because there are no endings. Yes, I fly out tomorrow and do not know when I will visit this country again, but I know that the memories and experiences here in South Africa will stick with me forever. This past week in Cape Town has really allowed me to reflect on the country, what has happened here, and given me the chance to finally understand so many things about life in general. The two most imporant of which are racism and hunger. These two aspects of life are so prominent here, it is impossible to stay here and not be touched by it. Even today, laying on the beach reading a book, I was asked for food. This is when I know someone has reached the desperate point, because they do not ask for money. They go straight for what they want; what they need. And today, I was able to fulfill that need for two people. It feels so strange knowing I was someone's bread-giver, the bridge between happiness and hunger. But on this trip, I have recgonized the difference in people's eyes when they are really, truly hungry. It is something that consumes all of their thoughts and actions. It is nothing that I have ever experienced, and I pray it is something I never have to bare.
Just a little insight into my thoughts these past few hours... about to poast about my past two weeks in a few though :)
Jen
Friday, May 6, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Here and There
This weekend was very interesting, because I had the feeling of wanting to be in two places at once. I knew about all of the things going on at home and at school on Saturday and Sunday, but I was also enjoying my vacation at Pringle Bay on the beach, soaking up the sun. Of course wanting to be two places at once isn't a new feeling for me or anyone for that matter, but when the other place is halfway around the world, it's definitely different.
So this is what I decided: even though I missed out on receiving my award from the University, watching three of my best friends go alum from my sorority, going to church for Palm Sunday, or little hang outs with friends and family, this experience here is something that I will never be able to have again. It is so hard affirming this in my mind because the "what ifs" are always there, but other people in my group have shared similar feelings with me so I know what I'm feeling isn't unusual or something to be worried about. Basically, you just have to live in the moment you are in, appreciate it for what it's worth, learn from it if you can, and leave knowing you've been changed in some way because of it :)
This week is our last week in the schools, and I am already telling myself to not think about saying goodbye to these third graders. Today I was given this note from a little girl in my class; hopefully it helps to explain what this experience has been like for me--
(I'm going to type it exactly like it was written)
"Dear Miss Jennifer- I now everybody in this class loves you very very very very very very very much because you are very very kind and you did teach us you songs and you songs are very very very nice because you from America. I love you for ever from Andiswa"
I will need tissue on Thursday, for sure.
Love and Blessings from me to you,
Jen
So this is what I decided: even though I missed out on receiving my award from the University, watching three of my best friends go alum from my sorority, going to church for Palm Sunday, or little hang outs with friends and family, this experience here is something that I will never be able to have again. It is so hard affirming this in my mind because the "what ifs" are always there, but other people in my group have shared similar feelings with me so I know what I'm feeling isn't unusual or something to be worried about. Basically, you just have to live in the moment you are in, appreciate it for what it's worth, learn from it if you can, and leave knowing you've been changed in some way because of it :)
This week is our last week in the schools, and I am already telling myself to not think about saying goodbye to these third graders. Today I was given this note from a little girl in my class; hopefully it helps to explain what this experience has been like for me--
(I'm going to type it exactly like it was written)
"Dear Miss Jennifer- I now everybody in this class loves you very very very very very very very much because you are very very kind and you did teach us you songs and you songs are very very very nice because you from America. I love you for ever from Andiswa"
I will need tissue on Thursday, for sure.
Love and Blessings from me to you,
Jen
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Half Past Chats
The people here continue to amaze me.
Yesterday I went into the market in downtown Stellenbosch where many of the local vendors sell their homemade creations. I was on a mission to get a gift (or gifts...) for Joy and Jaclyn, and ended up in conversation with many of the men working at the booths. One particular man named Gordan (sometimes it is hard with the accents and languages) talked to me for over half an hour about international business. He was being truly honest with me about his business practices, and why he charges certain prices to different tourists and customers. He told me about his business degree from the University he attended, and then went on to explain to me the conversion rate between the South African Rand and the American dollar. When I asked him if he did the conversion rate in his head for other countries, he began to explain why the Euro is worth more than the American dollar, as well as how other African countries currencies compare to the South African rand, and how he knew to sell items to different people to make it an equal deal between seller and buyer. This guy knew his stuff, and has definite plans for his businesses future which I believe could be extremely successful.
This is what is so amazing though- I would have never thought this man had such an extensive knowledge of business, much less have already completed two years at a University. I was too quick to judge his past based on his present. As an educator, I can not allow myself to transfer this type of quick assumption to my students. I need to teach them to be critical thinkers; to read between the lines and see what's underneath the surface.
I think this was a great realization for me to have, especially here. I can't wait to learn more about myself in the next three weeks :)
Always Learning,
Jen
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Holiday Adventures!
So much to write about! I have literally packed an entire year into the last 12 days. Since the schools were on holiday, we went on holidays as well and explored more of this beautiful country. Let me tell you, I was not prepared for the beauty in this nation. Everywhere I looked, there were animals roaming freely, mountains surrounding the roads, or the Indian Ocean in the distance. If I were to live life over again from the beginning, I would wish to grow up here surrounded by the amazing beauty of God's creation. I think my camera has more pictures of scenery than of me and the people I'm with, simply because I want to remember the images forever.
Since it has been 11 days since I've had internet accesses, here is what I've been up to:
* Saw and swam in the Indian Ocean
* Going on a real night safari, and watching hyenas eat a dead carcass. Real life Discovery Channel!
* Horseback riding through Addo National Park, and being feet away from Zebras, Water Buffalo, and monkeys in their natural habitat.
* Playing euchre every night :)
* Laying on the grass and gazing at the wide open sky, and being able to see the entire Milky Way.
* Waking up early to watch the sunrise over the mountains.
* Ziplining through the canopy of the African forest.
* Going extreme hiking through the woods and jumping off rocks into a waterfall :)
* Bunjee Jumping (that's right!!) off of the world's tallest bridge. I have a video to prove it!
* Overcoming my fear of small spaces while adventure crawling through the Canga Caves.
* Skydiving over Mossel Bay (google earth it, it's beautiful!). My second time jumping out of a plane in a year, I'm beginning to think I'm crazy.
* Being awarded the Seykora award from GVSU for student contribution to the University, and crying for the first time in weeks because I was so honored and happy to be given the award.
PHEW! Like I said, literally lived a year of my life in the last few days. Now that I'm back to my normal life in Stellenbosch though, I will be able to write more and post some picture maybe :) I know some of you would like to see that! But for now, I am going to go make a grilled cheese sandwich and finish some of my journals for my classes :)
Walk joy, walk brave, walk love, walk strong, and may life always give you song.
Jen
Since it has been 11 days since I've had internet accesses, here is what I've been up to:
* Saw and swam in the Indian Ocean
* Going on a real night safari, and watching hyenas eat a dead carcass. Real life Discovery Channel!
* Horseback riding through Addo National Park, and being feet away from Zebras, Water Buffalo, and monkeys in their natural habitat.
* Playing euchre every night :)
* Laying on the grass and gazing at the wide open sky, and being able to see the entire Milky Way.
* Waking up early to watch the sunrise over the mountains.
* Ziplining through the canopy of the African forest.
* Going extreme hiking through the woods and jumping off rocks into a waterfall :)
* Bunjee Jumping (that's right!!) off of the world's tallest bridge. I have a video to prove it!
* Overcoming my fear of small spaces while adventure crawling through the Canga Caves.
* Skydiving over Mossel Bay (google earth it, it's beautiful!). My second time jumping out of a plane in a year, I'm beginning to think I'm crazy.
* Being awarded the Seykora award from GVSU for student contribution to the University, and crying for the first time in weeks because I was so honored and happy to be given the award.
PHEW! Like I said, literally lived a year of my life in the last few days. Now that I'm back to my normal life in Stellenbosch though, I will be able to write more and post some picture maybe :) I know some of you would like to see that! But for now, I am going to go make a grilled cheese sandwich and finish some of my journals for my classes :)
Walk joy, walk brave, walk love, walk strong, and may life always give you song.
Jen
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Slang
Since I haven't really commented on the culture here yet, here are some quick facts about the local South African quirks:
1. "Shame". It is said all the time by the locals, and means "that's too bad" or "no way."
2. "Is It?". It isn't spelled like that, or said like that. More of like izzzut, but it means "really??"
3. "Pleasure" which means you're welcome. So funny to hear with all their accents!
4. "My boy" or "my girl" is said all the time in school. I often hear "stop talking my boy" or "sit down my girl," which is also funny to hear in their accents.
5. Wearing shoes!! This one blew my mind. In the states, shoes are required for any type of service or in any type of building. Here this is not so. Children and adults can walk barefoot around town, or in school. Mostly I've seen children come to school without shoes, and I've always wondered if it is because they can't afford a pair or if they simply choose not to wear them....
Anyways, I am noticing that I am already picking up some of the different sayings or phrases, and I can bet when I get home that I'm going to continue saying them :) Be ready everyone!
Hope you are all happy, healthy, and well,
Jen
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Pleasant Home
"May the African sun always shine on you. May the rhythm of its drums beat deeply in your heart. May the vision of all its glory fill you with joy, and may the memory of Africa be with you, always." - Traditional African Blessing
This blessing was said to me as I toured the township near Stellenbosch on Saturday morning called Kyamundie, which means pleasant home. This township began as a "settlement" for blacks in the 1940's, and was built to house 100 men in hostels, while they were away from their families working to provide for them. Now the township houses over 40,000 men, women, and children. There is no running water, no electricity (unless you are lucky enough to know how to steal it from the power lines), and no cleanly source of food.
And yet, happiness overflows.
Going into my tour of this township, I had a bit of a bias as well as a picture in my head of what it would be like. Having seen the portrayal of black South African people from movies and television, I accepted this as true and thought them to be sad, desperate people who lived in grass huts and begged on the streets for food and money. This is not true for the native black South Africans. They enjoy their lives in the places they live, and many have chosen to continue living in such a way. For instance, while walking through the township (we had a seasoned guide, so we were not just strolling along since it would not be safe), many of the people living in these "hot boxes" had smiles on their faces, and invited us into their homes. Even if they couldn't speak English, they would usher us in and smile at us. Every single person in this township was happy with what little possessions they had, their way of life, and their families. I haven't felt so much positive energy in one place like this in quite some time.
And the children! What can I say about these little angels. They were SO precious, and if my suitcase is over 50 pounds on the way back it is because I am taking one or two home with me ;) These kids would run up to us (some even recognized me from the school I teach at and yelled teacher teacher!) and would just smile and grab our hands and hug our legs and want to take pictures with us. They loved snapping photos with our digital cameras, because they wanted to see what they looked like on the screen. I let a little boy (my favorite of the day) take my camera, and he just held down the button and took over 20 pictures in succession; then we had to go back and look at each and every one....
My favorite memory of this adventure however was one particular little boy who decided he didn't like how I was the only one to not hug him yet. Of course, I did not do this on purpose, just simply hadn't made my way to him yet. So he decided to get my attention and while my back was turned from him he smacked my butt extremely hard. Well, what makes this story funny is that my entire group saw, and one of my fellow travelers caught it on camera. Here I am, hugging and loving children, and one boy decided I wasn't giving enough attention to him so he smacked my butt!! Priceless. I died laughing, and scooped him up and spun him around in my arms :)
Needless to say, I left this tour with a better understanding of the struggles of the black South Africans, as well as what a township really looks like. I can never imagine living the way they do, but they are happy and love life, and isn't that all we can ask for at the end of the day?
I leave you with a traditional South African blessing, which I found on a piece of paper on the wall in one of the houses in the township:
"Walk tall, walk well, walk safe, walk free and may harm never come to thee. Walk wise, walk good, walk proud, walk true and may the sun always smile on you. Walk prayer, walk hope, walk faith, walk light and may peace always guide you right. Walk joy, walk brave, walk love, walk strong and may life always give you song."
Blessings,
Jen
This blessing was said to me as I toured the township near Stellenbosch on Saturday morning called Kyamundie, which means pleasant home. This township began as a "settlement" for blacks in the 1940's, and was built to house 100 men in hostels, while they were away from their families working to provide for them. Now the township houses over 40,000 men, women, and children. There is no running water, no electricity (unless you are lucky enough to know how to steal it from the power lines), and no cleanly source of food.
And yet, happiness overflows.
Going into my tour of this township, I had a bit of a bias as well as a picture in my head of what it would be like. Having seen the portrayal of black South African people from movies and television, I accepted this as true and thought them to be sad, desperate people who lived in grass huts and begged on the streets for food and money. This is not true for the native black South Africans. They enjoy their lives in the places they live, and many have chosen to continue living in such a way. For instance, while walking through the township (we had a seasoned guide, so we were not just strolling along since it would not be safe), many of the people living in these "hot boxes" had smiles on their faces, and invited us into their homes. Even if they couldn't speak English, they would usher us in and smile at us. Every single person in this township was happy with what little possessions they had, their way of life, and their families. I haven't felt so much positive energy in one place like this in quite some time.
And the children! What can I say about these little angels. They were SO precious, and if my suitcase is over 50 pounds on the way back it is because I am taking one or two home with me ;) These kids would run up to us (some even recognized me from the school I teach at and yelled teacher teacher!) and would just smile and grab our hands and hug our legs and want to take pictures with us. They loved snapping photos with our digital cameras, because they wanted to see what they looked like on the screen. I let a little boy (my favorite of the day) take my camera, and he just held down the button and took over 20 pictures in succession; then we had to go back and look at each and every one....
My favorite memory of this adventure however was one particular little boy who decided he didn't like how I was the only one to not hug him yet. Of course, I did not do this on purpose, just simply hadn't made my way to him yet. So he decided to get my attention and while my back was turned from him he smacked my butt extremely hard. Well, what makes this story funny is that my entire group saw, and one of my fellow travelers caught it on camera. Here I am, hugging and loving children, and one boy decided I wasn't giving enough attention to him so he smacked my butt!! Priceless. I died laughing, and scooped him up and spun him around in my arms :)
Needless to say, I left this tour with a better understanding of the struggles of the black South Africans, as well as what a township really looks like. I can never imagine living the way they do, but they are happy and love life, and isn't that all we can ask for at the end of the day?
I leave you with a traditional South African blessing, which I found on a piece of paper on the wall in one of the houses in the township:
"Walk tall, walk well, walk safe, walk free and may harm never come to thee. Walk wise, walk good, walk proud, walk true and may the sun always smile on you. Walk prayer, walk hope, walk faith, walk light and may peace always guide you right. Walk joy, walk brave, walk love, walk strong and may life always give you song."
Blessings,
Jen
Thursday, March 24, 2011
South Africa!
Where do I even begin? The last few days have been a complete whirlwind. I have been in three different continents in two days, and have been to four different neighborhoods and one township in the past three. I'm finally over my jet-lag however, and have enjoyed the last two days in my classroom with my 3rd grade students and am absolutely in LOVE with my host family :) I can't wait until I can upload pictures onto my computer and post them here and one facebook. Right now, I am in an internet cafe downtown, and am just really hurrying because it obviously costs money.
Anyways, I started yesterday in my classroom, and I absolutely love it, which is nice because some of my peers are having a hard time. I was switched from a 7th grade classroom to a 3rd grade classroom at the last minute, so I had to adjust for that, but basically it is the best. The students are so curious about everything, and want to know all about America and my family. They ask silly questions like if I know Eminem and Michael Jackson, but then they turn right around and ask things about Obama and how I feel about American politics. For 3rd grade, I think that's really good!
In class, all of the students know and are fluent in 3 languages. Xosa, pronounced Coo-Saa, which is a mixture of a language with clicks. It is so different to hear, and they laugh whenever I try to say a word. They also speak Afrikaans, which is one of the native languages here, and English as well. They asked me how many languages I spoke, and I was so embarrassed to tell them I only speak English. I'm trying to make them understand that this is the norm, but they are still surprised by it. I got to read and teach today however, and that always makes up for my embarrassment.
I am journaling every night before I go to bed, trying not to forget anything. It's unfortunate that I can't update this more often, I am hoping this will change as I get more adjusted to everything and learn how to use the internet in my host families house better.
If anyone reading has any questions or wants to send me a facebook message, please do! It helps me in knowing what exactly to write about, and I'm sure that everyone wants to know some similar things and maybe even has some interesting questions. I keep reminding myself of the reason I'm here; to become educated on different educational practices and to learn how different students are taught, so me being able to answer questions my friends and family have about a different culture is all apart of this experience for me :)
Ok, have to hop off now! Love you all, many blessings!
Jen
Anyways, I started yesterday in my classroom, and I absolutely love it, which is nice because some of my peers are having a hard time. I was switched from a 7th grade classroom to a 3rd grade classroom at the last minute, so I had to adjust for that, but basically it is the best. The students are so curious about everything, and want to know all about America and my family. They ask silly questions like if I know Eminem and Michael Jackson, but then they turn right around and ask things about Obama and how I feel about American politics. For 3rd grade, I think that's really good!
In class, all of the students know and are fluent in 3 languages. Xosa, pronounced Coo-Saa, which is a mixture of a language with clicks. It is so different to hear, and they laugh whenever I try to say a word. They also speak Afrikaans, which is one of the native languages here, and English as well. They asked me how many languages I spoke, and I was so embarrassed to tell them I only speak English. I'm trying to make them understand that this is the norm, but they are still surprised by it. I got to read and teach today however, and that always makes up for my embarrassment.
I am journaling every night before I go to bed, trying not to forget anything. It's unfortunate that I can't update this more often, I am hoping this will change as I get more adjusted to everything and learn how to use the internet in my host families house better.
If anyone reading has any questions or wants to send me a facebook message, please do! It helps me in knowing what exactly to write about, and I'm sure that everyone wants to know some similar things and maybe even has some interesting questions. I keep reminding myself of the reason I'm here; to become educated on different educational practices and to learn how different students are taught, so me being able to answer questions my friends and family have about a different culture is all apart of this experience for me :)
Ok, have to hop off now! Love you all, many blessings!
Jen
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