Pre-Departure Jitters

Molweni Nonke! (Hello everyone!)

Okay, it's official. I leave tomorrow (well, today), and I'm a bit frazzled. I just said goodbye to one of my best friends. I should be in bed, but I have too much energy at the moment.

For those who I don't talk to on a regular basis, I figured it might be good to share the details of my upcoming adventure. This semester, I'll be participating in a study abroad program through Marquette University in Cape Town, South Africa. I'll be living in a house called Kimberley House with the other 19 students in a suburb of Cape Town, Observatory ("Obz"). About 2/3 of us are from MU, and the rest are from other universities around the U.S. (I'm the only Billiken...) I know no one in the program. I don't even know who my roommate will be. (We're just supposed to figure it out on our own, apparently. That'll be interesting.)

At the moment, I don't even have a good idea of my schedule. The only solid details are that I'll take 2 classes with the other students in my program on Fridays. One class is a theology class focused on forgiveness and reconciliation. The other is about leadership in grassroots organizations. Beyond this, I know that I will spend two each week full-time at my service learning sites. Both of my service sites are in Langa Township, not too far from our house in Obz. In the mornings, I will work at Thembani Primary School. Once again, I don't know details yet. In the afternoons, I'll be working with a group called Ilizwi, which means "Voice" in Xhosa. Ilizwi is a women's empowerment program that focuses on art, motivation, sexual health, and future careers with a group of high schools girls. I'm incredibly excited about these two sites. I talked with the girl who worked at both of these sites last semester, so I have a vague idea of what it will be like, but no specifics. Basically, stay tuned for all of that.

The other two days of the week, I'll take two or three classes at the University of the Western Cape. At the moment, I know I'd like to take a Xhosa class (especially since all of the kids I'll be working with in Langa township speak Xhosa before English). To continue the trend of uncertainty, we won't even know [for sure] what classes are being offered at UWC, so registration will be quite a treat...apparently, long lines and lots of confusion. Woot.

Hmmm, bed time? Yes. Not that this is overly interesting, but my flight itinerary is kind of interesting. Milwaukee --> Detroit --> Amsterdam --> Cape Town. I'm going to be exhausted. Basically, double international travel back-to-back.

Okay, I'm off, but I promise a more interesting second post! I'll miss you all! Please keep in touch and take care. :)