Friday, October 24, 2008

Blackouts are not fun.

So on Wednesday night, I got home from school and my siblings were watching a movie about Halloween, and they asked me if I dressed up like the people in the movie did. I told them that yes, I did, and that it was a lot of fun! The movie really made me miss American things, especially when there was a Papa John's pizza delivery guy in it. I got really excited and I also explained the whole pizza delivery thing to my siblings as well. They have pizza delivery here but it's not nearly as popular here. Anyway, while we were watching the movie, the power went out as part of a scheduled blackout. The blackout was only supposed to last for 2 hours but it lasted for about 5. It was pretty miserable. We had candles and my flashlight, but there wasn't really much to do except sit around. Our dinner was pap and sour milk. I had never tasted sour milk, but I decided to give it a try, and it was the most disgusting thing I have eaten since being here in South Africa. It was gross. Even with sugar. I do not recommend it.

On Thursday our focus study group had more discussion about Trust Feed and our reactions. We also talked about how we might view the situation differently if we had heard Brian Mitchell's perspective. We also were given the task of applying what we've learned about the reconciliation process back home. We were given a hypothetical situation where we had to create a 3-year reconciliation program in the U.S. It got a little difficult because we argued about the "reparations" aspect of it, but I think our presentation turned out ok.

Later that afternoon I went to the Pavilion (another huge mall...they really like malls here) to get a going-away-thank-you present for my family. I got them some really nice chocolates, a couple of DVDs, and a pretty fruit bowl. I think they'll enjoy it, and it's something they can all use.

Today we went back to John's house to present our hypothetical reconciliation program, and we watched another video about the Trust Feed massacre where Brian Mitchell met with families and victims. It was really interesting to see, and it really seemed that they never fully reconciled with him. But there's so many problems in the Trust Feed area that I think it will take a long time for their problems to be solved.

Today I found out that the Induna (who is just below the chief in traditional Zulu hierarchy) of the area where we stayed in the rural areas, was arrested, charged with murder, and is no longer the induna. I don't really know the whole story of what happened, but it was definitely shocking to hear it! I don't know how the girls who lived at his house really feel about it either. It's a little crazy.

I still can't believe that it's my last night in Cato Manor! This part of the program seemed ages away when I got here, and now it's actually happening. I hope that my homestay next week will be just as good. Sala kahle!

1 comment:

Mom said...

We hope this doesn't mean we won't get these nice blogs regularly.