My thesis experience

I have not written on my blog in a long time. There are no specific reasons for this.

Today I will tell about my experience with writing a master thesis. Writing has never been my favored activity, neither have I mastered it throughout my years at school and university. My essay and report writing skills have improved a lot over the last two years and I have learned some technics that I would have loved to know earlier. I assume that is part of the learning process, working long on something that can be done a lot faster. Then next time you change your approach and quality and time spent is then improved.

I decided to make my master thesis a industry specific political risk analysis. The topic is interesting, but I did not know much about it before I started. I.e. I did not know much of making a political risk analysis, identifying the political risk indicators and making a index or model. The thesis is rather straight forward when the political risk index is done, but that is not easy. My brilliant idea of making it very specific means that I cannot draw much on other political risk indexes or models since they are more generic, or only operate with one specific variable not two.

I will never again (hopefully) make the mistake of researching to little before a study is started. knowing your framework and to have a clear plan is vital for the success. Such an evident observation, experienced numerous times before, but still I manage to look at it as it will not be a problem. That it will be good when I start. On papers it punish you with a day or two, but on the thesis it is more like a month or two. I find that fact disturbing, considering that I have so much else I like to do, start to work on, etcetera. Instead I keep spending time and energy on this.

Another challenge is to find a good place to work. I did actually find that. My problem was first that to many students used it so I could not find a seat during exam times. Then, when exams are over and students leave it is closed. Stellenbosch University have no common areas available during the winter break. Beside the library during day time.

This time I would really wish that I did not have to go true a process before I learned ways to make it easier.
luckily it will end soon enough

HIV/AIDS at the University

HIV/AIDS is huge problem in South Africa and it is a daily part of the life of millions here. On a national level around 15% of South Africans are infected. If you take away those under 15 years of age and those above 40 years of age you find that the percentage of infected for people between 15 and 40 is a lot higher.

Stellenbosch University is mainly a white University, with educated parents. Most of the students belong to the age group with the highest risk, but they should also be those who knows the most about the danger of HIV/AIDS. The estimated percentage of infected students at the University is around 25%. Imagine that, one out of four students are infected with HIV/AIDS, and then you can most probably add some more because it is hard to get people to test them selves.
This means that out of the 50 students I can see around me know around 12 are infected with HIV/AIDS.

Sometimes I am shocked and surprised by the hard reality and stupidity of the area and people around me. Students here are like students everywhere. They are generally happy, drinking and fucks around quiet freely. I just find it hard to realize that to use a condom is still not considered obligatory. Or that very many are not bothered or afraid of 'hooking' up with random persons on a Saturday. I just can't really understand this.

The old perceptions of HIV/AIDS to be a gay or black disease is not valid anymore. This is mainly a white University, with students with the background you will usually consider 'safe' in this regard, and the infection rate is still 25%, if not more. When will the normative perception of who are infected and who are not infected be changed? The truth is that you cannot trust anyone. You never know who people was with before, or who that person was with before that. It makes me scared to think about. Furthermore, it is just not statistics about a place far away. It is where I am, where I will be for the next year and the people in the statistics are the people I know and see every day.

One final note to make a comparison. Imagine if 25% of the students of the University of Oslo had HIV/AIDS. Or if 15% of the Norwegian population were infected (Approximately 650 000). How would that influence the economy, the society, your home community, the voters before the election, etcetera?

School as normal

It is already mid-term break here in South Africa and it is strange to know that the semester is over in two months. I have a quiet break with some library time and some not library time. I really like being in the library in the break because it is as hectic as during a normal week. I easily find a good place to sit without having people around on all sides.

On Monday and Tuesday we had a study trip that SPOSSA arranged. It was very interesting and it was nice to see what we actually can organize ourselves. We meet with some research institutions, tour at Western Province and National Parliament, meeting with an ANC Parliamentarian, visited a volunteer center and the Ministry of Home Affairs. Several of them had organized a lot before we came. The Ministry for Home Affairs had 6 of their people presenting for over two hours. The Parliament provided us with a lot of food, and the ANC Parliamentarian offered to give us a very interesting tour of the Parliament, including some secret passages built by the Apartheid, torture chambers in the basement from the British and a lot more than the standard visitor are not showed. It was two long, but interesting days.

On Tuesday night I got to watch Norway win against Portugal, thanks to SuperSport Maximo and the previous Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola. It would be perfect if Norway qualify for the European Championship in Poland/Ukraine 2012.

The weather is really starting to be good again and most days are now quiet warm and the nights are not cold anymore. It will soon be problematic sleeping again, something that I am not to excited about.

Anothere Semester

It is almost a month since school started again and the time has as usually passed by quickly. This semester is very short, it begun in the end of July and I will finish my last exam in mid November, with my last seminar in mid October.
My courses this semester is Global Political Economy, International Law and Conflict in Africa, I am in addition to this following a course in Development and Participation and I am continuing with french.
French is more fun this semester since I now have some of the basic, but the progress is slow and it will only give me a foundation for when I hopefully will live in a french speaking country.
I have also exercised regularly the last months which is very nice and which was about time as well. My swimming stamina is improving, but it is slow progress and most others in the pool always swims so fast. It is a good thing I am not competitive at all!

Last Tuesday was a great day! They showed Rosenborg - Køpenhavn on Supersport 7. I was actually able to watch my Norwegian team play in South Africa. We rallied together most Norwegians in Stellenbosch, about 10 + some more, printed some songs, painted our faces (with mustaches) and used our national jersey's :) It was a lot of fun and we won the game. I do not think I supported Rosenborg, or any team that completely before, but hopefully it be like this again next Wednesday again.

The winter is slowly retreating, shorts and t-shirts are in use long before the first spring day, but at night and some days it is still fairly chill.

JJ

End of World Cup

The World Cup is now over and I will just post a few more picture of that before the everyday life starts again.
This is from the train station in Cape Town (CT). The city was full of signs to the stadium, the fan fest area and to the Waterfront. It was always great walking around and see and feel the WC frenzy.

I was very lucky and was offered a ticket to the Quarter final game between Brazil and Nederland in Port Elizabeth (PE). PE is an industry city in the Eastern Cape, around 750 km from CT. We left at night and drove there. We arrived around 12 and the weather was perfect, I was sweating and actually missed the colder CT winter. We walked a little on the beach before we went to the stadium. It was amazing, people was so happy, excited and ready for the game. It was a full party outside for hours in the sun and Brazilians and Dutch people where mingling like friends.
I went with a dutch, a brazilian and a german, and me, a norwegian. The dutch girl was wearing a flag as a dress (you see her to the left in the picture) and everyone wanted a picture of her. She was even interviewed by spanish and dutch television and was a big part of the dutch news after the game.

They had a stage with people dancing with a WC trophy that I got a hand on. I was 'neutral' (Brazilian) so I used my Norway jersey. Such a great feeling lifting the trophy and imagine that Norway be playing (or me!!!!).

I found another trophy inside the stadium and had 45000 people celebrating while I lifted it!

Now we are back in CT and at the Waterfront they had several of these status.

Rainbow above CT.

Something build of the box you but bottles in.

This is a dassie, an animal that you find at the Table Mountain and other places. I was about feeding it when it bit me and I took some shots the next day to be on the safe side. I have so far not heard of anyone else being bitten by a dassie, so I felt kind of stupid.


School is about starting and mu courses this semester will be Global Political Economy and Conflict in Africa. I will also do International Law, but that is not obligatory. I am still contemplating what to do with my french. I can sign up for a full program or I can continue doing some evening classes. I still have a week before I need to make a decision, but I am tempted to do the full thing, I will go and talk to them again.

This is also my last day in my first house. I will move to another house a little closer to the city. Also a very nice house with a big garden and lower rent. I am excited about it but I will miss living with some of my previous house mates.

Portugal North vs North Korea and Holland vs Cameroon

Portugal against North Korea in a 7 - 0 thriller :) Amazing to be at the stadium when there are 7 goals, and in such a win. My seat was faaaaaaaaaaar up, it felt like I was a bird with this seat. It gave a great overview of the game and the small dots that where players. The stadium is just huge. 
  A great poster :) 
Watching Italy - Slovakia at the Fan Fest in Cape Town before the Holland - Cameroon game. It is room for around 25 000 people, has several big screens and the Table Mountain in the background. I was wearing my Norway jersey, a danish scarf, a Bolivia jersey and a cameroonian scarf and hat + a South African vuvuzela :) 
Meeting Cameroonians on the way to Green Point
So many dutch people 

Paraguay vs Italia

On Monday I watched my first World Cup game live at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town  :) A childhood dream became reality! 

The game was between my archenemy Italy and my South American brothers from Paraguay so it was not hard to know whom I was to cheer for. 

This is me and Doron when we are going to the stadium 

A random Italian who also had painted his face :) Even if the weather was really bad, rain, wind and cold, people were having a great time. Even if we talked to Italians, South Africans or Paraguayens. Everyone was just enjoying the atmosphere and the football.
The group with the stadium in the background
It is a reality
After the game I begged a guard to give me some grass from the pitch :) Which be great to put in a World Cup diary later
An amazing experience :D