JOURNEYS & REFLECTIONS
On The Road - June 11
Back in the USA
After a grueling 26 hour day of travel we arrived at JFK safely. The last entry will just give you enough detail to help make sense of the pictures we are downloading.
Our final leg of the journey took us along the Garden Route following the Indian Ocean. We spent a morning on the beach at Jeffries Bay collecting shells. The next day we went to an ostrich farm in Oudshoorn and a wild life game park for cats and crocs. All of the students decided to pet a cheetah, one of the fastest predators on the veldt. A long day of driving brought us safely into Capetown where we stayed at a Lutheran Youth Center near the Cape Flats.
Students and staff took the journey to Robben Island. A former political prisoner guided the students and talked candidly about the harsh experiences as a prisoner under apartheid. When the bus broke down at the lime pit everyone had to disembark and walk back across the island to the cell-blocks. The guide became quite emotional as he told our students that he hadn’t thought he would ever have to take that walk back to his cell-block again. Our students learned so much that day.
We also visited the main museum complex in Capetown and saw the National Art Museum, which provided a history of the incorporation of art by black artists in an apartheid society. Several students also visited the Jewish Museum where stained glass art by Marc Chagall was on exhibit.
Our last full day in Capetown included a walk in the botanical gardens. Those few who ventured in were rewarded with a stunning African stone sculpture garden that was spread over several acres. This garden is quite large and the paths meander beneath the Capetown mountains. We also toured the Groot Constantia Winery which is where the first Cape governor built his home in 1652. History and good wine were shared. What more could the two directors of the program ask for! The tour was exceptional and we found out that typically the best South African wines don’t get shipped to the US. Ask us about cork production, or about competition and the expense of long necked bottles, or about cellar spiders, or about the fermentation process.
Our last day was spent at two job-training sites, Zenzele and Learn to Earn, where we saw how people from the Cape Flats are able to learn new job skills to set up their own businesses. We ended our morning at Crossroads where we had a Xhosa lunch. Pumpkin, spinach, cabbage, beans, peas, potatoes, chicken, lamb, all skillfully prepared in new ways and with new flavors. The Xhosa women at Masande are excellent cooks. Homemade ginger beer and steamed bread completed the meal. It was exceptional.
Then it was off to the airport where we spent 17 hours in the air with a stop in Senegal.
Home safely with a bit of culture shock and a lot of jet lag. Always good to be home, but we left a chunk of our hearts back in South Africa. Thank you Rina and the entire Edendale staff. You’re the best!
Go well, stay well.
Susan and Karen
