This has to be a short post because we're about to go home from the SIT house, but I just had a great weekend in Durban and am having a great week in our First Aid Level 2 class!
Early Saturday we left for Tekwini Backpackers, and 6 of us moved into our dorm-style room. The place was awesome- nice people, nice rooms, and fun to hang out at. It was pretty rainy and gross so we spent the day hanging out at Tekwini and cooking dinner. That night, we managed to find another bachelor party and went out to a bunch of bars and clubs.
Sunday we spent some time around the city, and just relaxed before the week ahead.
This week I'm taking a First Aid level 2 course at the Red Cross- it's definitely an experience! A lot of what we're learning is very different from what I've been trained in in the States, so it's a little tricky figuring out exactly what they want us to do. Our instructer is also a little morbid and intense, so pretty much every kind of illness or wound in her mind ends in death. At least we spend the last hour of every class practicing bandages- definitely the highlight of the day.
Sorry for the short post, I'll definitely post another one when the week's finished!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Impendle!
Sanibonani abangane bami!
The past few days have definitely been eventful! The weekend was very fun and relaxing- Saturday we got transportation to the beach and we took the opportunity to get into the city for a little bit. We took the People Mover (the bus system that only costs 10 rand- about $1.50- for a day pass) to Victoria Market, an indoor market filled with Zulu crafts, spices, clothes, and everything else you could possibly think of. My friends Alyssa, Alexa and I spent a few hours going through all of the little shop, and I bough some traditional Zulu beads and a skirt for the rural homestay. Afterwards, we decided to head to the Moses Mahbida soccer stadium to check out the sports store and cable car to the top of the stadium. The view was absolutely incredible, as you can see from the pictures! The stadium was built for the World Cup and it’s gigantic… the only problem is they don’t think they can sustain it because not enough people come to the local games. After grabbing some lunch, we headed back to the beach for a little bit before going back to Cato.
On Sunday, the group decided to go to the AmaZulu v. Moroka Swallows soccer game at the stadium. Even though the stadium was only 1/8 full, there were enough vuvuzelas blaring to make it seem like there was a lot more! The game was lots of fun, even though AmaZulu, the local team, blew their 2-0 lead in the second half to tie 2-2.
Monday brought our first rural homestay! We were all a little nervous, but not nearly as nervous as when we moved into Cato. The 24 of us were split into 2 groups of 12, half of us going to Impendle and the other half going to Amatikulu. I went to Impendle, and was partnered up with my friend Sally for our homestay. We left early Monday morning and went straight to a secondary school where we practiced our Zulu with the students. We were matched up 1-on-1, and it was lots of fun for them to practice their English with us. I was paired with a 15 year old girl named Wendy- she was so sweet and really helped me with the hard to pronounce Zulu words. We then headed to the Gomani clinic to have some lunch and speak with some of the community members. The clinic was a little busy, so we didn’t get a tour the first day, but we were able to learn about organic gardening, Impendle culture, and community health care workers.
The highlight of the day was definitely visiting a sangoma, a traditional healer. We all took off our shoes and piled into a round hut filled with animal skins, traditional beads and straw mats. The sangoma was dressed in everyday clothes while we asked her questions about what she does until someone asked her to show us how she talks to the ancestors. Then, she put on her sangoma robe and headdress, set some bones and herbs on fire, and began the ceremony. It was pretty intense, and even a little scary at some points. The ancestors told us that they were happy that we were in Impendle and they hoped that we would bring the cure for HIV. I’m pretty sure my ancestors don’t speak Zulu so not really sure how they communicated that, but you never know.
After visiting the Sangoma, we finally met our homestay families. Sally and I were staying in the house right next to the Impendle coordinator, Zandile, with a gogo (grandma) and two boys, Jabula (12) and Wandile (4). I was surprised by how big the house was- or really, how big the THREE houses were. We quickly learned that rural areas aren’t always synonymous with poverty. Although there was no running water and corrugated tin roofs, there was electricity, nice furniture, and even TV! The family also had a ton of animals- cows, goats and chickens. The first hour or so was a little awkward because gogo didn’t speak much English, so we were happy when Zandile came by with two other SIT students to ask if we wanted to go for a walk. The village is beautiful- as you can see below!
On Tuesday, we woke up early again and headed to a woman’s house about 10 minutes down the road. She and some other woman get together once a week to do traditional Zulu beading.
We then went to a primary school where we learned a little bit about eco-schools and the kids even prepared a song for us- they were amazing! We then went back to the clinic for lunch, met with one of the nurses, and took a tour. Although small, the clinic was very well maintained and looked like it was running smoothly. We learned a lot that afternoon, some of which was startling. If there was an emergency at the clinic, it usually took the ambulance 3 hours to get there, with another hour drive to the nearest hospital. However, the nurses at the clinic are able to do a lot more than American nurses- they can prescribe medications and don’t have to work under a doctor- so were able to handle most emergencies.
We went back to our homestays early, and unfortunately found out that Sally’s camera had been stolen sometime during the day. A 5 hour long hunt insued, and we ended up moving into Zandile’s house for the night. The camera hasn’t been found yet, but we have at least 10 people in the village looking for it!
Wednesday we woke up early to head back to Durban. Impendle was definitely a great experience, and I’m already excited to go to Amatikulu and Umthwalume in a few weeks.
We have a day of lectures today, and a holiday tomorrow! (It’s Heritage Day in South Africa- not sure exactly what it means but we’re going to the beach with our families). This weekend, we’re staying at a backpackers in Durban to have a nice relaxing weekend after our busy week.
The past few days have definitely been eventful! The weekend was very fun and relaxing- Saturday we got transportation to the beach and we took the opportunity to get into the city for a little bit. We took the People Mover (the bus system that only costs 10 rand- about $1.50- for a day pass) to Victoria Market, an indoor market filled with Zulu crafts, spices, clothes, and everything else you could possibly think of. My friends Alyssa, Alexa and I spent a few hours going through all of the little shop, and I bough some traditional Zulu beads and a skirt for the rural homestay. Afterwards, we decided to head to the Moses Mahbida soccer stadium to check out the sports store and cable car to the top of the stadium. The view was absolutely incredible, as you can see from the pictures! The stadium was built for the World Cup and it’s gigantic… the only problem is they don’t think they can sustain it because not enough people come to the local games. After grabbing some lunch, we headed back to the beach for a little bit before going back to Cato.
On Sunday, the group decided to go to the AmaZulu v. Moroka Swallows soccer game at the stadium. Even though the stadium was only 1/8 full, there were enough vuvuzelas blaring to make it seem like there was a lot more! The game was lots of fun, even though AmaZulu, the local team, blew their 2-0 lead in the second half to tie 2-2.
Monday brought our first rural homestay! We were all a little nervous, but not nearly as nervous as when we moved into Cato. The 24 of us were split into 2 groups of 12, half of us going to Impendle and the other half going to Amatikulu. I went to Impendle, and was partnered up with my friend Sally for our homestay. We left early Monday morning and went straight to a secondary school where we practiced our Zulu with the students. We were matched up 1-on-1, and it was lots of fun for them to practice their English with us. I was paired with a 15 year old girl named Wendy- she was so sweet and really helped me with the hard to pronounce Zulu words. We then headed to the Gomani clinic to have some lunch and speak with some of the community members. The clinic was a little busy, so we didn’t get a tour the first day, but we were able to learn about organic gardening, Impendle culture, and community health care workers.
The highlight of the day was definitely visiting a sangoma, a traditional healer. We all took off our shoes and piled into a round hut filled with animal skins, traditional beads and straw mats. The sangoma was dressed in everyday clothes while we asked her questions about what she does until someone asked her to show us how she talks to the ancestors. Then, she put on her sangoma robe and headdress, set some bones and herbs on fire, and began the ceremony. It was pretty intense, and even a little scary at some points. The ancestors told us that they were happy that we were in Impendle and they hoped that we would bring the cure for HIV. I’m pretty sure my ancestors don’t speak Zulu so not really sure how they communicated that, but you never know.
After visiting the Sangoma, we finally met our homestay families. Sally and I were staying in the house right next to the Impendle coordinator, Zandile, with a gogo (grandma) and two boys, Jabula (12) and Wandile (4). I was surprised by how big the house was- or really, how big the THREE houses were. We quickly learned that rural areas aren’t always synonymous with poverty. Although there was no running water and corrugated tin roofs, there was electricity, nice furniture, and even TV! The family also had a ton of animals- cows, goats and chickens. The first hour or so was a little awkward because gogo didn’t speak much English, so we were happy when Zandile came by with two other SIT students to ask if we wanted to go for a walk. The village is beautiful- as you can see below!
On Tuesday, we woke up early again and headed to a woman’s house about 10 minutes down the road. She and some other woman get together once a week to do traditional Zulu beading.
We then went to a primary school where we learned a little bit about eco-schools and the kids even prepared a song for us- they were amazing! We then went back to the clinic for lunch, met with one of the nurses, and took a tour. Although small, the clinic was very well maintained and looked like it was running smoothly. We learned a lot that afternoon, some of which was startling. If there was an emergency at the clinic, it usually took the ambulance 3 hours to get there, with another hour drive to the nearest hospital. However, the nurses at the clinic are able to do a lot more than American nurses- they can prescribe medications and don’t have to work under a doctor- so were able to handle most emergencies.
We went back to our homestays early, and unfortunately found out that Sally’s camera had been stolen sometime during the day. A 5 hour long hunt insued, and we ended up moving into Zandile’s house for the night. The camera hasn’t been found yet, but we have at least 10 people in the village looking for it!
Wednesday we woke up early to head back to Durban. Impendle was definitely a great experience, and I’m already excited to go to Amatikulu and Umthwalume in a few weeks.
We have a day of lectures today, and a holiday tomorrow! (It’s Heritage Day in South Africa- not sure exactly what it means but we’re going to the beach with our families). This weekend, we’re staying at a backpackers in Durban to have a nice relaxing weekend after our busy week.
Friday, September 17, 2010
One Voice and Inada Special School
This week was definitely one of the most eventful since we've been here... lots of traveling around Durban and going to all sorts of new places. On Wednesday I went with 6 others to One Voice, an NGO that has a program on HIV that they teach to 8th grade students in 77 schools in KZN, the eastern cape and the western cape. Everyone there was very nice, and even though the NGO didn't really have anything to do with my final project, I still learned a lot and it was very interesting. We even ended early and had time to go out to lunch! (where I finally figured out that 'chicken mayo' is the same thing as chicken salad... best discovery ever)
Yesterday I went to the Inada Special School, a school for ages 6-21 for students with some kind of mental disability. The school was definitely different from any American school I've been to, but the kids were all so happy to be there. They were all preparing for a heritage day celebration next week, so there was plenty of dancing and singing going on! I got to talk to one of the teachers (who was my age and using teaching to pay for college... he taught every morning then went to classes in the afternoon) all about the school, sports, music, pretty much everything! Even though it was kinda rainy (the first time it's rained during the day since we got to Durban) we still had a good time.
This morning we went to UKZN Westville Campus and met with a woman named Vino Reddy, and Indian woman who participated a lot during the rallys against apartheid in the 70s. She told us her whole story about being arrested, put in solitary confinement and even visiting Nelson Mandela on Robben Island! She had close friends who were imprisoned with him, and her visiting times usually coincided with Winnie Mandela's visiting times and they became good friends. It was incredible to hear her story- she's an amazing woman.
I just finished up my Zulu exam, which means I'm officially done with Zulu! I think it went ok... I still have the oral portion coming up so we'll see how that goes...
I got my first package from Andrew yesterday and it was filled with amazing American things- People magazine, mac & cheese, reese's peanut butter cups- so I'm going to go indulge a little bit before my oral :)I'll leave you with a picture of the elephant crossing the road from last weekend!
Yesterday I went to the Inada Special School, a school for ages 6-21 for students with some kind of mental disability. The school was definitely different from any American school I've been to, but the kids were all so happy to be there. They were all preparing for a heritage day celebration next week, so there was plenty of dancing and singing going on! I got to talk to one of the teachers (who was my age and using teaching to pay for college... he taught every morning then went to classes in the afternoon) all about the school, sports, music, pretty much everything! Even though it was kinda rainy (the first time it's rained during the day since we got to Durban) we still had a good time.
This morning we went to UKZN Westville Campus and met with a woman named Vino Reddy, and Indian woman who participated a lot during the rallys against apartheid in the 70s. She told us her whole story about being arrested, put in solitary confinement and even visiting Nelson Mandela on Robben Island! She had close friends who were imprisoned with him, and her visiting times usually coincided with Winnie Mandela's visiting times and they became good friends. It was incredible to hear her story- she's an amazing woman.
I just finished up my Zulu exam, which means I'm officially done with Zulu! I think it went ok... I still have the oral portion coming up so we'll see how that goes...
I got my first package from Andrew yesterday and it was filled with amazing American things- People magazine, mac & cheese, reese's peanut butter cups- so I'm going to go indulge a little bit before my oral :)I'll leave you with a picture of the elephant crossing the road from last weekend!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
St Mary's Hospital
I was very excited for today… we would be visiting our first South African hospital! I chose to go to St. Mary’s hospital, a semi-public hospital about 20 minutes from the SIT house (to give you a little perspective, the SIT house is about 15 minutes from Durban city center).
When we first arrived at St. Mary’s, we were given a tour of the hospital, which included a children’s ward, labor and delivery, palliative care for those with HIV/AIDS, operating rooms for minor surgeries, an outpatient clinic, a PMTCT clinic (PMTCT stands for prevention of mother to child transmission, and is a program so HIV positive mothers don’t transfer the virus to their babies), and a ARV (antiretroviral) clinic. Even though the hospital wasn’t very big by American standards, I still learned a lot.
The most shocking difference I saw in the hospitals compared to American ones was that in every ward, patients did not have their own rooms, and were instead kept in wards with about 20-30 other patients. Besides a few select isolation areas for patients with severe infections or burns, they were all generally in the same room together. After our tour, we went to the children’s ward to play with the kids and help out the volunteers and nurses. There were about 16 children in the room we were in, with another 3 kids in the burn room, 4 babies in the birth-3 month room, and 2 in the isolation room. Out of the 4 babies in the birth-3 month room, 2 had been abandoned by their mothers. The hospital said that because the adoption process was so long, the children would probably remain at the hospital until they were a year old. The kids in the burn room were also really interesting- all had been scalded by hot water- one of the volunteers told us that burns on children were very common in South Africa.
Of the kids in the main room, roughly half were babies and the others were between 5-12. We generally didn’t know what they were there for, but the nurses told us that most of the babies were suffering from kwashiorkor (severe malnutrition) or HIV/AIDS. The babies were so tiny and fragile, but we all spent some time holding them and walking around the room. The older kids were very energetic and excited to have some new faces to color and play games with. It was hard leaving the children’s ward without taking all of them with me!
Tomorrow I’m heading to an NGO called One Voice, which has something to do with HIV prevention in teenagers- I’m not really sure exactly what yet. I’ll be writing lots this week as we keep traveling to all these new places :)
When we first arrived at St. Mary’s, we were given a tour of the hospital, which included a children’s ward, labor and delivery, palliative care for those with HIV/AIDS, operating rooms for minor surgeries, an outpatient clinic, a PMTCT clinic (PMTCT stands for prevention of mother to child transmission, and is a program so HIV positive mothers don’t transfer the virus to their babies), and a ARV (antiretroviral) clinic. Even though the hospital wasn’t very big by American standards, I still learned a lot.
The most shocking difference I saw in the hospitals compared to American ones was that in every ward, patients did not have their own rooms, and were instead kept in wards with about 20-30 other patients. Besides a few select isolation areas for patients with severe infections or burns, they were all generally in the same room together. After our tour, we went to the children’s ward to play with the kids and help out the volunteers and nurses. There were about 16 children in the room we were in, with another 3 kids in the burn room, 4 babies in the birth-3 month room, and 2 in the isolation room. Out of the 4 babies in the birth-3 month room, 2 had been abandoned by their mothers. The hospital said that because the adoption process was so long, the children would probably remain at the hospital until they were a year old. The kids in the burn room were also really interesting- all had been scalded by hot water- one of the volunteers told us that burns on children were very common in South Africa.
Of the kids in the main room, roughly half were babies and the others were between 5-12. We generally didn’t know what they were there for, but the nurses told us that most of the babies were suffering from kwashiorkor (severe malnutrition) or HIV/AIDS. The babies were so tiny and fragile, but we all spent some time holding them and walking around the room. The older kids were very energetic and excited to have some new faces to color and play games with. It was hard leaving the children’s ward without taking all of them with me!
Tomorrow I’m heading to an NGO called One Voice, which has something to do with HIV prevention in teenagers- I’m not really sure exactly what yet. I’ll be writing lots this week as we keep traveling to all these new places :)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Nongoma Reed Dance and Weekend in St. Lucia
This weekend was definitely one of the most amazing and eventful weekends I’ve had in a very very very long time! We woke up early on Saturday morning to take the 4 hour ride to Nongoma, where the Zulu king lives. The ride was not so great… it was pretty gray and rainy but it cleared up once we got there. Nongoma is literally in the middle of nowhere, so we didn’t really know what to expect when we drove up. From a little ways away, we saw TONS of giant white tents and people everywhere. When we finally parked, we found out that our estimate of fifteen thousand Zulu maidens was a little off… there were literally 50,000 girls there to perform the ceremony for the king. It was staggering how many were there… and as the only young white women there, we felt a little out of place. The girls first went to collect their 20 foot tall reeds, then processed by province up the hill to the king’s palace. Along the way, they sang and danced and even posed for pictures for us. We weren’t allowed to go past the gate into the palace, but there they dropped off their reeds and performed briefly for the king before exiting out the back. We met up with them around the back of the palace, and they looked so happy and relieved to be done with what they had practiced for months to do. After, we waited around for a little to wait for the next part of the ceremony, where the king would address everyone, but apparently they had gotten started late because of the rain and there were still 2 more provinces that had to process in. We wanted to get to our bed & breakfast before it got dark, so we had to leave a little early. Still, we got to see an amazing tradition.
The bus ride to St. Lucia was almost as eventful as the actual reed dance. To get there, we had to drive through a game park. Though it’s not as big as Kruger, it’s well known as being one of the best in the country. The through road went literally right through the park, and 30 seconds into the drive, an elephant crossed the road! We were all absolutely amazed… our driver Sdu told us that we probably wouldn’t see anything!! Throughout the next half hour, we stopped many times to take pictures of zebras, rhinos, water buffalo, springboks, wildebeests and warthogs. It was absolutely insane!
We finally arrived in St. Lucia, a tourist town a few hours north of Durban right on the coast. The town was gorgeous and very safe, so we felt comfortable walking around at night. We all had dinner as a group then made our way back to the b&b. On the way, we decided to stop for a few drinks at a local bar, and ended up staying a few hours when we inadvertently became part of a bachelor party…. Definitely an interesting night. We all had a ton of fun though, and got back to the b&b not too late to wake up early (againnn) the next morning.
On the drive back to Durban, we got to stop first at the beach (which was absolutely gorgeous, even though it was a little windy), then at the estuary where we saw hippos! We were totally not expecting to see this much wildlife this early in the trip so we were all pumped. A few hours later, we got back to Cato, and I’ve been hanging out and relaxing since.
This week, were visiting hospitals, NGOs, and schools, so I’ll definitely have lots of exciting updates coming up!
Hope everything is well overseas :)
The bus ride to St. Lucia was almost as eventful as the actual reed dance. To get there, we had to drive through a game park. Though it’s not as big as Kruger, it’s well known as being one of the best in the country. The through road went literally right through the park, and 30 seconds into the drive, an elephant crossed the road! We were all absolutely amazed… our driver Sdu told us that we probably wouldn’t see anything!! Throughout the next half hour, we stopped many times to take pictures of zebras, rhinos, water buffalo, springboks, wildebeests and warthogs. It was absolutely insane!
We finally arrived in St. Lucia, a tourist town a few hours north of Durban right on the coast. The town was gorgeous and very safe, so we felt comfortable walking around at night. We all had dinner as a group then made our way back to the b&b. On the way, we decided to stop for a few drinks at a local bar, and ended up staying a few hours when we inadvertently became part of a bachelor party…. Definitely an interesting night. We all had a ton of fun though, and got back to the b&b not too late to wake up early (againnn) the next morning.
On the drive back to Durban, we got to stop first at the beach (which was absolutely gorgeous, even though it was a little windy), then at the estuary where we saw hippos! We were totally not expecting to see this much wildlife this early in the trip so we were all pumped. A few hours later, we got back to Cato, and I’ve been hanging out and relaxing since.
This week, were visiting hospitals, NGOs, and schools, so I’ll definitely have lots of exciting updates coming up!
Hope everything is well overseas :)
Friday, September 10, 2010
Back in business
I have a laptop again! Luckily SIT had a few extra that belong to the program, and they're lending me one for the rest of the semester. I'm very very very happy, especially because we have a paper due on Monday!
Life hasn't been too terribly exciting in Durban, we've been having daily Zulu, community health and field study lectures. Next week, we'll be traveling to different hospitals, NGOs and schools for some primary research time.
This weekend we're going to the Zulu reed dance, where the Zulu king traditionally picks a new bride out of 15,000 virgins. Apparently the king probably won't pick a new one (apparently he already has 10 or so...) but the male Zulu royalty will be making their selections. It should be really interesting, and we're all excited to go.
That's about it for now... I'll update soon after this weekend.
I just figured out how to add pictures, but our internet is kinda slow so I can only do one at a time, but here's a little view of what I woke up to over the weekend in Durban :)
Monday, September 6, 2010
Broken Computer....
So my not-so-trusty laptop only made it two weeks before crashing in Africa :( I'm working on getting it fixed but in the mean time my blogs will be limited as I'll be relying on friends and the SIT computer for internet. A quick update before I get kicked off:
After a long week of classes and lectures, we had a wonderful weekend in Durban. We stayed in apartments that were right on the beach, I wish I could describe how beautiful the view of the Indian Ocean was! We spent the weekend hanging out, shopping, and even had time to go to the aquarium and water park. Because it's still very early spring, there were hardly any people and no lines! Once I get reliable internet again, I'll post some pictures.
Alright time to head off to the minimall, hopefully I'll be able to post again soon!
After a long week of classes and lectures, we had a wonderful weekend in Durban. We stayed in apartments that were right on the beach, I wish I could describe how beautiful the view of the Indian Ocean was! We spent the weekend hanging out, shopping, and even had time to go to the aquarium and water park. Because it's still very early spring, there were hardly any people and no lines! Once I get reliable internet again, I'll post some pictures.
Alright time to head off to the minimall, hopefully I'll be able to post again soon!
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