From last Friday (4/23) to Monday (4/26), I dealt with some heavy and ethical stuff. The Wednesday before I was telling Mimi that the coming weekend would be very different than the previous…this one would be heavy…and it definitely was...
Last Friday, we went to Robben Island, the most notorious prison in South Africa, which also held political activists and Nelson Mandela for nearly three decades. We took a ferry to the island and stepped on a tour bus. Our bus tour guide was named "M.P." and he shared with us the history of Robben Island and some of the interesting stories that came from the different security prisons. Afterward, we were shown around the maximum security prison by a former ex-political prisoner. He told us about some of the measures that were taken in the prison to maintain power relations, animosity, and apartheid.
For a lot people though, something didn't seem right. Many people in our group had mixed feelings about the tour and about the ex-political prisoner showing us around the prison. It was definitely commercialized and cleaned up for tourists. It was no Alcatraz, and we were limited in how much we got to see and learn. Some in our group wondered how happy the ex-political prisoner was in his tour-guide job. I had mixed feelings about that, and even the questioning of it…it's not our place to ask that kind of question. A lot of other issues were brought up on our ferry back. Ethics, ethics, ethics. Who's right? What's right…
On Saturday, we participated in a Mellon home build project in a local township. For a couple hours, we helped (though some might say hindered) build a house. It was more physical labor than I thought it would be. I lifted so many heavy blocks, but I don't think I was built for that. At one point, my supervisor laughed and told me that I was wearing two left gloves. No wonder something didn't seem right. Maybe observing that I wasn't a huge physical asset, he assigned me to a task that I would prove to be most excellent in: fill in the gaps with concrete and make it look pretty by drawing lines with my finger.
Again, something didn't seem right. Many felt like we were more in the way of the work for construction workers who were there with us. For many of us, we felt like it was a "developmental tourist" thing to do (something that we read about in one of our classes). By that I mean, an activity that tourists would engage in to "experience poverty" and discomfort for the purpose of understanding another culture better and being more than a regular destination tourists, who supposedly don't have as substantial a purpose in their travels except to enjoy luxury (this is something we read about in my Service-Learning class. I'm exaggerating this point to emphasize the author's point in saying that a developmental tourist generally looks down on a destination tourist, but is actually just as "bad"). Another thing we didn't really agree with was that these houses seemed like handouts from the Mellon Foundation. The housing situation is a very difficult issue to confront in South Africa, and how the government should distribute homes and how people use and work the system has made it even more messy. Ethics, ethics, ethics. Who's right? What's right…
I finally started service-learning at GAPA on Monday! I was so excited to work with my supervisor Althea on her different projects and meet the grandmothers. My first day was…not what I expected. Ot was crazy, surprising, and…dare I say, feisty? I mentioned in my one of my blog entries a few days ago that the grandmothers were “feisty” but I still had no idea what I was in for...
When they arrived early in the morning, they were what I pictured when I thought “grandmother.” The elderly, sweet-looking women who were mostly heavy-set were chatting quietly around cups of Rooibos with added teaspoons and teaspoons of sugars. However, in less than an hour’s time, I would witness the whole other side of them, to the point when it was too much that I would feel uncomfortable. But that’s precisely GAPA—women not comfortable in their situations who want to do something about it. They are not timid, powerless grandmothers in poverty and aids (GIPA); these are strong, empowered grandmothers against poverty and aids (GAPA).
Unfortunately I can't articulate everything that happened because I literally had no idea 98% of what they were saying and yelling. The 2% I understood was when they would say "hello (to a group)" (Molwemi) in Xhosa and say a random English word. Oh, and every few minutes, when the GAPA Director Vivian would look over at Althea and me and high in her emotions, would give us a one-sentence update on what was going on. "You see, this is corruption at its finest!!" So what happened? Basically, there was inter-group conflict, and the grandmothers had no reservations in vocalizing their opinions and thoughts on the matter, being entrepreneurial and profit-sharing, groups versus individual. Yelling, pointing, and even a little crying happened. As an outsider of their culture and organization, and especially it being my first day, I was overwhelmed.
Some of the things didn't seem right, but I don't want to talk about my opinions here because I want to maintain my professionalism. To be honest, I struggle with even figuring out where's my place in saying if I don't think something is right in my service-learning organization. I'm in a complicated relationship with service-learning. Ethics, ethics, ethics. Who's right? What's right…
I don't even know, and unfortunately (or is it fortunate?) it shows. I did have two left hands when I was carrying something heavy.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Yes, SWEAT
I like SWEAT even more after yesterday.
Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) is an organization that advocates for decriminalization of sex work to expand human rights for sex workers. Legalization of prostitution. For those who do not know, I have a special interest in human trafficking, especially sex trafficking and sex work. Ideally I would like it if sex trafficking could be eliminated, but as long as poverty persists and people need money, inevitably they will be people who are “deceived” into doing sex work. There are those “choose” to be in the sex industry; I put choose in quotes, because this term could be arbitrary and are case-specific. If a woman needs money and cannot find a job, sometimes she may not feel she has a real choice. But anyway, that is for another discussion.
For the past few weeks I have been trying to do service-learning and/or conduct research with SWEAT. With the 2010 FIFA World Cup approaching in just a few weeks, many organizations and anti-human trafficking campaigns have taken different approaches to address the expected increase in human trafficking. Researchers and other scholars will disagree on whether they think this a real concern (I have been in contact with different experts in this field, and have very different opinions on the issue.) Nonetheless, it is something being discussed, and one can find many recent articles regarding human trafficking and very different measures being taken by organizations (i.e. Salvation Army’s “Little Treasures” Campaign, policemen’s threat of arresting putting prostitutes in prisons starting a week before the World Cup).
I decided to go to SWEAT’s office yesterday in Salt River just to talk to them. They already said a week ago saying they weren’t looking for volunteers; I just wanted to go and talk to them. The secretary recognized me; she answered the phone two weeks ago when I repeatedly called them. She set me up with Dianne Massawe, one of the main persons in charge.
It was a spontaneous meeting, but for the next hour and a half, we discussed sex work, World Cup, SWEAT, and Cape Town. It was a great—it was a mix of a dialogue, an information session, and an interview. I wrote so many notes and was completely engaged. I left knowing a lot more. Dianne even gave me copies of reports they had written recently and the book Selling Sex in Cape Town. She said she would try to connect me with some people doing research because she knows that was something I was hoping to do. Even if that doesn’t work out, that’s okay. It’s just really exciting learning more this issue I’ve been passionate about, but in a new place, Cape Town.
Next week, I may be meeting with a woman from International Organization of Migration who I think has a very different approach to human trafficking. I may also be meeting with someone from the Human, Gender, and Justice Unit of the University of Cape Town, who doesn’t think that human trafficking is a big deal in South Africa.
By now I would’ve hoped to be starting the planning for a community-based research project in this field, and have my summer planned out. But that was then, and I am in now. Now I’m just taking the time to talk (or at least attempt) to different people just to learn. Even if I don’t get a chance to meet them, I’m learning a lot, just reading about what is being done. Things aren’t going exactly as I had planned, but I’m not sweatin’ it.
Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) is an organization that advocates for decriminalization of sex work to expand human rights for sex workers. Legalization of prostitution. For those who do not know, I have a special interest in human trafficking, especially sex trafficking and sex work. Ideally I would like it if sex trafficking could be eliminated, but as long as poverty persists and people need money, inevitably they will be people who are “deceived” into doing sex work. There are those “choose” to be in the sex industry; I put choose in quotes, because this term could be arbitrary and are case-specific. If a woman needs money and cannot find a job, sometimes she may not feel she has a real choice. But anyway, that is for another discussion.
For the past few weeks I have been trying to do service-learning and/or conduct research with SWEAT. With the 2010 FIFA World Cup approaching in just a few weeks, many organizations and anti-human trafficking campaigns have taken different approaches to address the expected increase in human trafficking. Researchers and other scholars will disagree on whether they think this a real concern (I have been in contact with different experts in this field, and have very different opinions on the issue.) Nonetheless, it is something being discussed, and one can find many recent articles regarding human trafficking and very different measures being taken by organizations (i.e. Salvation Army’s “Little Treasures” Campaign, policemen’s threat of arresting putting prostitutes in prisons starting a week before the World Cup).
I decided to go to SWEAT’s office yesterday in Salt River just to talk to them. They already said a week ago saying they weren’t looking for volunteers; I just wanted to go and talk to them. The secretary recognized me; she answered the phone two weeks ago when I repeatedly called them. She set me up with Dianne Massawe, one of the main persons in charge.
It was a spontaneous meeting, but for the next hour and a half, we discussed sex work, World Cup, SWEAT, and Cape Town. It was a great—it was a mix of a dialogue, an information session, and an interview. I wrote so many notes and was completely engaged. I left knowing a lot more. Dianne even gave me copies of reports they had written recently and the book Selling Sex in Cape Town. She said she would try to connect me with some people doing research because she knows that was something I was hoping to do. Even if that doesn’t work out, that’s okay. It’s just really exciting learning more this issue I’ve been passionate about, but in a new place, Cape Town.
Next week, I may be meeting with a woman from International Organization of Migration who I think has a very different approach to human trafficking. I may also be meeting with someone from the Human, Gender, and Justice Unit of the University of Cape Town, who doesn’t think that human trafficking is a big deal in South Africa.
By now I would’ve hoped to be starting the planning for a community-based research project in this field, and have my summer planned out. But that was then, and I am in now. Now I’m just taking the time to talk (or at least attempt) to different people just to learn. Even if I don’t get a chance to meet them, I’m learning a lot, just reading about what is being done. Things aren’t going exactly as I had planned, but I’m not sweatin’ it.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
They always say the 3rd one's a cHarm…
Week 3 = a rollercoaster of ups and downs.
Days are flying faster these days, and it's not just cause the days are literally getting shorter. Yes, the colder weather is creeping up on South Africa, and our bright days don't last as long, but so much and so little happens in one day, where does time go? I love Cape Town more with each day, but that's not because every day is awesome and what not; actually this week was harder than others. Many of the reasons are typical--missing family and friends (so frustrated when my calls weren't going through), figuring out summer plans (back and forth every day), limited internet (used almost 10,000 credits calling and attempting to call), etc--but also for other reasons that were unique to Week 3 of Cape Town…physical endurance, heavy material, theories, soccer.
Last Sunday, I went hiking up Table Mountain with 7 other people. The first hour was HARD, and by hard, imagine being on a stairmaster, on the steepest incline (there were even parts with straight-up ladders) and with the highest resistance (I thought my legs were going to collapse). Most, if not all of us, in the group are pretty in shape, but we all found it pretty difficult. After the first hour though, it got a lot better. Maybe we just got too numb to realize. We made our way up Skeleton's Gorge, and then found a reservoir a little bit off the path. If I didn't know that I was hiking up a mountain, I would think that I was walking on a beach, based on the white sand that our feet was sinking in. A couple hours later, we finally made it up to Table Mountain. It took us around an hour to walk across it, and then we took a cable car down. Overall, the trek was 5 hours, and it went by fairly fast. The landscapes we saw on our way up and once we were up Table Mountain were absolutely beautiful. Thankfully, the sky was clear that day, allowing us to see all parts of Cape Town--the flats, the city, the beaches, the mountains and cliffs, the vineyards…
I came back and did my reading for my Monday "Preparation for Community-Based Research" class, and this is when I started feeling this week would be "hard." It's not even because the material was dense, but rather what I was reading and learning was challenging a lot of my beliefs. Questions like: what is development and progress?, did we the "developing world" create the "third world" with our classifications and our mentalities in helping these "third world" countries, how do know if we are really help the people we intend to? or are we just serving our own interests? or imposing our own standards?, why we have the authority to decide what "progress" is, why do we measure "education" to be school attendance?, do we perpetuate the idea of "third world" by the way we treat them? My friend Lucy and I had to lead discussion for Monday's seminar, and while we were talking about the different readings, we came to the conclusion that we suck. Well, not really, but you know what I mean. I appreciated the writers' insights and how it challenged my ways of understanding what development and progress truly mean. I'm even considering changing the name of my Area of Concentration from "International Health in Developing Countries" to "Global Health." Apparently, there's also a difference between "international" and "global"…I didn't know this before coming here…No question, I absolutely love this class. We only meet once a week for an hour a half, but I could've talked about the topic for much longer if it wasn't that people wanted to leave and get back for dinner.
On Tuesday morning, we went to the township Lwandle to the Migrant Labor Museum. This was for my Race and Division of Labor class. It was a really interesting museum, and my eyes got watery a few time as I read/heard the stories of men who lived there. Migrant workers were separated from their families, treated very badly, and lived in horrible conditions, where disease was rampant and resources were limited. We were shown Hostel 6, a hostel kept intact to show visitors of the type of living spaces of some of the migrant laborers. In one small room (no bigger than my room at Stanford this year, which was "tiny" compared to previous), twelve people would sleep. On one uncomfortable mattress, an entire family would sleep. The conditions of the hostel were hostile, to say the least.
On Tuesday night, I did the reading for my Thursday service-learning class. In the class, we learn about the concepts and theories behind service. I was pretty troubled by Salazar's reading about destination tourism and developmental tourism. To put it in a nutshell, destination tourism is for those who just want to travel and be what we would call "tourist-y" and comfortable. Alternative tourism (or developmental tourism) are those who want to learn about other cultures, get new experiences, leave the comforts of home, etc. In it, he criticizes developmental tourism because it becomes ego-tourism, a finding of the self and how it doesn't lead to behavior change when that person returns to his/her home country. Again this is simplifying his argument, but this is just the gist (I would recommend it for people who are thinking about studying/working abroad to read!). After staying up late to read it, I'll be honest in saying that I was pretty troubled. I questioned my reason for wanting to come to South Africa and what I was hoping to get out of this "new experience." I even woke up bothered! Yeah, I know I'm a loser, but I can't help that that's how it made me feel. I welcome being challenged in my beliefs and perceptions, especially when it deals with me trying to help others.
On Wednesday, we attended our first required Bing cultural event. We watched a play titled "The Train Driver" by Athol Fugard in the Fugard Theatre. The play was about a white, Afrikaans train driver called "Rufi" travels to a cemetery for the unclaimed to find a black woman and her baby that he hit a few months ago. Initially, Rufi wants to find the woman's grave so he can curse her for ruining his life, but throughout the play, one sees how he has a change of heart as he starts to better understand the circumstances of her situation. The ending isn't what you'd expect, but it's appropriate for the message that I think Fugard was trying to convey, which simply said is: white and black both need to change their perceptions of each other if South Africa will move forward from apartheid. Again, that's simplifying it…Mimi and i had a deep discussion in the bus about it afterward. We picked at so many phrases from the dialogue between the train driver and gravedigger, and extracted meaning from them. I appreciated "The Train Driver" even more after this discussion.
On Thursday, we attempted to get tickets to the 2010 World Cup. It was crazy and epic. There was a point when I was making a sort-of chart, and five people were around me making phone calls and sending text messages to other groups. Our service-learning class was even interrupted to ask if we would still be willing to buy tickets even though the prices went up, and later, an announcement was made that we were ten people behind the last people who were able to buy tickets from the bank before they closed. Right before six, nearly everyone was on their laptops, creating FIFA accounts and counting the time before 6pm. "Five seconds!" someone yells. And at the same time, "Ahh, crap! Website's down." Some of us tried calling the South Africa and international numbers. Still not successful. At the end of the day? Nothin, ticketless. No one was able to buy tickets that day. Kinda sucked, but it was a pretty epic day trying. I like to think we bonded. Everyone in South Africa went crazy over the tickets. Many people have their own epic stories of how they tried to get tickets at this last phase.
On Friday, we took a tour around the peninsula. I don't think I've ever taken so many pictures of landscapes while traveling. It's like the Highway 1 drive in California, except prettier. Well actually I wouldn't know because I've never taken that entire drive. Anyway, we went to Cape Point (the southern-most point of the peninsula), the first lighthouse, Muizenberg Beach ("surfing capital), circle of death (where Great White sharks eat seals in abundance. Actually, the documentary "Flying Jaws" took place here, etc. We also saw baboons, penguins (that's me with then in the picture!), and ostriches! It made me so happy. Afterwards, we were absolutely exhausted but we still decided to go out. A few of us girls went to St. George's Cathedral to watch a Haiti Fundraiser Concert. Local artists and poets performed. The Xhosa language is especially beautiful when it's sung.
Today, we went to Mzoli's in the township Langa for lunch. I've never been to a place like it before. You go in, pick your raw meat, bring it to the kitchen, and they cook it for you. When you get the food, you just eat it from the one serving plate using your hands. We ate like vultures, grabbing and tearing at meat, and trying the others meats in the dish, absolutely not caring who had just touched what. The food was absolutely amazing. The beef and sausage were my favorite. Afterwards, a couple of us started a dance party. There had been techno and house music playing for a while, but people were just dancing from their seats. Eventually, people made their way to the dancefloor, especially when this especially popular song came on (I had never heard it before, but many of the locals started cheering), and after that, we were all just getting our groove on. It was a blast, and the atmosphere was lively, comfortable, and casual. Everyone had fun. And by everyone, I'm not just talking about our group. Tourists, internationals, locals, and even people form the township made it to the dancefloor. Before we left, these group of Capetonians gave us shots of tequila coffee. We thought it was going to be disgusting, but we all were surprised by how good "Poncho's" was. Buy it. It was a good goodbye to an already awesome day.
It's almost dinner time, and I'm about to take a nap. Three weeks ago, around this time, I arrived at my house on Hershell in Obs. I can't believe how much has happened in the 21 days I've been here. I've enjoyed week 3, though it was "challenging" in what confronted me in my readings, in my personal life (I can't put everything in here ;), and some of the other situations in which I found myself. At times I was frustrated, angry, annoyed. I found myself questioned in my beliefs and proven wrong in my assumptions. However, I'm joyful and thankful for the lessons learned. The challenges of week 3 do not end here…but that's okay. As someone told me earlier this week, "the great secret of this world is that everyone is strong and that no one is strong."
They always do say the 3rd one's a cHarm…
Days are flying faster these days, and it's not just cause the days are literally getting shorter. Yes, the colder weather is creeping up on South Africa, and our bright days don't last as long, but so much and so little happens in one day, where does time go? I love Cape Town more with each day, but that's not because every day is awesome and what not; actually this week was harder than others. Many of the reasons are typical--missing family and friends (so frustrated when my calls weren't going through), figuring out summer plans (back and forth every day), limited internet (used almost 10,000 credits calling and attempting to call), etc--but also for other reasons that were unique to Week 3 of Cape Town…physical endurance, heavy material, theories, soccer.
Last Sunday, I went hiking up Table Mountain with 7 other people. The first hour was HARD, and by hard, imagine being on a stairmaster, on the steepest incline (there were even parts with straight-up ladders) and with the highest resistance (I thought my legs were going to collapse). Most, if not all of us, in the group are pretty in shape, but we all found it pretty difficult. After the first hour though, it got a lot better. Maybe we just got too numb to realize. We made our way up Skeleton's Gorge, and then found a reservoir a little bit off the path. If I didn't know that I was hiking up a mountain, I would think that I was walking on a beach, based on the white sand that our feet was sinking in. A couple hours later, we finally made it up to Table Mountain. It took us around an hour to walk across it, and then we took a cable car down. Overall, the trek was 5 hours, and it went by fairly fast. The landscapes we saw on our way up and once we were up Table Mountain were absolutely beautiful. Thankfully, the sky was clear that day, allowing us to see all parts of Cape Town--the flats, the city, the beaches, the mountains and cliffs, the vineyards…
I came back and did my reading for my Monday "Preparation for Community-Based Research" class, and this is when I started feeling this week would be "hard." It's not even because the material was dense, but rather what I was reading and learning was challenging a lot of my beliefs. Questions like: what is development and progress?, did we the "developing world" create the "third world" with our classifications and our mentalities in helping these "third world" countries, how do know if we are really help the people we intend to? or are we just serving our own interests? or imposing our own standards?, why we have the authority to decide what "progress" is, why do we measure "education" to be school attendance?, do we perpetuate the idea of "third world" by the way we treat them? My friend Lucy and I had to lead discussion for Monday's seminar, and while we were talking about the different readings, we came to the conclusion that we suck. Well, not really, but you know what I mean. I appreciated the writers' insights and how it challenged my ways of understanding what development and progress truly mean. I'm even considering changing the name of my Area of Concentration from "International Health in Developing Countries" to "Global Health." Apparently, there's also a difference between "international" and "global"…I didn't know this before coming here…No question, I absolutely love this class. We only meet once a week for an hour a half, but I could've talked about the topic for much longer if it wasn't that people wanted to leave and get back for dinner.
On Tuesday morning, we went to the township Lwandle to the Migrant Labor Museum. This was for my Race and Division of Labor class. It was a really interesting museum, and my eyes got watery a few time as I read/heard the stories of men who lived there. Migrant workers were separated from their families, treated very badly, and lived in horrible conditions, where disease was rampant and resources were limited. We were shown Hostel 6, a hostel kept intact to show visitors of the type of living spaces of some of the migrant laborers. In one small room (no bigger than my room at Stanford this year, which was "tiny" compared to previous), twelve people would sleep. On one uncomfortable mattress, an entire family would sleep. The conditions of the hostel were hostile, to say the least.
On Tuesday night, I did the reading for my Thursday service-learning class. In the class, we learn about the concepts and theories behind service. I was pretty troubled by Salazar's reading about destination tourism and developmental tourism. To put it in a nutshell, destination tourism is for those who just want to travel and be what we would call "tourist-y" and comfortable. Alternative tourism (or developmental tourism) are those who want to learn about other cultures, get new experiences, leave the comforts of home, etc. In it, he criticizes developmental tourism because it becomes ego-tourism, a finding of the self and how it doesn't lead to behavior change when that person returns to his/her home country. Again this is simplifying his argument, but this is just the gist (I would recommend it for people who are thinking about studying/working abroad to read!). After staying up late to read it, I'll be honest in saying that I was pretty troubled. I questioned my reason for wanting to come to South Africa and what I was hoping to get out of this "new experience." I even woke up bothered! Yeah, I know I'm a loser, but I can't help that that's how it made me feel. I welcome being challenged in my beliefs and perceptions, especially when it deals with me trying to help others.
On Wednesday, we attended our first required Bing cultural event. We watched a play titled "The Train Driver" by Athol Fugard in the Fugard Theatre. The play was about a white, Afrikaans train driver called "Rufi" travels to a cemetery for the unclaimed to find a black woman and her baby that he hit a few months ago. Initially, Rufi wants to find the woman's grave so he can curse her for ruining his life, but throughout the play, one sees how he has a change of heart as he starts to better understand the circumstances of her situation. The ending isn't what you'd expect, but it's appropriate for the message that I think Fugard was trying to convey, which simply said is: white and black both need to change their perceptions of each other if South Africa will move forward from apartheid. Again, that's simplifying it…Mimi and i had a deep discussion in the bus about it afterward. We picked at so many phrases from the dialogue between the train driver and gravedigger, and extracted meaning from them. I appreciated "The Train Driver" even more after this discussion.
On Thursday, we attempted to get tickets to the 2010 World Cup. It was crazy and epic. There was a point when I was making a sort-of chart, and five people were around me making phone calls and sending text messages to other groups. Our service-learning class was even interrupted to ask if we would still be willing to buy tickets even though the prices went up, and later, an announcement was made that we were ten people behind the last people who were able to buy tickets from the bank before they closed. Right before six, nearly everyone was on their laptops, creating FIFA accounts and counting the time before 6pm. "Five seconds!" someone yells. And at the same time, "Ahh, crap! Website's down." Some of us tried calling the South Africa and international numbers. Still not successful. At the end of the day? Nothin, ticketless. No one was able to buy tickets that day. Kinda sucked, but it was a pretty epic day trying. I like to think we bonded. Everyone in South Africa went crazy over the tickets. Many people have their own epic stories of how they tried to get tickets at this last phase.
Today, we went to Mzoli's in the township Langa for lunch. I've never been to a place like it before. You go in, pick your raw meat, bring it to the kitchen, and they cook it for you. When you get the food, you just eat it from the one serving plate using your hands. We ate like vultures, grabbing and tearing at meat, and trying the others meats in the dish, absolutely not caring who had just touched what. The food was absolutely amazing. The beef and sausage were my favorite. Afterwards, a couple of us started a dance party. There had been techno and house music playing for a while, but people were just dancing from their seats. Eventually, people made their way to the dancefloor, especially when this especially popular song came on (I had never heard it before, but many of the locals started cheering), and after that, we were all just getting our groove on. It was a blast, and the atmosphere was lively, comfortable, and casual. Everyone had fun. And by everyone, I'm not just talking about our group. Tourists, internationals, locals, and even people form the township made it to the dancefloor. Before we left, these group of Capetonians gave us shots of tequila coffee. We thought it was going to be disgusting, but we all were surprised by how good "Poncho's" was. Buy it. It was a good goodbye to an already awesome day.
It's almost dinner time, and I'm about to take a nap. Three weeks ago, around this time, I arrived at my house on Hershell in Obs. I can't believe how much has happened in the 21 days I've been here. I've enjoyed week 3, though it was "challenging" in what confronted me in my readings, in my personal life (I can't put everything in here ;), and some of the other situations in which I found myself. At times I was frustrated, angry, annoyed. I found myself questioned in my beliefs and proven wrong in my assumptions. However, I'm joyful and thankful for the lessons learned. The challenges of week 3 do not end here…but that's okay. As someone told me earlier this week, "the great secret of this world is that everyone is strong and that no one is strong."
They always do say the 3rd one's a cHarm…
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Perfectly Matched
I finally got a service-learning placement. My placement took longer than others for a couple reasons, but finally, I'm placed somewhere, and I can't wait to start. Janice McMillan, the Service Learning Coordinator, was extremely patient and helpful throughout the whole process. We met together yesterday morning and talked for more than an hour about different options. She made a few phone calls, and she found a perfect one for me. :) Janice gave me a brief description of what I'll be doing with the organization, but I'll learn more after I meet with my supervisor next week. I'm placed with Grandmothers Against Poverty and AIDS (GAPA), and though I don't know exactly what I'll be doing yet, Janice did say that I'll be getting to go to these communities and listening to these grandmothers' stories--and you know how much I love hearing and actively engaging in others' stories.
Go to this website to read more about the organization I'll be doing my service-learning with: http://www.aidsbuzz.org/champions/grandmothers-against-poverty-and-aids
"feisty" and strong - i like.
Go to this website to read more about the organization I'll be doing my service-learning with: http://www.aidsbuzz.org/champions/grandmothers-against-poverty-and-aids
"feisty" and strong - i like.
Molo
Hello. That is what the above statement translates to. The language is Xhosa /koh(with click sound)sa/, and it is one of the main dialects in this area of South Africa. Classes started on Tuesday, and one of the classes I'm taking is Xhosa Language and Culture. I love being able to apply what I learn.
Week 2 of my time in South Africa was eye-opening.
On Monday, we took a city tour, and our tour guide's name was Colleen. Colleen is a fiery, brilliant, and brave woman who has been somewhat of an activist since childhood and is someone who has lived through apartheid. On our city tour, she shared and showed us many things, such as the following: colonization, slavery, religion, language, the "pink" area (gay areas), where Nelson Mandela gave his first speech after being released from prison, controversy surrounding the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Camps Bay (what you see pictured in my last blog entry), Muslim neighborhoods (Bo Kaap is the neighborhood with the colorful houses, pictured here), etc. The other picture I included is of this bridge that was originally half the width that it is now, that had a fence going down the middle, with barbed wire on top. Non-whites walked on one side, and blacks on the other). Everything was really interesting, especially when she had included her personal stories.
On Tuesday, classes began, bright and early. I'm a shopper and take advantage of the fact that I can "shop" (aka try out classes) the first few days of the quarter. I went to the "Race and Division of Labor." Definitely an interesting class. It's taught by a woman named Xolani, who is part of the GSB at the University of Cape Town. The class delves deep into race relations and tensions in South Africa through the lens of labor (is cooler than it sounds).
On Wednesday, I went shopping from 9am-5:30pm. I shopped the Xhosa language class. Who knew that clicking could be so hard? There's 3 clicks, and I have yet to perfect one. Afterwards, I shopped the "History and Politics" class taught by a Mary Simon. She has a very interesting story. Just to give you some details about her life, both her parents were activists and were exiled, she was under house arrest for a couple years and was not allowed to be with more than 3 people at one time because authorities thought she might be conspiring. After the history class, I went to my service-learning class. Everyone in the program in doing service-learning, which is basically volunteering for an organization in the service sector. In addition, we take a class to understand the theories and concepts in service delivery. The first discussion was really fuzzy for me, but it was still interesting.
On Thursday, we took a tour to different "townships" and went to District 6. ("Townships" are places where non-whites settled after being evicted from their homes during apartheids.) Again, Colleen was our tour guide, and what made the tour especially fascinating is that she is from District 6. District 6 is famous for the residents' resilience to eviction from their homes. Colleen told us childhood stories, pointed out houses in the neighborhood of who used to live there, and gave us a tour of the District 6 Museum. I highly recommend reading a little bit about South Africa history, apartheid, and District 6. If you don't want to read, at least watch the movies "District 9" and "Skin." Two very different movies which show the harmful and devastating effects of apartheid.
After the District 6 tour, we took a tour of two of the townships, Langa and Khayelitsha. We learned about the history and some of the problems that are still occurring in these communities which house millions of South Africans. We even got to meet women in these townships, and they are two of the most inspirational people I have ever met. One woman has HIV/AIDS and has become an inspiration to many in her community because of her strength. She leaves her anti-retrovirals on display in her living room to show others that "AIDS doesn't mean you're going to die. You can still do something." And she has been doing a lot. She teaches women how to sow, has her own small business, and sells trinkets. We met another women who met Vicky, who transformed her home into a bed and breakfast, "the world's smallest hotel." From the outside, the two-story building is made of metal scraps and sheets, but inside, the place is beautiful. Wooden floors, nice furniture, tile bathroom. Afterward, we had dinner in Langa. The inside was huge, and the owner was a great hostess and comedian. There was a group of men singing and playing music and a giant buffet (26 dishes). The overall experience of learning more about the townships and the people who lives there was truly eye-opening.
From Monday to Thursday, I gained an even greater appreciation for the history and culture of South Africa. I'm very blessed in that I got learn in multiple ways--from taking classes, going on tours, attempting to speak the language, engaging with people from here and learning these stories…I'm so excited to learn more about the context of where I'll be living and service-learning for the next few weeks. So much more to learn and I can't wait.
Molo…a brand new day has begun :)
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Wizard of Obs
Why am I still awake? It's almost 4am, and I've been exhausted since 11pm.
Tonight, we had our progressive as a way to welcome our moving into our homes in Obs (the neighborhood we live in, short for Observatory). The theme was the "Wizard of Obs," and it was a lot of fun. I wrote an e-mail to the program list to remind them of the festivities...
"Tonight..
we're off to see the Wizard of Obs.
So put on your ruby slipper,
Encounter rooms of color, wonder, and exotic drinks and food
Take a walk down the Yellow Main Brick Road
Encounter the Tim Man, Cole-Wardly Lion, Mimi, the Wicked (Dictator) Khai of the Durrty South, and Claire the Good Witch.
We're off at to see the Wizard at 9:03pm.
ALSO--it's Cole's 21st birthday. Let's help him get over the rainbow."
Maybe not that cool to you since part of it consists of inside jokes and having to know what's in Obs. Great night though. Everyone made it out, and most of the rooms participated. I ate a lot and drank enough. Mimi and I had sandwiches since a restaurant on Main called "Mimi's" sells sandwiches. After progressing to each room, we went downstairs and house-partied.
Many of us danced, and many went somewhere over the rainbow.
Tonight, we had our progressive as a way to welcome our moving into our homes in Obs (the neighborhood we live in, short for Observatory). The theme was the "Wizard of Obs," and it was a lot of fun. I wrote an e-mail to the program list to remind them of the festivities...
"Tonight..
we're off to see the Wizard of Obs.
So put on your ruby slipper,
Encounter rooms of color, wonder, and exotic drinks and food
Take a walk down the Yellow Main Brick Road
Encounter the Tim Man, Cole-Wardly Lion, Mimi, the Wicked (Dictator) Khai of the Durrty South, and Claire the Good Witch.
We're off at to see the Wizard at 9:03pm.
ALSO--it's Cole's 21st birthday. Let's help him get over the rainbow."
Maybe not that cool to you since part of it consists of inside jokes and having to know what's in Obs. Great night though. Everyone made it out, and most of the rooms participated. I ate a lot and drank enough. Mimi and I had sandwiches since a restaurant on Main called "Mimi's" sells sandwiches. After progressing to each room, we went downstairs and house-partied.
Many of us danced, and many went somewhere over the rainbow.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Roses, Buds, and Thorns
We did "Roses, Buds, and Thorns" at the end of weekly house meeting tonight.
Buds = what you're looking forward to
Thorns = bad news
Roses = good news
Bad new first? Thorns...
*Harddrive crashed a few days ago, and though I backed up all my pics and docs, it still sucks that I lost other important and useful things
*Getting used to having limited internet
*Not always feeling safe
*Money (or lack of)
*Figuring out summa summa plans
*Missing being able to easily call or text family and friends
*Lack of privacy
Roses of the past few days:
*Thursday - Welcome Dinner at Africa Café. Food from all the different countries of Africa. Unlimited servings. Face painting.
*Friday - Saturday - Rafting Trip on the Breede River and major housemate bonding. Stones (a club/bar) on Long Street.
*Sunday - Easter :). Brunch. Kirstenbosch Concert in Botanical Gardens.
*Monday - City Tour. Given an overview of the history of South Africa. REALLY intriguing stuff, no doubt. Our tour guide, Colleen, is a G.
*Tuesday - First day of classes. Talk with Dr. Paul Wise (my hero).
*I was finally able to pick up my laptop. New hard drive and workin' fresh. You know what that means? I can finally upload my gazillion pictures of Cape Town. So of course, I have already. The one you see here is my favorite thus far. It's Camps Bay, with mountains known as the "Twelve Apostles" as the backdrop. I didn't even photoshop or edit the picture at all. It's that beautiful, naturally.
Buds
*Making new buds (lame?)
*Learning, researching, and service-learning
*Inside jokes
*Growth
*Interesting, deep, random, insightful, hilarious conversations
*Bungee jumping
Monday, April 5, 2010
Easter Celebration: Far from Tragedy
I've always loved celebrating Easter with the family, so one can imagine that since going to Stanford, I tend to get a little homesick on Easter Sundays. Not really "homesick" but I wish I was just home, with the parents and whichever sibling was home, attending church in the morning, and then a long lunch. I woke up on Sunday morning, thinking about my family, kinda wishing I could be home, at least for the day.
A group of us went to a Protestant Church a few blocks from where we live called "Jubilee." The music and energy were great, and I especially loved when some of the songs had different languages in them. I think the message of forgiveness and commission was pretty good, though I do not agree with how the pastor presented the information. Thankfully, all of us (Christian and non-Christian) who attended the service thought the same thing.
It became the starter for one of the best (or maybe the best) conversations I've had this year. Over brunch (breakfast meal for under 3 dollars at Obs Cafe--for students on a budget, it's a pretty sick deal), we discussed Christianity and Buddhism, mainly Christianity. Debates, opinions, and tensions were present at the table, but everyone was very comfortable to express what they were thinking. Many challenging questions and topics were brought up about Christianity, but Tim and I answered to the best of our abilities questions about its doctrines, our "relationships with God," and what it means to be a follower of the Christian faith. We also talked about Buddhism, which Ken and Mimi answered. It was a very open and honest conversation, and it challenged me in ways that I needed to be. As I said at brunch, it's good for me to be questioned about my faith, so that I can grow stronger in my faith by finding out and discovering the answers. After the conversation that last an hour and a half, the five of us agreed to make it a weekly discussion. For next week, we're going to try to find a service for another religion. I'm pretty excited. I think more people may join.
Later that afternoon, we went to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden to watch the last of its weekly-summer concerts. I don't think I've ever seen something so beautiful and awe-inspiring. The mountains, the floral, the sunset, the grassy knolls--I imagine this is kind of what the Garden of Eden looked like. With some of the girls, we walked around the giant garden and took millions (I could've taken more with how pretty everything was) of pictures. While walking around, I was reminded of God's creativity and magnificence. The pictures do not give the scenery justice at all. I wish everyone could visit it.
The concert was sweet. It took place in the middle of the garden, in an outside amphitheatre. To give you a view of what I saw: mountains and peaks on the left and right, Cape Town and ocean behind the stage, hundreds of people in the green grass, the sun setting, performers from South Africa singing their hearts out, and many of us dancing and jamming to the music.(YouTube "Gangs of Instrumentals"--they were my favorite group)
At the end, the MC asked one of the female artists to translate her French lyrics to the audience. Her interpretation: to daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers, etc., there are many beautiful things going on around us, and to not recognize blessings of "the life cycle" is a "tragedy." Her words couldn't have come to my ears at a better time...
It's Easter Sunday, the day we Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who we believe to have died to save us from our sins. I don't deserve his love, yet he gave his life for me, and every day, through things big and small, he reminds me of his unsurrendering love and faithfulness. In many ways this Easter Sunday, I was reminded of this love--from being tested on my faith in little cafes, to dancing at an outside concert in one of the most beautiful gardens in the world.
I am tremendously blessed and undeserving. :)
Thank God I don't know tragedy...
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Enlightened by Etienne
March ended with a BANG. :)
We had a “Brii'e” (barbecue) with Talisman. They sang outside, and the performance was very moving. I really respect how they make it a point to understand the history and significance behind a song. It shows through their performance how much they care, and this allows them to connect with Africans in a unique way. Talisman also taught us a song native to South Africa, and the roles were switched when we performed with them. After Talisman left, we all sang in the kitchen. Yes, completely cheesy, but cute. It was Robin's 21st birthday the next day, so we celebrated early with cake and going to a bar.
I'm SO HAPPY I decided to go out that night. The days to go out here in Cape Town are Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. We all rolled out to Stones, a bar down the street from where we're staying. I was only planning to stay until 11:30 or midnight at the latest, but I ended up staying until 2:30 or so.
Cape Town is a melting pot for different races and cultures. I met a lot of people, some from Nortwestern University, a girl from Jamaica attending Syracuse University, guys from different parts of South Africa, and some local Capetonians. There are a ton of people from different parts of Europe as well. It could get confusing.
Or maybe not so...
Before I went to Stones that night, I had trouble differentiating between a local and international. I saw Etienne at Stones, and thank goodness I saw him. He was the highlight of my night. Etienne is the boyfriend of Jen, the girl who basically figures out the logistics of our academic and social calendars while we're here in Cape Town. She's amazing at what she does. Etienne is a local who grew up in Obs in Cape Town his whole life. He is basically the Hitch (think Will Smith) of the nightlife.
For around two hours, he educated me on not only how to tell the difference between a local and an international, but also how to tell if someone is from Cape Town, Johannesburg, or from another African Country. He even told me how to tell if a guy is trying to “pull” (slang here for hooking up) for the night. Etienne taught me to detect through clothing, accessories, shoes, body language, and even dancing. He even went to explain the reasons behind why, the psychology of it. We would go around, and he would point out examples. Whenever I doubted or questioned him, we would find a way to ask that person, and most if not every time, he was right. By the end of the night, I was able to kinda do it. Example of a dialogue Etienne and me would have.
E: “Her.”
Me: “International.”
E: “Why?”
Me: “She doesn't have a purse because she's scared of getting mugged. She's wearing boots, and a local would think it's too hot to wear boots right now. She's with a group of girls, and local girls do not hang out in bars in groups because....etc etc.”
One of my proudest moments was when I was able to tell that a guy was from South Africa, but not from Cape Town. When I knew the Citro was from Jo-burg, he said “who the f*&k are you?!”I explained to him why I thought he was, and I also added, “And by the way you're standing I could tell you're not hitting on me...” It was great.
Other than discussing how to differentiate between different types of people, we also talked about perceptions of international students from different countries, dating scene in Cape Town, etc. I even met some of his friends. It was an EXTREMLELY interesting and hilarious time with him, and I didn't even notice that nearly two hours had passed.
Etienne has become my Professor of Social Life and Night Life Culture in Cape Town. In our first seminar, he has already taught me things about Cape Town that I would never learn from a book or an academic setting. Oh, the things one can learn in a bar...
We had a “Brii'e” (barbecue) with Talisman. They sang outside, and the performance was very moving. I really respect how they make it a point to understand the history and significance behind a song. It shows through their performance how much they care, and this allows them to connect with Africans in a unique way. Talisman also taught us a song native to South Africa, and the roles were switched when we performed with them. After Talisman left, we all sang in the kitchen. Yes, completely cheesy, but cute. It was Robin's 21st birthday the next day, so we celebrated early with cake and going to a bar.
I'm SO HAPPY I decided to go out that night. The days to go out here in Cape Town are Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. We all rolled out to Stones, a bar down the street from where we're staying. I was only planning to stay until 11:30 or midnight at the latest, but I ended up staying until 2:30 or so.
Cape Town is a melting pot for different races and cultures. I met a lot of people, some from Nortwestern University, a girl from Jamaica attending Syracuse University, guys from different parts of South Africa, and some local Capetonians. There are a ton of people from different parts of Europe as well. It could get confusing.
Or maybe not so...
Before I went to Stones that night, I had trouble differentiating between a local and international. I saw Etienne at Stones, and thank goodness I saw him. He was the highlight of my night. Etienne is the boyfriend of Jen, the girl who basically figures out the logistics of our academic and social calendars while we're here in Cape Town. She's amazing at what she does. Etienne is a local who grew up in Obs in Cape Town his whole life. He is basically the Hitch (think Will Smith) of the nightlife.
For around two hours, he educated me on not only how to tell the difference between a local and an international, but also how to tell if someone is from Cape Town, Johannesburg, or from another African Country. He even told me how to tell if a guy is trying to “pull” (slang here for hooking up) for the night. Etienne taught me to detect through clothing, accessories, shoes, body language, and even dancing. He even went to explain the reasons behind why, the psychology of it. We would go around, and he would point out examples. Whenever I doubted or questioned him, we would find a way to ask that person, and most if not every time, he was right. By the end of the night, I was able to kinda do it. Example of a dialogue Etienne and me would have.
E: “Her.”
Me: “International.”
E: “Why?”
Me: “She doesn't have a purse because she's scared of getting mugged. She's wearing boots, and a local would think it's too hot to wear boots right now. She's with a group of girls, and local girls do not hang out in bars in groups because....etc etc.”
One of my proudest moments was when I was able to tell that a guy was from South Africa, but not from Cape Town. When I knew the Citro was from Jo-burg, he said “who the f*&k are you?!”I explained to him why I thought he was, and I also added, “And by the way you're standing I could tell you're not hitting on me...” It was great.
Other than discussing how to differentiate between different types of people, we also talked about perceptions of international students from different countries, dating scene in Cape Town, etc. I even met some of his friends. It was an EXTREMLELY interesting and hilarious time with him, and I didn't even notice that nearly two hours had passed.
Etienne has become my Professor of Social Life and Night Life Culture in Cape Town. In our first seminar, he has already taught me things about Cape Town that I would never learn from a book or an academic setting. Oh, the things one can learn in a bar...
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