Hi folks!
Oh no, two weeks without writing--sorry about that! This will be a quick update. Thomas and I are heading out shortly to the climbing gym. Federico and Nany are very into outdoor climbing. We went with them and their friends Julie and Sam on Monday to a "wall" (outdoor rock) in Muizenberg. It was really fun to watch everyone climb up. It was Thomas and Julie's first time climbing outdoors and they did really well! I was tempted to join them, but I decided I would rather climb in the gym for my first time. So we're all going today! Don't think it'll become a hobby for me, but I'd like to at least try it.
School is rolling along. I've had a couple of meetings with the Learning Network, but I'm not 100% sure they are who I'll do my thesis with. It is a relief to know they are an option though! I have two big papers due in May, so I'll be relieved when they are over.
A few of my friends and I are planning a trip to Namibia in June. Has anyone out there visited there? Thoughts are welcome!
Yesterday I had my first driving lesson (to learn stick shift while driving on the left side of the road--two things I've never done before!) and it went really well. At first I wasn't sure if I liked my instructor. He seemed sort of disinterested. But he turned out to be perfect for me because he didn't really tell me what I was going to do next so I didn't have time to be nervous. He was very calm so I also stayed calm. By the end of the lesson I had driven us from Seapoint to Rondebosch and back through town up to Vredehoek, including being on the highway! I couldn't believe how much I got to do in one lesson. Thomas and I are going to practice in his car tomorrow and then I'll have another lesson next week.
Also, we had a nice Easter. We went to Annibale's house for a pot luck lunch. I made potato salad and we also had pasta and Zambian food. Yum!
For now, I'm keeping my same serving job. It's still mostly boring and I don't make too much, but I like the flexibility of it. I'm keeping my eyes out for other jobs and applying for stuff here and there as well.
Okay, time to go get ready! Love.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Hello, America!
Writing to you all from sunny Cape Town! It's been a fun weekend. The weather has picked up a bit again and it seems winter will be delayed for a bit longer. Thomas and I seized what might one of our last opportunities to go to the beach this season and visited Camps Bay again on Saturday. Weather was perfect: hot and no Cape Doctor! That night we went to a new venue in town to see a couple of live bands. It was a very good time, especially since the 24 hour McDonalds was open afterwards...we weren't so lucky last time!
Yesterday was a very fun time. Thomas had the idea that we should have a braai which is basically a cook out or barbeque. He invited his friend Juliette whom I hadn't met before and Whitney, Federico, and Nany came as well. It was nice weather, good company, and Thomas the master chef made us some yummy steak rolls. :) It was the first time we had people over, so it was a lot of fun to play host.
The gym is going very well, although when Thomas is home it's hard to motivate myself to get up and go! I was very excited today because I realized I can now easily bend over and touch my toes--sadly that hasn't been so easy for many years! The gym also has the awesome spinning machines which basically lets you do the class by yourself. Tried it for the first time today and loved it!
As for school, I did meet with the health systems head, Lucy, and she thinks the hs track could be a good fit for me. I'm going to fill out the paper work this week and then it will be official. That means this is my last semester of biostats and possibly of epidemiology. I'm okay with that, since I really don't think those skills are going to be what I need for the type of employment I want. I'm glad I had the chance to consider the epi track though--I did enjoy the courses and they were interesting, but it just isn't the career path I see for myself.
Tomorrow I am meeting with a woman from the Learning Network for Health and Human Rights about my potential thesis project. If all goes well, I'll write another update soon with more details!
In other exciting news, my parents are talking about coming to visit some time over the next few months...so looking forward to it!
Have a great day everyone. Happy Monday!
Writing to you all from sunny Cape Town! It's been a fun weekend. The weather has picked up a bit again and it seems winter will be delayed for a bit longer. Thomas and I seized what might one of our last opportunities to go to the beach this season and visited Camps Bay again on Saturday. Weather was perfect: hot and no Cape Doctor! That night we went to a new venue in town to see a couple of live bands. It was a very good time, especially since the 24 hour McDonalds was open afterwards...we weren't so lucky last time!
Yesterday was a very fun time. Thomas had the idea that we should have a braai which is basically a cook out or barbeque. He invited his friend Juliette whom I hadn't met before and Whitney, Federico, and Nany came as well. It was nice weather, good company, and Thomas the master chef made us some yummy steak rolls. :) It was the first time we had people over, so it was a lot of fun to play host.
The gym is going very well, although when Thomas is home it's hard to motivate myself to get up and go! I was very excited today because I realized I can now easily bend over and touch my toes--sadly that hasn't been so easy for many years! The gym also has the awesome spinning machines which basically lets you do the class by yourself. Tried it for the first time today and loved it!
As for school, I did meet with the health systems head, Lucy, and she thinks the hs track could be a good fit for me. I'm going to fill out the paper work this week and then it will be official. That means this is my last semester of biostats and possibly of epidemiology. I'm okay with that, since I really don't think those skills are going to be what I need for the type of employment I want. I'm glad I had the chance to consider the epi track though--I did enjoy the courses and they were interesting, but it just isn't the career path I see for myself.
Tomorrow I am meeting with a woman from the Learning Network for Health and Human Rights about my potential thesis project. If all goes well, I'll write another update soon with more details!
In other exciting news, my parents are talking about coming to visit some time over the next few months...so looking forward to it!
Have a great day everyone. Happy Monday!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Hello, hello, America!
In just a few days I'll be able to start telling people I've been living in Cape Town for three months. Wow! It does feel longer sometimes. Christmas back in the States seems very far away.
Just a brief update here. The last week has been nice. Schoolwork has really let up since the last paper (did fairly well on it!), but I'm trying to keep myself motivated so I don't procrastinate on projects. I've met with two professors about potential thesis topics. They were both very interesting and fitting to me. I've always had a difficult time making decisions, largely because I'm interested in so many things! Right now I am pursuing one of the options further, but I would like to know more before I share the details. The fantastic news: that opportunity might lead to paid work. Fingers crossed!
Which brings me to my next update, which is that I'm looking for new jobs. I've found the environment there to be very frustrating as of late. It's been slow, I don't get much support from management, and the complete lack of teamwork is really disheartening. I know I'm not perfect either, but I see ways that it would be so easy to start getting us to work as a team and simply no effort is being made. Bah! Thankfully, there is a server and a bar tender that really seem to "get" it, and they definitely make life more tolerable there. One of the managers is also quite good, but unfortunately I don't work with her most of the time. I have no idea if/when another opportunity will work out (that will actually be better) but I'm looking.
Tomorrow morning I'm meeting with the Health Systems department head to officially change my MPH track. I've given it thought, and I think it's the best route for me. So barring her talking me out of it for some reason, I should be a on the health systems track as of tomorrow! I'll explain more later what that means.
Also, the gym is going well! Feeling healthier each day. :)
I'm feeling sleepy and have an early morning tomorrow, so that's all for now. It should be a fun, full day at school tomorrow and then Thomas will be getting home tomorrow night! Very excited to show him our beautiful new couch:
Goodnight, all!
In just a few days I'll be able to start telling people I've been living in Cape Town for three months. Wow! It does feel longer sometimes. Christmas back in the States seems very far away.
Just a brief update here. The last week has been nice. Schoolwork has really let up since the last paper (did fairly well on it!), but I'm trying to keep myself motivated so I don't procrastinate on projects. I've met with two professors about potential thesis topics. They were both very interesting and fitting to me. I've always had a difficult time making decisions, largely because I'm interested in so many things! Right now I am pursuing one of the options further, but I would like to know more before I share the details. The fantastic news: that opportunity might lead to paid work. Fingers crossed!
Which brings me to my next update, which is that I'm looking for new jobs. I've found the environment there to be very frustrating as of late. It's been slow, I don't get much support from management, and the complete lack of teamwork is really disheartening. I know I'm not perfect either, but I see ways that it would be so easy to start getting us to work as a team and simply no effort is being made. Bah! Thankfully, there is a server and a bar tender that really seem to "get" it, and they definitely make life more tolerable there. One of the managers is also quite good, but unfortunately I don't work with her most of the time. I have no idea if/when another opportunity will work out (that will actually be better) but I'm looking.
Tomorrow morning I'm meeting with the Health Systems department head to officially change my MPH track. I've given it thought, and I think it's the best route for me. So barring her talking me out of it for some reason, I should be a on the health systems track as of tomorrow! I'll explain more later what that means.
Also, the gym is going well! Feeling healthier each day. :)
I'm feeling sleepy and have an early morning tomorrow, so that's all for now. It should be a fun, full day at school tomorrow and then Thomas will be getting home tomorrow night! Very excited to show him our beautiful new couch:
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Oh happy day!
Just thought I'd share a bit of happiness with y'all. My days anymore are mostly straight forward and simple, but I am starting to find joy in my routines. There's a good chance that in a couple of years I'll be back to my old busy, busy life. For now, I'm taking time to take care of my body (first zumba class this morning...loved it!) and mind (school school school and Jane Eyre) and it feels really good.
Last night I was able to leave work early--no tables in two hours, yikes! Tonight's experiment: whether slight rain makes people want half price pizza more or less.
Tomorrow I'm meeting with a campus doctor about a potential thesis topic...fingers crossed for something good!
Last night I was able to leave work early--no tables in two hours, yikes! Tonight's experiment: whether slight rain makes people want half price pizza more or less.
Tomorrow I'm meeting with a campus doctor about a potential thesis topic...fingers crossed for something good!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Life is Good
Hello, hello!
I am writing to you all in good spirits! The last week was certainly busy with lots of prepping and paper writing, but I handed in my first Biostats assignment and turned in a major paper for my Gender and Health course which was a gender analysis of rape in South Africa. I put a lot of reading, note taking, and thought into the paper and am pretty proud of the work I did. We'll see what the professor thinks though! Regardless of the mark, I certainly learned a lot from the research process.
Although I am giving myself a bit of a break, I don't want to lose momentum. I have two more big papers due at the end of May. One will be on homicide in South Africa and El Salvador and the other I still need to choose a final topic for, but will be an evaluation of how gender sensitive a program is. Although I won't be turning in my mini-dissertation until the end of next year, I decided to contact some people doing research at UCT to learn about what they are doing and see if it might be appropriate for my project. Hopefully at least one of them gets back to me with interest. Will let y'all know if something pans out!
As per usual I am changing my mind often about what I want to do with my degree when I graduate. Currently, I've been thinking a lot about ways to improve health services, both for staff and patients. A friend of mine used to be a nurse here and actually changed careers because she became so frustrated with the system and barriers to giving good care. We also did a class on childbirth in South Africa last week and talked a lot about patient abuse and neglect in that setting, something that also came up in the abortion lecture and likely exists in other health care settings as well. They are such large problems that it is hard to know where to begin to address them, but it would something I would certainly be interested in dedicating my career to. Of course science and medicine are incredibly important, but why deliver those services without treating patients with dignity and care? And isn't mistreatment detrimental to health outcomes (well actually, I don't know, will have to look into what research has been done)? These are things I would be interested in further examining not only in South Africa but in the U.S. as well.
As for my social life, it's doing well! Thursday night an MPHer from Italy, Annibale, had a group of us over for "International Dinner" night. We were all supposed to bring a dish from our culture. Well, I didn't have time to even attempt cooking something, so I bought an apple tart (closest thing I could find to apple pie, one of the few dishes I could associate with America!) and ice cream. I was glad it was the only dessert and folks seemed to enjoy it. We also had guacamole, curry, lentil rice, AWESOME pasta, and arepas (by Federico and Nany, los colombianos). And of course, lots of wine. :) It was really nice to spend more time with the MPHers outside of class to just talk and enjoy delicious food. We all agreed it should happen again soon.
Saturday was the night of the birthday party my customers invited me to. They are a really friendly group, so I figured why not, but didn't know what to expect. I had no reason to be nervous as everyone at the party were just as warm and welcoming as my regulars. It was quite the fun event that I could go on in detail about....summarized version: amazing spicy seafood curry, monk cleansing the house, one of my adorable regulars, Shane, regailing us with Whitney Houston songs (amazing coming out of a boy!), Dutch lesson from folks from the Netherlands and, once again, lots of good wine! I also met one of Shane's friends who works for Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation and has been working on the research that shows ARV treatment can prevent HIV infection in those uninfected--kinda like meeting a local rock star, imho!
I was torn about whether to leave such a fun gathering, but headed out a little after midnight to catch up with some MPHers out for a lady's night in town. From there, I decided to go dancing with Eliana at a place called DecoDance, which she always talks about. It's a more expensive cab ride for me, but it was a really fun time--they play a lot of hits from the '80s and '90s and we really enjoyed ourselves. It felt to get out and dance after all of that paper writing!
I guess the last update is that I LOVE my gym! I met with one of their staff on Friday and she helped me with an exercise plan. This is SO hopefully for me because I am a planner and really need structure for motivation. I'm planning on doing yoga once a week in addition to my regular workouts, and will probably be checking out a dance class on Saturday. There is also a yummy smoothie place in the gym, so I treated myself today. They have those frequent buyer cards and if you buy a smoothie on a Monday you get two stickers instead of one. So I've decided that for each week a stick to my workout plan, I will reward myself the following Monday with a smoothie!
Oh and Thomas is wonderful. :) He's away again for two weeks but I have a lot of good things going for me to keep me busy til he gets back. Our couch should be arriving in a little over week which, speaking for both of us, we are super excited about! He also got us a coffee table and microwave, so once the couch arrives we'll be pretty settled in.
I can't delude myself into believing I'm never going to feel homesick again, but my first wave has passed and I am soaking up the sun and loving life here. I think part of what was helpful was to begin planning my visit home in the winter--hopefully I'll be back in time for Thanksgiving!
That's all for now. Remember, I have skype at home now, so get in touch with me if you want to have a chat! Sundays are best for me, usually.
Love y'all,
Kristen
I am writing to you all in good spirits! The last week was certainly busy with lots of prepping and paper writing, but I handed in my first Biostats assignment and turned in a major paper for my Gender and Health course which was a gender analysis of rape in South Africa. I put a lot of reading, note taking, and thought into the paper and am pretty proud of the work I did. We'll see what the professor thinks though! Regardless of the mark, I certainly learned a lot from the research process.
Although I am giving myself a bit of a break, I don't want to lose momentum. I have two more big papers due at the end of May. One will be on homicide in South Africa and El Salvador and the other I still need to choose a final topic for, but will be an evaluation of how gender sensitive a program is. Although I won't be turning in my mini-dissertation until the end of next year, I decided to contact some people doing research at UCT to learn about what they are doing and see if it might be appropriate for my project. Hopefully at least one of them gets back to me with interest. Will let y'all know if something pans out!
As per usual I am changing my mind often about what I want to do with my degree when I graduate. Currently, I've been thinking a lot about ways to improve health services, both for staff and patients. A friend of mine used to be a nurse here and actually changed careers because she became so frustrated with the system and barriers to giving good care. We also did a class on childbirth in South Africa last week and talked a lot about patient abuse and neglect in that setting, something that also came up in the abortion lecture and likely exists in other health care settings as well. They are such large problems that it is hard to know where to begin to address them, but it would something I would certainly be interested in dedicating my career to. Of course science and medicine are incredibly important, but why deliver those services without treating patients with dignity and care? And isn't mistreatment detrimental to health outcomes (well actually, I don't know, will have to look into what research has been done)? These are things I would be interested in further examining not only in South Africa but in the U.S. as well.
As for my social life, it's doing well! Thursday night an MPHer from Italy, Annibale, had a group of us over for "International Dinner" night. We were all supposed to bring a dish from our culture. Well, I didn't have time to even attempt cooking something, so I bought an apple tart (closest thing I could find to apple pie, one of the few dishes I could associate with America!) and ice cream. I was glad it was the only dessert and folks seemed to enjoy it. We also had guacamole, curry, lentil rice, AWESOME pasta, and arepas (by Federico and Nany, los colombianos). And of course, lots of wine. :) It was really nice to spend more time with the MPHers outside of class to just talk and enjoy delicious food. We all agreed it should happen again soon.
Saturday was the night of the birthday party my customers invited me to. They are a really friendly group, so I figured why not, but didn't know what to expect. I had no reason to be nervous as everyone at the party were just as warm and welcoming as my regulars. It was quite the fun event that I could go on in detail about....summarized version: amazing spicy seafood curry, monk cleansing the house, one of my adorable regulars, Shane, regailing us with Whitney Houston songs (amazing coming out of a boy!), Dutch lesson from folks from the Netherlands and, once again, lots of good wine! I also met one of Shane's friends who works for Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation and has been working on the research that shows ARV treatment can prevent HIV infection in those uninfected--kinda like meeting a local rock star, imho!
I was torn about whether to leave such a fun gathering, but headed out a little after midnight to catch up with some MPHers out for a lady's night in town. From there, I decided to go dancing with Eliana at a place called DecoDance, which she always talks about. It's a more expensive cab ride for me, but it was a really fun time--they play a lot of hits from the '80s and '90s and we really enjoyed ourselves. It felt to get out and dance after all of that paper writing!
I guess the last update is that I LOVE my gym! I met with one of their staff on Friday and she helped me with an exercise plan. This is SO hopefully for me because I am a planner and really need structure for motivation. I'm planning on doing yoga once a week in addition to my regular workouts, and will probably be checking out a dance class on Saturday. There is also a yummy smoothie place in the gym, so I treated myself today. They have those frequent buyer cards and if you buy a smoothie on a Monday you get two stickers instead of one. So I've decided that for each week a stick to my workout plan, I will reward myself the following Monday with a smoothie!
Oh and Thomas is wonderful. :) He's away again for two weeks but I have a lot of good things going for me to keep me busy til he gets back. Our couch should be arriving in a little over week which, speaking for both of us, we are super excited about! He also got us a coffee table and microwave, so once the couch arrives we'll be pretty settled in.
I can't delude myself into believing I'm never going to feel homesick again, but my first wave has passed and I am soaking up the sun and loving life here. I think part of what was helpful was to begin planning my visit home in the winter--hopefully I'll be back in time for Thanksgiving!
That's all for now. Remember, I have skype at home now, so get in touch with me if you want to have a chat! Sundays are best for me, usually.
Love y'all,
Kristen
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Busy busy!
Hi folks!
It's a busy week, but as I've fallen behind once again, I figured I would give a quick update!
I'm very bogged down this week with school work: an assignment due tomorrow and paper due Monday, but it's going okay and I'm trying to stay positive! Thomas has been home the last few days and while I've mostly just been reading and writing, it's been great having him nearby.
My exciting news is that I finally joined a gym! It's a really beautiful facility and I'm looking forward to using it more. I took a yoga class on Sunday and will be exploring more of what it has to offer once I turn this paper in.
Waitressing is going alright. Sometimes it's a little stressful because of how the place is run, but I really enjoy the regulars who come in. Several of them have taken to calling me "Jersey Girl." :) A few of them actually invited me to a birthday party Saturday night, which was really sweet. I'm definitely still looking for other jobs pertaining more to public health, but I'm really glad to have the extra pocket money and different scenery throughout the week.
At this point, I'm pretty dedicated to just doing a general track MPH, but I will hopefully be meeting with the head of the health systems track soon to learn more about health systems and possibly incorporating more systems courses into my degree.
That's all for now! Sounds like the weather is improving for y'all back home. We had some KILLER hot days over the weekend, but it's cooled down considerably and been a bit overcast.
More from me soon!
Love,
Kristen
It's a busy week, but as I've fallen behind once again, I figured I would give a quick update!
I'm very bogged down this week with school work: an assignment due tomorrow and paper due Monday, but it's going okay and I'm trying to stay positive! Thomas has been home the last few days and while I've mostly just been reading and writing, it's been great having him nearby.
My exciting news is that I finally joined a gym! It's a really beautiful facility and I'm looking forward to using it more. I took a yoga class on Sunday and will be exploring more of what it has to offer once I turn this paper in.
Waitressing is going alright. Sometimes it's a little stressful because of how the place is run, but I really enjoy the regulars who come in. Several of them have taken to calling me "Jersey Girl." :) A few of them actually invited me to a birthday party Saturday night, which was really sweet. I'm definitely still looking for other jobs pertaining more to public health, but I'm really glad to have the extra pocket money and different scenery throughout the week.
At this point, I'm pretty dedicated to just doing a general track MPH, but I will hopefully be meeting with the head of the health systems track soon to learn more about health systems and possibly incorporating more systems courses into my degree.
That's all for now! Sounds like the weather is improving for y'all back home. We had some KILLER hot days over the weekend, but it's cooled down considerably and been a bit overcast.
More from me soon!
Love,
Kristen
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Hey everyone,
Sorry I'm so far behind on updating. For a little while I was waiting to have things to write about and then I got a bit busy and didn't get around to writing!
First of all, a little over a week ago I finally got that pang of homesickness I was expecting much earlier. I was feeling frustrated knowing that back home I have an amazing set of friends, my family, had a job I loved, community organizations I believed in...sometimes I can't help but wonder what exactly it is that I'm doing here. Those moments are rare, but they happen. I think that even when we are pursuing things that we love, we all have moments of questioning.
After a couple of days, I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and figure out what to do with my life here. I chose to stop banking on finding a research job and starting looking into being a server again. The fact is, I just needed to get out of the apartment, interact with people, and have something else to think about besides school, my relationship, and what I should make for dinner. I dropped my CV off at a few places and was basically offered two jobs almost immediately, one of which is in Vredehoek. I decided to take that one since I could walk to work and because the manager I spoke with made it sound like a local place with a lot of regulars. I liked that vibe.
I started training last night and it was a pretty good time. Unfortunately, it was a slow night and somewhat boring--I like to keep busy. But the people I work with are cool and I was pretty amused that kitchen staff automatically took to me because I was American. There was also a hysterical moment when two of the regulars were discussing me. The one guy told the other that I was a "Jersey girl" and he took it to mean I was from Jersey...like Europe...yeah no. :) But we had a good laugh. The whole experience helped me realize just how much I've come to like working with people (even though I still think I'm an introvert!). I think it's going to be a good experience for me.
I also made some new friends which helped get me out of my slump, too. I had a met a woman, Catherine, who worked in a shop on Long Street a couple of weeks ago. We had chatted for a bit and when we realized we were both interested in women's health, decided to connect later on facebook. At first we didn't really talk, but my friend Federico's girlfriend, Nany, invited me to a SWEAT march for sex workers' rights. I passed the info on to Catherine and sure enough she came. The march was a really good experience and it felt awesome to be involved with activism again. As Federico pointed out to me, it was really amazing and brave that so many of the sex workers came to march--the purpose of the march was to call for decriminalization of sex work, but sex work is still illegal in South Africa (to learn more about decriminalization, check out SWEAT's website, linked above). Afterwards, Catherine, Federico, Nany, another SWEAT volunteer, Flor, and I went to the Eastern Food Bizarre, which is one of my fave places to eat in town. Cheap, delicious food of Asian influences? Yes, please! Everyone seemed to hit it off with each other and we had good conversation before heading off to class.
I mentioned to Catherine that I was going to watch the Pride parade on Saturday, and she told me not to be silly, that I should walk with her and the store in the parade! It was really cool with her to be so welcoming. I did walk with her and the store owner. I had an awesome time! It was very hot, but the walk was nice and some of the floats sprayed water to cool us off. After the parade you could pay R30 (less than 5 USD) to hang out outside the stadium to watch different performances. My initial thought after the parade was that I was tired and wanted to go home, but we ended up dancing for several hours! Federico and Nany also showed up. My new friend Natasha (who is friends with Catherine) then invited us all to go back to her place to eat dinner. We stopped to pick up food and then Catherine put together the meal for us! So there I was, randomly hanging out with a whole lot of people I'd just met (including more of Natasha's friends whom were at home) having a great time. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. Leave it to Pride to bring people together!
So I would say that between the job and spending time with new friends has really helped me feel better. I don't think it's ever going to be easy being away from so many people I love, but I am starting to make more connections here, too.
Tomorrow night I am going to a documentary about women's sexual and reproductive rights. Thursday is a double class day and then I'll be finishing training at work on Friday and Saturday. Then I can start taking real shifts and actually make money!
Just writing this post was really helpful to remind me of all the good stuff I have going on, as I was starting to feel a bit down again today. I really miss you all!
Sorry I'm so far behind on updating. For a little while I was waiting to have things to write about and then I got a bit busy and didn't get around to writing!
First of all, a little over a week ago I finally got that pang of homesickness I was expecting much earlier. I was feeling frustrated knowing that back home I have an amazing set of friends, my family, had a job I loved, community organizations I believed in...sometimes I can't help but wonder what exactly it is that I'm doing here. Those moments are rare, but they happen. I think that even when we are pursuing things that we love, we all have moments of questioning.
After a couple of days, I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and figure out what to do with my life here. I chose to stop banking on finding a research job and starting looking into being a server again. The fact is, I just needed to get out of the apartment, interact with people, and have something else to think about besides school, my relationship, and what I should make for dinner. I dropped my CV off at a few places and was basically offered two jobs almost immediately, one of which is in Vredehoek. I decided to take that one since I could walk to work and because the manager I spoke with made it sound like a local place with a lot of regulars. I liked that vibe.
I started training last night and it was a pretty good time. Unfortunately, it was a slow night and somewhat boring--I like to keep busy. But the people I work with are cool and I was pretty amused that kitchen staff automatically took to me because I was American. There was also a hysterical moment when two of the regulars were discussing me. The one guy told the other that I was a "Jersey girl" and he took it to mean I was from Jersey...like Europe...yeah no. :) But we had a good laugh. The whole experience helped me realize just how much I've come to like working with people (even though I still think I'm an introvert!). I think it's going to be a good experience for me.
I also made some new friends which helped get me out of my slump, too. I had a met a woman, Catherine, who worked in a shop on Long Street a couple of weeks ago. We had chatted for a bit and when we realized we were both interested in women's health, decided to connect later on facebook. At first we didn't really talk, but my friend Federico's girlfriend, Nany, invited me to a SWEAT march for sex workers' rights. I passed the info on to Catherine and sure enough she came. The march was a really good experience and it felt awesome to be involved with activism again. As Federico pointed out to me, it was really amazing and brave that so many of the sex workers came to march--the purpose of the march was to call for decriminalization of sex work, but sex work is still illegal in South Africa (to learn more about decriminalization, check out SWEAT's website, linked above). Afterwards, Catherine, Federico, Nany, another SWEAT volunteer, Flor, and I went to the Eastern Food Bizarre, which is one of my fave places to eat in town. Cheap, delicious food of Asian influences? Yes, please! Everyone seemed to hit it off with each other and we had good conversation before heading off to class.
I mentioned to Catherine that I was going to watch the Pride parade on Saturday, and she told me not to be silly, that I should walk with her and the store in the parade! It was really cool with her to be so welcoming. I did walk with her and the store owner. I had an awesome time! It was very hot, but the walk was nice and some of the floats sprayed water to cool us off. After the parade you could pay R30 (less than 5 USD) to hang out outside the stadium to watch different performances. My initial thought after the parade was that I was tired and wanted to go home, but we ended up dancing for several hours! Federico and Nany also showed up. My new friend Natasha (who is friends with Catherine) then invited us all to go back to her place to eat dinner. We stopped to pick up food and then Catherine put together the meal for us! So there I was, randomly hanging out with a whole lot of people I'd just met (including more of Natasha's friends whom were at home) having a great time. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. Leave it to Pride to bring people together!
So I would say that between the job and spending time with new friends has really helped me feel better. I don't think it's ever going to be easy being away from so many people I love, but I am starting to make more connections here, too.
Tomorrow night I am going to a documentary about women's sexual and reproductive rights. Thursday is a double class day and then I'll be finishing training at work on Friday and Saturday. Then I can start taking real shifts and actually make money!
Just writing this post was really helpful to remind me of all the good stuff I have going on, as I was starting to feel a bit down again today. I really miss you all!
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