Monday, July 16, 2012

List People.

I am a list person. I love the organizing process of making lists and the fulfillment of crossing each item off. Sometimes I even add completed items to a list just so I can immediately cross them off. I find lists useful in just about every situation and I am positive that I make way more lists than the average person but I guess that just goes with my extreme need to always stay organized. Anyway, two lists that I started back in high school and have continued to update since then have been my bucket list and the list of things I have already accomplished in life. I think it is important to always keep future goals in mind so you can work towards them while also remembering what you have already accomplished. It always amazes me when I look back at the list of what I have done - usually in those down times when I am feeling as if I have done nothing and may never do anything! As I am completely travel obsessed, most of my list revolves around travel experiences. These are the experiences that made me feel that I was really living and not just getting by and the kind of moments that I still smile about (and maybe tear up about) when I look back on. I think everyone should have a way of keeping track of the things they have accomplished whether it be work related, family related or personal. So I challenge you to go make a list! Here's the list of things I have done; I stumbled upon it tonight and it made me smile as usual so I updated it and thought I would share!
  1. Hiked a mountain in Colorado
  2. Seen Niagara Falls
  3. Napped under the Eiffel Tour
  4. Walked down Broadway in NYC
  5. Seen the Today show live (2x, shook Al Roker’s hand!)
  6. Been in the White House
  7. Zip lined through the Jamaican jungle
  8. Been in a castle
  9. Sailed in the Caribbean
  10. Kissed a sting ray
  11. Spoke French to someone
  12. Eaten crepes on the streets of Paris with two of my best friends
  13. Eaten dinner with a traditional isiXhosa family
  14. Surfed in the Indian Ocean
  15. Befriended South Africans
  16. Hiked two days up Table Mountain
  17. Horseback rode on the desolate beach in Jeffery’s Bay
  18. Bungee jumped from the World Cup 2010 stadium in Durban
  19. Shark cage dived with Great Whites in False Bay
  20. Boated through a pod of 500+ dolphins at sunrise in False Bay
  21. Drove on the left side of the road
  22. Graduated with my B.S. in Accounting from Truman State University
  23. Drove solo half way across the U.S. St. Louis to Boston
  24. Moved to Boston on my own
  25. Saw Wicked on Broadway
  26. Saw NYC from the Statue of Liberty/Empire State Building
  27. Went into Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian’s store DASH in NYC
  28. Saw Buckingham Palace while the Queen was inside
  29. Worked at an NGO where I was the only white, English speaking employee
  30. Was a tourist extra in the South African film GrapeJuice
  31. Went hiking in Lesotho with nomadic herders singing all around us
  32. Saw the most incredible stars and the sunrise in remote Malealea, Lesotho
  33. Saw the Big 5 in Kruger National Park
  34. Went to sleep to the sound of lions roaring
  35. Slept on the beach under the stars in Koolbai, South Africa
  36. Attended COP17 and the Rural Women’s Assembly on Climate Change
  37. Was a bridesmaid in my cousin’s wedding


And now I am just 53 days away from setting off to work on another goal of mine: getting a masters degree! I knew I would be excited if I got accepted but I think I have officially exceeded my expected level of excitement. I have already completed most of my packing way ahead of schedule because I am that ready to head to Edinburgh! I have also been assigned my housing so I think it makes everything so much more real. Thanks to Google Maps I can see what my building looks like and view my entire walk from the flat to my classes. Crazy! I have been assigned a flat about 15-20 minutes walking distance from my classes and I will have 5 other post-graduate roommates. In addition, I have heard nothing but amazing things about Edinburgh since being accepted. Everyone that has been there seems to be in love with the city - my dental hygienist even told me that I most likely won't come back (though she hopes I do once in awhile to get my teeth cleaned)! And so the countdown continues! I don't know whether to expect the time to fly or drag on!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

wee news from across the pond

This is a bit of old news, but for those of you that don't know, I was recently accepted to graduate school at The University of Edinburgh so I will be moving to Scotland come September 7th! I will be part of the MSc in Africa and International Development program which is a 1 year social/political science masters degree taking a critical look at development in Africa from social, cultural, historical, political, etc. perspectives. The course options are quite varied which will allow me to focus on exactly what I am interested in such as Southern Africa, gender and development, and development through emerging entrepreneurship. I will take a total of six courses over two semesters and then have the option of an internship in South Africa, Kenya or Scotland. I will write my dissertation next summer and then graduate (hopefully) in November 2013! I am currently busy preparing by working my way through the extensive pre-program reading list. Coming with my undergraduate degree in Accounting and being the number type person that I am, I am expecting this program to be a bit of a challenge, as it is clearly going to be reading and writing intensive. Even so, I am so excited to be studying topics that I am genuinely interested in and can't understand why I even studied something I wasn't interested in!


The University of Edinburgh was founded back in 1583 and the city itself is even older so I am excited to live and study in a place with so much history and beautiful old buildings. I have already signed up for university, flat style housing but haven't found out yet if I have gotten any of my top choices. With luck, I should be living within walking distance of campus though. The university was recently ranked one of the top twenty universities in the world and has quite a few notable alumni such Alexander Graham Bell and JK Rowling (author of Harry Potter series). While Rowling did end up homeless after school, she proved quite successful in the end so there is hope for me too! 

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Long lost safari pictures!

I finally found the cord to upload safari photos from my DSL camera and found these gems!










Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Update

I haven't posted in what seems like forever - mainly because I'm between adventures and well, writing about my daily job search while chowing down on bagels at Bread Co. just doesn't seem exciting enough to make the blog! But to fill you in, I am still looking for my next adventure. I'm hoping for some kind of job opportunity with international development, social justice, micro finance, grassroots type causes, perhaps international education? Something will turn up I am confident! In the mean time I am keeping busy by teaching myself to sew, frequenting the library and flying through books on my 'must read' list, planning my dream nine month trans-Africa journey, and redecorating my room (one of my spur of the moment, irrational decisions that no one can talk me out of since I really hope not to live with my parents much longer).

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Itching for a new adventure.

My internship at Women on Farms Project wrapped up back in the beginning of December in what now seems like a blur. I spent my last ten days or so in Durban, South Africa working at and participating in the Rural Women's Assembly which was a people's movement in conjunction with COP17 on climate change. Over 500 rural women from ten+ African countries, as well as women from India and Guatemala, attended the five day assembly. The women had time to voice their opinions and struggles with climate change, share farming advice with each other and form recommendations for the COP17 talks. We also participated in multiple marches and protests. I mainly served as an extra pair of hands while there. This was the largest event that I had participated in while interning for WFP and so it was quite an experience and challenging at times. I definitely learned a thing or two about 'African' time and organization! Despite some minor issues, the assembly did go well and I hope that the women all returned home with renewed motivation and fresh ideas for sustainable and productive agriculture.





Rural Women's Assembly
While I was sad to say goodbye to Stellenbosch, it was not quite as painful as that first goodbye back in 2010. I shed many tears but was excited to be returning home at the same time. I think after my second South African adventure I have a more accurate vision of the country, acknowledging both the positive and negative aspects of life there while also seeing the good and the bad of the States at the same time. I don't think I will ever live in South Africa permanently but I also don't think I can stay away for long. I know I will be back soon - as soon as I find a new reason to go back! 

Anyway, I've been back in St. Louis for three whole weeks now! Just two days after I returned from Cape Town I jumped on another plane and made a quick trip to D.C. for the wedding of one of my closest friends from home, Kaitlin Davidson. Kaitlin married a Chilean named Timo whom she had met while studying abroad a few years ago. There were eight or so other Parkway West people at the wedding so it turned out to be a mini high school reunion. Despite some major jetlag, I had a fantastic time seeing everyone and enjoyed watching Kaitlin walk down the aisle in her beautiful dress!

High school friends at the Lincoln Memorial
Parkway West reunion

With the bride in her beautiful dress!
I thoroughly enjoyed being home for Christmas and spending quality time (mostly eating) with family and friends but now it's time to start figuring out my life. I spend hours each day at my office (Panera) applying for 'normal' jobs but I secretly hope a new world adventure presents itself. I have the itch to pack and go - now I just have to figure out where and how!

Christmas day with my cousins in our homemade tacky sweatshirts - Goodwill was
picked over by the time we went looking there!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Playing Tourist.

This weekend I decided to be a tourist and headed into Cape Town with a North Face backpack and a DSL camera around my neck; two telltale signs of the American tourist. Though I consider myself a South African resident at the moment and hate being lumped in with the tourist/backpacker population, I thought spending two days sightseeing wouldn't hurt. Since I am not on a study abroad program this time around, I have found it more difficult to get out of Stellenbosch and thus haven't been on as many adventures as I would have liked. So Friday afternoon I took the one hour (on a good day) train ride into the city and got a bed at a local backpackers.  I have found the backpackers/hostels here to be fantastic - cheap but always clean, friendly, safe and an overall good way to meet some interesting characters from all over the globe. 


Saturday turned out to be the most beautiful day we have had here since I arrived in July. I ended up taking the City Sightseeing tour bus and loved it despite being super hesitant of it's extreme touristic nature. It is a double decker bus that is open at the top so you get excellent, unobstructed views. It has two different routes that each make about 15 stops around the city and surrounding areas. I got to see many places I wouldn't have been comfortable or able to visit on my own. I visited the oldest wine farm of South Africa, Groot Constantia, which was built way back in 1685, then headed on to the Imizamo township. Later I explored the harbour at Hout Bay and got to experience the madness that is Saturday afternoon fishing.  I also walked around Camps Bay a bit before the African sun started to fry me. Camps Bay is the Venice Beach of Cape Town and is where celebrities such as Prince Harry can be spotted quite frequently. Sadly, Harry was no where to be found this weekend so there won't be a royal wedding for me anytime soon! I ended the night watching the sunset over the Indian Ocean from Signal Hill which looks out over all of Cape Town and the ocean. (put new CT pictures from this weekend in my Stellenbosch Rondte Twee album on the right --->)

 Groot Constantia

Imizamo Yethu township

Hout Bay

Camps Bay

Sunset atop Signal Hill

Table Mountain at night
Bit of exciting news here: Table Mountain in Cape Town was recently declared one of the New Seven Wonders of the World along with Puerto Princesa Underground River in the Philippines, Komodo Island in Indonesia, Jeju Island of South Korea, Iguazu Falls in Brazil/Argentina, Halong Bay in Vietnam, and the Amazon Rainforest of South America. 

Today, Sunday, was like a whole different season. Cold, rainy, and windy which is by far the worst here in Cape Town. I spent the morning taking the bus around the second route and then wasted an hour or two in Cape Town's aquarium before calling it a day and taking the train back to Stellenbosch.

Countdown to St. Louis: 24 Days