Am I on the Beach or the Moon??

SO, it seems as though I've been neglecting to write in this blog for quite a while now. Here's a few highlights of what's been going on in the Friendly City.

Sharks VS. Southern Kings Rugby game - Last friday I attended a PE rugby game at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, AKA the FIFA World Cup Stadium! It was beautiful. I've seen the stadium from the highway a few times now but getting up close to it was really cool. The architecture is so unique, it kind of looks like a space ship. Of course, it wasn't nearly as full as it could have been because it was designed to fit something like 40,000 spectators for the World Cup, but there was a good amount of people who came! Mostly Shark fans.. and as the game went on, the Sharks showed that they were the favorable team for a reason. I was impressed with both teams though, because rugby is a rough sport! First of all, I had never noticed this before, but when each kick-off starts, they lift a guy by his shorts in the air to claim the ball! Kind of like in basketball, when they jump to get the ball, except this guy just flies up in the air out of the mass of men, and I've got to say it looks a little painful. They also were slamming into each other and dragging each other to the ground without any body protection except on their shins. OUCH. During the game, we got some Biltong from the man selling snacks in the stands, and it was tasty! It's a type of dried spicy beef, very popular here. Even though I had a hard time following the rules of the game, I'm excited to go back tonight and see another one! This time NMMU is playing, and from what I hear the crowd is wild. Yeah rugby!

Sinethemba Home for Street Children - On Wednesday of last week I had my first day of volunteering for my Community Service Learning module. We went to a place in the Walmer township, an area that's very poor and very crowded. Driving through there was worse than any Boston driving I've witnessed. There are no rules, so people will back out from spots without looking, cross the street without checking to see if cars are coming, pass people since there aren't lanes or any sense of direction. It was stressful being in the passenger seat, but the woman driving us seemed to have been there many times before. When we arrived at the home, there were two sides- for boys and girls, and in this house the children live and sleep. Many of them have run away from bad homes with alcoholic or abusive parents, or their parents have died from HIV/AIDS. I first started playing with a boy who looked to be about 2 years old. He was sitting on the burning hot porch in the sun, playing with a cardboard box and 2 flip flops. I wanted to try to interact with him, but he kept to himself and didn't really look at me. I took a risk and slid the box back and forth and then back to him. It took a while, but eventually we got a game of "Pass the box across the porch full speed at each other" going, and another little girl joined us. She spoke Xhosa, and thought I did, too. It was tough not being able to communicate with them. After a while I figured I should probably do what I came here to do, help with homework, but seeing as these kids weren't in school but loved the attention they were getting, I brought a couple childrens books out to them and read them aloud. They loved it! They were so attentive and wanted to repeat all of the English words I said; their favorite was FLOWWWERRR. Every page had a flower on it, so immediately after turning the page.. "FLLLOWWERRR." Ahh, it was the best.  By the end of the time I had spent there I was reading to 5 or 6 little ones, including one who had fallen asleep sitting on my lap. I can't wait to be back this week!

Sardinia Bay - On Friday a few of us drove to Sardinia Bay. It's at the end of this long road along the coast that litterally ends with a sand dune! This beach is probably the most beautiful beach I've ever been to. You have to climb up this really steep dune to get to the water, and when you're on top you seriously feel like you're walking on the moon. It's hard to describe. The water was out of control, probably the reason why no one else was there. I've never been in waves that strong before. The tide just pulls you out so quickly, and when you are in the crashing zone, prepare to be demolished. It was fun though, and I'm definitely going to be back there (possible horse back riding!).

Addo Elephant Park (part 2) - On Saturday I went back to Addo after having been there with Mom & Dad a few weeks ago. This time, we were so lucky to have seen about 50 + elephants within the first 2 minutes!!!! So unbelievable. We turned the corner, I was ready to drive around for at least an hour and a half before seeing anything, and there they were! All crowded around the watering hole. Another line of them were coming down the hill, too. They were having so much fun, the babies were playing together, there were a few of them laying down in the mud, some others pushing their tusks against one another. Just enjoying life. As we drove along we didn't see much of any of the other animals, but every 10 minutes, another elephant! There were a lot of them just roaming around by themselves along the road, eating the plants. It's so weird how they're used to vehicles being right next to them. It seems really unnatural but I'm glad for it. We could drive alongside a big guy just walking down the road, and he would look at us, but not think anything of it. He didn't even change his pace. We also saw a buffalo (another of the Big 5 of S. Africa) who was reeeally cool. He was right next to the road, and I was a little bit afraid when we looked up at us from under those huge horns. Those are HUGE animals, who could probably crush your car with just a nudge. We also followed him with the car for a good while. Addo is just the wildest place, and it's so cool to think it's only an hour from where I'm staying! I'd love to go back. Even when you don't see animals, the scenery is breathtaking. It's among huge grassy hills and fields, and when you get to the Lookout areas on the cliff, you can see the whole place, and it's in complete silence. There's no way I can ever justify it by writing about it. It's unlike any other place I've been!

Well, I've got to get ready for my morning class, but I feel better knowing I've documented some of the exciting happenings of the past week. I haven't even gotten into the fun that goes on at Annie's every day! The time is flying by and it's crazy to think that it's already almost been a month since I've left home! I'm so happy to have 4 more months of this wild place, and I already can tell it will be difficult to say good bye to it. Thanks for reading!

"Like the Keys of a Piano"

This Valentine's Day was one filled with so so much love here in PE. As a group, the International students spent the night in a township where we heard beautiful Xhosa music, poetry, and saw some really amazing dancing. We were able to enjoy food, desserts, wine, speak with the Mamas and the people of the township, watch the children play and dance (better than I could EVER imagine dancing, by the way!) and just socialize in a setting where we were made to feel loved and appreciated. One of the organizers of the event communicated how happy he was to look at a room and see faces like the keys of a piano, black and white, all mixed together. He was so appreciative of everyone being together in harmony. The history of South Africa is very close to that of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S., in the sense that the job opportunities and economic mobility of citizens, among many other things, was largely based on skin color during the apartheid era. With people of all ethnicities celebrating and enjoying one another's company at the Red Location hall last night, there was a great sense of peace and a high level of energy.

Also this week were my first 2 of 5 surfing lessons! On Sunday afternoon I had my first lesson with Keith, a man from SA who has been surfing for 30 years. It was a little rough the first day. I had some trouble finding balance and knowing where to put my feet, but today was so much better! I stood up several times and rode the waves into the shore. It was so much fun, and a number of people from Annie's Cove have also been taking lessons, so we've been able to talk to each other about the experience as well. While the waves haven't been huge, they're definitely bigger than what we have going on back home, and as the year goes on, the waves will get bigger and bigger, and we'll hopefully make it over to surf at Jeffrey's Bay!

Week 1 of classes is coming to a close, and it's been a nice transition into real student life! I forgot that I'm here to go to school for a little while last week with all of the beach days and late nights out and about. I think it will be very beneficial to my education having the classes that I'm enrolled in. I'm learning a lot about cultural diversity and dynamics, with one class all about the Xhosa culture, services provided to youth and how social services work in SA, and am taking a Community Service Learning course as well. I'm really excited about this last one because I'll be able to volunteer in an after school program for street kids every Wednesday. It was described as being "hectic" and "unstructured"... fun! I'll either be helping kids with homework, leading some recreational activities or just hanging out with them in the park. I don't know a lot about the project yet but I do know that most of the kids have unpleasant home lives and are in need of mentoring and guidance while they are still  young. I expect it to be one of the most difficult challenges I encounter here, but I'm looking forward to learning as much as I can about how to communicate and make an impact on kids who have dealt with a lot of hardships in their lives.

I've been trying to post photos to here or facebook but my internet has been super slow and it sounds like my computer is seriously out of breath everytime I attempt. SO, I will be using the university internet next week to post some photos/videos! Thanks for reading eerybody!

The Whole World is Here in PE

Here I am with internet in Annie's Cove, and after spending an hour just trying to upload photos to facebook, I am finally getting to writing the stories behind all of the photos I've been snapping this week. What a crazy few days it has been. With the rainy week we had when we arrived, I was not prepared for the rays of the African sun that would burn me this past weekend. I have to say, though, I certainly don't mind being a little burnt from the sun -- this IS Africa, after all!

All of that nonsense aside, the past few days have been some most adventurous times I can imagine. To start with, Addo Elephant National Park was just a dream come true. We drove through the enormous land reserve in a bumpy bumpy van, with our cameras and binoculars handy for sighting elephants, kudu, warthogs, jackals, zebra, ostrich, antelope, and so much more. For the first hour, our tour guide Geoff was assuring us that we would come across some elephants. I honestly was losing hope until at last, we turned the corner to find a line of cars stopped in their path, and a herd of about 15 elephants weaving slowly, calmly, through the vehicles to eat the vegetation and make their way. It was remarkable. For once in my life I witnessed the most majestic creature, in my opinion, completely in control of its surroundings. Without any humans guiding it, the elephants were thriving in their natural environment, completely happy and aware of their role on the reserve. The humans were actually becoming quite petrified around us.. Geoff was a source of serenity and told us that as long as we turned our engine off, the elephants would ignore us. We turned off our engine, as did most other cars around us, and simply listened to the very surprisingly soft footsteps of the elephants as they passed us by. If  I had stuck my arm out of the window, I would have been able to graze their skin, they were that close. They paid us no attention and went on their way, as if they were giving us their blessing to visit their home and watch them. I will never forget how small, yet secure and peaceful I felt when I saw those elephants in front of me.
Of course, all of the other sightings of animals were awesome, too. Kudus, who both taste delicious to South Africans and make some very nice jewlery, grow more beautiful with age. Their horns grow another spiral with every couple of years they age, and the oldest males have these Dr.Seuss-looking twirly horns on their head. Quite interesting!

I have to pause right now to note that as I am writing this, in my head I am speaking with SOME sort of accent- anything but the natural American one I have. I guess this is a good time to speak about the culture of Annie's Cove and PE, and how I am constantly interacting with people who speak another language before English. I love it! I will be having a discussion with people, and all of a sudden, a few of them will break out in German. I must look crazy because I continue to attend to their conversation, even though I have NO idea of what they're talking about! They laugh and translate for me, but I really don't mind. I think all of the languages I hear are beautiful, and if it is only Tuesday of my first week and I am already thinking in a European accent, I'd say the chances of me walking away from here tri-lingual are pretty high!.. baby steps.
Annie's Cove is a wonderful place to live. You walk outside and just introduce yourself to anyone, and they will be friendly and kind and BAM! you've made a friend. It's the perfect place I can imagine myself being without anyone else from home, because in every instance I've walked up to a stranger or knocked on someone's door, I've been instantly welcomed into the group of people, invited to walk somewhere and felt as if I belong. I feel really lucky to be here with such an open and diverse group of people. After a while, you don't even realize that you're from a different country. Tonight, there were about 100 people in one house, from many different parts of the world. You're constantly identifying yourself as an American or from Massachusetts, and it's pretty cool. I've never felt so much ownership over being American before, because it's never been something different about me. Now that I am sometimes the only American in a group, people will turn to me and ask me what I would call certain terms or how Americans do certain things. You learn a lot about your culture once you are not in it anymore!

Orientation week is in progress, and today I took a tour with other students of Port Elizabeth. Our guide, Bradley, grew up in a township in PE, and became a teacher here. He knew everything there was to know about the city, the townships, the people and culture, and was really inspiring. He put such an emphasis on visitng the townships when we are here, and when we walked around one and met the people, I understood why. In the townships, areas that were created for the housing of poor "whites", "blacks", and "coloreds" were given government grants. The conditions still today are very poor, and a person typically only makes about 1500 rand a month. That is not a lot of money, especially when school for the children costs almost half of that. (note that I may not have the figures right, but that's the general idea.) The townships were split among the races to create a divide, so that the British settlers and upper class white people would not have their power challenged. Driving from first world PE to the townships is like crossing into a different universe. In PE, you almost feel as if you aren't in Africa at all. The beaches are pristine and there are guesthouses that have chandeliers and 5-star restaurants in them. In the townships, the houses are powered with solar energy, they are squished together in very tight quarters, they're made out of rusty tin and the schools are built with asbestos sheets. The grass is not very lush and there is trash everywhere because of the poor waste systems. People cook outside and may not even have a bathroom close by, so they have to use the 'bucket system.' People sell vegetables and fruits out of a stand in their yard to make money, and some start businesses like barber shops or shoe stores as well. As we drove through this area, everyone waved to us and yelled out things to us. I don't know why they were yelling to us, and quite frankly, expected them to be hostile to a huge double decker tour bus with "Hakuna ma tata" written in neon letters on the side, but no. They were waving and smiling, so we all did the same back. The simple gesture felt nice, but did not come close to helping me understand why it is that they live in these conditions, while I am so fortune enough to live in the conditions I have.
When we got out of the bus, we greeted some children who were walking along the street, and then went into the Red Location Museum. So much history to retell, all I have to say is that the significance of the South African history that everyone should know, goes unheard of in school. Horrifying stories were told of the injustices that occurred among the working class, and how many of the victims of the oppression are still living with haunted memories.
After the museum, we went into a community kitchen where three "Mamas" spoke to us. We didn't know it at the time, but this was the first time they had ever spoken in front of a group. They were beautiful women who had been unemployed, and now educated tourists about the culture of their townships. They consider everyone their children in those communities, and look after one another. They even called us their children, after us being there for only 5 minutes. This is how it is in the townships, they have a strong sense of community, and they form bonds with anyone who shows them care and love. They know all of their neighbors, and I spoke to one Mama about how I wished it was like that at home. I have had hallmates just a few doors down from me at school who I did not even speak to more than maybe once every now and then, if at all. These people are one family, and share their love with so many more people than I can imagine. It seems like such a better way to live, yet I can think of very few times in my life, besides among family and close friends, where I am in an environment where I consider everyone around me to be a loved one. With them, it is like this all the time.

It is hard to believe that I could continue to write for so much longer, and yet I've only been here one week. South Africa is beautiful, as chaotic and limitless as it is at times, and I am trying my best to absorb every bit of it whenever I step outside. I must say, it takes a lot out of you to take on this many cultures at once, but I've never had an experience like this before. Thank you for reading!

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow!

It's been just a couple days in PE and so far, I love it!! It's been very hot here the past couple of weeks, which is why we've gotten a few days of rain, so I've been told. This weekend should clear up in time for Mom & Dad and I to go to Addo Elephant Park tomorrow, where we'll take a drive around the park and see the Big 7 (Elephant, Rhino, Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Right Whale and Great White Shark)!!! On Sunday we're planning to finally have a beach day! The beaches are beautiful and I can't wait for the next hot sunny day!

While it has quiet and calm around here due to the rainy weather, I've still met so many lovely and kind people, it's unbelievable. Everyone here is just so friendly; they want to know where you come from and what brought you to PE. There are taxis that cater mostly to students, and the drivers (I've met two so far who have driven me to the stores at Summerstrand Shopping Center, Annie's Cove - the flat where I am living, and to the hotel my parents are staying at til Sunday) are always giving me advice, telling me where I can buy essential items for my flat, how to stay safe, offering tips and information that will help me this semester. The hotel staff are also so kind and very generous. People here are very hard workers, I've noticed. In every industry, whether it's at the hotel, in the restaurants, taxis, shops, they are very eager to help you and have your every need met. They're willing to bargain with you to make sure they make some sort of profit, and they do not give up on trying to sell. In the parking lots, people will help cars back out of the spots for a small tip, and there are vans that drive up and down the streets constantly looking for walkers who may want a lift. I think it's really inspiring; that so many people here have so much energy and motivation to work and support their families as best they can. Nobody simply asks for money, it's always in exchange for services or goods, and even then, it seems like I always got more for the money I paid.

I moved all of my things into Annie's Cove today. It is very comfortable and roomy! I've posted photos below. Each flat has 4 bedrooms, and there are about 30-40 units on the property. Nobody in my flat has moved in yet, so it was very quiet when I was there, but it sounds as though everyone else will be moving in this weekend. There was also a big group that left for weekend Orientation when I arrived. I'll be going to the weeklong orientation next week.

Last night, my parents and I went to Barney's, a restaurant that everyone has been raving about. It was delicious food, I had fish & chips, my dad had the fisherman's basket, and my mom had a chicken burger. (We all got drinks too.. SA drinking age is 18, so my order for a Castle Lite wasn't anything out of the ordinary there!) There was live music - some songs were in Afrikaans, some in English (Adele's Set Fire to the Rain was played, as well as that song that goes "Hey now, HEYYY now". The night before we ate at the hotel. Dad and I ate this appetizer - a Kudu spring roll. We weren't quite sure what kudu was, but we ate some of it anyways, thinking it was beef or something. Turns out, it's a huge deer-like animal, and the earrings I bought yesterday... made from Kudu bone. SO, it's safe to say that the kudu rakes in a lot of money for South Africans! And we also will possibly see one or two tomorrow at the park!! Here's the view from our table:

It's been lovely here so far, and with just a couple days left in there stay, Mom Dad and I will be making the most of this weekend at the Elephant park and on the beach. Then it's off to Orientation for me, and classes beginning on the 12th! I'm hoping to see a lot more faces around Annie's Cove once the weekend orientation is over, and getting to know more really great people!

I Flew Over the Entire Continent of Africa.

Hello everybody!

Thank you for the good luck wishes and positive thoughts. I'm currently safe in Port Elizabeth after a long journey from Boston to Zurich to Johannesburg and finally, PE! It's been pretty stress free overall with lots of helpful people guiding me to where I needed to go throughout the trip. This has definitely been one of the most exciting and surreal experiences of my life so far. Just knowing that at this moment I am sitting on the tip of South Africa is absolutely mind-blowing!! I am so happy to finally be here, and am trying to be as ready as possible for everything that's coming my way.

It was a little rainy in Port Elizabeth today, but apparently the weather is changing all the time, so we're hoping for sun tomorrow. Even in the rain, the beach is beautiful and the air is still warm. As I explore more over the next few days, I'll definitely be writing in more detail and positing photos. As for right now, catching up on sleep is a top priority!