What is the moon like this week at home??

So the moon has been this absolutely gorgeously bright smile this week, literally, a smile. Every night I look up and wonder if it looks the same at home...

Just checking in after a relaxing weekend... Becky and I went our separate ways this weekend, she stayed in Cape Flats to spend time with her host family and friends from the YMCA and I took off for Langebaan, a beautiful little beach town on the Western coast.

I am staying, for the duration of this trip, with my friends Janna and Mayran (and their amazing baby, Gabriel) who I met while studying at NYU. Janna is originally from Cape Town and was living and studying in New York for a few years to be with Mayran. My first trip to this incredible city was for their wedding back in January of 2004. They now live in Sea Point, which is just outside of downtown. This weekend was great for me b/c I actually had a chance to really catch up with Janna and spend some time with her family, all of whom are incredible people.

Janna's mom and stepdad, Irene and Ian, have built a gorgeous beach house in Langebaan where they retreat for weekends and holidays~ it's awesome! An earthy, beautifully decorated haven for family and friends... we just relaxed, ate, walked on the beach, ate, collected shells, ate, and last night went to this small casino that was quite interesting... a very diverse crowd gathered to dump their money into the slots and tables... myself included! I got sucked into the spirit of Club Mykonos and conjured up the spirit of my grandme and headed for the slot machines!! After a long run... I lost about $20. Oh well... I did manage to have a hilarious interaction with the guy at the slot next to me who spoke only Afrikaans. Talking with people who speak a different language than I do is one of my favorite things. It turns into a comedic charades episode which always ends up with me cracking up laughing.

I had a very interesting conversation with Irene's oldest friend, Ingrid, a South African who lived for a long time in Cincinnati and now lives with her family in Sydney, Australia. She shared her impressions about the changes that she notices here since she left 21 years ago... it was fascinating. We wound up talking about racism and classism in such an honest and refreshing way and, once again, I had that feeling of connection with a stranger... her impressions of a "new" South Africa provided me with some interesting insight.

The more time I spend here, the more I realize the many deeply embedded nuances that I will likely never understand about South African culture. Just when I think I understand something, I remember that I am still seeing it through my white, American eyes... that being said, I am learning more about the ever-changing political/social landscape of South Africa than I can possibly even process at this point~ all of this information also allows me to see the political and social landscape of America and Hartford, in particular, through a new lens.

Last week, Becky and I were supposed to go to the prison on Thursday but that had to be postponed... instead, we visited 2 high schools in Samora Machel (one of the townships that we visited during the holiday programmes). Ayanda, one of the Y staff, took us to the 2 schools where she runs groups with teenagers. At the second school, we met with her group and just had a question/answer session with them about why they were involved with the group, etc... I was blown away by one of the girls, a 14 year old, who responded that she was coming to the Y meetings because she wants to make a change in her community and she realizes that in order to do that, she has to start with herself. Each of these amazing young people identified exactly what they want to do when they are finished with school~ I couldn't help but think that American teenagers, when asked that same question, often answer with "I don't know"... these guys live in shacks with no running water and are envisioning themselves as mechanical engineers, pilots, social workers, doctors, etc... these are kids who choose to come to this extra meeting because they want to be better people. Inspiring... and Ayanda clearly serves as an incredible mentor for them.

Thursday night we went to see 2 plays at the University of the Western Cape, organized for us by Monique from the YMCA. The first was called "Reclaiming the P- Word", (P for pus... a South African term for vagina), which was reminiscent of "The Vagina Monologues"... it was an intense performance of monologues by about 10 women dedicated to reclaiming their bodies. The monologues were funny, painful, poignant, sad, inspirational and incredibly personal~ a very cool experience! The play won acclaim at the Grahamstown theater festival so I think we were quite lucky to have seen it.

Friday, Becky and I sat in on a meeting held in downtown Cape Town at the State Department of Health for the director's of the Peer Education program that is a state program implemented by NonProfit Organizations in the Western Cape... interesting procedural stuff. (I like stuff like that.) This week coming up we will be going to lots of different schools where the Cape Flats Y implements Peer Education and conducting some lessons!!! I am so pumped for that...right up my alley.

I am forever amazed by the optimism of South Africans who have very little in terms of material wealth... the spirit, pride and generosity of everyone we encounter is immeasurable.

Alright...if you've made it to the end of this entry, congrats... I am one wordy woman tonight!! We will try to post pics very soon...
Much love to all of you and thanks for your continued messages of love and support!!!