Heritage Day

Hello,
My internship is almost over. Just two day until we are flying back to Germany. But today was a really fascinating day. The "Heritage Day" or better known as the "Braais Day" is a national holiday and one of the most popular days in South Africa. In the past this day was a memorial day to honour the Zulu King Shaka which united some clans of South Africa. But with the ending of the apartheid and the first free elections this day became to a symbol for cultural variety of the country. All people celebrate this day together no matter which culture they belong to.
At 8 a.m. all employees and children got up and put on some festive clothes. Some kids didn't have special clothes so we dressed them with some assecories (colorful scarfs or glitter) up. Everyone should feel special today.

http://huntroadsports.blogspot.de/2013/09/
heritage-celebration-in-south-africa.html

After the breakfast we were listening and dancing to musik. Every child was allowed to tell the traditions of their own culture. We all tried to dance like a "Zulu" or speak like an "Xhosa".
I was impressed by the stories of the different cultures and the happy way the children explain it.


At the afternoon we prepared the grilled dishes. To have a barbecue is the most important part of this day. The word Braais come frome the Afrikaan (language) and mean "to grill". But braais is also a special word. In every of the 11 languages of South Africa this word exist and has the same meaning. Therefore it doesn't describe an important part of the celebration, it also symbolized the variety of cultures.
At nine p.m. the barbecue was finished and we put the young children to bed. Then we made a campfire with the teenagers of the children's home. My friends Maja and Ben explained the german traditions to the teenager and we had a nice chat.

Later on that night we all walked to our dormitorys sleepy and fell into bed.

I was fulfilled with beautiful impressions and thoughts. All the things I've learned about the different cultures floated trough my head and I dreamed form the living dances of the children.

See you soon
- Alicia


Source:
http://www.liveandlearn.de/national-heritage-day-suedafrika-feiert-sein-kulturelles-erbe/
(29.05.17)

Weekend trip

Hey guys,
Half time! The last two days went pass and they were wonderful. We made a trip to the "Kruger Nationalpark". This is the biggest nationalpark in South Africa and has the size of 19.624 km*2.
At seven a.m. a bus with all members of the internship left the children's home and drove to to the Kruger Park. We arrived at 11 o'clock and were astonished about the nature. We had booked a tour for two days. Our travel guide called Peter and borrowed us big backpags and other stuff for our trip. We started in the south of the big park and drove in groups of five in safari busses. Peter told us a lot about the nature.South Africa is very varied. For example there are more than 24.000 different types of plants (more than all types in Europe) and a beautiful landscape with mountains, rivers, velleys, the sea and steppes. Also in South Africa there is one floral region with flowers which just exist in this region (f.e. bird of paradies flower)
We drove to the southwest mountains which are overgrown with a lot of different trees, for example acacias or euphorbias. Also the granit deposit ist very large there.
In the evening we camped in the west of the park. We slept in a bushveld camp. That are little huts without electricity. We should live like the native inhabitants.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kruger-Nationalpark#
/media/File:Tent_in_tamboti_camp.jpg

On the next day we drove back to the start. But this time we used another road. There we could see so many diffent animals. Antelopes, giraffs, hippos and the "big five".  These are some of the heaviest animals on earth. The african elephant, the rhinoceros, the african buffalo, the lion and the leopard form the big five. Especially for hunters these animals were very dangerous but valuable. Some hunters just killed these animals to get their tusks (wich are very valuable) even if these animals threatened with extinction.  My absolutely highlight was the herd of elefants withe a few "baby ellies" in it. Nothing is cuter than baby ellies...
We used the whole day for watching all these animals. At six p.m. we drove with our bus back to the children's home.

https://s14-eu5.ixquick.com/cgi-bin/serveimage?url=http%3A%2F%2Fassets.sunsafaris.com%2F%2Fsunsafaris%2Fsafari%2Fsouth-africa%2Fkruger-national-park%2Fcover%2Fkruger-national-park-game-drive-sunsafaris.jpg&sp=6807f4bb493630e1c18acc83e1e62d11

This amazing african wild life experience was one of the best things I  have ever done. The nature and the animals are so incredible. Although the trip was so strenuous this adventure was worth it

-Alicia

Sources:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kruger-Nationalpark#Landschaften
http://www.planet-wissen.de/kultur/afrika/suedafrikas_nationalparks/index.html

(27.05.17)

An impressing talk with Ashanti

Hey You,

today was the fourth day of my internship and I start to love this place. We had the same routine like day two. First we made the breakfast, accompanied the kids to school, helped in the lessons, made the lunch, offered a workshop for the afternoon, made the dinner and put the kids to bed. Just a "normal" day.

But after my workshop I had a really nice and interesting talk with Ashanti, one of the old and experienced employee. She told me a lot of their childhood and her life in the township in Soweto. The apartheid influenced her life in many ways.

1910 the  union of Southafrica was established and with this act the racial segregation started. The white goverment issued new laws against the black colored population, for exaple the "Mines and Works Act" (1911) which obliged black people to work in mines or do non respected and bad jobs. In this time four million white people oppressed and discriminated the majority of 41 million black people.

Ashanti  told me that the life was unbearably. Her family hadn't had enough to eat and her parents had bad jobs. Her husband was a mine worker and had to work the whole day for an unjust pay. In the 1940s her husband joined a resistance movement the ACN Youth League. This movement was formed by Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu and fought against the oppression of black people.

http://www.planet-wissen.de/kultur/afrika/
geschichte_suedafrikas/pwieapartheid100.html

But the white government defended all resistances. In 1948 the racial segregation became publicy identify  and was kept by massive police operation. Ashantis husband was send to jail because he was a member of the movement.

Then Ashanti told me that the 16.06.1976 was the most horrible part of the whole apartheid-time. The class of Ashantis daughter Neyla and other pupil protested peaceful for 'Afrikaans' as language in class instead of English. But this protest escalated and the police shoot at the pupil. 600 persons were killed at this unbelievable act. Also Neyla and the whole class were killed.

All black people and also different countries protested against the regime of the white population. The government got under pressure and in the 1990s the time has come to free Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela took a strong political position and managed to bring the black population in the government. With the first free elections 1994 the racial segregation was over.

Wow... The african people had to bear a lot. Ashanti's story was really impressing for me. But I'm so happy that today South Africa develops to such a great country. If you want to read more about thr apartheid please check out the following link:

http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa

Thanks for reading

-Alicia

Sources:

http://www.planet-wissen.de/kultur/afrika/geschichte_suedafrikas/pwieapartheid100.html

http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa

was(27.05.17)

A day in Johannesburg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newtown,_Johannesburg

Hello,
the school of the children had organised a trip to Johannesburg for today. All of us teenager were allowed to join this trip to see the town.  Lots of the children didn`t know the town as well because it's very dangerous to visit it. The crime is very high and some parts of the town are unsafe. Johannesburg is regarded as the most dangerus city in the world. The school booked a sightseeing tour in a bus which also drove to the poor districts. But first we drove to the centre of the town. To the district Newton. Skyscrapers, parks and minibus-taxis characterized this area.
The jeppe street is a very popular street in the centre. In this street and surrounding area are some of the best museums of the town. For example the Worker Museum which shows papers with data from the time of the mineworkers. Or the Museum Africa which tells the culturally history of the continent.

https://www.zypresseunterwegs.de/2017/02/05/
eine-kurze-stadtrundfahrt-durch-johannesburg/

In the last few years the city developed and became a bit more interested for visitors. The fist street cafes have opened and the streets are teeming with little stands and vendors of african products (for example african masks or food):

Also the city is very popluarfor the street art. Public street art is allowed and is supported by the government. On every empty wall you can see graffitys, mosaics and paintings. Until 2040 Johannesburg want to be the city with the most public street art. But this street art isn't just beautiful. Often it has political or historical backgroung or show the actual life in Johannesburg. It represent the Country and the African population and strengthens the solidarity of the people.

https://streetart360.net/2017/02/28/20-female-street-artist-you-should-know/

http://www.gautengfilm.org.za/locations/images/locations/
apartheid-museum/higher_res/apartheid-museum_hr.jpg

The next destination was the Arpartheid-Museum. It shows the history of South Africa, the racial segregation and gulf between black and white. The museum is very special. It have two seperate entrance, one for the white and one for the black visitors to show the racial segregation. Just at the end of the tour with the first free election the two parts of the museum unite.

At last we drove to Soweto (South Western Townships) a district of Johannesburg which is very "popluar" because of a insurrection against the arpartheid. Townships were separate district for the not withe colored population. This districts are overcrowded and there are poor and cruel living situations.

http://thephoenixsun.com/archives/tag/soweto

I'm so impressed of Johannesburg. Especially of the street art and the diffrence between poor and rich. Although Johannesburg is regarded as a dangerous town and you should stay away from this city the visit was a great experience for me and was worthwhile.

Thanks for reading
-Alicia


Sources:
http://thephoenixsun.com/archives/tag/soweto
http://www.badische-zeitung.de/erklaers-mir/erklaer-s-mir-was-ist-ein-township--32164295.html
http://www.stern.de/reise/fernreisen/ratgeber-suedafrika/johannesburg-suedafrikas-unterschaetzte-metropole-3521982.html
https://www.zypresseunterwegs.de/2017/02/05/eine-kurze-stadtrundfahrt-durch-johannesburg/

(26.05.17)

Daily work

Hey You,
another day has passed and it was such a great day. It was the first real day of my internship.

At six a.m. we girls get up and helped Bijan with the breakfast. Bijan talked to us about our taskes for today. We could decide if we want to work in the kindergarden and play with the young children or we help the teachers in class. Maja and I decided to help in the school. After the breakfast some of our  group members and all the students walked together to the school building. The school belongs to the children's home but is located at the end of the street. The walk wasn't really long but really impressiv. The street was full of waste and everywhere sat homeless peoples. The pictures of this street are going round in my head so far.

https://www.zypresseunterwegs.de/2017/02/05/
eine-kurze-stadtrundfahrt-durch-johannesburg/

The class was very different to German class. The respect and the deailing with rules and standards is very important in african schools. A student has to present the school with good manners. For example is the wearing of school uniform very important and you have to be proud of it. Also traditions especially christan values are important. Every week there is an "assembly". All children speak a prayer and sing the national anthem. The language of the school is english because there a so many different languages for each region of south africa.

At 14:30 p.m. the last lesson ended and we collected all children and went back to the children's home. After lunch we helped with the homework of the kids and played with them. The head told us that we could offer a workshop for the afternoon. The boys were playing football with the children and Maja and I offered a workshop for the younger children. We were crafting and drawing together with the children and had a good time.
At 17 p.m. we had to do a really unpleasant job. We had to clean the sanitation and emptying the...
No matter, after this task we had a little bit free time and could relaxing. The rest of the day was similar to the last. Helping with the dinner, putting the children to bed and so on.

The day was very exhausting but also I had a lot of wonderful moments with the kids.

See you soon
- Alicia

Sources:
https://www.multikultur.info/freiwilligenarbeit-suedafrika-projekte.html
https://www.travelworks.de/schueleraustausch-suedafrika/schulsystem-suedafrika.html

(26.05.17)

It's really going to start now!!!

Hey guys,
today was the day! My internship has started!
At seven a.m. my family brought me to the airport in Hamburg. I was wearing my green "internship"-Shirt which all the persons, attending at the internship, had got for the flight and the first day. When we arrived at the airport I was really excited. I would get to meet the other teenagers for the first time. My parents and I walked through the entrance hall and I noticed a few teenager in green shirts and began to smile. All members of the group were very friendly to me. Especially a girl called Maja. We are such a good match. Than I had to say goodbye to my parents. I hate to say goodbye so it was a very hard situation for me. But a few minutes later I just concentrated on the group and forgot my parents for a while.
After we checked in we had to wait a long time for our flight. We used this time for some group-games to get to know each other. At nine a.m. our team leader walked with us to the gate an a few minutes later we sat in the plane. Maja sat next to me and both of us were so excited. But the flight wasn't really exciting. 12 hours on the same seat in the same room...
A large part of the flight both of us were sleeping or were watching movies. And than ten minutes befor the plane was landing a queasy sensation developed in my stomach. During the time on the airport and on the way to the children's home this sensation became bigger and bigger. There were so many impressions and my aexpectation was growing higher and higher.
After 30 minutes driving we arrived at the children's home. The head of the home and all employees greeted us very friendly and showed us our home for the next 14 days. Also the boss introduced us to the children. I was so impressed by all of them. Some of them beamed all over their faces and some other were bored or sad. Especially the young children from three to five were so interested and wanted to play with us.

https://www.multikultur.info/freiwilligenarbeit-suedafrika-projekte.html

But before we could do this we needed a briefing. We learned how to deal with the children (especially by disputes),what we are allowed to do and what not, which tasks we had to do, how we have to react in a case of emergency and how important a loving interaction is. Puh... so many rules and limits. It was a lot of information and my head was spinning of.
After this briefing it was time for dinner. Some of us cooked with Bijan, a really friendly guy and a good cook and the other members of the group had to wash the dishes. The dinner was wonderful. All 170 children and the team were sitting and eating together. There was a lot of singing and laughing and the food tasted really great (even if it's very different to German food).
At seven p.m. we were allowed to put the young kids to bed. Ashanti a 70-years-old lady and a volunteer employee sang a old african lullaby for the children. This was a very touching moment.

And now I'm sitting on my bed in our girls dormitory. Next to me Maja and a few other girls. We are reflecting this day and talking about our impressions. What a day! I'm so excited what is going to happen the next day. Don't worry! I'll report all details for you!

Until next time.
-Alicia

Source:

https://www.multikultur.info/freiwilligenarbeit-suedafrika-projekte.html
(25.05.17)

That's me and my internship

Hi You,
looks like you have found my blog.
My name is Alicia Vergin and I'm 15 years old. My biggest dream is to go to a different country than Germany and work there in a project to help other people. One of my friends and I would like to do a exchange after school. We decided to travel to South Africa for a year and work in a religious organisation which was established by my friends uncle.

A few weeks ago I was reading a newspaper article about a internship for a group of teenagers to live and work in an organisation in Johannesburg. What a coincidence! A group of ten people get the chance to fly to Johannesburg and work in a children's home. In this home live 170 children of the age from three to eighteen years. The home was built in 1992 to fight against the rise of street children. The program of this children's home has three goals: prevention, the care of children and the aftercare. It want to save the children from death by starvation and give them new hope for the future.
In these two weeks us teenagers can accompany the team and have to do exercises to help the children.

I was so impressed by this internship so I begged my parents for permission every day. And finally I convinced my parents.
In two days I'll fly to Johannesburg with nine other teenagers to help the children.

So if I caught your attention, you will hear from me in the next weeeks to keep you updated.
thanks for reading
- Alicia