Sarah Luke's Weblog

I visited Emily in Pretoria this past weekend. We visited the Union Buildings and toured the surrounding gardens. It was all so beautiful. I also had a chance to say "goodbye" to our friends Gary and Stan. Their kindness has been overwhelming, as they've volunteered as our unofficial "hosts" in many ways during our stay in South Africa... It's really difficult to say goodbye, especially not knowing when and if I might ever see them again, but I'm so glad just to have met them -- and to have had the opportunity to reside in this beautiful country, even if just for a short while...

Last weekend I left South Africa for a visit to Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbawe. :) My friend Emily and I spent the weekend in Chobe Safari Lodge, located on the Chobe river in Botswana. While there, we embarked on an amazing game drive where we came face to face with huge herds of elephants and a pride of lions!! We took 2 boat cruises where we saw hippos, crocodiles, exotic birds, and lizards... sometimes a little too close for comfort. :) I also developed an affinity for baskets... and I have the collection to prove it!

We visited a Namibian fishing village where we met a little girl who was making baskets with her mom. Our guide teased the little one because her baskets were smaller, and not exactly proportionate... while her mother's were intricate and beautiful. So, of course, I bought baskets from the little girl rather than her mom. I think I made her day :)

We went to Zimbabwe to visit the Victoria Falls, which were absolutely amazing. 3 girls from Finland were also on our tour, so we enjoyed spending time with them and exploring all the different look out points. Thereafter, we headed to a craft market to purchase curios... but instead of merely purchasing curios, we witnessed a people who are truly suffering.

When we entered the craft market, we were bombarded by merchants, each offering us, "a special price." Stone carvings: $2.00 USD, jewelry: $5.00 USD, Baskets: $2:00 USD, Embroidered table clothes: $5.00 USD. They would do virtually anything for US currency, Botswana Pula, RSA Rand, anything... When we ran out of money, they asked to trade with us: writing pens, shirts, hairpins, plastic bags... anything they thought we could offer them. It was so sad. There were young children there with their parents as well. I wonder what kind of life they will have. It is so tragic.

The people in Zim are really suffering. It is so unfair. I cried in that craft market ... and I became very angry with God. It's hard to understand how a good God could allow people to suffer that way. I still have nightmares about it sometimes. I really want to find a way to help them. No one should have to live like that. It's something that I could never have imagined... and now I can't seem to forget it. I sincerely hope I can find some way to help them. It's so tragic that in such a naturally beautiful place, people can suffer so much.

Emily and I agree that visiting Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe has put our South African experience in perspective. We noticed differences in the crafts people made, the languages they spoke, and how they responded to foreigners. We could witness how much more resourced South Africa is than Namibia and Zimbabwe (although interestingly Botswana has a higher GDP than South Africa). We also noticed how much safer we felt in Namibia, Botswana, and (surprisingly) Zimbabwe then we had ever felt in South Africa. Our visit to these other countries provided us with a brief glimpse of the diversity in Southern Africa... a glimpse that we will never forget.

Today I visited Umzimkulu, a rural area just north of Durban in KZN. I went with my supervisor, Themba, and representatives from the CGE, the prosecutor's office, and various NGO's. The representatives held a program for 3 schools to educate pupils about how to prevent and protect themselves against violence and sexual assault perpetrated by teachers.

The program was held in a small auditorium, and the auditorium was packed. 700+ students of all ages attended. Some sat on folding chairs, while others stood the entire time. There was not enough room for everyone inside, so some of the students had to crowd around the building, struggling to hear. The three hour program was conducted entirely in isiZulu. I sat in the front, and spent the majority of the time nudging Themba and asking him what was going on.

The speakers covered all aspects of prevention, reporting, and prosecution. Between presentations, the children sang. The singing was beautiful. The auditorium filled with what sounded like angels. It's hard for me to describe, but it echos in my ears. It gives me chills thinking about it. Their songs were so beautiful.

Following the presentations, caterers distributed lunch and T-shirts to the kids. Themba and I assembled resouce packets for each of the schools, and we chowed a traditional South African meal:)

I really enjoyed visiting Umzimkulu. (Although I would have prefered more interaction with the children). I hope that the presentation was instructive to them and that more children are kept safe because of it.

"During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people, I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if it needs be it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
-Nelson Mandela

I spent last weekend in Cape Town visiting my friend, Stan. I arrived on thursday evening, and we started off by heading to a night club featuring a live band. The music was amazing... Stan had never been there before, and we went to spent time with some of his friends. They had no idea the band would be there either. It was incredible.

That friday, Stan went to work and I headed out to explore the city. I visited the National Gallery, the Grand Parade, the Company's Gardens... and attempted to find the Bo Kaap Museum, but to no avail. ;) That evening, we went to a nice restaurant in town: Five Flies. Stan introduced me to "Fat Bastard Shiraz..." Ha ha! Fat Bastard... gets me every time... Thereafter we headed out, and I found that South Africans are obsessed with house music... an obsession I have yet to understand. It was fun, nonetheless.

Saturday included a visit to the botanical gardens at Kirstenbosh where we "saw heaven" in a place called skeleton gorge. Actually, we chose the trail less traveled, and encountered an elderly couple who assured us that "if you continue, you'll find heaven." The whole time, I kept asking Stan if we were in heaven yet... I'm still not sure...? :) We went to the medicinal plants garden and I ate all the plants, after which Stan read me the sign saying that some of them are poisonous... um... I feel ok so far ;) (knock on wood)...

That afternoon we went to Rhodes memorial and sat on a stoney bench overlooking the city. I think we were supposed to be remembering Rhodes or something?? But really we were just watching the giant red locusts and the wierd bending trees. It was fun...We assembled a picnic that evening and went to signal hill to watch the sun set over the ocean. Apparently this is a Capetownian tradition... and one worth keeping. The view was amazing and we had a great time! :)

That evening, we got together with one of Stan's friends and had an informal wine tasting. They assure me that there is more to red wine then it's medicinal qualities... I'm not sure I'm totally convinced... although it does make kareoke a bit more interesting :) I left Capetown on Sunday, after finding a table at a great breakfast spot that was packed...

Leaving Cape Town was happy and sad. I had a great weekend with one of my best South African friends... I was so happy to have spent time, but it is sad to think that I might not see him again.

I feel like I want to keep my feet in both places: one in South Africa and the other in the US.

Tomorrow I'm heading to a school with my supervisor, Themba, for an HRC presentation. We are presenting to learners teaching them to protect themselves against sexual abuse by educators. It's sad that such a presentation is neccessary, but I'm glad that perhaps it will prevent children from getting hurt. The learners we are presenting to are young: 6 or 7 years old. I wonder if they'll know English... or maybe I'll be practicing my Zulu :) I'm really excited. The kids here are super cute :)

I leave for Botswana on Thursday morning. Emily and I are heading to Chobe national park, and from there visiting Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe as well as a Namibian village. It will be interesting to catch a glimpse of some of the other countries in southern Africa.

Not sure when I'll have a chance to blog again. I'm very excited because I'm nearly done with the draft of my research paper!! :) Each day I get a little closer to graduation... :)

Time for bed now... have to get up early to head to the school...

Cheers!

This weekend I spent most of my time shopping for souvenirs. Amanda and I visited the stables on friday evening. It was raining so hard!! But we had a good time. I found some neat crafts. :)

That saturday I spent the day with my friend, Eugene. We went to the Essenwood market and I finished up my souvenir shopping. From there we went out for lunch and then back to his flat where we hung out with his room mates for a bit. They really enjoy house music... a lot... maybe a little too much ;)

That evening we headed to suncoast casino where we had dinner, sat by the beach... and enjoyed the people watching. It made for a nice day... and I'm glad we were able to spend it together.

Saturday evening I stayed up till 3:00am listening to the UM v. OSU game... :(

Sunday I spent the majority of the time working on my internship research paper... outside... by the pool... in my bathing suit... :) Surprisingly, it is coming along well... and I am working on it right now!

Back to work for me... ;)

Cheers!

After work today, I went with my boss to the Stables, a craft market in Durban. It was really nice. They have live music and little places to have dinner. They also have all kinds of arts and crafts. Amanda and I are going to head there on Friday evening so I can start buying souveniers and gifts :)

I wanted to take some pics of the CBD (central business district)... but when I applied my mind to the situation, I realized that standing around snapping shots with my digital camera would only invite trouble... sorry! I guess you'll just have to imagine... :)

I also paid for my barbri class today (ugh!). I'm happy to have it sorted. I'm studying in Grand Rapids. It might be nice to be at home... esp for the moral support ;)

Ok, finishing up dinner now... and then more work on my externship paper...

Cheers.

Interesting philosophy on litigation, huh? This is what we were told in our legal meeting last week. The Human Rights Commission is under scrutiny by parliment for failing to utilize the equality courts. Apparently, the commission mediates a little too much for parliment's taste. Either way, I thought this was a hillarious quote. What a strange comment on the adversarial process.

It's been a while since my last entry, and a lot has happened since then:

I finished my Character and Fitness application, after spending hours at the bank trying to get certified checks issued in US Dollars... not an easy task when you are in South Africa on a volunteer visa... I also paid for my BarBri class. I am so glad to have things taken care of. It's hard to imagine that in a matter of months I will be a qualified attorney :)

I spent the start of last week in Cape Town, and it was amazing. It was nice to have a break from work :) We stayed with some of our friends from South Africa, and all the Michigan Law School Interns were in Cape Town that week. We had a great time :) When I arrived on Saturday, my friend Gary picked me up from the air port, and we went to the waterfront. We saw a "South African Idol" (like American Idol) perform live, and we had an eating contest at a pancake restaurant. I won, of course :) Pancakes = yummy! We also got our faces painted and went on a submarine!! :)
I met some of his friends, and we had a great time. Later that day, we picked up the other interns from the airport and headed to the beach for a waterfront dinner. It was so beautiful. Thereafter, we proceeded to the flat of our generous host, Stan. He returned home from a wedding shortly thereafter, and others chose to go out for a super late night on the town. I elected to stay home and catch a good night's sleep.

On Sunday those of us who attend church went to church together. It was really nice to go to church with a group of friends, especially because I am used to going alone. We met the rest of the crew for brunch where Gary introduced us to his friend Chris, a member of parliment. We quizzed Chris regarding his opinions on Jacob Zuma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Zuma). :) Thereafter we headed to the waterfront where we looked at postcards, admired the ships, scenery, and seals... and ended the day with a nice dinner in a fancy restaurant.

That Monday we spent the majority of the day at the beach :) It was so nice to be lazy... and I got a great tan. We ended the evening with a braii at Stan's place. He lives in a flat in downtown Cape Town, right down the street from the Parliment Building. We had the braii on the roof overlooking the city. We cooked together, and I taught then how to open a pineapple the Asian way (of course ;). It was great. The view was terriffic. The food was yummy. And we all enjoyed eachother's company so much. I couldn't have asked for a better evening.

On Tuesday we took a drive to Cape Point where we saw the place that the Indian and Atlantic Ocean's meet. It was incredible. Possibley one of the most beautiful places in the world. My pictures look like post cards. Driving back from Cape Point, we saw baboons and Ostriches :) And we stopped at Boulder Beach to see the penguins! We ended the evening at Noema and Abam's house (two of the interns working in Cape Town), where Shella cooked an amazing dinner: Jerk chicken with coconut rice and banana chutney... yum! :) It was so sweet of her to prepare a home made meal for us.

On Wednesday we visited the National museum and walked through the company's gardens. In the afternoon we headed back to the waterfront so some of the interns could purchase souveniers. From their we headed to Robben Island where we learned about the prison and visited Nelson Mandela's cell. The tour was sobering, but enlightening as well. Our tour guide had been a political prisoner at Robben Island with Mandela, so it was fascinating to learn about the prison from his perspective. He also told us about Mandela's garden, and the ways that politlical prisoners would stay up to date on current events and keep in contact with those on the outside. Those prisoners turned the prison into a museum after the fall of aparthied. Isn't it amazing how God can take terrible things like political imprisonment and help those who have suffered from them move forward with dignity to accomplish great things? :) Following our tour of Robben Island, we met our Assistant Dean for dinner, and later that evening we met Stan at his kareoke event. Stan is an actuary, and he's trying to encourage his colleagues to become more social :) The kareoke night was part of this effort :)

The following day we headed to Table Mountain and hiked up the mountain a little ways. I think we chose a difficult path because it was basically a staircase made of boulders. I only went about half way up, and thereafter headed down to meet Shella for brunch. Following brunch, Shella, Abam, and I went to a craft market downtown. It was fun to see all the different crafts on display. People are so creative!

That afternoon we said goodbye to our Cape Town friends and headed to Franschoek for our law school retreat. During the retreat we each presented on the work that we are doing in our internship placements. I enjoyed hearing about the work my colleagues were engaging in, and I presented about the right to basic education and problem of violence in schools. My presentation was well recieved.

Franschoek is quite possibley the most beautiful place I have ever seen. The mountains are picturesque, and the hillsides are covered with vineyards. We went wine tasting a few times, once on horseback... and I hiked up Mount Rochelle with Emily, Noema, and Dean Baum. We also visited neighboring town, Stellenbosch, famous for its wineries.

Following our retreat in Franschoek, we headed home... which, for me, was quite a feat. I ended up stuck in the airport for 8 hours. My flight was delayed "indefinitely"... (note to self: Kulula.com is cheaper than South African Airways for a reason). Luckily, I made the acquaintance of a professional soccer team: the Maritzburg United Football Club. (http://www.maritzburgunited.co.za/Player_profile.htm) I watched soccer with the soccer players and took a bunch of pictures with them. They said that they would give me a free hat and t-shirt when they come to Durban next. :) They also said that I helped make their 8 hour delay a little less gloomy! :) Isn't it nice to be friends with professional athletes? :) Hee hee...

Well, eventually I arrived home... and this week has been going well so far. The weather in Durban is lovely, and I am making good headway on my externship paper :) MY COMPUTER IS FIXED!! So it's much easier to get work done. :) It is great!

And speaking of work, I better get back to it. I want to have my rough draft done by Thanksgiving... :)

Cheers!

I come on my knees to lay down before You
Bringing all that I am longing only to know You
Seeking Your face, and not only Your hand
I find You embracing me
Just as I am

So what could I bring to honor Your majesty?
What song could I sing that would move the heart of royalty?
And all that I have is the life that you’ve given me
So Lord let me live for you: my song with humility
And Lord as the love song of my life is played
I have one desire: To bring glory to Your name

To my audience of one: You are Father, and You are Son.
As Your spirit flows free, let it find within me a heart that beats to praise You.
And now just to know You more has become my great reward:
To see Your kingdom come and Your will be done
I only desire to be Yours, Lord.

-- Big Daddy Weave, One and Only

Last weekend I worked as "official photographer" of my B&B hosts', Peter and Jean's, wedding. :) The ceremony took place at the B&B conference center, and afterwards everyone went swimming. They invited close friends and family. It was very nice :) I felt honored that they included me in their special day, and it was a joy to take photos for them.

Following the wedding, I went to my friend Eugene's flat to watch soccer with him and his friends... I know you are wondering when I developed an interest in soccer, but I'll have you know that I played fulback during 4th and 5th grade with the Grand Rapids Rec. Dept.'s "Rocket Soccer" program. :) It was fun. His flat is sort of like a dormitory/ residence hall: All University of KZN students. I felt like I was hanging out in Couzens with friend at Michigan... it's funny how some things are so universal :)

That evening, I went to my friend Arthi's house to celebrate Diwali with her family. It was so nice of them to include me. :) Arthi and her mom had worked from morning till night each day that week preparing dinner and "sweet meats." The food was delicious, and it was really nice to meet her cousing and aunts and uncles. It's funny how spending time with her family made it a little easier to be so far away from mine. :) We watched fireworks, laughed, talked, and had a great time. I'm blessed to have such a great friend!

Amanda and I visited UShaka Marine World where we marvelled at the fish, sharks, and other sea creatures in the aquarium. The aquarium at the resort is an old restored ship. It was really neat. I took pictures... Will post soon :)

After Ushaka, we went to North Beach, the beach that I usually run at. Although this time, instead of jogging, we went sunbathing and swimming. The water is warm, because it's the Indian Ocean. There were artists along the piers who made the most amazing sand sculptures. We had ice cream cones... I got sunburned. It was so fun!

The following week at work I went with my supervisor, Tanuja, to Richard's Bay where we facilitated a workshop regarding human rights issues facing people in social services professions. I had worked very hard preparing a power point presentation and countless activities and exercises. We covered the Bill of Rights, the Equality Act, Equality and HIV/AIDS issues, Socio economic rights, children's rights, older persons rights, and Access to Information. I also had to opportunity to explore a bit of Richard's Bay. It's a beautiful area... kind of sleepy... lots of Africaaners...very different from Durban.

When I returned to Durban on Wednesday, I began work on a prescribed question from the plenary meeting in Jo'Burg. The question was basically a law school exam :P It involved the right to assembly and the right to freedom of expression. The problem questioned limitations of those rights by both the national legislature and a University's governing body. I stayed late in the office the rest of the week buried under treatises... the Equality Act... Section 36 (the limitations clause)... we ordered pizza and pontificated until all hours of the evening. It was fun, in a nerdy law school type of way. I felt like a "real lawyer." :) I'm working on revisions right now, but my boss liked the analysis I gave her. I think we're doing a good job :)

Last weekend Amanda and I went on SAFARI!! We knocked off early on friday and headed out to Kruger National Park for countless game drives... We saw four of the "Big Five:" Elephant, Buffallo, Lion, Rhino :) Interestingly, the Big Five are not the biggest animals... they are the most dangerous animals. Sometimes it was a bit freaky... we saw the lions and the buffalo having a face off... The buffalo put the lions in their place, and the lions went on to attack the impala. Ah, the circle of life... :) It really did look like the Lion King movie. I even saw Zazu.

There were no game drives during the day, so sometimes we took naps, or Amanda went swimming. I climbed a tree and ate the monkey oranges :) It was so fun. The guides laughed at me, but I was getting bored... so what else was I supposed to do? :) Don't worry, I took pictures!

On that note... MY COMPUTER IS FIXED! Thanks to Gary, my friend from Jo'Burg ;) He said that he would bring it with him to Capetown, so I should have my computer by this weekend. I am so excited! Be prepared for more pics... I have taken over 100 :) Just need to upload them.

One final update: Character and Fitness... yeah. So, a normal person would have taken note that character and fitness applications are due on November 1 for the February bar... and would have completed the application in Michigan. I, on the other hand, apparently like to do things the hardest way possible... so I have been working on my application in Durban. Just got fingerprinted today, in fact! What a chore... now for the cashier's checks. Needless to say, mine will be a late application... but with all this work, I hope they appreciate the expedited airmail from the sunny SA. :) I'll be so glad to have it done. Special thanks to Captain Farris from church for sending me the Michigan fingerprint cards... and also to all my friends at the HRC for helping me get things notarized, get fingerprinted, and basically navigate Durban throughout this process...

Speaking of the HRC... I'm still at work and my lunch break is almost over... so I'd better go :)

Cheers!