Okay, I have a tiny bit of an excuse this time for not writing--for the last week I've been sick, spending several days in bed barely thinking about anything more than watching television. I'm fully on the mend now, with just a bit of congestion and a cough. Of course, my sickness doesn't excuse the two weeks prior that I have not updated, so let's back track a bit.
A couple of months ago, I met a new friend, Gabby, at a Learning Network training. She is an MPH student from the states doing a summer internship in Cape Town with Leslie London (of the LN). We got to chatting, hung out again, and somehow decided that we should go to Hermanus together before she left the country. Hermanus is one of the best places in the world for whale watching from land. I'd been wanting to go, so when she suggested it I was all for it. Plus it would nice to get out of Cape Town overnight--something I haven't done since moving here except for the 24 hour trip to Durban for Thomas' sister's birthday.
Unfortunately, our trip was fruitless--despite it being whale season, the waves were rather choppy the two days we were there and apparently the whales are not to fond of that. However, I personally enjoyed the trip immensely because it gave me a chance to get to know Gabby better. I have a bit of a friend crush on her--she is one of those woman that I truly admire, beautiful on the inside and out, and I learned as much as I could from her during those couple of days. Besides her giving me an actual lesson in driving stick (yup, the battle still sloooowly wages on...), I have also learned how to sell wine to customers (bullshit), travel the world on a budget (she's been to about 40 different countries), additional relationship communication skills (she has a husband back home), and the titles of a ton of new books, movies, and songs (we made each other lists on the ride home of recommendations for each other). I feel really lucky to have met such an amazing person and we plan on remaining long distance friends.
Unfortunately, the weekend before last was Gabby's last weekend in Cape Town. We gave her a pretty interesting send off by attending the Cape Town Slut Walk. If you haven't heard about Slut Walks yet, frankly I'd be surprised, but you can read more about the original here. We had gorgeous weather for the event and there were about 2000 people there dressed up, with signs, etc. It was a cool experience. The only thing I would've liked in addition would have been a rally or some time of speaker at the beginning or end of the walk to articulate the purpose of the event, particularly in South Africa, which has one of the highest rates of rape in the world.
I've added pictures from Hermanus and the Slut Walk at the end of this album.
After the Slut Walk I had lunch with Gabby and then hung out with her until her going away party. I had the chance to finally meet a lot of her friends whom she had been talking about whom were fantastic. I left that night with almost ten new friends, which included South Africans, Tanzanians, Ugandans, and Americans. The party also reminded me what a wonderful energy being with a group of women can generate. Don't get me wrong, I love my male friends and they are wonderful and important in my life, but there is definitely a different energy with all women that I also enjoy. It was a great evening of food, wine, and laughter.
Lastly, I recently attended a Q&A for a new book at the Cape Town Book Lounge. I'll be honest, the event itself didn't hold much appeal to me--I hadn't read the book, didn't know who the author was, and didn't know what it was about--but my friend Katherine had invited me so I decided to go. I glazed over for most of the talk while eating the complimentary finger sandwiches, but there was one definite exciting moment: when Archbishop Desmond Tutu walked in! Yes, he is just as precious in person. We didn't speak to him as he left before the end of the talk (and as some of you might now, I hate introducing myself to "famous" people) but it was still neat to see him there. Just goes to show how small Cape Town is--never know who you might run into!
Now I must get back to working on a paper for my Economics of Health Systems course. Missing you all and looking forward to being home with you again soon!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Back from Break
Hi folks,
Oh my, it is August 1st! I will use the university break as my excuse for not updating. The Namibia trip did not pan out, but I did a couple of day trips and spent time with friends. It was a good stress relief. I received "firsts" which are sorta like As in three of my courses and am waiting to hear about the last course. It was my most challenging class (Public Health and Society) so I'm not expecting a first, but hopefully I did well.
I am still working at the Italian restaurant and should be starting with the music school soon. I don't have any private students yet, but I'll be teaching a woodwind sectional class with clarinet and saxophone. Should be a challenge, but I am looking forward to it.
Class has started again and I've just finished my block classes. I decided to take three courses rather than two. My plan is too finish all of my course work by the end of the next semester so that I am free to travel during my last semester (when I'm writing my thesis) if the opportunity arrises. I'm really enjoying my courses this semester, which are more Health Systems focused: Health Policy and Planning and Economics of Health Systems. I'm also taking Evidence Based Health Care, which isn't health systems focused, but the concepts can certainly be applied (using research to make policy decisions rather than clinical decisions).
Thomas and I are still doing well, though it's been difficult for me that so much of his work is in Joburg. It's the reality of our situation and while it's better than living in different countries, it's still hard. I think this is worth mentioning. There are some positive things about long (or short!) distance relationships, including having "self" time. However, at the end of the day, I think most of us would rather have the person you love nearby. I'm really surprised there isn't more information/support out there for people doing the long distance thang, what with globalization and all. Surely someone somewhere should be making money off of this? :)
I'm still lacking in the activism department, buuuuut the Cape Town Slut Walk is coming up! We were also treated to two famous feminist thinkers visiting Cape Town last week: Judith Butler and Raewyn Connell. Butler didn't come to speak about feminism--her topic was about Zionism, but I really loved what she had to say (what I could follow, at least!). Connell spoke about Transexual rights in relation to feminism and was a really good talk. She feels that women whom are transexual should be working towards policy change for women that includes trans women, as opposed to policy targeted only at transexual women. I both agree and disagree with her, but I definitely see where she is coming from. My only concern is how to actually make "women" an inclusive term, especially under a legal setting. For non-trans feminists, she urged that we spend some time learning about what the lives of trans women (and men) are like. She gave us a reading list and I plan on checking at least one of the books out.
Time for me to get back to the reading grind. Sorry to have disappeared for so long, but I plan to be updating regularly now. Love!
Oh my, it is August 1st! I will use the university break as my excuse for not updating. The Namibia trip did not pan out, but I did a couple of day trips and spent time with friends. It was a good stress relief. I received "firsts" which are sorta like As in three of my courses and am waiting to hear about the last course. It was my most challenging class (Public Health and Society) so I'm not expecting a first, but hopefully I did well.
I am still working at the Italian restaurant and should be starting with the music school soon. I don't have any private students yet, but I'll be teaching a woodwind sectional class with clarinet and saxophone. Should be a challenge, but I am looking forward to it.
Class has started again and I've just finished my block classes. I decided to take three courses rather than two. My plan is too finish all of my course work by the end of the next semester so that I am free to travel during my last semester (when I'm writing my thesis) if the opportunity arrises. I'm really enjoying my courses this semester, which are more Health Systems focused: Health Policy and Planning and Economics of Health Systems. I'm also taking Evidence Based Health Care, which isn't health systems focused, but the concepts can certainly be applied (using research to make policy decisions rather than clinical decisions).
Thomas and I are still doing well, though it's been difficult for me that so much of his work is in Joburg. It's the reality of our situation and while it's better than living in different countries, it's still hard. I think this is worth mentioning. There are some positive things about long (or short!) distance relationships, including having "self" time. However, at the end of the day, I think most of us would rather have the person you love nearby. I'm really surprised there isn't more information/support out there for people doing the long distance thang, what with globalization and all. Surely someone somewhere should be making money off of this? :)
I'm still lacking in the activism department, buuuuut the Cape Town Slut Walk is coming up! We were also treated to two famous feminist thinkers visiting Cape Town last week: Judith Butler and Raewyn Connell. Butler didn't come to speak about feminism--her topic was about Zionism, but I really loved what she had to say (what I could follow, at least!). Connell spoke about Transexual rights in relation to feminism and was a really good talk. She feels that women whom are transexual should be working towards policy change for women that includes trans women, as opposed to policy targeted only at transexual women. I both agree and disagree with her, but I definitely see where she is coming from. My only concern is how to actually make "women" an inclusive term, especially under a legal setting. For non-trans feminists, she urged that we spend some time learning about what the lives of trans women (and men) are like. She gave us a reading list and I plan on checking at least one of the books out.
Time for me to get back to the reading grind. Sorry to have disappeared for so long, but I plan to be updating regularly now. Love!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Proof I'm a nerd (as if you needed more)
As I head off for my exam in biostatistics, I am comforted that I understood most of what he is talking about and found it hilarious! Click to enjoy "Baby Got Stat"
LAST FINAL OF THE FIRST SEMESTER TODAY! :-D
LAST FINAL OF THE FIRST SEMESTER TODAY! :-D
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Brought to you by STUDYING!
More fun to share. Promise this video is interesting and entertaining even if you know nothing about public health or statistics! Enjoy!
Halfway through exams...my most challenging one is tomorrow. PRAY FOR ME!
Halfway through exams...my most challenging one is tomorrow. PRAY FOR ME!
Monday, June 6, 2011
This update brought to you by finals
I am reading through my notes from my gender and health course and feel compelled to share some of the thoughts and facts. I'm not including citations here (I have enough school work to do as it is!) but of course if you want to know more about how I got the info just let me know! This is a pretty random list as things strike me....
HIV
HIV prevention needs to be sex positive. HIV is caused by a virus, not by sex!
As of 2009, there were approx 33.3 million people living with HIV globally. About 67% of those people live in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The prevalence (amount of people currently living with HIV) of HIV in South Africa is about 11%.
In a state of povery and hunger, HIV prevention may not be people's priority. (And HIV can also lead to poverty, thus creating a cycle)
Gender Violence
South Africa has one of the highest rates of reported rapes in the world. Still, it's estimated that only 1 out of 20 rapes are reported (Gender Justice Research Unit).
Cervical Cancer
HPV, a sexually transmitted virus, MUST be present to have cervical cancer. In other words, 100% of women everywhere with cervical cancer have HPV. However, there are more than 100 strains of HPV, many of which are not linked to cancer. Additionally, a woman who has a cancer causing strain can clear the strain (i.e. her immune system fights it off) without cancer developing.
There is more cervical cancer prevalence in developing countries and is highest in Africa.
Prevalence of cervical cancer is 2 to 5 times higher in HIV+ women.
Maternal Health
Rates of maternal mortality are higher in Africa than elsewhere. Of the top ten countries with the worst maternal mortality rates, 9 are in Africa. 1 in 7 women for Niger, 1 in 87 for South Africa.
Estimated 60-80% of pregnancies in South Africa end in c-section. The World Health Organization recommeds a country rate of 10-15%.
Random, I know. More real udaptes soon! Finals are over June 14th, woo hoo!
HIV
HIV prevention needs to be sex positive. HIV is caused by a virus, not by sex!
As of 2009, there were approx 33.3 million people living with HIV globally. About 67% of those people live in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The prevalence (amount of people currently living with HIV) of HIV in South Africa is about 11%.
In a state of povery and hunger, HIV prevention may not be people's priority. (And HIV can also lead to poverty, thus creating a cycle)
Gender Violence
South Africa has one of the highest rates of reported rapes in the world. Still, it's estimated that only 1 out of 20 rapes are reported (Gender Justice Research Unit).
Cervical Cancer
HPV, a sexually transmitted virus, MUST be present to have cervical cancer. In other words, 100% of women everywhere with cervical cancer have HPV. However, there are more than 100 strains of HPV, many of which are not linked to cancer. Additionally, a woman who has a cancer causing strain can clear the strain (i.e. her immune system fights it off) without cancer developing.
There is more cervical cancer prevalence in developing countries and is highest in Africa.
Prevalence of cervical cancer is 2 to 5 times higher in HIV+ women.
Maternal Health
Rates of maternal mortality are higher in Africa than elsewhere. Of the top ten countries with the worst maternal mortality rates, 9 are in Africa. 1 in 7 women for Niger, 1 in 87 for South Africa.
Estimated 60-80% of pregnancies in South Africa end in c-section. The World Health Organization recommeds a country rate of 10-15%.
Random, I know. More real udaptes soon! Finals are over June 14th, woo hoo!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Quick Updates
Hello, hello!
I have been in the depths of paper writing, but wanted to take a moment to share a few updates.
Firstly, after my last post I had what felt like an explosion of job offers! Currently, I am still only working at Bella. I had another serving job offer at what sounded like a great place, but am sticking to Bella, which is still going wonderfully. I also randomly responded to an ad looking for music teachers for woodwind lessons and ended up getting the job! I will try to write about that in more detail soon. It's for a non-profit music school in Hout Bay that began in 2007. I met the woman who runs it and she is really a cool person. I'll be starting with them in July. Lastly, the Learning Network finally got back to me and, as I write this, I am in their office. I began volunteering this week and then an official posting for an assistant position will go up soon. I've been encouraged to apply, so hopefully that means I'm pretty much in if I want it. We'll see!
Thomas will be home this weekend and we'll be celebrating his birthday, which is on Monday. Hooray!
Finally, I hand in my dreaded paper tomorrow and am SO excited it's almost finished! I don't even care about the grade that much any more, I just want the semester to be done!
I believe that's all the new for now. I'll try to write more soon. Love!
I have been in the depths of paper writing, but wanted to take a moment to share a few updates.
Firstly, after my last post I had what felt like an explosion of job offers! Currently, I am still only working at Bella. I had another serving job offer at what sounded like a great place, but am sticking to Bella, which is still going wonderfully. I also randomly responded to an ad looking for music teachers for woodwind lessons and ended up getting the job! I will try to write about that in more detail soon. It's for a non-profit music school in Hout Bay that began in 2007. I met the woman who runs it and she is really a cool person. I'll be starting with them in July. Lastly, the Learning Network finally got back to me and, as I write this, I am in their office. I began volunteering this week and then an official posting for an assistant position will go up soon. I've been encouraged to apply, so hopefully that means I'm pretty much in if I want it. We'll see!
Thomas will be home this weekend and we'll be celebrating his birthday, which is on Monday. Hooray!
Finally, I hand in my dreaded paper tomorrow and am SO excited it's almost finished! I don't even care about the grade that much any more, I just want the semester to be done!
I believe that's all the new for now. I'll try to write more soon. Love!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Because Heather Said I Had To
Why hello there everyone! I recently tried to update, but was thwarted by blogspot's website being down. However, thanks to my friend Heather, I was reminded that I still needed a new entry.
When we last left our heroine, she was learning to drive, anticipating May homework, and complacently settling for her job.
Well, I am still learning to drive, though honestly am feeling less optimistic about it. I experienced what I'm pretty sure was an actual panic attack during an attempt to drive to the Waterfront with Thomas and have been very turned off by even the thought of driving since. I did have another lesson last week where I drove to Hout Bay and back. It was a relaxed ride, kinda what I needed to "get back on the horse," but I've neglected to schedule another lesson yet. I can't remember the last time I felt so much anxiety about something!
In happier news, I have a new serving job! I was getting more and more disasatisfied with my previous job--it was dead almost every night, staff were treated horribly, and I was having more and more shifts with this terrible manager. On Friday, I went to have a haircut with the fabulous Natalie. While she was making my hair look amazing (seriously), I vented to her about my job. When I told her where I was working she was like, "I'm sorry but that place is a DIVE," and I had to agree! After telling her about my horrible manager, she was really encouraging to get myself out of there. She told me about a few restaurants in the area where she knew the owners took care of their staff and suggested I go drop off my CV.
I left early for work so that I could stop into a few places. Well, as it turned out, the very first place I walked into had just placed an ad in the paper for a part time waitress and after the owners spoke with me for a few minutes, they hired me on the spot! It is basically an Italian restaurant, pastas and pizza, and closer to me than my previous job. I had eaten there before I knew the food was good, they got steady business, and it is a nice atmosphere (not at all a "dive"). Went to work that night and told them it would be my last evening. Hooray!
I was glad I got to say good bye to a waitress I'm friends with there, although I know I'll see her again soon (we're planning to go out one night). Just a few things about her. She is from Zimbabwe originally, but now has been living in Cape Town with her boyfriend for a year or so. Before that, they were long distance with him in Zim and they did not see each other for TWO YEARS. They are very close and when I asked her about if they wanted to get married, she said that they did, but that he did not save enough yet to pay the bride price (I'm not sure of the word used in Zimbabwe) to her family. I felt so bad for her--she expressed frustration that they were bound to that tradition even though it was not important to her or her partner, but because of her family's expectations. Their families don't even know they live together in Cape Town! However, there is a happy ending. Her partner recently got a new job where he has been making better money and she told me a couple of weeks ago that they were going to be able to get married before the end of the year! So glad for her. I can't imagine how relieved she must feel.
Anyway, back to the new job. I began training today and, while it's still just a serving job, so far it has proved to be SO MUCH better than the last place! Staff are treated kindly and with respect--each shift that you work you get a free meal and drink. The owners are a married couple, the woman being Italian South African and the man being from Italy, I believe. The woman, Carla, was there with me for most of today and she was very pleasant and helpful. You can also tell that she takes a lot of pride in the restaurant which is really refreshing. I worked with her husband a little bit before my shift ended and he was also quite pleasant. Overall, I'm very happy with the change.
School is going well. I handed in my first big paper of the month last week and felt really good about it. I'm currently working on my last paper of the semester, which is by far the most difficult. It's for the same course that I had to write the history paper. I have to discuss the causes/risk factors for homicide in South Africa and El Salvador (I chose the countries and topic) and then design public health interventions for each countries in what is essentially a fifteen page paper. Oh my. I go back and forth between feeling confident and feeling like it is next to impossible, but pretty much everyone in our class is feeling the same way. I think this might be one of the hardest courses that I take, so I'm very much looking forward to it simply being over!
No news on the thesis stuff. The Learning Network is still and option, but not set in stone. I'm putting my search on the shelf for a little bit. I also officially handed in the paperwork to be in the Health Systems track last week.
That's all of my news for now. Surely I'll be looking to do a little more procrastinating in a week or so and will write again then.
Love to the States!
When we last left our heroine, she was learning to drive, anticipating May homework, and complacently settling for her job.
Well, I am still learning to drive, though honestly am feeling less optimistic about it. I experienced what I'm pretty sure was an actual panic attack during an attempt to drive to the Waterfront with Thomas and have been very turned off by even the thought of driving since. I did have another lesson last week where I drove to Hout Bay and back. It was a relaxed ride, kinda what I needed to "get back on the horse," but I've neglected to schedule another lesson yet. I can't remember the last time I felt so much anxiety about something!
In happier news, I have a new serving job! I was getting more and more disasatisfied with my previous job--it was dead almost every night, staff were treated horribly, and I was having more and more shifts with this terrible manager. On Friday, I went to have a haircut with the fabulous Natalie. While she was making my hair look amazing (seriously), I vented to her about my job. When I told her where I was working she was like, "I'm sorry but that place is a DIVE," and I had to agree! After telling her about my horrible manager, she was really encouraging to get myself out of there. She told me about a few restaurants in the area where she knew the owners took care of their staff and suggested I go drop off my CV.
I left early for work so that I could stop into a few places. Well, as it turned out, the very first place I walked into had just placed an ad in the paper for a part time waitress and after the owners spoke with me for a few minutes, they hired me on the spot! It is basically an Italian restaurant, pastas and pizza, and closer to me than my previous job. I had eaten there before I knew the food was good, they got steady business, and it is a nice atmosphere (not at all a "dive"). Went to work that night and told them it would be my last evening. Hooray!
I was glad I got to say good bye to a waitress I'm friends with there, although I know I'll see her again soon (we're planning to go out one night). Just a few things about her. She is from Zimbabwe originally, but now has been living in Cape Town with her boyfriend for a year or so. Before that, they were long distance with him in Zim and they did not see each other for TWO YEARS. They are very close and when I asked her about if they wanted to get married, she said that they did, but that he did not save enough yet to pay the bride price (I'm not sure of the word used in Zimbabwe) to her family. I felt so bad for her--she expressed frustration that they were bound to that tradition even though it was not important to her or her partner, but because of her family's expectations. Their families don't even know they live together in Cape Town! However, there is a happy ending. Her partner recently got a new job where he has been making better money and she told me a couple of weeks ago that they were going to be able to get married before the end of the year! So glad for her. I can't imagine how relieved she must feel.
Anyway, back to the new job. I began training today and, while it's still just a serving job, so far it has proved to be SO MUCH better than the last place! Staff are treated kindly and with respect--each shift that you work you get a free meal and drink. The owners are a married couple, the woman being Italian South African and the man being from Italy, I believe. The woman, Carla, was there with me for most of today and she was very pleasant and helpful. You can also tell that she takes a lot of pride in the restaurant which is really refreshing. I worked with her husband a little bit before my shift ended and he was also quite pleasant. Overall, I'm very happy with the change.
School is going well. I handed in my first big paper of the month last week and felt really good about it. I'm currently working on my last paper of the semester, which is by far the most difficult. It's for the same course that I had to write the history paper. I have to discuss the causes/risk factors for homicide in South Africa and El Salvador (I chose the countries and topic) and then design public health interventions for each countries in what is essentially a fifteen page paper. Oh my. I go back and forth between feeling confident and feeling like it is next to impossible, but pretty much everyone in our class is feeling the same way. I think this might be one of the hardest courses that I take, so I'm very much looking forward to it simply being over!
No news on the thesis stuff. The Learning Network is still and option, but not set in stone. I'm putting my search on the shelf for a little bit. I also officially handed in the paperwork to be in the Health Systems track last week.
That's all of my news for now. Surely I'll be looking to do a little more procrastinating in a week or so and will write again then.
Love to the States!
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