George's South Africa Adventure!

Grahamstown

I've now seen various parts of Grahamstown where COTT is situated. The town has an English feel to it,which is unsurprising since it was founded by an English chap in the 1800's. Today it's a fairly wealthy university town,also housing the 2 most expensive private schools in S.A. We spent yesterday with Titus and Kholisilie,a couple of COTT students,+walked through Rhodes University campus+also visited the Cathedral,both of which were also incredibly English. We finished the day with an evening in a bar (Olde 65) which again felt like a bar in the UK since it had loud dance/pop music playing,various sports playing on the TV's+was full of Uni students chatting,laughing+dancing. We had a good evening+arrived home about 1am!

In contrast to the wealth and students,70% of people living in Grahamstown are unemployed+within a 5minute drive from the centre you are in one of S.A.'s many 'locations'. We recently visited 1 such location,seeing firsthand the poverty present within S.A. There were 2 types of small houses here,some made of bricks,mud+corrugated iron+others made of concrete bricks. The latter are provided by the Government for those who are unemployed,however once the house is built there's no further financial support offered by the Governement making it impossible for these unemployed people to pay for water,food+other basic human necessities. Visiting this location was certainly a moving experience.
Below are photos of these houses+the locations local church

College life begins

After last weeks Orientation,lectures began this week for most. Those new to COTT had a second orientation week though with sessions about using computers+writing assignments,etc.We don't have an equivalent at Cuddesdon as it's assumed we already have these skills. Dom+I were excused from this week+so spent the time in lectures+talking with tutors to work out a programme for our time here.

I'll post more specific details next week. Now I can tell you that my time here will include attending lectures, visiting various churches+places to get an idea of the life of a Priest here(e.g. hospitals,townships,etc), +joining in all aspects of community life such as attending (+sometimes reading,leading or serving at) daily chapel services, helping once a week with lunch+ dinner duties (serving+washing up), +joining a formation group. I've also brought some work with me from Cuddesdon+am intending to read a few books I never got round to while at home(so far I've read 'Tend my Flock.Sustaining Good Practice in Pastoral Care' by Litchfield).
As you may notice,this is very similar to life at UK theological colleges. +just like at home,we've been told several times throughout the first couple of weeks of the importance of black shoes when leading or serving at chapel services!!

You may be wandering what Formation Groups are. Well, they meet once a week,include students from various years+a tutor. The idea is to spend time getting to know others+building up a supportive group. My group includes Funguyi+6 other students. The group decide their programme+the tutor simply joins in.We decided on a mix of social events+discussions so next week will walk to town+get an ice-cream+the following week we'll have a discussion on fear. I'm fortunate that my group are keen to help me have a good+wide experience of S.A.+so are arranging for us all to drive one saturday to a local beach+have a braai. On my final week with the group we'll have another braai at college+they want to hear a little talk from me about my experience of my time here.

Food, animals and pictures of teddies!

FOOD!
We have now eaten pap,a traditional S.A. food,several times. It's a porridgey food made from ground maize+at main meals it's dry+tastes a bit like bread or rice but in the mornings it's milky+tastes very similar to porridge though it looks like yogurt. I'm eating it at the main meals but not in the mornings!
Also food related,recently Dom+I were asked what we miss from home. We agreed we miss family+friends+also cake! We're lucky enough back home at Cuddesdon to have pudding as well as cake everyday you see. Happily to our surprise the next day Fungayi,the colleges Chaplain,gave Dom+I some homemade cupcakes+I'm happy to say they're delicious! :-)

ANIMALS!
Grahamstown is filled with a reddy-brown bug which looks like a flying dungbettle.The locals call them Singers as they make a constant noise which sometimes sounds like crickets but at other times the sound is unbroken+so sounds scarily like a snake!! I can honestly say that they are terrifying when flying around your room! I tried my best to get rid of it but everytime I got near it,it moved+made me jump! Luckily,Dom came to the rescue with The Parson's Pocket Book!!
Also making much noise around the campus,but seldom seen,are birds. However,I did manage to see 3 different birds within the space of the same 10mins. When I went to look these up though in a book dad gave me before I left,I couldn’t find them so can only conclude I've discovered 3 new species of birds+so I'm currently thinking what to name them!

TEDDIES!
I'm far from alone on this trip,+as well as fellow Cuddesdonite Dom,I've also come with Fr.Bear who is one of my teddybears. Below is a picture of him with all the books I was given on arrival here to use in the chapel. +the second picture is of him as he+I had a farewell hot chocolate with Jon at the airport before leaving for S.A.

Orientation week

Last week was COTT's orientation week,filled with useful talks about how to use the library,who everyone is+what their rules are(including that no ordinands are to get drunk or stay away for a night). The community building session taking it in turns with a partner to be blindfolded+led around the college was a laugh as my partner thought it would be hilarious to tell me to jump over things that in reality weren't there and,needless to say,I feel for it! We also had a trip to the local Anglican Benedictine monastery where a student told me he could see me as a nun!!!I replied that I liked talking too much,+Dom kindly agreed! At the weekend I had my first braai(BBQ)+also the community were encouraged to play or watch sports+somehow I ended up playing netball,but predictably played sufficiently bad enough not to be asked to play again! On the downside,that was the first real day of sun+Dom+I ended turning pink due to sunburn!

At the end of the week we agreed to the College Covenant during a service,which included agreeing: to uphold the seriousness of Christian witness by projecting a good image of yourself; to approach socio-political issues from a Christian conviction; +to respect all regardless of gender,race,class,age+sexual orientation.

Overall I enjoyed the first week,but not the 9 insect bites I have! I have begun to get to know some great,friendly+welcoming people. +the only disappointing thing has been the weather! Apart from 2hot days,we've had a couple of cooler days where Dom and I wore shorts anyway but no-one else did(!) +a couple of cold+raining days!

The most interesting part though,has been recognising there are as many similarities as their are differences between here+English culture. The food+drink demonstrate this particularly well,since the food is what we eat in the UK but is often served in different combinations (such as cucumber for breakfast or rice and roast potatoes as part of the same meal). Also,though there is tea with every meal,it is decaffeinated+different to tea in the UK. Here we have bush tea which is rather sweet+5 roses tea which is rather similar to PG Tips! COTT even have tea at 4:00 every weekday just like we do at Cuddesdon,however here we have it outside+sadly without cake!

Photo of the braai

The college

The college itself could well have been lifted from the UK+planted here in Grahamstown. There’s a dining room,common room,student dorms+all other rooms you’d expect in a theological college. The main place students gather socially is in Freedom Square which is an outside area with a few benches+a massive oak tree!

The chapel is also very English,complete with pews+the hymn book Ancient+Modern! We have begun the first week every day in the chapel with a silent meditation at 6:45,followed by a Eucharist service. A standard Anglican Eucharist service is used which is therefore incredibly similar to the service we use at college in Cuddesdon. The main difference is the singing+the music which is understandably in an African style. Therefore,unlike reserved English folk,they sing with great passion,happiness+love for Christ. As students here speak many different languages,the songs are in these various languages too(such as Zulu,Xhosa,Afrikaans,Sotho,Tswana,+English)+are often unaccompanied,though sometimes are accompanied by marimbas or drums and even occasionally by a guitar or piano. I'm enjoying the various services,especially the singing,a great deal+find it all very inspiring indeed. The fact that music is very much a part of the culture here is something I can certainly relate to+when someone told me that South Africans have music running through their veins I knew exactly what they meant,expect for me the music is of course heavy metal.

I told some students that I am looking forward to/enjoying listening to African music+as a result the 4 students who play the marimba (xylophone) have been teaching me+a few other beginners how to play them too. +I'm pleased to say that I have already learnt the tune to the Xhosa languages Agnus Dei.

Here are some photos of the college, of the main entrance, my room, Freedom Square and the Chapel (my seat is the one with the books out).

Arrivals and zebras!

Dom+I arrived after a good, but long journey-24hours from leaving Cuddesdon to arriving at COTT. I was particularly glad to get off the 11 1/2 hour flight!

The 24hours was one of great contrasts. We left the UK as it was dark,cold + raining,+arrived in S.A. to feel the heat literally hit us as we left the plane. It was 29oC +was going to be 18oC in the night. The huge B.A. plane was also incredibly different to the S.A. airlines plane which was full even though there were only 50passengers!! I was lucky to be able to look out of the window where I could see the coastline+huge expanses of brown nothingness.In the UK it would surely be green+most would be built upon,even Lincolnshire with its many fields is nowhere near as empty! Also,on the drive from the 2nd plane to the college we saw some animals including antelope,ostriches+ zebras!!-how amazing!

We're staying at the college in a little flat which is basic but fine. It has a large bedroom each+a bathroom,though unfortunately no kettle! Dom+I are pleased that we have this flat to retreat to at night+discuss our experiences in S.A.
The college is buzzing with the sound of children playing+friends chatting-much like Cuddesdon! +I'm looking forward to term starting later today.

The point of this site!

I’ve set up this site to keep those who are interested informed about how my stay in South Africa is going during January-April 2010.

I'll be based at The College of the Transfiguration (COTT), Grahamstown. It's the only provincial residential college of the Anglican Church in Southern Africa+is primarily for Anglicans preparing for lay or ordained ministry. I'll be attending their college courses for a term which also includes both church and non-church placements in the local area
COTT website: http://www.cott.co.za/index.asp

A friend and fellow Ripon College, Cuddesdon student Dom will also be on this exchange to COTT. We'll be there for the full term which includes Easter. The term dates are the 1st February-5th April, however we'll also be joining their Orientation programme for new students (as it's the start of their academic year) from the 25th January so we're flying out a few days before then.

My husband Jon will be joining me after my term at COTT has finished so we can share a holiday. He's coming for about 2 weeks and we're going to spend some days in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape and then just over a week in Cape Town in the Western Cape. So I'll be back in the UK from mid/late April.