Where did we leave off? Thursday: the day of the final dinner.
We spent Thursday preparing to wrap up our Direct program with a final dinner. The final dinner was so much more emotional than I ever anticipated. The students were sobbing leaving each other. Although I had some struggles the first week of Direct, I realized at this final dinner that it was time to set those struggles aside once and for all:
It’s ok to miss my friends, but I can’t keep dwelling on the fact that they’re not here with me because the point is to recreate the setting of my powerful experience as a student for my new students so that they can have their own. Seeing the genuine hugs and tears in their goodbyes made me realize that I did my job the way it was supposed to be done. I helped these kids have an impactful experience that they’ll likely treasure forever, and that’s invaluable to me. I wanted them to walk away from this experience feeling, to some capacity, like I did: with fresh perspectives, a clearer understanding of values, and a greater appreciation for cultures. I wanted them to feel that they’d become deeper thinkers and more intentional conversationalists. Based on the conversations I had and the tears that I saw falling… I think I did my job. Mission accomplished…a very challenging, yet rewarding mission.
Friday morning we sent them on their way, and from that point until now, Saturday night, we’ve been preparing for our next group of students who arrive Sunday night. We were so busy today that we couldn’t even go to Old Biscuit Mill! In addition to all of the preparations, we moved into a new apartment. It’s the penthouse hotel room on the other side of the building, and it’s called “Starfish.” It’s AWESOME. My bathroom is craaaaazy!
My overall thoughts and feelings on our Direct program: the best practice I could have ever asked for. The highest of highs and the lowest of lows reminded me to stay focused, use the support of my team, and set the best example I possibly can.
May 26:
I’ve been abroad for 20 days.
I left you on Saturday night – when I wrapped up my thoughts on the Direct program…or so I thought.
Sunday was another day full of preparations. I was running around like a CRAZY PERSON trying to get everything ready for the new students coming. But in preparing for the new students to get here, we also had to say goodbye – again – to our Direct students, who had just come from the Garden Route to the airport. I learned that I’m not a goodbye person. Of course I’ll miss them, but I don’t like saying goodbye over and over and over again. Some people do – Zach does. I was happy about my time with the Direct students and ready for the LEAD students. We went to Ish’s home for dinner. His wife cooked us the most amazing South African meal, and we got to play with his two precious sons. I was so happy! My stomach was full, but my heart was even more full. Such a sweet, loving family. I am truly blessed to be so loved by these local Capetonians.
May 28:
I am doing a horrible job of blogging on this trip. This is a great example of how busy I am as a staff member! Any free time that I have I have to dedicate to getting things done for the program. Today is my first afternoon where I have a little time to myself.
Monday was the city tour and orientation. I missed the orientation because I had to take a student to the hospital, and I left the city tour early because I had to take home a student (the two students were sisters). I quickly learned that being a staff member was much different than being a student and that the behind-the-scenes work is entirely overlooked by students.
The welcome dinner on Monday night was great, as always. I’m realizing that my liking for African food is growing. The first time I ever went to Moyo, I was a student. I didn’t like the meal very much. The second time I went was on staff during Direct. I thought it was ok. The third time, this time, I was chowing it down. Suddenly I’m a big fan of curry! I was reminded that giving other cultures a chance is always a good thing.
Tuesday was a long day of classes. I gave a presentation on blogging (something I’m of course very passionate about!) and spent the whole day in the classroom. The most noteworthy thing about Tuesday was dinner: Taco Tuesday! The women on staff (me, Jo, Danae, and Dr. Teel) decided to do a weekly taco dinner in the staff apartment on Tuesdays and invite any students who want to come. It was so great to connect with students in a smaller group.
Wednesday, yesterday, the best day so far: The day of the Amy Biehl Foundation tour! As a student, this was a very powerful experience for me. What made it different as an intern was being able to connect with Kevin Chaplain, the Executive Director. Being able to talk to him more and have him know my name was very cool for me. In my next trip to Africa, I’m very interested in volunteering with this organization, so it’s cool to get to know Kevin better.
The presentation and tour were as powerful as always. Some things I learned and felt:
Highlights from the presentation:
-Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?
-Don’t walk away from negative people. RUN!
-You can succeed at almost anything if you have unlimited enthusiasm.
-Someone who can’t forgive always carries their past into their future.
Highlights from the tour:
-Ever heard of an unplugged wedding? (No? Ok, well, can you tell I have a photographer sister?) As an intern, it’s my job to be a photographer for the program. I was standing in the back of a classroom at one of the Amy Biehl centers with chairs on both sides of me and an aisle in between. As I tried to take pictures of everything going on around me, I realized…all of the pictures I was taking had a ton of iPhones and cameras in them. I see several problems with this.
Disclaimer: Our students are wonderful!!! And we told them they were allowed to take pictures. But these observations got me thinking.
1. The students aren’t living in the moment and embracing the power of what is happening in front of them. African children who are participating in a program that gears them toward activities to help make them upstanding members of society are putting on a show for the students, and instead of realizing how powerful that is, they’re watching it through their screens, not even through their eyes. What they see is exactly what someone they show will see. The power of a moment only reaches its personal potential if you see it with your eyes. They didn’t.
2. It was disrespectful to the children for two reasons. One, these children are so infatuated with technology, that it looks pompous to them when every single person in their room takes out their iPhone and literally holds it in their faces. That’s not a good example. And two, they may not understand the iPhone, but they do understand that you’re not giving them your full attention in a performance that means a lot to them. That’s rude.
3. All of the pictures I tried to capture of the African children performing and of our students watching were ruined by the iPhones. The problem here for the students is that I could have captured some beautiful reactions and some precious moments, but no one was even watching the children with their own eyes. The problem here for the staff is that the pictures of these moments won’t be useful to our websites and social media. The last thing we want to promote is “ugly Americanism,” but we did want to promote our involvement in this wonderful program. Too bad.
4. Fourth and final point to be made – I don’t think all of the students in these chairs realized what they looked like from behind. I was behind every single one of them, so I saw every single iPhone and camera that was out. They may have thought they were just snapping a few pictures, but it never occurred to them that everyone else was, too. I even had a couple of students come stand directly in front of me while I was taking pictures. My point here is to be self-aware and mindful of A. respecting the people behind you and B. how you are perceived by the people behind you. We often only think about what we can see. Try to imagine what we can’t.
You've probably seen this, but if you haven't, here's a powerful video related to my observations -- something we showed in class.
Tonight I’m taking a group of students to one of my favorite restaurants: Harbour House on the Waterfront. I haven’t been here yet since I’ve been back, either, so I’m really excited! I intentionally made a reservation and invited "the first 5 people who sign up to come with me" so that I could get a nice mix of students and get to know people I don't know yet (and hopefully don't know each other yet)! #CommitToConnect. I’ll also be hiking Table Mountain again tomorrow, so I’ll need to come back from dinner and get my rest for that.
Something we talked about in class this week that is a huge part of Go Global culture: life stories. This touches on two major things about Go Global.
1. We encourage students to become better conversationalists and ask better questions.
2. We encourage students to open up about themselves as much as they're comfortable.
In doing so, we have an activity called "two minute life story" where students get up in front of the class and talk about themselves for a few minutes. They can share whatever life experiences they want to share, whatever defines them. This is a great way for people to get to know each other beyond surface level relationships and give people a chance to define themselves beyond the closed-ended questions they are asked. Here's a video we showed in class that is worth watching:
It’s been a great first week. I absolutely love these students so far! Being a staff member has been a wild ride, but I’ve learned so much and I wouldn’t change a thing.
We’ll see when I can crank out another blog post! Mom, Dad, Danny, and Amy...I miss you all so much. Never forget that you, your spouses, and your kids are my most important people and that even if we're on the opposite side of the world from one another, you are my whole heart every day.
The Summer Intern,
Anna