Ubuntu, Life and the Way Home

The past few weeks have been full. Full of premature goodbyes, squeezing in last minute bucket list items, and trying to make the most of the few precious days we have left in South Africa. I titled this blog "Adventures in Cape Town," and that is certainly what this trip has been: an adventure. In fact, I have been calling this last week "Katie and Alena's adventure week" because we have done a different hike/bike ride/outdoor activity every day, which has proved to be a very rewarding way to spend our last week in one of mother nature's most beautiful cities.

I don’t know how to begin to say goodbye to this place. Cape Town has become my home, and the nineteen people I have shared a house with for these past five months have become my family. That is something interesting about this experience—I might not have chosen these people as friends under any other circumstances. We don’t all have an abundance of things in common besides our desire to step outside the confines of ordinary life and our passion for service. But we have shared such a significance experience with one another, and no one else could possibly know what it feels like to say goodbye to a place that I will forever remember as the place where I fell in love with life.  I will never forget our traditional Sunday night dinners, where all twenty of us squeezed into the dining room table to enjoy a fabulous meal cooked by a different pair of roommates each week, the mountains we climbed (both literally and metaphorically), our movie marathon nights spent in the living room eating popcorn and drinking hot cocoa, our crazy adventures that rarely took us where we planned on going but always led us somewhere spectacular, and the love and support that I felt every time I walked into the Kimberly House. Without the nineteen other people who tolerated all my shenanigans, who listened to me when I needed an ear, who lent their shoulder when I needed one to cry on, and who laughed with me until we both shed tears of happiness, I would be nothing. I owe so much of what I have learned here to them, and the words “thank you” only begin to express the deep sense of gratitude and appreciation I have for each and every one of them. Saying goodbye to them will without a doubt be one of the hardest things I will ever do, but I will do it with the intention of seeing them all again one day and being able to reminisce about the months we spent taking Cape Town by storm. Until then, I have the memories of them and all of our crazy adventures and all the lessons I have learned from each and every one of them. As Herman Hesse once said, “If I know what love is, it is because of you.” All of you.

My roommates are not the only ones I have to thank, though. So many people have shaped my experience in South Africa, and they too deserve my eternal gratitude. Thank you to Chris Ahrends, my theology professor, for teaching me that it is possible to have faith without ever stepping foot in a church, and the importance of the word surrender. Thank you to Sharon Penderis, my Leaders in Grassroots Organizations professor, for teaching me that leadership doesn’t have one definition, and that it really does take a village. Thank you to Liesl Theron and all the people at Gender DynamiX for teaching me that gender and sexuality aren’t things we should have to fight to protect, though many people do every day. In a perfect world, everyone would be able to express exactly who they were without fear of persecution from either their government or their fellow human beings, but as I have found both in the US and South Africa, this is not a perfect world. And it may never be, but if this trip has taught me anything it is that I am called to spend the rest of my life trying to make it as close to perfect as it can get. I didn’t come to South Africa expecting to find my life path, or to uncover some secret of life that would allow me to be happier than I’ve ever been, but I guess in a way that is exactly what I found. As Martin Buber said, “all journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware.” For me, this couldn’t be more true.

I am not the same person as the girl who stepped onto that plane by herself back in January. I have grown as a friend, as a woman, as a student, as a volunteer, and most of all as a human. The idea of a common humanity, or “Ubuntu,” is a very important idea in South Africa. It is said that South Africa is the origin of the human species, that we all are derived from a single source that was located in Sub-Saharan Africa—the heart of humanity. We are all, in some way, African. But as Chris often talked about in our theology class, a community is only as strong as the individuals who live in it. So that humanity, that Ubuntu spirit that we all hold in our hearts, only means something if we use it. And to use it, we have to show up every day and resist being the victim of circumstances outside of our control. I’m not saying this is easy—it’s a goal. Chris said one class that the journey to the true self isn’t without anxiety, but it is the way home, and I think that’s something worth remembering. If every single person showed up every day with the intention of making a difference, and left behind all the preconceived notions they have about other people, maybe we could all find the way home together.

If I had to sum up my experience here in one word, it would be life. Before I came to South Africa, I didn’t understand what people meant when they said “live life to the fullest.” It was the cause of great anxiety for me for years, because I didn’t know how to do it, what “fullest” even meant or if I would ever be able to fulfill this infamous idiom. I now know that the word “fullest” is relative, and when you are living life to the fullest you just know it. You can feel it in your mind, heart, body and soul. I can feel it, and I will spend the rest of my life trying to hold on to that feeling. It would be impossible for me to fully explain what this trip has meant to me, but I have tried my best through this blog, and for those of you have read it I hope you have been able to get a glimpse into the past five months of my life. It hasn’t said everything, but as promised it has been honest and (usually) frequent. After this post my blogging career will probably not end, but will definitely take a long hiatus—I just don’t know what I will have to write about when there are no mountains or bridges to jump off of! Until next time though, or until I see all of you (hopefully sooner rather than later) I will leave you with this poem by one of my heroes that has a special place in my heart after especially after this trip.

"Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it."
— Mother Teresa

Goodbye for now, Cape Town!

June Already?!?

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted! Almost a whole month has gone by since my last post, and I am now a mere 17 days away from my departure from Cape Town. Looking back on these past five months, I can divide my trip pretty clearly into three phases; doing, experiencing, and reflecting. The first month or so we just did as many things as possible, going from place to place, spending whatever money we had somewhat wrecklessly, and enjoying life to the fullest. The next few months were somewhat more meaningful--the spring break trip allowed us to experience the true South Africa, far from any tourist destinations or hot spots. We were exploring the country as it was meant to be explored, and I gained a lot from my travels around this beautiful land. Instead of just doing, I was thinking about what each experience meant to me. These past few months have been more of a reflecting phase for me. Having crossed off so many items off my bucket list already, I have been able to just live my life in Cape Town and enjoy the little things this city has to offer. Being able to fully emmerse yourself in a culture is a true gift, and for that reason I appreciate the timeline of this trip. I feel like I have had enough time to not just do the city, but to be in it. To live in it. That being said, I have not just been sitting around reflecting all day--we have still managed to get out and do lots of fun things, even in the midst of all the final exams and projects looming overhead.

On Friday, a group of us hiked Devil’s Peak, a mountain that is part of the Table Mountain range, and the closest mountain to Obz. Devil’s Peak is the mountain whose tip I can see from our frot door, but up until last weekend had yet to climb. After hearing that our Friday Marquette classes were cancelled, we geared up and walked from our house to the Rhode’s Memorial, the starting point of the hike. The memorial was created for Cecil Rhodes, an important South African politician.

Rhodes Memorial

After checking out the awesome view from the memorial, we headed uphill. We didn’t really know the way, nor did we have a map, so we made a few wrong turns and found our fair share of dead ends before we finally got on the right path. It was definitely one of the toughest hikes I have ever been on, but the views were spectacular. The higher we got, the more of the city we could see, while keeping our house in view the whole time. The view was much different than the one from Table Mountain and Lion’s Head because it allowed us to see the suburbs and other areas that were on the other side of Devil’s Peak, usually blocked by it when atop the other mountains. As we got higher, we could see both sides of the Cape Peninsula, and we had views of both Flse Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.

Panorama from Rhodes Memorial

checking out the view

Just when we thought we were reaching the top, we realized that we were actually seeing a false face, the real top of the mountain was much higher, and behind the place we had reached. We continued upward, finally reaching the top after about 3 hours of uphill hiking, but the views were incredible. It was a beautifully clear day and we had perfect views of the entire city. After a quick rest, we began the hike down, we were exhausted but it was a much easier trip down, and though we took a different way back, we made it home safely with no wrong turns. The day turned out to be much more exciting than a regular day of Friday classes!

Another new and fun experience was going with my roomate Hanna to her service site last Sunday. She volunteers at Place of Hope, a shelter for abused women and their children, and works primarily with the kids and in the soup kitchen which runs every Thursday. We spent two exhausting hours chasing the kids around, giving piggy back rides, holding newborn babies, and trying our best to contain the chaos to one room. The kids were so full of life and energy, and became immediately attached to us. It was such a fun day, and it brought a whole lot of sunshine to the rainy weekend.  Hope everyone is doing well, I'll try and write one last post before I leave!

"Mountains are created to be conquered; adversities are designed to be defeated; problems are sent to be solved. It is better to master one mountain than a thousand foothills."

--William Arthur Ward

Baby, there's a Shark in the Water

Last weekend I checked off two of the last items on my South Africa bucket list--the first was Shark cage diving! And yes, it was as thrilling as it sounds. We booked the dive through a local hostel and got a great deal with transportation included. They picked us up at 5am, and it was a two hour drive to Gansbaai, a tiny little town situated on the coast just past Hermanus. From what we saw of the town, there was not much going on besides shark diving and whale watching. We gathered in the offices of Ecoventures, the company we went with, and had a light breakfast. After another short drive to the water, we piled in the boat and we were off! It was a fifteen minute ride out to Dire Island, a small rocky land mass inhabited by 30,000 seals. This, according to our rugged shark diving guide Richard, is the reason for all the sharks. They love to eat seals! Also, the place where our boat was anchored was smack dab in the middle of shark alley, which is where the majority of "Shark Week" on the Discovery Channel is filmed. By the time we had anchored, I was already soaking wet and shivering from getting sprayed during the boat ride--it was overcast and not the warmest day we've seen here. We got changed into wetsuits, which between the waves rocking the boat and the minimal space (25 people total) was not an easy feat. The crew then started chumming the water by throwing out large fisheads attached to ropes with buoys on the ends, and it was time to get in the cage! I was in the first group to go. Five of us hopped in the freezing cold water, and we were given weight belts that hung over our right shoulder across our bodies to help us stay down. Then, we waited...and waited...and waited. We were probably only waiting for ten minutes, but in that water it felt like an eternity. Then all of a sudden Richard yells "down right! down right!!" and I take a deep breath and dive under the water, only to be looking at a real live great white shark. All I was thinking was "HOLY CRAP! IT'S A SHARK!" And that inital excitement never went away. After the first shark appeared, they didn't stop coming for the four hours we were on the boat. We saw seven sharks in all, ranging in size from 2 to 3.5 meters. They were all great white's. I was in the cage twice, but even the views from the top deck were incredible--sometimes it was even better to be out of the water because you could see them come up out of the water to grab the chum. Overall, despite the cold water and lack of sunshine, it was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life, and I would do it again in a hearbeat. Who knows, maybe next time it will be without a cage!

Then again, mabye not...

Our trusty sea vessel

In the cage--it's hard to smile in those masks!

That same weekend, two other girls and I spent Saturday night in a backpackers in Simon'sTown, the same town where Boulder's Beach is with the penguins. What we thought would be a crazy night away from home actually turned out to be kind of a wash--apparently Simon's Town is an "old people" town and shuts down very early, according to everyone we talked to. We made the best of it though, we found the one bar still open at 9pm where a big rugby game was playing and drank some beer with the local Stormer's fans. The next morning we rented bikes from our hostel and biked down the coast as far as Muizenberg beach. It was a hot day and a long bike ride, but probably the best view I've had on a bike ride since we were right on the water. I've been wanting to do a bike ride for weeks now, so I had a great time and was happy to be away from the house for the day. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the weekend because I forgot my camera, but my friend Katie took a bunch that I will get ahold of eventually.

Monday morning as we were leaving for shark diving, Katie checked her Blackberry and read the news about the death of Osama bin Laden. In my sleepy, coffee deprived state, surrounded by the silence of four of my roomates, my reaction was a subtle, "oh...wow." It wasn't mentioned again that day, and it wasn't until I was performing my usual online U.S. news-browsing session the next day that I began to realize how much of an impact the news was making back in the states. Though I understand the significance of the death of such an infamous and contemptible figure, I was shocked and somewhat horrified to hear about the reactions of many Americans, especially those of my college-going peers. This past week, I have recieved comments from almost every non-American I have encountered related to this news, some of them less subtle than others. It has been extremely interesting to experience this major event from another country. It has made me realize how many people don't appreciate, well...America. I am not saying all this to be Anti-American, but I do think that people might need to take a second look at this piece of news and really ask themselves, "why am I so excited about this?" I think for many people my age, the death of Osama bin Laden has marked a turning point not just in American history, but in their lives. Our young-adulthoods have been marked by the dark cloud of terrorism following us into classrooms and through airports, and maybe some of us think that the end of Osama means the end of this era of war. I understand how important this event is both to our country and to everyone affected by the 9/11 attacks, but I am still failing to see how the death of one human being is cause for celebration.

On a completely different note; as yesterday was mother's day. I want to give a big shout out to my own beautiful mother, Jill, as well as all the other "moms" in my life who have supported and encouraged me over the years. To all my fabulous Aunties; Lynn, Jo, Sue, Julia, Nancy, to my cousins Gina and Jenn (who have both recently become mommies to little ones who I sadly still haven't met), to my Mom's Mom; Grandma Herrigel, who is no longer with us but whose spirit still shines through my own mom, and finally to my Noni; Pat Owen, who has unfailingly loved and cared for me, and who constantly inspires me with her enduring faith and unyielding love for her family. To all the Mother's out there,thank you for making me who I am--I couldn't have done it without you.

Wherever you go, there you are: a weekend in the wilderness.

Happy belated Easter everyone! I spent the Easter weekend in Namibia on a rafting trip led by my landlord who apart from managing several rental houses is also quite the nature man. He organized a five day trip rafting down the Orange River in Namibia for 37 students (11 from my house, 9 from Northwestern, and 16 from Stanford). He and four other guides led us down a 70km stretch of the river in little two-person boats called crocs, which are like kayaks but more easily manoeuvrable for novice rowers. This was the most atypical Easter I have ever had, but I have to say it was one of the best.

On Thursday we all piled into a 60 seat charter bus at 5am and headed for the border. The drive usually takes about 8 hours, but with the size of the bus and the trailer we were towing behind us, not to mention the lengthy pee breaks and border crossings that are required with that many people it took us around 12, so it was a long day of driving. We arrived at Amanzi River Camp around 5 (note that I left my phone and watch at home so I either had a vague sense of time or none at all on the trip), had a little swimming time in the river, ate dinner and went to bed. It was a cold night at Amanzi and we didn’t get much sleep because none of us were properly dressed for non-tent weather, but we survived. The next morning we woke up at sunrise, ate breakfast, and packed up camp, which required putting all of our belongings in a water tight “dry bag” that would sit in our boats with us along with a cooler of food that had been packed for the trip. Then after a short safety talk and rowing lesson we were off on the river! The Orange River is the border between South Africa and Namibia, so the whole way SA was on our left and Namibia on our right. The River was unusually high according to David (our landlord/river guide), which made our trip easier because the current was strong and required little paddling. The first couple hours that day we actually were just swimming next to our boats and floating down the river enjoying the scenery—I thought I was in heaven! We were on the river for the bulk of the day, and when we pulled over to have lunch David said that he usually doesn’t get as far as that in a whole day, and we still had a few more hours to go. We set up camp for the night on the South Africa side of the river, literally in the middle of nowhere. No toilets, no tents, no nothing. All we had with us was our sleeping bags and mats and whatever we had packed in our dry bags. While I have been camping before, I have never truly “roughed it” until this weekend.  David and the guides cooked chicken and sausage over the campfire, and after dinner the stars were out and in abundance, so we all got into our sleeping bags and watched them for hours. I think as a group we saw more than 10 shooting stars that night, it was phenomenal star gazing. The next two days were pretty much more of the same; waking up at dawn, paddling down the river, being in constant awe of the landscape surrounding us, and epic stargazing at night. On Sunday we had covered so much ground that we had time for a long hike along the way. David kept stressing that it was a pretty strenuous hike since there was no trail, and he wasn’t kidding. This hike was practically straight up ¾ of the way, and the last ¼ was covered with loose rock so you had to choose your footing carefully or else the person behind you would get a face-full of rock. The view at the top was well worth it though—you could see for miles in both directions and the river below you. Also there were these strange plants that are millions of years old—they grow 1cm every 100 years and were at least 5ft tall now. After the hike we only had one more hour of paddling left before we reached our destination. We then got picked up and driven back to Amanzi where we spent the last night of the trip before heading home early Monday morning.

Our first "rough" campsite

Our lovely sleeping area

some of us at the top of our first hike

Old, old tree.

Five days without a phone, iPod, TV, computer, or internet gives you a lot of time to think. It also makes you realize what is really important, and I have realized that none of the aforementioned objects really are. Life is too short to be wasted worrying about material things, and that is a lesson that I have been learning slowly throughout my time in South Africa. I am as guilty as most of being a typical consumer of things I don’t need at home, and I am going to challenge myself to change that when I get back to the states. I know it’s going to be difficult, especially since I won’t be without a phone, iPod, TV, computer or internet. I have all those things and I use them, which is fine in moderation. The trick is putting all of those things aside once in a while and asking yourself what is really important. For me the answer is family, friends, and helping others. As long as I can be around people I love and do what I love to do while helping others I know I will be happy. Everything else is just a bonus. Even as I am writing this, I know that words are not enough to describe what I was feeling and thinking on this trip. For me it wasn't just a "weekend in the wilderness" as I have so cleverly titled it. It was a realization that the things that have mattered to me for the past 21 years of my life might no longer matter, and the fear that I might, when I return back to the lifestyle to which I am accustomed, not be able to acclimate to my old life. To again quote Into the Wild, “At long last he was unencumbered, emancipated from the stifling world of his parents and peers, a world of abstraction and security and material excess, a world in which he felt grievously cut off from the raw throb of existence.” This trip in general, and especially these past five days, have given me an accute awareness of what I do and do not want out of life, and I am both excited and terrified to find out how I will incorporate those values into my life back home.

In other news, last week I shadowed my friend Melissa on one of her service days. Melissa works through the Amy Biehl foundation doing tutoring and mentoring in schools. She spends half of her day at St. Mary’s primary school teaching a reading class to 6^th graders, and the second half of her day at John Pama primary school facilitating a peer education class on HIV/AIDS. The day I was following her though, she and a couple other volunteers had organized a spelling bee competition for the 6^th and 7^th graders and I was asked to be the judge. Hanging out with the kids all day was such a great experience, they were so nervous about the spelling bee and practiced all day. They did really well in the bee, and one of Melissa’s adorable 6^th graders even won! It was such a special moment, he was so happy and excited and didn’t stop smiling until we left. The reason I was shadowing Melissa is because I am going to start teaching a similar reading class at a different elementary school one day a week, and after my experience with Melissa’s students I couldn’t be more excited to start. Though I have enjoyed my experience at Gender DynamiX, the work there has been slow and there have been some logistical conflicts that have prohibited me being able to really get involved in the organization, so from now on I will be there just one day a week and at my school one or two other days. The kids have this week off so I will hopefully be starting next week, more news on that to come!

Shake the Dust

I have yet again fallen behind on my blog posting! Though these past two weeks have been more mellow than others, so it shouldn't be too hard to catch you all up. Two weeks ago my friend Katie's Mom was here visiting, and I got to tag along to a few of their outings (without having to pay for transportation) which was hugely appreciated. We took a day trip down the peninsula and went to Muizenberg for a quick visit, stopped in Kalk Bay (yet again...I never get sick of that place!), and then to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. Cape Point is the place that they first thought was the Southern most point in Africa, but after more exploring realized their mistake (the actual Southern most point is Cape Agulhas, which we visited last Saturday). Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope (the Southwestern most point in Africa) were beautiful and we lucked out on the weather--the sun came out for us even though it was a rainy week. We also stopped in Simonstown at Boulder's Beach where all the penguins hang out--that's right, penguins! They were very adorable, but a strange sight to see in Africa. We drove down one side of the peninsula and came up the other, and both drives were equally stunning. Then on Sunday we spent the morning in Kirstenbosch and then attended another concert at the amphitheatre. As summer is ending here, it was the last concert in the series so we had to take advantage. Then Katie’s mom made us homemade spaghetti and meatballs, which were DELICIOUS but also made me realize how much I miss homemade Italian food! It was great to spend time with family memebers, even if they weren't my own :)

African Penguins!

Hout Bay where we ate dinner

The weekdays didn't bring a lot of excitement, but I got caught up on some much needed sleep, postcard writing, and reading. On Friday we had a guest speaker in our theology class. She was Mary Burton, an ex-member and chairperson of the Black Sash, a prominent women's organization that protested Apartheid during its existence. She also served as a comissioner for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the Human Rights Committee. Being a commissioner of this committee was a huge honor during this time--one had to be nominated, publicly interviewed on television, and then personally selected by Mandela himself. The second of three TRC comittees during the immediate post-Apartheid years, the Human Rights Committee was in charge of hearing and recording the stories of victims of violence and/or opression during Apartheid. This committee worked in cooperation with the Amnesty Committee who were in charge of reviewing, and either granting or rejecting applications for amnesty. If the amnesty applicant did not give full disclosure of the crimes they had committed, or if their account did not match the account of the victim, they would not be granted amnesty. The TRC heard over 22,000 statements from victims, recieved 7,000 applications for amnesty and granted only 2,700. Hearing Mary's stories about her involvement with the Black Sash and the TRC were truly fascinating. Reading about these organisations is one thing, but hearing a personal account from a woman who experienced the work of the TRC first hand was a rare and special experience.

On Sunday, Katie and I attempted to chase the bungy jumping adrenaline rush by going paragliding off of Lion's Head. It was an incredible thrill, though not quite as terrifying as the bungy, which I was totally okay with. We hiked up about 3/4 of the mountain with our two guides, and within 15 minutes I was flying! The whole operation was really simple--all I had to do was strap on the harness and the helmet, wait for a good wind to come along, and run as fast and as hard as I could off the mountain. I was nervous for a brief second, but before I knew it I was seated comfortably in the harness and flying over the beautiful coastline of Cape Town, Table Mountain to one side and the ocean to the other. The wind only kept us up for about fifteen minutes, but it was an incredible fifteen minutes and well worth it. For anyone who has ever wanted to fly, I highly reccomend it.

During our house bonding session this week, one girl read a poem by Anis Mojgani called "Shake the Dust," which he performs flawlessly in this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qDtHdloK44. It had a huge impact on me and I highly reccomend watching the video if you haven't seen it. For me, this entire trip has been my way of shaking the dust, and I think I have done so successfully for the most part so far. Here are a few exerpts from the poem, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

"This is for the two-year-olds who cannot be understood because they speak half-English and half-god.

Shake the dust...

For the ones who are forgotten, the ones the amendments do not stand up for.

For the ones who are told to speak only when spoken to and then are never spoken to. Speak every time you stand so you do not forget yourself. Do not let a moment go by that doesn't remind you that your heart beats 900 times a day and that there are enough gallons of blood to make you an ocean.

Do not settle for letting these waves settle and the dust to collect in your veins."

 

ready for takeoff!

Fear is temporary, regret is forever.

My head is still spinning from the 9 day trip we returned from late Sunday night. It was our mid-semester break, and 18 of us and one South African guide piled into a huge safari truck and took off on the adventure of a lifetime. The company we toured with is called Intrepid Bundu, and they do a number of overland trips in Africa and other continents. Our guide Jimmy was great--very knowledgable and experienced, a quiet guy but I think he enjoyed our energy. We packed so much into such a short trip, and it was honestly one of the best weeks of my life--definitely the most eventful week of my 22nd year of life. Here is a detailed but shortened version of the trip:

Friday 3/18: We leave Cape Town at 6am and drive all day to Knysna, a small, quaint bay town on the coast. We arrive early evening at Island Vibe backpackers, just in time to drive up to a lookout point to watch the sun set. After settling in, a few of us swim in the slightly dirty pool, have dinner at an authentic Moroccan restaurant (my prawns looked like they could have walked off the plate), chat with the bartender for a while who lets us sign the wall of the bar. I wrote "you can sleep when you're dead" on behalf of our group...we then go swimming again and chat for a while around a small bonfire.


The whole group with our awesome truck! I'm front row, second from the left

Saturday 3/19: We wake up early and walk to the waterfront at Knysna to find that everything is closed--still beautiful though! I felt the water there and noticed how much warmer it was compared to Cape Town...we could definitely sense that we were getting closer to the Indian Ocean! We then drove about an hour to the Bloukrans Bridge, home of the world's highest bungy jump (it's in the guinness book of world records!). I had known that this was an optional part of the itinerary and had been trying to mentally prepare myself for it for weeks, but when we got out of the car and saw the bridge I froze. I don't know if words can accurately describe how terrified I was. Just looking at people who I didn't even know jump off made me cringe. After 20 minutes of debating, I decided to just do the bridge walk, so I could at least be out on the bridge when all my friends jumped. I was still tense watching them all jump, but I slowly started to realize how much I really wanted to do it--I knew I would regret it if I didn't, the only problem was that I didn't think it was physically possible for me to jump off that platform. After a lot of support from my friends and all the bungy workers though, I finally conceeded, and after I signed the liability agreement there was no turning back. Before I knew it, my toes were dangling over a 216 meter drop (718 ft), and two men were holding my arms out Titanic style.  The last thing I remember was thinking, "I CAN'T DO THIS!!" and then hearing them shout "Five four three two one BUNGY!" and then I was falling...for five seconds...into nothing. It was a five second free fall, and then three smaller bounces after you spring back. It is so hard to describe the feeling of falling for that long towards the ground--I think mostly because you don't really feel anything. There were no thoughts running through my head at that moment. I felt completely weightless, and free in the most empowering way. It was one of the most terrifying, exciting, and rewarding experiences of my life. I really didn't think I could do it, but I like to think that I conquered one of my biggest fears that day (if only temporarily) and I am truly proud of myself for doing it. I know my mom always told me not to jump off a bridge just because everyone else is doing it, but I guess this was one exception :) We left the bungy place and had another long drive to Cintsa, a tiny little town about 30km outside of East London. We stayed at Buccaneers Backpackers, which looked like a tree-house, tucked away into the trees and overlooking the water. So beautiful, but we got in late and went to bed pretty soon after arriving.

still terrified at this point...

Sunday 3/20 & Monday 3/21: Woke up early and went on a barefoot run on the beach and a quick swim before breakfast. It was a little overcast but still beautiful--I could definitley get used to that morning routine. I saw THE BIGGEST spider I have ever seen in my life in our bathroom...needless to say I do not have a picture to show you but my friend Katie does--not sure I have the guts to post it though. Had a delicious (and free!) breakfast and then hit the road again for another long drive to Coffee Bay. I know that I am going to sound like the boy who cried wolf here because I am always saying how the last place I went was the most beautiful place I've ever been, but this time I really mean it. Coffee Bay, located at the mouth of the Bomvu River in the Transkeii, is the most unique and wonderful place I've ever been. We stayed at the coolest little hippy backpackers called Coffee Shack. It was full of adventurous, laid back people. Coffee Bay was originally a place where the local hippies would go to smoke certain substances, surf and relax, and it has remarkably remained untouched except for a few hostels and one tiny little cafe and shop. I feel like I could write an entire book on our two days there--we woke up both mornings at 6am, walked 10 minutes to the gorgeous, white sanded beaches and fell back asleep for a few hours. Then we swam, had breakfast, went hiking along the coast, swam some more, read, and soaked up every second of sun the day had to offer. After two nights and one and a half days of that, we still weren't ready to leave but we had to say our sad goodbye to our precious Coffee Bay...hopefully I'll make it back there one day. Also, in my extreme state of relaxation I forgot to take any good pictures of the beach, so some from our 10k hike will have to suffice.

Hole-in-the-wall where we hiked



a view overlooking one of the beaches on the hike


Tuesday 3/22: Drove all day to Durban, where we stayed at a backpackers called The Happy Hippo right near the waterfront. I thought that the waterfront was very strange--it had recently been rebuilt and was very tourist friendly, almost disney-land like. We didn't have much time to explore Wednesday night, but we celebrated our friend's birthday in the bar at the hostel and had a blast just bonding with our group.

Wednesday 3/23: Most of our group woke up and went to the Aquarium, located in the disneyland area at the waterfront. I wasn't too excited about this idea, so instead me and my friend Katie woke up early, went running on the boardwalk by the ocean, and then spent around two hours just body surfing the Indian Ocean waves. I don't know how I'll ever go back to the ice cold Pacific Ocean after swimming those waves--it was definitely more fun (and free) than walking through an aquarium. Before hitting the road, our driver Jimmy thought we'd like to see the Indian market, so we spent an hour browsing through the hundreds of spices and goods they were selling. The sights and sounds of this market were incredible, and I had some of the best Indian curry I've ever tasted...I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! After the market we headed for Johannesburg, another long drive. We got in really late to Jo-Burg Backpackers and went straight to bed.



one of the spice vendors at the Indian market

 Thursday 3/24: We split up into two smaller vans this morning for a driving tour of Soweto, an urban area outside of Jo-Burg known for being at the heart of the political struggle during Apartheid and rich in history and culture. The word "Soweto" is an acronym for South Western Townships, and was created mainly to house black mine and industrial workers away from the city centre. We saw the home of Winnie Mandela, one of Desmond Tutu's houses where his son now lives, and the place where Hector Pieterson was killed. Hector was the first casuality of the Soweto uprising--he was only 13 years old when he was shot and killed when the police opened fire on a group of protesting students. There is a musueum dedicated to Hector and the events of that day which we were able to visit, and it was a very powerful and moving experience. The day Hector died, June 16, is now a national holiday called National Youth Day. We also visited Regina Mundi church, another historically political site in Soweto. On our tour of the church the guide pointed out many bullet holes and damages that occured during the many protests and police raids that took place during the uprisings. Regina Mundi is considered the church of the people, and was another historical landmark that I was honored to visit. Other notable visits that day were the Apartheid museum and one of the world cup stadiums. When we got back to the hostel, Katie and I went for a run through a beautiful botanical garden but got locked in at sunset when the gates closed (oops!). We managed to climb a wall to get out, but it was quite the adventure, and one I probably could have done without having reached my fear quota for the week after the bungy.

outside of one of the world cup stadiums in Jo-Burg

Friday 3/25, Saturday 3/26 & Sunday 3/27: Friday we left before sunrise for Kruger park, which was a good 9-10 hour drive in the truck. At Kruger, we stayed at a different campsite Friday and Saturday night, but both were in two person thatched roof bungalos. Surprisingly, our accomodations at the park were nicer than all of the backpackers we stayed in along the way! Over the course of our five safari day drives and one night drive, we saw the following animals: Vervet, Kudu, Impala, Baboon, Lilac Breasted Roller, Waterbuck, African Buffalo, Button-eared Eagle, Warthog, Blacksmith Clover, Egyptian Goose, Rhino, Elephant, Clip Springer, Grass Snake, Skink, Tortise, Yellow Billed Hornbill (Zazu from the Lion King), Hippo (my personal favorite), King Fisher, Fish Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Vultures, Zebra, Giraffe, Cybit, Helmeted Guinea Fowl, Wildebeast, Southern Ground Hornbill, Chameleon, and Hyena. Unfortunately we didn't get to see any cats--our driver Jimmy said it was because it had been raining a lot so the animals (mainly Lions and Leapords) didn't have to move around as much to find water. I, however, was completely satisfied with that long list of sightings, not to mention the beautiful scenery we got to take in while driving around the park. Kruger is one of the largest game reserves in Africa--it covers 7,332 sqaure miles and less than 5% is covered by roads. The animals are truly in their natural habitats, so seeing one right by your car is especially exciting. After a morning game drive on Sunday, we headed back to Jo-Burg to catch our evening flight. On the drive back it was raining--the perfect way to say goodbye to an amazing trip.

  

best picture i took on the safari--the elephants were so close!

 



the awesome pool in kruger



This trip was definitely one of facing fears. Not just the obvious ones (fear of heights, fear of huge ocean waves and cliffs, etc.), but the small ones too, like the fear of being judged, fear of the unknown, and oddly the fear of not being able to communicate with people back home. I left my phone in Cape Town and most of the trip had no idea what time it was (sometimes even what day it was) or if anyone was trying to get ahold of me. It was a really freeing feeling, and while I'm sure I'll re-adopt my texting habit when I get back to the states, it was a good lesson to learn: sometimes technology is a burden that we need to take a break from every once in a while.

Though I wish I could do the trip all over again, it's back to reality (if you can even call it that) for a little while. I'm officially over half way through the trip, which is a scary thought in a lot of ways. I just registered for classes as a SENIOR, and I'm kind of dreading returning to school and all the responsibilities that come with it. Luckily I have over two more months of fun and adventure before I have to think about it! For now, I can't get enough of all that Cape Town has to offer.

Full of Courage and Following Hearts

This past week has been jam packed with new experiences. On Wednesday I was invited to attend a panel/discussion that Gender DynamiX was putting on, and I brought two friends with me. The discussion was about butch lesbianism versus trans men (women who have transitioned to men), and a huge number of people came out to listen and ask questions. I have never been part of such a lively and fascinating discussion. There is a lot of tension in the LGBTI community between butch lesbians and trans men, mostly because neither group understands the other’s perspective. The butch lesbians don’t understand the need to actually transition into a man, and the trans men don’t understand why butch lesbians act and look like men but don’t want to be men. I was asked by my supervisor to take notes on what questions were asked, which was somewhat awkward since many people were speaking Xhosa and the facilitator had to translate for me after every question. Still, it was a great experience and it made me feel even more connected to my site and the work they do there. One of my favorite quote from the night was from one of the trans men, Charlie. He told the story of his transition and in the end said that he learned through that experience that we must follow our hearts instead of dragging them behind us.
The next morning I went with my site co-workers to a march for sex workers rights. I have been to a few protests, but none where I only knew two people, and none in a foreign country (note: this activity was not endorsed by Marquette University…they don’t exactly support their study abroad students becoming political activists). I was somewhat nervous going into it, but it was very organized and civilized, and very energetic. We marched about a mile and a half to the steps of Parliament, where the group leader of SWEAT (sex workers education and advocacy task force) read a legal proposal and handed it to a government employee. Songs were sung, chants were chanted, and everyone went hope feeling happy and motivated—especially me.



The protesters outside of Parliment



Before this weekend I didn’t think I could love South Africa any more…but once again I was proven wrong. We spent the weekend in Hermanus, a beautiful beach town about 80 miles east of Cape Town.  We stayed at a retreat center called Volmoed, meaning “full of courage.”  Volmoed was located inland from Hermanus, tucked away into the most beautiful area—the best way I can describe this property is a playground for outdoorsy people. There were mountains, rivers, and waterfalls within a 45 minute hike of the cabin where we stayed. We stayed in two cabins (one for the girls and one for the boys) which were surprisingly well maintained and very comfortable. I’m telling you, it was summer camp for grown-ups. Our retreat was based on a book we read in preparation for this trip: Reconciliation: Restoring Justice by John de Gruchy, and we were lucky enough to have Prof. de Gruchy join us every day to lead us in discussions based around his book.  Friday evening we met shortly with John and then had some time to explore before dinner. My friend Katie and I went exploring and stumbled upon a huge pack of Baboons who were mating or feeding or something—whatever they were doing was making quite a lot of noise. We had a big pasta dinner and ate on the porch underneath the starts, which come out early in huge numbers. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many stars! We laid out underneath them in the huge grassy field for hours until we fell asleep and decided to move indoors. The next morning a few of us woke up early at 5:15 and hiked to one of the higher mountain peaks on the property to watch the sunrise. It took us about 45 minutes—the hike was not Table Mountain difficult but definitely a sweat-breaker, and well worth the trip. We got to the top in enough time to watch the sun come up over the mountains, and we all just sat there in silence taking in the 360 degree view around us. From our vantage point we could see the ocean, the mountains and the many vineyards in the area. It was probably one of the most beautiful and powerful moments of my life. If I could do that sunrise hike every morning I would be able to give up coffee for good—nothing has ever made me feel so awake! After a quick breakfast and our first session with John, we headed into town for the day. We shopped around the open-air markets, walked along the waterfront, had lunch at a restaurant that was right on the water, swam in the tide pools, and took a much needed nap on the beach. We got home just in time for our second session with John, and after that a few of us took a short (15 minute) hike to this hidden waterfall and swam around for a bit until the sun went down and we got cold. We had another family dinner, roasted s’mores, and called it an early night. Sunday morning was foggy and a little colder, so we decided to forgo the sunset hike and instead do our own thing. I took off on one of the best runs of my life around 7:30 and ended up on the top of the mountain behind the cabins we stayed in. Since arriving in South Africa, I haven’t felt more free than I did in that moment. Not only did I feel safe in the obvious ways (since the property was private we didn’t have to worry about travelling in groups all the time or looking over our shoulders constantly) but there was something about being on the top of a mountain alone that was particularly special. The retreat was definitely a once in a lifetime experience…though I hope to make it back there some day.



Our Cabin is third from the left

So I’ve mentioned our three “sessions” with John de Gruchy, but what did we really talk about? First a word on the book. Reconciliation: Restoring Justice gives away a lot about the book’s content, but there is more to it than just reconciliation. De Gruchy describes the reconciliation process that took place after Apartheid officially ended, once Mandela was elected President. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established in order to solve the myriad problems in the wake of the Apartheid regime. The unique thing about the TRC was how successful it was considering the extent to which racial divides had devastated the South African community. In his book, de Gruchy describes this process in detail and uses a religious and ethical language to advocate for justice restoration through reconciliation. Our conversations with Prof. de Gruchy, though driven by the content of the book, took a turn away from the actual text and were directed instead to our own ideas of God, reconciliation, and truth.  I took a lot away from our discussions, but there is one thing that John said that really made an impact on me. We were talking about our definitions of God, and we eventually flipped the question on him. He said that for him, God is a mystery beyond which he cannot conceive, but without which life cannot exist. I thought that was one of the best “non-definitions” of God that I’ve ever heard, and it changed my perspective of God and religion in general. I don’t consider myself a religious person in the conventional sense, but I know that there was something bigger than me present at Volmoed this weekend. If you don’t believe me, just look at the pictures…

Sunrise view #1 (before the sun was up...)



Sunrise view #2



Sunrise view #3

Location of the Baboon sighting



Where we swam in Hermanus