We were lucky enough to travel to the north a few weeks ago to attend the wedding of one of our professor’s.  We’ve been told that nearly 50% of Namibians are from “the North” which tends to mean anything about Windhoek (which is actually in the middle of Namibia).  Regardless, nearly every one I talk to says this is where they’re from so I was extremely excited to see this notorious place!

After months of seeking approval from relatives, Romanus, our professor, and his fiancé, Katarina were finally getting married in the city of Ongwediva.  So we made the 10 hour trip through the country (which was really nice) and we stayed at the Rural Development Centre where we got to see some of the new technologies they’re working on to help farmers and improve sanitation.

The wedding was comprised of a traditional Christian service and hints of tribal rituals. The bride wore the big white dress and veil, there were bridesmaids and groomsmen, and they went through a typical Catholic ceremony with church service following.  Thought it was entirely in Oshiwambo, I still picked up on many aspects, like recognizing the tune to “Praise the Lord.”

The most exciting part was that you got to relive the reception the very next night, because there are two! They were in Okatana and Onampira , one in the grooms home village and the other in the brides.  At each there were a couple of different rituals, but one that seemed like a lot of fun to me was the giving of gifts.  Everyone got in a line and danced and shouted in excitement on their way to the bride and groom.  After these ended,  we had lots of food, even cow intestine, and on the second night had a blast dancing with a group of kids, but it was strange to us that not many people danced at these receptions and the DJ ended soon after dinner.

We also spent time at the local trade fair, which was a lot like many of the local fairs we students are used to. There were vendors from all over Namibia selling tractors, handmade goods, and other accessories, lots of food, booths for government departments and also university advertisers. So we bought a few of our favorite pieces and had lunch. “Black and Yellow” came on while we were eating and the Pittsburgher in me got really excited.

I noticed here and in many parts of the north that people are curious about our being here and often stare. For the most part if you smile and wave it’s received fairly well, but a few times people just continued to stare and I had to brush it off. I also had to realize that white people were really uncommon in this area and I can imagine that people who are “different” in the United States are also stared at—it’s humbling to be on the other side some times and I think throughout this trip I might need to get used to it.

Finally, we headed to Etosha National Park! It’s a fenced in park where animals roam and within it there are places where people can camp. The park is almost 9,000 square miles and includes elephants, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, lions, springbok, kudus, so many types of birds, and many other animals. The first evening we arrived in a camping ground called Halali and had a braai (barbecue). There was something really homey about a being with the group, taking the time to prepare the food and then roasting marshmallows for smores (using the can opener as your stick). Overall being at the park was comforting.

We slept at another park called Okaukeujo the second night. A few of us went swimming and in the evening relaxed by a waterhole where you could watch the animals. This was definitely my favorite part and I think the pictures will do a much better job of describing how amazing this place is. This park had a nice restaurant where we tried some Kudu and lamb, which some of us were a little turned off by after having watched Kudu a few hours before.

After one last game drive and some final views of the animals, we headed back to Windhoek to start our classes for the semester.

My first thought was, Wow!  Namibia is beautiful!  It’s dry here, and was technically still winter when we first arrived, but the shades of grey and brown were surprisingly very pretty. On the drive to Windhoek, there were mountains in the distance, different types of trees everywhere, and we were out in the country so the sky was open and a gorgeous blue. The windy roads reminded me of home and it felt so nice to relax and stare out the window.

When we got to the house, things got even better. The house is really big for our small group of eight, but having the space is nice. There’s a pool, barbecue, and balcony outside.  The neighborhood is nice and view is decent.  There’s a lot of bushes and trees that have been blooming as we transition into summer and you can see the mountains far behind the houses.  It’s within walking distance of downtown and we have already done some exploring. There are a lot of great cafes, restaurants, and craft markets. I ate at a German cultural center and it was delicious, then, met up with some other group members who were having Nutella crepes! We checked out some art studios, theaters  parks and local malls too. There’s a backpackers hostile right across the street with a bar, pool, and fast internet (its best selling point). We met some fun locals there and I think it’s going to be a regular hang out of ours.

One of our professors, Linda Raven, gave us an broad tour of Windhoek and described its subdivisions to us.  It’s directly comparable to Johannesburg and Soweto—there are clearly areas that are mostly wealthy whites and poor areas that are entirely black, specifically a township called Katutura.

We were shown around this by a group of students our age (The Young Achievers) that run a program called the Kasie Tours. The group is awesome. It is solely student run and they aim to empower youth through setting educational and professional goals. They have several branches around Namibia, set up conferences, have done international visits, and even show around U.S. senators and ambassadors. All of this is organized, funded, and implemented by student volunteers—it’s amazing!  They took different students to an art studio, a local church, and a radio station.  We also hit up the local market for some kapana, meat that’s butchered and grilled as you order it.

There is still so much to see but I think it is going to be quite easy to call this place home for the next couple months.

For our last day in Jo’burg we took a tour of Constitution Hill, a historical landmark remembering the horrific injustices that took place at the Old Fort Prison Complex.  Today, it is home to the Constitutional Court and stands as a symbol of South Africa’s freedom.  We then visited representatives from the Treatment Action Campaign (an HIV/AIDS foundation) and finally went to a semi-private school in Soweto, which was by far my favorite part of the day.

First, we were taken around to each classroom in small groups and were allowed in exchange our questions and thoughts with the students.  They asked a lot of questions to me individually, which made me a little giddy, but even more exciting was that they had an interest in mathematics!  They wanted to know what I studied and why I chose that concentration.  A young girl even asked my advice when doing math problems.  She has hopes of attending an ivy league school in the United States one day and was really an inspiration.  Not only did she take top classes at school, but studied additional chemistry and mathematics at home and took weekend classes.

Being at the school we got a small insight into the perspective of the United States.  This is something I particularly love about children or teenagers—they have no reservations about being honest with you.  When asked what they thought when they hearing the U.S., the response unanimously was “money” and even “money and booze” once.  Many students thought we saw Nicki Minaj from day-to-day and I was asked if I had met Kate Gosselin from the reality show John and Kate plus 8 (because she’s from Pennsylvania).  They also shared many U.S. tourist stereotypes, but I assured them that I did not think they were jungle people.

This concluded our stay in Johannesburg and I had so many thoughts whirling around in my head.  That week was jam packed and I’d learned so much.  It challenged me to think about the many similarities in the United States that I previously hadn’t given much attention, sadly.  I’m a little embarrassed to say this, but specifically I’m thinking about Native Americans.  After these experiences, I began to think about it more and more deeply.  Before, it was merely just a passing sympathetic thought about the past and in reality there are still many prevalent issues, but I have had the privilege to ignore these.  I am looking at reservations and what we did to the first people of our land with new acknowledgement and wish I would have been better educated in the past by my history teachers and by my own pursuits.

This has also made me think about what we learn in the United States, both formally in education systems and informally.  The apartheid is openly talked about here.  It is in their museums, addressed in politics, and most importantly the people that I have come in contact with are aware, not just of its happening but of what it caused and how that affects today.  The government has done a lot to educate people about the past, but also help them reconcile with it.  There are many who have yet to reap the benefits of South Africa’s independence and are still very much living under the same conditions they did in the apartheid, but I still believe some of these efforts have the right idea when it comes to giving victims closure and maybe even reparation—but I don’t think you can ever make the situation “right”.

Sala Gutile

Dumelang!

This is a Sotho greeting that I learned from my urban homestay in Johannesburg!  I spent only three days with my host family, but it was a fantastic experience and nice to be in the comfort of a family even if they weren’t my own.

When we got to our home in Ormonde our host-mother, Nthabiseng, along with some neighbors were outside to greet us.  It didn’t take long to get in the house, begin our first meal (lamb and rice Mmmm) and jump into conversation.  Our mother was open and invited our questions immediately.  She was also really interested in our stories and culture, asking questions about previous things she had heard and images from television.  She works in school administration and her husband, Sifiso, at the Hilton in Sandton (a very wealthy area that we visited later that weekend).  They live in a small, one floor, gated house like all of the other people in that neighborhood.  The house reminded me a little of my home and their family has two Volkswagens just like mine—a “South African Polo Blue” as their little three year old boy (Sandile) likes to call it.

The father had to leave the first evening to help with the funeral of his cousin, which we learned are slightly different from funerals in the United States, much larger.  People from all over come in support of the family, even if they are only acquaintances and after large meals take place at a relative’s house, but are never catered.  Neighbors and friends pitch in and cook enough for everyone to eat and this is a lot of food when you are feeding hundreds.  They also have ceremonies called tombstones three or four years later and like the funerals they are much more uplifting than the funerals I know.  It is a celebration of that person’s life. For the celebration people purchase new, very formal, clothing and even paint their houses sometimes as rejuvenation.

The funeral practice seemed to transcend tribes, but throughout the homestay I found that there were some things that didn’t and distinct differences between tribes.  The relationship between our host mother and father was interesting because of their different backgrounds, the mother being Sotho and the father Zulu.  The mother ultimately adopted most Zulu traditions including the clothing and wedding ceremony, but still speaks her mother language and has taught it to her children.  The children are incredibly smart.  They know three languages fluently: Sotho, Zulu, and English and study Afrikaans in school, but more impressively they toggle back and forth between these languages depending on the person they are talking to.

I found this is common among people here, the switching between languages (there are eleven official languages).  It’s really amazing and they seem to do it with ease.  We had a host-sister in the house and she taught us some basic terms and patiently went over the pronunciations and spellings with us repeatedly.  Some of the languages have “clicks” or snaps with your tongue and I found it very difficult.  It was easy to connect with her though—she was excited about having students from the United States in her home, was a fan of the same music that we like, and broke the ice by taking funny pictures with us on her phone.

On our second day there we visited an old age home in Soweto that the mother goes to on weekends.  We helped out with the dishes and got to join in on a Bible study with a couple of the women that lived there.  They gave us their advice for life and were happy we were here to study.  We also went to church on Sunday and this had to be one of the best experiences ever!  It was so lively, even though my host-mother claimed it was boring compared to her usual service. (I can’t imagine how exciting her Catholic church must be.)  The service was entirely in a tribal language so I couldn’t understand anything, but I felt connected with the people.  They included us and encouraged us to get up and dance.  While watching them, I felt like I was surrounded by a strong community, people who enjoyed being there on Sunday morning with others they loved.  Each person would lead the congregation in a song (with loud and really beautiful voices) and then as everyone else chimed in they would stand and dance and smack the Bible for a beat.  A smile was plastered on my face.  We even danced our way to the alter to leave our donation—absolutely a euphoric moment.

Besides these outings, we watched a lot of TV during the day and even through meals—soap operas or “sopes” are extremely popular here, both American and South African shows.  They also watch some American football on the sports channels, South African Idol, and Madea’s Family, which I told my host-family that my brother and sister also love this movie.  It is women’s month here right now so there were tributes to women on the radio and TV with traditional dances and singers too.

We broke this time up with conversations about the miners’ strike that happened in August and about the chief in Swaziland that has 20-30 wives, and I learned more from our host-mother about the characteristics of a “Soweto woman” which she was.  She told us that Soweto girls are not passive and polite like rural women, but liked their short skirts, wild nights and had attitudes.  Our mother liked to joke with us and tell us stories about her trips to Durban with friends where they would say, “the women have grown up to drink like their fathers and the men have grown up to cook like their mothers,” pointing out that their husbands were more home-bodies.

She also shared with us some family stories, like their visits to the zoo, things the kids like to do, and their belief in Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny, so I asked if she also had to play tooth fairy every so often.  Yes, she still slipped money to her children for their tooth, but into their shoe instead of under their pillow.  In households here you put your tooth in your shoe.  During the night a little mouse comes and take your tooth, in its place he leaves money, and then he throws it on top of the roof.  While on the roof your tooth grows until he brings it back to your mouth (as your adult tooth).  I may consider telling children this version instead—I liked it.

We talked about going to Kliptown (the township where I felt like an intruder earlier that week) but I felt very comfortable now.  The idea of going to grab some produce from a stand there or the sheep intestines she wanted to cook didn’t bother me at all, but I did ask her how people living in that community feel about tourist that come and stare at them.  Her opinion was that they would be very excited to have us. She said many would even like to have white students stay in their house so that they feel special and respected within the community.

I am baffled by this phenomenon, this elevating of white people and people from the United States.  I asked our guide, Nespect, about it and he explained a couple of different reasons, one being that white people are the ones with power and people here (and I’ve noticed other parts of the world) that in order to get closer to that power they must get closer to white people.  He also encouraged me to continue asking people that I meet about things like this.  Regardless if this confuses me, my experience in the neighborhoods that we have been in, is that people are unbelievably welcoming—they smile and hug you, say they are happy to see new faces, and ask you if you are eating well (they really like to feed their guests…really).

The first morning in our home we went and got Amugwinya “fat cakes” and they have been given this name for a reason.  It is a fried dough served with thick slices of a meat (sort of like pepperoni) and dried fish that is heavily salted.  The fish tasted like the smelts my family has at Christmas time.  We were offered pies too, but these aren’t sweet pies, they are flaky crusts filled with meat inside.  Then, for lunch we had a Kota.  This sandwich puts Wendy’s baconator to despicable shame.  It is a tower of four slices of bread, with layers of cheese, avocado, bacon, a burger in between and “chip dip” a creamy sauce like thousand island dressing.  This also comes with a not-so-modest side of “chips” which are really thick french fries.  After this, I had had enough food for the entire week, but we still hadn’t eaten dinner.  For dinner that night we had lasagna, but it wasn’t my Grandma T’s.  Though nothing can beat that, this came really close.  It was layers of flat sheets of noodles (unlike the crimped ones we use) a spicy sausage, cream sauce, and then sweat and sour sauce on top.  All three of the sauces were homemade and it was delicious.  There were also dozens of homemade cookies for dessert, but it took me a couple days before I could even try one because the meals were so large.

So we sat around the television, wandered around some places in town, and ate… a lot.  I got to go through their normal routines and it felt good to be around those familiar things in this unfamiliar place.  Overall, the weekend was wonderful and I feel so lucky to have been a part of their family for a very short time.

Salang Hantle

Though toward the end of our first week in Johannesburg we were a little exhausted from touring and visiting museums, the Apartheid Museum kept strong hold of my attention.  The images I saw were astounding, heart-wrenching and inspiring at the same time. Combined at the Apartheid Museum was a tribute to Nelson Mandela and a walk through the history of South Africa, its journey toward democracy and its aspirations as a country. There were art exhibits, video clips of Nelson Mandela’s fight against aids, South Africa winning the world cup, and the day that Nelson Mandela was released from prison, along with remarkable stories of triumph and also of devastation. The walk through this museum was a roller-coaster of emotions and it began when you received a ticket that labeled you either Blankes or Non-Blankes (white or non-white). The moment you passed through your designated gate you were in awe.
Learning about life under the apartheid is hard to stomach in general, but one exhibit in particular left me numb. I turned into a room of nooses hanging from the ceiling. As you can imagine, this stunned me. I began reading about the people who were executed because of their opposition to the government—131 in total. There were personal stories about a few men and records of others. Many exhibits and stories left me just as emotional, but I turned around and there was a picture of where these men were hung and you could see how the floor was dropped from beneath them. I was truly overwhelmed.

Once you found a way to move past this exhibit, you were uplifted by the displays that follow. You learned about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, which promoted forgiveness among victims and their perpetrators through disclosing truths about the apartheid. Really, it is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen established.

Finally, there was a wall of quotations of Nelson Mandela that were written in different colors. You chose your favorite one and placed a reed of the same color along a walkway. I’ll leave you with the ones I chose:

“The first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself.”

“Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is a protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life.”

(You aren’t allowed to take pictures at this museum, so the ones that I have included are from the Apartheid Museum Website that you can take a look at here: http://www.apartheidmuseum.org)