Guest Lecturers:
I have entered the portion of the semester in which we have guest lecturers every Friday for two of my classes. These are the two classes I take only with the other people in my program. Our program director and theology teacher have brought in some amazing people thus far, and we will have the chance to meet a couple more before the semester ends. Some guest lecturers who stick out in my mind are Easy and Ntobeko, Molly Blank, and Mary Burton. I do not remember if I had mentioned Amy Biehl in any of my previous posts, but she was an American Fulbright scholar and anti-apartheid activist who was killed by a black mob in 1993. Easy and Ntobeko were identified as two of the four men responsible for Amy's death. They were granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and forgiven by Amy's parents for their part in Amy's murder. It was an incredible experience to hear from them about the social and political climate of the time in which Amy's murder took place. In addition, we were able to discuss openly their part in Amy's killing, as well as ask any questions we had. It is a meeting I think about often and one I will continue to reflect on even after I have left South Africa. Molly Blank was another interesting guest lecturer who spoke about her project with schools in Cape Town started in 2005 as part of her Fulbright Scholarship project. Because many of us are working in schools as part of our service learning, it was awesome to be able to hear about her experiences, stories, challenges, and successes working in and within the educational system in Cape Town. Lastly, our group met with Mary Burton only last Friday. She is a particularly intelligent woman who moved from Argentina to Cape Town after marrying her husband in the 60's. While acclimating to South Africa, Mary became active in a working women's group of anti-apartheid activists called the Black Sash. As president of the Black Sash, Mary was approached to be a commissioner on the TRC. Her stories about her time with the TRC were such an interesting look into something I had been learning a lot about. This firsthand account brought out more of the emotion, doubt, joy, and compassion that history lacks when telling about the TRC. All of these people have added greatly to my understanding of South Africa's history and current state of affairs.
Retreat Weekend with John de Gruchy in Hermanus:
The weekend after returning from mid semester our whole group traveled to Hermanus for a weekend of reflection and exploration with John de Gruchy. John de Gruchy is a notable theologian who has written on topics such as reconciliation, humanity, and God and suffering. We had read some of his books for our theology course, and were able to spend the weekend discussing John's books, theology, and opinions as well as our own. John lives at the Volmoed retreat center near Hermanus. It is an absolutely beautiful retreat center with various hiking trails, prayer huts, and places to reflect outside. In addition to reflecting with John, we were able to visit Hermanus for an afternoon of cafes, market shopping, and window shopping. Sunday morning a group of us awoke at 5am to venture out on a hike to the top of the mountain and hoping to catch the sunrise. After fuddling around in the dark for about an hour and half on the wrong trail and without proper flashlights, we decided to turn back. It was cloudy and raining anyway. I ended up hiking to a much closer viewpoint and watching what sunrise I could catch between the clouds. It was a wonderful weekend in another beautiful part of the country.
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| Had cappuccinos and lunch at this cafe in Hermanus |
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| View from coast of Hermanus |
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| Looking down on Volmoed retreat center-not a very sunny sunrise |
After much consideration and deliberation, I have switched service sites from iThemba Labantu to Loyiso pre-primary school. It was a tough decision to make, but I believed my time and skills could be better used somewhere other than iThemba Labantu. Now, every Monday and Tuesday I spend the day trying to teach 3-5 year olds the alphabet, numbers, shapes, colors, how to share, not to kick each other, and that screaming is not the best way to get my attention. Then, I run around on the playground with the kiddos totally free to act silly and relive my childhood dreams. This is extremely tiring, challenging, rewarding, and crazy. I have a whole new perspective on childrearing and early childhood development, as well as a newfound respect for pre-school teachers and parents everywhere. It seems pretty awesome, and it is, but GAME CHANGER- none of the children speak English. All of the children at my school are raised in homes with families whose first language is Xhosa. So, there is the added challenge of getting through to children who do not always understand anything I am saying. I have picked up a few key words of Xhosa, and we can still have a good time playing without being able to communicate verbally very effectively. I am learning so much about myself through my time there and I cannot wait to see what the rest of the semester has in store for me. PS- the kids decided it was fun to throw sand in each other's faces the other day…wish me luck!
Coffee Dates:
This year for Lent I decided to take a new approach to the reflective season. I figured I would try something a little different than my usual spiritual routine and see what would happen. Therefore, I invited everyone in my house on individual coffee dates. I said I would buy their coffee (or other drink of choice) if they agreed to have an hour long conversation with me. It was an open invitation, and not everyone took it, but I have had an amazing time with those who did. I am slowly making my way through the list of individuals who agreed to my proposal, and have been learning so much about the people I live with, study with, and spend most of my time with. Added bonus- I have been able to cross off many of the cafes on my top 10 coffee shops to visit in Cape Town!
Robben Island and District Six Museum:
One weekend our whole group visited both Robben Island and the District Six Museum. Both places hold special historical significance for South Africa and were great to be able to visit. I remember the first time I saw Robben Island from the top of Lion's Head. It looks deceivingly close to the waterfront, but actually took almost an hour to travel to by boat. The view of Table Mountain and Cape Town from Robben Island is stunning. Reflecting on Nelson Mandela's 18 years of imprisonment there was eerie and powerful after having read so much about it in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom. Standing in front of Mandela's tiny cell, I was struck by the strength it must have taken him to stay resolute throughout those many years. The District Six Museum was also reminder of the horrible injustices that took place during the apartheid regime. During apartheid District Six was an interracial area full of people, life, and culture. Then, the government declared it a "whites only" area, evicted everyone, relocated them to racially segregated areas, and demolished all the buildings in the area. Looking upon the pictures of ordinary people going about their daily business in the museum served as a reminder of the lives that were interrupted by selfish and greedy policies. Pearnel, our program's driver, served as our tour guide of this museum because his family lived in District Six and was evicted from the area when he was young. Both Robben Island and the District Six Museum were important places I had been wanting to visit since arriving.
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| Map of District Six with family names and homes located on it |
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| View of Table Mountain from Robben Island |
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| Nelson Mandela's Cell |
Mzoli's:
This past Sunday almost everyone spent the better part of the day in Gugulethu township at the famous Mzoli's braai restaurant. I do not know if I can do Mzoli's justice here, it is more something one just has to experience. After waiting in line outside for about 20 minutes, you make your way inside to a small butcher shop type area. There is a whole case full of raw meat that you can choose from to have for your lunch (of course nothing is labeled so who really knows what you're getting). Then, moving down the line you pay for your meat, pick up your platter full of raw meat, and then bring it to the back cooking area. There, you leave your meat on a counter for it to be cooked over an open fire and fetched later. Because it is a busy place, and some people just get a lot of food, you might wait and hour or so for your meat, but no one really minds because there is music and you're sitting outside talking to friends anyway. Later, you go back to the kitchen and retrieve your meat. Heres, the thing: Mzoli's basically only sells/provides the meat and sometimes some bread or other minimal sides. There are no utensils, drinks to buy, or most of the other things you would think to find at a restaurant. You bring your own drinks and side dishes, and then chow down on their meat. It was quite an experience. I had some chicken and pork, and both were delicious! And very filling! It is definitely a great spot for meat-loving South Africans and adventurous tourists.
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| Mzoli's Kitchen |
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| Duke, Domonique, and I were overwhelmed and delighted by our meat platters |
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| It was a full house on Sunday afternoon-grab a table if you can! |
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| Here it is in all its glory- the famous Mzoli's |
I am so envious!
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