Last night was the graduation for UKZN students that finished their degrees last semester, and as a couple of my best friends here had graduated (and are now doing their honors degree, bachelors here are 3 years and the 4th honors year is additional and optional) I was invited and gladly went to wish them well! What a crazy ceremony! The typical American graduation is quite a bit different, first off the academic procession was like a royal parade! The acting chancellor of the school sits on a throne with a sceptor and confers degrees on the grads like she's knighting them! Cool huh? And my university here (UKZN) is a combination of 5 university campuses, each represented by a different color, so the university staff all have really colorful robes and caps to match. The speaker was a member of SABC (South African Broadcasting Company) who was speaking about social values especially in the media, and the educated student's role in changing society for the better. Especially because of what I study, her words really hit me. It was wonderful to see my friend's achievements and congratulate them, especially since one of my friends is the first ever in her family to earn a degree. The whole affair was beautiful, and so diverse. My friend's sister who I was sitting with said it was easy to spot me, she just looked for the one head of blonde hair on that entire side of the auditorium. How much fun it is to see women clad in bright saries and others in traditional Zulu clothing, some hooting a high pitched, "aye aye aye aye aye" to support their grads. So many people there have sacrificed SO much to ensure the successful education of their loved ones, it is both beautiful and sad at the same time. The same thing goes on at home, but very few people live in a shack and scrimp on food to put their children through college. It is such a valuable and important thing, it made me happy to be a part of it. The whole ceremony made me proud to attend here, though I wish the queen-like vice chancellor would have conferred degrees with a tad more enthusiasm, but then again if I had to dub 300 people graduates I might get tired too. Anyway, my friend's parents looked so proud, I really enjoyed being there. I'll be spending dewali with them next weekend too (a Hindu festival) which I'm looking forward to! I can't belive I've only got a couple months left here, feels like time is slipping away!

Posted by Lauren at 10:08 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)