For Mama...

Since one of my classes got canceled for this week, I have some time to kill tonight. So I figured I would take time to get everyone completely caught up on my life... or at least mostly. I feel like I always start writing and never seem to have enough time to actually fit in everything I want to share! I'll start off with some promised pictures from shark cage diving, thanks to my friends!

One of the first sharks we saw off the boat.

An awesome underwater shot. Photo cred to my friend Caitlin.

Another underwater shot. Yes, the sharks were that close. And the black line is part of the cage, FYI.

Last Sunday, my friends and I went to Kirstenbosch Gardens. Kirstenbosch is a National Botanical Garden that is believed to be one of (actually, probably the most) beautiful gardens in Africa and one of the greatest botanical gardens in the world, with its incredible location at the foot of Table Mountain. I did not have enough time to wander the garden while I was there, but I plan to return soon since it is a short 10 or 15 minute cab ride from where I live! Every Sunday during this season, Kirstenbosch holds a summer concert series featuring all genres of music, from the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra to rock. We saw a really great Indie Rock group named Zebra and Giraffe. There were people of all ages at this concert. We brought blankets to sit on and enjoyed a dinner picnic and some wine (again, I have a tough life). It was a beautiful atmosphere, and definitely worth every cent of the 70 rand ticket (which is about $10).

Not a bad venue for the concert, huh?

Last Wednesday, I had tryouts for the UCT club soccer team. I had no idea what to expect, and it turned out to be..... well.... a joke, quite honestly. I hate to sound rude, and I am definitely not conceited about my soccer abilities considering the little amount of playing I've done since my knee injury, but soccer in America is much more competitive than here (at least women's). They do not have a varsity team, so this is the closest thing to it. It was about half Americans and half South Africans, and by the end of the night, the coach separated the group into essentially the first team (consisting of ALL Americans) and the second team (consisting of ALL others). While this could have served as a confidence booster, it really left me feeling pretty frustrated. It just shows yet another example of the great opportunities we are given in America. If I were South African, I may never have had the chance to even know that I have such a passion for sports, particularly soccer. I hope that I am wrong and that there is more opportunity than I am aware of, but I have a bad feeling that there's not, especially considering I am at UCT (the best university in Africa in this prime location). This will definitely make me appreciate my experiences with athletics/soccer (the good AND the bad) that have helped me grow throughout my entire life.

As you all may or may not know, the Trinity program in Cape Town requires that each student has an internship during his or her semester abroad. We were given a list of about seven internships to choose from. As I explained in my first blog post, Dad came across an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about a foundation called CTC Ten. I won't be too repetitive since I did write about this before, but I would like to point out a few things. Chris Campbell, a soccer native from Narberth, PA (very close to our home) played at Franklin & Marshall University. He tragically died the day before his senior season. Long story short, his parents asked that donations be made to Franklin & Marshall's "South Africa Project" but his teammates and coaching staff decided to take it several steps further. They memorialized him with a field in a township just outside of Cape Town, called Khayelitsha.  One of his best friends, Ryan McGonigle was quite literally thrown on a plane after graduating, and told to "figure it out" in Africa....pretty much by himself. He became the overseer of the construction of a turf field and the contact to and from America throughout the entire process. Campbell's former girlfriend, Amy Cawley graduated in '09 with Ryan, and once the field was built, the two of them pretty much built this project from the bottom up. When Dad brought home this article in August, it solidified my choice to study abroad in Cape Town. As corny as it sounds, I saw (and still see) this article as a sign that I did choose the right place for me. This foundation brings together so many of my main goals and interests: soccer, children, and working townships. I've been in contact with Amy for the past seven months, so when she kindly picked me up to take me to the field last week, I was eagerly awaiting the short trip!

Let me try to paint the picture of Khayelitsha for you (although I do not think it is really possible to do so in words, especially since I am no writer). In less than 40 minutes, I left the beautiful area of Cape Town, drove on a highway past several townships, and arrived to one of the most (in)famous townships in the world. This township is where MILLIONS of people live; there may be any number from 1 to 3 million, but it is impossible to know the exact number since people are constantly moving in and out of Khayelitsha. It is my understanding that anywhere between 100 and 200 people share a single water pump here. That means that 100-200 people use the same small supply of water to bathe, use the bathroom, cook, eat, etc. This makes absolutely no sense to me, considering that the Western Cape is essentially SURROUNDED by water. It gave me an almost guilty feeling, driving past shack after shack... it just seemed endless. Then, in the midst of all of this poverty, there is an impeccable turf field- as nice as any field I've ever played on. The thing that attracts me most to CTC Ten is their overall goal: to provide a safe haven and foster a sense of hope in this community. It has already been successful in keeping many people off the streets and away from crime. The other aspect that I think is so great is that by June, Amy and Ryan will both be leaving. They do not want this project to be a bunch of white people forcing their ideas onto this black community. They are looking to hire an African by June and gradually hand over all responsibility, creating a self-sustaining environment in Khayelitsha. It's amazing how its residents have embraced CTC Ten and really see it as part of their community. From what I can see, it is a unique foundation with goals that separate it from others. It is also pretty neat that this is literally the only time I could possibly get involved at this field. I am not sure what exactly I will be doing there yet, but I hope to plan that soon. In the couple hours I spent there last week, I pretty much explored the complex and played with all the kids. They were so loving and affectionate towards me, mostly because I'm a white girl with blonde(ish), smooth hair that they LOVED stroking. It was pretty hilarious at first... I had no idea what to expect. I heard that they would automatically love me because there is this sense of the "white ideal" in Africa. But all of a sudden, the kids noticed me, and they actually started charging at me, jumping on me, hugging me, kissing me, playing games with me, etc. And I loved every minute. Who doesn't love that kind of attention? I can't wait to get started. The one major drawback is that I do not speak their language, Xhosa. I can definitely find ways to communicate with them, but I feel that I could be so much more involved if I could speak their language; then I could even coach them which would be really fun. But there will be plenty to learn, both for me and for the kids.

I'm just amazed at what a great thing came out of such a sad event. It really gives new meaning to the saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." I promise I will take pictures and show them to you later.

Now back to stories of the "good life" I am living here in Cape Town. This weekend, I decided to hike Lions Head with some of my friends. We spent the day on the beach in Camps Bay, and then hiked in the early evening, so that we would be able to watch the sunset. This was the first hike I've been on since being here, since my knee has been acting up. But it's been feeling much better recently, so I decided to take advantage of that; plus, Lions Head is supposed to be the easiest hike in the area. I'm a rookie hiker and definitely no expert, but it was pretty tough- some ladders, some rock climbing, etc. But it was so much fun. The views during the entire hike were awesome on every side; we saw the gorgeous beaches, downtown Cape Town and all of its surrounding areas, the Waterfront, Sea Point, Robben Island, Table Mountain, and so much more. And the sunset wasn't too bad either.

Note to self: the way up is more tiring, but the way down is way scarier.

Me climbing the first ladder.

My friends- Marc and Fernando- rock climbing.

Finally made it to the top! That is Signal Hill to the left, with a view of Cape Town on its right.

Here I am looking like a sweaty, tired, and happy giant at the very top of Lions Head.

The view of Table Mountain's "table cloth" at dusk. It overtakes the land.

The view of Robben Island on the way up.

Another view of downtown.

View of the beach/Table Mountain.

And finally, the sunset.

Now this is pretty up to date, including pictures... Happy, Mom?

Wait, I go to SCHOOL??

Adventure week ended with a BANG... shark cage diving. For those of you who aren't shark enthusiasts and therefore most likely don't watch "Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel or Planet Earth, you may not understand how incredible Cape Town's location is for hanging out with some sharks. We drove about 2 hours or so to Gansbaai, a region renowned for its spectacular whale watching and shark population. Gansbaai is a fishing village famous for its shark alley- the insanely huge population of Great White Sharks, making it one of the best, if not THE best, locations in the world for cage diving. The best area is a channel by Seal Island, since the seals attract their predators, the sharks. The sharks circle the island to attack their prey, which is referred to as the "Ring of Death." I have talked to friends who watch these TV shows and, without my mentioning it, they have asked, "Were you right by Seal Island?! By the Ring of Death?!" This just tells you how famous the area is! There were hundreds, probably even thousands of these Cape Fur Seals occupying this small mass of land. Seals are funny creatures; they waddle and wobble around, making ridiculous noises, and spend pretty much all their time lying around on this island. And not to mention the fact that they smell pretty funny, too!

Here are some of the seals on Seal Island.

A loner.

Hopefully this gives you an idea of the huge number of seals on the island!

Proof that I participated in and SURVIVED shark cage diving! And yes, they messed up my name for some reason.

We started out the adventure by sailing out to Seal Island, and then we anchored nearby the island, to the day's "hot spot" for shark viewing. While the boat was anchored, it was slowly bobbing up and down in the water. This constant bobbing made me, and many others, extremely seasick (Aunt Cindy, you would not have fared well!). I ate about half a bottle of Tums (not sure what damage that did to my stomach) and took some Dramamine, and still got sick and had to go to the bathroom to "lose my lunch." (I'm trying to be polite here.) Right after that fun activity, one of the men working on the boat grabbed me and asked if I was ready to dive. I, of course, said yes and changed into my wetsuit. I plunged into the water with 7 strangers to experience the biggest adrenalin rush I've ever had. The water was FREEZING to say the least, but after a couple minutes that was the last thing on our minds. February isn't even shark season, and we saw lots and lots of sharks. There was a seal decoy and, of course, the lovely smelling chum (the bait used, comprised of tuna and tuna blood- it definitely did not help the seasickness!). We did not have snorkels or anything, but would just pop our heads out of the water when we needed a breath. One of the men onboard would yell at us to look left, look right, look behind the boat, look straight ahead, etc. so that we would know exactly where the sharks were coming at us. They came so close to the cage that a tail even came inside! It was AWESOME! Since it was such a cool and exhilarating sight, there was no time to think about being scared. We were in the water for probably 15 or 20 minutes and then another group took the dive. I got progressively more seasick after diving, but I chose to dive a second time. This time was even better- the sharks were more aggressive when going after the bait and decoy. I could have gone a third time, but I was way too sick at that point, haha. Not to mention that the water feels COLDER each additional time you dive! (Mom, you would never have been able to handle the cold!) This is a must-do for anyone who visits South Africa. It doesn't matter if you're scared of sharks or water or if you get seasick- you need to experience this!  Sorry I don't have any pictures of sharks- I was too seasick to think of taking pictures, but I will definitely get some pictures from my friends and post them later.

Earlier that week, we went to Stellenbosch, South Africa's famous winelands. The train we were supposed to take from Cape Town actually got vandalized, so it was delayed and we got to Stellenbosch almost 3 hours later than anticipated. So this means that our bike tour had to be shortened, unfortunately. (Dad, you would have been proud of me- I was one of the better bikers in our group. Thanks for the "training.") We biked to the first winery and were told to "drink quickly" since we were running short on time. We tried 5 wines- 2 white wines, a rose, and 2 red wines.  Then we biked to a cheetah reserve where they were rehabbing cheetahs. We biked through a gorgeous vineyard, past zebras, horses, springbok, ostriches, and wildebeests. We stopped for lunch at another amazing vineyard with incredible views, more delicious wine, and great food. Our last stop of the day was at a brandy distillery. We tried 2 brandies- one 10 years old, one 12 years old. Ew does not describe it. The younger brandy was even more disgusting than the older one. They also gave us a brandy mixed with a couple juices which was alright. Obviously, my opinion is not very credible when it comes to tasting brandy!

Here's some zebras at Stellenbosch.

Here's a beautiful view from the vineyard where we ate lunch.

And here's another view.

Now I will get to the reason for the title of this blog entry. Since I've essentially been on a 3 week vacation, I forgot the study aspect of studying abroad. Our first day of class was Friday the 11th. This first Friday of class is mostly just to hand out syllabi and figure out class schedules/"shop around" for classes, etc. I was one of about seven people in my first and only class of the day. So the actual first day of class was Monday the 14th, how fitting. This first week of class is the time to change curriculum (a.k.a. to stand in more lines in the complicated process of class registration). Now I have my class schedule all set, and I'm pretty excited! I'm taking Philosophy of Art and Literature, African Instruments, and Gender, Sexuality, Politics: Debates in Contemporary African Contexts. I am one of two Americans in my philosophy class, which is more than a little intimidating, but also really cool. I'm glad that I am not with any of my friends or any other abroad students so that I can challenge myself and step outside my comfort zone! My Gender, Sexuality, and Politics professor's name is Jane Bennett (which immediately brought to mind one of my favorite books/movies, "Pride and Prejudice"). She is quirky, eccentric, interesting, and just plain awesome. But the coolest class I'm taking is definitely African Instruments. We get to learn how to play 4 different instruments, concentrating on each for 4 weeks at a time. The instruments will each be from different areas in Africa, and our teacher recommended that we purchase the instruments! So I can bring them home and they'll be a really cool souvenir! And I was told that they're pretty small so they shouldn't be too hard to carry on the plane.... hopefully! I'll be learning an African drum, a hand piano, a xylophone, and a string instrument (I don't know their names yet). But it will be awesome because not only will I learn them here but I get to take them home so I can definitely bring them in and show Mom's students, if all goes as planned. I'll also be learning the history behind the instruments, so it will be really fun to teach her students a little bit about African culture through music.

That's all for now, but I promise I have more things to tell you soon!

Adventure Week: Part 1

I apologize in advance for this short novel once again. And thanks to anyone who actually spent time reading it!

We had the most amazing discussion one night last week with two of our mentors, Charles and G (Gudoni, which means to learn): Charles is from a village in Zimbabwe and G is from a village in northern South Africa. They talked about the customs of marriage. To prove that males are ready to be married, they are given tests such as herding and killing cows. Females must live in the house of her future family and prove that she can cook, clean, and other domestic jobs, including carrying barrels of water on top of their heads that they have just fetched from a well.

When a man decides he wants to marry a woman, the woman's worth must first be determined. If a woman is worth, say, 15 cows, the man must herd 15 cows to her house and present them as gifts to her family. Men must pay to prove their seriousness and affection for a girl. He must pay the woman's family to have the right to talk to them, to walk onto the porch, to walk through the doorway, EVERYTHING you can imagine. It's crazy. And then on top of that, depending on the "worth" of the girl, he could be paying extra. For example, a common payment is 12 cows, or maybe 20. If a girl is a virgin she is worth a ton more; she could be worth 50-100 cows or more. If she went to college and has a good job, that increases her worth. If the guy does not have that many cows, he can convert the cows into money, about 5,000-6,000 rand per cow. I'll let you do the math. If he is poor, he will find a way to pay in some way, he will have to be creative and think of something else.

I found this very interesting. Their culture also does not really care if a person is a virgin before marriage. Being a virgin is a huge bonus, but does not make or break anything, which I found surprising. But, in this day and age, this culture recognizes that it is not too easy to find a virgin. Girls have to be completely honest with their families, so that they can ask a fair price for their daughter. For the girl, it is not a problem to bring a boy home or to tell her family about dating him, but a guy cannot share this with his family until they are very serious about marriage. 

It is unbelievable that these 2 came from a village in my ignorant and uninformed mind. The way they speak, talk, dress, and even what they know about everything would never seem like they lived in a village like that.

Charles talked about dating a white Afrikaner, and he literally had things thrown at him when they were seen together in public. Her family even told him he disgraced their family. Charles moved out of his village when he was 5. His parents divorced but his father is still in debt to his mother's parents... this debt is now accumulated by Charles. Charles, however, wants to move to America. He told us that he wants to get out of here; he has experienced Africa, and does not feel like he truly connects to people or the lifestyle, not even in Cape Town. 

G, on the other hand, seems like he misses his village more. He lived there until 11th grade!  Both of their countries and villages have such similar customs. Charles said that once you have experienced this part of South Africa and Zimbabwe, you get the idea of Africa (at least in his opinion).

Charles said it is mostly the older generation who believes that these traditions should continue. But they also both said they would want their children to follow their family traditions. But the older generations are more close-minded and expect the younger generations to be married very young, etc.

We are hoping to convince them to do a village tour at the very least. They said we could not stay in a village, but hopefully we can try to experience this. Because, like they said, "The village..... now THAT'S the real Africa. When you are completely disconnected like that, THAT'S Africa." FINGERS CROSSED!

Every day so far, at least 20 times total, I think about how lucky I am to be here and how this really was the right choice for me. From what I hear about experiences in Europe and other places, it cannot compare to this. I wish I could find the words to explain everything to you, but there truly are no words for this. I have no way to do justice for what Charles and G shared with us I'm just so happy to be here, and it's just the beginning! 

I keep thinking about what i'd be doing if I were at Trinity right now- I'd be partying on the weekends, attending class, playing soccer, stressing about unimportant things, probably worrying about stupid boy problems, etc. It's these mundane things that make me question so many things in our culture. Maybe this is making me seem cynical or unappreciative, and trust me, that is not my intention or my belief in any way, shape, or form. But I do wonder why things work the way they do at home in certain ways. Why can't education be more affordable? Why is so much emphasis placed on grades? (Here, a good grade is a 63. And college is only 3 years for most people.) We had an interesting conversation about how people here truly do not like our government and politics in particular (no surprise there). They do not understand how we were able to go to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. They believe things really went downhill with the Bush administration. Charles was saying how much they felt the pain during 9/11. That pain and trouble affected the entire world. People care about america, but do not necessarily like America for many reasons. They feel as though America is the big bully- always trying to prove that it is stronger than other places and is the best and should be on top.

(That part of the post was written late one night when I was thinking to myself for a long while, so I apologize if it does not make sense! It is more or less my personal beliefs after our long discussion, and this blog is currently my personal diary.)

Now I can reflect on everything after officially surviving orientation! 

The one bad experience so far has been with REGISTRATION for classes. I've heard horror stories, and I was expecting a day of hell.... It actually turned out to be better than expected, but was still awful. Like I mentioned in one of my first posts, T.I.A. (This Is Africa), and things just do not work here like they do in the US. Registration is a perfect example. At Trinity, I pick out my classes on the computer, and log in to a website where I literally make a shopping cart of the classes I want the night before registration. Then, at my given time slot, I open my shopping cart and click a couple buttons until it is complete. This does not mean that I always get the classes I want, but it is that simple. But no, not in Africa! At UCT you have to go wait in line after line. Luckily, because my surname starts with a D (way to go, Dad!), I got to be in the first group to register. A couple hours later I made it through some boring steps and then I had to wait in the longest line to get my student ID card. It took about 4 hours in all, which really was not so bad. The bad part is that I still don't know if I am in any of my classes, and there is a very strong likelihood that I will not be enrolled and will have to sort out those problems with the heads of department for my classes this week. It's a funny thing to experience, and certainly makes me appreciate the ease of the Internet!

A couple days ago we had a wine and chocolate tasting for free, given by one of the travel agencies who like to advertise to study abroad students. We tried four types of wine: a white wine, a rose, a merlot, and a pinotage. Pinotage wine came from South Africa and is a cross between hermitage and pinot noir. It was incredible. And the chocolate was chocolate so of course it was delicious. South Africa is well known for its wonderful wines, particularly from an area called Stellenbosch, which is about an hour away from Cape Town. 

Stellenbosch also happens to be where Sibs, a Trinity professor lives. Every semester, the Trinity students studying abroad in Cape Town take one course with her. Here is the class structure: we meet once a week (probably Wednesday evenings) to discuss the class reading/assignment and then we go out to dinner at some of the best restaurants around for FREE (my new favorite word)... and even better is that this is a Trinity budget, not Sibs'! How awesome is that? This class will actually be a fair amount of work because we will be reading at least one book a week and writing a response paper each week. But the material is from various viewpoints to learn the history of South Africa. Needless to say I am excited to take this class.

Sibs took us out to dinner this past week at a great restaurant. Yes, I am getting wined and dined on a daily basis without the emotional attachment of a boyfriend.... doesn't get much better than that. Today, we all went to her ESTATE in Stellenbosch. And by estate, I mean that Sibs and her husband own a protea farm/bed and breakfast with various guest cottages on their property. (Proteas are the flower of South Africa.) This estate includes TWO swimming pools, a tennis court, amazing gardens, beautiful guest houses, and who knows what else. It literally looks like something out of a movie. And don't even get me started on the views of the surrounding mountains. The whole experience just did not feel like real life! And then she wined and dined us again. This was, literally and figuratively, a taste of the good life. And I know, I've been living the good life here, but she has an incredible life. Her house is so peaceful and beautiful- it would be the perfect place to retire.

I got to learn about Sibs' life today as well. She grew up in Durban, South Africa. She is Indian, which is considered colored in South Africa. Sibs actually experienced the apartheid first hand. Her family was displaced from their home in Durban, which was heavily populated by Indians, by the South African government when she was 16. So they moved to the United States. Sibs went to college in Canada and later married her Canadian Husband, Basil (not pronounced like the herb). She lived in Connecticut and taught at Trinity and Basil taught at Wesleyan. They loved their life in Connecticut. Sibs said she never dreamt of moving back to South Africa, but she and her husband visited while on sabbatical one year, and she fell back in love with the country and the mountains. They moved to Stellenbosch in 1992, I believe, and have lived there ever since. Sibs teaches at Stellenbosch University. She was hired there at the beginning of the end of the apartheid. Stellenbosch U had an all male, white population at the time. She said she never thought they would hire her, a colored, to teach the white men. But she actually became the first woman of color to teach at the university. She just has a remarkable life story, and we are lucky enough to learn from her and all of her experiences.

Tonight is the Super Bowl. I feel so disconnected from everything at home right now that I am not even watching it. I have a day trip tomorrow really early in the morning, and the game won't even start here until 1:30 am or so. I decided that I would rather be well rested than watch the game, even though I do love watching football. Like I said, I feel disconnected from home. I can hardly talk to my family because my Internet is quickly running out even though I have been using it sparingly. I haven't even followed any current events or gone on any news websites because it takes too much Internet credit! So if anyone wants to fill me in on the goings on of the world, please send me an e-mail (all text, please and thank you!).

Tomorrow I am doing a bicycle tour of the vineyards in Stellenbosch. Unreal. We start out the day at a brandy distillery (EW!) and then stop at four different vineyards throughout the day. When I told Dad about this, he gave me some great advice: "One glass of water for every glass of wine. And remember, most bikes have gears." Thanks, Dad, you're the best. Then on Thursday, I am going cage diving with great white sharks, the infamous creatures of Cape Town that you may have seen on the TV special, "Shark Week". Yup, Courtney has officially gone crazy, which I'm sure many, if not all of you are thinking. And you're right. But this is one of the activities that I was told you HAVE to do while in South Africa. I promised myself I would do this, no matter how scared I get. And I knew that once I booked my reservation and paid for it, there would be no backing out. So I will surely have stories to share with you after this exciting week!