Program Abroad:
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Penn Global Seminars (PGS): Seeing, Hearing, and Encountering South Africa
Ask me about...
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Being able to speak South Africa's largest home language, isiZulu
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Participating in a FLAS fellowship
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Cultivating relationships and communicating while abroad
My Experience:
I'd already taken courses relating to South Africa because I’m a dual major in Africana Studies and Political Science. So, before I arrived in the country I knew of its political history and different cultures. While abroad I was able to use the knowledge gained from my coursework to ask questions about the Rainbow Nation’s current state and what it's future might entail.
Other Highlights:
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Table Mountain National Park: I’m grateful for the opportunity to stand at the top of two of Cape Town’s most famous land attractions, Table Mountain and Lion’s Head. Both are apart of the Table Mountain National Park which is also home to the Cape of Good Hope, Signal Hill and South Africa’s endangered Black-Footed Penguin Colony.
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Cape Malay Quarter: We had a wonderful experience in the Cape Town’s Cape Malay Quarter neighborhood. We toured the community and learned about the rich history of the Cape Malay people. I especially enjoyed learning to cook traditional Cape Malay dishes. We prepared and ate customary foods like dhaltjies (chili-bites), koeksisters and roti topped with dhal. I’m glad to have witnessed this place in its original state as the community currently undergoes gentrification.
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Kyle Shepard: We had the pleasure of meeting South African musician and film composer Kyle Shepard at his office in Cape Town. He spoke a little about himself and the South African music scene, then gave us a small musical performance using his South African music mouth bow (known as the Umakhweyana in Zulu; Uhadi in Xhosa; Tshihwana in Venda) and piano.
