Last week, I was at Jubilee and started to feel overwhelmed. I grabbed Darlene and was talking (well, more crying on her, but still talking) about what I was feeling and struggling with. She stated that she really thought I needed to move out of where I was; that is was too isolating an environment for me, and I couldn't relax there due to what all was occurring in the house. About an hour later, Holly and Stacey, another girl in her mid-20s, said I could move in with them. Stacey works at Jubs, and so I can go with her to the building, like Holly does. It was definitely God opening up a door. I'm planning to move in tonight! The last few days were a bit overwhelming; I had just gotten my bearings where I was, and am now having to figure out how to get places and such again. I know this will be an easier transition, but the past few days I've been having the same feelings as when I first arrived and trying to figure everything out. As I packed up my room last night though, I started getting really excited about it. After moving in, Holly and another friend and I are going out to a chick flick and drinks to celebrate :)
This is a good move; I'll be in a supportive environment with Holly, who is going through similar feelings that I am in leaving home and being a new country. It's a more quiet and safe area, and I'll have a place I can feel at home in, and can sit in the living room or cook. I will be losing internet, but Monday-Fridays I will be on a every day whether at Jubilee or on campus. At nighttime is when everyone is awake back home though! It may be a silly thing to be sad about, but I will miss being able to contact people more easily. It was very kind of God to give me internet at my place this first month ( I wasn't supposed to have it, and it suddenly appeared) to help me with the transition time.
A few points I could really use prayer on:
1) Transporation: On Tuesdays, I can get a lift from Stacey to the bus stop on her way to the building.Mondays no one is at the building though, and being a more suburban area where I am, I'm not sure how to get to campus on Mondays. I'm trying not to be too stressed about it, but I am a little worried; private cabs are safe and reliable but VERY expensive here sinceI'd be going a far way (about 50 dollars or so). This is a major thing I could be using prayer for. I still don't know what I am going to do yet :\
2) Darlene and I were talking this morning, and she was saying that she really wanted this to be a turning point for me. Despite seeing many things and all the adventure and good things out of this last month and a half, it has also been a REALLY difficult time for me. I've been discouraged, exhausted, and fearful alot, and with no help from UWC, it's been a rough go of it in many ways. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything, but it's just been really hard, more than I've let on to anyone back home. I really am praying for this to be kind of fresh start, that things would seem a little brighter and more do-able now and less overwhelming. She said I have had a rough time, which was encouraging to hear from someone who lives here and can testify that it's not just an American who isn't used to life here.
Thank you guys!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The ebbs and flows of culture shock
Whenever I've heard culture shock described, or at least how I always thought of it in my mind prior to this trip, it's always when you arrive somewhere, you are faced with this culture shock. As you go along a few weeks, you adjust and adapt and the shock is no more. I feel as though it's been a bit different here though.
Holly, a girl here from England, and I were discussing this over smoothies (seriously, Cape Town knows how to do smoothies; they are so tasty!). We discovered we were both feeling the same thing, where there are a lot of things that are similiar to home, or that we can easily relate it to back home.."ooh ok, this (insert item) is like this thing back home!" I think it's a way to familiarize or make you feel like you're in a little bit more control. That will be the case for a few days or longer, then you will see something or hear something that stuns you as you realize this is NOTHING like home. You can go to City Centre (what they call downtown) or to a mall or to a touristy beach and think you are in England or America. Then later that day you can talk to a person in a shop and hear their atrocious story, and feel completely overwhelmed.
This past Friday, I was talking to man waiting to be seen at the health clinic. As I asked him questions and got to know him, I couldn't believe his situation: He was from Congo, got married last January and had a degree in Chemistry. That March he lost his job; his wife was then pregnant. Seven months in, she lost the baby, and immediately wanted to become pregnant again, even though he had not found work. In November, he left hoping to find a job in Cape Town, but couldn't find anything due to his foreign status. He wanted to go home to his wife but had no way to get home. Just 30, his eyes were failing him..I could see black lines in his eyes, and he said he had to wear sunglasses outside constantly or his eyes would cry. During his consultation, a screw came out of his sunglasses. He kept trying to fit the tiny screw back in; he HAD to have sunglasses. If I had mine with me I would've given him mine; I so wanted to do something as simple as giving him sunglasses. As I prayed with him for a job or money to go home,for comfort as he misses his wife, for healings for his eyes, it almost was too much. I had to excuse myself right afterwards and go try to get myself under control. The afternoon before I had gone to the city center to ask questions for a video Jubilee shows before the message. High rise buildings and businessman and women hustling around, not too much different than St. Louis. This man's story? NOTHING like St. Louis.
It truly here is so different here, and just when I'm about to think I'm getting the hang out life here, something comes and completely knocks me off guard. Holly and I both agreed that this is how it would be for us our whole time here; not a massive shock when we first arrived, but waves that come and go during our time. It's been a struggle for me to put into words for everyone back home, because nothing I can really say can convey it. I find myself sitting down to a blank page and don't even know where to start, so hopefully this will do.
Holly, a girl here from England, and I were discussing this over smoothies (seriously, Cape Town knows how to do smoothies; they are so tasty!). We discovered we were both feeling the same thing, where there are a lot of things that are similiar to home, or that we can easily relate it to back home.."ooh ok, this (insert item) is like this thing back home!" I think it's a way to familiarize or make you feel like you're in a little bit more control. That will be the case for a few days or longer, then you will see something or hear something that stuns you as you realize this is NOTHING like home. You can go to City Centre (what they call downtown) or to a mall or to a touristy beach and think you are in England or America. Then later that day you can talk to a person in a shop and hear their atrocious story, and feel completely overwhelmed.
This past Friday, I was talking to man waiting to be seen at the health clinic. As I asked him questions and got to know him, I couldn't believe his situation: He was from Congo, got married last January and had a degree in Chemistry. That March he lost his job; his wife was then pregnant. Seven months in, she lost the baby, and immediately wanted to become pregnant again, even though he had not found work. In November, he left hoping to find a job in Cape Town, but couldn't find anything due to his foreign status. He wanted to go home to his wife but had no way to get home. Just 30, his eyes were failing him..I could see black lines in his eyes, and he said he had to wear sunglasses outside constantly or his eyes would cry. During his consultation, a screw came out of his sunglasses. He kept trying to fit the tiny screw back in; he HAD to have sunglasses. If I had mine with me I would've given him mine; I so wanted to do something as simple as giving him sunglasses. As I prayed with him for a job or money to go home,for comfort as he misses his wife, for healings for his eyes, it almost was too much. I had to excuse myself right afterwards and go try to get myself under control. The afternoon before I had gone to the city center to ask questions for a video Jubilee shows before the message. High rise buildings and businessman and women hustling around, not too much different than St. Louis. This man's story? NOTHING like St. Louis.
It truly here is so different here, and just when I'm about to think I'm getting the hang out life here, something comes and completely knocks me off guard. Holly and I both agreed that this is how it would be for us our whole time here; not a massive shock when we first arrived, but waves that come and go during our time. It's been a struggle for me to put into words for everyone back home, because nothing I can really say can convey it. I find myself sitting down to a blank page and don't even know where to start, so hopefully this will do.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
One month in...
A month ago today I left St. Louis off to the far far away place of Cape Town! I've been asked if it has seemed long or short, and in all honesty, I don't really know. In one sense, I feel like "wow, already a month, ok", but then I think about how I left right after Mobilise. Mobilise seems so so long ago to me now, with the month that I've had since then, so I don't really know how I feel about it.
Things have been overall going well. Mondays and Tuesdays are my most difficult days for me. Even though the last 2 weeks has been fine and noneventful going to campus, I still wake up with a sort of anxiousness about what the day will be like. I also feel more overwhelmed and alone on those days, but in it God is teaching me alot about myself and also about Him.
I've done some sightseeing, but there are many things I still want to do. It's easy for me to get a little impatient or put pressure on myself, but I'm learning that there are things that God wants me to do here right now, and I'll see everything in time. I know as I continue to make friends, those things will naturally happen, and by the time school is over, whatever I have left to see I'll start recruiting friends to do it with me :). I think there is pressure on students who go abroad to "make the most of their time" and "see the world", that I feel like I need to be doing more. However, God really showed me the other day that I am experiencing what actual life is like in Cape Town by being in this community and sharing life with them. Coming with other students, being friends only with them and seeing only the touristy things, I wouldn't actually get a sense of what it's really like here. So, ultimately, I'm getting a better experience through just being about what God has for me.
Along the lines of sightseeing though, next month I am going to Durban for Eater break! I'm really excited. Sarah, a girl my age here at Jubilee, invited me back to her home there along with a few other girls. Durban is on the eastern cape, so the opposite side of South Africa, on the Indian ocean! It also is close to the beautiful Drakensburg Mountains, where we will be going up! It's really a quick decision; she invited me on Thursday, and I booked my flight on Monday.
Alright, time to go...on to month 2!
Things have been overall going well. Mondays and Tuesdays are my most difficult days for me. Even though the last 2 weeks has been fine and noneventful going to campus, I still wake up with a sort of anxiousness about what the day will be like. I also feel more overwhelmed and alone on those days, but in it God is teaching me alot about myself and also about Him.
I've done some sightseeing, but there are many things I still want to do. It's easy for me to get a little impatient or put pressure on myself, but I'm learning that there are things that God wants me to do here right now, and I'll see everything in time. I know as I continue to make friends, those things will naturally happen, and by the time school is over, whatever I have left to see I'll start recruiting friends to do it with me :). I think there is pressure on students who go abroad to "make the most of their time" and "see the world", that I feel like I need to be doing more. However, God really showed me the other day that I am experiencing what actual life is like in Cape Town by being in this community and sharing life with them. Coming with other students, being friends only with them and seeing only the touristy things, I wouldn't actually get a sense of what it's really like here. So, ultimately, I'm getting a better experience through just being about what God has for me.
Along the lines of sightseeing though, next month I am going to Durban for Eater break! I'm really excited. Sarah, a girl my age here at Jubilee, invited me back to her home there along with a few other girls. Durban is on the eastern cape, so the opposite side of South Africa, on the Indian ocean! It also is close to the beautiful Drakensburg Mountains, where we will be going up! It's really a quick decision; she invited me on Thursday, and I booked my flight on Monday.
Alright, time to go...on to month 2!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Everyday Life in Cape Town
So here are random descriptions, observations, etc. etc. about Cape Town...
-It is a very WINDY city!! Especially in Obs, my area of town; it's incredibly windy. All the women know to hold onto their skirt or dress as they walk around, and I haven't even bothered to style my hair in any sort of way that wind could mess it up.
-Not all, but the majority of keys are skeleton keys..meaning they actually look like those old-school keys, and work like them too. I'm just now getting used to turning the key all the way around in my front gate and door, instead of turning it back to the right.
--There is a point when you're driving through the mountains that you can look in front of you and see the Atlantic Ocean, and look behind you and see the Indian ocean. Two oceans at the same time. Incredible.
-Food is overall cheaper here, but most clothing places are more expensive than the US. It's the only time in my life where going out to eat is actually cheaper than grocery shopping; it will be a rude awakening when I go home!I am actually really liking the food; it all tastes a lot fresher here. One of my favorite foods back home is Greek yogurt,but its about 2.5 more times expensive than regular yogurt. Here it's not at all! So I get a quart of Greek yogurt (yoghurt here)and have some every morning! The strangest fruit I've eaten yet is a litchi. It's a small maroon fruit with a hard, kind of prickly shell. You peel it and inside is a white, fleshy little fruit that you can just eat in a few bites and discard the seed. It's tasty though!
-I take a taxi, or minibus, to UWC on Monday and Tuesdays. It's hot, and it takes forever to get there,but in a sense I feel like I'm getting more of a cultural experience, or what life is like for South Africans, by doing this. They fill these buses in as many seats as can hold, and we're off, starting and stopping, whistling to people walking on the street to see if they want on. Not the most safe driving,but I just go with it.
-Alot of people here say "Howzit?" kind of as our "whats up?" It still kind of catches me off guard, and while I've never said it, I almost always think "how's what?" before I remember just to reply how I would to a "whats up".
-Electricity is bought as you use it. Instead of signing a contract with a company, and getting a bill every month, you buy some at the local grocery, or petrol station (gas station). You buy as much rand's worth as you want, and they give you a bunch of numbers to plug in back in your box back home. No one informed us of this though, so we Americans figured it out when all our lights turned off one day :) It makes sense for the electrical company in this society, that way people can't pay bills at the end of the month--if they don't have the money, they don't buy any electricity.
-Since people try to make their electricity go father, hardly anyone here uses a dryer. All the laundry goes up on the line outside. As silly as it is, I really do kind of miss the convenience of just putting my clothes in a dryer, and them being soft and not stiff. The nice weather here allows for them to dry quickly though.
-Same goes with phones, you buy "airtime" as you go. You can get airtime anywhere--grocers, convenience stores, petrol stations. You don't use any airtime when someone calls you, but you do if you call anyone. Texting is alot cheaper option here, and everyone texts. However, its called "Sms"; I'm starting to get the hang of it to say "I'll sms them" instead of "Ill text them"
-When telling the time here, it's always "Half past" or "quarter till". You wouldn't say, "let's meet at 9:15" but "let's meet at quarter past nine". There's also time..and then there's Africa time. For someone who generally has never liked being late, I'm realizing how really everyone is always late here, and that's Africa time. Classes and formal meetings start on time, but that's about it.
-Internet is still more of a luxury here, and is by far the most expensive thing I spend my money on. It's a bit of an adjustment for Americans and Europeans who are used to unlimited bandwidth when we get here, because it's not unlimited here! You buy an amount each month, and when that's used up, then you're out of luck. You simply can't watch alot of youtube videos or listen to music online, because it uses so much bandwidth. My skyping has also had to be really rationed, as that uses alot of megabytes. This is my least favorite thing so far.
-I was told a few weeks ago, "Cape Town has a weather pattern, and then Table mountain has an entirely different one". That's really true, it can be the bluest, sunniest day, but when you look up to the mountain, see it covered in clouds and it looks really stormy..but regardless of clouds or sun, it is the most majestic thing I think I've ever seen.
-It is a very WINDY city!! Especially in Obs, my area of town; it's incredibly windy. All the women know to hold onto their skirt or dress as they walk around, and I haven't even bothered to style my hair in any sort of way that wind could mess it up.
-Not all, but the majority of keys are skeleton keys..meaning they actually look like those old-school keys, and work like them too. I'm just now getting used to turning the key all the way around in my front gate and door, instead of turning it back to the right.
--There is a point when you're driving through the mountains that you can look in front of you and see the Atlantic Ocean, and look behind you and see the Indian ocean. Two oceans at the same time. Incredible.
-Food is overall cheaper here, but most clothing places are more expensive than the US. It's the only time in my life where going out to eat is actually cheaper than grocery shopping; it will be a rude awakening when I go home!I am actually really liking the food; it all tastes a lot fresher here. One of my favorite foods back home is Greek yogurt,but its about 2.5 more times expensive than regular yogurt. Here it's not at all! So I get a quart of Greek yogurt (yoghurt here)and have some every morning! The strangest fruit I've eaten yet is a litchi. It's a small maroon fruit with a hard, kind of prickly shell. You peel it and inside is a white, fleshy little fruit that you can just eat in a few bites and discard the seed. It's tasty though!
-I take a taxi, or minibus, to UWC on Monday and Tuesdays. It's hot, and it takes forever to get there,but in a sense I feel like I'm getting more of a cultural experience, or what life is like for South Africans, by doing this. They fill these buses in as many seats as can hold, and we're off, starting and stopping, whistling to people walking on the street to see if they want on. Not the most safe driving,but I just go with it.
-Alot of people here say "Howzit?" kind of as our "whats up?" It still kind of catches me off guard, and while I've never said it, I almost always think "how's what?" before I remember just to reply how I would to a "whats up".
-Electricity is bought as you use it. Instead of signing a contract with a company, and getting a bill every month, you buy some at the local grocery, or petrol station (gas station). You buy as much rand's worth as you want, and they give you a bunch of numbers to plug in back in your box back home. No one informed us of this though, so we Americans figured it out when all our lights turned off one day :) It makes sense for the electrical company in this society, that way people can't pay bills at the end of the month--if they don't have the money, they don't buy any electricity.
-Since people try to make their electricity go father, hardly anyone here uses a dryer. All the laundry goes up on the line outside. As silly as it is, I really do kind of miss the convenience of just putting my clothes in a dryer, and them being soft and not stiff. The nice weather here allows for them to dry quickly though.
-Same goes with phones, you buy "airtime" as you go. You can get airtime anywhere--grocers, convenience stores, petrol stations. You don't use any airtime when someone calls you, but you do if you call anyone. Texting is alot cheaper option here, and everyone texts. However, its called "Sms"; I'm starting to get the hang of it to say "I'll sms them" instead of "Ill text them"
-When telling the time here, it's always "Half past" or "quarter till". You wouldn't say, "let's meet at 9:15" but "let's meet at quarter past nine". There's also time..and then there's Africa time. For someone who generally has never liked being late, I'm realizing how really everyone is always late here, and that's Africa time. Classes and formal meetings start on time, but that's about it.
-Internet is still more of a luxury here, and is by far the most expensive thing I spend my money on. It's a bit of an adjustment for Americans and Europeans who are used to unlimited bandwidth when we get here, because it's not unlimited here! You buy an amount each month, and when that's used up, then you're out of luck. You simply can't watch alot of youtube videos or listen to music online, because it uses so much bandwidth. My skyping has also had to be really rationed, as that uses alot of megabytes. This is my least favorite thing so far.
-I was told a few weeks ago, "Cape Town has a weather pattern, and then Table mountain has an entirely different one". That's really true, it can be the bluest, sunniest day, but when you look up to the mountain, see it covered in clouds and it looks really stormy..but regardless of clouds or sun, it is the most majestic thing I think I've ever seen.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Mark Driscoll is coming to town!
So to give a little update on my days, Monday and Tuesday I'm at UWC for classes. On Wednesday and Thursday I am volunteering at Jubilee. We got a desk and a computer all set up for me yesterday...well, by "we", I mean Liam (an fyp-er) putting it all together and me telling him good job. I will mainly be doing admin and prep work for March 9-10, when Mark Driscoll will be here at Jubilee! It's a multi-church leadership conference called Urban Force here in Cape Town. Jubilee is hosting the day events, and I am going to be able to go! I'm so excited that I a) Get to help with the work for this conference, and b) that I get the opportunity yo listen to pj Smyth and Mark Driscoll and other leaders!
On Fridays I'm working at the health clinic at Jubilee. I've only been twice thus far, but I really love it. The staff meets about an hour before the clinic opens to pray and encourage one another; those mornings have been really strengthening for me. Then the patients, some with appointments, some walk-ins, start arriving. I go in with the nurse and just observe during the consultation, praying for the patient silently. At the end,every patient is asked, "What would you like Jesus to do for you?" This is based on Mark 10, when Jesus asks the blind man Bartimeaus what he wanted Him to do for him. We then pray for them. This is my favorite part; the thought of just asking a stranger in the US what I can pray for them for is mildly terrifying, so I know exercsing this spiritual muscle and learning to stepping out in faith here will be really good for me.
So that's what my days Monday-Friday look like. It's nice to have a bit of schedule now; I'm making friends but it's really easy for loneliness to try to seek its way in my heart, especially with my housing situation. I'm really learning to rely on God and that His time for me here may look different than I expected, but His time is the best possible time I could have here. Overall I'm really enjoying being here! I don't know how to end this, so to quote my sister Shannon, "Onward!"
On Fridays I'm working at the health clinic at Jubilee. I've only been twice thus far, but I really love it. The staff meets about an hour before the clinic opens to pray and encourage one another; those mornings have been really strengthening for me. Then the patients, some with appointments, some walk-ins, start arriving. I go in with the nurse and just observe during the consultation, praying for the patient silently. At the end,every patient is asked, "What would you like Jesus to do for you?" This is based on Mark 10, when Jesus asks the blind man Bartimeaus what he wanted Him to do for him. We then pray for them. This is my favorite part; the thought of just asking a stranger in the US what I can pray for them for is mildly terrifying, so I know exercsing this spiritual muscle and learning to stepping out in faith here will be really good for me.
So that's what my days Monday-Friday look like. It's nice to have a bit of schedule now; I'm making friends but it's really easy for loneliness to try to seek its way in my heart, especially with my housing situation. I'm really learning to rely on God and that His time for me here may look different than I expected, but His time is the best possible time I could have here. Overall I'm really enjoying being here! I don't know how to end this, so to quote my sister Shannon, "Onward!"
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The last couple days
Tuesday night I went to an Indian restaurant in City Centre with some folks from Jubilee. It was this massive place right next to the parliament building, an area of town that I hadn't seen yet. The architecture was really pretty, I'm not sure which influence that is from (British, Dutch, etc..) I already knew that I loved Indian food and was pondering what to get (besides Naan of course, I knew I'd be getting that!). I was recommended a dish called "Bunny chow", which is actually a South African meal. I haven't really had too many things that are uniquely South African yet, so I decided I'd better go with that. No, I didn't actually eat bunnies, I'm not entirely sure why it's called that. They take a loaf of bread and hollow the inside out and fill it with curry goodness--chicken and potatoes and some veggies. It was pretty spicy, but thankfully I am starting to be able to enjoy hotter foods these days. Along with garlic naan, I was royally full after eating a third of the meal. I just enjoyed the leftovers for lunch now. It was so good and authentic; I'll be eating there again before I leave!
Last night I went to a Lifegroup (the small groups at Jubilee) on UCT campus. Even though it was only a few months ago that I was doing the dorm thing, being back in a "res" felt all nostalgic to me! KK, the leader, signed me in as a guest just like we did back at Oak hall, and so many things were similar...it was weird to think that now that will be a memory of me after 2 1\2 years in Oak!
It's hot hot hot here, already more so than when I arrived. I've been hearing reports back home of how cold, snowy, and icy it's been...I will try to send some warmth your way! Missing everyone back home and everything familiar; not in a sense that I wish I was back there, but that I wish I could bring you all here!
Last night I went to a Lifegroup (the small groups at Jubilee) on UCT campus. Even though it was only a few months ago that I was doing the dorm thing, being back in a "res" felt all nostalgic to me! KK, the leader, signed me in as a guest just like we did back at Oak hall, and so many things were similar...it was weird to think that now that will be a memory of me after 2 1\2 years in Oak!
It's hot hot hot here, already more so than when I arrived. I've been hearing reports back home of how cold, snowy, and icy it's been...I will try to send some warmth your way! Missing everyone back home and everything familiar; not in a sense that I wish I was back there, but that I wish I could bring you all here!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
South Africans love their meat..
In these last few weeks I've noticed in the grocery store more variety in terms of meat, lots of meat dishes at restaurants..just more meat in general than in the States. Not to mention they have Braiis (BBQs) every other day here! Well, this past Saturday, a group of us from Jubilee went to Mzolis, a massive meat restaurant in Gugulethu, a township on the edge of Cape. Myself, along with 3 new Fyp-ers (frontier-year project, a intern program run through Newfrontiers that serve the Church), were first-timers, and those who had gone before couldn't wait for us to experience it!
So we get to this township, and its packed with outside tables, live music, and lots of people wearing yellow hats. There was a stage where people could get up and dance, and man, the people here have serious moves! When it came to ordering, you go to this counter inside loaded with raw meat (vegetarions, stop reading here). Chicken, pork, beef, lamb, sausage..you name it, it's there. You pick out what you want and how much you want, and they put it in a big bowl. You then take it back to this insanely hot Braii room, where these fun guys take it and fire it up. 20 minutes later, I was carrying out a big bowl of cooked meat. And then you eat! It was incredibly messy but incredibly good. You had white pieces of bread you used as "plates", but you just dive in. It was a very cool cultural experience; there were all kinds of people there!
After we ate and watched more dancing, Liam and Holly (2 Fyp-ers) and myself wanted to walk around a little bit. We could only go down the street, however, before we started feeling unsafe and headed back to the crowd. It was crazy how a packed event could be going on, but just a block away could be really dangerous. All in all it was a really neat and fun event! I think I'm set on my meat eating for awhile now though...
*side note* I was gonna put pictures on here, but it takes awhile to upload with this bandwidth internet...you'll just have to look at them on facebook :)
So we get to this township, and its packed with outside tables, live music, and lots of people wearing yellow hats. There was a stage where people could get up and dance, and man, the people here have serious moves! When it came to ordering, you go to this counter inside loaded with raw meat (vegetarions, stop reading here). Chicken, pork, beef, lamb, sausage..you name it, it's there. You pick out what you want and how much you want, and they put it in a big bowl. You then take it back to this insanely hot Braii room, where these fun guys take it and fire it up. 20 minutes later, I was carrying out a big bowl of cooked meat. And then you eat! It was incredibly messy but incredibly good. You had white pieces of bread you used as "plates", but you just dive in. It was a very cool cultural experience; there were all kinds of people there!
After we ate and watched more dancing, Liam and Holly (2 Fyp-ers) and myself wanted to walk around a little bit. We could only go down the street, however, before we started feeling unsafe and headed back to the crowd. It was crazy how a packed event could be going on, but just a block away could be really dangerous. All in all it was a really neat and fun event! I think I'm set on my meat eating for awhile now though...
*side note* I was gonna put pictures on here, but it takes awhile to upload with this bandwidth internet...you'll just have to look at them on facebook :)
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Langa
I went to a township called Langa (I'm pretty sure that's how its spelled) today. I went with the volunteer overseer from Jubilee,Darlene. She has formed friendships with women over the last few years, and just goes to visit them. There was a sober excitement in me to go--I had read,seen, and written about townships over the years, so I was ready to actually see one. At the same time, there was hesitation as I knew it would be really hard. I know enough to know that hearing about something is entirely different than actually seeing it for yourself.
For those who aren't aware of what townships are, they are very very poor housing areas in South Africa, remnants of apartheid. Rape, violence, and murder are a everyday occurence there. Homes are shacks made of various scrap metal and plastic; some townships have running water and electricity, many don't. There's an incredible need for housing in this country, and that is never more evident than in the townships.
When we got there, I immediately was aware of the foul smell. We stepped through and over this little stream of water with trash and waste and starting walking in the dusty, sandy ground with glass shards all over. I kept looking at the barefoot children running around. It was really loud, with traffic and music blaring. We walked to the 'home' of Rose. It was a tiny shack, very very hot inside. She had a desk with some hair products on it. She had started a business in her home, being a hairdresser. Darlene asked her questions about her business; she said it was just up and down. Her scissors and whatnot kept getting stolen while she slept. She had 2 little beautiful boys who were sticking around close. Rose had had TB and had been very ill, near death, but was now making a good recovery. She didn't know how she would be getting food for her children right now though. When Darlene asked what we could pray for, she asked that people would need to get their hair cut and also a way for her to finish high school. She had failed grade 12 in 2005 (at this point I realized this mother wasn't much older than me). As we prayed for her, I was amazed at her bravery, courage, and trust in God despite such an awful livlihood.
We then went to visit Bilongwe. Darlene mentioned her name, and I was a little confused, because I had met her at Jubilee the day before; she worked in the clinic. Surely she didn't live in a township? But she did; we walked into a small room with a bed she shared with her two sons. We talked about her struggle with buying uniforms and paying school fees for her boys (all schools have uniforms here). Her one cord that stretched for miles that gave her power hadn't been working either. We prayed for her, and later on Darlene had told me that after Bilongwe had come to the Lord, she took one day a week for training, and after her training was completed, starting working at Jubilee in the clinic. Jubilee provided a taxi to pick her up. It was just unbelievable to me that a women I met yesterday at the building, whom I thought just came from a normal home, actually went back to a very loud, very violent place.
On our way home, the reality of what I had just seen started hitting me. It's impossible to explain, because anything I'd say would not convey the extreme depths of poverty and injustice I saw. Darlene knew the effect of seeing a township for the first time, and prayed for me when we got back to the building. As I walked back to my flat, I just cried the whole way. The depths of my selfishness and how I worry about superficial things when these people have nothing was hugely evident to me. Also I struggled with the injustice I saw. I went for a run when I got back, wrestling with God-knowing that He is their provider, but struggling to see it. Rose is a child of God just like I am, yet how come I have so much? What truly was amazing to me though, was their resilience and bravery and trust in God despite how things appear. I actually have much to learn from them. I am so glad I have seen a township now, despite the heartwrenching ordeal that is was. I'm still sorting through my emotions and feelings over the whole experience.
For those who aren't aware of what townships are, they are very very poor housing areas in South Africa, remnants of apartheid. Rape, violence, and murder are a everyday occurence there. Homes are shacks made of various scrap metal and plastic; some townships have running water and electricity, many don't. There's an incredible need for housing in this country, and that is never more evident than in the townships.
When we got there, I immediately was aware of the foul smell. We stepped through and over this little stream of water with trash and waste and starting walking in the dusty, sandy ground with glass shards all over. I kept looking at the barefoot children running around. It was really loud, with traffic and music blaring. We walked to the 'home' of Rose. It was a tiny shack, very very hot inside. She had a desk with some hair products on it. She had started a business in her home, being a hairdresser. Darlene asked her questions about her business; she said it was just up and down. Her scissors and whatnot kept getting stolen while she slept. She had 2 little beautiful boys who were sticking around close. Rose had had TB and had been very ill, near death, but was now making a good recovery. She didn't know how she would be getting food for her children right now though. When Darlene asked what we could pray for, she asked that people would need to get their hair cut and also a way for her to finish high school. She had failed grade 12 in 2005 (at this point I realized this mother wasn't much older than me). As we prayed for her, I was amazed at her bravery, courage, and trust in God despite such an awful livlihood.
We then went to visit Bilongwe. Darlene mentioned her name, and I was a little confused, because I had met her at Jubilee the day before; she worked in the clinic. Surely she didn't live in a township? But she did; we walked into a small room with a bed she shared with her two sons. We talked about her struggle with buying uniforms and paying school fees for her boys (all schools have uniforms here). Her one cord that stretched for miles that gave her power hadn't been working either. We prayed for her, and later on Darlene had told me that after Bilongwe had come to the Lord, she took one day a week for training, and after her training was completed, starting working at Jubilee in the clinic. Jubilee provided a taxi to pick her up. It was just unbelievable to me that a women I met yesterday at the building, whom I thought just came from a normal home, actually went back to a very loud, very violent place.
On our way home, the reality of what I had just seen started hitting me. It's impossible to explain, because anything I'd say would not convey the extreme depths of poverty and injustice I saw. Darlene knew the effect of seeing a township for the first time, and prayed for me when we got back to the building. As I walked back to my flat, I just cried the whole way. The depths of my selfishness and how I worry about superficial things when these people have nothing was hugely evident to me. Also I struggled with the injustice I saw. I went for a run when I got back, wrestling with God-knowing that He is their provider, but struggling to see it. Rose is a child of God just like I am, yet how come I have so much? What truly was amazing to me though, was their resilience and bravery and trust in God despite how things appear. I actually have much to learn from them. I am so glad I have seen a township now, despite the heartwrenching ordeal that is was. I'm still sorting through my emotions and feelings over the whole experience.
Monday, February 1, 2010
21st Birthday weekend
Hey guys,
Mixing it up a little bit, I did a video blog to fill you in on my birthday weekend!
Mixing it up a little bit, I did a video blog to fill you in on my birthday weekend!
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