Reflections on the First Week

Indeed I have survived the first week of classes. The title of this post is misleading because, well I’m not sure how that I have concrete reflections just yet. It feels as though I’ve been back at classes for a few months now and as if I haven’t actually gone at all yet. I’m glad to see on Facebook that some of my friends are preparing to head back to school (and for an exciting few, their first time). That’s helping to get me out of summer mode. Monday Numba 2 starts bright and early tomorrow. We’ll see if I feel like less of a goober compared to last week.

A few highlights from the past couple days

Thursday July 25^th 2013

My first class wasn’t until late morning so I took my sweet ol’ time in the morning. *Please see previous post for the tiny bathtub saga that started my day*

After my tiny tubbing I headed to the Drama department and sipped on some delicious hot chocolate in the foyer of the theaters while trying to journal about the previous days’ experience at Physical Theater Drama 3 (which I am now calling Physics). It was a nice lazy morning and I felt myself becoming part of the scene rather than the spectator, though the foyer does make for some spectacular people watching.

The rest of the day was uneventful, but in the evening, Patrick, Gillian, Anna, and I went to a department production called Moor. It was an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello mixed with the writings of Malcolm X and Franz Fanon. It was fantastic to finally be able to watch Physical Theater and see how it’s incorporated in the context of the play to support the action and flavor it. Iago was played by a woman named Push, who is delightful in person and formidable on stage. Othello spoke all of his lines in isiXhosa. There was a lot going on for sure.

*In an effort to spare you all from (some) of my theater ramblings, I have created an alternate blog for those sorts of reflections. Feel free to take a look http://theatreflections.blogspot.com/*

Friday July 26^th 2013

I had no classes! Gillian and I went to the Red Café for a long glorious brunch. Caitie was supposed to join us, but poor Caitie has been fighting off a miserable cold. Keep her in your thoughts <3

Travel tip: Be aggressive about keeping yourself healthy. It’s easy to deny how you feel or not initially recognize it in lieu of all the other changes you are experiencing.

People thinking of going to Rhodes: LAYERS. The weather is unpredictable but the fluctuations in the temperature can get you really sick really fast. Layer up and don’t get caught in the cold. Non-potable water is no excuse for being poorly hydrated.

Anyway, we spent a really long time at the café. I had the mini breakfast and some perfect chamomile tea (I’ve been feeling kind sick myself. It did a lot to soothe my soul and throat). Nora and Mary joined later. I’ve been loving the conversations I’ve been having with these girls. Everyone here is so smart and well-rounded in a variety of different ways. It’s beautiful and really inspiring. Shout out to my ladies, so glad I’ve met you!

The rest of the day was spent trying to decipher the strange system of signing up for Societies at Rhodes.

Tip for future Rhodents: There are tons of societies here (equivalent of “clubs”. Here they only use the term “club” for sports) but don’t expect to find ANY helpful information about them other than their names. You have to pay a fee for every society (soc) you join.

The whole process involved a lot of walking and explaining and walking and re-explaining and walking. Pretty much any encounter we had trying to get to the bottom of how and where and when and how much and how to sign up for society or a gym membership or a club consisted of explaining we were exchange students who knew nothing, getting looked at like we should inherently know everything already, then being told they weren’t the right person to ask in a tone that made it clear they thought we were wasting their time, then being told to go to a different building or a different person where the process repeated all over again. It was jolly good fun.

By the end of the day I signed up for Winetasting, Habitat for Humanity, SHARC (an HIV/AIDS awareness group), and Photosoc (the photography society). I also now know where the gym is and the hours for the pool. Not a total waste but not a simple process either.

On the way back to my res, Nora and I ran into Paul who was headed into town. We ended up walking with him and wandering around a store called Mr. DVD. Nora and I spent an inordinate amount of time talking about the available movies, surprisingly not available movies, and our Netflx withdrawal.

That evening I saw the second department production I was required to see – Hanamitshi (sp?) – The Thought Fox. It was a mostly wordless, though not silent (the live music was pretty great), show. I’m still a bit confused by it but it involved some Cirque du Soleil like style and clowning mixed with Anime and the absurd. Again, you’re welcome for sparing you extreme detail http://theatreflections.blogspot.com/
^^^ I haven’t actually reviewed it in that blog yet but stay tuned

After the show Anna, Paul, Patrick and I played pool in Patrick’s res. The balls were unusually small but that could have been a side effect of it being an arcade style table. Paul and Patrick beat us – barely :P. Highlight of the game, Anna kept humming a tune that I thought was from a ballet or opera, which turned out to actually be that Shaggy song. Hearing her sing “Wasn’t Me!” in her perfect little French accent made my heart so stinkin happy!

Gillian and Caitie arrived a bit later and we went to a party that was happening in Jake’s res. His warden had celebrated him the night before for selling 30 tickets to the party. Exchange students take yet another situation by storm. We come, we eat, we leave. Jake’s res is actually pretty cool. I can’t get over how different each of these resses are from one another and how each in turn is still so different from dorms at home.

The rest of the night was spent at the Rat just dancing. Friday nights here are very crowded. After a week of seeing the streets of Grahamstown deserted I was blown away by the amounts of people suddenly filling the area.

Highlight of the night: Caitie Patrick and I took a chance on trying the street vended sausage and onions. Some people call the vendors sausage mamas, but I’ve gotten a general sense that that term is slightly derogatory? Other people say Mama Pam’s. Barring any eventual food-poisoning I may encounter as a result of eating street vended meat, I can easily say that my sandwich was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted! Any money left over from the Red Café will be squandered on behalf of Mama Pam.

Also: Slowly but surely I am making friends. I officially met two whole people in my res. Woo. Watch out.