mountain

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Welcome to Our Blog

WELCOME TO OUR BLOG

As anyone who has participated in UConn's Education Abroad in Cape Town will tell you, there are no words to adequately explain the depth of the experiences, no narratives to sufficiently describe the hospitality of the people, and no pictures to begin to capture the exquisite scenery. Therefore this blog is only intended to provide an unfolding story of the those co-educators who are traveling together as companions on this amazing journey.

As Resident Director of this program since 2008 it is once again my privilege and honor to accompany another group of remarkable students to this place I have come to know and love.

In peace, with hope,
Marita McComiskey, PhD

(marita4peace@gmail.com)

Monday, February 8, 2016

Alex L appreciating all she is learning and doing

This past week has been full of so many great things. We had our first classes with Vincent learning about the history and politics of South Africa. I was struggling to absorb everything we were learning because there was so much information all at once, and then I learned that was the condensed version of the time period. South Africa has such an incredibly rich and recent history that it might take me years to fully understand everything. It still baffles me that the Apartheid was something legalized and it became the societies norm to subjugate, discriminate, separate, and essentially make the lives miserable of black and coloured people. I try putting myself in the shoes of the people who suffered through this time period, but I often times find it nearly impossible to do so. I have never been forcibly removed from my home, never had a label slapped on me that meant I was inferior to the others, never told I was unable to marry someone of a different race than my own, never split up from my own family if we happened to fall under different “race categories”, and never ever treated poorly because of the color of my skin. It makes me sick to think of how obsessive the South African government was regarding putting these people into boxed off categories and then treating them like garbage regardless. Each and every day I appreciate being here in Cape Town more and more. I love talking with locals and hearing what they have to say on the matter, especially current politics.


On a lighter note, I hiked Lions Head Mountain yesterday and never before have I thought I was going to die so many times in one activity. I thought I was relatively in shape and it would be a piece of cake, but I surely proved myself wrong! Huffing and puffing all the way up the trail, my mind kept fluctuating between messages such as “Keep going Alex, you can do this, you are so close to the top!” and “Holy crap, I might pass out from heat stroke and dehydration and fall off the side of this mountain”. I then learned the hard way that mind over matter actually applies and isn’t just a nice saying. With lots of support from my fellow hikers, I finally made it to the top to enjoy the incredible view and a well deserved sandwich. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to spend my day with such great people and a well needed workout.

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