Getting back in the rhythm…

Hey everyone! So I survived my first week of classes, and I am almost half-way through the second! Things have been going really well.  My Social Work class finally met for the first time last Tuesday, and it seems like it’s gonna be interesting.  Lots of techinical stuff right now, like knowing about these South African organizations and the bureaucracy and stuff, but it should get a little jucier as the weeks go by… I hope!

Last Wednesday was our first meeting of Quinton’s seminar, my first UCT Choir for Africa rehearsal of the new semester, and Chenai’s birthday party!  So it was a really busy day.  Seminar was great – it’s basically a group of 20 Americans plus one SOLmate (Chenai) plus me who is half-SOLmate half-American (lol!) talking about cultural adjustment and stuff like that.  Plus it involves really cool outings and stuff.  So that was really nice!  Then I went to choir rehearsal.  It was sooo good to see everyone!  We have a new director who’s really passionate so I can tell it’s gonna be a great semester.  Then I ran off to Chenai’s birthday which I was supposed to be somewhat in charge of, lol… oops!  It was so much fun though, lots of great people all in one place. 

Last weekend was really great, too!  On Friday we went to a professional rugby game!!  The Stormers (the Cape Town team) versus the Australia Reds.  We WON but it was close and a very exciting game!!  Plus it was cool because I know one of the players – he went to high school with my friend William so he introduced him to me at church last semester.  And he’s really really good!!  So that was cool.  Then, on Saturday the seminar group went to a concert at Spier, this really fancy wine estate in Stellenbosch.  There was a famous jazz singer, Judith Sephuma, who performed, as well as this super-Afrikaaner guitar man, and a waitress from Stardust, this restaurant where the staff sings and performs and stuff… but she is making it BIG!!  Clearly!!  It was a very nice night.  Then Sunday morning me, Yassi, and Alma went to church with Nyoko at Gospel Ramah which is a really exciting church to go to because the pastor is SO great and the praise and worship is really hype!  And it’s different from His People because the pastor and much of the congregation is West African so there’s just a different vibe with the music and stuff that’s really cool.  And they had this bishop come in from out of town to preach, and he was preaching all in French and there was a woman translating who was SO good – I mean, when he jumped she would jump, when he gestured she would gesture, it was such a cool thing to witness!  And the message was great.  So me and Yassi went back last night because they’re having services every day this week as part of a revival.  Good times!  Anyway, so then we had lunch, chilled at Yassi’s and then went to His People for the evening service, which changed my LIFE.  Oh my goodness.  You have to talk to me in person to hear about this service but it was part one of a “relationship series” and it just brought so much stuff to the light for me… wow.  I was telling a friend, I’m gonna look back 5-10 years from now and still remember that sermon!  But anyways, that was a deep but much-needed experience.

Today was my first day of volunteering at Emasithande Children’s Home ina  township called Nyanga.  It was really just an orientation-type day, but it was so nice meeting the kids we’re going to be working with, and the men and women that run the home.   It’s so small – literally a couple of rooms – and it houses anywhere between 16-34 kids on any given night.  The woman who runs it must be so committed and passionate to house ALL those kids, oh my goodness.  They were so sweet and had so much fun playing with my crutches and even my cast!  They kept lifting it up and down and I was like OK if I fall over this is gonna be a problem… but it was really fun!  I’m excited to get started teaching classes.

Tomorrow is busy busy again, seminar and choir and hopefully church somewhere in there since Lent begins tomorrow.  Oh, also: tomorrow is the 3-week anniversary of my broken foot, meaning 3 more weeks to go til I (Lord-willing) get this cast off!!  Yay!!    Well I’m off to bed, I hope everyone is doing well!

Much love,

Ellie

Valentine’s Day – S.A. Style!

Hey everyone,

I hope your weekends were great!!  Mine ended up being so much fun… the best Valentine’s ever!  This was the first time I was single for Valentines in a looooong time and I was like cool, they probably don’t even celebrate it in South Africa so it’s all good!  But was I WRONG!  It’s definitely just as big of a deal here as back in the States.  But it was so nice!  My friend hosted a potluck dinner (which Billine and I baked cookies for!) and it was a really great night, spending time with tons of friends, lots from church, and meeting new ones.  She even asked every boy to bring roses so that each girl could have a rose, and then at the end the boys came around and handed them out!  It was so nice!  And on the wall we stuck up “secret admirer” Valentine’s notes to one another and I got one from Blandina and Alma, it was so sweet!!  (They offered to help me with my laundry, that was the nicest part!)  So it was a really great evening.

Then, yesterday, I spent a really fun and relaxing day at Quinton’s!  A few of us came to visit and we had a braai and just spent time with the family, enjoying the beautiful weather and having some pretty DEEP foosball competitions!  It was such a nice Sunday, especially after a really great church service that morning.

Today I just had one class, which seems like it’s going to be so interesting – my Religion, Conflict, and Violence course.  The first section is going to focus on South Africa, the second on Islam, and the third on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  I’m really excited; I think it’s going to be SO insightful.  The professor for the first part of the course is American and he reminds me so much of my Uncle Matt, not how he looks but they have the exact same speaking voice!  It’s crazy!  Anyway, on Friday (I meant to mention this at the beginning) the first meeting of classes was really no big deal, we just talked for a few minutes, and my second class, the Social Work one, didn’t even end up meeting.  So Friday after class Billine and I went on an adventure to get our toes painted!  It was only an adventure because I’m on crutches – having to go to 3 places because the first 2 were closed!  But it was worth it; I mean, my toes are out 24/7 cuz of this cast so they need to be fly!  They are a really bright fuschia color and they make me happy!    So I guess I’ll end on that bit of random information.  Hope everyone enjoys their day!!

My last day of freedom…

So tomorrow, classes start!  I’m actually excited though, because I only have two!  At 10 AM I have Religion, Conflict, and Violence (which will count for my Justice & Peace Studies minor), and at 11 AM I have Political Economy of Social Service Professions (a Social Work course).  I was really sad because there was an amazing Social Development course centered on community organizing that I was supposed to take, but they cancelled it at the last minute.  But the class I’m replacing it with should be pretty interesting – it focuses on regional and local social issues, and how government and non-governmental organizations deal with them.  The other one is pretty self-explanatory: it explores the role religion plays in local, national, and international conflicts.  Should be really interesting!

The past week has been pretty good, a mix of resting my foot and trying to have just a LITTLE fun!  On Sunday I went to church with a bunch of beautiful people and just had a really really nice time.  I got sooo hype because they sang almost all my favorite songs, including one that Terrance sang his first time singing on the praise team, with Babs, Faith, and William.  And the sermon was really great as well, about active faith and conversation with God.  Then we went to Nando’s, my friend came to visit me, and then I headed back out for an evening concert at my church.  It was a great concert and I was excited because my good friend Taf was co-MC!  And my friends Zwee and Tawanda were playing in the band and I’m sure they felt like superstars because there were sooo many people there and an elaborate set and everything so it was really cool!

Monday was my chill day – I literally stayed in the dorm ALL day!  I just read and worked on this scrapbook I made of me and Terrance.  It was a nice, relaxing day.  Tuesday I had an interview for this volunteer tutoring program I’m going to be doing, and then I went up to campus just to check out what Orientation Week is like.  I ran into a bunch of friends and got to sign up at the little tables they have advertising the different clubs, so that was cool.  Then, that night we went and saw Secret Life of Bees!  It was an AMAZING movie.  But I’m glad I read the book first cuz you know the book is ALWAYS better!

Wednesday (yesterday) I tried to sit in the house all day and rest but then some friends convinced me to go see the musical Beauty and the Beast!  It ended up being so so beautiful!!  It really brought me back to my childhood… the costumes were so detailed and all the actors were really great.  I’m so glad I went!  But it was interesting to be seeing a South African production where there were literally 2 Black actors in the whole cast of like 20-30!  That disturbed me a little bit.  But all in all it was a good experience.

Today I went to the mall with a friend and then I attended my first Liesbeeck cell group meeting!  I was so excited to start going.  See, my church (His People) is really big and mostly consists of UCT students, so they have group meetings in all the different residences.  Last semester it was difficult for me to get involved for some reason, but this semester I jumped right in and I can already tell I’m going to love it.  I’ve been working on sharing my faith with others more over the past couple years, and I think it’s really going to help me, having a community of believers to grow with, even just for one semester.  They all seem so nice, so I’m really excited!

Oh, I can’t leave without mentioning that today is the 100th birthday of the NAACP!!  The organization was founded on February 12, 1909, on what would have been Abraham Lincoln’s 100th birthday.   In the past 100 years the organization has been at the forefront of the civil rights movement, and today it continues as a reminder that the struggle is far from over.  Yes, we have a Black president, and the barriers that were broken on November 4th, 2008 serve as an inspiration to us all.  But the fact remains that our society is incredibly unequal, and until we can guarantee quality education for ALL children, equal treatment in the justice system, and economic opportunities for all, the NAACP and organizations like it will continue to be relevant.  It is more important for us now than at any time in our history to remind people that this fight has not yet been won, and complacency is not an option.  I carry my NAACP membership with pride and I hope that on this historic occasion, you will consider what you can do to make our communities and our nation more just and equal.

That’s all for today… wish me luck on the first day of classes!

Getting started on the WRONG foot… HAHAHA =P

So guess what guys? On the very day that I wrote my last post (Feb. 4), I broke my foot!!  I was just walking down the steps in my res and my foot slid so I missed a step… I landed too hard I guess… and the rest is history!  It is broken in two spots.  Luckily they didn’t have to operate, but I have to be in this cast for 6-12 weeks!!    But the way I see it, I have no right to be upset because it could very well be that God was preventing something much worse from happening to me by allowing this to happen.  So I will consider myself blessed!  I’m living in a beautiful city, and I have air in my lungs and beautiful friends to help me through this.  They’ve already been amazing; a new SOLmate who I literally just met last week, Ramon, took me to the emergency room along with another new SOLmate, Blendina, and they spent their whole evening with me!  And I’ve had SO many visitors in the past few days, I can’t even count!  My cast is already almost filled up with signatures and it’s looking great!  So I’m really just trying to be positive about it.

Today we went to a soccer game in the new Athlone stadium that they’ll be using for a World Cup game (I think?)  It was so much fun!  It was the Orlando Pirates (a Joburg team) versus the Santos, a Cape Town team.  It ended 0-0 so nothing too dramatic but it was just fun to chill with everybody and get some fresh air because after tomorrow I’m putting myself on house arrest!  Tomorrow I’m going to church and then a gospel concert that my church is putting on in the evening, but after that, Monday-Friday, I’ma just be at home chillin!  So hopefully the visitors will keep coming.

Well that’s the update for now!  Love y’all!

Back in Cape Town!

So, friends and family and loved ones, I am back!!  Back in Cape Town, and also back blogging – I PROMISE I am going to do a better job of updating this semester!!

I have been in Cape Town for just over a week now after a whirlwind couple of months.  I went to Namibia for Thanksgiving, attended UCT’s graduation, went to Zimbabwe for a week, came home for Christmas, went to Arkansas for New Years, to DC for inauguration, to Amsterdam with Hammad on the best layover EVER, and then I finally made it back to Cape Town!  I’ll update you on the trips “just now” (as they say here in SA) but for the moment let’s just talk about my first week.

I arrived on Sunday night, the 25th, and just being back in the Cape Town airport was such a surreal feeling.  I crashed at the house of one of my fellow Orientation Leaders (SOLmates), and then Monday morning woke up and went to my first SOLmate meeting!  Quinton’s (our director’s) first reaction when I walked in was, “Whoa, we need to have this meeting outside so Ellie can get her tan back!”  Clearly I didn’t realize it was that bad!!  So anyway, I met some of the new SOLmates and of course got reunited with lots of my friends!!  It is so good to see everyone, INDESCRIBABLY good.  I just feel SO happy!! 

Tuesday I just chilled and caught up with people, and Wednesday all the new Americans came!!  So we woke up at 5 AM to go greet the first flight arriving at the airport.  It was so much fun; we jumped around with the CIEE sign and sang and basically got hype despite the fact that it was the crack of dawn!  So we kind of overwhelmed these students who were coming off of 24-hour plane rides but hey they appreciated it… I think!  Then Yassi’s plane FINALLY came in at 4 PM (don’t worry I wasn’t at the airport the whole time, we took the students to the hotel and the Waterfront and stuff and then came back).  I was SO excited to see her!  (Yassi formerly known as Jessica is my roommate from sophomore year at Georgetown.)  I knew the moment she got off the plane that this semester was going to be a blessing.  And another friend of mine is here from Georgetown too!  So I’m excited!!

Wednesday was really fun, just getting to know the new Americans.  Since I’m the only American SOLmate (the rest are South African, Zimbabwean, Namibian, Kenyan, etc.) they were a little perplexed by my “accent” because I had said I was from Zim so they were probably like “I’ve never heard anyone talk like this… is this what White Zimbabweans sound like?”  Anyways, I thought they would be disappointed to have an American SOLmate but they are actually all really cool and friendly and LOVE me of course!! 

Then, Thursday was the first BIG day of orientation.  All-day talks about safety, academics, etc.  For some reason Thursday was incredibly difficult for me.  I think it’s just the fact that last July orientation was pretty much identical, but me and Terrance were just chillin in the back FOOLIN having fun the whole time… so I really felt a big gap.  And I brought him up in my SOLmate group because they asked me why I came back and everything like that, and Quinton had mentioned him as well, so I think his presence was just around a lot on that day.  I almost broke down crying in the middle of the orientation but I held it together until I got back to my hotel room for a break before dinner.  I realized I really couldn’t be around all these people right then; it was overwhelming to begin with, and the fact that none of them even had a clue who Terrance was just felt so strange to me.  So after some prayer with Quinton (he is SUCH a God-send) I went up to my room and just cried and cried and cried.  I don’t think I’ve cried that hard since the day that it happened.  I guess I just had to let it out.  I listened to a lot of gospel and just prayed and prayed, talking to God, talking to Terrance, and after a couple hours I felt a little bit more at peace.  I didn’t expect it to be this hard.  I figured if I could come back in September, I could come back now – how could it be harder than that?  But somehow it is, and I should have known that it’s going to take shape differently throughout my life, but it will still come up in some way.

That night, I also remembered WHY I came back to Cape Town.  These amazing friends – no, brothers and sisters – that I have the honor of knowing.  Nobody knew why I wasn’t coming to dinner or the rest of the night’s activities, but  I got so many calls/text messages that night and that morning as well, just people checking up on me and praying for me.  It is the best feeling in the world to know that people care about what you’re going through.  I am just so BLESSED!

Friday was really fun because we went to Marco’s African Place, ate some really good food, and then danced all night to the traditional band that was playing!  It was a great bonding experience, and I feel glad that I’m getting close to some of the new Americans.  I can definitely tell it’s going to be different from last semester – then, we were all peers, but now, even though most of the students are probably older than me, I’m their “SOLmate” so at some level there’s a little bit of a dividing line.  But even still, I’ve definitely gotten close to quite a few of them and I’m really happy about that!

Saturday we moved into beautiful Liesbeeck!!  (For those of you who have never seen Liesbeeck, my residence hall, the “beautiful” is sarcastic but hey… it’s beautiful on the inside!!)  There’s a good group of Americans living in the res and I’m glad I’m here to try and help them adjust.  I was supposed to be sharing a flat with Neo (my flatmate from last semester) and two other local students, but housing messed stuff up so long story short, I moved into a flat that was just me and three empty rooms for three local students!  I’m not gonna lie, I was a little nervous, because everyone has horror stories of random roommate placements.  But I prayed about it and I just trusted God and told everyone that He is gonna bless me with some great flatmates!  And sure enough He came through!!  Last night I met my first flatmate, a guy from Lesotho (like Neo is) who seems so nice!!  And then this morning I met my second flatmate, and I was SOOOO excited because I’m living with Christina’s flatmate from last semester, Nkoana!!  (Christina was one of my best American friends here and she LOVED her flatmates and told them to look out for me this semester.)  So I could not be more overjoyed!!!  He seems like such a sweet guy and I know we’re going to have fun!

Other than that I’ve just been chillin… on Saturday was also our Liesbeeck braai so I ate lots of AMAZING lamb!!  (Yes I am right back at it!  But this semester I have a fitness plan going, don’t worry!)  Sunday I went and spent some time with Quinton and his family which was really really beautiful and relaxing!  Long walks on the beach, etc!!    They are just such a beautiful family and it was so nice to see them.

Well I should probably go get my day started… plus I’m trying to read the entire book The Secret Life of Bees before the movie comes to theatres here this Friday!  So wish me luck on that.    Love y’all LOTS and please know that I WILL be updating *ideally* twice a week!!