Sanibonani!
Cape
Town last week was fabulous. We stayed with a friend who's studying at
the University of Cape Town this semester. UCT is a beautiful campus.
It's settled on a hill, so you can look to your right and see Table
Mtn, then look to your left and see the city settled next to the ocean.
It was an absolutely breathtaking couple of days.
In Cape Town
we did a sightseeing tour, went to a couple of fabulous museums,
aquariums, and to Table Mountain. We were met with the opportunity to
hike Table Mtn, but because it is absolutely freezing in CT and the
wind is unbearable, we stuck with the sky car. We also went to do wine
tasting in Stellonbosch and went to Robben Island. Robben Island was
where the political prisoners were kept during the Apartheid. We were
able to see Nelson Mendela's prison cell, and explore the island as
well. It was an amazing experience, and our extended weekend in Cape
Town flew by too fast.
This week I've been finishing my
research paper (on my weeks observing at St. Mary's) and will present
Friday. Saturday and Sunday we will just be able to relax in Durban
before heading to St. Lucia to do our end of the program Safari.
Hambani Kahle :-)
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
St. Mary's
Sanibonani!
The hospital (where I have been doing my learnership), has been incredible (ok, and a little boring at times).
I
have been observing in the antenatal clinic, the labor ward, and the
maternity ward. Most of the staff I'm working with are wonderful. They
are always willing to answer my questions and translate. And getting to hold newborn babies is awesome, they are
super adorable! :-)
When
I speak (my limited) Zulu to the patients, they often respond with
"Hauwu!" Which pretty much means, "OMG this umlungu speaks Zulu!?"
It's often quite hilarious, but they give me a higher level of respect,
and I feel proud of my Zulu skills :-) (Even if they are limited).
The hospital can be
pretty intense. One day while in the low birth
weight nursery, I saw this giant baby sleeping in there. I was
talking to the lady I was with and was like, Whoa! Omg, look at this
huge baby! He was super adorable, but so obviously health and not
underweight. I soon found out he was 5 months old, and had been
abandoned
by his mother. It was so crazy, because I would imagine that something
like (the following) would not happen in the States. The staff had named him, taken
care of him, played with him, and even given him an HIV test, for 5!
months. When I came back the next week, he had been adopted by a staff
member. (Everyone was really happy for him!) :-)
One
day a young girl came in after having given birth at home. She
hadn't done any antenatal care, and she ended up finding out she was
HIV+. It was heart-wrenching. But this is rare, the majority of the
mothers come in to
the clinic and follow all of the steps to prevent HIV transmission to
their children. Mothers who are pregnant and children under the age of
6 get free healthcare. Also, if you have a certain CD4 count (number of
healthy blood cells, the higher the number, the better your immune
system), you get free ARVs. (ARVs are the drugs usedto suppress the HIV).
Tomorrow my roommate and I are going to get 90 minute massages (for
less than $40)! It's pretty exciting. Hope
everyone has a fabulous weekend!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Hillcrest
Well,
our two weeks at Windemere was absolutely fabulous. I was sad to leave!
But where I'm staying now is almost as fabulous, and quite eye-opening.
I am living with two other girls at a Bed and Breakfast in an upper-class white suburb 30 minutes outside of Durban- Hillcrest. (As a side note, many of the other suburbs around Durban are different in that they have been integrated with many upper class families of all races, but not Hillcrest.) The B&B is fabulous, we have our own kitchenette and full bathroom separate from the main house. The backyard has a beautiful garden and pool area that we are taking full advantage of. The neighborhood is generally safe for us to run in as well, and the estates we are running past, gorgeous! The owners of the B&B have also been quite welcoming and friendly (and a little hilarious). Debbie has been so sweet by offering us rides to the grocery store or mall. She is quite a talker, though, and always has many interesting things to share with us. This can provide insight on the racism often expressed by white Afrikaners that we have not otherwise experienced. She has made comments about this construction company who "only" got the job because of a type of South African affirmative action plan, and that her husbands construction company would not be taking 2 years to finish it. Or that the "Indians really know how to cook, that's one thing they're good for." We heard some of these comments the first day we had met her, and it was quite a shocking experience. Like I said earlier, she has always been very sweet to us, but it's really difficult to hear her speak with such racism when we have families in Cato Manor. And really, living here makes the inequality of South Africa even more obvious.
Which, brings me to a current event. An Afrikans man was brutally murdered on Sunday by 2 Black men. It is igniting a lot of controversy right now because a)He was a leader of a pro-Apartheid political party and b) because of this "Shoot the boer" song being sung within the country by leaders. (Boer is a derogatory term used to describe white Afrikans people). And, the Youth Leader of the ANC (which is the leading political party of the country), continues to sing this song when he speaks. (This song has been in high controversy for months.) The song has recently been banned, but I guess we'll see what actually happens with this ANC Youth Leader and tensions within the country.
Racial tensions are still so prevalent in this country. I walk around with people of other races all the time (other students from the SIT program), and people just stare and gawk at us. (I'll be thinking, why the heck are all these people staring at us? and then I'm like, Oh, that's right, we're not segregating ourselves). The clubs and bars are also often segregated (not officially, though). When we go out, we'll walk in, and often be the only people there not all the same color as everyone else. It's so weird and awful! (But we do frequently joke that we're "crossing boundaries".) And one of the students is currently dating someone who is Zulu. And people go crazy! People who are white and Indian will yell derogatory comments at them while they are out in public. (And they are definitely not displaying signs of PDA). I was buying ice cream one day, and the staff (who were Zulu), were talking very negatively about the bi-racial couple. It's often really shocking and upsetting.
On a different note, today we were laying by the pool, when we heard this squawking noise (like a giant bird). We look over, and there's these monkeys in the backyard. There were 7 of them! I'm not quite sure if I've talked about them before. They are everywhere, and mean! So basically, we don't feed them and we don't interact with them. But even so, it was quite entertaining to be sitting in the backyard watching monkeys climb all over the bird feeder and the trees. It was definitely one of those moments where I was like "I feel like I'm in Africa!".
Anyways! Tomorrow I go to St. Mary's hospital in Mariannhill. I start my learnership observing the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS. I'm excited!
(Oh! And I forgot to say that for Easter, Julia, Sarah, and I made a delicious dinner with salad, ham, dumplings, deviled eggs, and brownies :-) It was a little sad to be away from home, but we definitely made the best of it.)
I am living with two other girls at a Bed and Breakfast in an upper-class white suburb 30 minutes outside of Durban- Hillcrest. (As a side note, many of the other suburbs around Durban are different in that they have been integrated with many upper class families of all races, but not Hillcrest.) The B&B is fabulous, we have our own kitchenette and full bathroom separate from the main house. The backyard has a beautiful garden and pool area that we are taking full advantage of. The neighborhood is generally safe for us to run in as well, and the estates we are running past, gorgeous! The owners of the B&B have also been quite welcoming and friendly (and a little hilarious). Debbie has been so sweet by offering us rides to the grocery store or mall. She is quite a talker, though, and always has many interesting things to share with us. This can provide insight on the racism often expressed by white Afrikaners that we have not otherwise experienced. She has made comments about this construction company who "only" got the job because of a type of South African affirmative action plan, and that her husbands construction company would not be taking 2 years to finish it. Or that the "Indians really know how to cook, that's one thing they're good for." We heard some of these comments the first day we had met her, and it was quite a shocking experience. Like I said earlier, she has always been very sweet to us, but it's really difficult to hear her speak with such racism when we have families in Cato Manor. And really, living here makes the inequality of South Africa even more obvious.
Which, brings me to a current event. An Afrikans man was brutally murdered on Sunday by 2 Black men. It is igniting a lot of controversy right now because a)He was a leader of a pro-Apartheid political party and b) because of this "Shoot the boer" song being sung within the country by leaders. (Boer is a derogatory term used to describe white Afrikans people). And, the Youth Leader of the ANC (which is the leading political party of the country), continues to sing this song when he speaks. (This song has been in high controversy for months.) The song has recently been banned, but I guess we'll see what actually happens with this ANC Youth Leader and tensions within the country.
Racial tensions are still so prevalent in this country. I walk around with people of other races all the time (other students from the SIT program), and people just stare and gawk at us. (I'll be thinking, why the heck are all these people staring at us? and then I'm like, Oh, that's right, we're not segregating ourselves). The clubs and bars are also often segregated (not officially, though). When we go out, we'll walk in, and often be the only people there not all the same color as everyone else. It's so weird and awful! (But we do frequently joke that we're "crossing boundaries".) And one of the students is currently dating someone who is Zulu. And people go crazy! People who are white and Indian will yell derogatory comments at them while they are out in public. (And they are definitely not displaying signs of PDA). I was buying ice cream one day, and the staff (who were Zulu), were talking very negatively about the bi-racial couple. It's often really shocking and upsetting.
On a different note, today we were laying by the pool, when we heard this squawking noise (like a giant bird). We look over, and there's these monkeys in the backyard. There were 7 of them! I'm not quite sure if I've talked about them before. They are everywhere, and mean! So basically, we don't feed them and we don't interact with them. But even so, it was quite entertaining to be sitting in the backyard watching monkeys climb all over the bird feeder and the trees. It was definitely one of those moments where I was like "I feel like I'm in Africa!".
Anyways! Tomorrow I go to St. Mary's hospital in Mariannhill. I start my learnership observing the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS. I'm excited!
(Oh! And I forgot to say that for Easter, Julia, Sarah, and I made a delicious dinner with salad, ham, dumplings, deviled eggs, and brownies :-) It was a little sad to be away from home, but we definitely made the best of it.)
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