You're Going Where?

The Return to Normalcy

2006-02-20T10:27:00.000-08:00

...or as close to it as I ever get. You see, I started this blog to record a specific adventure. I wanted to vent, to pour out and share my experience so we could all drink a cup and converse over it. And now I have returned and the experience has all been consumed and the return is complete. The adventure is not over, it never really is, but the return is complete and, quite frankly, I can't keep up with two blogs at once. In fact, I'm lousy at keeping up with ONE blog at once. So, I've decided to go back to the beginning. So, while the Africa chronicles are over and I'm ending this blog, I'll still be recording my adventures, my random thoughts, my frustrations, and my other ramblings on the blog that started it all: http://www.drowningintheshallowend.blogspot.com. I'm out.

Home for the Weekend

2006-02-13T15:17:00.000-08:00

I go to school approximately nine hours away from my hometown, so I had never done the traditional going-home-for-the-weekend thing that many college students do. Last weekend, however, I finally got to understand this phenomenon. Finally now, during my last semester of undergraduate work, I got to drive home for a weekend. Now I finally understand the draw of this behavior.

There is something incredibly relaxing about just being at home. There's a feeling of being cared for by your parents, even though you're an adult. You get to see people without having to worry about the holiday rush. In addition, people largely don't expect you to be home and you're not there for very long, so there are very few obligations that must be met. Why couldn't I have discovered this sooner?

During my visit I went to see some friends perform at the high school Solo and Ensemble contest. I don't think I've felt quite that old in recent memory. I realized that it has been four full years since I performed in the contest, and kids that I remember being tiny are now performing as seniors in high school. This aging thing really MUST be stopped...

Well, THAT was a flop...

2006-01-30T09:54:00.000-08:00

So, I failed miserably at keeping up with this blog over the holidays. I could give you a long list of reasons for this, but that would be boring, so I'm going to just apologize and move on instead.

It was really funny to stare at the flurries that fell on Christmas Day and think about my friends in Cape Town who were heading to the beach to celebrate the holiday. I always associate Christmas with cold and think about songs like "White Christmas" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside", but in the southern hemisphere, Christmas is in the middle of the summer and, as my contacts tell me, involves beaches and braais. It's amazing how much climate can affect culture, even when the holiday is essentially the same.

Back to School=BIZARRE
But to move more into the present, I have finally returned to school. It's strange to be on campus again after so long. Although time has passed, campus life feels the same, almost as though I never left. For the first couple weeks of the semester, I ran into people constantly and was bombarded with excited greetings and bunches of questions about my experience. Now, though, everything has settled down a bit and in a way, it almost feels like I made the whole thing up. I keep repeating to myself, "I lived for four months in Cape Town. I went to South Africa. I missed a whole semester here..." just to make sure the experience doesn't disappear from everyday life.

These return feelings, they tell me, are called "reverse culture shock" and happen to everyone, but I don't really think that's the case here. It's not "shock" so much as slight discomfort. Some of my skills from South Africa are coming in VERY handy, though. For instance, I'm living in an apartment off-campus and have to use those newfound skills that fall under the heading of "cooking". (I don't know that hamburger helper, oven pizza, soup, toast, salad, and macaroni and cheese count, but I'm giving myself credit.)

Life in an off-campus apartment with one person is really different from life in a house with 12 people. Living with just my friend Ashley (who just returned from study in Australia, by the way) is so much quieter than existance in the house in Cape Town. I like it, though. It's nice to have television and internet access whenever I want it, a safe neighborhood, and a bureaucratic system that I understand. Still, I miss the excitement and natural beauty of Cape Town. The view from my apartment of Memorial Union stabbing the cloudy sky doesn't even begin to compare with the view of Table Mountain silhouetted against the bright blue firmament that I had from the front gate of the house in Cape Town. *sigh*

Future Update
In May I'll graduate and go to seminary, which will put me in my third school in as many semesters. What campus will I be invading next? It's still up in the air, but I have three acceptance letters so far (St. Paul in KC, Garrett at Northwestern, and Candler at Emory) and I'm waiting to hear from two more schools about admission (Duke and Boston U). I'm also holding out hope for financial aid, since education has a nasty habit of being expensive. I'm starting to feel like my future is in a roulette wheel..."Round and round the wheel goes, where it stops? Nobody knows!" In a few more months I have to make a decision, though, so I'll keep you posted.

Stay home? HA!

2005-12-08T08:41:00.000-08:00

I know, you thought my adventures were over. I'm safely on U.S. soil and have completed my travels, right? C'mon, you know me better than that. After a quick visit to Missouri and a nice Thanksgiving at home, I set out on an eight-day, seventeen-state voyage to visit seminaries. No traveling companions, just me, Jack (that's my Buick Century), twelve pages of Mapquest directions, and the road.

The U.S. is funny in its sheer size and strange diversity within a seemingly homogenous population. While everyone speaks the same language, words and accents vary from region to region. People drive more quickly or slowly in different states and billboards go from beer advertisements and movie posters on the east coast to a glimpse of the abortion debate on 30-foot signs in Missouri.

Day 1/2: I ventured across northern Ohio, Pennsylvania, and upstate New York to Boston, Mass. for a visit to Boston University. I was fortunate not to encounter any lake-effect snow, and Boston seemed almost to be having a heat-wave for late November. I stayed at an international house/bed and breakfast in the suburbs, then took the T (commuter train) into Boston for the visit to the seminary. Boston is a great city, similar to an overgrown college town due to the presence of more than fifty colleges and universities. I liked BU's Theological School, too.

Day 2/3: After the visit to BU, Jack and I trucked south through Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, and New York to Princeton, New Jersey. I stayed in a hotel, then visited the school. While it has a beautiful campus, it doesn't seem to be my kind of place.

Day 3/4: I fled Princeton in favor of my sister's warm welcome and the state of Maryland. After a brief visit, I continued FURTHER south to North Carolina, where I saw my wonderful aunt, uncle, and cousins.

Day 4/5: I spent the day visiting Duke Divinity school, which I found to be an excellent school, if not quite as welcoming as BU. When the day concluded, I hopped back into Jack and drove into the "deep south" to Atlanta.

Day 5/6: I was thoroughly spoiled during my visit to Atlanta by my aunt, who took me out to dinner and gave me a cooking lesson and showed me her wonderful hospitality. I also stopped to visit Candler School of Theology at Emory University, which was a wonderful school.

Day 6/7: I spent another LONG day on the road heading to Missouri, where I got to go to my first NFL game in Kansas City. Thanks to Chris's fabulousity, I got to see the Broncos vs. the Chiefs in Arrowhead stadium. The Broncos lost, but it was still a very good game.

Day 8/9: As "On the road again..." reverberated through my head, I drove to Evanston, IL to visit Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. Again, I found the school to be quite agreeable. I was also well-taken-care-of by a family friend.

Day 10/11: On my way home from Garrett, I stopped off to visit my mom on a business trip and got to visit a Hershey factory. I then continued down the road with 45 lbs. of chocolate.

That's a quick summary of the actual geographical locations and quick visits of my trip. A few things I observed:

1) Driving in the northwest is NUTS. Truly, people are kamikazes.
2) Billboards can be extremely entertaining. In the northwest they mostly advertised alcoholic beverages and movies. Further south they became advertisements for restaurants and hotels, and along I-70, they involved a strange mix of anti-gambling signs and advertisements for adult entertainment (EW!).
3) No matter where you go, Starbucks is there. They're just like McDonalds these days. Am I the only one who finds that a little creepy?
4) You can't find Pepsi in Atlanta. If there's one problem with going to that school, it's the prevalence of Coke in the area. I'll have to think on that a bit...
5) Tolls: What happens if you don't realize it's a toll road and quite literally don't have the money on you. Particularly if you're at one of those computerized throw-change-in-the-bucket sort of tolls? Do little green men emerge from the pavement and carry you away? Do you just have to wait there until some kind soul or frustrated traveler behind you comes and provides you with correct change? Are you just stuck there forever like "The Man Who Never Returned" in that Kingston Trio song? WHAT HAPPENS?!?! If anyone knows the answer to this conundrum, please let me know.
6) I'm not sure how I feel about the idea of living in dorms as a graduate student. I wouldn't trade my years in FARC for anything, but I don't think I spend my early twenties in a dorm room with a community bathroom. I need to get used to living on my own. But if I choose a school that's predominantly residential, what then? I must continue weighing that one.
7) I need to come up with a way of maintaining better internet access. This whole on-the-road-with-no-computer thing is killing me. Not to mention the issue of our home computer refusing to acknowledge the internet. So please pardon my long delay in writing. I hope (hope is the operative word here) that it won't happen again. If it does, I'm sorry. Just don't give up, I'm still writing.

Out of the Bag, Out of the Country

2005-11-22T14:09:00.000-08:00

I have returned, triumphant. While my return was initially secret in order to ensure success with a few surprises I had planned, I can now proudly announce that I have returned to the U.S. safely and have been in the country for a week now.

I was very sad to leave South Africa, bidding goodbye to my friends and the natural beauty of that country. However, returning to the U.S. has been wonderful as well. I have been spending the last week with friends and family, enjoying the foods and comforts I was deprived of in South Africa. Now I'm armed with stories and photos, and ready to see the people I missed.

There will probably be more posts over the next few weeks as I process my experiences, finish unpacking, and work through some culture shock. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Pictures of Poverty

2005-11-15T16:41:00.000-08:00

I've mentioned my work with SAEP in previous posts, but last week I finally got my pictures developed from the day I took my camera to the creche with me. Below are some of the photos from the creche where I've been working for the last four months.

Zamukhanyo Educare, the creche where I have been working, cares for 75-100 children, ages 0-6, each day.

We taught the children to play "Duck, Duck, Goose" on one of our first visits and it soon became one of their favorite activities.

There are only 4 staff members who oversee the children on a daily basis, so things can get a bit chaotic. This staff member is taking a well-deserved moment to rest!

Whites rarely go into the townships for safety reasons, so the children were fascinated by their visitors. That’s actually me in the center of the picture, surrounded by children who are investigating my hair.

The children press in, all eager to be in the picture.

Esther, Kirema, and I enjoyed the kid’s attention and affection.

Ernestina, Kirema, Esther, and I (back, from left) pose with the children. The woman in the front is the principal of the creche, Nubuntu.

I have now completed my capstone and finished my period of volunteering at Zamukhanyo. Still, these images and the lessons I learn will remain with me.

10 Things: Self-Reflection

2005-11-09T14:33:00.000-08:00

Several of my friends have put up blog posts lately listing 10 things most people don't know about them. Most of the lists have included hidden emotions, former political leanings, weaknesses, fears, and old stories. After reading a few, I decided to twist the idea a bit. I decided to make a list of 10 things I didn't know about myself before I came to South Africa. Beware, this contains more emotional drivel than my usual entries, so if you don't want to hear me talk about "Me, me, ME!", you might want to skip this entry.

1. I am very independent. When I first mentioned to people that I was coming to South Africa, many were aghast that I would go somewhere so far away, essentially by myself. Then in a discussion with a couple of my housemates about first impressions of one another, several people said they could tell in the first couple of days that I'm very independent. That gave me pause, because I had never really considered that to be one of my traits. On further inspection, however, I began to see what they meant. I don't follow the herd to drinking parties or common visit points. I'm content to go church-shopping by myself, join groups with no other members my age, discover new places and activities on my own, or stay behind and entertain myself when people are doing things that don't interest me.

2. I don't hate cooking. Wait, don't jump on this as a sudden interest in domestic arts! I realized since I got here that I can cook and I am even willing to do so. The thing I actually don't like is doing the dishes after I cook. I know that if I cook I'll have to wash pans and plates and utensils, and I'd rather avoid that, so I avoid cooking in the first place. But cooking itself isn't so bad.

3. I'm firmly rooted. I realize that this sentence seems to be missing the prepositional phrase "in..." But I'm not simply rooted in one thing. I have deep connections, unrecognized before, to my church and the community in my hometown, to my family, to my friends both at school and at home, to my church and the organizations I work for at school, and to my beliefs. When I first arrived and was immensely homesick, when everything else seemed swept away by distance and time, I relied on my faith and knew I would be OK because I still felt connected in some strange way.

4. I take action on my passions. When I arrived in Cape Town, I saw a span of nearly five months stretched before me with no time commitments besides classes and no pressure to fulfill expectations on me. I was free to use my time as I pleased. I was a bit surprised to find that, despite having complete freedom of choice in the matter, many of the things I chose to spend my time on here are things I spend my time on in the States as well. I became active in a church and a Bible Study group, started volunteering with an organization working to alleviate poverty and improve educational opportunities, developed regular attendance of poetry readings, and spent my remaining time traveling and relaxing with friends. Even 9000 miles away from my usual activities, I still got involved in similar things: exploring my faith, serving others, supporting the arts, traveling, and building relationships.

5. I love academics! Yes, I'm a nerd, and I can admit it. I enjoy excellent, thought-provoking lectures and discussions. I frequently enjoy reading academic journals and I get excited when I get to write a paper about a topic that interests me. When my classmates let their classes slide because their grades don't transfer, I worked just as hard because, I realized, I enjoy doing it.

6. I'm OK with ordinary. Many of my housemates here are political science majors who dream of being elected to office someday. I realized, in listening to their ambitions, that I don't exactly agree. While I am willing to work hard and like to achieve, I don't set my sites on fame, wealth, or power. My heroes aren't usually the people in the spotlight; I have always looked up to the people in my life who loved and challenged me. I want to emulate the people who have inspired me: my parents, my teachers, the people in my life who work hard and serve the people around them. I am content with a small existence. I just want to be remembered someday as a person who loved and served God and the people around me.

7. I have neat-freak tendencies. I know this is shocking, but try not to fall out of your computer chair, I wouldn't want you to get hurt. I have discovered, in living in a house with 12 people, that I get frustrated by mess and clutter. I can handle disorganized piles of paper on desks, but I find it enormously annoying when dirty dishes pile up for days, when the garbage can spills over, and when the surfaces are all stained and sticky. I find people who lose things constantly to be incredibly irresponsible. The pervasive smell of smoke in the house next door would be totally unacceptable if I lived there. I can't stand it when a bedroom floor is covered with clothes and papers spilled everywhere. I usually consider myself a somewhat messy person, but I have discovered that I am neater and less tolerant of mess than I previously realized.

8. I want to be a poet. I have attempted to write poetry since I was 10 years old. It has never been great, and I've never had the courage to share my poems with anyone. Yet attending poetry readings for the last 4 months has inspired me to keep writing and trying to improve. Poetry is an incredibly beautiful form of self-expression. I have always loved playing with words, and poetry is a perfect vehicle for that. I actually got up the courage to read a few poems in front of people this week, albeit under the impression that if I failed I could avoid the people/place for the rest of my life. I actually enjoyed it. I now intend to keep writing, perhaps more seriously.

9. I can... I am more capable than I ever imagined. I have discovered that I can do a vast assortment of things, given proper instruction and provided that I don't think about failing. I am by no means infallible or indestructable, I have failed and I will continue to fail throughout my life. But there are a huge number of things that I can do.

10. I'm motivated. I set my mind on something, I set goals, and then I get to work achieving them. I wanted to come to Africa, so I did the researched, did the paperwork, and came. I wanted to complete my senior capstone doing a service-learning project while abroad, which I don't think anyone has done before, so I simply talked to people and made the arrangements to get it done. I want to go to seminary, so I have started working on applications, even while I'm on another continent. Right now, however, I'm hungry and I'm excited to go enjoy the spring sunshine, so I'm going to go find something to eat and have a picnic outside!

Swirling Thoughts

2005-11-05T15:50:00.000-08:00

My last few days have been a whirlwind of studying and conversation. These are some of the thoughts swirling in my head.

Two-thirds of the people in Africa live on less than a dollar a day.

I spoke French with a waiter from Congo at dinner earlier this week.

"It smells like they boiled the ocean!" - a friend

I witnessed a smash-and-grab robbery in the middle of the afternoon at a busy intersection yesterday.

Being surrounded by conversations only in English is going to seem so strange and boring after months of overhearing Afrikaans, Zulu, and Xhosa. I'm not sure I'll be able to focus on one conversation when I can actually understand the ones around me!

In South Africa, I've never seen a white janitor, homeless person, minibus driver, prostitute, or security guard. Sometimes I wonder if the legacy of Apartheid will ever fade.

"You know what the problem with forks is? They don't spoon properly!" - me

Windows without bars and houses without fences are going to seem so odd when I get home.

"As Tina Turner said, what's love got to do with it?" - Professor K.

Why do scholars from Africa, Asia, and Latin America have to write in European languages in order to be considered "legitimate"?

What am I going to do when, at the end of my time here, all I have left to eat is half a jar of peanut butter, moldy bread, and some soy sauce?

"Extreme religion remains dangerous." - Professor M.

I actually have nightmares about packing and standardized tests.

Me: "Who has nightmares about standardized tests?"
Friend #1: "DJ Tanner on Full House."
Me: "You actually remember that show?"
Friend #2: "Actually, that's what I was going to say, too."
Me: "Sad."

Why do westerners assume the existence of one "African Traditional Religion" when "European Traditional Religion" and "Asian Traditional Religion" don't exist?

"I'm writing on my spirit." -Mbembe

Everwhere I go, I hear American music, usually old rap and R&B mixed with Britney Spears. *shudder* I'm looking forward to diversity of radio in the U.S.!

"I'm not actually going to sew hatred and discord, but it sounds like fun!" - me

I haven't seen ranch dressing or pepperoni pizza in 4 months. I didn't even know I could survive this long without those foods.

What is my orientation in studying Africa: am I facing west or facing Mt. Kenya?

Are the conditions Orwell imagined in Nineteen Eighty-Four plausible?

"When you're upside-down and yoru car is on top of you, this is not good." -Professor K.

I'm worried about getting into graduate school, while the kids I work with in the creche may not even graduate from high school.

Which is the better place to sit on the minibus, the front seat, or the back? Which is the better job, minibus driver, or minibus guard?

Fancy, Fire, and Finals

2005-11-03T11:56:00.000-08:00

I went shopping at the market on Sunday, which was a fascinating experience. The market is made up of seemingly endless rows of stalls, crowded together. The merchants sell all sorts of things, from paintins and sculptures to traditional masks and fabrics, from piping and sunglasses to clothing and food. All sorts of languages and conversations add to the roar of noise, from tourists speaking French, German, and English, to merchants laughing, joking, and bartering in Zulu, Xhosa, and Afrikaans. I spoke briefly with a doctor from Sudan who was selling his paintings while waiting to be admitted to the medical boards in South Africa. I discussed Christianity with a jewelry merchant from Kenya. I bartered and haggled to get prices I could live with, while still knowing that the merchants were always getting the better end of the deal. Over the course of the afternoon, my store of cash got smaller, my bag of purchases expanded, and my neck grew steadily more sunburned. All in all, it was a lovely afternoon!

I went to a very fancy dinner last weekend with several of my housemates. A student we know got a job as a hostess and waitress at a VERY swanky restaurant in Cape Town. It's one of those restaurants people like me only see in movies or on TV, with small portions of experimental dishes on large plates with intricate presentation and a ten-page wine list. We split a bottle of white wine, enjoyed cheese platters and perfectly-prepared seafood, followed by delicious desserts, and conversed in adult tones about literature. We felt very grown up and upper-crust. Throughout the affair, I imagined myself to be enjoying the lifestyle of the rich English aristocrats who lived in Cape Town in the eighteenth century. My imagination turned the restaurant terrace into the terrace of a friend's mansion, and we feasted and thoroughly enjoyed our evening.

Experiencing such ostentatious consumption in Cape Town further emphasized to me the dichotomy of existence in this city. The rich enjoy a privileged life with every luxury while the poor live in tiny shacks with no running water or electricity, wondering where their next meal will come from. A few days later, I read about a large fire in the township of Kyalitsha, in which already-impoverished families lost what little they had. Such occurrences break my heart and make me feel extremely guilty for enjoying nights like last weekend. Where is the balance?

On a completely different note, I FINALLY had my first final exam of the semester on Tuesday. The exam was precisely what I expected, since the professors had given us a good description of what the questions would be like. The only problem with the exam was the growing pain in my hand. After two weeks of relaxing, my muscles were not prepared to write for three hours! At least now I have an idea of what to expect, now I know that I'll be fine with the exams here. Only two more to go before I can relax in the knowledge that I've survived all my academic work for the semester!

Welcome to the Compound

2005-10-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

"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...

2005-10-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

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

2005-10-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

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...

2005-10-17T11:01:00.000-07:00

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

2005-10-12T13:37:00.000-07:00

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

2005-10-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

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

2005-10-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

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.

Walk On...

2005-09-28T20:20:00.000-07:00

As I was walking through Rosebank and Mowbray (Cape Town suburbs) this week, I saw and thought the following things:

A man is sprawled on his stomach, sleeping on the grass next to the road. I have seen him in that area often, sometimes eating, sometimes sleeping, and sometimes sitting and greeting people as they walk by. I think he may live on the street near there, but he never begs. Instead he seems to lead a quiet existence near that spot.

The security guard on my street always smiles and says "Hello poppy" when I greet him. He even stops talking on his walkie-talkie in order to speak to me. I don't think I'd be that cheerful and friendly if I had to stand outside all day in the sun and rain and wind, yet he always is.

I must stop using the word "block". People in South Africa describe places as "Up the street" or "over the street" and never refer to a number of blocks. Why can't I remove this word from my vocabulary, too?

A pair of students who I guessed to be dating walked down the street carrying a grocery bag between them. I was touched by the equal partnership of each person holding one of the straps on the bag. The walk seemed perfect until his cell phone rang and he started talking into the phone instead of to her.

On Monday morning, the falling drizzle and the rather weak sunshine in front of Table Mountain created one of the brightest rainbows I have ever seen. It arced right in front of the mountain and disappeared somewhere off campus. What a beautiful way to start a week of classes!

A woman in a blue work dress and a kerchief responed to my greeting with a reluctant smile. She was missing her four front teeth, but smiled just the same. I respected her for it.

The man who begs on Main Road sitting on a milk-crate with his crutch leaned up beside him and his cup of change outstretched. Sometimes I give him money and sometimes I don't. I'm always torn about what to do, and he is always there.

The pedestrian tunnel under the train tracks always gives me the creeps. Its walls are covered in graffiti and it smells like rotting fruit and smoke. I have to walk through it four times a week and it never gets easier.

Two university students walked down the road, laughing and conversing loudly in Xhosa. I wished I spoke Xhosa so I could share in their joyful conversation.

To Do List

2005-09-26T17:25:00.000-07:00

In two months, I'll be back in the U.S. That means I have just UNDER two months to do all the amazing things here that I really want to do. In a way, I feel like I need to do SO many things. At the same time, though, I've done a lot of the things I really wanted to do.

I have been to the southernmost point of Africa and dipped my toes in the Indian Ocean. I went on safari and saw amazing animals in the wild. I saw whales and dolphins at Hermanus. I hiked to the top of Table Mountain, visited the District 6 Museum, and felt the power of Robben Island. I've witnessed the bearing of the South African soul each week at poetry readings and seen hope amidst desolation in working in the township of Philippi. I've even gone to 9 weeks of classes on African Religions, African History, and Ethical and Human Rights ideas, mostly from the perspective of South African professors.

Still, there are many things I still want to do. I want to visit the Two Oceans Aquarium and the Castle here in Cape Town. I want to take tea at the Mount Nelson Hotel. I need to visit the Irma Stern Museum, not because I'm familiar with Ms. Stern's artwork, but because I walk past it every day on my way to class and I have no excuse for not seeing it. I also hope to make one more big trip, since we have a monthlong finals period and I'll only be sitting through 9 hours of exams in that whole month. (That means if you have a suggestion for an inexpensive trip I should make during finals, I'd love to hear it!)

I think if I had to leave South Africa today, I would feel as if I'd had a complete experience. I would not regret the way I have spent my time. Still, there is so much yet to do! It's overwhelming to realize that no matter how long I stay here I'll never feel like I've seen everything. It makes me wonder what I'm missing at home, what opportunities and sights I'm missing in the places in the U.S. where I spend the most time. Do I make the most of every opportunity to expand my experiences in the U.S? Have I been to the museums and seen the natural highlights of the places I live and go to school? Or do I simply settle into the apathy of day-to-day existence and miss out on amazing things around me?

I have resolved to see and do it all. The world is SO amazing... even the things in our local surroundings! There are amazing and interesting things to do in the places we consider "ordinary", but we overlook them all the time! Obviously I can't live every day as a tourist or visitor, but perhaps I could try to see things in my everyday life in the States with the amazement, curiousity, and wonder of an outsider.

"It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might get swept off to..." J.R.R. Tolkein, The Fellowship of the Ring

I'm so OLD!

2005-09-21T16:05:00.000-07:00

Before I left for South Africa, I determined to ignore my birthday and simply wait until I returned to the States to celebrate with my friends and family there. As the day drew closer and I made more friends in Cape Town, however, I decided to celebrate here on my actual birthday, then celebrate again with people in the U.S. when I get home. I had been scared that my birthday wouldn't be any fun so far away from home. I was wrong.

Monday ended up being a wonderful birthday after all. I got phone calls from four people I love in the U.S., I got tons of birthday messages via e-mail and the Facebook, and I even got a few greetings from the U.S. in the mail or hand-delivered.

The actual birthday celebration ended up being a dinner at an Italian restaurant in Claremont, which is a suburb near where I live. We had a group of twelve girls, all American students studying at UCT this semester. We feasted, laughed, conversed, and generally had a wonderful evening. I even ordered an alcoholic beverage for the first time ever. (Just a reassurance, I did NOT get drunk, even though it was my 21st birthday!)

This entry is not to brag or even describe, really, I just wanted to thank all of the people who put forth so much effort to make my birthday wonderful. I'm so blessed to have people like you in my life! Thanks for your thoughtfulness, care, and kind words!

Picture perfect?

2005-09-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

This is a test. I have managed to get some pictures that Jenny, one of my friends in Cape Town, took of some of our adventures. If they work, there may be more pictures in the future. If not, I can at least say I tried.

This picture captured the lovely dassies at Table Mountain and their attempts to steal the lunch that Jenny and I were sharing. Needless to say, I was less than pleased about their food-stalking attempts.

Above is a picture of the sunset over the mountains and ocean that we enjoyed at Hermanus over the weekend. I was awe-struck by the beauty and magnificence of the scene. I hope my pictures turn out as well as Jenny's!

Since I don't know whether the pictures will work, that's all I'll put in for now. If all goes well, there may be more pictures soon!

Thar She Blows!

2005-09-18T21:30:00.000-07:00

All the students from my study abroad program went on an excursion this weekend to the city of Hermanus, which is east of Cape Town on Walker Bay. The coolest thing about Hermanus is the prevalence of Southern Rightn Whales, who migrate to this location for mating and calving this time every year.

We arrived on Friday night and had a barbecue, then went to bed early. On Saturday morning, we awoke at 6:00 a.m. and were on the boat by 7:00 for a whale-watching tour. During the first hour we failed to see any whales, but we did see some dolphins. Dolphins are friendly, playful animals and they were following the boat and enjoying playing in its wake. They seemed so quick and graceful! Then, after nearly an hour and a half of getting covered with cold salt water and searching the waves unsuccessfully, we managed to spot two whales. They swam up within 50 meters of the boat and swam around us curiously. It was amazing to see such huge creatures that are still so peaceful. Animals with such size and power would be expected to be violent, but they were slow and docile.

After we returned from our journey, we went back to our hostel to change, then went our separate ways. I relaxed with four other girls and we simply walked along the coast and sat to watch the whales intermittently. All afternoon, the whales played in the bay within view of the visitors. They breached, which is the term for leaping headfirst out of the water and flopping on their sides. They spyhopped (stuck their heads up to look around), flapped their tales, and blew water out their blowholes. I was impressed by the playfulness of such enormous creatures. I always think of playing as something that young, small animals do, but even adult whales, some of the largest creatures on earth, play as well!

The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping in the craft market in the center of town. I'm not very good at haggling, but I still enjoy the color and noise of an open-air market.

We had an amazing dinner on Saturday night at a restaurant called Bientang's Cave, which is actually in a cave in the cliff overlooking the bay. It was a beautiful night with a nearly-full moon and the fish and seafood were amazing.

I went to church on Sunday with Sam and Joyce, then we joined Jenny and spent the afternoon whale-watching and relaxing. Despite being sunburned and tired, I had a GREAT time this weekend. Hermanus was beautiful, the whales were magnificent, and I got to relax with some really nice girls.

South African Slang Part 2

2005-09-15T23:16:00.000-07:00

As my wonderful roommate (are you reading this? ;-)) reminds me, I forgot several important words and phrases in my earlier discussion of African slang. Here are a few that I left out before but couldn't bear to do without!

Tomato (pronounced toe-mah-toe) sauce - Ketchup

Takkies - Sandals

Trackies - Tennis shoes, sneakers

Anti-clockwise - Because counter-clockwise sounds too optimistic

Robots - traffic lights, I have no idea why!

Dodgy - not quite comfortable, similar to sketchy or shady in the U.S.

Serviette - like the French, this is the South African word for napkin

Queue - This is used as both a noun and a verb, it refers to a line of people waiting for something

Kit - suit

Costume - This is a bathing suit, but it took me a while to figure that out, causing great confusion.

Lockers - Overhead compartments, like in an airplane

Boot - The trunk of a car

Bonnet - The hood of a car (I find these two very funny, since they always make me picture hiking boots and a bonnet on a baby, instead of car parts!)

Lift - Elevator

Lekker/Lekkers - Lekker is similar to the slang "cool" in the U.S., while lekkers are candy. Perhaps these both come from the idea of "sweet"? I don't know.

Queries - Questions

Trolley - Shopping cart at a grocery store

Keen - Interested, used in "I'm keen to..." or "I'm very keen on..."

Shame! - This word is thrown in, like "Pity!" or "That's too bad!" whenever a person is responding to a story of something bad happening to someone else.

Hectic - While this has the same meaning as in the States, it is incredibly overused here, and is often applied for things that are intense, busy, crowded, quick, or overwhelming.

There are also some crazy pronunciations. Liesbeek, for instance, would look like it should be pronounced as lice-beak, but instead it is pronounced lease-beck. This is from Afrikaans, but with 11 official state languages, it is impossible to predict how things might be pronounced since they could have roots in any of those languages. This becomes particularly complicated when one considers that at least two of South Africa's official languages also include clicks. It's difficult to know, for instance, if a "q" in a word will be pronounced according to the English like "quiet" or as a click from Xhosa.

Another challenge comes in the concept of simple letters and numbers. The letter "Z" is spoken "zed" like the French here instead of "zee" as it is in the U.S. Numbers are also very complicated because a comma is used instead of a decimal point, so 8,99 is actually 8.99. At first I thought it was a place-holding comma and a digit had just been left off the end of the number, which confused me greatly.

George Bernard Shaw said, "England and America are two countries separated by a common language." I think if Mr. Shaw could see South Africa, he'd say the same about them, too!

Spring has Sprung (...and Other Random Thoughts)

2005-09-11T08:33:00.000-07:00

I have no really big points to make or coherently-connected stories to tell, so I'm going to utilize my friend KJ's technique of "dashing". Here come some really random thoughts and stories that I wanted to get on paper.

What's that big, bright yellow thing in the sky?
Spring has finally come to Cape Town. The rains have slowed and we've had several days of sunny weather and warm temperatures. It's amazing how much nicer the city can seem when the rain stops and the clouds part. The nice weather reminds me of late-September tennis practices in high school and long afternoons of playing frisbee on the Quad at school in the U.S. I'm definitely going to make the most of the improved conditions!

Night Drive
I was thinking last night about the night drive we took in Kruger. It's nearly impossible to spot any animals from a moving vehicle at night, but the sounds were heightened by the darkness and the reduced number of safari vehicles. At one point we stopped the truck and sat listening. The night insects and bat squeals were all we could hear at first. After a few moments, however, we began to hear the low groans and agonized moans of a buffalo that was being killed by lions along the riverbed. It was terrifying to hear such a large animal crying out in pain and know that a kilometer away lions were succeeding in their hunt. We could hear the lions growls and the hyenas' hungry barks. I was struck by the seemingly limitless power of the lions and of the strange compassion I felt for the buffalo who, probably out of a huge herd, had been the only one captured. It was incredible.

Random Quotes from My Kitchen
1) "Oh, man, what a great day to do laundry!"
2) "You slept for 12 hours? You are STRUGGLIN!"
3) "Ugh, I always slip my 'is it' in too late."
4) Q: "Where are our pans?" A: "The same place as the plates, the silverware, and the toilet paper. Next door stole them."
5) "I walked in there and I thought I was in a crack house. They had a fire on the table and were melting stuff on knives over the stove."
6) "That's our illegal substances picture."
7) "Wow, what a surprise, you're eating toast with peanut butter and raisins. I'm shocked!"
8) "They stole my African cucumber. What kind of person steals a cucumber?"
9) Q: "How does rice go bad? There's nothing in rice that can go bad!" A: "Well, there's rice..."

Parents are People
I don't know why, but it takes a very long time for children to fully appreciate the humanity of their parents. Perhaps it's because parents are always authority figures and people in charge, we place them in the box marked "parents" and expect that to define them. We forget that before we were around, they had lives and experiences and dreams and goals, and we fail to recognize that those things are still very much a part of them. I was privileged to spend the last two weeks really getting to know my mom as a person and a friend. Instead of relying on her to take care of me, we both planned things together and spent hours just talking. I have to say, my mom is an incredibly special person; she's someone I would choose to be friends with, even if we weren't related! I am so glad that she could come visit and share this experience with me.

Vac Variations
Remember those silly first-day-of-school assignments where you had to write the stupid paper on "What I did for my summer vacation"? Here's a quick summary/list of what those reports would say if my housemates wrote them.
1) Bungee Jumping over the Zambeze
2) Hiking the mountains of Lesotho
3) Trekking through Namibia
4) Beach-hopping and market-shopping in Durban
5) Driving South Africa from top to bottom
6) Backpacking/Baz Bussing the Garden Route
7) Resting and Relaxing in Cape Town
8) Safari in Kruger
9) Exploring Kenya
10) Must-see Mozambique

Back from Vac

2005-09-07T20:47:00.000-07:00

A rhyming title, how about that? Spring Vac is now over, although I'm still not back into the swing of things yet. Mom is here, and I'm trying my best to entertain her, although at the moment she's trying not to doze off while sitting beside me in the computer lab.

Mom arrived on Saturday night, healthy, though tired and missing her luggage. We had a slow day on Sunday, going to the late church service, then wandering around Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. (Meanwhile, her luggage DID arrive...) It was lovely to share a beautiful, cloudless day with Mom enjoying the colors and fragrances in the garden. On Monday I took her to the top of Table Mountain to get a view of the city (and no stalking dassies this time, hooray!) Then we went out for Mexican food before going to see a poetry reading.

On Tuesday we packed and flew to Johannesburg to prepare for our safari. We spent Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in Kruger National Park riding around in open vehicles, looking out for wild game. We managed to spot all of the "Big Five" (lions, leopards, buffalo, rhinos, and elephants), plus giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, mongooses (mongeese? hmm...), snakes, eagles, imapala, kudu, duikers, and even a couple of cheetahs, which were a rare and suprising treat. One morning we even got stuck because a lioness and her four cubs were napping in the middle of the road we had been traversing. I got some amazing, close-up pictures of the lions being lazy and holding up traffic. We also had a night drive, ate lots of great food, and generally enjoyed the warm, savanna weather.

We arrived safely back in Cape Town on Saturday night. On Sunday we drove east of Cape Town toward the "Garden Route". We drove through the colorful, patchwork fields of the winelands, then stopped at Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa. We both dipped our fingers (and toes, accidentally!) in the Indian Ocean before heading back to Cape Town.

On Monday classes started again, but Mom and I still had fun visiting the Waterfront for some shopping and a dinner with live jazz. I decided to go to the creche with SAEP on Tuesday as usual, but I brought Mom along and she got to meet the children and see where I've been working. We also went out for African food, which was lovely.

Today I misbehaved by skipping my classes and taking Mom to Cape Point instead. We watched the penguins waddling around and playing in the surf, enjoyed the incredible mountain and beach views, and had a magnificent lunch out.

I promise I'll tell more stories later, but at the moment Mom has fallen asleep in the chair beside me, so I need to get her back to the house.

Spring Vac is Here!

2005-08-26T18:51:00.000-07:00

I have officially reached the halfway point of the UCT semester. I am not yet halfway through my visit, since we have a month of exams, but the academic classes are 50% finished. I feel so accomplished!

Spring Vac has arrived! (Yes, spring break in August/September. Cool, huh?!) Many of the computer labs are closing and I'm going on a big and exciting trip (more details when I return), so I won't be posting for the next week or two. I'm sorry that I'll be so out of touch, but I promise to write long entries on my spring vac adventures when I get back! Stay tuned for more updates, but until then: mum's the word!

Slang Dictionary

2005-08-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to get the hang of South African slang. Here are a few of the things I've figured out since I've been here:

"Braai" - Cook out or barbecue, always involving copious amounts of meat - this can be a noun, as in "We're having a braai on Friday," or a verb, as in "What should we braai?"

"Cheers" - Like aloha in Hawaii, this means both hello and goodbye, though it is most commonly used as an exclamation upon parting

"Howzit" - This is a greeting. Although it looks like a question, it is actually a statement and if you answer it with "fine" or a similar adverb, locals look at you like you're a martian.

"Is it?" - This, like howzit, isn't really a question. South Africans use this phrase to fill the space where Americans would say "Really?", "Seriously?" or "Go on."

"Just now" - This implies an ambiguous period of time. If someone says, "I'll be there just now," this could mean 5 minutes, 20 minutes, an hour, or even a few days.

"Now now" - A variation on "just now," this phrase implies more immediacy, but still bears no specificity about the interval of time.

"Petrol" - This is gasoline. If you say gas, people think you're talking about a bodily function.

"Roibos" - A type of tea available only here, which comes from a red bush (Roibos is Afrikaans for "red bush," how original!)

"Full stop" - Period, as in the punctuation mark, or a signal of finality or arrival at a destination.

"Boerworst" - This is a type of processed meat, much like a thin, spicy Bratwurst.

"As well" -(Note that "as" is stressed, rather than "well") - This phrase is tacked on at the end of sentences where Americans would say "too".

"Vac" - An abbreviation of the word "vacation", this is how students refer to breaks.

"Marks" - Grades

"College" - High school, or secondary school

"Varsity" - University - Using "college" to refer to "university" causes great confusion!

Conquering Table Mountain

2005-08-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Jenny and I set out to climb Table Mountain. There are lots of trails up the mountain, but we chose the Platteklip Gorge trail. The trail was more vertical than horizontal and we spent over two hours clambering up the rocks toward the top. We had beautiful weather for the hike, as well, with clear, sunny skies and temperatures in the upper sixties.

In order to get to the trailhead, we called a company called "Rikki's Taxi". This was an experience in and of itself. Rikki's Taxis are a mix between a pickup truck and a van. While they look like pickups, there is no separation between the cab and the bed. Instead of an ordinary truck bed, the back has benches along the sides and a roof. Passengers ride on these benches, so they are rotated 90 degrees from the traffic and hold on tight, since the benches have no seatbelts. The top half of the back is open, allowing passengers to look out at the drivers behind, who stare into the Rikki as though it is a circus tent. Definitely a fun and unique experience.

Platteklip Gorge was formed by water dripping down that part of the mountain for thousands of years. Thus, as we climbed up the gorge, we were surrounded by moving water. There were drips running down the sides of the rock on either side of us, which gathered into rivulets, streams, and even small waterfalls as they cascaded down the slope. Along the trail are lots of low bushes and ground plants. There are even several types of flowers that sprout up between the rocks on the trail, so the brown and gray rocks are dotted with yellow, pink, and purple blossoms.

As we climbed, we were passed by other hikers going both up and down the trail. The other climbers were all very friendly, smiling and wishing us well as we made our trek. We chatted briefly with a man from England who is spending five weeks vacationing in South Africa. We were joined in the last stretch of about fifteen minutes by a man who has climbed before and encouraged us to "keep going!" as we trudged up the last hundred meters.

When we finally reached the top, we felt incredibly accomplished. We hugged, despite the incredible amount of sweating we'd done, and began to look around the top of the mountain. To give you some idea of the location, Table Mountain is located literally in the center of Cape Town, at the base of a small peninsula. From the top of the mountain, you can see beaches on both sides, Robben Island in the harbor, the Waterfront, the Twelve Apostles (mountains that run down the peninsula), and Cape Point. We walked around on top for a bit, just to enjoy the view and look down on where we had come from. Only from that sort of height can you fully comprehend the sheer size of the city. It was amazing!

After looking around and taking tons of pictures, Jenny and I sat down to eat the apples and crackers we had packed for a snack at the top. As we were doing this, however, large rodents began to stalk us. There is a kind of rodent about the size of a beaver that is common atop Table Mountain. It looks like a hamster, but is actually related somehow to the elephant. In any case, these creatures obviously expect to be fed by tourists, so the little buggers surrounded the bench we were sitting on, then started closing in on us. A couple of them even came close enough to touch us, so we decided to put off our snack until we reached the bottom of the mountain.

Having exhausted ourselves on the climb up, we decided to take the cableway down. The cableway, which was based on a Swiss design, takes about four minutes to take passengers down the mountain. It has large, round cars with huge windows. As the car travels down the mountain, the floor rotates, allowing all the passengers to see out every side of the car during the descent. It is a really cool ride, though I was glad we hiked up.

So in one afternoon, I rode in a crazy open-backed taxi, hiked up a mountain, looked over the city, was stalked by R.O.U.S.'s (Rodents Of Unusual Size, for those of you who aren't familiar with The Princess Bride) and rode a Cable Car down a mountain. Now if only I knew how to get rid of spam in my blog comments...

This Old House

2005-08-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

No, this entry has nothing to do with Bob Villa or his PBS show, sorry. This entry was actually inspired by my friend Caleb, who blogged a few weeks ago about his new apartment and the history there.

I'm staying in a 150 year old Victorian house with 12 other study-abroad students. I live in a double-room with a girl named Sarah from the University of Denver. Our room is in the "basement" of the house, a room about 5 steps down from the main level of the house, off the back of the kitchen.

The house, probably because of some combination of age and student residents, has a few problems. For instance, the roof leaks in two places when it rains hard. One of those places is in the center of my bedroom, so I get to sleep to the lovely dripping noise of water hitting the pan in the middle of our floor. The house wasn't built with warmth in mind, so it gets very drafty. The wind pours through the cracks in between the bottoms of the doors and the floor, as well as whistling through loose window panes. I also have yet to encounter a sink that didn't have a slightly drippy faucet.

I'm not sure quite how, but we also managed to break our washing machine, which resulted in tons of water leaking out of the machine. My housemates and I fought a losing battle attempting to catch the streams of water in pots and trashbins, then when that failed, wiped it up with mops and swept onto the porch with brooms. You can just imagine me standing in our kitchen sweeping rivulets of water out the back door of our house, right?

There is only one kitchen for all twelve residents, which also presents a problem. For the three hours around lunchtime or dinnertime, the kitchen is crowded with people, all stepping on each other and reaching around one another's arms trying to use the one sink and one stove in that room. You can also imagine, I'm sure, the piles of dishes that accumulate when 12 students with no dishwasher all conclude that "someone else will do it".

The house has some lovely nineteenth century quirks as well. The floors in the main area of the house are lovely, shiny-scrubbed hardwood floors. The house is marked with incredibly high ceilings, too, so footsteps echo through the house like stones down a well. Many of the rooms have secret back doors, either into the back yard, the overgrown side yard, or the mysterious courtyard. The courtyard, as we discovered in our second week here, actually attaches to a garage, which has two cars in it that are completely foreign to us. We have no idea where the cars came from, though we assume they belong to our landlord, Peter.

By far the most interesting problem with the house, though, is the power. There is one set of outlets in the house that, if used, automatically blows the fuse for the entire back half of the house. We also have another essential kitchen outlet that sometimes causes the fuse to blow as well. Instead of just resetting, however, the fuse sometimes refuses to stay on, leaving the back half of the house in complete darkness for hours on end. The light in the living room is also slightly possessed. It is on a dimmer switch, but it likes to dim, brighten, flicker, and occasionally impersonate a strobe light just for fun when no one is near the switch.

Ah, the eccentricities of an old house. It presents its own unique challenge, since you never know what might go wrong or what strange secret it may reveal next. At least we can never get bored of it!

Poetic Night Out

2005-08-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

I went to a poetry reading last night. It was at a small coffee shop/bar/restaurant in a nearby suburb. The atmosphere was very welcoming and relaxed. All the people there for the poetry reading (about thirty people) crowded into what looked like the parlor of the old Victorian house-turned-restaurant.

The first half of the evening featured a woman from South Africa who shared poems she had written since she was sixteen. She told a little about her progression as a writer, about the four years she had spent working in America, and about the stage of her life she's in now. Her poems were incredible, some were really powerfully political, some showed teenage angst, some showed the disillusionment of nearing middle-age, several were feminist, and a few were light and funny. She had one that blasted American media and attitudes and the mixed messages they cause, which was particularly interesting because it showed the perspective of a South African woman in America to me, an American woman in South Africa.

After a short break, there was an open-microphone session, when anyone who wished could perform poems. It was amazing the diversity of poets and poems shared. A blind man shared a poem about his grandfather's death. An Asian woman read about the miscommunications between women and men. A black woman who studies at UCT did some freestyle poetry that had such amazing rhythm that it bordered on rap music. An older gentleman shared a poem about a stained suit jacket and the stories it told. A young woman spoke about her desire for love and acceptance. An older woman presented poetry about the beauty she sees in nature. All of the poets were recieved with enthusiasm and warmth by the audience, which was clearly a community of friends. It was an incredible experience to see such diverse people sharing their talents and emotions. I felt privileged to be present in such a place.

Left Behind

2005-08-13T11:46:00.000-07:00

There's something about knowing that everyone at home is heading off to school that makes me feel a little left out and homesick. It's silly, I know, since I'm in an AMAZING place and having a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but the idea of everyone moving back to school and getting ready for a new semester makes me sort of wish I were there.

I read about three of my friends moving back to school today. I, for one, hate moving all my stuff into a new place and having to set everything up and find plugs and things all over again. Yet the idea of everyone doing those things without me, of all of my friends from school greeting each other and swapping summer stories and lugging their possessions up staircases, makes me really sad. I wish I could be there, just to see everyone again!

It's sad to realize that for the first time in 3 years I won't be welcoming freshmen to the greatest dorm on earth; there will be strangers living in what was, for 3 years, my room. Not that I'm really attached to the tiny, un-air conditioned room with the perpetually sticky floors and the lousy lighting, but it's still hard to imagine someone else living there. I hope they're nice, though, and that they like it. For those of you who are still there, you'd better keep the FARC cool, even without the now-departed "Elder FARCers"!

To everyone moving back to school and getting ready to start the semester: Good luck with all your hauling, shopping, and preparations, and have a great semester!

This Place is for the Birds

2005-08-12T17:00:00.000-07:00

The birds on the UCT campus are zany. The campus is pretty densely packed and there are lots of paved areas where people eat outside. In addition to the students everywhere there are birds doing strange things all over the place. For those of you who have, like me, been annoyed by the squirrels at Mizzou, these birds are much, MUCH worse!

First, there are the African geese. In order to understand the abnormality of their presence, allow me to explain that there are no bodies of freshwater on or near campus. The closest things to goose habitats are the small fountains and large puddles on campus, with the ocean across town as the nearest large body of water. The geese, however, have found a home on campus. Today as I was making the hike up the hill, I saw three geese on the top branches of an evergreen tree honking loudly at each other. It was a really amusing picture to watch these large birds on flimsy branches making all sorts of racket.

Next, there are the blackbirds. I don't really know what kind of birds they are, but wherever there's food, these birds congregate. They remind me of seagulls because they eat ANYTHING. I've seen them eating apples, french fries, crumbs, orange peels, random bits of sandwich, leftover Chinese food, leftover Indian food, and they even drink spilled coffee off the sidewalk. In addition, the like to use the fountain on campus as a giant birdbath, which is pretty funny to watch.

The most annoying birds on campus, though, are the pigeons. Pigeons are, to quote my father, urban turkeys. They're fat, slow birds that are often unable to fly due to their incredible girth. The ones on our campus have a greater color range than I've ever seen, including gray, brown, tan, white, black, and even a few that look sort of reddish. The pigeons have similar eating habits to the blackbirds, so no food is safe from them.

The pigeons, however, have made inroads where the other birds haven't: the pigeons have gone inside. The doors to the social sciences building are always standing open, so the opportunity was there, I suppose, but the pigeons have taken to living, eating, and flying around inside the large open spaces of that building. I'll be sitting on the stairs inside eating lunch with my friends, and pigeons will be swooping just inches above our heads. They threaten to steal your lunch if you look the slightest bit distracted, and they have even begun infiltrating the lecture halls. In the lecture halls on the second and third floors, pigeons actually fly around the students heads during class. I'm always concerned that I'll be inside, minding my own business, and have a pigeon fly over me and poop on my head.

The birds, I suppose, are a risk of going to school on an urban campus like UCT. Still, I don't think I'll ever get used to that look in a pigeon's eye when it is threatening to steal my lunch.

Women's Day and District 6

2005-08-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, August 9, was Women's Day in South Africa. Women's Day is a national holiday in South Africa, so everyone gets out of work or school in order to celebrate females. I, of course, think this is a fabulous idea. In addition to the joy of having a day free of classes, I also received a free flower from the grocery store when I went to get bread. I celebrated being female by cooking a meal and sharing it with a male friend of mine. Ah, well, so much for full emancipation. It was, however, better than eating toast. Happy (Belated) Women's Day!

I spent this afternoon going to visit the District 6 Museum in downtown Cape Town. The museum is dedicated to a neighborhood that was a mixed-race neighborhood, largely housing "black and coloured" families, until the 1940's, when the Apartheid government named it a "white only area" and started a program of forced removals and bulldozing that cleared the area of blacks by 1968. The museum is an attempt to recognize and remember the community feeling of the area and provide a place for the former residents and their families to be remembered.

The museum features not only historical writings and quotes, but tons of photographs, artifacts, and lots of art and poetry by people who lived in the area. The main floor of the museum is covered in a canvas with a map of District 6 painted on it, on which former District 6 residents have marked their homes and the businesses they recall. There are mosaics throughout the museum that are a tribute to the broken community and broken possessions from the destruction of the buildings. There was also a mural being painted on one wall that showed people and things that District 6 represented. My favorite piece in the museum, however, was a sort of book that one former resident had put together that featured pieces of fabric with texts from the Bible printed on them, onto which shapes and words like "justice", "wisdom", and "love" had been sewn.

The museum, as well as the area it commemorated, reminded me oddly of FARC. (FARC, for the uninitiated, is the Fine Arts Residential Community where I lived for my first 3 years of college.) The sense of community that was present in District 6 is the same sort of feeling that pervades the FARC. The noise, different smells, and mixes of people and goods also reminded me of the diversity and unceasing activity of FARC. Most of all, the art and poetry used in the museum to capture the community feeling and the brokenness of District 6 struck me as similar to the forms of expression FARCers prefer. While I would never belittle the experiences of the District 6 residents by comparing their experiences to a college dorm, the similarities were fascinating.

Power Troubles

2005-08-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

All of my classes for today were cancelled because power is out on most of Upper Campus. I don't have any idea why the power failed, all I know is that the electricity went off in the buildings where I have my classes. It's a rather cloudy day, so it was too dark in the rooms to have class. As I was discussing this with some of my classmates, one girl said, "This is so third world!" as she began sending a text message on her cell phone. I thought about it for a minute, then disagreed. "Third world" would be not having power at all, and she'd have a rock in her hand instead of a phone.

The situation reminded me of the power outages a few years ago on the east coast of the U.S. To name a more recent example, I could point to my home town in January of this year when a huge ice storm knocked out power for several days. Power outages often occur in the U.S., albeit usually caused by natural disasters of various sorts.

While I don't find this power outage strange, I do find the South African power system a little... quirky. In many areas of Cape Town, power is prepaid. You put Rand in for your power, then when the money runs out your power shuts off immediately. Some homes have the U.S.-style billing, but the prepay system has been implemented to keep people from getting into debt. Cell phones work the same way: you purchase minutes and enter them into your phone, then when they run out you lose the ability to make outgoing calls until you purchase more minutes.

This left me with a really amusing image: the University on prepaid power. I can just imagine classrooms full of students during finals week and all of a sudden the Rand runs out on the University account and everyone is plunged into darkness mid-essay. A University employee, probably somebody in lower-level administration, is then seen running down the mountain toward the local gas station to put more Rand on the University account. I'm sure that isn't the way it actually works, but I really like the image!

Fences

2005-08-04T11:24:00.000-07:00

Walking down the streets in Cape Town you see endless walls and security fences. Every single house has an enormous wall or a giant wrought iron fence or a hedge with a chain-link fence in the middle. The walls and fences are all topped with metal spikes or barbed wire or razor wire. In the U.S. this type of security would only be around military compounds and high-voltage power stations, but here it's around every house. While I realize that the purpose is to keep thieves out, it seems like more of a social barrier than anything. It's as though the people with money are trying to insulate themselves against the outside world. They stay inside surrounded by huge walls and fences so they don't have to look at the poverty and need outside. Surrounded by fences and barbed wire you begin to feel as though you're living in a prison rather than a house. All the wealthy people living in their gilded, barbed wire cages.

I can't discount the value of security, though. Four people from my program have been mugged since we've been here. A woman was mugged a few days ago as she was walking the same route that I walk two days a week to go work at SAEP. Beggars come to our gate several times a week asking for money or food and I walk past homeless people on the way to the grocery store and the restaurants in my neighborhood. It's just sad that socio-economic conditions here are so stratified that these situations occur.

Mixing 2 Great Things

2005-08-03T16:31:00.000-07:00

Check out the article HERE.

A little context:
The Springboks are the South African National Rugby Team. That's right, enormous, tough rugby players talking about Harry Potter. Not only that but one of the players mentioned, Tondi, is an acquaintance of mine and a really good guy. The whole article, which was reprinted in The Varsity, the UCT newspaper, made me really excited.

Kid Stuff

2005-08-03T16:24:00.000-07:00

I had my first workday in the SAEP creche yesterday. I am volunteering with three other American students in a creche that has 192 children on the roll, though there are never that many there at once. I entered the creche expecting to be told what I could do to help. The days have so little structure, however, that we couldn't just step in and help with activities, there were no activities to help with. The only evident structure to the afternoon was which times the children were to be outside and when the were to be sent inside.

When we first entered, the kids were all inside eating their snack. As soon as we sat down with them, we were swarmed with curious children. I ended up doing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" with about six kids, then counting to twenty in English repeatedly and doing hand clapping games. I found myself surrounded by seven pairs of big brown eyes and 14 tiny hands all desperate to touch, hug, play with, and understand this peculiar person in their midst.

After about 20 minutes of inside time, the staff herded the kids outside. Despite the language barrier (the kids speak only Xhosa), we taught them "Duck, Duck, Goose". That entertained them for about 20 minutes and, after unsuccessful attempts to do "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" and "Red Rover", we ended up simply being clobbered by children all trying to hug us and shake our hands and have us swing them around in circles.

By the time we left, the three of us were determined to be prepared next time. We're going to buy art supplies and balls (they have no toys to speak of) and plan activities for the next time we go. We're hoping to learn a few phrases in Xhosa and to teach the kids a few words in English as well, since most of the children we're working with will be starting school next year.

I decided to unwind after this crazy afternoon by going to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with some of the girls from my program. Going to the movies here is a different experience from going to movies in the states. Rather than buying tickets, then entering the theater and selecting seats, movie tickets here are sold for specific seats. When you purchase your ticket, you are asked where in the theater you'd like to sit. You have to make sure that you arrange for seats near the people with whom you're watching the show. In addition, many of the movies here are way behind their American release dates. While blockbusters like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Fantastic Four" come out the same time as in the U.S., lower budget films like "In Good Company" and "The Longest Yard" haven't arrived in theaters here yet. The movie was enjoyable, though, and it was nice to have a girls' night out instead of sitting in the house reading articles for class.

Ordinary Day

2005-08-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

Each morning I wake up at about 8:30, always before my alarm. I do a little Bible Study while I eat my breakfast, then I walk resolutely out the front door and let myself out the security gate, stealing a glance up at Devil's Peak to see whether I'm going to get rained on.

Once outside the gate, I trudge the five blocks and 280 stairs up the hill to Upper Campus for whichever class I have that day. I actually counted, so I know that there are 280 steps. It's like starting your day with 15 minutes on the stairmaster. I'm always reminded of the line from Legally Blonde, "Exercise produces endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands!" Mostly the exercise on the way up to class produces sweat, so I sit in my classes wondering how bad I smell, but perhaps the endorphins will make up for the stench.

After class I usually grab lunch from one of the sidewalk vendors on campus, then walk back down to Middle Campus to check my mail. From there I walk all the way to Lower campus for computer lab time, grocery shopping, studying, SAEP, or whatever other things I need to do.

Sometime between 4 and 7 I usually get hungry, so I cook myself dinner. Now, when I say I "cook myself dinner", I really mean that I scrounge whatever I got at the grocery store. I dislike cooking and it's time consuming, so I eat toast every day, often with fruit, soup, or cheese. Toast, however, is the staple of my diet: toast with Nutella, toast with peanut butter and raisins, toast with peanut butter and jelly, or toast with jelly and butter. In theory I could actually cook something more involved, but that would be much too complicated.

After dinner is more reading for my classes, usually interrupted by conversations with my various housemates as they arrive, cook, eat, and complain about studying. Sometimes we watch movies on someone's laptop or read things that don't have to do with class. Whenever we get tired, we meander to our own rooms and head for bed.

That, with some variation, is a typical weekday for me. Lots of stairs and lots of toast. Ah, the joys of being a student.

The Tigers Ate My Homework

2005-07-30T18:55:00.000-07:00

I went to see Botswanan dancing earlier this week. It reminded me of an ASP Culture Night or one of the country presentations at a CISV village. The students in the Botswana Society, all citizens of Botswana in Cape Town for various reasons, wore traditional Botswanan dress and performed songs and dances from their country. The songs were all sung a capella with lots of clapping. The dancing was incredibly cool, combining stepping, stomping, and tapping their feet with different leanings, postures, and arm movements, all perfectly in rhythm with the singing. I felt it was very generous and kind of the students to share their traditions and heritage with others like that, not to mention it was an experience I definitely wouldn't have had in the States.

Rugby is HUGE in South Africa. I went to see my first rugby game last night (Western Province vs. Griqua). Rugby is sort of a mix of American football and soccer, only much more violent and involving fewer/no protective pads of any sort. I had the good fortune of sitting beside a guy who plays club rugby at his school, so he explained the finer points of the game to me, like the meaning of rucks and scrums, and how the scoring of tries and field goals and conversions works. Definitely an educational experience. Enough rugby might almost make up for the fact that I'm missing most of football season.

I went to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens today, which were beautiful. The gardens have a huge range of plants, including trees, bushes, ferns, mosses, and flowers. There was a fragrance path, a path designed for the blind that featured braille signs and lots of textured and scented plants, a path that showed particularly useful plants, a wetland area, and a section that featured dry-climate plants from South Africa. While I might have found a botanical garden in the U.S. less interesting, the plants were things I'd never seen before since most were native to Africa and prevalent only in warmer climates. The garden itself is set on the side of Table Mountain and affords beautiful views of the mountain and the city. I was amazed to wander through the garden and see all the wonderfully diverse and beautiful things God has created!

My favorite sign in the garden: "The aromatic lemon bush is rubbed on the skin to protect against dogs and crocodiles."

Introduction to SAEP

2005-07-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

I'm getting involved with an organization called South African Education and Environment Program (SAEP). SAEP has undertaken three basic tasks: providing and supporting creches (day care centers for 1-6 year olds) in the townships, creating tutoring programs in township high schools, and working with "gap-year" interns (students who have completed high school but failed one or more subjects on their graduation exams who have one year to study and pass those exams).

I went to visit a few of the creches yesterday and it was simultaneously heartbreaking and inspiring. The buildings are mostly constructed out of tin and cardboard; they are very small and rather rickety. Most of the creches have only three or four rooms, with kitchens for cooking and rooms for keeping the children. The creches open before 7 a.m. so that parents can drop off their children before taking public transportation to work and remain open until nearly 7 p.m. for parents to pick them up. The centers are very over-crowded, one of them had 192 children in only 3 rooms. There are few toys and books, the rooms seem bare. Most of the centers have little or no playground space and limited, poor toilet facilities. The conditions are, in short, tragic.

At the same time, the services being provided are a godsend. Most of the creches were founded by women who wished to help. SAEP simply works with those women to improve conditions, organize things, and provide funding. The parents are charged a small fee for the care of the children, but the directors also don't turn away children who can't pay. Despite lack of resources, the staffs manage to maintain remarkably good discipline and care, making sure that the children get regular meals and some education at the creches.

The children are amazing, though. When our group of seven college students entered, the children gazed at us with curiousity. They were eager to shake our hands, they waved and gave thumbs-up, and some even sang and played games with us. Despite the conditions around them, the children are like all the other children I've ever met.

I've decided to work one afternoon a week in a creche with the children, as well as spending an afternoon working in the SAEP offices doing my capstone project. I'm excited to work with an organization that is getting involved and trying to improve conditions through existing formats.

$6 for a Coke?! ...or... Why I don't have any clean clothes to wear

2005-07-26T15:46:00.000-07:00

The currency in South Africa is the Rand (R). At present exchange rates, there are about 6.5 R to the U.S. dollar. This is, of course, perfectly normal. The only problem is that price tags are in Rand, so everything looks very expensive. For instance, I was going to buy a Coke yesterday, but the price tag said 6 and I thought "Six dollars for a Coke? Unbelieveable!" before remembering that it was actually only about a dollar for a Coke. This has the effect of making me even less likely to spend money than I usually am. In addition, there are 5 Rand coins, which is almost like having a dollar coin. I am constantly amazed when I can pay for something with just one coin. Change is actually WORTH something here, which is a very strange reality. It'll be nice once I finally make the adjustment to another currencty.

I am also struggling with the present laundry situation. Our house has a washer in the kitchen, which is very convenient. (Except for that time that I made it overflow bubbles all over the floor, but that's another story...) While we have a washer, we unfortunately do not have a dryer. Upon learning this I thought, "Fine, I'll just hang things out to dry on the clothesline in the courtyard. Not a problem." But there is a slight problem: we're in the middle of South Africa's rainy season. That means that it rains 5 out of 7 days in a week. You have to do the laundry when you think the rain will hold off long enough to get your clothes dry. I washed my clothes yesterday, for instance, and all day I've been looking hesitantly at the gray sky and hoping that a sudden downpour doesn't prevent me from having clean clothes to wear tomorrow. Yeesh. I've never been more thankful for having access to a washer and dryer before!

I'm off to check if my clothes are dry yet. More updates soon!

Sesotho Hymns and Eating with my Hands

2005-07-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

Last night a friend of mine from Zimbabwe invited me over to have dinner with him and a couple of his friends. Together we cooked (and by "we cooked" I mean they cooked and I did dishes) a typical meal from Zimbabwe. The meal consisted of a base of "sudza" (I'm not sure of the spelling) or "mealy meal" with minced beef and swiss chard. Sudza starts out as a sort of powdery grain, but is cooked with water so that it has a consistency of something between stiff grits and very dense mashed potatoes. The meal is eaten without utensils, instead scooped up with the fingers of one hand. I had a wonderful time learning to scoop up my meal and enjoying the wonderful new tastes.

After dinner, we visited a ballroom dancing club party very briefly. I know almost nothing about dancing, but I got to watch some excellent dancers and even try one dance. It was quite an evening.

This morning I went to the multilingual worship service at the Methodist church around the corner from my house. The spoken parts of the service were in English, but the hymns were in African languages like Sesotho and Xhosa and were all sung a capella. I was the only white person in the room other than the minister. It was invigorating. The sermon was also quite interesting, blending Scripture from Ecclesiastes, Philippians, and John together with ideas from St. Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, and Rick Warren (writer of the Purpose Driven Life). The worship was invigorating.

"I'm going to open doors for you, doors you never even dreamed existed. Oh, what times we're going to have..." -Auntie Mame (the movie

2005-07-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

One week of classes down, many to go. My classes so far have been fascinating, though. The lectures keep tying in with one another in themes and ideas, but never so much that the classes are boring. Most of all, they've left me asking questions, which I love. Some of the questions that have occupied my mind the most have been:

1) Are ethics solely religiously or culturally based, or are they universal, or does it depend?
2) Can cultural comparisons be made or are such things inherently ethnocentric and therefore wrong?
3) What are the causes and solutions to the current problems in Africa?
4) Whose perspective is being taken in understanding history and shaping the present?
5) Do we have a right or responsibility to interfere when cultural practices are harmful?

In short, my classes have forced me to consider things differently than I ordinarily would have, and I appreciate that.

The other great thing about my courses is the schedule. I'm not sure how things worked out so well, but I don't have any classes before 10 a.m. and I'm finished every day by 1 p.m. That leaves my afternoons open for research, homework, and work on my service-learning capstone.

I visited the offices of SAEP (the NGO I'm hoping to work for on my service-learning capstone) today. I got to hear more in-depth about the sorts of projects they do. SAEP has education and social work programs on many levels. First, there are the creches, which are daycare centers for infants and very young children in the townships whose parents are working and need childcare. Second, the program hires interns who have completed their high school education but failed one or two of their exit exams. The interns work for SAEP on various projects and recieve tutoring and wages in return. SAEP also organizes after-school tutoring and journalism programs at high schools in the townships. The organization seems to me to be an excellent one. I'll probably be involved mostly in the administrative aspect, working on a database for an outside evaluation firm so that SAEP can continue to recieve funding and creating a brochure to inform potential volunteers and community members about the organization. I may also work in the creches or something, but I'll have to see how time goes.

Rain, rain, go away...

2005-07-21T15:20:00.000-07:00

Walking around over the last few days I've been reminded of the monologue from Forrest Gump about the different kinds of rain in Vietnam. Forrest goes on about "big, ol' fat rain, stinging rain, rain that blew in sideways..." and I'm beginning to understand what he means now that I've seen Western Cape's rainy season. It has been incredibly cloudy, cool, windy, and rainy here for the last few days. The problem with rain here, though, is that it always comes with wind, which makes umbrellas completely useless. If you try to use an umbrella, the buffeting winds will blow the umbrella inside out repeatedly until you eventually surrender and put the object away.

The nice thing about the rain, though, is that it has a sort of unifying effect on all the people on campus. Rain, of course, falls the same on everyone. So the people who are ordinarily fashion plates have hair and clothes just as soggy and rumpled as those of us who simply grab the first clean thing out of the closet. It also brings people together in our huddling under the eves of buildings and in doorways. There are clusters of people everywehre and it is suddenly simple to start a conversation with something like, "Lovely weather we're having, eh?" I walked all the way down from Upper Campus today with someone I barely know and we had a lovely conversation, which probably wouldn't have happened on a warm sunny day when people can wait around for people they already know to emerge from buildings.

Something about rain always makes me want to accomplish things. I feel as though since I'm inside I must get things done. Today I went and found out how to check out books from the Short Loan desk at the library and put Rand on my print quota so I'll be able to print papers and such. Not to mention that it's much easier to accept sitting inside and reading texts for class when it's impossible to go out and do something else.

Now I'm off to trudge through the rain to get home and have some toast and curl up with a book.

I get around...

2005-07-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

Perhaps I don't always get around, but I try. Below are some of the transportation options and complications in Cape Town.

Cars in South Africa are driven, as they are in the UK, on the left side of the road. This always throws me off since I expect all cars to be coming from the right and nearly step out in front of traffic after looking the wrong direction. Another challenge is heaped on remembering to look in all directions before crossing, and that is the lack of respect for pedestrians. When crossing the street in front of cars, it is not unlikely for the car to speed up and steer toward the pedestrian. I, like most pedestrians, have taken to checking every possible direction for traffic, then running across the road and hoping to survive. It's rather like the live-action version of Frogger.

In addition, since cars drive on the left, people walk on the left side of sidewalks and staircases. This causes me great frustration because I'm in the American habit of walking on the right side of sidewalks. Habit causes me to run into people constantly unless I walk along consciously repeating to myself "Left...stick to the left...", which tends to make me look mentally unbalanced.

Many people here don't have cars and gasoline is expensive, so a sort of transportation known as minibuses has developed. A minibus is a van that drives up and down the principle roads in Cape Town, picking people up and dropping them off wherever they request along the route. There are a few quirks of minibuses, however. Each minibus has 2 workers, a driver and a "guard". The driver steers the vehicle down the road while the guard yells out the window at people about the places the van will take you, collects money from the passengers, and runs "customer service". Thus, the streets are full of sketchy-looking vans, usually crammed with people, driving back and forth down familiar routes, emitting honks, whistles, and shouts as they go. Minibuses are cheapest form of transportation in the city, but they're a bit shady and can't be taken after dark.

Alternatives to the minibuses are metered cabs, like those in U.S. cities, and the train. The metered cabs are the safest but also the most expensive form of public transportation. The train, I am told, is very dangerous, and I have been warned never to ride it.

For students at UCT, there is also the Jammie Shuttle, which provides transportation to and from campus. These are strikingly similar to the Columbia bus system in that they are large blue buses packed with students. These are free, but the hours and routes are extremely limited. I mostly utilize the Jammie to take me up the hill to the top of campus in the morning so I don't have to walk hundreds of steps in the rain.

Classes? What do you mean classes?

2005-07-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

It's the middle of July, which, for people in the U.S., means that it's still summer vacation. But in South Africa, classes are beginning for the winter semester. Today was my first day of classes. My classes all seem really good so far. I'm enrolled in three classes: Religion in Africa; Religion, Ethics, and Human Rights; and History of Africa, Colonial and Post-Colonial Encounters. The first two are smaller discussion classes with about 30 students, mostly foreign. The History class, however, is a larger lecture which is broken down into tutorials or "tuts", which meet weekly, like discussion sections in the U.S.

On Friday I went to Robben Island. Robben Island is a former prison where political prisoners including Nelson Mandela were held during the struggle over Apartheid. It, like Alcatraz, is off the coast by the city and is no longer an active prison. It was amazing to tour a place with such immense natural beauty that was used for such a terrible purpose. The prison buildings are all surrounded by fences and walls with razor wire. However, as the guides (who are all former political prisoners who were held on the island) will tell you, all those defenses couldn't stop those held inside from fighting for their cause. Despite the terrible treatment and pain of isolation, the prisoners held hunger strikes, passed petitions, and kept up their struggle against the prejudiced system surrounding them. Just beholding the place where such determination was shown was inspiring.

I also took a minibus into the heart of Cape Town this weekend to visit the South African Museum and the Jewish Museum. Both were fascinating, but the greatest accomplishment I felt in the endeavor was actually managing the minibus rides and navigating the city with another American. I can't take credit for the navigation, my friend did that, but just handling the city atmosphere and not getting too frightened makes me proud of myself.

It is nice to finally have people on campus. Until today, there have only been international students on campus, so it has been rather empty. Today campus is vibrant, with students of all races speaking all sorts of languages all mixing together, hugging, greeting their friends after vacation, and beginning classes. While I don't know many people yet, it's nice to have people around instead of wondering down empty sidewalks and into hollow buildings.

To be or not to be...

2005-07-13T07:07:00.000-07:00

Hamlet last night was really good. Claudius was played by a Tony-award-winner and the rest of the cast was amazing. It was a fascinating performance in that the actors were dressed like modern South Africans, with the guards carrying machine guns rather than swords. Talk about a unique performance.

I'm now officially registered for class at the "varsity" here. I'm in 14 hours, which is actually only 3 classes: two four-hour classes and a six-hour class. It was actually quite a painless and reasonably quick processs, considering that nothing in the process is computerized and it all involves waiting in "Qeues" (sp?). I also got an ID card, which means yet another helpful piece of plastic that features a terrible picture of me on its surface.

I've been going through weird waves of homesickness since I've been here. It's a bizarre experience. I'm fine when I'm with people in low-stress situations. But when I get lonely or upset by my surroundings, I get abnormally bothered by it, suddenly feel homesick, and have, on several occasions, nearly burst into tears. It's really hard to handle because I'm never sure when I'll be fine or upset. For instance, when one of the computer technicians in the library insisted I stop using the computer for "personal e-mailing", then told me off loudly in front of the entire population of the computer lab, I nearly started crying. But I'll be fine an hour later when I'm having lunch with my "digsmates". It's a very strange reality.

At the moment I'm chilling in an internet cafe with a huge crowd of people. Apparently we picked the busy time of day. Then it's off for some school shopping and I know not what. Cheers!

Orientation Jive

2005-07-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

I don't have a whole lot to report of late, since I've been mostly sitting in orientation information sessions, but there have been a few notable experiences.

On Sunday I got to go on a tour of the Cape Peninsula as part of orientation. It was awesome to get to see the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. I got to go to the Cape of Good Hope, the farthest southwest part of Africa. There was a signpost at the CoGH that let us know that we were actually twice as close from that point to the South Pole as we were to New York City. Talk about a sudden dose of reality. We also got to see penguins in the wild, including babies. They were so adorable!

We had an amazing African drumming lesson/seminar last night for all the new international students. We all got to try the drumming with our own drums under the leadership of five really good drummers. It was incredibly cool.

I've found a wonderful, small Indian restaurant near my residence, so I've been there a few times already. I also discovered the local coffee shop for students. The first night I went there the owner was out drinking and had left a random guy who happened to be an ex-Catholic priest in charge of serving and making the drinks. I ended up playing Jenga with some international students and two slightly-inebriated off-duty waitresses. It was a hilarious experience.

I finally get to register for classes tomorrow, so I'll have some idea of my schedule then, as well as a student ID that will let me finally have reliable internet access (which will mean longer, more informative entries here and more time to e-mail!). Tonight it's off to a performance of Hamlet.

Sign: "Feeding Baboons is Strictly Prohibited"

Arrival

2005-07-09T06:53:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa. After 30 long hours of travelling, including one 17 hour flight, I have arrived in Cape Town. The flights were long and taxing, but for the long one we had personal video entertainment systems and could pick from a large selection of recent movies to watch whenever we want. The Pacifier, by the way, is surprisingly good, as is Coach Carter. I also slept a lot on the flight and have gotten well-rested since I've been here, so I don't feel terribly jet lagged.

I've met all of the students in my program. Most of them, including everyone in my house, seems to have come here largely for the purpose of getting drunk and partying, which is definitely NOT my bag, so I've been a bit lonely, so far. The city is incredible and beautiful, though, and I have hope that once classes get started and I meet some other students things won't seem so bad.

I'm living in a double room with a student from the University of Denver in the lower level of an enormous, 150 year old home near the college. There are about 15 people in my house, three males and the rest females. I have my own bed and closet and lots of space. The house is nice, despite the lack of common ground with the housemates.

A few notes about Cape Town: it lies right at the foot of Table Mountain with the ocean close on the other side. I haven't been to the beach yet, it's a 20 minute drive from my house, but I'm looking forward to getting there soon. It's very urban with all the expected conveniences and such (yes, I have hot running water and I can drink the stuff that comes out of the tap). There's an incredibly mix of poverty and wealth, with the townships and shantytowns showing immense poverty and very wealthy homes all surrounded by security gates.

We've had two days of program orientation, so tomorrow we start the official orientation for the international center at the University. Our first thing in that orientation is a tour of Robben Island (a former prison for political prisoners where Nelson Mandela was held) which I'm really excited about. We also get to register on Wednesday and get our student IDs, which means I'll finally have reliable internet access. Then next moenday we get to start classes, which will mean I'll have more reliable internet access and will be able to respond to an e-mails sent my way (hint, hint!).

Topics to be covered in future entries sometime: driving in Cape Town, poverty, more descriptions of the natural beauty, and a whole lot less complaining.

"Work is love made visible."

Tomorrow?

2005-07-05T12:34:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I depart. Tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. I leave my house not to return for 5 months. And tomorrow evening I'll lift off the ground in New York and leave the U.S. for 5 months. I think I'm almost ready.

I've spent the last week repeating to myself, "I'm LEAVING in (fill in correct amount here) days to go into the unknown for FIVE MONTHS." It's starting to feel real. At least, I think that's what that nausea in the pit of my stomach is. I've said most of my goodbyes already, leaving this as a day to mostly relax and mentally prepare. I even managed to get everything I'm taking into ONE giant duffel bag and my carry-on bookbag.

So in case I didn't get to say goodbye to you in person, consider yourself hugged and farewelled. I'll miss you for sure, so please, PLEASE stay in touch! I'll post again when I'm safely on South African soil.

Maybe if I sit on it...

2005-07-02T21:17:00.000-07:00

I decided when I woke up this morning that today was the day to pack. So I dragged out my luggage options: an enormous rolling duffel, a big framed camping backpack, and an ordinary bookbag. I'd made a general packing list and I'd done my shopping, so I started pulling things out of their usual storage spaces and making a pile on the floor. The pile, once fully gathered, seemed reasonably small. I honestly thought that I could fit everything into the framed backpack, like the study abroad program recommended.

Once I'd packed about two-thirds of my stuff into the backpack, I realized there was no way I'd get the rest into the bag. Then I had a stroke of genius: put the backpack INTO the duffel, then just take the duffel! "AHA!" I thought, "This will be wonderful, I'll have extra space!" So, I started packing everything into the duffel. I tried to get it all in, I really did. But with the tennis racket and the sleeping bag and the framed backpack and all the winter and summer clothes and shoes and stuff, it just wasn't possible. I tried shaking the bag, picking it up and dropping it repeatedly, taking everything out and refolding it, but to no avail.

I finally gave in and accepted the idea of taking TWO checked bags. So now, instead of one checked bag and my bookbag, I'm taking my bookbag, my huge duffel and a much smaller duffel that will hold just my sleeping bag and Howard. I'm determined to be able to carry all of my stuff on my own (plus it's a requirement of the program) so I'm going to be wandering around the Cape Town Airport lugging all of this stuff and generally looking like one of those horrible people who overpacks for every trip. At least I'm not pushing the weight limit for baggage.

New poll: I need to pick a couple of books, a few CDs, and some snacks to take in my carry-on for the flight. Please, lend me your suggestions! (Put them in the comments below)

A Week?

2005-06-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

I'm going to Africa in a week. A WEEK. I'm going to keep repeating this information to myself until it starts to feel real. Because it still doesn't feel like it's actually going to happen.

I got my final information packet in the mail last week, which I thought would prepare me. I have a visa and plane tickets now. I have a list of all of the other students going on the program. I have an address and a cell phone number for when I get there. I have the proper suitcases and I'm building my packing list. In 8 days I'll be on a plane to a place I've only imagined as a part of a large group of strangers (other students from across the U.S.).

While I'm on the subject of the other students from the U.S., I went over the list when I got it to see the names and home colleges of the other students on the trip. There are lots of people going to the university I'll be attending, which is reassuring. On the other hand, the other students are mostly from really good east coast schools, like Yale and Middlebury. Most of them also have several from their schools, whereas I'm the only student from my lovely midwestern college that will even be studying in the country while I'm there, much less at my school. But that's part of the excitement of the trip, getting to face the unknown and meet new people. I just hope I have the guts to do that when the time comes.

Now, off to say goodbyes, pack, and, oh yeah, fit in my last 2 road trips of the summer, bringing my last minute domestic travels up to five. Oh, the rushed, terrified, excitement.

She's making a list, checking it twice...

2005-06-08T12:10:00.000-07:00

With just under a month before I leave, my list of things to do to should be very long and detailed, but I don't even know where to begin to make it. There are the things I need to shop for, the details I need to arrange, the people I need to contact, and the actual packing I need to do.

On shopping: It seems like I would need to make a lot of purchases, but I keep thinking I'll just need things there that I already have because I need them here. I know I need to get more shirts with no words on them so my appearance doesn't scream tourist. I also need to buy an electric converter/adaptor and either buy or find a money belt. Other than that and a sleeping bag, though, I think I should have everything.

On arranging details and contacting people: It would be really nice to have my passport and visa in hand but, since I have to wait on that, I suppose I'll have to be patient. In the meantime, I need to mail a number of forms to Mizzou, register for my capstone, and set up a mass e-mail list to tell people about things that happen. Again, I feel like there should be more for me to be doing here, but since I don't have any information about where I'll be when I get there or anything, there isn't a whole lot I can do.

Most importantly, on the actual packing: I have no idea how I'm going to fit all the things I need for 5 months into one duffle bag. I need to take a camping backpack and sleeping bag, all my clothes and linens for 5 months, toiletries, paperwork, school stuff, and entertainment stuff. And, to make matters worse, I'm still waiting for my bag to arrive so I can start loading it.

One month and many million complications and little tasks to go.

Why there?

2005-05-29T00:03:00.000-07:00

My first entry in this travelogue, I suppose, should answer the number one question I get asked when I tell people I am studying in South Africa. "Why there?" There are numerous answers to this question, so I'll lay out the main ones here.

1) I really wanted to study abroad in general. I wanted to take my learning out of the classroom, shed my comfort zone, and spend a serious amount of time in residence in another country. I wanted to test myself and my independence by going where I have to rely on myself and God alone.

2) South Africa is...different. I initially thought I would study in New Zealand, since they have really interesting Geology (my minor) and since fewer students go there than, say England or Australia. However, one of my friends studied there and, upon his return, told me that he wished he had gone somewhere with a culture farther removed from the U.S. I gave this some thought and decided that my interests in studying abroad were in experiencing a very different culture and going far off the beaten path. I decided South Africa would be the best choice for that sort of different-yet-still-reasonably-safe experience.

3) They speak English. While I took four years of French in high school and always got excellent grades in the subject, I haven't taken a foreign language in four years and feel that I wouldn't be able to take classes in that language. So an English-speaking country was a must.

4) Service Learning. I decided when I switched to an Interdisciplinary Studies major that I wanted to do a service-learning capstone. I decided to combine that with my study abroad and complete my capstone working with a non-profit organization overseas. When I considered this possibility, the opportunities seemed more varied and exremely interesting in South Africa.

5) When else am I going to get a chance to visit, much less live in, Africa?

So, I started investigating and planning, did paperwork, talked to people, did more paperwork, and eventually got everything set to study in South Africa. And in just over a month, I'll travel to do just that.