Turning point of the week:
Anna leaving Project Endlovu. Going through Anna withdrawal.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Verse 26: The Fifth Weekly Update
At Project Endlovu, this week we continued to improve the community center and expanding Project Endlovu. On Monday, we torn down a shack behind the community center to make room for future housing. The interior doors and walls have been sanded and painted.
Turning point of the week:
Anna leaving Project Endlovu. Going through Anna withdrawal.
Turning point of the week:
Anna leaving Project Endlovu. Going through Anna withdrawal.
Verse 25: Sea the Limit
In between the sea and the sky there's a fine-line we call horizon; that horizon is earth, the platform of human civilization. People always look up and talk about the sky; they say things like "the sky is the limit".
But what about the sea? In all practicality, I think the sea is far greater than the sky.
How often do we tilt our heads up and get a view unobstructed by some sort of man-made structure, be it a light fixture, the ceiling, skyscrapers, or an airplane? How usual, or unusual, that we head out to watch the heaven on a clear night and see only a few bright stars because of light pollution from urban expansion? The truth is, our perception of the sky is contributed by many arbitrary factors: nitrogen that makes the sky blue, the curvature of earth that makes it orange at sunset, the lack of light that makes it dark. What is the limit of the sky? Is it the height of the clouds? Or the earth's atmosphere? Or does it extend deep into outer-space, that empty space some scientists call ether that is made of 100% nothing?
The boundaries of the sky is undefined, it is then pointless to set "sky" as a limit. If we define the sky as infinitely big, then we will never, not even theoretically, reach our limit, thus never achieve our full potential. Some people would like to believe that the human potential is unlimited, but be real, the human body will never run as fast as a cheetah, the human mind will never contain as much information as the Internet. After-all, we're defined by X number of chromosomes and Y number of neurons.
Look across the sea, you get a view unobstructed. Sea, the almighty sea... that vast area covering 7/10 of earth's surface. It is the sea that symbolizes life of a planet, yet it has swallowed Titanic and all those on-board. Hence the sea is the limit. As boundless as it looks, there is a shore on the other side. As abysmal as it seems, there are rocks at the bottom. As impossible as something appears to be, there is possibility.
But what about the sea? In all practicality, I think the sea is far greater than the sky.
How often do we tilt our heads up and get a view unobstructed by some sort of man-made structure, be it a light fixture, the ceiling, skyscrapers, or an airplane? How usual, or unusual, that we head out to watch the heaven on a clear night and see only a few bright stars because of light pollution from urban expansion? The truth is, our perception of the sky is contributed by many arbitrary factors: nitrogen that makes the sky blue, the curvature of earth that makes it orange at sunset, the lack of light that makes it dark. What is the limit of the sky? Is it the height of the clouds? Or the earth's atmosphere? Or does it extend deep into outer-space, that empty space some scientists call ether that is made of 100% nothing?
The boundaries of the sky is undefined, it is then pointless to set "sky" as a limit. If we define the sky as infinitely big, then we will never, not even theoretically, reach our limit, thus never achieve our full potential. Some people would like to believe that the human potential is unlimited, but be real, the human body will never run as fast as a cheetah, the human mind will never contain as much information as the Internet. After-all, we're defined by X number of chromosomes and Y number of neurons.
Look across the sea, you get a view unobstructed. Sea, the almighty sea... that vast area covering 7/10 of earth's surface. It is the sea that symbolizes life of a planet, yet it has swallowed Titanic and all those on-board. Hence the sea is the limit. As boundless as it looks, there is a shore on the other side. As abysmal as it seems, there are rocks at the bottom. As impossible as something appears to be, there is possibility.
Verse 24: I, Backpack, Car
World Cup. Cape Town. Weekend.
When you have all those at the same time at the same place, something is bound to happen. This weekend it happened to be that England choked, and that I wasn't able to find affordable accommodation in town. As such, I rented a car to escape the Cape Town free-market economy.
So here I am, sitting on the hood of the car watching sunset at the seashore.
This is the life on the road...
Let's backtrack a bit.
Saturday morning I picked up the car from the rental place two blocks up from Long St. My original plan was to head straight to the West Coast National Park, make my way through the vineyards on day 2 and drive around the southern peninsula to the Cape of Good Hope. However, not realizing I had reserved a car with a MANUAL transmission, I had to first teach myself how to drive the darn thing. As a side note, downtown Cape Town is NOT a good place to learn to drive! I was stopped by the police three times for impeding traffic. Fortunately each time I was able to charm my way out of a traffic ticket and a substantial fine.
Numerous "stalling in the middle of the road" later, I found myself on a parking lot right beside the beach. From there on, I gained confidence of driving. The only downside is: it is now middle of the afternoon, and I went in the opposite direction of where I am supposed to go.
The coastal drive was pleasant. I was accompanied by beautiful African nature reserves along the way. There weren't many cars on the one-lane highway. Once in a while you can see a bit of wild life. I had my windows open, the air couldn't have been more refreshing.
The R27 highway from Cape Town to Langebaan doesn't go through small towns. With a bit of speeding, it only took me an hour and a half to get to my destination. It was near sunset when I reached Langebaan. After checking out the small town, I parked in front of a beach, and watched the sun go down.
*****
Sunday
I woke up in my car before sunrise and drove the car around the parking lot to review my driving skills. Feeling ready, I made my way to West Coast National Park - about 15km away. The West Coast National Park is gorgeous and only costs R36 ($5) to enter. The park is situated on a barrier island that forms a blue water lagoon with the main land. As you continue the drive through the front gate, you have water on both sides of the road; the Atlantic Ocean to the left, the Lagoon on the right. Beautiful.
The park features many trails with ranging lengths and difficulties. I didn't have time for that, but I did drive to the tip of the barrier island where the lagoon meets the ocean (80km in length). The seashore features sharp rocks and rich aqua-life hidden underneath the deep-blue water. From the description, the park is especially during the spring (Oct-Nov) with flowers covering the whole island. Too bad I am only half a year too late.
Early in the afternoon, the West Coast National Park was in my rear view mirror. I headed south on a different route to go through historical towns of Darling, Mamre, and Atlantis. To my disappointment, not much was open in these places on a Sunday. However, Atlantis was worth the detour. Atlantis is a place with high-level of poverty, which I had been warned by the travel guide to not go through it. I ended up driving through it anyways.
Down the main road in Atlantis, the two sides are enclosed by high walls and barbed wires. Behind the walls are people's homes. What I found interesting was that despite Atlantis being described as "very high level of poverty", the living condition was much better than the Khayelitsha township. The crime rate here is abnormally high, hence I did not get out of my car to snap pictures.
From Atlantis, I turned back onto R27 heading towards Cape Town. En-route, I stopped at coastal towns of Milnerton, which is a very nice area on the opposite side of Cape Town. The beaches are very nice, the houses are big and elegant. So here I am, sitting on the hood of the car watching sunset at the seashore.
This is the life on the road...
When you have all those at the same time at the same place, something is bound to happen. This weekend it happened to be that England choked, and that I wasn't able to find affordable accommodation in town. As such, I rented a car to escape the Cape Town free-market economy.
So here I am, sitting on the hood of the car watching sunset at the seashore.
This is the life on the road...
Let's backtrack a bit.
Saturday morning I picked up the car from the rental place two blocks up from Long St. My original plan was to head straight to the West Coast National Park, make my way through the vineyards on day 2 and drive around the southern peninsula to the Cape of Good Hope. However, not realizing I had reserved a car with a MANUAL transmission, I had to first teach myself how to drive the darn thing. As a side note, downtown Cape Town is NOT a good place to learn to drive! I was stopped by the police three times for impeding traffic. Fortunately each time I was able to charm my way out of a traffic ticket and a substantial fine.
Numerous "stalling in the middle of the road" later, I found myself on a parking lot right beside the beach. From there on, I gained confidence of driving. The only downside is: it is now middle of the afternoon, and I went in the opposite direction of where I am supposed to go.
The coastal drive was pleasant. I was accompanied by beautiful African nature reserves along the way. There weren't many cars on the one-lane highway. Once in a while you can see a bit of wild life. I had my windows open, the air couldn't have been more refreshing.
The R27 highway from Cape Town to Langebaan doesn't go through small towns. With a bit of speeding, it only took me an hour and a half to get to my destination. It was near sunset when I reached Langebaan. After checking out the small town, I parked in front of a beach, and watched the sun go down.
*****
Sunday
I woke up in my car before sunrise and drove the car around the parking lot to review my driving skills. Feeling ready, I made my way to West Coast National Park - about 15km away. The West Coast National Park is gorgeous and only costs R36 ($5) to enter. The park is situated on a barrier island that forms a blue water lagoon with the main land. As you continue the drive through the front gate, you have water on both sides of the road; the Atlantic Ocean to the left, the Lagoon on the right. Beautiful.
The park features many trails with ranging lengths and difficulties. I didn't have time for that, but I did drive to the tip of the barrier island where the lagoon meets the ocean (80km in length). The seashore features sharp rocks and rich aqua-life hidden underneath the deep-blue water. From the description, the park is especially during the spring (Oct-Nov) with flowers covering the whole island. Too bad I am only half a year too late.
Early in the afternoon, the West Coast National Park was in my rear view mirror. I headed south on a different route to go through historical towns of Darling, Mamre, and Atlantis. To my disappointment, not much was open in these places on a Sunday. However, Atlantis was worth the detour. Atlantis is a place with high-level of poverty, which I had been warned by the travel guide to not go through it. I ended up driving through it anyways.
Down the main road in Atlantis, the two sides are enclosed by high walls and barbed wires. Behind the walls are people's homes. What I found interesting was that despite Atlantis being described as "very high level of poverty", the living condition was much better than the Khayelitsha township. The crime rate here is abnormally high, hence I did not get out of my car to snap pictures.
From Atlantis, I turned back onto R27 heading towards Cape Town. En-route, I stopped at coastal towns of Milnerton, which is a very nice area on the opposite side of Cape Town. The beaches are very nice, the houses are big and elegant. So here I am, sitting on the hood of the car watching sunset at the seashore.
This is the life on the road...
Verse 23: Anna
The four West Point guys arrived on Monday.
+4
But Anna left Project Endlovu on Wednesday.
-1
Anna is one of those people you meet, won't see again, but won't forget. Grew up in Germany, now live in Australia, she has rich travel and life experiences that would invoke series of "tell me more". She's certainly not one of those girls who are over-cautious and non-independent. Living with her for a month has made me more grown-up. The wild Pete was often pulled back from doing silly things with high risk and low reward. But when we go out, Anna (who's well into her 20s) turns into a college girl. Last Saturday, the adventurous side of us took us on a trip from Cape Town to Khayelitsha by public transportation, which is really a faux-pas due to safety issues. It took us 2 hours, or 4 times the normal time, but we did it.
Anna's departure left me to be the most experienced volunteer. For being a great roommate, on her last night at the project, I cooked us a meal, a nice one too, featuring that special chicken I make. Just so often we talk about our experiences at the project. Both of us had a knack for the Xhosa culture. Being a psychology major, she gave me insights to better understand this complicated community.
Anna is going to be missed dearly by a lot of people here. Who's going to serve food from the soup kitchen now? Who's going to write/fix resume and CVs for the townspeople?
It'll take me a few days to adjust my life without Anna.
+4
But Anna left Project Endlovu on Wednesday.
-1
Anna is one of those people you meet, won't see again, but won't forget. Grew up in Germany, now live in Australia, she has rich travel and life experiences that would invoke series of "tell me more". She's certainly not one of those girls who are over-cautious and non-independent. Living with her for a month has made me more grown-up. The wild Pete was often pulled back from doing silly things with high risk and low reward. But when we go out, Anna (who's well into her 20s) turns into a college girl. Last Saturday, the adventurous side of us took us on a trip from Cape Town to Khayelitsha by public transportation, which is really a faux-pas due to safety issues. It took us 2 hours, or 4 times the normal time, but we did it.
Anna's departure left me to be the most experienced volunteer. For being a great roommate, on her last night at the project, I cooked us a meal, a nice one too, featuring that special chicken I make. Just so often we talk about our experiences at the project. Both of us had a knack for the Xhosa culture. Being a psychology major, she gave me insights to better understand this complicated community.
Anna is going to be missed dearly by a lot of people here. Who's going to serve food from the soup kitchen now? Who's going to write/fix resume and CVs for the townspeople?
It'll take me a few days to adjust my life without Anna.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Verse 22: The Fourth Weekly Update
At Project Endlovu, this week we finished the phase one building of the community center. A projector and TV antenna have been set up in the community center. Carpet is laid,
Movies watched:
- Smoking Aces
- Dark Blue
Rumours:
Five Westpoint Military Academy guys will be joining the project in a week's time.
Movies watched:
- Smoking Aces
- Dark Blue
Rumours:
Five Westpoint Military Academy guys will be joining the project in a week's time.
Verse 21: Feel It, It is (Actually) Hee-ah!
"Alright alright! I feel it! It's here! Now will you shut up!?!??!"
Impossible.
Those vuvuzelas are monsters.
They make a stupid noise that is incredibly loud.
I'm getting ear plugs.
Cape Town was madness on the opening day of 2010 FIFA World Cup. Streets are filled with fans from ALLLLLLL over the world (except maybe Canada, 'cause we know hockey is SOOoO much better) dressed in their national team colours. Bafana-Bafana vs. Mexico game starts at 4:00PM to kick off the event, but the fan fest at the Grand Parade was full since 11AM in the morning. I didn't get in, so my afternoon turned into a task to watch the game...I wasn't the only one.
All over the streets you see people climbing telephone booths, trees, bus-stop covers...etc ETC! Everyone just wanted to see a piece of action of their home team competing on home soil. After a while of searching and watching the game from several locations with several different groups of people, I found the perfect place with the perfect view on top of a building that overlooks the entire area. There, I captured the moment when Bafana Bafana scored the first goal in the World Cup. A shockwave was sent simultaneously from all corners of the town. There is no peace and quiet in Cape Town.
The second game of the day features France vs. Uruguay at 8:30PM. Supporting the French team, I got into Fan Fest well before 7:00PM. The event host lined up great entertainers to keep the energy high. By the end of game, I was dead tired.
The people, the colours, the sound, the pride...
Feel it, it is hee-ah! ;)
Impossible.
Those vuvuzelas are monsters.
They make a stupid noise that is incredibly loud.
I'm getting ear plugs.
Cape Town was madness on the opening day of 2010 FIFA World Cup. Streets are filled with fans from ALLLLLLL over the world (except maybe Canada, 'cause we know hockey is SOOoO much better) dressed in their national team colours. Bafana-Bafana vs. Mexico game starts at 4:00PM to kick off the event, but the fan fest at the Grand Parade was full since 11AM in the morning. I didn't get in, so my afternoon turned into a task to watch the game...I wasn't the only one.
All over the streets you see people climbing telephone booths, trees, bus-stop covers...etc ETC! Everyone just wanted to see a piece of action of their home team competing on home soil. After a while of searching and watching the game from several locations with several different groups of people, I found the perfect place with the perfect view on top of a building that overlooks the entire area. There, I captured the moment when Bafana Bafana scored the first goal in the World Cup. A shockwave was sent simultaneously from all corners of the town. There is no peace and quiet in Cape Town.
The second game of the day features France vs. Uruguay at 8:30PM. Supporting the French team, I got into Fan Fest well before 7:00PM. The event host lined up great entertainers to keep the energy high. By the end of game, I was dead tired.
The people, the colours, the sound, the pride...
Feel it, it is hee-ah! ;)
Verse 20: Thursday, June 10th
Throughout my life I've been testing the validity of Murphy's Law, or the aspect of Ying-Yang if you prefer in Eastern philosophy. My "yesterday-today" contrast certainly support the former. Happiness has an equilibrium.
I mixed a pot of high-quality plaster to begin the day. The meticulous work of plastering didn't frustrate me one bit. From there the rest of day went smoothly. My goaltending in the afternoon soccer game was superb, I was able to turn away a few awesome shots that put the kids in shock. I was certainly in a much better mood today.
Despite only four workers plus Buyiswa and her husband showed up at our BBQ dinner party, we had a good time. I grilled some beef, chicken, and sausage that had Buyiswa clapping (if you know sister B, you know her high expectations when it comes to food, umph..). At the end of the dinner, Anna pulled out the "South African" cake we had prepared for this party. Success!
The clean-up after guests' departure is usually not so fun, but tonight may just be an exception. Anna and I worked as a team to make it not-so-boring. We passed the plates back and forth, she passes me plates, I wash, she rinses. Then I pass her plates, she dries and stack away. The efficiency was high, not to mention the conversation and the soft-rock music that made the clean-up go by like a fruit fly.
The rest of the night is pretty relaxing, Anna accompanied me to the shebeen (local pub) to get a bottle of beer. I sat outside on the wooden rail of the balcony and watched the night by. In a clear night like this with little light pollution in the township, you can see many stars.
I mixed a pot of high-quality plaster to begin the day. The meticulous work of plastering didn't frustrate me one bit. From there the rest of day went smoothly. My goaltending in the afternoon soccer game was superb, I was able to turn away a few awesome shots that put the kids in shock. I was certainly in a much better mood today.
Despite only four workers plus Buyiswa and her husband showed up at our BBQ dinner party, we had a good time. I grilled some beef, chicken, and sausage that had Buyiswa clapping (if you know sister B, you know her high expectations when it comes to food, umph..). At the end of the dinner, Anna pulled out the "South African" cake we had prepared for this party. Success!
The clean-up after guests' departure is usually not so fun, but tonight may just be an exception. Anna and I worked as a team to make it not-so-boring. We passed the plates back and forth, she passes me plates, I wash, she rinses. Then I pass her plates, she dries and stack away. The efficiency was high, not to mention the conversation and the soft-rock music that made the clean-up go by like a fruit fly.
The rest of the night is pretty relaxing, Anna accompanied me to the shebeen (local pub) to get a bottle of beer. I sat outside on the wooden rail of the balcony and watched the night by. In a clear night like this with little light pollution in the township, you can see many stars.
Verse 19: Poo, Poo, and More Poo...
Myles and Guillaume left on Morning, it is back to just me and Anna; our house suddenly became a lot quieter. The project carried on as always. Now that the walls are up, it feels like not much is getting done because we're working on the details.
Today wasn't my day. My patience ran low with plastering. I felt enervated and anxious, a terrible combination. I attempted to fix our water geyser from keep blowing out - that failed miserably, although the idea is sound. At night, I cooked dinner for the two of us. My veggie stir fry turned out surprisingly well, but the rice was a complete disaster. How's that for a day?
It wasn't THAT bad I guess, I've had worse days. Anna made my mood a bit better and I was quite content because I prepared the meat for tomorrow night's BBQ party (Anna and I thought it was a great idea to invite all the workers to come, only Mpe-Mpe and Abongs are preoccupied).
We'll see how good a day Thursday, June 10th will be
Today wasn't my day. My patience ran low with plastering. I felt enervated and anxious, a terrible combination. I attempted to fix our water geyser from keep blowing out - that failed miserably, although the idea is sound. At night, I cooked dinner for the two of us. My veggie stir fry turned out surprisingly well, but the rice was a complete disaster. How's that for a day?
It wasn't THAT bad I guess, I've had worse days. Anna made my mood a bit better and I was quite content because I prepared the meat for tomorrow night's BBQ party (Anna and I thought it was a great idea to invite all the workers to come, only Mpe-Mpe and Abongs are preoccupied).
We'll see how good a day Thursday, June 10th will be
Verse 18: The Third Weekly Update
At Project Endlovu, this week we put up more dry walls in the community center to make a soup kitchen. Entrance doors are put in, interior walls painted.
Movies watched:
- Smoking Aces
- Dark Blue
Rumours:
Five guys from Westpoint Military Academy will be joining the project in a week's time.Verse 18: The Third Weekly Update
Movies watched:
- Smoking Aces
- Dark Blue
Rumours:
Five guys from Westpoint Military Academy will be joining the project in a week's time.Verse 18: The Third Weekly Update
Verse 17: The Urban Beat
This weekend I stayed at Sea Point, the north-western region of Cape Town right near the beaches. The hostel, Afrique du Sud, is only 5 minutes away from the sea by foot. Over the weekend, the four of us hung out at more bars, but the highlight is our climb up the Table Mountain.
Friday Night
You know that feeling you get on Fridays after you get off work/school? 'Tis such a great feeling. Friday kicked off with a picnic at the beach. At night, the four of us first went to Dubliners...you guessed it, an Irish pub. The bar is built in authentic Irish style, very much like the McKinnon's in Montreal. After a few drinks and a few hours had gone by, we went for dinner at Nando's and began our walk to Green Dolphins, a live jazz bar at V & A Waterfront where we spent the rest of our night. Classy.
Saturday
In almost every picture or painting of Cape Town, you see these mountains that lay across the landscape. Today, the boys climbed Table Mountain, the largest of the them all, uniquely featured by a flat top...hence "Table" Mountain. As the sign posts suggested, the hike up the mountain should take us 2 to 2.5 hours. Us being men in our prime, we decided to verify its validity.
Our first few steps, or hundreds of steps, didn't seem difficult at all. The trail was flat, though narrow, gave us no trouble. At a split-point where we choose the trail up the mountain, we headed up the "Gorge". The game changed; gradual slope turned into steep-steps up the mountain. In the clouds with backs towards the scorching sun, we felt the ultimate the heat and humidity. Our pace, however, did not slow down one bit. On our way, we passed many many hikers, and were passed by none. An hour twenty minutes later, history was made.
It was unfortunate that it was a cloudy day, the view from the top was no where at its best. After a beer and a bit of rest at the top, we retraced our steps back to town; about the same time going down as going up.
Sunday
The grand opening of the community center at Endlovu ("complete", but lack of flooring, ceiling, and unpainted) calls for a celebration. The local church held its Sunday mass there; many people attended, passionate speeches were given. The Xhosa mass (Catholic) is different from our ordinary service, the Xhosa mass involves a lot of dancing and singing...and I mean A LOT. Every few minutes, everyone would get up on his or feet and follow the beat. The women lead the dances with their singing and drumming while the men are more reserved.
The church service lasted hours; we didn't stay till the end, leaving at around 2PM. En-route back to town, we stopped at a BBQ court for lunch, and relaxed a bit checking out a beach and a market. When the sun set, we headed to a fancy bar, Capris, at Camps Bay, where the bar scene isn't so dead on a Sunday night.
It's amazing the range of conversation goes on between us...when we have a couple of drinks.
Friday Night
You know that feeling you get on Fridays after you get off work/school? 'Tis such a great feeling. Friday kicked off with a picnic at the beach. At night, the four of us first went to Dubliners...you guessed it, an Irish pub. The bar is built in authentic Irish style, very much like the McKinnon's in Montreal. After a few drinks and a few hours had gone by, we went for dinner at Nando's and began our walk to Green Dolphins, a live jazz bar at V & A Waterfront where we spent the rest of our night. Classy.
Saturday
In almost every picture or painting of Cape Town, you see these mountains that lay across the landscape. Today, the boys climbed Table Mountain, the largest of the them all, uniquely featured by a flat top...hence "Table" Mountain. As the sign posts suggested, the hike up the mountain should take us 2 to 2.5 hours. Us being men in our prime, we decided to verify its validity.
Our first few steps, or hundreds of steps, didn't seem difficult at all. The trail was flat, though narrow, gave us no trouble. At a split-point where we choose the trail up the mountain, we headed up the "Gorge". The game changed; gradual slope turned into steep-steps up the mountain. In the clouds with backs towards the scorching sun, we felt the ultimate the heat and humidity. Our pace, however, did not slow down one bit. On our way, we passed many many hikers, and were passed by none. An hour twenty minutes later, history was made.
It was unfortunate that it was a cloudy day, the view from the top was no where at its best. After a beer and a bit of rest at the top, we retraced our steps back to town; about the same time going down as going up.
Sunday
The grand opening of the community center at Endlovu ("complete", but lack of flooring, ceiling, and unpainted) calls for a celebration. The local church held its Sunday mass there; many people attended, passionate speeches were given. The Xhosa mass (Catholic) is different from our ordinary service, the Xhosa mass involves a lot of dancing and singing...and I mean A LOT. Every few minutes, everyone would get up on his or feet and follow the beat. The women lead the dances with their singing and drumming while the men are more reserved.
The church service lasted hours; we didn't stay till the end, leaving at around 2PM. En-route back to town, we stopped at a BBQ court for lunch, and relaxed a bit checking out a beach and a market. When the sun set, we headed to a fancy bar, Capris, at Camps Bay, where the bar scene isn't so dead on a Sunday night.
It's amazing the range of conversation goes on between us...when we have a couple of drinks.
Verse 16: Feel It, It is (Almost) Hee-ah!
One week before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Bafana Bafana (the South Africa soccer team) jerseys and the sound of vuvuzelas are seen and heard everywhere. The community center is close to being somewhat useful. On Friday Robert brought in some wooden benches to gear up for the World Cup matches; the idea is to show all the games on the projector and the people could come in and support the Bafana-Bafana.
Verse 15: Taking Care of Business
The project almost doesn't run without Robert. Because of the riot, for two days Robert couldn't get to the project as the roads are blocked off.
I was sick of waiting. It was only two days ago Robert and I were discussing the floor plan for the main floor of the community center. We needed to put up a few dry walls to make a soup kitchen and a main entrance. Drawing the floor plan from memory, I initiated the building. Myles and Guillaume were very supportive and offered much needed assistance, Anna wasn't totally against it.
As the construction took off, we ran into problem after problem. When Robert did show up the next day, we only had to make minor adjustments to our work. At the end of that week, the phase one building is complete. The walls are perpendicular and the corners right; these are the results of measuring four times, cut once.
I was sick of waiting. It was only two days ago Robert and I were discussing the floor plan for the main floor of the community center. We needed to put up a few dry walls to make a soup kitchen and a main entrance. Drawing the floor plan from memory, I initiated the building. Myles and Guillaume were very supportive and offered much needed assistance, Anna wasn't totally against it.
As the construction took off, we ran into problem after problem. When Robert did show up the next day, we only had to make minor adjustments to our work. At the end of that week, the phase one building is complete. The walls are perpendicular and the corners right; these are the results of measuring four times, cut once.
Verse 14: Toilet Riot
There is an ongoing riot concerning community-toilets in Khayelitsha. Although the initial event made headline a week ago, it received little media attention since then. So recently, the ANC Youth decided to step it up a notch by creating some domestic violence. This results in the closure of some roads, and cars and buses going to this region are asked to turn back.
Confused? Ok, let me explain.
In the township, toilet facility is shared; there is simply no developed sewage system for all the shacks in Khayelitsha. Every section of the township has its water-tap and toilets, and the government is consistently working to put new toilet facility through the township. The city workers put in place the sewage lines, installed the toilets, but while the facility is unfinished, toilets are usable but don't have enclosures.
ANC, a political party of South Africa, current the opposition party, decided envoke some hatred to the current government by giving misleading information. The ANC youth activists did this by protesting that the government should put walls around the toilet, which the villagers obviously supported. They torn down a few toilets and made some noises. Aware of the misinformation, the government quickly put up walls around the toilets. As a quick way to satisfy the public, the government placed tin-sheet enclosure around the toilets, providing much needed privacy.
And...ANC stirs it up again. They manipulated the villagers to protest for concrete walls instead these "cheap tin-sheets". Now a week or so since the first incident, the riot reached its climax.
Last night, one by one, fires are set on all the main roads in Khayelitsha. Dark smoke rose to the sky, which can be seen miles away. Police patrols surrounded the area; every block you can see police cars and flashing lights. When the police car drives by, rioters run and scream, then they quickly disappear into the unlit township. Once in a while, you can hear rounds of gun shot. We were fired at.
But obviously I am still alive, writing this.
Confused? Ok, let me explain.
In the township, toilet facility is shared; there is simply no developed sewage system for all the shacks in Khayelitsha. Every section of the township has its water-tap and toilets, and the government is consistently working to put new toilet facility through the township. The city workers put in place the sewage lines, installed the toilets, but while the facility is unfinished, toilets are usable but don't have enclosures.
ANC, a political party of South Africa, current the opposition party, decided envoke some hatred to the current government by giving misleading information. The ANC youth activists did this by protesting that the government should put walls around the toilet, which the villagers obviously supported. They torn down a few toilets and made some noises. Aware of the misinformation, the government quickly put up walls around the toilets. As a quick way to satisfy the public, the government placed tin-sheet enclosure around the toilets, providing much needed privacy.
And...ANC stirs it up again. They manipulated the villagers to protest for concrete walls instead these "cheap tin-sheets". Now a week or so since the first incident, the riot reached its climax.
Last night, one by one, fires are set on all the main roads in Khayelitsha. Dark smoke rose to the sky, which can be seen miles away. Police patrols surrounded the area; every block you can see police cars and flashing lights. When the police car drives by, rioters run and scream, then they quickly disappear into the unlit township. Once in a while, you can hear rounds of gun shot. We were fired at.
But obviously I am still alive, writing this.
Verse 13: The Second Weekly Update
At Project Endlovu, this week we laid down the tracks to build the soup kitchen in the community center. The clinic got its "finishing touch". The wall corners are sanded, plaster, and painted. Ceilings went up in the medical clinic, but one wall is still too wet to paint.
Movies watched:
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons
Highlight:
Electricity workers went on strike; we didn't have electricity for a day. The house was very cold, the four of us sat around a gas heater and attempted to heat our BBQ chicken over candles...
Movies watched:
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons
Highlight:
Electricity workers went on strike; we didn't have electricity for a day. The house was very cold, the four of us sat around a gas heater and attempted to heat our BBQ chicken over candles...
Verse 12: Road Trip to Outdshoorn
May 28, Friday
Friday night in Cape Town... The four of us, Guillaume, Myles, Anna, and I met at Zula, an "inordinary" and well-known bar on Long St., the main street where the action is in downtown Cape Town. Comparing the atmospheres, the night life in Cape Town doesn't quite match up to the "feversome" midnight Montreal, but it's still very lively. Zula bar has an authentic charm to it; its wooden interior gave it a warm finishing touch.
May 29, Saturday
After running into a bit of trouble renting a car, we managed to set out for our road trip before noon. We took the scenic N2 high way heading west, stopping by Hermanus, Mossel Bay en-route to Oudtshoorn where we planned to ride some ostriches.
Hermanus is a beautiful village ensconced on the southern coastline of South Africa, where we stopped for lunch at Two Oceans Seafood Restaurant. The village architecture is very European. The sea-shore restaurants reminded me of La Rochelle, France, both of which share a relaxing, laid-back feeling to visitors. What is different is that Hermanus struck me with its gorgeous rocky sea-shore and deep blue water, the view there is simply impressioné.
Our lunch break in Hermanus dragged on longer than we had expected, we settled the night in Mossel Bay (2 hours from Oudtshoorn). Mossel Bay was once a lively coastal village but has gone downhill and turned into an old town. The downtown main street has one club playing 80's house-music...I think you get the idea. Nevertheless, at Mossel Bay, we stayed a very unique hostel; it is like a huge house that one could easily get lost in. The inner-yard and gardens there are well-maintained and aesthetically appeasing. For dinner, we went to a Cuban restaurant/bar. The atmosphere and the food were very agreeable, but the place was basically empty besides us. Past dinner, we went for a walk down the main road to the Mossel Bay look-out point. It being dark then, there wasn't much to see.
May 30, Sunday
Oudtshoorn is only 2 hours away. Piecing together several very simple map on the back of brocheurs, I navigated ourselves to the ostrich farm to do what we set-out to do - ride some ostriches. The farm we went to was called "Safari". Our tour guide Charlie gave us a "tour" of the farm house and some interesting facts about ostriches I hadn't known. We then walked out to the farm to meet different species of ostriches, standing on ostrich eggs, and finally riding ostriches. I gotta say, these big birds are preeeeeetty fast; they run up to 80km/h, making it the second fastest animal on land.
Of course, the ostrich-theme of the day also involves eating ostriches, we did so a local restaurant. Ostrich meat is a red meat, looks kinda like steak, but tastes softer and mushier. We also shopped around for an ostrich egg to bring back; apparently the content of one of these eggs equal to 24 regular chicken eggs. Imagine eating an ostrich omelet for breakfast...
Before we were on our way back to town, we headed about 40KM north of Oudtshoorn to visit a destination called Cango caves. Cango Caves was once undersea. It has four chambers featuring million-year old rock formations - magnificent, as if carved by the hands of God. The end of our tour concludes our weekend road trip. From there we retraced our route back to Cape Town. Although not so scenic during the night, the drive was fun-filled; hours of traveling allowed us to know each other a lot better. What a great weekend...
Friday night in Cape Town... The four of us, Guillaume, Myles, Anna, and I met at Zula, an "inordinary" and well-known bar on Long St., the main street where the action is in downtown Cape Town. Comparing the atmospheres, the night life in Cape Town doesn't quite match up to the "feversome" midnight Montreal, but it's still very lively. Zula bar has an authentic charm to it; its wooden interior gave it a warm finishing touch.
May 29, Saturday
After running into a bit of trouble renting a car, we managed to set out for our road trip before noon. We took the scenic N2 high way heading west, stopping by Hermanus, Mossel Bay en-route to Oudtshoorn where we planned to ride some ostriches.
Hermanus is a beautiful village ensconced on the southern coastline of South Africa, where we stopped for lunch at Two Oceans Seafood Restaurant. The village architecture is very European. The sea-shore restaurants reminded me of La Rochelle, France, both of which share a relaxing, laid-back feeling to visitors. What is different is that Hermanus struck me with its gorgeous rocky sea-shore and deep blue water, the view there is simply impressioné.
Our lunch break in Hermanus dragged on longer than we had expected, we settled the night in Mossel Bay (2 hours from Oudtshoorn). Mossel Bay was once a lively coastal village but has gone downhill and turned into an old town. The downtown main street has one club playing 80's house-music...I think you get the idea. Nevertheless, at Mossel Bay, we stayed a very unique hostel; it is like a huge house that one could easily get lost in. The inner-yard and gardens there are well-maintained and aesthetically appeasing. For dinner, we went to a Cuban restaurant/bar. The atmosphere and the food were very agreeable, but the place was basically empty besides us. Past dinner, we went for a walk down the main road to the Mossel Bay look-out point. It being dark then, there wasn't much to see.
May 30, Sunday
Oudtshoorn is only 2 hours away. Piecing together several very simple map on the back of brocheurs, I navigated ourselves to the ostrich farm to do what we set-out to do - ride some ostriches. The farm we went to was called "Safari". Our tour guide Charlie gave us a "tour" of the farm house and some interesting facts about ostriches I hadn't known. We then walked out to the farm to meet different species of ostriches, standing on ostrich eggs, and finally riding ostriches. I gotta say, these big birds are preeeeeetty fast; they run up to 80km/h, making it the second fastest animal on land.
Of course, the ostrich-theme of the day also involves eating ostriches, we did so a local restaurant. Ostrich meat is a red meat, looks kinda like steak, but tastes softer and mushier. We also shopped around for an ostrich egg to bring back; apparently the content of one of these eggs equal to 24 regular chicken eggs. Imagine eating an ostrich omelet for breakfast...
Before we were on our way back to town, we headed about 40KM north of Oudtshoorn to visit a destination called Cango caves. Cango Caves was once undersea. It has four chambers featuring million-year old rock formations - magnificent, as if carved by the hands of God. The end of our tour concludes our weekend road trip. From there we retraced our route back to Cape Town. Although not so scenic during the night, the drive was fun-filled; hours of traveling allowed us to know each other a lot better. What a great weekend...
Friday, June 11, 2010
Verse 11: First Time in a While
10 weeks, no sex, that was the deal. But there was nothing against...say...running.
It rained all night last night. I was pulled from my dreams in the middle of the night byh the sound of heavy rain smashing into the tin roof above me. Fortunately there were no leaks to spoil a night of proper rest.
Yesterday afternoon I went out for my first run on the continent of Africa. After work, the mild rain held everyone under the unfinished building. Past a certain threshold of patience, one of the workers, Xlani, said he's going to run home. My "runner-y" senses tinkled and I asked if I could join him. I went back to the volunteer house, pulled on a hoodie and laced up my running shoes.
Xlani told me he used to do trackand field when he was my age, long distance specifically, like me. Runners all over the world connect with one another, we've all experienced the glory of racing against time and setting new limits of our bodies. Although my run with Xlaniwasn't long, from his smooth stride and rhythmic swing of the arms, Xlani was no average. Down the "street", around the corner, a few more turns brought us to the end of our "marathon" in the rain; the mild rain has now turned into heavy rain.
I found my way onto the main road where it's safer to run on. The heavy rain smashed my face, by now my cotton hoodie is completely soaked.
Rain makes you think doesn't it? I was thinking about the lives of the people in the shacks I ran by; do they perceive a runner in rain the same way I do? Do they have the same questions I seek answer for? I continued down the road.
Now and then a car passes by and bring up the splash as it sped down the road. it's so easy to tap the gas pedal and after a while you've gotten from point A to point B. So how about the runner's journey without a gas pedal or a windshield or a metal cover above the head|?
Cars is to runners, as tin shacks is to the homeless.
It rained all night last night. I was pulled from my dreams in the middle of the night byh the sound of heavy rain smashing into the tin roof above me. Fortunately there were no leaks to spoil a night of proper rest.
Yesterday afternoon I went out for my first run on the continent of Africa. After work, the mild rain held everyone under the unfinished building. Past a certain threshold of patience, one of the workers, Xlani, said he's going to run home. My "runner-y" senses tinkled and I asked if I could join him. I went back to the volunteer house, pulled on a hoodie and laced up my running shoes.
Xlani told me he used to do trackand field when he was my age, long distance specifically, like me. Runners all over the world connect with one another, we've all experienced the glory of racing against time and setting new limits of our bodies. Although my run with Xlaniwasn't long, from his smooth stride and rhythmic swing of the arms, Xlani was no average. Down the "street", around the corner, a few more turns brought us to the end of our "marathon" in the rain; the mild rain has now turned into heavy rain.
I found my way onto the main road where it's safer to run on. The heavy rain smashed my face, by now my cotton hoodie is completely soaked.
Rain makes you think doesn't it? I was thinking about the lives of the people in the shacks I ran by; do they perceive a runner in rain the same way I do? Do they have the same questions I seek answer for? I continued down the road.
Now and then a car passes by and bring up the splash as it sped down the road. it's so easy to tap the gas pedal and after a while you've gotten from point A to point B. So how about the runner's journey without a gas pedal or a windshield or a metal cover above the head|?
Cars is to runners, as tin shacks is to the homeless.
Verse 10: More Hands
The two American volunteers arrived; they're the typical typical Americans. Guillaume and Myles are both college students in the USA; they're here to see the world cup and do a bit of volunteering work on the side. With some more hands to help out, by the end of the week there was really little we could do. For the first time at the project, we actually weren't so busy.
Although this week hasn't been the most productive in terms of accomplishment, it was eventful with our new additions. On the day Guillaume and Myles arrived, Robert took Anna and I to lunch with his wife and daughter at a wealthy sea-shore outside of Cape Town. It was a great honour to meet them and enjoy a piece of steak grilled to perfection. Yeeeeeeeeeyum.
In the afternoon after wrapped up a day's work, the boys and I played soccer with the kids - the one thing that all volunteers expected doesn't matter where he or she goes. At night, I sat down and played card games with the guys while Anna's off to sleep. We were doing what college kids do best - enjoying our companies while the night fades away. Cool.
Although this week hasn't been the most productive in terms of accomplishment, it was eventful with our new additions. On the day Guillaume and Myles arrived, Robert took Anna and I to lunch with his wife and daughter at a wealthy sea-shore outside of Cape Town. It was a great honour to meet them and enjoy a piece of steak grilled to perfection. Yeeeeeeeeeyum.
In the afternoon after wrapped up a day's work, the boys and I played soccer with the kids - the one thing that all volunteers expected doesn't matter where he or she goes. At night, I sat down and played card games with the guys while Anna's off to sleep. We were doing what college kids do best - enjoying our companies while the night fades away. Cool.
Verse 9: First weekly update
At Project Endlovu, this week we put up dry walls to make two rooms in the medical clinic. We painted a few walls a few times. Specific work includes pastering, sand papering, filling, laying track and studs, and of course, sweeping and cleaning up.
Movies watched:
- Law Abiding Citizen
- Sherlock Holmes
- Atonement
- Couple's Retreat
- Inglorious Basterds
- Final Destination
Rumours:
There'll be two American volunteers joining our project next week.
Movies watched:
- Law Abiding Citizen
- Sherlock Holmes
- Atonement
- Couple's Retreat
- Inglorious Basterds
- Final Destination
Rumours:
There'll be two American volunteers joining our project next week.
Verse 8: L'Impela-veki, First Weekend in Khayelitsha
uLwesihlanu - Vrydag - Friday
My first weekend in Khayelitsha really started on Friday afternoon; no one felt like doing heavy work, so Robert, Anna and I spent the afternoon chatting. Past the working hours, I played soccer with the kids while Anna and Andiswa prepared dinner. Buyiswa came after dinner, we chatted a bit on the balcony until the sunset and the sky was dark. At 7PM, the fun began; tonight Mpe-Mpe, one of the workers, took us to the local pub.
The bar-scene in the township is not the same as in Montreal. Here it consisted of a dozen men (plus Anna) around a room about 20 meter-squared large. Drinks are passed into the room through a little opening on the tin wall. There is loud music, but the catch is that someone has to put a few rand into the juke box. I kinda found the atmosphere a bit depressing; some men just sat there the entire night without saying a word or drinking any beer. Other men are either playing pool or really drunk. with the latter concerning me a bit because of Anna's presence. I'd look over in her direction once in a while to make sure she wasn't being harassed. I don't think I was over protective. The night was enjoyable, even though I didn't have one drop of alcohol in me. We danced, we chatted, and saw some new faces that'll start to recognize in the future. There was an event that happened afterward which was sort of frightening, I won't talk about it here.
uMgqibelo - Saterdag - Saturday
Party party party - today is a day of partying...African style. At around noon, Buyiswa came to Makazi's guest house to pick up me and Anna. After a bit of shopping at the local liquor store, we headed to the party house in Buyiswa's car. The thing about her car is that it is like the Toronto Maple Leaf's goal-tending, inconsistent. We never made it to our destination - Hazel's house, we had to walk the last bit of our journey. Soon after we reached Hazel's house, Mike (Buyiswa's driver) and I went back to push the car. As curious as someone like me could get, I can't help to pop the hood to see what the problem was. With a bit of examination, I found a broken connector. I fixed it with the help of a handy knife and the bad boy was up and running as if he's uner police pursuit. Now for the party! But no...not for me...yet.
Buyiswa pulled me out to go with her to "get something". I asked "where", but her reply was "Don't worry about it". VERY satisfying and clear. As the story unfolded, we went to an ATM, then gas station, corner store, and BBQ court to buy some tasty-meaty, and.....that's when the car failed for the second time, this time, it's the battery, dead. Thankfully I'm a runner and I was able to push a car for about a kilometer before Buyiswa's patience gave in and she called for backup.
NOW the party began! The men sat outside in the fenced yard while the women had their own circle in the house. Conversations carried on, I had a nice long chat with one of the oldest men there, Wilber his name was, he taught me the bits and pieces of the South African culture. The drinking began as soon as the ceremony was on its way. A bucket of home-brew beer was passed around as each man takes a long gulp of it before passing it to the man sitting on the left. A few rounds of drinking this thing, the average tipsy'ness level reached a point of no-return. Luckily for me, my alcohol tolerance was enough to get me through the rounds and recall the events; thanks McGill!
A few hours of drinking finally silenced the men, and it was the women's turn to turn it on. They began singing, dancing, clapping, stomping their feet, banging the bottom of a bucket...you see, there's a bit of college in everyone. I joined the women in their dances, the house was loud and lively of music, even without a stereo. As the sun hid itself in the background, people began to leave, the men first, as they were first to be drunk. A gang of women and me hired a minitaxi to take us back to the guest house, the long ride was accompanied by singing and cool wind through an open window. This is as good as it gets for a night.
Sunday
It's a windy day in the township, I'd say its about 50km/h. Although windy, the sun is up, keeping us warm. I figured today is going to be a relaxing day to sit around. As I'm writing this, Anna's sitting behind me on the balcony bench, reading some traveling book about a guy who traveled from Cape Town to Cairo to get over a break-up. Certainly, spend some time in Africa, you can clear up any knots and blocks in your life. Today is a very good example of it.
My first weekend in Khayelitsha really started on Friday afternoon; no one felt like doing heavy work, so Robert, Anna and I spent the afternoon chatting. Past the working hours, I played soccer with the kids while Anna and Andiswa prepared dinner. Buyiswa came after dinner, we chatted a bit on the balcony until the sunset and the sky was dark. At 7PM, the fun began; tonight Mpe-Mpe, one of the workers, took us to the local pub.
The bar-scene in the township is not the same as in Montreal. Here it consisted of a dozen men (plus Anna) around a room about 20 meter-squared large. Drinks are passed into the room through a little opening on the tin wall. There is loud music, but the catch is that someone has to put a few rand into the juke box. I kinda found the atmosphere a bit depressing; some men just sat there the entire night without saying a word or drinking any beer. Other men are either playing pool or really drunk. with the latter concerning me a bit because of Anna's presence. I'd look over in her direction once in a while to make sure she wasn't being harassed. I don't think I was over protective. The night was enjoyable, even though I didn't have one drop of alcohol in me. We danced, we chatted, and saw some new faces that'll start to recognize in the future. There was an event that happened afterward which was sort of frightening, I won't talk about it here.
uMgqibelo - Saterdag - Saturday
Party party party - today is a day of partying...African style. At around noon, Buyiswa came to Makazi's guest house to pick up me and Anna. After a bit of shopping at the local liquor store, we headed to the party house in Buyiswa's car. The thing about her car is that it is like the Toronto Maple Leaf's goal-tending, inconsistent. We never made it to our destination - Hazel's house, we had to walk the last bit of our journey. Soon after we reached Hazel's house, Mike (Buyiswa's driver) and I went back to push the car. As curious as someone like me could get, I can't help to pop the hood to see what the problem was. With a bit of examination, I found a broken connector. I fixed it with the help of a handy knife and the bad boy was up and running as if he's uner police pursuit. Now for the party! But no...not for me...yet.
Buyiswa pulled me out to go with her to "get something". I asked "where", but her reply was "Don't worry about it". VERY satisfying and clear. As the story unfolded, we went to an ATM, then gas station, corner store, and BBQ court to buy some tasty-meaty, and.....that's when the car failed for the second time, this time, it's the battery, dead. Thankfully I'm a runner and I was able to push a car for about a kilometer before Buyiswa's patience gave in and she called for backup.
NOW the party began! The men sat outside in the fenced yard while the women had their own circle in the house. Conversations carried on, I had a nice long chat with one of the oldest men there, Wilber his name was, he taught me the bits and pieces of the South African culture. The drinking began as soon as the ceremony was on its way. A bucket of home-brew beer was passed around as each man takes a long gulp of it before passing it to the man sitting on the left. A few rounds of drinking this thing, the average tipsy'ness level reached a point of no-return. Luckily for me, my alcohol tolerance was enough to get me through the rounds and recall the events; thanks McGill!
A few hours of drinking finally silenced the men, and it was the women's turn to turn it on. They began singing, dancing, clapping, stomping their feet, banging the bottom of a bucket...you see, there's a bit of college in everyone. I joined the women in their dances, the house was loud and lively of music, even without a stereo. As the sun hid itself in the background, people began to leave, the men first, as they were first to be drunk. A gang of women and me hired a minitaxi to take us back to the guest house, the long ride was accompanied by singing and cool wind through an open window. This is as good as it gets for a night.
Sunday
It's a windy day in the township, I'd say its about 50km/h. Although windy, the sun is up, keeping us warm. I figured today is going to be a relaxing day to sit around. As I'm writing this, Anna's sitting behind me on the balcony bench, reading some traveling book about a guy who traveled from Cape Town to Cairo to get over a break-up. Certainly, spend some time in Africa, you can clear up any knots and blocks in your life. Today is a very good example of it.
Verse 7: The Romance of Three Kingdoms
Out on the balcony of the volunteer house, you can see three worlds of South Africa borderlined by the main road. Beyond the north side, there's a residential area similar to that of the western world, the houses are properly built with bricks and stone, nicely painted, with a triangular roof that offers much stability and robustness. From my understanding the government subsidized these houses.
On the southern side, across a field, there sits a community of concrete houses. Some have triangular roofs, but most are in the colour of unpainted concrete - that dirty, cold grey. These, too, are government subsidized buildings but have been worn down from weathering and lack of maintenance.
Majority of the one-point-something million residents of Khayelitsha live in the third-world, houses built by metal sheets and wooden boards with community toilets and water facility. It isn't unusual to find these houses built on top of sand and lack proper flooring. Rather, these shacks have flat roofs with heavy junk strategically-laid on top it to keep them from blowing away. Your 4 year-old cousin's drawing of a house is no exaggeration of these houses.
With some money we can turn all the tin shacks into brick houses, but what does that do? What use is there to feed a man a fish?
This is Africa.
On the southern side, across a field, there sits a community of concrete houses. Some have triangular roofs, but most are in the colour of unpainted concrete - that dirty, cold grey. These, too, are government subsidized buildings but have been worn down from weathering and lack of maintenance.
Majority of the one-point-something million residents of Khayelitsha live in the third-world, houses built by metal sheets and wooden boards with community toilets and water facility. It isn't unusual to find these houses built on top of sand and lack proper flooring. Rather, these shacks have flat roofs with heavy junk strategically-laid on top it to keep them from blowing away. Your 4 year-old cousin's drawing of a house is no exaggeration of these houses.
With some money we can turn all the tin shacks into brick houses, but what does that do? What use is there to feed a man a fish?
This is Africa.
Verse 6: In the child-Hood
Tired. When we do something for a long time we get tired. A run up the mountain make us tired physically, cramming for multiple exams simultaneously make us tired mentally. Tired.
I can never get tired of watching these kids play, seeing them rolling in the sand, diving at each other and screaming. I may not understanding what they're saying or yelling, but the language of joy is...pretty darn international; I didn't need Xhosa to know they're having fun.
I'm sitting here on the wooden railing of the balcony and looking down. I don't know how long I've been here but it must've been a while because the sun had already hidden behind the mountains, giving it a sharp outline by the colours of dusk.
It hasn't came across their minds for the kids to go home.
I can never get tired of watching these kids play, seeing them rolling in the sand, diving at each other and screaming. I may not understanding what they're saying or yelling, but the language of joy is...pretty darn international; I didn't need Xhosa to know they're having fun.
I'm sitting here on the wooden railing of the balcony and looking down. I don't know how long I've been here but it must've been a while because the sun had already hidden behind the mountains, giving it a sharp outline by the colours of dusk.
It hasn't came across their minds for the kids to go home.
Verse 5: The Apprentice
It was around 8AM when I woke up to the sound of footsteps around the house. Anna was up, Hazel has arrived, and there was a new voice, one with that of a British accent, belonging to a man in his prime - Robert Taylor.
Robert is a master builder who has been with this project for a while now. He is the manager, the go-to guy for anything related to our building construction. Robert is a tad over 50 years old with short Grey hair and grayish-blue eyes. But what stands out from him is his deadly sense of humour, I've never spent more time laughing when working with him, well, maybe Akos and the boys on the robotics team.
In the first week of work, we managed to build a pharmacy room and a doctor's examination/consulting room. The job is broken down to planning, laying down tracks, raising studs, attaching plaster boards to make dry walls. Once the walls are up, the rest of the work involves plastering, sanding, and painting. As Robert's young apprentice, I watched him carefully and asked questions when they arise. Robert, being a fine master, didn't hesitate to show me the tricks of the trade from his years of experience. What a fine relationship have we here!
Now besides work, Robert introduced me to this thing called "tea time". At exactly 10AM and 3PM, Robert would drop whatever we're doing and head to the kitchen for a drink of some sort, a lil snack, and 15 mins of relaxation.
I know it sounds a bit old fashioned, but I kinda like this "tea time" we're having.
Robert is a master builder who has been with this project for a while now. He is the manager, the go-to guy for anything related to our building construction. Robert is a tad over 50 years old with short Grey hair and grayish-blue eyes. But what stands out from him is his deadly sense of humour, I've never spent more time laughing when working with him, well, maybe Akos and the boys on the robotics team.
In the first week of work, we managed to build a pharmacy room and a doctor's examination/consulting room. The job is broken down to planning, laying down tracks, raising studs, attaching plaster boards to make dry walls. Once the walls are up, the rest of the work involves plastering, sanding, and painting. As Robert's young apprentice, I watched him carefully and asked questions when they arise. Robert, being a fine master, didn't hesitate to show me the tricks of the trade from his years of experience. What a fine relationship have we here!
Now besides work, Robert introduced me to this thing called "tea time". At exactly 10AM and 3PM, Robert would drop whatever we're doing and head to the kitchen for a drink of some sort, a lil snack, and 15 mins of relaxation.
I know it sounds a bit old fashioned, but I kinda like this "tea time" we're having.
Verse 4: And it begins the township life
May 16, 2010
Monday morning, Wanda the driver picked me up from the hostel. From there, we went on to pick up another volunteer, Anna. Wanda drove through a scenic route around the Table Mountain which I will one day atop. We talked about Cape Town, South Africa, the township, music, and other stuff. Once we kidnapped Anna from a hostel called Ashanti, we were on our way to Khayelitsha, the township, my life for the next 10 weeks.
Tin shacks, wooden boards, dirty sand, these are pretty much the most common things a visitor sees in the township; my use of language is obviously inferior to a photograph. See for yourself.
Anna had been here 4 weeks prior to my arrival, so she showed me the place around, what project is ongoing, what's to be done, our guest house, bedrooms, kitchen etc. you know, the stuff you go through when you go to a new place. After the brief orientation, we had lunch where I met Buyiswa and Hazel, two lovely middle aged African women who are a major force behind this project. What did I have for lunch you ask? Traditional African meal consisting of barley, beans, etc, it wasn't bad at all. In the afternoon, Anna put us straight to work in a room soon to be a medical clinic - the number one priority at the moment.
Before 5PM, my day 1 of work has completed, we finished painting two walls in the clinic (that is yet to be built). Anna advised me to shower before sunset since our shower runs on direct solar heating. So I did, down the drain went all the sweat and stress accumulated over the last lil while. I slipped on some clean shirt and shorts, stood on the balcony over looking the area. The sun was still up, gently drying my hair.
I could get used to this place.
Monday morning, Wanda the driver picked me up from the hostel. From there, we went on to pick up another volunteer, Anna. Wanda drove through a scenic route around the Table Mountain which I will one day atop. We talked about Cape Town, South Africa, the township, music, and other stuff. Once we kidnapped Anna from a hostel called Ashanti, we were on our way to Khayelitsha, the township, my life for the next 10 weeks.
Tin shacks, wooden boards, dirty sand, these are pretty much the most common things a visitor sees in the township; my use of language is obviously inferior to a photograph. See for yourself.
Anna had been here 4 weeks prior to my arrival, so she showed me the place around, what project is ongoing, what's to be done, our guest house, bedrooms, kitchen etc. you know, the stuff you go through when you go to a new place. After the brief orientation, we had lunch where I met Buyiswa and Hazel, two lovely middle aged African women who are a major force behind this project. What did I have for lunch you ask? Traditional African meal consisting of barley, beans, etc, it wasn't bad at all. In the afternoon, Anna put us straight to work in a room soon to be a medical clinic - the number one priority at the moment.
Before 5PM, my day 1 of work has completed, we finished painting two walls in the clinic (that is yet to be built). Anna advised me to shower before sunset since our shower runs on direct solar heating. So I did, down the drain went all the sweat and stress accumulated over the last lil while. I slipped on some clean shirt and shorts, stood on the balcony over looking the area. The sun was still up, gently drying my hair.
I could get used to this place.
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