'Tis the Season

The holiday season always seems to be a time when we all give thanks for the great things in our lives: family and friends, roofs over our head, our health and all the blessings that we have. I have been thinking about what I am thankful for a lot lately, especially because my life and my work here has helped me to prioritize and appreciate what I have even more.

There are two things that I wanted to briefly write about, to highlight some of the frustrations, and common practices in South Africa, which I have been thinking about a lot lately.

About a month and a half ago, much to our surprise, we had two break ins at our house. We live in suburbia, comparable to Southern California, a place that you would not expect to have break ins. But, what we have learned is that you cannot expect anything here. Life is different, and South Africa is a completely different world. Just because it looks like America does not mean that it is comparable to the States. At any rate, one morning we awoke to find our back sliding door unlocked and open, and things strewn about on the floor of our living room. A robber managed to steal computers, iphones, ipods, sneakers, money and a door key while we were all asleep. Then, a week later, another(or the same) robber returned and while we were eating dinner downstairs, climbed onto our upstairs porch, opened a window and stole sneakers, a camera, a wallet and some soccer jerseys. It was such a mess, and certainly a huge wake up call for all of us. We learned that just because a place looks safe does not mean that it is safe. What is the most disappointing thing to learn is that in all honestly, people don’t really care about these things. Petty theft is so common here, it’s almost a rite of passage. Everyone we have spoken do has experienced a similar(or worse) situation, and the police here barely even bother with reports. They don’t really care, so they don’t even bother trying to help. It’s completely jarring to think that this event which impacted our lives so much is just another day in South Africa to most people. While these experiences have made us grow and we have learned a lot from them, it also makes me wonder if I could ever actually live in a place where events like this are common practice, and having your guard up is just part of life. Who knows. One thing that we have to be incredibly thankful for is that the robbers were only looking for things, not for us.

Another thing that I wanted to touch on briefly is one part of my week that always humbles me. Usually once or twice a week, one of the interns brings the trash from the office out. Where we bring the garbage is to a large pile of trash, mixed with twigs and branches. This pile sits right behind the Primary school where we work, and often you will see kids rummaging through the trash. And, the common practice with the garbage is to simply light it on fire, rather than disposing of it any other way. I mean, in all honestly, with the other things to worry about in the township, why would anyone be concerned with where their trash is going, or that they are releasing harmful toxins into the air every day? Either way, every time that I throw our black trash bags onto the pile, I always have to step back and think about things. As small of a thing as it is, that is one thing that I still have yet to fully accept. We see a lot of things on a daily basis that are quite shocking, but that we are learning to accept as part of the scene. But this garbage pile is something that I can never really get over. It makes me think about the frustrations over lack of recycling and compost in the States, and in comparison to garbage situations in most countries, we are extremely progressive. As I said, although small in the scale of concerns that South Africa faces, this small act that I am contributing to always makes me stop and think, and appreciate the every day novelties we are blessed to have in America.

So, in between holiday parties, gift shopping, skiing, skating, shoveling snow, baking and celebrating, try and remember all the great gifts that we all have every day. It’s easy to forget all that we have to be thankful for, and even seeing such hardship here sometimes I get so wrapped up in my own world that I forget to step back and appreciate all the wonderful things in life. I hope that these two small glimpses into life in South Africa help you to appreciate and recognize the gifts of life in America.

Well after work this week I am off to Tanzania with Rosie and Anna for Christmas, leaving this Friday, so I will have lots of stories and photographs to share when I return. I hope you all have wonderful holidays, and happy new year!

Voluntary Counseling and Testing

On November 28th, in conjunction with December 1, World Aids Day, we had our annual Voluntary Counseling and Testing(VCT) Tournament. This is an event sponsored by Grassroot Soccer that allows high school teams from three of the townships in Port Elizabeth to participate in a soccer tournament, as well as have an opportunity to get tested for HIV. The event is also open to the public, so community members can come, watch some soccer, enjoy some live music and know their HIV status. The events are always a huge success, and this year in particular Grassroot Soccer has been breaking testing records across Southern Africa at these events. So, we were really excited to help out and see our first VCT.

The 28th also happened to be right after Thanksgiving, so after enjoying a delicious feast on the 26th with friends and co-workers, we got down to business to prepare final logistics for the big day. Dom had been working on this event for months, facing challenges, budget cuts and other frustrations along the way, but the day of the event everything went incredibly smoothly, and everyone had a lot of fun. We tested 188 people, which was a huge success. And, for the first time ever, we had every team show up to participate in the soccer tournament, which was a huge accomplishment. Everyone had a great time. All of our staff and coaches were there, helping out in various areas, like coaching the teams and ensuring that the day ran smoothly. We had prizes and giveaways as well, like cool vuvuzelas, a plastic horn that are like the South African national instrument, used at any soccer match. We also had a signed Bafana(the South African national soccer team) jersey as a prize, which a student won, so that was very exciting.

All in all, the day was really really fun, probably one of the best days that I have had in South Africa. It was a great bonding experience for our entire staff as well. The highlight of my day was at the end, we all were dancing and goofing around, then we decided to all go and get a beer together to celebrate the end of the VCT. So, Dom, Mike, Rosie, Anna(another intern who was visiting for the week) and I, along with about twenty of our coaches piled into various cars to head to a bar near the field where we held the tournament. Anna had brought her truck down for the week, so I jumped in the back along with about fifteen other coaches. We were dancing, singing and playing vuvuzelas, in a euphoric and adrenaline filled state in the back of the truck. I have rode around in trucks before, but usually on back roads in Vermont, so riding around in the back on some major roads in the township probably wasn’t the smartest move that I could have made, but I jumped on board in the excitement and energy of the moment. So, we were all packed in the truck bed, singing and jumping around, waiting for the other cars to catch up, and we see a cop come crawling towards us. My heart sank. Immediately, my gut reaction was, “If the cop sees a white girl here, in the back of a truck, he’s going to fine me”. I held my breath and tried not to make eye contact with the close approaching police vehicle. Dom, Mike and Rosie in the cars behind me watched nervously. The cop car approached us slowly, then accelerated while driving up on a grassy embankment on the side of the road, zooming past us without as much as an acknowledgment of our cars. I was in shock. While most of the time, our thoughts towards the cops here are that of frustration and resentment, at this moment, I loved the cops here, and I loved South Africa! That would NEVER happen in the States. I breathed a sigh of relief, and let out a huge laugh. We were on our way, cheering and singing songs again. That is a moment that I will never forget.

The picture above is of Mike, Dom and I with a bunch of coaches and DJ Slyso(in front), a well known radio DJ who performed at the VCT.

BAFANA FUN

This weekend we went to a Bafana Bafana Match(translates to "The boys, the boys") versus Japan. Bafana is the name for the South African National team, and we got to see them play in the new world cup stadium built in Port Elizabeth. The stadium was awesome, although the game ended in a 0-0 draw, which was a bit frustrating. The energy and the fans however, made the day. It was so awesome to see people rallying behind their team, people know much more about the national soccer team here than most Americans do about our own team! The flags, the colors, the chants and the music made the viewing experience unlike any other game I have ever attended. But, you could still feel that unified comraderie leaving the stadium just like it feels when you leave Fenway Park. We all had a great time. Here is a photograph of the four of us with a bunch of our coaches who attended the game as well. Did I mention we sat five rows up from the field?! Don't think that will be happening for the World Cup!

Graduation Time

So, in between having my brother visit, hosting about 10 other interns at our house for Halloween, our office has been really really busy planning for our upcoming event that coincides with World Aids Day on December 1st. Every year, the Port Elizabeth office has a VCT Tournament. VCT stands for Voluntary Counseling and Testing for HIV, and we combine that with a soccer tournament for local high school teams. So, teams compete in the tournament, as well as have the opportunity to know their status. The event is also open to the community and is one of the biggest events that Grassroot Soccer performs across South Africa. So, we have all been working on that, Dom in particular, and it has been quite stressful, in large part because most tasks are just incredibly difficult here.

Along with working on the VCT, it is also Graduation season. Graduations are held at at each school we work with once all the students participating in our Skillz Curriculum complete the eight practices, or graduate. It is an event that parents are invited to, as well as teachers, and the principal usually attends and speaks. Graduates are given an opportunity to share something as well, either a song, dance, poem, skit or any type of performance. They are wonderful moments of coaches and students coming together one last time to celebrate the achievements of the children during their time with Grassroot Soccer. Grassroot Soccer also provides snacks for the children and guests, which is one of the highlights of our jobs as interns(not really). We get to venture to a place called “Sweet Connection” which is a warehouse of junk food, where we buy packages of Beef flavored chips, Fruit Chutney, Nik Naks(think cheetos), and more for the people attending the graduation. This pretty much goes against all that GRS stands for, as we are trying to teach kids to be healthy and active, but if we brought them apples and oranges there would probably be a riot, so it’s best to just give them some treats on this special day.

This round of graduations in particular meant a lot to me, as it was all the schools that Dom, Siya and I visited when we first arrived in PE. I have gotten to know the principals and teachers in these schools, as well as some of the students, so I feel really connected to these places, and it is weird to think that we will not be going back to them, or else at least not until next year. It makes me think about how strong of relationships the coaches must be developing with these kids, and how hard it must be for them to say goodbye. On Tuesday, Cingani High School(pronounced Thing-ah-ni), had their graduation, where approximately 230 children graduated from our Skillz Curriculum. I was particularly excited for this graduation, because the coaches had told me these children were all really intelligent and passionate about Grassroot Soccer, and because I have gotten to know one student at Cingani quite well. Wisdom, a 14 year old girl was at the holiday camp in Motherwell as well, so I got to talk a lot with her there, and she is such a motivated, inspiring girl who is intelligent beyond her years. We talked about life goals and dreams, as well as HIV/AIDS and the pressures that girls face in South Africa. She recited a beautiful poem to me about HIV, and I encouraged her to recite it at the graduation, which she did. I have decided to include it in my blog, because I think it is so beautiful:
AIDS


I am here today with a big bag
I'm ready to produce my seeds
Spread them and plant them

Seeds with no future
Seeds with no life

Ready to wipe the nation
So you better watch out

The only thing I am after it's you. You cannot run you
cannot hide

But the only thing you can do is
to protect yourself not for one minute
but for your whole life

So be aware and be wise
Use protection before
I get you!!


She is quite the amazing girl. It meant so much to her to get to perform this poem in front of so many of her classmates. She is just one example of the many, many children that Grassroot Soccer touches in such amazing ways. Before beginning the Skillz Curriculum, Wisdom barely knew anything about HIV/AIDS, and she actually refused to partake in the activities. It was only after talking with the coaches more, and learning more about Grassroot Soccer, that she agreed to participate, and after that, she was hooked.

I hope that her story and poem will continue to inspire and touch you all, as it did for me. She has made a big impact on me and my life, and seeing how affected she was by GRS was a reminder to me about just how amazing and powerful this organization truly is.

Much more to come in the next few days, this weekend we are going to see Bafana Bafana (the South African national team) play Japan in a Friendly World Cup match in the new World Cup stadium in Port Elizabeth. It should be nuts, I cannot wait.

Hope you all are doing well, thank you for the continued love and support.

Ben's Visit to South Africa

My apologies for not posting in a month...the time is flying and things keep getting busier and busier! I thought I would include a photo from my brother, Ben's recent trip to South Africa. He came and spent a few days in Port Elizabeth, went to work with me, got to meet a bunch of other interns for Halloween, and then we drove from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town along the Garden Route. It was a great week with Ben, and it was so sad to have him leave. It was such a nice feeling to have family come and visit. This is a photograph of the two of us petting an elephant, which we got to ride afterwards. It was such an awesome experience, although not very comfortable!

BUNGEE!

Thought I should include a picture of the group after we went Bungee Jumping! Yes, Sarah went bungee jumping, shocking, I know. This is picture of the four of us with Fergus, the other guy who jumped with us and our bungee crew. We jumped off at a place called Bloukrans, the world's highest bungee jump off a bridge. We jumped at 216m, equivalent to the height of the Met Life building in New York! Craziness. Never again, but quite the rush!

Braai with the Coaches

This weekend we had a “Braai” (BBQ) with all forty of the coaches at our house. It was really exciting to have them over in a non work setting, but I don’t think any of us realized how many people forty truly is! It was a little bit chaotic, but a lot of fun, and great to spend time getting to know all of the coaches outside of a work setting. There was lots of incredible food that they cooked for us, as well as lots of dancing and playing games. I don’t think I have ever met forty people as loud and crazy as these coaches-when they all come into the office everything stops because they are so ridiculously loud, yelling and dancing around, it’s hysterical, but easy to max out on it after awhile. If you think that I am loud, you have not seen ANYTHING! The four of us pretty much stop working once they all roll in for meetings and sessions on Fridays, because there really is no way to get anything done with them all here. Certainly a really different work dynamic, but I have grown to love it, and I miss the coaches when they are not in the office, because they bring so much fun and good energy to the office. It’s nice to get to joke around and laugh with them to break you from the stress and hectic office environment.

So, after a busy week, it’s nice to have a bit of a relaxing, rainy Sunday to relax and catch up on things before work begins again tomorrow. This week will be another busy one, preparing for an evaluation we have of some coaches in two weeks, and this week the coaches are going through psycho-social and basic counseling training, so there will be a fair amount of things going on in the office.

I hope you all are doing well and enjoying baseball playoffs, the start of the NFL season and all the other great things that fall has to offer in the states! Thank you again for all the love and support, it’s so great to hear from you all!




This is a photograph of me at the holiday camp with some Motherwell Coaches: Lavista, Sindi, Nikza, V.I.P, Spakes, Voete and Mhama. It has been great to get so close to all of them, they are teaching me so much.