I guess this is it.
This is Peter Guo, signing off from Project Endlovu.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Verse 48: The Tenth and Final Weekly Update
This is the last update. At Project Endlovu, it's been a busy week. I worked back-and-forth at the washroom-site and the medical clinic. The negotiation with our neighbours went sour; as a result we have to build the toilets at a new site. Early in the week, we knocked a whole in the wall of the community center, and laid down the foundation for the washroom at the new site. We set up the main frame by Wednesday, and roof went up on Friday. The toilets are yet to be installed. In the medical clinic, I made cuts and holes to run the plumbing pipes. An air-conditioning unit has arrived late in the week, that'll go up after I leave. On the main level, the floor has been smoothened and ready to be painted.
I guess this is it.
This is Peter Guo, signing off from Project Endlovu.
I guess this is it.
This is Peter Guo, signing off from Project Endlovu.
Verse 47: The Days Gone too Soon
(For the volunteers and guests of Project Endlovu)
Once in a while you'll go to a new place that's so different than what you're used to: different languages, different faces, different ways of doing things. You spend the day looking and looking, and you draw that instant connection with all that's around you. Deep inside, you repeat to yourself "wow...this is amazing..."...And you're right.
It's nearly three months since I unpacked my backpack at the volunteer house. Out came my clothes, some personal belongings, and a million question marks of how my life at Project Endlovu is going to unroll.
It wasn't long before I settled into the community and the project; I soon found comfort and hospitality in the volunteer house. Besides watching Tshabalala score the beauty at the world cup opener and Spain winning it all, in my time here, I also witnessed the community center going from bare-skin to near-completion. In years, I'll come back here and recall that afternoon we put up those dry walls upstairs, or that morning we plastered the exterior wall. Maybe I'll look at the moon and remember the days gone too soon.
As the days flipped by, volunteers and guests like you and I came and went. If you stay long enough as I did, you'll meet and get to know many interesting people, like those written in the previous pages; we've become part of each other's experience. I've always felt the day I make my mark in this notebook is a long way to go, but it came.
Tomorrow I'll wake to a piece of electronic rather than the sound of nature's morning, I'll watch sunset from a different balcony. The sun will be the same sun, the sky will be the same sky, but there won't be kids running around till dark. There won't be sounds of pure joy without a slight trace of worry. I'll be reminiscing this room you're in, the sounds you hear right now, those two ladies named Buyiswa and Hazel,...and that smell from the kitchen when they're cooking ;)
Once in a while you'll go to a new place that's so different than what you're used to: different languages, different faces, different ways of doing things. You spend the day looking and looking, and you draw that instant connection with all that's around you. Deep inside, you repeat to yourself "wow...this is amazing..."...And you're right.
It's nearly three months since I unpacked my backpack at the volunteer house. Out came my clothes, some personal belongings, and a million question marks of how my life at Project Endlovu is going to unroll.
It wasn't long before I settled into the community and the project; I soon found comfort and hospitality in the volunteer house. Besides watching Tshabalala score the beauty at the world cup opener and Spain winning it all, in my time here, I also witnessed the community center going from bare-skin to near-completion. In years, I'll come back here and recall that afternoon we put up those dry walls upstairs, or that morning we plastered the exterior wall. Maybe I'll look at the moon and remember the days gone too soon.
As the days flipped by, volunteers and guests like you and I came and went. If you stay long enough as I did, you'll meet and get to know many interesting people, like those written in the previous pages; we've become part of each other's experience. I've always felt the day I make my mark in this notebook is a long way to go, but it came.
Tomorrow I'll wake to a piece of electronic rather than the sound of nature's morning, I'll watch sunset from a different balcony. The sun will be the same sun, the sky will be the same sky, but there won't be kids running around till dark. There won't be sounds of pure joy without a slight trace of worry. I'll be reminiscing this room you're in, the sounds you hear right now, those two ladies named Buyiswa and Hazel,...and that smell from the kitchen when they're cooking ;)
Verse 46: Township Townshit
The other day I was working outside with a couple of workers when a man came crying to us as he passed by. From the pitch and tone of his voice, I sensed a degree of anger and helplessness, but I couldn't guess what exactly it could've been (probably you can..by now). Moments later, the man walked off in quick steps, continuing to express his emotions. I asked the guys what was wrong. Glen, one of the workers there, translated for me; his daughter was dragged to the bushes behind the informal settlement last night...and raped.
She was 12 years old.
As beautiful as the Xhosa community can be, shit like this happens frequently in the township, it's frustrating. Lack of jobs, lack of education, lack of this, lack of that...whatever the cause is, there're too many useless explanations that don't change a thing. I'm beginning to think there's something fundamentally wrong with this community with all those alcohol, theft, murder, and rape cases happening in a poverty striken area. Instead of looking out for each other, their neighbours and relatives, there's a high degree of jealousy among them as clear-cut as the metals of their shacks. There's a dark side to the Xhosa community.
What frustrates me is that there's no immediate solution. Maybe, just MAYBE, better education will change this one day.
She was 12 years old.
As beautiful as the Xhosa community can be, shit like this happens frequently in the township, it's frustrating. Lack of jobs, lack of education, lack of this, lack of that...whatever the cause is, there're too many useless explanations that don't change a thing. I'm beginning to think there's something fundamentally wrong with this community with all those alcohol, theft, murder, and rape cases happening in a poverty striken area. Instead of looking out for each other, their neighbours and relatives, there's a high degree of jealousy among them as clear-cut as the metals of their shacks. There's a dark side to the Xhosa community.
What frustrates me is that there's no immediate solution. Maybe, just MAYBE, better education will change this one day.
Verse 45: Last Bit of Adventure
The idea came from a conversation; Robert learned to fly an airplane when he was 14. He told me his amazing stories in air cadets, how much fun he used to have with airplanes. So...
0840h Saturday morning, Robert, Elmarie (Mrs. Taylor), and I set out. Destination: Fisantakraal. Objective: learn to fly.
Fisantakraal is just a little outside of Cape Town city center. We popped into the Cape Town Flight Training school and set me up for a spin in the air. Passing through the hangar to the "parking" lot, I found a small 4-seater Cessnar waiting for me. After a couple of pictures in front of the airplane with "Captain Robert". Captain Andre came and introduced himself as my flight instructor. After we walked around the airplane and checked all the gauges and fuel. We're ready for take off.
Robert let me use his old headset (those were just like the ones from war movies! Works brilliantly); Captain Andre let me took the controls right off the bat. I turned the ignition, pushed in the throttle, and steered the airplane down and around the runway. Captain Andre radio'd the control tower, and seconds later we were given the green light to "take off and have a good flight".
I lined up the plane with the markings on the run way, and pushed the throttle 2/3 of the way in. The Cessnar accelerated. 10 knots, 20 knots, 40 knots, 55, 65... "Pull up!"
The nose of the plane tilted up, the view through the front windshield displayed the boundless blue sky. 10 seconds later, I was soaring in air.
"Altitude 1400 ft" said Captain Andre over the radio, "We're heading west towards Cape Town". In front of me some distance away was Table Mountain, beneath me is vast area of undisturbed green. "Let's head towards that hill at 2 o'clock," Cpt Andre instructed, "be gentle with the control, you can fly at 2000 ft".
The controls were very sensitive indeed. Little shakiness translates to noticeable jerking from side to side, up and down. Once I had the plane lined up, I turned up the trim and the plane basically flew itself! Once I reached the hill, I banked the wings and looped around. Captain Andre gave me a few more checkpoints and rounds of mess-about before he took over the control and landed the plane.
If you think being in an airplane is amazing, flying one is just phenomenal!
0840h Saturday morning, Robert, Elmarie (Mrs. Taylor), and I set out. Destination: Fisantakraal. Objective: learn to fly.
Fisantakraal is just a little outside of Cape Town city center. We popped into the Cape Town Flight Training school and set me up for a spin in the air. Passing through the hangar to the "parking" lot, I found a small 4-seater Cessnar waiting for me. After a couple of pictures in front of the airplane with "Captain Robert". Captain Andre came and introduced himself as my flight instructor. After we walked around the airplane and checked all the gauges and fuel. We're ready for take off.
Robert let me use his old headset (those were just like the ones from war movies! Works brilliantly); Captain Andre let me took the controls right off the bat. I turned the ignition, pushed in the throttle, and steered the airplane down and around the runway. Captain Andre radio'd the control tower, and seconds later we were given the green light to "take off and have a good flight".
I lined up the plane with the markings on the run way, and pushed the throttle 2/3 of the way in. The Cessnar accelerated. 10 knots, 20 knots, 40 knots, 55, 65... "Pull up!"
The nose of the plane tilted up, the view through the front windshield displayed the boundless blue sky. 10 seconds later, I was soaring in air.
"Altitude 1400 ft" said Captain Andre over the radio, "We're heading west towards Cape Town". In front of me some distance away was Table Mountain, beneath me is vast area of undisturbed green. "Let's head towards that hill at 2 o'clock," Cpt Andre instructed, "be gentle with the control, you can fly at 2000 ft".
The controls were very sensitive indeed. Little shakiness translates to noticeable jerking from side to side, up and down. Once I had the plane lined up, I turned up the trim and the plane basically flew itself! Once I reached the hill, I banked the wings and looped around. Captain Andre gave me a few more checkpoints and rounds of mess-about before he took over the control and landed the plane.
If you think being in an airplane is amazing, flying one is just phenomenal!
Verse 44: The Ninth Weekly Update
At Project Endlovu, this week has been eventful. All the dry walls upstairs of the community center are smoothened and painted; however, we're short of two boards to fully finish it. The floor is complete in the medical clinic. Robert and I put in Work-tops in the doctor's office and the pharmacy. We cut an opening in the pharmacy room where the medicines and prescriptions are exchanged. In the doctor's office, we installed a sink; the plumbing is yet to be done.
The plan for next week is to install a couple of toilets and build the enclosure just outside of the community center. We'd still have to negotiate with our neighbours to use the space.
Highlight of the week:
Spending a couple of nights at Robert's house with him and his family. I've experienced the legendary cooking of Robert's wife.
The plan for next week is to install a couple of toilets and build the enclosure just outside of the community center. We'd still have to negotiate with our neighbours to use the space.
Highlight of the week:
Spending a couple of nights at Robert's house with him and his family. I've experienced the legendary cooking of Robert's wife.
Verse 43: Home
Robert invited me over to his house, have dinner, and spend couple of nights with his family. I gratefully accepted.
At Gordon's Bay he lived, which is on the other side of False Bay; translation: a 30 minute drive. The Taylors lived in a beautiful cozy house not far from the beach; his dog Daisy is very good at being protective of his property...especially when I stepped in.
Mrs. Taylor made lovely spaghetti and meat ball that night. We sat down, and dined through our conversations. Robert's children, Sasha and Christopher, had just returned to high school after their "winter" break. All the sudden I was remembered my early high school days when I was excitingly updating
After dinner, we sat on the couch and watched a bit of TV while we digest that delicious dinner. But when the ladies of the house started watching 98210 or some random number like that, the men went to "work". We solved the problem of malfunctioning internet.
It was neat to spend some time in a family environment; it's something I haven't done in a long time. The couple of nights at the Taylors' made me think of my family in Canada. In a week's time, we'll be reunited, but on the other hand, I don't want to leave this place.
At Gordon's Bay he lived, which is on the other side of False Bay; translation: a 30 minute drive. The Taylors lived in a beautiful cozy house not far from the beach; his dog Daisy is very good at being protective of his property...especially when I stepped in.
Mrs. Taylor made lovely spaghetti and meat ball that night. We sat down, and dined through our conversations. Robert's children, Sasha and Christopher, had just returned to high school after their "winter" break. All the sudden I was remembered my early high school days when I was excitingly updating
After dinner, we sat on the couch and watched a bit of TV while we digest that delicious dinner. But when the ladies of the house started watching 98210 or some random number like that, the men went to "work". We solved the problem of malfunctioning internet.
It was neat to spend some time in a family environment; it's something I haven't done in a long time. The couple of nights at the Taylors' made me think of my family in Canada. In a week's time, we'll be reunited, but on the other hand, I don't want to leave this place.
Verse 42: Stories and Tales
A part of traveling is the people you meet where-ever you go. As your journey goes on, you'll hear from many MANY people many MANY stories. In South Africa, locals consist of whites, coloureds, and blacks - each with a different, but first hand tale of South Africa. These are some their stories.
1. "...[we] would have to sit at the back of the bus. And when it rains, the front of the bus would be empty and there'd be tons of coloureds and blacks waiting at the bus stop...but the bus driver wouldn't stop...because the bus can't take more PEOPLE....if he [the bus drive] did, he'll get fired....".
Name: J
Perspective: Coloured
Occupation: Unknown
Context: On a bus
2. "I feel alone man. No I can't get a job...food? I ask someone to buy it for me...yes, everyday..."
Name: M
Perspective: Coloured
Occupation: Homeless
Context: Cafe inside a grocery store
3. "We go to a school, they go to a different school. We sit here on this side, they sit over there...We just knew...Our parents didn't tell us about..., we just knew...we grew up with it...it was very confusing, we just didn't know why..."
Name: X
Perspective: Black
Occupation: Convenient store owner
Context: Cafe
4. "Eastern Cape...get off work, go home, come here, go home, sleep, go to work."
Name: Unknown
Perspective: Black
Occupation: Employed
Context: Shabeen (township pub)
5. "...like, c'mon, apartheid ended 11 years ago... they just gotta get off their asses and do something."
Name: Unknown
Perspective: White
Occupation: Restaurant and Bar owner
Context: Restaurant bar table
6: "Most of the white people here are going to say "Nelson Mandela? That bastard...but I think he's a great man...changed the image of South Africa...people don't look at us the same way after...he's done good things for us."
Name: Vernne
Perspective: White
Occupation: Safari Ranger
Context: On our quadbikes on top of a mountain in the middle of bare African landscape
7: "You see, the next generation won't know....because they never lived through those days. It was really oppressing and depressing."
Name: Andre
Perspective: Coloured
Occupation: Navy electrician
Context: balcony cafe over looking Mandela Day Festival
8: "...think my mind is as black as my skin. They are wrong."
Name: Buyiswa
Perspective: Black
Occupation: Creche manager
Context: Over a cup of coffee during break
9: "Aspeling Street. 45 Aspeling Street. It's where I lived [laughs]...we were forced to move...all coloured, blacks had to...had to carry a passport to go in that area...caught without [passport], they'll take you to jail."
"My father was involved in a conspiracy to....government. But my mom found out and didn't let him go...all of the other guys were arrested and...25 years. My brother...leader of student council...with other school started a protest in town...beaten until...then arrested."
Name: Ray
Perspective: Coloured
Occupation: Delivery Driver
Context: In his car, on the road to township
10: "Our country's got great potential."
Name: Robert
Perspective: White
Occupation: Master builder
Context: In his truck, on the open road
11: "Look at the colour of my skin, that's why."
Name: Unknown
Perspective: Black
Occupation: Unknown
Context: Street curb
1. "...[we] would have to sit at the back of the bus. And when it rains, the front of the bus would be empty and there'd be tons of coloureds and blacks waiting at the bus stop...but the bus driver wouldn't stop...because the bus can't take more PEOPLE....if he [the bus drive] did, he'll get fired....".
Name: J
Perspective: Coloured
Occupation: Unknown
Context: On a bus
2. "I feel alone man. No I can't get a job...food? I ask someone to buy it for me...yes, everyday..."
Name: M
Perspective: Coloured
Occupation: Homeless
Context: Cafe inside a grocery store
3. "We go to a school, they go to a different school. We sit here on this side, they sit over there...We just knew...Our parents didn't tell us about..., we just knew...we grew up with it...it was very confusing, we just didn't know why..."
Name: X
Perspective: Black
Occupation: Convenient store owner
Context: Cafe
4. "Eastern Cape...get off work, go home, come here, go home, sleep, go to work."
Name: Unknown
Perspective: Black
Occupation: Employed
Context: Shabeen (township pub)
5. "...like, c'mon, apartheid ended 11 years ago... they just gotta get off their asses and do something."
Name: Unknown
Perspective: White
Occupation: Restaurant and Bar owner
Context: Restaurant bar table
6: "Most of the white people here are going to say "Nelson Mandela? That bastard...but I think he's a great man...changed the image of South Africa...people don't look at us the same way after...he's done good things for us."
Name: Vernne
Perspective: White
Occupation: Safari Ranger
Context: On our quadbikes on top of a mountain in the middle of bare African landscape
7: "You see, the next generation won't know....because they never lived through those days. It was really oppressing and depressing."
Name: Andre
Perspective: Coloured
Occupation: Navy electrician
Context: balcony cafe over looking Mandela Day Festival
8: "...think my mind is as black as my skin. They are wrong."
Name: Buyiswa
Perspective: Black
Occupation: Creche manager
Context: Over a cup of coffee during break
9: "Aspeling Street. 45 Aspeling Street. It's where I lived [laughs]...we were forced to move...all coloured, blacks had to...had to carry a passport to go in that area...caught without [passport], they'll take you to jail."
"My father was involved in a conspiracy to....government. But my mom found out and didn't let him go...all of the other guys were arrested and...25 years. My brother...leader of student council...with other school started a protest in town...beaten until...then arrested."
Name: Ray
Perspective: Coloured
Occupation: Delivery Driver
Context: In his car, on the road to township
10: "Our country's got great potential."
Name: Robert
Perspective: White
Occupation: Master builder
Context: In his truck, on the open road
11: "Look at the colour of my skin, that's why."
Name: Unknown
Perspective: Black
Occupation: Unknown
Context: Street curb
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Verse 41: Weekend - World Cup
Another weekend, another road trip. This time the car rental company gave me a Tata Indigo, such nice lil car with all the lil gadgets. Although it's an upgrade over the Kia Picanto I drove the last two trips, it isn't as versatile.; the handling is a bit off.
Ok, enough about cars.
My plan for this weekend is to drive along the southern coast of South Africa (and Africa, for that matter) to reach Cape Agulhas, the southern-most tip of Africa, or in some sense, the tip of the world. This route is known as the whale-watch route; as the name suggests, tons of day trippers take this drive, trying to see a whale or two along the way. At night, I'll stay at the nearby town called Struisbaai. I'll catch the sunrise at the tip and make my way to Gansbaai, where I'll do a dive with the great white sharks. I'll explain the dive. A boat is going to take me into the ocean, I'll be in scuba gears and be locked inside a metal cage. Then the cage is going to be dropped into the ocean, and along with it, large chunks of raw meat. The blood from the meat is going to draw in the great whites. In the mean time, I'll be in a metal cage watching the whole process... After the shark dive, I'll head back to Khayelitsha where I'm going to take a few of my colleagues to the beach. Sunday, I'll drive to Cape of Good Hope once again, the weather wasn't co-operating last time so I didn't waste my R85 entrance fee.
Chapter 1: Smooth Drive
I started out early on Friday, picked up my car and left Cape Town at 1PM. With ocean on my right side and newly paved roads bending gently around the shore, I sat back, shifted into 5th gear, and cruised at a good speed; I should make it to the point by sunset.
Chapter 2: Back to Hermanus
It was 6 weeks ago Anna drove to Oudtshoorn where we rode ostriches and explored Cango Caves. En-route, we made a detour to Hermanus which I remembered as a very nice coastal town. The charm of Hermanus didn't stop me as long this time, I did some grocery shopping and was quickly back on the road. The next town on the route is Kleinmond. It seemed a tad bigger than Hermanus, but the coastal area isn't as scenic. Past Kleinmond, trouble started.
Chapter 3: Road to Napier
I was behind in time. The newly paved road is no more. Underneath my tires laid dirt and medium-sized rocks. I had to drive slow to avoid skidding. There were no road signs for many miles; the sun was quickly setting. Luckily I didn't miss any turns. I ended up at Napier at around 5PM, the sun sets in half and hour.
Chapter 4: The Tip of the World
They call Napier the gateway to the tip of Africa. From there, there's a perfectly straight road going south. Once I reached Struisbaai, signs were everywhere to guide visitors to the point. There's a light house at the point; I was very excited to see it. The colour of the water isn't the usual deep blue; at the southern coast, it's light green with white waves scribbled across the surface. I've made it, I'm at the tip of Africa, tip of the world! ... Just in time for sunset. It was an unbelievable feeling, a form of excitement, happiness, and thrill all mixed in one.
Chapter 5: Part Two
Part Two of the trip was to do a shark dive at Gansbaai. At dawn, I started from Cape Agulhas. I ate rusks (dry bread) while watching the sunrise from the hood of my car. Mr. Weather however wasn't cooperating; as soon as I turned the ignition, it started to rain. The drive back alone the coast was wet and gloomy. The dusty road was muddy and slippery. Once I got to Gansbaai, shark dive was not in operation due to bad weather... And that sucked.
Chapter 6: Plan B
Because of the poor scenery on a rainy day, I went back on the N2 highway. Instead of shark cage dive, I visited Stellenbosch - a midsize town in the center of Cape Wineland. Stellenbosch is beautiful; 18th century Dutch architectures lined up the narrow streets. Most of the buildings are white - a common trait in all hot n' dry places. In a rainy day like today, the white buildings contrasted well with the dark wet roads.
Chapter 7: Inspiration
At 1PM I was back in the townships. This is when I was supposed to take a few workers and spend our afternoon at a beach. The beach has a special significance to the Xhosas; it's a place of cleansing for both the body and the mind. Twanna, being recently put out of work, could really enjoy some time at the beach. But rain, rain, and more rain...None of the guys showed up as planned.
Nevertheless, the afternoon turned out well; I took 5 kids from the township to the city in hope to inspire them. Most of them have never gone to Cape Town, a host-city of the World Cup. We went to Greenpoint Stadium, V & A Waterfront, Signal Hill, Fan Fest...their jaws everywhere we went. We finished night at the Fan Fest, where we saw the young German squad clinch 3rd place over (the damned) Uruguay.
Taking an escalator for the first time
Chapter 8: Down to Cape Point
Sunday morning, I left township at the first morning light. I drove alone the coast of Khayelitsha west to Muizenberg, the South to Simon's Town, Fish Hoek, Miller's Point...Around 9AM, I was at the entrance to the Cape of Good Hope. This time, the weather is nice, and there weren't many tourists. The drive down to the Cape of Good Hope was soothing. I retraced the route taken by Charles Darwin centuries ago. I saw many wild animals on the side of the road. Over my shoulder rooted magnificent landscape squeezed in by two bodies of water. I parked the car near sea level and climbed all the way up to the lighthouse. There, I had a good view of the Cape. I pictured the Great Explorers sailing around the Cape; sensational.
The -only- Canadian symbol I had with me
Chapter 9: Boulevard Drive
From Cape of Good Hope, I set out on the Western Coast (came down on the Eastern coast) of the peninsula going north through Cape Town winelands. I drove through a nice boulevard at Kirstenbosch. Tall trees lined up along the curvy road through the forest. I had my windows down and some nice music going; what better way to make a drive more enjoyable?
Chapter 10: Feel it, it is heeeee-ah!
You can't NOT feel it on the day called "July 11th". Early afternoon, I found my way into the FIFA Fan Fest where fans are already lining up and partying it up. I got in just fine; here I am, at the world's biggest party with 85,000 fans from all over the world. The afternoon was filled with entertainment. I danced, I played soccer, saw live musical performances, and mingled with other fans. I called Robert to bring his family down here, he did, but just narrowly missed the cut-off to get in the festivity. Without Robert's company, I spent the afternoon and night with a group of Spanish girls. Can you imagine how wild they got when Spain won the cup? ...
Ok, enough about cars.
My plan for this weekend is to drive along the southern coast of South Africa (and Africa, for that matter) to reach Cape Agulhas, the southern-most tip of Africa, or in some sense, the tip of the world. This route is known as the whale-watch route; as the name suggests, tons of day trippers take this drive, trying to see a whale or two along the way. At night, I'll stay at the nearby town called Struisbaai. I'll catch the sunrise at the tip and make my way to Gansbaai, where I'll do a dive with the great white sharks. I'll explain the dive. A boat is going to take me into the ocean, I'll be in scuba gears and be locked inside a metal cage. Then the cage is going to be dropped into the ocean, and along with it, large chunks of raw meat. The blood from the meat is going to draw in the great whites. In the mean time, I'll be in a metal cage watching the whole process... After the shark dive, I'll head back to Khayelitsha where I'm going to take a few of my colleagues to the beach. Sunday, I'll drive to Cape of Good Hope once again, the weather wasn't co-operating last time so I didn't waste my R85 entrance fee.
Chapter 1: Smooth Drive
I started out early on Friday, picked up my car and left Cape Town at 1PM. With ocean on my right side and newly paved roads bending gently around the shore, I sat back, shifted into 5th gear, and cruised at a good speed; I should make it to the point by sunset.
Chapter 2: Back to Hermanus
It was 6 weeks ago Anna drove to Oudtshoorn where we rode ostriches and explored Cango Caves. En-route, we made a detour to Hermanus which I remembered as a very nice coastal town. The charm of Hermanus didn't stop me as long this time, I did some grocery shopping and was quickly back on the road. The next town on the route is Kleinmond. It seemed a tad bigger than Hermanus, but the coastal area isn't as scenic. Past Kleinmond, trouble started.
Chapter 3: Road to Napier
I was behind in time. The newly paved road is no more. Underneath my tires laid dirt and medium-sized rocks. I had to drive slow to avoid skidding. There were no road signs for many miles; the sun was quickly setting. Luckily I didn't miss any turns. I ended up at Napier at around 5PM, the sun sets in half and hour.
Chapter 4: The Tip of the World
They call Napier the gateway to the tip of Africa. From there, there's a perfectly straight road going south. Once I reached Struisbaai, signs were everywhere to guide visitors to the point. There's a light house at the point; I was very excited to see it. The colour of the water isn't the usual deep blue; at the southern coast, it's light green with white waves scribbled across the surface. I've made it, I'm at the tip of Africa, tip of the world! ... Just in time for sunset. It was an unbelievable feeling, a form of excitement, happiness, and thrill all mixed in one.
Chapter 5: Part Two
Part Two of the trip was to do a shark dive at Gansbaai. At dawn, I started from Cape Agulhas. I ate rusks (dry bread) while watching the sunrise from the hood of my car. Mr. Weather however wasn't cooperating; as soon as I turned the ignition, it started to rain. The drive back alone the coast was wet and gloomy. The dusty road was muddy and slippery. Once I got to Gansbaai, shark dive was not in operation due to bad weather... And that sucked.
Chapter 6: Plan B
Because of the poor scenery on a rainy day, I went back on the N2 highway. Instead of shark cage dive, I visited Stellenbosch - a midsize town in the center of Cape Wineland. Stellenbosch is beautiful; 18th century Dutch architectures lined up the narrow streets. Most of the buildings are white - a common trait in all hot n' dry places. In a rainy day like today, the white buildings contrasted well with the dark wet roads.
Chapter 7: Inspiration
At 1PM I was back in the townships. This is when I was supposed to take a few workers and spend our afternoon at a beach. The beach has a special significance to the Xhosas; it's a place of cleansing for both the body and the mind. Twanna, being recently put out of work, could really enjoy some time at the beach. But rain, rain, and more rain...None of the guys showed up as planned.
Nevertheless, the afternoon turned out well; I took 5 kids from the township to the city in hope to inspire them. Most of them have never gone to Cape Town, a host-city of the World Cup. We went to Greenpoint Stadium, V & A Waterfront, Signal Hill, Fan Fest...their jaws everywhere we went. We finished night at the Fan Fest, where we saw the young German squad clinch 3rd place over (the damned) Uruguay.
Taking an escalator for the first time
Chapter 8: Down to Cape Point
Sunday morning, I left township at the first morning light. I drove alone the coast of Khayelitsha west to Muizenberg, the South to Simon's Town, Fish Hoek, Miller's Point...Around 9AM, I was at the entrance to the Cape of Good Hope. This time, the weather is nice, and there weren't many tourists. The drive down to the Cape of Good Hope was soothing. I retraced the route taken by Charles Darwin centuries ago. I saw many wild animals on the side of the road. Over my shoulder rooted magnificent landscape squeezed in by two bodies of water. I parked the car near sea level and climbed all the way up to the lighthouse. There, I had a good view of the Cape. I pictured the Great Explorers sailing around the Cape; sensational.
The -only- Canadian symbol I had with me
Chapter 9: Boulevard Drive
From Cape of Good Hope, I set out on the Western Coast (came down on the Eastern coast) of the peninsula going north through Cape Town winelands. I drove through a nice boulevard at Kirstenbosch. Tall trees lined up along the curvy road through the forest. I had my windows down and some nice music going; what better way to make a drive more enjoyable?
Chapter 10: Feel it, it is heeeee-ah!
You can't NOT feel it on the day called "July 11th". Early afternoon, I found my way into the FIFA Fan Fest where fans are already lining up and partying it up. I got in just fine; here I am, at the world's biggest party with 85,000 fans from all over the world. The afternoon was filled with entertainment. I danced, I played soccer, saw live musical performances, and mingled with other fans. I called Robert to bring his family down here, he did, but just narrowly missed the cut-off to get in the festivity. Without Robert's company, I spent the afternoon and night with a group of Spanish girls. Can you imagine how wild they got when Spain won the cup? ...
Monday, July 12, 2010
Verse 40: The Eighth Weekly Update
At Project Endlovu, this week we saw a lot of changes. On Monday, our workforce was reduced as the two ladies, Monica and Taliswa, and Twanna were asked to work here no more. I saw it coming; though as much as I want to keep them on a personal level, I have no say in it.
On the construction side of things, we built a concrete bench along the front wall of the community center. On the second floor, we are very close to finishing putting up the dry walls. There are 6 rooms: a tuck shop, a rec room, three activity room, and a conference hall. Some of the boards have been plastered and smoothened, the rest will be finished next week.
In the medical clinic, professionals are hired to complete the floors. They're looking good.
Rumours:
-I may extend my stay at Project Endlovu for a couple more weeks. Di, the CEO of Shaster Foundation, is looking to postpone my flight. She's going to cover all the costs for me to stay a bit longer because of the increased productivity I've brought to the project.
On the construction side of things, we built a concrete bench along the front wall of the community center. On the second floor, we are very close to finishing putting up the dry walls. There are 6 rooms: a tuck shop, a rec room, three activity room, and a conference hall. Some of the boards have been plastered and smoothened, the rest will be finished next week.
In the medical clinic, professionals are hired to complete the floors. They're looking good.
Rumours:
-I may extend my stay at Project Endlovu for a couple more weeks. Di, the CEO of Shaster Foundation, is looking to postpone my flight. She's going to cover all the costs for me to stay a bit longer because of the increased productivity I've brought to the project.
Verse 39: Build to Perfection
Back in the days I'm building robots at Beaverworx, we had a "Zero Tolerance" standard between my buddy Chris and I. Obviously a 0.0000000(inf) error is unavoidable, but the mindset is always there. In machining the parts, my error has been between 1/1000 and 4/1000 of an inch!
With construction, it's a whole new ball game. Errors of a few millimeters, even centimeters could be ineligible. However, that doesn't apply everywhere; in some key components, error is unacceptable. Fortunately, "Zero Tolerance" mindset never left me.
I've been working a lot with the local workers this week. In Robert's absence one day, I took the initiation to lead the guys putting up dry-walls. At this project, I've established good reputation and leadership. The guys would come to me for instructions, and I'd do my best to maximize efficiency and quality. Along the way, I'd show my colleagues a few techniques I picked up to do the job better.
Ok, enough bragging.
I set up a stereo system where we work that plays songs from my cell phone. With some good music (oh Katy Perry...), we've had good morale. Here and there, "Uncle Robert" and "Uncle Pete" (me) would crack a joke to lighten the mood. We all could use a good laugh!
P.S. I've decided this weekend I'm going to take a drive to Cape Agulhas, the southern-most tip of Africa. On Saturday afternoon, I plan on taking a few guys from the project to the beach.
With construction, it's a whole new ball game. Errors of a few millimeters, even centimeters could be ineligible. However, that doesn't apply everywhere; in some key components, error is unacceptable. Fortunately, "Zero Tolerance" mindset never left me.
I've been working a lot with the local workers this week. In Robert's absence one day, I took the initiation to lead the guys putting up dry-walls. At this project, I've established good reputation and leadership. The guys would come to me for instructions, and I'd do my best to maximize efficiency and quality. Along the way, I'd show my colleagues a few techniques I picked up to do the job better.
Ok, enough bragging.
I set up a stereo system where we work that plays songs from my cell phone. With some good music (oh Katy Perry...), we've had good morale. Here and there, "Uncle Robert" and "Uncle Pete" (me) would crack a joke to lighten the mood. We all could use a good laugh!
P.S. I've decided this weekend I'm going to take a drive to Cape Agulhas, the southern-most tip of Africa. On Saturday afternoon, I plan on taking a few guys from the project to the beach.
Verse 38: Adventure Interior
Canada's Day firework...I wasn't around for that. Instead I took an 800KM road trip to explore the interior Western Cape. To break down my trip a little bit, I started in Cape Town, then headed to Paarl, Wellington, Ceres, Touws River, Montagu, Ashton, Robertson, Worcester, then back to Paarl, went down to Franschhoek, Graubaw, Gordon's Bay, Strand, Khayelitsha, and back to Cape Town.
Ok. Let the adventure begin.
Chapter 1: End of Day, Beginning of Night
Friday afternoon I picked up my car half an hour before sunset. I drove to the top of Signal Hill and watched the sun slowly sink below the sea. Momentarily and sporadically, night lights lit up Cape Town, dotting it in gold; it was a gorgeous scene. While witnessing the end of day and beginning of night, I got a call from an old friend...Anna, she got back from her trip to Mozambique; she'll be town this weekend, leaving for Germany on Sunday. So I met up with Anna and another traveler at Ashanti hostel, from there we went out for dinner, and later a bar to watch the Ghana-Uruguay game. Speaking of which, I hate the Uruguay soccer team. Suarez could go to hell for that handball. Anna and I caught up with our stories while apart, though hers are much more exciting than those happened in the township.
Chapter 2: Mountains of Ceres
My safari starts at 10AM. To give myself plenty of time, I turned the car ignition at 7:06AM, and I made good progress to reach Paarl. I had a smooth drive on the spacious highway while watching sunrise. However, trouble started when I was little bit past Paarl, I found myself in thick fog. My line of sight was about 20M radius that I had to slow down. At around 9AM, I made it to Ceres, which leaves me about 60KM to cover. What I didn't know was that the good-chunk of the rest of the journey is on mountain roads. The road is one-lane wide in both directions, every 100 meter or so there is a sharp turn and there are no rail guards. The suggested speed is about 40~60km/h. Thinking to myself, at this rate, I can't make it to the safari on time and the whole trip is ruined. Long drive short, I had some good scares driving through that mountain averaging between 70~80km/h.
Chapter 3: Safari
An African Safari experience is unbeatable. I'm sure you've seen animals at the zoo, but seeing them in nature is completely different; I'm sure anyone who has done a safari will agree with me. Vernne, our 20-something year-old ranger, took us on a 4x4. Over the ponds and dirt road we drove, the tour was unbelievable. Vernne stopped every so often when we spot a new animal to tell us about it. We saw springboks, impalas and other species of antelopes, different birds, hippos, rhinos, giraffes, zebra...lions, cheetah...buffaloes..
Chapter 4: Life in the Vast Emptiness
After a solid 3-hour safari drive, the group went for lunch. I opted out the feast to have my own sandwich because I had other ways to spend money than buying an overpriced lunch. Instead, I rented a quad-bike to drive around the field. Lunch and a lil nap later, I hopped on a red Honda quad-bike. Vernne, the ranger from the safari, gave me a brief 1-minute lesson on these powerful monsters. We wasted no time heading out on the trails. And believe me, those bikes are all about power, power, and power. A few times I went off the trail over sharp turns at full speed, but I just drove over small bushes as if they weren't there! In an open area, Vernne and I messed around with the bikes a bit; we were drifting, spinning, drawing donuts..t'was wild (there's a video clip I filmed). Afterwards we went to do some jumps over small hills and then headed to the mountain to take a break. Vernne and I stood on the tallest point in the area; it's unbelievable that it's sooo quiet there that you'd think you're deaf. Vernne looked around the field and said, "welcome to my office". We had a nice chat there about the life in the vast emptiness.
Chapter 5: Through the Remoteness
In my mind I was still driving that quad-bike, but by late afternoon I was already on my way to Montagu from Touws River. The road is perfect, with no cracks, bumps, or potholes. However, there were a few scary moments when I was making my way over a mountain through the clouds; I couldn't see much of the road at all. The second part of the journey goes through valleys, and THAT was not all fun-and-games. I drove along the wingding road through remote villages, and for over 40km, there was not a single road sign to confirm that I'm on the right road. The sun was setting at a fast pace behind the mountains. Well, since I'm writing this, I obviously made it out alive. All I can say now is: it wasn't fun when I did it.
Chapter 6: Worcester Exploration
I drove through Ashton and Robertson in dark, the latter seems like a very nice and peaceful town. At a bit past 7, I made it to Worcester, which is about an hour and a half from Cape Town driving non-stop. Worcester has become a dead-town, there was nothing much going on on a Saturday night. The liveliest place was a place called Dros Bar and Grill. I didn't feel like spending the night eating left-over sandwich and sleep in a sketchy hostel, so instead spending money on a bed, I went to Dros and ordered a nice man-size sweet lips pork ribs. Man, were those ribs tasty! Oh, of course, that meant I slept in my car.
Chapter 7: Mes Memoires Francais
Sunday morning, I was up before sunrise and sat in the car for it warm up. The plan was to drive through the vineyards then head down to Cape of Good Hope and return the car to the airport. The drive from Worcester to Franschhoek was very pleasant. The scenery changed from dry, rocky mountains to those of gentle surfaces with plenty of vegetation; they reminded very much of the French country-side that I was so in love with. As you may have guessed it, Franschhoek had a French origin. In this town, Bastile Day is celebrated. In the main road there are many small cafes with French names and dressed with French colours. When I was there, there was a bikers' gathering which made it very busy on a Sunday morning. Too bad I was driving, I would've done some wine tasting there because that's such a "French thing" to do.
Chapter 8: Patience
On a beautiful day like today in the Cape Peninsula, the streets are filled with cars heading towards the sandy beaches. I spent a solid hour driving 10km because of the traffic jam. I started from Muizenburg and went down the Indian Ocean coast. At Simon's Town, there's a destination called Boulders Beach where penguins had colonized. As the legend suggested, there were penguins everywhere! Soon I continued down the peninsula, heading to the Cape of Good Hope. At the entrance road, cars lined-up for a kilometer trying to get on the road. Without the patience, I headed back to Cape Town through the Atlantic coast of the peninsula.
Chapter 9: The Last Bit of Rush
At around 3:00PM I got back to Cape Town. I parked downtown and went to the Internet cafe to call my parents - haven't spoke to them in two weeks. We had a three way Skype session (dad was home, mom was at work), I filled them in with all the things I've done and surprised them with a few shockers that you've just read. As our conversation drifted, I lost track of time. Once I realized how long it had been, I only had half an hour to fill up the tank and return the car to the airport. On the radio, I heard the news that many soccer fans are returning today. So I drove fast...like fast fast. I waved around the traffic averaging 140km/h. It's amazing how familiar I've got with driving a manual transmission - I like it a lot now, it has a lot better control and maneuverability than automatic cars. Anyway I got to the airport in 15 mins, had the car checked, not a single scratch was found.
Chapter 10: The End
So yeah, all those happening in 48 hours. That's it. It's amazing how much you can do in a weekend. I know, this chapter is really just bogus.
Ok. Let the adventure begin.
Chapter 1: End of Day, Beginning of Night
Friday afternoon I picked up my car half an hour before sunset. I drove to the top of Signal Hill and watched the sun slowly sink below the sea. Momentarily and sporadically, night lights lit up Cape Town, dotting it in gold; it was a gorgeous scene. While witnessing the end of day and beginning of night, I got a call from an old friend...Anna, she got back from her trip to Mozambique; she'll be town this weekend, leaving for Germany on Sunday. So I met up with Anna and another traveler at Ashanti hostel, from there we went out for dinner, and later a bar to watch the Ghana-Uruguay game. Speaking of which, I hate the Uruguay soccer team. Suarez could go to hell for that handball. Anna and I caught up with our stories while apart, though hers are much more exciting than those happened in the township.
Chapter 2: Mountains of Ceres
My safari starts at 10AM. To give myself plenty of time, I turned the car ignition at 7:06AM, and I made good progress to reach Paarl. I had a smooth drive on the spacious highway while watching sunrise. However, trouble started when I was little bit past Paarl, I found myself in thick fog. My line of sight was about 20M radius that I had to slow down. At around 9AM, I made it to Ceres, which leaves me about 60KM to cover. What I didn't know was that the good-chunk of the rest of the journey is on mountain roads. The road is one-lane wide in both directions, every 100 meter or so there is a sharp turn and there are no rail guards. The suggested speed is about 40~60km/h. Thinking to myself, at this rate, I can't make it to the safari on time and the whole trip is ruined. Long drive short, I had some good scares driving through that mountain averaging between 70~80km/h.
Chapter 3: Safari
An African Safari experience is unbeatable. I'm sure you've seen animals at the zoo, but seeing them in nature is completely different; I'm sure anyone who has done a safari will agree with me. Vernne, our 20-something year-old ranger, took us on a 4x4. Over the ponds and dirt road we drove, the tour was unbelievable. Vernne stopped every so often when we spot a new animal to tell us about it. We saw springboks, impalas and other species of antelopes, different birds, hippos, rhinos, giraffes, zebra...lions, cheetah...buffaloes..
Chapter 4: Life in the Vast Emptiness
After a solid 3-hour safari drive, the group went for lunch. I opted out the feast to have my own sandwich because I had other ways to spend money than buying an overpriced lunch. Instead, I rented a quad-bike to drive around the field. Lunch and a lil nap later, I hopped on a red Honda quad-bike. Vernne, the ranger from the safari, gave me a brief 1-minute lesson on these powerful monsters. We wasted no time heading out on the trails. And believe me, those bikes are all about power, power, and power. A few times I went off the trail over sharp turns at full speed, but I just drove over small bushes as if they weren't there! In an open area, Vernne and I messed around with the bikes a bit; we were drifting, spinning, drawing donuts..t'was wild (there's a video clip I filmed). Afterwards we went to do some jumps over small hills and then headed to the mountain to take a break. Vernne and I stood on the tallest point in the area; it's unbelievable that it's sooo quiet there that you'd think you're deaf. Vernne looked around the field and said, "welcome to my office". We had a nice chat there about the life in the vast emptiness.
Chapter 5: Through the Remoteness
In my mind I was still driving that quad-bike, but by late afternoon I was already on my way to Montagu from Touws River. The road is perfect, with no cracks, bumps, or potholes. However, there were a few scary moments when I was making my way over a mountain through the clouds; I couldn't see much of the road at all. The second part of the journey goes through valleys, and THAT was not all fun-and-games. I drove along the wingding road through remote villages, and for over 40km, there was not a single road sign to confirm that I'm on the right road. The sun was setting at a fast pace behind the mountains. Well, since I'm writing this, I obviously made it out alive. All I can say now is: it wasn't fun when I did it.
Chapter 6: Worcester Exploration
I drove through Ashton and Robertson in dark, the latter seems like a very nice and peaceful town. At a bit past 7, I made it to Worcester, which is about an hour and a half from Cape Town driving non-stop. Worcester has become a dead-town, there was nothing much going on on a Saturday night. The liveliest place was a place called Dros Bar and Grill. I didn't feel like spending the night eating left-over sandwich and sleep in a sketchy hostel, so instead spending money on a bed, I went to Dros and ordered a nice man-size sweet lips pork ribs. Man, were those ribs tasty! Oh, of course, that meant I slept in my car.
Chapter 7: Mes Memoires Francais
Sunday morning, I was up before sunrise and sat in the car for it warm up. The plan was to drive through the vineyards then head down to Cape of Good Hope and return the car to the airport. The drive from Worcester to Franschhoek was very pleasant. The scenery changed from dry, rocky mountains to those of gentle surfaces with plenty of vegetation; they reminded very much of the French country-side that I was so in love with. As you may have guessed it, Franschhoek had a French origin. In this town, Bastile Day is celebrated. In the main road there are many small cafes with French names and dressed with French colours. When I was there, there was a bikers' gathering which made it very busy on a Sunday morning. Too bad I was driving, I would've done some wine tasting there because that's such a "French thing" to do.
Chapter 8: Patience
On a beautiful day like today in the Cape Peninsula, the streets are filled with cars heading towards the sandy beaches. I spent a solid hour driving 10km because of the traffic jam. I started from Muizenburg and went down the Indian Ocean coast. At Simon's Town, there's a destination called Boulders Beach where penguins had colonized. As the legend suggested, there were penguins everywhere! Soon I continued down the peninsula, heading to the Cape of Good Hope. At the entrance road, cars lined-up for a kilometer trying to get on the road. Without the patience, I headed back to Cape Town through the Atlantic coast of the peninsula.
Chapter 9: The Last Bit of Rush
At around 3:00PM I got back to Cape Town. I parked downtown and went to the Internet cafe to call my parents - haven't spoke to them in two weeks. We had a three way Skype session (dad was home, mom was at work), I filled them in with all the things I've done and surprised them with a few shockers that you've just read. As our conversation drifted, I lost track of time. Once I realized how long it had been, I only had half an hour to fill up the tank and return the car to the airport. On the radio, I heard the news that many soccer fans are returning today. So I drove fast...like fast fast. I waved around the traffic averaging 140km/h. It's amazing how familiar I've got with driving a manual transmission - I like it a lot now, it has a lot better control and maneuverability than automatic cars. Anyway I got to the airport in 15 mins, had the car checked, not a single scratch was found.
Chapter 10: The End
So yeah, all those happening in 48 hours. That's it. It's amazing how much you can do in a weekend. I know, this chapter is really just bogus.
Verse 37: The Seventh Weekly Update
At Project Endlovu, this week I worked a bit on the second floor and did electricals in the guesthouse. Majority of the time was spent running around the town getting supplies. Robert and I went the eco-beam factory, the hardware store, metal scrap-yard, and the Somerset Mall a few times. Other than that, I fixed a couple of computers.
Movies Watched:
-Bodies of Lies
Highlight:
-Going to the different places with Robert in his pickup.
Movies Watched:
-Bodies of Lies
Highlight:
-Going to the different places with Robert in his pickup.
Verse 36: Alone
The five guys from West Point left Cape Town on Monday. For the first time in 7 weeks, I'm living alone at the project. At night when there's no one to talk to, I'd some times sing out loud to remind myself I still have a voice; I'm in love with Katy Perry's new song "California Girls"...very catchy.
In the day time, I'm spending a lot more time off the construction site. Robert took me with him a few times to get building supplies from nearby towns. Christopher, Robert's 14 year-old son, came to the project too. We had good laughs giving out condoms and tying kids up for being naughty.
At dusk, after everyone had gone home, I'd sit on the balcony and watch the sunset while sipping on a glass of juice and munging on a biscuit. The temperature has been decent these days, so it's very relaxing sitting outside to read or just let the mind wander. I thought about my early days in Montreal, the different moments I had, the drama, the ups and downs throughout the year, and especially home and Canada; I guess what you think about when you're alone is what means the most to you.
This Thursday is Canada's Day, it must be exciting to be back home. As for here, I plan to take a road trip and go on a safari. It's going to be another great adventure, better if someone would join me ;)
In the day time, I'm spending a lot more time off the construction site. Robert took me with him a few times to get building supplies from nearby towns. Christopher, Robert's 14 year-old son, came to the project too. We had good laughs giving out condoms and tying kids up for being naughty.
At dusk, after everyone had gone home, I'd sit on the balcony and watch the sunset while sipping on a glass of juice and munging on a biscuit. The temperature has been decent these days, so it's very relaxing sitting outside to read or just let the mind wander. I thought about my early days in Montreal, the different moments I had, the drama, the ups and downs throughout the year, and especially home and Canada; I guess what you think about when you're alone is what means the most to you.
This Thursday is Canada's Day, it must be exciting to be back home. As for here, I plan to take a road trip and go on a safari. It's going to be another great adventure, better if someone would join me ;)
Verse 35: Carbon to Diamond
Diamond, girls' best friend, is this precious stone we have. It has such high importance that a man could give a woman a diamond ring in exchange for her lifetime of loyalty and commitment .. of course, there's more to that that I'm skipping.
Chemistry tells us diamond is made of carbons arranged in a particular way. Under certain environment, something as worthless as graphite can turn into diamond. That "certain environment" also turned Nelson Mandela into a great leader, I'm talking about the Robben Island Maximum Security Prison.
30 minute of ferry boat ride takes you from the dock of V & A Waterfront to the shore of Robben Island. Along the way you'll enjoy the refreshing breeze blowing across the sea and a great view of Mother City. That is the same route the prisoners to Robben Island took, whether they've enjoyed the breeze and the view, you can decide. In its days as a prison, Robben Island instituted hundreds of prisoners. The most dangerous murderers were sent to medium securty, while the political prisoners were locked in the maximum security prison - that just shows who were the real threats to an unstable government.
The island bus will take you to a limestone mine, where the prisoners worked. The condition is preserved as it was decades ago. Despite the dark images you may associate with a labour camp, this one is romantic. Some call the quarry an university; it is here the prisoners learned from each other. They secretly studied history, language, political science, economics, and philosophy during their lunch breaks. 8 hours a day the prisoners "worked", often they had to move a pile of limestone from one end to another end, then back to the original spot. There weren't toilet facility, a tin bucket was all they were given. The prisoners take turns to clean the bucket...all done by hands.
After work, inmates would return to their individual cells and cut off from all communications. Letters to the prisoners all went through censorship, when it reaches the prisoners, it read no more than "hello" and "good bye". Books were banned, but they found their ways into the prison by clever means. They were then transferred in the bathroom, sometimes they were hidden in the bushes and picked up later on. To communicate with other section of the prison, messages were written on small notes and stuffed in a tennis ball. The ball is then chucked over the wall and the message taken out.
Mandela spent 18 years his life in Section B of the maximum security prison from 1964 to 1982 (27 years in total, including at other prisons). He slept on the ground over a thin padding. It was later on when he suffered tuberculosis that he was given a bed. In a cell less than 4 meter squared, Mandela found the inspiration to write Long Walk to Freedom. It is this man who changed the image and the course of history of South Africa. It is in this condition an angry impulsive young man transformed to a man with broad shoulder and enormous tolerance - the same condition that turns carbons to diamond.
“It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.”
Chemistry tells us diamond is made of carbons arranged in a particular way. Under certain environment, something as worthless as graphite can turn into diamond. That "certain environment" also turned Nelson Mandela into a great leader, I'm talking about the Robben Island Maximum Security Prison.
30 minute of ferry boat ride takes you from the dock of V & A Waterfront to the shore of Robben Island. Along the way you'll enjoy the refreshing breeze blowing across the sea and a great view of Mother City. That is the same route the prisoners to Robben Island took, whether they've enjoyed the breeze and the view, you can decide. In its days as a prison, Robben Island instituted hundreds of prisoners. The most dangerous murderers were sent to medium securty, while the political prisoners were locked in the maximum security prison - that just shows who were the real threats to an unstable government.
The island bus will take you to a limestone mine, where the prisoners worked. The condition is preserved as it was decades ago. Despite the dark images you may associate with a labour camp, this one is romantic. Some call the quarry an university; it is here the prisoners learned from each other. They secretly studied history, language, political science, economics, and philosophy during their lunch breaks. 8 hours a day the prisoners "worked", often they had to move a pile of limestone from one end to another end, then back to the original spot. There weren't toilet facility, a tin bucket was all they were given. The prisoners take turns to clean the bucket...all done by hands.
After work, inmates would return to their individual cells and cut off from all communications. Letters to the prisoners all went through censorship, when it reaches the prisoners, it read no more than "hello" and "good bye". Books were banned, but they found their ways into the prison by clever means. They were then transferred in the bathroom, sometimes they were hidden in the bushes and picked up later on. To communicate with other section of the prison, messages were written on small notes and stuffed in a tennis ball. The ball is then chucked over the wall and the message taken out.
Mandela spent 18 years his life in Section B of the maximum security prison from 1964 to 1982 (27 years in total, including at other prisons). He slept on the ground over a thin padding. It was later on when he suffered tuberculosis that he was given a bed. In a cell less than 4 meter squared, Mandela found the inspiration to write Long Walk to Freedom. It is this man who changed the image and the course of history of South Africa. It is in this condition an angry impulsive young man transformed to a man with broad shoulder and enormous tolerance - the same condition that turns carbons to diamond.
“It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.”
Verse 34: 'Musing Museums - Your Guide to Cape Town Museums
The sea has been pretty calm this weekend; I didn't go on a road trip. Instead, I went on an adventure through most of the museums in Cape Town. Since this IS a travel log, here I'm going to give a little review of each. Here we go, in alphabetical order:
Bo-Kaap Museum
The Bo-Kaap Museum is situated in the middle of the Muslim community in Cape Town, distinguished by its colourful houses. The museum itself has four rooms, but visitors could visit the Muslim community center attached to it. The museum gives a basic history of the Muslim community in Cape Town with a focus in the 60s under apartheid regime. There are many Islamic items on-display from that era. For regular visitors, 30 minutes should be enough to go through the museum. As for the community center, it contains a display of dominantly the Islamic religion and how it contributed to the world. You'll find hundreds of poster-like displays that touches on the teachings of Qu'ran and Islamic history in Cape Town. The community center should take no more than 40 minutes, based on your level of interest in Muslim. I got into a deep conversation with the director there and met two Canadians, so I spent over an hour there.
The Castle (many museums inside)
The Castle is the first fort built in Cape Town. The construction began in 1666 and was completed in 16xx by the Dutch East India Company, the richest and most powerful private company in the world. In fact, it was so powerful that it has its own army and vessel fleet. Without giving too much details of the museum, the fort contains several internal museums. There you can learn about the military and colonial history of Cape Town, new year festivities, and the history of the fort itself. Besides the museums, you can run around the in fort, explore the dark dungeons and climb to the top of the exterior walls. Inside the fort, lot of rooms are open to public, including the torture chamber. With about 2 hours, you can have a thorough visit of the Castle.
District Six Museum
If you visit Cape Town, this is the must-go place. Cape Town went through a very dark period in contemporary history. Yes, I'm talking about the apartheid. The District Six museum is located at District Six, not too far from the Castle. In the 60s, the District Six is a lively suburb where blacks, coloured, and small number of white, all lived... until the apartheid government decided to "clear out" the land for whites-only. Within weeks all families in that area were forced to move out; Ray, my driver, his family is one of them. Soon the operation began, the entire suburb was razed to flat ground. The area is then made open only to the whites. For the blacks and coloured, they must obtain and carry a passport to enter or just simply passing by District Six. One who is caught without a passport would be arrested immediately. As the local says it the best, "it's like having a VISA to walk around your own country".
The museum itself is not very big. In fact you may have some difficulties finding the place. Once you do find it, you enter a bright room with two-story high ceilings. In the middle of the main floor, there's a map of District Six which its original streets. Many people marked the spot where their families had once lived. 45 Aspeling, that was where Ray grew up. If you were to read every single caption beneath photos and every story written, it'd take you at least 6 hours. I spent 2 hours there.
Gold Museum
This is a fancy museum located on Strand St. The most of the museum is decorated in black and gold, which gives visitors a luxurious feeling. To begin your tour, you'll head upstairs to second floor. Once there you'll be flattered by the hundreds of gold jewelries on display. Most of items are made and found in Africa. The collection includes King's crown, staff, bracelets, and many other gold decorations from different time periods. I'm sure you'll be amazed by the delicate craftsmanship and the amount of wealth Africa has had before Europeans arrived. Also on the second floor there is a very cool display room that mapped the entire human civilization, starting from Adam and Eve. The entire tour should take you around an hour.
Planetarium
Not much to see here, it's like a movie theatre that show scientific documentaries. I know some people who would love this place.
Robben Island Museum
Robben Island is the little island 10km off the coast of Cape Town. Completely isolated, it serves as the Alcatraz of South Africa. So, Robben Island was used as a place of isolation. At one point, it was a lepers village, and later instituted a maximum-security prison. Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years on Robben Island. The tour of the island includes a 30 min ferry boat ride to the Island (and back), a drive around the island, and a tour of the prison conducted by an ex-inmate. More about the last part in another log. The entire trip takes 3 hours long.
South African Cultural and Natural History Museum
Huge. The SA museum is huge. You can learn a lot about South Africa and nature here. The first floor through the entrance is about the cultural part of South Africa. You can find many displays of early African civilization including cave arts and artifacts from a million years ago. As you go further up, you learn about all the animals and the rocks. The animals are divided into fish, mammals, and insects. On the second floor, there was a very nice display of award winning photos from a photo contest; I spent quite some times studying the pictures. The entire museum would take half a day to finish; I spent a good 4 hours there (that included a 30 min nap while watching a video on whales)
Slave Lodge
The museum is converted from a former slave lodge. The first part of the museum contains a lot of information on the history of slavery in Cape Town; the second part is about the symbol of South Africa: Nelson Mandela. Like many American and European cities, Cape Town is built on slavery. Back in the days, the Dutch and the English "employed" huge numbers of African slaves to work on wineries, farms, factories, and shops. The slaves provided the economic base of Cape Town. Over the decades, the changing-time brought an end to the dark days of slavery, however, much injustice remained for another century. The museum takes you through the entire period with descriptions, pictures, and artifacts. The second part of museum about Nelson Mandela takes you through the defining moments in his life. The information is organized on large banners that are easy to follow. You'll need 2 hours for this one.
Bo-Kaap Museum
The Bo-Kaap Museum is situated in the middle of the Muslim community in Cape Town, distinguished by its colourful houses. The museum itself has four rooms, but visitors could visit the Muslim community center attached to it. The museum gives a basic history of the Muslim community in Cape Town with a focus in the 60s under apartheid regime. There are many Islamic items on-display from that era. For regular visitors, 30 minutes should be enough to go through the museum. As for the community center, it contains a display of dominantly the Islamic religion and how it contributed to the world. You'll find hundreds of poster-like displays that touches on the teachings of Qu'ran and Islamic history in Cape Town. The community center should take no more than 40 minutes, based on your level of interest in Muslim. I got into a deep conversation with the director there and met two Canadians, so I spent over an hour there.
The Castle (many museums inside)
The Castle is the first fort built in Cape Town. The construction began in 1666 and was completed in 16xx by the Dutch East India Company, the richest and most powerful private company in the world. In fact, it was so powerful that it has its own army and vessel fleet. Without giving too much details of the museum, the fort contains several internal museums. There you can learn about the military and colonial history of Cape Town, new year festivities, and the history of the fort itself. Besides the museums, you can run around the in fort, explore the dark dungeons and climb to the top of the exterior walls. Inside the fort, lot of rooms are open to public, including the torture chamber. With about 2 hours, you can have a thorough visit of the Castle.
District Six Museum
If you visit Cape Town, this is the must-go place. Cape Town went through a very dark period in contemporary history. Yes, I'm talking about the apartheid. The District Six museum is located at District Six, not too far from the Castle. In the 60s, the District Six is a lively suburb where blacks, coloured, and small number of white, all lived... until the apartheid government decided to "clear out" the land for whites-only. Within weeks all families in that area were forced to move out; Ray, my driver, his family is one of them. Soon the operation began, the entire suburb was razed to flat ground. The area is then made open only to the whites. For the blacks and coloured, they must obtain and carry a passport to enter or just simply passing by District Six. One who is caught without a passport would be arrested immediately. As the local says it the best, "it's like having a VISA to walk around your own country".
The museum itself is not very big. In fact you may have some difficulties finding the place. Once you do find it, you enter a bright room with two-story high ceilings. In the middle of the main floor, there's a map of District Six which its original streets. Many people marked the spot where their families had once lived. 45 Aspeling, that was where Ray grew up. If you were to read every single caption beneath photos and every story written, it'd take you at least 6 hours. I spent 2 hours there.
Gold Museum
This is a fancy museum located on Strand St. The most of the museum is decorated in black and gold, which gives visitors a luxurious feeling. To begin your tour, you'll head upstairs to second floor. Once there you'll be flattered by the hundreds of gold jewelries on display. Most of items are made and found in Africa. The collection includes King's crown, staff, bracelets, and many other gold decorations from different time periods. I'm sure you'll be amazed by the delicate craftsmanship and the amount of wealth Africa has had before Europeans arrived. Also on the second floor there is a very cool display room that mapped the entire human civilization, starting from Adam and Eve. The entire tour should take you around an hour.
Planetarium
Not much to see here, it's like a movie theatre that show scientific documentaries. I know some people who would love this place.
Robben Island Museum
Robben Island is the little island 10km off the coast of Cape Town. Completely isolated, it serves as the Alcatraz of South Africa. So, Robben Island was used as a place of isolation. At one point, it was a lepers village, and later instituted a maximum-security prison. Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years on Robben Island. The tour of the island includes a 30 min ferry boat ride to the Island (and back), a drive around the island, and a tour of the prison conducted by an ex-inmate. More about the last part in another log. The entire trip takes 3 hours long.
South African Cultural and Natural History Museum
Huge. The SA museum is huge. You can learn a lot about South Africa and nature here. The first floor through the entrance is about the cultural part of South Africa. You can find many displays of early African civilization including cave arts and artifacts from a million years ago. As you go further up, you learn about all the animals and the rocks. The animals are divided into fish, mammals, and insects. On the second floor, there was a very nice display of award winning photos from a photo contest; I spent quite some times studying the pictures. The entire museum would take half a day to finish; I spent a good 4 hours there (that included a 30 min nap while watching a video on whales)
Slave Lodge
The museum is converted from a former slave lodge. The first part of the museum contains a lot of information on the history of slavery in Cape Town; the second part is about the symbol of South Africa: Nelson Mandela. Like many American and European cities, Cape Town is built on slavery. Back in the days, the Dutch and the English "employed" huge numbers of African slaves to work on wineries, farms, factories, and shops. The slaves provided the economic base of Cape Town. Over the decades, the changing-time brought an end to the dark days of slavery, however, much injustice remained for another century. The museum takes you through the entire period with descriptions, pictures, and artifacts. The second part of museum about Nelson Mandela takes you through the defining moments in his life. The information is organized on large banners that are easy to follow. You'll need 2 hours for this one.
Verse 33: The Sixth Weekly Update
At Project Endlovu, this week we finished all the plastering work outside. Rob1, Rob2, and I put up railings for the stairs in the community center. The flooring on the second floor is completed. Robert and I built a protective case for the water geyser to prevent the flame from blowing out. I assisted in digging a hole for future water sewage system behind Makazi's guesthouse.
Plenty has been done, plenty still to do.
Highlight:
The nights spent with the West Point guys...playing condom poker.
Plenty has been done, plenty still to do.
Highlight:
The nights spent with the West Point guys...playing condom poker.
Verse 32: Project Projection
I've encountered a lot of people at Project Endlovu this week.
To begin, the five guys from US Military Academy at West Point have been great buddies to work and live with. Their "super human strength" has helped me quite a lot with many things that invovled pure muscle power. With those guys on board, we got a lot done in the community center; all the walls are sanded and got their final coating in one day. At night, we spent the hours playing condom-poker, telling stories, them sharing their military experiences, and of course, laughing.
Midway through the week, the interior designer who decorated the guest house and a photo journalist visited us and stayed for a night. After dinner we sat around for a solid night of meaningful conversations. We all gave our thoughts on the topics of racism and ethnicity.
On Friday we welcomed an American family of four coming from Boston to our guest house. Jim and Sarah, the parents, have MIT backgrounds and are highly knowledgeable in field of eco-construction and greenbuilding. In fact, it is THAT that brought them to the outskirt of Cape Town. Their two sons, Gage and Maxx, are students around my age; Gage is an exchange student to University of Cape Town. Since they came on a weekend when the project is on-hold, we weren't fortunate to benefit from their expertise. Nevertheless, I've enjoyed their company very much. I shared with them many of my experiences here at the township to give them a sense what it would be like had they stayed longer.
It sure is exciting to see new faces here! I wish you all could come for a visit!
To begin, the five guys from US Military Academy at West Point have been great buddies to work and live with. Their "super human strength" has helped me quite a lot with many things that invovled pure muscle power. With those guys on board, we got a lot done in the community center; all the walls are sanded and got their final coating in one day. At night, we spent the hours playing condom-poker, telling stories, them sharing their military experiences, and of course, laughing.
Midway through the week, the interior designer who decorated the guest house and a photo journalist visited us and stayed for a night. After dinner we sat around for a solid night of meaningful conversations. We all gave our thoughts on the topics of racism and ethnicity.
On Friday we welcomed an American family of four coming from Boston to our guest house. Jim and Sarah, the parents, have MIT backgrounds and are highly knowledgeable in field of eco-construction and greenbuilding. In fact, it is THAT that brought them to the outskirt of Cape Town. Their two sons, Gage and Maxx, are students around my age; Gage is an exchange student to University of Cape Town. Since they came on a weekend when the project is on-hold, we weren't fortunate to benefit from their expertise. Nevertheless, I've enjoyed their company very much. I shared with them many of my experiences here at the township to give them a sense what it would be like had they stayed longer.
It sure is exciting to see new faces here! I wish you all could come for a visit!
Verse 31: Initiation
In native culture, boys turn into men when they kill a buffalo. In our culture, that transition is sort of ambiguous. Personally I believe boys become men when they start to live under a different roof than their parents.
In the Xhosa culture, there is a more complicated and well-defined process. Somewhere between 16 and 21, usually 19, "young men" have to go through a ceremony called "initiation" where they officially become men - and let me tell you now that it's not fun and games at all.
In Western Cape, initiation schools are set-up in the bushes of Khayelitsha. Here they are found in little huts covered by black garbage bags. When boys head to the camps, they are stripped of their clothing. The main part of the ceremony was circumcision. The boys are lined up and cut one by one down the row with the same knife...what better way to spread aids/HIV? As part of them is cut off, they shout ">>>>>>" which means "I am a man!". Then they must take the foreskin and bury it at a secret place.
The circumcision isn't the end of the initiation however, the boys have to spend the next few weeks/months learning how to be a man. Throughout this time, they wore nothing more than a blanket and were given little to eat and drink. Because initiation takes place during the winter months, lack of warmth, food, and water makes living condition harsh. Although the government tried to enforce better conditions in the initiation schools while keeping the traditions, many illegal schools operate outside of the radar. Nevertheless, thousands of boys ended up in the hospital, hundreds die each year during the initiation season.
For a long time, different groups have been urging the government to disallow initiation schools. In many ways it is a murder camp where many lives were lost in the name of culture. As for learning the ways of men, one out of three Xhosa men have raped a woman. The initiation also did not lower the rate of unplanned pregnancy. Despite all the logic used against initiation camps, the counter argument always come up from the Xhosa population: "This is our culture".
So, my dear friends and readers...what do you think?
In the Xhosa culture, there is a more complicated and well-defined process. Somewhere between 16 and 21, usually 19, "young men" have to go through a ceremony called "initiation" where they officially become men - and let me tell you now that it's not fun and games at all.
In Western Cape, initiation schools are set-up in the bushes of Khayelitsha. Here they are found in little huts covered by black garbage bags. When boys head to the camps, they are stripped of their clothing. The main part of the ceremony was circumcision. The boys are lined up and cut one by one down the row with the same knife...what better way to spread aids/HIV? As part of them is cut off, they shout ">>>>>>" which means "I am a man!". Then they must take the foreskin and bury it at a secret place.
The circumcision isn't the end of the initiation however, the boys have to spend the next few weeks/months learning how to be a man. Throughout this time, they wore nothing more than a blanket and were given little to eat and drink. Because initiation takes place during the winter months, lack of warmth, food, and water makes living condition harsh. Although the government tried to enforce better conditions in the initiation schools while keeping the traditions, many illegal schools operate outside of the radar. Nevertheless, thousands of boys ended up in the hospital, hundreds die each year during the initiation season.
For a long time, different groups have been urging the government to disallow initiation schools. In many ways it is a murder camp where many lives were lost in the name of culture. As for learning the ways of men, one out of three Xhosa men have raped a woman. The initiation also did not lower the rate of unplanned pregnancy. Despite all the logic used against initiation camps, the counter argument always come up from the Xhosa population: "This is our culture".
So, my dear friends and readers...what do you think?
Verse 30: The Comfort Zone in the City
Each Friday when I leave project Endlovu for the city, the kids always gather around and chase the car from the settlement to the main road while shouting and yelling. One Friday I acted as if I was leaving for good, none of them ran or yelled, they just stood there.
From the many weekends in Cape Town, I've found my way around the city. A virtual map of Cape Town has been created in my brain, which also includes the locations of important places. I've also befriended a number of persons including restaurant owners, bar keepers, club bouncers, the chief of police, homeless people, and local vendors. If I am in town and bump into one of these people, they will call out "Hey Peter! How's the project going in Khayelitsha?" And I'll update them on our progress. From talking to the locals, I've gained great behind-the-scene insights to South Africa's culture and history.
It's funny how my image has transformed. In my early days here before the world cup, people (blacks) would often call out "China!" and attempt to lure a dollar or two off me. When the world cup began, every so often I'd hear "Korea!!!!" or "Japannn!!!"... and once in a while, "China!!!!". Once, just once, I got a "CanadaaAAA!!!"; he must've seen the maple leaf on my backpack. Kinda annoyed with being called in a country, it has been my personal challenge to be recognized as a local Cape Towner.
To blend in with the locals, I paid special attent to observe them and immitate their body language and natural aura. Easier said than done, but the general idea is to put on a "I've-been-here-all-my-life-and-I-know-this-place-inside-out" look. It wasn't until last weekend I had some success. Dining at a restaurant on Friday, the owner asked me "Where do you work in Cape Town...you're from here aren't you?" instead of the regular "Which country are you from?".
Neat eh?
From the many weekends in Cape Town, I've found my way around the city. A virtual map of Cape Town has been created in my brain, which also includes the locations of important places. I've also befriended a number of persons including restaurant owners, bar keepers, club bouncers, the chief of police, homeless people, and local vendors. If I am in town and bump into one of these people, they will call out "Hey Peter! How's the project going in Khayelitsha?" And I'll update them on our progress. From talking to the locals, I've gained great behind-the-scene insights to South Africa's culture and history.
It's funny how my image has transformed. In my early days here before the world cup, people (blacks) would often call out "China!" and attempt to lure a dollar or two off me. When the world cup began, every so often I'd hear "Korea!!!!" or "Japannn!!!"... and once in a while, "China!!!!". Once, just once, I got a "CanadaaAAA!!!"; he must've seen the maple leaf on my backpack. Kinda annoyed with being called in a country, it has been my personal challenge to be recognized as a local Cape Towner.
To blend in with the locals, I paid special attent to observe them and immitate their body language and natural aura. Easier said than done, but the general idea is to put on a "I've-been-here-all-my-life-and-I-know-this-place-inside-out" look. It wasn't until last weekend I had some success. Dining at a restaurant on Friday, the owner asked me "Where do you work in Cape Town...you're from here aren't you?" instead of the regular "Which country are you from?".
Neat eh?
Verse 29: The Comfort Zone in the Community
Maquza - that's my name in Xhosa. Andiswa named it for me; she told me it is the Xhosa version of 'Peter', but somehow I have a hard time believing that. Hazel was laughing at me when Andiswa called me Maquza and I answered. Well, regardless of what it means, hopefully nothing too out of the world, Maquza is kinda cool; it has a click in the middle of it.
Around the community, though I'm more commondly known as "Pedaaa", few began to call me Maquza. Often people pass by the worksite and say 'hello Peeeta'. I'd reply with "Molo" so-and-so and have a little conversation, though that doesn't last long before I drop my jaws and the other person switches to English. In my working attires, I'm instinguishable from the local in terms of "fashion".
Comparing to the adults, I'm a lot popular with the kids. When I'm walking around or working outside, there'd be kids waving and shouting "Peeta!" when they catch a little glimpse of me. Speaking of which, I got a minor concussion walking into a pole once because of such "distraction". After work, I usually spend an hour or two playing with the kids, be it soccer, running around, or those things you do in a real childhood. Kids are weird little creatures; I can tease them, throw them around, act angry and chase them away, or make them cry, the next day they'd always come around wanting myattention. Funny eh?
Around the community, though I'm more commondly known as "Pedaaa", few began to call me Maquza. Often people pass by the worksite and say 'hello Peeeta'. I'd reply with "Molo" so-and-so and have a little conversation, though that doesn't last long before I drop my jaws and the other person switches to English. In my working attires, I'm instinguishable from the local in terms of "fashion".
Comparing to the adults, I'm a lot popular with the kids. When I'm walking around or working outside, there'd be kids waving and shouting "Peeta!" when they catch a little glimpse of me. Speaking of which, I got a minor concussion walking into a pole once because of such "distraction". After work, I usually spend an hour or two playing with the kids, be it soccer, running around, or those things you do in a real childhood. Kids are weird little creatures; I can tease them, throw them around, act angry and chase them away, or make them cry, the next day they'd always come around wanting myattention. Funny eh?
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Verse 28: The Comfort Zone at Work
I'm midway through my stay at Project Endlovu and I've moved into a comfort zone. I have developed fine relationships with other workers, improved my construction skills, adapted well to the Xhosa culture, and learned my way around Cape Town.
This thing called relationship takes time to develop. I remember my early days at the project when I didn't interact too much with the workers. Our morning routine would include a simple friendly greeting, the kind you would give to strangers - warm, but not too warm. Of course, over the next few weeks things improved
The morning chills of South African winter naturally make people sluggish, especially when working outside. Now each morning after breakfast, I'd join the workers in mixing mortar; it's our morning ritual to walk around, flipping and turning the mortar as we go. Having Robert as a mentor is a blessing. Not only are my hands-on skills improved drastically, I've become very confident with what I'm doing. As such is the case, Robert has been assigning me different tasks to complete without his presence. And when I'm working on something, I'd be the one doing the main things and the local workers assisting me with passing the tools etc.
Working side by side with the locals shortened the distance between us. There's teamwork, support, and that crucial mutual trust. I am no longer the one leading conversations and morning greetings. It's funny when I crack a random joke during work and only one or two will laugh. But then one of them would talk to the others, and everyone would look at me and begin laughing. It's hard to say whether my joke was successfully translated to Xhosa, or they're just laughing at me.
Well, doesn't matter if I'm funny or funny-looking, I enjoy the comedy at work each day ;)
This thing called relationship takes time to develop. I remember my early days at the project when I didn't interact too much with the workers. Our morning routine would include a simple friendly greeting, the kind you would give to strangers - warm, but not too warm. Of course, over the next few weeks things improved
The morning chills of South African winter naturally make people sluggish, especially when working outside. Now each morning after breakfast, I'd join the workers in mixing mortar; it's our morning ritual to walk around, flipping and turning the mortar as we go. Having Robert as a mentor is a blessing. Not only are my hands-on skills improved drastically, I've become very confident with what I'm doing. As such is the case, Robert has been assigning me different tasks to complete without his presence. And when I'm working on something, I'd be the one doing the main things and the local workers assisting me with passing the tools etc.
Working side by side with the locals shortened the distance between us. There's teamwork, support, and that crucial mutual trust. I am no longer the one leading conversations and morning greetings. It's funny when I crack a random joke during work and only one or two will laugh. But then one of them would talk to the others, and everyone would look at me and begin laughing. It's hard to say whether my joke was successfully translated to Xhosa, or they're just laughing at me.
Well, doesn't matter if I'm funny or funny-looking, I enjoy the comedy at work each day ;)
Verse 27: Condoms
Here in the township, if you're ever out on a walk with a lover and the urge kicks in...well you could just pull her around the corner and enjoy the moment in one of the many alleys, and the convenient thing is, you don't even need a condom handy in your pocket because you can just pick one up from the ground. One that's still in an unopened package, of course.
So that's the joke around here, because of the condoms lying around everywhere.
The South African government issues free condoms in many public places. You can spot the blue boxes/packages in hostels, libraries, bus station, shopping malls...everywhere. In the volunteer house, we have 400 of them.
It isn't so shocking why the government spent so much time and energy to promote condom usage here. The HIV/AIDS proficiency is 35% nation wide and about 45% in the township. However, exactly what the real stats are, no one knows. Some locals suspect it being higher than as advertised, one reason being censorship. Due to the fact that HIV does not directly cause death and some legal issues, a person with HIV will not have any indication of the virus on his/her medical record. Rather, multiple organ failures are often recorded as the cause of death.
With education and massive supply of and easy access to condoms, improvements are slowly taking place. To start off, visual instructions are printed on the back of the package for easy accessibility. The kids seem to know what condoms are, what they're used for, and why they are used - looks like parents and government are doing the right things to make changes they want to see. An article in last Friday's newspaper suggested an increase in condom-use nation-wide and a slight decrease in HIV rates among teens. However, nothing was written about the manner in wThich the researched was conducted in.
Because of the availability of condoms here, they're often used for purposes other than sex. Once in a while, you'll bump into a kid playing with a "condom balloon". Personally, I've used condoms to make sling-shots (they make quite good elastic actually). And the volunteers? Well...one night when we wanted to play poker and didn't have any chips...those 400 condoms we have...
I think you can fill in the gap.
So that's the joke around here, because of the condoms lying around everywhere.
The South African government issues free condoms in many public places. You can spot the blue boxes/packages in hostels, libraries, bus station, shopping malls...everywhere. In the volunteer house, we have 400 of them.
It isn't so shocking why the government spent so much time and energy to promote condom usage here. The HIV/AIDS proficiency is 35% nation wide and about 45% in the township. However, exactly what the real stats are, no one knows. Some locals suspect it being higher than as advertised, one reason being censorship. Due to the fact that HIV does not directly cause death and some legal issues, a person with HIV will not have any indication of the virus on his/her medical record. Rather, multiple organ failures are often recorded as the cause of death.
With education and massive supply of and easy access to condoms, improvements are slowly taking place. To start off, visual instructions are printed on the back of the package for easy accessibility. The kids seem to know what condoms are, what they're used for, and why they are used - looks like parents and government are doing the right things to make changes they want to see. An article in last Friday's newspaper suggested an increase in condom-use nation-wide and a slight decrease in HIV rates among teens. However, nothing was written about the manner in wThich the researched was conducted in.
Because of the availability of condoms here, they're often used for purposes other than sex. Once in a while, you'll bump into a kid playing with a "condom balloon". Personally, I've used condoms to make sling-shots (they make quite good elastic actually). And the volunteers? Well...one night when we wanted to play poker and didn't have any chips...those 400 condoms we have...
I think you can fill in the gap.
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