Pre-Departure: A Quote to Live By

"Wherever you go, be all there." - Jim Elliot

One of the many things I struggle with is living in the present. I'm one of those people who often looks back at the past with longing or forward into the future with a mixture of excitement and fear, both of which holds me back from enjoying the present moment. I know I am especially going to grapple with this issue while abroad when I'm homesick for my family, friends, beloved school, and the normalcy I've grown accustomed to over the past two and a half years. One of my goals for this semester in South Africa is to try to stay focused on the present so that I can appreciate every moment of this wild adventure I'm about to embark on. This is why I choose Jim Elliot's quote to be the over-arching theme of my blog and mantra for the next four months. As hard as it will be to be away, I have to remember that all those who truly love and care about me will still be there when I get back and that they all want me to enjoy my time abroad. So wherever my path leads me, I need to be all there in that moment because who knows when I'm going to have the opportunity to be in that place or mindset again.

Pre-Departure: Visa Update

After many calls to the South African consulate between yesterday and today, I finally got through to a real person and not just another voicemail. My study permit application is still under review but should be approved and mailed out Friday, meaning I'll receive it Monday. I leave Wednesday. 
Moral of the story is that if you're planning on studying abroad during the spring semester, get your visa application in before the holidays (Christmas, New Years, even Thanksgiving if possible). Trust me, you'll prevent yourself from a few sleepless nights, many phone calls (I now have the number to the New York consulate memorized) and many many many unnecessary tears.

*UPDATE 1/24/13: MY VISA ARRIVED TODAY!!! Either someone didn't update my information in the consulate's computer or my many phone calls caused the person who was processing my application to go into overdrive and ship it out yesterday afternoon. Either way, I'm over the moon. Also after talking to Devin from SIT I found out that the consulate has been processing visas not in the order that they come in, but in the order that the applicants depart for South Africa. How frustrating. I fortunately wasn't alone in my visa stress as four other girls in my program received their study permits today too. 

Pre-Departure: Stress

Today it hit me as I was eating breakfast that I only have a week left in the Vermont/US until May. Annnnnnnnnd I still have a lot to do. While I have gotten a good chunk of my mile-long list done, I still have to make some phone calls, get some shopping done, including buying gifts for my host families, finish getting organized at home/pack, and keep chugging through my pre-semester reading. This semester we're required to read Long Walk to Freedom: the Autobiography of Nelson Mandela and I Write What I Like by Steve Biko. So far I'm about 130 pages into Mandela's autobiography (out of a staggering 625 pages!) and really enjoying it. I honestly don't know much more than the basics about both Mandela and apartheid so the book has been very enlightening. It's a little slow-going now that the policies of apartheid have been implemented because Mandela takes the time to go over every detail of what the various resistance groups attempted to do and his thoughts on all these events, but I'm getting through it. I'm feeling a little over-whelmed at the moment but I know all of this has to get done, especially since I'm spending Friday-Sunday up at SMC, so I guess it's time to get to work. 

My motivation for today is Alicia Key's "Girl on Fire" because this girl needs to light a fire under her feet and get going!

Pre-Departure: Countdown

One week from today...
I will be making the journey up to Saint Mike's for the weekend to hang out with my sister and friends for a couple of days before saying "see you" for a few months (In South African culture people usually part with a phrase that assumes a future meeting such as Tot siens, till we see each other again in Afrikanns or Sala gashi, go well in peace in Sotho in stead of goodbye). 

Two weeks from today...
I will be arriving in Johannesburg for orientation!!! 

This past week has flown by so I know the next two weeks will go by quickly. I'm both excited and terrified! I think some of the fear will go away once I check off a few more things on my list and my visa finally arrives...

Pre-Departure: Program

This semester I will be studying in South Africa with SIT study abroad in their "Multiculturalism and Human Rights" program. The program is based out of Cape Town, but we will be doing some travelling with excursions to both the Eastern and Western Capes. We also will begin orientation in Johannesburg, the economic capital and largest city in SA.

South Africa

SIT is not a traditional study abroad program. Instead of taking classes at a university with local and international students, I will be taking classes with the other 27 students in my program at SIT's classrooms in Rondebosch and "in the field" on our excursions. Here we will be taking classes on multiculturalism and human rights in South Africa, narratives of identity and social change, !Xhosa (one of SA's 11 national languages), and research methods and ethics. Following 9-10 weeks of classes, the remainder of my stay in SA will be focused on conducting research for my Independent Study Project (ISP), which I will present to my classmates, professors, and community members at the end of the program. I'm not sure what I will be conducting my research on as of yet, but I'll keep you posted as the semester progresses! 

Here's a video on speaking !Xhosa

The component of this program that I am most excited for is the four homestays that we will complete during our 15 weeks in SA. When looking for a study abroad program I knew that I wanted a program that included a homestay because I thought that staying with a family would help me to best learn about the culture and integrate myself into the community. I also thought that staying with a family and having home-cooked meals and chores would help with the inevitable homesickness. While in SA I will be staying with a family for four weeks in Langa Township (Cape Town), and families in Bo Kaap (Cape Town), Tsabo (Eastern Cape Providence), and Stellenbosch (Western Cape Providence) for one week each. All four families will be from different cultural backgrounds so it will give us students a taste of the wide array of cultural diversity in South Africa. Fingers crossed that at least one of my families has pet(s)!

Pre-Departure: the Waiting Game

Today marks the first day of spring semester classes at SMC. Instead of running around my room full of nervous energy getting ready for my first class, I'm sitting at my dinning room table in my pajamas writing this blog post. When I first found out that my study abroad program wasn't beginning until February 1st, I was excited that I would have a long break to prepare for my semester in South Africa and that I would have the opportunity to visit my friends and professors at school before jet-setting across the globe. What I did not anticipate however, was how lonely and bored I would be at home once my sister and friends returned to school. It's only been two days since we dropped Erin off for her first semester at Saint Mike's (she transferred from UVM) and I'm already going stir-crazy since I don't have anyone to entertain me during the day while my parents are at work and Allison is at school. I also really miss my friends from school since I haven't seen them in four+ weeks. As excited as I am for my semester abroad, it's tough knowing that I won't be seeing or even talking to them every day like I usually do at school due to the time difference (7 hours!) once I arrive in South Africa. 

Instead of dwelling on these feelings however, I'm trying to stay positive and excited about my upcoming trip and focus on getting ready since I haven't done much of anything over break to prepare for my semester except submit my visa to the consulate and get all my required vaccines. My visa hasn't come in yet which is causing a bit of stress, but I still have 15 days until I board my flight for London so I'm trying not to worry too much. I have a list that is about a mile-long of people and offices I need to contact, errands I need to run, things I need to buy and pack. I also have pre-semester assignments that I need to do before orientation. I probably should have looked at the assignments earlier then today since it appears that I have to buy and read two books, but I know the work will get done even if I have to finish one of the books on the plane.

Time to get started on that list... until next time!