I 've been terrible about that.
It's tough going back and forth between a physical journal and this thing.
So we left Stellenbosch two days ago. My house didn't get to finish our house on Monday. Well, we did everything but the roof tiles, which the South African builders that helped us were still working on whent the buses left. A few people in my group went back though, so I'm pretty sure it's finished. I gave my watch to a boy whom Mykaila and I dubbed Monito (= little mono = little monkey)...he was more attached to it than I was. He cried when we left, which made me cry, which was a messy ordeal all around. I'm so, so, so, so happy we did Habitat. WE GAVE THIS WOMAN A HOUSE. TO LIVE IN. WHEN SHE HAD BARELY BEEN LIVING IN A SHACK.
WOW.
Okay. So now we're in Plettenberg Bay, scheduled to leave tomorrow morning. Bungee jumped yesterday off the highest bridge jump in the world. Have a sweatshirt and photos!
Went to a monkey sanctuary today and was peed on by a gibbon.
Sang When You're Good To Mama with Kael.
Must leave.
THEATRE FESTIVAL NEXT.
<3
Love you all.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Stellenbosch
So. I'll document what we've done most recently, and then go back.
We arrived in Stellenbosch on Tuesday. The weather has been terrible (they say the worst storm in years) so we haven't been able to mix the cement to actually build anything. We met the homeowner, though; she's a really sweet woman named Notemba with a 4 year old son. We've spent a lot of time playing with the kids of the township (which is called Mfuleni)...they love cameras and soccer and dancing. It's amazing how we can get through the language barrier with things like that. There are maybe two kids that speak English whom I've met (there are more adults who can) AND Xhosa AND Afrikaans. CRAZY. I keep thinking about how much I wish that Americans were required to learn languages as kids, but then everything's in English anyways so it would more often than not wear off when they're older.
So this is exciting: we have houses, and house points. Like in Harry Potter. I'm in House 1, with two leaders - Jean Luc and Jason. Brothers, South African, in university. Beautiful. :D My group is the group they stuck all the vegetarians in, funnily enough. There are three South African girls, Sarah, Kelly, and Tasha, who attend Stellenbosch University, Mykaila, a British woman named Fiona (with whom I've already had an intense discussion on religion and Buddhism), a British man named John, a South African guy named Jovi (like Bon Jovi; I thought of Hannah B, Abby, and Allison B), and a new South African woman whose name I haven't learned yet.
We steal each others' flags. I haven't seen our flag since the first hour or so we had it. We're in possession House #2's flag now I think.
Okay. I'll go back to Monday. On Monday we went to the orphanage. It was moving. Some people took the experience really hard, some not so much. Some people felt angry. Lori sat us down during class on Tuesday and asked us how we felt about it. Meh. I'm not a huge fan of having a therapist on the trip. Nothing against her, she's a wonderful woman...I just think I'm better off without all these questions. Anyway. The woman who started the orphanage, Rosie, was super sweet. She told us her story, about how she didn't have enough money to feed her own kids when she found a baby on her porch, took it in, and fed it as well. The police found her soon after, giving her another baby who needed a home because they'd heard that she took in babies. Thus. An orphanage was started. There is a house for AIDS and TB patients, which was scary. I couldn't spend a lot of time in there. Also, I was sick at the time, and I didn't want to make anyone there any worse. There is a daycare for kids with parents, and a school. There's a house for babies! We got to hold the babies...they were from 0-3 years I think. Super duper sweet. Mykaila especially bonded with one. There was a special room, with like a mail slot for babies. Mothers who want to abandon their babies would stick the baby through the slot and it would land in a little carriage and everything, and there is a sensor that would tell them immediately that there's a baby in there. So the baby wouldn't end up on the side of the road.
Okay. Yeah. Also there was a little drum session of all the kids, and it was beautiful. A little boy came running up to me and tugged on my sweatshirt, holding out his arms to be picked up. I picked him up and we danced and took photos. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.
Mykaila mentioned that she met a boy during the drum session that was 15, her age, and until recently, my age. It blew my mind. How is it even fair that he was born in to those circumstances and we were born into ours? I wish I wish I wish I wish I could take him into my family...I wish I could take all of them...how did things even get this bad?
After the orphanage, we drove back in this taxi called the Boogie Bus. It was my FAVORITE CAR IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. It's literally a VW bus decorated to be a party bus. The driver was working on getting his liqour license so it would be a party bus in time for the 2010 World Cup which is going to take place in South Africa. Amazing.
I wrote some postcards. Need to journal. I've been drawing lots. I'm glad I brought my sketchpad.
Thinking out things for the mural...except I don't think I should think about it. I THINK ABOUT LOTS.
It's freezing here. Like 40. EW. I wonder what it's like at home.
We're for sure going to be building and mixing cement tomorrow. Exciting!
Okay, I have to get to bed, even though it's only 8 pm. I'm exhausted.
Love!
We arrived in Stellenbosch on Tuesday. The weather has been terrible (they say the worst storm in years) so we haven't been able to mix the cement to actually build anything. We met the homeowner, though; she's a really sweet woman named Notemba with a 4 year old son. We've spent a lot of time playing with the kids of the township (which is called Mfuleni)...they love cameras and soccer and dancing. It's amazing how we can get through the language barrier with things like that. There are maybe two kids that speak English whom I've met (there are more adults who can) AND Xhosa AND Afrikaans. CRAZY. I keep thinking about how much I wish that Americans were required to learn languages as kids, but then everything's in English anyways so it would more often than not wear off when they're older.
So this is exciting: we have houses, and house points. Like in Harry Potter. I'm in House 1, with two leaders - Jean Luc and Jason. Brothers, South African, in university. Beautiful. :D My group is the group they stuck all the vegetarians in, funnily enough. There are three South African girls, Sarah, Kelly, and Tasha, who attend Stellenbosch University, Mykaila, a British woman named Fiona (with whom I've already had an intense discussion on religion and Buddhism), a British man named John, a South African guy named Jovi (like Bon Jovi; I thought of Hannah B, Abby, and Allison B), and a new South African woman whose name I haven't learned yet.
We steal each others' flags. I haven't seen our flag since the first hour or so we had it. We're in possession House #2's flag now I think.
Okay. I'll go back to Monday. On Monday we went to the orphanage. It was moving. Some people took the experience really hard, some not so much. Some people felt angry. Lori sat us down during class on Tuesday and asked us how we felt about it. Meh. I'm not a huge fan of having a therapist on the trip. Nothing against her, she's a wonderful woman...I just think I'm better off without all these questions. Anyway. The woman who started the orphanage, Rosie, was super sweet. She told us her story, about how she didn't have enough money to feed her own kids when she found a baby on her porch, took it in, and fed it as well. The police found her soon after, giving her another baby who needed a home because they'd heard that she took in babies. Thus. An orphanage was started. There is a house for AIDS and TB patients, which was scary. I couldn't spend a lot of time in there. Also, I was sick at the time, and I didn't want to make anyone there any worse. There is a daycare for kids with parents, and a school. There's a house for babies! We got to hold the babies...they were from 0-3 years I think. Super duper sweet. Mykaila especially bonded with one. There was a special room, with like a mail slot for babies. Mothers who want to abandon their babies would stick the baby through the slot and it would land in a little carriage and everything, and there is a sensor that would tell them immediately that there's a baby in there. So the baby wouldn't end up on the side of the road.
Okay. Yeah. Also there was a little drum session of all the kids, and it was beautiful. A little boy came running up to me and tugged on my sweatshirt, holding out his arms to be picked up. I picked him up and we danced and took photos. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.
Mykaila mentioned that she met a boy during the drum session that was 15, her age, and until recently, my age. It blew my mind. How is it even fair that he was born in to those circumstances and we were born into ours? I wish I wish I wish I wish I could take him into my family...I wish I could take all of them...how did things even get this bad?
After the orphanage, we drove back in this taxi called the Boogie Bus. It was my FAVORITE CAR IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. It's literally a VW bus decorated to be a party bus. The driver was working on getting his liqour license so it would be a party bus in time for the 2010 World Cup which is going to take place in South Africa. Amazing.
I wrote some postcards. Need to journal. I've been drawing lots. I'm glad I brought my sketchpad.
Thinking out things for the mural...except I don't think I should think about it. I THINK ABOUT LOTS.
It's freezing here. Like 40. EW. I wonder what it's like at home.
We're for sure going to be building and mixing cement tomorrow. Exciting!
Okay, I have to get to bed, even though it's only 8 pm. I'm exhausted.
Love!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Cape Town!
Wow. That flight was possibly the longest flight I've ever been on. No joke. 5 hours to Atlanta from SeaTac (we were at SeaTac at 4 am btw), 8ish hours to Dakar, Senagal, and 8ish hours from Dakar to Cape Town. Maybe it just feels like a long time because I kept waking up and falling back asleep every few minutes.
Segall (Mr.) had to take the 7 am flight to Atlanta, but met the rest of us there. ALSO. A guy from New York going to Wheaton joined us, too. That makes two boys and...a lot of girls. I have yet to learn everyone's names, but it's only a day in. They'll come in time.
Got into Cape Town at around 4:20 SA time, exchanged monies, and headed to the hostel.
"The Backpack." It's chilly but lovely. They made dinner for us on our first night, thank God, because we finished grocery shopping at around 8 pm and it would be unfortunate to be awake for a whole lot longer. Except...I'm up now...so...anyway.
Tomorrow we go to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Mykaila, Segall, and I get up at 7:30 or so to make breakfast for everyone, and then we head off!
I'm excited. I'm still in a daze; this feels like a big dream and I'm going to wake up any minute. But an exciting dream, nonetheless.
I'll have more to say when something actually happens. Until then.
Love.
Segall (Mr.) had to take the 7 am flight to Atlanta, but met the rest of us there. ALSO. A guy from New York going to Wheaton joined us, too. That makes two boys and...a lot of girls. I have yet to learn everyone's names, but it's only a day in. They'll come in time.
Got into Cape Town at around 4:20 SA time, exchanged monies, and headed to the hostel.
"The Backpack." It's chilly but lovely. They made dinner for us on our first night, thank God, because we finished grocery shopping at around 8 pm and it would be unfortunate to be awake for a whole lot longer. Except...I'm up now...so...anyway.
Tomorrow we go to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Mykaila, Segall, and I get up at 7:30 or so to make breakfast for everyone, and then we head off!
I'm excited. I'm still in a daze; this feels like a big dream and I'm going to wake up any minute. But an exciting dream, nonetheless.
I'll have more to say when something actually happens. Until then.
Love.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
no sleep.
I leave for 26 days in...4 hours and 8 minutes. Technically to Atlanta, and then Cape Town.
But you get the idea.
This is insane. I guess it didn't REALLY hit me until a few hours ago that I'd be going, I wasn't actually able to say "yes, I'm excited" and mean it absolutely fully. Because I think the key to this true excitement business is anticipation, and a bit of nerves, both of which I have plenty of. Oh, and a healthy amount of...adventure. That sounds lame when I say it, it really does, but I was thinking that I'm not going to get anywhere or have any fun whatsoever if I'm not looking forward to/expecting it.
So I need:
1) Indiana Jones attitude
2) Nerves
3) Some independence
Also, I don't know what I got so nervous about. I've traveled for more than a fourth of my life. I should be a guru. But you know. Not yet.
Anyway. I'm expecting to come back changed. In a good way, though. Shelby A was talking about how it's a life-changing experience and how we'll have a blast. I totally believe it. I'm sure it'll be fabulous. Not to mention...the people we'll help.
Okay. I'm packed. I'm awake. I have everything. I'm chill.
Love.
But you get the idea.
This is insane. I guess it didn't REALLY hit me until a few hours ago that I'd be going, I wasn't actually able to say "yes, I'm excited" and mean it absolutely fully. Because I think the key to this true excitement business is anticipation, and a bit of nerves, both of which I have plenty of. Oh, and a healthy amount of...adventure. That sounds lame when I say it, it really does, but I was thinking that I'm not going to get anywhere or have any fun whatsoever if I'm not looking forward to/expecting it.
So I need:
1) Indiana Jones attitude
2) Nerves
3) Some independence
Also, I don't know what I got so nervous about. I've traveled for more than a fourth of my life. I should be a guru. But you know. Not yet.
Anyway. I'm expecting to come back changed. In a good way, though. Shelby A was talking about how it's a life-changing experience and how we'll have a blast. I totally believe it. I'm sure it'll be fabulous. Not to mention...the people we'll help.
Okay. I'm packed. I'm awake. I have everything. I'm chill.
Love.
Monday, June 15, 2009
pack pack pack unpack pack
I'm super paranoid I won't have everything I need.
I'm sure we have everything...
Hmmmmmm.
Thank God for tiny sleeping bags.
+/- 38 hours until departure.
NEXT WEEKEND I'LL BE IN SOUTH AFRICA. WELL ON MY WAY.
GOODNESS GRACIOUS.
Love.
I'm sure we have everything...
Hmmmmmm.
Thank God for tiny sleeping bags.
+/- 38 hours until departure.
NEXT WEEKEND I'LL BE IN SOUTH AFRICA. WELL ON MY WAY.
GOODNESS GRACIOUS.
Love.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
encontrando
So I'm following Mykaila's example and documenting my South Africa experience via blog so friends and family can read about it. When I don't have internet access, I'll write, sketch, whatever, in my notebook and later transfer to here.
So. Yeah. 4 days and counting.
I'll keep you posted.
So. Yeah. 4 days and counting.
I'll keep you posted.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
