Recently in Jessica LeBlanc Category

Jessica LeBlanc
1/25/12

It's a good thing I have waited well over a week since our return to write this entry.  If I had written within a few days of returning it would have gone something like this:  "Booooo, I'm so miserable.  I should have tried harder to lose my passport so I could have stayed.  I want to go back NOW. The end."  

Thankfully things have gotten better since that first week back.   The first few days were consumed with sleeping, looking through pictures for hours on end, talking to classmates and even some tears.   Some of this was expected.  I knew it would be an adjustment to go back to my life in Minnesota, but I certainly did NOT expect to be so emotional.  The weirdest part was I couldn't really put my finger on what it was.   Was it the abrupt change in weather?  Was it going from being surrounded by more than 25 people and there always being noise to the stillness of being alone in my apartment?   Perhaps it was the realization that all those weeks of planning and anticipation were now over?   I think it was all of the above AND then some. 

On our last day of class Sarah from LAC talked about re-entry.  By this point many of us were already concerned about what it would be like to go back to Minnesota.  She explained that there are 4 phases - ranging from the initial excitement of going home to the re-adaptation phase after we had been home for sometime.   I can't say I experienced much of the 'initial excitement' phase.  That is not to say that I didn't miss family and friends back home and wasn't excited to seem the, because I was. However, during the trip I was fully aware of how extraordinarily lucky I was to even to get to participate in this program I knew that once I returned it would be back to 'real life' again.  It was such an amazing break from my daily routine I didn't want it to end.   Obviously it HAS come to an end and now the question is "What do I do next?"  Not only does this include when will I get to travel overseas again (perhaps to South Africa), but more importantly, what can I do to 'give back' to the place that embraced me with open arms for 3 weeks?    I've already got some ideas......

PS - The postcard I sent myself from the Cape Town airport the morning we left arrived yesterday!  I must say I am quite impressed with the mail service.  Only 10 days!  I thought I'd be lucky if I saw it before 2013. 

Jessica LeBlanc
1/23/12

Thursday (1/12/12) was our last day working with Afrika Tikkun.  After we finished our service work, we drove to Gugulethu for lunch at Mzoli's Place.  Unfortunately I had the lovely stomach bug that day so my enjoyment of food was limited, but just the experience of being there was awesome!   I did a quick internet search of the place and this is what I found:

Mzoli's was opened in 2003 by Mzoli Ngcawuzele, who got a start-up fund from the Development Bank of South Africa as part of their support of black-owned businesses. From selling meat informally from a garage, Mzoli's, by 2006, had become one of the most popular hangouts in Cape Town.

We waited about an hour while the meat was prepared.  During this time many people got drinks from other local stores and just relaxed.  I used this time to chit-chat, but also stop inside the store to see the 'magic happen.'   What a production - grilling meat to feed 30+ people.   It was pretty incredible to watch.  It was soon delivered and everyone ate up!
  


That evening we were invited by Joe Schaffers to go to a jazz club.  How cool to be invited by someone who is living history of Cape Town?!   Joe was our tour guide at the District Six Museum and was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge.  Just being invited by him was unbelievable, but seeing almost 20 college students have such a great time at a jazz club was something else.   Another amazing day in Cape Town!

It's early Friday morning and I write this while preparing to leave for our last full day of adventures in Cape Town.   We are spending the morning/afternoon in Cape Point.   

I've been neglecting the blog. Sort of like my personal journaling. I used to journal a lot and for some reason I have had a very hard time doing it the past few years. I think it comes from being so impatient; it can be maddening trying to keep the pen/typing moving as fast at my thoughts. I had considered moving my personal journal to the computer, simply for the fact that I can type faster than I can write but I feel that it takes away from the authenticity of it. I guess I'll use this blog as a test run... Mostly, today was wonderful. It was our last 'official' full free day. Along with several other classmates, I opted to spend the day taking part in a wine tour. I love the city but had been looking forward to escaping into the 'country.' It was exactly what I needed. We left around 8am and visited 3 different wine farms. I'm not exactly a wine connoisseur but had fun tasting different varieties and just enjoying the elegance of it. The scenery was magnificent. 

Jessica LeBlanc 12-23-2011 I have never studied abroad. I always wanted to. If you had asked me 10 years ago, I would have told you that I would study for a semester or year in France. I studied French for 4 years of high school and all through college. But, things change. Here I am, 10 years later working on a degree I started in 2001. Time has passed, but one thing has not changed. I still want to study abroad. As a full-time employee at the University, my options were limited. My supervisor was the Finance Manager for the Learning Abroad Center at the time and very supportive of me finishing my degree. She recommended the Global Seminars as a way to still experience study abroad, just for a shorter period of time. As an accountant, it would be almost impossible for me to participate in a May/Summer seminar during fiscal year end. This left me with Winter Break options and the South Africa program was a no-brainer. A chance to visit a country that I probably wouldn't easily travel to on my own plus the course content made it an easy choice. I'm going into this experience with an open mind. The 3 orientations and reading we've done in preparation for the course have been a huge help, providing a sense of some things we may experience while there and sights we will see, but I'm treating this is an adventure. Something I don't want to worry about or analyze, but fully experience in the moment. I know there will be very highs and very lows and I'm simply challenging myself to take it in as it comes -- a real test to human nature. For myself, I also hope this helps renew my spirit. The past 10 years have not gone 'to plan,' but I've come to see it as a sort of a blessing. Being able to be a part of this class only proves that -- reinforcing why I chose the major of International Studies all those years ago, the opportunity to break from 'normal' life for 3 weeks, to transform back to a full-time student, see a part of the world some only dream of, and be introduced to a people and place that will leave a life-long impression.