Not alot has been happening, I guess. But in actuality alot has happened. I'm just gonna list things that have been going on:

    -Mekhi's baptism...one reason i'm SAD not to be in the US right now.
    -classes started Monday...can we say, MADNESS. Each of my classes meet 4x per week PLUS a tutorial which = 19 class meetings a week!!! AH!
    -I have readings/hw, EVERY NIGHT. Due the next day.
    -been meeting ALOT of pple (not Americans) and it has been really nice.
    -learned so much about African politics. SA and other southern nations
    -I'm in love with the topics/themes of my classes. I couldnt get this array of understanding/perspective anywhere else.
     -learning that white = $$ around here. and that is evident through recent happenings in Zimbabwe (as of 10-15 yrs ago)
    - history/apartheid is so recent around here. its kinda scary. This week will only mark the 20th anniversary    of Mandela's release. (and I'm just 21)
               +I went to Robbin Island. This place is real...and intimidating definitely. History in the present, forreal.
       -I've been to District Six Museum - commemorating the destruction of black (coloured, African, Indian, etc) neighborhoods.
       -visited the Castle of Good Hope - initial "fort" in Cape Town
       -visited Table Mountain - most AMAZING view ever
       -saw some African penguins as well as seals
       -went Ice Skating with my residence (dorm) - funniest things ever! Never would I thought that so many pple would be horrible at ice skating (I even looked like a pro). Put Africans on an ice skating ring and the first 30 mins will be comedy hour.
      -been to plenty of Braai's
      -had a get-together at my suite - met alot of pple.
      -attended the Big Bash - concert (mainly freshman) but pure craziness/fun. Its like a WashU W.I.L.D. but better.
      -found the cheapest/most amazing Ethiopian food place. Its a a woman's house across the street, yes its sketchy but who cares, lol.
      -bought some FRESH/cheap seafood. (calamari for $10 American) that can feed a ton of pple!

So SA is good. Eventually I want to give some thought provoking posts on:
    -what is apartheid?
    -what does the southern african struggle say about white/black relations world-wide?
    -what do the above topics shine light on African-American struggle and context?

Plain and simple. That's who I am in SA.

Today, I learned to have respect for blacks from rural areas who attend UCT. These students often come from some of the worst education systems in the area, and jump tenfold to the best university on the African continent. Some have never even seen computers... this tells you about their perserverence to not only attend this school but also graduate..but also the marginalized quality of education in SA.

Today I was also reminded of the value of listening. While these students were telling me about the real SA (not the one UCT puts before us) I dearly wanted to compare US tactics of discrimination, expecially when it comes to education. However, this was not the time. I needed to listen and not compare, because how can you compare the poverty of SA where they let thousands of pple live in tin houses of the townships, RIGHT NEXT TO beautiful gated homes. You can't compare, one shouldnt even try. I just had to listen.


Today, I knew I was coloured. Which I already knew before I came on the trip, but it was affirmed today. My skin makes me apart of a class that is in between. I am not among the most marginilized individuals (the blacks) and would be thought of as near white by them. However, I am still not white at would be treated similar to blacks from a white perspective. All of this is true, until I open my mouth...then I am American again.


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Pics coming soon!

We have FINALLY moved into our perminant spots as of Saturday. So I am staying in the dorms, although farther from upper campus, they are really nice and alot of upperclassment live here. I'm definitly excited for the next few days as we have a free week before classes start. WHile those that are living in the houses are traveling around SA, other pple living in the res (dorm), including myself, are stayin in cape town to participate in our own orientation week for the res. It should be really fun and hopefully we will get to meet alot of pple!

Besides that, everything has been pretty chill. Maybe a little too chill, bc i'm ready to get out there and see what's going even more! So far the highlights have been going to the World Cup Stadium opening game...it is going to be WILD come June (and I will def be there), I also went to the beach which was simply georgeous and so relaxing. Hopefully when I go back, I can take a surfing lessen.

For the most part, everything has been really pleasant. I have a few concerns...

1. Finding good friends that will have my back and are willing to explore!
2. Spending too much money! (i haven't gotten used to the rand yet, 7 rand to a $1 makes it harder bc mental math, or any kind for that matter, is DEF no my strength)


Besides that...I feel like I'm learning alot of the culture so far...I've been reading magazines and the newspaper to try to get used to local events and sayings. For instance, I'm trying to stop sayin "Whatsup? and Yall" but say "Howzit?"

Another tangent...I realized last night at dinner, that just about all of the black girls in my program are NOT from the US. While most of them have lived there their entire lives(or at the least for college), they were born in another country. So why is this significant? I'm noticing that African-Americans...those of us with few ties to another country or continent...our pple are from Lousiana, Mississippi, Texas, or the Carolinas, we don't study abroad. We dont even fathom the possibility. I really think that's a problem....

Peace, from across the ocean.

Today… we visited sites for places to volunteer at. We rode through the townships, in our HUGE bright blue jammie (bus) with everyone staring at the tons of Americans glaring right back at them. We received various reactions...from children waking and dancing as we passed to adults cussing under their breath/giving us the finger as we drove by. I had a few reactions...

1. As I listened to the commentary of those sitting around me...all I thought was, these ridiculous Americans. All I could do was shake my head at some of the comments they made...one which included "some of these people choose to live here bc they did not want to pay taxes"...obviously this is taken out of context a little, but this was the gist. I just shook my head to myself, like What?..are you serious!?! But I have the same reaction to some people in the US and how they view minorities...so I'm not surprised I felt that way.
2. I felt American today. Not African-American, but simply American. Today in the townships, I was not Black and definitely wasn't worthy of the hyphenated African-....I had the same privileged lifestyle, mindset, and worldview as the white American next to me. This feeling will be explored a little more...
3. Usually when you see dire poverty, you supposedly get this feeling of guilt and say "aww" what can I do to help? I didn't get this feeling. I am not sure why....It's kind of troubling me that I didn’t feel some overwhelming shock. I almost felt that I wanted to shy away from it all and feel like it wasn't real, but it was real. Obviously all of this is blurry, and full of mixed emotions, but I have 6 months to deal with it.
enough of that...

OPENING OF THE WORLD CUP STADIUM TOMORROW! (if you didnt know...this is HUGE)


Adios

Yes, I am in Cape Town.

Things are still new and we have really only been doing orientation things, but overall its very nice! The weather is georgous...my campus is on a MOUNTAIN! Its just really beautiful, I hope to upload pics (once I take some) so I can show you how pretty everything is. I don't move into my dorm until Saturday, so I haven't seen my perminant accomodations yet, but I'm hearing great things!

Something interesting...driving from the airport late last night, I saw some of the townships. They are packed on to each other..and there are new homes in the neighborhood over. The contrast was vaste and definitely gets me thnking about what the racial relations in this country may be. Also about this 1st world, 3rd world notion...all in South Africa, all next door to each other.

Craziness, but awesome.

Alright, my internet is running out.

Peace.

I'm going to South Africa! WOO!

Yes, I think this is a fair tradeoff. Although I am not participating in a day of service, I am fulfilling a dream. Going abroad has been one of my goals for a long time, and today as I board my plane its happening all over again. It still hasn't hit me yet that I will be gone for so many months, but I hope it never does. I just want to enjoy every second of Cape Town. So hopefully there will be some fun stories coming your way.

So...this is probably a bad mindset, but I want this trip to be about FUN, FUN, FUN...yes, I'm actually going there for "study" abroad, not "fun" abroad..but when will I ever get this opportunity to go to school, taking the exact classes I feel like taking, with no extra activities and multiple jobs?? (Answer: NEVER AGAIN) So I'm gonna roll with the punches.

Some personal goals...
1. Personal growth...okay, thats typical but, shoot if I leave for this long and still act/think the same way?  Then FAIL, on my part. This is probably the first time that I've integrated into a new experience and I don't know anyone at all...so I hope to make some friends along the way and work on ME. In this process...I want to also grow in my relationship with Christ, that always needs strengthening!

2. AWESOME STORIES....I am very bad storytellar that I often just dont tell the story because I will likely mess up the punch line, BUT, I hope to have experiences so awesome that I can't help but tell everyone, and you think its funny/weird/exciting/interesting as well.

3. Marry an African man... HA, this would be the epitome of my trip. You have no idea how many people have told me not come back marrying "Kentakunte" (sp?). All I can do is laugh it off, but goodness...I might just come back married, just to see their face. (smile)


That's it off the top of my head...we'll see if I reach my goals come June?


Thanks to EVERYONE for all of their prayers, kind words, generosity, and LOVE.
Shout out to GOD, from whom all blessing flow!


-MJP

P.S. I apologize for the bad grammar, horrible spelling and atrocious punctuation. I tend to use alot of ellipses and commas when I am free writing, so you will have to forgive me in advance and in all future posts.