Some of the important people I met and places I went in South Africa during my Field Study.
Auntie P: A prominent member of my South African family. She lives in Parkside with her children Janey and Jaleel, has been a close friend to BYU Field Study students for years, and makes us a lot of delicious food.
Britt: One of the other BYU Field Study students, from California. Britt is a Junior studying Sociology and her project is on orphans and their school experiences. You can follow her on her blog: http://britt-rae.blogspot.com
Chad: Part of the Thomas household and in some way related to the family, though I'm not sure how. Chad works at Quiksilver in Hemingway’s mall along with Thuveshni.
Cornelius Thomas: My South African host father. Cornelius has done and currently does a lot of things that I've never gotten a complete grasp of, but I do know he studied at the University of the Western Cape and the University of Notre Dame, and taught history at Fort Hare. Currently he owns the book lounge Wendy's and works as a writing and editing consultant.
Diana: One of the other BYU Field Study students, from Ohio. Diana is a Senior studying Photography and her project is on Oxford Street (see below). You can follow her on her blog: http://anautumnjuant.blogspot.com
Duncan Village: A black, isiXhosa-speaking township in East London.
East London (EL): The city in South Africa in which I stay. It's on the southeast coast of South Africa, in the Eastern Cape Province, and is the country's only river port. East London today has a population of over 400,000, with over 1.4 million in the metropolitan area.
Hemingway’s: the casino and mall about 2 miles from our house. The mall part was built around the casino just over a year ago. This mall is at least twice the size of Vincent Park.
Kathy Thomas: My South African host mother. She teaches Life Orientation at a high school and previously did Social Work. She has strong, educated opinions on just about everything and loves to share them.
Kevin Cole: The head natural scientist at the East London Museum, who gave me a lot of background information on ecotourism and nature conservation in East London and the Eastern Cape.
Macrae: The facilitator of our BYU Field Study group, from Georgia/Las Vegas. Macrae recently graduated with a degree in Sociology, and her project is on women's perceptions of safety and security.
Marcus: Kathy and Cornelius’ son. He works at Wendy’s (the book lounge) and lives with his wife, Thuveshni, at his parents’ house.
Mdantsane: a black South African township outside of East London, and the second largest township in South Africa after Soweto. The original residents are people who were forcibly removed from East Bank in East London, which was a multiracial residential area. Residents speak isiXhosa.
Parkside: A couloured, Afrikaans-speaking township in East London.
Pick n Pay: one of the major South African grocery stores.
Spar: one of the major South African grocery stores, and the nearest one to the Thomas home, where I stay.
Thuveshni: Marcus’ wife. She is originally from Durban, and is of Indian descent. She lives at the Thomas home, works in the Quiksilver at Hemingway’s mall, and is very small and quite pregnant.
Vincent Park (VP): the mall directly next to our house (about a 7 minute walk). It has a cinema, a Pick n Pay, and a variety of normal mall businesses.
