Taking the Plunge

Outtatown is such a crazy program because there's so much that we do in a year - not only do we get to travel, go on crazy adventures and go to class, but we do a whole lot of experiential learning.  One of the neatest experiences of first semester is our Urban Plunges.  Basically what happens is we take our students to a church located in the North End of Winnipeg for a few days and allow them to learn about what goes on in the downtown core.  They interact with the people on the streets, the ministries working there and learn about the problems that exist in the world of poverty and homelessness.

The Vineyard is a really beautiful church, and I'm not just talking about the building (which, incidentally enough is lovely - it's a renovated warehouse smack-dab in the middle of the downtown).  It's really incredible seeing a church that is so focused on living in community with any person who chooses to come to church.  It's a place where the down-and-out feel comfortable going; it's not uncommon to have drunken homeless sitting in the back of church on any given Sunday.  And the great part is, there's always someone willing to talk with them.

Our Urban Plunge was a really positive experience this year - definitely not as heartbreaking as last year - but one in which our students had their eyes opened to what exists in a city many of them live in.  The first day they go on a 'Learning Tour' which is set up like the Amazing Race - they have clues to follow that lead them around the city and bring them to different ministries where they learn about issues like prostitution, gangs and community living.  One of the coolest things I think they're asked to do is literally donate the shirt off their back to a shelter in town.  As they're being shown through the clothing room, they're asked to exchange something they're wearing, and boy oh boy did we have some ugly sweaters show up at the end of the day.  And 2 pairs of pleather pants... go figure.

In addition they're challenged to take someone out for coffee (they're given $12 dollars to do that and find dinner for the 3 people in their group; a real chance to experience what it's like to struggle to eat) and the stories that they come back with at the end of the day are incredible.  It's really neat watching their definition of poverty change over the course of our Urban Plunge.  You stop seeing poverty as a lack of basic needs (like money, food, clothes and a place to sleep) and learn that it's about powerlessness, hopelessness, dependance and social isolation.  My favourite quote from the week was when one of the speakers said, "The way we think about poverty determines how we react to poverty". How very true.  In two years of Outtatown my stereotypes have been really challenged and I hope that I am a better person for it.

Harvey teaching about poverty at the Vineyard

The next 2 days were spent working with various ministries in the city.  A big theme we ran across was the idea of community living.  Which is space in which the people living together are inter-dependant and share a lot.  It's been challenging to many of us to re-define what it means to live well and think about what we could/should do with our possessions.  I don't know... I just love watching people break out of the mould of what the world tells us is important and find our own values.  

the view from the top floor of the Vineyard

Part of living in the downtown of any large city is exposure to ethnicity.  For one of our dinners we took the students out for food that was, in some cases, way out of their comfort zone.  But I'll say one thing about these guys for sure - they're willing to jump in!  We went for Shwarma (Lebanese), Korean, Mexican and Indian, and everyone came back full and with a smile on their face.  I have never eaten so much garlic at one time in my life, but the Shwarma was delicious!

At the end of our 3 days, we left the Vineyard and went back to our camp outside the city with our horizons broadened and better sense of what it meant to be a part of the world.  Awesome.

sunset at the Vineyard

plunged out and ready to go home

Cheers,

Sandy

ps. you should check out our site blog as well: www.site2southafrica.blogspot.com (or go through the Outtatown website: www.outtatown.ca).  One of my students put together a really fantastic video from the plunge.

Back for another year of fun

It's been a while, I know.

But, after a summer of reading, relaxing and hanging out with family and friends I'm back on Outtatown ready for another year of crazy adventures.

It’s been a normal beginning to the Outtatown year, that is to say intense, overwhelming, crazy, awesome, hardcore and fun!  A real gong show, if you like.   Oh how I love my job.

Site 2: South Africa

Registration day went smoothly as Steve, Stefan, Lisa and I met, and tried desperately to remember the names of, our 31 students.   We weren’t at CMU for very long before heading out in the vans for Manitoba Pioneer Camp and our ‘start the year with a bang’ canoe trip.   The trip to MPC involves a boat trip on the good ole PIII, a fun event that puts us in the snazziest lifejackets I’ve ever seen; very aptly described as one-size-fits-none.  We boat-pooled our way over with the French Africa site, and I have never seen so much luggage in one place before in my life.  The boat moved waaaay slower than normal.

now picture her at least a foot lower in the water

Now, you may be thinking to yourself: ‘What a lovely, warm, sunny fall we’ve been having, it’d been wonderful going on a canoe trip right now’.  Wrong.  The weather decided to wage war against us and it turned overcast, windy and cold the very first night we got there.

already you can see what type of day we had...

Things hadn’t improved by morning and so it was that we left MPC with a very strong wind at our backs.  The key word being ‘backs’.  In fact, we were having trouble moving as a group, so we rafted up and sailed for 3km.  Absolutely the most successful canoe-sail I’ve ever been a part of, although going straight was somewhat difficult to achieve.

watching the storm roll in

The weather didn’t improve as the trip went on – we proceeded to paddle both with gale force winds, riding the huge rolling waves and against gale force winds, watching the huge rolling waves crash into our boats.  Don’t worry, no one tipped.  But we did need to do a bit of a rescue; one of our bowmen was so light the bow of the canoe wasn’t even in the water as they tried to move forward into the headwind.  We paddled in hail, rain, sleet, SNOW (ok, so there were like, 6 snowflakes, but STILL!  It’s a canoe trip!) and one morning we woke up and there was frost on the ground.  It was epic and I loved it.  Being out in the woods makes me feel alive.

alive!

We had some other adventures along the way – rainbows, exploring abandoned mines, cliff jumping, hanging around campfires, seeing the northern lights, getting to know everyone, running out of toilet paper halfway through the trip… In all it was a blast!

checking out the mine

it's almost like a giant hamster wheel!

more creepy abandoned mine

We’re living at a camp a few hours outside of Winnipeg at the moment, continuing to make friends and figure out what it means to be a part of Outtatown.  Our students are just fabulous – they love hanging out, playing games, singing (we have a guy who plays the mandolin with us this year!) and laughing.  It’s shaping up to be a great year.

what better way to get to know one another that a human log pile?

or a rousing game of human jenga?

It’s been challenging at times transitioning back into Outtatown – I have to work much harder to find reading time for one thing!  But I love living in a community of people and I love laughing with friends, so I’m not too worried.

We’re off to our Winnipeg Urban Plunge in a few days, so I’ll keep you posted.

Cheers,

Sandy

Swaziland - a whole new world

The semester is quickly coming to an end; we fly home in less than 2 weeks! But the fact that we don’t have much time left doesn’t mean that we aren’t busy. We’ve spent the week in Swaziland (that’s country number 3 this semester) and it’s been jam-packed with adventures.
Crossing the border was no big deal – definitely nothing like trying to get into the States! – 2 stamps in our passports and we were ready to go. We’re staying in the capital, Manzini, and working with the people nearby. Swaziland is the last absolute monarchy that exists in the world, and you see pictures of the king everywhere.

Our first afternoon we went to a Swazi cultural village to learn about how life used to function in the ‘good ole days’ and actually still functions in some of the rural areas. We learned all sorts of interesting (and very very different from North America) facts: Polygamy is still legal here in Swazi (the grandfather of one of our speakers had 40 wives!!!), a virgin cost 17 cows, Grandma got the biggest hut in the family, they worshipped the ancestors and the beer brewing hut was treated as an open bar by visitors. At the end of our tour we were treated to a song and dance performance. I don’t understand it – the people of Africa seem to be born able to play the drums, dance and sing in 12-part harmony. It was awesome to watch though – especially when this little, wizened old man came out and danced. I have never seen someone that old move with that amount of energy and agility!

chillin' by a Swazi hut

The next day we volunteered at the Shamma Orphanage. Mama Salacia came out of retirement, liquidated everything she owned to start this orphanage/HIV clinic. We were able to come in and paint a couple houses, fortify a retaining wall and do a little bit of gardening for this incredible grandmother who was one of the most beautiful people I have ever met. She was all smiles and just so full of love – boy will she bless the children that come to her!

Ben, Pete, Mama S, Blayne, Dan & Aly by the wall they built

The rest of the week we spent volunteering at some Swazi NCPs (Neighbourhood Care Points). It was a new challenge for all of us, to play with children who didn’t speak any English. Zero. Nada. But that didn’t stand in the way of our having fun together – I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of laughing at how kids can be entertained by the simplest games. My students in Germany just LOVED playing Go Fish, and the kiddies here were enthralled with Duck, Duck, Goose (which we turned into Lion, Lion, Zebra). It was hilarious watching some of them – it’s hard to convey the rules when you don’t know any of the local language. We had kids go around the entire circle saying ‘Lion’ before sitting down in their spot having tagged no one, we had a few kids run around both circles when we played in 2 smaller groups, and we also had a few kids burst into tears when they didn’t get back first. It was chaos. I loved it.

The smiles and the laughter were the highlight of my week.

It was also a good reminder of the fact that a huge part of this semester is not about me – we had to drive about an hour to get to our first NCP and by the time we got there we only had about 30 minutes to play. Then we drove another hour to get to the second NCP where we had about 20 minutes with the kids. But instead of thinking about how much time I spent sitting on the bus, I was challenged to remember how much those 30 minutes meant to the children we were able to love. South Africa has taught me nothing if not how little it takes to bring joy to someone. Myself included.


All my love,

Sandy

ps. things are starting to wrap up; we've started our debrief process and are in the midst of hearing each student share their story.  It's incredible to hear how everyone has learned, been challenged, seen God and experience adventure over the past 8 months.  It's hard to believe that we'll be back in Canada in just over 10 days!!

Hey Man, take a walk on the wild side...

Life in South Africa just isn't slowing down folks.  This past week has been jam-packed with more fun adventures that you just can't help but have when you work for Outtatown - I've been crossing things off my bucket list that I didn't even know were on there!

Our first adventure was one I'm not sure I ever quite believed I would do... throwing myself out of a plane.  Yes, you read correctly, I went SKY DIVING last week.  Can you say 'holy adrenalin rush'?!?!

feeling brave as we get into the plane

It was a ridiculously long wait (about 4 hours) for a quick ride, but totally worth it.  After suiting up in that flashy jumpsuit Roy and I hopped into the plane with a few other people and took off into the sky.  Now, I was the very last of our group to jump and I was the only Outtatowner in the plane due to uneven numbers, so I ended up jumping with a couple people who were doing their first solo jumps.  From 12 000 m.  So I just happened to go along to the same height.  For a tandem jump they usually go to 9 000 m, so I got an extra 10 s of free fall!

falling with style!

And so it came to be that I jumped out of a plane at 12 000 m, falling at 220 km/h for 45 s before we pulled the shoot.  I've never gone so fast in my life - I seriously thought my ears were going to rip off my head!!

enjoying the ride

Once things settled down and we were floating along, all I had to do was sit back and watch the world fly by. 


alive and ecstatic with my feet on the ground

It took a while for the adrenalin to wear off after landing, and even longer for the huge grin to disappear...

The next adventure was our 3 day hike in the Drachensburg Mountains.  My grin came back when we got off the bus, because there is nothing quite like the beauty of the mountains.  And nothing quite like roughing it in the bush.

ready to go!

There are lots of places and peaks to climb in the Berg, but we climbed to the top of Rhino Peak, which you just see on the left-hand side of the range below.

geared up and heading into the bush

The view was spectacular the whole way into our base camp.  Most of the time we wandered alongside the river, which was full of the clearest water I've ever seen in Africa. And, as we found out, also full of the cleanest water in South Africa.  So, contrary to almost any trip I've been on, we drank the water right out of the stream and it was delicious.  Cold as all get out though.  Which made swimming the sort of event that took your breath away, but was just wonderful for drinking.

yummy yummy stream water

As we marched along I very quickly fell into character:

bushwoman extraordinaire

We reached our base camp -which was a cave - late in the afternoon and settled in. Luckily we beat the rain clouds and were ready and waiting when the storm came.  What made the night even better was how quickly the rain blew past and the stars came out.  The mountains have a different, but equally awesome beauty when you look at them by starlight.

After a somewhat restless night's sleep (there is water that drips over the mouth of the cave leading you to believe there is a raging storm going on all the time) we were up at 5:30am and on the trail by 7:00.  It was a glorious, sunny day and I sure drank in the view in an attempt to forget the burning in my legs.

our guide Paul on the trail

We reached the summit by 11:30 and ate lunch at 3020 m above sea level in Lesotho.  What a spectacular feeling!!

on top of the Rhino

You really step into another world when you get to the top of the mountain.  Going to Lesotho is like stepping back in time.  Admittedly we were on the top of a mountain where things are even more rural, but the statement stands.  While we were up on the peak we ran into some Basotho herdsmen who were more than willing to take pictures with us.


2 worlds meet

Now, if there's one thing I know about hiking, it's that as much as I may hate going up I absolutely dread going down.  By the time we reached camp again my ankles were almost too weak to support me.  But make it home I did and I felt fantastic.  We spent another night in the cave before packing up and heading home for SHOWERS :) 

standing at the cave entrance ready to go

Our final adventure took place last night when we were treated to a 'Zulu Evening' by some of the staff at Project Gateway (the old prison turned Ministry we're staying at).  Now I've tried my fair share of weird and slightly icky foods... but chicken feet have never made it onto the menu.  Until yesterday. 

mmm chicken feet... claws included

Afterwards, things got better.  We had a dance party and played games in the rain.  Yay.

That may be it for a while folks - we head off to Swaziland tomorrow for another incredible Outtatown experience.  Oh, and it's 20 days till I come back home... can you believe it?  I sure can't.

Miss you like crazy

Sandy

My Durban Adventure

My last day in Durban I went out with a friend of a friend; affectionately known as 'Uncle Duncle'.  Don't worry, I held back and just used his first name.  Our first stop of the day was the Durban Botanical Garden - after all the options were laid out for me, I went for the one that had tea and scones waiting at the end.  And I wasn't disappointed... they were delicious scones. 

The gardens were beautiful too - very peaceful and green.  Right outside the orchid house we rain across an Elephant Leaf bush (or something to that effect...).  Very aptly named when you look at how freakin' gigantic the leaves are!

me smiling at you :)

Then we were treated to some lovely orchids..

inside the orchid house

The next stop was neat - it was the Garden of Senses and smelled wonderfully herbally

The next tree was my favourite.  As you walked up to it, you caught sight of these huge coconut-ish balls hanging in amongst the branches.  When we got to the bottom of the tree I found the sign with it's name...

Cannonball Tree.  How very apt...

Our next stop was down in the harbour.  We took the lift up to the 32nd floor of a hotel where the revolving restaurant 'La Roma' was located and then climbed up one more story to the open air bar.  The view over the city was quite spectacular... but we came very close to being blown away!  It was super windy!!

looking out over the Durban harbour

Our next to last stop of the day was down the road a ways to Umhlanga Beach.  It was gorgeous - the surf in Durban has been HUGE every time I've seen it... definitely able to put you through the washing machine should you mess up your ride in to shore. 

me by the (I'm pretty sure) working lighthouse in Umhlanga

Our very last stop was to a Chinese take-away restaurant for some yummy yummy noodles.  And then home for a nap :)

And that wrapped up my week in Durban - next stop, Pietermartizburg and a hike in the mountains!! 

Cheers,
Sandy

ps. I finally was able to add pictures to my J-Bay post, check them out!

Vacation Week...

... and let me tell you, it's been wonderful!!  The students are doing a homestay this week, which means that they're living with families in Durban and are learning about the Indian community that lives in South Africa.  Us leaders however, are being treated with a relaxing week at a B&B across town.  It's fabulously relaxing and perfect for reading!

the 'White House'

What you can't see is the pool, but it's there and it's been great sitting next to it during the hot, sunny day's we've been having lately.  It's also the best feeling ever to jump in after a run - especially when you're located in the middle of a hill!  My calfs are just burning!!

We all had to work one day this week, and I was in on Monday checking out the Hare Krishna temple.  That is a very... different... religion.  But the temple itself was quite beautiful.

main altar at the temple

 Also, you may have known that it was my 25th birthday this week!  Woohoo for celebrating in South Africa... during VACATION WEEK!!  I had a wonderful day - went for a run, then sat by the pool reading, enjoyed a beer in the late afternoon sun, and for dinner we went to a lovely restaurant on the pier called Moyo. 

Steve, me, Mimi & Raf by the Indian Ocean

The best part, next to the phone call from home and all the lovely birthday messages I received, was the hot stone massage I treated myself to the next day.  And, due to a re-scheduling, they tossed in a free pedicure.  After a week of walking on the rocks at Mdumbi it was a little piece of heaven. 

It's been a brilliantly relaxing week, and now - believe it or not - there's less than a month to go before I come back to Canada.  I'm imagining it could be a somewhat difficult transition from a 'me' week back into the crazy life of an Outtatown leader, but we're going hiking in the mountains and I'm pumped!

Stay tuned... I've got a few more adventures to share before this semester is done!! 

Lots of love,
Sandy

It was my birthday this week as well - and what better

Mdumbi - a week at the seaside

Well everyone, we've finished up another week in another location (I'm pretty sure, by the last count, I've slept in 13 different beds in 10 different cities) and it's time to chat up on the adventures. 

After our weekend of fun in J-Bay, we traveresd up the coast to a place called Mdumbi Backpackers for a mix of R&R and classes.  It was absolutely beautiful there - remote and laid-back, right on the shore of the Indian Ocean.  The place itself is really cool, not only are they trying to be low-impact and sustainable, but they also had members of the village community as shareholders in Mdumbi Backpackers itself.  Which is super cool, when you think of the poverty that exists in the country.

Rondavels on the way to Coffee Bay

We lived in little round huts with thatched roofs called Rondavels - apparently, according to tradtion, they used to build round houses because demons/devils would hid in corners and under things.  They were remarkably cool (it was super humid living right next to the ocean) but not exactly bug-proof.  Mimi and I ran across our fair share of spiders, newts and... *shudder* cockroaches.  And these were not your average, tiny, North American cockroaches.  No.  These were monstrous little buggers with WINGS!  Talk about taking something icky and making it worse!!!  Luckily it was only on the last night that I caught one crawling over my pilliows or I'm not quite sure how I would have slept all week.

The beach at Mdumbi was just lovely.  Minus the fact that it lay at the bottom of a freaking hill.  Like the cottage, only worse (steeper and with a gravel path that hurt my tender little tootsies).  But it was worth it when you got there because it was pretty much deserted (except for a herd of cattle or two).  Just this stretch of soft sand and big waves.  Perfect for running in the mornings and surfing in the afternoons.  I got out a couple times on a long board, but one afternoon I decided I just had to try a short board.  You know, the ones the experienced surfers use.  I was fairly sure it was going to end in some sort of spectacular wipeout, but I thought to myself, "Sandy, you've got the chance to try a real surfboard on the ocean in Africa, why they heck not?!".  My prediction came true with stunning accuracy.  Caught a wave like a master, moved to stand up and face-planted like a pro.  Spectacular.  After which I went right back to a long board :)

One morning we hiked over to Coffee Bay - another surfing hot spot on the coast.  It took us ~4 hours and the view was just breathtaking.  Brightly coloured Rondavels, jutting coastline, cliff jumping, caves to walk through, the sound of the surf and a pod of dolphins (you could also see them from our beach which was super cool!).  After we reached our destination, we trekked over to a pizzeria for a late lunch.  MmMmm delicious!

On our last day in Mdumbi (the Friday) we had a Guy Appreciation Day, just to let our boys know just how awesome we think they are.  The events of the day had me in stitches every now and then - taping each other to walls, sand-pictionary, taping eggs to their stomachs and then attempting to smash everyone else's egg, a superhero dress-up dinner... It was a great day.  And we got the best bodysurfing waves of the week!

our beach at Mdumbi

Another great thing about Mdumbi being so remote is the lack of light in the evening.  We got a few spectacular star-gazing nights (I really need to learn some of the constellations here) and also a few of the most incredible thunderstorms I've ever seen.  One evening we ate outside because the lightning was so amazing. It would start as sheet lightning, flickering away before transforming into a single bolt that multiplied into a 12 pronged fork as it travelled across the sky.  I've never seen ANYTHING like it. 

I think that about covers the week.  The rest of the time I spent in a hammock, reading and drinking tea.  It was fabulous :)

Lots of love,
Sandy