Final Checklist

Headed into my last week, I have my final checklist.

See wild animals in the wild—Tydon Safari at Sabi Sands and Kruger!

See a prison and learn about history--Robben Island

Climb something—Table Mountain and Lion’s Head
See penguins in the wild—Boulder’s Beach Penguins

Visit the Southeastern-most point of Africa--Cape of Good Hope

See a whale—Two Oceans Marine Eco-Tour

Buy an African print skirt—Women’s Market on Long Street

Show off at trivia—Mr. Pickwicks with CCS Volunteers and Alex (Did you know that Kruger National Park was called Sabi first?)

Buy some flats—Croc’s Outlet in Access Park

Arrange housing and transport for Guatemala—CasaSito, Dona Martita, and Coban Travels

Pay for Q’eqchi’ classes—Oxford Language School

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!

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.

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. 

Orientation and Cape Town City Tour

Today was the first day of CCS orientation!  So far there are 6 of us in the incoming group because one new member got caught up at the airport and won’t be in until later tonight.  There are three volunteers who have been here for different lengths of time and who will be staying for another few weeks.

We started orientation with a group meeting with new volunteers this morning.  We got to meet Luann, the CCS South Africa Director, who I will be working with for the next 12 weeks.  I was happy to hear how she spoke of program evaluation and how serious CCS South Africa takes the impact of their volunteers.  After talking to several volunteers yesterday who seem to spend a lot of time going out at night and complaining about CCS policies, it was refreshing to hear about the professional side of the program.

We also set expectations and goals for our placements, what “homebase” (the volunteer house) might be like, what we hope to do in the city, and what we can do to make the most of our experience.  I like this exercise and have used in with Sa Nima before…I was kind of surprised yesterday when I heard the previous volunteers complaining about it since I think it’s really important to have goals at first that you can reflect on and revise later in the program. 

After having a “braai” (barbeque) for lunch, we headed out on a City Tour of Cape Town with James, the CCS Driver and excellent Tour Guide.  We got to see District 6, which was an area that was bulldozed during apartheid, forcing many people out of the city (more to come on that after we visit the District 6 museum).  We also saw the downtown area and the places to hang out and shop for souvenirs.  Will have to go back and check that out in free time later. I really need an African purse or two and my teeth are chattering in anticipation of being able to pick out some cool black and white dangly earrings (turns out they're "recycled" cow bone)!

James drove us to the top of Signal Hill, which is where they would fire cannons when a ship was in distress and now, they fire every day at noon.  We saw some guinea fowl up there, which I thought were female peacocks at first.   

Coming down the mountain, we got to walk on the beach in a town that looked like Laguna Beach with some major fancy hotels and resorts then headed toward the mall.  This was the biggest mall I’ve ever been in with all of the fancy stores you’d see in a big city.  We found a nice amphitheathre outside with a flamethrower and a band getting ready to play then headed over to Nobel Square (a tribute to the 4 Nobel Laureates from South Africa) and a giant statue made of recycled Coca-Cola crates.

After a long day of touring we had a good dinner at home base and started chattering about what to do in our short times here!  Ideas floating around are the Cape to Addo tour where you can pick and choose your adventures on a 3 day tour, a Cape Point tour that stops off in Simon’s Town to see the penguins (did you know that the Cape of Good Hope is NOT the Southernmost point in Africa?), a hike up Table Mountain if it’s nice on Tuesday, or just checking out the local music scene on Long Street.

20 hour plane ride later

After a whirlwind last week in the U.S., I got on a plane headed for Amsterdam last night and arrived in Cape Town about 20 hours later.  

Expecting a long, boring plane ride where I’d be charged for everything I did, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the movies in the back of the seat in front of me were all free and they even passed out free headsets.  However, trying to be nice on the second flight, I traded seats with a husband so he could sit next to his wife…turns out the TV screens in the row I traded into weren’t working for the whole flight.  I ended up sleeping most of the way anyway and was able to get a little bit of pre-internship reading and writing done.  

Also prepared to avoid the $8 plane food, my mom packed me about 10 pounds of food and it turns out, every time I woke up from a nap, they were handing me more free food (on the second flight, we even got ice cream!).  Just when I thought I’d have an opportunity to squeeze in a snack from my own bag, they’d show up with another meal!

For some reason I expected people to be speaking English in their conversations here but people only speak English when they’re talking to me…which makes me feel bad since I’m used to traveling to countries where I can communicate in the local language.  I thought it would be easy coming here since I have no anxiety going to Guatemala anymore.  It’s quite a bit different than I expected though I’ve only seen it in the dark so far. 

Staying at the Green Elephant Backpackers tonight.  The staff are friendly and they use grey water from the washer to power two of the toilets so I like that already.

http://www.capestay.co.za/greenelephant

Headed off to Cross Cultural Solutions in the morning where I can settle in for the next 12 weeks.

Will post more once I know more!