Getting Involved

This past week was particularly eventful, as university obligations began and opportunities to get involved with Rotary became available.  

I had a class about international relations theory on Monday afternoon, and then a class called Transnational Issues in International Relations on Friday morning.  The lectures were a bit larger than I had expected for a Masters program, but I have no other complaints.  Wits had a last minute influx of students, and the university is obligated to allow any qualified students to attend.  They were a bit unprepared for such large numbers at registration, and the faculty is not sizable enough to handle the number of students, while still maintaining its previous caliber and intimacy.  Thus, classes are much larger this year.  My professors seem exceedingly kind, helpful, and knowledgeable;  I believe that the school year will be a success. 

On a more personal note, Wits is run very differently than universities in the United States. Everything is more relaxed: classes don't run on strict time schedules, teachers show up late, people walk more slowly, and things are not nearly as efficient.  I'm not saying that university in South Africa is worse than in the United States, but it is pointedly dissimilar to my experience at home.  I think a lot of it goes back to the South African way of life, which is absent of some American staples, such as continuous work, strict time schedules, and an perpetual sense of being rushed.  I think it will be quite nice, actually, once I get used to it.  But for now, it is unfamiliar and strange.  I wonder, how can people be so calm in all this confusion?  I am unsure, but hopefully some of it will rub off on me.  I can use a good lesson on taking life more slowly.

I have a nice three day break without classes during the week, so that gives me ample opportunity to get involved with Rotary around Jo'burg.  And that's exactly what I did last week.  My host Rotary club is the Bedfordview club, and they meet on Tuesday nights.  So, on Tuesday afternoon Andre picked up Adriann and me from campus, and we headed to Bedfordview.  It was really exciting to finally be meeting my host club.  I had heard so much about them, and had been waiting for what seemed like forever to meet the club!  Well, the Rotarians at Bedfordview certainly met and exceeded my expectations.  They were all so friendly and interesting.  We had a wonderful time listening to the program, which was being presented by various Interact clubs from the Johannesburg area.  (Interact is Rotary International's service club for young people ages 14 to 18.)  After the program, Adriann and I were able to present flags from our sponsor clubs to the Bedfordview club, and we received one of theirs in return.  Dinner followed the ceremonies, and we had a lovely time chatting about all kinds of things, from politics to rugby, St. Louis to safaris.

In the morning, Andre escorted Adriann and I to one of our district's largest service projects.  The book project began in Bedfordview, and became so large that it expanded to involve all of the surrounding clubs.  Here is the backstory, as I understand it:

A Rotarian from the Bedfordview was visiting a friend in Texas and somehow came to realize that the schools there shred books when they are no longer useful, are damaged, or are outdated.  Understanding the great need for school books in South Africa, he asked that the materials be shipped to them in Bedfordview.  Since then, millions upon millions of books have been shipped from Texas to Johannesburg to be distributed to schools in countries throughout Southern Africa.  This book project has positively effected the lives of so many children and adults, and it all started with one person seeing a need and an opportunity, and then choosing to act.  (That's what I love about Rotary!)

I had the opportunity to serve alongside the wonderful volunteers at the book project for several hours on Wednesday, and I genuinely had a fantastic time!  I hope to return on a regular basis to lend a hand.  

Wednesday evening, I was able to go meet Adriann's host club, Knights Pendragon in Edenvale.  They, too, were exceedingly warm and welcoming.  The presentation that night was given by a woman who teaches incarcerated individuals who are literate how to become teachers to their prison mates.  In this way, she has been able to help hundreds of people learn to read.  Her ultimate goal is, not only to increase literacy in South Africa, but to reduce crime and violence through the mode of education.  One of her ex-convict students/teachers attended the meeting, as well, and he was able to speak about his personal experience in this program.  It was truly amazing and inspiring to hear them speak.  

I really enjoyed the few days I was able to spend with Rotary last week, and I eagerly anticipate getting to serve and learn alongside them throughout my time here.  The week reminded me why Rotary International is such an important organization, and why I am so privileged to be given the opportunity to be associated with them.  

First Experiences, First Impressions

I have officially been in South Africa for one week, which means that I have spent the last seven days confused, delighted, anxious, and excited.  Moving to a new country is a truly enlightening experience, and certainly the process of getting settled makes one understand the diversity of other cultures quickly.  I mean this in the most reverent way.  

I arrived at O.R. Tambo International Airport last Monday around four in the afternoon (South African Time).  The flight had been long, but not unpleasant.  My host counsellor, Andre Hattingh, from the Bedfordview Rotary Club met me at the airport, and it was clear that he is just as kind and charming in person as he is through e-mail.  We drove to his house in Edenvale ( a suburb of Johannesburg), where I was warmly welcomed by Andre's gracious wife, Diane.  We had a lovely dinner together, and chatted for several hours.  

The next day, Andre and I headed to The University of the Witwatersrand, known more simply as Wits (pronounced with a V sound instead of a W, as in the Afrikaans language.)  Our intention was to get me settled into my on-campus apartment and register for class.  We underestimated the task at hand, however, and when the day came to a close we had achieved little.  Everyone was quite kind, but we had a bit of trouble knowing where to go or who to see.  It was - to say the least - a bit overwhelming, and not at all similar to my experience at university in the States.  The next day got off without a hitch, though, and within a few hours I was able to complete my registration (thanks in great part to my lovely friend, Adriann, who is also a Rotary scholar here).  I am now officially a Masters student in the International Relations faculty!  The classes I am taking this semester are International Relations Theory and Transnational Issues in International Relations.

The Wits campus is beautiful, with blooming flowers, green lawns, and hundreds of trees.  How they manage to keep such beautiful landscape in the city is beyond me.  It is still summer here, and everywhere I look, there are lush, green hills.  The weather has been mostly in the 70s (Fahrenheit) and it has rained about once a day.  Although, when it rains it does not last all day.  There is typically an hour or so of a brilliant thunderstorm with torrents of rain, and then it is over.  The dark red mud quickly dries to bright red dirt, and everyone continues on their way.

On Thursday, all of the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars at Wits went out to dinner together at an amazing restaurant called Moyo.  Moyo is more of a cultural experience than a place to eat.  The food was excellent, don't get me wrong, but the truly spectacular part was the atmosphere and the service.  The restaurant serves many types of African food from across the continent. (I ate a delicious lamb tagine, which is a kind of stew from North Africa.)  The servers at Moyo provide services found in some African traditions, such as singing, washing guests' hands, and painting faces.  It was wonderful getting to know all of the scholars; we spent about four hours at dinner, laughing and telling stories.  All together, there were seven of us: Adriann, Sarah, Katharina, Ryan, Chris (and his wife Mary), and me.

This weekend Adriann and I were able to go shopping at some of the beautiful shopping centers around Jo'burg.  They're quite like American malls, but with more diverse shops.  Neither of us girls had anything to outfit our residences, including bedding or a single dish for our kitchen.  Thanks to our two wonderful host counsellors, we made quite a dent in our shopping lists.  Now we are set up and ready to begin our year of schooling, which is good because today I was able to enjoy my first class of the year.  

Tomorrow I will be attending my first Rotary meeting in Bedfordview, and on Wednesday morning I will be experiencing one of their largest service projects - a type of international book collection.  I will explain it in more detail in my next entry.  I am excited to meet all of the generous people at Bedfordview Rotary, who have been eagerly awaiting my arrival.   From what I can tell, South Africans are very hospitable and genuinely caring people, on the whole.  I haven't yet had the opportunity to explore much of what Johannesburg has to offer, but I can tell that in my adventures here I will be surrounded by warmhearted friends.  And that will, by far, be the best part.