When it Rains, it Pours

Here begins a series of mini-lecture titled: T.I.A. (This is Africa): Through Janni's Ridiculously Near-Sighted Eyes.

Lesson One: Janni is a dumb klutz. Always. 

All the pathways here at Rhodes are made with uneven concrete or brick/stone, so I finally met my inevitable fate and sprained my ankle. Thankfully, I know that I'm a clumsy oaf and had the foresight to bring with me not one, but TWO Ace Bandages and a bottle of ibuprofen. Now if only I hadn't gone dancing a couple hours later… I might need to get it checked out

Lesson Two: Dancing on pub tables.

I love the nightlife here. There is a noisy college pub, the Rat and Parrot (the Rat), a block from campus which is a staple for Rhodents. Open pretty much all day, it's the first gathering point that the Intl Studs have chosen. From there, some of us have gone to Friar Tuck's (Friar's), a club that plays a mix of dubstep, house, and basic clubbing music. There's a place called Pirate's (Tinashe tells me there's a stripper pole there) that we've been trying to see this entire time, but it's always closed. There's also a seedy smoke-filled bar called Champs that I think I'll stay away from unless I want to play pool with a bunch of shady looking characters. There's a couple other places for dancing, Olde 65 and Prime, but I've heard mix reviews. Also, Monastery, which is exclusively dubstep. All these places are within a couple of blocks of campus. The Intl Studs have gone out almost every night this past week, and I am starting to get used to coming home smelling of cigarettes, spilled beer, and fun. Lots of fun. There are many good memories that have been made. I'm sure you've seen the Facebook pictures…

Lesson Three: An alarming trend.

There is some hardcore fratty action here. I think it's due to the fact that the Res.es here are all arranged by gender, so the guy's Res.es are conducive to huge brofests. Seriously, there are guys on the dance floor tearing it up together and dancing on tables, singing their house's anthems. With Mullets. Apparently, one of the houses here made a pact that the first one to cut the mullet would have to buy cases of beer for everyone. Am I on the set of Animal House? Regardless, I have met some nice, un-mulleted guys here, including a very cute (but seemingly totally disinterested) ichthyology major…

Lesson Four: Living conditions

I'm now moved into my permanent Res, John Kotze House (JK). I have to lug my sorry ass up to the third floor to get to my room, but that'll be good to ward off the impending beer gut, I guess. The house is beautiful, full of quirky, friendly, individual girls, and a head of housekeeping that is the most adorable old lady I've ever seen apart from my grandmother. The one downside: piss-poor showers. Weak water pressure, ridiculous sensitivity of the cold water tap, so tall that I might as well be standing in some mild rain. Maybe the showers down a floor are better...

Lesson Five: Apparently, Janni's hair is normal here. So there. 

I have seen 5 separate women with the same color magenta, or some shade of it. Actually, there are all sorts of cool hairstyles here, and I feel like the fact that I have weird hair makes me fit in.

Lesson Six: Where are all the Asians?

Guys, I think I'm in the only college that doesn't have any East Asian students. I've seen two. Total.

Lesson Seven: The Locals.

What is in the water here? First of all, everyone is so nice here. Like, "Oh, are the new exchange student? Let me, go out of my way to introduce myself/start a conversation/carry your bag/be ridiculously good-humored. Also, everyone is tall. Okay, I exaggerate, it's more like everyone is not short. But that, to me, means everyone is tall.

Lesson Eight: Well I guess I'm here to learn something…

Classes started Monday, and apart from not being able to access the online course material, it went off without a hitch. I found all my classes, and they all seem to be interesting. I'm taking third-year History: Themes in Zimbabwean History; Politics: Contemporary Theory; and Economics: South African Economy. Also, my Politics prof is essentially what Akins must have been like 20-30 years ago. Enough said. Guys... having classes at 7:45 AM sucks. They're called "Dawnies" here, and I have three of them....

Lesson Nine: Technology. Can't do it.

So, after my beautiful new Macbook was exposed to water via leaky water bottle in purse and I put it in a giant bag of rice for three days straight, internally sobbing, it turned on without a hitch. So that's good. Everything is running smooth. But let me hit you with a piece of knowledge:

Fun Fact: Rhodes' internal internet networking system must be first accessed through Ethernet cable.

"So what," you ask?

Fun Fact: Macbook Airs do not have Ethernet ports.

Cue facepalm.

Fun fact: it costs 50 USD (minimum) for someone in South Africa to buy a cheap version of a Mac compatible USB to Ethernet Adaptor and have it shipped to them if they want it within a week. 

Why am I so bad at life? Bottom line, I'm still on limited internet access, because I either have to hobble into town to access wireless or use the school's computers, which doesn't have any of my files. I will upload pictures and keep updating as much as a can, but this will be another busy week. I leave you with this lovely mini story:

Favorite Moment So Far: I was walking a very sheepish and drunk Tinashe back to Matthews House (back when the Intl. Studs were all still staying there), where he needed to grab an overnight bag before heading to be the RA on duty for the night(they do it for a week straight). He was so embarrassed that a girl was carrying him home and a little concerned that he would be showing up to work drunk. We were bantering about something when:

Tinashe: Oh, I think I just friend-zoned you.
Me: I'm not too broken up about it, man. We can be bros.
*fist pound*

Some things never change. I love it.

ALRIGHT. HERE IT IS.

Have I mentioned how much I hate flying in airplanes? Haven't they invented teleportation (that wouldn't theoretically possibly kill you) yet? The flight from Spokane to Salt Lake was pretty good, had an entire row to myself, so I spent the entire way. SLC to JFK (NY) was slightly less comfortable, but I sat next to a nice Sri Lankan businessman and shared my NationalGeographics with him

Then came JFK. First of all, the terminal looks like a prison. Second, after dragging around my 45lb Backpack,  my 20+lb duffel, and my heavy backpack in the RIDICULOUS humidity (seriously, between that and the heat, I was sweating like a fiend), I finally found the baggage storage place only to have the woman at the desk matter-of-factly tell me that they were full and not taking any more bags. There was no way I was carrying all my stuff on the subway, so I resigned myself to staying the night at the airport. But after wandering around the terminal and a tearful call to my sister, I discovered there was absolutely no place to sit, not even a hard bench, and my sister was kind enough to pay for my cab to her friend Amanda's place, where I had already arranged to stay the night. The taxi driver was a super friendly (and slightly sassy) Nigerian man, living in the US for the past 32 years, with 3 daughters, all going to or had attended college. He had completely pimped out his ride, and I have to admit, I was impressed by the 5 bluetooth capability with touch screen and LED interior lights combined with spotless interior. Definitely nicer than Lucy.

Once I got to Amanda's studio walk-up apt in Midtown, things got better. I took a heavenly cold shower and chatted with her about my travel plans to Europe (she had just come back from Germany and seeing her German boyfriend). She was SO friendly and just what I needed after a long day.

After 4 hours sleep, she graciously woke up with me, bought me a bagel, and walked me to Grand Central Station where there was a shuttle service to the airport. People, I LOVE NYC, barring the permanent permeating smell of urine, and the city in the early morning is just great. As I told the cab driver, I'm going to probably live there someday. After getting dropped off at JFK, getting my affairs in order, and getting through security, I discovered:

Fun Fact: JFK Terminal 4 has birds in it.

As in little wild sparrows that must have snuck in somehow through a gate or door. There wasn't just one, but several. Odd. I can't tell if they are living there or just stuck, but they seem pretty familiar with the place.

Next up, the 10 hour fight to Johannesburg (JoBurg), then 2 more to Port Elizabeth (PE). I was sitting in the same section as a group of college kids, mostly from California, traveling to do mission work in Port Elizabeth, in front of this guy clearly trying to impress this girl by telling her about various subjects, from the Chinese language to African cultures. He was so wrong on so many levels, and he just WOULD NOT SHUT UP. It took all my strength to not just turn around and tell him he was full of crap and for the sake of all of us on the plane, he should just stop talking.

After I got to PE, I met another international Rhodes student from Buffalo, NY (who actually did stay overnight at JFK the poor guy) and a couple of fellow Rhodents (see key ---> for slang terms. there's a lot of them) while waiting for the shuttle. I met a girl who's on the Res committee (the dorm council system) for my hall, and it sounds like I'm going to have a good time partying at a true Braai (barbecue) this semester. The drive to Rhodes was beautiful, I'm sure, but I fell asleep for it so I wouldn't know, haha. The Indian Ocean looks very pale and slightly green, almost like jade.

Guys, SA is so. freaking. beautiful. Esp. Rhodes. I mean, this campus is gorgeous. I'm dying. I think I'm transferring here. On Sunday, it was raining, and cold, and a little bit miserable, but Monday, the sun was shining, there were these cool birds that weave their nests upside down singing, and we took a tour of campus that just proved that my school kicks so much ass in the aesthetics dept. Just saying. I also found a cafe (well, someone told me about a cafe) that has free WiFi and delicious coffee. Study spot= found.

I've been living in a temporary dorm, Matthews House, for this orientation week with all the other international students. There are 2 Netherlanders, Wout (M, Law) and Merel (F), 1 French girl Celine (Journal.), 1 Englishman Simon (EnviroSci/Bio), 1 German girl Deike (Busi.), 1 Italian girl Teresa, 8 American girls Anna, Anna, Ilyssa, Ashley, Katie, Sara, and Chloe and myself (from MI, MD, ME, NY, Boston College, et. al), 1 Aussie girl Bec, and 2 American guys Chris and Ryan (Intl Rel./Econ). We're all going essentially going to be living in different places around campus in a week, but so far it's been one long constant bout of socialization, and I'm afraid people are quite sick of me :P.  It's been established that I'm (unfortunately) a walking encyclopedia, but the people here seem to be taking it well. I'll get better, I promise. There are also a couple of Rhodents who have volunteered to hang out with (babysit) us , Tinashe (Ti-na-shay, who is so sassy. love it), Eric (who's pretty much the most interesting person ever, speaks 6 languages and wants to learn Chinese), and Manda (who I haven't seen much of but I'm pretty sure is kicking all of our asses at pool). So far, I have discovered that everyone on campus, including administrators, has such a great sense of humor. There's sass, sarcasm, and everyone laughs so well. The guy who led our tour was so funny, giving us fun little tidbits instead of the boring stuff, and the International Office was so good-humored about the fact that we all showed up to the wrong place. Apart for the occasional chill (it's been in the 50s F), and the slightly dilapidated dorm I'm living in currently, this place is paradise. The food, so far, has been alright, and Eric has broken down for me what meals I should book when (Indian for supper on Mon. Wed. and Sun. African for Wed. during the day), so I should be trying tasty foods here. Definitely not homesick yet.

Today, mini lectures doing the orientation bit and went around taking pictures. I'll upload them soon! I love it here.

Mail Time!

Alright Lovely People! if you want me to send you mail, postcards, etc par avion, please leave your address in a comment! If Blogger is silly and doesn't let you, leave it as a comment on the facebook post :)

Today is the day. To New York I go!