FYI

So, now that I've informed quite a few people (including my parents, finally) that I'll be gallivanting off to a different continent in t-minus 106 days, I've come across a couple of misconceptions about South Africa (hereafter SA) that I'd just like to clear up once and for all and give you guys a little bit of context as to WHY I chose a program a little bit off the beaten path.

1) I will NOT have to take malaria pills. SA has a quite temperate climate (probably like a warmer Eastern Washington), is fairly dry, and therefore is not really conducive to hordes of disease carrying mosquitoes (thank NOB). The diseases that are of major concern in SA are tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS and since I have no intention of a) getting violently coughed on by TB patients, b) having unprotected sex with strangers, or c) sharing needles to inject drugs, I think I'll be fine. Seriously, people, it's cool. I'll be fine.

2) I am going to an ENGLISH-speaking university. Rhodes University is named after the same Cecil B. Rhodes as the Rhodes Scholar founder and was established by the lovely and familiar Brits in 1904. In fact, ALMOST ALL S. Africans speak English. It's one of their 11 official languages (including Afrikaans [a form of Dutch], Zulu, Swazi, Xhosa...). I think a lot of people fail to remember that many Africans speak multiple languages fluently. It never ceases to amaze me.

3) South Africa has many different races (and racial identifications) including: Black, Coloured, Indian, Chinese, White, etc. These forms of identification have been controversial, esp. since the abolishment of Apartheid in 1994, since one's designation does not necessarily reflect one's actual race, but rather social standing.

Fun Fact: South Africa has THREE different capitals: Pretoria (executive), Capetown (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial).

4) I will be studying in the city of Grahamstown. It's nowhere near Capetown. Or Johannesburg. Or the coast (well, kinda). The city is approx. a third Black, a third Coloured, a third White (split pretty evenly between Afrikaans and English), with a little Asian, population about 20K (Wikipedia). Rhodes is about half White and has about 7K students total, 5.5K of which are undergrads. It actually is a public university, with many departments and student organizations to offer.

5) I chose Rhodes because I was never really interested in the European study abroad experience, and while Europe offers a variety of cultures and histories, Africa was the one to piqued my interest. My entire pre-secondary education consisted of extolling and belaboring Caucasian history, philosophy, and cultures while "the country of Africa" was presented through the lens of colonialism (and perhaps even a little racism). The more I am exposed to African politics, culture, and history, the so-much-more I want to learn and understand. Because I want to eventually heal the world, my major is Int'l Studies, with a focus on Conflict Resolution *coughWorldPeace*. What better place to start to learn about mitigating, addressing, and moving on from current, complex conflicts than South Africa? Additionally, this program specifically requires students to join a community involvement group, which would be valuable experience for my future career in a humanitarian non-government organization (NGO).