Week 12

We have all learned that South Africa is known for having frequent power blackouts. I found it crazy how they categorize their black outs by stages depending on the lack of power they have for that specific day.
One of the greatest problems they have is they do not know how to predict these blackouts. The source of the problem is their lack of maintenance they have at the power plants. The demand in electricity has gone up and the country really needs to meet the needs of their people, even those in townships.

http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-south-africa-electricity-20150312-story.html

Week 10: Service Projects

I'm incredibly excited to have gotten our service projects! My group is working with Egoli engineering. It makes the wait so much more exciting because there's something even bigger to look forward too now! Our job is to bring electricity to the rest of the township (3/4) who currently do not have electricity. Not having electricity is more than just not having any light; we have to think of the health implications that come with this problem as well. I'm very excited that this will bring tie in with public health as well. Currently Egoli engineering is providing portable electrical batteries to 1/4 of the township.

I found an article over the problem of electricity Africa faces and how the United States is trying to help. It focuses on the continent as a whole and the plans on providing at least 500 million Africans electricity by 2020, which technically isn't that far away when thinking about a problem this big. This article explains how not having electricity really takes a toll. The access to electricity simply would change everyone's life for the better.

http://www.mediaclubsouthafrica.com/economy/3855-electrify-africa-bringing-light-to-the-dark-continent

Week 9: Top 10 list

After going through the top 10 articles/videos comprised of from our class. I have learned so much from getting a better understanding and perspective on South Africa's history and apartheid system to the LBGT community to recreational activities to women's rights. This series of modules have been very interesting since we have all learned from our peers and have all gained insightful knowledge. Every article and video on this list is worthwhile reading and/or watching. From realizing that South Africa still has so much room to grow since poverty and gangs are still a major issue. My favorite of course has to be power and privilege definitions because these really go a long way into our vocabularies. As well as the bucket list, this makes me beyond happy that I will be seeing South Africa for myself and be experiencing a life changing journey. This makes me extremely excited to embark on our study aboard program. I cannot wait!

Week 8: Top 10 Stories

In no particular order here is my composition of top 10 stories shared by my peers: 

1. Josh's definitions on power and privilege. This list composes the correct terminology and I feel all of us should be aware of how we use certain words, especially while being in South Africa. 

2. Sarah's article over the school system and the effects on children.http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/21528586.2014.887917

3. Larisa's article over the Sharpeville Massacre. The impact it has on Africans and the apartheid system. This article gives a vivid description and goes well into detail over the significance of this massacre and the effects it ultimately had.http://web.archive.org/web/20050408025334/http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/misc/sharplle.html

4. Denise's video over gangs, race, and poverty. Although it is a lengthy video just watching 10-15 minutes gives you a whole new understanding coming especially from people who lived though this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoMl_G6rL9k

5. Ignacio's video over the gay community in South Africa. This is a really interesting video and the laws that protect them in South Africa.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-iw5tmKIPI

6. Josh's video that summarized South Africa's history, what we have covered in class and other useful information. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqCKIUogn6E

7. Nestor's bucket list to visiting South Africa. This gives us a great depiction on the beautiful country we are going to visit and makes me extremely excited to go on adventures. http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2013/03/18/ultimate-bucket-list-trip-south-africa/2/

8. Tiasha's article over crime and violence being so high in South Africa. I found it particularly interesting how only half of the cases make it to court. http://www.news24.com/Columnists/GuestColumn/Why-is-crime-and-violence-so-high-in-South-Africa-20140918

9. Denise's article over the role women played during this crucial time in South Africa. They led many organizations. http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id=4667

10. Tiasha's article over mixed races. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2009/06/who-are-the-cape-coloureds-of-south-africa/#.VRm1CvmPF8E

Week 7: Peer Reviews

This week I have read/viewed 2 different articles and watched 1 video suggested by my peers. I liked how we all were able to find very different articles as well as some of my peers searching for information I would have never thought to look for. Everyone's research is so different and important that I have learned so much. It is also such a fulfilling experience to be learning more and more about South Africa.

From Hashem's research I watched a the trailer for Invictus. The movie shows signs of tension after apartheid.  Ultimately, Mandela wanted to use the power of rugby, since everyone in South Africa is in love with the sport, to unite the country. With the power and perseverance of Mandela he is able to bring more unity to South Africa and change things for the better.

From Denise's research I read an article about the chicano movement. This was particularly interesting because I learned how the chicano movement was sparked by the civil rights movement. I had never heard of such thing or made the connection that it was a very fun fact to learn. This article talks how chicano's fought for the equal rights and obtained them along with current issues that are still in play for latinos/chicanos.

From Larisa's research I read a very interesting article about Nelson Mandela being viewed as a terrorist at one point. This article gave a lot of simplified facts about Mandela. Also talks on the misconception about Mandela fighting back with violence. I learned that Mandela co founded the paramilitary arm of the African National Congress which sabotaged political institutions. Despite this Mandela changed South Africa for the better but it still has a lot of room to grow. 

I saw how Sarah made a comment on Josh's video he shared and watched some of it and I agree with her that everyone should watch it, it's a great recap! 

Week 6: Indepedent research on South Africa

Generating my own research from topics we discussed in class that were not very clear to us, I found some really interesting videos and articles I would like to share with you guys.

First off, I found that there is a city in South Africa, Orania, where only Afrikaners live. I found this particularly interesting as how this is possible. In the video it says that the land is privately owned so I'm assuming this has to do with it's establishment. I wonder if any blacks have tried moving here or simply visiting. 

These are the links to an article and a video on Orania. 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29475977

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYbRZhymD5A

We also spent quite some time talking about Winnie Mandela and how women's roles in apartheid and the civil right movement are not quite expressed nor talked about. I found the trailer to the movie and would love to watch it. Although reviews do say the film does not capture the role of Ms. Mandela correctly. 

Here is the link to the tailer and a little review on the film. 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2013/09/05/winnie-mandela/2711759/

A big topic I was interested in was post apartheid and how South Africa is today, especially Cape Town. Although I am still researching on this topic and trying to get a feeling of how the environment is over there I enjoyed reading this article. I thought it was rather interesting how the writer ended the article by referring the colored community to a litmus test. 

Here is the link to the article. 

http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/in-south-africa-after-apartheid-colored-community-is-the-big-loser/

Selma and Long Walk to Freedom Analysis

This week we watched two films, Selma and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. While watching these films I took into consideration the atrocities of slavery in the United States and apartheid in South Africa. I really enjoyed both these movies because they truly depicted what was going on in both countries and did not try to sugar coat anything. It's crazy that something like this took place in our country, but I am thankful for men like Dr. King and Nelson Mandela for fighting for equality and not giving up. 

Both these films showed how dangerous it was to be a civil rights leader at this moment in life or simply just helping out black people in the worst case scenario could result in death. Even though apartheid is A LOT more recent than slavery, slavery itself is still in the U.S.'s recent history. It really amazes me how apartheid ended around the time I was born. Being only a 20-year old issue I am excited to hearing people's stories in South Africa and getting to listen to first hand experiences and visit historical places in the country. Having watched these films I have an idea of what happened in both countries so I will not be surprised when I hear the worst. Growing up I have always learned about MLK, but to finally see and really understand what happened in the U.S. is crazy because actual people were physically hurt. I cannot imagine the world this way. Mandela and King should never be forgotten for their courage and movements they led.