Monday
Jimmy flew in and I went with my driver, Pearnel, to go pick him up from the airport. I was so excited I even made a sign for him. It said Jimmy and it had a South African flag on it. I have to say it was awesome! Anyways we left pretty early but when we got to the airport we could figure out where to pick up domestic flights(Jimmy flew into Jo-Burg first so his flight was domestic) and Pearnel didn’t know where to go because he was so used to picking people up from the international side and it was dark out and like all things in Africa, the signs didn’t help at all. Well we finally found the area where domestic arrivals were and parked but it had started to rain and we parked pretty far away so we had to run through the rain to where to domestic arrivals were. Then, Jimmy’s bag was broken on the plane so we had to walk back through the rain with his broken bag. It was pretty hectic but still amazing! It was so nice to have Jimmy come visit me. But it was late so I just introduced Jimmy to the girls, showed him the house, and then we went to sleep.
Tuesday
Unfortunately on Jimmy’s first day we had to wake up at 6 am to go to my work, but it was really cool to show him where the magic is done, hehe. We had a pretty productive day. We were trying to figure out what to do because we needed to find a cheaper vacuum pump and it was frustrating because all pumps were quoted at the same price so Shona told us we needed to make our own. So we were trying to figure this out and Jimmy helped and we finally decided that trying a air mattress pump might work. We went to a place similar to Sam’s Club and picked up a pump. I think Jimmy wanted to stay and look around because it was a really cool store. Anyways so we finally made it home, we took a nap because Jimmy still had really bad jet lag and then we went grocery shopping because we had no food. That was fun because I missed making food for more than just me and it was nice to decide what we were going to make together. After we made dinner we decided to go out with the girls to Stones for 8 rand night(its like a dollar for a beer) to chill and play pool. It was really fun. I killed Jimmy in pool but I think it was because the balls and pockets here are smaller than in the states. It was really nice to have my boyfriend there too because no creepy guys hit on me. Overall we had a pretty relaxing day.
Wednesday
Jimmy got the privilege to come to school with me on Wed! Yay, not, but it was really nice to show him my campus and we went to the Barn. The Barn is like a pub they have on campus and they sell this sandwich like thing called a Gatsby. The Gatsby is huge! I swear I could eat for an entire week by just having one Gatsby. But anyways Jimmy and I split a chicken Gatsby and I think he really liked it. Then we went to the bookstore on campus to try and find a college shirt for Jimmy. Well they don’t have regular college shirts here like they do in the states. They only have Polo Ts so we decided it wouldn’t be worth it to get one. I didn’t want to look preppy. Anyways both Jimmy and I had papers to do so we stayed in tonight and figured out the car situation to go to Simon’s Town tomorrow.
Thursday
Today was Simon’s Town day! Day to see the penguins! But to get there we decided to rent a car. Jimmy had his first experience driving in South Africa! Wow did he learn how to drive on the other side of the road quickly! He was really good at it, I think it would take me longer to get used to. Anyways we went to Simon’s Town and walked around and saw all the penguins, there were so many of them. we also got to swim with them because they have a beach where to penguins hang out. It was really cold though! I thought I was going to die going into the water but I think that its colder because it is closer to the Atlantic Ocean. Anyways Jimmy finally made me go in and it was really fun because they waves were big and I was swimming with penguins!!! How cool! So after we hung out at the beach for a little we decided to head back and stop in a couple of the towns on the way back. Jimmy and Adria really wanted KFC so we stopped at KFC for lunch, I couldn’t believe I was eating KFC in Africa, I don’t even eat it in the states. After KFC we went to Kaut Bay to walk around and look at the shops. Jimmy got tricked into paying for parking because none of us girls said anything quickly enough(People here put vest on and act like they are parking checkers and they will tell people they know are tourist that they need to pay for parking but you really don’t have to, they are just normal people). Anyways it was bad because it was on 10 rand, a little over a dollar. So we walked around and looked at some shops and then we went to where the light house was and watched the ocean crash against the walls. The water went so high! Well after a while Renee was getting tired so we left and went home, plus Jimmy and I needed to shower for dinner. We were going to go to Spear, this place where you can pet cheetahs, for dinner but they were booked so we needed to figure out what we were going to do. We went to Obs Café to have coffee and figure out what we were going to do(This was the start of Jimmy’s obsession with Obs Café, they are really good though). In the end we decided to go down to the water front. It was a good choice. We went to this really nice seafood restaurant that had an amazing view of Table Mountain. Plus, I got to eat lobster! I haven’t had lobster in like 3 years. It was so good! Overall dinner was amazing!
Friday
Unfortunately I had to go to class today, but I didn’t make Jimmy come. He ended up going around Ons and checking everything out. But Friday night we had plans to go to the Baxter theatre to see Othello. We got ready and decided to take a cambi there. It was Jimmy’s first cambi experience and it was sooooo funny! The guy who was collecting the money was really funny. He was from South Africa but he said he lived in the states for a while. He keeping joking about being best friends with Snoop Dogg and telling us about all the parties they had. He also keep hitting on Mallory and Ashley. It was funny because he was so blunt about it and I think he was just joking around. I don’t think Jimmy thought it was as funny though but it was nice for him to see the interesting people you can meet on the cambies. Anyways so we finally got to the Baxter and we were a bit early so we went to the bar to have girlie drinks before the show. The show turned out to be amazing! It turns out it was students from UCT who were the actors and actresses and they were so good! I haven’t seen theatre since high school and now I want to go more offend. You feel a connection with the characters you don’t get when you watch movies.
Saturday
Canyoning! Yes, I decided to take Jimmy Canyoning and he loved it. It was so cute though because he was really afraid at first. The guy who runs it says that is normal. Guys usually talk a lot but then they are more afraid of it than women. But he wasn’t bad! It was also really cute because between each waterfall you have to walk through the river and it is really slippery. Well Jimmy slipped a fair amount of times but he would also turn back and put out his hand to make sure I didn’t slip, it was sooooooo cute!!! I also got to play photographer and so when I get home ill have to show you guys all the picture from the day. We got to do five waterfalls, I was exhausted by the end, I slept the entire car ride home. Anyways we were starved by the time we got back so we went to this Indian food place in Obs that the girls go to all the time. It was so good to get a full stomach, but after the long day(we had woke up at 5 am) we needed a nap so we decided to take a nap before the party(we were having people over at our house that night) . well I told one of my roommates to make sure we were up in like an hour but she never woke me up so Jimmy and I slept through the entire party. Its ok though, we were worn from the long day with Mother Nature. I’m so glad we went!
Sunday
I decided to take Jimmy to the church that I have been going to down here. It was really interesting to see how he would like the songs in Xhosa and all the dancing. I think he enjoyed it, but he wouldn’t dance that much. Anyways after church we went to the store to get stuff for South Africa’s version of Jazz in the Park at Kirstenbousch. Kirstenbousch is the gardens in Cape Town and it is absolutely beautiful. Well they hold concerts on a hill that overlooks the mountains and tons of people come and have wine and cheese and listen to African music, so I decided it would be a good idea to take Jimmy to the gardens. Well we got there early so we decided to walk around and see the gardens and all the statues they have. It turns out they have a footprint statue!!! How cool and it looked just like my tattoo so I needed to get a picture with it. Well it sits on this tree stump and so I decided to sit on the stump so that I could but my feet next to the big foot, bad idea! I ended up sitting in tree sap and I got it all over the butt of my dress! It was so embarrassing because it looked like I pooped my pants! We went to the bathroom and tried to get it off but it wouldn’t come out. Jimmy made me feel better though and reminded me that I don’t know anyone here so I shouldn’t be embarrassed. So we walked around a little more and then went back to listen to the music. It was really cool to lay there, listen to music, eat cheese, drink wine, and watch the sun go down behind the mountain but it was even more amazing because Jimmy was there with me! Despite the tree sap it was an awesome day!
Monday
I only went to work for a half day today and so Jimmy and I got to go downtown to the Green Street Market. It was cool and Jimmy got to see all the African art and he got to try and bargain with the Africans. He ended up getting his mask here! We also went into this cute African art store and got some stuff for his grandma and mom. Overall we had a productive shopping experience. But then we decided to head up to Table Mountain. We wanted to take the cable car up. After running around the market to try and find a cambi to take us there we ended up having to take a cab, but it was worth it. The cable car was really cool and it spun as you went up so you got a 360 degree view as you went to the top. On the top of Table Mountain you can see both the Atlantic Ocean side and the Indian Ocean side. It was beautiful! Also Jimmy and I had brought a picnic to eat up there because the girls who had gone before said that there were tons of people picnicking on top of Table Mountain. She was wrong! No one was picnicking but I was really hungry so we sat and had our own picnic, it was nice. Then we looked around more and went in the little shop they had. This is where Jimmy bought me my awesome Safari hat! We stayed for like 2 hours and then we headed home, watched a movie and hung out with the girls.
Tuesday
My last day with Jimmy, I cried a couple of times this day. We decided that on the last day we were going to take it easy and go to the beach. We took the train to Muzienburg beach. It was nice we ended up getting food at this cute little shop. I got a Calamari sandwich and it was awesome! And Jimmy got some sausage that he ended up likely so much he got another one. Then we went to the beach, played in the water, laid in the sun, played in the water some more. It was really nice, not as cold as Simon’s Town. We also walked along the beach and Jimmy found a snail, it was really awesome because he picked it up. I have a picture don’t worry. Anyways we relaxed the entire day and watched kids play in the water and people surf. It was super nice. And then when we were heading back with both got Coke in a glass bottle! It tastes so much better out of a glass bottle and unlike Mexico you get to keep the bottles here! We went back on the train and ended up packing and just enjoying the last night together.
Wednesday
Jimmy left and I cried all day!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Hermanus Retreat
March 3rd-9th
This week was uneventful other than the movie night at Judy’s on Wednesday Night and the weekend retreat to Hermanus. So our group took a trip down the coast to a little town called Hermanus, which is known for the whales, unfortunately whales are not down here in March. However, the place we stayed at was really nice. We stayed at John DeGruchy’s Winery/Farm. Im not sure it is used for either of those purposes but it was just a hug piece of land that was unbelievably beautiful. So we stayed there because we were there to meet with John to talk with him about his book on reconciliation. But the best part of the weekend was relaxing and going hiking. There were many trails set up to hike and on the second day Ashley and I went to the waterfall and went swimming. It was so cool! The water was really nice and we got to go right next to the waterfall. It was so peaceful! Then we had a braai that night with John which was cool because we got to talk with him and Pearnel’s(our driver) wife and Melikaya’s(our director) girlfriend. They are all from South Africa and were all really interesting to talk with. Also when we were there we went to the downtown area because they have a festival set up on the weekends. It was really nice because 5 of us went to this restaurant and had seafood!!!! I miss good seafood! And it was unbelievably good and it was cheap! Also they had really cute shops downtown and a beautiful view of the harbor(this is where the whales usually are). Finally on the last morning we took the longest trail up to the cross which was on top of one of the mountains. It was a difficult hike, but we all made it! And I had a really nice conversation with Kalyn, another girl in the house, on the way down the mountain. Overall the weekend was extremely relaxing and it was amazing to see God in the beauty of nature!
This week was uneventful other than the movie night at Judy’s on Wednesday Night and the weekend retreat to Hermanus. So our group took a trip down the coast to a little town called Hermanus, which is known for the whales, unfortunately whales are not down here in March. However, the place we stayed at was really nice. We stayed at John DeGruchy’s Winery/Farm. Im not sure it is used for either of those purposes but it was just a hug piece of land that was unbelievably beautiful. So we stayed there because we were there to meet with John to talk with him about his book on reconciliation. But the best part of the weekend was relaxing and going hiking. There were many trails set up to hike and on the second day Ashley and I went to the waterfall and went swimming. It was so cool! The water was really nice and we got to go right next to the waterfall. It was so peaceful! Then we had a braai that night with John which was cool because we got to talk with him and Pearnel’s(our driver) wife and Melikaya’s(our director) girlfriend. They are all from South Africa and were all really interesting to talk with. Also when we were there we went to the downtown area because they have a festival set up on the weekends. It was really nice because 5 of us went to this restaurant and had seafood!!!! I miss good seafood! And it was unbelievably good and it was cheap! Also they had really cute shops downtown and a beautiful view of the harbor(this is where the whales usually are). Finally on the last morning we took the longest trail up to the cross which was on top of one of the mountains. It was a difficult hike, but we all made it! And I had a really nice conversation with Kalyn, another girl in the house, on the way down the mountain. Overall the weekend was extremely relaxing and it was amazing to see God in the beauty of nature!
Fifth Week- the week of random events
Feb 25th - March 2nd
Got my hair braided!
Well I said I was going to do it and I did! I got my hair braided. Little braids too! It took forever though. Adria and I went to this new place in Obs and the girl who did my hair couldn’t even speak English but she was super fast at braiding. However, it still took three hours! It was nice to have Adria there and we had a really nice convo. In the end, it looked amazing! I loved it!
Beach then Rugby Game!!
So our teacher had a conference this Friday and we didn’t have our second class. Therefore, me and like 5 of the other girls took the train to Muzienburg. We relaxed, I read on the beach and we hopped in the water, I couldn’t go in because of my hair, but it was still nice to put my feet in. however we got ridiculously sandy and so I hair to take a shower to get the sand out of my hair. Therefore I spent like and hour rebraided the bottom of my hair, but it still looked nice. Then we headed off to our first South African rugby game! Yeah ross, I know ur jealous! It was really cool, really crowded though. We had to walk through big crowds to get to the station and then in the station it was hard to get to your seat because there were so many people. But when you got to your seat it wasn’t that bad. Something else that’s different from the states is that they don’t serve beer in the stands, they serve donuts and hot chocolate, isnt that weird! To drink you have to go into the bar underneath the station so about half way through the game like half of our girls got bored and went down there. Me, Britney, Renee, and Ashley stayed and watched the game. It was really fun because people got really into it! The South Africa team got killed though! I couldn’t believe how bad we did, but hey I don’t really know that much about it though but Britney who plays rugby said we played really bad. It was still interesting to watch and Britney keep me informed on what was happening. O yeah, while we were watching the game the guy in front of us turned around to talk with us. It was so weird but so nice to hear an American accent! It turns out he is from cali and he is doing business in cape town. It was so nice to talk with him about America and familiar things (I have been deprived an American accent for a while!). but soon they left because our team was getting killed. We decided to stay because the other girls hadn’t gotten back yet. Well the game ended and they still weren’t there so we went down to the bar to find them. Well it turns out that the girls meet an entire rugby team from Argentina that was visiting to play a tournament. They were 52 of them! And like when Milton brings his rugby team home, they were loud and rowdy. It was funny though, because we couldn’t understand what they were saying but they keep jumping up and down and chanting. It was fun because you would just jump with them but you didn’t know what was going on! Well it turns out that they wanted to keep hanging out with us and they had their tour bus so they offered to take us back to Obs and go to the bars in Obs with us. Since there were fifteen of us we figured it would be ok, plus I met their coach and personal trainer before we left so I felt more comfortable about it because they were adults. So we took the entire rugby team to Obs! The ride there was interesting because only some of them spoke English and so it was fun trying to figure out what everyone was saying. But they were really nice, we both talked about what we were doing in Cape Town and what we thought out cape town, etc. Finally we got to Obs and ended up at Stones, where we always go. I think we overwhelmed the bar though, because 60 of us walked in! it was funny to watch the Argentinans try and order. I had to order for some of them because they couldn’t speak English. But it was fun to just hang out and joke around with everyone. Well this was also the night I met Patrick, probably my best guy friend in Obs. Pat is one of the bartenders at Stones and while I was ordering for one of the boys I apologized to him for bringing so many people in and overcrowding them. he laughed and said it was ok and then asked where I was from. We ended up talking(don’t worry Jimmy I told him I had a boyfriend!) and he was really nice! He is from the DRC and is here studying and working in Cape Town. That nice I met so many awesome people!
Winery Tour
So after our crazy Friday, we had a planned winery tour. Kristina’s, one of the girls in the house, dad has an old business partner that now owns a winery in Stellenbosch and even more important, he is from Green Bay Wisconsin!!! How cool is that! Again it was so nice to hear a familiar accent and it made me even more excited that Jimmy was coming in like 2 weeks. Anyways the winery tour was really fun. I don’t really like wine, but I have never really tasted good wine. So we got to taste like 8 wines and I found that wine isnt that nasty and I actually like white wine. He also showed us around the winery and told us about how it worked and why they did certain things. He was so enthusiastic about it, it was even more exciting. Finally we got to try one of the wines straight from the barrel, cool! Overall it was really nice because I have never been on a winery tour and it reminded me of home because the owner was from Wisconsin. Maybe one day ill own a winery in South Africa and live there for their summer and then go to the states for our summers. What an awesome job!
Holistic Fair
The holistic fair is a “hippy” fair that they have in Obs. Its really awesome though because they have stuff from all over the world. They have food from India, China, Indonesia, Greece, Africa, etc. They also have people selling stuff from all over. Also everything is so much cheaper than it in is the stores in Obs. It was really cool to look at all the stuff from all over and I got some really cool African gifts.
Got my hair braided!
Well I said I was going to do it and I did! I got my hair braided. Little braids too! It took forever though. Adria and I went to this new place in Obs and the girl who did my hair couldn’t even speak English but she was super fast at braiding. However, it still took three hours! It was nice to have Adria there and we had a really nice convo. In the end, it looked amazing! I loved it!
Beach then Rugby Game!!
So our teacher had a conference this Friday and we didn’t have our second class. Therefore, me and like 5 of the other girls took the train to Muzienburg. We relaxed, I read on the beach and we hopped in the water, I couldn’t go in because of my hair, but it was still nice to put my feet in. however we got ridiculously sandy and so I hair to take a shower to get the sand out of my hair. Therefore I spent like and hour rebraided the bottom of my hair, but it still looked nice. Then we headed off to our first South African rugby game! Yeah ross, I know ur jealous! It was really cool, really crowded though. We had to walk through big crowds to get to the station and then in the station it was hard to get to your seat because there were so many people. But when you got to your seat it wasn’t that bad. Something else that’s different from the states is that they don’t serve beer in the stands, they serve donuts and hot chocolate, isnt that weird! To drink you have to go into the bar underneath the station so about half way through the game like half of our girls got bored and went down there. Me, Britney, Renee, and Ashley stayed and watched the game. It was really fun because people got really into it! The South Africa team got killed though! I couldn’t believe how bad we did, but hey I don’t really know that much about it though but Britney who plays rugby said we played really bad. It was still interesting to watch and Britney keep me informed on what was happening. O yeah, while we were watching the game the guy in front of us turned around to talk with us. It was so weird but so nice to hear an American accent! It turns out he is from cali and he is doing business in cape town. It was so nice to talk with him about America and familiar things (I have been deprived an American accent for a while!). but soon they left because our team was getting killed. We decided to stay because the other girls hadn’t gotten back yet. Well the game ended and they still weren’t there so we went down to the bar to find them. Well it turns out that the girls meet an entire rugby team from Argentina that was visiting to play a tournament. They were 52 of them! And like when Milton brings his rugby team home, they were loud and rowdy. It was funny though, because we couldn’t understand what they were saying but they keep jumping up and down and chanting. It was fun because you would just jump with them but you didn’t know what was going on! Well it turns out that they wanted to keep hanging out with us and they had their tour bus so they offered to take us back to Obs and go to the bars in Obs with us. Since there were fifteen of us we figured it would be ok, plus I met their coach and personal trainer before we left so I felt more comfortable about it because they were adults. So we took the entire rugby team to Obs! The ride there was interesting because only some of them spoke English and so it was fun trying to figure out what everyone was saying. But they were really nice, we both talked about what we were doing in Cape Town and what we thought out cape town, etc. Finally we got to Obs and ended up at Stones, where we always go. I think we overwhelmed the bar though, because 60 of us walked in! it was funny to watch the Argentinans try and order. I had to order for some of them because they couldn’t speak English. But it was fun to just hang out and joke around with everyone. Well this was also the night I met Patrick, probably my best guy friend in Obs. Pat is one of the bartenders at Stones and while I was ordering for one of the boys I apologized to him for bringing so many people in and overcrowding them. he laughed and said it was ok and then asked where I was from. We ended up talking(don’t worry Jimmy I told him I had a boyfriend!) and he was really nice! He is from the DRC and is here studying and working in Cape Town. That nice I met so many awesome people!
Winery Tour
So after our crazy Friday, we had a planned winery tour. Kristina’s, one of the girls in the house, dad has an old business partner that now owns a winery in Stellenbosch and even more important, he is from Green Bay Wisconsin!!! How cool is that! Again it was so nice to hear a familiar accent and it made me even more excited that Jimmy was coming in like 2 weeks. Anyways the winery tour was really fun. I don’t really like wine, but I have never really tasted good wine. So we got to taste like 8 wines and I found that wine isnt that nasty and I actually like white wine. He also showed us around the winery and told us about how it worked and why they did certain things. He was so enthusiastic about it, it was even more exciting. Finally we got to try one of the wines straight from the barrel, cool! Overall it was really nice because I have never been on a winery tour and it reminded me of home because the owner was from Wisconsin. Maybe one day ill own a winery in South Africa and live there for their summer and then go to the states for our summers. What an awesome job!
Holistic Fair
The holistic fair is a “hippy” fair that they have in Obs. Its really awesome though because they have stuff from all over the world. They have food from India, China, Indonesia, Greece, Africa, etc. They also have people selling stuff from all over. Also everything is so much cheaper than it in is the stores in Obs. It was really cool to look at all the stuff from all over and I got some really cool African gifts.
Crazy week 4
Feb 18th to 24th
Clinics with OTs
So this week at work, Renee and I had our first meeting with Shona. At the end she told us that she thought it would be a good idea to go into the clinics with the OTs to see what they do to help us design the chair for them. So Monday we got to go into the townships with the OTs. The first place we went was in Mitchell’s Plain, one of the townships in the Cape Flatts, and it was a little house where they take care of disabled children while their parents are at work. There were about 8 or 9 children in wheelchairs there that the OT were going to see. The OT’s job is to check the alignment of the children and if their alignment is off they have to modify the chair by cutting the metal or foam. It was really cool because Renee and I got to hold one of the children. She was five but she looks like she was two, she was so tiny and so adorable! But we also got to help modify the foot rest on her chair and then I got to help one of the OTs modify another child’s chair. They also teach the caretakers how to stretch the children so that they are healthy and don’t become stiff. It was really informing to watch them. It was also really impressive because they worked really fast and got through all of the children. Next we had to go to another caretakers place in another township(can’t remember the name to this one). This place was not in a building but a shack built outside the ladies house. However, when you went in it looked like a normal house inside. It was really cute too! The walls were yellow and they had pictures up that the children had done. I couldn’t believe it! It just goes to show u that it doesn’t happen how big a house is, its what you do to it that makes it home.
Braai on Friday
We decided to have a braai again and everyone brought food over. It was nice because there weren’t too many people. Plus some of the girls, like 8 of us, and some other people we live with sat in the living room and played some games Renee came up with, like this game signs. It was really fun to just relax with everyone.
Market in Woodstock
So all the girls decided that we were going to go to this market in a town closer to downtown called Woodstock. Well since there is like 13 of us, we had to take two cambies. Well lets just say I chose the wrong cambi. Our cambi driver, first forgot to drop us off in Woodstock, so we ended up going all the way into downtown to the cambi station. Then they turned around to take us back and you could let they didn’t know where they were going. We turned around a couple of times and then they dropped us off in front of this random warehouse, what they thought was the Old Mill. Well I just we need to be at the Old Mill Factory, so we weren’t even at the right spot. So we went into a couple of shops and asked directions. No one seemed to know what fair we were talking about but they did know where the mill was, it was like 15 blocks away… and people keep telling us to be careful. So here we were walking around in a sketchy part of town, five girls in cape town, it was not good. But we walked quickly and with confidence and we finally made it. I was so glad because it was really hot out and I was sick of walking. It turned out it wasn’t a fair but an outdoor shopping center with a section where people were selling a ton of food. It was cool though. They had this really awesome bead store that we went into, so in the end it was worth it and we learned an important lesson, Cambi drivers don’t always know where they are going.
Dancing on Long Street
Long Street is the place to go in Cape Town. Since there isn’t really a dance club in Obs, the girls decided that we wanted to go to Long Street and go dancing. We all got dressed up and ready to go out, Julia you’ll appreciate that I made my roommate listen to Britney while we got ready. Anyways we took a taxi downtown to this club we heard about. Well it was more like a bar and there was a ridiculous cover charge so we decided to walk around and see what else was on Long Street. There were a lot of really cool looking dance clubs and bars but everyone had a cover charge. We finally found this bar called Jo Burg that had a little dance floor. It turned out to be just the right place! We all danced together, it was hot and crambed but it was fun! And I meet a lot of random people. I meet this guy who was visiting from Saudi Arabia and we played pool with this random people from Cape Town. It was nice to take a break from dancing. But I spent most of my time either talking with random people or dancing with Ashley and Adria. But soon a lot of the girls left. Well Renee, Mandi, and I were not ready to leave. We stayed and danced until 4 in the morning. It was so much fun!!!! And we got a free ride home because our friends from Obs, these crazy French guys, took us home. I love having a night out to dance!
Brunch at Judy’s
After dancing all Saturday night we had to get up and go have brunch at Judy’s, she is the lady who started to South Africa program. It was hard to wake up but Judy made an amazing breakfast!!! This was also the first time that we had been to Judy’s. Her place in on the waterfront and has an amazing view. She has two balconies. One overlooks the city with Table Mountain in the back and the other looks over the Waterfront, the harbor where the mall and all the really nice restaurants are. Along with the amazing view, the inside was really nice, very bright with a lot of light coming in from the windows and it had a nice modern style, white with a lot of accented colors. It was unbelievable. I would love to live in a place like that, but it is def too expensive. Someone asked Judy how much her one bedroom was and it was 500,000 American dollars! Wow, looks like I wont be living there in my life time. But anyways Judy definitely deserves a place like this. She is an amazing woman. Her husband died like 3 years after they got married and through a series of events she ended up traveling the world and helping refugees in a ton of countries. She has worked for the president, written ten billion books, traveled to so many countries, and meet so many amazing people—she knows Desmond Tutu personally. Her story was really cool to her because everything she did kind of fell into her lap, it was so cool to see how things turned out! But she def worked hard to get to where she was and she ended up losing one of her legs when she was helping refugees in Sudan, so life hasn’t been easier for her but she def knows she is blessed. It is so inspirational because it just goes to show that when you put your trust in the Lord and understand that his plans for you are ten times more amazing than yours are, then you will end up living an amazing life like Judy with so many stories and so many amazing friends. I’m excited because I cant wait to see how my life turns out. As Judy told us, its already started to become interesting because look at where you are now, you’re in South Africa!
Clinics with OTs
So this week at work, Renee and I had our first meeting with Shona. At the end she told us that she thought it would be a good idea to go into the clinics with the OTs to see what they do to help us design the chair for them. So Monday we got to go into the townships with the OTs. The first place we went was in Mitchell’s Plain, one of the townships in the Cape Flatts, and it was a little house where they take care of disabled children while their parents are at work. There were about 8 or 9 children in wheelchairs there that the OT were going to see. The OT’s job is to check the alignment of the children and if their alignment is off they have to modify the chair by cutting the metal or foam. It was really cool because Renee and I got to hold one of the children. She was five but she looks like she was two, she was so tiny and so adorable! But we also got to help modify the foot rest on her chair and then I got to help one of the OTs modify another child’s chair. They also teach the caretakers how to stretch the children so that they are healthy and don’t become stiff. It was really informing to watch them. It was also really impressive because they worked really fast and got through all of the children. Next we had to go to another caretakers place in another township(can’t remember the name to this one). This place was not in a building but a shack built outside the ladies house. However, when you went in it looked like a normal house inside. It was really cute too! The walls were yellow and they had pictures up that the children had done. I couldn’t believe it! It just goes to show u that it doesn’t happen how big a house is, its what you do to it that makes it home.
Braai on Friday
We decided to have a braai again and everyone brought food over. It was nice because there weren’t too many people. Plus some of the girls, like 8 of us, and some other people we live with sat in the living room and played some games Renee came up with, like this game signs. It was really fun to just relax with everyone.
Market in Woodstock
So all the girls decided that we were going to go to this market in a town closer to downtown called Woodstock. Well since there is like 13 of us, we had to take two cambies. Well lets just say I chose the wrong cambi. Our cambi driver, first forgot to drop us off in Woodstock, so we ended up going all the way into downtown to the cambi station. Then they turned around to take us back and you could let they didn’t know where they were going. We turned around a couple of times and then they dropped us off in front of this random warehouse, what they thought was the Old Mill. Well I just we need to be at the Old Mill Factory, so we weren’t even at the right spot. So we went into a couple of shops and asked directions. No one seemed to know what fair we were talking about but they did know where the mill was, it was like 15 blocks away… and people keep telling us to be careful. So here we were walking around in a sketchy part of town, five girls in cape town, it was not good. But we walked quickly and with confidence and we finally made it. I was so glad because it was really hot out and I was sick of walking. It turned out it wasn’t a fair but an outdoor shopping center with a section where people were selling a ton of food. It was cool though. They had this really awesome bead store that we went into, so in the end it was worth it and we learned an important lesson, Cambi drivers don’t always know where they are going.
Dancing on Long Street
Long Street is the place to go in Cape Town. Since there isn’t really a dance club in Obs, the girls decided that we wanted to go to Long Street and go dancing. We all got dressed up and ready to go out, Julia you’ll appreciate that I made my roommate listen to Britney while we got ready. Anyways we took a taxi downtown to this club we heard about. Well it was more like a bar and there was a ridiculous cover charge so we decided to walk around and see what else was on Long Street. There were a lot of really cool looking dance clubs and bars but everyone had a cover charge. We finally found this bar called Jo Burg that had a little dance floor. It turned out to be just the right place! We all danced together, it was hot and crambed but it was fun! And I meet a lot of random people. I meet this guy who was visiting from Saudi Arabia and we played pool with this random people from Cape Town. It was nice to take a break from dancing. But I spent most of my time either talking with random people or dancing with Ashley and Adria. But soon a lot of the girls left. Well Renee, Mandi, and I were not ready to leave. We stayed and danced until 4 in the morning. It was so much fun!!!! And we got a free ride home because our friends from Obs, these crazy French guys, took us home. I love having a night out to dance!
Brunch at Judy’s
After dancing all Saturday night we had to get up and go have brunch at Judy’s, she is the lady who started to South Africa program. It was hard to wake up but Judy made an amazing breakfast!!! This was also the first time that we had been to Judy’s. Her place in on the waterfront and has an amazing view. She has two balconies. One overlooks the city with Table Mountain in the back and the other looks over the Waterfront, the harbor where the mall and all the really nice restaurants are. Along with the amazing view, the inside was really nice, very bright with a lot of light coming in from the windows and it had a nice modern style, white with a lot of accented colors. It was unbelievable. I would love to live in a place like that, but it is def too expensive. Someone asked Judy how much her one bedroom was and it was 500,000 American dollars! Wow, looks like I wont be living there in my life time. But anyways Judy definitely deserves a place like this. She is an amazing woman. Her husband died like 3 years after they got married and through a series of events she ended up traveling the world and helping refugees in a ton of countries. She has worked for the president, written ten billion books, traveled to so many countries, and meet so many amazing people—she knows Desmond Tutu personally. Her story was really cool to her because everything she did kind of fell into her lap, it was so cool to see how things turned out! But she def worked hard to get to where she was and she ended up losing one of her legs when she was helping refugees in Sudan, so life hasn’t been easier for her but she def knows she is blessed. It is so inspirational because it just goes to show that when you put your trust in the Lord and understand that his plans for you are ten times more amazing than yours are, then you will end up living an amazing life like Judy with so many stories and so many amazing friends. I’m excited because I cant wait to see how my life turns out. As Judy told us, its already started to become interesting because look at where you are now, you’re in South Africa!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wonderful Week 3
Freshly Ground Concert
All I want to say is “I’m Obsessed!!!!!” Freshly Ground is a band from South Africa and they played Thursday February 14, Valentine’s Day, at a bar in Obs called Armchair. It was awesome! Me, Ashley, Kalyn, and Renee were like in the second row, there weren’t really rows but you know what I mean, we were close! It was hot and sweating in there but it was totally worth it. They sing mostly in English but they have songs that are in Xhosa and the lead singer is this short, cubby African girl who is absolutely beautiful (and she is bald and still beautiful. I wish I could have no hair and look so good!) Anyways I will attach a link to their website so you can see how awesome she is. And they sang this song about being cubby and still being a ‘good lover’. It was awesome! They had such good energy on stage. They danced together and had any amazing connect with each other. I have never seen a band that seemed to be so in sync with each other. They are coming again in April and I’m definitely going to go. I don’t know how else to describe how awesome it was but if you every get a chance to see them its totally worth it (and it was only 60 rand, which is less than ten dollars in America!)
!Khwa ttu
This we went to on Saturday morning. It is like a reserve that teaches people about the bush people, the people who still live like they did hundreds of years ago, they hunt and live in huts (If you ever get a chance see the movie “The Gods Must Be Crazy” and you’ll see what I’m talking about). Anyways so they have this reserve that is dedicated to a specific group called the San people. It was kind cool. We got driven around in this safari looking thing that was pulled by a tractor. We got to see some animals, the spring bock which is South Africa’s national animal, zebra, and then some other animals which I don’t know the name of. Then we walked along a trail and looked at how they hunted, what they looked for in the sand and then how they set up traps to catch the animals. Next we got to see a mini village with like six huts which would be typical of one of their tribes. They showed us how they made their clothes, food, and jewelry. There were a million ants around though so it was hard to pay attention. Finally we went in this tent area and they taught us the different languages of the bush people and how to use the different clicks they have in each language. It was pretty cool but I still suck at doing the clicks. I better get it by the time I come home.
Canyoning
The highlight of my week! Sunday we woke up at 6 in the morning and all pilled in a van to drive an hour and a half to this mountain range. There we got all our equipment and had breakfast before we headed up the mountain. So what we were doing is starting at the top of a river and following the river all the way down the mountain. When there was a waterfall we would abseil down it, which is like the opposite from rock climbing. It was beautiful. There were 5 waterfalls that we went down and the second one you had to go right into the falling water. At the bottom of the second waterfall they had a really deep body of water that you could jump of different level cliffs into. You had to jump off the lower cliffs before they would let you jump of the 15 meter (45 feet) high cliff. I decided that I wanted to jump off the high cliff. So they keep telling people to make sure to keep their arms in so they didn’t dislocate their shoulder but they didn’t tell us that at the top you had to have your arms out for balance. So when I was jumping I was really paranoid that I wouldn’t keep my arms in so I crossed them right away. This made my body turn and I ended up landing in the water on my side. Man did my butt hurt! The girls still at the top said they could see how red my butt was from there. Also one of the lead girls told me about how she almost busted her ear drum jumping off the cliff and so because of the pressure I couldn’t hear anything when I came up and I thought I had busted my ear drum. But I hadn’t and in the end it was really fun! I can’t believe I jumped off a 45 feet high cliff!!!! Hey man I’m just getting ready for the bungee jumping. Anyways it took the entire day to get down the river and we got to see the sun set behind the mountains, which was gorgeous! Overall it was a phenomenal day with nature! I’ll have pictures up ASAP!
All I want to say is “I’m Obsessed!!!!!” Freshly Ground is a band from South Africa and they played Thursday February 14, Valentine’s Day, at a bar in Obs called Armchair. It was awesome! Me, Ashley, Kalyn, and Renee were like in the second row, there weren’t really rows but you know what I mean, we were close! It was hot and sweating in there but it was totally worth it. They sing mostly in English but they have songs that are in Xhosa and the lead singer is this short, cubby African girl who is absolutely beautiful (and she is bald and still beautiful. I wish I could have no hair and look so good!) Anyways I will attach a link to their website so you can see how awesome she is. And they sang this song about being cubby and still being a ‘good lover’. It was awesome! They had such good energy on stage. They danced together and had any amazing connect with each other. I have never seen a band that seemed to be so in sync with each other. They are coming again in April and I’m definitely going to go. I don’t know how else to describe how awesome it was but if you every get a chance to see them its totally worth it (and it was only 60 rand, which is less than ten dollars in America!)
!Khwa ttu
This we went to on Saturday morning. It is like a reserve that teaches people about the bush people, the people who still live like they did hundreds of years ago, they hunt and live in huts (If you ever get a chance see the movie “The Gods Must Be Crazy” and you’ll see what I’m talking about). Anyways so they have this reserve that is dedicated to a specific group called the San people. It was kind cool. We got driven around in this safari looking thing that was pulled by a tractor. We got to see some animals, the spring bock which is South Africa’s national animal, zebra, and then some other animals which I don’t know the name of. Then we walked along a trail and looked at how they hunted, what they looked for in the sand and then how they set up traps to catch the animals. Next we got to see a mini village with like six huts which would be typical of one of their tribes. They showed us how they made their clothes, food, and jewelry. There were a million ants around though so it was hard to pay attention. Finally we went in this tent area and they taught us the different languages of the bush people and how to use the different clicks they have in each language. It was pretty cool but I still suck at doing the clicks. I better get it by the time I come home.
Canyoning
The highlight of my week! Sunday we woke up at 6 in the morning and all pilled in a van to drive an hour and a half to this mountain range. There we got all our equipment and had breakfast before we headed up the mountain. So what we were doing is starting at the top of a river and following the river all the way down the mountain. When there was a waterfall we would abseil down it, which is like the opposite from rock climbing. It was beautiful. There were 5 waterfalls that we went down and the second one you had to go right into the falling water. At the bottom of the second waterfall they had a really deep body of water that you could jump of different level cliffs into. You had to jump off the lower cliffs before they would let you jump of the 15 meter (45 feet) high cliff. I decided that I wanted to jump off the high cliff. So they keep telling people to make sure to keep their arms in so they didn’t dislocate their shoulder but they didn’t tell us that at the top you had to have your arms out for balance. So when I was jumping I was really paranoid that I wouldn’t keep my arms in so I crossed them right away. This made my body turn and I ended up landing in the water on my side. Man did my butt hurt! The girls still at the top said they could see how red my butt was from there. Also one of the lead girls told me about how she almost busted her ear drum jumping off the cliff and so because of the pressure I couldn’t hear anything when I came up and I thought I had busted my ear drum. But I hadn’t and in the end it was really fun! I can’t believe I jumped off a 45 feet high cliff!!!! Hey man I’m just getting ready for the bungee jumping. Anyways it took the entire day to get down the river and we got to see the sun set behind the mountains, which was gorgeous! Overall it was a phenomenal day with nature! I’ll have pictures up ASAP!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
My Second Week in Cape Town!!!
Classes at UWC
So I am taking 5 classes at the University of Western Cape, two theology classes(Theology of Forgiveness and the Doctrine of Christ), an Ethics course, a Film course, and a Grassroots Leadership course. My first day of class was on Wed., after going through an insane line to drop and add classes because they change the class schedule on the first day, and I had my ethics course and the Doctrine of Christ class and they were both amazing! My ethics teacher was really cool, he looked like a guide for an African safari and was extremely smart. Plus the stuff we talked about in class was actually relevant to real life unlike Phil 50 ever was. Then my theology class was unbelievable. There were only 6 people and the teacher sat down and talked to us like he was a part of the class. Since the theology dept. at UWC is really small only people who are going to be priests or pastors or who are already pastors are taking theo. My entire class was pastors or in some kind of ministry. I cant imagine what I’m going to learn from them this semester! I’m so excited! Then on Thursday I had my first English/Film class. All we did was watch Shakespeare in Love. We get to watch movies every week, its going to be awesome! Friday I had the classes that are Marquette affiliated, Theology of Forgiveness and Grassroots Leadership. My grassroots class was boring, the teacher had a really annoying voice, but I think it will get better because we have a ton of really cool speakers that are going to be coming in. We did talk about how the free housing works around here and I couldn’t imagine living in a home in the township, my room is bigger than a home for 5 people. Next I had my Theology class and our teacher is awesome. He said that he is really concerned with our growth this semester instead of grades. He wants us to learn the material and learn how it pertains to us. We also have a lot of really awesome speakers coming into this class too. You guys will hear about them in later blogs.
Service Site
So for my service twice a week I work at an Engineering company called Shonaquip that produces wheelchairs. Renee and my project is really awesome, a bit challenging but something I think would really help us. We are going to be working on redesigning and building the redesign of a machine Shonaquip received from a company in the Netherlands. This machine is a seating simulator and it is used to make custom wheelchairs for people with extreme disabilities. How it works is… there are three bags that are filled with air and this bean bag like material. These are placed on a chair that cant be adjusted in many ways but changing the angles and lengths of the boards that make up the chair. Then a child with a disability is placed on the chair and adjusted while a foot pedal is used to suck the air out of the bags making them harder. When it is all done the bags are hard and contain a mold of the child sitting in an aligned position that could normally not be obtained in a regular wheel chair. Before the company used plaster to make a mold and then a reverse mold so as to make a wheelchair customized for the patent. Now the company has a program that can scan the mold into a computer and use another machine to cut that exact mold out of Styrofoam saving months worth of work, but they have never tried it before. Also with scanning the mold in they can do more than one mold per day and since a lot of people in the bush, that is the poorer part South Africa where people live in huts, do not have transportation to get to the company to get a mold of their wheelchair having a portable seating simulator that can scan in the mold will allow more access to the people of Africa. Renee and my job is to remake the machine so that can be produced totally in South Africa because it is extremely expensive to import the parts. We also need to modify the machine to make it lighter and compactable so that it can be placed into a van to go to the bush. Also with that we need to create a battery to operate the actuators and pump that can also be run on wall power or out of a car outlet. All of this will make the cost of customized wheelchairs cheaper, allowing more people access to wheelchairs.
2nd Party on Friday
So Friday night we decided to have people over, just a couple of friends and of course it turned into a crazy amount of people. However, it was really fun. There was a lot of dancing and I got to know a lot of local people. But the next day we got told by our supervisor that the neighbors said it was too loud and we can only have parties once a month. I’m ok with that, it’s hard watching after all those people.
District 6 Museum
District 6 is an area in Cape Town where thousands of blacks and colours were moved from their homes during the apartheid. The community was made out of a mixture of different kinds of people, but the apartheid government decided it would be better to have it be a whites only community (They claim that this had nothing to do with the fact that the location of the properties, you could see the ocean and the mountains from anyone’s doorstep, made them extremely valuable). However properties were never built due to the amount of time it took to demolish the old houses. The museum is there to remember what happen and to hopefully encourage the government to hurry up on rebuilding the homes for the people whose homes were taken from them, one about 200 have returned. Well when we went to the museum we had a tour guide who was from one of the oldest families displaced from District 6. He told us his story about how he watched he house get bulldozed from across the street, all his families personal items dumped into the ocean, and his family moved far out of the city into a coloured community. He also told us stories of other families and one was really moving… in one family the dad was coloured and the wife was black. They had three children which were considered black because the mom was black. Therefore when the apartheid government decided to displace the people of District 6, the dad was moved to a coloured township and the mom and children to a black township. To even see his wife, the husband needed to go to the police station and get permission to see her and even then he was only allowed to see her and the children for two hours every three months! I couldn’t believe it! I have only been here two weeks and talked to people from home multiple times, I couldn’t imagine not talking or seeing my family for three months and then only getting to see them for two hours.
Church
So Ashley, Renee, Robbie, and I went to this church I found in Obs called Jubilee. It is a nondenominational church made up of a diverse group of people, some English speaking, some Afrikaners and some Xhosa speaking people. It’s a huge congregation too, 1000 people! It was amazing though. We sang a song in Xhosa during worship and people where jumping and dancing around all through worship. I have never seen so much energy and excitement. After the sermon they had a visitors room where they feed us and gave us tea and coffee(something they do everywhere in Africa) and we got to know people. Then we found out that they were having a picnic for the college students that day but because of the weather, it was raining, they were having it in the church. So we stuck around and mingled. I meet a lot of really cool people, there was this one girl from Zimbabwe and she told me the story about how she came to South Africa and how life was in her country and how she didn’t go home during election times because “Its took scary, people get really into it”. If you know anything about Zimbabwe, there government has been run by the same guy for years and if anyone tries to run against him they end up dead. He has completely ruined their economy but they can’t get anyone else to take his place, but now there is this other guy who seems like he might actually be competition s its really interesting to see how the election turns out. Anyways we meet a lot of other people and learned about the life groups were are kinda like small groups in the states and I think Ashley and I are going to join one for college students. I will be nice to get to know other Christian our age here in Africa. In the end it was super fun, super moving (the guest speaker was phenomenal) and overall unbelievable. I can’t wait to go again.
So I am taking 5 classes at the University of Western Cape, two theology classes(Theology of Forgiveness and the Doctrine of Christ), an Ethics course, a Film course, and a Grassroots Leadership course. My first day of class was on Wed., after going through an insane line to drop and add classes because they change the class schedule on the first day, and I had my ethics course and the Doctrine of Christ class and they were both amazing! My ethics teacher was really cool, he looked like a guide for an African safari and was extremely smart. Plus the stuff we talked about in class was actually relevant to real life unlike Phil 50 ever was. Then my theology class was unbelievable. There were only 6 people and the teacher sat down and talked to us like he was a part of the class. Since the theology dept. at UWC is really small only people who are going to be priests or pastors or who are already pastors are taking theo. My entire class was pastors or in some kind of ministry. I cant imagine what I’m going to learn from them this semester! I’m so excited! Then on Thursday I had my first English/Film class. All we did was watch Shakespeare in Love. We get to watch movies every week, its going to be awesome! Friday I had the classes that are Marquette affiliated, Theology of Forgiveness and Grassroots Leadership. My grassroots class was boring, the teacher had a really annoying voice, but I think it will get better because we have a ton of really cool speakers that are going to be coming in. We did talk about how the free housing works around here and I couldn’t imagine living in a home in the township, my room is bigger than a home for 5 people. Next I had my Theology class and our teacher is awesome. He said that he is really concerned with our growth this semester instead of grades. He wants us to learn the material and learn how it pertains to us. We also have a lot of really awesome speakers coming into this class too. You guys will hear about them in later blogs.
Service Site
So for my service twice a week I work at an Engineering company called Shonaquip that produces wheelchairs. Renee and my project is really awesome, a bit challenging but something I think would really help us. We are going to be working on redesigning and building the redesign of a machine Shonaquip received from a company in the Netherlands. This machine is a seating simulator and it is used to make custom wheelchairs for people with extreme disabilities. How it works is… there are three bags that are filled with air and this bean bag like material. These are placed on a chair that cant be adjusted in many ways but changing the angles and lengths of the boards that make up the chair. Then a child with a disability is placed on the chair and adjusted while a foot pedal is used to suck the air out of the bags making them harder. When it is all done the bags are hard and contain a mold of the child sitting in an aligned position that could normally not be obtained in a regular wheel chair. Before the company used plaster to make a mold and then a reverse mold so as to make a wheelchair customized for the patent. Now the company has a program that can scan the mold into a computer and use another machine to cut that exact mold out of Styrofoam saving months worth of work, but they have never tried it before. Also with scanning the mold in they can do more than one mold per day and since a lot of people in the bush, that is the poorer part South Africa where people live in huts, do not have transportation to get to the company to get a mold of their wheelchair having a portable seating simulator that can scan in the mold will allow more access to the people of Africa. Renee and my job is to remake the machine so that can be produced totally in South Africa because it is extremely expensive to import the parts. We also need to modify the machine to make it lighter and compactable so that it can be placed into a van to go to the bush. Also with that we need to create a battery to operate the actuators and pump that can also be run on wall power or out of a car outlet. All of this will make the cost of customized wheelchairs cheaper, allowing more people access to wheelchairs.
2nd Party on Friday
So Friday night we decided to have people over, just a couple of friends and of course it turned into a crazy amount of people. However, it was really fun. There was a lot of dancing and I got to know a lot of local people. But the next day we got told by our supervisor that the neighbors said it was too loud and we can only have parties once a month. I’m ok with that, it’s hard watching after all those people.
District 6 Museum
District 6 is an area in Cape Town where thousands of blacks and colours were moved from their homes during the apartheid. The community was made out of a mixture of different kinds of people, but the apartheid government decided it would be better to have it be a whites only community (They claim that this had nothing to do with the fact that the location of the properties, you could see the ocean and the mountains from anyone’s doorstep, made them extremely valuable). However properties were never built due to the amount of time it took to demolish the old houses. The museum is there to remember what happen and to hopefully encourage the government to hurry up on rebuilding the homes for the people whose homes were taken from them, one about 200 have returned. Well when we went to the museum we had a tour guide who was from one of the oldest families displaced from District 6. He told us his story about how he watched he house get bulldozed from across the street, all his families personal items dumped into the ocean, and his family moved far out of the city into a coloured community. He also told us stories of other families and one was really moving… in one family the dad was coloured and the wife was black. They had three children which were considered black because the mom was black. Therefore when the apartheid government decided to displace the people of District 6, the dad was moved to a coloured township and the mom and children to a black township. To even see his wife, the husband needed to go to the police station and get permission to see her and even then he was only allowed to see her and the children for two hours every three months! I couldn’t believe it! I have only been here two weeks and talked to people from home multiple times, I couldn’t imagine not talking or seeing my family for three months and then only getting to see them for two hours.
Church
So Ashley, Renee, Robbie, and I went to this church I found in Obs called Jubilee. It is a nondenominational church made up of a diverse group of people, some English speaking, some Afrikaners and some Xhosa speaking people. It’s a huge congregation too, 1000 people! It was amazing though. We sang a song in Xhosa during worship and people where jumping and dancing around all through worship. I have never seen so much energy and excitement. After the sermon they had a visitors room where they feed us and gave us tea and coffee(something they do everywhere in Africa) and we got to know people. Then we found out that they were having a picnic for the college students that day but because of the weather, it was raining, they were having it in the church. So we stuck around and mingled. I meet a lot of really cool people, there was this one girl from Zimbabwe and she told me the story about how she came to South Africa and how life was in her country and how she didn’t go home during election times because “Its took scary, people get really into it”. If you know anything about Zimbabwe, there government has been run by the same guy for years and if anyone tries to run against him they end up dead. He has completely ruined their economy but they can’t get anyone else to take his place, but now there is this other guy who seems like he might actually be competition s its really interesting to see how the election turns out. Anyways we meet a lot of other people and learned about the life groups were are kinda like small groups in the states and I think Ashley and I are going to join one for college students. I will be nice to get to know other Christian our age here in Africa. In the end it was super fun, super moving (the guest speaker was phenomenal) and overall unbelievable. I can’t wait to go again.
Monday, February 4, 2008
My First Week in Africa
The Airplane
So i didnt know what to expect for the plane ride to london and then to south africa. i wasnt really positive about it at first because it was late and therefore we missed out layover in london so i didnt get to go downtown londonn, but the plane ride to london was amazing. First of all, the plane was like half empty so we got to sit all by each other and had space to spread out. Then they had personalized televisions with movies, music and tv shows and guess what show they had, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, my favorite cartoon. I think i was the only adult watching cartoons on the tv, but they had a ton of movies to watch and tons of different tv shows, although they only had one episode for each show. well on top of that the flight attendents are sooooo friendly. we became friends with this flight attendent who was from england and because he is an FA he gets to go all over the place and he told us all about cape town and the cool places to go. Next we got the most addorable little meals, where there were like 3 courses, but like miniature size, plus you got coffee or tea at the end of each meal. Alcohol was also free, which the other girls we super excited about, it seems to be a necessity for europeans and africans. We also got this little tube of toothpaste, a mini toothbrush, and socks in case you want to take off your shoes. The second flight was more crowded but we had the coolest flight attendent, he was soo nice and he always said cheers after he served you. they all really talked awesome! Neways we finally made it into cape town after a 7-8hour flight to london and a 12 hour flight to cape town.
Kimberley House and Obs
After arriving in cape town we went straight to observatory, or as we call it obs, which is the town we live in. It is sooooo cute. There are a bunch of little shops, art shops, book shops, coffee shops, dress shops, and african shops. it kinda reminds we of a little street in purdue where they had really cute shops, but it is definity a city town. i, like many other americans, thought that it would have dirt roads and be further from the city, but its right next to the city and looks like a mini city in itself. the best part of obs is the coffee shops. we went to this coffee shop, mini's, one morning to get breakfast and guess what they had there, tea and crumpets! i didnt even need to go downtown london! anyways the coffee is unbelievable! i had this white hot chocolate latte that was to die for! plus the greatest thing about cape town is everything is cheap. you will here it in my blogs alot about how i had amazing food for really cheap. Neways, we live on kimberley street so our house is called kimberley house and it is adorable. we each have a roomate, there is a kicten, a dining room with a huge table, a living room, 5 bathrooms, and a nice size backyard. the best thing is we have hardwood floors!Im sharing a room with one of the girls named mallory and we have the huge wardrobe and guess what, i can burn incense in my room!
Welcome party and the black out
So the first friday we were here we had a blockparty to welcome us to the neighborhood and get to know the neighborhood. only some of our neighbors showed up but they were really nice. also these girls we met at school, UWC, came over and they are both from Zambia, a country a little north of south africa. They were really nice and we played cards together, they really liked to play spoons! but then at like 8 we got a blackout. it was kinda weird not having any lights but we decided to tell scary stories and we talked about the different ghosts they have in american and south africa. then we started talking about dancing and the girls decided to show us some of the dancing they have to learn when they grow up, and they were amazing. its so cool how they can move and control their bodies. i dont think i could ever move like that. but there is only so much you can do in a blackout so they had to leave, overall though it was a really cool night and i learned alot about the traditions in south africa and zambia.
UWC
My new school! We went to UWC on wed to register but they werent ready for us so we justed picked out our classes and then took a tour around the campus. its really nice, like any other campus in the states. they have an olympic sized swimming pool because i guess the south african swimmers practice there. they also have playing fields for rugby, cricket, and football(our soccer, unfortunately football isnt popular here but soccer is). There student union is my favorite part of campus. its huge inside and they always have music playing, they really like american music here but like older american music so its nice to hear some songs i havent listened to in a while, and in this place they have a bunch of places to eat. they sell fruit on campus. they also have a lot of different stands we they sell jewelry and cell phones and other cool stuff. UWC is pretty far from campus so they need to have alot of stuff on campus for the students. They also have this chinese resturant that some of their foreign students created and run where you can get an entire plate of chinese food for less than a dollar!! Food is really cheap on campus and i love it! As lovely as campus is there scheduling system is really weird. i had class for the first time today and it turns out that the times for both my classes completely changed. it was really frustrating, but im going to have to work it out. it wouldnt be as bad but i have to take all my classes in 2 days. overall though i love the campus. cheap food and a lot of green area to sit and tan or sleep.
The Township
Friday we went to one of the girls service learning sites which was in a township, the cities where they moved the blacks during the aparatid. it was really sad but kinda cool. it was sad because to see the living conditions these people were forced to live in is horrible, but it was really cool because we got to here alot about the culture in the townships. Family is super important. also having guests over is a big thing. whenever someone has a guest over, no matter how poor they are they will have something to offer there guest. Thats one thing i noticed alot about people in south africa, they are really concerned with being polite to their guests and think of others before themselves. they also have alot of traditional events, braais(barbacue) and dances. i cant wait till we can go into the township for one of those. the place we went had art work and crafts from people in the township to raise money for the HIV/AIDS problem. it was really cool how they were using their skills to help their neighbors. neways they feed us and the food was amazing! i really like their braai chicken!
Robben Island and Muizenberg beach
Robben Island is the location of the prision where Nelson Mandela was held as a political prisioner for 18 years. This was a really moving experience to learn about the prision. First we did a bus tour and saw the island and learned about the placed where they made the prisioners work. it was upsetting to learn that they would make them work for ten hours a day and only give them a glass of salt water. Many people died while working. We also learned about one of the less known prisioners and the man who starteds to revolution against the aparatid, Robert Sobukwe. He was forced to live in this tiny little yard. he couldnt leave the yard and they made he not talk to anyone, not even the guards for six years. when he was finally allowed to talk to someone he couldnt because his vocal chords were damaged. to make it worse he was being held there after he had already completed his sentence at a jail in jo-berg. in the end, since he didnt get to speak for six years he got throat cancer and died. Thats his story in a nutshell there is more to the torture he went through, but he was an unbelievable man and you should read up on him on your own. Our tour guide was a grad student who did tours on weekends because he was proud of his country and what the people in it have accomplished, peace and reconciliation, but the coolest thing he said was that not one country, not one race, but human kind unitying as one can save this world.He said it alot better than i did but it was really moving. After we finished the bus tour we went into the jail for a tour. our tour guide was an ex- political prisioner. he showed us the room he stayed in with 80 other men, it was tiny. then we got to see Nelson Mandela's room, which was a 2 by 2 cell, the dogs there had a 3 by 3 cage. i couldnt imagine staying in such a small space. plus prisioners were only allowed to see their loved ones at first every six months and then if they were good once every month, but there were contact and none contact visit. i couldnt imagine going 18 years and only being able to hold my wifes hands at most once a month and sometimes only getting to see her through glass. Neways there is alot more to what went on in the prision, how these men were treated all to stand up for the freedom of other black south africans. our tour guide was tortured before he got to prision, and the worst was that they mutilated his privates so bad that we though he would never have kids, they wanted to take aways his manhood, his ability to have children which having a family is really important in south africa. Neways there is alot more we learned but you will have to read up on it on your own.
Kirstenbosch sunset concert
So yesterday night we went to a concert in the gardens, kirstenbosch, which is absolutley beautiful, you will have to see my pics to get an idea of the beauty. neways the concert was on a hill overlooking the mountains and it was this native african singing in what i believe was half french and then mostly his native language. neways people brought little pinics and ate and listened to the music but by the end everyone was up and dancing. it was really good music! and lots of fun! i think we are going to go back every sunday because its only 35 rand, $5, to go. it was amazing. look at my pictures and you will see why
So i didnt know what to expect for the plane ride to london and then to south africa. i wasnt really positive about it at first because it was late and therefore we missed out layover in london so i didnt get to go downtown londonn, but the plane ride to london was amazing. First of all, the plane was like half empty so we got to sit all by each other and had space to spread out. Then they had personalized televisions with movies, music and tv shows and guess what show they had, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, my favorite cartoon. I think i was the only adult watching cartoons on the tv, but they had a ton of movies to watch and tons of different tv shows, although they only had one episode for each show. well on top of that the flight attendents are sooooo friendly. we became friends with this flight attendent who was from england and because he is an FA he gets to go all over the place and he told us all about cape town and the cool places to go. Next we got the most addorable little meals, where there were like 3 courses, but like miniature size, plus you got coffee or tea at the end of each meal. Alcohol was also free, which the other girls we super excited about, it seems to be a necessity for europeans and africans. We also got this little tube of toothpaste, a mini toothbrush, and socks in case you want to take off your shoes. The second flight was more crowded but we had the coolest flight attendent, he was soo nice and he always said cheers after he served you. they all really talked awesome! Neways we finally made it into cape town after a 7-8hour flight to london and a 12 hour flight to cape town.
Kimberley House and Obs
After arriving in cape town we went straight to observatory, or as we call it obs, which is the town we live in. It is sooooo cute. There are a bunch of little shops, art shops, book shops, coffee shops, dress shops, and african shops. it kinda reminds we of a little street in purdue where they had really cute shops, but it is definity a city town. i, like many other americans, thought that it would have dirt roads and be further from the city, but its right next to the city and looks like a mini city in itself. the best part of obs is the coffee shops. we went to this coffee shop, mini's, one morning to get breakfast and guess what they had there, tea and crumpets! i didnt even need to go downtown london! anyways the coffee is unbelievable! i had this white hot chocolate latte that was to die for! plus the greatest thing about cape town is everything is cheap. you will here it in my blogs alot about how i had amazing food for really cheap. Neways, we live on kimberley street so our house is called kimberley house and it is adorable. we each have a roomate, there is a kicten, a dining room with a huge table, a living room, 5 bathrooms, and a nice size backyard. the best thing is we have hardwood floors!Im sharing a room with one of the girls named mallory and we have the huge wardrobe and guess what, i can burn incense in my room!
Welcome party and the black out
So the first friday we were here we had a blockparty to welcome us to the neighborhood and get to know the neighborhood. only some of our neighbors showed up but they were really nice. also these girls we met at school, UWC, came over and they are both from Zambia, a country a little north of south africa. They were really nice and we played cards together, they really liked to play spoons! but then at like 8 we got a blackout. it was kinda weird not having any lights but we decided to tell scary stories and we talked about the different ghosts they have in american and south africa. then we started talking about dancing and the girls decided to show us some of the dancing they have to learn when they grow up, and they were amazing. its so cool how they can move and control their bodies. i dont think i could ever move like that. but there is only so much you can do in a blackout so they had to leave, overall though it was a really cool night and i learned alot about the traditions in south africa and zambia.
UWC
My new school! We went to UWC on wed to register but they werent ready for us so we justed picked out our classes and then took a tour around the campus. its really nice, like any other campus in the states. they have an olympic sized swimming pool because i guess the south african swimmers practice there. they also have playing fields for rugby, cricket, and football(our soccer, unfortunately football isnt popular here but soccer is). There student union is my favorite part of campus. its huge inside and they always have music playing, they really like american music here but like older american music so its nice to hear some songs i havent listened to in a while, and in this place they have a bunch of places to eat. they sell fruit on campus. they also have a lot of different stands we they sell jewelry and cell phones and other cool stuff. UWC is pretty far from campus so they need to have alot of stuff on campus for the students. They also have this chinese resturant that some of their foreign students created and run where you can get an entire plate of chinese food for less than a dollar!! Food is really cheap on campus and i love it! As lovely as campus is there scheduling system is really weird. i had class for the first time today and it turns out that the times for both my classes completely changed. it was really frustrating, but im going to have to work it out. it wouldnt be as bad but i have to take all my classes in 2 days. overall though i love the campus. cheap food and a lot of green area to sit and tan or sleep.
The Township
Friday we went to one of the girls service learning sites which was in a township, the cities where they moved the blacks during the aparatid. it was really sad but kinda cool. it was sad because to see the living conditions these people were forced to live in is horrible, but it was really cool because we got to here alot about the culture in the townships. Family is super important. also having guests over is a big thing. whenever someone has a guest over, no matter how poor they are they will have something to offer there guest. Thats one thing i noticed alot about people in south africa, they are really concerned with being polite to their guests and think of others before themselves. they also have alot of traditional events, braais(barbacue) and dances. i cant wait till we can go into the township for one of those. the place we went had art work and crafts from people in the township to raise money for the HIV/AIDS problem. it was really cool how they were using their skills to help their neighbors. neways they feed us and the food was amazing! i really like their braai chicken!
Robben Island and Muizenberg beach
Robben Island is the location of the prision where Nelson Mandela was held as a political prisioner for 18 years. This was a really moving experience to learn about the prision. First we did a bus tour and saw the island and learned about the placed where they made the prisioners work. it was upsetting to learn that they would make them work for ten hours a day and only give them a glass of salt water. Many people died while working. We also learned about one of the less known prisioners and the man who starteds to revolution against the aparatid, Robert Sobukwe. He was forced to live in this tiny little yard. he couldnt leave the yard and they made he not talk to anyone, not even the guards for six years. when he was finally allowed to talk to someone he couldnt because his vocal chords were damaged. to make it worse he was being held there after he had already completed his sentence at a jail in jo-berg. in the end, since he didnt get to speak for six years he got throat cancer and died. Thats his story in a nutshell there is more to the torture he went through, but he was an unbelievable man and you should read up on him on your own. Our tour guide was a grad student who did tours on weekends because he was proud of his country and what the people in it have accomplished, peace and reconciliation, but the coolest thing he said was that not one country, not one race, but human kind unitying as one can save this world.He said it alot better than i did but it was really moving. After we finished the bus tour we went into the jail for a tour. our tour guide was an ex- political prisioner. he showed us the room he stayed in with 80 other men, it was tiny. then we got to see Nelson Mandela's room, which was a 2 by 2 cell, the dogs there had a 3 by 3 cage. i couldnt imagine staying in such a small space. plus prisioners were only allowed to see their loved ones at first every six months and then if they were good once every month, but there were contact and none contact visit. i couldnt imagine going 18 years and only being able to hold my wifes hands at most once a month and sometimes only getting to see her through glass. Neways there is alot more to what went on in the prision, how these men were treated all to stand up for the freedom of other black south africans. our tour guide was tortured before he got to prision, and the worst was that they mutilated his privates so bad that we though he would never have kids, they wanted to take aways his manhood, his ability to have children which having a family is really important in south africa. Neways there is alot more we learned but you will have to read up on it on your own.
Kirstenbosch sunset concert
So yesterday night we went to a concert in the gardens, kirstenbosch, which is absolutley beautiful, you will have to see my pics to get an idea of the beauty. neways the concert was on a hill overlooking the mountains and it was this native african singing in what i believe was half french and then mostly his native language. neways people brought little pinics and ate and listened to the music but by the end everyone was up and dancing. it was really good music! and lots of fun! i think we are going to go back every sunday because its only 35 rand, $5, to go. it was amazing. look at my pictures and you will see why
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