Stone Dragon

This week I spent most of my time at a camp run by Stone Dragon, an organization committed to educating and inspiring youth. One branch of the organization runs camps for school classes, somewhat like our Outdoor School program in Portland. These camps aren't always based in science education, though. In fact, the camp I went on this week was titled "Camp Candy" after the song "Candyman" by some pop star that I can't remember (pathetic? Maybe.). It was supposed to be themed as a 1940s-1950s camp...why, I have no idea. Apart from our group names, which were borrowed from bombers and anti-aircraft artillery, there wasn't much evidence of the theme at all.

The real objective of the camp was to take the group of students, who came from an incredibly privileged background, and give them an opportunity to step outside of their everyday mediocrity and discover something about themselves. The rift between the rich and the poor in Cape Town is so wide that these students were quite thoroughly unaware of the opportunities they scorned on a daily basis. Not that we changed that over a three-day camp, but perhaps we at least let them appreciate what they posses. The Foo Fighters song "Best of You" was the real theme of the camp, and we spent three days trying to get each student to recognize the bonds and pressures that hold them back and keep them from presenting the best of themselves. Very deep for 16 year-olds!

The campsite was absolutely gorgeous, it was the Rocklands Centre witch is just a bit farther than Simon's Town. It was a beautiful setting and also very well-suited to the activities we had planned, or maybe our activities were planned well for the site. I don't know which! Check out the view from my cabin:

If not for the powerlines you could have taken postcard photos from this site!

I had a funny experience my first night there, which was technically volunteer training but actually ended up being chill time. We were moving in our equipment and getting set up, but someone forgot to close the door to one of the buildings and a baboon came in! Luckily we weren't in the building at the time because the baboons here are quite dangerous and not afraid of humans. In fact, they are quite the pest because they have opposable thumbs and are clever about opening doors and things. We had to keep everything not only closed but also locked to keep them out! This one proceeded to unzip my backpack and eat my dinner (peanut butter and jelly sandwiches) and then smear peanut butter all over everything while pulling all the other objects out of my bag. It was quite thorough... but luckily baboons have no use for wallets or cameras, so the only casualties were my dinner and a few stains on my other things.

Once the students arrived in the morning I had the privilege of working with the smallest (and most classically "popular") group of girls. They were actually lovely people, once you got them to start acting like people, but the rest of the time it was all about their clothes and cellphones (which were forbidden but used sporadically anyway). In fact, my girls may have changed their outfits more than 6 or 7 times each day. Does that seem ridiculous to anyone but me? But they would, in the same breath, say something like "I don't need to wear makeup at camp." It's a funny form of blindness, but one that I hope some of my girls were able to see through by the end of the three days.

The rules at this camp were also ridiculously loose. Or, rather, the rules were normal but the enforcement was nonexistent. I seemed like a dictator, I'm afraid, because I was always trying to enforce rules that other leaders were ignoring. In the end nothing bad happened, although we did apprehend a few students trying to sneak out for a smoke, so overall I think it was a success.
How else was it different to a camp you might attend in the States? Well, for one thing, nobody was worried about lawsuits, etc. to the same degree that you have to back home. The level of physical contact between leaders and students surprised me... not that it was inappropriate or harassment or anything, it's just something you don't do at home! And the level of concern over injury was very low. Many of the games that we played had the potential for serious injury... and, in fact, there was a broken collarbone, a sprained ankle, and a few other minor bumps... but it was almost expected. The "no-holds-barred" attitude made for an interesting experience!

There were also activities that seemed brutal compared to what we enforce on our campers at home. As a team-building exercise each cabin group was instructed to carry a 2-meter telegraph pole (which is very heavy!) on a 7 km hike straight uphill and back. Normally this would be a 14 km hike, but there wasn't a convenient route off the main highway to walk the kids on. As a catch, the groups were never allowed to set down the pole. So the six of my girls (whining as loud as any of the larger groups) fought each other and bickered about the pole and about each other and suffered their way through the hike. Now, they pretty much had a horrible time and I think that is mainly due to their attitude, but I just didn't have the energy to spend smoothing over every conflict when they had already taxed me to the breaking point. So I hope that in the long run they will take a lesson away from the activity. I know some of the other groups had a much better time of it, but they also had more people. The sadistic side of me wishes they'd had to carry it for the other seven kms. I think they would have learned more that way because they would have actually reached the exhaustion point instead of just the ornery stage :).

Another surprising moment occurred the evening before the "Leviathan Long March" as it was called. My girls had been on activities rotation with a particularly naughty group of boys, who had splattered paint all over some very beautiful and irreplaceable rocks at the campsite while "painting" their telegraph pole. Since the campsite was not ours to ruin, many of the leaders spent hours scrubbing the rocks with turpentine to remove the paint. My girls, although not the primary instigators of this mischief, were punished for their complicity by washing dishes. Now, there weren't many dishes to start with, it was a job that should have taken about ten minutes if they had simply gotten down to business. Unfortunately, though, they felt the need to whine and complain about how it hadn't been their fault, etc. and then react as if very disgusted by the dishes. Now, some of the dishes weren't exactly pretty, but not really bad at all. And in the course of enforcing this punishment on them I discovered that not a single one of them had ever washed dishes before. Can you believe it? Never! And a pot that had been used to cook oatmeal was the "most disgusting thing" they had ever seen. I almost couldn't contain my amusement when they bickered about who had to touch it. Luckily, one girl in the group was a bit more practical than the rest and finally just did the job.

But don't get me wrong, I really liked a lot of my girls. They were a bit too cool for their surroundings, but many of them were quite lovely once you broke through their popular exteriors. And I wish that I had been able to do more to help them enjoy their camp experience, but I have been a camp leader enough to understand that some groups just aren't open to change, and especially aren't open to it when surrounded by their peers. So I am hoping that each of them at least learned something and I'm not stressing too much.

Since then? Well, I've been sleeping! You may or may not have ever done something like this before, but leading camps really takes it out of you. Even if it weren't for the long hours (6am-1am or so) the energy expended to keep everything running smoothly is enough to make sure you sleep well at night! And luckily I actually get a day off this weekend to rest :).

Busy Week!

Well.... There is nothing for it but to divide this post into segments as well... good luck!

Teaching Marimba at Azaad Youth Center

Last week on Wednesday I got called in to teach the Azaad classes for amaAmbush. If I haven't already explained Azaad, it's a project that takes in post-high school youth from disadvantaged areas and teaches them practical skills like cooking, sewing, etc. amaAmbush runs one of the many classes that are taught to these students, normally covering marimba building, drumming, dancing, and marimba playing. The students would normally have been at a building workshop that day, but there was a big event on Thursday and the instructor was busy with the preparations, so I taught his classes instead. Of course, my limited experience in building marimbas was insufficient for this purpose, so my workshop ended up covering only marimba playing. I was a bit nervous coming into the lessons because each one was so long. The day is divided into a morning and an afternoon session, each of which had 2:30 hrs of instruction with a short break in the middle. Now, that is a lot of marimba for beginners! And these students really were beginners :).

Luckily, my morning class was the same group of students that I had met and taught a bit the Friday previous, so they were excited to see me and things got off to a good start. It was mostly just difficult because the students progressed at such different rates. Some of them learned quite quickly and were ready for more, while others had a great deal of difficulty with the basic parts. So, we bumbled through a couple of tunes and called it a morning. While we didn't perform anything masterful, they had a good time and learned some of the fundamentals. It was a bit of new ground for me as well, because I ventured into teaching chords and improvisation--something I haven't done before! Luckily it went quite well and the students really liked it.

The afternoon group was an entirely new set of students for me, and two of them had little or no English comprehension... which was an adventure, of course! Luck was on my side again, though, because marimba is not a particularly language-dependent skill. This second group was particularly talented and we got through more than the morning class, even with the language barrier. In fact, I was having such a good time that the ending siren took me completely by surprise. But some groups are just like that--and you never know in advance!

All-in-all it was an interesting day because it was a good opportunity to compare the South African "average student" to the folks I have taught in the States. When you're starting from absolute zero the differences are easy to identify. For example, the students here are naturally gifted rhymically, while they have great difficulty with remembering melodies. This was a surprise to me at first, because it is exactly the opposite in the states! I taught first an amaAmbush tune and followed it with Ncuzu (sp?) from Portland to see how they would do with each one, and it was certainly an experience. An interesting, if challenging, day!

South African Principals' Association Conference

amaAmbush was exhibiting at the SAPA conference at the Cape Town International Convention Center last Thursday, so I had two full days of marimba. The organization had a general booth in the exhibition area and were also able to perform for the principals at the start of the talks and speeches.

This wasn't just any performance, though, it was a massive one. amaAmbush coordinated with many of their teaching schools to bring both the students and instruments to the conference... resulting in a marimba band of around 35-40 marimbas, at least 10 drums, and altogether maybe 60 or so players (most of whom were high school students... so you can imagine the mayhem!). The sound was quite overwhelming, and it was lucky that amaAmbush teaches in such a standardized fashion or the group never would have been able to coordinate the changes and beginnings and endings of each song. At the same time, there were so many people on stage that I'm not sure you'd even notice if a few people didn't move with the rest of the group. I was able to perform with the group, and I will eventually have some photos that I can put up... but not yet, sorry! This time I wasn't the photographer.

The conference itself was an experience because it was an odd mixture of genres. The principals were interesting to talk with because some of them were very formal and professional, and others were less so (although they dressed the part). The exhibition area was a funny combination of "african" and "professional" with amaAmbush on one hand, and textbook/computer software companies on the other. Anyhow, it was good people watching.

Drumming

I have been hearing about a drum circle in Observatory since the day I moved in, and I finally figured out where takes place. So last Thursday night I showed up at this laid-back club in Obs and joined in. As a bit of background, I have really never been taught to drum. This might seem a bit odd to those of you who know of my Percussion Ensemble days in Grinnell, but I was always channeled into the mallet parts and didn't get much experience with hand-drumming. So I showed up at the drum circle and was handed a drum... and with the other fifteen people who showed up, beat the heck out of the thing for two hours. We were shown a few basic hits (tones? sounds?) and left to learn by repeat-after-me. This is just my style! I am pretty decent with rhythm and I like to think of myself as decently coordinated, so I had a great time. It was a bit challenging for me to use my left hand in such an active manner, since most of the music I have played is very right hand dominant (or I can make it lead with the right even if it isn't supposed to be that way :) ).

I had a great time! I really hope I can learn more drumming while I'm here, but I'm still trying to find and economical way to do that. I don't know if I can really learn enough at these drum circles... but I'll go for the fun of it anyway!

Music Lesson at Oscar Mpheta Senior Secondary School

Friday morning, Charne (one of my SAEP colleagues) popped her head into the office I was working in to ask, "what are you doing this afternoon?" Well, turns out I was headed to Oscar Mpheta to fill in for a couple of music volunteers who had just phoned Charne to cancel late the previous night. The learners in the townships don't generally have music and arts as part of their school curriculum, so one branch of SAEP is focused on coordinating volunteers to teach these subjects after school. Unfortunately, there wasn't much in the way of a lesson plan left for me, so I was on my own!

Luckily (again... seems last week was a luck week) I had exactly one music lesson that I could whip out of my back pocket for the afternoon's class. It's a fun mixture of clapped rhythm and a song from Ghana that teaches some basic concepts like rhythm and harmony. The group of students was wonderful, as well. They were so willing to learn and also very excited about the chance to sing. This sort of lesson can really fall through the floor if your students aren't singing enthusiasts, but their energy really added to the fun of the lesson and made it successful. I might be going back this week... depends on the schedule as usual.

The Beach

Now, normally I wouldn't even bother posting about my picnic at the beach on Friday, but I have some really nice photos of it. Since there aren't any other photos so far in this post, I figured I would throw in a few just for good measure :).

Soweto Gospel Choir

On Saturday I had tickets to go see the Soweto Gospel Choir at the Baxter Theater. And it was maybe the best concert I have seen so far in South Africa! The choir was incredible... full of energy and very tight musically. But it was more than that as well, because there was so much motion and dancing involved in the music that it was really amazing to watch as well as listen to. Their costumes were cut in the style of traditional African dress and the riotous color on each one was stunning. Most of all, the confidence and joy with which the choir sang was touching and totally worth the price of the ticket.


It was interesting to look around at the other audience members as well. More than half of the crowd was white--and I had expected a much stronger black presence because the choir is a grassroots black-music organization. But perhaps the price of the ticket was a discouragement for many who otherwise might have attended. There was a whole row of black adolescent boys sitting in front of me, and I could tell that their tickets had been paid by someone else because they were so unenthused about the concert. The one directly in front of me was wearing a rather tall hat, so I asked him to please remove it once the concert had started. He did take it off reluctantly, but later he solved his problem by wearing the hat and slouching so low in his chair that the hat itself barely reached the top of the backrest. I was sad to see that he and his buddies weren't appreciating the music, but I think it is good that they were able to attend anyway. Maybe something like that will eventually crack through their "tough" exteriors.


Bafana Bafana vs. Zambia

On Sunday I had another "cultural experience" when I went to the South African national team's game vs. Zambia in the Newlands stadium. The place was insane.... almost sold out and the whole crowd was more excited about the game than even the most enthusiastic crowds in the states! Of course, the crowd was a bit rougher as well. In fact, we had to go through about three security checks on the way in, far more rigorous than the standard "open your bags" check in the states. We even got patted down at one of the check points!

The amazing thing was the noise level. The stadium was bigger than PGE Park in Portland, for those of you who know it, and for those of you who don't, just trust me that it was big! And almost all the seats were filled, including people sitting on the stairs in the aisle ways. There were so many of those obnoxious plastic trumpets that you couldn't really tell when they were all blasting because there was such a loud undercurrent of their belching tones. And that's just the normal noise level... when something actually happened on the field things got ridiculous!


The game itself was a disappointment because Bafana Bafana did not play well at all, and ended up losing to Zambia 3 to 1. But it was their fault--they had a terrible defensive line and Zambia capitalized on every offensive chance they got. The referees were a bit shoddy as well, they didn't keep good control of the game. There was only one almost-fight, but it was a rough match! Lots of diving and asking the referee for favors. The game in general was an excellent example of the "problem with African sports" which is an excess of talent and lack of teamwork. But regardless of their play, it was amazing to see the loyalty that the team commanded from their fans.

This Week

Has been somewhat more calm than the past few! I have settled into a routine that is more regular, if a bit less exciting, than the craziness of the past several weeks. I am spending mornings in the SAEP office working with the gap-year interns on English and Chemistry, and going to amaAmbush in the afternoons. This week I've just been transcribing marimba songs for them, but hopefully I will have a bit more variation in the future. I've been enjoying the transcription process though--it's been a challenge to make out the parts from CD recordings, but the more transcribing that I do the better I get at figuring out intervals and rhythms. For the intervals I can't help but say a silent "thank you" to my theory teachers at the summer music camp that I used to attend :). All those tricks I learned are really helpful now!

Next Week

Should be back to my normal craziness!

Tomorrow I am attending a rehearsal with a community marimba group that is inspired by.... if you can believe it.... the marimba movement in the US! I am pretty excited to see how our music has translated itself to Cape Town, so hopefully that should really be fun.

Sunday morning I take off for a four-day-long camping trip with a group of high school students. It's a very Outdoor-School like organization that tries to motivate students and get them excited about sciency and environmental subjects. I'm excited to go even if it turns my schedule upside down next week!

Thanks to anyone who made it this far down the post! I hope that the beginning of fall is treating you all well back in the states!

Weekend Events

Well hello again! I know that I left off with a massive post about marimba music, so I thought I would update yet again with some more vacation-like material!

Saturday night I went to see the University of Cape Town Big Band in concert in their University hall. It was an interesting concert because the band played quite well as an ensemble (you'd think they would, being the premier jazz band in the premier university in South Africa) and the vocalists were absolutely amazing... but the soloists from the band itself were pretty lame! Now, it's been at least four years since I played in a jazz band and I don't think I could ever solo to save my life, but I can recognize a good solo when I hear one. And these just weren't up to par. Too many notes, and I could tell that they were too nervous... they didn't take any time to enjoy the spaces in the solo along with the licks. But it was a good concert overall, and I'm glad that I attended. I wasn't such a fan of the African pieces that the conductor himself composed, though. Sad, because I wanted to like them more than I did. It's been such a long time since I played any classical music! I miss the precision of it :).

Sunday I attended another event at the Baxter Theater, a dance festival for amateur groups. It was really interesting! I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but there was hardly any "african" dance. There was an interesting mixture of posh dancing schools and community (township) dance projects, though. I don't know if any of you who read this knew me back at Lincoln High, but our dance team couldn't hold a candle to these folks (we had a kick-ass dance team, too)! Many memorable performances. My favorite had only two dancers, one young woman in a flowing red dress and a young guy playing the guitar (actually performing the music). There was such a dialog between the music and the dance because the music was actually a part of the dance... very cool!

Anyhow... I think I am finished relating my weekend adventures for now! In the future, you ask? Well... there is an interesting concert by the Soweto Gospel Choir that I would looooooove to attend, and I might be volunteering on an outdoor school-like excursion for a weekend as well. Keep checking back if you're interested!

Maaaaaaarimba

Hello again!

This week has been a busy one! Because I suspect that this is going to be a massively long post, I will attempt to spare you by dividing my writing into sections so that you might read about only the subjects that interest you. And of course, if you would rather skip straight to the photos and bypass my ramblings, you can find them (as usual) at www.grinnellgallery.com, under the name "parkersa." So here goes!


Marimba

This has been a busy marimba week for me! After successfully making contact with amaAmbush last Friday I was scheduled to spend Wednesday through Friday in a sort of 'jobshadow' of the company's operations manager, Tracy (notice that there is no 'e' in 'Tracy' :) because, of course, 'e' stands for 'eeew'). This turned out to be a great deal of fun, and incredibly informative as well. I was joined by a Grade 11 student named Kelly who actually was completing a jobshadow assignment on Tracy. Kelly and I accompanied Tracy to lessons at a variety of schools, played marimbas with in the amaAmbush band room, and did some office work as well. I have tried to separate my impressions into categories, but it's not the easiest thing, so please forgive me if there is overlap!

amaAmbush Instruments

The instruments that amaAmbush builds and plays on are a variation on the standard marimba that we play in Portland (see photo below). The keys aren't tuned quite as precisely as ours (at least, they aren't now... perhaps they started off more in tune and have lost pitch!) and aren't as uniform. The average key is also less wide but thicker than the ones we are accustomed to, so it's a bit harder to hit the key full in the center. The more I play on them though, the more accustomed I get to the differences in keyboard structure.

Something I haven't gotten used to yet is the range of the instruments. The bass instrument is close to the same as ours in terms of range, but there is no baritone instrument. Instead, there is a tenor with similar range, an alto instrument that is like the top of a tenor smooshed together with the bottom of a soprano, and a soprano instrument that only goes down to middle C but extends up to the E above our usual high C. You might imagine that this plays havoc with our Zim-style parts! Things don't generally fit where they are supposed to, so I've had to do a bit of improvising.


As you can see from the picture above, there is also a different resonator system on the amaAmbush marimba than our PVC-pipe system. The structural parts of the marimbas are built at the Azaad Youth Center in a workshop that they use out back, and the box-type resonators have individual box-shaped compartments for each key to resonate in. This part is machine/computer cut for precision, while the sides of the boxes are cut and assembled and the legs/etc. built and attached at Azaad. The instruments come apart quite differently from ours! The keyboard lifts right off, and then the legs can be detached as well. That leaves the boxes to pack quite easily against each other and the keyboards can be packed separately. The main idea, I think, is to make the instruments as indestructible as possible.

The mallets are also much heavier than the yellow polymer mallets that we use in Portland, with a thicker shaft and larger mallet head. The heads are made of black rubber, and remind me a great deal of the mallets we used to use at Sellwood when I was just starting out on the marimba. I think that the extra mass is necessary to resonate the thicker keys of their instruments, but I find it much more difficult to play quick intricate parts with them. The mallets also break fairly often--whether that is because the wood is less strong or because the style of playing is more violent I couldn't say.

Playing Style

As may be expected, the music played here in Cape Town differs in both structure and content from the Zimbabwean style that we play in the states. The instruments play largely the same roles, but in different fashions. The bass is the heartbeat of the band and keeps everyone together. The tenor is the "meat and potatoes" instrument, often playing chords in drag triplet rhythms to fill in the chordal base of the song. Small variations occur here, but the tenor is there mostly as utility player and not as a curiosity or as the star. It's rare (but not completely unheard-of) for the tenors here to play a rhythmically challenging part such as we find all over in our Zim-based music. The alto is the melody instrument in the standard three-piece performing band, and the soprano will often double the melody in four-piece school ensembles. The result of this structure is a sense of power that is conveyed through the volume and intensity of the parts, a feeling that mimics the sense of standing in front of the speakers at a rock concert. Different, but also very cool.

In teaching, the style is quite different because it is focused around chord patterns. There are letter names at the top of each key and the teachers communicate through chords to the students. It's an interesting concept because we spend so much time emphasizing the absence of standard music education in our marimba playing. But it is effective, if slightly harder to grasp at the outset.

When performing, there are often four or five players but only three play on the marimbas. In concerts that I have seen it is common for a fourth player to be on drum and the fifth on shaker or tambourine. They play very actively, with continuous movement and plenty of energy. I laugh sometimes to think about how some of my marimba compatriots back in Portland would react to it! It takes more confidence to play this way and it certainly livens up the performances!

The Music

The pieces are generally quite short here in Cape Town compared with our marathon performances of pieces like Nehmamusasa! On average a piece will last between 1:30-2:30 minutes, compared to at least 5 and sometimes 10 or 15 back home! But I think it's a difference in concept and not a statement on endurance or anything like that. The structure of a marimba piece here is very straightforward, and the melody player (which they don't call the 'lead') has control of the group but not the extended solos that we get. In general, a piece starts with the chords or the bass and the melody joins after a few cycles. The melody is stated once or twice (there are usually only a few melody lines) and the singing begins, sometimes accompanied by a change in rhythm from the players. This rhythmic alteration is termed the 'change' and it can come as an independent section as well. There will often be a solo section for the professional groups, then the melody is restated and the piece ends. Not the extended leads that we are used to!

The chordal structures of the songs are also quite different. In the Zimbabwean-style we play mostly among the standard C, F, G and sometimes D chords, but here they utilize the A and D much more. I thought that different chords would be the result of an F sharp key, but really I haven't used that key at all and the chord structures are still different. The phrase structure is also extended so that some of the minor and diminished chords fit better into the music. In general, the cycles are much longer than ours. They're not quite on par with Siyakudumisa or Nhemamusasa, but definitely longer than Zendikiawa or Skokiana.

All signals are vocal, usually indicated by the band leader who shouts "melody!" "change!" "play!" or "end!" in the appropriate enthusiastic style, of course! I can think of many marimba folks back home who would love for all our signals to be vocal! It certainly simplifies the memorization side of things!

I have heard the songs here referred to as the 'Xhosa-style,' but I'm not entirely sure what that means because I haven't heard any other Xhosa music. The groups here aren't shy about adopting popular music either! I have heard make-shift arrangements of several tunes that I thought to hear only on the radio such as "Take 5" and "Clocks." Sometimes the chords don't quite work out, but the arrangements are amazingly good for the fact that some of the accidentals are missing!

The music is, in general, very free. I sometimes feel that the music we play on our marimbas in Portland is losing its essence because we constrain it with so many signals and rules and confine our thinking to one part and then specific variations. One of my hopes in traveling this year is to free up my sense of the music and gain confidence in improvisation. I was just starting to get comfortable with that before I left and I am hoping to develop that aspect of my playing. In some ways, it's very liberating to teach this music to players here in Cape Town, because they don't know the songs at all. So there are no expectations for certain signals/variations/etc. an no comparisons to other players' leads.

My 'Jobshadow'

The first day of my jobshadow was spent largely playing marimba with Kelly and Tracy and observing Tracy's lessons at two all-girls private schools. It was really great to play and jam with Kelly and Tracy--they were quick to pick up parts and willing to teach me some of their pieces. I got to record some parts to a few songs and I am hoping to transcribe them when I get the chance. The lessons we attended were also quite interesting. amaAmbush auditions the students for places in the school bands based on two criteria: energy and ability. This was apparent in the lessons as every one of the students was both capable and enthusiastic. What a contrast from the township schools, though! I am glad to see the other side of education in Cape Town, and it makes me even more glad that I am able to help out even a little bit in the townships by tutoring. The lessons were interesting because Tracy 'conducted' by drumming, something that I have never tried but worked well. It kept the pieces moving at an appropriate tempo while imbuing the music with energy. It's a bit more subtle than the Hosho that we play, because the sound of the drum lies 'underneath' the music instead of layering 'on top' like the higher rapping of the hosho gourds.

On my second day I spent some time transcribing amaAmbush songs--a process which is never quick for me, but is also very revealing of the differences between our musical styles. There's nothing like a written rhythm to exemplify the different meter and emphasis in the Xhosa music. I hope to do more of this when I have time, because it's both useful to amaAmbush as well as to me. I also attended a lesson that Ross taught at a high school in the Heideveld area (a township that is slightly better off than most). This was the same school that I attended a performance at the first day that I got involved with amaAmbush, and it was a fun lesson. I got to listen a bit as well as teach a bit, but it was difficult because there was a language barrier (Afrikaans was their best language and I can't speak a word of it) so I couldn't tell if they understood me or not. I believe that there are some photos of this lesson but I don't have them at the moment, so you'll have to check my grinnell gallery account for those a bit later.

In general when I have taught here, both to students and to more accomplished players, our Zimbabwean parts seem quite difficult to grasp. I think it's a difference in rhythm. We're used to short parts with intricate syncopations, while the standard here is simple triplet-syncopation with longer chordal patterns to remember.

My third day was spent as a participant/teacher of a drumming/dancing/marimba workshop at the Azaad Youth Center. The Azaad center is a post-high school institution that attempts to teach matriculated students from disadvantaged areas practical skills that they can use to find a good job. One side of that is marimba, so I got to sit in (and participate in) this workshop for Azaad youth.
We started off with some African Dancing taught by Zama (see above), a teacher affiliated with amaAmbush. I think that drumming was to be the subject of the day, but the teaching drums didn't arrive, so we were left to dance and play marimbas. I did participate in the dancing (surprise anyone?) but I don't think I was very good! It was fun, anyway. I am learning to be less shy about making a fool of myself--for better or for worse :).

Sorry about the blurry photo... there were lighting issues in the room. I am the gal in the green shirt in the back, and Zama is the one demonstrating the moves.

Kelly and I also got a chance to teach some marimba to the students... their very first time playing a marimba! I don't have any photos of me teaching, but I will try to remedy that in the future!

Life in Cape Town

Edit: This is the second section of this post, as promised!

OK, well, if you've made it this far into my post you definitely deserve a medal! Looking back over what I've written (not particularly elegantly this time) I realize that it's turned into a summary of my marimba research thus far. Now, if you happen to be looking for the world's leading expert on the differences between marimba culture in Portland, Oregon and Cape Town, then you're probably hanging on each and every word of my drawn-out exposition. If not, I apologize for the excessive scrolling that was necessary to reach this portion of today's post!

If you didn't read the earlier bits about marimba, the salient points are the following: I spent three days at amaAmbush Marimbas playing, teaching, and observing marimbas. It was really great, and I hope that there will be more to come!

Meanwhile, in Cape Town, I have been living life as usual. With a few exceptions. Today was the first day of Spring, although you'd never know it from looking at the sky! Cape Town weather is always a mixed-bag, but today was particularly gloomy and dark. Luckily, we had a clear night on Wednesday (even though it was, technically, still winter) when the moon was full for climbing Lion's Head (see pics below). Lion's Head is the second or third largest mountain/hill in the middle of Cape Town and is reputed to be one of the best hikes around. The hike isn't too long because there is a road that climbs half-way up the gentler part of the slope before you start the walk.
According to the park rangers that we met on the trail, you aren't actually supposed to climb up Lion's Head after sunset, but nobody in our group was aware of that fact before we were half-way up the trail. At that point we thought that the ranger would make us descend without reaching the top, but some smooth talking (I never did figure out exactly what JP said) got us permission to finish our climb if we promised to be careful and also hurry back. I'm still not sure how we were supposed to do both of those things at once!

But the hike was beautiful in the dark with the city lights stretched out around us, interspersed with the menacing dark shapes of Table Mountain, Devil's Peak, and the Bay. You could see so far, it was both amazing and gorgeous. The pictures certainly don't do justice to the view, so I will have to recommend a personal trip for beholding the true splendor of the city lights on a clear night. And the full moon as well--it was so bright! Every time we circled to the 'dark side' of the mountain you could hardly see the trail, but it was bright and clear on the moonlit side!

Luckily, nobody got hurt even though there were a few tricky spots and a few accidental slithers coming down, nobody was mugged (this is a ridiculously serious problem here... last week a woman climbing Table Mountian was mugged and everything she had with her was stolen... including her clothes! She had to walk down the mountain in nothing but her bra. Now that is serious mugging!), and nobody was arrested for illegally entering a national park after hours. All-in-all, a good night!

Other Musical Endeavors

In the absence of good marimba activity I have arranged a number of other activities in the past month. One of them I have mentioned before: the musical production put on by students from disadvantaged high schools. I attended another rehearsal session this morning, and it was lovely. The students are feeling more comfortable with me around, and I am getting to know a few names and faces so I can offer more intelligent conversation than the standard variations on 'Hi, where are you from?' So I spent the morning doing vocal and physical exercises of various sorts and learning to enunciate my vowels clearly, hold a pitch, and various other things that I have undoubtedly learned before but never remember well :).

The most interesting part of the session was the students character brainstorm. They were provided with a storyline starter at the end of last week's session and asked to brainstorm a charachter to fit into the story. The characters that the students came up with were amazingly detailed and intimately related to the social problems inherant in township life. I won't repeat any of them here because I haven't gotten their permission, but the range of characters spanned religion, drugs, prostitution, familial abuse, pregnancy, and almost any other vice you can imagine. Very sad to think that these students may know people just like the characters they created, but it is also uplifting to think about these students and their motivation for changing their own status and way of life.

Unfortunately, I don't have permission yet to put up any photos from this rehearsal, but I will check into it and perhaps I can post some in the future.


Conclusions

Well, there's plenty more to say but I'm afraid that there's nobody left to read it! And I am so tired of typing... I'm currently writing on a German keyboard (belonging to my housemate) where many of the keys are actually in unusual places. So for now, that's all you get!

I will try for brevity (and perhaps more levity) in the future!

Pious Adventures

I went to church this morning for the first time since I've been in Africa. It was certainly different and interesting! I normally attend Catholic services when I go to church back home, but I couldn't find a convenient Catholic church here. I'm sure there is one, but I haven't yet figured out where it is or how best to get there on a Sunday morning. So instead I decided to attend the service at the Methodist church on the corner near my house.


The congregation was quite small... maybe thirty people in a church that could hold over a hundred. And 90% of the congregation must have been over the age of 60. But it was a very friendly, personal service. It was quite obvious to me that the whole congregation knew each other, and for example, when we rose from our pews to "offer the sign of peace" to each other, I think I shook hands with literally every other person attending the mass. And I don't know how much this is a function of the service being Methodist vs. Catholic or in the US vs. Africa, but the congregation was much more active in the service than I had expected. People rose to tell the congregation about the good and bad news in their lives, to announce important family happenings, and to remark on the activities of the church organizations. I can't even explain how all the details differed from my expectations, but it was certainly an interesting experience.

I think next week I will try to attend an Anglican service at a larger church about a 45 minute walk from my house and compare the two. That is, as long as I can get myself out of bed so early on a weekend to walk that far! And sorry to disappoint all my marimba friends, but no Siyakudumisa hymn this week. I'll keep looking!

Rising Hope

The one-month anniversary of my departure was on Thursday, and it was certainly one of my lowest points so far. At that point, every marimba prospect that I had in the works was either stalled or defunct... Oscar Mpetha Secondary School no longer has a band, another band was in Germany, and my interactions with amaAmbush were two-weeks stale. In fact, I was pretty much convinced that the only thing I was learning about on my Watson was how to fail. But I think that this was perhaps one day too early for me to be despairing--or maybe the despair is itself and integral part of the Watson experience--because beginning early Friday morning things began to come together at a surprising rate.

Oscar Mpetha's marimba coordinator agreed to meet with me on Monday about starting up a new set of learners on the instruments (although the instruments themselves may need some repairing), and I am hoping for that connection to be relatively quick to start up as well as being reliable. Second, my housemate Akibu from Nigeria invited me along to an event he was helping with on Saturday (today) involving at least some Nigerian drumming and dancing. And third, I heard back from amaAmbush about plans for next week. So, all-in-all, I feel like the victim of some terrible coincidences timing-wise, but I'm very happy that there seem to be prospects again.

Isn't it funny how life works in waves and cycles? I feel like I've been bouncing back and forth between excitement and disappointment constantly since I've been here. As a consequence, though, I am feeling less naive than at the outset. But I suppose that is the recent disappointment talking :).

I attended the drumming/dancing event with my housemate Akibu this morning as planned, but it turned out to be somewhat different than I had expected. Akibu speaks English with a strong accent (to my ears... but mine's probably equally difficult for him!) so I hadn't really inquired about all the details of the event. It was a group of South African high school students that are in the process of creating a musical production centered around societal issues of inequality and abuse in township life. The students are a culturally diverse subset of a larger, city-sponsored student organization studying these issues and trying to help the students rise above this destructive sort of culture.

Anyhow, the group is in the early stages of creating this musical, and in the brainstorming process they are doing vocal exercises, drama workshops, and lots of musical activities that focus on group bonding and skill development. During part of the session, Akibu led a few of the students in drumming and then taught simple Nigerian dancing to the rest of us. Although I felt silly doing it, I joined in and had a good time. I can attend again next week if I choose to, and I think I will do it if my schedule permits. Even though it is not marimba, I am interested in how this group is using music and the arts to focus their energies in a positive manner. Their lessons were quite fun today, but sorry, no pictures! Maybe next week :).

What else is in the news? Well, Akibu also cooked the house some Nigerian dishes for supper last night--which was definitely the first time I had tried any! He made a mashed bean dish that was tasty, though difficult to make out the ingredients, and that was eaten with fried bananas and boiled potatoes. I suppose it doesn't actually sound all that exotic the way I am describing it here, but I was pleasantly surprised at the flavors.

So life here promises to be a bit more active than it has been, and I am certainly going to begin pursuing other options if my current set prove to be less exciting than I had hoped. I have just learned that Blogger has added video uploads to their blog options, but I didn't bring my cable with me to upload anything, so that will have to wait for later. In the meantime, since I feel bad leaving you all without any pictures at all, here's a photo of Observatory, the suburb I am living in :).

Hermanus

This weekend a number of my housemates and I went to Hermanus-the touristy whale-watching capital of the world. Or at least, of South Africa. The point of the trip was to watch for the Southern right whale, which famously feeds of kelp and calves in the bay just off the coast of this small town. And when I say "just off the coast" I really mean it! We had whales swimming within 50 yards of the shore, even though they weren't very active for most of the day.

Actually, we took the "scenic route" on the way, in both the literal and figurative senses of the phrase. It took over twice as long to get there (our navigator misread the map) but we drove on a beautiful, twisty road that hugged the coastline.


This is a picture of my housemates about halfway there when we stopped to admire the view (and, maybe, catch a view of whales!). It was amazing, though, how complicated everything can get when you have a group of people who don't speak their mind. We had several incidents where life was much more complicated simply because nobody would speak up!

However, as soon as we arrived this was all rendered unimportant as the lilting melodies of a marimba band floated towards us across the parking area. And, lo and behold! A marimba band had set up in one of the grassy whale-watching areas. It was actually really great. I got to listed for a long time while watching for whales, and while just listening! It was really fun to watch the audience as well, because the tourists were quite taken with the music. In fact, the band was making quite a good haul what with tips and CD sales from in front of the band. But some people just don't have any manners! There were some tourists who would walk right up behind the performers in order to take a photo from over their heads or from right beside them, not even allowing any room for them to perform! Kinda ridiculous if you ask me. It didn't seem to bother the performers as much though, probably a function of the generous tips left by the same tourists.


The band, Ilitha Lelanga, played mostly original music. In fact, whenever I talk to anyone here, they all look at me a bit funny when I ask that. Their faces say, "of course we do... we're professionals!" and I always feel a bit silly asking. But they also co-opt songs from anywhere else they choose--"Take 5" is a good example. I got to talk with them a bit between sets, and they were very surprised to hear that I played marimba in the states! It was actually quite humorous to them to picture me playing, and especially playing in a group of seven instruments. They only play with three or four down here, but they sure do make a lot of noise for all that! To them, seven would be an unbearable racket. Actually, hearing what they do wtih three I am surprised that seven isn't unbearable! But the parts are different here, more filled out, so I think that probably compensates.

This group played with a bass drum and a tambourine, and even the occasional cowbell! It gave them a semi-caribbean flavor, which was reinforced by the music itself. The tempos were more laid back than usual and the phrases were quite long--the music "lilted" more than other music I've heard. I'm going to try and upload a video onto youtube but I will have to figure out how that works first! In the meantime, you can check out more of my photos at www.grinnellgallery.com, just enter "parkersa" to see my albums.

The whales were pretty amazing as well. They didn't do much for most of the day, and then suddenly at about 4:15 in the afternoon every whale in the bay began to breach (sp?). They jumped straight out of the water and fell back in sideways with a splash in that classic whale-like pattern. Now, my description may be misleading because I think there were only three or four whales in the bay at that moment, and they only jumped a couple of times each, but it was still very cool to see it! I think my photos are pretty terrible, this is the best one I got :).


In the marimba world of Cape Town I am still pestering amaAmbush to get back to me. I am supposed to be shadowing one of their teachers this week, but she hasn't gotten in touch with me. It's really unfortunate from my end because I can feel the opportunities slipping by with each day that I don't hear from her. I will persevere, though, and keep calling, emailing, texting the office (at polite intervals, of course) until I get some kind of response. I am a bit perplexed that this is taking so long, because they seemed so excited to get me involved at first! Anyhow, I will keep on chugging.

The school that SAEP was going to set me up with for marimba has actually lost its marimba band because all the students who knew how to play graduated last spring. So, now I am at a loss on that side of things, but there is the possibility of starting the band back up. In fact, I am going to look into that as soon as I can, because it would be really a fun way to get involved with marimba without stepping on anyone's toes.

That's all for now!

My Turn

OK--so my week here in Cape Town wasn't nearly as depressing as my last post, and I feel obligated to update again so that everyone doesn't worry about my state of mind too much :) .

I spent yet another week as an intern at the SAEP office. The good thing was that I stayed busy for most of the week. The bad part was that my marimba work still has not gotten off the ground. I tagged along to a marimba performance by amaAmbush last Sunday, and took some good photos and audio recordings. It was actually a pretty fun event, despite the awkward venue!

The band was playing at the Roosevelt club in downtown CT, which was a sort of bar/restaurant that was attempting to start a tradition of Sunday afternoon braais (barbecues). However, the city basically shuts down on Sundays--no shops are open, no restaurants except the really fancy ones do any business because nobody is walking around in town on a Sunday. This particular club decided that they would attempt to capitalize on this fact by finding a niche as the Sunday afternoon hang-out. And as a draw? Live music and questionable food.

Initially, they set us up in a small outdoor tented area just outside their main bar area. This was incredibly tight, with the players on one side practically dipping their elbows in the buffet dishes and the players on the other side creating a danger zone in the couch seating.


The performers at the middle-left are Ross and his little sister. Ross is the director of amaAmbush (the whole organization, not just the band). On the far left and second-to-right are two township high school students (one is in Grade 12, the other I'm not sure, but may have already graduated high school) and the guy on the far right is a marimba-admirer-turned-player from one of the townships. These performing groups are made up of "whoever's free" from amaAmbush--they don't have to rehearse or anything! Pretty impressive if you ask me, and I enjoyed meeting and talking with these guys.

So once the space crunch was recognized we were quickly moved out to the sidewalk outside the club (see below). The irony here is that the club actually hired a music group that it could not fit into its building, for a non-existent audience.


Aside from the odd setup, the second irony was that the club asked for the band to be there around 3:00 pm and the band was to play 2 half-hour sets. However, since very few customers had made it to the club by then, the manager asked the band to just sit around until they had an audience. Turns out they had to sit around for over an hour! And then only one set was played, and the club continued to blast its pop music inside the bar throughout the performance. Quite odd, all around.

The music they played was really interesting, though! Many of the songs are traditional Xhosa melodies that have been adapted to marimbas, while others are popular tunes like "Take Five" and "In the Jungle" that even Americans would recognize. Because the band was only made up of three marimba players, each part is much more "full" than the parts we generally play in the States. Instead, the two instruments have to compensate by playing parts with many more notes. The tenor almost always plays some sort of quick-rhythmed chord part, often made up exclusively of drag triplets (in the style of Babamudiki for those of you who know it). The soprano gets to play whatever strikes his/her fancy, but it is almost never a rolling part and almost always has split-handed character to it (right hand high, left hand stays low, complex melodies result!). There aren't as many interesting rhythmic patterns that come out in the soprano and tenor instruments, but the resulting music is incredibly powerful because of the quick chordal nature and considerable volume of the soprano and tenor. The bass parts though--they are way cooler than ours! I apologize for inventing my own marimba terms to describe the music, but I don't have a way to post a recording just yet. All the recordings I took this weekend are high-quality sound files so they are too big to upload. I'll try to make some simpler recordings soon for public consumption!

I haven't had any marimba since last weekend though, and I am unhappy about that. I'm learning that in Cape Town you just have to be assertive or you won't get anything done. So today I am supposed to start being assertive :).

If you want to see more photos of the gig, there is an album posted at my Grinnell Gallery account. You can it them at http://www.grinnellgallery.com/viewAlbum.do?aid=4c8d8b5a130b973501146f5bd54876a4 . I have to warn you that all the photos are fairly similar, though!

A Moment of Introspection

For anyone who is expecting this post to be a tale of adventure and frantic activity--stop right now! As the title suggests, I am in a contemplative mood and this post will be a simple meandering through my thoughts and impressions.

I was struck today by the similarities between the day to day life of Cape Town to that of the US, and even to that of Australia. Cape Town is the famed tourist destination in South Africa, a tribute to the "developing" part of the third world because it seems to be on par with the Western world. But there is a different feel to the air here, a subtle flavor of fear mixed with defiance, an abstract pride in the qualities that the first world would classify as faults. When someone is late to a meeting they laugh and call it "Africa time." If you are mugged walking home from work your family and friends just shrug it off as "carelessness" on your part. The newspapers lament almost daily about the crime and poverty that define the South African nationality, but nobody sees change happening. The reality is that there are many Cape Towns. There is the Cape Town that parties on Long St. and basks in the sun at Camp's Bay, returning to their clean house every evening to lock the rest of the world out with the front gate, the gate outside the front door, and bars over every window. There is another Cape Town, where aware individuals look around them in the suburbs and realize the shortcomings of their way of life--the crime that keeps them captive in their home, the self-sufficient attitude that ignores the struggle of the people all around them--yet they do nothing. There is yet another Cape Town, in which the people view their surroundings with open eyes, attempt to change what they cannot abide, and still fail to make a significant difference. And then there is the Cape Town of the townships.

The townships are real, they are more real than anything. All the photos you see are real, true to life images of the daily suffering of most black South Africans. But the people in the townships, they are not the stereotypical images of poverty and suffering that we of the first world lament when we care to think about it. They are wonderful people. Many of them have jobs, decent clothing, enough to eat, and live a relatively normal life. With the exception, of course, that they are living in shacks built from wood, metal sheets, and whatever else they can find. Now, almost 14 years since the end of apartheid, there are a smattering of high school graduates from the townships attempting to break into the educated workforce and into the tertiary education system. If they make it, these individuals will begin to erode the racial segregation unofficialy enforced by the country's demographics.

On Monday afternoon I tutored English to a class of 11th Grade learners at Sthimbele Matiso High School in the Nyanga township. These students were staying after school of their own volition because they wanted to learn to speak, read, and write the language of the educated South Africa. But not all of them did. There are two Cape Towns in the townships as well: the Cape Town that recognizes the new opportunities available in the post-apartheid world, and the Cape Town that accepts its role in a racially and economically segregated society. This last version of Cape Town is the one that gets to me. I have met so many motivated students that realize what opportunities are there for them and grab hold, hanging onto any small piece of knowledge and skill they can find, that it is somewhat depressing to see the rest of the young learners fall into their role as the lowest societal class. Opportunity passes them by because they are content to live out their lives on the bottom rung of their community. The learners in the English class that I taught were a mix of both worlds, and it was almost enough to overwhelm me to see the two attitudes in the same classroom.

It made me think of our own school system in the States, where students only go to school because they "have to" and cheer for every day that they can steal as a holiday or vacation. But really, many of the learners here lament the days they were forced to remain at home because of a massive teacher strike. They lust after the kind of education that our students take for granted and even resent. I don't think I will ever resent my education or my teachers, who were trying so hard to help us get ahead in the world. Really, there is no benefit to them except to have benefited us.

This post has become much more glum than I had intended, and I think that there are lessons here but I am dwelling on them too much. The wonderful things that I have seen are the balance to the others--the students ready to spare nothing to learn whatever they can, the marimba players that are earning money as well as having fun in constructive ways, the introspection of the communities (despite inaction). But my final conclusion is that this world, this array of Cape Towns, is not so different from the array of lives in my hometown of Portland, and it is not so different from what I witnessed in Australia. People struggle to get by, and it is just a different part of the population that ends up on the bottom in each area. Things are so black and white here, but at the same time they are a wonderful rainbow of possibilities. Where will South Africa take itself in the next decade?

Activity, at last!

Well, it's been an interesting week and a half since my previous update!

I have, first off, been to many exciting places and seen some really cool things. Last weekend I spent a day traveling the coast south of Cape Town with my housemates, and we had a great day at Boulders Beach and the Cape of Good Hope. Boulders Beach was really fun because it is the home of an African penguin colony, and the cute little buggers toddled in and out of spaces between boulders and the water... adorable!


After spending an hour or so with the cutest penguins at Boulders Beach, we moved on to the Cape of Good Hope for a couple of nice hikes. This is, of course, the most southerly point in Africa and it was fun to stare off across the ocean in the direction of the south pole. There is just something a bit magical about being at the end of the world, with nothing between you and Antarctica. Now, this is actually the second time I've been able to say that, because I had the same experience in Australia on Kangaroo Island. However, the moment did not lose any of power for me. I think I will now have to put Argentina on my list of future travel destinations (not on the Watson, but some other time) just so that I can say I've been to all the most southerly points in the world. And Antarctica, of course, but that's a tough one to swing. I'll have to become a brilliant environmental scientist to get a trip there, I think.

Last week also turned out to be quite busy work-wise. Not that SAEP actually found much for me to do. I really ended up being most useful as a handy-man type figure, hanging paintings and cleaning up the offices to impress our "important visitors." Thursday and Friday were actually holidays for the schools as well, so no work for me then!

My HUGE breakthrough came completely by mistake. I was looking up a marimba band that I had a lead on here in Cape Town when I stumbled across another that was described as "one of the best marimba bands in South Africa"! So, of course, I had to follow up on it. Turns out that this group, amaAmbush Marimbas, is exactly what I have been hoping to find here in Cape Town. They are a group that performs regularly but mostly they build marimbas and teach in various schools around Cape Town. What's more, I contacted them and got an immediate reply. I am so excited! I got to meet everyone there and play a bit on their marimbas, which was fabulous. They don't have the range of the ones we play in the states and the bands are comprised of fewer instruments (at least, the amaAmbush bands are) but it is real marimba with completely new music, and they are totally excited to get me involved.

So, life actually seems quite perfect at the moment, except for the nasty cold that I am suffering from! But I think everyone gets this cold... at least, all my housemates assure me that they got it a few weeks after arrival as well. But sniffles aside, I hope that my next few weeks will be much more marimba-active than the past few! I just got an invitation to come along to a gig tomorrow where the amaAmbush performing band is playing, so that ought to be a lot of fun too.

And how could I forget to mention my near-death experience? Thursday was a day off from work, so a few of my housemates and I decided to go hiking on Table Mountain (picture to the right, the tallest peak). That seems great, right? Except that our guide (one of my Dutch housemates) didn't do an adequate job of preparing us for this trip. It wasn't actually a hike at all, at least half of it would be better described as a climb. We had absolutely no safety gear and had to scramble up rock faces and sheer cliffs, sometimes with the help of a chain that had been hung to assist on the really impossible parts. My fear of heights nonwithstanding, this was definitely the most deliberately reckless thing I have ever done, and potentially the most dangerous. I can't believe that this was an official route up the mountain, and I have no idea why my housemate thought we would be able to do this just for fun (the photo on the left is of my climbing buddies, but this wasn't even one of the dangerous bits)! Luckily, just as we were coming to the last really difficult part of the climb we were overtaken by two very experienced climbers who had been on the route many times before. This was especially lucky, because even though we were almost at the top a cloud had just swept over the mountain at our elevation and the last chain was becoming slick from the moisture in the air. I have never in my life been so terrified, and I think I will never do anything like that again without safety ropes and an experienced guide. Actually, I think that next time I will take the cable car to the top of the mountain!

But that's about everything I've been up to so far! More of my photos can be found on GrinnellGallery (which you do not have to be associated with Grinnell to view) at http://www.grinnellgallery.com/viewAlbums.do?uid=4c8d8b5a126bfb160112b6e8ea8a1a17 (or just go to http://www.grinnellgallery.com/ and type "parkersa" into the "read" box on the left side).

"Normal" life

Well hello again,

I have started work (this is my third day with SAEP) and I am slightly disappointed to report that so far I haven't gotten out of the office! I was promised a trip into the schools this afternoon, but I haven't heard much today so that might be a wash. The office is boring, unfortunately, because there really isn't much for me to be working on here. Actually, everyone else seems quite busy, but they haven't gotten used to me yet, and so I personally don't have too much to do. A blessing? No... I love sitting around at home, but sitting around in an office when you don't even have any personal space is just boring. My coworkers are really nice, though, and I have high hopes that they will become good friends.

I also moved into my "permanent" lodging yesterday. I am staying in a shared house for medium-term residents. It's pretty inexpensive, and so far my housemates have been really wonderful. I haven't had much of a chance to move in and get settled yet, but I hope that I will get to do that more tonight.

I still haven't uploaded any photos, and I apologize for that! I have only taken a few (it's not particularly smart to carry a camera openly around here... makes you a pretty nice target for theft) but I promise to get them up soon. My landlady has a computer that we're allowed to use at her office, so I will try to do that after I get settled.

Other than that, I am just living life in the "same old" routine. Except that I haven't been here long enough to have one! I really hope that things get a little more active around here soon. If they don't, I might consider moving on earlier than I had planned.

Getting started

Hello everyone!

It is cold and raining here, just like Portland in the winter except that none of the buildings here have any heat in them! That makes me want to stay in bed a really long time in the morning, even though I should get up and do things :). My backpacker is REALLY noisy on weekend nights, too! The partying seriously goes on until 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning. But I hope I'll be out of there and into other lodging soon. Now that I'm up and out I think I will browse a used bookstore because I am almost done with the books I brought with me. And somehow, nothing feels better than curling up with a cup of hot tea and a book when it is gross and rainy out (not to mention unsafe after dark).

For anyone who is interested, I now have a cell phone and you can email me to get the number. There is a way to do free international calling, but I left that info at home so I'll have to email it to all of you another day. But incoming calls should be free on my phone, so as long as you can calculate the time difference (9 hrs ahead) I would love to talk to you!

I am at loose ends today, but I found a really nice coffee shop/cafe where I sat and had some coffee and some butternut squash soup. It was tasty! My stomach is bothering me a bit, but I think that's just because I am still nervous about a lot of things. It's interesting to feel that way, because I can't remember ever having a physical reaction to nervousness that lasted longer than a few hours. I think I will feel a lot better once I have a long-term place to live. I am seriously considering the shared-houses that one of the other SAEP volunteers recommended. It sounds like you have to start out in a backpacker-style lodge with dorm rooms and shared facilities, but that you can move to a nicer lodge (owned by the same people) after a little while. The nicer lodges have much more space, private rooms, and bathrooms (most of which have showers) in the rooms. I might try to live there for a few weeks and if I don't enjoy it I will try to find another place. It sounds nice because it will be easy to meet students and travelers, which might be harder if I were to take a room in someone's home (I had a recommendation for a nice lady who has two rooms to let). We'll see! It seems like everyone at SAEP has friends outside of work that they spend a lot of time with, so I want to make sure I can also meet other people.

There is a lot of ATM fraud here... which makes sense, but still feels strange after living in Iowa for four years :). Everyone warns you not to use an ATM that is outdoors, or one without a guard near it. Yes, they actually have security guards at their ATMs! Apparently it's the most common form of theft and it happens most to tourists who aren't careful. The thieves somehow get the machine to jam with your card in it, and most people don't realize until after you have entered your PIN. At which point you go inside to notify the bank, and the thief robs your account and takes your card. So far, none of this has happened to me... the backpacker has been very nice about suggesting ATMs to use, they must have a lot of experience with stupid tourists :).

There are also these funny taxis here called "minibus taxis" that are essentially minivans, and they run through the city with an operator who calls and whistles out the side window. They'll stop anywhere and pick you up if you wave, or let you off anywhere you ask. They are more common than actual buses or commuter trains. It's a funny system, but really cheap. There are some routes that are unsafe to take the minibus on because the drivers are a bit crazy, but the one running from Observatory (where the shared houses are) and Rondebosch (where the SAEP office is) is a safer one because you don't have to go on the freeway. Anyhow, I got to ride one yesterday and it was an interesting experience!

Anyhow, that's all the news from here! Hope to hear from all of you soon!

I've Arrived!

I arrived in Cape Town yesterday afternoon and I feel like I'm just barely getting my feet under me! It is rainy here and cold-ish... nothing like Iowa but still pretty chilly. I'm staying at a hostel in the city bowl, which is basically tourist central. I'll be contacting the South African Education Project this afternoon, they're helping me get set up with my first group. Actually, I should have done that already, but I'm a bit shy when it comes to calling people. I guess that will have to change!

Anyhow, I was feeling very confident until I started talking to some of the other travelers at my hostel yesterday. Everyone seems to think that it is just SO dangerous here, which makes me nervous about doing the simplest things. But despite my personal apprehensions, I had to venture out today to get food...I'd been mostly eating airport food until now, so I had to be daring and go for a walk in broad daylight :). Seriously, though, I didn't expect to feel nearly this nervous just being here.

Another surprise--hostels don't heat their rooms! So it's a good thing that I brought a sleeping bag. At least this hostel has hot water... the one I stayed at in Joburg was seriously lacking in that department. I'm not sure what's going to happen for me in terms of housing, I guess I'll find out after I call Norton this afternoon. If nothing else, I can always stay at the hostel for a few nights longer than I'd planned.

Anyhow, over and out! I hope that all of you are enjoying summer back in the Northern hemisphere!

Four Days and Counting!

Hello again!

This time I am coming to you from my home in Portland, OR... a mere 4 days before I depart on my trip! I am stocked with fancy travel gadgets and wondering how I will ever fit my gear into my bags. I'm really hoping to get by with just my large backpack to start with, since I know I'll acquire more throughout the year.

Finally, there has been a victory on the visa front! After many MANY trials and tribulations I received my year-long visa to South Africa via FedEx yesterday (5 days before departure). Now, it's not that I didn't get all the ridiculous amounts of paperwork in to the consulate in time, actually, I did. But deadlines are flexible there, it seems, and allowing four weeks for a visa that is supposed to process in five days was just barely enough. In fact, I got a call on Tuesday (7 days before departure, three weeks after the consulate received the application) notifying me that a Portland police department clearance was not sufficient, although this was never mentioned in the application packet, and I had to run out to get fingerprinted so that I could apply for an FBI clearance. Personally, I wonder how many people make this mistake, since the requirement simply asks for a "police clearance"! Surely they could save some time at the consulate by being more specific? But anyhow, I got the visa and I can go :).

I have four flights to get me to my first destination--Cape Town, South Africa. A couple full days of travel... Portland-->New York-->Dubai-->Johannesburg-->Cape Town... on three different airlines, and a strong hope that my baggage makes it there with me :). I'm starting out in Cape Town with the South African Education Project, which can connect me with a township high school that has had a marimba program for several years. It also turns out that the SAEP needs someone with knowledge of basic laboratory chemistry to help them start up a science unit, so I'll be useful on more than one front. There are also rumors of a music camp in Gabarone that I might dash over to in August, but I can't seem to find out when, what, or where this festival is, so it's still just a rumor.

So, with that I am over and out. I hope to have some pictures and another update for you in about a week!

Preparations Underway

As the title suggests, I am busy preparing for my departure. While the timeline still says early July, I figured that five vaccinations in one week deserved an update, even if only to assuage my poor, over-taxed immune system. I am looking for some advice on a number of topics, so if you have any ideas please let me know!

First--I am, as usual, looking for any information regarding marimba in southern Africa, whether involved with education or not. This includes contacts of any sort that might be able to point me in the right direction.

Second--I am shopping for a portable recording device with a lot of storage. Any ideas? I will most likely be able to download this information onto a computer once or twice during the year, but I can't count on it regularly. I would prefer decent sound quality, but I'm willing to buy a microphone to augment the device.

Third--Any advice on good brands for travel equipment such as backpacks? I'm hoping to keep my cargo down to one piece of luggage but I want to make sure I get something reliable.

Thanks everyone... I'll keep updating as my preparations continue!

Welcome!

Hello everyone!

This is where I will be posting updates about my travels during my Watson year! I hope that you enjoy hearing about them, and I promise to try and update reasonably often.

As of now, I have been awarded a Watson Fellowship to travel to southern Africa (specifically Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa) studying the use of the African Marimba in education. I'm working on planning my trip and acquiring contacts in the region, and I plan to leave sometime this summer, probably early in July. If you have any ideas for me, I would love to hear from you!

Sarah