Category Archives: Adventures

The World Is Round?

Jul 15, 2014

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I have officially been in Germany for a week now and I have so much to tell!

But First:

Germany won the World Cup! This had to be the coolest, most adrenaline filled moment of my trip- and I have had some pretty exciting moments. Some friends and I watched the semi final game between Germany and Brasil. After the first goal, we started muting the television because outside my roommates and my window there was an eruption of cheers and honking horns. When German won, the party outside seemed to go on until the sun rose. The Final game was going to be fantastic.

The day of the game, a large group of us went to the Brandenburg Gate to watch the game. We didn’t leave until like 5, so of course we didn’t make it into the closed off area. However, we did get to see hundreds of people cloaked in red, yellow, and black, marching and yelling and singing while waiting outside the gate. There were so many people who were bound together on that day by that sport. Everyone was a friend and everyone was excited.

We ended up watching the game at a small cafe miles from the gate. Even this small place was packed. Many people were standing, and we were squeezed into a corner in the back. I would walk outside every couple moments and the streets would be completely deserted.

When Germany won, the entire country exploded. People were hanging out of their cars yelling, and car horns were blaring. People were jumping and singing all over the place. I went to bed to the sound of partying outside my window.

Today, Berlin welcomed the winning team home. Thousands of people could be seen walking to the Brandenburg Gate. The flags and Germany colors are starting to disappear though.

One important thing I have learned this last week is the meaning of German pride. I’ve been on a ton of tours this last week- Berlin, Cold War, Jewish Life, and Sachsenhausen concentration camp. one thing thing that all the guides had in common to say was how odd it was for them (being mostly middle-aged) to see Germans waving a German flag. As an American, it is hard for me to understand collective guilt of ones country. While America has done atrocious things, I still feel patriotic towards my country and I still feel as though I have a right to wave a flag if I want and sing my national anthem whenever- I mean, I didn’t do anything, right? Many Germans though, feel that patriotism and nationalism are synonymous with one another and that flags are inappropriate. I’m not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it makes me upset with myself for being connected to something so flimsy as a symbol and a song. On the other hand, it makes me appreciative that I’ve been able to grow up without feeling responsibility for my countries past wrong-doings. Maybe collective responsibility is a truer form of patriotism than worshiping a flag. I don’t know :/

ANYWAYS,

My computer died and I am currently using a friends. Unfortunately, I cannot upload my pictures on this computer, but I will post again with lots of pics soon!

Tschüs!

Home, and Back Again

Oct 27, 2013

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After a year in Cape Town, I returned home. However, my visit in the States only lasted three weeks. Between 1 October and 22 October I visited Knoxville, Nashville, New York City, and Boston to see close friends and family. Along with spending time with friends and family, I was also motivated to come back to the States to attend a wedding of a dear friend and give a presentation at Belmont University about my Lumos Award in South Africa.

Once the three weeks were over, I boarded a plane to come back to Cape Town to work for the SAHRC for four more months. I’m living in the same house in Observatory, but it is much warmer than when I left it. It seems as though my timing has been spot on since I was able to catch nice weather in the U.S. while winter ended in Cape Town. Yesterday my neighborhood had a street festival and today I took a stroll by the coast.

Tomorrow I start work again and am in for a hectic week. Basically, this will be a perfect storm of work deadlines.

I’m hoping to be rested for the busy week, but jet lag is affecting me more than usual. Friday I stayed up the entire night and got absolutely no sleep because I was reading a really fascinating book– Against a Tide of Evil: How One Man Became the Whistleblower to the First Mass Murder of the Twenty-First Century by Dr. Mukesh Kapila. The book is Dr. Kapila’s memoir of his work as the Head of the United Nations (UN) in the Sudan leading up to his discovery of the Darfur crisis. Also, he discusses his influences leading to his decision to publicly condemn the Sundanese Government’s responsibility in crimes against humanity and the UN and World’s neglect to intervene in the matter while fully aware of the situation. I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Kapila speak at the Open Book Festival, and bought his book directly after. If you do not read it, you are a fool.

Adventures in Namibia

Jul 28, 2013

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About a month ago, I was able to take a week off work to go on a road trip through Namibia. My trusty co-adventurers included my housemate Kyle, my dear friend Mmamohau, her comrade Mandisa, and another American, Alison. Our road trip started strong with some Coldplay and Matt Kearney jams, aubergine pâté, and a luxurious first night at Ai-Ais hot springs resort. However, our timing was not ideal since several of my fellow Connect-123 interns left for home during our trip. Before we left, they indignantly joked, “Why would you choose Namibia over us? It’s just a bunch of sand!”

Our strong start unfortunately did not last long. We quickly noticed that there was a scarcity of petrol stations. The majority of time on our second, third, and fourth day was spent rather slowly as we carefully took on one gravel ‘highway’ after another. At one low, low, low point we realized that we had only driven 20km in an hour—20 kilometers, not miles. Nevertheless, we persevered through the tough times with games and entirely too much Matt Kearney.

After driving one day, we decided that we could carry on no further and stopped for the night at an accommodation in the middle of the desert. We were desperate and slightly low on petrol, so we said we would take whatever rooms they had available. My friend Alison and I got stuck in a couple’s room, which wasn’t an issue except for the fact that there was not wall in between the bedroom and the bathroom. We recovered by making s’mores outside on the campfire whenever one of us needed some privacy.

Although we had some rough patches, the encounters we had with nature in Namibia made the trip entirely worthwhile. Highlights of our trip include a hike up Dune 45 in Sossusvlei (one of the highest sand dunes in the world), a glimpse at Deadvlei (a petrified forest in the desert), Fish River Canyon (the world’s second largest caynon), a camel ride through the desert, a tour of a ghost town (with houses covered in sand), wild animal sightings everywhere (including horses, antelope, zebra, and warthogs), and a drive by Orange River.

The entire trip I was craving a braai (South African cookout), and I finally had my wish granted on the last night. Our last accommodation was on a farm called the White House, which we thought was too ironic to pass up. Unfortunately, it was basically the opposite style of our first lodging. The rustic nature of the White House was exasperated by Mmamohau and my illnesses. When we returned home, Mmamohau learned that she had bronchitis and I had food poisoning or the equivalent. This lead to a slightly rocky ending, but jolly camaraderie and Lord of the Rings themed accommodation in Windhoek (called Rivendell) made food poisening slightly less painful.

In the end, I decided that if I ever consider marriage with a life partner, then we must go on a road trip to Transkei or Namibia to test our love and see magnificent landscape.

Winter Excursions

Jul 23, 2013

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Hail in Bo-kaap

I have finally surrendered to Cape Town winter and accepted that it is here. After going to a Cape Malay cooking class, I walked out of my teacher’s house in Bo-kaap to find a massive hail storm–an unusual event for Cape Town. The cooking class I attended is located in a Cape Malay woman’s house, where she teaches tradition recipes. In two classes, I learned how to make chicken curry, roti, samosas, chili bites, and swiss cake rolls.

As you can see in the picture above, the Bo-kaap community is composed of rows of brightly colored houses. The historical Cape Malay architecture remains along with many Cape Malay residents as well. Bo-kaap is one of the few areas where oppressed people where not forcibly removed during apartheid.

According to the Iziko Slave Lodge in Cape Town, many of the Cape Malay people came to Cape Town because they were human trafficked through the slave trade industry. Later, many of the women became indentured servants and worked as domestic laborers. Then apartheid government oppressed Cape Malay people, along with many others, through legislation, which was finally abolished in 1994 with the first democratic election in South African. However, like many formerly oppressed communities, many of the Cape Malay peoples’ rights remain socially and economically neglected and abused.

As the writers of the South African constitution were composing the Bill of Rights, they recognized that not all citizens would immediately have their rights protected. The philosophy they adopted is called progressive realization of rights, which is a gradual reconciliation of past conflict to future equality. There are so many systemic flaws in South African government and social institutions that it would be impossible to resolve all human rights issues in 1994, 2004, or anytime in the near future, realistically. Therefore, rights are categorized in a sort of hierarchy to determine which rights have to be addressed the most urgently. The SAHRC prioritizes children’s rights and other vulnerable groups such as older persons, women, detained persons and disabled persons. However, different human rights violations correspond to the mandates of individual regulatory bodies.

Unfortunately, just because rights are categorized in certain ways, does not mean they are manifested in the intended fashion. For instance, education is not a right that is considered under progressive realization. However, while listening to a lecture sponsored by Equal Education and given from the first Constitutional Court Chief Justice, Kate O’Regan, I learned that many issues educations issues should be immediately realized, but are not. A lack of resources, limited funding, and corruption in government departments create violations of educational rights even in the new South Africa.

While Ms. O’Regan worked intensively for years in building South Africa’s Constitutional Court, she surprised me in her perspective about the role of the court system. She stated that South Africans are often too reliant on the court, especially when other branches of government fail and the courts cannot turn people away (in the same fashion at least). Ms. O’Regan encouraged grass root movements of people first understanding their rights, next recognizing when their rights are violated, and then seeking alternative dispute resolution (ADR) before litigation. Listening to Ms. O’Regan was encouraging to me as a proponent of ADR, but even more insightful was her description of when court cases are appropriate for litigation. She clarified that when cases can represent a class of people or answer questions that are quantitative rather than qualitative, then traditional court litigation is suitable.

Even though winter weather has slowed me down, I’m still finding time to explore Cape Town through cuisine and educational events. The weather has also fostered my creativity in planning my time since I am forced to spend much of it indoors. Here’s to more cooking classes and bookstore human right events!

An Overdue Update

May 27, 2013

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Noordhoek Beach

It feels as if life has just exploded here. My work and social calendar have gone from 0 to 60 lately, making me negligent, forgetful, and lazy to post. I’m so sorry for the overdue update. My latest personal and professional adventures consist of: an exploration of the Cape Peninsula and Franschhoek, a road trip to Transkei in the Eastern Cape, a camping trip with Green Pop to plant 3,000 trees, a visit with the BU study abroad group, and new developments in my responsibilities at the SAHRC. For now, though, I will just tell you of the wonders of the Eastern Cape.

My traveling has brought me to lovely parts of the nation, untouched by commercial development or western culture. Outside of the Western Cape, South Africa has a beauty truly foreign to my eyes.

Even though I traveled with other Americans and South Africans for several of my excursions, many of my needs were unexpected. For instance, for two days in Transkei I had no cell phone service. This was unfortunately not accounted for and led to many misadventures. After following landmark descriptive directions for about three hours in the dark wilderness (including a hour long wrong turn because our car couldn’t make it up a hill), my fellow comrades and I rolled up to Bulungula backpackers at 12:30am. Long story short we didn’t think things through and sent non-Xhosa speaking comrades to speak to the only Xhosa speaking villagers we woke up in the middle of the night. The result: sleeping in a tent/the car/fail. In the morning, we did realize that we,in fact, found Bulungula in the dark and we were camped in the middle of the school yard. The funniest part was that everyone went about their day like it was the most normal thing in the world.

While Bulungula provided a fairly difficult destination to get to (especially with the flood-washed Eastern Cape backroads in our cheap car), it was one of the most serene places I have beheld. The backpacker is essentially a social venture, empowering the local community by providing entrepreneurial services at the backpackers. I spoiled myself with a canoe trip, sunrise pancakes on the beach, and a massage. The BEST!

On the way home, we realized that cell phone service would have been helpful while our gas light was flashing about one hour away from the closest petrol station. However, our previous adversities made us innovative and strong. Well that and we were lucky. One of our comrades was African, so we had to rely on her to pull up to a shady minibus rank, speak broken Xhosa, and buy some greenish looking petrol to get us to the next garage.

Our road trip ended well, with me safely making it to the gas station and learning how to drive manual!

Cape Point

Easter at St. George’s

The beautiful Eastern Cape Xhosa houses

Transkei

Bulungula Backpackers

random horse grazing outside of our room

Wilderness

Knysna

Local Community Engagement Beyond the Workplace

Apr 7, 2013

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When planning my year in South Africa, one of my highest priorities was to connect with locals outside of work. While my internship works directly with the local community, I wanted to engage with the local community at a deeper level, outside of my placement. However, I knew this would be difficult since I don’t own a car and would be restricted to public transportation and cabs, I would be living with a community of mostly Americans (which is comfortable and familiar), and I knew no South Africans before I arrived.

Now here I am, six months later and halfway through my stay. I have just moved in with three South Africans and one Columbian, I commute to work on the train from my neighborhood (Observatory), and am fortunate enough to have several South African friends. While it was easy, at first, to spend my time with the other Americans/foreigners, I now feel just as comfortable with my South African friends.

Apart from developing relationships with South African friends, I have also been able to maintain relationships with my former co-workers at TSiBA. My manager at TSiBA, said that his wife was asking about me and wanted to see if I could come stay the weekend with their family. I enthusiastically accepted and went for a weekend stay with the Olivers and their three daughters. When I arrived to their house, they had a women’s group from their church over. They women cackled at my attempts to cut a cucumber quickly, in small pieces. They called the large, lopsided slices “international cuts.” The next morning we went to a service at the Oliver’s church. I ended up sitting beside a male cousin of the Olivers and nearly caused a scandal. It seems as though genders are usually fairly separate and my proximity to a single man my age lead to tons of gossip in Afrikaans (most of which was fairly obvious to understand, much to their disbelief). When the sermon started I was surprised at first. On the way home I told my manager that I didn’t think I realized that he was the preacher even though the women were calling him pastor the day before.

At the SAHRC, I am just getting to know my new colleagues since I have only been interning for the organization for two months. I find that I am starting to get to know them better and feeling comfortable with my work assignments. My manager, also asked me the other day how my new commute was going from Observatory. I told her that I have a renewed love for trains (which initiated from Harry Potter of course). On my way to work that morning I saw a little league of cricket players in uniforms in the station. They were adorable. Apparently, in winter I will also start to see amusing entrepreneurship ventures. When the weather is cold and rainy, vendors will sell bras and underwear to passengers who are completely soaked when umbrellas blow out. Hopefully things will not get too desperate.

Recent Events

Mar 23, 2013

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Recently, I have been restless. Living in Cape Town city center without a car confines me to commuting on public transportation and mooching off of friends with cars. Obviously both are quite limiting and leave little in my control. Living here without a car removes the independence and privilege I have taken for granted growing up in the States. My discontent was a strong motivation for me to take some opportunities spending time outside of the city.

The end of summer brings about an urgency to appreciate nature and venture to other recommended outdoor locations and activities. Lately, I have been able to explore Fish Hoek, Kalk Bay, Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, Sea Point, and Crystal Pools. Apart from these adventures, I have also been able to attend a Disabilities Expo created by my friend Cathy Arendse.

I planned a mini road trip to Noordhoek Beach, which of course did not happen. Instead, a day later a group of my friends and I ended up on the beach in Fish Hoek. While I still have not made it to Noordhoek, I had a lovely day in a new area with delightful company. After enjoying the sun, we had fish ‘n chips in Kalk Bay before I met up with some family friends visiting Cape Town. I also got the chance to indulge in Kalk Bay’s delicious cuisine when my friend Nicole’s family friend, Tiffany was in town. We ate at an eclectic restaurant called Brass Bell for dinner and relaxed while watching the waves crash against the shore.

My friend, Will, designed my next extravagant plan which involved taking the cable car up Table Mountain, hiking across the mountain, and down through the Nursery Ravine trail to Kirstenbosch to work merchandise with GreenPop at the Jeremy Loops concert. This plan actually happened, much to my surprise, and it was one of my favorite days here so far. The hike was beautiful and I spotted some of my favorite African animals—dassies! The hike took about four hours; slightly shorter than estimated. Will and I were motivated to make it to the concert in plenty of time to hear Jeremy’s upbeat tunes and mad harmonica skills. We got into the gardens and concert free because we walked to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens through Table Mountain, and we got into the concert free since my friend Will works at GreenPop. Previously, my friends Lauren and Hannah also interned at GreenPop, introducing me to the wonders of “green living” in Cape Town. While I knew GreenPop was a great organization, I had never heard the CEO, Jeremy Loops’ music, and was blown away by his wonderful performance at the concert.

March seems to be the month for concerts. I also went to a tiny venue in a lounge of a house in Sea Point called Studio 7. It was there that I hear some of the best blues music I have ever come across. Dan Patlansky brought the house down. He was so talented that we later bought tickets in Kirstenbosch to another performance on his tour. We didn’t quite make it to actually hear him play, as most plans go here, but we did make it in time to hear a band that is basically the South African version of Creed. Hilarious. Furthermore, it was a beautiful venue and a lovely way to spend the public holiday, Human Rights Day. The day started through a bold move to rent an automatic car and drive to hike Crystal Pools. While I haven’t driven in six months, I decided that I would probably be to my advantage to forget driving on the right hand side during my left hand side adventure. It was surprisingly much easier than I anticipated. I drove 157km, parallel parked, parked in a tight space, drove into a small garage, filled up the tank of gas, crossed traffic, and drove on the highway without any misfortune finding me or my road trip pals. It gives me hope for more such trips and potentially renting a car for a longer period of time.

Finally, the last significant event I have attended lately was a Disabilities Expo held at CPUT Bellville campus and hosted by an organization called Nicky’s Drive. The purpose of the event was to inform the public about barriers created through physical disabilities and discuss potential solutions. My friend Cathy Arendse was the main organizer of the event, which showcased the founder of Nicky’s Drive, Nicky Abdino. Nicky is a clinical psychologist who was born without arms and with shortened legs. She drives herself anywhere she wants to go. Through fundraising and progress in technology, engineers were able to build a shoulder steering mechanism for Nicky to have independence in mobility. In addition, I was able to met Cathy’s former Fulbright mentors from Vanderbilt who also spoke at the event. The event was so uplifting, insightful, and influential; it made me far more grateful to be able to travel independently with or without a car.

The Rickers Explore Kruger and Vic Falls

Mar 10, 2013

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After a busy four-ish days exploring Cape Town, my family and I flew to Thornybush Game Lodge for a Ricker fam safari experience. I was slightly skeptical of this choice, since I thought it would mostly just be a cheesy tourist trap or a fancy zoo. Instead, I was delightfully surprised to find a beautifully simplistic lodge with a warm and welcoming staff. The game drives were long and relaxing; our driver and spotter had to spend a significant amount of time analyzing animal tracks since the bush was so thick. Below are some pictures from the safari.

After spending two nights in Kruger, my family ventured to Livingstone, Zambia to see Victoria Falls. Our highlight was a lunch excursion to Livingstone Island. The island, located in the middle of the Zambezi River which runs between the borders of Zimbabwe and Zambia, sits on the edge of the falls. Vic Falls stretches over a mile from one side to the other during this season, standing over 300m high. The local name for the falls is Mosi-oa-Tunya or in English, “the smoke that thunders.”

Apart from the tourist areas, Livingstone is significantly less western and developed compared to South Africa and especially Cape Town. I really enjoyed seeing a different part of Africa, but I missed the Western Cape a little. I left Zambia with a strong desire to travel more outside of the Western Cape providence and beyond South Africa’s borders.

While I will not be traveling home during my year abroad, it was so refreshing for my parents and I to be reunited. There were able to meet my friends and see this part of the world through their own eyes. There is only so much one can say about a place, culture and people. It is fulfilling to bring others across the globe to experience the world for themselves.

Ricker Family Vaca, Part One: Cape Town

Feb 25, 2013

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: The Rickers at Victoria Falls

My parent’s plane landed at 9pm in Cape Town on Friday, February 8. When they exited the plane, they found me waiting with a box of Butler’s pizza, two soft drinks, a package of ginger cookies, and a hug. My mother chattered excitedly on the way to the hotel, but my father was unfortunately suffering from a sinus infection. When we arrived to the hotel I found heaven: a room of my own! Thus far I have been very fortunate to have a flat that is centrally located, in nice conditions and with fairly normal roommates. However, the wind is so loud that I have to wear ear plugs to sleep. I almost never sleep past 8 am since the sun wakes me up through the blinds. Also, there is no a/c or heat, and I have shared a room most of the time, detracting from the relatively little space and privacy I have (but adding enjoyment since the people I have shared a room with have been nice). While I have not missed these privileges too much, it was luxurious to have them again for a short time while staying in hotels with my family at the Southern Sun.

For my parent’s first day in Cape Town, we had a tour scheduled for the Cape Point Peninsula. The tour winds through one of the most beautiful drives in the Western Cape and includes mostly outdoor entertainment, so naturally it was raining. We still had a nice time, since the point of our trip was to be together more than it was to tour South Africa.

Our first stop was in Hout Bay, a town on the coast with a nice harbor and market. We explored the port before going on Drum Beat boat tours to Seal Island. My manager at TSiBA, comes from Hout Bay and knew the owner of Drum Beat tours, Levi Bezuidenhoudt. The Drum Beat took us on a tour around a large rock were heaps of seals bask in the rain or sunshine.

Simons Town was our next stop so we could visit Boulders Beach with the African Penguin colony. It was magical. However, I want to tour the entire Cape Peninsula again since the rain put a damper on the beautiful landscape. After a fairly wet stop a Cape Point for lunch, we headed back towards our final destination: a braai (BBQ) at my manager, my manager’s house with our colleagues and their families.This was one of the best moments of the trip since my family was able to have a local experience while meeting my friends and coworkers.

Each night in Cape Town we ate dinner with a different set of friends, so my parents could better understand what my life is like here. After our tour of Paarl, Franchhoek, and Stellenbosch (the winelands), we had dinner with my friends Rachel, Cathy and William Arendse, and their daughter Kaylee.

Our final dinner was with my friends Nthabi, Bertin, Ethan, Will, Lusanda, and her husband Issac after a day touring the city. Our dinners were a great way to end the day, because they reminded me how generous, hospitable, and kind South African can be. I am truly lucky to have found such lovely people.

33.33% Capetonian

Feb 6, 2013

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Four months. It seems so strange that I have been away from the States for this long. Four months also marks my end of TSiBA, my start at the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), and my family’s visit to South Africa. My first placement has gone by better than I could have hoped for, but I am glad it is not the end of my experiences here. I still need more time and a change of industry to learn more about South African culture, society, history, and future growth.

My team at the Ignition Centre has been like a family. We collaborate closely and genuinely care about each other. The IC has been one of the most positive forces in my South African experience thus far. The office’s humor and creativity has encouraged me to think about entrepreneurship in a more collaborative mentality. My conversations with my colleagues have revealed to me the ways in which South Africans identify and seek to improve local and national social issues.

The largest differences I have seen in South African and western philosophies of social justice are each culture’s perception of poverty. While many Americans’ measurement of poverty is shifting, charity overwhelmingly is used improperly in place of justice due to a belief that poverty is a lack of material wealth. While people in poverty often lack material necessities, many South Africans I work with view poverty as a lack of dignity. This is demonstrative through the aphorism posted on the wall of the Ignition Centre stating “You may be broke, but you are not poor.” Several of my coworkers live in the townships that appear shocking destitute to many Americans—and sometimes they choose to live there. The communities are their homes and the ekasi (the word for township in Xhosa) culture makes up part of the community members’ identity. While living conditions are a direct factor into a population’s standard of living, social issues surrounding housing need to be addressed at physical, intellectual, sociological, spiritual, and emotional levels rather than just throwing money at a problem without proper consideration. While this opinion is not completely foreign to the American mind, I have observed it more frequently here.

My next placement at the SAHRC will also address social and ethical issues in a South African context as I work in the legal division. I anticipate working with legal counselors, interviewing victims of human rights violations and moving through the process of reconciling their complaint. I also hope to start practicing alternative dispute resolution by assisting the mediation of these cases. SAHRC also has a policy branch, so I am also hoping to visit parliament hearings and report on the minutes.

However, before I transition to the SAHRC, my parents are visiting me for a little over a week. We will be exploring Cape Town, going on safari drives in Kruger Park, and visiting Victoria Falls in Livingstone, Zambia. Please wish us health, safety, and nice weather as we reunite and experience Africa as a family.