Back from Spring Break

It’s strange to think we’ve been here for 10 weeks.

Only 10 weeks.

Already 10 weeks.

It feels like it’s been years and it feels like it’s been no time at all. It’s a strange thought, but it makes sense. We’ve learned and changed so much, individually and communally and that makes this time seem like years. We also still have so much to learn and so many opportunities to apply what we’ve learned already. And that makes it seem like no time at all.

These last 10 weeks, we haven’t grown in minutes, hours or days but in moments of joy, spells of confusion and periods of adjustment. But I guess growth has never been about a measure of time, but more about what happens during that time. And after that time? Is time really a limitation to growth, learning and change? Is it ever “too late” to learn? Is it ever too late to change? And if time isn’t a boundary to change, could a moment of deep, inexpressible joy in a lifetime of pain change everything? 

All right, I’m starting to let my mind wander… but before I get too far off track (and forget to do my homework entirely), I must add that our spring break was a great experience and I have posted some pictures from the trip. Our week back at school after break was not so great as most of us had papers and books to catch up on. So we spent most of the week cramming as much homework as we could into a short amount of time.

If growth is measured by what I did during those hours, I must say that I didn’t grow as much as I could have and could have used my time better. Although I was doing schoolwork, it meant little to me because I rushed through my work and didn’t appreciate it. I shouldn’t confine my schooling to the last minute. 

Lesson learned (after 15 years of school?). Well, I guess it’s never too late to learn, eh? Why not now?

Peace, 

Glenn

Mountains near Nature’s Valley

Everyone preparing for the Bungee Jump

The Beach at Chintsa (Eastern Cape)

Wall of Sand at Chintsa

Half-buried Rusted Bike

Caught in a Sandstorm

My camera broke!

Solitary confinement cells at Constitution Hill

Eating “Bunny Chow” in Soweto

Zebras at Kruger Park

Hyenas laying around

Leopard on a rock

Leopard looking up (better view, maybe?)

Sunset in Kruger

Monkey on the road

Climbing up a tree

More Zebras grazing

Elephant staring back

Knocking over trees

An eagle with its prey

The Watering Hole

Across the Grasslands

An Old Elephant

Up-close kudu

Hippos!

Giraffes walking along the river

Warthog

Family of Giraffes

Lilac-breasted roller

Look out! There’s a… RHINO in the road!

 

Mid-Semester Trip

It’s hard to believe we’re already half-way finished with the school semester at UWC.

For our break (spring break pt. 2!), we leave Friday morning to take a bus to Durban and Port Elizabeth. We will stay there a few days and most of us (except Steve and I) will bungee-jump off a bridge. Then we will fly to Johannesburg and stay there for a few days. Finally, we will go to Kruger National Park on a safari. 

Hopefully by then, we will make it in one piece (hopefully without any dangerous elephant or cheetah encounters) back in Cape Town by Sept. 7th.

Peace.

Glenn

 

The Rowboat

Laughter broke the silence of

my quiet walk—

 

a small light-skinned boy beside

a young dark-skinned man

rowing together on an old

creaky wooden bench,

their oars breaking the green

skin of the Indian Ocean

to find the blue blood of the

Atlantic surging underneath.

 

At first, I noticed their bench

was anchored to the ground,

resting on the brow

of a bluff’s fixed gaze

and their oars were too short

to reach the water (in fact,

their hands were empty).

 

But they had entered another world

and the ground swelled with water,

the moist lumps of grass

in the field filling with

the ocean’s breath and rolling

crashing beneath their squeaking

groaning boat, an unfastened

rope trailing behind in the water

like an open hand waving

goodbye to the shore.

 

—and watching them row with

their oars stirred my silence to Laughter

 

and I called out to them in their distant world

as they rode the heaving chest of the ocean

 

(they turned to me mid-row and waved)

 

—and I wondered if we break into Laughter

or if Laughter breaks into us—

 

climbing over the walls of our shut eyelids

and prying them open

squeezing through the cell of our silence

and unbolting our lips

 

breaking us free, with fear and pain untied behind us

 

—and for a few short moments

living in the world as it should be.

 

–I wrote this poem draft today, reflecting on a young man and a child I saw in Simon’s Town almost a month ago. They were sitting on a bench in-between rain-showers, imagining they were in a rowboat and I started laughing. They turned to me and waved and I waved back. I was struck by the suddenness of laughter after I’d spent all afternoon walking alone in silence. It was a small moment, but a memory that still lingers with me a month later- even through all the things that have happened during those four weeks.

Glenn

 

Mountains, beaches, sunrises, baboons and penguins

Alright. Here’s a post with some substance (and pictures!). The last 10 days have been extremely busy. I also find that it’s difficult to write about the things I’ve been learning in Cape Town because I’ve actually been learning too much all at once (which is not necessarily a bad thing, mind you). I spent most of yesterday writing in my journal and produced over 12 pages (and I write very, very small, too!). My entry actually was never finished and I will have to continue tomorrow.

Today, however, I finished recording Saturday’s debut show for Bush Radio. (Last week, I thought I would finish it, but I underestimated how much time actually goes into producing). The show’s name is “Peace, Love and Happiness” and will be aimed at the Cape Town area youth as an opportunity for them to voice their opinions, ideas, music and culture through the program. Oh, and their creative work–like poetry. 

This week’s show will air from 1pm to 2pm here in Cape Town, which is 6am to 7am in Chicago. If you feel like getting up early and checking it out, you can go to the Bush Radio website and listen to the show free at: bushradio.co.za. Most of the music played on Bush Radio is R&B, Techno, South African and Pop. Here’s hoping the listeners react well to some “alternative” music like Sufjan Stevens and Sigur Ros. 

I will also be pre-recording a segment for the morning show which will be revamped starting September 1st. The segment will be called: “This Day In History” and I will be playing a character called “G-Love” who is a Southern American with a very thick accent. I hate to further stereotypes, but they said it was meant to parody an American weatherman on one of the Cape Town news channels. It should be fun, though. Also, I will be coming in early (8am) on Tuesdays for the morning show to teach Spanish to the show’s host, Victor. On Wednesdays, Victor will attempt to teach me some helpful phrases in Afrikaans. Good luck to both of us…

On Monday I had my first test in South Africa (Originally, it was scheduled for the 11th, but postponed for a week [which was pretty awesome, just like the brackets in these parentheses]). It was for English class on Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God. It was an essay test where we had to analyze the final page of the book. After the test, I realized I need to return to Wheaton North and thank Mrs. Vangetson for all the analysis skills she taught me senior year. In other words, the test went very well. Or so I think.

Without further ado, here are some pictures from our weekend retreat in Hermanus (August 1-3) and from last Saturday in Simon’s Town.

Flower in the Rocks

Beach on the way to Hermanus

Standing Above the Valley

Morning Dew

Rainbow After Sunrise

Mountains By Hermanus

Mountain Sunrise

Mountains Waking Up

Valley Sun

Am I really in South Africa?

Best Buddies

Penguins!

Marching on Land and in the Air

Baboons!

Mayo Straight from the Jar

Awe-some Animals, eh?

I hope you enjoyed those photos!

Peace,

Glenn

 

Update

For those of you I haven’t had contact with recently, I apologize for my lack of updates on the blog. I must say that no amount of words can fully describe the experiences our group has shared over the past three weeks. However, I’ve learned in the last week that no struggle for words should ever prevent a person from trying to express what they must or desire to express. 

Anyway, it’s just past one in the morning in Cape Town and I have a test tomorrow afternoon, so I should probably get some shut-eye soon.

But I must say that class at UWC has been going well and I am enjoying my time at Bush Radio very much. I will be pre-recording my first show for Bush Radio this week and it will probably be broadcast Saturday afternoon probably at 1pm. This happens to be 6am in Chicago/Milwaukee, so if you want an early-morning laugh, check the Bush Radio website to listen to my goofy voice on the airwaves… :)

We also spent last weekend (the first weekend of August) at Volmoed in Hermanus and I was amazed by both the beauty of the nature that surrounded us and the communion I experienced with my friends.

Over the next few days, I hope to provide some written “sketches” and some poetry of the places I’ve been and the experiences I’ve had while starting to update on daily life again.

Goodnight and peace,

Glenn

 

At the University

Molweni nonke—

Most of the last week was spent shuttling to and from the University of Western Cape organizing our class schedules, going to class, doing homework and avoiding homework. My class schedule is rather light with only four classes (12 credits) because I have to leave two free days for work at Bush Radio and Friday for our two classes given through the Desmond Tutu Peace Center at UWC. The university doesn’t have an online class selection process, so I had to stand in a long line in the Faculty of Arts building about four or five times just to add and drop classes and finally get my schedule straightened out. On Thursday, I’ll have to stand in that line one more time to get a document needed for my school ID. As it turns out, I will only go to class Monday, Thursday and Friday. Tuesday and Wednesday I will work at Bush Radio from 9:30 to 17:00 (5:00 pm for everyone back home).

At UWC I initially felt a little self-conscious about my appearance as a foreign student, but that quickly wore off. Walking through campus for the first time last week, I found many students spend their time sitting and talking to one-another: mostly in Afrikaans, Xhosa or a mixture with English.

A few of us have thrown around a Frisbee in the grassy areas on campus during our free time. It’s been interesting to see the looks we get from the students passing by, as Frisbee is pretty much nonexistent on campus. Dominoes, however seems to be the popular thing among the students. Every table in the student center has kids slamming Dominoes on the table, with onlookers occasionally shouting. My goal is to learn to play Dominoes and join in at one of the tables before the end of the semester. I have some lofty academic goals, eh? 

I haven’t met too many students at UWC yet, but that’s understandable considering I’ve only been to class for one week. However, I met and talked to two young men from Zimbabwe during orientation and went to a football match last Saturday between the Kaiser Chiefs and Manchester United with Dirk, a student from Holland (along with 3 of my friends from Marquette).

A lot more has happened in the last week besides schoolwork and registration, but it is nearing 1 am here and I must get some sleep. Tomorrow I have the privilege of working at Bush Radio for the first time and I’m very much excited to meet with the people there.

Although I haven’t updated this blog in about a week, I have written much in my personal journal. There is a lot on my mind that I hope to reflect on and pray over throughout the next few days. Eventually I will find the time to express these thoughts and relay more of the things that have happened recently.

Peace,

Glenn

 

Pictures From the Weekend

I thought I’d take a few quick moments to post some pictures from last weekend.

Melikaya and his daughter

View of Cape Town from the Atlantic

Entrance to Robben Island

Shipwreck

Lion’s Head

Looking down into Cape Town.

Rails to Cape Town

Muizenberg Beach

Jellyfish washed ashore

Rocks near the beach

Changing Huts

Between the tracks and ocean

Hope you enjoy those for now. Eventually, I’ll have a link to all the pictures I’ve taken so far. (Edit: I also apologize for the hugeness of the photos. I’ll try to resize them next time I post pictures.)

–Glenn

 

Just Scratching the Surface

Our wireless internet has been down the past few days, so I’m using one of the old computers in the house (they’re running on Windows 2000!). A lot has happened this weekend–we went to Robben Island and to the top of Signal Hill on Saturday and seven of us took a train out to False Bay (which was a fantastic adventure). Today was also my first “unofficial” day of class at the University of the Western Cape but I will leave this post only with two poems I finished during my free time this weekend. Hopefully I’ll update with more details soon.

Fireflies

If you walk through a field in the middle

of an Illinois summer night they will rise

from the grass in one twinkling swell

as if the earth held its breath and finally let go

sending glimpses of light

on the backs of their shoulders.

And the next time you walk through

a crowded room or the streets

downtown, watch–and glimpses

of light will rise from every face

as God breathes life that swells and bursts

into sparks in the deepest blacks of our eyes.

———————————

Wrinkles

With wrinkles like unfolded pages,

I can read the stories in your face

as you sit silently alone on the Metro

hands still, sunset in your eyes

all these memories

running

deep.

I’ve read similar stories

in my mother’s hands drawing

life from an empty page,

and around my father’s eyes squinting

through the sunlight on the porch.

I’ve even caught them briefly

in the wrinkles of a little girl’s smile

as she rests in her father’s arms

and on the dry lips of a man who sleeps

alone on a bench in the park.

But our wrinkles only

unfold so far

and I know you only

as well as a book

whose words are woven

deep

within its binding.

——————-

These poems represent the beauty, the stories, the pain and the struggle I see in those around me. But I want to dig deeper and know more–to not be afraid to ask questions, develop and cultivate deeper relationships or to explore the places and the stories that seem so difficult to understand both in South Africa and back home. So far, I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of this city, these people and these stories. I hope to bring home all that I learn in South Africa and I hope that I wouldn’t take for granted any of the opportunities I’m given or the people I meet.

–Glenn

 

Last Few Days

Molweni nonke (Welcome everyone)—

We’ve been trying to learn some of the simpler Xhosa words the past few days. The Xhosa language uses about 15 different “click” sounds in their speech. Even the word “Xhosa” begins with a short click on the side of the mouth. It’s beautiful to hear people speak the language—it flows so smoothly. Whenever we try to speak with the clicks, we trip over the word. I must admit that our speaking is nowhere near as beautiful as the native Xhosa speakers.

Wednesday evening after we toured the Iziko Slave Lodge, we ate dinner at Marco’s African Place with Pearnel, Melakaya and his daughter Sambeso and ordered a handful of different African dishes. It was an amazing time of communion as everyone shared what was on his or her plate with those sitting nearby. We began the meal passing around a large brown gourd (I believe it was the dried shell of a gourd, but I could be wrong… it could’ve just been wood carved out into a bowl) and each person took a sip of an African brew made from crushed corn. During the meal, nearly everyone ordered a different dish and I shared in such tastes as: worms, crocodile, ostrich, bull’s tongue, lamb, spring buck (antelope) and pumpkin soup. The soup doesn’t sound quite so interesting following all those other meats, but it was amazing. At the restaurant, a live band played and we celebrated Elizabeth’s 20^th birthday with some sour cheesecake and ice cream (for me, cheesecake made from sour milk has a very strange taste). It was an exciting and cheerful evening—probably one I will never forget.

Thursday we woke up early and piled into the van to go to the University of Western Cape for orientation. It was a typical meeting filled with introductions and lectures on campus safety but my ears really perked when we talked about the importance of our experience in Cape Town.

The past few days, my perception of this trip has expended. During our visit at the Iziko Slave Lodge on Wednesday, Pearnel, Liz and I talked about the importance of American students traveling to South Africa—especially regarding the stories we have to learn and share within South Africa and back home when we return. On a personal level, I am convinced more and more that journalism is exactly what I need to study. Already, my experience in South Africa has drawn me into many stories and my curiosity grows with every bus ride, ever conversation and every person I meet. There are so many thoughts to comb through and it’s difficult to find the time to reflect, but I’m sure I’ll find the time and hopefully I’ll use it wisely.

After that slight digression, I’ll return to UWC: it’s a beautiful campus and I’m excited to attend class. The experience at UWC will be much different than any other school I’ve attended because I’ll suddenly be a minority; a foreigner. Our first classes are on Monday, but the semester doesn’t really kick into gear until a few weeks later.

Friday, we went to the U.S. Consulate in Tokai to familiarize ourselves with the issues in South Africa. After a short breakfast at a mall down the road from the Consulate, we went to RAPCAN (Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect) and then to the Desmond Tutu Peace Trust where Melikaya held a teaching session and the Executive Director, Nomfundo Walaza, spoke to us about the center and her convictions about the political issues in South Africa. She was soft spoken but her voice had a certain power that gripped me as she spoke—I haven’t met many people who have that ability and I found it rather interesting.

We had a block party that evening. Earlier in the week, we sent fliers around our neighborhood inviting our neighbors to come to the Kimberley House to meet us and eat some American food. In the afternoon we shopped and cooked/baked our foods (most of them were sweets. I made pink rice krispies treats because the only marshmallows I could find were pink. It was quite a “manly” snack!). The party was exciting—several of our neighbors showed up and we sat in the dining room with them, eating the food and sharing our stories. Melikaya and Sambeso came for the party and he brought a man from the Gugulethu township named Thembekile (I’m not sure of the spelling). I spoke with Thembekile, who likes to be called “Scotch” after the alcoholic beverage, and he spoke to me, Andy and Steve extensively about the problem Zimbabwe regarding their president Robert Mugabe. As he spoke, he would come near to you, put his hand on your shoulder, shake your hand or touch your arm when he said something important. I thought he was a vibrant man and a passionate speaker even though I didn’t necessarily agree with all of his political viewpoints.

After the party and dishwashing, I was exhausted and lay down in my bed. I fell asleep at about 8:30 in the clothes I wore all day and woke up this morning at 4:30 to a quiet house. This morning, we leave to take a boat to Robben Island (the prison where Nelson Mandela stayed for more than 18 of his 27 years in prison), so I should leave soon.

Peace,

–Glenn

 

Observatory Sunset

I thought I would share a picture from last night as our group walked from Kimberley House to the grocery store in Observatory. This was the first sunlight we have seen since arriving. It has rained much the past few days.

Yesterday, we went to the Amy Biehl Foundation downtown (a foundation focused on helping South Africa’s youth that is named in memory of a young woman from California who was brutally murdered by radical members of the PAC for the color of her skin in 1993. She spent a year studying at the University of Western Cape and was dedicated to helping the youth and joining the struggle for change in South Africa.) We explored the Iziko South African Museum which had many old rocks, fossils, recreated skeletons and rock paintings from ancient African tribes. We ate lunch at a place called the “Food Lover’s Market” in Cape Town which reminded me much of the Milwaukee Public Market in downtown Milwaukee. After lunch, we drove to the outskirts of Cape Town to the ELPP (an organization devoted to the global development of peace and leadership) and then to Bush Radio, where I will be working this semester. During our tour, the executive director turned to me and told me I will broadcast my first radio show in 2 weeks. Considering I know little about radio broadcast, this will be quite a challenge, but I’m unbelievably excited for this opportunity. I will write more later about my first impressions of Bush Radio.

It is 11:15 am. Usually we will be busy during this time, but Melikaya called this morning to say class registration at the University of Western Cape will be postponed until Friday and we won’t begin our day until closer to noon. It was nice to have some time in the morning to read (A Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela) and eat two breakfasts (one by myself at 7 am and one with the family at 11 am). Now that my belly is full of good food, we’re about to head out, so I should leave this blog alone.

Peace,

Glenn