Happy Birthday Taran!!!

March 21, 2011 7:30 PM

Yesterday, I was supposed to ride an elephant. But I didn’t. I was all stoked, ready to go ride this thing, and then it turns out it was over 50 bucks for SEVEN MINUTES on the elephant. As cool as it would have been to say I had ridden an elephant, I didn’t think it was worth the money. But I saw the elephant, so that’s cool!

This was just one aspect to the weekend away with the host family. Krystle and I were graciously invited to join our family in Plettenburg Bay for a couple days. We stayed in a basic, but very nice cabin with free-roaming animals all around. There were primarily deer, and one freaking annoying pig. They were all tame, because they all lived on the property so they were used to the people. But this dang pig would actually come INTO your cabin if you accidentally left the door open. He bit. He peed. He was annoying. If there was any reason to be excited to leave that place, it was the pig.

But everything else was fun. We spent Saturday going to a Saturday market, checking out the beach, and taking a little hike to a suspended bridge that had a pretty awesome view. Sunday we tried to ride elephants, but then joined the family to see monkeys in Monkeyland, which is a place where monkeys that were humanized either as home pets, in labs, or in the circus could go to become wild and dehumanized again. It was about an hour tour, so that was cool. Right next door to that was Birds of Eden, where I saw FLAMINGOS! I had never seen them before, so that was pretty sweet.

We played lots of the card game “golf” and just really enjoyed being with each other.

I’m so in paper-writing mode right now that I keep thinking I have to check my word count as I’m writing this. Silly me!

I can’t believe how fast time is going. It’s already almost April, and this is my last week of college. Then it’s SUMMER BREAK!!!! No homework for 5 MONTHS!!!! Hahahaha.

This is probably my last post for quite a while. I can guarantee you this week will not consist of much to write about (unless you want to read my essays I’ll be writing all week). Then next Monday the Americans head off to the Eastern Cape for 12ish days, then we go to a township for a week. So basically, I don’t know if and when I’ll have internet access again. HOW WILL I SURVIVE!???

Thank you all, again, for your continuing support and prayers. When we were taking our hike this weekend, there was this one absolutely gorgeous view, and I just said, “Krystle, we’re in AFRICA.” It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the school work here that I forget where I am and how lucky I am to be here. No matter how hard it is sometimes, I know I’m here because God wants me to be, and I’m learning SO much about myself and the beautiful world God has created.

So, what's so different?

March 13, 2011 1:20 PM

I’ve been asked what’s different in SA compared to home. This is my effort to express this to you. I’m mainly going to focus on the funny stuff. But maybe I’ll add some serious stuff too. Maybe. Let’s see how this goes.

1) When you say you’re going to catch a taxi, it is not a yellow car with you and a friend inside. Instead, it’s a van jam-packed full of people. As you walk down the street, taxis constantly go by whistling to get your attention to catch a ride. It’s super cheap (less than a dollar) and they’re EVERYWHERE. But literally, in a 8-person van, there may be more like 12 or 13 passengers. One time I was in the very back corner, as far away from the door as possible, with 4 others sitting next to me. My mother would have died.

2) Muslims are everywhere. I’m not saying this to be discriminatory; I’m just stating the facts. There’s a mosque right down the street from us (in the neighborhood) and I just heard them singing… we hear this 2-3 times a day. Also, when we go running at the sports complex, there are usually numerous Muslims running as well, fully dressed in their gowns (I don’t know what they’re called) and with tennis shoes on. I do realize that they are fully human and they have the same desires that we do, and I respect this. But sometimes it just makes you giggle when you see them in tennis shoes, or riding a motorcycle, while being fully dressed in their Muslim attire.

3) There’s this one kind of bird here that is flippin’ annoying. I don’t know what it looks like or what it’s called, but it makes this damn sound that is impossible to block out. When I first got here I thought it was a monkey, no joke. I’ve gotten used to sleeping with my headphones in, so I don’t notice it as much, but holy moly it’s annoying.

4) Our neighborhood has this incredibly annoying circumstance regarding dogs. One dog barks, right? No, it is impossible for ONE dog to bark. Once that dog barks, the entire neighborhood’s dog population is barking. Sometimes at 4AM. Notsofunny.

5) There are people at every stop light begging, and they come right up to your window to peer in to see if you have spare change laying around. They make you feel incredibly guilty. One day, we were riding home with Charlene, who was drinking a milkshake at the time, and a beggar woman came up and tried to guilt-trip Charlene into giving her some of her drink. And when it didn’t work the first attempt, she came back and asked again. There are also some that sell the most random things, like swim floaties and blankets, on the streets. I guess anything to get some money, right? But I have yet to see anyone buy any of it… but a lot of people try to sell it!

6) Stop lights are called robots. Cookies are called biscuits. Sweaters are called jerseys. Trucks are called buckeyes. The trunk of a car is called the boot. Tennis shoes are called tekkies.

7) It is nearly impossible to find bags of chocolate chips at the grocery store.

8) The postal system sucks.

9) There are nearly no two-story houses. Some houses look like one house with two doors (like a duplex) but the two halves will be painted two different colors.

10) People drink so much sugary drinks instead of water. Krystle and I actually get made fun of for drinking straight tap water.

11) Most coffee is instant coffee. Filtered coffee is specified in the restaurants because it’s not a common find. And it is incredibly rare to find a coffee shop that offers flavorings.

12) Fast food places are much cheaper. And concession stands at the stadium as well as the mall and airport (where food prices are way more expensive at home) are actually quite reasonable, even though it is more expensive than the normal places. I got an ice cream at the rugby stadium for about 2 dollars…bet you couldn’t find one that cheap in a stadium at home, eh?

13) Techno, or what they call House music here, is bumpin’ everywhere. Especially in the taxis. It’s pretty funny actually. And a lot more adults listen to the popular hip-hop stuff on the radio.

I’m sure there’s a lot of other stuff that just isn’t coming to mind right now. Maybe I’ll update this over time. Just thought ya’ll would enjoy this J

Peace out, yo.

Happy Birthday Keith!!!

March 10, 2011 7 PM

I don’t even know where to begin. It’s obviously been busy, which is why it’s been 10 days since I last wrote. So I think the real question is, what do you want to know? I’m not psychic, but I’ll try my hardest to tell you what you want to hear. :P

To start off, let me point out that I have less time until I come home than I do the time that I’ve been here. I don’t know if that makes sense, but I’m over half way through my time. Man oh man, it’s flying by. The other day I was taking a break from writing an essay and decided to go back and read some of my first blog entries. The one written on the 13^th of January, about me smoking out the house… that hit me. It does NOT feel like it’s been two months since that happened, and it is also weird to think that at that point I had only been here for 9 days. I’m pretty sure I felt like I had been here a month at that point. But now it’s been two months, and I still feel like I’ve only been here a month. Funny how that works.

The weekdays haven’t been anything exciting. Krystle and I are usually at college (you have to say college or uni here, if you say school they think you’re still in high school) until around 4 each day, and then come home and either take a nap, go for a run (or walk usually for me haha), or do more homework. When the family comes home, we chit-chat with them, and I have started to help Lavona make dinner quite regularly. It brings me back to my memories with my mom and helps me feel a little bit more at home. Overall, I really have started to become more comfortable and I really am starting to feel like this house is my…well...3^rd home.

Last weekend was a really nice combination of relaxing and getting out to do stuff. A friend from college, Andrew, just moved into a different flat, so he had a house-warming party Friday night. Saturday we spent most of the day at home and then went to a rugby game with the family. It was probably the hottest day since we’ve been here. We figure it got close to 36 degrees Celsius…you can tell me what that is in Fahrenheit. But we were sitting in the sun at the stadium, so it was pretty unbearable for the first half. Luckily, the sun started to go down and we ended in the shade.

Sunday was spent with Krystle and a couple of our friends Kyle and Luke. We went to the waterfront for a little while, went to a food bazaar place for lunch, and then went to a concert at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. It was this two-man band called Goldfish, and they’re pretty popular in South Africa. The insane crowd at the concert proved them popular. It was cool, even though there was a big tree blocking our view from the stage. We just went down to the front for a little bit to see it, and just hung out and talked the rest of the time.

I’ve been on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for the past couple weeks, but hopefully it will ease up soon. I have been excited and incredibly happy, and then incredibly homesick and sad (sometimes within 10 minutes of each other). I’m a girl…is that enough of an excuse?

Anyways, I suppose a lot more has happened, but my mind is on papers and school (or sorry…college) ending in just a couple more weeks. The weeks are becoming blended together with each day going by faster and faster.

It’s Keith’s birthday today (or it will be when I post this)! And Mom’s was last week! Happy Birthday to you!!!!!

Lots of love.

It's March!!!

March 1, 2011 3:00 PM

I’m actually writing a blog while at school!!!! So this is actually a up-to-the-minute update! You should feel so honored! ;)

Classes weren’t super exciting last week, so I’m just going to just ahead to the weekend. After classes were done on Thursday, us Americans boarded a plane to Johannesburg. We got there around 6 and went straight to our hostel for the night.

Friday we got up to begin our first day being the ultimate tourists. We started the day by going to the township of Soweto. Have you heard of the Soweto uprising? It’s an incredible story that played a big part in the apartheid… maybe look it up sometime! We went to a church there called Regina Mundi. It was a church that the people of Soweto went to as a safe haven from the riots and such, but it got attacked by the police one time. There were like 5000 people inside, and there are still bullet holes around the church to show the damage done.

Next up was the Hector Pieterson Memorial. Hector was a thirteen year old boy; the first to be shot and killed in the Soweto uprising. It was a very interesting museum.

We went from there to Nelson and Winnie Mandela’s house, which has recently been turned into a museum. This street also used to host Desmond Tutu; it is the only street to have two Nobel Peace Prize winners live on it.

After lunch we went to Constitution Hill, which is where the major courthouse is, along with a couple of the prisons used during the apartheid. The prisons are now museums, which we were guided through.

Needless to say, it was a busy day.

Saturday was just about as busy. We met up with a bishop in the Alexander township, where we discussed some stuff for about 3 hours. I’m gonna be honest, I don’t really know what they were talking about. It was hot, and there were a bunch of adorable little children following us around (just like at the other township we went to in January). I did pick up on a little, but I wasn’t in the mindset to talk for that long.

Then we went to the Voortrekker Memorial, which is in memory of the Anglo-Boer war. It had some pretty incredible artwork, and an amazing view from the top of the building.

Then we went to the Lion Park! We took a truck tour around the park and got to see some INSANELY large lions. Then we got to pet some lion cubs! Then we got to feed a giraffe! I squealed really loud cause its tongue was really rough and gross! It was fun!

I was asleep that night by like 10. It was a very exhausting day. We had a lovely surprise at about 4 AM with drunken men outside our window throwing condom balloons into our window. Funny? Not so much.

Sunday we got up to do a little devotional with our instructor, Glenn, and then headed off to the Apartheid Museum. This place is crazy. We were there for about 3 hours, and it was hardly enough time to get through it. It really helped me see the apartheid in the proper sequence. We had learned so much about it, but to me, it was still really broken up and confusing. I bought a book since pictures weren’t allowed inside. Let me know if you want to see it when I get back!

Last night we went to our friend, Robin’s, house for dinner. The community there was like nothing I had experienced before. When we arrived, we sat down our bags and went to meet his neighbors. Who does that? But it was really cool, and the food was good.

Today I’ve just been doing homework and chattin with Taran. Tuesdays are my homework/skype days. It’s pretty great.

Much love to you all. I hope the weather there isn’t getting to you too much! It’s a woppin 95 degrees here today. Only 70 degrees warmer than Spokane! J

Why Am I Here?

I was originally on the waiting list to study abroad. My thought at that point was, if God wants me to go to Africa, He will make it happen. I trusted in Him to make the decision for me. So now that I’m here, I’m trying to figure out why He sent me here. I’ve been asked several times, both before coming and since being here, why I chose Africa. Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know why I chose here over Spain or Taiwan. I feel like most of the stuff I’ve learned about myself I could have learned anywhere. But I want to explain what I have learned, first specifically about Cape Town, and then in general. I’d like to share this with you, but this is also just for my personal “rumination” and gain, so just bear with me.

Begin with me by answering this question: Two men were walking down the street, one white, the other black. They were dressed in similar clothing, both had tattoos, and had cigarettes in their mouths. Who would you most likely to expect to rob you? Be completely honest. You’d probably choose the black guy right? Why?

My point is that, no matter how far America has come, racism still exists. Even if you had chosen the white guy, there had to have been some inclination that the color of his skin would cause him to commit a crime over the other one. The only difference in the description I gave you between the two was the color of their skin, and you (I’m assuming) chose one of them over the other. Most of us would choose the black guy because we are white. Do you see where I’m going with this? When I worked at the U2 concert last weekend, the whites were handling the money and the colored were doing the dirty work. Seriously, I was the only white girl doing the grunt work. The apartheid here may have ended nearly 20 years ago, but its effects are still so prevalent. It takes time to heal. And even though I’m on the other side of the world, America’s racism has become so apparent to me. It’s just hidden. But we all think it.  Everyone is racist. Even describing someone as black is sometimes taken to mean something bad. It’s like…the last resort in describing someone is to say they’re black. But why? What’s so bad about it?

            Cape Town residents are also very chill. There’s a thing called African Time. Every African, at least in Cape Town, uses it. It’s kind of like Bjorklund time, but worse. Seriously, when they say they’ll be 5 minutes, they could mean an hour. I’ll be honest, it’s annoying. I’ve spent a lot of time waiting because of it. But it’s also partly the reason I’ve allowed myself to ruminate. I’m in no rush… I’m just trying to take things as they come. At home it’s like, I have to this, and then this, and then that, and then that, and then I’ll eat lunch as a break, and then I’ll do that…you get the idea. Don’t get me wrong, To-Do lists do exist here. But they’re just handled in a different light here.

            People hug a lot here. I’m a hugger, and I think people hug a lot here. It’s actually quite beautiful. Africans have a word they use called “ubuntu” and it is considered a way of living. It means community. It doesn’t matter whether we met 5 seconds ago, or 5 years ago, they don’t shake hands…they hug. Just think about everything that this encompasses, I don’t want to write it all out…

            Alright, now on to the personal lessons I’ve learned. These experiences, I feel, are more from the basis of being away from home, with little contact to people I’m used to seeing everyday, and really having to figure things out on my own.

            There are 3 big changes that I’ve tried to make to my daily habits since being here. The first is to keep a food log. The second is to exercise more. These two go together, so I’m going to explain them together. I’ll be honest, I started these two things because, for the first month of being here, I couldn’t stop eating. I constantly felt hungry and I started to feel fat. But it’s turned into something more than that. My body is my lifeline, but it is also God’s creation. I wouldn’t have this body if it weren’t for God (or my parents…but that’s besides the point). If I don’t take care of it, I’m not protecting God’s creation. It also means I’m just not being healthy, which could cause serious health problems… obviously.  I have become more aware of what I eat and how much I eat through my food log, and I have become more aware of my body’s strengths and weaknesses through exercising. It’s a learning process, and I’m still journeying through this process. And I can’t wait to keep learning. The third change I’ve made is that I get up a half hour earlier in the morning to spend time reading the Bible. I’ve tried this before, but it’s always only lasted like two days and then I get tired. But I think since being here I have realized how important God is in my life. He is a priority now. And He’s beautiful.

            To delve into God’s love deeper is the biggest thing I’ve learned since being here. I came here knowing one person, and she was an acquaintance. She’s now my roommate, and I’m extremely grateful for her. But essentially, I came here on my own. Or so that’s what I thought at first. But God brought me here, and He is with me every moment of every day. When I don’t feel like I have anyone to talk to, I talk to Him. When I feel homesick, I pray for His strength. When I need patience, I ask Him. I’ll be honest; I’m still learning to trust Him. I still complain a lot. But I’m becoming more aware of it. I’m here with His blessing because He wants me to realize how much I have at home, how good and beautiful His creation is, and how much He has to offer outside of the Pacific Northwest. He’s brought me here for other reasons that I have yet to learn, and that’s the great thing about it all. I’m here for four months. It feels like I’ve been here forever already, and I’m eager to go home. But before I do, I know I still have so much to learn, and He’ll guide me through it all. I have good lecturers here, but the greatest teacher is God. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all working in and around me to allow me to ruminate on my experiences, to learn from the people around me, and learn to love and trust the biggest, greatest God ever.

2/20/11

2/20/11 8:20 PM

            This week has been an interesting one. I was exhausted, then incredibly giddy, then homesick, the tired again, then giddy again…you get the idea. Right now I’m…tired. But I am grateful for a relaxing weekend.

            In the first couple weeks of being here, we had a lecture about culture shock. One of the stages of culture shock that was explained to us was when everything irritates you. This is how I was this week. Like seriously, EVERYTHING irritated me. I’m over it now, but I think after having such a busy weekend last week, I was just overly exhausted and just needed some “me” time. I spent the first couple days of the week writing a research proposal that I had spaced about, on top of all my other normal weekly readings. But after Wednesday, it was better because I had turned it in. On Thursday I went to the primary school to observe again, and it was super good. I was there for over seven hours, so I felt like I got a really well rounded experience. I did some reading tests, helped a few kids write out their names, and did some organizing. The teacher, Lavona, was also able to give me some background on why she teaches what she does and stuff, so that was cool.  That night us girls stayed up late talking, and it was super fun.

            You’ll be so jealous of what I did on Friday. Maybe. I thought it was cool at least. After class, a group of Cornerstone peeps carpooled down to the Cape Town Stadium to work at the U2 concert. That’s right, I worked at a concession stand at the stadium, the stand closed just in time for U2 to come on stage, and then I got to watch them for free. And I’m getting paid. It’s a long story how it came about, but how sick is that!? The working part wasn’t super fun, and it made for a good 20 hour day of school and working, but it was all worth it. U2 isn’t one of my favorite bands or anything, but they were really good live, and it was in South Africa, so it was automatically awesome.

            Yesterday Krystle and I were so exhausted that we slept till nearly noon, and then just sat around all day. We did a little baking, hung out with our host mom a lot, and watched a movie. Then this morning we got up and watched another movie, ate some French toast, and then went to the mall to get some coffee and use the internet for a while. We went to the Hillsong church again this evening, which was good. Now we’re just relaxing, and I need to do a bit more homework. I’ve been having this issue with just putting homework out of my mind on the weekends, so when Sunday night hits I have a boatload of work to do. All well, I enjoyed my weekend while it lasted.

            I definitely struggled/am struggling with homesickness more this week than I have so far. But it’s still not as bad as I expected it to be. Things are constantly busy, so the days fly by and the weeks are gone in a flash. This next weekend we head to Johannesburg to do some sight-seeing up there with the other Americans. We only have 4 more weeks of classes, 10 days in the Eastern Cape, a week in a township (that’ll be an interesting experience…) and then 3 weeks of whatever we want to do before coming home. It’ll be over so soon, but yet it feels like so long at the same time. I’m trying really hard to be optimistic and know that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I know I will regret it if I go home knowing that I didn’t embrace the opportunities as much as I could… so I’m trying to avoid it. It’s just hard sometimes.

            I pray that you all had a great week and a relaxing weekend as well. Lots of love.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2/13/11 9:20 PM

            And another week has passed…. And I’m tired. Let’s hope for a good night’s rest tonight before another great week of classes.

            The first few days of the week weren’t super exciting. Just went to school, hung out on campus doing homework afterwards, went home, did more homework, talked with the family, went to bed. I was able to get some logistics worked out with my Doctrine of the Triune God lecturer so that I can get credit for it at Fox, so that’s good.

            I was finally able to get some time in a primary school classroom on Thursday! Praise Jesus for it finally working out! I’m doing a 30 hour observation time in a special needs class at a school called Denneguer Avenue. Ironically, the teacher’s name is Lavona (same as my host mom). It’ll definitely be an experience… there’s a lot to take in as far as differences in teaching techniques and everything goes. But it’ll be a great learning opportunity. I’ll also probably be able to sit in on some regular classrooms as well, so that’ll be cool.

            After class on Friday some of us went to a restaurant for pizza and just hung out. Krystle’s really good about forcing me to go out and meet people. She doesn’t have to do much convincing, but it’s nothing I would initiate on my own. I’m glad to have her around. Friday night was our host brother Aaron’s 7^th grade Valentine’s Dance, and we ended up going and helping out. It was pretty entertaining… he goes to a boys’ school, but the girl’s school is right next-door, and the dance was for both. Lavona is making the valentines for the boys to give to their “special girl.” Before the dance, Aaron needed her to make 2… afterwards he needed 5. And he looked pretty awesome in his skinny jeans, white t-shirt with a sports jacket, and his sports cap. He thought he looked pretty awesome too.

            We finally made it to the beach on Saturday! But first we went to breakfast with Lavona and Josh. Krystle and I each enjoyed a delicious vanilla latte (flavored coffee is hard to come by here) and I had some French toast. Then we met up with this guy Robin and went to Muizenberg beach. It had a really cool vibe with brightly colored cabins lining the beach, people kicking soccer balls, and others surfing and kite surfing. We even enjoyed a delicious chicken salad at a restaurant overlooking the beach. I got to talk to my parents that evening, which is always great.

            Today Lavona, Jason, Krystle, and I went on the City Sightseeing Red Bus tour. They have these things in all the big cities, you’ve probably heard of them before. It was pretty cool, we didn’t stop at all the stops, but went to another beach and got fish and chips, walked around the “rich people” part of town, and went to the waterfront and looked at some cool artwork and listened to some live music. A small US Navy band was warming up for a performance, so we heard them play a couple songs. They were pretty good, and made me want to go see some live music. We’ve been talking about it, but now it definitely needs to happen!

            We went straight from the bus tour to the Hillsong church. It was the best church we’ve been to since being here… I want to keep exploring, but I wouldn’t mind going there again. You know the worship group Hillsong United? This is that church… or one of the locations, they’re all over the world.

            I’ve been pretty homesick the last couple days. I woke up Saturday morning knowing that I had dreamt about being at home or something, and I just haven’t been able to get it off my mind since then. Honestly, I haven’t had to battle homesickness as bad as I thought I would. The hardest thing to think about is still how long it will be before I’m home. But I’m not ready to go home, there’s still too much to see and explore and learn. It’s a weird feeling really. I think part of the reason is that I’m just busy all the time that I don’t really give myself time to breathe, and I’m not used to that. I haven’t really given myself much “me” time, and it’s starting to bog me down. Things have started to irritate me that wouldn’t normally, and I think it’s just because I’m getting overly tired from constantly going. I just have to learn that it’s ok to say no to some things so I can breathe.

            But anyways, Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Special shout-out to my favorite guy Taran. J Love you all!!!