My Tuesday started off very productive with a morning run, stretch and swim. That's right our school has a pool!!! How cool! hehe. It's like a mini paradise (see below). After breakfast we had a Safety Orientation session headed by the college rangers. We learned to stay away from snakes, spiders, and scorpions because even though there is a fence surrounding the college protecting it from the larger wildlife all around, these small critters can get by. The college is about 15 years old and its mission is to train managers for wildlife reserves. It is located within the Kruger National Park, and students come hear from all over South Africa as well as surrounding countries such as Angola, Mozambique, Cameroon, Zambia, and much more. For lunch we went to try the famous Chicken Dust at a nearby restaurant/lodge. It was prettty gooood. The chicken was not dusty at all, its actually given this name because of the way it was before. Chickens would roam around on the roadways and streets and they would be cooked there as well. So when they were received to cook their feathers were really dusty, hence the name for the food. (P.S. Chickens are worldwide... they are everywhere! In the WORLD! just thought I'd share that.) Tuesday was also the day where we met our host families!!! We met them at a Braai at the Southern African Wildlife College. Braai is the South African term for barbecue, they are a lot of fun, and very delicious. Our host family was very welcoming and sweet. Our host mom, Mama Susan, changed our names us as soon as she met us. My African name is Tinyiko which means "gift". I am a gift to their family =).
Wednesday we had a late start which was great for sleeping in. Our new home is gorgeous. We live in a town called Islington, which is very rural and far away from any city, yet our house looked better than any house I've had in Brazil or Vietnam. Our host family is well off, they own their own business and Mama Susan is a very determined woman. She was widowed in 2003 and left with three children. Her children are Noxolo (age 16), Nomhle (age 23), and Mpumelelo (age 27). They are very well educated and speak English very well, we have a lot of interesting conversations together. Breakfast each morning is a 3 course meal. We start off by having oatmeal or cereal as a starter, then a big banquet including some form of bread, eggs, beans, and salad and we end with fruit as dessert. Mama Susan likes to feed us really well. After our morning at home, we headed to the Tribal Authority Center of Islington. Here we were able to talk to the village chief about any issues he was facing. He told us he was the leader of 11 different communities and that there wasn't much violence or crime in this area, but domestic issues did arise like sexual violence or rape. After visiting the Tribal Center, we took a walk to a local creche. This was like a day care center for children between the ages of 0 and 7. It was started by a local family who saw the need for such services. There is a really high rate of teenage pregnancy in this area and so there is also a need for centers like this one to take care of children while the mothers are at work or at school. The children were adorable! They were also very scared of us however. We got there during their nap time, so they had to be woken up by the caretakers, and above that they were asked to perform a song for us. I would be very grumpy if someone did this to me at age 5. They also were very scared because to them we probably looked like a group of 35 white giants, creatures they probably have never encountered before.
After visiting the creche, we visited local traditional healers. Our experience with traditional medicines and healers here in South Africa was very different from traditional healers in Brazil or Vietnam. Their stories were very interesting. In order to become a "Sangoma" or traditional healer you first must be in a state of extreme pain and sickness. You must be sooo sick that no doctor or hospital is able to cure your illness. Therefore, your only resort is to visit the traditional healer in your village. Typically, the traditional healer will know what your ailment is and most often the only cure for it is to become a traditional healer yourself. The spirits will then come to you in your dreams and tell you where to go to be trained. One of the sangomas told us that she was trained by a mermaid and spent three months underwater. These men and women are recognized by the government of South Africa as healers and they are required to refer their patients to doctors if they can't heal them. But views of traditional healers vary among community members. Typically, those that are very religious do not believe in the powers that Sangomas have to cure people because they see their work as witchcraft related to the devil. To determine one's ailments they ask you to sit in front of them, they chant and then throw a bag of bones on the floor. Depending on how the bones land, they will read a different message and tell you what you are suffering from (see bones below). Very interesting for me, but scary for others.
Thursday we had class all morning with my favorite professor, Lee. Despite having class though, we were able to have lots of free time at the wildlife college. I really love being in school here. Its been a lot of fun and different in a very good way. Africa is gorgeous! Every morning to and from school we get to see wildlife all around us. We run into giraffes, elephants, impalas, water buffalo, wildebeests, quails and more. The weather is also fabulous. We are here in their "winter" season (because everything is opposite in the southern hemisphere) yet the temperature has be in the 80s almost everyday. Can't complain. But what has been most impacting is the sky. It is amazingly clear and blue. Its so perfect, that it looks as if it had been painted above us. The sunsets are also breathtaking. So many vibrant and warm colors in the sky at one time!
Friday was another full day of classes. We talked about the similarities that exist between the American Civil War and the South African Apartheid. And we came up with a list of about 10 things that we had in common, a lot more than I had expected. One thing I had't realized was our common struggle with indigenous people, limiting their home lands, and forcibly removing them from our communities in both countries. Its sad to look back on that history and see all that was stripped from these people, especially because they had rightful ownership, not us. We also watched a movie on the Truth and Reconciliation Council of South Africa and learned more about the struggle for amnesty after Apartheid ended. It was interesting to see that about 80% of people applying for amnesty were black and not white. But this could have been due to the higher percentage of prisoners being black as well. Either way it was an astonishing reality. We also learned that about 1 out of every 7 applicants were granted amnesty, and that there were over 22,000 hearings. It is a large number, but thankfully they happened and people were able to learn more about the struggle in order to reconcile and overcome it. On a more positive note, during our free time today I saw zebras!!! A whole herd of them was walking past us during lunch today... NBD.
Saturday we had our class excursion to Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Before we went around to go see the animals we heard a talk about the work they do at the center. They have a lot of success stories, but there are also a lot of problems getting animals accustomed to living in the wild again. It was sad to see that even in Africa, where wild animals are in abundance, space for them to live is limited. We are taking over their natural habitats and this is why they are in danger. At Moholoholo we saw eagles, vultures, honey badgers, cheetahs, leopards, lions, wild dogs, hyenas, rhinos, and wart hogs. But my favorite of all was the baby rhino. It was three weeks old when we went to visit, and it was at the center because it was born prematurely. The mother could not take care of it. Speaking of mothers, when we got home today, our host mother had prepared us a large feast, just like any other day. We ate a lot, and any one who knows me can say that I am a pretty good eater. But NO, not for Mama Suzanne. She said "You eat like Americans. You are in Africa, you should eat like Africans. People who live in the mountain eat mounds of food on their plates." So much for trying to lose weight. In every country I have been feed enormous amounts of food, more than I have on a regular basis at home. For breakfast, I have a three course meal every morning! We start with oatmeal, porridge, or cereal as a starter. Then we move to our main course which consists of some eggs, toast, bacon or other meat, beans, salad, and a couple extras. Finally, to top it off we either have yogurt or fruit for dessert. Whoaaaa and to think I usually never eat breakfast.
Sunday was church day. We went to a Christian non-denominational church called the Fountain of Living Waters. The service was 3 hours long, and it involved a lot of singing, clapping, scripture, and various other expressions of faith. Of course we walked in and all eyes were on us. We were the only white people in the entire congregation. The service started with an hour of singing, and since we knew none of the words all we could do is sway to the music and clap. After the music reached a low point, the pastor began his service by addressing the people. The mass was not in English, so I couldn't understand most of it... but all of a sudden I hear my roommate's name... then mine! They were welcoming us to the parish. We were asked to stand up, while people came to us, shook our hands and gave us hugs, much like when you offer people the sign of peace at mass. It was great. This was then followed by an hour of scripture and lastly an hour of revivals. This is the time when people are summoned to the front of the church, receive the touch of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit enters them. It is so powerful, that most of these people faint, fall, and tremble upon the touch of the pastor. It was quite and interesting experience and a good end to my weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment