Week2- Personal Blog. (12-2-12)

Before leaving for South Africa, many people asked how long we were going away for. It was always great encouragement when they paused awkwardly, avoided eye contact and passed comment on how long a time it was when I told them it was a four month exchange. I can honestly say I cannot believe I have been here for two weeks already, the time is disappearing so quickly and suddenly we are realising how quickly the four months really are going to pass!

Having been away from home for two weeks now it is safe to say that we are no longer in the comfort zone (or bubble) that we are so used to in Stranmillis. Coming from a campus where everyone is pretty much best friends with everyone else, moving into a complex of 90 international students and knowing only one of them is somewhat intimidating at times.  This was a big change, as we had to be sure to make the effort and go out and meet our neighbours. Thankfully this hasn’t been a difficult task at all for us as it seems that everyone has a strange fascination with the Irish accent. There have been a number of times Glenn and I have been having a conversation and then realise that there are a number of people just listening to us with a strange expression on their face! There have been countless entertaining conversations over Irish slang, most of which I have never even heard of (Which I suspect Glenn is making up on the spot!) but we have quickly become friends with most of the students from Annie’s cove, especially our four flatmates from Minnesota who are trying to convert us to listen to country music! We have quickly settled into Annie’s and the longer I spend here, the more it reminds of Stranmillis Halls in that there is always something going on and always someone about to help avoid doing anything productive. We have quickly been introduced to the popular South African Braai, which is another word for a BBQ, something that has happened almost every day in Annie’s cove this week. This is always a lot of fun here as most of the students come out to the braai area, cook and eat together as we sit by the pool. This is quickly becoming a tradition that I think I could get used to. Glenn and I are slowly becoming more adventurous with our food on the braai, progressing from single burgers to marinaded chicken,lamb and pork. Being over here has certainly removed us from the comfort zone of relying on our parents for money, and I have acquired a new awareness of how much everything costs. This has finally taught me to budget my money, something many have been trying to convince me to do for years, but has now become a necessity.

This week we had registration for our classes, which we quickly found out is a much longer and more complicated process than the hour long one that we often complain about in Stranmillis. There is a lot more independence here and we are expected to know where we are supposed to be and when we are supposed to be there, which has been a challenge as we are used to being ‘spoon-fed’ at home. Thankfully we finally managed to get registered after two days of walking around and asking many questions!

On Wednesday we went on a day long tour of the City which probably shocked me more than anything else I have seen here so far. We saw a lot of the sights within Port Elizabeth and were taught a lot about the history of the City and the connections with the British. (We were surprised to find a statue of Queen Victoria near the centre of the City!) What struck me the most was the huge difference between the main part of the City and the townships which are only a ten minute drive from where I am staying. We learnt a lot about the tensions between the black and the white people and as the tour guide used to live in the township, he was able to tell us his own personal stories which made it so much more real to us all. Something I noticed about each of the international students was that despite our many differences in culture and beliefs, it was in this area that we were all united in shocked silence. Almost everyone that I later spoke to also wanted to help volunteer in township areas after hearing the stories and seeing the poverty which was a reminder that despite our differences, we are all alike in ways too.

As we have started to meet some of the locals now, it quickly became obvious to us that a common local hobby was surfing, and so Glenn and I and another friend signed up for a set of five surf lessons this week. Our first lesson was much more successful than any of us expected, and after the hour long lesson we were all happy with our ability to ride a few waves in to the shore already, and went home to suffer with sore muscles for the next two days! Watch this space for further improvement.

Having befriended so many international students, I’m fascinated at the number of the students who can speak two languages. Thankfully there hasn’t been any sort of problems or barriers as everyone has very impressive English, which has challenged me to think about learning another language when I get home.

Already I have seen a huge change to my lifestyle since I have moved here. My much loved morning lie-ins are no longer existent as South Africans can’t understand why you would ‘waste the morning’, and so I have become used to getting up early which I am (surprisingly) enjoying, it makes the day seem much longer. Not having a car has led to us walking a lot more, yet surprisingly this doesn’t lead to the panic of getting there on time as no-one here seems to rush for anything. I love the relaxed attitudes here, everyone has time for a conversation and classes never start on time (this comes in very useful for the international students who have a half hour walk to class).

We are yet to get internet in our rooms which is really starting to be a frustration now as we have to travel to the internet café for any internet that we may need, but hoping to get that sorted next week. There has been a lot of time for the international students to chill out and get to know each other this week as we have yet to start class and so there have been a couple of days that consisted of us getting up, going to the beach to chill out (and tan!), come back to Annie’s Cove for a braai and spend the afternoon by the pool in the sun, and throwing a ball about. This week some of the Americans have been teaching me to throw an American Football, which I have pretty much accomplished, and in return I have been teaching them my very limited knowledge of rugby. (Shout out to the boys at home who taught me how to throw a rugby ball this time last year, people think I know what I’m talking about!) We have been given a provisional timetable for this semester, and at the minute it seems that we have seven hours of class a week, best wishes to those at home soon starting into their six weeks of placement. Next week we are starting into classes, valentines night spent in the township at a music night, more surfing and hopefully a rugby match in the new stadium and some travel at the weekend.

Hope everyone is well at home.         

Flatmates.

Lynsey