I went on a safari yesterday- it was so cool! It was at a private game reserve; natural habitats in the Western Cape have been totally destroyed, so the animals have been reintroduced (although the area was originally part of their natural territory). So it wasn't Kruger, but it was still great. A couple of students from my program are spending their vacation in Kruger, but I don't think I'd want to safari for a whole week.
I only went for a few hours and I saw: lions, cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, ostriches, wildebeest, springbok, antelopes, zebras, crocodiles, and some really cool-looking birds. The lions and cheetahs were in enclosures because the lions kept attacking all the other animals and the cheetahs are being bred for conservation efforts. Otherwise, all of the animals were on the loose. Well, they were on the loose in the reserve, which is about 4500 hectares. Fun fact: A herd of zebras is called a dazzle. If I was going to be reincarnated, I think I'd like to be a zebra. They're always dressed to party. Although, the getting eaten by lions part would be a drag. Maybe I'd rather be a whale. From what I've seen, they spend a lot of time just chilling in the ocean. No lions in the ocean.
I finished my project for my Politics and Development class last night. Ok, so I finished it very early this morning, but what to do. When the program started in August, Sudha (our P&D professor) divided the 24 of us into three groups. We rotate through three different assignments in three different countries. In India, I was part of the debate group, so I debated a bottom-up versus a top-down approach to terrorism. In Argentina, I'll have to write a "key concepts essay" about a topic of my choosing.
Last night, I completed the project/"creative" assignment. It consists of an essay incorporated with some sort of visual element. I wrote about NGOs in South Africa and their function, namely creating a link between the government and the people. I don't think I said anything terribly deep or original, but how could I in four pages? I included a drawing and two small collages; the drawing actually turned out really well so hopefully I'll get a good grade even though the essay isn't brilliant. I love Sudha--she's one of the kindest, most motherly women I've ever met--but sometimes her class is a little sketchy.
My grades here won't contribute to my GPA at Barnard, but graduate schools can see my IHP transcript. Hopefully it won't be a bad transcript and I'll want them to see it. (Don't worry Mum and Dad, I don't think it will be bad.) I really want to do better during my last three semesters at college. My dream is to get a Marshall scholarship, but it's ridiculously competitive. The applicants are top students across the US and they only give out 40 every year. It would be incredible though. How sick would it be to have grad school paid for...
I'm going to visit the University of Edinburgh during my vacation next week. I figure I should see the city in the winter to figure out whether I'll be able to tolerate it. UoE has two MSc programs that I'm really interested in. Both are twelve months: eight months coursework, then four months spent on a dissertation. The first program is Environment, Protection, and Management the second is Environment, Culture, and Society. I've contacted people from both departments, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to set up a visit to the university and a meeting regarding these MSc programs. (I can't believe I'm thinking about grad school...)
I've got my vacation plans finalized, for real this time. I'll arrive in London with Meg and Zoe on November 1st. I'll spend Saturday and Sunday night there, then I'll fly to Scotland and be there until Wednesday night. I'll go back to London after seeing Edinburgh, then off to Buenos Aires on the 7th! I'll be in Scotland the night of the election...crazy!!! I can't believe it's so soon. It's really odd to be out of the country right now. Everyone I meet here asks me about the election and I just don't know the details of what's going on. Oh goddd what if McCain wins?! I can't even really consider that possibility. It makes me shudder. I'll probably just stay in South America if that actually happens. Palin as VP... you must be joking.
OBAMA!!!
I really wish I had less work this week so that I could spend my last five days in Cape Town before I leave for London. I have two essays due on Wednesday for my Culture and Society class and one due on Friday for my Urban Planning and Sustainable Developments class. We do have three afternoons free this week though, which is unheard of. We're usually in class until 5pm every day. On Wednesday afternoon we have a field trip to the False Bay Ecological Park and on the way back we're stopping at Boulder Beach to see the African penguins! I think the only thing I'm going to really miss out on is Robben Island, the prison off the coast of Cape Town (think Alcatraz) where Nelson Mandela was held for 27-years. Oh well. Just gives me a reason to come back to Cape Town at some point. And I didn't see a giraffe on my safari, and I for sure need to see one of those beasties.
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