Middle of Summer Revelations

Hello Everyone!

I am back physically into my previous lifestyle, but not mentally. I have been spending time at home, at our family cabin, and working too many hours. At our cabin in Northern Wisconsin (Hayward to be exact) I made a South African dinner and displayed my 400+ photos of my adventures. I taught my family some Khosa words and explained what I learned on my trip. I could have talked all night. Since then I have been working on a team of eight to plan the logistics of a three day Leadership Symposium.

Yesterday was the first day and it was busy, fun, and full of laughter. As I was watching people eat and making sure the food would not run out, I had been deep in thought. Kate, one of the Leadership Minor Alum has been working in Tanzania. We talked about South Africa because she also had been on the same trip. It was great to talk to someone who had been on the trip but not part of my group. She had some great questions and could relate to what I was going through. I felt so much better after talking to her and seeing her was great! She loves her work in Tanzania, and gave me hope that I can still go back to South Africa someday. Instead of "If I go back to Cape Town, South Africa, the question is when!"

My next revelation a few hours after this was the realization of who I am right now and how to remember what I learned and how to use it in everyday life. I realized I am not only a U of M student, a leader, a daughter, a sister, a chef wannabe, a dreamer with strong intentions, but an Ambassador for South Africa. Instead of dwelling on what I could have done or what I will do, right now I am focusing on keeping my stories alive and sharing my study abroad experience with as many people as I can. Telling people and inspiring them to go on their own study abroad experience is one thing I can do. No matter what the cost: financial or personal, everyone needs to get out of the country and really see, feel, and share what they saw.

I need to keep sharing and laughing, remembering and pulling those feelings out. I have been hiding how much I miss it. This weekend will be our first of many South Africa Leadership Reunion parties and I am dying to see everyone! It will be great to connect again and get things in the open that people have been feeling.

It is hard to get right back into things, it has been harder than any midterm, or final that I hope I never have to do again. I am still adjusting and will never be done learning and growing from this experience. I am so happy to have had this experience and even though I am pretty broke, I will survive and thrive after this journey of my life.

I love everyone and THANK YOU for the unconditional support.

Sunday June 5, Free day

Today is our first official free day. Last night we set up a taxi to go to church. I am excited to go back to see our host family. We caught the taxi at 9:20 and got a little lost on the way to JL Zwane but our driver stopped and asked. Once we started recognizing things, we figured it out. We arrived early so we talked with some of our old friends. The singing started at about quarter to 10 and I love this part. The singing is so empowering and beautiful. It makes me want to dance and sing no matter how horrible I sound. The sermon was about listening and being present in the community. One part was about abandoning the mindset around HIV/Aids and the poverty that comes along with it. Spiwo seemed very passionate about this topic today and when he talked to us last Friday. Getting people to let go of the attitude of powerlessness. They can pull through with the strength they have.

After church and a quick lunch at Obs Café, Aaron, Lindsay, Catherine, Suzie and I went to a local mall in Aaron’s rental car. He was pretty quick for the Cape Town traffic and its craziness. We looked around for a while and got a snack. It was interesting to not have a set schedule and places to be 24 hours of the day. I liked it, yet it was an interesting contrast from the regimented life. Dinner was later on that night and we had some group discussion time. Then bed and on to a new Monday.

Gugulethu to Wine saturday June 4

Today we woke up early to go on a few wine tours. The first tour is Lourensford Wine Estate in Helderberg. It was a gorgeous place and I knew it would be fun. First we stopped and tried some coffee and we needed it. After a long busy emotional week in Gugulethu, I needed some coffee. It was delicious, so I bought some. We were supposed to get a cheese tasting, but there was a miscommunication and it is closed. Next on to the wine tasting. We all were seated at a long table with 3 glasses of wine and 3 chocolates, oh and two biscuits to cleanse the pallet in between wines. We each tried them and expressed our opinions. No one bought any because we have two more to go to today. We hopped back in the big group van to Stellenbosch. The Spier Wine Estate was not just wine but much more! They have a rescue facility for cheetahs, owls, and other birds. Some of the group paid a little extra to go pet the cheetahs. It looked cool, but just being next to cheetahs was enough for me. They are one of my favorite on land animal since doing a project on them in like fifth grade. They are gorgeous felines! I love cats, big cats, small cats, and any cat! We walked through the market to look for souvenirs and gifts. We had lunch at Eight the restaurant in the estate. I had a zucchini soufflé with creamy tomato sauce and it was amazing!!!! A little time to chat and digest then we crawl back in the van to our last stop: Solms Wine Estate in Franshoek. By this time, the wine had gotten to my head, I was a little headachy and tired. At the last wine estate we got a social history and tour of the museum. It was an interesting and rich history, I took some pictures of the mountainous background with the winery as the focus. It was a gorgeous place. Shortly after the tour we sampled 10 wines, some sparkling and one cider. Most of us bought some wine to transport home. All back in the van for a quick nap on the way home. Supper and night blogging in Room 1.

The transition from Gugulethu right into a Wine Tour day was interesting. We were all tired and trying to process everything so it was a good quick transition. But I might have liked a group debrief or conversation after the wine tour or Friday night to talk about it. These feelings are confusing and all mixed up. I am exhausted and emotionally stressed. I want to enjoy the wine tours, but I keep thinking about our host families and all the food parcels we gave to people.

Our group bond has sort of split this week, but also grown stronger in a way because each person has a different way of coping. We can help each other through since we have become closer. A small division has occurred but we are not really sure why. But we are growing closer and closer as a group and it is amazing what we have overcome.

My host family, Suzie, Aaron, Mamela, Titi, and Riise

My list of words that come to mind when I think South Africa:

Spirit

Music

Strength

Poverty

Dogs

Delicious food

Family

Sick

Care-mental and physical

Time

Bit-by-bit

Faith

Patience

Talent

Dedication

Sanitation

Traffic accidents waiting to happen

Smiles all around

Week 2 reflection- Gugulethu

How to Eat an Elephant: Bit-by-Bit

~Spiwo

So the second week of our trip in Guguletu has been up, down, sideways and diagonal. It has been happy, sad, joyous, depressing, and mixture of everything. So I am going to try what I did for my first paper and describe the 6 senses of a human being. The whole home stay experience was everything and more! It was warm hearted, welcoming, thoughtful, and conversational. And many other things including they treated us like family, fed us like plenty of food, and gave us so much hospitality. The food, the new friends, the new family, the food parcels, and the fantastic experiences all over the emotional map.

The smells: The week was a combination of urine, yeast in bread, curry, chicken, rice, trash, musty, moldy, and a strong smell of antiseptic during the hospice visits. My nose was confused because the smell was so dank uncomfortable from last week’s ocean air and seagulls aroma. It just seems that these smells should not be in the same area. People should not have to live in these conditions that lead to mud and mold in their houses, shacks. No one should have to live in a shack. No one.

Taste: This week we had been having the best lunches and dinners at JL Zwane. It was a buffet of deliciousness. Which at times was hard to eat, when people living blocks away have not eaten for 24 hours or cannot afford to feed their 5 children. A few of the culinary aromas and recipes I wanted to bottle up were rice, spicy potatoes, chicken, milk tart, fat cooks, curry, mango juice, tea, and coffee, bacon, and eggs. All yummy foods that I wish I could take back with me. Going back to compare the first week: Riverview’s food is decent, but now having this traditional African food and substantial breakfasts is totally opposite of what we had at Riverview. It is also interesting because I felt like Riverview was trying to make us food that would let the feeling of being at home with American food. They did a pretty good job, but it is an interesting contrast.

Sight: I saw so many things that my mind could not wrap itself around. Seeing people live in little boxes that they called home made me feel continually sad. It was hard to think of going back to my apartment with a bathroom inside, a bed for one person, and only 4 people in a space that is 4 times the size of the shacks. Dogs with no leg or no ear were a common sight. Mud puddles for a road, no bigger than a sidewalk. I saw one house with one bed for 3 people to fit in with a TV and a dresser. Simple lives that people are satisfied with, but sometimes have no food. Watching families on the food parcel day line up for their pile of ingredients was heartbreaking. It was hard, but exciting to see people be excited to get their food, I have never been that excited to get food ever. I was realizing I should not take my food for granted or to have someone cook it for me.

In some families the children would cook for the parents because the parents were sick, or the eldest child would cook for the rest of the children because the parents are deceased. Children laughing, crying, singing, and saying “ulunga” which means white person, was a common occurrence this week also. Being the minority this week was something I never thought I would experience. Kids would chase us and take pictures, want to be in pictures with us, and wanted to know if we knew any celebrities. The singing at church was breathtaking and full of power and strength. It was astounding. We went back to church yesterday because I wanted to hear more singing. At each house party for dinner each night of the week, someone would sing or the radio would be turned on. Sometimes the mood of the music was the soundtrack of our visits. Children at the Rainbow after school program were loud but it was refreshing to see some kids, I have been missing my sisters this week so that help.

Touch: Soft blankets on a warm bed at Titi’s house, more than seven hugs a day by complete strangers, which I love. Touching stories by people so open to share their life stories to a large group of students. The community feeling really came out and it was real. I felt like part of the family and it was confirmed our last night, Thursday night, when Zukile told us we are part of the family now and are always welcome back in their homes. That is when the waterworks started, and then we started singing and dancing. When we were served food at JL Zwane or at the home stays, everything was clean and shiny.

Intuition: new face book friends that I will stay in contact with for sure, family community and I will miss my host family like my real family, the community dynamic is stronger than I have ever seen it anywhere. They share resources such as food and rides to work. The food parcel day really showed the community aspect, but I felt so guilty putting them together and knowing that some people might not get food parcels off the list. People were grateful to receive food parcels and thankful for the help to carry them outside. On the outside Guguletu looks happy and friendly, but on the inside the issue that plague this community have to be tackled bit by bit.

Being in Cape Town the first week and Guguletu the second week has been such a contrast of lifestyles and values. It has been an eye opening, emotional but inspiring week in Gugs. They are two very different places and you would almost think they are not in the same country. Cape Town is full of colorful people and students and working class people. 99% of Guguletu is a black community and all ages are running around living their lives. One of the hard things for me was to see their shacks be about the size of a dorm room for up to 7 people. Seeing them adapt and live in situations that seem so simple, but yet cramped and unbearable was difficult for me.

But the inspiring part was to see the joy and happiness at dinner when all of us were at Noxi’s, Toto’s, or Titi’s house and have us eat a Thanksgiving like meal every night was heartwarming and encouraging. If I were in this situation and had a party every night, I would be in my room on my bed crying. Watching these people push through the hunger, grief of death and dying, sickness, the long commutes to work was making me tired. I would not be able to live my life like that. One other thing that gets me is that when we leave, those people do not go away or get erased; they will still be there when I land back in Minneapolis airport. I am grateful for this experience and could talk to someone for hours about it and they would still not know what I felt or know how to replicate the moment when we gave Kwanele the card for “These numbers have faces.”

One thing I was surprised at but open to was the host families. That first hug from Titi was one of the best hugs I have gotten in a while. This family was so open and willing to share their lives with the students and their life story. It wasn’t perplexing the fact that people were willing to share that much but that some of the stories were so deep and saddening. My other thought is the guilt part of it and my obstacle of getting past it and finding a way to reflect on the “Now What” piece of leadership. I am struggling with how to spread awareness of Guguletu and its issues. Here is where the title of my paper comes in, How to Eat an Elephant, is little bit by bit.

Spiwo said this on Friday, and it hit a chord in my leadership mind. The hunger issue cannot be fixed overnight; it is a sustainable aspect and a nutritional nightmare. None of these issues can be fixed overnight and people think that donating money online will actually end up in someone’s wallet for grocery money. I do not know any stats of how much aid does end up in their pockets, but I feel like it is not that much. And that the money could go to alcohol or drugs is also a question. So my temporary answer is educating people here and in the United States about the stigmatism attached to poverty, AIDS, and the townships. Each issue is a part of the pie and contributes to the reasons why South Africa needs attention from people. And it is not attention is to take the time and read articles on the townships and come visit the beautiful mountain, but spend a day or two at JL Zwane or hospice visits. Medical care is not what it should be and if my mom were here or my grandpa could see how people are getting treated for their ailments, I would hope that we could set up a partnership to have a team of medical personnel.

I am extremely grateful and lucky to have had this experience. And it is not over yet. I am working on not feeling guilty, but thinking of them and listening to the story. Not forgetting this and writing down the details of each story to retell it to my friends and family at home is how I am going to share and reflect on my experience. I just cannot believe the differences between Cape Town and Guguletu, fifteen minutes apart and a world of poverty, family, and the strength of a community to pull through the reality of HIV and poverty.

Day 6 Friday, last day in Gugulethu =(

Today is my last day in the township of Gugulethu and I do not want to leave any of it. I want to bottle it up and carry it home with me, show my family and then get back on the plane and bring them here!

Breakfast at Titi’s-same deliciousness as always! This is our last trip to JL Zwane for this week. The first item today is to visit a township school for the disabled. The Thembalethu School for Children is pretty large school special needs children. We were given a tour of the classrooms and all the resources they provide for the children. They have three buses to pick the children up from miles away so they can have access to a good education. The school got grants for special computers that can help the immobile children to type. The computers have little joysticks/ pointers to help the child choose what he/she wants to do.

After the tour, their choir wanted to sing for us and they rushed out of class any way they could to come sing for us. It was beautiful and each one of them was so excited to sing for us. They were so joyous in singing and happy to be in school. They broke out dancing and clapping, and we started clapping and it was a happy morning. The word Thembalethu means “Our hope.” And it definitely showed through….

Reverend Spiwo wanted to chat with us when we got back so we sat in our circle and he asked us questions. He also wanted to hear how our week has been with the home stays, etc. During this conversation, I started thinking about how our last day, today was the day Spiwo wanted to talk to us. It wasn’t in the beginning when we got there, but at the end of the week. It kind of bugged me at the time, but now thinking about it, he probably just wanted to get the summary of our week. The person who welcomed us was Manelisi, the manager of JL Zwane. He did a wonderful job of adjusting us to the new environment and asking us throughout the week how things were going. Throughout the week our group had reflection times about what had happened during the day, Manelisi sat in and listened to them to observe our reactions. He is invested in us and cared about how at home we felt here at JL Zwane. He is funny and open with us. Most all of us are facebook friends with him and a few other JL Zwane staff.

Back to the Spiwo conversation: We asked him if JL Zwane has regular volunteers. He said that people don’t really volunteer on a regular basis because they expect something in return like meals, or clothing. Then we began talking about the mindset that most people have in this community around poverty and HIV/Aids. “How do you get to the point to believe it, or to overcome it?” This is his daily challenge with leadership in the congregation and community overall. With the food parcels and tourists coming in, people start to expect money or food and not everyone can give that. People pity this community and I do not like it one bit. People should not have to rely on donations to live. They have right to prosper in their own country that they fought for. This country made it through the Apartheid period. They deserve a high quality of life without the worries of HIV, TB, cancer and poverty. It is a mindset that people need to overcome. But the question is how? And I do not yet know the answer to this complex question.

Spiwo wants to change the involvement with women within the congregation. He wants to empower them and give them confidence so they can protect themselves and the people. This can contribute to nation building as a whole as a country. If the people are confident and empowered by God, by life, by whatever, the country can get anything they need.

We brought up the OpenArms of Minnesota partnership. The first thing he said is that it is very hard to manage the partnerships and keep a lasting relationship. The global partners or national partners want a specific time commitment and then they leave. Most of them have not lasted a year. That makes me disappointed in the honesty and reliability of the mission of each organization. The purity of intention is not strong enough and they do not make their feelings known. A quote that stuck out to me from Spiwo: how to tackle the issues of Africa-How do you eat an elephant? A little at a time, bit by bit.

The African worldview is not about materials. The African gift is about self and the gift of presence.

Lunch break, last one, sad face! Charlie a transgender member of the congregation came to talk to us next. We were curious about what support GLBT had in the community and congregation. Charlie told us that during her transformation into a male, she was not comfortable. After the surgeries and full transformation, the community accepted who he was. BUT, corrective rape is still a common occurrence in the area. People think that if you rape a lesbian, she will become heterosexual. This is a cruel practice and I cannot believe it happens. Period. This should not be happening anywhere in the world, let alone in a country where HIV/Aids is prevalent. This makes me sick.

As we say goodbye to JL Zwane, I am sad to see so many people I bonded with and built relationships with behind me. I will miss each and every one of them. I am still processing all that has happened, and this reflection process will not be over anytime soon.

Part II-Dinner and party at Noxie’s

It is our last potluck style dinner with our home stay families and friends. Lots of food, no surprise there and all yummy! We turned on the techno dance music and had a great time! I will never forget that night. Aaron made a speech on behalf of the students thank the host families and their beautiful hospitality. Zukile made a speech on behalf of the host families to display to all of us how much they enjoyed our company and insight. He told us that we are always family and always welcome back in there home. That is when I lost it and began to tear up. Lastly, a group picture and then back to Titi’s for the last night; I am so sad to leave all these beautiful hearts behind. I will miss them dearly for the rest of my life.

Day 5 Thursday in Gugulethu

Suzie’s 21^st Birthday!

Today we are taking a trip to a few homes to do hospice visits and watch the nurses clean the wounds. They only do home visits to each house three times a week and not on the weekends. Some of these people do not get their wounds cleaned for 2-3 days.

The first house we stopped at was a woman living with her son and she had had a stroke. She was immobile and her son takes care of her when the nurses cannot come. We were not there for very long because the son had moved her and bathed her.

To get to the second house, we had to drive up a rocky terrain that resembled a road, narrow and full of puddles and deep potholes. The second house was a young man of 32 years who was HIV positive. He had bedsores on his buttocks and his knee. They were down to the bone. I did not go see because I did not want to faint. He was in a dark room that was pretty small again and the house looked like a garage, you would not think someone was living in here until you walked up to it. The garage portion of the house is rented out during nightlife as a shebeen, a makeshift bar. This man is sick in bed right next to people drinking the night away. It makes me wonder if the people drinking know there is someone lying sick only feet away from them? Do they realize the care he needs everyday and that his family is hosting a bar just to pay for the medication?

The nurses and the head nurse was trying to force us to go see his wounds, but I could tell from the smell I was not ready for it. The smell was sickening and I have not gotten the smell out of my nose since. We learned that if the nurses run out of antiseptic they would clean the wounds with saltwater, okay ouch. I cannot imagine the pain and then with saltwater on top of that, sounds just painfully brutal to go through every time they clean. We gave his mom 200 rands to help with what she needed most. While the nurses finished up, the head nurse Lydia went to the van and sat and waited for them. I found this intriguing. She seemed so keen to force us in there and show us how they cleaned and prepped the wound, but waited in the van. I was confused. I am so used to my mom, a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, to do as much as she can for each person. She makes them feel better any way she can. Hugs, medicine, a shoulder to lean on, unconditional support, and always updating her medical regulations.

Lydia also brought up a surprising point that I had not thought of yet, that they only know of a few people who have open wounds or who are sick enough to be taken to the hospital. But what about the people that are in their shacks and we do not know how sick they are or if they need immediate medical attention. Many, many more are out there, we do not know about, what do we do about the unreported cases of HIV? Or the days when the nurses do not come and his bed sheets are covered in blood and urine and his family is not around to help? One of my other classmates, Megan Gruver is in the University of Minnesota’s Nursing School and she explained to us what the nurses were doing and how it helped. Yet another thing I noticed was that at the clinic my mom works at they will explain to the family how to clean the injury or treat the illness of the patient. Here the mom was outside the room crying when she could be learning how to wrap his knee or wash it gently. Educating the family and others on how to prevent it and take car of would be beneficial to more than one person for sure.

Megan also told us if the family would move him every couple hours, it would keep his body awake and the blood flow strong. This visit brought up a lot of questions for me because my family has always been in the medical field and I have picked up on a few details of how the system should work. Or how I think it should work and every country is different. It made me glum that they did not have the access to great healthcare like we do in the states. Everyone deserves great healthcare no matter what the ailment. We are all human and should have the right to equal treatment and healthcare.

After lunch we went to a rehearsal facility to watch the Siyaya Musical Educational Group. It is a group that sings and puts on plays to raise awareness and tell the stories of HIV/Aids. They sing, dance, and have amazing voices. The director, Bongani Magatyana, told us his story and why he started the group. It was really inspiring after the morning we had. Close to the end, one of the women began to sing “Weekend Special,” which is a popular South African pop song from the 80’s. It was a good end to the day and I was in a generally good mood.

Day 4 Wednesday in Guguletu June 1

Today I wake up refreshed and ready for a new day. We have a busy agenda with site visits and school visits. First a visit to Noxie’s school. Noxie is one of the host moms and she asked her principal to give us a tour. John Parma Elementary School was pretty large and has grades R (kindergarten) through grade 9. We got a tour of each classroom and took a picture with Noxie’s class. The classrooms are not that bright and cramped with many desks. The children are all so cheerful and wave at us through the windows.

Next we drive to Pricilla’s Home Foster Care. Pricilla houses 12 children and does day care for 10 more. She is in a wheelchair because of a recent stroke. She has two bedrooms for the children but they sleep more than one per bed. We all walked in the door and the children began to cry, too many people Pricilla said and they have never seen white people before because white people do not come here that often. The smell was a combination of old sheets, urine, mold, and lots of children. They were pretty cute and some were sleeping, but not many toys to play with. Which was sad to me because all kids need toys to play with and they did not have enough. One more stop on our busy schedule at Lydia’s for the morning. Lydia and her son both are HIV positive. She is currently living in the backyard of her friend’s house in a shack that JL Zwane built for her. Her mom and dad disowned her when they found out she was HIV positive. Her son has epilepsy and only has one lung. They are unable to pay for bills and rent. She has no support from her parents and her son’s school does not understand the signs of a seizure so he does not go to school for worry of a seizure. Her house/shack fits one queen size bed and a dresser and a little path for walking. All fifteen of us could barely fit. I was getting hungry and hot. Listening to her story and how she lives her life, made me feel faint. I went outside to sit down and get some air. My friends gave me some water and I ate a granola bar. We were on our way back to JL Zwane for lunch. Suzie looked at me and told me my lips were blue and I was really pale. They took care of me and I drank lots of water, so Mom no worries.

Back to JL Zwane for a delicious lunch again, I am beginning to feel the irony in this set up. We are here to learn and provide food parcels to people who do not get fed regularly, but we are fed Thanksgiving every lunch and dinner. It kinda bugs me. I like eating, don’t get me wrong. I cannot put a reason as to why it is this way. But the hospitality and welcoming atmosphere is amazing and they like to keep their guests happy. It is a way to show their culture and display the food of their heritage.

Back to the vans with our awesome drivers, Hershel and Godfrey for one more site visit. Mary Silli was talking to us about her life during Apartheid. We sat in her living room and asked her questions about her daily life then compared to now. She brought out her little passbook and explained what it was used for. One of her son’s was murdered five years ago, on the way home from work. She told us about this and how she has coped. All the rules regarding Apartheid were so strict and they were not allowed to grocery shop at certain time or go to recreational activities ever. It was difficult to listen to these stories when I knew that they are real and they did happen to people all over the place. Short summary of Wednesday, my week in Guguletu is coming to an end and I do not like it one bit.

Food Parcel Day Part II

Soon after I started to journal, Kevin said that they are trying to gather people to do home deliveries. So the six of us went with a man and a South African Youth, Kwanele, to deliver 6 food parcels. We piled in a van with all the food and arrived at the first house. Each one of us grabbed a food item and gave it to the family. Some people were crying when we got there, others had young children waiting for the food and said thank you more than once while we were leaving. After a few more houses, we stopped at one and got out with the food. Kwanele then told us it was his house and showed us around. I had to catch my breath for a second because then I realized we were giving him the food. He had been helping us all day and being the most polite young man in each house and holding the van door for us six girls. Here is his story that he told us with an open heart:

He lives in his late grandfather’s shack with his older brother. His older brother sleeps on a couch in his backyard because he is an alcoholic and drinks all the time. His father died in 2005 and his mom died one month ago. He has younger siblings live with someone else because he cannot take care of them. He is a junior in high school and loves his choir, and wants to study business. He then pulls out a prospective student program flyer for UCT (University of Cape Town). He told us he reads it every night and his dream is to study business or music. But he does not have the money for food or to go to University. Someone nominated him for a food parcel and came to get him at school to tell him. So Monday night we had gotten a few business cards from These Numbers have Faces and Brittany happened to have one in her pocket so we immediately gave it to him. We had our van driver take a picture of all of us and we told Kwanele to study hard and to call this number. He then said, “I will keep it in a safe place.” Hugs and goodbyes. We all got in the van and began to cry. Such a sad story, but hopefully we could give him the resources to change the outcome. I could not believe the determination and perseverance in that young man to keep going and dream of going to school. I thought paying for school myself is hard, but he made me appreciate the help and support system I have surrounding me. My family and friends made this trip to South Africa possible and I cannot thank them enough.

Food parcel Day part 1

I woke up after a very good night’s sleep with a full belly. Breakfast of granola, eggs, bacon, tomatoes and mushrooms delicious as always. We are off to JL Zwane for Food parcels. The language has been fun to listen to, but not always understanding the dialogue can be frustrating. Are they talking about the “white Americans” or other things? I would say a large number of them know English, but some of them need translators. We have gotten to know a group of them and they will be the supervisors of our food parcel day. We are asked to assemble 250 food parcels that contain cake flour, maize, rice, beans, sugar, samp, vegetable oil, and frozen chicken. These 250 parcels cost 101,000 rands, which approximately costs $15,000. To sponsor one of these costs $50. So a personal THANK YOU to all who donated to help me participate in this great day. It was a blessing to be here and help all these people feed their families.

So to start we had to unload all the ingredients into large piles, so we started a “offloading chain,” more or less and assembly line and threw each other huge bags of flour and rice, etc; gently of course. Then we waited at least an hour for the second truck to come with the sugar and chicken, Africa time we call it. Then we assembled 100 piles of the food because people had been waiting since 10 AM for their food. They had been watching us unload the food and stack it. By noon our group had been getting hungry, but kept going because we knew that our hunger is nothing to what these families go through everyday. At about 1PM Spiwo, the Reverend, began to read the list of names. This was where it got hard to smile. Families came up and got their food and we would help them carry it out to their grocery carts or cars. Most of them were grateful to get this food, and the stories they told us were touching and made me tear up more than once. Many of the families would transport each other’s food or share grocery carts. The community feeling kept getting stronger and stronger.

Kevin Winge of OpenArms and the author of “Never Give Up” came and helped us with the food parcel process. The 250-food parcel contribution happens twice a year, once in January, and once in April. Since our class was going to be here in May, they decided to do it now. Suzie and I have been volunteering at OpenArms in Minneapolis in the kitchen, so it has been amazing seeing the other side of this organization. JL Zwane and OpenArms of Minnesota have been partners for ten years. Providing the community with lunch during the week and these food parcels.

At about 2:30PM, Spiwo the Reverend announced to everyone that it was time for the University of Minnesota group to break for lunch in front of everyone waiting for food. That was kind of awkward for us because we would have kept delivering the food to families until each and every one was gone. But we had to break for lunch. So we did, but it was physically hard for me to eat and think about eating when some of the people outside had not eaten for 2 days or more. Every meal we eat is precious and I am ever so grateful to have the food that I am given. After a not so light lunch that I ate slowly while deep in thought, we went back to distributing the food parcels to families with waiting grocery carts and vehicles. We finished about 3:30PM and could then go volunteer with the after school program or Aaron could let us go reflect in our journals. I decided to journal with a few other people including Brittany, Kelsey, Chelsey, Elisa, and Alexis. Kevin came and sat to chat with us. Part II to come soon!

Week #2 Guguletu Day 2 Monday May 30

Slept well and had a breakfast of cereal, eggs, bacon, toast, and tomatoes. Freshly cooked by Titi. A little about Titi and Mamela: Titi has been a 5^th grade teacher for 33 years, has to leave the house by 7 to get to work by 8:30, taxi to the train and then train to her school. Mamela works at an insurance agency in Stellenbosch and she has to leave her house by 6am to get to work by 8. Cab to the train, train to the bus, bus to work. Titi is so sweet, you will hear this more than once in my blog, she says good morning angel to me every morning. Noxie is one of the other host moms and picks us up to take us to JL Zwane. We are taking a tour of Guguletu and neighboring townships.

First stop is TAC, the Treatment Action Campaign Center in Khayelitsha. To get to the office, we had to park our two tour vans in a tiny parking lot and climb up some damp cramped stairs to this bright office upstairs of an unmarked building. Dogs are a common sight around here and signs with “No Dumping” with piles of trash beneath them, bugs, and wet. It is winter here and rain is everyday weather. We began a dialogue with a woman who worked at TAC about what they do and how they are in partnership with the communities to work against HIV/AIDS. Shortly after, our appointment with Lumkile began and he told us his HIV story. He was diagnosed in 1994, but did not accept the fact that he was sick until 2001. He denied this fact and continued to have unsafe sex until 2002 and he began ARVs in 2004 after feeling sick. He began working for TAC and was sporting his HIV Positive t-shirt. We asked him what reactions he gets when he wears his shirt and why he wears it. He says it is not for pity but to break the silence of the stigmatism of HIV/AIDS. The shirt represents the people that live with HIV everyday and not just him, but also everyone. That was powerful to me because I feel that if someone were to wear that shirt in my high school or at the University of Minnesota, they would get looks and no one would want to ask them their story. Lumkile was so open to complete strangers and willing to share his story and answer any questions we had. He cared about the collective before worrying about himself.

He told us that 2 rapes are reported per day and 60 per month. AND that is just reported, many more happen that are not reported. It is inspiring to hear these stories that people are not afraid to share with us. They are willing to share for the purpose of education and awareness. We then chatted and asked if we could have some HIV Positive shirts and he told us his nickname was “AIDSMAN” and he was laughing while telling us. At this point I was feeling not happy but content with how much people were willing to share with us and their attitude about resources available to them and how to distribute the ARVs. Next we had a visit from Mandla with the Social Justice Coalition.

He works with the community on issues that plague them day and night with their homes, safety, and human rights. Sanitation, safety, children’s school rights, and equal treatment in jail are a few issues that he works on everyday. Now these offices remember are in Khayelitsha, a neighboring township of Guguletu. Khayelitsha is the newest and largest township consisting of 500,000 to 1 million people living in shacks. These shacks are a little smaller than an average dorm room for a family of 7. They are less than a foot apart from each other. Trash everywhere, and dogs, mud. Shipping containers are randomly placed in town for Vodacom (Local cell phone provider), hair braiding salons, and food marts. People rent them and sell services or products out of them for some extra cash. A couple things that SJC works for is windows in the bathrooms of shacks, better materials to build the shacks, better jobs for the people living in the shacks, etc. This man also had his HIV positive shirt on.

Back to JL Zwane for lunch. Lunch. Food yummy. Simple as that. Consisted of rice, fish, chicken, beef, fat-koeks (a fried bread), beets, mango juice, guava juice, Coke, and a few other things. You all should have been there; it was amazing. After undeniably stuffing my face with food, we hopped in the van for a tour of Guguletu. It was raining so we did not get out, but some pictures were taken from the door of the van. The Guguletu Seven statues, a statue of 7 people who were killed during protests and boycotts in the 1960’s, the Amy Biehl Memorial is at a gas station on the main street of Guguletu. Amy Biehl was a white student studying abroad here and she was beaten to death because she brought her new black friend with her to get gas. Her parents in honor of her life created the Amy Biehl Foundation.

Next we went to the Kiki hostels and the township market. The Kiki hostels are tiny little apartments that families can rent, but the catch is during the Apartheid families had to rent them for 99 years. You could not get out of the lease for 99 years and if the renter died, the next family member would have to take over the lease. Currently the 99-year lease contracts are not in effect anymore, but to get out of the lease you have to tally up the rent and then pay it. It is hard for people to find jobs and receive a steady income so they are not able to pay the rent. Right next to these hostels is the township market, which has meat, veggies, and fruit and smilies! Smilies are sheep heads that are cooked over a campfire and then boiled in water and spices and eaten for dinner. We are going to have one this week probably on our last night.

Back to JL Zwane in our vans to get a tour of the Rainbow After School program lead by Brenda. The first classroom had all five grades in one 10-20 foot room. Now they have 4 classrooms with the grades split up. We helped the kids with their homework and played with them. At five oclock we got picked up by Noxie to get dropped off at her house for dinner. Each host mom or dad had made a dish and we had the largest potluck ever! The sixteen of us plus five host families and the church staff all ate our hearts out. One of Aaron’s South African friends who formerly worked at JL Zwane came to dinner also. He brought his friend from Oregon who is the CEO of “These Numbers Have Faces.” This is a scholarship program that provides students in Africa full scholarships to go to university. In return the students have to do a community service project or give back to the community once they graduate. This organization began in 2007 and they had enough money to sponsor one student, now in 2011, they have 16 students in the program.

~Riise

Week #2 Guguletu Day 1 Sunday May 29

We have left Riverview for Guguletu. First thing is church! I do not know what to expect; the only services I have been to are Lutheran and Catholic and of course Quaker. We arrive and put our bags in an office for safety. We sit in on a meeting between one of the managers of JL Zwane Center and a group of the congregation. JL Zwane is the First Presbyterian Church of Guguletu. It is also a community center with after school programs and a lunch program. It is an amazing place. After a 2-hour service of gospel singing and a great sermon, we had a boxed lunch. During lunch the Youth program approached us and wanted to chat with us, so we asked them questions and they asked us questions about America. We got to know them pretty well and over the week became good friends. Sharon, Heather, Amanda, Andisa, and a few others we will be interacting with over the week.

Our host families were at a wedding or a funeral today so we went to Titi and Mamela’s house. Titi is the mother of Mamela, a 26 yr old woman, and Mamela was making dinner for us. She is very sweet, quiet soft-spoken but open to our questions. Titi got home later after the wedding and gave us a great big hug! It was the warmest welcome I have ever had. Aaron and Suzie and I had a nice chat after dinner with a sponge cake with vanilla custard over it, yummy! Then following dessert roobis tea, which is very delicious with some South Africa Soap Operas. I felt so welcome and at home that night. I was tired and ready for bed, so Suzie and I went to bed at 9:30, the earliest since we got here. So I got a good night’s sleep and it was longer than 6 hours. I am in a good place and ready for this week in Guguletu.

First Week

“I would rather die for an idea that will live, than live for an idea that will die soon.”

~Steve Viko

Stories of my Journey so far….

To begin, I cannot describe in words what I have been experiencing. The sights, our group dynamic, Aaron, Alan, Jane, Godfrey, Hershel, and Alison have all been great. I have been so inspired and honored to be here. I cannot explain it. Learning the history from Alan and his passion for students and South African history. As a collective our group has such an appreciation for this trip and each other’s insights on our experiences. Bonding time and letting our guard down has been the best idea we have had. It will allow us to remember our experiences with someone close and to reflect with more than one person when we are confused or unsure about something; having this deep relationship with 14 other people will be crucial to leadership. I am going to use my six senses to describe my first week here in the beautiful Cape Town, South Africa: Smell, Taste, Sight, Touch, Hearing, and overall intuition. Sounds funny, yet I think it will work and accurately describe my adventures this week.

First of all, the food smells are so enticing to my culinary nose. I have seen so many cultures with so many different cuisines and varying styles of preparing food and displaying it for that matter. Best fish and chips I have ever tasted, most exquisite pizza I thought I would find in South Africa, a traditional dish in South Africa Babotie, a meat casserole with egg on top, a distinct cream/milk mixture for our cereal every morning, and some interesting airplane food. All fragrant in their respecting contexts and appetite levels. The wafting of cigarette smoke, sea air, bus exhaust, fresh ocean air and food combined result in a true city explosion. I am sure that we have not begun to establish a real spectrum of the range of food and smells in this diverse country.

Taste has been a journey through the airport to the most full plate of dishes. $14 for a Chinese plate in the Minneapolis Airport to little sandwiches on the plane every two hours or so to traditional Babotie in our little student resort in the Student Observatory in the hear of Cape Town. Deciding whether to take a chance on the water, which has been fine, no sickness yet, knock on wood. I am not worried thus far though since none of us have gotten sick. Each dessert or little side snack that Alan provides us with or tells us to try has been exquisite and a glimpse into the deep culture around food this country has.

Sight: Literally breathtaking, each one more so than the last. I literally am silent for the hike or drive to our next destination. I am a person that loves nature and tries to find a way to share it with others. The magnificent beauty of the landscapes and structures never ceases to amaze me. I am so lucky to be here to even rush through some of the greatest wonders of the world in one place. Table Mountain today was pretty much the most amazing place I have seen since I don’t know a long time. Every day we go somewhere new; I try to grasp the vastness of the two oceans, mountain and various townships surrounding us.

University of Cape Town is located right below the mountain and I know the Mississippi River is between Minneapolis and Saint Paul, but I would rather take the mountain. Speaking of Table Mountain, I would not have chosen a better group of people to spend the cable car ride to the top with. Each person has their own story, their own perspective on life that they feel comfortable sharing with the rest of us, and new ideas on building a better world for the many diverse ideas and interpretations of what is happening around us.

Physical touch has been an interesting aspect of this trip and this includes the actions that have touched my heart. Our group has had a great amount of bonding time and now I have more facts about each person that can help me understand them. People are so generous and welcome of our differences. It is touching to experience this type of group bonding outside of campus in Minnesota. Our beds are pretty comfy, rooms are tight packed, but it is good to learn space management. The culture of this country seems to be very appreciative of space, so I have been trying to not take advantage of my space here and back at my apartment I will be throwing things out.

Hearing which consists of physical hearing and listening to each other is the next aspect I will be talking about. One main thing I take away from this week is if our bonding time had not happened on Tuesday night, I would not be this happy and content with our trip. Community building is one of the key aspects that should happen in any leadership setting. It has helped me digest what has happened our historical tours and our leadership discussions. One other thing that I enjoyed very much was learning the basics of isiXhosa language with Siviwe were amazing. The language has so much passion and integrity showing through. There is a different word for great chief and grandpa or your mom’s mom and your dad’s mom and this shows a respect for each individual. English kind of has that, but I wish our society were more respectful of our grandparents and elders in the community.

Truly listening to each other and our stories has helped me open up this week. I sometimes do not share what is going on in my life and this week having our group of 14 other people is great. Considering they are the only people I know in this country, it is nice to trust them with my belongings; my feelings and my reactions will be taken with heart.

My intuition has told me that this place is beautiful and full of inspiring stories. One person we have met, that made me tear up was Alison from the Rainbow House. It is a house outside of the townships for children that are abused or neglected or orphans. She has so much passion and determination for her work. She has dedicated her life for the betterment of South Africa’s youth. She does not take funding from the government. Her passion urged me to get up and do something. But patience is key to learning and gaining knowledge to enter the community right before jumping to working on an issue. Going up Cape Point and seeing so many people from England, France, Northern African Countries, and Americans want to explore this enchanting, poverty stricken country.

I cannot wait to see what will come of next week. I have feeling it will be super different, but Aaron and I talked about not having too many expectations. I intend to keep that my focus, but also spend enough time reflecting and not rushing through our daily tasks. The quote in my title was in the Nelson Mandela exhibit in the Iziko Slavery Museum really hit me and inspires me to use my leadership to work the African culture and history into my dream restaurant and everything else I do for the rest of my life. Three weeks is not enough and I will be coming back, not sure when or how I will pay for it, but it will happen, maybe a Leadership SA Reunion may be in order?!

Day #1

Longest Flight Ever! Great bonding time, food every 2 hours, caught up on my movies, slept, and had a great time laughing with some great people. Going through customs was fine.

It was late when we got to Riverview Lodge, but I still took in everything I could! Our lodge, is kind of like camp, bunk beds and all. I slept well after taking a long needed shower. The water was scalding hot then briskly chilly in a matter of milliseconds. Slept till 8:30 and got up for breakfast. First impression of Capetown: Beautiful with Diversity, People, and Life.

We are all jet lagged and by the end of our morning tour, we were all quiet and beginning to feel a nap coming on. channeling my inner mother napping skills. The tour was interesting also because the cars are all on the other side of the road! The driver's seat is on the other side of the car! What is up with this.... It will take a while to get used to this. OH and Table Mountain is gorgeous when it is cloudy, I can't yet imagine what it will be when it is sunny out.

This afternoon we are in our 18 passenger van taking a tour, and Alan Jansen says "we are going to stop and I am buying you Samwursa, a South African meat pie." They were kind of epic! Yummy! Then Alan bought us South African doughnuts called cook-sisters, with cinnamon and coconut sprinkled on top. Those were also amazing. My culinary side is having wonderful time.

Dinner tonight smells amazing. The food has been delicious and I am anticipating more wonderful delights. We have a busy week ahead of us, but it will be amazing!!!!! I am excited to be here and can't wait to experience more and more! I am so thankful and grateful to be here, so many emotions are running through my mind.

I am still debating on shark diving, but I think since I am in SOUTH AFRICA, I might as well go see live sharks up close and personal if I can.

More later =)

Tomorrow is the big day (plane ride anyway)

So I think I am all packed, think being the key word. Sleeping tonight might go well or it could go badly. My mom is not as worried as I think she should be, which makes me worry. My dad says she is more worried than she lets on. Three days ago, I had been thinking about the fifteen people I will be spending every waking hour with in the next 3 weeks. My general impression was good. I tend to get worried with groups of 10 or more. My last summer job for the last three summers has been a lifeguard in small town. Drama tends to ensue and it is so hard to deal with that. I was always in the middle.

But after our Applebee's apps date, I threw that theory out the window. I am super excited about the group of students I will be spending my time with. I have no worries and we are all here to learn and share our love of leadership with another country. We all (6 of us) Shane, Riise, Suzie, Elisa, Katherine, Simone our packing woes, host gift search ideas, and overall quality bonding over delicious appetizers at 1/2 off price! It was a fun night. It made me even more excited.

I do not want these 3 weeks to go by fast, so powers that be, (ptb as I like to call them) let me enjoy them and my expectations are no longer. I have opened my mind to anything and everything that could happen. I am going to be patient on the 22+ hour plane ride, it will be long, but fun, tiring, but engaging of my new classmates. I am on my way to South Africa!

31 days...

31 days till takeoff!

I am excited, nervous, and excited! Three weeks is a long time, and not a long time. Not nearly enough time to explore one country out of 53 amazing countries in Africa. This trip will be full of emotions, fun and adventures.

31 days is not that much time to register for classes, figure out my summer schedule, go home for Easter, try to catch up on some sleep, have a ton of fun with my two amazing sisters, finish a 8-12 page paper due on Monday, prepare a 15-20 min presentation for Monday, pack for home, finish my stats homework by Friday, and get to class on time. So I am little stressed by all this, but then I remember the book I just read. “Country of My Skull: Guilt, Sorrow, and the Limits of Forgiveness in the New South Africa” by Antjie Krog. It is a recount of some of the stories compiled by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. These stories are unreal to me. About the torture, rape, and murder of thousands of white, colored and black South Africans during the Apartheid. Apartheid ended in 1993, and Nelson Mandela was elected in 1994. I was three and four years old during that time. This is mind boggling to me. The recent history of South Africa is engraved in their minds. Not only will I encounter a complete culture shock, but also the stories and faces of people impacted by this cruel and violent period.

One last thing I am worried about is trying to explain everything I saw and experienced into words when I return to the states. My words I imagine will not do the trip justice. It will be hard to describe to someone who was not with me every step of the way. The fifteen other people that are going to be present with me on the trip will be the only ones that can attest to what I saw. I know my family will believe me, but will they understand the history and implications of their past and present and future?

AIDS/HIV- What a humongous subject in Africa. Did you know that out of the 49 million South Africans, 18 million of them have AIDS/HIV? Now right now to you and me this might just be a gigantic number, but by the end of my journey, I will have faces to put to that number and names to associate with that number. Part of my trip will be compiling and delivering 250 food parcels to just some of these 18 million people infected with AIDS/HIV. This will be emotional and I am not sure what emotions I will be experiencing, but many more than I can think of right this moment. I hope you will read my thoughts and follow me through this three-week journey of South Africa.

~Riise