deesdae kies baie vuurvlieë
koers na Kanada of Australië
maar ons geankerdes sal gekreef
in singels van die steenbok leef;
met ‘n suiderkruis opgesaal
ver van huis ‘n halfrond afgedwaal,
gepos deur ‘n verdwaalde skippie
op Afrika se soutste tippie,
‘n spesie wit en vreemd
ingeburger tuis ontheemd.
We wrote our Afrikaans literature paper today. The above poem was the “unseen poem” about which we had to answer questions. And I like the poem. I hope you do too.
Two years ago I spent three months in Germany as an exchange student. Right now, my sister is in Germany on the same exchange program. As a result of this, I have been thinking a lot about the time I spent in Germany. The following is a letter which I wrote while still in Germany, however, because it was so long, I never finished typing it into the computer and so it was never sent. Enjoy!
Germany! What do you think of when you hear the name? Do you think of cold and snow, of Christmas trees and Lebkuchen? Or do you think of beer and wine, of bratwurst and bockwurst and knackwurst and just about every other sort of wurst imaginable? For me, Germany has always conjured up images of dark, shadowy forests, of rich chocolate cakes and of unknown relatives living so far away. My imaginations of Germany had also always been filled with snow, cold and many people all speaking German. And of course one cannot forget the castles nestling in valleys amongst the deep blue lakes and dark green trees!
Germany: 356,970 sq km, official language: German, consists of 16 Bundesländer, capital city: Berlin, Chancellor: Angela Merkel. These facts are what one could call the most important information about Germany. Yet there is so much more! Around every corner something new, some new quirk, new scenery, new technology, new people and a new culture. I have now spent almost three months in Germany. In three months one can see a lot, experience a lot and learn a lot. For me, Germany is no longer merely a country of dark forests, chocolate cakes, snow castles and unknown relatives. No, Germany is so much more than that…
My first impression of Germany was from a train window. On an almost four hour trip from Frankfurt to Hamburg, the train sped through the colourful autumn landscapes, and unfortunately my consciousness sped with it. After an exhausting 12 hour flight, the gentle motion of the train lulled me to sleep!
Meeting my host family, adjusting to the climate and to driving on the other side of the road, cycling, going to school in Germany, catching trains and busses and eating new and strange foods: I don’t think three months have ever flown by as fast as the past three! In total 80 days away from home, separated from family and friends, alone in unfamiliar situations, these have been 80 days in which I have learnt an unbelievable amount! I think that the most important thing to remember when participating in an exchange program is your attitude. If you go into a new experience with a positive attitude everything becomes much easier right from the beginning! I have tried to keep a positive attitude all through my three months here. I haven’t always managed – I have become depressed, homesick and frustrated, but if everything had been moonshine and roses, I wouldn’t have learnt anything!
For me, the best thing about coming to Germany is that I have learnt to know God better. Here, far away from family and friends, far also from the distractions of home, I have turned to God for succour. I have trusted, and now I know that God is good.
During these three months here, my German has improved dramatically! I can know hold a conversation in German, I can write a letter in German and I can understand most of what people are saying. My German is not fluent, perfect or without Rechschreibfehler, but it’s getting better every day and will D.V. continue to improve once I’m back in South Africa!
Most of the time I have spent here in Germany has been at school. At first I found the school system very strange. My first day at school, all the teachers kept asking the students questions and the students answering, instead of the students asking the teacher! After a while however, I found that the teachers do actually teach the kids, not only ask questions. Most of the teaching is done through questions though, that way the learners really find out things themselves, instead of having all the information spoon-fed to them and they merely have to spit it out again when required! I found this really good. In South Africa we also do the “find it out yourself” thing, however, most teachers haven’t really grasped the concept yet. “Find it out yourself” should mean “find it out yourself” and not “be told what you’re supposed to find out yourself, perform a little experiment, look through a microscope or write an essay and then Wow! you’ve found it out yourself!”
Water is in abundance in Germany! I find it fascinating, sitting in the train, all the fields that seem to have water on them. Drainage ditches abound and mini rivers run next to most fields. In the north, water becomes a problem as there is too much water! Along the coast dykes have been built to keep out the water, however in the winter sometimes the water breaks through the dykes and then the people living in the area have a problem! Many of the houses have also been built upon little humps – in the flat countryside it is really funny to see all the houses, each standing on its own hump.
Water can also be useful though! Most of the houses have rainwater tanks that collect the rain. Most washing machines run on rainwater and the toilets are flushed with rainwater. Strangely enough, in this country where there is so much water, the Germans are a lot more “save water” conscious than we as South Africans in our dry country are. ( In fact, the Germans are a lot more “save everything” conscious than we are!) When showering, you don’t just shower, rather, when you aren’t actually using the water, switch it off! (And then back on again when you want to use it again!) Save electricity – don’t leave lights on when you’re not in the room ( and it’s dark a lot of the time when I feel it should actually be light!) Don’t leave the radio or the TV or the computer on if no-one is using it!
The amount of recycling done in Germany is unbelievable!!! eg. Rubbish sorting: There is a dustbin for bio-degradable stuff (brown), for paper (blue) and for general rubbish (black). Plastic stuff gets put out in a yellow plastic bag and glass bottles get taken back to the shop where one gets money for them! There is an idiom, something about counting pennies and pounds, but I can’t remember it. Anyway, it fits in this situation. In SA, we need to concentrate on the small things before we can fix the big things. Small things like these which the Germans have got down pat…
Eating in Germany is a very different thing to eating in South Africa! The main difference is bread. Bread in South Africa is bread! You can choose between brown or white and if you’re willing to pay a bit more you can get fancy health breads. In Germany, there are so many different types of bread I haven’t been able to try them all! What we call bread in South Africa, is dismissed as toast bread, unfit to eat unless it’s been toasted! And if all the different types of bread aren’t enough to satisfy you, then you can try all the different types of Brötchen (buns). Normal, brown, seed covered, cheese covered, fancy shapes, cinnamon covered, anything and everything – you name it, they’ve got it!
The Germans eat a lot more cold meats than we do in South Africa. Breakfast and supper both consist of bread/toast/Brötchen, eaten with cold meat, cheese or, although not usually in the evenings, jam. Honey is also popular and Nutella is widely beloved!
Lunch is the hot meal, and usually vegetables dominate. In South Africa meat is king, but here in Germany the humbler vegetable has the scepter firmly grasped! The ubiquitous noodle is the greatest threat to the vegetable however, as it is eaten almost as much. What advantage can the vegetable find over his slowly advancing opponent? Looking around wildly as he is forced to retreat he spies a loophole and grabs it triumphantly! “You may think you’re great and amazing, O Noodle, but I, the Vegetable, am greater than you! You cannot be eaten alone, otherwise you become boring, however vegetables have been enjoyed alone for centuries and will remain so. Noodles need at least a sauce or a little spice to make them appetising! Retreat before me, I am greater!”
While in Germany, I have become a handball fan! When I think back on the first time I saw handball, my impression was that it has a lot of similarities to rugby! However, having seen a lot more of it, I know it is a lot less violent than rugby and a LOT more civilised! Okay, ja, the players do shove one another around a bit at the goal circle, but they don’t intentionally jump on top of one another like rugby!
I am a fan of THW Kiel, Turnverein Hassee Winterbeck. They are a team based in Kiel. Their main opponents are Flensburg Handewitt, a team based in Flensburg. Owning to the fact that both teams have the same sponsor, they both wear the same colours – black and white (although Flensburg also wear a bit of yellow sometimes.) THW’s logo, nickname and mascot is a zebra. THW is a German team, but is however mostly made up of non-German players! Names like Karabatic, Szilagyi, Kavticnik, Sedarusic and Andersson mingle with German names such as Klein and Fritz on the team. Despite this, the only language permitted at team practices is German: newcomers just have to learn! Even the trainer is not German and even he has to speak German!
My host sister and I went to watch a game in the Ostseehalle in Kiel. After the game, the players retreat for a quick shower and most of the spectator stream down onto the court to wait for the players to return. When the team come back, each of the player is quickly surrounded by a group of fans, eager for autographs. What I found particularly amazing, was the patience and good manners displayed by the fans. You stand in amongst the crowd around a player and wait patiently for an autograph. There is no shoving, pushing or fighting.
When we were there, half of the court was being used for autograph signing, and on the other half some of the team were sitting on the floor relaxing. The fans stood quietly, not crossing the designated line, not shouting or complaining, waiting until the players should feel like autographing. And the players also didn’t make the fans wait too long!
At this point my letter came to an end, as I had never had an opportunity to finish it off properly. I will now attempt to provide some sort of closure…
Yes, Germany means a lot to me. I have reason to call it my second home. Yet, I was born in South Africa. And despite all of South Africa’s problems, this is my country and I love it. God placed me here, and here is where I will stay!
Flying over a certain highschool in a certain city, you will see a certain tree in-between certain prefabricated classes. On any given day of the school year, you will see a certain group of “matriek meisies” gathered underneath this tree’s shady leaves…
Celtis africana, wit stinkhout, white stinkwood. This tree is friendly, shade providing and easy to grow. It provides excellent green leaves which give thick shade during the summer. Small green berries are plentiful and provide exceptional ammunition for bombarding said “matriek meisies” with. In the autumn, the leaves change colour and gradually fall off. This colourful display provides much food for the eyes, while the brown, dry, fallen-off leaves are excellent for shredding between nerveless fingers and provide an excellent stress reliever before important tests. In winter, the tree becomes totally leaveless, providing a pleasing framework of branches through which the sun shines its warming rays.
Alight delicately on a branch of the tree and you will be able to observe all that these “matriek meisies” do. Watch them chatting, celebrating, doing homework and even sleeping under this same tree. Listen to them discuss food, religion, science, music, the amusing incident that occurred in class that morning… Savour with them the celebratory delicacy of Dorito chips (from the blue packet) dipped in condensed milk! Watch them pile grass or leaves on each other. See them feverishly cramming last-minute information before a test or hurriedly finishing a project. Feel the bond of friendship that exists between them.
And then the bell rings. Break’s over!
As the day of my seventeenth birthday drew nearer, my excitement mounted. You see, on that day, I could book a test for my learner’s licence! I would be one step closer to driving a car!
However, when the day actually dawned, I procrastinated on the job. After all, in the grand scheme of things what’s one day more or less? And then I procrastinated again. And again. Until, a year later, on my eighteenth birthday (when I could technically book a test for my driver’s licence) I still didn’t have a learner’s licence!
Then one day, I had to face my problem – I was scared! Yes, scared! Scared of driving, scared of traffic, scared of the official government test, scared of stepping outside of my comfort zone, even scared of phoning the (reputedly terribly disorganised) call-centre!
I came to realise that my fear was dishonouring to God. In 2 Tim 1:7 we read: “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” My puny spirit of fear was definitely not glorifying to God! He gave me a sound mind, therefore learning to drive is a feat well withing my capabilities. I just needed to step out in faith and start doing it!
Time and time again, God assures us that He is with us, that He will not forsake us and that we have no reason to fear. Isa 41:13 ” For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”
Young Ladies Christian Fellowship are hosting the “A Peek into Your Day” blog carnival to promote fellowship on their blog. I, of course, fell for it immediately – so here’s my day!
My cellphone’s alarm (strategically positioned on the other side of the room) goes off at 5:30. Groaning, I roll out of bed and switch it off. I’m still working on the “Rejoice, for this is the day that the Lord has made” bit. Waking up is definitely not something I do naturally!
Once I’m up, I settle down in my semi-comfortable armchair with my journal and my Bible for my quiet time.
Breakfast is next in the order of the day! Recently I discovered the joys of eating muesli with yoghurt, so if there’s yoghurt in the fridge – I go for it! Suprisingly, I don’t feel like eating yoghurt (perhaps because of a nagging sore throat: I must have eaten too much ice cream yesterday!) so I scrounge in the cupboard and find some Oatso Easy. There is one lone packet of the caramel flavour; a couple of minutes later, there are none!
My dad leaves for work and I go outside to wave him goodbye, putting out pellets for the dogs at the same time. My mother and sister left for school earlier and my other sister is in Germany on a student exchange, so I have the house to myself!
I sit down to download emails and check my feed reader. Then I decide to do something useful, so I unpack and repack the dishwasher. That little formality out of the way, I sit down to study for my exams. I’ll be writing my final matric German exam this afternoon, so I revise some grammar and look through my vocab.
Soon after nine, I remember that I have a couple of phone calls to make. After a fruitless and frustrating phone call to the licensing department, I shift this job on my to-do list onto tomorrow’s list. “More is nog ‘n dag” and maybe I’ll get an appointment for my driver’s licence test tomorrow.
I go downstairs to my room and continue studying. Exam time is not a good time of year for me. I spend a lot more time at home and the fridge and kitchen cupboards are in close proximity to my room. Snack attacks occur frequently!
I change into my school uniform at about half past twelve. Summer is now well and truly here and I decide to leave my blazer at home. I am later than I wanted to be, so I only have 10 minutes to practice flute before I have to go. I wheel my bicycle out of the garage. I don’t usually cycle to school as it can be dangerous, however, during exam time I often don’t have transport. Both of my parents work and I don’t have a driver’s licence yet. So I hop onto my bike and start cycling up the fairly steep hill on which we live.
I would usually have a flute lesson during this time, however flute lessons are slightly more flexible than National Senior Certificate exams and I had managed to change the time of my flute lesson.
I arrive at school in good time for the exam. Soon we are sitting in the exam room for the last German exam of my school career. All too soon time’s up and we put down our pens. Finished!
After the exam I head off to my swimming training at a local primary school. Summer is the time of year for thunderstorms and while we swim the ominous purple clouds gather silently. Luckily (or unluckily because in our dry country we need the rain!) the storm doesn’t break and we finish swimming in peace. We get a lift half way home with one of my friends and my mother lets me drive the rest of the way. I need all the practice I can get if I’m going to pass my driver’s licence!
After a quick shower it’s time for supper! We eat around the table as a family. My sister has only been in Germany for about a week and we’ve not yet gotten used to being only four around the table.
After supper I get some more driving practice in, as my dad needs to fix a computer at the little Christian school that my parents started. Carefully I drive him there and back through the dark streets.
At about half past nine we arrive back home and I jump into bed and go to sleep…
Written a while ago, but only posted now.
It’s half past six in the evening, and I’m sitting in an almost completely dark house, writing by the light of a paraffin lamp and a couple of guttering candles. Yes, you guessed it – a power outage!
For the past two days, we have had no electricity in our house. And shockingly, our comfortable lives have come to a grinding halt. No longer does our gate open at the click of button, our lights come on at the flick of a switch, or our oven heat up at the turn of a dial. Bereft of our email, internet, radio and even telephone, we are isolated from all but our immediate contacts; isolated from the world that lies further away than that which is in front of our noses!
And in the silence there is time to think, to ponder and to meditate. Time to realise that God has a plan – even in power outages!
I remember the day there was no water coming through the taps. And the day when diesel was scarce and the little diesel that was available was exorbitantly expensive. I remember the small geysers and the absence of hot water. And I remember their calm, matter-of-fact attitudes as they coped with these and innumerable other challenges – as they coped with the absence of what we take for granted.
And I am humbled.
You begin to realise how long your hair is, when you try to wash it in the basin for the first time.
If you have a bad back, don’t even try to wash your hair in the basin!
When you pour water over your hair, try not to pour it down your back and all over your clean, new T-shirt.
When you wash your hair in the basin, don’t wear a clean, new T-shirt. Wear an old insignificant T-shirt.
And finally, when you wash your hair in the basin, remember to put your towel nearby. Otherwise, you have to commute across the bathroom, thereby causing a flood on the floor!
Well, yesterday was the first day of school for the third term of school in South Africa in the year 2009. And boy, were the kids excited! I mean, it’s the first day of school! Holidays have finally come to an end! We get to go back to school and do schoolwork! And there are even exams this term! I just can’t wait!
Not.
I’m afraid that the thought of going back to school did not cause major excitement for me. After all, holidays are much more fun than school. At school one is actually expected to work hard! To study, listen in class, do homework and write tests and exams. Not much fun there right?
Last year, a group of Grade 11’s from our school visited a school in the townships in order to tutor some of the matrics from that school in maths and science. We arrived at the school and were suprised to find that the schoolgrounds were spotless, although the township areas surrounding the schoolwere covered in litter. Obviously the students take pride in their school, which is more than I could say for my own school.
At the school we met the students. They have no maths or science teachers. I’m not sure whether or not each child had a textbook and workbook. The desks and chairs were obviously old. The buildings were sturdy, but plain. Absolutely no fancy frills and furbelows. However, the knowledge that these pupils had managed to accumulate through self-study and their eagerness to learn was astonishing! I doubt if I would measure up. It would be so easy to say: “It’s not my fault, I don’t have teachers or equipment. How can I teach myself maths? It’s too difficult!”
In Zimbabwe, we met people who have even less than the students I just mentioned. Government schools are in a worse condition than the aforementioned township school. Private schools cost money. Merely living costs money. There is not always food available in the shops. One of the shelters we visited were overjoyed at the sight of plain, simple flour, as they cannot get it!
Then I think of myself, unwillingly returning to school for another term of tuition from trained teachers at one of the top schools in Gauteng. I have textbooks and workbooks and unlimited research ability through internet and books. I live in a happy home. There is food in the shops.
We have so much that we can be grateful for.God has blessed us with so much.
What will your attitude be when you go to school tommorow?
While in the Victoria Falls area, we visited the hospital there. It is a small hospital, with only a couple of wards. The tiles are cracked and peeling off the floor. There is dust above all the lamps and cobwebs in the corners. The dark green mosquito nets are rolled up for the wintertime. People are dying for lack of medications or lack of money to buy medicine. There was a little boy there with his mother. He has a broken arm. The hospital doesn’t have a radiographer to operate the X-ray machine. And the little boy’s mother doesn’t have the thirty US dollars necessary to pay for a radiographer to come in from another hospital. The hospital only has two doctors. One of them goes on leave soon. Then there will only be one doctor.
We went through the hospital, spoke to people and handed out tracts. It seemed as if there was so little that we could do in the face of their ovewhelming need. But that evening as the team shared our experiences around the campfire, God reminded me that mankind’s greatest need is for the Gospel. And God uses even our faulty, halting work for His purposes. To Him be all the glory!
