VCE: Voluntary Community Engagement

Finally.. New article! I am sorry for such a delay, however the end of semester - yeah, right, while for some of you the semester only begins, I have (summer!) holidays in two days – was little bit busy. I had few essays to hand in and some exams (even though it still remained pretty easy compare to Paris… exchange semester is really cool in this regard J ) and also I have still continued enjoying my life here in Western Cape (braais, surfing – yes, I began to surf and it’s really amazing!, but it’s another story now; music festival and so on and so on… ). So… in conclusion: no time for the blog. Sorry. So I will try to put it right now.

Do you remember the Voluntary Community Engagement programme that I mentioned in the first article? Since it is the end of semester, it also means the end for this programme. Thus, since I went through all of it, now I can write little bit more about it than just few first impressions.

So.. what is it do you ask? Students from Stellenbosch University (mostly international, just few South Africans), go every Friday morning to the Ikaya primary school in Kayamandi, township in Stellenbosch. (If you do not know what the township is, check our friend Wikipedia). There was also another one on Tuesday afternoon when participants went to another school to another place. But since I participated only to the Friday one, I am going to speak only about this one.

During our first visit, we were divided into small groups of five to seven students and then we went to classes. This programme has focused on the pre-school children, five to six years old.  For them, it has been the first experience of the school this year. Our main purpose was to have fun with them, to show them that school may be lot of fun and thus to try to make them think positively about the school.

We attended our class every Friday morning (every group got one class which remained the same for the whole semester). We were there in the presence of their usual teacher who helped us to explain all activities. However, the programme was up to us. There was a different topic every week: jobs, water, fruits, vegetables, dairy farm, healthy environment, festivals, reptiles, spring and maybe I have forgotten some. The topic was told us a week ahead and so we had a week to prepare the programme. It could be anything: colouring, cutting, singing, running, playing games outsides and so on and so on. Then, we organized the class on our own, the normal teacher was there just to help us.

Population of Kayamandi is black and isiXhosa speaking. Thus, we had to face a language barrier: while adults usually speak English, it is not the case of five year-olds. Thus, we had to help ourselves with the sign language and above all a great teacher M helped us a lot since she translated almost everything (Enkosi!) At the very beginning, I did not really know how to communicate with children. They were talking to me in isiXhosa with all those nice clicks but I did not understand anything. I was talking to them, slowly, in a basic English, they did not understand anything (even though little bit more than me from their isiXhosa…). But step by step I learnt that I can communicate with them even without a common language: thumb up, high five, smile… it works. And “good job” – they understand this.

Unfortunately, due to this language barrier, we could not have a normal conversation with them: about what did they do during the week, how is their family and so on. Thus we have not discovered anything about their background - what I would love to.

Just one short story that might suggest something about the family background of one little boy: that day, the topic was a dairy farm. We brought a milk glass bottle and asked children: “do you know what it is?” And one replied: “brandy bottle!” Well… how does it come that a five year-old boy thinks about brandy when he sees a glass bottle?

However, no other indications about their backgrounds. Often people think about very poor people, starving, and about thriving criminality, when one say a black township. Nevertheless, it is important not to generalize. I am not an expert in townships, I have not seen much so far but from what I have seen so far, I would conclude that there are also huge disparities within townships and between different townships. Indeed, we can find there people living in shacks, in one shack up to ten or even more people without a basic sanitation provided. However, there are also some that have quite a “normal” house (not really a nice house everybody would dream about but where all basic services are provided and one can live in a dignity). Children in Ikaya school had enough to eat during the lunch break. Also, they were wearing quite a nice, clean clothes when it was a “casual day” (usually they wear uniforms but several times it was a special day when they could come in their normal casual clothes). So, it didn’t seem to me they would be starving or something.

Furthermore, in most of cases, they were surprisingly calm and well-behaving. But we have thought that maybe it was also due to their teacher M. – a great lady and great teacher: strict when she should be, but also a very kind person. Thus children have respect of her but they like her. In one other class, children were apparently quite aggressive, I heard.

Thus, we spent in total ten weeks with these wonderful children. And I would say it was quite short. Also, we spent only two hours every Friday with them. In the beginning, they were foreign kids to me and I did not know how to talk with them but at the end, even though I still could not speak much with them, I felt we became closer. They also became much more open and friendly progressively: you do not always need words if the child can just come to you and give you a big spontaneous hug. And they love hugs – they especially love being lifted up and carried around… sometimes it was quite exhausting.. they did not want to understand that I am not a superhero and that carrying two of them at once is quite hard for me… at least I did not have to go to the gym those days.

And I even could remember most of their names at the end! (even though… not all names… isiXhosa names are pretty difficult to memorize – and yet more to pronounce!)

I am really happy that I participated to this project: I had lot of fun and I learnt some things… mainly about me (I would not imagine I can be so natural and spontaneous with little children… actually, I can and I really love playing with them). Some my friends have been a bit more sceptical about impact we have had on children. I am not sure if I really helped in something either. But at least, they had lot of fun with us and they are going to have good memories of their beginning of the school. But, I am also little bit sceptical how it would help them for their future education. Did it help to make them love the school? Did it help to teach them English a bit? Did it help to make them discover other cultures (meaning Western culture since most of us were Western students) than theirs is? Maybe little bit… 

(In)security in Stellenbosch

When one says South Africa, behind beautiful landscapes and the Big Five, lot of people imagine also the crime. Unfortunately, the insecurity is a big problem in South Africa. And thus, this time I am going to focus on one aspect that forms part and parcel of the South African life - which does not consist only in wine tasting, hiking and surfing as one might think after having seen pictures taken by an exchange student as me.

When I arrived, it was startling for me to see iron bars on every window and door and barbed wires on fences. By now I have got used to it and it’s rather strange for me not to see any iron bars on a window.

Recently, we went to Kalk Bay, a lovely small village on the coast near to Cape Town. When we were walking around its nice small harbour, my friend told me: “I do not really feel like being in South Africa, we could be even in Italy or in some Mediterranean country now, don’t you think?” I agreed, except one detail. Look at this picture, what is the element that assures you that the picture was taken in South Africa?

Living in South Africa, I had to adopt few reflexes: locking all the time all doors and windows, not leaving valuable things below the window so as one can see it from the street (even though the window is closed and have the iron bars on it, thieves would try to find another way to get inside if they have caught sight of the computer.. it happens here), not bringing any valuable things when going out (just my old phone, some cash and keys) and so on. Lot of small things about which I would not really think in Europe. However, by now it has become a quite automatic reflex and I do it spontaneously.

Also, you can’t walk alone at night. It may be a bit constraining, especially if you do not go out with your flatmates. Usually people go out together with their flatmates and walk in a group. If they do not have flatmates, they join their neighbours or almost neighbours.

However, I have to say that Stellenbosch is a bit special compared to other South African cities: it is much safer. It is safer than Cape Town and much safer than Johannesburg or Pretoria. In Stellenbosch, which is quite a small student town, I can go everywhere by bike. Even at night, if I am by bike, it is quite fine if I am alone (even though it depends on areas, but I stay in a rather safe area). When I bought my bike two weeks after my arrival, I realized that my bike counts for the element of freedom for me here in Stellenbosch. That’s why most of students owns a bike here and one of the first things international student do upon their arrival here, is to buy a bike.

Last week, I had to fill one questionnaire about my perception of security at Stellenbosch. I wasn’t sure what to answer: do I feel safe at some areas? Do I consider the insecurity a big problem in Stellenbosch? Ehm… Compare to Europe? Yes, indeed, it is not very safe place. Compare to the rest of South Africa? It’s one of the safest places here.

Also, it is interesting to point out the fact that the level of insecurity differs a lot across different areas in the town. There still remains a kind of spatial segregation. In the centre, where the University campus is located, it is pretty safe as there are also so called “Green Routes” – Agents of the Campus Security are walking (or well, usually rather sitting there) throughout these streets, ensuring the security there (But it is still not recommended to walk alone at night though). Then, my area, even though it is a bit further from the campus and not within the zone of green routes anymore, is considered to be rather safe as rather wealthier people live there (there are lot of nice villas with big gardens – hidden behind iron bars of course). The other side of the town, being closer to the township, is considered as less safe – above all due to the fact that poorer people live there, looking for the opportunity how to better gain their life so thefts may occur there more often. You may often meet a security agent in the street there though. There are several security agencies operating in the town as the police is not sufficient for the amount of crimes occurring here.

You noticed well that when I differentiate between safe and less safe areas, I mentioned also the socio-economic background of the population staying in those areas. Indeed, South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world in terms of income inequalities and socio-economic status of its inhabitants. And the security issue is linked in part to these inequalities I would say.

Also, lot of students (locals, not internationals) here have a car. It solves lot of problems for them: you can move everywhere after the sunset if you are by car. Even go back home from the bar… by car. It is another issue I wanted to speak about. Even though there is the zero alcohol tolerance for drivers in South Africa, nobody cares. Lot of people go to wine farms by car because it is too far for walking or cycling there. So they drive there, taste few glasses of wine and go back by car. Also, lot of people having car go to bars and night clubs by car since it is “safer” to go back home by car than to walk or cycle at night. “Safer” did I say? Yeah, that’s what is generally thought here. Nevertheless sometimes I wonder: is it safer to drive after having drunk few beers than to cycle at night? Personally, I prefer to cycle. Especially in Stellenbosch that is not that dangerous as I said and if you are in group, it should be fine. (In Cape Town, I would rather take a cab and not only because it is pretty hilly by contrast to Stellenbosch).

But do not worry about me, as I have said, Stellenbosch is pretty safe ;) And South Africa is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen, despite this insecurity issue. You just have to respect some rules, adopt some reflexes and not to behave in the same way as you do in Europe. And to be reconciled with the fact that something would be stolen from you at least once during your stay in South Africa... 

Garden Route

2 432 Km, 8 days, 7 people, 4 nationalities, 1 car

Last week, it was a recess. One week without classes, for an exchange student it means the only thing: to pack his backpack and discover new part of the country. And so I and my friends did.

We were group of seven people: four French (all of them from my home university in Paris: Mouna, Margot, Adele and Leo), one Dutch (Marije), one German (Merten) and one Czech (me).

We rented a car – Toyota Avenza, seven-seater. Some persons had discouraged us from renting this car because of its very small (or rather lacking) luggage space. However, we had decided to take a risk that it would be a bit uncomfortable having our backpacks on our knees or so. Nevertheless, it was much better than I had expected. At the beginning I had to have my feet on the seat – two backpacks occupying all the space that is normally designed for legs. But little by little our ability to fill backpacks in the very small luggage space improved and eventually we succeeded to fill all our stuff there and we could thus sit more than comfortably in our Toyota.

We left Saturday morning direction East, following N2 (national road). This road became our friend for the most of the trip: we drove on its left side (yeah, we drive on the left side of the road here in South Africa) till the furthest destination of our journey that was Addo Elephant Park behind Port Elizabeth (about 750km from Cape Town).

I wrote we were heading towards East. But what exactly was the “new part of the country” we decided to discover? Garden Route. A region being about 200 km long and situated about 500 km to East from Cape Town. It is an area on the southern coast of South Africa offering multiple natural reserves to its visitors, beautiful beaches with great waves for surfers and much more.

Our first stop was Mossel Bay that is at the beginning of the Garden Route, little bit further than 400km from Cape Town. We had planned to spend few hours there walking in the town but except a beautiful beach, we did not find anything spectacular so after a short walk on the beach we decided to continue to George. There, we realized that towns were not going to become the goal of our trip. Nature in this region is definitely much more worth seeing than urban zones.

We spent our first night and second day in Wilderness where we enjoyed a short hike to waterfalls, crossing river on a raft.

The rest of the day we were relaxing on the beach before moving to our following destination, Knysna, at the end of afternoon.

Monday was the only day that we spent fully in the city and its surroundings. Knysna is a nice town (look on its name, Nice, na?) with a nice lagoon but when it’s rainy (and it was the case) it’s bit empty. Just before the sunset, we climbed up (okay, only by car but still..) to the Heads – a lookout with beautiful view over the lagoon and ocean. From there, you can really appreciate the beauty of the town and its surroundings.

The goal of our 4^th day was Tsitsikama National Park: a huge natural reserve lying just next to the ocean. First, we did the hike over the suspension bridge and we climbed up (this time on foot) a mountain from where we could enjoy a beautiful view.

In the afternoon, we wanted to do the waterfall hike. At the beginning of the trail, we could read: “in winter, don’t begin this hike after 13:30”. It was 14:30. And after all, it’s spring already. So we decided to go there, thinking that if we realize that we don’t have enough time to finish the hike before the closing of the park (which is at 6pm), we would just turn back before reaching the end of the trail.

And thus we began walking. First, the trail was pretty easy, nice path leading on the coast from which we could observe high waves shattering on rocks. Then it became a bit more difficult: a nice path transformed into a mass of stones where we had to jump from one stone to another. But at least it was more interesting.

However, after a while, we arrived to a place where a water surface reached stones that were supposed to form the part of the path. Nevertheless, it was still accessible, we could jump from one stone to another and continue the trail. Thus, after a short discussion, we decided to continue. But suddenly, we saw a very high wave coming. So we turned back and jumped to stones that were situated a bit higher. However, one of us was caught on a stone surrounded by water. Now, there wasn’t any doubt, it was a high tide. That’s the reason why we shouldn’t go there after a certain time! (but they could precise the reason on the sign…)

Finally everybody managed to get back safely, even though some of us with wet shoes…

Since we couldn’t see waterfalls because of the high tide, we came back to Tsitsikama on the way back two days later. And it was absolutely worth it. Don’t you think?

After a short stop in Jeffrey’s bay, a paradise for surfers, where we spent just one night, we continued to the furthest point of our road trip: Addo Elephant Park. You drive slowly by car through the park looking for some animal. Sometimes we felt like playing some game. Everybody in the car was exploring with the absolute concentration every part of the savannah and forest looking for a sign of an elephant. In the beginning, we were happy with seeing few zebras but then we saw them all the time and so our enthusiasm for them declined a bit.

Regarding elephants, first we were excited when we saw this:

We weren't even sure whether it was an elephant or not. Finally we concluded that it was a back of an elephant.

After another maybe half an hour, we saw even a head of an elephant hidden behind a tree! (okay, I have to admit that I used zoom for this picture).

Finally, after having spent few hours in the park, we discovered the whole herd of elephants! (Our initial enthusiasm about what might be a back of an elephant seemed pretty funny suddenly). We spent long time observing these beautiful animals. They are really funny, especially small ones who are playing with each other.

After another hour, we even met an elephant on the road. He was walking in front of our car. After a while of hesitation, we decided to pass around it. It was fascinating. Being not even a meter from this colossal animal, watching his huge tusks and trunk, we hoped that he wouldn't become angry… our car seemed suddenly pretty small next to an elephant… 

But Addo Elephant Park doesn't mean that only elephants live there. Here’s a small overview of animal we met:

Then we drove to Port Elizabeth where we spent a night and then continued back direction west. We stopped one more time in Tsitsikama and one of us jumped from the bridge. Don’t worry, it wasn't a suicide attempt, she just wanted to try the world’s highest bungy jump.   

We spent two last nights at Plettenberg bay. A lovely town with beautiful beaches. On Friday morning, we did kayaking with(out) dolphins. Unfortunately we weren't lucky enough and we didn't see any dolphins or whales. However, even just kayaking in the sea was a great experience!

The last day, we visited Roberg Natural Reserve where we saw seals and enjoyed the beach for the last time during these holidays. Then the last stop in Cango Caves – very huge dripstone caves. In one Chamber, they used to organize concerts and more than two thousand visitors could enter inside! We even had a short concert: our guide, being an excellent singer, sang us a song so as we could appreciate great acoustic conditions.

Backpackers

We spent all our nights in backpackers. Having experienced just few backpackers in Europe before, I was really more than satisfied: in every backpacker there was a friendly atmosphere and all of them were very different from each other. Actually, I would say dorms in these backpackers were more comfortable than my room here in Stellenbosch… (at least there were more welcoming atmosphere than at my place here).

First backpacker in Wilderness, called Wild Farm, was situated on the top of mountain in a beautiful nature. We even could leave door of our room unlocked without having to be afraid that our stuff would be stolen (very unusual in South Africa) because as the owner told us, nobody would come there, that far from the civilisation it was.

Another backpacker in Storms River (close to Tsitsikama National Park) offered more camping experience: three persons from our group had to sleep in a tent, four of us in a nice small dwelling… The outside shower with only cold water (a bit of warm water that there was at the beginning was used by the first person taking shower…) woke me up perfectly in the morning. Also, we were in the company of animals all the time there: a sheep in front of the tent, a horse at the bar… nothing extraordinary there.

In the last backpacker in Plettenberg Bay, we had a perfect braai master Elvis who completely took charge of our braai (barbecue in Afrikaans but you never say word barbecue in South Africa).

Thus, we discovered a beautiful part of South Africa during this week off. More to discover during our longer holidays… November, June… at least two months for travelling for me (and much more for those who are not going to Cameroon in December and January).