Much to tell...

Goeiedag (‘good day’ in Afrikaans)! I have enjoyed myself immensely this past week in Cape Town – it is such a relief to feel right back on track after last week’s minor setback.

I finalized my plans for Spring Break, which is already less than a month away! I will be flying with a few friends to Johannesburg where we will depart on a 10-day tour through Botswana (safari!) up to Victoria Falls in Zambia (one of the 7 natural wonders of the world!). I cannot wait to see more of what Africa has to offer – and what a relief to know the trip will be planned out for me. If you can’t tell, I’m very excited!

As for Cape Town, the wonderful thing about this place is that it is incredibly easy to find something fun to do. You can hike the mountains, swim at the beaches (or lay in the sand), visit the museums (admission is usually under $2), go shopping on Long Street or at the markets, explore the sights, etc. This weekend, I decided to go hiking – without any particular plans, my friends and I simply walked behind UCT’s campus and picked a path. As we were walking, we stumbled upon the Cecil Rhodes Memorial, which gave us a beautiful view of our side of the mountain – I was hoping to see some zebra since there is a breeding ground nearby, but unfortunately they were nowhere in sight. Continuing to follow the path, we found ourselves to be walking around the mountain (still elevated above the city). To give an idea of the geography, UCT is on the inland-facing side of the mountain – I have to travel around the mountain to go to the beach and downtown (about a 10 minute drive from UCT). Well, we ended up hiking all the way to downtown in 2 ½ hours! It was such a spectacular sight to come around the bend of the mountain and see the sun sparkling on the blue-green water and the tablecloth of white clouds covering the top of Table Mountain. The weirdest part is that when we left UCT, the weather was gray and damp, but when we got to the other side, it was beautiful and sunny. This is very typical in Cape Town – the weather simply depends on which side of the mountain you are standing.

On Saturday, CIEE took everyone to Stellenbosch for wine-tasting, but unfortunately I didn’t get the opportunity to go because I was required attend a volunteer training for SHAWCO (more about this below). After training, I went with two friends to the Bo-Kaap Museum and to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (a popular tourist destination that I had not yet visited). The Waterfront was very exciting – a seal even jumped onto the docks while we were there! As I sat on the docks overlooking the water, I enjoyed the performances of such impressive African dancers and musicians in full costume. While watching, I suddenly felt so disappointment in the U.S. as I realized the lack of ‘culture’ back home. The people here have such pride in their cultural traditions – it is so fulfilling and fun to watch. I love learning about and witnessing these traditions, but each time I do, I find myself wishing more and more that I would no longer be an outsider to this way of life.

My cultural experience continued into Sunday as Thapz and Lindizwe brought their houses (24 of us squished into one minivan!) to a braii at Mazoli’s in the township of Guguletu. This was my first time visiting a township, as we are never supposed to go without someone who knows the area. I couldn’t believe how ‘full of life’ the township was – small businesses were open, people were out in the streets, music was playing, children were running around. Mazoli’s, which is outside, was packed with people jumping on the opportunity to find a table and chairs. Basically, you pick the type of meat you want and they cook it for you – we ordered over 10 pounds of chicken, lamb, and sausage for only 30 Rand ($4!) per person. While waiting to get our food, which took approximately 1 ½ hours, everyone walked down the street to the local liquor store to buy some beer to bring back to the table. While walking, I couldn’t help but stare at the shacks that surrounded the place. Despite the conditions that the people were living in, most people seemed relatively happy and there seemed to be a strong sense of community. The food itself was delicious! – the meat came to the table in a huge bowl and we all stood around the table inhaling it (we did not have any utensils or plates). The bowl was clean in 4 minutes! All of our hands and faces were covered in sauce – luckily we were given a communal wet rag to clean up. While waiting for the minibus to head back, I saw some children doing acrobatics in their driveway – their mother was selling fruit, so we decided to buy some just so we could play – I even walked on my hands for the kids. The mother also allowed us to look inside of her house, which was a relatively large compared to some of the worn-down shacks surrounding it, but for such a big family (I believe 6 kids, mom, dad, and grandma), it was tiny.

On Monday, I got to volunteer for the first time for SHAWCO, which is UCT’s student-run volunteer organization. I couldn’t wait to finally get involved. I am volunteering with the STEP project, an after-school Math and English program for grades 3-7 in Khayelitsha. Khayelitsha is South Africa’s second-largest township – when we drove into it on the SHAWCO bus, I astounded by its size – the sea of corrugated iron roofs stretched as far as my eyes could see. I couldn’t begin to estimate the amount of homes – the shacks are squashed together and the paths between them, aside from the few main paved roads, are incredibly narrow. These living conditions are appalling – it’s difficult to conceive that this is part of the beautiful and first-world Cape Town that I know. The school itself was in better condition than the homes – it was a small cement structure with classrooms that one entered from the outside. When we drove up to the school, I was shocked to see the kids all in uniform. I was assigned to a volunteer partner and a group of ten 5th graders, who we will teach every week – because of a lack of space, we had to share the classroom with another teaching group – that significantly makes it more difficult to keep the children’s attention. Nonetheless, considering all of the chaos, we managed well. I was quite worried about the language barrier – their first language is Xhosa and they don’t start learning English until 3rd grade, but they were fairly fluent! I found it embarrassing that these children are bilingual, and I am not – a major flaw in the U.S. education system in my opinion. However, I am so happy to be taking Xhosa this semester and even tried a few words with them, which only brought about heaps of laughter, especially when I tried to pronounce their names. While I was impressed with their language skills, I was saddened by their math skills as they struggled to complete a worksheet with double-digit addition and subtraction. Almost everyone still counted with their fingers, and answered 1210 for 65+65 – but they were not dumb children at all, for the minute I showed them how to properly ‘carry the one,’ most understood immediately. It is difficult to watch these bright children struggle with the math I was completing easily in first grade. It is frustrating to know that they are not receiving the education they deserve. It is the system, not their intelligence, which is limiting their ability to be as educated as their peers in other parts of the world. I can only hope that in the coming weeks I will be able to make a difference, whether big or small, in the education of the few children I feel so fortunate to teach – however, I fear that I may be the one who learns the most.

Cape Town: The Good and The Bad

Molo! It has been quite an eventful week in Cape Town to say the least.

I finally began classes on Friday – we haven’t really done much yet, but everything is going well. I am picking up some phrases in Afrikaans, and struggling in my pronunciation of Xhosa (the Xh in the beginning of that word makes a click – there are 18 different clicks sounds – c, q, and x have a different click, but then when combined with certain letters you get different sounds!). Luckily, my house res, Lindizwe, his best friend, Thapz, and our cleaning lady, Cleo all speak Xhosa, and so I have many people to tutor me (and to laugh at me). The sounds and clicks are just so difficult to make correctly! However, they are more than willing to help – especially because I am a white person trying to learn their language. Xhosa is a black South African language, and apparently very few white South Africans attempt to do so. On the other hand, they don’t really care about Afrikaans, which was the white language imposed on blacks during Apartheid, and is still seen on almost all signs, along with English, here today (yes, everything is still all about race). It is funny because the professor for each class fits into the stereotypical image of those who speak each language – my Afrikaans professor is an older white man who continually drills the class in grammar while my Xhosa professor is extremely chill and gentle older black man. Both classes will be hard work, but it’s worth it!

As for my recent activities: Last Wednesday, CIEE took us to our own private concert to see the popular South African pop band, Freshly Ground (I highly recommend checking out their music). The concert was a blast since they played in such an intimate venue where we could dance right alongside the band. The weekend started off very relaxing with a night spent home drinking wine and watching a movie with a couple of my housemates. On Saturday, I woke up to a proposal to go to the beach – my dream come true – within an hour I was lying on the sand watching the waves come to shore. The picture that I’ve posted is from a beach hut at Muizenburg. My skin is quite the mix of colors right now, ranging from bright red (ouch!) to dark brown – the sun is so intense that you even get burnt with high SPF sunscreen. It was such a relaxing day on the beach, but little did I know that Saturday would turn into quite the stressful night.

Late on Saturday night, my entire house ventured off to another CIEE house’s party – as always, it was a fun night spent talking to friends and meeting new people. When Lindizwe got back home before the rest of us, his girlfriend, Yanga, who had stayed at the house while we were gone mentioned to him that his friend KG was resting on the couch in the living room. When Lindizwe said that KG had never come to the house (as he was possibly going to), she said she saw someone who looked like KG open the bedroom door, mumble something, and close it again (she couldn’t see because she didn’t have her glasses on). When we got back to the house around 12:30am, everyone sat in the living room talking for a while and Lindizwe mentioned Yanga’s sighting and we all discussed whether or not we believed in the supernatural, as we passed it off as possibly being a spirit or a dream. Two hours later, everyone decided to call it a night – as I was brushing my teeth upstairs, I heard my housemate Andrew downstairs exclaim that all of his valuables were gone from his room – the man that Yanga saw must have been the robber. Luckily no one was hurt during the break-in, but it was a scary dose of the reality of the crime situation in Cape Town. I’ve never felt so vulnerable and so anxious. It is difficult to constantly be thinking about whether someone is watching the house looking for the opportunity to come back again. CIEE has been working non-stop to reassure us of our safety and to tighten security measures. With lots of support from friends here, I am doing much better as the week progresses. Many people have asked me if I still want to be in Cape Town after this incident – my answer is 100% yes – while I am still a bit shaken, I wouldn’t give up my experiences thus far to be anywhere else. This may have been a bump in the road, but I have many more exciting things to see and do here...
Cheers!

P.S. – I have posted photos on Snapfish, so if you would like me to invite you to view the albums, shoot me an email at bef2102@barnard.edu.

Life at UCT

Howzit? (the South African equivalent to “what’s up?” with the traditional response being “sharp sharp,” which I assume is equivalent to our “not much,” but is certainly up for interpretation). Life continues to be wonderful here, but I am ready to start a daily routine. Last Friday, we registered for classes at UCT – a very inefficient process in my opinion, although we were told to keep an open mind. It was a day full of waiting in various lines – about 5 or 6 in total (I think the school is in major need of online registering, but the administration doesn’t seem too keen on making that switch anytime soon – it really boggles my mind). Anyhow, we were prepared for the worst, having been told that the process would take the entire day – luckily, I was done in about 3 hours. It wasn’t terrible, but definitely inefficient and a waste of paper. We were fortunate enough to only have to register with other semester abroad students (all 20,000+ other UCT students will have to register on the same day – I can’t even imagine how long that will take!). On a positive note, the campus is gorgeous – there are beautiful buildings covered in ivy, which are set on the side of the mountain – I will definitely be in shape after this trip as the walks to campus are uphill and the campus is huge! I think that Columbia is beautiful, but it doesn’t even compare to this.

Classes will begin on Friday, when professors will hand out the syllabus and course readers. Actual lectures begin next week. Scheduling is a bit different here – there are 10 45-minute periods each day and classes meet either 3, 4, or 5 days a week. Therefore, you cannot have more than one class at the same period because lectures would overlap – I still cannot figure out how they make all of the classes fit into this timetable, but it must work. I think that I will find it much easier to sit through a 45-minute lecture, but I am dreading having classes on Fridays – Barnard has certainly spoiled me. Right now, I registered for Xhosa (a language spoken mainly by blacks, which uses different clicks), Afrikkans (a mainly white South African language), Natural Resource Economics, and The Making of the Modern World Economy. The classes I wanted to take fall in periods 1-4, which means that I will be done with classes everyday by noon (although I start at 8am daily)! I am planning on my afternoons being filled by volunteering and clubs (I’m hoping to participate in the Mountain and Ski Club, Surf Club, and Habitat for Humanity). I can’t wait to get involved and meet other African students!

The past couple days were rather quiet around here as a bunch of people left to travel for our long weekend before classes start. As I didn’t get my act together in time, I decided to use the time to explore more of Cape Town – I am beginning to know my way around the downtown area, which is about a 15-minute ride from my house. Public transportation is certainly not the best here as a result of Apartheid, and so the best method during the day is to catch a van along the main roads into which they squeeze (very, very tightly) about 20 people and which stops according to each person’s needs. The drivers, who are notorious for their crazy driving, hire a man (also crazy) who sits in the back and whistles out to people, making every attempt to pack as many people as possible into the vehicle– it is unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed before – but it is very cheap as we pay less than $2.00 roundtrip. I don’t think this method of transportation would pass in the States. Anyhow, this week I explored Company’s Gardens, a beautiful garden originally built by the Dutch in the heart of the city, the former Slave Lodge, the Planetarium and South African (Natural History) Museum (a disappointment as it seemed out of date), and the District Six Museum, which was my favorite for the week. District Six was once a thriving area of the city, which was demolished during the Apartheid when it was declared a Whites-Only neighborhood – the museum commemorates the families who were removed from their homes and forced into the townships – certainly a very interesting and moving exhibit. I ended the long weekend (which was actually Tuesday) with a relaxing day on the beautiful beach at Muizenburg – a beach known for its surfing, its “warm” water (the difference in water temperatures is so drastic on different sides of the peninsula), and for its rows of colorful beach huts lining the sand in brightly painted reds, yellows, greens, and blues. I am being so spoiled by the absolute beauty of my surroundings everywhere I go – speaking of which, I hope to post pictures for everyone this coming week! Cheers!

Molo! (“hello” in Xhosa – one of the 11 official languages in South Africa)

Greetings from the land of bright sunshine and blue skies! After almost 2 weeks, I am officially finished with both the CIEE and UCT orientations! Luckily, we have gotten to do so many fun things when not listening to repetitive speeches about academic policies and safety – my favorites of this week being a huge African Drum Circle for all of the UCT study abroad students, another Braii (BBQ) with free food (again my hopes of a cheeseburger were crushed), and a trip to visit possible volunteer opportunities (more about this later). Most people here think the fun truly begins at night – there never fails to be another house party or excursion to a bar or club – I’m always up for anything, day or night. The highlight of my nightlife this week was a trip to a club called Hemisphere, which is at the top of the ABSA (major South African bank) skyscraper downtown (amazing views, of course) – it is a very exclusive club, but luckily one of our SOLmates (orientation leaders) had a connection to the manager and we managed to get in for 30 rand ($4) – I cannot imagine what it would have cost in NYC! Needless to say, I am pretty exhausted after staying out past 2am every night and waking up every morning for orientation – still no complaints. Everyone seems to be taking advantage of the lower drinking age and the dirt-cheap alcohol that is available at the grocery stores. Drinking wine has become commonplace at my house after dinner. This certainly feels like a wonderful vacation!

While my experiences have been amazing so far, I know I have been sheltered in the CIEE and UCT “bubble” of fun and games for the majority of my trip so far. With highly comfortable living arrangements, a picturesque campus, and an endless supply of beautiful scenery, it is very easy to ignore the realities of this country. This week I had the opportunity to visit the various volunteering centers, in which most, if not all of us will choose to do our community service. As this excursion was not mandatory, many people opted to go to the beach instead, but I knew that it would give me a much better look outside of my bubble – and it certainly did just that, as it was an emotionally draining day. CIEE does a wonderful job of bringing in a handful of organizations through which we can volunteer during the week – I cannot wait to start! On Thursday, we visited the children’s ward of TB hospital, the Leap Math and Science School, an adult refugee center, and a religious support center. On Wednesday, I also visited the low-income colored community of Kensington, through which SHAWCO, a UCT organization (the second largest student-run NGO in Africa!), operates. Seeing so many people and places in need of help makes you want to do anything and everything – unfortunately time does not permit. Many of my friends will be volunteering at the TB hospital where dozens of adorable children ages 1-8 leapt into our arms as we walked through the gates to visit – they are no longer contagious, but must stay at the ward without their families from 3 months to a year. Personally, I want to volunteer at the Leap School, a recently started high school specializing in math and science, two subject areas that are in dire need of improvement in low-income schools in South Africa. I originally thought that I would prefer to volunteer in places where I could play with and comfort younger children, but after visiting each place, I am convinced that my time will be the most beneficial in an educational environment, especially after having been so fortunate to have received such a wonderful education myself. However, it is really hard to know where one’s time will be best used in helping a society in so much need.

All of the volunteer places that we visited on Thursday were located in or around the townships and low-income communities. While I had seen a glimpse of the townships on my way from the airport the first day here, I did not realize the extensiveness of them – we were surrounded by townships on the sides of the highway everywhere we drove (we were out for a good 3 hours) – just miles and miles, thousands and thousands of corrugated tin roofs and decaying cardboard and wood walls, making up houses the size of a small closet, smashed together into dusty, treeless areas. I couldn’t help but just stare out of the window – a mix of emotions built up inside: I felt helpless, I felt confused, I felt mad to have been born into such a privileged life, yet happy that I had, I felt such a strong desire to want to change what I saw, but frustrated that I couldn’t think of a possible solution. At home, I feel sorry and embarrassed to say that I often take what I have for granted even when I see our country’s own problems of poverty – but I know that my eyes will truly be opened to some of the harsh, and unnecessary realities of this world.

My first week of travel has been full of excitement, adventure, and discovery. I can’t believe that I actually ever had any doubts about coming here. This place is unbelievable – I am perpetually in awe of the sights around me. The thing about Cape Town is that you don’t have to travel anywhere in particular to see its natural beauty because you can always see the glimmering blue ocean or the majestic mountains no matter where you turn. Plus, with weather over 80 degrees daily and sunny (the intensity of the African sun has already burned my skin nicely) – who could ask for a more picture-perfect destination? While it is easy to get wrapped up in these magnificent sights, one doesn’t have to look too far to witness the problems that exist here. For one, safety is a major concern – traveling alone is something that should be avoided as much as possible, which is quite an adjustment for me. The orientation talks have made us all paranoid about our safety and so I never hesitate to find a group of people to go out with. I not only stand out for being the minority as a white person here, but I am immediately identified as an American the second I open my mouth to speak. We have been told time and time again that we are targets, and quite a few people have already been pickpocketed at the clubs and bars. For the most part, I have felt quite safe although I am extremely alert at all times and suspicious of anyone around me. The crime that occurs here is often connected with the 30-40% unemployment rate that exists! Cape Town has many characteristics of a first world city, but experiences many problems of the third world. An up and coming problem, which I have already experienced twice in the past 6 days since I arrived are the blackouts (last Friday, one lasted from 8pm to 2am!). The losses to the South African economy have already showed up in the sudden strengthening of my exchange rate (increase from 7.0 to 7.5 rand per dollar in a week!). This is certainly making everything cheaper for me.

As much as I want to tell only about the beautiful and exciting places that I saw in the past week, I believe that it is necessary to paint a true portrait of the city in which I am living. However, now I can’t wait to tell about my exciting experiences in Cape Town so far! Everything has been “downhill” since the first day of adjustment. I never really suffered any jetlag, and luckily I haven’t gotten sick with the food or drinking the tap water. Everyday has been packed with activities – it feels like I have been here much longer than I actually have been since the days seem endless with very little sleep. But I’m feeling great! I have met so many wonderful people on the program, and with over 100 of us, there are always new people to meet. I can’t believe the friends I have made in such a short period of time – we are bonded by this entirely new and foreign experience. The area around our hotel was so much fun to explore and was accompanied by nightly excursions to Long Street, which contained a strip of bars and clubs. While walking around, I stumbled upon an area called Bo-Kaap, in which all of the street blocks are filled with brightly painted houses in all shades of the rainbow. I cheered for South Africa’s team in a pub as we ate dinner (the most expenive yet at $7) and watched the soccer game against Senegal. I tried oxtail on an orientation trip to an authentic African restaurant – the blackout occurred while we were there and so we spent the night dancing to the drummers who played under the lights of candles. I finally got to move into my permanent house for the semester! – a cozy and homey place with nice rooms and wonderful housemates (there are 9 of us – 5 boys and 4 girls). On Saturday, CIEE threw us a poolside braii (BBQ) with lots of delicious food (although I still would have preferred the typical hotdogs and hamburgers). The weekend concluded with a beautiful daytrip around the peninsula with all other international students studying at the University of Cape Town (UCT). On this trip, we had the opportunity to stop in Ocean View, a colored township, to eat lunch (I have never eaten so much meat in one sitting) and enjoy some festivities. While I loved the experience, I was not comfortable about driving 13 huge tour buses full of privileged students (mostly American) into such an impoverished community. We continued all the way down to the very tip of the continent to explore Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, where I was disappointed to find out that the Atlantic and Indian Oceans do not actually meet. However, my disappointment disappeared as soon as I began to hike up the glorious cliffs to look out over the endless ocean – the sights were out of this world. Finally, we ended the day with a trip to Boulders Beach to see the hundreds of penguins – yes, there are penguins in South Africa! UCT orientation began on Monday, but a bunch of my friends and I decided to take some time to go to the beach at Camps Bay. We spent the day playing a variety of sports and lying on the sand. Since the water is on the Atlantic side, it is absolutely freezing cold, and so I only stayed in long enough to ride two waves. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful day to hang out on the beach with a perfectly blue sky, bright blue-green water, and mountains painting the background. I can’t believe this is where I live!

Day One

Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa! Howzit?

I am finally here!!! After a never-ending 32 hours of travel time, I finally touched down in the beautiful city of Cape Town. I still cannot believe that I am actually living in Africa! From the plane, I was mesmerized by the colorful sunrise over the mountainous land of South Africa as I stared out the window as we prepared to land at 6:30am Wednesday morning. We pulled into Cape Town International Airport, and the workers wheeled over a set of stairs to the plane so that everyone could unload right to the outdoors. The intensity of the heat and the level of humidity struck me right away as I stepped off of the plane and was hurried onto a small bus, which drove us to passport control and customs. I waited in a huge line with a couple of CIEE students – the plane from London was packed with us, and soon found my way to baggage – only to find that my baggage had not arrived. This, of course, immediately freaked me out, but I was fortunate to find 3 other girls did not have their bags, and that British Airways was able to locate them on the next flight from London, which arrived 3 hours after ours. At the airport, we were greeted with cheers from CIEE – and I soon found myself on a UCT (University of Cape Town) bus (called a Jammie), with many other students to head to the orientation hotel – still without bags. As we left the airport, we were immediately greeted by the beautiful backdrop of Table Mountain overlooking all of Cape Town. Everyone stared out the window in amazement. However, we were also immediately greeted by reality as we drove alongside the townships of Cape Flats – the bus grew silent as we all stared at the endless rows of tin rooftops. As we drove around the base of the mountain away from the townships, I could finally see the blue water and a view of the city of Cape Town. Many people pointed out that it looked European in some regards, but to me it seemed so foreign and so far away from home. We pulled up to a small hotel and were given rooms in a rather chaotic fashion. We were given until 3pm to meet back at the hotel. I found a group of people I had met at the airport and we headed out to find some food and to walk around the immediate area. I could not manage eating after having eaten airplane meals for the past 2 days. I felt so jetlagged, exhausted, and sick that afternoon – and of course the homesickness immediately began – I missed the comforts of my family, TJ, close friends, and home – the thought of making this my home for the next few months was very overwhelming. All I wanted to do was sleep, but we were strongly advised against that so as to adjust more quickly to the time zone change. When orientation began, and I finally had my suitcases delivered to me and had showered (thank goodness!), we were informed that all 140+ of us would be taking the cable car up to the top of Table Mountain so that we could watch the sunset over South Africa. I cannot even begin to explain the beauty of the sights that I witnessed that first night – I took so many pictures to try to capture the scenery that surrounded me, but nothing can truly capture the magnificence I witnessed here. The scenery immediately put me at ease, and since then, I have not felt the slightest bit homesick. I believe that a common bond between everyone was formed on the mountain as we all shared our amazement – I met many wonderful people as while walking around the top for over 2 hours. I can’t believe I was fortunate enough to watch the beauty of the sunrise and sunset in my first day in South Africa. As I came back down the mountain, I felt prepared and determined to make this wonderful place my home for the next 4 and a half months – and to have a good night sleep. More to come about the first week later...