Happy Valentine’s Day! Right now, I’m celebrating by eating a very yummy heart-shaped cookie at Cocoa Cha Chi with two of my favorite ladies. Later today, I’m going to an outdoor concert at the Kirstenbosch Gardens. We’re bringing a picnic complete with wine and cheese. The concerts there sound a lot like the Ravinia Festival, and I’m really excited to go. My main squeeze is in the Argentinean wilderness, so I’m sending him extra love given the holiday.
I had a very full day yesterday. In the morning I had a SHAWCO meeting. SHAWCO is a UCT student organization that places students as mentors in various townships. The program I’m doing is called Masizame. Every week I will go to an all girls orphanage to teach what is called life orientation. Basically, we try to empower the girls and teach them about various life skills. I’m really looking forward to starting the program.
In the afternoon I went to yet another delicious braai. This time the host was Andrew, the guy who took us to Mzoli’s last week. Andrew lives in a township not far from Cape Town. We had to drive past very poor areas to get to his house. If you’ve seen District 9, then you know the kinds of places we were driving through. Andrew lives in a nicer area, and it was interesting to see what life is like in the townships. I don’t know if it’s the same every Saturday afternoon or if this was a special occasion, but there was such a relaxed party atmosphere. There were people from the neighborhood hanging out in the street, where music was blaring and drinks flowing. The neighborhood men organized a soccer tournament, and a few of the people from my group got to play. There were children galore in this neighborhood and they all loved to play with us. We served as their jungle gyms for the day. At one point, I think every one of us had a child on our shoulders. It was really fun to play with the kids. They especially loved wearing our sunglasses and getting us to take pictures of them. Andrew’s sister Ivy cooked for us. Ivy made salads for us to eat at Mzoli’s last week, and it was such a treat to get a second round of her delicious cooking. I really enjoyed yesterday afternoon with its wonderful food, happy children, and block party atmosphere.
Ok now, everybody grab a child!
Pigging out
The one and only Ivy
Last night I got to see my longtime friend Eric, who is studying in Stellenbosch for the semester. I’ve known Eric since middle school, and it was so much fun to party with him in the Mother City. Etown blood runs deep, and it’s nice to get a taste of home when you’re so far away. I plan on going to Stellenbosch soon so I can see what his South African experience is like. Apparently, the Stellenbosch University kids party harder that the UCT kids, so I think I’ll be in for a good time when I do end up going.
I finished Nelson Mandela’s autobiography Long Walk to Freedom today. It was amazing. He included everything from his early childhood to his presidency. The book provided a glimpse of the personal side of such a great and significant man. It is amazing to learn about the struggles he faced and all that he had to overcome in order to liberate South Africa. I’m glad to be here at a time when I can see the manifestations of his accomplishments. I can’t believe that in my lifetime, South Africa went through such a transformation. I look forward to learning more about South Africa’s history and the experience of other freedom fighters. Everyone should read Long Walk to Freedom. It might be 625 pages, but it’s worth the weeks (or in my case, months) you spend getting to know one of the most important men of our lifetime.
-Sarah
No comments:
Post a Comment