Week One...
So yes, I have been here for over a week and it's high time I update this. Yet I'm not quite sure where to begin...so much has happened that it feels more like a month than seven days! Where to begin...
Had a safe flight into Cape Town on the 19th and spent the first day with a few classmates orienting ourselves a bit to the culture and our location in Observatory. Once classes began the following Monday we jumped straight into an intense Remembrance Journey lead by former MK's (the military branch of the ANC during the apartheid era). These men put themselves on the line, leading us from site to site in tribute to the struggle they were a part of. Ladened with pregnant pauses, their descriptions only brushed on personal accounts yet told us more than the words they spoke. Beginning in District 6, we progressed into the townships and informal settlements, paying tribute to the site of the murder of the Gugulethu 7 as well as Amy Biehl. The depth of the apartheid legacy only truly hit home when we walked through these places, surrounded by people who were struggling and often lived in houses constructed from plastic and metal sheets (informal settlements). As the men leading our small group described the brutal killing of Amy Biehl, two small boys stood near the group...this was their history and sheltering them was not an option. If there is one thing I have come to recognize, it's the importance and the strength of communication in the process of healing and rebuilding. Yassir, the former MK in charge of preparing us for the trip to the townships, extended his invitation to us as guests within their lives and pasts. In his individual story, he was a man put in prison for his role during the apartheid and tortured while there. He readily admits that no, he does not and cannot forgive the men who tortured him yet he is constantly healing. It is through this process that he decided to add the memorial to Amy Biehl, a white Fulbright scholar killed during apartheid by a black mob, pulled out of her car in front of two black passengers, and stoned and stabbed to death.
Anyway, as I'm sure you can tell this trip really had an impact on not only myself, but the group as a whole. A day or two later, we also visited one of the high schools in the Langa township. Imagine sitting in a room, paired quickly off with a 16 year old girl, taken to her classroom, and bombarded with questions concerning everything from the AIDS crisis in South Africa to currency exchange rates. I really lucked out and the girl that picked me was very thoughtful and amazingly curious. So aware of herself and her surroundings compared to almost anyone I have ever met.
After the emotional rollercoaster of the week, our class group took Friday and the weekend off. Friday we drove through wine country in two combis, visiting three different vineyards for organized wine tasting, having lunch at the second. Rack of lamb...SO GOOD!!! All of us thought we'd died and gone to Heaven...it was absolutely freezing (it's winter down here) and we found ourselves in an old farmhouse type building with varnished medium wood, a wonderful fireplace goin in the center of the room, a great meal provided by the program, and wine tasting while we waited for our food to be cooked. Needless to say, it was a very much needed break. The countryside here is absolutely breathtaking!!! I don't know how to describe it...so varied and with rolling hills with mountains directly backing them.
After suffering through our Friday trip my friend Ciara and I got back in time to pack our bags for the next day. David, the guy who owns the place we're staying at, helped us organize a sea kayaking trip with one of his friend's outdoor adventure companies. So, 9:00 the next day Farnie picked us up, took us to hang out and watch New Zealand vs. South Africa in rugby. Great game...SO close...SA just barely lost (I think I'm hooked on rugby now, too). After the game we piled into his little truck with two borrowed suitcases and our backpacks and drove 40 minutes to the West Coast National Park, just south of Langebaan, then 20 minutes into the park to a small bungalow on a white sand beach...the only shelter for miles. After seeing several ostrichs and dozens of chicks, deer, and turtles the three of us hopped into kayaks and paddled for two hours through the huge blue-green lagoon, trying to glide as close as possible to the flocks of flamingos that were basking in the late afternoon sun. As the sun set, we drove several miles/kilometers, walked a ways, and stood behind a bird filled marsh with a lone occupied farmhouse on the horizon as the sun set, then went back for a braai (BBQ SA style) and watched as foreign constelations came out in the pitch black sky. After freezing through the night (probably 38 degrees F) Ciara and I woke up early to go poke through an abandoned farmhouse a mile or two away, returned to find that Farni was finishing making breakfast, then set out for five hours of kayaking. Exhaustingly wonderful weekend! If you want to see any pictures, I have posted quite a few on the links just below this entry (there should be two, I believe). Hope all is well! (oh yeah...there are also pictures from an afternoon trip to the beach in there as well...lots of playing in tide pools!)
Had a safe flight into Cape Town on the 19th and spent the first day with a few classmates orienting ourselves a bit to the culture and our location in Observatory. Once classes began the following Monday we jumped straight into an intense Remembrance Journey lead by former MK's (the military branch of the ANC during the apartheid era). These men put themselves on the line, leading us from site to site in tribute to the struggle they were a part of. Ladened with pregnant pauses, their descriptions only brushed on personal accounts yet told us more than the words they spoke. Beginning in District 6, we progressed into the townships and informal settlements, paying tribute to the site of the murder of the Gugulethu 7 as well as Amy Biehl. The depth of the apartheid legacy only truly hit home when we walked through these places, surrounded by people who were struggling and often lived in houses constructed from plastic and metal sheets (informal settlements). As the men leading our small group described the brutal killing of Amy Biehl, two small boys stood near the group...this was their history and sheltering them was not an option. If there is one thing I have come to recognize, it's the importance and the strength of communication in the process of healing and rebuilding. Yassir, the former MK in charge of preparing us for the trip to the townships, extended his invitation to us as guests within their lives and pasts. In his individual story, he was a man put in prison for his role during the apartheid and tortured while there. He readily admits that no, he does not and cannot forgive the men who tortured him yet he is constantly healing. It is through this process that he decided to add the memorial to Amy Biehl, a white Fulbright scholar killed during apartheid by a black mob, pulled out of her car in front of two black passengers, and stoned and stabbed to death.
Anyway, as I'm sure you can tell this trip really had an impact on not only myself, but the group as a whole. A day or two later, we also visited one of the high schools in the Langa township. Imagine sitting in a room, paired quickly off with a 16 year old girl, taken to her classroom, and bombarded with questions concerning everything from the AIDS crisis in South Africa to currency exchange rates. I really lucked out and the girl that picked me was very thoughtful and amazingly curious. So aware of herself and her surroundings compared to almost anyone I have ever met.
After the emotional rollercoaster of the week, our class group took Friday and the weekend off. Friday we drove through wine country in two combis, visiting three different vineyards for organized wine tasting, having lunch at the second. Rack of lamb...SO GOOD!!! All of us thought we'd died and gone to Heaven...it was absolutely freezing (it's winter down here) and we found ourselves in an old farmhouse type building with varnished medium wood, a wonderful fireplace goin in the center of the room, a great meal provided by the program, and wine tasting while we waited for our food to be cooked. Needless to say, it was a very much needed break. The countryside here is absolutely breathtaking!!! I don't know how to describe it...so varied and with rolling hills with mountains directly backing them.
After suffering through our Friday trip my friend Ciara and I got back in time to pack our bags for the next day. David, the guy who owns the place we're staying at, helped us organize a sea kayaking trip with one of his friend's outdoor adventure companies. So, 9:00 the next day Farnie picked us up, took us to hang out and watch New Zealand vs. South Africa in rugby. Great game...SO close...SA just barely lost (I think I'm hooked on rugby now, too). After the game we piled into his little truck with two borrowed suitcases and our backpacks and drove 40 minutes to the West Coast National Park, just south of Langebaan, then 20 minutes into the park to a small bungalow on a white sand beach...the only shelter for miles. After seeing several ostrichs and dozens of chicks, deer, and turtles the three of us hopped into kayaks and paddled for two hours through the huge blue-green lagoon, trying to glide as close as possible to the flocks of flamingos that were basking in the late afternoon sun. As the sun set, we drove several miles/kilometers, walked a ways, and stood behind a bird filled marsh with a lone occupied farmhouse on the horizon as the sun set, then went back for a braai (BBQ SA style) and watched as foreign constelations came out in the pitch black sky. After freezing through the night (probably 38 degrees F) Ciara and I woke up early to go poke through an abandoned farmhouse a mile or two away, returned to find that Farni was finishing making breakfast, then set out for five hours of kayaking. Exhaustingly wonderful weekend! If you want to see any pictures, I have posted quite a few on the links just below this entry (there should be two, I believe). Hope all is well! (oh yeah...there are also pictures from an afternoon trip to the beach in there as well...lots of playing in tide pools!)