Installment #4

Two weeks ago, I was in Maputo, Mozambique. Whenever I visit a new country in Africa I get this overwhelming feeling, and my profound love for the Continent simply gets deeper. There is so much potential and so much beauty in Africa and Mozambique did not disappoint me. Mozambique sits on the south-eastern part of the Continent. Its people enjoy over 2,400 km of gorgeous coastline on the Indian Ocean. No wonder the beaches north of its capital, Maputo, are crowded with visitors and tourists. The warm waters of the Indian Ocean invite the tropical weather, and in comparison to Cape Town, South Africa, which sits on the Atlantic Ocean side of Africa, Mozambique can easily be around 10 degrees warmer.
The culture, the vibe, the music, and the seafood simply took my breath away, and I had so much fun partying, and having a good time. But there was also work involved. I was invited to help the U.S. Embassy in Maputo with their second annual U.S. - Trade and Investment Conference. Mozambican President, Armando Guebeza, came to the conference to stress how important he believed trade and investment is to Mozambique. Mozambique is less developed than South Africa, but the country is actively pursuing foreign investment to create jobs, boost GDP, establish better infrastructure throughout the country, and educate its people. My colleague, Courtney, and I helped the Embassy team with whatever they needed us to do. In return, they provided us with free Embassy housing for 10 days. Going to Mozambique reminded me a lot of the Cape Verde Islands – both former Portuguese colonies, similarities in music and dance, and the fresh seafood and prawns (shrimp) that were literally the size of my fist. I think I gained about 3 pounds the week that I was there. I ate such rich, tasty food.
Courtney and I went to 2 concerts, 4 different night clubs, and shopped for crafts. We tried twice to get to the beach – but one time we literally missed the boat and the other time we woke up late from going out the night before. We were so sad to leave, but we will always remember the people we met, and all of the fun activities we did in Mozambique.
Last Saturday, I had the amazing opportunity to go to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy as part of our Abafazi Ambassadors Program. This was the last session of a 6-week course that focused on teaching the girls about women leaders in a variety of subjects such as – government, business, arts & literature, and the sciences. Each week we had about 50 girls, and they were all delightful, bright young ladies. I found out later that these girls are going to be the first graduates of the school, and they were the ones featured on the Oprah Winfrey special when the school was opened. They are truly amazing. I talked to them about Judith Jamison, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and about Ama Ata Aidoo, the famous writer and playwright from Ghana. At the end of the lesson, we took pictures in the courtyard, and then the girls started to sing and dance, and they made a circle. They were so surprised to see me when I got in the middle of the circle and was showing my kwaito moves, and some of the Zulu dance steps that I learned. I will cherish their shocked faces when they saw me getting down with my bad self. Dance is such a great medium to convey feelings of happiness, joy, and comfort with my surroundings.
This is my last week here in South Africa…until I come back somehow, and I will write one last entry before I leave, but I know that I am going to return to this region. I WILL find my way back.

Installment #2 - recovered - scroll down for next installment

I say Sawbona, you say Yebo. I say Kunjani, you say Ngohna (sp?) These are some of the greetings that I picked up in South Africa. After being approached in the street so many times with these greetings, I felt bad whenever I replied with a good old American hello?! It always confused people who thought, at first glance, that I was South African. So, my co-workers have been teaching me basic Zulu. In addition, I have a Zulu name…Ntombenthle (I can say it for you when I get back to the U.S.) but the name means “pretty lady,” and the shortened version is Ntombi….I like it.

For those of you who are not familiar with South Africa, the country is broken up into nine provinces. Johannesburg is the capital/major city of the Gauteng (pronounced Hauteng) province, while another famous city in South Africa, Cape Town, is the capital of the Western Cape Province. As you can tell, I am still having fun in Johannesburg. I am doing the best that I can on my internship, gaining information about my surroundings, and engaging the community any way that I can.

I finished my major project with the commercial service on Monday. I had to organize a half-day seminar with two representatives from the U.S. Export- Import Bank doing a tour of Africa. I also had to coordinate their one-on-one meetings with several South African banks and businesses. This project went well as I was able to garner 25 paying clients for the seminar, exceeding my bosses’ expectations. Now, I am starting to branch out, and focus on writing a Market Research proposal on the franchising industry in South Africa.

Two anecdotes that I would like to tell you about before I close this letter. On my way to the Bruma African flea market, I passed through downtown Johannesburg. I live in Sandton, Johannesburg, which are suburbs that are I believe to the north of Johannesburg proper, so it was really shocking for me to see such a stark difference between the glam of Sandton and the poverty in downtown Joburg. It was a rude wake-up call, which reminded me that I live in a bubble….the Sandton bubble, and that the economic disparity and inequalities between the rich and the poor in South Africa are very real. It is so easy to be separated from the reality of the South African paradox. Rich and full of opportunity in some cases, and also a country still battling to control poverty…Doesn’t that sound familiar?

The second is more light-hearted. Last weekend, I had the opportunity to talk to South African graduate students on their way to the States for their Masters degrees. I talked to them about academic life in the United States, the social life on a campus, and about race relations in the U.S. I luckily had the State Department intern, Courtney Stokes, with me to help explain complex racial and social issues in two hours for South African students. There were three students going to NYU, so I was able to tell them about metrocards, the non-existent NYU “campus” and my beloved Brooklyn. I am so excited for them to go.

All in all, I am still very happy to be here. My weekends are filling up with a trip planned to Cape Town, Mozambique, the apartheid museum, and the Cradle of Humankind…. I have included some pics of SA. I hope you enjoy.

PS – Here is a list of my most recent activities:
• Going to Pretoria to visit the U.S. Embassy and US Agency for International Development…making connections!
• Going to Mangwanani (it means Good Morning in Shona) Day Spa, I had a fabulous time getting the foot, hand, back, neck, shoulders, head, legs, arms massage, and a full body scrub + breakfast, lunch, and snack!
• Going to a Fashion Show for Arise! African Fashion Week
• Going to a club in Joburg and learning about/dancing to Kwaito music. The only thing I can truly equate it to is House music in the States.
• Going to Chinatown, Joburg, South Africa

Installment #3

Picture the sea, an island in the distance, a plateau all around you, and the city way, way below you. You are standing on top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa and it is a wonderful, spectacular sight. I had an amazing weekend in Cape Town, which is so different from the hustle and bustle of Johannesburg. It is hard to imagine that the two cities are even in the same country. While in Cape Town, I also had the opportunity to visit Robben Island to see where Mandela spent almost two decades of his life as a political prisoner. One of the most touching parts of the journey was when the tour guide described the limestone quarry where the political prisoners were made to work. They had no protective masks so they suffered from terrible bronchial problems from all of the limestone dust. And because limestone is very light (almost white) in color, the stone brilliantly reflected the sun. To this day, many of the political prisoners who worked in that quarry have trouble seeing and are extremely sensitive to light. However, the tour guide explained that the cave used in the limestone quarry not only shielded the workers from the heat and the back-breaking work, but was also called the University because it was in this cave that the literate taught the illiterate and the political prisoners reformed thieves and murderers into individuals with a purpose to better their country.

The tour on Robben Island was divided into 2 parts. Part I – we were on a bus going around the island, Part II was actually visiting the prison guided by a former political prisoner on the island. It was truly a moving and touching experience – definitely worth the very uncomfortable boat ride to and from the island.

On July 1, the U.S. Consulate in Joburg officially opened. We celebrated the 4^th of July with a catered American BBQ. I posted some pictures of the event, the Marines, and the colors.

I am doing very well on my internship – I have two projects that I am currently working on. A market research project on the Franchising industry in South Africa, and an International Market Check, which is a study on how feasible it is to bring a specific product to the South African market. The company interested in entering the market pays the Foreign Commercial Service to perform this market study All in all, my projects are very interesting and everyday I am learning a lot. This week, I will be go to Mozambique for a week to work with the U.S. Embassy in Maputo. Specifically, I will be helping the Economic section of the Embassy with their International Trade Conference. This will be a good chance to use my Portuguese skills and to get some sun and hot weather while I am in Africa….Plus to learn of course!

Lastly, I got to visit the Oprah Winfrey School for Girls. The Consulate has a 6-week program with 50 tenth-grade girls about Women as leaders. Each week we pick American, South African, and African women to highlight who have been leaders in their respective fields. I went to the workshop on Women in Business and we had the girls develop mini business plans and then do a commercial to “pitch” the idea to us. On July 25, I will lead a discussion on Women in the Arts & Literature – I picked Judith Jamison from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and writer, Ama Ata Aidoo, from Ghana. I included pictures of some of the girls. They are wonderful students.

My internship is almost over and I have so much left to do. 10 weeks is entirely too short, but I am so glad and thankful for the experiences that I have had so far. I look forward to Mozambique and the rest of my visit in Joburg.