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