planned on touring the Heineken brewery, but we were a little slow getting there and that plan fell through. So we basically spent the rest of the day exploring the Red Light District (which is exactly how you would picture it) and some other well known areas in the city.

The next morning we woke up in time to catch part of the Christmas festivities that were going on that day. Santa came in on a boat, and there were a LOT of people there to see it. I was shocked at the number of people that were dressed up; both kids and adults. It was really cool. Anyway, Amsterdam was a lot of fun. I wouldn't say it was my favorite European city that I've been to, simply because there just isn't as much to do there. But all in all, I still had a great weekend.

The main thing I was excited about was getting the stamp in my passport. I've had layovers in Amsterdam before, but I've only left the airport for short periods of time. This was my first real visit of the city, so the first time I actually counted the passport stamp. This one is significant because it brings my count of countries I've visited up to ten. (United States, Canada, South Africa, Mozambique, Ireland, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Greece, Netherlands) I can't believe that I am only 20 years old and I have been to ten countries across three continents. I count myself very grateful for the opportunities that have given me the ability to travel as much as I have at such a young age. With that said, I'm aiming for 20 countries by the time I am 25.

Countries I'd like to visit: (in no particular order)
-China
-Japan
-Australia
-Spain
-Brazil
-India
-Thailand
-New Zealand
-Costa Rica
-Morocco
-Germany
-Denmark

And basically everywhere else in the world.

Sometimes I Play "Grown-Up"

It's weird being back from Fall Break. But after being in London again, I think "you know, this whole London thing is working for me." I enjoy taking the tube to class, despite the frequent strikes. I enjoy always having something to do, or just hanging out in my flat. Before I got to London I played with the idea of coming back at some point; I already knew I would love it. Now that I am here, I do love it, and I have been seriously looking into graduate programs here. I had already researched a few before getting here, and I've actually even toured a couple and talked with admissions counselors. I really think that if I keep at it and keep in the direction I am going, graduate school in London can be a much more real possibility.

Speaking of grown up things, I haven't really spoken about my internship placement, mainly because getting it wasn't as smooth as an administrative task as I was hoping it would be. Anyway, I am happy to say that I'm an intern at a student resource company for academic, volunteer, and internship placements around the globe. I handle a variety of marketing tasks including restructuring their Facebook presence, which is really cool, and some other neat stuff. I even get to write on their blog from time to time, and they just published my first post!

I want this opportunity again. I want to come back to London on another level, not just as an undergrad student for one semester. The other day, one of my professors here asked me how I was finding London. All I said was "I want to come back," and she said "all the good ones do." I really took that seriously.

Fall Break

And just like that, it came and went. My whirlwind tour of three European cities in one week is behind me. I just got back yesterday, and I've taken the weekend to readjust to life in London. Midterms being over is a relief, but the last seven weeks of the semester are filled with research papers, group projects, finals, and a lot of other stuff. Luckily I have my weekend in Amsterdam two weeks from now as something of a breath of fresh air.

But let me tell you, fall break was amazing. I had such an appreciation for each place that I visited and the different quirks that I discovered. I think ultimately I had a fall break that was very fitting to what I wanted. I got to hang out with my flatmates and fool around in Paris, spend some time pounding the pavement solo in Milan, and meet up with some other friends in Athens (including two studying at an SU center in Florence, so it was cool to see them.) Here's the full low-down of my break.

Paris: Saturday, Sunday, Monday
The first day of fall break was BY FAR the worst. I had a very early flight from London on Saturday, and of course I missed it. I used to pride myself on the fact that I've never missed a flight before. Even if I've been behind schedule in the past, I always find a way to bypass the security line, run faster through the crowd, or do something to make sure I get my butt in that seat. But this time, I get to one of the security checkpoints in Heathrow, and I was turned around. I was too late. After some talking and some research, I discovered that the best plan was to go home for a few hours and then take a train later that day. A minor setback in hindsight, but I already felt like break was ruined.

Once I arrived in Paris I got to the right stop off of the metro and found my hostel quite easily. Now, I was supposed to meet people under the Eiffel Tower at around 1pm, and by this point it was already 6pm. I had contacted one of them while on the train and told them that I would find their hostel and meet them there. This proved to be quite the challenge. Armed without a map or any knowledge of the French language other than what I remember from middle school or the foreign exchange student that my brother had, I set out on my quest. Paris is a confusing city. Once I found them, I was exhausted. So were they, though, so we had a chill night.

The next day we did the big tourist stuff, of course. With such little time in each city, tourist stuff is pretty high on the list, since I've never been to Europe. In line at the Louvre we ran into four people from Syracuse, NY including two alums of SU. What a small world! The inside of the Louvre was even more exciting.


There she is!

Lunch break. French bistro. YUM! After that we ventured to the Eiffel Tower. When I first saw it, I was taken aback. It was actually there in front of me, and not on a screen. Sure, it looks the same, but the experience was just something I hadn't felt before. It was actually RIGHT THERE!


See? It's RIGHT THERE!

Next stop: Notre Dame. Yeah, that was cool too. But the best part was a guy we met there. We saw this man with an arm covered in birds. We saw that he was feeding them something out of his hand, and we wanted a part in it. All we had on us was a brownie, so we crumbled it and I quickly stuck out my hand filled with pieces of a messy brownie. The birds didn't seem to even notice. The guy saw me though, and grabbed my arm, brushing the brownie chunks off. He yelled at me, (in very broken English) and then poured me a handful of rice. Within seconds I was covered. He then proceeded to show us a card showing that he was in the armed service during World War Two, and he told us that he loved America and that he shot a bunch of Germans. I wish I could have learned more about this man.

After that, my friends had to leave for their next city, but I still had a night and a day in Paris. They had gotten there a day before me, so I wanted to take a day on the other end to myself. They left for Germany, and I had the night in Paris. I decided that I loved the Eiffel Tower so much that I wanted to go back. The first time we were only there for like 15 minutes, and I wanted to do more. I climbed the stairs as high as you can, freezing the whole way. I thought it was AWESOME, though. The view of the city is indescribable.


Here's a view looking at the "inside" of the Eiffel Tower.

After that, I just wandered around. That's my ideal style of travel; just wander around looking at things of interest until I realize that I'm completely lost and miles away from my original starting point, and then find my way back. It's a lot of fun, but in Paris in the middle of a Sunday night without a map it can be a challenge. After a decent amount of aimlessly walking around, I found my way home and got some sleep.

The next day I did something that I just couldn't resist. I'm such a Disney geek at heart, so I just could not pass up the opportunity to go to Disneyland Paris. I told myself that if I was satisfied with my day in the city on Sunday that I would go to DP, but that if I thought that I was missing something that I would do a second day in the city. I loved day one, so I wanted to do something else.


The entrance to Disneyland Paris

I have been to Disney World a few times, both as a child and more recently, but this was so new to me. A lot of the attractions have similar ride tracks, but the styling and theming of the park is just so different. DP also has a few unique attractions, and my favorite part was definitely seeing these for the first time. (They have a Finding Nemo roller coaster that is really well-done.) As a big fan of all things Disney, and a marketing major, I was just really intrigued by how Disney presents their ideas to a European audience. The park was also advertising some Halloween theming, but there was very little actually in existence. I was disappointed to see that only some areas of the two parks that make up Disneyland Paris had any Halloween theming, and what was there was kind of lackluster. Some areas had Christmas stuff already, and that just made me mad. Other than that, I had a great day in the parks. I did some research beforehand and found that most visitors agree that you need more than one day to truly appreciate Disneyland Paris. I completely disagree. It's easily accessible on the Paris metro, and if you are a good planner you can fit it all into a one day timeframe. You just have to be ok with keeping a very fast pace all day, along with using fast pass and hopping between attractions, shows, shops, restaurants and the two parks quickly.


The castle at Disneyland Paris


Milan: Tuesday

I had a very early flight to Milan the next morning. I had some trouble getting to the airport, but I gave myself WAY more than enough time to get there. I was not going to miss another flight. Once I got into Milan and found my hostel, I was ready to see another city! Milan is different from most Italian cities in that it's mainly just a big "industrial" city. But a big industrial city is always good for one thing: SHOPPING! I went to a huge flea market and then the biggest shopping area in the city. I spent pretty much the whole day doing this, but I didn't buy a single thing. I was so proud of myself. My credit card was happy with me too; a nice day of relaxation for it. This was until dinner, where I had DELICIOUS gluten free pasta and tiramisu. I don't think I've ever had tiramisu in my life because of my allergies, so this was really exciting for me. I had a lot of fun exploring this city too, but luckily I had the aid of a map this time. Milan was actually pretty easy to navigate, so I was able to get the most out of my day.


Milan Cathedral/Duomo (best shopping area in the city)


Athens: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

Flew to Athens in the morning and met up with one friend who is also studying in London and two friends who are studying in Paris. It was nice to see them! That night we explored the Acropolis and had a great Greek dinner. We then got caught in the biggest rainstorm I've seen in months. And I saw the brunt of South Africa's wet season this summer, so this is saying a lot.

The next day we went with a group of people from our hostel on a bus trip to Napfoli, a beautiful city with castle ruins, beautiful swimming areas, and just a quant city feel, as opposed to the HUGE METROPOLIS feel that Athens radiates.


The castle ruins in Napfoli

The next day we explored the city of Athens more in depth, including some shopping, some watching break dancers in the city center, and some other sites. We saw the temple of Zeus, a few great collections on the history of the marathon & ancient Greek theatre, and lot of other really cool stuff.


Me and Athens

That night it was time to say goodbye, so we celebrated the fact that we can legally enjoy the city in our own special way.


Jess, Mel, and me in Athens

The next day was the flight back, which felt a lot longer than it really was. Maybe that had to do with the fact that I was surrounded by children. But now I am just looking forward to enjoying the "back 9" of my time here in London. I was told that this semester will move way too fast, and the people who told me this were absolutely correct. Fall break felt like a blink.

Getting Down to Business

I've been making an effort to increase the amount of time I'm spending studying...which isn't a challenge. Like I said before, it seems really strange to me that midterm time is already here. I have all my midterms this coming week, so I might not blog again until I get back from fall break which is immediately after midterms. I have four midterms, then one day to pack, and then I leave for Paris, Milan, and Athens. I haven't even started to look at things that I want to do in these cities. I kind of forgot to, mainly because I usually have lots of time when I go to another country, so my style is to just go right in without a plan and figure things out authentically and on my own. I probably should go into fall break with a plan, though, because I have such a short time in each city and so much I want to do. I'm only in Milan for about 24 hours! It's going to be such a whirlwind of Europe, and I'm so excited since I've never been here before.

So if I don't write again until November, it's because I'm either studying for or taking my midterms, or I've left for fall break without the time to blog.

10 Days Gone By...

Woah - I just realized I haven't blogged in 10 days. That's the longest break I've had from it; guess I haven't been up to many antics. Last week I made an effort to go to some classic London tourist things that I hadn't seen yet. You can tell that the weather here is BEAUTIFUL!


Big Ben


London Eye


A view from the River Thames: I walked down the riverside for a couple miles and envisioned my office right in between the two taller ones.

I also visited the Tate Modern art museum. It was really interesting, but I only had a couple hours there before I went to the National Theatre for a backstage tour. That theatre is REALLY cool, and we get to see one of their shows this week.

Aside from that, things are pretty much the same here. I feel very settled into this city, and being here is really reaffirming some potential plans for the future. I'm also VERY excited for fall break in two weeks. But that means that I have midterms to get through first...it seems like some of my classes haven't even really gotten off the ground yet, and I already have midterms. Ridiculous.

More Shows

My Theatre in London class saw "Avenue Q" this week. While it wasn't really "British theatre," it was interesting to see their take on it. The script and some of the lyrics are changed from the New York version, usually just changing the American pop culture references to British ones. I actually got most of them too, so I was proud. The show did lose some of its charm, though, as I just thought it wasn't taken as seriously as it is in the states. Sure, it's puppets singing about sex, alcohol, and life's bigger problems, but it had an actual message. And in London, it's just a bunch of naughty puppets. Still funny, but different.

I just got back home from another Friday night show in the West End. I'm enjoying this whole concept of just jumping on the tube, getting of at a stop downtown, and running around trying to find a ticket to anything. This time was more of a struggle, though, and I didn't end up getting a ticket by 730, when most of the shows start. Luckily I found one show that started at 830. It was "Mamma Mia," which I've never actually seen before. It's been around forever, and it's in so many different places, but I just hadn't gotten around to it, yet. I haven't even seen the movie because I've been waiting to see the musical. I managed to snag a really cheap ticket last minute, and I actually had a decent seat. The show was everything I expected: An overdone splash of frills and color, a thin plot line with random ABBA songs strewn in, all complete with an audience that sings along. But overall, it's a fun show that MAKES you want to sing along (but I didn't.) There were two girls next to me who had come to celebrate a birthday. I was talking to them briefly before the show, and then they invited me to have champagne with them at intermission. We became fast friends.

Check out my last post, where I saw "Love Never Dies" and The Saturdays in concert!

Shows

One of my favorite things about London is the culture. I'm a geek, so I love museums, art galleries, going to the theatre, things like that. Basically, London is a playground filled with treats for the academic traveller. One of my classes is called "Contemporary British Theatre" and it is a drama class for non-drama majors where all we do is see one show every week and then talk about it, occasionally writing a review. So far we have seen two shows: one bad one and one good one. We have also gotten to see two well known London theatres, too - The Young Vic and The Royal National. One of the reasons I love the class is because the focus of the class is not on the big, commercial musicals and plays that the West End gets, which is an area of London similar to Broadway. Most of these shows are either transfers from New York or will eventually transfer to New York if they are successful here; so I have seen a good chunk of them already, or they are things that I would chose not to see...like Thriller Live, a Michael Jackson tribute musical. Not my style.

But this past Friday afternoon I found myself sitting around my flat realizing that I hadn't done anything "Londony" all day. Then I got upset that it was already almost October and the time has just been flying by. So I decided to treat myself to one of the big West End shows that I was interested in seeing. I looked up a few shows, but I found that the West End theatre district is not nearly as organized or accessible as Broadway; you can't just walk up and down one street and see a marquee for almost every show. I didn't have time for a plan, so I just took the tube to a stop that I knew was within a close proximity of some theatres, and I just looked around. Lucky for me, the first theatre I saw was showing "Love Never Dies" which actually was my first choice of shows I wanted to see. For anybody who hasn't heard of it, it is the sequel to "Phantom of the Opera." I walked in half an hour before the show, and I was able to snag a ticket in the last row; I was ecstatic. The show was good, but it has a few major flaws. There are some really good songs, and some mediocre ones. The writing is kind of spotty, and it's a little "dialed down" from the intense writing and thrilling score of the original. There were some amazing technical elements, including a lot of impressive special effects. The biggest complaint I had was that the girl playing Meg...well, she sucked. And Meg is one of the bigger roles in this show. (Pretty much all the same characters from the original are in the sequel, as well as a few new ones. Christine's son, who we find out VERY quickly is actually the Phantom's son, adds an interesting "creepy child" element to the show, but I feel for that kid. He must be EXHAUSTED with how many songs he sings!) I couldn't get any pictures inside, but here's the marquee and my ticket as proof!



And finally, to wrap up my amazing weekend, I had such a great time last night. I met up with Vince and Janelle, two of the people that I lived with when I was volunteering in South Africa this summer. Vince is from London, so I've seen him a couple times since getting here. Janelle is actually from Canada. I had dinner with both of them on Thursday after Janelle flew in, but this time we were actually able to go out for an evening. Janelle is here for a short stay with Vince until both of them go back to South Africa, which I am insanely jealous of. It is just really good to see people from this summer. We have a bond that nobody else will ever replace. I miss everybody else from SA!

But back to the event at hand. We managed to get into a huge club where we saw The Saturdays in concert!!! For anybody who doesn't know who they are, they are basically a modern day Spice Girls, but not quite so popular. They are the biggest girl group in the UK right now. The concert was so much fun, even though I couldn't move an inch where I was standing. That was only because I was pretty close to them, check out the view.



So it's been a REALLY GOOD weekend, and I'm hoping that this week isn't a let down, with class and all.

Finalized Travel Plans

I finally have my Fall Break planned and I am so excited to go! I was initially planning on only making two stops, but when I was looking at flights, I found that it actually was cheaper to make a stop halfway for a day, hence the short visit to one of my destinations - but I'm really pumped to get a quick flash of that city. I'm also really happy with who I am travelling for the break. I am even meeting up with a friend who is studying in France for the last leg of my journey. Here are the details:

I'll be in Paris from October 23rd to October 26th. The morning of the 26th I will fly to Milan, where I will spend the day. Then I fly out on the 27th to Athens! On Octboer 30th I will return to London, hopefully ready to finish the semester. But then don't forget that I'll be in Amsterdam the weekend of November 12th-14th. Should be a lot of fun!

Travel Plans and more

Brief update: I had a really fun weekend. My flatmates and I went to a live music festival (which actually wasn't as good as I was hoping) and then went out in Trafalgar Square on Saturday to celebrate Jenna's birthday (one of the girls I live with.) Then on Sunday I got to visit Buckingham Palace - some of the rooms are open this summer for public viewing, so it was really cool to go inside. Sadly, but expectedly, you can't take pictures inside. Here's a picture of Jenna and I outside the back of the palace, though, overlooking the Queen's MASSIVE gardens.



I haven't finished planning my Fall Break yet, and I was waiting until I had all my travel plans finalized to blog about them all together, but I'm getting too anxious and excited. My flatmates and I all booked a weekend trip to Amsterdam in mid-November. I had layovers in Amsterdam on my way to and back home from South Africa, and I am going to enjoy having some time to spend in the city. My calendar for the semester is starting to take shape!

Belfast Peace Walls

So as anyone who catches me on facebook despite the time difference knows, I had my first academic thing due this past weekend. I had two essays due from my Ireland trip, and of course I had waited until "prime time" to finish them. I told myself I was going to do them several times...but then other things just kept coming up. Like shopping, eating, going to class, and...a few other things. But when it finally came down to that special time of "ok, I have to actually do these now" I actually really enjoyed writing about Ireland. It was a place that I loved visiting, and I hope to visit again some time in my life.

I wrote one of my papers about the peace walls that we visited in Ireland. You can see my Ireland pictures to see a little glimpse of them and the rest of Ireland and Northern Ireland that I saw. But I thought that some people here might appreciate seeing a little more of them.







And I just got a lovely post on my Facebook wall from Erica, my best friend, who is back home in Michigan. (Hey Erica, look, I'm writing about you in my blog! PS, you just lost the game.) She told me that my blog has gotten boring lately and that I should do more exciting stuff. And I just wanted to let her, and the rest of you know that I am in the process of planning some very exciting things. More to come later.

A Run in the Park

So an update on the sick thing. I feel better, the girl who got me sick feels better. However, I got another one of my roommates sick, who got sick for about two days, and then got another girl sick. A 24-48 hour "London Bug" is going around. At least we all got over it quickly, and hopefully this won't be a constant thing, especially given London's "beautiful weather." I actually don't *think* I will mind so much, since I grew up and go to school in a place with...strange weather habits involving lots of precipitation. We'll see.

Another update referencing the PSC class I wanted to get in to. After the best "please let me in this class" email I could draft, the professor emailed me back last night saying I could be in the class. Of course, because it's an abroad class, I have to get him to sign a form. I can't just have him give me a permission number for MySlice (Syracuse's online class sign-up thing.) Since I don't think he comes in on Mondays, I'm hoping that a forward of his email will get me registered in the class. I'm not in the class YET, I have one more obstacle.

But it has recently hit me that an academic semester has started. I get to my Managerial Decision Making class (basically an advanced statistics class,) and it's my last class of my first week. Granted, I haven't had my Consumer Behavior class yet, the professor was sick on the first day. We'll see how that one is later. I was just ready for the weekend, and the professor greets us with a quiz. Luckily, it wasn't for a grade or anything, just one of those "see what you know, set the pace" kind of quizzes. Still, I'm a geek, and I'm like "well a quiz is a quiz" and I know that London professors are different than what I'm used to. I'm still waiting before I pass judgment on my professors. I like to get past "syllabus week" before permanently setting my expectations for a class. I'll update on that later. Nothing new on the internship front, interview for that is this week!

I'm really excited because I was just named Assistant Director of Public Relations for First Year Players, the student run theatre group I am in on campus at Syracuse. Here is their website for anyone not from Syracuse or who hasn't heard me talk about it. It needs some updating; still listing that we are selling tickets to last year's show. I have high hopes for the PR team this year :) I'll probably mention them a few more times in later blogs.

This morning, yes it is already Sunday morning here for anyone reading this on Saturday night in the US. WAKE UP ALREADY! I am going to an event sponsored by SU London in about an hour, but I decided to wake up this morning and do something I haven't gotten myself to do yet: Run in Hyde Park!!! I loved living in New York City the summer after my freshmen year because I was able to run in Central Park. Running is something I like to do, but honestly I just can't get myself to do for an extended period of time on the treadmill yet. I like parks, cities, big things for me to explore while I run. What a better way to see the city than to watch it wake up! I cut some corners in the steady six-mile run (with the cut corners I probably did only about four miles) just so that I'd make it home in time to shower, take a decent-length tube ride, and meet up with a bunch of other Syracuse kids to go to a market that sells really good food. Since I just ran, I'll probably get something yummy. I went to a craft/flea/food market last weekend, and I managed to find some good gluten free stuff, much better and cheaper than in the states. I also went to a gluten free bakery a few mornings ago and sampled one thing. I have to say, eating gluten free is easier in London.

So I have already had a great London morning, and I'm off to do one fun thing before I have to come home and finish a few school things. The academic semester is just warming up...hopefully I can keep up the running thing while the weather cools down.

Things are Looking Up in London

Pray to the powers of the blog, and yee shall be granted your wish. Apparently, posting all the things that were getting me down about my semester in London so far on my blog fixed them all! Let's start from the first one.

I'm adjusting to the weather; you have to quickly around here. I bought an umbrella, but I might invest in a more decent one so that I don't look so...shaggy all the time. The tube is back to somewhat normal service. I gave myself PLENTY of time this morning, with "lost American" time scheduled in to make sure that I wasn't late. And sure enough, I get lost around a strange block I had never seen before. But it was cute; I saw children being walked to school by their nannies & saw some more of the people that live near me, so I enjoyed the walk. I got to my first class on time, and it's actually a class that I'm on the waiting list for and just hoping to get in. It's a political science class called "Islam and the West" and the professor is really intense, and I think I would really like this class. The three hours went by pretty quickly, and I made every effort I could to secure a spot in the class, so I just have to hope he lets me. If I don't get into it, it's not the end of the world, but it would help me out a lot. As I was in class I got a voicemail about scheduling an interview for a potential internship. It sounds like something that I would enjoy, and hopefully I'll be able to post more about it in the future - interview is Monday, wish me luck!

I'm already starting to feel better, perhaps it is because I unpacked my vitamins and started taking them...hope I'm over the worst of it. I looked into the bikes, I think I'm going to try it in a week, and maybe just for a week, and maybe I'll stick to Hyde park. It just looks like a cool London experience, since they JUST put the program into place. Anyway, I had a solid five hours before my next class, and I wanted to really go explore a new part of London. I Googled some places near the school building that had gluten free lunch options and found a few just a few tube stops away. I got to Leicester Square pretty quickly, and I was proud that I had been pronouncing it right. I wandered the square finding a few places with gluten free food, most of them more out of my price range, but it was nice to see it was there. I finally found an outlet of a chain that I had heard about before on my Twitter, wagamama. They had an allergy-awareness book, just like a lot of chains I visit frequently, and I picked out a rice-noodle based dish. It was really good, but HUGE! I ate about half, and caught a quick tube ride home to put the rest in the fridge. From there it was off to the V&A Museum. I got off the tube, and decided to go to the Natural History museum instead since it was closer. I managed to get through about a third of the permanent exhibit before I had to go to class. Unfortunately my camera was dead, so I couldn't take any pictures, but I have a feeling I will be back at that museum VERY soon. I went to my "Contemporary British Theatre" class, which is a drama class for non-drama majors who just want to go watch shows and talk/write about them: PERFECT for me! My professor told us that she won't be taking us to the big commercial stuff as often, but to brand new plays in smaller & more diverse venues. It sounds good to me because I've seen the same productions of many current West End shows before on Broadway (a lot of shows that closed on Broadway and transfered to London.)

Came home, re-heated my Wagamama, blogged/twittered/facebooked, and now I'm going to research the company I am interviewing with. London felt a lot more like home today.

Strike & Bike

London weather...I was warned. Didn't have "the best" first day of classes that I've ever had. The London tube crews went on a 24-hour strike on the day of my first class, and of course the bus system was jammed and traffic was awful. I gave myself about an hour to get to class, twice as much as it would take me to get to that location on a normal day. We got about halfway to the building in that hour, so I ditched the bus and started running the streets of London. In jeans & a sweatshirt, with a backpack, oh, and did I mention one of my roommates got me sick? Why do I ALWAYS get sick the second week of being in a new country. (I was horribly sick for about 4 days my second week in South Africa, had to skip a lot of nights out and even one day at school.) I showed up half an hour late, and to my excitement, the professor hadn't even shown up yet. No, he walked in a full hour after I did.

So I decided I wouldn't let this happen to me again. I have been kind of in my cocoon of the hotel, my flat, the school building, and their surrounding areas. I've been to a few local restaurants, cafes, and pubs, but nothing of extreme interest. Yesterday I met up with my friend Vince (who I lived with in SA) and he gave me a personal walking tour of some of the neighborhoods. It was good to see somebody from that group of people. Anyway, I am starting to look into a new program that the Mayor of London introduced about two months ago, where there are bikes EVERYWHERE that you can borrow for up to a half hour for free (if you pay a small weekly or yearly access fee) - it's a really good bargain, even if you only do it like twice a week. Here is the info for anyone who is interested.I am going to wait until I can breathe properly again, and then I might give it a shot. I also might bike through Hyde Park a lot, since I live within a two minute walk of it. I haven't even ran in Hyde Park yet! God, I wish I wasn't getting sick so that I can enjoy London, now that I realize I've been here a week and basically done nothing but grocery shop, move into my flat, and go to informational meetings. I miss the excitement that Ireland offered - we hit the ground RUNNING with no time for adjustment, and that is more my style. I came to London with the intention of spending as little time in my flat as possible, and just enjoying the excitement of the city - free museums, world class shopping, nightlife, history, unfamiliar architecture, etc. I think tomorrow I am going to spend the few hours I have in between classes just exploring the city without an agenda...except making it back for my next class on time of course.

My Flat!

So London is very stressful, let me just say. Between orientation meetings, adjusting to a new country, and finding a flat, I have found myself quite drained every day. I am very ready for classes to begin, to find an internship (hopefully) and to move into my flat and just start living the London life. A big cause of stress was finding the perfect flat for the semester, and I think we struck gold. After several visits to many alright flats, we finally got a hold of a landlord who had just put a beautiful flat on the market an hour ago. One of the student guides came with us, and after viewing it he said "you would be stupid not to take it." It is in the Bayswater area, three bedroooms & two bathrooms, right near two tube stops (different lines, which is really convenient for travel) and only a 15 minute tube ride away from Faraday House, Syracuse's academic building in London. I move in tomorrow, and I could not be more excited. Oh, not to mention that it is completely refurbished very recently. Meaning new kitchen appliances, a new washer/drier, new bathroom fixtures, new dishes/silverware, etc. Here are some pics!



The front



The living room (complete with big screen TV and DVD player)



One of the three bedrooms



One of the two bathrooms



The kitchen

Ireland Photos

So I finally got around to uploading my pictures from Ireland. Here are some of my favorites.






The viking festival in Dublin



The Guinness Factory



The peace walls in Belfast



"The Organ" of the Giants Causeway on the northern coast



Crossing the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge on the northern coast

Check out more pictures of the Belfast peace walls.

Just Touched Down in London Town

Belfast ended up being a lot of fun, but I think I can say that I enjoyed Dublin more. The tension that you can feel in Belfast from the conflict is a little overwhelming...definitely not an area I would want to grow up in. I already miss the Ireland seminar so much. The group of people was a lot of fun, our professor and TAs were amazing, and I just had a great experience.

I arrived safely in London yesterday, and we checked into our hotel that we stay at until we find a flat. I'm starting that search tomorrow, so I will report back, and hopefully be able to show off pictures of where I live. Even though I am in the city of London, I don't feel it yet. Maybe it's because I'm staying in a hotel for the time being, or that classes haven't started, but I just don't feel like I'm really here yet.

Hopefully once classes start, and I have a flat, and I know my way around the area I live in, I will really feel at home here in London.

And I plan on posting some pictures from Ireland soon :)

From Dublin to Belfast

Sadly, my time in Ireland is already halfway over. We just left Dublin this morning and arrived in Belfast, and our hotel has free wireless internet! Yay! Alright, let me try to unload everything I've done in the past few days without rambling...

Fun things first: We visited the Guinness factory, which was really interesting. Because I'm allergic to beer I didn't get to have a free pint of "the freshest Guinness you can get" but I still enjoyed the tour. We also had a full-on Irish dinner at The Merry Ploughboy Pub, complete with entertainment in the form of a four-man band and some Irish dancers. Last night we went to the national theatre of Ireland, the Abbey Theatre, and saw a play called The Plough & The Stars. It was a really emotionally-charged play about the Easter Rising by the Irish Republicans in 1916, which was really cool because we've been learning about it in some of our lectures. The play was so controversial when it came out in the 1920's that it caused riots in the streets, and I can see why! And finally, tonight we went to a rugby game at Ravenhill Stadium in Belfast - it was a BLAST, and the hometeam won! We've also had plenty of time to explore on our own, so I've enjoyed seeing things of my own choosing, and just getting purposely lost in the city and then finding my way back.

As for the academic side, we've been working HARD! They weren't kidding when they told us to prepare for a lot of work. It is a 3-credit course in 10 days after all. We generally have about three or four academic events in a day, usually lectures or tours. We've visited a jail, toured both Dublin and Belfast, toured the Belfast City Hall, and had lectures on all sorts of interesting topics ranging from the well-known Irish travellers to religion and political conflict in Ireland. It's really cool because there is still a decent amount of tension between many groups here in Ireland, so we learn about it in the classroom and then can see the effects in the city today.

Needless to say, I am very tired. We have a pretty full day tomorrow, so I better go get some sleep. I'll be going strong for the next four days in Ireland, and soon enough I will be starting up my semester in London! Hopefully I'll get in one more post before London starts up so that I can wrap up my time in Ireland.

Until next time :)

Intro to Ireland

So I arrived safely in Ireland, and I am having a lot of fun so far. My flights were LONG and BORING - I had four flights in total, adding up to almost two whole days of travelling. For some reason it was a lot more boring for me than travelling to Cape Town, maybe because I had one more flight to deal with. It was nice to be travelling with a group for the second half, though, instead of doing it completely on my own.

We are in Dublin for five days, and we are staying at Trinity College, which is right in the center of Dublin. The dorms there are basically apartments, so I share an apartment with one other person, and I have my own bedroom! Last night we got into the city and just learned about what we will be doing in the course, and then we had the night to ourselves, which was a lot of fun. Today we had a walking tour of the city, and we are on a lunch break now, so I popped into an internet cafe so that I could let my parents know that I am alive. I don't have much more time because we have our first lecture in half an hour, so I have to get running.

Loving Ireland, more later!

Packing

10 days until I leave! I've already started kind-of packing...well, at least I'm setting some stuff aside. I'm already worried that I am going to want to bring WAY too much. I have to pack about 4-months worth of stuff into just a few small bags. It was hard enough to choose what I wanted to pack for South Africa, and that was for only two months, and I was trying to bring clothes I didn't like and haven't worn in a while. I didn't have too many of those, so packing was actually easy. But Ireland/London requires a whole different wardrobe. It's going to be cold, it's going to be grey-skied, it's going to have rain/snow. Thank heavens I am prepared for this kind of environment from living in Michigan and going to school in Syracuse. But, that means I have a LOT of clothes that I will want to bring.

Anyway, getting really excited. In Ireland, we are doing some AWESOME things; I keep reading the itinerary. We are studying in Dublin at Trinity College, which has a beautiful campus. I am so excited to explore it and see what it is like being a college student in Ireland. We are also touring a prison! I am really excited for Belfast because the hotel we are staying at is right in the center of the shopping/nightlife center of the city. And we have a couple free evenings/nights, so we will get to explore the city on our own, which is cool. We also get to explore the famous Dunluce Castle, see a big rugby match at Ravenhill Stadium, and hear some really exciting lectures from some pretty interesting-sounding people. I am trusting that SU Abroad hooked us up with some really good professors. The Syracuse professor that is leading our seminar sounds really cool.

Gotta finish up my homework for Ireland!

More Pics

Sitting around, nothing to do, thinking about how much I miss South Africa and everyone there. Here are some more of my favorite pictures from the two months I was there.


Bungy jumping from the world's highest bungy bridge



You think vuvuzelas were annoying to you? Try having them EVERYWHERE! Ayoba!



I had to get one...


Just landed from skydiving! I'm hooked :)


A few of us in Tofo, Mozambique - paradise!

To everyone I met in South Africa, I hope you are well - I hope to stay in touch with each of you, and I know that I will see some of you again!

Prepping for Ireland

So, as much as I am still in the mindset of wanting to relax and reflect from South Africa, I am leaving for Ireland in a couple weeks and I have quite the list of things I need to get done before I leave. Today, I bought my flight from Detroit to New York so that I could meet up for the group flight I am taking to Ireland (with a connection first in London, which will be weird because it will be a brief snapshot of what life will be like a couple weeks after that!)

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Just as an update to anyone who doesn't know me personally or hasn't been following my blog from the start, I am going to Ireland for 10 days for an academic seminar through Syracuse University Study Abroad. The seminar is called "The Pale and Beyond: A Sociological, Political and Economic Investigation of Life in the Republic of Ireland and British Northern Ireland" Quite a name, huh? The seminar is split between Dublin and Belfast :)

After that, I am moving into a London flat for about four-and-a-half months for my Fall 2010 Semester in London (also through SU Study Abroad.)

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Today we got our itinerary emailed to us regarding our day-to-day activities in Ireland. It is a nice mix of academic related stuff and designated "free time." The seminar leaders tell us that we must be aware that we are completing a 3-credit class in 10 days, so there will be lots of work; but that they also know that we want to have time to enjoy Ireland on our own as most of us have never been there before. It seems like we get to meet a lot of great people and hear some interesting lectures. I am REALLY EXCITED to continue traveling, but honestly one of the things I am most excited about is that I get to be back in an academic mindset. I just like feeling productive.

So, I should use that productive feeling to finish up my list of things I need to do. I have some short essays about Irish films to write (so of course, we have to watch the films) and just a lot of other "prep" stuff to do.

17 days until I leave!

Back Home

Well, I've been home just about a week now. I have to say, Michigan isn't as exciting as Muizenberg...but it is nice to be home. It's great to see people that I really didn't have a chance to see after coming home from my spring semester in Syracuse. Plus, I do have to start seriously getting ready to leave for Ireland and then London. I have some homework already (yikes!) that is due the day I leave for Ireland (August 20th.)

I do miss everyone that I met in South Africa. It's good to know that I will see some of you very soon.

To anyone who is reading this blog and considering a placement with IVHQ:

I get asked by potential volunteers frequently asking me if I would recommend the program. I have to say I would, but with a few strong reservations. The best summary of my experience is that I LOVED Cape Town and South Africa, but the management of the program was hard to deal with. If you can find a different way of getting to South Africa and volunteering, perhaps explore that. OR, if you are dead-set on volunteering with IVHQ, I have faith in them as an organization. Their other placements seem to be more stable than ours was.

The main issues I had with Volunteer in South Africa were just due to a lack of follow-through and professionalism, some things that I think they at least know (I hope) that they need to work on. In the short time I was there, we were witness to a lot of staff turnover for an organization that only has 4-5 employees, we were kicked out of our original house and moved into an apartment with one bathroom between 20 people, and we were frequently ignored as people with concerns.

It's just not how most of us had pictured a community-based organization to be run, either...the focus of the management there is on their own inflated profits instead of on the concerns they set out to deal with - something that reminds me of a lot of American companies in the media these days, but obviously on a much smaller scale.

Anyway, I ABSOLUTELY LOVED my time in South Africa, so you will love it regardless of any issues you may have in-house. The country, specifically the Cape Town area, is alive. There is a lot to do, and a lot of exciting people to meet. Some of my favorite moments included: skydiving, bungy jumping from the world's highest bungy bridge, WORLD CUP, traveling to Mozambique, visiting Robben Island, and just meeting all of the great people that visit and live in Cape Town)


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The biggest thing I have taken away from this is an appreciation for what I have been given. I do not think that my work there was enough to make a large impact, I have to be able to admit that. I was only there for two months, part of a never-ending cycle of rotating people reaching out a temporary hand. These kids are worth more than that. Some of them (in time, obviously) would be just as successful as most of the 20-year olds I know if they had just been given the same opportunities that we (that I) have been given.

If anyone is ever at the program with IVHQ and works with grade 6B in Christian David, tell them Adam says hello!!!

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Here are a few of my favorite pics. (Yay! I can finally upload pictures!) More to come.


The view from the balcony on our first house


An example home in the townships, within a five minute walk of where we lived/worked

Me on the bike tour through South African wine country...later without bikes



Urban Cape Town during the day


A few kids from school and me :)

Leaving so soon?

Wow - it hit me. I'm LEAVING tomorrow. This can't actually be happening. I knew this day was coming, but I never really planned for it. I've had the idea in my head for the past week that I was leaving soon, so I made sure to do a few things that I hadn't had a chance to cross of my list just yet. I spent a lot of time in Cape Town going to a few museums, and I also spent some time just taking the train to different areas around Cape Town doing some last minute exploring.

A lot of new people that arrived at the house this weekend asked me if I was excited/ready to go home. I say that I'm excited, but only because this was the first leg of my little travelling stint I am on. As sad as I am to leave South Africa, I am thrilled to be arriving in Ireland in about a month and London shortly after that. I also, of course, am excited to see my parents, friends back home, etc. I guess I'm ready, but...not really. If I didn't have to leave, I honestly think I would have strongly considered the option of either staying a little longer or travelling elsewhere in Africa before heading home.

I have some parting words about South Africa as well as about my volunteer experience. (speaking of which, I had to break up a fistfight between two kids at school the other day - not fun) I think I'm going to save these final thoughts for a blog post after I get home so that I can actually look back and reflect. Plus, I want to FINALLY UPLOAD PICTURES which will really get me talking. I made a huge effort to not look at a single picture after I took it; I think this will really make looking over them a fun experience. So except from the few that past volunteers have uploaded on Facebook, I haven't seen any pictures from the past two months.

So this is probably my last blog post from South Africa - my flight back home leaves tomorrow night.

Next stop: Michigan (technically Amsterdam, then Boston, then Michigan...but you get the idea)

Fooooood

So today was an exciting day for me at least. My friend, Vince, and I went into Cape Town for the afternoon to sort out his arrangements for going home and to go to the District Six museum, all about the transformation of an area of Cape Town from a thriving neighborhood to a segregated slum - really interesting stuff. But the best part of the day came later. We took a lengthy walk to an organic food store that I had heard of, and they had a lot of gluten free food! I got a sandwich on gluten free bread, some muffins, a loaf of bread, and some animal crackers. This has been the first time in like...two months...that I have had bread, or anything with flour for that matter.

Truly a happy day! :)

Back in South Africa

Lots to report here.

The end of my trip to Mozambique was really eventful. First of all, we went snorkeling and swam within three feet of a twenty-two foot whale shark...pretty exciting. The rest of the time in Tofo was pretty relaxing, lots of beach time. After leaving Tofo we had an eight hour bus ride and then we stayed in Maputo (the capital city) for about a day and a half, there wasn't much to do there.

When we finally left was when everything got crazy. We had another eight hour bus ride from Maputo to Johannesburg. However, we didn't quite make it all the way. About two hours into the bus ride is the border from Mozambique to South Africa. There was a problem with our passports, and apparently we didn't have the proper visas to visit Mozambique...we must have missed something when we entered the country. So in reality we were illegal immigrants, and the customs officials were not happy about it. After a few people yelling at us for a good hour, we realized that we were going to be stuck there for quite a while. The bus that took us had to leave, so we had to get our bags off and just sit at the border until they decided to let us leave. We talked to many officials and they kept telling us that we needed to pay a fine, but every time they told us that we needed to pay they would increase the amount we owed. The first few times we argued with them a little bit because we knew that they were corrupt and just wanted to pocket the money. We asked to see any sort of document or form or anything that shows a breakdown of the fines, but they told us that asking for this was "disrespectful." We kept telling them that we didn't have enough to pay the amount they wanted, so they said that we would have to wait for the "big boss" to come back from a meeting in South Africa and deal with him. After waiting for a good portion of the day he finally showed up and demanded 48,000 Meticais (about $1,500) which we didn't have. After talking to him for a short period of time we finally worked out a smaller amount (basically we pulled out our wallets and emptied them...every cent.) He agreed to that amount, so after about a half hour of paper-work time we finally were able to leave Mozambique.

Our next problem was that we had a flight leaving from Johannesburg that night and no way of getting to the airport, which was six hours away. We were a little worried, but luckily as soon as we left customs a man approached us and asked if we needed transportation, so we piled into a mini-bus filled with people and we were off to Johannesburg. After the long bus ride into the city and then an hour cab ride to the airport, we finally made our flight. I was so relieved to get home. But, the next day I checked my bank account and realized that I will need to start spending as little money as possible. I've been spending a decent amount of money on food for myself here because they aren't able to accommodate my food allergies (and yet refuse to refund the money I prepaid for food, even though I can't eat half of the meals they make.) So it looks like I will be hungry for the next three weeks I'm here, but I spent all of my money on things like skydiving, so really it's my fault.

Money problems have not stopped though. Somebody used my credit card information to buy $300 worth of prepaid airtime for a cell phone, so I am in the middle of disputing that charge with my bank. (Words of wisdom: don't enter credit card information on a public computer, as I am not the only volunteer here who has had this issue.) And to top it all off, I had brought some american money with
me for emergencies, and I left most of it in one of my bags in South Africa while I was in Mozambique. When I arrived home I found that somebody had gone into my bag and stolen the money, but left the empty bank envelope in my bag as an insult to me. So basically I am broke. So...anyone who wants to mail me food or money will be my eternal hero.

On a final note, I am really starting to have issues with the staff here, as is pretty much every other volunteer. In the month and a half that I have been here, two volunteer managers have been hired and then quit, the original cook quit, and we were actually kicked out of our original house and had to move...our new house has ONE SHOWER for over twenty people. I think that the staff here could really benefit from a few classes on how to run an organization. Several of the other volunteers here have emailed IVHQ (the international umbrella organization overseeing the local organization here) complaining about the staff, the conditions, and a few other things, but they never seem to care. I really feel like all they care about is getting our money and not about our actual experience.

Even with every issue that I have from border issues to problems at home, I am still loving it here. I can't let small things like money and the house ruin the fact that I am in South Africa having the time of my life. I have less than three weeks here, but I wish I could stay a lot longer.

Mozambique

Surprise! I'm in Mozambique! Long story short, six of us decided to take advantage of where we are and explore another country in southern Africa. Since the school is on holiday and camp just ended, it was a perfect time for a little getaway, and the flight & bus tickets were insanely cheap. And because of the insane exchange rate here, food and accommodation is really cheap too. You can get a full meal including a drink for less than three dollars, and the food here is really good! We are currently in this place called Tofo, a pretty secluded untouched beach area on the coast of the Indian Ocean. It is honestly one of the most amazing places I have ever seen in my life. There are a few hostels, two bars, and a little village marketplace area. We leave tomorrow morning for Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, where we will stay for about a day and a half, and then it's back to Muizenberg. If anyone is ever in South Africa, I HIGHLY recommend taking a few days to travel to Tofo - it is well worth it. That's all for now - gotta go enjoy the rest of my short time in Mozambique!

(Thankfully they had an internet cafe here, otherwise I don't know how I would survive!)

I Miss School

School is on holiday for a little bit, but there is a day camp that about 40-ish of the kids go to and we help out at that for the time being. It sucks. Only a few of the kids from my class go - I miss the others! I can't imagine actually leaving these kids in a few weeks.

World Cup

Every weekend here is something different. The World Cup finally started, and we all have soccer fever. Even though I'm not the biggest soccer fan, I find myself completely absorbed in every game. On Friday we went into Cape Town and just walked around trying to find a TV in a bar or something to watch the South Africa vs. Mexico game. (which was played in Johannesburg) When South Africa scored, the streets went NUTS. It was a HUUUUGE celebration when they tied because they were expected to lose. After that game a few of us walked to the Cape Town stadium just to see what was going on. This one girl and I decided that this might be our only opportunity to go to a game, as everyone else in our house had tickets for a future game except for us. So we waited around until about an hour before the game started and we were able to scalp two tickets with an AMAZING view. (We went to the France vs. Uruguay game -the first game to be played in the new stadium!) Sitting in the brand new stadium with 64,000 other people watching the World Cup was something I will NEVER forget. I don't know if I ever will be in the same city as the World Cup again for the rest of my life, so this really might have been a once in a lifetime opportunity.

On Saturday we woke up early to go into Cape Town to go to the Fifa Fan Fest (a huge screen with lots of room to stand, with music, food, shops, etc) so that we could watch the US vs. England game. Seeing as how most of the people in our house are either from the US or England it was a really intense game for us and everyone around us. I think I hugged/high-fived about fifty perfect strangers just because I had USA painted on my face and I was wearing a US flag. It was so cool to see people get really into the game, and even though we tied, it was still really exciting.

So if I don't blog for the next few days, it is because I am either glued to the TV or at the Fan Fest watching the games. I have World Cup fever!

Big Changes

(I don't think I'm ever going to be able to add pictures to a blog or post them on facebook - just doesn't seem like it will work out here. Look for a MASSIVE facebook album when I get back, and I'm sure I have hundreds of other pictures that I can show people who really want to see them. I'm DYING to share pictures, but this will have to do)

What an eventful weekend! It seems like every weekend we take a road trip, which is really cool because we get to see places outside of Cape Town. This weekend we went to Jeffrey's Bay, about seven hours away from Cape Town, right on the Indian Ocean. One of our cars broke down, and we had to wait at a gas station for six hours. It sounds awful, but that was actually really fun - we had a soccer ball in our car, so we played around for a bit, got some food, and just spent some time hanging out. The beach at Jeffery's bay was BREATHTAKING - the best looking beach I've ever seen in real life or in pictures. I could have stayed for hours, but we had to leave the next afternoon because we went BUNGY JUMPING! And we didn't do just any old jump, we went to the world's highest bungy jump. Let me tell you, there is nothing like the feeling of jumping off of a bridge over a beautiful view (not that I'd recommend it unless your attached to something.) But for the first few seconds of the jump the rope doesn't have any pull on you, so you literally feel like nothing is holding onto you. Scary, but also amazing. Now for the scary part. Once the cord finally tugged on me, I got a bloody nose. The blood started POURING out of my nose, and at first I didn't know where it was coming from - I saw blood and I freaked out. Once I brought my hand to my face and realized it was coming from my nose, I stopped caring, given my history of bloody noses. I wasn't going to let that one little thing ruin the amazing feeling that I had. It was really funny when I got pulled back up though because my face was covered in blood. Some people had just crossed the bridge to jump and saw my face and freaked out that I had hurt myself. It was an inconvenience, but I still had an amazing time. Something like this would happen to me, so I just let it go.

The Mini World Cup was at my school this week. It was one of the most adorable things I have ever seen. During our "opening ceremonies" each class did a little song/dance, and then the games were underway. My 6th grade class (Brazil) went first against the 7th grade class (South Africa.) It was a really intense game that ended in a shoot-out, but my team walked away with the win! We had a few other games Mondayand some of my friends' classes lost, so I was kind of upset for them, but as long as my class is still in I am happy. The rest of the games were yesterday. My team lost in the final round, but I still had so much fun cheering them on. (For those curious, I think it was the kids playing Spain that won, if that's any kind of a foreshadow for the real thing, I don't know.) Today we just handed back exams, which was a real test of names for me, but I've known the names of my entire class of 40 since week one! Then we had an extra-long recess, and I had fun running around playing with them for one last time. (The schools go on holiday for four weeks every July, but I am volunteering at the 'winter' vacation programs at the school, so I will still see some of my class every day)

And the REAL World Cup starts this week. I don't have a ticket yet, but there are still some available, so a bunch of us are just going to try to get random tickets. Even though we don't have tickets, we still will get to experience it. They are doing screenings of the games in Cape Town, so we are just going to go into town for the weekend and enjoy the games and watch the city come alive. We have all been feeling the excitement building, and I am so excited for the games to finally start! Granted I am not the biggest fan of soccer, but it is still really cool to be here and just be a part of this incredible experience.

And in other news, the house just keeps losing and gaining different people. There are only about four people that were here when I got here and that will be either leaving when I leave or leaving after me. Considering that our group is consistently around 20 people, that's a lot of first meetings and a lot of goodbyes. It's interesting to meet so many new people, but I just really got comfortable with the first and second phase of people to arrive here, and now most of them are starting to leave. We have all made the comparison of our house to some sort of international Real World-type reality show on MTV, and we figure that we are about a few episodes into the fourth season. The seasons each last about a week and end with a trip on the weekend, and when we come back Sunday night there are new people sitting on our couch. We've even witnessed staff changes within the organization that oversees us. Must be very similar to how the kids in our schools feel. We can't help but bond with the kids and really feel for them, but we feel so guilty about it because we know that at some point we have to leave them. Every so often a kid will ask where a specific person is, and they have gone home, and we have to tell them. You can see the heartbreak in their eyes. These kids meet a new "teacher" every few months. Their environment is already unstable enough, and in some ways we unintentionally add to that feeling.

I've been given a lot to think about here. Just after these few short weeks, we all have generated a deeper appreciation for the way we were raised and the opportunities that we have been given. I have to be thankful for the fact that I can take an entire summer and jet off to South Africa and get to know these amazing kids while doing things like skydiving and bungy jumping. And I am very grateful.

Skydiving!!!

People I’ve been living with are starting to leave and new people are coming, which is strange. I have to do the whole “get to know you thing” over and over again. Luckily there are a few people who got here around the same time as me and who are leaving at the same time as me, so they are a constant. So this past weekend we rented a few cars and drove a few hours to this waterfall/hot springs/hiking area. It wasn’t quite what we expected, but we had a lot of fun hiking through the untouched nature and finally getting to the waterfall, even if we had to turn around really quickly because we were worried the sun was going to set on us.

And now the part I’ve been DYING to blog about. I went skydiving yesterday! (Yes Grandma, I voluntarily jumped out of a plane.) This is something I’ve wanted to do for years, and a few other people here wanted to do it, so I figured there was no better time. It was honestly the best five minutes of my life. I can’t even really describe it, but trust me, it was amazing. I thought that I would be a little more freaked out to actually jump out, but they don’t even give you time to think about it. I was in the plane ready to go and just enjoying the view of Cape Town from above, and then all of a sudden it’s time to go, the door opens, and you just jump – no holding back! The freefall was INCREDIBLE, but way too short. Once the parachute opens, it’s a gentle ride down, but I got to spin around and move and stuff, which was really cool. Not much else I can say about it, all I can say is I am looking forward to the next time I can go skydiving.

My class has been taking exams the past few days, but they were finally done today so we just played games and prepared for our Mini World Cup that the school is having next week. All the classes are assigned a different country that they represent, (my class is Brazil) and we are going to play against each other. All the volunteers are really excited – I’m guessing it will get pretty competitive.

That’s all for now!

Sitting on top of the mountain!

So it's been a pretty eventful last few days. School is a lot of fun, as always. I am getting to teach more and more of my own lessons to the whole class. I mainly do english reading and spelling. I want to come up with a little thing to teach them about marketing - perhaps make them draw their own advertisement. My class is older than some of the classes that the other volunteers got, so I feel like I can go a little further in teaching and teach them things that I am really interested in so that they can learn a little bit more about me.

Outside of school, we have all been really busy exploring. On Monday we went to Canal Walk, the third largest mall in the entire continent. Some of the stores were pretty cool, and I probably bought a few too many things. I can't help it - it is all so freaking cheap! I have found that when comparing prices and value to the US, international brands like Coke or Nike equate to about the same price regardless of what currency it is in, but brands that are specific to South Africa or Africa as a whole are really cheap compared to how much you would pay for that product in America. I might need to buy a really cheap suitcase to take home extra stuff in that I buy here.

On Tuesday a few of us went to a botanical garden. We didn't make the connection that it's winter here so the garden might not be so beautiful. We still had lots of fun, but it was kind of a grey, dismal day. On Wednesday we climbed Table Mountain. This was probably the best day I've had here so far. None of us had hiked a mountain before, and we were kind of expecting a little more...guidance. There were no maps, no directional signs, no NOTHING. I mean, I wasn't expecting a cheering section and an information booth at the halfway, but at least a few signs every so often saying "Don't worry, you're still going the right way." The only information we did get was from an employee at the bottom of the hill saying "that path is easier, that one over there is harder." Of course we chose the harder one. We all slipped a few times, but none of us fell off the mountain - yay! A few hours later, we were just running around the top of Table Mountain, seeing the beautiful view of Cape Town from above. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. We watched the sunset over the ocean from the top of the mountain and then took a cable car down. My legs were a little sore today, but it was absolutely worth it.

Week One Update

(These posts are all going to be really long - sorry, I have a lot to say)

So I've been here a little over a week, and I am in love with this country. Working in the school is absolutely amazing. This week I've gotten to do one-on-one reading and spelling lessons with each of the kids, which has been really cool cause it helps me learn their names. The teacher that I work with (Mrs. Wyngaard) said that the kids NEVER get one-on-one help because of the size of the class, so it's really cool that i get to do it. During their free time, some of the kids even come up to me and ask if they can read with me more. Some of these kids have really bright futures ahead of them, if only they were given the same chances as everyone else. I already know that it's going to suck saying goodbye to them. A few kids asked us if we were coming back next year, and I wish I could say yes.

At night we either go into the town (Muizenberg, not Cape Town) and just hang out or stay in the house and just get to know each other more. One night this week we went to a open mic night, which was a cool experience to see some local artists. This weekend was so much fun. On Saturday morning we went biking through wine country, and we stopped at three different places for wine tastings. Then we went into Cape Town for dinner and a little barhopping. We grabbed a hostel in town instead of going back to Muizenberg because we were spending the whole weekend in the city. Sunday morning we woke up bright and early and went to Robben Island. It was AMAZING to be in a place with so much history. (Look it up on Wiki if you don't know what it is - really interesting stuff.) We got a tour of the prison from a former inmate and got to see Nelson Mandela's cell. Then we came back to the mainland and spent some time on the waterfront. We got lunch, went shopping, and enjoyed the street performers. It was an authentic South African boardwalk! At the end of the day we went to church, which was something we were looking forward to experiencing here. It was one of those mega-churches with a lot of people, and it was like a rock concert.

This is seriously the life guys. Volunteering in the morning/early afteroon, then chilling on the beach, and then hanging out with cool people at night, and then on the weekends we get to experience everything that South Africa has to offer. I never want to leave.

First Impressions

I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve only been here about three days, and I never want to leave. First things first, my flight was great – KLM treats you really well, feeds you almost every hour (they had gluten free bread on the plane!) As soon as I got to the volunteer house, we were immediately in a cab and on our way downtown. There were about six of us new people and a guy that lives in the house but works for the organization. We grabbed a bite to eat and went to a bar, a great way to get to know each other. On Sunday a few more new people came, and then the rest of the volunteers came home (they were on a safari for the weekend.) In total, there are about 22 of us in a house that should probably only fit a dozen, but everyone is super cool. We are all from different parts of the world, mostly North America and the UK. Only two people came together, so everyone is out here on there own. I already feel like I’ve made some great friends, these people are just all very laid back and great to hang out with. We’ve all said that now when we are travelling, we will have places to stay in Canada, London, New Orleans, Nashville, pretty much anywhere I could go.

On Monday we had our orientation. We learned more about the program and the rules of the house, and then we toured the city. We got to see where to do our grocery shopping, where the bank is, etc. We then went into the township, which is the really poor part of town. I don’t know how to express it in words, it is just something you only think exists in a movie. It is terrible to think that people spend their whole lives in a place like that. The strange thing is, most people seem really happy, and you can have a friendly conversation with anyone on the street. South Africans are very warm hearted people. After that, we got to go to the school that we will be working at. It’s a little nicer than some of the other schools in the area, but still nothing even close to an American elementary school. Finally we went into downtown Cape Town, which was a challenge this time. The train crews are on strike, so it took quite a long time to transfer between several busses and taxis. We went to a market and just walked around, noting where all the cool places to hang out were.

Our house is modest, kind of like a summer surf house, but the atmosphere is that of a house on the Real World. Lots of fun people! Today, (Tuesday,) we had our first day of work. I walk in the room and I am greeted by 40 smiling children standing and saying “Good Morning, teacher!” There is a main teacher that teaches the lessons, but I get to help facilitate. I spent a lot of my time keeping them quiet and walking around the room answering individual questions so that the teacher can continue with the main lesson. When the kids are learning their English, I am able to help a lot, but when the lesson is in Afrikaans, I am completely lost. Recess is officially my favourite part of the day. The four volunteers that were at my school got to be kids again – we played soccer, jumped rope, and gave piggy back rides! The kids are so happy to have somebody new to play with. After recess, my class (6th graders, by the way) was given a 30-minute lesson on Human Trafficking. I sat in the back in a shocked silence. They were taught what it means to be kidnapped and sold into slavery, and how not to fall for the common tricks that strangers use. It was not just your ordinary “don’t take candy from a stranger” talk. It was something that should never have to be taught in a school, but it’s actually probably for the better that these kids know what to look out for.

I feel so guilty being in the school and thinking about all the things I have wasted at school myself. For the same amount of money that I spend on a textbook that I only use once, I could give the kids basic things that they can’t afford like pencils and glue. For glue, the children just have one large bucket that they dip their hands in and then rub on the paper. They then have to spend the next few minutes scraping the glue off of their hands. They don’t have a pencil sharpener, just a small blade that they have to chip at the pencil with, but they cut their fingers in the process. The kids get fed some porridge in the morning, and I am told that for some of these kids, it is their only meal in the day, and that their meal on Friday morning is the last they will have until Monday. And here I was feeling hungry, but I had just eaten breakfast a few hours ago. Within just one day in the school I have already come to appreciate my own schooling so much, and I’m sure that this will go on the more time I spend with the children.
The day ended way too early, so we went to the beach, which is absolutely breathtaking. The views from anywhere in the city are amazing; mountains and beaches within minutes of each other.

Wow, this post was way too long, but I had a lot to say about my first few days. Kudos to you for reading on this far. Everyone that I live with is in love with this country and wants to stay later than they were originally intending to, myself included. Peace out – I’ll try to update again in a few days, but I’m enjoying my time here way too much that it’s hard to find a few minutes to set aside to blog.

Leaving Syracuse

This is the first post (hopefully of many) of my travel journal for the next seven months. I started this blog because I will be out of communication for upcoming periods of time, but I know that I will want to share my experiences with all of you.

To catch all of you up, here is what I am lucky enough to do in the months to come:

• I am leaving Syracuse tomorrow (May 9th) and I am going home to Michigan for a few days.
• On May 14th, I am leaving for Cape Town, South Africa. I am going to be there a little more than two months serving as a volunteer teacher at an elementary school. I don't know too much else about it, even with all of the reading materials I have been sent, but I am REALLY excited! (I will have very limited internet while I am in Africa)
• I will be back in Michigan from about July 21st - August 17th (ish)
• I will then go to Ireland for 10 days for the "Pale and Beyond" political science/sociology seminar as a kick off to my fall semester
• On August 30th, I will leave Ireland for London, where I will spend the rest of my semester until the middle of December (and I will hopefully be able to experience many other countries while I am in Europe)

When I was thinking about this blog and what I wanted to do with it, I came up with the idea of baggage. It can mean so many different things. I am bringing all of my baggage with me to all of these places, both physical and emotional, and the things I bring back with me will be so different. Not only will I have physical representations of the places I am visiting to bring back with me, but I will also bring back new lessons and life experiences. Our baggage, what we carry with us, and what we leave behind, ultimately defines who we are.