January 19-25
(written Friday, January 24th)
I have to say, so far this has been one of the best weeks ever!
I've met and been able to work with so many amazing people this week. We started off by going to the Orlando Baptist Church, which was crazy! There was so much dancing and Jesus praising - it was awesome. And the service was only about four hours long. To make us feel included, the church made sure we were integrated into the congregation by sitting us with the people from the church. It was probably the must fun I've ever had at church before. Afterwards we had a BBQ with some of the youth and played some soccer. It was fun to get to know the community a bit.
Monday I was surprised by a tour of the FNB Stadium where the FIFA World Cup was held in 2010. After, we toured the Hector Peterson Museum. Hector was 13 years old and was the first child shot by the police in the March of 1976. There was a lot of information concerning the apartheid and what segregation looked like in South Africa at that time. In the evening, a few of the churches youth came to hang out with us, play games, and teach us a bit of Zulu.
Tuesday morning we went to the Apartheid Museum. In the afternoon we went to the University of Witz and had a lecture from Dr. Muhammad Moola and Thabo Putu about education in South Africa and the problems that the school system is facing. For dinner we went to the street where both Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela lived for a time. It was pretty cool and for dinner we had the option of eating cow intestines which happen to be a delicacy here. I however did not have the "courage" to partake in that part of the meal, but those who did, did not appreciate it near as much as the locals do.
Wednesday we split off into groups and did service projects. I was at the Salvation Army with Emilie, Mariam, Chris, and Leah, with Lebo as our leader for the week. We played with the kids ages 0-4, did the odd chores, and got to know the women who work there. It was really interesting being there because in the first semester I had the opportunity to work at a Salvation Army in Vancouver. I had so much fun playing with the kids! Even though it was ridiculously tiring and the kids could be slightly difficult, especially around nap time, I had a wonderful time and I'm going to miss those kids so much! We worked there all day Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Wednesday evening we had small group where we discussed what we are thankful for and we talked about praise. I really enjoyed it and it encouraged me to be more praise-centred.
Saturday we are planning on going back to the church to do some work projects for the day and also go to a play to end our time in Soweto.
Sunday, bright and early, we begin our long journey to Stellenbosch which is near Cape Town.
I'm excited for next week, but I'm going to miss this place so much and all the kids I've played with and people I have had a chance to get to know.
Ocean here we come!
Friday, January 24, 2014
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Afrikaans Week
January 12-19
(Written on Saturday, January 18th, 2014)
Wow. This week has been a whirl wind. It feels like I've already been in Africa for a month not a week.
Sunday we arrived in Pretoria, South Africa. We went to a Dutch Reformed Church and there met our host families. This week, we were separated into groups of two to live with a white Afrikaans family. I'm staying with Jess Lupson at the Venter's household.
Monday we met back up with the group and went to The University of South Africa (UNISA). There Nicholas Southey taught us about the history of the Afrikaner. It was a very interesting lecture and I learned a lot. Afterwards he took us to the Voortrekker monument. It was an incredible building with a beautiful view from the top. That evening we all went home to our host families for dinner and sleep.
Tuesday morning we had the most amazing privileged to meet Piet Meiring. He was a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) after the apartheid and a great friend to Desmond Tutu. He spoke to us about the TRC and apartheid and how the amnesty trials all worked. It was so interesting and heartbreaking to hear the stories. He also told us a bit about his life and some of the struggles he has gone through and his love for justice and grace were so apparent in the way he talked about the world. He also told us some funny stories about the TRC and Desmond Tutu. It was a great experience just spending a few hours with this incredible man. In the afternoon we had another lecture about the Afrikaans history with Willie. He had a very different perspective than Nicholas or Piet, so it was interesting to hear where he is coming from. After the lecture he took us to the Diamond Hill Battlefield. He told us all about the Boer war between the Boer's and the British. We went to the mall then back home.
Wednesday we had a bible study at the Elijadah Hiaus. They are an outreach centre directed towards marginalized Afrikaners. Then we went to THE LION PARK. We drove around in our bus and saw a bunch of different animals especially lions, cheetahs, and wild dogs. After the drive, we got to play with baby lions!! And feed giraffes!! It was the most amazing experience ever!! Just way to much fun!
On Thursday we went to the University of Pretoria and had some time to spend with our peer mentoring groups (PMG). We bought ice cream for forty-five cents and just chatted. Then we went to the Union Buildings and saw the Nelson Mandela statue. It was definitely forty degrees Celsius that day. We also spent some time in our small groups. All my small group did was sit in the shade playing catch phrase. It was a lot of fun.
Friday we met up with the Elijadah Hiaus again and toured around their current outreach projects. They told us about this township made purely of shacks that had burnt down, leaving the people with absolutely nothing. The government decided to build them new (actual) homes. But until then, they are living in "containers." These containers remind me of our big green garbage bins. Two to three families live in one. I saw them and I still can't fathom it. There is glass all over the dirt because drunken fights break out and there are little kids running around with bare feet. This area is also known to be the place to get drugs. Even though it sounds awful, there is work being done to improve it. One of the moms is setting up a day care so these kids have a place to go when their parents are absent, the Elijadah Hiaus is trying to clean up the area so these kids don't have to worry about cutting their feet. It was quite the heartbreaking site. In the evening we went over to one homestays house and had a kabob braai. It was amazing food! Then we went on their roof and looked at Jupiter and it's moon, the O Ryan something or rather, and a galaxy like thing through a telescope. It was incredible. I've never seen anything so beautiful.
Today. Wow. What a long day. We woke up at 5 in the morning to go to the Pilanesberg National Park. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. We saw real wild animals like elephants, zebras, and giraffes, along with many others. They came so close to the car and they were amazing. Definitely finished off the week the best way ever.
Tomorrow we meet at the church bright and early to head to Soweto where we are going to be spending our next week.
(Written on Saturday, January 18th, 2014)
Wow. This week has been a whirl wind. It feels like I've already been in Africa for a month not a week.
Sunday we arrived in Pretoria, South Africa. We went to a Dutch Reformed Church and there met our host families. This week, we were separated into groups of two to live with a white Afrikaans family. I'm staying with Jess Lupson at the Venter's household.
Monday we met back up with the group and went to The University of South Africa (UNISA). There Nicholas Southey taught us about the history of the Afrikaner. It was a very interesting lecture and I learned a lot. Afterwards he took us to the Voortrekker monument. It was an incredible building with a beautiful view from the top. That evening we all went home to our host families for dinner and sleep.
Tuesday morning we had the most amazing privileged to meet Piet Meiring. He was a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) after the apartheid and a great friend to Desmond Tutu. He spoke to us about the TRC and apartheid and how the amnesty trials all worked. It was so interesting and heartbreaking to hear the stories. He also told us a bit about his life and some of the struggles he has gone through and his love for justice and grace were so apparent in the way he talked about the world. He also told us some funny stories about the TRC and Desmond Tutu. It was a great experience just spending a few hours with this incredible man. In the afternoon we had another lecture about the Afrikaans history with Willie. He had a very different perspective than Nicholas or Piet, so it was interesting to hear where he is coming from. After the lecture he took us to the Diamond Hill Battlefield. He told us all about the Boer war between the Boer's and the British. We went to the mall then back home.
Wednesday we had a bible study at the Elijadah Hiaus. They are an outreach centre directed towards marginalized Afrikaners. Then we went to THE LION PARK. We drove around in our bus and saw a bunch of different animals especially lions, cheetahs, and wild dogs. After the drive, we got to play with baby lions!! And feed giraffes!! It was the most amazing experience ever!! Just way to much fun!
On Thursday we went to the University of Pretoria and had some time to spend with our peer mentoring groups (PMG). We bought ice cream for forty-five cents and just chatted. Then we went to the Union Buildings and saw the Nelson Mandela statue. It was definitely forty degrees Celsius that day. We also spent some time in our small groups. All my small group did was sit in the shade playing catch phrase. It was a lot of fun.
Friday we met up with the Elijadah Hiaus again and toured around their current outreach projects. They told us about this township made purely of shacks that had burnt down, leaving the people with absolutely nothing. The government decided to build them new (actual) homes. But until then, they are living in "containers." These containers remind me of our big green garbage bins. Two to three families live in one. I saw them and I still can't fathom it. There is glass all over the dirt because drunken fights break out and there are little kids running around with bare feet. This area is also known to be the place to get drugs. Even though it sounds awful, there is work being done to improve it. One of the moms is setting up a day care so these kids have a place to go when their parents are absent, the Elijadah Hiaus is trying to clean up the area so these kids don't have to worry about cutting their feet. It was quite the heartbreaking site. In the evening we went over to one homestays house and had a kabob braai. It was amazing food! Then we went on their roof and looked at Jupiter and it's moon, the O Ryan something or rather, and a galaxy like thing through a telescope. It was incredible. I've never seen anything so beautiful.
Today. Wow. What a long day. We woke up at 5 in the morning to go to the Pilanesberg National Park. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. We saw real wild animals like elephants, zebras, and giraffes, along with many others. They came so close to the car and they were amazing. Definitely finished off the week the best way ever.
Tomorrow we meet at the church bright and early to head to Soweto where we are going to be spending our next week.
Thursday, January 09, 2014
Second Morning in Africa
Friday, January 10th, 2014
As of this moment I'm sitting on a picnic bench typing this as the sun is warming my back. And it's only seven in the morning. Yes. That's right. This is my life. And to those who doubt, it really is seven and I woke up voluntarily.
So my trip to get here was quite long. I left Calgary at 2:30 in the afternoon on Monday because my flight was delayed two hours. On Tuesday we all met at the Winnipeg airport at 6:30 A.M. and our flight took off a bit after nine. We flew to Minneapolis and had a four hour layover. We then had an eight hour flight to Amsterdam and arrived around six in the morning proceeding with another layover for a few hours. At around 10 A.M. (Amsterdam time on Wednesday) we began our ten hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. It was around 1 A.M. South Africa time on Thursday when we arrived at Heron Bridge Resort Center.
Thursday was a pretty chill day for us. I woke up at 6:45 A.M. and had an amazing hot shower. Then explored for a bit with some of the other early risers. We spent the day laying in the sun, playing soccer and volleyball, swimming in the pool, and keeping hydrated! It was about 27 degrees Celsius. But it was nice because it was a bit cloudy so it wasn't ridiculously hot. In the afternoon we all went to a mall to figure out phone plans and get adapters. We came back for dinner and then watched an amazing warm thundershower and saw the most incredible double rainbow and a beautiful sunset. Then a guy named Joan spoke to us about learning and how we learn. It was nice and short because most of us were falling asleep. I was in bed by nine. Yeah. I actually seem to be starting a good sleeping schedule here. We will see how long this lasts.
Today I'm not all sure what we are doing, but I'll be working on my tan that's for sure (;
As of this moment I'm sitting on a picnic bench typing this as the sun is warming my back. And it's only seven in the morning. Yes. That's right. This is my life. And to those who doubt, it really is seven and I woke up voluntarily.
So my trip to get here was quite long. I left Calgary at 2:30 in the afternoon on Monday because my flight was delayed two hours. On Tuesday we all met at the Winnipeg airport at 6:30 A.M. and our flight took off a bit after nine. We flew to Minneapolis and had a four hour layover. We then had an eight hour flight to Amsterdam and arrived around six in the morning proceeding with another layover for a few hours. At around 10 A.M. (Amsterdam time on Wednesday) we began our ten hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. It was around 1 A.M. South Africa time on Thursday when we arrived at Heron Bridge Resort Center.
Thursday was a pretty chill day for us. I woke up at 6:45 A.M. and had an amazing hot shower. Then explored for a bit with some of the other early risers. We spent the day laying in the sun, playing soccer and volleyball, swimming in the pool, and keeping hydrated! It was about 27 degrees Celsius. But it was nice because it was a bit cloudy so it wasn't ridiculously hot. In the afternoon we all went to a mall to figure out phone plans and get adapters. We came back for dinner and then watched an amazing warm thundershower and saw the most incredible double rainbow and a beautiful sunset. Then a guy named Joan spoke to us about learning and how we learn. It was nice and short because most of us were falling asleep. I was in bed by nine. Yeah. I actually seem to be starting a good sleeping schedule here. We will see how long this lasts.
Today I'm not all sure what we are doing, but I'll be working on my tan that's for sure (;
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