day #15

grahamstown has been quite a busy and eye-opening leg of our adventure. each day we've had at least two meetings with local ngos, lectures at the acclaimed rhodes university, or other cultural engagements. we played the tourist at addo elephant national park, where we saw buffalo, warthogs, kudu, springboks, herons, zebras, several herds of elephants at the watering hole, and many aggressive and snap-happy tourists. on the drive back we saw monkeys on the side of the road and giraffes in a neighboring reserve. we've spent some time in the township lovingly referred to as "grahamstown east," which houses a growing and historically black population. we've been brought there by various educators, social workers and ngo employees all with great intentions. however, 15 white tourists hopping off a bus and into a tin shack to ask sensitive health questions of a single 14-year-old girl just doesn't seem fair. we have had to learn the hard way that the data we rely on regarding hiv/aids (and nearly everything else) comes from face-to-face research that sometimes seems injust. the disparity of white (and/or american) privilege has never been clearer.

one notable day came from visiting the keiskamma trust, located in a house in a rural community on the eastern cape called hamburg. a middle-aged white artist and doctor decided to open a multi-layered clinic a few years ago. she spoke to us about her vision of just connecting people from around the world. her ngo provides health care for those in the area, including life-saving antiretroviral treatment for hiv-positive individuals with cd4 counts below 200, as well as community-building and income-generating skills training such as embroidery, beadwork, capoeira, and painting. the art group created an altarpiece currently on display in the u.s.- i think it is in d.c. right now if you get the chance to check it out- and has a variety of other impressive projects in the work. we presented about half of goucher's peace tiles to this ngo with hopes that they will create peace tiles of their own at some point.

another high point was visiting the international library of african music at rhodes. the curator is a third-generation ethnomusicologist and musician who gave us an interactive demonstration with his antique collection. we had a little marimba lesson and got to play kudu horns, pan pipe-type whistles, and drums.

we've also interacted with quite a few schools while in the eastern cape. we listened to the absolutely lovely primary school choir at samuel ntsiko school (founded in 1855...30 years before goucher!) in the township. we then had a ridiculously warm welcome at a combined school in kenton-on-sea. the principal and councilor spoke, a group of "mamas" (mostly grandmothers) did traditional dance and song for us, and again the school choir sang. it was such an honor. we were then sent in groups of two to different classrooms and left there for a half-hour. i'm not sure what we were supposed to do, but my good friend laura & i introduced ourselves to the 11th-graders, asked them a few questions, and then spoke informally in small groups and played around with our digital cameras. i hope to host a calculator drive for that school next semester. this morning we went to a school for street children, many of whom have psychosocial problems as a result of extreme poverty and neglect. we had a great time listening to them sing, play marimbas and chat. apparently there was a minor stabbing while we were there (we did cause a major disruption of routine), but other than that all went well.

i have been staying with two classmates of mine in a middle-class home just across from the sprawling township. our host mother wendy is absurdly friendly and jovial. she works as a high school principal some 55 km away. her three sons drift in and out of the house. we've only had real conversations with her youngest, who is 15 and goes by "scissors." it has been great bonding with my classmates and really getting to know our professors. i must say, this trip would be completely different if we didn't get along so well. i can't believe that in a week's time we will arrive in snowy, frozen baltimore and resume classes! it is about 25 degrees celsius here right now and i am roasting... the only remnants of summer when we return will be our atrocious sunburns and fading tans.

this afternoon i have a one-on-one meeting with a journalism professor at rhodes university, to discuss the impact of print media in the struggle against hiv/aids (my topic of research here). we also have a group lecture from a language professor who is rumored to be hilarious. tomorrow we fly from port elizabeth to durban and then head directly to our rural homestays in kwazulu natal. that should be quite the experience as i am not sure we have electricity or running water. after that we spend two days in durban, meet with another ngo, and then have a looooong journey back to baltimore (via dakar). wish me luck getting re-adjusted to school!

grahamstown

i am in the small eastern cape town of grahamstown. internet access here is very limited as i am staying with a family. our host mom is awesome and i'm learning a lot. i've seen lots of wildlife but really, just never-ending poverty. i've got to be brief but all is well. we are heading to durban and rural kwazulu-natal soon.

the mother city- day #7

i am thoroughly enjoying the fans blowing cool air towards me as i sit in a bright red internet cafe in cape town, the "mother city" of south africa. what a contrast from jo'burg. while the drizzle and grey skies got the best of us in johannesburg, i feel that the city has a much more industrial and downtrodden vibe to it. cape town has been hot (91 degrees) and sunny, as well as more geared towards tourists. our vehicle is even more ridiculous than the first- it's a huge blue charter bus with a driver named "gladman." we are staying at a lovely b&b guesthouse about two blocks from the water (that is, the atlantic ocean warmed from indian ocean currents coming from the east side of the cape) in the suburb of muizenberg. we spent the first afternoon lounging on the beach and, after less than an hour outside, most of us were lobster-red. i've heard that the african sun beats down harder, and that brief foray into cape beach life justified that claim. my feet, ankles, arms, nose, neck and chest are still rosy despite layers of aloe and sunblock.

yesterday we played tourists as we went to table mountain, a huge plateaued peak in the drakensburg (sp?) mountains that overlooks the city of cape town. we took a rather frightening cable car ride up to the top and had two hours to roam around. from there, we could see nearly the entire metropolitan area, including the gleaming harbor, robben island, a cluster of skyscrapers, residential areas, and more mountains. it was awesome. after that we headed to the kirstenbosch botanical gardens, a staple of the former dutch colony. the ethnic make-up of the gardens (as well as cape town and the western cape province as a whole) was noticeably different from the rest of the country- ie. nearly every single person there was white. after taking a stroll around the gardens with some friends, we headed to the ampitheatre nestled between the mountains and the garden to hear the apparently iconic afrikaner punk group "fokofpolisiekar" (if you pronounce this phonetically you will figure out the translation). the audience was extremely subdued- there were plenty of young families picnicing, older couples lounging, and of course a few preteens in nofx t-shirts too. it was probably the least punk punk show i've ever been to. the bass player was wearing a short-sleeved white cardigan, for goodness sakes! but it was lovely and odd.

this morning we met with one of the nation's leading aids researchers, doctor linda-gail bekker of the desmond tutu hiv foundation and the university of cape town medical school. her presentation was very informative and professional, and we were lucky to have this experience! this afternoon we are meeting with the treatment action campaign (tac), one of the most influential activist groups in the world. they have really changed the face of the struggle against hiv/aids.

we are meeting with more ngos later this week, and heading to the eastern cape on thursday. we are moving quickly, learning a ton, having fun with each other, and trying to enjoy our january sunburns...

day #4

i am back at the cheap internet cafe in johannesburg, where my dear friend who got her baggage stolen is shopping for all that she lost. we have two hours to kill before we have a grand traditional meal at an all-you-can-eat meat buffet.

yesterday was moving as well as a little troubling. we visited the topsy foundation, an ngo in the rural province of mpumalanga. as we drove out of jo'burg we saw quite a few "informal settlements"- chaotic clusters of corrugated tin shanty houses linked together by potholed dirt roads. we had a meeting with some of topsy's key players, who were informative and very hospitable. their work is noble- providing medical treatment to the impoverished areas around them, where hiv prevalence can reach up to 33%. we then took a tour of the facilities, which was a little jarring. a group of fifteen extremely naive american students trooping around a tiny aids clinic must have been obnoxious. our tour guide led us into nearly all of the rooms, including a few patients' appointments. we found ourselves staring into the eyes of silent, contemplative, and obviously ill patients as they waited for care. after the tour and a brief but cheery visit with the "bead ladies" and "sewing ladies" who comprise the life skills section of topsy, we headed into our huge van and drove around some of the communities topsy serves. i don't think i've ever witnessed (or perhaps, been so immersed in) that level of poverty. none of the homes had running water or electricity, let alone any sort of permanent walls. as we drove slowly around the patchy dirt trails connecting the colorful but volatile shacks, nearly everyone we passed stared inquisitively at our vehicle. we looked pretty ridiculous, so i can see why. once we started waving and smiling, we instantly received warm but slightly cautious waves in response. the children of the community were particularly delighted to wave, although they often sheepishly retreated to their mothers or little dogs as we passed. our tour guide ushered us into the home of a granny who has watched her two young grandchildren since their mother died of aids. we took up the entire low-ceilinged, dark, cold metal room. as we boarded the bus again, we heard a group of a dozen or so women singing a resonant sotho song.

the second community we visited was slightly more developed than the first- it had a few stores and more gathering places, but no less poverty. we arrived at a topsy-supported creche (daycare) without a clear idea of what we were to see. inside the two tiny rooms sat almost fifty small children- one room contained about 25 wide-eyed toddlers, all sitting steadfastly still, while the other housed the same amount of preschool-aged children singing charmingly out of tune. i have no idea how they were so well-behaved, besides the fact that there was no room to move around. my classmate maia was clever enough to bring stickers, and we began to pass them to the children with permission from the teacher. witnessing the kids' eyes light up as we handed them dinosaurs or as they slapped little princess stickers on their foreheads was probably the most adorable thing i've ever seen. i didn't feel guilty intruding on the creche, unlike the granny in the first community, because these children seemed genuinely excited to have visitors. as we left most of them let out endearing, high-pitched shouts of "bye" and waved with two hands. that was the highlight of the day.

today we heard three lectures from academics at various south african institutions. besides the fact that we left at 7:45, endured our third straight day of rain (it's supposed to be summer here!), skipped lunch, and listened to literally hours of critiques of south african aids policies, i really enjoyed the day. i suppose that is the difference between studying abroad and simply traveling for fun. the subject matter is engaging enough that i didn't mind a bit.

we leave for cape town at 6:45 tomorrow morning. i've heard nothing but great things about it, so it should be fun!

oh and a final note: the film "yesterday" really captures the experience of what we have seen- how rural communities cope with hiv/aids. i'd recommend it.

in jo'burg

i have approx. 4 minutes before my time at the internet cafe runs out, but i just thought i'd post that i arrived safely in johannesburg last night. the flight was insanely long and my ankles were pretty swollen, but besides that (and my friend's suitcase going missing), everything was fine. we went the the thorough and well-designed apartheid museum this morning and spent the afternoon at an old prison, which is now the constitutional court. it had amazing architecture! everything is going well here so far- i hope the jet lag doesn't catch up to us too soon!

winter pause

at this point, my winter break is over and i am back at school. however, the adventure will continue as i embark on a sociology trip to south africa for three weeks— leaving tomorrow! the reality of my impending departure hasn’t yet sunk in. i trekked from seattle to baltimore today— via turbulent denver— and i am already a little sore from hauling so much stuff. i have decided to pack lightly for south africa, quite a challenge for someone who always strives to be over-prepared for virtually any situation.

winter break in shoreline kept me sufficiently busy. i tend to get restless without work to do, but it was really nice to be able to read a bit, relax at home and catch up with my family, high school friends, and many of the kids i babysit. babysitting proved to be a win-win situation for all involved— i got to play with adorable and intelligent children (which i certainly can’t do on a college campus), hopefully helped the parents enjoy a night out, and earned a little income. i was also pleasantly surprised by my high school friends, many of whom have changed a lot since they began their college careers— all in a positive manner, however. it’s odd that some of my peers have changed so dramatically and reinvented themselves, while others remain in nearly the exact place. i suppose that’s how adult life goes? i certainly feel fortunate to have access to resources which allow me to develop: a stellar education, a supportive family, work experience, the opportunity to travel… although i feel that i am aware of how lucky i am, spending three weeks with aids-affected south africans may open my eyes a bit more.

i am unsure of how much reasonably-priced internet access will present itself in south africa, but i hope to blog when possible. i wish you all the best in 2008!

attached are some photos from break.

done with the semester!

although it felt pretty anticlimactic, i finished all my work for the semester today! i fly to l.a. tomorrow morning. the semester was fairly trying, but i know next semester will be even more so because i am taking nearly all methods classes (methods of sociology, methods of anthropology, history of sociology...) and will have increased responsibilities on campus. sophomore year, i think, is everyone's peak year at goucher. everyone goes abroad junior year and returns enlightened but indifferent to the everyday trials of campus life. so i plan on plunging in head-first into work and activities next semester, while i still care about abiding by bureaucratic policies.

on a lighter note, here are some photos from the past few weeks. they include gingerbread house-making, the amazing christmas lights in a baltimore neighborhood called hampden, and my lovely roommate maura with the menorah we lit every night... happy holidays!