Pictures take 5

The vineyard! So pretty

Haha, candid of Ameet, Teresa and Nathan with his camera. I have yet to see the pictures he got, but I'm sure they were amazing (these are all stolen from Teresa)

The whole gang after our wine tasting

View outside of our car window of a bit of the coast. I wish we had some more photos of this because it was gorgeous. If I come across some I'll post them

Sasha, Teresa, and me right near some hidden penguins

And this was the beach

Penguins!!

More penguins! They are so cute.

Ok, Teresa took over 200 pictures in the 3 days we were there, so this post may have a follow-up one with more photos. Very exciting

Cape Adventures

This weekend I went with five friends on an epic journey to Cape Town. It commenced on a 5:55am flight on Thursday and ended when we got back to International House around 11am that Sunday. The trip involved little sleep, much travel, and some amazing sites of the city in South Africa I am vaguely regretting not studying in.
Unfortunately my camera is still dead, so pictures will not be forthcoming until I steal them from others, but I can go through some highlights from our crazy but short trip down to the southernmost part of the African continent.

-Thursday, after waking up at 3:30am, booking it to the airport, getting held up and almost missing our flight and finally getting on and reaching Cape Town two hours after, we spent the day exploring the winelands of Cape Town. It was about an hour drive from where we were staying (a pretty nice backpackers place near the center of downtown Cape Town. Ok it's a backpackers, so my standards were fairly low, but still... nice) which we got to on a nice road-trip in a car we rented. The vineyard we stopped at was very nice with picturesque rows of grapes amid mountains in the distance. Cape Town is cool because it's right on the Indian Ocean, but it also has these gorgeous mountains. I experienced my first wine tasting and felt really sophisticated. Kind of. I had absolutely no clue what I was doing, but I think I pretended really well. I'm pretty sure the wines I liked were the less classy ones (judging from their pricing) but I don't care.

-Friday: In the morning we explored the downtown area, went to some markets and bartered for some souvenirs. I suppose we probably still got ripped off, but we did argue the prices down. Afterward we took a car tour of the coast. It was so pretty! We were trying to compare it to beautiful places in the world, but we couldn't think of something that quite matched. Nothing in the States at least. We stopped at this place that supposedly had penguins, but we didn't find any at first. Sasha and I went exploring over rocks and through the water and after a bit of trekking we finally found quite a few. They are so cute and awkward, they put so much effort into walking because it takes them so long to pick up their feet. We got like three feet away from a couple of them. It was so cool. I think there were some good pictures from that, so hopefully in my next post I can include those. We watched the sun set over the ocean while sitting on a rock ledge above the water. It was breathtaking.

-Saturday was our last full day in Cape Town. Sasha, Teresa and Nathan (the three other Americans who came along) went up Table Mountain by cable-car. Apparently you can see the entire cape from there. I didn't go up because I'm coming back to Cape Town with my mom in a few weeks (I'm so excited for that!) and I wanted to leave at least one thing to do new with her. That night we went to one of our friend's friend's birthday party which basically lasted until we had to get going for our flight home. We ended up packing up at 3:45am and heading out to catch our 5:45am flight back to Joburg. We were all pretty delirious at this point, and again we had some issues with getting onto our flight (mainly because two of our crowd booked for the day after accidentally) but we all made it back in one piece. Yay!

I am so glad I got the chance to visit Cape Town. Honestly I don't know why on earth it didn't happen earlier. And while I have enjoyed my time at Wits, I would not have complained if Wits happened to be in Cape Town rather than Joburg. I guess you can't have it all though.

A Reflection

Classes ended yesterday for me. It's a little funny to hear about everyone doing midterms back home, but not all that funny because I have to worry about finals. During my last couple of classes this week I was reflecting back on the program and why I came and what I expected out of it and what I actually found and I thought I would share.

Honestly, I did not come on this program for the academics. I care about human rights in a disconnected, I want to help people kind of way, not exactly in a I want to study this for the rest of my life kind of way. I figured I would get an ok academic experience at Wits, but honestly knew nothing about the school. When it comes down to it, I decided to go on this program because I wanted to experience a different culture (where I could speak English) that wasn't a country I had already experienced (ie England) and I really liked the internship aspect of the program. In my mind I figured that putting a semester-long internship in South Africa on my resume would look really good. And I had been wanting to do an interesting internship in a different sort of environment. I also wanted a study abroad experience that would give me a different academic experience than what I could find at Vassar or on a Vassar program where basically you were doing the same sort of classes, just in a different location. Very honestly, those were basically the only reasons I went. And there's the fact that sometimes I just like to be spontaneous. Not in the sense that I just packed my bags one day and left, but in the sense that this was not the most thought-out venture I have ever committed myself to.

Coming out of this program though, I actually really enjoyed my classes, surprisingly enough. I obviously didn't love everything about every class, but I enjoyed aspects of every class, even the core law class which was pretty awful for us not studying law. Through interaction with students here I feel like I have a much better sense of world politics in a way that I have never connected to at home. This could be because it seems like students here are much more politically aware. I feel like Americans sometimes have less of a sense of what is going on around them. Maybe this is because we are a super power and feel like we don't need to worry less about smaller states, which is a really bad excuse. I have gotten an even better sense of how other countries view the States (which is not well) and why this is. It makes me want to figure out a way of changing the world's perspective of the States, not sure how I could accomplish this though. Thoughts? haha

My last psychosocial class was basically forty minutes of all us gushing about how it was one of the best classes we have ever had. Not only were the teachers awesome at leading discussion, but the variety of views and opinions in the class made discussion really interesting. Not to mention that we read some amazing theorists on subjects pertaining to colonization, entanglement and how teaching can be used as a way to get out of these negative societal relationships. It felt like a really good sociological/education class. We also got to have really great talks about things like language, something I wrote about a couple of posts ago, which (Fiona pointed out in class) could never have happened in the States.

There were of course a lot of frustrating aspects of the program. I mean, it has been pointed out quite a few times by different writers that working with human rights, while important, often feels, I don't know, like you are trying to build this sandcastle, but you are building it right near the water and the waves keep washing most of it away. It often feels pointless. Of course, I'm sure that when it feels most pointless it is most important to keep fighting. Plus, it isn't like there have only been failures trying to get people equal rights. It just is a little bit of an uphill struggle.

So ultimately I feel like I was possibly the least academically committed to this program when coming here, but I got a lot more out of it academically than I was expecting. I feel a lot more interested in the international aspect of politics, even though I have also gotten a sense that the level of state inequality is just one of those international aspects which will keep the strong states (what up US) from respecting the international system. I also would love to further explore how things like the media we are presented with can influence the way we interact with each other, positively and negatively. This program hasn't taught me things like how to write a better paper, honestly I feel like paper writing is approached so differently here and plagiarism is not something you just hear about occasionally. We got back our law papers and she told us that she found that 1/3 of the papers had plagiarized. 1/3! I will not get over that. But anyways, the things I have learned within my individual classes I feel very confident in my knowledge of, which I am really grateful for. Sometimes I feel like I get out of a class and I know I learned a lot of important things, but I wouldn't really be able to give you a comprehensive sense of the class without looking at a former essay or my class notes or something. I'm not really expecting to go on to study human rights further than this program, but I appreciate the human rights focus that has given me a different perspective on things such as politics, international relations, media etc. I feel like the best kind of academic experiences give students a range of different ways of encountering material. So ultimately, while I may have been a tad impulsive with this voyage into South Africa, I am ultimately really glad I decided to do it.

I am just four exams away from the end of this program. It doesn't feel like I've been here for four month. One month to go.

And for the Prize

So, it came out today that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. The reasoning behind it was that the award givers wanted to show their support for his efforts to promote peace, diplomacy, and create "a new climate in international politics" (BBC News). We've been studying the UN a lot here in South Africa, which I thought was strange at first because we talk about it very little back home. Mainly because the United States, all big and mighty, hasn't always been much of a world player in the cooperative sense of the phrase. I mean, from a liberal international perspective, since the US is such a major power, it should be able to whatever it wants to.

Obviously this is not the absolute best attitude for world harmony, however in the current international atmosphere, where sovereignty of states is valued above everything else, there does not seem to be much of a move away from it. So, the fact that Obama seems to be respecting the international community a little bit more than we as a country have in the recent past apparently is one of the reasons he received the award. I can understand this, providing incentive for a powerful country to continue to play by the non-enforceable rules, but is it reason enough for a Nobel Peace Prize? I am certainly not saying I don't support the efforts of Obama to foster more international peace, but giving a prize for intention over results seems a little odd. You don't give a prize to the runner who has the best intention to cross the finish line first.

BBC.com quoted several different people's views on the matter, here are two from opposite sides:

SIAMAK HIRAI, SPOKESMAN FOR AFGHAN PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI

We congratulate Obama for winning the Nobel [Peace Prize]. His hard work and his new vision on global relations, his will and efforts for creating friendly and good relations at global level and global peace make him the appropriate recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

KHALED AL-BATSH, AN ISLAMIC JIHAD LEADER

Obama's winning the peace prize shows these prizes are political, not governed by the principles of credibility, values and morals.

Why should Obama be given a peace prize while his country owns the largest nuclear arsenal on Earth and his soldiers continue to shed innocent blood in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Interesting points. I have not yet figured out my own opinion, but right now I fall in the middle. I do think that it makes an important statement giving Obama the prize, especially since the world opinion of the US in the past years hasn't been the most positive, but was he the absolute best person for the award... especially since he has not even been in office for a year?

Pride

So last Saturday I went with Sasha to my first gay pride event. I had been meaning to do this in Boston, but it never really happened. Next time I'll be sure to wear a costume, man we got shown up by so many people. Jeans and a t-shirt really don't do it in the gay pride parade.

We got there around 11:30 and weren't really sure where to go to get to the parade, but then we saw some people in wigs and matching outfits and figured if we just followed them we would end up in the right place. Luckily this was a good guess. We got there just as the parade was heading out, so we joined the mass right next to a float which was playing so awesome pop music (it is possibly one of the floats in the next picture down). I stole these pictures from the website dedicated to the event, since I forgot to get pictures off of Sasha's camera. I wish mine wasn't broken. So, there will be no pictures of Sasha or me, but the pictures should give you some sense of the event.


So something I was extremely surprised about was the fact that floats like the picture below were common and that there were not any Christian protesters on the side with mean signs. In fact, the only signs I could see that people were holding next the parade were things like 'we love you' and 'God loves you' which I was honestly shocked to see. From what I can tell, pride parades in the United States are always being protested, which is one of the big reason they happen. They are meant to challenge societal norms. In fact, when Act Up (the gay rights group in the 70s) was first coming into force, they relied on tactics to emphasize the fact that they were part of every aspect of society and were not going away. This is partially the reason for the use of so much spectacle (shiny costumes etc). The other reason is that they are just so much fun. Haha. Anyways, pride parades have been going on for quite some time in the States and they only just started in the 1990s here. It was mentioned at the festival following the parade that the first marchers walked with paper bags over their heads to protect themselves from abuse etc, and yet today there is a much more vocal supportive community than non-supportive coming out to watch the parade. What's the deal, USA?

Supportive church group! And I didn't see one member of the other kind of church group


Such awesome costumes all day! For serious.



Another comment I want to make. In my media class last half of the semester we actually talked a fair amount about gay rights and homophobia in the media etc. It's interesting because South Africa has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world and is one of the few places where discrimination against people because of sexual preferences is constitutionally not allowed. It is also one of the few places that allows for gay marriage anywhere in the state. But (there is always a but) the public opinion I have learned is often not so progressive. For one thing, it is common to hear that homosexuality "is not an African problem." As in, it doesn't really happen here and that it was unheard of until Europeans came in with colonization. While that is utter crap, it is a very pervasive opinion. In the media as well, homosexuals are portrayed more as wealthy, white guys living the fashionable life. There is little coverage of homosexual individuals and couples who appear just like their heterosexual counterparts. Of course they exist, they are out there in droves, but they get no coverage. Possibly this is because they don't conform to a stereotype, or maybe just because people don't want to hear about the ordinary, they want to hear about the spectacular. However, because the aspects of the gay community that get covered are ones that other people will be less likely to relate to, there is this element of 'othering' that happens. Through this, communities can believe that they know no one who is gay, so it must not exist in their little part of society. I find it so interesting that a country can have such a disconnect between the constitution and a serious section of their population.

But at the same time, no crazy protesters. Johannesburg seems to not be quite sure how to make up its mind about its homosexual population. Hopefully the more conservative parts of the community will come around. How this can be achieved is of course another area of speculation. Is it simply through exposure? And does this mean in the media or do you have to have real-life exposure to a different element of the society before you begin to accept it? Like in many places around the world, helping people create a healthier, more accepting environment will be an uphill battle. Homophobic violence is still very present in South Africa, with a lot of attention going towards the idea of "corrective rape" where men try to 'turn' lesbians through rape. Putting aside how incredibly disturbing a concept like that is, what does it say that men have ideas like these? Is this something that is being expressed within the South African culture? And is this simply because of homophobia or is it also men trying to reestablish the culture of male domination and gender hierarchy, since lesbians do not fit within the 'correct' female role?
I have no answers, which is why I am posing the questions to you. Make of them as you will.

A Picture of an Inverted Joburg

So last night I was checking out some Nando's ads with friends because we heard that they get banned really quickly (because they insult everyone) but are super funny. We did find some good ones (here's one that would definitely get banned in the States, as well as here apparently). However, then I came across a different South African advert that shows a pretty good visual depiction of South Africa, except it switches black and white roles in the Joburg area society. I thought it was interesting at the very least, though I'm not sure if something like this is helpful or not in the larger scheme of things. I mean, sure it makes whatever target audience they are hoping for (I'm guessing middle class whites?) to hypothetically see someone else's way of life as if it was their own, but could something like this actually help change stereotypes or assumptions? Media is a great way of impacting people, it's something we are tuned into every day and it's impossible to encounter constant messages from the media without letting it affect you. But at the same time, what does a video like this really say? From what I saw, it seemed to be trying to make the white people (who are portraying the black people) more humanistic, and the black people unnecessarily privileged and hostile. So the black people (slash 'white people') are seen more in stereotypes while the white people are seen as those you want to relate with. And while everyone watching this video knows that the white people are representing a different race, does it say something that the white guy is still seen as the hero figure? I figured I'll just give you the link to the video and you can give me your own opinions on the matter.