2009 in adjectives

I have a huge blogpost on a flashdrive but this computer at the public affairs office in Lilongwe wont read it. poop. I will try to get internet later at my house. But I am here safe, very happy, and THRILLED about everything that is going on. More abuot that later.
For now, since it is New Years Eve, I will publish something that has been a year in the making.
A year ago tonight, my lovely friend Eli and I stood in a parking lot in Asheville and watched the sunset. As we did this, we picked 5 adjectives to describe 2008. It was so fun that we vowed to send each other 1 adjective on the last day of every month to sum up that month. We have kept to it and I am so glad that this little tradition is in my life.

2009 has definitely been the best year of my life. Hands down!

January = stupendous
February = risible
March = out of character
April = intense
May = f*in crazy
June = centering
July = brimming
August = diverse
September = humbling
October = challenging
November = demanding
December = rewarding

HERE WE COME 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas from Cape Town!

note: i kind of look like an amputee in this photo, but i am not. also, andrew looks a little crazy. but hey, dont be alarmed. we're just enjoying that sweet sweet christmas spirit.

South Africa summed up in one photo:

Coming down from Lion’s Head one evening after sunset, I saw this sight and immediately thought “THIS is precisely what my experience in South Africa has been.” I snapped this photo and have not altered it at all.

I literally could write 1000 words about this photo, but will try to be concise in my metaphor:
There is SO much beauty in this country, so many vivid colors, so much that is vibrant and bold. However, you can’t fully see this beauty without seeing the pain and struggle in this country at the same time. Seeing solely beyond the barbed wire is something that many tourists may be able to do, but having lived here for 4 months I wrestle with this wire everyday, though I will never fully understand all that lies within it.

So as I prepare to leave in just over a week, what I will take from this place is an appreciation for the striking, bold, and beautiful slew of contradictions that is, to me, South Africa.

untapped mode of expression

I’ve always considered myself more of a gymnast than a dancer, more of a pianist than a dancer, more of a singer than a dancer…..more of many things other than a dancer.
However, after arriving at a little tucked away hostel in Stormsriver, SA last week after an 8 hour car ride with my family and special friend, something started to simmer in my legs. I was incredibly antsy and in an awful mood (for this I apologize to my family and special friend) and couldn’t pinpoint what it could be other than the car-ride or PMS or something silly like that. After dinner I was so conflicted internally as to how to rid myself of this feeling; it was too late to go for a run, I couldn’t sit still to journal, I didn’t want to talk to anyone, etc.

Then I looked outside.

What I saw was like something out of a movie. A huge empty lawn quickly filling with dew, a bright light shining on a huge tree at the end of the lawn giving the entire lawn a slight sheen, and a cloudless sky that beckoned me to come stare at it. The simmer in my legs grew to a boil as I threw off my shoes, I grabbed my iPod, and entered what would become my personal sanctuary.
So I don’t know much about American pop-music these days, but my friend Danielle did make a mixed CD for me with some new “hits”. I have no idea what your opinion of the song “Fireflies” by Owl City is, but let me tell you; that was exactly what the doctor ordered for that moment in time. Who knows, some of you might be gagging right now. But don’t hate, don’t hate; I think it is beautiful. Picture this:
It took me a minute to get over any stage fright I might have had, wondering if someone was watching me from their room or something or might come outside and see me. But soon enough I entered the zone with this song. Under a vast sky with constellations I seldom get to see in the city, I put this song on repeat and for about 40 minutes DANCED MY LIFE OUT. The wannabe conservatory-trained modern dancer in me emerged and I jammed with myself, leaping and twirling and reaching and stretching and exploding and imploding and everything all at once. It was nothing short of magic.
That night I learned a very important lesson; I can be an artist any moment I want to be. Though piano will always be my preferred medium, dance has been an untapped mode of expression for too long and I’ll be damned if I ever get in a funk again and don’t think to dance it out. Though I may never find that perfect dewy lawn again under a South African sky, a zone is a zone is a zone and when you genuinely enter it, the world stops. This sentiment is especially pertinent in the song I danced to. Anytime I hear this song again in my life I will remember this night, smile, and have a little solo dance party in my head.

I’d like to make myself believe

That planet earth turns slowly

It’s hard to say that I’d rather stay awake when I’m asleep

But everything is never as it seems

Damn, it feels good to be a graduate

So, Ive been prettttttty slack about keeping up with this. My last real update was about a month ago. Ive been SO BUSY!!! The main thing anyone reading this needs to know is I AM DONE WITH COLLEGE. It was a strenuous push to the finish, but now the marathon is over and I’m basking in the flood of endorphins and overall goodness that follows. To catch up:

After Thanksgiving things got serious. We had our final exam in our South African history/politics class (for which I am proud to say I completed a college goal of including the word “bullshit” in an exam when I wrote a response about the 4 pillars of struggle during apartheid, saying, “basically, the the international community was sick of the National Party’s bullshit”), we had our final banquet which was 5 hours long and consisted of adults schmoozing, and then PAPERS. I had a pretty good base before the final week, but Monday-Thursday of that week I spent 5-6 hours at UCT library writing, everyday. Sweet little Sarah Henning was my library partner and we tried to keep one another on track. By Thursday, I was completely done with my personal research paper, which is 22 pages (biggest paper I’ve ever written, I’ll call it my own version of a thesis) and BALLER if I may say so myself (big Word up to my special friend who helped me proof-read). I was also done with my part of a group paper on natural resource exploitation in the DRC and spent a lot of the night finishing up the bibliography (group bibliographies are a PAIN IN THE ASS). I had to go the bed though and rest up for the next morning because I would be having tea with …

   DESMOND TUTU!!!!! 

Ok, so during the summer  a beautiful lady I know, Anna Claire Eddington, did a Burch Fellowship in South Africa and got breakfast with Desmond Tutu. When I heard this in June, I  a) totally developed a girl-crsuh on her  b) got so excited at the prospect of doing the same thing myself. Thus, in October I drafted a letter to Sweet Desi inviting him to a Thanksgiving feast at our house in Tamboerskloof and had everyone in the house sign the letter. Our TA Eboni was set to meet him through her internship-like thing she was doing, so she was able to give the letter to his personal assistant. Eboni received a call from his assistant saying he was unfortunately busy on Thanksgiving but would be able to meet on December 4^th. When I heard this I thought:

“HMMM, THIS IS KIND OF PERFECT as my last day of college is December 4^th, and would pretty much be my graduation day, and since he was the speaker at the May graduation ceremony in Chapel Hill, WE CAN BE BEST FRIENDS ON MY GRADUATION DAY IN CAPE TOWN!!!”

So yes, it all worked out. We all woke up super early (some people never went to bed as they were finishing papers) and we went downtown to St George's Cathedral. Here we attended a service led by Desi, which was very cool. After the service we all headed to a coffee shop with him. As we were walking there, Sweet Desi kept shaking people’s hands on the street, waving at people; basically being the cutest, spunkiest little old man ever. By far the best part of this walk occurred when we stopped in the median of a pedestrian crosswalk. As the cars drove by honking there horns, Desi held out his hand and gave every driver that passed him a high-five, including some white guy in a BMW who looked so happy. It was hysterical. Then at the coffee shop I was able to nab the seat beside Desi (which was my goal, afterall). There were other adults there, so he spent most of his time talking with them. I felt a little awkward at times, thinking in my head “What the hell do you talk about with Desmond Tutu?????” We made nice conversation and he patted me on the shoulder (PRAISE!). Yall, he CACKLES. The cutest laugh Ive ever heard. He could only stay like 20-25 minutes, but it was enough to snap this photo:

And that was that! Headed back to the house, turned both papers, and was

DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE!!!!!!

There was 1 other super-senior on the program and she was pretty excited as well, but no one else really understood how weird/awesome/scary/amazing/reallyreallyreallyreallygood it felt. It was a BEAUTIFUL day so I just ran over to Andrew’s apartment where I was greeted with “CONGRADUATIONS!!!” signs all over the house, a card, and the biggest hug ever. We celebrated by taking a shot of peach Schnapps (what?! Kaitlin taking a shot?? I know what youre thinking…. But this was a big occasion) :

Then we headed downtown for the World Cup Final Draw. IT WAS INSANE. There were thousands of people on Long Street the main drag in Cape Town. Tooo many people for me, though it was fun for a while. I have to write a whole other post about what I think about the World Cup..... whew. Its going to be ugly. 

ANYWAYYYYYYYYYYS now that I have 2 weeks of free time until Malawi, I can do WHATEVER I WANT!!!! I'll be writing more now BECAUSE NOW I GOTS THE TIME YESSSSSSSS.

Love you all, send me some chilly December air

K-Grad