Logan on the people who have enriched his life

As the last few days approach I am beginning to realize just how much I am going to miss Cape Town. Yes it is a beautiful city with breathtaking landscape and a long list of fun activities to do, but the real reason I do not want to leave is the people who made this the best experience in my life. For some I will continue to see in the fall, others I may never see again, but every person that I interacted with while in Cape Town really made this trip special and unforgettable. So I wanted to use this blog entry to say thank you to those people.

After talking to other study abroad students who are in Cape Town, I realized how lucky I am to be on this program. I would think people come to South Africa for a different study abroad than the typical go to Europe for a semester, yet I feel like that is the exact kind of semester they are having instead of a unique one. I think a lot of the reason we are so fortunate is because of our professors. While I have not talked about class that much in blogs (not usually the most interesting topic to write about) it has been a very important part of our trip. But our relationship with our professors has been more than just that in the classroom. The fact that we call them by their first name and take an active role in our trip here with orientation and excursion has made them more like mentors and friends than a professor student relationship.

I also want to thank the people who work at my internship. Contrary to my belief before I left for this trip I was not that much of a help to Black Sash. In fact I probably used up resources and time of the paid employees. But because of them I was able to take away a lot from this trip. First of all it gave me interaction with Capetonians. Second of all I really enjoyed the relationships I developed. Similar to with the professors it was a very informal relationship with less focus on hierarchies and more focus on teamwork and accomplishments. It was an experience unlike anything I have done before when completing goals.

The friends I made from South Africa might be something I miss the most since I won’t be seeing them in the fall. Most of the people I met were on the human rights weekend or were introduced to them through other UConn students. These friends were some of the biggest inspirations and really helped me gain a different perspective on life. They welcomed me as family while I visited their wonderful country. They showed me around areas I would have never been able to see. Most importantly I was inspired by their hope and love in the face of adversity.

Finally I want to recognize my friends that were on this program. This includes our RAs because by now I consider them my friends as well. I am so fortunate to be able to share this experience with all of you. We all were going through changes and I don’t think I would have made it if I didn’t have you guys there for my support. Some of you challenged me and my behavior the entire semester and I am sure this was not easy so I thank you. Others of you I was able to share things that I have not told people that I knew for years. Every single one of you made me happy and a better person. I cannot explain in words how much you guys helped me the past three months. I am so glad that I will continue to be able to see you guys in the fall and be able to relate and connect with someone on campus. I love all of you.

Like I said earlier, Cape Town in itself is something I am going to miss. But the people that have been a part of my life the past 3 months is the real reason I am dreading this plane flight. 

Logan on the magnitude of Table Mountain

We had been talking about doing it for a couple months and now finally Julian and I did the three peaks in one day. The three peaks include Devil’s peak, Table Mountain, and Lions head. We left the house at 6 AM and started hiking while it was still dark out. Conditions were not great. It had been raining the past couple days as it is now starting to become winter so the path was pretty slick. At the top of the mountains there was no view. Actually if we had not done the mountains before I don’t think we would have found the summit of Devils since we could only see about 20 feet in front of us through the fog and the paths are thin and disappear at times. We didn’t care about the views though, that is not why we were doing it. We were doing it for the challenge. By the time we started the second mountain (Table) my legs were already cramping. Going down the backside of Table we were running in order to save time and I took a pretty bad spill where I landed in two trees that saved me from a cliff. Also on the way down it started raining which made us a little nervous because it is not good to hike in the rain especially because we didn’t know how bad it was going to get. At this point there was no stopping. We had already done the two hardest ones and we were not going to stop with just Lions Head left. The way up Lions Head was hard. My legs cramped with every step. The chains that brought us up the rock wall were slippery. By the end my legs had locked and it was hard to bend them. Luckily Julian was able to help me reach the top. Touching the pole that signified the summit and the end of our challenge was euphoric. I got such a high from completing the Table Mountain Range. It had taken us nine hours of hiking at a very fast pace, running down mountains, and jogging some of the flat parts. We were finally done. Never has a peanut butter and jelly tasted so damn good.

 The Table Mountain range is very important to Cape Town. To many it is a symbol of Cape Town and is used as a logo for many businesses. It can be seen from pretty much anywhere in the city. It is the mountain that Nelson Mandela viewed every day during his imprisonment at Robin Island. It is sad that many people living in Cape Town have never had the privilege to climb it or even know that you could climb it. This is a privilege I have since I have the time and money to engage in this leisure activity.

Table Mountain range is also very important to me. When we came back from excursion seeing it was a sign that I was home again.  The multiple times I hiked the different mountains are memories I will never forget, even if I did have a few people who wanted to kill me. Hiking and mountains also remind me of my childhood and I always feel closer to my mom when I am hiking. This specific experience of hiking the three mountains in one day was also very important to me. First of all I was with Julian someone who has really been there for me and taking on a challenge like this only brings us closer. I am so fortunate I gained him as a friend and that we could experience this hike together. Also I always get the most thinking done when I am hiking. There is something spiritual about being tired and hungry in nature that allows me to think clearly. I have a lot to think about with my experiences the past few months and there is no better way to grasp my thoughts and feelings than on a 9 hour hike.  Table Mountain range will always be one of the first things I think of when I think of my new home in Cape Town. This is why I decided to get the range tattooed onto my back. It is so important to me in so many ways. 

Logan on his day in Nyanga

The one thing I wish I had done more this trip is spend time in the townships. This is why I was glad when Julian and I went to Nyanga to go to a human rights workshop. My good friend Koko was putting on his first peer education human rights program, and invited me to go, so I was thrilled to be able to witness such an inspiring interaction.

The entire experience there was amazing. When we first arrived in Nyanga we were a little lost on how to find the building we needed to go to. Since we are white we stuck out and I think it surprised people that we were there without having a black person with us. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. Multiple people stopped to make sure we were okay, knew where we were, and if we needed anything. One Rasta man, liking my new hair (I just got my hair locked) walked with us for a while just talking to us and trying to help with directions. This was just the beginning of the warm welcoming from the people of Nyanga.

After we found the place we were still early, so we decided to go get some food from an African Cuisine restaurant.  First of all the standard of hygiene is very different than in the US or even than in the wealthier parts of Cape Town. We were served a plate with two forks. The women who served us brought out a cup of water with no soap and dumped it over the forks in order to clean it. Also when we asked for water she took a cup of water from a bucket, rinsed the cup out, and then refilled it out of the same bucket. Julian and I did not mind, it was just kind of a cool cultural experience. The part I didn’t like about it was the realization that this food take out place did not have running water, a problem all too familiar for many South Africans. While eating we experienced more Nyanga hospitality. The women who served us our food came and sat with us and we were able to talk to her. In the US it would be really weird if a worker came and sat with you during your meal, but here it felt so natural. She just sat with us and had friendly conversation, and it just showed the community feeling in the township. When someone came and asked if we were tourists she snapped back that we were not tourists but her friends. Soon after that a young boy and girl came up to us to say hello and then told us that we were always welcome in East Nyanga. These two comments about us being friends and us being welcome gave me cold chills and I felt so blessed to be able to experience the tightness of the community in the township. I am not saying that I would want to live in the poverty they have to deal with every day, but that I would love to live in a place where you can go from stranger to friend is less than 15 minutes. And it was not just like she said it, I actually feel like she became my friend.

The workshop itself was great. Koko had worked really hard on his presentation and the group discussion at the end was really inspiring. They had a discussion on refugees and foreign nationals. South Africa and even in Nyanga itself there is a problem with xenophobia. When they discussed the issue and their feelings towards refugees nothing was sugar coated. Even with a refugee there who was leading the discussion with Koko, people shared their feelings. They said how people from other countries sell drugs, don’t speak the language, take all the jobs, ask for too much, and a lot of other stereotypes that go along with being a foreign national. The conversation was all too familiar. If they replaced refugee with Mexicans and South Africa with the US, I have heard the same conversation many times before. At first I was taken back and even appalled by their openness on their prejudices. But out of their openness and conversation with a refugee progress came out. As the refugee explained it from his point of view and how people get in these situations, you could see the light bulbs light in everybody’s head as they started to make the connection of human rights and their treatment of refugees. The conversation even went from there into what each person can do to succeed. Sitting back and observing this really made me see the benefits of being honest with yourself. If they had sugarcoated how they felt and tried to make it seem like there was not that much of a problem, then they would have never grown from the conversation. I realized that I also need to be open with myself with my prejudices, because if I try to ignore them or water them down, I will never get to the root of it. I was also thrilled to see that at least 13 people showed up on their holiday from school. I do not know if I could get the same turnout in the US and if I did it would be from people who already have a strong interest in human rights. Most of the young adults who were there had little to no idea what human rights are, yet were still willing to come to expand their knowledge. This program of peer education on human rights is such a wonderful program. I just do not know if it would work in the US where there is not such a close knit community, and people who are not already interested in human rights rarely have an interest in learning about it.

 I could not believe that Koko was disappointed in himself on the workshop. The fact that he has only studied human rights for a couple weeks now and was willing to plan an entire workshop and get up in front of his peers to educate them on these issues was an accomplishment in itself even if the workshop hadn’t gone well. On top of that the workshop in my opinion was a success with discussion, bonding, community building, and knowledge being shared. I was so touched by the entire experience. My new friend is now my new role model for doing so much to advance his community while still in high school.

After the program Julian and I wanted to hang out with Koko and his friend for a little bit to celebrate their first of many workshops. First we went to a barber shop in one of the trailers in Nyanga to get Julian’s hair done which was a really cool experience. Loud music, people just hanging out in the shop, and a very precise barber were all parts of the shop that made it a unique experience for Julian and I. Koko also stopped into his sister’s house who lives in one of the small homes (I don’t know if they are considered informal or not) with metal sheets as walls and down a skinny dirt ally. I was so surprised when we saw inside. Everything was so neat and organized with nice furnish and not a spot of dirt anywhere to be found. The only reason I expected it to be messier was because it must be hard to not have a cluttered house when there is so little room to work with. Even if it was a big house, I have seen few houses better organized. I was so happy to see the pride put into what they have.  We finished that day off by grabbing a beer in a bar in Nyanga to toast their hard work and successful workshop. It was one of the best days I have had since arriving in Cape Town and I look forward to spending more time with Koko in Nyanga the last few weeks I am here. 

Logan's reflections on excursion week

Excursion could not have come at a more perfect time. After spending over a month in Cape Town and experiencing everything we have, everything we did met so much more to us and still gave us over a month to reflect on it.

We first went to Johannesburg where we visited many historical cites and museums. These places are a very powerful place to be. The Apartheid museum, the Hector Peterson museum, and the old prison, are powerful enough in itself to have and everlasting impact on someone who knew nothing about South Africa. This impact I think is magnified for us after spending time in South Africa and being able to see how these injustices in the past still control the lives of South Africa. For example the fact that even in the prisons there was apartheid in how they treated and where they kept whites, blacks, and coloureds, in comparison to the separation and racism that still exists today. Also the horrible conditions in the prison then may have been worse, but from what I hear South African prisons are still pretty bad. Or many people who would go to the Hector Peterson museum would be upset by the school system set up for blacks during apartheid. But if you look today not much has improved with overcrowded classrooms, shortage of teachers, and lack of textbooks. And when the education system is setting the students up for failure, it is only going to set these children up for future poverty. In the Apartheid museum I was disgusted by the beatings, torture, and attitude of the police. But when I look around today in South Africa there is still lack of respect and no trust in the police from citizens, and from the side of the police there are abuses, racism, aggressiveness and corruption. When I went inside all of these museums I started to realize how much the past is still part of the present. Many people say that it is important to remember history so it does not repeat itself. In this situation I think it is important to remember the history in order to recognize, understand, and fix the problems of the present. These problems include racism, education, poverty, prison system, authority, along with an entire list of problems we witnessed in the museums that have not really been addressed and fixed.

I guess it would be unfair for me to say that nothing has been done. In Joburg we did witness some progress. Some of the houses in the township were newer and nice. You could also see examples of Black people who have made it out of poverty and drive around in nice cars. While I am glad this has been made possible, I cannot help but think of the prediction of Steve Bicco that a few Blacks would enter the upper class, but the majority of blacks would remain poor in a capitalist society. I think Joburg represents this perfectly. Joburg is the economic center of South Africa and while some Black people have “made it”, it just seems like the Black people in Joburg will never really achieve equality in the capitalistic American-like city.

While I loved everything we did in Joburg, as city I didn’t  like it nearly as much as Cape Town. I felt like I was back at home with fast pace traffic, busy people, and bad weather.

Krueger was a great break from the heavy week we had while in Joburg. As many would agree the coolest part was definitely the guys have mustaches. Just kidding….. The coolest part was having a lion walk right next to the truck we were in.  Also my heart was racing when we were on a walking safari and a rhino somewhat charged at us until the guides scared it away. It was nice to just be able to relax and enjoy ourselves the last couple days of excursion. When it was time to leave I think we were all ready to get back. We were all a little homesick and wanted to see Table Mountain everyday and enjoy Cape Town life. 

Logan recognizing he's a different person here

As a group we met up with some of the people that we had met on the human rights workshop weekend. We met at a braii restaurant in Guguletu  where we sat outside and they brought out a huge meat platter. The basic idea was just that everyone digs in. No plates, utensils, or meal orders, just a meat platter and hands. Also since we were in the townships we were able to order beer out of a shabeen which is pretty much just a bar out of someone’s house. That was one of the coolest cultural experiences I have had since it is a pretty common practice in the townships.

Another interesting aspect of this week is that my friend from the US came to visit me this week. Although I only had the chance to see him a couple days because we were leaving for excursion, it was great to see him. It was also a weird experience as well. My life in South Africa seems so separated from my life in the US. Having someone I know from the US in my Cape Town life was a strange experience. How I see the world and how I act is different here then it was at home.  I am kind of a different person in South Africa, and I didn't really realize it until I saw my friend from the US. I am still really glad he came and I had a great time seeing him, I just noticed a difference. But being the good friend that he is, he recognized and appreciated the difference and understood how I found it surreal being with a US friend in Cape Town.

In my internship two other interns and I held a workshop on refugees. We invited people from other NGOs as well as other people that work at Black Sash. We had been working on this workshop for a few weeks so it was great when it finally happened. The people that showed up to the workshop were great people to work with. First of all we were able to here locals experiences and opinions as well as hearing how the refugee process actually works from a refugee living in South Africa. Even with a mini bus strike, which hurts many peoples way of getting to work, almost everyone showed up. Furthermore they showed up almost on time and opted out of a tea break before lunch, two things that are unusual to happen in Cape Town. We were able to complete the entire workshop and training, and I am really looking forward to working with them again when we go to monitor the refugee reception office. 

Logan feeling this is where his life is now

For Ashley's birthday we went to a very cool restaurant called Mesopotamia. Here we got to enjoy delicious Kurdish food, smoke a hooka, and watch belly dancers perform. What was even more exciting is that after a little bit the dancers pulled some of us up onto the floor to try dancing. Although my hips did not move nearly as well as Julian, it was still fun to try it out. 

Teddy & Logan (Emily in background)

Last weekend we went to a human rights workshop. At first I did not really want to go too much because I felt a little stressed about my work that I wanted to work on over the weekend, but once I got there I was so glad we went.

 

It was really cool to meet so many South Africans and Africans from other nationalities. When we weren't in official program and had free time we learned so much from them and had a great time with them in such a short period of time. We played a lot of fun games that I had never heard of. It kind of brought me back to my childhood because no one was reserved or embarrassed to play these games. 

In official program or workshop I learned a lot, especially listening to the many similarities and differences on how the some of the Africans viewed human rights based on their individual experiences. Listening to their knowledge on so many different countries and the problems in those countries was very impressive. I really hope that we stay in touch with some of the people we met over the weekend. 

It is really starting to feel like this is where my life is now. I have a hard time remembering that there is still a world in the US that I have to return to in a couple months. My mind is so far away I have not really been keeping up with what is happening in the US, at Uconn, and with my family and friends. I keep putting off responsibilities that only matter at home like filling out scholarships. I know I need to remember that I eventually do have to return to the States, but I love being so comfortable here. I no longer feel as much like a tourist, I know how to use the transportation, I  know where a lot of locations are or can at least recognize the names, and I am really starting to adapt to the cultural differences. Things such as language barriers and other customs that seemed a little overwhelming at first, have now become things that I love about Cape Town. 

Logan giving report for group

Logan's recap of week #4

My first week of internship at Black Sash went very well. I work with four other interns that are my age, three from France and one from Germany. I spent the first two days mostly doing research and reading trying to catch up to the other interns working on the same project as me. By the third day the other interns were already involving me on their project which was really cool to get put in the mix so quickly. From what I can tell from my internship work is very relaxed here. When I am doing work it is very heavy reading and a lot of work, but my boss never wants to overwork me so breaks and short days are acceptable. Some of the things I will be able to do at my intern are informing people of their rights in the townships, going into parliament, and monitoring governmental organizations such as refugee centers, so it should be very exciting. 

Classes have been going well, but it is hard to stay focused on school work while in Cape Town not to mention living in a house with a pool and 16 other students. I am glad we get to go to University of Cape Town campus for one day a week though. While we don't have the opportunity to take classes with other UCT students, there are other ways to meet people there. Julian, Tom, and myself went and played basketball at the gym and had the opportunity to meet a diverse group of people from Greece, South Africa and Zimbabwe to play ball with on Thursdays.

A couple of us went up Lions Head on Saturday night with the interns from Black Sash to watch the sunset. It may have been the most beautiful landscape I have seen since I have been to Cape Town. Watching the sun go down over the ocean and the city light up as it became darker was an astonishing image. I look forward to doing it again with the rest of the group on the full moon. 

View from Lion's Head

Logan's adventures

Due to a national conference for Black Sash I was not able to start my internship like everyone else. So tomorrow is my first day of internship which I am really excited for. Since I didn't have my intern I was able to go climb Lions Head Mountain which is part of the Table Mountain range. It was a really cool mountain to climb because there were parts where climbers have to go up chains and climb up rocks. Also at the top I met a pretty serious Capetonian hiker that told me about a really good trail to go up Table Mountain which we climbed up on Saturday. I am looking forward to going back to this mountain again at night when there is a full moon out. On Saturday most of the group hiked up Table Mountain which was one of my favorite experiences since we arrived. I have always loved climbing mountains and the view from the top of Table Mountain overlooking the city and ocean was amazing. What was also cool about the hike was almost half of it was just walking over the ridge of the mountain which is a great experience because it is not strenuous and there is a great view the entire time.

On Friday I had two new experiences at the beach. Fist of all when we got there and when we were leaving no one was allowed in the water because of sharks spotted near by. Secondly I had my first experience surfing. Although I was not that good I definitely want to go back and try it out again.

I think one of my favorite activities that we consistently do is cooking dinner. I have never had to cook dinner all the time and was pretty nervous about having to start, but we have had a fun time trying it out every night. On Thursday we all participated in making Taco Thursday. We invited Vernon over and he was kind enough to tell us his interesting life story after eating some tacos.

This past week had a lot of exciting activities but I am really looking forward to start my internship tomorrow morning.  

Logan on witnessing hope and happiness

(front) Logan, Anna, (back) Taylor, Julian, Susie

It has been a very busy first 10 days since we have arrived in the beautiful city of Cape Town. We have explored the city, learned how to use public transportation (well… still learning), been educated on some of the history of South Africa including what happened in District 6 and the history of slavery, and eaten at many delicious and diverse restaurants. All of this was obviously really fun and has made it feel like a great vacation. The past couple days however the trip has started to shift from the tourist side of Cape Town to what many of us really came here for; understanding, working with, and growing from the problems within South Africa and the wonderful Capetonians who deal with it every day. On Sunday we visited a church that was in one of the townships. The hope and happiness that spread through that church was amazing. For a community that is dealing with extreme poverty and HIV to come together on Sunday morning to worship, dance, sing, and give offering with the little money they have, was a very emotional site for many of us.

After Church we were given a tour of some of the townships. Again it was a very emotional time to see how so many people live. I have never been exposed to such extreme wide spread poverty. So many of the homes are lined up in a row right next to each other, with four small walls made of metal sheets, dirt floors, and a deteriorating roof covered with black trash bags. I guess I should not feel bad for the residence of the townships because it seems that there is still hope and people do take pride in what they have. Also there seems to be a lot of people working to help out the situations as we saw when visiting the places where we would be interning.

We have now visited many of the organizations people will be interning. It has been really cool to see all the places that all my friends will be working at for the next few months. While it is sad to hear and see some of the issues dealt with in Cape Town, it was awesome to see how many people have dedicated their lives to working for a cause that is important to them. All of the organization leaders we have talked to recognize the problems they face, but take so much pride in their country and working toward a better South Africa. 

Logan can't wrap his head around it.

This all seems like it is happening fast and it still has not even really hit me that I am going to be spending a semester in Cape Town. I keep talking about it but I cannot even wrap my head around the fact, and every time I think about it I get excited.

I am a little stressed about all the things I still have to do to get prepared for next semester, but I am sure it’ll work itself out. I just need a free day to get it all done.

I was really happy to get to meet everyone last Sunday and I look forward to getting to know everyone. Seems like a real good group of students which makes me even more excited to go to South Africa. I love UConn but I can’t wait to get out for here for a semester.