The Rainbow Nation

I find myself waking up everyday by 6:30 am; I think it's because I don't want to waste a single second of my time in this beautiful country. I spent this weekend hanging out with family friends, who I was fortunate to meet through relatives in the States. Gary, Lucy and Jade, have truly become family for me here, in such a short time. I'm so glad the family/village that I have lived my whole life in, has carried clear across the ocean. 

On Saturday, we went to a hardware store to grab some things, and then had breakfast in the hardware store. Here, most supermarkets, and some hardware stores, have coffee shops within them. The owners of hardware stores use the hardware materials they sell, to design and build the shops; supermarkets use the same foods and goods sold in the store, to prepare what is sold in the shops. Later that evening I went to see "The Equalizer", starring Denzel Washington. We watched it in the "Prestige" section of the movie theater, that usually cost over $30 in the States, but was only $11 here; I was shocked because that's the price of a normal ticket. Then we hung out, and  had "Chicken Lickin'"(a better version of KFC) and watched futbol (soccer). It was the perfect ending to a Saturday night. 

On Sunday, Gary and Lucy took me to Soweto. First, we went to Nelson Mandela's house. It was very small, but had a ton of amazing artifacts inside; it was very insightful. He had over 15 honorary degrees from schools in the US. I got to see the last picture taken of him before he was sent to jail for 27 years. There were pictures of his family, and Winnie Mandela had several awards, as well. Her house is not far from where Nelson Mandela's house is. 

Soweto is a very diverse community. It is unlike the other communities that I had been exposed to so far in SA. There are houses everywhere, and small spaza shops (corner stores). I went into a spaza and asked the store employee for a Fanta in isiZulu. I said Sawubona (hello to one person), Unjani? (how are you?), Ngicela icolddrink (may I please have a cold drink). I had to practice like 5 times before asking him; it was quite funny. Then we went to a restaurant across the street from Nelson Mandela's house, and had traditional South African food. I loved it! The chicken was fresh and full of natural flavor, I've never had anything like it back home. I also had samp and chakalaka which is beans with a spicy tomato sauce on top. We then went to the Hector Pieterson Museum. Hector Pieterson was a 13 year-old boy who was killed when police opened fire on protesting students 
during Apartheid. 

The museum was heartbreaking to observe, but also explains why some of the people in South Africa have a negatively inculcated mentality. I saw a sign that stated "to hell with Afrikaans". Black South Africans were forced to learn in Afrikaans, and limited to Bantu education. Bantu education dictated what the non-whites studied, which was significantly inferior to what white students received.

After that, we met up with a friend, and she took us to a Soweto Snake Show; which is actually someone's house with more than 10 snakes and bearded dragons (I have a bearded dragon at home named Charlie). I got to hold the boa constrictor of my choice. I love snakes, and really enjoyed playing with Coco. 

The founder of the snake show and Coco.

As we were leaving Soweto, I saw older neighborhoods that look like the ones I've seen in movies, and there was a very small section of shanties. It made me upset to think about how Africa is depicted as a place full of shanties; but after being here for over 2 weeks I've only seen one very small area that looks that way. In Soweto, I saw very affluent people, driving Bentleys and Porsches; but I've never seen Africa shown in such a positive light on movies and media in the States. One of the many reasons I am here is to show people that Africa is more than game parks and poor, black african children. South Africa is culturally rich, and proves to be everything its nickname, "The Rainbow Nation," would make you imagine...and so much more!

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About My Host Family

I met my host mom, Mildred; my host dad, Tseko Patrick; and my youngest host sister, Lerato Mkobeko Ayanda, who goes by Katie (pronounced Cat-ee who is in the picture with me), on Saturday, September 14th. When I got to my new home I met my other host sister, Mwanja Patricia, who we call Patricia. She is my host mom's niece, but in my host family we don't use the term cousin. Aunts are called "mom", and nieces are "daughter". This is an aspect of the culture that I love, and immediately related to, because I always felt like my cousin Amira, in America, is my sister; now that I am able to see the cultural significance of how South African people relate to their family members, I see the correlation to how my family relates in America. My host family is very loving and hardworking. Our dad doesn't live with us, but he comes here very often, and picks me and Katie up from school sometimes. I love that I have such a complete family structure, it makes it feel like home.

After arriving at home for the first time, and getting comfortable in my pajamas, I immediately asked my mom the rules. I learned that we have to hand wash our underwear, everyday, when we take them off; and we hand wash our clothes every week. In South Africa energy and water have major restrictions, and can be very expensive. So, we have to turn on the geyser (water heater) when we want to bathe, and we heat up water in an electric pitcher to wash the dishes. We take baths, because there is no shower option; and we must clean the tub as soon as we are done using it. I realized how spoiled I have been, having a bathroom of my own most of my life. Patricia and Katie said they don't really have friends outside of family, and they don't go out much because of this. Even though this is very different than what I am used to in America, I am comfortable with it, because although I want to make friends, I don't want to do anything outside of the family norm. Here, you don't go out late at night because it is considered to be very dangerous. So we go out during the day, together, and in the evenings we spend time at home.

In just the few days that I have been here, I have learned that Patricia has so much love for EVERYONE! She is 19 years-old, but is like a mom to all of us, even our mom! She cooks, cleans, and offers massages to everyone in the house, purely out of love. Katie is the baby in the family, and like my brother in America, she fills that role very well, and she is fun to talk to. Our mom works very long and hards days. When she comes home, she like to watch "soapies", that I haven't yet come to enjoy. Apparently, everyone knows (but somehow I didn't know before coming here), that South African, Nigerian, and Brazilian actors are really bad, but they are the stars of the commonly watched soap operas in South Africa.

I already love this family, and I am really grateful that I was placed with them.

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Culture

Pretoria, South Africa 

I am in awe of the cultural and physical differences here. The first thing I noticed when I arrived, was the lack of green grass here. There is none! You have some sidewalks, but mostly dirt paths. The roads are all paved, but that is it. I live in a city, so we walk around everywhere, even though we have a car. Resources here are a big deal, so even though my family isn't poor, they conserve their resources. By the time I get home, my skin is gritty, and I have dust all over my clothes.

Technology is not anywhere near what I was used to at home. An iPhone is basically nonexistent here. The average smartphone is a Blackberry. People use technology more sparingly, and care a lot less about what is going on in the lives of strangers. In some ways and around certain people, me being an American is a novelty, and a fun topic of discussion; but in public places and on public transportation, I have to speak as little as possible and try not to carry anything that will display that I am an American. Thieves think of Americans as rich, and good targets.

The terminology here is very different, as well. Traffic lights are called robots. Everyone says things like, "now, now", meaning "later", and " I am going to fetch you now", meaning "I am going to pick you up now."

Cars are driven on the left side of the road, and their driving skills/styles are scary! We have to be very conscious of what we wear, and even where we look, because we don't want to attract attention from men. My host mom said when men say, " Hey sister, you are so beautiful! I love you", to just say "thank you", and keep moving. At times I worry, because I fear doing something unconsciously or out of American habit, that will draw unwanted attention; but I just keep on keeping on.

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School

I finally started school today, which I had been very eager and nervous about. School here is very different than at home. When we walk into a classroom we stand until we greet the teacher. The classrooms are individual buildings outside, placed on top of dirt. The classrooms are surprisingly bug free, but are very dusty because the school does not have AC, so the windows are open and the school sits on a dirt plain. I was so hot today. I wore a big sweater because when I bought my uniform they didn't tell me that they had vests, so tomorrow I will just wear my school shirt, and maybe my tie. There are different options for what you wear to school everyday unlike the private school I went to in America; where everyone wore the same thing. The kids that sit by the teachers learn the most. There are about 30 of us in my class and when you sit in the back you can't hear anything because everyone is talking. The icing on the cake, for me, is that everyone is speaking in a different language, they call Spretoria; it is a mixture of all of the most common languages spoken between Sesotho and ZuIu, which are the primary black ethnicities. I go to a public school, but church and state are not separate here, so you have the option of church during your lunch break. I went to church today because I figured it would be an interesting experience and it was! I was greeted at the door by a student who happened to be the one who leads church everyday. He was the most mature boy I had seen all day, and I knew then that it was going to better than sitting outside with the kids who are less engaged. When it started, the student pastor asked someone to lead us in praise and another student started singing a song in Zulu. It was so uplifting. One of the girls told me that the song was about power, I am assuming the power of God. After the song was over, another girl started singing another song in Zulu. Then the student pastor asked me if I could sing; I laughed and told him "no", he then asked someone to "accommodate" me. I guess he meant, would someone sing a song in English. One of the girls started singing a song in English. The entire room clapped along to every song. Everyone who attends church is referred to as Christians, regardless of how we identify, or whether we identify as any formal religion at all. Nevertheless, he talked about REAL issues, and I will definitely go back. I have so much to catch up on in my classes, I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed. Yo!( a commonly used expression by all languages in SA meaning, "oh my")

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Food in South Africa!

The first day I met my host family, my sister, Patricia, cooked cow intestines in a thick stew. Needless to say, it was very different; so I didn't eat much of it, but I was willing to try it. The next day we went to McDonald's. McDonald's is so different here. They have a pop called McFizz, with either watermelon flavour or Lychee flavour. I haven't tried it yet but I cannot wait to taste it!

Patricia and my mom made chicken, rice, and spinach the next day. The chicken taste like the chicken in chicken biriyani, which is one of my favorite dishes. My mom was so surprised that I knew about Indian food and spices. In my family, they don't refrigerate food they just keep it on the stove and reheat it the next day. It gets cold in the house at night so I think that is what preserves the food long enough to eat it over a few days. Pap is a popular food here. It is a really heavy porridge that you can eat with any meal. There is brown pap and white pap. The white one is very bland and taste like flavorless grits. The brown one, I am told, is suppose to be eaten as a more traditional food, but my mom prefers that one, so Patricia always makes both. The brown one is more wheat like and has a little more flavor. Pap is a "stable" food, meaning it is inexpensive and very filling, so it is used to supplement smaller portions of more expensive dishes, like meat. Soil is also a common snack food. My family eats it the way we eat chips in America. I'm still deciding how I feel about it, but I have tried it more than once.

I am adjusting to the foods, and enjoying the fact that it is so different from what I would eat in America.

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My Last Night In The US

On my last night before leaving for New York, my little brother was feeling stressed about me leaving, so we decided to have a sleepover in my room. After going to bed well after midnight, I woke up at 4 am and could not fall back to sleep. Maybe it was nerves mixed with excitement, keeping me from my beauty rest; or maybe it was the fact that my little brother slept diagonally in my bed with his feet in my back. Either way, I could not go back to bed. After I took my LAST shower in MY bathroom until July 2015, my little brother, Naasir, and my mom drove me to the airport. Once at the airport, I got checked in, and we made our way to the gate. We all kept our emotions in check until my mom's allergies started kicking in; she suddenly started crying her eyes out, for about 30 seconds. I started to tear up and so did Naasir, but we regained our composure, and our final hug was tearless, warm and exciting. My adventure was finally beginning!!

After boarding, I sat on the small jet, next to a man who was going on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. He told me he was going to be without access to a shower, and covered in mosquito nets for a week. As a HUGE hygiene FREAK, I thought he was so brave; but as I told him about the journey I am embarking on, he told me how impressive and brave I was for leaving home as a high school Junior.

I got off the plane at JFK International Airport, and met the chaperone who would be leading the pre-departure orientation, and also tagging along on the trip to SA. When I arrived at the hotel for the orientation, I met 7 other students who are going to South Africa too! We all came from different backgrounds and hometowns; from Maryland to Oregon, but I made 7 new friends-for-life, in just 10 hours. There was a recent returnee from SA that we were able to bombard with all sorts of questions. I think the most valuable things that she said were: "The value of this entire experience will be based on your attitude", and "keep positive thoughts", because although this experience will be fun, it will also be challenging. I feel like everything I have been taught throughout my life, has prepared me to embrace all that comes with this journey; so her words hit home.

After orientation, I stayed up all night so that I could try to sleep during my 15 hour flight to Johannesburg. Lots of thoughts and feelings to keep my mind occupied...my prayers are up, and I am ready to go!

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South Africa Here I Come!

I leave in 4 days and I am so anxious! The journey from Chicago, to Johannesburg, to Pretoria, seems like it will take forever, but I know the time will pass quickly, and I will soon be meeting my host family for the very first time! Today, I picked up my Visa and spent my last bit of time in downtown Chicago, until next July! I felt a little saddened knowing that it would be my last time seeing that incomparable skyline, and being in midst of the heart of the city I love; but I realized I have the opportunity of a lifetime right in front of me, and I suddenly felt excited! My faith is so strong; I know that things will get hard at times, but I also know that this experience will be nothing short of extraordinary.

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