A Weekend With the Whales

Before this week gets away(I know it's already Thursday....), I want to let you know about this past weekend adventures with my roomies and friends. As some of you know, Friday was a national holiday, Heritage Day (aka- Braai Day) which meant a lazy Friday spent on the back porch of my house enjoying the sunshine. It was a great chance to catch up on reading and reflection and the weather was simply spectacular. We were all set to go on a hike when an old friend from Zimbabwe showed up at our door, inviting us to a braai at his friend’s place. Due to the hour of the afternoon and the fact that I hadn’t seen Tate in 2 years, we all decided that a braai on National Braai day was probably the right choice and we spent the rest of the evening catching up and enjoying lots of meat on a grill. (Braai, for those of you who don’t know is Afrikaans for grill. We basically bbq’d all afternoon)

Saturday morning came early as my roommates and I rented a car for the day and set off for the cute little coastal town of Hermanus—famously known for its excellent whale watching. This weekend was the whale festival and we didn’t want to miss out! The drive along the coast was absolutely stunning and we stopped several times to take pictures of funny signs and mountains falling into the sea. Driving on the other side of the road was definitely an adventure, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. Left and right hand turns always required a bit more brain power than usual and the blinker was on the other side of the steering wheel. Every time I tried to signal to turn, my wipers went crazy on the clear sunny day, ha!

We spent the rest of the day, enjoying lunch by the ocean and hiking along the coast. We didn’t see too many whales, but the few that we did see gave us quite a show. Two of them breached out of the water several times!!! (See pictures) Our sunset drive home through Sir Lowry’s Pass gave us a spectacular view of Cape Town and Table Mountain. We decided to finish our day in Camp’s Bay overlooking the sandy beaches and giant palm trees. What a trip! It was so great to get to know my roommates more and learn about all of the different cultures we came from (Mexico, Germany, and Denmark). I’ve posted an album of pictures to facebook so you can check out more there!

What's In a Name?

Does your name have a specific meaning? Maybe you were named after a dear friend or family member. Is there a tradition that was upheld by giving you the name you have? Does it rhyme or share some similar trait with your siblings? Or did your parents choose your name simply because they liked the way it sounds?

In the Xhosa culture, names are given special thought and all of them have a specific meaning. Thulani is a very common name and it means, “Be quiet.” Perhaps mothers are praying for a child who isn’t too loud when they give this name. Thandiwe means ‘loving one’, Nomuula means ‘rain’. Nosine means ‘one who is born on a Thursday.’ Ha! Regardless of how deep or practical these names are, many of them are difficult for my American tongue to pronounce. I’ve been doing my best, but all these consonants and clicks are somewhat of a mind warp sometimes!

Anyways, I was sitting in the office last week and Themba (meaning: trust) came up to me and stated that I needed a Xhosa name. Most of the people in my office have a Xhosa name and an English name (for those of us who struggle with the consonants and clicks) so it was only fitting that I had a name easy enough for my Xhosa friends to pronounce. It’s more of an acceptance thing and term of endearment really because their English is quite good. He asked me what I wanted to be called and I had absolutely no idea so I just told him to pick one. After some loud Xhosa conversation among other office-mates, a consensus was reached and I was given a name—Liziwe.

My office friends wouldn’t tell me what it meant for most of the day and for a while I was starting to get a little nervous that it meant something bad or silly. By the end of the day, they decided I had waited long enough and decided to enlighten me....Liziwe means “a gift.” Honestly, I thought I was given the girl name for “One born on a Thursday” because that’s when I arrived. What a relief and special gift to be given such a Xhosa name! From that day forward, I think I’ve only been called Lindsay twice. Guess that means I’m no longer English-speaking in the office—from here on out, it’s Xhosa all the way! J

Lifestyle Conflict

So I’ve been doing a bit of thinking recently---well actually since I arrived here. I don’t know what it is, but something about this city makes me very reflective and analytical about life and what is happening around me. Maybe because it’s a new place or maybe just the sight of Table Mountain every morning helps to put life into perspective, but I’ll share my thoughts with you nonetheless….

Cape Town is a very interesting and diverse city. The challenge of a rebuilding nation, especially one recently out of such segregation policies (ie-apartheid) is the disparity between those advancing quickly and those stuck in the past. The first world part of Cape Town is new and fresh and on the verge of so much. It’s actually just like any European city—people walking to work in business suits and fancy clothes to work on their social media, social responsibility, and new business plans incorporating many international partners. The coffee shops are full with such business people discussing new strategies, recent meetings, and how to better their company.

The other side of Cape Town—the third world, where over half of the population resides is very much stuck in a cycle of poverty. Truth be told, there are a lot of improvements and many community projects that are working to better the situation, but people still live in tin and wooden shacks. The people in this world have a vibrant lifestyle and a hearty hope for the future; but the community is ridden with poverty, crime, drugs, alcoholism, gangsterism, teenage pregnancy, high school dropouts, rape and murder.

This brings me to my own thoughts and observations….Recently I’ve been struggling with being ridiculously tired and worn down. I battle through engaging in my work from about 1pm on until the end of the day and when I get home and just want to go to bed. By the time 2pm rolls around and I’m about to head out to the township (the third world) I’m simply exhausted and want to take a nap. It’s actually kind of frustrating because here I am, doing exactly what I’ve wanted to do—marketing AND teaching in the townships and I just can’t seem to muster the life to do it every day.

And then it dawned on me—maybe it’s not the amount of sleep I’ve been getting every night—maybe it’s due to the inner conflict of these two worlds colliding on a daily basis and my inability to reconcile the two. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been wonderful to be here and to see and do many new things (reuniting with old friends, exploring Cape Town and beyond, etc), but I find it very hard to be a part of both worlds. As I was walking through the Old Biscuit Mill (a very white and European market with fresh breads, cheeses, olive oils, honey, fruits, juices, etc), I couldn’t help but think of those just down the road who still wonder everyday whether or not they will have enough food to feed their children for the next day, week, or even month. I think that part that was the most unsettling was the fact that most of the people milling around the Mill (sorry, couldn’t help myself) have never or will never go into a township out of fear. If there is no integration between the races, if the affluent white population continues to move forward on a global stage, but leaves the less wealthy black population behind, there will be a tipping point—the gap cannot grow larger. No, it must begin to shrink.

My immediate reaction is to be judgmental of the affluent population even though it feels comfortable to me. But a judgmental outsider won’t get anyone anywhere. This is simply another aspect of Cape Town culture. No matter how much I struggle to reconcile the 2 worlds, they are both a part of life and society in this city. The two worlds are both faces that represent Cape Town and the challenge now is close the gap—to bring these faces together into one. I have no idea how this will look or how to go about this mission of closing such a gargantuan gap, but I do know that it must be done. Maybe this new revelation will give me energy to go strong through my day. Maybe it is just an observation that will soon fade from memory. Or maybe this new found purpose is enough to bring life into my step all day long. Only time will tell…

The Grocery

Every time I go to a new country, one of the first things I love to do is go and spend a good hour in the grocery store. Call me a nerd, but I love looking at what foods are popular and different from the States and how they choose to market these foods. For example—why in the world is the baby food next to the spices and why are the baking supplies 3 aisles away next to the cleaning supplies? In a quick jaunt through the aisles of a supermarket, you can determine what is important in a culture when it comes to food (and everyone has to eat right?!). Here, the shops aren’t as bit as they are in the states and there is a LOT of fresh produce. The juice and crisps (that’s chips to all you Americans out there...chips here are french fries) aisles are HUGE and freezer section is relatively small.

I love looking at the way they choose to display and market their food as well. What kinds of things are important that I should know about with my food? Is it healthy? Does it fill you up?? Does it come in biltong flavor?? I could go on and on about the store and how it is set up; but I won’t bore you with my marketing analysis of the grocery today. Watch out, I may unpack these ideas in a later post! For now, I will leave you with a few products I found hilarious in the stores. I think from time to time I will give a little Cape Town product update with other random and funny things I see. Enjoy!

Questions to Ask Yourself:

• What happens when you run out of Eet-Sum-More and you still want more?
• What is the difference between creamy and smooth? (Note--ingredients and health facts are exactly the same)
• Why do the peanut butter mascots appear to be flirty? (Text from left to right: "I'm creamy and ultra dreamy" "That's caramel crunch for the wild bunch" and "I'm smooth, want my autograph?")

Weekend Update: Picture Edition!

Front porch view from the cottage.

Not a bad view from the outhouse...

Old house Dinner by candelabra!

Weekend Update

Yes, I know…it’s past the weekend already, but I still wanted to let you all know what I was up to this weekend (and why it’s been almost a week since my last post). I was given the opportunity by some friends of my parents to go on a vacation up the west coast to stay in a cute little cottage in the old fisherman’s village of Church Haven. Having met them only once for about 5 minutes, I agreed, ready for any kind of adventure that would come my way, and trust me—adventures did happen. No, I didn’t eat any weird food or meet any famous people, but I was constantly surrounded by stunning views, delicious food, and delightful people.

The cottage we stayed in was quite the place—right on a lagoon which changed colors every hour to reflect the sun’s position in the sky. The crystal clear water echoed the blues and greens of the Mediterranean despite the chilly Atlantic waters. This quiet town of Church Haven has a permanent population of 9 and because it is an old fisherman’s village the cottage lacked electricity. Every single piece of furniture in the place was an antique—from the tiled kitchen table to the old wardrobes with tapered glass. I couldn’t help but wonder what the story was behind each piece and how far it had come to land in this tiny town.

But I digress…as if this cottage wasn’t enough, we were surrounded by stunning views of the lagoon and ocean and my new friends were not about to sit around all day. Saturday morning came early and we set out by bicycle to get a lay of the land. Picture this: you are riding along a long dusty red ‘road’ with an occasional trip through thick brush. The sun is shining and the air temperature is perfect as you conquer the next giant challenge—the gargantuan hill. As you complete your challenge and crest the hill, you breath is literally taken away (whether it is from your last feat or the view, it doesn’t matter). To your left, powerful waves crash against HUGE rocks on the shoreline. The loud clamor of the rough seas and majestic fans of water that appear as rock and water collide are enough to captivate one for hours. But wait….you still haven’t turned your head to the right. If you shift your gaze 90 degrees, another beautiful scene awaits you. Springbok, bontebok, and ostrich as well as a plethora of birds and small wildlife are all searching for breakfast in the fields below---all in view of the Mediterranean colored lagoon. 20Ks doesn’t seem like that far of a distance when such magnificence surrounds you.

The rest of the weekend was spent driving through the fields of wild flowers that come out in full beauty this time of year in South Africa. If you’ve heard anything about them, you’ll know that they come out and ‘carpet’ the fields and countryside with orange, yellow, purple, blue, pink, white, red, etc. Pictures can’t capture the moment of standing in a green field of wildflowers with orange and pink plants completely surrounding you. I’ll post a few pictures, but just know that they do not even come close to seeing it in real life.

The company I was will was absolutely wonderful and took me in like their own child. Because there was no electricity in the cottage, we went cooked and braai’d by lantern and finished off our incredible meals with rousing tournaments of boggle, a Carlin family favorite. Showers were buckets of rain water which made my hair oh so soft and were quite invigorating! I think it is safe to say that this weekend was full of God’s beauty and creativity. From the number of colors in the blue/green lagoon to the mere shape of an ostrich’s body…this place seems to be just a little slice of heaven on earth.

Smile! You're Eating a Smiley!

[Want to see the video of this whole event? Search for 'Gugulethu lrcarlin' on YouTube. You should find 2 different videos.]

For some reason, I woke up this morning with a pounding headache and struggled to get out of bed. I made it to work and the rest of the early day was pretty rough (it turned out to be a 2 coffee and 1 tea morning), but I managed to get through it all---excel spreadsheets and organizing folders completely in disarray were my intern-ly duties for this day and were much more difficult when you’re not feeling well. Anyways, by the time 2pm rolled around, I was more than ready to head out of the office and into the township. Little did I know what the next 2 hours held for me…..

We all climbed into our mini bus taxi for transport out to the various schools where we teach and had a lively discussion about township life, but more specifically—township food. What some of you may not know is that all along the roadside in the townships there are men and women shearing the wool and shaving the skin off of animals in preparation for cooking them over an open fire. There is a specific type of fire roasted delicacy called a “smiley” which always intrigued me the last time I was here. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to taste one and I kept talking about how I wanted to try such a thing. Before I knew it, we pulled over on to the sidewalk and one of my colleagues (his name is Easy) hopped out of the van and motioned for me to follow him to a smiley stand. He told me to pick out the smiley that I wanted (there were about 25 to choose from) and the lady would warm it up in boiling water for me so we could eat it! She gave us our meal with some spices to put on top (mostly salt) and we hopped back into the bus to feast on our township ‘barbeque.’

Now, what I haven’t told you yet is that a smiley is actually A SHEEP HEAD!!!! Yes, you read that correctly, it is a sheep’s head that they shear and roast all afternoon over an open fire. They then split it in half with a giant butcher’s knife and you can pull apart the meat from the bones and have a nice meal. You pretty much eat everything that comes with the head too—the eyeball, the tongue, the ears, the chin—everything. So, after much grimacing and strange faces...yours truly experienced all the parts of a smiley! And surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad, I actually really liked it! The tongue was a pretty weird texture and I couldn’t really get over that, but everything else was delicious. I still can’t believe I actually ate one…it’s something I’ve ‘wanted’ to do for so long now and it actually happened—crazy! If someone offered to buy me one in the future, I don’t think I’d refuse J

All that was left of the sheep’s head was the bone by the time we reached our school—it was completely clean! Clean is a relative term though…I smelled like greasy meat for the rest of the afternoon, but that was okay because the remainder of my day was spent trying to learn how to play cricket with some kids in a sandy field. After an hour of them attempting to teach me how to bat, how to score, how to bowl, when to run, when NOT to run, etc…I’ve concluded that cricket takes more than an afternoon to even know what is going on. I gave the kids a good laugh when I kept running to the other set of wickets when I shouldn’t have-ha! I think it’s safe to say that what started out as a pretty rough day, turned out to be an exciting afternoon full of new experiences.

End of the Strike??

As with most things in South Africa, you never really can tell what is going on right away. This is the case with the teachers and public servants strike that has been going on for the past 21 days.

As far as we know, the teachers’ unions have decided to suspend the strike so that the students can actually learn something before exams which start up in the next few weeks. The unions agreed to the 7.5% pay increase and R800 housing allowance, but there is still no final agreement and nothing is set in stone about the terms the teachers requested. Despite all this drama, the temporary strike suspension is wonderful news for the Amy Biehl Foundation. Today, for the first time in 21 days and for only the 3^rd time since being in Cape Town I GOT TO GO OUT TO THE TOWNSHIPS AND TEACH THE KIDS!!!!

Don’t get me wrong, the plethora of jobs I have been given in the office has been great and I have enjoyed getting to know the staff and the inner workings of a non-profit, BUT one of the main reasons I came to work for the Amy Biehl Foundation was to be out in the townships teaching the kids by helping them learn life lessons through computers and reading. Today was just a preliminary day so I went to several different classes (peer education, violin, recorders, traditional dance, computers, bead work, and foundations) to see where I would want to work. I’m pretty sure I’m going to stick with the computer class as planned, but it was great to see the different classes at work after so long.

The best part of the day was sitting in the sun at John Pama Primary school, watching the traditional dance class practice for their next big performance coming up at the end of September. As I sat and watched these kids dance barefoot on the pavement, a shy girl came up to me and kept eyeing my hair. I told her it was okay to play with it and the grin on her face was enough to melt the hardest heart of stone. For the next 30 minutes, I sat there enjoying the kids dancing and getting a free head massage! Never mind the tangled mess that I have yet to undo and put into some sort of order….her sweet smile was well worth the knotty chaos.

South Africa is a long way off from rebuilding what was lost during these last three weeks of striking. The teachers have their work cut out for them and many have lost a lot of wages as a result of their time away. I’m not sure what this means for the end of the year, but I do know that the Amy Biehl Foundation (myself included) will do what we can to make sure these kids are kept off the streets and learning as much as they can.

If you want to read more about the strike, I’ve included a link below….

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE6870B720100908?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

Simply in Awe

What a weekend! My first few weekends here have been relatively quiet as far as sightseeing goes. I guess the last time I was here; I had the privilege of exploring all of the touristy places so I haven’t felt the need to run out and discover Cape Town’s biggest hits. Usually by the time the weekend roles around, I’m so exhausted from the week that all I really want to do is lay around and relax. BUT, if you know me, you’ll know that I’m always up for an adventure and this weekend proved to be quite full of spontaneous adventures and stories. Let me give you just a glimpse….

The adventures started Friday right after work when I met 3 of my roommates down on Long Street for a wonderfully African evening. I haven’t really had much time to spend with the girls I live with so far so it was great to get to know them more!

[Side Note: For those of you reading my blog who have been to Cape Town before, I’m sure you’ll know all the places I’m talking about and remember them fondly. If you haven’t been to Cape Town….well, just buy a ticket here and I’ll show you J]

Anyways, we started off the night at Cape To Cuba which has a balcony overlooking a popular street downtown. We talked and laughed and had a hilarious time discussing life in our respective home countries (Denmark, Germany, and the US). Next up, we headed to a restaurant called Mama Afrika for some live African music and a dinner of Crocodile kabobs and Springbok steak! The crocodile meat tasted a bit like chicken (go figure, right?) and was kind of tough, but the spices on it were wonderful. The springbok steak melted in our mouths and was simply divine! We finished up our eating adventures with a Steers ice cream cone—something I did regularly when I was here last time. (Liz, you should have been there!!) It was SOOO good!!! We then concluded our “African night” with watching the movie Out of Africa which just happened to be on tv. The perfect ending to a great day!

Saturday came early as my friend, Anita (Dutch volunteer at work) and I rented a car for the day to drive up to the wine country of Stellenbosch. With no real plans, just a direction to drive, adventures were sure in store for us! We arrived in the quaint little town which is about 45 minutes outside of Cape Town, found a map of the 300 wineries in the area, and randomly picked 2 to visit. These wineries are in the mountains and plains just outside of Cape Town and the scenery of our drive was absolutely breath-taking! We arrived at our first winery and wandered around for a bit before walking into the cellars where we could have a tasting. It was pretty informal, but we were able to try some very interesting wines. The next stop was at Lanzerac Winery—where they first cultivated and bottled the South African Pinotage wine! Here, we were given a cellar tour and told how they make and produce their wines. Very interesting!

We had planned to stay overnight in Stellenbosch, but the sun was starting to sink lower in the sky and we both wanted to watch the sunset with a beautiful view of Table Mountain….so we jumped in the car and drove another hour or so to Blouberg for a picturesque evening! I’ve included a picture with our view—it was absolutely breathtaking! Sitting on the beach, watching the colors of the evening dance around on Table Mountain---I can’t even express to you in words! And the picture hardly does the moment justice!

Cape Town is a city with so much to do—it’s vibrant, it’s diverse, it’s beautiful, it’s joyful, it’s full of the pain of apartheid, it clings to the hope of a united future, it’s safe, it’s risky, there’s a city life, there’s a rural life, there’s a township life, it’s full of talent, you can hike a mountain and paraglide off the top, you can surf in the sea, you can watch the sunset, you can buy food on the street or you can go to a fancy restaurant, there are 11 national languages and even more cultures….and everywhere you turn, there’s another breathtaking view of God’s creation. Maybe this is why I love Cape Town so much....maybe this is why I simply can’t get enough of this beautiful city…..

Workshop Time!

If you read my last post, then you'll remember that I was put in charge of leading a half day workshop on staff development. Now, this isn't exactly my training or expertise, but with the help of the Kendalls, some online resources, and recalling some of my management classes from school, I did my best to put forth a follow-up workshop. I'll have to admit, it was a bit intimidating to watch 35 facilitators and staff of the Amy Biehl Foundation file into the giant meeting room at the office. Maybe this had something to do with the fact that I was the youngest one in the room...not to mention that I was the only non-Xhosa speaker...or had only been with the organization for 3 weeks...or.....OK, enough with the excuses--I was given a task and I had to just swallow any insecurities I had and go for it. There was no way they would care about anything I had to say if I didn't come across confident. So, after the first half of the meeting (which was all held in Xhosa) it was my turn to step up and give my input.

Surprisingly, I think it went off quite well! I spoke about the importance of setting goals and how they need to reflect the long term vision of the organization, but also be specific and measurable for short term motivation. At times, I felt like the crazy motivational speaker in Little Miss Sunshine, but the facilitators seemed to really engage and take to heart my crazy words. ABFT is undergoing a lot of changes and we are working on a lot of quality assessment things right now so this couldn't have come at a more relevant time. The facilitators all set goals for their individual centers as well as personal goals to achieve in the next year. I'm excited to hang up the posters of what they did on the walls like a proud teacher :)

I guess this strike is turning out to be a positive thing for the organization. It has given us time to step back from the busy-ness of running our programs and really look to see how we can improve as a whole. Hopefully the teachers will be back to the schools next week and I can actually start teaching the kiddos again, but until then, I'll just sit tight and do my best in the office. It's been cold and rainy this whole week so I really don't mind being inside while winter shows it's face outside. I'm pretty content to watch from my office window :)