Mozambique!

After a wonderful time in South Africa with our equally wonderful family it was time for a little service project in Mozambique.

Mosquito nets--here we come!

A family friend works for a service organization called Care for Life . He invited us over to work on a little small business consulting. Care for Life has a really cool program where local community leaders are approached and invited to participate in a project where they receive all sorts of training and in turn train other leaders picked by the village and then go out and help the individual families of the community to set goals to make their lives better. The training and goals are varied but all revolve around health, education, home maintenance, child health care, AIDS care, and small business development. Families set goals (ex: build a latrine) and local leaders follow up on their progress. Every so often the data of their goals is gathered and reported and those who have succeeded in their goals are rewarded with little things like a shovel or mosquito nets.

Our first day was spent listening to a community meeting where a micro-credit group was being formed. It was so fascinating to discover how spoilt I have been. Everything was in Portuguese and even though French is fairly similar I only understood 50% of the conversation and I looked around me and assessed the situation. Mangy dogs running amidst the concrete houses with corrugated iron roofs. Laundry hanging next to a charcoal fire, little children with symptoms of malnutrition, flies everywhere, Rhianna blasting from a dilapidated hut, rubbish and human waste everywhere. 

Everyone looked surprisingly happy. 

This woman is selling dried fish--yum

The community leaders took us on a tour of the village so we could have an idea of what kind of businesses people have. I learned that I wasn't even capable of fathoming a poverty and lifestyle like this. People don't usually live to be older than 42 because of all of the diseases and people live on less than $3.00 a day to feed their families in a country where a box of cereal costs $4.00. Life has to become simple. A lot of ambitions are smothered in the everyday practicalities of a system that doesn't allow for much growth.

That was my first day in a developing country.

Miracles in Middleburg

Middleburg is aptly named because it is in the middle of nowhere. This area of the Karoo is known for its sheep farming, windmills, and amazing food.

My dad has been doing some family history and found that I have a lot of family in this region--hence my love of sheep (what?).

When we arrived, we checked out the local cemetery, which had been destroyed by a local herd of cows. Many of the headstones had been pushed over and were thus impossible to read. We did find some family tombstones though! It was so interesting to see and be in the place where they were from and image what life must have been like for them.

To get the full experience, we stayed in the old family farmhouse which has been sold and turned into a B&B. It was so unreal to walk and sleep in the same house that ancestors lived in!

Now comes the miracle part:

Someone my dad and I really wanted to learn about was my great-grandfather. He died when my grandmother was very young, so we literally know nothing about him aside from his birth, marriage, and death certificates. When we went to the cemetary we couldn't find his tomb (it had probably been trampled by a cow or something=TIA). We even went to the local health clinic to try and figure out what part of the cemetary he was in--nothing. 

We called the local museum throughout the week but no one answered and the time we stopped by it was closed!

Our very last day in Middleburg we decided to try going past the museum one last time. We prayed and then went over. It was open! The museum staff tried to help us, but didn't find anything.  While my dad was talking to her, I had the word "bible" come to mind. I walked to a back room, and ignoring the "please do not touch" signs, started leafing through a stack of books on a table.  The second book I picked up was an old Dutch bible with a dedication written on the inside cover to my great grandfather from his students!!!! This led to great excitement, phone calls, and a trip to the local high school where he used to teach. 

When we arrived, we explained that we were looking for information about the school in the 1930's. The headmistress looked very surprised, and hurried back into her office. She came out holding a crumbling 1936 school almanac. She handed it to us and said, "I don't know why, but this morning I felt like I needed to clean out some drawers, I found this and put it to the side."

When my dad opened the book, we saw a picture of all of the teachers and a caption with my great grandfather's name! There was even a little bio about him, what he taught. Wow. My grandmother didn't even have a picture of her father! 

So in short, family history is fun. And you should never listen to do not touch signs....sometimes. 

5 best South African foods

Being in South Africa, I feel like a little kid and all of my understanding of proper nutrition goes out the window.

1. Nougat...even if the package says it is French, it's not, too much candied fruit.

2. Biltong. Imagine super thinly sliced beef jerky that actually tastes good. 

3. Stoney's ginger beer. Like ginger ale but 100x's better

4. Rusks. Bars of deliciousness that you dip in your Rooibos tea

5. Pies. Most best things in life are inspired by England.

So the normal technique is to get everything at the same time and take alternating bites/sips until you don't like any of them anymore. Then wait a few hours and repeat. Justify the unhealthiness by thinking of all the potential mad get aways you might have to make from lions. You never know, it could happen. I'm probably going to make a blog about clean eating after my trip because I now know the ins and outs of the most addicting junk food. 

Wors and mielie pap

Bon appétit!

Decay

Something that is impossible to ignore in South Africa is the influence of decay on the way of life.

I'm no expert on social issues, but to understand some of the challenges in South Africa as well as the rest of Africa it's important to understand the complexity of historical events as well as cultural differences. So here is my opinion about what has happened from my observations:

Basically, in the mid 90's the native African people declared their independence from the European Africans and tried to get rid of as many things from the old system as possible to start a new era for South Africa. This movement changed and challenged the quality of life for everyone, black and white. In the zealous effort to give equal opportunities to the black Africans, many farms and jobs were re-distributed, and a huge chaos ensued as inexperienced or uneducated people were put into positions that they were not prepared for. Things are getting better now, but there is still an issue with poorly implemented government programs, corruption, and poverty.

For example, my aunty had a farm that was given back to the people of that area:

Can you believe that 30 years ago this was alfalfa fields with a thousand peach trees and a river?

It was flabbergasting to see how much work went into making a barren place beautiful and fruitful, and how quickly it went back to nature.  

These beautiful ladies are cooking in what used to be a garage. The farm house is uninhabited, and the roofing and other precious parts have been dissembled to create more traditional huts.

Another thing that gets used up quickly with neglect is money.

This is the South African president's house: Nkandla

He used 28 million rand (about 2.5 million dollars) of state funds to build a fancy hut. Taxpayers are not amused, and we were not impressed with his choice of habitation. If I had embezzled 2 million dollars, my house would be a lot cooler. 

So many people are on social welfare programs and very few people are paying taxes, so the way things are going is not at all sustainable. Pot holes and power outages are common and the need for some bright, creative people will be important to be able to help the social progress become real growth for the most beautiful country ever. 

South Africa round II

I could hardly believe how gorgeous everything was in South Africa! My dad and I were surprised by the feeling of great attachment to a country that he left behind so long ago and that I barely know.

Note the beautiful jacaranda trees in full bloom  

Spring was beautiful in Natal, but still a little chilly.

Man down!

And Africa is still Africa.....

Yes...that is a soccer field 

This visit was primarily to learn more about my family's ancestors and to get to spend time with all the cousins, aunties and uncles that I don't know very well.

Because we have so many people that we love, we didn't do very many touristy things or exploring, but spent most of the time with our loved ones...and enjoying the South African cuisine.

Our first stop was to Howick and Wartburg,
two very small farming communities by Pietermaritzburg (Cry the Beloved Country anyone?). We got to spend a lot of time with one of my more elderly aunties (note: in South African culture an Aunty can be anyone from your mom's friend to your literal aunt). She told us so many funny stories about her family as well as the difficulties they faced growing up in an orphanage.

The most important thing I learned from that visit was the importance of families staying in close contact and investing time in family relationships. It's so easy to become distant and lose the richness of a shared heritage. Not going to lie, sitting for a week hearing my auntie tell stories took some creative questions to keep a conversation flowing, and I may have fallen asleep a few times--but it was so interesting to learn about what was important to her and to feel a kinship and love for her.

There's nothing better than the power of the family

The next adventure involves an airplane

Okay, so, where am I going next?

hint: it starts with an "A" and ends with "frica"

Yes! I'm going back to South Africa to do some family history!


Then, next to Mozambique to work on a community development project with Care for Life to help develop a business model for training the participants to build their own small business.

I can't wait!

Home

A few weeks ago I was in the most beautiful place on earth:

Annecy, France

It's right by Switzerland and it is incredible! 

What was I doing there? 

I was serving as a full time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I had the time of my life.

Basically,  I was a volunteer 24/7 inviting people to learn more about the teachings of Jesus Christ, giving community service, and teaching those who were interested more about how to improve their relationship with God. Every day, from 11:00-9:00 I and my companion (24/7 assigned teaching partner) would plan out to go teach, serve, invite, and organize events. 

It was infinitely cooler than any study abroad. First of all because it lasted for 18 months, and secondly because our purpose was to try and really be disciples of Jesus Christ and invite others to do the same. 

Because I was constantly inviting everyone I saw,  I got to meet so many different people, from all cultures, religion and walks of life. From the wealthy aristocrat to the inebriated homeless person, I talked to them all. I talked to people at work, in their homes, on the street, on the bus, at stoplights. Sounds totally nuts, right? I learned that I have really lived in a bubble my whole life. Everyone around me was like me, had dreams, wanted answers to their questions--and it was so enriching to talk to them. Even if they weren't interested in our missionary message, I really respect and love those thousands of people I talked to over those 18 months. Before going on mission, I don't think I had ever talked to anyone I didn't know (well, other than saying "thank you" at restaurants or at the grocery checkout)! 

18 months of walking = dead Clarks

I think the thing that surprised me the most was that I love talking to strangers, despite the occasional odd encounter. 

It was hard because I had to be very patient with myself learning how to be a better friend, and gaining socializing skills...still working on it actually ;D

Now I'm back. Time for some different adventures! I'll be doing some flash back moments to share some of the things I learned and fun experiences I had.

Nothing makes a conversation starter more awkward than a large board. Definitely will have to use it more often.

Translation: You are here. Why?