Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. I've been out and about travelling around this past month. Namibia was great--lotsa sandboarding and hanging out on the beach and dunes. Went to Durban for a bit, hiked in the Drakensburg mountains and saw bushman paintings that are 1000's of years old. So sweet! I also went up to Lesotho (a country on the top of a mountain that in completely surrounded by SA) and had a drink at the highest pub in all of Africa. We were above the cloud line and it was absolutely stunning! We also layed on the beach a bit in Durban. Other than that, I've just been living it up here in Cape Town before I leave tomorrow night. This place has changed my life and I don't think I would be the person I am today if I had not come here. I'll be stateside soon so just ask me sometime--I'd love to tell you all about it! I'll post some reflections on the semester when I get home as well so if there is anyone out there still reading this thing, you can hear my thoughts.
I'm not going to sleep until I leave tomorrow night (which might be difficult because I got about 4 hours of sleep last night), but I only have a few hours left and I don't want to spend them sleeping. Just to let y'all know, I'll be in New York for a few days before I actually get home, but come Wednesday evening at 9.13, I'll be landed in STL and taking on the the winter. Hard to believe because it's sooooo hot here! I spent 12 hours at the beach yesterday! Just trying to soak it all in before I leave!
Ok my good people, I'm off to enjoy this beautiful city for one last time. Next post will be from the other side. See you soon!!
love always,
lindsay
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Making A Difference
Hey guys- just thought I'd give you a quick update on life in Africa....
As many of you know, my program ended on Saturday and most of my housemates went back to the united states. I've talked to all of them since they've been home and it's so weird to think that they are actually living over there now. I miss them so much! I didn't realize how much I loved them and how close I had become with them until they left. The house is so quiet....
Tonight we decided to make some noise in the house so we invited most of our African friends over for a braai at our place. We found a whole bunch of frozen meat left from the other housemates and since we're getting kicked out of our house tomorrow, we had to use it all up. It was so awesome to be hanging out in the kitchen with about 8 of my new African friends. It was crazy, I don't think I've been so at home with such a diverse group of people. I was sitting next to my good friend Gerald who is from Kenya...across the table from me was Tate and Imran, both friends from Zimbabwe. Thapz and Lindiswe stopped by for a bit (not entirely sure where they are from, but fun nonetheless). Lowena grew up in Cape Town and we spent most of the evening laughing so hard that our sides hurt. What an amazing community of people! Even though it's so hard being here without my housemates, I have friends here in Cape Town who will jump at a moments notice to come and hang out. It's times like these where I really appreciate this place.... :)
In other news, and let me tell you....this is the good stuff.....
This past week before everyone had left, I had my final Xhosa exam on Monday (which I think I passed! thanks for the prayers for that one). Tuesday our program director cooked us a fantastic homemade meal in our house. Wednesday was quite possibly one of the most rewarding days of my entire experience here. Wednesday we all had our presentations to show what research and service work that we had been doing all semester to others in the community. Marianne and I explained our IT class and one of our women gave her presentation which was absolutely outstanding! She had the crowd laughing at all her crazy jokes! Let me tell you, for a woman who is not confident in herself, it was such a proud moment.
We called all the women up on stage and gave them all certificates with pictures we had printed of our whole class. After they had all "graduated" one of our women got up to the microphone (her name is Nomsa) and started thanking us in Xhosa to a crowd of close to 2oo people. Now, I don't know what she said, but all the Xhosa speaking people in the audience kept nodding and applauding so I think it was a good thing....Anyways, she then turned to english and said,
"Thank you girls so much for what you have taught me. Now, because of you, I have a full time job using my computer skill for an NGO here in Cape Town."
I almost peed my pants right there on stage!!! Can you believe it??? One of my women got a job because of the skills we taught!!! Ahhh!!!! I was sooo happy for her!!! I knew that she had been applying for jobs, but she never told us the outcome because she wanted to wait until she could announce it to everyone. If the rest of my semester was a bust, it would all be ok because Nomsa got a job. I came here to help the struggling 3rd world community of Khayelitsha and now one woman has a job! She doesn't have to worry about feeding her kids anymore! I may not change the world, but I feel like I've at least left a small mark here in Cape Town. If nothing else, a few more children are full tonight...
Even a few days after that, another one of my women said that she had put me down as a reference on an application. Sure enough, I got a call from a potential employer the next day and had a nice chat with him. 2 days later, Pearl said she had started a job! TWO women have jobs now!!! I don't know exactly what Pearl's job is, but the fact that she has one now is incredible! I'm so proud of my women for gaining the confidence to go out and look!
It's been a long week filled with joy and tearful goodbyes...I've been reflecting a lot on this past semester and it has changed me in so many different ways. Definitely more than any blog post will allow....I'd be more than happy to chat about it when I get home, but for now, I must pack up my things and move out of this lovely house. I'm leaving for Namibia on Wednesday so I won't be blogging for a bit (not that I blog often anyways...sorry about that). Don't' miss me too much, I'll just be sand boarding and 4wheeling through the desert. No big deal. :) Hope you all are enjoying the cold temperatures---I'm headed to the desert in the middle of summer!
As many of you know, my program ended on Saturday and most of my housemates went back to the united states. I've talked to all of them since they've been home and it's so weird to think that they are actually living over there now. I miss them so much! I didn't realize how much I loved them and how close I had become with them until they left. The house is so quiet....
Tonight we decided to make some noise in the house so we invited most of our African friends over for a braai at our place. We found a whole bunch of frozen meat left from the other housemates and since we're getting kicked out of our house tomorrow, we had to use it all up. It was so awesome to be hanging out in the kitchen with about 8 of my new African friends. It was crazy, I don't think I've been so at home with such a diverse group of people. I was sitting next to my good friend Gerald who is from Kenya...across the table from me was Tate and Imran, both friends from Zimbabwe. Thapz and Lindiswe stopped by for a bit (not entirely sure where they are from, but fun nonetheless). Lowena grew up in Cape Town and we spent most of the evening laughing so hard that our sides hurt. What an amazing community of people! Even though it's so hard being here without my housemates, I have friends here in Cape Town who will jump at a moments notice to come and hang out. It's times like these where I really appreciate this place.... :)
In other news, and let me tell you....this is the good stuff.....
This past week before everyone had left, I had my final Xhosa exam on Monday (which I think I passed! thanks for the prayers for that one). Tuesday our program director cooked us a fantastic homemade meal in our house. Wednesday was quite possibly one of the most rewarding days of my entire experience here. Wednesday we all had our presentations to show what research and service work that we had been doing all semester to others in the community. Marianne and I explained our IT class and one of our women gave her presentation which was absolutely outstanding! She had the crowd laughing at all her crazy jokes! Let me tell you, for a woman who is not confident in herself, it was such a proud moment.
We called all the women up on stage and gave them all certificates with pictures we had printed of our whole class. After they had all "graduated" one of our women got up to the microphone (her name is Nomsa) and started thanking us in Xhosa to a crowd of close to 2oo people. Now, I don't know what she said, but all the Xhosa speaking people in the audience kept nodding and applauding so I think it was a good thing....Anyways, she then turned to english and said,
"Thank you girls so much for what you have taught me. Now, because of you, I have a full time job using my computer skill for an NGO here in Cape Town."
I almost peed my pants right there on stage!!! Can you believe it??? One of my women got a job because of the skills we taught!!! Ahhh!!!! I was sooo happy for her!!! I knew that she had been applying for jobs, but she never told us the outcome because she wanted to wait until she could announce it to everyone. If the rest of my semester was a bust, it would all be ok because Nomsa got a job. I came here to help the struggling 3rd world community of Khayelitsha and now one woman has a job! She doesn't have to worry about feeding her kids anymore! I may not change the world, but I feel like I've at least left a small mark here in Cape Town. If nothing else, a few more children are full tonight...
Even a few days after that, another one of my women said that she had put me down as a reference on an application. Sure enough, I got a call from a potential employer the next day and had a nice chat with him. 2 days later, Pearl said she had started a job! TWO women have jobs now!!! I don't know exactly what Pearl's job is, but the fact that she has one now is incredible! I'm so proud of my women for gaining the confidence to go out and look!
It's been a long week filled with joy and tearful goodbyes...I've been reflecting a lot on this past semester and it has changed me in so many different ways. Definitely more than any blog post will allow....I'd be more than happy to chat about it when I get home, but for now, I must pack up my things and move out of this lovely house. I'm leaving for Namibia on Wednesday so I won't be blogging for a bit (not that I blog often anyways...sorry about that). Don't' miss me too much, I'll just be sand boarding and 4wheeling through the desert. No big deal. :) Hope you all are enjoying the cold temperatures---I'm headed to the desert in the middle of summer!
Friday, November 7, 2008
School, Bomb Threats and Flight Changes
So, I don't know if anybody still reads this or not....I haven't been very good about keeping it up, but for the few that continue to check this page, here is an update.
The elections happened--I woke up at 2am here to walk down to Starlight (a 24hour American diner with a large tv) to watch the votes roll in. There is an 8 hour difference between good old central time and south africa time so the timing was just right. I'm pretty sure every American living in Rondebosch (my suburb) was crammed into that diner watching CNN. I'm pretty sure everyone in the diner was cheering on Obama as soon as CNN projected that he was going to win. Time passed so quickly and before I knew it, it was 6.30am!! Crazy!!! That day, I was congratulated numerous times by Africans on my new president and for the first time in Africa, I was proud to say I was an American. (note-in some countries, being an american gives you star status....not here) My friend Thabo jokingly commented that we were a little behind the times...."I mean, come on! South Africa had it's first black president in 1994!" :)
Anyways, the rest of my days have been spent finishing up papers, studying for more exams (Xhosa is on Monday and is worth 50% of my grade!!!), enjoying Cape Town, hiking Table Mountain (yes, that's right, I climbed the mountain finally!), driving on the other side of the road (no, I didn't hit anything, thank you, I did quite well), being ushered out of the mall because of bomb threats, having dinner on Monday evenings with my new Dutch and African friends, eating pasta (budget is running low), and breaking doors at the Nygaards house.
So, I guess you could say I'm pretty busy. I think I said this before, but most of my housemates move out on November 15th which is a week from tomorrow. I can't believe that my program is almost over and that they will be stateside in a week! How weird! This semester has gone by so quickly. It's going to be so sad to see them part, but I've changed my plane ticket to see a few of them when I go home. Instead of coming on the 16th as originally planned, I will now spend 2 days in New York with Liz, Marianne, and Drew and be home on the evening of the 18th. I've always wanted to see New York at Christamstime and the fact that 3 of my housemates live so close is the perfect excuse.
I should probably get some sleep now. Tomorrow we are all going to town to go market shopping!!! I am so busy this next week it's crazy! I've been getting up sooo early and going to bed sooo late because we are all just trying to get the most out of what little time we have together. Hope you all are enjoying the fall colors in the States! I'm enjoying the new summer here!!
Much love!
The elections happened--I woke up at 2am here to walk down to Starlight (a 24hour American diner with a large tv) to watch the votes roll in. There is an 8 hour difference between good old central time and south africa time so the timing was just right. I'm pretty sure every American living in Rondebosch (my suburb) was crammed into that diner watching CNN. I'm pretty sure everyone in the diner was cheering on Obama as soon as CNN projected that he was going to win. Time passed so quickly and before I knew it, it was 6.30am!! Crazy!!! That day, I was congratulated numerous times by Africans on my new president and for the first time in Africa, I was proud to say I was an American. (note-in some countries, being an american gives you star status....not here) My friend Thabo jokingly commented that we were a little behind the times...."I mean, come on! South Africa had it's first black president in 1994!" :)
Anyways, the rest of my days have been spent finishing up papers, studying for more exams (Xhosa is on Monday and is worth 50% of my grade!!!), enjoying Cape Town, hiking Table Mountain (yes, that's right, I climbed the mountain finally!), driving on the other side of the road (no, I didn't hit anything, thank you, I did quite well), being ushered out of the mall because of bomb threats, having dinner on Monday evenings with my new Dutch and African friends, eating pasta (budget is running low), and breaking doors at the Nygaards house.
So, I guess you could say I'm pretty busy. I think I said this before, but most of my housemates move out on November 15th which is a week from tomorrow. I can't believe that my program is almost over and that they will be stateside in a week! How weird! This semester has gone by so quickly. It's going to be so sad to see them part, but I've changed my plane ticket to see a few of them when I go home. Instead of coming on the 16th as originally planned, I will now spend 2 days in New York with Liz, Marianne, and Drew and be home on the evening of the 18th. I've always wanted to see New York at Christamstime and the fact that 3 of my housemates live so close is the perfect excuse.
I should probably get some sleep now. Tomorrow we are all going to town to go market shopping!!! I am so busy this next week it's crazy! I've been getting up sooo early and going to bed sooo late because we are all just trying to get the most out of what little time we have together. Hope you all are enjoying the fall colors in the States! I'm enjoying the new summer here!!
Much love!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
VOTE TODAY!!!!!
It's that time again! And this time, the whole world is watching.....
This was the front page of the paper today here in Cape Town, South Africa. If you opened up the paper, there were 3 more pages with US presidential race articles. Don't worry, some of them talked about McCain, but everyone here in South Africa LOVES Obama. The title of a half page article yesterday read--"Obama will become the 44th president of the United States tomorrow." It seems people are very confident over here. Obama runs through the billboards, stenciled grafiti on almost every stop sign of Main Road, and through so many people's converstations. Now, I'm not one for politics, but being here in South Africa has made me more aware than I ever have been. South African's know more about US politics than I do.....sad reality, huh?
Anyways, I'm not going to tell you who I'm voting for or who to vote for, but I am reminding everyone reading this (if you are in the United States) to go out and vote today! Don't forget! It's my first presidential election to vote in and it's a HUGE one! So get off the computer and VOTE!!
HAPPY ELECTION DAY!!!
ps- I did vote, but absentee...could someone send me an "I voted today" sticker please? :)
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
YAY PICTURES!!!!
I have reached the conclusion that any sort of long term commitment to post on this blog on a regular basis is extremely difficult for me. As of late, I have been busy with finishing up my service, writing papers and taking exams.
Funny Story- There was a confusion about my Sociology exam on Monday which was kind of a mess, but now I'm sorted. The UCT schedule said that the exam was at 5pm, when in reality, it was at 12.30pm instead. I had studied about 15 minutes when I received a call from my program director saying that the professor had called wondering where we were. I was in town at the time so had to rush up to campus to complete my exam! Thankfully the professor allowed me the full 2 hours to write and I used every last minute of those two hours. I think that was the least I have ever studied for an exam in my life, but I feel like it went very well surprisingly enough. We'll see when the grade comes in! :)
As for the rest of the week, a few hours of sleep and 39 pages later, I finally have finished my research report for Sociology. I really don't like how it is right now, but I think it will be sufficient for a grade. I plan to continue to revise and rework the paper until I feel it is adequate even though I already turned it in. Kind of nerdy I know, but I want it to be perfect! My paper is a report on all of my semester's work and research in Khayelitsha so you can imagine it was quite a big task. I've been working on it for the past 3 weeks and feel no where near where I want it to be. I plan to come back to South Africa to do research later on and I need to have something to show for the research I have already started.
Anyways, that's pretty much what I've been up to recently. My next exam is on the 10th of November and then presentations for my research are shortly thereafter. Crazy! I can't believe this semester is winding down already. I still have a month and a half here, but most of my housemates leave in just a few short weeks :(
Here are the pictures promised that correspond with the last post--hope you enjoy!
***note-if you click on the pictures, you can view them in a larger size!***
Khayelitsha School Girls with Homemade Signs
Table Mountain provided the perfect backdrop for this march
Housemates at Moyo for final dinner
L-R: Deepa, Marissa, me, Alyssa, Liz, Marianne, Rachel, Drew
The girls in black--Marianne, me, and Liz
(I teach in Khayelitsha with Marianne and travel everywhere with Liz)
Sitting at dinner with painted faces!
Nygaards backyard with recent awning addition
Kelsey, Liz, me, and Alyssa
Wishing Ubs a Happy Birthday African style!
Funny Story- There was a confusion about my Sociology exam on Monday which was kind of a mess, but now I'm sorted. The UCT schedule said that the exam was at 5pm, when in reality, it was at 12.30pm instead. I had studied about 15 minutes when I received a call from my program director saying that the professor had called wondering where we were. I was in town at the time so had to rush up to campus to complete my exam! Thankfully the professor allowed me the full 2 hours to write and I used every last minute of those two hours. I think that was the least I have ever studied for an exam in my life, but I feel like it went very well surprisingly enough. We'll see when the grade comes in! :)
As for the rest of the week, a few hours of sleep and 39 pages later, I finally have finished my research report for Sociology. I really don't like how it is right now, but I think it will be sufficient for a grade. I plan to continue to revise and rework the paper until I feel it is adequate even though I already turned it in. Kind of nerdy I know, but I want it to be perfect! My paper is a report on all of my semester's work and research in Khayelitsha so you can imagine it was quite a big task. I've been working on it for the past 3 weeks and feel no where near where I want it to be. I plan to come back to South Africa to do research later on and I need to have something to show for the research I have already started.
Anyways, that's pretty much what I've been up to recently. My next exam is on the 10th of November and then presentations for my research are shortly thereafter. Crazy! I can't believe this semester is winding down already. I still have a month and a half here, but most of my housemates leave in just a few short weeks :(
Here are the pictures promised that correspond with the last post--hope you enjoy!
***note-if you click on the pictures, you can view them in a larger size!***
Khayelitsha School Girls with Homemade Signs
Table Mountain provided the perfect backdrop for this march
Housemates at Moyo for final dinner
L-R: Deepa, Marissa, me, Alyssa, Liz, Marianne, Rachel, Drew
The girls in black--Marianne, me, and Liz
(I teach in Khayelitsha with Marianne and travel everywhere with Liz)
Sitting at dinner with painted faces!
Nygaards backyard with recent awning addition
Kelsey, Liz, me, and Alyssa
Wishing Ubs a Happy Birthday African style!
Monday, October 20, 2008
I Think It's Been Awhile.....
So I was chatting with the 'rents last night when I was informed that people have been asking about me here in Africa due to my lack of blogging. I apologize to any person who has been diligently checking this blog only to find that I have not posted in a good 2 weeks. I'm sorry if any one of you has suffered from any sort of anxiety, stress, or loss of appetite as a result of lack of communication on my part. Rest assured, I still have NOT gotten mugged, stolen, kidnapped, or hurt in the past two weeks. My lack of blogging is strictly due to the amount of work and fun which have been occurring here in this lovely city. My deepest apologies.....
Now to inform you on the past two weeks:
1. On October 10th, I participated in a "march" (I will explain the quotes in a minute, just be patient) for an organization called Equal Education. It is an activist organization which is dedicated to improving the area schools in Khayelitsha. This particular "march" which received ample tv coverage, was to demand that the Board of Education fix the windows in Luhlaza Highschool in Khayelitsha. I went there about 2 weeks prior to the march and counted over 500 broken windows to the outside. They have promised to fix these windows by 2010 (a lot of things have been promised by 2010 because of the World Cup), but that means that the students must sit through 2 more winters with broken windows. The teachers said that it is hard to teach because of the rain and wind and cold and the students find it extremely hard to learn in those conditions. Anyways, 200 kids from school all over Khayelitsha showed up and sang songs they had written, performed a dance that they had choreographed themselves, and read poetry about their experiences at school. We had a bit of trouble with the police allowing us to march so it actually ended up being a peaceful gathering rather than a march. But, the president of the Board of Education was there and so were some other Cape Town hotshots so it ended up having a great turn out. The students' work was incredibly inspiring and hopefully it struck a chord with the Board.
2. Final Dinner- On Friday, my service-learning program had its final dinner with everyone. It's kind of strange that it is so early because we all are still doing service and have a big presentation at the end of the semester, but it was on the calendar and no one was about to argue for a free meal! Anyways, we drove out to Stellenbosch (the wine country) to a place called Moyo's which is an incredible African restaraunt. The entire restaraunt in outside underneath huge tents with big fireplaces and trees all around. It was kind of like a big bedouin campsite. Now, remember how I said there were trees all around??? Well, it ended up that our table was actually in the tree!!! Yeah, we had dinner in a tree....no big deal :) The food was buffet style and you had every kind of meat to choose from---I had ox tail, ostrich, springbok, calamari, buttered line fish......It was incredible! The food was soooo good and soooo rich! And yes, they had 3 tables for dessert! It was pretty much fantastic! During the dinner, they had traditional tribal dancers and musicians walking around this place for entertainment. They also had people painting tribal designs on faces as well. This place really had it's whole experience figured out because as soon as the sun set, it got pretty cold there so on the back of every chair, there was a huge blanket to wrap up in. How cool is that?? Since we were out in the wine country, the sky was crystal clear and if you looked up you could see a million stars. It was a fantastic way to end the week and we all really enjoyed each other's company.
3. Bruce Turns 50!- Ubs (short for Uncle Bruce) had his 50th birthday party on Saturday which was a huge success. About 60 friends came through the newly renovated house which had an incredible awning over the back patio. It was a no talent contest party so people brought instruments and had a blast playing them, whether they were good or not..... There is a crazy (more traditional) African way to wish someone happy birthday and all the people in my Bible Study wanted to wish Ubs a happy birthday in this way. Somehow, I got roped into this tribal dance/song and had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but it was a lot of fun. Several of us stayed around after everyone had left and we sat drinking wine by the pool and reminicing about the day......
So, that's what I've been up to recently. Besides all of that great stuff, I've been going to plays in Afrikaans (not a good idea), leaving the house at 3am to go watch presidential debates at the 24hr diner, and attempting to finish my research for the entire semester. My last day of actual classes was a week ago today so I'm pretty much done with school now. I have 2 exams and this paper and then I'm finished. Yay! Well, I'm not too excited about being finished....I really don't want to go home (sorry mom and dad, you can come here for christmas!!! :) ). I'll post some pictures later today from the past few weeks. Hope all is well with you guys back in the states (or wherever you are reading this from). I haven't forgotten about you! Much love!
Now to inform you on the past two weeks:
1. On October 10th, I participated in a "march" (I will explain the quotes in a minute, just be patient) for an organization called Equal Education. It is an activist organization which is dedicated to improving the area schools in Khayelitsha. This particular "march" which received ample tv coverage, was to demand that the Board of Education fix the windows in Luhlaza Highschool in Khayelitsha. I went there about 2 weeks prior to the march and counted over 500 broken windows to the outside. They have promised to fix these windows by 2010 (a lot of things have been promised by 2010 because of the World Cup), but that means that the students must sit through 2 more winters with broken windows. The teachers said that it is hard to teach because of the rain and wind and cold and the students find it extremely hard to learn in those conditions. Anyways, 200 kids from school all over Khayelitsha showed up and sang songs they had written, performed a dance that they had choreographed themselves, and read poetry about their experiences at school. We had a bit of trouble with the police allowing us to march so it actually ended up being a peaceful gathering rather than a march. But, the president of the Board of Education was there and so were some other Cape Town hotshots so it ended up having a great turn out. The students' work was incredibly inspiring and hopefully it struck a chord with the Board.
2. Final Dinner- On Friday, my service-learning program had its final dinner with everyone. It's kind of strange that it is so early because we all are still doing service and have a big presentation at the end of the semester, but it was on the calendar and no one was about to argue for a free meal! Anyways, we drove out to Stellenbosch (the wine country) to a place called Moyo's which is an incredible African restaraunt. The entire restaraunt in outside underneath huge tents with big fireplaces and trees all around. It was kind of like a big bedouin campsite. Now, remember how I said there were trees all around??? Well, it ended up that our table was actually in the tree!!! Yeah, we had dinner in a tree....no big deal :) The food was buffet style and you had every kind of meat to choose from---I had ox tail, ostrich, springbok, calamari, buttered line fish......It was incredible! The food was soooo good and soooo rich! And yes, they had 3 tables for dessert! It was pretty much fantastic! During the dinner, they had traditional tribal dancers and musicians walking around this place for entertainment. They also had people painting tribal designs on faces as well. This place really had it's whole experience figured out because as soon as the sun set, it got pretty cold there so on the back of every chair, there was a huge blanket to wrap up in. How cool is that?? Since we were out in the wine country, the sky was crystal clear and if you looked up you could see a million stars. It was a fantastic way to end the week and we all really enjoyed each other's company.
3. Bruce Turns 50!- Ubs (short for Uncle Bruce) had his 50th birthday party on Saturday which was a huge success. About 60 friends came through the newly renovated house which had an incredible awning over the back patio. It was a no talent contest party so people brought instruments and had a blast playing them, whether they were good or not..... There is a crazy (more traditional) African way to wish someone happy birthday and all the people in my Bible Study wanted to wish Ubs a happy birthday in this way. Somehow, I got roped into this tribal dance/song and had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but it was a lot of fun. Several of us stayed around after everyone had left and we sat drinking wine by the pool and reminicing about the day......
So, that's what I've been up to recently. Besides all of that great stuff, I've been going to plays in Afrikaans (not a good idea), leaving the house at 3am to go watch presidential debates at the 24hr diner, and attempting to finish my research for the entire semester. My last day of actual classes was a week ago today so I'm pretty much done with school now. I have 2 exams and this paper and then I'm finished. Yay! Well, I'm not too excited about being finished....I really don't want to go home (sorry mom and dad, you can come here for christmas!!! :) ). I'll post some pictures later today from the past few weeks. Hope all is well with you guys back in the states (or wherever you are reading this from). I haven't forgotten about you! Much love!
Monday, October 6, 2008
The Parentals Have Left the Country....
Yes, it's true--mom and dad left the wonderful and glorious city of Cape Town on Saturday evening. For those concerned, I talked with them last night and they arrived home safely. The past two weeks have been incredibly refreshing for me and their visit has excited me for the next half of my stay here. I loved simply spending time with them and enjoying their company. My parents spent a good deal of time with my housemates too so that they could get some good parental lovin' halfway around the world. I know my housemates really enjoyed having them here and always refer to them as "such a cute couple!" One of the days they were here, all of us boarded a bus and went out to Hermanus for Wine tasting and Whale Watching. Let me just tell ya, those were some good looking whales! :)
It was great to show my parents around Cape Town and let them peak into what life is for me in South Africa. We went out to most of my favorite places to hang out, spent time with the Nygaards, and they got to come (and help!) in my IT class one day. I'm pretty sure they enjoyed their stay and even though it was sad to see them go, I know it wasn't the last time we will be hanging out in Cape Town. I will (hopefully) be living here again at some point in my life and they are going to have to visit me to see what I'm up to then. If ANYONE wants to come to Cape Town, you are more than welcome to! I would love to show you around! So, start booking your flights now folks because I miss y'all! Hope you are having a great monday!
It was great to show my parents around Cape Town and let them peak into what life is for me in South Africa. We went out to most of my favorite places to hang out, spent time with the Nygaards, and they got to come (and help!) in my IT class one day. I'm pretty sure they enjoyed their stay and even though it was sad to see them go, I know it wasn't the last time we will be hanging out in Cape Town. I will (hopefully) be living here again at some point in my life and they are going to have to visit me to see what I'm up to then. If ANYONE wants to come to Cape Town, you are more than welcome to! I would love to show you around! So, start booking your flights now folks because I miss y'all! Hope you are having a great monday!
Mom and Dad walking the streets of Khayelitsha with a new friend.
Housemates in the bus on the way to Hermanus--can you find mom and dad?? (note-please don't mind Marriane in this picture, I'm not sure what she was thinking, lol)
At lookout point overlooking Khayelitsha with Table Mountain in the far background.
By the sea at Hermanus watching whales!
Freeing mother-daughter moment in a field of african wild flowers.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Parent Township Extravaganza
Well, they survived my surprise weekend. It definitely wasn't what they were expecting, but they made it through...
This Friday I took my parents on a surprise weekend adventure which they had a bit of an idea about, but never knew the specifics. I took them to Khayeltisha (the township where I work) to a nice shack B&B for the night. There is this incredible woman in the community named Vikky who has renovated her shack for guests to come in and experience life in the township. Let's just say it was a weekend they will never forget. We arrived late afternoon to find 2 Christian American girls staying the night there--one of them works for Young Life! We all became fast friends and then walked around the neigborhood a bit, drank some traditional shack-brewed Africa beer(see my post on Langa for details) and then had dinner with Vikky and her family. There were tons of kids around so most of the rest of the evening was spent playing hand games, tickling, playing with hair, and talking to Vikky about Apartheid and her whole story of the B&B.
They next day I arranged for my friend Thabo to come and pick us up for a larger in depth tour of 2 townships. He did a fantastic job of showing my parents around (he grew up in Langa and now lives in Khayelitsha). The parents did pretty well until we went to a traditional healer--Thabo and I both agreed that that might have been a bit much. I guess all the animal skins and bones hanging on the walls with the dried herbs and one random string of condoms might have been too much culture shock for our little adventure so we finished the touring part there.
We then headed to yet another township called Guguletu (goo-goo-LAY-too) to an huge outdoor Braai (BBQ) place called Mzoli's. We were met by most of my housemates and friends for a huge braai to hang out talk and just be in the township community. There were close to 200 other Africans at this place and it wasn't even that busy! (We were there on a Saturday and Sundays are the crazy day) Anyways, they made it through my township extravaganza and I think they learned a lot (which was a huge part of why I had them come). They saw that the township wasn't just a place of extreme poverty, but a place of intense community where people live and just do life. They are the same as you and I only in worse conditions. Just people doing community with what they have.
All in all it was a successful weekend. To get the real first-hand emotions, I will tell you to ask them about their trip. They are the ones who were out of their comfort zone all weekend so they have way more stories about how they are feeling! Happy Monday!
This Friday I took my parents on a surprise weekend adventure which they had a bit of an idea about, but never knew the specifics. I took them to Khayeltisha (the township where I work) to a nice shack B&B for the night. There is this incredible woman in the community named Vikky who has renovated her shack for guests to come in and experience life in the township. Let's just say it was a weekend they will never forget. We arrived late afternoon to find 2 Christian American girls staying the night there--one of them works for Young Life! We all became fast friends and then walked around the neigborhood a bit, drank some traditional shack-brewed Africa beer(see my post on Langa for details) and then had dinner with Vikky and her family. There were tons of kids around so most of the rest of the evening was spent playing hand games, tickling, playing with hair, and talking to Vikky about Apartheid and her whole story of the B&B.
They next day I arranged for my friend Thabo to come and pick us up for a larger in depth tour of 2 townships. He did a fantastic job of showing my parents around (he grew up in Langa and now lives in Khayelitsha). The parents did pretty well until we went to a traditional healer--Thabo and I both agreed that that might have been a bit much. I guess all the animal skins and bones hanging on the walls with the dried herbs and one random string of condoms might have been too much culture shock for our little adventure so we finished the touring part there.
We then headed to yet another township called Guguletu (goo-goo-LAY-too) to an huge outdoor Braai (BBQ) place called Mzoli's. We were met by most of my housemates and friends for a huge braai to hang out talk and just be in the township community. There were close to 200 other Africans at this place and it wasn't even that busy! (We were there on a Saturday and Sundays are the crazy day) Anyways, they made it through my township extravaganza and I think they learned a lot (which was a huge part of why I had them come). They saw that the township wasn't just a place of extreme poverty, but a place of intense community where people live and just do life. They are the same as you and I only in worse conditions. Just people doing community with what they have.
All in all it was a successful weekend. To get the real first-hand emotions, I will tell you to ask them about their trip. They are the ones who were out of their comfort zone all weekend so they have way more stories about how they are feeling! Happy Monday!
Friday, September 26, 2008
They're Here!
This post is a bit tardy, but the parents arrived safely on Monday afternoon! They will be here hanging out with me until next weekend---that's 2 whole weeks, folks! It's so good to have them here and just sit and talk with them, I guess I kind of like them :) Anyways, I'm off to class before suprising my parents with a weekend adventure. Have a fantastic weekend!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Service Work
Wow, I just logged in today to see that I haven't posted in quite a while. Sorry about that guys! I know you always are waiting with baited breath for my next post....well, maybe not really, but it's a nice thought anyways.....
I've recently been just going about life as usual in Africa. Ya know, going to class, going to Khayeltisha, waiting to do laundry until it's sunny because we don't have a dryer, hitchiking home from the American Consulate, sending roommates on scavenger hunts all over Cape Town for their birthdays, spending too much money at Cocoa Wah Wah and spending afternoons at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens or the beach. Life's rough, huh? :) I have so many little stories here and there and I guess I should post about them so that I actually have record of them happening, but I just haven't taken the time. Part of that is because I'm being stingy with my internet. You see, here in Africa everyone pays for internet by the megabite. Now I don't know a lot about computers, but I do know that websites like Facebook, YouTube and any other site with large graphics takes up a ton of megabites. Hence, I haven't gotten on my internet recently at my house to post. Ok, enough of excuses.....
Now that I've gotten my rambling out of the way, I thought I would let you guys know about my service work. I've talked to several of you via email, phone, facebook, skype, etc so I guess I just assumed that I had posted about. ANYWAYS......I'm taking 2 classes at UCT which means I'm done by 11am with school. Then, a bus comes to pick me and housemate, Marianne up and takes us to Khayeltisha, one of the largest townships in Cape Town. There are just over 4 million people in Cape Town and 1.2 million of them live in Khayelitsha (kai-a-leet-sha). Anyways, on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1-2.30pm we teach a beginners class in information technology. There is a wide range of abilities of the women in the class anywhere from never using a computer before to barely knowing how to open Microsoft Word. We spend a lot of time in that class with double clicking and clicking and dragging, both very hard concepts for someone who is never around computers before. We started with about 15 women in that class, but our numbers have slowly dwindled down to about 6 regulars. It's kind of hard because most of the women walk to class and the last two classes it has been pouring down rain. The time before that, the power was out at the center (also something that happens randomly and there's no way to get it back on). So, hopefully the weather will be nice and more women will want to come back.
Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays we teach our advanced class. I LOVE our advanced class!!! Some of the women were in a previous IT class so they kind of know the basics of what's going on the computer. But these women have such a passion and determination to make a difference and break out of the cycle of poverty. One woman wants to start her own catering business and so we spent a week on Excel and the importance of budgeting. Another woman wants to get a job as a secretary and so we work with her to improve her typing every week. This class is required to do a powerpoint presentation for the rest of the class at the end of the term which they are terrified of, but it will be so good for them. They really try to learn the concepts and the skills because they realize how much it can help them.
Working in Khayelitsha has really opened my eyes to how much everyone her in South Africa can help to end such horrible poverty. White South Africans DONT go into the townships, the only white people you see in Khayelitsha (if you see any white people) are ususally foreigners who are volunteering. But I take an hour and a half out of my day every day to teach women how to use computers. I don't really know that much about computers, but it's more than they have ever learned and so I can help to teach them the basics. This gives them the confidence to go out and look for a job and the skills to be qualified for a job. IT skills open up a whole new realm of possiblilities for jobs for these women and then they can set an example in their community of how they took an initiative to make a difference. I know I'm not saving the world over here, but if one woman gets a job because of this class, then my time here was worth it. It just blows my mind that giving just a little bit of my time and knowledge can literally make a world of difference to these women. If someone gets a steady job, then they don't have to worry about if their kids can eat at night or if they are able to go to school. I know this sounds pretty cliche, but I see poverty every single day. They need inspiriation and encouragement and a few skills to make it in the world. If everyone here just took a little bit out of their day to teach or empower these people, think about what a different place we would live in.....
I've recently been just going about life as usual in Africa. Ya know, going to class, going to Khayeltisha, waiting to do laundry until it's sunny because we don't have a dryer, hitchiking home from the American Consulate, sending roommates on scavenger hunts all over Cape Town for their birthdays, spending too much money at Cocoa Wah Wah and spending afternoons at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens or the beach. Life's rough, huh? :) I have so many little stories here and there and I guess I should post about them so that I actually have record of them happening, but I just haven't taken the time. Part of that is because I'm being stingy with my internet. You see, here in Africa everyone pays for internet by the megabite. Now I don't know a lot about computers, but I do know that websites like Facebook, YouTube and any other site with large graphics takes up a ton of megabites. Hence, I haven't gotten on my internet recently at my house to post. Ok, enough of excuses.....
Now that I've gotten my rambling out of the way, I thought I would let you guys know about my service work. I've talked to several of you via email, phone, facebook, skype, etc so I guess I just assumed that I had posted about. ANYWAYS......I'm taking 2 classes at UCT which means I'm done by 11am with school. Then, a bus comes to pick me and housemate, Marianne up and takes us to Khayeltisha, one of the largest townships in Cape Town. There are just over 4 million people in Cape Town and 1.2 million of them live in Khayelitsha (kai-a-leet-sha). Anyways, on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1-2.30pm we teach a beginners class in information technology. There is a wide range of abilities of the women in the class anywhere from never using a computer before to barely knowing how to open Microsoft Word. We spend a lot of time in that class with double clicking and clicking and dragging, both very hard concepts for someone who is never around computers before. We started with about 15 women in that class, but our numbers have slowly dwindled down to about 6 regulars. It's kind of hard because most of the women walk to class and the last two classes it has been pouring down rain. The time before that, the power was out at the center (also something that happens randomly and there's no way to get it back on). So, hopefully the weather will be nice and more women will want to come back.
Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays we teach our advanced class. I LOVE our advanced class!!! Some of the women were in a previous IT class so they kind of know the basics of what's going on the computer. But these women have such a passion and determination to make a difference and break out of the cycle of poverty. One woman wants to start her own catering business and so we spent a week on Excel and the importance of budgeting. Another woman wants to get a job as a secretary and so we work with her to improve her typing every week. This class is required to do a powerpoint presentation for the rest of the class at the end of the term which they are terrified of, but it will be so good for them. They really try to learn the concepts and the skills because they realize how much it can help them.
Working in Khayelitsha has really opened my eyes to how much everyone her in South Africa can help to end such horrible poverty. White South Africans DONT go into the townships, the only white people you see in Khayelitsha (if you see any white people) are ususally foreigners who are volunteering. But I take an hour and a half out of my day every day to teach women how to use computers. I don't really know that much about computers, but it's more than they have ever learned and so I can help to teach them the basics. This gives them the confidence to go out and look for a job and the skills to be qualified for a job. IT skills open up a whole new realm of possiblilities for jobs for these women and then they can set an example in their community of how they took an initiative to make a difference. I know I'm not saving the world over here, but if one woman gets a job because of this class, then my time here was worth it. It just blows my mind that giving just a little bit of my time and knowledge can literally make a world of difference to these women. If someone gets a steady job, then they don't have to worry about if their kids can eat at night or if they are able to go to school. I know this sounds pretty cliche, but I see poverty every single day. They need inspiriation and encouragement and a few skills to make it in the world. If everyone here just took a little bit out of their day to teach or empower these people, think about what a different place we would live in.....
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The Blessings of Globalization
As I sit here tonight drinking my South African Rooibos tea and eating "The Original Tennis Biscuits" I am thankful. Thankful of so much in general--life, travel, my house, warm clothes (yes, it's still cold here), but more specifically I am thankful for the community which I am a part of here. Tonight I went to bible study just as any Tuesday night, but for the first time since I've been here, I felt like I was a valuable member of that group. I walked in the door to loads of hugs and "Lindsay!" exclamations which was so encouraging. I was absent last week because of my trip to JoBurg and everyone was asking how it was and saying that they missed me last week. It was so exciting to realize that I have moved from just the international student that showed up a couple times to a friend and companion of this group of amazing Africans. Just last Saturday I went to the beach with one of the girls and we spent the afternoon talking and laughing the afternoon away! It has been an absolute answer to prayer!
There were also 2 new people that showed up to bible study--a girl from Germany and a guy from Holland. So that puts white students at a total of 3 in the study :) I love foreign cultures!!! Getting to talk with them was great and they really had a lot to add to the conversation and new perspectives on life. The guy actually spoke not only English and Dutch, but Swahili and Xhosa too!! So here I was in South Africa, an American girl talking in Xhosa to a guy from Holland while Ngami next to me is telling me to stop in Swahili! What a global living room that was!!
Anyways, I was just super excited about the new friends that I have made here and the fact that we are more than just bible study aquaintances now. We have plans to go to the theatre next week and a coffee shop later! Well, my tea is almost gone now and I've eating 5 too many tennis biscuits so I should probably go. Hope everyone back home is having a fantastic day!
There were also 2 new people that showed up to bible study--a girl from Germany and a guy from Holland. So that puts white students at a total of 3 in the study :) I love foreign cultures!!! Getting to talk with them was great and they really had a lot to add to the conversation and new perspectives on life. The guy actually spoke not only English and Dutch, but Swahili and Xhosa too!! So here I was in South Africa, an American girl talking in Xhosa to a guy from Holland while Ngami next to me is telling me to stop in Swahili! What a global living room that was!!
Anyways, I was just super excited about the new friends that I have made here and the fact that we are more than just bible study aquaintances now. We have plans to go to the theatre next week and a coffee shop later! Well, my tea is almost gone now and I've eating 5 too many tennis biscuits so I should probably go. Hope everyone back home is having a fantastic day!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Spring Break! (Part 2)
I guess I should finish the story I started earlier. I know you all are waiting with baited breath.....ok, so maybe not, but I'll finish it nevertheless.
Remember that we had just arrived in this old apartment complex to find that the gallery had only 4 paintings on the wall. Everything in this place was dirty and run down, but the man who welcomed us in was very talkative and we began to chat. He told us that his name was Peter Sibeko and he was from Soweto himself. He then told us about how he grew up and his artistic beginnings at age 11. After that, he told us in great detail about the 4 paintings on the wall and then just when we thought that was all, he took us over to the corner to a large filing cabinet with about 7 drawers. As he pulled out drawer after drawer, he took out all sorts of original artwork from artists all over Soweto as well as himself. He told us about those artists and their lives, struggles, successes and art as well as the paintings and what they meant. He must have gone through 50 pieces with us and there were still hundreds more to look at! It was so incredible that we spent at least an hour there completely captivated by this man's stories. Here was this man who lived in a tiny little dirty apartment who didn't have enough space to display his art and he opened up his place to us and was willing to share so much! It was incredible!!
I found 2 pieces that I really really liked, but did not have the cash to pay for them at the time so we thanked him for his time and said that we would call him later. I went home and thought about the pieces for a while and through the help of my mom (thanks mom!) I was able to go back on Monday and purchase the both pieces! I bought my first 2 pieces of original artwork in a sketchy apartment complex in down town Johannesburg from an incredible man! It was so great!
I will definately post pictures and write more later, but for now some African friends are coming over to the house to make s'mores! They didn't even know what s'mores were! It was kind of difficult getting the ingredients because they don't sell graham crackers here and the marshmellows are ALL flavored. They're pretty nasty if you ask me, but we'll do our best! Enjoy your Saturday!
Remember that we had just arrived in this old apartment complex to find that the gallery had only 4 paintings on the wall. Everything in this place was dirty and run down, but the man who welcomed us in was very talkative and we began to chat. He told us that his name was Peter Sibeko and he was from Soweto himself. He then told us about how he grew up and his artistic beginnings at age 11. After that, he told us in great detail about the 4 paintings on the wall and then just when we thought that was all, he took us over to the corner to a large filing cabinet with about 7 drawers. As he pulled out drawer after drawer, he took out all sorts of original artwork from artists all over Soweto as well as himself. He told us about those artists and their lives, struggles, successes and art as well as the paintings and what they meant. He must have gone through 50 pieces with us and there were still hundreds more to look at! It was so incredible that we spent at least an hour there completely captivated by this man's stories. Here was this man who lived in a tiny little dirty apartment who didn't have enough space to display his art and he opened up his place to us and was willing to share so much! It was incredible!!
I found 2 pieces that I really really liked, but did not have the cash to pay for them at the time so we thanked him for his time and said that we would call him later. I went home and thought about the pieces for a while and through the help of my mom (thanks mom!) I was able to go back on Monday and purchase the both pieces! I bought my first 2 pieces of original artwork in a sketchy apartment complex in down town Johannesburg from an incredible man! It was so great!
I will definately post pictures and write more later, but for now some African friends are coming over to the house to make s'mores! They didn't even know what s'mores were! It was kind of difficult getting the ingredients because they don't sell graham crackers here and the marshmellows are ALL flavored. They're pretty nasty if you ask me, but we'll do our best! Enjoy your Saturday!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Urgent Prayer
Some of you may have heard on the news that there was an American student from Georgetown University who passed away Monday in South Africa. To fill you all in, Terrance Davis was studying abroad with CIEE (my organization) when a freak wave came up on to the rocks he was sitting on and washed him out to sea. He was with 4 other people some of who were washed out as well, but Terrance couldn’t swim. They have yet to find his body. While I wasn’t close with Terrance, I knew him and we would greet each other every time we saw each other. He volunteered twice a week and picked up the bus right outside my house and I shared a cab home with him just a few weeks ago. He always had a smile on his face and was so full of joy for life. Everyone here is still in shock at his passing and I don’t think it has quite sunk in that he is gone. If you could keep his family and everyone here in Cape Town in your prayers it would be greatly appreciated. It was a completely freak accident as the day was sunny and calm and the wave came out of nowhere.
It’s weird because you read about these things happening, but you never think that they will happen to someone you know. It is yet another reminder that we do not know the number of days we have left on this earth. Kind of puts things in perspective doesn’t it? Please keep us in your prayers. It’s a hard time for everyone. Hope all is safe and well with you guys in the States.
P.S.- I promise I will finish my story from the previous post soon, but it does not seem appropriate now.
It’s weird because you read about these things happening, but you never think that they will happen to someone you know. It is yet another reminder that we do not know the number of days we have left on this earth. Kind of puts things in perspective doesn’t it? Please keep us in your prayers. It’s a hard time for everyone. Hope all is safe and well with you guys in the States.
P.S.- I promise I will finish my story from the previous post soon, but it does not seem appropriate now.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Spring Break! (Part 1)
This spring break kicked off early Friday morning when Liz and I headed out at 6.45am to catch our flight to Johannesburg (aka- JoBurg). We had a rough itinerary planned, but by the time we arrived, we changed it multiple times. On Friday we checked into our hostel and caught a cab out to Constitution Hill. This used to be a prison where many political prisoners were held and tortured during the apartheid regime but now is the home of a major courtroom in South Africa. It was very interesting to see a place where so much injustice was carried out now is a place where justice is sought out everyday.
Saturday was the real adventure…..We started off the day at the Carlton Center which has a view of the city from the 50th floor. Got some pics there and then headed out to the Soweto Art Gallery. We walked for about 15 minutes to the intersection where it was supposed to be, but couldn’t find it. So, we just kind of wandered around the area looking for a sign or something to tell us where it was. Now, you have to realize that there are certain parts of JoBurg that aren’t exactly what you would call “nice” in the States. After searching for about 10 more minutes, Liz and I realized that we hadn’t seen another white person in a while and most of the people around us were men….Good thing Liz and I both realized this because we started walking very quickly back to the intersection. For the first time in my life, I experienced what it was like to be a part of the minority. My area of town in Cape Town is very diverse and mixed because of the university so this was completely different. Anyways, we finally found a sign for the art gallery which said it was on the 2nd floor of this building. Well, this building was more like an old shady apartment complex with cracked stairs and places where there used to be windows, but were no longer. We went to the second floor (which was actually the third, but that’s beside the point) and wandered up and down the hallway without finding anything. Then there was this room with bars over the door and a little tiny sign that read “Soweto Art Gallery.” We looked thru the bars a bit before a guy came out and let us into a little room with a computer and desk attached to another small room with 4 paintings on the wall. That was it….4 paintings….We had wandered around for half an hour to see 4 paintings….little did we know what was in store for us….
(to be continued…..)
Saturday was the real adventure…..We started off the day at the Carlton Center which has a view of the city from the 50th floor. Got some pics there and then headed out to the Soweto Art Gallery. We walked for about 15 minutes to the intersection where it was supposed to be, but couldn’t find it. So, we just kind of wandered around the area looking for a sign or something to tell us where it was. Now, you have to realize that there are certain parts of JoBurg that aren’t exactly what you would call “nice” in the States. After searching for about 10 more minutes, Liz and I realized that we hadn’t seen another white person in a while and most of the people around us were men….Good thing Liz and I both realized this because we started walking very quickly back to the intersection. For the first time in my life, I experienced what it was like to be a part of the minority. My area of town in Cape Town is very diverse and mixed because of the university so this was completely different. Anyways, we finally found a sign for the art gallery which said it was on the 2nd floor of this building. Well, this building was more like an old shady apartment complex with cracked stairs and places where there used to be windows, but were no longer. We went to the second floor (which was actually the third, but that’s beside the point) and wandered up and down the hallway without finding anything. Then there was this room with bars over the door and a little tiny sign that read “Soweto Art Gallery.” We looked thru the bars a bit before a guy came out and let us into a little room with a computer and desk attached to another small room with 4 paintings on the wall. That was it….4 paintings….We had wandered around for half an hour to see 4 paintings….little did we know what was in store for us….
(to be continued…..)
Thursday, August 28, 2008
A Few Pics From the Weekend
Here's a few pictures from the weekend for you all to enjoy....
I'm headed out to Johannesburg tomorrow until Wednesday for Spring Break (yes, it is spring here) so I won't have internet. I'll let you know how the trip goes when I get back! Hope you all are enjoying your back to school season! Love!
My host family!
Typical scene from the weekend-- They love "white girl" hair!!
The kitchen
Yay Langa!!
I'm headed out to Johannesburg tomorrow until Wednesday for Spring Break (yes, it is spring here) so I won't have internet. I'll let you know how the trip goes when I get back! Hope you all are enjoying your back to school season! Love!
My host family!
Typical scene from the weekend-- They love "white girl" hair!!
The kitchen
Yay Langa!!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Weekend Awkward Turned Weekend Awesome
So, this weekend was our homestay weekend where we paired up with another member of our house and lived in a township called Langa. Yes, I did say township---I stayed 2 nights and 3 days in a township this weekend! Now, many of you may be wondering, was it safe? Was it sad? Was it hard? Was it good? Did it change my perspective on life? And the answer to all of those is yes, but I’m kind of fudging a bit with the first question—nothing in life is ever completely safe. Anyways, I was paired with Liz who was my roommate during orientation and who I am traveling with for spring break.
We arrived at the township for dinner on Friday night and it was completely awkward in ever sense of the word. They were black, we were white. They were living in very poor condition, we were not. They were from South Africa, we were not. So many differences and we didn’t exactly know how to act which made a very weird evening. They had cooked us a nice dinner which began with tripe and some other kind of nasty thing. Tripe is sheep intestine and the other stuff didn’t look much better than that. It was boiled in a sauce that smelled like something I shouldn’t mention. All of us thought that it was the main course so we tried to stomach as much as we could, but it was so gross! We were then to realize that it was only the appetizer! The main course was much nicer and more edible than round one. J
There are so many stories from the weekend that I could tell you right now, but you might get bored with all of them so I’ll just let you in on a few. First of all, we went to church both Saturday and Sunday with the family which was great. Such a different experience than home, but it was so great to see and hear other believers praising the same God. There was a lot of singing and the pastor even had us introduce ourselves to the whole congregation because obviously we weren’t from around there and everyone was so welcoming!
We also went to a house-warming type party on Saturday to tell the ancestors that the family had moved to a new house and to ask them to protect them in their new location. It was quite the ordeal and once again, we had to eat the tripe. Sick! That night we went around to a couple different taverns in Langa for a well-rounded night life experience in the township. Not something I would probably ever do again, but it was definitely an experience! Because we were Americans, we went home pretty early otherwise it wouldn’t be safe, but we had our own little get-together back at the house which was so much fun! The family that I stayed with was a young mom (31) with 3 kids—2 girls, 12 and 10 and a boy who was 5. The little boy was going strong all night and danced his little legs off! Of course, he quicly became my best friend for the weekend even though I still can’t pronounce his name correctly.
Ok random funny story- Liz can’t handle spicy food and the sausages that we ate for lunch today had a little spice in them. Not too much, but liz really can’t handle much. Anyways, she really couldn’t finish hers so when our “mom” for the weekend got up to get something in the kitchen I took one and shoved it in my mouth. She came back and asked me a question about something and I obviously couldn’t answer. My cheeks were bulging like a chipmunk who has too many nuts in his mouth. Then we all just started laughing and tried not to choke on all that sausage.
All in all it was a good weekend. It started off pretty awkward, but by the end we didn’t want to leave. It was hard to see the families living in such a small place with rotting countertops and no seat on the toilet and hardly any running water, but at the same time, their sense of community was something we all should strive for. They were all so willing to do anything and everything for their family members and neighbors. As we left, the kids ran after the bus and everyone was waving and yelling "Sobonana!" which means "See you later!" in Xhosa! The sun was setting behind the house and we were all a little teary-eyed as they slowly got smaller and smaller in the distance. Wow, that was kind of sappy, but it was how we were feeling! Tomorrow I will put up pictures from the weekend, but for now I’m going to get some sleep! Good night all!
We arrived at the township for dinner on Friday night and it was completely awkward in ever sense of the word. They were black, we were white. They were living in very poor condition, we were not. They were from South Africa, we were not. So many differences and we didn’t exactly know how to act which made a very weird evening. They had cooked us a nice dinner which began with tripe and some other kind of nasty thing. Tripe is sheep intestine and the other stuff didn’t look much better than that. It was boiled in a sauce that smelled like something I shouldn’t mention. All of us thought that it was the main course so we tried to stomach as much as we could, but it was so gross! We were then to realize that it was only the appetizer! The main course was much nicer and more edible than round one. J
There are so many stories from the weekend that I could tell you right now, but you might get bored with all of them so I’ll just let you in on a few. First of all, we went to church both Saturday and Sunday with the family which was great. Such a different experience than home, but it was so great to see and hear other believers praising the same God. There was a lot of singing and the pastor even had us introduce ourselves to the whole congregation because obviously we weren’t from around there and everyone was so welcoming!
We also went to a house-warming type party on Saturday to tell the ancestors that the family had moved to a new house and to ask them to protect them in their new location. It was quite the ordeal and once again, we had to eat the tripe. Sick! That night we went around to a couple different taverns in Langa for a well-rounded night life experience in the township. Not something I would probably ever do again, but it was definitely an experience! Because we were Americans, we went home pretty early otherwise it wouldn’t be safe, but we had our own little get-together back at the house which was so much fun! The family that I stayed with was a young mom (31) with 3 kids—2 girls, 12 and 10 and a boy who was 5. The little boy was going strong all night and danced his little legs off! Of course, he quicly became my best friend for the weekend even though I still can’t pronounce his name correctly.
Ok random funny story- Liz can’t handle spicy food and the sausages that we ate for lunch today had a little spice in them. Not too much, but liz really can’t handle much. Anyways, she really couldn’t finish hers so when our “mom” for the weekend got up to get something in the kitchen I took one and shoved it in my mouth. She came back and asked me a question about something and I obviously couldn’t answer. My cheeks were bulging like a chipmunk who has too many nuts in his mouth. Then we all just started laughing and tried not to choke on all that sausage.
All in all it was a good weekend. It started off pretty awkward, but by the end we didn’t want to leave. It was hard to see the families living in such a small place with rotting countertops and no seat on the toilet and hardly any running water, but at the same time, their sense of community was something we all should strive for. They were all so willing to do anything and everything for their family members and neighbors. As we left, the kids ran after the bus and everyone was waving and yelling "Sobonana!" which means "See you later!" in Xhosa! The sun was setting behind the house and we were all a little teary-eyed as they slowly got smaller and smaller in the distance. Wow, that was kind of sappy, but it was how we were feeling! Tomorrow I will put up pictures from the weekend, but for now I’m going to get some sleep! Good night all!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Xenophobia BBall, Rugby, and Jesus
Well I hope I have given you all ample time to read up on your African Human Rights Activists I listed in the last post. I'll forgive you if you didn't look up most of them (I realize time is a precious thing), but if you haven't looked up anything on Desmond Tutu, you should really stop reading this post until you know a little something about him. There will be a quiz so get reading! (just kidding, no quiz, but seriously--read up!)
Ok, enough nagging....I guess I should fill you in on what has been happening for the past week. Well, classes went about as usual although I had 2 tests in Xhosa which went ok. That language is just nothing like English, there are so many consonants next to each other and those 3 different clicks will get ya! At least it wasn't an oral test, I would've been in for it then. There is however and oral exam at the end of the semester which is worth 30% of my grade--yikes!!! Anyways, this weekend there was a basketball tournament that I got signed up for to raise awareness for the Xenophobia attacks that happened last month. I was supposed to play for the East African Society that I joined, but through a serious of events, I wasn't able to play on Saturday, but most of my housemates went and were pretty hilarious to watch. We were the only white people there and played against teams from Angola, Kenya, West Africa and the like. It was pretty intense to say the least.
I left early so that I could go to a friends' highschool rugby game in which they lost :( But it was still a great experience and it reminded me a lot of football back home. To add to that sweet reminder that I will be missing the greatest season for Mizzou football (oh the tears are flowing!!) we went to a pub to watch the South African Rugby team play against New Zeland which was a HUGE deal! Yet another reminder of the commeraderie of fans in football....sigh....you guys will have to keep me posted on how my tigers do, ok? But anyways, it was a bad day for rugby in South Africa because they lost miserably. It was pretty painful too.
I finally got to go to church for the first time since I've been here this Sunday and it was a much needed break from my crazy life at the house. It is always amazing to worship with believers halfway around the world knowing that we believe in the same God. Even though I didn't know the congregation, we all had something in common and that something was eternal. After church, we had a braai (BBQ, they are EXTREMELY popular here) and made some amazing burgers. Gotta love good company and good food on a Sunday afternoon.
That should catch you guys up for the week. Hopefully this week we will finally start our service work. I have a meeting tomorrow with some women in Khayelitsha who are interested in an IT class which is so exciting! I will post in a few days to let you know how this goes, but for now, I should go to sleep...now that I think about it, class starts in 8 hours. Hmmm, nap tomorrow is a must! Goodnight all!
Ok, enough nagging....I guess I should fill you in on what has been happening for the past week. Well, classes went about as usual although I had 2 tests in Xhosa which went ok. That language is just nothing like English, there are so many consonants next to each other and those 3 different clicks will get ya! At least it wasn't an oral test, I would've been in for it then. There is however and oral exam at the end of the semester which is worth 30% of my grade--yikes!!! Anyways, this weekend there was a basketball tournament that I got signed up for to raise awareness for the Xenophobia attacks that happened last month. I was supposed to play for the East African Society that I joined, but through a serious of events, I wasn't able to play on Saturday, but most of my housemates went and were pretty hilarious to watch. We were the only white people there and played against teams from Angola, Kenya, West Africa and the like. It was pretty intense to say the least.
I left early so that I could go to a friends' highschool rugby game in which they lost :( But it was still a great experience and it reminded me a lot of football back home. To add to that sweet reminder that I will be missing the greatest season for Mizzou football (oh the tears are flowing!!) we went to a pub to watch the South African Rugby team play against New Zeland which was a HUGE deal! Yet another reminder of the commeraderie of fans in football....sigh....you guys will have to keep me posted on how my tigers do, ok? But anyways, it was a bad day for rugby in South Africa because they lost miserably. It was pretty painful too.
I finally got to go to church for the first time since I've been here this Sunday and it was a much needed break from my crazy life at the house. It is always amazing to worship with believers halfway around the world knowing that we believe in the same God. Even though I didn't know the congregation, we all had something in common and that something was eternal. After church, we had a braai (BBQ, they are EXTREMELY popular here) and made some amazing burgers. Gotta love good company and good food on a Sunday afternoon.
That should catch you guys up for the week. Hopefully this week we will finally start our service work. I have a meeting tomorrow with some women in Khayelitsha who are interested in an IT class which is so exciting! I will post in a few days to let you know how this goes, but for now, I should go to sleep...now that I think about it, class starts in 8 hours. Hmmm, nap tomorrow is a must! Goodnight all!
Monday, August 11, 2008
You Won't Believe Me.....
Alright guys, you know how crazy stuff always happens to me? Like the time I met the police chief and mayor of St. Louis. Or the time I was in England and just by chance went to the Garter Day Ceremony and saw THE Queen of England. Or the time...well, I wont brag. :) Well buckle your seat belts ladies and gentleman. You're not going to want to miss this.....
Today I went to my Xhosa class as usual (my clicks are getting better, but nothing near good) and there was this guy who said he was in a play tonight. He told us that it was called Speak Truth to Power and there was a panel of people speaking about it later in the afternoon. We just kind of dismissed the comment until we saw a flyer in the hallway about this panel. There were to be a bunch of speakers many who have undergone intense political imprionment and torture. They were all a bunch of African diplomats and political figures who had done and incredible amount for their country and stood up for human rights issues against the face of everyone else. I encourage everyone to google these guys and read their story because these are men of intense courage and have experienced more than I could ever imagine---and never gave up. The speakers were Guillame Ngefa Atondoko (Congo), Samuel Kofi Woods (Liberia), Koigi Wa Wamwere (Kenya), Denis Goldberg (South Africa), Kerry Kennedy (Robert F. Kennedy's daughter), and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
So, we decided to go since Desmond Tutu is such an incredible man. Ok, I can't keep the suspense going much longer because I am about to burst. We listened to the lecture and then I GOT TO MEET DESMOND TUTU!!!! I MET DESMOND TUTU!!!! AHHH!!!! I MET THE DESMOND TUTU!!!!! HE SHOOK MY HAND AND GAVE ME A HUG!!!!! But lest you think that is all......While he was speaking (he is an excellent public speaker I might add) he was very intent on looking people in the eye. It was a room packed full of students and his topic was on how we are the future and we need to be proactive to make a difference in this country. (sidenote- I was sitting in the second row right in front of the podium) Guys, hear me out when I say this, I'm not lying I promise! Desmond Tutu, THE Desmond Tutu looked me straight in the eyes and said, "We have no one except yourself." Meaning- this country has no one to help it move forward except yourself. At me!!! Ahh!!! If that isnt a sign from God I don't know what is! Dad, you're going to have to get on a plane to bring me home from this place cuz I don't want to leave!!! And if that wasn't enough, I met the man!!!
After the panel was over, we followed everyone up to a press conference in which we were the only Americans and most of the people there were high and mighty people of the press. I'm pretty sure we weren't supposed to be there. But afterwards, there was this lady there who was getting tickets to the play tonight for her class and we said we weren't in her class, but would love tickets. So she gave us tickets for the play tonight for free! I just got back from the play and it was incredible!!
So this whole event today was to promote Kerry Kennedy's book "Speak Truth to Power" which is a compilation of stories of Human Rights abuses and how those people overcame such oppostion to make a difference in their community. Yes, I bought the book and had all of those aforementioned people sign it. I MET KERRY KENNEDY AND THE WHOLE AFRICAN DIPLOMAT GANG!!! AHHH!!!! oh yeah, there was a celebrity guest actress in the play tonight who plays the doctor who is HIV positive on ER, I met her too!!! Oh wow, I can't believe it!!
If any of you do not know who Desmond Tutu is, I encourage----wait no, I'm telling you right now to stop reading this blog and read about what he has done. Seriously, it's incredible. Don't even think about coming back to this blog site and reading my next post until you read at least a little about him. Wow! If you don't read any other book for the rest of your life, read "No Future Without Forgivness" I know Grandpa A. is so you should too! Seriously guys, OH MY GOODNESS!!! Well, I've written a lot, and I hope you're not too tired of reading because you all have a lot more to do. Happy Reading, Happy Monday and holy crap, I met Desmond Tutu!!!
p.s.- did i mention that i met Desmond Tutu??!!! AAHHHH!!!!!!
Today I went to my Xhosa class as usual (my clicks are getting better, but nothing near good) and there was this guy who said he was in a play tonight. He told us that it was called Speak Truth to Power and there was a panel of people speaking about it later in the afternoon. We just kind of dismissed the comment until we saw a flyer in the hallway about this panel. There were to be a bunch of speakers many who have undergone intense political imprionment and torture. They were all a bunch of African diplomats and political figures who had done and incredible amount for their country and stood up for human rights issues against the face of everyone else. I encourage everyone to google these guys and read their story because these are men of intense courage and have experienced more than I could ever imagine---and never gave up. The speakers were Guillame Ngefa Atondoko (Congo), Samuel Kofi Woods (Liberia), Koigi Wa Wamwere (Kenya), Denis Goldberg (South Africa), Kerry Kennedy (Robert F. Kennedy's daughter), and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
So, we decided to go since Desmond Tutu is such an incredible man. Ok, I can't keep the suspense going much longer because I am about to burst. We listened to the lecture and then I GOT TO MEET DESMOND TUTU!!!! I MET DESMOND TUTU!!!! AHHH!!!! I MET THE DESMOND TUTU!!!!! HE SHOOK MY HAND AND GAVE ME A HUG!!!!! But lest you think that is all......While he was speaking (he is an excellent public speaker I might add) he was very intent on looking people in the eye. It was a room packed full of students and his topic was on how we are the future and we need to be proactive to make a difference in this country. (sidenote- I was sitting in the second row right in front of the podium) Guys, hear me out when I say this, I'm not lying I promise! Desmond Tutu, THE Desmond Tutu looked me straight in the eyes and said, "We have no one except yourself." Meaning- this country has no one to help it move forward except yourself. At me!!! Ahh!!! If that isnt a sign from God I don't know what is! Dad, you're going to have to get on a plane to bring me home from this place cuz I don't want to leave!!! And if that wasn't enough, I met the man!!!
After the panel was over, we followed everyone up to a press conference in which we were the only Americans and most of the people there were high and mighty people of the press. I'm pretty sure we weren't supposed to be there. But afterwards, there was this lady there who was getting tickets to the play tonight for her class and we said we weren't in her class, but would love tickets. So she gave us tickets for the play tonight for free! I just got back from the play and it was incredible!!
So this whole event today was to promote Kerry Kennedy's book "Speak Truth to Power" which is a compilation of stories of Human Rights abuses and how those people overcame such oppostion to make a difference in their community. Yes, I bought the book and had all of those aforementioned people sign it. I MET KERRY KENNEDY AND THE WHOLE AFRICAN DIPLOMAT GANG!!! AHHH!!!! oh yeah, there was a celebrity guest actress in the play tonight who plays the doctor who is HIV positive on ER, I met her too!!! Oh wow, I can't believe it!!
If any of you do not know who Desmond Tutu is, I encourage----wait no, I'm telling you right now to stop reading this blog and read about what he has done. Seriously, it's incredible. Don't even think about coming back to this blog site and reading my next post until you read at least a little about him. Wow! If you don't read any other book for the rest of your life, read "No Future Without Forgivness" I know Grandpa A. is so you should too! Seriously guys, OH MY GOODNESS!!! Well, I've written a lot, and I hope you're not too tired of reading because you all have a lot more to do. Happy Reading, Happy Monday and holy crap, I met Desmond Tutu!!!
p.s.- did i mention that i met Desmond Tutu??!!! AAHHHH!!!!!!
Friday, August 8, 2008
I LOVE AFRICA!!!
"We're in Africa!"
Many of you know that as soon as I get to a new place, I pretty much fall in love with it and embrace every single aspect of that place. The moment I stepped off of the plane in Paris, I could not stop smiling and was so ready to just be a Parisian for 10 days! I love the challenge of a new culture and figuring out differences and similarities. We can learn so much from others and being thrown smack dab in the middle of things is so exhilarating for me. You feel so helpless and clueless at first, but once you push forward and are proactive in navigating a new place it becomes more and more like home.
Africa has not been this way for me at first. Some of you may know that it’s been hard for me to adjust here and the simple fact that I haven’t adjusted quickly has been hard for me. I have been frustrated, confused, and lonely even though I have so many people around me. I felt like I was just kind of existing here in Africa—I didn’t have that normal excitement and vigor for embracing another culture. It’s definitely something I’ve been praying about and I know many of you back home have been praying for me as well. Well, prayers have been answered, folks! I don’t know what happened, but Tuesday morning I woke up a new person. I was ready to take on the world and was enjoying every single aspect of my community here. The usual “OH MY GOSH! I’M IN AFRICA AND I’M LOVING EVERY SECOND OF IT!!!!” kicked in and I’ve been that way ever since! My housemates definitely noticed a change and I’m so excited! I don’t know why it took me so long to get to this point. Well, I kind of do…God taught me a lot through the past month and I would be happy to share that with you if you shoot me an email. But seriously guys, I am having the time of my life here in Africa now! Every single day (yes, it’s been 4, but that’s 4 more than before) I just get so excited to figure out life here in South Africa. I am thrilled to take on new challenges and to be content with what I’ve been given here in so many different aspects. Wow, it’s crazy!
Wednesday evening we went out to Camps Bay to watch the sunset over the ocean and then get sushi for dinner. I don’t think I stopped smiling the entire evening. I became fast friends with Allison, a girl who lives next door who is pictured above. We ran up and down the beach, took pictures, watched the sunset, and laughed so hard I almost peed my pants. J Thank you guys so much for all your prayers for my situation. Lindsay is back! If you think of it, please continue to pray that I am filled with joy and strength for each new day. I know this isn’t going to last forever without the help of the Lord. Ahhh!!!! I’M IN AFRICA!!!!! J J J
Sunday, August 3, 2008
No Future Without Forgiveness
Entrance to Robben Island
Nelson Mandela's Cell
Yes, I'm in Africa!
Hello All! This weekend has once again been full of interesting historical sights around the Cape Town area. On Saturday we went to District Six which was the most diverse community in Cape Town and during apartheid experienced forced demolition in order that whites could build their houses there. A lot of history and culture was lost during this period and there is an old house turned museum that we visited to get a history of the area. We also went to the Castle of Good Hope (bet ya didn’t think there was a castle in Cape Town!). It’s more of a fort than a castle, but it was still fun to see the oldest building in all of South Africa. We also went to the Slave Lodge that remembers slavery in South Africa as well as other parts of the world. We at lunch at this place called the Tea Room which is in a beautiful garden right outside St. George’s Cathedral (Desmond TuTu’s church). Mom, remember that café because we are going to eat there when you visit. It was beautiful!
Today was the real treat though. Today we boarded a ferry and rode for 25 minutes away from Cape Town to Robben Island. Now, many of you may not know the significance of Robben Island, but it is where THE Nelson Mandela was held in prison for 18 years of his life. We saw his holding cell (number 7 in B block) and the garden he planted in the courtyard. This was the same garden where he hid the papers from his work The Long Road to Freedom. He had a friend smuggle it out when he was about finished that it could be published and given to the world.
Now, you might think that this was all pretty amazing to see this stuff, and it was; but the real highlight of the day was that our tour guide was an ex-prisoner on Robben Island! Every single tour guide on the island used to be an inmate on the island. Don’t worry, we were safe—they are all ex-political prisoners, not convicts of heinous crimes. By choice, they chose to come back and actually live on the island with former wardens (there is a community of about 150 people) and give tours every day. I asked him why he not only was ok with coming back, but chose to go back and live where he was imprisoned for so many years. He simply replied, “There is no future without forgiveness. We wanted peace and democracy and retaliating and remaining angry at those who threw us in prison gets us nowhere.” That was about the point that my jaw dropped to the floor and I had to be shaken back to reality. WHAT?? This ex-prisoner had so much wisdom and such an incredible mindset and outlook on the situation. All I could do was stand in awe and hope that I would be able to do the same thing given those circumstances. Wow….just wow…..chew on that for a bit….
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Movies in Cape Town
Today is a very cold and rainy day and I'm sitting here in my room under my blankets watching the drops hit the window and I thought I would update you on the last few days. Last night, a couple of us decided to go out for dinner and a movie. The Dark Knight opened up on Friday here in South Africa so we were all really excited to see it. After wandering around Cavendish Mall for a while trying to figure out where the movie theater is, we found it. I'm pretty sure they purposefully construct the malls as a labryinth so that you are continually caught in commerce. If you're stuck long enough, you're bound to buy something! Ok, that was a tangent...sorry. Anyways, movies are a bit different here--it's not as easy as you think to just go and buy tickets and sit with your friends. They have ASSIGNED seats! So, in order to sit with the people you came with, you must buy them all together at one time and hope that its in a decent row. It's really not a big deal, just something you have to get used to, but we were all a little shocked when we got there. Apparently this only happens in South Africa too. If you go to a movie in Mozambique, you choose where you sit. The movie was great though! I thought it was going to end several times, but it just kept going. It definately lived up to its name as it was a very dark movie, but it was still very entertaining. For dinner, we went out to a nice italian place and laughed the evening away. For now, I think I will brew my 3rd cup of tea for the day! When there is no central heating and it's cold and rainy, tea is the only thing that will keep you warm!
Monday, July 28, 2008
A Weekend in the Bush
Housemates Around the Campfire (L-R): Marissa, Drew, Elizabeth, me, Marianne, Rachel, Deepa, Alyssa (the last 3 are kids of the program leaders)
This weekend was called our "Expectations Weekend" although none of us knew quite what to expect. We got into our 20 person bus and rode out of Cape Town, 2.5 hours north through the mountains to the absolute middle of nowhere (aka- the bush). It was absolutely gorgeous! Mountains, vineyards, dirt fields, rivers.....you name it, the bush had it. Most of us expected to sleep in tents (we were told to bring lots of warm clothes for the evening) and to fend off lions, elephants, etc.....Oh how American we were! We ended up staying at nice lodge that had a very camp feel. We slept in cabins, hung out in the lodge and had amazing meals prepared for us. If this was roughing it in the bush--we were treated like royalty!
Basically, it was a weekend for us to bond together as housemates and a service-learners. We had meetings where we discussed what the program looks like, what our objectives were, what exactly we were doing for our projects. When we weren't in meetings, we did team building activities, climbing walls, and sat around camp fires under the stars. Wow, the stars here are absolutely amazing! It's a little disorienting looking up and not seeing the same stars as back in the Northern Hemisphere, but I'm slowly learning the constellations here.
As many of you know, there is a service component to my study abroad program. I am required to spend at least 160 hours in service work and my capstone project is a report of the sociological research findings within my service. I have talked a little about Khayalitsha before, but now I am officially going to work in that township at a SHAWCO community center. They have a strong need for an IT class for women and no one has stepped up to the challenge. Although I came here expecting to work in an orphanage with kids, there is a huge need for this class and it would be selfish for me to ignore that plea just because I want to work with children. I will still be working with kids once or twice a week by helping them learn how to read English, but that is apart from my research. I'll write more later about what I will actually be doing within the IT center and how I will construct my social research once I actually figure that out. My hope is that I (along with my housemate, Marianne) will be able to give these women the skills and more importantly the confidence to go out in the workforce and get a job. We'll see how it actually shapes up! Please keep it in your prayers if you think about it. Thanks so much!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
First Week of Classes...oh wait...class
Well, today I wrapped up my first week of classes at the University of Cape Town. If you will remember correctly, I have 2 classes and 1 seminar. My first class is on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8m which is a bit of a chore to get to on time. You see, I live on lower campus and the class is on the far end of upper campus. These campuses are called "upper" and "lower" because they are literally up and down the side of the mountain. It takes about 30 minutes of steep incline followed by about 100 stairs just to get to the building and then 4 more flights of stairs to get to the classroom. Talk about an early morning cardiovascular workout! It's barely light when we leave the house at 7.30 (remember that it is winter here in the southern hemisphere) and making it up that hill is definately a challenge. BUT, by the end of the semester I will have some killer leg muscles so it all works out. Now, those 2 8am classes that I had this week were all for nothing because the teacher never showed up. I guess that happens a lot here.... Hopefully she will be here next week!
My Xhosa teacher showed up every single day to teach us the clicks of the tribal language. "De clicks are de spice of de language!" That's a direct quote! He is a really great teacher who talks very slowly and pronounces everything many times so we can understand. Even though it's going to be a hard class, I think I'm really going to enjoy it.
Tomorrow my housemates and I are headed to the African bush in High Africa. I don't really know where that is or what we will be doing, but we were told to pack warm clothes for the evening. Hopefully I will meet some real African bushmen! How cool would that be? As for now, I think I will get some sleep. I don't know if I'll get much in the bush! :)
My Xhosa teacher showed up every single day to teach us the clicks of the tribal language. "De clicks are de spice of de language!" That's a direct quote! He is a really great teacher who talks very slowly and pronounces everything many times so we can understand. Even though it's going to be a hard class, I think I'm really going to enjoy it.
Tomorrow my housemates and I are headed to the African bush in High Africa. I don't really know where that is or what we will be doing, but we were told to pack warm clothes for the evening. Hopefully I will meet some real African bushmen! How cool would that be? As for now, I think I will get some sleep. I don't know if I'll get much in the bush! :)
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Townships
On Sunday, my service-learning group spent all day touring around 2 different townships. For those of you who don't know, a township is an area of land that the government of South Africa forced all coloured and black people to move to under the apartheid regime. (yes, there is a difference between black and coloured here, you should look it up) It is the essence of poverty here in Cape Town. You know when you see all those little tin and cardboard shacks all shoved together in rows on tv? They all look like they could fall over with any sort of wind, nevermind leaning up against them, right? Well, that's what these townships looked like and that's where I'll be working this semester.
The first one that we went to was Langa and our guide grew up there so he knew all the ins and outs of the community. We were able to go into people's houses and play with the kids there, I even bought some jewelry from a really sweet lady. It was so interesting to see all the people there out playing around and having a good time. We also went into a shebeen which is where they brew home made beer in the townships. Now, there are certainly no federal regulations for any of this and I'm pretty sure it's illegal, BUT we went into one man's little hut and had some true South African beer. I don't think it gets any more authentic than that! It was in this old tin bucket and we each passed it around taking a sip each time it came to us. Now, I don't like beer in the States, and this stuff was a milky color and really grainy--DISGUSTING!! I actually faked my last two sips because it was so gross, but I tried it! Not many Americans can say that they have had homemade (in a shack no less!) South African beer.
The next place we went was Khayalitsha and it is where over 1/4 of Cape Town's population lives. That's over 1 million people living in tiny shacks for as far as the eye can see. It was really hard to just look over that vast expanse of poverty and to realize that this wasn't just the result of a social racism--this was the result of a planned community by the Afrikaaners in the 1950's. That's what broke my heart, that an entire political plan was based entirely on race and if you did not have pure white skin you were automatically less human. Sick! I know I'm only one person, but if I can change the minds of even a few blacks in the community or help a few people realize that not all white people are evil, then I can consider myself successful. Anyways, that's what has been going on recently. I've started school on Monday, but I will have a post about that later in the week. Hope you all are enjoying the summer!
P.S.- Enjoy the pictures!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Full Week
Wow! This week has been absolutely crazy! I've had orientation meetings every single day of the week and finished yesterday with registering for classes which was an adventure in and of itself. The way they do things here in Africa is a bit different than the "click and drag your classes" method we have at Mizzou. We started off on upper campus in a long que to get a form, then we had to stand in another que to hand in the form once we'd filled it out (the form was our class list). Then we had to walk to middle campus to get our computer passwords and back up to upper campus to register the password. Then to the student center to register for the gym and clubs I joined. Keep in mind, most of this is standing in long lines. The last line was for our student ID which took at good 45 minutes. Whew! Lots and lots of lines!
But, good news! I'm now registered for Social Research Methods (in Cape Town context) and Xhosa (yes, I am taking the clicky language). I also have another seminar that will happen once a week called Understanding Cape Town. I also registered for 3 clubs--Mountain and Ski Club, East African Society, and Wine Culture. I know I won't have time to be super involved in all of them, but at least I can go to a couple of the meetings and maybe a few events--especially with the Mountain and Ski Club.
We also visited a couple of the townships that I can potentially work in, and now I just have to choose which one. It was incredible to see the conditions that these people live in. There is one township called Khayalitsha which is home to over 1 million people and they all literally live in tin and cardboard houses. We stopped on this one bridge and literally, for as far as you could see, there were these tiny little shacks crammed into the tiny lot of land the governement gave them. We are going on another tour of the township tour tomorrow so I will write more about it then, but for now I am off to cook some dinner!
But, good news! I'm now registered for Social Research Methods (in Cape Town context) and Xhosa (yes, I am taking the clicky language). I also have another seminar that will happen once a week called Understanding Cape Town. I also registered for 3 clubs--Mountain and Ski Club, East African Society, and Wine Culture. I know I won't have time to be super involved in all of them, but at least I can go to a couple of the meetings and maybe a few events--especially with the Mountain and Ski Club.
We also visited a couple of the townships that I can potentially work in, and now I just have to choose which one. It was incredible to see the conditions that these people live in. There is one township called Khayalitsha which is home to over 1 million people and they all literally live in tin and cardboard houses. We stopped on this one bridge and literally, for as far as you could see, there were these tiny little shacks crammed into the tiny lot of land the governement gave them. We are going on another tour of the township tour tomorrow so I will write more about it then, but for now I am off to cook some dinner!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Fast Facts
So I thought that it might be helpful to post a few facts about South Africa, Cape Town itself, and the University of Cape Town where I'm studying (sort of, more on that later) since this is where I'll be living for the next 5 months. Enjoy!
South Africa
Population: 79.5% Black African
9.6% White
8.9% Coloured
2.5% Indian/Asian
Languages: There are 11 national languages. Zulu, Xhosa, and Afrikaans are the top three; English is 5th on the list.
AIDS prevelance is 21.5%
Capital: There are 3-- Cape Town (legislative), Pretoria (administrative), Bloemfontein (judicial)
President: Thabo Mbeki
Cape Town
Population size: 3.5 million people
Attractions: It is the only city that has an entire floral kingdom (Cape Floral Kingdom) in its borders.
Table Mountian
Cape of Good Hope
Numerous Scenic Beaches
Climate: Mediterranean
UCT: #1 University in not only South Africa, but the entire continent of Africa; ranked 200th in the world.
The world's first successful transplant was by doctors at UCT's medical facilites
Over 101 nationalities represented annually (most prominent=Zimbabwe)
Hopefully this gives a little bit better picture of where I am right now. I'm sure there will be much more information to come as the semester progresses. I hope you all are enjoying the summer weather in the States! It was about 50 degrees and raining all day today--yuck! I can hardly complain....I'M LIVING IN AFRICA!!!!! :)
South Africa
Population: 79.5% Black African
9.6% White
8.9% Coloured
2.5% Indian/Asian
Languages: There are 11 national languages. Zulu, Xhosa, and Afrikaans are the top three; English is 5th on the list.
AIDS prevelance is 21.5%
Capital: There are 3-- Cape Town (legislative), Pretoria (administrative), Bloemfontein (judicial)
President: Thabo Mbeki
Cape Town
Population size: 3.5 million people
Attractions: It is the only city that has an entire floral kingdom (Cape Floral Kingdom) in its borders.
Table Mountian
Cape of Good Hope
Numerous Scenic Beaches
Climate: Mediterranean
UCT: #1 University in not only South Africa, but the entire continent of Africa; ranked 200th in the world.
The world's first successful transplant was by doctors at UCT's medical facilites
Over 101 nationalities represented annually (most prominent=Zimbabwe)
Hopefully this gives a little bit better picture of where I am right now. I'm sure there will be much more information to come as the semester progresses. I hope you all are enjoying the summer weather in the States! It was about 50 degrees and raining all day today--yuck! I can hardly complain....I'M LIVING IN AFRICA!!!!! :)
Monday, July 14, 2008
A Day Full of Views
Today was long bus tour day for all of the international students at the University of Cape Town. We piled into 9 coach busses and headed all around this glorious city! Our first stop was a scenic overlook of the Cape Bay where we had muffins and juice. [sidenote: muffins with cheddar cheese on top is not only common here, it is expected! new taste sensation: 8.5] Anyways, we drove around downtown learning about the history of the city and country as a whole. The next 2 stops were places that I have visited before, but they both still took my break away a second time.
Boulders Beach: Home of the Cape Penguins! As many of you know, penguins are my favorite animal and seeing them crawl around the beach was so much fun! We could not have asked for a more beautiful day to visit too--the sun was shining brightly (yes mom, I wore lots of sunscreen) and there was not a cloud in the sky. All the penguins were out and about scuttling along in the sand and throwing their bodies into the waves. They are hilarious little creatures!
Cape Point/Cape of Good Hope: OH.MY.GOODNESS! I wish I could upload all of my pictures from this place. Probably one of the most beautiful places on the earth thus far. The blues and greens are astounding! It takes about 30 minutes to drive from the park entrance out to point and then from there you must take a rather trecherous hiking trail out to either point. Today, I hiked only out to the Cape of Good Hope which is where the settlers came and landed for the first time on South African soil. It was actually called the Cape of Storms by Vasco de Gamma, but his king told him to rename so people would venture down there again, thus Cape of Good Hope came about. Anyways, we were also told not to go down to the beach because there were strong rip currents, but along the trail out to the point there was a rather inviting staircase that led down to the beach....naturally, with my love for the beach AND adventure, my housemates liz, drew and I decided we should go for a little detour. We climbed the rickety staircase down the side of the mountain to the water's edge, took our shoes off and ran through the sand down to dip our toes in the ocean. GLORIOUS!! Hopefully these pictures will give you just a glimpse of the magificent beauty that is on this south-western most tip of the whole of Africa. We still had to make it back to the bus in time so after dipping our toes in, we went scurried back up the side of the mountain and continued out to the very tip of the Cape of Good Hope and just sat enjoying God's beauty. I love going to new places in different parts of the world and admiring God's handiwork. It is vastly different and meticulous all at the same time, but it still screams of a greater being, only someone so infinately wise as our God could design something this beautiful and full of variety. I am simply in awe!
Boulders Beach: Home of the Cape Penguins! As many of you know, penguins are my favorite animal and seeing them crawl around the beach was so much fun! We could not have asked for a more beautiful day to visit too--the sun was shining brightly (yes mom, I wore lots of sunscreen) and there was not a cloud in the sky. All the penguins were out and about scuttling along in the sand and throwing their bodies into the waves. They are hilarious little creatures!
Cape Point/Cape of Good Hope: OH.MY.GOODNESS! I wish I could upload all of my pictures from this place. Probably one of the most beautiful places on the earth thus far. The blues and greens are astounding! It takes about 30 minutes to drive from the park entrance out to point and then from there you must take a rather trecherous hiking trail out to either point. Today, I hiked only out to the Cape of Good Hope which is where the settlers came and landed for the first time on South African soil. It was actually called the Cape of Storms by Vasco de Gamma, but his king told him to rename so people would venture down there again, thus Cape of Good Hope came about. Anyways, we were also told not to go down to the beach because there were strong rip currents, but along the trail out to the point there was a rather inviting staircase that led down to the beach....naturally, with my love for the beach AND adventure, my housemates liz, drew and I decided we should go for a little detour. We climbed the rickety staircase down the side of the mountain to the water's edge, took our shoes off and ran through the sand down to dip our toes in the ocean. GLORIOUS!! Hopefully these pictures will give you just a glimpse of the magificent beauty that is on this south-western most tip of the whole of Africa. We still had to make it back to the bus in time so after dipping our toes in, we went scurried back up the side of the mountain and continued out to the very tip of the Cape of Good Hope and just sat enjoying God's beauty. I love going to new places in different parts of the world and admiring God's handiwork. It is vastly different and meticulous all at the same time, but it still screams of a greater being, only someone so infinately wise as our God could design something this beautiful and full of variety. I am simply in awe!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Goodbye States, Hello South Africa!
Hey Everyone! I arrived safely here in Cape Town, South Africa on Wednesday afternoon. Sorry for all of those wondering if I ever made it here. I had limited internet access at the hotel I was staying at for CIEE orientation and wasn't able to access this site. Anyways, I'm all moved into my house now and have full internet access! I live in a house on lower campus with all of the other service-learning students (all American) and a house representative who is a UCT student. Her name is Vavi and she is from Zimbabwe. That means that all together there are 8 girls and 1 guy living in our house. Poor Drew. :( We all have our own rooms and share 4 bathrooms so it's not a bad set up at all.
Cape Town is beautiful this time of year, even in the dead of winter! There is nothing as majestic as waking up in the morning and looking out your window to see Devils Peak shining above the clouds--simply glorious! I haven't done a lot of seeing the town yet because we have been stuck in orientation meetings all day, but we did go out for a traditional African dinner last night complete with African dance lessons! I can't dance back in the states, let alone Africa! Let's just say it was a great time with some hilarious memories.
Tomorrow we have the day off so my house mates and I are going to go shopping for some much needed household appliances (ie-coffee pot!!!) oh yeah....and food. :) There seem to be plenty of coffee shops around too so I think I will be just fine. Also, there is a frozen yogurt place just down the street so I can live with all the comforts of home....except heating..... As you may have guessed, I'm in the Southern Hemisphere which means its winter here and only a few buildings have heat. My room has a heating pad on the wall which is about 1.5ft by 1.5 ft and takes about an hour to "heat" up which is more of a warm than hot. If the sunshine is out, its not too bad at 50-60 degrees, but when you have no place to warm up, it's cold all the time Oh well, I only have a month and half more to be cold, then I'll be warm again.
Well, there's plenty more to write about, but we'll save that for another day. Until then, stay warm in the summer sunshine for me! Miss you all!
Cape Town is beautiful this time of year, even in the dead of winter! There is nothing as majestic as waking up in the morning and looking out your window to see Devils Peak shining above the clouds--simply glorious! I haven't done a lot of seeing the town yet because we have been stuck in orientation meetings all day, but we did go out for a traditional African dinner last night complete with African dance lessons! I can't dance back in the states, let alone Africa! Let's just say it was a great time with some hilarious memories.
Tomorrow we have the day off so my house mates and I are going to go shopping for some much needed household appliances (ie-coffee pot!!!) oh yeah....and food. :) There seem to be plenty of coffee shops around too so I think I will be just fine. Also, there is a frozen yogurt place just down the street so I can live with all the comforts of home....except heating..... As you may have guessed, I'm in the Southern Hemisphere which means its winter here and only a few buildings have heat. My room has a heating pad on the wall which is about 1.5ft by 1.5 ft and takes about an hour to "heat" up which is more of a warm than hot. If the sunshine is out, its not too bad at 50-60 degrees, but when you have no place to warm up, it's cold all the time Oh well, I only have a month and half more to be cold, then I'll be warm again.
Well, there's plenty more to write about, but we'll save that for another day. Until then, stay warm in the summer sunshine for me! Miss you all!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Trial Run
Hello all- This is just a trial run to figure out how this blog works. The next post should be from Cape Town, South Africa! Yay!! Thanks for visiting!
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