Morgan (thankfully) can't get Cape Town out of her head

It's officially been a month since I arrived home from Cape Town. In some ways, it seems as if everything is exactly the same as it was before I left. My house feels the same, my town looks the same. Its almost scary how familiar everything is, it almost feels like South Africa was some surreal dream. I did miss my parents when I was away, but seeing them in the airport was not exactly the dramatic reunion I expected. We were all happy to be together again, but it felt like I had just seen them yesterday. They smiled the same way, my mom said "Hey Morgy!!" in the same cheerful tone she always does. Seeing my friends was the same way. It felt like I had never left. It's comforting to know that you can go months without seeing someone, but immediately pick up where you left off when you are back together again. I think this is a sign of a true friend. 

Home seems to be exactly how I left it. Therein lies the problem. Home is the same, I am not. I can't seem to get Cape Town out of my head. I have dreams about Cape Town, and I find myself going through my photographs all the time. When I close my eyes, I can teleport myself to Lions Head or to Kalk Bay for a brief moment. But it doesn't last. The coffee is worse here. The people are less friendly. I'm not as "cool" and foreign as I once seemed. I'm unemployed. Jenna isn't there anymore when I wake up in the morning. No one asks me "Howzit?" or bothers to ask me how I am at all for that matter. I no longer get to work with Sister Castle. I don't walk anywhere anymore. There are no mountains to climb. Cashiers don't want to chit chat. I'm driving on the wrong side of the road. I'm moody. A part of me is missing. 

I'm scared of losing the person I became in South Africa. In South Africa, I barely used my phone and was freed from nagging technology. Now that I'm back home, I already am back to keeping my phone on me at all times and more frequently checking instagram and facebook. I remember always feeling truly happy and at ease in South Africa. Everyday was an adventure and something to be thankful for. I don't want to lose that outlook, but its going to be hard living in a culture that always tells you to go, go, go. 

I haven't been feeling well, so the other day I went to the doctor. For some reason, it was taking longer than usual to be seen. 45 minutes passed and I felt myself growing agitated. What could possibly be taking so long? Then, a feeling a shame washed over me as I remembered what an average day was like at Tafelsig Clinic. If I was a patient there, I would have woken up at 5 in the morning and waited in line for 2 hours for the clinic to open. I would have further waited a few more hours inside to be screened through the triage room, and probably wait at least another hour before seeing a doctor. And yet here I was, complaining about a unusual 1 hour delay, when I didn't have anything else to do that day anyway. I'm scared of getting caught up in the US bubble again and forgetting just how lucky I am. It's easy to get back into old habits, but I'm trying really hard not to.

On the other hand, I feel like certain lessons have been entrenched in me. I find myself thinking more about my future and thinking about what it is I really want out of life. I've noticed that I'm much more willing to share my opinion in conversations, even when I disagree with what others say. Before I would just keep my mouth shut and go along with it, but now I'm not afraid to disagree. I'm more adventurous now. My best friend and I are now planning trips around the country for this summer. I'm way more willing to do things on my own and I can tell I am much more independent now. For the first time I really feel like an adult. 

I cringe at some of the questions people ask me about my trip. "There aren't any black people in South Africa, are there?" "Did you gain weight when you were away?" "What did you eat when you were there?" People don't really want to hear about politics or race. I can see their eyes start to glaze over when I start talking about South Africa's elections or my experience at Tafelsig. Most people just want to hear about skydiving, the safari, and what we did for fun. Don't get me wrong, those are all amazing experiences I'm so grateful for and will never forget. But at the same time there is so much about South Africa that I can't explain to others, or that they just don't want to hear. Most of the time people will ask what my favorite part of the trip was, and I don't know what to say. There's no way to sum up our 3 and a half month experience in one sentence. This question really bothers me and makes me freeze up, like I'm supposed to have this grandiose answer that justifies the entire trip. 

My friends and family will probably never fully understand what my abroad experience meant to me, and thats ok. I can't thank my family enough for supporting me and making it possible for me to go. Going abroad to South Africa has helped me become more sure of myself. I like who I am. I will never forget the amazing people and friendships I made. I check flights every now and then. Sister Castle and I have been emailing back and forth. I have a feeling I won't be able to stay away from Cape Town for too long. 

Morgan (front left) and other Tafelsig interns & sisters (nurses)

Morgan (top right) with other Tafelsig interns and the
Fire Fighters U13 Soccer Club

Morgan's weekend experience

This weekend was one of my favorite here in South Africa! A bunch of us planned a road trip through the Garden Route. We left Friday morning SO EARLY at 2 am. I definitely am sleep deprived but I was having so much fun all weekend it was definitely worth it! My eye will be twitching all week but OH WELL. 

On Friday we visited a game park, and got to see baby cheetahs up close. They were so beautiful. Next we went to the Cango caves, which were fascinating. We went from sweating in the sun to exploring in the cool, dark caves. We learned the caves were discovered by a farmer with only one small oil lamp. It was crazy how deep and vast some of the chambers were. 

After the caves, we went to an ostrich farm. Some of us attempted riding the ostrich, which was hilarious. I don't think I'll ever be able to get the image of Allie faceplanting off the bucking ostrich out of my head. 

We eventually made it to our hostel for the night, which was right on the beach. We pulled up just as the sun was setting. It was my favorite beach I've been to so far in South Africa, so beautiful and isolated. The hostel itself was also so fun. We met people staying there from all over the world: Switzerland, Germany, Holland, the UK, all with interesting stories. Staying in the hostel has given me such a desire to travel now. I think backpacking across Europe is next on my bucket list. 

Since it was almost the full moon, the manager of the hostel played his guitar for us on the beach at night. It was so relaxing and peaceful listening to him play and looking up at the big bright moon.

Saturday was equally fun. We started off at an elephant sanctuary, where we got to ride elephants! For such large animals, the elephant felt surprisingly bony when I was riding it. Its skin felt so dry and wrinkly! Later we got to feed them and pet them as well. I was a little scared at first, but the elephants were such gentle giants.

Today, Sunday, we went river tubing. It was a very slow tubing experience because the water level is pretty low at this time of the season, and required a lot of paddling, but it was still really fun. I survived despite the fact I was wearing a wetsuit that I'm pretty sure was meant for a 12-year-old boy. My circulation has finally come back to my wrists! 

Overall, the weekend was a blast. We did so many adventurous activities, but I also think a lot of the reason it was so fun is that we were all having such a great time with each other. We were without wifi for the majority of the trip, so we really were able to just hang out and enjoy each others company. I'm so lucky to have made so many new best friends from this trip. It makes me sad to think that we will go directly from seeing each other everyday/doing almost everything together to probably not seeing each other much this summer. I'm afraid of having a hard time adjusting back home without my Cape Town friends. Hopefully we will get together sometime this summer, and I'm excited for us all to be at school together in the fall. 

Morgan's work with the Khayelitsha soccer club

It feels good to be back in Cape Town after excursion. It was fun to explore Johannesburg and was amazing to witness the wildlife in Kruger, but it is nice to be settled in again at the house. I found myself thinking on the plane back that we were almost "home." Cape Town has become a second home for me. 

Before we left for excursion, Allie, Jenna, Emily, Katrina and I were able to work on our activist project. We have been volunteering with the Firefighters Football Club, a local soccer club for boys in Khayelitsha. We've helped out at their practices and raised money tobuy them water bottles and sponsor their tournaments. 

The Saturday before excursion we spent the day helping out at their U11 tournament, and it was a BLAST! The sun was shining, it was a beautiful day out, and the park was buzzing with all different clubs from the Cape area. The boys were pumped up and ready to play. 

We were able to bring a huge jug of water for the boys, as well as breakfast, lunch, and snacks, which was good because almost none of them brought any water or food with them for the day-long tournament. The boys devoured the breakfast and fruit we brought! It was gone within minutes. I can't imagine playing in the sun all day without any water or without eating anything, but this is an everyday thing for them. 

I'm realizing now how lucky I was growing up to have so much support from my parents. I'm thinking back to the countless hours my mom and dad spent driving me to swim meets, how many meets they sat through for hours on end to watch me swim a few minute-long races, and the stocked lunch box full of snacks and Gatorades they always sent me off with. I know as a pre-teen I would have no clue how to get myself to a tournament and pack food for myself. I was babied. 

This just shows how much the boys truly love the game. Most of them walk to practice after school, without any water or anything to eat. Their parents rarely come to games; many parents have to work or can't even afford transport to the field. Soccer is not just an after-school activity or extracurricular. They live for soccer. These boys aren't sitting on their couches after school watching TV, they are out with their friends kicking the ball around the field. No wonder the team is so INCREDIBLY talented! For being so young, the boys have so much skill. I definitely underestimated their ability. In their games, it was just one header after another and they are so good at passing. 

We couldn't make to the next day of the tournament because we were flying to Jo'burg, but later on Sunday we learned that the Firefighters won the entire tournament! I was beaming when I found out. I'm so excited to continue working with the club. Next step is getting all the players individual water bottles!

The Development of an Activist Project

As those who have previously followed the UConn in Cape Town Class Blog know, student-interns participating in this program are required to complete an activist project for my class.  I've been continually impressed and inspired by students' ability to identify an issue and then create a project to help address a need they discover.  These undertakings provide students an opportunity to share their time, energy and talents within the communities that have taught them so much as well as to discover their own individual and collective potential to make a difference. The assignment is broadly defined as:

Identify an issue

Decide what you will do

Commit a minimum of 24 hours to this work. 

Collaborate with one or more other students on projects.

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Previously students have constructed and implemented an amazing array of successful projects.  One of the organizations with which students have worked is the Firefighters Football Club which was established in 1998 in Khayelitsha, the largest black township in Cape Town with a population of close to 800,000 people.  The football club is located in Mandela Park and has 5 youth teams: under 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19, as well as one senior team.  Firefighters FC athletes are leaders on and off the field. Participating players meet after school for peer education sessions. They work on everything from homework help, to presentation skills, to college preparation. Firefighters Football Club is about character building, about raising young men who will be positive role models for the next generation and will strive to make a positive impact in their communities. 

Over the years students have worked this club to: help with their tournaments; develop and write up their strategic plan; collect slightly used soccer cleats from family and friends; work with the coaches; and set up their website <http://firefightersfc.com/Firefighters_Football_Club/Home.html>

This year 5 students (Allie, Emily W, Jenna, Katrina, & Morgan) are working with players on life skills and tutoring as well as raising funds to buy water jugs for the teams and water bottles for individual players.  You can read more about their project below and anyone who would like to support their efforts may do so at their GoFundMe site:  http://www.gofundme.com/7qtgp4 

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In our semester studying abroad here in Cape Town, South Africa, 5 of us students have started volunteering at the Firefighters Football Club, a local boys' soccer club in Khayelitsha, one of the poorest townships in Cape Town. The club is located in an area consumed by poverty with minimal sports and recreational infrastructure. Because of this, children are highly vulnerable to gangsterism and drug use. The club was created as a way to begin to address these issues within the community and provide them with a safe and fun alternative while learning vauable life lessons through their coaches and teammates.

After spending the last few weeks getting to know the boys and watching their practices, we noticed something was missing. Even after hours of running in the hot sun there was not one water break, not one kid had a water bottle, and at the end of practice they eagerly guzzled down what little water we'd brought with us. After talking with Bongi, the team's coach, we realized what a huge difference providing water coolers and a water bottle for each of the players would make. Our goal in our remaining time with Firefighters is to continue to get to know, play with, and tutor the players as well as raise money to provide them with the water bottles and coolers. We also plan on helping out at the Firefighters tournament by giving the kids support, as barely any of their parents come, as well as provide water and food seeing that it is an all day event. 

Despite having close to nothing, these kids' hard work and dedication has inspired us. We hope to use whatever money we raise towards getting new equipment, gear, and improving their fields. Any small amount will make a huge difference and the kids and coaches will be so grateful. Go Firefighters!

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One of the wonderful things about social media is how many people can be reached simply by sharing information with facebook friends.  If you find this to be a worthwhile cause perhaps you could share it with your facbook friends along with a personal message as was done by my daughter-in law Betsy, who has been to Cape Town and had the pleasure of personally meeting Bongi and the Firefighters:

Anongile Qasana and his firefighter's football club are what grassroots change is all about. He inspires youth to change themselves and their community, all while having fun. I know some of my fellow soccer parent friends can connect to watching kids play soccer and grow in confidence, and many of my social justice friends might be inspired to get the word out.  http://www.gofundme.com/7qtgp4 

Or as by Dan who participated in this program in 2012 and did his activist project as well as spenting countless additional hours working with Firefighters:

Anyone who has heard me talk about Cape Town knows how influential Bongi and his soccer club, the Firefighters Football Club, were to me. This year's study abroad students have continued working with the team and are working to raise funds to buy the athletes water bottles. Yes, something as simple as water bottles are a commodity in the township the boys are from.  If you were ever an athlete and know what it's like to play in the hot summer sun, consider supporting their initiative. http://www.gofundme.com/7qtgp4