tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20442249414447446722024-02-21T08:51:41.259-06:00CGEE Southern AfricaGreetings and welcome to CGEE Namibia. We encourage you to follow our journey throughout South Africa and Namibia over the next four months. Each week, students will post updates on their experiences, thoughts and reflections. Hopefully, this will allow readers to gain deeper insight into our semester abroad. As we are 12,000 miles from the US, this is our attempt at bringing a bit of Southern Africa back to all of our family and friends. Enjoy!CGE Namibiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18268460700758695940noreply@blogger.comBlogger248125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-59452141231714946032018-05-29T02:10:00.001-05:002018-05-29T02:10:48.546-05:00Our Last Trip Out of Town<b id="docs-internal-guid-c73d635a-817d-78c8-bc22-2b4ade5bd5dc" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-c73d635a-817d-78c8-bc22-2b4ade5bd5dc" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Hal W.</span></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-c73d635a-817d-78c8-bc22-2b4ade5bd5dc" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We jumped into our CGEE van as a group for the last time last Thursday. This weekend we went to Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, two coastal towns on the mighty Atlantic ocean. The sun was shining and the air smelled like salt water. Swakopmund is a beautiful city, it is one of the main tourist attractions in Namibia, for both foreigners and native Namibians. I have learned throughout my semester here that Swakopmund is where a lot of Namibians go for vacations and holidays. Swakopmund has a busy season stretching from November to January. We were obviously not there during this time, so the city was often quiet. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/e7X9Dok7ThwrFvGMqBnktUwL0d4Ki8YuUAj2yUaMHhxZRCB5oQLVoaghXu2SIUn0EjWMFTRq8l7i_oAsmhuT0fL2MWnVULgAm8FTXeDVEGGiBv2KrzQpv68YBSyS6u9TRAOkV26f" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The controversial statue commemorating German soilders</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> We arrived mid-day on thursday. After lunch at the Art Cafe in downtown Swakopmund we met up with Laidlaw Peringanda who gave us a tour and history of the area. Swakopmund is similar to Luderitz in it’s dark history. Both coastal towns had concentration camps that held local Namibian tribes. They both also struggle with the recognition of these mass killings. In Swakopmund there is a monument commemorating the German soldiers who died in the area. These soldiers were also the oppressors and murderers of thousands of Herero and Nama people in the early 1900’s. The statue was defaced with red paint by local activists to bring awareness to the killings. Laidlaw is a local activist who has been trying to get Namibian and German officials to recognize the genocide, but has met much resistance. He has been offered bribes and threats because of his work to expose the true history of the area. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Q-EgdSRNxX6px8NuYpCN77QKw_u6mDxljNYV12KFEM5fIVW7widUNwedbreKcw4wajd1WGGztqtsEOkHm-qvnXLG1upl5s9gibUQsk_gSE0dZXdGGPJPDlV1bOqReEBp3BnLJ3LP" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lamont telling us about the unmarked graves</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Afterwards we went to a local graveyard. The graves of the white people were decorated with flowers and marble slabs, and a brick path meandered between them. Off away from the white section there was a single epitaph for the native people who died at the hands of the Germans. The plaque said that the natives died under “mysterious circumstances”, a clear example of the ignorance of the whites towards what has happened here. </span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Z1LAp1PifgaK-xvbrkFm42yquX0XHBwwVeRXdzlfA0hrkMqAEghaFVT5v-haRhrxR18haMQLHAWAcYijk0q9yhd1SQ2ftKQWHNiDUHSdti6C9ENUcB4DcXnE_aT4zTiCV_J0BooC" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laidlaw and Lamont in front of Laidlaw's office in the DRC</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After the stop at the graveyard, Laidlaw took us to the township Mondesa, outside of Swakopmund, to the informal settlement called the DRC (Democratic Resettlement Community). He used to live in the DRC and now uses his old home as an office to teach people about the genocide. The office has pictures of dying and wounded Namibians from the time of the genocide. Laidlaw Peringanda is one of the few activists in the area who is trying to shed light on Swakopmund’s dark history.</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We ended the day on a lighter note with an extravagant dinner on the shore at “The Tug” restaurant. I ordered a delicious seafood platter, and we drank wine and made merry until the sun went down. </span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The following day, Friday, we drove to Walvis Bay to have a tour of a fish processing plant called Seaworks. We geared up in white coats, big rubber boots, and hairnets and were taken throughout the building by Douglass, a higher up in the Walvis Bay fishing industry. The tour was interesting and informative, despite the fish smell and the cold working areas. Seaworks employs a lot of Namibians. The line workers, who would descale, chop, clean, and cut the fish were almost all women. While the forklifts, heavy machinery and supervisor positions were almost all men. The discrepancy between the two genders was clear. The role of gender in Namibian culture is strong, specifically the belief that men and women are built to do different types of work, men doing heavy labor and women doing the more meticulous tasks. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z77qdy6nw46wapc3yhTZ3O0pqIzX288Vun6lVkVvhMPP0B3tDFsaXEMTxsCO_D4lmFDnA7f-6YDTguK2F27BB52y51d8-dXPDqUpdr8m3CYRX2vtWIa_Hw-h7mhUt21zPbewaPE" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Line workers [predominantly women] at the fish plant</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After Seaworks we went down to the shore in Walvis Bay where we had lunch and looked out over the water, watching the tour boats come in and out of the port. After lunch we went to the Namibian Dolphin Project, a small, one-room building on the shore. We talked with the researchers there who were studying the dolphins of the area. They told us about the diverse range of animals they get in the area, and how the fishing and tourist industry often can hurt or confuse the animals. They have documented cases of dolphins getting too close to tour boats and getting badly wounded from the propeller of the motor. They are the only ones in Namibia who are studying these majestic creatures. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/opURhz_S3m-Q2Xn51-GnUbpjm50WOglVK86_uwNL_ztpf3tjMejkBwiGsYW2Zh-7ySmUZXruJbpRduVQvWeDnUhDVssXjYcjePaHY1Zg5FKbjTaUJGRbo-hjoESYJSw2Bq1sdkVU" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; cursor: move; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" unselectable="on" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A handstand was needed at the top of Dune 7</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After the Dolphin project we hopped into the van and drove to Dune 7. Dune seven is a famous dune outside of Walvis Bay. We had our traditional race up the dune, which I won. Being at the top of the dune was surreal and beautiful, the sand stretched all around us and we could see for miles. If you ever get the chance to go to Namibia, Dune 7 should be a top priority. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We ended the day by cooking a nice meal at home, our accomodation was slightly under-equipped for cooking but I made do. After the meal we all settled in and reminisced on the past two days, as well as making plans for our free Saturday. </span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/3dIhkLiQiAjSuD5OZNiSBspem0198mno6RPSuGgV_QRCxkHi1ONC_6GwMJA1TPcOw7AdnniDPERaDZJcVznYasN0ziINtNjGQqW9VCBWdVUjsnYsaCP1gnSi_3dv-L76zG8MLuim" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Largest Quartz crystal cluster on display in the world</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next day we did not have anything planned for the group, so we all went our separate ways to a degree. Me and Alexis visited the Aquarium, the Gemstone museum, and a place we stumbled upon and named “Camel Land”. We were walking down a trail outside of town when we ran into around 30 camels grazing in the brush. It was an unexpected but very cool experience. The Aquarium is small but cool, it was nice to see what kind of creatures are just a mere hundred meters from where we were staying. But, the most fun thing we found on Saturday was the Gemstone museum. I am a sucker for gems and minerals so I was in awe as we browsed through the huge deposits of Amethyst, Malachite, Quartz, Sulphur, and Tourmaline. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We wrapped up our time in Swakopmund with a reflection the following morning. We discussed the hardships people like Laidlaw have endured, while also talking about how we have a duty to continue the fight, even after we return home from Namibia. Swakopmund is a beautiful, salty, amazing, and historic town. I recommend it for a relaxing vacation on the ocean. But also I challenge any visitor to learn the true history of this place, the good and the bad. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/HMcrD5gta-EE_iEcySMsZteEnH6zIbRmsCqfR_WBhIt9V5omZvwdT5Wnzr49_1ArseWJuiRAAwHdmQCLgTFllqCnKSyJu8thd0SkeIZsXdMCsugiYHOOaGIF864g4t8uv_De2tYc" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The misty pier in Swakopmund, it was so foggy we couldn't see the shore when we <br />
went to the end</td></tr>
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</b><img height="96" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/opURhz_S3m-Q2Xn51-GnUbpjm50WOglVK86_uwNL_ztpf3tjMejkBwiGsYW2Zh-7ySmUZXruJbpRduVQvWeDnUhDVssXjYcjePaHY1Zg5FKbjTaUJGRbo-hjoESYJSw2Bq1sdkVU" style="left: 149px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 3292px;" width="72" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-36395646456536169202018-05-21T02:00:00.002-05:002018-05-21T02:15:29.089-05:00Fish out of Water<div style="text-align: center;">
By Alexis T. </div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-28286586-8176-a86d-af45-040349528dbc" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-28286586-8176-a86d-af45-040349528dbc" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span> </b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-28286586-8176-a86d-af45-040349528dbc" style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This week’s discussions have really worked to decolonize my mind and open my eyes to a new perspective. The week started with a thought provoking conversation on race. After a presentation by a University of Namibia professor, we gained an understanding of how racism has been woven into society despite the constitution that guarantees rights to all. He provided examples such as the price of private schools being unaffordable for Blacks, expensive gated communities that reserve the right of entry to certain persons, and admissions exams in Afrikaans, a language spoken predominantly by Whites. During our discussion after the presentation, the white students in the classroom came to the realization that because of the color of their skin, and the privileges that come with it, they had been blind to these forms of discrimination. Jamila pointed out that for the first time in our lives, as whites, we were fish out water, a reality that was everyday for her and Gail, the two American people of color in the classroom. This was a reference to Pastor Allen Story’s talk on the way that race is perceived. As white Americans, we are like fish in water, we are blind to the substance surrounding us because the water is our state of normalcy. For any person of color in America, they are constantly taken out of the water. They are told they must be from somewhere else, are reduced to stereotypes associated with their race, and judged for their accents or foreign languages all because their skin is darker than the majority. It was not until I came to Southern Africa that I began to experience these things. For the first time in my life my existence was questioned. Where was I from? What kind of accent is that? I have had my hair pulled and I have been stared at like an animal in a zoo on multiple occasions. For the first time in my life, I am a fish out of water. However, although I am a fish out of water, my experience does not compare to those of color. Although I am questioned and looked at funny, I am not discriminated for my skin color. For these reasons I can only try to understand the suffering and struggles of people of color, and not assume that I know how they feel and that I have, in fact, been in their shoes.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="278" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/M71FZnLMzbTXXh76OJ_xil06fkx0oQoq2pNMje43tSLNGUoj_Ysmf7F_0_JLK_gjiCnVR3O8Kqe_exCRV5Clczi97flHIRIx6ZLO8C0p2XpJafX3QBhNPk6znUYSr3jWMm1z56t1" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="371" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo of University of Namibia where the lecture by a UNam Professor took place. </td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/5SJ_B91xhl6ARqDDtTRx9RYGX9gotzyydfoyJURPR5frGwE7UZ4E5anHHZfBtQ-5LzHmQZCnkHFvocmm0qpPh3-hvXdFFSzntT-j-yiPr8xA3cclmDtEzi7QZWLytKwjHYk5oNej" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="267" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The memorial of Captain Cornelius Fredricks located on Shark Island</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The reality is that people of color have been discriminated against since the start of colonization and not much has changed. The ways in which discrimination is perpetrated is just done cleverly and around the law. Further, despite our knowledge of this discrimination, not much is done to amend for the tragedies of the past or bring an end to the subtler forms of racism. Shark Island in Luderitz, one of the largest concentration camps in Namibia, for example, has been reduced to a campsite. People pay to live on an island that forced members of the Herero and Nama community to build a railroad and homes in just three years with minimal food and water in harsh, windy conditions. An average of 112 people died per day, and the only acknowledgement is of the hero Captain Cornelius Fredericks. Nowhere on the island is acknowledgement of how many people died, what the community went through, the experimentations that occurred in the hospital, or even the mention of any names other than Fredricks. Instead, there is a memorial for German soldiers who perpetrated the violence, complete with names. Very few people understand the history of Shark Island and it is believed that the name is derived from the shape of the island. Oral tradition, however, states that those who died during the genocide were fed to the sharks since the ground is mostly rock and it would be impossible to give hundreds of people a proper burial. It is insulting that former concentration camp has been written out of history and that is has been reduced to a campsite, rather than becoming a sacred space that acknowledges the discrimination the Hereros and Namas faced.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="394" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/GG67aaU4h96UNM-MfWTd68zsn4hsSRbHuGXWVO4OschDQcNIKPw00BH7hWYj75_2W8l7d7e6bO2RoTYGdxdEtzABLh2cdLNpdXB0MN4nrdqC6ailmGPg8eL5zgRHtPYU6df4m_43" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="295" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The area in which the Herero and Nama were forced to live<br />
on Shark Islant without proper shelter in the harsh, windy conditions</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another example from this week in which the plight of people of color was erased from history is that of Kolmanskuppe, the ghost town. During our tour of this former mining town, we were shown all of the entertainment facilities for the Germans in town. The tour guide boasted about how every individual was given a block of ice and gallons of water free of charge. We saw the large homes of the principal, doctor, and entertainment coordinator, one of which had a marble bathtub. It was not until prompted that the guide acknowledged that hundreds of Namibian workers did not have access to these entertainment facilities, and that the food and water they were consuming was deducted from their pay check. We were not allowed to see the living conditions of those workers whose homes resided in the restricted area of the town. Despite the knowledge, little is done to acknowledge the suffering of people of color or right it. If you are not doing anything, you are contributing to the problem. As individuals we must do better to bring the injustices of the past to light and right the wrongs of the present.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abandoned homes in the mining town of Kolmanskuppe.</span><img height="312" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/8QGtShOeutTPLLXGi643U338QIcnEFe73RMCs60G7NA7KQpViqGbRVbDFoy7TaH38N9sJsP5O-d2qqLSu2TbtV10MWIMi9ZbTRiY_xC8MrqqmLK42LRvZkK47XyUZFUkEK21dZOY" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="417" /></div>
</b><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-30743067604250680812018-05-04T06:47:00.004-05:002018-05-04T06:47:55.286-05:00Life on the Farm<b id="docs-internal-guid-bf1fef43-f20d-6438-9ffa-ace9ad0ae9f2" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-bf1fef43-f20d-6438-9ffa-ace9ad0ae9f2" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 13.999pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Camryn C.</span></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-bf1fef43-f20d-6438-9ffa-ace9ad0ae9f2" style="font-weight: normal;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since the time I found out I would be studying in Southern Africa there was this anticipation in the schedule ahead for our rural homestay. This year the homestay took place on a farm in Khorixas, Namibia. The Center for Global Education and Experience (CGEE), does a phenomenal job in preparing us ahead of time for our stay, answering any questions or concerns we may have. This adventure that I embarked on was seriously a once in a lifetime opportunity. I got the chance to live in a rural setting for a whole week. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/P_X7zg5XHxYLPyXlrwYztmO91h3ADo-hI3Ll2mnCDjEBZpxJElgX36gK0Y-RWzcLsY0-cOiNYLzbFp1yhMvDmHNpAMPSAcAKVvLMkRaUdWbwW0XdcsUH-QefNdczZOv3XcHml288" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: 1pt solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="298" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am plucking and cooking a chicken for Easter. </td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">During this week I got to prepare meals, enjoy fellowship with other neighbors on the farm, learn a new language, and truly ask deep questions about their lifestyle. As a Social Work and Political Science major it was so interesting to me to realize that due to the education here and where they are located they don’t have a clear idea of politics in the United States let alone Namibia. Many of these families have lived on the farm for generations, and their lifestyle is really all they know. As a Social Work major I did find it quite interesting in the realm of adoption that they actually don’t believe in legally adopting someone else’s child in to their own family. However, there household often consists of much extended family due to where certain jobs are located. For instance, in my home my mom’s friend has 5 kids between the ages of 1 and 17 who she hasn’t seen in months because they live with her husband in the city for the purpose of school and work; but she did have some of her neighbors children live with her full time. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/GOkGhlDpwVK-27NkLh4Utjf8yBnxCHvjmbfyZ7ctXbg1_GfV1iOnF7duq8TPHwjjhn3JT9_OVbG6ziAk4Q_OO-iVrJeWBtHCu7rYIwaNP-QNGZWMahFk-p4aLBPEistcFDezhZ1f" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="326" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A living space at the Damara Living Museum.</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I found it very interesting that although the gender roles at the farm are very traditional the father gets full custody of the kids during a married couples split. They believe since the children are under the males last name custody should go to him. On the other hand, if the two were not married the mother had to keep the children as the children were only seen as hers by the public. Education was also something that was discussed often in my house. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Completing 12th grade was rare but often the highest level of education from any one I had met. My mom attending stopped school in 10th grade but not by choice she was bitten by a deadly snake when she was 14, and was hospitalized and in a wheelchair for 4 straight years. She told me at that age it was very hard to go back and most people didn’t think a young girl had to focus so much on education when there were so many other roles she played. Such as, at age 10 most women were taught how to cook and clean and take care of their younger siblings. As well as taking care of the home, that was a big thing many women took pride in. It was much more than a home to the women, a lot of the times they had done work to the house or re-built it themselves. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was very impressed with the encouragement my family gave me to learn. On the days that CGEE picked us up to learn outside the farm my mom always asked me questions about what I learned and related it back to the own personal knowledge she knew. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For example, after coming back from the Damara Living Museum my mom talked to me about the indigenous people of Namibia, one being the San people. The San people have been touched on throughout my history class, my mom referred to them as the Bushmen. It was neat to see it all illustrated first hand; the hut and lifestyle of hunting and gathering that they lived in. Then to hear it from my mom first hand. She could even remember when there name got changed after Namibian independence from Bushmen to San, “rope making” people. </span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/1ylXPk6ujLB-KZwv1ptHWyP5qS9FR4Srgn_UrrPIPnojcv8UMnviE3tmOSgqYwa-jvQJ0z2tWlU9OywdwbcxrAezqnGbDRxAHDEfst3TYugpHwOghaEvOKOE9jZJAOrtY6LBnFUJ" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="331" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my mom's friend on Easter.</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rural homestay took place the week of Easter Sunday, which was so cool to see their traditions lived out. I got to experience what my family wore, attend gatherings they held with other community farms, and their church services. It was truly so beautiful to see them worship in their own language, although some parts of the community may speak a different language they all come together to celebrate as one. I loved being included in the cooking preparation and conversations before the Easter celebration. They were truly so patient with me as I attempted to learn their language and practice holding conversations. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rural homestay was unlike anything I could have imagined in the best way possible. This experiential learning not only stretched me as a person but helped me to expand my horizon outside the classroom. Additionally, there is so much I have learned to value and new perspectives I will take with me throughout life.</span></div>
</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-83907379366741193792018-04-25T02:23:00.001-05:002018-04-25T02:23:11.429-05:00Leopards, Lions and Cheetahs, Oh My! <b id="docs-internal-guid-2379383c-4c61-4e50-d3db-f510a25885bb" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-2379383c-4c61-4e50-d3db-f510a25885bb" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Jimmy D.</span></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-2379383c-4c61-4e50-d3db-f510a25885bb" style="font-weight: normal;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On Sunday March 4th we had just returned from our homestay in Katutrua, which means “The place where people do not live”. To me it was quite the opposite. My family was welcoming and helpful in teaching me their culture. We had just attended Church and returned back to the house for our last meal before they had to drop me back at CGEE. My family did not want to drop me off, and I didn’t want to go either. After spending a week in their home we had built a good relationship that I hope to expand on during my time here by visiting them often and joining them for dinner. After being gone for a week it was strange being back at CGEE, but then transition went well, it was nice to all be eating dinner as a group again and talking about our experiences in our homestay, considering we all had vastly different conversations and interactions it was very interesting to compare and contrast our week away from each other.<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> On Monday we started our regular schedule again which consists of breakfast, class, internship, and then returning for dinner. During class on Monday we talked about Small Medium Enterprises (SME’s) and their potential, especially in Africa, at increasing the economy and lifting people out of poverty. Our speaker, Forrest Branch went into great detail on how this is possible. But it’s important for investors to notice the potential of SME’s. A barrier to SME’s is funding, which can be difficult to obtain in Namibia. Most banks will not give a loan without collateral that may be hard to obtain due to varying circumstances. A majority of SME’s will use their own savings to start a business; the next group relies on friends and family for the funding to start their business. This causes challenges on many fronts. One issue I see is expansion, for example if your business is doing well, but you still haven’t made back your initial investment, it is hard to invest more money in increasing your stock or staff, even if your business is doing well, the capital isn’t there to expand. There are a few ways to support SME’s. First is to go to the business and support them by using their services or buying their products. The second option is to invest small amounts of money much like a microloan, where you and the business operator can establish a timeline and action plan, and once the return is made the investor will get their initial investment back with a small percentage of return. The power of microloans comes from many people investing small amounts of money at once so this will overall make up a medium to large loan, but the risks are small because the individual will only lose their small investment, rather than a bank or large investor having to take the full impact of losing a large investment.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="283" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/L7WJ4sE6GpowkqtfLPHMny0z0JftQUMOBqwuZBMhstRT4MuIA_p3-SUTS48zwTb86UQ-QgOxUOLYDjkNAbx06QnV4eRbVrEPk18hE7bThPWV6ROKyZaLd3fAJ37i8BOfGc917zVN" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">N/a'ankuse Lodge and Wilderness Sanctuary main entrance</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The most notable part of my week was visiting N/a’ankuse Lodge & Wildlife Sanctuary. During our Environmental Connections class we had the pleasure of traveling out to N/a’ankuse to go on a feeding tour to see lions, cheetahs, leopards, wild dogs, baboons and caracal. It is sad to see animals in cages instead of being able to roam the wild but there are reasons for the work N/a’ankuse does. All of the animals there are either orphaned and would not be able to survive alone in the wild, injured by traps and the damage cannot be fixed to the point where they can be released, or conflict animals, which are animals that attack livestock and pose problems for farmers. If they are not removed they would either be shot or have the potential to injure or kill humans. N/a’ankuse also provides the animals with much more space than a typical zoo in the USA would, each enclosure has about 5 hectors of land. Lastly we talked to a researcher who works at N/a’ankuse, he explained some of the research projects taking place and how interns have been coming up with some innovative ideas to combat wildlife conflict such as using lion scat to deter other animals from approaching livestock. He also talked about how hard it is to keep count of the animals in the wild to produce reliable numbers about how many are left. As of now there are only around 7,000 cheetahs left in the wild, but in 1900 it was believed that there was 100,000 cheetahs in the wild, so in 100 years the cheetah population has plummeted due to a lack of conversation efforts and this issue is only starting to be addressed. This is why the work N/a’ankuse does is so important because they not only protect animals that are endangered, they also do research to better animal populations and increase conversation. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="225" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/aRHrCbWid6VwyZn2BsP1KKBAmo48QQ7Ekxhh3p0zZVsJFlpp5LBh3UXNy6J3YH4U_j31kSiOS5H5t9-PD83aQbVzwM_sGmkNmHtCEJbFmYL45KWD-92zL72F1vi0uPkh9IE2BRCB" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lion at N/a'ankuse</td></tr>
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</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-60505224720780708862018-04-23T05:34:00.000-05:002018-05-21T02:16:24.641-05:00A Home Away from Home <b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b3-7f06-a15d-948280fa18c2" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-3da1-c302-6d091e65252f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-6baf-07f3-98b0d21698b9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By: Camryn C.</span></b></span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-3da1-c302-6d091e65252f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-6baf-07f3-98b0d21698b9" style="font-weight: normal;"></b></span></b></span></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-3da1-c302-6d091e65252f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-6baf-07f3-98b0d21698b9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Almost two months in and I feel although I have had a world wind of experiences already. I quickly realized this learning experience would not be one about adjusting but rather enjoying. Traveling all through South Africa to get to our final destination of Namibia where we would continue learning for the next three months. A big part of our learning is being hands on, truly living as if Namibia was our home for good. As students we get the pleasure to live with a Namibian family for a week and experience with them their day to day life. I personally would like to believe that no other family could compare to mine. They were truly absolutely outstanding. I had three sisters, two older and one my age, two lovely nieces seven and nine years old, and of course an amazing mom and dad. During this week I continued classes and internship as scheduled during the day, until my host mom or dad picked me up at the CGEE house after work. The correlation of what was taking place in my classes and at home were unreal! I felt as if I would learn one thing in class and before I knew it was a topic at the dinner table. </span></b></span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-3da1-c302-6d091e65252f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-6baf-07f3-98b0d21698b9" style="font-weight: normal;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NoGDrWNQhYRq3DqxWnLnEBQqvcHVr6PTpLf85plUjSt6jVx9KUIccFsBh5iaI7UnUJ9H07A5zPUH1r3-Ik9OaQSshiQFflh2rEXj7JEAVJeKWjLpfWp5ZXDfaScBHwKv-MI3vVlL" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NoGDrWNQhYRq3DqxWnLnEBQqvcHVr6PTpLf85plUjSt6jVx9KUIccFsBh5iaI7UnUJ9H07A5zPUH1r3-Ik9OaQSshiQFflh2rEXj7JEAVJeKWjLpfWp5ZXDfaScBHwKv-MI3vVlL" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo taken at local museum, exhibiting the San people's homes</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-3da1-c302-6d091e65252f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-6baf-07f3-98b0d21698b9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In our history class we are studying the different ethnic backgrounds and population that make up Namibia. This week we attended a local museum studying the different populations, such as the San people and Oshiwambo. We learned about what made them who they are today and why they currently live the way they do. This was super interesting especially because my family had come from a mixed ethnic background. My dad’s family are Oshiwambo and my mom’s family are Herero, besides language differences the greetings were also very different. As my mom felt it normal to step into a room and greet everyone as a whole, my dad only saw fit to greet everyone separately and personally. Albertina our history professor and CGEE staff member also comes from a background of Oshiwambo, and throughout the week as we do our check-in she will ask us all individually how we are feeling and what is going on, which lines up with her heritage of greeting as well. Finding <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">those connections between what I was learning and where my family came from really helped us to have good conversations and bond over the week. <b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-3da1-c302-6d091e65252f" style="font-weight: normal;"></b></span></span></b></span></b></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-3da1-c302-6d091e65252f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-6baf-07f3-98b0d21698b9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-3da1-c302-6d091e65252f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I often spent a lot of time with my host mom and host sister who was my age, we were practically two peas in a pod. If we weren’t preparing dinner together then we were often listening to music together or I was getting taught Afrikaans which was a blast to learn. It was really interesting to me to chat with my sister about our generational issues and what that looked like here in Namibia and also in the U.S. I quickly found that our generation didn’t care as much about where you came from or to which tribe you belonged, but more about similar interests. My sister and the majority of her friends can speak Afrikaans but prefer to speak English. They do not feel racial discrimination is as noticeable because in their minds things such as the Apartheid did not affect them directly. I take we had two women speakers come in from the University of Namibia who touched on this topic more, explaining that my generation has no problem living in harmony together, it is their parents who have difficulty accepting who their children are friends with. Some issues Namibia faces today in regards to division are present due to who has the political power, and since that still remains an older generation it is hard for any political turnover. <br /><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="296" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/zlyHiMikCFQmdclHjE13PpNShotQ8sdPrjip5Rn93VhtTasMUpVkcB1PKJIEMeQgs65M08Y92cQqpvDVXZxvZNHoxZh9O6M3ccpBLsm9VcMrHTyawX25pOTBDlr0DvAyoJvEF7VL" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="394" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My host mom and I enjoying some great conversations at dinner together.</td></tr>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-3da1-c302-6d091e65252f" style="font-weight: normal;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-6baf-07f3-98b0d21698b9" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-e986577d-43b4-3da1-c302-6d091e65252f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My mom could also recognize the generational gap, especially because of how her and her sisters grew up were separated not only by ethnic background but by race as well. As we have traveled and learned more about Apartheid the three groups as classified were white, black, and colored. Today colored is a very offensive term and their were test done to see which category you would fall into, in the view of others being considered colored wasn’t as bad as being called black. So my aunt at only twelve years old had to go to Cape Town to a boarding school to pursue her education. Overall not only did I take away so much educationally, but I truly made lifelong connections with my family. Whether it was through conversations, watching African Soap Opera’s or the endless laughs at the dinner table, I wouldn’t want to change a thing.</span></b></span></span></b></b></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-13057019599879287672018-03-20T09:02:00.001-05:002018-03-20T09:02:18.314-05:00Final Firsts<b id="docs-internal-guid-0c2bc411-0556-02ca-660d-05b8d34cd4c3" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-0c2bc411-0556-02ca-660d-05b8d34cd4c3" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By: R. Gail </span></b></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was a full week of getting into the rhythm of things. We finally started classes, had our first day of internships, got to explore Windhoek further than walking distance. We also had our first and only birthday celebration while we are together. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This week we set the tone for the rest of the semester with "community day;" we dove straight in talking about religion, sexual orientation, race, class, etc. What I loved about the community day was that the students didn’t just reflect on all these issues, but also the staff did too, who are mostly Namibian. Personally, I found it very informative to talk to the staff and see their views on these issues and how they compare to the Americans. It was a great platform to reflect and reaffirm my thoughts and beliefs on some of the subjects we touched on during the day. We played games to get to know each other a little better and got to teach the game Ninja to the rest of the staff. I was getting a bit worried when d (the housekeeper) was jumping around and almost falling on her pregnant belly! Thankfully, she did not. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="298" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/eS_2fZNYmw95BVhPgNffV2qcBtWUqMpJ03sajId63sfZFdXq4OevOIQ_ZUxEdCwYUNbIAmMwnGDTDntNYkNg5vZ7hU40rYEgyfA0RrnjSOPc3cc9ergNIK5BrPaWOpfWHMUWM8AZ" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The whole CGEE gang trying to figure out how the game of Ninja works.</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tuesday we went on a “Katutura Quest” with some young people that are from Katutura, a township that was created to forcibly moved Black people there during the Apartheid. Katutura has so much to offer from the amazing food of Kapana to the elder community we got to meet with during out “Katutura Quest.” For the quest we were split into two groups; one group went to an art center and my group went to the only old folk's home in the city. We talked to the man that ran the center and he told us that residents must be able to take care of themselves, have a low income, and be overall in a healthy condition; meaning that the residents were able to care for themselves and did not need constant medical attention. Usually, when I visit retirement centers or old folk homes I get quite sad, but at this one everyone, for the most part, was all smiles. We sat in on a bible study in what I assumed was the Afrikaans language. Since I could not understand the language the bible study was in, I observed the room and something dawned upon me: I was sitting in a room with Black and White people who grew up during the apartheid era. To think that they grew up separated by law, and now live together only a few years after the end of apartheid was amazing. We later found ourselves eating the most deliciously prepared meat: kapana, a cow that is very freshly cut and prepared with the richest spices and luscious fat on a grill. We ended the day by preparing for the first day of our internships (unfortunately I was MIA for this)!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wednesday we all started our internships bright and early! My internship is with the Namibian Women’s Health Network which is a community-based organization that empowers people who are affected by HIV and AIDS in Namibia. This organization also seeks to provide educations, skills, and information to women who are living with HIV and AIDS in Namibia. What is currently happening now is we teach reading and writing in English and food preparation to women outside of the city of Windhoek. Most of what I have been doing is lesson plans to teach basic English literacy. The idea of this current program is to give the women the tools they need to be able to find a job or even create a small business of their own. I hope to teach as much as I can and learn more about and from these women throughout the time that I am with them. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/12S9X36R4hr3QKi_lc-UjlEoYH2wt0kgRAgYvREEeVd9z0Mx888RQ8y3SbWE5jKwdD4M2rLxAU7rOeMQmgFqVhm30wUqfWk6vYvdqzEgB6tQDHnSXOKdTlXcy2A6mnou6lb7D8Qv" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/12S9X36R4hr3QKi_lc-UjlEoYH2wt0kgRAgYvREEeVd9z0Mx888RQ8y3SbWE5jKwdD4M2rLxAU7rOeMQmgFqVhm30wUqfWk6vYvdqzEgB6tQDHnSXOKdTlXcy2A6mnou6lb7D8Qv" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Jimmy & Alexis) Our first day of our politics class! <br />
We couldn't be more excited!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thursday we finally had our first day of classes! In our politics class and political development class, we had speakers come in and talk to us about what Pan Africanism is and how it was mostly for people who were outside of Africa to reconnect with their roots, but is now a uniting idea among all Africans. We also had someone come in a talk to us about the relationship Namibia has with China and North Korea. The two countries have great political relationships with Namibia because after the liberation struggle Namibia needed some help and reached out to other countries but only really received help from China and North Korea. Especially with the Chinese, the relationship was abused. The Chinese would build factories in Namibia to acquire cheap labor from the Namibian population. The Namibian government allowed the Chinese to overwork their workers, left them sick for the rest of their lives, and let them break the laws of the worker's rights of the Namibians. Namibia’s government overlooked these conditions because they were in great need for jobs at the time. I am already learning so much of Namibia’s history and how that has shaped Namibia today. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To wrap up this busy week we headed to the theaters to watch Black Panther, which lived up to the hype. We went out to dinner and got pizza with a very rude waiter, it was great. It was also Hal’s 21st birthday! We all bought him an inflatable shark for the pool (he has yet to take it into the pool though…). After he showered we pushed him into the pool in all his dry clothes. We went on a hike in search for a lion, thankfully we did not find one considering we were still in a city. Now that we are settling into our new home I am excited to see what these next few months will bring us here in Windhoek, Namibia. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was just helping Hal jump into 21! <br />
(HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAL!)</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Till next time!</span></div>
</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-8377465828273895872018-03-12T04:12:00.002-05:002018-03-12T04:12:33.204-05:00From the Mother City to our Home City <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-f02f2aab-d724-a643-1a40-34eccf694a3b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Hal W.</span></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-f02f2aab-d724-a643-1a40-34eccf694a3b" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> We began this week in Cape Town, South Africa, and ended it in Windhoek, Namibia. We have set up shop here in Windhoek, where we will be staying for the next three months. I have the luxury of writing this with the comfort of A/C, something we all missed while we traveled around the Cape. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We began this week by visiting the Slave Lodge Museum in downtown Cape Town. The tour began by meeting Lucy Campbell and her assistant Khadijah outside of the Castle of Good Hope. The fort was built by the Dutch East India Company between 1666 and 1679, it is the oldest standing colonial building in the whole country. It originally was used as a replenishment stations for British Ships sailing around the horn of Africa. Today it is a museum and historical site for tourists and memorialization of Cape Town’s brutal history. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lucy Campbell shared the history of the fort and how it impacted the native people of South Africa. She explained how colonization integrated new and often detrimental impacts onto the preexisting culture that existed here. From there we walked up Spin Street to the Slave Lodge Museum, making a brief stop at the Slave Tree memorial. This inconspicuous raised octagon is the site that slaves were sold during the economic and population boom of Cape Town. It feels overly modest, a plinth easily passed by without noticing its significance. The town was built by the men and women who were sold under that tree, and today it can be overpassed without a moment's thought. This place is worth stopping by to acknowledge on a historic remembrance of Cape Town, often forgotten.</span><br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The Slave Lodge bustled with school trips and tourists gawking at the blinking lights of the eye-catching exhibits. We sat on the concrete floor as Campbell presented stories and trinkets traded during the Transcontinental slave trade. Ships stopped by Cape Town bringing tobacco and alcohol to suppress the health of the native tribes, for the sole intention of exploiting them for their land’s resources. The Slave Lodge was the physical space that the slaves were kept in decrepit conditions, with morality thrown out the barred windows.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> In the early 1800’s the building was modified to be used as government offices including the upper house of Parliament and the Cape Supreme Court. In the 1960’s it was again transformed into a museum of remembrance. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“From human wrongs to human rights, exhibitions on the lower level of this museum explore the long history of slavery in South Africa”. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uW4kDfgHZ-DsegiCCfldrk3ps5krPI4CSybiS4f21bIVq7_aLY7E_S8wJFHk2naSgymg-NfFHm3FyZBk1Ug_m8ZjGAMXMwkwZUvwawMorUaKnLaSiSyiXjnLHKGfAaJkoLhQKDF7" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original Parliament Hall. (Used during the Apartheid Regime)</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> After lunch on Long Street we walked to the current Parliament facility for a discussion of the on-going political turmoil happening in South Africa. We were met by Andricus Pieter van der Westhuizen, a current member of the Democratic Alliance (DA) party in Parliament. He is currently appointed as the Shadow Deputy Minister of Labour, but his background is in education. We discussed how volatile the politics of South Africa have been since the turn of the country in the early 1990’s. We lucked upon a interesting time in South Africa’s politics. Jacob Zuma, the current president of South Africa, is being asked by his own party the African National Congress (ANC) to step down from his position. He has over 100 charges of corruption and is overwhelmingly disapproved of by the majority of the South African population. He is charged with using public funds for supposed “security” improvements for his estate including a pool and housing for his security team. Our meeting and tour of Parliament proved interesting and eye-opening. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Tuesday morning we ate breakfast at St. Paul’s Guesthouse, our accommodation for our time in Cape Town, then went to the District Six Museum. This small, one building museum pays homage to the thousands of mixed race South Africans who were forcibly removed from their homes in the early 1900’s. District Six was a neighborhood of diversity and culture for laborers and merchants for decades before white colonists decided to bulldoze the area and force the residents into the surrounding areas known as the Cape Flats. The white government deemed District Six to be a destructive slum that bred vices like gambling and prostitution. They also declared under apartheid regime that mixed race communities were against the law. In 2003 the area began a reconstruction process. But of course true to the bureaucratic form it was executed with inadequate resources and labor. Today many of the homes lost remain rubble.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/gL2eQOhf_5cAeYWnBPWH2Qtnu9Upsp_upQgZEEYYBE0TmM2FG2tojvvgNysF4lJDP73YaenS-QrrdOLOvIW1jQzs_cxztOPFymceJ2H2-4_t-pSOJpM8jP6huLBuzM9f8AKuAmcC" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">District Six museum complete with a floor map</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After a pensive tour of the District Six museum we de-stressed by going to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. The five square kilometer complex featured a tree canopy boardwalk and sculpture garden. It was a relaxing break from the onslaught of information about the destructive history of this town. My personal favorite was the fragrance garden, buzzing with exotic insects that were double the size of the critters we have back home. </span><br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/qGcm3v3nLp5joX5V2OWEiMqJq8GWcywPgWL8vrfVLtYq5d6ko_y4Ghfe9ZwsH52pRj7b_NEfVAXwbf_8wCIYU_4P5jp_f8fykLyQ-rDttOhtzSjNeoO2Sm8L9QV4ed85mxFs2X0o" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/qGcm3v3nLp5joX5V2OWEiMqJq8GWcywPgWL8vrfVLtYq5d6ko_y4Ghfe9ZwsH52pRj7b_NEfVAXwbf_8wCIYU_4P5jp_f8fykLyQ-rDttOhtzSjNeoO2Sm8L9QV4ed85mxFs2X0o" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> We ended our outing with a empowering discussion at the Sex Workers and Advocacy Task Force (SWEAT). The goal of SWEAT is to decriminalize sex work in South Africa. They participate in rallies and demonstrations to bring media coverage and educate people about Sex Workers rights. They also offer resources to Sex Workers like medical aid and helpful connections. The discussion was positive and light-hearted, despite the rather blunt topic. The people that work there are fighting a noble battle. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/pb7qVdsNTD-buI8a8xdYpFFXxoogkRjtHGisxs7uhHQoYjzeskED1XtCI94Jthr_59ePnJ-q380n6mWmYuyoM2J1WO6zD1c2mLdECVxHUzQqchvsI9V7MKB1U7lFg0vVS8U36Qr9" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camryn and Lamont getting down</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next day we were given a tour of Langa and Gugulethu by Mrs. Laura. These two townships are primarily black and have had a troubled past. We stopped at the Dompas Museum in Langa for a tour of the history of passbooks in the apartheid regime. The Dompas or Passbooks were issued to all black laborers who traveled into Cape Town for work. Dompas translates to “dumb pass”, these books were used to restrict black movement throughout the city and give the police another reason to throw innocent people in jail. If someone was caught without their passbook or if it was out of order they were put in jail for a month. The museum resides in the same building that black people were kept against their will for not having this aforementioned “Dumb pass”. Afterwards we walked through Langa to a restaurant where we ate authentic South African food, served family style, and were serenaded by talented group of musicians. They even let us try their instruments!</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Xtn9f9218XhBX3g2QR6RAvs7ySwm__X7IywDZbaYxGUKYyF1bCi4HZfjhb9OqJPK7dIKBWsMVEwTBz7UxNS3o2WMxIj-ujoKyqZRSHwqMXUrUrTu2kfW6YJq9ts1GWG8odpYeX4S" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A young Jimmy among the Pines</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After lunch we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCCA) that lies on the waterfront of Cape Town. The exhibits depicted historic mediums brought into a contemporary light. Animal pelts, weapons, and traditional african garb decorated the six story building. It is a place worth visiting for art enthusiasts to anyone willing to experience history through modern and artistic means.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For dinner we went to an African cafe aptly named “The African Cafe”. The food was again served family style and we enjoyed the music of the staff dancing, singing, and drumming through the restaurant. Truly a sight to behold on your trip through Cape Town. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next morning we woke up early to pile into the van to ship off to the airport. We made our way through customs and security and onto the plane. After a quick two hour plane ride we touched down in our home for the next three months. The drive to Windhoek offered a few sights to show us what was to come. I watched out my window as the desert brush zipped by us, the occasional baboon or boar poking out along the side of the road. We were all quite tired from the travels of the day so <span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">after a quick orientation session we all called it an early night. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today we began to make ourselves acquainted with our new home with a walking tour of Windhoek. Our fearless R.A. Jamila showed us around town, we saw the local mall, club, ice cream shop, and cafe. Windhoek is a big town and a small city. The taxis are cheap and the streets are (mostly) safe. We were warned by Paul From the U.S. Embassy about the petty muggings and opportunity crime that stems from the lack of employment. The overall message though was that if you keep your wits about you this city is a fun and safe place to stay. </span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next day we were all feeling much more at home in our air conditioned manor complete with pool and wifi. We continued our orientation with a driving tour of Windhoek and Katatura, the biggest township of Windhoek. Our guide Martin was friendly and showed us the ins and outs of Windhoek. We visited the Kapana market in Katatura where we had the traditional grilled meat dish for the first time. You pay the price you want to pay and they grill the meat right in front of you on a wood burning stove, we returned back as soon as we could. </span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/IMkMJq2hdEti-7cwjsIihgc323IZRAgUacVmUWU7F6JpNwWJ4rj-vPpKkaKWdVQQUz1m4guf177Q9qW3zjFTF-aPu3FdYyPPUVmi6UmpMjELFw02R8C3QHXLXK9SNTmGzun5auWg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So much awkward in just one photo. (Visiting a local Namibian dam)</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Windhoek has graciously welcomed us into their city. The people are friendly and the air is dry. It has only been free from the apartheid regime for less than thirty years so the town quiets down at night. The stars are beautiful.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="300" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/gra-jFANbrbgzvg5UQhfWtRdcIrUZEhjMF3475bm7LQkGzxsC9KPmJD5viJsVmMPvG4JvWILLZmCvIIkllhKNdffrFqks8Ncs3Y_7wHw3g9Oz74MmK8wdDamdgK_T_qm9JF8cmZr" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></span></div>
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</b><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-42047467238716560002018-03-08T05:19:00.000-06:002018-03-08T05:19:08.202-06:00Blown Away by the Community Spirit in the Windy City<div align="center">
</div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-646f2f2c-d717-ae47-991b-cbec12d358e1" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><div style="text-align: center;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-646f2f2c-d717-ae47-991b-cbec12d358e1" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Alexis T.</span></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-646f2f2c-d717-ae47-991b-cbec12d358e1" style="font-weight: normal;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="285" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6wiHmoAIY-WQmkgFdWMqZi01ENeJ-3jIGfpMVAjRGfM-FpTnF20Xw37OwhetKOU1QjPu4j9KB8NR-TlNimv_blxOYzv4_-seloOACSei7OnGojAR9eSl98noUvMBKSVke2V38VFz" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="379" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Location Lodge, a former beer house that was transformed into <br />
a bed and breakfast by Mama Africa and several other women.</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The focuses of this week’s adventures were women’s empowerment, Black empowerment, and the idea of Ubuntu. Mama Africa told us her story about Red Location Lodge, a lodge in Port Elizabeth, South Africa former beer house that was transformed into a bed and breakfast by 15 women in 2008. These women worked their whole lives to destroy the beer house that distracted black children from their education. Instead of doing homework the children would carry liquor for individuals at the beer house. Mama Africa was one of the women who fought for equality for Blacks during apartheid to ensure that children would be able to get an education. She continued this mission by renovating the beer house into a bed and breakfast in which women could work to afford their children’s education.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/J0SDdrJ27iIYdFQ-y8o-LSY78R0tAi47x_eelJ8Wid46jtNwtapb0pJXAX4IroutiT8CUiZSx7scPgpoKHew9Iu-TDjGtZQicgkmkuq_FAhxZZxTnQjtzUvN_O66bvNd38AAL2E3" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/J0SDdrJ27iIYdFQ-y8o-LSY78R0tAi47x_eelJ8Wid46jtNwtapb0pJXAX4IroutiT8CUiZSx7scPgpoKHew9Iu-TDjGtZQicgkmkuq_FAhxZZxTnQjtzUvN_O66bvNd38AAL2E3" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; cursor: move; transform: rotate(0rad);" unselectable="on" width="309" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Ubuntu Centre, a center that provides educational, health, and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">psychosocial resources for the local community</span></td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Red Location Project was meant to better the community, both for the education of the children and to bring revenue through tourism. There are many organizations in South Africa that work through and with the community to improve the livelihoods of its inhabitants. The Ubuntu Centre is another community-based project that aims to educate children from “cradle to career” through the Ubuntu Pathways program, and provide health and psychosocial resources to the local community. The Red Location Project and Ubuntu Centre both employ the ubuntu ideals of altruism and sharing by being open to all individuals in the community. The Ubuntu Centre determines the needs of the community by working within and networking with the community. This inside-out approach ensures that the primary needs to the society are being attended to. The primary needs of the community are education, health, and psychosocial help. The Ubuntu Centre focuses on being open to all types of individuals, all desired career paths from music to science to technology, and giving back to the community through its sustainable design and educational programs.</span></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/m1QvJuOrb55KWE7tsZo1UgYl2dXTq0cQwU0cHazZZzpyZLtE6j3YLVtGxpEhXdb-JW7VWShO5ZI1-uBvvBJGNzhlGnClwSdkx9W5goH-4cUUHfJbl4Ta8e806QlJ4Cj3DpOdbBmN" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/m1QvJuOrb55KWE7tsZo1UgYl2dXTq0cQwU0cHazZZzpyZLtE6j3YLVtGxpEhXdb-JW7VWShO5ZI1-uBvvBJGNzhlGnClwSdkx9W5goH-4cUUHfJbl4Ta8e806QlJ4Cj3DpOdbBmN" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="314" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Ubuntu Centre, a center that provides educational, health, and </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">psychosocial resources for the local community</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In another town called Victoria Mxhenge, the South African Homeless People’s Federation strives to improve the livelihoods of those in the community by providing free, stable housing. The organization went to great lengths to educate individuals on building techniques that allowed them to construct their own houses. Most of the houses were built by women and have been standing for 20 years despite developers claiming they would fall in 5 years. The program has provided housing for 136 families and the vocational education has provided the largely unemployed population with a skill set that makes them more employable. This organization speaks to the ideals of ubuntu and sharing by working within and providing the community with homes, skills, and stability resources. The organization continues to address the housing issue and has moved onto addressing unemployment, education, and the health of its citizens. The organization educates through a feminist lens that promotes women’s empowerment. Most of the individuals building houses with the organization were women and the organization promotes the importance of the women’s role in the house. This is extremely important in the town which has many single mothers. The skills taught to women are traditionally masculine skills, proving that women can do both the jobs traditionally associated with men and women. There is a similar feminist movement in the U.S. in which women take on the traditional masculine role of breadwinner or join masculine occupations such as engineering, proving that a woman can do anything a man does. The program also funds children’s education through bursaries that prepare students both for the university track and career path through vocational training. There are also programs to help children with homework and problems going on at home. The organization provides a safe space for the children where they can stay away from the influence of drugs and alcohol that can be found on the streets and focus on their schooling and wellbeing.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span> </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="297" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lXFNezUgzcXceW0eVQOUxEI16LW7jUqHk7QkPFTsGmFKaeNyfH7JBGhNKibc3tqtr2vrocabPW6NRvC3Aj-g5duSz34GklxcFaPAbc3KdFyspgHHYmrgJnIoJseQMbzmVwMc8hD4" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="396" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Members of the Victoria Mxhenge community and South African Homeless <br />
People's Federation outside the Federation's center. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Community is an important concept in the South African culture which differs greatly from the culture of rugged individualism in the United States. Individuals learn to lean on each other for support as they did by building homes for each other, sharing resources and skill sets, and providing programs that uplift and provide opportunities for one another. In the United States, on the other hand, it is common to be closed off from the community and be self-sufficient. The organizations mentioned above were started by individuals who lived and grew up in the communities their projects are based in. This ensures that the needs of the individuals are met by having an inside view of what the community needs rather than an outsider’s assumption of the true problems. For the Red Location Project, it was destroying a beer house that promoted alcoholism and kept children away from school. This community has seen many improvements including paved roads, an increase in formal housing structures, and an influx of tourism which has provided jobs for more individuals. For the Ubuntu Centre it was ensuring that the community has access to health care, psychosocial care, and education. These three things can prepare children to enter the workforce instead of increasing the unemployment rate and provide physical and mental health stability for those living in undesirable conditions who cannot afford medical care. For the South African Homeless People’s Federation, it was teaching the largely unemployed community with a skill set of home building that allowed them to create their community from the ground up. This project not only educated but provided stability through their free housing program. The organization has also begun to provide educational and support programs for children to ensure that their needs are met in a safe environment away from the streets. At the heart of each of these projects is giving back to the community through the sharing of resources and knowledge, a quality that is not often exemplified in the individualistic United States.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The importance of community in South African culture creates a welcoming environment. It also shows how caring individuals are towards one another. This was shocking coming from the U.S. where the focus is more on growing individually rather than community building. The South African culture focuses on sharing and giving back to the community rather than self gain which is synonymous with American culture. I feel that this creates a more trusting community where each person knows that they can rely on another. It also creates a more sympathetic and caring community where one can be sure that those in their community are looking out for them. </span></div>
</b><br />
<img height="72" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/J0SDdrJ27iIYdFQ-y8o-LSY78R0tAi47x_eelJ8Wid46jtNwtapb0pJXAX4IroutiT8CUiZSx7scPgpoKHew9Iu-TDjGtZQicgkmkuq_FAhxZZxTnQjtzUvN_O66bvNd38AAL2E3" style="left: 185px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 736px;" width="96" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-38113416943845741352018-02-27T05:52:00.000-06:002018-02-27T05:52:54.736-06:00Stepping Into A New World<b id="docs-internal-guid-1dcde9a7-d708-e727-d3b6-2ee828b36e8c" style="font-weight: normal;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Jimmy D. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/B-EUMgEa8Rg1tDqJ_46LOqpCONCJsJu1MRE_jIbO4Mov5NrqaLrZA5YBVp1jrD_T-oIF_y11VCrOV5rZofXm4KpqNX1NsXyq8SHS_fcUs42cngo7QveoQe027IAfjUQk1P-Vm4Pl" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me at Freedom Park overlooking Pretoria</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I told my friends I was going abroad they were shocked at the fact that I chose Africa. They said “why don’t you go somewhere normal like Europe” and laughed at the fact that I needed to take anti-malaria pills. My reasoning is I believe it is important to see the world, and not only go to the developed areas of the world, but also look at the developing areas that have a history of oppression. Learning about history is very important in being able to pave the path for the future. One amazing part of the Nation Building, Globalization and Decolonizing the Mind program offered by CGEE is that not only are you looking at very developed areas such as Sandton which is considered the richest square mile of properties in all of Africa; you also get to compare it to one of the poorest townships in Johannesburg, Alexandra. Even though some of these townships may be poor in terms of money, they are rich in culture and heritage. During these tours we learned why and how this happened, and the simplest answer is that it’s an after effect of the Apartheid Regime.</span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
</div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Apartheid started in 1948 when the white minority gained power under the guise of the National Party (NP). The Apartheid system was put in place to control social and economic factors in South Africa to favor the NP. The black majority was paid very little wages to create wealth for the white minority in power. This happened through cheap labor and exploitation of the land and the rights of people who inhabited the land. To explore this issue further we took a tour of Soweto, which has a lot of historical context of Apartheid. As a group we saw how the people of Soweto struggled during apartheid, by being forced to live in Townships, in small, run down hostels and one room shared houses. Our tour guide highlighted how the Apartheid Regime would create division amongst the people of Soweto by separating them into communities based off of similarities and pinning them against each other by promoting violence and alcoholism which destroyed these communities and helped the apartheid regime (The NP) control the black majority. Another impactful visit of Johannesburg was the Hector Pieterson Museum, created to highlight the events leading up to the June 16th anti-Afrikaans protests. Hector Pieterson was a young boy who was shot during the June 16</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> 1976 Soweto protests. What was so important about this event was that the photo below was released to the world and sparked international attention to the horrors of Apartheid. This event also shows the power of media and how important it is to have freedom of the press.</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: -0.75pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="400" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/YwvAFBUlvcGlfGSDNwHdpOQs2ceBoiF_zBq52kSk-JSBmln3j8i01dK1Jnw-1n1oGWYalDW8mweXQj3QJ5S2t-velD_tLhFRUXKUAhtNDAD57cD-VdkfTDoCkhiHnr6OYDnm3Vtg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="337" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antoinette Sithole, Hector Pieterson, and Mbuyisa Makhubo<br />
during the 1976 Soweto Uprisings</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What South Africa is still struggling with is rebuilding after apartheid. 90% of the wealth is still held by the 8% white minority. Dale McKinley, one of our speakers and a former member of the South African Communist Party, spoke about how the African National Congress, (ANC) who took power after the apartheid regime fell, with Nelson Mandela as their leader, allowed for the white minority to stay in control of the economic “house”, while being able to take control of the social aspect of politics. The ANC believed it was important to fix the social aspect of politics to create equality and then later figure out how to redistribute the wealth, but as we see today unemployment is at an all time high and South Africa holds one of the worst Gini Coefficients. The Gini Coefficient determines wealth gap between the population within Nations. The ANC wasn’t wrong in what they did and I believe it was very important that they did whatever they had to do to reverse the apartheid era rules. As with any political action there must be a trade off, in this case it was social freedom and equality for all, while allowing the white minority to stay in control of the economic power. If this wasn’t done then the apartheid regime may of stayed longer than 1994. Also what is important to note is that it has only been 27 years since the apartheid regime came to an end and South Africa fully gained independence. I believe that South Africa has come a long way in the short time that has passed and that they have a bright future, especially with the determined people who work and live in South Africa.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lastly, I would like to include a poem I wrote based off my observations while we drove through Johannesburg.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Untitled” By: Jimmy DiGiulio</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the road winds in, the skyline comes into view,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Artwork littered around the streets, wall to wall</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trash lying beautifully on the ground as if it belonged,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Poverty is just as prevalent as the cars weaving in and out of the people,</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Struggle and sacrifice unite those who reside. </span></div>
<br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="196" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/vaUCAQEwrY1YuKpUH834Ob9G26I8p4aj8naYQNbFVlX8K31cBvmLpwZESHQ-wlw6TJqIuNhiD2B3NEbSqLUbo2pSt6A4MtR3x1OfMp277465S-vTB0JedMx26a5VLdCaMJRzNEhW" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the buildings in the Alexandra Township in Johannesburg </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-right: -18.75pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span> </div>
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</div>
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</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-14556596188337418562017-12-05T01:03:00.004-06:002017-12-05T01:03:58.476-06:00Living Sustainably<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">By Adelina Alcarez</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 20pt 0cm 6pt; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">We started out
the week by coming back from our Swakopmund stay, a touristy German town, and
ended our week in NaDEET, a camp-like area on the Namib Reserve at which there
was no wifi and mounds of sand, all kinds of creepy crawlies, and oryxes for
miles around us. Needless to say, NaDEET was my favorite excursion of the week.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 20pt 0cm 6pt; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In between, we attended a couple of class on
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Personally, I went to a couple of churches for
my internship at an LGBTI human rights organization. A colleague of mine,
Mickey, and I have been working on constructing a list of churches that are
tolerant to the LGBTI community and measuring their tolerance. We do this by
interviewing a leader of the church (if possible) and giving them a survey
about their relationship with the LGBTI community. Thus far, most of the
various places of worship have been a little apprehensive, yet welcoming and
willing to talk with us. On Wednesday, we went to two churches. Both gave us a
perplexing look when we first introduced ourselves. However, they were still
willing to direct us to someone to talk to. I think that our experiences with
churches may suggest that Namibia is ready to talk about LGBTI issues and even
support their human rights, if well educated about them. What better place to
start this conversation then with the system at which many members have shamed
people for being part of the LGBTI community in the 16 century and many
continue to make being LGBTI taboo today.<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyu9yR4x5g5FBjm92ogrYmj0b3YFKjeAdQ4BXQw8LvoECU5y61vjzGDhGxeiH30RWBUFztivXLUEhaXmK28wWBtQMgHqDYjfOX17RVGuyNSgLgFfdk-DedfgYedQ9veZYGfVBUU1bYgrQ/s1600/Adelina_Nadeet+Bath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyu9yR4x5g5FBjm92ogrYmj0b3YFKjeAdQ4BXQw8LvoECU5y61vjzGDhGxeiH30RWBUFztivXLUEhaXmK28wWBtQMgHqDYjfOX17RVGuyNSgLgFfdk-DedfgYedQ9veZYGfVBUU1bYgrQ/s320/Adelina_Nadeet+Bath.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Description of the dry toilet system.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 20pt 0cm 6pt; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">On Thursday, we
left for NaDEET. NaDEET is a place to learn about sustainable eating, pooping,
wasting, and cleaning. There is a dry, no-flush toilet. When dried, a person’s
total amount of yearly poop can be just enough to fill a bucket. On top of
that, there are dung beetles decomposing the poop at the very bottom, at least
6 feet underground. Their electricity was also powered by solar panels and food
made mostly from solar cookers. Solar cookers look like large metal disks used
to communicate with alien life, but they actually concentrate the sun's ray on
the pot. They also had solar cooker in box form. There was a cup or bucket of
water for the sinks and showers because there was no faucet; albeit, the shower
did have a bucket attached to a shower head. I was astonished at how well the
showers worked like a regular shower and how much water I could save by
lowering the water pressure a little bit and not using water when I didn’t need
it (like while I was washing and not rinsing). This tied in with the 17
sustainable development goals.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 20pt 0cm 6pt; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Surprisingly,
the goals did not stop on issues directly associated with environment, but also
social and economic issues like gender equality and poverty. On Friday, we went
on a Dune Walk (which was more like a hike for me) and talked about the
biodiversity of the Namib Desert. We encountered interesting creepy-crawlies
like the Dancing Lady Spider and various fast pace beetles and a couple of
oryxes. Something we also focused on was how connected each species is to each other;
everyone’s actions can create a domino effect. For example, one year, there was
a huge increase in the moth population. It is unknown why, but our guide Elias
suspected it was because a predator to the moths was in low population. This
created in influx of moth cocoons all over the desert. The oryxes mistook the
cocoons for food. A moth infestation killed a large portion of the oryxe
population that year.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4ubXyadlJqQb4MlxmiT5610HQO39AfKzUt3bzgH7Gf09JOWKDmxrGRQbNm1LKVcjoivo_MNWucPrXJK9FMaDZfgzGelJHO4pl9VGZd5QQcS8p5HL8OMKmBwYl7QY4nII5qQTR8SyR40/s320/Adelina+_+Nadeet.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Solar cookers. Not to be confused with alien<br />
communication devices.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Later that day
and weekend, we continued to learn about and live a more sustainable lifestyle.
We watched a documentary about the NamibRand Nature reserve and NaDEET’s place
within it. The reserve all started with one rich man who bought a lot of cheap
land in Namibia to preserve it. It was rough in the beginning, but now it’s not
only a place of animal preservation; it’s a place for research, a dark sky
reserve, tourism, and environmental and sustainability education. I am so
blessed to have been able to visit and learn from such an amazing place. I hope
to put the education I learned here into practice and not only use less water
and push for renewable energy, but also to educate myself about the
environmental issues in the area I live in. This experience has changed my
perspective on what role I play on this earth: to help protect it and protect
the people who live in it. What a great week.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 26pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 24.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-84622929412261473462017-12-03T23:55:00.003-06:002017-12-03T23:55:51.366-06:00Amidst the Stress and Sand<b id="docs-internal-guid-a43403bc-07d6-5a79-d641-069f54cce08b" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-a43403bc-07d6-5a79-d641-069f54cce08b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Maddie Dilday </span></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-a43403bc-07d6-5a79-d641-069f54cce08b" style="font-weight: normal;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we approach our last few weeks in Namibia, we are all doing our best to finish final papers, pull our integrative projects together, and still enjoy our time in this beautiful country. While this can be a very enjoyable experience, I think almost everyone is feeling some sort of stress. But in the middle of all this stress, comes our final group trip to NaDEET. NaDEET is short for Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust. Essentially, it is a small oasis in the middle of the Namib Desert Nature Preserve, where they teach about environmentally sustainable living, all while living out this life. And for a few short days we got to live it out with them.</span><br />
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are 3 major moments throughout the trip that I know will stay with me. The first of which is the dune walk that we took just outside of NaDEET. In total the hike was about 6 km, 3 both way, and we walked throughout the dunes outside of the NaDEET. On this walk we were able to see the amount of biodiversity that the dunes of Namibia hold. The majority of the diversity is on a small scale, specifically they have a large diversity in the types of bugs that the dunes hold. I found this fascinating as biodiversity is a topic that I have often heard about in class, but that I rarely have had the chance to see. Although the creepy crawlies were just that, creepy and crawly, the dune walk was an amazing experience that I am hoping to have the opportunity to do again once I am back in the United States. </span></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="275" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/LmPTXXjNOvMdNIKIO_GCv0fJYC2hAwOOWfZx0G9ncYDr53r8lHMrwtg0_3eIJ1-iL8i16fVZva4DRazIm55YJrMQtoYunpF01ORtYVzfPGJ4T14UQfq0fpB3jA-O0xjAa95YpjBD" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Above is a picture of a Dancing White Lady Spider that was <br />
seen on the dune walk. It received this name due to the <br />
"drumming" patter it leaves in the sand in the morning.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next activity on the itinerary for the weekend that blew my mind was the drive to a nearby mountain, as well as the hike up the mountain. The drive was gorgeous, it was one of those moments where you are stunned by the beauty that Earth holds, and you think about just how small you are, and how much of this beauty that you have yet to see. Having the opportunity to see the Namib Desert in this way is one of the highlights of my entire trip and I hope that I am one day able to return to this beautiful country. <br /><br />
</span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The final activity that we had at NaDEET was by far my favorite. The entire group went out to the top of a near by dune, and we star gazed for about an hour. NamibRand is one of the few International Dark Sky reserves, and a top tier reserve at that. As an Astronomy major, having the chance to see the night sky with such clarity was out of this world. I wish I had been able to capture the view of the stars, galaxies and dust that could clearly be seen in the dark night sky, but unfortunately my phone's camera isn’t strong enough. But, it is an image that I will remember for the rest of my life. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="221" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/cS5L7WUPxDF071CCg9sVvZC5x4WOGwmLfaitAibLLSOcd73SS7I9Y3dk-RfNAE-j0O8C8e6qTW6H-pW4IIlBAw1nZk4lfsr0d0tQtK47u-6M0j_F1zcpy1N4Y3aPUg-mTFyf-hRI" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="394" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture was taken on the drive to the mountain range. <br />
This country's beauty just does not end. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall, NaDEET was a interesting and enjoyable break from the stress of the final papers that are piling up at the end of the semester. Although we only have 2 weeks left, I am sure that they will be packed with as many adventures as possible. </span></b><br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-47464978188453523712017-11-29T06:51:00.003-06:002017-12-01T01:55:32.943-06:00Exploring waste management, Islam, and Swakopmund<b id="docs-internal-guid-6832157e-e2c8-7eec-dad8-e1dacf93fa7b" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-6832157e-e2c8-7eec-dad8-e1dacf93fa7b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Michelle Andersen</span></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-6832157e-e2c8-7eec-dad8-e1dacf93fa7b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span> </b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="20171106_094649.jpg" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/qZYO94unMoA5nBphC9M56iAq6b8-sCNNTsODutav50blZeTA3cZcP8DUMO_zpJRnbd9a0MV1Rfpa_ZQo1YgTBKG8LhAlBiVbPbcPMGD2Ygn-T4OLBcK6IZZcw9jKQEenUPl4OmG9" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Windhoek waste management site</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-6832157e-e2c8-7eec-dad8-e1dacf93fa7b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My week started with a visit to the waste management site with our environmental class. We got a talk from the leader of education, Estelle, and learned of her struggles as the only one in her department. The rest of her team and most of their resources were moved to a different government office, so she has issues getting educational materials about waste management to the local people. From what she told us, it seems as if the people do not know about the recycling program or the difference between the various types of waste bins. With a lack of resources, she is fighting an uphill battle. When we went to the waste site, the gorgeous backdrop of the mountains was covered by the piles of trash. They try to do some sorting of recyclable items on site but it can be a challenge. Most of the waste is simply flattened and covered with sand to keep it from blowing away. Waste management is a huge problem in Namibia with the lack of necessary infrastructure and education.</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-6832157e-e2c8-7eec-dad8-e1dacf93fa7b" style="font-weight: normal;"></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-6832157e-e2c8-7eec-dad8-e1dacf93fa7b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For religion class, we learned about one of Namibia’s minority religions, Islam. We discussed the five pillars; fasting, alms giving, praying five times a day, declaration of faith, and the pilgrimage to Mecca, if you can afford to. We got to visit the school that April, our Professor Lamont’s wife, is opening soon that is built on land that the mosque owns. April told us about her curriculum, values, and hopes for the school. The Sheikh Imam furthered our discussion by going into detail about the history behind the small Muslim population in Namibia, the effects of this, and Islamic beliefs. Islam is considered a way of life and should be reflected in a person’s every action. We ended with a tour around the mosque and seeing one of the daily prayers.</span></b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="20171109_142346.jpg" height="320" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/QB-Kp0ZmK95h5NH4Q_AOpZG33nlExlqXADnzm1BX5VWkqnek5LECQoDhzLOA8AnMK6mN0VZTni99FDGyn-QLD4uv-15QImo0D0bhbqkeKl6i29IsnR3zH5rbeu4bq5y-Jb1wQMhL" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Controversial monument depicting the German soldiers<br />
who dies during the genocide</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b id="docs-internal-guid-6832157e-e2c8-7eec-dad8-e1dacf93fa7b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Additionally, this week we traveled to Swakopmund and Walvis Bay to learn about the historical and current issues there. Our tour guide was Laidlaw Peringanda, who is a Herero activist who is passionate about the Herero-Nama genocide by the Germans. In the town square, there is a monument to the German soldiers who died committing the genocide. The local Germans and their government are denying that there is a problem with this statue and refuse to take it down. Next, we went downtown to visit the cemetery, where there is a large section of unmarked graves of those Herero and Nama people who were murdered during the genocides. The German government donated a plaque which refers to their deaths due to "mysterious circumstances," despite the heavy photographic and official documentation of a genocide order. There is even a wall surrounding the cemetery because people were building houses on graves. From Laidlaw’s tour we expanded what we learned in Lüderitz and saw again the lack of proper memorialization for the losses of the local people.<b id="docs-internal-guid-6832157e-e2c8-7eec-dad8-e1dacf93fa7b" style="font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></b><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="20171109_144237.jpg" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/AxwgBMDb9m4-QJdvs9ixz52_T1Q0nHc3zqnPpkzID0NG7H_kmRrdtLqiujfwxrfhiGYdDs5dQ6fdp_hACHB4UgBk_DZt8jaHmOcvF01kF0clcaX3Z9IIZM3fm6nEm9R5SjkJlGWi" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Namibian peoples memorial from the Germans referencing the <br />
genocide as deaths due to "mysterious circumstances"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-6832157e-e2c8-7eec-dad8-e1dacf93fa7b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span> <b id="docs-internal-guid-6832157e-e2c8-7eec-dad8-e1dacf93fa7b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We also took a tour of a fishing factory, which is a major part of the local economy. The factory is not running until Monday because no fishing is allowed during October to let the fish population to replenish. The ministry was late with announcing what each factory's new fishing maximum quota would be, which caused the delay. During October, the factory pays for employees to travel home as well as providing a bonus. There is competition from foreign boats who do not follow the same rules but they are not allowed to have a factory on-shore unless 51% of the employees are Namibians.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> From what our tour guide told us, it sounds like there are many regulations in place to try and create sustainable fishing as well as proper treatment for Namibians.</span></b></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b id="docs-internal-guid-6832157e-e2c8-7eec-dad8-e1dacf93fa7b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Later that day our group hiked the tallest dune in Namibia, Dune 7. It was a struggle to get up but the view was worth it. Overall, it was a great trip filled with discussions of social issues, the economy, and seeing the natural beauty in the area.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> This week covered a lot from environmental waste issues, Islam in Namibia, and the history in Swakopmund.</span></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="20171110_171732.jpg" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-E50QqXZdArVw25TMDrhAtNEOP0Xm-u-7S6Ng6fKh0Eu5_R_RLRfkhYW_4rz2KWHjLBmqG4mgpIkgcQqBCVv5-_XRAlkKQdbbcjmOkhsygx3a3aBecf7JUFz0jlhBNUJoPSiSAq6" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dune 7</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-913185919135969272017-11-29T06:51:00.000-06:002017-11-29T06:51:00.921-06:00From Ocean to Ocean<b id="docs-internal-guid-c197a1aa-d8e1-d687-9b0f-5a559a9f82a0" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-c197a1aa-d8e1-d687-9b0f-5a559a9f82a0" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Caroline Pratt</span></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-c197a1aa-d8e1-d687-9b0f-5a559a9f82a0" style="font-weight: normal;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlBNLsTUcWFT4qp5L7AMOsLO8i8_BDYSrF8kAtDX1XwPKIyVIbPHUy4gREp9ZylgmodQsWdszQwD-prFSLaXVLQ6fIeqyfVMXPTnR6jFGDX2e3MyuXnotwzZyT1RsZndUw7lOUAcZPiQ/s1600/Durban.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlBNLsTUcWFT4qp5L7AMOsLO8i8_BDYSrF8kAtDX1XwPKIyVIbPHUy4gREp9ZylgmodQsWdszQwD-prFSLaXVLQ6fIeqyfVMXPTnR6jFGDX2e3MyuXnotwzZyT1RsZndUw7lOUAcZPiQ/s320/Durban.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Appreciating the Durban skyline</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still recovering from the busy month of October, I was exhausted and excited about the last few trips of the semester. While all of the CGEE trips are great, some independent travel has made my study abroad experience so much more impactful. Last weekend I traveled to Durban, South Africa. One of the other students and I caught a plane after class on Friday and made our way to a city so different from Windhoek. Durban, a common tourist destination for South Africans, was like no other South African city we had visited so far. It was so diverse and full of surfers and beach goers. Walking around, I felt just like I was walking down the boardwalk of California. While we were just there for the weekend, we filled our time with people watching, eating the local cuisines like Bunny Chow (half a loaf of bread filled with curry, one of the most filling meals of my life), and spending time on the beautiful Indian ocean. We also visited the Moses Mabhida Stadium, constructed for the 2010 world cup, and the Ushaka Marine world, the largest aquarium in Africa. It was incredible to have the freedom the explore the city independently and see an entirely different part of South Africa, far different than what we had seen in Joburg, the Eastern Cape, or Cape Town. </span><br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Coming back on Monday, there was no time to waste with classes and internship Tuesday and Wednesday before the entire group left for Swakopmund. One of my highlights of the week though was visiting the local Mosque in religion. Being Catholic and never having the experience of going to a Mosque before, it was eye opening to see a place of worship that functioned very differently than my own. We spent most of the lecture learning about the history of Islam in Namibia and about the teachings of Islam. With the Muslim community making up such a small percentage of the Namibia population, it was cool to see how they functioned as a minority religion.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span> </div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9C1xlvu30PAVTE2gwn_ImjO5jeSMQoz6gseH_MxD2PSFRRc68uPstEbNv9xSJOXlf9FbtKZUBeaetPLVYhl0dyRpdl6cxe048Mntd11QIbry4hhM5ORO-fBD-h1rP3nBIe3X6FQR68g/s1600/Swakop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9C1xlvu30PAVTE2gwn_ImjO5jeSMQoz6gseH_MxD2PSFRRc68uPstEbNv9xSJOXlf9FbtKZUBeaetPLVYhl0dyRpdl6cxe048Mntd11QIbry4hhM5ORO-fBD-h1rP3nBIe3X6FQR68g/s320/Swakop.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Becca and I enjoying the Swakopmund Atlantic Ocean </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Come Thursday the group headed to Swakopmund, a coastal town on the Atlantic Ocean, known for its German architecture and beautiful beaches. On our first day, we took a tour around town where we saw the many lasting memorabilia to German colonialism. In the center of town, we saw a giant sculpture commemorating the fallen German soldiers and went to the glamourous German cemetery, located just next to the large resting place of the Herero and Nama that died during the genocide, with graves unmarked. In the very corner of the cemetery <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is the monument to the Hereros and Namas that was removed a few years prior because it ‘smelled’ and was moved back after it received some push back. We then saw the townships and where most of the population of Swakop lives. Laidlaw Peringanda, our tour guide and artists/activist, did a great job of providing a holistic view of Swakop and we saw it for what it was instead of the German tourist town that looks like it could be straight out of the German section of Epcot.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second day of our trip we spent learning all about foreign investment in Namibia and conservation. We visited Sea Works, a Namibian run fishing factory. We learned about all of the laws and regulations put in place to ensure Namibia benefits from the industry such as 51% of all industry must be Namibian owned. Unfortunately, we went while the factory was closed because Namibia has a law that there can be no fishing done during the month of October. This was great though because it allowed time for employees to return home and still received compensation. Later that day we went to the Namibian Dolphin Project where the two employees were working to do research and help the local industries. <br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePOmyNJWtEke_4qV3i9QNI27P-uU8BTLHHPJJVH7dpVBC6xdR-ufenPkCUR3gA8CK0i-fQdc0CQVp6k2P_9Bk8vY8Nn2VwZZKO4H9kFjKOKbT3YjHq2o9JrzP5RvO05Y16HD6S1DtG_Q/s1600/ATVing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="750" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePOmyNJWtEke_4qV3i9QNI27P-uU8BTLHHPJJVH7dpVBC6xdR-ufenPkCUR3gA8CK0i-fQdc0CQVp6k2P_9Bk8vY8Nn2VwZZKO4H9kFjKOKbT3YjHq2o9JrzP5RvO05Y16HD6S1DtG_Q/s400/ATVing.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Group photo during our ATV Dune trip in Swakopmund</td></tr>
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</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On our free day, the entire team went ATVing all around the dunes and I spent the rest of the day enjoying life on the Atlantic. It was truly a week to remember, from the Indian ocean to the Atlantic in just seven days. Study abroad is something.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-76886149499431271162017-11-20T04:02:00.001-06:002017-11-20T04:02:19.421-06:00Life on the Farm<span style="color: #222222;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-34851312-7656-950c-81f0-515e09cf79d0" style="font-weight: normal;"></b></span><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-34851312-7656-950c-81f0-515e09cf79d0" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">By Evan Carr</span></b></span></div>
<span style="color: #222222;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-34851312-7656-950c-81f0-515e09cf79d0" style="font-weight: normal;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Following an amazing week with our families in the rural Khorixas area our homestay experiences for the semester are already over! While this is a sad realization I feel incredibly fortunate for the experience this past week, but also to be connected to three great families across the Southern Africa region. A huge thanks to Sarah, our Homestay Coordinator here in Namibia, and all of the staff for making this week a great success! <br /><br /><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img alt="../../Pictures/Photos%20Library.photoslibrary/Masters/2017/10/18/20171018-150904/22664045_1209877775779500_257626772_o.jpg" height="400" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/vcDbJXUACLSsrWGhUHw1X4QI9edKNLs0D0VIcM2C4VjRF6_imBRw9uwJaOHlJOC6T6DKJ6RvCy92X2F0nE3ZE1m_WRi1tE8ZRMZZ8kCtPsEA8SrcjvmY-eaQFgSxRRlfb-hzFb70" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="224" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Returning from a trip into town. </span></td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our schedule in the so-called “Damaraland” area allowed for plenty of time bonding with our families on the farms combined with ample opportunity to continue the learning process with our busy schedule during the day. Our homes for the week did not have plumbing or electricity so we quickly adapted to the local lifestyle of cooking over fire and open-air toilets, but we were also fortunate to experience stunning night skies thanks to zero light pollution. Daily activities on the farm ranged from playing with baby goats and donkey cart rides to games of Owela under the sun and hot cups of Rooibos tea around the campfire. Owela is a local game requiring strategy and wit that was traditionally played between chiefs to settle disputes in the community. Another highlight of my week was the opportunity to develop my Damara language skills. As my host grandmother, the head of my house, did not speak English it was important for me to pick up some phrases in order to connect with her. While mastering the four clicks used in Damara presented a significant challenge, I was able to hold very minimal conversation in Damara by the end of the week about things like how I slept or how hot the weather was. Our week on the farm wrapped up with a big party where all five homesteads on each farm came together to celebrate the week and eat delicious food to our heart’s content. We danced and the sang the night away as we exchanged American and Namibian songs and dances with our families. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"></span> </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">While we ate breakfast and dinner and spent nights at the farms, we spent our days together as a CGEE family. Some highlights of the program included visits to Cornelius Goreseb High School and the traditional court of Khorixas. The traditional court operates under the jurisdiction of the local Damara clan and mainly deals with domestic issues and theft, while other matters are left to the municipal court. It was valuable to see how people in rural areas integrate their traditional community structures with those of the modern Republic of Namibia. We delved further into Damara culture with a visit to the Damara Living Museum. In order to preserve their culture, people working there run demonstrations on blacksmithing, natural medicine, and jewelry making. Our trip also included a visit to the Twyfelfontein UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is the site of many ancient rock art drawings, and to a petrified forest. These excursions helped us to put into context topics we’ve discussed in our History, Politics, Environment, Religion, and Development classes. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img alt="../../Pictures/Photos%20Library.photoslibrary/resources/modelresources/37/83/%25SnCYAF5QC6Rcnlj08%25qLQ/22690369_1209876745779603_2083440280_o.jpg" height="225" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/zap_YRkjyRQsOCZtPa9p19FIOF4WzkAZ0suf8K3yQ9jMHGfegYsp4TXV2EtS0SENMjk9Eo1imMhMEKfi3KFHj2YkKLZWhMpXEA2uhwgyVpKdtvxeR5iv9hePrIa61KLeecw0fLDj" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">My family for the week. Grandma Christa was the head of the house and the farm.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Following our week on farms in Khorixas we spent two days at Etosha National Park. This visit was capped by the sighting of a leopard that came right up to our van and let us follow it down the road for a few hundred feet. We were incredibly lucky to see such a rare animal (there are only about 600 in Namibia) at such a close range. We also saw lions, rhinos, many giraffes, zebras, springbok, and more! A visit to Etosha is a quintessential Namibian experience and it was great to get out there and see it with our group. I’m looking forward to our Fall Break next week and to catching up with everyone once we return to hear stories of their travels.</span> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
</b><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-34361176968240235072017-11-06T04:23:00.000-06:002017-11-06T04:23:09.713-06:00Not Windhoek, Inhoek<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">By
Maddie Dilday</span><span style="font-family: "Times","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">This week we took on the rural
homestay at 2 different farms outside of Khorixas. The farm that I was staying
on is known as Inhoek Pos. I had 2 host sisters who lived with us, one being 6
and one being 5. They were 2 amazing highlights of the stay! Whenever I was
home, the girls were with me. We would play games, and run around the farm
playing with the other children on the farm. The girls were my guide for the
week! One of our favorite games on the farm was called Owella. We learned
Owella on the very first night at the farm. Here we also learned how Damara
chiefs used to use the game in order to solve conflict. The first game ended in
a draw, but by the end of the week, Adelina had become a pro! I on the other
hand am still in training. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">The girls would also
often visit “the dam”. This was where they got their water, swam, and provided
water for their cattle. The dam also provided water for the wild animals of the
area, specifically the elephants that would often visit. The dam was peaceful
at times, especially when we would just be collecting water for the day. But
the dam could also be lively! For example when the kids went swimming! They
would climb into the dam and splash around, cooling off in the midday heat. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuAD-gD59MQsoqozxwcHN4ivFEbqwjnflcJWrezsnvapijbezLouFk-ZIQTSH605GZkrZ-Gj5uUiWZ6FR_knbur2TAAePtNH19AKNNxKpHRUzrAYb0lhSN2JQGUJa2WUc0TxlxCq_qo4A/s1600/Goreseb+HS+Maddie.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuAD-gD59MQsoqozxwcHN4ivFEbqwjnflcJWrezsnvapijbezLouFk-ZIQTSH605GZkrZ-Gj5uUiWZ6FR_knbur2TAAePtNH19AKNNxKpHRUzrAYb0lhSN2JQGUJa2WUc0TxlxCq_qo4A/s320/Goreseb+HS+Maddie.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is one of the open areas located within<br />
Cornelius Goreseb school grounds.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">When I wasn’t
running around the farm with my host sisters, the students would be exploring
and experiencing Khorixas. Of these experiences, the best was getting to speak
with the students of Cornelius Goreseb High School. Having the chance to speak
to students slightly closer to our own age was something different and
interesting that many of us had not had the opportunity to do yet. The students
were exactly like a high school student in the United States would be! They
loved to hang out with their friends, liked missing class to talk, and were
just beginning to realize how exciting their future can be. Many of our
students were physical science focused students (In Namibia, in 10th grade you
pick either hard sciences or social/historical courses to focus on and then
continue on those specific courses until graduation and often times after.),
which I found very encouraging as a current university science major. Aside
from talking about classes, the students really just wanted to compare everyday
life between here and the United States, which I think they found to be
surprisingly similar. Overall, the exchange allowed us to have a new
perspective when viewing Namibia, and the world around us. While personally, it
made me think on the United States education system, and the differences, both good
and bad. </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoe76iomvR2Ib1AvFibUj6s3wh5faevTI8IMfbw2rp6L3CT_9Uu-looTeNsUJBYPI4PPniJKKUuStHePIRYFHDNWxKWl2EPn6vAC_xxjYmyvkJpdZfWTB6HlLY4bmAjAQsQAmZUQ-VTkI/s1600/Maddie+Blog+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoe76iomvR2Ib1AvFibUj6s3wh5faevTI8IMfbw2rp6L3CT_9Uu-looTeNsUJBYPI4PPniJKKUuStHePIRYFHDNWxKWl2EPn6vAC_xxjYmyvkJpdZfWTB6HlLY4bmAjAQsQAmZUQ-VTkI/s400/Maddie+Blog+1.png" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A picture of my host family during the end of the week party we had. <br />
We all dressed up and had a great time. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-ZA;">My favorite part of
the week was every night when the entire farm would come together. During these
moments, the kids would calm down, and the adults would all come together as
well. We would talk about the Damara culture, sing songs, tell scary stories,
and share constellations in the beautifully clear night sky. These moments are
the ones that will stay with me through the rest of my life, because these are
the moments when we all actually felt like a family. Laughing, sharing, and
having a great time together. </span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-72300163681838478302017-11-01T01:31:00.002-05:002017-11-01T01:32:09.535-05:00Week 6 - “Wildlife” and the Harmonious Ideal of Ubuntu<div style="text-align: center;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Michelle Andersen<b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/uCa5HZVigg8YaKIN0C3AFHzv6BsRp7k8pIoH3jMz4VJsB2IYaHkPiy4yy1Mnok9nm_h4MSHUL8n_jzNJ1ISgkQxW2cvKRx42na73OaaT9SrtXhi2atjV1SIm2v7SwW0ueFSyKKCb" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/uCa5HZVigg8YaKIN0C3AFHzv6BsRp7k8pIoH3jMz4VJsB2IYaHkPiy4yy1Mnok9nm_h4MSHUL8n_jzNJ1ISgkQxW2cvKRx42na73OaaT9SrtXhi2atjV1SIm2v7SwW0ueFSyKKCb" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This cheetah and her sister are tame and used to humans, <br />
when they should have grown up in the wild</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</b></span></b></b></span></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The week started out with a trip for Environmental Connections to N/a’an ku sê Wildlife Sanctuary. It was established in 2006 by Dr. Rudie and Marlice van Vuuren to conserve wildlife, preserve landscape, and support local communities, specifically the indigenous San people. Their mission is to promote “conservation through innovation.” The animals there have been orphaned, injured, or otherwise had their safety threatened by humans. In class, we are learning about human-wildlife conflict, which was evident during our visit. The various animals have been saved from humans who shot them, touched them as cubs, or have had their habitats and lives threatened by humans in another manner. While it was incredible to see one of my favorite animals, the cheetah, up close, it was heart-breaking to see them interact with the guide. The cheetah would come right up to the fence and let the guide pet her. You could hear her and her sister purring loudly the whole time. Unfortunately, these animals are here because their mother was killed by a farmer and they could not survive on their own. They have been raised by humans, which makes it dangerous to return them to the wild for themselves and for the humans, whom they no longer fear. They are sentenced to a life imprisonment, due to the actions of humans. While the sanctuary is doing good work in order to save these animals, they are merely trying to compensate for decisions other people have made. Since these animals can no longer be released into the wild, they will never be able to live out their lives as intended.</span></b></span></b></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/GmacGlHb99KJDm3bdir5Jo7D2-I-PzLKCXVOwh-A7sdwNwI_QoKoYdF-MwkBBubgsRmMx8r7uhMpOah5XeKsFrJoR7mkKdKpjjY6VxzVvywaG6tGSJLJHCDm1PajdbwAjW311oxv" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/GmacGlHb99KJDm3bdir5Jo7D2-I-PzLKCXVOwh-A7sdwNwI_QoKoYdF-MwkBBubgsRmMx8r7uhMpOah5XeKsFrJoR7mkKdKpjjY6VxzVvywaG6tGSJLJHCDm1PajdbwAjW311oxv" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A night out at a local restaurant</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Later in the week, in our religion and social change class we had a speaker named Reverend Godriam join us to discuss the subject of Ubuntu. Ubuntu is defined in the dictionary as “a quality that includes the essential human virtues; compassion and humanity.” In a paper by Faustin Ntamushobora, we read about the role ubuntu has played in African history. The concept was popularized by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and through him, Nelson Mandela, especially when it came to reconciliation. According to the article, reconciliation can be defined as “respect for a person’s dignity, irrespective of what that person has done.” Without ubuntu, one could refuse to forgive their enemies. Using the compassionate care of ubuntu instead, one would be able to create harmonious relationships. In a discussion I had with our professor, Lamont, we discuss how the concept of ubuntu is something to apply in our lives. If everyone cares for one another, then the world would be a happier, safer, more unified place. However, we had doubts about how this could be applied on a larger, macro scale. It is clear that one could apply the concept on a micro level with their inner circle. Yet, beyond that, it is hard to achieve this unity when people are asked to apply it to the whole world. It is impossible for every person to be open and available to other people all the time. However, if people can begin with their close friends to have harmonious and compassionate relationships, then perhaps this can be extended out to everyone they met, who will then also act with ubuntu. However, until that point is reached, it seems like a worthy ideal to strive for so that the world is still a nicer place, even if true ubuntu is never reached.</span></b></span></b></b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></b></b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Based on this week’s experiences, I have deeper concepts to ponder and apply to my own life. It can be easy to get swept up into the excitement of an event, such as seeing wild animals at a sanctuary. However, it is important to take a step back and ask questions about how they got there, how they are being treated, and the purpose of the organization. Without this critical thinking, we may miss a chance to not only learn about but to improve a situation. Along with this, we must consider ideals that are above ourselves. Striving for harmonious, compassionate relationships through ubuntu can create a better world for those involved. If we do not try to promote these actions, then we are failing our world and each other. While it may seem impossible, it is not pointless to fight for these ideals, which can raise us to a higher standard.</span></b></span></b></b></span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c94a616a-c3c6-1eb7-d056-565cd0d1f900" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></b></b></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/o5ujvNClxNEzl7uWeXU6M92Nwrg-rkimwupB9pxvtc2grAQkWC4ccyT1arT9SgUtgAs_xPBBvaU3kZN9P780VaPUpymHxi25E6_pWWbnHlxqiJ7GvZd2ZnkZ0xZuIgcj936OabcO" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/o5ujvNClxNEzl7uWeXU6M92Nwrg-rkimwupB9pxvtc2grAQkWC4ccyT1arT9SgUtgAs_xPBBvaU3kZN9P780VaPUpymHxi25E6_pWWbnHlxqiJ7GvZd2ZnkZ0xZuIgcj936OabcO" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(1.57rad); border: currentColor; transform: rotate(1.57rad);" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Even in captivity, one can see the power the lion possesses</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-23656266244400194882017-10-25T02:14:00.001-05:002017-10-25T02:14:56.800-05:00Week 6: A Week of Unexpected Growth<b id="docs-internal-guid-df4afc08-00ad-8011-9f5e-c62abab995cb" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-df4afc08-00ad-8011-9f5e-c62abab995cb" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> By Carly Dillis</span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-df4afc08-00ad-8011-9f5e-c62abab995cb" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This week, all of us are fresh off of our homestay experiences and back into the grind of classes and internships. However, that does not mean that this week was quiet or uneventful. </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-df4afc08-00ad-8011-9f5e-c62abab995cb" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7r7j1tGwVUOnLSZKF2abq0g9EUEh0DJ0JDXjb5BnJtGplD71tflk-TQL67bPQW_8nmNMbya_qwDYbb4-5kE01n5wkPkfWGjm5PnUt2Ya2hofSUHLZpZ8e82Dz00sbJJLDINZ-EEf" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the Cheetahs from N/a'ankuse. There were two cheetahs in the <br />
reserve who will be there for the rest of their lives.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-df4afc08-00ad-8011-9f5e-c62abab995cb" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On Monday, our environmental class visited N/a’an ku sê nature reserve. The reserve takes in injured or orphaned African animals and raises them, often keeping them in captivity for life. We were able to see baboons, lions, caracal, leopards, cheetahs, and wild African dogs. Aside from baboons, these animals are some of the most endangered in the country and very few people get to see them. The readings for class this week had focused around human wildlife conflict. Thus, the reserve gave us the opportunity to see examples of the victims of this conflict. The animals housed in the reserve mostly ended up there because they had made their way into farms or private land and were either hurt, orphaned, or brought into the reserve by the farmers who refuse to have them on their land. The experience greatly helped to ground the readings of the week and it was easy to understand why the country of Namibia has difficulty in navigating human wildlife conflict. </span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-df4afc08-00ad-8011-9f5e-c62abab995cb" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rest of the week went as scheduled. In history, we discussed anti-racism and how the movement has developed in Namibia. We had a guest speaker who was originally from the United States come in and explain the comparisons between the two societies. After he left, the students engaged in a spontaneous conversation at lunch about the speaker and his lecture. We were critical of his experiences and his opinions on women’s rights, environmental law, and LGBTQIA+ rights. In our politics class, we talked about democratization. Using Zimbabwe as an example, we discussed leadership, corruption, state sponsored violence, voting, etc. It is interesting to look at case studies from countries in the region and have them be so drastically different than they are when I read about neighbouring countries back home in the United States. It is a powerful reminder of where I am, how grateful I am to be here, and the depth of life and history in this place. </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="240" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/AfDt5kmVkPBcNCwyWe5UlwtOWdpPeJZmZjOhtALnyUdXYNBF-i-NF5AUOulDiPU91ILQ7hSo_QPfXib-JxSlUUx0RZiCg_vyp9T9IisTGNXHz3n4XS0A472Kjoigay79B4uFqhfb" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the dunes at the inner most part of Sossuvlei The trees and clay flats <br />
can be seen in the distance.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-df4afc08-00ad-8011-9f5e-c62abab995cb" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Despite the incredible experiences of the week, the most powerful activity I participated in was a weekend camping excursion to Sossuvlei. Sossuvlei is a park where many of the most famous dunes in Namibia can be seen. It is about a 6-hour drive South from Windhoek. Five of the students rented a four-wheel drive truck with rooftop tents and booked a campsite to. We drove through the most rural and the most beautiful roads I have ever seen. The topography in Namibia changes about every 100 km, so we would go from driving in mountains to driving through the flat drylands. When we arrived at Sossuvlei, we entered the park and made our way to the dunes. They stretch higher than I ever thought possible. We stopped at one with a beautiful ridge and tried to hike it, before realizing that what we thought to be the top, was only about the halfway point. We also drove into the main part of the park where the biggest dunes are and there is a clay flat petrified forest. In the United States, I grew up in a state park in the forested hills of Massachusetts. We would regularly spend entire days outside, hiking, biking, collecting leaves, etc. I consider myself to be fairly well versed in the ways of nature. However, my experience at Sossuvlei was truly humbling in this way. Certainly, I never believed myself to know everything or be ready for everything this trip will show me. However, I sincerely do not think I could have prepared myself for the experiences I had in Sossuvlei. </span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 8pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-df4afc08-00ad-8011-9f5e-c62abab995cb" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I entered this week with the expectation that it would serve me as a week to reflect, which it certainly has. Additionally however, it has also empowered me to keep exploring Namibia on my own, to seek the things not sought. I am so grateful for my experiences this week as they have once again made me understand myself and the world more fully. </span></b></div>
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</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-4038535543805951542017-10-05T02:24:00.001-05:002017-10-05T02:24:23.751-05:00Week 5: Urban Homestay/Classes<b id="docs-internal-guid-49c67aeb-a477-2627-2ab1-17b87402a836" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-49c67aeb-a477-2627-2ab1-17b87402a836" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Michele Poindexter</span></b><br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We officially reached the one month of our stay in Southern Africa this week, and the learning hasn’t stopped! The first full week of classes was completed, internships continued, and we were all welcomed into the homes of ten wonderful families during our weeklong Urban Homestay. There is certainly never a dull moment here at CGEE Namibia.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPxZ_ShPjbF4yK0KA2bqU4-0hE-SqBZQzJVhVLQc3-r-0uVTSEbvTTQZ4MHKIyV8f3uglhNH5pwR9Hb947lA8B9ZV-tm4do0onhhi181G5ITA4ARoXZ8Fe-VskdO9jtiF5ngMNX09AUEQ/s1600/Puppy_MicheleP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="240" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPxZ_ShPjbF4yK0KA2bqU4-0hE-SqBZQzJVhVLQc3-r-0uVTSEbvTTQZ4MHKIyV8f3uglhNH5pwR9Hb947lA8B9ZV-tm4do0onhhi181G5ITA4ARoXZ8Fe-VskdO9jtiF5ngMNX09AUEQ/s320/Puppy_MicheleP.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favourite of all puppies! </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Environmental Connections (taught by the first woman in Namibia to manage a national park - how awesome is that?!), we began with an overview of the environmental issues in Southern Africa. These include deforestation, an increase in the urban population, land degradation, wildlife poaching, limited natural freshwater resources, desertification, loss of wildlife habitats, drought, poverty, and pollution. I had two main takeaways from this first class. First, there is a large need for regionally specific public awareness and education about environmental issues. Each region is geographically, climatically, and socially distinct, so a blanket solution would not be successful everywhere. However, the underlying issue of poverty must be addressed before environmental conservation and sustainability can be achieved. If people are struggling to meet their basic needs, considering the environment in their decisions for survival is not going to be a top priority. Second, our world is not isolated. The pollution in the United States, or anywhere in the world, affects Africa, and vice versa. This means that the choices we make every day (that might just be contributing to climate change) do not only affect us - they affect everyone, even on the other side of the world. To solve environmental degradation, all people must make an effort, for we all share one home, one Earth. </span></span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span> </div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Religion class, we learned a bit about the history of Black Liberation Theology, and its role in the United States and Southern Africa. Our conversation also expanded to include other oppressed groups such as the LGBT+ community. During our travels through Southern Africa, many of us have had conversations with folks about their views on the LGBT+ community in relation to their religion, so it was a good opportunity for us to discuss and reflect on what we had encountered compared to our own views.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-vz5HYmgTXC8c59b1YuJSbLKMapnt84I8HrNr9ypxgAF_NvUyc2u4nUkKMIbhiNADqZ9FRkQE-qutEzPSUlDUvKrljyp7GktrURzP3hDDpjRuRrPcaRHuwiy09xKXLNSjJngHBE7xt8/s1600/Homestay_MicheleP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-vz5HYmgTXC8c59b1YuJSbLKMapnt84I8HrNr9ypxgAF_NvUyc2u4nUkKMIbhiNADqZ9FRkQE-qutEzPSUlDUvKrljyp7GktrURzP3hDDpjRuRrPcaRHuwiy09xKXLNSjJngHBE7xt8/s320/Homestay_MicheleP.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My wonderful homestay family!!</td></tr>
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<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The greatest part of my week was getting to live with a wonderful father, mother, and brother during the urban homestay. There is no better way to learn about the history and culture of a country than to completely immerse yourself in the lives of the people. I lived in a neighborhood called Khomasdal. During Apartheid, this neighborhood was built to house coloured people, a racial category created by the Apartheid regime. This categorization was meant to enforce the separation and supposed hierarchy of races. Today, Khomasdal is a diverse community, full of neighborly love and adorable dogs. My family and I talked about everything from immigration to the effect the Chinese are having on the country to drugs. I learned some Afrikaan words, learned how to bake some traditional dishes, and played with the cutest puppies on this planet. I am now more confident in fitting into the culture here and gained a wonderful new family - I’d say that was a pretty successful week. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-Ay81LEwMQYql7IvehQkQPivxIkufYcIX3OvtseRX_GxApj5a9S7Z6CiZW-1U-HR8wpZEzfnDYPkUwKNg0HDIw5wmoUZGfpjEC3o2ugJRZU8UizU82AZ4V20MwewJ0o-dOQcoFjRAwg/s1600/Yoga_MicheleP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="282" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-Ay81LEwMQYql7IvehQkQPivxIkufYcIX3OvtseRX_GxApj5a9S7Z6CiZW-1U-HR8wpZEzfnDYPkUwKNg0HDIw5wmoUZGfpjEC3o2ugJRZU8UizU82AZ4V20MwewJ0o-dOQcoFjRAwg/s320/Yoga_MicheleP.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I jumped in on the yoga class this week, <br />
and we did some acroyoga!!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now onto the next adventures!</span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-24274873241222283172017-10-02T06:46:00.000-05:002017-10-02T06:46:40.205-05:00Week 5: The United States of Africa <b id="docs-internal-guid-29f9b3c1-c38d-ea51-e8c3-6e994d6b6d1c" style="font-weight: normal;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-1fabb0ba-c392-146d-c00d-f5e0c797e92d" style="font-weight: normal;"></b></b><br />
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-29f9b3c1-c38d-ea51-e8c3-6e994d6b6d1c" style="font-weight: normal;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-1fabb0ba-c392-146d-c00d-f5e0c797e92d" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Becca Simon</span></b></b></div>
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-29f9b3c1-c38d-ea51-e8c3-6e994d6b6d1c" style="font-weight: normal;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-1fabb0ba-c392-146d-c00d-f5e0c797e92d" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span> </b></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-29f9b3c1-c38d-ea51-e8c3-6e994d6b6d1c" style="font-weight: normal;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-1fabb0ba-c392-146d-c00d-f5e0c797e92d" style="font-weight: normal;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Getting settled into a new place is always difficult, especially a new country. The process of getting to know new environments and cultures can feel uncomfortable but the end results are always the most rewarding. Once you make that breakthrough you can really grow from your experiences and learn from the people you meet. So, with this in mind, we made our breakthrough as we entered into our second homestay. With this homestay, each student lived with their families for a week, in which we spent the time learning how the families spend their normal weeks. Along with this we also spent time talking to them about issues ranging from land ownership, religion, gender norms, tribal culture, food, political beliefs, and numerous other topics. For me, the homestay started off a little rocky but ended up being an unforgettable experience as I got to really know my host family. We went on tours of Katutura, which was a township created during the South African occupation of South West Africa (Namibia) to force Black Namibians out of downtown Windhoek. Katutura meaning “place where we do not want to live” represents the continuously apparent income inequalities of Windhoek. In addition to the tour, I got to go to a family party, help with the Saturday braai (a type of barbeque), and watch some of my family’s favorite soap operas! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/8-dIAJy0FSY2lKSrF6G6EX41zoy4EeORgMo6DPEUhHppP213_2xY7CPo93T_nbyvBufexNjeuqgbnpB7OPaVysmW_w-355eS7LjgxVXi41S2bEwyUjJekrajlLf5Qiqo15FBoNS6" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/8-dIAJy0FSY2lKSrF6G6EX41zoy4EeORgMo6DPEUhHppP213_2xY7CPo93T_nbyvBufexNjeuqgbnpB7OPaVysmW_w-355eS7LjgxVXi41S2bEwyUjJekrajlLf5Qiqo15FBoNS6" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Group picture of CGEE Politics class with Prof. Joseph Diescho<br />
(pictured in back row, second to the right) </td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Along with our homestays this week, we also had our first full week of classes. With all of us in different classes, including religion, politics, development, history, internship, and environmental connections we are able to have open discussions as a group and connect what we learn. The past week of classes was nothing less than exciting considering we have had a number of very insightful speakers. The major theme of our classes this week connected to the concepts including Pan-Africanism, land ownership, and international relations. The concept of Pan Africanism was best described to us by Professor Joseph Diescho, author of the book “Born of the Sand” and former professor at the University of Namibia. He spoke to us about how the concept of Africa we speak about today was created by outsiders. Prof Diescho explained to us that “Africans never defined themselves as Africans, someone named them this,” and that the borders we see today were never chosen by the people of Africa, rather they were chosen by the colonialist. He discussed the idea of Pan-Africanism as a way to unite the African nations, which is extremely difficult since it requires nations to give up their sovereignty and create a “United States of Africa.” he told us how it is time for corruption to be resolved, for young leaders to take charge, and for Namibia to start looking forward.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Prof. Diescho really opened my eyes to a new perspective that I myself was very unaware of. I think that this lesson really reminded me of the importance of understanding that there are always multiple sides to a story and that we must continually be aware of them all. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ZCL5bnNXXi5o12xMZzeW4JAAUyA8K3dGKoHUlX-lk-o4c5n6dFuyEeFIWJpfvN-FIydS20ZybwCRzXqn_VdR6EtYRxh_DJUfvM8c1iLjbRikVUsnWwl4kX2c8dQK6Wx-tjUlv-bp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ZCL5bnNXXi5o12xMZzeW4JAAUyA8K3dGKoHUlX-lk-o4c5n6dFuyEeFIWJpfvN-FIydS20ZybwCRzXqn_VdR6EtYRxh_DJUfvM8c1iLjbRikVUsnWwl4kX2c8dQK6Wx-tjUlv-bp" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: currentColor; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Group photo of CGEE Development class with U.S. Ambassador<br />
Thomas F. Daughton (pictured in the back row, third from the left)</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Along with getting to hear from Prof. Diescho we also had the honor of hearing from the United States Ambassador to Namibia, Thomas F. Daughton. Ambassador Daughton helped provide perspective about the United States involvement and political relationship with Namibia. With the Ambassador, we were able to discuss topics from our classes including the future of the South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO) party which is the ruling party, the role of China in Namibia’s economy, the fight against HIV/AIDS, and environmental sustainability.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I was very grateful for getting to hear from Ambassador Daughton since he was very honest and willing to give his opinion about his time working in Namibia. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reflecting back on this week makes me even more excited to continue with my studies in Namibia. Our speakers provided a new way of thinking about issues in Namibia and Africa that will be helpful as we go into further detail about the process of development and work to decolonize the mind. I am excited to hear from our future speakers and gain new understandings of the structures of Namibia.</span></div>
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</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-55179324960330627152017-09-27T04:43:00.000-05:002017-09-27T04:43:29.735-05:00Week 4: Namibia, Unequal in More Ways Than One<div style="text-align: center;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-649a560c-8031-f149-8b71-1c7c214ec48b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Keith Nagel </span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT2-4smAkkHvazxMySpDVIqNrDuitC5mZ7G8HklOKYdenDYErOYI4UdrpniQuLq_jo05kMsePeCwJWJ5oI2HtbmdEAMDGTLmo9RNuo8V4zQmSpnh1DKpFYtkQl3XtPwymlKFN4P5ak_Wo/s1600/DSC01727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1197" data-original-width="1600" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT2-4smAkkHvazxMySpDVIqNrDuitC5mZ7G8HklOKYdenDYErOYI4UdrpniQuLq_jo05kMsePeCwJWJ5oI2HtbmdEAMDGTLmo9RNuo8V4zQmSpnh1DKpFYtkQl3XtPwymlKFN4P5ak_Wo/s320/DSC01727.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture shows how the country has moved forward as one after independence. This picture was taken at the <br />
National Museum of Namibia.<br />
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</b><b id="docs-internal-guid-649a560c-8031-f149-8b71-1c7c214ec48b" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br />
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-649a560c-8031-f149-8b71-1c7c214ec48b" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before March 21, 1990 Namibia was subject to the same oppression of apartheid that South Africa endured. Following independence, Namibia has enjoyed political stability and a growing economy, albeit an unequal growth. After learning some information about Namibian ethnic history in class I was left with a question of why has Namibia enjoyed such political and social stability? Namibia has an impressive mixture of ethnic groups. On a field trip to the Owela Museum we were able to dive deeper into each group. The Oshiwambo ethnic group have enjoyed the largest representation in the post-independence government and have been able to grab the largest share of economic and political influence. When you put the Oshiwambo’s influence up against the San people or Bushmen you realize that even among ethnic groups in Namibia there exists a clear inequality in political and economic resources. The Bushmen are one of the most marginalized groups in Namibia. They were not given any type of reserve by the government and were forced to abandon their traditional way of life in the bush because their land was taken and made into national parks, and as a result they often live in extreme poverty. When I learned about the San people it reminded me of the United States’ experience with the Native Americans. This marginalized population was denied economic and land rights much like the Bushmen. The Bushmen and Native Americans have historically had the utmost respect for the land. In many ways both groups entire mindset revolved around the land, and yet, both had their sacred land ripped away from them. Today the Bushmen work on farms while other larger ethnic groups enjoy the economic freedom in the city. When I came to Windhoek I expected to see wealth inequality but I never expected that these lines of inequality were drawn both by racial and ethnic divides. </span></span></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-649a560c-8031-f149-8b71-1c7c214ec48b" style="font-weight: normal;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhUOuqihLDhH4TSfeiFOKfUrjqSXJzN39BCoqOC2ZuwEct9FExu00f2dwyWmQoqkTvoZMVBjJb-EWzemqI01eOQBmqSShUX_Mt3GmWDOom7FNQ5gZEiZD1pozgOTtzch6s8b5MLIDQHY/s1600/DSC01730.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjhUOuqihLDhH4TSfeiFOKfUrjqSXJzN39BCoqOC2ZuwEct9FExu00f2dwyWmQoqkTvoZMVBjJb-EWzemqI01eOQBmqSShUX_Mt3GmWDOom7FNQ5gZEiZD1pozgOTtzch6s8b5MLIDQHY/s320/DSC01730.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "man on the horse" with the National Museum of Namibia in the background. The man on the horse is a relic of German occupation, while the Museum is a modern testament of liberation built by North Korea, a friend to Namibia during their struggle for independence. This stark contrast says a lot about where Namibia was, and where it is going.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our group was lucky enough to engage with some of these issues while listening to an important speech by PLO Lumumba. The speech was so important that both the First Lady and President of Namibia were in attendance. It was an honor to be in a room of such influence and experience, and it helped me better understand some of the questions I faced about ethnic divides. For me the most memorable reference that PLO Lumumba made was his quotation of Bob Marley. The quote read “emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds.” For me this paralleled nicely with Steve Biko’s teachings of Black Consciousness which encourages Black people to change their outlook on their situation and accept their empowered self. After PLO Lumumba’s speech, I began to understand perhaps why Namibia has retained such a stable political and social structure. Perhaps Namibia was able to learn to accept their differences and move forward as one Namibians rather than fragmented political parties as the South African experience has shown. Although SWAPO and the ANC share characteristics, it appears that Namibia has had a better experience with a liberation ruling party in the years following independence. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-s4zaYWKoptW-0Gkllf_24c6UJN0hkUxfhoYOmmUz-YxUd0YvM-JRsjtO3V1TRcQsIh6eX4W39XlOIKURFsYLmg032oyTy_pqbOaC27t5t-XeULN5BvEX4IqQVp_YMuNPFHy29wErsT4/s1600/DSC01725.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1516" data-original-width="1560" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-s4zaYWKoptW-0Gkllf_24c6UJN0hkUxfhoYOmmUz-YxUd0YvM-JRsjtO3V1TRcQsIh6eX4W39XlOIKURFsYLmg032oyTy_pqbOaC27t5t-XeULN5BvEX4IqQVp_YMuNPFHy29wErsT4/s320/DSC01725.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture honour's the many men and women who fought for the liberation struggle. <br />
This picture was taken at the National Museum of Namibia. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</b><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-60118526849293658982017-09-25T07:16:00.002-05:002017-09-25T07:16:46.194-05:00Week 4: Week of Firsts<div style="text-align: center;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-2c08333a-8478-d84b-c43b-3e6cbb2759d2" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By: Caroline Pratt</span></b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-2c08333a-8478-d84b-c43b-3e6cbb2759d2" style="font-weight: normal;">
</b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-2c08333a-8478-d84b-c43b-3e6cbb2759d2" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reflecting back on this week has brought up a lot of emotions. This week we had so many firsts. We had our first exploration of Windhoek, our new home for the next three months, our first day at our internships, our first day of classes, and the first time I have ever been in the same room as a President of a country. It was truly a week to remember,</span></span></b></div>
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</b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-2c08333a-8478-d84b-c43b-3e6cbb2759d2" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span> </b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-2c08333a-8478-d84b-c43b-3e6cbb2759d2" style="font-weight: normal;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidNeqLcK75Etub1xEEMK-SZgx32VqXhAROcid3b_9u0vI4NG0zyLnj9uYOMbWDguI9Ec0VuvjMU3AX1JFlUNNhvMiPfg8SMvcTuxIE0_F2vVJCov_5B-spaewGKVBv6cMFD1gnwQ_X1ws/s1600/Namibia+Museum_Caroline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidNeqLcK75Etub1xEEMK-SZgx32VqXhAROcid3b_9u0vI4NG0zyLnj9uYOMbWDguI9Ec0VuvjMU3AX1JFlUNNhvMiPfg8SMvcTuxIE0_F2vVJCov_5B-spaewGKVBv6cMFD1gnwQ_X1ws/s1600/Namibia+Museum_Caroline.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of us took a trip to some local markets and the art gallery<br />
on Saturday in downtown Windhoek</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We started the week going on a ‘quest’ through Katutura, a township of Windhoek where Blacks were forced to move to during the years of Apartheid. Much like Soweto, and other townships we visited in South Africa, Katurura is much more than what meets the eye. While there is extreme poverty, there is also a rich culture. On our quest, we were split up into groups of 3 and were assigned a local guide. My group went to Base FM, a non-profit radio station that focuses on bringing the Katutura community news, sports updates, and entertainment. We learned a lot about how a radio station works and while in the United States radio may be becoming less relevant with other sources such as television, and podcasts, in Namibia, radio is still one of the leading sources for news and entertainment. After the radio station visit, we went to a local store in Katutura and went to the meat market. This market was unlike anything I have ever seen. Vendors are butchering and cooking meat freshly on site. While health codes may not be in existence, it might have been the greatest lunch I have ever had.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span> </div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tuesday was “community day”. After passing springbok, an ostrich, and a wildebeest on our drive in, the students and staff found our way to a beautiful lodge. We started the day with some get to know you games and after that we dove into some self reflection. We broke into small groups to discuss identity with topics such as: race, gender, sexual orientation, and religion. I enjoyed this part of the day because we got to hear from our Namibian staff on their perspective and how their backgrounds have shaped their identity while being able to compare our own experiences, being from the United States.</span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy5lFStRfpZLGcgdXjuGNZLnHp38RWc_YqX9MOytLYjkb7j1U7lZB0O0k_hlhoRnWM-L33IbWYXuJZNnOItv_HhqcO_KhAvBsycSCaYRNIp8-DgJNgfO5Jic1_-n2LV8tXPvk1L9vP_Oo/s1600/IMG_4683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy5lFStRfpZLGcgdXjuGNZLnHp38RWc_YqX9MOytLYjkb7j1U7lZB0O0k_hlhoRnWM-L33IbWYXuJZNnOItv_HhqcO_KhAvBsycSCaYRNIp8-DgJNgfO5Jic1_-n2LV8tXPvk1L9vP_Oo/s320/IMG_4683.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michele and I's first day at our internship in Namibia</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After community day, the firsts really began. Wednesday was our first day of internships. My internship is at Sister Namibia, a Namibian non-profit that empowers woman and girls through putting out a magazine, workshops, and providing resources in their library on topics such as women's health, gender based violence, and legal rights, to name just a few. Some other internships are: Friendly Haven, the Hope Initiative, and the Namibian Women's Health Network. I am so excited to start my work at Sister Namibia and see how I can help impact women’s life in this area and be able to bring back what I have learned here to my work in the United States.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span> </div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Still exhausted from a full day of work, we had the opportunity to go listen to PLO Lumumba. This talk was one of the most powerful talks I have ever heard. Topics included globalization, a unified Africa, government corruption, poor wealth distribution, and growing inequality. This talk really put into words everything that I have seen on the trip so far. For example, seeing Sandton, the richest suburb of South Africa, just minutes away from Alexandria, the poorest area was sickening. While I am unsure of the Afro, a common African currency similar to the Euro, that PLO Lumumba would work, clearly a more unified Africa is needed. At the end of the event the most surprising thing happened, the President of Namibia walked into the back and heard what the speaker had to say. It was really amazing that a president could walk into a room, without tons of security, and without making a big scene. He listened to what Professor Lumumba had to say even if some of it went against current politics. </span><br />
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Classes started on Thursday, and while I just had history, I am excited to apply what I learned from the speaker to the classroom and continue to make connections. It was a week of firsts and I am going to take advantage of every moment in Namibia before our lasts begin.</span></div>
</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-41600650076496574962017-09-22T07:52:00.000-05:002017-09-22T07:52:25.840-05:00Week 3: Two Countries, One Continent<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">By Mickey Liebrecht</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEiKtHlrRlc7HynHz1ZxjGftP4PK96LStVKJthZt4Li6LoaX9bFVg8rDgGfboXZqX1DsBj24YPrrkBr8c2CcC6UdN7KKvTAD9xm5Rwq7nW9NSUemFIkmdpwrHfmDQdFQj9hiukj2yUGk/s1600/21273560_10210452252207920_7294029765480987470_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEiKtHlrRlc7HynHz1ZxjGftP4PK96LStVKJthZt4Li6LoaX9bFVg8rDgGfboXZqX1DsBj24YPrrkBr8c2CcC6UdN7KKvTAD9xm5Rwq7nW9NSUemFIkmdpwrHfmDQdFQj9hiukj2yUGk/s320/21273560_10210452252207920_7294029765480987470_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mural at District 6 museum</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In the past week we’ve transitioned from
exploring Cape Town in South Africa to exploring Windhoek and our semester
schedule in Namibia. I’ll start off with telling my experience with learning
more about what Apartheid did to many communities of color from the District Six
museum. Then I’ll move to talking a bit about Namibia and the budding
possibilities that I’ve been able to see coming in my future. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">While still in South Africa, we went to
a museum called the District 6 Museum, and though its building is small, the gravity
of its contents is not. The museum is a collection of donated items not just
from the destroyed community of District 6, but the people who were forced to
‘relocate’ to another area so their community could be used for white homes –
spoiler alert, they never did <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anything </i>with
the land after destroying the community that’d already been there. Our tour
guide had his own stories from when he lived in District Six, and with them
there was an air of pride about him that really stood out to me. He was proud
because the district itself was filled with people of all kinds – race,
religion, etc. – living together as harmonically as human beings can live with
one another. This, in his opinion (and mine too), was what made the district a
threat to the government, as they believed this could never happen in real
life, or at least were selling that idea to their “fellow whites;” the most
important ones at the time to sell this idea to, as they did have the easiest
position within the structure of the country to do something about it. </span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4gVdpahiPw0-zlQmuW7_JRfry343Mnfxe15aX_uRhl0waQrJ1nfc4dju3Q_rRAzpRoEBSYvmC4D3Y1M1MdWthJqru3ZR7XN04vOcZZWRJdaToVNiZVekf-Yxfx7s-2hgvTyA-gWEPmwQ/s1600/21248490_10210452268528328_8145945966953574523_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4gVdpahiPw0-zlQmuW7_JRfry343Mnfxe15aX_uRhl0waQrJ1nfc4dju3Q_rRAzpRoEBSYvmC4D3Y1M1MdWthJqru3ZR7XN04vOcZZWRJdaToVNiZVekf-Yxfx7s-2hgvTyA-gWEPmwQ/s320/21248490_10210452268528328_8145945966953574523_o.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top view of District 6</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">His stories, along with the many others
illustrated within the museum, were heart-breaking yes, but they didn’t break my
heart in the same way other stories I’ve heard about Apartheid in the past few
weeks have. Other stories have left me close to tears, or just flat out crying,
as I hear them and/or read them, but I believe the stories of District Six had
a different effect on me, because the storyteller was a man who experienced
this atrocity and managed to leave me smiling after ending his story with a few
jokes and some hope thrown in there for good measure; the government is
currently working on a project that will rebuild District Six from the rubble
that’s still there. The tour guide was a fun, happy, and naturally light-hearted
spirit, a lot like who I used to be when I was younger. Also, the fact that he
went through all this and still manages to make fun of it and be happy with
himself and his life and the simple pleasures of it, gives me hope for myself.
Hope that eventually, I’ll be able to do the same thing with some of the darker
parts of my past, and move on to do something about them – within society – in
the future. It’s one of the best experiences I’ve had so far, for that reason. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">My future in Windhoek also seems
brighter because of this, as I’m continuing to learn more about the area and
the organizations that reside here, fighting the good fight for their groups of
humanity who are being “screwed over” essentially by the government and society
– my words. I look forward to learning more from the two organizations I’ve
been focusing on as the semester goes on, and helping in any way I can – if
they’ll have me. The first is an orphanage that goes by the name of Village
Hope, and the other is an LGBTI advocacy group that goes by the name Outright
Namibia. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQaU8Hh-SYay4FDwA0fG-GiyOqa7Y2505N5sLQvNFwdb-Iq0tomhq-s7XF5cwO84Zif9UYuU7LlcvpitlgMOVm8Ihv-JCBnr_2uD6hebi8sS32b2pbTx4UVji2p-5XsbR7zeiWiFJsWQ/s1600/21273585_10210452272768434_8970777935129231427_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQaU8Hh-SYay4FDwA0fG-GiyOqa7Y2505N5sLQvNFwdb-Iq0tomhq-s7XF5cwO84Zif9UYuU7LlcvpitlgMOVm8Ihv-JCBnr_2uD6hebi8sS32b2pbTx4UVji2p-5XsbR7zeiWiFJsWQ/s320/21273585_10210452272768434_8970777935129231427_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visual lounge space in HIV exhibit at Slave Lodge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span> </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-23077837342138092342017-09-20T07:41:00.002-05:002017-09-20T07:41:24.454-05:00Week 3: The On-going History of Slavery in South Africa<div style="text-align: center;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-09a370b7-955c-3bf5-7f21-bbcbd80ce339" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Adelina Alcaraz<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <b id="docs-internal-guid-09a370b7-955c-3bf5-7f21-bbcbd80ce339" style="font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-09a370b7-955c-3bf5-7f21-bbcbd80ce339" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our week started with a powerful tour informing us of the history of slavery in the Cape. As we went on our tour, we were informed that the places are ancestral grounds belonging to the Coy and Sun tribe. Common amongst colonization stories, when the colonizers came to Cape Town, they did not distinguish people by the various and divergent tribes, but simply by the color of their skin. It was better for colonizers to not use the Coy and Sun as slaves from the beginning. However, when slavery did come to the Cape, it came with a great force. Among the imported slaves were tens of thousands of children.</span></b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9OmPE_-yHsxfQxnVvBZ-H7fW3Sg5-KXBdj6_0O-Fe_IZdwGsmFqUOomlBpQ8bt_Gvv9AT9vwUQ7AMjflGaBd0NeOzNY2h7dTIqE0tgZgN51FnT80GzySup7OGImgX2DrFjFVit78UPhQ/s1600/Adelina%2527sBlog2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9OmPE_-yHsxfQxnVvBZ-H7fW3Sg5-KXBdj6_0O-Fe_IZdwGsmFqUOomlBpQ8bt_Gvv9AT9vwUQ7AMjflGaBd0NeOzNY2h7dTIqE0tgZgN51FnT80GzySup7OGImgX2DrFjFVit78UPhQ/s320/Adelina%2527sBlog2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small slave memorial in Cape Town</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b id="docs-internal-guid-09a370b7-955c-3bf5-7f21-bbcbd80ce339" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Later, our tour guides pointed out the surprisingly small memorials of slavery in Cape Town which exhibits the problem of being ignorant of the past. For example, there was a memorial of black blocks small enough to sit on. These block had words like slavery, resist, and a list of names to symbolize the horrors of the slave trade and following oppression in Cape Town. Although artistic, the message of the blocks is unclear to those that aren't familiar with that history therefore, is not efficient in educating others. </span>
</b><br />
<b id="docs-internal-guid-09a370b7-955c-3bf5-7f21-bbcbd80ce339" style="font-weight: normal;">
</b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the most troubling memorials is a block in the shape of a tree trunk to symbolize the trees used to auction off slaves. This horrifyingly inhumane practice is ironically meant to be remembered by placing a circular block, not even big enough to sit comfortably on, in the middle of two busy roads, where<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> people pass it daily, not even getting a glance at it. From this, we learned that ignorance of the past can not only threaten the future but also hurt and disrespect descendants of the oppressed. </span></b></span></b></b><br />
<b id="docs-internal-guid-09a370b7-955c-3bf5-7f21-bbcbd80ce339" style="font-weight: normal;">
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After the tour, we were guided to an emotional HIV exhibit. We not only saw the pictures and stories of HIV survivors around the world, but were also introduced to an HIV survivor who is also a transgender woman, cancer survivor, former drug addict and sex worker. Her story of surviving so much trial proves her strength and amazing capability. Her main message to us was to break down stereotype of those living with HIV. They are not only capable of living a normal life, but strong in facing not just the HIV disease, but the harsh stigma put on them by the society they live in. Her story was inspirational and empowering to not only those living with HIV, but those being unjustly punished by society for not fitting into the box each society places every person in.<br /><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some of us ended the day with a Swami yoga instructor. Interestingly, he identifies no religion, but is knowledgeable of many so that he may offer guidance to those that wish to connect the spirituality of yoga with her or his religion. The spirituality of yoga is something that mainstream yoga in the U. S. rarely mentions. One of the things the yoga instructor emphasized was the idea of selfishness in today’s world. He argued that selfishness is the base to the world’s problems and that happiness should come from making others happy. Coming from a society where self-care and helping yourself before you can help others is a common thought, it was interesting and frankly hard for some of us to accept. As for myself, I’m still struggling on what this means for complex situations, like what this looks like across cultures. Although the yoga instructor insisted this being a simple teaching, I think in practice it’s much more complex.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivO0dHFlPcUZrg8EMyabxCgWvguzyya6jmZeqZrCDMrC0QmlK6uOlEE-09-DJPvtc-9Mqc593VMmsgn4VMZMtj24uYiGtch5DAOPWW7-KvmXHGetvF6tzpCUZmenezmsaqfSBcczfrGTg/s1600/Adelina%2527sBlog1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivO0dHFlPcUZrg8EMyabxCgWvguzyya6jmZeqZrCDMrC0QmlK6uOlEE-09-DJPvtc-9Mqc593VMmsgn4VMZMtj24uYiGtch5DAOPWW7-KvmXHGetvF6tzpCUZmenezmsaqfSBcczfrGTg/s320/Adelina%2527sBlog1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from the HIV exhibit. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></b><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-09a370b7-955c-3bf5-7f21-bbcbd80ce339" style="font-weight: normal;"> </b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-09a370b7-955c-3bf5-7f21-bbcbd80ce339" style="font-weight: normal;">
</b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-09a370b7-955c-3bf5-7f21-bbcbd80ce339" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the District 6 museum, we learned the story of someone who experienced inhumane relocation. He explained to us what it was like being forced out of his home during apartheid.</span></b><br />
<b id="docs-internal-guid-09a370b7-955c-3bf5-7f21-bbcbd80ce339" style="font-weight: normal;"> </b></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-09a370b7-955c-3bf5-7f21-bbcbd80ce339" style="font-weight: normal;">
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On Wednesday, we went to church, to school, and then to the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task Force. At each place were taught about love for each other and helping one another though things like acceptance and support. One of the most striking things to challenge my perspective was being introduced to the term sex worker, a more respectful way to address prostitutes. It was the idea that sex work can be just like any other work: a choice done willingly by the worker that should be protected by law instead of being criminalized. Unfortunately, a majority of the media, public, and politicians do not distinguish the difference between sex workers, those that choose their occupation, and human trafficking survivors, those forced into sex slavery.</span><br />
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rest of the week involved moving into Windhoek, Namibia, a place we’ll call home for the following three months. Here, we reunited and met with the rest of the staff, or more appropriately labelled the rest of our family.</span></div>
</b><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-14961270031815770762017-09-13T03:30:00.000-05:002017-09-13T03:31:04.746-05:00Week 2: Exploring Identity by Carly<div style="text-align: center;">
By Carly Dillis</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih22lE2fCn2x3erR4jdUfgRaNA5XEAju39dpOWQ4qnjemLu-IinVm-ZkcrnYrGT012uQ2nM_dJ_jZfRoGGFhkuhLoYz2KEeJOYSAKoYMNbY_jVtic6E1LsNF_bOfD23zyRCswjsdQ519I/s1600/Bo-Kaap_Carly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="402" data-original-width="611" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih22lE2fCn2x3erR4jdUfgRaNA5XEAju39dpOWQ4qnjemLu-IinVm-ZkcrnYrGT012uQ2nM_dJ_jZfRoGGFhkuhLoYz2KEeJOYSAKoYMNbY_jVtic6E1LsNF_bOfD23zyRCswjsdQ519I/s320/Bo-Kaap_Carly.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of Cape Town from historic Wale St, a community that<br />
has historically been predominantly Muslim.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Over the past week, our group has been exploring Cape Town and different
parts of the Eastern Cape. Throughout this time, we have been learning the
story of South Africa through the people in these places. Our learning in this
program is designed to be through experience, including that of others. Thus,
we rely greatly on shared personal narratives to humanize and contextualize the
more traditional learning that we have been engaging with in museums and
historical sites. Simultaneously, we are also navigating our own identities in
a new country and learning who we are and how we relate to the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTIVNs2eeELzoS-xn_aQ6u5BIqdwNozFHGUlssn-BnAEf8ySoQKHK0DrpsbT8-blbFGEgbLsVz9bKv_cQyP_bUtVQBYkmMsvjBgeP024SWeIcAKfdKvB5z1GgiMNKNlPlyjwxueP6LIqc/s1600/Biko_Carly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="701" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTIVNs2eeELzoS-xn_aQ6u5BIqdwNozFHGUlssn-BnAEf8ySoQKHK0DrpsbT8-blbFGEgbLsVz9bKv_cQyP_bUtVQBYkmMsvjBgeP024SWeIcAKfdKvB5z1GgiMNKNlPlyjwxueP6LIqc/s320/Biko_Carly.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portraits of Steve Biko in front of the museum.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For our first day in the Eastern Cape, we drove from Port Elizabeth to
King Williams town to visit the Steve Biko museum. The museum was about the
anti-Apartheid struggle, but more so it was about Steve Biko as a person. The
museum helped bring a human energy to the history of Apartheid. As Apartheid is
such a violent system, it begins to feel the opposite of human. Therefore,
reminding ourselves of the humans involved is a much-needed facet of a complete
education in the subject. We have also found this human element at the Red
Location Lodge, a women’s co-op that we have been staying in for our time in
Port Elizabeth. The co-op is a women’s empowerment and support group with about
a dozen members. They have been sharing their stories with us as well and
showing us a more everyday type of resistance in their solidarity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As we move onto Cape Town, we again get a new perspective on the history
of South Africa and Apartheid. We took the ferry to Robben Island, the site of
the prison in which Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and Robert Sobukwe were held
during the anti- Apartheid struggle. Our tour guide was a former prisoner at
Robben Island and was able tell the story of prison life from his authentic
experience there. He gave us a sense of what it felt like to be a prisoner
under Apartheid and to be taken away from society. The story of Apartheid is
one that is still being written. As the first democratic elections took place
in 1994, the official era of Apartheid is over, but it is still very fresh in
the minds and lives of the people of South Africa. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtaE6IrGqX9aaUV3ZajvpNLMPVjYJUhMjwOnWD0f7UcpOLnSbg3xIsjZ_L3yvi4Qt7HLWHS_kVJEa7dLSRji7R8gnUBZuSB6qIY76kB3cfz0xOmfNrms9XLRlts40US9n9GpfCPLrQvYg/s1600/District+6_Carly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="407" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtaE6IrGqX9aaUV3ZajvpNLMPVjYJUhMjwOnWD0f7UcpOLnSbg3xIsjZ_L3yvi4Qt7HLWHS_kVJEa7dLSRji7R8gnUBZuSB6qIY76kB3cfz0xOmfNrms9XLRlts40US9n9GpfCPLrQvYg/s320/District+6_Carly.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A collection of the original signs of District Six<br />
before the Apartheid government tore down all<br />
houses. Behind the signs, there are also handmade<br />
quilts that depict everyday life in District Six. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> We were also able to tour the
District Six Museum. Our tour guide’s name was Noor and he was born in District
Six. He was the third generation to raise his family in his home and was
forcibly evicted when the area was declared “for whites only.” He watched his
house be torn down and had to begin a new life away from the community which
had become a part of his identity. He told his story with enthusiasm and
passion, which gave us a sense of his greater self and identity and made his
story exceptionally human. District Six and Noor’s story are a microcosm of
Apartheid and help us understand how the events and policies enacted by the
government affected everyday people such as Noor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Learning through a personal lens helps one to internalize the curriculum
and understand its importance. It also helps to decolonize our education by
diversifying our knowledge source and helping us to be critical of institutions
of knowledge. It has also helped us to understand our own places in the
struggle, as we are connected to this history, and all histories, by our
existence in a globalized world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01729413938108310193noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044224941444744672.post-15872475783038139162017-09-13T02:39:00.000-05:002017-09-14T02:57:22.151-05:00Week 2: Exploring Identity by Evan<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">By Evan Carr</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuX0YA7_RQkgLsbiKYNknMejEspVymmhU8SG9kXldoRQstcZE91SxnsXPnz-FN8jNGPIa-VVJMEYiigQZAMDdyH1lDGRNazjbWtpYe6gLEUDv4zZxPDzMhQ3IX7ZPeobJK2A0J32-6Zm8/s1600/Capetown+Skyline_Evan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="478" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuX0YA7_RQkgLsbiKYNknMejEspVymmhU8SG9kXldoRQstcZE91SxnsXPnz-FN8jNGPIa-VVJMEYiigQZAMDdyH1lDGRNazjbWtpYe6gLEUDv4zZxPDzMhQ3IX7ZPeobJK2A0J32-6Zm8/s320/Capetown+Skyline_Evan.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cape Town skyline with a cloudy Table Mountain in the background</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Our week in Cape Town has presented us with numerous opportunities to
engage with the community as South Africa grapples with its identity. We have
met with individuals from across the political spectrum and from various racial
backgrounds, including those involved in sex workers’ rights, presenting
alternative historical narratives, and Parliament. A critical element of this
week, especially for me, has been the time we’ve spent reflecting upon our
experiences and exploring our own identity. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilLDasBjFoD_MJAU9GmFUyxyUJJUMnnQ0RHmyYK5LiOmT-5LmhsJfTndGyeydyj6dbFklzhMGV98kEDFdehiLSR5_jWS7lfOl5nP7Cax8462WnB6psKLDdEXDjg6WD3k1psZql4jXltcE/s1600/Robben+Island_Evan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="949" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilLDasBjFoD_MJAU9GmFUyxyUJJUMnnQ0RHmyYK5LiOmT-5LmhsJfTndGyeydyj6dbFklzhMGV98kEDFdehiLSR5_jWS7lfOl5nP7Cax8462WnB6psKLDdEXDjg6WD3k1psZql4jXltcE/s320/Robben+Island_Evan.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robben Island Prison - Several anti-apartheid activists,<br />
including Nelson Mandela and Robert Sobukwe,<br />
were imprisoned here. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The week began with a boat ride out to Robben Island to visit where
Nelson Mandela and many other heroes of the Liberation Struggle served
political imprisonment sentences under the Apartheid government. By attending a
performance by a Coloured stand-up comic in the evening we were able to hear
not only a lighter take on race relations in South Africa, but also an in-depth
account of the experience of people who straddle the divide between black and
white and had a unique experience under Apartheid as Coloured (or mixed race)
people. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">We also did a walking tour of the city with Lucy Campbell and learned
about the history and impact of slavery in the region as she presented us with
a history that one can only decipher by reading between the lines. It was
imperative that we understood this alternative history given that so much power
in South Africa is concentrated in the hands of the wealthy and government,
rather than with the people. One of the starkest examples of this power
discrepancy was through monument memorialization. We observed the contrast
between the looming, grandiose monuments of white South African generals
compared to the essentially invisible monuments commemorating the plight of
slaves. Despite the change in government in 1994, the historical narrative of
Apartheid still lives on in South African spaces.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFpaKOi6JhG-gNsv1taE2sK3mw3Al5O7iv5jVDxtWvxo-7nAS6cddTpPR-h20KckbwmTnKLqUzJlzsM0HONnD0JUj_go7YGrffjTWhp-NvNDkNNL01LcOU31I3kP9IOzSpeRi9vKEPWps/s1600/Capetown+Building_Evan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="452" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFpaKOi6JhG-gNsv1taE2sK3mw3Al5O7iv5jVDxtWvxo-7nAS6cddTpPR-h20KckbwmTnKLqUzJlzsM0HONnD0JUj_go7YGrffjTWhp-NvNDkNNL01LcOU31I3kP9IOzSpeRi9vKEPWps/s320/Capetown+Building_Evan.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cape Town buildings</td></tr>
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</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">This week has also afforded us the opportunity to better understand
issues of health and sexuality, particularly surrounding HIV/AIDS. We heard
from a transgender and HIV/AIDS rights activist who told her story and
advocated for more work to be done in eliminating stigma surrounding these
issues. A photographic and sculptural exhibit also allowed us to immerse
ourselves in the experiences and lives of people living with HIV/AIDS. This
valuable experience was coupled with a visit to the Sex Workers Education and
Advocacy Team, or SWEAT. Activists there outlined their work in pushing for the
decriminalization of sex work in South Africa and again for the need to
eliminate stigma. </span></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8W8KB2ezyPMNOZFBn1xzHUrP6ok4LID8-VrGzcKGm3puZmkWX7wvqdfKS4lGCSlKAAH7OAnADZUPKIjnL_6bWpUgK7FNsV7cBxBLo1Y4bV7PxuPx9XMAZmd-dWvQDhdt_TtRSdo4Dlao/s1600/Parliament_Evan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8W8KB2ezyPMNOZFBn1xzHUrP6ok4LID8-VrGzcKGm3puZmkWX7wvqdfKS4lGCSlKAAH7OAnADZUPKIjnL_6bWpUgK7FNsV7cBxBLo1Y4bV7PxuPx9XMAZmd-dWvQDhdt_TtRSdo4Dlao/s320/Parliament_Evan.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">South Africa's Parliament Chamber</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">A visit to Parliament, culminating with a discussion with Andricus van
der Westhuizen of the Democratic Alliance (DA) party rounded out our experience
in Cape Town. He presented us with an insightful overview of his party’s
stances and of the South African political climate more generally. He also
stressed that unemployment was the biggest threat to the nation. Especially
interesting were van der Westhuizen’s comments on current race relations and
the legacy of Apartheid. When asked about the possibility for an increase in
right-wing, racialized politics and populism, Mr. van der Westhuizen explained
that “in South Africa we have a free association of people where you go where
you feel comfortable.” I found this to be quite a privileged comment and
wondered whether people living in the ghettoized townships would say they felt
comfortable. The blatant contrasts of South African identity extended to the
perspectives we heard this week as Pastor Allan Storey presented us with his
personal take on how to own one’s privileges, love and respect others, and move
forward with a more equitable South Africa and world. </span></div>
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