Floating through Paradise

After two weeks, I still cannot believe that this is actually my life for the next six months. Surrounded by newly made friends from all over the world, under a breathtakingly blue, sunshine-filled, sky and with the waves constantly crashing only a block away, I’ve discovered these past two weeks that I am definitely in paradise. It doesn’t help that I have had the last two weeks to become adjusted without the responsibilities of classes and this concept of homework I keep hearing about. Thus, my skin is dark and beautiful, the bags under my eyes have disappeared, replaced by crinkles at the corners caused by constant laughter and smiling ☺, and any knots or stress in my shoulders has melted away. I’ve managed to make a bit of a dent in the stack of books I brought with me as well as well as cook up some mouth-watering meals for friends, make my way through several bottles of delicious South African wine, and collect a heap of incredible seashells along the beach.

Jealous? Ha, I would be too.

More about life here. I live in a place called the Bantry-about an hours walk from the actual NMMU campus, but only about a 10-15 min combie (taxi) ride away. I’m looking into buying a bike to save time and money and to still get my exercise in and be outside. The Bantry is an apartment, or flat, complex and people from the U.S., Sweden, Germany, Ireland, Norway, etc live here. All international students of course. I live in a 2 bedroom flat with Maggie, a good friend from CSB also here with me. We have one of the most spacious living rooms in the building making our room a hotspot for gatherings and hanging out-tiring at times but we love having people here. We have a bathroom with a tub that’s great for bubble baths, and a tiny kitchen (the only thing that could be improved I think) but it works for us. We’ve developed quite the crowd of friends and family here already and the people are all so much fun and so interesting-I’ve been having a blast getting to know everyone. It’s been quite a contrast to Kenya however. Although I’m not with the CSB/SJU program, I’m still in quite the bubble, separated and secluded from the culture living here, whereas in Kenya I was living with the locals with no other “Westerners” to keep me from the culture. Getting to learn about all the different cultures of the people here has been really fun and interesting however. It’s hard to combat the stereotype of the ‘international student’ that a lot of locals seem to hold though-that they’re just here to party and hang out for the semester or year and that they aren’t quite interested in learning about the culture so much. I’m working on it however-excited to have classes starting up that will allow me to meet South African students.

The Bantry is about a block away from the beach. It’s a beautiful bay we’re in but quite windy at times (awkward if you’re wearing a skirt or dress…) a lovely path runs along the stretch of beach most of the way to school. The main road runs parallel to the beach and pretty much everything I could possibly need or want is along that road-called Humewood road. We’re surrounded by sweet restaurants and clubs and pubs. Sunday night we had dinner at this restaurant that had an incredible view of the ocean as we sat outside on the deck and watched the sun go down sipping various cocktails and chatting and laughing. Then we went downstairs to a restaurant/club and danced the night away to a live South African jazz band, waves crashing just across the street. It was, I think, the most fun I’ve had since I’ve been here. A couple nights before that, I went out with a few guys because the girls just wanted to stay in to an awesome bar with a chill atmosphere complete with couches to hang out on in one corner, hookahs, and a dance floor and fun music on the other side of the place. It was so much fun, just me, 2 German guys, and 1 Swede. Talk about laughing…. Haha.

However, school began yesterday and I am here for that so the ‘living it up’ part is has slowed down. To start, I am so impressed with the overall organization and ability to get things done here. In Kenya, it took me weeks to get some of the things done here that I’ve gotten done in 10 min. It’s amazing. Registration was like a game-we had to go around to some different offices and get a stamp on a sheet of paper saying we had everything worked out and at the end we got a prize-a free t-shirt and a bag! How fun is that?!? Haha, there’s a bit of disarray at the schedule of classes, but they are, in fact, taking place-I have two this afternoon. By next week I’m expecting smooth sailing. Unfortunately since most of the people here haven’t had the experience in Kenya that I had, they are a bit uptight over how everything is working out whereas I’m relaxing and sitting back, knowing that this is still Africa and that things just happen differently here-chill out. ☺ I believe, if my schedule stays as is, that I’m in class only 3 days a week (hopefully) which leaves me plenty of time to get homework done, relax, and travel. Something I really regret not doing or having time for in Kenya. I’m taking these classes: Intro to Xhosa Culture, Social and Environmental Issues, Post-Apartheid South Africa, Contemporary Politics and Policy in South Africa, Photojournalism, and Community Service Learning. I’m really excited for all of them.

Having other people around-aka international students-to go through the experience with has been a blessing too. I don’t feel alone at all here-everyone else is going through exactly the same thing and we’re figuring everything out together and everyone is so nice and willing to share knowledge and experiences. So much different from Kenya where Chris and I had no support system other than each other and had no one to ask who knew exactly what we wanted or needed. Here, you can ask people where they found their sheets, how to get to the mall, which restaurants they’ve tried, where they got their hummous, and everything else you could possibly want to know. There’s always someone up for everything-the beach, walking, cooking, going out to eat or out to the bar, and everyone is willing to let you tag along.

Most of my nights have consisted of cooking delicious things with friends. So far I’ve made spaghetti sauce, baked potato soup, meatloaf (which I didn’t eat), mashed potatoes, squash, lots of veggies and delicious sandwiches, squash soup, fruit pizza, cake, fruit salad, chips, ugali, spinach, and the list goes on and on…. It’s been amazing! The food is eaten by candlelight usually and a glass of wine and then as people smell what’s cooking, thankfully after most of the food is gone (haha) they wander down and inside and take a seat and we usually end up talking and hanging out until bedtime. It’s been a a blast. I’ll put up some pictures as soon as I can.


Well, I have class in an hour and I still have to grab some lunch so I’m signing off for now. I’ll be better about updating hopefully once I get more into a routine but for now, know that I’m in paradise and having the time of my life. ☺