Week 2 of Class

Wow this week has been a really good but a really hard week as well. This country has a very sad history and as a part of my History course we are visiting some of the sites connected to the struggle. On Monday we went to the District 6 museum, on Tuesday we went to the Langa Township, on Wednesday we went to Robbin Island and on Thursday we went to Stellenbosch and today Friday we have a reflection at a cathedral downtown.

District 6 Museum

District 6 is an area that is near the city center of town. During apartheid what happened is the government redistricted areas for certain races. The whites got the beautiful and nice land where those labeled non-white were forced to live in sandy area known as the Cape Flats. In District 6 there were coloured and black people living there and it was in one of the areas that had been redistricted to be only for white people. So they did what was known as forced removals, where they kicked the people out of their homes and bulldozed their homes. So even if they wanted to come back they couldn’t. Because of what happened District 6 does not have any homes built on the land and there is a project that is trying to give those who want their land back a home to come back to. So the museum is dedicated to remember what happened there. Imagine one day waking up and being told that sorry you can’t live in your home anymore because of the color of your skin and we are going to destroy your home. It is just sickening.

Langa

Langa is a township that is primary black Africans. Townships are the really poor areas, which are made up of metal and wood shacks, and small homes. Most of the structures are what most of us would call dangerous and within in the townships there is a high level of crime. It reminded me of the times that I have been in the slums of Kenya and in Mexico as well. I think what was harder about Langa is the fact that just a couple miles away there are giant homes and very wealthy areas. There is such a great divide between the rich and the poor here and a lot of the divide exists because of the apartheid system.

Robbin Island

Robbin Island is sort of the equivalent of Alcatraz in the States. It has housed a leprosy colony, imprisoned hard criminals, and most notoriously political prisoners during apartheid. The most famous of them was Nelson Mandela who was imprisoned there for 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment. It was an amazing experience but also very sobering. Sobering in the fact that those who were political prisoners were imprisoned in their fight for freedom. The conditions were horrible and from Monday- Friday they worked 10-12 hour days in the stone quarries on the island. It was just sad and hard to see.

Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch is a town located about 1 hour outside of Cape Town. Located there is Stellenbosch University, where the idea of apartheid was developed. It was interesting hearing the history of the university and the campus was gorgeous.

Overall this week has been amazing but really hard to process. I have finished my course on the History of South Africa, and it has been a really neat learning experience. I could probably talk for a long time about my thoughts on this country but that will have to be for another day. I will be gone most of next week for orientation with other students at Cornerstone but will try to post sometime next week.

First Week of Classes!

NOTE: Sorry that I have not posted for a while, we have been very busy with school and they have been taking us all around a lot. Also my Internet at my home is currently down, so the only time I have online is the brief moments I have at school. I also am only able to get on Facebook at home, so since the Internet has been down I have been on in awhile. If you want to contact me the best way is through email (allysakay@gmail.com) and please realize that I will respond when I can but it probably won’t be very prompt. I am in Africa and have begun to live on African time, which is a much slower pace of life and when you say you will be there soon that could mean up to an hour or so you will be there. Soo I will try my best to post and respond when I can J

First week of classes

On Monday I began a course on the History of SA, which has been interesting but very long. It is a compacted course so we have lecture from 9:00 to about 1:00 for the next two weeks. It is really interesting to hear how this country has a very similar history in some ways but also a very different one as well. We also have learned about how the African worldview is very different than the Western worldview. I believe that there is a lot that westerners could learn from their worldview and approach to life.

Wednesday we also went to the Slave Lodge Museum, which is on the site of one of the slave lodges that existed back in the 1700 and 1800s. It was interesting to hear about how slavery was here in Africa. There was some law that those who settled here in SA were not allowed to enslave the local people, so they brought in slaves from different areas of Africa and also from southern Asia. It is sad to hear how similar our history of slavery is to theirs.

We also went to Bo Kaap, which is the Muslim area in Cape Town. We toured the museum there and also walked around the town. In the museum we learned about the history of the Muslim people in Bo Kaap and the interesting things about their neighborhood is that they paint their houses very bright colors. So looking down their streets you see a wide array of colors, which really beautiful. We also went into one of the oldest mosques in South Africa in which our tour guide told as a bit about its history and about Islam and her life as a Muslim living in Bo Kaap. I believe that Americans have a very skewed picture of what Muslims are like due to our history with the Middle East. Our tour guide really opened my eyes up to how beautiful these people are and how caring they are as well. Though as westerns we look at their very restrictive clothing that women wear as oppressive, it is interesting to actually hear an older Muslim woman explain why and how important dressing that way is to her. Lastly in Bo Kaap we tired some Cape Malay food, which is traditional Muslim food in Cape Town. When they first migrated here, mostly brought as slaves, their food was too spicy for the Europeans that they were cooking for, so the Cape Malay food is their food that has been adjusted by European influence and much milder in flavor. I personally love it and hope to eat more while I am here.

Friday we had a free day and a couple of the Cornerstone students took us to the Eastern Bazaar, which is downtown, for lunch. I believe what I ate was called Chicken Guyani. It was was really good but I had enough food for probably 4 people. That is one thing that I have noticed here, yes Americans can eat a lot, but so can South Africans. And they don’t waste food, so if it is on your plate you better eat it. I have learned that at home I should serve myself at home otherwise I am in trouble.

Saturday we hiked Table Mountain, it has recently becoming one of the natural wonders of the world and is believed to be 6 times older than the Himalayans. We started around sea level and the top is around 1,100 meters (so about 3,400 ft: I am learning very quickly how to convert things to something I understand it has been fun ha). Lets just say it was an amazing hike but a super challenging one and I have never sweated so much in my life. It was around 80 degrees outside and humid. I still can’t believe that I did it but the views were absolutely amazing. The path was also crazy. The steep parts were these rock/wood steps and at some points it was so steep that there were ladders, yes people LADDERS, haha, it was an adventure and an experience I will never forget.

Orientation

This weekend was great! On Thursday I went to school and finally was able to meet up with Shannan, who is the other George Fox student, and her husband Caleb. We then went to Kalk Bay with two of the Cornerstone students, Joanita and Jill, to have lunch and then we walked to Fish Hoek, which is a beach down the road. It was a great afternoon of hanging around the beautiful beaches and spending time with Joanita and Jill, which have both become good friends. That night the 5 students from Bethel University in Minnesota arrived late and we stayed the night (and weekend) in the residence of a local Bible College, which is located in Kalk Bay.

Friday we had a relaxed day, spending time getting to know each other, learning some information about our time in SA, and then we walked Muzenburg, another beach. That night we also went out for coffee at a local restaurant, which was a fun experience.

Saturday we did a lot of traveling, we went out to Cape Point, which is the most south west point of the African continent. It was absolutely gorgeous and amazing to see how beautiful this country is. We saw a bit of wildlife as well, a couple that I don’t know their name but we did see some wild ostrich and baboons. I think the most eventful occurrence of the day was at lunch when we brought out the stuff to make sandwiches we had a bag of rolls. Well even though you make think baboons are nice but they really are dangerous animals. Out of nowhere this baboon ran at us and grabbed our bag of rolls, we saved a couple but the baboon ate about 10 decent sized sandwich rolls. Just stuffing his mouth about 20 ft away from us. So to say the least it was an experience, hilarious now but a little crazy when it happened.

I am now back at home with my host family and my new roommate Monique. We start our History of South Africa course tomorrow, which I am really looking forward to. Overall things have been amazing and even though I have only been here for a week, I already feel very much at home here in SA. The people that I have met here is SA are amazing people. You can very much tell that this is a country that is still racially divided and struggling to move forward from its past. Though integration has happened, the lines are still very apparent and SA has a long way to go. There are three main racial groups in SA: Black (dark skinned Africans), Colored (mixed race, middle tone skin) and White. Colored is not an offensive term like it is in the states but instead is what those who are colored refer to themselves as and is an accepted term. I am looking forward to learning more about SA’s history in my course but it has been interesting talking to my SA friends about what it is like to live here in SA depending on which racial group they are in.

I haven’t been too homesick and even though I was a little overwhelmed at first, I have settled into life here in Cape Town. It is a different way of life but I am enjoying my time here very much and feel very blessed to have this opportunity.

Update 1/11/12

Today and yesterday have been pretty down days. Yesterday I went to one of the bigger malls here and it was basically like any American mall. The clothes here are supper cheap! I have been doing a lot of math in my head converting things into terms that I can understand but it was crazy how cheap clothes were. Today I am just hanging around the house and kind of taking a break, which has been nice. Tomorrow I head out to Kalk Bay, which is about 20 min from my host parents for orientation. The other Americans show up tomorrow and I am looking forward to meeting them all. I won’t be able to post anything till I get back but so far things have been good. I am told things get really busy once school so I am enjoying the break while I have it.

Update 1/11/12

Today and yesterday have been pretty down days. Yesterday I went to one of the bigger malls here and it was basically like any American mall. The clothes here are supper cheap! I have been doing a lot of math in my head converting things into terms that I can understand but it was crazy how cheap clothes were. Today I am just hanging around the house and kind of taking a break, which has been nice. Tomorrow I head out to Kalk Bay, which is about 20 min from my host parents for orientation. The other Americans show up tomorrow and I am looking forward to meeting them all. I won’t be able to post anything till I get back but so far things have been good. I am told things get really busy once school so I am enjoying the break while I have it.

Update 1/9/2012

Today I went and saw my college for the first time. It is very nice but very small; Cornerstone has only around 100 students. I am looking forward to starting there next Monday. I have also begun to master the train system here. It is a bit complicated but I now know how to get to and from school, which makes me feel a little more at ease. I am feeling a little more comfortable in my home as well. I am adjusting into life here in Cape Town and I don’t feel that jet lagged anymore. All the rest of the abroad students arrive on Thursday and I am looking forward to getting to know them all. It will be nice to get into the routine of things here and start doing all the things that have been planned for us students. For now things are going good!

Update 1/8/11

So I am not sure when that last post actually worked but I wrote it yesterday. Last night my luggage showed up so I have my stuff!!! So nice to have my clothes and everything, I feel way more settled now. Yesterday and today I went to the beach, two of the different beaches here. It was absolutely gorgeous and nice to get out and see more of the area. Still recovering from jet lag and time difference (it is 10 hours ahead here) but other than that things are good. It has been weird to see how the culture is different but in some ways very the same. I am still getting used to their accents here and I sometimes can't understand what they are saying. Some people are easier to understand than others but overall I am getting more used to them talking. They have had trouble with my name, they can say it but can't seem to remember what the real pronunciation is so they have given me the nickname of Ally. Which I am fine with but it has been funny to hear all the different names I have been called, Alyssa, Alisha, Allison, hahaha everything that is remotely close to my real name.
Overall things are going good, I would appreciate prayer in the area of culture shock. It hasn't been too bad but I really would like to talk with an American for a bit. Someone who understands me a little better. Other than that things are going great.

Travel.Arrival.Host Family

Travel

I do not want to see the inside of a plane for quite some time. Though traveling was good it was long and tiresome. My long flight from JFK to Johannesburg (or Jo-burg, what the locals call it) was 15 hours long. Luckily I was able to sleep most of the flight and spent the rest of the time watching movies. It was boring but also fun since I was sitting next to a rambunctious 10 year old girl from SA. She was traveling home from visiting her sister in the States and was by herself. She was quite a talker and it made the flight interesting and fun. The only hiccup in my trip was when I landed in Jo-burg, I had to go through entry into SA and customs. I was supposed to grab my bags and go through customs but due to only having a little less than an hour before my next flight, I was told I should leave them and catch my flight instead. So I ran a good distance and caught my flight. So currently I am without clothes and am very hopeful to get them today. We will see though.

Arrival

After arriving in the airport and dealing with my bag situation, two people picked me up from Cornerstone. One has been my contact in preparation before arriving (Tammy) and the other is a SA student who is one of the peer mentors for the study abroad students (Joanita). Tammy dropped Joanita and I off at my host families home, where I met my host sister Robyn-Lee. My host parents were at work so Robyn-Lee showed me around the home and showed me where I would be staying. I will be sharing a room with another study abroad student but for now Joanita is staying with me. We kind of have our own closed off area from the home with a bathroom and nice little living area as well. It is very nice and very comfortable as well.

Host Family

My host family is amazing they are very nice and welcoming people and I am looking forward to getting to know them better as time goes on. I am also very thankful for Joanita, the peer mentor, she has been such a blessing making me feel welcome and comfortable. She is very very sweet and helpful. I am looking forward to getting to know her more as time goes on, I can see us becoming good friends. My host parents are great people as well. Last night after a dinner of fish and chips, a very popular South African meal, they took Joanita and I on a drive to the city center of Cape Town (I live in a suburb). It is a very beautiful city and I can’t wait to go explore the area more as time progresses.

I know I have only been here a day but I already feel pretty at home here with my host family. So far things have been amazing and even though it sucks to not have any clothes, they have let me borrow things so I have been ok. Not sure what is planned for today but I think we may head to the beach! Please pray that my stuff arrives soon! I miss you all dearly and still can’t believe that I am here in SA!

Much love,

Allysa