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!