We survived the stress of our independent study projects (ISPs) and successfully completed our papers and presentations! It was 7 days spent of endless typing in a hostel where the six of us sat in our room of bunk beds for hours working. Most of us finished our papers right around 50-60 pages...I thought it used to be stressful getting assigned a 25 page term paper- a lot of things have been put into perspective! It was a bittersweet feeling that Friday after we finished our presentations...our semester was really over which meant we would be leaving South Africa so soon! However, it was a huge stress relief to be finished with the assignments and we were all looking forward to heading to St. Lucia to go on safari for two days.
Overall the Community Health & Social Policy study program exceeded my expectations for a study abroad experience. It was really amazing to expand our knowledge on Public Health related issues through field studies, talking with experts, and through our very own day to day experiences living in several different communities. I would really recommend this program to any students who are interested in studying abroad....for both an amazing adventure and high quality learning experience in the field of our major (Public Health).
*and no we are not getting paid to testify for the program by our SIT professors and advisors.
More than anything from this experience I feel I have a much deeper understanding of the burden of HIV/AIDS on South Africa's health care system. I've read and studied the AIDS epidemic for years...but nothing puts the disease into perspective than working in the clinics supplying ARVs (antiretroviral drugs for people who are HIV positive), living in the communities that have been hit the hardest, and caring for the children who have been orphaned due to this devastating disease. The scary part is that there does not appear to be any signs of the disease rates declining and children will continue to be left parent-less for many years to come. It brought me to the realization that AIDS is not an event, or a series of events, instead it is an ongoing struggle that communities will continue to face for decades to come. The pandemic, and how we respond to it, forces us to confront the difficult issues of sex, drugs, and inequity. The spread of this one virus raises difficult questions about why we do the things we do, why we believe what we believe, and finally who we are and what we value.
That’s all for now…thanks to everyone who actually followed and read our blog, we hope that you enjoyed it J
I’ll leave you with some photos from our safari…
Mama and Baby Zebra
Also, I (Alyssa) will be doing some more traveling throughout South Africa to visit Cape Town as well as the countries of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, and possibly Kenya. I’ll continue to use this same blog to post some experiences (although they may not be Public Health related) and pictures since many of my friends and family have this website address already.
Sala Kahle
