Chicago Semester

When the travel itch does not stop – My South African Journey

Posted by Cynthia Stewart in Staff Stories | Jul 28, 2011

I have always been adventurous, when it came to eating different foods, meeting new people, learning a new language, and most importantly traveling. I received the traveling itch, I think, when I was a little girl as I traveled back and forth from Chicago to Alabama at least twice a year. Well, that itch continued into my adulthood. My first long flight out of the country was to the Holy Land for the Millennium. That trip caused me to want to see more of the world. The itch continued as I traveled to Mansiones, Ecuador for a ten-day mission trip. It did not stop there; I then traveled to Costa Rica for another ten-day mission trip. After going back to school last fall and hearing the stories from my PhD classmates about their summer South African trip, I was jealous and desired to go. Well, that desire manifested quickly. During winter break, they announced that another South Africa trip was in the works. I knew it was destined for me to go. So the travel itch continued yet again.

After a great spring semester at Chicago Semester, I began to prepare and anticipate the trip. On June 21 I finally boarded the plane from Chicago to London with (7) other students, one Butler University student and the rest Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary students. After watching movie after movie on the long (7) hour flight, we finally made it to London. Two more individuals, one seminary student and her friend, joined the group. A professor from the University of London greeted us at the airport. He gave us a quick tour of London, where we saw the historic Big Ben clock, Westminster Abbey, the London eye and other great attractions in just a few hours. You can see all three in the picture above. After eating and walking around, it was time to catch the subway back to the airport, so our journey to South Africa could continue.

Back on a long (10) hour flight, more movies to watch, and more anticipation of what South Africa would be like. Finally, after traveling for two days, we finally arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa at 6:30am, which was 2:30pm Chicago time. Our facilitator met us and off we went to check into our hotel in Pretoria. He immediately said, “We have about an hour before heading out.” We all looked at each other like “Is he serious? We just got off the plane.” Since he had a good night’s sleep and had been in South Africa a few days before us, did he not realize we might be tired? However, our venture began. We exchanged our US dollars to South African rands and were ready to begin our journey. We visited the University of Pretoria, where we walked the campus and visited the Theology department. We were all surprised that we left 90-degree weather in Chicago for 60-degree weather in South Africa. You will not believe it, but we all were in search for scarves, socks, and hats. When we returned to the hotel, we all went shopping!

After finally getting a good night’s rest in our hotel, we were ready for our next day journey. We traveled to Soweto, Johannesburg and visited the Hector Pieterson Museum. The museum is in honor of Hector Pieterson, a 13-year boy killed in 1976 by police officers. He being the first youth killed in the student uprising regarding the oppressive educational system in South Africa. This museum left a few of us speechless after walking through viewing videos and seeing pictures of youth killed. First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughters had just visited the museum the day before.

After leaving speechless, it was time for lunch. It was great as we traveled and they asked where we were from and we would say “America.” Individuals thought we came with the First family.

We ate a restaurant called Leshala, which means a place of overflow. It was here that we had our first taste of South African cuisine. We were the only guests in the restaurant, and we received the royal treatment. We had meats like crocodile, kudu (antelope), springbok (antelope), ostrich sausage, beef sausage, chicken sausage, and we had the traditional African dish of pop (similar to mashed potatoes, but thicker) and other vegetables. We were glad we had not seen these animals at the game reserve before we ate them. Unbelievably, they were all good, and they did not taste like chicken. After a great lunch, we were off to the Apartheid Museum.

This was an amazing opportunity to walk through the museum and learn about Nelson Mandela and the history of Apartheid. You never know what one can endure until the opportunity arrives. Here is one of his quotes I will remember the most, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Again, this museum left us speechless for the rest of the day. I am sure visiting those museums will be a lifetime of memories. We were just at day three of the trip, and there were so many more memories ahead.

The most moving part of the trip for me was attending a United Methodist Church in Atteridgeville a suburb in Pretoria. As soon as I walked into the church, took my seat on the front row near the choir, tears began to flow from my eyes. I did not know what they were singing, but the sounds of their voices resonated in my heart, and it continued until the end of the service. I felt as if everything I had read, watched and experienced at the (2) different museums were coming from the hearts of those who experienced firsthand the oppression of their people. I, again, left speechless.

A few hours later, our group visited an orphanage for children who were either afflicted with HIV/AIDS or who were abandoned because they had no living family. Again, my heart continued to beat quickly as I interacted with the children who had such joyful and playful spirits. One young girl touched my heart, as I we both read to each other. She is always on my mind as I wonder how she is doing, and I continue to pray for her and the rest of the children. I laugh at times as I remember swinging around a little boy and walking hand and hand with another young girl after we played.

The remainder of our trip consisted of us attending a (2) day conference on Race and Religion at the University of South Africa. It was great to have a conversation with a professor from Calvin College who was presenting at the conference. We visited the Pilansberg Game Reserve, where we were able to see giraffes, different types of antelope, wildebeest, and other animals up close. Unfortunately, we did not see elephants or lions. We also visited the Cradle for Humankind, which is the site where archeologist found the bones of the first human fossil. The museum states, “It is scientifically accepted that all humankind originated in Africa. Therefore, regardless of where people come from now, regardless of the language they speak, the colour of their skin, the shape of their noses, the texture of their hair, they can all trace their heritage back to the African continent.” We were able to walk through the cave where the fossils unearthed. We walked down 103 steps and walked up 200 steps to exit. If you were claustrophobic, this was not the venture for you. I was impressed by the Ecuadorian elderly woman who did the cave tour with her daughter. Lastly, and not least, we shopped until we dropped, which caused some of the students to have to purchase additional luggage. That was not me, of course!

Overall, this trip was life changing in so many ways, and the only word I leave you with is RESILENCE! No, matter what life brings us, God always gives us the grace and mercy to endure it. So only God knows where the next stop of my travel itch will take me, but I am certain I will return to Africa.