Emily B: Passover in Cape Town

It is often said that homesickness hits around the holidays. For me this was definitely the case. Though it is not the classic homesickness holiday of Christmas but rather the Jewish holiday of Passover. Passover celebrates the Moses leading the Jew’s exodus from slavery in Egypt to the desert outside of Israel thousands of years ago. Part of the way the holiday is celebrated is by having a “seder” or ceremonious meal to retell the story of the exodus. For me Passover has always been a very family oriented holiday and is one of my favorites. When the holiday started to approach I realized that this would be the first time I was away from my family and it was more difficult than I thought it would be. I knew I did not want to be alone for the holiday but was unsure where to go. Before I had left for Cape Town my mom had given me the contact information for a very distantly related cousin, named Juliet that lives in the area should I ever need anything. I promptly forgot to email her but once the holiday rolled around I figured it would be nice to reach out to see if she knew of anywhere I could go for Passover. She quickly responded and invited me to stay with her and her husband for both nights of the holiday.

The day of Passover I met her at the Jewish Museum, where she works, and she drove me back to her house in Camp’s Bay. The house was beautifully designed to reflect the mountains in which it was situated with stunning views of the ocean. I was very impressed to say the least. They were extremely hospitable and I enjoyed getting to know them. For the first seder we went to the Garden’s synagogue that is located in the same campus as the Jewish Museum and the Holocaust center in the Company’s Gardens. It was a great seder, though much longer than I am used to and I got to talk with some very interesting and diverse people. Coincidently enough one many was from Stanford, Connecticut!

           

The following day my cousin took me with her to the Camp’s Bay Senior Citizens Association where I heard a woman speak about the assassination of her husband who was a white anti-apartheid and black consciousness leader in Namibia who was killed by members of the South African Police in the 1980s though his murderer has never been brought to justice. We then headed to walk along the beach at Clifton beach, which was beautiful. For the second seder we went to the local Rabbi’s house. He was very nice and I had a great time talking to his parents, his father is a Judge, from England.

           

Overall I had an amazing time with my relatives, experiencing a very different side of Cape Town. As I stood out on their veranda overlooking the ocean, I could not help but think of the townships I have seen. I have definitely been aware of the economic disparity in Cape Town during my time here but it was not until I was with some of the elite minority juxtaposed with the poor, especially children begging in Camps Bay, that I realized how stark it was. I don’t have any answers for how to fix it; at this point it is so engrained in the country that I think it would take generations to fix it. It is often difficult for me to reconcile the darkness of this country’s past with it’s beauty, though as I stood overlooking the ocean, I could not help but hope that South Africa’s future would be just as beautiful

Emily B's excursion experiences

Going on a safari has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember but I honestly never thought I would have the opportunity. Little did I know that I would be able to during my time in Cape Town. The whole adventure began as a part of our spring break excursion. We started in Johannesburg and toured many fascinating and contemplative museums. Johannesburg and many of its surrounding suburbs were hubs of activism during the apartheid years and there are many museums to commemorate the bravery of those who stood up against the injustice.

           

One of the most moving museums was the Hector Pieterson Museum. It chronicled the movement against teaching Afrikaans, the language of the white South Africans in all schools. Over 20,000 high school students protested in the streets of Soweto where police killed approximately 176 students. One of the defining images of the massacre was of the body of 13-year-old Hector Pieterson being carried by another student with the victim’s sister running by his side. The thing that struck me the most was a quote that was said by the boy carrying the body of Hector. She commented on those that called her son a hero saying, “he is not a hero. In my culture picking up Hector is not an act of heroism. It was his job as a brother.” I thought the sentiment of that statement perfectly embodies South Africa. Though it is marred by tragedy and sorrow the underlying value is of Ubuntu- I am because you are.

           

After going to the Apartheid Museum and the Sharpeville Memorial, we headed off to Kruger. After a rather long drive through the beautiful countryside of Mpumalanga we finally reached the park. As we were driving into the entrance there were two elephants grazing near by! I could not believe it! Never in my life had I been so close to a wild animal in its natural habitat, and little did I know of the sites to come. We quickly put our things in our rooms and ventured out for a sunset safari. After driving only a few more minutes we saw a wide range of animals from more elephants, to zebras, impalas, a lion with her cubs and my personal favorite was the illusive leopard. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen!

           

We woke up very early the next morning for a sunrise drive starting at 4:30 am. Although we did not see as many animals this time I still saw buffalo and a very rare endangered vulture. After a quick midmorning nap I was back up to go on the walking safari. I did not know what to expect but out park rangers were very good explaining things as we past them and spotting animals many miles away. We reached a spot in the bush were we got out and began to walk. I hadn’t thought about thorns before this but they definitely became apparent as the stuck my feet while walking. After only a few minutes we saw a giraffe lazily munching on leaves. Though he stopped and stared at us as we approached he remained. I was surprised at how close we were able to get to him! We continued on our way and came across the animal I had been waiting the whole time to see, the rhino! The rhino is becoming seriously threatened as it is poached for its horns. Even in a national park like Kruger it is a huge issue. That is why I was so excited to see one. Though we were not that close I was astonished by the size of the animal. Though it was so big it definitely took notice of us and pretty quickly lumbered away.

The group continued to walk and we started to see large bones. Our guide stopped us and told us that they were elephant bones from a female who was around 50 years old; she apparently died of natural causes. We came across the site where the majority of the bones were and I noticed that the skull was missing. The ranger explained that when an elephant dies it omits vibrations across the plains for many miles that the other elephants pick up on. The other elephants then go to the site and wait for the scavengers to eat the body. After that the elephants take the skull to a secret location where they bury it in a funeral of sorts. That was the final stop before we made our way back to the lodging.

The entire experience of excursion was amazing but the safari was definitely something I will remember for the rest of my life.

Emily B's safari experience

Going on a safari has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember but I honestly never thought I would have the opportunity. Little did I know that I would be able to during my time in Cape Town. The whole adventure began as a part of our spring break excursion. We started in Johannesburg and toured many fascinating and contemplative museums. Johannesburg and many of its surrounding suburbs were hubs of activism during the apartheid years and there are many museums to commemorate the bravery of those who stood up against the injustice.

           

One of the most moving museums was the Hector Pieterson Museum. It chronicled the movement against teaching Afrikaans, the language of the white South Africans in all schools. Over 20,000 high school students protested in the streets of Soweto where police killed approximately 176 students. One of the defining images of the massacre was of the body of 13-year-old Hector Pieterson being carried by another student with the victim’s sister running by his side. The thing that struck me the most was a quote that was said by the boy carrying the body of Hector. She commented on those that called her son a hero saying, “he is not a hero. In my culture picking up Hector is not an act of heroism. It was his job as a brother.” I thought the sentiment of that statement perfectly embodies South Africa. Though it is marred by tragedy and sorrow the underlying value is of Ubuntu- I am because you are.

           

After going to the Apartheid Museum and the Sharpville Memorial, we headed off to Kruger. After a rather long drive through the beautiful countryside of Mpumalanga we finally reached the park. As we were driving into the entrance there were two elephants grazing near by! I could not believe it! Never in my life had I been so close to a wild animal in its natural habitat, and little did I know of the sites to come. We quickly put our things in our rooms and ventured out for a sunset safari. After driving only a few more minutes we saw a wide range of animals from more elephants, to zebras, impalas, a lion with her cubs and my personal favorite was the illusive leopard. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen!

           

We woke up very early the next morning for a sunrise drive starting at 4:30 am. Although we did not see as many animals this time I still saw buffalo and a very rare endangered vulture. After a quick midmorning nap I was back up to go on the walking safari. I did not know what to expect but out park rangers were very good explaining things as we past them and spotting animals many miles away. We reached a spot in the bush were we got out and began to walk. I hadn’t thought about thorns before this but they definitely became apparent as the stuck my feet while walking. After only a few minutes we saw a giraffe lazily munching on leaves. Though he stopped and stared at us as we approached he remained. I was surprised at how close we were able to get to him! We continued on our way and came across the animal I had been waiting the whole time to see, the rhino! The rhino is becoming seriously threatened as it is poached for its horns. Even in a national park like Kruger it is a huge issue. That is why I was so excited to see one. Though we were not that close I was astonished by the size of the animal. Though it was so big it definitely took notice of us and pretty quickly lumbered away.

Emily & Sarah on game drive

The group continued to walk and we started to see large bones. Our guide stopped us and told us that they were elephant bones from a female who was around 50 years old; she apparently died of natural causes. We came across the site where the majority of the bones were and I noticed that the skull was missing. The ranger explained that when an elephant dies it omits vibrations across the plains for many miles that the other elephants pick up on. The other elephants then go to the site and wait for the scavengers to eat the body. After that the elephants take the skull to a secret location where they bury it in a funeral of sorts. That was the final stop before we made our way back to the lodging.

The entire experience of excursion was amazing but the safari was definitely something I will remember for the rest of my life. 

Manuela, Courtney, & Emily on bush walk at Kruger National Park

Emily B's most impressive thing she's seem

I’m not exactly the adventurous type, but when the opportunity presented itself to go shark cage diving I jumped. I figured when would I ever have the chance to see Great White Sharks in their natural habitat again, and I’m so glad that I did. As I learned it is estimated that there are only about 1,500 Great White Sharks left in the wild and soon there maybe none at all so the chances of me having this experience ever again is slim. Many critique shark cage diving as environmentally unfriendly and dangerous to the sharks but there are eco-friendly options available and one of my housemates, Jessica’s, friend found such an option. This company was based out of Simon’s Town and prided itself on its ecologically sound practices.

Bright and early (very early! At about 4:30 am) Jessica, her friend and some other girls from another study abroad program began the drive to Simon’s Town. We quickly boarded the boat and in about a half hour were out to the spot where we would be diving. The staff was clearly passionate about wildlife making sure they pointed out the different sea creatures that we past. We went by a small island covered with female seals and their pups, which was adorable. The first group got their wet suits on and headed down into the cage. One of the staff members put two lines of bait in the water, one that floated on the surface and one that hung below to pull the sharks in towards the cage. He would make sure to pull the line before the shark could get it though because feeding wild sharks is illegal. We saw some massive Great Whites swimming lazily around the boat. Though I was very seasick (I seem to forget how much I don’t like boats until I get on them) the time went by quickly. We quickly put on our wetsuits and plunged into the freezing cold ocean. After a few minutes someone yelled, “Shark!” and we dove under the water to come face to face with a Great White. Granted my knowledge of sharks comes almost exclusively from shark week in the Discovery Channel, but I thought that the sharks would come at us, biting the cage, trying to make us their breakfast. Rather the sharks swam lazily by paying little attention to the tourist in the cage gawking at them. After a half-hour in the cage and multiple shark sightings we had to (begrudgingly) get out. After only about 5 minutes on of the staff said to me, “see those waves over there? Those aren’t waves, they’re dolphins.” We started to head towards the dolphins and found ourselves in the middle of a pod of about 3,000 dolphins all herding schools of sardines into the harbor to eat them. Everywhere I looked there were dolphins diving in and out of the water, flying towards the harbor. I even saw quiet a few mothers and babies in the pod. As the dolphins jumped in and out, I got splashed a few times by their flippers. I could see millions of sardines swimming in schools trying to escape the dolphins. As the predators got closer the schools would panic causing the fish to flop on the surface as though they were trying to fly away. As the dolphins past, I noticed the water was glittering from what I thought was sunlight, but on closer inspection turned out to be fish scales of the unlucky ones who couldn’t get away. I though, this will probably never see anything like this again. I noticed that this was out of the ordinary when I saw all of the staff had out their cameras and GoPros to capture the moment. They seemed just as excited as all of us. While staring out at the dolphins I muttered to myself, “this is the coolest thing I Bright and early (very early! At about 4:30 am) Jessica, her friend and

Once the final group went, we started to head back to the harbor. have ever seen.” I didn’t realize how close the skipper was but he replied, “You will probably never see anything like this again. Only about 10% of the tours see dolphins, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it as good as this.” He ended with an enthusiastic, “I love this place!”

As we headed in towards the harbor leaving the dolphins behind I realized that part of the impressiveness of the moment was the fact that I was a witness to nature. I had never seen so many animals in their natural environment before, acting on instincts that have been a part of their DNA forever. Whether we were there for not those dolphins would have been herding those fish into the bay, and that’s what I liked so much about it. It has been so long since I have seen something that wasn’t touched by the human hand; it was inspiring to see, as a human, everything doesn’t revolve around us. Even though a week has past, as I reflect on the experience I can still say without a doubt that was the most impressive thing I have ever seen.

Emily B facing her own insignificance in the cosmos while recognizing the need to respect, protect, and love

As I stood under the Milky Way in the pitch-black night on a rural olive farm somewhere about an hour and a half outside of Cape Town, South Africa, I saw the stars like I had never seen them before. Stretched above me, seeming as though to be bits of heaven falling, comets shot across the sky. The scene fit perfectly with the context of the weekend. I was on the farm, along with my fellow co-educators and members from Africa Unite to learn about human rights.  It was truly an amazing experience to be able to meet and talk with peers from around the African continent. To hear their stories and their perceptions on everything ranging from politics to music was an opportunity I am extremely grateful for. Though we may not have agreed on every issue we discussed, the exchange of ideas across cultural boundaries was priceless.

President Emily (far left)

If you know me, you know my love of model United Nations. It began in high school with my first conference and my participation with it has continued through college as a part of the UCONN Model U.N. club and by working for a Model U.N. company for the past 3 years. So needless to say I was extremely excited when I heard that we would be having a Model U.N.-esque experience (It wasn’t quiet Model U.N. since it didn’t follow Robert’s rule of parliamentary procedure). We began by organizing into groups, deciding what country we wanted to be and whom will be the president. My group chose to represent Zimbabwe with myself as president. We held a presentation asking the World Bank for a 1 billion USD check to improve living standards in the state. We ended up receiving the check, beating out 5 other teams in the process.

The most interesting part of the country role play for me was an exercise where we had to imagine that earth had been destroyed by climate change and a new planet was being settled by four out of the six countries. Two had fertile land while two did not and the other two wanted to settle and were asking to be let in. We had to decide whether or not to let the other two countries in and what rule to set for them. We fairly quickly turned inward holding fast to our nationalities and our borders. Rather than all share the land evenly we were on the brink of war. The exercise showed all too clearly the state of international politics today. During my time doing Model U.N. conferences each delegate always looked out for our own national interest though others were in need. This is a sad but accurate portrayal of how politics work. Rather than think outside the box of how to best solve the problem for everyone, for a better future, countries and us as individuals retreat inward, trying to protect ourselves not realizing we are all one in the same. All too often we get caught up in our own labels whether it be nationality, race, religion, etc. and cannot see ourselves as a piece in a puzzle rather than the entire puzzle.

These were the thoughts running through my mind as I stood under the stars, facing my own insignificance in the cosmos, and I couldn’t help but think of Carl Sagan’s famous quote:

“The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.”

This was really what I took away from the human rights weekend. We refuse to see the bigger picture of our existence and instead resort to killing and oppressing one another to gain control of this dot floating in space for a speck in time without even realizing we are only hurting ourselves. We must respect, protect, and love, each other because there is no help coming from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. 

Emily receiving her Human Rights Training Certificate

Emily B on life lessons learned

I would have never thought that I would have learned life lessons in just a few short days from a stranger but I am so grateful to say that I did. It all began in Ocean View. I really was unsure of what to expect. I was trying to keep as open as a mind as possible but still preconceived notions crept in. I knew that the history of the township was a sorted one. It was, and still predominantly is, comprised of those who were classified colored and forcibly removed from their homes under apartheid. With this knowledge in the back of my mind I began to picture the homes we would be staying in. Would it be an informal settlement? A shack made of tin or any other material available? My mind was running wild with all of the possibilities. Needless to say I was quiet surprised when I actually arrived there.

My host mom Shireen greeted me with open arms exclaiming how happy she was to have us at her home and that she’d been looking forward to it for quite sometime. She had an infectious laugh that I can still her when I think of her. I was particularly interested to experience what living with a Muslim family would be like. When we brought up religion Shireen talked about how everyone regardless of religion is connected and when we pray, we all pray to the same God. One of my favorite things she said was just as she would not want someone else telling her what to believe and how to live her life, she would never do that to another person. I respect that belief a great deal and my admiration of her grew during that conversation.

I thought that living with a Muslim woman for a few days would be a culture shock and I was pleasantly surprised to find that we are all far more similar than we would think. We both shared a love of American television- talking about Oprah and Dr. Oz, complained about how we can never eat just one potato chip and past the nights playing solitaire. Shireen noticed the cultural similarities and pointed it out that we are all so much more similar than we would have thought at first and it is our belief that we are different from one another than causes conflict. As a political science and human rights student, I have found that in my studies it is very easy to become accustomed to seeing people as us vs. them. When studying conflict or human rights abuses, it is of course heartbreakingly sad but I don’t often then think about it in terms of myself. However after just a few short days with Shireen the concept that we have far more things in common than we do differences is a lesson I will take with me for the rest of my life.

The final life lesson I learned from Shireen was about materialism and valuing your possessions. Shireen’s home was modest compared to American standards but she had such pride in it. She talked about how she worked to buy her own house and had done so by the time she was 25. She spoke of the importance of working for everything she had and wanted. Though her home was by no means cluttered everything she owned had significance and purpose. She acknowledged that she was by no means wealthy but that she had everything she could possibly want and if not then she was working towards it. One of the things she said that really stuck out to me was that if a person has anymore than what they need then they should donate their money to charity because there are other people who do not even have the bare minimum and by continuously collecting material things they lose their meaning. This powerful sentiment is something that I have always believed but rarely practiced. Not to generalize, but as an American I believe that we live in a society of extreme capitalism where there is never a thing too big, too new, too much. Taking a step back to a simpler way of living actually made me feel more at peace. Everything had meaning and life was not cluttered by the materialization of social status. As my time in Cape Town continues and I think about life at home, this is a lesson I will for sure take back with me.

Emily B on learning her way around

Everyone on this program has his or her own personal and unique reasons for choosing study abroad in Cape Town. A first I thought it was because I wanted to experience a new culture, to do some good and learn more about myself in the process. While that is all definitely true, I realized recently that I came here because I wanted to be uncomfortable. I wanted to try and do new things that were outside of my comfort zone and into the “Oh sh*t” zone as David has so eloquently dubbed it.  I am a creature of habit. I like routines and knowing what to expect. To a certain degree of unconsciousness I became bored with that at Storrs. Who wants 4 years of predictability? And off to Cape Town I went.

One of the things I was most uncomfortable about but also looking forward to (I like a challenge), was getting lost. I am notoriously getting lost, even in areas I know. I am constantly getting turned around or thinking I know where I am when I don’t. My housemates can attest to the number of times where I have said things along the lines of, “Wait? Isn’t it the other way to Loch?” or “Do I go left or right to Main Rd.?” So it came as quiet a nice surprise to me when I began to get my bearings. I went from being in a state of constant geographical confusion to being able to predict what the next stops were on the train. I am now able to navigate my way around the city and suburbs by train or minibus taxi with relative ease. This all has added up to me feeling comfortable here, not quiet at home, but definitely not a stranger.

My favorite stories of my newfound abilities involve others asking me for directions. The first occurred a few weeks ago when I was waiting on the corner for my minibus to my internship. Another international student from the United States asked me where to get the Jammie bus that goes up to the University of Cape Town. I easily gave him directions (granted it was literally across the street) and thought to myself “I got this.” Earlier today I was walking to my internship after a pit stop at the grocery store when a South African came up to me and asked me where the mall was and subsequently how to get to it. I was able to tell her the closest mall, which minibus taxis to use (you can take few different ones going toward Cape Town) and roughly how long it would take her to get there. Not to boast but I was pretty proud of myself.

There is something to be said for familiarity. Although I left Storrs to escape it, I definitely appreciate it in Cape Town.