Book Review: The Moon, Come to Earth

As the July free ebook from Chicago University Press, I read The Moon, Come to Earth for the Travel Category of the 2012 Mix-it-Up Challenge.

Creative writer Philip Graham sets off on a year’s sojourn to Lisbon, Portugal, with his anthropologist-wife and his tween-daughter. This is not the first time he and his wife spend time living in a different country: when their now-college aged son was just a little boy, they lived in a small African village.

In a series of essays, Graham writes of his struggle with the Portuguese language (despite several years’ preparation), his daughter’s quick grasp of the language but her slow integration into a new culture, and the struggle for each family member in his or her own way to “become Portuguese”.

Another Step Closer!

Yesterday I received an email informing me that my application to Semester at Sea Spring 2013 voyage was successful.

Despite being a little down and out from a bug I seem to have contracted in the Paediatric Wards, I haven’t been able to contain my giddiness. Guys, it’s working out!

This makes the punch of India not working out a little softer.

Next order of business: financing. This may well be the trickiest part of all.

Medical Elective: Grand Désastre

My medical elective is scheduled to start in a little over three months and I thought I was pretty sorted. I was to go to a wonderful little place in India. Everything except the flight tickets were good to go.

Guess it’s kind of a good thing I delayed purchasing the tickets, because those plans have now come to an end – for reasons beyond my control.

I should have known it was too easy.

Upcycled at the Arts Fest

Like last year, I attended the National Arts Festival (better known as the Grahamstown Festival) yesterday.

Apart from the superb shows, the Arts Fest has some lovely arts&crafters selling their work. Although they’re all great, my favourites are the ones that are made from recycled material:

 

The Faeries’ Forest

You know the whimsical cabin-in-the-woods blissful weekend away?

We had that this weekend. It’s a little village in the Eastern Cape called Hogsback – and is said to be the inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. We’ve been going there regularly since I attended Summer Camp there in 2002.

Running Update: Semester at Sea

In between studying like a crazy person and trying to organise Student Government matters, I managed to (finally) have a meeting with my faculty regarding attending Semester at Sea next year! There are still some smaller details to sort out, but I have the support of the admin department and of my course convener. I was jumping around like a jack-in-the-box from excitement.

Now to finalise my application…

Autumn in the Western Cape

The Student Council took a roadtrip to where our journey began almost a year ago: Greyton, Western Cape, South Africa.

TTT: Best Procrastination Sites

So for about five months I’ve been meme-ing along with The Broke and the Bookish on a weekly basis – and I had no idea there were so many book blogs out there.

This week, TBTB asks about the Top Ten Blogs or Sites we visit regularly that aren’t about books. I think I’m going to like this, because I will finally get to know a little more about the bloggers behind the TTTs.

Spring Tide in Cape Town

The supermoon this past weekend brought a majestic spring tide to Blaauwberg, Cape Town. I went snapping away with my tiny camera along the esplanade.

The Meeting: Ni & Mi

Today (a public holiday) I went to Stellenbosch, in the Winelands District of the Western Cape. The medical campus is far from the main campus, so I don’t get to go to Stellenbosch very often. But today I met Nazirah.

Yes, the tree has to be in there. It’s pretty, and I was having a bad hair day