A day off...

I'm sitting in my room right now enjoying one of my favorite abroad snacks -- crackers and cheese. It sounds a little odd, I know, but there is nothing I enjoy more than high quality cheese and cream crackers. In many foreign countries, cheese is made with unpasteurized milk which makes for an irresistible snack. I miss it greatly when I'm home. 

Today was one of our "days off." I put day off in quotations because despite not having any planned activities, my day seems to fill up regardless. This morning we made our first trip to Gugulethu for a church service and the opportunity to meet our homestay families. The facility serves many purposes within the township including a space for worship, after-school programs, HIV/AIDS support groups, and other community functions. The building itself is newly finished (I was quite impressed with it) painted with bright colors and decorated in a traditional African fashion. The congregation was fairly small, I don't expect there were more than 100 people in service, but we received a warm, genuine welcome from the parishioners. 

My homestay mom is named Titi. She is a fifth grade teacher who lives with her 22-year old daughter. I don't know the history behind her current circumstances, I look forward to learning more about her situation and her views on HIV. By listening in one the service, it was apparent that the congregation is making an effort to reach out to those affected by the disease. The service lasted about an hour (which is extremely short I'm told). There was a great deal of singing. The church did not have a piano or organ, the music was started by a designated singer and the congregation followed suit in perfect harmony. The music was very moving -- all of the music was sung in Xhosa (an African language spoken among many of those living in the townships). Following the worship, a few other students and I enjoyed a gorgeous day at Victoria and Alfred Waterfront for some shopping. We also went to Sex and the City: The Movie -- a show that many of us have been looking forward to for months. 

The last few days have been quite eventful as well. We started out Friday morning with a lecture from a political science professor on current events in South Africa. Much of the lecture was devoted to his personal story as a growing up in exile. His father was an instrumental member of the ANC and moved the family around the world quite a bit. By the time he was 15 and  Apartheid had dissolved, Steve had 10 passports, all with different names on them and been exposed to the ugly side of living in hiding. His story was truly amazing, he has multiple degrees concerning sociology and international relations (including one from Berkley). He plans to get his Ph.D from the University of Geneva. 

Following our talk with Steve, we headed to the V & A Waterfront to board a boat to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 of his 27 years in jail. Robben Island is located 13 kilometers from Cape Town, the boat ride was reminiscent of our seal tour from the day before. Waves reaching 6 to 7 feet rocked the boat and some of our group members experienced sea sickness. We did finally arrive at Robben Island where we were met by out tourguide. All tourguides are former inmates or guards which brings a personal perspective to the tour. Our guide told us of the torture and abuse experienced at Robben Island, which was a "coloured" prison. His stories were mortifying, absolutely mortifying. We got to see Nelson Mandela's cell and received a guided  tour of the entire island. The island was a little community of itself, one with a school and church for the guards who lived in the housing provided.  By the end of the day, I was in favor of a much needed night of rest as we had to leave for our African safari at 5:30 am the following morning. 

We had a very cold 2.5 hour bus ride to our game refuge. The heat broke down on our bus and the temperature was about 45 degrees. In South Africa, many buildings are not equipped with heat because it doesn't get incredibly cold, however, I am quickly finding out that I did a poor job packing and did not pay enough attention to the importance of bringing warm clothes. I've already purchased a new fleece and rain coat to combat the unpredictable climate. 

We boarded our Hummer for the Safari and entered an enclosed area where they're keeping cheetahs in quarantine. They recently received the cheetahs from Namibia where they were in danger of being poached. In order to enter the cheetahs into the large reserve, they were separated from the rest of the group in order to be monitored for disease. After seeing the cheetahs we saw lions. The lions would not be allowed to enter the reserve because they were "canned" meaning they had been raised to be hunted. They have a reliance on humans for their food and therefore it is impossible for them to be reentered into the wild and expect them to fend for themselves. It was a sad story.

After looking at the lions we entered the main reserve which is approx. 5000 acres. There we saw giraffe, zebras, rhinos, wildebeests, water buffalo, ostrich, spring buck, and much more. I was basically living the lion king. We had the opportunity to see two giraffes spar -- a very rare site. Hopefully I can post the video once my Internet connection improves. Last night we had our first night out on the town for a student's birthday. It was a really good time. 

This week we will be working in the townships which means I will not have internet connection. However I will be saving my reactions to the experiences in Gugulethu and posting them at the end of the next week. Thanks for reading!