- Created By bellpickle
Letter
...that I wrote to myself for the ending date of my S.Africa program:
To [Bell] on May 12th,
As of the time of writing, the 3rd day of the program has ended. Right now part of me is wishing that I were in your position, about to return back home to the US, rather than my current one. I feel that there are two big 'hurdles' for me to overcome throughout the course of this program. The first is the start of the homestay and the second is beginning my research for the ISP.
By the time I read this, I will have all the answers to the questions I've been wondering about. How did I adjust to the homestays? How good was my ISP? Did anything dangerous happen? Will I want to return to S.Africa in the future? How much Chinese have I forgotten (and how much Zulu do I know?) Do I still want for my future to revolve around Asia?
Even if you don't have all the answers, I hope at the very least that I have become a stronger person, one who is that much more prepared to face the challenges ahead.
Wishing you the best for your future travels,
[Bell]
I guessed wrong about there being two 'hurdles.' Much of the time, it felt as if almost every day was a hurdle. But I learned to cope with it and I feel like I grew a lot through the process, so I can't complain in the end. :)
And in case anyone is wondering: my adjustment to the homestays varied; my ISP (Independent Study Project) went pretty well; nothing dangerous happened to me, but a few others in the program had unpleasant encounters, esp. in Cape Town; I'll probably return to SA at some point; still not sure how much Chinese I've forgotten, but I honestly didn't learn all that much Zulu anyway; and for that last question, probably not. At least not Asia exclusively...
In other news, due to a string of occurrences the past few weeks, I've been mad obsessing over Moulin Rouge! lately. Especially this song:
I think I only just now realized that this movie is perfect for me because:
- I'm currently a Gleek, and the use of music in Moulin Rouge! is similar to how it's used in Glee.
- I'm a total sucker for the mature & realistic girl/naive & idealistic guy pairing.
- I've always thought that Ewan McGregor is pretty cute, even more so now that I'm older. THERE I SAID IT.
Sigh.
Lazy, so I'm copying an email I just sent out:
I came back from rural yesterday. :(
Because of certain complications, I actually ended up not staying with the family I lived with the first time I was at rural, and so on the day I arrived, I got moved to a different family that I had never met before. I felt terrible that first day... it's funny because one of the girls in the program is super homesick and she described the feeling as "having her heart stabbed over and over." And on that first day when I got moved from my family to a completely new one, I realized that that's exactly how I felt. I actually ended up sending a text to one of my friends here saying that I was "dying on the inside," haha.
It's funny in retrospect because by the end of my second day at the new house, I already felt pretty comfortable with my new family. One thing that helped was that my original family was pretty close by, so I visited them almost everyday.
During the last week at rural, I ended up moving into a third house. I don't know if you guys remember, but in my first email about rural, I mentioned a sixteen-year old boy named Spha who is super mature and wants to be an agricultural scientist and already knows how to cook. It was his family who I ended up staying with during that last week, and it was so wonderful! It was holidays in SA during that time, so my little sisters from my original rural family stayed with me at Spha's house. Even though it was a short time, that last week was probably the most fun I've had in SA so far.
I don't know. I have grown to really like the people in my program, so I can't say I'm sad about being back in Durban. But at the same time, part of me has a hard time accepting that I might never see the people in the rural area ever again. There are so many wonderful people there, and I really grew to love all the kids I met. They are so much less spoiled than the kids in the US, haha. I really wish I could see them again when they're older... especially Spha and my little sister, Xoli, who are both so intelligent and mature. They are going to be amazing adults one day. :(
So yeah. In any case, I'll be back in the US in approx. two weeks time. :o
In other news:
- Just started watching Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. :o
- JYJ is having a few concerts in the US in May. None of them are in the Midwest. A little pissed. :(
busy
is my life.
- Off to the rural area again tomorrow, where I will be staying until the 24th.
- I miss watching anime. Weh. :(
- But otherwise, things are good. Very good. :)
I've been staying at a backpacker's in the city in the meantime. Last night, a couple friends got their pizzas stolen by a group of guys marching down the street doing the toyi toyi. And a couple nights ago, a thirty-something-year old white South African dude who is staying in the same dorm room as me (ten guests per room) came stumbling in past midnight, turned the lights on, and said, "I can't see where I'm going because I'm so damn drunk!"
So that's my life in S. Africa.
Updated Movie Rankings
Black Swan >> The Social Network & The Fighter >>> The King's Speech >>> True Grit >>> Inception > The Kids Are All Right
I'll be in a rural area for about ten days starting tomorrow. Which means I won't get to see the Oscars or even know of the results until March 7th.
Shame. :(
Hi :)
Just an update so you all know I'm still alive and kickin'. South Africa is interesting, not as dangerous as one would think. I'm starting to get more adjusted to being here, but it's still hard because this program is quite a bit more busy than my program in China. Also, I feel so much more socially awkward in this program than the China one for various reasons. o-o
btw, I have a new laptop since my old laptop's motherboard died. And this computer is already starting to have issues! x_x
