Beginning of Week 4!

Monday 01/03/10... Today is the first day of classes and the campus has suddenly come alive! There are people everywhere and lots of hustle and bustle is in the air. I don't have class today because I only have class on Tuesday and Wednesday. YES only two days a week!! Classes and credit hours are very different here. I have three classes and can't take another one because I already have the maximum number of hours. This doesn't seem like a lot compared to American classes but it appears that the classes are more labor intensive and in depth. My class schedule is...

Tuesday- 9 AM-10 AM Law and Society

Wednesday- 10 AM-11 AM Re-Reading Jane Austen (SUPER EXCITED ABOUT!)
11 AM-1 PM Re-Situating Modernism Decolonising
2 PM- Law and Society

So it looks as if my school schedule will not be that hard but don't let this deceive you.. We also have tutorials. Each of my classes also require at least 1 tutorial a week so I will have 3 more class meetings in addition to what is above and also a reading group for my Jane Austen class. The tutorials only contain 15-20 people whereas my lectures could have upwards of 2-300 students. I am very excited about experiencing class in this type of environment and with this type of schedule. I will have to let you know later this week how things go!

So now to update you on the past few days. Friday at the beach was fun and we all got some great sun! We explored a different type of the beach and the water was so clear and beautiful! We took some pretty great jumping pictures and made lots of new friends. We also ran into the people from our IES group that are studying at the Uni of Melbourne and met up with them on the beach for a while. It was great seeing them! After the beach, we went shopping in the city and I bought nothing. Hear that Mom and Dad? NOTHING. haha After shopping, we headed back to LaTrobe and stayed in for the night.

Saturday was fun. I got invited to a housewarming party that started at 630 and prior to this party, I went to the mall and bought a new camera! It is great and I am really excited now to be able to take pictures. The housewarming was fun and I met lots of new people!

Sunday... Don't think I could have been more of a waste of space. Watched ABC shows all day and Gone with the Wind. Had ice cream before bed. That is honestly about it. Sure you are yawning by now.

And that brings me to today! No major plans today. Going to catch up on some school stuff and start practicing for the dreaded LSAT. Pray for me.

Bye Mates!

Week #3

So this week 22/02/10- 28/02/10 (Australian date system) has been simultaneously great and also bad. On Wednesday night as part of Orientation we had a Uniform party in which I performed health checks as a nurse, Jill performed cheers for the team as a cheerleader, and Aubray performed a few digs in the sand as a volleyball player. It was a great time and very packed! We traveled over to Glenn College (another residential college) and had the first intercollegiate shin dig of the year! There was great music and lots of dancing (not necessarily all great ha).

Now to the bad news... We are all woken up at 8 a.m. early on Thursday morning and called into compulsory hall meetings. We were given the news that last night a first year student fell off of his balcony after the party at Glenn and that the paramedics could not revive him. It was such sad news and we all felt terrible. Everyone was upset and the O-staff decided to cancel the remainder of O-week and its activities in respect of the boy and his family.

So with this news, Jill and I decided to get away from LaTrobe for a little while and venture into the city. We grabbed a bus (we now avoid the tram as much as possible) and headed in! We decided our plans would include going to a niceish dinner and sitting for a while and then maybe to a movie or a little cafe. Did our perfect plans ensue? Of course not. Upon arrival into the city, we both decided all of a sudden that we were STARVING. Jill remembered a cute little casual place to eat on Flinders Lane that we should go to. I agreed so we went on about our way searching for this hidden gem. Of course, it was hidden too well for our eyes and we never found it :( So... we continued to walk for about 30 minutes in search of a good but relatively cheap restaurant. Where did we end up? McDonalds. Yep I said it McDonalds. We became so frustrated with walking and our rumbling tummys that we ended up at....McDonalds. What happened after was the truly fun part. We continued down the street after our DELICIOUS dinner and went to a cute bakery called Michel's and got coffee and cake. We sat there for about 3 hours people watching, feeding the birds, and avoiding the worker (REALLY chatty). We also on occasion performed a few social experiments which were quite humorous to say the least. After this, we hopped on the tram on the way back to LaTrash (our new word for it but we do love our school-just not quite as glamorous as the city). While on the tram, we made new friends that suggested we go to the Eagle Bar because they were having a great band. Jill and me being the spontaneous adventurous people that we are decided to go and rushed back to get ready! It was fun night and we had a great time.

Now it is Friday morning and we are heading off to the beach so hopefully I will get a sun tan. Oh one more interesting fact, Australia has a hole in the ozone layer so the sun is worse and more potent than the sun back at home so don't worry I will slip on a hat and slop on some sunscreen! See ya until next time!

My New Home- Officially an Australian

So I have lots of catching up to do... Been pretty busy these past 2 weeks with moving in, getting settled, and orientation activities.

Thus far on my journey I have experienced a MULTITUDE of things, some of which include learning to surf, seeing kangaroos, visiting the most famous beach in Australia where lots of surfing movies are filmed, eating lamb brains, killing the biggest spiders in this universe because they were 3 inches from my face in a Boy Scouts cabin, going to the Great Ocean Road, doing some pretty cool but dorky group building activities in which of course I was picked as the guinea pig for the majority of them, getting a nifty new Australian HI TECH phone (aka a 1980 Nokia that isn't even color), experiencing the true city of Melbourne and eating at some of its finest restaurants, shopping at the best mall EVVEERRRR, taking my first ever tram ride and having absolute no idea where to get off or even how to get off for that matter (thank goodness for the Jamaican nice guy beside me. Sure he was thinking what a dumb American), going on an amazing boat cruise for 4 hours and seeing the beautiful skyline and harbor, attending fun events at local pubs and dancing spots, meeting tons of people while at them, playing in the mud and eating gummy worms dipped in mud (yummy I know), and last but not least learning how to live like a homeless person (aka budgeting like a pro).

So I realize that was a lot. I have experienced so much! I feel like I have already been here a month. I have met some people that will be forever friends and seen some of the coolest animals imaginable. The campus here is so beautiful and full of exotic birds and animals. There are kangaroo crossing signs throughout the campus and I woke up this morning to a cockatoo outside my window (looks really pretty but sounds like a bad accident- needless to say not very pleasant to wake up to although very aesthetically pleasing). To expand on a few things from above, I will begin with learning to surf. You may ask "Are you the next Mary Ann Hawkins?" I will answer with "Couldn't be farther from." I did however manage to stand on the board for a split second.. and I mean split second. I ate that like I ordered it for lunch. Overall, it was a great experience and it is my goal to improve my skills before I leave. The environment here is so surfy so of course I want to assimilate as much as possible, even if this means I go out and buy Roxy shirts.

Now to the kangaroos! They are soo amazing and I have learned tons about them. It seems that Australians have lots of knowledge even if it is about random marsupials. I have seen lots and each time is like the first. I am most definitely the little kid freaking out in the candy store. Apparently they are pretty populous here and somewhat like deer in the states (numbers wise). I got offered some at our orientation overnight trip but couldn't possibly imagine eating something that fascinates me so much. So turns out, I was the only one out of the 30 of us that chose not to partake. Feedback was that it tasted like bad steak, very chewy. Still okay with not trying it and while here I want to take pictures of them and possibly touch one instead of digesting them. Also on the search for a zoo where you can hold koalas :)

To the beaches... Wow. Thats all I can say. So beautiful. Each one is like a post card. The water is very pretty and the cliffs are gorgeous. Have been to about 5 beaches so far and the only one that has been unimpressive is St. Kildas, the reason being it is right outside of the city and is packed with teenagers! It is apparently the "cool spot" to go so it is way overcrowded and not very relaxing if you ask me. The majority of the beaches that I have seen have been along the Great Ocean Road. This is a big thing here and apparently like a 5 hour stretch of road that provides some of the best views in the world. I agree that it is very pretty but think that we went on the wrong part. Apparently one of the best beaches is called the 12 Apostles and the pictures are breathtaking. Thats another spot on my list of things to do. A really nice beach that we went to was called Bells Beach, which is the really famous one. It was beautiful and had some killer waves! (how about that for the surfing lingo ha).

The city is fabulous and so much fun! It resembles any other big city I suppose but is really clean and the people are really nice (those both being significant differences!). There are multiple skyscrapers and a river that runs really close called the Yarra River. The boardwalk is really nice and there are great spots to shop and eat (wish I had lots of money....hint hint Mom and Dad ha jk). Jill's dad and sister visited so we got the opportunity to eat at some fabulous restaurants (where I ate the lamb brains). Also, another interesting thing here is the types of food that very popular. Asian food is a HUGE thing here! (makes sense with Aussie's location in the world). There is just such a variety of food whereas America seems to have lots of American food and Mexican food. There is very little Mexican here and from what I have heard the mexican here is terrible and stay away! There is a Taco Bills that is comparable to Taco Bell, a Hungry Jacks that is similar to Burger King, and of course the Double Arches will be nothing other than that. I look forward to trying lots of different things here and becoming a food connoisseur!

The Big Tram. Well, thought I had feared for my life before but never like this. My first tram ride was needless to say a little scary. I didnt know where to put the ticket, where to sit, where to get on, where to stop, how to stop, or even to have a ticket for that matter! Thank goodness the Australian people are so nice and helpful. I got on the tram in the city and took an hour ride back to LaTrobe and befriended a Jamaican guy beside me. Thankfully he was very knowledgeable and told me exactly where to get off and to push the red button or pull the string before my stop. FOOF! Been on the tram several times since then. Pretty much my second home. My biggest fear- to fall asleep and ride it for hours and then get lost. Thankfully, Jill wakes me up if I doze. THANKS JILLY! My most interesting tram story...let's see, there are just really so many. I met a sweet older guy (a few screws loose I believe) named Jordan. He talked my ear off about the Olympics for about 8 stops and then once in the city got off on his stop. He waved me goodbye from outside of the tram and stood there until the tram pulled away waving furiously and jumping up and down. At the next stop, I looked over my shoulder and almost jumped out of my skin! Jordan's hands were pushed up against my window. He had run from one stop to the other to say goodbye to me once again! The next stop... He wasn't there. Good thing-thought I was going to have to change seats.

Toot Toot! The boat left the harbor with about 200 of us (international students) and did not return for another 4 hours. There was a great d.j. and free food and drinks for the entire ride. I had such a great time and met so many amazing people! Invented a few new dance moves and also pulled out some originals. The shopping cart and lawn mower are still in right?

So once we returned from the boat cruise, we started our Orientation Week. The theme is Army and there are lots of active competitions and activities planned for the week. It is now Tuesday and just Day #2 so we will see what is in store for the rest of the week. On Monday we had Porter Challenge (a.k.a a very big Australian man hollering and ordering you around). Did I sign up for the army? I was shocked but it ended up being really fun (after the half mile run, 40 push ups, and 30 sit ups). We played in the mud and literally had to stick our faces in the mud to do push ups. There was no other option either. Trust me there were some girly girls there that were very disturbed but you know what? They were the first in line to put their manicured nails and salon hair in that mud pit. You know why? We feared the consequences. My group also volunteered me to enter the first challenge for our tower. The leaders threw gummy worms into the huge mud pit and we had to find them and then continue to..... wait for it.... eat them. Yes, I had a mud pie with a worm sticking out. No regrets. I had a blast and would do it all over again. Anyone hungry? haha

So thats it for this blog. Had lots to say and lots to update everyone on. See ya soon!

Tyler Swain Madagascar Day 24

Madagascar Day 24:

It's Saturday, and instead of sleeping in like I have in the past I woke up at regular time (6:00AM) and got ready for my day. My host brother is taking an English course at the local school where my host mom teaches, and I was invited to come speak to the class. It was so much fun!!! The class lasted 2 hours and, on top of speaking and taking questions for about 30 minutes, I was able to walk around and help the students with their work. It was really awesome to turn around and be the "native speaker" for once! Just like my host mom said, all the girls were flirting and wanting to know my Facebook details, laughing at everything I said. Aside from the slight awkwardness of it all, it was nice to feel welcome! Today I'll be spending the remainder of the daylight hours working on a 3 page French paper about children and education, and then tonight I'll be going to my first night club--ever. Our director has set everything up, including taxis there and back, so it should be good, safe, and fun. Is the heel-toe still cool?...

Tyler Swain Madagascar Day 21

Madagascar Day 21

Wow, today was pretty amazing. While of course learning more about the culture and society, I had the rare opportunity to step out of the traditional non-traditionality of SIT and go to a meeting held by the US Embassy. The informal meeting took place at the house, appropriately named Villa Liberty, of the number-two American civil servant in Madagascar (just behind the ambassador himself), and about 20 US citizens met to hear the latest take on local politics and news from an American perspective. In August, when the embassy staff turns over and the current ambassador leaves, since there is no US-recognized government, he will actually become the interim-ambassador. I was the only student to go, as none of the others were interested...and they really lost out. Afterwards, I got to speak with him personally and spent about 10-20 minutes just asking him questions about his political journey that has thus landed him in Madagascar. Cool, huh?

Tyler Swain Madagascar Day 19

Madagascar Day 19

Life here continues. Today was my host sister's birthday. The party was downstairs, and fihavanana kicked in again when I met even more family members who came to celebrate. I love how family-centered life is here. But I don't like how mosquitos seem to dismiss the perils of DEET in favor of my blood.

Oh, and I learned more about the political crisis today and how it came about. Although current (not recognized by the US, though) president Andry Rajoelina may have encouraged a coup d'état of sorts, it seems as though my once beloved Marc Ravalomanana was no saint. Silly media bias, you won't work when one sees things for oneself!

Tyler Swain Madagascar Day 18

Madagascar Day 18

I have to admit it. I bought a pirated film on the streets of Tana. Granted, I already own the film at home so I didn't feel too bad about it. "What film?" you may ask. Well nothing less than the cinematic masterpiece that is Madagascar. And can I tell you that since being here I have yet to see the first penguin? I asked my host family about some of the elements of the film like where one can find the Baobab trees and about the carnivorous fossas that seem to constantly antagonize the lemurs until our heroic Alex the Lion comes to save the day. Turns out everything's actually pretty accurate. The landscape is toward the East, and the lemurs live there (and elsewhere) as well.

Ok.. So this is my first and official blog ever. Pretty neat I must say.

As it appears, I am a slack student....ALTHOUGH that is not truly the case. I just moved into my residential college (glorified freshman dorm) known as Chisolm College this afternoon. So this is one of many more to come. Where do I even begin?

Well I will start with my flight schedule. The first flight over was great. It was 5 hours and I simply read wonderful Nicholas Sparks the entire time. I barely noticed the time because of my roller coaster of emotion with each page ha (everyone knows Nicholas Sparks). The second plane was the WHAMMY and one that is feared by all. With the thought of a 14 hour plane ride beside a stranger and with no leg room, it goes unsaid that I was nervous. As it turns out though, I got a window seat and also got to sit beside Jill. I even slept 12 hours straight! I woke up and there was only 2 hours left. OH HOW WE REJOICED! We met a sweet Asian lady that is actually a teacher named Lu that was from Illinois that entertained us the remaining two hours. Before I knew it I was in AUSTRALIA, the Land Down Under, the Outback, the Bush.... I was so excited and couldn't wait to get off the plane to explore. Turns out we had to run and I mean literally run (If you wish to imagine, we looked rather comical sprinting through and airport with rolley suitcases and way too many carry ons). We barely made it to our last plane that was to take us to Melbourne. This flight was only 1.5 hours and by this point I could have flown to Jamaica and been a happy camper.

Upon arrival into the beautiful Melbourne, I was speechless! The weather was absolutely beautiful and even the airport was great. We were warmly greeted by our orientation people and we hopped in a shuttle bus off to our hotel.

Now I knew that we were staying in a hotel downtown Melbourne and had already snooped at some pictures of it online and was a little disappointed but 'oh boy' was I in for a shock... I entered my room and almost walked right into the opposite wall. This room might be the smallest I have ever seen. It consisted of 2 beds, a sink, and 4 walls (thats literally it). But I was just happy to be on the ground and have a place to lay my head so I quickly got over its nomadic qualities. We put down our things (me and Jilly) and started exploring the city. We went to a nice outdoor cafe for dinner and walked about for an hour. It was absolutely beautiful and the people were so genuinely nice!! After our brief adventure, we decided to return to our lovely abode to take a nap. Our plans consisted of a nap and then a night excursion. Our minds had one thing in store and our ragged bodies another. We fell asleep at 530 and woke up at 630... the following day.

Tyler Swain Madagascar Day 17

Well, I've made it to my second weekend in home stay. It's not nearly as difficult as I originally thought it would be to get used to things around here. Schedule and routine definitely helps, but weekends are a time when the routine takes a break and I can explore a little more on my own. Last week we went to the countryside and dug up cassava and had a party for an 80 year old. Then on Sunday we went to the country to wash our clothes...in the river. What?! Yeah, so I'm pretty proud to say I'm one of the few (if not the only) Woffordians to currently be wearing clean clothes that were washed in a river. Last night, my family took me to the top of Tana, a city built on many hills and valleys, to take a look at the view. Wow. This city is massive. In a way, I felt like a casual onlooker taking it all in. But at the same time I knew that this is home for the next 3 months--a home that I'm not just looking in on from the outside, but one in which I am participating fully. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

Tyler Swain Madagascar Day 10

Madagascar Day 10:

So I'll go ahead and say that of the four of us studying, I appear to have the most conventional Malagasy living environment (more on that later). At first it was frustrating, especially to hear that one student even has wifi in his home--not normal here by any stretch of the imagination. Well, I quickly got over all that, and in having the most conventional living environment, naturally I have the most amazing host family. Today we went to the countryside to plant trees in celebration of my host father's mother's (host grandmother's?) birthday. Well for whatever reason, before we did that, I went with my host dad and his brother-in-law up a hill, not having any idea what lay ahead. It was cassava--think potato meets carrot on steroids. So in the rain and the mud, I helped them pull cassava roots out of the ground. Of course we got muddy (and I got stung), so we had to rinse off. Where else would you go except to your host dad's uncle's (host uncle's?) house--read: shack--to pick up some soap then off to the rice paddies. Yep, I rinsed my self off with rice paddy water. All in all, my host dad and I missed the tree-planting, but I'd say it was well worth it.

Now about that "conventional Malagasy living environment": my toilet is in the Turkish style, as I've already mentioned, which is to say it's a hole in the ground with some porcelain around it. Is it rude to talk about this? Anyway I secretly vowed to myself to never use it for anything other than standing activities, if you catch my drift. Well, the weekend comes and there is no classroom to go to, so I can now confidently say I used the toilet to the full extent of its capabilities. It may sound gross to you, but this is HUGE--a major personal accomplishment. High five anyone?

Tyler Swain Madagascar Day 8

Madagascar Day 8

Well, I officially arrived a week ago today. It's insanity how fast (and slow at the same time) this week's gone by.

I took my first "bucket shower" this morning. Fortunately, my famille d'accueille heated some water for me this morning, and my host mom says she'll do that for me every morning--phew. Taking the shower was somewhat of journey going from complete confusion to utter joy for the victory of accomplishing what I would have thought to be impossible just 10 minutes prior. In the shower there's no light, not really a lock, you can hear familly members talking and going about their morning routine all around you, and there I am exposed and vulnerable to anyone that might forget I exist and open the door. Luckily no such thing happened, and like I said the joy I had after doing it was probably a better high than any worldly pleasure.

Class and lunch at the SIT Office (across town from the classroom) was really good. I got to see more of the city and get acquainted with it. I finished today by talking about the nature of world peace, la paix mondiale, with my oldest host brother. How freakin' awesome is that? Apparently him and 3 of his friends are organizing a citywide festival aimed at reestablishing fihavanana among the people. It's a Malagasy word with no direct translation in French or English. It means something along the lines of familial and brotherly love but with action associated with it. You don't just love someone, you do things for and with that person solely for fihavanana. So I'll leave you with thinking about that...

Tyler Swain Madagascar Day 7

Madagascar Day 7

Well, I've left the Relais de Rova, a beautiful hotel where I spent what has essentially been the past week. I'm now in my home-stay, and wow. It's not at all what I was expecting. I have 4 siblings, two brothers and two sisters. They're all between the ages of (guessing here) 14 & 28. It's cool having them--people my age to talk to, share music with, and learn from. I like them a lot. Also, my home stay parents are nice as well. I'll be sure to share more about them later.

About an hour or two after arriving at the house, I finally asked where the bathroom was. The told me, "Là-bas." "Downstairs." Well, I went downstairs and couldn't find it. So they told me to go outside the door and to the left. Sure enough, there it was: Two thin doors with who knows what on the other side. They then yelled down "It's to the right." But instead of the "thrown" that I've been used to all my life, there was the infamous Turkish style (I think that's what it's called) hole in the ground. They showed me the bucket I'm supposed to use to get the water to "flush" after I take care of things. Forget about a sink as well. Now, this is in the capital city of Madagascar, so I definitely wasn't expecting the lack of common day appliances. Then, I asked where I should brush my teeth. With no sink, they showed me to the shower (in the stall next to the toilet). Looks like I'll be taking bucket showers for the next month as there was no faucet there either. More on that after I try it.

First reaction for all of this: I don't know if I can do this. Second reaction: What on Earth was I thinking going to Madagascar? After those initial thoughts, I quickly regrouped and recovered. This is going to be an experience, for sure (although I think I might try to limit certain toilet trips to the more familiar kind of devcie in the SIT Classroom).

Just quickly, my room has a new computer in it? And they cook with a primitive charcoal stove outside...no oven that I've seen. Those two just don't quite balance in my book.

Tana is quite the city, too. So many streets, and they aren't arranged (or labeled--at all) in any kind of logical order. Hills and cement buildings are what define the urban landscape. Amazingly though, these batîments have so much character and individuality, one hardly feels like it's the same thing step after step. This city is living and breathing and, admittedly, in pain. I can't wait to discover her intricacies over my weeks here.

Tyler Swain Madagascar Day 4

Madagascar Day 4:

Hello America.

I haven't updated yet because, although with plenty to update on, there's really been nothing to update with. In fact, as I'm recording this I have no idea when it will actually make it onto the inter-webs.

I left home on Tuesday evening and got here Thursday morning. After getting picked up from the airport with the other two to arrive that day, we went to market and then on to the hotel for orientation.

That's where I learned lesson no. 1, always lock your luggage:

I got to my room that night, everyone else was either asleep or not around, looked through my things I needed for this week and in the meantime found everything have been shuffled through, bags ripped open, my camera and portable hard drive stolen. I can't help but think that sometime while in Johannesburg, an airline employee had the perfect opportunity to sneak around.

Well that event defined the next 24 hours for me as the next day we went all around the capital city trying to find the right office to file the complaint. After about 6 hours of waiting, driving, waiting, and driving some more we got to the right place, and I even heard the word reimbursement mentioned, so that's possibly a good sign?

Anyway, I told many of you that this trip would involve me and four girls: Molly, Cassidy, Jillian, and Ashley. But I was wrong. Molly and Cassidy, both girls; Jillian, dropped out of coming last minute; and Ashley is apparently a very common guy's name in South Africa. So with four, we are the smallest, most well balanced guy girl ratio group to ever hit SIT Madagascar.

Today, we're going to market where we'll have some sort of not-yet-released assignment to complete in pairs. Should be interesting.

Oh, and the country? Beautiful. The people are really nice, and the food? Well, we'll get to that...