Blood Diamond

This weekend we hopped into our vans with our loyal drivers Kay (who has taken the headphones out, and is quite the clubber we discovered) and Langa. Two hours later we crossed a bridge into the Eastern Cape, pulled into a parking lot and started our "hike."

Our hike was guided by a very nice man, can't remember his name to be honest. We walked through a construction zone for about 10 minutes so we could really understand the beauty of nature (we joked about this quite a bit) and ended on a beautiful beach. We then spent about two hours on the beach, examining every little thing. I swear this tour guide wanted to talk to us about every stick, rock, and piece of sand on the beach -- I suppose it could be interesting for a few, but I opted to focus on something more important.

Imraan, the academic program advisor for our trip, and I talked in great detail about his educational and career background, what I inspire to do, and NGOs in South Africa. From this discussion we decided I should visit an NGO called Accord (accord.org.za check it out!) in the final week of my trip. They focus on conflict resolution internationally. In fact, I learned how vibrant the NGO culture is in South Africa and I'm beginning to realize I may want to work here in the future and gain NGO experience with Accord or with other organizations.

After leaving the beach we began the real hike, which lasted maybe 45 minutes, but had breathtaking views of hillsides where Blood Diamond was filmed. We completed our hike in a small village where we were picked up by our loyal drivers and taken to another village to eat lunch. Truthfully, my beans tasted like cigarettes and I opted to leave them untouched, but the rest of the meal was delicious. We then got back in the vans and headed to a sweet bed and breakfast place on the hillside overlooking the ocean and had showers. The showers may have been the best part of the weekend getaway. We were only at the bed and breakfast from dinner time until just after breakfast and within that time I showered twice -- glorious.

Now we are back in Durban and spending time with Menzi -- this is our last week with the secondary school.  We are preparing a performance for the entire school on Friday, which I am really excited about. I'll be taking a video and when I get quicker internet I'll try and upload it to the blog.

Menzi High School

Menzi Secondary School in the township Umlazi is where I spent my week and will spend the next week at. We entered the school and immediately noted the lack of resources and class space. Most students don't have books, or even a pencil and paper and the classrooms are filled with anywhere from 40 to 70 students.  Walking onto a campus like this I initially thought teaching the students would be difficult, I misjudged.

The students are so excited and welcoming to us. Every classroom we walked into students lined up to meet us, hug us, and perform for us. I have never seen so much talent in one classroom. The school is filled with dancers, singers, poets, and many more talented students. It seems that every student could stand up and sing to us, and not just sing, but belt; other students could stand up and simply dance, be it crumping or a more traditional Zulu dance. We were all so blown away by the talent.

We later got to meet a few students and are in the process of getting to know them as the practicum continues. The students told me how lucky they are to be going to Menzi, which has a 100% matric pass rate and boasts that 60% of their students go on to university. I have been observing Mrs. TJ's classes -- she teaches geography and life sciences (similar to biology) -- and have been intrigued by the lectures. The geography class focused on underdevelopment and the importance of education while the life sciences class focused on the importance of a healthy lifestyle and being nutritious. The classes were taught in an informal manner that seemed, to me at least, like a moral discussion to the students that they could apply to their everyday lives.

Next week I will be teaching a class on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and human rights. Words can't describe how ecstatic I am to teach the students something I am so passionate about and curious about. Especially since the Apartheid is still so prevalent, I am anxious to see the capacity level of the students in regards to human rights. Can't wait to keep you all posted on it!

Tomorrow we head to the South Coast (where Blood Diamond was shot) to go on a hike and go to the beach. I'll definitely fill you in.

Moving In

On Friday I moved into my home stay family, which will be our base for the next few weeks. I have a host mother, Dudu, a host father, Sipho, and a host sister, Nosipho. All have been very welcoming and accommodating. Dudu is a great cook, very sweet, and open; Nosipho is also very sweet and welcoming, she's been very helpful in guiding me through the house. I have my own room and a closet to put my clothes away in. Friday night I went to bed very early, I had to be awake at 8:00 am to meet up and go to the central market in Durban.

The central market in Durban is huge! There are ten different sections in the market, including crafts, food, medicine, textile, and several other sections. We took a tour through the market, stopping to give a brief history about each individual section. We learned that a portion of the market is going to be shut down and that the people are protesting the closing of one section. In another part, the meat market, we watched women with cow heads (skin, eyes, and all) hacking -- with an axe -- at the head to get the meat off the skull. Some of us, including myself, were brave enough to eat the cooked cow head meat. Historically, only men were allowed to eat the cow head meat because they represented the head of the family, but today with democracy all are welcome to try the meat. It was good meat, what you would find in a burger, but it had this sticky gooey glob on it that creeped me out a little.

On Sunday, I went to church with Grace's host mother and sister in downtown Durban. Little did we know we were going to be at church for six hours. We left the house at 9:00am and took a taxi bus to Durban, we got there at 9:45. When we arrived the English service was wrapping up, so we watched that. Then the isiZulu service began, and Grace and I were completely lost. Some women tried to help us find the correct sections in the Bible, but even the names were different in isiZulu so it was near impossible! We got back home around 3:00 where I watched the news (Aljazeerah has a channel and I was so happy to watch it), ate dinner, and went to bed at 8:30 pm.

This morning (Monday) I was picked up at 7:00am and driven to a township called Umlazi to visit Menzi high school where I will be teaching Geography for the next two weeks. We were so welcomed by the school and the principal. The principal told us the school has a 100% pass rate and around 60% of the students go on to university. We visited two classes, one was a 10th grade class who welcomed us through singing and dancing, the second was 11th grade (a little rowdier) who also welcomed us with singing, dancing, and slam poetry. I have never been so impressed by the amount of talent in one classroom, those students inspire me.

That's my news for my South African adventure thus far, I can't wait to fill you in on my first day of teaching!

I don't see nothin' wrong with a little bump and grind...

Remember Firken? Well we returned to Firken last night for some Karaoke and free shooters from 9-10. Kay, one of the drivers, warned us that Firken is really lame and that it would lower his social status to be seen at Firken. Nonetheless, we were dropped off and ready to sing some good American tunes (because we definitely wanted to portray a good American stereotype...eh). First thing we did? Ordered three "shark tanks" where the only description is, "are you Firken brave enough?" We decided yes.

Three shark tanks, some free shooters, and a few drinks later, we realized Firken is not known for their tasty beverages, or for their alcohol content. But what kind of Americans would we be if that slowed us down? We sang several songs, all the girls sang "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls, Becca sang "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", Jack sang "Ain't to Proud to Beg", and Stephen sang "Bump and Grind," which raised the bar at Firken. Stephen got the entire bar to sing along, and even attracted a friend to the stage, who slowly took the mike out of his hands and claimed, "we need to sing this again."

Shark Tank: R100 (100 Rand), taxi ride with Darrel, R155, night at Firken? Priceless.

Sawubona (hello in isiZulu)

I have arrived in South Africa (4 days ago)! Unfortunately, I had no access to internet, so I apologize -- as I know all of you were obsessively checking my blog to see if I updated it!

We flew into Johannesburg, or Joburg as the locals call it, and settled into a nice little bed and breakfast 30 minutes outside of the city. It was a cozy little place, with a few rooms -- four people to a room, and then the love shack. The love shack is outside of the bed and breakfast with red curtains and cheetah print bedspreads. I haven't even mentioned the best part yet, the love shack has a jacuzzi in it!  I was placed in the love shack with Grace and Lisa, and now I understand why it is called the love shack -- its so cold out there you absolutely have to all hop in the same bed to huddle for warmth. Needless to say, we felt no love from the love shack, but felt love from each other as we snuggled for heat!

When we woke up the next day we went to the Apartheid Museum and the Hector Pieterson Museum which discuss the historical context, political, and social culture of South Africa before, during, and after the Apartheid. The Hector Pieterson Museum focused more closely on the student protest movement and is located in Soweto (short for South Western Township) where Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela lived -- Nelson Mandela's house is now a museum and Desmond Tutu spends most of his time in Cape Town now. Exhausted, we went back to our backpack travelers lodge, Tre Fontane, ate dinner and went to bed fairly early.

The next morning we started our orientation by learning a little isiZulu (is it apparent from my title?) and going over "fear and expectations of the trip." After lunch we were dropped of at the Pavilion for shopping. The Pavilion is a massive shopping mall, I mean 5 story shopping mall. We were given three hours here, I bought an adapter for electricity (because the one I brought doesn't work, and in fact only one person brought an adapter that does work) and a Castle beer at Firken Brewing Co.

Today we traveled into Durban for the first time. We were given a map with a few check points and dropped off on one side of the city, picked up 4 hours later on the other side. It was good to get out of our travelers lodge and explore a little bit. It was really windy and rainy here today, and apparently it will be tomorrow as well -- but the forecast afterwards seems promising. We used the bus system: People Mover, to get around the city, it was 4 Rand (7 Rand is about $1). When we arrived at our final destination we ate at the Copper Chimney for some Indian food. Now we are sitting at the SIT office for the first time, able to use internet for the first time (no Facebook though, it apparently eats up too much internet?) and waiting to be toted off to dinner -- at an Indian restaurant, surprise!

So overall consensus of my first 4 days: colder than I expected, less active and productive than I hoped, but our schedule seems promising.

We have met the main people from my program at SIT here in Durbs (Durban for short -- another local term): Imraan, Shola, Langa, and Kay. Imraan is the academic program director of the trip, extremely knowledgeable and personable. I spent 8 hours with him in the drive from Joburg to Durbs with Lisa and Taylor and had many intellectually charged conversations. Shola is in charge of home stays and questions about the city and fun things to do, she seems very sweet and warm, but I haven't spoken to her a lot. Langa is our linguistics teacher -- only isiZulu, but still quite thrilling -- and is one of the drivers. Langa is lively and happy, very talkative and friendly to all of the students and filled with laughter. Kay is another driver who doesn't talk much. At this point in the trip Kay is known for wearing his headphones and playing music so loudly the back of the bus can hear him! Today Melissa practically yelled his name to no avail, as Drake and Akon were playing too loudly on his MP3 player.

Next up is moving into my home stay in Cato Manor, a township, on Friday and starting my practicuum! I will either be placed in a primary school or secondary school to teach and observe the classes, but I don't know which I will go to quite yet. Starting the upcoming Monday I will begin my two week practicuum, followed by a two hour lecture every day. After that we have a weekend excursion to the South Coast (fun fact: parts of Blood Diamond were filmed there) and then heading to a rural home stay (will explain that when I understand it more) and then to Grahamstown National Arts Festival! Apparently, the festival is huge and very popular, but also negative degrees in celsius...I'm not so good with below freezing.

Sala Kahle (goodbye in isiZulu)

Waka Waka

When I traveled to Tanzania last year Shakira's song Waka Waka was just about the only song you'd hear (with the exception of K'naan's Waving Flag of course). We soon learned that waka waka pretty much means, "do work," and that is what I just did...with my suitcase. With mostly tees and long dresses I'm ready to take on Africa once again, this time I don't think my skills in Kiswalhili will help me, but if it does: jambo South Africa, habari?

I leave at the crack of dawn (muy de la manana -- that one is Spanish if you didn't catch that) and embark on a 30 hour journey to Johannesburg. When we get in we are told we will have a lecture (bleh) and visit a few museums. Pretty unsure about my accommodations for the first week and a half, but hopefully I will have internet and can fill you in on my adventures in Johannesburg!
Asante for reading and kwaheri! (Shout out to my Tanzanian loves!)