Okay so it’s 2:30 AM and I should definitely be asleep but I promised a blog post before I left for the weekend and I think we all know there’s no way I’m going to want to write it in the morning, plus I’m somehow not tired. Oh and I just spent almost 4 hours baking brownies? Seriously the oven here…ridiculous. We were going to go out tonight but then these brownies were taking forever but I literally could have put them in the oven, gone out, come home 4 hours later and they still wouldn’t have been done. I don’t’ think they’re cooked but I want to sleep so yea, I’m taking them how they are…
This week was really weird. I decided the song “Bittersweet Symphony” described it perfectly. I’m not going to write about everything but I think Thursday pretty much sums it up. I went back to Youngsfield to volunteer and it was so great. The kids were really excited to see us, a few asked why we hadn’t been in so long and we explained about the miscommunication and how we thought they had been evicted…etc and they seemed to understand. Then, a few of the parents came to talk to us and told us they were in fact getting evicted next Wednesday. The city of Cape Town (not the military/federal government) was actually kicking them out. Each family, or adult I’m not sure, had been given 1000 zar (around $130) to find new housing somewhere and everyone had to leave by Wednesday because the military was going to take down their tent. There are only 64 people living at Youngsfield so it’s easy for the individuals there to be pushed out. Like I said teaching that day was great, Abdi actually remember almost the entire alphabet in lower-case letters, he only missed 2 letters, I was so happy! He remember so much since the last time I taught him weeks ago. But it was also really sad because when we left we had to say goodbye, and wish everyone good luck. Some of the kids gave us hugs and thanked us and the others just waved or smiled and then chased our van as we drove away, it was heartbreaking. I knew I would be upset to leave at the end of the semester regardless but I feel like this is just so much worse because I honestly have no idea what is going to happen to anyone at the camp. With $130 it’s doubtful any of them could afford an actual home, which means theoretically they’d move into a shack in a township, where xenophobia still exists…so they’d be unsafe, in fact its downright dangerous. It makes me so angry, even though these families are from Somalia, they’re still South African citizens or at least have established residency here legally. I haven’t told anyone about what happened on Thursday though because it just makes me really depressed and I don’t want to complain about everything. I left Abdi a letter with my address (and the alphabet!) and told him when he did find a new home to write to me in America so I could send him a postcard from D.C., who knows if that will happen though.
Besides the news at Youngsfield this week was just strange. One of my good friends family was here so Wednesday night we all went out to dinner together. It was my friend, her mom and two sisters, and then myself and 3 other closest girl friends…so a lot of girls basically. Dinner was fantastic and so much fun. It was also just really nice, it kind of felt like home; Suzanne’s mother wanted to hear all about Cape Town but was also motherly in asking about it, and reminding us to be careful. She also made sure we all ordered dessert…it was really nice. It was also a good break from the usual Wednesday routine, which is the night we go to Stones, a pool hall in town, and get drinks and hangout.
So Wednesday was fantastic, and then Thursday sucked, and like I said, other stuff happened too but I’m not going to write about it.
Right now I’m sitting in bed all packed and ready for Africa burns. We’re leaving tomorrow morning and I’m sooooo excited! I still have no idea what to expect. People keep warning me it’s a huge drug festival-and although there is definitely an underground drug scene-that is not why I’m going. It’s a huge art festival with live music and the basic idea behind Africa burns is basically to create a temporary utopian society. There is no commercialization, in fact you can’t use money there. Everyone brings their own food, water and shelter and you “give gifts” to other people (basically trade) in order to get other stuff. It’s going to be a lot of fun and I’m pumped to meet some South Africans. I’m going with a group of ten people and we’re meeting other friends there too so that will be nice in case it is a little crazy at least it won’t just be me and my best girl friends alone in the dessert with druggies haha. Seriously though I’m going to be fine, I volunteered to play mom for the weekend in case people do want to experiment. I’m doing a project on the ideas behind the festival so I’m really excited to go out and interview people and basically document everything, it’s going to be great.
That being said I should probably get some sleep…I was planning on sleeping in the car tomorrow but then looked at the directions and more than half of the drive is along dirt roads, not idea for snoozing, so I’m gonna get going, I promise a post as soon as I’m home!
Here’s the website for the festival:
http://www.afrikaburns.com/
Cheers!
Haleigh
Hah and I decided last week I needed to get my act together a little here so I’ve started doing track workouts twice a week along with hill repeats and long runs…and have made a few other healthy changes to my lifestyle, yay!!! haha
April 24, 2010
April 13, 2010
just another weekend in CT.
Hello! Let’s see, I’m not really sure where to start, things are still great here but seem so boring after a spring break of traveling.
Last week I celebrated on of my friends birthday’s, she had a braii at her house, and we went to this club/bar called Springbok’s after (it’s right next to the rugby stadium), and that was obviously fun. I finally found out the name of this Afrikaan song my friends and I are obsessed (because when the DJ played it I ran on stage and asked him the name and had him type it into my phone…I know I must have looked like such a cool American? But totally worth it.) Then Friday, my friends and I just hungout all day it in sleisbeck because it was gross and rainy and we party-hopped at night; that was really fun, we even crashed a party on campus at a club house being thrown by the yacht club (in attempt of meeting south Africans duh). Saturday, I woke up kind of early and went to old biscuit mill to “window show” and buy some delicious groceries (pesto, olives, bagles and fresh fruit yumm) and got a delicious lunch there too. Old Buiscut’s like a huge farmer’s market with really great fresh food and cool shopping too. Then Saturday night my friends and I went to Cabana lounge to watch the Madrid/Barcelona game (yay Barcelona!) and then went dancing at Tin Roof after. Tin is probably one of my favorite places in Cape Town, they play the most random music, including random 90’s hits and make remixes out of songs you would never expect (like Black Parade or Good Charlotte?) but it’s so much fun. Then Sunday, I woke up super early after only 3 hours of sleep, I know champ status : ) … to go “river rafting” with a bunch of CIEE kids. It was so much fun although not the intense experience we were expecting. We basically floated on a river for 4 hours and went over some very small rapids, it was still so much fun though and very relaxing. I got really bad sunburn though which was annoying but still worth it. After rafting we had a braai at this backpacker’s lodge and then drove home. I spent the rest of my weekend writing a paper yay but yea, all in all a great past couple of days. It’s been nice to finally be home and able to hangout with all my friends again, I missed them over spring break, which was only 10 days, I don’t even want to think about saying goodbyes in June…
This week 3 of my friends celebrate their 21st so basically we’re going out a lot…not really that excited because I would actually like to sleep at some point but Cape Town is way to much fun. I know I won’t go out as much when I get back to the states, it just isn’t as cool; I love meeting people in Cape Town and going out with my friends here…plus its really cheap so that’s great too.
OH AND I ALMOST FORGOT. Youngsfield Refugee Camp officially closed, and I really have no idea why. We were told it would take another year for the government to actually close the camp because it needed to be done under a separate court case and that legal process would take a while, but it closed last week, so basically I have no idea what happened to any of those families (and it honestly scares me to have to imagine what really did happen) but I don’t think I’ll be teaching Abdi anymore, I hope wherever he and his family are they’re safe.
And speaking of volunteering, I went back to Chosa today for the first time in almost a month! First, thank you thank you thank you, I basically can’t thank you enough if you contributed to Chosa in the fundraiser/competition last month. We won the contest and managed to raise almost 10,000 dollars (and another 4,000 is being donated because we won) so that was really exciting. Besides winning though, it was just great to finally go volunteer again. When I’m at chosa we spend the first 45 minutes just playing with the kids and then spend another hour or so teaching; I usually dread the first half because I’m not really a fan of being the kids jungle gyme… well today was os much fun I actually played with a bunch of little kids and just really enjoyed it. I wasn’t even having a bad day but those kids managed to make my day 100 times better? It was just so great. Then I spent an hour (after playing) reading with and helping one of the high school kids start a journal. Every one of them has a story to tell that would likely bring you to tears but they’re great, and I really enjoy getting to see them on a weekly basis. So volunteering was a great way to start of my week, and I’m excited for next Monday already (for once I’m looking forward to something after the weekend…this is a record!)
Ugh and I would kill for an issue of the New York Times…I’m so behind on current events it’s actually upsetting. Between Poland, Thailand and Kazakstan and who knows what else (those miners in the states?) I seriously am kind of disgusted with my lack of knowledge for current events, but at least I know what’s going on in Africa right?
Things to look forward too (besides life in general)
-Stacie’s 21st…one of my best friends here : ) and she’ doesn’t drink so we’re excited to finally take her out
-Sushi at Green point (is it sad this is on the list?)
-AfricaBurns next weekend
-Mozambique beach trip…it’s in the works
-Garden Route after exams (bungie, cage dive…maybe?)
-World Cup (duh) and all the madness that goes along with it, like sharing a house with my best friends for 10 days and celebrating my 21st the night of the US/UK game?
And I still need to hike devil’s peak and table mountain before it gets to cold and rainy!
Cheers!
Last week I celebrated on of my friends birthday’s, she had a braii at her house, and we went to this club/bar called Springbok’s after (it’s right next to the rugby stadium), and that was obviously fun. I finally found out the name of this Afrikaan song my friends and I are obsessed (because when the DJ played it I ran on stage and asked him the name and had him type it into my phone…I know I must have looked like such a cool American? But totally worth it.) Then Friday, my friends and I just hungout all day it in sleisbeck because it was gross and rainy and we party-hopped at night; that was really fun, we even crashed a party on campus at a club house being thrown by the yacht club (in attempt of meeting south Africans duh). Saturday, I woke up kind of early and went to old biscuit mill to “window show” and buy some delicious groceries (pesto, olives, bagles and fresh fruit yumm) and got a delicious lunch there too. Old Buiscut’s like a huge farmer’s market with really great fresh food and cool shopping too. Then Saturday night my friends and I went to Cabana lounge to watch the Madrid/Barcelona game (yay Barcelona!) and then went dancing at Tin Roof after. Tin is probably one of my favorite places in Cape Town, they play the most random music, including random 90’s hits and make remixes out of songs you would never expect (like Black Parade or Good Charlotte?) but it’s so much fun. Then Sunday, I woke up super early after only 3 hours of sleep, I know champ status : ) … to go “river rafting” with a bunch of CIEE kids. It was so much fun although not the intense experience we were expecting. We basically floated on a river for 4 hours and went over some very small rapids, it was still so much fun though and very relaxing. I got really bad sunburn though which was annoying but still worth it. After rafting we had a braai at this backpacker’s lodge and then drove home. I spent the rest of my weekend writing a paper yay but yea, all in all a great past couple of days. It’s been nice to finally be home and able to hangout with all my friends again, I missed them over spring break, which was only 10 days, I don’t even want to think about saying goodbyes in June…
This week 3 of my friends celebrate their 21st so basically we’re going out a lot…not really that excited because I would actually like to sleep at some point but Cape Town is way to much fun. I know I won’t go out as much when I get back to the states, it just isn’t as cool; I love meeting people in Cape Town and going out with my friends here…plus its really cheap so that’s great too.
OH AND I ALMOST FORGOT. Youngsfield Refugee Camp officially closed, and I really have no idea why. We were told it would take another year for the government to actually close the camp because it needed to be done under a separate court case and that legal process would take a while, but it closed last week, so basically I have no idea what happened to any of those families (and it honestly scares me to have to imagine what really did happen) but I don’t think I’ll be teaching Abdi anymore, I hope wherever he and his family are they’re safe.
And speaking of volunteering, I went back to Chosa today for the first time in almost a month! First, thank you thank you thank you, I basically can’t thank you enough if you contributed to Chosa in the fundraiser/competition last month. We won the contest and managed to raise almost 10,000 dollars (and another 4,000 is being donated because we won) so that was really exciting. Besides winning though, it was just great to finally go volunteer again. When I’m at chosa we spend the first 45 minutes just playing with the kids and then spend another hour or so teaching; I usually dread the first half because I’m not really a fan of being the kids jungle gyme… well today was os much fun I actually played with a bunch of little kids and just really enjoyed it. I wasn’t even having a bad day but those kids managed to make my day 100 times better? It was just so great. Then I spent an hour (after playing) reading with and helping one of the high school kids start a journal. Every one of them has a story to tell that would likely bring you to tears but they’re great, and I really enjoy getting to see them on a weekly basis. So volunteering was a great way to start of my week, and I’m excited for next Monday already (for once I’m looking forward to something after the weekend…this is a record!)
Ugh and I would kill for an issue of the New York Times…I’m so behind on current events it’s actually upsetting. Between Poland, Thailand and Kazakstan and who knows what else (those miners in the states?) I seriously am kind of disgusted with my lack of knowledge for current events, but at least I know what’s going on in Africa right?
Things to look forward too (besides life in general)
-Stacie’s 21st…one of my best friends here : ) and she’ doesn’t drink so we’re excited to finally take her out
-Sushi at Green point (is it sad this is on the list?)
-AfricaBurns next weekend
-Mozambique beach trip…it’s in the works
-Garden Route after exams (bungie, cage dive…maybe?)
-World Cup (duh) and all the madness that goes along with it, like sharing a house with my best friends for 10 days and celebrating my 21st the night of the US/UK game?
And I still need to hike devil’s peak and table mountain before it gets to cold and rainy!
Cheers!
April 5, 2010
2 OCEANS & JAZZ
Another excellent weekend…
So I’m not quite sure where to start but all of last week pretty much revolved around my half marathon this weekend. I found out on Monday that the race was at 6AM (which is soooo early for any race!) so I was determined to stay on a good schedule so I wouldn’t be tired at my race and would able to get a decent amount of sleep the night before. So basically I went to bed early (and woke up early) and ate really well all of last week. My race was awesome. It was just so much fun. There was over 21,000 people there, 12,000 of whom were running the ½ marathon, the rest ran the ultra (34 miles). The first half of the race was in the dark too so that was really neat. And because I’ve never raced a half before I was automatically seated all the way at the back…behind thousands of people, so I spent the first could k’s weaving around trying to get past walkers etc. It was just really cool though and not as difficult as I thought it would, although it was really long I didn’t get that tired, I’m definitely planning on running the marine corp marathon in DC this fall now.
After my race I was able to have a little fun so that really nice. I went to a really good Ethiopian restaurant Saturday night with a bunch of my friends and then afterwords bar-hopped/danced on Long St with my girl friends here. It was so much fun. I was awake for more than 24 hours though so I crashed pretty hard around 3:30 AM but it was totally worth it. Then Sunday, I went to church downtown with some friends. We went to St. George’s, a huge stone medival (thank you humanities) Anglican church that sits next to the town gardens. After church I had a potluck brunch with some friends and then went to the Cape Town International Jazz Festival for the rest of the day. It was so much fun there too, and I’m now a little obsessed with jazz music : ) I spent all of today working on a paper…that’s due tomorrow, but I’ll get it done, no problem. I’m already counting down until Friday though; I realy enjoy my classes (and am so pumped to finally get back to volunteering, its been 3 weeks!) but in reality I just have so much more fun on the weekends because it’s when I can really explore the city and of course hangout with my friends.
Random but while running for almost 2 hours on Saturday I reflected a lot on my study abroad experience and decided that I’m in a really good place right now. I know I obsess over how much I love Cape Town but what I mean is that I feel truly independent. Over the past few weeks I’ve done some pretty incredible things; I bush camped in the Ocavano Delta-talk about being in the middle of no where, the delta’s literally untouched by man, and then I can’t even begin to describe how great it felt to run around at Vic Falls. I couldn’t remember feeling as great as I did getting soaked in the fall’s runoff, and I was by myself? Then of course I free fell from a 155 meter gorge, alone. Besides getting an adrenaline rush I just did something amazing (and horrifying) by myself. It’s just all this stuff and then running the half marathon that made me feel so independent and free and I’m so incredibly happy and it’s just me. And like I’ve always said, I do miss people at home but the more I think about it, the more I don’t want to go back. There are no stereotypes here, at least not yet. I’ve made some really great friends here and Cape Town has begun to feel like home; I’m so reluctant to return to the cliches and clicks that exist back home. Oh well I guess this just means to really enjoy the next 69 days that I have here and make the most of them all because I don’t know when I’ll be back again but it really is amazing.
Enjoy your week, and happy [belated] Easter! Cheers!
p.s. today i got the worst craving for Special K-I haven't had cereal since I came abroad (and for anyone that knows me, thats basically my staple meal at home) bu the milk here goes bad after a day or two...and I can't get special k anyway but seriously that's all I want to eat right now :( that and dunkin donuts needs to come to africa.
oh and i also want easter candy, no basket this year-life is tough.
So I’m not quite sure where to start but all of last week pretty much revolved around my half marathon this weekend. I found out on Monday that the race was at 6AM (which is soooo early for any race!) so I was determined to stay on a good schedule so I wouldn’t be tired at my race and would able to get a decent amount of sleep the night before. So basically I went to bed early (and woke up early) and ate really well all of last week. My race was awesome. It was just so much fun. There was over 21,000 people there, 12,000 of whom were running the ½ marathon, the rest ran the ultra (34 miles). The first half of the race was in the dark too so that was really neat. And because I’ve never raced a half before I was automatically seated all the way at the back…behind thousands of people, so I spent the first could k’s weaving around trying to get past walkers etc. It was just really cool though and not as difficult as I thought it would, although it was really long I didn’t get that tired, I’m definitely planning on running the marine corp marathon in DC this fall now.
After my race I was able to have a little fun so that really nice. I went to a really good Ethiopian restaurant Saturday night with a bunch of my friends and then afterwords bar-hopped/danced on Long St with my girl friends here. It was so much fun. I was awake for more than 24 hours though so I crashed pretty hard around 3:30 AM but it was totally worth it. Then Sunday, I went to church downtown with some friends. We went to St. George’s, a huge stone medival (thank you humanities) Anglican church that sits next to the town gardens. After church I had a potluck brunch with some friends and then went to the Cape Town International Jazz Festival for the rest of the day. It was so much fun there too, and I’m now a little obsessed with jazz music : ) I spent all of today working on a paper…that’s due tomorrow, but I’ll get it done, no problem. I’m already counting down until Friday though; I realy enjoy my classes (and am so pumped to finally get back to volunteering, its been 3 weeks!) but in reality I just have so much more fun on the weekends because it’s when I can really explore the city and of course hangout with my friends.
Random but while running for almost 2 hours on Saturday I reflected a lot on my study abroad experience and decided that I’m in a really good place right now. I know I obsess over how much I love Cape Town but what I mean is that I feel truly independent. Over the past few weeks I’ve done some pretty incredible things; I bush camped in the Ocavano Delta-talk about being in the middle of no where, the delta’s literally untouched by man, and then I can’t even begin to describe how great it felt to run around at Vic Falls. I couldn’t remember feeling as great as I did getting soaked in the fall’s runoff, and I was by myself? Then of course I free fell from a 155 meter gorge, alone. Besides getting an adrenaline rush I just did something amazing (and horrifying) by myself. It’s just all this stuff and then running the half marathon that made me feel so independent and free and I’m so incredibly happy and it’s just me. And like I’ve always said, I do miss people at home but the more I think about it, the more I don’t want to go back. There are no stereotypes here, at least not yet. I’ve made some really great friends here and Cape Town has begun to feel like home; I’m so reluctant to return to the cliches and clicks that exist back home. Oh well I guess this just means to really enjoy the next 69 days that I have here and make the most of them all because I don’t know when I’ll be back again but it really is amazing.
Enjoy your week, and happy [belated] Easter! Cheers!
p.s. today i got the worst craving for Special K-I haven't had cereal since I came abroad (and for anyone that knows me, thats basically my staple meal at home) bu the milk here goes bad after a day or two...and I can't get special k anyway but seriously that's all I want to eat right now :( that and dunkin donuts needs to come to africa.
oh and i also want easter candy, no basket this year-life is tough.
April 1, 2010
very much overdue WEEKEND IN JOBURG
So here’s my much-overdue post about Johannesburg:
I went to Joburg for a weekend with my CIEE seminar class. Over the course of 3 days we went to the Constitutional Court, Apartheid Museum, saw a musical and a soccer game (Orlando Pirates v. Bluphantane Celtics), did a biking tour of Soweto, went out one night to bars in Joburg and went to a religious service at a township mega-church. I stayed at a Bed & Breakfast in Soweto (South Western Townships) with 4 other students and one of our RAs. The B&B was great, it was actually really nice (I wasn’t sure what to expect in a township thank you naivity..) it was located a street away from Nelson Mandela’s house and Desmond Tutu’s house, so the neighborhood was beautiful. I slept in a queen sized bed on a real mattress and had two huge pillows to curl up with. And here’s the best part I HAD A SHOWER with hot water, yay!!! It was really nice, and the bathroom was really clean too (obviously). The women who ran our B&B was really sweet and she cooked us breakfast each morning, which was delicious. Here’s the reflection part:
Most of our weekend was spent in Soweto, besides going to the museums and spending a night in time, our group stayed in the townships, which was really cool. At first I was frustrated and watned to see a little more of Joburg because I had heard it was similar to NYC…and you can’t go to NY and stay in the suburbs without seeing the big apple right? But the more I learned about the city I came to realize the comparison between the two was strictly business-like, I’m sure there are parts of Joburg that are great for shopping or entertainment and culture, but the impression I gauged on my visit was that the city operates strictly for business and shuts down at night. Crime is also a HUGE problem in Joburg so it might not have been safe for a bunch of tourists to be wandering around even during the day. Still, it was nice to drive through the city and see a few skyscrapers but it’s nothing like Cape Town, which is much more beautiful.
The Constitutional Court was really interesting; historically it was used as a military base, and a prison, so doing a tour of the court was actually great. When it was a prison, it included a women’s quarter (one of the prisons in SA that had both sexes in one place) and then various other levels of confinement for male prisoners. There was a section in the prison dedicated to Gandhi, because he was imprisoned there in the 1920’s…and it was neat to learn about his struggle as an Indian minority under apartheid. The tour was really educational and I was able to learn about the prison structure within inmates, the inequality between races (both as employees and inmates) and of course, a little more about Mandela because he had been imprisoned there as well. Today, the constitutional court is also located within the old prison walls, so we were able to go inside and look around there too. The court was incredible; it reminded me a lot of the United Nations because the architecture was really modern. It was open and spacious, there was a ton of natural light able to penetrate into the courtroom…and there was also a huge cultural influence. The judge’s chairs were covered in animal-print and there was a huge South African flag draped along the back (it was hand-sewn and beaded, it was gorgeous)…and there were also murals along the walls in the lobby. Part of the court was reconstructed with walls from the old prison, and two of the stairwells were also directly incorporated into the architecture. It was neat to see how much consideration was done to allow the court to serve as a reminder of the past as well as inspire hope for the future. [I’m actually writing a paper on this for a class now because I found it to be so interesting…thank you humanities for forcing me to analyze architecture]
The apartheid museum was by-far the coolest part of our trip. We were only at the museum for two hours but I could have easily spent all day there. Instead of walking around with my friends I wandered alone and tried to take in as much information possible, but there was so much to read about. The visit to the museum combined with actually staying in Soweto kind of sealed the deal for me in recognizing the dehumanizing extent of apartheid. I understood that the government didn’t recognized blacks, colors, and minorities as citizens but I always though it operated more on white privilege and less on torture or violence…but I was so wrong. The South Western Townships were settled in the early 1900s and the majority of the housing is permanent (versus the shantytowns in the Cape Flats), the layout of the neighborhoods was a constant reminder of the perpetual discrimination preached by the government. The apartheid museum just made it easier for me to understand the laws and regulations used by the government to further enforce and ensure inequality and separation.
The biking tour of Soweto also added to understanding the apartheid government. Although apartheid is over…and has been for over 15 years, the housing in the area is still so segregated. The biking tour was cool because although I was staying at B&B in a nicer area of Soweto, we biked into the much poorer areas. I was riding through rocky, dirt roads over garbage…and trying to avoid running over any wild animals (including chickens and stray dogs?). There were kids running around that would yell to us and try to slap us high-five as we rode past as well as random people who would come over an ask us about American and how we liked Soweto. We got to see the hostels that miner’s lived in (which up until the 1980’s were male-only housing…so we also saw the neighborhoods were many prostitutes worked to ensure these workers needs were met, hmmm talk about HIV/AIDs? Maybe?) The tour was really cool but also kind of difficult to gauge, but everyone we met was really friendly so it was neat to interact with people, and ask questions.
The soccer game we went to was also really cool, and a lot different the game I saw earlier in the semester. We were definitely the only white people in the entire stadium and let me tell you, the people there live for soccer. It was raining so were sure to sit far back (to stay dry) but most fans sang and danced in the rain the entire time…and of course blew those kazoo things that are so so so obnoxious. People wanted to take their pictures with us and talk to us there too it was really funny; my advisor said it was just curious for us to be there and also probably exciting for them. After the game I went out with two of our “guides” or RAs for the trip (who were from Soweto but had worked with CIEE in previous semesters) and they took us to some bars in the suburbs of Joburg. The bars were actually kind of a disappointment, it was a Saturday night and we were told we were going to a club…so we got dressed up and were really excited to dance and meet people and see the city but in reality, the bars were pretty deserted and there was no dancing. So instead of a crazy night out we just sat around and bonded a little within our class, which was still nice but not what we really expected.
On the last morning I got up and went to church with most people from my class. The service was really different from any church I’ve attended and reminded me more of a gospel concert than church. First of all, the church was huge, it has over 11,000 members and it took place in this huge open warehouse/gymnasium venue…it was packed. Half the service was singing (all the songs were in a different language so I have no idea what I was saying) and the other half was a sermon, there were little prayers and no communion. The singing aspect was actually really fun, people were up and dancing and it was only 9 AM so that was great it helped me wake up a little and every was so lively. The sermon was over an hour long though and was definitely a disappointment. There was a guest past speaking and he kind of preached about male-dominated society and encouraged people to buy his CDs with his lessons on them it was really upsetting. Without the sermon though I would have been able to say I really enjoyed myself.
As always that was an incredibly long post but it really was a great weekend…!
Cheers,
H.
I went to Joburg for a weekend with my CIEE seminar class. Over the course of 3 days we went to the Constitutional Court, Apartheid Museum, saw a musical and a soccer game (Orlando Pirates v. Bluphantane Celtics), did a biking tour of Soweto, went out one night to bars in Joburg and went to a religious service at a township mega-church. I stayed at a Bed & Breakfast in Soweto (South Western Townships) with 4 other students and one of our RAs. The B&B was great, it was actually really nice (I wasn’t sure what to expect in a township thank you naivity..) it was located a street away from Nelson Mandela’s house and Desmond Tutu’s house, so the neighborhood was beautiful. I slept in a queen sized bed on a real mattress and had two huge pillows to curl up with. And here’s the best part I HAD A SHOWER with hot water, yay!!! It was really nice, and the bathroom was really clean too (obviously). The women who ran our B&B was really sweet and she cooked us breakfast each morning, which was delicious. Here’s the reflection part:
Most of our weekend was spent in Soweto, besides going to the museums and spending a night in time, our group stayed in the townships, which was really cool. At first I was frustrated and watned to see a little more of Joburg because I had heard it was similar to NYC…and you can’t go to NY and stay in the suburbs without seeing the big apple right? But the more I learned about the city I came to realize the comparison between the two was strictly business-like, I’m sure there are parts of Joburg that are great for shopping or entertainment and culture, but the impression I gauged on my visit was that the city operates strictly for business and shuts down at night. Crime is also a HUGE problem in Joburg so it might not have been safe for a bunch of tourists to be wandering around even during the day. Still, it was nice to drive through the city and see a few skyscrapers but it’s nothing like Cape Town, which is much more beautiful.
The Constitutional Court was really interesting; historically it was used as a military base, and a prison, so doing a tour of the court was actually great. When it was a prison, it included a women’s quarter (one of the prisons in SA that had both sexes in one place) and then various other levels of confinement for male prisoners. There was a section in the prison dedicated to Gandhi, because he was imprisoned there in the 1920’s…and it was neat to learn about his struggle as an Indian minority under apartheid. The tour was really educational and I was able to learn about the prison structure within inmates, the inequality between races (both as employees and inmates) and of course, a little more about Mandela because he had been imprisoned there as well. Today, the constitutional court is also located within the old prison walls, so we were able to go inside and look around there too. The court was incredible; it reminded me a lot of the United Nations because the architecture was really modern. It was open and spacious, there was a ton of natural light able to penetrate into the courtroom…and there was also a huge cultural influence. The judge’s chairs were covered in animal-print and there was a huge South African flag draped along the back (it was hand-sewn and beaded, it was gorgeous)…and there were also murals along the walls in the lobby. Part of the court was reconstructed with walls from the old prison, and two of the stairwells were also directly incorporated into the architecture. It was neat to see how much consideration was done to allow the court to serve as a reminder of the past as well as inspire hope for the future. [I’m actually writing a paper on this for a class now because I found it to be so interesting…thank you humanities for forcing me to analyze architecture]
The apartheid museum was by-far the coolest part of our trip. We were only at the museum for two hours but I could have easily spent all day there. Instead of walking around with my friends I wandered alone and tried to take in as much information possible, but there was so much to read about. The visit to the museum combined with actually staying in Soweto kind of sealed the deal for me in recognizing the dehumanizing extent of apartheid. I understood that the government didn’t recognized blacks, colors, and minorities as citizens but I always though it operated more on white privilege and less on torture or violence…but I was so wrong. The South Western Townships were settled in the early 1900s and the majority of the housing is permanent (versus the shantytowns in the Cape Flats), the layout of the neighborhoods was a constant reminder of the perpetual discrimination preached by the government. The apartheid museum just made it easier for me to understand the laws and regulations used by the government to further enforce and ensure inequality and separation.
The biking tour of Soweto also added to understanding the apartheid government. Although apartheid is over…and has been for over 15 years, the housing in the area is still so segregated. The biking tour was cool because although I was staying at B&B in a nicer area of Soweto, we biked into the much poorer areas. I was riding through rocky, dirt roads over garbage…and trying to avoid running over any wild animals (including chickens and stray dogs?). There were kids running around that would yell to us and try to slap us high-five as we rode past as well as random people who would come over an ask us about American and how we liked Soweto. We got to see the hostels that miner’s lived in (which up until the 1980’s were male-only housing…so we also saw the neighborhoods were many prostitutes worked to ensure these workers needs were met, hmmm talk about HIV/AIDs? Maybe?) The tour was really cool but also kind of difficult to gauge, but everyone we met was really friendly so it was neat to interact with people, and ask questions.
The soccer game we went to was also really cool, and a lot different the game I saw earlier in the semester. We were definitely the only white people in the entire stadium and let me tell you, the people there live for soccer. It was raining so were sure to sit far back (to stay dry) but most fans sang and danced in the rain the entire time…and of course blew those kazoo things that are so so so obnoxious. People wanted to take their pictures with us and talk to us there too it was really funny; my advisor said it was just curious for us to be there and also probably exciting for them. After the game I went out with two of our “guides” or RAs for the trip (who were from Soweto but had worked with CIEE in previous semesters) and they took us to some bars in the suburbs of Joburg. The bars were actually kind of a disappointment, it was a Saturday night and we were told we were going to a club…so we got dressed up and were really excited to dance and meet people and see the city but in reality, the bars were pretty deserted and there was no dancing. So instead of a crazy night out we just sat around and bonded a little within our class, which was still nice but not what we really expected.
On the last morning I got up and went to church with most people from my class. The service was really different from any church I’ve attended and reminded me more of a gospel concert than church. First of all, the church was huge, it has over 11,000 members and it took place in this huge open warehouse/gymnasium venue…it was packed. Half the service was singing (all the songs were in a different language so I have no idea what I was saying) and the other half was a sermon, there were little prayers and no communion. The singing aspect was actually really fun, people were up and dancing and it was only 9 AM so that was great it helped me wake up a little and every was so lively. The sermon was over an hour long though and was definitely a disappointment. There was a guest past speaking and he kind of preached about male-dominated society and encouraged people to buy his CDs with his lessons on them it was really upsetting. Without the sermon though I would have been able to say I really enjoyed myself.
As always that was an incredibly long post but it really was a great weekend…!
Cheers,
H.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
