Instant Gratitfication

 

photos by: Krista Osmundson

"Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly."

I saw smiles on every street corner of Langa. The township was bright with bustling school children and markets. I saw what poverty smelt like, tasted like and looked like; and in some ways it wasn't what I had expected. The poverty was rich with positivity. While heartache lives in just about every community, I saw more smiling faces today than I have in my own neighborhood back West in years.

There was gratitude...an instant gratitude.Not the kind of instant gratification you get when giving a friend a helping hand, this one was deeper than that. Sally, our tour guide, gave a band of toddlers oranges and lolli-pops and I have never seen such joy in a child's eye. The little girl, who Sally had known since she was in her mother's tummy, had only socks on, and did not have clothes that fit. The toddlers were maybe 2 or 3 years old. They did not beg for attention or money, they were just happy to have a treat. I felt a surge of joy in seeing this act of kindness and act of appreciation. 

I saw something that I was not expecting to see...pride. The township was not full of sad faces and hopeless dreams. There was a sense of pride in their community. The community center was lit with young talent and I felt joy in contributing to it. The art brought joy to me, and to the people that made it. The Beverly Hills of Langa, which were similar to the western working middle class homes, was where local doctors and lawyers chose to reside. Many successful people from Langa do not move out to the glittery homes of Cape Town, but instead stay within the community that built them. 

DAY 1.

29 hours later and I landed in Cape Town last night (day, afternoon?), my perception of time is still not quite right. I flew over the Atlantic and flew over places I have been dreaming of being on the same continent as my entire life. 29 hours in airports and on planes is all it took for a 22-year dream to become a reality. I flew over the French Alps, and I saw my reflection in the window of the plane and gave myself a lovingly smile. I did it.

Lights glamorously lit the scene as we dropped altitude and circled into Cape Town. Adrenaline dominated the jet lag, and positivity overruled the fear. Nine personalities in one apartment, and there is an underlying notion of disbelief in us all that we are actually on this great adventure. 

We could not have been more lucky to have graced with beautiful weather on our first real outing in Cape Town. We first head to the market up the street to gather foods that either 1. we had never heard of or 2. were the same brands but compiled completely different. Example, candy in flavors like "champagne" "chardonnay" and "pinot". Packaged "pies" in curry and the infamous Marmite. 

We were all starving so we decided to go into Cape Town. Conveniently, we live right by a train. Literally, right by a train. So we got a first class ticket to Cape Town and 10 minutes later found ourselves in a city where people were bustling in a pavilion and a mountain was dominating the sky. 

For R140 (about $20 or) we got a ticket on a tour bus (double decker) and head up Table Top. It was breathtaking. The sky is bigger and the pace is slower. I almost forgot that there was also another beautiful attraction to this wonderful city, the ocean. 

We made it to the coast and ate an fine italian restaurant where we sipped wine, and daquiris. I ordered the gnochi and gorgonzola and it was arguably the best meal I have ever ate. I was a few hundred yards from the breaking waves with 8 friends. A street performer with an old acoustic and wonderful expressions entertained us while strumming Bob Marley. We took beautiful pictures on the beach and then went to a super posh mall. There is posh and poverty in Cape Town. Lamborghinis and footless feet.
The gang had to get phones, converters and all that other stuff, which is stressful but it didn't jade the day. 

However, the city feels safe to me. It needs open minded students and tourists in order for it to thrive and talk about just how beautiful it is. Tonight, I will sleep well and tomorrow I will venture even more. Until tomorrow, Goodnight from Cape Town!

Love from CT,

Brooke 

big jet plane

5 weeks from now I will be on a big commercial airliner taking me farther away from home than I have ever been.

I can not wait.

rolling sea

Perfect song for a long but lovely plane ride.

Cry Freedom: Steve Biko

In my History 355 class: Sports and Society in South Africa, we recently watched a great film about Steve Biko, a political activist who captivated the heart of a white journalist, Donald Woods, and his family. However, even though their were consequences to this biracial friendship, Woods was unwilling to give up on a friend and a mission.

The film was made in 1987, seven years prior to the end of the apartheid.

 After the death of Biko, Woods is determined to unveil the truth behind his friends death. Biko dies in police custody and Woods decides to write a book about it, a very risky thing to do. Woods' family is threatened and luckily escape the forces of death. Having to go undercover, Woods is forced to leave the country to get the truth and his book published to the world.

Also, it is one of Denzel's first roles!

the rainbow nation: ART.

The most vulnerable act you can make is to expose who you are. Through art, not only is the individual exposing themselves but their community to which they live in. South Africa's art community is thriving and their rich culture, full of joys and sorrows, can be seen thanks to the fingertips of its natives. 

Marna Schoeman:

I chose these four to place due to their complete and captivating whimsy. I love the mix of sketch, imprint and painting. The exotic colors and subjects show the beauty of the surroundings the artist is placed in, yet her utterly brilliant mind. A natural psychedelic experience.

Margaret Nel. 

I just love this woman. Her paintings have a "rose" about them don't they? Her retro paintings are realistic, but a kind of reality I wish I lived in. Streamers and cupcakes along with nonchalant expressions. The cupcakes show the plastic captivity that domestic life holds, yet the sweet pleasures of the modern era. I love her coastal hues and inspirations. 

Andre Naude.

His incredible paintings are simply perfect. I adore the whimsical landscapes, calming colors that almost seem to be the photograph of a memory. His quick  and playful brushstrokes gives his work a childlike air. By no means could a child create these, but it is if his perspective is from that of a child's. 

Ilse Fourie:

I just think she is absolutely brilliant. Her vibrant palette exudes that she is from the rainbow nation. I love her scribbled charcoal and use of fish. This last painting here, is called "a conversation with remarkable fish." While it is difficult to foretell what any artists means in their work, this beautiful woman portrays herself with a deep appreciation for the human body, mind and nature. 

NGO Spotlight

CVET.

The Community Education Video Trust in Cape Town is compiling a digital reference for of videos dug up from the 1980s and the 1990s,  crucial and telling times during the apartheid. 

I am very proud to say that this is the NGO I have been partnered with for my summer internship in Cape Town, South Africa. CVET began its efforts in 1976.

All of the resources discovered are completely public and are meant to educate the world, not just South Africa, at the peak of the resistance during the apartheid. 

Yet, the core of the NGO is to train the community of video production, this I am sure will be one of the most rewarding things I do in my life. 

Amazingly, CVET wants to progress South Africa's social development while progressing their media development.