Photo Essay - Kim (Northeastern University)

By far the most positive aspect of life on campus for me is living in res. Most of the international students I’ve met here live in on-campus apartments, but because of CIEE, I am able to live in res instead.

The outside of our lovely res, Metanoia

Most of my friends here are South Africans that I’ve met in res, and I also get the chance to experience events in res, which are never-ending. Such as skakels, when different sections in res get together for drinks and snacks (essentially a social). I’ve attended many rugby games with my friends from res as well, cheering for the Maties like a local.

Rugby games are timed exactly at the sunset on Monday nights, so we get to watch with red mountains lit up in the background, so stunning.

My HK (Stellenbosch’s version of a RA) at one of the rugby games

Group of friends from res, we won!

I also get to be involved in many things that I wouldn’t have otherwise, such as attending my first 21^st over holiday. The 21^st birthday is very big in South Africa as well, though for different reasons. It is typically seen as the point when someone enters adulthood, as apposed to 18. South Africans have huge birthdays, some similar to what you might see on My Super Sweet 16. Over holiday I was also invited home with one of my friends, which was so kind, and a great experience as well.

 

Me, and my friends Kelley and Tarryn, on our way to a 21^st

Kelley and I on top of Table Mountain over holiday

At a Goodluck concert with girls I met in res

Wednesday night (called ‘Little Saturday’ in Stellenbosch) with res friends

Stellenbosch is full of incredible restaurants and cafes. There is something for every food preference, and some of the best food I’ve ever had. Not to mention the museums, hiking Stellenbosch Mountain, and the beautiful botanical gardens.

Hiking Stellenbosch Mountain with the CIEE group

 

The botanical gardens

The Black Rose

One of my favorite places in Stellenbosch is a small, tucked away café called The Black Rose. Early on in the semester, a few of the other international students found this place and introduced it to me. The food is incredible, as is the owner, Christina, who often sits and chats with us when we spend afternoons there. She makes the most wonderful curry, which is common in the Western Cape. In res, my favorite meal is Vetkoek, which has been served a few times this semester to the delight of my Afrikaans friends whose mothers make it for them at home. It is ground meat with potato chunks that you put inside a deep-fried biscuit to create a sort-of sloppy joe type sandwich. It is absolutely delicious, and will certainly fill you up until dinner.

Studying over lunch at The Black Rose (another typical thing seen in South Africa – cheese with your pastries – I am a huge fan)

The first weekend that we were in Stellenbosch, CIEE took our group to Cape Point for a wonderful, relaxing 36 hours. We stayed in two houses, watched the more beautiful sun set, braaied for the first time, and hiked along the ocean, while Brad regaled us with tales of ‘The Cape of Good Hope.’

Stopping at Signal Hill on our way to Cape Point, Cape Town and Table Mountain are behind Elyse

Watching the sunset during our weekend at Cape Point

Hiking Cape Point, Bradley is about to begin one of his wonderful stories

Beautiful Cape Point

I’ve been privileged to work at Delheim Estate through the Pebbles Project. Twice a week to I go for an hour and a half to train the sweetest woman on how to use a new computer program that the Pebbles Project has been granted. She is always grateful for what I have taught her, and it is the most wonderful feeling to come away from a session with her. Recently, we also did a home stay in Bo Kaap for the weekend. Bo Kaap is a predominately Muslim neighborhood in Cape Town, and not only did we learn about the rich culture and history of the area, but we ate some of the most incredible food while visiting and stayed with wonderful families who graciously invited us into their homes.

Bo Kaap, tucked right into the side of the mountain

On our tour of Bo Kaap

At the oldest mosque in South Africa, right down the street from the house I stayed in for the weekend

Learning how to make Samoosas in Bo Kaap (another one of my favorite foods)

Follow Kim's Blog here.

student guest blog - elyse, clark university

As I was thinking of what to write for this, one of my friends mentioned to me that it is almost the halfway mark of time here in Stellenbosch. This statement completely caught me off guard. My friends and I have already booked our “Spring Break” (which makes it the end of the first term!) which is a tour of the Garden Route, which we’ve heard has some of the most beautiful places in South Africa. I’m also starting to feel the premature stress of having papers and exams due before this exciting vacation.

I feel like I’ve finally become settled here in Stellenbosch, South Africa. I have a set schedule of classes, usual places to go on the weekends, and spend much less time on facebook and more time with South African friends! I find myself using the local lingo such as “lekker”, “keen”, and “is it?” on a daily basis now. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of learning about items or sayings that they have here that they don’t have in the states. Last week my friends and I went to the UCT vs. Stellenbosch rugby match with our fellow Metanoia residents. Going with them made me feel less like that “American International” and more like another Stellenbosch student.

During my time abroad here I feel that I am learning something new every day; whether it is a new Afrikaans phrase in my Beginners Afrikaans class, or a new song from the 7^th grade girls I teach at Lynedoch Primary. One thing I didn’t necessarily expect coming abroad would be to learn about my own culture along with South African culture. Last week in our seminar “Living and Learning in Stellenbosch” we had to discuss what we thought our American values were and what kind of tensions this might cause with South African ones. It still takes me by surprise how much South Africans know so much more about my country than I know about theirs. This makes me feel naïve and makes me want to learn more about the world around me.

Thinking that my time here is halfway through scares me but I’m also so excited to see what the next half of this experience will bring.

student guest blog - nick, siena college

Approximately six weeks ago I said good bye to my family and friends, got on a plane and took off to South Africa. Freshman year of college, it was exactly six weeks after I moved in that I went home for my first break. In fact, the longest I have gone without going home or seeing my family has been exactly six weeks. Mentally, I have hit that “six week” mark. In the past I would have turned around at this point and gone to a place where I felt comfortable and familiar. However, hitting this mark in Africa is a completely different feeling. I am not turning around this time, I am only continuing to move forward.

            Prior to coming to South Africa, I had no real expectations of how my time would be spent but I did not anticipate how similar to my freshman year at college it would be. The question “Why did you come to Siena?” has been replaced with “What made you come to South Africa?” Conversations with the fellow Americans now focus on our time in college and real life experiences, rather than discussing senior prom and graduation as we all did a few years ago. Another difference is that being an international student makes you stand out in a way that I didn’t experience as a first year. From the second I open my mouth it is obvious that I am different, whereas before I was simply like everyone else. Finally, we have not been oriented on a new school but a new culture, country and way of life.

            This six week mark also means that we are in the full swing of classes. I’ve already handed in my first major assignment for one class, completed my first test in another, picked out my designated seat in each classroom and established a weekly routine. I look forward to seeing my favorite teacher, and dread going to that one awful class we all have to deal with each semester. As I walk around campus I say hi to my fellow Metanioans and the girl who sits next to me in “Intro to Afrikaans”. Opening functions for societies have passed and I am beginning to participate in their events, such as the Pride Parade I went to this past weekend for LesBiGay. But I think the most telling aspect of hitting the six week mark is that I feel like one of the Maties.

            Being abroad has completely opened my eyes and I now understand for the first time the meaning behind the cliche saying “There is a whole world out there...”I am comfortable, and I really feel that things are just going to get better. Because despite my experience as a freshman, there are no opportunities to look back, there are no three day weekends; only a few months to make the most of your experience abroad.

With Love From Africa,

Nick

student guest blog - kim, northeastern university

Tomorrow, the 20^th of February (or just Feb, as they say here), marks the four-week point of my time in South Africa. Four weeks, 28 days, that’s almost a month, and about a 1/5 of the total time I will spend in this country, at least in 2012. Only four weeks here and it already makes me sad to think about leaving. There is so much that I love, it’s hard to put my finger on just one thing that makes me truly not want to be anywhere else in the world. Maybe it’s the wonderful mixing of culture and languages that surrounds me every day, or the rich food; maybe it’s the friendly people, or the blue skies I’ve seen every single one of those 28 days; maybe just the fact that I haven’t felt so relaxed about life and my future in years, and I do not doubt that it is this country starting to seep into me that has had this effect. I love it here.

 

Since being here, I have eaten so many different kinds of meat, I’ve lost count, been to Cape Point, the South Western most point on the African continent, seen my first baboon, and ostriches daily, danced traditional African dances, been to a Poetry Slam in a township, where performances were done in English, Afrikaans, and isiXhosa, seen the most beautiful African sunsets, hiked the spectacular mountains that surround the Cape, been to my first Braai, visited Jackass penguins on the beach, cheered for the school’s rugby team with 10,000 other screaming fans, and watched a concert in Cape Town’s botanical gardens under the shade of Table Mountain.

 

It would take a lifetime to accomplish all that this country has to offer, though I’m going to try and fit in as much as possible before June. It continues to surprise me every day how welcoming people are, from Christina, the owner of the Black Rose, a coffee house where I’ve spent many afternoons chatting to her and friends of hers that stop by, to girls in my res hall who are eager to take me out and have me experience authentic South Africa. People are always willing to make friends, especially with the American struggling, at times, to learn new customs.

 

I am beginning to feel like a local, giving directions to tourists, taking shortcuts through campus, and frequently being spoken to in Afrikaans. It’s wonderful to be able to create a life for myself here. In Max Du Preez’s book, Pale Native he said something along the lines of, once you visit Africa, she leaves a piece of her with you. I know that this is true, and even after I leave here I will carry Africa with me.

See what else Kim has been up to in South Africa at her personal blog.

Student Guest Blog - Maureen, Georgetown University

I can’t decide if the past two weeks, our first two at Stellenbosch, have passed quickly or slowly. There’s no way they’ve passed at a normal pace, no way they compare to any other 14 days. We’ve seen so much, heard so much, but there are also parts of life here that are still building, still gradually crawling into our days. With classes starting tomorrow, the date I’ve repeated over and over is here, February 6^th. 6^th of Feb.

I’ve repeated it over and over because classes are how I explain why exactly I’m in South Africa. For class. To study. And since there has been no class these past few weeks, explaining what I’ve been doing is a little more difficult than I was expecting.

I can say for sure that jetlag makes time move slowly. And so does heat. So by the time my five new friends and I gathered in a classroom for official CIEE orientation just 24 hours after our arrival in Cape Town, we were past the standard introduction of name and school. Instead, we started the session by answering the question, “What are you passionate about?”

In order to navigate all the different passions that hung above us in the room, we went to maps.  To navigate, we didn’t start with maps of Stellenbosch or South Africa, but with maps we had no business recognizing. Bradley went on to explain that to the people of these ancient maps, the direction of reference was east. Rather than north like we’re used to, they looked east to find their bearings because every morning that’s were they could find the sun rising. And thus, to orient is literally to look east. Metaphor that and it means to find the perspective that will lead to the most clarity. So two weeks of sunrises later and I’m still working on looking east. Still working on my orientation to this place. And at whatever speed the days are passing, I am loving the challenge.

Since we arrived, we’ve been getting lost and asking questions, sweating and getting sunburn. I’ve taken to walking barefoot mostly just because I can. We are six strong personalities that constantly criss-cross through conversations concerning Nicki Minaj, the U.S. tax system, boxed wine, and serendipity; whether we’re at the Metanoia breakfast table or wandering around town. We’ve managed to pick up our Rugby season tickets, some harsh tan lines, and the slang we try so hard to use on Skype calls back home.

The highlight of the past two weeks came right at halfway when we all jumped into a van and headed to a weekend at Cape Point that may have packed all of my favorite things into just two days. Rarely more than a squint’s view from the ocean, we began with a look at the layers of South African society from atop Signal Hill and ended with an outdoor concert at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. In between, we rolled along ocean roads to some quality music, took a picture next to the Cape of Good Hope sign, spotted bontebok as we had a braai, looked out at the endless Atlantic from the lighthouse, and roasted marshmallows under the entire Milky Way. We watched the sun drop into the sea one night and behind mountains the next. 

And now with classes starting, the sense of a normal day might get a little closer. Looking east might get a little easier. But I can’t turn down the chance to consider my perspective each morning, orient myself each morning, make time move slowly just long enough to remember there’s some clarity up ahead. Here’s to a lekker semester, Matieland!

Catch more of Maureen's thoughts at her own blog!

At the 'Cape of Needles'

There are some geographical hotspots that have significance simply because they are the highest, the lowest, the most northerly, or in the case of Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of the African continent. 

But, Cape Agulhas is more than just a place to tick off your geographical bucketlist.   It is also an important place--hydrographically speaking--because it is (seasonally) one of the points where the warm Agulhas and the cold Benguela currents meet.  The confluence of these two primary currents also happens to be the meeting point of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, respectively.  It is also a place where sea birds and other inhabitants of the southern oceans cross paths. 

The curious name is attributed to Portuguese explorers who, in the 16th Century, noted the coincidence of 'true North' and 'magnetic North' at the position of the Cape.  The 'needle', therefore, refers to the compass and to its reading at that point.  The name stuck, and rather than appreciating Cape Agulhas for its reverence to the North, we now value it for reminding us of our position in the South--the southernmost point of the African continent. 

The next stop south from here lies somewhere in Antarctica.

 

 

One with the whales and the fynbos

 

Imagine yourself at the southernmost tip of the African continent, nothing but sea between you and Antarctica; a veritable rush-hour of Southern Right Whales in front of you and the worlds most botanically diverse and geographically isolated plant kingdoms behind you putting on a raucous display of spring floral color. That's life at the De Mond Nature Reserve, as we experienced it this past weekend.

One usually thinks only of socio-political transformations when contemplating our program theme. However, all the while we look at issues of social justice, political movements and economic reforms in post-apartheid South Africa, the natural world around us continues to respond to seasonal variations, animal migrations, and the ever-present threat of climate change. Focusing on these issues was one of the goals of our recent weekend overnight excursion to De Mond Nature Reserve in the Southern Cape (Cape Agulhas region), the southernmost point on the African continent and the meeting point of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. At this time of year, one of the most spectacular mammalian migrations was unfolding in front of our eyes: the annual migration of the Southern Right whale to the cooler waters of the southern oceans.

 

Standing on the beach at De Mond provided a front-row seat to this amazing annual ritual of the animal world. Similarly, the emergence of spring in the southern hemisphere saw an explosion of colour as our unique botanical attraction fynbos and associated floral families of the Cape Floral Kingdom put on an incredible display.

South Africa...an operatic potjie?

South Africans love to talk about transformation – it is an integral notion in a young democracy. However, understanding what transformation is and how it manifests itself in South Africa is not that easy. At CIEE Stellenbosch A&S, transformation is our theme, our organizing principle, if you like. If it’s a difficult concept, you may well ask, how do we go about teaching it? Slowly. The way transformation itself happens.

There is an old, traditional South African way of cooking called “potjie”. The word refers to a black, cast-iron pot with three legs. The ingredients are added slowly, in whatever order the cook thinks is best (there is no ‘correct’ way!). It is cooked incredibly slowly over the embers, taking up to 6 hours sometimes. After the wait, during which everyone has gathered around, sharing stories, a glorious stew-like dish is served.

If we see ‘gaining a better understanding of transformation in the South African’ as the final product, the meal, then the ingredients we put in better had be healthy and nutritious. So far this semester, we’ve seen Stellenbosch and the Western Cape from numerous angles – a delicate balance of flavor: a walk in the local nature reserve, a beautiful peninsula tour and an evening of African opera, courtesy of the Gugulethu Tenors.

 

(Photo from http://gugstenors.co.za)

Formed in 1999, the group shot to fame during the FIFA 2010 World Cup, performing to great acclaim for thousands of fans. They perform a mix of international opera favorites like Nessun Dorma and O Sole Mio, international hits from Josh Groban and Frank Sinatra as well as South African classics like Meadowlands and Pata Pata. In doing this, they acknowledge the extremely rich diversity of cultures and interests in South Africa.

The CIEE Stellenbosch A&S Fall 2011 staff and students got to see them perform live in Cape Town on July 24th and were honoured with the debut of their first music video, Nyamezela --a title which means "Persevere" in isiXhosa.  You can also view the video here.

We will be adding ingredients to our cultural potjie that is South Africa as the semester progresses, posting the recipe online!

What comes before transformation?

South Africa's history is filled with moments of stasis, catharsis and transformation.  Before European contact there were thriving communities of Khoi-khoi and San peoples who shaped the landscape and contributed to what we now know as the (elusive) Rainbow Nation.  In order to understand our current struggles to transform the past, we need to understand what came before.  For that reason, we start with the natural landscapes of the Western Cape, where the Khoi-khoi herded cattle and persevered through drought, disease and famine to form an important strand in the arc of the nation's rainbow-to-be. 

Following the footsteps of the Khoi-khoi in the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve, Stellenbosch.

Project Playground launches at Lynedoch

Now that's what I call community engagement!  Along with colleagues from her Learning for Sustainable Community Engagement (LSCE) course, one of our CIEE Stellenbosch Arts & Sciences participants has launched a campaign to raise money and leave a lasting legacy to the Lynedoch community where they are situated. 

Called Project Playground, the endeavor is focused on building a playground and recreational area at the Lynedoch Primary School in order to provide an organized, safe, and positive outlet for the students of Lynedoch to express themselves.

The vision of Katy and her fellow students is to change the shape of the current landscape and to leave a legacy that will improve the opportunities for education, growth and PLAY for years to come.  If you wish to follow the progress and perhaps assist with your contributions, be sure to check out the Project Playground blog at http://www.lpsplayground.blogspot.com/