The Wise Words of Madiba

Aaron this is my In-Country assignment 1 :)  Enjoy!

This week has gone by so fast that it is hard to comprehend and reflect on everything that I have experienced.  Even when breaking it into smaller pieces, actually putting how I feel and what I have taken away from this experience in words is difficult.  As we spoke during dinner tonight, Aaron reminded me that reflections from this experience will continue to come even months from now.  With this insight in mind, I will continue to be aware and reflective even after our in-country writing assignments and blogs are over and try to process and share now what I have learned thus far.

“I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds there are many more hills to climb”.  –Nelson Mandela

I saw this quote during our visit to Iziko Slave Musuem this past week.  I have always viewed Nelson Mandela as an inspirational leader, but actually being in the country where he made such a difference has resulted in viewing him and his accomplishments in a much closer and sentimental lens.  From becoming South Africa’s first black president in 1994, he made huge changes within the country during his term, but from this quote it shows that Mandela realized that more changes would still need to be made.   From my time here thus far, it is apparent that many hills have yet to be climbed and many changes yet to be made in South Africa.  This idea of climbing smaller hills ties into a main concept that I have witnessed this past week; which is the process of building community.  From all of the lectures this week, which focused on South Africa’s history, I observed that South Africa is still engaged in the process of building community within the country.  Whether it is rebuilding the community of District Six or regaining trust in the government, remnants and distrust associated with apartheid are still very apparent within South Africa. 

Alan shared his own experiences with apartheid during lecture this week, which were extremely moving.  For example, the first time Alan visited a restaurant was at the age of 26.  Even when he was a child he had to move schools and could not enjoy any of the recreational activities he grew up with in his familiar neighborhood areas due to the Separate Amenities Act of 1953.  His was unable to further his education due to his skin color and faced opposition on a daily basis.  From the apartheid’s extreme power to divide and destruct communities, it gave a lot room for these communities to start the process of rebuilding.  The entire community of South Africa was given a chance to begin the process of community building under the new leadership of Mandela and the creation of the new South African flag.  Alan expressed how the present South African flag represents unity, new beginnings and pride for the country of South Africa and its people.  I found this story of the South African flag inspiring, since I personally do not have a similar connection to the American flag.  It was moving to see Alan talk about the South African flag in such a passionate way and how to him and his people it virtually meant freedom from the past and a look into a new future.

I began to reflect on how I would describe the American flag to Alan and other South Africans, and drew a blank.  Yes, I understand what the flag stands for, but I do not believe I would be able to present it with as much passion and enthusiasm as Alan.  It made me wonder if this lack of passion was due to the fact that I was born into freedom and never witnessed the sacrifices being made when the flag was created, like Alan did in South Africa.  I realize that I take for granted the freedoms I am given each day, such as education, freedom of speech and more.  My generation has grown up accustomed to having freedom and though some in my generation still defend that freedom through their service. The threat of losing freedom or non-existent freedom has never been tangible like it was in South Africa.

So what comes next for this community rebuilding in South Africa?  There are many options and many more hills to climb.  If each following South African generation can learn to have the passion and unity about the flag like Alan, I believe it will help them harness feelings of pride for their country in years to come.  The upcoming generations of South Africa will be born into a situation more similar to my generation, with freedoms given to them as a birthright.  I myself plan on taking the step forward to see how I can create more of a connection to the American flag and become more thankful for the freedoms that I take advantage of each day.

What Happens in Room 1, Stays in Room 1.

Creating community is something that the leadership minor focuses on from day one.  All of my group, myself included, have had the pleasure to create a community in our leadership classes, organizations we are a part of and people of importance in our lives.  Yesterday after our long day of visiting museums we returned to Riverview Lodge where we somehow reclaimed enough energy to get together as a group in hopes to strengthen our already existing community.  We sat within Room 1 for hours talking about everything from deepest fears to life obstacles.  The vulnerability that each member of the community shared was inspiring.  It made me feel closer to each individual and truly help me understand everyone on a deeper level.  We realized that we constantly ended conversations of serious content with humor and sarcasm, a group norm which has been apparent since day one.  We took a quick break from Room 1 for dinner, but returned immediately after.  We then decided to continue our bonding time with a little South African wine (always a crowd pleaser).    We spent the rest of the night talking about every taboo subject that my mother has warned me to stay away from such as politics and religion.  I learned a lot about different religions such as Quakerism and the Baptist religion.  After numerous inappropriate and hysterical quotes had been recorded and six bottles of wine were gone we decided to end our group bonding for the night.  The group of people that I am experiencing this adventure with are truly amazing, each in their own way and as each day goes on I learn more about what they are capable of and how they push me to challenge myself.  Next week we will be spending the week in Guguletu, a township within Cape Town, which is home to South African citizens of extreme poverty.  I believe that the process that my community and I have already begun will be of extreme use during our trip to Gugs (this is what the natives call it).  For the emotional things that we witness while at Gugs, it will be vital to have our supportive community stay strong and aware of every aspect of the experience.

The Lollipop Gang

Each day we drive around in two vans to our destinations for the day.  Our drivers, Godfrey and Herschel, accompany us to most of our adventures and always have interesting information to share with us.  Herschel coined the term ‘Lollipop Gang’ on the day that we arrived from the airport, when we all exited the car with lollipops that I had given everyone on our ride to Riverview Lodge.  The Lollipop Gang consists of Kelsey, Brian, Shane, Riise, Nekey, Chelsey, Megan and I (with a few daily visitors such as Jane and Aaron).  Ever since we were coined the Lollipop Gang by Herschel we drive with him each day where he greets us in the morning as the Lollipop Gang.  The conversations that occur within the Lollipop Gang are truly priceless.  You can constantly hear Shane talking about Beyonce.  Brian lauging at Shane’s level of gay comments and then talking about Gaga the next second.  Chelsey, ‘Cheech’ singing about what we are doing.  Nekey telling it like it is.  Riise making everyone hungry by talking about food recipes.  Kelsey making everyone laugh about everything.  Megan snapping every picture possible.  Herschel laughing while Shane and Kelsey make ridiculous comments to each other.  Aaron wondering why the hell he chose to ride in this van.  And me asking embarrassing questions when inquiring about what type of vegetation we are by.  The Lollipop Gang is a smaller sub community of our group and I look forward to driving with them each day! 

The Rainbow House

Tonight we had a quest speaker Alison Alexander, who runs Rainbow House: a home for youth that have been taken out of a dangerous living situation.  The Rainbow House is home to twelve children who have been victim to abuse in the townships and removed from parents by court order.  Rainbow house was founded in 2007 by Alison, who also grew up a township where she began working with at risk youth at the age of sixteen.  As Alison grew up it was not encouraged for young women to continue their education.  Alison described herself as ‘rebellious’ and went on the graduate from high school and college.  Later in life, she moved to another township, which had the highest rates of incest, rape, substance abuse and overall neglect.  She reminded us that she made a conscious decision to move to that specific township in order to create change.  She was known as a safe house when she moved into the township and took in children suffering from abuse.  Alison told of how she only sees the townships as a result of Apartheid, nothing more, and especially not a home.  The townships that I have seen thus far are clusters of shelters made of scraps of metal and cardboard in very close proximity.  Alison explains that a majority of the extreme poverty townships are made up of only one room, where children are exposed to absolutely everything at a very young age including sex.  When the children become as early as eight years old they begin to experiment with sex because it is what they have been exposed too.  This results in young teenage girls becoming pregnant and repeating the poverty cycle. 

The children that Alison houses at Rainbow house attend private school that Alison pays for from non-government funding.  Alison does not send them to government funded schools because she does not believe in what the South African government is doing.  Classes for public schools can be up to fifty children in one class and social workers main goal is to restore the children to their townships.  Alison hates the idea that children will be returned to the townships, where she believes a majority of the obstacles arise from.

Alison’s story was truly inspiring.  She found her passion so early in life and chose to follow her dreams.  Obstacles faced her along the way but her dream of recovering from apartheid and ending abuse pushed her forward to make a difference in numerous children’s lives.  

Fun Facts

Baboons are not friendly and signs on the side of the road constantly remind you not to feed them.

If you are chased by an ostrich in Africa, lay down on your chest.  Ostriches have a large claw that can puncture your chest cavity and instantly kill you.  You won’t outrun them because they can run 80km per hour.

On the back of wine bottles in South Africa are warnings about the negative side effects of alcohol.  My first bottle read, “Do not drink alcohol and walk down the road.  You may be killed.”  Very true.  But if you walk down the road sober you may be killed as well since j-walking is a major trend here.

7 rands = 1 U.S. dollar.  But dividing everything by 7 in the moment is much more difficult than you may think.

It is custom to walk on the left, not the right.

Take A Deep Breath

We visited Cape Point today, a nature reserve and natural world heritage site located at the tip of the Cape Peninsula where the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean meet.  The landscape was something that you could only imagine, made up of fresh ocean views, native wildlife and a historic life house.  We braved the steep hike up to the lighthouse which gave an even more breathtaking perspective to the entire area.  It was a time where most of our group broke up into smaller groups and took their own path for what they wanted to explore while we were there.  Brian and I stayed together the whole time while hiking and continued to stop to take pictures of the numerous views seen from the hiking paths.  Besides serving as comic relief for each other while we panted up and down the paths, we really bonded in this unbelievable landscape and from the unreal moment.  We reached the backside of the paths where another smaller lighthouse was located and stopped to take a deep breath of the fresh ocean air.  We stood there in silence watching the waves hit the rocks below us.  It is once in a lifetime moments like that which create a bond between people that cannot be broken.  Our silence was comfortable and telling at the same time, we both were realizing how lucky we were to be experiencing such incredible and unique things in this once in a lifetime adventure.  I personally began to think about how large the world is and only the small percentage that I have been exposed too.  During the silence I also realized how important it is in everyday life to just stand in silence and take a deep breath.  Most conflicts and obstacles that I face in life are trivial, but somehow I get so bent out of shape about them that I forget to take a step back and think about what really matters in life.  What really mattered today was not the exquisite scenery but instead Brian and I bonding and strengthening our relationship.  What I learned today is that relationships are so important in life and trivial matters should never get in the way.

Hey, I'm In Africa

WE MADE IT TO CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA :)

After traveling for over 24 hours with my new family we finally arrived in Cape Town.  When we arrived we were greeted by Aaron, Alan (director of Arcadia study abroad programs and expert on the South African culture), and Jane (Alan’s co worker and our ‘Mom’ for the time here).  I have never been to a country where you drive on the left side of the road so that was my first fascination, but then again even being outdoors after our traveling was exhilarating for all of our jet lagged minds.  We arrived at Riverview Lodge shortly after being picked up from the airport where I enjoyed our first experience of tea and rusk.  Rusk is like a thick, hard American scone; but in South Africa they have it often with tea and coffee.  After the rusk we were shown to our rooms which remind me of the resort I visit each summer, Linger Longer.  For those of you reading this that have been there you probably know that when I say that I mean that the rooms need some work.  I am rooming with Brittany, Suzie and Megan.   I woke up early this morning for my first shower experience, which was perfect if you like intervals of scalding hot water and ice cold water. ;)  

After the delightful shower, we got on the bus to go to University of Cape Town for our first class.  The campus is located around the base of Table Mountain and is full of beautiful buildings, exotic plants and students with a British accent.  We spent our time in class going over safety precautions and orientation material.  It is very apparent that everyone on campus could tell that we were American tourists, besides the fact that we had our cameras out to take pictures of everything, we looked utterly confused the whole day as we walked through campus.  The confusion arises from the one constant that has been present since I arrived in South Africa, ambiguity.  For example, even this morning for breakfast I thought I put cream in my cereal because the milk was warm and did not taste like anything I was used too.  Also, when walking around the streets today there were locked gates, instead of doors, in front of each store, the storeowner has to buzz you in for you to enter the store.  The differences between the customs here are already very visible and it has only been one day.

We spent the rest of the afternoon touring Cape Town.  Alan narrated for us as we drove down popular streets of downtown South Africa.  We stopped at what is the ‘capitol’ of South Africa and a market with authentic African food where Alan bought us some of his favorites.  We then drove down by the coast, where there are million dollar living spaces overlooking the harbor and the ocean.  The drastic difference between poverty and wealth here is a very hard concept to grasp.  In one direction there are shacks made out of metal and cardboard and in another direction are the million dollar homes with luxury cars outside.  I think this division will be even more evident during my home stay in Guguletu next week.  Dinner was a meal native to South Africa called ‘baboti’ which is a type of ground beef with eggs on top, yellow rice and chutney.  For dessert, an Afrikaan version of Kuch’s Sister, a funnel like pastry, was served.  We spent time after dinner being taught about the culture and origins of South African music by Aaron and Siviwe (natives in the radio industry).  I am currently beyond exhausted but still up having an amazing time watching “Gay Corner”, led by our favorite gays (Enjoyed by all), a talk show created to pass the time and record the bizarre and humorous experiences we’ve experienced thus far.  I’ll try to get an episode posted. :) Tomorrow we leave at 8:30am for class and a day of touring District Six, Iziko Slave Museum and the Castle of Good Hope.  I’ll fill you in on as soon as I can but for now goodnight, but for most of you reading this good afternoon ;)

Today is The Day

I can't believe today is finally the day...the day that I have been waiting for, in exactly 3 hours I will be boarding the plane for South Africa.  I have three insanely heavy suitcases packed and still somehow feel unprepared.  I've had my first major road bump in the trip, yesterday my laptop stopped working, so therefore unless I fix it before the plan I will be having to use one of my fellow travelers laptops for my blogging.  Last night I spent the night volunteering at the annual special needs prom that my best friend, Amy, organizes.  It was so amazing to see how much they enjoyed themselves!
I'm heading to the airport right now, I will keep you updated. :)
Wish me luck!

Finally Here!

So I finally created my blog, which should have been done awhile ago.  But, for those of you who know how much trouble I have with technology you're probably not surprised.
I had the advantage of looking through all of my fellow travelers blogs before I made mine so I could get some good ideas of what I wanted mine to look like.  Everyone had amazing quotes that helped describe their blog and what they want to get out of this journey.  I started to look through some of my favorite quotes and came upon this one:

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller
This quote is perfect at explaining how I first got interested in going to study abroad in South Africa.  Besides the fact that I've always wanted to travel and South Africa seemed like an amazing place to go, more than anything I wanted to be able to see things in a new perspective.  By going outside of my comfort zone and going to South Africa I will be able to get a new perspective on things that I would've never been able to experience if I had not gone on this journey.  More than anything I am hoping that I obtain a new way of seeing myself and discover things about myself that I never knew.  I will keep you updated on what I find out about myself and the culture around me as the journey goes on.  I will also continue to post pre-departure blogs so I can catch you up on what I have been doing to prepare for the trip and more!

5 DAYS UNTIL I AM ON THE PLANE!!!!!!