Arrived in Stellenbosch yesterday afternoon.
Went to the orphanage on Monday.
Have been journaling.
Stuff to do.
Sorry for the brevity.
PS it's really weird everything here is in Afrikaans
I am not used to it
it makes me frustrated
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
still loving it
FREE DAY!
this computer... agh
that is all there is to say. forgive typos and grammar errors... like not capitalizinbg antyhing... i am at the end of my rope with this.
basically... here are some observations, from my journal and mind:
6/19: Traffic here is, at best, thrilling, and at worst, downright terrifying. There is a mutual disrespect between pedestrians and drivers. Walking, in general, is safest in packs, but while crossing streets, especially so. Even while in a herd of 18, however, our entire group was almost hit by an enormous truck today.
The unemployment rate here in South Africa is a whopping 43%.
HIV/AIDS is everywhere. i don't mean literally, i mean that at the airport, the cathedral, the hostel... all over the place there are signs of it. literal signs. "this church is hiv/aids friendly" and things like that. the airport clinic offers hiv/aids treatments.
As far as culture shock goes, i haven't really experienced much. the biggest culture shock i have felt is from within my group. everyone is awesome, but... well... journal excerpt to illustrate:
6/20: I had my furst dose of culture SHOCK and discomfort today-from a very unexpected place-within my group. I'm not religious really in any way, but it seems that most to all of our group is very religious. I didn't know that or hadn't seen it before, I guess, but today it kept coming up and surprising me. Comments about "sharing God's love"; one group member is in an acting troupe at SPU whose last performance for a high school was about premarital sex. I guess growing up in a secular household and attending a very (religiously) open and liberal school has kind of removed me from all/most exposure to this kind of thing...... I just think I've grown used to God being spoken about in a questioning or ponderous tone, not in a sure way or as reason for doing something.
6/20: More culture shock from within the group. WE SAID GRACE. I know this doesn't sound like a big deal, probably, to you (whoever you are) but believe me, when you are removed from everything familiar, little disruptions... can be very unsettling. I guess part of it is that I'm expected to believe the same thing--that is very challenging. I come from places where nothing about religion is assumed.
so that's what i'm feeling. some other excerpts...
6/20: Yet again, I realize the importance of FEELING EQUAL. As far as feeling equal goes in South Africa in a broader sense, I don't know how OVER apartheid really is. I guess it's kind of early to be making a call, but I haven't seen ANY white people in a blue-collar job situation. Oh wait. ONE. I've seen a lot of blue-collar type jobs... and all (but that one parking attendant) have been black or coloured. (There is a difference here. Don't call blacks coloureds or coloureds blacks. Oh, and Asians have their own category, in case that's not confusing enough. Confusing and STUPID.) With that going on, I don't think you can feel truly EQUAL, and if you don't feel equal to the people you are with (by citizenship or coincidence) you can't truly build a community with them...
some more points:
this computer... agh
that is all there is to say. forgive typos and grammar errors... like not capitalizinbg antyhing... i am at the end of my rope with this.
basically... here are some observations, from my journal and mind:
6/19: Traffic here is, at best, thrilling, and at worst, downright terrifying. There is a mutual disrespect between pedestrians and drivers. Walking, in general, is safest in packs, but while crossing streets, especially so. Even while in a herd of 18, however, our entire group was almost hit by an enormous truck today.
The unemployment rate here in South Africa is a whopping 43%.
HIV/AIDS is everywhere. i don't mean literally, i mean that at the airport, the cathedral, the hostel... all over the place there are signs of it. literal signs. "this church is hiv/aids friendly" and things like that. the airport clinic offers hiv/aids treatments.
As far as culture shock goes, i haven't really experienced much. the biggest culture shock i have felt is from within my group. everyone is awesome, but... well... journal excerpt to illustrate:
6/20: I had my furst dose of culture SHOCK and discomfort today-from a very unexpected place-within my group. I'm not religious really in any way, but it seems that most to all of our group is very religious. I didn't know that or hadn't seen it before, I guess, but today it kept coming up and surprising me. Comments about "sharing God's love"; one group member is in an acting troupe at SPU whose last performance for a high school was about premarital sex. I guess growing up in a secular household and attending a very (religiously) open and liberal school has kind of removed me from all/most exposure to this kind of thing...... I just think I've grown used to God being spoken about in a questioning or ponderous tone, not in a sure way or as reason for doing something.
6/20: More culture shock from within the group. WE SAID GRACE. I know this doesn't sound like a big deal, probably, to you (whoever you are) but believe me, when you are removed from everything familiar, little disruptions... can be very unsettling. I guess part of it is that I'm expected to believe the same thing--that is very challenging. I come from places where nothing about religion is assumed.
so that's what i'm feeling. some other excerpts...
6/20: Yet again, I realize the importance of FEELING EQUAL. As far as feeling equal goes in South Africa in a broader sense, I don't know how OVER apartheid really is. I guess it's kind of early to be making a call, but I haven't seen ANY white people in a blue-collar job situation. Oh wait. ONE. I've seen a lot of blue-collar type jobs... and all (but that one parking attendant) have been black or coloured. (There is a difference here. Don't call blacks coloureds or coloureds blacks. Oh, and Asians have their own category, in case that's not confusing enough. Confusing and STUPID.) With that going on, I don't think you can feel truly EQUAL, and if you don't feel equal to the people you are with (by citizenship or coincidence) you can't truly build a community with them...
some more points:
- have you ever had smog in your hair? yuckyuckyuck.
- took a taxi with kirsten, tona, and peter today. peter needs to work on his bargaining skills or let kirsten do it. that girl is fearless in every sense of the word.
- i am just loving our group
- kicked butt yesterday at hiking cape point! but didn't hike table mountain today... haha. rode the cable car. don't call me a wimp, i was exhausted. do i regret it? not really. i had a really relaxing morning at the top.
- cape point was BEAUTIFUL. seriously. can't wait to show everyone pictures... i was planning on uploading some today but can't because of this STUPID COMPUTER. agkjasdfaslkd. the end. remind me not to use computer 9 at m@in again.
- is 5:40 too early to call my parents? i think so haha. but i called the house this morning... forgot about their trip to california... even though it was midnight PST, a fathers day call from the top of table mountain would have been awesome! or maybe just for me since it was 9 am. hahahahaha.
- i don't know what to say... i always think of things and then forget them once i get here. dang it.
- i miss alex a whole bunch. we saw penguins yesterday afternoon. they reminded me of him.
- toilet paper is a different texture here. i'm bringing some home hahaha
- hot/cold water faucets are switched as well. haha.
- i can't explain how much i adore the group and how excited i am that i feel friendly with them and it's only my 3RD FULL DAY IN SA! so so crazy
- things are gooooooooooood.
okay this is getting repetitive and dumb, i'm sorry. just thought i'd update while i was online.
Friday, June 19, 2009
journal excerpt, etc
6/17
This really made me think about family. What is family? Is it something we create throughout our lives, or something we are born into? I have to say I'm more convinced it's the former. Family is... home. It's people you love unconditionally and irrevocably?Maybe that's not right. Maybe family is a group of people who touch your heart, mold it around even, and teach you to love in all kinds of new ways. Yes, I think that is what a family is.
TODAY
Capetown's smell is smoky-sweet, mixed with whatever environment you are in. This is because of the smog. My nose and throat are feeling funky, and you can definitely feel the smog when you breathe in. I didn't really expect this. When I post pictures you will see... it is very, very thick. You can see it today--it was very sunny and when the sun was at the right angle the air was harder to see through. But really, I am making it sound bad. It is very, very beautiful here.I am excited for tomorrow--Cape Point!! (:
But, more about today. We went to Robben Island. Very very interesting--learned a lot about apartheid/prison history. Our bus tour guide was... ah shoot I can't remember his name, but he lives on the island as a guide and is a fairly prominent figure. He usually guides internationally high profile people around (i.e. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton). Our prison tour guide was a man who had been imprisoned there and began his time there at age 18. Interesting to hear his perspectives.
What a strange island, ecologically speaking.
The traffic here is CRAZY, I've got to tell you. There's a mutual disrespect between cars and pedestrians. Pedestrians do have no rights, but you frequently see then crossing at red signals, and basically you have to cross whenever it's clear. The road next to our hostel that you have to cross to get anywhere is a one-way two-lane street where cars go EXTREMELY fast. The sign says 60 (km/h I think) but they are CERTAINLY going faster than that. Once again, we just cross when there are no cars. I am doubtful that there are seatbelt laws as well.
Another observation--there are guards and police outside everything once it gets dark, including our hostel and a few cafes on the way down here (I'm in an internet cafe a few blocks away from the Backpack--don't worry, I didn't come here alone).
I'm trying to think of a few more things to tell you...
Ah.
On the drive out of the airport to the main city, we drove by several minutes' worth of townships. The poverty so close to the city and airport was a little unsettling to say the least. I will have more to say about townships I'm sure.
They're very excited about the world cup 2010 here! Countdowns all over the place... just 356 more days until kickoff, in case you were curious.
Olivia and I made dinner tonight---Stir fry. SOOOO DELICIOUS after a long day of walking around after a night of little sleep.
The packaged "stir-fry ready" vegetables were odd though. Kale and iceberg lettuce, anyone?
The time change is still a bit odd of a concept for me... as I type this, everyone at home is probably waking up (teenagers are anyway) or eating lunch. And I am doing an after-dinner blog post before bed, in the dark.
I need to journal some more about today. It is often hard to think of things to say. I am just so immersed here. I know my photographs will help narrate my story.
I drank a Sprite today from the hostel vending machine (just 10 rand! haha) and it certainly tasted differently. Carbonated water and sugar were the first 2 ingredients... in that order. Is that what it is in the US? Can someone check for me?
Also, they measure "energy" in kiloJoules here, instead of calories (or I should say kcal).
hmm... "m@in internet cafe does not except any responsibility..."
The multilinguality of the area is very beautiful. I hope someday the US will be so diverse. It will help our brains too! According to the Segalls and personal experience, many people are fluent in 4 languages... at least 2, anyway.
I love it here.
p.s. I lit 2 candles today in St. George's Cathedral. One for everyone at home (especially my grandparents and hermanito) and another for those with HIV/AIDS. I have a few things to say about that later on... but there is a special place and prayer for those candles under a beautiful picture of St. George, who I think is their patron saint.
p.p.s. it was 75 degrees and sunny today (nicer than in Seattle! hahahaha)! This is my kind of winter (:
This really made me think about family. What is family? Is it something we create throughout our lives, or something we are born into? I have to say I'm more convinced it's the former. Family is... home. It's people you love unconditionally and irrevocably?Maybe that's not right. Maybe family is a group of people who touch your heart, mold it around even, and teach you to love in all kinds of new ways. Yes, I think that is what a family is.
TODAY
Capetown's smell is smoky-sweet, mixed with whatever environment you are in. This is because of the smog. My nose and throat are feeling funky, and you can definitely feel the smog when you breathe in. I didn't really expect this. When I post pictures you will see... it is very, very thick. You can see it today--it was very sunny and when the sun was at the right angle the air was harder to see through. But really, I am making it sound bad. It is very, very beautiful here.I am excited for tomorrow--Cape Point!! (:
But, more about today. We went to Robben Island. Very very interesting--learned a lot about apartheid/prison history. Our bus tour guide was... ah shoot I can't remember his name, but he lives on the island as a guide and is a fairly prominent figure. He usually guides internationally high profile people around (i.e. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton). Our prison tour guide was a man who had been imprisoned there and began his time there at age 18. Interesting to hear his perspectives.
What a strange island, ecologically speaking.
The traffic here is CRAZY, I've got to tell you. There's a mutual disrespect between cars and pedestrians. Pedestrians do have no rights, but you frequently see then crossing at red signals, and basically you have to cross whenever it's clear. The road next to our hostel that you have to cross to get anywhere is a one-way two-lane street where cars go EXTREMELY fast. The sign says 60 (km/h I think) but they are CERTAINLY going faster than that. Once again, we just cross when there are no cars. I am doubtful that there are seatbelt laws as well.
Another observation--there are guards and police outside everything once it gets dark, including our hostel and a few cafes on the way down here (I'm in an internet cafe a few blocks away from the Backpack--don't worry, I didn't come here alone).
I'm trying to think of a few more things to tell you...
Ah.
On the drive out of the airport to the main city, we drove by several minutes' worth of townships. The poverty so close to the city and airport was a little unsettling to say the least. I will have more to say about townships I'm sure.
They're very excited about the world cup 2010 here! Countdowns all over the place... just 356 more days until kickoff, in case you were curious.
Olivia and I made dinner tonight---Stir fry. SOOOO DELICIOUS after a long day of walking around after a night of little sleep.
The packaged "stir-fry ready" vegetables were odd though. Kale and iceberg lettuce, anyone?
The time change is still a bit odd of a concept for me... as I type this, everyone at home is probably waking up (teenagers are anyway) or eating lunch. And I am doing an after-dinner blog post before bed, in the dark.
I need to journal some more about today. It is often hard to think of things to say. I am just so immersed here. I know my photographs will help narrate my story.
I drank a Sprite today from the hostel vending machine (just 10 rand! haha) and it certainly tasted differently. Carbonated water and sugar were the first 2 ingredients... in that order. Is that what it is in the US? Can someone check for me?
Also, they measure "energy" in kiloJoules here, instead of calories (or I should say kcal).
hmm... "m@in internet cafe does not except any responsibility..."
The multilinguality of the area is very beautiful. I hope someday the US will be so diverse. It will help our brains too! According to the Segalls and personal experience, many people are fluent in 4 languages... at least 2, anyway.
I love it here.
p.s. I lit 2 candles today in St. George's Cathedral. One for everyone at home (especially my grandparents and hermanito) and another for those with HIV/AIDS. I have a few things to say about that later on... but there is a special place and prayer for those candles under a beautiful picture of St. George, who I think is their patron saint.
p.p.s. it was 75 degrees and sunny today (nicer than in Seattle! hahahaha)! This is my kind of winter (:
Thursday, June 18, 2009
HERE!
I'm in Capetown now! It is really beautiful. Tomorrow hopefully if I get the chance to get online I will post some pictures? maybe...
this keyboard kind of sucks.
I've been journaling (and plan to continue doing so) so I have things to say but I only have 15 minutes left, and lots of emails to write!
In the hostel right now...
doo doo dooo dooooooooo
I'll be sure and write later, when I have interesting things to say (not a lot happens when you're on a plane for 24 hours. seriously.)
tomorrow: robben island & olivia, mykaila, and segall make stir fry
exciting
this keyboard kind of sucks.
I've been journaling (and plan to continue doing so) so I have things to say but I only have 15 minutes left, and lots of emails to write!
In the hostel right now...
doo doo dooo dooooooooo
I'll be sure and write later, when I have interesting things to say (not a lot happens when you're on a plane for 24 hours. seriously.)
tomorrow: robben island & olivia, mykaila, and segall make stir fry
exciting
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
So little time.
South Africa gave birth to Gandhi, Mandela, Biko...
People who had most resilience and courage and perseverance of all the world.
Maybe it will give birth to me too.
Monday, June 15, 2009
In less than 48 hours, I will be in a plane.
I'm packing and repacking and packing again. This can get you real busy.
It's pretty exhausting, though, which is why I am taking a blog break! The problem is, I don't have a lot to say.
It's really weird to think about me actually leaving.
I got some excellent new shoes yesterday.
Oh! And story.
Cooper (my neighbor) had a friend over yesterday, and we were all hanging out, and his friend is here in the States from Saudi Arabia through YES.
Isn't that funny?
Friday, June 12, 2009
5 days. (!!!!!)
Went to the doctor today, everything is great as far as that goes. My earaches aren't a pressing health concern, and my immunizations are up to date. The only thing I have to get up on is Typhoid vaccination. Which is a little funny... I am taking it now in any case, and it sort of sucks because you can't eat x in advance and x after. I eat more frequently than that, in smaller bits. So it's not that great but I also don't want the runs, you know?
Working on packing.
This is still all just so surreal...
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Eight days...
Today, my books arrived:
- Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee (a little scared to read)
- Playing in the Light by Zoe Wicomb (curious)
- Molora by Yael Farber (looking forward to)
- Ways of Dying by Zakes Mda (excited)
I think I'm going to go for a walk and read a bit of Disgrace today. We will be seeing the premiere of the movie while we're in Grahamstown and I want to have it finished by then. Hopefully I will be able to read Disgrace and Playing in the Light before I leave. The SPU students have already read both of these and I want to be on a similar schedule so I can participate in class.
I've also started packing and shopping. Last night my aunt Joan and I went to Target to pick up basics, and today my dad will be taking me to REI for sleeping bag liners. I might go to Costco with my mom to get socks, underwear, and vitamins but we'll see if I do that at some other point this week.
It's so weird to me that this is all happening... it's seemed like it would be months away forever...
I'm trying to see as many of my friends as I can before I leave, but there is just so little time...
It's funny, looking back at my first post here, how much my anxieties have changed. I no longer worry about the airport (my trip to Houston changed that), chickening out, or missing my friends and family. I now worry about being able to handle the changes within myself that will occur. I am worried about coming home.
Class last week was pretty thrilling. One of our chaperones, Lori, has a background in counseling and was giving us stress management ideas. She had us turn to the person beside us and share:
- What stresses us out
- How we behave when we're stressed, and
- What helps us de-stress.
It was surprisingly bonding.
Anyway, I have loads to do today, related and unrelated to my trip.
I'll be back on in a few days, I'm sure (:
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)