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 5^th.

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.
   

2. 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.

3. 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.

2. 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