Nicole: Life is Beautiful

Life is Beautiful, Life is Beautiful, Life is Beautiful

I don’t even know where to begin, I had another beautiful thought provoking weekend. We went to a human rights training weekend where we stayed at an Olive Farm with eighteen other people from countries around Africa including Ghana, Tanzania, Mozambique, Congo, Kenya and Zimbabwe and of course South Africa. You may wonder why we learned about human rights at an Olive Garden, but it was awesome. The place was called Goedgedacht and served as revenue for different programs as well as centers for youth to get out of poverty. We stayed on the mountain in a room fit for someone with a much higher salary than a college student but I am definitely not complaining. I could describe how comfy the bed and pillows were, but that was nothing compared to the balcony attached to our bedrooms. Once again there were mountain, but Table Mountain was much further off in the distance. We met everyone the first night and had a delicious dinner. There was lasagna and salad and I chose their homemade pineapple dressing and was in heaven. I dealt with a permanent food baby all weekend but again I am not complaining. We went from cooking for ourselves every day to homemade food on a farm. It is just like me to get side tracked by food, so I guess I will get to the human rights part. 

On Friday night we got to know each other and were split into four groups. Each group chose a country in Africa that they would present about the next day. After, we just got to hang out and do what ever we wanted, which of course consisted of debating about life and everything that was on our mind. My friend Sam and I had a long conversation with a guy named Mtutuzi (that is most likely wrong, no matter how long I am here the names get me every time.) We talked about how these days people go on facebook instead of spending quality times with their family. We recognize this is an issue in the United States, but I learned that this trend is spreading to Africa. We also talked about the fact that many girls in our country try to be stick thin because that is what makes us beautiful.  In Africa, many used to value women with a fuller figure because it meant they had enough to eat and were being taken care of by their men. Now, Mtutuzi said that people are starting to want to be thinner, just like in the States. I hate hate hate this. I wish my country would be more like Africa, not the other way around. It frightens me that we do so many things wrong and that other people adopts our ideas of what is beautiful and important in life. Just being away on that farm made me appreciate good conversation, something I lack when I focus on the Internet or things that take me away from spending time with the people that I love. 

After conversing with Mtutuzi, I went into the lounge with other people who were having just an intense of a conversation. We talked about the evil system; something I find to is referred a lot to lately. We discussed the need we feel to have something new when what we have already is just fine, like the iPhone for instance. Who needs the iPhone 4 when their iPhone 3 works just fine? I mean we already have a computer with Internet, why do our phones need it, too?  It is an interesting concept to think about. However, we did not spend all of our time bashing society. We talked about the greatest movies of all time and I think it is about that time where I should finally watch Forest Gump. I’ve decided that I am going to make a list of all of the movies I haven't to see and watch them when I get home. Movies sometimes offer us lessons without even realizing we are learning them. I love that, and they're often funny and a necessary escape sometimes. 

So after our long talks I wrote my in my journal and mental into our comfy bed. We got up bright and early the next day and spent the morning and afternoon learning the basics of human rights. I won't give you a lesson now, but I will tell you some things I think are important. There are the basics, like the four principles of human rights. These are that they are universal, inalienable, indivisible and interdependent. Everyone, no matter where they live or who they are has human rights and they cannot be taken away, divided, and they all are connected and one cannot exist without the other. But, besides basic facts, I learned how intense discussions could get about international affairs. We had a fake United Nations convention about dividing a new planet and many people got heated. It was all because everyone thought they were doing what was best. Now, I could not imagine how heated people get over real issues like using national resources and equality. If I could take away anything from this, I know we must fight for what we think is right but also learn to listen.

            

In between our discussions, we had the typical South African tea break and put together our projects. The purpose was to research a country (mine was Ethiopia), and convince the UN to give our nation 500 billion dollars to reach our millennium goals by 2015. In case you don’t know, the UN had proposed eight millennium goals to be fulfilled by 2015 which includes: eradicating poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS malaria and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a global partnership for development. That was a mouthful. We did not end up winning, but the projects were really funny and made me realize how serious rights are violated in many countries in Africa. To name a few; access to education, homosexuals being denied rights or even killed, female genital mutilation, access to health care, low income, and the list goes on and on. So many groups are denied human rights that all of us deserve and so many overlap into different groups that are violated. It was funny to see everyone dress up and act like protestors or ministers, but at the same time it is hard to process how much really needs to be achieved. After this mock UN convention, we needed time to relax our minds and enjoy our beautiful surroundings.

            

It was pitch black outside, but we really did not care. We walked up to a damn that was located on the mountain. We all swam together and floated in the water staring up at the stars. They were unreal. There were no city lights or smoke to obscure our view. Every star was crystal clear and where I was and what I was doing overwhelmed me with happiness. I kept saying life was beautiful and my friends laughed at me but I did not care. I have never been one for space, but it was mystifying. We stayed in the water as long as we possibly could until I could not feel my hands, and then changed and went onto the dock on the other side. We laid side-by-side and just stared at the sky. It was crazy to think that all the people I love back home were staring at the blue afternoon sky, and I was staring into the darkness of the night, it made me miss my dad because I know how much he would appreciate the clear view of the sky. I wish everyone could see and feel how I felt because I know I am just not describing it right. I was at peace, and that is a hard feeling for me when it comes to trying to grasp the concept of space.

           

 I was beginning to fall asleep so I left with my friend Ryan and walked the dark path back to my room. I got back safely (the dark can really freak me out) and was pleased that my roommate Nellie was still awake. I went to pick up my pajama shirt and noticed a bug on the ground. This was just not any bug though, it was a SCORPION. At first, we thought it was dead so stood right over it and took a picture. When we tried to scoop it up and save it (because we're dumb) it flew under my bed. The sick realization hit me that it was alive and that there was a huge possibility it was poisonous. My roommate jumped on her bed and I ran and got someone to kill it. We ran for someone that lived in Africa who might know what to do. It took a while to find it and a lot of people were in my room and we were laughing and slightly hysterical. It was small, and we had heard these were the poisonous kind. It was then we were reminded that we were in Africa and it might not be the best idea to take pictures and poke at the creatures that could poison us. We ended up killing it with my favorite shoe and I went through everything I owned to make sure there were no more. The day went from educational to peaceful to slightly frightening. Although it involved a scorpion, I love days that cover so many ranges of emotions. Now that I was not poisoned I realize how comical the situation was.

            

The next day we had our final discussions and a delicious send off meal. We talked about how we could not really define what a human right is. I did learn though that they are about the respect and dignity of every human being and there is no real answer to some of our questions. But, in order to make a difference, it is important to learn all we can, create communities, and take action. I know my major is not human rights, but that I can incorporate respect and dignity for everyone I encounter. That way, I can practice what I have preached. Overall, it was an amazing weekend and I met people that we are hopefully going to see again. As my time here grows longer, I have found I  feel richer in knowledge as I learn from the people around me. I will try to remember as much as I can from our discussions, I even have the human rights trainee certificate to remind me. But, I always feel I learn the most from the people around me that I meet here every day. As always, I am so grateful.