Am I Really In School?!

Today is considered my busiest day. I have two classes. One from 8-9 and the other from 915 till 10. Two hours of taking notes and then poolside. The teaching style here is completely different than from home. In my first class, Post Apartheid, the Professor sits in the front of the class and reveals the events that occurred in South Africa from the time period of 1989-1994. It is a very informal lecture and he tells the story with so much passion because he actually lived through these events. I take notes on my computer for the first time; I’ve never had to do that back at home. He talks so fast that I couldn’t keep up with pen and paper. For that class we have two essays due, both of which are separated by a two week time period. I am not afraid of the content part of the essay, but more so the format. I haven’t read through the entire packet he gave us on how to write an academic essay yet, but from a glance it looks completely different from what we do back in the states. I am fortunate to have a good mixture of South Africans and International students in each of my classes. It is enough that the teacher realizes we, the internationals, don’t know details about South African pastime. Although they do laugh at how little we are able to reveal about our own country. Some questions that my Professor had asked dealt with what Americans were doing at the time of the fight again Apartheid. I was unable to give answers as were the rest of the Americans. Everywhere else in the world probably is taught about world history, but I only remember focusing on a few key points during those classes and none of which included what the states were doing about the Apartheid. On a different note, I am sick of walking to class. Not because it is that far of a walk, although it really is, but because everyone walks so slow. They call it South African time. You get there when you get there. I am not that type of person. I would like to learn to be more laid back, but when it comes to getting to class on time I can not let that slide. I think I am going to purchase a skateboard today so that I can cruise by the “cruisers” and cut my time in half. Also, I think it skateboarding might help me learn to surf a bit better. Also, on another note as I was talking to my parents they told me that now my pop-pop (grandpa) is now in the hospital. Hopefully it is not serious, but they are keeping him over night. I can’t believe that all of this is happening while I am over seas and there is not a thing I can do about it. It is really tough because it has not hit me yet that my aunt has passed away and it probably won’t until I get back to the states. The most I can do from here is pray that my pop-pop gets better and that my family can get on with life.