Last Times

I have finally reached that point in my trip where I am having "last time" moments. Last week, was the last time I would ever go to Brooklyn Chest TB hospital and visit the kids. Last week was the last time I would have lecture in South Africa. Last week was the last time that I would….fill in the blank. It is weird to think that this journey is almost coming to a close. I feel in many ways that I have finally acclimated, or am so much better at navigating the culture that it seems that leaving now is a shame. I finally understand what it means to live and learn in South Africa but now I am leaving to come home. I don’t know if the concept makes any sense really but 4 months is too short a time to really really be able to live in one place.

I guess an example is making friends. I make friends rather slowly but once I do, then they are friends for life, in my opinion. I am finally to that point with some people that I know from school where I could actually become good friends with them but then the semester ended and now I am going back home. I realize that I will be able to keep in contact with them and I know that I will remember them forever but somehow I do feel a little sad.

On the other hand, I am REALLY excited to come home. I miss my family. I miss how my school works. I miss my friends and colleagues, and band and STARBUCKS. I had a Recees Peanut Butter Cup brought from the States the other day. It was DIVINE (It also cured Lane’s 8-hour stretch of hiccups, but that is a different story). I really do miss home and some of the traditions that I have. I know that this time will be high and low. The more I realize that I am leaving, the more I realize what I am going to miss and what I love about this country but also how much I realize that I am really ready to come home for a while! I leave in 23 days…the countdown has begun!

"Finding UCT"

Last Thursday was my last class for African Studies and my professor saved this lecture until we all had a better feel for UCT as an institution and were able to apply some of the concepts that we had learned throughout the course to a topic with which we were intimately familiar. The lecture was about UCT, the university that has been my host for the last three months. Interestingly, in a UCT sort of way, a power line had been cut that day and the pictures of UCT that he was going to show us in the past couldn't be presented. But, it all turned out well because we instead got to take a field trip and experience the campus instead! So here are some of the things that I learned and some of my thoughts in conjunction.

There are two main legacies which shape UCT right now, a colonial legacy and an Apartheid legacy. To me these two are still apparent in many of the policies and administrative decisions of the university as well as student to student interactions and identity.

Firstly the university as it stands now, with main campus at the foot of devil’s peak, is mostly thanks to a man called Cecil Rhodes. This man was a major big wig British imperialist. He owned at one point a diamond company that marketed about 90% of the available diamonds in the world. In addition, he was the prime minister for the Cape Colony for a time and had two African nations named after him: Northern and South Rhodesia, which later became Zambia and Zimbabwe. Nonetheless, it is not so much important what he did in his life, but rather to know that over the course of his life he was hugely successful and acquired lots of land at the base of devil’s peak. During his lifetime, he established a zoo in what is now Rhondebosch and this space is actually adjacent to the university. We went there today were it is in a semi-derelict condition. There are interesting parallels between the zoo, his memorial, and the university which say a lot about Cecil Rhodes and the foundation of the university. The zoo was founded in such a way that is brought pieces of the Mediterranean, Africa, and Europe together. Much of the vegetation was English and Mediterranean but the centerpiece was the lion’s den, which is still in prime condition. Actually, our professor told us that a few years ago the den was used as a theater to watch plays. It is a very interesting concept.

Anyways there are some very interesting parallels between the zoo, the university and his Memorial which are constructed on pieces of his former estate. These architectural elements show Rhodes’ character and some of the foundations of the university. Each space has an axial plane that goes up the mountain with u-shaped terraces overlooking the city. At the highest terrace point there is the pinnacle, in the zoo it is the lion’s den, at UCT it is Jameson hall (meant to look like the Jefferson library minus the rotunda only because they ran out of money) and at Rhodes’ memorial it is Rhodes’s himself. At these points, there is a clear and beautiful panoramic of the city. It was Rhodes’ way of looking over Africa but not really ever being a part of Africa. It was actually his intention for this space to be a buffer zone between Europe and Africa. It was a European Africa and a African Europe. This is seen in some of the trees he brought into the space as well as some of the animals in the zoo. In addition, Africans were able to attend the University but it was meant to be a modern Oxford or Cambridge complete with ivy.

In modern days, this sort of Western gaze (if you want to call it that) envisioned by Rhode’s, manifests itself in many ways at UCT. Firstly, all the buildings on upper campus must be structurally able to grow ivy on the outside. Secondly, UCT buys more than 60% of South Africa’s total internet in order to be globally competitive. Actually, there was an article out the other day, where UCT was so proud to be 197 on a list of 200 best schools in the world. I just think it is interesting that they still look to Europe and America to see what is “good” and then copy it, but not effectively. We have all heard about the carrier pigeon by now and its ability to beat the download speed of South African internet. Sometimes, I wish that they would focus first on being their own and doing what they value well. But, to each their own.

The second legacy of UCT, I have noticed, is the post-apartheid legacy. It seems obvious that Apartheid has effects on the institutions around, but really it has taken me the entirety of the semester to be able to articulate exactly how it is manifested. For this same class, I did a project at the end of the semester on collective student identity. Basically, we were just trying to see if UCT had a collective student identity. We kind of explored the subgroups of UCT, like the international students, how religion affected groups, etc. This all stemmed from the observation that people seemed to group together. People would hang out in particular group based on some citizenship trait, whether it be major, society religion, or race. It seemed that people would separate themselves and only be involved in their own spheres. In my mind’s eye, this is a remnant of Apartheid. It seems to me that a policy of rule for 40+ years that forces people to be separate and only align based on certain attributes leaves a mark. Really, this generation of students is only the first one’s since the fall of Apartheid and the legacies and customs are still imprinted on the minds. They are raised in families where people associate with certain people because at one point they were forced to associate with them. Anyways, it was an interesting concept. But then, there was one other key point. There was a drive by shooting just down the street from the university where a first-year medical student was shot in broad daylight. The UCT community united to become a force to be reckoned with. They marched, no matter what group, whether you knew him or not, in order to combat violence in the community. It reminds me of the fall of Apartheid. People lived vastly separate lives, but when tragedy strikes one of their own, off to the streets to make it right.

This school is rooted in some very African circumstances that shape and define the university. It is great to be in a position where I can observe and notice the complexity and intricacy of the place I have been for 3 months. I hope that this article shines a light to you about the place that I have been and may sort of allow you to understand the sorts of vestiges that are a part of this university. It seems like any institution operates in this way and by knowing the past of this university it makes me understand, cope, and relate to the university much easier. Here’s to legacy!

Exam Stress

So the other day Lane and I both had very interesting experiences with people and exam stress. I was having a conversation in a lecture hall with another girl in my class waiting for lecture to start. I mean we weren’t being particularly loud. There was another group of people talking on the other side of the lecture hall, talking about some project they needed to complete. Well there was this sole girl in the back of the lecture hall trying to study. She got so fed up with us that she asked us to stop talking. I didn’t really understand because she could have just as easily gone somewhere else in order to study rather than a common area. I don’t know it was a little weird to me. Then Lane also had an experience in the lab, which does not have a talking policy. He got reprimanded for talking to someone next to him by a person trying to study next to him. There are specific areas in the school that are designated quiet areas. I just don’t know why people expect everyone to be quiet because they need to study in that particular place. In addition, the rest of the lab was whispering and murmuring to friends. Maybe Lane and I just ran into some touchy people that day but these experiences do outline the sort of stress that people have come exam times here.

As I have mentioned before, exams are a big deal. I think that it is UCT policy that exams must be at least 50% of your overall grade. Thus what you have done to this point only counts for half your grade. It seems a bit harsh to me, but regardless. Anyways, this creates a lot of anxiety among students this time of year. Don’t get me wrong, stress at home is a huge deal as well but I feel that it is a little different.

Exams are spread out over the course of 3 weeks and we have a week break for study leave. All my exams are so spread out that I don’t really have to worry too much about them. I can do a little studying and something fun every day. But for people who haven’t necessarily done well or who have slacked off all term, this is their chance to learn everything and pass the class. The library is packed and during this time you really have to grab a seat and hold on tight and hope that no one steals it while you go to the bathroom. It really is a dog eat dog world right now. At home, we just have a week of exams and then we are done. There is no study leave or long spread out finals. I guess there are there pluses and minuses both ways, but it is interesting to observe right now!

One last thing. Around exam time everywhere there are many marketing schemes to “help” students deal with exam stress but here I have found the best one yet. There was an advertisement for a natural “tranquilizer” It is a moderate sedative that helps you beat stress. Man can you imagine giving yourself a sedative to get through exams. It makes me chuckle every time.

H1N1 Mexico (aka "Swine Flu")

Well as you all know the so-called swine flu is about to hit its second wave in the US and the northern hemisphere in general. However, what you may not know is that I have become a flu expert since coming to Africa. I am taking an immunology class and this portion of the lectures is virology. Our professor thought that since we are in the midst of a pandemic, that we should learn about the flu. So I thought that I would pass along a little of the information that I have learned along the way.

Firstly, I thought that I would explain how flu is categorized. There are three types of Influenza virus (A, B, and C) however; type A is the only type of Influenza that creates a pandemic. In terms of Influenza A, the strains are differentiated from one another by the molecules on the outside, the H (Haemagglutinin) and N (Neurominidase)molecules. Numbers denote the type of H and N molecules. There are seven different H types and 9 different N types that infect pigs, birds and humans. Though, only H1-H3 and N1-N2 infect humans at this point. However, the so called avian flu is H5N1 and has been known to infect humans so on rare occasions H5 is also infectious.

Pandemic flu is not new to the world. Most people know of the 1918 Spanish flu, but even before this instance flu pandemics have been apparent. In fact, the seasonal flu is a slightly modified version of the most recent pandemic flu. This generally means that if you get flu one year, you are probably at least partially immune to the variety that comes the next year. The two most recent strains of flu in our seasonal flu before the 2009 outbreak was a re-release of the 1928 Spanish H1N1 from a lab somewhere and a strain of the “Hong Kong” flu, an H3N2 variety that was pandemic in 1969. Therefore, our vaccines at the moment usually contain last year’s mutation of three strains; one H1N1, one H3N2, and one influenza B variety. These strains co-circulate until the next pandemic outbreak, like one that happened this year.

So how do pandemics come about because it seems that flu mutates slowly year by year not causing a whole lot of a fuss most of the time. Well pandemics arise because flu can cross the species barrier. Interestingly pigs can be infected with both bird and human flu. Also, because pigs are transported all over the world for various reasons, it creates an interesting vessel of study in terms of influenza. From analysis of the 2009 H1N1 so called “swine flu” it seems that this variety shows a distinct ancestry to the Spanish variety but is so genetically diverse that it is considered a completely different strain. The hypothesis is that the 1918 H1N1 parted ways with the 2009 H1N1 in that the 1918 variety infected pigs as well. Since then, the virus has been infecting pigs and mutating within them and picks up genetic material from other strains of flu. The virus stayed in pigs until 2009 when it crossed the species barrier successfully. Crossing the species barrier isn’t the largest issue however. Many times flu and other diseases cross the species barrier. People are familiar with the bird flu and many events where birds have infected humans with flu but most of the time, the virus is not equipped to spread human to human. In 2009, an influenza virus that had been mixing and diversifying in pigs for about 80 years crossed the species barrier and was able to infect humans! This is what created our pandemic flu. In fact it has subsequently displaced all of the other flu varieties and the only infectious influenza A variety is the swine flu.

The reason that the virus killed so many people to begin with, was because it had adapted to pig populations. It is not very advantageous for a virus to kill its host because then it cannot spread therefore, as time went on the disease lost much of its danger in killing people as it adapted to human populations. That being said, it is interesting that the people most susceptible to the new virus are pregnant women and young people. The only theory about the age of the person is that older people have seen more varieties of flu over their lifetime and may be partially immune to this virus, though they don’t really know at all.

Scientists are obviously very curious about this new flu and it course in the near future. Some are concerned that it will mix with the very deadly avian flu and this could be the next outbreak, but who really knows. It seems like a lot of hype to me. My advice is to get yourself vaccinated because I hear that the second wave is always worse than the first and my prof urged the Americans/Europeans to tell our families to get the vaccine so that is what I am doing? I hope that you are all well and don’t get flu this season but if you do, you now know where it came from!

End public service announcement!

The next few pictures were just comics that were a part of the lecture. I thought they were pretty funny so I decided to share them with everyone!

How to protect yourself against avian flu!

Whale Watching

Our latest CIEE organized event was whale watching. On Saturday, we woke up a little earlier than normal for a 7:30am departure. Groggy and tired, we traveled a couple hours up the coast to a town called Hermanus. This town is located in one of the many bays along the coast called Hans Bay. From the town you can see whales breaching from the shore. It is a very Dutch town. I thought the town was interesting because it didn’t feel like any other town to which I had been thus far. Most of the visitors were white Afrikaans people. I was talking to Quinton our R.D. He mentioned that he hated the town because it reminded him of many towns that are like it: very conservative. He actually said that post apartheid he has been refused service at a restaurant because of his skin color in this town. It was amazing to me the emotion that was evoked by these memories. I had no idea, I just thought that it was a primarily Afrikaans town, but apparently many of these coastal Afrkaans places are still very conservative an prefer ethnic purity. I found this ironic because when given some free time, I went to a craft market in the town and what I found were many of the touristy African things. It just made me chuckle inside. Though, I did find that the market was not predominated by these “African” things and also incorporated some other craft market esque things like stalls selling homemade jams and so such. The town itself was very interesting in that it complicates even further the ideas and types of people within South Africa. It provides another layer of complexity to racial, ethnic, and other cultural questions with regards to South Africa.

Sorry I didn’t mean to be so long winded with that whole thing. I think it became more of a culmination of things I had been thinking about today. Anyways, the view from the town was spectacular. The sky was blue with no clouds in the sky. There was a breeze off the shore but it was refreshing. The air smelled of salt and fish and it reminded me so much of home. We sat on a pier for a little bit and saw a whale just off the coast blowing spray up into the air as it breached. It was absolutely beautiful. The picture is of me on the pier overlooking the ocean from the town!

Anyways, after getting some food in the town (Lane and I had already packed our own lunch which was a good choice because it was cheaper and from what we heard people had really bad experiences getting lunch) we embarked for what was supposed to be a 15 min journey to the other side of the bay where we would be doing the kayaking to find whale. Well about 45 min later we arrived at the beach (typical phenomenon as it seems while we are here). It was a very nice place that was clean and pretty. While we were waiting to go out on the kayaks we got to go swimming but you couldn’t go in past your thighs because the water was still a little cold. But Lane skipped rocks and everyone enjoyed the sun and the beach. The picture is of Lane is as we were sitting on the grassy patch above the beach and watching the waves and other people swim in the water (or attempt to swim among the frigid waters).


The kayaks that we took were double open deck kayaks. Lane opted for the back which was fine. We both knew how to steer but personally I don’t think that he was super confident in my abilities. Regardless, that decision came back to bite him in the butt. Apparently the kayaks balance weight distribution by allowing water in the boat. He was literally bathing in the frigid waters. Now, if I had sat in the back neither of us would have water but nonetheless I thought it was pretty funny. We went out in a group of about 20. We weren’t supposed to get closer than 300m away from a whale. Even if they started towards you, you needed to back paddle away to maintain the distance. Well that is harder than it sounds. We saw a mother Southern Right Whale and her calf. Apparently whales are very curious and the calf tried to come towards us and we kept having to move…reluctantly of course because you want to be close to the whales too. It was really fun and we actually were only about 60ft from the whale at one point before we made a real effort to get out of the way. Additionally we saw some seals(adolescent males) sitting in the water with their fins in the air to get some sunlight for warmth. I laughed, because it looked really funny; a whole cluster of them each with one fin out of the water.

On the way back Quinton (our RD) had taken his son out in a kayak just for a tour of the little cove and we intercepted them on the way back. Quinton was of course playing around and teaching his son a bad lesson by splashing water on people. Just for fun, Lane and I came up really fast behind him and I sprayed him (well actually drenched) him in water. His face was so great. He was so surprised and flabbergasted. I enjoyed it. Though, the best part was that he thought it was Lane who sprayed him and so in retaliation sprayed Lane. So in effect, I got away like a dirty little criminal and Lane was not so thrilled. Though in the end, I think I paid the price because I got a nasty sunburn on my back. I felt the repercussions of my deed for the next few days.

Anyways, that is it for now. I just had a biochem test yesterday and I need to go study for my next immunology test next Tuesday. I can’t wait for classes to end. I still have so much to do and classes are just frankly getting in my way :P