Twas the Last Night in South Africa

Twas the night before leaving, I was sitting in PE (port elizabeth),

Doing last minute packing, oh golly gee. 

My luggage was spread around the room, what a mess, 

In hopes it would be ready in time, twas the ultimate test.

It felt so unreal that it was already June, 

My mind would not accept it, it was way too soon!

Five months had flown by since I came here alone, 

And now it is time for me to leave my new home.

As I lay in bed, and look back on the time, 

It is crazy to think that these memories will be some of my prime. 

These months have flown by, without as much as a warning, 

It is time now that I enter my mourning.

Grahamstown, of Grahamstown, how I love thee so, 

You have taught me to relax, and go with the flow. 

With High Street, New Street, and Africa Street too, 

We never were short of things that we could do.

While lectures were early, and classes were short, 

I think i've forgotten just how to do work. 

Wednesdays were nights to go out on the town, 

But on Fridays and Saturdays you'd also see me around. 

Beit House became my new place of residence, 

You'd think that the food would've had some more subsidence.

It was weird to live with 70 other girls, 

But sisterhood was formed and our love as pure as pearls. 

Bars became the meeting place for us all, 

With Friars, Pirates, and the Rat, we were in for the long haul. 

"The internationals", we had quite a reputation, 

It's amazing we didn't get put on probation. 

Afternoons were spent at the pol, 

Although the sunburns I got were not all that cool. 

The library was a place I only dared enter twice, 

My reputation would be doomed if I dare try a trice. 

Taking Africa in Crisis and Zimbabwean History, 

I quickly learned how much of this world, to me, was a mystery.

Professor Msindo liked to tell us we were dumb, 

Though secretly I think he just wanted to keep us under his thumb.

Fall vac (or spring break) was spent on the road,

With ninteen days to explore, it was quite the heavy load. 

The Garden Route to Cape Town, we saw quite a lot, 

Next time we may try and rent a large yacht.

Animals, oh yeah, we saw those too, 

Lions, zebras, ostriches, so much better than a zoo. 

I got to ride an elephant as well, 

Gliding high above the ground, thank God no on fell!

Speaking of falling, I jumped off a bridge, 

Blourkans, my goodness, you taught me to live. 

Hearing "5-4-3-2-1 JUMP", 

Your heart begins to rapidly thump.

The accents, my goodness, I could not forget those, 

Though after five months of listening, I think we became pros. 

And rugby, the sports that takes over the nation, 

The Springboks have flown to international admiration. 

Geoff, our advisor, oh what a guy, 

He was there to make sure that we could get by. 

Sisa was another important person to know, 

The designs he made in lattes, twas a coffee Van Gogh.

I'm sure there is more i'm forgetting to mention, 

But it is impossible to give every detail its proper attention. 

Rhodes, the university that became my home, 

Made it truly impossible to ever feel alone.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, 

It is time to wrap up this poem my dear friend.

I won't cry because it's over, but smile because it happened, 

This experience had meant more to me than I can begin to comprehend. 

I have seen so much, and learned even more, 

This country, South Africa, I have come to adore. 

And so I will leave you with these parting words my friend, 

Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end.

An Ode to Grahamstown

Grahamstown has been my home for the past five months. Before seeing the town myself, I was warned that it would be a lot smaller than anything I had experienced before. So needless to say, I came in not knowing what to expect. Grahamstown is about 130km (80 miles) from Port Elizabeth (the airport I flew into after Johannesburg). The last 45 minutes of the drive is absolutely breathtaking. Grahamstown is surrounded by beautiful hills and trees and it really is a stunning drive. The town was a lot bigger than I was expecting, but I was also only expecting three or four blocks past the university. Grahamstown is definitely a university town and could not survive without Rhodes. 

My first impression on Grahamstown was a bit skewed. I think I have 20+ hours of traveling and my American paranoia to blame for that. My first week in Grahamstown was very eye opening. I was not use to seeing so many people just sitting on the sidewalks or so many beggars following us. Since unemployment is a large problem in South Africa, some have turned to self-employment. One of the largest forms of self-employment is car parks. A car park is someone who watches your car and then you have to pay them. While I think it's great that people have found ways of earning money, it was definitely a new sight to see. By no means would I say I was scared walking around town when I first arrived, but I was weary to say the least. 

After five months of living in this town, I have found beauty in the simplicity. Grahamstown has a very laid back style of living and Africa time is the standard here. Everything in town shuts down from 12-14:00 (including the university) and some stores decide their hours based on the day. After living in Boston the past three years, such a relaxed climate was one of the largest culture shocks I experienced. While it is rare for me to go anywhere in town without at least five people asking me for money, I no longer feel uncomfortable or afraid walking around. 

I have often found that it is when I am walking alone in town that I truly realize how beautiful the town really is. By not having a companion to walk with, I find myself looking at the buildings and the people as I meander about. Despite the buildings being a bit run down, it amazes me to think of how much those buildings have lived through. Many of my favorite places in town have been reverted from old buildings during colonial times. One of my favorite coffee shops was an old prison. The town has so much character and and is a very unique community. 

This isn't to say that the town is without its problems, and five months of living here has illuminated them. First, it is impossible to escape the poverty that exists in Grahamstown. From my residence hall, I could see the townships up on the hill. Or walking through town, I am often confronted with children asking for money or men digging through the garbage. Economic inequality runs rampant in Grahamstown. The town is extremely divided with homes and schools near the university tending to be much more prestigious and larger, and only a few blocks away you can see the beginning of the townships. One of the second largest problems the town faces is the ineffectiveness of resources. Multiple times this semester the town has lost power or water for hours or even up to days. And finally, the third problem I experienced here was crime. Luckily it was very rare, but there were a few occasions where I would be talking to a friend outside a restaurant or bar and I would turn around to find a man's hand in my purse. I was very fortunate not to have anything stolen while I was here, but I cannot say the same for the rest of my friends. Despite the flaws of the town, I can honestly say I have fallen in love with Grahamstown. 

After spewing on about why I love this town so much, here is a brief history! 

Grahamstown (Afrikans: Grahamstad) is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa and is in the Makana municipality. The population (as of 2003) was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black, 11.8% coloured, 10% white, .7% Asian. It is stated that the city proper has an overwhelming white majority, while the neighboring townships have a black and coloured majority. However, I would say that the city proper is where most, if not all of the whites live, but it is not a white majority. I would say in my experience it is about 50/50 between whites and blacks in the city proper, and then the further you go from the university, the more black dominant the city becomes.

The town was founded in 1812 as a military outpost by Lieutenant-Colonel John Graham as part of an effort to secure the eastern frontier of British influence in the Cape Colony against the Xhosa, whose lands lay just to the east. 

In 1904, Rhodes University College was established in Grahamstown through a grant from the Rhodes Trust. In 1951 it became a full-fledged University, Rhodes University. Today it provides a world-class tertiary education in a wide range of disciplines to over 6,000 undergrad and postgraduate students. 

Grahamstown is also known as the "city of saints" due to its abundance of religious affiliations. Grahamstown has Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Ethiopian Episcopal, Methodist, Baptist, Pinkster Protestant, Dutch Reformed, Charistmatic, Apostolic, and Pentecostal churches. There are also regular meeting places for Hindus, Scientologists, Quakers, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Muslims. 

Grahamstown is home to the National Arts Festival ("Fest") which takes place the end of June/ beginning of July every year. It is one of the largest festivals in South Africa!

Here is a chart about schools in Grahamstown: 

[In case you cannot read the beginning it states: Grahamstown is the only city in South Africa whose primary commerce sector is that of education. Whilst this statistic is surely abetted by the high cost of the private schools and the relatively small population, it has a remarkable number of schools per capita. Of these, some of the more privileged schools are listed below]

I could not have picked a better school or town to introduce me to the magic of South Africa. Grahamstown will always be the place where I fell in love with this country. 

(And a picture of the Rat, where I proudly knew every bartender... and they knew me)

Mandela and Tutu: Two of South Africa's Finest

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela 

Rolihlahla Mandela was born on 18 July 1918. He was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the first black South African to hold the office. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutional racism, poverty, inequality, while fostering racial reconciliation. 

Mandela was Xhosa born to the Thembu royal family, and attended Fort Hare University and the University of Witwatersrand, where he studied law. Mandela got the first name of Nelson when he was in primary school. 

"No one in my family had ever attended school...On the first day of school my teacher, Miss Mdingane, gave each of us an English name. This was custom among Africans in those days and was undoubtedly due to the British bias of our education. That day, Miss Mdingane told me that my new name was Nelson. Why this particular name I have no idea." -Mandela, 1994

Living in Johannesburg, he became involved in anti-colonial politics, joining the ANC (African National Congress) and became a founding member of its Youth League. In 1948, the Afrikaner nationalist party (the National Party) came into power and began implementing the policies of Apartheid. 

In 1962, Mandela was arrested, convicted of sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government  and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Robben Island [located off of Cape Town-- you can see Table Mountain in the background]

The poem Mandela memorized and claimed to be his inspiration while he was in prison

Mandela served 27 years in prison, with most of those years being served on Robben Island (off of Cape Town). An international campaign lobbied for his release, which was granted in 1990. After becoming President of the ANC, Mandela published his autobiography and led negations with President F.W. de Klerk to abolish Apartheid and establish multi-racial elections in 1994, which he led to an ANC victory. 

Mandela was elected President of the Republic of South Africa and formed a government of national unity. As President, he established a new constitution and initiated the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses, while introducing policies to encourage land reform, combat poverty, and expand healthcare services.

Controversially, Mandela oversaw the formation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate crime committed under Apartheid by both the government and the ANC. He appointed Desmond Tutu as its chair. To prevent the creation of martyrs, the Commission granted individual amnesties in exchange for testimony of crimes committed during the Apartheid era. Dedicated in February 1996, it held two years of hearings detailing rapes, tortures, bombings, and assassinations, before its final report in October 1998. 

Mandela lived simply, donating a third of his R552,000 annual income to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, which he founded in 1995. Presiding over the transition from Apartheid minority rule to a multicultural democracy, Mandela saw national reconciliation as the primary task of his presidency. Having seen other post-colonial African economies damaged by the departure of white elites, Mandela worked to reassure South Africa's white population that they were protected and represented in the "Rainbow nation".  

Mandela encouraged black South Africans to get behind the previously hated national rugby team, the Springboks (movie: Invictus), as South Africa hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup. After the Springboks won an epic final over New Zealand, Mandela presented the trophy to captain Francois Pienaar, an Afrikaner, wearing a Springbok shirt with Pienaar's number 6 on the back. This was widely seen as a major step in the reconciliation of white and black South Africans. As de Klerk later put it, "Mandela won the hearts of millions of white rugby fans". Mandela's efforts at reconciliation assuaged the fears of whites, but drew criticism from more militant blacks. 

Mandela has received international acclaim for his anti-colonial and anti-Apartheid stance, having received over 250 awards, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Soviet Order of Lenin. He is held in deep respect within South Africa and has been described as the "father of the nation". He is often referred to as Tata Madiba, which is his Xhosa clan name.

Mandela's 90th birthday was marked across the country on 18 July 2008, with the main celebrations held in Qunu. In his speech, Mandela called for the rich to help the poor across the world. 

Needless to say, Nelson Mandela is a spectacular human being. He exhibits what it means to be compassionate, open, and humble. For someone to come out of jail after nearly 30 years and preach reconciliation is a testamant to the kind of man Mandela was.   

Desmond Mpilo Tutu

Desmond Tutu was born 7 October 1931 and is a South African social rights activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of Apartheid. He was the first black South AFrican Archbishop of Cape Town and Primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa.

Tutu has been active in the defense of human rights and uses his high profile to campaign for the oppressed. He has campaigned to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism (1986), the Pacem in Terris Award (1987), Sydney Peace Prize (1999), the Ghandi Peace Prize (2007), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009). He has also compiled several books of his speeches and sayings. 

Although Tutu wanted to become a doctor, his family could not afford the training, and he followed in his father's footsteps into teaching. Tutu studied in Pretoria and Johannesburg. However, he resigned from teaching following the passage of the Bantu Education Act, in protest of the poor educational prospects for black South Africans. Tutu then returned to his studies, this time focusing in theology. On 2 July 1955, Tutu married Nomalizo Leah Shenxane, a teacher whom he had met while in college. They had four children: Trevor Thamsanqa Tutu, Theresa Thandeka Tutu, Naomi Nontombi Tutu, and Mpho Andrea Tutu. In 1960, he was ordained as an Anglican priest. 

During Apartheid, Tutu supported an economic boycott of his country. He vigorously opposed the "constructive engagement" policy of the Reagan administration, which advocated "friendly persuasion". Tutu supported disinvestment, although it hit the poor hardest. When disinvestment threw blacks out of work, Tutu argued, at least they were suffering "with a purpose". In 1985, the US & UK stopped any investments in South Africa. As a result, disinvestment succeeded causing the value of the Rand to plunge more than 35%, which pressured the government towards reform. Tutu pressed the advantage and organized peaceful marches which brought 30,000 people into the streets of Cape Town. 

Tutu was Bishop of Lesotho from 1976-1978, when he became Secretary-General of the South African Council of Churches. From this position, he was able to continue his work against Apartheid with agreement from nearly all churches. Through his writings and lectures at home and abroad, Tutu consistently advocated reconciliation between all parties involved in Apartheid. 

Tutu's opposition to Apartheid was vigorous and unequivocal, and he was outspoken both in South Africa and abroad. He often compared Apartheid to Nazism and Communism. As a result the government twice revoked his passport and he was jailed briefly in 1980. 

After the fall of Apartheid, Tutu headed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He retired as Archbishop of Cape Town in 1996, and was made Emeritus Archbishop of Cape Town (an honorary title that is unusual in the Anglican church). 

Since his retirement, Tutu has worked as a global activist on issues pertaining to democracy, freedom, and human rights. In 2006, Tutu launched a global campaign to ensure that all children are registered at birth (as unregistered children do not officially exist and are vulnerable to traffickers during disasters).

Tutu is regarded as "South Africa's moral conscience", and has been described by Mandela as, "sometimes strident, often tender, never afraid, and seldom without humor. Desmond Tutu's voice will always be the voice of the voiceless". 

Since retirement, Tutu has worked to critique the new South African government. Tutu has been vocal in his condemnation of corruption and the ineffectiveness of the ANC-led government to deal with poverty or the recent outbreaks of xenophobic violence in some South African townships.

Tutu has also been vocal in his criticism of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, as well as South Africa's policy of "quiet diplomacy" towards Zimbabwe. In 2007, he said the "quiet diplomacy" had not worked at all and called upon Western powers and other Southern African countries to set firm deadlines for action, with consequences if they were not met. Tutu has often criticized Mugabe and has described the autocratic leader as, "a cartoon figure of an archetypical African dictator" [Mugabe has called Tutu an "angry, evil, and embittered little bishop"]. In 2008, tutu called for the international community to intervene in Zimbabwe- by force if necessary.

It is clear why Desmond Tutu is regarded as one of the most important men in South Africa. His work against Apartheid and in the reconciliation of the country has helped lead South Africa to where it is today.

Fear is Temporary, Regret is Permanent

Before arriving in South Africa, I knew bungee jumping was something that I wanted to do. The Bloukrans Bridge Bungee jump is the highest commercial bungee bridge in the world. It is about three hours away from Grahamstown in Titsikamma between the Eastern and Western Cape. 

The bridge bungee is 216 meters (709 feet) above the Bloukrans River. It is operated by Face Adrenalin since 1997. The first bridge to be bungee jumped off of in Africa was the Bloukrans River Bridge. 

On Thursday morning, we (Alex, Jenna, Kara, and myself) woke up early (6am... for those who know me, you know that im not a morning person), and drove three and a half hours to the site. The whole ride down (which was mostly spent sleeping), I was totally fine, not really thinking about it. However, the second we got out of the car and I saw the bridge, the nerves kicked in. We got suited up, took a few pictures, and then headed down to the bridge. 

The terrifying bridge walk. Basically it is a steel cage under the freeway. Looking down may have been one of my worst decisions. 

Finally after being told what we were going to do, they announced the order and I was last to go. 

Our group

After watching everyone else go, it was finally my turn. After being reassured multiple times that everything was ok, and having them triple check everything, they picked me up and carried me to the edge. Seeing my toes peer over the edge of a gorge was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. The men counted me down "5-4-3-2-1" and I jumped. I honestly had no idea what possessed me to jump other than the fact that not jumping wasn't an option. Free falling was one of the most exhilarating and terrifying experiences of my life. Quickly falling towards the ground was horrific, but the experience was unforgettable.

After my favorite man came down to bring me back up, I got unhooked and took some pictures. It was honestly one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life! Free falling through the air was an indescribable feeling-- and the view didnt hurt.

Here are a few more pictures of the day! From now on, just jump!