Since I blogged so late in the week last week, I'll make this a short one. You've gotten most of what's going on here, but things at home are still happening!
I found out a couple weeks ago that I've been hired once again by Residence Life at school. Next year, I get to be a Resident Advisor in the freshmen dorm that I lived in a couple years ago! I guess I'm still an Adams girl at heart. One of the best parts about this appointment is that Katie Hahn is going to be on my staff--she's here in SA with me and was even my Joburg roommate!
So my time at home this summer is short for the 3rd time in a row. I'm home from mid-May until early August. I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time with Hope, Hannah, Carson and Lisa. I'll be doing a lot of babysitting, so if you're in Humboldt, you know who to call! Hopefully I'll get together a job outside of that, even though it's only for 2 1/2 months.
I got a package yesterday, which made my day! It was full of Easter chocolate from Mom, and best of all, drawings from Hope. What a little artist! AND she wrote one of the full sentences that she's mastered for me, all by herself. I'm such a proud sister.
I'll just leave you with this blog from Hilary Green, who's studying here with me. I thought it was too funny (and true!) not to share.
"These are some of our new South African norms. We find humor in all the discomfort. Enjoy!
-If you love surprises, you love South Africa. There's mystery meat Monday...mystery meat Tuesday...mystery meat Wednesday...mystery meat Thursday...mystery meat Friday...mystery meat Saturday...and the occasional pizza and fry Sunday.
-Peanut butter can be eaten with every meal. If one gets tired of peanut butter, having butter and jam sandwiches seems perfectly normal.
-The South African's stereotype of hungry Americans is affirmed twice a day as we crowd/swarm/fight over the plates of warm cookies and muffins at tea time.
-Drinking pina colada mix as juice becomes something that...well, you just never get used to.
-We are the traveling circus as 22 people unload out of each van. If we are pulled over, at least 15 people will get out of the bus, only to have to reload the bus less than 2 minutes later.
-It's not dinner until Ryno rings the bell.
-Getting a package is like winning the lotto. Also, the package becomes everyone's as the crowd watching it get opened expects to reap some of the benefits of the American goods.
-Eating chocolate everyday seems normal.
-Carrying pepper spray is a necessity to fight off the monkeys. Having a monkey steal chocolate out of your room is somewhat expected. Putting pepper spray on hot cheetos and watching the monkeys burn their hands, mouths, and vomit is considered a very entertaining and productive afternoon.
-Hanging out at the mall is no longer a Junior High activity.
-Running with a family of zebras is no big deal.
-"Jillian" is a household name. Our worst nightmare and best friend. Everybody does her.
-Temperatures lower than 85 degrees deserve pants, slippers, and possibly sweatshirts.
-African thunder and lightening storms can make a 21-year-old male scream like a baby during class.
-Coffee shop runs are sacred. Hot chocolate and instacoffee from campus are consumed on a 3-4 cup basis. It is not uncommon to find chunks in your cream. Don't worry, the milk's only been sitting out for 7 hours in the 90 degree heat.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Week 8: Project Gateway
As I have gotten into the flow of service sites, our days and nights have gotten busier instead of the free time we’d expected. We have only 2 classes going on, so those take up our entire Mondays until 8pm. We’re at our service sites on Tuesday-Friday until 4:30pm, and by the time we’re back, we’re usually pretty wiped out.
Though there’s been so much going on, I think I’ll just report on what’s been going on with my team at Project Gateway. We are 7, and it’s such a different atmosphere to be in such a small group.
Project Gateway’s campus is the Old Pietermaritzburg Prison. There were horrible things that happened in those buildings, but now it’s being used for God. Public hangings, gang fights and oppression happened there. Apartheid penetrated even prisoners. We saw isolation chambers and gallows, walls that were scaled for attempted escape and the cell that Ghandi was allegedly held in after his first act of passive resistance at the Pietermaritzburg train station.
Now, it fosters several programs which are trying to take off for themselves. Project Gateway is all about empowering so that programs will become self-sustaining. There is a fashion school which teaches fashion design and sewing, a homeless shelter where people have to pay 1 rand (about 15 cents) to stay the night, Esther House (which I’ll write more about) and Gateway Christian School. Even the Project Gateway itself is working towards self-sustainability by giving tours of the Old Prison.
Gateway Christian School is where we spend our Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. I spend my mornings in Mrs. Reddy’s 4th grade class. If I’m not in class helping her out, I’m teaching a P.E. lesson, covering new library books in plastic or playing with the kids at recess. Let it be known that “playing” is a very subjective word. The playground has a giant grassy hill, and the majority of the school (somewhere around 300 children) climbs up, waits for everyone and then runs down screaming. I feel like I’m in a battle…and the feeling is even more authentic when I’m weighted down by 5 children on each arm and 3 or 4 more figuring out a way to hug me with everyone else in the crowd. Seriously, they adore us.
We then have a short lunch and head down the road to Esther House. There are 8 or so women who temporarily live there. They have been beaten and take refuge in the house with their children.
On our first day, all we heard the entire morning from Gateway people was not to be discouraged if they don’t talk to us…that in the past, the teams have just had to play with the kids the first day, and then on the second day, when the women see that we’re coming back, then they’ll talk to us. Our team broke the mold though. The first few minutes were a bit awkward, but we went outside together, and by the time we had to leave, we were laughing and running and playing games with the women and the children. They hugged us as we left and waved enthusiastically. Once we were back in our car, our Zulu language helper was raving about how that NEVER happens on the first day! She was absolutely amazed at how the women responded to us.
Yesterday, our afternoon was full of incredible stories from the women about their lives and tears on my part. It is so inspiring to hear the intense suffering that they’ve endured but they still have hope. I wrote about it yesterday in my journal: “’But,’ she said as my tears began to flow, ‘my position with God never changed. He is with me and He will never leave me.’” We prayed like I’ve never prayed at home and sang praise songs in Zulu that we’ve learned in the last week. As we climbed into the bus, we were all silent and just staring. All afternoon and evening we were trying to process it and I think we still were today.
Today was equally as good, but today and yesterday were like night and day. One of the women literally ran towards us to hug us as we walked down the driveway. We prayed together today and sang a bit more, but we left so lightheartedly. We spent a lot of the afternoon outside playing duck, duck, goose (one of their favorites), big booty and jump rope. We were running, jumping and laughing with each other and sang more Zulu songs on the bus ride home instead of the heavy stares that we had yesterday.
I’ll leave it at that for now. There are so many beautiful things happening here. Maybe I’ll have them straight enough in my head when I’m home to really talk about them more in depth with you all.
I’m sending my love to you! Hopefully I’ll have some new pictures from Gateway by the next time I blog…for now, I’ll leave you with a picture of my team:
Though there’s been so much going on, I think I’ll just report on what’s been going on with my team at Project Gateway. We are 7, and it’s such a different atmosphere to be in such a small group.
Project Gateway’s campus is the Old Pietermaritzburg Prison. There were horrible things that happened in those buildings, but now it’s being used for God. Public hangings, gang fights and oppression happened there. Apartheid penetrated even prisoners. We saw isolation chambers and gallows, walls that were scaled for attempted escape and the cell that Ghandi was allegedly held in after his first act of passive resistance at the Pietermaritzburg train station.
Now, it fosters several programs which are trying to take off for themselves. Project Gateway is all about empowering so that programs will become self-sustaining. There is a fashion school which teaches fashion design and sewing, a homeless shelter where people have to pay 1 rand (about 15 cents) to stay the night, Esther House (which I’ll write more about) and Gateway Christian School. Even the Project Gateway itself is working towards self-sustainability by giving tours of the Old Prison.
Gateway Christian School is where we spend our Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. I spend my mornings in Mrs. Reddy’s 4th grade class. If I’m not in class helping her out, I’m teaching a P.E. lesson, covering new library books in plastic or playing with the kids at recess. Let it be known that “playing” is a very subjective word. The playground has a giant grassy hill, and the majority of the school (somewhere around 300 children) climbs up, waits for everyone and then runs down screaming. I feel like I’m in a battle…and the feeling is even more authentic when I’m weighted down by 5 children on each arm and 3 or 4 more figuring out a way to hug me with everyone else in the crowd. Seriously, they adore us.
We then have a short lunch and head down the road to Esther House. There are 8 or so women who temporarily live there. They have been beaten and take refuge in the house with their children.
On our first day, all we heard the entire morning from Gateway people was not to be discouraged if they don’t talk to us…that in the past, the teams have just had to play with the kids the first day, and then on the second day, when the women see that we’re coming back, then they’ll talk to us. Our team broke the mold though. The first few minutes were a bit awkward, but we went outside together, and by the time we had to leave, we were laughing and running and playing games with the women and the children. They hugged us as we left and waved enthusiastically. Once we were back in our car, our Zulu language helper was raving about how that NEVER happens on the first day! She was absolutely amazed at how the women responded to us.
Yesterday, our afternoon was full of incredible stories from the women about their lives and tears on my part. It is so inspiring to hear the intense suffering that they’ve endured but they still have hope. I wrote about it yesterday in my journal: “’But,’ she said as my tears began to flow, ‘my position with God never changed. He is with me and He will never leave me.’” We prayed like I’ve never prayed at home and sang praise songs in Zulu that we’ve learned in the last week. As we climbed into the bus, we were all silent and just staring. All afternoon and evening we were trying to process it and I think we still were today.
Today was equally as good, but today and yesterday were like night and day. One of the women literally ran towards us to hug us as we walked down the driveway. We prayed together today and sang a bit more, but we left so lightheartedly. We spent a lot of the afternoon outside playing duck, duck, goose (one of their favorites), big booty and jump rope. We were running, jumping and laughing with each other and sang more Zulu songs on the bus ride home instead of the heavy stares that we had yesterday.
I’ll leave it at that for now. There are so many beautiful things happening here. Maybe I’ll have them straight enough in my head when I’m home to really talk about them more in depth with you all.
I’m sending my love to you! Hopefully I’ll have some new pictures from Gateway by the next time I blog…for now, I’ll leave you with a picture of my team:
Monday, March 8, 2010
Week 7: Finals, Battlefields and Sunday FUNDAY
Another week and another weekend have passed, and I'm still so joyful to be in this place. It was a jam-packed week, but we all survived and are ready for this new one.
We had our final exams for our electives on Wednesday and Thursday, so there was much studying to be done. We had our last class sessions on Monday and Tuesday. After that, we studied hard until the last exam on Thursday afternoon. I can now say that I have successfully completed Life and Teachings of Jesus and Humans and the Environment!
Now, we all continue our Intercultural Communication course and we have just started Principles of Community Engagement today. Our history and culture course has been put on hold and will resume when we move to Cape Town the second week of April.
Thursday, though a dreary, cool(-ish…this is summer after all), wet day, was full of relief from everyone! Second tea time marked the end of finals, and everyone was just so lighthearted and ready to relax and play games. It was so nice to just be able to enjoy each other without worrying about schoolwork!
We took off to tour the battlefields of South Africa early Friday morning. I rode on the luxury coach, and let me tell you, we felt like kings and queens. There were 30-something of us on there, and when we weren't sleeping, we were talking, laughing, joking, playing games and telling stories.
I must report honestly: the battlefield part was really hard to keep my interest in. We had a very enthusiastic guide, but it was so information dense (and the sun was beating down hard) that it was hard to pay attention.
On Friday afternoon, we had some time to relax before an amazing dinner in the country hotel (that we completely filled). We enjoyed each other in the form of playing nerts, a fast paced group solitaire-like game that I was introduced to last school year. It got pretty heated and loud and definitely worked up our appetite.
After the 3 course feast, some of us headed out to the lobby and sat on the couches and chairs for a chat with Reg, the executive director of the program. We talked mostly about the Bible and South Africa, and it was so interesting to hear from him in a casual setting. He is such a wise person for whom I have a LOT of respect. Students from past semesters have raved about him, and I had some pretty high expectations. He has exceeded them all.
Sunday was such a wonderful day of fellowship! The church that I've been going to and plan to continue for the rest of my stay here is called God's Family Life Center. It is a church full of joy and unashamedness, so friendly and loving and welcoming. I get more hugs on Sunday mornings than I do the entire week…and I'm a pretty big hugger.
So I took of for the 8am service and enjoyed the time during the service itself. But church didn't end after the sermon was over. The pastor and his wife invited us and a few others over for a braai (bbq) and swimming. Not only was it a beautiful house with a cool pool and green grass for lounging and cricket-playing, but the late morning and afternoon were full of cultural conversations. I got to know several members of the church better, so we had some great conversations about living in South Africa. The youth director is actually from Canada, so it was cool to talk to him, too, since he moved here 3 years ago and is closer to our age than the others.
When we came back to African Enterprise mid-afternoon, Sunday FUNDAY was in full swing! The activities committee decided to get some friendly rivalry going to encourage chalet pride. We're having some kind of event every Sunday where we can earn points towards the grand prize at the end of the semester.
Other APU-ers had already done the slip 'n' slide and everyone was getting ready for the relay race. Mojalefa, my chalet, was dressed in purple, and we got pumped for the race! Dubie swallowed a spoonful of salt, ran across the lawn, chugged a bottle of water and ran back. Then Jamie pushed me wheelbarrow style to the other side and we switched for the way back. It wouldn't have been a real relay without Dee and Alyssa's 3 legged race, Kristen's egg-on-the-spoon and Carisa's search for mentos in whipped cream…with only her face, of course. We finished it off by passing an apple by our chins and chests, ending with me. I had to eat the apple, sprint to the other side of the lawn to throw the core away and sprint back.
I am VERY proud to say that Mojo got 3rd place! Only the 2 boys' chalets beat us! We're getting excited about this Sunday Funday thing and we're going to get really competitive next week. =)
For all of my latest pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050137&id=1037910026&l=65b6d995ab
We had our final exams for our electives on Wednesday and Thursday, so there was much studying to be done. We had our last class sessions on Monday and Tuesday. After that, we studied hard until the last exam on Thursday afternoon. I can now say that I have successfully completed Life and Teachings of Jesus and Humans and the Environment!
Now, we all continue our Intercultural Communication course and we have just started Principles of Community Engagement today. Our history and culture course has been put on hold and will resume when we move to Cape Town the second week of April.
Thursday, though a dreary, cool(-ish…this is summer after all), wet day, was full of relief from everyone! Second tea time marked the end of finals, and everyone was just so lighthearted and ready to relax and play games. It was so nice to just be able to enjoy each other without worrying about schoolwork!
We took off to tour the battlefields of South Africa early Friday morning. I rode on the luxury coach, and let me tell you, we felt like kings and queens. There were 30-something of us on there, and when we weren't sleeping, we were talking, laughing, joking, playing games and telling stories.
I must report honestly: the battlefield part was really hard to keep my interest in. We had a very enthusiastic guide, but it was so information dense (and the sun was beating down hard) that it was hard to pay attention.
On Friday afternoon, we had some time to relax before an amazing dinner in the country hotel (that we completely filled). We enjoyed each other in the form of playing nerts, a fast paced group solitaire-like game that I was introduced to last school year. It got pretty heated and loud and definitely worked up our appetite.
After the 3 course feast, some of us headed out to the lobby and sat on the couches and chairs for a chat with Reg, the executive director of the program. We talked mostly about the Bible and South Africa, and it was so interesting to hear from him in a casual setting. He is such a wise person for whom I have a LOT of respect. Students from past semesters have raved about him, and I had some pretty high expectations. He has exceeded them all.
Sunday was such a wonderful day of fellowship! The church that I've been going to and plan to continue for the rest of my stay here is called God's Family Life Center. It is a church full of joy and unashamedness, so friendly and loving and welcoming. I get more hugs on Sunday mornings than I do the entire week…and I'm a pretty big hugger.
So I took of for the 8am service and enjoyed the time during the service itself. But church didn't end after the sermon was over. The pastor and his wife invited us and a few others over for a braai (bbq) and swimming. Not only was it a beautiful house with a cool pool and green grass for lounging and cricket-playing, but the late morning and afternoon were full of cultural conversations. I got to know several members of the church better, so we had some great conversations about living in South Africa. The youth director is actually from Canada, so it was cool to talk to him, too, since he moved here 3 years ago and is closer to our age than the others.
When we came back to African Enterprise mid-afternoon, Sunday FUNDAY was in full swing! The activities committee decided to get some friendly rivalry going to encourage chalet pride. We're having some kind of event every Sunday where we can earn points towards the grand prize at the end of the semester.
Other APU-ers had already done the slip 'n' slide and everyone was getting ready for the relay race. Mojalefa, my chalet, was dressed in purple, and we got pumped for the race! Dubie swallowed a spoonful of salt, ran across the lawn, chugged a bottle of water and ran back. Then Jamie pushed me wheelbarrow style to the other side and we switched for the way back. It wouldn't have been a real relay without Dee and Alyssa's 3 legged race, Kristen's egg-on-the-spoon and Carisa's search for mentos in whipped cream…with only her face, of course. We finished it off by passing an apple by our chins and chests, ending with me. I had to eat the apple, sprint to the other side of the lawn to throw the core away and sprint back.
I am VERY proud to say that Mojo got 3rd place! Only the 2 boys' chalets beat us! We're getting excited about this Sunday Funday thing and we're going to get really competitive next week. =)
For all of my latest pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050137&id=1037910026&l=65b6d995ab
Monday, March 1, 2010
Week 6: Singing Angels, Ziplining and Fellowship
First, I have a question for all of you. Where the heck did February go? It blows my mind that more than 5 weeks have passed since I stepped off of American soil. And if the first 5 weeks have gone so quickly, the next couple months are going to fly even faster.
Highlights of my last week:
Dead bat in the toilet (highlight? Maybe not. But definitely interesting.)
Drakensburg Boys Choir
Karkloof Canopy Tours
Church Picnic
Our chalet woke up one morning to a sign on the toilet’s door reading, “BE CAREFUL! There is a bat in the toilet!” Naturally, I was curious, so I slowly opened the door, fully expecting a bat to fly in my face. Inching the door forward, nothing was jumping but my nerves, so I held my breath and swung it all the way open. I peeked in the toilet bowl, and there was a poor baby bat in there! I guess he drowned overnight, but it was definitely something to spice up the morning!
On Wednesday, we got the afternoon off of classes to drive back to the Drakensburg Mountains (where we saw the Bushmen paintings last weekend) to see the world famous Drakensburg Boys Choir. We took two buses and two cars, and I got to ride in Reg’s car! Reg is the head of the South Africa semester. He's also my Life and Teachings of Jesus teacher and such a wise man who is adored by everyone here. It was good to talk with him on the way back about all things South Africa, African Enterprise, hear about how he ended up at APU and just chat in general.
The performance itself was astounding! I was so impressed by the boys, who sang in English, German, Latin(?), Zulu and Xhosa. They sang a lot of traditional songs in the first half, but got really energetic and colorful for the second half…wearing colorful clothing, dancing, playing instruments and even including a Michael Jackson song. During the intermission, I talked with a few of them. They come from all over Southern Africa to live at the school (Drakensburg Boys Choir School) and be trained to sing.
I got up bright and early on Saturday to zipline through the canopy of South Africa’s second largest indigenous forest. We got on our very flattering and attractive gear (complete with a helmet and giant leather gloves) and rode up to the high point where the first platform was. We ziplined from platform to platform…check out all of the photos here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049383&id=1037910026&l=64e8b1437e
After church on Sunday, the whole church family headed to Midmar Dam for a braai (barbecue). We loaded up in the bakkie (the pickup with the shell) and headed over. I was a little nervous that I’d be too shy to meet many people, but a family invited a few of us onto their blanket straight away. We met Elwin, Abigail, Sheila and baby Noah, who will be 2 years old next Saturday and pretty much melted my heart.
It was so good to talk with them and hear about things from the South African Christian’s point of view. I also spent some time down at the water just laying in the grass and talking with some of the APU ladies. There were a couple of us in the water playing with all of the kids, so I sat on the bank and watched them.
On Wednesday and Thursday, I’ll have a final exam on the Life and Teachings of Jesus and biology. After that, I won’t have those classes anymore! Instead, I’ll be spending my weekdays at Project Gateway, my service site for the next four weeks. I’ll tell you more about it once I’ve started.
For those who would care to pray, pray that God would keep building my relationships. Pray that He would make His thoughts given to me clear and that He would help me to recognize what is not from Him. Pray that I would have confidence to initiate relationships in my service sites and that I would see the people how He does.
I’m sending love to you all, and I’ll catch you up some more next week!
Highlights of my last week:
Dead bat in the toilet (highlight? Maybe not. But definitely interesting.)
Drakensburg Boys Choir
Karkloof Canopy Tours
Church Picnic
Our chalet woke up one morning to a sign on the toilet’s door reading, “BE CAREFUL! There is a bat in the toilet!” Naturally, I was curious, so I slowly opened the door, fully expecting a bat to fly in my face. Inching the door forward, nothing was jumping but my nerves, so I held my breath and swung it all the way open. I peeked in the toilet bowl, and there was a poor baby bat in there! I guess he drowned overnight, but it was definitely something to spice up the morning!
On Wednesday, we got the afternoon off of classes to drive back to the Drakensburg Mountains (where we saw the Bushmen paintings last weekend) to see the world famous Drakensburg Boys Choir. We took two buses and two cars, and I got to ride in Reg’s car! Reg is the head of the South Africa semester. He's also my Life and Teachings of Jesus teacher and such a wise man who is adored by everyone here. It was good to talk with him on the way back about all things South Africa, African Enterprise, hear about how he ended up at APU and just chat in general.
The performance itself was astounding! I was so impressed by the boys, who sang in English, German, Latin(?), Zulu and Xhosa. They sang a lot of traditional songs in the first half, but got really energetic and colorful for the second half…wearing colorful clothing, dancing, playing instruments and even including a Michael Jackson song. During the intermission, I talked with a few of them. They come from all over Southern Africa to live at the school (Drakensburg Boys Choir School) and be trained to sing.
I got up bright and early on Saturday to zipline through the canopy of South Africa’s second largest indigenous forest. We got on our very flattering and attractive gear (complete with a helmet and giant leather gloves) and rode up to the high point where the first platform was. We ziplined from platform to platform…check out all of the photos here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049383&id=1037910026&l=64e8b1437e
After church on Sunday, the whole church family headed to Midmar Dam for a braai (barbecue). We loaded up in the bakkie (the pickup with the shell) and headed over. I was a little nervous that I’d be too shy to meet many people, but a family invited a few of us onto their blanket straight away. We met Elwin, Abigail, Sheila and baby Noah, who will be 2 years old next Saturday and pretty much melted my heart.
It was so good to talk with them and hear about things from the South African Christian’s point of view. I also spent some time down at the water just laying in the grass and talking with some of the APU ladies. There were a couple of us in the water playing with all of the kids, so I sat on the bank and watched them.
On Wednesday and Thursday, I’ll have a final exam on the Life and Teachings of Jesus and biology. After that, I won’t have those classes anymore! Instead, I’ll be spending my weekdays at Project Gateway, my service site for the next four weeks. I’ll tell you more about it once I’ve started.
For those who would care to pray, pray that God would keep building my relationships. Pray that He would make His thoughts given to me clear and that He would help me to recognize what is not from Him. Pray that I would have confidence to initiate relationships in my service sites and that I would see the people how He does.
I’m sending love to you all, and I’ll catch you up some more next week!
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