Monash South Africa

The view from the library, picturesque isn't it?

.. is actually very much a Monash campus. Within the walls of the uni (which isn't actually allowed to be called a 'uni' here, possibly because it's not South African, I'm not sure) you would be forgiven for forgetting that you are in Africa. I know that South Africa is very Western and we are clearly not living in Third World conditions, but it's still a shock that things aren't that different. Obviously, the people look a bit different, but even then the general feeling on res is pretty much the same as at halls. The same idea of a dodgy little room to yourself, the hideous r'n'b and house music (argh!!!!), a bit of drinking and a general feeling of laziness and not doing very much. But don't get me wrong, like Howitt, I love the atmosphere here and the fact that friends are not far away. We have been taking it in turns to cook and had dinner and bevs on eachothers balconies. It's quite nice. The campus is beautiful! Mostly because it is a lot newer than Clayton, and makes the Menzies building look absolutely hideous! Oh wait, Menzies actually is hideous! MSA is getting a bit too big for its boots though, and the ginormous Res 6 that I am in was only just built a bit over a year ago, and there is still a lot of building going on, as you can see in the left of the picture above.

Until yesterday, I hadn't got out of the campus other than to go to the mall and was feeling like there wasn't much point being here. But we went to the botanical gardens and saw a waterfall and some tortoises which was really cool! My first sign of wildlife!

Toitle! We also saw some mating :p

Elsa and I in front of Witpoortjie Falls

at Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens

At Monash, it would be nice if things were a bit different, and to be honest I did feel a bit ripped off when I first got here! Where is Africa?? It is still an experience in itself though, especially when it comes to the politics of the students here. We sometimes have to drive past the settlement (a crowded block of land with dilapidated shacks and people with the most terrible stories- the slums) when we go places from uni. It's such a stark contrast to the lives of those who I live with, Africa's elite. Monash is the most expensive university in the continent for local students, and the students here are all unbelievably rich. One of the Zim students who is really nice but has slightly iffy views on some things has 6 cars! Another that I met gets more pocket money per month than most of you could expect in a year's work (and yes, I mean my parents too!). The least wealthy students are some of those from Botswana, who have to get sponsorship and actually good grades to come, but other than that there are only 15% South African students and the others come from wealthy African families.

What I've gathered from talking to students from Zim & Bots (get up with the lingo guys!) is that many of the families the students come from have gained from the corrupt governments of surrounding countries. Not to be too specific, Zimbabwe is totally messed up, and their money is basically so worthless that they have even created trillion dollar bills! It's such a joke that people are selling them on ebay to people who just want to see one! Ignoring that fact, there are definitely ways to gain from the dire situation there. It's absolutely fascinating to hear inside stories of people from there, and what doesn't get out because of the media. Ten generals or something all went 'missing' (read that word with suspicion) recently because of dodgy relations. In saying this, I should now not plan on entering that country (not that I planned to anyway!) for safety reasons. Much like the guys I was talking to about it, who don't want to go shouting out anti-gov things for fear they won't be allowed back home. Apparently there are students here who would be sponsored by the government to study and in turn have to report things like that back to Zim. Crazy huh? For those of you who just a panic about the internet and the fact that anyone could be reading this: there's no need to worry about my safety in South Africa, but I wouldn't want to try my luck there, not that I would anyway. Obviously I have a lot more to learn about politics and the like, but it's still super interesting to listen to the conversations and arguments here, and definitely broaden my perspective on things. I would actually be really interested to know what many of the students here think their reasons are for coming here and if they just paid their way in. It certainly wouldn't surprise me.

My room, a bit dingy but still nicer than halls

That's me for today! This actually became quite a long post with the photos in between, and I have many more things I would like to tell you about how it is here, but we shall have to wait for next time. It'll all come out in the wash eventually. On Monday and Tuesday, Monash Abroad have organised for all of us Aussies to meet some of the staff here and go to Soweto. Finally something cultural! Looking forward to it :)

~Y