A quick word of advice...

So...

If you end up in res, as you most certainly will, as Rhodes tries to make sure every first year starts of in Res, or if you're in res at the moment, there are a few things to remember, I guess this is mostly aimed at guys, though I'm sure some of the girls res's are just as vicious (cough cough.... Beit..... cough cough)...

Anyway, res life is really unique, it has an amazing way of making the most polar opposite of people the best friends in the world, your room, is your little bubble of safety, you can always go to it, put on some music, lock out the rest of the world and just chill, but you always know you can knock on the door of your neighbour and there is someone to talk to.... Well that's assuming he/she isn't a moody over sized cage fighter who hasn't had any action for a while (yes i know female cage fighters!)... But seriously, if you're lucky enough to land up with at least 1 decent person near you, res life can be something special!

Back to things to remember!

1: Don't piss off the moody over sized cage fighter he-woman
2: Pick a shower and stick to using the same one
3: Pick a toilet cubicle, you can never be too sure
4: Keep more then one towel in your room, towels always end up being thieved while you're showering and walking naked and wet to your room, can be traumatising, so keep a spare nearby
5: Get a cooler bag and a lock for the fridge, drunk people cant tell whose milk is whose at 3 in the morning
6: Shotgun rules apply to everything.
7: A shotgun call can be overruled by a "Hijack" call unless "anti-hijack" was called.
8: Which can in turn be overruled by a "Tracker" call unless "anti-tracker" was called.
9: Never, and I repeat, NEVER have a one night stand with anybody in the same dining hall!
10: Re-emphasizing the importance of point 9!
11: Top floor kicks ass
12: Now this is a really important one... Do not fall asleep in the common room! Here is evidence as to why you should not fall asleep in the common room, as my friend Thabo unfortunately found out the hard way...

13: This one would seem obvious, however, my friend Jet, just obviously was not thinking straight... Never, fall asleep in the common room, 3 minutes after you just watched the guy in front of you get creamed!!!

So there you go, keep these few things in mind, otherwise be prepared for absolute awesomeness!

Mucho Amore

The Piet

nice one

good job guys its looking legen...wait for it...dary!!!
seeeee yaaaa xxx

Friday Night Alternatives Part 1 - Poker

As a newcomer to any university, one's first priority is to find and make friends as soon as possible. University can be a frightening prospect for those fresh out of high school and the easiest way to put these fears to rest is by making friends so one does not have to face all the new and different elements of university alone. That being said, once one has some friends, come Friday night you guys are going to need things to do, the most obvious being hitting the town, getting drunk, partaking in the "night life" and such. However, this kind of "fun" is not for all of us so I’m here to suggest some alternatives. Today's alternative is one of my firm favourites - Texas Hold'Em Poker. All you need is a poker chips and cards (which one can quite easily find at most toy shops at a reasonable price) and the fun can begin from the comfort of your own digs or common room. The rules are fairly simple, the hands are easy to remember and both are easily accessible online through the wonderful little tool called google. So if alcohol isn't quite your thing, you can now spend an evening in with your mates and still have fun, and if nothing else at least you'll be able to understand what's going on in all those James Bond Movies.

What are we about...

Hey people!

So we sort of just jumped straight into things here at the Kaif. So I thought that we might give a quick introduction into what this place is about...
For those of you not at Rhodes just yet, the "Kaif" is our day Cafe on campus, where there are benches to sit in the sun and chat with friends and they sell the most amazing snack foods, like toasted sandwiches etc etc... So basically, in between lectures (or generally when you bunk lectures) everybody sits at the Kaif and just passes the time with gossip, jokes and general small talk... It's a microcosm (big word hey!) of the social enviroment that is Rhodes or general university life, you can point out the various groups, The Goths, The Jocks, The Barbies, The Nerds and the list goes on. So through this blog, we'll attempt to show you how life works here, the things they don't tell you in the introductory booklet!

Feel free to comment and ask questions, this is The Kaif, anything goes!

Keep it real and keep reading!

Mucho Amore

The Piet

our letters

Hey

These are some letters that we wrote to our younger pre-Rhodes selves.

They will give you some insight into what our experiences have been so far and what advice we would have liked to have been given before embarking on our varsity adventure.

Hopefully by reading them you will get to know us a bit better :)

See ya xx

Letter To My Younger Self

Dear Sem Small,

University is such an amazing place and you have so much to look forward to in the coming years. Enjoy high school while you can though, you will miss the teachers, the classrooms, playing football during lunch time and the extra-murals you love so much. Don’t stress about Matric finals, you’ll do more than okay, though now that I’ve said that I wonder if you will study as hard.

If I can give you one piece of advice for the future it is this: Never Stop Writing. Express yourself…you have the creative capacity to do so. Not all your poems or song lyrics will be exceptional, but one has to grind coal down before it becomes a diamond.

I know you’ve missed playing football at high school but university has some in store for you. Not only will you get to play but you’ll get to exercise the leadership skills I know you have. Organising team kit and doing all the administrative work is no easy feat so I’m giving you warning now. First year will take some time getting used to, being away from home and all. You will meet someone interesting people and some not-so-interesting ones. You will also meet those who shock you and those who intrigue you so its probably best you keep an open mind. Second year holds in store that long-term relationship and romance you’ve always wanted.

Be careful not to neglect those you love but at the same time remember to lead a balanced lifestyle. Most importantly always remember who your friends are, they are the people who will be there when the chips are down. Well I hope some of this advice is useful to you in the coming years, try not to read too much into any of it. I know how you always wished you could see where you were a few years into the future so I’ll tell you this much, the view from here is amazing.

Yours Sincerely,

Sem Big

Letter to younger self

Dear Petty

First of all I would like to congratulate you for reaching this stage of your life at the place you’ve always dreamed of, Rhodes University. I must say, I am proud of you girl.

Well I understand that you may have made some silly or regrettable decisions in the early days of your year. Remember that day, Societies day, when people were signing up for different societies? That or those were decisions by a confused first year with mixed feelings on which society to join. The numerous, inviting societies of Rhodes, Rocsoc, Zimsoc, Rotaract and so forth.

There you were walking around in that big Hall, called Mullins, where tables were all over the place ,heart bursting music was booming from all angles of the room. You were so excited and amused at the funny clothes that some of the people were wearing, overalls and helmets, flattering and ‘victimising’ first years that joined the societies blindly without a clue of what they were doing, and you were one of them. Remember when that cute guy from your tutorial group winked at you and invited you to join their society? By the time he had finished talking you had already put down your signature all because of that cute guy, which was something!

The funny thing is that you joined the societies because of different, silly reasons. You walked over to one table because they were giving out chocolates and the other one because they were offering free beer and wine. You thought to yourself,’’ok I’m a fun loving and I love to paaarty, so why not join these societies?’’.At the end of the day you had joined more than five societies and you’re not even interested in some of the things these societies do, like the Greek Socety,it was more of like the ‘’Geek’’ society for you. Well funny enough, you were shocked to discover that more than five hundred rands had been deducted from your account because of the same societies.Well that was a lesson learnt.

Anyway, enjoy the rest of your year and, a word of advice; ask older students or well-informed people before putting tour signature down. Good luck in your exams.

Yours truly

Petronellar

A Letter to petite Jess

Well hello,

While I’m sitting here writing this letter to you, I can only wish that I had a letter like this written to me. You’re feeling scared and overwhelmed aren’t you? It’s not easy to just get on a plane and leave home and not look back. But it’s not that hard either. I’m sure you’re feeling just as excited as I did. That’s a great thing. You’re about to embark on a whole new journey. Savour it. Take in everything you can, enjoy every moment.

Starting out at a new place is never easy. You’ll need to take many deep breaths; that was my saving grace. I remember attending my first lecture. It was English and Linguistics at 9:35 am on a Monday morning. That nervous feeling that’s creeping into your body now, that’s normal. I felt it too when I thought about my first lecture. You’re going to feel lost and plagued by venues and times, but just take a deep breath and don’t be afraid to ask for help. The one thing I found comfort in was that people were always willing to help.

Think carefully about what sports and cultural clubs you join. I made the mistake of joining everything I could- and to my parent’s bank statements shock and horror. It’s a great thing to want to take part in it all, but once the work kicks in you have to prioritise when to work, when to play, when to relax and when to fit in a few sport or cultural activities. I know that you’re a do-everything person, but chose a few you enjoy or you’ll find yourself tangled if you try and manage it all.

Don’t rush in trying to make friends or finding a boyfriend for that matter. You have all the time in the world. You’re stuck in one town, so make use of your fours years wisely! Take your time with people, show them who you really are. If you happen to find that special guy fairly early on, like me, that’s fantastic. Treasure it.

Just take everything in your stride, relax and don’t stop smiling! At the end of the day it’s not the end of the world, and if it is, home isn’t far away! Hold tight-you’re in for the adventure of your life.

Hugs and kisses
Jess

Letter to Little Piet

Dear Little Piet

So I’m nearing the end of my first year as a journalism student at Rhodes. It is 2008 which means, and you might not know it now, but you’re going to take a gap year. I remember feeling what you’re feeling right now, all unsure about where you stand socially, feeling awkward around girls and all that kind of stuff. You’re going to go through some serious changes over the next few years as you move on from high school. You’ll realize that where you’re at right now is just a puddle in comparison to the ocean that is the big world beyond high school. If I’d been given warning as to what kind of social experiences to expect coming into first year here, I would have adapted a lot quicker. People are crazy; you have to start expecting craziness and the problem with all the crazy people here at Rhodes is it affects you and makes you go slightly crazy. This can be seen as a good thing though, because the world is crazy, so it helps with fitting in after varsity. So basically if anyone had told me how crazy stuff gets here and how easy it is to just be yourself and act crazy, I would have stopped worrying about all that high school stuff you’re worrying about, because then I would have arrived here focused and just doing my thing instead of still living with the high school mentality. So start relaxing, life isn’t that stressful, not until the craziness of varsity, enjoy the naivety and fun of being as young as you are, it would have helped me a lot with fitting in and adjusting, if I’d started relaxing before I got here. So I’ll say it again, just relax.
Much Love
Big Piet

Letter to my younger self...

Dear younger Candice

This is around the time when you will be getting everything together to leave for Rhodes. By this stage, most your friends have left for Stellenbosch and UCT and you are counting down the days until you get to go off on your own adventure. Do not do this! Savour your time at home with your family and friends who are still around, you will miss them dearly when you first get to Rhodes. However, you are in for the best experience of your life. You have absolutely no reason to be apprehensive, you are going into the best house with the most amazing and supportive group of girls imaginable.

Despite this, there are a couple of things I wish I had known before leaving for varsity: take as many things as you can that will make your room feel like home, fill it with photographs and pillows and colourful things because it will be where you spend most of your time when exam time comes around. Also, leave home with an open mind and a sense of adventure; this is the start of a new phase in your life and a chance to become who you really want to be. You will no longer be restricted by the rules and boundaries of school and home and will be free to be whoever you want.

Don’t get sucked into whatever the crowd is doing, march to your own beat and really experience all that the little town of Grahamstown has to offer.

On a lighter note, be prepared, Rhodes is somewhat lacking in eligible bachelors, to not expect to be swept off your feet. Also, stay away from Pirates, Munchies and all those places that look highly appealing when intoxicated, first year spread is not a myth. Most of all, don’t be afraid to try something new, be different, be opinionated or even just let loose for a bit. It all part of the Rhodes experience. It is a place like no other and you will be introduced to some crazy events and traditions and take advantage of all of these because they allow you to get involved and become a true Rhodent.

Start working on your alcohol tolerance :)

Love Candice xxx