Two weeks ago I arrived Cape Town, and the first thing I did was to rent a car and drive to Gansbaai where I surprised my friends I worked with in June/July earlier this year.
I only stayed there for 2 days, before returned the car and got into Cape Town, where I stayed at The Backpack, which is an awesome hostel. It was clean, nice and close to Long Street (without being kept awake during the nights). There I met the Norwegian nurses who had been working in Lusaka, there was also another 6-7 nurses who had been working in Namibia. So the first day I spend wine tasting. The word tasting might be substituted with drinking. Because after visiting 5 different vineyards we was pretty influenced.
The rest of the week I spent with some of the other sports volunteers doing different activities, like quad biking on sand dunes, hiking Table Mountain and Lions Head (sun set), kloofing (abseiling and cliff jumping) and mountain biking for 30km.
It has been a great week, but since I haven't brought my laptop I hadn't been able to upload my pictures and videos from my GoPro camera. Which means you will only see pictures other people have been taking on this post.
Last Sunday I went to University of Western Cape, where all of us sports volunteers finally met. Some work in Zimbabwe, others in Brazil and then the majority in Zambia.
Tuesday evening we had a nice dinner at Mama Africa with our lecturer Anders Hasselgaard, also known to be a former Premiership player in Norway. On Wednesday I went on another hike, this time up Table Mountain and Devils Peak. I really miss hiking in mountains so I've been hiking a lot since I got here. I haven't spent one day at the beach yet. If the weather is nice, I'm hiking the mountain!
This picture is taken after the kloofing with Frixion Adventures. All of us are sports volunteers in Africa
This is a jump from about 12 meters above the river
Abseiling
We had to walk a bit in the river
After the last waterfall we could play around a bit, while we waited for the rest
I found this picture on Facebook. This is taken in Lusaka a while back
This is Table Mountain, I've been here around 6-7 times during the two times I've been in Cape Town
Wine tasting in Stellenboch
Ida, Anja, Me and Morten enjoying the sunset on Lions Head
Morten, me, Anja, Ida and Anita. Sunset. Lions Head
Jump
The first waterfall we abseiled
We had to walk through some bushes
This was a pretty awesome waterfall to abseil down
In Norway, after Magnus Carlsen became the world champion in chess, the
interest for chess has exploded. But I was surprised when my Kenyan friend
Mwaniqe last week asked me if I could assist him at a chess workshop at a
compound. He didn’t know how to play it, but he was running the workshop for
NOWSPAR (a Non-governmental organization). I know how to play but not a lot
about tactics and points etc, so it was good that Ivan from Uganda, who works
for Edusport came to instruct the participants, as well as me. Ivan is a good
friend of me and Mwaniqe.
First Day
The first day was on Tuesday, we were supposed to start at 8
AM, but we waited for about an hour before we got enough people to go to the
location where the workshop was being held. Then we had to wait a bit longer
for the rest of the people. The participants are both disabled and healthy
kids/adults, and they are all willing to learn the game of chess. Some pick it
up fast, others don’t.
Before we started it was a group of small kids standing at
the entrance of the room looking at me, I guess they don’t see many “Mozongos” in
their compound very often. Before I got to take a picture or talk to them, they
got chased away by the adults. The course lasted 2-3 hours and we left the
chessboards with the participants.
Second day We came a bit earlier this day, to try to start earlier, but still we had
to wait half an hour at the compound. And we also had to wait by the location
of the workshop, and again the kids came to the doorstep to look at me. I
grabbed the NOWSPAR camera and took a couple of pictures, it flashed, and the
kids shouted: “Futi! Futi!” which
means “Again! Again!” so I took a few
more photos. Then I took my GoPro camera and walked over to them, and I started
talking. I spoke a bit of Nyanja to them, and whenever I got stuck I had one
translator (one of the participants). It was so cool, and I’m glad I got it on
camera.
The day contained a recap and playing, and it seems like
they really enjoy it. I hope they will continue after the last day of the
workshop and improve their game, so when Mwaniqe and Ivan come back in a couple
of weeks, they will see the progress.
Third day The final day of the course we had the Zambias women champion of chess
visiting the workshop. And we made the participants play for a couple of hours.
Afterwards they wanted to show their appreciations, so we were invited to a
cultural dance. We were all hungry and had busy afternoons, but we said it
would be fun to see what they had arranged for us.
And wow, what an experience. They were dressed up and painted, danced in front
of us with drums in the background. They wanted me to come up and dance with
them, and why not? So I went up while Ivan filmed the whole thing. After a few
minutes of dancing with a massive crowd (Can you imagine a mozongo in a
compound dancing with drums).
The days that I spent there I had so many kids looking at
me, saying “Mozongo” or “how are YOU!?!” It was so cool, and
since it’s so far away from the city centre the kids haven’t seen many white
people, so I’m a very interesting person for them. They are a bit shy in the
beginning, but when I talk to them they seem very keen on talking/touching me.
Holiday/exam at
University of Western Cape On Friday at 05:00 I will head to the airport in Lusaka, and arrive Cape
Town in the afternoon. I will have one week where I’m going to have as much fun
as possible before I meet up with all the other Norwegian volunteers to do a
week program at the University and then have an oral exam on the Saturday the
14th of December. After that day our official holiday starts, and it
lasts for one month, more or less. I got my whole trip/holiday planned and I’m
really excited. I will try to keep the blog updated, but I’m not going to bring
my laptop, so I don’t know how often I will have access to a laptop (and
internet).
First day at the workshop. Me speaking to the kids about the game of chess
Me and Ivan (from Uganda) talking about chess
Showing the movement of the different pieced
They are learning. Both healthy and disabled people were at the course
From day 1, we donated chess boards so they can play and practise in the future
Day 2. A bunch of kids came to look at the mozongo in the area
Touching white skin is always interesting
I was speaking Nyanja with them
Recap and going through tactics
They were playing and I was observing and giving guidelines
Day 3. Instead of staning by the door, I came out to say hi
Showing the skills I've learned from the Africans. Notice the disable guy sitting and dancing on the ground
Thankfully I wasn't dancing by myself
A dancing mozongo in a compound attracts attention
I filmed a bit during church yesterday. Have a look!
Sunday 24/11-2013
It’s only 5(4) days
until I fly off to Cape Town for a week holiday and then an oral exam, so I
felt I had to go to church service today (I've been going 5-7 times since I
came here in mid-August). The plan was to go to the gym, and then get picked
up, but my host dad had been invited to a different church to preach. Since it
was far away, and it started earlier than normal I had to choose between gym or
church, and I decided to go to church, for my families sake.
Preacher and singing
When we arrived at
the slightly bigger “church” around 9 AM we met the priest and the other
pastors. I and my siblings took our seats on the second row. It started with
the pastor giving a preach about praying and pray even if things go well, not
only when we need something. After about 45-60 minutes some ladies started to
sing. Here, the women are very good singers (men as well), and I had no problem
listening to the choir for an hour, but it was the end that caught my
attention. Because it started easy, and the women were dancing a bit and it was
all good, then one of the pastors came up and danced a bit and when I had
walked back to his seat some other guys came and danced. I had one thought in
my head: “Don’t make me come up and dance! Don’t make me come up and dance!”,
so when the pastor gave me a nod to come and join, I kindly refused by smiling
and shaking my head.
More intense
Then slowly it got
more intense, and the women were singing louder and louder with more passion
than before, and occasionally the lead singer went down on her knees. Then,
when the singer remained on the floor, more and more people joined her,
kneeling down. One was kneeling down with his forehead on his chair, another
one with his head between his knees, rocking back and forth. I am not a
religious man, so I wasn’t sure what to do, so I pulled my camera up and filmed
a few seconds of it, I wasn’t worried to be looked at, because everyone had
their eyes closed. I had a quick look behind me, and the majority of the people
behind me were deeply in their prayers. Then while the choir was singing, the
lead woman, who was kneeling in front, started praying loud and fast. I
recognized the prayer from earlier, and it’s so quick I can’t pick up the
words. It was all building up to a grand finale, an orgasm, a highlight, I
don’t know how to explain it. It was just so tense!
Respect and a scary
blessing/prayer
Then, after the big
moment when everyone was shouting and singing/praying it slowly quiet down, and
it was relaxed, with some of the girls singing. Then it was 11 o’clock and they
had been singing for an hour, which flew by. Now my host dad was up for his
preach, he talked about respect, but the thing here in Zambia is that they use
a microphone, even though the room is quite small. My ears got blasted for an
hour, but at least I knew I wouldn’t fall asleep.
Before we finished
the ceremony the pastor said that those who had regrets and wanted to be
blessed could come up and get prayed for, but it had to be serious, I thought I
didn’t have any serious regrets so I remained in my seat. It was
really cool to look at the pastor placing his hand in front of the peoples
forehead and giving them an intense prayer. It was almost scary. Afterwards I
shook hands with all of the people that was there, which was about 85 people.
They thanked me for coming and welcomed me back. Even though I might not come
back, I’m glad I skipped todays exercise for this. Peace out.
After the first preach these women started dancing and singing. You can tell that I enjoyed it
Standing in a circle singing. Notice the fella' who's looking at me
They sang out, and came back in again.
Lots of babies and kids at church
I'm enjoying it a bit more than Daniel
It starts to get intense!
Men and women came and danced! Look at the little baby with his hat, so cute
Here people are kneeling and praying/singing. No word for this...
The last thing that happened at church. The pastor gave an intense prayer for those who needed it
Second quarterly report, even though it's only 2 weeks since I sent the last one. Here we go:
9.Please give an
example of a positive experience either from work, the host family or from the
community you live in. Please formulate this as a story.
Another
Story
My
last story was so good (in my opinion) so I don’t know how to give you a story
that will answer your expectations. But I’ll try.
My meeting
with the General Secretary of NIF (Norwegian Sports Paralympic and Olympic Committee)
which didn’t go like planned.
Two
weeks ago I was told that the General Secretary (GS) of NIF, Inge Andersen,
would come to Lusaka and he wanted to meet us volunteers over breakfast. I was
so excited! Meeting with one of the most important people in NIF, if not the
most important! I tried to sleep the night before, but was thinking how it
would be to meet him, and maybe making a good impression so he would remember
me until I send my job application to NIF. I knew it would be hard to be
remembered by a guy who meets new people all the time in his busy schedule.
So
the day had come, Tuesday 12th of November 2013, and I went to the
gym early to relax and get decent shower (lot better than cold water from a
bucket in our bathtub at home). I met Anja outside Southern Sun Hotel were we
was invited for breakfast at 07:30 AM. We came early, around 07:10, and I asked
the reception if they had a wheelchair I could borrow. After a bit of
explanation (where I did not tell the truth) I got the wheelchair, and me and
Anja had some fun outside the hotel before rolling into the breakfast area,
there we bet Anita and Helene, Norwegian volunteers in Kabwe and Livingstone.
So,
then it was just to wait. The first person that come around half past seven was
an employee of NIF, Bjorn something. He is an elderly man, which, in my opinion
don’t have the same sense of humour as me. So he didn’t really get the wheelchair
joke, so after a while, I felt uncomfortable and took it back to the reception.
Then more of the NIF staff came, Tom and Diane, which heard about the wheel
chair joke and thought it was a bit funny. I sat next to Tom and he was a very
interesting guy, who have been working with sports for a long time. But Inge
Andersen, the GS of NIF didn’t come. The guys had an appointment at the
Norwegian Embassy at 9 AM, and just before they were going Mr Andersen arrived.
He said he thought we were coming with them to the embassy, so he didn’t rush,
but now he realized his mistake and said he would sit with us for 5 (which
became 10) minutes.
Unfortunately
some was talking so much that Mr. Andersen didn’t get to say much, which was
very frustrating, and he never saw me in a wheelchair. But at least we got to
meet him, greet him and say good bye. Hopefully we will meet him again
sometime.
BUT
I did surprise someone with my wheelchair, because when I walked to the
breakfast buffet one of the ladies that worked at the hotel said: “YOU!” and I
answered “ME!” with a smile. I walked to the ladies and they said this:
“We saw you in a wheelchair! And then you just stood up and started to walk! We
thought we saw a MIRACLE!!! We couldn’t believe what we saw! We actually
thought you were disabled!”
I laughed and said it was just a joke, and there hadn’t been any miracles, I just
tried to fool a few important people from Norway. But next time I will succeed!
Here I'd got my wheelchair, and I had to go outside before I dared to sit in it.
Here I am!! Happy lad
All of us. From the left: Bjorn, Helene, Tom, Me, Ivan (Uganda), Mwanique (Kenya), Anita, Anja.
I had got some new trainers just a few days earlier.
The Norwegian volunteers in Zambia/Zimbabwe this year. I will meet them all in Cape Town in a couple of weeks!
Since my last blog post, a week and a half ago, I finished my exam (which has a deadline for 6th
of December), and I’ve just gone out and worked with other volunteers, so at
least I got something to do.
Last week I went to St. Patricks and had two PE
sessions with Anja and some other peer-leaders from Sport in Action. The first
session I came there on a Tuesday and none of the girls had brought their PE
clothes, so we had an indoor session. Since we only had planned a PE session,
we asked the girls what they wanted to learn, and they said Norwegian. So we
taught them some Norwegian phrases. The following day was a bit more active, and
the girls had their PE kit, so we had a session in the school yard. I
introduced some kids athletic exercises and it was great to be out on the field
again. I love doing it, and seeing how much fun the kids have.
Last week, I also joined a basketball team! I met a guy at Lusaka
Backpackers a couple of weeks ago, and he asked if I played basketball, even
though it’s been almost 8 years since the last time I played I said “yes, I
played basketball”. So on Thursday last week I went to the basketball quart (it
turned out I went to the wrong practise, but it was still fun, and the
following day I went to the right place). Even though I’m a bit rusty, it was
still a lot of fun, and the other took good care of me. Hopefully I will have
time to practise with them a bit more before I go for my Christmas holiday.
This week we met the General Secretary of NIF (The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee
and Confederation of Sports) at a rather nice hotel breakfast. I was really
excited and to loosed up the nerves, I borrowed a wheelchair from the hotel,
and pretended like I was disabled. It turned out everyone showed up, except
from the General Secretary (Inge Andersen). Mr. Andersen showed up 5 minutes
before they had to leave, so we barely had a talk, which was disappointing, but
hopefully we will meet him again. At least I had some good talks with the other
people who were coming from NIF/Norway.
During this week I went to Kalingalinga where I had a
session with some kids, together with my friend and volunteer from Uganda,
Ivan. The kids were behaving, even though they weren’t used to seeing white
people. “Mozongo mozongo!” they shouted when I walked from the bus stop to the
compound.
Later in the week we had a mid-term evaluation. Here all of
the sports volunteers in Zambia gathered at Kingfisher Lodge in Lusaka. It was
great to meet the other volunteers again and share experiences, it turns out I’m
not the only one with long days doing nothing. We also got to present our first
few months for our host organization and our coordinator, which will work with
us to help us get busier in the future.
Here is when I came in the classroom
Here is what we taught them
Outside in the school yard
Basketball
I need to iron all the clothes I dry outside, because of the bugs which lay eggs in my clothes (they itch)
Thats right, I can iron as well!
Another basketball picture
Here I'm in the wheel chair and Anja is pushing me
