Study Abroad Onsite Journals

South Africa Experience

Therese Tschudy

Saint Mary's College, 2009

July 25th

I had lunch in a crocodile pit today. We went to a reptile farm and I got to dine in a pit with 7 crocodiles. They were adolescents, so they were only around 6 feet long. What does one eat in a crocodile pit? Why, crocodile kabobs, of course. The flavor was very good, but I think they may have overcooked mine. Croc’s white meat, but the texture is a bit like steak. My friend Tiffany ate with me but she had a traditional Zulu meal instead.

August 2nd

It’s getting warmer now, though it’s still considered winter. Today was about as warm as the average June/July day in Cleveland, and I imagine also in South Bend. There’s a pool not too far from where I’m living, but it doesn’t open until September. The sun also sets early; it’s currently 5:30 pm and the sun is setting.

August 4th

The Indian Ocean at night is a very grand and twinkling thing to see. Barges strung like Christmas trees separate the sky from the sea, a line you’d never notice if the barges weren’t there. It was high tide, so the force of the current pulled so much sand out from under my feet I had to constantly move around to keep from unburying the beach crabs.

August 19th

I went on another lovely bus trip, this time to the Drakensburg mountains for the weekend. My friend received an offer of marriage from a local Sangoma (medicine man). That seems to happen a lot outside the big cities.

September 12th

I’ve joined a service group on campus that works with a community center/orphanage for children. Our assignment is to play with these kids and give them attention that they should be getting from their families. We started with arts and crafts. It didn’t take long for them to discover that I could draw. Basically, this resulted in me drawing them for the next 3 hours but I can’t say that I minded. These kids have the most beautiful eyes ever. One of them asked me if I would be her mother. Her name is Sonti. I don’t even know where to put this experience, how to carry it…

September 16th

I’m beginning to realize how hard it is going to be to leave here. I’ve made so many good friends from all over Africa, Europe and the U.S. Come November 25th, we will never be altogether in the same place again. It was easier to leave home, because I knew that when I came back everyone would be more or less where I’d left them. The same does not apply here.

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