I have been getting settled in Johannesburg. My flat won't be finished for a few months (I arrived much earlier than the college expected) so I'm staying with a lovely family. I won't be putting pictures or videos up until I'm in my own place (hopefully by November) because internet in South Africa is charged by bandwidth and uploading pictures takes a lot of it. If you use all of your bandwidth for the month the internet just won't work anymore, and I don't want to use all of the family's internet.
I'm working in the library at the Theological Education by Extension College in Gauteng. There are 14 staff people (that includes me) at the college and over three thousand students. I spent the first week I was here in training and now I have the library to myself. The library is perfect for playing 80's music really loud and dancing around, although I've been told the finance department can see me. When I'm not making a fool of myself I'm been editing course materials for the next year and helping students prepare for their exams. I'm getting to know some of the students. One guy stands out in particular because when I asked how his weekend was he told me his life story (from the age of 15 months onward). In November I'll move to the Dispatch department and start getting course materials out to students.
I got to do something social work-y last Friday, which I was very happy about. I'd forgotten that I'd agreed the week before to go to a girls' group at the Salvation Army Church. Luckily one of the group leaders reminded me on Friday afternoon. It ended up being my favorite part of the week. There were about eight girls in the group, but I heard there are usually ten to twelve. They were all between 12 and 15 years old which was perfect since I'm used to being around that age group. I didn't know much about the group before I got there, and I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be a Bible study, but it wasn't. It was a mentoring group.
I introduced myself and answered some of the girls' questions (Have you ever met a celebrity? What's your favorite food/color/sport?), and they told me about themselves. We did an icebreaker where we decorated bananas to make them look like people and gave them personalities (pictures will explain this better than I can). Then we jumped right into the topic of the day- rape. About half of the girls had friends who had been victims of rape. We talked about the stigma of rape, how it affects someone physically and emotionally, and what to do if any of the girls found themselves in a situation where they were uncomfortable. It was a heavy topic but they handled it well. I've agreed to help with the next topic- self esteem.
I briefly met Malaak Compton-Rock (Chris Rock's wife) last Sunday at church. By briefly met, I mean I said, 'Hello, it's nice to meet you.' The church was packed and services had just ended so it wasn't the time to have a meaningful conversation. She was in Johannesburg with The Angelrock Project (http://www.angelrockproject.com/arp/projects/south_africa_programs.asp), which she founded. The program does educational and micro-financing projects in the area. She seemed nice and the kids at the church were really excited that she was there (this was her third visit). They sang songs and some of the teenage girls danced in the service. I have pictures and video I'll try to put up when the bandwidth allows.
Aside from all of that, what have I done in South Africa? I've been to two dance competitions, seen two movies (super cheap!), watched a rugby game, gone window shopping, blown a vuvuzela and set up a cell phone (it won't support international calls, though). As far as things to look forward to, the family I'm staying with has mentioned attending Joburg Day (a festival of South African musicians), camping out at one of the national parks for a photo safari in September, going to local artisan villages and flea markets, and teaching me to drive a manual on the left side of the road. This Sunday I'm going with a staff member from the college to a township (not sure which one) for church services.
So, that's all for now. I'm going to go edit some more courses.
