The first 2.5 weeks in Cape Town

Time is flying by!  I am stunned that it's already been two and a half weeks since I got to South Africa; my time here continues to be fantastic and a transformational experience.  Since my last posting was a little short, I'll try to give a bit more color on what I've been up to since my arrival in Cape Town.

First, a bit about Cross-Cultural Solutions' Cape Town (CCS-CT) program.  Including me, there are eight volunteers who started on September 11th - six women, two men, seven from the States, one from Canada and ranging in age range from early 20s to early 70s.  There were six volunteers from previous start dates when I arrived, three of whom departed within the first few hours/days of my arrival here.  So, that means that I've gotten to know ten fellow volunteers (for those of you who've been looking at the pictures I've posted, Becky, Jade and Mara are the 'veteran' volunteers from earlier start dates, while Caroline, David, Erica, Joan, Linda, Lindsey and Rupal are the volunteers I started with).

It's been a privilege to get to live with the other volunteers here at the CCS-CT home base and to get to know each of them.  Given that we were complete strangers less than three weeks ago, it's pretty amazing how we've gotten to know each other and how we're generally getting along without a problem.  If it's any indication of the group dynamic, all of the volunteers took me out for a birthday dinner last Monday, Sept. 20, to a restaurant in the De Waterkant area of Cape Town.  It was our first exposure to the Mother City's GLBT community, so a hearty "THANK YOU" to my fellow volunteers . . . it was a lovely 41st birthday!  As I sit here typing this out, I'm a little saddened that five of the eight volunteers with whom I started will be departing this weekend.  With Jade and Becky's placements already ended and Mara's ending on Friday, that will leave Linda, Lindsey and me here come Sunday . . . the home base will feel so empty.

The CCS-CT staff have been terrific at making me feel welcome here, in reminding all of the volunteers to take care of ourselves, in introducing us to South African and Captonian history, culture, society and cuisine, and in ensuring that I've had plenty to eat since I landed in Cape Town.  (Seriously, I will easily put on 10-15 pounds by the time I go home!!)  Through the CCS-CT program, we have visited locations in Cape Town's City Bowl, which is where I'm working at the Scalabrini Centre and where the group toured Bo Kaap and the District Six Museum, and the Cape Flats townships of Athlone, Langa, Guguletu and Nyanga, and have had a series of lectures and language lessons.  I've tried -- heavy emphasis on TRIED -- to learn just a wee bit of Xhosa, which is most definitely a language of 'clicks' (check out a small sample here).

And now a bit about my work at the Scalabrini Centre's Employment Help Desk (EHD).  I've been working primarily with refugees or asylum seekers from Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo, or with South Africans in need of assistance with developing a CV (what we in the States would call a resume), with writing a cover letter, with listing a job wanted advertisement online, or with searching available job postings.  I've already gotten to know some faces, names and stories and have quickly rediscovered my personal interaction skills.  After years of sitting in a separate office responding to emails and the occasional phone call, I've welcomed the opportunity to actually sit and talk with the EHD clients.

The volunteer work on the EHD has proved, in just a few short weeks, to be some of the most personally satisfying work that I've ever done.  The employment needs here in South Africa are almost overwhelming in scale -- check out the New York Times' article on how enforcement of South Africa's minimum wage law is squeezing some of the neediest here -- so the five to 30 minutes that I spend with any one client is usually received with a huge amount of gratitude and thanks.  That's not to say that every client is ecstatic, people are people after all, but even those who are less than enthusiastic are courteous and civil.   And it's this simple interaction, this civility and often good-natured banter, that has been the most transformational of experiences for me.  For when I reflect that many of the clients have left their professions and their home countries -- sometimes leaving their families as well -- either because of civil unrest or near catastrophic economic collapse, to come to a new country with little resources and in the face of possible xenophobia simply to anew, I am humbled by their generous personality.  Truly and utterly humbled . . .

Nearly all of the CCS volunteer alumni that I spoke with called their volunteer work either "life altering" or "transformational," and I see why.  In less than 15 days of working at Scalabrini, my spirit is fuller and my soul is richer.  I fear not what tomorrow will bring, for I am living in the present and seizing the moment.

So, until the next post, sala kahuhle!

Troy

South Africa, Week 2 (20-26 Sept 2010)

RSA, first free weekend (17-19 Sept 2010) - Cape Point & Shark Dive

Simple Things . . .

This is my fourth or fifth attempt to actually get a post together.  There's so much to talk about that I still can't pull my thoughts together in any coherent fashion.  The best I can do is to say that, after a little more than nine days in Cape Town, I'm in love with this place; the geography is breathtaking and the people have been - without exception - warm, welcoming and gracious.  So, given how quickly my first week flew by, I thought I'd just get a quick note up now, and I'll work on a more detailed posting over the long weekend (this Friday is a national holiday, Heritage Day, here in South Africa, so I'll have a little more time to pull something together).

Words cannot describe the beauty of this place.  When I was deciding where I wanted to do my volunteer placement, I chose South Africa because I wanted to see the post-Apartheid, new democracy Rainbow Nation for myself.  I had NO idea that Cape Town would be so stunning.  And I'm not just talking about the geography of the place; the history, its people and cuisine, and the odd and uniquely South African -- okay, uniquely Captonian! -- culture are all captivating (even if at times bizarrely captivating).  The pictures I have uploaded to the Picasa web albums fail to capture the overwhelming beauty, stark contrasts and brilliant life that is here.  But it does offer a pale glimpse of what I've seen . . . so I'll post a link to the another album later today or tomorrow.

My placement at the Scalabrini Centre is exactly what I needed at this time and I could not have wished for something better.  As I was counting down my final days in New York City, I kept reminding myself to come here with as few expectations as possible.  It has proved to be a sound approach, as it has allowed me to ease into working with the asylum seekers, refugees and South Africans on Scalabrini's Employment Help Desk (EHD).  What has been the most surprising thing for me, and the thing that continues to stick with me, is how truly and genuinely thankful the clients are for the assistance that Scalabrini and the EHD provide.   So, to those of you who know me from my days at various law firms, I owe you all an apology for the biting bitterness that was a near constant presence in my life.  (Yes, you needn't worry, I'm still sarcastic to the core -- I'm just not bitter and sarcastic.)

So, more details to follow in my next post.  Much love to you all back home and thank you for your continued well wishes.

All the best,

Troy

South Africa (9-11 to 9-16-2010)

The day before my start date...

Afternoon all,

I had started this post almost a week ago, and wound up getting sidetracked with some . . . bit . . . of . . . something. The last couple of weeks flew by, so much so that I'm not quite sure where the time went. But I got all of the final items done at the firm and successfully closed that chapter of my life. And I was able to more or less get the apartment in order for the subtenants to arrive (Kevin, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry that it wasn’t my typical ‘Virgo clean’!), plus I was able to make some headway with SAME TRAIN and the new reading of the show that’s scheduled at the Dwyer Cultural Center in Harlem for Wednesday, October 13, 2010, and with getting my life back in order.

So, finally, as I sit in the hotel here at the Frankfurt airport (or ‘flughafen’ in German – why is it that I find that particular German word particularly fun to say?) waiting for the connecting South African Airways flight to Johannesburg, I’m able to get this quick post together and up. I realize now that I’ve been increasing anxious to get started with the Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS) program and to experience whatever is going to come along with it. And I do mean ‘anxious,’ not ‘nervous’. It honestly wasn’t until I boarded the Lufthansa flight out of JFK yesterday afternoon, and was sitting on the plane waiting to take off, that I had an ‘OMG!’ moment (and a quick, passing moment at that) at the thought of going to Cape Town – a place pretty much halfway around the world, where I don’t know a soul – for a couple of months. Which, for me, isn’t a normal thing; usually, I’m having repetitious ‘OMG!’ thoughts before anything has actually happened . . . and these moments often tend to linger for a bit.

As I sat on the plane last night and they closed the cabin door, it suddenly made sense why a number of friends had inquired as to how I was feeling about this pending adventure. Absent from my preparation has been any hesitation or second guessing about the wisdom behind my decisions or my motivations in doing so. Also absent has been worries about the ‘what ifs’ (my only concern for this trip has been about the logistics of getting several months worth of insulin/syringes through airport security, and even that wasn’t a nagging concern – I thought about it, I asked CCS’ staff some questions, I took a few precautionary steps, and that was that). So, for my dear friends who have witnessed the torturous mental route that I can take to make a ‘big’ decision, the absence of that internal Willitt devil’s advocate was likely very noticeable.

A close friend told me “you have no idea what to expect” as we sat down to dinner last week and started talking about the CCS program (yes, Sherrick, I’m talking about you . . . LOL!). He was, and is, correct; I have no idea of what to expect and I think that’s a good thing. This is the first time in years where I haven’t been focused on expectations, rather I’ve been focused on the fact that this is a welcome, joyous and long-desired change and that, regardless of what has happened before or of what will come next, this is an experience that I will embrace fully and completely.

And, with that, I will close this quick pre-start date posting. I will post again at some point next week, with some initial thoughts on the program orientation, my first few days at the Scalabrini Centre, and my introduction to Cape Town and the Western Cape.

All the best,

Troy