When I found out my first country at THINK Global School was Botswana, I was slightly disappointed. You see, Gaborone is only a five-hour drive away from Johannesburg, South Africa, my city. Every other country on our list for the next three years seems exciting and exotic - Botswana, however, was just a few game drives across the border. I wasn't looking forward to game drives. I go on multiple...
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The months leading up to my Botswana term were extremely nerve-racking. I'm an overthinker. I constantly think of the worst things that could happen. I thought way too much about showers, food, beds, wifi -- the whole camping situation in general. I cannot recall the exact moment my mindset changed, but it was somewhere around the first time I got on a bus with thirty other students my age for...
Read More"Quiet!" screams Craig, our game drive guide, in a whispered tone. Seconds after, silence overcame the vehicle. The loud conversations turned into murmurs and eyes glistened with curiosity, looking here and there for even the smallest clue. The safari vehicle suddenly accelerated like a cheetah, the wind rushing onto our faces and sand filling our hair. I could feel the adrenaline rush through my body and why wouldn't it have?...
Read MoreMy time in Botswana began with traditional dancing, and dancing has followed me through tents and past campfires, kicking up dust and leaving flattened grass in its wake. During my time here, I have had two very distinct firsts with dancing: the first time I watched, and the first time I became a part of the whirlwind of stomping feet and rattling ankle bands. The first time I watched, I...
Read MoreMacrotermes Natalensis: more commonly known as fungal-growing termites, or the most under-looked species in all of Africa. Living in complex colonies, these insects practice the caste system; a division of labor is utilized with the roles of soldiers, workers, and the king and queen all determined by birth. Similar to humans, their social structures are easily identifiable as each individual establishes their own appearance, despite their genetic material being identical....
Read MoreDuring a recent place- and project-based excursion to Kochi, India, our Grade 12 students spent five days learning Bollywood techniques and style in order to produce a full trailer for a fictitious Bollywood film, Prem/Hate (Love/Hate). During the project, students visited Bollywood film studios, met with Bollywood gurus, received dance lessons, practiced acting, and examined styles of scripts and musical scores, eventually incorporating all of these elements into the ten-minute...
Read MoreEven though it’s been only three years, my THINK Global School (TGS) graduation feels like a lifetime ago. I had never cried as much as I cried the day I left TGS, and I haven’t cried as much since. I knew that my life was about to change drastically. I knew that I was about to face more independence than I had ever known before, that I’d be spending less...
Read MoreI often catch myself thinking: ''None of this is real.'' It becomes a mantra. A heuristic of sorts. I'm in my second phase of culture shock; having gotten used to much of Arabic society, I must now learn to appreciate this uncanny familiarity. I've been living in Morocco now for over a month, after living abroad in several countries with THINK Global School. Traveling has become so familiar to me...
Read MoreComing to Fez, everyone tells you that it will smell, but you don’t realize how much until you get here. While walking up the tannery stairs, you feel your posture change, you try to block out the intense smell coming from the outside. You bring the top of your shirt in front of your nose and mouth, your facial expression changing to one of disgust. You bring in your head...
Read MoreMorocco is an exquisite place where ancient traditions still reign. Also, Morocco is unlike any of the recent places that I have been since the medina and even the air itself are entirely different. One of the many unique things inside the medina are its arches. You may not even notice it, but when you look up from time to time, you will notice tiny details that you hadn't before. Another...
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