Hey everyone!

This past week has been SO great! Tutoring with the boys at Emasithandane Children’s Home has just been incredible, first of all. We’ve been continuing with the heroes theme, and last Thursday we talked about Miriam Makeba and constrasted her anti-apartheid songs about empowering Africa with some of the more pro-violence songs used in the struggle that still continue to be sung today. Our discussion question was whether songs like “Umshini wami,” a song that literally means “bring me my machine gun” and that is sung at ANC rallies, should still be sung today. As usual, the kids were DEEP! Lusindiso talked about how it’s important to remember the struggle and to continue to sing the songs as a reminder, but Prince felt that singing the songs could stir up anger and hatred in people and take away from efforts for unity. After that, we talked about music today that talks about issues in society, especially “conscious” hip-hop. They named a bunch of South African rapper that talk about societal ills, and then they started writing their own rap lyrics about the issues in their community. So this Thursday is rap battle part 2 – get ready!!

Today a really interesting and disturbing issue came up, though. Our kids seem to think that the n-word is just a synonym for Black Americans or, even worse, a word that is supposed to mean a stereotypical black male thug. So we were developing questions that they would want to ask American students, and one of them asked “Are most people in America n****rs?” Another asked “Why do most people in USA want to be a n****r like 50 Cent & Lil Wayne?” We tried to explain to them that it’s a derogatory word that’s no longer supposed to be used, but then I felt terrible because they were so embarassed and thought they’d done something wrong, when it’s all our fault. Watch any music video or movie and realize that that’s ALL they know about Black Americans. Why do we allow this kind of stereotypical representation?? I don’t think people realize its far-reaching effects, and if they do, they are helpless to stop it. I’m not sure what can be done besides just changing one mind at a time. People have to realize that words hold SO much power.

On Saturday we had a really incredible day with the Emasi boys! They had told us that they were having an awards ceremony for their soccer team, so of course the other tutors and I wanted to attend. So we hopped on a minibus to Nyanga in the rain and got there 45 minutes late but it hadn’t even started yet – thank goodness!! It was hilarious – another tutor and I were the only white people there and they started out speaking in Xhosa and tell me why out of the whole crowd the MC called us out SPECIFICALLY like, “sorry ladies, we’ll translate later.” I was like WOW… I’m a little embarassed. LOL! So anyways, tell me why our boys were trying to act all humble when we asked them how their team was doing, but at the ceremony they won FIRST PRIZE!! They all got gold medals and this huge trophy! It was so amazing!! We met them back at the children’s home, where they were singing and dancing, hoisting the trophy in the air, and then before we knew it they were parading down the streets of the township with it!! We ran around in the rain trying to find them, but then when they got back to the home we heard them before we saw them! They busted in and all the girls were jumping up and down cheering and even the ladies who were cooking lunch got into it! It was just an incredible celebration. Then they grabbed my camera and had a photoshoot with their trophy and their medals- it was SO cute! (I’ll post the pictures soon.) It was just incredible to see the joy and the pride they experienced. And it was crazy because only 4 of the boys from the team are the ones we actually tutor, but the rest of the team all live at Emasi as well. So today (as a DIRECT result of us coming to the ceremony, I think) we had nine boys come to tutoring! Attendance doubled! There was a conflict before between the practices and our tutoring so only 3-4 would show up at a time but now that we met the coach and everything we have his support so things are going to go a lot more smoothly. So all in all it was a great experience! Oh, and we even met the councilor of Nyanga (like the community government representative.) He asked us to go back to the states and ask Michael Jordan or Michael Jackson (either one lol!) to donate a million dollars to Nyanga. We were like, um, ok, we’ll try to make that happen! But actually we do want to meet with him because I’m sure we can do some fundraising on campus to help them out. It may not be a million dollars but hey, we’ll see what we can do!

This weekend has been so blessed, too. Friday night was really deep because we went to church for HP Live (the Friday night service) and this guy gave this testimony and WOW… I won’t get all into it now but he was “singing my life with his words” like Lauryn would say… so it was an emotional night but I just really began to FULLY appreciate the sisterhood I have here! Me, Yassi, Babs and Billine all prayed together afterwards and decided to meet every week until we leave to talk about things and pray together. So this Sunday we had brunch and it was really a great time!! I love these ladies!! Oh, and Saturday night we had this movie night, me and Billine wanted to rent a “classic” movie that you always hear about but have never seen so we rented “Sleepless in Seattle”… but then Yassi had never even heard of it! She was like “Sleepless nights… what?” But it ended up being lots of fun, even though we were falling asleep cuz it was 3 am!! So yeah, just lots of bonding time this weekend… it was beautiful! Even Monday, woke up, had brunch with William, a meeting with Taf and Chenai and a few other people from church to plan this talent show (oh side note… me and Chenai had the idea for a CIEE talent show… can’t WAIT!), then went to the mall with Billine and ended up just chillin ALL day… went to Ken’s for dinner… just lots of fun with friends… good times! Didn’t get ANY work done but that’s ok, my next assignment’s not due til Monday so I got time! It’s more important to make the most of my time with people, I think.

So that leads me up to today… wow that was a long update! I have a friend coming for dinner so I’m busy frying chicken for a little taste of home. Love you guys lots!!

Wow… sorry for the silence guys! It’s been a month! Let’s see…

#1 MY CAST IS OFF! Got it off April 1… no April foolin, thank goodness!! It feels so good to be able to walk around like a normal person… yeah I have a little limp in my step but it’s all good!

#2 My mom and sister were here for the past two weeks!! It was amazing, we had so much fun, did so much, and they got to meet almost EVERYBODY there was to meet!! One of the highlights was Robben Island, because I was able to bring my host mom from Oceanview, as well as one of the girls I mentor at the LEAP school and her mother. It was such a great experience, especially because both of the mama’s had lived in South Africa their whole lives, but had never been to Robben Island. So they reminisced about what it was like to live under apartheid, and it seemed like the two of them really connected, which was cool because my host mom is Coloured from Oceanview and my mentee’s mom is Black from Khayelitsha. They would normally never meet, so it was just a really nice experience. And then afterwards it was really funny because they take pictures when you first get on the ferry, and you can buy them on your way out. So we were looking for the picture and we couldn’t find ours, and when we asked the guy selling them my mentee’s mom goes, “You can’t miss it- we’re the Rainbow Nation! Black, Coloured, and White all together!” It was the cutest thing!

Another highlight was the aquarium because two of best friends, William and Taf, took us (along with their friend Rob). So we were just goofing around the whole time… oh and the sharks were CRAZY!!! And the sting rays… they were just HUGE and SCARY but it was sooo cool, I’ve never seen anything like that!

We also spent a WONDERFUL day with Quinton and his family at the Cape of Good Hope. It was so nice! I was just so happy that my mom got to meet them because they have been such an important part of my experience here and it’s just nice for family to meet family, you know? So that was really beautiful.

I also had this HUGE dinner for my mom and sis so they could meet everyone! Literally 20 people were up in my room. And they came HUNGRY too so I had to coooook! But it was really fun. And two of my very good friends, Babs and Nyoko, each hosted the fam & me for dinner, which was just lovely!! Babs prepared an entire three-course meal all fancy, and Nyoko’s was so fun because Chenai and Yassi came to so we were just foolin!! So we had some great great times.

We also did tons of other stuff… the cablecar up Table Mountain, the District 6 Museum (which was awesome because the “mayor” of District 6 in its heyday gave us an exclusive tour!), the Castle of Good Hope… let’s see, what else… I took them to volunteering with me, which was SO nice!! Oh, and of course, we went to Knysna, to the beach where Terrance passed. It was a really deep experience and I’m glad I could share it with them, to feel a little bit more of a connection between that whole experience and my family at home.

So it was a WONDERFUL trip, and they just left Saturday, so for the past few days I’ve been trying to catch up with work and stuff, but it’s working out just fine since we have 3 public holidays coming up in the next two weeks!! Election Day, Freedom Day, and Worker’s Day. WHOOP WHOOP! Tomorrow is the election and it’s gonna be so interesting to see how everything goes!! Today I went to a speech by Rev. Dr. Alan Boesack, COPE’s Western Cape candidate and a huge Christian anti-apartheid leader. He’s an amazing speaker; it was really interesting! So we’ll see how well COPE fares and the DA too… most people think the “other” parties are gonna do better than usual because Zuma has so much controversy surrounding him. But of course the ANC is still going to win and Zuma is going to be president cuz that’s how it is here… but seeing the numbers will be interesting!

One more thing to share with you before I go… I got baptized on Sunday! It was an absolutely incredible experience. I just felt so much love and support being surrounded by my His People family. You should have heard them all cheering when I got up there!! =D Chenai and Chenge even did this special little celebration dance in front of me as I walked up there – it was so cool!! And afterwards they threw me a SURPRISE lunch to celebrate at Chenge’s… it was so much fun! I was just so overcome with emotion, for so many reasons. Being baptized in and of itself was just an amazing feeling… I really do feel fresh and new and it feels so great to have made a public commitment to my savior. I could also feel Terrance’s presence so much… looking out into the crowd of people that came, I was wishing he was there, but I could feel him and sense him and I could hear his “WHOOP WHOOP!” And then just seeing how many people came – my ENTIRE Liesbeeck cell (a church family/bible study group) came, and sooo many of my friends. Even Ronel, who lives an hour away and who I only told about the baptism the night before, came all the way out to support me! It was so beautiful. I was just so overwhelmed with LOVE! Everyone’s presence meant so much to me. It just gives me undescribable joy to be surrounded by such a tight-knit, loving, Christian family. I don’t know what I’m going to do without them 2 months from now, but I know that I will see them again, because family is family for life!

So… today was the BEST DAY EVER!!!!!

OK really most of the day was real routine, just class and stuff, but tutoring at Emasi today was AMAZING!!

I was supposed to be working with the older kids (7th-9th grade) the whole time, but for the first few weeks they couldn’t come because of some other time commitment. I was getting kind of frustrated because the little kids are really cute, but I wanted to focus on life skills and goal setting and role models and things that will get them thinking positively about the future, and that really doesn’t work with the younger ones. But today, PRAISE GOD, the older kids finally came! They are a group of six boys between 14 and 16 years old and I was kind of just bracing myself because adolescent boys are not always the easiest but Oh. My. Goodness. They were AMAZING!

So we started out with this theme of “Heroes” that I really wanted to do from the very beginning. To me, it’s so important for them to see positive images of people who look like them, who have impacted our world and made a difference in the lives of others. So every Tuesday and Thursday we’re going to introduce a “Hero” and talk about their accomplishments, and it’s my hope that this will inspire our kids to reach for their own dreams, too. So today, since it was the first day, we decided to start with the basics and do Nelson Mandela. I had written a little biography of him in language that they could understand, which we read through “popcorn”-style, each student doing a few sentences. Their English skills are GREAT though – that made me so happy! Cuz I only know the BASIC basic stuff in Xhosa. So we read through it and we had a few reflection questions but we started out just asking them, “So what do you think makes Nelson Mandela a hero?” And the first kid raises his hand and says, “Because he taught people how to forgive.” It was just SO profound, me and the other tutor, Millie, just sat there like WOW. So then we asked a couple other questions, including, “What issues would you focus on if you were the President of South Africa?” And you should have heard these kids.
“I would stop crime and drug dealers.”
“I would fight for people’s rights.”
“I would stop rape.”
“I would fix education.”
“I would help kids get off the streets and into good homes like Emasi.”
It was so powerful to hear how sincere they were; you could tell they really cared deeply about these issues from the way they were speaking. It just gave me so much faith and hope in their future, because I could see that they had thought critically about the community they live in and what needs to be changed. Now we just need to help them see that they have the power to do something about it.

After that exercise, we talked to them about different career paths, and they stayed SO engaged even though I’m sure some of it was kind of tedious for them (talking about different classes you can take to prepare for certain careers, etc.) They were just so polite and respectful and seemed genuinely interested, which made me feel SO good. Long-term, we’re going to work with them on goal-setting and working step by step to achieve those goals. I just really want to see their minds open to the possibility of success. I want to show them that the sky’s the limit, and that everyone they look up to who has achieved something great started out just like they did – as a kid with a dream. I came home from Emasi feeling SO joyous in my heart because I know good things are going to come out of this!

I am just feeling SO blessed right now, guys. I just got back from a braai at my friend Chenge’s place – these braais are kind of her tradition, and the people that come through are mostly the church crew, so it’s a really nice family vibe. I was a regular at her braais last semester too, and I realized tonight one of the reasons why I love them so much. I hadn’t really thought about it until just now, but I’m always the only American there, which symbolizes something. It makes me realize that I have truly found a family here, a group of friends that truly make up my home-away-from-home. It’s one thing to have a clique of 2 or 3 other Americans, and still have local friends too, but at the end of the day the Americans are who you roll with. It’s another thing to sit in a room talking and laughing and having deep conversations with all these amazing people from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Botswana, Swaziland, etc., and realizing that to them you’re not just another one of the Americans, you’re a real friend and sister to them. It’s an incredible feeling.

So many people have been asking me how much longer I’m staying, and a lot of people assume I’m here for good now, so it’s SO depressing to tell them I’m leaving in June! Also, because the academic year here is February-November, a lot of people assume I’m at least here until the end of ‘09. So the conversation about me leaving has been coming up LOTS. I was talking to my friend Thami today at the braai and, like lots of people, he was shocked that I’ll be going home in June. He couldn’t really wrap his mind around the concept of me leaving, and he kept saying, “But you’re one of us now, you really are! You’re one of us.” And it made me feel SO good but SO sad at the same time. But I am trying to concentrate on the fact that I am so incredibly blessed more than anything else. I really don’t know how I’m physically going to leave on June 13; I think someone is going to have to literally drag me onto the plane. I am going to be so sad to have to leave these people, not knowing when I’m going to see them again. I was just talking to an American friend about how hard it is for people that start relationships on study abroad, but honestly, having friends THIS close is just as hard… it’s gonna be a bunch of long-distance relationships (just hopefully with less drama than real ones, lol!) But as difficult as it’s going to be to say goodbye, I just thank God for giving me this incredible opportunity. I am blessed to be able to study here for an entire year, to forge such strong bonds with such beautiful people, and to have memories that I’m going to cherish for the rest of my life.

I know that these friendships will be life-long, no matter what it takes. It was so sweet, me and William were at the mall on Monday and he’s in the dressing room and I’m sitting outside and out of nowhere, he says, “I’m coming to visit you. We’re gonna have to see each other. This isn’t gonna be it.” And he just said it so matter-of-factly, and it made me so happy to realize that we both see that this friendship IS worth preserving, that, no matter what, we’re going to work it out. And I feel that way with so many of my close friends here. It’s a reality that we’re going to be really far apart, but it’s not going to stop the connection that we have. I’ve been on little week-long programs before where you meet people from all over and you make these strong connections with people and you promise to keep in touch and you do with a few, but mostly they’re just memories of the past. But this is a YEAR, a year in which I have grown so much and so many people have been there to support me in so many different ways. The people I have met here have made me a better person, have brought me closer to God, have taught me so much about myself and the world around me, and have shown me what true friendship really is. They are always going to be a part of me, and I thank God for bringing each and every one of them into my life.

When I was talking to Thami, he was telling me about the six weeks he spent interning in Washington, DC this past summer (his first time leaving South Africa) and what a profound effect it had on him as someone who is incredibly interested in politics and public policy (I always tell him he is the next Mandela, for real!) For him, to walk through the halls of Congress, to meet senators and ambassadors, to stand where MLK delivered the “I Have A Dream” speech, was a dream come true. He told me, “it is so fulfilling to know that you are living the purpose that God has placed inside of you.” His time in DC was an unparalleled blessing for him, and so then he asked me how my time in South Africa has affected me. It really got me thinking. Honestly, I think I have grown more in this 8-month period than at any other time in my life. My eyes have truly been opened to the world around me, I have met some of the best friends I have ever had, and I have reached a stronger sense of clarity on the path I want to pursue in life. I know that God has placed inside of me a passion for people and for serving others, and in everything I do, I want to shine the light of His love into the lives of others. I am trying to stay in constant conversation with God so that He can continue to order my steps, and I feel confident that I am on the right path. Coming here has, in many ways, helped to confirm that. I can’t even describe how grateful I feel to be living and breathing and thriving in such a beautiful place with such beautiful people, and I am soaking in every moment.

Hey everyone!
This past weekend was our homestay in Oceanview, a township that Coloured residents of Simon’s Town, a beautiful beach community, were relocated to during apartheid. We went last semester and I had a truly inspirational weekend getting to know my host mother, who I will call Mama J. (Click here for last semester’s blog entry.) This weekend ended up being just as wonderful! I got to stay with Mama J again, which was so much fun. We got there on Friday night and had an amazing meal, and then just stayed up talking and catching up. On Saturday, we slept in and then went to the Oceanview vs. CIEE students basketball game! CIEE ended up winning, so that was really exciting! After that we went to a 5 pm church service. They normally don’t have services on Saturdays but yesterday was this huge Cape Town Cycling Tour that everyone in the community wanted to support because it comes right past Oceanview, so the church rescheduled! I thought that was so funny but also really nice. I heard that Matt Damon participated because he’s shooting a movie down here. No one actually got to see him though, that I know of.

Anyway, church was SO nice because Mama J and my host sister both sing in the choir. They sounded beautiful! Their pastor wasn’t able to be there, however, so they had the bishop come, who was not from Oceanview. Something he said really rubbed me the wrong way. When he stepped up to start his sermon, he said, “Wow, I didn’t know there were people all the way out here! I thought this was just a green spot on the map.” Now normally I would think this would be offensive to an entire, huge community of people, but what really frustrated me about his comment was that not only was it rude in general, but it was completely ignorant of this country’s entire history. When people were relocated during apartheid, they were specifically placed in dry, desolate places far away from the city centre where no one had previously lived, in order to isolate them. For him to make that comment was to completely deny the terrible history of apartheid, and I was sure that I wasn’t the only one taken aback by his comment. I should have brought it up to my host mother or sister, but it slipped my mind. I wish I had gotten their input on it.

After church, we had tons of people over for a braai! Mama J’s daughters, her daughter’s husband and kids, her brother and his wife, and a good friend of hers and her husband (one of the pastors at church) were all there. It was such a fun evening – people were just cracking jokes the whole night, and they were also really interested in me and the other American girl, Lexi, staying with Mama J. They asked us lots of questions and it was really nice just having a cultural exchange. I also just LOVED the feeling of being in a family setting, just hanging out. It was so nice!

Sunday morning we had a visitor, one of Mama J’s co-workers. I’m not sure exactly how it came up, but he spoke to us a lot about the apartheid years, and how he struggled to teach his son about history without making him racist towards white people. He told us about how his whole life he was called a “kaffir” (the South African version of the N-word, pretty much) and treated like dirt, and he would ask God, why did you give me this dark skin? His testimony was so emotional and powerful, so I just sat back and listened. He talked about so many atrocities he had witnessed, some of them graphic, but he kept emphasizing that we must move beyond hatred and see each other as people, not in the constraints of race. I respected him so much for what he was saying, but I wonder how many people have the strength and courage to love even after they have seen so much.

I learned so much this weekend, and I was so glad to have had the opportunity to go once again. I realized even more this semester how it’s such a beneficial experience for us as American students, but it also has a really huge impact on the people of Oceanview. For one, Mama J was saying how it’s kind of like bringing the world to Oceanview,” since many of them don’t have the opportunity to travel to the States. They are able to learn about what it’s like to live in the States from our stories, our pictures, and just getting to know us, in the same way that our getting to know them educates us so much more about South Africa. She was also telling us that during apartheid, people could be arrested just for entertaining guests of another race. If a white family had a Coloured or Black domestic worker, the domestic worker was not allowed to sit at the table and eat her lunch; she would be forced to sit outside. Blacks and Whites couldn’t even shake hands with one another. That’s one of the reasons why this interaction has so much significance to them; it’s in direct defiance of the history of apartheid. And Mama J was also saying that we, as college students coming into Oceanview, push many of the youths to think about education after high school.

In fact, that was probably the best part of my homestay. When I got to the house Friday night, my host sister greeted me with the incredible news that she had just started studying Interior Design at the College of Cape Town! I was so happy to hear this, because you can tell it’s her passion the second you step into their home – it is decorated so beautifully, so colorful and warm and home-y. Ever since last semester, I had been encouraging her to study, because you can tell it’s truly a talent of hers! She’s a few years older than me, so she’s the oldest in her courses, but she likes it because she says everyone has a respect for her; they even voted her the class leader (something common at universities here, they have it at UCT as well). And when she got done telling me all this, she goes, “You know, it’s because of you.” She told me that meeting to me encouraged her to take advantage of the opportunity to get an education. I didn’t even know what to say – it just made me feel so good to know that she is truly on a path to success, and I am so proud of her for pursuing her dreams, despite hardship.

Oh my goodness. I just came back from the most amazing play! It’s called Red Winter in Gugs (short for Guguletu, a township about 15 min from where I live) and it’s showing at Baxter Theatre just near campus. It was a one-woman show, and it was SO powerful. It was about a girl coming of age in the 1980’s in Guguletu, who fell in love with an anti-apartheid activist from her community. It was so beautiful, how he taught her to be proud of her heritage (and her VERY Xhosa name), and then so sad because he was murdered and people in the community thought that this girl had turned him in to the White people. The woman’s acting was incredible- her name is Pumeza Rashe. She played so many characters with such intense emotion… it was truly amazing. I went with Yassi and Julia, and Yassi and I were so upset because we had went to the restroom and when we got out Julia was like “I met her!” We were so jealous and Yassi was about to CRY but then we asked a security guard and he showed us that she was still there. So we went over and talked to her for a good 10 minutes! She was so humble and sweet. What a great experience!

So now, let me backtrack, since I haven’t written in a week. Last Wednesday we had a professor from Univ. of the Western Cape come speak to us about South African politics, which was really really interesting. He was talking about the election that’s coming up next month, and I’m so sad because he said the opposition party that just recently branched off of the ANC (COPE) is not going to have too much support. I guess I’ve been believing all the hype about it. I was really hoping for a viable Black opposition because I really don’t see the benefit in one party (the ANC) having such a monopoly over the country. If there’s no challenge they can do whatever they want, which means benefitting the Black elite while the masses are still poor and living in the same shacks they were in during apartheid.

Thursday was my second day working at Emasithandane, the Children’s Home in Nyanga. It was so much fun! We played some getting-to-know-you games with the kids, and they were so sweet. They were all still trying to play with my crutches! It was so funny though because they had advised us to try to just learn one new name every day and not overwhelm ourselves, because some of the names are hard for us as non-Xhosa speakers. So there was one girl who really warmed up to me from the beginning so I was like ok, I’m going to learn her name. So I asked her, what’s your name? “Xolelwa.” For those of you who don’t know, that X is a big click that I can NOT do, the same click that is in “Xhosa.” So of course she laughed at me when I tried to do it!! But I’m working on it and that’s what’s important.

Friday night I went to the first HP Live! It’s a Friday night worship service specifically catered to UCT students that His People puts on. Last semester they had it but it was called The Edge – it’s where Terrance sung on the praise team. And this semester I might be singing on the praise team!! I’m so excited! But yeah, it was really nice, saw a lot of friends and had SO much fun! Afterwards my friends Taf, Zwee, and Richard were all taking turns jamming on the guitar and me and Billine were singing along. Then me and Taf had a freestyle battle (with Zwee accompanying on guitar, lol!) about whose fried chicken is gonna win the fried chicken cook-off next weekend! We are both very competitive people so we have been hyping this event (that is just me vs. Taf) since last October! It is finally happening… SOON! I will definitely let you know who comes out victorious… although you already know the answer… =D

Saturday I stayed in the house and did research ALL day for my independent study. But it was so worth it, I feel really accomplished! And then I got to video skype with lots of fam – my mom, her boyfriend Mark, Annie, my Uncle Matt, Aunt Ann, and Mr. Johnson! It was so cute to see all of them on the screen. And Sunday was so nice – went to church, then I bought the new India.Arie CD (which is AMAZING!) After that was a REALLY wonderful concert at Kirstenbosch, this beautiful botanical garden. The band Malaika was performing, and I need to get their CD because they can SING! The genre is Afro-Pop, I guess, and it was just such a nice time, sitting outside with all the flowers and the big mountain in the background, listening to music! Oh, cutest moment EVER! So before the concert I saw Quinton and he was like, “I took Zach (his 6-year-old son) in the office with me today and saw a picture of you and said ‘HEY BOO!’ So I think he’s practicing so that he can say it to you when he sees you tonight!” And sure enough, I walk up to him at the concert like “Hey Zach!” and he gets this look of deep concentration on his face and then he yells out, “HEY BOO!” It was the cutest thing in the whooole world! As Chenai says, I am colonizing the continent with my “hey boo”… but what can I say, I am just influential!!

Yesterday was my first day back at LEAP since last semester! It was so nice because I get to work with the same girls as last semester, except for now they are big 11th graders! And let me tell you, some of them have really grown in the past 3 months since I’ve seen them!! WOW!! But it was so cute because we were going around the circle introducing ourselves (because all the other volunteers are new) and when they got to me all of them yelled out “Beyonce!” I had completely forgotten about my little nickname from last semester. They are TOO funny! So this semester instead of having gym class and playing baseball, I’ll be attending Life Orientation with them (which is really interesting coming from a social work perspective; it’s all about sharing thoughts about deep issues in their lives) and then doing homework help. So it should be a great semester. I missed them lots so I’m glad to be back at LEAP!

When I got back from LEAP I had to run (well, hop… lol!) to a meeting, and when I got back I just settled in my room. Then my flatmate, Motjemoka, comes to my door and goes, “oh great, you’re back!” I wondered what the big deal was… and then he walks in with a full plate of food, chicken and pap! It was looking and smelling SO good, so even though I had grabbed a quick bite to eat before my meeting, I couldn’t refuse the offer!! He was like, “I want you to experience real African food” and kept giving me instructions about eating it with my hands and stuff, which of course I was already cool with!! It was SO delicious and I could tell he was SO happy that I was enjoying it so much. I think Black Africans aren’t used to Whites eating pap (the staple starch here) because he just looked so entertained from watching me eat!! (Plus I remember in Zim, Chenai’s domestic worker was shocked that I was eating pap, and that she didn’t have to cook rice for me!) It was such a nice night, because he sat with me and was telling me all this stuff about his background, about how ethnically he’s Ndebele but he’s lived in Lesotho all his life so he speaks Sesotho and relates to their culture the most. He told me how he loves history, and was telling me the history of Lesotho, about the king, Moshoeshoe, and how he defeated the Boer colonizers in the 1800s. He had so much pride in telling me the story and it was really cool to be learning about that from him. I hope I can visit Lesotho this semester, because two of my flatmates (Motjemoka and Nkoana) are from there, and my flatmate from last semester, Neo, is from there too! Hopefully I’ll get the chance.

Well I guess that leads up to today! Went to class and then tutored at Emasithandane. It was another good day there – we played a few games with the kids and then had them do acrostic poems with their names. VERY challenging for kids who are just starting to learn English!! But we worked it out. The best part of the day, though, was this impromptu karaoke session. We were just putting on some music to dance around a little bit for the beginning of class, but then “No Air” comes on and the kids know every word!!! And they hit every part – belting out the high notes and everything! Some of these kids are little superstars, dancing around and performing! It was the cutest thing in the whole world! I am gonna love that song FOREVER now! =D

Writing this, I realized that this week was shaped by a lot of little things that brightened up each one of my days! Guitar jam sessions freestyling about fried chicken, Lesotho history lessons and home cooking, Zach’s “HEY BOO!”, that unforgettable rendition of “No Air,” meeting that incredible actress… life has been SO nice in all these little ways and I am just feeling so BLESSED! I hope everyone at home is doing well. Love y’all!!

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

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!!

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!

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!