So...we have had the most brilliant weather here until...this week.
The rain in Cape Town is truly an experience in itself~ you can be on one side of town and it's sunny and 2 minutes away it's pouring.
And when I say pouring, I mean can't-see-while-you're-driving pouring. I am intrigued... and can only wonder what it is like in a place like Samora Machel~ where homes are made of corrugated metal and timber. Judging from the sound of the rain on the roof of the YMCA building, I'm guessing that trying to sleep in a home in Samora is close to impossible during a rain storm.
Yesterday Becky and I had a really cool day~ we went with Monique to the Hanover Park Clinic where the YMCA has staff that work as "Lay Counselors"... these are women who are trained to meet with patients who come to the clinic for all sorts of issues, including pre/post HIV testing. Fay, the counselor who we met with, was a wealth of information about the position~ she meets with patients (free of charge) without appointments for any type of concern or need they might have. Generally, the needs are intense and it seems like a potentially heartbreaking job.
Fay has an incredible outlook, she loves what she is doing and told us of a client who she has developed quite an awesome counseling relationship with. This young man had just been released from 3 years in jail and entered into a relationship with an older woman in the community. He suspected he may be infected and came into the clinic for testing and met with Fay...turns out he was HIV positive. Fay encouraged him to have his girlfriend come in and bring their new baby... it turns out they are all HIV positive and they are now all receiving services from the clinic. The mother hesitates, but the child is progressing thanks to the workers at the clinic and the local Red Cross. The young man stops in each day to see Fay~ for counseling or a bowl of soup or just a quick hello. She is a critical piece of his life...
Hanover Park, where the clinic is located, is plagued with gang activity. The gangs in Cape Flats are incredibly toxic~ dealing and using "tik" (South African version of crystal meth, which is destroying the lives of many), stealing, mugging, abusing, raping, shooting, etc... it's not a peaceful area. However, the clinic and hospital workers (there is a hospital right across from the clinic) are highly respected in the area and are, in fact, escorted in and out of the area by gang members when the area is "at war." These are some seriously brave and dedicated people who are working in Hanover Park.
In the afternoon we accompanied Zandile, a YMCA Peer Education Facilitator, to one of his schools, Heideveld High. We were able to meet with the principal of the school in his office and learn that there are 1300 students in grades 8-12 and 41 teachers... That means that classes can have up to 60 students in them, depending on the subject. Imagine the challenge of managing the behavior of 60 teenagers (many of whom have children of their own) while trying to teach them literature when a large percentage of them cannot read... not much room for individualized attention here!! Not to mention that South Africa has a fully inclusive educational system, so no classes are divided on terms of ability. (anyone from Classical who is reading this should be feeling pretty lucky!!) Nonetheless, day in and day out, educators across the Cape Flats are making it happen...
The schools here are also quite different looking than ours~ from the outside they sort of look like 2 story motels~ long brick or concrete buildings with narrow porches running the length of the building and doors and windows evenly spaced along the length of the building. There is generally a common space (sometimes interior, sometimes not) in the middle of a complex of buildings like this... students wear uniforms at ALL schools, and pay fees to attend school (something like a tax, however we are still trying to figure this all out).
So... Zandile brought us to meet his group of peer educators and allowed Becky and I to conduct a session!!! We worked with about 20 students on a lesson about gender roles... the kids were awesome!!! They got so into the lesson and, I hope, took something away from it. We did some exercises about stereotypes/expectations/etc. of men and women in society (very interesting!) and then defined sex and gender. One of the activities centered around identifying specific roles of men and women... the students were very adamant about placing certain roles in the male column and others in the female column of our homemade chart... but then...could see that really, everything (except for "get pregnant") could go in either column. Becky and I were on fire... we were in our element... and had a lot of fun working with these guys.
Peer Education is a program that the South African government has started (under the Dept. of Health and the Dept. of Education) in an effort to prevent the further spread of HIV. The program is implemented in schools all over the country (particularly in areas of need) by non-profit organizations (including the Cape Flats Y!)... facilitators work with peer educators (students who are identified as potential leaders in their school) starting in grade 10. They go through the first level of the program basically learning about themselves and various issues related to HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, choice making, drug prevention, etc... (very much a combo of a health course and a guidance course!! right up my alley.) Then in their 2nd level they continue, but are responsible for conducting a certain amount of formal and informal sessions with their peers on these issues. In the 3rd level, this continues on a more intense level and they are responsible for mentoring new peer educators... (I hope I have all of this right!).
The Cape Flats YMCA has six peer education facilitators: Thabisa, Mwaka, Zandile, Judy, Fallon, and Alicia. They are actively running programs in ten schools in the Cape Flats. We will be visiting most of these schools (and conducting more sessions!) over the next few weeks.
On another note, I'm insanely jealous of everyone who is reading Harry Potter... I went to get the book and it was about $60 US... books are outrageously expensive here, so I opted against it. Am hoping Rayne will let me borrow her copy when I get home. PLEASE don't anyone tell me what happens!!!! Becky and I did go see the movie last night!! We loved it...
Today we spent time with Ayanda, visiting both of her schools in Samora Machel where we were last week. Samora Machel is one of my favorite places in the Cape Flats... I just really love the people that I have met there~ they are positive and full of life in the face of intense adversity. The schools that Ayanda works in are called Sophumelela (So-pu-may-lay-la), which means "we will succeed" and Zisukhanyo (Zee-su-khan-yo), which means "let us bring light to the people." Beautiful names for schools full of beautiful children...
Becky and I are both really interested in Xhosa~ one of the languages spoken here. It is gorgeous to listen to and incorporates clicks that are incredibly hard to master!!
Our experiences continue... we are really hoping that at least 2 folks from the Cape Flats Y will be able to come over to visit the Hartford Y at the end of this summer. Keep your fingers crossed... and anyone interested in helping to make that happen should get in touch with Hyacinth Douglas-Bailey at the Hartford YMCA.
Much much love from both of us (I have easier email access than Becky)... pictures coming soon!
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
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!!!
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!!!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Happy #89
Just a quick Happy 89th Birthday to Nelson Mandela!!
Becky and I made it safely back to Cape Town tonight~ the ride was gorgeous~ beautiful sunset!! Tomorrow we head to Pollsmoor (sp?) Prison, the humongous prison where Mandela was held after Robben Island before being released to freedom... the Cape Flats YMCA runs groups there with adolescent boys in the juvenile unit so we will be observing there. Should be incredibly interesting.
Becky and I made it safely back to Cape Town tonight~ the ride was gorgeous~ beautiful sunset!! Tomorrow we head to Pollsmoor (sp?) Prison, the humongous prison where Mandela was held after Robben Island before being released to freedom... the Cape Flats YMCA runs groups there with adolescent boys in the juvenile unit so we will be observing there. Should be incredibly interesting.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Garden Route adventures....
Yesterday we took a drive out past Knysna to the Tsitsikamma National Park~ a beautiful nature reserve of rainforest, mountains, and incredible ocean views. We became totally transfixed by the waves exploding on this rock, it was an awesome sight, photos can't quite capture just how huge the explosions were, but it was absolutely gorgeous.
We also went to an Elephant Sanctuary to check out some African elephants... very cool! Below are a few of the ladies who have been saved by this sanctuary...
If you could see what was inside the mouth of this guy you'd gag...it's quite gross, but somehow incredibly intriguing! Believe it or not, his breath didn't stink!!
I'm trying to feed the baby-girl elephant (who was insanely cute) and the big one kept trying to steal it!
Check out Becky with the double-elephant-feeding techniques...
Okay... come on, you don't see this everyday! Becky and I hanging out with an 8 year old elephant! We got quite intimate with this guy... checked out the inside of his mouth (bizarre!), felt the bottom of his foot, fed him, pet him... he was adorable!! (albeit a little bit stinky.)
Today was a great day of exploring the little shops along the way from Knysna to Plett, visting Graeme's flower farm, checking out amazing ocean views, walking on the beach, and hanging out with Sarah Jane. Here we are! The wind-blown look is in style here... chilling on the beach!
Ate lunch at a wonderful Italian restaurant at the top of this staircase... needless to say, the view was priceless! It was a great place to talk and relax~ looking out over the Indian Ocean at the waves crashing on the rocks.
This view is in Plettenberg Bay~ a gorgeous little beachy town on the Garden Route. We pulled in just as the sun was starting to go down and saw a whale (maybe 2?) frolicking in the bay!! What a great treat...
And, last but not least... our amazing hosts for the past few days, our friends Sarah Jane and Graeme. Such great people who have opened their home to us, fed us, engrossed us in deep and interesting conversation and definitely made us feel right at home. Ubuntu has been alive and well during our visit with them...These are friends for life (and we hope to see them again before we leave...)
Tomorrow we head back to Cape Town to get back to work!! Vacation is over...
Love to all of you!!
Sidenote:
If you have not yet read "The Power of One" by Bruce Courtenay you need to run out to the bookstore right now and get it... Sarah Jane recommended it to me back in 2003 when we first met and it became my favorite book~ it's a wonderful story, set in South Africa~ all about ubuntu~ and the amazing ways people influence each other to become better people...
We also went to an Elephant Sanctuary to check out some African elephants... very cool! Below are a few of the ladies who have been saved by this sanctuary...
If you could see what was inside the mouth of this guy you'd gag...it's quite gross, but somehow incredibly intriguing! Believe it or not, his breath didn't stink!!
I'm trying to feed the baby-girl elephant (who was insanely cute) and the big one kept trying to steal it!
Check out Becky with the double-elephant-feeding techniques...
Okay... come on, you don't see this everyday! Becky and I hanging out with an 8 year old elephant! We got quite intimate with this guy... checked out the inside of his mouth (bizarre!), felt the bottom of his foot, fed him, pet him... he was adorable!! (albeit a little bit stinky.)
Today was a great day of exploring the little shops along the way from Knysna to Plett, visting Graeme's flower farm, checking out amazing ocean views, walking on the beach, and hanging out with Sarah Jane. Here we are! The wind-blown look is in style here... chilling on the beach!
Ate lunch at a wonderful Italian restaurant at the top of this staircase... needless to say, the view was priceless! It was a great place to talk and relax~ looking out over the Indian Ocean at the waves crashing on the rocks.
This view is in Plettenberg Bay~ a gorgeous little beachy town on the Garden Route. We pulled in just as the sun was starting to go down and saw a whale (maybe 2?) frolicking in the bay!! What a great treat...
And, last but not least... our amazing hosts for the past few days, our friends Sarah Jane and Graeme. Such great people who have opened their home to us, fed us, engrossed us in deep and interesting conversation and definitely made us feel right at home. Ubuntu has been alive and well during our visit with them...These are friends for life (and we hope to see them again before we leave...)
Tomorrow we head back to Cape Town to get back to work!! Vacation is over...Love to all of you!!
Sidenote:
If you have not yet read "The Power of One" by Bruce Courtenay you need to run out to the bookstore right now and get it... Sarah Jane recommended it to me back in 2003 when we first met and it became my favorite book~ it's a wonderful story, set in South Africa~ all about ubuntu~ and the amazing ways people influence each other to become better people...
How to leave a comment...
Rumor has it that many of you have no clue how to post on this blog to leave us messages... so here's a very quick tutorial, b/c we LOVE getting little notes ~ they keep us going!
At the bottom of each posting that we leave there is a little line that says "0 comments"...click on this. The comments page will come up (if others left comments you can read them there) and on that same page you are asked to sign in. If you have a GMAIL account, you can sign in with that. If you don't, you can "create an account" using your current email address. Just enter that, create a password and then post a comment! Then the next time, just enter that entire email address and password... that should do it.
No pressure. But we are in Africa. 1/2 way across the world... and WE MISS YOU! :)
At the bottom of each posting that we leave there is a little line that says "0 comments"...click on this. The comments page will come up (if others left comments you can read them there) and on that same page you are asked to sign in. If you have a GMAIL account, you can sign in with that. If you don't, you can "create an account" using your current email address. Just enter that, create a password and then post a comment! Then the next time, just enter that entire email address and password... that should do it.
No pressure. But we are in Africa. 1/2 way across the world... and WE MISS YOU! :)
Monday, July 16, 2007
What a wonderful world....
Meet my new best friends: Below is Sadie (black lab) who is a sweet little girl who will melt you with her chocolate brown eyes and snuggle anything with a heartbeat...enter G-Ball, a soulful old man who was visiting for the weekend.
If those two haven't done it for you (however I know Ann is already in love with Sadie since she is basically Sarah's less neurotic twin) meet Rusty, a rambunctious adolescent boy with farts that will make your eyelashes curl! Don't be fooled however, this little heart breaker spent my first night in Knysna spooning with me in a twin sized bed.
Now for the serene getaway that is Sarah Jane and Graham's home. They live at the top of a hill overlooking a valley of Knysna. Their home (my dream home) is a perfect log cabin complete with a porcelains tub in the master bedroom. Let's just say that when Susannah and I arrived on Saturday night you would have thought we won the lottery. To get an idea of just how magical this haven is, look at their back yard....
and the beautiful architecture
and the view from their porch...
the living room and kitchen, sweetly decorated by Sarah
and lastly, where we are resting our heads until Wednesday....
Needless to say, we are in heaven.
I'll be back tomorrow morning to tell you all about our day with 40 foot waves and elephants!!!
If those two haven't done it for you (however I know Ann is already in love with Sadie since she is basically Sarah's less neurotic twin) meet Rusty, a rambunctious adolescent boy with farts that will make your eyelashes curl! Don't be fooled however, this little heart breaker spent my first night in Knysna spooning with me in a twin sized bed.
Now for the serene getaway that is Sarah Jane and Graham's home. They live at the top of a hill overlooking a valley of Knysna. Their home (my dream home) is a perfect log cabin complete with a porcelains tub in the master bedroom. Let's just say that when Susannah and I arrived on Saturday night you would have thought we won the lottery. To get an idea of just how magical this haven is, look at their back yard....
and the beautiful architecture
and the view from their porch...
the living room and kitchen, sweetly decorated by Sarah
and lastly, where we are resting our heads until Wednesday....
Needless to say, we are in heaven.
I'll be back tomorrow morning to tell you all about our day with 40 foot waves and elephants!!!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Freaky Friday...
Howzit Everyone?? It's Friday the 13th... the end of a very interesting week here in Cape Flats!
We had our last night of teen programme in Heinz Park tonight. We were supposed to have a dance party, however, we ended up without a soundsystem, so there was no music... as South Africans say: "Shame!" It was, in a way, a classic ending to a week filled with such mixups, glitches, etc. which are, apparently, par for the course around here when you are trying to do something big with very few resources.
We did have one day of intense rain this week. While that doesn't seem like much, it's quite hectic when you consider the structures that many people in Cape Flats live in. I cannot imagine what it is like when they have continuous storms here. It must completely debilitate the place. Just in terms of the basic life issues~ having to use the bathroom (which is outside) having to get water (which is outside) having major leaks in your roof, having drainage issues b/c there is no floor, etc..Not to mention, that it gets quite cold at night (it is winter here...) and no one has insulated houses. There are so many things that we take for granted living where and how we live...
Last night Monique took us to a launch party for a film that another non-profit created. The group is called P.O.V. (Point of View) and you can check them out online at www.povproject.com. The film is a 20minute piece around HIV/AIDS awareness~ very cool. All the crew was at the party and there were2 hip-hop duos from Guguletu (a huge township) that performed, as well as an amazing dance group. It was great to be out in Cape Town to see this different little slice of life. Also very cool to hear guys rapping in Xhosa!!!
Tomorrow we are headed towards Knysna on the Garden Route, to visit an old Woodstock friend, Sarah Jane Klempter. Sarah Jane came over from South Africa to work as a counselor at Camp Woodstock in 2003... although I didn't work with her, I got to know her while I was there visiting and we became good friends and have kept in touch over these past 4 years. I cannot wait to see her!! Becky and I will stay with her for a few days and explore that area a bit... we'll return to Cape Flats in the middle of next week.
While I'm sad to leave, it also seems a good time for us to step back and process through a lot of what we have experienced and learned to this point. Between the incredible cultural differences and the dynamics of working at the Y, we have a lot to talk about and understand!!! Needless to say, we are both learning a great deal, not only about South Africa, but about ourselves as well.
This is an adventure on so many levels...
Okay, hope you are all well!! It's so AMAZING to hear from you all(even people we don't know!) on the blog, so if you're reading and haven't sent a message, please do!! Hope you are all surviving the summer...rumor has it that there's a heatwave in Hartford.
Much much love to you!
We had our last night of teen programme in Heinz Park tonight. We were supposed to have a dance party, however, we ended up without a soundsystem, so there was no music... as South Africans say: "Shame!" It was, in a way, a classic ending to a week filled with such mixups, glitches, etc. which are, apparently, par for the course around here when you are trying to do something big with very few resources.
We did have one day of intense rain this week. While that doesn't seem like much, it's quite hectic when you consider the structures that many people in Cape Flats live in. I cannot imagine what it is like when they have continuous storms here. It must completely debilitate the place. Just in terms of the basic life issues~ having to use the bathroom (which is outside) having to get water (which is outside) having major leaks in your roof, having drainage issues b/c there is no floor, etc..Not to mention, that it gets quite cold at night (it is winter here...) and no one has insulated houses. There are so many things that we take for granted living where and how we live...
Last night Monique took us to a launch party for a film that another non-profit created. The group is called P.O.V. (Point of View) and you can check them out online at www.povproject.com. The film is a 20minute piece around HIV/AIDS awareness~ very cool. All the crew was at the party and there were2 hip-hop duos from Guguletu (a huge township) that performed, as well as an amazing dance group. It was great to be out in Cape Town to see this different little slice of life. Also very cool to hear guys rapping in Xhosa!!!
Tomorrow we are headed towards Knysna on the Garden Route, to visit an old Woodstock friend, Sarah Jane Klempter. Sarah Jane came over from South Africa to work as a counselor at Camp Woodstock in 2003... although I didn't work with her, I got to know her while I was there visiting and we became good friends and have kept in touch over these past 4 years. I cannot wait to see her!! Becky and I will stay with her for a few days and explore that area a bit... we'll return to Cape Flats in the middle of next week.
While I'm sad to leave, it also seems a good time for us to step back and process through a lot of what we have experienced and learned to this point. Between the incredible cultural differences and the dynamics of working at the Y, we have a lot to talk about and understand!!! Needless to say, we are both learning a great deal, not only about South Africa, but about ourselves as well.
This is an adventure on so many levels...
Okay, hope you are all well!! It's so AMAZING to hear from you all(even people we don't know!) on the blog, so if you're reading and haven't sent a message, please do!! Hope you are all surviving the summer...rumor has it that there's a heatwave in Hartford.
Much much love to you!
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