Well it's the second week of my last semester as an undergraduate student (at least in the South African 3 year Bachelors programme) and I have quite a busy week ahead! Despite the commitments during the day, I also have evening engagements from Monday - Thursday and even on Saturday morning. But it's good to be back and busy, and I have found that the busier I am the more I get done! Weird how that works out.
I'm teaching my first two tutorial classes (to first years) tomorrow in Comparative Politics (my potential area of speciality) and it ties in well with the module we're doing on Democratic Studies at the third-year level. I find it incredibly interesting, especially when we discuss Jefferson, Madison and the like - even more so because I was in DC and saw the actual home of democracy... Okay, an effective democracy. I've also been reading through the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights - you can find a great resource for that at Charters of Freedom.
Steven and I attended the Pretoria East Rotaract Club (it's the Rotary for 18 - 30 year olds) meeting this morning and we were sort of thrown in the deep-end! We're jointly tending to the International portfolio and the club is currently planning a fundraising dinner gala event in celebration of Child Welfare's 90th birthday. I'm really excited about the Rotaract Club and will engage in active recruiting so that we can be chartered - we need about 2 - 4 members (just to be safe) to do that.
My parents also came over for lunch today and I had an opportunity to give them their gifts from the States and share with them my experiences and what I have learned. It's still quite cold here in South Africa, the temperature ranged from (as was forecast) between 41 - 71 degrees Fahrenheit. Yeah, I know, it's not that bad, but it sucks for us here in South Africa!
Let's get back to Iowa, shall we?
Wednesday, 9 July 2008 was an incredibly busy day and we had a full schedule... thanks to Dr Leah Keino! We did, however, kick off the day approximately 30 minutes later than planned, and having had a look at the schedule I could not help but protest the absence of "mandatory Union tea and smoke breaks!"
It was a full day and we were on the Iowa State University campus from about 8:00 to 17:00, and had a dinner later that evening as well... but I'm running ahead of myself, again.
Dr Leah Keino, member of the ISU faculty, started off the day with the introduction and it was also largely due to her efforts that the day was as successful as it turned out to be. Mainly because of the relevance of the speakers she invited and their knowledge in their respective fields or experience in the specific topic.
Jess Crawford and Teresa Atkins's (above) presentation on community service and service learning, based upon their recent experiences in Rwanda (with Dr Keino) was particularly enlightening and informative because it provided us with a student-centred perspective on the topic. But more importantly to me was the stark contrast between Rwandan and American, even South African, public and private schools. I was astonished to see how many Rwandan students begin their day and what they have to endure to get a school qualification. What impressed me the most, however, was their dedication and their firm commitment to obtaining an education - something I have seen fade away from younger generations of South Africans.
The group with Drs Klonglan, Smith, Woods and Keino.
Next on the agenda was Drs Richard Smith and Gerald Klonglan's presentation about their community project in Tanzania with regards to health, education and water. As a citizen of the most developed nation and largest economy in Africa it was yet again interesting to see how people in other parts of the continent go about their daily lives and the difficulties that they overcome.
It was also quite a welcome relief to meet Dr Smith and hear something a bit different (and more familiar) than American English!
Dr Woods and I engaging in conversation over Leah's Kenyan tea!
Before lunch we were addressed by Nathan Swanson and Basil Mahayni, specifically on the topics of youth community involvement and the student-life of Iowa State University. The discussion soon shifted to politics and revolved around American politics and the 2008 Presidential elections! Not that I expect anything different in a room with eight South Africans of which half study politics!
Lunch was taken at the ISU Cafeteria (right?) Yet again, huge portions! But it was good to see healthier alternatives available! We also had an opportunity to trek across the ISU campus and get a feel for the atmosphere (despite it being summer break) and I admired many of the beautiful buildings and the well kept grounds!
Lunch was followed by a shocking - yeah, it was sort of - presentation by Dr Francis Owuso (a fellow African) on sustainable economic and population growth and development. The presentation laid bare the excesses of western societies and we were concerned over his safety having to share that information in a Western University! He assured us that he was safe and that he will continue fighting the good fight! For more information do not hesitate to contact either Dr Owuso or Dr Keino at the relevant pages.
It was also a pleasant surprise to be addressed by Dr Sipho Ndlela - a fellow South African - and to hear about his work in reseach in bio-fuels (particularly bio-diesel), and his experiences of and knowledge about the United States from a South African perspective, especially graduate studies and adapting. Dr Ndlela's presentation was followed by Nick Lauen sharing his experiences as a member of the Peace Corps in Cameroon, specifically in teaching at Cameroonian schools.
The day at ISU was ended off with a tour of their Center for Technology in Learning and Teaching (CTLT). This stood in stark contrast to what we're used to in South Africa, especially when seeing Apple Macs all over the place, complemented by state of the art teaching instruments. I think this was a good experience for Andile and Phumlani as aspiring and future educators in South Africa. It's just sad to think that South African students will not - for many years to come, at least - be able to match this kind of quality education. I can, of course, go into a lengthy discussion about the international political economy and intellectual property rights (particularly within the structure of the WTO), but will refrain and save you all the agony!
Photos from the tour of the facilities.
I think we were all better informed as the day drew to a close, but also very happy that it did - eventually - come to an end. It was a very informative day filled with, as mentioned,relative relevant information from well-informed individuals and experts in their fields.
I am, and I'm sure the group is as a whole, grateful for the time and effort put into organising the day's events and presentation and appreciate the dedication and commitment of the individual speakers, particularly their willingness to meet and share their work with eight foreigners! Thank you very much for showing us real Iowa spirit, and a particularly heartfelt word of thanks to Dr Keino, Leah, our African mother in America, for her hard work! Asante sana. Also to Joey and Jeremy for enduring it all and for enduring us!
The group with Mama Keino!
I will end off this post tomorrow evening with a reflection on the dinner at Drs Robert and Semakaleng Lebepe Mazur's home, as well as our night out on the town! (I thought this post was getting a bit long...)
As I'm sure Joey was saying: "Check you later!" haha
I'm teaching my first two tutorial classes (to first years) tomorrow in Comparative Politics (my potential area of speciality) and it ties in well with the module we're doing on Democratic Studies at the third-year level. I find it incredibly interesting, especially when we discuss Jefferson, Madison and the like - even more so because I was in DC and saw the actual home of democracy... Okay, an effective democracy. I've also been reading through the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights - you can find a great resource for that at Charters of Freedom.
Steven and I attended the Pretoria East Rotaract Club (it's the Rotary for 18 - 30 year olds) meeting this morning and we were sort of thrown in the deep-end! We're jointly tending to the International portfolio and the club is currently planning a fundraising dinner gala event in celebration of Child Welfare's 90th birthday. I'm really excited about the Rotaract Club and will engage in active recruiting so that we can be chartered - we need about 2 - 4 members (just to be safe) to do that.
My parents also came over for lunch today and I had an opportunity to give them their gifts from the States and share with them my experiences and what I have learned. It's still quite cold here in South Africa, the temperature ranged from (as was forecast) between 41 - 71 degrees Fahrenheit. Yeah, I know, it's not that bad, but it sucks for us here in South Africa!
Let's get back to Iowa, shall we?
_______________________
Wednesday, 9 July 2008 was an incredibly busy day and we had a full schedule... thanks to Dr Leah Keino! We did, however, kick off the day approximately 30 minutes later than planned, and having had a look at the schedule I could not help but protest the absence of "mandatory Union tea and smoke breaks!"
It was a full day and we were on the Iowa State University campus from about 8:00 to 17:00, and had a dinner later that evening as well... but I'm running ahead of myself, again.
Dr Leah Keino, member of the ISU faculty, started off the day with the introduction and it was also largely due to her efforts that the day was as successful as it turned out to be. Mainly because of the relevance of the speakers she invited and their knowledge in their respective fields or experience in the specific topic.
Jess Crawford and Teresa Atkins's (above) presentation on community service and service learning, based upon their recent experiences in Rwanda (with Dr Keino) was particularly enlightening and informative because it provided us with a student-centred perspective on the topic. But more importantly to me was the stark contrast between Rwandan and American, even South African, public and private schools. I was astonished to see how many Rwandan students begin their day and what they have to endure to get a school qualification. What impressed me the most, however, was their dedication and their firm commitment to obtaining an education - something I have seen fade away from younger generations of South Africans.
The group with Drs Klonglan, Smith, Woods and Keino.
Next on the agenda was Drs Richard Smith and Gerald Klonglan's presentation about their community project in Tanzania with regards to health, education and water. As a citizen of the most developed nation and largest economy in Africa it was yet again interesting to see how people in other parts of the continent go about their daily lives and the difficulties that they overcome.
It was also quite a welcome relief to meet Dr Smith and hear something a bit different (and more familiar) than American English!
Dr Woods and I engaging in conversation over Leah's Kenyan tea!
Before lunch we were addressed by Nathan Swanson and Basil Mahayni, specifically on the topics of youth community involvement and the student-life of Iowa State University. The discussion soon shifted to politics and revolved around American politics and the 2008 Presidential elections! Not that I expect anything different in a room with eight South Africans of which half study politics!
Lunch was taken at the ISU Cafeteria (right?) Yet again, huge portions! But it was good to see healthier alternatives available! We also had an opportunity to trek across the ISU campus and get a feel for the atmosphere (despite it being summer break) and I admired many of the beautiful buildings and the well kept grounds!
Lunch was followed by a shocking - yeah, it was sort of - presentation by Dr Francis Owuso (a fellow African) on sustainable economic and population growth and development. The presentation laid bare the excesses of western societies and we were concerned over his safety having to share that information in a Western University! He assured us that he was safe and that he will continue fighting the good fight! For more information do not hesitate to contact either Dr Owuso or Dr Keino at the relevant pages.
It was also a pleasant surprise to be addressed by Dr Sipho Ndlela - a fellow South African - and to hear about his work in reseach in bio-fuels (particularly bio-diesel), and his experiences of and knowledge about the United States from a South African perspective, especially graduate studies and adapting. Dr Ndlela's presentation was followed by Nick Lauen sharing his experiences as a member of the Peace Corps in Cameroon, specifically in teaching at Cameroonian schools.
The day at ISU was ended off with a tour of their Center for Technology in Learning and Teaching (CTLT). This stood in stark contrast to what we're used to in South Africa, especially when seeing Apple Macs all over the place, complemented by state of the art teaching instruments. I think this was a good experience for Andile and Phumlani as aspiring and future educators in South Africa. It's just sad to think that South African students will not - for many years to come, at least - be able to match this kind of quality education. I can, of course, go into a lengthy discussion about the international political economy and intellectual property rights (particularly within the structure of the WTO), but will refrain and save you all the agony!
Photos from the tour of the facilities.
I think we were all better informed as the day drew to a close, but also very happy that it did - eventually - come to an end. It was a very informative day filled with, as mentioned,
I am, and I'm sure the group is as a whole, grateful for the time and effort put into organising the day's events and presentation and appreciate the dedication and commitment of the individual speakers, particularly their willingness to meet and share their work with eight foreigners! Thank you very much for showing us real Iowa spirit, and a particularly heartfelt word of thanks to Dr Keino, Leah, our African mother in America, for her hard work! Asante sana. Also to Joey and Jeremy for enduring it all and for enduring us!
The group with Mama Keino!
I will end off this post tomorrow evening with a reflection on the dinner at Drs Robert and Semakaleng Lebepe Mazur's home, as well as our night out on the town! (I thought this post was getting a bit long...)
As I'm sure Joey was saying: "Check you later!" haha
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