Graduation week-end

GRADUATION PICS

Here are a few pics from my graduation this past week-end...


View of the stage

Being capped

Being hooded

My family - Dad, brother (Darmesh), Mum & me


Brother (Darmesh) & me

Telana & me

Paul (my TV lecturer) & me

Robin Palmer (Anthropology lecturer) & me

Edward, me, Angie

Colleta & me

Himesh & me

Daylin & me

Priscilla, baby Phoebe & me

Graduation - the night before...

A whole lot of emotions rolled into one...

I'm graduating tomorrow afternoon. We're leaving for Grahamstown around 8am, because I still need to collect my tickets & gown and check into the hotel. Everything's sorted out...my outfit etc... but I'm feeling so anxious. My friends who graduated last year say that the feeling is perfectly normal. I think my parents are just as excited, if not more than me!

The ceremony is at 14:30, afterwhich my parents will travel back home. My brother, JJ and I are staying on. At 17:00, there's a tea at the Journalism Department. And afterwards...not quite sure what we're doing, but I intend to have a FANTABULOUS time on Friday night! All my friends are going to be there - there's so many people to see and meet, I have no idea where to begin. But I'm just going to go with the flow. Over-planning isn't fun, so I'll just see where the wind takes me.

Saturday afternoon there's a garden tea party for all graduands, and then afterwards we travel to PE. Not really sure what we're going to be doing, but again - I just wanna have a good time & a very memorable week-end. Sunday - also just arb around in PE & head home to good ol' East London.

Feeling all kinds of things right now - excitement...nostalgia, a bit of sadness... sadness cause it's kinda like an end of an era... excitement cause it marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life.

Will blog more after the week-end. Have a stunning w'end, everyone xxx

One week to go

Today is the last Saturday I'll be spending in Grahamstown as a university student. The past week has been one of reflection and sadness...especially having to say goodbye to friends, who I may or may not see at our graduation next year in April.

On Wednesday, my friend Sean and I decided visit all the places in Grahamstown that we havn't been to in our four years here. Other places, we decided to visit for the last time as students... We had such a fantastic and fun day. We laughed like little kids and definitely made it a day to remember. Here are some pics on from our 'field trip'!

I've added the rest of the pics to my flickr page.

Botanical Gardens

Old Goal
Once a jail, this place is now used as a backpackers accommodation.
This jail cell would hold 8 prisoners


Albany Museum

South African Library for the Blind

Brail typewriter

Observatory Museum
At the top of the building is a camera obscura, where there's a mirror at the top of the building that reflects a 360 degree view of the town which you can see from inside.


The museum is a replica of a house that would have existed in the 1820's


Sean and me

Chatterbox November '06

Dear Friend: I think you’re great and I like you!

This is the unedited version of my column. The version that was published had to be cut down for space.

I usually get asked, “So where do your column ideas come from?” Most of the time, idea’s pop into my mind at the most random of times, sometimes just before I fall asleep to while I’m eating my breakfast in the mornings.

My idea for this month’s column came to me as I spent an evening with two friends – Himesh and Nikhil. We met at university and because the three of us studied in different faculties, we didn’t see each other as often as I would have liked.

However, it is only since this year that I can honestly say I have gotten to know them. Both from Zimbabwe, Himesh and Nikhil are cousins and although I met them separately, it’s pretty hard to think of one without the other.

They say opposites attract. The words could not ring more true when it comes to these two guys. Himesh studied Pharmacy, Nikhil studied Information Systems and I studied Journalism. So our paths rarely crossed, unless we made a conjoint effort to meet.

Journalism is a field that requires 200% dedication and commitment, so during my years of studying, the majority of my time was spent with my peers. Therefore, the socializing I did was minimal and usually confined to the people I studied with. During my fourth year, I felt bored and un-stimulated. I longed for fresh conversations and challenges. More importantly, I wanted to gain new perspectives on things, and I found it hard to do that being with the same people everyday, all day.

So spending time with these two friends was like a breath of fresh air for me. It was almost as if it was “just what the doctor ordered.”

One day, while reflecting on my life and the people in it, I thought to myself, “Why don’t we tell people that we like them?” Then I thought – perhaps they’d get the wrong idea? Maybe when I say that I “like” them, it will be misinterpreted as me having feelings for them.

But I have some fantastic people in my life that I would like to say, “You know what? I think you’re great and I really like you!” Many of us are used to saying such things in greeting cards, letters, e-mails or SMS’s, but how often do we say it verbally? I would say – almost never. It’s one thing telling our family we love them, but I wish more people told their friends that they liked them. I think it’s so important to make people realize their worth and value – and what better way to do it, than by actually telling them that?

So one evening that I was with these two great guys, I told them that I thought they were really awesome and that I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them! Much to my relief, they didn’t go running for the hills, thinking I had developed feelings for them overnight! Rather, they accepted the compliment and thanked me for it.

I wish I could mention every single friend of mine in this column and tell them all that I think they are superb. But this month, I have decided to dedicate my column to these two friends who are not only caring and considerate, but are great company to be in. I’m so glad to have met them, and I know that where ever life takes us, we will somehow find a way to keep in touch with each other!

Roughing it out

Look what I got when I opened my tap on Sunday morning!

Now, it could look delicious... like chocolate milkshake. Or gross ...like mud!! I vote for the latter. But I dealt with it. Lucky for me, for the past 4 years being at uni, I have stocked up on bottled water at the beginning of every term. And this is the very reason why.

It's now Tuesday evening. There's no water in probably 90% of this town, and they say it will only be fixed by Thursday. No water means that toilets can't flush, and we can't take showers.

Thankfully, my friend Michelle was awake at 6 this morning when I called her...her house had water, so I went over to her place for a shower.

On top of it all, this morning I had a Computer Science practical exam. After starting half an hour later than scheduled, the power cut! So it was postponed to 13:30... and was yet again postponed to 15:00. By then, I was tired, miserable and hungry! And then it rained - so I got wet walking back home!

I was invited out for drinks this evening, but since my exam started late and I was feeling like crap, I wasn't up to going. But I pulled myself together and thought that perhaps being around other people will cheer me up. And it did :)

It was just one of those days... and I think this is something I'll be able to put down to life experience :)

Feeling slightly nostalgic...

This is the 6th last Saturday I'll be spending in Grahamstown! Yep - 6 Saturdays from now, I'll be in my very own room at home in East London (pictured above).

I can't wait! Or can I?....

As the year draws to an end, I am having such mixed feelings - excitement and nervousness topping the list! I have no idea where the wind will take me when I leave this little village they call Grahamstown. But there are some things I will miss and some things I will be glad to say good bye to!

What I'll miss about this place:

• Calling friends and having them come over for coffee or pizza in 5 minutes or less
• The fact that (nearly) every place here is within a (relatively decent) walking distance
• The amazing and extensively-stocked library
• RES NET (imagine - being connected to the WWW 24/7!)
  
• Debonairs (pizza place)
  
• The sunrises & sunsets
• The new Journ building (African Media Matrix)
• The donkeys - which can almost always be seen as you enter/leave the town!
  

What I won't miss about this place:

• Going to shower in flip flops
• Communal bathrooms
  
• People calling/shouting on the intercoms for their friends
• Drunk students on Friday/Saturday nights
  
• Signing male visitors in and making sure they're out by a certain time
• Being unable to blast my music in the morning (back home, my brother is a DJ - so loud music is kind of mandatory in my house at any time of the day...yay for my cool parents!)
• Eating cereal for supper
• Having to close my curtains everytime I want to change (boys res across the street and my window faces the road)
  
• Walking up the hill in the heat

Beautiful skies

Stunning sunrises,sunsets & clouds

If there's one thing I'm going to miss about G-town, it will be the stunning sunrises & sunsets. Living up on the hill, I have woken up to some gorgeous skies over the past four years. After Ranjit posted some sunset pics, I have decided to do the same. Hope you enjoy :)

One of those days...

I wanna cry, but I dunno why
~~~~~~~~~~~***~~~~~~~~~~~

It was pouring with rain when I woke up this morning.
I usually love the rain, but today I wished for the sun to be out and the birds to be singing.
It was just one of those gloomy days...which made me feel *uggghhh*.
There wasn't really anything 'wrong', I was just feeling down.

So before I crept into my bed in the darkness of my room, Ferret and I ordered pizza. We chatted and laughed till our food came. And then my friend, Teneshia called. I really miss not seeing her as much as I did last year. And after that ...my friends, Himesh & Nikhil came over to visit. We ended up chatting and laughing about all sorts of random things.

So my solution to days like this: Surround yourself with people who make you happy and who can put a smile on your face! Because thanks to the above-mentioned friends, I'm going to bed much happier than when I woke up this morning!

Back "home"

After spending a week at home, I am back on campus for the final term of my degree. It's a scary thought, but... I'm ready to kick ass!

I am still alive (and kicking)

Hello everyone! So Tuesday is over...which means, the week is progressing nicely. I'm going home on Saturday (shrills of joy).

I am so pleased that our 24minute group documentary is complete. I am very proud of our team for producing Searching for Existence.

Just briefly, the story is about Second Creek - a rubbish dump in East London which a community of people actually survive on. They literally eat off society's waste (we have footage of this) and they compete with pigs and dogs trying to get food. It was emotional filming these people. At times I felt guilty shoving a camera in their face. But had we not done that, the severity of the situation would not be taken seriously by viewers.

The dumpsite is being moved 60km out of the city, and part of our documentary deals with the (supposed) plans that local government have for this community.

Here are just a few pics of Second Creek for you to get a vague idea of the place I've been talking about.

aaaaaaah!!!!

Can technology PLEASE just be on my side for a few more hours?!

My laptop is as slow as a snail these days. If I click on something, I have to wait for half a minute before the damn menu gives me options to choose from....and I have been wrecking my brain looking for just the right music to go with my documentary. I never want to have to go through this again - what a bloody pain!

I have finally settled on something - it's a piano piece. It's not wonderful, but at this point I actually just don't care. For all I care, I am willing to put down "Twinkle twinkle little star" while my subject talks about receiving an honourary doctorate.

I'm pulling an all nighter tonight... I'm editing from 8pm right through to Sunday at 4am.

The only thing keeping me sane is knowing I'll be home next week this time.

The countdown begins

It's the first day of Spring here in South Africa. It's such a lovely day in G'town today...the sun is out, the birds are singing...and I woke up thinking, "Shit - it's Friday!" That means we are down to counting the hours till our documentaries are due.

To understand the extent of our insanity at ungodly hours spent in the Journ department, here is my dear friend, Jason on the brink of losing it .

I just can't take it anymore

Hmmmmmm


Sir, could you speak up, please?

Shit, these headphones arn't working

Yep, Jason has lost it now!

Confusing my body

It's 1am and I'm having tea! A few hours ago I had Red Bull. I'm not a big fan of Red Bull, but I needed something to give me "wings". I have four essays due for next week and the hours are closing in on me slowly, but surely...

A few weeks ago, I was normal - I'd wake up in the morning and sleep at night. But because of the crazy hours we have been working, my body has gone into the mode of sleeping when the sun is out and I seem to be wide awake and willing to working when the moon is out. My body is completely confused...my sleeping and eating patterns have totally changed!

Crazy! I was never like this, and I hope this pattern breaks as soon as the work load subsides. Which, by the way - will be OVER next week this time. To say I cannot wait is an understatement! I can't wait to go home...eat mum's home food, go to the hairdresser and feel like a human again!

Having said that, my tea break is over and my essay awaits me...

P.S. Our 24 min documentary, "Searching for Existence" is complete!

I am still working on my individual documentary - due on Tuesday. I am pulling an all-nighter on Saturday/Sunday... I am going to need much more than Red Bull to give me wings! I'm still trying to find decent bedding music to go with my doccie...much harder than I thought!

I want to fly away from this nothingness that is G'town

I am feeling down. Mostly because I don't want to be in Grahamstown this week-end. I honestly think that this town (village, rather) is closing in on me.

I don't mean to whine like a little kid, because I know that hundreds (thousands?) of people before me have lived here...and survived.

But right now, I'm just going through one of those patches where I feel like I need to get out of here for a while...even a day.

I've never been a small town kinda girl. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I come from a big city, but still - I need to see concrete buildings. I don't want to turn to my right and see an open veld with mountain goats grazing in the distance. Enough with the mountain goats, already! (that's them on the rigt, by the way)

....and of course, the donkeys

Today I vowed that I will never stay in a town that doesn't have an airport. Reason for this being that today, I had the opportunity of going to Durban (6pm flight), but how to get from G'town to EL...?

There were no buses, and no one I knew that was going through at that time. So - I'm stuck here. I should have taken a donkey!

I have work to do this week-end, but I felt like being spontaneous today.

What a damn pity that I couldn't be spontaneous when there isn't an airport around :(

Hmmmm...imagine if I had my own helicopter?!

Imagine if I could fly my very own aircraft....?