Conferences

Please excuse the lapse in entries, I have spent the last two weeks enveloped in conferences. The first was a student conference: African Student Leader's Summit. While it was held in Cape Town, I was staying at a hotel downtown and without access to my usual tools; namely my computer. The following week, I was at a professional conference SAACDHE: South Africa Counselling and Development in Higher Education. This conference took place in Stellenbosch. Both experiences were absolutely amazing.

After the break, I did not think my time here in South Africa could get any better, but it did! Monday was a particularly good day. Starting with the letter from my grandma and ending with a package from my mom, the middle was filled with a myriad of unique opportunities, starting with having lunch with former Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, meeting President Mbeki, who then gave a lecture and then having dinner at the Western Cape Premier's House--the location Mandela stayed the night before being inaugurated as President. It was quite a surreal day. The rest of the week, while not as star-studded was very engaging and full of lively discussions about the future of Africa as a continent and in the context of the greater world. The opportunity to network with students from 10 different African nations was not lost! And the week ended with a speech by Alice Walker for the Steve Biko Memorial Lecture. My mind is still trying to digest all the conversations and insights from that week.

As for last week, the SAACDHE Conference was completely a different vibe, but no less enlightening. It was nice to converse with a myriad of practitioners from around South Africa as well as to gain an understanding of the field in South Africa--both where it is, and where it is going. Most notably, they use models established in the United States. Names like Tinto, Pascarella, and Astin came up on countless occasions leading me to the conclusion that there is much room for research here in Africa! In any case, the week was full of sessions and networking as well as one night in the Harbor aboard the Sea Princess. Another good week.

All in all, the last two weeks have been chalked full of opportunities that are much appreciated; however, I am ready to get back to campus and see students again!