We have been staying quite busy in Pietermaritzburg (PMB) between doing our research and spending time with our wonderful “digs mates” (South African term for “house” mates =). Since we have updated in several weeks we will just give you some highlights:
Visits to Durban: Because we had been isolated from our group for long enough and we had a few things to do in the office we planned a weekend trip back to Durban (1hr away). This weekend included a long walk and short swim on the beach, visiting with our group members, watermelon martinis, and a lovely Italian dinner with our digs mates who brought us back to PMB. The following weekend we returned to Durban with our digs mates to go to Essenwood Market (in a beautiful park with lots of food, art, and live reggae music) and have a smancy meal from a restaurant that had a R150 (gasp!) spending minimum where we had frog legs and quail…yes it was that type of restaurant but it was all actually quite yummy ;)
Movies: We finally had a chance to go to the GATEWAY MALL (previously the largest mall in the SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE) where we saw the incredible movie “Milk”. Becky cried 3 times. We also had the chance to see the French film “Amalie” which was such a wonderfully feel good movie =)
Midland: Just north of PMB is a beautiful mountain region known as the Midlands where our digs mates have taken us many times. We have gone on a waterfall hike, to a brewery, and to several cafes (our favorite is Piggly Wiggly which has a shop where we discovered plastics covered floral couch purses. Yes, we just said that. They really entertained Stephanie).
Wine: Wine is definitely a big thing in South Africa. We went to a wine tasting hosted by a group of young Afikaners where we learned all about the qualities and process of making Cabernet Sauvignon. It was unique and educational experience on several levels.
PMB friends: we have spent a lot of time eating and drinking with two friends of our digs mates, Jaques (an Afikaner IT guy) and El Roy (a Colored/Indian anesthesiologist) both at our house and theirs and out in PMB and in Durban. We also have finally made it to a PMB night spot with our friend Tracey who is a Student Worker at Ujamaa.
Brr!!!: PMB is COLD, especially now that winter is approaching in South Africa! And PMB is much colder than Durban so we’ve enjoyed the warmth of our visits back to the coast….but then again we haven’t missed the nights of sweating in bed…
30 seconds: We’ve played this fun board game a couple times where you have 30 seconds to describe 5 words on a card without saying the words to your teammates and have them guess as many as possible. Once when we were playing with our housemates – one of whom is from Belgium and who does not typically say very much because he is shy about his English (he really doesn’t say much to us Americans which we were afraid was because he simply does not like Americans but is perhaps because our accents are too difficult) but he was amazingly good at this game (apparently the Belgium education system is far superior to the American or South African systems because nothing was out of his range of knowledge) he was so good that when it was our turn at the game and Stephanie was trying to get Becky to guess the rapper “50 cent” by singing his song “candy shop” and Becky simply stared blankly back at Stephanie, he immediately burst out with the answer which amazed the entire group and brought much laughter!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Freezing in Africa?!?
On Thursday, April 2nd, we moved into our new home in Pietermaritzburg where we live in a huge house with several young South Africans (3 doctors who just finished med school and who are interning in the nearby hospital, 1 sports business entrepreneur, and 1 coffee shop entrepreneur). They are all very welcoming and fun to live with. The house also has a pool which we have been enjoying.
On Friday and Saturday, we attended a workshop at a nearby lodge that the Ujamaa Center was holding to train facilitators to do Contextual Bible Studies in their communities. Ujamaa (www.ujamaa.org.za) is the organization that Becky is researching and so we learned a lot about what they do and what they believe by attending the workshop. It was also really nice to spend the weekend with the group of about 15 people because they were of all different ages (some young undergrads) and occupations (theology PhD students, ministers and community workers) from all different places (Kenya, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and all over South Africa). To help you more fully understand the work and effects of Ujamaa we will share a story from one of the participants:
Nonhlanhla (not her real name) was a black South African in her late 20s/early 30s who had been involved with Ujamaa as a community worker for a couple of years. She shared with Stephanie that a year ago her 19 year old cousin’s boyfriend intentionally burnt her cousin. She had been 7 months pregnant at the time, suffered from severe burns over 95% of her body, lost the baby, and ended up dying two months later. Nonhlanhla said that her work and experience with Ujamaa empowered her to demand and fight for justice using every means possible including television and newspaper interviews. Even though the other women at her church told her to leave the boyfriend alone or he would hurt her too, Nonhlanhla knew that by not doing anything she would be letting him get away with it and setting a precedent for all men that they could do whatever they wanted to women without being punished. Due to her brave efforts, the boyfriend is now in jail and she continues to spread the idea and example of women’s empowerment throughout her community.
So Ujamaa is a pretty impressive organization that seems to be making real changes in the communities it works with. We definitely were impressed by the workshop.
On Sunday we went back to Durban for the homestay family goodbye lunch. We got there a little early so we had time to walk around a Chinatown-ish area in the city (we have barely seen any Asians except the many who owned stores in this area…its interesting). We also went to an outside market that is a combination of a thrift and outlet store with slightly damaged clothing. There is just so much fun shopping in Durban! After lunch we walked around for a bit with our sisters in a different part of town to do a little gift shopping for them. It was sad to leave them but we plan on visiting again before we leave S. Africa.
Back in Pietermaritzburg on Monday through Wednesday, when we weren’t working on our literature reviews, we got to spend some time getting to know our new roommates. We went to see “The Little Shop of Horrors” (very funny and definitely worth seeing if you get the chance!) at a playhouse in Durban one night and to a cute garden restaurant another day. We also spent a day at the university campus because Stephanie had a 4pm meeting with her advisor (who is an incredibly intelligent female Lutheran minister from Zimbabwe who is a Women and Gender Studies Ph.D. student). In order to get to campus, we catch a ride with one of our roommates at 7:30am when she goes to work at the hospital. From the hospital we catch a minibus into the center of town where we can catch another minibus to campus…it’s quite an adventure. Because we had to wait the entire day for the meeting, we snuck into an empty Afrikaner language classroom with our computers, books, and bag full of food, to work on our papers all day. =)
On Thursday we went to the Drakensburg mountains for a musical festival called Splashly Fen. The trip was organized by our Zulu teacher who is part of a group that runs the front gate at the festival. She arranged for us to work a few shifts in exchange for admission, food, and tents. It was a beautiful and crazy weekend. It apparently always rains (hence the name Splashy Fen) and makes the entire place incredibly muddy. We were given “gum boots” (rubber boots) and told they would be essential for the weekend. The first night when we walked down to the festival (a good 20 minute hike from where we were camped at the front gate) it wasn’t raining but within an hour a steady rain began and we wished desperately we had worn our boots!! But we enjoyed lots of good food (butternut soup, a chicken swarma, a chip twister (Steph’s favorite super-salty fried curly potato on a stick), and lots of hot chocolate). We also enjoyed dancing to the South African bands (it was an eclectic array of music). We headed back to our teeny-weeny wet tent around midnight. Fortunately we were thoroughly exhausted and fell asleep quickly because as you can imagine, it wasn’t the most comfortable sleeping situation. The temperatures actually drop to near freezing at night. But the sun fortunately came out the next day and dried things up. Friday we walked around the festival, looked at all the shops and enjoyed the music during the day because we worked the night shift. It wasn’t too bad because it didn’t rain and we sat around a fire when it wasn’t busy. Saturday was a glorious day- we spent it swimming in the freezing river and laying out in the hot sun. We ate lots of good food and got back massages at one of the stalls in the festival for R80 ($8). Sunday we went for a quick swim before we packed up our tents and headed home. Now we are finishing up our 8-10 page seminar papers which are due tomorrow!
On Friday and Saturday, we attended a workshop at a nearby lodge that the Ujamaa Center was holding to train facilitators to do Contextual Bible Studies in their communities. Ujamaa (www.ujamaa.org.za) is the organization that Becky is researching and so we learned a lot about what they do and what they believe by attending the workshop. It was also really nice to spend the weekend with the group of about 15 people because they were of all different ages (some young undergrads) and occupations (theology PhD students, ministers and community workers) from all different places (Kenya, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and all over South Africa). To help you more fully understand the work and effects of Ujamaa we will share a story from one of the participants:
Nonhlanhla (not her real name) was a black South African in her late 20s/early 30s who had been involved with Ujamaa as a community worker for a couple of years. She shared with Stephanie that a year ago her 19 year old cousin’s boyfriend intentionally burnt her cousin. She had been 7 months pregnant at the time, suffered from severe burns over 95% of her body, lost the baby, and ended up dying two months later. Nonhlanhla said that her work and experience with Ujamaa empowered her to demand and fight for justice using every means possible including television and newspaper interviews. Even though the other women at her church told her to leave the boyfriend alone or he would hurt her too, Nonhlanhla knew that by not doing anything she would be letting him get away with it and setting a precedent for all men that they could do whatever they wanted to women without being punished. Due to her brave efforts, the boyfriend is now in jail and she continues to spread the idea and example of women’s empowerment throughout her community.
So Ujamaa is a pretty impressive organization that seems to be making real changes in the communities it works with. We definitely were impressed by the workshop.
On Sunday we went back to Durban for the homestay family goodbye lunch. We got there a little early so we had time to walk around a Chinatown-ish area in the city (we have barely seen any Asians except the many who owned stores in this area…its interesting). We also went to an outside market that is a combination of a thrift and outlet store with slightly damaged clothing. There is just so much fun shopping in Durban! After lunch we walked around for a bit with our sisters in a different part of town to do a little gift shopping for them. It was sad to leave them but we plan on visiting again before we leave S. Africa.
Back in Pietermaritzburg on Monday through Wednesday, when we weren’t working on our literature reviews, we got to spend some time getting to know our new roommates. We went to see “The Little Shop of Horrors” (very funny and definitely worth seeing if you get the chance!) at a playhouse in Durban one night and to a cute garden restaurant another day. We also spent a day at the university campus because Stephanie had a 4pm meeting with her advisor (who is an incredibly intelligent female Lutheran minister from Zimbabwe who is a Women and Gender Studies Ph.D. student). In order to get to campus, we catch a ride with one of our roommates at 7:30am when she goes to work at the hospital. From the hospital we catch a minibus into the center of town where we can catch another minibus to campus…it’s quite an adventure. Because we had to wait the entire day for the meeting, we snuck into an empty Afrikaner language classroom with our computers, books, and bag full of food, to work on our papers all day. =)
On Thursday we went to the Drakensburg mountains for a musical festival called Splashly Fen. The trip was organized by our Zulu teacher who is part of a group that runs the front gate at the festival. She arranged for us to work a few shifts in exchange for admission, food, and tents. It was a beautiful and crazy weekend. It apparently always rains (hence the name Splashy Fen) and makes the entire place incredibly muddy. We were given “gum boots” (rubber boots) and told they would be essential for the weekend. The first night when we walked down to the festival (a good 20 minute hike from where we were camped at the front gate) it wasn’t raining but within an hour a steady rain began and we wished desperately we had worn our boots!! But we enjoyed lots of good food (butternut soup, a chicken swarma, a chip twister (Steph’s favorite super-salty fried curly potato on a stick), and lots of hot chocolate). We also enjoyed dancing to the South African bands (it was an eclectic array of music). We headed back to our teeny-weeny wet tent around midnight. Fortunately we were thoroughly exhausted and fell asleep quickly because as you can imagine, it wasn’t the most comfortable sleeping situation. The temperatures actually drop to near freezing at night. But the sun fortunately came out the next day and dried things up. Friday we walked around the festival, looked at all the shops and enjoyed the music during the day because we worked the night shift. It wasn’t too bad because it didn’t rain and we sat around a fire when it wasn’t busy. Saturday was a glorious day- we spent it swimming in the freezing river and laying out in the hot sun. We ate lots of good food and got back massages at one of the stalls in the festival for R80 ($8). Sunday we went for a quick swim before we packed up our tents and headed home. Now we are finishing up our 8-10 page seminar papers which are due tomorrow!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
a week in newlands east
Last week we moved into our 3rd homestay in a Colored community in Newlands East (about 15 minutes outside of the city). Once again we were both lucky and had wonderful families. Becky lived with a mom, a 20 yr old daughter named Michelle and an 8 yr old daughter named Micha. The dad was killed in front of the family a year ago in a carjacking. Extremely sad but the entire family was working hard to keep things as normal and happy as possible which was helped by the birth of Michelle’s baby on Wednesday which was on her 20th birthday! It was a very exciting week for the family and a lot of fun to be a part of. Stephanie lived in large family with a grandma, grandpa, feisty mom named Shenelle (who reminded me a lot of Amy), dad named Winston, 12 year old sister named Sheniel, 6 year old brother named Keano, and a 1 year old Rottweiler named Buster. Some interesting facts: both Shenelle and Winston work as police officers, Keano loves Ben 10, Sheniel got to spend the night at a friend’s house for the very first time Saturday night, and the entire family - from grandma to little brother - never stop talking (which made Stephanie feel right at home).
Now for a run-down of our family and program activities for the week. On Tuesday, we spent a half day at Spearman Primary School. We got to hear the 6th and 7th grade VIG’S (Very Important Girls) perform a couple of songs, were split up into different classrooms to talk about America, give lessons on Democracy, Biology or Peer Pressure, were generally mugged for hugs and signatures, and at the end got to see a Gumboot dance performance from a small group of the older boys. For the lesson section of the day, Stephanie and Becky were in the same 6th grade classroom where, after introducing ourselves, we talked about and took a quiz on peer pressure and then led a jeopardy game where the topics were South Africa, the US, Peer Pressure, Music and Other. It was really fun and incredibly exhausting. In fact, when Stephanie got home she immediately took a 2 ½ hour nap. On Wednesday, we traveled to Inanda and visited the John Dube home and school, a Shembe religious site and community, as well as the Pheonix Settlement where Gandhi stayed while in South Africa. On Friday, we had a lecture on Socio-ecological Transformation in South Durban- that title may be intimidating but the talk was really good. Our lecturer discussed the importance of the environment for all communities especially the urban poor. After the lecture, we traveled to an Indian market and a Hare Krishna Temple.
Throughout the week, we looked forward to coming home to chill with our families. This chilling included watching numerous Madea movies, braai-ing (BBQing), and looking with awe at the literally newborn baby. On Sunday, we had an amazing time picnicking at a Freshly Ground concert at the Botanical Gardens. Becky and Stephanie both woke up waaaay early Monday morning to get in a minibus taxi (at 6am) and head back off to Pietermaritzburg to work out logistics concerning our ISP’s. The trip was highly successful- we talked to Becky’s advisor and sat in on one of his classes, the coordinator of the Ujamaa Women and Gender Program, the Director of the Sinomlando Memory Box Project and the CEO of the Msunduzi Hospice. We are in full research-prep mode with our ISP proposals due on Friday.
Now for a run-down of our family and program activities for the week. On Tuesday, we spent a half day at Spearman Primary School. We got to hear the 6th and 7th grade VIG’S (Very Important Girls) perform a couple of songs, were split up into different classrooms to talk about America, give lessons on Democracy, Biology or Peer Pressure, were generally mugged for hugs and signatures, and at the end got to see a Gumboot dance performance from a small group of the older boys. For the lesson section of the day, Stephanie and Becky were in the same 6th grade classroom where, after introducing ourselves, we talked about and took a quiz on peer pressure and then led a jeopardy game where the topics were South Africa, the US, Peer Pressure, Music and Other. It was really fun and incredibly exhausting. In fact, when Stephanie got home she immediately took a 2 ½ hour nap. On Wednesday, we traveled to Inanda and visited the John Dube home and school, a Shembe religious site and community, as well as the Pheonix Settlement where Gandhi stayed while in South Africa. On Friday, we had a lecture on Socio-ecological Transformation in South Durban- that title may be intimidating but the talk was really good. Our lecturer discussed the importance of the environment for all communities especially the urban poor. After the lecture, we traveled to an Indian market and a Hare Krishna Temple.
Throughout the week, we looked forward to coming home to chill with our families. This chilling included watching numerous Madea movies, braai-ing (BBQing), and looking with awe at the literally newborn baby. On Sunday, we had an amazing time picnicking at a Freshly Ground concert at the Botanical Gardens. Becky and Stephanie both woke up waaaay early Monday morning to get in a minibus taxi (at 6am) and head back off to Pietermaritzburg to work out logistics concerning our ISP’s. The trip was highly successful- we talked to Becky’s advisor and sat in on one of his classes, the coordinator of the Ujamaa Women and Gender Program, the Director of the Sinomlando Memory Box Project and the CEO of the Msunduzi Hospice. We are in full research-prep mode with our ISP proposals due on Friday.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Focus Study Week
This last week the whole group was divided into 3 focus groups: reconciliation, education, and gender. Becky was in education and Stephanie was in the gender group. The week consisted of separate lectures, meetings, and field visits (and some really good lunches!). Some highlights of the education program included visiting a university and being paired with a student for a day, visiting an exclusive private boys school (very very interesting culture...for example every time the boys saw any person they had to greet them so we literally got dozens of "ma'am ma'am sir ma'am and sir ma'am" as we passed them), and having a couple lectures on the education system. The main topics addressed by the gender focus included the right and access to reproductive health care including TOP (termination of pregnancy), violence against women, LGBTI community, rights and activism, and HIV prevention and treatment. We watched "Yesterday," the widely-acclaimed first full-feature Zulu film and "Simon and I" a documentary on South African LGBTI activism pre- and post-apartheid. We also visited Marie Stopes, a local private reproductive health clinic, the Durban Lesbian and Gay Community and Health Center, and the Advice Desk for the Abused. Friday morning, as in early morning 6am-ish, a good portion of our entire group traveled to a bead market where we picked up gorgeous creations for ourselves, friends and families. Today in class all three group gave very informative presentations on what they had experienced and learned last week.
Now for the good part, the weekend: After class on Friday, we both traveled to the nearby campus of DUT (Durban University of Technology) where slam poetry is performed and Becky's malume (Zulu for "uncle") studies mechanical engineering. We chatted and walked around a bit before leaving the campus for a walk around a good portion of downtown Durban in which Becky effectively gift-shopped for her sisters. Then, with Stephanie tagging along, Becky treated her mama, malume and two young obhuti ("brothers") to a delicious dinner at Spur. When we got home, the power was out so we did the natural thing and went straight to sleep. The next day we walked to Stephanie's house, then took a minibus into town to go to the beach. Before becoming beach bums, we took a gondola ride and ate some divine sorbet and pita schwarmas. After the beach, we met up with malume again and rented a really good movie called "Talk to Me." Check it out, it's amazing. Afterwards, we picked up Stephanie's two osisi ("sisters") and went to the club. We had a really fiesty female taxi driver and had a great time dancing to Durban house music. Stephanie's sisters were having such a great time that they begged not to leave when the taxi came back at 12:30am. On Sunday, we traveled by minibus to Pietermaritzburg to check out the room we're renting during our Independent Study Project. We were completely wow-ed by the house we're sharing with other young adults- it had an incredible kitchen, a small pool and even a shower! (This may be a slight upgrade from Stephanie's current house which does not even have running water.) We minibused back to Bonella and separated for the first time since Friday afternoon.
This week we are in a third homestay in Newlands with different coloured families. (Coloured = mixed/multiracial in the South African context). We will definitely let you know how that goes in our next update!
Now for the good part, the weekend: After class on Friday, we both traveled to the nearby campus of DUT (Durban University of Technology) where slam poetry is performed and Becky's malume (Zulu for "uncle") studies mechanical engineering. We chatted and walked around a bit before leaving the campus for a walk around a good portion of downtown Durban in which Becky effectively gift-shopped for her sisters. Then, with Stephanie tagging along, Becky treated her mama, malume and two young obhuti ("brothers") to a delicious dinner at Spur. When we got home, the power was out so we did the natural thing and went straight to sleep. The next day we walked to Stephanie's house, then took a minibus into town to go to the beach. Before becoming beach bums, we took a gondola ride and ate some divine sorbet and pita schwarmas. After the beach, we met up with malume again and rented a really good movie called "Talk to Me." Check it out, it's amazing. Afterwards, we picked up Stephanie's two osisi ("sisters") and went to the club. We had a really fiesty female taxi driver and had a great time dancing to Durban house music. Stephanie's sisters were having such a great time that they begged not to leave when the taxi came back at 12:30am. On Sunday, we traveled by minibus to Pietermaritzburg to check out the room we're renting during our Independent Study Project. We were completely wow-ed by the house we're sharing with other young adults- it had an incredible kitchen, a small pool and even a shower! (This may be a slight upgrade from Stephanie's current house which does not even have running water.) We minibused back to Bonella and separated for the first time since Friday afternoon.
This week we are in a third homestay in Newlands with different coloured families. (Coloured = mixed/multiracial in the South African context). We will definitely let you know how that goes in our next update!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
difficult dinner =)
ahh we forgot to write about the day we made dinner for stephanie's family. they hinted to her that they really loved lasagna and so one day after class we went to the grocery store to get everything we needed. it was quite late by the time we took a taxi home and then the challenge began. The first difficulty was that Stehpanie's house has not had running water for several weeks. Cooking in a kitchen without running water is DIFFICULT to say the least. Second, we bought way too many noodles and we were trying to conserve water and it was a disaster. They stuck together. Lol. Finally, after we somehow we managed to layer all the cheese, meat, tomatoes, sauce, and noodles into a pan, we placed it in the oven to bake for an hour and then suddenly realized that the amount of energy that we would be consuming to cook this food was probably obscene!!!!!!! As we sat down to rest for a minute and looked over the mess we had made of the kitchen, we felt sligthly guilty.
FORTUNATELY the lasagna turned out to be absolutely delicious and the family LOVED it. However, if we were to do it over we would in the least just buy premade lasagna and bake it, but preferably we would buy it already cooked from a restaurant... =)
Oh well, it was an experience.
FORTUNATELY the lasagna turned out to be absolutely delicious and the family LOVED it. However, if we were to do it over we would in the least just buy premade lasagna and bake it, but preferably we would buy it already cooked from a restaurant... =)
Oh well, it was an experience.
the recent, relaxing rural area
We just returned from 10 days in Macambini, a rural area about 1 ½ away from Durban. We had the good luck of being placed with the same family and the further luck of them being amazing. Our family was 3 generations, a gogo and mkhulu (grandma and grandpa). Both of them were incredible, the gogo brought us yogurt after school one day and called us her babies and she prayed with us every morning before school. Mkhulu walked around the yard singing with his grandchildren and planting new things daily! Living at home, their children included 31 year old Nonhlanhla who as the eldest had the duty of translating and keeping us happy. She had a 12 yr old daughter named Notando. They also had 24 year old mixed gender twins, Jabu and Jabulani who each a daughter named Tobeka (16 months) and Notobeka (5 years). The 16 yr old son named Pilani was still in high school and was very sweet. We helped him with his homework often. They also had 2 grandsons whose parents lived and worked in the city: Ayajabula (6 yr old boy and one of our faves!) and Snazu (15 month boy/old man in disguise). They also had taken in two granddaughters, NoSipho (15) and Silindile (10 and our other feisty favorite!) whose mother had died. Whoa, that was intense but it was huge family. The homestead consisted of a big main house, 2 small government built houses, a round house, a kitchen house, and another living quarter that served as church on Sunday. As we said, Mkulu loved to plant and they had a large garden in the back of the house with corn, potatoes, etc.
Some of the highlights of our week with the family included visiting relatives who owned a sugarcane farm near the coast, having church services twice at home headed once by gogo and once by mkulu (complete with robe and staff), bathing out of buckets, attempting to help cook, and the “ceremony”. The goal of the ceremony was to “bring the soul of a miscarried child into the house so that he could play with his younger brother instead of fighting and messing him up.” The ceremony included lots of family visiting, making of traditional utshwala besiZulu (Zulu beer), communicating with ancestors in the round house, the slaughtering of a goat in the evening, and eating of its intestines and meat the following day.
Outside of the family sphere, we had class and fieldtrips. We visited an inyanga (one of the four types of traditional healers), a rural clinic, the school, a women’s cooprative, and a Quaker male prison. The prison is using Phoenix ZuluLand Restorative Justice Program which we got to learn the history of and participate in for a morning. We danced to break the ice and then had a session where we talked about families, relationships, parenting, etc with a group of offenders. We left there to go to an art gallery where artwork by the offenders was displayed.
It was a wonderful week in all, very different from living in Cato Manor. It was beautiful and the sense of time was slower and more relaxed but the educational attainment and opportunities available after school was low. This was especially apparent in the case of the 24 year old twins who each told us that they were looking for jobs and were discontent with the opportunities provided by the rural area. After a nearly tearful goodbye we drove to see some more of South Africa. Stephanie went on a boat ride and saw hippos and the following day we all went to a game park and saw lots of animals during our 3 hour safari drive! We were roared at by a lion 20 feet away from the truck and we saw numerous impalas, giraffes, water buffalo, and rhinos up close and personal. It was also beautiful driving through the mountains.
Now we are back in Durban and we will update again soon! We love and miss you all!
Some of the highlights of our week with the family included visiting relatives who owned a sugarcane farm near the coast, having church services twice at home headed once by gogo and once by mkulu (complete with robe and staff), bathing out of buckets, attempting to help cook, and the “ceremony”. The goal of the ceremony was to “bring the soul of a miscarried child into the house so that he could play with his younger brother instead of fighting and messing him up.” The ceremony included lots of family visiting, making of traditional utshwala besiZulu (Zulu beer), communicating with ancestors in the round house, the slaughtering of a goat in the evening, and eating of its intestines and meat the following day.
Outside of the family sphere, we had class and fieldtrips. We visited an inyanga (one of the four types of traditional healers), a rural clinic, the school, a women’s cooprative, and a Quaker male prison. The prison is using Phoenix ZuluLand Restorative Justice Program which we got to learn the history of and participate in for a morning. We danced to break the ice and then had a session where we talked about families, relationships, parenting, etc with a group of offenders. We left there to go to an art gallery where artwork by the offenders was displayed.
It was a wonderful week in all, very different from living in Cato Manor. It was beautiful and the sense of time was slower and more relaxed but the educational attainment and opportunities available after school was low. This was especially apparent in the case of the 24 year old twins who each told us that they were looking for jobs and were discontent with the opportunities provided by the rural area. After a nearly tearful goodbye we drove to see some more of South Africa. Stephanie went on a boat ride and saw hippos and the following day we all went to a game park and saw lots of animals during our 3 hour safari drive! We were roared at by a lion 20 feet away from the truck and we saw numerous impalas, giraffes, water buffalo, and rhinos up close and personal. It was also beautiful driving through the mountains.
Now we are back in Durban and we will update again soon! We love and miss you all!
experiential learning is great =)
Sorry its been awhile – this update is going to be a doozy! (i think we'll have to do another one for the rural area or it will be way too long!)
We’ll start with the classroom. We’ve had lectures on gender, religion, development, reconciliation, and education and some wonderful excursions that went along with these talks!
In connection to development we went on a beautiful ride up through mountains to a place known as Inanda Dam. During apartheid, the land was sold by a chief and entire communities were flooded out to make a huge dam. Tragically, the chief stole the money and none was paid to the people. There are currently rumors that a Korean company wants to build a super hotel on the communal grazing land of the remaining community. With this excursion and lecture, the question we were left with is: what is development and development for whom?
We did have an opportunity to see an example of good development when we went to Warwick Junction. Its a very large market on the edge of Durban where approximately 800,000 people travel through daily. You can find anything you want there- from herbal remedies and fresh produce to clothes and cds. We each bought a pair of plastic blue “jellies” (shoes) for 20 rand ($2); they are incredibly comfortable and very popular with the kids where we live! We toured the market and spoke with a city official whose office was next to the market and it appears that in recent years the development projects for the market have stemmed from the needs of the vendors and have been very positive/effective. Unfortunately, we learned that due to the push for “development” for the 2010 World Cup, many officials want to take out all the vendors and replace them with a mall =(.
On Saturday, we went on a 6 hour walking tour of Durban with a very eccentric man which ended at the infamous Bat Center. We had heard about it since our 1st day in Durban but we hadn’t yet had a chance to go. We were very impressed with what we saw on Saturday and during our subsequent visits. As some of you may know, we are interested in creating our own community center and this would be a great model. Among many things, the Bat Center has an art studio and gallery, a café, and a stage area which constantly hosts events that serve as a creative outlet for young adults such as concerts, spoken word performances, etc. We have enjoyed visiting again, it’s a great place to meet South Africans our own age, which we have been wanting to do =).
We've also visited the largest mosque in the southern hemisphere, a refugee center, a women's cooperative. Sigh...there is just so much...I guess we'll leave some stories to be told in person when we return...
We’ll start with the classroom. We’ve had lectures on gender, religion, development, reconciliation, and education and some wonderful excursions that went along with these talks!
In connection to development we went on a beautiful ride up through mountains to a place known as Inanda Dam. During apartheid, the land was sold by a chief and entire communities were flooded out to make a huge dam. Tragically, the chief stole the money and none was paid to the people. There are currently rumors that a Korean company wants to build a super hotel on the communal grazing land of the remaining community. With this excursion and lecture, the question we were left with is: what is development and development for whom?
We did have an opportunity to see an example of good development when we went to Warwick Junction. Its a very large market on the edge of Durban where approximately 800,000 people travel through daily. You can find anything you want there- from herbal remedies and fresh produce to clothes and cds. We each bought a pair of plastic blue “jellies” (shoes) for 20 rand ($2); they are incredibly comfortable and very popular with the kids where we live! We toured the market and spoke with a city official whose office was next to the market and it appears that in recent years the development projects for the market have stemmed from the needs of the vendors and have been very positive/effective. Unfortunately, we learned that due to the push for “development” for the 2010 World Cup, many officials want to take out all the vendors and replace them with a mall =(.
On Saturday, we went on a 6 hour walking tour of Durban with a very eccentric man which ended at the infamous Bat Center. We had heard about it since our 1st day in Durban but we hadn’t yet had a chance to go. We were very impressed with what we saw on Saturday and during our subsequent visits. As some of you may know, we are interested in creating our own community center and this would be a great model. Among many things, the Bat Center has an art studio and gallery, a café, and a stage area which constantly hosts events that serve as a creative outlet for young adults such as concerts, spoken word performances, etc. We have enjoyed visiting again, it’s a great place to meet South Africans our own age, which we have been wanting to do =).
We've also visited the largest mosque in the southern hemisphere, a refugee center, a women's cooperative. Sigh...there is just so much...I guess we'll leave some stories to be told in person when we return...
Monday, February 23, 2009
lots of photos
here are photos taken by one of the group members. he uploaded them at an internet cafe this weekend. its hard for us to upload pictures so this is perfect!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kadis/sets/72157614106058511/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kadis/sets/72157614106058511/
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
cow dreams
University, Kennedy Road, Feeding Scheme, Going Out, South Coast
Our last week was jam packed: we had lectures, excursions, and a great weekend trip.
On Thursday we went to the University of KwaZulu Natal which is very near to us. The cutest old professor gave a lecture on race and ethnicity and we finally got a chance to see/minimally interact with S. Africans our age. It also made us really miss being at WashU. But we experienced things at UKZN that you simply cannot in St. Louis, such as seeing about 20 monkeys running around, wrestling, playing, and carrying babies! (In front of the dorms =).
Then in the afternoon we went to an informal settlement known as Kennedy Road where we had a tour though the shacks where over 7,000 families live, right next to a dump. Before going we read about a movement that had sprung out of the community and when we were there we were able to talk to the leaders about their struggle for land, housing, dignity, and a voice in the government. The community also had an all male award winning acapella group that performed pieces for us that spoke about issues that they faced.
On Friday morning, Stephanie had a chance to go a local primary school and help make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for over 100 children with a group called the KZN Youth Empowerment Program (YEP). YEP is led by four young men from the community who have dedicated the last four years to feeding, mentoring and educating primary and secondary kids from the area. They do the feeding scheme, run a life skills class for teens and put on social events. They were incredibly inspirational and do the kind of work we both see ourselves involved in, in the future. We will both have a chance to help this Friday.
Friday night we had a chance to go out for the first time. We went to a place
called News Café with Stephanie’s younger sisters and one of their friends. We had a great time meeting local S. Africans. =) We hope to go dancing later this week.
On Saturday morning we drove about 2 ½ hours to the South Coast where we went on a 4 hour walk. First we paddle boated, then walked along the shore looking at fossils and caves (and simple stunning scenery in general all around. Aka ocean and mountains etc.) for 2 hours. Then we took a break to swim before heading uphill for 2 more hours (through THE locale where Blood Diamond was shot). We arrived deliriously exhausted singing The Lion King “Can you feel the love tonight?” and jumping like a gazelle (Steph) through the African savannah. That’s right. We also hallucinated that cows would come carry us the rest of the way…yeah… So, then we had lunch in a hut on the floor surrounded by chickens/roosters. Dead tired we later arrived at the beach house where we were staying the night and had a braai (aka barbeque). It was fun.
Sunday we drove home, did homework, slept, etc. Right now we’re on our lunch break and writing to all those we love, aka you reader you. = ) (We may still be a bit delirious.)
Our last week was jam packed: we had lectures, excursions, and a great weekend trip.
On Thursday we went to the University of KwaZulu Natal which is very near to us. The cutest old professor gave a lecture on race and ethnicity and we finally got a chance to see/minimally interact with S. Africans our age. It also made us really miss being at WashU. But we experienced things at UKZN that you simply cannot in St. Louis, such as seeing about 20 monkeys running around, wrestling, playing, and carrying babies! (In front of the dorms =).
Then in the afternoon we went to an informal settlement known as Kennedy Road where we had a tour though the shacks where over 7,000 families live, right next to a dump. Before going we read about a movement that had sprung out of the community and when we were there we were able to talk to the leaders about their struggle for land, housing, dignity, and a voice in the government. The community also had an all male award winning acapella group that performed pieces for us that spoke about issues that they faced.
On Friday morning, Stephanie had a chance to go a local primary school and help make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for over 100 children with a group called the KZN Youth Empowerment Program (YEP). YEP is led by four young men from the community who have dedicated the last four years to feeding, mentoring and educating primary and secondary kids from the area. They do the feeding scheme, run a life skills class for teens and put on social events. They were incredibly inspirational and do the kind of work we both see ourselves involved in, in the future. We will both have a chance to help this Friday.
Friday night we had a chance to go out for the first time. We went to a place
called News Café with Stephanie’s younger sisters and one of their friends. We had a great time meeting local S. Africans. =) We hope to go dancing later this week.
On Saturday morning we drove about 2 ½ hours to the South Coast where we went on a 4 hour walk. First we paddle boated, then walked along the shore looking at fossils and caves (and simple stunning scenery in general all around. Aka ocean and mountains etc.) for 2 hours. Then we took a break to swim before heading uphill for 2 more hours (through THE locale where Blood Diamond was shot). We arrived deliriously exhausted singing The Lion King “Can you feel the love tonight?” and jumping like a gazelle (Steph) through the African savannah. That’s right. We also hallucinated that cows would come carry us the rest of the way…yeah… So, then we had lunch in a hut on the floor surrounded by chickens/roosters. Dead tired we later arrived at the beach house where we were staying the night and had a braai (aka barbeque). It was fun.
Sunday we drove home, did homework, slept, etc. Right now we’re on our lunch break and writing to all those we love, aka you reader you. = ) (We may still be a bit delirious.)
Monday, February 9, 2009
our 1st weekend with the family!
Hello again friends and fam!
So we just had our first weekend at our new homes with our Cato Manor families! My (Stephanie) family consists of a Mama and two sisis Mandisa (16) and Andi (18). Becky’s family consists of a Mama, a bhuti (9) who lives in town with his town, a sisi (14) who goes to boarding school and a malume (uncle, 26) who lives at home. Friday afternoon we all got dropped off and met and shared our gifts from home and started adjusting…
Some of the interesting challenges I (steph) have faced so far include bathing and washing my hair with a bucket of water, and not being allowed to help clean up (yet, they said they will let me eventually). My sisi and mama also asked if I could cook (haha) and demanded to know why not when I said “no”. My mama also told me regardless of my skill or lack thereof I HAVE to cook them dinner. Becky said she’ll help me. Thank goodness. My sisis took me on a walk around the neighborhood on Friday night and I’ve also gone on later walks with both of them which I really enjoy. I think the neighborhood- super hilly with houses everywhere- is gorgeous and I love playing with all of the neighborhood kids. It’s especially beautiful at night when the lights from the houses make it seem as if there are stars in the surrounding hillsides.
On Saturday, Becky and her bhuti and me and Mandisa and 11 other american students/south africa siblings met up at the beach. The waves were SOOOO POWERFUL. I have never fought so hard to a) survive and b) keep my swimsuit on. I also found sand in my ears (and elsewhere) much later in the day and we’re not sure if its completely out of our hair yet. On Sunday, I (Steph) went to church at the Jesus Dome, that’s right the Jesus Dome, with my family. I loved the singing, dancing and shouting out of praises that began the service but the sermon left much to be desired. Afterwards we went to the Workshop which is a complex with tons of outside booths and some inside stores as well. I met up with Becky there and we went grocery shopping. Then back home to do homework and eat dinner and get ready for our first full day of class on Monday. Which I am currently breaking from right now! We’ve begun by learning about S. African history and Zulu. Uyaphi? = Where are you going? That’s your lesson for this update! Hope everything is going great and if you haven’t yet please message me (still Steph) your address so that we can send you a letter or postcard!!!
Its Becky now- Im not sure what else to add except that I’m having a great time. I did washing with my Mama on Saturday and my malume, who was in the backyard trimming the banana branches, teased me saying I wasn’t very good at scrubbing- my mama had to redo what I did. But I could hang the clothes on the line pretty well ;)
Anyways, the suities are overdue for an update! We aren’t the only ones with stories…
So we just had our first weekend at our new homes with our Cato Manor families! My (Stephanie) family consists of a Mama and two sisis Mandisa (16) and Andi (18). Becky’s family consists of a Mama, a bhuti (9) who lives in town with his town, a sisi (14) who goes to boarding school and a malume (uncle, 26) who lives at home. Friday afternoon we all got dropped off and met and shared our gifts from home and started adjusting…
Some of the interesting challenges I (steph) have faced so far include bathing and washing my hair with a bucket of water, and not being allowed to help clean up (yet, they said they will let me eventually). My sisi and mama also asked if I could cook (haha) and demanded to know why not when I said “no”. My mama also told me regardless of my skill or lack thereof I HAVE to cook them dinner. Becky said she’ll help me. Thank goodness. My sisis took me on a walk around the neighborhood on Friday night and I’ve also gone on later walks with both of them which I really enjoy. I think the neighborhood- super hilly with houses everywhere- is gorgeous and I love playing with all of the neighborhood kids. It’s especially beautiful at night when the lights from the houses make it seem as if there are stars in the surrounding hillsides.
On Saturday, Becky and her bhuti and me and Mandisa and 11 other american students/south africa siblings met up at the beach. The waves were SOOOO POWERFUL. I have never fought so hard to a) survive and b) keep my swimsuit on. I also found sand in my ears (and elsewhere) much later in the day and we’re not sure if its completely out of our hair yet. On Sunday, I (Steph) went to church at the Jesus Dome, that’s right the Jesus Dome, with my family. I loved the singing, dancing and shouting out of praises that began the service but the sermon left much to be desired. Afterwards we went to the Workshop which is a complex with tons of outside booths and some inside stores as well. I met up with Becky there and we went grocery shopping. Then back home to do homework and eat dinner and get ready for our first full day of class on Monday. Which I am currently breaking from right now! We’ve begun by learning about S. African history and Zulu. Uyaphi? = Where are you going? That’s your lesson for this update! Hope everything is going great and if you haven’t yet please message me (still Steph) your address so that we can send you a letter or postcard!!!
Its Becky now- Im not sure what else to add except that I’m having a great time. I did washing with my Mama on Saturday and my malume, who was in the backyard trimming the banana branches, teased me saying I wasn’t very good at scrubbing- my mama had to redo what I did. But I could hang the clothes on the line pretty well ;)
Anyways, the suities are overdue for an update! We aren’t the only ones with stories…
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Update I...continued
For the past couple of days we’ve been staying in Marianhill, a community outside of Durban that is based around a monastery and includes an inn, hospital, schools, and kids’ boarding house. We also finally were able to shop for necessities- including cell phones. Our received calls are free too! So call us! Becky’s number is 0711773534 and mine is 0799333007. I’m not sure what the country number is though…so more info on how to reach us later. We also, obviously, finally have a bit of email access though that is rather random as well. FYI, we are 7 hours ahead of people in Florida/Indiana and 8 hrs ahead of you all in St. Louis. Yesterday, we had group drop offs around Durban- aka the group (of 22) was divided into four groups and plunked down in random (mainly touristy) parts of the city and told to explore and pay attention for about an hour and a half and then meet back at a central location by using public transport. That was a very interesting and fun experience. Today we had our first official Zulu lesson, learned about Zulu customs in prep for our moving into our homestay family homes TOMORROW! We also had a fascinating tour of the monastery by the most baller monk every- trust me his clothes and hair and everything you would not believe. Random facts about S.A. so far- it’s absolutely stunning- the flowers and lush green everywhere is breathtaking, the people seem to be generally friendly and our group is getting along really well. That’s about all for now but trust us you will probably hear some very interesting stories soon after we move in with our new families…. (dun dun dunnnn).
You’ll just have to wait and see. = )
Also, please send us your addresses! Our address is:
School for International Training
Postnet Suite 151
Private Bag XO4
Dalbridge
4014
South Africa
You’ll just have to wait and see. = )
Also, please send us your addresses! Our address is:
School for International Training
Postnet Suite 151
Private Bag XO4
Dalbridge
4014
South Africa
UPDATE:
Sanibonani! Unjani? (Hi, how are you?!)
We miss everyone so much but we’ve been having a great time!
For Stephanie, our journey began at noon last Wednesday. The snow did not prevent her from getting on the 2 hr flight from Indy to Dallas, followed by the long haul of 9 hrs from Dallas to London. Becky had a slightly shorter journey only 7 hours from Miami to London. There we were able to find each other in the huge airport despite not agreeing on a location to meet =[. We sat down to eat and launched into a huge conversation (of course!) and so when we looked up at the screen with flight info- we saw that the GATE WAS CLOSING for our flight! Lol but apparently they say that a little early because we definitely had enough time. When we arrived in Doha, Qatar, 6 hours later we had to walk off the plane and the first thing and only we saw in the humid night air was a nearby McDonald sign…of course. We then did our final 9 hr flight to Johannesburg where we met another person on the program, the director, John Daniels and a leader, Langa. Langa brought us to our lodging outside of the city, a Catholic monastery, where we napped, swam in a icy pool, and waited for the rest of the group to arrive. We spent the next few days bonding by visiting the Apartheid Museum and a few other places in the city. It is a huge and very busy city. We did not have email/phone access until Monday. On Monday we left the city on our two minivans and drove 7 hrs to Durban. The drive was beautiful- the country is full of green, tropical mountains – and very fun (Langa kept us supplied with lots of good music =).
Ahh we are out of time to write now but will finish updating tomorrow!
We love and miss you!
We miss everyone so much but we’ve been having a great time!
For Stephanie, our journey began at noon last Wednesday. The snow did not prevent her from getting on the 2 hr flight from Indy to Dallas, followed by the long haul of 9 hrs from Dallas to London. Becky had a slightly shorter journey only 7 hours from Miami to London. There we were able to find each other in the huge airport despite not agreeing on a location to meet =[. We sat down to eat and launched into a huge conversation (of course!) and so when we looked up at the screen with flight info- we saw that the GATE WAS CLOSING for our flight! Lol but apparently they say that a little early because we definitely had enough time. When we arrived in Doha, Qatar, 6 hours later we had to walk off the plane and the first thing and only we saw in the humid night air was a nearby McDonald sign…of course. We then did our final 9 hr flight to Johannesburg where we met another person on the program, the director, John Daniels and a leader, Langa. Langa brought us to our lodging outside of the city, a Catholic monastery, where we napped, swam in a icy pool, and waited for the rest of the group to arrive. We spent the next few days bonding by visiting the Apartheid Museum and a few other places in the city. It is a huge and very busy city. We did not have email/phone access until Monday. On Monday we left the city on our two minivans and drove 7 hrs to Durban. The drive was beautiful- the country is full of green, tropical mountains – and very fun (Langa kept us supplied with lots of good music =).
Ahh we are out of time to write now but will finish updating tomorrow!
We love and miss you!
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