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South Africa – A closer look

Weekend Activities:

We attended a soccer game between the Pirates and the Sundowns on Saturday. This is an important aspect of South African culture. We were on the jumbo tron/TV at least four times and took in the loud and enthusiastic atmosphere.

We went to church at the Brethren in Christ Church in Hillbrow and were called up to sing in front of a congregation of around 300 people. It was Music Sunday so we experienced a variety of loud South African church music, and heard Andrew preach a sermon. Following the service, we spent the afternoon at Montecasino, an indoor casino with shops, a movie theater, and other fun activities. The church was in a poorer part of the city, while the casino was in a wealthier part, so it was interesting to see the contrast.

Later in the week we also learned how to do some popular South African dances.

Voortrekker Monument/Freedom Park:

During our time here in South Africa, we have studied the history of colonialism as well as the fight for freedom before, during, and after apartheid. The theme of colonialism was a major part of our Monday. We visited the Voortrekker monument which is a place of remembrance for the Dutch and French colonists (Afrikaners) who made their way from the Cape to the north of South Africa in the 1830s. This monument has been a place of controversy as the history of Afrikaners highlights white supremacy. The next morning we visited Freedom park, directly across from the Voortrekker monument. This place of remembrance points to the history of people who fought for freedom in South Africa. We walked past thousands of names of individuals who fought in various wars, or who died in different ways in the fight for the country.

Theologians:

This week, we met with a variety of theologians for conversation. In addition to our leaders, Nkosi and Mzi, we got to talk with Dr. Piet Miering, who served on South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Drs. Thomas and de Boer of the University of Pretoria, and Drs van Wygaard, Kritzinger, and Mdingi of the Dutch Reformed Church of Pretoria. Throughout the conversations, we noticed the themes of humility, justice, and the importance of living out your theology. We also learned in more detail the history of the Bible in South Africa, both as justification for oppression and as a source of hope and liberation.

Non-profits:

This week we visited two different community nonprofit organizations one in the township of Soshanguve just outside of Pretoria and another in the Pretoria inner city area. The first that we visited was part of a larger Faith based organization called innerCHANGE South Africa. In Soshanguve innerCHANGE is committed to bettering their community by creating safe environments for the youth of Soshanguve. Their programs range from cake baking and Bible studies for the younger kids and study hangouts for the teenagers to after-school soccer and basketball training for all ages. They even have a theatre program that rehearses in an abandoned church building. They operate through the generosity of their community both inside and outside of the churches. The second nonprofit was called the Tshwane Leadership Foundation (TLF). Over the past 20 years, they have created many sub-organizations for helping the people of Pretoria. They have many housing units made affordable through government-subsidized rent for women and men, old and young. They also have clinics started to help the homeless with health issues to get care or have a safe place to die with dignity as well as shelters for women experiencing gender-based violence. TLF works closely with the University of Pretoria and many of the churches throughout Pretoria.

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South Africa

Jan 28 – Feb 3

Saturday was hot, but pretty relaxing. It was mostly a free day, so after breakfast we had time to hang out, journal, and catch up on some reading. A group of us even went over to the field at the school across the street and played ultimate frisbee and soccer. Once we were nice and sweaty, which didn’t take long, we went back and hopped in the pool to cool off. In the afternoon, we got to experience a traditional South African Braai! Three different kinds of meat were barbecued: brisket, chicken, and sausage. We hungrily hung out while they cooked and after a few hours and a couple of snacks we were finally able to indulge in a delicious and very flavorful dinner with people from the community. 

Sunday morning we attended a church service at Mondeor Community Church. The husband of one of our hosts is the pastor there and we had a great time experiencing our first church service in South Africa. We got to talk to a lot of people and hung out with the kids for a little while before heading to The Raspberry Farm. A student from Germany who is currently staying in South Africa with his Godmother has joined our group on a couple of outings. His Godmother owns The Raspberry Farm and invited us all over to check it out. While there we got to eat lunch from some of the vendors and taste fresh raspberry frozen yogurt, cheesecake, slushies, and more. We even got to pick 2 buckets of raspberries to take back to St. Benedict’s and then we were invited to swim in the pool on their property! Here is where Andrew introduced us to one of the best games in existence: watermelon rugby. It is exactly what it sounds like – rugby, played with a watermelon, in the pool. After a few intense rounds, we headed back to St. Benedict’s with a new favorite game and a few new bruises.

-MK Bomberger


 


On Monday we visited the homes of Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, as well as Regina Mundi Church. As we toured the Mandela home, we learned about the extraordinary struggles of the Mandela family and observed the remaining bullet and scorch marks on the brick building from the antagonization of state forces which had hoped to intimidate the family into silence. After our brief walk through the small home, we gathered under a tree are buried and had a long discussion about various subjects, including the museums representation of Winnie Mandela and how the popular framing of her as a person is often at odds with both the representations of “black heroes” such as her husband who could do no wrong and of “white villains”, who received much less attention for much greater atrocities. 

At Regina Mundi Church we heard the story of how police massacred peaceful student protesters of the Bantu education system inside the church. We saw multiple bullet holes and other damage to the church caused by either police or hordes of fleeing students. The church also has kept the old stained-glass windows from that event, and an examination of the bullet holes in that glass provides testimony that the police used live ammunition.

 -John Jantzen


On Tuesday we went to visit Soweto. As we drove through the streets and made a few stops such as the Hector Pieterson memorial, we learned about the unfortunate circumstances the people living in this area were dealt with. Small houses, made in cheap ways, which also contain very little resources cover the neighborhoods. These houses might be small, but as Andrew Suderman says: they are large homes from within. There might not be much space, but those that live in Soweto are very welcoming and hospitable; happily willing to add another to their compacted living spaces. This community also radiates hope. These streets are painted with streams of colors. Blue, red, green, yellow, purple, orange etc. Those living in Soweto contain a good deal of creativity. From advertisements painted on walls to street vendors to full-out murals, every corner contains something of interest. This street art helps to keep the atmosphere alive and shows how it can uplift those around it with its bright and colorful nature. Art is culture and even though those in Soweto have dealt with many harsh realities and pain, they seem to show up day in and day out with welcoming spaces and creative spirits that no one can ever take away.

-Molly Piwonka


On Thursday we visited Marikana, a mining town that was the site of a massacre where miners protesting for more livable pay, were answered with bullets. This event from 2012, is still raw in the community and we were honored to visit the community and site it took place. Napoleon, a local activist welcomed us into his four-room home to watch a documentary of the event entitled Miners Shot Down. He was a gracious host who pushed us just outside our comfort zones physically and emotionally. We learned the power of the everyday person in a fight for justice and the importance of sharing stories together. A beautiful moment from the day was sitting on top of the hill where miners sat on strike against the mining companies. The view over the landscape was stunning but hindered by smokestacks and huge industrial buildings. The domination these companies have over the community and land was apparent. But Napoleon didn’t let us leave with the idea that the people lost. They hadn’t, wages increased and the movement displayed the resilience of the community.

-Nathan Oostland

On Friday we had a vigorous Zulu lesson before we had to fend for ourselves. Andrew and Karen split us into pairs, gave each pair a grocery list in Zulu, drove us to the mall, and expected everyone to translate the grocery list into English by talking with strangers in Zulu without our phones. It was a terrifying experience for some, and an exciting experience for others. After a lot of stumbling over words, everyone got the list translated and we headed back to St. Benedict’s for a relaxing and free afternoon/evening.

-MK Bomberger

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South Africa: Off to Johannesburg

 On Friday night our group hosted Ariel, a previous student with the South Africa 2019 intercultural group. She was able to share some insight as well as tips for us, as we continued with our journey forward. 

The next day was a bit more of a relaxed rest day. However, after dinner, we reconvened, and as a group attended an NBA game in Washington DC, to watch the Washington Wizards play the Orlando Magic. The Wizards were able to easily win, and it was a fun night spending time together as a group, as well as enjoying the hyped atmosphere of the arena. 

On Sunday, our group attended church at St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church. It was a very interesting experience for our group as a whole and differed vastly from our previous experience at the Baptist church. Here, we were invited to the very front of the church to reserved seats, as special guests of the church. It was a new experience for most of us, though a few had previous experiences at Catholic churches. Regardless, it was very enjoyable and interesting to be in an atmosphere of a new place and meet and talk to new friends. After church, we split up and explored Anacostia in different small groups in order to find lunch. Sunday night was spent hanging out around the apartments in a group as well as watching a football game. Finally, we all focused on making sure that everything was packed as we began to prepare for our long travel the next day.

—Caleb 

Waiting for a Silver Line train to Dulles International Airport

After ten days in D.C., we finally set out on the long journey to South Africa on Monday morning. Since we had to be out of our hotel rooms at 11:00 am, we spent the morning packing up before hopping on the bus and metro to Dulles International Airport 10 hours before our flight was scheduled to leave. Those hours were spent playing with the hacky sack, reading, playing cards, or sleeping. Finally, we boarded our plane at about 11:30 pm. The first leg of our trek lasted about 10 hours and despite desperately trying to sleep, many of us got only between 1-5 hours of sleep. We landed in Istanbul, Turkey at around 4:30 pm local time on Tuesday and were shocked to see such a massive space with dozens of restaurants and stores. The final leg of our trek took off around 2:30 am local time and was again about 9 hours. FINALLY, we landed in Johannesburg around 11:00 am local time on Wednesday. 


Thankfully, we made it through customs and got our Visas without any problems. The first step out into the fresh air of Jo’burg was incredible for many reasons including that it meant the long-awaited journey of our time in South Africa had begun but also because we hadn’t been outside in 40+ hours. We boarded the bus to where we will be staying during our time in Johannesburg which is St. Benedict’s House. Many of us mentioned as we drove that the only thing really reminding us that we weren’t in the United States was that we were driving on the opposite side of the road that we are used to. 

 

 A few people were able to stay up for a bit longer talking, but I was utterly exhausted and passed out around 8:30 pm local time.

 

-Anya Kauffman

Our first full day in South Africa began with a delicious breakfast of Fat Cakes mincemeat accompanied by some oatmeal, fruit, and a variety of tropical juices. After breakfast, we meet in the chapel within St. Benedict’s with our group as well as two of our local leaders from Johannesburg, Mzi and Nkosi. We went around the circle introducing ourselves, explaining briefly why we wanted to come to South Africa, and what we expect from our time here. This hour was filled with lots of laughs and thoughtful reflections from our own group and our leaders. After a short bible study on Genesis 41-42,  we got ready to leave. We left the “ranch” (as Andrew calls any place we stay for more than a couple of days) and went to a mall to pick up some snacks and toiletries we were missing. From the mall, we made the trek out of the city to Marupeng (which translates in English to Cradle of Humankind) which is the location where the first humanoid bones were discovered. When we arrived, we grabbed some lunch, and then went into the museum built on the premises. We started off our trip through the museum with a little Disney World-esque boat ride through some tunnels that showed representation of the 4 elements that sustain life on earth. After hopping out of our boats, we explored the different exhibits of the museum that showed the evolution of humans through the years. We spent close to an hour in the museum and then left out the back doors. To our surprise, there was a beautiful 180-degree view that we took in as we exited. (seen below). We sat in silence for a while taking in the view. Then we engaged in an impromptu hour-long discussion about theology and evolution, inspired by our learning in the museum. Afterward, we trekked back to the “ranch” and ate dinner together. Finally, several of us ended the day with some soccer in the courtyard. Our first full day in South Africa was a success.

-Ben Alderfer


Friday, Jan 27 

After another wonderful breakfast at St. Benedict’s and a brief tour of St. Peter’s School, the private school adjacent to St. Benedict’s monastery, we set out for downtown Jo’burg. Our first stop was the Apartheid Museum. 

The museum begins nearly 3000 years in the past and tells the story of the many people who have lived on and fought over the land of South Africa and the riches it holds, with special emphasis beginning in the 1940s. In the last 80 years, South Africa has seen the rise of the Nationalist Party, the Afrikaner government which instituted apartheid; the rise and constant evolution of the opposition (anti-apartheid) movement; the downfall of apartheid; the hard work of establishing democracy which followed; and the creation and work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

South Africans (especially blacks, but also coloureds, Indians, and any whites who dared to question the status quo) faced constant indignities, displacement, intentionally bad education, complete lack of economic opportunity, unimaginably violent murders, and horrific human rights violations. In spite of the rampant hatred, violence, mistrust, and fear, South Africa has shown a truly remarkable capacity for endurance, forgiveness, reconciliation, truth-telling, and peace.

Constitution Hill was next up on our agenda. We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the grounds of the former women’s prison before going on a guided tour of the men’s prison just down the hill. The three prisons (one for white men, one for non-white men, and one for women) were shut down in the 1980s due to human rights violations, including overcrowding, malnourishment, and rampant crime and disease. These prisons held everyone from political prisoners to hardened criminals.

We finished the day at Little Addis, an Ethiopian restaurant, where the owner and chef treated us to wonderful food, wonderful coffee, and wonderful stories of his childhood in Ethiopia.

-Emma Nord

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South Africa: Start in Washington, D.C.

First Week

On Friday, January 13th, sixteen EMU students and the Suderman family of five were sent off to begin our semester-long South Africa intercultural experience. Our first week was spent in Washington, D.C. We spent the week visiting museums, taking walking tours, and exploring the city. We began to get to know each other and prepare for our upcoming flight to South Africa.

On Sunday, we visited Alfred Street Baptist Church. This church allowed many of us to gain insight into a church service very different from our home church services. The congregation was very welcoming, making the environment and service very informational and enjoyable.

On Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we went on a walking tour with Dr. Kimberly Schmidt. We walked through the National Mall and visited the numerous monuments and memorials. Part of the focus in DC was to start looking at race relations in America, as race relations and the legacy of apartheid will be a major part of our studies in South Africa. With each monument we passed, we talked through the different versions of history that each monument represented. We talked through the importance of truth-telling, even if it reveals the faults or mistakes of our country’s leaders. One highlight from the day was the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. It was a profound experience, walking around his memorial on his national day of recognition. It was a very reflective day, filled with insightful conversations and probing questions.

Tuesday we visited the African American History and Culture Museum where we learned more about the struggles of African Americans in the United States. We traveled through time and heard stories about their fight for freedom and equality. After spending the morning in the museum we split into groups and explored the city. A group of students found Rob Gronkoski on their walk back to the apartments where we are staying.

The best weather and warmest sunshine was on Wednesday. In stark contrast to the weather that awaits us in South Africa, DC was frigid and wintery. After our walking tour in Georgetown, where we learned about the gentrification of African American communities in that area, we found a playground to play on for a little while.

On Thursday, we paid a visit to the National Museum of the American Indian. While there, we were able to learn about different American Indian groups, treaties made between the American Indians and U.S. Government, and American Indian culture. After leaving the museum, the group traveled to Alexandria to talk to Pastor Kirk Hanger, the pastor of New Hope Fellowship Mennonite Church. Pastor Kirk allowed the group to gain insight on being a pastor in a multicultural community.

Throughout this past week, we learned about the histories and cultures of African Americans and Native Americans, as well as the history of colonialism, enslavement, and displacement throughout history. It was an important start to our education this semester. Our learnings in DC help us better understand the world and systems around us, the people around us, and ourselves, too. We look forward to our next big thing – the plane ride to South Africa!

-Reah Clymer


 

 

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Hiking the Inka Trail

Spending four days hiking the Inka* trail was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The first day was full of breathtaking views, and we were surprised with almost gourmet meals set up for us by our team of porters along the way. When we sat down for lunch, we were served a cup of juice and a bowl of soup, and we gobbled it all down, thinking that was our only food for lunch. When we finished, we were promptly served 5 large trays of food to choose from, from veggies to ceviche to french fries.

Needless to say, we were very well-fed. Each morning, we woke up to  the sound of knocking on the tent and a voice offering, “Mate de coca, mate de coca?”

We sleepily sat up, unzipped the tent, and were handed hot mugs of coca tea to wake us up for the day. Many of our porters only spoke Quechua, an indigenous language of Peru, so we learned the word for thank you in Quechua: Sulpayki.
We were warned ahead of time that Day 2 would be the most

difficult, but how were we to know just how difficult it would be? I think it’s fair to say that Day 2 tested all of our resilience as we climbed, quite literally, into the clouds. Even as there were moments when I wasn’t sure how long my body could keep carrying me, I found a sense of calm and of a weight being lifted off of my shoulders (metaphorically of course… I was still carrying a backpack) because after so many weeks spent trying to navigate a new culture in a noisy city, my mind full of “How do I say that in Spanish?,” “Am I offending someone?” “Is this a safe street?,” etc., all I had to do was put one foot in front of the other, make sure there was air going in and out of my lungs, and allow myself to sink into the incredible beauty all around me. In one day, we trekked through climates that felt like deserts, prairies, jungles, and finally, into the clouds, and each time I stopped to catch my breath (which was admittedly quite a few) when I turned around, the beauty gave me strength to keep going.
Day 3 was the longest but most beautiful day. We spent most of the day in the clouds, passing through the occasional natural stone tunnel, a beautiful pond, a couple of original Inka sites, and we stopped many times to ask ourselves whether we were dreaming. After lunch, we had to dance to some High School Musical and Backstreet Boys to get our energy back for the rest of the day. We were becoming a bit hysterical, giggling as we hobbled along down the last few stone staircases when we found ourselves at one of the most beautiful lookouts that we’d seen so far. We took some pictures, collapsed into the grass, and promptly found out that one of our guides was a massage therapist when she offered to crack our backs for us.
The morning of our last day, we were woken up at 3 am and emerged from our tents to a view of magnificent fog-covered mountains. Our reward for the morning’s hike was arriving at the famous viewpoint of Machu Picchu from above… only to see a blanket of white fog. We decided to walk down to meet the rest of our group, and finally, we were able to see the magnificent Machu Picchu up close and personal. After our tour and once the clouds had receded, we decided to do one last hike back up to the top to see the view that we missed that morning. The feeling of standing up there looking down at the wonder that is Machu Picchu is something I can’t describe. I felt both deep awe at the beauty and life that the Inkan people created and deep sadness to know that such a beautiful culture was wiped out by the Spanish conquistadors.
After we hiked down, we said goodbye to Machu Picchu mountain and our amazing team of guides and porters with hugs and tupananchiskama, a word in Quechua that roughly translates to “Until another day.”
-Hannah Beck
*Peru has been gradually implementing new spellings for indigenous names, particularly Quechua ones, instead of traditional Spanish spellings, since a standardized alphabet for Quechua was adopted by the Peruvian government in 1975. So Inka goes with other unfamiliar spellings like Qusqu for Cuzco/Cusco.  -Editor
Jaylen with host mom

Peru: El Carmen

One of my favorite days of the trip so far was the Friday of a weekend trip to a small town called El Carmen, located in the province of Chincha. When we arrived, we ate a delicious lunch at the home of the Ballumbrosio family, a family well-known in Chincha for their dancing and music. The family is full of dancers, singers, violinists, and more, and we were lucky enough to have each of our meals in their home. After lunch, we went to the nearby Centro Cultural Amador Ballumbrosio where we received cajón lessons, and bumbled our way through lessons in traditional Afro-Peruvian dance, giggling and grinning the whole way.

The week prior to our trip to El Carmen, I personally had been feeling exhausted, having to be on my toes all the time as I navigate a new place and a new culture, and I know others of the group were feeling a similar way. During and after the dance and cajón lessons, I felt this energy, joy, and feeling of connectedness with the group that I hadn’t yet felt. That feeling continued into the evening when the Ballumbrosio family put on a show for us, full of song and dance. Near the end of the show, the dancers had us follow them out the door onto the street where we all danced in a circle around a bonfire with the stars above us. That dance was an experience that I truly cannot put into words. For me, there was something incredibly special about observing these important pieces of a different culture in an intimate way and, even though we were awkward at times, allowing ourselves to engage fully in the experience together. IMG_0342

-Hannah Beck

Jaylen with host mom

Peru: shout out to host families

When I thought about spending three months in Peru, I had a lot of fears. I worried about learning a new language, learning how to use public transportation, and standing out as a tourist. Once I arrived, I realized that using public transportation is easy, standing out as a tourist is inevitable, and learning the language is the most challenging part of the trip. It is overwhelming, and very humbling, to experience living in an area where I required assistance to order food, get directions, and buy groceries, all while being immediately recognized as a foreigner. It became more difficult once I met my host family, who were, and are, determined to improve my Spanish through long conversations.

Despite all warnings of the adjustment period when spending so much time in another country, I hadn’t quite realized just how difficult it would be to completely change my routine and suddenly need to acquire several new skills. Now, almost two months later, I have settled into a routine that I would have found hard to believe when I first arrived in Peru. I am capable of holding conversations with my host family in Spanish, with lots of laughing and minimal translation required. I also spend a lot of time with my host family and have learned a lot about them. In particular, I have an incredibly sweet host mother, who likes to cook, do her own home improvement projects, and loves to travel. Side note: if you ever get the chance, she makes incredible food.  I have learned so much about different South American countries from her stories, and we enjoy comparing the differences between Peru and the United States when we have dinner together. For lunch, much of the group frequents a restaurant near our classroom, and I no longer need help ordering my food. I have a favorite snack that I buy at the local grocery store, and a favorite route to run on weekends. Now that I’ve finally settled into a routine, our group is splitting up and moving to different parts of Peru. Having done it once before, I’m excited to see what new challenges arise!

-Erin Clayton, Senior


Living with a host family during my time here in Lima has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had here in Peru.  I live in the district of Chorrillos with my host mom, Mary.  My host sister, Luana, lived with us until she traveled to Spain one month ago.  My host mom and I enjoy watching movies together, laughing about random things, and talking about our days. We also enjoy going out to eat my favorite Peruvian dish, “lomo saltado”. My host mom has a big heart and has made me feel at home here in Lima.  I am going to miss her a lot when I leave Lima next week!

-Anika Hurst, Junior

Peru: The Fog of Winter

Garua!

Living in the Southern Hemisphere at the end of October means that we are transitioning into Spring!  Warm sunny days are slowly replacing the dense fog and humid cold of the city.  Most of our group is used to American winters.  We know what to expect and how to dress for the dry cold.  We rely on central heating to take the edge off.

Winter in Lima requires that we take a Limeña approach.  Extra blankets, layers and warm drinks have become the norm for most of us.  Small electric heaters are cheap and easy to find, but the electrical costs are prohibitive.  A family of four will spend $200 a month on electricity.  When a typical lunch costs around $3, spending double that on electricity per day is a lot.  Adding a small heater to your bill won’t go unnoticed.   While daytime temperatures are mostly fine, sunset freezes the air and our bodies.  On the coldest days, a dense fog hangs over the city all day.  Everybody talks about how London is foggy, wet and cold.  Lima gets 300 hours less sun than London annually with only about an hour of sunshine daily in winter!

Garua!  It sounds like a swear word, and maybe it should be.  Garua is a Spanish word meaning drizzle or mist.  It never rains in this desert city, but the air is always wet.  Apparently, the droplets are just so fine that they can’t form actual raindrops.  What a shame!  While Peruvians have figured out creative ways to create value using the fog (“Peru Fog Catchers Net Water Supplies”), we mostly just feel its cold dark presence.  American author, Herman Melville, said of Lima “it’s the strangest, saddest city thou cans’t see.”  We feel you Herman!  

Here’s a student’s perspective on the Lima winter:

Close your eyes and picture yourself standing in front of an old analog TV. You’re moving in between channels, but nothing’s on, so every time you twist the knob you’re greeted with another blank wall of static. So you keep searching, but again and again, you find nothing on, only static.

This is what it’s like to live in Lima, Peru’s capital city; it’s a cold place blanketed under a cover of smog or fog or just general grayness, enough that the days start to blend together ever so slightly until you’re not quite sure how long you’ve been here or how much longer you will be. But just like staring into that blank TV, that static slowly absorbs you just enough for you to find the tranquility underneath it all, and just enough so on the days where the sun peeks through the grayness for just a moment in the afternoons, you relish its warmth just a little more, like the faint dashes of color in the mess of black and white.

-Joe Whetzel


 

Jaylen with host mom

Peru: Museo Larco

On September 7th, we visited Museo Larco in Lima. The first part of the museum featured a grid displaying the timeline crossed with geographical regions. It provided an image on which to begin the following historical venture. We then proceeded to walk chronologically through the art of Peru. We started in the pre-ceramic era of 8000 A.C. to 2000 A.C. During this time, there was no calefaction available to bake clay, and instead, they dried materials using the sun or used wood and stone. Caral, the oldest city in the Americas that we would visit a few weeks later, would provide a great example of the architecture and art of this period. After the start of ceramics and the formative era, we dove into what Ulla (our history professor) focused on the most: The Auge Era. This era contained the Mochica culture on the north coast, Lima culture on the central coast, Nazca culture on the south coast, and Huari, Cajamarca, Tiahuanaco, Recuay, and Santa in the Sierra. These regions featured their own architecture and arts. Most notably, there were Huaca de la Luna, Huaca Pucllana, Nazca Lines, and Tiahuanaco structures, respectively.

We immersed ourselves in artwork and pottery featuring birds, snakes, cats, and spiders. These creatures were turned into powerful anthropomorphic figures of gods when they were combined with each other. The bird represented the skies, heavens, and the land of the gods: Hanan Pacha. The cat represented the physical earth, the land of humans: Kay Pacha. The snake represented the underworld, the land of the dead: Uku Pacha. Also featured heavily in Peruvian art is the idea of the spiral, which represents the natural cycle of life. This spiral went through each of the three worlds and was considered to be powered by the duality of life. Juxtaposing figures such as night and day, light and dark, sun and moon, land and water, hot and cold, man and woman, etc. were what allowed life to exist and allowed for the cycle of birth and death on earth.

These motifs were then extended deeply into the erotic arts. The cycle of life was quite literally continued by the combination of the opposing figures of woman and man. Sex held no taboo, but rather a deep reference in their culture. There are countless artistic expressions highlighting the cultural significance of the act. It was viewed as something beautiful and celebratory. The Pre-Colombian cultures even embraced anal sex as a way of reversing the spiral. There were considered certain days when this was important because, on these days, the dead would come up to the human realm, and the gods would descend into the underworld to tend to it. It is fascinating how these ancient cultures, in certain ways, feel more progressive than America now, where “Conservative Christian” culture still has many effects on our younger generation. We are a generation that has experienced purity culture’s damages as well as witnessing nowadays as there are arguments in our politics over marriage rights and contraceptives and much more. This freedom of expression within the realm of art and sex and bodies is something beautiful and pure, and sadly something that feels very far away from where we are today.

-Jaylen Flesher


 

Jaylen with host mom

Peru – First Impressions

First Impressions…

Cross-cultural programs are notoriously busy!  We are taking a full load of college courses while navigating a gigantic city (think NYC with 10x less infrastructure) with traffic patterns that aren’t really patterns at all.  Everyone and everything needs to be filtered through Spanish, and the history and customs and politics and every other thing is foreign.  It’s work!  It’s new and stressful.  

Amidst all the stress and challenges of our new milieu, we are thankful that we have each other and the regular faces of the program – our leaders (Celia and Kris), our Spanish teachers, our topical lecturers.  And of course there are our families!  Families form the bedrock of our cultural learning here.  We go home to them every night, we talk about church, homelife, politics and customs with them.  They worry about our well-being and they are patient with our language.  They are so patient with our language! 

Even with all the support that we have from family and others, it still feels strange, and fitting in sometimes feels impossible.  Here’s a student’s perspective on ‘fitting in’:

I spent the first several days here in Peru wanting to blend in as much as possible. I considered dying my hair darker so that I wouldn’t be as recognizable as someone from the United States: I would think constantly about how I could blend in: can I look more Peruvian? How are these women dressing? How do they wear their hair? How do they interact with other people on the bus, in the streets, or in the market? I have noticed a lot of activewear and tennis shoes. Women here are wearing flare-leg pants or straight-leg jeans. Often they have long straight dark hair that is cut all to the same length. I was hyper-aware of my taper-leg skinny jeans and my lighter + layered hair, which I often have pulled back into a ponytail. I don’t blend in at all really, except for mimicking how Peruvian women act. Still, I laugh too loud when I walk with friends and hesitate too much when I am trying to figure out whether the cashier is asking for cash or card or if I want a receipt. I have been finding myself wishing I wasn’t so obviously from the United States. It’s exhausting, I wish I could navigate better; I wish I could speak better Spanish; I wish I could look more Peruvian. I keep falling short in ways that I feel are intrinsically part of me. I feel frustrated when I spend half an hour, my maps rerouting, turning in circles trying to find a park when I can usually rely on my sense of direction to get me where I need to go. I feel inadequate as a communicator when I have miscommunicated important information because I am still learning Spanish. These, and dozens of other parts of myself that I hold dear feel like they are crumbling. I can only hope that there is some light, somewhere, that is revealed when I strip down all of the attributes and skills, and ways I used to understand who I am. 

This past Sunday, I knew I was going to church with my host family. I was already experiencing some stress regarding the 3-hour long service that was awaiting me. I braided my hair, put on my skirt and corresponding shirt, sweater, etc. I was ready. I wanted to show my host mom a) that I was ready to do this thing that she cared about and b) that I owned clothes other than the two pairs of jeans that I’ve worn every day since I had arrived. Fifteen minutes before we were to leave, she knocked on my door. I could tell from the moment she opened her mouth that she was uncomfortable. I wasn’t dressed formally enough for church. I was stunned. She had just told me that jeans were more formal than the skirt I had chosen. I broke in that moment more than I had at any other point in this trip. Some deep-seated feeling of inadequacy flushed through me. I knew that I didn’t understand, and it hurt. Who am I without my communication and navigation skills, and who am I without my ability to understand? Frankly, I am unsure.

-Maggie Garber

Jaylen with host mom