From Graaff-Reinet to Cape Town

Internet connections have been spotty ever since I left Jo'burg over 10 days ago. I had a lovely time staying at my uncle's farm, River Dene, for a whole week. Something that has surprised me on this trip, my 6th visit to South Africa, is that I feel somewhat comfortable in the country. Things that once seemed so novel - chocolate smartie candies, melk tarte dessert, the smell in the air, lace curtains, white washed walls, cold toilet seats, tea at all times of the day, 80s music that never goes out of style, having someone else pump the gas, iron gates on all windows - are familiar this time around. Not sure if this is because I'm staying for so long that it feels this way or if I've finally reached a threshold where I kind of know this place.

Nonetheless, South Africa holds a lot of new things in store for me. I begin my work in Viljoenskroon on Oct. 6th, this coming Monday! I don't know much more now than I did 4 weeks ago about what the situation will be, however I have picked up a little information along the way. I will be staying with the Botha family in an area similar to Illinois' cornfields, though they call them mealie farms here. Miriam, the wife in the couple, is a constitutional lawyer and worked on the 1994 SA Constitution and has been an activist within her community. She also helped found Dramatic Need, the organization I will be working with. DN has updated their website with more videos and photos so consider a new look: www.dramaticneed.org

I've been visiting my new baby cousin, Rebecca Lynne, her mother (my 1st cousin) Georgia and my other sweet cousin Robyn in Cape Town. It's just been a brief visit but has given me a chance to also get acquainted with the area before I move here more permanently to teach in January. I visited the outside of the school I plan to work from, St. Paul's Primary, which is in the colorful Malay district known as Bo Kaap. By chance, another distant relative has offered me an furnished flat to live in that's just a 20 minute walk away in the Oranjezicht neighborhood. Quite exciting to finally have some more concrete ideas about where I'll spend my upcoming months! This will most likely be last family-oriented post for a while as my volunteer experiences will soon take over. It has been nice to be re-acquainted with so much family but as I've been away from work for over a month now, I am quite ready to begin teaching and dirtying my hands in paint!

quick notes

I have not had any opportunity to access the internet since arriving at my uncle's farm. I must offer credit to my sister, Susannah, for posting my blogs as I am limited to email from my Gran's computer. I know many of you have written emails and as I don't have a chance to respond to you individually, thank you for your kind thoughts and words! I am having an excellent time at the farm with my family. Yesterday I had the chance to gallavant about with my uncle on a walk through the dry river beds into the depths of his enormous farm. The weather has been very cold at night but nice and sunny during the day. Today I'm off to Graaff-Reinet with my Gran. After more lessons on driving stick shift in my uncle's car yesterday, I'll be the one driving to town! Eeek, wish me luck. My poor Gran will have a very bumpy ride. Lots of love to you all and more soon!

Just a few hours more than 7 days

President Thabo Mbeki submitted his resignation as South Africa's president tonight. People speak of the winds of change shifting through Africa and it appears I'm here to experience the latest one.

Coming to South Africa I was aware of the turmoil in Zimbabwe and South Africa's role in sending Zim refugees back to the border (only to be shot on the Zim side). I read of the news of South African peoples' xenophobic reactions to refugees from all over Africa. And I knew some of SA's potential political upheaval with the 2009 elections coming on and the high possibilty of Jakob Zuma taking lead of the country.

Can I say I love America? No, but I cannot say I've ever feared the public's reaction to changes in the government. I take it for granted that I understand America's political process. To vote a president out of American office is a long and arduous process - at times it may reek of corruption, but as far as the democracy of the process goes, it sure beats what seems to be going on here. The African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party ever since Mandela was elected, determined that Mbeki had made some inalterable mis-steps that were tarnishing the reputation of the party, and as a result voted 22 to 1 to have Mbeki recalled from his Presidency. Part of my shock over rashness of these actions is simply from not knowing all the details. But less than 9 months from the next election and the country's leadership is now hanging in the air. All this for a country that's struggling to gain a sense of stability.

I am now in the Great Karoo with my uncle Dene, aunt Patty, and my Granny. The Karoo is a mass of wilderness, bushy veld and long stretches of mountains between the farms and people. Today I joined my family in attending church, which is more of an idea than a physical place here. We hopped over to a nearby farm for church in their living room. It was a day long affair, with tea and coffee first, then a gathering for the service with a local minister, then more tea and coffee and finally a nice long Sunday dinner. It was a nice mix of people, with a bout 5 couples plus us and a there was a lot of talk of the current political crisis. Many people were happy as they feel this current process would be a show of SA's democracy to the world, some feel the ANC is grooming a better man for presidential candidate and others feared that this is just one more aspect to the demise of this volatile nation.

At this point, no one can solidly say the removal of Thabo Mbeki from presidential office is for the greater good of this country or not. The ANC believes it's for the party's greater good...but if that's really all there is to it, no one knows for now. A lot of emotional unrest in the hearts of many people here, but luckily at this moment it goes no further into the stresses of daily life and no violent acts can be attributed to this just yet.

From line to line

I've just spent a couple of days with my great uncle and aunt,
Willem & Beaulah, in Pretoria (also now known as Tshwane). The
purpose of this brief visit was to make some headway with my
application for dual citizenship in by going to the government offices
in person. Having never applied for citizenship in America, I cannot
really compare, but speaking to my uncle and aunt, it is apparent
South Africa's government is a bureaucratic jungle at the moment.
News of the latest peace talks in Zimbabwe made us hopeful that I
wouldn't have to contend with the long lines of illegal immigrants
waiting to be made legitimate.

For those of you who have not been kept abreast of my citizenship
trials and travails, it has been a long and tedious process! I first
began my application as I was told my South African heritage has
already sealed me as a citizen by blood relation. Because of
Apartheid laws in effect at birth I did not automatically become a
citizen on paper, so I was told I must apply. It's been very
frustrating as I began in Dec. 2005 with the understanding it would
only take 6-9 months and it has now been almost 3 years. After
calling the S.A. Consulate in Chicago monthly, I decided it best to
make it a priority during my first weeks here.

I arrived early at the Department of Home Affairs armed with copies of
my 2005 and 2007 citizenship applications and my uncle's house maid,
Maria, who they sent with me for her knowledge of the local languages,
Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, and Ndebele. I went from a main line to the
birth registration line to the late registration line to the permit
line to the....every time I got to a counter and spoke with an
official, I was sent to another line. Maria was very helpful with her
local tongue and helped me feel not so alone and more confident as I
spoke with each official. Eventually, I was told I was at the wrong
office and that I would need to make an appointment at the head
offices.

Last minute, a contact of aunt Beaulah's came through. I met this
contact in person and she discovered that there was one incomplete
form. Apparently, this form was discovered incomplete in 2006 and
they have been waiting on me to complete it!!! I still cannot believe
it. All they needed from me was a stupid mailing address and a
signature. For three years!!! Completely idiotic that the Chicago
Consulate did not catch this and that S.A. did not communicate this.
So it's all filled out now and I'm back to the patient waiting game.
I called the head office today, as recommended, to find out the next
steps, but their computers were down. We shall see, but it seems this
woman helped me push it through and I'm back on track again. If all
goes well, I should have my papers soon-ish and be eligible to begin
the passport application.

It seems an awful lot of headache and for what?! Will I need to live
in South Africa beyond my volunteer years? At the very least, it
cannot hurt to have an additional citizenship. One never knows when a
country may change its laws and it won't be possible for dual
citizenship. Just look at Europe. For now, it allows for flexibility
and should I need for an extra job to help me out while I'm here, I
can easily qualify. And I will legally belong to the two countries
where my family lives and will forever be able to move freely between
them, as I choose. Now that is priceless.

Acclimating

I have arrived safely into the hands of my cousins Yvette & Leigh in Johannesburg. I am staying with Leigh, who lives with her husband OJ and daughter Kira in an area just outside of Jo'burg known as Midrand. Midrand's definitely in the suburbs of this big city and seems far away from the reality of the poverty that plagues this country. Although, I must admit, this is the South Africa I know best. 

Part of my inclination to delve into education and social work here stems from the immediate bubble of security I am swept into through my family. While I appreciate that I have always been well-tended to, I have only seen a sliver of South Africa. I am not suggesting I opt for the dangerous side of this place, but I am intrigued to gather a more honest and in-depth spectrum of South Africa while I live here.

I have begun planning the details for the art workshops I will offer in the rural provinces. It is not yet certain if I will be teaching alongside another artist/actor/musician/filmmaker, but for now I am planning for multiple possibilities. I am most interested in doing mural work that will involve the community-at-large and/or puppetry that will involve making puppets, developing a story, and putting on a show. Collaboration amongst my students is key. I hope to involve themes that deal with the current issues of health, HIV/AIDS, poverty, and xenophobia/immigration. Art becomes a tool to pull together elements of the self and how it integrates within the community. In a well-designed composition, unity and harmony can be achieved by weighing the singular against the whole. This translates directly into real life. More on this as it develops.

A fact about where I am traveling to teach art, as stated by Wikipedia: "Viljoenskroon is a small maize and cattle farming town in the Free State province of South Africa. It is named after the original farm owner JJ Viljoen and his horse Kroon (Crown)." Pronounced: ful-ewans-crew-un

Let the countdown begin!

Phew!!! I have so many knots and twists in my belly and am trying to just breathe as slowly as possible. In 13 minutes my cab should arrive for me to take my leave of Queens - onto JFK airport - and then onto Johannesburg. I arrive tomorrow (Saturday) at 5pm SA time. Everyone in my life has been so generous with their time and support and I would like to take this moment to say "thank you"! You have been all I could have ever asked for. Next time you hear from me, I'll be on the other side of the Atlantic in the Southern Hemisphere enjoying spring weather! Good bye for now, adieu adieu.

Viljoenskroon

So I just received my placement information for my first volunteer experience, with Dramatic Need (www.dramaticneed.org). I will be staying with a couple on their farm in Viljoenskroon and teaching at 4 different primary & 1 high school in the area. I've had to be very patient and take lots of deep breaths with regards to not knowing exactly how things would pan out, so I can relax a bit more now. More specific info to follow.

2 & 3

Susannah joined me in NYC late monday and so we spent a rainy day traversing through Manhattan. Here we are in Times Square after going to see the puppets of Avenue Q!








Also pictured is Susannah and my friend Erin, our generous host in Astoria, Queens.



A beautiful day of 70 degrees, Susannah and I spent our last day together in Central Park and met up with my Israeli friend, Noa, who's working on her masters in painting in NYC. She and I met in painting school in Scotland - this was our first reunion since 2004!

Day One

The unofficial first day of my trip: in new york. With 2 bags at exactly 50lbs each, I am already prepared to throw one out the window! So hard to pack light for an entire year. For the next four days I will stay with my good friend Erin in NYC, soaking up the last good bits America has to offer. I leave for South Africa on Friday....but am officially in transit now! Good bye to Mt Holly, Charlotte, and the best carrots ever!