The Okkie Jooste Camp

The bus ride was not that long which was good but we had this weird visitor who felt the need to tell us how to camp. Who does that?? BUT Lets just make it clear that this camp was pretty awesome. Despite the fact that it was supposed to be my birthday weekend and I had other plans which I had to cancel. A decision I thought I would regret but I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend it. With the people closest to me... and some new people too :)

 

I could go on and on about how great it was BUT a cold shower the next day was not part of my plans and I woke up on my first alarm -_- ...
And clearly some people just couldn't wait to test out the bunks on our first talk...
  
                                       

The fact that he was already tired? hahaha... AND there was always time for a selfie!!!
I took what would seem like a cruel picture of a dead mouse but I must admit my photography skills really came out in this one, I mean look at the sun rise in the background.

sighs...*** Then there was Donovan and Denzil, the funniest guys ever and the best cooks (after my grandma and my mom of course). The bread Donovan makes is like woah, melt in your mouth kind of bread. So soft and crunchy in all the right places lol. But they fed us too much carbs, I promise everyone was constipated. 
However myself, Jodene, Erin, Min-ghah and Sifa  OBVIOUSLY had the party room because we just have that POSITIVE ENERGY (haha Brandon you and your negative energy vibes). Then there was the talent show which I didn't sign up for myself  but the poem I read was quite fitting, about being friends and how important that is.
What was more important though is that I'm a Biotechnology student but I must say nature makes me want to change and be all BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION like. Really though nature is beautiful. I only realized how much I should appreciate it once I was in it for a whole four days only to realize once again that I'm actually in it every day. 

BEST CAMP EVER!!!




 
 
 

 
 

My experience at the Cape Point Nature Reserve

My experience at the Cape Point Nature Reserve was one to remember. Although it was a day with bad, really cold weather it made the experience all the more fun when the sun started to shine.
We left UWC from the Life Science building at about 09h15 on Friday the 27th of September with the Solomons Bus Service.

It was quite a bumpy ride. Despite that, we arrived at the Cape Point Nature Reserve safely. The best part of the entire excursion was the build up to walking a great distance up to the Lighthouse.

Walking up this bridge, i felt contractions of muscles I didn't even know existed. I felt like I was having a major work out or gym session. I didn't know we had to do so much walking. As I was walking I met a few baboons along the way. 

My practical lecturer kept on telling us to watch out for them but they were so calm and not really bothered by anyone, unless anyone bothered them. When we go to the top, I was literally almost blown away by the wind. Making it to the top with friends was amazing. I just inhaled every bit of the air up there while taking in the amazing view of the ocean with my eyes. Almost loosing my favourite beanie I looked like a crazy person holding my head all the time. 

After being at the lighthouse we walked I took quite a fast walk down with my two illegitimate brothers Junaid (to the left) and Shakeel (to the right). The wind was blowing us all the way down I could hardly feel the ground beneath me. Following this it started  to rain and we were on our way to the Cape of Good Hope. Here, not like before we were enthusiastic to walk up more hills and pretend to be Tarzan climbing rocks and of course taking many pictures.

 

One of the really funny moment of my day was when I saw Chingy (that's not his real name) wearing a suit with a red tie and a trench coat, who does that? LAUGHING FOR DAYS :D. And then to see him and his friends walking up to the bus like they are X-Men or something.

One of the things I also liked but not really about the excursion was how the whole idea made my friends and I come up with our own idea to make food and all eat together. From chicken and mayo sandwiches to chicken pasta. I really felt like I was part of a little family. It might sound really corny but my friends I have now are really the best.

I was under the impression we were going to do so much work and listen to a tour guide all day but I was forever grateful that we were allowed to explore nature and its beauty.

The opportunity as a whole was really amazing. There were times where I would just be in a daze, using all my senses to take in every bit of sound, smell... all in amazement of what God has created.

A reflective essay on my experience the Life Science 1

My experience coming into the University of the Western Cape was one that was extremely nerve wracking. I was unsure if I was going to study at all.

After I had matriculated I was just an unemployed worker until early February 2013 arrived and I received a phone call to say that I have been accepted but classes have already started so I would just have to fall in and play catch up. Eventually my first week of Varsity passed and the once class i felt most comfortable in was Life Science.
Honestly my experience on high school of Life Science was not the greatest as i found it difficult somehow to grasp the work and get an A until the end of the year where it was "do or die". When I found out that I would have life science as a module i was already in a passive state of panic, thinking how it all would work out.

I then discovered that my lecturer was really cool. A female and really funny, she just brought the work across in such a relaxed manner that at times it felt as though i was listening but without force, I wanted to learn.
People always made me believe that University is a scary place where you have to be all grown up and professional.

But in Life Science 151 the experience so far has been one that is fun filled, exciting and has changed me as an academic achiever to being an academic believer as well. It has made me more confident in my work by which I revise daily and don't leave everything at the last minute.I put in much more effort and reap the rewards.
I especially think that the tutorials we do every week, class activities and tests are what help most students including myself achieve the goals that they set out for themselves.
The guidance received throughout this module has taught me to not take the fact that I have the ability to learn for granted and that learning is in fact really fun. The test and tutorials help with preparation of exams which always keep you going with studying your work every day. I would say in a way studying for tutorials make it much easier on me to study for an exam because "parroting" my work is no longer an option because of all the understanding I have.

Lastly the practical's done in the Life Science 151 module has been quite fun so far. My practical demonstrator and lecturers are sometimes hard on us but that helps me to do and give my best on my own.
The first practical done in the first semester wasn't that great though because we went to the Nature Reserve for almost 2 hours and the heat that day was inexplicable. However each and every practical has given me more insight on how things work in real life, other than just learning from a textbook or being taught by my lecturer. Having done almost no practicals on high school, knowing that every I would do a practical would always be an exciting thought. 

Over all the experience of Life Science 151 has been amazing and the least of what I had expected it to be. I expected it to be eat sleep and study (which is sort of the case) all the time, however the demonstrators, tutors and lecturers are people filled with spontaneity and really just goal driven people who have honestly rubbed off their positive nature on me. 

The Life Science 151 experience has been an EXPERIENCE!