Sorry, I've slacked off a bit. But alot is going on. In between power and water outtages I got sick and that just slowedm e down in general. Then last week my German roommates decided to move on campus (rooms became available in the guest house on campus) . They wanted me to move with them. At first my thought was that staying in Sibasa would be better. It would be quieter now and I could focus on my work. Then I considered how conveneint staying on campus would be: I could go to the office and stay as late as I wanted (there is 24 hr security on campus) and I would be around other students (this has alot of pluses and minuses). So I went to the house to see what the space looked like. There are only three rooms so the girls said they could share (no big deal, they shared a room in Sibasa and the rooms are pretty big). Great, the only problem is tha the one open room does not have cabinets for me to store my things. Plus it is the first room as you enter the house, and there are no locks. I would just feel better if I had a closet. So I decided to take advantage of the peace and quiet and stay in Sibasa for now. My professor is still across the street and my other roommate (the professor) will not be moving for another week.
I am starting to do interviews this week (was going to start today but the head nurse was too busy). I hope things go well.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Catch up from last week
I left for Cape Town on the 6th. My roommates decided to have another campfire before the trip (they were leaving for the Durban trip). A few students from UNIVEN joined us this time.
Sept. 7th - You could hear the bus before you could see it. House music was blasting as the bus approached campus (by the way - music was blasting from the bus 24/7 for the next 6 days). We did not leave until close to 10am. Got to Cape Town close to 12:30pm on Monday. The bus ride was quite interesting...you'll have to email me privately for the details...On a sad note - we saw 4 car accidents on the way up to cape town. One had multiple fatalities. As we were approaching the accident I told the girl seating next to me that it looked like luggage and pieces of an automobile were scattered on the road. She said no, those are people...she was right. I did not look out the window as we passed, but I could hear the cries of the others on the bus.
Sept. 8th - Monday was a rest day. My ears needed rest more than my body (we had been on the bus for more than 26 hours with music on full blast the entire time). One of the first things I did was buy a pair of earplugs.
Sept. 9th - We drove to Cape Point (Cape of Good Hope). It was a surprise to most people that we would have to pay our own way to any of the attractions we visited. So...since this wasn't discussed or planned out before the trip, the group decided to leave and spent the rest of the day at the waterfront. This was fine with me...the only place I absolutely wanted to visit was Robbin Island (and I was told that we would go on Friday). I was just happy to get to Cape Town for only $480 rand...hotel and food included (though I told the organizer not to include me in the food count). I walked to the Convention Center in hopes that Hillsong Cape Town had a mid-week service... they did not. So I joined the rest of the group at the waterfront.
Sept. 10th - We went to Table Mountain. It was nice...beautiful views of Cape Town and robbin Island, saw a few animals up there. Very cold and windy. We went to another mall later in the day (going to the mall was a big deal during this trip). Sometime between yesterday and today I devel0ped the flu.
Sept 11th - No rain today! We went to the beach. Although it was sunny...it was still very cold. Didn't stop anyone from getting into their swim suits and playing in the water. I sat on the beach with a plastic bag and tissue (spent the time reading and blowing my nose). Later today is when we found out that the money situation was more serious than previously thought. The student organizer for the trip had been using his personal money to buy food for everyone. The hotel had gone up on their prices...which left him short on money for food. The most devastating news was that we were not going to Robbin Island. I had considered going by myself, then I figured I should not separate myself from the group...I didn't want to make myself more of an outsider. So....I missed out. Maybe I'll have another opportunity to visit Cape Town....just for the purpose of going to Robbin Island.
We left Cape Town on Friday because of the money situation.
Note - hey, I hope all the Houston people are all right. I heard about Hurricane once I got back to the internet Monday.
Sept. 7th - You could hear the bus before you could see it. House music was blasting as the bus approached campus (by the way - music was blasting from the bus 24/7 for the next 6 days). We did not leave until close to 10am. Got to Cape Town close to 12:30pm on Monday. The bus ride was quite interesting...you'll have to email me privately for the details...On a sad note - we saw 4 car accidents on the way up to cape town. One had multiple fatalities. As we were approaching the accident I told the girl seating next to me that it looked like luggage and pieces of an automobile were scattered on the road. She said no, those are people...she was right. I did not look out the window as we passed, but I could hear the cries of the others on the bus.
Sept. 8th - Monday was a rest day. My ears needed rest more than my body (we had been on the bus for more than 26 hours with music on full blast the entire time). One of the first things I did was buy a pair of earplugs.
Sept. 9th - We drove to Cape Point (Cape of Good Hope). It was a surprise to most people that we would have to pay our own way to any of the attractions we visited. So...since this wasn't discussed or planned out before the trip, the group decided to leave and spent the rest of the day at the waterfront. This was fine with me...the only place I absolutely wanted to visit was Robbin Island (and I was told that we would go on Friday). I was just happy to get to Cape Town for only $480 rand...hotel and food included (though I told the organizer not to include me in the food count). I walked to the Convention Center in hopes that Hillsong Cape Town had a mid-week service... they did not. So I joined the rest of the group at the waterfront.
Sept. 10th - We went to Table Mountain. It was nice...beautiful views of Cape Town and robbin Island, saw a few animals up there. Very cold and windy. We went to another mall later in the day (going to the mall was a big deal during this trip). Sometime between yesterday and today I devel0ped the flu.
Sept 11th - No rain today! We went to the beach. Although it was sunny...it was still very cold. Didn't stop anyone from getting into their swim suits and playing in the water. I sat on the beach with a plastic bag and tissue (spent the time reading and blowing my nose). Later today is when we found out that the money situation was more serious than previously thought. The student organizer for the trip had been using his personal money to buy food for everyone. The hotel had gone up on their prices...which left him short on money for food. The most devastating news was that we were not going to Robbin Island. I had considered going by myself, then I figured I should not separate myself from the group...I didn't want to make myself more of an outsider. So....I missed out. Maybe I'll have another opportunity to visit Cape Town....just for the purpose of going to Robbin Island.
We left Cape Town on Friday because of the money situation.
Note - hey, I hope all the Houston people are all right. I heard about Hurricane once I got back to the internet Monday.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Time management
Okay. I met with the Professor from the Netherlands yesterday (Wednesday). It helped me to prioritize what needs to be done now and what I can focus on later. Sometimes I just need to talk things out with someone else. In other news, I'm getting ready for the long bus trip to Cape Town. I should get alot fo reading done (hopefully)...I also look forward to meeting more of the other students and seeing more of South Africa.
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