In the meantime, the rest of us are playing with Holden and trying to tie up all loose ends that come with moving away from a home they’ve built over the past 4 years. This includes not only canceling cable and closing gym memberships, but also saying goodbye to dear friends, to the woman who helps keep the house, and the children they’ve connected with through a big-brother big-sister type organization over here. It has become very clear to me how involved Lisa, Chris and Holden have been in their community, and the outpouring of support from all over the world speaks volumes to their generous natures and magnetic personalities. Thanks so much to everyone!

I’ll include a few photos from these past weeks. A couple days ago Andrew, Chris’ brother, arrived to join the crew so that’s who the new face is.

I’m back in Cape Town with my sister and her family, which is bittersweet. I love being here and getting to see this family I hold so dear, but the trip was prompted by misfortune. At the end of October, my brother-in-law Chris was in a terrible scooter accident, which had him in Intensive Care for weeks. It was very much a life or death situation, and we’re so thankful he survived! Just a week ago he was transferred to a rehab hospital, where they are doing physical and occupational therapy for broken bones in his leg, clavicle and face, as well as a traumatic brain injury. Meanwhile, my sister Lisa is running the house and preparing to move her family home, taking care of her 1.5 year old son Holden, all while 5 months pregnant. The two of them are such inspirational role models, with different but equal challenges; it’s an honor to get to help however I can.

Chris can speak, eat, and now even stand on his own (for brief periods), and his long term memory is solid. He has trouble with vision, occasional confusion, and his short term memory is less reliable. He has many of the same characteristics we all know and love, as well as new traits we will continue to learn about and understand. Thankfully, his good friend Chris K. and his wife Cyndy moved to Cape Town last summer, and they have been unbelievably supportive and wonderful for Chris, Lisa and Holden. My dad and Chris’ dad flew over from Anchorage right after the accident; Dave stayed a couple weeks and my dad just left a couple hours after I arrived. They too were instrumental in getting Lisa’s family through the beginning of the ordeal. Another college friend of Chris’ came as well, Pilar, and again the support was appreciated and much needed. A big thanks to all of them!! I hope I can continue where you left off.

I look forward to the coming weeks with both intimidation and optimism. I know Chris’ recovery will be a long and challenging road for both him and his family, and I have every faith that they are up to the task. Just tonight we celebrated the great improvements made thus far, and toasted the journey ahead with a round of mocktails. Love and support from around the world have been flowing in, and are felt and appreciated. Cheers!

I intended to write a post on the struggles of an international NGO, part II, with a focus on the strain that comes when an organization doesn’t have a strategic plan. However, this quarter I took a class on the subject, and realized how common it is for nonprofits to be lacking in this area, and that the issues that arise are the same across international lines. The struggle that binds!

The day I left, Lisa, Chris and Holden all took me to the airport on a sunny Cape Town afternoon. 32 hours later, I landed in Portland. I flew home to Oregon on Emirates Air via Dubai, and was astounded at the new technology on planes! Not only were there hundreds of movies and music channels, there were 3 cameras outside of the plane for our viewing pleasure, you could call other seats or even down to earth (just $5/minute), and they even had a Harry Potter ceiling! When they wanted us to sleep, the plane was a dark and starry night, and they slowly woke us up with the best fake-sunrise I’ve ever seen. I know all this because, with so many movie options, how was I supposed to sleep??! Dubai’s airport was shiny and gold all over, and the city was unfortunately blurry through the sun-protected windows. This, combined with a little sleep deprivation, only added to the mystique. Maybe next time…

As I flew over a night-dark Africa, I reflected on my time spent halfway around the world. The smiling orphans in Chiri, the comfortable home Erin and Jeff had made for themselves at Lalmba, the mud of Ethiopia, the stark contrast of wealthy neighborhoods and townships in Cape Town, the dedicated staff at the DTHF, the quest for equality slowing progressing in South Africa, and the wonderful love of family in Lisa and Chris’ swank apartment. What wonders to behold. Somewhere over Zambia I looked down, and noticed fires burning every so often in the vast countryside. In each of those villages and homes lived people who were just as happy as I’ve ever been and ever want to be. And though their daily lives are hugely different from my own, it is our similarities that connect us. Thank you, world, for your welcoming character and generous spirit; this humble traveler is in your debt.

Most of our time was spent either preparing or eating food, but we also found time for some hiking. We started at the Cape of Good Hope, where the Atlantic meets the Indian Ocean. The point was named to describe the positive breakthrough this sailing route created, and Vasco da Gama was the first to turn this corner and sail from Europe to India in 1497.

From there we hiked east to Cape Point to check out the lighthouse. The baboons beat us to the punch, but they were kind enough to share the trail.

The weather was gorgeous all weekend, so it was easy for us to take advantage of our wildlife opportunities.  It seems both everyone and everything was outside enjoying the sun! We had to hike to see some of the wildlife, but both the bontebok and grasshoppers were just outside our door.  The antelope were bigger, but only slightly.  Gross.

I guess love is in the air this spring, as could be seen with both the ostriches and the humans. Matches made in heaven!

Tomorrow I head home – I sure will miss this country, but even more so my sweet Lisa, Chris, and Holden!! Thank you times a million for the wonderful experience.

Next I hopped on a ferry to Robben Island, which has been a Dutch prison, a leper colony (leaving 1500 people buried there who died from the disease), a military stronghold, and again a prison during the apartheid, famous for housing many prominent activists and future political leaders. Among these was Nelson Mandela, who was on the island for 18 of his 27 total years of imprisonment, before becoming the first black President of South Africa. Today the island is open for tours given by ex-inmates, and houses a school, post office, shop, and church. As a prison, Robben Island was notorious for treating inmates badly, and for many years they didn’t have beds to sleep in, just two thin mats to cushion them from the cold, hard cement floors. The prisoners’ days started with breakfast at 7:30 (which varied depending on race – coloreds and Asians were given more meat, and bread twice a day, while blacks only got a powder that turned to a starchy substance when mixed with water. No whites were sentenced to Robben Island), then hard labor outside until 4:30pm with a short break for lunch. Prisoners serving life sentences were forced to work at the quarry all day. Unlike other quarries, here they had to break up the rock with picks and shovels, or sometimes their hands; they weren’t given gloves or sunglasses, and the bright light from the limestone caused permanent damage to the eyesight of everyone who worked there; often they’d move piles of rock from point A to point B, only to move it back to point A the next day. The inmates would sneak to a cave in the back to escape the elements, or to hold secret Parliament. They called it “the university” and they would write things in the sand for others to read later; the motto was “each one teach one.”

Mandela was one of these prisoners. He was kept in B section – solitary confinement. The cells here were smaller than the island’s dog kennels. They had no toilets, just buckets. They did have a small cement yard where they could play tennis or volleyball, and they would sneak messages to other cellblocks hidden inside of tennis balls. It was here Mandela began his book, A Long Walk to Freedom, which was smuggled out with a fellow inmate to a publisher in London. It is remarkable to think that even after 27 years of being locked up, Mandela forgave those who imprisoned him, and lead the country through the beginnings of the reparations between races at the end of apartheid. Inspiring, indeed.

Next we drove out to Gugulethu to visit Pumza, a friend of Lisa’s from DTHF who also recently had a baby. Anan, Pumza’s daughter, is beautiful! She and Holden got along right away, and Pumza’s mother taught Lisa how to tie Holden to her back with just a wrap or towel. While in the township we went by Mzoli’s and Chris showed me around. Holy cow! This place has freshly butchered meats that you buy by the pound, and they give you in a big bowl. Then you take it through a hallway to the braai (grill) where they prepare your food. From there you walk through a passage to the outdoor tented seating area, decked out with picnic tables, 2 djs and a tv showing today’s soccer game – it was a block party to end all! BYO starches and beverages and you could easily spend all day here (but maybe not by the braai – in health policy we were worried about a single small cooking fire inside, try multiple indoor wood-burning grills!). On the way out of Gugs we passed a cell tower cleverly disguised as a tree, and once again South Africa has pleasantly surprised me.

From there we drove out to Franschhoek, where many of the local wineries were involved in a festival, meaning special tasting deals and live music. First we stopped at Hillcrest Berry Orchards for delicious scones, cheeses and jellies, and then it was off to Rickety Bridge Winery. Sadly, we just missed the kiddy rides on a vintage Dodge truck, but the atmosphere and beautiful weather made up for it.

Finally we ended the day at Spier, a winery in Stellenbosch with a buffet dinner and musical show at the restaurant. This place is amazing! For starters, the food was off the hook. I had plate after plate of traditional South African dishes, including springbok, pop (a grits-like starch), bobotie (South African national dish), and seriously the best creamed spinach I’ve ever even heard of. Then came desserts – good night! Our seating was in a large outdoor tent with two stages, but they also have tree house tables and private lounge tents scattered throughout the grounds. The show was a mixture of a solo guitar act, traditional Xhosa and Zulu song and dance, and even a finale performance of Freshlyground/Shakira’s world cup song Waka Waka. To top it all off, they even painted our faces. If you know me well, you’ll know that this place was PERFECT for me!!

Although it was a fairly simple event from our standpoint, there were still details needing attention, and it all came back to me like riding a bike (never thought I’d say it, but thank you Peter Poulos!!). It went without a hitch – the house was full, the food delicious, the energy was high, the audience loved it. Aside from raising money for the foundation, the show also raised awareness about HIV/AIDS (especially when Uys made an announcement about our services during the show), as well as positive hype about the organization. The DTHF isn’t nearly as well-known in the community as it should be, so the social marketing provided by the event was priceless. Even the Premier attended! The performance itself was also fantastic (at least, the part I understood – half the show was in Afrikaans), and made the audience reflect as well as laugh. I was fortunate enough to speak with Uys after the show; he told me about instructive theater programs he’s worked on with UCLA and I told him about UO’s troupe Rehearsals for Life – both use theater to break down barriers and make taboo subjects somehow ok to discuss. That’s the magic of theater, being able to illicit strong emotional responses without the resentment and anger political debates can carry. He said “I like to offend my audience, but only once!”

The evening was fun, and it’s a relief to see my efforts of these past four weeks come to fruition. I’m certainly glad to be done sending e-mails and worrying about signage, but sad to realize that all that’s left is to write up a report. Summer’s winding down, which means school’s coming. Soon I’ll be studying for exams instead of planning parties ending with cream puffs. Guess I’d better stock up on these life desserts while I still can!

The billboards here tend to be very straightforward. A few that stick out to me include “If you drink & drive, you’re a killer.” “If you speed, you’re a killer.” and “Famous last words: WE WERE DRUNK. Use a condom.” Finally, I leave the city and cross over to Athlone, made obvious by the “Ladies of Athlone,” two coal-fire cooling towers. They haven’t been used to since 1995, but have acted as a famous landmark for Cape Towners. Not only notable because of their visibility from miles away, they also held importance during the apartheid, when they acted as a boundary beyond which all people of color had to move, out of Cape Town. On Sunday, these towers were imploded! We tried to watch from Table Mountain, but it was a hazy day, and we were busy having a cookie-toast when they fell.

The area beyond the towers was known as the Cape flats, dumping grounds of the apartheid regime. I pass Langa and Gugulethu on my way to work, two of many townships in the area. A stark juxtaposition to the fancy houses and European-style city of Cape Town, the townships are crowded masses of corrugated tin, tarps, and plywood shacks, along with a few cement houses. There are a ton of orange streetlights sticking up throughout, and a complicated grid of power lines webbed over the entire township. You can see where some people have decided to get electricity for their home by self-wiring down from these community lines, while others have legitimately wired power, and still others have no electricity at all. While it saddens me to think about the meaning of these neighborhoods, I am thankful for the daily reminder of this country’s recent history, and the injustices that continue to exist today.

Then I hear an ad on the radio, talking about the strength, intelligence, and great potential of the country, how it was shown during the World Cup. It was a call to action for the people to treat every day as a World Cup day, every day as Mandela day, to work together to become a united people. Hope!

These were the first words Jacques said to me. I tried desperately to remember whether he had given me any instructions on the phone about what my job was when it came time to actually paraglide, but nothing’s came to mind.

“RUN. Just keep running, don’t stop until I tell you.”

Gotcha.  I can do that.  I watched two girls go before me with their instructors. The first duo caught a sideways wind, meaning they ran in a slightly different direction than intended, which left them crashing through shrubs and bushes while waiting to be lifted off the ground, and left me rolling with laughter.  Really it was hilarious! The girl’s friend who was next in line to go did not look pleased; I’m pretty sure I heard some cursing. I thought it was hilarious.

Because of a change in the wind, I didn’t end up getting to fly that day (but I did enjoy some ice cream on Signal Hill while we waited an hour to see if we’d luck out), but finally got to go on Sunday. This time the wind was best for taking off from Lion’s Head, so Jacques and I hiked partway up the mountain, set out the chute, and took off! Remembering my only instructions, I kept my little legs pumping until well after we were off the ground, when Jacques told me to sit back and relax.  Glorious! Graceful! Flying with ease above the rocks and trees, out where the sun was bright, up to the highest height!

Actually, there was one guy above us. He’d lucked out early in the day and caught some thermals, putting him just over the peak of Lion’s Head, soaring for hours. We want back and forth along the hillside searching for updrafts, and sometimes sinking so low I thought surely we were going to land right there in the bushes. Jacques kept telling me we were “really battling!” but quite to the contrary, I was just chillin’ out maxing relaxing all cool, completely at ease, enjoying the wind in my face and the feeling in my stomach as we’d whip around another turn. Fantastic!

The best was maybe when we were heading out toward the sea and our landing point, when Jacques found some updrafts over a parking lot. We stayed there for a bit trying to gain some height, until suddenly he said “Uh oh, we’re not going to make it to our landing site. Uh oh!” Haha, he really knows how to put a girl at ease! Much to our delight, we did make it, and had a graceful and easy landing. This paragliding trip was a gift from my father, because he didn’t want me to feel too sad or lonely without Lisa, Chris and Holden. Problem: solved. Thanks dadda!!

We started the day off right with a haircut, and let me tell you, that is the LAST time I let a finger-puppet cut my hair.  Well, at least until he gets some clippers.

Next, we warmed up our minds and bodies with some yoga, thanks to Taryn’s wonderful instruction. Little dino’s pretty limber!

Although it’s winter here in Cape Town, so far I’ve been extremely lucky with the weather, and today was no exception. Mini-Mark and I took to the streets, and walked the hour to Clifton Beach. On the way, we passed by these cliffs, called the 12 Apostles. Beautiful!

Once at the beach, Mark got up close & personal with a jellyfish, and then we shared a romantic afternoon lounging on the sand.

On the walk home, he enjoyed some local succulents, and then got to do his favorite thing in the world – help with garbage!

To wrap up the celebration, we shared an ice cream cone – chocolate, Mark’s favorite.

Though we couldn’t be physically together today, I had a great time pretending. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!