One Last Post

If I were to give you a summary of my entire experience in South Africa in one post, well, it wouldn't be a post. It would be a book! So, instead, I will write one last post here to close out this chapter of my life that has taken place in the amazing land of South Africa.

Last day at Pendla

The fun I have had here is unbelievable. I truly could not have asked for a better time. I was able to do everything that I had dreamed of and then some. South Africa and it's people are amazing and being able to interact and become friends with so many is incredible. Having friends who live here is the greatest and allows me to call South Africa home for the rest of my life (Huge shout out to to my South African Best Friends Anga, Zeno, and Zane!) Among the many friends I made while studying here are the 30 I came with. My study abroad group is not just a group, it's a family. Coming here I knew only about 2 or 3 of them and now I have made new friends as well as best friends that I will be able to always talk to about our time here.

Besides the people, there are many things I noticed here that are different than in the U.S. I was hoping to post this earlier, but obviously didn't get around to it. So why not just throw it here ha.

Gender Equality: Ah, the great debate that has the capability of separating any relationship. Ha, okay kidding. Just messing around folks, take it easy. However, South Africa does seem more behind on this then the States. This is a major issue on equality. Here there are certain sports for men and certain ones for women. So much that men don't even know how to play women sports and women don't know how to play men's. It's also hard to get them to do so (like at Pendla or elsewhere). There are more examples of this but I will leave it at that for now.

Replayed American Sports: Trying to watch American sports here is, well, impossible. If there is one thing that I like more about the States than South Africa, it's the sports. God Bless American football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. If I was lucky enough to be around a T.V. that had international sports on it was always a replay. I most likely already new the outcome because of social media and online news. I enjoyed watching rugby but it doesn't beat out American football.

Bugs: There are many bugs that are similar to America, however, they represent more of the southern areas of the States. I haven't seen too many, but there are lizards, cockroaches, mosquitoes (not many though), spiders, and the creepy crawlers.

Milk and Tea: Alright, maybe this is a normal thing back in the States too, but they love to put milk in their tea. I love it as well. Stuffs great. If this isn't a thing in the States then it's about to be.

Landscape: Obviously, the landscape is a lot different. Having the Indian Ocean on on side and mountains on the other is amazing. Minnesota's farmland and prairies is cool and all but I love the landscape here.

Tom Shoes: Huge shout out to Tom Shoes. Tom's allow you to buy one pair and donate one to a child in need. I wasn't sure if they actually followed through. They do. At the Missionvale Care Center boxes of Tom's are delivered to help the people without shoes.

Minority: Being the minority is interesting. It's hard at times, but I think it's a good thing to experience. Being white in the States is the norm, here it is not. I actually get looked at suspiciously at times and am always around more blacks then whites. (Calling them black here is normal, not racist.) Furthermore, there is still some tension or anger from Apartheid. Sometimes I will get an uncomfortable feeling because I think they are judging me because I am white. Which they might be, however it allows me to experience how they may feel in the States which is good.

Cops: Oh, the police. I know the cops can cause lots of stress and some unwanted traffic stops, however the police in the United States are way more dedicated to serving the public than they are here. Some people drive around in vehicles that are labeled "Police" but they aren't cops. Furthermore, getting pulled over here usually ends with you paying the cop off (only heard, not from personal experience).

African Time: Everything is laid back. The word "now" is not in people's vocabulary. Well, it is, however it doesn't mean the same thing. I have people who will tell me that they are coming "just now" or "now now" but will show up way later. It's definitely something you get use to, though.

Organization: Similar to African Time the organization here is not the same. Lots of things (events, classes, etc.) are kind of thrown together. For example, the weight room. There are weights laying around everywhere and nothing is put away.

Nokonwaba or as I like

to call her "Nokia"!

Nightlife: People will go out any day of the week here. Usually one bar will be designated a night. For example, you only go to Balizza's on Thursdays. It's just a known thing.

HIV/AIDS: Even though South Africa is one of the most economically advanced countries in Africa, they still struggle with HIV/AIDS. They have the highest population of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Education System: The education system here is still in the works. It has been 20 years of democracy and there have been many changes in how education is taught and administered.

Trash: Trash is placed everywhere. People don't use garbage cans as much as the U.S. Also, trash is usually burned.

Change: Every once in awhile you will get shorted.
You are supposed to get R5.30 back but only end up getting R5.10 back. Just happens. Whether they don't have enough change in the till or what, not really sure.

The Adhan: This is the Muslims call to prayer which happens 5 times a day. I don't see it too much in Port Elizabeth, but have seen it. It's interesting to experience and get a better understanding of another religion. When at my friend Zeno's house for a braai last weekend, I heard the call throughout the neighborhood and people on the streets went into prayer.

Taking Things For Granted: Finally, taking things for granted. My buddy, Sam, and I went for a dip in the ocean one last time this morning. Over the past 4 months I have begun to take things like that for granted. It's amazing what we take for granted when we are exposed to it so much, including our friends and family. Studying abroad has allowed me to realize how amazing this world is and the people in it. Don't take anything for granted because someday down the road, sadly enough, they will be gone.

I will be leaving South Africa tomorrow morning and with it all the friends I have made, amazing animals I have seen, the places I love, and the ocean I swam in most days. Just now, as I was writing this my buddy John and two others said their goodbyes and were driven to the airport. Sadness is creeping in, but rather than feel sad about it being over we will laugh and smile about all the amazing times we have had.

The biggest "THANK YOU" to my amazing mother and father who made this entire experience possible. It is because of you two that I get to say for the rest of my life that I once lived in South Africa and on the shores of the Indian Ocean.

Well, this is the end to my study abroad experience so I hope you all enjoyed reading my blog throughout my time here. I am happy to have kept up with it for it will be a nice thing to look back on and remember. I better go, my buddy Sam just handed me a cold brew and there are still some things left to be packed. See you and the U.S.A very soon!

Here comes the sun!

T-Minus One Week

One week to go. Cannot believe that I will be flying out next Friday! My time in South Africa has been incredible and it will be hard to leave, however it will be nice to see my family and friends again.

Family Fun Night with some of my

4th graders

This past week we had Pendla Family Fun Night on Tuesday which involved us spending all day at Pendla and making meals for all 500+ students and their parents. The volunteers from Missionvale and House also helped out which was nice. Then from 4-6 the parents and students came back to Pendla for prizes (raffle), dinner, and to perform a song or dance. Us Pendla volunteers hadn't prepared anything but the teachers wanted us to perform anyways. So we go up there and sang "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz and Claire played her Ukulele. For completely winging it, it turned out pretty well actually.

On Thursday, we had to present our final seminar projects to the class. We all had to write up or make a creative project that encompassed/expressed our experiences here. Since I have been blogging more than I thought I would, this being my 30^th post, I just used my blogs to create the project. I included the ones about orientation at NMMU, the service sites, President Zuma, the Wade's, Cape Town, Drakensberg, scuba diving, and more. It was neat to put them all together and present to the class. Other student’s projects ranged from writing out their experiences, drawings, videos, and pictures. All were very nice ways to recap the semester.

Swinging to class

Today, we all had our final service learning workshop. We turned in our final reflections, journals, and decided what to do with the funds we raised. For Pendla we have decided to buy new cabinets and fix up the schools kitchen which is in a very poor condition. We hope to buy some chalkboard paint as well and set up a website. We will see how far we get.

Finally, we had our Political Science final today. Essay format...answer 2 out of the 4 questions kind of thing. Went well, but happy that it's over. Learned a good amount about politics but I'm not running to change my major, if you get what I'm saying.

Tomorrow our friend Zeno's family is throwing a braai for some of us. I can't wait, it's going to be super fun. Then next week it's the music final and peace studies final and the semester is over. Bada bing bada boom.

Also, congratulations to all of my friends who are graduating college tomorrow! CSB/SJU won't be the same without you!

Assignments Done = Relaxing Weekend

It was a nice week or should I say weekend here in South Africa.

Polling station

On Monday we had service and then music class. Once we finished those two things we were practically back on weekend time. Tuesday morning we went to service and then had the rest of the day off. We usually have Political Science, however, this week we planned to celebrate Pendla with Pendla Family Fun Night. Unfortunately, the national elections were taking place the next day and Pendla was being used as a polling station. This forced us to move Family Fun Night to next Tuesday, resulting in us not having Political Science or Family Fun Night. Furthermore, Wednesday was the national elections which are marked as public holidays in South Africa. Which translates into not having school again! Finally, Thursday rolled around and rather than going to school for seminar we had it down by the park near the beach. My flat had already presented our book we read to the class so it was our turn to sit back and relax while the other flats did so. Finally, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are always off so the weekend continues!

Ah, but just because we didn't have school doesn't mean there weren't things to do for it. The
assignments have been rolling in with the semester coming to a close. I am happy that I am able to hunker down and blow through assignments because this made the weekend much better, just getting them out of the way as soon as possible. My Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were spent typing up my music paper, typing my Pendla service reflection, putting together my final project for Seminar, and turning in my Political Science research paper. These were our last assignment for the semester. Well, the last assignments for anyone with the same classes I have. It feels wonderful to have everything done that needs to either be typed, written, presented, etc. Now it's just studying for finals which happens over the course of this week and next. Some finals have been pushed back because of conflicting things in our schedule. For instance, Pendla Family Fun Night forces the Political Science final to be pushed to Friday rather than Tuesday. Our professors for Peace Studies can't do the final on Wednesday so it is being pushed back to the final Wednesday were here. Ha, it's things like this that make us laugh. You would think finals week would have definite times and places. Guess not. It runs on African time, just like everything else.

Alley Cat theater outdoors

So with everything completed and three days left of my week long weekend it was time for me to sit back and relax. Yesterday, I went surfing with Maddie. It was a lot of fun to get back out on the water and it wasn't that bad. We had wet suits on which helped with the cold water. While surfing, there was a storm going on over parts of P.E. You know when you are on the edge of a cloud when it's raining. It was like that. Some of the rain was being pushed over us while surfing but it was only a light mist. I liked it and it added to the fun of surfing. Also, you should have seen the rainbow that formed afterwords. I wish I could have taken a picture, but somethings are just better when you are present and don't have to worry about getting the best shot. This is one of those things that I will get to just relive in my memories. I have truly never seen a rainbow with such vibrant and dark colors. It was amazing. Also, to make things better, there were two of them! A double rainbow. They both extended their full width too. Making it disappear behind the horizon of the Ocean and P.E. Fantastic!

Rainy day with a warm breeze

Friday night, a group of us went to Stanley Street which is the fun, cute street here in P.E. It's in the city and has some nice restaurants and areas to eat. Rather than eating, though, we went to the Alley Cat Theater. This was an outdoor theater in an alley. We watched When Harry Met Sally and man, was it good. Maybe I'm just a sappy, weird guy, but I really enjoyed the movie. Also, it had some very funny parts. One of those feel-good kind of movies.

For the rest of the weekend I think I will just be hanging out and prepping for finals. I will get to Skype my Mom and Dad on Sunday which will be nice because it is Mother's Day! So I will be able to see mine even if it's just through a computer screen. I'll take it, though! Then from there, just two more weeks and I will be on my plane home. Crazy how time flies when you are having fun!

Election Day In South Africa

Today, Wednesday, May 7th, 2014 is Election Day in South Africa. It is marked as a public holiday so schools are closed and most businesses have also shut down so the employees can go and vote. This election is to decide what party the people want to rule or lead the others in Parliament. South Africa has a multi-party system so multiple parties will be elected to place members from their parties into Parliament. Each party will receive a percentage of all the votes which will convert into how many seats they get. The ANC (African National Congress) has won every election since 1994 and will likely win this one. Well, at least receive the highest percentage in Parliament. The South African Parliament seats 400 members.

Today, the ANC has 264 seats in Parliament. That means they control 66% of the power. This pretty much means that anything the ANC wants to pass into law that stands within the bounds of its constitution, they can. This is because they control more than majority of Parliament. In the 1999 election, the ANC won 266 seats which was one seat short of gaining two-thirds majority needed to unilaterally amend the constitution. Close call, I'd say. 

The support for the ANC is high because the party is still riding the wave of freedom, even 20 years later.They always go back to how they freed South Africa from Apartheid. It also helps that they had Nelson Mandela as their first president. This is obviously wonderful, however, the people of South Africa seem to be scared to let another party garner a higher percentage in Parliament. They fear Apartheid will return. However, change is good or at least could be for South Africa. The ANC has a lot of under-the-counter deals as well as corruption within the party. The members live the high life while many citizens barely make it by. This can be seen everyday in the headlines of the newspaper. Something about the ANC and corruption seems to always make the front page. 

Nkandlaspeak

One major and very sad scandal that has happened recently is President Jacob Zuma's multi-million Rand estate. Now dubbed the Nkandla Scandal. President Zuma has built a 246 million rand ($25 million dollar) mansion in Nkandla, which is located in KwaZulu-Natal. It is said to have been built with tax payer money and quite frankly I'm not sure where else the money would have come from. To make things worse, the estate was put up right in the middle of a township. Insensitive? Just maybe. His livestock live better than most of the people in that area. Furthermore, when the news broke about Nkandla, his press committee tried to cover things like swimming pools, tennis courts, and an amphitheater with other names. They told the public that swimming pools were fire pools built so there would be ample amounts of water for when a fire breaks out. What...? Also, his amphitheater was labeled as a retaining wall when there was no need for one. Interesting, to say the least.

It's things like this that make me wonder why people still vote for the ANC or the fact that the ANC decided to give Zuma another 5 years if the election is won. The ANC won't gain as many seats as the election in 2009 but I'm sure they will still have the majority. The DA (Democratic Alliance) is a party I would like to see gain more seats in Parliament. They seem to have things under control and the Western Cape (Cape Town) is run by the DA. If you compare the ANC regions to the DA, it's not even a contest. Cape Town is a wealthy, vibrant, and successful city. That's how all of South Africa should be.

How the election works is each party will gain a certain percentage of the votes. This will be converted into how many seats they get. Let's say the ANC wins 60% of the votes. They will receive 240 seats. The next party with the most seats will most likely be the DA. However, the percentages will be spread far a part. The DA will probably only receive 20% or so resulting in 80 seats. Then from there, all the parties in Parliament vote on who should be president. Each party will nominate a member for President (ANC will nominate Zuma) and then all members of Parliament vote. Obviously, if ANC controls 60% of the vote then Zuma will win hands down (Considering everyone from ANC votes for him, which is very likely). 

So, that's how it works down here. Unfortunately, there is a high percentage of voter apathy (lack of caring) even though many South African's fought for the right to vote and a fair election prior to the end of Apartheid.

We will see how these elections turn out, but not until I am back in the U.S. The elections aren't like the United States where we know who the next president is that night. The ballots are counted by hand (or so I think) and every vote counts. In the U.S., votes go towards electoral votes within the state in which every electoral vote the state has is given to the most popular (most voted for) candidate in the state. This speeds the process up. 

Considering these elections take so long they tend to go into the next day. Meaning Thursday the 8th will also be a public holiday. Cross your fingers, no school baby!

Scuba Diving In the Indian Ocean!

The ending of April went well and now we are into May. Crazy how time flies. In three weeks I will be back in the U.S. Thankfully, though, I have accomplished tons and feel very fulfilled. There isn't anything that I haven't done that I feel the urge or need to get to. Which is good. I am very happy with everything and how my time in South Africa has turned out. Very educational and experiential.

...And one of those experiences was scuba diving! Finally, I got around to it. This past week went well and then Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (tomorrow) have all been spent training for scuba diving. Thursday was a holiday so we didn't have class so that is why I scheduled for this weekend. My friend, Katie, and I signed up and went to ProDive in Walmer which is right next to P.E., two kambi rides away. We also had class with a man named Gary, his son Caleb, another NMMU student from Switzerland Lea, and a kid our age named Byron. They are awesome people. So nice and now that we have spent three full days together we have become great friends. Really, Gary drives Katie and I home, we all help each other with things in the water, and joke about things happening on our dives. It has been so much fun. Two great things - getting to scuba dive and meet wonderful people at the same time.

Riding out to our dive site!

On Thursday we had lecture throughout the morning and watched multiple videos on how to dive, the safety precautions, rules, how to use depth tables (tables that help you figure out a safe time to be under water at certain depths), and how to work your BCD (Buoyancy Control Device or suit). Then in the afternoon we entered the pool for a confined swim and were able for the first time breathe under water. How cool was this, you ask? So cool. We spent the entire lesson underneath the water and were taught all the hand signals that are used to communicate. Then we had to perform skills to show that we could do them. Some included taking off and putting back on your BCD, clearing your mask of water in case it falls off, emergency ascents, and so on. Also, the main rule in scuba diving is to always keep breathing. Sounds logical, however, when you go under in a pool you always hold your breathe. You do not want to do this while scuba diving. When you drop to a depth of 10 meters/33 feet you also drop to a pressure of 2 bar or 2 atmosphere which means 1/2 the air volume. Which then correlates to you replacing that with 2 times the air in your lungs compared to the surface volume (2 times what you would be breathing on land). This is not bad for your lungs at all, actually it's probably good (lung workout), because you are pressurized at that depth. However, let's say you suck in a nice lung full of air at 10 meters and then hold it. While you ascend towards the surface of the water that air will begin to expand (air molecules will expand). Just as it would in a balloon when you let it go and it flies up into the sky. Unfortunately, the fate of your lungs would be similar to that of the balloon, if you catch my drift. Ah, now you are scared... no no no. Don't be, it's not bad at all. Just breathe and release the pressure. Trust me, that's all you are thinking about when you are under the surface - breathing. 

Me, Katie, and Lea

The next day, Friday, we reviewed some more concepts, signals, and skills then climbed into the pool. We were tested on many of them and then practiced hovering in the water. This is good because you want to learn how to control your buoyancy so you can swim up close to the reefs without coming down on them or floating to high from them. Then on Saturday (today) we entered the ocean. We all met up at the ProDive in P.E. which is next to Hobie Beach and got our gear set for our dive. We have been lucky this weekend. The days leading up to our dives were rainy, however, each day this weekend has been beautiful. 80 degrees and sunny. Perfect! Our first dive was a shore dive. Meaning we enter the water from the shore. This was a great way to get acclimated to diving in the ocean. It wasn't too deep and it allowed us to get our bearings with breathing, our equipment, and equalizing (applying air pressure by pinching your nose and blowing out to keep the volume in your ears normal so you avoid discomfort). Once we had done this we surfaced and got out. We took a lunch break and then went down to the beach and loaded the dive boat. Our dive boat took us out a kilometer or two to a nice dive spot. Below us at about 10 meters was a coral reef we could swim around. We had two dives from the boat so we had an extra cylinder of air with us. We all geared up on the boat and then the skipper counted us down and we dove in. From the boat, you enter by falling backwards off the side. Just like the real divers. We all fell off backwards, met up on the surface, and then descended 10 meters. Wow, this was one of the most amazing parts of my entire trip here. The visibility down there today was prime. We could see 10-20 meters (30-60 or so feet) in front of us. I saw the corral reef, tons of beautiful fish, and even sharks. Our dive master, Greg, gave us the signal for shark and we all turned and about 10 feet from us was a shark slowly moving along the bottom of the reef. The marine life will only harm you when they feel threatened and so us being that close and watching it was completely fine and safe. It was about 5 or 6 feet in length and swam right on by us. We hovered in the water for some time and explored the reef while maintaining a close distance to each other. We then ascended and exchanged cylinders. Then dove down again to have some more fun and practice skills. Greg told us to do a few more skills at the bottom. So we all knelt down on the bottom of the ocean floor. I took a second to glance up and realize that I was deep under the surface and was still completely fine. Amazing. You couldn't see the top, but you could see the light slowly fade from the top down. Once we had done our skills we all ascended to the top by performing a CESA (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent). This is where you let all the air out of your lungs while you climb to the surface very quickly. Ascending is only done this quickly under emergency circumstances. So that is why we were practicing them. Usually it's much slower, allowing time for you to breathe in and out while surfacing. 

Me, Katie, and Lea with Dive Master Greg

Once on top, we hopped into the boat and made our way back in. About 200 meters out we were told to dive in with only a snorkel and our wet suits and swim back. Proving we could all swim. Once on shore we debriefed and took our gear in. It felt kind of funny to be on land after being in the water for so long. Diving is one of the closest ways you can get to feeling weightless so gravity brought back the weight of our gear on our backs. After debriefing, we still had to take our written exam so we made our way back to the ProDive center in Walmer with everyone and took it. We all passed woot woot!

World's two newest open water scuba divers!

Tomorrow, we have one more dive that will be from the shore. It is our qualifying dive so we will just prove that we can dive safely and have some fun on the bottom of the ocean. Once finished, our class and scuba diving will be done. So worth it! I loved every second and it was a wonderful way to spend a weekend. It's stuff like this I love and it makes me feel that I have completed everything I wanted in South Africa. From here on out I think it will be pretty low key. Studying for finals and all. Plus, I promised my Mom and Dad that I would stay on two feet until I come home next. I may have taken their advice, "make sure to go out and do a lot of stuff with your time in South Africa," to an extreme. I guess jumping off bridges, shark-cage diving, climbing mountains, and scuba diving wasn't what they had in mind ha. It was all so amazing, though, and I'm very glad to have done it all.