Hogsback

First off I have to say Happy Birthday to my dad. I hope he had a great day full of cake.

This last week a couple of my classes really made me think, finally. For the senior seminar class we went to a presentation in the township near the Haven where we volunteer. The presentation was given by Bradley, our tour guide from Scotia and Addo, and was about the anti-apartheid struggle in the 1980’s from the perspective of someone who was living it. The 1980’s saw a revival in unrest mainly due to the Soweto Uprising of 1976, where students protested the Bantu Education system. Riots became common place, international communities finally began to put sanctions in place against South Africa, college students (especially those in the US) were protesting. Immense pressure was being put on the South African government and they were fighting back. The townships were horrible places to live at this time. Thousands died, many more traumatized by what they saw. Bradley talked about being “colored” and living through this. He talked about making petrol bombs, being harassed by police outside of his school, and just things he saw everyday that a child shouldn’t have to go through. Hearing about this made me realize how perfect my childhood was. Kids growing up in South Africa during this time never had a normal childhood and probably won’t ever live a normal life because of the scars it left. If you think about it, many of the people running this country grew up during this time and you have to wonder what effects that has on the decisions they make. Because of where and how I was raised, I will never, no matter how hard I try, be able to understand what these people have gone through. I can just listen to what they have to say.

In my literature class the professor brought up a point that I have been noticing throughout my time here in South Africa. Apartheid may still be over but the master – slave relationship still persists. The jobs that require little skill (car guards, house cleaners, golf spotter, people who water the flowers or sell newspapers) are all done by black people. We discussed how this is because of the Bantu Education system where blacks were only taught the skills they would need to get jobs in apartheid. Education was not a necessity for blacks. The effects of this system are still being felt 15 years after apartheid and will probably affect the country for some time to come.

On Thursday we had our first lab for Marine Biology. We went to a sandy beach on Sardinia Bay and had a great time doing grunt work for some grad students. The water was absolutely freezing and I was cold for a while. On that beach I felt the strangest breezes ever. For a while the breeze was coming off the ocean and it was cold. Suddenly it would switch and becoming from the land where it would be hot, when I say a hot breeze I mean hot.

We have had a little war going on with the boys’ room next door. I’m surprised the prank wars have taken this long to get started. Someone let slip that we put some hot sauce on their toothbrushes (they apparently didn’t notice) so they came in at night and took our couch and gave us nasty green chairs. While they were out one night, we took our couch back, kept the chairs, and took their mattresses. The guys came back into our room and pretty much took all of our furniture. There is a truce now so everything is back where it was but I’m not sure how long this quiet will last.

On Friday our whole group went to Grahamstown and King Williams Town for a little lesson on the land issues that are huge in South Africa now. This is how I understand it to happen. When the Europeans came down here they began to partition the land. They gave some of the land to some of the African tribes and those who helped them. The blacks owned this land and worked it until apartheid where it was said black couldn’t own land. The government took it away and in many cases began putting residential developments on it. Now that apartheid is over the question still remains on who owns the land. Legally, the deeds to this land still are in the hands of the blacks but what do you do with those living on the land right now. Much of this land in question is farms and the white farmers are not happy with the situation. We are going to be visiting white Afrikaner farmers in the near future so I’m sure I’ll get more information then.

We also got to see Steve Biko’s house. Steve Biko is the founder of the Black Consciousness Movement. The BC was an organization that worked on empowering the black population. Apartheid had left the black population feeling as if they were inferior. BC was created to correct that. Biko is famous not only for founding this movement but also because his death was so cruel. He was, like many other political activists, was arrested and beaten while in detention. He was either being transported to or from Port Elizabeth naked in the back of a police van with nothing to eat or drink. He died before making it to his destination.

A group of us then were dropped off in Grahamstown where we proceeded to head to Hogsback. Friday night we stayed in a hostel that used to be a jail and the rooms are the old jail cells. I have to say it was a little bit scary. We headed out Saturday and drove 2 hours to Hogsback. This was the first weekend trip that did not include a beach, but it did include amazing views and great hikes. The road to Hogsback weaved in and out of the mountains. It was a foggy/misty day so it set the perfect mood for our stay at Away with the Fairies. The village of Hogsback is located up in the forest of the mountains. It is a tiny town of no more than an Inn and a few general stores and a couple cafes. This place is known for great hiking and beautiful waterfalls. We didn’t waste any time and headed out hiking right away. The best waterfall was Bridal Veil Falls, it was also the hardest to reach because the trail wasn’t marked clearly and we had to climb up a rock slide for a half hour at least. But all the trouble it took to get there was well worth it. We could get up close to these falls and got amazing pictures of it (which we hope to see on the front page of the CSB/SJU website). We got up early on Sunday to go on another hike. We probably hiked close to 7 hours in those two days on very rough terrain.

The reason so many people want to go to Hogsback is because it is the inspiration of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. It is not hard to see why. Having read the books and seen the movies it felt as if I was transported to Middle Earth. I won’t go into details but if you’ve seen the movies, these forests look exactly like that. It was amazing.

Getting back to PE was an experience. We were all exhausted and sore and didn’t feel like moving. It took us one crammed combi ride and one very hot taxi to get us to Grahamstown. From there we had to ride on a bus to PE. That was the hottest bus ride I have ever had to take. It was crowded and barely any windows were open and we all smelled so I’m sure the people we sat next to were just loving that. I don’t know if I will do that again but like I said it was an experience.

Tonight I went to my first rugby game. I watched some on TV while we were at the hostel to get in the mood for it. Rugby is my type of game. It’s fast with lots of hitting, grunting, and the occasional blood. Tonight, there was even fight that broke out, it didn’t last long but it was sweet all the same. So rugby here (at NMMU and other major universities in SA) is like Division I college football back in the states. I remember someone describing the players more as students for hire than actually students. They are athletes that come to a school to play the sport. I am really going to miss the sports here when I go back to the States.

Peace.