Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 3:23 AM
Subject: Grahamstown Journal #2: Settling In
I’m alive and well.
I’ve got a new postal address and address to where I’m staying:
Postal Service:
P.O. Box 102 Grahamstown, SA
6140
I do not have malaria, typhoid, yellow fever, bird flu, or rabies, I haven’t been bit by a venomous snake or charged by a rhino. I’m feeling quite healthy.
For those who know me well, it seems that every adventure I am on, or even in my everyday life there are classic “Matt Kellen” moments both due to my aloofness and random mis-adventures of bad fortune, (probably due more to the aloofness). While on my layover in Minneapolis, I figured it would be a good choice to distribute some of my money to my various secret money pouches (money belt, passport holder) so that if I were to be mugged I would still have some money. I entered a stall in the men’s restroom and stealthily stashed the cash. Well.....in my craftiness, I forgot to put my wallet back in my pocket and while leaving the restroom the wallet fell from atop my bag to the floor somewhere between the sink and the magazine stand down the corridor. Well in my habitual pat of my back pocket to see if my wallet was there.....it wasn’t and after a swift back track to the stall, an intercom announcement requested that Matthew Kellen make his way to the nearest information desk. Whew, survival of my first misadventure.
Several other misadventures occurred en route such as a missed flight and a 40 minute detour en route from Port Elizabeth to Port Alfred to finally Grahamstown. Ohhhh......Matt Kellen...... I’m here though and couldn’t be more excited for what this year has to offer. Suzanne is a current missionary who gives her all for the church here -- as I watch her interaction with the congregation I can tell her work is appreciated. I will be staying with Suzanne for the rest of the month then will house-sit while she is traveling back to the States.
The house I am in is a lovely old brick house that literally has a back door that leads to the main street of Grahamstown. I couldn’t ask for a better location. Suzanne also has a dog named Timbisa. She is a yellow lab, 4 1/2 years old. Timbisa has been good company.
Most people in town speak English although I love hearing frequent conversations in Xhosa as I walk down the streets. When I meet people and talk with them they seem genuinely excited to have me here and I get excited about these potential friendships. I met with June Walters and her family this afternoon. She runs the after school program of 6 rural kids in the monastery I will be working at. I had a pleasant time eating pizza, having coffee, just fun pleasant conversation about life in Grahamstown and in the states.
My first few days have been quiet as I am slowly getting to know people, and make connections. I’ve had lots of down time, not a bad thing. The time has helped me to establish routines and settle into my new environment. On one evening while eating at this quaint restaurant called “The Yellow Piano”, a gentleman that Suzanne knows, who was playing the piano, heard I was from the States and played “Georgia On My Mind.” While I’m not from Georgia I do like the song and enjoyed the nostalgia of thinking of home fondly. I’ve had plenty of time to read a bit - studying a bit of the Xhosa language, reading a fascinating book called “The Invisible Cure” by Helen Epstein about the AIDS epidemic in Africa and a John Grisham book for pleasure.
School starts tomorrow. I cannot wait to dig in. After seeing the Monastery, I’ve got a good idea of what I’ll be doing.
AIDS: Invisible Problem - Grass Roots Cure
Walking through the streets of Grahamstown, it is difficult to believe that the percentage of South Africans with HIV/AIDS is currently around 25%. That means an average of 1 in 4 people have HIV/AIDS. Now, I realize that the population of people I interact with may not have the same proportion of HIV/AIDS victims. I guess when I got here I thought I would see zombies walking through the street with the the letters HIV or AIDS tattooed to their foreheads or something. This is not the case, and it is scary. Frightening because I realize now how silent and deadly the disease is. I can see how it would be easy for people to avoid the issue or not know they have the disease. Sure there are bulletin boards about AIDS, and condom ads promoting safe sex, but unless you are personally shaken by the disease it seems that the disease could carry on behind the shroud of fear, avoidance, and misinformation.
For years, South Africa’s government refused to recognize HIV/AIDS even existed. HIV/AIDS is primarily only visible to most by a test saying whether you are HIV positive or negative untill late in the life of the disease. HIV/AIDS is not a disease like chicken pox when everyone says...."Oh, Johnny has red dots, its got to be chicken pox." HIV/AIDS attacks the immune system and when the immune system is too exhausted, then any virus becomes the culprit. Unless one takes the HIV test, its hard to know you have it. Scary.
It would be easy to avoid the issue of HIV/AIDS, the fears of being an outcast, ashamed, unsupported; addressing the loss of a loved one to the disease. Understanding that the issue of AIDS on a more intimate level would not be a comforting experience, I would assert it is a necessary action. I empathize, but know through my many chaotic life experiences (as I’m sure you can attest to) that avoiding issues only create greater issues.
Everyone in a local community is affected by AIDS, through the loss of friends and family members, regardless of whether one has the disease or not. How the local communities respond to the issue of AIDS and supporting those who have the disease, I believe, is crucial to curbing the epidemic. How does one facilitate asking the hard questions/raising awareness? Is there a cookie cutter program that we can offer communities? Is there a 3 step model to community awareness of AIDS? I don’t think there is. Every local community is different with different needs, different concerns. Money alone won’t solve the problem. Scary.
Faithfully,
Matt Kellen
