Categorical Proposition Assignment

I just turned in an assignment for my upper-level english class.  The prompt asked for a categorical proposition.  Not gonna lie, I had to look that one up.  After reading a couple things on the internet about what a categorical proposition is, I was able to write this essay:

click to read

Please post your comments below.  If you have additional information or would like to correct me in my assessment of the South African situation, comment below or email me at trevin.hoekzema@gmail.com. Some of my claims may be a bit brash as I am purposefully taking a stance in one direction.  South Africa is certainly not better off under apartheid, but the economic situation of many citizens has yet to change.  I will continue to develop these thoughts and arguments as the semester progresses so please pass along any information you would like to part with.  Thanks!

Six Months!

I can't believe its been more than six months since I've back from South Africa.  So much has happened since!  I completed the fall semester at UMD and just this week applied for several internships.  If you aren't aware, I am pursuing a major in International Development and applying for internships that deal with sustainable aid, specifically micro-financing.  Two of these micro-financing organizations are:

Both of these organizations are Christian-based, micro-financing, non-profit organizations.  HOPE is located in Lancaster, PA and Opportunity is in Oak Brook, Illinois, but has an internship opportunity in Washington, DC.  Feel free to click on their logos and check out their websites.

On a totally different topic, I just received news that the township that I spent most of my time in South Africa just got hit with a fire yesterday night.  By the time the fire was put out, 36 shacks had burned down.  They said about 100 people are out of a home right now, stranded in the heat of the African summer.  Below is a picture of the aftermath; clicking on the picture will take you to the site where Lourens describes the tragedy in greater detail and respectfully asks for our assistance.  Please join me in praying for them and sending them financial support.

Thank you for your continuing your interest of South Africa with me.  I definitely still feel like my heart is being drawn back there and hope to find myself in a long-term commitment there after I graduate from college.  If you would like to keep up with South Africa through the eyes of another college-aged American, feel free to follow Michelle Klassen's blog- she just arrived in South Africa and will spend the next 6 months there.

Still Writing...

Hey not sure if I still have any readers since I'm back in the States now, but I am still writing the debrief/summary of the trip.  In some respects its really just for my benefit and its definitely motivation if I think there is a crowd of people stalking the blog, waiting for anything to be updated- even if it is a false thought.

Until then, though, you can check out the pictures from the trip!  I finally got them all uploaded to Facebook.  There are several albums since I took over 1,500 pictures-- yikes!

Backseat Driver - an artistic portrayal of my travels from the backseat

Keep Them Safe - the main program I was involved with

Food - the good and the bad

Kruger National Park - usually the fan favorite

Enkhanini - my personal favorite and where we spent the most time

Shack Building - hard physical labor for immediate physical impact

Cape Town/Stellenbosch - beginning to end: people, places, things

Enjoy!

Safely!

Saturday, July 24, 2010, 9:56AM

Glenwood, Maryland, USA

I made I home safely yesterday!  No terrible travel stories either.  It was a very boring flight home, thankfully.  When I landed in LA, I was also safely and quickly Americanized: Cheez-itz and a Starbucks frappuchino. 

Now it’s time to pack and get ready to road trip up to Maine!  We are leaving at 4am Sunday morning!  For those in SA that might not know where Maryland and Maine are, the drive takes about as long as it takes to go from Cape Town to Joburg.  Here’s a map:

Pray for more safe travels!

Incoming Posts...

Wednesday, July 21, 2010, 12:01PM

On the Plane, En Route to Singapore via Johannesburg

I really don’t know where to start.  This trip has been nothing like I have ever experienced before.  Exactly seven weeks ago I was at orientation for the University of Maryland, signing up for the fall semester.  I just wanted to get through the last couple days quickly since it was a hectic week.  I really had no idea what to expect for this trip.  I am really glad that I didn’t set any expectation either- it allowed for me to have a completely open mind and truly experience South Africa to the fullest.  Ok, enough fluff.  I am going to prepare an outline for what I will be writing about over the next week.  I will be in Maine, on vacation with the familyWhite and will be able to relax and completely decompress from the life changing experience I just had.  So here it goes:

Politics

-Short History

-Current SA

-Current Enkhanini

Food

-The Good

-The Bad

Culture

-White

-Colored

-Black

-Similarities to US

-Differences with US

-Language

People

-Lourens

-Elsa

-Joel

-Juan

-Jaco

-Nikita

-Mama Unas

-Children

-Cassie

Organizations

-Serve the City

-13^th Floor

-More Wine

-Keep Them Safe

-Christian Associates

Future

-STC/Lourens and Elsa

-South Africa

-Me

Wow that’s a lot.  Well, I plan to at least write a couple sentences about each topic, summarizing, concluding, and explaining.  Please, please, please know and understand that everything I write and have written is based off of limited knowledge and limited perspective.  I take the observations and have created some generalizations.  If any of these generalizations are wrong, please just comment below so I can correct them.  If you disagree with a point of view or don’t understand something, do some outside reading and contact me- I would love to talk about this stuff and hear other perspectives: trevin.hoekzema@gmail.com