africa: 4 months later

next week marks 4 months since i've moved back from africa, and in that time, i've told every incredulous aids joke i could think of, i've bored each and every one of my friends with my stories about ocean view, and i've stalked all of my african friends on facebook. and yet, i still hold this strong desire to drop everything and fly back to cape town today.

i know that sounds ridiculous, especially after i declared the prudence behind my decision not to spend an extra semester at uct. and, it is. but, that doesn't mean i don't wake up every morning with an inkling of disappointment.

it's not that i don't love my life right now, but – was i too rash in saying i'd accomplished all there was to accomplish by the time i left on november 20? i mean, my internship and volunteer positions were just beginning to take off, my friendships were just beginning to blossom, and i'd finally just begun to understand how life is lived, south africa style. (for instance, that gumtree is south africa's answer to craigslist, that mtn is a better mobile carrier than vodacom, and that even though the taxis are great, you're better off owning a car, too.)

oh well. perhaps it's for the best, after all, that i'm back in america: i ran out of money, and there's no way i could get a job in south africa.

i'm not quite sure what i'm trying to say here, other than that my experience in south africa influenced me more strongly than i'd expected. even while i was there, i didn't realize how much i loved it. then again, perhaps hindsight is 20/20 – i realized how wonderful of a place the united states is to live as a result of my experiences in africa, too.

conclusion: i can't wait to go back. it won't be soon, but it will happen someday. indeed, i think i should.

2010!

o hai thar. yeah, apparently i really don't update this anymore. i really ought to, though. i've got a lot to say.

school has been good this semester, if not really weird. i'm taking environmental policy, atomic energy policy, gentrification, and methods of policy analysis. i'm also taking, on a pass/fail basis, media in a free society, and i'm receiving pass/fail credit for my internship in the development department at the tax foundation, too. i'm really enjoying my internship so far – i've done a lot and i'm constantly learning. i've even written a blog post for them, too, which you can read here.

classes are good, although much more difficult than what i got used to at the university of cape town. the academic calendar has also been thrown off due to the monstrosity known as the snowpocalypse. as a result of it, i now have to attend class on a saturday (may 1st). lame.

i've also been busy with my positions on the e-boards of liberty society and ΣAΛ, as well as working as a peer adviser at the study abroad office and as a wage slave at dsw.

right now, i'm pretty happy with my life, although i find myself missing south africa. a lot. it's a beautiful country with a rich culture, and i left some phenomenal friends behind there. money is pretty tight for me right now, though (i'm still paying off bills from last semester), so it looks like i won't be back in that neck of the woods any time soon.

spring break begins on the 12th for me. i'll be here, working.

i'll try to be better about updating this thing. in the mean time, i'll think of something more interesting to say.