Getting Into Routine

Friday was officially the 2 week mark here in South Africa. For some reason, it feels like so much longer than that. Things are beginning to settle into a routine now which is very helpful for stress and time management.

When it came time for classes to start, I realized that I forgot that this was not just some big vacation. I actually had work to do. Classes (or here they are called Modules) started our first Wednesday here, but, for the first week, many professors didn't hold their lectures or just had them for about 10 minutes to explain the scheduling and course outlines. There are three types of modules that I have: lectures, tuts (tutorials), and practs (practicals). Lectures have been the hardest thing for me to get used to because UKZN is  a bit different than Saint Mary's (and not just because there are guys every where). UKZN is a larger university than I am used to; my largest lecture holds close to 300 students. Tuts and practs are smaller and the class size is broken down and used by professors to get more students personal attention and help. These are more what I am used to. While lectures are a bit more lenient with attendance, usually all tuts and practs are mandatory.

Originally, my four modules were: French, Anthropology, Ethics, and History. Entering my first history class, I realized it was not something I was interested in doing here since it was not Africa-centered as I had hoped. So, instead, I joined ceramics! Ceramics is run by a sweet and slightly eccentric, older lady who doesn't mind telling you how it is.  We already completed our first ceramics project which was combining three things on a tile: Something organic, something hard and man-made, and something soft. I did a pear core, my ukulele, and an avocado. Now, we are working on flower vases. I am slightly disappointed that I will probably be unable to take it home, but I'm sure it will find a nice home here.

Friday, some of the ceramics master and honor students invited our class to a braai. A braai, if I didn't explain it before, is an African barbecue. So my friend Catherine (from Germany) and I walked over to Checkers, the closest grocery store, and picked some things up to take over there. We bought hamburger, chicken, and asparagus, broccoli, and potatoes to wrap in foil and season with oil, salt, and garlic. Catherine also bought feta and tomatoes to wrap in foil as well. The other students had chicken legs, beef and chicken sausage, and corn on the cob. It was a lot of fun and it was great to meet a different group of people. I also got a list of some South African bands to check out later.

On Saturday, me and a few other girls were invited to a birthday party at the local botanical gardens. It was nice meeting new and interesting people. Li and I had the opportunity to play frisbee with a fun group of guys and then we spent a good while of that time walking the grounds of the garden and taking pictures. The gardens were so beautiful and definitely a "go again" kind of spot.

That night we introduced our two German friends to the movie The Breakfast Club and went to get sushi for dinner. Afterwards, we found out it was Indian night at a club next door, so we went to check that out as well and had a blast. (South Africa, specifically the Kwa-Zulu Natal region, we were told, has the largest Indian population outside of actual India).  

Next weekend, Lena, Catherine, and I have planned a trip to Hluhluwe (try pronouncing that!) Game reserve which is 3 hours away in the town of St. Lucia. We plan to rent a car and drive down there on Thursday. We do not have any classes on Friday because it is National Women's Day. We will drive up Thursday, stay in a hostel down there called BiB, and have the full day safari on Friday. Saturday we will drive back to Durban to return our car and spend the night in a hostel there. Sunday we will hang out on the beach and then head back to Pietermaritzburg that evening. I like to think of it as an early birthday celebration :)

Will share (hopefully good) pictures!

Hope everyone is doing well

Cheers!