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This will be my last blog entry for my trip to South Africa! I am home now sitting in my living room as I was for my very first blog entry. It's also 6:30 am because I'm on South Africa time in my head (I also checked online and saw that 5 other of my fellow South Africa travelers are up and online at this time too! 

Anyway, Thursday night was our last night together so we had a Braai (a BBQ) to celebrate and thank all of the people that have helped us make this experience practically flawless. It was really nice for all of us to spend the evening together as a huge group talking about everything we have done over the past 3 weeks and how much we want to come back and do it all over again. We gave the interstudy staff and the JL Zwane staff enlarged matted photos of our group signed for them so they can see us anytime they want! We feasted on lamb, potatoes, onions, garlic bread, salads, and desserts as well as sharing a few bottles of wine. There was laughing, crying, and photo taking like crazy - it was great!

Friday morning seemed like a drag... seeing the houses empty out and our suitcases lining the hallway packed and ready to leave. We headed off to the airport and watched Cape Town disappear behind us. Oh, and when we went through security at one of the airports Brian had his carry on bag checked and the security officer pulled out Brian's "warm fuzzies" (we all wrote each other warm fuzzies on note cards before we left) and was looking through them like they were some kind of security risk. We all told Brian that he should claim his warm fuzzies on his customs form when we entered the U.S. haha!

I really hope that our group stays in contact because we developed relationships that are indescribable. To try and explain my experiences in the townships or the scenery that Cape Town has to offer (to name just a few of the many things I absorbed from the trip) is nearly impossible. Stories and photos help, but no one really understands unless you were there, so to have people to share the experiences with is priceless. 

Now that I am home, I am adjusting pretty well - except the falling asleep at 9:00 pm part, but thats ok! My first American meal (besides the pizza at JFK) was some pasta from Green Mill - I had a hard time with the African cuisine, so I was really looking forward to some American food. Today is Father's Day, so I will be able to see my family and show them pictures and try to explain to them the experiences I had. Luckily, they are very understanding and have always really tried to figure out what's going on in my head!

Thanks for reading my blog! I hope I was able to capture my experiences as best as possible, but honestly, you still have no idea.

The Market and Other Things

Monday and Tuesday were spent on Long Street near the market and other shops. The market is quite an experience, and I think we were pegged right away as suckers. There are no price tags at the market so you have to negotiate with the seller a price for their merchandise. Some things that were always on my mind during this process were, "Their asking price really isn't that bad, but I know I can get a better deal if I negotiate" and "this may be the only source of income for these people so I better not go too low." Those things were always pulling me one way or another, but I don't feel that educated on the market environment like I want to be. For instance, all of the sellers claim that their things are hand made, or that they made them themselves, but then twenty feet away another person will have the EXACT same thing for sale. It makes you wonder if the market is just one big scam or if these people are actually putting a lot of hard labor into their merchandise. One of the advantages we had, as buyers, was that if we saw the same thing at two different places we could say, "well that guy over there is willing to charge me only 40 Rand" when the price of the other person's is a lot higher - that was a nice trick to know.

Also on Monday we checked out a store called "Monkey Biz." This store contains all handmade beaded artwork that the women in the townships make and sell. Everything in the store has a price tag with the artist's name on it so that the profits go directly to that women. This is a great job opportunity for the women in the townships who can really use the income. The store was amazing too. When you walk in and look around, EVERYTHING is made out of beads - the talent to do something like that is way beyond me. I can't imagine how long it would take to make a lot of the things that are sold there. 

Today (Wednesday) we were supposed to check out Table Mountain, but it rained. That was disappointing because the last week we have had gorgeous weather and today it was rainy off and on. This was also disappointing for those in our group that had planned on going sky diving (I wasn't one of them...I figured shark diving was my adventure). The sky diving trip was canceled and there isn't any time for them to reschedule. So today we had the afternoon to do whatever we wanted in place of the Table Mountain trip. Six of us (including me) decided to check out the Holocaust Museum. I am really glad we did because it was really neat to check out. I have always been interested in learning about the Holocaust so seeing this exhibit was pretty cool. After that we went to the V & A Waterfront mall to get some last minute shopping done before we have to leave (yes, we actually have to get back on a plane on Friday - time has really flown!). Now I am relaxing and finishing up some things around here so I can relax for a while. 

Class Discussion Today:

Today we had a morning class where we discussed leadership and referred to our textbook for some things. It was sort of a strange transition to go from learning everything hands on, discussing, and self-reflecting all of the experiences here, and to switch gears to using the text book was sort of tough. We did end up in a pretty intense discussion about what the difference between self interests, values, and passions are. Everyone seems to have a different opinion about the matter and others would debate each other. For me, I had a lot of thoughts about the subject, but everyone was so heated in the conversation at hand that I didn't express my opinions. 

This is what was going though my head though. Values are the root of everything you do and every decision you make. For me, family, friends, education, entertainment, and laughter are my values (just to name a few). Self interests are what are stemmed from those values. In my case, learning about health care/nursing goes with my value of education, spending time with my family and friends which almost always includes entertainment and laughter. Passions on the other hand are similar to your values in that everything can be tied together and is the core of what we do what we do, say what we say, and feel what we feel. My passion is always love. I love my family, friends, and the environments in which I surround myself. Love ties everything together for me. All of my values together equal love, and that is the motivation behind all that is me. Without love, I am lost. If I didn't have the people I love in my life, I would have a hard time having the self interests that I have. I don't know if any of that makes sense, but it does in my head - and sometimes it all comes out in some random stream of consciousness, but I tried! haha. 

Finally the blog is updated: TODAY: SHARK DIVING

Today was an incredible experience - we spent the day on the Atlantic Ocean shark diving! We went out on a boat to a popular shark area; it is the place where the Discovery channel films their shark documentaries. They picked us up in a van at 5:30 am and we drove for about 2 hours to our location where we were fed breakfast, given some instructions and safety information, and then we were off to the ocean! This adventure was optional for our group, so only seven of us went, and I am really glad I did!
This is how the shark diving works: six people in wet suits climb into the cage at a time. The top seven inches or so is above water so we can come up for air (there is no oxygen tanks involved in this type of cage diving because the sharks stay so close to the surface that the cages don't need to go below it) and extend about 7-8 feet under the water. The crew members would throw bait out on a rope into the water to attract the sharks (and other fish by default).
The first picture is my pre-dive excited face... in case you didn't get that.




Laurie, Erin, Nate, and I went together with two other people in the cage. We bought underwater cameras (which I really hope turn out) to take pictures of them. The water was slightly cloudy so when we were under water it was like the sharks would appear out of no where - very exciting. We had sharks swim right up to the cage, and even bump into it. The other half of our group went later and a shark actually had his teeth around the cage when it was chasing the bait. I saw it from the boat and it was super cool to see from there too. The sharks can get up to 5 meters long (yes, everything here is in the metric system so I am constantly doing math in my head) and we saw Great White Sharks today (p.s. it is their mating season so the males were extra aggressive today). It was such a thrilling experience and I would recommend it to anyone! On our way back to the shore we saw a humpback whale and a baby calf which was also really cool to see because I don't think I have ever seen one before. The ride back was REALLY cold because we were wet and it was windy, but overall it was an awesome experience.

When we returned to shore they fed us lunch and took us back home. Just about all of us napped on the ride back; we were exhausted.

Saturday Vineyard Tour

Back to a different kind of reality. Saturday we spent the day touring two vineyards which included some educational background about wineries, wine tasting, and wine shopping. I felt like we did a 180 going from the townships and seeing how the people live there to touring a vineyard. To top that off, we drove passed another township on the way to and from the wine tours, Khayelitsha, a township with more shacks than actual houses and a population of over one million people. It was really hard to drive passed the shacks... they seemed to be never-ending.
The wine tour was really interesting - not totally switch gears again, but it was. The tour at the first vineyard was really interesting and I feel like I learned a lot more about wine than I did before. For instance, at this vineyard they planted rose bushes at the end of the rows of grapes because roses are more sensitive to disease. If the roses are noticeably diseased, they know that there may be something impacting the grapes as well so they can act quicker to save them. He also showed us where the wine is processed and stored. He explained that red grapes actually have white juice, but the skin on the grapes causes it to turn red for red wine.
After the tour we all sat together in a beautiful dining room and he showed us what to look for when inspecting wine using our eyes, noses, and taste buds. Following the tasting we were all able to purchase the wines we preferred, and they were really inexpensive compared to the United States!





The second vineyard we went to didn't include a tour, just tasting and purchasing. There were a few other shops nearby that we went to as well. Overall, it was a really relaxing and interesting day. Still, I always had the townships on my mind. Every once in a while that day I would think about what the people were doing there. Aaron scheduled this vineyard trip purposely the day after we returned from the townships to see what our reactions would be to the extreme change in environment. For me, I did enjoy the day, but I think I am more aware of the large differences in the two worlds. It makes me really conscious of how lucky I really am and makes me feel like I should be doing more to allow those who are less fortunate to feel even half as lucky as I am.
Speaking of which, a few of us dropped our laundry off to be washed for us, and it only cost me 28 Rand ($4) a load. It feels strange paying someone to do my laundry for me - and only four dollars to wash, dry, fold, and package it. We also have a cleaning lady that comes once a week. That is also a strange feeling to have, but Aaron says that it creates a job for her do so, so I guess I should feel better about giving her a job opportunity at least.... still seems strange too. And finally, we have two drivers that come get us and drop is off places whenever we call them. We have called them at 2:30 am to pick us up from checking out the night life in Cape Town and they came - no questions asked. They are paid through the interstudy program we are involved in here, but to be on call 24/7 to drive students around seems hard - they pretty much have to put their lives on hold it seems, and they are always so nice!

Friday 6/7/08 - last day in Guguletu

Friday was our last day in the townships. We spent this day doing a service project at Timbalethu, a school for children with disabilities. When we arrived there we were instantly greeting by students and staff. They all congregated into their cafeteria and we introduced ourselves and I could see the excitement escalating in the students as the minutes passed. The students at this school include students in wheel chairs, using walkers or crutches, some with mental disabilities, and a wide range of ages. After our introductions that student choir performed for us and they sounded great! I could really hear the passion in their voices when they sang.
The 18+ of us split up doing various tasks around the school. Some did arts and crafts with the students, some filed paperwork, some cleaned up the basketball court, some did other activities with the students to facilitate their learning, and some, like me, helped clean up their playground so it could be usable again. Four of us went to work out there weed whacking the grass, pulling weeds, picking up trash & broken glass, mowing the lawn, and raking up grass clippings. By the time we left, the playground looked ten times better and usable once again. Some of the students even volunteered to help is out there so they could be a part of making their school a better place. Edwin explained to us before we left that this is one of the schools in Guguletu that is struggling the most. It is difficult to staff properly with children with needs such as theirs, and the conditions of the school are rougher than the government funding can help with. The staff was so grateful for our help that day that they made us sandwiches, prayed for us, and even did some dancing with us... everyone in this township dances; I think it is a requirement to live there, haha. It was a nice experience to see the school and see how excited the kids were when they saw us.



Friday night we were back in Cape Town. All of us agreed when we were driving away that it is going to be hard to living so close to this township for the next week and live a completely different lifestyle. Guguletu is only 15 minutes away from our houses in Cape Town, yet it's like being in another world.

Thursday 6/5/08

Thursday we went to a Presbyterian church to learn about the Zimbabwe refugees and their struggle presently. The church we visited is housing over 100 refugees, feeding them, and finding places for them to stay. We toured the hall where over 70 people sleep at night and met some of the volunteers that are helping collect food, clothing, and other needed supplies for the refugees. The church even created "waterproof sleeping bags" for the homeless in their community. The winter in South Africa is rainy so the homeless need a way to stay dry. They covered newspaper in plastic and folded it like a sleeping bag so they can put blankets inside them to keep them warm and dry at night. The minister at the church even said that some of the homeless in the area have jobs and some money, but prefer to live on the streets because it is more economical for them.

We had our last big dinner with our host families Thursday night. They decided for dinner that they would have a more traditional option to choose from as well as chicken (which I stuck to) - a smiley. In this case, it was a pig smiley. They call it a smiley because the mouth curls a smile when it is cooked. Erin, Nate, and Aaron decided to try the eyeball and the snout. Aaron had the hardest time getting it down and claimed that the hair from the snout was stuck in his teeth all night. The look on his face was priceless. Dinner was followed by this amazing homemade cake and custard....oh I could have lived on just that and been thrilled.



After dinner we all danced together one last time. Then we all sat together and thanked our families individually and the families thanked us individually. It was a great way to end the home-stays. Everyone was hugging and taking pictures, and we went home to spend our last nights together in Guguletu.

Class Discussion

We had a discussion this week about what we had been learning from our host families. We wanted to know, specifically, if they had any thoughts or connections with HIV/AIDS. Katie stated that her family said that people are now stealing ARVs from hospitals, pharmacies, and infected people who really need them and using them as recreational drugs. Apparently people are taking the flint out of a light bulb, crushing up the pills in it, and smoking them to get high. This was really shocking to me. It really highlights the importance of education on the subject of HIV/AIDS. It was only a year ago that South Africa was able to obtain ARVs for everyone who needs them, and if people are using them for recreational use, that is a huge step back for the fight against HIV.

Edwin, the reverend at J.L. Zwane joined our conversation to give us some of his thoughts and experiences with HIV/AIDS in the community. He confirmed what Katie said about the recreational use, and said this is something that is just starting to happen. Edwin then shared with us that those who are infected with HIV are getting medical aide from the government in order to support their families, and he says that people are now purposely infecting themselves in order to get financial support from the government as well. I think this is really sad, because people are not understanding the extent of this disease - as of today, HIV is a death sentence and it is terrible that people feel that it is the only way their family can survive is to be infected. 

The next story Edwin told us will stick in my brain forever. He told us the impact of HIV of children. He knew of schools where the kids would steal the teacher's keys after class and lock themselves in her classroom to have sex. The teacher was too short to see into the classroom window and was always confused why her keys went missing so often. She ran into another teacher who was slightly taller and saw into the classroom what was going on. Edwin says that kids are having sex by 4th and 5th grade and he has heard of kids performing sexual favors to each other to get people to do their homework for them. When we asked Edwin how the kids even knew about sex he stated that the township homes are close together and small. Some have no doors or windows and people can see into them. Also, some homes only have one bedroom for the parents and the children to share so they see their parents doing it right in front of them. Finally, the kids are exposed to rape and abuse all the time, so they don't know any better.

Finally, Edwin shared with us a story about a 9 year old boy he knew. He was living with his uncle because his parents had passed away and his uncle's girlfriend would use him for sex and sell him on the street as a sex object for money. He contracted HIV through this process and was finally sent to live somewhere safe. At the safe-house he was raped by the other boys and infected two other boys there. This is the youngest child Edwin has seen to be infected by HIV through sexual encounters. 

Hearing these stories was both sad and infuriating for me. I felt sad because people don't know any better because they have not been properly education on HIV and end up in terrible environments. I am infuriated because things like this happens to kids because adults are irresponsible. Maybe it is because they aren't educated on the subject of HIV, but I feel that it just just common sense not to use a child for sex...I don't know; maybe it isn't such common sense there. 

Wednesday 6/4/08

Wednesday we had a speaker from the Department of Health in the Western Cape named Zetu. She worked in the clinic for primary health care - the point where everyone starts who needs medical attention. She and her staff see about 200 people everyday including people with hypertension, diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, and HIV (chronic diseases). As of last year South Africa provides antiretroviral (ARVs) to anyone who is HIV positive for free provided by the government. This is an amazing accomplishment for the South African heath care industry because 1 in 5 people are infected with HIV/AIDS in the country. In South Africa, however, there are only two lines of treatment - when the disease becomes resistant to the first line of ARVs, a second one is given, but once the disease is resistant to that, there are no other options for treatment. In the United States there are more ARV lines available. Zetu states that the stigma for HIV is so high that people will deny that they have it and refuse treatment, and then continue participating in risky behavior (thus increasing other people's chances of infection). She allowed us to visit her HIV support group this week as well, and there were a lot of people there. The group was quite, but she said it was because some of them don't speak English very well and didn't want to speak in Xhosa because we wouldn't understand them. For those who did speak though, they were very open about their HIV status and seem to be pretty well educated on the subject. Zetu feels that education is the key to fighting HIV, but says it is hard to educate people because not everyone pays attention. The current methods are too passive and people are not seeing the big picture of the extent to this disease. In the culture here, it is also difficult for women to engage in safe sex if their partner is in control. 

After the speaker we went to Pricilla's house to provide lunch for her and her eleven kids and bring them a lot of toys we brought with to donate. I spent most of my time with one young boy (I didn't get his name), and he really liked my camera. I sat him on my lap and showed him how it worked - I don't think he really cared about how it actually worked, but he was really entertained with pushing the button, seeing the flash, and seeing the image on the back. It was nice to give Pricilla a break for the afternoon; we were able to provide a meal that she would otherwise have to scrape together, and we took her kids off her hands for a little while so she could sit back and relax for once. 

The evening dinner tonight was fun and involved dancing once again. Every dinner seems similar in that we eat, chat, and dance, but they are different in that our bond gets stronger and we continue to learn new things about each other. 

Culture things I am noticing:

1. When walking in a group or riding in the car, you're supposed to sit boy, girl, boy girl.

2. Religion is a huge part of the community we are staying in.

3. Everyone honks their horn when driving...I'm never sure if it is an upset honk or a greeting honk, but it is constant and everyone does it. It makes me think of Mitch Hedberg: "I think we should only get 3 honks a month on the car horn. Then someone cuts you off, you press the horn and nothing happens. You're like, "Crap! I wish I hadn't seen Ricky on the sidewalk!"

touring the township

Everyday we were in the townships we met new people and saw new things. We spent some time with the people that live their lives, everyday, in a shack, taking care of multiple children in poor conditions, and/or struggling everyday to figure out a way to eat that day. We met an amazing woman named Priscilla. She is taking care of eleven children in her small home - most of these children aren't even her own; she had taken them in when they had no place to go. Priscilla has a great attitude and takes care of these kids the best she can, but she runs out of clothing, food, and all of the basic things we take for granted everyday. She has a stack of newspaper in her bathroom to be used as toilet paper; she has one bedroom for all of the children to sleep in; and she spends her afternoons while most of the kids are at school walking around the township with the little ones that aren't in school asking to do small jobs to make a few cents to buy food for the family. She has small government grants for the orphans she has taken in, but it is equivalent to about $20 a month per child and sometimes it runs out in two weeks. Her home was one of many homes we visited this week.



We also toured a shack headed by a young girl living with her younger brother because her parents had died. They are living on practically nothing, yet they are so welcoming when we ask to see her home. Her entire shack is smaller than my bedroom at home, and she has everything her and her brother own in it.




Visiting the "flats" was really hard to see. Although they are apartments with relatively more space, the sights were rough. Children were running around, most of them barefoot, through areas with broken glass and rusted nails and screws all over the place. One child I saw was playing with a wheel that was attached to the end of a wire and pushing it along the sidewalk for fun. When they saw all of us with our cameras they would run over to get their picture taken just to see the image appear on the back. Some would even ask for a turn taking a picture, which would then cause ten more kids to run over jumping over each other to get to us. They ran after our van when we left.

Tuesday 6/3/08

Tuesday we packed up our things for a three night stay in the townships. When we arrived at the community center, the first thing we did was go through our donated items and sort them into piles based on what they were. Four of us, including myself, contacted Johnson & Johnson and received 36 lbs of over-the-counter medication to be donated. The pile of Tylenol, Motrin, and other medications - mostly including children's medications.

We also had two speakers come to speak with us. First Yvonne, who works out in the community giving emotional, mental, and physical support, came to speak to us about her work and then took us into the townships to physically give some of the donated items to some of the families in the area that are associated with J.L. Zwane (the community center we were practically based out of this week). We brought clothing and toys to those who needed it. It was nice to see where our donations were going to (the medications went to a local clinic) because in the U.S. it seems that people donate items to an organization, but never get to actually see it being handed off to the people who really need it and seeing the expression of extreme gratitude on their faces. Yvonne works with a lot of people who are HIV positive, and she says that it is such a large part of her life that she has had to force herself to be extremely strong when working with those infected so her emotions don't get the best of her. She said she wants to "find pain and do something about it."

Our next speaker was such a remarkable person. Her name is Nombeko, and she was raped when she was in he twenty's by five men at knifepoint and was infected by HIV. What was so incredible about her was her attitude about the entire situation. When she was told her test results, she just said, "okay, what do I do next" instead of crying or feeling any emotional pain. She has dealt with the disease in an amazing way by surrounding herself with the people she cares for, doing what she wants in life, and not letting the disease take her down. She believes that education is the key to stopping HIV/AIDS so currently she works as a Health Information Officer and also performs for audiences in order to tell her story and educate anyone who is listening about the disease. Her motto in life is that if something happens, she accepts it and deals with it. She says that things happen that cannot be helped, and all we can do is move on and figure out what to do next.

Tuesday night was also our first night with our host parents. We all got together (students and host families) at one person's home for a large evening meal. It was nice to have everyone together to meet the other host families, laugh, and learn some sweet dance moves. I also think it was a nice way to ease into the home-stay process by starting out as a large group. When the evening ended, we all went home with our respective host parents. Trisha and I stayed with Zukile and his girlfriend Loretta. They were an amazing couple that went out of their way to care for us for those three days. That night we talked for two hours in his living room just learning about each other and asking questions. I asked them if they had any opinions on HIV?AIDS since it is the theme of our trip here, and they both say that they know people infected and they both seem very well educated on the subject. Zukile works in a corporate office building where he actually puts on a presentation about HIV to new incoming employes. Loretta works as a social worker and sees prisoners infected with HIV/AIDS everyday and says it is difficult, as a social worker, to listen to their stories of being infected in prison.

That night they plugged in a heater in our room, gave us extra blankets, and even turned down the covers for us so we were all ready for bed. The bed was way more comfortable than the one I have in our usual house in Cape Town, and the room was much warmer as well. I think I slept better that night than I had any other night in South Africa so far.

Back from the Townships (initial recap)

We are back from Guguletu, the township were we had our home-stays Tuesday-Thursday nights. In sets of two, we all went with different families that live in homes in the townships. Trisha and I stayed with Zukile, an his girlfriend Loretta. During the day we spent time as a class listening to various lectures, going on "field trips" to different places to do different things, and then in the evening we all had dinner together - students, host-parents, and other family and community members. It as an amazing experience and there was a lot of emotions thrown around, and overall I am really glad we went there. We experienced something new every day (which I will elaborate on in a later blog), and we got to meet some amazing people. The one thing I noticed about everyone I have met in the township is a sense of welcoming and kindness. Our host families always greeted us with hugs and it is custom for people in the culture to greet every single person in the room as well as say goodbye to them individually. It was a nice thing to experience because it was welcoming and made us all feel right at home - in fact, we would call it home while we were there. Each evening meal was also accompanied by 25+ people dancing in one living room and laughing constantly. Our nights at home were always warm and comfortable. Actually, the bed Trisha and I had at our host-parents' house was warmer and softer than the beds we have in Cape Town!

During the day we heard speakers, visited a church that is currently housing the refugees from Zimbabwe, visited some homes in the townships, made lunch and donated toys to Pracilla, a women caring for eleven children (not all of them hers; she took in some orphans as well), and performed service project at the school for disabled children. This whole week was filled with activity and new experiences. I also caught a cold, but it's not holding me back. I'm going to get some sleep and absorb all of this week and update you on the details soon!

Random Pictures of the Safari!

Safari pictures! I meant to add these sooner, but here they are now. These pictures are some of the animals we saw on the safari as well as the vehicle we rode in. We were really close to all the animals and it was awesome!! Look for the giraffe behind me in the picture! The picture with some of us with a glass of wine was taken after the safari when we sat down and had a nice lunch together. The two giraffe picture is of them fighting - I had a really cool video clip of it but it wouldn't load... maybe it is because the internet connection isn't the greatest here. I'll try again when I get back in MN.

First day really checking out the townships up close

Today was our first real day at Gugulethu, the town ship we are going to be staying at for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. We went there today to listen to a few guest speakers, hear a great local band, enjoy an amazing lunch, go on a tour of the area, and spend some time with the kids during their after school youth program so they can get their homework done.
This morning started out with two speakers: the reverend of the church and Kenneth from the Truth and Reconciliation Campaign. They spoke about the life after Apartheid and what that means in terms of leadership as well as some personal back ground about themselves. What I enjoyed most of all was the discussion our class had after-word. I didn’t say anything during this discussion because I was so absorbed in what everyone else was saying and then my mind started going into high gear thinking about what I have experienced so far. A major part of the discussion revolved around the reverend’s words, “there is no place in this world for black people.” He, being a black person himself, thought this statement was very true which surprised us all initially until we really thought about what that meant. My classmates had really great comments about how Apartheid was driven by white people in a predominantly black country. Kate even commented about her time she just recently spent in Kenya and how she was so highly respected because she was white and even people in positions of leadership would listen to what she had to say and grant her more privileges than the actual citizens of that country. I thought that was really interesting. I started thinking about our current trip here. I feel like American/European culture is so dominant in the area we are staying in and that the African gift shops make the country appear as merely a tourist attraction in itself rather than a place where people actually live and have a completely different culture. The reverend even commented that it is more likely that black people will have jobs in the kitchens and in other places out of sight. You hear a lot about racism in the United States and such, but I found it surprising to hear about racism against people in their own native country. There was so much more to the conversation and so many people had such insightful things to say and I wish I could remember it all to share with you (I couldn’t write down everything at the time because I was so engaged in what people were saying and it was heated and fast).
After the lecture we got the pleasure of listening to a local band play some amazing music at the community center named Siyaya. They played a variety of African music such as jazz and had great vocals and dancing. They were supposed to perform for us on Thursday but they are leaving on a music tour in the United States – we found out that they will be in Minnesota in July so we all might go check it out!
Lunch was the best meal I have had so far on this trip. The cooks in the community center cooked us the food that they normally cool for the people in the community and it was so good. They made homemade chicken, vegetables, potatoes, and these rolls that were out of this world.
Later, we went on a bus tour of the townships. The pictures I have posted here are of some of the shacks that people live in. The town is huge with over 200,000 people. No one is really sure of the census because it is too hard to count people who move around so often. We were able to stop at one shack and look inside to see what their homes truly consist of. The shacks are extremely small and usually headed by a teenager or young child because their parents have passed away (many from HIV/AIDS). There were a lot of schools each with separate uniforms and even more churches. There are also homes in this area, which are also very small but are actual houses rather than shacks – the houses are what we will be staying in with our host families this week.
Finally today we were introduced to the kids that come to the after school program to get help with their homework until 5:00. The woman giving us the tour was explaining the poor education systems in the town ships in that one 3rd grader’s homework can be equivalent to a 5th graders homework at a completely different school and vice versa. She was also saying that it is difficult to find properly trained teachers to teach the children and that many come to the program with no idea how to do their homework and that some of the program faculty find it difficult as well (she said they have to look a lot of homework questions up on the internet so the adults can understand the students’ homework assignments). We spent some time with the students and discovered that the younger kids really enjoy getting their picture taken and looking at themselves on the screen of our cameras. We will be working at this after school program all this week. I will most likely spend my time with the older students – high school – because they are a little more attentive. A lot of my classmates are great with the kids, but I have a hard time getting them to focus and not get distracted (Em, this would be a great program for you instead of me), so I’ll stick with the high school math most of my classmates are trying to avoid!
Well, this is my last entry until Friday when I have internet access again. Mom and Dad can sleep easy – I will be safe where I am and I am leaving all of my valuables locked up in our regular house that has a security system, haha. Talk to you then!