Care Packages!

I didn't think that in the year 2009, I would be far enough away that a package would take over three weeks to arrive, but it did. I've been anxiously awaiting gifts for quite a while now, and I was starting to worry that they'd never arrive.

First, I had absolutely no idea that Rachael was sending me anything. When it arrived last week, I though that my package from Lyndsey, Lucy, and Matt had come in good time (nope). It was such a great surprise, Rach! And the gifts... simply Steller!

I cheated and looked at the customs form before opening it. "Four food items", I was skeptical. What I found, though, I could not even prepare myself for. Rachael sent:

1. Corned Beef Hash. omg, I've been missing this so much. I just want Hormel in the morning.  I'm afraid to make it, because I'll go back to not having any.
   
2. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. They essentially have no American candy here, except Mentos and Skittles. I love Reese's so much. They were a bit melted, but I put them in the freezer to pop when it gets hot. My Flying Dutchman roommate, Mick, and our friend Siya, who is South African, both had their very first peanut butter cup. They loved 'em.
3. Hamburger Helper. Okay, even though it was generic brand, they don't have it here, and if you know me, you know I love beef stroganoff. She also sent Cheeseburger kind. Woah.

Rachael, I should say that I ate the Stroganoff the next day last week, when I was so sick. It probably wasn't all that healthy, but it made me feel immensely better, having the familiarity.

Okay, and today, finally, the package from Lyndsey, Lucy, and Matt arrived. The contents were awesome.

1. A stuffed animal, er, insect. They sent me a (handmade?) stuffed cockroach, which actually had a very neat story attached to it.  Its name is Tia, because when it got here it yelled "This is Africa!"  Hopefully now I'll be able to reconcile some of the hatred that I've developed toward the roaches in the house. (By the way, I haven't seen many in while, thankfully).
   
2. Hemp necklace and anklet. Thank you Lyndsey for remaking it. The lengths were perfect, and Kara helped me put them on.  I've got them on in the above picture.  We used the extra hemp strings and made bracelets for everyone in the house, for Arnold Street love.  Everyone has one now.
   
3. The Office episodes.  Three of the more recent episodes that I missed. Dope.
4. Other neat artifacts. Letters, music, inside jokes.

Anyway, just wanted to thank you guys very much! I leave you with a photo of my Dutch roommate, Goldmember, delving into his first peanut butter cup EVER!  He first remarked that there was something dry in the middle (peanut butter).  The joys of trying new things.

Volunteering in Khayelitsha

I began my volunteering with SHAWCO today. I've started a bit later than everyone else, because I'm working on a newer, special program. I'll explain that in a bit. Other UCT students are on their third or so week of volunteering, and I've been anxiously waiting to start, but now I have.

A little background: SHAWCO is UCT's main volunteering program. Established in the 1950's by a student, they recruit medical students to offer health services in many of the townships, and also have other students work in the education sector with younger students after school (Math, Chem, Arts, Sports, Environmental Studies, Biology, etc). I've been told that SHAWCO is the largest student run nonprofit on the continent. That is neat. And they operate in several different townships.

SHAWCO center in Kensington.

I will be working in Khayelitsha, Cape Town's largest township. It means "Our New Home" in Xhosa, which is ironic, because much of it, by most standards, can scarcely be referred to as a home. Despite this, its wooden and tin sheeted make-shift shacks have come to house somewhere between 500,000 to 1.5 million people, they aren't really sure. It is important to note that most townships in South Africa are not just the "result" of poverty. Rather, black and coloured South Africans were removed in the 1950's-70's from their homes, after most portions of large cities were simply declared whites only areas. And just like that, they were removed and dumped in townships.

Khayelitsha was established by the government in 1985 to provide 'legal and formal' housing for blacks, most of which were unsettled after the forced removals. Apartheid has since ended, but its effects are staggering and still remain. Here is a recent article about Khayelitsha from the Associated Press, if anyone is interested.

The organization was introduced to me like this. "Welcome to SHAWCO! Out there, in the real Cape Town, our public schools are failing. They are failing the children that need them, and we need you to help." And so, almost all of the eight hundred UCT volunteers work directly with students aged 6-18, most (I believe) with elementary and middle school students. I didn't go that route though.

In Khayelitsha, it is estimated that the unemployment rate is between 50-60%. This is where my program comes in. It is called Masizikhulise, and means "Let us grow together." It focuses on entrepreneurship, employment search, and overcoming obstacles to employment. Specifically, I'm working with adults ages 18-35 on employment search skills, and leading classes on how to find a job, create a resumé, write a cover letter, and how to interview. I chose it because of my skill set from being a manager the last two years, and I also think I'll be able to do more practical good by working with adults.

A different township on the way out of town.

So yes, SHAWCO does a lot of good and has a massive operation, but as a result, they aren't terribly organized. I got on the bus to volunteer today (every Wednesday) with the other guy from my project, arrived at our center, and just walked around looking for a woman named Nosisi for our next instructions (which took a while before we were given an area to work in). And good thing I have experience in this field! They hand you a lesson plan and an agenda, and you're just supposed to go over it. Luckily, I've got a fair amount of experience when it comes to interviewing, cover letters, applications, and resumés (but a lot to learn about South African job markets). The other guy was much less comfortable, I think.

It was a good session though. We had 8 people to work with, from ages 19-28 today. Some had a few kids, some had previous jobs. Others got up to grade 11 or so, never graduated from high school, and thus haven't had a job in years. I just don't know how you get along like that. I think they liked me though. I especially enjoyed it when a woman turned to me and started speaking in Xhosa. I said with a smile, "I honestly didn't think it necessary to say, but I don't speak Xhosa. Maybe I should make an announcement?" She laughed, and apologized. Then I said she could keep speaking to me, I'd just try my best... but we agreed on English.

We turned to the classifieds though, and damn, it is bleak! The jobs section in one of the papers literally had 5 jobs in the whole province. This in contrast to the "work wanted" that had dozens and dozens of people that placed ads asking for work. It would say "Looking for a job. 30 years old, strong, good health, hard worker" with a cell phone number if you had work for them. I think we're going to have to find other methods for finding jobs! I'll have to do some research before next Wednesday. Sorry for writing so much.

From Nyanga township.

Trying to beat the heat

The last few days have been scorchers! The temperature has been above 90ºF every day, if not at 100º. I keep finding myself very sweaty from just walking around Obz or campus, which isn't very pleasant. It is actually nice to have all the sun most of the day, but getting to sleep at night has been difficult.  It is now March, so the temperature should start to get more moderate soon.

With the arrival of the weekend, we got a lot of pool time. We've found ourselves getting more creative, and put lawn furniture in the pool to have underwater parties. I was hoping for my scuba gear.

Kara was having a bit of difficulty with her underwater comfort level, as you can see. I also mentioned that I would be going diving on Saturday. We went to Long Beach at Simonstown. It was a gorgeous day, warm, and the water was perfect. I didn't realize at first, but the beach is near the naval base, so you can see ships docked that belong to South Africa's navy. Here are some photos of the bay and my very heavy dive gear after the first dive.

Long Beach, the dive site.

We actually did two dives, which went great. I did some skills tests, and also just some swimming around at about 15 feet depth. We found some smaller kelp forests and a small boat wreck that sunk. Nothing amazing, though.

And yes, I did bring back the mustache. It wasn't for any particular reason, but I suppose I could offer some options.  You decide:

1. For a change of pace this week. 
2. To look more intimidating the next time the burglar comes back.
3. Lyndsey said my mustache was outta control in my last scuba photo.  Had to fix that.
4. Kara encouraged it.
5. I wanted to scare all the other UCT students, that have surely never seen as American of a mustache as mine.
6. To continue to rub it in everyones faces (especially Kyle, David, and Eric) that my mustache is far superior.
   
7. I'm entering a lekker sleaze contest soon.

Actually, they are all true except number seven.  In other news, Daylight Savings Time has begun in the US. The time doesn't change here, but I really like that it has changed at home. Instead of being eight hours apart it is now just seven, and oddly enough, that matters. There is something very psychological about the time difference that makes me feel so much further away.  The limited 'awake overlap' is frustrating at times.  Even an hour less has me feeling closer to home. It means that Wisconsin will be starting their days earlier in the afternoon for me, I'm not sure why I care, I just don't like wanting to call and having to wait until like 6pm so as not to bother someone too early in the morning.

Lastly, I have gotten sick. I'm not sure what it is from, maybe once the temperature dropped after the heat wave left, but I've got some head cold and was up all night with a very sore throat and the such. I need Advil, I don't like the "Compral" that they sell here. I'd rather take acetaminophen than this 'paracetamol' mixed with aspirin and caffeine. I don't even know what paracetamol is.

Scenes of Stellenbosch Wine Vineyards

Wow! It's been a pretty long, terrible week filled with stresses and homework. I haven't been able to blog about something great that I did last week, so I wanted to talk about it and show pictures before I get behind.

Last week Friday, I took part in a tour of a few wine farms here in the Western Cape. South Africa is famous for its different wines, and you can't really stay here without checking out one of the major wine areas. We went to Stellenbosch. It is a nearby city, but also an area that consists of 136 completely separate wine estates. So, yes, there were lots of options.

We got picked up on Friday by a freelance tour guide that Brittany had been working with. We ended up visiting five different estates: Hoopenburg, Kanonkop, Tokara, Thelema, and Bilton. Each had very different feels to them, different sizes, etc. I should say that I've never been a fan of wine. I went more for the experience and the sights than anything else. Beyond this, though, I reinforced the fact that I prefer white wine to red, and I'll get Malaria before I drink a Shiraz again (which may actually be likely). In fact, I think my favorite part of Friday was eating wine grapes, which are so delicious.

After tasting over 15 different wines at 4 farms on Friday, and not really being wild about any of them (but enjoying a few), I was pretty much done with it. I also found that I much preferred the smaller farms, like the first one, Hoopenburg. It had one young winemaker, and we got a tour from the marketing director. They had a fairly small operation, but it was intimate, unique, and the focus was actually on being excited about wine instead of being pompous or rich, and talking about how 'this wine is named after our colonial great-grandfather'. But ya, Hoopenburg was great.

That was in contrast to Kanonkop, a much older estate, where I wanted to hit the woman upside the head with her own Cabernet Sauvignon. As she spoke condescendingly toward me, I imagined her hair flying to the side as she shouted "Ohhh no! I've been smashed in my rich, arrogant head with my own wine bottle! Whatever will I do?" I would smile and walk out, leaving her to pick up the pieces of her sick pepper cheese and rude tone. Despite her, the other two were quite nice and fun to see. At a few places we were able to enter the cellars and see all the barrels. Dope.

On Friday night we went back to Stellenbosch, the actual city at the center of all this. It struck me as very much like Door County in Wisconsin. Very chill, quiet, and had lots of tourist shops. It is comprised, it seemed, of mostly white Afrikaans speaking peeps, because the people walking around were a bit homogeneous and many of the municipal signs and business markers were first in Afrikaans, then in English occasionally. We stayed at a backpacker's hostel, which wasn't the best, but it was nice. We had our own room, and it was not very far from everything. You also can't beat $9 per person for a night.

In the morning, we had breakfast and headed to one last wine estate, Bilton. We did a wine and chocolate tasting at this point, and I actually really enjoyed it. I was wowed by their Sauvignon Blanc, so I bought two bottles (only like $4-5 per bottle when direct from the farm). I carried on drinking other people's wine at the table, and was having a great time until the owner or some old man landed two helicopters on the front lawn. It was blowing all types of stuff into the restaurant, and I began feeling irritated and disconnected from the real Cape Town. It must be nice to own a wine estate.

Anyway, here are the rest of the photos from the day. Only about 20 of my favorites, nothing too extensive. You'll even come across a photo of the helicopter man. And if you're in the mood to really get a sense of some of the views, the farms, and even a fancy schmancy lobby, see below for some panoramas.



Panoramas:

Hoopenburg Lobby (loved this place)

A view of the Kanonkop Grape Vineyards

Lots of wine barrels! These things are expensive, and usually imported.

Tokara Vineyards. The most beautiful place, olive trees on top.

Tomorrow I will be doing my first actual SCUBA dive in the ocean, and I'm stoked. Perhaps more exciting, even, is that I begin volunteering in Khayelitsha township this week. I will be blogging about it when I can. It's been great getting messages from you all!

Crime Hits Arnold Street... at my bedroom!

It was only a matter of time, really. I hadn't suspected, though, that of all 8 bedrooms and areas of our house, my bedroom would be the one that somebody tries to rob. My luck, I suppose.

So here's the story. I was sitting in my bedroom tonight, with the lights off, quietly watching a movie on my laptop. It was Poseidon (don't ask, I get bored, alright?). It was nearing the climax where the big wave is about to hit the ship when I heard the front gate open/clammer a bit, which is normal, since I live in the front bedroom. About 30 seconds later, though, I realized that I hadn't heard the gate on the front door, or the door itself. This piqued my interest a bit, so I turned down the movie. It should also be mentioned that I had one of my windows that faces the front yard open (Africa is hot), and I've started to keep blankets over them to keep the sun out (and bright). I then heard the grass rustle, and as I got up to investigate, heard my window move a bit. I quietly walked across the creaky hardwood floor to the locked side of the window, and pulled the curtains back. At first I didn't see anything, but upon looking further, saw a man about 3 feet from me, on the other side of the window I was peering through, crouching down with his hand inside my window.

I quickly yelled "Hey!" He calmly removed his hand, stood up, and began walking away. I moved to the open window he was at and yelled "Get the fuck outta here! And don't come back, we've got an alarm."

As he walked out, he kindly closed the gate behind him, and I still don't know how it got opened. I took a look at what he was wearing, and called the police. Remember, it's not 911, but 10111 here. I'm glad I remembered. To my contentment, the dispatcher struggled with my accent, but we worked through it. I gave them a description, and went to Kara to tell her. She's had her bedroom window closed every night for the last month, for fear of burglars. Ironically, about an hour earlier Mick and I convinced her that she had little to worry about, so she opened it for the first time. I told her about the incident, and upset, she closed it.

After a few minutes and no police, I figured I'd test my panic remote since the security company should probably be notified as well. It works! It took the police about 8 minutes to arrive, and our armed security response company about 4-5. The officer gave me the cell phone of the patrol vehicle in Observatory, since a direct call to them when there is a crime is much more effective (odd). Both parties said they'd look for the black male with a red knit cap and a green soccer shirt/jersey. Blog readers, please also be on the lookout. He wouldn't have gotten anything, though, since I don't keep anything near my window except a constantly locked closet. And we have bars to keep him out.

Then I finished watching Poseidon, which was a crime in itself. Just an excruciating and terrible movie. I'm more upset with Kurt Russell than the burglar tonight.

On a slightly unrelated topic, but related to the police, the following sign was posted on our fridge by the rental company:

I don't know much about the South African constitution, but that wouldn't fly in the US. I asked our landlord for more information, and apparently this happened in the next neighborhood down (Woodstock) last week.

The police come at like 3am and cordon off an entire city block, then proceed to search everyone's houses. And yes, they do have a warrant, apparently, to search the houses. I asked "for what?" The response: just to search. No mention of why.

They are looking for thieves and drug dealers, I hear, but that doesn't make me trust them any more. Or anybody else on Arnold Street for that matter. But hey, it was not a very big incident.

I'm getting SCUBA Certified!

Over the last week and a half or so, I've been working toward getting my Open Water SCUBA certification, so I can dive here in Cape Town, and maybe some other places as I figure out travel plans throughout the semester.

I first read a 250 page book to prepare for my written test. I guess I didn't realize how much is involved with diving. Like, I knew that there were pressure differences, and issues that could arise with air expansion in your lungs, something called the bends, and lots of equipment strapped to you. Well I'm proud to say that I know all that stuff now.

I took my test, passed, which put me today in line for my confined water dives (in a pool). I wish we could have done them in my backyard (which is where they used to happen, not anymore) so we drove somewhere.

Gearing up.

It is a very cool feeling to be underwater for an extended period of time while breathing without surfacing. I mean... it is an odd concept, that people somehow managed to invent enough safe equipment to put you underwater... rip roarin' to go at the bottom. (which is me below)

I'm happier than I look.
It is difficult to show emotion underwater with a regulator in your mouth.

We did tests from like 11am to 4pm, so we got a lot of pool time. You do tests like how to replace and clear your mask if comes off underwater, you're still able to breathe from the regulator (mouthpiece) for a minute, then replace the mask. Or if you lose your regulator and it becomes filled with water, you need to recover it from behind you and clear it of water. We also worked on out-of-air situations, breathing from the alternate regulator on a buddy's gear, removing and replacing a weight belt underwater (they're heavy), removing and replacing your tank and gear underwater, a controlled emergency swimming ascent in case of emergency, and also how to control your buoyancy with the inflatable vest that you're wearing. That was just some of it, but it was a ton of fun! I've heard of people saying that it was very weird at first, like you don't want to trust the air, but I didn't really have that happen. After all the reading I did, it felt very normal.

The pool we used.

Now that I finished all of those confined water tests, I will do four open water dives in the ocean over the next two weekends, and then I'll be officially certified. Other perks include that the certification lasts a lifetime, it's international, and I'll be cleared to go down to 60 ft. underwater, so I'm stoked. I also joined the Underwater Club at UCT, and they've got a full gear setup for cheap rentals, and they also organize local dives on most weekends. I hope to get involved there and stay busy.

My Obzside dive instructors.
From left: Sean (also my landlord), Richard, and John.

Thanks, all, for continuing to read my blog. I'm now a month into my stay, and I'm still loving this place. It was around 100 degrees today, so being in the pool all day was very refreshing. I'm trying to keep up with the blogging, hoping to share my experiences and stay in touch with you all. Miss you!

Note: No comment about how out of control my mustache is in the first photo. No comment.

6 x 7s - A Unique UCT Tradition

Last week, I was lucky enough to witness an old, annual UCT tradition. The six by sevens. Now, I suppose I'll just start from the beginning.

I was in a small group discussing something in my Traditional Religion course, when a girl asked "What are you doing today around 4-5pm?" I asked why. She explained that the six by sevens would be happening today. Here is the premise as it was described to me:

Lots of students get together on the cricket field, say 150 or so. They each bring a six pack of beer, and will start doing laps around the field. After each lap, you take a break and drink a can of beer. Thus... after seven laps, you've had six beers. I don't think many people actually get to the seventh lap. The other part of the event is that most people have also drank some color of food dye, and many are also dressed pretty random.

The result: around the fourth lap people start puking funny colors. And the point of the game is to puke on other people. So you end up getting very drunk people chasing one another puking everywhere. My mouth stood open when she finished telling me what would happen. "I have to see this," I thought. So I went home and got my camera.

When we arrived, I started seeing all the costumes, which were matching for some of the 'teams'. And what ensued was not very much more complicated than what was described to me, with a few exceptions. It was surprisingly well run, and college debauchery at its finest. Something that would certainly not be allowed on UW's campus.

Campus security was there, but only to make sure things went well. They said last year it was not allowed, and consisted of people running around the field, drinking, being chased and tackled by security (perhaps more fun). Also, remember that the word here is "chunder", spoken chun-dah. . As in: Bru! You just chundered all over my back! (which happened a lot). There were even cases of people spinning one another, or ganging up as a group and chundering on one person.

Lots of observers.

It must be a white student's tradition, because everyone was white (and blue, I guess). I'm still trying to figure out the race relations at the university, and in general I suppose, so it is one of the first things I notice. There was also a troop of 12 guys in diapers, although from speaking to some people I found out that they are called the dummies, and are some elite group that you have to be invited into. They had a full marching routine with chants and everything, it was impressive.

The dummies.

If you'd like to see the full scene, click on the title image up top. Otherwise, I feel like the rest of the story would be best told through photos: