The
professor of one of my classes, HIV/AIDS, also ran a campaign on campus called
‘First things First’ trying to get as many students as possible tested for HIV.
She asked our class to volunteer handing out flyers, talking to students, just
generating general interest, she said our accents were a good hook! She warned
our class that there was a stigma against the disease but I was not prepared
for what followed. Most people just said no or no thanks and kept walking but
some would tell you that they didn’t need it or wouldn’t ever be infected. Even some of the students I saw from church
narrowed their eyes and asked, Katy why are you doing this? I approached one
group of girls saying, have you been tested? You really should be, its quick
and free! They stopped to hear what I was saying and asked, wait tested for
what? When the word HIV came out of my mouth that all burst out in a scared
kind of laughter and scurried off. As the posse walked away they kept turning
back, looking at me and laughing, eyebrows raised at my audacity.
I suggest you watch this video during next time you sit down for lunch, its a bit lengthy but the message is powerful and hopeful,
…
The
past few weeks I have been getting a lot of flack for being an American. There
have been plethora of accent impressions (that all sound weirdly southern),
jokes about politics and only speaking one language. One of my fellow Tuesday teachers
(a German girl) made a poster of the world to help teach our class geography.
On Europe she drew the Eiffel Tower and on Australia she drew a kangaroo. When
we got to North America she said, and this is North America! Where Katy is
from! And then pointed to her rendition of the US and the picture of a cheeseburger
on it. I was not amused.
During
a meeting the speaker asked where I was from to which I responded ‘the States’
and he said ‘the United States?” “That’s the one” Which he misheard and said
“yeah, you’re number one…” and held up one finger and bobbed it around a few
times. Rather than trying to correct him I just slumped down in my chair.
During
a different meeting (about consumerism) a student said that he wasn’t sure if a
rumor he heard was true or not but he thought that in America fat people could
ride around stores in motorized wheelchairs. Upon confirming this, a truly
dumfounded look spread over his face.
…
Rugby in South Africa is the equivalent of college
football at home. Stands are packed with fans in matching colors. The games are
fun to watch, especially because Stellenbosch has quite a good team! One player
will often be lifted up by a group of his teammates to catch a high pass. The
wave is also alive and well in South Africa, however instead of just throwing
their arms up students will toss up beer cans. These cans are often not empty
and so you get a light beer rain following the wave.
…
I have always thought of spoken word poetry as
something to be mocked. But upon attending a poetry ‘slam’ here I have been
proven wrong. The most moving of the poets was named Katie (so you know she’s
talented) she spoke about her father, a white man who was raised by his black,
Zulu nanny. The way her words wove in and out with double meanings and plenty
of puns was beautiful.
…
Apartheid seems like something that should not be
able to happen in the world we live in, that we are too modernized for that
kind of cruelty. Though it has been legally over for years, effects are still
visible. In the university most (not all) professors and students are white and
most of the cleaning, landscape, and cooking staff are black. On any given
Friday or Saturday night you can walk around near the bars and see mostly white
students stumbling around drunk and then homeless people, all black, sitting or
trying to sleep on the ground. I read an article in the paper the other week
about an extremist group in South Africa. Here is a link to some of the images…
…
One weekend I went to a gay pride festival in Cape
Town, this is not a normal activity for me, but I try to keep an open mind. The
area was packed to the gills with stalls selling all kinds of flags etc, men in
sailor shorts and hats with glitter all over their bodies, cross dressers,
people singing and laughing. It was overwhelming, the pictures below don’t do
it justice.
…
The DJ hard at work.
-
Truth. For Anne.
-
Fish from Hout Bay
Sisters taking in the view.
-
Penguins on Boulder Beach. For Kelly.
Trying to capture one of the most beautiful views.
The Cape of Good Hope,
the south-westerly most point on Africa.
An ostrich ambling off into the sunset.
-
Cyclists waiting for the Cape Argus to begin.
Little boy getting a good view.
Inside the SA museum.
At the Stellenbosch Botanical Gardens
(For mom)
I didn’t think many people beyond my parents would
read this, so thanks to you for reading and to everyone who has emailed me with
kind words! I really appreciate it!
No comments:
Post a Comment