So things are finally beginning to fall into some semblance of a routine here, and it's certainly a welcome change. I'm taking four classes (The Making of the Modern Wold Economy, The Making of the Modern Middle East, Southern African Hunters and Herders and Logic and Epistemology), and all seem pretty good. The last one is a bit of a let down, because the two subjects are split into completely separate components, and I've already done all of the logic covered and much more in depth, but who doesn't like an easy A where you enjoy the course material? As for the others I'm always a bit concerned when I have to write a paper that doesn't include a "methods" section, but I'm sure it will work out...
As for those of you bored enough to follow this little blog, I just want to lay something out for future reference so that nobody gets the wrong idea. Race is a very very big issue here (obviously), and it's often important for explaining things to mention someone's race. Also, "colored" here isn't a derogatory term, but instead refers to someone who has mixed race parents. Just wanted to put that on the table so that when I make remarks about that kind of stuff nobody will think I've turned into some crazy Afrikaner.
Aside from that, a few observations (because I don't have pictures at the moment):
Salad dressing is almost non-existent here
Everything is wide-rule, two hole punch
Even though white people are a stark minority, most drivers seem to be white, whereas most walkers seem to be black (thank you legacy of apartheid)
People are much more into processed, prepared and frozen foods
Interracial dating is still very much a big deal here (although, after some honest conversation, most American friends (including myself) would admit that it's still somewhat of a deal at home)
Watching another people's race relations really makes you more honest and realistic about the (often messed up) nature of your own
Obama is the best thing that could've happened for people traveling abroad
Every South African seems to like a braai (huge barbecue)
Here it's referred to (at least by one of my professors) as the war ON Iraq, not the war IN Iraq (it does somehow seem more accurate, doesn't it?)
And that's about it for now, when I come up with more I'll jot them down...
Love and miss you all!
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Ashley send me your address and I'll put you into business as a salad dressing importer. Do they eat salad there?
ReplyDeleteRelated to "colored", of which I would avoid the use, Joni told me that people at her school call handicapped people physically impaired and that people take offense to the term handicapped. Go figure. That's stupid. I also think the concept of hate crimes enhancing punishments is ridiculous, but whatever.
I like big barbecues too.
I hate chocolate cake for breakfast this morning.
ash, can all the concerned members of your family please get a godforsaken blog update.
ReplyDeletejust so you know they canned 50 people in my office last friday. no joke. out of 400. as this post is about to reveal, i wasn't one of them. i'm just now getting comfortable with routine and extended web blog perusal at work, but now i do it with my screen mostly minimized towards the bottom so as to avoid the *appearance* that i'm not doing any work. yeah... so point being i'm risking my livelihood by writing you this message, after risking my livelihood to read a blog entry that doesn't exist. i should at least get something in return for risking my livelihood, or else i'll stop risking it. understand?
hope your week went well.
don't consider this a threat.
one of these days, I may figure out how this stuff works...
ReplyDeleteI DID IT!!!
ReplyDeleteHey, I miss you, and I'm sorry the Skype thing doesn't seem to be working out. If you're ever bored around 10 pm on a Saturday night your time(as if that'll ever happen), that's the best time to try to catch me on Skype. I hope you have been having a good time in the 10 days since you've posted here!
ReplyDelete