Welcome to the Compound

"The compound" as it is called, is where I live. It consists of two houses and a small yard surrounded by a thick wall topped in razor wire. Within the compound live 21 American students, twelve in one house and nine in the other. It isn't exactly the South African, or even international, living condition I expected in coming to South Africa, but I've learned an enormous amount from living there.

The students in the compound come from schools and towns all over the country. There's a girl from Idaho who goes to school in New England, a girl from Virginia and a guy from New Hampshire who both go to school in Colorado, a girl from an HBC (Historically Black College), a girl from the west coast, a guy from the deep south, and one person, me, from the midwest. Four months ago we found ourselves thrown together into a common living situation. We occasionally joke that it's like MTV's The Real World, only without the confessionals. It's not quite like that, but when 21 people are brought together into that sort of situation, it results in a lot of interesting experiences.

Universities represented in the compound: Colorado College, University of Denver, Mt. Holyoke, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, University of Missouri, Northland College, William and Mary, Spelman College, Rhodes College, Tulane University, Lehigh, Middlebury, Tufts, and Berkeley

Nearly every possible topic of conversation has been discussed at one time or another in the compound. Discussions of race relations, international relations, domestic policy, the economy, unemployment, and religion occur surprisingly often around the W dining room table. Communism is bandied about at length during smoking sessions in the yard. The girls sit on counters in the kitchen for hours on end talking about guys, graduate schools, music, and sports. We've rehashed South African slang and cultural experiences, talked about places we've visited and those we'd like to see, talked about fears in coming and anxiety and excitement about going home. Guitars, harmonicas, and drums have been played and joined by singing.

It's amazing to watch the group dynamics of such a diverse group of people who are forced to live together. In a place where going out alone is often dangerous, unlikely bonds form between people. Strangers become friends as food is cooked/shared/horded/spoiled, dishes are washed/piled up dirty on the counter, movies are watched/borrowed/discussed, parents and friends are missed/grumbled about, significant others are pined for/dumped/dreamed of, and homework is done/procrastinated/lost. Would we have chosen to live with these people? Probably not. Would we have chosen these friends? Again, probably not. But somehow we were brought together and, over four months, learned fascinating things from one another. It may not have been the experience we planned, but it taught us things nonetheless. And we've built friendships from the experience.

Another Attempt...

I've been playing with technology a bit more, and I think I've found a way to get more pictures onto the blog. Here goes!



Here are some study abroad students, enjoying the sunlight on the beach at Simon's Town.



Above are some of South Africa's "jackass" penguins, playing at Boulders Beach.



Here are some slightly more intimidating South African animals. I took this picture while on safari in Kruger with Mom.



This is another shot from the safari with Mom, from our last day, when we happened upon a lioness and four cubs sleeping in the middle of the road.



A shot of the winelands, which are just east of Cape Town. I'm constantly amazed by the patchwork fields of bright yellow. I don't know what the yellow plants are, but just seeing them makes me happy.



Mom and I visited Cape Aghulas, the southern-most point in Africa, and convinced another pair of tourists to take our picture with the sign.



Jenny and I pause for a picture before taking off on our next adventure.



The landscape of Nature's Valley (a town on the Indian Ocean in South Africa), doing it's best to imitate the British Isles.



The Indian Ocean crashes into the bottom of the African continent, how beautiful!



Here is a hiking trail the I hiked over "study week". I love the light in this shot!

I hope both that the pictures worked and that you enjoyed them. If all goes well, there may be more to come!

"Study" Week

I must say, "studying" has never been so much fun! I'm officially back in Cape Town after a week of relaxation along a segment of South Africa's southern coast known as the Garden Route.

There are a few things that must be explained in order for you to understand our adventure. First, most of our transportation was provided by the "Baz Bus". The Baz Bus is a bus designed to transport people from one backpacker/hostel to another, allowing people to hop on and off in numerous locations along a route from Cape Town around the southern and eastern coasts of the country all the way up to Johannesburg and Pretoria. Second, we spent all of our nights staying in backpackers, or hostels. Staying at a backpacker is very like going to summer camp. The dorms at backpackers are large rooms with several bunk beds, and you pay for a bunk for the night. Once you've paid for a bed (usually R70-80 per night, or about $12 US) you also may use the kitchen facilities and bathrooms (both communal) free of charge. While the Baz Bus and backpackers aren't luxury facilities, the prices are amazing and the atmosphere allows you to meet travellers like yourself from all over the world.

The adventure began last Tuesday, when my friend Jenny and I boarded the Baz Bus going east out of Cape Town. We rode the bus all day, arriving in the early evening in a tiny town called Nature's Valley, on the edge of Tsitsikamma National Park. We spent the next day hiking through Tsitsikamma National Park and enjoying the lovely Indian Ocean beach at Nature's Valley, despite the cool, misty weather. On Thursday we caught the Baz Bus west to Knysna, a touristy town on the coast, where we relaxed in their waterfront area and spent the evening discussing sport (cricket, rugby, baseball, and American football) with some of the other guests at the backpacker.

On Friday we took an old-fashioned steam train along the coast and through lagoons to the small-ish town of Wilderness. We stayed there for two days, enjoying the beautiful beach and the fantastic hikes at Wilderness National Park. We wandered along the beach and enjoyed the sand under our feet and the cool waves of the brilliantly blue Indian Ocean washing our ankles. I got sunburned, but it was worth it! We also hiked 10k to a waterfall through the wetlands and forests of Wilderness N.P. and visited the town festival and market, where we enjoyed delicious homemade foods and watched crazy boat races in the lagoon. On Sunday we headed west again, this time stopping in the village of Swellendam, where we hiked some more in a nature reserve and enjoyed the quiet of a woodland town. On our hikes we saw bushbuck, giant millipedes, dassies, fish, huge grasshoppers, colorful butterflies, and even a snake.

On Monday night we returned to Cape Town, refreshed and relaxed. Now it's time to commence the real studying, since I now have one week before my first final. Finals here are three hours long and all of mine consist of several essay questions, so my studying will have to be serious. At least I have a few days between each of the finals so I don't have to study everything at once!

Liminality...

Since last I wrote, I have:
Finished classes for the semester,
Turned in two papers,
Written my last paper of the semester,
Basked in the springtime sunlight,
Begun planning registration for my last semester of college, and
Caught a cold. *sniffle*

Now I have entered the bizarre liminal period known as "study week". I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing during this week. The obvious answer, I know, is "study", but I don't actually start exams for two weeks and I can't bring myself to start studying this early. The South African students tell me that this week is for partying, but I don't do much of that either. So, instead, I'm traveling.

Tomorrow I depart on a crazy hiking/backpacking/busing/beach bumming trip along the southern coast with another American student. I'm not sure what the trip will bring, but I know it will be an adventure. Hopefully I'll come back relaxed and rejuvinated so that I can use the first week of "exams", during which I have no exams, to start studying for the exams that will eventually come.

For now, I must go to a review session, do a little shopping, and start packing for this grand and glorious adventure. Look out for a full report on my trip in about a week.

Extraordinarily Ordinary

The last week has been strikingly ordinary. It's strange to say, but I have developed a routine here, and this week has included very few experiences that broke out of it. Fortunately, this is also the last week for this routine to be in place, since it's the last week of classes. Only three days of lectures stand between me and the interminable exam period. I say interminable because exams here last a MONTH, instead of a week, like at home. Anyway, here's a quick outline of the average week.

Wednesdays bring only 2 classes, so I usually spend the extra time doing research in the library or writing papers. This week I've been cramming extra work into Wednesday since the end of the semester is fast approaching.

Thursday is a bit hectic, since I spend the morning in class and work in the SAEP office in the afternoon. I never know what the office work will be, sometimes it's working on my own projects, but I also get to do whatever the organization needs, which has meant putting together gazebos, weighing stationary for international mailing, planning weekend field trips for students from township high schools, contacting volunteers, and mediating chocolate wars (don't ask...).

Every Friday I let myself be lazy. I go to classes in the morning, run errands in teh afternoon, then often go to a friend's house for a braai in the evening.

Saturdays bring work, since the library is closed on Sundays. I sometimes do touristy-things on Saturdays as well, but lately it's been all work. Saturday nights usually feature dinner out and a movie with my housemates. Sundays bring church and more homework.

On Monday I have three classes, then I rush down to my church for a Bible Study. I'm the youngest member by twenty years, so I get to listen a lot and be mothered in a pleasant sort of way. Monday evenings are ALWAYS fun, since I spend them with my friend Jenny. We go out to dinner and talk, then we attend the poetry readings that I've described in my blog before. Our presence has become so routine that we're known by the staff as the "Hot Chocolate Darlings" and the reading organizers as "the Americans", and we seek out our favorite Angolan waiter, Oscar, every time we go.

Tuesdays are marked by classes and afternoons volunteering at an SAEP creche. I go with the same American students every week, and the kids have come to expect our presence. When we arrive, they call out various snippets of English songs and games we have taught them, so we are greeted with hugs and a smattering of "Duck, Duck, Duck!" and "E-I-E-I-O".

I spend a lot of time during the week in the computer lab, which is a totally new experience for me. I've always had my own computer at college in the past, so having to use a lab has been a new experience. I have to arrange my paper-writing around the lab hours. My roommate teases me about how much time I spend there, but I'm the only student in my house who didn't bring a laptop, so the lab time is necessary.

When I first arrived, I thought I'd never get used to life here, I'd never find a routine, yet I have. I've figured out how to get around, which places are safe, how to fit errands and homework into the hours when facilities are open, and how to find comfort in a place that is largely foreign to me. I've even found ways to get a reasonably balanced diet while minimizing cooking. (Don't worry, it's not ALL toast...)

Correction
Right after I wrote this post and left the computer lab, I walked past four people in white rabbit costumes entering the social sciences building. Thirty yards farther down my walk I encountered a person in an orange suit being guided down the stairs by two people in what I'm guessing to be grenadilla suits. Seriously. I guess this is just a hilarious reminder that nothing is ever quite "ordinary"!

Apartheid Explanation

A few things people have said to me lately have made me realize that the history of South Africa is not very well-known. So welcome to my crash course in recent South African History. The dates are fuzzy and the concepts are presented as I understand them, I apologize if I don't have everything exactly spot-on. You probably know all this, but just in case you don't, it's important in understanding any experience of where South Africa is today.

From the 1940s until 1995, a system of racial discrimination was in place in South Africa known as Apartheid. The system classified all South African residents (I'd say citizens, but many were not permitted to vote or have real legal rights) according to their race. "White" denoted people of solely caucasian origin, mostly English or Dutch-descended Afrikaaners. The categories "Asian" and "Indian" were used for immigrants from those areas of the world. "Coloured" referred to people of mixed black and white racial backgrounds, who carefully differentiated themselves from full-blooded "blacks". The system was constructed in a hierarchy, with whites receiving the most benefits and blacks suffering terrible repression and prejudice, including a lack of suffrage and no freedom of mobility. Neighborhoods were strictly divided and people of different races were not supposed to mix with one another in society, education, residence, or employment. All blacks were required to carry "passbooks", which listed where they were allowed to live, work, and travel.

The Apartheid system was constructed out of ignorance and fear. Many whites felt they were superior to people of other races, but they lived in increasing fear that the black majority population would rebel against the system. Thanks to people who were willing to stand up and fight this system of oppression, Apartheid has been brought to an end and a truly democratic government is now in place in South Africa. Yet racial divisions and prejudices are still present in much of South Africa.

For instance, One of the girls who is studying with me is a light-skinned African American. Since she has been here, she has been asked over and over about her racial background. Strangers frequently speak to her in Afrikaans, assuming her to be a member of the South African "coloured" population. She struggles to convince people that she is, in fact, black.

Yet the country has made enormous strides over the last decade. Racial divisions are disappearing and prejudices are being overcome all over the country. However, a new separation is emerging, one based on economic status. South Africa is becoming increasingly economically stratified. There are enormous, million-dollar mansions along the beaches in Cape Town, while the Cape Flats area near the Cape Town airport is filled with miles and miles of land crowded with tiny shacks. I suppose that progress is always made in small steps. As I've watched the achingly slow construction of apartment buildings for people currently living in the informal settlements, I hope every day for improvement. These things come slowly, but at least the work has begun.

Some Religious Experiences

Catholic Feasting
On Friday, I went with my friend Danielle to her church's International Food Festival. For the event, the courtyard of her Catholic Church was lined with stalls featuring different kinds of food from all over the world. There were stalls from Italy, China, Angola, England, Ireland, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Mozambique, Holland, Portugal, Uganda, France, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, and the U.S. It was exciting and unique, since I always think of food from the U.S. as boring, but people there were really excited about it. At the same time, I saw the South African milktart as really different, but it was one of the last things to sell out because most everyone at the festival found it ordinary. Similarly, an international food festival in the U.S. would probably have more South American and European countries, while this festival had more African countries and no South American countries. I spent my evening rubbing shoulders with lots of South African Catholics and having a wonderful time. (Shh, don't tell them a Protestant slipped in!)

Methodists and a Challenge
This morning I had a very special worship at the Methodist church I have been attending here, as well. The church usually has four services, but this morning all four services were combined in one large service. We also heard from a guest minister, Rev. Dr. Peter Storey. Dr. Storey is a Methodist minister, but is best known for his fight against Apartheid and his great passion for social justice and change. The service was incredibly inspiring. There were hymns in English, Afrikaans, Sotho, Zulu, and Xhosa, varying between a capella, traditional-style with organ, and contemporary. The congregation was incredibly diverse, including children, young adults, the middle-aged crowd, and some elderly folks, with a mix of whites, blacks, Asians, and "coloureds" (it's an accepted term here, I'm not being politically incorrect!) all sitting side-by-side. I was awestruck by how far South African society has come, as evidenced by the congregation.

Dr. Storey's sermon was incredible and passionate. He preached on the Wesleyan tradition of salvation by grace with a push for compassion and social justice work. He called for the middle-class Protestants to stop being complacent and start working to end inequality and poverty in southern Africa. I was impressed by his ability to tie together Scripture, church history, and zeal for social change. He reminded us of the incredible revival John Wesley caused in England during the Industrial Revolution, which featured conditions of inequality similar to those caused by globalization and post-colonial conditions today.

The sermon made me uncomfortable. I always feel guilty about existing in my comfortable, American, middle-class surroundings when there are people in the world who are starving and living in terrible conditions. My everyday life is so insulated from the pain of others. In the U.S. I can stay in my comfortable house, my safe subdivision, my friendly neighborhood, my privileged campus, without seeing people in need. I can avoid thinking about the millions of people in desperate poverty all around the world, who have no homes or food. I know that I can't give up all that I have, stop my education, and run off to help people. I can't stop the global trends and institutions that are allowing this desolation to exist. Yet I can't remain in my comfortable life and pretend the situation doesn't exist either. As the Epistle to James suggests, how can I pray for people and say "God Bless" without seeing to their needs? I don't have an answer. I just have passion, hope, and faith.