Stories worth a thousand words..

My volunteering experiences this week have opened my eyes to new personal life stories of children in South Africa that I would never have thought were possible. The first ones came from my time spent at the homeless shelter called the Arch. It was rainy when we went on monday so we tried to stay inside and talk with the kids and some of the adults there. While hanging out in one room, an old lady came in pushing a stoller with a baby inside. I was immediatly drawn to the baby of course and went over to talk to him. I found out his name was Unknot (spelling?) and that he was 9 months old. He was a very cute baby and well behaved after I took him out of his seat (after asking permission from the grandmother of course). I then went over to the ladies who were cooking in the corner of the room who told me that the lady who brought the baby in takes care of him most of the time and is the greatgrandmother of the baby. When I asked why she was taking care of him, she said that his mother was attending high school so she couldnt take care of him during the day!! I also found out the grandmother of the baby, aka the high schoolers' mom, passed away and could not take care of the baby. This story was really shocking to me not necessarily because of the teenage mother but because the great grandmother, the baby and the mother were all living in this homeless shelter. Although I am glad that the mother is still going to school and trying to get an education.
The second story came from an teenager, 9th grade i think, who I met after we went to another area of the shelter. Cucumber (dont know his real name) and his two friends, Tutsi and Cheeseball (Tutsi was a real name but cheeseball isnt) first approached me and then proceeded to ask if I would marry him (Cucumber). Don't worry Kevin I told them that I wouldn't think my boyfriend would like that too much! So instead of talking about marriage we talked about America and if I knew any celebrities. When it was time to go for the day, Cucumber and some of the little kids walked us out to the enterence where we waited for our car. Then he proceeded to tell us that his older brother was his role model and that some day he wanted to become a business man. The scary thing about this little boy was when he told us that he doesnt have any family with him at the shelter and that he started doing drugs when he was 11 years old. Luckly he said that he stopped when he was 14 and i assume now that he is 15 or 16. Unfortunatley our car came shortly after that so we didnt get to talk to him more about his life but just hearing that was undescribable for me.
The last experience I heard about was at LEAP on tuesday morning. All morning I had been working with this girl during her math class and trying to get her ready for the test she had today. During their break I asked her if there was anything she had questions on and if she was ready for the test. She said that she understood everything and that she was going to study when she got home that night. Then in life orientation class, a whole different story was shared. This forteen year old girl proceeded to tell the entire class that she has been living on her own for a year in a hall with a bunch of other families. Her mom lives somewhat far away from Cape Town and her older sister is off somewhere with her boyfriend. Apparently she hasnt lived with her mom for 4 years now and is constantly having to search for her own food at night. When asked why she didnt want to go live with her mother or at the safehouse, she said that she didnt want to talk to her mom and the safefhouse had too many rules. After talking about her situation with the group, the teachers in the room decided that they were going to call her mom to talk to her and try to figure out a living situation for her. Hearing this story really baffled me and immediately made me think of her academic work. She had a test today but how is she able to study and focus in a noisy hall after searching for her own food? My other question is why is this the first time the school is hearing about this? All day yesterday I could not stop thinking about this little girl and what she was going to go through at night after she left school. Before I went to bed I wrote in my journal and then prayed for her protection and strength to do the right thing and find help in order to live a better life both emotionally, mentially and academically.
These stories that I have heard have had an extremely powerful impact on my life in the past couple of days. They have opened my eyes to the hardships South Africans face everyday in addition to the historical past of apartheid. Before coming here I never thought that my everyday interactions with people would be so powerful but they are and will be throughout the rest of my stay. I guess it took these powerful stories for me to realize how lucky I am to live the life that I live in addition to knowing why I was put on this earth. I now know that my life goal is to help others in any possible way that I can and South Africa will truely help me achieve that goal in more ways than anyone can imagine....

South African fact: On a lighter note, below is a list of words that have different meanings here then they do at home. The words on the left are South African and the words on the right are the American equivalent:
Lekker=awesome or great
Washing = laundry
Drag = a long road
Belt = seat belt in a car
Lift= a ride somewhere in a car
Holiday = vacation

Oceanview Homestay Weekend

This weekend almost all of the CIEE students were bused down to Oceanview township/community near Cape Point and Simon's Town. We were dropped off at that school in the town where we originally visited during orientation and were assigned tables to sit at so we can meet our families. I found table number three and a little sign that said i was partnered with my friend Ali. There were four other CIEE students at the table with us who all had family to talk to besides us. The names on the card were Trevor and Lily who we assumed were the parents but they were no where to be found. So then when everyone else had families to sit and chat with, Ali and I sat there and patiently waited for our family to arrive. Some people of the community started speaking and then Lily finally came! She is such a sweet lady with short dark/purple hair probably in her early thirties. As we listed to speakers and ate snacks, Ali and I talked to our new mom and eventually her 8 year old daughter Sydney came over to talk to us. She was shy at first but then she hung out with us and took turns sitting on mine and Ali's laps. After the dinner, Lily's uncle picked us up and drove us to their house where we met Trevor, the husband, and Sammy Leigh, the adorable 1 year and 8 month old daughter. That night we played with the girls and hung out at home. We talked to Lily and Trevor about what they do and their life in Oceanview. Lily works at a laundrymate and Trevor is a security guard at an elderly home. Then Ali and I were tired and ended up going to bed around 11pm even before Sammy Leigh went to bed!!
Saturday morning we got up and hung out with the girls while Trevor made eggs, toast, and South African bacon (which is similar to our ham) for breakfast. The food was really good all weekend!! Then we made friendship braclets with Sydney which is very hard to do with an almost two year old running around and talking everything from you. Eventually we made both the girls bracklets but Sammy put hers in her mouth before we could put it on her wrist!! Then Ali and I proceeded to wash our hair in the tub with cold water and get ready for the day. Trevor then took all of us on a tour of the Cape where we got to take lots of pictures of the ocean and mountain. We then drove through Fishok and picked up Lily at work. Then we went to shoprite and McDonalds for lunch. We then went to the soup kitchen which has been closed down because of lack of funds but that day our extended family made food and distributed it out to the people that came there. Apparently the south african government doesnt have enough money to support both soup kitchens for the homeless and the refugee camps so the money has been given to the refugee camps for now until more funding is acquired. After that we went home and helped make Garlic Bread and got ready for the Braai we were having that night. Then around 7pm we went back to the soup kitchen where all of our extended family and their CIEE students gathered to hang out and eat dinner together. We spent most of the night playing with the kids and talking to the adults and eating another delicious meal of curry, vegetables and our amazing garlic bread!

Sunday morning we all got up and went to the Roman Catholic church that is near the soup kitchen. Lily was saying that there are over 120 churchs in Oceanview but that there are only 10 or so that are the main churches. The mass was very nice but we forgot Sammy's bottle so she was a little noisy and fussy. There were so many little children running around or being good and sitting on their families laps. Of course we were with the loudest child but she was still adorable! After church one of their uncles took me, Ali, Matt and Jamie on a tour of Simon's town which was really interesting to hear about because it was very personal. The area that we saw was constantly being declared "white only" during aparthied only because it was better land. Eventually most of the colors got pushed out of Simon's Town and ended up in Oceanview. After we went back to the uncles house and had a huge lunch before leaving to go back to Cape Town.
I really enjoyed this weekend and got to learn a lot about the community of Oceanview and the poeple that lived there. It is really sad to hear all the stories of aparthied especially because it was so recent. Lily and Trevor were terrific host parents and Ali and I are definilty going to go back and visit them before we leave. Especially because Lily is an amazing cook! :)

South African Fact: On sunday we had these amazing Koskiesks (spelling?) which are donuts in Afrikans.

Lecturers and African Culture

The past couple of weeks have been filled with paper writing, tutorial reading and test taking. All my work is getting done and I am still enjoying all my classes but my UCT experience hasnt always been perfect. Last week I made an appointment at the schools writing center to get my art history paper looked at. I thought it was going to be the same as at Merrimack where they read your paper and make corrections and suggestions. Turns out its against their policy to make any corrections on my paper, even a misspelled word, go figure right? So it was a complete waste of my time but now i know that i dont need to go there again. Then my other UCT dilema was with my first lecturer for my Race, Class and Gender course. So the material taught during the race part was very interesting and i really enjoyed it but the lecturer was ridiculous. I dont think there was one day where he didnt stow up at least 10 mins late for a lecture. Most of the time it was at least 10-15. Then last thursday we had our test for the class and everyone got there at least 10 mins early figuring he was going to be on time and we would be out of there soon. But no. He then proceeds to show up 20 mins late for his own test!! Luckly I had studied a lot with my friend Poetry so i knew all the material and was able to sail through the test but starting 20-25 mins later made it longer and i was 40 mins late for my Coca Wah Wah (an internet cafe with great food downtown) with Dianna. So we are starting the Gender section tomorrow so hopefully this lecturer will be better.
Now on to the fun stuff. I have been taking African Dance class every tuesday and thursday nights from 5.30-7. The teacher is intense but it is a ton of fun!!! I brought my friend christina to it last week and we are going to continue to go as much as we can for the rest of the semester. Some of the stuff is hard to follow but im really glad i have a strong dance background to help me catch on quickly.
Yesterday we went to Robben Island as a group where Nelson Mendela was kept for 18 years, not 8 like i said in a previous post. It was a really beautiful day so the ferry ride over was great. Once we got to the island we were put on a bus and was taken on a guided tour of the island. Our tour guide was really good and knew a lot of history about the island and its purpose. Even though the island is mainly known as a prison, there was a gorgeous view of table mountain and even penguins that lived on the island!! We were told that there were three different prisons on the island and that criminals and political prisoners were kept separately. Also the guards and workers lived on the island with their family so there was a school for their children to attend which is still functioning today. Then after driving around on the bus we got out and met up with an ex-prisonner who gave us a walking tour of the prison grounds and we got to see the cell where Nelson Mendela was kept. Political prisoners didnt have to wear prison uniforms but were kept in smaller cells than the prison dogs!!

Nelson Mendela's cell

Overall the day was very educational but emotional at the same time. It was hard for me and my friend Christina to comprehend where we were and why people came there. Most of the prisoners were there for political reasons meaning that they resisted the governments apartheid which segregated people based on race. To think that people were arrested just for standing up for who they are really baffled me. Also the prisons were racially segregated which was even more shocking.

South African Fact: During their stay at Robben Island, prisoners were forced to do manual labor at Lime sites in the blazing sun and heat with no protection. Therefore people like Nelson Mendela's tear ducks were perminatly damaged because of this, when he cries now, he doesnt shed tears...

An Exciting Weekend

The weather has finally cleared and we had a lovely weekend! Friday was a day of work followed by an all you can eat sushi and chinese dinner with Ali, Amelia, Dianna, and Christina. We paid about 90Rand each which is about $12!! Let me just say it was AMAZING!! The sushi was very good and don't worry mom, it was very well prepared and in a nice, clean restaurant. After we called Archie (our taxi cab driver) and he brought us back to Ali and Amelia's house where we watched The Black Daliah but people didnt like it too much so me, Dianna and Christina took a cab home before it was over. Saturday morning we got up and went Wine Tasting at a local vineyard. There we got a little tour and a explanation of how wine is made. Then we got to taste 4 different kinds of wine: 2 white, one Rose and one red. They were all pretty good but I think I liked the 2nd white one we had the best. We then had amazing food and left for the Cheetah Rehabilitation center!!! Here Christina and I paid 80 Rand (about $11) to go pet and take a picture with the cheetah!!! It was so awesome to touch it but then after it stared Christina down it got up and started walking so we had to stand close to the wall and sneak out quickly before it ate us for supper!! Haha just kiding it wouldnt have ate us but it was still pretty scary!! Anyways I got two pictures so it was worth the money.

After the Cheetahs I came home and did some work. Then I stayed in for the night and hung out with my host mom Margaret, we played spider solitaire lol. Today we went to the market and it was filled with many great paintings and jewlery. I bought Julia and Melissa birthday presents :), i bought myself earings and a handmade photo album. I hope to go back there soon so let me know if you want anything!!! Tonight I hope to be going to church so ill let you know how that works out!!

South African fact: The only negative thing I have to say about South Africans is that they are really bad at giving directions.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Why hello everyone! I know its been a while since i wrote but nothing really thrilling has happened since i last wrote. Classes have been going well and i have been doing a lot of reading, some interesting others, i have no idea what is going on but i am still enjoying my time here so thats the important part. But unfortunatly our luck with beautiful weather has run out and the winter rain of Cape Town has started. So it has rained, no POURED, both yesterday and today. Luckly I was prepared and had my umbrella in my bag and i wore my rainjacket in the morning because i knew it was going to rain. but its still not fun when it pours when your walking down the mountain to go home or walking up the mountain to go to school. thats right its a mountain!! not just a hill, the university is on/in the mountain. luckly there is a jammie (the school shuttle) stop about 10 mins from my house so i am taking that a lot more since the weather has been not so good. also the rain has stopped us from going to the market and doing other fun things on the weekends. tomorrow we are supposed to go wine tasting in the vinared so hopefully the weather will clear up for that. sunday we are supposed to go hiking and to the markets but if it rains, who knows. so basically im hoping the rain goes away soon but like a south african guy said to me and my friend Ali today when we were waiting to cross the street in the downpour, "Welcome to Cape Town. Don't worry when the rain stops, the weather is awesome i promise." Hopefully our rain dance will work and it will stop soon!!

South African fact: When it rains and it is sunny out, it is called "Monkey Rain." Margaret told me that this morning and i looked it here with this weird look and she goes, "i guess you dont call it that cause u dont have monkeys in america huh?" and i said "umm no, only in the zoo!!!"