New Year, New Post

I really had no intention of neglecting my blog; I have just been waiting for something exciting to blog about. After South Africa not many things seem exciting enough to merit a post, but unless I get over that I will maybe never blog again. So here goes nothing.

In the 53 days or so that I have been home I have cleaned and cooked for my mom, celebrated Christmas, and moved into Lethbridge.  I am currently taking Ed 2500 at the U of L; it is the prerequisite class before I can apply to the education program in May.  I am seriously considering a degree in education after my time spent at the ESL Drop-In Centre and Hout Bay High School.

Lethbridge is a new experience.  Considering the fact that I have more or less spent 20 of my 24 years in Taber (and going to Lethbridge on a fairly regular basis) I had no idea just how unique a subculture it could be.  Although I suppose that unique might be an overstatement on my part. I am hardly qualified to pass that kind of judgment based on my complete lack of experience living in a myriad of different places. I have lived with my family in Taber, I spent nine semesters in Provo, and now I find myself on the west side of Lethbridge.  Really all I can say is that to this point my experiences in Lethbridge are quite dissimilar to my experiences at BYU.

Considering BYU is supposed to be an epicentre of the “mormon” social scene, well it has not been recreated in Southern Alberta in any recognizable way.  I will try not to talk in absolutes; since my BYU experience was absolutely coloured by my liberal arts emphasis, my predominantly liberal and even often artist friends, as well as the fact that I have only been getting involved in Lethbridge for like a week.  With that caveat I shall share my observations and reactions.

There is a distinct and refreshing (?) lack of irony. They do so many things genuinely; like liking dances, playing drinking games without alcohol, getting excited about broadcasts, hanging out at the Institute building, speaking without gender (and other excessively pc) sensitivity, and stuff like that.

So maybe I am being super unfair. I have met some awesomely fun, and interesting people. I am really trying to get involved, and some of it even seems like it is possibly genuinely fun. It is just difficult for me to get over the lack of irony in it all. Things that I have spent years making fun of, or participating in as an equivalent of an ugly sweater party, are now the “super fun” norm.

 I think this could be good for me…

Post Trip: Day...

Well I have been back for over a week now. I was warned about post vacation depression; so I have made a valiant effort to stay busy…unfortunately this busy is not as exciting as South African vacation busy. Surprise.

I have run errands, cleaned house, found myself somehow once again working for the Town (just a few shifts on the weekends), addressing Christmas cards, and other equally thrilling endeavors. I did get to present my trip pictures to family; related style as well as ward. That was fun for me, and I hope at least mildly interesting for them.

Still during the Christmas season, there really isn’t any other place that I would want to be than with my family, but if I could convince them to appreciate the season somewhere warmer and interesting I could have the best of both worlds…

One of today's exciting adventures! Fine, I admit I just "supervised."

Post Trip: Day Two

My trip was an absolutely incredible experience; people keep asking me what my favourite part was. Honestly I can’t answer that question. All of the experiences were incredible, but they were all so different that I wouldn’t even know how to go about accurately comparing them. Seeing animals in the wild, spending time in the ocean, being in the school, visiting history, and so many more; honestly picking a favourite would be impossible.

 

 

Booker and Krystal were wonderful tour guides, lovely hosts, and fun to travel with (I am positive that B.T. and Boston travel better than Kelly and Quincy). I am very lucky and thankful that they were willing to let me come and visit them kinda uninvited.

Such a fun family!

I suppose by now it is obvious that I loved my trip, and I did.

 

 

Final Day

I have been back from South Africa now for a couple of days. We spent our last day at the V and A Wharf (again) finishing all of the last minute shopping and appreciating the 30 degree weather for a few more hours. Oh, and I got to go on the Wheel of Excellence; it is like the crème de la crème of ferris wheels; glass cabins, air conditioning, television screens. I love ferris wheels, but this was a whole new comfort experience, and the view was nothing to scoff at.

 

 

Far too soon, we were off to the airport for 36 hours of travel, which due to time zones all took place in the longest 20 hours ever.

Last Days

Unfortunately tomorrow is my last day. I have had so much fun while I have been here. These last few days have been spent procrastinating packing, spending some more time on the beach, and getting all of that last minute shopping done. Yeah, I bought a lot of chocolate today. Booker and Krystal live in an apartment a block from the ocean, so it has been fun to walk along the beach and down to the harbour; we saw seals and a lot of fun shops. We have spent some more time downtown as well; this city is beautiful, clean, and energetic. I would absolutely love to come back here someday soonish.

 

 

Thank you for reading, I will do some recap posting when I get home and add a few more pictures.

Sundays

It has been brought to my attention that my blogging about Sundays has been less than informative. Well it is like they (whoever that is?) say; the church is kinda the same everywhere. But since it is my last Sunday in South Africa I suppose I will take this opportunity to share a few details to satisfy whatever curiosities might exist.

There is only one stake in Cape Town. We’ve been attending Booker and Krystal’s ward. It is very friendly and welcoming, it reminds me a lot of what they mean when they say a “ward family.” There are no YSA wards here, but in their ward they have a separate Sunday School class that is exclusively for the YSA members. I have been attending that class while we have been here. Actually I had the opportunity to teach the class my second week here. On my first Sunday as soon as I confirmed that I would be here again the following week, I was asked to teach. So I did, I think it went fine, the class does not struggle with discussion; it has been really interesting. Their experiences as members of the church here are so different from my own growing up in Southern Alberta and then attending BYU. Really, aside from the accents, it is not so different from most every other ward that I have attended- people still debate caffeine!

Day Twenty-Two

Today (wooh that means I am finally all caught up) we went up Table Mountain. It was fantastic; the weather was beautiful and calm, the sky was clear, and becuase we had small children we did not have to stand in line. We took a cable car up, and then spent some time on top enjoying the views and following around Amazing Race contestants and thier camera crews.

 

 

After  Table Mountain I went to the District Six Museum. It discusses the mass displacement of the inhabitants of District Six during apartheid when the district was redesiganted as a white group area.

It was startling and informative. I really appreciated the time I had there.