Homeward Bound
Sadly I got sick on the last day, so most of the journey was spent asleep in the airport and on the plane. So the only picture I have is from these two days when the plan was about to land.
Exploring South African Music
What Started it all...
While in Cape Town I was able to find a music store and proceeded to listen to all different kinds of music. These are the different things that I found:
Kwaito...
A
music genre that emerged in Johannesburg, South Africa, during the
1990s. It is a variant of house music featuring the use of African sounds and
samples. Typically at a slower tempo range than other styles of house music, Kwaito often
contains catchy melodic and percussive loop samples, deep bass lines, and
vocals. Although bearing similarities to hip hop music, a distinctive
feature of Kwaito is the manner in which the lyrics are sung, rapped and
shouted.
Maskanda...
A
kind of
Zulu folk
music that is evolving with South African society. Maskanda is distinguished by an instrumental
flourish ("izihlabo") that sets the tone at the beginning of each
song, in a picked guitar style, and rapidly spoken sections of Zulu praise
poetry, called "izibongo".
Marabi...
A style of music from the Townships of Johannesburg. Originally it was played on pianos with accompaniment from pebble-filled cans. Eventually,
Marabi had incorporated new instruments, guitars,
concertinas and banjos, and new
styles of Marabi had sprung up. Among these were a Marabi/swing fusion called African jazz.
Zahara...
Afrikaan [Rap]...
So, I don't actually know of any artists, but I heard a lot of rap in Afrikaans from the students. When I got home and tried to look up some music, I found this "Antonio" person via youtube. As I was watching his video I laughed to myself as I watched him dance (because it looks just like the dancing my students do here in NJ) Ahhh, what a global reach contemporary hip-hop has, where young people thousands of miles removed still act like YMCMB.
Day 15: ...A Side of Food For Thought
Day 15: Cape of Good Hope, South African Penguins, Shopping with A Side of Food For Thought
Sad to report...no safari. Only two of us ended up wanting to go on the safari, so instead as a group we
decided to go to Boulders Beach near Simon's
Town.
There we were able to see the African Penguin aka the Black-footed Penguin. They were all so cute however not-as-cuddly.
After our visit with the penguins, we headed over to the Cape of Good Hope, The Southern most point of continental Africa.
While at the Cape of Good hope, I remembered that my Aunt (in which whom I was very close to), who passed away from Leukemia in 2004 always wanted to come to South Africa. It is actually because of her influence in my life, that I so fully embraced the Pan-Africanist Philosophy and Afro-centered lifestyle. So, in her honor I took some of the ocean water and pebbles to bring to her grave, since she was never able to make it to South Africa.
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| Mary A Eppes 11/4/41-11/4/08 |
Later that afternoon...
We were able to go to Green Market Square. GMS is an outdoor arts and
crafts market place in which you can find many different kinds of artistic
souvenirs to decorate your home with or give gifts. I found so much that I am
going to create a haul video once I get home of all of the goodies that I was
able to buy in South Africa.
The one interesting thing that
I found out while in GMS was that the majority of the vendors were
"foreigners". Meaning, that most of them are African but born in
other countries and immigrated to South Africa for better economic opportunities. One vendor that I made the acquaintance of
told me that, "No South Africans would respectably work here, they get
better jobs." This got my mind to thinking about how Americans complain
about the immigrants from Central and South America, in which also claim that
they do the work that Americans no longer wish to do. This is very interesting as it jogged to
memory a point that Dr. Joseph B. Diescho brought up during his
lecture to us (and the NYU Study group).
His point was that the argument of illegal immigration within South
Africa always centered around the issue of immigrants from other southern
African nations rather than that of ones from European ancestry. Considering
the end to the apartheid rule, one would like to think that the South African
people would be much more tolerant toward other continental Africans, however
it seems as though exactly the opposite seems to be occurring. The most
memorable being in 2008 when "foreigners" were being violently targeted with
vigilante "justice" being dictated for their immigration to South
Africa. (Source, Source#2)
Day 14: District 6 Museum & Robben Island
Day 14: District 6 Museum & Robben Island
Today we
were able to go to the District 6 Museum.
When we got to the museum, I thought that it was going to be a
breeze. When we went inside, we were met
by our guide. As we listened to his
presentation, we came to understand that he was a former resident of “District
6”. As our guide walked us through the
museum, the
injustice that was done to the coloured residence of the district
was very apparent. As we walked through the
exhibit we were able to view old street signs, reconstructed bedrooms and local
establishments as well as large depictions of the destruction to the
homes. The things that stuck out to me were
the large banners and messages left by visitors over time. The destruction of “District 6” is, again,
quite a similar experience to other people of color around the globe.
After
about an hour of looking around the museum, we piled back onto the bus and
headed over to the V&A Waterfront and to the ferry for Robben Island.
We were able to learn much more about the story of different anti-apartheid political prisoners. As we
were bussed around the island, we were able to view the different places around the island. One of these places was of very high interest was the Robert Sobukwe house. Although unknown to most in the west, he was actually one of the most respected and feared of the African
nationalists. Sobukwe insisted that South Africa be returned to its indigenous
inhabitants ("Africa for the Africans").
"Sobukwe joined the ANC Youth League while a student in 1948
and became a leading player, with Nelson Mandela, in their 1952 Defiance
Campaign but gradually his views parted company with those of the ANC
leadership. He believed strongly in that the future of Africa should rest
solely in the hands of black Africans, denying the role of multi-racial groups
in favor of government for the individual. In 1959, he formed a new party, the
Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) and became its first President.
At his inauguration speech, he said:
“… multi-racialism is in fact a pandering to European bigotry and
arrogance. It is a method of safeguarding white interests, implying as it does,
proportional representation irrespective of population figures…W
e
guarantee no minority rights, because we think in terms of individuals, not
groups.”
An eloquent speaker, his message of black empowerment was instrumental
in creating the 1960s Black Consciousness Movement that questioned the very
white stance taken by the teachings of church, state and school and led
eventually to the Soweto Uprisings of 1976." (Source Source#2) This man was indeed so powerful and such a threat to the Apartheid government, that they met and passed the General Law
Amendment Act No 37 of 1963 aka T
he Sobukwe Clause,
which
allowed people already convicted of political offenses to be further detained. In laymen's terms, its was formulated, aimed and used to
keep PAC leader, Robert Sobukwe in Robben Island prison.
In addition to learning about Sobukwe, we also learned of the true conditions of how the prisoners were treated, the work that they were forced to do, and the torture that they had to endure. |
| Our guide who was an ex-political prisoner at Robben Island |
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| Nelson Mandela's Prison Cell at Robben Island |
Days 11-13: The Roses That Grow From Concrete
Days 11-13: Kalksteenfontein Primary
School
From Tuesday to Wednesday, we had the opportunity to both observe and teach in the Kalksteenfontein Primary School. Although it was not my grade level, I had the best experience at this school. Upon our arrival to Cape Town, we were greeted by the principal who was willing to come out of him home at 8 o'clock at night to go through our expectations as well as brief us as to the politics and school environment that we would be stepping into. The fact that he was willing to do this before we even got to the school gave me a strong sense of respect for him as the leader of the school (as this trait is often lacking among urban leadership).
As each day began, we would meet as a group in the staff meeting room with Principal ____ and he would allow us time to ask him questions pertaining to how the day was going to go or any general questions that we had. When it came time to go to the classrooms, he personally walked us to the room as well as came and checked on us periodically. Even at break time, he was a strong presence in the corridors.
When we first arrived in the classes, we were told to just observe and try not to allow the children to distract us or themselves from their lessons and what was going on in the classrooms. Raafi and I were the two visiting teachers in the classroom. This is important because as I was observing the students, I noticed that there was one boy that was beat-boxing as he was doing his work. When it came time for our first break, I relayed this information to Raafi who was sitting a few rows behind me. As soon as I did that he called the student over and they began to make beautiful music together...that continued for the next few days.As the boys were huddled around Raafi and enjoying the beats, the girls huddled around me and asked me a million and one questions inbetwixt playing with my hair, re-teaching me lanyard patterns, and convincing me to sing for them as to not be out done by what was going on just a few feet away. As I tried to find anyway possible to not to sing, I thought was saved by the formal break that comes after lunch. I was sadly mistaken as the learners got both Raafi and myself outside I got us to both sing for them. After that , the beat-boxing and Afrikaans rap lyrics returned and we some how ended up all dancing. It was at this moment that while in mid dance move one of the learners turned to me said something quickly laughed and danced off. It didn't occur to me that she had just told me "You dance like a nigga" until after the break was over and I was sitting in the classroom contemplating it.
I would definatly say, this is the only part of the visit to Kalksteenfontein that I regret...not hearing her in time to educate her that that is not a word she should be using...particularly in the 4th grade.
After our first day of observations, we were allowed to teach an English (language) lesson and a lesson about America. We decided that since the students already had "Bieber Fever" we would use the lyrics to one of his songs to promote reading comprehension. Our second lesson was all about map skills, time zones, and letter writing in english. Though after the first day of teaching I felt it was actually my first day of teaching, it wasn't bad (I still prefer high school though, sorry).
Personally...
What I really got out of this experience is the understanding of being "coloured" in South Africa. When I was sitting in the classroom on that first day, the one thought that kept repeating itself was, "If I was born here, I would have probably gone to a school like this". Through no fault of their own, but sheerly due to the residual politics of Apartheid, this school and community is severely under resourced, and run rampant of poverty, gang activity, drugs, violence, etc. Though the school has superior leadership, the principal has very little outside support. It is amazing to see how so much yet so little has changed since 1994.
Day 10: A Dream Deferred
Day 10: The Amy Biehl Foundation
Today we were fortunate to be able to visit the Amy Biehl foundation in Cape Town South Africa.
"On
August 25, 1993, Amy Biehl was murdered by radical members of the militant Pan
Africanist Congress while working to help South African blacks and women vote
in the countries first diplomatic election. The Amy Biehl Foundation (ABF) is a
non-profit organization that was founded in 1997 in Cape Town, and draws breath
and inspiration from Amy and her example. The foundation reaches out to
thousands of children in the Townships through After School programs. The aim
is not just to keep the children off the streets and away from all the negative
influences (drugs, crime, violence etc), but we are especially focused on
giving them that extra necessary education in crucial areas such as HIV/AIDS
prevention, reading, computers, greening and environment, music, arts, sports
and more. With these programs the children are given the opportunity to show
and improve their skills and creative development, which is crucial for their
future. Over the years the Foundation has flourished in its mission to ‘Weave a
Barrier Against Violence’ by emphasizing social, cultural and economic
empowerment through its programmes. Currently, two of the young men who were
convicted of Amy’s murder and granted amnesty, work for the Foundation to make
these programmes a success. They are a living embodiment of the values, such as
forgiveness, reconciliation and tolerance, which we strive to teach the youth
of Cape Town through our work" (ABF
South Africa Website // ABF US Website) After watching the story of Amy Biehl and listening to the opening remarks by the CEO, I was even more inspired and motivated by this organization about my own business endeavors. They are doing much of what I hope to be doing within the next ten years. Their business plan and methods are truly something to emulate as they seem to have figured out a wonderful formula to fund private enriching educational support, enrichment, and extracurricular activities for the Cape Town Township youth.
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| Post Participation photo-op |
Day 9: Onward to Cape Town
Day 9: Travel To Cape Town
Today we left Jo'berg and flew an hour and a half south West to Cape Town. Once we arrived we were picked up by our driver Dennis and taken to our new home for the week "An African Villa". This place was AMAZING. The staff is incredibly nice and accommodating, very knowledgeable and the facilities look just like the pictures advertise. I definitely recommend it to anyone who plans on visiting Cape Town. Not much else to mention other than sharing the pictures...
Day 8: Hope in Soweto
Day 8: Teboho Trust
The issue of poor education of the township children is a real problem that seems like is not formally getting addressed by the Department of Basic Education. So, it is left up to parents and local groups to provide extra tutoring and after school programming for the youth. This is where Teboho Trust comes in. After the buy-in of the participants the day earlier, we were ready to jump right into tutoring and participating in the Saturday support classes. When we arrived, we were greeted by a large group of students who were singing as they awaited for classes to begin.
The Group then split up and participated in different classrooms assisting educators, and teaching lessons we created. One of the lessons that I was involved with was the idea of "Intergenerational Voices". This idea was to have the "Grannies" and the learners collaborate in a project of their choosing around the topic of social justice. The way that we began the project was to have the students brian storm what social justice is and explore different avenues in which the students felt comfortable expressing themselves. We then had the students work on poetry specifically, "I Am" poems. We then split ourselves again and met with two representatives of the "Grannies" and spoke to them about their ideas on social justice and what they would like to get out of the project.
When classes was over and students were preparing for lunch, members of the SAI group were allowed to hang out with the students in a less formal setting and chat with the staff, Mr. Bright, and his assistant David. We then had to say our goodbyes, as we had to prepare for the next portion of our evening.
Phuti Mahanyele
We returned to our hotel in order to go to dinner at the residence of Rutgers alumnae Ms. Phuti Mahanyele. We were greeted by Ms. Mahanyele and her partner on their estate and were able to have a grand tour as her guests. We spent the evening talking about South African politics, education, our own personal goals and ideas over a wonderful dinner over looking the river. Ms. Mahanyele was very kind to tell us about her upbringing in Soweto and her fathers determination to send his daughter across seas (to Rutgers New Brunswick) to further her education and to make herself into a successful business woman. 
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