Hello everyone! nipples to the sky! that's some friendly advice from maxwell, my dance teacher. so once again, not too much going on. I've been living off of rice, beans, lentils, and earl grey tea and actually feeling very healthy. i've started jogging again, although my headphones have disappeared so i've been running uphill without music, and it's difficult.
So class wise there isn't much news. The grading system is really different here. A 75% is an A, so we keep getting tests back thinking we did really poorly when it turns out we have an A. I got a 78% on my archaeology test, and i only got 1 question wrong. They take their nuances pretty seriously here, but i think my professor was impressed. He seems to think that us american kids aren't at all prepared for his class, but we're proving him wrong and i think he's glad. In my religion class i'm learning that buddhism will never be the religion for me. I simply cannot be that passive, quiet and "pure." It's been quite interesting though, especially the part about "male love" in Japan, which can be seen as institutionalized, pedophilic rape. One of the biggest challenges for a lot of us (and i think for most kids abroad) is to separate what you're learning from your American preconceptions. This applies to the things we learn in class all the way to the things we see in the townships. and it's always just so hard not to judge it.
At Baphumelele we often see the kids with dripping noses and sores on their skin and flies all over and think that this is wrong, but the reality is that this is what happens here and these kids' basic needs are being met. It's hard to adapt from our western middle-class idea that a diaper should be changed every time the child goes, to the practice here of nappies get changed twice a day unless the kid is leaking. Also i've been trying to use my newfound Xhosa skills at the orphanage and the kids think it's hilarious. We gain so much street cred by saying "ungubani igama lakho?" which means what's your name. There are some kids who are really bonding with me, and we all have our favorites. For me a girl named okuhle (uh-kuth-le) has taken to me since my very first day. She's around 4 or 5 and just so sweet, she always brushes my bangs out of my eyes and tucks my hair behind my ears. There is also a boy named Anda who is very introverted, but then also very violent at times in his outbursts. He's hard for a lot of volunteers to understand and as a result of that they don't usually play with him so he scowls in the corner. But a couple of us have figured out a way to show him the attention he needs. We're all just learning a lot about how to interact individually with the different kids. Mostly we're just playing with them, but they really need that individual attention and love. It's interesting to learn how important play is in physical, emotional and social development. If anyone is interested more about Baphumelele they can check out the website for Children of South Africa at www.chosa.org.
On saturday i was supposed to go paint the house that I helped build last week, but at the last minute it was cancelled and then today i found out why. We put up a shack in a neighborhood of Nyanga that is apparently very hotly contested politically right now (we had absolutely no way of knowing this). The ANC is currently holding office there. After we put up the shack, the vice chancellor of the neighborhood (a very local level politician) saw this shack, thinking it was very nice and who could have afforded to build it. so she thought that the rival political party had organized. She brought the police in, citing an ordinance that the neighborhood had been upgraded (it had a playground and cement houses) and that no more shacks could be built on that block, and the police took down the shack. This all happened the day after we built it. The community was so upset because they had been so excited for the girl and to put up the house, that they all got hammers and put the house back up. They argued face to face with the politician, convinced her of the need for the house and that it was built and funded by a third party, and then the politician told the police not to mess with it. Members of the community have been sleeping in the empty shack all week to protect it. It's really neat how they have rallied around this family and they are so supportive of us for coming in to build it. So this week i'm going to go out and paint it, then we'll have a house warming block party with the community. This house was funded by past kids on the program and people they knew and there isn't enough money left over to furnish the house, so we're all going to try to contribute. If anyone wants to help me contribute to the furnishings they can email me (kerrylow@gwu.edu). I would really appreciate, but mostly this family would appreciate. They are trying to set up a non-profit, and then possibly like family-sponsorships for other families in need. Like sponsorships for a short period of time. This girl that we built the house for this time is only 19 and caring for 5 children, so she can't even work. Once I have more details on the official non-profit status I will get you guys the information. I'm gonna try to organize a sponsorship in the greek community, but they're also looking for money for a general fund to just build the houses. For more information on the nutrition center we're working with you can check out http://www.philani.org.za/index.php. It's an amazing organization. i'll keep you all updated with its progress.
Also, on saturday I went to a concert of the band Freshly Ground. It was awesome. just kinda hippie-like jazzy music. Really fun. Everyone was drinking wine, dancing, barefoot in the grass. it almost felt like fremont.
OK things I really miss: getting mail, chocolate chips and chocolate chip cookies, baked beans, chili, soup that isn't powdered, decent cheese, bread with some substance, cantaloupe, dogs that are bred to be friendly, being able to take my camera places, being able to walk at night, online window shopping, forever 21, coffee shops, grand street breakfast at ivory tower with an orange mango nantucket nectar, splenda, and well, the list goes on.
also, i've posted a few new pictures. and an update on my writing. i haven't posted anything else because i've realized that a lot my writing is becoming increasingly personal and i worry about offending people and not being able to explain things. So for now, i'll just keep it private and maybe post snippets of things. I really want to write for public consumption, but at the same time i'm self conscious about the reactions and the consequences of writing certain things. That's probably a pretty common fear, and thanks to those of you who gave input on the essay i did post, i think that one is in fact being published.
oh and one thing i forgot to post last week. The funniest case of "it's a small world" happened to me on a mini-bus. There were a bunch of americans in the mini bus on the way to see tsotsi and a few other people as well. We were all talking and all of a sudden the guy across from me looked at me and said "I used to live in Seattle." i paused, surprised, looked down at my clothes to see if i was wearing something that said Seattle on it, and said "wait, how did you know I was from seattle?" and he said "well you're american right?" and I said "yes, but i am actually from seattle, the rest of these kids are from other places in america." and it turns out that him and the driver as well were somalian refugees who lived in seattle for a long time and a lot of their family still lives there. I just thought it was so strange that he happened to be sitting across from the only person in the mini-bus who was from seattle. it was cool.
So class wise there isn't much news. The grading system is really different here. A 75% is an A, so we keep getting tests back thinking we did really poorly when it turns out we have an A. I got a 78% on my archaeology test, and i only got 1 question wrong. They take their nuances pretty seriously here, but i think my professor was impressed. He seems to think that us american kids aren't at all prepared for his class, but we're proving him wrong and i think he's glad. In my religion class i'm learning that buddhism will never be the religion for me. I simply cannot be that passive, quiet and "pure." It's been quite interesting though, especially the part about "male love" in Japan, which can be seen as institutionalized, pedophilic rape. One of the biggest challenges for a lot of us (and i think for most kids abroad) is to separate what you're learning from your American preconceptions. This applies to the things we learn in class all the way to the things we see in the townships. and it's always just so hard not to judge it.
At Baphumelele we often see the kids with dripping noses and sores on their skin and flies all over and think that this is wrong, but the reality is that this is what happens here and these kids' basic needs are being met. It's hard to adapt from our western middle-class idea that a diaper should be changed every time the child goes, to the practice here of nappies get changed twice a day unless the kid is leaking. Also i've been trying to use my newfound Xhosa skills at the orphanage and the kids think it's hilarious. We gain so much street cred by saying "ungubani igama lakho?" which means what's your name. There are some kids who are really bonding with me, and we all have our favorites. For me a girl named okuhle (uh-kuth-le) has taken to me since my very first day. She's around 4 or 5 and just so sweet, she always brushes my bangs out of my eyes and tucks my hair behind my ears. There is also a boy named Anda who is very introverted, but then also very violent at times in his outbursts. He's hard for a lot of volunteers to understand and as a result of that they don't usually play with him so he scowls in the corner. But a couple of us have figured out a way to show him the attention he needs. We're all just learning a lot about how to interact individually with the different kids. Mostly we're just playing with them, but they really need that individual attention and love. It's interesting to learn how important play is in physical, emotional and social development. If anyone is interested more about Baphumelele they can check out the website for Children of South Africa at www.chosa.org.
On saturday i was supposed to go paint the house that I helped build last week, but at the last minute it was cancelled and then today i found out why. We put up a shack in a neighborhood of Nyanga that is apparently very hotly contested politically right now (we had absolutely no way of knowing this). The ANC is currently holding office there. After we put up the shack, the vice chancellor of the neighborhood (a very local level politician) saw this shack, thinking it was very nice and who could have afforded to build it. so she thought that the rival political party had organized. She brought the police in, citing an ordinance that the neighborhood had been upgraded (it had a playground and cement houses) and that no more shacks could be built on that block, and the police took down the shack. This all happened the day after we built it. The community was so upset because they had been so excited for the girl and to put up the house, that they all got hammers and put the house back up. They argued face to face with the politician, convinced her of the need for the house and that it was built and funded by a third party, and then the politician told the police not to mess with it. Members of the community have been sleeping in the empty shack all week to protect it. It's really neat how they have rallied around this family and they are so supportive of us for coming in to build it. So this week i'm going to go out and paint it, then we'll have a house warming block party with the community. This house was funded by past kids on the program and people they knew and there isn't enough money left over to furnish the house, so we're all going to try to contribute. If anyone wants to help me contribute to the furnishings they can email me (kerrylow@gwu.edu). I would really appreciate, but mostly this family would appreciate. They are trying to set up a non-profit, and then possibly like family-sponsorships for other families in need. Like sponsorships for a short period of time. This girl that we built the house for this time is only 19 and caring for 5 children, so she can't even work. Once I have more details on the official non-profit status I will get you guys the information. I'm gonna try to organize a sponsorship in the greek community, but they're also looking for money for a general fund to just build the houses. For more information on the nutrition center we're working with you can check out http://www.philani.org.za/index.php. It's an amazing organization. i'll keep you all updated with its progress.
Also, on saturday I went to a concert of the band Freshly Ground. It was awesome. just kinda hippie-like jazzy music. Really fun. Everyone was drinking wine, dancing, barefoot in the grass. it almost felt like fremont.
OK things I really miss: getting mail, chocolate chips and chocolate chip cookies, baked beans, chili, soup that isn't powdered, decent cheese, bread with some substance, cantaloupe, dogs that are bred to be friendly, being able to take my camera places, being able to walk at night, online window shopping, forever 21, coffee shops, grand street breakfast at ivory tower with an orange mango nantucket nectar, splenda, and well, the list goes on.
also, i've posted a few new pictures. and an update on my writing. i haven't posted anything else because i've realized that a lot my writing is becoming increasingly personal and i worry about offending people and not being able to explain things. So for now, i'll just keep it private and maybe post snippets of things. I really want to write for public consumption, but at the same time i'm self conscious about the reactions and the consequences of writing certain things. That's probably a pretty common fear, and thanks to those of you who gave input on the essay i did post, i think that one is in fact being published.
oh and one thing i forgot to post last week. The funniest case of "it's a small world" happened to me on a mini-bus. There were a bunch of americans in the mini bus on the way to see tsotsi and a few other people as well. We were all talking and all of a sudden the guy across from me looked at me and said "I used to live in Seattle." i paused, surprised, looked down at my clothes to see if i was wearing something that said Seattle on it, and said "wait, how did you know I was from seattle?" and he said "well you're american right?" and I said "yes, but i am actually from seattle, the rest of these kids are from other places in america." and it turns out that him and the driver as well were somalian refugees who lived in seattle for a long time and a lot of their family still lives there. I just thought it was so strange that he happened to be sitting across from the only person in the mini-bus who was from seattle. it was cool.
posted by kerry at 12:31 PM
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