Shuffle II: Stories behind some of the songs

Thursday, 4/29 - We had a whole-day workshop at the Community Development Resource Association (CDRA) for service-learning. We had interactive conversations and dialogue about development, the complexities, its existence, turning points in our lives, context, etc. I didn't even notice that 8-hours had passed by once the workshop was over. I don't think I've ever been so engaged. Seriously, I was writing so many notes and thinking thoughtfully about everything that James, one of the facilitators, way saying. It was extremely interesting and helpful, and I wish that every person could do that workshop. Doing the workshop showed me how much I've learned in my classes this quarter. For example, we had to give word associations to the word "development," and the first one that came to my mind is "misunderstanding." About how it's misunderstood by people who want to help, people who being helped, countries, etc. Ask me to do that word-association one month ago, and "misunderstanding" would definitely not be the first word that came to my mind.
Friday, 4/30 - In the morning, I met with Di Cooper in Mimi's cafe. Di Cooper is the Research Director of the Women's Health Unit at UCT's School of Public Health. She's brilliant and has done much in the field of sexual and reproductive health. We talked for a long time about HIV/AIDS, and she shared with me some the research her unit is doing right now. I wish the conversation could've lasted longer because she was teaching me so much about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa--the most current legislative measures, the most recent findings, and the newest research projects. She's so cool, and I wish she was teaching a class this quarter for us (because she might be teaching an HIV/AIDS class for the Stanford in Cape Town next year).

I went to GAPA for my second day of service-learning, and it was pretty awesome. More about it is in my GAPA blog entry for that day.

Last-minute decision, I decided to go to dinner at our tour guide Colleen's house. Viria, one of my friends in the Stanford program, is an amazing Thai cook, and she organized a dinner at Colleen's in Mitchell's Plain. When we got closer to her house, I felt like I was in Central Valley. Even Colleen's neighborhood looked like it could've been in Merced. I'm not going to lie--when I stepped into her house, I got a little homesick. It was so refreshing to be in a family's home, and it made me miss my family at home. Colleen's family and friends were amazing. Her husband Robert and her son Shannon were hilarious, and I laughed so much. Robert was making awkward jokes about Khai hitting on Colleen-it was great.

Saturday, 5/01- As I was getting ready in the bathroom...
Alexei: "What are you doing today?"
Me: "I don't know…i kinda just want to go on the train and see where I end up."
Alexei: "So…you don't know where you're going?"
Me: "Nope…not really…I don't have a destination. We'll see where I end up. I won't bring anything valuable with me."
I was so excited, you don't even know. I had been wanting to explore and just go somewhere without a destination for a while. I didn't have any expectations. Didn't know what I would do and who I would meet. I walked to the train station, and as I was walking, I asked God that he would keep me safe and that I would have a good, interesting day, regardless of where I was and what I ended up doing.

While trying to find out how and where to buy a ticket, I met a girl named Thandi. She helped me find my way to the ticket booth, and asked me where I was going. "I don't really know…i don't really have a destination. I just want to go somewhere. What do you suggest?" She suggested Fish Hoek, this nice place next to the coast. "Sounds good!" She was going to Mowbry. We had to wait for a while, and while talking I got to learn a lot about her. She's an Anthropology major at the University of Western Cape, and we spent a long time talking about school, studies, etc. Still talking when the train came, we got on together, and she asked me if I had been to the "Location," which is what they refer to as the townships. I told her I have but only on a tour, but that it was probably one of my favorite days. I had been wanting to go for a while, but it's definitely one of those places you have to know someone to go with. You can't just walk in one not knowing anyone. It's not the safest place. So you can imagine how excited I was when she invited me to go a birthday party in Gugulethu, one of the townships next to Mowbry.

First we went to a grocery store because she had to transfer some money. While in line, there were two men around my age in front of us talking about how everything that you see around came from men. They were being completely serious, and Thandi and I were pretty amused by the conversation. I couldn't help but cut in as he was asking his friend where his shirt comes from. "It all comes from men! Women might have sown it, but a man designed it!" "So where did you come from?…Did you come out of a man?…Cause I think you might've come out of a woman." Yeah it was kind of a dumb argument, but I was entertained by it all. After we walked away, Thandi explained to me that she thought he was Zulu or a Swathi (from Swaziland) because they are known to be much more paternalistic than Xhosa. This began a long conversation about the differences in perceptions and stereotypes among those three African tribes. Even before this conversation, Thandi and I were already talking about cultures and anthropology for a long time. Conversations between a human biology major and anthropology major make for some of the best conversations, ever.

Within the hour, I was in Gugulethu at the house of the birthday celebrant's house. The birthday boy named Iminathi, which translated to "God with us," was turning one year old. He had a string tied around his chest. Siphokazi explained me that it was for protection from the evil spirits. Witchcraft and traditional medicine are highly influential in African society. Thandi introduced me to a very "nice grannie" because I was telling her earlier how much more I admire grandmothers after starting to work at GAPA. She liked to be called "Old Lady." She was cute, sweet, and welcoming. We talked about her family and where she grew up. She really wants me to get married and said she would gladly come to my wedding. I told her she needed to find me a husband first. I spent time with her in her house for a while, and met some of the younger girls--Lisa, Siphokazi, and Ananthi--in the neighborhood. We talked about Beyoncé, High School Musical, Miley, and Justin Bieber. They were pretty adorable. I felt a little sad when I was leaving, they asked when I would be visiting again. Old Lady also asked when I would be visiting again, "Friday?" I told her them I would try to visit before I leave for California. Hopefully I'll get the chance again.

The birthday party was an extremely interesting experience. I wasn't treated like a guest really; most if not everyone treated me the same as any of the other women that were there. I really appreciated this actually. I noticed a lot of different things--some surprising, some not so-surprising. From sitting with the other young women in the room, to interacting with the one of the men of the household, to talking with "Old Lady," to having one of the toddlers think I was her mom, to sitting next and talking with a mom about her family and life, to walking to the neighborhood "shibang" (the local liquor store),  etc. etc. - I feel like I have a better understanding of the township life. I've always loved conversing with people, and I learned a lot from the different things I saw, heard from the people I met, and experienced. They were things I saw that sparked my curiosity even more, so much in fact after my Xhosa language on Wednesday (5/05), I stayed for an hour afterward and talked with my professor, asking questions about what I saw and how it relates to the cultures and beliefs of the Xhosas, Africans, or South Africans.

There are so many other things that I can write about it from my couple hours there, especially that I'm connecting it with some of the conversations I've had this week and the things I've learned this week. I'm learning so much, and it's really exciting. That Wednesday, at dinner, a couple of us had an intense conversation about cultures, differences, and ways of addressing the different needs. We considered the specific context of South Africa, but we talked about other countries as well. A lot of what i said came from what I've learned in my last few days, from the CDRA to talking with people in taxis. I'm learning an incredible amount, and it's really exciting.

On a less academic and learning note, on Saturday night, a couple of us girls went out to Stones to meet up with some guys that we met at the Waiting Room a couple weeks before. Though I can't put all the details of the events that unfolded that night, let's just say that some pretty ridiculous, funny, and akward things happened that night. ;)

Sunday, 5/02 - I went to Hillsong Church at the City Center today. The preacher talked about the month of May being the month for miracles. He encouraged the congregation to believe and have faith in God performing miracles in our lives in these next few weeks. It was pretty interesting, as I have never before heard a sermon about miracles preached in that way before. I was really happy to go to church--I miss that atmosphere of praise and fellowship.

After church, I walked to Waterfront, a very ritzy-bougie place on the pier. It was a beautiful day to be there. I met a Filipino (my first one here!) woman named Miriam and we talked for a long time about traveling and being Filipino. Randomly, I happened to see a concert for "Patriot's Day," which honored South African lawyers, physicians, business owners, etc. I watched men in ties hip-hop dance, and men dressed as hotel stewards sing jazz. It was sorta cheesy, but it was cute. After searching and walking around for a long time, I finally found a place that was affordable and suitable to do work--"Mug and Bean." My food was amazing, and my waiter was a cutie. I took a mini-bus taxi back to Obs, and I talked for a long time with the driver named Shafiek. We talked about his wife and children, and I stayed in his taxi while we bought bread for his family. He was really helpful; He was only supposed to take me to the main terminal, but he took me back all the way to my street for only R3.50!

I'm so thankful for that weekend--it was really random (I could've added more details about the other random things that happened), fun, interesting, eye-opening, etc…I also felt like it was an answer to my prayer for confirmation of whether I should stay in South Africa or not. That Tuesday, my flight was changed. :) I'm not staying and shuffling in South Africa until July 29th.