Africa #4 - Too much of a good thing?

The thought has occurred to me often in life that too much of a good thing is, in fact, not such a good thing. I'm sure many of you have had these thoughts as well. When does one know when to draw the line between offering aid to a person or to a community and when to stop and let that person/community fend for themselves? The local volunteer organizations are faced with that same question regarding the village of Kurland at this very moment. The dilemma seems to be two-fold (in actuality it is much more complicated than that, but these are the two major points as I understand them, based on many conversations and a couple of weeks of observations).

First of all...there are a number of aid organizations in the area that donate time, money, materials, food, land, etc. to the community. However, there is not an overall structure for these organizations to allow them to work together, or to help direct the donations of well-meaning people who may, for instance, want to donate land for a new rugby pitch, when there is already one in the community. Therefore, several similar projects may be going on at the same time without much understanding of what, why or who is the end recipient of the aid. The donations and volunteers are much appreciated by all, but I can't help but think how powerful these organizations and the money behind them could be if they worked together to raise funds, choose and carry-out projects, and provide on-going support, etc.

Secondly...there is the issue of the community wanting to change. One can't help but wonder if they have become used to their lot in life and a revolving door of volunteers and newly erected buildings that they believe this is how life has always been and how it always should be. On the one hand, yes, mankind should always strive to help each other, but on the other hand, it is difficult to continue to provide for people who seem uninterested in changing. For example, some seem to prefer to throw their garbage in the streets rather than pay the R7 a week (approx. $1) for garbage removal. When a fenced in area was built by volunteers to contain the garbage, the lumber gradually disappeared for people to use on their own homes (and who can blame them for wanting a simple 2x4?) Some would rather let their pigs roam free rather than pay a small fee to have them contained in a community pen. Please note that these are generalizations and not all of the community is of this mindset. However, all that are a part of the community seem content to let it be.

I am told that this is a three-generational change. The adults who are going through it now are fighting because it is different. Their children will be educated in these changes and understand and embrace them more fully. Finally, their children's children will not remember life any differently and that is when the change will have taken root and the community can hopefully thrive on its own.

So...I am left pondering the question if changing one person at a time is enough...is it possible to achieve breakthrough changes in a community like this, or must we settle for small-scale changes? In this community, I can be inspired by the fact that there are local organizations that care and that will fight for those changes. Good Work and Keep it Up!

Africa #3 - kind of like camping

So most of my friends and family know that my response to the subject of camping is typically something like "I hate camping..." However, it has occurred to me that living here has some definite camping-like qualities. Some examples:

- In order to get to a toilet or shower, I need to walk outside
- At night, when it is really cold, only one side of your body is ever really warm...the side by the fire...and that's not really warm, but almost uncomfortably hot. (They don't have heat in their buildings, so we use fireplaces to stay warm...although here it almost defeats the purpose because the fireplace is in an open-air room with no glass in the windows...lol!)
- I only shave 1x per week...seriously
- My makeup routine has been reduces to mascara and chapstick
- I almost always smell like smoke (see #2 above for the reason)
- I think nothing of wearing clothes for 2+ days in a row
- I eat a lot of sandwiches - because they are so easy to make and require no cooking
- As I type this, my clothes are being dried outside, on a clothesline...no tumble dryer here!
- And finally...the bugs! There are always spiders around...not huge, scary poisonous ones, but spiders none-the-less...I even had one in my stew the other day for lunch (and I just ate it...I couldn't be bothered to fish it out.)

Maybe when I get back to the states I'll like camping! Doubtful, but I do think that I will come away with a renewed appreciation for the modern conveniences that we all take for granted and inspiration to be more environmentally conscious. (Jason...you thought I was bad for getting after you to recycle before, just wait til I get back! :))

Africa #2 - working at the Creche and opinions on the area so far

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been assigned to work at the Creche, in the village of Kurland. While this would not be my #1 choice, it is an easy assignment to plug someone into, because there are no time requirements for the assignment and no training requirements. You can imagine that this creates a few dilemmas for the volunteers, who are asked to "assist" in a classroom of 20+ children who all speak Afrikaans with no tools as far as what the curriculum is, what stages the kids are at, and how to tell the children to sit down, ask if they have to go to bathroom, or tell them to be quiet! It is not uncommon for the teacher of my class (also the administrator among other things at the school) to be in her office for long stints at a time and leave the classroom to me. I have taken the approach of speaking to them in English and pointing a lot, with the exception of some poorly pronounced words in Afrikaans. It took only a few days of reciting the alphabet and numbers and conversing with the kids for me to realize that they don't actually KNOW their letters and numbers (at least in English), but they are very good at repeating what someone says to them. In fact, they remind me of little parrots who repeat exactly what I say, but do not recognize the number "8" when I show it to them. I've made it my goal to teach them the English pronunciation and recognition of 1 - 10 and A - Z before I leave...less than 4 weeks left!

There are times throughout the day that all of the children are occupied and the teachers are gathered around, supervising. I have never been in a situation where I am the minority when it comes to language, so I find myself the odd man out. They are all conversing in Afrikaans and I am sitting quietly across the room. Very interesting and humbling situation to be in, for sure.

Overall, the experience so far has been a whirlwind...but has been great. I am forming a lot of opinions on the culture of several groups that I have come into contact with - the backpackers, the Kurland Village people (not to be confused with the Village People), and the white South Africans. I need to further observe and test my opinions about these people before blogging about them, but I find them all very different and all very interesting to study and understand.

Africa #1 - the local area

OK, so for my first blog about Africa, I thought it would be appropriate to start with a little bit about the area that I am working in and what I will be doing. The location is in an area of South Africa known as the Crags, and I am working in a village called Kurland Village, about 1 km from where I am staying at Rocky Road Farm, about about 20 km from Plettenberg Bay. Contrary to popular belief, Africa is cold at this time of year (it is their winter). The first few days were probably around 35 - 45 at night and 55 - 60 during the day. Brrrr!

Plettenberg Bay is known as a play spot for the wealthy while Kurland village is a made up mostly of tiny shacks that are frequently dilapidated. The contrast in this area is amazing to witness. The landscape is gorgeous...mountains and ocean views within a few km drives and beautiful forests and beaches nearby as well.

The volunteer organization I am working with is called Willing Workers in South Afria (WWISA) and they have recently supplemented their volunteer program by opening backpackers accommodations, due to a decline in the amount of volunteers they are able to recruit. Therefore, there are loads of people traveling through this place!

As I alluded to prior, the village that I am working in is in a state of disrepair - not all of the village, but a large percentage, for sure. The government has built some homes which are in a much better state that the shacks that have risen up over the years. Pigs are a frequent site wandering around the village and there are a ton of dogs as well. Both contribute to the dirtiness of the village, as there is no good place for people to discard their trash, so it ends up in large piles that the animals dig through.

My assignment is to work in a preschool during the day (9 - 2) and then with the older children in an afterschool program. The first week here has been school holiday, so we have had very few children at the preschool and their are no afterschool programs - perfect way to dip my toes in and get to understand how it works. From what I can tell, the kids that come are some of the more priveleged kids in the village, as they all have warm clothes, shoes, and bring snacks from home. I am unclear where they receive clothes from, but I do know that many of the adults work in local tourist areas, on local farms, or at a nearby brick mill or sawmill.

Hopefully, this provides a little bit of insight into where I am and what I will be doing...more to come!

Marathon

On Saturday, June 20th, I ran a marathon! Grandma's Marathon from Two Harbors, MN to Duluth, MN.

It was by far the most difficult thing I have done - both physically and mentally. I blew my goal of completing it is 5 hours out of the water (not in a good way) and finished around the 6 hour mark.

I learned that people run marathons for many different reasons, but MOST people who run them seem to be 30s or 40s and very fit!

At this point, I don't know if I will ever run another marathon, but I do know that I am extremely proud of myself for sticking to the training and discipline involved and meeting my goal of running a marathon before I turn 30!

Thanks to my family and to Jason for the support they all showed during "marathon weekend!"