Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Postal Experiment...in pictures!

Greetings everyone!

I decided to post scanned images of the stuff I've received thru the postal experiment. Why should I have all the fun of checking them out!?!? I didn't post the personalized stuff, but these are some of the images on the cards, postcards, and letters.

You can see the images at my picasa site: http://picasaweb.google.com/lynseemelchi/PostalExperiment2009#

Also I have totally messed up the counting of all the letters and the organization. I would say that I care a lot...but really it seems like a small detail to stress over. I just wanted to keep a statistical order to things to give people info about where things came from. Cos I thought that was interesting. But...I just keep screwing up so I'm going to forget about it for now. So far I have gotten 27 things from cards to postcards to letters to care packages.

Most importantly...thanks for those of you that took the time to participate. I appreciate your effort! It's been fun :)

I am going to leave my postal address in the USA in about 2 1/2 weeks for South Africa

BUT

If you'd like to still send me things (hint, hint) then you can send me stuff at:

Lynsee Melchi
p.o. box 11303
Hatfield 0028
Pretoria
SOUTH AFRICA

Enjoy the pics and keep the love coming!
Until next time...
Keep the faith and spread it gently

Love, Lynsee

Sunday, October 18, 2009

New beginnings

Greetings all!

I figured with 2 months (to the day) before I leave for South Africa to start a new chapter, that it might be time for an official blog update.  I wish I had been writing more since I’ve been home, but that just hasn’t happened.  It’s been a very uninspiring year filled with mamadrama, dead end jobs, and general malaise.  Apologies for not being more vocal.  I just haven’t been up to it. 

But now I’m headed on a new path.  A loving path, I hope.  I’ve decided to go back to South Africa for good, for now.  Not for school this time, but for love.  It’s kind of a crazy proposal, but really would you expect anything less from me? 

The path back to veterinary school has been filled with hardship.  I found out earlier this year that decisions I needed the University of Pretoria to make so that I might be able to fund my education will not be made until the end of 2010…and even then this decision might not be made in my favor.  This pretty much leaves me with no financial options to continue school now, despite extensive research on my part. 

Many people have said to me “but Lynsee, why don’t you come home and continue vet school in the USA?”  A good thought, y’all…but this whole funding dilemma also caused me to realize that lately I have not been happy pursuing vet school.  I did not enjoy being at Onderstepoort.  I did not enjoy Pretoria.  And, frankly, with other talents and opportunities that have come about since those early days when I decided I wanted to be a vet…well, there are just other things that I have found that make me happy.  And right now becoming a vet is not making me happy.  That is a problem. 

I truly believe in a natural flow to things.  You know an “it just came together” type of situation.  Hard work and sacrifice are important, but this vet school thing has been forced so much by me that it was becoming unnatural.  I was not enjoying the struggle.  I am not inspired enough to keep myself going.  I had to think to myself “why am I doing this?”  Why am I killing myself to fulfill a childhood dream that I don’t even know for sure that I need?  I’m unhappy and I don’t want to do this anymore.  At least not right now.  It seems very forced and unnatural.  It’s time to back off a bit and let the universe unfold as it should.

So…what next? 

And how does going back to SA fit into all of this?

Well with no money for school and a sneaking suspicion that my life career path to date might not be working out for me…I basically have to begin again.  Reconfigure.  Pick myself, dust myself off, start all over again.  Get that dirt off my shoulder.  That type of thing. 

I was planning on going back to SA this December no matter what happened.  While I was initially planning on going back to start school again…that plan has obviously changed.  But I still have a plane ticket and a little bit of money saved up from working.  So, even when I first arrived home, my worst case scenario was to go back to SA this December and have a little bit of a relaxing holiday before I need to really engage life again.  Maybe catch some World Cup action in June/July 2010.  Just let myself be free after a whole year of being cooped up at Mom’s house stressing about how to put my life together.

But now I have another option to explore.  This time one involving a young man…    

last days 076 - CopyWhile in South Africa I met a fella that really means a lot to me.  Although I guess we never officially “dated,”  we have known each other for almost 2 years now.  We’ve spent a bit of time together in those 2 years and have been in touch the whole time I have been home.  His name is Charlie.  He’s 29.  An engineer.  And probably one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.  And he’s cute too ;)  Sorry…I had to say it.  I know a lot of you probably have many questions about the man, questions that will not be satisfied by the informational tidbits above, but I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it that he’s great.     

So…since I have decided to scrap vet school now (for financial and mental health reasons) and will have to start over again no matter where I am…well, I decided that I want to start over again in South Africa with Charlie.  Charlie thought that was something he wanted too so that’s what we are going to do.  I don’t know if being with Charlie is a forever type of situation.  But I do know that it’s not nothing and I can’t, in good conscience, throw it away because of something stupid like geography. 

It looks like Charlie and I are getting a place somewhere around Pretoria (Centurion, I think).  I’m not sure the details cos that is part of Charlie’s job before I get to SA.  Charlie has a job as an engineer and I will start looking for work when I land.  I have visa issues to sort out so I can stay longer than the initial 3 months I am allowed to stay and I don’t think it’s going to be easy to find work.  But despite various challenges I am hopeful that things will work out because they have to in the end.  I haven’t quite figured out what I’d like to do and might just have to scramble for any job I can.  Ideally I’d like to work in radio (as a producer) but would also be interested in getting a job in science of some sort.  A job in my field (animal sciences/livestock) would be great…but we’ll see what happens.  There’s an American embassy in Pretoria that might also offer some job opportunities. 

If any of you have any leads on jobs I might be able to find around Pretoria or Joburg…let me know!  I’m going to be on the prowl soon :)  Also if anyone has any tips I might need to know about visas and such then feel free to contact me.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to need all the help I can get. 

I know this whole thing seems like kind of a crazy proposition, but the funny thing is that it just seems like the right thing at this time.  I am anxious about some aspects of starting a life in SA, but that seems pretty normal for any starting over situation…whether it is happening in Waukegan or Chicago or Cleveland or South Africa.  One thing that doesn’t make me anxious at all, though, is the  prospect of starting to walk a path together with Charlie by my side.  That makes me feel really really calm.  Which is kind of a welcome change…

As always…keep the faith and spread it gently

Love, Lynsee

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Postal Experiment

Dear loyal readers

I would like to conduct a postal experiment which really means this is a shameless attempt to get you to send me stuff in the mail.

I am pretty much a religious believer in the power of mail. Hear that US Postal Service? In this electronic age, there are still believers! I send at least 1 letter/card per week and sometimes a lot more. I just can't get enough of making letters and stationary and sending people a smile in the mail. The sucky thing is that people never really send me stuff back. And I'm kind of resigned to the fact that output never equals return. I don't really expect others to send me stuff back cos that is just setting myself up to be upset.

But now is your turn to participate in a movement of postal love in the direction of Lynsee. So sharpen your pencils, break out the nice stationary or wacky postcards, and get scribbling!

You can send me stuff at:

Lynsee Melchi
2918 Brookside Ave
Waukegan, Illinois
60085
USA

Send whatever you'd like. Postcards, full on letter, other postal silliness...I'll take it all. There will be prizes: 1st letter to come to me, letter from farthest away, wackiest letter, letter from someone I don't know. So...don't forget the return addresses!

I am leaving this address on December 17th...so what can you all do in that time??
Bring it on!

I suppose I will write an update some time soon cos there is a lot happening. Life changes and what not. And I'm writing a book. Yeah. So, stay tuned.

Much (postal)Love
Keep the faith and spread it gently
Lynsee

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Musical jobs

Butcher, baker, candlestick maker...surprisingly these are 3 jobs I have not held...yet.

I meant to write a long and hilarious account on the ups and downs of being a substitute teacher in Waukegan Public Schools (my job since March). It may still happen...we'll see. I just got caught up in time. Months piled up and now school's no longer in session. Musical jobs begins.

Musical jobs has made me start to think about all the jobs I've held in my 28 years on this planet. My first real job was at 12 so I guess just about 1/2 of my life so far has been touched by the working world. While I'm no Homer Simpson...I'm starting to amass quite a wacky list of trades.

To date I have been employed as:

paper delivery girl
veterinary assistant
secretary
textbook associate
note taker for university classes
summer camp counselor (arts & crafts director, nature assistant)
waitress
sheep farmer
phone interviewer for surveys
supervisor
stock girl for Toys R Us
foreclosure data collection
voiceover artist
research assistant
genetics lab monkey
pond manager
housesitter
petsitter
drunk lady sitter
meeting hostess
(and maybe a few other things)

Since I've been home I've worked as:

flower delivery person
substitute teacher
photo shoot assistant
driving instructor
"lead procurement" for local business

Many of the people I went to school w/in SA had never had jobs. I don't know if it's a cultural thing, as in Americans LOVE working (it's part of our identity). As in many African families take care of their kids and don't want them working (or don't expect it). As in the job market in SA is a bit tighter. Probably a combination of those things. All I know is that I know more people in SA who had never worked a day in their life, while at their age I had already had about 7-8 different jobs.

I was fortunate enough to not have to work while in school in SA. A first for me. So I can see the value of not working while in school. I get that argument. But I also thought about all the things (good and bad) these people have missed from not being a part of the working world: boss bullshit, time clocks, taxes, hungover summer morning wakeups for work, general job bullshit that comes from the "you pay me to do stuff" contract we enter into, financial freedom, all the people I've met, all the fun and random things I've done from raising dragonfly larvae to shearing sheep to cruising around bringing flower joy, all the skills I've acquired through job duties. I can't help but feel they've missed out a bit.

A friend of mine is your classic workaholic. He would spend 20 hours a day at work if they let him. We were once talking about work and freedom and he said "I don't know what I would do if I didn't work." My reply: "Anything you want!" Imagine if you didn't have to go to work everyday...you could literally do anything you wanted.

Our formative years are spent preparing us for the working world. Wake up early M-F. Go to this central location. Do what you are told (and certainly don't question the authority of those telling you). And we are told this is something you must do to get anywhere in life. While this may be good training for the masses who aren't thinking outside the box and crave being told what the structure of their life should be...I certainly think it's not a system set up with anyone's best interests in mind. It's just something we "have to do." Suck it up! This must be achieved!

Right now I'm supposed to be a most ferocious work machine. A model that has never suited me. I've almost always taken crappy pay jobs so I can retain a modicum of freedom and flexibility all while getting experience "for the future." That's why sheep farmer appears on my laundry list of employment as opposed to more lucrative positions. It's also why I'm broke as a joke. Win some, lose some.

So "school's out for summer" and I've hopscotched my way into a new job doing "lead procurement." Some fancy marketing word for getting the word out and enticing people with our services. I call folks on the phone or contact them otherwise to tell them about the business and services we offer. Anyone I contact that uses our services means bonus money for me! The company is a document storage and shredding company, so it's services I can get down with. I'm not working for the devil or selling people crap they couldn't use...like a new vacuum cleaner or knives. Seriously if you are in the market for storage/shredding...talk to me! We operate in Southern WI and the Chicagoland area...so get at me if you need something like that. It's a small company so no job is too big or too small. And there's a sweet reward in it for me :) You can check out their website at: accessyourdocs.com

I'm also training to be a driving instructor. Hilarious...considering I haven't owned a car in about 7 years. Provided I pass the test next week, I start teaching immediately.

Eish! The things we do for money...

If you take nothing else from this conglomeration of working words then take this and think about it:

What would you do if you didn't have to work???
...anything you want!

Keep the faith and spread it gently
Love Lynsee

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Thoughts from the bread aisle

Overall I’m not a fan of shopping. Malls freak me out with their neon glow and polished surfaces condoning and encouraging extreme consumerism. Buy me! Buy me! Bust out the credit card! I often get lost in them, even ones I’ve frequented. The sting of long hours in changing rooms packed into ill fitting clothes. Going home empty walleted. All this I’d rather do without. The thrift store is my Mecca, not the mall. But grocery stores, oh baby! I love me some grocery stores.

I don’t know what it is that I love about food emporiums. If it’s all the food. The joy of expectation as I construct future meals in my head. Comparing the extra jumbo can of tuna to the small can to see if 3 smalls = 1 large is really saving me 4 pennies. The equality that stems from the reality that we all must eat. The hilarity of the “ethnic foods” aisle with its pasta and tortillas. Spotting food stuffs I’ve never encountered and hypothesizing exactly how I’d turn it into an excellent meal (or a failed meal on the way to an excellent meal). In SA, trying to read the aisle names in Afrikaans.

All I know is that I love the grocery store. So much so that when I was in Pretoria I used to go there to calm down even if I just needed a loaf of bread. I can literally spend hours in a grocery store over a loaf of bread…ask anyone who has had to give me a ride to/from the grocery store.

My first real grocery spree was a few weeks ago at a store in Waukegan. It was another glorious piece sewn into the homecoming quilt. In Waukegan we have your usual big box chain grocery stores but we also have a number of fruit markets that cater to the large Latino population in town. They are just as big as the chain stores, but I think more independently owned/operated. I absolutely love these stores: cheap produce, weird vegetables, signs in Spanish advertising specials on pechuga (chicken breast), lechuga (lettuce), and leche (milk). Plus there is usually a ton of food items I’ve never seen before or even heard of. All in our humble town. Waukegan has between 100 and 150,000 people and we have about 4 of these “fruit markets.”

Besides an overwhelming calm, a few thoughts passed through my head as I marvelled at Honduran coffee, the myriad types and brands of asian noodles, and Mexican sweets and sodas the likes of which I’d never seen but must be some-kid-some-where’s favorite splurge item. But mostly I thought “man these grocery store people really have it figured out.”

In the USA I’m lead to believe that many Americans sternly disapprove of immigrants. “Why can’t they speak English?” “They are taking our jobs and government services.” And so on. I’ve heard surprisingly similar sentiments in South Africa directed at the immigrant populations there. The USA wants to build a super wall on the border between USA/Mexico to keep our neighbors to the south out. I’m sure we will learn the hard way, if the wall is put up, that no wall is too big to keep out those that want in. People brave hostile oceans on plastic rafts to get here…there’s no “Great Wall” that can extinguish that hope. The allure of the American Dream is too great. We’ve marketed it all over the world, yet we still want to keep folks from the last step. I don’t get it, but maybe it’s all part of keeping demand high. The unattainable goal. All I know is that it hasn’t taken our country long to forget those words inscribed in stone on the Statue of Liberty:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"


But these grocery store people have it figured out. Instead of whining about how immigrants pollute what it means to some people to be a “true American” (whatever that means) the grocery store operators have taken advantage of the situation and given people what they want. A little taste of home to nourish the journey toward the American Dream. It’s genius and I’m sure it turns a pretty penny.

I'm under the impression that the booming immigrant population in the USA isn't going anywhere. I've been substitute teaching in Waukegan and most of the classes are mostly Latino. So, instead of complaining about the inevitable I think a better strategy is to make lemonade. I think these grocery store people have done just that and figured out how to make a buck from it...now that's American ingenuity!


Until next time

Keep the peace and spread it gently

Love, Lynsee

Monday, February 16, 2009

Delivering the luv

Valentine’s Day has never been a thing to me. I mean as a kid it was the day you got to make, fill out, give, and receive cute paper declarations of love. “I choo-choo-choose you” and other such whimsical nonsense. And of course there was Valentine’s Day candy involved. If you want to win me over, come bearing candy. I’ll be putty in your hands.


As you get older Valentine’s Day tends to go one of three ways: mushy, bitter, or indifferent. The mushies get all excited over Valentine’s Day. Maybe you could classify these folks as those with significant others, but some people just love the idea of love. The bitters get nauseous at thought of all the hearts, teddy bears, and corny couplets that come with Feb 14. These are usually the people that don’t have significant others on the big day. Or maybe those folks that never got candy grams or a carnation in high school. The bitters usually mock the mushies. To the indifferents, V day is just another day on the calendar.


I fall in the indifferent category. I think we should love each other every day and that a particular day designated as a love fest is kind of forced and pointless. A “hallmark holiday” that’s been a bit inflated to push merchandise on us all. I surely wouldn’t mind receiving some flowers or candy on that day, but I’m not going to go out of my way to get involved in the V day hype. I would never push it on my man. I also wouldn’t go so far as to feel dejected should the absence of flowers, candy, or general love accolades greet me on the big day. People that choose to show each other love on the big day shouldn’t be the butt of jokes. Showing love should never be put down.


For me…Valentine’s Day means work.


For longer than I can recall, my family has delivered flowers on Valentine’s Day. A family friend owns a flower shop in our neighborhood and we are part of the florist army reserves. We are called to duty on such important flower days as Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and sometimes Christmas. We drive around in circles making sure that special someone knows you care. It’s fun.


I love driving. At times I can tire from driving too much, but mostly I love it. Probably a reason I like driving so much now is that I don’t own a car, so it’s kind of a novelty. But even when I did own a car I loved driving. Driving in South Africa wears me out because it’s like a constant obstacle course and you need to be steady on point. Depending on where you are driving, the road could contain any of the following: ladies carrying bundles of firewood on their head, cows, goats, donkeys, kids, bicycles, potholes, dangerous mountain curves, erratic taxi drivers, misleading or absent street signs. I have decided that if you can drive in a busy township (rural or urban) you can drive just about anywhere. ‘kasi drivers are ready for anything driving has to throw at you…even Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. My secret blue collar dream jobs are in no particular order: taxi driver (SA or USA), city bus driver, or semi truck driver. I can’t say I’d want to do any of those my whole life, but I sure wouldn’t mind a stint in any of those positions.


The joy I get from getting paid to drive around and listen to killer tunes on the special flower days is only added to by the fact that I make people happy. No one is ever upset when you show up on their porch or at their workplace in your red and pink V day outfit (complete with dancing top hat teddy bear heart pin) with flowers in hand. It’s really nice to be able to bring a smile and a fragrant bouquet to someone when you had nothing to do with the thought or sentiment involved. You just delivered the goods.


Delivering flowers to businesses is particularly hilarious because as you enter the office all the ladies’ puff up a bit and turn heads to follow the flowers, each one hoping it is for them, until you reach your target. Then each person not receiving flowers deflates a bit and gets back to work or ooooohs and aaaahs over the flowers, probably vowing to drop some hints at home about how nice Delia’s flowers looked at work. My brother and I also think that some of these ladies are secretly cursing the woman who got the flowers. We make up fake curses after we leave the office. Hilarious. And the best part is that you get to leave the politics, get in your car, turn up the tunes, and drive away.


For me, and especially in the last years I’ve been doing this, delivering flowers is a way to reacquaint myself with the layout of my town and the surrounding area. It’s really cool to be able to drive around and relearn the diversity of all the nooks and crannies that we call Waukegan. The downtown old school mansions, projects, suburban dwellings, parks, taquerias, sexy cake bakery, The Smoke n Gun (a tobacco and firearms store), the love house (a house we delivered to that served as a monument to Cupid), the house that always has Mary, Joseph, and the Easter Bunny in their nativity scene, a homemade ice rink on someone’s lawn, the houses of old friends, and all that’s in between. I must say we got a mighty fine town going on up here in Waukegan.


The florist delivers to all of Lake County, so that means not just my town, but also many towns in the area. I have spent about 16 years of my life with Waukegan as my home base. The general framework of the lay of the land always sticks in my mind, but I’ve been away for so long that the fine details often get muddled. Names, faces, and places swirl around my head in one big geographical soup. I recognize the names of many streets, but getting there can sometimes be a Herculean effort. Thank goodness for phonebook maps, Mapquest, Rand Mcnally.com, and my brother the navigator. Unfortunately this little detail makes me a slightly ineffectual driver and I often end up getting flustered driving back and forth and around where a more familiar driver could knock off all the targets in smooth fashion without all the backtracking. But in the end I get there and so do your flowers.

The places I despise when I deliver flowers are those crazy suburban subdivisions that seem to pop up in empty fields like weeds in your garden. I curse every time I know I need to venture into one to bring Valentine’s Day love to your door. There are a number of ideological beefs I have with these planned communities, but mostly they annoy me because I always get lost in them. All the ticky tack houses look the same and the streets curve around each other like a plate of spaghetti with no rhyme or reason for where they go. Streets quickly end or curve into new streets. There are myriad Circles that dead end. The names of the streets are pretentious. In my nightmares Banshee Whisper Ridge Court, Tiger Tail Circle, Pond Ridge Creek Boulevard are a tangle of streets I never seem to be able to find an exit from. In waking life the scene is not much different. From the airplane I always picture the subdivision street swirls as malicious anacondas choking the life out our landscape. From the ground they choke the life out of my sense of direction. Pave paradise and put up a parking lot, right?


Because we are sometimes on a tight time schedule or want to get as many deliveries in as possible (to maximize profit) it also means that you can get a little crazy with the car. I’m not talking about OJ Simpson freeway stunts, but you do get to bend the rules of driving a bit. I don’t usually speed much while out on deliveries unless I’m really in a hurry. What I’m talking about is ruthless parking. I’ve always been a renegade parker. I find it sneaky to park in a metered space for 5 minutes without feeding the meter your coins. I got other tricks up my sleeve when it comes to parking, but I’m not telling…sorry. When we deliver we have a sign that says “Delivery in progress. Driver will return soon.” To me that says we get to park in fire lanes, handicap spots, and anywhere else we can stash the car for the 2 minutes we will be inside. I love this. Being in South Africa has taught me the beauty of not following the rules all the time. In the USA we follow the rules because they are there. While I do think this makes for a more upstanding society, at times it means that we just follow because. We follow without thinking and I find a problem with this. In South Africa you have the opposite extreme…damn near lawlessness at times. While this is not an optimal situation, and I believe SA could use some more followers, I like this situation because it is created by more free thinking people. Or maybe just downright rude people, but I prefer to think of the former and not the later. I like to mix up the two societies in my approach to things. Ruthless parking gives me my fix. I have to say my best moment this V day was smoking a cigarette next to a no smoking sign all while parked in a handicap spot while I waited for my brother to deliver a bouquet. I was on fire for those 2 minutes!


One final nice thing I enjoyed this V day was working with my brother. He came up from his town to make some extra cash. At first we were in separate vehicles, but we realized that it made sense to work together. Although we probably made less money (because we split the money we get paid for each delivery), we got to have fun driving around together. I guess I’ll always choose laughter over money. We were a well oiled machine with me at the steering wheel and him at the map pointing out how to get out of those awful suburban subdivisions and walking the flowers to the door. A dynamic duo indeed.

Hope you enjoyed the flowers, candy, and love fest of Valentine’s Day 2009. I’ll see you again on Mother’s Day…


Until then…keep the faith and spread it gently

Love Lynsee

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Trading the Southern Cross for the Big Dipper

As you may or may not know, dear readers, I have recently exchanged the summer warmth of the Southern Hemisphere for the frigid winter of the Northern Hemisphere. I know, I know…you must be thinking…but why??? Well, here’s the scenario…


For the last two years I have been attending veterinary school at the University of Pretoria in South Africa thanks in full to a generous scholarship from the good people of Rotary International. Being a veterinarian, which requires considerable schooling, has long been a dream of mine. A few years ago I thought “why not kick it up a notch and try it in another country?” The Rotary scholarship was sort of a means to that end and I was quite happy to be an ambassador of goodwill for their program while they footed my school bills.


Sadly, my Rotary scholarship period is over. I still have a few things to do stateside for the requirements of the scholarship (namely give 10 speeches this year) but my funding is all dried up. Being the excellent planner that I am…I currently do not have money to continue school in South Africa. I had a feeling this was going to happen, i.e. I would be part of the way through my schooling without more loot to continue. But in my line of thinking, the most important part of this process was to get to South Africa. I figured I would have 2 years on scholarship to come up with a solution to this monetary dilemma. And in the back of my mind there was always the possibility that this would be a dead end. But a “definitely worth it” dead end.


But ya see…I got a plan. I always got a plan…


So while I was away I was hoping to search out these great scholarships that would keep me afloat in South Africa and continuously in school. I mean I paid for 4 ½ years of school at U of Illinois almost entirely funded by scholarships. Why couldn’t I do that again? I know that mostly it takes a stroke of luck, stumbling upon a source of cash, and a lot of hard work (via applications, essays, and sometimes interviews) to tap into that money. But it’s totally possible. I am living proof of that.


Unfortunately I’m in a new game. There’s no FAFSA or wonderful College of ACES just ready to toss or front me some cash for school. It’s much harder to find people in the USA willing to fund international school that isn’t study abroad. And it’s even harder to find people in South Africa willing to spend already thin money on a foreigner who, in all likelihood, is going to take the education they invested in and spend it in another country. So the rules have changed from the relatively easy situation I found myself in while trying to gather funding for my Bachelors degree at U of Illinois. Plus it takes a lot of time to do good scholarship searches.


I was pretty much out of ideas except to come home and take out lots of bank loans (to the extreme detriment of my financial health…let alone if it was even possible) or give up altogether. Then I met Brandi, another American student in Pretoria, who was trying to get into vet school and basically repeating the motions I had done the year before with respect to classes, etc. She mentioned that it was possible to borrow federal money (from the USA) to study full time in foreign countries. Basically getting Stafford Loans/Direct Loans as if I was going to an American university, except that I’d be using it in South Africa to go to school full time. This sounded too good to be true, but I dug deeper.


What she was talking about is called “Title 4.” Basically it requires the university you are attending overseas to go through a process of validation mediated by the US Department of Education. If the foreign school is up to scratch they call it a “Title 4” school and the American student is able to borrow federal money to attend. We also found out that you pretty much can’t borrow money from any USA bank to go to school overseas unless they are Title 4 certified. So the key to money to go to school in South Africa seems to be this Title 4 business.

Now if it was up to me, the University of Pretoria would already be a Title 4 school or at least on its way through the process to become Title 4. Unfortunately getting certified can only be initiated by an administrator at the school. D’oh! This requires effort and stuff on the part of administrators in South Africa…which from my experience is kind of like pulling teeth, but not as nice. I have not exactly found a warm and helpful administrative reception at the U of Pretoria. I mean it’s not all bad and I have found some crucial allies, but it’s no College of ACES love.


So right now I’m in the process of trying to get the U of Pretoria listed as a Title 4 school. I’ve talked to the right people on that side and presented all the info I can. It’s in their court now. Kind of scary, but I think this could work. I mean it’s a win win situation for everyone except for the initial administrative effort on their part. If American students can borrow money to come to U of Pretoria it can only mean good things for the university and will solve the financial problems of many more American students in Pretoria. I am under the impression that many American students are in need of financial aid in Pretoria but are not able to get it because there are no resources for them through the university. And fair enough…there are plenty of people in Southern Africa that are probably more deserving of that funding than a person like me. The University can’t be giving money to people that are probably going just going to go away from Southern Africa after their study period.


What does this all mean for me right now?


Well the new school year at my vet school started mid-January. Because of the money thing I was not able to move on with my classmates. But I was able to defer my studies for one year by writing a letter to the Deputy Dean…so I’ve bought myself another year to sort out this financial mess or throw in the towel. I’m hoping for sorting it out :) I will be allowed to continue my studies in the 2010 academic year at the veterinary campus in South Africa. I return to South Africa in December of this year.


To that end I am home, i.e. in Waukegan, IL. Living with my mom for a year and looking for a job (or three) to save up money to get back to South Africa and finish this school thing. Cos…this school thing needs to end. I’m getting sick of being a student and just keep wondering when this real life thing is going to start.


I’m headed back to South Africa in December of this year no matter what happens because I have ½ of a return ticket to use up. So I have until December (well January cos school starts in January) to sort this out or give up. My plan if all goes to hell and I can’t figure out the money for school, is to go to South Africa and stay on there (hopefully volunteering or otherwise doing something cool with my time) and then returning to the USA in July-ish of 2010. See, the World Cup of soccer is going to be hosted in South Africa in June of 2010 and I just can’t justify going home before I see that. Overall I think it’s a pretty cool “if all else fails” plan. Quite possibly my best ever.


Yeah, I’m home. If you wanna see me, you better holla at me :) Email works. Facebook works. Or call me at home: 847-782-8211.


I was SO amped up to come home. I mean tacos, friends, and good cheer as far as the eye can see, right? Well, the reality (as it usually is) has been a bit different. While there has been tacos and friends as far as the eye can see…some other issues have popped up.


First of all, I’m 27 years old and living with my mother. See me and mom love each other a lot, but getting along in close quarters in not really something we are winning medals for. We aren’t even in the qualifying heats for that race. Peace right now is tenuous at best…and that best is really stretching it. I’m just going to stop here cos I don’t really want to talk trash about my mom or our situation. It’s just not good to do that on the internet, so I plead the 5th.


Second, I’m totally broke. Like the most broke I’ve ever been in my life. I have had a job since I was 15 years old and while I’ve never been rich or rolling in the cash…I’ve never really been broke. Maybe paycheck to paycheck broke, but not broke broke. It sucks. I actually donated plasma for money a few weeks ago, a ritual relegated to the most desperate college student or other less fortunate members of society. But yo, I’m broke. I got paid $20 and it’s all the money I have in the world. But thankfully I’ve got a roof over my head and food in the fridge thanks to my mom. So I guess it could always be worse.


Third, I got a lot of stuff to sort out right now and no motivation to do it. I need a job. I have Rotary things to work out. I got tons of people to see, but no money to visit. Have to deal with the aftermath of jumping continents. Need to keep this financial aid search afloat. And and and and…my friend told me to not sweat the small stuff and everything is small stuff, but I just don’t know how to fit that to my current situation. It’s very frustrating. Sometimes I have problems concentrating on things. My dad calls it ADD. I don’t know what to call it. But it’s really bad right now. Normally I can take all my energy and focus it like a laser beam when I need to, but right now I just keep jumping from thing to thing without solving anything. Admittedly, I’ve been home for about 2 months and probably shouldn’t have everything sorted, but I’m an impatient woman when it comes to getting things done.


But on to greener fields…home is kind of awesome. I mean just generally I’m more in my element…even the cold weather. Although I can't wait for spring and summer to hit! I know where I’m going when I get in the car. No one stares at me when I walk down the street. No one stares at me when I’m in mixed racial groups. No one points out that I’m American or that I don’t talk like everyone else. Although South Africa colloquialisms do pop out of my mouth sometimes since I’ve been back, leaving the receiving party a bit dumbfounded. The other day I said “sorted?” to a friend on the phone after we had agreed on some plans to meet up. He was totally perplexed. So I repeated “sorted?” thinking that maybe he hadn’t heard me. But really he had no idea what I was talking about. Fair enough. But usually as long as I don’t say something in Afrikaans most people know what I’m talking about here.


The food is awesome. I’m getting fatter by the day, d’oh! I’ve eaten Mexican food almost to my heart’s content. I’ve had my slurpee at 7-11. I’ve eaten a concha at the Mexican bakery. Chips n salsa. Mom’s BBQ teriyaki ribs. Waffles. Bottomless coffee. Had a fast food burger, but still waiting on a Whopper from Burger King. Jelly Bellys, Peeps, and Twizzlers. And so on and so on with the food. It’s sweet. I will miss pap n vleis and bunny chow for now, but we all have to make sacrifices. There is an African store in my town (why, I don’t know…but I love it!) and I’m sure if I’m really fiending that I can probably score some mielie meal there.


One of the most relieving things about being home is the lack of racial tension here that so permeates the South African experience. I was recently visiting a friend that works at a bowling alley in my home town and while I was there he was setting some people up with a lane. The group was comprised of four high school kids: a white girl, a black guy, and two Latino guys. All just chattering away and without a single eye in the place trained on them (okay, except for mine…marvelling at the ease of their interaction). I was so relieved to be home. At that moment I really wished the guy I was dating before I came back to the USA could have been there to see how easy it can be. In South Africa we had the usual beef that any white/black coupling would have in South Africa. Uneasy eyes following us, people talking and pointing at us at times, and so on. It was a bit of a burden which was frustrating because I don’t really care about what other people think (cos where I’m from it’s no thing to be with someone of the other race, romantically or otherwise) and I don’t think he was used to the attention that having a white girl around can bring. We never fought about it, but it did put a damper on some of our choices of activities and the attention we got was sort of annoying. We went to Tembisa to visit his family and that was quite an ordeal. We actually had to pay a guy for “protection” from people that supposedly wanted to rob us. It seemed like kind of an empty threat from this little thug, but one can never be too sure. I think my man gave him a few coins…well worth the peace of mind. Yeah, so that aspect of being home is pretty cool. People here, despite our not necessarily spotless racial situation, really don’t know how lucky they have it in this country.


The internet is so kick ass in the USA. I remember when I first got to South Africa and the first 3 (!) houses I visited had dial-up modems. Dial-up! South Africa isn’t Somalia, people. I hadn’t used dial-up since about 1995 and right now can only think of one person I know in the USA with that old school technology…and he’s a spartan fellow living in a house with just a wood burning stove to heat his Midwest winter. Whoa. Free wireless and unlimited bandwidth at home just doesn’t really exist in SA on the scale it does here. I am finally catching up with downloads from musical projects friends have been sending me the whole year. I can watch YouTube the whole day if I want. There’s no Telkom crap to deal with….it’s awesome. Unlimited bandwidth rules!

And then there’s the friends. I’ve heard “it’s so good to hear your voice” so many times in the past month that it kinda makes me weepy just thinking about it. While I haven’t hit up as many friends as I would like to right now (remember I’m dead broke, so even a $5 Metra ride into the city is kind of out of the question), I’m getting there. I’ve even been able to see 2 of my good friends who live on opposite coasts…thank you Barack Obama for bringing us together (we were all in DC for the inauguration). I got to have Christmas with my crazy ass step family and have seen some of my other relatives. I’ve goofed off and just generally bathed in the presence of the only person that really understands all of my jokes (my brother). Good times.


A few more silly “welcome home” items:


  1. For the first week or so I was at home I kept trying to turn my mom’s bathroom light on via a switch outside of the bathroom door (which is actually the switch for the hallway). In South Africa, light switches for rooms (especially the bathroom) are usually just outside the door instead of being inside the room. I was getting so confused when the hall light would turn on instead of the bathroom light…but I’ve figured it out now.

  1. I still have to say outloud “You are in the United States” when I get in the car or when I turn corners because sometimes I sort of want to turn into the South African lane…which would definitely get me into an accident here. It was pretty easy to convert back to the USA side of the road when it comes to driving, but turning corners still freaks me out a bit. When I first got in mom's car to drive I started to drive with 2 feet (like a manual) which didn't quite work on her automatic transmission.

  1. I’m so used to greeting people in South Africa when I meet them that I keep doing it here. But mostly people just sort of act funny to me when I say “How are you?” They don’t really know what to do. They act uncomfortable. It makes me feel weird.


But best of all…”my black president!”


So within a month of arriving home we got a new president. A captivating, shiny, eloquent man they call Barack Obama. I’m sure you all have heard of him, right? I’m a big Barack fan although I’m slightly scared of his superstar status. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, no matter who you are. I mean after 8 years of Bush it really didn’t take much to impress us left-leaning folks to vote for “not Bush.” But how we were lucky enough to get a candidate like Barack Obama after so much darkness really blows my mind. It seems the only thing that Bush ever did for us was make us so fed up that we were ready to vote for Barack...and for that I salute Bush and all his treachery and deceit. In the movie “The Big Lebowski” the wandering cowboy talks about how sometimes there is just the right man for his time (referring to “The Dude”) and I truly believe Barack Obama is just the right man for his time. Lucky us.


The week he was elected I was in South Africa. I had just started my exams, with only one exam under my belt the Monday before the election and another one waiting for me that Friday after the election. Despite the massive amount of studying I had to do…I could not help getting sucked into Obamania. I watched the whole process of the votes coming in via the internet, spending fortunes on precious internet bandwidth. But I didn’t care…it was all worth it. Seeing Barack Obama give his victory speech in front of the glowing Chicago skyline was such a special moment. Tears and tears and tears of joy, homesickness, and hope. I wished for a time machine so badly just so I could join my friends at home during such a spectacular event. But I was stuck in Pretoria… at Onderstepoort…in Helshoogte.


I vowed that I would see him sworn in on January 20, 2009 in Washington DC…no matter the cost. No matter the obstacle.


And I did.


I got back a few weeks ago from an epic trip to Washington DC with my friend Kai, her sister Ain, and my other friend Ben. I hooked up w/my best friend Clara in DC and Ben and I stayed w/an old roommate, Rob. It was a great big 608 Elm reunion :) I spent every last dollar I had on the trip (it was surprisingly cheap…thanks Kai!) and even some dollars I don’t think I had. But I regret nothing. I, like many people around the world, watched the whole thing on TV, although I watched from a Jumbotron (that is such a weird word) on the mall in Washington DC surrounded by other hopeful folks just happy to be a part of the madness. The whole process was really exhausting. I slept 9 hours over 4 days. I stood or walked from 6:30am to 4pm the day of the inauguration, waking up early to secure a spot on the mall (only about 300,000 people were rumored to be allowed in) and enduring a full day of standing in cold weather without food or water. I helped drive ½ way across the country and back, sometimes in bad snowy weather. Exhausting! But you know what, it was all worth it and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. History, baby, history. As I’ve been saying: history, his story, OUR story!!


The inauguration ceremony was pretty fast. Almost everyone around us booed G.W. as he was introduced and seated on the platform. As much as I dislike the guy I just couldn’t boo. But I did join in a hearty rendition of “na na na nah, na na na nah, hey hey hey good bye” that someone started singing in our section of the crowd. I thought I was going to cry when Barack was taking the oath or giving his amazing speech, but the thing that almost reduced me to tears was Aretha Franklin’s song. Wow. And that hat, whoa! If you haven’t heard Barack’s speech…google it…it’s worth a read. What a spectacular set of words! The best part is that we are all in for a good 4-8 years of amazing speeches after the verbal blundering, doublespeak, and downright lies of the previous administration. We are going to get words we can cheer for…not a lot of crappy rhetoric about resolve and good vs evil. No more “axis of evil” or “you’re with us or against us.” Hooray! It may be political nonsense dressed up pretty, but heck, I’m looking forward to eloquence over idiocy.


Washington DC was an absolute madhouse. Because of all the special people in town there were tons of official motorcades escorted by squealing sirens. I seriously don’t care if I ever hear another siren again. It was ridiculous. And the traffic! Remember in Office Space when the guys are gridlocked on the way to work and they keep getting lapped by a little old lady in a walker? Well, if you were in a car, it was kind of like that. Eventually we ditched the car and made much better time all around. The streets were clogged with visitors and folks peddling just about anything with Obama or his family plastered all over it. I initiated a competition as to who could find the most ridiculous Obama paraphernalia, but it never really caught on. My favorites were: a pin saying “Hot chicks dig Obama,” a wall calendar made for teens that featured the Obama girls as if they were the new Olson twins, a Tshirt with Barack at the turntables and the slogan “Obama, that’s my DJ!,” Barack Obama hand puppet, and the iconic red white and blue image of Obama substituted with the African red green and gold. Clara claimed she saw Obama condoms...stimulus package indeed :)


And in stark contrast we have the zombie apocalypse scene that greeted us once we got out of the melee that was thousands of people trying to leave the mall. All the streets and freeways were closed off in a certain area that surrounded where the action was happening. So this meant packs and packs of totally exhausted (but happy!) people wandering the deserted highways and byways normally reserved for motor vehicles. As we got back to my friend’s house we ended up on part of the freeway that was closed off. It was really strange. Like I said, zombie apocalypse. It would be like being able to walk on the highways where the Eisenhower/290 intersects 90/94 in Chicago…that impossible layer cake of highway just empty or filled with a few groups of Obama refugees. Weirdness, man, weirdness.


I don’t know if this is true, but I heard that there were somewhere between 2 and 5 million people in DC for the inauguration…and without a single arrest. Yes we can! There was one point when we were leaving the mall where I thought people might get a little crazy. We were all tired and trying to go home to rest our weary legs and wind whipped faces. In the face of this simultaneous mass exodus, the DC crowd control measures were nowhere to be found. We kept getting into these box canyons of people stacked deep and without a way to escape, yet there was no one telling us where to go. In a crowd like that, you can only see immediately around you so it’s not like you can see a way out. It was really frustrating, but people just kept saying “Not today, not on a day like today. We are going to get through this peacefully.” And so we did…


I made a Kenyan friend in South Africa my first year there. Here’s what he had to say about the response in Kenya:


"Here it was as if Obama was the Kenyan President. People were partying everywhere. The parties started a week earlier. Do you know what, there is a beer called Senator that is brewed by one of the leading breweries here. The beer has been changed to The President. We are really proud of our own, Obama. Few guys reported to work the following day. You could tell it from the the following day morning. In Kenya and specifically in Nairobi is known to be having notorious traffic jam. But that day, you couldnt see any. It was really nice. You couldnt tell if we are really have financial crisis. People were drinking like hell. It left me questioning if really people are feeling the recession that is hitting the developed countries. Anyway, I think people didn't celebrate christmas and had to reserve it for the day. It was wonderful and hope he will leave a record as the best president the United States has ever had. He is very intelligent and I promise he will bring meaningfull change to your country. My prayers are with him.

How did you celebrate?"


I guess we could take a page from the book of African celebrations…


And now on to the reflective part of this whole affair. I had lots of time to think about this whole “momentous occasion” as it has been called ad nauseum. On what it meant to me, America, history, and so on. Here’s what I came up with…


There are 2 things that immediately struck me when Obama was elected that I haven’t been able to let go. To me they are the most poignant symbols of the importance of Obama’s victory and his time at the helm of the most powerful country in the world.


  1. I saw this picture on the Chicago Tribune’s website while I was obsessing over Obama in the days before and after the election:


This picture was so powerful to me that I actually made it the desktop on my laptop for about a month after the election. These dudes look like they are celebrating the Bulls winning another championship…NOT a presidential election. I love that. What this picture shows me is that because of Obama, and his family, there are many more people that are/will be actively interested/participating in the political processes of this country. That is really important. A lot of people around the world have fought and died for the right to be represented, but in our country there are still many people that take this for granted by not participating in things like voting or even dialogue. It’s nice that one person can inspire people to get involved. I’m not talking about every person that is newly engaged going out and running for president or some other huge type of political event…but at least these guys might be listening to one more news cast a week…or something. I’m talking about small but significant changes. This means a lot to me and I’m sure it means even more to others.


We talk a lot in this country about “the melting pot” and that everyone is equal. Compared to a lot of places in the world…I think this is true in our country. Believe me, I’m appreciating it more and more each day. But there are still some institutions in our country that are not accessible to all. The White House was one of these places…I mean didn’t Tupac say “although it seems heaven sent, we ain’t ready to see a black president.” Barack Obama’s presidency takes away a little bit more of the lip service we give minority people in this country. It’s a live example that anyone can be anything in America. It’s a good start. There’s a lot more I want to say in this vein, but no matter how many times I’ve sat down to type out my commentary…I just can’t. I can’t make the words come out in a way that I like. I guess you’ll just have to catch me in person some time.


I just finished "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou last night. Reading that book really helped me appreciate the importance of our first black president a lot more. I guess I'm more in tune with racism and issues like that in a South African setting, but had forgotten the nuances of our own checkered past. It was good, but painful, to be reminded. And if you haven't read that book...pick it up. Amazing. I devoured it in 3 days.


  1. Little black girls are going to grow up in the White House.

Really, that blows my mind…


For me this was my first chance, in a long time, to really flex being an American and in a way I chose. For the last two years, being American has been my defining feature. Obviously I am more than that, but when you are in a foreign place, your nationality sort of becomes who you are to people that don’t know you. It’s the most noticeable thing about you that can quickly be recited for reference. “Ya know, that American girl.” It’s pointed out to you every day and people come to know you as just that. And for the last few years, being an American abroad means you better have a good sense of humor. You will be the butt of jokes. You will be accused of being a Bush supporter. You will be thought of as an ignoramus. Luckily I’m not just an American…I’m an individual too. I was happy to see on my campus that after going to school with people for a full year that they were starting to see me more as “Lynsee” instead of “Die Amerikaner,” but still to some I’m just that American girl. It makes you think more about your nationality, but ironically you are just about as far removed from home soil as you could be.


Attending the inauguration with millions of my fellow country(wo)men around me was really special to me because of this simultaneous removal and constant awareness of my home and nationality that I’ve been living for the last 2 years. And I can say that it was quite an event to take part in. I mean this weren’t no monster truck rally…it was history in the making!


I guess I can say without hesitation or making jokes to cover it up…I’m proud to be an American. Thanks America for bringing Barack Obama to office and for helping to resurrect my pride in my home after feeling betrayed for some time now. Although I have heard that “your flag decal won’t get you into heaven anymore,” I just might be slapping one of those babies on my next ride.


For the world, this means less “maverick-y” behavior on our part. It means more thoughtful engagement instead of “with us or against us.” Don’t get me wrong…we are still the USA and Obama still has his hands on the largest stockpile of fire power in the world. And it’s foolish to think that we will act in a way that is not beneficial to us…

…but I think this Obama thing is going to be a good deal for all of us.


Here’s one thing I’ve heard over and over again, especially from youth, in response to Barack’s victory: “It makes me feel like I can do anything or be anything.” I’ve heard that in radio/TV interviews in the USA, South Africa, and people being interviewed all over the world. That’s great. That’s such a great response. Take it for what you will, but I think it’s a cool response to this situation.


Well, here I’ve gone and rambled on and on. Dude, Obama will do that to me these days. I am not so busy (thanks to not being in vet school) right about now, so I hope to post more. But I’m sure I’ve promised that before….


I’ve posted new photos up on my Picasa site. They are totally unorganized there and haphazard...so venture in at your own danger! All kinds of pics from SA, USA, and Day in the Life…so check ‘em out: http://picasaweb.google.com/lynseemelchi


As always, keep the faith and spread it gently

Love

Lynsee