An Honest Attempt to Understand Rugby

A few weekends ago I went with Chris to Durban and watched his rugby game. Here are some observations: There is a man laying in the fetal position with a crowd of men kicking at his head. A few minutes later, another man is hoisted up in the air by his shorts [which could not be too comfortable]. Now multiple men are smashing their heads together, taking the term "let's put our heads together" literally. And why is that man's head between that other man's legs? I then hear the other spectators saying words such as "scrum," "ruck," and "maul." Maul?! Are we mauling people now?

            I was introduced to rugby within 24 hours of arriving in South Africa [I wrote about this experience here]. I stared intently at the television screen, trying to understand why the surrounding men were cheering at what seemed to be an outward display of testosterone. Big men in small shorts, showing off their strength and prowess through pushing around other men and performing strange tasks is all I saw. I tried to relate what I saw to a sport I was a little more familiar with: American football. I am not allowed to mention that "sissy sport" out loud during this demonstration of masculinity, not wanting to taint the moment with thoughts of men wearing helmets and pads. Apparently American football is just a "watered down version of rugby"—but you have to admit when a 160kg man is running towards you, it is a scary sight, helmet or no helmet. 

            As I watched the rugby game I tried desperately to understand why this sport was so popular. I eventually started understanding bits and pieces of the game, and it became more than men just hitting each other, rolling around on the ground, throwing each other in the air. Then I started thinking, what if life was one big rugby match?

            If life was a rugby match, I could headbutt people whenever I needed them out of my way. If I couldn't see over the fence, a group of my friends would just hoist someone up by their shorts and that person could look for me. When there is something that I want to keep, all I need to do is lay in the fetal position on the ground as people kicked around my head, hoping my friends would come by and I could pass my treasure through their legs.

            If life was a rugby match, I would always be going forward but handing things to people behind me—I could run through the grocery store and throw the bread to my friend behind me. In order for a product to be made in an assembly line, we would all have to walk forward toward the packaging as we passed backwards to finish the product. When waiting to be served at a restaurant I would be forced to stare at my waitron's rear before I received my food. 

            Life would be good, because if I was just physically too tired to continue with task I can call in a replacement as I sat down for a while. Someone would even bring me some water as I watched my replacement tackle the challenging tasks for me.

            If I was angry at someone, I could use all my physical force to knock them to the ground, perhaps find my shoe in the eye of the person next to me. If I wanted to keep someone close, I could just pull their clothing towards me until there was no choice to be intimate. But, my life is ruled and regulated by a skinny man who decides if I have become too angry or too intimate. In that case, I will have to sit on a bench to ponder what I have done. When my time-out was over, I get to continue on with life pushing people out of the way and throwing my possessions behind me as I ran forward.

            Rugby is a very strange looking sport if you have never seen it before, but now I see its practical applications to every day life. I understand why this is so popular—who wouldn't want to the opportunity to give people wedgies? And at its purist sense, rugby is organized and glorious mayhem.

            Cricket on the other hand, is a whole new ballgame. Who knows how long that one will take.

Happy Freedom Day!

I need to do a better job at keeping you all abreast on South African national holidays [as I find so many of them to be really cool and meaningful]. I already missed out on wishing you a happy Human Rights Day [21 March] and Family Day [5 April] this year, and skipped over last year's Day of Reconciliation [16 December]...but today I will wish you a wonderful Freedom Day!

Freedom Day is an annual celebration of South Africa's first non-racial democratic elections of 1994. If you have any knowledge of South Africa's colorful history, you will understand the importance and enormity of this day. The apartheid regime grew out of Dutch colonization in the 1600s and immediately the suppression of the black majority [who were already living here on their own, mind you] started. Land was taken away, education was compromised, souls and bodies were beaten and the basic human rights were denied. It pains me to think about it, but it is a history that is not far from our own [American] history and something that I cannot ignore. 

The recency of all these political events astounds me. In 1984 the government finally allowed Coloureds and Indians to vote-- but this is still leaving out the majority of those who live in South Africa. As hundreds of organizations teamed together to fight this injustice, the South African apartheid government declared a national State of Emergency in 1985 in an attempt to suppress the freedom movement. In 1988 the government started looking for a way out and started working negotiations with the African National Congress [ANC], which is the current ruling party. In 1993 a non-racial constitution was adopted and came into affect on April 27, 1994. The nation cast its first democratic election. Almost 20 million South Africans voted from a population of 38 million. Nelson Mandela was elected as the first President of South Africa.

Freedom Day.

Today, our country celebrates Freedom Day to mark the liberation of our country and its people from a long period of colonialism and white minority domination - which means that we no longer have the situation in which political power is enjoyed and exercised by a minority of our population, to the exclusion of the majority. Freedom Day is not an African National Congress day, but a day for all South Africans. When South Africa was liberated both the oppressor and oppressed were liberated. We pledge "Never again would a minority government impose itself on the majority".

I find Freedom Day to be such a significant and important day to remember. I am in awe of the fact that this is something that happened in my lifetime. One of the biggest turning points in my university education was the first day of sophomore year when I watched a documentary clip of black South Africans voting on this day 16 years ago. The woman said, "it was as if God was finally blessing His people." I even reflected upon that experience when applying for this fellowship as a reason to come to South Africa-- I wanted to see these blessing first hand.

A couple weeks ago when I listened to visiting Reverend Jesse Jackson speak, he made a valid point-- we may be free, but freedom does not mean equality. We are free to walk in the same stores and free to board the same buses. But, freedom is not equality. True freedom means an emancipation from poverty, unemployment, poor education, unwarranted violence and discrimination. Poverty is a very large issue in this country, and this issue is still largely surrounding the black people who are now "free." The problem is sudden freedoms do not erase a history of unjust discrimination and it will take decades for history to start unraveling itself, generation by generation. Diligence and a daily effort to ensure this process towards true freedom is necessary. 

So on Freedom Day, South Africa takes time to remember the struggles of the not-so-distant past and  hopefully renews the pledge to wipeout racism in their country [to the best of their ability-- America is 40 years ahead with a black president and I do not believe racism has been eradicated]. But I am not belittling the work that has been done, as it has been a huge step in the right direction and I believe that the end of apartheid not only changed South Africa but sent a message to the rest of the world. I applaud what has been done, and continue to do my [little] part in making sure that these promised freedoms are not just theoretical rights but those that continue to shape and improve the life of all South Africans.

I will now step off of my soapbox. 

Development or Disaster?

Today in our projects meeting Nhlanhla brought up a case of a boy that we have been working with for years. At the age of 23, there is an outside organization that is asking for us to help them use their money for his "development." They have been working with this young man for years, but there is a problem-- things are not getting better. Let's name this boy "Z."

Z dropped out of school in grade 9. He never passed academically after grade 7, but was allowed to continue on "condolences" [South African public education.... no comment] despite the fact that he only attended 50% of his classes. Z stopped going to school so he could sell newspapers and make money.

So this organization took the initiative of paying him whatever amount of money he was earning so he would go to school but not feel he was losing out financially. Not only did he not fix his poor attendance record, Z dropped out altogether. 

Seeing how this didn't work, this organization then decided to find a way to put him in therapy and keep in touch with him by giving him a cell phone and an airtime starter pack so they could keep in touch with him. Not wanting to keep in touch with these people who keep pestering him about going to school, he threw away the airtime so he could buy a new starter pack [which gives him a new phone number]-- he kept the cell phone without having to keep in touch. Clever.

Z has been accused of rape. He has impregnated a 16-year old girl. He has been in trouble with the law multiple times... and this organization is looking for our help in giving him more money in hopes that he will use it to care for the girl and her child, and himself. When do pull out?

This is not an easy problem to solve by any means. When you pull out of the situation, it seems akin to "giving up." It sounds harsh to merely give up on someone because they have been struggling for a while, even when they are defiant to what you are offering. There is no simple answer, but everyone must get to a point in which they realize that money will not solve all problems. 

They have been spoiling Z with money, hoping that he would change through having the finances to do so. When doing this for all these years, what happens to Z when they realize their method is not working and completely pull out financially? Nhlanhla said he felt this is a recipe for disaster-- for years he has been able to be outwardly defiant to their attempts yet keep the benefits flowing. When that gets cut 100%, what will his next move be? Perhaps we will see him change for the better in acknowledgement to the mistakes he has made; or perhaps we will see him hanging from the rafters of an abandoned building. Unfortunately the harsh imagery is more likely in these situations than the aforementioned positive.

Charity work is a lot more complex than sending money. Sometimes, a financial contribution is all that you can make, but you need to take the time to ensure that you go through the proper outlets that make that money workable. Fortunately there are good non-profit organizations who know how to make that money work in the best way possible for each case [and I may be bias in saying that Thandanani definitely does but... Thandanani definitely does]. It is also sad that this story I have told of Z's rebelliousness in a refusal to go to school and living against a rape claim is not a unique story in any way [except maybe the money being given to him] in South Africa. I hear this story so much that i fear I will one day go numb to the words that once sent me into shock and fear. There is still a long way to go in here, and we need to know what it is we as individuals can do to make progress-- inefficient fueling of money is not the right answer. 

Nothing fixes a Bad Day like an Amazing Friend

Today was not the best day. In fact, as I waited in line at the post office today, right before the power went out, I considered naming today "Brittan and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." [If you understand the reference you get brownie points from me!]. My mind was just not at a happy point. 

But then I opened this box from Melissa [my neighbor and best friend for the last 15 or so years], which came just on the right day to cheer me up. No... to completely make me jump for joy in pure delight. And because of this 180-degree mood swing that she has prompted, I know I need to publicly thank her. It is not easy to quantify 15 years of friendship or mail-delivery happiness, but here is my attempt by disclosing the items of my box.

32 hair ties ["ligas" in Spanish... I don't know why I remember that]

24 packs of Reese's peanut butter cups [meaning 48 Reese's peanut butter cups!]

4 chili-covered mango lollipops... Mmm Mexican candy, how I have missed you.

1 box of "Crazy Cores" Skittles [wrapped in Winnie the Pooh wrapping paper]

1 pack of Stride gum

10 issues of Seventeen Magazine [for the kids to use for their memory boxes]

4 rolls of Scotch tape

4 sheets of stickers [including American flag stickers, flower stickers and stickers in Spanish]

2 instant bite and sting relief tube things... which I will be using on my spider bite in a few minutes

10 DVDs! Yay!

22 dollars of promised donation to the Umhlaba Wami Photography Project

1 wonderful Christmas/Birthday card in Spanish and English

I promptly shared my Reese's with others in my office, exclaiming "Happy Friday, straight from America!" and they thought the candy was divine. I am just so happy that I have friends and family caring for me back home, whose love seems to come with perfect timing. Unfortunately my mother's package that was supposed to arrive 2 months ago was eaten up by the African Mail Monster it seems, but I know it would have been great... and considering that Melissa has been my neighbor for over 1.5 decades, I know some of my mother's love is included!

Bowling in Style

Last night I went bowling with the ladies at my church. I scored 111 points, which although not impressive, if you know me then you know that is pretty darn good for me. What lead me to such a great score? My outfit, of course.

CAMPING ADVENTURE!

So as you saw before, I had plans to help in a community in Mozambique and it did not work out. My work at Thandanani is mostly done, with a few odds and ends that I am tying up here [making a book for the Jacob Zuma Educational Trust about my project (Umhlaba Wami Photography Project), compiling and captioning pictures for a book being written for Thandanani, random office duties, etc.]. Before the Thandanani director left, he encouraged me to "see a little more of Africa, travel some." Of course this is something I wanted to do, but I felt a bit guilty. I had definitely saved up the money for a trip, but I wanted to keep helping! But to be honest, after those marathon weeks where I basically slept in the office getting media materials ready for Duncan's trip and organizing the exhibit at the Natal Museum, I was ready for a change or pace. Well, after much deliberation I thought-- why not. Let's go for it. When am I going to have this opportunity again? So I am traveling around southern Africa, sleeping in a tent and being grateful that I brought my hiking boots, while also having some opportunities to help out at random wildlife reserves and communities along the way... This will truly be an adventure [oooh you know how I love that word]!

So to spare the long details, this is my plan for my weeks as a nomadic adventurer:

May 2-3: South Africa-- Start in Cape Town [will fly there the day before]. Views of Table Mountain from Table Bay. Camp on the Orange River, which is South Africa's longest river and the river that forms the border between South Africa and Namibia.

May 4-13: Namibia-- See the beautiful river valley by canoe. Namib-Naukluft National Park. Watch sunrise on the giant Sossusvlei Sand Dunes. Cross the Tropic of Capricorn. See Bushman (San) paintings. See animals in the grasslands of Etosha National Park. Craft market.

May 14-19: Botswana-- Traditional tribal dancing with Bushman (San) community. Mokoro [traditional canoe] ride and walks with the locals. Camp amongst some of the oldest Baobob trees. Sunset river "cruise" to spot some animals by the Chobe River and Chobe National Park.

May 20-21: Zimbabwe-- Victoria Falls [it is supposed to be one of the most amazing things in Africa]. It would be cool to bungy jump from the bridge that joins Zimbabwe to Zambia... but if I have already jumped the world's highest, I can probably stop. But I love white water rafting, so I may try that down the famous Zambezi River.

May 22: Botswana-- travel day ending in Palapye. 

May 23: South Africa-- travel day to Johannesburg. 

May 24-25: Swaziland-- travel through Mpumalanga. Hiking through Hlane Royal National Park.

May 26-June 2: Mozambique-- White sand beaches of Praia Do Tofo. Bazaruto Archipelago. Excursion to islands [where I camp for 2 days] on the Dhow [traditional sailing vessel of the African east coast]. Snorkel at some point? Travel through coconut plantations. Enjoy lots of beach [although it will be cold :(]. Maputo. 

June 3-6: South Africa-- Kruger National Park. Helping release animals back into the wild at Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. Fire dancing by local Shangaan people. Wildlife walk. Panorama Route [including Blyde River Canyon and Bourkes Luck Potholes] back to Johannesburg.

Of course not all of this is guaranteed as many of these things only work as weather permits... and it is becoming winter here now [as in FREEZING] so things may change. And depends on money [sad]. But this sounds like a great plan, right? I don't even mind sleeping in a tent in the wilderness/bush for 35 nights to accomplish it! I also feel I will learn a lot from this trip and I am excited to see other cultures in southern Africa... although my Zulu language ability has improved recently so maybe I should stay here to use it [I can now say. "I am sorry, I don't understand Zulu, I am learning little by little. But, my brain is small and I do not remember well."].

I am coming back to Pietermaritzburg for a week after in order to say goodbye to everyone properly. People threw a fit when I said I was leaving the end of this month, and truth be told... I am going to miss them!

My life is an adventure... even on the weekends

On Saturday morning disaster struck, and it gave me such a shock that I fled to Durban for the weekend. But this was no normal weekend, it included being tricked into entering a strip club, doing a Chinese Fire Drill-type thing in the middle of highway traffic and driving down a South African highway [terrifying], sitting in the American consular's office for 2 hours, and eating dinner and breakfast with KZN elite and Reverend Jesse Jackson. 

Yep, that pretty much sums up the weekend.

Regarding packages and letters

Just FYI: No need to send any packages and letters beyond this point. I will most likely receive the letters if you send them soon, but I wouldn't attempt packages. Juuuust in case you were thinking of sending me something, send it to my home address in California from now on. :)

Thanks!

Adventures Ahead

I have some traveling adventures ahead... and if everything gets ironed out and works at well, I will definitely be updating you. Also interesting opportunities. Stay tuned!

But if you must keep yourself occupied, look at this video again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP36i5L-SYw and then sit in awe as I do every day that an office of [currently] 19 people substantially impact the lives of 3,000+ children.
I am so blessed to here.

:::sigh:::

I am kind of sad.
I wanted to go Mozambique to help out with the community project there, but I was realizing that getting to Mozambique was both very difficult and very expensive. And I thought if it was going to be so expensive and time-consuming anyway, I might as well make stops along the way and see the bits and pieces of Swaziland and Mozambique I would be traveling through on my way. And if it didn't work altogether, just take one of those cheap tourist buses that goes around the area and see parts of the country anyway-- that way I wouldn't have to travel by myself. I spent all morning planning my African adventure.

But when I got back from my lunch break the Thandanani director called me into his office. He is leaving on an overseas trip on Monday until May 10th, and the office had to make budget cuts [aka laying people off] so many shifts are going to be made while he is gone. Meanwhile, someone is going to have to take over certain duties, such as handling all the cash that goes in and out [which is actually a lot of responsibility] and taking minutes at all the meetings. These are now my new duties to help out in the transition, along with filing, doing anything the finance chair needs, and random receptionist duties.
I am glad that I am able to help, but I was really looking forward to my trip. :(
But I should be more excited about being able to help out with an evolving organization that does great things for all these communities. I am being selfish! So this little rant is the end and from now on I will make new plans. Woo.

Busisiwe

A baby's cry echoed down the halls and into my office today. Busisiwe, round and 8 months old, was abandoned by her mother and her father said he has no way to take care of her... so he brought her to Thandanani.
I served as a carseat to Busisiwe, her name meaning "Blessed" in Zulu. We brought her to the house of the Prince family, a local family that takes in these kids for a few months while permanent places are found for them at orphanages and children's homes. They currently have 6 boys and 6 girls, all HIV positive.  Busisiwe held on to my shirt and screamed bloody murder as the family took her in to check her over, only to notice the bandage on her arm. "What's this?" Apparently her mother had fallen why carrying the baby and had hurt [possibly broken] Busisiwe's arm. Tomorrow they are taking her to the hospital to check if she is HIV positive.
As soon as my hands were freed from the baby, they were instantly occupied by the hands of little girls who wanted to hold my hand. I also had little boys who were too macho to hold my hand, but holding on to my leg wasn't above them. I love that feeling. Maybe it is because I don't get the hugs and the hand-holding like I did in the States, but the feeling of a child just slipping their hand into yours without any hesitation is almost magical. It is great to know that the first impression that I give off to a child is that of comfort and friendship-- and as I child, it is natural for them to return the feeling. It is simple and natural love.
While I was there, I saw Musa! He looked so much healthier and was walking around with a smile on his face. This family does good work! The mom was also holding a toddler who they received this morning. When you lift up her shirt all you see is her skin stretched over her back bones. HIV positive and extremely malnourished, this little girl will need a lot of TLC but I know she can make it through. The mom to this girl actually came to Thandanani a few weeks ago with the baby, saying she wanted to go back to school... we never heard from her again and were happy to see her child in the arms of this family because a child in that family had already passed away due to malnutrition. I have seen them take an incredibly starved child and turn him into a happy and plump little boy... I am incredibly grateful for the work they do. I wish there were more people like them out there.

Article in the Natal Witness

When you pick up the Natal Witness you see this heading on the front page: 

"IT'S MY WORLD. ART: PAGE 14" 

Next to it is a picture of this female I later realized was me [I forgot I had straight hair that week].

If you are interested in reading the article, please click here.

My kids are famous! :)