So it may have seen like I have fallen off the face of the earth. Not true. I am still here. Just in a very different location since I last posted. It is deceptively hard to keep up a blog while travelling to a country where your blog is blocked (ehem, China) and now I am living in a township 2 hours outside of Cape Town called Zwelethemba where many houses have no electricity, let alone computers or internet. I am currently in the town called Worchester (pronounced Wooster) where there is an internet cafe and I am FINALLY able to update my blog. Apologies!
So to recap China:
It was really awesome.
It was pretty cold.
There were a ton of people.
I climbed the Zhangjiajie mountains (the mountains in Avatar).
I ate, and helped to make, delicious food (pics of me making dumplings to come) and even ate stinky tofu, snake (not a common delicacy) and sea cucumber while in Beijing and Changsha. I also ate at the cheapest Michelin starred restaurant in the world during my one day trip to Hong Kong.
All in all I was surprised to find that I loved China. My homestay family was incredibly welcoming, even though they couldn't speak any English. I also learned a lot more Chinese than I first anticipated learning, probably because it was literally the only way to communicate with people when I was on my own. I now know how to say, "I like to eat apples, walnuts, oranges, dumplings, fruits, pork", etc. and I can say that I am American, among other things. I can also ask, "How much does that cost?" And if I hear a price I don't like, I can respond, "That is way too expensive!" I dare you to quiz me when I return.
As I mentioned, I am currently living with a family in Zwelethemba for a total of two weeks. The family I am living with consists of a mother, stepfather, daughter and the daughter's 2 year old son. I have only been living here for 5 days but in that time I have been overcome with the incredible severity of Zweletehmba's health issues. Zwelethemba was first created in the 1950s as a result of the Group Areas Act during the apartheid. This act legally allowed the government of South Africa to relocate all of the blacks and coloreds to areas designated as black only and restrict the movement of blacks and colored to white-only areas. Now, Zwelethemba is still incredibly poor and is inhabited by exclusively black and colored families. Zwelethemba is one of the areas hit hardest by the HIV epidemic in South Africa, as are most of the township areas around the country. The HIV rate here is as high as 1 in every 3 or 4 people. This has had a devastating impact on the community and it means that every single person here has someone close to them who is either currently infected or who has already succumbed to the disease. The stories of loss here are heartbreaking and all too common.
The other huge issue that I see affecting the community here is obesity and diabetes. My homestay mother is very overweight and has diabetes and my sister is also severely overweight and seems to be going down the same path towards diabetes. She continually asks me and the other two students staying in the home with me for help on how to lose weight but none of us seem equipped to adequately help her. She insists on putting copious amounts of sugar in her cereal and coffee and eats huge portions at every meal, despite our warnings and advice. We just hope that she listens to us before it's too late and she gets diabetes.
On a brighter note, we celebrated thanksgiving here in Zwelethema, which definitely kept my homesickness at bay. We made my real family's recipe for macaroni and cheese, sauteed string beans with nuts and cranberries, pan seared chicken (we couldn't find any turkey), cranberry sauce and a homemade apple pie! It was incredibly delicious and I felt a little bit less sad about having to miss Thanksgiving at home in the States!
South Africa is known for its white wine so today a big group of us are going on a vineyard tour around the area. I am looking forward to tasting the famed South African wine!
So to recap China:
It was really awesome.
It was pretty cold.
There were a ton of people.
I climbed the Zhangjiajie mountains (the mountains in Avatar).
I ate, and helped to make, delicious food (pics of me making dumplings to come) and even ate stinky tofu, snake (not a common delicacy) and sea cucumber while in Beijing and Changsha. I also ate at the cheapest Michelin starred restaurant in the world during my one day trip to Hong Kong.
All in all I was surprised to find that I loved China. My homestay family was incredibly welcoming, even though they couldn't speak any English. I also learned a lot more Chinese than I first anticipated learning, probably because it was literally the only way to communicate with people when I was on my own. I now know how to say, "I like to eat apples, walnuts, oranges, dumplings, fruits, pork", etc. and I can say that I am American, among other things. I can also ask, "How much does that cost?" And if I hear a price I don't like, I can respond, "That is way too expensive!" I dare you to quiz me when I return.
As I mentioned, I am currently living with a family in Zwelethemba for a total of two weeks. The family I am living with consists of a mother, stepfather, daughter and the daughter's 2 year old son. I have only been living here for 5 days but in that time I have been overcome with the incredible severity of Zweletehmba's health issues. Zwelethemba was first created in the 1950s as a result of the Group Areas Act during the apartheid. This act legally allowed the government of South Africa to relocate all of the blacks and coloreds to areas designated as black only and restrict the movement of blacks and colored to white-only areas. Now, Zwelethemba is still incredibly poor and is inhabited by exclusively black and colored families. Zwelethemba is one of the areas hit hardest by the HIV epidemic in South Africa, as are most of the township areas around the country. The HIV rate here is as high as 1 in every 3 or 4 people. This has had a devastating impact on the community and it means that every single person here has someone close to them who is either currently infected or who has already succumbed to the disease. The stories of loss here are heartbreaking and all too common.
The other huge issue that I see affecting the community here is obesity and diabetes. My homestay mother is very overweight and has diabetes and my sister is also severely overweight and seems to be going down the same path towards diabetes. She continually asks me and the other two students staying in the home with me for help on how to lose weight but none of us seem equipped to adequately help her. She insists on putting copious amounts of sugar in her cereal and coffee and eats huge portions at every meal, despite our warnings and advice. We just hope that she listens to us before it's too late and she gets diabetes.
On a brighter note, we celebrated thanksgiving here in Zwelethema, which definitely kept my homesickness at bay. We made my real family's recipe for macaroni and cheese, sauteed string beans with nuts and cranberries, pan seared chicken (we couldn't find any turkey), cranberry sauce and a homemade apple pie! It was incredibly delicious and I felt a little bit less sad about having to miss Thanksgiving at home in the States!
South Africa is known for its white wine so today a big group of us are going on a vineyard tour around the area. I am looking forward to tasting the famed South African wine!
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