Sunday, Sunday...hmmm, hmmm. (Kirstenbosh) (Week 3)

Sunday before week three I went to Kirstenbosh gardens with Tiffany.  Here are some pictures from the gardens...remember it is winter here, so although we had a beautiful day, I didn't see many flowers, but LOTS of fauna. The land was donated by Cecil Rhodes the prime minister of Cape Town to the people in 1895, the gardens opened in 1913.  Kirstenbosh is the oldest botanical garden in South Africa.

R40 (or $4.65) Students of SA, get in even cheaper 

The group (minus Tiffany) who went on Sunday afternoon (they brought their lunches for a picnic)!

The view of Cape Town

There were lots of big grassy areas to just sit & enjoy

This is a tree that grows upside down (and it's hallow on the inside)

Every Sunday night we have a group dinner with all the students. This is our academic team:

Montgomery, Christina, and Tiffany

Mallory, me, and Chase

The third week was service in the township of Sir Lowry's pass, particularly the Sun City area.  The township is divided into five or six areas (from million dollar home area in the mountains to the area we served in which was poverty stricken).  The combination of the history of townships in South Africa and the extreme poverty makes it a challenging experience.  I wrestled with my personal responsibility to those in need (in my home town, in America, and around the world), as well as my responsibility to the students as they experience poverty (in any form, some for the first time).

When our large mercedes van pulled into the impoverished area, the children came running in droves. The excitement on their faces was both contagious and disconcerting.  Although many seemed excited at our arrival, others in the community were not pleased with our presence.  The range of emotions ran through me as I watched our students interact with the families in the community.  Even now as I reflect back on last week, I'm still making meaning for myself.  I'm left with more questions than answers, and since the complexity of poverty and oppression has now easy answers, I will sit in the discomfort and wrestle with emotions, solutions, and inequity of it all.