Welcome, new readers?

I have noticed a spike in readership in the last few days. I assumed it was due to my beginning school and perhaps folks were checking in for updates. However, I had the pleasant surprise today of seeing a shout out in the SJ NOW newsletter, The Equal Write, explaining my absence from the chapter due to studying at UCT. It included the URL to this blog, so I'm realizing that might explain more page views. If you found my blog through the newsletter, welcome! I will try to be more mindful that some folks who are reading may not know the ins and outs of personal life, so I'll try to explain as I go.

As a disclaimer (which I should have really made in my first post), everything in this blog is simply my humble opinion. I obviously can only have so much understanding of South African culture as an outsider. If anyone has opinions or experiences that contradict my own, please feel free to use the comments section!

Brief thoughts from today:
School
-Eight hours is a LONG time to be a student in a grad course.
-Eight hours is also a long time to teach a grad course. Our professor let us out a little early and gave us three or four breaks, including lunch. Hooray!
-I love being in class with folks from all over. However, it is a little strange to have so many Americans in such a small class in South Africa. There are four of us in a class of about fifteen. Could it have to do with the subject matter (Gender and Health)? I've noticed that many of the Americans, like myself, have a strong interest in HIV and maternal health.

Transportation
-Getting home after 3:30 is a struggle! The public bus is almost taxi like in that it does not keep to the schedule. Today the 4:10 bus arrived at 3:40, which meant I ran after it for a few seconds before accepting I had simply missed it. Yes, it was the last bus.
-Busy areas, like hospitals, have a lot of taxis going by. Phew!
-Taking a taxi alone from and to a new place for the first time can be nerve wracking...but just pretend you understand exactly what you're doing.
-I haven't tested this yet, but another way the city bus is a bit like a taxi is that you can get on and off at places that aren't necessarily stops, but are along the bus route. I was told by some nice women at the hospital that although there weren't any more buses coming up to the hospital stop, that I would be able to catch one by waiting on the main road. May test that idea out tomorrow.

Health
-Apparently there is a way I can see a doctor through UCT as a student, though I haven't gotten any straight/easy answers about that yet. My head and ear were pounding this morning, so if this doesn't clear up by the weekend, I'll be trying to make an appointment.
-Although many medicines here seem to have different names than back home, Sudafed does exist here and it IS a God(ess) send!
-Be resourceful. If you scrape your knee on the way into a taxi, take a band aid from somewhere else on your body and use it on your knee to stop the bleeding. Okay, actually, that is probably a terrible idea, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do! (fun fact: in Durban, folks called band aids "plasters." Remains to be seen what they are called in Cape Town)

Til next time....