This morning I woke up and hopped out of bed, which is usually quite a hilarious jump down seeing that there are no ladders for our bunk beds here. I got dressed, packed a backpack with some clothes to change into that could get dirty, went out had bfast, made my lunch and got ready for my first day at my internship. We all piled into the van that Passat drives to take us to our internships in and one by one people we dropped off. I was the last stop and Passat said to me, "hang on a sec" and goes in to check things out, comes back, does a signature "Passat move" signaling disappointment, gets back in the van and says, "your going home".
Therefore I now have plenty of time to update you on things here. First off, just seeing my internship place is insane. There was a clinic that was full, in fact i was over flowing, there were people waiting outside and inside looked insanely crowded. But as I said, my part was closed, which is the part that deals with the children. I have a proposed outline for my project, which is extremely vague but here is what I got. "When approached to discuss the Fall 2010 Internship, Hopes Initiative mentioned that they are interested in gaining support for their 'kids clubs'. The 'kids clubs' are youth groups that organize youth outside of classes of schools. HISA is also seeking assistance with the Play group and Bridging school. Overall, you have some flexibility in the direction you can go with your project. You can discuss your skills.interests with your supervisor over the coming weeks to determine a more specific project." Therefore I know I will be working with kids, but more than that I will have to wait till I get to my internship. Right now the kids are on their summer break, so once that ends I will be at my internship. My first day is September 6th and I am already super excited. We were also given a letter by a previous intern for our placements and my letter only led to me anticipating my fun there more. The most important part is when it ways that "most days you'll come home dirty and happily exhausted" and that this internship is guaranteed to be hard as well as fun because "its hard to see the children tired or sick or with fresh injuries". I am not really sure what this refers to, but I guess I will be finding that out soon enough.
One more thing for me to reflect on was the assigned reading for the internship. It is called To Hell with Good Intentions. And it really is just about making sure that you are not there to "help people" but to work. It is not a pity thing, and I am not there to teach them how to live like me, but to do what they ask em to do. One part that I thought was super interesting was pertaining to culture shock. "How odd that nobody ever thought about spending money to educate poor mexicans in order to prevent them from the culture shock of meeting you?" (Ivan Illick) And this whole idea is pretty interesting. I think it is just something I will have to keep in mind when I am working at HISA.
As I said in my last post classes havent started yet so there really isn't any type of academic stuff going on right now. We all made "identity maps" to present to each other tomorrow on Team Building Day, I got a great reading on my internship, and a huge packet for my Development class. So, ATT gave me THREE WRONG unlock codes. Today I decided to spend the money on a new phone, got home, and the battery doesnt work. So after I finish writing this blog I will probably be going back to the mall to get a new battery, because here it want to have a phone on me when I go out, and also for my internship. It is almost a sign for me to not have a phone, but I dont really think it would be all too safe without one. I am not saying that I am living in a really horrible place, because that is not true at all. I am just saying that I plan on having a way to reach people when I am out. As for now it is super hot outside and most people spend our afternoons around the pool because of the heat, and all we can think is that from here it is only getting hotter. So heres to fans and cold pools and sundresses. As for now I am going to go finish reading some packets and then going to get a new battery for my phone. Hope all is well on the home front and I should be on more frequent now that I am almost all settled in.
<3
Monday, August 30, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
A Brief Preview to Windhoek
So, i figured that it would be good to just give a little update now and fill you in on more when the time comes for me to have the time to write. I have moved into the Windhoek house. I am on the top bunk, which should be interesting, but I also COVERED my wall with pictures. Many people have walked into the room and said "oh wow" and i was just like yea its pretty nice lol. Also I am in the middle of trying to hanging up xmas lights to add more spunk to the room. We have been touring all corners of Windhoek and having team building activities, which is good because there are 23 of us living together in one house. But as for life here it is fine, things are of course different and we are a little more cautious, but it is all worth it.
Classes start on Thursday, so that will be something to look forward to, but we are already doing some reading for classes. I just want them to start up. However, tomorrow is my first day of my internship. Last week we had a seminar where we were informed that our first day was going to suck. And just in case we forgot, we were reminded three times throughout the meeting that our first day would suck. So apparently my tomorrow is going to suck, but i am entering it completely optimistically. It could go horribly, but in the end it will all be worth it.
Anyway that is it for now. Uploaded some pictures to facebook today, and hopefully ill be able to get on tomorrow and tell you some more about the internship.
<3
Classes start on Thursday, so that will be something to look forward to, but we are already doing some reading for classes. I just want them to start up. However, tomorrow is my first day of my internship. Last week we had a seminar where we were informed that our first day was going to suck. And just in case we forgot, we were reminded three times throughout the meeting that our first day would suck. So apparently my tomorrow is going to suck, but i am entering it completely optimistically. It could go horribly, but in the end it will all be worth it.
Anyway that is it for now. Uploaded some pictures to facebook today, and hopefully ill be able to get on tomorrow and tell you some more about the internship.
<3
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Pretoria
Sorry about the lack of entries, but Internet has been scare in my time. But today and yesterday we were in Pretoria. We did visit the US Embassy and it was neat to see everything that they do there, and how they apply US foreign policy to South African policy. It would be really neat to work for them someday I think. Also today we were able to visit the Parliament building. It was amazing to see it and it was really neat to just hang out there for a little bit and sit on the lawn. This morning we also saw a very controversial monument called the Voortrekker monument. It depicts the Afrikaners concurring the Zulu people, and also shows the Zulus as savages. It is important to remember that the Zulu were the native people of Africa and are still very present in the African society. It was really weird to see this and I was also very surprised that it existed. That was when I started to realize many things. The settlers of America did the same thing to the Native Americans. So how are we any better? I think that this society is still struggling with this problem whereas there are so few Native Americans left that this is not a problem for the American society. Sometimes it is hard to think about the terrible things that are going on here but it is weirder to think that it is almost the same as what occurred in America. With all these thoughts in my mind I am now trying to go to sleep early so that I can actually wake up for my 4:45 AM wake up call. Tomorrow I fly to Namibia! It will be awesome to finally settle in to our home for the semester. But for now its time to sleep so I will have energy to do all the things I want to do tomorrow.
Welcome to Ma Chanza's
Friday around 5 pm we started driving around Soweto and dropping kids off at houses, and as we continued to drive around I was eagerly looking out the window yelling up to Passat, our driver, telling him that he should drop me off next. He would just laugh and keep on driving. But finally we got to a white house and I saw Kritsin, the girl who was at the same home stay with me, get out of the other van. I hopped out of the car and there was a wonderful woman smiling from ear to ear. I went up, introduced myself and hugged her. She then looked at Linda, our program director, and said “is this one of my babies?!” and at that moment I knew this was going to be an amazing weekend. I then met the rest of the family staying there. Nthabiseng, an 18 year old girl, and Refiloe, a 20 year old girl. Also with us for the weekend was Wazi, a four year old boy. My mother was Ma Chanza, a 72 year old woman who was still full of life and love and charisma to keep my weekend filled with excitement. On the first night we just hung out and got to know each other. It was then that I realized that Ma Chanza’s was not only a home for me, but also for all of her friends in the community. It was almost as if the door was always open because there would always be new people sharing their stories with us and letting us ask them all of our questions. Also, Ma Chanza is an award-winning cook in Soweto. The awards caught Kristin and my eyes and we were instantly thrilled and couldn’t wait for her to cook for us, and that she did. I ate more this weekend than ever because of how much she wanted us to eat. There were many instances where I would get food on my plate and she would say “oh no!” and grab my plate and fill it up more. But it was all worth it, we ate some of the most delicious things I have ever had.
So, the first day was very hectic. There was a big Rugby game here in South Africa and there was a group of people who wanted Ma Chanza to cater for them before the game. Ma Chanza was in the kitchen from about 6 am till they were gone around 3 pm. She made delicious food such as Chakalaka and Chicken and Beef Stew. She also made us some Pop, which is very common here in South Africa and is served with dishes just like rice would be. It is just like polenta, except just a little more white and less of a corn flavor. It was pretty awesome. That day Refiloe and Kristin and I went to the store a lot to get stuff and juts explored the area. It was nice to be so close to the people in the family, and anytime we went outside for a walk we were questioned about everything. We answer them and just continue on our way, because there was so much work to be done. Nthabiseng also showed us where her high school is, but she is not attending it at the moment. There is a HUGE strike in South Africa right now. The teachers are all striking, so there is no school. The hospital workers are all striking as well, so there is a lot of commotion, and the workers are blocking people from coming to the hospital at all. Ma Chanza told me that eight patients have died because there was no one there to take care of them. There are private hospitals, but it is a lot of money to go there, so there is just a huge problem at the moment in South Africa. I was lucky to be with people who were able to talk to me about it and how it affected them. Earlier in the day we went to an organization talking to us about Women’s Rights because it is Women’s Month in South Africa and it was nice to see people becoming empowered and there was also a HIV awareness talk which was also exciting. But Saturday was super busy and we then ended up having a ton of people over to the house that night as well. We were all up pretty late until I ended up passing out around 2 am.
Sunday morning I had planned to go to church with Nthabiseng, but she and I both overslept. It was ok though because we had a chill day and were able to hang out more. We went to watch a soccer game that Refiloe’s uncle Molefi was playing in and just hang out there. Then we went back to the house and Ma Chanza taught us how to make dumpling! Dumpling is just a steamed bread, but it is sooo goood. Now I know how to make it and plan on making it once I have a kitchen again. We even brought some of the dumpling to Moho’s place for dinner, where two other students were staying. The other students loved our cooking, and we now have to make it in Namibia and teach them how. After dinner we went back to the house and Ma Chanza showed us all her pictures and talked about her past. She also showed such an interest in our lives and made us show her pictures of everything, which was a ton of fun. There was so much I learned from Ma Chanza, and so many things that she caused me to question as well. The experience of living with a family was wonderful, and I am now looking forward to the next home stay so much more.
Today we drove to Pretoria, and went through Sandton. Sandton is a very wealth city and it was interesting to be in a city like that again. We were supposed to drive through Alexandra as well, but due to the strike we couldn’t. It was very violent there and we had trailers on our vans to carry our luggage and if we had to stop at a red light they would have easily been destroyed. But now we are in a hotel, which will be nice, because on Wednesday I will move into my room with five other roommates. But first we tour Pretoria tomorrow and there will be more questions answered and more questioned raised. This semester is not only going to be the most educational, but it will be best because it has caused me to question so much more about what I already know. And from here it only gets better.
So, the first day was very hectic. There was a big Rugby game here in South Africa and there was a group of people who wanted Ma Chanza to cater for them before the game. Ma Chanza was in the kitchen from about 6 am till they were gone around 3 pm. She made delicious food such as Chakalaka and Chicken and Beef Stew. She also made us some Pop, which is very common here in South Africa and is served with dishes just like rice would be. It is just like polenta, except just a little more white and less of a corn flavor. It was pretty awesome. That day Refiloe and Kristin and I went to the store a lot to get stuff and juts explored the area. It was nice to be so close to the people in the family, and anytime we went outside for a walk we were questioned about everything. We answer them and just continue on our way, because there was so much work to be done. Nthabiseng also showed us where her high school is, but she is not attending it at the moment. There is a HUGE strike in South Africa right now. The teachers are all striking, so there is no school. The hospital workers are all striking as well, so there is a lot of commotion, and the workers are blocking people from coming to the hospital at all. Ma Chanza told me that eight patients have died because there was no one there to take care of them. There are private hospitals, but it is a lot of money to go there, so there is just a huge problem at the moment in South Africa. I was lucky to be with people who were able to talk to me about it and how it affected them. Earlier in the day we went to an organization talking to us about Women’s Rights because it is Women’s Month in South Africa and it was nice to see people becoming empowered and there was also a HIV awareness talk which was also exciting. But Saturday was super busy and we then ended up having a ton of people over to the house that night as well. We were all up pretty late until I ended up passing out around 2 am.
Sunday morning I had planned to go to church with Nthabiseng, but she and I both overslept. It was ok though because we had a chill day and were able to hang out more. We went to watch a soccer game that Refiloe’s uncle Molefi was playing in and just hang out there. Then we went back to the house and Ma Chanza taught us how to make dumpling! Dumpling is just a steamed bread, but it is sooo goood. Now I know how to make it and plan on making it once I have a kitchen again. We even brought some of the dumpling to Moho’s place for dinner, where two other students were staying. The other students loved our cooking, and we now have to make it in Namibia and teach them how. After dinner we went back to the house and Ma Chanza showed us all her pictures and talked about her past. She also showed such an interest in our lives and made us show her pictures of everything, which was a ton of fun. There was so much I learned from Ma Chanza, and so many things that she caused me to question as well. The experience of living with a family was wonderful, and I am now looking forward to the next home stay so much more.
Today we drove to Pretoria, and went through Sandton. Sandton is a very wealth city and it was interesting to be in a city like that again. We were supposed to drive through Alexandra as well, but due to the strike we couldn’t. It was very violent there and we had trailers on our vans to carry our luggage and if we had to stop at a red light they would have easily been destroyed. But now we are in a hotel, which will be nice, because on Wednesday I will move into my room with five other roommates. But first we tour Pretoria tomorrow and there will be more questions answered and more questioned raised. This semester is not only going to be the most educational, but it will be best because it has caused me to question so much more about what I already know. And from here it only gets better.
The End of Joburg
So, it has been a while since I have written so let me do a quick sum up of the rest of the Joburg tour. We were just crammed with a ton of speakers. We talked to the main political parties, the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) and I learned so much this week. For example, Jacob Zuma the president at the moment, a member of the ANC party was appointed, not voted for. At the moment he has four wives and is also adding to the HIV problem in this country. He made a public statement claiming that he was not infected with HIV because he showered after sleeping with a woman with HIV. The things we learned were just shocking and eye opening about how things here work. Also, South Africa has one of the most inclusive constitutions calling for freedoms that no one else has, including the right for same sex couples to be married. However this is not seen in their society at all, because they are having a huge problem with “corrective rape”. There are just so many different contradictions that come up in our everyday learning here that it keeps challenging me to continue learning more about the issues and how they can be influenced by our presence here.
The four other highlights of the third and fourth day was the Apartheid Museum, the Khulumani Support Group, the Market Theatre, and the Treatment Action Campaign. First off, the Apartheid Museum: It was made by the same person who made the Holocaust museum so I had high expectations. Unfortunately I feel that they might have been too high. The museum was amazing and influential, but the end of the exhibit was missing, which put a huge damper on the museum. It was missing the section on the TRC (Truth and Reconciliation) which was a huge part of the forgiveness in South Africa and I feel like it still hasn’t solved all of the problems that were caused by Apartheid. Lucky, after the museum we headed over to the Khulumani Support Group, who share the same opinion that I do. They are a non-profit who tries to get more support for victims of Apartheid. Their goal is to turn victims into survivors of Apartheid. It is amazing how much they are finding that people need, such as education and clean water. Their organization is one that I would love to be able to intern with some day and get the experience of working for a non-profit like that. Later that night we went to the Market Theatre, which was mostly exciting because we were finally getting out and able to see something more of the present culture of South Africa. The play was about women who found strength in themselves and stopped giving into the system during Apartheid and started standing up for their rights, so it was very relevant to everything we had been doing but still entertaining. Finally we also met with the Treatment Action Center. This was super exciting for me because of the work that I do with Choices. This man came in and told us the struggles of being HIV positive in South Africa and how the government was shoving the issue under the carpet and how now finally things are getting a little better. It was interesting to hear his story and has me so much more excited for my internship in Namibia.
The four other highlights of the third and fourth day was the Apartheid Museum, the Khulumani Support Group, the Market Theatre, and the Treatment Action Campaign. First off, the Apartheid Museum: It was made by the same person who made the Holocaust museum so I had high expectations. Unfortunately I feel that they might have been too high. The museum was amazing and influential, but the end of the exhibit was missing, which put a huge damper on the museum. It was missing the section on the TRC (Truth and Reconciliation) which was a huge part of the forgiveness in South Africa and I feel like it still hasn’t solved all of the problems that were caused by Apartheid. Lucky, after the museum we headed over to the Khulumani Support Group, who share the same opinion that I do. They are a non-profit who tries to get more support for victims of Apartheid. Their goal is to turn victims into survivors of Apartheid. It is amazing how much they are finding that people need, such as education and clean water. Their organization is one that I would love to be able to intern with some day and get the experience of working for a non-profit like that. Later that night we went to the Market Theatre, which was mostly exciting because we were finally getting out and able to see something more of the present culture of South Africa. The play was about women who found strength in themselves and stopped giving into the system during Apartheid and started standing up for their rights, so it was very relevant to everything we had been doing but still entertaining. Finally we also met with the Treatment Action Center. This was super exciting for me because of the work that I do with Choices. This man came in and told us the struggles of being HIV positive in South Africa and how the government was shoving the issue under the carpet and how now finally things are getting a little better. It was interesting to hear his story and has me so much more excited for my internship in Namibia.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Day One and Two
So, it seems that this semester is going to be by far the most life changing thing I have ever gone through. It all started off at 5:30 AM when I woke up to some birds chirping outside of my window. I was not able to fall back asleep at all. The first reason being the birds chirping, the second being too much excitement and anticipation for the day ahead, the third being that I finally realized that I left my book light at home, and finally that silly Shakira song was still stuck in my head. Anyway I was laying in bed for a while, and had a pretty good bfast and was then ready to start the day. The day of course started with the meeting about Health and Safety, so no worried. I am now briefed on all the things again, for about the millionth time, and will be super safe while I am here. That is when the actual learning kicked off. During our break I was outside watching a bird weave its own nest with its beak, by far one of the most talented things I have ever seen an animal do. I am sure there is much more of this to come. That was when Molefi, one of the most amazing people, came to share his time with us. He told us all about the history of South Africa and the role that he played in Apartheid. He was 12 years old at the point and was alive for the most violent period of Apartheid. His experiences opened our eyes to prepare us for a day full of learning.
We went out on a drive through Soweto. We learned that Soweto actually stands for South Western Township. We were able to see the houses that were for the white people, or the coloreds and then the shacks that were for the blacks who were there to work. It was interesting to see that there as such a difference in housing just on two opposite sides of a road. After we drove to a Regina Mundi. This is a famous church in Soweto. There were many meetings held there to plan for ways to end Apartheid, and when police found out about it they attacked people while they were in the church. While inside we were able to see where there were bullet holes in the ceiling and broken pews. There was also a collection of photos from the events that happened. It was weird to see pictures of people being shot in a place where I was standing. After that we went to lunch at a simple shopping mall where I ate some delish chicken pita thingy. It was just nice to get out and be on our own for a bit. But little did we know that after lunch things would be so much more difficult.
We left the mall and headed to Kliptown. It started at a monument that honored the Freedom Charter. The Freedom Charter is the new constitution that South Africa has established. It is known as one of the most progressive constitutions in the world. It was so nice to see a monument honoring such a wonderful document. Our tour guide, Shipo then took us to a museum that honored the creating of the document. And it became obvious that people were not talking about how it was in affect today. That was when Shipo told us that he would show us how affective the Freedom Charter was. We walked outside, and crossed metro-link tracks. That was when we we brought into another world. There were shacks, no houses, and children running around on thier own with a few drunk adults stumbling around the place. There were small dirt paths separating the roads and in the paths there was a stream of water, that was filled with trash and polluted. It was poverty beyond any of us had ever seen before. As we were walking though people began to stare at us and yell hi to us and it was almost as if they were seeing us as people looking at them in a zoo. It was extremely uncomfortable. Then some little boys came up to us and grabbed our hands and walked with us. Many of them would grab two peoples hands and jump up and flip themselves over. One little boy took the silly band off my wrist and ran around with it to show his little brother, who was too young to even form words. We ventured deeper and deeper into this settlement. There was no electricity and of course no plumbing and sanitation was not existent. There were condoms and trash all over the ground, that little kids would pick up and put in their mouths. The government put in porta-potties, but only empties them once a year. It is all intense and there was even a woman who told us that she needed our help and we had no way to help her. This whole tour started the intense learning of this semester. We were all suddenly put into the place of what can we do. While it is natural for us to feel guilty for not being able to help them, and almost helpless in our own way to not help them. It is also now so much more important to learn how to confirm systemic change to being help to these people.
After this experience the rest of the day was almost a daze. We got home and went to bed after all talking to each other about the affects the day had on each of us. It was all interesting and helped to allow us to be comfortable with what happened. Having all the people in this group is awesome because we are all here to support each other with the overwhelming things that we are all experiencing. I went to bed still sorting out my feelings and trying to prepare for the next day of intense culture immersion.
And we woke up the second day prepared for anything. We left for the Hector Pieterson museum. Which memorialized the death of the students who participated in the march on June 16th, 1976. It was amazing to see the affect that the youth had on the government and how much of a catalyst this march was for the end of Apartheid. Now June 16th is Youth Day. It is nice to know that young people can have such an affect on the government. We then went to an amazing lunch at Robbys, which was my first South African food. It was amazing. I cant wait to experience more of it. I even ate chicken off the bone. It was very impressive. We then went back to St Peters to listen to Dale McKinely talk to us about the current government and social and economic system in present South Africa. It was insane to hear of the things that are going on, such as the lack of the Freedom Charter's affect in Kliptown and also the rising hatred towards the gay community. There is a rising religious party who wants to take control and so much inequality. South Africa is the most unequal nation in the world. It was so intense to hear him talk and have him tie so many things together for us. I am so excited for tomorrow because we will going to the Apartheid Museum, which was designed by the same person as the Holocaust Museum in DC.
As for now im going to try to get some rest after my roomies and I watch 10 Things I Hate About You. It is a good detox after such intense days.
<3
We went out on a drive through Soweto. We learned that Soweto actually stands for South Western Township. We were able to see the houses that were for the white people, or the coloreds and then the shacks that were for the blacks who were there to work. It was interesting to see that there as such a difference in housing just on two opposite sides of a road. After we drove to a Regina Mundi. This is a famous church in Soweto. There were many meetings held there to plan for ways to end Apartheid, and when police found out about it they attacked people while they were in the church. While inside we were able to see where there were bullet holes in the ceiling and broken pews. There was also a collection of photos from the events that happened. It was weird to see pictures of people being shot in a place where I was standing. After that we went to lunch at a simple shopping mall where I ate some delish chicken pita thingy. It was just nice to get out and be on our own for a bit. But little did we know that after lunch things would be so much more difficult.
We left the mall and headed to Kliptown. It started at a monument that honored the Freedom Charter. The Freedom Charter is the new constitution that South Africa has established. It is known as one of the most progressive constitutions in the world. It was so nice to see a monument honoring such a wonderful document. Our tour guide, Shipo then took us to a museum that honored the creating of the document. And it became obvious that people were not talking about how it was in affect today. That was when Shipo told us that he would show us how affective the Freedom Charter was. We walked outside, and crossed metro-link tracks. That was when we we brought into another world. There were shacks, no houses, and children running around on thier own with a few drunk adults stumbling around the place. There were small dirt paths separating the roads and in the paths there was a stream of water, that was filled with trash and polluted. It was poverty beyond any of us had ever seen before. As we were walking though people began to stare at us and yell hi to us and it was almost as if they were seeing us as people looking at them in a zoo. It was extremely uncomfortable. Then some little boys came up to us and grabbed our hands and walked with us. Many of them would grab two peoples hands and jump up and flip themselves over. One little boy took the silly band off my wrist and ran around with it to show his little brother, who was too young to even form words. We ventured deeper and deeper into this settlement. There was no electricity and of course no plumbing and sanitation was not existent. There were condoms and trash all over the ground, that little kids would pick up and put in their mouths. The government put in porta-potties, but only empties them once a year. It is all intense and there was even a woman who told us that she needed our help and we had no way to help her. This whole tour started the intense learning of this semester. We were all suddenly put into the place of what can we do. While it is natural for us to feel guilty for not being able to help them, and almost helpless in our own way to not help them. It is also now so much more important to learn how to confirm systemic change to being help to these people.
After this experience the rest of the day was almost a daze. We got home and went to bed after all talking to each other about the affects the day had on each of us. It was all interesting and helped to allow us to be comfortable with what happened. Having all the people in this group is awesome because we are all here to support each other with the overwhelming things that we are all experiencing. I went to bed still sorting out my feelings and trying to prepare for the next day of intense culture immersion.
And we woke up the second day prepared for anything. We left for the Hector Pieterson museum. Which memorialized the death of the students who participated in the march on June 16th, 1976. It was amazing to see the affect that the youth had on the government and how much of a catalyst this march was for the end of Apartheid. Now June 16th is Youth Day. It is nice to know that young people can have such an affect on the government. We then went to an amazing lunch at Robbys, which was my first South African food. It was amazing. I cant wait to experience more of it. I even ate chicken off the bone. It was very impressive. We then went back to St Peters to listen to Dale McKinely talk to us about the current government and social and economic system in present South Africa. It was insane to hear of the things that are going on, such as the lack of the Freedom Charter's affect in Kliptown and also the rising hatred towards the gay community. There is a rising religious party who wants to take control and so much inequality. South Africa is the most unequal nation in the world. It was so intense to hear him talk and have him tie so many things together for us. I am so excited for tomorrow because we will going to the Apartheid Museum, which was designed by the same person as the Holocaust Museum in DC.
As for now im going to try to get some rest after my roomies and I watch 10 Things I Hate About You. It is a good detox after such intense days.
<3
Sunday, August 15, 2010
The Flight
After a long long long day yesterday I am sitting in Rosettenville, which is suburb of Jo'burg.
After a long few days of reacting to my yellow fever shot and saying many goodbyes and a few hard night I departed for the airport at 9:15 from my home. After checking in my bags, all the way through Jo'burg I got my boarding pass and sat around a while with the fam before heading into the actual airport. I sat around and got on a super small plane headed towards Washington-Dulles. On the plane while I was sad to be leaving, the guy next to me told me to just enjoy the time I had, which I will do. Because it already feels like this semester is going to go by so fast.
One thing that didnt go fast however was the flight to Jo'burg. After boarding the plane and finding my seat, 50G, I tried to get situated. The getting situated took quite a while seeing that sitting for a 17 hr flight was not very exciting for me. The first stretch included dinner and many many movies. They had movies such as Valentines Day and Sex and the City and Just My Luck and some other ones as well. And we also got food, which was pretty ok. It was chicken curry with rice and some veggies. After that I also tried to sleep and it was really just one long restless night. However the plane was quite wonderful in the fact that they gave us a blanket and socks and a toothbrush and toothpaste!!!!! I have all of these things too, and am def looking forward to getting them on the flight back. We did stop in Dakar, Senegal and it was a beautiful 5 in the morning their time. We stayed on the ground and walked around the cabin a bit. We then had an early bfast of delish french toast, which was just what I needed. Then the cabin lights were dimmed and I passed out for the remainder of the flight when I was just tossing and turning back and forth. Then we landed in South Africa, which was extremely exciting. We all got off the plane and entered the country after having a thermal heat scan, which i think would tell if we had a fever or not, but I could be completely wrong. We then all got our luggage and headed off to St Peters where we are spending the week. It is almost like an old dormitory for nuns, says one of the girls in my room. We ate a small dinner of food which wasnt too appealing to me, hopefully tomorrow will be better. And then we played some silly ice breakers and have since showered and broken into groups and have just been hanging out. Tomorrow is a tour of Soweto and we are trying to get to be not jetlagged. So that it is for today and tomorrow should be interesting and there should be more to come then!
<3
After a long few days of reacting to my yellow fever shot and saying many goodbyes and a few hard night I departed for the airport at 9:15 from my home. After checking in my bags, all the way through Jo'burg I got my boarding pass and sat around a while with the fam before heading into the actual airport. I sat around and got on a super small plane headed towards Washington-Dulles. On the plane while I was sad to be leaving, the guy next to me told me to just enjoy the time I had, which I will do. Because it already feels like this semester is going to go by so fast.
One thing that didnt go fast however was the flight to Jo'burg. After boarding the plane and finding my seat, 50G, I tried to get situated. The getting situated took quite a while seeing that sitting for a 17 hr flight was not very exciting for me. The first stretch included dinner and many many movies. They had movies such as Valentines Day and Sex and the City and Just My Luck and some other ones as well. And we also got food, which was pretty ok. It was chicken curry with rice and some veggies. After that I also tried to sleep and it was really just one long restless night. However the plane was quite wonderful in the fact that they gave us a blanket and socks and a toothbrush and toothpaste!!!!! I have all of these things too, and am def looking forward to getting them on the flight back. We did stop in Dakar, Senegal and it was a beautiful 5 in the morning their time. We stayed on the ground and walked around the cabin a bit. We then had an early bfast of delish french toast, which was just what I needed. Then the cabin lights were dimmed and I passed out for the remainder of the flight when I was just tossing and turning back and forth. Then we landed in South Africa, which was extremely exciting. We all got off the plane and entered the country after having a thermal heat scan, which i think would tell if we had a fever or not, but I could be completely wrong. We then all got our luggage and headed off to St Peters where we are spending the week. It is almost like an old dormitory for nuns, says one of the girls in my room. We ate a small dinner of food which wasnt too appealing to me, hopefully tomorrow will be better. And then we played some silly ice breakers and have since showered and broken into groups and have just been hanging out. Tomorrow is a tour of Soweto and we are trying to get to be not jetlagged. So that it is for today and tomorrow should be interesting and there should be more to come then!
<3
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Packing
Tonight has been hectic to say the least. After a rushed decision to go out to eat, which was pretty delish, it was declared time to head home to perform the daunting task of packing. Now there have been many times I wished that my suitcase was one I picked up at Hogwarts or even that I had a wand to be able to command everything to pack itself, but tonight seemed to out do them all. I knew that trying to pack for a semester would be hard, but that was before I got the glorious news from South African Airlines. Their 44 lb limit. Thank you for that one. Therefore this was the first challenge. The second is that I need a smaller bag for weekend travels, meaning that I started to attempt packing one big suitcase and one smaller duffel suitcase. I figured it wouldn't be too hard as I made an expansive list of everything I own to take with me for Africa. After much help from my Mom we crammed a lot into the first suitcase, in fact almost everything I wanted to bring. Weighing that suitcase brought my hopes down to reality as the scale showed huge red numbers reading 46 lbs. Therefore it was time to repack, questioning everything I was bringing and if it would really be worth it. This is where the program manual came into play.
For those who don't know, I got a wonderful spiral bound book with the insight to everything I should know about this program, including a packing list. I sat down and compared the list I had made of what I was bringing to their recommended list. The list states:
3-4 pairs of pants
2 shorts
4-5 short-sleeved shirts
2-3 long sleeved
"Going Out" Tops
3-4 skirts or dresses (for women)
Underwear
Socks
5 shoes (each a specific shoe: tennis, flip flop, sandal but not flip flop, comfortable dress shoes, and walking shoes)
Hat
Fleece Jacket and sweatpants/sweatshirt
To the person who made this list: I realize that you are doing this for the best, and you probably want us to have room to bring things back, and not to bring too many thing with us, etc. But for real?! You are addressing many college age girls, who have more than 4-5 short sleeved shirts and more than 3-4 skirts/dresses. So of course, I will be brining more than this recommended list, but after three attempts my mom and I closed up my suitcase and weighed it and it was 43.6 lbs!!!! (the time for the happy dance occurred then, however it was more of a sigh for relief. packing is far too stressful an activity to enjoy, however I was presented with the idea that packing is getting to chose my favorite things and putting them all together..it is an idea I will have to work on) However, the sad news is that I am not done packing. There are a few things I need to pick up tomorrow and then I can pack them up and hopefully be done and able to move onto other things.
One last thing for the night: I think an explanation of the title of this blog should be explained. When I was confronted with the idea of writing a blog I was pretty opposed to the idea, feeling like it would be silly to write about myself and things I do, being all narcissistic and such. But instead I decided it would be easier for people to follow and it could be fun. The original idea for the blog was WWHG. It stands for What Would Hillary Gleason? And I thank her for the super support throughout all my times with her and will of course miss her, but I figured that many of my family members following would be more than confused with that title (sorry HGlee, you know I love you). So that meant I had to find something else that was a little more understandable by most people. Therefore it lead to the idea of moist towelettes. Yes, those little things that you get at restaurants when you are too messy, and most people never use other than that. Well, the first packing list I had suggested that I bring moist towelettes. That was when all of the fun started. I began receiving gifts of these damp cloths from many people and of course kept them. It became obvious that this would be a fun start to a great semester, and hence the blog was named after such an epic item of necessity. At this moment I have eight moist towelettes in my possession for eight moments that I am sure will be documented this semester. Now Im off to finish preparing for these moments to come.
<3
For those who don't know, I got a wonderful spiral bound book with the insight to everything I should know about this program, including a packing list. I sat down and compared the list I had made of what I was bringing to their recommended list. The list states:
3-4 pairs of pants
2 shorts
4-5 short-sleeved shirts
2-3 long sleeved
"Going Out" Tops
3-4 skirts or dresses (for women)
Underwear
Socks
5 shoes (each a specific shoe: tennis, flip flop, sandal but not flip flop, comfortable dress shoes, and walking shoes)
Hat
Fleece Jacket and sweatpants/sweatshirt
To the person who made this list: I realize that you are doing this for the best, and you probably want us to have room to bring things back, and not to bring too many thing with us, etc. But for real?! You are addressing many college age girls, who have more than 4-5 short sleeved shirts and more than 3-4 skirts/dresses. So of course, I will be brining more than this recommended list, but after three attempts my mom and I closed up my suitcase and weighed it and it was 43.6 lbs!!!! (the time for the happy dance occurred then, however it was more of a sigh for relief. packing is far too stressful an activity to enjoy, however I was presented with the idea that packing is getting to chose my favorite things and putting them all together..it is an idea I will have to work on) However, the sad news is that I am not done packing. There are a few things I need to pick up tomorrow and then I can pack them up and hopefully be done and able to move onto other things.
One last thing for the night: I think an explanation of the title of this blog should be explained. When I was confronted with the idea of writing a blog I was pretty opposed to the idea, feeling like it would be silly to write about myself and things I do, being all narcissistic and such. But instead I decided it would be easier for people to follow and it could be fun. The original idea for the blog was WWHG. It stands for What Would Hillary Gleason? And I thank her for the super support throughout all my times with her and will of course miss her, but I figured that many of my family members following would be more than confused with that title (sorry HGlee, you know I love you). So that meant I had to find something else that was a little more understandable by most people. Therefore it lead to the idea of moist towelettes. Yes, those little things that you get at restaurants when you are too messy, and most people never use other than that. Well, the first packing list I had suggested that I bring moist towelettes. That was when all of the fun started. I began receiving gifts of these damp cloths from many people and of course kept them. It became obvious that this would be a fun start to a great semester, and hence the blog was named after such an epic item of necessity. At this moment I have eight moist towelettes in my possession for eight moments that I am sure will be documented this semester. Now Im off to finish preparing for these moments to come.
<3
Monday, August 9, 2010
And here we go
After countless shots, months of preparing, two books, and one malaria pill, it is finally sinking in that in five days I will be on a plane to South Africa. At the beginning of last semester I was applying for this great opportunity to study abroad for a semester and ever since I got accepted I have been slowly preparing. Now that everything is about to start up, it seemed time to find a method to keep everyone informed about my adventures to come.
So lets start with the basics. I will be spending the majority of next semester in Windhoek, Namibia. There I will be living in a program house with 23 other participants of the program and the staff as well. I will have my classes in the program house. The three classes I am taking are:
Racism and Resistance in Southern Africa and the US
Political and Social Change
The Development Process
and instead of taking a fourth class I will have an internship. Recently I just got the information on this awesome organization called Hopes Initiatives Southern Africa, and I am lucky to be interning with them next semester!!! :D (When I got this news there was a happy dance that occurred) This was in the recent email I got from Namibia:
History of Organization:
Hope Initiatives is a community-based organization working to support vulnerable youth and families through education, empowerment and skill-building activities. They have three locations throughout Windhoek and conduct many projects at their sites. The Ombili Bridging School hosts the head office of the organization. Approximately 76 orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) between the ages of 10-18 who have dropped out of or are over age for conventional schools attend this school in order to make up the necessary skills to be mainstreamed back into school. The Okahandja Park location hosts the community offices and many other programs, including: a play group (“kindergarten”) for children aged 3-7 years, a support group for women living positively with HIV, a caregivers program which gives information to parents about basic hygiene and discipline, a feeding program for children and a program for youth which gives them information on HIV/AIDS and organizes sporting activities. Hope Initiatives also has a feeding program in the Kilimanjaro settlement.
But now, back to what's happening in the present. Tomorrow I do some last minute shopping, and I hope to finish packing as well. Tomorrow I also get my last shot before I travel. YAY being safe from Yellow Fever!! I also need to read the last of three books that were assigned for reading to be done before travel. So these next five days will be pretty jam packed with last minute things, but I will try my best to keep things updated as I get new information. One final thing I have to share is my flight itinerary, but that is it until my next update. Thank you for deciding to follow my travels on this blog!!
Departing StL at 1205 and getting into Washington-Dulles at 314
Departing Washington-Dulles at 540PM and arriving at Johannesburg at 510PM
On this flight not only will we all get our own personal TVs but we will also stop in Dakar Senegal in order to refuel out plane. Much excitement is yet to come! If you want to know more about Namibia's local news check out this website: http://www.namibian.com.na/ Maybe it can hold you over till I have more news on my next post!
<3
So lets start with the basics. I will be spending the majority of next semester in Windhoek, Namibia. There I will be living in a program house with 23 other participants of the program and the staff as well. I will have my classes in the program house. The three classes I am taking are:
Racism and Resistance in Southern Africa and the US
Political and Social Change
The Development Process
and instead of taking a fourth class I will have an internship. Recently I just got the information on this awesome organization called Hopes Initiatives Southern Africa, and I am lucky to be interning with them next semester!!! :D (When I got this news there was a happy dance that occurred) This was in the recent email I got from Namibia:
History of Organization:
Hope Initiatives is a community-based organization working to support vulnerable youth and families through education, empowerment and skill-building activities. They have three locations throughout Windhoek and conduct many projects at their sites. The Ombili Bridging School hosts the head office of the organization. Approximately 76 orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) between the ages of 10-18 who have dropped out of or are over age for conventional schools attend this school in order to make up the necessary skills to be mainstreamed back into school. The Okahandja Park location hosts the community offices and many other programs, including: a play group (“kindergarten”) for children aged 3-7 years, a support group for women living positively with HIV, a caregivers program which gives information to parents about basic hygiene and discipline, a feeding program for children and a program for youth which gives them information on HIV/AIDS and organizes sporting activities. Hope Initiatives also has a feeding program in the Kilimanjaro settlement.
But now, back to what's happening in the present. Tomorrow I do some last minute shopping, and I hope to finish packing as well. Tomorrow I also get my last shot before I travel. YAY being safe from Yellow Fever!! I also need to read the last of three books that were assigned for reading to be done before travel. So these next five days will be pretty jam packed with last minute things, but I will try my best to keep things updated as I get new information. One final thing I have to share is my flight itinerary, but that is it until my next update. Thank you for deciding to follow my travels on this blog!!
Departing StL at 1205 and getting into Washington-Dulles at 314
Departing Washington-Dulles at 540PM and arriving at Johannesburg at 510PM
On this flight not only will we all get our own personal TVs but we will also stop in Dakar Senegal in order to refuel out plane. Much excitement is yet to come! If you want to know more about Namibia's local news check out this website: http://www.namibian.com.na/ Maybe it can hold you over till I have more news on my next post!
<3
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