Photos from Zambia/Zimbabwe

gorgeous

Processing and South Africa Part Two

Processing

It has been an embarrassingly long time since my last blog post. Things have been happening so quickly, and most of what has happened has felt totally out of my control… And to say that I have had an easy time processing it all, would be a lie. To be honest, I haven’t been totally ready to share all of these overwhelming emotions with you all and I’m not entirely sure that I am. But I’m processing…

Sense of Place

The experience I am having here in South Africa is effecting me in ways that I never expected or imagined. I have moments where I feel like I am watching myself grow and connect the pieces of my inner being that have long been diminished by a large amount of stress and sadness. I am just being here and finding a sense of belonging in this place. I am developing a sense of place and it’s amazing.

re-adjust

One month in and always having to remind myself to be flexible to re-adjustment. Everything here exists on Africa Time and requires not only patience but flexibility as you learn to shape yourself in the “now”.

This is the most up-to-date schedule for my life here. Classes were iffy today since students were protesting on campus and disrupting lectures with their song and dance….oh boy!

You’ll notice that there are new green “FlatFoot Rehearsals” on my schedule.. I decided to audition for FlatFoot last week after Bekani and Anita had encouraged me to do so. Having no idea what it actually was I showed up with Bisola and felt my muscles awaken throughout an intensive two hour class/audition. It hurt so good! On Wednesday I found out that I made Callbacks and had to re-motivate myself and my aching muscles to show up again on Thursday for another two hours of movement. Friday was off to a joyful start when I received the text congratulating me on being accepted into the FlatFoot Training Company and then it hit me… I had the guts to show up for a totally unknown dance experience which is turning out to be one of the best things to happen to me since coming to Durban. FlatFoot is a premiere African Contemporary dance company centralized in Durban. They are celebrating their 10th year this year and I have been blessed with the opportunity to dance with them during the duration of my time here in Durban. I’ll be able to dance with different people from all around the area and study with incredible artists. I am so open to how amazing this experience will be.

I’ll write a more thorough blog post on Wednesday! Sorry for being missing in action for 10 days… realizing that I need to make more time for myself in the upcoming weeks!

seemingly simple

Happy Valentines Day!I just arrived back in my room, drenched in sweat, and slightly frustrated. But then it dawned on me – I have officially made it through my first “week” of classes since all of my classes scheduled for tomorrow have been cancelled. It has been an overwhelming week filled of flustered attempts to arrive in the right place at the right time, and finding frustration after the seemingly simple directions only further confuse you. Everything here is seemingly simple.

Immersion

There has been so much going on since my last post. The Canadians and us InterStudy girls welcomed the other International/Exchange Students to Howard, and since then it has been a whirlwind of immersion. Immersion in each other  on this campus, into our new lives as students here – everything. Though I have felt pangs of missing certain people, there has been an incredible shift in the way I see myself here. I am not only here to take a few classes and see what happens in a short amount of time… I am here to fully immerse myself in this beautiful country amongst amazing people (and monkeys). 

“Study” Abroad

Finally! My academic schedule for this semester. I will be enrolling in:

ANTH301: Applied Anthropology
RELG207: Religion, Migration + Urbanization
RELG307: Religion & Healing Systems
LING101: Linguistics – Understanding Language

Lots of early mornings… oh boy!!

being “the international kid”

It’s hard to admit discomfort when you’re told to remain strong, and you know you are supposed to keep an open-mind – no matter what. But truth be told.. I am now the outsider. And with that comes an innate sense of discomfort that washes over you when you least expect it to.

Patience and Reward

It is hard to put into words the experience I have had thus far in South Africa… I have felt more relaxed and connected to myself and my energy than I have in a very long time…

“South African Time”

A week ago today I was facing what felt like endless delays at Dulles Airprot. Now, a week later – I am amazing by how far I have come, both physically and emotionally.