I leave on Thursday for my adventure and as the great planner I am, I feel less nervous and more excited now. A friend said to me today that he found it amusing how I approach this trip in small steps like- I must wash all my clothes tomorrow and then think about to pack and then evaluate the space and then and then and then..... and that is just how I am. A great planner, which has its value and not so much value.
I have had a lovely few weeks at home being nourished (far too much my jeans are telling me!) and loved and pampered. I have been working on my thesis, which due to a few hickups (cough...supervisor...cough) has not gone to plan and I do not think I will be done by Thursday. But we will see. I will definitely get it in by September but was hoping to leave it in South Africa before setting off. Anyway, such is life!
Life is not too exciting besides the off felt fire my dad starts. This man, maybe one of the greatest, smartest people alive, decided to throw some coals from the braai onto a hail stack behind the house because he thought they were out. In his defense, they should have been out as the braai was last night and this was the next morning now. But they were not, and we had mad rushes of flames and a mad dash for the hose pipe (one of which was frozen solid!) and spreading of the hay to get the fire out. It was exciting to say the least!
Besides those odd moments (which are surprisingly common in my house) life is pretty average and quiet. Filled with lists and packing and washing and writing...oh....and watching Boston Legal!
I shall spare you from reading anymore about my dull life and just tell you "Watch This Space" for more exciting stuff to come for the last semester of my Master's Student Life! WHOOP WHOOOP!
Adieu pour aujourd'hui :-D
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
The lovely little blue bed....
I am currently sitting in my room in Durban which is jam-packing with all my stuff from Cape Town. It is a room half the size of the room I had in Cape Town and, as you can imagine, this has yielded quite a problem with me fitting all my stuff in it. Needless to say, there is crap everywhere at the moment!
In about two and a half weeks I will be off on my adventure! I have adapted my blog slightly with this change. I thought a new blog would be too much of a drastic change since I am still a masters student, but have added some french-ness to it!
I had a wonderful last week in Cape Town and saw all the lovely and special people who have influenced and changed my life over the past six years. I did not have a big blow-out but rather decided to spend a little time with each group or person whom I loved so much and I think it was the right move. After the "goodbyes and so-longs" i packed all my belongings into the red car and my dad and I started the trek to Durban...and boy oh boy was it a LOOOOONNNGGGG trek! We had some adventurous times through the beautiful Wilderness, to the flooding PE, to the freezing and icy roads of the Eastern Cape, all the way to the truckers strike in KZN. Eventually, at about 6:30pm on Wednesday night, the red car pulled into the lovely long driveway in Glenwood. Man, was it good to sleep in my lovely blue bed for a change!
Since then, it has been lazy unpacking, news watching and thesis forgetting! Sadly, the thesis work starts tomorrow :-( its down to the final changes, the final footnotes made and bibliography, and then HOPEFULLY send that lovely devil down to UCT before I head off. I will keep you updated on the progress!
That's all for now friends,
A Bientot to some of you!
Bisous
xx
In about two and a half weeks I will be off on my adventure! I have adapted my blog slightly with this change. I thought a new blog would be too much of a drastic change since I am still a masters student, but have added some french-ness to it!
I had a wonderful last week in Cape Town and saw all the lovely and special people who have influenced and changed my life over the past six years. I did not have a big blow-out but rather decided to spend a little time with each group or person whom I loved so much and I think it was the right move. After the "goodbyes and so-longs" i packed all my belongings into the red car and my dad and I started the trek to Durban...and boy oh boy was it a LOOOOONNNGGGG trek! We had some adventurous times through the beautiful Wilderness, to the flooding PE, to the freezing and icy roads of the Eastern Cape, all the way to the truckers strike in KZN. Eventually, at about 6:30pm on Wednesday night, the red car pulled into the lovely long driveway in Glenwood. Man, was it good to sleep in my lovely blue bed for a change!
Since then, it has been lazy unpacking, news watching and thesis forgetting! Sadly, the thesis work starts tomorrow :-( its down to the final changes, the final footnotes made and bibliography, and then HOPEFULLY send that lovely devil down to UCT before I head off. I will keep you updated on the progress!
That's all for now friends,
A Bientot to some of you!
Bisous
xx
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
and the bags are starting to be filled
Time flies and I have less than 4 weeks left in Cape Town. I have started packing bags to send back to Durban and it makes my room look very empty! I have long lists of things to do which only seem to be getting longer! This process is becoming quite scary!
There are no major things I feel I must do in Cape Town. I have lived in for 5 and a half years and feel I have seen and lived in the place and enjoyed most of it! I am excited to go to Paris and live in that culture. Of course the language scares me, even with my french lessons. I have been reading Eat, Pray, Love (for the like 7th time) and her section on Italy has made me very excited. It is a time where I will be absorbed in a completely new culture, learning all sorts of new things and ways of life. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity! So, I think it is safe to say the excitement has started.
But with that excitement comes sadness. I try not to think about next year and where I will be and when I will be back in SA again. It is hard to say goodbye to all my lovely, amazing friends in Cape Town and all those in Durban. It is hard to imagine leaving my family and my home and jetting off to a new place. However, I do think I am ready and the time has come to spread my wings and take the leap.
If you ever end up in Paris...you have a place to stay with me anytime :-)
Now, I must stop dreaming about the future and finish my thesis otherwise there will be no going anyway!
Bisous!
There are no major things I feel I must do in Cape Town. I have lived in for 5 and a half years and feel I have seen and lived in the place and enjoyed most of it! I am excited to go to Paris and live in that culture. Of course the language scares me, even with my french lessons. I have been reading Eat, Pray, Love (for the like 7th time) and her section on Italy has made me very excited. It is a time where I will be absorbed in a completely new culture, learning all sorts of new things and ways of life. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity! So, I think it is safe to say the excitement has started.
But with that excitement comes sadness. I try not to think about next year and where I will be and when I will be back in SA again. It is hard to say goodbye to all my lovely, amazing friends in Cape Town and all those in Durban. It is hard to imagine leaving my family and my home and jetting off to a new place. However, I do think I am ready and the time has come to spread my wings and take the leap.
If you ever end up in Paris...you have a place to stay with me anytime :-)
Now, I must stop dreaming about the future and finish my thesis otherwise there will be no going anyway!
Bisous!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
a third of the year done
I have not blogged in ages, but can guarantee I will be blogging more because my life is getting a bit more exciting.
This year is divided into thirds for me- the first third (January to the end of April) has been all about crying, drinking and writing. My little heart was broken, hence the crying, the drinking was to try forget about the heart-break and the writing is to do with the dreaded thesis. The crying and drinking has subsided and the writing had taken full priority. I have finished chapters 1, 2 and 3 of my thesis and just have the intro and conclusion and editing to do, which I will do in the month of May.
The second third of this year (May to the end of August) will be a time of change and goodbyes and hellos. I will be finishing off my masters thesis and handing it in, I will be packing up my lovely life in Cape Town and treking it back to Durban. I will be saying goodbye to not only to all my friends, but to my life in Cape Town and my student life where i have spent the last 6 years. The memories of Jammie Plaza, Mem Stone, Claremont, Town, and all that jazz will be memories of the past, and my life as a reckless young student will be over. I will then pack 20kg worth of my life into a suitcase, bid farewell to my lovely purple room in Durban, my parents, brother, pets and friends here and start my travels. I will be spending a week in Egypt where I will see some old friends, spend 2 weeks in Spain where I will...well I am not too sure yet...and then will see some friends and family in London and Ireland and then I am off to France to start a new chapter of my life.
So the final third of this year (September to December) will be spent at Science Po - The Paris Institute for Political Science- in Paris where I will be taking a variety of courses and improving my French.
After that...who knows where I will be...but lets just say the return ticket is open-ended...
So, as i move to the more exciting second third of this year, I will report back on how the change is going!
This year is divided into thirds for me- the first third (January to the end of April) has been all about crying, drinking and writing. My little heart was broken, hence the crying, the drinking was to try forget about the heart-break and the writing is to do with the dreaded thesis. The crying and drinking has subsided and the writing had taken full priority. I have finished chapters 1, 2 and 3 of my thesis and just have the intro and conclusion and editing to do, which I will do in the month of May.
The second third of this year (May to the end of August) will be a time of change and goodbyes and hellos. I will be finishing off my masters thesis and handing it in, I will be packing up my lovely life in Cape Town and treking it back to Durban. I will be saying goodbye to not only to all my friends, but to my life in Cape Town and my student life where i have spent the last 6 years. The memories of Jammie Plaza, Mem Stone, Claremont, Town, and all that jazz will be memories of the past, and my life as a reckless young student will be over. I will then pack 20kg worth of my life into a suitcase, bid farewell to my lovely purple room in Durban, my parents, brother, pets and friends here and start my travels. I will be spending a week in Egypt where I will see some old friends, spend 2 weeks in Spain where I will...well I am not too sure yet...and then will see some friends and family in London and Ireland and then I am off to France to start a new chapter of my life.
So the final third of this year (September to December) will be spent at Science Po - The Paris Institute for Political Science- in Paris where I will be taking a variety of courses and improving my French.
After that...who knows where I will be...but lets just say the return ticket is open-ended...
So, as i move to the more exciting second third of this year, I will report back on how the change is going!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
forever young
One of my favourite shows- Greek- has came to an end this week and it really started me thinking. These are university students, just like I am, and have been through, i feel, a lot of the same decisions I have been through. It may sound cheesy but I really felt I could relate- through the drama of picking a major, to what to do next, to relationship issues- it is all there.
The show ended by some of the characters leaving and it made me start to think about leaving. I have been at UCT, in Cape Town, for 6 years now and I am leaving this year- in 2 months and 23 days approximately, and everything will change. I don't think I will be coming back to Cape Town after France. The world is a big place and there are things I need to do. I came to university a young, blond, unaware girl and have grown into a socially aware, confident, smart, competent, less blond woman who knows what she wants to do with her life and where she wants to do.
It has taken me 6 years, nearly three degrees, two campuses, res, digs, friends, organisations, internships, relationships, heartbreak, hangovers and too much stress to realise who I am today.
University is a place where you make friends for life; you learn who you really are and you go through those life-experiences (good and bad) that shape the person you will become.
The episode ends with the song- Forever young. I am nearly 23, and have put off the real world for a long time. But today I realised...it is time to move on, time to go forward. I have learnt so much in this first quarter of my life, but I still have so much to go and I am ready to go out there and get it now.
The show ended by some of the characters leaving and it made me start to think about leaving. I have been at UCT, in Cape Town, for 6 years now and I am leaving this year- in 2 months and 23 days approximately, and everything will change. I don't think I will be coming back to Cape Town after France. The world is a big place and there are things I need to do. I came to university a young, blond, unaware girl and have grown into a socially aware, confident, smart, competent, less blond woman who knows what she wants to do with her life and where she wants to do.
It has taken me 6 years, nearly three degrees, two campuses, res, digs, friends, organisations, internships, relationships, heartbreak, hangovers and too much stress to realise who I am today.
University is a place where you make friends for life; you learn who you really are and you go through those life-experiences (good and bad) that shape the person you will become.
The episode ends with the song- Forever young. I am nearly 23, and have put off the real world for a long time. But today I realised...it is time to move on, time to go forward. I have learnt so much in this first quarter of my life, but I still have so much to go and I am ready to go out there and get it now.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
It's times like these that I wish i was in the Middle East
This is freaking exciting...
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/opinion/02friedman.html?src=me&ref=homepage
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/opinion/02friedman.html?src=me&ref=homepage
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
back in South Africa
I have finally made it back to South Africa after 31 days in the USA, 9 flights and 6 Cities. It was a fantastic trip. I saw a lot, had lots of fun and bought a lot. I also had a lot of time to think and relax, which is what i needed to end of 2010. There are lots of photos- take a look on Facebook.
2011 is here and it should be a pretty exciting year. Rachel, one of my very closest friends, and I have made a tradition of naming years: 2009- Year of Adventure, and boy oh boy was that the right name for it; 2010- The Year of Prosperity which was just very very wrong for that year. I think 2010 was more of a 'Thank Goodness its over' year. And now 2011- The year of change. I think this year will bring change, both good and bad, for me and for a lot of other people too. It is a year to look after yourself and work out what makes you happy and then change the things that are no longer inline with happiness.
Change is not always easy. I am not a big fan of change but i think that after a while you have to accept that change is coming. I was terrified of leaving Durban for Cape Town, and now i realise it was one of the best changes i could have made. Now, i am terrified of leaving Cape Town and the life i have there, but i know too that it could lead to new and exciting adventures.
This year I am going to get a Masters degree. By the end of 2011 my title will be: Lesley Connolly B.Soc Sci (Pol, Hst, Soc); Hons (Justice and Transformation); MPhil (Social Justice)...pretty cool i think :-)
I also will be leaving Cape Town sometime this year- probably after July. I am not 100% sure where this will be too but I have a pretty good idea and will confirm it once all is set in stone. After that 6 month adventure, I will need to get a job and I am not sure where that will take me but it may be away from Cape Town to a place where i can embrace some of my other 'roots'.
2011...a year of change where it will all change and a year which will hopefully be changing for the better.
"You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go."
This is a quote from Dr Seuss's 'Oh the places you'll go' and is one of my favourite stories to read when I am a bit worried about the future because it really does put it all in perspective. So if you have not read it, go and find it :-)
Happy 2011 Everyone!
2011 is here and it should be a pretty exciting year. Rachel, one of my very closest friends, and I have made a tradition of naming years: 2009- Year of Adventure, and boy oh boy was that the right name for it; 2010- The Year of Prosperity which was just very very wrong for that year. I think 2010 was more of a 'Thank Goodness its over' year. And now 2011- The year of change. I think this year will bring change, both good and bad, for me and for a lot of other people too. It is a year to look after yourself and work out what makes you happy and then change the things that are no longer inline with happiness.
Change is not always easy. I am not a big fan of change but i think that after a while you have to accept that change is coming. I was terrified of leaving Durban for Cape Town, and now i realise it was one of the best changes i could have made. Now, i am terrified of leaving Cape Town and the life i have there, but i know too that it could lead to new and exciting adventures.
This year I am going to get a Masters degree. By the end of 2011 my title will be: Lesley Connolly B.Soc Sci (Pol, Hst, Soc); Hons (Justice and Transformation); MPhil (Social Justice)...pretty cool i think :-)
I also will be leaving Cape Town sometime this year- probably after July. I am not 100% sure where this will be too but I have a pretty good idea and will confirm it once all is set in stone. After that 6 month adventure, I will need to get a job and I am not sure where that will take me but it may be away from Cape Town to a place where i can embrace some of my other 'roots'.
2011...a year of change where it will all change and a year which will hopefully be changing for the better.
"You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go."
This is a quote from Dr Seuss's 'Oh the places you'll go' and is one of my favourite stories to read when I am a bit worried about the future because it really does put it all in perspective. So if you have not read it, go and find it :-)
Happy 2011 Everyone!
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