Correspondence
Thandokazi May
(Waterford KaMhlaba)
06-07-2009
thandokazimay@yahoo.com
Sorry for not
keeping contact, I have been incredibly busy. I'm not one to
boast or complain, but IB is not easy. But neither am I finding
it hard to cope. It requires a lot of time and effort.
Unlike Grade 12, emphasis is placed on work quality rather than
quantity.
My first term
here was a bit challenging. Not only because I missed home, but
also because I was overwhelmed with work and fear. Yes, I was
scared. For some time I was asking myself why I chose to do this
course, why I didn't go to University directly after matric. But
fortunately I ended up answering my own questions. I reminded
myself (and still do) about the big dreams and aspirations I
hold. I want to build a life for myself, outside the country of
my skull, the land I have always known, and am venturing into
the unknown. I am being bold and brave by taking this chance,
because I do not know what the future holds for me. But whatever
it is, it is very bright and worth chasing after! There is no
doubt in my mind that I am destined for great things, and I will
forever be grateful to the people that gave me this opportunity
(the committee).
For now, I am
concentrating on surviving the first year. A lot have done it
before me, so there is no sudden pressure. I am taking gigantic
steps towards achieving my dreams everyday, and by the end of
this year I am
certain I
would have reached the moon!!
Thank you for
everything...
With love,
Thashy
Pia
Rebelo
(Pearson College)
19-11-2008
piarebelo@gmail.com
The last
three months have been incredibly exciting. I've already had
many amazing experiences and my life has become ridiculously
busy. I arrived here not knowing what to expect, but I can
certainly say that I'm really happy with the way that things
have turned out and I'm having loads of fun.
I was really
nervous during my first week at Pearson, because my second years
told me that I would most likely collapse from the work load and
that everything would be impossibly hard. The IB has proven to
be more challenging than what I'm used to, but I soon found out
that academics constitutes a very small part of the overall
experience. The social aspect as well as activities and student
events have been much more time consuming than the
assigned homework.
I had no idea
how much dancing I would be doing here. Every regional day
requires hours of practice and I also belong to the
International Dance activity. An average day includes at least
one to two hours of dance rehearsal and practice time only
increases as we approach the actual show. Pearson College is
also famous for it's "One World" concert, which we perform in
March.
Sharing a
room with three other girls has also been a new and sometimes
challenging experience. For the most part it's loads of fun, but
it also means that we get very little sleep. This is mainly due
to the fact that we prioritise socialising over sleep and we
almost always have visitors in our room 'till the early hours of
the morning. I'm sharing a room with a Canadian, a Mexican and a
girl from Hong Kong. They're amazing people and I get along
really well with all three of them. They're actually starting to
feel more like sisters than roommates and I'm sure that we annoy
each other just as much as sisters do as well. I'm already
starting to get sad about the fact that my second year roommies
will be leaving next year.
I'm really
enjoying my classes and class discussion is always highly
stimulating. The teachers are also really cool and lessons
aren't as tedious as one would think. I'm taking English A1,
Spanish Ab Initio, Maths HL, Physics HL, Chemistry HL,
Anthropology and (of course) Theory of Knowledge. The IB is a
lot of work, but I can't say that it's a lot more than what I
had to deal with back home. The biggest problem is not the
amount of work, but finding the time and motivation to do it.
There always seems to be more interesting things going on around
campus than completing one's homework.
The campus is
really beautiful and Pearson College is situated in one of the
prettiest parts of Canada. We're right next to the ocean
and surrounded by dense pine forest. The climate has taken some
getting used to. I came over expecting Canada it to be
pleasantly warm because it was nearing the end of their Summer,
little did I know that Canada's Summer is very similar to the
South African Winter. I had to buy some very warm clothing and
every day seems to get colder and darker. Vancouver Island
actually has the warmest climate compared to the rest of Canada,
so most of the Canadians think that they're in a tropical
paradise.
Anyway, I
better go and study for the Physics test tomorrow.
Adios,
Pia
Chad Sonn -
UWC Costa Rica
01-07-2009
This past
year has been an amazing learning experience. I have become so
much wiser about the world, the concerns of others and my
strengths and weaknesses.
Academically,
I was faced with a few challenges and tried my best to overcome
them.
I am armed
with the "know-how" of the IB to improve in my second year.
CAS and the
other extra-mural activities were extremely enjoyable and
provided me with valuable insights and reflection time.
Thank you for
the opportunity. Now for the EE....
03-11-2008
Hola a todos! Greetings from the other side of the world! I
write to you in the midst of the Costa Rican rainy season. It
rains almost every afternoon, but at the same time it is hot and
humid. Being so far away from home has been an interesting
experience. Suddenly, I am accountable for making all the
decisions in my life. This UWC experience teaches you to be
responsible; it helps you recognize how much your attitude
determines what you become in life. Leaving my family and
friends was not easy, but if the past two months have been
anything to go by, it is all worth it! Such a lot has happened
since I left; Mbeki has resigned, a breakaway faction of the ANC
has formed, the rand has significantly weakened due to global
economic pressures etc. I am very thankful that the Internet
allows me to stay informed of the latest South African current
affairs!
The campus is incredibly beautifully. It can be compared to
living in a tropical jungle- lush green vegetation all around
and a diverse animal population inhabiting the trees and
shrubs. The campus comprises of approx. 180 students, thus we
are quite small compared to other UWCs. I live in Montezuma,
everyone's favourite 'hang-out' spot. My roommate is from
Finland. He is a wonderful guy, very kind and helpful.
Initially, it was not easy living with so many people, as there
is always noise etc, but I thoroughly enjoy it now. There are 8
residences in total, each named after a famous Costa Rican
beach.
I arrived in San Jose 2 hours later than expected. At the
airport, I discovered that my bags had been misplaced and were
still in London! I proceeded through customs etc and found a
crowd of UWC students, all dressed up, waiting to welcome me
"home!" My luggage arrived 7 days later, all in tact
(thankfully)! My subjects are English A1 HL, Spanish B HL,
Economics HL, History SL, Math SL and Environmental Systems SL.
Spanish is a constant challenge, as the course is designed for
those who have had 2-5 years prior experience. Initially, I
struggled, but through constant practice, my Spanish has
improved tremendously. The teacher is amazing and all the Latin
American students are extremely helpful.
I am still accustoming myself to the demands of the IB, but each
class is so interesting and stimulating. For CAS, I have chosen
MUN as a Creativity, Amnesty International as a Service and
Latin Dances as an Action. There are various activities
available, ranging from Juggling to working with children from
disadvantaged backgrounds. The service component of a UWC
curriculum is vital; as we learn to be responsible for
ourselves, as well as for others. Instead of just giving some
money to a charitable cause, you donate something even more
valuable: your time and effort. Learning about how to help
others has truly been a rewarding experience.
I look forward to the remaining 2 years at this College. It is
evident that the College is still in its developmental phase and
I feel very privileged to be part of the 3rd class that will
graduate from UWCCR. The contribution I am able to make to the
College's development will have a much greater impact than it
would have had on an established College, firmly set in its
ways. To all those who have the chance to apply: DO IT!! If the
UWC experience is what you want, if you are proud to be South
African (this is essential!) and yearn to be in a stimulating
environment where the possibilities are endless, apply!
(Signing out, off to study for Econ!)
International Day Photo
Sibulele Ngomane - Mahindra College
03-11-2008
Well wow what can i
say, India is a wonderful place. It’s different to what I’m used
to. The first thing that I noticed when I walked out the plane
was how the rich and poorer people seem to live around each
other. For instance, you will see the most beautiful hotel but
next to it is a shack. I think India has many problems in terms
of poverty and sanitation.
I'm really happy that
MUWCI places emphasis on community interaction. This is a great
way to see India for what it really is and a great way to
improve Hindi skills. I’m really enjoying school I'm learning so
much by being here. I wont lie school (on the academic side of
things) is quiet demanding but I'm trying to get used to I.B
standards.
I’ve settled in well,
so I think I’m having fun.
Koketso
Makhafola - Nordic College
koketsomak@hotmail.com
18-06-2008
When I first
got to the college, I did not believe I was there… I made new
friends in no time, the second years were very kind, and they
introduced us to the place with welcoming hearts. In RCN we have
five student houses named after the five Scandinavian countries:
Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Each house has
forty students residing in it with five students in each room. I
live in Iceland house, the biggest house on campus, with five
other students from Peru, Croatia, Sweden and Denmark. During
the first term, it was a little hard to adapt to college life
and academics and it was hard to see whether one was going to be
able to enjoy life there or just try to survive. The college
program is very advanced and it requires a lot of determination
from every student to make it work.
We learned
Norwegian communication in the first term until December and we
had a choice to either keep learning or do something else. Most
students could not continue because of their other subjects but
we all learned a lot from it. One of the best things about the
college is the Extra Academic Curricular (EACs). We have more
than forty EACs and I have joined four of them namely Youth
Against Aids, Friday Ball Games, Peer Tutoring and Sern Bio.
Every Friday we have what we call World Today were we have
presentations on a certain issue about the world and thereafter
we have some debates. After sometime we have Project Based
Learning Weeks, where we spend the whole week doing a project of
our choice in groups and learn from it. During our first year we
had Model United Nations and First Aid. In February, we went up
to the mountains of Western Norway to ski for the week. This
was part of our Nordic studies and we had many more sessions of
Nordic studies after that. Ski week was the best week of the
year. Nordic studies are a set of sessions organized by the
college to teach us about the Nordic region. We had these
sessions every Wednesday and we learned a lot about Scandinavia
and the Nordic region as a whole.
To be honest,
I would not have thought that the college would be so beautiful
and that the experience would be so life changing. I have
learned a lot from the college community and about the life
outside. The experience here is the best and the memories will
definitely stay.
Jake
Hoffman -
Mahindra College, India
jakethehake@gmail.com
17-03-2008
I just
returned from a trip to Sikkim, the most amazing and stunning
place that I've ever been to. It's a state in the west of India,
close to the Chinese border, in the middle of the Himalayas.
Definitely a place for reflection, surrounded by forested
mountains, with rivers in the valley, and the piece of mind that
comes with monasteries atop almost every hill. I was there for
roughly a week, travelling with some close friends. We managed
to go to a snow-covered lake, only 18km from the Chinese border,
surrounded by mountains, also covered with snow, yaks left right
and centre... It got me thinking about these two years, and just
how I ended up here, in India, at a UWC.
These two
years have been a time for immense growth, and a solidification
as well as a consolidation of my ideals, and my hopes for the
future. I have seen things that I hadn't even dreamed of seeing,
from crocodiles in the south, to the desert sky in the north, to
ancient forts in the middle of the Arabian Sea to the impact
that one billion people can have on the environment, as well as
how it can be protected, for example in Sikkim.
I feel that
as the years have progressed, I have managed to find myself and
have realised what I want to do afterwards, medicine. Still
waiting for applications to UCT to open, but as soon as they do,
I'm applying... On top of this, being immersed in the community
here has been amazing, from the constant challenges of living
with people from a variety of backgrounds and with a variety of
views on such contentious issues such as homosexuality and basic
fundamental ways in which a country should operate to being able
to work with the local villages, setting up libraries and water
filtration systems. Whilst I haven't always been able to find
the time to focus exclusively on academics, now that the time
has come to buckle down I know what needs to be done, and for
the first time I'm feeling confident about the IB finals, and
about my potential to do well in them. I know that it'll require
dedication and time, and I know that I have reached the stage
and the place where I can give it my all and really achieve
something to write home about (which is what I'm doing now!).
Naturally, there have been hiccoughs, but these have been ironed
out, and I'm looking forward to the bittersweet last stretch.
It's a rather
strange concept, to go somewhere and spend two years of your
life in such an intense environment, and then to suddenly be
ripped away from it. I find solace in knowing that afterwards
I'll have a network of friends around the world, and that this
experience is one that I will carry with me for the rest of my
life. I was talking to my friend on the train from Kolkata to
Pune (34 hours...) sitting on the steps, looking at the Indian
countryside rushing by, and realised that even after I've left,
these relationships continue, and I have learnt while being here
that relationships can transcend any distance. It's nice to know
that the world isn't as large as we've always been told it is.
Well, I wish
all my co-years the best of luck as we all prepare for our mock
exams. Voorspoed met alles, and may everything turn out better
than expected. Thanks... Your fellow South African UWCer in
India
Jake
Gareth
Smit -
UWC USA
garethsmit@netactive.co.za
04-07-2009
To
attempt to describe an experience as intense, holistically
influential, and significant as my two years at the United
World College of the American Mid-West in a summarised two
paragraphs or even in words alone would be an injustice to
the extraordinary impact and role that it has had in my
life. Even today, six weeks after graduation every response
I attempt when asked what I have been doing in the United
States for the past two years feels like an insufficient
description of an experience I am still trying to grasp.
Perhaps it will take me months, or even years to understand
the full impact that this adventure has had on my life, but
for now I can confidently say that my UWC experience has
given me the opportunity to grow exponentially in every
capacity. It has provided me with an entirely new set of
tools to adapt the world around me and to move my opinions
and actions in a direction of international acceptance,
cross cultural understanding and constructive conflict
resolution—words that, I am sure, sound rather cliché’ to
any member of the UWC global community.
Alas the
point of this summary is to provide you, my national
committee, with a summary of what my second academic year
entailed. Across the board I would say that I became more
focused on my academics. Perhaps this is due to my pursuit
of wanting to apply to US colleges and music conservatories,
perhaps the IB becomes far more demanding in the second
year. The fall (1st) semester was by far the most
academically stringent of the four I enjoyed at UWC with the
added pressure of the Extended Essay, College applications,
SATs and all the while keeping my IB mark in line and not
falling behind on internal assessment work. In retrospect,
now that I have decided to return to Cape Town University
for my undergraduate studies, I could perhaps say that I
should have balanced my time better in this first semester
of my second year - I do, however, feel that that balance
was eventually reached in my final semester. I was extremely
active in both the music life of the college, as well as in
my capacity as school photojournalist providing a diverse
archive of school life throughout my two years at UWC-USA. I
become a very active member of the HIV/AIDS Peer Educating
team run as a community service CAS, as well as training
within the Constructive Engagement of Conflict program as a
mediator. I was voted in by my peers to represent Africa on
the Student Council from Nov 2007 through Nov 2008; and
maintained involvement in campus related student issues
after my term finished. Academically I endeavoured to always
try my best and maintained a steady grade in all my subjects
with a distinct improvement in Spanish and Mathematics.
While I await my final IB grades, (due to be announced on
Monday 6 July) I expect a continuation of the marks I
received throughout my second year. While I did not achieve
a distinctly high predicted mark, I am adamant that I always
tried my best academically while still maintaining an active
life within the CASes I committed to and the relationships I
shared with my peers.
In
summary, I had an amazing two years academically at UWC-USA.
I learned to approach academics from a new perspective that
penetrated to the core issues needed to understand and
appreciate the things I learnt inside and outside of class.
I learned an amazing amount about the world through my
relationships with others, and even more about myself. Thus
it is with ardent gratitude that I thank you, the South
African National Committee, for your support in allowing me
this extraordinary opportunity. I look forward to joining
the National Committee team as we continue to strongly link
South Africa to the rest of the United World College global
community.
Yours in
gratitude
06-02-2008
Wow what an
awesome first three weeks of my second semester it has been.
My time home, although brief, over Christmas break was
awesome. I spent lots of collective and individual time with
my family, and seeing friends again was really special.
It’s weird how with some of my friends it was as though no
time was lost, and we just picked up from where we left off.
I really am very grateful that I had the privilege of
returning home for Christmas. I think overall, it set me and
my family at ease that the decision that I made to go to the
UWC-USA was by far the right one for me.
Getting back
into the swing of things after a long 44 hour sleepless trip
here was tuff, but thanks to the madness that is UWC life,
it happened within a couple of days. When your friends
become your family here because you are together 24/7, you
kind of start to miss them over the three weeks that you are
home. It was really great to see them all again. Already in
this new semester I have become a lot closer to various
people, and I really value the friendships that I have
here. What has especially hit home to me is how quickly the
time flies here. Some of my closest friends are 2nd
years, and to think that I only have about 3 and a half
months left with them scares me.
Thus far the
semester has been filled with really exciting opportunities,
and experiences. I did a wilderness expedition with one of
my close 2nd year friends, Basiel from Belgium as
my group leader. We hiked up to an altitude of about 1200
ft, and did awesome stuff like cross-country skiing, snow
shoeing and just intense bonding with a group of people that
I wasn’t that close to before this experience. The following
Sunday I had a really wonderful experience. I performed a
composition of mine entitled “The Mimes of Snow” for piano
and violin and I premiered it at the Castle Concert in front
of about 300 people. I can honestly say that it was the
pinnacle of my musical adventure thus far. The audience went
crazy (mostly due to the hysteric shouting from my
over-supportive friends!) and I got the only standing
ovation of the night. I see this as a start to an exciting
future in this musical adventure.
This past
week was filled with 3-4hours of rehearsals everyday for
AND—African national day. AND is basically a week long
focus/celebration of one of the five regions (North
America, Europe, Asia and Oceania, Caribbean and Latin
America, and Africa ) and starts off with a week of events
surrounding various topics about Africa. E.g. Trivia games,
movies and coffee table discussions. The week ends off on
the Saturday with a formal dinner where we all cook and
prepare regional foods, before the show. The show is
basically two acts with a common theme and various skits,
songs, and dances from all over Africa. What I really
enjoyed about our show, was that it was so layered—we had
dances, songs, funny skits, but also serious skits that
addressed the not so beautiful side of Africa.
I was in four
skits: The Legalisation of Gay Marriage, concerning the fact
that South Africa is still the only country in Africa with
legalised civil unions. To present the idea that there are
still numerous social stigmas concerning sexual orientation
within our continent. I was also in a Gumboot dance, I wrote
a Afrikaans song for guitar and performed it with my
friend, Matt playing the djembe drum with me. I was also in
a skit entitled “The Quest for freedom”, where about five of
us recited a “freedom speech” from a prominent political
figure from each of our respective countries. It was an
awesome show, and it went really well! But exhaustion kicked
in on Sunday and I slept most of the day!
Well I must
be off to a music lesson!
Can’t wait to
hear all your news from back home!
Bongani
Ndlovu -
Adriatic College
bonganiN@webmail.co.za
14-01-2008
My Italian experience has been more
than I can describe in words thus far, but I will try. I had
many reservations about coming here. I was leaving behind the
comfort of home, my family, my friends and I was faced with the
dread of having to complete school later than all my classmates.
All those fears and reservations were squandered within a week
of arriving in Duino. The college, the community and the
surroundings immediately cast their spells on me. I fell in
love. I have had more adventures in the past few months than I
have in the 16 years I have lived. Meeting fantastic people
from all over the world and forming strong relaionships with
them, the exposure to a totally different culture and
lifestyles, the unforgettable trips I have taken (to the
Dolomites, Rome, Milan, Venice, Slovenia and Austria), the food,
the wine (just kidding) and all that which the UWC is about. I
have developed so much understanding and appreciation for the
world.
If there is anything that has
notably changed about me, it is the amount that I speak (the UWC
forces you to open up). Now there is no shutting me up - I do
make sense when I am speaking though. As much as I hate admiting
it, I was in a bit of a cacoon and a bit nerdy and closed before
coming here, but now I have fully 'blossomed' and realised that
there is more to life than books. I never thought that I would
learn life lessons here, or learn to interact better with
people, but it's exactly what has happened (and will continue to
happen I'm sure). I also have shed some of the pre-made ideas I
had about the world and different kinds of people.
You hit the nail on the head when
you decided to send me to the UWCAD. I am so happy here and
singing more that ever before. I am taking rock-climbing,
skiing, drama and I am busy on three projects. The first is a
documentary about immigration in Italy and I, together with a
few other students, am working with a few immigrants from Africa
and other parts of the world. The second is a project called
SOSudan in which we are aiming at alerting people about the
situation in Sudan and trying to put together some means of aid.
The third is the compilation of a 'cultures book' for some
elementary and primary schools in Uganda. I have also started
going to salsa lessons and it is going very well.
As you can see I am still in love
with the experience. I haven't missed home as much as I thought
I would (perhaps because I haven't had the time to think a lot
about home), although I'm not saying there weren't times I had
to hold back the tears or think of even swimming down the
Adriatic all the way home. I stayed with a host family here in
Trieste over the winter break and they are amazing people. I felt like part of the family
after the second week of my stay with them and they were
extremely generous. Of course my Italian was a big beneficiary.
I wish I could recount all my
experiences for you. I am magnificent and I hope all of you
there are. Vi ringrazio per tutto. Buon anno e tanti auguri a
voi. May God bless you all.
Ci sentiamo fra un pocco.
Bongani
Ayesha
Krige -
Mahindra College, India
ayesharocksthepartay@hotmail.com
08-09-2009
This past year at UWC I think
has been the one in which I have learned the most about myself
and what I wanted to take from my UWC experience. I started off
the year feeling much more sure of myself than I had when I had
left a few months earlier. Over the summer I had thought a lot
about the way I wanted to spend my final year at MUWCI and was
keen to put all my ponderings into practice.
Although I had been very involved in
many aspects of MUWCI life in my first year, I felt that my
second year was a time to really explore my own views and
opinions about living in a UWC, and to become a more active
member of the community. For me this meant getting to know many
more people, starting initiatives where possible, becoming more
involved in the CAS (or triveni as its called at MUWCI)
programme, improving my grades and generally being more
outspoken.
The grades part came first as I
realised I was performing far below my potential and that I
wanted to achieve the grades I knew I could. Throughout the year
I dedicated more time to working, which I think paid off in the
end as the final results I achieved I think showed my true
academic potential.
I also got a chance to do a lot more
travelling this year, with project weeks and the winter break.
The first project week I decided to do a Community Interaction
(CI) project week again (this being optional for second years).
I got the chance to stay with a human rights NGO in the state of
Tamil Nadu called People’s Watch. Although this was only a week
long stay and I didn’t manage to stop all human rights abuses in
India in that time, I got to learn a lot about a different part
of the country and about an area of law which I had not known
much about previously.
The first initiative I started was
directing a play for the theatre week. Every year MUWCI has a
theatre festival in late February where a few plays are chosen
to be produced by students. In my first year I had starred in
Grease as a pink lady and loved the rehearsals that went on late
into the night and the closeness that develops with the cast and
crew. This year I got hold of the play Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard and pitched my idea of
producing the play. The three months I spent directing the play
late into the night was lots of fun and brought me closer to the
entire cast, and at the end of theatre week I was told that my
play was the best of all of them!
The other initiative I started was
another CI project in a slum called Ravadewadi in the valley
below MUWCI. Although there had previously been many different
CIs going down to the valley and giving opportunities to
children who attended the local schools, we had noticed that a
small community of lower caste or “dallit” people had been
completely excluded from the educational support programmes that
MUWCI was involved in as none of the children of the community
attended those schools. An Australian friend of mine had spent
time during the summer vacation living with this community and
offered to give extra lessons to the children in English.
Because of the incredibly positive response from the community
when the next year began the two of us started to go down some
evenings during the week and try to teach English informally to
these children. The Ravadewadi community lives in shacks on the
side of the road not very different from those seen in South
Africa. When they can the community makes money from collecting
rubbish and sorting it, but often they have little to no income.
Many of the men have drinking problems and domestic violence
seems a way of life. It seems that often the only way that the
children knew to interact with others was through violence.
In the beginning the children were
incredibly violent toward us and seldom paid attention and we
felt that our effort was in vain. But slowly, throughout the
months we spent with them, our group grew bigger and we became
closer and felt that we had slowly started to improve their
English skills and their attitude toward learning. The project
was incredibly demanding (sometimes we would meet for hours
planning and evaluating our sessions with the children) and took
up a lot of our free time as we decided not to turn it into a CI
where you could get CAS hours for it, but instead keep it as a
project which people who were truly interested in would
participate in, not merely to get hours for ones CAS. In the end
it turned out to be one of the most meaningful projects I was
involved in this year, and one which truly developed my interest
in education and in the world of development.
The year was incredible and one I
enjoyed thoroughly. Although it was a struggle at times,
studying for IB and juggling my various commitments, it was a
year I learned a lot about myself and what was important to me.
24-10-2007
Sorry this has taken me so
long, but I now finally have a spare moment to sit down and tell
you all about how I’ve been getting on in India. A lot has
been happening. School is really amazing, its so wonderful to be
in such an interesting and diverse environment.
I share a room with 3 other girls - from Israel, Switzerland and
quite a feisty and opinionated American - all of whom I’ve made
really good friends with. Living in a room with three other
people has been a bit of a challenge, but we all get on fairly
well, and luckily for me, they’re easy to get along with.
The campus itself is unbelievably beautiful, set atop a hill,
overlooking the most breathtaking valley. The villages down
below are all pretty underdeveloped, and that’s where we do most
of our community interaction work. My Community interaction
projects involve teaching English to 10 year old Marathi
speakers (which is quite nice as its a bit similar to the
Vulindlela project I was involved in back home) and spending
time at the nearby orphanage playing with the children.
The coursework has been quite demanding. I have finalised my
subjects now, they are as follows: Higher level -Theatre,
Economics and English and Standard Level Environmental Systems
(the cop out science subject) Maths and Introductory Spanish.
Its also compulsory for everyone to take beginners Hindi, which
has been quite useful. I'm now able to bargain quite well, and
bought myself a sari on the weekend to hang on one of the walls
in my room. I have also learnt a little about how to write some
of the script, I’m quite impressed with my skills, though my
writing still looks like that of a five year olds!
The classes otherwise have been really interesting. Its a
wonderful feeling being taught by people who are incredibly
passionate about what they’re doing. Everything of a standard
much higher than anything I’d done in South Africa, but I find
myself enjoying the challenge, even if it does take some time to
get used to. What has been quite a nice surprise, is that my
theatre teacher is in love with Athol Fugard, and talks about
him and his work constantly. So, its no surprise then, that one
of the projects he's keen on getting us started on is staging "Sizwe
Bansi is Dead".
I've taken up a few more sports, you'll be pleased to know. I do
swimming training (the pool here is beautiful, it overlooks the
valley, and if you go in the evening you can watch the sunset
from the water), and have joined the hockey team, do yoga and
play football sometimes.
I've also made a lot of good friends. My roommates are all
really nice, though its hard being around so many people who
aren’t very proficient in English, my new role has become the
resident thesaurus, which has actually helped my English quite a
bit. But what’s also nice is that there are 3 of us who speak
Afrikaans on campus (me, my second year Jacob, and a Namibian
first year called Sam). Its made hanging out with the Dutch
people quite a lot of fun. My Dutch is getting better, its just
a bit tough to get my head around the weird-sounding accent.
Travelling a little around India has been spectacular. I went
away with friends a few weekends ago, to this beautiful hill
station, called Matheran. Cars and bicycles and plastic bags are
banned there so its very natural, and horses are the only modes
of transport. It was great, I got to ride horses again, I rode
on one which was named Alien (odd name I know, I think it might
have been some weird Indian-English translation).
The city has been lovely, and every time I leave campus I get
this wonderful rush of emotions, and a surge of happiness at
having this great opportunity and to be in such an amazing and
vibrant country. Its been great navigating the cities on the
crazy rickshaws and dealing with the cheeky shop owners who try
to overcharge you for fruit. The most useful Hindi phrase I've
learnt so far is "Kam Karo" which directly means "less price".
The most exciting part is that in two weeks time, I'll be going
on a project week (a week of holiday the school gives us to
travel the country) In this case I'll be going on a Community
Interaction Project week, which means the school has set a group
of us up to go and work with an NGO centered around development
in some villages on the foothills of the Himalayas. I'm realy
excited for that and can't wait to experience a bit more of
India.
Nevertheless, I do get homesick sometimes, but being surrounded
and involved in such a close-knit, caring community has made
adjusting to this new life very easy!
Anyway, I have an economics test to study for, but I would love
to hear more about news in Cape Town and the rest of South
Africa (although the Mail and Guardian Online has been quite
good at that), and to know how you all are getting on, so write
me lots of emails telling me everything.
Naude du
Plessis -
Li Po Chun College, Hong Kong
14-04-2008naudedup@gmail.com
As promised I would like to
write to you about how these two years at a UWC have really
changed my life. The things I have learnt, the things I have
experienced, the things I have seen and places I have been and
of course the amazing people I have met has changed the way I
perceive and approach life completely.
We recently had a "uniform day" and in the first year this was a
fun and exciting day with a lot of interesting outfits and
stories about "back home" going around campus. But the second
year this was different, after two years at a UWC everything is
different. As I stood in front of the mirror putting on my Grey
College blazer, a blazer which you have carried for 5 years with
pride and joy and which brings back amazing memories of good old
times, I felt different. Because the person in that uniform in
the mirror was not the person who was in that uniform two years
ago. I had changed so much in these two years that I did not
recognize myself in the mirror. It felt as if I really was, a
stranger in my own skin.
The thing is, the UWC changes you. You read up on the values and
the ideals before applying and it impresses and inspires you.
And once you get onto the campus you see that there are a lot of
activities and discussions that lead you into adapting these
ideas. And there is a lot of discussion on all the campuses on
whether all the students actually strive towards these ideals
fully as they are supposed to. But in actual fact these values
effect you and change you whether you try to adopt them or not.
The system has an unconscious effect on you. Those unnoticeable
changes in your perception and thinking when you have
discussions with other students at 2 in the morning on the
effectiveness of democracy or the arguments over lunch on the
importance of international intervention or the emotional
frustration when a friends family member is killed in a suicide
bomb attack that you read about on CNN. This is when the
cultural understanding comes in, when the international
awareness and appreciation develops, when the world is no longer
a place far away on the news but right here in front of you in
your hands and in the people moving around you. This is when you
realize what the UWC truly is, when you look in that mirror at a
familiar sight, and you see a stranger.
These two years have made me realize that this is our world, we
are all in it together and we all strive for the same things. We
are the future and the best way to predict it is to create it.
If we do not strive to resolve and solve the conflicts troubles
in and between our countries then who will? The chair of the UWC
recently said that "The UWC creates a moral debt in you" and I
can agree with him that this is true in every aspect of it.
After you live with people from so many different cultures and
countries you start realizing how important and how special your
own country and its cultures are. You see the mistakes and you
see the opportunities and you feel the ambition and passion to
change all that for the better, to go back and make the change,
to be the difference.
And so I want to say that I would
probably never be able to show to you and all others that
support the UWCSA how grateful I am for the changes you make in
our lives, and I can speak on behalf of all those who have come
before me. Because "Wise are those who believe in the amazing
power of education", and thus I just want say to you and all the
people who invest the time
and money into our scholarships, Thank You.
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