Have my years and years of education taught me nothing?
It's debatable. Grant and I have misread probably every flight plan we have had this summer.
The first, less problematic error was leaving Pretoria. We thought that we had an early morning flight on Friday morning so we decided to try and crash Jo-Burg for an afternoon. We booked a backpacker near the airport that supposedly offered free rides to the airport. Upon getting to the backpacker (an adventure in and of itself) we were greeted by a minorly sketchy middle aged man who basically owns this house that he has set up as a backpacker...The vibe was odd to put it nicely. It wasn't the cleanest of places. It wasn't the most welcoming of places. It was one of the quirkiest places. We then were asked about what time we would like a ride to the airport the next day. Consulting our itinerary we discovered that the flight didn't leave until 8:30 PM the next day. No big deal, we would have more time in Jo-burg to see the highly esteemed Apartheid museum at a leisurely pace which would be nice. That afternoon we wandered around the neighborhood...which was kind of a scary environment. We found a mall eventually after a long, long row of car dealerships and small hole in the wall shops that sold things like used cells and leather. Let me tell you I've never been happier to see a mall establishment in my life. We then feasted at Wimpy's (a fast food like diner...) Another one of those never been happier moments. We were probably in Wimpy's for up near two hours, trying to kill time before returning to our scary prison like backpacker. Luckily when we got back more people had arrived...made us feel a little more secure I guess. The rest of the afternoon Grant and I took pretentious to the highest of heights and kept eachother company with a little Richard the III and Hamlet...We were literally sitting in the same top bunk, reading Shakespeare for protection and escape. We napped then cooked a foul dinner on a propane stove 6 inches under a thatched roof (safe!?) whose makings were bought at a shady grocer down the road (let's just say the bag we bought the rice in was sticky)... We called it an early night...I took sleeping pills so that I could have some semblance of an easy night's rest. Unfortunately from around 4 am on I woke up every hour on the hour...why?!?!?
At 7 we arose...greeting the day ready to be out of there asap. We booked a taxi but then Grant concientiously asked how expensive it would be to get into Joburg and back...the number was a whopping 700 rand. Not really in the budget. Soooo we decided to skip it and just hang by the pool for the day. That was going well until the manager decided that if we wanted to stay the day we would have to pay for an entire day and night's stay...nooooo thanks. So we got in a taxi at around 11 am and hung out at the Jo-Burg airport for 9-ish hours...It's a wonderful place :) highlights include feasting in the airport food court. Nertz at Spur. Naps in the prayer room. waiting in many many lines just to be told that we were too early for our flight. carting around our luggage all day...etc. I crack it up to be a terrible experience, but you know after a summer of relatively easy traveling with no glitches one unexpected day in an airport is really not that bad. At least we were optimistic and in each other's good company.
With this little debaucle behind us we decided to check our flight info home...and true to form these days we had misread that too! We get into NY a day later than we thought and thus into Seattle a day later as well. Bummer. I'm a little stressed about this at the moment, but I'm trying to just relax and realize that it will work out and that I will get home...Mostly I just feel a little incompetant.
Needless to say we were OVERJOYED to be back in Cape Town. It really does feel like home. We're staying in the backpacker for two nights and saying our last goodbyes to the city today and tomorrow. Then we move onto another backpacker a little out side the city, but closer to the people that we'll be hanging out with and working with this week. It's hard to believe we've only got 6 days left. I have been thinking a lot about coming home lately though, trying to get my mind ready so that it's all caught up with my body when I arrive back in the states. There are definitely things I'm looking forward to coming home. So that's a good thing :)
Thanks to everyone who's been reading these updates. It's wonderful to know that there is a connection to you all from all the way around the world :) Much love and we'll be seeing each other soon!!!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Pretoria! Pretoria!
Hello from Pretoria!
The last week has been wonderful! We flew out of Cape Town and were picked up at the airport. We had a nice drive through the city and got to our private compound. We aren't staying in or even really near the city center, but in a suburb of primarily white Afrikaaners which has been a different setting than we've had so far this summer. Grant and I have been staying in a private guest house as the only visitors. Soooo we have a kitchen a living room a back yard..a koi pond!!! It's been super great. For the weekend we pretty much just found different places to lounge around and read, soak up the sun...all the good things that were kind of neglected by our busy schedule in Cape Town. The whether here is incredible. It's winter, but the sun is out and warm every day. It's a welcome climate.
On Monday we decided that we should probably get out a little bit so we went on an epic adventure for the Pretoria art museum. We bussed downtown which was super easy and then started wandering. What we thought was the art museum turned out to be a theater, so we asked for directions and went on our way. The staff directed us to a museum, but not an art museum...it was some animal museum natural science business...not really our thing. Pretoria is kind of funny because literally every building that isn't a shop is an official governmental building or a museum...We let go of finding the actual art museum pretty quickly and just settled for wandering around the city. Pretoria is the first city we've spent time in where we've been the minority, so it was a really neat experience. We found some beautiful parks and even more beautiful buildings. The architecture in Pretoria is pretty astounding. As we were walking around we came across this really dilapidated building that was fenced off and things. Right as we walked up a group of uni students were coming out and so we got to go in. Turns out the building was the first synagogue in Pretoria and was where they held Nelson Mandela's trials...what?! It was really pretty amazing. Then inspired by our adventure we continued on to another area that we had seen some cool buildings in. One was particularly interesting looking so we went up to the front door and it turned out they were doing construction. We were able to go into the building...sans close toed shoes...sans hard hats...and explore around. It was really, really fun. All of the old molding and wood work are being preserved so it was a pretty incredible space. We nearly got trapped in by scaffolding but made it out alive! We also took this ancient lift down which was scary and very exciting.
There's this great thing going on this week in Pretoria called the festival of the clowns. It's a week spent with different lecturers and arts and performances put on by a local church. We've only been to one event, but it's one of the top things that I will take away from South Africa. It was this man, Father Michael, who was leading the workshop and a group of around 20 Zimbabwean, South African, international adults all coming together to reclaim our vulnerability. This included hearing the Father's personal story of the adversity and trauma that he'd faced in his life (he was an active opponent to the Apartheid government and was targeted with a parcel bomb...he lost both hands and an eye in the disaster and has since started a group called the "healing of memories" in which he counsels groups on how to forgive oneself as well as the perpatrator so that victims do not fall into cyclical patterns of victimization.) So we spent 4 hours going through a condensed program to reclaim our vulnerability and heal from past experiences. It was an intimate, honest, emotional, and hopeful experience. We got to listen to people's histories and the ways they've been victimized and offer encouraging words of strength and healing. I never know what to expect from any situation we enter into here and have been so struck by the multitude of powerful experiences that just seem to spring up in whatever arenas we enter.
After that we had a rushed lunch and then headed into a nearby township, Soshanguve (sp?) We caught up with a family that Nieu Communities is really involved with and met other community members...I love township life. It was really interesting to be in a bigger, more rural township compared to those near Cape Town. People had much more space in Sosh which seemed to be a big difference. It's hard not to compare different places, but I really don't think the townships are comparable. What is universal is the joy that emanates from the different families we've met. The strength of the women. The sass, spunk and love I've felt. It seems to always be an energy renewal when we are welcomed into these places. I wish we could have spent more time out there since being in Pretoria, but oh well...such is life under tourist time schedules...
Well...we leave Pretoria tomorrow and go back to Cape Town on Friday. We're going to spend the afternoon and evening in Jo-Burg which will be fun. Grant is a little nervous about it but I'm excited. We've heard so much about the place that to not spend any time there would be a shame. There's a pretty amazing Apartheid museum that we're going to check out so that should be great.
I only have 9 days left in this place. Single digits...it's impossible to believe. I'm in denial. It still feels like we have so much to do and see and people to meet and spend time with...ah!
Hope you're all having wonderful days, mornings, evenings, afternoons. I am looking forward to seeing you in the near, near future :)
The last week has been wonderful! We flew out of Cape Town and were picked up at the airport. We had a nice drive through the city and got to our private compound. We aren't staying in or even really near the city center, but in a suburb of primarily white Afrikaaners which has been a different setting than we've had so far this summer. Grant and I have been staying in a private guest house as the only visitors. Soooo we have a kitchen a living room a back yard..a koi pond!!! It's been super great. For the weekend we pretty much just found different places to lounge around and read, soak up the sun...all the good things that were kind of neglected by our busy schedule in Cape Town. The whether here is incredible. It's winter, but the sun is out and warm every day. It's a welcome climate.
On Monday we decided that we should probably get out a little bit so we went on an epic adventure for the Pretoria art museum. We bussed downtown which was super easy and then started wandering. What we thought was the art museum turned out to be a theater, so we asked for directions and went on our way. The staff directed us to a museum, but not an art museum...it was some animal museum natural science business...not really our thing. Pretoria is kind of funny because literally every building that isn't a shop is an official governmental building or a museum...We let go of finding the actual art museum pretty quickly and just settled for wandering around the city. Pretoria is the first city we've spent time in where we've been the minority, so it was a really neat experience. We found some beautiful parks and even more beautiful buildings. The architecture in Pretoria is pretty astounding. As we were walking around we came across this really dilapidated building that was fenced off and things. Right as we walked up a group of uni students were coming out and so we got to go in. Turns out the building was the first synagogue in Pretoria and was where they held Nelson Mandela's trials...what?! It was really pretty amazing. Then inspired by our adventure we continued on to another area that we had seen some cool buildings in. One was particularly interesting looking so we went up to the front door and it turned out they were doing construction. We were able to go into the building...sans close toed shoes...sans hard hats...and explore around. It was really, really fun. All of the old molding and wood work are being preserved so it was a pretty incredible space. We nearly got trapped in by scaffolding but made it out alive! We also took this ancient lift down which was scary and very exciting.
There's this great thing going on this week in Pretoria called the festival of the clowns. It's a week spent with different lecturers and arts and performances put on by a local church. We've only been to one event, but it's one of the top things that I will take away from South Africa. It was this man, Father Michael, who was leading the workshop and a group of around 20 Zimbabwean, South African, international adults all coming together to reclaim our vulnerability. This included hearing the Father's personal story of the adversity and trauma that he'd faced in his life (he was an active opponent to the Apartheid government and was targeted with a parcel bomb...he lost both hands and an eye in the disaster and has since started a group called the "healing of memories" in which he counsels groups on how to forgive oneself as well as the perpatrator so that victims do not fall into cyclical patterns of victimization.) So we spent 4 hours going through a condensed program to reclaim our vulnerability and heal from past experiences. It was an intimate, honest, emotional, and hopeful experience. We got to listen to people's histories and the ways they've been victimized and offer encouraging words of strength and healing. I never know what to expect from any situation we enter into here and have been so struck by the multitude of powerful experiences that just seem to spring up in whatever arenas we enter.
After that we had a rushed lunch and then headed into a nearby township, Soshanguve (sp?) We caught up with a family that Nieu Communities is really involved with and met other community members...I love township life. It was really interesting to be in a bigger, more rural township compared to those near Cape Town. People had much more space in Sosh which seemed to be a big difference. It's hard not to compare different places, but I really don't think the townships are comparable. What is universal is the joy that emanates from the different families we've met. The strength of the women. The sass, spunk and love I've felt. It seems to always be an energy renewal when we are welcomed into these places. I wish we could have spent more time out there since being in Pretoria, but oh well...such is life under tourist time schedules...
Well...we leave Pretoria tomorrow and go back to Cape Town on Friday. We're going to spend the afternoon and evening in Jo-Burg which will be fun. Grant is a little nervous about it but I'm excited. We've heard so much about the place that to not spend any time there would be a shame. There's a pretty amazing Apartheid museum that we're going to check out so that should be great.
I only have 9 days left in this place. Single digits...it's impossible to believe. I'm in denial. It still feels like we have so much to do and see and people to meet and spend time with...ah!
Hope you're all having wonderful days, mornings, evenings, afternoons. I am looking forward to seeing you in the near, near future :)
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Life is Wonderful
...and crazy!
sheesh eh...we are busy out here in Cape Town!
These days are jam packed. It's pretty funny because only a week and a half ago Grant and I were saying...gee we really don't know what the next week holds before heading off to Pretoria. Surely enough though we were booked in one second. We continued building with Habitat which was a delight. Last week we did foundations which is seriously hard work...think 36 wheelbarrows of sand, 36 wheelbarrows of stones and 18 bags of concrete all mixed together. It's a day's hard work. Honestly though I've never felt so physically satisfied as I do after a hard day of building. As many of you know I'm not very physically fit and am quite the klutz, but when building I'm capable. It's a really great feeling. This week we're doing another house build. It's been some of the most ridiculous days of my life. Yesterday we got onto the site and it was all corporate business people. There were about 25 people per site (which is about 10+ people too many) and they were all Afrikaans. So our site was run in the Afrikaan's language...The first thing they did was set up their advertisement. Big posters and umbrellas. Then they got out their cooler of cold drinks and crate of toilet paper. I was floored. It was definitely the oddest start to a day. Then we come to find out that every day there is a new group of people from the same company...so today we got 25 new people. It definitely creates a different feel to the site. With so many people the pace is very different as well. I've stepped back from a lot of the tasks because I figure the 25 people who are only going to be on site for one day should have an opportunity to be involved. It's a little frusterating though. On the upside the build is in the same neighborhood as the last house I built so there are a lot of the same faces around. So I'm getting to know the community members which is really a treat. Tomorrow is my last day in Mfuleni though and it's going to be really hard to part with the people and places that I've grown so fond of. I keep thinking, well we'll be back in Cape Town we can just stop by one day, but I know that there is a time to let go of everything and tomorrow is going to be that time for Mfuleni and myself.
On a different note, Grant and I finally got in touch with one of the contacts we'd been emailing. Lindsay. She runs a house called Beth Uriel in Cape town that houses 26-ish guys from the age of 14-26 (the official ages are 16-25). The first day we visited we sat in on a "family meeting" where all the house members met and had announcements and updates. Each one shared a highlight from their day and there was a workshop about the roots of a lot of problems that break families up in South Africa. It was incredible. Lindsay is a 30-ish year old American woman who has just invested her life in these boys. She commands attention and respect from them, joy and love, in a supremely unique way. She makes fun of the boys and loves on them in a genuinly authentic way. I'm obsessed. Later we went to dinner with Lindsay and the other volunteers and got to know them and what they've been doing at BU. I can't even put into words yet the attatchment I have to these people. You think "African street boys" and you think of hardened youth who are cold and hardened, but they are so wonderful. They're immature and silly and real and open to new people and new things. I've seriously been blown away by how quick they are to open up to us. I've had a few really great talks with some of the guys and I've only been around for 2 other days. I'm mostly just really excited to spend more time at BU when we get back to Cape Town.
It shocks me that two months into this trip I still have new and exciting things to be looking forward to. There hasn't been one day of one week when I've been bored in this place. It's hard to predict, but I'm pretty sure I won't be ready to leave. I feel like there are endless lives and organizations that I could pour my energy and time into here and be consistently fulfilled. That pretty much leaves me with two thoughts: One) There will be this feeling in other places of the world. If I can find this environment and satisfaction here I will be able to find it elsewhere. Two) I will just have to come back someday. I'm sure that if this is a unique experience to this place I will find my way back one way or another. Either way I'm excited about the reality of this trip now and am planning to enjoy the last two and a half weeks to the fullest.
sheesh eh...we are busy out here in Cape Town!
These days are jam packed. It's pretty funny because only a week and a half ago Grant and I were saying...gee we really don't know what the next week holds before heading off to Pretoria. Surely enough though we were booked in one second. We continued building with Habitat which was a delight. Last week we did foundations which is seriously hard work...think 36 wheelbarrows of sand, 36 wheelbarrows of stones and 18 bags of concrete all mixed together. It's a day's hard work. Honestly though I've never felt so physically satisfied as I do after a hard day of building. As many of you know I'm not very physically fit and am quite the klutz, but when building I'm capable. It's a really great feeling. This week we're doing another house build. It's been some of the most ridiculous days of my life. Yesterday we got onto the site and it was all corporate business people. There were about 25 people per site (which is about 10+ people too many) and they were all Afrikaans. So our site was run in the Afrikaan's language...The first thing they did was set up their advertisement. Big posters and umbrellas. Then they got out their cooler of cold drinks and crate of toilet paper. I was floored. It was definitely the oddest start to a day. Then we come to find out that every day there is a new group of people from the same company...so today we got 25 new people. It definitely creates a different feel to the site. With so many people the pace is very different as well. I've stepped back from a lot of the tasks because I figure the 25 people who are only going to be on site for one day should have an opportunity to be involved. It's a little frusterating though. On the upside the build is in the same neighborhood as the last house I built so there are a lot of the same faces around. So I'm getting to know the community members which is really a treat. Tomorrow is my last day in Mfuleni though and it's going to be really hard to part with the people and places that I've grown so fond of. I keep thinking, well we'll be back in Cape Town we can just stop by one day, but I know that there is a time to let go of everything and tomorrow is going to be that time for Mfuleni and myself.
On a different note, Grant and I finally got in touch with one of the contacts we'd been emailing. Lindsay. She runs a house called Beth Uriel in Cape town that houses 26-ish guys from the age of 14-26 (the official ages are 16-25). The first day we visited we sat in on a "family meeting" where all the house members met and had announcements and updates. Each one shared a highlight from their day and there was a workshop about the roots of a lot of problems that break families up in South Africa. It was incredible. Lindsay is a 30-ish year old American woman who has just invested her life in these boys. She commands attention and respect from them, joy and love, in a supremely unique way. She makes fun of the boys and loves on them in a genuinly authentic way. I'm obsessed. Later we went to dinner with Lindsay and the other volunteers and got to know them and what they've been doing at BU. I can't even put into words yet the attatchment I have to these people. You think "African street boys" and you think of hardened youth who are cold and hardened, but they are so wonderful. They're immature and silly and real and open to new people and new things. I've seriously been blown away by how quick they are to open up to us. I've had a few really great talks with some of the guys and I've only been around for 2 other days. I'm mostly just really excited to spend more time at BU when we get back to Cape Town.
It shocks me that two months into this trip I still have new and exciting things to be looking forward to. There hasn't been one day of one week when I've been bored in this place. It's hard to predict, but I'm pretty sure I won't be ready to leave. I feel like there are endless lives and organizations that I could pour my energy and time into here and be consistently fulfilled. That pretty much leaves me with two thoughts: One) There will be this feeling in other places of the world. If I can find this environment and satisfaction here I will be able to find it elsewhere. Two) I will just have to come back someday. I'm sure that if this is a unique experience to this place I will find my way back one way or another. Either way I'm excited about the reality of this trip now and am planning to enjoy the last two and a half weeks to the fullest.
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