I wish I could say I've procrastinated accidentally, that I've just been so busy having an amazing time doing a million amazing things that it's slipped my mind. But, alas--if South Africa is anything unexpected, I never expected it to be this quiet. So, although I've been having a good time, and have done and thought many blog-worthy things, I've been hesitant to actually start one. After reading my friends' posts from their adventures in Europe and Beijing, which are usually rushed, crazily entertaining litanies of activity after activity, I was worried (dumbly) I would have nothing to write about.
And yes, most of my time spent here has been rather, well, ordinary. But satisfying, in a strange way. I'm living in a very small town, Empangeni, on the eastern coast of the country, near the Indian Ocean. We're near beautiful beaches and game reserves brimming with wildlife, but the closest big city--Durban--is close to 90 miles away. My typical day, in short, is extremely different from the ones to which I've grown accustomed, attending school in New York City. I spend my days in class, in Zulu lessons, and "researching" (still figuring out exactly what that means). I wake up at 5:30 am for a morning run and go to bed at 11:00 pm (at Fordham, going to bed before 3:00 am is a rarity). My meals are cooked for me by my fabulous host mother. I have cable TV for the first time in my life, but no Internet. No subways, just minibus taxis. I read a lot more and talk to friends less often.
Bottom line, life in the bush (or, in Afrikaans, bushveld) has not been your "typical" study abroad experience.
Living here has been a lot to digest, and conveying it to you all in 500-word posts is still a tall order--but now, after some contemplation, it seems as if I have much more to say than I thought I would. Here goes...good thing Africa won't release me until June!
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