Friday, June 13, 2008
Coming home...
So this is my last blog from South Africa. It has been an amazing experience. I am so glad that I got the opportunity to be here and meet all the people that we have meet in the last 3 weeks. Each and every one of the people that we have met has changed my life in some way. I am going to miss this place and every one here. I know that I will be coming back to the United States with a different perspective on life back home. I am so grateful that the only thing that really went wrong on the trip was that I lost my cell phone at the game reserve. I can't believe it is coming to a close. I am a little scared about coming back because it is going to be tough to explain all that I have seen and experienced over here. But to be honest I am up for the challenge. Apart of me feels like this whole experience has not totally sunk in yet and it will hit me when I get home. But from having a conversation with a good friend that I have met over here, I am ready for this to happen and deal with it as it comes. The conversation I had last night made me realize that I have a lot of opportunity and just need to experience failure and not be scared of it. I feel like I have known this stuff but I just haven't believed it. I feel like for someone else to tell you this stuff is great to hear because I feel like this doesn't happen all that often. I also think that we have a tough time giving postive affirmation to others back home. But every one is just so open and honest and genuine here. It has been amazing. I just don't know exactly what more to say about this experience except thank you so much to every one that I have met here and Aaron for giving me this opportunity to be here as well. Every one here will be missed but I am excited to see everyone back home. Thank you to every one that has made this possible.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Not being in the township anymore
We have been out of the township for the last couple of days and it has been a interesting thought process. Going from where people barely have running water to a place where we have everything. It is crazy especially since one of the first things we did was go on a wine tasting tour. The places where the wine tasting took place in places that were way richer then the township. It was just a really hard contrast between the township and the area where the wine tasting took place. It was crazy how much money the vineyard places have. Their houses were big and had some really fancy cars. So it was definitely a great way to contrast what we just went through. It was really tough to think about though because we went from living with nothing and then we went to sipping wine at extravagent house/places. I really felt torn inside about buying some things at the vineyards and being at these places but I have a feeling this is what I am going to go through when I get home and have to see all of the things and amneties I have. It will be an interesting contrast. Especially since I will only be home for like 2 weeks and then I will be off to Venezuela. So, I am excited to see the contrast from here in South Africa, home and the Venezuela. Back to the wine tours. It was great to see the vineyards and see home they grow the grapes and how they process everything. We also learned how to taste it, look at how new it is and tell if it is a good wine. I was really intriged with what the guy we had to say about all this. It was a great time.
The next day some of us got up at 5 in the morning to go shark diving. Darn that was early but it was so worth it. First they gave us breakfast and went through what we needed to know about things so we don't get hurt. After that we took a 45 minute boat ride to a place called shark island. Supposedly it is the place where they film all the shark documentaries. It was an amazing boat ride. The water was so beautiful and clear. When we got to the place I kind of started getting nervous because it was really going to happen and they told us that some of the sharks range from 3 meters to 5 meters, (9 to 15 feet). This is kind of intimidating since you are stuck in a cage and they put the food right next to the cage. I was also a little nervous that the water was going to be super cold but it ended up not being that bad. It was about 15 degrees Celsius which is about 65 degrees Farnheit. We got to see a lot of sharks and swim with a lot of sharks. It was a great experience. It was amazing and really worth it. But the best part of the trip was the fact that we got to see whales on the way back. We saw a mother and a baby humpback whale. It was so cool. Then we got back and they fed us. It was a fun day and a great time. I would reccomend it to anyone.
On Monday, we went to class and then we went to the market. I feel like I spent a lot of money at the market. I really felt guilty spending so much money especially after the whole township experience. I just don't know how I am going to get over this when I get home but I feel like I will be able to adjust. I also feel like I am going to feel weird spending a lot of money back home especially since it seems like a lot of things here are so cheap. I think I just have to remember that we are very fortunate for the things I have and try and do my part to still help out as much as I can. It is like what I learned in the 4000 level class, "think globally but act locally." I really feel like this makes more sense to me since this is my first abroad experience. It has been a great experience and I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to travel with.
The next day some of us got up at 5 in the morning to go shark diving. Darn that was early but it was so worth it. First they gave us breakfast and went through what we needed to know about things so we don't get hurt. After that we took a 45 minute boat ride to a place called shark island. Supposedly it is the place where they film all the shark documentaries. It was an amazing boat ride. The water was so beautiful and clear. When we got to the place I kind of started getting nervous because it was really going to happen and they told us that some of the sharks range from 3 meters to 5 meters, (9 to 15 feet). This is kind of intimidating since you are stuck in a cage and they put the food right next to the cage. I was also a little nervous that the water was going to be super cold but it ended up not being that bad. It was about 15 degrees Celsius which is about 65 degrees Farnheit. We got to see a lot of sharks and swim with a lot of sharks. It was a great experience. It was amazing and really worth it. But the best part of the trip was the fact that we got to see whales on the way back. We saw a mother and a baby humpback whale. It was so cool. Then we got back and they fed us. It was a fun day and a great time. I would reccomend it to anyone.
On Monday, we went to class and then we went to the market. I feel like I spent a lot of money at the market. I really felt guilty spending so much money especially after the whole township experience. I just don't know how I am going to get over this when I get home but I feel like I will be able to adjust. I also feel like I am going to feel weird spending a lot of money back home especially since it seems like a lot of things here are so cheap. I think I just have to remember that we are very fortunate for the things I have and try and do my part to still help out as much as I can. It is like what I learned in the 4000 level class, "think globally but act locally." I really feel like this makes more sense to me since this is my first abroad experience. It has been a great experience and I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to travel with.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Still trying to collect my thoughts part 2...
Ok, I have been trying to think of what exactly I want to say about last weeks experiences and speakers for the last couple of nights. I just don't know exactly what to say. I feel like last week was an amazing experience and I have learned so much for last week but I don't feel like it has all sunk in yet. There was so much that happened last week. I feel like I just can’t grasp all that happened. It seemed like it went by so fast. So, I will try and hit some of the highlights or things that stuck out. Last Tuesday we saw a group called Siyaya. They were amazing. They sing and dance and do performances around HIV and AIDS. They are actually going on a tour of the US and are going to be in Minneapolis from July 1 through July 6. I would recommend them to anyone. That same day we went to an HIV support group at the JL Zwane center. It was interesting to sit in on their group and hear their stories. It is really amazing how they have overcome the stigma of speaking out about HIV/AIDS. They asked us a lot of questions about the US and the HIV situation back home and what we know about HIV/AIDS. It was pretty cool that they asked us a lot of questions because it seemed like they were interested in us and why we were there. Also, they gave us the opportunity to ask question to the group. This really made me feel welcome into the group and really accepted to be there.
Wednesday we ended up going to a lady name Pricilla's house and made some sandwich for her and her 11 kids. We also brought her kids some toys. The cost of the meal we made was about 210 Rand, which converted into dollars would be 30 dollars. That is crazy to feed 12 people one meal over here is 30 dollars. Sometimes back home that is the cost of one of my meals. I just feel like this is something tough to grasp and is going to affect me the most when I get back home and go out to eat. The kids really liked the toys we brought them. They were so excited and used them right away. We went outside and played with them. It was so great to see the whole family smile and have fun and not worry about things for an hour. They were so grateful for the little we did. It was tough to leave because we all wanted to do so much more. We even talked about trying to help her out more but don't exactly know how. Hopefully we will be able to figure something out. It was great to see Pricilla and her kids laugh, smile and have fun. That afternoon we went back to the JL Zwane center and worked with the kids there in the after school program. This program is for the kids that go to the local schools to help them with their homework and just have fun with them before they have to go home. We helped them with their homework and played games with them. It was so much fun and great. The kids even invited us over to sit by them while they were eating. It was so cool to just sit and have fun with them and have them just relax and have fun for a bit with out having them dealing with what they have to deal with everyday. Some of them don't realize the hardships they are going through but they really don't have anything to compare it too. But was a lot of fun to help those kids out for a couple of hours to have fun.
On Thursday, we ended up going to visit some refugees that were forced out of their homes from xenophobic attacks. It was so interesting to see that with being forced from their homes that they were will still high spirited an were just really accepting for what they have. We sat around and talked with them and hung out with their kids. They kids had really great spirits and were having a good time with us. I got hugs from about 4 kids that day for just hanging and playing with them. It was such a great experience to hang out with them , play with the kids and hear the stories of the people that this happened to. This is because all of this is currently happening right now here in South Africa. It is crazy that these people are getting run out of there home because they are foriegners and are not from South Africa. The South African people think that these people are taking their jobs and so they feel the need to run them out of town. It is just really interesting to see this and experience this first hand. After this we went back to the JL Zwane center to work with the afterschool program. So, it was another day working with the kids on homework. It was a fun time once again. The kids are just amazing. They have a lot of fun and are so willing to learn. They are just so eager to learn, have fun and interact with people. It is so amazing these kids have a great insight on life and we can learn so much from them. They just have fun with what they have. I mean some of them just play with tops, metal rods with wheels on the bottom, reading an old book and some other toys that we wouldn't even think of. I think that I learned a lot from these kids and the experience of working with them and I think they were super excited of having us there to help out. I am sure the instructors were excited to have more help as well. It was definitely alot of fun and a great experience.
On Friday, we went to a school that works with kids that are mentally and physically handicapped. First off, when we walked through the school all the kids were excited to see us. They gave us high-fives, peace signs and thumbs up. I felt like I was kind of like a celebritiy because the kids just flocked to us. It was amazing to see these kids faces just light up. So we introduced ourselves and why we were there. Then their choir sang for us. It was a lot of fun. They had amazing voices. They were so vibrant and full of life. After this whole introduction, we went to different places to clean up and help out with the school. TJ, Brian and I went to clean up the basketball court. There was a crap ton of glass on the court. So we decided to sweep the court and put it in a bag. After we got the whole court cleaned up we got to play a little bit with the kids on the court. It was so exciting to see their faces light up even more since we were playing with them. After all this happened, they feed us. I was amazed that they feed us because of the resources they have. When we were leaving all of the kids wanted to take pictures with us. One of the kids even asked me if I would just pose and she would take a picture of me with her phone. It was so amazing to see these kids light up and smile and have fun. It just seems like a lot of people really are excited for the little things in life and that is something I really need to learn. I feel like this would be something that a lot of people could take away from the people here. People would probably a lot happy in life. So, this is something that I am definitely going to take away. Well, that is it for tonight. Next blog, I will try and touch on the speakers and my experiences shark-diving. Cheers.
Wednesday we ended up going to a lady name Pricilla's house and made some sandwich for her and her 11 kids. We also brought her kids some toys. The cost of the meal we made was about 210 Rand, which converted into dollars would be 30 dollars. That is crazy to feed 12 people one meal over here is 30 dollars. Sometimes back home that is the cost of one of my meals. I just feel like this is something tough to grasp and is going to affect me the most when I get back home and go out to eat. The kids really liked the toys we brought them. They were so excited and used them right away. We went outside and played with them. It was so great to see the whole family smile and have fun and not worry about things for an hour. They were so grateful for the little we did. It was tough to leave because we all wanted to do so much more. We even talked about trying to help her out more but don't exactly know how. Hopefully we will be able to figure something out. It was great to see Pricilla and her kids laugh, smile and have fun. That afternoon we went back to the JL Zwane center and worked with the kids there in the after school program. This program is for the kids that go to the local schools to help them with their homework and just have fun with them before they have to go home. We helped them with their homework and played games with them. It was so much fun and great. The kids even invited us over to sit by them while they were eating. It was so cool to just sit and have fun with them and have them just relax and have fun for a bit with out having them dealing with what they have to deal with everyday. Some of them don't realize the hardships they are going through but they really don't have anything to compare it too. But was a lot of fun to help those kids out for a couple of hours to have fun.
On Thursday, we ended up going to visit some refugees that were forced out of their homes from xenophobic attacks. It was so interesting to see that with being forced from their homes that they were will still high spirited an were just really accepting for what they have. We sat around and talked with them and hung out with their kids. They kids had really great spirits and were having a good time with us. I got hugs from about 4 kids that day for just hanging and playing with them. It was such a great experience to hang out with them , play with the kids and hear the stories of the people that this happened to. This is because all of this is currently happening right now here in South Africa. It is crazy that these people are getting run out of there home because they are foriegners and are not from South Africa. The South African people think that these people are taking their jobs and so they feel the need to run them out of town. It is just really interesting to see this and experience this first hand. After this we went back to the JL Zwane center to work with the afterschool program. So, it was another day working with the kids on homework. It was a fun time once again. The kids are just amazing. They have a lot of fun and are so willing to learn. They are just so eager to learn, have fun and interact with people. It is so amazing these kids have a great insight on life and we can learn so much from them. They just have fun with what they have. I mean some of them just play with tops, metal rods with wheels on the bottom, reading an old book and some other toys that we wouldn't even think of. I think that I learned a lot from these kids and the experience of working with them and I think they were super excited of having us there to help out. I am sure the instructors were excited to have more help as well. It was definitely alot of fun and a great experience.
On Friday, we went to a school that works with kids that are mentally and physically handicapped. First off, when we walked through the school all the kids were excited to see us. They gave us high-fives, peace signs and thumbs up. I felt like I was kind of like a celebritiy because the kids just flocked to us. It was amazing to see these kids faces just light up. So we introduced ourselves and why we were there. Then their choir sang for us. It was a lot of fun. They had amazing voices. They were so vibrant and full of life. After this whole introduction, we went to different places to clean up and help out with the school. TJ, Brian and I went to clean up the basketball court. There was a crap ton of glass on the court. So we decided to sweep the court and put it in a bag. After we got the whole court cleaned up we got to play a little bit with the kids on the court. It was so exciting to see their faces light up even more since we were playing with them. After all this happened, they feed us. I was amazed that they feed us because of the resources they have. When we were leaving all of the kids wanted to take pictures with us. One of the kids even asked me if I would just pose and she would take a picture of me with her phone. It was so amazing to see these kids light up and smile and have fun. It just seems like a lot of people really are excited for the little things in life and that is something I really need to learn. I feel like this would be something that a lot of people could take away from the people here. People would probably a lot happy in life. So, this is something that I am definitely going to take away. Well, that is it for tonight. Next blog, I will try and touch on the speakers and my experiences shark-diving. Cheers.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Picture Blog
A place we stopped on our Gugulethu township tour.
The same places as above.
Overlooking the winelands.
Me with a live Cheetah. Cheetahs have been my favorite animals for a long time. It was a lot of fun.
One of many expensive cars we saw in Cape Town
One of the kids we met on our tour of the township of Gugulethu
Inside of a shanty in Gugulethu
Some of the kids we worked with at the JLZwane after school program.
Some of the supplies we brought to help the JLZwane Center
A lady outside of her shanty doing laundry
Here is a penguin we saw on the same excursion we saw the seal.
Here is a picture of a couple kids on the street of Gugulethu.
Here is a picture of the Township of Gugulethu
Here is a seal we saw last week on one of our excursions
I just think it is really interesting to compare and contrast all the different things I have done and experienced. Especially since Cape Town and Gugulethu are just about 5 minutes away from each other and you go from a Porcshe to kids playing with a plastic wheel on the end of a metal rod. It is just crazy. Hope you like some of my pictures.
Still trying to collect my thoughts, part 1...
So this last week we stayed in homestays in a township in Gugulethu. Let me say that we are all very fortunate back home in some ways. One main way is the living conditions we have. My host mom, who hosted Aaron and I, had a shanty about the size of apartment. She lived by herself so she had plenty of room for herself but some families of about 4 or 5 or even 12 live is the same size places. The outside of the place looked like a shack but on the inside it was nicer than I expected by the outside of the place. I was fortunate to have a place that had running hot water so I could shower but we had to make sure the geyser (hot water heater) was on for the water to be hot. The next thing about the living conditions that sticks out to me is the fact that we have to lock ourselves into the house. Not just the front door but a gate that was in front of the door. Every shanty had this same setup. It was interesting at first but after they explained to us that there is a lot of crime, we realized that it needed to happen. That is something we definitely don't have to do back at home. At home we can leave our cars running at the gas station and leave our doors unlocked even when we aren't home. I feel like that locking yourself in your place is tough to grasp because I am so safe at home but we needed to do it since there is quite a bit of crime. They don't even stop at stop signs at night because a carjacking could happen. It was definitely an interesting situation. Also, if we stepped outside someone would have to be with us just in case someone came over to talk to us. The security in the township and in the homestay was interesting to say the least. We did have the basic necessities to survive for the 3 nights but it did cold at night but it wasn't that bad since I am use to winters in Minnesota. Ok so enough with the living situation since it is kind of hard to explain in words.
On to my host mom and the other host families. I met my host mom on Sunday when we went to church at the JLZwane Center. She came over to me and hi and knew who I was. It was crazy because she just knew who I was. I was kind of freaked out at first but then she explained that she was my host mom and we talked a little. Then on Tuesday we met at another host families house for supper. It was amazing. They cooked this amazing meal for us. It was so much food. There was so much different types of food. It was great. After the meal, they started a dance party in the house and they started singing and just having a grand ol time. It was so much fun. I danced with a couple of host moms and got some of them up to dance. Everyone just loves music and having fun. It is great because they were so welcoming with all this. They took care of us with a meal and then had a fun time afterwards. The were so inviting and crazy. They really made us feel at home. After the dinner and dance party we went home with our host mom and her friend Unathi. We got home and started listening to music and talking. Also, she showed us around the place and told us not to answer the door to anyone except the person that was suppose to come pick us up. She showed us were all the food was and how to use everything. She was so warm and welcoming. I was really nervous when I heard we were doing homestays but I felt very comfortable the first night in her home. She was really excited to have us. We eventually ended up drinking some Milo, which the best explanation of it is a hot chocolate but coffee and good for you. It was really good and made me tried and ready for bed. Every night we were at the home stay we basically started opening up to each other and by the last night we heard a lot about one another. I talked with Unathi the last night and listened to her story and she was so open and honest with me. It was amazing. I don't feel like I should put it online but it was great to get to know her and my host mom Nelly. They were both amazing. Nelly even gave up her bed for me and Aaron. She actually slept on a mattress in her spare room. It was so generous. I felt bad for taking her bed but that is just one example of her making her house our house and welcoming us into it. Also, we drank Milo every night and had a music/dance party. It was so much fun. I will definitely miss both of them and I am glad that they were brought into my life. The really touched my life and showed me that even though don't have as much as we do back home they love life and are really happy. Also, they are both really involved with church that at night we would watch some African Gospel Choir stuff and it really impressed me and made me take a look at my faith and strengthen it. It was a lot of fun and I really miss them. It was hard to leave because they were so nice and so much fun. Also, it was tough coming back into Mowbry because we have so much stuff at the places we are living at and they live in a small shanty. Also, it is weird to go out and spend a lot of money out on the town and look back at where we just came from. I mean they don't have a lot of money and I have so much. I wish there was so much more we could do for them. This going to be the first of many blogs about the week because I also have to talk about the speakers and the service project. Also, I really want to have a picture blog so I will try and do that tonight as well since I have been trying to for a while.
On to my host mom and the other host families. I met my host mom on Sunday when we went to church at the JLZwane Center. She came over to me and hi and knew who I was. It was crazy because she just knew who I was. I was kind of freaked out at first but then she explained that she was my host mom and we talked a little. Then on Tuesday we met at another host families house for supper. It was amazing. They cooked this amazing meal for us. It was so much food. There was so much different types of food. It was great. After the meal, they started a dance party in the house and they started singing and just having a grand ol time. It was so much fun. I danced with a couple of host moms and got some of them up to dance. Everyone just loves music and having fun. It is great because they were so welcoming with all this. They took care of us with a meal and then had a fun time afterwards. The were so inviting and crazy. They really made us feel at home. After the dinner and dance party we went home with our host mom and her friend Unathi. We got home and started listening to music and talking. Also, she showed us around the place and told us not to answer the door to anyone except the person that was suppose to come pick us up. She showed us were all the food was and how to use everything. She was so warm and welcoming. I was really nervous when I heard we were doing homestays but I felt very comfortable the first night in her home. She was really excited to have us. We eventually ended up drinking some Milo, which the best explanation of it is a hot chocolate but coffee and good for you. It was really good and made me tried and ready for bed. Every night we were at the home stay we basically started opening up to each other and by the last night we heard a lot about one another. I talked with Unathi the last night and listened to her story and she was so open and honest with me. It was amazing. I don't feel like I should put it online but it was great to get to know her and my host mom Nelly. They were both amazing. Nelly even gave up her bed for me and Aaron. She actually slept on a mattress in her spare room. It was so generous. I felt bad for taking her bed but that is just one example of her making her house our house and welcoming us into it. Also, we drank Milo every night and had a music/dance party. It was so much fun. I will definitely miss both of them and I am glad that they were brought into my life. The really touched my life and showed me that even though don't have as much as we do back home they love life and are really happy. Also, they are both really involved with church that at night we would watch some African Gospel Choir stuff and it really impressed me and made me take a look at my faith and strengthen it. It was a lot of fun and I really miss them. It was hard to leave because they were so nice and so much fun. Also, it was tough coming back into Mowbry because we have so much stuff at the places we are living at and they live in a small shanty. Also, it is weird to go out and spend a lot of money out on the town and look back at where we just came from. I mean they don't have a lot of money and I have so much. I wish there was so much more we could do for them. This going to be the first of many blogs about the week because I also have to talk about the speakers and the service project. Also, I really want to have a picture blog so I will try and do that tonight as well since I have been trying to for a while.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Wow!!! That is all I have to say right now.
Where to start. Ok well I believe I left off on Saturday. So here we go. Sunday morning we got up early and went to church at the JLZwane center (I feel like I might have spelt that wrong but oh well). But before church, we got to meet our host family that we are going to be staying with tomorrow night, wednesday night and thursday night. The lady me and Aaron staying with is named Nelly. She is a social worker and a very nice women. She is really funny and involved in the church. Everyone got to sit with there host mom or dad and since ours is involved with the choir she sat on the stage and so did we. It was interesting sitting on the stage looking down at everyone in the church. I felt like everyone was looking up at me and they were wondering what I was doing there. But then the minister explained it in the service and I felt a little better sitting on stage. The service was really good. The minister would talk in english for a little while then switch to Xhosa and the back to english. This happened quite a bit. It was very fun and interesting. Also, when we were on stage, the lady next me helped me know exactly where we were in the songs we were singing since they were all in Xhosa. I would either be a head or behind in the words of the song. It was tough but I made it. It was a lot of fun and a great experience. Everyone we met at church were so nice and friendly. I was so impressed on how embracing they were. I am so going back next week.
After church, we went to Canal Walk which is a big mall here in Cape Town. I went to look for a battery charger which I found and will be trying to post them on here later. But I also went to go find some shoes. I found some that I like but the did not have my size even with the conversion to US size. I guess I just have to big of feet for here. We walked around the mall for a couple of hours and probably did not see the whole mall. It was very big and tough to find your way around. After that, we came home and I had to write a paper and blog. Then a few of us decided to stay up and talk about the experiences so far and life in general. That was basically what happened all day Sunday. It was a great relaxing day.
Well as for today. We went to the JLZwane center for class. Today in class we had Edwin, Spiwo and Kenneth come into talk to our class. Edwin gave a breif life and community history about Gugulethu. He is a great speaker as well as being a funny guy. He has an amazing story about his life and how he did start trusting or forgiving white people until about 5 months ago. Also 4 months ago he stayed with a white person in the US for a while for the first time and he said that he had a great time and it was a amazing experience. After Edwin, was Spiwo who is the reverand at the JLZwane center. He talked a lot about leadership in the Cape Town area. He said that the Greatest Challenge is that the Black person doesn't have a place in the world. This really sparked an interesting conversation after lectures were done. But I will talk about that later. After Spiwo was Kenneth from Institute of Justice and Reconciliation. He talked about what they are doing now to make help after the apartheid. He talked about how the are having community conversations about what happen through all of the apartheid and their story so the can heal. He does this with Black, White and Colored communities and then with them together so they can hear each others stories and move on. I just can't believe that all of this so recent. It is not like it just happened like a long time ago. The apartheid pretty much ended about 15 years ago and they are still trying to heal and move on from it. It is just astonishing that I have been alive with this going on and didn't know anything about it.
After all of the lectures, we had a discussion about today. It was a great discussion and I felt like it was needed. Just because I had a lot of things going on in my mind that I needed to discuss with people. Some of it was just how recent everything is, how it feels like there are a lot of similarities on what people said today and what we do in the leadership minor, and how that all these people we have as instructors are amazing people and leaders. I kind of felt that I might have talked a little too much in class today because I had so much going on. Even though I felt this way, I felt like everyone really respected what I had to say and listened to what I had to say. I always feel weird speaking in class because I feel like I don't know as much as everyone else. But today, I didn't feel that way. It was great.
After this discussion, we went down and watched a African performance. It was amazing. The singers were great, they could really dance and the were talented musicians. I am going to try and post the video footage of it. It was amazing. Then we had lunch at the community center. The lunch was made by some of the women at the community center. It was great food and a lot of it. I asked the cooks for the recipe for some of it so I can try and make it back home. I hope they will give it to me. That would be awesome.
After lunch, we took a tour of Gugulethu. This was a tough tour. We saw all the shantys were people live. They are super small and very close together. It was tough for everyone to see because as Americans we are very priveledged with what we have. It was very interesting trip. We saw where 7 Arfican men were shot by a police officer basically because they were 7 Black men walking together. Also we saw where a missionary lady was shot by 2 men for no apparent reason at all. There are memorials put up for both of these incidents. Just hearing the stories about these incidents is really sad. After these stopes at these memorials we went to a ladies house to see what a shanty looks like inside. There we meet a bunch of children walking around and asked them to take their picture. They said yes and were super excited to see themselves. It was adorable. It seems like all the people that live here are just really happy about all that they have even though it isn't a lot. They smile and laugh and it seems like they just love life. It is so crazy to see but amazing that they are able to do this. I mean I think about the little things that bother me and the seem so small to what some of these people are going through and have to deal with on a daily basis. I went in to the ladies house and was in shock. It was so small. It seemed like my apartment bedroom was bigger than the shanty. I don't know how they do it. After stopping at the house we went back to the Community Center. On the way back to it, we saw the market and their meat market as well. I have some pictures of them that you should look at because it is hard to explain what they look like. Once we got back to the community center we helped tutor kids with math and reading. It was so much fun. They are so happy and have a ton of energy. They really love getting their picture taken and looking at it. I kind of disrupted a classroom because of it. It was all good, I got them to settle down.
Today, was definitely a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I am just really having a great time here. I am more excited than nervous now for the rest of the week. I just want to experience all of this and learn as much as I can here. I do have a couple of worries though. First, I feel like I am going to go home and be changed for a bit but after a while I will go back to my routine at home. Cuz I feel like this sometimes happens to me and I don't want it to with all the stuff I am seeing, feeling and experiencing here. Another one, is that I am not going to no exactly what my part is when I am back home. I feel like I am here currently here to work with them and experience this but I feel like when I leave I don't know what I can do. I am sure we will talk about this in the last week here. Well I think that is it for know. I will not be blogging or checking my email for the next couple of days because I will be living with my host mom. I am super excited for this experience. I will let you all know how it goes. Hope all is well back home.
After church, we went to Canal Walk which is a big mall here in Cape Town. I went to look for a battery charger which I found and will be trying to post them on here later. But I also went to go find some shoes. I found some that I like but the did not have my size even with the conversion to US size. I guess I just have to big of feet for here. We walked around the mall for a couple of hours and probably did not see the whole mall. It was very big and tough to find your way around. After that, we came home and I had to write a paper and blog. Then a few of us decided to stay up and talk about the experiences so far and life in general. That was basically what happened all day Sunday. It was a great relaxing day.
Well as for today. We went to the JLZwane center for class. Today in class we had Edwin, Spiwo and Kenneth come into talk to our class. Edwin gave a breif life and community history about Gugulethu. He is a great speaker as well as being a funny guy. He has an amazing story about his life and how he did start trusting or forgiving white people until about 5 months ago. Also 4 months ago he stayed with a white person in the US for a while for the first time and he said that he had a great time and it was a amazing experience. After Edwin, was Spiwo who is the reverand at the JLZwane center. He talked a lot about leadership in the Cape Town area. He said that the Greatest Challenge is that the Black person doesn't have a place in the world. This really sparked an interesting conversation after lectures were done. But I will talk about that later. After Spiwo was Kenneth from Institute of Justice and Reconciliation. He talked about what they are doing now to make help after the apartheid. He talked about how the are having community conversations about what happen through all of the apartheid and their story so the can heal. He does this with Black, White and Colored communities and then with them together so they can hear each others stories and move on. I just can't believe that all of this so recent. It is not like it just happened like a long time ago. The apartheid pretty much ended about 15 years ago and they are still trying to heal and move on from it. It is just astonishing that I have been alive with this going on and didn't know anything about it.
After all of the lectures, we had a discussion about today. It was a great discussion and I felt like it was needed. Just because I had a lot of things going on in my mind that I needed to discuss with people. Some of it was just how recent everything is, how it feels like there are a lot of similarities on what people said today and what we do in the leadership minor, and how that all these people we have as instructors are amazing people and leaders. I kind of felt that I might have talked a little too much in class today because I had so much going on. Even though I felt this way, I felt like everyone really respected what I had to say and listened to what I had to say. I always feel weird speaking in class because I feel like I don't know as much as everyone else. But today, I didn't feel that way. It was great.
After this discussion, we went down and watched a African performance. It was amazing. The singers were great, they could really dance and the were talented musicians. I am going to try and post the video footage of it. It was amazing. Then we had lunch at the community center. The lunch was made by some of the women at the community center. It was great food and a lot of it. I asked the cooks for the recipe for some of it so I can try and make it back home. I hope they will give it to me. That would be awesome.
After lunch, we took a tour of Gugulethu. This was a tough tour. We saw all the shantys were people live. They are super small and very close together. It was tough for everyone to see because as Americans we are very priveledged with what we have. It was very interesting trip. We saw where 7 Arfican men were shot by a police officer basically because they were 7 Black men walking together. Also we saw where a missionary lady was shot by 2 men for no apparent reason at all. There are memorials put up for both of these incidents. Just hearing the stories about these incidents is really sad. After these stopes at these memorials we went to a ladies house to see what a shanty looks like inside. There we meet a bunch of children walking around and asked them to take their picture. They said yes and were super excited to see themselves. It was adorable. It seems like all the people that live here are just really happy about all that they have even though it isn't a lot. They smile and laugh and it seems like they just love life. It is so crazy to see but amazing that they are able to do this. I mean I think about the little things that bother me and the seem so small to what some of these people are going through and have to deal with on a daily basis. I went in to the ladies house and was in shock. It was so small. It seemed like my apartment bedroom was bigger than the shanty. I don't know how they do it. After stopping at the house we went back to the Community Center. On the way back to it, we saw the market and their meat market as well. I have some pictures of them that you should look at because it is hard to explain what they look like. Once we got back to the community center we helped tutor kids with math and reading. It was so much fun. They are so happy and have a ton of energy. They really love getting their picture taken and looking at it. I kind of disrupted a classroom because of it. It was all good, I got them to settle down.
Today, was definitely a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I am just really having a great time here. I am more excited than nervous now for the rest of the week. I just want to experience all of this and learn as much as I can here. I do have a couple of worries though. First, I feel like I am going to go home and be changed for a bit but after a while I will go back to my routine at home. Cuz I feel like this sometimes happens to me and I don't want it to with all the stuff I am seeing, feeling and experiencing here. Another one, is that I am not going to no exactly what my part is when I am back home. I feel like I am here currently here to work with them and experience this but I feel like when I leave I don't know what I can do. I am sure we will talk about this in the last week here. Well I think that is it for know. I will not be blogging or checking my email for the next couple of days because I will be living with my host mom. I am super excited for this experience. I will let you all know how it goes. Hope all is well back home.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Birthday Fun!
On friday, we got up early and went to class. A few of us were feeling a little under the weather so we ran down to the local Drug Store to grab some medicine for them. Afterwards we tried to find our way up to the classroom. It is kind of confusing. We arrived about 5 minutes late. Our instructor for friday morning was a guy named Steve. He told us about his life in exile, his schooling, his current political involvement and what he wants to do in the future. He had an amazing story about his childhood. He was in exile and had about 5 different names. It was just a fascinating class. After class, Cole, Jesse and I went and talked with him about how he is going to be an great leader someday and that it was great to hear his story. Afterwards, he invited us out to a local concert that night. When we got done talking with Steve, we hopped on the shuttles down to the waterfront to get on the ferry to go to Robbin Island. Robbin Island is a prison where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Before going on the ferry to Robin Island we had lunch down at the waterfront. At lunch, the waiter came over and started talking to me. It was interesting because I feel this is happening to me a lot down here. Everyone seems really friendly but they always seem to come up and talk to me about things which is awesome because I like to listen to people's stories and talk with them. After lunch we went shopping in the mall area around the ferry dock and I bought a rugby sweatshirt and a cricket jersey. Oh yeah and a South African scarf. I definitely looked like tourist when I put them on. I was actually putting them on outside the shop I bought them at and they clerk that sold them to me was laughing at me. Its ok, that is actually the third time I got laughed at by people here. After this it was time to hop on the boat.
We got to Robbin Island and we missed the bus ride around the island so we walked through the prison. Our guide was actually a person that was imprisoned at Robbin Island. He told us his story and talked about Nelson Mandel and the way they use to get messages to one another in the prison. He told us that his younger generation came up with a way to use the toilet pipes to call each other. I thought that was really interesting and clever. We also got to see Nelson Mandela's cell. It was small. He also told us how the white people got more food then the coloured, who got bigger portions then the blacks. It was a very interesting time and a great learning experience. It was getting late, so we hopped on the boat back to Cape Town. The sun goes down around 6 pm around here and that was the time we were heading back so we got to see an amazing sunset on the boat. It was so beautiful. Man this country is amazing and beautiful.
After this we went to dinner at a local burger place near our house because everyone was pretty beat and still not feeling all that well. So, we kept it low key for most of us. Since it was my birthday I wanted to go get a drink and check out this band downtown. So about 7 of us decided to go even though we had to get up early on Saturday for the safari. We got to the place were the band was playing and there was a super long line. But we slowly made our way up to the front of the line and the bouncer let us in right away. The music was amazing. It is so hard to describe. One band had a guy playing a flute, someone playing a saxophone, and another person playing the violin. Ah it was wonderful. I am so glad that I went.
My birthday was kind of tough though. It was because I am an only child and this is the first time I really have been away from my family and friends on my birthday. So it was kind of hard for me but I made it through and had a great time with my friends here. Also, I get to say that I was in another country for my birthday and got to go on a safari.
So on Saturday, I got up at 3:30 am to post a quick blog since we are left at 4:30 for our safari. So basically I got about 2 hours of sleep on Friday night so I slept on the bus ride to the game range. The times I wasn't sleeping, I was watching the beautiful countryside and mountains and vineyards. We got to the game reserve and had some coffee. It was really cold so the started a fire for us. The reserve was gorgeous. We waited a little bit for the guides to show up. We started the tour off by seeing cheetahs. They are beautiful animals. Also, they are one of my favorite animals. We saw 7 of them. I was so upset that I forgot my camera battery charger because it was so cool to see them up close. But well, I will get one. So after the cheetahs, we went to the lions cage to see them. They had 1 male and 2 females. Wow are they big creatures. We couldn't go in the lion cage like we did with the cheetah cage because they are more violent then cheetahs. From the lion cage we went into the main game reserve. I think the guide said it was about 4000 hectares. We got to see zebras, rhinos, springbocks, giraffes and water buffalo. I think that is about it. It was so awesome. Man, we even got to get out and walk with giraffes. On our way back in, we saw to male giraffes fighting. It was a crazy sight to see. After we got in from the safari, Aaron, Erin, TJ and I got to go quad riding. Which is basically four-wheeling. We went out for a half an hour. It was great getting out and riding in this beautiful country. Except for on the way back in from our ride, TJ went through a big mud puddle and flooded the quad. Nothing happened to him but he just had to get a ride back to main reserve area where lunch was being served.
After lunch, we hopped back on the bus to come home. During this whole day, one of the InterStudy workers name Ajith was helping plan out a night for my birthday. He got us reservations at a local African restaurant called Marco's African place. It was so great of him to do this. So everyone on the trip went to the restaurant. We were also accompanied by Ajith, our tour guide Sawewi, Ouma, who works with InterStudy, and her husband. The food was amazing. I ate Springbock, Crocodile, Warthog and Ostrich. Oh yeah, Ouma's husband Armstrong let me try his food which I think was Lamb or Sheep stomach. It was pretty good. Afterwards, we went out on the town and experienced Cape Town's nightlife. It was cool. We went to a few bars and experienced the dancing here. It was a lot of fun. We had a couple incidents of things almost being stolen but we caught it in time. Also, the bartender told me to keep my wallet in my front pocket just so no one steals it from my back pocket. It was a lot of fun though.
Well I think that is about all I currently have to blog about. I am trying to keep up-to-date on things and am going to find a camera battery charger so I can post the pictures I have online. I just have to reiterate that I am having a wonderful experience and learning a lot about myself and the people around me. Next week is going to be a little tough to blog a lot since I will be staying with a host family but I will do what I can. Hope everyone is well.
We got to Robbin Island and we missed the bus ride around the island so we walked through the prison. Our guide was actually a person that was imprisoned at Robbin Island. He told us his story and talked about Nelson Mandel and the way they use to get messages to one another in the prison. He told us that his younger generation came up with a way to use the toilet pipes to call each other. I thought that was really interesting and clever. We also got to see Nelson Mandela's cell. It was small. He also told us how the white people got more food then the coloured, who got bigger portions then the blacks. It was a very interesting time and a great learning experience. It was getting late, so we hopped on the boat back to Cape Town. The sun goes down around 6 pm around here and that was the time we were heading back so we got to see an amazing sunset on the boat. It was so beautiful. Man this country is amazing and beautiful.
After this we went to dinner at a local burger place near our house because everyone was pretty beat and still not feeling all that well. So, we kept it low key for most of us. Since it was my birthday I wanted to go get a drink and check out this band downtown. So about 7 of us decided to go even though we had to get up early on Saturday for the safari. We got to the place were the band was playing and there was a super long line. But we slowly made our way up to the front of the line and the bouncer let us in right away. The music was amazing. It is so hard to describe. One band had a guy playing a flute, someone playing a saxophone, and another person playing the violin. Ah it was wonderful. I am so glad that I went.
My birthday was kind of tough though. It was because I am an only child and this is the first time I really have been away from my family and friends on my birthday. So it was kind of hard for me but I made it through and had a great time with my friends here. Also, I get to say that I was in another country for my birthday and got to go on a safari.
So on Saturday, I got up at 3:30 am to post a quick blog since we are left at 4:30 for our safari. So basically I got about 2 hours of sleep on Friday night so I slept on the bus ride to the game range. The times I wasn't sleeping, I was watching the beautiful countryside and mountains and vineyards. We got to the game reserve and had some coffee. It was really cold so the started a fire for us. The reserve was gorgeous. We waited a little bit for the guides to show up. We started the tour off by seeing cheetahs. They are beautiful animals. Also, they are one of my favorite animals. We saw 7 of them. I was so upset that I forgot my camera battery charger because it was so cool to see them up close. But well, I will get one. So after the cheetahs, we went to the lions cage to see them. They had 1 male and 2 females. Wow are they big creatures. We couldn't go in the lion cage like we did with the cheetah cage because they are more violent then cheetahs. From the lion cage we went into the main game reserve. I think the guide said it was about 4000 hectares. We got to see zebras, rhinos, springbocks, giraffes and water buffalo. I think that is about it. It was so awesome. Man, we even got to get out and walk with giraffes. On our way back in, we saw to male giraffes fighting. It was a crazy sight to see. After we got in from the safari, Aaron, Erin, TJ and I got to go quad riding. Which is basically four-wheeling. We went out for a half an hour. It was great getting out and riding in this beautiful country. Except for on the way back in from our ride, TJ went through a big mud puddle and flooded the quad. Nothing happened to him but he just had to get a ride back to main reserve area where lunch was being served.
After lunch, we hopped back on the bus to come home. During this whole day, one of the InterStudy workers name Ajith was helping plan out a night for my birthday. He got us reservations at a local African restaurant called Marco's African place. It was so great of him to do this. So everyone on the trip went to the restaurant. We were also accompanied by Ajith, our tour guide Sawewi, Ouma, who works with InterStudy, and her husband. The food was amazing. I ate Springbock, Crocodile, Warthog and Ostrich. Oh yeah, Ouma's husband Armstrong let me try his food which I think was Lamb or Sheep stomach. It was pretty good. Afterwards, we went out on the town and experienced Cape Town's nightlife. It was cool. We went to a few bars and experienced the dancing here. It was a lot of fun. We had a couple incidents of things almost being stolen but we caught it in time. Also, the bartender told me to keep my wallet in my front pocket just so no one steals it from my back pocket. It was a lot of fun though.
Well I think that is about all I currently have to blog about. I am trying to keep up-to-date on things and am going to find a camera battery charger so I can post the pictures I have online. I just have to reiterate that I am having a wonderful experience and learning a lot about myself and the people around me. Next week is going to be a little tough to blog a lot since I will be staying with a host family but I will do what I can. Hope everyone is well.
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