Goodbyes Are Hard in Any Language

It feels as if I had just arrived here, sweating from the summer sun and wandering around Stellensbosch overwhelmed and almost getting hit by speeding vehicles (ok so the last part still applies…I swear cars speed up when they see you start to cross the street!). But the weather has definitely changed –instead of tank tops and shorts, you can find me curled up with an extra blanket and a cup of hot chocolate (in May?!).

As cliché as it sounds, the weather isn’t the only thing that has changed. At the end of three challenging and inspiring months at Lynedoch, I’ve definitely come to recognize a personal shift. Strangely enough I’m even more confused –but I feel at least that I am closer to finding the right track. I’ve I were to classify this semester, I would describe it as a “process.” I struggled with challenges in community development work and while LSCE has ended, I haven’t finished working out all the solutions –and I probably won’t for a while yet. It is frustrating to “let it go” and “work itself out” –these things are a bit counter-intuitive for a goal-oriented person like myself. It’s frustrating when there aren’t deadlines for moments of revelation; instead, these ‘ah-ha!’ moments surprise us with their timing. So, as much as I would like for my reflections and lessons I’ve learned this semester to be wrapped up in a tidy conclusion before I leave, I must appreciate the fact that won’t –and can’t –happen because the learning continues on.

In our final class at Lynedoch we talked about “life after LSCE.” For me this means a variety of things. Over the next two weeks I will be traveling throughout Southern Africa with wonderful people I had the fortunate opportunity of meeting through LSCE (hint: get excited for some awesome pics and one or two posts upon my return!). I look forward to soaking up every possible moment of discovery and have resolved to go home with this same attitude of wonder and gratitude for the small things that happen every day. Although LSCE taught me how to work in a classroom and with a team, it has been especially meaningful to me as an exercise in building relationships. Being in a new environment, I have been removed from my usual responsibilities and habits at home and have been able to practice spending more time engaging with and learning from others. After reflecting on my many changed perspectives from the beginning of the semester, I resolve to practice being more people-oriented rather than strictly goal driven.

We also talked about future careers (talk about a full day’s discussion!). Initially, I came here hoping that at the end of the semester, I would have had worked out a plan. But like community work, I’m realizing that results aren’t always immediate and instead it’s another layer of experience to add to my overall learning. At this point, I’m not sure what my career path will be, but I do know that I will experience more fullness and joy when working directly with people. Thinking about life after LSCE, I am not worried about deciding on a particular career path but instead recognizing that for me it is about the particular spirit that I choose to adopt and apply to whatever work I choose.

One of my biggest priorities after leaving Lynedoch is to find some way to express the learning that I experienced to others –both through challenges and accomplishments. This has undoubtedly been a time of personal growth and I also want to share with others the same inspiration that has come to motivate me these past few months. However, I’m a bit nervous I won’t be able to express myself the way I want or in order to do this semester justice –how can you possible sum up a 5 month experience? 

I have busy plans for the upcoming summer months –spending time with family and reconnecting with friends (not to mention refueling my dwindling bank account!) but at the same time I look forward to the quiet moments when I can sit alone and relive some of my favorite experiences.

I’ve had to start saying my goodbyes to the people and places that I’ve come to know, love, and rely on this semester. As I went to Hestea (with tears in my eyes), she looked at me and said, “I wouldn’t worry. I know you’ll be back.” It’s as simple as that. I’ll be back.

She also gave me a quote by Eckhart Tolle that I will leave with you: “Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.”

Sexy People with Spades

Meet Lucky. He’s the third little scraggly thing from the left…yes, the one bearing a large resemblance to the tree from “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Lucky was one of the 2,001 saplings I helped plant in the Platbos Forest outside of Hermanus last weekend at Greenpop’s ‘Reforestation Fest.’ Chris, Dara and I met up with the campus’ environmentalist group, EcoMaties, for a weekend of camping, music, dancing, delicious food and of course, planting trees.

"Platbos", an Afrikaans name, translates as "flat forest or bush", a perfectly descriptive name for the forest. The goal was to continue reforestation efforts begun the year before and starting early Saturday morning, 230 nature enthusiasts emerged from their tents (a bit of a rough night after literally sleeping on tree roots), grabbed shovels and hiked up the mountain. After warming up with yoga in the trees, we dug right in –literally!

We enjoyed ‘mild’ curry (a bit of an oxymoron, if you as me) around a roaring campfire and looked for shooting stars, while listening to great music by local musicians. 

Check out my favorite- Jeremy Loop!

Eating the African dung beetle? 

Circle of Life

What’s a trip to Africa without a safari? I sit here, still a bit sleep-deprived from our 13-hour ride back to Stellenbosch in our overland vehicle (which strangely resembled a HUGE armored garbage truck) but thrilled about my recent adventure!

After a long –and surprisingly cold –trip up the Western coast to the Kalahari desert, we arrived at camp Friday morning and were greeted by our ‘adventure tour guide,’ Keith.

Keith is the man. “Retiring” from his CEO position 17 years ago, he now runs excursions throughout Southern Africa, taking tourists on rafting expeditions on the Orange River, game drives in Namibia and Botswana and tours of Victoria Falls. “This type of work makes me realize what’s important and the best part is that I get paid in sunsets,” were his first (of many!) words of wisdom of the trip. He already has the majority of our group planning on how we can end up with a job like that…

Immersing us in the unique culture of the desert region right away, we were led on a nature tour by two local Bushmen, or more accurately, San People, Leinjie and Elvis (oh, the wonders of Westernized names…). With the help of Keith translating, they pointed out native springbok cucumbers, which despite their prickly skins, tasted exactly like their grocery store relatives, as well as the “gathering tree” where local tribes would come to gather for meetings. Small cloth bags of herbal medicine were tied around the tree’s trunk (reminding me a little of Shell Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree”) and were used by tribal elders for ailments. The African millipede is also commonly used in their natural medicine –after it dies and is dried out by the sun, the white shell, full of calcium, can be ground into a powder and used to heal wounds. But be careful, letting a live one crawl all over can give you an allergic reaction to the yellow slime it leaves behind –and worse, if this gets into a cut, you run the risk of gangrene. Ewww.

tasting a springbok cucumber

African millipede- watch out!

The Gathering Tree

But, this is Africa, right? I fell asleep that night listening to the San People sing around our campfire and watching the stars from the “moon roof” of our small 4-man tent. Clearly this was not the traditional Dutch architecture and stone monuments found around Stellenbosch campus; this was another Africa –and it was absolutely beautiful.

Getting up before the sun the next morning, we all piled excitedly into “the beast” that was still parked at the edge of our campsite and made our way to the Kgalagadi Transfronier National Park, bordering Namibia and Botswana. We were on a mission to find some African animals! Everyone quickly learned to be close and comfortable as we all squashed up against the windows, trying to get the best glimpse of wildebeest, springbok, secretary birds, jackals, giraffes, ostriches….and a leopard! This was a rare “National Geographic sighting”, Keith said, as he has only seen them twice. But the day continued to be full of surprises and on our way out of the park, the truck stopped short and we witnessed three cheetahs carrying off a springbok into the bushes. Three cheetahs!!

Mother Nature was not yet done with her impressive show, however. The following night we gazed in wonder over the falls of Augrabies National Park and watched the sun set over the mountains that marked the Namibian border. (Some of us got a little too carried away in watching this beautiful show…Corie managed to drop a one of her crutches into the white water rapids below, making Keith even more amused at our crazy American antics!).

Yoga at sunset over the falls? Why not? 

So impressed with the sunset, I just had to wake up early to
see the sunrise!

We experienced the falls from another angle the next morning when Keith arranged a white-water rafting trip on the Orange River. Our guides were adventurous and entertaining, to say the least, instructing us to “bank hard right, left, then right again after the two big rocks!” This is a whole lot easier said than done when you’re cruising down a river that resembles a minefield of jagged edges! During the more peaceful moments, though, we tapped into our Disney roots and serenaded our guides with a wonderfully off-pitch rendition of “Just Around the River Bend.” Tired, wet, and the promise of being sore, but extremely satisfied with our excursion, we packed in for the 13+ hour ride back to Stellenbosch.

Our humble abode

We had some guest visitors at breakfast!

Now hunkering down to prepare for a busy last few weeks of classes before finals!

If You're Happy and You Know It

There’s nothing quite like a performance of 17 toddlers singing, dancing and clapping to put you in a good mood and bring you back to appreciate the simple joys in life. We returned to Kayamandi yesterday to purchase a fire extinguisher, first aid kit and mattress for Zukelwa’s crèche and received a warm greeting of “TEACHERS!” as we walked in the door. It wasn’t long before each member of our group was on the ground, surrounded by a swarm of kids who were fascinated with every piece of jewelry, strand of hair and facial body part (they were somehow convinced my nose is a detachable object and I couldn’t help feeling like a Mr. Potato Head doll).

Although the kids didn’t know any conversational English (Kayamandi is predominantly isiXhosa speaking), Zukelwa led them in a song and dance performance. There was something beautiful about watching the physical expression of joy through hand clapping, foot stomping and jumping around that gave me a new perspective of my community development work both in Kayamandi and Lynedoch. It’s important to remember –like our 8-hour car ride along the Garden Route –that the learning process is about the journey rather than the destination. It’s so easy to get caught up in lesson planning and documentation of our work that I forget our main goal is to interact and engage with the community members. I also realize how goal-oriented I am in my work ethic and although this is great for motivation, often times in community work, there isn’t always a clear and tangible end to aim for. With end goals of enabling empowerment and inspiring confidence in our students, it’s hard to measure our success and when we come up against obstacles like late trains, absent teachers, and limited funding and resources, it can become discouraging when challenges are apparent but the progress isn’t.

This week was my three-month mark of arriving in South Africa, which means there is just under a month of classes and community work left at Lynedoch. I’d like to say I’ve seen a change among our students with the work that we’ve put in –without a doubt, we’ve been able to develop relationships and get to know some of them personally. But it’s also been a challenge of how much we’re realistically able to accomplish. Three American university students with little or no education experience tackle a class of 40 Afrikaans-speaking seventh-graders? How do you measure success? While I don’t expect them to remember every lesson on Martin Luther King Jr. or how to write a haiku poem, I hope that simply our presence in the school has added something to their time at Lynedoch, just as working in their community has changed my own perceptions.

So with this in mind, I embark on the home-stretch portion of the semester. There will inevitably be more challenges and obstacles we face but also more singing and dancing to Justin Beiber, homemade birthday crowns, yogurt facials and green glitter moustaches. And I will remember to follow the advice: if you’re happy and you know it –show it!

Flexibility Isn't Just About Yoga

 For anyone who knows me, I’m not exactly the most flexible person. I never proudly boasted a winning score at the ‘sit and reach’ test in P.E. (in fact it was pretty fortunate I was able to pass at all!). But I like to think that in other ways, I’m pretty flexible and creative in working through various obstacles that come up. As a Public and Community Service major, I thought I’ve had my fair share of experiences dealing with community development projects and the inevitable challenges that arise in the process. That is, until I came to Africa. I’ve come to realize that I’ve had the good fortune of being under close guidance of many of the faculty of the PSP department when it comes to planning and implementing various projects and grants over the past few years. Without this administrative support, however, things can get a bit tricky.

Working in the communities around Stellenbosch, I’ve found that administration processes work a bit differently. It’s definitely been a challenge (and a valuable learning experience!) trying to navigate the right person to get in touch with. My small group working on our community HIV/AIDS prevention project has learned first-hand the need for flexibility and a back-up plan (and in some cases, plans C,D, and E!). Our multiple attempts at finding an individual in the community to invest a sustainable program in has fallen through on multiple occasions throughout the semester. Things were looking up, however, on Thursday when we met with Matthew, a current homeless patient, in the AIDS care clinic in the Kayamandi township. We discussed with him the opportunity to purchase materials to build a temporary shack in the township while he got himself back on his feet and left that day excited about making a direct impact on this man’s life. Over the weekend, however, we received disappointing news that Matthew had to be discharged from the center due to alcohol abuse and threatening staff and other patients. Upon arriving back on Tuesday to continue brainstorming, we found a very persistent Matthew waiting for us; he had set up camp outside the center’s gate, hoping to persuade us to give him a month’s rent. It was disheartening to have to refuse his requests again and again, especially being sensitive to his current situation, but with some counseling from the staff, it was agreed that we would find a more reliable community member to work with.

Within 10 minutes, I found myself sitting on a couch in a small two-room house down the road, surrounded by 15 bright-eyed kids, scrambling to climb into my lap, pull on my rings and try on my sunglasses. I eagerly listened to the homeowner –this woman was starting up a “crèche” or daycare center for families in the community and was in need of a fire extinguisher and first aid kit to become fully certified. She is unable to leave the house to seek employment because she is also responsible for taking care of her husband who has been in and out of surgery, and therefore started this childcare business to support the family. She says she still faces financial difficulty, though, since many of the parents of the children are unemployed and cannot pay for her services; some cannot find employment because they are currently receiving treatment at the clinic. We’ve arranged to return next week to purchase these things with her –things are finally looking up so keep your fingers crossed and stay tuned!

It’s the Journey –Not the Destination

After a week’s vacation, a (very) detailed account of the absolutely gorgeous Garden Route can be found below for your reading pleasure. Or you can skim and ogle at the photos. They’re pretty cool too…

A 5:00 A.M. alarm marked the start of Garden Route! Coffee- and sleep-deprived AIFS-ers made our way to the big white vans and loaded duffle bags into the trunks before jumping in to claim a window seat. I had been told that here in Africa, it’s more about the journey than the destination and half the fun is in watching the beautiful scenery along the drive. It was incredible to see the number of scenes passing by my window…mountainous crags, seaside cliffs, blue ocean waters, flat savannas, speeding white vans driven by crazy drivers blasting techno at 7am (wish I was kidding about the last one…)

Our first rest stop was “Ronnie’s Sex Shop.” And yes, there is a bit of history behind the name. The owner of this establishment (called Ronnie, it would seem) painted the name of his new rustic roadside farm stall "Ronnie's Shop" on the side of the building in red. When he wasn't looking, his sneaky friends grabbed a paintbrush and added the word 'sex' to the sign – creating a well-known landmark. Ronnie, clever chap that he is, decided to keep the new name and instead of running yet another one of the many roadside farm stalls, he turned his business into a pub and restaurant and today it is one of the best-known destination pubs in South Africa.

We journeyed on to the Cango Caves where I felt like I had stepped into “The Goonies” movie set as we crawled, squirmed and shimmied our way through dark tunnels and into underground caverns.  Surrounded by rock formations millions of years old, you couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if they started falling from the ceiling…

But no rest for the weary spelunkers –it was on to Oudshorn Ostrich Farm!







I’ve come to the conclusion that these birds are just plain weird –their ankles are located where you think their knees should be, they only have 3 toes instead of 4 like most birds, and their eye is bigger than their brain. They do give excellent hugs though:

 

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Fun Fact: 1 ostrich egg = 12 chicken eggs.
Talk about a supersized omelet!

Sunday’s adventure was kloofing –white water tubing (minus the tube!) meets cliff jumping. Yep, pretty awesome! We hiked, sweating in our full-body wetsuits to the start of the river, which was colored brown because of the tannins and looked suspiciously like tea water. Iced tea, to be exact –the water was FREEZING and I had a pair of lovely purple lips by the end of the afternoon.

Taking advantage of the beautiful mountains around the backpackers hostel, a few of us went out for a longer hike to find the infamous waterfalls we had heard about –and we were not disappointed! I’ll pretend for a minute that we did not lost the trail and had to forge our own way across the river; we eventually ended up at the most beautiful falls and dove in for a swim J

In addition to our slight direction disability, it seems like we also lack time-keeping skills and it was soon much later than we anticipated. Yes, folks, the mountain woods in Africa get very dark. Very fast. We were soon using the glowing screen of a cell phone to light our path back to camp and we emerged from the trail to be greeted by a very concerned Mama H (who was just about to call our parents to break the news that we had gotten lost in the African jungle. I don’t think that would have gone over very well…)

And what’s an African adventure without some African animals? Monday we visited an elephant sanctuary and it’s official: elephants are by far the coolest animals I’ve seen here!

Turns out the bucket of fruit is comparable to eating a handful of M&Ms!

Tuesday morning. The big day. This was the day I was going to jump. The highest bungy jump in the world. This is why I came to Africa. Ok, so not completely the truth, but I had been looking forward to this for months. Waking to the sun streaming in the window, it seemed like a perfectly good day to jump off a perfectly good bridge.

However, walking across that bridge an hour later, I began to have second thoughts. Who in their right mind decided to make this a recreational sport, anyway?? 

The blasting music gave me an excuse to dance around with my nervous energy as I waited impatiently for them to call “Number 12!” I sat, voluntarily getting my feet tied together and strained to listen to my guide’s instructions over the loud dance beats (I only managed to catch the words “safety” and “strap,” to which I responded with a smile and nod, hoping that this “safety strap” was securely attached to my ankles…)

Before I knew it, it was “5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BUNGY!” and against all better judgment, my feet left the safe, concrete platform and I was rushing headfirst on a 650 foot drop. The feeling was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced –the 5 second free-fall seemed to drag on forever before the cord caught and I flew upwards again to experience the second highest jump in the world on the recoil! As the cord stabilized and I bounced up and down, I could only hear complete silence and I stared down at a beautiful river canyon full of trees with tops sprouting up at me. Incredible.

Look Ma! No Hands!

We spent our final day of the Garden Route visiting more wildlife –cheetahs, jaguars, servals, wildcats, caracals, meerkats, and…monkeys!

Well hey there Timon!

Found a few movie stars from Pirates of the Caribbean
and the Hangover 2 here in Monkeyland!

The longest suspension bridge in the southern hemisphere!
(No jumping off this one!)

The past few days back in Stellenbosch have been a tad soggy; however, we’ve tried to combat the rain and explore Cape Town with our last few days off. Saturday we shopped around the Old Biscuit Mill and sampled the delicious homemade and local foods (can you say homemade peanut butter ice cream?!).

And finally, hoppy Easter! While it was a bit disappointing not to be home with family to celebrate the holiday (Eliza, don’t think you automatically win the egg hunt just because Bobby and I aren’t there to take you on!), I had a very entertaining African Easter. A group of us, dressed in our Easter best, walked to church yesterday morning –only to find the mass times had changed. Across the street, however, another local Afrikaans service was just starting and we were warmly welcomed inside to get out of the rain. Although we understood only about 20% of what was going on (I managed to make out that the first 10 minutes were spent congratulating “Auntie Anne” on turning 90 years old. You go girl!), it was still awesome to feel the energy coming from the band and gospel choir dressed in full robes. (Hallie commented after “well that was the first Easter service I’ve been to with a drum set on the alter!”) While it was very different from the traditional Easter masses we celebrate at home, it didn’t matter to the other parishioners that we didn’t speak their language; they welcomed us anyway–to the extent that the man standing next to us offered Corie his Afrikaans hymnal! It was this simple one-hour service that reminded me the simplicity, yet the importance, of offering a friendly smile or that welcoming gesture to a stranger… and what better time to show it than on Easter!