Settled In

I should probably stop apologizing at this point for the length of time between entries...but I will try to be better!

So, nine months after moving to Cape Town, I can finally say that I feel settled in. I have an established group of friends, I'm doing well with school, I don't gawk at the scenery (though I still make a point of being grateful for my mountain views each morning and night), and I have a solid idea of how to get around Cape Town and where things are.

Of course, it's just around this time of settling in that it comes time to go home again--thankfully only for a long visit, before returning to Cape Town for at least another year.

I am incredibly excited about the impending visit (I leave in less than five weeks!). I'll be able to work and replenish my bank account a bit and also hopefully get a bit of health policy experience out of an internship. But, the top two things I am looking forward to? The people and the food. :)

But, as I said, I've been making more new friends recently and have a fairly solid group of people here as well. At Gabby's going away party I had met a group of five young women who are here in Cape Town for a year doing the Princeton in Africa fellowship. They are really incredible women with impressive resumes despite being a bit younger than I am!

Apparently, I have managed to neglect mentioning that I have been taking courses in salsa dancing for the last eight weeks or so. It started because a woman I know really wanted to go so I volunteered to go with, figuring I'd try something new. Honestly, it's turned out to be one of the best times of the week for me. It is SO much fun, decent exercise, and I've actually met some people through the course. I have a new friend, Homero, who is from Angola and came to Cape Town for an English language course. We decided to get together before class yesterday for dinner so I could help him practice English. Honestly, I don't think he needs the help--he talked up a storm! All I knew about Angola prior was that it is located on the west coast of Africa (kinda in the middle) and that the national language is Portuguese. Afterwards, I knew about the thirty year civil war, the politics, the role of the U.S., and what the main city Luanda is like. Oh, and it's good to have a boy to practice salsa with, since Thomas refuses!

I also recently met a couple of whom the guy is South African, the gal is Chilean. They are both super sweet, plus it's always nice to hear about another successful international romance--they are getting married in February and are taking the dance lessons because their wedding will be Latin themed! We're going to try to do a double date when Thomas is home. He FINALLY got the right visa for Nigeria, so I'll have him home at least a couple of days each week--could not be happier about that!

If I haven't made it clear by now, Cape Town is a very international city--not just the MPH program. Everyday you hear a variety of accents and, if you're friendly about it, you're constantly meeting new people. I have a theory that many of us internationals aren't outgoing because we were naturally born that way, but as a survival mechanism. Any time you go somewhere new, you need to reach out unless you want to be a loner. At least, I've become much more willing to strike up conversation since moving here. I find that other non-South Africans tend to be same.

Alright folks, don't forget to mark your calendars: I'll be home November 22nd! Love.

Life is Simple; Life is Good

This is the sentiment that continues to come to mind over the last few days.

I've really been trying to scale back the stress in my life. Schoolwork is important. Making some amount of income is important. Building my resume is important. But all of the stress just ain't worth it at the end of the day. I'm learning a lot in school, making some spending money with waitressing, and doing my best to put myself out there in the public health field. This might be the only time for the next few DECADES that I'm not bound to a full time job. I'm prone to workaholicism, especially when it's a job I'm passionate about. So, I am once more trying to settle into enjoying the little things in life.

These include:
-Sitting out on the balcony to enjoy the sunshine. Spring is coming!
-Giving myself permission to read for pleasure without the guilt (i.e. that I "should be" reading for class). Right now I am 2/3 through The Help. It's been an interesting reflection exercise since race is definitely still a hot topic here.
-Time with girlfriends. I've organized a dinner this Thursday for--brace yourself--18 girlfriends and myself. Wow! I owe the large turnout to the Ethiopian cuisine and not my organizing skills, but I'm looking forward to having many wonderful women in one place.
-Time with my love. Thomas is doing a gig in Nigeria for the next couple of months (well, barring that his visa come through in time...!) that will have him home a few days of each week. Needless to say, we're psyched!
-Food. I blame this on also reading Eat, Pray, Love with my mom. Been indulging in some amazing biltong and tonight I'm going for a burger with Katherine....and "Bitchy Bingo" at Beefcakes. :)

And the pink of the sunset is just starting to seep into the sky. Yes, life is good.

Whales, Sluts, and the Archbishop

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!

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!

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

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!

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!