Seaview Lion Park

We went to Seaview Lion Park today! The weather was perfect and the animals were awesome. More to come soon but for now take a look at our amazing photo ops!

Giraffes that we saw right outside of our car window!

A beautiful lion at the park

Just another weekend in Africa

You can't find this in Iowa

NORMAN!

Address

Hello All! We hope that those of you who are in Iowa are trying to stay warm! Many people have been asking for our address here in Port Elizabeth so we thought we would just post it here. We are trying to get some postcards written but I think that will be a gradual process! Without further ado…. 

Shawn Plunkett (or Alyssa Kielly!!)

c/o Monalisa Ndwayana

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

Office for International Education

Summerstrand Campus South

Port Elizabeth, South Africa 6031

Building 87

Room 108

Yea..we know it is long. And weird. But it is Africa. Trust me, you get used to it :) 

Classes

How goes it?!?

As they say here in South Africa. I haven’t been on to blog in a while so here it goes. People have been asking about Zanethemba which is the babies’ home that we volunteer at, but it is a post in itself so I will save it for Alyssa to talk about since she is better with words. I can talk about classes though since we have finally figured them out and are settling into a routine. Scheduling classes was a bit of an ordeal to say the least haha! At NMMU their semester is divided into two terms. The first term goes from Feb. 14^th until April 1^st. Term two then runs from April 2^nd until May 31^st. The last month of the semester is the examination or “semester test” period for both term one and term two. Alyssa and I are taking the same classes for term one. We are taking Post Apartheid South Africa which looks at everything pertaining to the end of apartheid and the birth of a new nation from 1989-1994, as well as the release of Nelson Mandela from prison. It has been a really interesting class thus far and the professor is very knowledgeable on the topic. We have two papers we have to write for the class and then the final exam. Our first paper is due next Thursday so we have started working on that already. I will say that it was different hearing a professor say that it is due on March 3^rd but you can turn it in the next few days after if you would like. Somehow I don’t see the professors in the states being that accepting of that idea. As for the class as a whole I think it is going to be challenging but very interesting. One of the books he suggested we read is Mandela’s autobiography called A Long Walk to Freedom. We bought it, and I started reading it because Alyssa was reading another book. It’s 730 pages so for those of you who know me and my love of reading this one may be a struggle. However, I’m on page 100 after 2 days and it has been extremely fascinating. I’ll let you know when I finish, but from what I’ve read so far I would definitely recommend reading it if you have any interest in Nelson Mandela or how South Africa came to be what it is today.

The other class we are taking this term is Xhosa Culture. I didn’t get my schedule finalized until late so I missed one of the lectures, but from the one I went to on Monday morning it seems like it is going to be a great class as well. The Xhosa people are predominantly found in the Eastern Cape which is where we are. The professor is very knowledgeable on the culture and will be able to help us understand any questions we have. We have one test for this class, one paper, and then the exam in June. The paper can be about anything pertaining to the culture within certain boundaries. Right now I think I’m going to write mine about the Xhosa culture and their thoughts on health care and modern medicine. That’s only a rough idea so we will see how it goes. As for Alyssa she is planning on doing a paper that looks into the family life of the Xhosa people, particularly the children and their role in the family. This will tie in perfectly with her new major and I can’t wait to see what she finds out.

The last class that we have this term runs through both term one and term two. This is our service learning class and I think this is going to be the best part of coming to Africa. The class meets every other Monday morning from 9-12. Three of the classes will be workshops in which we learn about the people of South Africa, the poverty within the townships, how this occurred, and what we can do to help. We also talked about community service vs. community development. In the first class we discussed what poverty was like in all parts of the world. It was so interesting to hear people speak because the class was filled with all international students from all over the world. The workshop was extremely informative and the big thing that I walked away learning from the first class is to help people help themselves. It’s one thing to be this American who comes in and hands people a bunch of money or objects but those things run out and then they are left with nothing again. They told this story about how a group of students a few years back were working at a home and noticed that some of the kids didn’t have lunch. There immediate reaction was to give them their own lunch. Then they thought maybe they could raise money back home and send supplies over. After talking with their advisor from the service learning class they came to the conclusion that the best plan would be to raise money and then hire someone from the local township to run a garden at the home. They students raised money and were able to buy seeds to put in the garden. Then the orphanage hired a local woman to work in the garden, pick vegetables, and then make soup each day for the kids that don’t have anything to eat. This is where that whole help them help themselves comes in. The kids got a healthy sustainable lunch, the garden is something that would last, and it gave someone local a job. It was kind of an AhhHaa moment because it’s something so simple and I had never really thought of it that way before. Like I said before I will save talking about Zanethemba for Alyssa but the couple who runs the babies haven has the same philosophy and man are they doing some good work here. Anyway after going off on that long tangent the other part of the class is mentoring sessions and volunteering. We have two mentoring sessions throughout the semester in which we talk to the director and just discuss our thoughts on what’s happening in our home. We also volunteer every Thursday afternoon from 2-5, however, we might be able to go more often as the semester progresses.

As for classes in term two we are both taking a South African music class to satisfy our fine arts credits. We are also taking a world history class which will be interesting to learn through the perspective of a professor from another country as well as students who are from all around the world. Alyssa is also taking a Youth Studies class which will go towards her major back home.

Well this was a long post and I’m sure you are rather bored by now but this is our classes in a nutshell. I hope all is well back home and you all start to warm up soon. Not to rub it in or anything but it was 75 degrees and sunny today here in PE. This weekend we might be going to Seaview Lion Park where we would get to hold baby lion cubs and pet an adult lion or tiger. I’ll keep you posted as to whether we go or not but if we do that should be lots of fun. We also might go to a national rugby game in the new FIFA stadium on Friday night which would be lots of fun. I have only been to one rugby game since we have been here but let me tell you they are very lively and lots of fun. Hope all is well back home and we will talk to you soon. Cheers.

Thursday 2/17

The alarm clock went off way to early but we have officially been here for two weeks! We woke up at 6:45 to get ready to leave for class by 7:20. We had Post-Apartheid South Africa again and again it was a really interesting class. After that I went to a Xhosa Culture class with some girls to see if I wanted to take that instead of Child & Family Care. I definitely liked the culture a lot more. I also have to write a paper for the class and I think I am going to focus on the family system in Xhosa culture so I will still be researching within my major. After class I had to go to the international office to switch out of the class I was in and join Xhosa Culture. Shawn was there and decided to join the class too! Next it was off to try and get my ID card again. I only had to wait in line for 45 minutes this time before I was able to take my picture and get my ID. After that we decided to eat at the Madibaz Café on campus. Shawn and Sara liked their food but I didn’t really care for mine (Shocking, I know). After lunch we went to the library to activate our bar code so we can check out books. Not surprisingly however, the lady was on lunch break so that didn’t end up happening. We just hung out on campus for the next couple of hours because we had our volunteer project again in the afternoon. Zanethemba was amazing but also pretty heart wrenching. I will talk more about that later. On our way back from Zanethemba Shawn and I stopped at Spar to get some much needed groceries. It is by far the most food we have bought since we got here. We came home and made a delicious supper. Rice, stir-fry spicy vegetables, rolls, and grapes. It doesn’t sound good-but to us-it was gourmet! After supper we sat for a little while and then were peer pressured into going out dancing for the night! We gave in quite easily J It is ladies night on Thursdays at this place called Belizas. The drinking age in SA is 18 so we were both safe and legal. We took a cab there with a ton of other people from Annie’s. I was SO glad that everyone talked us into going. It was super fun. I was a dancing fool and it was awesome to be able to dance and sing and let loose with everyone we have met. We only stayed until 1 and then Shawn and I were in one of the first cabs back. We crashed (after a much needed grilled cheese)!  No class on Friday so we will definitely be sleeping in!!

Wednesday 2/16

No Class! Shawn and I both don’t have class on Wednesdays. We woke up fairly early and went to Greenacres. Greenacres is this shopping mall area. It is really nice but a huge pain to get to. On the way there we had to take two minibuses. One from Summerstrand (the suburb where we live) into town and then one from town to Greenacres. The bus to Greenacres was crazy. The music was so loud I couldn’t even hear myself think! It ended up fine and we made it to Greenacres. Greenacres is a really nice mall and it is big even compared to American standards. Shawn and I looked around for a little while and then went to the ShopRite. It is basically like Walmart. I did not enjoy it at ALL because there is a meat counter in the back. (You may recall me puking because of trash) I held my breath the whole time and couldn’t wait to get out of there! We took the actual bus home which was nice because it was only R8 for the whole trip and we didn’t have to switch busses. Once we got back we had grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit for lunch. Then, we just hung out and read (well, I read!). We had a terrible supper of some “alfrado” noodles and “garlic bread”. They were prepackages noodles and the bread was just butter with some seasoning on it. Oh, well it was fun to laugh at our “meal”. After we ate we decided to go to a movie because on Wednesdays we can get in for R20. There ended up being a ton of us going so we had to take four cabs. We went to The Tourist which okay but not great. The best part of the whole thing was that they had fountain pop. NO WHERE can you find fountain pop. Restaurants, bars, everywhere, the only sell cans or bottles. So the pop was very refreshing-it even had some ice! The popcorn didn’t have butter only salt. It tasted like high school sporting event popcorn, definitely not worth the money! We didn’t get back from the movie until around 10:30 and then we Skyped with Karmen for a little while. We went to bed right away after that because we had class at 7:45 the next morning!

Tuesday 2/15

We had class again this morning. It was Post-Apartheid South Africa at 10:45. The class was awesome. It seems so interesting and I already feel like I have learned a ton. The professor is very nice but also very smart. He doesn’t have a problem with making the international students look bad! I don’t think it is intentional though and I think I am really going to like the class. Shawn seemed to really like it too. After that, I had my Child & Family Care class. This one didn’t go quite as smooth. We had a HECK of a time trying to find my classroom. Luckily Shawn is awesome and went with me to help find the room-I really appreciated it! (Some of you may recall the Missouri incident!) The second I walked in the classroom I already felt uncomfortable because it was obvious I was not only the only international student, but also the only person not fully enrolled in the program. The class is part of the social work program at NMMU and unlike in the states, everyone takes the same classes at the same time that is enrolled in that particular program. It is a lot like what Shawn will be doing once he is at Allen. To make matters worse, everyone knew each other and seemed to have a lot to talk about. I just sat and awkwardly read my book. I can say it is the only time I have ever really felt like the minority. Once the lecturer (professor) got there I thought it would be smooth sailing. Nope. The professor proceeded to announce that I was new and asked me where I was from. The class seems really interesting but I ended up dropping it. Not because of the awkwardness mentioned above but because I think it is a little over my head. The students in the class have been taking social work classes since their freshman year. I don’t think the content of the class seems that difficult but I know that I don’t really have the social work background that I think would be necessary to be successful. After our morning on campus we waited in line to try and get our student ID. No luck. Everyone here takes a lunch hour and things just close. So, after waiting in line we learned that the ID center would be closing from 1-2. Oh well, we just walked back to Annie’s and hung out. Later that night we went to a braii a couple of houses down from Annie’s. There is a bunch of German’s that live there. The food and friends were great!