A few of the girls and I just got back from a nice lunch at Cocoa Wah-Wah, a quaint little café where we sat outside, munched on food, and talked about things that only girls talk about. It’s important for girls to have girl friends, just as it is important for guys to have their guy friends. Girls’ help their girl friends maintain their femininity, and guys their masculinity. And it’s a great dynamic when these two beautiful items, femininity and masculinity, find in each other those things which one was seeking but could not find within oneself.

In other news, I have finally settled on the service project where I want to be placed. The name of the organization is Equal Education (EE); you can read more about the organization on their website: www.equaleducation.org.za. I was previously set on going to either the primary or high school for my service project, but when I revisited the schools, I did not have that “yes, this is where I want to be” feeling that I was hoping for. Fortunately, I found that feeling at EE. In short, the organization is committed to improving schools across South Africa. Right now EE is campaigning, petitioning, marching, and drafting legislation to have school libraries instituted in every school in the country. As of right now, something like 97% of schools in South Africa are without libraries.

My role at EE would be working in the Youth Department with students who are also dedicated to improving the school system. I would be helping the students develop leadership skills so that, in the near future, they will be able to help the next group of students do the same. I will also be working with a group of eight students whom I had the privilege of meeting this past week. These eight students are taking a gap year, which means they are 17 and 18 year olds who have graduated from high school and are taking a break before going to college/university. Many of them are using this year to take additional courses to prepare for college entrance exams. So I will be working with these students and helping them prepare for such exams. I don’t like to call this tutoring because it implies some sort of power relationship, but I can assure you that I will learn as much from these students as they will hopefully learn from me.

So what was it about EE that I did not find at the schools? Mostly it was that I identified in these students something that I also find in myself. They are natural leaders, motivated individuals, and they are passionate about improving the school systems of which they themselves are a product. You know, before coming to South Africa, my belief was that people were poor because societal forces gave them no other choice. When I say poor, I am not referring to poverty in terms of money. It is true that some people are happy with no money at all. If this happiness is all they desire from life, then this should be sufficient. But for those who are not happy in the situations into which they were born or forced into, there are avenues one can take to change these situations – avenues that require absolutely no money.

One of these avenues is education. Now I recognize that my previous statement about the avenue of education requiring no money whatsoever is not true. Public education is not free in South Africa, although the fee is minimal (about USD $16 per year). Regardless, the gap year students at EE with whom I will be working with come from the black township Khayelitsha, one of the poorest townships in the Western Cape province. Until now, I always thought that every single person on this planet could become great. But this simply is not the case. Perhaps we all have the potential to become great, but at some point achieving greatness involves making a choice. These are students who have made that choice. And these are the students in whom I want my energy, students who have made a conscious decision to do something great and are passionate about the power of education.

So that is that. We are still working on finalizing schedules and whatnot, and I still do not know exactly when I will begin my service there, even though we are supposed to begin this Monday, the 15th of February. On a similar note, it still does not seem like school has started. I still feel like I am on vacation. I’m not complaining about the vacation part. It’s been quite relaxing to get some writing and knitting projects done. But one of the reasons I came here was to get an education, so that part has been a bit disappointing thus far. I am sure this will soon pick up though, especially when my service actually begins. Until then I am practicing being patient, so maybe that is the education South Africa is giving me!

Lastly, I have joined the Volleyball Club here on campus. I will be setting for the competitive league team. The club sports here are much more competitive than in the States, which I enjoy. The players and coaches are great, we train like a regular team, and it’s a lot of fun. The South Africans take their sports seriously, but not unreasonably seriously. We will practice on Mondays and Thursdays in the gym, and Fridays are reserved for beach volleyball. This will be a good stress reliever, and as one of my peers said, sports force you to socialize without being socially awkward. These are both good things. On that note, I must slap on some sunblock and head out to the beach courts.