South Africa 2011 Census: Stand up and be counted!

The census count had started in early October. The first time an enumerator came to the door it was a Saturday morning (like 9ish). Since she woke me out of my sleep and then continued to ask way to many questions for what I could handle at that time I told her I wasn't going to fill out the sheet, that she should come back. But I knew I wasn't going to be there that day. Anyway then I thought about it later and I knew I should I have taken the census because I mean when would I be able to say I participated in a South African census again? But I thought that they wouldn't come back.

Someone did end up coming back last week sometime. And since I was cooking at the time, she sat with me in the kitchen and asked me questions that were on the census. Glad I got to participate in the SA Census.

Here is the SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE you can check out.
and a article I found explaining a bit about the SA census...read more

Cape Town (Spring Break)

The week of Spring Break I headed to Cape Town with 4 other people. It was quite an experience. The distance between PE and Cape Town is about 465 miles (approx 9 hours). On the way there, we made a few stops and spent the night when we thought we needed. Below are the basic places we hit. Since we were driving we were able to veer from our original schedule a bit. In Cape Town we were able to do everything we wanted except for visiting Robben Island (the prison which Nelson Mandela served his longest sentence in). They had technical difficulties for two days and we couldn't wait another day to go, since we had to head back. Overall though the trip to great and very memorable. I think I took over 1,000 pictures. Enjoy some of them below!

*Jeffrey's Bay

*Knsya (Waterfront)

*Wilderness

*Outdtshoorn (Ostrish Farm); Cango Caves

*Hermanus (Whale Watching)

*Pengunis

*Cape town (Simons Bay, Table Mountain, Cape Point, Cape of Good Hope, Long Street)

*Stellenbosch (Wine Tasting)

Kynsa

Snakes are scary looking

Their legs are white because they poop on themselves to keep their legs cool

They were hungry!

Beautiful things...well from a distance anyways

Heading straight into cape town

wine tasting

Fresh pasta made right in front of us

kid moment

dealing with monkeys on campus

This is definetly a TIA (This is Africa) moment. We got an e-mail on this. It was my amusement for the day.

Though it does make complete sense considering the campus is on a nature reserve.

Accent

I don’t think a day goes by that someone asks me where I’m from because of my American accent. I was talking to a girl I know from Nambia and one of the girls with her told me that she had seen me on the mini-bus before. She told me that they had been laughing on the bus at my ‘accent’ because they thought that I was a South African trying to have a Black-American accent. She said specificully a South African from Jo-berg. I had to laugh because it’s just crazy all the pre-judgements we all make and don’t even know someone. I didn’t take what she told me personally, it just reminded me of how many times I’ve also probably done the same thing. As for the acent thing? I guess I have to accept that I'm in another country and that realistically I do have an accent to them. Oh well c’est la vie :]

Also, I just realized how hard it actually is to keep a blog up. Especially since there is so much I always want to say, but I seem to have to condense it. Anyways I went to Cape Town for 9 days for the Spring Break. I will blog on it and post some pictures later in the week. 

It's Relative

I think I’ve come to see that pain and suffering is relative. Your own problems always seem to be magnified when you look at them through your own eyes only. Not saying that all personal problems need to be looked at from a holistic view, but sometimes when you look at them that way, your own problems seem to be smaller. I’ve had plenty of discussions with different people while I’ve been here. Hearing their stories and how they grew up, their goals and visions, and their challenges. I just listen. I’ve become a better listener I think. Because to speak about my challenges back in the US don’t even seem like challenges compared to what some people have gone through or are going through. And it’s not like I can provide any type of solution. Sometimes hearing and trying to understand the stories is all that can be done. A response is sometimes not what people need or want to hear. Sometimes people just want to talk and express themselves, have someone hear their story without any added commentary.  I know I’ve been around people who always have a response to something, even when one isn’t asked. And I know I’ve done it myself before...providing advice when the other person wasn’t really looking for one. I’m conscious of that now. At the same time I don't want to be one of those people that ays "I went abroad, saw all the struggling children and now I feel better about my life back in America." There's nothing wrong with that but personally I'm not looking at people's lives here as a way for me to feel better about my life back in the states. I'm grateful for what I have back in the states and I shouldn't have to elevate my life compared to people here to realize that. So to my family, friends, and those who make a difference in my life if you don't know it already, i love you all.

What being abroad has shown me so far:

1. The human race is very similar. Even all the way across the world, I still see the same  basic types behavior, emotions...
2. Non verbal expression is stronger than any words spoken. How we appear can be very offensive to other people, especially in social settings. 
3. When in rome act as the romans do
1. but don’t lose yourself in the process
4. Learn from the locals
5. Don’t be defensive about little things...its another country with a different culture
6. Money comes an goes--but mostly goes
7. People let you down
8. There are moments where it seems like no one understands--then there are times where you barely have to explain yourself
9. Love can come easy
10. A smile is the same everywhere
11. Don’t impose on others culture, learn instead and accept it, cause seriously its theirs and not yours and you don’t need to try and change it
12. A walk on the beach brings peace to the body
13. There isn’t a simple solution to everyones problems
1. i can’t always help someone out

Enkutatash--Ethiopian New Year

12 September

“The Julian calendar is still used in Ethiopia, hence, New Year is celebrated on 11th September, the 12th for Leap Years. The festival coincides with the end of the rainy season in spring. Gifts of flowers are usually exchanged, as well as cards and gifts.”

I celebrated the Ethiopian New Year with some people that I had met about a month ago. The Ethiopian food was a mixture of meat, vegetables, and a injera which described as "sourdough pancake-like bread." And the food was spicy which I loved the most. One time I ate with them we ate from one big platter with our hands, but this time we each got our own plate. Besides eating for yourself, you get fed and have to feed everyone in the circle. It was quite an experience. But I enjoyed it, it was something very new to me. Afterwards one of the girls made Ethiopian coffee, but I only took a sip because its said to be really strong, and plus I'm not a fan of coffee at all. We also listened to Ethiopian music, got to see some traditional dancing and of course listened to them speak Amharic, their mother tongue. So I get to celebrate two New Year's this year...no complaints to that!

E. Coli Breakout

So thankfully I don't drink out the tap anyway, I just found out that there has been confirmed E. Coli found in a Port Elizabeth Hospital.

Read about it here.