Here you go FINALLY!!
So I am placed at Nomzamo Place of Safety and there are about 15 kids I work with/for each day. There are two babies, both born from HIV+ mothers so are taking AntiRetroVirals (ARVs) until they are sure the status. One is 1 month and the other is 4 months. The 4 month old, Asina, is only 7lbs so she is in pretty tough shape. The toddlers (13) are all absolutely adorable and of course I have my favorites...Mzamo (boy)- 6months, Siabonga (boy)- 8months, and one of the older ones Yoliswa (girl)- 4yrs. They are all so sweet in their own way though! Im not allowed to post pictures of them because of the nature of their stays at Nomzamo (abuse, neglect, or abandonment).
I have been concerned until this week about the nature of my placement because the first two weeks consisted of me babysitting the children. In reality I believe I was in the trust-building stage, and still am, but I think it will benefit me in the long run to really know and care about the children I will hopefully be part of the programming for.
The nurse and the social worker at Nomzamo have taken a liking to me and my supervisor, Ethel, I think has big plans for me being there and is very sweet! Most of the workers have Xhosa as their first language, so that has been a continual barrier in getting to know them. Some speak better English than others and my language lessons have been quite minor...
In speaking with Tahira, my CCS supervisor, it looks like I will be in charge of a Community Organizing project through Nomzamo. Ethel has wanted the outer walls of Nomzamo to be painted with a Mural for some time now and has expressed that desire with Tahira in her decision to take on an intern. Tahira thinks it would be great to connect area schools, both in the townships and in the wealthier districts, to come together after building a theme and ideas and to paint the wall in tandem. Tahira suggested doing a big day of it and involving the art teachers at the wealthier schools and then using volunteers from NYU's Art Therapy program (coming in August) to complete the project with the township children. I haven't got all the details but it will be a lot of planning and visiting area schools, asking for donations, and trying to get media attention for the actual day! The only sad part will be that I will miss the actual day because that won't happen til mid-late August :( I think that will be a good learning experience for me in my studies as a Social Worker - how to give credit to the participants and not need that thanks/credit for the organizing aspect.
Okay more to come later, any advice etc would be greatly appreciated :)
peace & love,
Alyssa
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Weekend Update!
Sorry this is a little late all I've been feelin real lazy the last couple of days and needed a bit of a rest after the weekend!
I will be posting an entire blog this afternoon allll about my placement so be looking forward to that. I am feeling much better about it and have a REAL Community Organizing project that I will be pretty much in charge of so I am beyond excited. We have a program today on Child Protection and Child Rights in South Africa since it is Child Protection week here.
So Friday night we went as a pretty large group to this chic little restaurant, yet still quite inexpensive, and had dinner and drinks. It was tapas style but the cuisine was Indian/Mediterranean mixed. I had butter chicken (traditional Indian Cuisine) and Vietnamese Salad Rolls. For my first drink I had a Madagascar martini, that I know my mother would have loved, which had vanilla vodka, pineapple puree, and smashed ginger. Sounds strange but was real good. For my second drink I had a Mantra which was lemon juice, vanilla vodka, sugar, and limoncello, just for Andy. Also delish :) The restaurant was called asoka with a flat line over the first a! haha
Saturday was a perfect day all around. We woke up at about 8:30 and were off on the road by 9. We started on the West Coast of lower South Africa and went past Seal Island and took tons of picture along the coast by Fish Hoek. The roads are amazing, almost like the PCH in Cali, but less scary! Then we headed east and went to see the Penguins again at Simon's Town for those people who didn't go on our trip last time. We ate at a restaurant right on the waterfront which was pretty nice. After the penguins we went South to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. To get there you had to travel through a Nature Reserve and it was gorgeous. The nature here is just beyond anything I have ever experienced and Cape Point was really unique. There were stone walkways all the way up and colorful greenery and flowers and the views were breathtaking. Then we traveled a bit farther to Cape of Good Hope (these were the southern most points in Africa) and the beach was perfect weather for walking around and taking pictures and we stayed til Sunset and it was sooo pretty. I just sat on a rock and enjoyed :)
Sunday we got up at 4:00am! We had to travel to get to the coast in Gainsbaai for the Shark Cage Diving. We got there around 6:30 and had a nice breakfast and watched a documentary about what we would be doing and the sharks in Cape Town. It was quite interesting. I also took pictures with pictures of Brad Pitt, Leonardo Dicaprio, Matt Damon, and Anderson Cooper who have all also dove with the sharks with the same company. I felt special ;) We got onto the boat with all our gear and headed out to our spot. Along the way we spotted a whale, which I guess is relatively rare for this time of the year, so that was great. Once we got to our spot and saw the actual cage (it had been left there with bait to attract the sharks) my stomach got a little queasy! It was WAY smaller and dinkier than I expected it to be! haha. The queasiness may have also been from the horrendous stench coming from the seal island right next to us!
We put on our wetsuits, with MUCH struggle, and I jumped into the water to be part of the first dive. It was awesome! They came right up to our cage and we could see them so well. Then the other people went (there were 6 divers each dive) and we got to watch all the sharks from the boat. We saw some seals pass us frolicking in the waves and were taking pictures. Then about 2 minutes later we saw commotion about 100 feet away and the seal was eaten by the shark and the water turned alllll red and I started crying. of course :(
After that I had to wait a bit to get brave enough to get back in the water, and for my stomach to settle, and I got back into the cage. This dive was the best of them all! The shark came riiiight in front of my face and I was screaming with another girl here, Annie, under the water and near hyperventilating! Then another shark came by and charged at our cage and its tail whipped it and shook the whole thing! It was awesome!!! Then we packed up and went back to shore and had a nice warm meal. We stopped at the beach on the way home and also for some Gelato and the day was over and I was exhausted.
I will write later today all about my placement, hope you enjoyed more of my touristy updates :)
peace & love,
alyssa
I will be posting an entire blog this afternoon allll about my placement so be looking forward to that. I am feeling much better about it and have a REAL Community Organizing project that I will be pretty much in charge of so I am beyond excited. We have a program today on Child Protection and Child Rights in South Africa since it is Child Protection week here.
So Friday night we went as a pretty large group to this chic little restaurant, yet still quite inexpensive, and had dinner and drinks. It was tapas style but the cuisine was Indian/Mediterranean mixed. I had butter chicken (traditional Indian Cuisine) and Vietnamese Salad Rolls. For my first drink I had a Madagascar martini, that I know my mother would have loved, which had vanilla vodka, pineapple puree, and smashed ginger. Sounds strange but was real good. For my second drink I had a Mantra which was lemon juice, vanilla vodka, sugar, and limoncello, just for Andy. Also delish :) The restaurant was called asoka with a flat line over the first a! haha
Saturday was a perfect day all around. We woke up at about 8:30 and were off on the road by 9. We started on the West Coast of lower South Africa and went past Seal Island and took tons of picture along the coast by Fish Hoek. The roads are amazing, almost like the PCH in Cali, but less scary! Then we headed east and went to see the Penguins again at Simon's Town for those people who didn't go on our trip last time. We ate at a restaurant right on the waterfront which was pretty nice. After the penguins we went South to Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. To get there you had to travel through a Nature Reserve and it was gorgeous. The nature here is just beyond anything I have ever experienced and Cape Point was really unique. There were stone walkways all the way up and colorful greenery and flowers and the views were breathtaking. Then we traveled a bit farther to Cape of Good Hope (these were the southern most points in Africa) and the beach was perfect weather for walking around and taking pictures and we stayed til Sunset and it was sooo pretty. I just sat on a rock and enjoyed :)
Sunday we got up at 4:00am! We had to travel to get to the coast in Gainsbaai for the Shark Cage Diving. We got there around 6:30 and had a nice breakfast and watched a documentary about what we would be doing and the sharks in Cape Town. It was quite interesting. I also took pictures with pictures of Brad Pitt, Leonardo Dicaprio, Matt Damon, and Anderson Cooper who have all also dove with the sharks with the same company. I felt special ;) We got onto the boat with all our gear and headed out to our spot. Along the way we spotted a whale, which I guess is relatively rare for this time of the year, so that was great. Once we got to our spot and saw the actual cage (it had been left there with bait to attract the sharks) my stomach got a little queasy! It was WAY smaller and dinkier than I expected it to be! haha. The queasiness may have also been from the horrendous stench coming from the seal island right next to us!
We put on our wetsuits, with MUCH struggle, and I jumped into the water to be part of the first dive. It was awesome! They came right up to our cage and we could see them so well. Then the other people went (there were 6 divers each dive) and we got to watch all the sharks from the boat. We saw some seals pass us frolicking in the waves and were taking pictures. Then about 2 minutes later we saw commotion about 100 feet away and the seal was eaten by the shark and the water turned alllll red and I started crying. of course :(
After that I had to wait a bit to get brave enough to get back in the water, and for my stomach to settle, and I got back into the cage. This dive was the best of them all! The shark came riiiight in front of my face and I was screaming with another girl here, Annie, under the water and near hyperventilating! Then another shark came by and charged at our cage and its tail whipped it and shook the whole thing! It was awesome!!! Then we packed up and went back to shore and had a nice warm meal. We stopped at the beach on the way home and also for some Gelato and the day was over and I was exhausted.
I will write later today all about my placement, hope you enjoyed more of my touristy updates :)
peace & love,
alyssa
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Weekend Festivities and Table Mountain
Its been a filled last few days since I updated so I will surely miss some things along the way! Friday we went to Green Market Square after lunch to find some African souvenirs etc. It was extremely overwhelming but the stuff was very cool! I picked up some gifts for people but will have to go back once I've sharped my bartering skills. Every person/tent we passed yelled they had a good price and to stop in a look around that everything was 'half off today!' it was craziness! I did end up with some really great stuff though. I just need to stop laughing and smiling when I give them a number half of what they said they would sell it for! That evening we went out on the town to a few places and ended up at the Dubliner. The band was great but there weren't many locals so we will have to explore a bit more. It was a great evening with great company!
Saturday we ended up going to the vineyards instead of Cape Point because the weather was pretty bad. We ended up doing a Brandy tasting tour at one of the places...bad plan. Chalk it up to another thing I can say I've experienced!
Sunday was a much prettier day and we took the train into Simon's Town to see the Jackass Penguins, now known as African Penguins, but I like the old name better! They bray like donkeys kind of so that is why they were termed that. It was really nice and now we know a different side of travel here in the city.
I also went on the most beautiful run of my life on Sunday afternoon! I ran a ways past our house and up to this open tall grass clearing that was recommended by the staff here. There were trails throughout the entire space and there was about no way you could get lost because any way I went there was another trail heading back towards where I came. I will definitely be going back! The entire run I was looking up at a mist covered Table Mountain and you don't get better than that!
Last night we went to Dizzy's in Camps Bay and had a great night of Karaoke! We met a few people who live in Cape Town and had said it would be a good time. So we met up with them and it turned out to be really fun! Good company and karaoke is always a winning combo :)
Today was the best day so far I think! I finally got to climb table mountain!!!!! It was incredibly strenuous! That was unexpected because no one really warned me but it felt really good all the way up and then right at the top my legs just started turning to jello! Everyone seemed to feel the same way and I was really proud of our group that made it to the top! Plus today was 70+ degrees so it was a warm hike. Perfect weather for pictures and once we got to the top though. I hope I never get over how absolutely beautiful it is here and how lucky I am that I get to experience it!
I want to make a side note that I apologize for not discussing my placement. It has been quite a struggle for me so far, I am practically babysitting 12 babies and toddlers everyday and am working on trying to see the good in that for my education. If things don't change soon I will likely be moved to a new place so I will be keeping everyone posted on that. That is supposed to be the focus of my trip and much of my time currently is spent trying not to focus on that...
Tomorrow we are going to Bo Kaap which is a traditional African town in the midst of cosmopolitan Cape Town and I have heard wonderful things about it. It is one of the places I was most excited to see when I came here so I hope its a great day :)
I'll update again soon!
peace & love,
Alyssa
Saturday we ended up going to the vineyards instead of Cape Point because the weather was pretty bad. We ended up doing a Brandy tasting tour at one of the places...bad plan. Chalk it up to another thing I can say I've experienced!
Sunday was a much prettier day and we took the train into Simon's Town to see the Jackass Penguins, now known as African Penguins, but I like the old name better! They bray like donkeys kind of so that is why they were termed that. It was really nice and now we know a different side of travel here in the city.
I also went on the most beautiful run of my life on Sunday afternoon! I ran a ways past our house and up to this open tall grass clearing that was recommended by the staff here. There were trails throughout the entire space and there was about no way you could get lost because any way I went there was another trail heading back towards where I came. I will definitely be going back! The entire run I was looking up at a mist covered Table Mountain and you don't get better than that!
Last night we went to Dizzy's in Camps Bay and had a great night of Karaoke! We met a few people who live in Cape Town and had said it would be a good time. So we met up with them and it turned out to be really fun! Good company and karaoke is always a winning combo :)
Today was the best day so far I think! I finally got to climb table mountain!!!!! It was incredibly strenuous! That was unexpected because no one really warned me but it felt really good all the way up and then right at the top my legs just started turning to jello! Everyone seemed to feel the same way and I was really proud of our group that made it to the top! Plus today was 70+ degrees so it was a warm hike. Perfect weather for pictures and once we got to the top though. I hope I never get over how absolutely beautiful it is here and how lucky I am that I get to experience it!
I want to make a side note that I apologize for not discussing my placement. It has been quite a struggle for me so far, I am practically babysitting 12 babies and toddlers everyday and am working on trying to see the good in that for my education. If things don't change soon I will likely be moved to a new place so I will be keeping everyone posted on that. That is supposed to be the focus of my trip and much of my time currently is spent trying not to focus on that...
Tomorrow we are going to Bo Kaap which is a traditional African town in the midst of cosmopolitan Cape Town and I have heard wonderful things about it. It is one of the places I was most excited to see when I came here so I hope its a great day :)
I'll update again soon!
peace & love,
Alyssa
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Robben Island
Molo! I'm learning the Xhosa language while here in Cape Town so I can at least say hello and ask people how they are doing who do not speak English. In other words, Molo means hello! and there are no clicks in that one but there are in pronouncing Xhosa :) I can do two of the clicks and sometimes get the third so I'm doing better than I thought. Ill practice and show/tell you when I get home!
Started my placement on Tuesday and its been interesting so far. I use that word because its not what I expected and I am a little apprehensive about what this experience is going to mean for my internship but I am trying to stay open-minded. The babies are adorable, I am working currently with 6-9 toddlers from 1-4 years of age. Only two of them really talk, but they speak Xhosa so its been very difficult being left to practically babysit them not speaking their language. Needless to say Ive learned to ask them their names, say sit down, be quiet, sing, yes, no, stop and thank you! They looked at me very funny when I came in the second day being able to speak to them a little bit since we didn't have our first language lesson until Tuesday night.
All of our time so far has been pretty packed tight! We are all pretty exhausted because there are a number of people only staying for 3 or 4 weeks so we have to pack A LOT into a short time. I figured I would stay out of the planning for now since I have so much more time after they leave. We went to Robben Island yesterday to see Nelson Mandela's cell and hear about the history of the personal and political oppression experienced by so many detained at the prison. It was very interesting. Especially the story of Robert Sobukwe- look it up it is very sad and powerful, especially for us Community Organizers out there!
After our walking and bus tour on the island we went to dinner at a Portuguese restaurant on the waterfront, but we had them close the windows because there is a strong smell of bird or seal poo just about everywhere along the water! But the views are unbelievable so I would still absolutely make you go there if you enter the Cape Town vicinity. Then we went for a drink at the Green Dolphin - a jazz club also along the waterfront. It was really nice and will be taking the parents there when they arrive :)
Today everyone was exhausted when we got back from placement and we had a 2 hour HIV/AIDS workshop and everyone struggled to stay awake. After that a few people took naps and then we went into Rondebosch to pick up a few necessary items, like snacks. Tonight's dinner has been the first that was actually filling and pretty good. Ill probably be eating a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, sorry Cara!!
This weekend we are heading to a market and out on the town Friday after placement, Saturday we are heading to Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, and Sunday starts off our adventuresome activities with shark diving! I hope they come real close and hit the cage at least a little ;)
Okay I will update again after the weekend...
peace & love.
Alyssa
Started my placement on Tuesday and its been interesting so far. I use that word because its not what I expected and I am a little apprehensive about what this experience is going to mean for my internship but I am trying to stay open-minded. The babies are adorable, I am working currently with 6-9 toddlers from 1-4 years of age. Only two of them really talk, but they speak Xhosa so its been very difficult being left to practically babysit them not speaking their language. Needless to say Ive learned to ask them their names, say sit down, be quiet, sing, yes, no, stop and thank you! They looked at me very funny when I came in the second day being able to speak to them a little bit since we didn't have our first language lesson until Tuesday night.
All of our time so far has been pretty packed tight! We are all pretty exhausted because there are a number of people only staying for 3 or 4 weeks so we have to pack A LOT into a short time. I figured I would stay out of the planning for now since I have so much more time after they leave. We went to Robben Island yesterday to see Nelson Mandela's cell and hear about the history of the personal and political oppression experienced by so many detained at the prison. It was very interesting. Especially the story of Robert Sobukwe- look it up it is very sad and powerful, especially for us Community Organizers out there!
After our walking and bus tour on the island we went to dinner at a Portuguese restaurant on the waterfront, but we had them close the windows because there is a strong smell of bird or seal poo just about everywhere along the water! But the views are unbelievable so I would still absolutely make you go there if you enter the Cape Town vicinity. Then we went for a drink at the Green Dolphin - a jazz club also along the waterfront. It was really nice and will be taking the parents there when they arrive :)
Today everyone was exhausted when we got back from placement and we had a 2 hour HIV/AIDS workshop and everyone struggled to stay awake. After that a few people took naps and then we went into Rondebosch to pick up a few necessary items, like snacks. Tonight's dinner has been the first that was actually filling and pretty good. Ill probably be eating a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, sorry Cara!!
This weekend we are heading to a market and out on the town Friday after placement, Saturday we are heading to Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, and Sunday starts off our adventuresome activities with shark diving! I hope they come real close and hit the cage at least a little ;)
Okay I will update again after the weekend...
peace & love.
Alyssa
Monday, May 11, 2009
IM HERE. FINALLY! We have been super busy the last couple days and the flying for 18 hours didn't help my inability to write sooner. It is beautiful here. The weather was perfect yesterday, it was about 75 during the day and the sun was shining making the Cape Town scenery absolutely breathtaking!
I woke up early Monday morning, didn't get much sleep at all :( but the morning started well with a stroll with the 3 oldest members of our crew Hattie, Dee, and Ivan! We walked around the suburbs and saw the local houses which are very nice and enjoyed the beautiful morning and the view of Table Mountain from practically our back yard.
Orientation began with intros etc and then we got to walk around the surrounding town of Rondebosch/Mowbray and find some of the local shops. We found Alma's cafe which is this sweet little spot that opens to a local street and sells flapjacks and sweets and the people are very nice :) I'm excited to take a sunday morning brunch there or an afternoon snack as soon as I am not so busy.
Then we wandered (a little too far) to Rondebosch Commons which has a local supermarket filled with area foods and there were gas stations and street sellers as well. When we returned to the homebase we had a BBQ which they call a Braai something or other. The chicken was good, haha I am not thoroughly enjoying the cuisine so far so I think I will have to purchase some side foods for myself at the market.
Then we traveled into downtown Cape Town to see views of Table Mountain, Robben Island, and the coastline. We stopped at the beach and had a blast walking around and people watching. It was great to think that all of what I was enjoying were nature's creations and that way available for every person to appreciate!
Today we went on a township tour and saw the poverty that dwells in Cape Town. It was definitely sad but I was less shocked than I expected to be. We stopped at a few places so we could get a closer look of the living conditions as well as the bright spots that live inside those areas (Vicky's smallest Hotel, a preschool, and a pottery shop).
Tomorrow I begin placement and I am apprehensive but also very excited to get started with what I came here to do! I will post again later this week. This weekend we plan to travel to Cape Hope and down to see the penguins :)
peace & love - AM
p.s. uploading pictures on the computer here takes FOREVER and is expensive, since we have to pay for internet by the byte so we will see how often I post them...
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