Day 17 - Final Entry

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:22:27 -0500

Yesterday was the final day of teaching and the official end of our trip. Thanks for reading and following us on our journey. We’re back in the city on February 1st to begin planning for 2011!

- Jen

Day 15 and 16 - Waterburg Academy

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 06:19:42 -0500

Teaching at Waterburg...coming soon.

Day 14 - Travel Day

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 03:37:07 -0500

Today was the last day of the project for most of the group. Courtney and Paris left after we got to Johannesburg since they only had one week vacation from their Broadway shows. (Courtney is Carla in In the Heights and Paris is in the Tribe at Hair.) Tracy, Lisa, Lilli, Jared, and Jon-Erik left today to fly back to JFK via Atlanta. Adam, Frankie, Chris, and I are staying another week--we’re driving to Vaalwater today and then teaching at a school in Waterburg on Monday and Tuesday.

We have been working so hard that every minute has flown by. Even though most of the gang will be back in New York after today, we’ll still be posting on the blog. We’ve had a very hard time getting internet access throughout the trip so there will be a lot of posts once everyone gets back to New York, so they can tell you all about the trip from a sensible American wireless.

After we got into aiport, we had a van come to pick Adam, Frankie, Chris, and me up and drive us to Vaalwater, which is three hours north of Johannesburg. We all fell asleep the minute we got in the van. Luckily, our drivers were two teachers from Waterburg Academy where we were teaching and not the driver from Vanderbilj Park who drove us an hour in the wrong direction, so we could sleep and know we were going to end up in the right place.

We did wake up for the last hour and the countryside is definitely different from anything we had seen so far. t’s VERY rural so there are basically no buildings, and just a few people walking along the side of the road (Where are they going?! They are walking down a single lane street in the middle of Africa!) We pulled into the driveway of the home where we were staying for the next two nights. It’s the home of Jan (that’s YAHN) and Kathy Montgomery--Kathy founded the school where we were teaching to we were staying that their home as their guests. When we drove through the gate we saw a giraffe! Just hanging out next to the driveway, munching on some leaves. Then another giraffe, then another giraffe! Then my favorite, a kudu (Adam and I made up a song about them. No, you don’t get to hear it. But I must say, it’s brilliant.) A kudu looks like a large deer--a very large deer--but is more of a dark taupe and has white zebra-type markings on the side. By the way, that is pronounced “ZEBB-RAH.” They made fun of us for saying it with a “ZEE.”

We also saw some impala, which looks like a gazelle, but with curvy horns. (P.S. Turns out they don’t have gazelles in this part of Africa. I’m sad to say it was the first of many “just because it happens in The Lion King doesn’t mean it really happens” moments for me. Also, cheetahs don’t eat giraffes. And you’ll never find a meerkat in the jungle. Don’t tell Julie Taymor. I’m sure she already knows because she is a genius, but let’s not tell her, just to be safe.)

Kathy and Jan introduced us to their three daughters, each of whom is more beautiful than the next. Just realized we don’t have any pictures of them, but trust me, they are three beautiful, incredible articulate blonde girls. They cooked us a fantastic dinner on their gorgeous outside patio overlooking the savannah. After that we were all beat so we went to bed at...10pm. Which for a bunch of New York actors is like normal people going to be at 4pm. And we stayed here:

Yep. That would be a thatched roof hut. When I walked in, there was a frog on my bed. And a big spider on the net (there is a giant tent inside the hut that you zip up like a camping tent). Luckily I’m from Ohio and I love camping so I was loving it. The boys from Boca Raton and Long Island were less excited, to say the least. Fell asleep listening to the sound of frogs and bugs and bats and who knows what else.

Next up, teaching at Waterburg Academy...

- Jen

Needless to say, there was no internet in said hut so I am actually writing this on January 31st, sitting on the beach in Cape Town on my last day before we fly to Johannesburg in three hours. So forgive me if my tenses are inconsistent and I try to back-write these entires. (Those who know me are not at all surprised that I just preemptively apologized for inconsistent tenses. Now the rest of you know me a little bit better.)

Comments received!

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:37:02 -0500

We asked for your feedback and people have been writing in. Here’s a sample of what we’ve heard via email:

I really enjoy and anticipate the Blog updates. I love being able to follow along from afar. I marvel at the smiles, I imagine the singing and dancing, and I am struck by the children's harsh realities of life. Instantly I am overcome with gratitude that my children have not experienced them. I long for a quick fix to the enormities of the issues these children face. I ask myself why does such disparity exist? For this I have no answers. What I do know, and can feel from your descriptions, is the overwhelming difference Broadway in South Africa makes in the lives of these children.  Bravo to all of you for giving of your time, talent, and love!!!!

Godspeed,  Theresa Piliero

Hey Broadway in South Africa!
I just want to say, I have been a follower and fan since you guys began, and after so long, I finally met you all yesterday!
It was so wonderful meeting you guys and seeing what you do, the experience was mind blowing! The way you handle and talk to the kids was brilliant. You really are very talented and gifted people.
After watching the concert yesterday and seeing how those kids couldn’t stop smiling and laughing, it really did make me feel proud to be South African.
The expressions on their faces were so heart warming, not even cameras can capture the delight!
Hope to see you guys in the future! Perhaps even work with you all one day.
Keep safe and don’t forget us SA fans!
Love and light,
Doug Middlebrook
Constantia, South Africa

From Jen: Doug attended the performance we did at the end of the JL Zwane camp in Gugulethu which was open to the community.

Love reading the blogs with the pictures!! Seeing your work as it happens makes us feel directly connected to the power of your work. It also helps us here understand when we donate to support BSA the direct impact your work has. I have been on the blogs everyday and have told many others who were at the NY Concert to sign on to have a greater understanding of BSA. Even missed you on the days it was not posted, as I go back everyday!!

Would love to see pictures of the concert.

Keep up the amazing work and love you guys!!... Larry.

PS. - Kind of curious if you hear news there of what is going on in the rest of the world?

From Jen: Unfortunately, we hear very little about the rest of the world since we are in the townships, away from computers and tv’s. We know about Haiti but haven’t seen any of the footage.

Hi,

Since you asked for comments I figured I would let you know that I love your blog. I keep waiting for more installments and missed it when you weren't able to go online last week. I like the different voices also - hearing those individual responses to the experience is fascinating.

I think the work you all are doing is incredible - very moving and important. I've loved seeing the pictures and getting to know more about the work. I would love more of everything - pictures, details about your teaching and more information about the kids - whatever you have the time and energy to write about.

- Tisa Farley

I start each day anxiously checking the BSA site and hoping there will be new posts, photos and tweets. I am only disappointed when lack of internet makes it impossible for you to post. I've loved reading each one and am filled with such pride for all of you, respect, and happiness that this whole mission which is so close to your hearts is being successfully fulfilled and that your dreams in this regard are being answered. I am also thankful that at least for a few days the lives you touch are made brighter and I hope for the future. Sorry for the ramble....I know you just wanted feedback on the daily posts, but my heart won out over my head!!!   But I guess if you read between the lines you know that whatever you send, blogs, photos, whatever is all great. I may have to set up a Twitter account so I can stay in touch. I am sure there are many more photos that will at a later date be put into an album along with the blogs. That would be a great thing to have!!!   For some reason I am having trouble printing them this year. All my love to all of you,

- Earle Kantor

Thanks for your comments. Keep ‘em coming!

- Jen

Day 13 - Love, Sharing, and Hope

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:33:06 -0500

For the past four days we have been teaching our Cape Town Camp at a beautiful facility called the JL Zwane Center. It is a combined church and community center that has a gorgeous outdoor courtyard, a small library filled with donated children's books, several classrooms, and a large auditorium space with a raised stage. It has been such a pleasure teaching here and it is very obvious how much the kids value this space; after eating their Nando's lunch they are very careful to clean up after themselves, painstaking wiping up the crumbs and helping to clear any left over mess into the garbage. The center has become a sanctuary in the middle of the Gugulethu township and many of them visit JL Zwane every single day. For me as an outsider, one of the most striking characteristics of this place is the beautiful artwork that fills the walls. Abstract paintings in shades of yellow, orange, and blue combine with inspirational quotes to serve as visual reminders of Hope for the children who maintain this space as their second home. Seeing these quotes everyday is an extremely motivational tool and I thought that since they are so beautifully worded and so poignantly appropriate to their conditions I would share a few of them here on our blog.

"We must learn to Invite, Embrace, Include, and Engage the Unwanted"

"Together we can Be, and Do what must be Done"

"Never Give Up"

"The Light shines in the Darkness, but the Darkness has not understood it"

"Lord I Believe, help my Unbelief"

"Love is greater than Time and Place and even greater than Death"

"Love cares more for Others than for Self"

"The Circle is incomplete with both ends reaching out yearning for completion. A task that cannot be realized in this world but only in the world to come"

"A covenant between God and Humanity, Men and Women, Life and Death, Truth and Illusion"

"I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was homeless and you gave me a room. I was cold and you gave me clothes. I was sick and you stopped to visit. I was in prison and you came to me." (Matthew 25: 35-36)

"Live simply. Love extravagantly"

"Called to Serve and make a meaningful Difference"

"The ruin of a Nation begins in the homes of its People"

"He who does not cultivate his field will die of hunger"

"He who upsets a thing should know how to rearrange it"

"He who conceals his disease cannot expect to be cured"

"Living Positive is Being Positive"

"I shall never abandon you. Neither will I leave your side"

"Knowledge is better than riches"

"Love, Sharing, and Hope"

"For today and its blessings we owe the world an attitude of gratitude"

Finally, I will wrap up this entry with a quote we have introduced to the kids and have been working on all week. Everyday before and after classes we gather everyone together in a big circle. We commence a physical activity to engage our bodies (group stretches, acting games, etc) followed by a focus activity like unison singing (engaging everyone and getting the entire group operating on the same page.) Finally we discuss an Objective to think about and work on for the day. The first day's objective was SELF-DISCOVERY. The next was SELF-CONFIDENCE. Finally we combined the two and focused on TEAMWORK. We explained the components of TEAMWORK were communication, respect, trust, and commitment. Here is the quote we shared with them that sums up our hope for their individual journey through the BSA experience:

"With realization of one's own potential and self-confidence in one's own ability, one can build a better world" Dalai Lama

-Christopher

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Day 17 - Final Entry

Day 15 and 16 - Waterburg Academy

Day 14 - Travel Day

Comments received!

Day 13 - Love, Sharing, and Hope