Week 16 - “Take me to the end so I can see the start…”

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Recently one of my friends back in the US posted a Facebook status about how cold it’s been there; she made a remark to about breaking out her fur coat. Her friend commented about how it’s seventeen where she is farther north. Meanwhile, at my desk in Cape Town, I sat missing air conditioning in the 90ish (31 C) weather. It’s funny; you’re just as likely to hear “Winter Wonderland” or “White Christmas” here as you are in a mall back in the States. How about that?

While I may be more aware than ever before how frequently the word “snow” appears in so many songs on my Christmas playlist,  it doesn’t dampen my shining Christmas spirit , which grows brighter with each white candle lit on the wreath at St George’s Cathedral (is pink and purple an Episcopal thing?). Christmas parties are in season and the ASF office has closed for a three-and-a-half-week holiday, which starts with a public holiday.

Today is the Day of Reconciliation, which came into effect in 1994 after the fall of apartheid. The day is mean to foster national unity and the spirit of reconciliation after so many years of divisiveness. After apartheid, new holidays were introduced and old holidays were - in some ways – tweaked in the spirit of being a day that every person in the country could observe. Before 1994, 16 December was known as the Day of the Vow, which celebrated the victory of the Boers over the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River in 1838.  The white Afrikaaners prayed before battle and promised God that if they won, they would hold the day in reverence for all time.

In commemoration of this day, I spent the morning walking around Cape Town on a special community walk organized for the day. With Suzanne and many others, I walked from St. George’s Cathedral to a Temple on the City Gardens and then to the oldest mosque in Cape Town. The whole thing took about two hours since at each location we heard a speech from a different person; each speaker was of a different faith, as well.

Apartheid ended sixteen years ago. The Civil Rights movement in the US was over forty years ago, but there are still too many lingering views of hatred between neighbors of different colors or faiths or backgrounds or lifestyles. My parents were still in college during the Civil Rights movement. When apartheid ended, I was eight-years-old, ending first grade and starting second grade. At twenty-four, that time in my life sounds so far away, but what about in the life  - or the mind - of a nation?

Week 15 - "Above is the summer moon..."

Summer has set in and schools have let out, so as we make our way deeper into advent, things are getting pretty quiet here in the Anglican Students’ Federation office. The chaplains’ conference is usually the last big show of the calendar year, so now that that’s done we’re looking towards the 2011 provincial student conference, which will be for one week in June next year. My boss, Odwa, the ASF organizer, and I will probably be going to Limpopo, the future conference site, in January to start more planning. Around that time, students will start to come back and I’ll be able to help out with Bible studies and such again, but for now, it’s pretty quiet here.

Still, since it’s Christmas season in Cape Town, there’s no shortage of exciting things going on. A few weeks ago, I went with some new friends to see the Christmas lights come on in the city bowl; it reminded me of the tree-lighting ceremony in Watchung, where I grew up – only, you know, a WHOLE lot bigger (oh, and there wasn’t some gorgeous pine tree all ugly-ed up with vertical lights, but you know…).

There's definitely no shortage of gorgeousness around here...

Silvermine

Very near where I live in the suburbs, in a carefully position right by the mountain, is the beautiful Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.    I’ve gotten to see a bit of its gorgeousness on a couple of occasions.

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

While Longwood Gardens back home is getting all lit up and featuring Christmas music, Kirstenbosch is kicking off its summer concert series! Every Sunday, they feature a different artist live in a special pavilion area in the park. Sweeping up from the pavilion is big grassy hill with a few small seating areas off to the side. The vast majority of concert-goers bring a blanket, a picnic supper, and a bottle of wine – which is exactly what Suzanne, Amanda, and I did this past Sunday when we went to see Mango Groove in concert. I hadn’t heard much about Mango Groove before and only had a two-day crash course from Suzanne’s CDs, but the show was AMAZING! The energy of the show and of the crowd was awesome, and the music made me just want to get up and dance. Sitting on a grassy hill in the sunshine only added to the ambiance; it was so much better than sitting in bleachers in a stadium.

Mango Groove Concert

This Sunday, we have tickets to see Freshly Ground (who sang the “Wacka Wacka/This Time for Africa” with Shakira)!
Sometimes, it’s difficult to remember that it’s December when I’m wearing shorts or applying sunblock or missing air conditioning. Also, for the first time, advent’s “light in the darkness” themes aren’t reflected by a season of shortening days leading up to 21 December, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.  Still, it’s Christmas, and one of my favorite times of year! I love the “waiting for the light” theme of advent and listening to Christmas music (although it did seem kinda funny to me to hear “Winter Wonderland” playing in the mall), and while I miss my family this time of year… ;-)

 I’m so excited for Christmas here – and the YASCer visitors that it will soon be bringing!

PS  – Let’s go Blue Hens! I hope there’s a football victory to celebrate when I wake up on Saturday!

Week 14 – “O come, desire of nations bind in one the hearts of all mankind…”

…And what were you thankful for this year?


I can appreciate how wonderful my life is without trying to count my blessings and running out of fingers… and toes. While I may have been an ocean and more away this year from the distinctly American day, that only made it easier to leave behind the not-so-great parts when Amanda and I decided to share the holiday with our new friends here in Cape Town. For instance, in my mind, Thanksgiving is about being thankful, spending time with family, consuming gluttonous amounts of turkey and pumpkin pie, and starting the holiday season – my favorite time of year. I felt no longing in my heart for the missed opportunities of Black Friday, the over-crowded airports and interstates, and the holiday’s swept-under-the-rug history.

Let me tell you a little bit about how my Turkey Day was spent here in Cape Town… After picking up some supplies, Amanda and I headed over to her apartment to cook our first turkey and a delicious batch of cornbread dressing. Since the bird and its dressing were reserved for our Thanksgiving feast on Friday, Amanda and I celebrated the day with a dinner of turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce, KinderEggs, and cinnabons (the original)! While the bird was in the oven, we passed the time with a marathon of all the Home Improvement Thanksgiving episodes! Our culinary adventures lasted the better part of the day, but I still made in home in type to skype with my family. It was so wonderful to see all of their smiling faces or, in the case of the Box branch, hear their voices and the accents of home. I think the most vivid reminder of why I bought my webcam would have to be when my five-year-old cousin Daniel showed me the Thanksgiving turkey he made at school – ‘cause you just can’t do that stuff over the phone!

Friday morning, we made the mashed potatoes and green beans and then headed over to the Hope Africa office to serve our friends. In addition to our work, Suzanne made some scrumptious pies (apple and pumpkin) and her friend Peggy made some delicious gravy. Then, we served the whole glorious meal to a dozen of our friends at Hope Africa. As a thank you, they bought us Dr Pepper – a rarity in South Africa and an American staple I had never actually tried before (but there’s no time like the present). Between courses, we even went around the table to all say something we were thankful for. While I thought lovingly of my family back home, I couldn’t have wished for a better South Africa Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving in Cape Town!!!!

Later that week, I helped out with a Christmas party at Bishopscourt, the home/offices of the Archbishop of Cape Town (ie the Presiding Bishop of the Province of Southern Africa). Suzanne organized a party for the children in Anglican homes around the Cape Town area – all 160 of them. It was a ruckus – a wonderful exhausting funny rewarding ruckus. There was food and games and swimming and lots of exhausting helpers, but even after lots of preparation and managing long lines of children wanting lunch or popcorn, even seeing all the games they played, the best moments were when I actually got to talk to the kids. They were so sweet and so appreciative of the party. It warmed my heart and filled me with holiday spirit

Week 13 – “Night swimming deserves a quiet night…”

My grandfather used to love to read National Geographic, the magazine known for its photos; he was a subscriber for longer than I can remember. He stored his decade-spanning collection in the basement of my grandparents’ house – shelf after shelf of bright yellow spines sitting neatly in chronological order. Every once in awhile, when I’d go down there to get something, I’d pull one out randomly and flip through the pages to some of the pictures before carefully reinserting it into its proper place on the shelf. Somehow, no matter how beautiful a photo may be (and National Geographic has some of the best), it’s just not the same as the real thing, is it? Knowing something’s there and seeing something’s there can be completely different things.

In my thirteenth week here in the Rainbow Nation, I went on my first South African road trip! My dearest American friends know how much I enjoy a good loud ride on I-95 to see some of my favorite people and places, and I was quite excited to do some driving this past week and have a chance to see some more of this lovely country I’ve been enjoying. I started this past week off with a lovely trip to Betty’s Bay with the Anglican Society (AnSoc) from the University of Cape Town. As you know, summer is starting is South Africa, so after a fierce bout with exams, students are ready for break. Before they scattered, seventeen of us came together to get away for a retreat/vacation/planning weekend. Betty’s Bay is a quiet beach town nestled between the ocean and the mountains. The houses are spread out and the city seems much farther away than it actually is. It’s the perfect place for a retreat. Although it was a little crowded fitting seventeen of us into a four-bedroom house, it was so very much fun – and so very relaxing. The beach was a short but adventurous walk away. To get there, we had to climb over a few steep dunes, following twisty paths through the brush and passing a lovely lake.

During the planning activities, we not only discussed what we wanted the ministry to look like next year, every person got some time to reflect on this past year. Then, we got to talk about our journey in small groups. So much can happen in a year. Looking back on my past year – and my year before that – reminds me just how much madness (both wonderful and not-so-great) a year can hold! It was a great time to get to know more of the students better – although at one point we were interrupted by a wild baboon peeking into our living room. The guys chased him off easily, but he served as a vivid reminder that I’m not in Jersey anymore.

Once we’d finished our planning, adventured on the beach, and enjoyed a nice braai (or barbeque, as we say in American), it was time for my first game of 30 Seconds – the board game of South Africa. The game is played in teams. On your team’s turn, you draw a card with a list of things on it (anything from cities to people to brands – all known well in South Africa) that you have to get your team to say by describing them yourself – but you only have thirty seconds – hence the name. You then move your gamepiece the number of spaces equivalent to the number of clues that your team got right. Even though I was a rookie, our team was the clear victor, but everyone had fun. There were some really funny – albeit ridiculous – clues people used to get there teams to say the right answer. I look forward to seeing everyone again after the holidays!

Betty's Bay Weekend

Leaving right from Betty’s Bay, my next trip took me to Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape (Cape Town is in the Western Cape) for the annual provincial Chaplains’ Conference at the College of the Transfiguration, the Anglican seminary. The drive was quite long, but it was so amazing to see all the scenery along the N2 highway: farms with horses, cows, and OSTRICHES; beautiful coastal towns; curving mountain roads; and the lights of Port Elizabeth. My friends, co-workers, and travel companions, Odwa and Tshepo, were amused by my excitement at the mass-ostrich sightings.

The conference was an exciting opportunity to finally meet some of the chaplains I’ve been emailing and to hear about their respective ministries (and how they’re so similar but also quite different from my knowledge of Episcopal campus ministries). The chaplains are a fairly diverse group. I also got to spend some time with the ASF President, Thandeka and hang out with my fellow YASCer missionary, Travis, who lives at the monastery. It was fun to catch up and hear about his experiences on the other side of the country.

Grahamstown

The trip concluded with the overnight drive back to Cape Town, which included a stop in East London… which is three hours in the other direction – but was still a fun sight to see. I got to meet Mama Gonya, my boss’s mom and, for the first time, I saw the Indian Ocean!!! I was equally excited when we spotted some zebras while driving along the curvy mountain roads, decorated by the occasional rural town, which gave new meaning to the phrase “quiet, country, life.” I got home Thursday morning just in time to cook a turkey… which I will describe in more detail in next week’s blog!

Week 12 – “Wasn't it beautiful runnin' wild 'til you fell asleep?”

In case you missed one of my shouts of excitement (or in case there is somewhere on this planet where the sound of vuvuzelas did not reach), some friends and I had the privilege of going to the USA vs SA game at the World Cup stadium in Cape Town!!!

I’m not usually a big sports fan… Don’t get me wrong – I love me some home team victories from the Yankees or the Giants… but as for live sports events? I went to a bunch in high school and a few football games in college. There is something about being at the actual event. The power of the crowd hums through you like it’s got a heartbeat all its own (or too many vuvuzelas).

My friends Suzanne, Helen, Amanda and I decided to take the train into the city and then do the Fan Walk through the city center to the stadium. The forty minute train ride was a riot! We sat roughly in the middle of the train, between the two sets of doors on either end of the car. In the aisle between each pair a group of particularly excited fans congregated: one group was drunk, the other was still drinking on the train. The still-drinking group rocked out on the costume front; they donned flag-decorated hats, face paints, jumpsuits, wigs. One guys was dressed as Batman! They weren’t as loud as the less-costumed more-inebriated group, who started with the songs (singing everything from the South African national anthem to “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas and vuvuzelas right away. The train literally shook with all the fan excitement. It was like sitting in a train car with two vying fraternities on either side of us – each competing for the honor of most school spirit… while simultaneously celebrating homecoming. I had a flashback to the type of antics I often observed homecoming weekend during my years at university.

Surging with fan energy from the train ride, we enjoyed a warm summer night’s walk through the city center. The stadium grew larger and larger in the distance – more and more real. As if to herald its approach, the vuvuzelas seemed to multiply – as did the number of South Africans around in us in their yellow and green Bafana Bafana (South Africa’s soccer team) shirts. Occaisionally, I caught a US fan in the midst of us: a man with a flag tied like a cape, red-white-and-blue shirts or groups, a guy singing the Star-Spangled Banner. When we finally reached the stadium, the US fans were even harder to spot. Bafana Bafana fans cheered and shone like sunshine against the black night sky visible above the roof of the stadium, which was lit as bright as day. (Did I mention that the game didn’t start until 9:30pm in order to air live in the US at a reasonable time?)

The teams were a good match for each other – neck-in-neck. No goals were scored in the first half. In the second half, Bafana Bafana seemed to get more aggressive. While no goals were scored for most of the second half, those South African boys seemed to want it more in the face of all of their fans. I was starting to lose faith in those US boys I was cheering for. They just didn’t seem to want it the way their opponents did, but then, out of nowhere, GOAL for the USA! Typical, America :-) And that right there is how the US beat SA 1-0!

Week 11 - "I'd risk a fall just to know how it feels to fly..."

As I mentioned at the end of my last blog, a pilgrimage of about thirty people from my home diocese spent days in South Africa! With some much-appreciated help from my friend Greg, I was able to meet up with them during their time here.  There were a few people in the pilgrimage whom I’d met briefly, whose names I’d heard around the diocese, or who I’d had to call as a part of a diocesan phone survey I did while interning for the diocese a few summers back. For the most part, I didn’t know the travelers… but that didn’t reduce my excitement at their presence here or my eagerness to meet up with them! Last Friday, my fellow YASCER Amanda and I enjoyed dinner with the group at the Protea Hotel, where they were staying. We got to talk with a handful of the Jersey folk in the lobby before enjoying an inspiring conversation with Bishop Councell, Bishop of my home diocese – the Diocese of New Jersey, and The Very Rev Rene John, Dean of New Jersey’s Trinity Cathedral. It was nice to share stories and talk about our impressions of this beautiful place we’ve all gotten to explore. While I’m deeply enjoying my adventure here as a missionary, it has been hard to give up a year’s worth of things like family dinners and late night conversations with friends. The evening was a refreshing and renewing taste of home. One moment that stuck out to me was the key line in a story of Henri Nouwen’s that Bishop Councell repeated about the thrilling magic of trapeze; “The flyer has to fly and the catcher has to catch.” See, if the flyer tries to catch the catcher, he could break the catcher’s wrists and they could both fall.  The flyer just has to let go and fly, all the while trusting that at just the right moment the catcher will catch him. Think about how many situations that this applies to and all the risks we take in life to fly away on an adventure to a new place or with a new person or for a new experience – or maybe all of the above! It makes missionaries sound like trapeze artists.

Another adventure this week was a short trip down to Hout Bay for supper last Saturday. After running a few errands, Suzanne and I decided to go for an earlier supper. I must say there is definitely never a bad time to take a ride along the coast. The town is just a bit north of Simons Town, which Amanda and I explored the Saturday before and which you can read all about in my last blog.

Now it’s time to acknowledge another less scenic adventure I had this week: my ongoing journey with my computer screen.  I’ve never pretended to be anything other than a computer geek; my dad built me my first computer when I was five or six. This past week, I’ve had to look my inner geek straight in the eye - because I was unable to read the bottom half of my computer screen.  While my screen is currently working (when disassembling it, checking the connections, and reassembling it didn’t work, I figured out the right angle at which to shake my computer to fix the problem – ridiculous) and I think I’m finally getting to the bottom of this technical issue, I can’t help but feel like I rely more on technology for communication and entertainment purposes than I had previously realized. It makes me think that maybe my use of technology bare more resemblance to Luke Skywalker and his cybernetic hand than I’d like to admit.

A hardedar made an appearance in the yard last weekend!

Week 10 – “Holding both of her shoes in her hand, said she likes to feel the sand beneath her feet…”

Thursday, 4 November 2010

(This post is late due to some technical difficulties… which will be further explained in next week’s blog)

It’s been another exciting week here in Cape Town! Last Friday, Ansoc UCT & CPUT and I went over to Bishopscourt, the home and offices of Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, archbishop of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (check out his blog on the list of those I follow on my blogger profile). We had a lovely afternoon talking with him, planting flowers together, and exploring the garden before Archbishop Thabo offered a prayer for the students as they begin their end of semester exams (remember those reversed seasons!). It was a fun way to begin the weekend!

Saturday, Amanda and I went on a (touristy) adventure down to Boulder Beach and Simons Town and saw PENGUINS. We wandered the boardwalk paths and saw the cute little guys hanging out en masse on the shore or in little clusters under bushes and trees. PENGUINS! Penguins hanging out in their natural habitat. It made me think about how I’m waaay closer to Antartica then I’ve ever been before – not that I’m actually close to Antartica at all… but I’m closer.

After we’d checked out the cute wildlife, Amanda and I headed to the beach and climbed up on one of the beach’s boulders to back in the out-of-control gorgeousness that is Boulder Beach. Seriously. Unbelievable. It was one of those scenes that was just so completely beautiful that you keep taking pictures of it, hoping you’ll take a picture that captures the way that this place can take your breath away. With the exception of a few passersby and a seagull who couldn’t stay away (he tried leaving twice but came back), we enjoyed the peace and solitude of the rock for over an hour. It was well worth the sunburn!

Once we got hungry enough to break our bliss, we wandered over to the Boulder Beach Restaurant for a delicious lunch. Here, we saw the coolest sign:

I’m glad it pointed out the Moon; that one can be tricky!

After lunch, we wandered around Simons Town, a cute little town by the sea with lots and lots of boats in the harbor (including some sort of battleship).

Check out more pictures on my Picasa album:

Boulder Beach & Simons Town

Sunday, of course, was Halloween – Jack Skellington, costumes, candy, pumpkins, fall leaves – Wait, it’s SPRING! Last Halloween (also UD Homecoming), involved a Star Trek uniform, my last college football game, friends, horror movies, Britney Spears Three dancing, trees that looked like they were on fire, and other general merriment. I wouldn’t so much say that I missed Halloween so much as it didn’t seem like Halloween.

The neighborhood I’m staying in allocated two hours for trick-or-treating in the late afternoon and a couple dozen kids in various degrees of costumes (sometimes just a wig and a hat to constitute a witch) stopped by. It was a different kind of Halloween. I remember talking to the Ansoc-ers here about it at Bishopscourt; I couldn’t contain my surprise at their indifference. It’s a culture thing. I know. For the first time, I thought about Halloween as not just American, but kinda patriotic in just how distinctly American the celebration of it seems to be… but who knows, maybe I’m out-of-touch with other possible international observations.

On a final note, I noticed yesterday that there are all these people from the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey here in Cape Town right now. Clearly, I should have been paying more attention. Yesterday, they even saw the Boulder Beach penguins. Here’s there blog: http://newjerseyinsouthafrica.blogspot.com/ In next Thursday's post, we'll talk more about them :-)

Week 9 – “All the things I knew, but I didn’t know…”

Hello, friends. Thanks to everyone at home for all the love and prayers and support that’s gotten me here… and extra bonus points for y’all who are taking the time to read my weekly thoughts….

Last week, I went with Suzanne to run an errand down to the Waterfront of Cape Town. I’d heard a lot about this touristy area and had seen some of it from the Red Bus Cityseeing tour we went on on my birthday weekend. On this errand, I got to see more of the Waterfront up close: the big harbor, the oceanside hotels, the fancy shops. I don’t know how old the buildings were or weren’t, but they all looked shiny and glamorous and new. Typical wealthy beach vacation area. From where I was standing, it looked very Western; it reminded me of Rehoboth, Delaware or the casino strip in Gulfport, Mississippi… but wait, this is Cape Town.

Suzanne and I stopped in at the Cape Grace, one of many hotels of its kind in the area, and walked into the lobby. It was gorgeous – beating out the glitzy Gulf Coast casino in its beauty and décor (American friends, please do not underestimate the glamour of the shiny new post-Katrina casinos). Also, while it was decorated with a mural of an old map of Cape Town, the décor also seemed Western to me, reminding of the homes my aunt would decorate in South Mississippi. Anyway, Suzanne stopped at the desk to take care of what she needed to take care of and I got a glimpse at the guestbook – the latest twenty-or-so visitors to leave their names and addresses. On the two visible pages, I saw a listing from Germany, one from France, a couple from the UK, and then a whole bunch from all over the United States. Not one person in that book was from South Africa.

You know that expression “how the other half lives?” Well, I know someone here who phrases it much more honestly; “how the other one-percent lives.”

Music: Darius Rucker -  Charlestons, SC 1966 & Sugarland - The Incredible Machine

Currently reading: The Mind of South Africa by Allister Sparks

Week 8 - “A heart that beats - an incredible machine made of blood and love and hope and lust and steam calling…”

Some habits are easier to break than others. While I do not anticipate or desire any changes to my caffeine habit (mmm English Breakfast tea), I know that this habit would be a hard one to alter (hence why I travel with tea – seriously). Here’s a habit I figured would be harder to break: associating October with autumn and associating 25 degrees with cold. Just in case you forgot, that’s my way of reminding you all that the seasons are reversed down here, so it’s spring soon-to-be summer. While I’ve gotten used to this idea, it does seem strange to think Temperatures range from the cool upper-teens to mid-twenties; it’s classic mid-spring weather, only it’s in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. Anyway, now that we’ve got that exciting little tidbit out of the way…

One of the more exciting pieces of news of the week is that I started up a new Bible Study. Now, in addition to Wednesday evenings at UCT, I also will have a Tuesday Bible Study at the Cape Town campus of CPUT (Cape Peninsula University of Technology), which is just down the road from where I work at the ASF office. I’ve participated in many Bible Studies, and each has been different and informative in its own way. In the days of ECM BrewHaha Bible Studies in Newark, we were lucky to make it through a chapter a week, but through the discussions we had each Monday when we gathered for lunch, we learned a lot about life. Since I am still learning myself, the approach I’ve taken to leading Bible Studies has been the method where (one of the students or) I read a passage aloud and then, I ask them to share a word/phrase/verse that stood out to them or rose a question. If I can think of good questions while I’m preparing for Bible Study, I’ll ask those, but mostly I want to be more of a facilitator than some sort of instructor (as we would say in English Ed courses - a guide on the side rather than a sage on the stage :-) ). I was a bit anxious leading my first Bible Study at CPUT – especially when twenty-five students showed up, but the approach I selected seemed to work really well. We made it through less than a chapter-and-a-half of Jeremiah (I chose Jeremiah because I love love love the first chapter with the verses where Jeremiah is called), but there was energy and discussion and debate. Almost all of the students spoke up and got involved! It was so exciting. The Bible Study I’m running at UCT is much smaller with less debate, but it provides a more intimate setting for our discussions of Esther, which leads to a very different set of questions that still seem to overlap with the Jeremiah discussion in the strangest of places. Thanks and blessings to everyone back home for all of your love and prayers and support. I feel so blessed to be here, but I do miss you all. (PS – I LOVE mail, in case you were wondering…)

Music: My favorite band, Sugarland, just released a new album The Incredible Machine <33333 – “Little Miss” just might be my new theme song, but the whole country/rock album is definitely worth some attention.

Week 7 – “Come down to the river. Come and let yourself in. Make good on a promise to never hurt again…”

I had to double check my previous entry to be sure that I have in fact been here seven weeks. Yowza. I’m not sure if I have much that’s new and totally mind-blowing to talk about (except for that last thing I’m gonna mention)...

I’m still enjoying all that I’m doing in my work at the ASF office. Plans for the chaplains’ retreat are coming along quite nicely. My other big project, compiling the history of ASF, is also going well, but based on the piles of papers and the rate that I get through them, I think it may be a year-long effort for me to get through everything. The commute’s more tiring than the actual workday; it’s not troublesome in any way – just long enough to be tiring between the walking, the train, and the taxi. It’s never boring though. At least once a week something worthy of a story happens.

For instance, let’s talk about taxis. Every day, I go to the row of taxis between the KFC and city hall and find the one going to Omah (I just learned how to pronounce that; I’m not going to pretend that I can spell it) by asking one of the dozen-or-so regular drivers. Taxis have to be full (or have been there 20-40 min – sometimes with me on board waiting that long) before they can head out and drop off passengers at their respective locations. Last week, I was in a taxi (think – 12-passenger van) with sixteen people. Standing room only. A seventeenth almost boarded, but she said “I don’t want to die today.” I almost cracked up as we rode along. It’s the kind of thing that I might have found stressful when I first got here – but no longer. Then, there was the day I got on the taxi just as it was leaving; it was like Christmas. No wait at all. Anyway, this is part of my daily commute, and I’ve been here long enough that more and more of those drivers are starting to recognize me (as the well-camouflaged tall white American girl that I am, haha I know). I walk up and they say “Ooma!” and point me towards the right taxi in the line-up.

Even more exciting than this taxi business (haha) was last Friday’s 7:15am Eucharist at the cathedral (if you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you’ll remember that this would be St George’s in Cape Town). There have not been too many times I’ve gone to church that early, nor have there been (geekfest Star Trek and Stargate conventions aside) more than a handful of times that I’ve been starstruck (no pun intended). What do these things have to do with eachother, you ask? Well, check this out; Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu was celebrant in all of his awesome Desmond Tutu glory. We exchanged the peace.

There was something like 75 people there , crowded into the chapel on the side of the main part of the cathedral. I think at least 2/3 were visitors (most visiting from the Semester-at-Sea ship) and at least half it seemed were American; Desmond had people introduce themselves if they were visitors. Three other people in the room were from New Jersey. Sadly, they left too quickly for me to talk to them, but I do remember where they were from. The man was an Methodist pastor from Princeton and the two women were from Plainfield, a town over from where I grew up and a few blocks from my home parish. Again, Cape Town doesn’t always feel too far away.

Week 6 - "Letting go & holding close to all the things that mean the most..."

This past week, Cape Town bid farewell to the YASCer before Amanda and I: the fabulous Emily Beel. I was sad to see her go, but wish her the best is all she does. I was talking to Emily during her last days, and it was interesting to see her at the end of this journey Amanda and I are just starting.

Last Saturday, the day before Emily left, I went with her and Suzanne to this place in Salt River called the Old Biscuit Mill. From the outside, it didn’t look like much…at first. Inside, it is a wonder. In addition to being filled with wonderful, artsy, colorful little shops, there is a huge tent of decliciousness. In honor of Saturday morning, they do a kind of flea market (hence the magical food tent). The food tent was definitely the most exciting. There were tons of venders selling all different kinds of things. Not only were there your basics of coffee, tea, cookies, and produce, but other things you could find included: quiches, cakes, tarts, samoosas, pies (meat as well as fruit), thin crust pizza, smoothies, cupcakes, pasta/rice mixes, omelets, potato pancakes (with a wide choice of toppings), wine, liquor, beer (they even had Boston lager), and that’s just what I can remember. It was pretty epic. I settled on a mixed berry smoothie and a lamb pie, which was essential lamb and seasoning baked in a warm flaky crust which surrounded it on all sides. It was kind of like eating a lamb-filed croissant; I’m not sure that description captures the full degree of deliciousness that this pie was though. For dinner later, I picked up a few little quiches. They have this flavor of quiche that’s seems quite common here that I haven’t seen before in the US: butternut and feta. It is rather magnificent.

Another weekend highlight was the church service at St Paul’s in Rondebosch. Sunday evening, I attended the University of Cape Town (UCT) service there. It’s always a wonderful way to spend a Sunday evening, and I enjoy my time with the students. What made this particular Sunday evening a bit different was the fact that I was speaking at the service. In lieu of typical sermon, I spoke about my experience in campus ministry throughout my years at Delaware and on how incredibly crucial that journey was in getting me here today.

My sixth week here has been a good one; let me tell you a little bit about my daily life here. Monday through Friday of every week I’m in the Anglican Students’ Federation office 9ish (depending on public transit) until 4. I work on lots of different tasks there, but right now, my focus is getting everything ready for the chaplains’ conference in late November (Thanksgiving week). A new project for me this week is a Bible study; last night was week one of four of my Bible study at the Ansoc (Anglican Society… aka campus ministry) house at UCT. We’re studying Esther, a short book with one of the more interesting women in the Bible and a mysterious lack of mention of God or prayer. In our first evening, we made it all the way through chapter five; anyone who remembers ECM’s BrewHaha Bible study will understand why I’m astounded by that kind of progress in one hour. Over the course of the hour, I saw found connections to Jafar from Aladdin (Haman reminds me of him), Rataxes from Babar (I initially thought of him because when I heard the name Xerxes, I thought it was him, but I’ve since remember that the evil rhino’s name was Rataxes and not Xerxes – silly me) (Why do I even remember this stuff?), & Gaston from Beauty and the Beast (Haman wasn’t content to just go to dinner with the king and get what he wanted; he had to kill Mordecai because he considered Mordecai an unpleasant sight on the palace steps. It’s similar to Gaston, who couldn’t just make another play for Belle; he had to rile up an angry mob and “kill the beast.” Gaston’s only better than Haman because Gaston got a rockin’ musical number, but in the end both villans meet dramatic, untimely ends). I’m not sure exactly what it means that I’m making all these connections to cartoons rather than the wide body of work that I’ve read as an English major. I would like to believe that it means I think outside the box, but I’m not entirely convinced. Oh, one more thing – anyone ever see the crazy religious stuff going on in Battlestar Galactica (the new one)? It’s not just the names, or the fact that the good guys are polytheists, while the “evil” cylons believe in one true God… Anyway…

So a goodbye, a flea market, some amazing food, work, a Bible study, and my crazy pop culture connections. That’s the week in review, folks. Thanks again to everyone whose love, prayers, and money have supported me on this journey. I’ll close with a few interesting current events I saw on SABC News last night:

• Yesterday, Charlie the Smoking Chimp died. While it is very sad that a chimp would get addicted to cigarettes, if you Google this guy and check out some of the pictures, you’ll see why I think the footage of him is absolutely hilarious. For the record, he wasn’t trained to smoke; he picked up the habit from zoo visitors. To think, all these year people have been worrying about zoo visitors feeding zoo animals. Despite his struggle with nicotine, Charlie lived to the ripe old age of 52, which is quite impressive for a chimp. 
• Rhino poaching is a big problem and has made headlines recently.
• The rand (South African currency) is getting stronger. When I got here, 1 USD = R7.25. Two nights ago, it was 1 USD = R6.86
• The SA government is considering expunging the record of ex-convicts after a few years of being out of jail, since these former prison inmates often struggle to find jobs. 
• Since we’re talking about headlines, I’ll finish up this post with one of personal interest.

Week 5 - "Do you still see the fireflies blinking September, and do you remember?"

As I write this week, leaders from all over the province are gathering in Johannesburg for Provincial Synod, which is the equivalent to General Convention for the Episcopal Church.  I’m still here in Cape Town, but I’m excited to hear how it goes. My fellow Cape Town missionary, Amanda, is there.

I really cannot believe that it is September 30 and the end of my first full calendar month in Cape Town! It’s been a good week though, and I’m excited to tell a bit about it.

Last weekend was a long weekend here in Cape Town; Friday was a public holiday.  24 September is Heritage Day in South Africa; it’s an entire day devoted to the celebration of the diverse cultural heritage of the nation which makes it the country that it is today and gives South Africa the nickname “Rainbow Nation.” It’s also considered National Braai Day, so naturally, many people hold braais. In case I didn’t mention this before, a braai is essentially a backyard barbecue.

In honor of this holiday, many of the museums in town were FREE. I always consider museums a worthwhile investment, so this is exciting. Amanda and I took the train into Cape Town and checked out a couple.  We spent the morning wandering around the Iziko Slave Lodge, which is housed in one of the oldest buildings in town.  Some of the things that we saw included maps of slave routes, artifacts made by slaves that reflected their home culture, a slave memorial, & a mock-up of a slave ship. My favorite parts were the political cartoons, the artifacts from Ancient Egypt (always a weakness for me), & the Nelson Mandela exhibit.  There were at least five rooms devoted to the life of Mandela. Each room was filled with big banners with photos and paragraphs on his life. It was like walking through a biography. It was a lot of reading for a museum, but it was so interesting to learn so much about Mandela’s life!

After the Slave Lodge, we had lunch at the café in the crypt of St. George’s Cathedral (don’t let the word crypt defer you – it was awesome) before heading to the South African Museum, a natural history museum. We checked out cave paintings, an exhibit on Darwin, the African Cultures Gallery, and a sea-life exhibit. The sea-life exhibit narrowly beat out the African Cultures Gallery as my favorite part.  The immense blue whale skeleton reminded me of the immense blue whale in the Museum of Natural History in New York City and was impossible to miss. One of the things that I found most fascinating was this deformed sperm whale jawbone; it was shaped almost like a question mark. Apparently, sperm whales can survive with these jawbones, but I can’t imagine how. There were also some crazy looking fish there:

The long fish is white with these gray leopard spots on it and red fins; they can grow up to eleven meters long. The round one interests me because the females can lay 30 million eggs at a time. How crazy is that?

    I promise I’ve done more this week than think about fish. Every day, I’m thankful for the support of all my friends and family who have supported me in my journey; I carry you all with me in my heart. The other day, while on my way to the train station from work, I could not help but be amazed at the beauty around me. To the left is Table Mountain; to the right, I can see the ocean. Then, straight ahead, down the hill is the city center. Awesome.

Songs: “Change” by Carrie Underwood & I have to acknowledge this other one only because it plays EVERYWHERE here (but I insist that it is no reflection on my personal taste!!!!) “Baby, Baby, Baby” by Justin Bieber

Week 4 - "The beginning is now..."

Those of you who know me well know that I love to go on adventures of all kinds; I love to travel and see new places. Deciding to spend a year living here in Cape Town is one of my biggest adventures yet and is filled with lots of little adventures that I get to tell you about here in my blog and post pictures of on Picasa or Facebook. I could gladly go on forever talking about the thrills of standing at the top of Table Mountain or the beautiful (wealthy) beaches of Camps Bay, but if I’m really going to give an honest account of my trip here, then I need to be all-encompassing on exactly what I’m seeing. If I’m really going to experience this place, then I need to experience all parts of it, which means an honest blog entry for this week means covering both some sweets and some sours.

Let’s start of with the sweet song line that loaned itself to my blog’s title; it’s straight of the soundtrack of a brand new multi-media musical called Brothers at the University of Stellenbosch.It told the story of two brothers from an Anglican monastic order called the Community of the Resurrection who ministered in Stellenbosch from 1969-1970. Fr. Robert Mercer, Rector of St-Mary’s –on-the-Braak, and Fr Bernard Chamberlain, the University Chaplain, were deported for a welcoming church leaflet that went against the established anti-apartheid government. Many of the play’s characters were students, grappling with the issue of race and possibly challenging the establishment. The play was a really great snapshot of Stellenbosch at that time… another story of apartheid struggle. My new friend Maro played the very interesting character of Themba, a black janitor who went on to be the Dean of Students after the fall of apartheid. He did a great job!!!

Now, shifting gears a bit, I don’t have many pictures to share this week, but I do have this one (notice cloud-covered Table Mountain in the background):

Most weekends, I join Suzanne and Thembi on a field trip or two to one or more really cool parks. This was taken on a trip to the forest… but as you can see, it’s from before we actually got to the forest. There’s some really beautiful countryside here, but unfortunately, not every place can be so pretty and spacious.

Let me tell you a bit of local history… Monday through Friday, when I go to work at the ASF office, I take the train into Cape Town and then board a taxi to ride the 2-3 km uphill to Zonnebloom, where the office is. Every time, we drive through a part of the city called District 6, which is a giant empty field – a series of barren, empty blocks in the middle of this bustling city. On all sides, District 6 is surrounded by “normal” development, so what’s with the empty spot?

Apartheid.

Under apartheid, non-whites were evicted from the city center and forced to the outskirts. In the 1970s, over 60,000 non-whites were evicted from their homes in District 6 and the entire area was bulldozed (It is said that these event was one of the events that inspired the movie District 9). Many of the people forced from District 6 and areas designated as whites only settled into townships on the outskirts of larger towns and cities. Today, they still remain as undeveloped settlements – although I don’t think “undeveloped” really gives you a complete picture of just how undeveloped these places are.

On Saturday, I went with for a car ride with Suzanne and Thembi to Gugulethu, a South African township. According to the 2001 census, Gugulethu is home to over 80,000 people. It is one of many townships; Khayelitsha is a township with a population of over 400,000. Googling Gugulethu revealed that the township was the subject of a documentary called The Gugulethu Seven, about the seven young men killed there on 3 March 1986 in an ambush by South African apartheid security forces. Many of the people in Gugulethu now are on wait lists from the government for free houses, which the government doesn’t seem to be building. It raises an interesting question; would Habitat for Humanity Global Village work here? Would people work for a house in the near future if they knew the government might give them a free one in an unknown amount of time? I’d like to think that they would. As we rode through the narrow dirt streets of Gugulethu, I became very aware that I would never ever forget what I was seeing and smelling. It was like those adds you see on TV that ask you to send in $3 a month to provide school supplies and medicine for a child and they send you a picture of a kid (who’s supposedly the very one that you’re helping). Somehow, everything looks different when there’s not a TV screen and the Atlantic Ocean in between you and this place you see during the commercial break of your favorite television show. Riding down this dirt road, I contemplated taking a picture, but sitting there in a car, feeling very white and very rich, I just did not have the gumption to take out my digital camera and take a picture of the brook with clotheslines next to it or any of the houses where entire families occupy a 1-2 room space which is smaller than my last dorm room and which does not have running water. I did a Google image search instead and hope you check out the pictures here:


http://www.capetown.dj/people/people.html
http://www.worldofstock.com/closeups/AAB2246.php

I couldn’t seem to find any that were close up. I guess I’m not the only one who finds it all a bit overwhelming. Knowing these places are there and seeing them there are two different things; I don’t know why it’s that way, but there it is.

Thanks again to everyone for the love and prayers and support that got me here, and for taking the time to read this. If you get a chance, shoot some love and prayers in the direction of Gugulethu.

-A banner at St George's Cathedral, with a prayer we say at the end of each service

Songs (one old obsession and one brand new one): "Night Ride Home" by Joni Mitchell & "Something Beautiful" by Needtobreathe
Movie: Where the Heart Is

"Ulysess" by Alfred Lord Tennyson (Or How I Learned to Name My Blog)

It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.

I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
Life to the lees: all times I have enjoyed
Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Through scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vexed the dim sea: I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known; cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honoured of them all;
And drunk delight of battle with my peers;
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough
Gleams that untravelled world, whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!
As though to breathe were life. Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains: but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this grey spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle —
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfil
This labour, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and through soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.

There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail:
There gloom the dark broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me —
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads — you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honour and his toil;
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew

Tho' much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Week 3 - “It’s been two long years now, since the top of the world came crashing down, & I’m getting it back on the road now…”

Maybe it’s because I heard/read three sermons about it or maybe it’s a memory of a couple Septembers back, but I found myself thinking a lot about this week’s gospel reading from Luke 15. The parable of the week is the Shepherd who left the herd of 99 to find the one that was missing. The lesson was immediately reiterated with the tale of the woman who lost one of her ten silver coins, and when she finally found it, she was so excited that she threw a party. The story carries a powerful message of God’s love and reminds us that every single one of us, as humans, is valuable – valuable enough to track down at any expense, in the name of love. Valuable enough to celebrate in our own right for our own individual faith, even with 99 other sheep or 9 other coins.

Now, I’m going to let my geek flag fly here and tell you what this honestly reminds me of… Even though I haven’t seen it in a long time, I can’t help but think of the third Star Trek movie, The Search for Spock. I may be a little rusty on the details, but I remember the important stuff. A short while after Spock died to save them (which actually occurred in movie 2 - The Wrath of Khan), Kirk & co. learn that Spock might be alive and they steal a ship to go get him, risking their live and their careers in the process. At first, Spock doesn’t get it because, as he says, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” He initially neglects to take love and friendship into the equation, obviously. It makes for a great story on screen, but if you’ve ever seen the parable play out in real life, it’s even more amazing. After all, who wouldn’t everything for someone more beloved than any thing?

I’m not writing all of this because I lost something; I know exactly where my house keys are and am as confident as I can be that I’m where I need to be right now on my own journey. Still, this parable is as relevant to me as ever…and makes me think about my own life…Nine silver coins isn’t a bad haul to have, nor is herding 99 sheep around the great green pasture circuit for a living, but even with 99 sheep and the greenest pastures your heart could desire, God might call your shepherding self to leave behind the herd you’ve know for the chance to hear what’s baa-baaa-baa-ing in some unknown woods, half a world away… in a gorgeous city between the mountains and the sea – where I can now say I’ve been for three weeks!

A few hours after posting my last blog, I made my first visit to the UCT campus. It’s a beautiful campus on a mountainside, and last Thursday evening, it was the place to be to hear Alice Walker speak! She seemed to cover a little bit of everything, and did not hesitate to make her feelings know; she is not President Zuma’s biggest fan. Looking back, the line that stuck out the most to me was when she spoke on leadership; I cannot remember her exact words, but she firmly believes that there is a leader inside each one of us, a Jiminy Cricket conscience voice, waiting for its chance to shine (although, her way of wording this didn’t mention any Disney characters). It was an evening to remember… oh, and did I mention that is was in Jameson Memorial Hall – a big old building in the center of campus with a bunch of white columns and stone steps in the front? Yeah, it reminded of another Memorial Hall back home with the Blue Hens.

Saturday, I continued on my quest to explore. With my fellow Cape Town YASCers, Amanda and Emily, I rode the cable car up to the top of Table Mountain and if you’ve checked back to my picture link from the last blog post, you’ll notice it’s rather gorgeous up there. Also, while we were there, Venus (yeah, the planet) made a quick cameo before darting behind the moon. I may watch rather large quantities of science fiction, but I’m no astronomer. Still, I think it’s a safe bet to assume that Venus doesn’t do that too often, but three young Episcopal missionary ladies probably don’t show up on the top of Table Mountain on a regular basis either.

When we were finished with checking out the beautiful mountaintop views, we went down to Camps Bay to see the views from one of Cape Town’s most beautiful beaches (The mountains behind me are called the Twelve Disciples… although you can't see them all, I think there are more than twelve of them). The water was freezing when we stuck our feet in, but it was worth it.

Most days though, I’m not sightseeing. My placement has me working most of my days in the ASF office. I’m still orienting to this new position and taking everything in; for as many new things as there are to learn, I’m still amazed by the familiarity of it all – the ways in which I see it resembling my own experiences in campus ministry from trying to organize committees of over-scheduled students (I’ll admit I was one, too) to making sure everything comes together for The Event. For now, I’ve been proofreading, writing reports, planning a presentation, and mailing out registration forms and information about the upcoming chaplains’ retreat.

I enjoy the work; the only thing I don’t like too much is commuting. The trains are OK, now, but the taxis are an entity to themselves. Every morning, I leave the train station and walk to the taxi stop by the KFC (Yeah, they have those here, haha). I ask which taxi’s going to Zonnebloom (it’s a different taxi in a different spot everyday), and hop on. Now, see, taxi’s are a bit different here. When I board, I hop in a van with other people going my way. The van doesn’t leave until it’s got ten people on board or twenty minutes have passed; at least, this is the “rule.” Today, I waited half an hour and there were only seven… but hey, I got here and spent R5 (> $1 in the process). In the grand scheme of life and public transportation, this is still considered a victory. In the event of any confusion in finding the right taxi, my thick foreign accent works to my advantage to identify me clearly as “Confused Foreigner.”
I’m also continuing to get more involved with Ansoc at UCT and should have some stories about that for next week’s post, but these are my musings for this Thursday. Thanks & blessings again to the wonderful family, friends, and churches that have supported my presence here and to you, whoever you may be, taking the time to read this.


Songs: The Long Way Around by the Dixie Chicks, Tattoo by Jordin Sparks, & Pride (In the Name of Love) by U2
Books: finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett (and highly recommend it OR if you’ve already read and loved this book, I encourage you to check out Anne Moody’s autobiography Coming of Age in Mississippi) & am starting The Mind of South Africa by Allister Sparks
Movie: Cry Freedom

Week 2 – “Clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable…”

First off, I just want to say that I hope that everyone in the States had a wonderful holiday weekend. We may not have had Monday off here, but I know I enjoyed the holiday – although, I am definitely still getting used to the idea that I’m twenty-four. I survived that stressors over the course of my twenty-third year (and I had my share), but I also had a blast. If God brings you to it, He’ll bring you through it. I had lots of love and support helping me survive the workload of my last year of college, and I came out the other side strong and having discerned this awesome call that brought me here to Cape Town, where I am writing this blog to all of you back home who have offered me all kinds of love and support which has gotten me here. As my friend Sarah so wisely said to me earlier this week in an email “God is so totally NOT BORING!”

On Friday, I went over to the Ansoc house at the University of Cape Town (UCT). I may have mentioned this in my previous entry, but if not, here’s a refresher. An Ansoc house (which stands for Anglican Society) is the same as what is called a Canterbury House for Episcopal campus ministries in the United States. The Ansoc house at UCT has a big kitchen, living room, meeting room, several bedrooms and bathrooms, and an office for the chaplain, Fr Christopher Swartz. I’ll be moving in there this summer (US winter, remember!) after the students leave.

Anyway, Friday’s meeting was great; it was a transition meeting with the outgoing officer board passing the torch to the incoming officer board. Ansoc had 40-50 members and an officer board of over half-a-dozen (it’s hard to remember exactly how many since not all of the officers could attend). In addition to learning more about how Ansoc at UCT works, I found this meeting especially energizing because I got to really talk with the students there. I love meeting people as much as I have since I’ve been here, but I’m terrible with names when I just mean someone for two minutes in passing. It was great to get the chance to start to know these students more and to really talk to them – rather than just meet them in passing, learn what their role in ASF is, and be told how I’ll be seeing them around. One of the greatest things I’ve gained getting to know people in the context of the church is getting to know people in a real, authentic, way – to hear people’s stories. It made for an excellent afternoon!

My only drama on Friday was getting TO Ansoc house on the train (if you haven’t checked out Amanda’s blog on Cape Town transit, then you should, because she nails it). It’s literally a four minute train ride to Rondebosch, where UCT is; you would think that makes it simple. You would also think the fact that I’ll spend over an hour on two NJ Transit trains and three NYC Subway trains to go visit my cousin without blinking an eye or feeling the least bit tense would also cause me to be stress free about using Cape Town Metrorail. Yeah… but no. My friend Mary, the fabulous UD Wesley chaplain, told me that as a white woman, I should never ride third class on the train – especially alone – so I was very wary when my new friend Maro told me it was safe… under certain conditions. I should ride the train only during peak hours (7-9am, 2-6/7am – when the crowds are), in a full-ish car, and only on weekdays (although weekend mornings are ok – because that’s time when there are people). Naturally, this made me nervous at first, but I’m getting used to my rush hour travel. It’s no longer as unnerving as it was last week when I first tried it alone. I just have to be smart about it. I must confess, the whole experience has made me much more appreciative of the luxuries of NJ transit: clean two story cars with an abundance of seating, illuminated signs and announcements notifying passengers of which station they’re arriving at, and the fact that I’ve never once felt unsafe on a NJ transit train. The NYC subway system isn’t too shabby either :-)

Anyway, except for the time on that first day when I was trying to get off the train while a sea of twenty was trying to board (eek!), I have had no drama in transportation, and am very grateful for the ease with which I have traveled so far.

Saturday naturally brought about the excitement of turning twenty-four. My mom was the first to wish me birthday greetings at midnight Cape Town time (which was 6pm EST), and I’d like to thank my other friends and family across the globe who took the time to send me an email, card or wall post with birthday greetings. I spent my birthday weekend with Suzanne, Amanda, and Thembi, who made my first international birthday celebration one to remember. After a nice lazy morning, I went with Suzanne to a clean-up in Retreat (which is actually a town… which I did not at first realize). We spent over an hour working with at least thirty others from all walks of life, and together we picked up waste from all over the park and from the edges of the pond. Some people even walked out along a small dam to clean up waste and mud that was slowing down the flow of water there. It was so energizing to see the difference we all made, and in this park, halfway around the world from the ones I grew up with, I felt right at home. The litter problem this park faces is the same as the one at Watchung Lake, two minutes downhill from the house I grew up in.

After the park, we picked up Amanda and headed to dinner at Poncho’s, this super-yummy Mexican place near UCT. Amanda and I enjoyed a delicious Mexican feast, complete with yummy fruity drinks and a banana split for dessert (unfortunately, Suzanne wasn’t able to join us until dessert). We reflected on our first several days in Cape Town.

I am very aware of how blessed I am: wonderful friends and family, comfort, security, good health, having ten fingers and ten toes. And I am very grateful for these amazing things that I have in my life. Also, I am constantly amazed that I can look back on the last several year and all the wonderful things that have happened by the Grace of God – the person that I grew into when I opened my heart and tried to be a better listener in prayer. As Thomas Merton says in that awesome prayer he wrote, “I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.” So while I’m sure I make my fair share of mistakes, I’m trying to figure out exactly what it means to live the Gospel, which is a daunting quest I’ll probably continue for the rest of my life.. and while I may not be too close to figuring out the answer, I cannot help but look at my amazing life and the wonderful world around me and think that I must have done SOMETHING right along the way.

Anyway, the point of all these musings is that one of my big reflections since arriving here in Cape Town is that I have a stronger sense than ever of God’s guiding hand on this crazy beautiful adventure. In the States, when I thought about the blessings of the day, I thought of people and events, with an undercurrent of awareness for the blessing of being in a place… but here, the sense of the role of place in my daily life is so much stronger! In the US, that sense I had of place was sort of “I’m thankful for being in this place with these people and I’m thankful for being safe here and for the opportunities I have.” Here, I am so aware that this is a place I followed God to to meet these people and have these experiences… I’m not sure I can explain it better than that… just that I’m meant to be here in this city in this country beyond just being present in an experience. It blow my mind.

The fun continued on Sunday. After another wonderful service at the beautiful St. George’s Cathedral. Suzanne, Amanda and I took the RedBus tour of Cape Town and saw some of the city’s most beautiful sites: from museums to mountains to the lovely coast. Then, we went out for a Japanese dinner, and I got some birthday sushi! Happiness.

Then, it was Monday again. This week, I started my work at the Anglican Students’ Federation of the Province of Southern Africa (ASF) (http://www.anglicanstudentsfed.org.za), which networks all of the campus ministries (or Ansocs) for the whole province and calls them all together for an annual gathering somewhere in the province each June. I’m still getting oriented here, but I feel like this is a really amazing opportunity for me to learn a great deal about campus ministry here. I hope that my experience can be beneficial to the people I work with as well. I have no doubt that I will learn a lot, and I hope I can find some way to share it not just in this blog, but when I return to the States (even though I won’t be on campus anymore). So far, I’ve been working on writing a letter inviting the provincial chaplains to the upcoming conference and writing a strategic plan of action for the year for ASF.

I just want to again thank my family and friends and the wonderful parishes of Holy Cross, St Thomas, St Peter’s, and St John’s for supporting me in my mission. While it will be awhile before I see you all again, I carry you all in my heart on this exciting adventure. Also, thanks to everyone who takes the time to read my blog and was able to make it all the way to the end of this long entry. Peace!

Books: just starting “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett
Movies: Out of Africa, Gorillas in the Mist (talk about a unique yet important call), The Trouble with Angels (I know I mentioned this before, but it’s still the best movie ever… so Amanda, Suzanne & I watched it on my birthday), & Love Actually

PS -Check out my pictures!

PPS - FYI, to find the time in Cape Town, just add 6 hours to Eastern Standard Time