"Children of Fire"

Last week I visited Africa’s first burn charity, Children of Fire, located in Melville. Siena actually was covering Children of Fire for one of her stories, and I went along to take pictures.

It was, yet again, another eye-opening experience.

Children of Fire is an organization that houses children who have been caught in fires in their homes and can’t afford health care necessities.

Fires are extremely common in South Africa. The country is dry and because electricity isn’t commonly used the same as it is in the states, it prompts the use of candles, kerosene lamps, and other fire-prone devices.

Siena and I talked with several volunteers (one was from Texas!) and learned more about the charity and its purpose.

We visited The Johannesburg School for Blind Children afterwards, where the children attend school, and got to meet some of the kids. And boy, were they full of energy!

The most adorable, friendly little boys ever.

The school is very small. It is probably the same size as our B&B - and about 15-18 kids are usually there at one time. There are approximately 10 faculty members, who seem to really bust their butts for these kids. They spoke of waking up at 5 or 6 AM every day and working until midnight.

The school has an outdoor play facility, provides meals and has a few different rooms where classes take place. Most of the kids range between 2-17 years old.

Gardening in tires outside.

Braille in one of the classrooms.

When Siena and I were leaving, one of the boys kept asking us when we were coming back. I felt bad for stopping in and just chatting, and not really doing anything to help the kids. I really wish I had more time to go back and just hangout with them - maybe even cook a meal or two.

It is a really great charity that needs to be recognized not only in Africa, but everywhere else. I only hope that it can expand as an organization and be able to help more burned kids in need.

“Es-Cape Town”

This past weekend, nine of us traveled to Cape Town for a little getaway from Joburg. The flight was only an hour and a half, which is very comparable to a flight from Pennsylvania to Florida.

We all had interviews Friday morning, so we didn’t get to Cape Town until later that evening. We all stayed at a hostel on Long Street, which is the main street in Cape Town for bars and clubs.

We enjoyed our time on Friday night socializing, but the night didn’t end well when one of the men from the hostel demonstrated racial remarks that really offended Shanell - which, naturally, really offended the rest of us. To say the least, we experienced, yet again, the post-apartheid mindset of some white South Africans.

On Saturday, after sleeping in, we woke to a beautiful warm day without a cloud in the sky. It was refreshing considering the brutal cold front we had been experiencing in Joburg the week before.

Siena, Lucas, Shanell, and I went to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela and other ANC members were isolated and imprisoned for their fight against apartheid.

Robben Island was also a training and defense station in World War II and a dumping ground for people with leprosy.

We had to take a half hour ferry ride out to the island, which was breathtaking. Looking out and seeing the beautiful scenery of Cape Town was an incredible experience. The rumors are true - it is a place you have to see to believe. Yet, I couldn’t help to think of what Nelson Mandela felt when he was being taken to Robben Island, only to be locked into a small cell for nearly 1/3 of his life.

We first toured the prison. Our tour guide had actually been imprisoned for a few years, because of his contribution to student protests during the apartheid era.

The prison was a shocking experience. I thought I saw it all in the Apartheid Museum, but I was wrong. It was a whole different feeling to see the actual cell Mandela was in and hear about the frightening stories that the prisoners went through.

We proceeded to take a bus ride around the island, where we saw World War II monuments and graves of former lepers on the island. People who died from leprosy were buried on the island, but many of their gravestones were torn down for the building of the prison. Virtually the whole establishment was built over numerous dead corpses.

On Sunday, most of the girls and I spent a few hours shopping at a very cool African market.

We then made our way to Table Mountain, the landmark of Cape Town. It is the first thing I saw when I arrived in Cape Town on Friday, and the last thing I saw from the plane when we left on Monday morning.

We made it about half way up the mountain and the view was amazing. We made our way down as the sun set, which was such a pleasant, beautiful and relaxing experience.

I love the beauty Cape Town possesses, and I hope to return again sometime soon!

"Comfort Food"

Since I have been in South Africa, I have had intense cravings for the sweetest of foods. Cupcakes, chocolate bars, and ice cream are in the top 3 of my list of must-haves, pretty much every day. Don’t get me wrong - I do sometimes crave sweets at home, but not like I do here. Chocolate, for me, has a nostalgic appeal to my senses. I feel at ease when I eat it, as I feel when I am at home.

While on the topic of foods, in particular junk foods, I have found myself craving fast food here too, which I rarely even eat in the states. But yesterday, after a depressing flight back to Joburg from a weekend away in Cape Town and a day full of homework, a few of us ordered McDonald’s delivery. Yes, McDonald’s delivers here - it is quite scary.

It is incredibly remarkable to me that the McDonald’s burger I guiltily ate - although the meat was organic - tasted exactly the same as the McDonald’s burger I ate in Philadelphia over a month ago.

The fries were still as salty, crispy and mouth watering as I remembered too.

I understand that this is all in the McDonald’s corporation’s plan to promote a well-known and approved product for consumers that, no matter what, provides a sense of comfort.

Consumers have the comfort in knowing exactly what the McDonald’s meal will taste like before ordering, that the price will be low, and that the meal will indeed be in your mouth within ten minutes after ordering - No matter where you are in the world.

I wish I didn’t crave such comfort foods, but I will admit they have been a major factor in de-stressing while abroad.

Why couldn’t I just stick to yoga instead?