hammocking around

I have been living in Kimberley for a little over two months now and already I know that I have changed. I’m not saying I’m a new person or anything drastic like that, but I have definitely recognized small changes in the way I think, the way I work and even the way I spend my time.

Our hammock. My favorite part of our house.

Some of these changes I have been forced to make. As my dad will attest, back home I was a voracious texter, but over here I send, maybe, five texts a week. There are two reasons for this change; the first is due to airtime. In South Africa, you can’t purchase a phone plan for a cell phone. Instead you have to buy airtime that gets used each time you make a call or send a text (the really cool thing about airtime though, is that you are not charged anything for receiving calls or text messages). You would be amazed at how quickly I use up my airtime. One of the biggest culprits of airtime is sending text messages. It costs about R0,80 to send one text message. So it is actually cheaper and more efficient to just call someone and talk to them instead of texting them. Shocker, right!?!

The other reason for this texting change is that everyone over here is a “people person.” When people run into people that they know in the street they will stop and talk with them for a few minutes, regardless of what they are doing or how late they might be running. When I am driving around and I see someone I know, I’ll hoot the horn and have a brief shouting conversation as I drive by. Even at the office, whenever a coach walks in, before they do anything else, they greet each and every person in the office and quickly ask how they are doing. It’s all about people. And I love it.

But the biggest change that I have noticed in myself, and one that I am very proud of, is that I am completely okay – and even enjoy – doing absolutely nothing. Back home I was always on the go doing a million things at once. Even when I had nothing to do I would watch a movie while simultaneously texting five people and surfing the web. But over here I can’t do any of that. So instead, I’ll just lie in our hammock for hours. Or Trevor and I will sit in our living room with the windows and doors open just listening to music.

Those moments are absolutely amazing. I feel completely relaxed and utterly content. It’s a pretty fantastic feeling and I can’t remember the last time that I was in the States just doing absolutely nothing. But I love it. I love how relaxed I feel during these moments. I love how I am able to appreciate all the little things in life during these moments. And I love how I can get in my own head and just think about things during these moments. 

empowerment

GRS Kimberley had a very exciting week - we had our first ever Skillz Street graduations! I know I've talked about Skillz Street before, but I'll give you a quick recap of the program. Skillz Street is a girls targeted intervention. This program was developed in response to overwhelming research that shows: 1. Participation in sport among adolescent females correlates to a range of health benefits, and 2. HIV is disproportionately concentrated among women and girls. Skillz Street combines Fair Play soccer matches with assertiveness-, efficacy-, and interpersonal relationship-building activities.

I love Skillz Street. I think it is a fantastic program that has the ability to instill a lot of change if implemented correctly. And making sure that Skillz Street is indeed all that it can be is my job. So it was incredibly gratifying and heart warming to see Kimberley's first two Skillz Street graduations. 

The girls at Venus Primary school.

These graduations are pretty cool, especially because in South Africa girls rarely have the opportunity to participate in an activity for which they get any sort of recognition. I couldn't help but smile throughout both graduations as I watched the girls. They all had huge smiles on their faces the whole time, they were all volunteering to answer questions about what they had learned in Skillz Street, they were all leading their own songs and kilos, and they were all so thrilled to receive their certificates. 

Girls answering questions about Skillz Street.

One change that I can already see in the girls that participated is that they have more confidence. Girls that were shy during weeks three and four are now much more willing to participate in activities. Girls that never really wanted to say anything will now shoot their hand really high into the air in order to answer a question. It's pretty special getting to see young girls realize that they have the potential to be something. It's pretty special getting to see young girls realize that they have the power - and the right - to stand on their own two feet. It's pretty special getting to see young girls participate in Skillz Street and I am excited to start our next Skillz Street camps!

Coach Crista giving the closing address. 

rockin the daisies

Friday was a big day. Not only were Trevor and I going to get off early from work, but we were also going to leave Kimberley and head to the Western Cape for one of South Africa's biggest musical festivals: Rocking the Daisies. 

Trevor and I were pumped! One o'clock rolled around, we confirmed with Thuso and Mandla that there was nothing else we had to do and then happily fled the office. Just as we were ready to leave however, we got a phone call... We had to go bring supplies to one of the schools that our coaches were working in. Just another typical day as an intern in Kimberley! After two-and-a-half hours of running around and helping coaches, we finally got to hit the open road. 

We had a 956-kilometer drive to Cape Town and I loved every kilometer of it. South Africa is a lot like the United States in that you can drive from coast to coast and pass through mountainous regions, farm country, and dry arid deserts. I loved watching the countryside transform from the flat savannah that surrounds Kimberley to rolling grassy hills and then open up into beautiful wine country. The views were absolutely breath-taking. 

Sunset in the middle of no where.

Driving on South African highways was a cool experience as well. All of the highways are in very good condition (they were redone prior to the 2010 World Cup) and we didn't hit traffic once during our drive. What was most interesting about driving on the highways over here was that they are all just one-lane roads. When we wanted to pass someone, we pulled into the lane for oncoming traffic and passed. This was particularly fun to do after the sun set because in the dark it was hard to judge how far away oncoming headlights were. So sometimes I'd pull into the oncoming lane, be right next to the car we were passing and then realize, "oh, crud... that car is 50 meters away." Both Trevor and I made some sweet driving maneuvers that night. We arrived at the festival at 1h30 in the morning, met up with the interns from Cape Town and Port Elizabeth and got to it!

One of the live performances. 

The weekend was a blast! In some ways the festival was similar to Lake of Stars (which I went to last weekend). We set up tents (sort of - some of my companions were not as adept at pitching tents as I am) and camped under the stars. We took in the surrounding beauty. We swam in the dam. And we all enjoyed just catching up and each other's company. 

Our campsite... See the green and white tent in the back? The one that's
actually erect? That's mine. See everything else...? That's Cape Town...

The scene at Rocking the Daisies. Beautiful!

As always, it was great to spend some quality (and partying) time with other Americans. This was also the first time I had gotten to see the crew from Port Elizabeth. It was very entertaining to hear all about their living situation, their friends and their office, which is apparently "a sexual harassment case waiting to happen." 

The gang. 

It was also a lot different from Lake of Stars. For one, there were way more white people! Seriously, I haven't seen this many white people since leaving the States. The music too was a lot different. A lot of it bore resemblance to American Pop and Rock. And there were even some bands playing at this festival that I recognized - like Vampire Weekend! That's right - I got to see Vampire Weekend perform in South Africa! 

Me. Having fun. Ya know. 

My favorite performances were those that did not sound American. Some groups incorporated the use of traditionally African musical instruments and rhythms. One such group, Hot Water (check them out on itunes - I would recommend Wamkelekile), were one of the best performances that I saw. 

All too soon the weekend came to an end. Trevor and I had another 10-hour ride back to Kimberley, which was just as beautiful as the drive on Friday. It was a fantastic weekend and I can't wait to visit Cape Town again, but I'm definitely ready for some rest and relaxation. We'll see if I get any of that this week...

sweet hitchhiker

After spending three amazing days at Lake of Stars, it was time to head home. We were all in such high spirits and so confident in our abilities that we decided it would be a good idea to hitchhike back to Lilongwe. Boy, were we in for a whirlwind trip.

First, some of us had to go to the ATM to make sure we had enough cash for the ride. While Matt and Bilas were at the ATM, the rest of us started playing a card game just outside the campground entrance. Within seconds, twenty or so Malawian children had formed a circle around us to watch. The thing that really transfixed them was the way we shuffled; every time one of us shuffled there would be smiles and laughter and the occasional applause. It was such a real "in it" moment. They had no idea what we were playing and we had no idea what they were saying, but we were all content to just share each other’s company.

We stopped to buy fresh coconuts on our journey. Coconut milk is
delicious!

But all too soon Matt and Bilas returned with their money and it was time to hit the road. So we loaded up our packs and began walking towards the main road underneath a blazing sun. When we reached the main road we had our first brief hiccup – we couldn’t agree on which direction to go… But within five minutes a pickup truck had pulled over and agreed to take us to the Mangochi turn-off. We were pumped! We all jumped into the back of this guy’s truck excited that we had “mastered” hitchhiking. 

The truck bed we stuffed ourselves into.

Boy did we have a lot to learn. The guy that stopped to pick us up was one of the many unofficial taxi’s that operate in Malawi, so when we negotiated a ride to Mangochi we didn’t realize that he would be stopping every 100 meters to pick up anyone and everyone who was looking for a ride somewhere. Crazy stuff happened on this truck ride. We rode with (and held) live chickens, we ate coconuts and I even got petted… It took us over two hours to travel 60 kilometers and when we finally arrived at the Mangochi turn-off it was dark and our prospects of hitching a ride were slim.

Some of our travel companions.

But the Lake of Stars gods were on our side. After an hour wait – during which I was growing increasingly nervous – a white truck pulled over for us. The driver was a French gentleman who was living in a self-sustaining compound that sought to help educate local children. It was another tight fit in the back of this guy’s truck, but we were all so grateful that we would have ridden on his roof if necessary.

Bilas and Bryan crammed in the back of our French friend's truck.

Our French friend dropped us off at the Balaka bus depot where we were informed that there would be two more buses to Lilongwe that night. Feeling relieved, we all traipsed into a local restaurant (we filled the restaurant) for some nsima and chicken. We were all so happy to be sitting in real seats that we fell into a stupor and almost missed the bus back to Lilongwe! Matt had to bang on the door in order for them to let us board. And when we finally piled in, there was standing room only. This bus ride was something else; there were times when we were maybe going 4 km/hr and then there were times when we were cutting corners and barreling down dirt roads at ridiculously high speeds. About halfway through the bus ride exhaustion hit us. Without any second thoughts, we all lay down in the bus aisle and were asleep within seconds. When I came to, it was a little after one in the morning and we were pulling into the Lilongwe bus depot.

An exhausted Matt and I standing on the bus ride.

I still can’t believe that we did it. And I don’t think I ever need to do it again. But hitchhiking back from Lake Malawi was one of the best adventures I have ever had.

lake of stars

Matt, Katie, Bryan and I on the main stage at Lake of Stars.

I really wish that I had been alive for Woodstock because I feel like that is the only music festival that can even come close to the awesomeness that was Lake of Stars. To provide you with a little bit of background, Lake of Stars is an annual music festival that is held on the shores of Lake Malawi. It attracts artists and attendees from all over the world and is considered one of the top music festivals in Africa (and in my mind the world). Just like the soccer match that I went to a few weekends ago was the best sporting experience I have ever had, Lake of Stars was the best music experience I have ever had.

It's tough even to know where to begin… We camped right on the beach in an enclosed area. As most of you know, I love camping, and I love the beach, so the fact that I got to combine the two just made my day!

Our campsite.

And it was just a brief ten-minute walk to get from our campground to the actual festival grounds. What was interesting about this walk was that it took us past the part of the lake that locals used daily to wash clothes, bathe, fish and play. The juxtaposition between the campground and this bit of ‘local turf’ was mind numbing. Within the campgrounds people were wearing designer apparel and camping using some pretty high tech camp stuff and outside of the campgrounds there were people living off of barely anything. Each time we took this walk groups of children would come up to us and just say, “Give me money.” It was annoying but I can’t really blame them – they are probably used to seeing rich white people travel to the lake for a luxurious vacation.

A market meat stand. 

There was a market set up just outside the festival gates. It was here where we bought most of our food because it was super cheap. And it was here that I finally learned how to haggle! I got almost all of my meals for about 200 Kwache (1 USD) and bought a cool pipe thing for 400 Kwache (I haggled down from a starting price of 900)!

Fresh chips! Also, notice the women doing laundry in the background.

Then there was the festival itself. There were three stages, five bars (that I knew of), lots of market vendors and miles of beautiful Lake Malawi to enjoy.  Music played all day. In fact, music could be heard a couple kilometers away from the festival grounds at all times. We all spent a lot of time swimming in the lake (everyone should add “swimming in Lake Malawi” to their bucket lists), exploring the lake and enjoying the music.

We met some local kids while we were exploring the island. They were
so eager to point out different plants and animals and show off their moves.

During the day there were poetry jams, local reggae singers, comedians, dancers and school choirs performing. The main performances all began around 16h00 (4 p.m.) each day. I loved the music. I don’t even know what genre to classify it as, but there was a lot of reggae and reggae-like music. The highlight of the festival was definitely getting to see Freshly Ground perform. Freshly Ground is the band that sings Waka Waka (the 2010 World Cup song) with Shakira. They were fantastic; they had such great energy and the crowd just loved them.

The whole festival was idyllic. I got to spend time with great people, I got to camp in an absolutely gorgeous place, I got to eat great food and I got to listen to fantastic music. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget. 

The sun rising over Lake Malawi.