First day of volunteering?

Bonjour from Africa!
So I'm kind of lying, it's friday and I've been here for much longer but there is no such thing as wifi in Mamre. ANYWAY.

Soooo. This is what happened Monday, the 18th of January:

We woke up early and ate breakfast with friends and ran a few errands around Sea Point (the neighbourhood in Cape Town where the volunteer house is). Taxis picked us up from the volunteer house at noon and we had orientation with the organization and found out I'd be living in Marme, South Africa. 11 others are staying in that same town so it's very lucky. Some are in different towns so we are separated. booo. The town is super small, I think population 6000. I'd actually say less than that. It reminds me of the town in "To Kill A Mockingbird," or some small town in Georgia or Alabama. Everyone knows everyone, quite a poor town but not the poorest. We have electricity and water. It makes you really appreciate things such as air conditioning.  Anyway, it's quite a basic accommodation, I am rooming with Michelle, a friend I met the first day in Cape Town. Hilda is our host mom, she is a petite lady who is a busybody. She's involved with so much in the town of Mamre. She is the supervisor of the Mamre accommodation so we can talk to her if there are any problems. Mamre is a community of colored people (the term they use, not my term). It's meaning is mixed of black, Malaysian and white blood, I'm pretty sure. We visited with Hilda and her friend Morgan before bed.

Waka Waka

Second day:

Wonderful! I finally got some sleep...(it had been 2 days since sleeping in an actual bed...) Anyway a group of 6 of us decided to take a typical tourist trip of the city via the "Red Bus" tours that you see in almost every major city. It seemed a bit corny but it was so much fun. It helped us all get better acclimated with the city layout and see parts of it we might not have otherwise. It was nice because it allowed for getting on and off as you please, so we stopped at the waterfront area, which was similar to the Pier in San Francisco but less cheesy, though still super touristy. Then we stopped off at a lookout point on the way to Table Mountain, though no one was dressed to hike up it, we will do that later. The bus went on a scenic drive to Camps Bay which is a ritzy beach area. This place looks just like Miami Beach, except more beautiful and exotic. We dined al fresco at an Italian restaurant and walked by the beach (the water is freezing but such a rush to jump in for a moment). Then we headed back and walked along the beach boardwalk to our house. 

All the people here are very nice, I like that we are all here with similar interests of travelling, and pursuing the more global goals that we all seem to share. Tomorrow we go to the homestay and I probably won't have internet for another week or so. 

In conclusion,

I love Cape Town. It's so incredibly diverse, you really feel a strong culturally pull wherever you are. So many different ethnicities, lifestyles and contrasts are abound. It feels modern, and very safe. Sure you have the few dodge looking people here and there, but it is no where near as bad as anyone made it seem. I've realised the "warnings" and fear people try to instill in you are from people who have never been or had first hand experience, so what they know is from what "they heard somewhere," which is not a great source to base opinion on. Everyone should come to Cape Town!

CIAO.

ac

First Day

This day has been so surreal. From being totally uncomfortable, tired and restless on the flight from Frankfurt, to actually landing in Cape Town and getting to the volunteer house, to meeting new people and exploring the town.

First: Cape Town is so beautiful. I've hardly seen the best of it and I'm so taken aback by how amazing this city is. Very beachy, with Atlantic waves crashing on shore, to Table Mountain in the background of every view.

I've met some great people here so far, from all over. We went walking around the beach and to lunch today with my roommates, and tonight a group of us went to the center of nightlife for dinner and drinks at an African restaurant. Our house is about 1000 feet from the ocean, which is amazing.  I love this city. Not sure if that came across before. ;)

Anyway, Monday we fight out more details about the actual location of our volunteer projects, meet the family we are homestaying with and figure out the other logistics. I'm definitely going to keep in touch with the people I've met at the volunteer house so we can do day trips and weekend excursions together. So far, we are talking about swimming with penguins, wine tasting, sky diving, safari and *fingers crossed* Great White Shark diving. ALSO: The dollar to rand exchange rate is incredible.

Tomorrow the plan is to get some of the touristy "must see" stuff done, and hiking up Table Mountain. I've heard the view from the top is nothing short of spectacular so I'm very excited to do that.

Everything here is a new experience, I am enjoying it all.


ac

Limbo

This will not be my most interesting or insightful post.

Anyway-I landed in Frankfurt at 1030, I leave for Cape Town at 2250. As in ten hours later... I was all set to go explore the city but I got sick on the plane (yuck) and didn't sleep at all. So I determined I am too much of a zombie to wander Germany alone. Thank goodness they have sugar free redbull and plenty of outlets to charge my iPod on here.

There are these kids (guys around my age) playing some trancy electronic music on their MacBook behind me which is very good listening. I am currently watching planes go bye out the window... Only 6.5 hours left. Ug. I can't wait to get to South Africa. I still can't actually believe I'm going.

I need to learn other languages. I feel like such a moran whenever I go abroad because of this. It's my number one insecurity traveling.

Okay this was almost totally pointless but like I said, I'm totally dying of bordom at the moment.

Ac

Tomorrow!

So tomorrow I will be leaving, flying from Orlando to Frankfurt and Frankfurt to Cape Town. I'm flying with Lufthansa, which I've read only positive things about so I am hoping to enjoy a comfortable, pleasant flight. My only slight bit of hesitation about this entire thing is the 10 hour layover in the Frankfurt, GR airport. I don't know a word of German other than "thank you" and am probably going to be tired and confused while I'm waiting for my next flight.

I'm almost entirely packed, bringing only a small carry-on suitcase and a tote bag. I've condensed my luggage by a tenfold since initially packing, so I'm quite proud that I've got a carry-on only for 36 days of travel.

I am so excited to go to South Africa. I can't wait to meet the other volunteers, get to know the teachers, talk with the family I'll be homestaying with and explore the city of Cape Town.

It's hard for me to stop planning and looking ahead, for instance, I'm also working on teaching in Spain next October and planning my graduate school applications, but I have to remember to take these few weeks to really savor the moments of my trip.

-ac

Why Travel?

So why bother travelling?
Earlier in my life it was to "escape" a life I "couldn't stand" and other dramatic reasonings of a teenager.
Then, it was to "explore" and assimilate into another culture, if only for a brief amount of time, and to inevitably return to my home craving more.

Now, this second reason still holds true somewhat, exploration of other cultures is one of the most rewarding reasons to travel. My focus now, after spending the past 3.5 years reading and learning about the world around me, is to understand by example. Through the intensive study of European and Latin American History, as well as European and Latin American politics, in addition to general political theory and Global Comparative Politics, I have built a basic framework for how I understand things in the world to be. I have studied influential political documents, books and manifestos. I have pieced together global connections and started to grasp the un-fleeting importance of globalization in this 21st century. I have personally researched extensively on the subjects of the development of nationalism in France and Latin America, also, the state of education in South Africa.

I am ready now, to see the world through new eyes, through an educated mind which will not rest. I will not stop asking questions, challenging things we so often accept as fact. I will not lament systems of old without dreaming up a solution of new. I will be proactive, not just observing anything, but doing, immersing myself, and helping to be apart of the change I want to see in the world.

This trip to South Africa, to teach, is not merely an "escape" or a chance to "see" life elsewhere. It is a chance to change, to develop and to progress. With the things I learn in Cape Town, I will start to make work in developing democracies a priority, while taking inspiration in order to help change the one I am a citizen of.


Take a moment to consider something previously unconsidered by you. That is what I am doing, and I will continue to say "yes" when I previously might have said "no." Continuous growth, continuous progression. Don't look back, only forward. Only consider what is to come.


-ac

Repulsion

In regards to the shooting spree in Arizona today:

This act of violence is a reminder of how completely failed the US political culture is. The line between "partisan" and "life and death" is blurred more than ever today. Calling for an extraordinary renovation of the entire political system in this country which breeds hate and extremes. Politics are about policy, not extremity, though that is hard to tell given the sheer divide of this "two-party system."