Back to Reality (Kind of)

        Well, it had to come some time. This week was, at last, the beginning of our Spring Semester of classes at UCT. It had been 3 whole weeks we'd been here without classes, which allowed us to acclimate to our new home and enjoy ourselves. But, many of us were so tired from the activities of the first 3 weeks, we were looking forward to getting into a bit more of a routine. We had already enrolled in courses and now would have one week to amend our schedule before it became final. 

        I decided to take this semester to study some different things than I had been studying back at Bowdoin. I was in good shape for both of my majors and my minor back at school, so I decided to take some different courses. Below you will see the four courses I've enrolled in here at UCT.

Courses 

History: The Making of the Modern World Economy

Sociology: Introduction to Sociology
Language & Literature: Word Power

Music: African Instruments


          The variety in these courses offers me a chance to learn from a new perspective. My history course is probably the most interesting to me, but I am intrigued by sociology as well. Word Power is a course on the etymology of the English Language, with concentrations in Greek and Latin, and finally African Instruments is an opportunity to explore an artistic side of African Culture. These classes will keep me busy and interested for the months to come, and I was happy to be able to get settled in to classes and know what was going on. Our class schedule is very different here. Rather than meeting for 90 minute classes twice a week, like we do back in the States, we meet 4 times a week for 45 minutes here. It is more similar in that respect to high school scheduling, because I have several short classes everyday. But, I am happy with the way my schedule worked out.

Grandma Sally's Valentines Day Barrage of Mail

          Our second day of classes also happened to be Valentine's Day. Now, I am completely neutral on Valentine's Day, have no strong feelings about it. But, as I may have mentioned before, there are many more girls than boys abroad in Cape Town. Because of this, many girls began talk of Valentine's Day weeks ago, before I even remembered the "holiday" (what passes for holidays nowadays is ludicrous) was on the horizon. So, taking the hints that had been made for weeks, I decided I would celebrate Valentine's Day this year, to make the girls feel more at home. Interestingly enough, my class "Word Power" which is about etymology used an exercise on Valentine's Day to explain how words, traditions and holidays can transform from their original meaning to very new and different meanings. We studied the history of Valentine's day and surprisingly found that neither Hallmark nor sad, lonely women invented the holiday. It was a decreed a holiday of feast to celebrate he martyrdom of Saint Valentine, who preformed marriages against the orders of the Roman Emperor. The Roman Emperor thought single men made better warriors, since they did not have an allegiance to a woman, so he made marriage illegal. Valentine believed in the sacrament of marriage, so he continued to marry young men and women until he was thrown in jail and later killed for his crimes. Though this new found knowledge was basically useless, I found it interesting and it did prove a point about etymology. In light of St. Valentine's plight, I decided to offer my celebration of the holiday through my new found hobby, cooking. I invited a group of girls over for a dinner that I would prepare for them, to celebrate the 2012 version of the day while remembering St. Valentine's martyrdom. 

Got a chance to get in touch with my feminine side while slicing heart shapes Mango

      While it sounds like this was a grand, kind gesture to prepare this Valentine's Day meal for these girls, I will admit it wasn't purely a selfless act. I have become quite fond of cooking and preparing meals, and so I did enjoy spending a few hours preparing appetizers, a main course, sides and dessert.

Mango & Prosciutto Appetizer

          The Dinner turned out quite nicely, and everyone appeared to enjoy it very much. There was way too much food, I prepared large portions (just incase I was met by overly emotional lonely women on Valentine's Day who would deal with their grief by eating their feelings) but having leftover makes the next day easier. 

Valentine's Day Menu

Appetizers: Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil with Olive Oil

                   Mango & Prosciutto Bites

     Entrees: Pesto Chicken

                   Pesto Shrimp 

        Sides: Pesto Pasta

                   Grilled Potatoes

                   Broccoli

     Dessert: Chocolate Mousse with Coconut and Raspberries

       I was happy to have made a nice gesture for the girls on Valentine's Day, and enjoyed cooking and preparing a meal, however, began to feel a bit light in the loafers and needed some more masculine energy around me. As luck would have it, the very next day was my first Rugby practice. As semester abroad students at UCT we are given the opportunity to join 3 clubs for free. Clubs are mostly sports related, though there are other extra-curricular options that involve academic interests. I decided to stick to athletic clubs and joined three sports clubs that meet at various different times, to get involved in both intercollegiate and casual sports.

Clubs

UCT Golf Club

UCT Rugby Club http://www.uctrfc.co.za/

UCT Yacht Club http://www.uctyc.co.za/

            Rugby is the biggest time commitment and I'll be playing games against other clubs. Golf and Yacht are more come and go as you please with many weekend tee times and expeditions. I look forward to spending time golfing, sailing and playing and practicing rugby with the club. Rugby, is to South Africa what American Football is to the United States. Rugby is the sport that commands respect like no other, and for good reason. The Rugby Clubs down here are not what we are used to seeing in colleges in the states, these are some men, NFL looking players, who are about as fit and strong as you can be. I stepped on the field at first practice and was a child. I will be playing on the lower team (I still don't know how to play rugby fully, but am learning as I speak), which still puts me as a smaller player. 

My new Rugby Ball next to my old American Football

       I am playing Rugby with two friends who are also studying abroad. Levi, who used to play Football and Lacrosse from Tufts, and Ross who used to play football and last year took up playing Rugby from Princeton. Ross knows more than Levi and I but is helping us learn the game as we play among people who have played all of their lives. It is a fun game and a great work out and so far we are enjoying. It isn't an overwhelming time commitment for the lower club, we have 2 practices a week and usually 1 game per week. This is just enough time to focus on the game, to learn, play and enjoy it, without having it take over my time while abroad. I am already enjoying it tremendously and look forward to improving and understanding the game better and better.

Trying to watch as much Rugby as possible to help understand the game

            Now that I had become settled in classes and clubs, it was almost the weekend, and I had yet to see one of my best friends from high school who lives down here, and has his own company. Brocq arrived a few days ago and I took Thursday afternoon to go and see him. He lives in Muizenberg, which is about a 20 minute train ride from my apartment. Brocq went to UCT last year but this year is focusing on his business, which is probably the coolest job one can imagine having, leading scuba dives among sharks. (to check out his website visit: http://www.sharkexplorers.com/). He is doing extremely well, loves Cape Town and I am eager to embark on a dive with him in the coming weeks (that will certainly warrant it's own blog post). It is nice to have an old friend nearby, and I hope to spend time with him over the course of the semester though he's busy leading dives almost daily.

Junior Year at Lawrenceville with Brocq (Front and Center), Starkey (Back and Center) and Max (Right)

          Not much has changed between Brocq and I since Lawrenceville, I went down to the Bahamas (where he lives, his dad runs the Island School which I attended in High School for a semester) to visit him just before Sophomore year started. He is one of the nicest, most loyal friends I have and I'm happy to be down here with him. By the time I had left Brocq's the week was almost over and we were gearing up for the weekend. The weekend had plenty in store, so I was eager to get to the weekend and content that I was settled in at UCT, Brocq was here. Everything has fallen into place and I am so lucky to be down here at a great school with great people having the time of my life.