A Friendly Public Service Announcement

I’d like to give a big shoutout to my big sister Meaghan Elizabeth “Megasaurus Rex” Joyce. For those of you either living under a rock or creeping on this fabulous blog, it’s important to know that she’s currently serving in the Peace Corps in Ukraine. So, in summary, she left me to struggle as an only child while she’s off doing cool stuff and living in a way I never could.

One of the cool things she’s doing is being a camp counselor at Camp HEAL this July!

If you want to know what Camp HEAL is, read this (if not, skip the next two paragraphs or just click on the link below):

Camp HEAL (Human Trafficking, Education, AIDS/HIV, and Leadership) will teach information regarding the biology of HIV, modes of transmission, stigma and discrimination and human trafficking to approximately 120 youth from all areas of Ukraine. While at camp, the campers will also have the opportunity to strengthen their leadership skills and hopefully improve their self-esteem. One of the most exciting parts of this camp is that the participants will attend project design and management sessions during the course of the week. Throughout these sessions, the participants will learn all of the steps necessary to design a successful project that can then be implemented in their own communities. The camp will also be conducted mainly in English, so that participants have the chance to improve their skills.

Unfortunately, Ukraine has the highest rate of HIV infection in Europe. In addition, there is an enormous stigma attached to being HIV+ in this country. Therefore, most people choose not to get tested; thus perpetuating the spread of HIV. These are just a few of the reasons why Camp HEAL and other programs that properly educate youth about HIV are so important in Ukraine.

DOESN’T THAT SOUND LIKE SUCH A WORTHWHILE AND FUN CAMP?!

But here’s the deal: Camp HEAL needs some serious donations for it to happen. Although both Ukrainians and Peace Corps Volunteers are donating a lot to this camp in order to make it a success, they still need to obtain more funding to help cover the cost of food and lodging for the camp participants.

So instead of buying a tall soy chai at Starbucks one day, give the $5 to Camp HEAL. Maybe you’re swamped with work this weekend and won’t be spending $20 on a bottle of Burnett’s lime. Why not give that money to Camp HEAL?  What’s that? You want to give $10 because you just found a Hamilton on the sidewalk? Whatever it is, it’ll help, and it adds up.

Maybe you’re hesitant to donate because you don’t know Meg, you can’t locate Ukraine on a map, or you’re still craving a soy chai. It doesn’t matter. Do it anyway. Do it because you think this camp sounds cool. Do it because you’re impressed Meg is living in a 1,200 person village and almost fluently speaks Ukrainian. Do it because you feel bad that I haven’t seen my sister in 20 months. Do it because AIDS is devastating. Do it because I will continue to harass you if you don’t throw them a few dolla dolla billz.

CLICK THIS LINK TO DONATE:

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=343-215

But seriously. I’m a poor college student who is going to be even poorer come June, but even I managed to throw down quite a few rand.

Well, I hope I’ve guilt tripped you all enough! Thanks everyone!

Meg's so excited that you're donating!

Cheers!

Call Me Martha

This past weekend I had a lekker homestay in Ocean View, a coloured community that was forcibly moved to this area during the apartheid. I’ll talk about that later; first, let’s discuss me being domestic.

Let me begin by saying me baking isn’t a shocker. I both know how to and like to bake. It’s a gene that apparently skipped my Mama Bear (she claims), but not me.

So going into the homestay it was recommended we bring a gift. I mean, 100 US university students invaded these people’s houses and they welcomed us with opened arms. I think they deserved more than just a small gift. Nonetheless, I had to go armed with something. Some people had brought things from home…jam, maple syrup, live bald eagles, etc. I, however, hadn’t brought something from Toledo (snow? a piece of glass? a mudhen?), so I decided to make the most all-American treat there is: chocolate chip cookies.

Easy, right? Throw some sugar, flour, chocolate chips, and love together and you’re done.

Wrong.

Friday afternoon, I started off my hitting up Shop-Rite (think Soviet Giant, but worse). I got everything I needed, including measuring cups, bicarbonate soda and chocolate bars (since chocolate chips don’t exist here). I headed back to my flat armed with my ingredients and a last-minute recipe from my friend Brittany (shout-out!).

If you couldn’t guess by the fact that I just bought measuring cups, it’s important to note here that my flat is completely under equipped with pots, pans, dishware, etc. I realized this yet again on Friday when I pulled out my one bowl that is larger than a cereal bowl, but not by much.

So the multiple-hour baking process went just as it should. Softening the butter in the pre-heating oven. Smushing the butter and sugar together with a fork because I don’t have beaters. Making chocolate chunks the only way that makes sense- pounding frozen chocolate bars with a can opener on my kitchen floor. Mixing the dough in two bowls. Using my hands. Making more of a mess than I normally would have. Baking on one questionable cookie sheet. Overheating my flat. Burning the first half dozen cookies because 160 degrees C is way too hot to bake cookies or 160 degrees on my oven is actually hotter than that (still unclear). Wishing Grandma could teleport to Mowbray to help me.

At the end of the day, however, I had some pretty tasty chocolate-chip “biscuits.”

Lots o' Lists

So while I’m lovin’ it a whole bunch here, there may be a few things about the good ol’ US of A that I miss:

1. My closet. Specifically: my Dunks, flannel, and crew-neck sweatshirts.

2. BJ Bear. Yes Mom and Dad, I’m serious. At least I don’t suck my thumb anymore.

3. Safe and reliable public transportation

4. All sorts of Herbal Essence hair products

6. Barry’s Bagels

7. Iced coffee

8. Organic, fat-free milk

I know what you’re all thinking: “How is Bridget even surviving? She has to drink regular coffee in 80 degrees AND she has to put 2% on her Cheerios?!” It’s a daily struggle.

Good thing there are a few things I’m happy to live without:

1. The constant need to check my Gmail, Facebook, and phone

2. Winter

3. Expensive food, specifically sandwiches that cost more than $3. Yes, I do now consider a $5 sandwich expensive (that’s R35!)

4. Paying to use the washer and dryer

5. Being pale

6. Living in the AU Libs

OK, so now I’m a roll. Let’s talk about things from South Africa I’m getting really into (and will most likely miss when I return to Amurrrika)

1. Chicken Mayo

2. Boerwor Rolls. Try saying that one three times fast. I mean, I can’t even say it once.

3. Savannah Dry

4. Sitting on steps

5. School spirit

6. Going to a beautifully beautiful school.

7. Living at the ocean AND mountains

Check out http://www.uct.ac.za/downloads/virtual_tour/main/ to see more about #4 and #6

Cheers! 

Welcome to Joburg

Last weekend I headed to Johannesburg with my seminar. Score for traveling with a large group of Americans! It was a really great weekend, and I learned a lot!

Went to the Apartheid Museum. Why would we spend three hours there? Because it is one of the best museums I’ve been to and is so full of information. My brain actually felt full when we left, but I have a much better understanding of apartheid now.  It’s so fascinating! I could go on and on about it, and it’s also super interesting because you can see how it still effects life today (read: serious segregation and racism).

“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains but to live in a way that enhances and respects the freedom of others.” –Nelson Mandela

 

Saw a comedy show. Understood about 30% percent of the jokes.

Stayed at a B&B in Soweto, the largest township in the country, and got a tour Saturday morning. I expected it to be full of the shacks like the townships in Cape Town, but it is very different. Yes, it does have some extreme poverty, but there is also some wealth (40 millionaires live in Soweto). It is also FULL of history. We ate lunch at a delish restaurant at our tour guides home. YUM.

Went to a soccer game at Soccer City, a World Cup Stadium. INSANE. INSANE. INSANE. This is a huge rivalry and the fans are intense. We’re talkin’ tons of team spirit, vuvuzelas, and 92000 people. I saw a couple fights break out, got beer poured all over me, and made a new friend who may have wanted to be my boyfriend

Soccer City!

Sunday morning before our flight, we stopped by Nelson Mandel’s house (no big deal). It’s been converted into a museum and is the only house Mandela has ever owned. Cool schtuff.

Cheesin'. Did you know that the street Mandela's house is on is the only street home to two Nobel Peace Prize winners? Props to whoever can name the second winner.

 

Lastly, we went to the Hector Pieterson Museum and Memorial, which explored the 1976 Soweto uprising. Students were protesting and rioting the use of Afrikaans in the education system, and police ended up opening fire.

June 16, 1976

 

So I’d call that a successful weekend. It was really interesting to learn so much about South African and Soweto history!

Cheers!

So I was thinking...

Reasons why I should stop wearing clothes:

1. It’s hot. It can be hot inside. It can be hot outside. It can be hot if there’s not a breeze. Sometimes, it can be really, really hot.

2. I’m super bored with all of the clothes I brought. Yeah, yeah I look great in a v-neck and jorts, but I’m in desperate need of a change.

3. Laundry is a long process. Take today, where it took four hours to get two loads of laundry done. I guess that’s what happens when you only have four working washers and five working dryers for one massive dorm…and you fail to realize one setting on the washer doesn’t work.

Fine, I guess I’ll just stick with not wearing shoes, and I’ll keep my clothes on for now.

Cheers!

Nomming on My Third Apple

During UCT orientation the director of my program gave a talk about culture shock, referencing three apples.

1. Apple Number One: Euphoria: Total excitement about being in Cape Town, loving every part of it, thinking the accents and African Time are great.

My first week or so I was so excited to be in South Africa.  Everything was beautiful and perfect.

2. Apple Number Two: Frustration: Annoyance with the cultural differences, homesickness

Bit this one hard when I headed over to LBG, where I experienced African disorganization at its finest on move-in day.  When I could finally move-in I found a squatter in my filthy flat and couldn’t lock my door.  Glimmer of hope: squatter moved out the next day, figured out how to lock my door.  That glimmer quickly dissipated with my real flatmates moved in.  I was able to take a break from all apple eating when I went on the Garden Route (perhaps returned to apple number one for a bit), but the couple days after I returned were very much apple number two. 

A few questions crossed my mind: Why do I have to padlock my bedroom door? Why are these boys from Lesotho in my flat yelling all the time? Why can’t I understand them? Why do they pound on the door constantly? Why is this campus so big? Why are there so many societies I can join? Why do I have to live in Mowbray? Why aren’t in in Sylvania and/or DC right now?

3. Apple Number Three: Adjustment: Feeling settled. 

I’m happy to say that I think I’m eating my third apple. That’s not to say that I don’t think I’ll feel little bits of homesick in the future or still have a lot of things I want to figure out about Cape Town (like how I can be surrounded by only white people in a certain area then quickly be the only white person in another), but I’m pretty comfortable here now.  Yes, I still have to padlock my bedroom door, listen to the boys from Lesotho yell, and attend 100 person lectures, but I don’t mind any of it anymore. It’s all part of the experience, right?

Overall, I’m beyond happy that I chose to be in South Africa for the semester.  I chose it for a reason, and right now, I’m thinkin’ that my reasoning was pretty darn good. It’s such an interesting country and I feel like I’ve picked the right place to learn and grow.

Cheers! 

Weekend Update

What’s that? You’d love to hear all about my little adventures around Cape Town? Here ya go.

Warning: this post is on the long side, but there are pictures so bear with me.

Before classes started I headed out to Muizenberg Beach a couple times.  Here, I was lathered in SPF 30, surround by some serious surfing action, and got to see these famous colorful beach houses.  Getting to the beach was an adventure in itself, as we have to take the train.  I have to say, I can navigate DC public transportation like a pro (and we all know my immense fondness toward Metro buses), but the Cape Town trains give me a whole new public transportation experience.  I’ve only taken the train a handful of times, but this is what I’ve gathered thus far: the schedule is iffy, they are so packed they overflow at rush hour, and it’s horrible idea to take them after dark BUT it is a pretty solid cultural experience. Also, where else can I see someone breastfeeding?

Who wants to rent one of these for me?

The weekend before classes started a few friends and I headed towards town to check out Old Biscuit Mill.  That’s right, it’s an old biscuit mill that is now market on weekends.  The mill was filled with tons of people and food stands, and there were quite a few little shops too.  There were all sorts of really good food, drinks, and free samples.  I’m not really sure what I ate, but it was wrap-like and delicious AND I had mango sorbet that was magical.

Why are all the people here white and extremely attractive?

Who needs one Valentine when you have four? Last Monday I finally checked out the touristy, commercialized Waterfront with those crazy kids I road tripped with.  We ate tasty seafood right on the water.  Seals even rudely interrupted our dinner.  Not only do they smell horrible, but also the two that were chillin’ directly below us barked at each other for a bit. RUDE. No worries, the night ended perfectly with ice cream and people-watching (two favorite pastimes).

Waterfront Ferris wheel aglow.

 

In addition to taking three UCT course, I’m also enrolled in a living and learning seminar through my program. You’re right, it does sound a little cheesy, but I get to go on really cool field trips.  The first one was Friday.  I actually had no idea what I was doing or where I was going (limited info is about all I get. TIA.), but it turned out to be awesome.  We first went a castle that is pretty much right in Cape Town, then across the street to the parade were Mandela first spoke once he was released from prison.  Following that, we went to the Slave Lodge, where the Dutch East India Company (VOC) housed their slaves.  It has since become a museum that was super interesting. They also had a Mandela exhibit that was awesome.  We didn’t have enough time to see it all, so I definitely want to go back.  Then we headed to the Company Gardens, a beautiful park right in the city that also had a great rose garden.

Check out the tablecloth on table mountain.

  Then off we went to Bo-Kaap, a predominately Muslim neighborhood known for it’s distinct, colorful houses.  Another interesting thing about Bo-Kaap is that the population, which is mostly coloured, was not forcibly removed during apartheid.  We finished off our field trip with a crazy tasty dinner.  We went to a women’s home for the meal, and she fed us traditional Cape Malay food.  There was a curry-chicken-wrap-thing.  I don’t even like curry very much and this was tasty.  The best part? Cape Malaysian food is similar to Indian food but much more mild. So my ears didn’t burn off!  Desert was a donut-like-thing, but much better than any donut I’ve ever eaten.  I’d call that a successful afternoon.

Fun fact: The roofs are flat because the city is so windy.

  On Sunday I headed to a soccer (football?) match with my program (Kaizer Chiefs v. Engen Santos).  It was lots o’ fun and yikes! there are some serious fans.  It would have been even better if I could speak isiXhosa and could have eavesdropped on the intense guys sitting next to me, but, hey, I can’t have everything. They also use their vuvuzelas like there’s no tomorrow.

I might be deaf from so many vuvuzelas.

 

LASTLY, I went to my first UCT rugby match Monday night! I still have to learn all the rules, but it’s so intense and fun to watch. Go Ikeys!

Next adventure: Jo’burg this weekend!

Sidenote: Yes, I realize I like to talk about food whenever possible, but it’s only because I’m eating lots of tasty things.

Nom, nom, nom

 Cheers!