Monday, July 23, 2012
8PM on Saturday--4PM on Monday Cape Town Time
I've finally arrived safe and sound at CasaSito in Antigua, a little late but, here I am. The plane rides were okay--I must not have chosen my seats online because I was in the middle on both 11+ hours flights. The transition in Mexico City was chaos--after spending an hour trying to get through customs just to recheck my bag and get on the plane again, there were no monitors that had my flight information on them! So I tried to go through security and they told me my flight was leaving from a different terminal that I had to take a train to! With only 30 minutes until my flight was scheduled to take off I had to wait 10 minutes for the train...while I was waiting for the train I finally found my flight on the screen but it didn't show what gate it was leaving from. Arriving at the other terminal my gate was finally posted and it still said it was on time so I was really worried I'd miss it--I had 15 minutes. Then I had to have my bag searched at security for liquids and I ran to the terminal to find a mass of several hundred people waiting at the counters. I thought for sure I'd miss my flight then but, when I finally reached the guard, he said my flight wasn't boarding yet. As it turns out, they have one gate full of buses to reach different planes but they only board one plane at a time so all of those people were waiting for different flights to Acupulco, Guatemala, San Lucas del Cabo, etc. etc. Phew. At least I made it and I promptly fell asleep when I got to my seat a half hour later, waking up only to hear that we weren't able to land in the city because the pilot couldn't see the runway. So, we circled the city for a while waiting for a clear shot at the runway. So my flight that was supposed to arrive at 10:40 actually arrived at 11:40 and my ride was ready and waiting to get home on a dreary, rainy night. Then...arriving in Antigua at 1:20AM (now 9:20 in the morning Cape Town time...people were already at their volunteer placements), there was not answer at the CasaSito door. We stood in the rain knocking and ringing the bell for a few minutes before giving up and going to a hotel associated with the shuttle company. They were accommodating and got me right to a room but only had Q200 rooms available (when I was planning to pay Q80 at CasaSito). It was nice to be in a bed finally! This morning, I waited until 7 for the hot water to come on as the posted sign said but it wasn't there. Then, I thought I'd use the internet while I was waiting but it wouldn't connect. So, I was really thankful to see my friend who owns the hotel come to help me with my luggage and he offered me a ride to CasaSito. Well, here I am, 44 hours later, comfortable and ready to meet with Alice before I catch my shuttle up to Coban. Talking with other volunteers at the house, I'm excited to be back and look forward to settling in for the next 6 weeks to learn Q'eqchi' while meeting people in Coban and processing my experiences in Cape Town.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Final Checklist
Headed into my last week, I have my final checklist.
o
Finish 5+ reports about placement
o
Finish UM requirements for placement
o
Do some hiking…somewhere
o
Buy an African Bushprint T-shirt and a Vangie
Coker album
o
Finish reading a couple books that I have to
leave here
o
Send the postcards I bought a month and a half
ago
o
Mandela Day 67 minutes of service
o
Buy travel health insurance for Guatemala
o
Visit with Ayanna!
o
Jump off the highest commercial bungee jump bridge in the
world?!
o
One last session at the high school?
o
Say bye to staff and other volunteers :(
o
Don’t get sick
o
Pack…
Seems do-able. But I better get moving!
Friday, June 29, 2012
4 middle weeks
So, Honey (my aunt) arrives tonight and we leave for Kruger
just a few short hours later! Just
realizing that it’s been about a month since my last update! The middle 4 weeks of the CCS program has
just flown by and I anticipate the remaining 4 weeks to do the same.
At the end of last week, I met with my supervisor to review
my accomplishments so far this summer and lay out my plans for the remaining
weeks. Highlights include: assessing,
revising, and piloting a survey that Cross Cultural Solutions administers to
all volunteers to assess the impact of the experience on the volunteer's
personal growth and development; designing, piloting, and revising two
volunteer reflection meetings including an "effective volunteer" and
"identity" workshop; helping to design and facilitate a meeting with
all of Cross Cultural Solution's partner CBOs about strengthening the
partnership; getting to know 3 (soon to be 4) different groups of volunteers;
facilitating a support at a nearby high school; visiting interesting museums
like the District 6 Museum and the Slave Lodge; attending several informative
documentaries in the South African Documentary Film Festival; hiking Table
Mountain and Lion's Head (3 times); and, of course, visiting the penguin
colony!
My role as a CCS volunteer intern continues to bring new
surprises as I’m faced with additional tasks that build on my skills as a
social work student. I’ve written more
reports this summer than I have ever done before—documenting everything I do so
that anyone would be able to repeat the things I’ve done or pick up where I
left off. I’ve also developed and
implemented interactive programs for volunteers, partner organizations, and
teens at a local high school—the process of documenting why I choose each
activity or discussion topic then reflecting on how each activity goes and
making recommendations for the future has really helped me understand the
concept of best-practices and is certainly giving me much needed experience for
my future. I was even asked to create
community profiles for each of the areas where we work!
Other things that have happened since the last update
include the Partner Program Workshop, 3 sessions of the teen program at Oval
North, my first and second visits to Mama Africa, the entirety of Encounters:
South African Documentary Film Festival, a job interview and denial, a workshop
on identity, Youth Day, a new group arrived, World Refugee Day, World Music
Day, my first rugby match, a trip to Stellenbosch, a third attempt to visit
Robben Island, and two Center for Conflict Resolution book releases/lectures.
Let’s break that down a little…
Partner Program
Workshop: This was one of the
central aspects of my volunteer experience.
With CCS Staff, I helped to develop the agenda to make the workshop with
CCS partner organizations (where they send volunteers) interactive and
effective. We used the symbol of a tree
throughout the day to represent the foundation of the CCS/Partner relationship
(the roots), actions and characteristics that maintain a strong partnership
(the trunk), and the reach of the impact (the branches representing the reach
and the fruit representing the impact).
It was exciting for me because I got the opportunity to meet leaders
from 10+ organizations around Cape Town and hear their perspectives on working
with international volunteers.
3 sessions of the
teen program at Oval North: As a typical social work experience, nothing
went as planned. I developed lesson
plans that I hoped would get the group comfortable and chatting then ready to
take action. It was good to be prepared
and the three sessions we did have went really well but different people
attended the sessions so there was little room for continuity and the
attendance dwindled off as holiday break began (it’s mid-winter holiday until
July 16th). Either way, it
was great practice for me to develop and attempt to implement a group
plan. It was also valuable for me to
meet learners from Mitchell’s Plain and learn about their experiences growing
up and plans for the future. I plan to
pick up where we left off during the first week of school and attempt to create
a transition plan so that this group may continue in the future, if desired.
My first and second
visits to Mama Africa: I honestly wasn’t planning to visit Mama Africa while
I was here in Cape Town. http://www.mamaafricarestaurant.co.za/en/
It’s one of the obvious stops for
tourists on Long Street where you can indulge in a platter of kudu, springbok,
crocodile, and ostrich with a side of warthog if you so wish. Clearly meant to “look like Africa,” the
place does serve some authentic vegetarian dishes as well. The experience turned out to be fun and the
staff are refreshingly incredible at making you feel comfortable and cared for
throughout the entire dining experience.
The entirety of
Encounters: South African Documentary Film Festival: This was a surprising
highlight to my time in South Africa. As
a fan of documentaries, when I heard about this, I headed right to the movie
theatre to get a frequent movie-goers card because I knew I’d want to attend
many of the screenings. In the end, I
attended 5 film screenings (of 100+ screenings of 30+ films) and enjoyed each
of them.
iThemba was an Al Jazeera film about
a group of youth who talked about their experiences living with disabilities in
Zimbabwe then had the opportunity to travel as a band to perform around the
United States. It had some interesting
political commentary about the economic situation in Zimbabwe of which I had no
idea…here’s the conversion (it’s okay, you can laugh…then go read about it!): 1.00
USD = 92,233,720,368,547,760.00 ZWD; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation_in_Zimbabwe;
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703730804576314953091790360.html
Libya-Through the
Fire was an Al Jazeera documentary about a man at the center of social
networking throughout the Libyan revolution.
It provided a focused, on the ground view of the revolution and
demonstrated the energy that went into making the news known to the world.
The Sunny Side of Sex
followed a Dutch woman to Uganda to talk with frank African women about
sex. It’s quite socially acceptable to
discuss the process and anatomy and to practice with aunties (paternal aunt).
In fact, there are even commercial aunties for hire if you don’t have your
own. Men can have their own lessons,
too!
The Cut was about
female circumcision. Painful to watch,
it was actually difficult to follow but the point was clear—FGM is painful,
many girls don’t want to do it, it’s performed at a very young age, and it’s
very ritualistic. It showed a packed
safe house where girls can run away to leading up to the date of the
ritual…unfortunately, they still have to go home afterward and face their
families and the social pressure.
The final film was A
Common Purpose about the Upington 25, a group of black men who were
collectively charged in 1985 with murdering a black police officer. They were charged together because of the
“Common Purpose Law” which allowed large groups to be charged with the same
crime because they were all there for the same intent, regardless of who made
the assault or the death blow. The film
follows the lawyer who was on their case and jumps back and forth between
actual footage and photos from 1985 to interview updates with the accused. The interesting thing about this one was the
Q & A to follow with the film’s producer and the lawyer in the film.
A job interview and
denial: The position I’m studying social work for at the Ginsberg Center
for Service-Learning opened up this spring and I applied as soon as I found
out. The position was for Coordinator of
Co-Curricular Service Learning—in short—working with student groups to make the
most of a service learning experience and contributing to the overall progress
of the Ginsberg Center. It was a
long-shot to apply, however because I don’t graduate until December and they would
certainly need someone to start ASAP to be fully functional throughout the
school year. Unfortunately, it’s not
quite my time yet to become a Ginsberg staff member but I’ll keep trying and
stay involved in the meantime as I have been for several years! I’m also looking forward to filling up my
schedule with interesting classes for my final semester then spending some time
in Guatemala volunteering with CasaSito again and (“hopefully”) beginning some
research on the best-practices and impact of student groups serving with
Guatemalan NGOs and communities.
A workshop on
identity: Just as it sounds. I integrated identity reflection activities
into an “Imbizo” (gathering) where volunteers and staff spoke about their
experiences with their identities and interactions with others. This related to how international volunteers
enter and experience African culture, how staff receive and interact with
volunteers, how South Africans overcome engrained prejudices leftover from the
Apartheid era, and how volunteers relate their experience entering a new
culture and interacting with new identities to their own countries and home
communities.
Youth Day: South
African celebrates Youth Day to commemorate the 1976 youth uprisings when youth
in cities and townships throughout South Africa spoke out against forced
Afrikaans language in schools and many were shot, abused, or tortured in jail
for their views. To celebrate, I
attended a panel discussion on the role of white youth in the struggle. It was an interesting and inspiring
conversation to witness and empowering to see a church-full of youth gathered
together to ask, “what now”?
A new group arrived:
I have really been enjoying this new group though their first two weeks have
gone by so fast! Most of them seem
thrilled to be here, learning about South Africa and helping at their
placements. Not looking forward to their
departure.
World Refugee Day:
Another day to recognize suffering, World Refugee Day was celebrated with a big
event at Scalabrini Centre with music, movies, art, and a “Peace Tree.” The event was organized by Scalabrini
volunteers and well-attended by the public.
After the event, we stumbled upon a bookshop around the corner that was
hosting a book release about refugee women and their stories. That was a lucky find…the presentation was
interesting and the discussion afterward was even more enlightening. We spoke with a girl from Burundi who is
looking forward to studying social work but cannot get scholarships to study
because she is not a South African citizen and the current situation for
refugees is one of transition and uncertainty.
World Music Day: This
was bound to be a cool day—apparently on this day every year, venues around the
world put on La Fete de La Musique, providing free music performances in
obscure locations throughout the day.
Excited to visit a music venue on Long Street that I had yet to visit,
we planned to go there after Mama Africa. Upon arrival, the staff had no clue
what I was talking about when I said we were there for World Music Day
celebrations. Apparently, the Cape Town
event organizers cancelled the morning of and had never actually informed the
venues that they’d planned to host bands there…
My first rugby match:
And Baby Boks won!!! Just our luck, we
bought tickets (for $3) for the championship game! Not only did I learn rugby,
I got to experience a full stadium and see South Africa win against the favored
“All Blacks” (New Zealand). This was the
under 20 league but it was still well attended and they were supported just as
if they were the adult team!
A trip to
Stellenbosch: Was less incredible than anticipated. We visited a touristy wine estate—though I
didn’t care about the wine, I was excited to learn about the history of the
estate and I didn’t really get a lot of that.
Instead I walked around with headphones on listening to a fictional
story about a slave woman who was about to be freed—we learned at the end of
the walk (not even from the recording) that she drown in the river two years
before freedom…hmm. Anyway, the estate
is also known for it’s sustainability initiatives so it was a good surprise to
see some signs about that. The city of
Stellenbosch was like a ghost town the day we went because, built around
Stellenbosch University, it was the start of winter holiday and all of the
students were away. It was nice to walk
around and look at the old buildings, though…and to get out of Cape Town for
the first time since I arrived!
A third attempt to
visit Robben Island: While waiting in line to board the ferry, our group
was approached by an American woman who explained that she and her husband
brought her father and stepmother to South Africa for her dad’s 70th
birthday but she wasn’t able to get Robben Island tickets (her bad travel agent
told her she didn’t need to book in advance…fired). Four of us happily sold her our tickets and went
right up to the ticket counter to buy four more for two weeks later. We’ll try again next week!
Two Center for
Conflict Resolution book releases/lectures: The Center for Conflict
Resolution is a very left-thinking South African think tank that hosts
lectures, book releases, and other events.
I was lucky enough to have two happen in one week—the first about white
exiles organizing in London and being central to the Apartheid struggle and the
second about a comparison of Mandela and Mbeki who were both post-Apartheid
presidents but viewed by society in very different lights. The first lecture, a panel, was much more
interesting and engaging than the second but both had some feisty Q & As
that helped me think a little deeper and question global affairs.
Anyway, I realized today that, the way the CCS program
works, my final meeting is THIS THURSDAY because I will already be gone when
the next group has their final week!
It’s time to start reflecting on what this experience has meant and
wrapping things up—good thing I started doing that here!
Off to Kruger National Park for a 4-day safari adventure!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Africa Day at Oval North
May 25 was Africa Day, which commemorates the founding of
the Organization of African Unity, joined by 30 out of 32 independent African
states.
Oval North, a high school in Mitchell’s Plain (a designated
colored township, built as they forced District 6 residents out of the city in
the 1960s and 70s) celebrated Africa Day with a morning assembly to celebrate
Africa’s freedom and future. After
visiting the courts with their school nurse/counselor/wellness program
coordinator/etc. last week, I was invited to attend this event with the
volunteer who was placed there. There
was a lot of excitement in the school since the “learners” (what they call
students) were permitted to wear “something that represented Africa” instead of
their school uniforms. Further, it was
the volunteer’s last day there so she had a lot of good byes to be said and
there was always a buzz when she’d walk through the hallways (she was the first
American volunteer to help at the school so she was immediately elevated to celebrity
status as soon as she stepped through the gate). As we cruised through the hallways people
asked her to take pictures with them and over the course of the morning we both
acquired enough clothing and jewelry and tribal face paintings to look like native
Africans.
The assembly started 3 hours after school started but
certainly no one had done any studying that morning despite exams starting next
Monday; instead we heard the band practicing, saw learners painting each other
faces, and others making posters to decorate for and celebrate Africa Day. The assembly started with the student-led
school band energizing the audience and the “honored guests” (speakers and
other outside guests like myself) were escorted in by girls dressed in tribal
wear. The entire assembly was arranged
by students and a new teacher in the school who has certainly taken the lead on
school improvement and empowerment activities.
The astonishing emcee was a popular student who always had
the crowd cheering and laughing. Honestly, his intercessions were really among
the most inspiring, impactful pieces of the event. He would reiterate the most important points
that the speakers said in case students weren’t paying attention to the
important messages about history, freedom, education, the future, and
HIV/AIDS. The speakers were well
planned, however, and included a gentleman from South Africa History Online who
talked about the origins of Africa Day and how education is the future; a woman
from University of the Western Cape who spoke about a leadership and dialogue
program they have at the school and shared her HIV status to make a point that the
learners should make good choices; and our very own volunteer who gave one of
the more inspiring talks of the morning about how excellent their school is (it
really is advanced…it’s specialized to business and engineering students) and
encouraged the youth to stay in school so they could achieve great things
(tear). As the emcee commentated, other
schools would bring in help to plan and present an assembly of this caliber,
but Oval North had everything it needed to make an incredible event—their
lively band played popular songs and had the learners up and dancing or at
least rocking in their place while a clearly exhilarated principal tried to
maintain order by keeping the youth seated, their choir (by far the most
popular) sang traditional African songs with dancing and solos that really got
the crowd going, and a drill squad that marched and drummed a salute to
Africans and their departing volunteer (an “honorary African”).
Inspired by the students at Oval North, I asked to arrange
an afternoon placement there. After
discussions with CCS and Oval North staff, I learned of a couple of issues affecting students and heard concern from the principal that those
students would not complete their education, resulting in a bleak future for
them and their children. Last week, I
developed a proposal for a 6-week group session to carry out with a group of these learners. I’m
looking forward to sharing more about how this progresses though many of the details of the program will be kept confidential to protect those involved. Please feel free to contact me directly for more details about this program.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
***P.S. Click here for the best deals in Cape Town***
So my mother raised me to be frugal and we’ve always prided
ourselves on finding the best things to on vacation at little or no cost. So, here’s my list so far of no to low cost
attractions in Cape Town.
#7 The Labia
There are two art circuit theaters called The Labia here in
Cape Town. There are some strange films
but, you’ll also find some mainstream movies there that are considered
“art-y.” You won’t find the “Lorax” or “Avengers”
films here but others like “Young Adult” or “Shame” (current as of this blog
post) play regularly and it will only cost you R35 to see a movie there
compared to R80 at the big theatres.
Plus popcorn is only R10 and a Coke in a glass bottle for R12. For under R60, you can have an entire
movie-going experience at an old-fashioned theatre.
#6 Nelson Mandela Gateway
Commonly known as the Gateway to the ferry to Robben Island,
this beautiful building is also a museum with interesting exhibits of its own. While waiting for the people to come back from
the Robben Island Tour (which you should probably splurge for, too), you can
look around the museum which currently has an exhibit about a Jewish, communist
couple that was involved in the resistance and the husband became a political
prisoner while the wife and children faced many challenges and exile
themselves. The exhibit seems to be
rotating but there will surely be something interesting there at any given
time.
Nearby you’ll find Nobel Square which houses bronze statues
of the 4 South African Nobel Peace Prize Winners and many quotes written in
multiple languages recognizing their work and contributions to peace. Also, the giant Coca-Cola Man is a very interesting
Waterfront attraction.
#5 Hiking the Mountains
There’s plenty of hiking to do in Table Mountain National
Park.
Table Mountain: 1.5-3 hours up the rocky, stair-like pass to
the flat top overlooking the city and beach.
NOT free to go down the Cable Car but it’s a nice ride since it spins
you around so everyone in the car can see all angles of the view. FREE to hike down but I would have been too
nervous to run down like some of the brave, fit people out there and “hiking”
down would require a lot of sitting and sliding.
Lions Head: 45 minutes-2 hours up the steep, well maintained
path that turns into skinny, rocky trails where you have to hug the cliff and
even use chains and handlebars to reach the very, very top. Completely free up and down and there’s a
convenient sign on the drive there that says whether it’s safe to climb or not.
Devil’s Peak: It’s on my list. All I know so far is that
it’s free and that the trail goes past a reserve that houses some zebras.
The 12 Apostles: I don't know yet if you can climb these but
wouldn’t it be awesome to say that you hiked the Devil’s Peak then the 12 Apostles
in 12 weeks?
#4 Old Biscuit Mill (or one of the many other lovely
farmer’s markets or organic festivals)
Pesto Princess Queen size tub of Basil Pesto for R45 ($5.60
while the USD is strong) and a full freshly-baked that morning baguette served
from a old trailer for R15 (less than $2).
Don’t get me wrong. Old Biscuit Mill has its scene and the gourmet
sandwiches can be decently pricey.
However, if you buy smart, you can have breakfast (baguette with basil
pesto), lunch (baguette with basil pesto), snacks (baguette with basil pesto),
and just add some shredded cheese to have a well-rounded dinner (gourmet pesto
grilled cheese on baguette). Yes, that
was my meal schedule last Saturday…and I still have plenty of pesto left over
to spice up some other meals (macaroni and cheese with pesto…grilled fake
chicken patty sandwich with cheese and pesto…curried vegetables with
pesto?...well I’m not sure about that one.)
#3 Green Point to Camps Bay boardwalk
This tour is completely free and wonderful in so many ways
(See Blog Post 6). To recap…
First, Cape Town is such a dog friendly city, there’s no
shortage of dogs to play with along the way.
In my quasi-experimental study, 100% of the respondents enjoyed talking
about their dogs. Tip: Just ask someone about their dog and you and the dog can
enjoy some bonding time while the owner goes off about their furry family
member.
Second, if coming from the Waterfront, you’ll encounter a
breaker wall that sometimes sends waves crashing over the barrier and onto the
sidewalk much to the delight of children at heart or dismay of tourists with
cameras. Basically, a “Waterpark at the
Waterfront” that doesn't cost you $35/ticket.
Third, everywhere from the City through the Southern Suburbs
all the way down to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope is part of the
national park system. Along the boardwalk,
you’ll find some beaches which would probably be nice in the summer and even a
place where you can walk down to the rocks right in the ocean by the breaker
wall. Enjoy the rocks near the staircase
(careful, they might be slippery or covered in teeny-tiny baby snails) but you
probably shouldn’t venture out to the larger ones…one local woman passed on the
warning that people have been killed there when the larger waves come in.
Fourth, playgrounds are so creative here in Cape Town…along
this path you’ll encounter some standard playgrounds but also a field of horse
statues with horns in their mouths and…other ends…that connect the horses to
each other so playground attendees can enjoy conversations across the field
from one another…Where else can you literally say that the words your friend
must be talking from a horse’s a**?!
Tip: Combine #4 with #3 and you’ve got yourself a great day!
Tip tip: The boardwalk from the Waterfront to Camps Bay is
an estimated 10K…perfect run or what?
#2 Penguin Park at Simon’s Town
As you’ll see in Lonely Planet, they do charge a good chunk
of Rand to enter the museum or penguin beach but those are totally
unnecessary. There’s also a well-maintained
National Park boardwalk that walks you right through penguin nesting grounds
and down to a rocky overlook where the penguins like to hang out and bask in
the sun. Exploring a little further,
there’s a tight squeeze trail that heads out to Boulder Beach where you can
watch individual penguins enjoying the peace and quiet or swimming in the
shallow waters near the edge. Here
you’ll also encounter Simon’s Town-ians strolling down from their beachfront
mansions to walk their dogs.
Certainly, Sea World can’t match a wild penguin show and
natural breeding grounds for $50/ticket.
You could even try to ride the train there for free
but…WARNING…if they ask for your ticket and you don’t have one they’ll take you
into a little room, intimidate you, then demand that you pay for your
ticket. Really, it’s probably better to
just buy the USD1.50 ticket…first class, that is.
#1 Top attraction and surprise of the year…..
[insert image of soft-serve cone]
R2.95 cones at McDonald’s!***
Seriously, this takes the cake…for a person who visits
McDonald’s only once a year for a minty Shamrock Shake and an occasional Sweet
Tea, I’ve been there at least 3 times since I discovered this amazing deal
about a week and a half ago. R2.95 was a
mere 42 cents when we found out about the deal and now only 36 cents since the
Rand has taken a plunge in anticipation of upcoming Greek elections.
Fortunately, there’s no McDonald’s in Rondebosch so my ice cream cone diet is
restricted to trips downtown when I can convince the others to stop at
McDonald’s with me (believe me…not a hard thing to do).
***NOTE: I would not otherwise condone the consumption of
McDonald’s products or support of their factory farming mega-dynasty. Please only support the soft-serve
Well, I hope this helps some other frugal travelers find
their way in Cape Town. Overall, the
cabs are cheap in comparison to Ann Arbor; the food at the fancier restaurants
is comparable in cost to a standard meal at Macaroni Grill though they don’t
fill you up on that delicious bread before your meal arrives like most
Americans look forward to…some will provide modest appetizers; renting a car
might be the cheaper way to go but watch “Jerusalema” and you’ll surely think
twice; and you certainly don’t need to pay R80 to ride that Ferris wheel at the
Waterfront to see the best views in town.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Seeking North Face Sponsorship
Like an ad for North Face, several other volunteers and I
hiked and climbed (literally) to the top of Lion’s Head this week in a mere 45
minutes (guide sites suggest that it should take 2-3 hours). It was quite a workout and made us feel like
important rock climbers when we had to hang onto the chains and handles drilled
into the side of the mountain (not as difficult as it sounds). The view from the top was well worth
it…unlike Table Mountain where you only get a 180 degree view of the city and
beach, the top of Lion’s Head affords a beautiful view in any direction. To the North, we could see the “Waterfront”
and the World Cup Stadium. To the East, most of the city including Bo Kaap,
City Bowl, and the highways that lead out to the suburbs and townships. To the South, we could see Table Mountain
(which didn’t look so high from where we were) and the 12 Apostles following it
right along the coastline toward Hout Bay.
And, to the West, we had a complete view of the coastline from the Sea
Point neighborhood through Camps Bay (the Laguna Beach of Cape Town, if you
will). Also at this angle we could see
the paragliders as they flew off the side of Lion’s Head out over the water
before landing in soccer fields or on the beach.
Tomorrow, I’m headed off to an Africa Day celebration at the
placement site of one of the other volunteers (a high school). Last week, I went with her and the
coordinator she works with (the school nurse, counselor, gardener, and Peace
Club leader) to visit a local court. The
“auntie” (an endearing term that South Africans use to address older women…sisi
would be for someone my age) we went with works with a non-profit that supports
victims of domestic violence in the court system. She wanted to show the volunteer and I the
“real Cape Town” so she showed us around the court system and we got to talk to
a social worker who manages the Witness Waiting Room. Anyway, this experience turned into an
invitation to attend this special day at the high school where the students
will celebrate their African heritage and honor their first international
volunteer by singing her…the Star Spangled Banner. This afternoon we listened to the South
African national anthem at least 20 times hoping that we could learn it before
tomorrow. So far all I can remember is
“Nkosi sikelel iAfrika…” It’s a really nice national anthem that has verses in
Zulu, Sutu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, English, and maybe even a couple others; it was a
protest song during Apartheid.
Well, we’re losing 4 more volunteers this week but have 14
coming in! It’s going to be sad to lose
some people that I’ve gotten to know in the past 4 weeks but I’m really looking
forward to attending the orientation sessions with the new and getting to know
them, too!
The Power of Experience
Last week was the final week of Cultural & Learning
Activities with CCS and also the last week for one of our group members.
We visited the District 6 Museum and got first hand accounts
from our very own driver who was born and married there. His schoolmate was a co-founder of the museum
which had some very cool features including most of the original street signs
from the area before it was demolished to become a “whites only” area and all
of the black and coloured residents were forcibly moved to separate
townships. There is also a bench, marked
“Europeans Only” that anyone can now occupy without issue. Both of the now
68-year-old schoolboys talked about how lively and accepting the area was when
they were growing up until the forced removals began in the 1960s.
We also went to a famous restaurant in Guguleto called
Mzoli’s where all of the internationally renowned chefs visit when they come to
Cape Town then to a community center to see local artists perform traditional
African dances. We also had a visitor to
Home Base named Themba who told a musical story about the reconciliation process. He explained the role of the Truth and
Reconciliation committee in overcoming the hurt and anger leftover from the
bitter Apartheid era and how his organization finds ways to bring music and art
to the healing process.
Over the weekend, the other volunteers and I spent a day
walking the boardwalk on the waterfront.
We thoroughly enjoyed the free “waterpark attractions” when the waves
would crash against the break wall sending a downpour of water onto the
sidewalk. We also stopped at every
playground and dog park along the way to play on the seesaws and pet other
people’s dogs.
These past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about how amazing the
power of experience can be. Through the experiences and encounters I’ve
already had here in South Africa, I have a newly piqued interest in:
·
The impact of short term volunteering on childhood
development. I’m concerned
about/interested in the lasting results of volunteers forming relationships
with children then disappearing over time.
The goal is to have steady care for the children and volunteers can
provide that but, in many cases, they are different people every few weeks.
·
Having learned so much about the history
already, I’m really interested in the reconciliation process and the
power of forgiveness. I should have
already been interested in this since it’s so connected to what I already know
about Guatemala but there’s much more out there to learn and I’m excited to get
started! I’m hoping to get into courses
in the School of Public Policy about Reconciliation and Peace building for my
last semester the fall! I should be well prepared!
·
Africa in general—honestly, before I
came, I wasn’t very interested or willing to learn more about the continent,
it’s geography, history, cultures, current political and social situations,
etc. I think I was overwhelmed by the
massive amounts of information there is to know and learn.
·
I’ve always been interested in the role of religious
institutions/missionaries in development and have a renewed interest after
some discussions with the group.
·
I was interested in immigration but never really
thought about refugees. After our
meeting with Scalabrini Refugee Centre, I realized the hardships that refugees
face integrating into a new society after escaping serious hardships in their
countries of origin. Immigrants in
general can be a link to learning about another culture and country.
·
I’m finally developing an interest in HIV/AIDS. Despite learning about it and being presented
with many opportunities to learn about and care about it, I just never really
understood the significance of the virus and disease. Being in the country with the highest
infection rate, I realize how it can so seriously affect families and
communities. I hope to take advantage of
a mini-course in the fall on this topic.
There are probably many more that I can’t think of now but I
certainly look forward to exploring these topics more thoroughly.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Penguins, Afrikaglish, and an awesome internship!
Well, it’s been a while since I’ve left an update here. Headed into my third week, I’m starting to
get into a routine. We (the volunteers)
all get up at 7 for breakfast then everyone else heads off to placement and I
head into the house lounge to sit at a little white desk overlooking the
backyard and start on my work for the day.
In the afternoons on the weekdays we have cultural and learning
activities, which are always enjoyable.
On Fridays and weekends, we have to arrange our own fun and the other volunteers
and I have seen some excellent tourist sites and entertained ourselves at home.
The internship:
The tasks that the CCS staff needs me to do are exactly in line with my interests and
are great experience for me. Over the
next 12 weeks, I’m focusing on three main things: reviewing and strengthening
the volunteer impact evaluation tools, helping develop volunteer development
workshops, and helping to develop a partner program evaluation and development
workshop. So far, I’ve already: helped
to develop, implement, and revise a volunteer placement workshop; laid out an
evaluation plan and logic model to help organize the existing evaluation tools
(like surveys, feedback meetings, etc); started inputting data from Volunteer
Personal Growth reflection forms; and started to visit the partner programs
where the current volunteers are working.
The two staff members I work with are amazing and share similar
interests in volunteer impact. Also,
they are experienced and respected social workers, leading an excellent CCS
site. After the first couple weeks, I
have the option to do extra hours in the afternoons with CCS or add on an extra
placement site so I’m thinking about what I’d like to do. There are a couple of placements that
interest me…one is working with high school youth on a school environment
improvement program that includes clean-ups, life skills, and other groups…the
other is with a refugee resource center that offers a wide array of services
for refugees (www.scalabrini.org.za).
Cultural & Learning Activities:
This week we visited Bo Kaap and the Slave Lodge. Bo Kaap is the colorful area of town that was
originally home to freed slaves. Cape
Town was part of the Indian Ocean slave trade so slaves here were largely from
Madagascar, Malaysia, and other East African and Asian countries rather than
West Africans taken in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade for the U.S.
We also had an African drumming session where we learned
some rhythms on Djembe drums.
We’ve had a couple of presentations at home base, one about
HIV/AIDS and another about refugees and diversity in South Africa.
AND! We had our first language lesson on Tuesday—I’m going
to study Xhosa for the first 4 weeks.
While the words are hard to remember, they are easy to pronounce once
you learn the simple rules of the language.
There are some subtle differences in sound between “t” and “th”, “b” and
“bh”, etc. We haven’t started to learn
the clicks yet but that will be an exciting part of the language…taken from the
Khoi San language, clicks are always the hardest part for non-natives to
learn…even the word Xhosa is pronounced with a nice little click at the
beginning…I still can’t do it.
Free time:
This week, the group and I explored Simon’s Town, the
Waterfront, Camps Bay, Haut Bay, the Old Biscuit Mill, and a couple of the
markets in the Cape Bowl District. Lots
of nice scenery around…some zebras and seals right here in town. The trip to Simon’s Town was exciting because
we got to see lots of wild penguins up close and personal. Yesterday, we saw a soccer game in the World
Cup Stadium! It looked much bigger on TV
but the vuvuzelas are much louder up close and personal. I’ve also had a bit of time to run…there’s a
nice park a few blocks away but I also look forward to exploring the University
of Cape Town campus which is just across the railroad tracks from us.
Photos are heeeeeere! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10101628305923693.3226108.2260930&type=3
Side notes:
Food is never as you’d expect here…we tried a nice Mexican
restaurant in Haut Bay this week…my beans in my enchilada tasted like refried
baked beans (they were sweet) and the other volunteers who ordered beef in
their burritos or enchiladas literally got beef stew in a tortilla shell. Tried to buy some tortilla chips at the store
since I am starting to go through withdraw from my staple foods of beans and
corn tortillas…they don't even sell them!
Luckily, we finally found some decent ranch dressing…it doesn't nearly
stack up but it’s nice to have on the salads instead of the staple “sweet
chili” sauce that pops up in every meal here.
Also starting to discover South African television…they have
the equivalent of soap operas here that are pretty similar to telenovelas…the
cool thing about them is that they’re in both Afrikaans and
English…Afrikaglish?...so they keep you on your toes.
Still trying to find some good live music…no luck yet
surprisingly. Cape Town is known for its
jazz and hip hop but I also want to see some other local types of music.
My favorite part of Cape Town so far is how diverse it is
everywhere you go. Inequalities are
certainly present and obvious but, moreso than I’ve ever experienced in the
U.S. or other countries, people are really integrated in all of the areas I’ve
visited. People interchangeably
communicate in English and other languages like Xhosa or Afrikaans or any other
language. I’m starting to be able to
point out the American girls but, other than that, it’s pretty challenging to
know where people are from since there are so many tourists, expats, and
refugees from all over Africa and the world.
P.S. Did you know that the U.S. is the only English-speaking
country that says “z” the way we do (“zee”)…everyone else says it “zed.” Learned that today!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Climbing Table Mountain for International Workers' Day
Yesterday we celebrated International Workers Day by
climbing (literally) to the top of Table Mountain. We met a guard at the entrance to the hiking
trail who insisted that we purchase more water from him at a $3.50/L…turns out
he was right. The climb was easy for the
first half hour…then just as we started to get tired…it became a
cliff…literally stairs where I had to put my knee up to my chest and use my
hands to climb. It was a tough climb but
well worth it, especially once we got to the top! A view of all of Cape Town. I would share some pictures but I pay per MB
for the Internet here and anything but email is pretty costly.
Other things to note are my poor sense of direction here. I
normally pride myself on being able to master a map in a couple of days and
always know where I am…so far, I have a general sense but I probably couldn’t
tell you which way is North unless the sun is out…especially when we go into
the townships.
Also, I’d like to note how remarkably few stray dogs I’ve
seen. Though unneutered, many are kept
in fenced in yards and are not roaming the street…I wonder if that makes the
difference from the hoards of stray dogs I’ve noted in Latin American
countries. Mama Ivy, our tour guide,
said that many people keep dogs as pets. I’ve also heard rumors that they might need to
eat dogs and cats but that’s yet unconfirmed.
Among other things, they keep in their yards—cows, goats, and sheep.
First Day of Placement and more Orientation
Today was my first day of placement! I got to see where the
other volunteers are working then sit in on a CCS office meeting. Riding in the van with T (the placement
coordinator), during the staff meeting, and in a one-on-one meeting with Luann
(the director), I started to get an idea of what CCS South Africa already does
and wants to do with regards to evaluation.
I continue to be inspired by CCS’s mission and vision. It is empowering to listen to how they talk
about their partnerships as true partnerships, how respect for the volunteer
and the community are equivalent, and how they are continually evaluating
themselves to ensure that they are working with and supporting sustainable
organizations that already have projects.
My first task as an intern is to read about CCS, their own evaluation,
and other evaluation about international volunteers
The staff recognizes that international volunteerism is
under a critical eye here in South Africa at the moment as, after a history of colonial
and paternalistic relationships with other countries, people wonder what the
motivations of volunteers are and question the impact. I will get to explore this a lot more this
summer for my placement since CCS shares an interest in understanding where the
organization falls in the spectrum of responsible and ethical volunteering.
My own goals for the summer
include those of learning about existing international volunteer programs,
building evaluation skills, interacting with other volunteers to see how their
attitudes change through shorter versus longer term placements, and discovering
how the staff at CCS view having a volunteer coming in. Other things I’d like to do are to sit in on
a social work or development class or two at the University of Cape Town, visit
the Projects Abroad or other international volunteer agency offices, and attend
a session of Parliament.
Going back to the past few days…
Monday was a township tour where I started to learn about what
Cape Town is like for a majority of the local population. The townships are areas outside of the city
with anything from humble houses to makeshift shacks where most of the coloured
and black populations were forced to live during Apartheid and still live
today. The tour started with a PowerPoint lecture by Mama Ivy, a Xhosa (pronounced with a click: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4RdHNJIh9s) woman
who grew up in the Cape Town townships and was here to share her culture and
traditions. She explained how people go
to traditional healers and doctors and still perform rituals, despite having
also picked up Christianity.
When we started to drive around through the townships, I
felt uncomfortable being in a group of tourists going to gawk at people and the
way they live. For some reason, though,
I found myself wanting to take pictures to share with people I know so they,
too, can get an idea of just how some people live. Speaking of the way they live, though, I was
actually not surprised by the “shanties.”
If anything, I was surprised by the quality of the outside
appearance—many having glass windows and being made of cement with nice looking
roofs and murals. It was interesting how
the buildings, nicer houses, and shacks were intermixed. Apparently, the nicer homes are government
provided housing where they cleared the shacks and replaced them with small,
standard, cement buildings that they sell to the residents over the course of
several years. The residents then make
additions and make the homes their own.
It’s amazing what a little jumpstart can do to someone’s housing
situation. During the tour, we also learned
a lot about the history of the hostels made for migrant workers and how they’ve
since been converted into single family rooms.
Coca-Cola and other companies still have hostels in the townships for
their workers and families to live in.
During the tour, we visited a college that had a large
display detailing the history of apartheid and what has happened since. We saw the sites of a couple of iconic
murders including those of the Gugulethu Seven (http://www.capetown.dj/Regions/CapeFlats/Gugulethu/GugulethuSeven.html) and three boys killed in Athleton
in the “Trojan Horse” massacre (http://www.hrmc.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=30). After the
Gugulethu Seven were shot, gangs feared white people and a Fulbright Scholar and
political activist, Amy Beihl, was killed when accompanying some friends home
to the townships. (http://www.amybiehl.co.za/?page_id=6)
Despite having access to people who have experienced
Apartheid first hand and their stated willingness to share details about the
history of their country with us, when I asked questions about South Africa’s
involvement in WWII and about the government structure during Apartheid, I was
met with resistance or silence. Fortunately, I have 12 weeks to piece together
a long, detailed history. I will use
the many books lying around Home Base, discussions with staff and other
volunteers, and we’ve already started devouring the CCS DVD collection. I look forward to drawing comparisons to what
I already know about Guatemala’s similarly rocky history and continued
peace-building process. (Check these out: http://www.skinthemovie.net/site/ should have read this before I left but nothing will quite pique interest in history like seeing the outcomes of it first hand...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa).
The past few days, I’ve been wondering to what extent
Apartheid is really over and, coincidentally, that’s a hot topic currently in
South Africa since Friday was Freedom Day (commemorating the day in 1993 that
ALL people in South Africa were allowed to vote in the first truly democratic
election and Nelson Mandela was elected as leader of a new, FREE South Africa). In Monday’s newspaper, there were two
relevant articles. One by Desmond Tutu
that reflected on the past 18 years (http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2012/04/29/each-one-of-us-must-help-the-miracle-happen) and another by Jeremy Cronin, a leader in
the Communist Party and member of Parliament, that discussed how maybe the end
of Apartheid meant the end of racial inequality but it was quickly replaced by
an increasingly capitalistic system that led to severe economic
inequality (http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2012/04/29/how-history-haunts-us). We learned today that South
Africa was rated last year with the highest Gini coefficient, which represents
the wealth disparities between the richest and poorest in the country, beating
out Brazil. (http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2012/01/23/thousands-of-tax-cheats-in-sars-sights) Because of the significant
wealth disparities, blacks largely remain in the townships and fear white
people because they are so unfamiliar.
One thing that I appreciate CCS is how they help to break down racial
fear by sending volunteers into the townships where many children would
otherwise be fearful of touching a white person.
That was a lot of detail so I’m just going to end this post
with a quote from the article by Desmond Tutu and create another post to talk
about how the group and I spent May Day (International Workers Day).
“It starts within us,
with the recognition that we don not live in a vacuum. Each one of us is a constituent part of a
greater organism; our community, our country, our continent, our world. […] If
we are to improve our performance, we must improve our teamwork, which begins
with our own understanding that we are members of one team. Our hopes and aspirations are tied up not
just in ourselves and our own material wellbeing, but also in each other. For the organism to prosper requires healthy
cells.” Desmond Tutu
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