Yesterday the other Ambassadorial Scholars and I threw an Election Day party. In South Africa we are 8 hours ahead of Central time in the U.S., so we didn't get to hear the results from the east coast until about 2am, so we passed the evening and night hours by having a traditional South African braai (like a barbeque), painting very partisan signs (I'm not going to tell you who I voted for but I'll give you 1 good guess), and checking the internet incessantly. Though I fell asleep at about 1, I woke up every hour and a half or so to check the results online. It was 6am when we heard that Obama had won. My South African roomies (and all of the South Africans I have talked to, actually) were just as excited as we were. The local news station played a tribute to Obama right after the results were released. However, Kenya has South Africa beat --- they declared a national holiday tomorrow in honor of Obama!!!Though I am sad I am missing the festivities in the US, it has been so much fun go through this whole experience abroad - it truly paints a completely different picture of the campaigning and results. It has also given me an incredible appreciation for how much our politics in America affect the rest of the world. It is something I will never forget when I vote.
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