Lizzie’s reflection after SA
When I first applied for the pilgrimage to South Africa I imagined a trip filled with hard labor, rural communities, and lots and lots of elephants. The trip, however, did not contain any of these images. We did not build houses, we were not living in huts, and no, sadly we did not trade in our van for an elephant. Instead, this pilgrimage was filled with fun people, harsh realities, and lasting memories. Many of my experiences were not what I expected, but to be honest none of us could have anticipated what we were about to see and feel.
My very first experience in Cape Town was not what I imagined at all. It began when the group finally arrived at St. Claire’s church after traveling for 48 hours. We were standing outside of the church when we kept hearing people screaming and cheering. As we got ready to walk in, no one wanted to enter first into the room of unfamiliar voices, but lucky for me I got pushed into the room first. In the room there was a group of about 20 kids standing, clapping their hands and cheering as loudly as they could. It was louder than any concert I have ever been to. I felt like I was a celebrity walking on the red carpet getting followed by 1000 screaming fans. It was probably the most awkward yet most memorable part of the trip for me. I didn’t know whom to look at or if I should wave or if I should go around introducing myself. All of us walked in the same way with our faces beaming red from stage fright and smiling as big as we could. Thankfully, once we all got into the room, we were introduced and began playing games that allowed for us to mingle and get to know one and other. The awkward stage of my journey was over. From the moment that we stepped into the church we were welcomed with hugs and kindness and that continued throughout the whole two weeks we were in South Africa.
Shortly after our welcoming, we were grouped into hostess families for our first night in Cape Town. Emily and I stayed with Barry and Heather Stevens. We got to know the Stevens very well, well at least we got to know Barry because Heather could not get a word in. Barry was energetic, funny, and by the end of the first hour he was calling Emily and me “his girls” or “his daughters”. We ate and laughed for hours that night. Barry asked us what we had expected of South Africa that was not true so far and without thinking I blurted out “well there are no elephants here”. I immediately regretted saying that because for the rest of the trip when Barry would introduce us to his friends he would kindly tell them the apparently hilarious story of me expecting to see elephants. I had expected this night with the host families to be uncomfortable and weird. As you can see, however, none of this was true. I felt more at home than I have ever felt before. The Stevens offered us anything that we would like and they served Emily and me the best pie ever. If you ever go to Cape Town, go to Barry’s house for some pie- trust me. I was not expecting Barry to be so open and honest with us. We spent most of the night talking about Apartheid and the issues of Cape Town. I had learned about Apartheid in 9th grade but to hear the story first hand from an actual witness of it was a completely different experience. It amazed me that the Stevens could be so welcoming and open to complete strangers after having been treated so inhumanely for their whole lives. Emily and I had created a great friendship with the Stevens and enjoyed every second of our stay at their house.
The last thing that I had not expected to experience in South Africa was the reality of the living conditions for millions of people. I had read about the harsh conditions of the poor and seen many pictures of the townships that were a result of Apartheid. However, one can never really understand the reality of life in South Africa until one sees it in person, but I know that not everyone has the opportunity to do so. The first time I saw a township I was in complete shock. It was mile after mile of shacks built within a meter of one and other. When we rounded a turn going up the mountain there was a clear view of the whole town. I honestly don’t have a word to describe what I saw but to put it in perspective it was about 20 by 20 miles of shacks housing approximately 2 million people. I was so nervous when Sam and Kate told us that we would be going to that township later that week. When the day finally arrived, we were greeted with stares at first but then welcomed by everyone we walked past. All the kids would wave and sometimes follow the group. It amazed me that even though these people were sleeping on the dirt floor and could hardly afford a meal; they were still able to smile. They held their heads high and treated us with the greatest kindness anyone could offer.
I had many experiences that were unexpected throughout the whole trip. I couldn’t have asked for more, though. Every person I met, every place I ventured, and every friendship I made allowed me to realize how lucky I was to be there. I know that it is cliché to say, but it gave me a whole new perspective on life. Every day I think about my experiences in South Africa and how great the country is. Nothing that I had anticipated in the beginning held true, and I am so glad that it didn’t. I wouldn’t trade anything for the memories I have and the friendships I made.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Sam Broer's reflections after we got home
Sam Broer
My Experience in South Africa
My pilgrimage to South Africa was, in short, incredible. It’s extremely hard, probably impossible, to convey my experience to you. I can’t really explain the way people like Grant, Keith, Duran, Pat, and Vivian have impacted me, when those names mean very little to you who haven’t met them. But I will do my best to share with you a very short portion of my life that has reshaped my perspective permanently.
When I was writing my application for this trip to South Africa, I really didn’t know just what I was getting into. I wrote, “To me, people, especially the relationships between them, are the most interesting and influential things in our lives. When we meet a person, although we may not know it, we make a huge impact on their life, and they on ours. My hope is that I can impact the people I meet in Africa for the better, but also that I may be impacted by them, that I can learn and grow.” Little did I know just how much the people I met in False Bay would impact me.
Right from the beginning we were welcomed warmly by everyone we met, even though we had kept them waiting an extra twenty four hours for us. Immediately we were plunged into a flurry of activity, and it was a bit awkward and overwhelming, but was made easy and fun by the excitement and energy of the kids and youth leaders. The very first night we stayed with a host family, which was kind of a scary prospect—staying the first night on a different continent with an unknown family. I can only really speak for myself, but even though there were a couple awkward moments, my family was amazing. I was sad that we spent so little time with them; we managed to have a lot of fun and good food in the less than 24-hour period we spent with them. But this is only one example—almost everyone we even came in contact with was genuinely interested in us, and treated us like family.
Another incredible example of the loving people we met was when we visited the orphanages. Here were kids who had no parents, many of who had probably dies of AIDS; many kids had AIDS themselves, and who knows what else they had been through living in extreme poverty. Yet, somehow, they had a huge capacity for love; I don’t think any of us expected the kids to attach themselves to us the way they did. At both orphanages they scrambled all over us, demanded to have their pictures taken, and playing with these kids it was easy to forget their situation. At the second orphanage, there was one girl who was especially outgoing and energetic; she sang songs for us and clambered all over everyone. It was really powerful when one of the women who helps run the orphanage told us that she had been returned to the orphanage because the foster family she stayed with for two years was not taking care of her. It was amazing to me that she could show much love for us: complete strangers who spent a few hours with her then left her life probably forever. That was especially notable to me as well. At both orphanages the kids became so attached in such a short period of time, only to never see us again.
However, we weren’t greeted with hugs and smiles by everyone everywhere we went. For example, when we first visited Masiphumelele, the black settlement, we were taken on a tour of an area that had been burned in a massive shack fire several days earlier that destroyed over 200 homes. As we walked through I felt extremely invasive. As she took us through, Pat told us about the action the government took when shack fires such as this one happened, which is fairly frequently. She said the government provided only five sheets of scrap metal for each home in order to rebuild. So we saw people rebuilding shacks out of the old burned out pieces of their homes that had been destroyed in the fire. Though we got some dark looks, not everybody was grim: pat stopped and talked to several people, and, although I couldn’t understand what they were saying, the tones were light and happy. And many people would smile and return a wave if given one. But it was enormously sad to see such good people living in such poor conditions.
We also toured the Masiphumelele high school—attending classes with some of the girls we had met earlier on our trip. It was incredible to see how put together these girls were: to be able to keep a spotless uniform, and keep up with schoolwork while living in a shack with a dirt floor, or perhaps a piece of plastic on the ground is something that people should never have to do, yet it was something these girls did.
This is church, so I suppose I should give some spiritual perspective on our pilgrimage. For me, faith has always been based on people. It was incredible to be able to expand and redefine my faith through the many people I was able to meet in South Africa. Just being with them has changed my perspective on the people and situation right here at home. To be able to be shaped by experiencing a new culture is an incredible experience, and I think it would be a shame to not provide the people who hosted us so graciously an opportunity to come and experience our culture. I believe that this is the next step in the relationship we have begun with the diocese of False Bay, to share our lives with them and they shared theirs with us.
My Experience in South Africa
My pilgrimage to South Africa was, in short, incredible. It’s extremely hard, probably impossible, to convey my experience to you. I can’t really explain the way people like Grant, Keith, Duran, Pat, and Vivian have impacted me, when those names mean very little to you who haven’t met them. But I will do my best to share with you a very short portion of my life that has reshaped my perspective permanently.
When I was writing my application for this trip to South Africa, I really didn’t know just what I was getting into. I wrote, “To me, people, especially the relationships between them, are the most interesting and influential things in our lives. When we meet a person, although we may not know it, we make a huge impact on their life, and they on ours. My hope is that I can impact the people I meet in Africa for the better, but also that I may be impacted by them, that I can learn and grow.” Little did I know just how much the people I met in False Bay would impact me.
Right from the beginning we were welcomed warmly by everyone we met, even though we had kept them waiting an extra twenty four hours for us. Immediately we were plunged into a flurry of activity, and it was a bit awkward and overwhelming, but was made easy and fun by the excitement and energy of the kids and youth leaders. The very first night we stayed with a host family, which was kind of a scary prospect—staying the first night on a different continent with an unknown family. I can only really speak for myself, but even though there were a couple awkward moments, my family was amazing. I was sad that we spent so little time with them; we managed to have a lot of fun and good food in the less than 24-hour period we spent with them. But this is only one example—almost everyone we even came in contact with was genuinely interested in us, and treated us like family.
Another incredible example of the loving people we met was when we visited the orphanages. Here were kids who had no parents, many of who had probably dies of AIDS; many kids had AIDS themselves, and who knows what else they had been through living in extreme poverty. Yet, somehow, they had a huge capacity for love; I don’t think any of us expected the kids to attach themselves to us the way they did. At both orphanages they scrambled all over us, demanded to have their pictures taken, and playing with these kids it was easy to forget their situation. At the second orphanage, there was one girl who was especially outgoing and energetic; she sang songs for us and clambered all over everyone. It was really powerful when one of the women who helps run the orphanage told us that she had been returned to the orphanage because the foster family she stayed with for two years was not taking care of her. It was amazing to me that she could show much love for us: complete strangers who spent a few hours with her then left her life probably forever. That was especially notable to me as well. At both orphanages the kids became so attached in such a short period of time, only to never see us again.
However, we weren’t greeted with hugs and smiles by everyone everywhere we went. For example, when we first visited Masiphumelele, the black settlement, we were taken on a tour of an area that had been burned in a massive shack fire several days earlier that destroyed over 200 homes. As we walked through I felt extremely invasive. As she took us through, Pat told us about the action the government took when shack fires such as this one happened, which is fairly frequently. She said the government provided only five sheets of scrap metal for each home in order to rebuild. So we saw people rebuilding shacks out of the old burned out pieces of their homes that had been destroyed in the fire. Though we got some dark looks, not everybody was grim: pat stopped and talked to several people, and, although I couldn’t understand what they were saying, the tones were light and happy. And many people would smile and return a wave if given one. But it was enormously sad to see such good people living in such poor conditions.
We also toured the Masiphumelele high school—attending classes with some of the girls we had met earlier on our trip. It was incredible to see how put together these girls were: to be able to keep a spotless uniform, and keep up with schoolwork while living in a shack with a dirt floor, or perhaps a piece of plastic on the ground is something that people should never have to do, yet it was something these girls did.
This is church, so I suppose I should give some spiritual perspective on our pilgrimage. For me, faith has always been based on people. It was incredible to be able to expand and redefine my faith through the many people I was able to meet in South Africa. Just being with them has changed my perspective on the people and situation right here at home. To be able to be shaped by experiencing a new culture is an incredible experience, and I think it would be a shame to not provide the people who hosted us so graciously an opportunity to come and experience our culture. I believe that this is the next step in the relationship we have begun with the diocese of False Bay, to share our lives with them and they shared theirs with us.
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