Today was our first day working at Pop Up. There are many groups from our squad helping in different ways, like teaching adult classes, working in the kitchen, and working at the daycare. My group is part of a ministry team that will be doing various things during the remainder of our time here.
We started the day off with a humbling task: taking inventory. In South Africa there is a yearly financial inventory needed for organizations and a few of us had to go through the each building and check everything off a list. The inefficiency to the system was frustrating and there was a lot we were not able to do, but it was a good lesson of humility and trusting that we are in the right place to serve and learn.
Afterward, I helped a couple of my teammates teach an adult computer class and showed unemployed African adults how to use Microsoft Word. That was a lot of fun and for me and cool to see how Pop Up offers programs to educate disadvantaged adults in the nearby community. There are also classes for sewing, hospitality, English, and math. They last up to three months and some adults will travel hours everyday to participate.
Yesterday we went to a black church service and it was awesome. Everyone danced passionately to rhythmic worship and it was a cool way to express freedom at church. After that we went to the largest zoo in South Africa. It had a lot of African animals and the habitats were a lot more authentic feeling than a normal zoo in the US, but I am still hoping to have a safari experience in the next few months.
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So far I have only been in South Africa for a week, but we still have another six weeks here. Here are a few things I have observed that I thought you might enjoy:
- English is very widely spoken here, even more than Afrikaans and tribal languages. This is because of globalization and business. Some words are very different from our English, and my favorite is “robot” which means traffic light.
- Speaking of traffic, everyone drives on the opposite side of the road. This was weird to get used to again, especially for looking the opposite way when you cross onramps and streets.
- There’s no risk of malaria here, so I don’t have to worry about taking meds just yet. And apparently most tap water is safe to drink in urban South Africa. Hopefully that’s not why I had diarrhea this weekend. (Was that too much info?)
- So far we’ve been in lower income, black communities and we are just about the only white people. This isn’t a place with too many white tourists and it’s easy to see hostility from people on the street when they look at us and talk to us. For example, the other day I bought some groceries and the check lady threw the bag toward me. (For anyone concerned, there isn’t any added danger from this.)
- By the way, it isn’t racist to use the words black and white down here. (You can’t really use the term “Africans” to define race when you’re in Africa.) This was hard for me to get used to at first, and I even found myself trying to be respectful by referring to black people as “African Americans.” Then I had to laugh at myself when I realized I wasn’t in America anymore.
- I’m learning how to play rugby and loving the differences from American football. It is a totally different sport and rugby players may seem tougher for not wearing pads, but there are rules in place that prevent tough hits and contact.
- Just about every man wears pants and dress shoes here, even the poor people on the street. If someone is wearing shorts, they are seen as a little boy. (I am so glad I brought three pairs of pants.)
- The men shake hands by gripping lightly and snapping thumbs against each other. (Not going to lie, I feel pretty cool when I meet someone and do it.)
- Grocery stores are definitely one of my favorite ways to experience culture. Lots of food are different and even the nice markets have delis with interesting things like ox liver, chicken neck, chicken feet, and other meats I can’t recognize.
- Like other places in the third world, eggs are not refrigerated and you can buy “long shelf life” milk that is room temperature. There is also less concern for cross contamination: the butcher at the market doesn’t wear gloves and hands you the same bag that touches the raw meat.
- After buying your groceries (and touching your meat) you bring your unsliced bread loaves to a bread-slicing machine and feed them through by hand. (All of these food facts are for my food-loving and germ-hating sister, Larissa.)
- Ox tail and monkey gland are common food flavorings as well. (I also bought some “biltong” flavored crackers and learned that word comes from the Afrikaan words for butt and tongue.) On the street you can buy chicken foot kebabs, intestines, and fried worms. Usually I’m pretty hardcore with street food, but I’m exercising a lot more caution with the sanitary conditions here.
- People also try to make an income by selling hand bagged Cheetos and other snacks on the curbside. You can buy these bags in bulk up to 3 kilograms that are a few feet long and the size of a small child.
- Berg is a brand of processed cheese. (I was pretty excited when I saw this.)
- The power goes out a lot here, especially at night, so it’s nice to have a good headlamp. Today a traffic light went out before we crossed the street and it was a pretty sketchy crossing. It was interesting to see all of the cars self-govern their right of way.
- Speaking of power, the outlets used here are super cartoonish and look like they belong on a kids playset. I bought an electrical converter from the cheap corner store, but it is a ghetto setup that falls out all the time and sparks when you plug it in. (Personal goal: not to fry any electronics during the year.)
- The currency in South Africa is the rand, and one dollar is worth eight rand. Other countries in southern Africa use American dollar bills, but not coins so they don’t give change back. I’ve heard they try to give candy in place of coins there.
- Overall, I love Africa so far and want to come back someday. The long distance bus systems are really nice and similar to South America. Travelling through Africa is definitely both easier and safer than I originally thought.
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Here’s the plan for the rest of the week:
My group is going to try and finish up the inventory tomorrow and then visit Bagdhad, the nearby slum. As far as I know, we are going to pick up garbage and talk to some of the people that live there. Also, on Wednesday night, some of us are going to a nearby prison with Russell to visit a cell group that he sees every week.
On Saturday we are planning a street ministry event with music and dancing in the middle of the city. The tentative plan for next week is spend time at a college and three different orphanages and go to Passion, a Christian conference that will be in the city. These plans are probably going to change, but I wanted to share what I know so far. I will keep you posted!
Thank you everyone for reading and for your prayers! 🙂
