Sights of South Africa

Lake at Coronation Park

Lake at Coronation Park

Lake at Coronation Park

Mandela Bridge

Mandela Bridge

Adventure Time! Sight seeing, shanties, race, language and clicking

Today marks a week since we left home in the US for South Africa. The social workers at Sparrow decided to drive us around to show us how South Africans live. So far, my impression of the country was that it appeared very modern, just like the US. Today I saw more, and this experience gave me a better understanding of how diverse South Africa really is.

Sometimes we would drive by mansions that were tucked away neatly in the mountains by the highway, but then several miles down the road, we would come across housing areas that were poorly kept, and seemed very cramped and overpopulated. These houses had foundations made of zinc and wood, but had incongruent amenities such as running water, electricity, security cameras and water heaters attached to the roofs.

Mansions tucked away in the mountains

Mansions tucked away in the mountains

Mansions tucked away in the mountains

Shanties where underprivileged Blacks live

Shanties where underprivileged Whites live

South Africa is home to four general racial groups-Whites, Blacks, Coloreds (of mixed decent) and Asians (Chinese and Indians). Blacks constitute the majority and is the most linguistically diverse group because in South Africa, there are many Black tribes.

There are 11 official languages of South Africa. Africkaans is the language of the Whites of Dutch heritage and English is the language of the Whites of English descent.

Almost everyone (of any race and class) I met spoke English, but with an accent of course. Some English accents sounded very much like a British accent and some sounded like a West African English accent.

As for the Blacks I met, the majority of them spoke English, Zulu and Xhosa (pronounced with a click), to name a few. As for Whites, it is uncommon for them to speak any of the Black tribal languages. They spoke either English or Afrikaans. But as for the Coloreds, who are of mixed decent, it is common for them to speak Afrikaans and Zulu (in addition to English). 

When asked how many official languages are spoken in the US, I would shamefully admit, "Only one- English". 

On my first day of meeting the kids at Sparrow, one little girl pulled me aside to teach me a few words.

At the moment I only recall a few.

Siyabonga-thank you (Zulu)

Dankie-thank you (Afrikaans)

Salanikahle-goodbye (Zulu)

Many of the words from the tribal languages are pronounced with clicks, so my pronunciation of certain words became better over time. I have accepted that it would take years of practice for me to be able to pronounce some words because I'm not used to clicking when I speak.

Meet my travel buddies!

 Jewelliana, Salisbury University, Psychology and Biology, Vegan, YouTube famous

 

Oyin, Bowie State University, Social Work, Nigerian, Most Caribbean African I know, Her name means honey

 

 Kiara (right), Bowie State University; Social Work; California girl; Bomb cook in the kitchen
 Hawa (left), Bowie State University, Social Work, Has met Chris Brown in person, has a twin sister

We've Arrived! Take a look at our accommodation

After 18 long hours of travel we arrived on a Thursday evening and Corinne, the president of Sparrow came to welcome us and gave us our keys to the guest house. Here are a few shots of the guest house. As you can see from the pictures, it was very comfortable. Not that it was comparable to a five star hotel, but it was more like a home away from home!

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Introduction

Dear Darlings,
This summer I spent 3 weeks volunteering at Sparrow Rainbow Village in Gauteng, South Africa. Sparrow was founded in 1992 and is both a Hospice for the terminally ill and a Children’s Home for those vulnerable children who have become homeless due to the death of one or both of their parents.

During the weekdays at Sparrow, I spent my time with the younger kids (age 1 to 10), as a teacher assistant, so to speak, and then after I would help the pre-teens with homework (basic math and English). But on the weekends, I explored South Africa and learned immensely about its rich history.

So read along with me as I write about my adventures and find out why I call this experience the most enriching one of my 22 years of life!