I am over 10 days in to the program now and I am loving it! We have already learned quite a lot of Zulu and I can get around now in the township where my host family has adopted me. They are simply the best and I know we are going to learn so much off of each other's cultures.I have done a lot in the past days, I landed in Johannesburg and did a bit of tourism. I then stayed in Marloth Park close to Kruger National Park where I lived next to the crocodiles,hippos, lions and many more animals. Then we made the 12 hour commute to the city of Durban and tasted its night life in a weekend! And now I am living with my host family and enjoying South Africa (as well as learning a wealth of information).
I am still not homesick since I keep moving around but once it kicks in that I can't drive home for the weekend, I will need food to comfort me! I am really leaning towards three research projects for my final Independent Study Project that will wrap up my semester. The three different research questions are:
1. What barriers (using the Health Belief Model, HBM) discourage Zulu South Africans from traveling from their home to a medical facility in the event of illness?
2. In Zulu youth, does an Ubuntu shadow affect the attitudes the youth have in regards to their relationship with the HIV prevalence?
3. What difficulties do poor South African university students have to cope with and how does it affect their health?
Obviously I am no where near perfecting these questions. However I do have to pick one in a few weeks. I will be attentive during the future lectures in order to figure out which of these research topics will be the most successful and contribute the most to the current literature today.
I cannot believe how much I have learned here in Durban. I am being exposed to so much information that I really do hope I can retain it all! This semester is really making me consider applying for a Fulbright Fellowship...
Well that is it for today's post, I really do want to encourage all of those considering studying abroad in a non-European country. It is by far a great experience I will cherish into my old age.
Hambani Kahle!
Jorge De Avila
