Hodge Podge #2

Here is my next installment of all things random.

1. Run in with a Baboon: So the other day I was walking down the steps from the library and I had just received a text message. My concentration was on my phone and all the sudden I looked up and I was literally 5ft away from a pretty large grey baboon (the same one as in the picture but this photo was at a different sighting where I didn't almost run into him). I froze and sort of side shuffled out of the way much to delight of the people watching me from a safe distance. I think they would have thought it quite hilarious had I actually run into it.

Anyways, we have a resident baboon on campus. He (I think) walks around campus and is sighted more and more regularly as of late. He likes to eat the garbage out the trashcans but really no one is going to stop him. Baboons can be quite dangerous and let’s just say that I wouldn’t want to get in their way. Most of the time there is a crowd of people a safe distance away. They watch pedestrians who are unaware come into the vicinity of the baboon and then laugh at the pedestrians jump as they realize that a 125-pound and semi-dangerous animal is front of them. I must say that it is a pretty funny site. Though, now maybe my opinion is changed having been a victim of such amusement. Regardless I think that it is hilarious that I can say that we have a baboon on our campus. Beat that US universities! All you’ve got are squirrels!

2. Academia: I have been thinking about this one for a long time. I don’t think that I realized how much different school could be somewhere else. Some of it I think has to do with the fact that this is a much larger university than I am used to but I also recognize that maybe some of the differences are because of being in Africa.

So far, I have noticed a very stringent plagiarism accountability. When we take tests, the whole process is very formal. There are proctors in large lectures. Everyone is several desks apart and bags are located in a separate part of the room. It is a different venue than the lecture venue and at a separate time. Before the test starts, you have to fill out an attendance slip and present your student card to the proctor. Then you aren’t allowed to leave until a designated time in the test. It was a very novel concept to me where tests are difficult but there isn’t as much process involved. At PLU, the prof will hand out a test and you will complete it and then hand it in. Your test is an indicator that you were there so you don’t need to have an attendance slip. It was just different to me I suppose.

I have multiple lecturers per class rather than one or two professors who are intimately engaged in the material of the entire class. I think that it sort of brings a disconnect between the material and also makes the lecturers less involved in the content that they share with the class. It seems like they just want to present their week of material and then be on their merry way again. It is interesting as it sort of promotes a disconnect and sterile environment between the students and their teachers.

Then I have also noticed that many of my lecturers are really bad teachers. I think that they are excellent in their fields as researchers but they don’t really care about teaching too much. This I feel is more of a small school large school thing. But it is weird. Prof’s want limited dealings with their students and most present the material and then go on their merry way. I think that these two notions have their upsides in the fact that students are able to create excellent peer networks and learn from one another. However, I also feel that people have a hard time learning things for certain if they are never allowed the opportunity to ask questions and get definitive answers but knowledgeable people. It is an interesting experience.

I find that this educational experience has allowed me a lot of independence in my own learning. I am accountable for my own learning and finding the answer. I may not be able to get the answer from the teacher and thus have to be inventive in order to sustain my curiosity. That being said, I don’t have the time required to delve through all the material necessary to find the answer at times which is a shame.

I also have been hard on the lecturers. I have also had lecturers that are very involved with their students and that is a welcome happening. One professor even knows my name and is interested in my success. It is a nice feeling.

3. Is it?: This little idiom took me a lot of time to understand. I have come to find out that it means loosely “really?!” or some sort of astonishment. Though I find it to be really poor grammar because you could say “that was a really hard test” and the person would exclaim “is it” and all I can think after that is that yes it was and so your correct response would be “was it” but alas that is the culture. I am not sure how it came about but maybe it is just the same as any American idiom that is poor grammar. Like “how are you” the correct and grammatically correct response is “well” however most people say “good.” After a little time to adjust to the pain in my ears from ringing poor grammar I digress and sometimes even find myself saying the term. Ahh, the wonders of language.

4. Hike to Campus: Lane and I walk to campus every morning. It is funny because when I signed up to be in a dorm, I thought of my current living situation and any other dorm experience I have seen. So, I of course thought that the dorms would be close to campus. I, however, found out that close is a relative term. Liesbeek is one of the closer dorms and it is at least a mile away from campus, probably more. There is a shuttle called the Jammie that runs to all the dorms and to some of the small towns around but they are largely unreliable and crowded. It really is a bummer to have to stand when you are on the bus because the drivers largely like to stop and go as if their life depended on being at their destination as quickly as possible. Thus, the riders are sloshed around. Therefore, I try to avoid riding the bus and opt for walking. The time that it takes to wait for an unreliable Jammie and ride to campus is very close to the amount of time that it takes to walk the long trek so if it is better for my health, I may as well walk. Though, the first couple of times you walk to campus you realize how your romanticized version of the walk is crushed and it is actually much harder than anticipated. Lane and I counted the number of stairs one morning and the route contained 323 from the bottom of campus to my first class. There can be more or less stairs depending on your route and where your first class is located but I imagine that throughout the day I go up at least 500 stairs. These stairs also do not include the elevation change without stairs. There are many hills that don’t require stairs and so onward and upward. I plan to go home and look at my trek in order to find out exactly how much the elevation change is and how long it is. The picture to the left is of the view when you finally get to the top. All you can think is WOW I came all that way...those little building at the bottom were where we started.In all, it takes us about 35 min to get to the top and I am always really sweaty and gross. At first my legs were pretty sore from the trip but I am getting used to it and with the muscle I have gained, I think running hills at home won’t be a problem.

Well that is all for now. If anyone has any ideas for topics or questions about my experiences, I would love ideas for my blog. I would love to write about things that my readers want to hear, otherwise I can be boring and go on and on about something trivial to anyone reading. So let me know!