End of a chapter

Degree
As of my last post, many of you may know that I got my first job this year. I also finished my degree! It was an important year for me. Even though I am finished, I am only graduating next year in April. But, I have something that is more gratifying than a graduation ceremony. I promised myself that I would read every single novel, play, short storie, and poem for my degree. I stayed true to that promise. Now I am able to say that I kept that promise and read ALL of the prescribed work for these three years. It is a milestone I am proud of!

If you are interested in the literature that the university prescribes these day, you can look at the following list.

English:

•Novels
-A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
-Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
-The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
-Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
-Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
-A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
-Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
-Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
-The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
-The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner
-Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
-A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
-Age of Iron by J.M. Coetzee
-Bom Boy by Yewanda Omotso
-The Broken River Tent by Mphuthumi Ntabeni
-Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
-Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
-The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
-The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
-In an Antique Land by Amitav Gosh

•Graphic Novels
-The Complete MAUS by Art Spiegelman

•Epics
-Paradise Lost by John Milton
-Sundiata an Epic of Old Mali by D.T. Niane

•Short Stories by authors:
-Hanif Kureishi
-Katherine Mansfield
-Dambudzo Marechera
-Geoffrey Chaucer
-Recognition: An Anthology of South African Short Stories

•Plays:
-Macbeth by William Shakespeare
-Richard II by William Shakespeare
-The Tempest by William Shakespeare
-Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
-Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe
-Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
-The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
-Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’Neill
-A Streetcar Named Desire by Tenessee Williams
-Betrayal by Harold Pinter

•Poetry from:
-Voices of this land
-The Norton Anthology of Poetry

Dutch:
-Het Gevaar by Jos Vandeloo

Afrikaans:

•Novels:
-Sewe dae by die Silbersteins by Etienne Leroux
-Hierdie Lewe by Karel Schoeman
-Duiwelskloof by André P. Brink
-Laat Vrugte by C.M. van den Heever
-Die Swerfjare van Poppie Nongena by Elsa Joubert
-Gebeente by Etienne van Heerden
-Eugene by Kirby van der Merwe

•Plays:
-Fiela se Kind die drama by Dalene Matthee
-Kanna Hy Kô Hystoe by Adam Small

•Short stories:
-Die Ballade van Robbie De Wee en ander verhale by Deon Meyer
-Die Afrikaanse Kortverhaalboek

•Poetry:
-Verweerskrif by Antjie Krog
-grond/Santekraam by Ronelda S. Kamfer
-Soekenjin by Bibi Slippers
-Groot Verseboek Deel 1
-Groot Verseboek Deel 2
-Groot Verseboek Deel 3

Job
I also finished my year contract as the assistant for the Afrikaans Department at the University of Pretoria. It was really fun and I enjoyed it!

To tell you the truth, it was not as glitz and glam as it sounds. I had to wash dishes most of the time and organise different things from books to stationary. I think that most people would not be impressed with my job, but it was a great first job and I made saw the positive in it all.

Washing dishes became my small snippets of peace everyday. I enjoyed the soapy water creating something different with its twisted and curved lines. When I washed away it was my time to think with only the sound of the ceramic cups clinking.

I also came upon a piece of history. Some old scholar’s research was left in the cabinets which contained recordings and transcriptions. As I sorted through the old recordings I came to the conclusion that it was research about the different dialects of Afrikaans throughout South Africa. It was really interesting to see how much work they put in and how ambitious they were about their research.

An opportunity
This year there was an opportunity to meet Antjie Krog, one of South Africa’s most groundbreaking authors. She gave a small speech at the university and she answered some questions as well. Afterwards, she signed copies of her books. I obviously had to give her a few books to sign. I got to introduce myself and shake her hand. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am extremely greatful.

My professor asked us to write about our interaction with her and just like that a piece that I wrote featured in his article about Antjie Krog’s honorary doctorate that she received this year at our university.

The end
This year was a fruitful year and I was blessed in various ways which I am forever thankful for. I may be finished with this degree, but next year I will continue to do my honours degree. I am excited to see what next year has in store. But for know I am reminiscing about the great year I had and being thankful for the great way it is ending with family and loved ones.