Time is flying by

Sorry for the extended amount of time without an update. I wrote the last one a week ago and will update you in this post from there. I promised a report on the first day of service, so here it is. I loved it! I got there a little late so the babies were already out and playing in the large common space. There are seventeen babies from a premature little angel to almost two years old. I spent the morning just sitting on the floor playing with them until bottle time. They all get a bottle and just lie on their backs and drink til they are done. It is so precious. I had to feed one little girl who gets special formula. Then we play some more. The older kids went out to the yard to play, but I stayed in with the littleter ones. Then it is lunch time, I fed a couple babies what looked liked pureed squash or something, anyway it smelled delicious. Then it is nap time. They all stay in a room together and nap for two hours. When all the "big kids" are in bed we feed and change the two babies before their nap time. I fed and changed the one babies nappie and put him in his crib. I need to start bringing a book or homework or something for the two hours that the babies are sleeping. I just sat on the couch and watched poorly recepted television with some of the other staff. Then the babies wake up. O my gosh it smells awful in that room after two hours of sleeping and they have all used their diapers, eew. So we change all their nappies and play some more. They get a few little puffy cheetoes for snack and we play for another hour and a half until dinner, which was tapioca pudding. Then they all get bathed two at a time and put into their pajamas for bed. When they come out fresh and clean and soft I got to put their pajamas on. I left shortly after that. Towards the end of the day, they were all laughing and there is this one little girl who has the most perfect baby laugh! She got all the rest of them going and it was like a laughing baby YouTube video in real life. So freaking cute. I was a very sloppy feeder and have remains from all three meals on my pants. I think I am really going to like it there.

Tuesday was much the same at service. I already feel part of the routine. I went to Ash Wednesday service here in Obs. It was quite nice. The priest kept saying “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” It is quite a humbling thought upon reflection. When we went to mass the sky was cloudy and you could not see Devil’s Peak (which you usually can from Obs). When we left mass the sun was setting and the clouds had cleared. It was quite a beautiful scene. Thursday was a standard day at University, nothing exciting. Friday the whole group went to Lotus Park, an informal settlement in the Gugulethu township. We divided into groups of three and community leaders took us on a tour answering all our questions. So to paint a picture (since I am still struggling to upload photos) Lotus Park is what you expect a township to look like. Tin “shacks” on dirt ground, no sewage system, one water spigot for five or six households and limited electricity. The average living wage in the settlement is about two dollars a day. Real poverty. It is incredible though, how resilient and positive the people are. The community is working very hard to better themselves. They are very creative and intelligent people.

Friday night we had friends from the neighborhood over to our house for Braai (that is what South Africans call a BBQ). There were quite a few people and it was really fun. A friend and I went out with some of our friend’s downtown to a club late in the evening. That was my first time going into Cape Town to go out. The club was pretty swanky, but it was fun to dance and mingle. I met two men from Uganda. They are staying here for a year (eight months in) doing volunteer work as well. I had a very interesting conversation with one of them about how he loves the country of South Africa, but does not like the people because they have not been receptive to him as an African foreigner. He also told me that he was in South Africa because he is not accepted by his family as a gay man and he told me that homosexuality is punishable by death in Uganda. It was a very interesting conversation.

Saturday I went to a rugby game. The experience was exactly like a baseball game or football game in the states. The stadium was set against the mountains so that was really beautiful and the game was pretty easy to follow. And today, Sunday, I went to Mzoli’s which is a famous restaurant in the Gugulethu township. It was a hoot! It was like a huge barbeque where everyone is drinking and eating delicious food and there was live African music. To get the meat you walk into the butchers and pick out your meat and then you take it back to the kitchen where there is a gigantic barbeque. Then you wait a while for the meat to cook. It is so delicious and messy and crazy. I am still stuffed. I went to mass this evening and the homily was all about trusting that the desire to please God, pleases God. I really liked that thought. I am pleasing God just by trying to please God.

I am still doing very well here. I love my routine and I really like the people in the house. Sorry for the novel, but I hope you enjoyed the update. Peace.

One Month and Counting

Today I have officially been in Cape Town for one month. It seems impossible that I have already been here that long. It also seems impossible that I will be here four months more. I am quite happy. I like going to classes at Udubs (as it is affectionately called) and being on campus. I have started a routine of buying a lemon poppy seed muffin in the B Block Café. I am still enjoying my classes. Thursday we had a guest lecturer in Women and Gender Studies. She was incredible. We talked about reductive and receptive views of cultures. Her presentation was so engaging and funny. I loved it. We also had a guest lecturer in our Theology class Friday. He was a youth activist during apartheid and now works as a leader in the Christian church to encourage the ANC government to continue to pursue a path of equality and justice.

I went Shark diving on Saturday! It was very cool, incredible actually. There are only about one thousand Great White Sharks left in the oceans because people are killing them for their fins and jaws, so we were quite fortunate to see four Great White Sharks on our little excursion. It was fun even to watch the sharks swim around from atop the boat. They are very much like any other animal. I actually felt like we were cheating them throwing in bait only to pull it away at the last minute. Then when I actually got into the cage I felt like I was on some episode of shark week. One of the sharks was 3.8 meters long! It came quite close to the cage and actually hit the cage with its tail as it propelled itself out of the water to snatch the bait. O, it was so cool! I am happy to say that I retained all my appendages. I am having a bit of trouble uploading pictures to this blog, but I am trying. There will be a few from this excursion when I do.

Otherwise I am still just living the everyday life of a student in Cape Town. I start at my service site tomorrow. I am going to be working with babies, 0-12 months, at the orphanage. I think I am really going to enjoy the work. I went to mass today as well. The gospel was about the paralytic man who is lowered by his friends from the roof to be healed by Jesus. Jesus first says “Your sins are forgiven you” before he cures him and tells him to walk out with his mat. The homily was how God is a yes or no God, not in between and we as faithful people should say yes or no to him and his will for us. There was also confession after mass today, so I went and got my soul all cleaned up before Lent begins on Wednesday. I am looking forward to Lent. Since starting college it has always been a spiritually enlightening time for me. I have been given good reasons to believe in the power of prayer, so I very much appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers. Peace.

A Schedule

I finally have a picture of what my weeks will look like this semester. I have been placed at Christine Rivel, an orphanage for children 0-6. I have not visited the site yet, but I am very excited to be working with children! Some of my group members have already started their service and have given wonderful reviews. I expect to start on Tuesday so you can expect a very excited post after that day.

I have also finalized my class schedule. I will be on campus Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday taking Moral Discourse on Human Rights and Civil Society, Gender in South African Politics and Culture, and beginning in March I will take International Institutions. These are in addition to my two courses through Marquette. I made a schedule of all my homework today and call me a nerd, but it feels good to have some work to do and things to learn after practically two months of vacation.

Last night I went to a show by The Tallest Man On Earth. He was very good. I had never listened to his music before, but the show, which was just him singing and playing a variety of guitars, was great. The remainder of the weekend I am planning to spend keeping my ankle up and iced and rested. It still does not hurt, but it has started to bruise a bit (which the doctor said would happen). Thank you for your continued prayers for healing. Peace.

Remember that one time...

Remember that one time in Africa when I ruptured a ligament in my ankle? Well it has been an eventful few days, but fortunately everything has worked out as best it could.  I signed up for volley ball at UWC and at our first practice I was chasing after a ball, twisted my ankle rupturing my anterior talofibular ligament in my right ankle. I went to the emergency room that night and had some x-rays taken. The doctor in the ER thought I would have to have reconstructive surgery, which would have been really difficult. Fortunately the Orthopedic Surgeon who I went to see the next day thought my ankle would heal on its own wearing a boot. So I am in a walking boot for six weeks and will start physical therapy in two weeks. It is a bit of an inconvenience, but I am very thankful that I do not need surgery. My ankle really does not hurt either which is a blessing.

I went to UWC again today and got my final schedule figured out. I have yet to actually attend a class. Hopefully tomorrow everything will go as planned. I am very excited for the two classes that I take within the Marquette program. Grassroots Movements and Organizations will be, I think very beneficial for my future career as something of a community organizer. The Professor has taught this class since the programs inception seven years ago so she is more that knowledgeable about how to relate our experiences at our service sites to the course. The other class, Theology of Reconciliation and Forgivenss will also be a good course. I think it will challenge me to think about how my faith relates to the service that I want to continue to do. For now, prayers for a speedy recovery are welcome, thank you. Peace
P.S. pictures coming soon :)

Has It Only Been A Week?

I cannot believe that it has only been a week since landing in Cape Town. So much has happened and I am already used to life here. I do not yet have any sort of routine, but walking around the neighborhood I see familiar places. I can describe how I am feeling as survival limbo mode. I am not especially happy, but I am not particularly sad either. I am just surviving in my new environment as I adapt to new people and new places.
The woman who founded this program came to have lunch with us on Friday. She told us her intentions were that we have a well rounded experience of service, academics, and fun. Her life itself is quite incredible. After we visited with her a large part of the group went to Musenburge beach. It was very beautiful and I loved swimming in the ocean. I felt such joy in the water.
Saturday the whole group toured Robben Island which is where Nelson Mandela was kept as a political prisoner for many years. We took a boat to the island and started with a bus tour to see the general sites around the island. Then a former political prisoner gave us a tour of the maximum security prison where we saw Mandela’s cell. It was very cool to be there walking in history. They talked about how it was the unjust system of apartheid that discriminated against a certain people and held prisoners indefinitely. I could not help but to think about our own unjust prison system and how it discriminates against certain people. Shout out to Social Justice Living Learning Community where I learned about the racist institutions of the United States.
Sunday we got up very early to climb Table Mountain. The hike was brutal. It was like climbing a stair master to two and a half consecutive hours. My body was not prepared for that kind of physical exertion, but I made it to the top despite! That afternoon, after a nice nap, we had a briie at the house (that’s a South Africa barbeque). A few of us then tried to go to mass in the evening, but since neither we nor the taxi driver knew where we were going, we ended up accidentally at an Anglican service. We politely sat through and participated. God is everywhere in every form, so it was nice to be in a faith filled community.
Monday was a bit of a disaster. Being now a few days removed, it was not all that bad, but long story short my class schedule at University of the Western Cape is going to have to be entirely rearranged. It was a frustrating day, but everything in perspective, I am quite lucky to be here taking classes at all.
Tuesday was very low key. A few of us went downtown to the Aquarium, which I did not think was anything special, but the jelly fish are always mesmerizing and we stayed to see the penguins be fed which was quite fun. Peace