Last Homestay

This past weekend, I was paired with Tandy for our last homestay experience in a rural part of Namibia (near Khorixas). I LOVED this homestay! Our experience was unique because 3 other pairs of girls were also staying on this large, family-owned farm. Each of our houses made up the four corners of the farm, and all of our familes were related in some fashion. The windmill in the middle was our meeting spot, and the big herd of dairy cows and goats would frequently roam the farm. We arrived and met our particular family- Ouma (grandmother) Christaline and her grandkids- Inseline (6), Marcella (10), and Salvanus (17). Salvanus was our translator because none of the other people in our house spoke English. We lived in a mud/dung 3-room house, and Sarah and I studied by candlelight. Everything we ate was cooked over a pot and a tiny fire outside the house. There was also an excessive fly population...! Our family owned goats, and we tried goat's milk the first night as we looked up at the entire milky way! So beautiful :) I loved playing with our little girls, and the other children on the farm would frequently come and play with us. Throughout the two days, we got to play in the "river," which happened to be a really big pond (lol), milk cows (it's harder than you'd think...), ride horses (bareback!), and climb the nearby mountain. Ouma also taught us how to make fat cakes, which are delicious. Also, there happened to be a lot of rain in the afternoons, so Ouma would lock us in our room to keep us from getting wet. After one of the rainstorms, there was a complete double rainbow- it was BEAUTIFUL! The time passed fairly slowly, and yet we were always doing something. I loved the restfulness on the farm, and I miss our family already! They were so inviting and welcoming :) From here, we leave for Botswana on Wednesday and won't have anymore communication until we're back in the US.... See you guys soon!!

2nd Homestay

This past weekend, Catherine and I were paired together for our second homestay with the Lawrence family. They spoke Afrikaans and lived in the upper-middle class region of Windhoek. Randolph, the dad, owned a butchery that he had created from the ground up. Margareth, the mother, was a sweet and shy woman who frequently held my hand when we went to places (so sweet!). Marilize, our 15-year-old sister, was the most outgoing girl I've ever met, and she was adorable! She was so talkative, and she modeled for Apple Bottom Jeans. Llewellyn, our 26-year-old brother lived in the flat behind the house and helped his dad run the butchery. We had a really relaxing weekend with them and spent a lot of time resting our rooms, by the pool, or watching rugby. Our siblings took us on a night tour on Saturday, which was really fun! We also got to go to their church on Sunday, and Catherine and I loved being able to worship with them. We went back to Penduka on Monday. Yesterday, we heard a variety of speakers throughout the day, and then we visted the orphanage! I pretty much clung to a little girl, Rebecca, who I got to wash and hold for most of the 2 hours. She was precious :) Today, we've driven almost the entire way to our last, rural homestay. Sarah Tandy and I are partners, and we're pumped for meeting our family tonight!

Windhoek, Namibia

Ok, sorry it's been awhile since my last post! The rest of Monday was pretty chill. We took our laundry to a local store, and a group of us bought dinner at the local grocery market. We walk everywhere, and the local dirt roads are extremely wide. Laura made us a perfect college-style dinner on our bungalow's hotplace- scrambled eggs with veggies. After we joined another bungalow for dinner (they made mac and cheese), we all did homework together in our kitchen. The next day, a group of 4 of us went running by the beach and through the town. It was really fun to explore with these girls, as well as run with a team of believers. We had a morning class in an open classroom before heading off to visit an afterschool program called MYO. This organization provides after-school care for 25 kids per grade. There were 6 teachers, and the classes ranged from computer skills, math and english, to music class. Schools in Namibia are in session from 7:30 to 1:30, so there's a lot of time afterwards that can be filled. We got to eat our picnic lunch with the kids and just hangout. After this, we visited the Medi-Clinic. We took a fairly exhaustive tour of the place, which included seeing the room where Angelina Jolie birthed her latest child, Shiloh. Our group became instant tourists as we began taking pictures of the room and the thankyou note they both signed. Wednesday, we drove to Penduka, near Katatura, Namibia. The place is really inspiring- they employ disabled and diseased women to make tapestries, glass jewelry, and other various crafts. We stayed in hostel-style rooming, complete with insecticide nets to cover us while we sleep. We took a really sweet tour of Windhoek on Thursday, and we visited various markets, a cemetary, and the informal settlements. There is an indescribable amount of poverty in Katatura... Friday, we visited Sister Namibia, a local feminist organization. This was by far one of my favorite places we've visited so far! The two women who spoke with us were so incredible, sharing their goal for the voices of Namibian women to be heard. After this, we went back to Penduka (which is located by a lovely lake of sorts) and rested before our second homestay family came to pick us up!

Namibia!

Friday morning, we boarded a tiny little plane that eventually landed in Walvis Bay International Airport in Namibia. As the captain came over the intercom to announce that we would be landing soon, all we could see out the plane window was desert. About one minute til landing, we were still seeing desert without any civilization... We were about to touch down and nothing was in sight until literally two seconds before we landed where a narrow strip of tarmack eventually showed up! We literally landed in the middle of a desert- all you could see was sand! The rest of the day, we got settled into our bungalows and had lunch at a local restaurant. We went shopping at the grocery story and just chilled. Saturday morning, we woke up to have class before heading out to take a tour of Swakopmund, Namibia. We drove past lots of sand... but don't worry because there were signs that clearly marked the sand, complete with exclamation points. We visited a local food market, the smallest museum I've ever seen (1 room), a salt factory (it looked like piles of snow!), and the various housing locations. We also entered a small settlement of houses that were made of scrap from the nearby dump. This experience was probably one of the hardest ones for me- I felt very overwhelmed by the extreme poverty. Many little kids would run up to us, and I felt so out of place. It did lighten up a bit when our tourguide tried to teach us multiple words in one of the click languages- we sounded pretty ridiculous! After this, we went to a local bakery for lunch before heading to Dune 7. Dune 7 is the biggest dune in the area, and it is pretty difficult to climb. All of us started out running up the hill and quickly realized that we were getting nowhere fast... We eventually had to crawl up the sand dune! lol Once on top though, the view was stunning! We could see so much more sand :) Also, going down the dune was quite an experience as well- one of our guys almost wiped out a small child due to his crazy rolling skills. After this, we showered quickly before going to a braai with other students in the CGE program. We visited this group of 23 at their location, and it was really fun to heart about their experience in Namibia. Sunday was our free day, and a group of us decided to go sandboarding! This was SO fun! We traveled out to a random set of sand dunes and geared up (helmet, elbow pads, and gloves) for our sand-sledding experience. We climbed to the top of the dune with our slabs of thick cardboard, which we learned how to wax, and got to sled 8 tuimes down the various parts of the dune. You went down head first, and the feeling was absolutely awesome! Our guides clocked us on some of the hills with a radar gun, and we got to do tandum rides as well. This was by far one of my favorite things we've done! Unfortunately, our group has been hit with a nasty sickness that has affected at least half of us in some capacity. It hit me yesterday, but I recovered this morning in time to go to the local fish factory. We also visited the port today and saw flamingos and jumping fish! We're in Swakopmund for the next two nights, and then we leave for another part of Namibia!
P.S. Taylor Swift has been playing over the loud speaker the entire time I've been in this internet cafe... lol

Last Days in SA

Tonight is our last night in South Africa! Wednesday, we visited Robben Island, which is the prison where Mandela was kept. We took a ferry to get to the island, and I didn't get seasick! The boat ride is typically beautiful because you can see the Cape and the city. However, it was SO foggy on Wednesday aka we could only see white... Essentially, we were in the middle of a cloud. Once we arrived on the island, the first part of our tour was in the bus. Apparently, people can live on the island now, and our tourguide's daughter went to school there. We saw the prisons and the maximum security prison, in which Mandela stayed. Our tourguide had been a prisoner there, and it he had a very intense story. He told us about how he arrived and the ways in which they tortured him... I was almost sick to my stomach, but I was in awe of his strength. He was definitely an inspiration. After this, we were supposed to climb Table Mountain, but the clouds were so intense (aka you couldn't even see the mountain), so we chilled at the waterfront for a few hours. We had lunch and got serenaded by multiple original SA ensembles. After this, we went back to our hostel for an economics class. Then we set out for a wonderful night on the town- dinner and the theatre. We saw a local comedian, and he was hsyterical. However, our group only got some of the jokes because half the punchlines were in Afrikaans. It was stiill a great night though!

Today, we went to a Muslim community called Bo-Kopp. The community had brightly colored houses everywhere- they were so fun! I went into the oldest mosque in South Africa, and it was a cultural experience for all of us. We then ate a local restaurant, at which our tourguide worked, and had absolutely wonderful food. Then, a group of 9 of us got the chance to climb Table Mountain. This was the steepest hike I've ever done (though I can probably count my previous hikes on one hand...)! We couldn't get all the way to the top due to time constraint and serious cloud coverage. However, we climbed for about an hour, completely uphill. It was pretty neat :) We celebrated our last night in South Africa with a group dinner in the Muslim community. We leave for Namibia tomorrow at 10 am :)

Capetown

Monday, we visited the local Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) site. We took a walking tour around Khayelitsha township, which was a place located for black redistribution. As we walked, we saw lots of poverty. Also, we visited a children's daycare center- this was SO fun! We couldn't speak their language, but I was overjoyed by their smiles! One little boy sat on my lap almost the entire time, and my heart was so torn when I had to leave him. These children were absolutely adorable! After this, we met up with a spunky older women, Lucy, to go on a slave tour. She showed us around Capetown and emphasized that everyone is connected in the same heritage. She also had some beautiful grey dreds ;) After this, we shopped at the market again. Then a big group of 8 of us girls went to a local restaurant, where they had real ketchup (we haven't had any yet) and they actually called french fries by their real name (as opposed to the English term- chips)! You can imagine our excitement :) Today, we visited Self-Help Manenberg, which is a non-profit organization that helps Manenberg. It was really interesting, but we couldn't take a walking tour of the township because they've had recent violence. We also went to the District 6 Museum, which was powerful. Previously, we had watched the Scifi film, District 9, and discussed the impact of xenophobia. However, we heard personal stories today from people whose familes had been forced to move from District 6 during apartheid, and they really hit home. The apartheid government would bull-doze homes even while familes were still inside... Tonight we have free time to do economics homework and laundry. Tomorrow, we're going to climb Table Mountain and go to a theatre for dinner!

Durban/Capetown!

Last week was like a vacation! We stayed in Durban the entire week, and we had a fairly small amount of programming. On Monday we drove to Durban and stayed at a swanky hotel called North Beach, which was right next to the Indian Ocean. We chilled on the 32nd floor by the pool  and did some sociology homework. That night, a few girls and I had a wonderful valentine's day dinner at the hotel restaurant, complete with rose petals. Tuesday, we visited the Phoenix Center (built for the Indians), which was the community where Gandhi stayed while he was in South Africa. It was also the birthplace of the first call for Mandela's freedom. The acutal community was destroyed by the apartheid government, but it was recently recreated for viewers. We found a local Indian restaurant that day, which just added to our complete Indian experience (Durban has the largest Indian population besides India). Wednesday, we visited one of the largest Muthi markets in South Africa. Muthi markets are populated by "seers" or "healers" who sell traiditonal healing products, such as various dried vegetables or bark. We quickly learned that we were very out of place. Upon arrival, the police immediately stopped us- we stood out like sore thumbs, and we were very aware of our skin color. However, the market itself was really interesting. Our tourguide, Faith, lead us around to the various vendors. We saw skulls, snakeskins, and lots of roots. Faith was an inpsiring activist- she was battling her third case of TB and had HIV. She was passionate about getting reasonably-priced medication to South Africans. Thursday, we took a "toxic tour" or Durban, which was a 3-hour tour of the various toxic sites and their influence on the people. Friday, we flew to Capetown on Mango airlines. Friday night was sweet- a group of twelve of us (including Mamma K) went the U2 concert in Capetown!! It was PACKED! The Capetown Stadium was absolutely gorgeous, and U2 was fantastic! He played for over two hours and sang a version of Stand by Me with another South African gospel singer, Amazing Grace, and rocked out on Vertigo! Yesterday, we visited Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope, and we saw the adorable African Penguins! The Cape is absolutely beautiful, and the water is gorgeous. We also visited Bishop Peter Storey yesterday. He had so much knowledge and wisdom- everyone loved his talk! This morning, a group of us went to the city square for our free day- we shopped at a local market and other random stores. Also, Josh and I randomly decided to go to a Methodist church this morning, and it happened to be Alan Storey's (Peter's son) church! So, we sat two rows behind Bishop Storey as we heard his son preach- it was one of my favorite things we've done so far :)