Cape Town, part two

Things have been a bit more enjoyable, as I've taken several tours in the last few days and have enjoyed company and conversation with fellow travelers. Yesterday was an all-day trip down the cape, the highlights of which were a visit to Boulders Beach to see the African penguins, and of course a visit to Cape Point/Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost point of the continent of Africa.

Sunday morning I visited three of the townships on the outskirts of Cape Town. Although Apartheid has been abolished, the black/white situation here is very interesting, disturbing and affecting. Here in Cape Town you're white, black or what they call "colored". They also use the word Muslim to identify Asians. Most of the black and "colored" populations live in huge townships/shantytowns on the outskirts of all the large cities. They are made up of government housing, and more commonly, pieced together homes of wood, corrugated tin, tar paper and the like. The government housing has water, but most people in the shantys go to a community tap, and to the nearby block of toilets. Unemployment in this country hovers near 40%. People can't escape the townships w/o a job; and there's none to be found. It's such a different racial environment here compared to Tanzania. I have to say, I much prefer the latter.

Yesterday I finally got to Robben Island, the prison where Nelson Madela, as well as other political prisoners, were held from the 1960s until the early 90s. The second part of the tour (in the jail section) is guided by a former political prisoner. "Sparks" was imprisoned in 1983 at age 17 for his actions within the ANC. He's a lovely man, and it was absolutely riveting to hear of his life before, during and after his imprisonment.

All in all, this has been a good escape, but I'm missing my friends and children in Tanzania. Will post again when I'm back in Mwanza.

Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa

It's day 4 of my holiday to Cape Town. After being surrounded by friends, locals and children for the past 3 months, I feel rather lonely here (even though I think I needed this break).

Cape Town is sunny, and quite beautiful. My first two days were spent TCB (Elvis speak for "taking care of business"). I've lost about 15 pounds since my arrival, and none of my clothes really fit anymore. So, day one of my vacation was spent in pursuit of pants, tshirts and clean underthings. I would've had some new underwear prior to this trip, but they were stolen. My good friend Lauren actually mailed me undies, but somebody at the Mwanza main post office helped themselves to them, and left the dregs of the packet for me!

Anyway, I wanted to take care of my chores here first, so I could then concentrate on having fun from here on out. I've seen two movies (Babel & Volver), visited the Aquarium (wonderful), taken a wine/food day tour (yummy) and enjoyed many hot showers! Tomorrow I will be taking a full day tour to the southernmost point on the Cape, and Monday I will be going to Robben Island. This is the prison where Nelson Mandela (and other politcal prisoners) was held during apartheid.

Today as we headed out of town, I got my first view of the townships outside of the main city. It was rather shocking and quite a bit depressing. Miles and miles of tin & pieced together wood, all holding the black population of Cape Town. Apartheid may be over, but racial division is not. On Sunday, I've booked a trip to one of the townships with a local organization that pushes the money back into the township. I'll be going to church, and then visiting some local families to talk about their lives & situations. This may prove to be the best (or most touching) part of my trip to SA.

Will update again after my weekend trips.

Where have I been?

My sincere apologies for my blog absence this last month. The internet connections in Mwanza have been sketchy at best, and when I've had a free hour, it's taken the whole time just to access a few emails. I tried to access the blogspot site several times, and after 20 minutes of waiting for it to load, I gave up.

My other excuse was my health (again!). I fell ill in mid-February, this time with a nasty flu and stomach virus that kept me in the village for the better part of a week. It's been frustrating to deal with these nagging health issues, but I think I'm finally on the mend.

In this last month I've finished my teaching time in Mwanza, and feel very melancholy about things. Tanzania initially proved to be more than I thought I could do; now I feel sad that my time there is down to just a few weeks. Like the children in Romania, these kids quickly fall into your heart, your life, and your hopes - and it is very challenging to walk away.

My last few weeks of teaching were wonderful, especially with my beloved standard 3/4 boys. I taught this group of boys more than any other group, and they have shown themselves to be exceptional children, in spite of all the difficulties of living in an orphanage. My last week of teaching I received many letters from the kids, all thanking me and promising they would never forget me. I had quite a few weepy days my last week; again, I want to just pile all the kids in a plane and take them home with me.

Outside of work, I've very much settled in to the village life in Mwanza. It's not always easy (collecting rainwater to bathe with when the water went out!) but it's so rewarding, and infinitely more calming than life at home. When I walk up the dirt road to teach, almost everyone greets you; little kids yell "mzungu" and come up to hold your hand. How often do we greet our neighbors (or strangers) on the streets at home? We are always too busy - hurry to work, hurry home, hurry to soccer practice, get to the store - it's all just a big rush. The slow pace of life has taken some getting used to, but I think it's done me a world of good.

After finishing teaching, I'm off to Cape Town, South Africa for a week's holiday. I will return to Mwanza for a bit more work at another orphanage, and then will leave for Malawi on March 31st. I can't wait to see the babies, but I dread my final goodbye to my friends in Tanzania.