Visual Approaches to Global Health

July 12, 2019 by Wanjiku Mwangi in Storytelling

This first half of the summer has been amazing and I guess it all starts from the four hour flight I took a couple of weeks ago. I was so

“4 Minutes to Save the World” by Danja, Justin Timberlake, Madonna, and Timbaland

Student Project

July 12, 2019 by Jordan Pilant in Student Project

Our final project is officially over, and I can’t even express the relief I felt when Heeral, external hard drive in hand, sprinted to Jonathan to turn in our

Reflection

July 11, 2019 by Jasmine Rios in Reflection

Much to my preteen self’s dismay, Zack and Cody really didn’t prepare me much for hotel living. They didn’t prepare me for the buffets we would be treated to with

Reflection

July 10, 2019 by Helen Mooney in Reflection

As our trip comes to a close, I am more and more sad at the prospect of leaving. I had high hopes for this trip. I have always loved traveling,

Reflection

July 9, 2019 by Jonathan Smith in Reflection

Eight little letters are all it takes to keep me up at night. Each arranged in their arcs and dots and crosses such that they comprise a simple gerund that

Just for Fun

July 8, 2019 by Jazmin Lopez in Just for Fun

This is my last blog post. Am I sad? relieved? conflicted? I honestly cannot arrive at a conclusion. I’ve loved having to remind myself once a week to reflect on

Little Moments

July 7, 2019 by Kellen Silver in Little Moments

Little Moments

July 6, 2019 by Megan Briggs in Little Moments

Today, we explored two craft markets in Ezulwini Valley, one of the few true tourist things we’ve done while our class has been in eSwatini. I bought a candle for

Student Project

July 5, 2019 by Lucy Wilkins in Student Project

The word “Indaba” is one of the most frequently used words in our WhatsApp group. Where are we having class? Indaba. Where are we meeting to edit our videos? Indaba.

Just for Fun

July 4, 2019 by Heeral McGhee in Just for Fun

Every aspect about this program, whether it be the 60 or the 70 I get on each weekly assignment, my team’s and my struggles to create a video, or my

Little Moments

July 3, 2019 by Jordan Pilant in Little Moments

I guess when I signed up for this study abroad summer course, I thought it would all be like the three-day safari we went on in Kruger National Park. I

Student Project

July 2, 2019 by Wanjiku Mwangi in Student Project

Exhausted from a full day of work, I spent my evening getting my monthly dose of Divergent. Divergent is an underrated science fiction film that I just can’t seem to

Student Project

July 1, 2019 by Jasmine Rios in Student Project

Yesterday, the high in Mbabane was a sunny 79 degrees, or 26 degrees Celsius for anyone in the world besides us stubborn Americans. Generally, the weather never falls outside of

Student Project

June 30, 2019 by Helen Mooney in Student Project

Little Moments

June 29, 2019 by Jazmin Lopez in Little Moments

“Let it be free”: an improvised string of words that came out of my mouth at dinner one night. After having taught a lecture about storytelling earlier that day, our

History

June 28, 2019 by Kellen Silver in History

My eyes settled on the New Testament in my room at Mountain Inn, provided somewhat stereotypically by the Gideons. I expected it here, a place that sometimes feels more safari

Little Moments

June 27, 2019 by Megan Briggs in Little Moments

After a perfect hike ending at sunset, Jasmine, Helen, Lucy, and I headed back to the hotel. Our taxi snaked around the mountains and I quietly watched the towering silhouettes

Health

June 26, 2019 by Lucy Wilkins in Health

Class this week has been partly focused on The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 for

Health

June 25, 2019 by Heeral McGhee in Health

Last Wednesday, the VAGH class headed to Kruger National Park. Leading up to the trip, it was a regular morning- I woke up early, worked out with Lucy and ate

Student Project

June 24, 2019 by Jordan Pilant in Student Project

As I prepare to write this blogpost about Thembi, I don’t even know where to start. How do you put someone who’s so dynamic, with such an infectious laugh and

Local Culture

June 23, 2019 by Wanjiku Mwangi in Local Culture

During my first week at Yale, someone asked my Tanzanian friend if she lived with lions in her backyard. Three days ago, I might have been closer to this stereotype

Student Project

June 22, 2019 by Jasmine Rios in Student Project

If you’ve been keeping up with our blog or our carefully curated Instagram stories, you know all about our adventures. From dancing until sundown in Kashoba to nearly getting trampled

Adventure

June 21, 2019 by Helen Mooney in Adventure

Just for Fun

June 20, 2019 by Jazmin Lopez in Just for Fun

We’re in Kruger this week! We arrived at Kruger National Park yesterday, despite a couple of complications along the way, eager to go on safari and enjoy the “magic of

Little Moments

June 19, 2019 by Kellen Silver in Little Moments

Little Moments

June 18, 2019 by Megan Briggs in Little Moments

Helen, Wanjiku, and I had been editing the most recent weekly assignment- a short practice film- for 2 hours already when a notification popped up on all our phones. We

Local Culture

June 17, 2019 by Jordan Pilant in Local Culture

It is difficult to explain to men that traveling for women is just different. For women, navigating the fine line of maintaining cultural sensitivity in combination with the importance of

Local Culture

June 16, 2019 by Heeral McGhee in Local Culture

The VAGH group went to church service this morning. Though Christian, the service was very representative of Swazi culture. Unlike in the First Baptist church services I attended growing up,

Storytelling

June 15, 2019 by Lucy Wilkins in Storytelling

I felt reflective after class last week. We introduced HIV in our Global Health lectures. In our discussion about the auto immune disease and its impact on the CD4 T

History

June 13, 2019 by Wanjiku Mwangi in History

“What’s your name?” That could possibly be the easiest question to answer. It’s one of those questions that you don’t really have to think about before replying. For such an

Local Culture

June 13, 2019 by Jasmine Rios in Local Culture

“Nee-oo-bon-ga.” As I butcher the phrase for the second time, Mrs. Mkoko and the man bagging my fabric laugh. Stumbling my way over the last two syllables, I train my

Local Culture

June 12, 2019 by Helen Mooney in Local Culture

“Mr. Cheap’s Fabric Shop” was filled with beautiful colors, patterns, and accessories, the only shop of its kind in the city of Mbabane. From buttons and zippers to every material

Local Culture

June 11, 2019 by Jazmin Lopez in Local Culture

As you most likely already know, our class visited the Apartheid Museum last week. There was one name that seemed to persist throughout the exhibits: Nelson Mandela. While walking down

Storytelling

June 10, 2019 by Kellen Silver in Storytelling

By the end of our stay at Zulu Nyala Country Manor, we had learned a few names. Petros made the best eggs, and Prince made sure we never ran out

Storytelling

June 9, 2019 by Megan Briggs in Storytelling

History

June 8, 2019 by Lucy Wilkins in History

The Constitutional Court of South Africa is on Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. You could walk past it without paying too much attention, scrolling through your Instagram feed and replying to

History

June 7, 2019 by Heeral McGhee in History

We visited the Apartheid Museum, the Hector Pieterson Museum, and the Mandela House on June 7th. While each exhibition affected me in their own way, the Apartheid Museum provoked me

Study Abroad in South Africa and eSwatini

Yale University, Summer Session 2019