Tag: globaled

The Life and Adventures of an Abroad Student

Published on by sarahsouthafricaLeave a comment

On my personal blog I began by writing posts about preparing to come to South Africa.  I had a count down for each week.  I’ve been avoiding this count down because I am still working on not focusing on home.  Yet as a math major I’m designed to like numbers and I make count downs and create fractions for everything in my life.  *cough19dayscough*

Everyone knows that I’ve missed home since I stepped into the airport.  Hopefully everyone knows that I love Africa too.  The experience has been great and I don’t regret a second of it.  Not even the parts that I regret.

Think about it.

Of course my issue is that I am too connected to the people back home.  I feel like I’m missing so much.  I feel like I’m letting friends down when I’m missing their break ups, their birthdays, their new relationships, their engagements, their injuries, and their success.  I’m missing the important milestones in the lives of the children I care about.  I’m so used to being there for people and now I’m not.  Even if I’m not letting them down, I just want to be there.  Whereas here I’m just a blip in the lives of others.  They have internationals come and go every semester.  They are friendly to us, they care about us, but it’s hard to connect.  They know that we are leaving soon.  There is no point connecting to closely to us when they have life long friends to hang out with.  With the exception of Thuthu and Dom, my closest friends here are the other international students because they are alone too.

I’m also aware that I was meant to be gone during this time period.  I needed to miss the things I missed and that’s okay.  The experience has been great thus far and the last 19 days will be great too.  Some of my friendships at home have actually strengthened due to the distance.  My family relationships have strengthened too… oddly.

So, how did I spend my day?

It began with a lovely email from Taylor, a best friend from back home, that I didn’t respond to because I woke up late.  Then it was STUDY STUDY STUDY.   I had my first final today at two.  I started studying this morning at 10 because last night I was watching scary movies until 1am for Halloween.  I spent most of my time staring at a window.  The trees here are purple and mesmorizing to look at.  Then I had lunch with a Norwegian named Ola.  Oh, I’m pretty sure I got an A on my final too.  I learn quickly under pressure.  Then I spent some time with Carolyn (An American) and Carla (A German).  Then I responded to Taylors letter and talked to Adam, another best friend from home, on facebook.  Then I had dinner with Caleb, an American who also goes to DU.  I got back and spoke with Cassie from DU and my brother on facebook.  Then I decided to write a blog post because it’s been a while.

Why has it been a while?  Because this is my life.  I remember when I decided to audition to be a DUAbroad Blogger.  I thought, “I will have a new blog post every week!”  What I failed to realize is that eventually being abroad turns into life.  I mentioned this in a previous post.  Everything is so natural now; it seems silly to write about.  I live a life of connecting with friends here, connecting with friends from home, going to school, and watching a lot of tv.  I don’t watch tv in the states.  Here there is so much time.

On the note of having time, it is really nice to get a break from the busy life of the States.  At DU I hold two jobs, have a full schedule, I’m on leadership for three clubs, and I have every meal with a friend plus coffee friend-dates.  Not to mention family and church life.   Here it’s not as crazy.  I do get to volunteer a lot though.

Of course I travel occasionally and do things like jumping off stadiums, zip lining, and kayaking with crocodiles.  Truly great experiences and the detailed versions of those trips can be found at sarahsouthafrica.tumblr.com

This blog isn’t for highlighting travels and touristy things though.  It’s to describe how South Africans live life.  It’s easy to do when you’re new to their life style.  It’s a lot harder to do when you’re a part of it.  If someone asked me four months ago when I was in the states, “How do you live life?”  I’d say, “Uhhh… I live it?  I go to school, church, work, and hang out with friends.”  When I first got here my ability to answer that question with an interesting response was so incredibly easy.  Now my answer is the same as it was four months ago.

This is me working at the Salvation Army with the babies.  You can’t take pictures of their faces.

This is a good thing, just so you know.  To finally be a part of the community you’re in instead of just observing it.  It’s a bad thing for a blogger though.  Maybe I’d be a better writer if I were able to find the and discuss the tiny jewels in life and translate it into blog form.  Maybe I haven’t been here long enough to do that yet.

In case you’re wondering what my part of South Africa looks like, here is a great video that Caleb made.  It truly shows the things we see almost every day.

– Sarah Caulkins,  DUSA Blogger

Homestay Etiquette

Published on by DU AbroadLeave a comment

Many of you go abroad to gain independence and escape the safety bubble of your community and university. Friends, family and familiar scenery is replaced with strange smells, food, people and a family that you may or may not be able to communicate with. All of this is exciting, driving you to do and experience more.

All that being said, I’m sure you first time homestayers are a bit apprehensive about the prospects of living under the roof of parental surrogates and how that will influence your extracurricular activities. Rest assured, your homestay families are not there to keep you prisoner. They are there for guidance and support and might even welcome the idea of you taking in the night life.

However, in order to ensure that your nocturnal activities do not create an unhealthy relationship between you and your host family, there are four rules I recommend you follow.

  1. Enter quietly: A night on the town leaves one tired and sometimes confused. In addition, how is one supposed to navigate the intricate system of locks and gates in the middle of the night? Make sure to hone your skills during daylight hours so as not to become a nuisance to your family should you enter the house before sunrise.
  2. Tell your family where you are going: No longer are the days when you gave limited information to your parents in an attempt at damage control from something you did or will do. Your host families will be genuinely interested in what is happening with young people in their country, not to mention your safety. Be honest, let them know where you are going and doing, they might even let you know of some good places to go.
  3. Whatever you do, don’t raid the fridge: Many are partial to a late night snack after spending the night dancing, chatting and mingling with all the new and interesting people. If this is the case, make sure to take a snack with you or eat before you come home. Banging around dishes in the kitchen in the middle of the night is sure to wake up even the deepest of sleepers. Besides, who wants to be the one that eats that special cultural dish that your family was saving for a later date?
  4. Don’t invite friends over to spend the night without prior approval: Two can cause more trouble than one. Bringing others back to your homestay without prior approval is a sure way to do something that your family might not approve of.

If you follow these four rules, I guarantee there will be no ill will between you and your homestay family. The next lesson will be what to say to your homestay family when you come home at 2 am to find a giant rat drinking out of the dog bowl. True story.

–  Pablo Hester, DUSA Peer Advisor