Last update before bed

Not gonna lie, I really like blogging.  I can tell everyone what I'm up to, and not feel creepy like all you Twitter-fiends.  Anyway, as you can see if you look to the right, I have made some Picasa albums with all of my photos of my trip thus far, so feel free to look.  I hope you all enjoy them.

On a side note, we played Scrabble tonight, and after round 5, I was down 50 points to the player in 2nd, and by round 8 I ended up tying for the win.  Woohoo!!!

On another side note, I haven't played Scrabble since sophomore year when I played Native American Scrabble.  I wish I'd brought my headdress that I made for that game here so I could wear it while I play.

I work at an NGO...

We have decided that, as a group, this is the phrase that best describes our adventures here.  Whenever a project you are working on gets dropped, changed, or forgotten about, only to be restarted, changed again, or remembered aft the most inopportune time, this phrase is what you say to calm your nerves.  I’ll use today as an example, haha:

8:45:00 am.  So, despite the past few days’ welcome of new found direction and hope, we got to work today to discover that now they wanted us to put our project on hold while we worked on a side project.  Without going into any details, it will take at least a week, perhaps two, to complete this project.  As we are already on a time crunch, with only six and a half weeks remaining, this is unwelcome news.  Oh well, we were told to be prepared to wear many “hats” when we took on this jobs, and if anyone knows me they know that I love hats.

10:00am.  We have been approached again and our project is back on!  Woohoo!  It even sounds like we can get started tomorrow or Friday on actually going out to the townships and documenting what we see.  Once again, excitement is in the air, and a sense of purpose has been attained.  Matt and I have begun the first wave of our project, which is to help Ikamva become more organized.  As we go through each township and site, we will document its location and then gather all the files regarding that site to keep them all in one safe, organized place.  I’m sure Brianna is rolling her eyes at the thought of me being organized, but I promise, it’s true!  We are on a mission to get them in gear, and get them able to expand their portfolio!  Do, or do not, there is no try!  And we will do this!  Thank you!

So, today’s example had a happy ending.  As Matt and I can attest, every other day thus far, has not.  But, what can you do?  Just gotta remind yourself that you are here to help them make themselves better, and roll with it.  As I said, Helen Lieberman advised Matt and I to be able to wear “many hats” and thus far we have the hat hair to prove we can.

On a less work related note, we bought rugby tickets today.  Rugby is, apparently, the sport of choice in South Africa (right ahead of cricket and soccer, er, futbol).  ESPN, oh how I miss you.  Can someone please tell me any, and I mean ANY, news about ND Football, Arkansas Football, or the Carolina Panthers?  Hell, I’ll even accept some Michigan State news at this point.  So long as it doesn’t mention a whicket, scrum, or red card.

That aside, we are ecstatic to go to the match.  It will pit the British-Irish Lions (their all-start squad, ie:  best players from the two countries) against the South Africa Springboks (the national team).  Dag and I will be wearing Springbok jerseys and waving a flag as we do not wish to die.  Their fans are like soccer hooligans, except without any of their charm. 

Tomorrow, Matt and I are scheduled to meet with Helen again to discuss actually going back out to the townships on Friday to start documenting our work.  The sooner we get out there, the better.  We’ve calculated it out and we only have 6 more weeks left of work (we’re missing next Tuesday because it’s a national holiday and two days later on in June for our Safari).  Don’t worry everyone, there will be more safari information coming soon, just as soon as we book it.

Last, but not least, I downloaded a program called Picasa.  It is a photo-share program made by Google, so it should allow me to share the pictures I’ve been taken straight through my site, for those of you who don’t have facebook (ie; parents, girlfriend’s parents, relatives, rando creepers who use StumbleUpon and find my blog and are now hooked, etc.).  As soon as I get this program sorted out, I’ll let you know and you can start viewing my pics to your heart’s delight.  Keep reading, everyone, things are about to get interesting.

My week thus far...

Monday was a pretty interesting day.  Matt and I finally got to speak with Greg Milne, the New York City-based attorney whom we are working with on this project.  We have been trying to contact him fervently since last Thursday, but hadn’t heard from him even the weeks before getting here to Cape Town.  Getting to talk to him gave us some scope of our project, as well as what was expected of us.  It was nice to find out that we weren’t expected to reinvent the wheel, but to more lay the foundation (and what a foundation this needs!) for future lawyers to come in and work with Ikamva on the properties.  Even still, we are still a bit shaky on why exactly Ikamva Labantu wants “ownership” of the properties, but I’m sure that this will be made clear in due time.

On Tuesday, we came to work with great resolve and excitement to actually get started on our project.  We had a plan, an understanding, a purpose, and after the short while we’ve been here aimlessly wandering, it feels great.  We are now doubly excited about working on this project, and seeing how it will help Ikamva going forward in its goal of aiding and assisting the peoples of the Cape Town townships as they move forward in an ever-changing globalized world.

Last night, we all attended a dinner with Fr. Ollie Williams.  It was a lot of fun.  Despite not having the appropriate shoes (only Merrels, which are NOT business attire, haha), I dressed to impress in one of my suits (after originally planning to wear only a sports coat and jeans; I’m glad I changed my mind).  It was really fun event.  We got to meet many of the area’s leaders in various fields (journalism, psychology, theology, business, etc.) and speak with them in a fun manner.  There was lots of wine, which some of us enjoyed too much (not me, but Mike had a good time, haha).

There was also a live performance at the get together.  It was a group called MPHO (named after one of the members, Mpho).  It consisted of four guys from Zibabwe, while the guitarist was from the DRC.  They were really good.  They sang a mix of traditional tunes with gospel aspects.  I enjoyed them a great deal.

We met a man there named Leonard (or Len) who had a very interesting story on how he hurt his back.  Len is an investigative journalist, and quite the joker.  I did manage to get a chuckle out of him when he told me that he had a bad surgery that messed up his back , and that his doctor now told him to do back exercises twice a week.  I told him that it sounded like his doctor sounded like his wife:  breaking his back and then ordering him around.  As I said, he got a good laugh out of it.  Anyway, it was interesting hearing how exactly he hurt his back.  Apparently, he had a watch that was giving him an allergic reaction.  His doctor told him that he would give him a shot that would stop the reaction.  Unfortunately, the doctor injected the serum into a vain, which then traveled to his spine, and ruined two of his vertebra.  If only the man had gotten a new watch instead.  

Such an amazing weekend.

Hello everyone.  Oh my gosh!  He's alive!  Yes, yes, I know that I haven't posted in awhile, but rest assured, I have survived!  Barely, haha, and not without a few scrapes and bruises.  Scrapes, you say?  And bruises?  Will, what have you been doing?  Well, loyal readers, I have been doing much.  First, I would like to mention that I made enchiladas on Friday night.  Yes, I came all the way to Cape Town, South Africa, only to make enchiladas.  Oh, did I mention I used ostrich-meat?  Oh, well, I did.  So there.  That African enough for ya?  I thought so.  So yes, I made ostrich-enchiladas.  According to all of my friends, they were amazing, as they were devoured.  I never really got to try one, I was too busy stuffing myself with Suvrat's chicken curry.  Mmmm.

Anyway, after had all ingested everything there was to be had from our smorgasbord (chicken-enchiladas, ostrich-enchiladas, chicken curry, spanish rice, nachos), we all decided, hey, let's go to a bar!  Our first stop was Perseverance Tavern, the oldest tavern/bar in Cape Town.  It is conveniently located about five minutes walk from our Mall/Apartments.  Convenient.  Well, we had a few Castles and Hansas at ol' Percy's, when we decided to take a trip to Long Street, the hot spot in Cape Town.  Dag and I got quite close on this journey, as I had to sit on his lap.  He didn't even buy me a drink first.  Bad date.

Well, after we got to Long Street, we made our way to the Dubliner at Kennedy's.  Yes, we went all the way to South Africa, only to go to a very American/Irish-inspired bar.  It was a blast.  Lots of Oasis, Springsteen, some Lady GaGa for good measure.  Anyway, we had a blast.  I actually had a man tell me, and I quote, "you are incredibly sexy, may I squeeze by you to get to the bar?"  I can honestly say I have never thought of saying to another man, "you're hot" as a way of by-passing them to make my way to the land of milk and liquor.  Good show man.  No worries, Brianna, I did not give him my phone number.

The following morning, Mike had the brilliant idea to climb Table Mountain.  Brilliant.  Had we been to a bar the night before?  Who can remember!  Well, we drove up to the base of the mountain, and began to make our ascent.  A good distance up the trail, the festivities from the night before began to take their toll on me.  Suvrat also did not feel like climbing any further, so the two of us stopped there, set up camp, and are now living a life of sheep herding hermits.  Or that was our plan, but we luckily weren't too far away from a cable car that took us all the way up the mountain.  The two of us decided this was a better mode of transportation, so we took it to the top.  I promise, I will scale that mountain before I leave South Africa.  It has been warned.

After we go to the top, Suvrat was hungry so we went into the cafe.  As I was standing in line, I felt some bloke brush up against me and, in an English-accent, say "I'm bloody hungry."  I looked to my left and couldn't believe it.  Luke, one of the other interns who had gone and left us in his dust, had suddenly made it up the mountain.  He did it in like 1 hour and 45 minutes.  Maybe!  Sheesh!  Luke is now known as "the most interesting man in the world, ever."  Someday, I will start another blog, retelling the events that I have seen this summer, the works of this "mimitwe".  Until then, just know that Luke is an interesting guy.

Well, we hung out at the top of Table Mountain for a good while, then all went back down the mountain to relax for a bit.  We headed out later that night to go down to the V&A Waterfront to do a little shopping.  While we were there, we saw a few street performers.  They were amazing.  I took some pics, but my camera was being weird and didn't capture the experience very well.  Oh well.

This morning, we were supposed to go to a local township mass in Guguletu, which happens to be one of the townships that I'm working in.  Unfortunately, Collin and I overslept.  We heard a knock at the door at 8:40am, yelled we're getting ready, and then heard nothing else.  Apparently Matt heard us say "go away" and they left.  We both went back to sleep.  For four hours.  I feel so much better.  Luckily, there will be other township masses for us to go to in Guguletu so I don't feel so bad sleeping.

As I missed the township mass, my big event for the day was going to the Groot Constantia Winery with Collin, Tara, Matt, Mike, and Dag.  It is the oldest winery in South Africa, as well as the New World (as our tour guide told us).  It was beautiful.  The rolling fields of grapes, greenery everywhere, the architecture.  Simply stunning.  I took many pictures here, and hopefully will be able to get them onto Facebook soon (as of now, it is not letting me).  Don't worry tho, you will get to see the photos at some point.  Anyway, we went on a tour of the place and then had a picnic afterwards.  It was a really amazing.  We're going to go back again, so that Luke and Suvrat can see it.  

I'm now exhausted.  Good night, loyal readers.

First real day of work

Hey dudes and dudettes.  So, today was my first "official" day at Ikamva Labantu, and it was a lot of fun.  As the day wore on, Matt's and my project became more and more clear, and more and more amazing.  We are now working with these centres within each township that works as the meeting ground for the area, as a sort of family friendly locale where everyone can enjoy the space and it brings together a feeling of community.  Tomorrow, Matt and I are heading out to the townships for the first time, so expect lots of pictures to be posted.  Also, pictures were taken of us today while at Ikamva that will be used on the Notre Dame MicroVenturing website.  I'll let everyone know when they can check out the website, and see how stylish I look while at work.  That's all guys, I'm exhausted.  Good night, and good luck.

*drum roll*

Hey everyone.  So today I started my first day at Ikamva Labuntu, a South Africa non-profit organization that was started by Ms Helen Lieberman.  I demand that anyone who reads my blog to now go and Google her, as she is quite possibly one of the most amazing women I have ever met in my life.  Now that you've Googled her, I'm sure you're wondering what I could possibly be doing with her.  Well, here goes.  I'll be working hands on with her in the field of property evaluation.  Due to my not wanting to disclose anything personal or confidential, I will leave it at that.  However, the fact that I am getting to work hands on with such an amazing, influential person (seriously, I mean it, GOOGLE HER) is such a honor and an invigorating experience.  You can ask Brianna, I'm not sure if I've ever used so many exclamation points in my life as when I was telling her about my role.  This is the reason why I went to Notre Dame.  I came from a poor area, and I want to help people.  I need to do this, and it feels GREAT.  This is what drove me to do MicroVenturing, and what then drove me to apply and then accept this internship.  Words cannot express the exuberance I feel within myself over this opportunity.  For the first time in a long while, I am excited to work, I am pumped to wake up early, I am pumped to be part of something.  I'm sorry that I'm not able to share the same level of pumped-ness within this blog post as I did with Brianna earlier, but if I could, I think everyone that reads it would be just as pumped and energized as me.  I need to crash, haha.  Good night everyone.  Totsien.

Have you ever seen a penguin come to tea...

Hello, chaps.  Today was an interesting day, to say the least.  I can prove that yes, there are penguins in Africa, just look at the pictures I placed on facebook.  For those of you viewing this without facebook, I will try to find another, simpler way to share photos (flickr, photoshare, etc.) this weekend in my free time.  Not that I don't have free time right now; I don't start my internship until this Wednesday (6/3) apparently.  Three day week, FTW!

Anyway, are BHOG (big hairy obnoxious goal, fyi) for the day was to head out to Simon's Town, which is south of Cape Town, about mid-way between CT and the Cape of Good Hope.  I think we will try and visit the Cape of Good Hope this weekend, as it is only around an hour and a half away.  Anyway, we visited Simon's Town with the single intent of seeing penguins.  We saw them.  Lots of them.  They were awesome.  Awesome enough that I apparently took 74 pictures of them, and one movie.  Not all the pictures were good, however; apparently I had my camera set on "snow photos" setting at first, lame.  But, as I said, I took 74, so some of them have to be good right?  Law of averages, and all that?

After we saw the penguins (and after Dag got nipped for trying to pet one; silly Dag), we had dinner in Simon's Town at a local seafood restaurant.  We were originally going to eat at the Salty Sea Dog (Salty Balls anyone?), but instead chose the one we ate at (don't remember the name).  I ate hake and calamari.  It was really good, actually.  I guess I technically ate "fish and chips", although it wasn't specifically called that, but a rose by any other name would taste just as powdery (inside joke, that I will explain later someday over a draft of Castle Lager perhaps).  

Well, that's pretty much it for my day, I guess.  Apparently, Melissa is taking us on one last adventure tomorrow because three of us are still not working, so hopefully I'll have more good stories then.  G'night everyone!