Jake Tells All

  This post comes a little over a week after I returned home (or at least it was when I began writing the post). I had so much to do and so many people to say goodbye to before I left that I did not have enough time to write a final farewell post. So, here it is. In this post, I want to talk about the last few days before I left and overall surprises and learning experiences from throughout my trip.

  My last day at the plot was the Thursday before I left South Africa and one day before I went on the Safari. I arrived at the plot excited to see the kids one last time before I headed home. I had told Br. Dominic and my friend David that Thursday would be my last day, and I was told that the workers and the children do a little goodbye celebration for visitors like myself. When I mentioned to a couple people that it was my last day, however, I quickly realized that the news did not make it to the workers beforehand. I felt bad because the workers were sad that they had not planned anything for me beforehand. I know they were looking forward to doing something for me on my last day. During the previous week, I made an iMovie slideshow to show the people at the plot the pictures and videos I had taken throughout my six weeks. At least I would have the video for all of us to celebrate with together. Anyways, the day went on, and the workers came back from lunch time before I knew it. I set up my slideshow in the dinning room on a projector that Radio Veritas let me borrow. We covered the windows with blankets and trash bags to make it darker. It was really nice. Everyone loved seeing themselves in the pictures and enjoyed the music that went along with it. As you know, they love to dance, so they appreciated that I included a couple videos from when I danced with them. I am so glad I was able to show them the slideshow. 

  After the slideshow, the day went on as usual. I served the kids lunch, cleaned up, and played soccer for a little while. Then, I was completely blown away to find out that the workers and many of the kids had quickly put together a farewell program for me while they were on their lunch break. I am still shocked at how last minute the celebration really was because it was more than I ever expected. Several groups of kids danced traditional Zulu dances and sang Zulu songs. Some of the kids and a couple of the workers spoke about why they enjoyed having me there and why they appreciated their time with me. On top of that, they made a poster for me and a bunch of handwritten farewell notes. I was completely blown away. I will never forget their kind hearts and incredible voices. 

The Workers made a poster for me that says 'Farewell Jake' and
a bunch of Zulu phrases around it such as 'we will miss you'

Aunty Betty getting leading everyone in prayer with me for the last time

These girls are holding signs that say things like 'we will miss you Jake' and 'thank you Jake'

Of course another picture with Bro. Dominic

Myself and some of the workers holding the poster they made for me

  Now, I will explain some things I learned about myself and about South Africa during my six weeks. 

What surprised me about South Africa? 

 - How hard it was to get used to driving on the other side of the road

 - None of the wild animals you hear about in Africa were roaming around the country accept in reserves like Kruger National Park
 - The largest chain restaurants that the U.S. has in common are McDonald's and KFC

 - The St. Martin de Porres project was not run as smoothly as I had anticipated it would. There are many issues with government oversight and communication within the organization. I am not sure why I expected the project to be so organized, but I did. So, I was shocked to find out that many of the workers at the plot may not be doing the best job or that the social workers may not be the most passionate about their jobs as I had expected. Working at the project was such an amazing experience for me, and I do not think it would have been so valuable if the project was perfect. I learned so much from Br. Dominic and my friend David about how to run a non-profit organization, how to pick my battles, and how to be an effective social worker 

 - The amount of trash everywhere. It was very disheartening for me to see an entire country neglect to recognize the harms that trash has on their environment. Every green space, from sidewalks to parks to soccer fields, had trash on it. I had many conversations with Br. Dominic about it over the course of my time there. I was angry at developed nations who allow their 'throw away' cultures to infiltrate the developed world without educating the population on how to manage and dispose of their waste. Br. Dominic was much harder on the African people, however, because he believed that it was their own fault. If they want their environment to look clean, then they should not litter, but rather wait to find a trash can. I came to the conclusion that it is a combination of our two sides that is the reason for all the trash and environmental neglect. 

 - How present the remains of Apartheid government still is in South Africa. It is shocking that African people of South Africa gained their freedom as recent as 1994. That is crazy to me. But, what is even more crazy is coming from the U.S. to South Africa and witnessing how the effects are still very present in their society. I am not talking about the whites being violent or indirectly racist towards the African people (although both are present issues), but I am talking about the actual mindsets of African people that really surprised me. In the U.S., people have had more than fifty years to understand the real possibilities that are available to all of us regardless of race. However, Africans in South Africa who are even twenty years of age and older do not yet believe that they have the ability to change their lives. Poverty is a vicious cycle and it is extremely difficult to break. I understand that. But, it can be done. Too many African people do not believe yet that they are actually equal to whites and that they are worth just as much. I was not expecting to witness this kind of thing in their society. I hope that I was able to influence a new perspective in the minds of the people I served. 

What did I find interesting in South Africa?

 - One of my favorite parts of the trip was just learning about the different ministries and things that the priests were up to at the house I was staying at. I really enjoyed living at the house with the Dominicans because it was quiet most of the time, but very lively around meal times and I always had different people to talk to because of varying schedules. As Dominicans, the Friars were in charge of completely different organizations. Some had their own parishes, some led organizations like St. Martins, and another managed a radio station. There were a few that I could not even keep up with because they did so many different projects and volunteered at so many different places. I fit in very well at the house because I am usually doing a million different things myself. 

What did I learn about myself during my trip? 

 - I am very adaptable. When I was little, I used to get really homesick even during sleepovers for a single night. I was never able to go on vacation with other families or go to overnight camp because I missed home too much. Over the years, I became more and more comfortable being away from home. Adapting to college life was a huge step for me and I could not believe, and still cannot believe, how I managed to do it so well. I cannot imagine my college years anywhere else but Providence. Needless to say, I was pretty nervous for this trip to another country by myself. Once I got to South Africa, the only person in the entire continent I knew was Jen, whom I would not even see for the first four weeks. That's pretty scary. However, I completely surprised myself at how well I adapted to living in the priory, eating African food, working at the plot, and finding ways to occupy myself during down times. 

 - I am a quick learner when it comes to languages. I may not have left South Africa speaking perfect Zulu, but I was able to speak some of it and understand a lot of it. I also found that I am very good at picking up on conversational cues to understand what people are talking about even if I cannot understand the language. That helped me especially at the beginning of my trip.
- I mentioned before that I am not very good at picking my battles. I have struggled with that concept for a long time and my six weeks in South Africa were no exception. When you work in an non-profit organization like St. Martins and are constantly dealing with government back lash, employee drama, and slow moving progress, you need to learn to prioritize issues and recognize that not all of your challenges can be addressed at the same time. On top of that, you can never take your eye off the main goal of the organization while being distracted by all the side issues. For a huge part of my six weeks, the land we purchased next door had to be landscaped, a soccer tournament was being organized, a nearby organization needed financial help, St. Martins was looking into local fundraising opportunities, and several social workers were not pleasing Br. Dominic. All of these complex issues are too much for one person to take on, and they certainly cannot be taken on at the same time. I was frustrated because my mind was telling me that we would be failing if the issues were not taken care of right away. I had to recognize and understand that no one can work in an environment like that. All you can do is delegate and tackle each problem as they come or else you will run out of steam before you can even solve the first problem.

What was the purpose of my trip?
- I think it is interesting to look back on my previous idea of what the purpose of the trip was and how that idea has changed or remained the same. I had written the fellowship proposals months before I left for South Africa. I had written about helping the St. Martin project in order to learn new perspectives about the world and share my perspectives from America. While that certainly turned out to be true, I also realized that a huge part of why I was sent there was to simply provide them, both the children and the adults, experience with someone of a different culture. Due to poverty and inadvertent segregation, the communities where I served do not have much experience with speaking with and befriending someone of a different race or nationality. As I said previously, the people in these communities also do not truly believe that they are equal to whites. It was important for me to go to their homes, their restaurants, and their neighborhoods to more deeply understand what it means to live their lives. In doing so, I also showed the people in these communities that they are not only noticed in society but actually valued. For some of the people I spoke to, that feeling of being a dignified human does not come often enough. No one should ever feel as if they are invisible.
- To learn about a completely new culture
- To learn how to communicate with those of another culture and language
- To grow in my faith and to see the Church in a new way
- To become more knowledgeable and appreciative of the Dominican Order
- To see my strengths and weaknesses be revealed as I adapted to a completely new environment

One last look at that good old South African sunset

Me and Jen at the airport in Boston
(hers says 'Jane' because that is how everyone pronounced her name in South Africa)

JW

There is More to South Africa Than its People

  On Friday morning, Jen and I left for Kruger National Park in the north of South Africa on the Mozambique border. The park is the best (and really the only) place to see wild animals home to South Africa, including their 'Big 5' animals, which are buffalo, rhinos, elephants, leopards, and lions. It was amazing to be able to see such animals I usually can only view from behind a barrier at a zoo back home. We were sometimes as close as twenty feet away from these animals. It was crazy.

  We stayed at the Pretoriuskop camp in Kruger for three days and two nights. In those three days we were able to go on four 'game drives,' which is what they call your safari rides. The game drives last about three and a half hours. We stayed in tents with cots and were served breakfast and dinner at the camp. The chef was very good. All of our meals were so delicious. The staff was very accommodating as well, serving snacks and juice throughout the day and always having purified water ready to drink. I would highly recommend spending at least two nights in Kruger to anyone who is visiting the country. I was surprised when I got here that wild animals were not roaming around as much especially in rural areas. Like I said before, Kruger is really the only part of the country where animals big cats live.

  The weather was great for our game drives, and we saw tons of animals on each one. Although we did not get to see any lions unfortunately, we did see many other animals. I was fortunate enough to see part of a leopard, though. We saw elephants, buffalo, zebras, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, wild dogs (with really cool coat patterns), and many species of birds and antelope. I did take pictures, as you can see below, but they are not very good quality. I did not bring an actual camera on my trip because I did not want to spend the money and most of my pictures came out great with just my iPhone anyways. I could have used a real camera on the safari. The feeling of being so close to all of these huge animals was inexplainable. In that instance, you remembered what it was like to see them in a zoo, but at the same time the feeling was much different not having any fences between you and them.

  I would say, however, that my favorite part of the Safari trip was meeting so many unique people from all over the world since Kruger is a top tourist destination in South Africa. It was so interesting to talk to people over dinner about their respective countries and backgrounds or what brought them to South Africa. Jen and I had the fellowship pitch down pretty well by the end of the trip. We met people from Costa Rica, Italy, Poland, France, India, Dubai, and, of course, South Africa. Experiences like this really make me appreciate my education even more, especially one unique to Providence College. I am a huge proponent of the liberal arts and interdisciplinary education I am fortunate to receive at Providence College, but I now have another reason to encourage this kind of learning. I have hear of many people, some I have known personally, who get hung up on traveling the world after an experience like study abroad. People decide that they may want to take a break from school or hold off on getting real world job experience until after they travel the world. But, I think it is a mistake to even consider the possibility. The reason why I enjoy traveling and meeting people from around the globe is because I enjoy having conversations about things occurring in both our counties and other countries around the world. If I did not have the last two years of college in my mind, there would be no way that I could hold conversations with people especially about things outside the United States. How are you suppose to have semi intellectual conversations about art, music, language, politics, science, education, healthcare, and other cultural topics. You cannot do this without a solid education. And I understand there are certainly people for whom a college education is not the right choice after high school or who need to begin making money as soon as they can, but for those for whom this kind of education is possible, I deeply encourage you to see this advantage to learning and experience it for yourself.

Wild Dog (yellow and black coloring)

This was the closest we got to a large animal. It was unbelievable. 

It is hard to see, but there are two giraffes in this picture

JW

Holiday Like a Capetonian

  Jen and I arrived back in our respective cities yesterday about 3:00 pm. Our flights out of Cape Town were between 11:00 and 12:00, so only had time to eat breakfast and check out before heading to the airport. We arrived at our hotel at about 12:00 Saturday afternoon. Our short vacation away from our service sites was incredible. We did a lot in those three days, but it was  still relaxing. I now understand just how beautiful the city really is. The theme of the weekend was that we could not manage to take a bad picture. Everywhere we went we were accompanied by breathtaking views of the ocean or the mountains, sometimes both. We were, however, glad to be coming back to our service sites for a couple more days. It was nice being on a plane and knowing I still had another week here in South Africa. 

  On Saturday afternoon, we went to a harbor called the V&A Waterfront. Designed with the harbors of San Francisco and Sidney in mind, the waterfront was complete with local venders, restaurants with ocean views, a mall, a ferris wheel. and an aquarium. It is certainly a hub of the city. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant right on the water. We both agreed we wanted pasta because we had not tasted Italian food since we left for South Africa. On Sunday, we took a cablecar up to Table Mountain, estimated to be one of the oldest mountains in the world and even older than the Himalayas. It was amazing to be able to look over the entire city. People were there from all over the world to witness the spectacular views. Some people we met even hiked up the mountain either one way or both ways. In the afternoon, we were able to go in the water at a beach not far from our hotel. Monday was rainy unfortunately, but it did not really interfere with our plans. We took a city sightseeing bus to a botanical and a place for lunch. The bus ride itself was a highlight of the trip because we got to see almost every part of the city, from the informal settlements to the most luxurious mansions in Cape Town. The three days went by too fast, but I am glad we fit in so much.

First picture in Cape Town

Now, I am trying to enjoy the last couple days I have at the St. Martin Project before I leave on Friday for a Safari at Kruger National Park. I hope that I have enough time to say goodbye to all the people who have made my time here so unforgettable. 

JW

I'm Sort of a Celebrity Now

  I did not include in yesterdays post the events from Wednesday. One of the friars living in the house, Fr. Brian, manages a Catholic radio station in Johannesburg called Radio Veritas. Founded and still operated by a Dominican named Fr. Emil, the radio is a platform for evangelization including programs such as daily mass, both intrafaith and interfaith discussions, and other local news. I was fortunate enough to get a tour with Fr. Brian of the station and meet the many people who make it all happen. I even got to do the reading during mass on the air. The station is made of radio hosts, producers, marketers, financial advisers, etc. As I was speaking to a woman who is responsible programming on the air, she thought that it would be suiting to interview me during the week leading up to Youth Day about my role in helping with the St. Martin de Porres Development Project. I was honored and very excited to not only be able to share my own perspectives on the organization, but to market the project to a wider audience. I hope that listeners got a sense of the motivation of the project and the outstanding work that we do at the plot. If you would like to listen to my moment of fame on Radio Veritas, click on the link below to view the podcast. My Interview with Fr. Emil

I would also like to mention that Radio Veritas is financed completely by donations. They need about $50,000 per month just to run the station. If you would like to donate to keep the radio going, it would be much appreciated. You can donate on the right hand side of the screen if you click on this link to their website. Donate to Radio Veritas

As I mentioned previously, today is Youth Day, a national holiday celebrated all over South Africa. I was looking forward to celebrating today with the children at the St. Martins site, but the water is still not working. Fortunately, I was able to come to Fr. Marks parish in Kwa Thema. I played soccer and other games with the youth following a meeting they organized with Fr. Mark to address ways to increase the presence of youth in the church community. Lunch was also served at the church for everyone in attendance. After the festivities were over, I gave the kids Rosaries that were donated by the campus ministry at Providence College and blessed by our Chaplain. The children really enjoyed and appreciated the gift not only as a way to remember me but also to use in their prayer. 

Playing soccer with the kids in Kwa Thema

This is Lethokuhle. She is 9 years old and wants to be a pilot.

Tomorrow morning I leave for Cape Town. I hope my small vacation to another part of the country is enlightening as much as it is relaxing. Stay tuned for those pictures. 

JW

Laughter, Dancing, and Smiles

  I apologize for this post coming an entire week after my last. Needless to say there has been a lot going on around here. For the past week, I have been diving even deeper into my service at St. Martins, and exploring my own impressions and points of view of South Africa and the people living here. In this post, I hope that I can do justice to the rich culture that I have been exposed to during my time here. I have already touched on a few aspects of the cultures in South Africa, but I hope to offer a deeper understanding of what I am experiencing, especially being a foreigner.

  One day early last week, I had begun to feel more frustrated than usual with the language barrier here. It is a lot harder than I anticipated to communicate with those involved with St. Martins, especially the workers. With the kids, it doesn't really matter that much if we cannot fully understand each other because I know what they are trying to say most of the time anyways. For instance, the children and I do not need to speak the same language to have fun with each other while playing a game. The beauty of games is that, for the most part, you just need to pick up on body language that signifies something to do with the game. Soccer is soccer no matter what language you are speaking or what your background is, even though it may actually be called football. However, it is important for me to talk with the workers to learn about South Africa and St. Martins in addition to just passing the time before the children arrive in the afternoon. The problem is that the people at the project don't like speaking English because it is not their first language. I completely understand that they are not comfortable with it because they are not exposed to it very much, and it is not their mother’s tongue. Although I can relate to them having been in situations myself where someone of a different language needs to communicate with me and my friends, it is obviously problematic for me since I only know a few words in Zulu as of now. Don’t get me wrong, I am definitely surprising even myself in how quickly I am picking up the language, but I only understand generally what people are talking about and not exactly word for word. It’s really difficult for me sometimes because I can easily feel left out and, even worse, feel bad when people expect me to be fluent already. There are times when people ask if I am understanding what is happening in the conversation, and, of course, I respond "not really." The following day the same person may ask me the question again, and, of course, I respond "not really." I'm realizing, though, that this is just one of the invaluable exposures I am so fortunate to be experiencing here in South Africa. It will be incredibly important for me to have dealt with and overcome language and cultural barriers for success in any career, especially one in medicine. 

  So, the title of this post is in fact ‘laughter, dancing, and smiles’ because I have found that these three things are universal across languages and cultures. If I am having a bad day because I am frustrated that I cannot explain something to somebody in English or cannot understand something else in Zulu, I try to remember that these three things go much further in humans than any words I could say. If I am struggling to pronounce a word in Zulu, such as someone’s name, I simply smile, laugh at myself (a lot), and keep trying to make an effort. If I am sitting with the workers and we run into a language issue while talking to each other, I can pull out my speaker and we can forget whatever we were talking about and just dance. They love to dance. I have enjoyed sharing American music that I like and hearing South African music that they like. I am also slowly learning how to dance like a South African. It is not easy for someone of my complexion haha. In addition tot he workers, the children have been dancing most everyday over the past week in preparation for celebrating a holiday tomorrow (more on this if you keep reading). It has been incredible to experience traditional songs and dances, and, most of all, to witness such passion from the kids wanting to be involved with them. Again, watching the children singing and dancing makes me forget all about the barriers we face between our languages. In a way, times like these make the frustrating moments of trying to communicate words seem insignificant. So, I always look forward to when I can be an audience member to the outstanding things these kids can do. 

Practicing Dances for June 16th

  Tomorrow is June 16th, which is a national holiday in South Africa. June 16th is Youth Day. The day is to remember the lives of students lost during the peaceful march that is referred to by the Soweto Youth Uprising. Due to the strict and unequal education changes that was brought on by the Bantu Education Act in 1953 established by the Apartheid government, African people were feeling even more disenfranchised and abandoned than before. Among other things, the act mandated that African students learn all subjects in Afrikaans and English languages. Students from the class of 1976 marched peacefully in the streets in opposition to these unfair inequalities for non-whites education in South Africa. What began as a peaceful demonstration developed into a horrific massacre when police began firing at the students. This tragic scene led to other uprisings in Soweto and all over the country that day and for an entire year after. The significance of June 16th lies in the fact that students, young people, were the ones who ignited the motivation to make change happen for the progress of Africans living in South Africa. On Youth Day, we recognize that young people are capable of influencing real change in their societies. St. Martins is supposed to participate in special events and activities for the holiday tomorrow in order to emphasize the empowerment that the children should feel from celebrating Youth Day. But, I am still not sure if that will be happening due to water issues at the plot that will prevent any festivities from occurring there. 

  In other news, Fr. Mark celebrated his birthday with us on Monday. My friend Lindo and I cooked an African dinner for him and others in the house. Some items on the menu included spinach and chicken liver, chakalaka, fried chicken legs, pasta and meatballs (with a South African twist), and, for dessert, peaches, jello, and custard. I was glad to be part of cooking the meal because I had an opportunity to understand more about how they prepare the food here that I have been eating. We had an enormous meal, and it was wicked good (haven’t heard that word in a while). Yesterday, we went out to a restaurant for Lindo’s birthday. I am happy I could be part of her celebration as well. I also enjoy experiencing different restaurants in the area. I think it’s funny when I read dishes on the menu with ‘American style’ or ‘New York Style’ in the names. 

The chefs of the night (well she cooked most of it)

Lindo made all the decorations for the dining room.
It looked really nice.

  Well, unfortunately, my time here is running down. I have plans to take a trip to Cape Town this weekend with my friend Jen from PC who is serving in Montebello. I am excited to see a completely different part of the country for a few days. I here it's similar to Europe, but I have never been to Europe, so hopefully Cape Town is a close second best. I also look forward to spending some time with Jen to catch up on our last four weeks we've spent in separate parts of the country. 

That's Br. Dominic for you

Me trying to read Zulu

Some of the Care Givers

Some of the Child and Youth Care Workers

That's it for now. I hope all is well back home. 

JW

Halfway and still going strong!

  I have been taking a lot of pictures during my time here in Springs, but I have not shown too many of them yet. And I would like to share another post because it has been several days now since my last one, but I do not have the energy to write too much. So, I figured it would be best just to post some pictures that I have been wanting to show. Enjoy!

Serving the kids their lunches

The usual dishwashing crew

  So, I taught the kids baseball last week. They had never heard of it before. The only person who did know what baseball is was my friend David because he had played it on a team when he was little. I taught the kids how to stand at the plate and hit the ball, and David explained most of the rules in Zulu.

David trying to explain these strange rules

Our designated pitcher

I went on a home visit with Aunty Betty (on the right)
and we took this picture with some of the residents

Aunty Betty and I also visited a daycare in the community (they call it a 'crash')

  During the day before the kids get to the site, I often play games with the workers after they have finished all their work in the morning. The only problem is that sometimes they are so active in playing the games that they do not have as much energy to play with the kids in the afternoon.

This game is called 'fruit salad.' It is similar to 'move your butt.'

Some of the Care Workers at St. Martins

  This past Sunday I went to the art/music district of Johannesburg. I cannot remember what the area was called because it is a Sotho word. It was a very nice part of the city. There were people from all over the country from different backgrounds. I really enjoyed seeing the many booths making food to order and all the artwork and souvenirs being sold on the streets. I was also glad to be take to another part of the province I am staying in because I got to see a very different way of life. It is difficult to understand South Africa as a whole when I am witnessing the same things in Springs all the time.

The pulled port sandwich on the right was delicious. In Zulu, we say it was 'umnandi.'

  

Some other pictures from the St. Martin site 

JW