Week 4: Classes and Urban Homestays

By: RuthAnn, Jessica, Rae, and Alex!

During our fourth week, academic reality set it as we had our first full week of classes and began learning the language of Damara from Baby, a former Peace Corps language teacher. We will be staying with a rural family later who speaks Damara. In addition to dealing with the stress of classes and homework, we began our 10-day urban homestay. This homestay was more difficult than the homestay in Soweto because we were flying solo in a foreign culture and didn’t have another student for support. We concluded that there is no one “Namibian family”; tribe, race, and language played a major difference in the family makeup. For example, some students lived with Damaras while others lived with Ovambos. Some students had a distinct advantage by practicing Damara with their host families. Other students lived in the historically “colored” area of Khomasdal, while other students lived in the “black” township of Katutura. During our homestays, we were introduced to English-dubbed Spanish telenovelas, referred to as “Soapies”. Most students quickly developed favorite characters from the two most popular shows, “Lorenzo’s Wife” and “Storm over Paradise.”

In Development class, Herbert Jauch from the Labor Resource and Research Institution spoke about development in Namibia and the vast level of inequalities that make Namibia number one on the GINI scale. He promoted a Basic Income Grant (BIG) to jumpstart the process of narrowing inequality by giving each Namibian 100 dollars a month from birth until the age of 65 when individuals would qualify for their pension. We can see more than one side to this proposal: some students think that it is a wonderful idea and would benefit those poor Namibians, while others are more concerned about the potential problems in restructuring the taxation system. He also proposed fair land distribution, pointing to Zimbabwe as an example of what happens due in part to unresolved land issues.

We visited the Alte Feste Museum, a former German fort with information about rock drawings, the liberation struggle, and colonialism. Later in history class, we watched a BBC movie on the Herero genocide of 1904 and found out that the museum we had visited earlier was in fact a concentration camp for the Herero people. The students were dumbfounded that our tour guide did not mention that the fort was a concentration camp; we assumed that information would be a key part of museum presentation. We feel this example underscores the idea that history is selectively created from events strung together based on a certain perspective. A speaker in the BBC movie, Professor Kerina, the first Namibian UN representative, came to our class to speak about the liberation struggle and the challenges following independence. Saying, “only dogs and slaves are named by their masters. Free men name themselves,” Kerina emphasized the need for a country to choose its name.

Week 3: Classes

Catherine Mullin, Leigh Isaacson, Lizzie Cohen

This was our first full week in Windhoek so it was action packed to say the least. The main events of the week included starting our internships, a team building retreat, the beginning of classes, along with the start of our urban homestays.

All students doing internships started bright and early Monday, September 1st. The internships range from NGO’s like the Namibia Development Foundation to Women’s Solidarity. Though most students had a slow first day, and felt that often things at the organizations were done on “Africa time”, all emerged feeling hopeful about the situation at their organization.

Tuesday was all about team building activities at a ranch outside the city center. It was a long day, but we all enjoyed ourselves and learned a lot about our fellow students and the staff here at CGE. Activities included creating a yarn web and two egg races. The rest of the day was designated for us to present our “road maps”. The road maps were designed to explain how each of us came to be who we are today and some of the main events in our life. It is clear we have a really diverse group, with people coming from all different backgrounds, but we all are united by our desire to learn and experience new things during our time in southern Africa.

Classes kicked off this week with a look at some Namibian pre-colonial history with Romanus on Thursday. The class, which includes the majority of students on the program, traveled to the National Museum of Namibia. We were able to see traditional clothing, food preparation and geographical areas of the different tribes in Namibia. We also got a sneak preview to what our rural homestay might look like at one of the exhibits on typical housing for the different tribes.
Thursday night marked the beginning of our 10- day urban homestay. Nervous and excited, we were picked up by our host families and we spent the weekend living life like a typical Namibian. With the longer duration of this homestay students were immediately accepted as part of the family and were exposed to opinions on apartheid and the current political situation.

The school week ended on Friday, with Linda’s development class. The first class we discussed the meaning of development and the proper terms associated with describing different states and levels of development. Some students were distraught over the use of terms “developed”/ “developing” because of what each word implies about a country’s status and a long debate pursued. With the different backgrounds on development students brought to the class some were offended by the implications of the terms. It is clear that we are a diverse group and that we’re not afraid to share our opinions.

We also started our Damara language class, taught by Baby Doeseb. For most students this experience was out of their comfort zone and we all need some serious practice to get those “clicks” down before our rural homestays!

Week 2: South Africa and the Great Beyond

Ken, Margaret, Carlee

After a weekend homestay in Soweto our group travelled to Pretoria on August 24. First we visited the US Embassy and talked to Foreign Service Officer Jonathan Smallridge. Since we had heard a variety of South African perspectives, hearing both US foreign policy and the official US stance on South African politics broadened our perspective and educational experience. Particularly interesting was his statement that “South Africa is seen as the pillar of Africa” since all of our previous speakers and activities focused on the challenges that South Africa faced. Those of us considering a career in Foreign Service also enjoyed Mr. Smallridge’s advice and stories about becoming a member of the US bureaucracy.

Our trip to the Voortrekker Monument on Tuesday, August 25th proved to be a contrast to the two museums that we visited in Johannesburg. Those (the Hector Pieterson Museum and the Apartheid Museum) focused on apartheid and, as such, placed the Afrikaners in a vilified position. While some members of our group (Ken) found the museum to be racially biased and imperialistic, others (Margaret) thought that it provided an interesting counterpoint to the first two museums. Ultimately, the juxtaposition of the three museums provided yet another example of a theme of the semester: a need to consider sources and avoid immediate judgment.

Later in the afternoon, we went to the University of Pretoria and heard from Professor Jackie Grobler on the subject of Afrikaner identity. Carlee thought that Grobler displayed an obvious bias. Margaret and Ken found his presentation and response to the group’s rather pointed questions to be quite impressive. He did not attempt to justify apartheid, but rather explained his own personal experience and observations during the apartheid era. By avoiding both denial and apology, he offered an Afrikaner perspective that seemed realistic, regardless of the listener’s personal opinion.

After our flight to Windhoek on Wednesday, August 26th and our introduction to the CGE house (which all three of us love!!!) we took a tour of the city on Thursday. There we learned about the history of apartheid in Namibia and about the current situation in the informal settlements. We were able to compare and contrast the settlements in Kliptown, South Africa with the settlements in Katatura, Namibia. The Namibian settlements appeared to have a much higher level of service provision than the South African settlements, but that difference may have been caused by the attitudes of our tour guides. In Kliptown, we were led through the streets by local residents who advocated against privatization; in Katatura, we looked down on the settlements from a nearby hill with professional tour guides.

We are looking forward to exploring more of the politics and history of Namibia in our classes and in our daily activities, so that we can understand whether the differences we observed were a matter of perspective or of tangible change and improvement. On Friday, we went to various political and social organizations in Katatura with local students as our guides. Saturday and Sunday we had free time and got to go out and explore the city and its nightlife, as well as having some much needed down time to prepare for our internships, scheduled to start on Monday, August 31. A highlight of the week was hearing local bands perform in a festival at Zoo Park on Saturday and we are looking forward to the remainder of our semester!

Week 1: Welcome to Johannesburg!

The first week of the program was a whirl-wind full of visits to surrounding communities, lectures, museums and cultural experiences.

Monday morning, still jet lagged, we began our adventures with a brief history of apartheid and the liberation struggle in South Africa. Mr. Molefi Mataboge provided background for a two-day tour of Soweto that would follow. During our tour of Soweto (South Western Township) we were able to see various informal settlements within the community, where citizens have built many tin shacks. Views of poverty and lingering oppression quickly became evident and many questions were formed within the group: Why does it seem that the government has not done much to improve the lives of its people after apartheid? What legislation has been put into place to improve the quality of life? How can people live in the conditions of poverty and oppression?

Throughout the rest of the week we gained a better understanding of the events that have affected the people of Soweto with visits to the Regina Mundi church (a place that played an integral role in the fight against apartheid), the Hector Peterson museum (a commemoration of the student uprising against the use of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in schools), a semi-private school (where we were able to communicate with students about their experiences in Soweto), and the Apartheid museum (which gave us a better understanding of the history and events of apartheid).

In between visits to the different locations we met with a variety of speakers and organizations, including the Anti-Privatization Forum (APF), the South African Council of Churches (SACC), and the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC)—who addressed issues, current events, and their perspectives concerning the future of South Africa.

One of our favorite lectures were with members of the TAC, who informed us about their organization and their efforts to combat HIV/ AIDS in South Africa. The organization works with health and human rights issues, providing education and resources to the public. Tristen Taylor, an environmentalist, talked to us about the economy of South Africa, providing insight into the economic future of the country. He explained how the end of apartheid was “political freedom, but not economic freedom” for the people, and that [apartheid] has remaining implications on the current economy and the future. Taylor provided a vision for what the year 2020 may look like, suggesting that the prices of basic resources (like oil and water) will have detrimental affects on not only the people of South Africa.

We also explored the political climate with Mr. Michael, a member of the African National Congress (ANC), who discussed his involvement in the political party and its original platform. In addition we met with the current opposition party of the ANC, the Democratic Alliance (DA), to discuss their political views. Both political parties shared similar views on many issues facing South Africa—housing, education, privatization of utilities, HIV/AIDS, etc.—however, their methods of attainment differed.

At the end of the week we departed in pairs for our homestays in Soweto for the weekend. This experience allowed us to expand upon what we had learned over the course of the week through the lens of a South African family. During our homestays we were encouraged to become part of the family, participating in daily activities (cooking, cleaning, running errands, family outings, etc.) The time spent with these families provided a new perspective on the lives of those living in Soweto today. Some students experienced the traditional food (chicken feet, fat cakes, pop), funerals, parties, church services, and braais (BBQ’s).

This week has been an adjustment for all of us—getting to know each other and the country. We have been thrown out of our comfort zones and have confronted questions concerning our observations and experiences. We have wrestled with ideas surrounding race, gender, privilege, economic status, and political ideology. Through this we have gained a better understanding of the history and struggles of South Africa, providing a basic framework for our upcoming classes and experiences during the semester.

Captions:

1. Members of the Fall 2009 Crew met up to board the plane to Johannesburg in the Washington Dulles Airport.
2. The Regina Mundi Church, a place where citizens of Soweto gathered during apartheid, and was a hotspot for police activity.
3. A view overlooking Kliptown, a part of Soweto that has remained extremely impoverished even after the end of apartheid.