Semester’s End

I remember my first few weeks here in South Africa; the nights were very cold and my diet mainly consisted of ramen noodles. That’s pretty much the diet of a typical college student. Though, I went around telling the friends I made, especially the other Americans, that this is what I picture my life in the real world to be like; life after college that is. These four months here felt different from the normal college experience. Having enough food to eat was the most memorable part in those early days of the semester. In my final days I had more food than I could eat. Cooking it all wasn’t even the issue it was how I was going to cook it all before it was time to leave. I feel that I’ve gotten a lot better with cooking. In my time here I’ve learned to successfully make more than just pasta. Seeing my abundance of food in the fridge after exams were over helped me see how I’ve grown over this semester. It showed me that I was able to adapt to an environment outside my comfort zone. It’s been an interesting experience.

The Truth, It Hurts.

One day my friend Patty, a slight, smiley blonde from Minnesota, was in the dorm kitchen cooking breakfast when Eunice, one of the women who works in the building, walked by. Patty, being the sunny, amiable type, smiled and said good morning and asked how Eunice was. Eunice broke into a responding smile, replied, and after a short conversation, turned to go – but not before cheerfully observing that though Patty was very thin when she had arrived in the dorm, she was “now getting fat!”

This directness is the kind of thing that still takes me (and a few of my other friends) by surprise down here. It is one of the culture clashes that I’m not sure will ever entirely pass – even after months here we still trade stories about the surprisingly candid comments that we hear.