i am happy to report that i am finally starting to feel more at home in this brave new world called africa. today marks the second time this week that i walked home by myself from pic-n-pay (a supermarket), and although i'm not quite sure what kind of distance that is, i can assure you that i am feeling increasingly comfortable taking the route at a leisurely pace. the area of town in which i reside is actually quite nice... during the apartheid era, it was strictly for white residents only, but now the community has diversified into a black and coloured supermajority. that, of course, doesn't mean it's a bad area: in fact, on my way home from pic-n-pay, i pass a few churches, a local theatre, a playground (there's always children hogging the swings, though, gosh darn it!), and a day care (called a "kindergarten" here). i marvel at the thought of what my neighborhood must have been like just 15 years ago, when it was for "whites only" until apartheid fell and brought about an era of integration...
the university of cape town's student body is, at a glance, self-segregating. whites hang out with whites, blacks hang out with blacks, coloured hang out with coloured, and asians hang out with asians (i'm not trying to be incorrect with any of those terms: those were the words that the apartheid government adopted to describe south africa's denizens, and those are the words by which south africans continue to describe themselves today). from what i've seen so far, in south africa, race is the number one aspect of your identity. it dictates who your friends are, what your political views are (blacks overwhelmingly support the anc party, whereas coloureds and whites overwhelmingly support the democratic alliance), which language you speak, how you live your life, etc. even though apartheid fell 15 years ago, artifacts and remnants linger, even in a socially progressive institution such as uct.
that isn't to say, of course, that members of the races don't intermingle. the other day, i saw an interracial couple holding hands, and it made me smile. :) if such a couple had done that the year i was born, they would have been swiftly arrested (especially the male, who, in this case, was coloured). nevertheless, the mindset of race composing the better part of one's identity lingers. i wonder if the south african students here merely act this way as a result of their respective upbringings: since all of their parents lived through the apartheid era, then surely there must be some feelings and even resentments that they still harbor toward other racial groups. or, perhaps, this phenomenon is more engrained within south african society itself; that is to say, institutions comprising south african culture dictate that race be the key to one's identity. then again, it could be something else altogether.
it is possible, of course, that these individuals harbor phobias toward anybody different from them altogether. even though americans make up a considerable portion (8%, i believe) of the university's student population, my fellow students nevertheless seem automatically disapproving of americans sheerly based on grounds of nation or origin. i'm aware of recent xenophobia-induced bouts of violence within recent years throughout the republic, but i thought that south africans' reaction to incoming mozambicans, zimbabweans, etc. was a reaction similar to americans' reactions to incoming mexicans and haitians ("they took our jobs!"). however, after overhearing disparaging comments by south african students regarding americans, i know that this is not the case. perhaps, however, there is an underlying, subconscious institution of south african society which makes out foreigners to be dislikeable. after all, south africa was rather isolated for many years during the apartheid era due to other countries' disapproval, and so it's reasonable to suggest that south africans became "fearful of the unknown" (that is, mistrusting of non-south africans). this is not to say, however, that this perspective is unanimous throughout the entirety of south africa's populace, nor is it to suggest that these feelings of resentment toward outsiders; countries, by their very nature, breed certain basic ideologies into their denizens, and perhaps this is the one that the institution known as the republic of south africa breeds into south africans.
obviously, the united states is more than guilty of doing this as well, which provides me with a fantastic segway into my next topic of verbiage: my classes. i began classes on monday, and already i'm witnessing the vast differences between american and south african (or, more generally, non-american) education. at gwu, whether my professors have been liberal or conservative, all of them have nonetheless retained, more or less, a pro-america attitude. here, however, that is certainly not the case. in my classes here, the united states is seen as one of several global superpowers (along with the european union, china, and russia) attempting to capture a clear majority of the world economy; therefore, the united states is a country who we should keep an eye on. it has definitely been a culture shock for me to hear of my native country in such a way, but after some self-reflection, i am thankful for this experience as it helps me become a truly global citizen.
speaking of which, my classes are as follows:
- sociology of industrialization and globalization
- international political economy
- urban politics and administration
while i don't think any of the 3 will be terribly difficult for me to contend with, the different vantage point from which i will study politics and society ought to prove challenging enough. and after a few days of feeling homesick and mopey, i feel equipped to take on the challenge. sure, south africa is a weird place with a lot of bugs, but there are a lot of great experiences to be had that i've only begun to dip my feet in to. and if i'm already feeling comfortable to take the 20-minute walk home from pic-n-pay by myself, groceries in tow, i wonder how adept i will be come november. so, i say this: bring it on! :)
29 July 2009
26 July 2009
reflections on orientation
it's been tough finding the time to simply sit down and write... i keep on wanting to pen out a long, detailed recount of what i've been up to, but i think that will best be kept for views of the pictures i've posted on facebook.
south africa has been, by far, the most unique experience of mine, ever. uct international students' orientation came and went, which proved to be rather frustrating on account of the university's lack of dependence on computers. that's right, i went through the same registration process your grandparents did, long lines and all. i guess that, if nothing else, being here been a serious lesson in patience. between the aforementioned registration, waiting forever to catch the shuttle to/from campus (uct is way too mountainous to tackle on foot on an everyday basis!), and having to take cabs everywhere when going out at night (since it's too dangerous to walk or take public transportation at night), cape town has required every iota of my patience... which, to be fair, there wasn't a lot of in the first place. being here by myself (no friends or family to be found) makes it all the more difficult.
that all being said, i'm nonetheless having a wonderful time here. one week ago today, my fellow international students and i went down the peninsula, during which we visited a colony of jackass penguins (so cute!!!!) as well as table mountain national park, including cape point and the cape of good hope. in essence, they're 2 severely steep cliffs at extreme southwestern africa, but they're amazing! i dangled my feet off the cliff at cape point, and it was the most nervewracking experience i could've imagined. i'm glad i did, though... it was invigorating as well!
my day-to-day life has gone by increasingly well, save for the couple of days at the tail end of this past week in which i was sick (it was either the zebra i ate, or my combined stress and exhaustion). i'm finally starting to get a feel for the lay of the land, and i actually felt comfortable enough today walking around the neighborhood for a bit after church. it's a relatively safe area, but as in all of cape town, you've got to remain on your guard. indeed, i'm not in thousand oaks anymore. my residence hall (liesbeek gardens) is actually a little off from the main campus, in a neighborhood ("suburb") named mowbray. i can get to the main campus (in rondebosch) via uct shuttle ("jammie") or a 20-30 minute walk (in the daytime, of course). my dorm is different than the ones found in america: we've basically got no common space, just a hallway, leading into a kitchen, 2 separate bathrooms, and 4 separate bedrooms (which are considerably large... including mine! not only is it bigger than my room at home, but i've got access to our suite's balcony as well!). it's a tad shabby in parts, but otherwise posh for student housing.
more so than anything else, my experience in south africa thus far merely feels like a redo of freshman year, in which there is the shuffle to find friends out of fear of being alone, so you latch on to anybody you can. i guess that, just like at gwu, it will take me a little longer to discover who my true friends are. luckily, i have the knowledge of having already done freshman year as the ace up my sleeve, so my plan is that, until i can figure that out, i'm just going to soak in south african culture and society as much as i can. if nothing else, this place is beautiful!!
that's it for now. i start classes tomorrow, so this will be an early night for me. just a couple more things before i go off:
1. i got an internship! it's with this pro-free market ngo named the enterprise forum. after corresponding via e-mail with one of their individuals (garreth), i finally met with him on wednesday, and later on he e-mailed me to ask if i'd be his intern. i am so excited to be part of this worthy cause down here in south africa!
2. i bought a diesel knockoff watch yesterday at a street fair for 80 rand (about $11). sadly, it's already broken. :(
3. also yesterday, i went to check out the district six museum, which is a museum about apartheid history. while the museum as an institution in itself wasn't entirely impressive, i'm glad i went, because i certainly learned a lot about apartheid and the historical implications of the zone entitled "district six".
south africa has been, by far, the most unique experience of mine, ever. uct international students' orientation came and went, which proved to be rather frustrating on account of the university's lack of dependence on computers. that's right, i went through the same registration process your grandparents did, long lines and all. i guess that, if nothing else, being here been a serious lesson in patience. between the aforementioned registration, waiting forever to catch the shuttle to/from campus (uct is way too mountainous to tackle on foot on an everyday basis!), and having to take cabs everywhere when going out at night (since it's too dangerous to walk or take public transportation at night), cape town has required every iota of my patience... which, to be fair, there wasn't a lot of in the first place. being here by myself (no friends or family to be found) makes it all the more difficult.
that all being said, i'm nonetheless having a wonderful time here. one week ago today, my fellow international students and i went down the peninsula, during which we visited a colony of jackass penguins (so cute!!!!) as well as table mountain national park, including cape point and the cape of good hope. in essence, they're 2 severely steep cliffs at extreme southwestern africa, but they're amazing! i dangled my feet off the cliff at cape point, and it was the most nervewracking experience i could've imagined. i'm glad i did, though... it was invigorating as well!
my day-to-day life has gone by increasingly well, save for the couple of days at the tail end of this past week in which i was sick (it was either the zebra i ate, or my combined stress and exhaustion). i'm finally starting to get a feel for the lay of the land, and i actually felt comfortable enough today walking around the neighborhood for a bit after church. it's a relatively safe area, but as in all of cape town, you've got to remain on your guard. indeed, i'm not in thousand oaks anymore. my residence hall (liesbeek gardens) is actually a little off from the main campus, in a neighborhood ("suburb") named mowbray. i can get to the main campus (in rondebosch) via uct shuttle ("jammie") or a 20-30 minute walk (in the daytime, of course). my dorm is different than the ones found in america: we've basically got no common space, just a hallway, leading into a kitchen, 2 separate bathrooms, and 4 separate bedrooms (which are considerably large... including mine! not only is it bigger than my room at home, but i've got access to our suite's balcony as well!). it's a tad shabby in parts, but otherwise posh for student housing.
more so than anything else, my experience in south africa thus far merely feels like a redo of freshman year, in which there is the shuffle to find friends out of fear of being alone, so you latch on to anybody you can. i guess that, just like at gwu, it will take me a little longer to discover who my true friends are. luckily, i have the knowledge of having already done freshman year as the ace up my sleeve, so my plan is that, until i can figure that out, i'm just going to soak in south african culture and society as much as i can. if nothing else, this place is beautiful!!
that's it for now. i start classes tomorrow, so this will be an early night for me. just a couple more things before i go off:
1. i got an internship! it's with this pro-free market ngo named the enterprise forum. after corresponding via e-mail with one of their individuals (garreth), i finally met with him on wednesday, and later on he e-mailed me to ask if i'd be his intern. i am so excited to be part of this worthy cause down here in south africa!
2. i bought a diesel knockoff watch yesterday at a street fair for 80 rand (about $11). sadly, it's already broken. :(
3. also yesterday, i went to check out the district six museum, which is a museum about apartheid history. while the museum as an institution in itself wasn't entirely impressive, i'm glad i went, because i certainly learned a lot about apartheid and the historical implications of the zone entitled "district six".
17 July 2009
cape town
i'm not quite sure what to make of my new country of residence.
actually, it's quite beautiful here. i arrived 2 days ago and immediately fell in love with south africa's landscape. how could one not? every view that i catch of the city, of the harbour, or of table mountain is even more beautiful than every photo i've ever looked at of them.
that being said, this is our 3rd day here, and i'm really anxious to do things on my own. i have spent basically every waking minute with the same horde of several dozen american students, and it's a bit frustrating not being able to do things on my own (or, rather, in much smaller groups). my primary reason for this is because traveling around in such a large group seems to aggrandize the fact that we're loud, twentysomething, moderately wealthy americans. i'm ready to blend in and learn new things, because frankly, this feels like freshman year all over again.
despite my objections to the status quo, i really am having a wonderful time here in cape town. the day of my arrival was largely spent in the hotel that we all are staying in, meeting one another and commiserating over our long flights. those of us who wanted to also obtained our local mobile phones. some individuals exchanged money as well.
that evening felt a little awkward, but was interesting as well. what i mean by that is that we went out to dinner in groups of roughly a dozen -- still too large for my taste, but more manageable than the aforementioned innumerable number. we each went with one "sol-mate", or student orientation leader. we hit up a delicious chicken joint, but being all together like that, with only one individual (our sol-mate, joe, who is from east london) knowing how to act within the morés of cape town, felt very graceless to me.
that being said, that evening was the first time that we really got a feel for cape town, as our tourbuses dropped us off on long street (the main thoroughfare downtown) and each group went off on their own. we did some walking, and the definition of "developing world" became crystal clear for me. there is so much construction throughout this city that everywhere you look, you see a crane or a fence, and there are plenty of remarkable feats of construction, including beaucoup highways and skyscrapers. however, as we were leaving the restaurant, there were a few young boys following us for a few blocks, begging us for money. it was very sad, but we knew not to give them money (we're not assholes, i swear. we're all committed to volunteering in our time here. that's how we plan on helping south africa's population while here.). that all being said, it was something i'm going to have to get used to.
yesterday was also spent almost entirely indoors, which i abhorred as much i had the day before. most of the day was spent enduring talks on health and safety, but logistics were discussed as well. we also found out that we all got our first choice for housing (that is, whether we wanted to live in on-campus dorms, in off-campus apartments with other americans, or in home stays). that's when the personalities of my fellow americans, who i'd spent the past 36 grueling hours with, became quite clear. it seems to me that those living on campus (such as myself) are more laid back and seeking an authentic experience, whereas those living in the apartments are more of a partying sort. (those doing home stays simply seem antisocial.) at any rate, i'm super excited to live on campus.
last night, we hit up an amazing club downtown with a 37th story panoramic view of the city. it was breathtaking (sadly, i forgot my camera). however, some of my fellow americans managed to perpetuate negative stereotypes by getting unnecessarily wasted and (in the case of one, as i found out this morning) insulting a local, throwing up in a cab, and being too hung over to come to today's activities. the director of our program was pissed (as well he should!), especially after having given the health and safety lecture only yesterday. today, however, was spent more outside, as we finally got to go see the university of cape town. we walked around it, and while it's more beautiful than the pictures, it's also incredibly steep. however, the views on the upper campus are breathtaking! i don't know how i'm going to get any work done! ;)
unfortunately, we had to spend most of today in a lecture hall learning about school-related logistics (e.g., registration), but tomorrow, we'll be moving in to our residences, which i'm so excited for. i can't wait to meet whomever i'm living with! :)
all in all, i'm having a fabulous experience here, and i know i've only just begun to immerse myself in cape town's modus operandi. however, i already know that "is it?" is a local expression for "really?" and that what i'd been told is true: south africans LOVE talking about politics. nonetheless, each south african i've met has been exceedingly friendly, and i'm SO excited to be here.
africa, baby!! ;)
p.s. the internet here is terrible. :(
actually, it's quite beautiful here. i arrived 2 days ago and immediately fell in love with south africa's landscape. how could one not? every view that i catch of the city, of the harbour, or of table mountain is even more beautiful than every photo i've ever looked at of them.
that being said, this is our 3rd day here, and i'm really anxious to do things on my own. i have spent basically every waking minute with the same horde of several dozen american students, and it's a bit frustrating not being able to do things on my own (or, rather, in much smaller groups). my primary reason for this is because traveling around in such a large group seems to aggrandize the fact that we're loud, twentysomething, moderately wealthy americans. i'm ready to blend in and learn new things, because frankly, this feels like freshman year all over again.
despite my objections to the status quo, i really am having a wonderful time here in cape town. the day of my arrival was largely spent in the hotel that we all are staying in, meeting one another and commiserating over our long flights. those of us who wanted to also obtained our local mobile phones. some individuals exchanged money as well.
that evening felt a little awkward, but was interesting as well. what i mean by that is that we went out to dinner in groups of roughly a dozen -- still too large for my taste, but more manageable than the aforementioned innumerable number. we each went with one "sol-mate", or student orientation leader. we hit up a delicious chicken joint, but being all together like that, with only one individual (our sol-mate, joe, who is from east london) knowing how to act within the morés of cape town, felt very graceless to me.
that being said, that evening was the first time that we really got a feel for cape town, as our tourbuses dropped us off on long street (the main thoroughfare downtown) and each group went off on their own. we did some walking, and the definition of "developing world" became crystal clear for me. there is so much construction throughout this city that everywhere you look, you see a crane or a fence, and there are plenty of remarkable feats of construction, including beaucoup highways and skyscrapers. however, as we were leaving the restaurant, there were a few young boys following us for a few blocks, begging us for money. it was very sad, but we knew not to give them money (we're not assholes, i swear. we're all committed to volunteering in our time here. that's how we plan on helping south africa's population while here.). that all being said, it was something i'm going to have to get used to.
yesterday was also spent almost entirely indoors, which i abhorred as much i had the day before. most of the day was spent enduring talks on health and safety, but logistics were discussed as well. we also found out that we all got our first choice for housing (that is, whether we wanted to live in on-campus dorms, in off-campus apartments with other americans, or in home stays). that's when the personalities of my fellow americans, who i'd spent the past 36 grueling hours with, became quite clear. it seems to me that those living on campus (such as myself) are more laid back and seeking an authentic experience, whereas those living in the apartments are more of a partying sort. (those doing home stays simply seem antisocial.) at any rate, i'm super excited to live on campus.
last night, we hit up an amazing club downtown with a 37th story panoramic view of the city. it was breathtaking (sadly, i forgot my camera). however, some of my fellow americans managed to perpetuate negative stereotypes by getting unnecessarily wasted and (in the case of one, as i found out this morning) insulting a local, throwing up in a cab, and being too hung over to come to today's activities. the director of our program was pissed (as well he should!), especially after having given the health and safety lecture only yesterday. today, however, was spent more outside, as we finally got to go see the university of cape town. we walked around it, and while it's more beautiful than the pictures, it's also incredibly steep. however, the views on the upper campus are breathtaking! i don't know how i'm going to get any work done! ;)
unfortunately, we had to spend most of today in a lecture hall learning about school-related logistics (e.g., registration), but tomorrow, we'll be moving in to our residences, which i'm so excited for. i can't wait to meet whomever i'm living with! :)
all in all, i'm having a fabulous experience here, and i know i've only just begun to immerse myself in cape town's modus operandi. however, i already know that "is it?" is a local expression for "really?" and that what i'd been told is true: south africans LOVE talking about politics. nonetheless, each south african i've met has been exceedingly friendly, and i'm SO excited to be here.
africa, baby!! ;)
p.s. the internet here is terrible. :(
14 July 2009
yawn from london
i made it to london. unfortunately, i couldn't get any sleep on the flight over, so in combination with my anxiety-induced insomnia this totals 6 hours of sleep over the past 3 days. i can hardly keep my eyes open at this point.
i'm at a starbucks across from the british museum. i realized that when i went to log in to my gmail, it was actually google mail. this is why that is.
after i'm done with this, i'm gonna go tool around the museum for a bit, then i'm gonna meet up with the fabulous michèle san pedro for an hour before i have to get back to heathrow. speaking of which, here is the status page for that flight.
tomorrow, i'll be in africa!! :D
number of english pigeons that have attacked me today: 3
i'm at a starbucks across from the british museum. i realized that when i went to log in to my gmail, it was actually google mail. this is why that is.
after i'm done with this, i'm gonna go tool around the museum for a bit, then i'm gonna meet up with the fabulous michèle san pedro for an hour before i have to get back to heathrow. speaking of which, here is the status page for that flight.
tomorrow, i'll be in africa!! :D
number of english pigeons that have attacked me today: 3
11 July 2009
i left my heart in san francisco (and other somewhat interesting things that i've been up to)
it’s been a while since i’ve provided an update on my life, so i’ll do my best to recap the past 6ish weeks of my life in one succinct blog entry.
the rest of the institute for humane studies seminar went wonderfully. i am so thankful that i was able to go. not only did i learn far more than i could have ever anticipated, but i also experienced a reformation – or, rather, a refinement – in my personal views. what a blessing it was for me to be surrounded by intellectual, like-minded peers of mine and nonetheless be able to learn from all of them. the lecturers, moreover, were nothing short of amazing individuals in their own right. james taylor (of the philosophy department at tcnj) delivered an extremely moving lecture advocating the introduction of a free market for human organs. we were also treated to a lecture on the current financial crisis by john allison, formerly the president of bbt bank. i kept on thinking to myself, “wow... this is a man who needs to run for the presidency!”
spending time with my peers also proved to be time wonderfully spent. at first, there was definitely a problem with egos flying, and certain individuals strived to prove themselves as more intelligent – or, perhaps, more “correct” in their views – than others. consequently, i adhered to my regular life pattern of hanging out with the older people: in this case, the ihs staff members (particularly the darling sarah holliday). however, it only took a day or two for individuals’ “bullshit detectors” to start going off, and individuals who persisted in their attitudes seemed to become less respected by the conference at large. by the end, i think that we all (or, at least, most of us) came to listen to and to respect one another, a phenomenon that i very much enjoyed.
i did have encounter one unnerving issue while in winston-salem, however. as i believe i’ve articulated in the past, at&t (my mobile provider) provides wretched service throughout the entirety of north carolina, and winston-salem was no exception. on june 2 (our “free” day), i had made plans to have dinner with keely, a friend of mine from back in thousand oaks. before dinner, however, i decided to go on a targét spree with lara and kelley, two fabulous girls from rhodes college who i met at ihs. unfortunately, en route to targét, kelley’s car broke down, leaving us stranded on the shoulder of business 40 for a couple of hours. by the time we got back to wake forest’s campus (where i at least got some semblance of reception), a few hours after i’d told keely i’d meet her, i discovered that she’d called several dozen times, panicked that i’d disappeared or been abducted or something. this was because i’d posted on my twitter that i was going “downtown,” which is known for being rather sketchy. i wouldn’t have felt as bad if this hadn’t happened to keely’s brother kenny a few years ago. yeah... talk about feeling like a terrible person. :(
moral of the story: when i get back from south africa, i’m switching to verizon. ;)
anyway, as fast as ihs came, it ended, and afterward, it was off to washington, dc, not only to take care of some business at gwu, but to spend time with my amazing friends up there as well. unfortunately, my time spent at gwu was rather fruitless, as i was unable to obtain credit for having participated in ihs, as i’d hoped i’d be able to. however, i’m so glad that i was able to spend time with my friends; they are all such blessings to have in my life, and i am sad to be apart from them until late november. anyway, while up in the district, i visited both theodore roosevelt island and rock creek cemetery, the latter of which made for a relaxing day for writing “thank you cards” to the ihs lecturers and staff members; unfortunately, however, i had problems finding the gate to exit at the end of my time there... consequently, i was ½ hour late in meeting girl-jo for dinner. boo hoo! :(
after dc, i flew back to california, where it took me less than three days to become absolutely bored and miserable. luckily, that weekend (the weekend of june 13), boy-joe was going to san francisco for a wedding, so i decided to meet him there. i was all set to drive there, and i even fixed up my brother’s car so i could take it up there, but in the end, my parents proved to be too difficult to deal with vis-à-vis parking in san francisco – i wanted to park at a bart station and take the train in ($4/day), but they didn’t want me leaving the car so far away, so they told me that i had to park at the hotel ($30/day) or no dice – so i would up calling in a favor from flight attendant boy, who put me on stand-by for united’s lax-sfo route. not only did i get on the flights that i wanted to, but i got to fly first class both ways – very nice!! not too shabby for michael! ;)
so, in the end, i only paid $75 for travel, which was far cheaper than if i’d driven.
san francisco itself was great. joe once again proved himself to be a stellar travel partner and an all-around amazing guy. we got to do a lot of great things together, including check out the newly renovated academy of sciences (including their jackass penguins exhibit – so cute!!), take a boat out to alcatraz, get a driving tour of the city courtesy of his awesome friend michael, and hit up some pretty rad bookstores. i also got to see both rini and a. potischman while there, which was great, as well as meet some of joe’s friends from his undergraduate at uc berkeley. the weekend proved itself to be a great way to get away from ventura county for a while, to see the city (which i hadn’t really seen much of in the past), and to spend time with boy-joe. :)
with the exception of the two days following san francisco, life returned to its expected level of boring upon returning to ventura county. the day that i arrived back in los angeles (june 17), jeffrey had his concert at disney hall downtown, and the day after was his graduation from high school. (in fact, as i write, he’s at cal state long beach for freshman orientation – i can’t believe it’s already here!) life back at home, of course, has been boring, with precious few events (such as coffee runs with friends and the like) to shake up the tedium; however, i’ll admit it’s been nice not to have to worry about other issues while getting ready for south africa (or, even worse, try to cram all preparations in to a smaller time frame). however, as you can imagine, i’m very much looking forward to settling permanently in washington upon my return to the united states in late november.
on that note, i’m feeling a little better about both the direction that my life is going and the decisions i’ve made in the recent past. not thrilled, but i think i’m further ahead on my life than my peers. as it turns out, the requirements for my public policy concentration have changed, so now it will be easier for me to complete my curriculum. (the most noteworthy change is that i can now take psc 101 in place of psc 104, which is only offered roughly once every 4 semesters, including the one during which i’ll be in cape town.) and as for expensive flights to places i don’t want to go to anyway (read: home), i’m absolutely resolute in this time about avoiding that in the future. after all, as my dad said, my career is taking off, and long absences from washington, such as this one, will do naught but serve as a hindrance to me in the future. moreover, i spent most of yesterday boxing most of my possessions (e.g., the ones not accompanying me to cape town) so i can easily send them off to my new home in the washington area upon my return to the united states.
as a result, my room is largely empty now, and most of what’s left is what needs to go in to the suitcase for transport to cape town. i can’t believe that, after today, i have only got one full day residing in the united states before i immigrate (er... temporarily, at least) to south africa. i can’t believe it’s finally happening. after years of dreaming about this, as well as months of preparing for this, on monday (the day after tomorrow), i will officially be en route to my new home in the republic of south africa. it seems absolutely surreal; it hasn’t even completely hit me yet that i won’t be back at gwu for a long while! after all, i continue to make these plans for after my return to the united states, but i’ve hardly taken the time to realize the momentous nature of what i’m about to undertake, before my return to the united states. i guess, of course, that this is what blogs are for. ;)
on that note, i’m not sure how easily i will be able to publish blog posts during my tenure in south africa, but i hope to be able to do so as frequently as possible... even if this does mean extremely short posts. this also might be my last blog post before my departure, save for something incredibly interesting happening beforehand.
wow... i’m moving to south africa. :D
(oh, and one more thing: this morning, i went out with dad and his friend cortney to dim sum down in chinatown. delicious!!)
the rest of the institute for humane studies seminar went wonderfully. i am so thankful that i was able to go. not only did i learn far more than i could have ever anticipated, but i also experienced a reformation – or, rather, a refinement – in my personal views. what a blessing it was for me to be surrounded by intellectual, like-minded peers of mine and nonetheless be able to learn from all of them. the lecturers, moreover, were nothing short of amazing individuals in their own right. james taylor (of the philosophy department at tcnj) delivered an extremely moving lecture advocating the introduction of a free market for human organs. we were also treated to a lecture on the current financial crisis by john allison, formerly the president of bbt bank. i kept on thinking to myself, “wow... this is a man who needs to run for the presidency!”
spending time with my peers also proved to be time wonderfully spent. at first, there was definitely a problem with egos flying, and certain individuals strived to prove themselves as more intelligent – or, perhaps, more “correct” in their views – than others. consequently, i adhered to my regular life pattern of hanging out with the older people: in this case, the ihs staff members (particularly the darling sarah holliday). however, it only took a day or two for individuals’ “bullshit detectors” to start going off, and individuals who persisted in their attitudes seemed to become less respected by the conference at large. by the end, i think that we all (or, at least, most of us) came to listen to and to respect one another, a phenomenon that i very much enjoyed.
i did have encounter one unnerving issue while in winston-salem, however. as i believe i’ve articulated in the past, at&t (my mobile provider) provides wretched service throughout the entirety of north carolina, and winston-salem was no exception. on june 2 (our “free” day), i had made plans to have dinner with keely, a friend of mine from back in thousand oaks. before dinner, however, i decided to go on a targét spree with lara and kelley, two fabulous girls from rhodes college who i met at ihs. unfortunately, en route to targét, kelley’s car broke down, leaving us stranded on the shoulder of business 40 for a couple of hours. by the time we got back to wake forest’s campus (where i at least got some semblance of reception), a few hours after i’d told keely i’d meet her, i discovered that she’d called several dozen times, panicked that i’d disappeared or been abducted or something. this was because i’d posted on my twitter that i was going “downtown,” which is known for being rather sketchy. i wouldn’t have felt as bad if this hadn’t happened to keely’s brother kenny a few years ago. yeah... talk about feeling like a terrible person. :(
moral of the story: when i get back from south africa, i’m switching to verizon. ;)
anyway, as fast as ihs came, it ended, and afterward, it was off to washington, dc, not only to take care of some business at gwu, but to spend time with my amazing friends up there as well. unfortunately, my time spent at gwu was rather fruitless, as i was unable to obtain credit for having participated in ihs, as i’d hoped i’d be able to. however, i’m so glad that i was able to spend time with my friends; they are all such blessings to have in my life, and i am sad to be apart from them until late november. anyway, while up in the district, i visited both theodore roosevelt island and rock creek cemetery, the latter of which made for a relaxing day for writing “thank you cards” to the ihs lecturers and staff members; unfortunately, however, i had problems finding the gate to exit at the end of my time there... consequently, i was ½ hour late in meeting girl-jo for dinner. boo hoo! :(
after dc, i flew back to california, where it took me less than three days to become absolutely bored and miserable. luckily, that weekend (the weekend of june 13), boy-joe was going to san francisco for a wedding, so i decided to meet him there. i was all set to drive there, and i even fixed up my brother’s car so i could take it up there, but in the end, my parents proved to be too difficult to deal with vis-à-vis parking in san francisco – i wanted to park at a bart station and take the train in ($4/day), but they didn’t want me leaving the car so far away, so they told me that i had to park at the hotel ($30/day) or no dice – so i would up calling in a favor from flight attendant boy, who put me on stand-by for united’s lax-sfo route. not only did i get on the flights that i wanted to, but i got to fly first class both ways – very nice!! not too shabby for michael! ;)
so, in the end, i only paid $75 for travel, which was far cheaper than if i’d driven.
san francisco itself was great. joe once again proved himself to be a stellar travel partner and an all-around amazing guy. we got to do a lot of great things together, including check out the newly renovated academy of sciences (including their jackass penguins exhibit – so cute!!), take a boat out to alcatraz, get a driving tour of the city courtesy of his awesome friend michael, and hit up some pretty rad bookstores. i also got to see both rini and a. potischman while there, which was great, as well as meet some of joe’s friends from his undergraduate at uc berkeley. the weekend proved itself to be a great way to get away from ventura county for a while, to see the city (which i hadn’t really seen much of in the past), and to spend time with boy-joe. :)
with the exception of the two days following san francisco, life returned to its expected level of boring upon returning to ventura county. the day that i arrived back in los angeles (june 17), jeffrey had his concert at disney hall downtown, and the day after was his graduation from high school. (in fact, as i write, he’s at cal state long beach for freshman orientation – i can’t believe it’s already here!) life back at home, of course, has been boring, with precious few events (such as coffee runs with friends and the like) to shake up the tedium; however, i’ll admit it’s been nice not to have to worry about other issues while getting ready for south africa (or, even worse, try to cram all preparations in to a smaller time frame). however, as you can imagine, i’m very much looking forward to settling permanently in washington upon my return to the united states in late november.
on that note, i’m feeling a little better about both the direction that my life is going and the decisions i’ve made in the recent past. not thrilled, but i think i’m further ahead on my life than my peers. as it turns out, the requirements for my public policy concentration have changed, so now it will be easier for me to complete my curriculum. (the most noteworthy change is that i can now take psc 101 in place of psc 104, which is only offered roughly once every 4 semesters, including the one during which i’ll be in cape town.) and as for expensive flights to places i don’t want to go to anyway (read: home), i’m absolutely resolute in this time about avoiding that in the future. after all, as my dad said, my career is taking off, and long absences from washington, such as this one, will do naught but serve as a hindrance to me in the future. moreover, i spent most of yesterday boxing most of my possessions (e.g., the ones not accompanying me to cape town) so i can easily send them off to my new home in the washington area upon my return to the united states.
as a result, my room is largely empty now, and most of what’s left is what needs to go in to the suitcase for transport to cape town. i can’t believe that, after today, i have only got one full day residing in the united states before i immigrate (er... temporarily, at least) to south africa. i can’t believe it’s finally happening. after years of dreaming about this, as well as months of preparing for this, on monday (the day after tomorrow), i will officially be en route to my new home in the republic of south africa. it seems absolutely surreal; it hasn’t even completely hit me yet that i won’t be back at gwu for a long while! after all, i continue to make these plans for after my return to the united states, but i’ve hardly taken the time to realize the momentous nature of what i’m about to undertake, before my return to the united states. i guess, of course, that this is what blogs are for. ;)
on that note, i’m not sure how easily i will be able to publish blog posts during my tenure in south africa, but i hope to be able to do so as frequently as possible... even if this does mean extremely short posts. this also might be my last blog post before my departure, save for something incredibly interesting happening beforehand.
wow... i’m moving to south africa. :D
(oh, and one more thing: this morning, i went out with dad and his friend cortney to dim sum down in chinatown. delicious!!)
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