So this is my last post from South Africa! I can't believe how fast this trip has gone by, but at the same time, I feel like I've been away from home forever. The past two days have definitely been the most emotionally draining of the trip, and I am still processing the experiences that I've had.
I don't know if I can put my reactions to our visit to Kliptown into words. Bob (the guy from the CNN video and our host in Kliptown) is by far the most inspirational person and beautiful human being I have ever encountered in my life. He has sacrificed his entire life to stay in this community and live among the people he wants to help. I think that just about every other sentence out of his mouth was quote worthy. One of the things that he told us as soon as we got there is that feeling guilty for what we had in our lives would do no one any good...what he wanted us to do was appreciate what we had and to appreciate other human beings. He was very clear that while he appreciated our donations and charity, he wants to teach the children of Kliptown dignity and to earn what they get. As Bob said...."Sometimes things are too big...we are small people".
As soon as we got to Kliptown, we were welcomed with open arms...we had to cross train tracks to get into the community, which is basically just a bunch of tin shacks other then two community buildings that serve as a recreation center and cafeteria for the SKY program that Bob runs. We immediately had a following of small children. With huge smiles on their faces, they would just walk up to us, take our hands and say "shoot me, shoot me", meaning take my picture. Many of the kids had never seen their own picture, so with the beauty of digital cameras, we were able to show them their own smiles :). The older children and teenagers from Bob's group performed for us, singing and dancing. The afternoon ended with a lunch that they prepared for us, and about 50 members of the community walking us back to our bus. Even though Kliptown is probably the poorest and most dangerous place to live, there is a spirit of community that is inspiring.
Through dinner last night, we all talked about ways that we want to continue to help Kliptown, but more importantly, to make sure we are doing more at home as well. We are already planning a group reunion, both to socialize and to organize some projects.
Today, we visited Nelson Mandela's house and went to an open air African market. Tonight is our farewell dinner, and we are headed to a traditional African restaurant that is open only to our group....I made a pact that I would try a local delicacy, which is a dried, salted worm....we'll see how this goes!
Tomorrow is our final university visit in the morning, and then its off to the airport and back to reality. My pictures will all be posted soon....and as for the trip as a whole, I guess that all I can say is that I have a lot of appreciation for my experiences here...both the beauty that I've had an opportunity to see, and an appreciation for the people that I met in Kliptown and throughout my time here. Now its back to reality :)
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
Wild Things
After whirlwind trip through Pilanesburg, I'm in Johannesburg (also known as J'burg or Josie, so I'm told). I guess I should backtrack a bit since its been over 24 hours since my last post, and things happen in rapid time on this trip!
The Kurdish dinner was delicious. I did not get an opportunity to test out my belly dancing skills, but many of my group members did!...and there may or may not have been a Madonna dance party at the hotel after the dinner. I also made up for skipping the wine tasting with plenty of Pinotage, the local wine, at dinner.
The next morning was a 5 am wake up call to head to the airport...my roomate, Lezlie, has been using her cell phone as a back up alarm even though we get a hotel wakeup call...but its still on American time...so picture a panicked Brie waking up at 11pm American time according to the phone, and in a sleepy, still Pinotag-ed stupor, standing up and saying "Oh my God, Lez, its 7am, we missed the ride to the airport". To all the math wizzes in the group reading this, 11 + 6 (the time difference from US time) is 5am, not 7. It took her about 5 minutes to catch on as well, so I don't feel so bad. We made it downstairs and to the airport safely, and arrived in Jo'burg after lots of turbulence.
From our flight to Jo'burg, we took a 2 hour bus to Pilanesburg, where we stayed in the amazing Backabung lodge....I mean, there were baboons on our porches and zebras and elephants about 50 yards away while we ate lunch. We took an evening game drive (safari) and saw tons of animals...and for those of you who were worried, I did not try to pet them even though they looked cuddly! From the 3 hour game drive, we headed out to the Boma Braai, which was a barbeque out in the animal reserve...basically just a fence separating us from "nature". It was beautiful and very peaceful.....
This morning we went on another game drive, which was just as eventful. I think the best part was seeing 5 lions and some South African animals that our safari guide, Peter (who we all loved!) says he hasn't seen in over a year! It was so quiet and simple out there, definitely a wonderful experience.
From Pilanesburg (which we were all very sad to leave and wished we had more time!), we headed into Jo'burg...on the way, we went Curio Shopping (which is basically lots of crafts and knicknacks...don't worry, I bought lots of fun gifts!). Our tour guide described our group as being on a "feeding frenzy" because we bought so much in such a short time, and I think that was pretty accurate!
We arrived at our hotel, the Michaelangelo at about 8, and I can honestly say it is probably the nicest hotel I've ever stayed at. I think it is going to be very difficult going into Kliptown tomorrow morning knowing that we are coming back to stay here tomorrow night. The hotel is right on Nelson Mandela Square, surrounded by restaurants and shopping. My friends Lezlie, Anita, Kristen, Rodney and I had a great Thai dinner and hung out at the hotel bar (which is surrounded by a Koi fish pond!) with the rest of the group, and now it is about time for bed!
Like I said, tomorrow is Kliptown and the SKY center that I posted about earlier. I think tomorrow is the day that I am most excited for, to actually be out in a community with the people, but I also think that being with the kids will be extremely difficult for me to leave. Up until this point, I feel like I've been in a fairly privileged, tourist bubble which has been wonderful but also brings about a lot of guilt and sadness when driving past poorer areas. Tomorrow will probably be a big change.
Hope all is well at home, more from Josie later!
Love,
Brie
The Kurdish dinner was delicious. I did not get an opportunity to test out my belly dancing skills, but many of my group members did!...and there may or may not have been a Madonna dance party at the hotel after the dinner. I also made up for skipping the wine tasting with plenty of Pinotage, the local wine, at dinner.
The next morning was a 5 am wake up call to head to the airport...my roomate, Lezlie, has been using her cell phone as a back up alarm even though we get a hotel wakeup call...but its still on American time...so picture a panicked Brie waking up at 11pm American time according to the phone, and in a sleepy, still Pinotag-ed stupor, standing up and saying "Oh my God, Lez, its 7am, we missed the ride to the airport". To all the math wizzes in the group reading this, 11 + 6 (the time difference from US time) is 5am, not 7. It took her about 5 minutes to catch on as well, so I don't feel so bad. We made it downstairs and to the airport safely, and arrived in Jo'burg after lots of turbulence.
From our flight to Jo'burg, we took a 2 hour bus to Pilanesburg, where we stayed in the amazing Backabung lodge....I mean, there were baboons on our porches and zebras and elephants about 50 yards away while we ate lunch. We took an evening game drive (safari) and saw tons of animals...and for those of you who were worried, I did not try to pet them even though they looked cuddly! From the 3 hour game drive, we headed out to the Boma Braai, which was a barbeque out in the animal reserve...basically just a fence separating us from "nature". It was beautiful and very peaceful.....
This morning we went on another game drive, which was just as eventful. I think the best part was seeing 5 lions and some South African animals that our safari guide, Peter (who we all loved!) says he hasn't seen in over a year! It was so quiet and simple out there, definitely a wonderful experience.
From Pilanesburg (which we were all very sad to leave and wished we had more time!), we headed into Jo'burg...on the way, we went Curio Shopping (which is basically lots of crafts and knicknacks...don't worry, I bought lots of fun gifts!). Our tour guide described our group as being on a "feeding frenzy" because we bought so much in such a short time, and I think that was pretty accurate!
We arrived at our hotel, the Michaelangelo at about 8, and I can honestly say it is probably the nicest hotel I've ever stayed at. I think it is going to be very difficult going into Kliptown tomorrow morning knowing that we are coming back to stay here tomorrow night. The hotel is right on Nelson Mandela Square, surrounded by restaurants and shopping. My friends Lezlie, Anita, Kristen, Rodney and I had a great Thai dinner and hung out at the hotel bar (which is surrounded by a Koi fish pond!) with the rest of the group, and now it is about time for bed!
Like I said, tomorrow is Kliptown and the SKY center that I posted about earlier. I think tomorrow is the day that I am most excited for, to actually be out in a community with the people, but I also think that being with the kids will be extremely difficult for me to leave. Up until this point, I feel like I've been in a fairly privileged, tourist bubble which has been wonderful but also brings about a lot of guilt and sadness when driving past poorer areas. Tomorrow will probably be a big change.
Hope all is well at home, more from Josie later!
Love,
Brie
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Moyo, Misty Morning and Mesopotamia
Today is my last day in Cape Town, and unfortunately it is misty and COLD!!!! Tomorrow we jump on an 8am flight to Johannesburg, and then drive two hours to our first game drive (safari) in Pilanesberg...we'll be spending the night at a lodge on the reserve, so I doubt I'll have any Internet access from there! I hope you can all make it through a day without my blog :)
As I mentioned yesterday, last night we went to dinner at a restaurant called Moyo...and I think dinner does not do it justice...it was an overall "experience". We drove about an hour through Stellenbosch, through a lot of the wineries and vineyards, and finally to a winery calle Spier...the restaurant is part of the winery. It is under a massive tent, with fires all around. As we were seated for dinner, the waitstaff came around and painted our faces in traditional white paint designs and washed our hands at the table. The dinner was a buffet of about 15 stations with every kind of African food you can imagine. During dinner, there were singers who came around to our tables and performaces going on throughout the tent. Everyone had a great time, and one of the girls on the trip actually got up on stage to show off her own African dance moves.
Today we visited the University of Cape Town and had a really interesting lecture on university and community partnerships and the transformation of the university post-apartheid from a white university to an integrated university...I think there may be an opportunity to do some collaborative work from the US with some of their youth programs. After that, I decided not to go to the wine tasting and botanical gardens (I know, shocking!) and a few of the girls and I have been enjoying our first full three hours of free time walking around the waterfront.
Tonight its off to a reflection meeting and then a Kurdish restaurant called Mesopotamia...apparently, the group went last year and belly dancing is a mandatory part of the evening...we'll see how this goes! And yes, in case you are all wondering, eating has been a main focus of this trip...and I would not have it any other way :)
Bye bye Cape Town, I can't believe this trip is halfway over already!
As I mentioned yesterday, last night we went to dinner at a restaurant called Moyo...and I think dinner does not do it justice...it was an overall "experience". We drove about an hour through Stellenbosch, through a lot of the wineries and vineyards, and finally to a winery calle Spier...the restaurant is part of the winery. It is under a massive tent, with fires all around. As we were seated for dinner, the waitstaff came around and painted our faces in traditional white paint designs and washed our hands at the table. The dinner was a buffet of about 15 stations with every kind of African food you can imagine. During dinner, there were singers who came around to our tables and performaces going on throughout the tent. Everyone had a great time, and one of the girls on the trip actually got up on stage to show off her own African dance moves.
Today we visited the University of Cape Town and had a really interesting lecture on university and community partnerships and the transformation of the university post-apartheid from a white university to an integrated university...I think there may be an opportunity to do some collaborative work from the US with some of their youth programs. After that, I decided not to go to the wine tasting and botanical gardens (I know, shocking!) and a few of the girls and I have been enjoying our first full three hours of free time walking around the waterfront.
Tonight its off to a reflection meeting and then a Kurdish restaurant called Mesopotamia...apparently, the group went last year and belly dancing is a mandatory part of the evening...we'll see how this goes! And yes, in case you are all wondering, eating has been a main focus of this trip...and I would not have it any other way :)
Bye bye Cape Town, I can't believe this trip is halfway over already!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Next stop Antarctica....
Today was all about heights and amazing views...the morning started with a visit to Table Mountain, which has a beautiful view of Capetown, especially on a clear day like today...we traveled up in a cable car - reminiscent of Montserrat for any of you who know about my adventures with my mother there, thats all I could think of (sorry Mom, no pricker bushes this time!). We hiked around there for a while, then drove about an hour to visit the Cape of Good Hope, the most Southwestern point of Africa...hence the next stop Antarctica :) Again, more hiking and amazing photo opps. We made a quick stop at the jackass penguin colony, but they are dangerous so unfortunately, no happy feet and I couldn't steal one to bring home! and now its off to Moyo, a African campfire bbq out in the mountains somewhere....We are having some amazing adventures, but I'm exhausted!!! Tonight will be an early night and hopefully get some sleep before another 6:45 morning! I never thought I'd be this tired on a vacation!
Sorry this is short and sweet, but they keep us on a tight schedule!
Love, Breezy
Sorry this is short and sweet, but they keep us on a tight schedule!
Love, Breezy
Monday, July 9, 2007
Champagne on the Beach
I will start this email off on a positive, vacation-ish note to make sure that you all know that despite my reflections and powerful experiences, I am also having a lot of fun!...I spent the afternoon sipping champagne on the beach with a bunch of my fellow travelers...and found out that it is a very small world after all! There is an older couple on this trip who are hysterical and have adopted me (N, think uncle jack) and just happen to be the best of friends with my buddy Seth's family! And, my new friend Rodney lives two blocks away from me at 2nd and Queen...and we all traveled 24 hours to meet each other. The people in my group are lots of fun, which always helps the experience!
The day wasn't all fun and bubbly...we spent the morning (another 6:45 wakeup call) at the University of the Western Cape, where we had a really intense lecture on HIV/AIDs and its impact on Africa and particularly college campuses....Its estimated that as many as 1 in3 South Africans may be HIV positive, which is a devastating statistic! Its rampant on college campuses. A guy named Bonilla told us all about his own personal experiences with finding out he was HIV positive and coming out to his family and friends...Again, he managed to find the positive in his situation, telling us that he felt that revealing this to his family had improved his relationship with his dad. I held it together but was definitely pretty emotional after getting back on the bus, as most of us were. From the University, we headed to the beach....and after drinking lots of champagne forced on us by our awesome Australian/South African tour guide Justin, we had to come back and have a serious group discussion about our experiences so far....let me tell you, no one was making many revelations, but I think we all really needed the downtime to process the morning.
Tonight we went to a performance by a group of youth from Kliptown, who we will also visit next week. They were full of energy and tons of fun.
Finished up the night eating an Ostrich burger (yup, ostrich!) and getting drinks on the waterfont with the group...all in all a great day! Tomorrow, its on to the jackass penguin colony where I'm pretty sure I will kidnap some wildlife to bring back to J & J, per their requests! :).....
The day wasn't all fun and bubbly...we spent the morning (another 6:45 wakeup call) at the University of the Western Cape, where we had a really intense lecture on HIV/AIDs and its impact on Africa and particularly college campuses....Its estimated that as many as 1 in3 South Africans may be HIV positive, which is a devastating statistic! Its rampant on college campuses. A guy named Bonilla told us all about his own personal experiences with finding out he was HIV positive and coming out to his family and friends...Again, he managed to find the positive in his situation, telling us that he felt that revealing this to his family had improved his relationship with his dad. I held it together but was definitely pretty emotional after getting back on the bus, as most of us were. From the University, we headed to the beach....and after drinking lots of champagne forced on us by our awesome Australian/South African tour guide Justin, we had to come back and have a serious group discussion about our experiences so far....let me tell you, no one was making many revelations, but I think we all really needed the downtime to process the morning.
Tonight we went to a performance by a group of youth from Kliptown, who we will also visit next week. They were full of energy and tons of fun.
Finished up the night eating an Ostrich burger (yup, ostrich!) and getting drinks on the waterfont with the group...all in all a great day! Tomorrow, its on to the jackass penguin colony where I'm pretty sure I will kidnap some wildlife to bring back to J & J, per their requests! :).....
Sunday, July 8, 2007
The Beginning
Howsit? (That is the South African greeting that our tour guide has forced us to repeat in unison before he will start the day). I have officially finished my first full day in South Africa and I'm loving it. It is definitely worth the trip. First, a quick run down of my adventures in getting here...
11:30am, Friday - Lezlie, Anita and Kristen meet at my house. (A fourth traveler, Jennifer, who I don't know, is running late because three taxis have stood her up, and ends up having to chase the shuttle around Philadelphia and finally leave her car parked in a random gas station somewhere in North Philly..but that is a long and very funny story that I won't get into now!)
12:00pm Friday - time our airport shuttle is supposed to pick us up
12:30- time the shuttle ACTUALLY picks us up
12:30-1:50- time spent driving around Northeast Philadelphia picking up other passengers that we didn't know would be sharing our shuttle
2:15- time we FINALLY leave Philly and realize that our shuttle is also making a stop to drop people off at Newark airport first...(sidenote, this is also the time Brie starts to flip out and stops speaking to people out of sheer nervousness about missing the flight!)
3:00- time we realize that our flight is at 5:20 and not 5:55, as we originally thought (see above sidenote)
4:05 - arrive at JFK and make it through ticketing and security in a record 13 minutes!
4:18 - RELIEF, boarded the flight.
I have lots of funny stories about the flights, including fights with flight attendants and sitting next to the Minister of something or other from Guinea Bissau.....but I'm sure thats not what you are all reading this blog for! So the SA adventures begin...
Of course, it would not be a Tangney vacation if it didn't start with rain! This morning was really foggy and misty, but turned into a beautiful and busy day. At 8:00am we headed out on a tour of Cape Town and visited the District 6 museum...District 6 was a mixed race neighborhood in Cape Town where people were forced to relocate in the 1960's based on race and had their homes destroyed, and are finally able to start moving back. The museum is now a gathering space for activists and a way to remember and rebuild the neighborhood. We had a private tour by some former residents of District 6, and they shared their stories and photographs.
Next, to lighten the mood, we headed on a tour of Camps Bay (one of the worlds top ten beaches) and drove along the water. This is probably one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen in my life. From there, it was lunch on the waterfront, followed by a 45 minute choppy ferry ride to Robben Island, which is the former prison where political prisoners like Nelson Mandela were held.
Robben Island was definitely not what I expected from a prison...the island has an unbelievable view of Table Mountain and Capetown, and tons of wildlife (penguins, peacocks and bunnies, frolicking side by side!) and vegetation. In the midst of our ooh-ing and ahh-ing and flurries of camera flashes, it dawned on me the irony (maybe thats not the right word, contradiction?) of the lives of prisoners on this island. Here, many of these men who were sentenced to solitude and life inprisonment because they fought for freedom and peace, were also forced to look out at one of the most beautiful sights I've seen.
The most moving part of my day was definitely coversations with Noor, the tour guide at District 6 who had been relocated and physically watched his home bulldozed, and our tour guide at Robben Island who was a former political prisoner. Both of these men, who had been so oppressed and suffered so much, spoke about forgiveness and reconciliation. Neither had any hatred towards the white people who had treated them so badly and truly believed in peace and harmony.
After a very busy and moving day, we had some down time and a group Welcome Dinner at a Cape Malay (think Indian food) restaurant nearby and got to experience some local cuisine. On that note, I am stuffed and sleepy and ready to get some rest for our first University visit and Champagne Beach Experience tomorrow!
I can't believe this is only the first day, and looking forward to the next 9!
Love,
Breezy
11:30am, Friday - Lezlie, Anita and Kristen meet at my house. (A fourth traveler, Jennifer, who I don't know, is running late because three taxis have stood her up, and ends up having to chase the shuttle around Philadelphia and finally leave her car parked in a random gas station somewhere in North Philly..but that is a long and very funny story that I won't get into now!)
12:00pm Friday - time our airport shuttle is supposed to pick us up
12:30- time the shuttle ACTUALLY picks us up
12:30-1:50- time spent driving around Northeast Philadelphia picking up other passengers that we didn't know would be sharing our shuttle
2:15- time we FINALLY leave Philly and realize that our shuttle is also making a stop to drop people off at Newark airport first...(sidenote, this is also the time Brie starts to flip out and stops speaking to people out of sheer nervousness about missing the flight!)
3:00- time we realize that our flight is at 5:20 and not 5:55, as we originally thought (see above sidenote)
4:05 - arrive at JFK and make it through ticketing and security in a record 13 minutes!
4:18 - RELIEF, boarded the flight.
I have lots of funny stories about the flights, including fights with flight attendants and sitting next to the Minister of something or other from Guinea Bissau.....but I'm sure thats not what you are all reading this blog for! So the SA adventures begin...
Of course, it would not be a Tangney vacation if it didn't start with rain! This morning was really foggy and misty, but turned into a beautiful and busy day. At 8:00am we headed out on a tour of Cape Town and visited the District 6 museum...District 6 was a mixed race neighborhood in Cape Town where people were forced to relocate in the 1960's based on race and had their homes destroyed, and are finally able to start moving back. The museum is now a gathering space for activists and a way to remember and rebuild the neighborhood. We had a private tour by some former residents of District 6, and they shared their stories and photographs.
Next, to lighten the mood, we headed on a tour of Camps Bay (one of the worlds top ten beaches) and drove along the water. This is probably one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen in my life. From there, it was lunch on the waterfront, followed by a 45 minute choppy ferry ride to Robben Island, which is the former prison where political prisoners like Nelson Mandela were held.
Robben Island was definitely not what I expected from a prison...the island has an unbelievable view of Table Mountain and Capetown, and tons of wildlife (penguins, peacocks and bunnies, frolicking side by side!) and vegetation. In the midst of our ooh-ing and ahh-ing and flurries of camera flashes, it dawned on me the irony (maybe thats not the right word, contradiction?) of the lives of prisoners on this island. Here, many of these men who were sentenced to solitude and life inprisonment because they fought for freedom and peace, were also forced to look out at one of the most beautiful sights I've seen.
The most moving part of my day was definitely coversations with Noor, the tour guide at District 6 who had been relocated and physically watched his home bulldozed, and our tour guide at Robben Island who was a former political prisoner. Both of these men, who had been so oppressed and suffered so much, spoke about forgiveness and reconciliation. Neither had any hatred towards the white people who had treated them so badly and truly believed in peace and harmony.
After a very busy and moving day, we had some down time and a group Welcome Dinner at a Cape Malay (think Indian food) restaurant nearby and got to experience some local cuisine. On that note, I am stuffed and sleepy and ready to get some rest for our first University visit and Champagne Beach Experience tomorrow!
I can't believe this is only the first day, and looking forward to the next 9!
Love,
Breezy
Saturday, July 7, 2007
One hellish airport shuttle ride, 3 flights, (and 4 delicious airplane meals) and a bus laterI'm here in Cape Town! Its 11pm South African time, about 5pm US time and we just got to the hotel. That means I've been traveling for about 24 hours. Tired, but very excited....tomorrow is a 6:45 am wake up call for a tour of Cape Town and Robben Island, and lots of other activities weather permitting.
My bed is calling my name, so I'll write more soon!
B
My bed is calling my name, so I'll write more soon!
B
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
SKY
This is the community center I'll be visiting in Kliptown:
http://edition.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/specials/2007/06/21/cnn.heroes.bob.nameng.cnn
http://edition.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/specials/2007/06/21/cnn.heroes.bob.nameng.cnn
Butterflies
Minjhani! (Thats Tsonga/South African for hello....I do my research!) I decided to start a blog for my trip to South Africa to keep you all posted about my adventures and also to use as a sort of journal....I am not sure how great my Internet access will be, but I think that I should be able to write from most of the hotels in Capetown and Johannesburg. (But don't hold it against me if I promise to post and then you get nothing!)
The name of this site (ubuntubrie) comes from the South African word "ubuntu", the essence of being human. I recently read an interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu from South Africa in which he talks about the significance of ubuntu. Tutu says "We say a person is a person through other persons. You can't be human in isolation. You are human only in relationships. We are all interconnected". I thought it was a beautiful concept and unfortunately there is no comparable word in English. :( Says a lot about our cultures!
Right now, it is about 48 hours until my flight and I am a mixture of excited, nervous and anxious. The more I've learned about this country, the more excited I am to visit. I have a lot of expectations for this trip. but I'm trying to keep an open mind and just take in as much as I can.
I hope you guys enjoy hearing about my experiences, because I'm excited to share!
The name of this site (ubuntubrie) comes from the South African word "ubuntu", the essence of being human. I recently read an interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu from South Africa in which he talks about the significance of ubuntu. Tutu says "We say a person is a person through other persons. You can't be human in isolation. You are human only in relationships. We are all interconnected". I thought it was a beautiful concept and unfortunately there is no comparable word in English. :( Says a lot about our cultures!
Right now, it is about 48 hours until my flight and I am a mixture of excited, nervous and anxious. The more I've learned about this country, the more excited I am to visit. I have a lot of expectations for this trip. but I'm trying to keep an open mind and just take in as much as I can.
I hope you guys enjoy hearing about my experiences, because I'm excited to share!
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