Connected

Gee, I’ve been looking through my journal, which surprisingly I have actually kept, to see what I’ve been doing since my last post, and it seems like soooooo much! I guess the easiest way to record it is in chronological order as boring and as uninventive as that might be. You’ll also forgive me of course if I seem a little rushed but the beach is calling!

After our initial orientation day I had a few days off to relax and gather up a few things so I finalised the set up of my phone and signed up for internet which finally arrived yesterday much to the delight of many of the folk in the Bantry! I also got to play some guitar which was such a good thing…we even set up an improvised drum set to accompany, comprising of a pan, a beer bottle, a wooden spoon and a knife! I love the spontaneous things like that which happen here. Everyone has their own unique style which makes this place so fun to be in, for example, yesterday I watched a Swedish guy doing the most amazing skipping I’ve ever seen and there are American guys who can slam dunk! It’s so fun to be a part of.

Being part of such a diverse group of people means that there’s always something happening. We’ve been to a South African cinema where the audience don’t sit in silence but get really involved in the film, shouting at the screen, clapping their hands, screaming and rolling around in laughter. It was definitely experience and we’re going back again tonight, I guess it’s the equivalent of Crazy Tuesday only it’s on a Wednesday, it only costs like £1.50! We also went on a city tour on Friday to see a bit more of Port Elizabeth and to find out where everything is situated. We went to the harbour and the fortress but the most moving and striking part of the tour was the visit to New Brighton township. After driving past the newly built Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium which cost millions we were hit with houses that would barely represent a shed at home…and they were everywhere! I’ve seen some pretty poor areas in the past, especially in Kenya, but this was particularly striking I think because it was set in contrast to the relative wealth of other parts of the city. And amongst the open sewers and the litter strewn streets was the Red Location Museum. This part of the trip was equally as moving as it tracked part of the history of apartheid South Africa, in particular the massacre at Uitenhage which you should google and be amazed and appalled. I guess it only hit home on Friday that this is actually a country not so dissimilar to our own in terms of its past.

On a brighter note the rest of the weekend was very enjoyable. We enjoyed the beach day organised by the university with several team games and some beach soccer which for once didn’t get over competitive! We also discovered one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen on a beach and it’s going to be hard to explain but I’ll try. So it’s like a deep pool on the beach but at one side of it there’s an ocean wall which the waves crash over, so you can lean on this wall and let the waves break over your head, it’s pretty sweet! We also got fed a traditional Afrikaans stew, not much unlike the Irish version, so needless to say I had seconds! The downside to this was that the back of my legs got an absolute torching and I spent the next few days looking like a lobster. That night we had a traditional South African braai or inother words a barbeque…the sheep liver was particularly interesting! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgH4ktFr9TQ

Sunday brought about it’s early start as I headed to church for eight. I’m beginning to like this little venture though as it always entails a walk back along the beach…and who can argue with a Sunday morning stroll along the beach! I spent the afternoon just chilling and napping before heading to the Livewire church on campus. This was amazing! Anybody who has been to Summer Madness or likewise event will have an idea of what this was like…only it was African! Everyone was so free and open in their praise and worship and their was a real sense of God’s presence amongst the congregation. I think you can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISrQr4EKgiU

Spent that evening having the traditional Sunday night spread only with pizza and dancing the rest of the night away at the jazz club! Sundays are my absolute favourite day here! Actually on that note I want to share a short story with you. We were walking home from the beach on Saturday when we were approached by a man who claimed he needed money for his kids. We’ve been told to try and ignore these people which is extremely difficult but we had no cash on us anyways. The man kept persisting though and following us so I told him we had no money but that I would pray with him. From the man’s instant reaction I could tell that this meant more to him than any money could, and so we prayed in the middle of that Port Elizabeth street. It was so humbling to see how this man who seemingly had nothing put so much faith in God to provide over any circumstances!

And school? Last week we went on a PGCE orientation event which was good to meet our classmates and to get an idea of what we would be studying over the course of our stay in PE. The venue for this event though was absolutely spectacular! Situated about 8km west of Port Elizabeth the conference centre was situated on a rocky coastline with rolling waves and shimmering sunshine. Here it was so evident to see God’s creation in action! Was strange to think though that the next point of contact from South Africa is Antarctica…you wouldn’t think it from the weather! I’ll be studying modules in inclusive education, educational thought and life orientation, which is basically a combination of PDMU and LLW. So far the classes have been great with the lecturers really engaging with the students and the students contributing to lively discussion. Maybe this is because they are post graduate students or perhaps it is the South African way of education that students are more willing to contribute to their own education. My classes start at 8.30am every day but this isn’t too much of an issue as I’m finished by lunch time so I can go home and enjoy the rest of my day on the beach, as I did half way through the writing of this. The waves are so powerful here. Yesterday we enjoyed 6-7ft waves and some nice body surfing. The beach is also a great place to meet some of the local people and to kick some rugby ball with them or have a go at skim boarding.

I think that’s all for now! No wait I forgot the varsity cup rugby and how could I? The stadium on campus was very lively on Monday afternoon as the college rugby team, the Madibaz (Dolphins) took on the Matties and got hammered 68-20! But the atmosphere, the colour and the banter made it an experience to be enjoyed. I think varsity sport should be like this at home where everybody gets involved and above all has a bit of banter! Now I think that’s it. I got elected to deputy president of the exec yesterday without a single vote being cast and I look forward to fulfilling my duties in that role during the incoming year. So until the next time,

God bless

Peace

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