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!