What a surprise!!!

A basic Wednesday in the life of an electrical and electronic engineering student usually starts of with the struggle of waking up at 07:00. At about 07:25 I get up and have breakfast in our dinning hall. After breakfast I take a shower and get dressed, pack my bag and then I'm off to class. By this time it's about 07:58 so it's kind of a rush to get to class because our first class starts at 08:00. My timetable on a Wednesday is not that hectic, we have two classes and we finish our day of with a tutorial period. Each class is about 50 minutes and a tutorial period is about 3 hours but our lecturer usually lets us sign out after 2 hours. At 13:00 we have launch at our residence, on Wednesdays we get chicken schnitzel and chips. Wednesdays is one of my favorite days in the week because of chicken schnitzel.

The thing that made yesterday so special was that when I walked into my room to leave my back there. I saw a box on my bed. At first I thought who came in my room without me being their. I picked the box up and it felt heavy, so I knew there was something in it. I didn't want to open it but because I'm so curious I had to see what was inside. When I opened the box I saw a pair of shoes and a message inside. The message basically said that I am one of the best friends that someone could have, Devan. I couldn't believe it! I thought it was a joke but no it wasn't, oh the joy that I felt. I couldn't stop smiling because I of my overwhelming happiness.
    

Devan I just want to thank you for this gift. The way you did it and asked my shoe size was so sneaky bra, I had no clue what you were planning. I really needed some new shoes because my old ones had a few large air vents. I'm so grateful for this surprise, they say you meet your life long friends in university and it really feels that way. I have made a lot of good friends in university.

These guys came a long way, we build a lot of good memories together! 

Taking table tennis to a new level...

I recently received a table tennis robot from one of my friends. I am so excited and I can't wait to use it for the first time. Because of my tight schedule between classes and studying I don't have much time to work on my table tennis. And when I feel the need to practice there is no one around to play against.

In my residence there is not a lot of guys who like to work on their table tennis game, they usually just pitch for a match and play. So I will never be able to work on my technique with a partner because the way it usually works is, a lot of guys show up to play table tennis and than you have to start playing matches otherwise the waiting period is going to be too long for the players in line.

Now I have this wonderful machine that I'm borrowing this week, just for me. I will be able to work on my footwork and a variety of forehand and backhand strokes. The nice thing about the table tennis robot is that you can adjust the shooting frequency, the placement of the ball and the spin on the ball. All of the different settings are sent via remote, so you don't have to walk all the way to the robot to change the settings. You can even program this machine to shoot balls in a sequence making it possible for you to practice different drills.

Check out the website I created for our table tennis team: Huis Marais Table Tennis

Home sweet home!

It feels great to be back at university. I had to come back earlier than the rest of the students because this year I'm a mentor for new first years staying in our res. There is a lot of work that I have to do this year, helping the first years and also passing my modules.

I arrived in Stellenbosch at 14:00, the weather was not as I expected it to be. The temperature went to round about 40 °C, forcing me to do nothing. Heat always tires me out. When arriving at res I had to climb three flights of stairs, I can't even remember why I chose a room on the third floor. Climbing the three flights of stairs wasn't the hardest part but carrying four bags as well was, that was me being mentally tough and forcing my body to perform at its ultimate.

I packed out everything, opened the windows and I left the door open. To my surprise there was no wind blowing threw my room, the heat stayed in the room. I felt hopeless and decided to take a nap, I couldn't sleep at all, my body was all sweaty and sticky. Eventually I took a nap but only for an hour.

Being a first year mentor isn't going to be easy. I took a look at what was expected from a mentor and it seems like it's going to be a challenge. As a mentor I don't only have to focus on my mentees' academics but on six different aspects involving a successful student lifestyle as well.

The six points that I have to cover during the year is:
1. Physical Wellness
2. Emotional Wellness
3. Intellectual Wellness
4. Occupational Wellness
5. Social Wellness
6. Spiritual Wellness

As you can see these aren't easy topics to cover if you don't have the proper training as to teaching your mentees these topics. In order to cover all six topics, we are given only one day training. I can't even imagine that it will be enough!