The Great Food Challenge

I love food. Good food probably accounts for 47% of my happiness in life. There’s nothing like sitting down with a group of friends at a barbeque and digging into a huge rack of baby back ribs. Or going out with my family to a local restaurant back home with a bowl of gumbo to you right and a heap of steaming jambalaya to your left. Or going out for coffee with that girl you’ve been eyeing and having her be completely ok with the fact that you just stuffed half of a cinnamon roll in your mouth...Pure bliss.

No more

But when we were in Cape Town a few weeks back, I probably ate over 10 lbs of red meat in the span of 4 days…no joke. My carnivorous ways had gotten the best of me. AJ wasn’t much better. So with the ever so wise Tizzy shaking her head and explaining how we both probably took away a few weeks of our life and also just pumped a bunch more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, AJ and I decided we had to do something.

So, taking both of our competitive spirits into account, we made a bet. Whoever could go the longest without eating meat, would get R250 (about $35). We also bet R100 over who could go the longest without drinking soda, just for kicks. More at stake than the money however, was our pride. I was sure that my natural desire and will to be better than AJ at everything in life would push me to victory. And so began, The Great Food Challenge.

Throughout the bet, we have both been educating ourselves of the intricacies of the modern day world of meat processing, and have been pretty disturbed by all of the things we’ve learned, from both a personal health and environmental perspective.

One excerpt from an article in TIME magazine really struck a nerve with me:

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) concluded that worldwide livestock farming generates 18% of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions — by comparison, all the world's cars, trains, planes and boats account for a combined 13% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Damn.

For someone who really cares about Global Warming and its implications for the future, I have to admit I had no idea that the meat industry could be so environmentally destructive, at least not to the extent shown above.

At Tizzy’s suggestion, I’ve also started reading Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan and it’s already proven to be extremely informative with regards to educating me on the way I eat and all of the implications it has.

With all that being said…I still love meat. And after 12 days, 7 hours, and 12 minutes I succumbed to the savory smell of braii steak and chicken flowing through the air outside the Nike Center during lunch time. I gave AJ his money, and ate this barbequed meat in a way I’ve never eaten a meal before. For about 20 minutes it was just me, my fingers, and the meat. Great Food Challenge: 1-0 to AJ.

Now to some of you, that may seem pathetic. You could only go 12 days without meat, Clint? That’s pitiful. And I’ll admit, maybe it is. But these two weeks have been some of the longest ever. I think I’m just meant to eat meat, its ingrained in my DNA and I can’t do anything about it. And considering that my last attempt at vegetarianism lasted 2 days, I’m pretty proud of myself.

AJ however, also succumbed. But to temptation of carbonated drinks. He claims he “forgot” the soda bet, and as I watched him put a can of Sprite to his lips, I stuck out my hand and received my R100 with and smile on my face and dougied out the store. Great Food Challenege: Tied 1-1.

I pray to God this is waiting for me when I get to heaven

These past two weeks, however, haven’t been a waste by any means. We learned and are continuing to learn about ins and outs of everything we put into our bodies and I think that my eating habits have changed for the better because of it.

I’ll always keep this in mind:

According to Environmental Defense, if every American were to replace one meal of meat per week with a vegetarian meal, it would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the same amount as taking more than a half-million cars off U.S. roads.

So I don’t necessarily have to give up meat cold turkey. I figure as long as I eat meat in moderation, and not like I had before. I can do my part in positively affecting my own health and the environment.

Now that the vegetarian bet is over, AJ and I are trying to decided whether to try “weekday vegetarianism” or the experiment of only eating one meal with meat per day. We’ll see how it goes, but I definitely know that if you had asked me a month ago if I would have even considered any of these, I would have laughed in your face.

Next up in the Great Food Challenge is giving up fried food. No French Fries?!?! its ridiculous!!! French fries was actually the first words to ever come out of my mouth. No joke, ask my mom. But with the challenge tied at 1-1, my will to defeat AJ will inevitably lead me to victory.

Cape Town!!!

Last week Tizzy, AJ, and I made our way down to Cape Town for our first trip out of the Gauteng province since arriving in South Africa. We stayed with the 7 Cape Town interns in their quasi-commune of a home and had a blast.

We arrived in Cape Town early in the morning, dropped our bags off at the intern house, and hopped back into the car where Jamieson took us to Khayelitsha, a township outside of Cape Town. Khayelitsha is where the Football for Hope Center is located, which is the place that Grassroot Soccer runs its programs out of. As part of the buildup to the 2010 World Cup, FIFA announced that they would be building 20 Football for Hope Centers throughout Africa. In FIFA’s own words, The Khayelitsha Football for Hope Centre … is part of “20 Centres for 2010”, the official campaign of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ to promote public health, education and football in disadvantaged communities across Africa. These centers are meant to serve as community centers that provide a safe space for people to play soccer, receive life skills education, tutoring, and a host of other social initiatives. FIFA however, only builds these centers. They don’t run them. So instead, they hire organizations like GRS, that use sport for development, to manage the center and use its facilities to further enhance their programming.

Sketch of FFHC

While not nearly as fancy or technologically innovative as the Nike Center that we work out of in Soweto, the FFHC is in somr ways more effective. It is a much more public space, which allows for children to come onto and leave the property freely. There is a public dirt field, grass field, and turf field and you would be hard pressed to visit the center during the day and not find anybody using the fields – whether it be kids after school, coaches between interventions, or construction workers on their lunch break.

Additionally, there is a strong focus on education. While Talia, another one of the interns, helps to run the GRS Skillz portion of the center, Jamieson is in the process of developing a preschool curriculum, creating a library, and facilitating a reading group. With education being one of my strongest passions, I hope to bring some of these same initiatives to the Nike Center. Now, I don’t want to paint a picture of the Nike Center as this fortified space there no one in Soweto gets to use, but I do think it could do better. The center is in the middle of being handed over from Nike to the city of Johannesburg, and I think this transition will prove extremely beneficial with regards to further community programming and making the center more community friendly.

During the weekend, we went with the Cape Town interns to a concert called Rocking the Daisies, which might be one of the most hippie things I’ve ever done. Held about an hour outside of Cape Town, the concert had a theme of sustainability and environmental conservation. Thousands of people pitched their tents, pulled out their braiis, and listened to music from around South Africa and the world. It was kind of a mix between Jazz Fest and Lollapalooza…just the African version.

Top of Lion's Head

Unfortunately, when we got back to Cape Town the CTC (Cape Town Crew) had to go to work on Monday. So with one more day before heading home, the Joburg gang joined Dave – one of our friends from Davidson who is studying abroad at UCT – and decided that we were going to climb Lion’s Head. The hike up the mountain was beautiful, and actually proved a bit steeper than I initially thought it would be (that might just be my childhood fear of heights manifesting itself but who knows). It took about an hour to reach the top, but when we got there….wow. The view from the top of the mountain was absolutely unreal. We could see the entire city of Cape Town, Table Mountain, both the Atlantic and Indian oceans, Robben Island, and all of the amazing greenery and architecture that this city has to offer. Words simply can’t describe it.

Cape Town in general is an extremely beautiful and unique city. I doubt that there is any like it anywhere else like it in the world. An unconventional mix of European and African cultures, located at the convergence of the Atlantic and Indian oceans, with more mixed race people than I have ever seen in my entire life (the subject of race here in South Africa is to be the subject of another post).

If only Jess still wore her hair like this

Our time in Cape Town was a great break from the hustle of bustle of Joburg, and we’ll definitely be making our way back there in the near future. My reasons for back has also been bolstered by the news the my sister Jesse, aka J Smithers IV, aka Chubird, aka best sister ever, will be studying abroad in Cape Town next semester. It’ll be awesome to have Jess in the same country and I’m looking forward to us having some big time adventures.

On another note, I spent this past weekend in Pretoria filming a commercial for a company called Kaizania. The CEO of the company saw me at a slam and hired me to perform one of my pieces as part of their marketing campaign for a new website they’ve created aimed at increasing civic engagement. The filming was exhausting but really rewarding and I’m excited to see the final product. The video should be up within the next 2 weeks and I’ll be sure to post it when it becomes available.

Slam

A few weeks ago we finally posted some videos from last springs FreeWord show on youtube. While I am still working on getting footage from the slam I won down here last month, I figured that I would put up some videos from last semester's show to give those who who've never seen me perform, an idea of what I do behind the mic. The feedback I've been given has been awesome and I really appreciate it. Hopefully you enjoy what you watch and I'll be sure to get that footage from the Drama For Life Slam up as soon as I get a chance.

Quality Time Outside of Work

This week has probably been the most productive and enjoyable, with regards to Grassroot Soccer, since I arrived in South Africa two months ago. While we interns have certainly been busy doing a variety of task and jobs for GRS-Soweto since we landed here, our roles have lacked a certain element of structure and consistency. That’s not to say what we’ve been doing hasn’t been important, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t somewhat of an adjustment coming into such a situation after being accustomed to American style jobs where, for the most part, your role for the company/organization is pretty cut and dried. Part of the reason behind this is that Soweto and still one of Grassroot Soccer’s newest sites (less than one year old) so we’re still trying to find our feet, and another part of it is that South African work style and structure are simply different than what I’m used to in the States.

GRS Soweto Staff enjoying the great outdoors

With GRS’s fiscal year coming to a close however, the site has been given an opportunity to, in many ways, start fresh. This week, we promoted 3 coaches to the role of Community Program Coordinator (CPC) to accompany our sitting CPC, George. We sat down and worked out a plan where each of the four CPC will have a team of about 12 coaches that they are in charge of. AJ and I, being the program interns, are now each responsible for assisting 2 CPCs and helping to run their teams. All teams report their registration, testing, and survey information to Tizzy, the M&E intern, so that she can compile all of the information that tells us whether or not or interventions are actually being effective. This system is good both because it allows for CPCs to focus on a small number of coaches and make sure that they are doing their jobs, and secondly it creates a system of accountability. From now on, if your team isn’t pulling their weight, we’ll now.

Chillin out before the game

In the midst of putting together and planning calendars, creating workplans, and defining roles, Greg, our Site Coordinator, arranged for us to have some time together as a staff outside of the office. So on Wednesday, we went on a hike through a nature reserve about 45 minutes outside of Soweto. It was a fun day where we did a series of team-building activities, saw some pretty cool animals, and I even got pooped on by some wild vulture-like bird (somebody told me that’s supposed to be good luck – I hope so).

On Saturday, me, AJ, and some of the GRS 

coaches who we play five-a-side with on 

Ready to ball

Tuesday’s, played in a tournament down in Southgate. It was “wafa wafa” which I think means “knockout” in Zulu. So one loss and your out. Also, there was prize money of R2,500 (»$360) for the winner, so everybody what taking it pretty seriously. Our team, playing with style, skill, passion, flair, elegance, and any other sexy adjective you can use to describe soccer, made it all the way through to the finals. Unfortunately we lost 6-4 in what is probably one of the most intense soccer games I’ve ever been a part of, at any level. We were proud of having made it so far, but obviously disappointed not to have won. For me however, it was great getting to hang with the guys pretty much all day outside the context of work. You definitely get to know people on another level when you’re just hanging out as opposed to working with them.

Lindiwe, Tizzy, Nosipho, and Sonzo

After dropping all the guys off at home, AJ and I headed back home where Tizzy was having a brai (South African word for barbeque) for all the female coaches. While it was supposed to be an all woman’s affair, Tizzy texted us and said there was a lot of extra food. Needless to say, we headed straight home. Although we weren’t initially supposed to be there, the girls welcomed us to the party and it ended up being a great time. Again, spending time with the coaches outside of work really gave us the opportunity to let loose, have fun, and spend time with another outside the context of work (I guess that ended up being the theme of the day).

Teaching them the cupid shuffle

On Wednesday Tizzy, AJ, and I are headed to Cape Town for a mini-vacation where we’re going to go to a concert called Rocking the Daisies with a bunch of the other interns. It’s supposed to be epic. Look for a post about that in a week or so.

Also, thanks again to everyone who has donated. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate. I’m still accepting donations. If your interested in contributing please feel free to make a donation on the right side of this page. Thanks.

Ragball International

Since beginning my work for Grassroot Soccer, I've come across some really cool and innovative ways of organizations using soccer to bring about social change. One of those organizations is Ragball International, in which "young people from Africa produce handmade soccer balls from recycled materials in exchange for a fair wage and entrepreneurial training."

I've done a lot of reading on aid to Africa lately - some experts arguing the foreign aid is helping the continent and that there needs to be a bigger influx of it, while others say that sending so much aid to Africa creates a sense of dependence, allows for more corruption, and doesn't give these countries the opportunity to grow economically. What both sides seem to agree on however, is that giving people the opportunity to learn business skills and specialized job training is of the utmost importance. That's one reason I really like this organization, it's not giving Africans handouts, it's giving them jobs.

Check it out and definitely buy a ball if you can.

The Lion Park

This past Saturday, AJ, Tizzy, and I went to the Lion Park. Despite being a mere 30 minutes outside of Johannesburg, the park felt light years away from the bustling city we have come to call home. (Naturally, as has come to be the norm, we got lost on the way there so it took us significantly more time than it should have, but still).

At the park you’re able to drive your own car, which is great because it gives you the opportunity to spend as much time as you want observing the various animals the area has to offer.  As we moved along the dusty road in our Grassroot Soccer Toyota, we cruised to the tunes of Lauryn Hill while taking snapshots and videos of everything around us. We enjoyed the serenity of grazing zebras, observed the bizarre nature of wild ostriches, were literally inches away from fully grown lions, locked eyes with antelope and gazelle, got to hold and play with baby lion cubs, and even had a giraffe lick the side of my face. It was a blast. 

Slam Poetry Part II, New House, Impromptu Interventions

It’s been a pretty interesting couple of weeks down here in South Africa.  I guess I’ll address each thing topic by topic:

The Slam

The National Drama for Life Poetry Slam last Friday evening was a great event. After winning the regional competition, I was excited to get back on stage for an even bigger event. Over the course of the week, I got to spend a lot of time doing workshops with the other top 5 poets from the Johannesburg regional competition. During the workshops, we refined our performance and delivery skills, as well as just getting to spend some fun and quality time together.

Friday night we met the 6 poets from the KZN province, against whom we would be competing. It was a really cool group and I could tell that this slam was going to be a special one.

On stage waiting for the results

The difference between this week and last week was that each of the 12 poets could only perform one piece. So you had one chance come hard, and then let the judges do the rest. Each poet went up and did their things, and I was amazed at all of the innovative and original ways that people went about addressing the topics of HIV and relationships. No two poems tackled the issue in the same way, kind of like snowflakes (yea yea that’s cheesy and cliché but whatever). After the performances were done, all of the poets came back onto the stage, and they proceeded to announce the top 6. Which I was a part of.

Then, one by one, they let poets go. When there were only four of us left on stage, they called my name. This meant that I had gotten 4^th place, which by all means is a good showing, but was not in the top 3 where I hoped to be (and to whom the cash prizes were given).

Naturally, as a competitive person and someone who holds myself to a really high standard, I was disappointed to not to place in the top 3. But as I’ve grown as a person and as participant in the slam poetry community, I try not to let my competitiveness deter me from seeing the beauty of being a part of such an event in the first place. At the end of the day, I’m just so blessed to have been able to be competing in such an amazing competition and blessed to have met the people that I did.

Some people were videotaping the event so as soon as I get ahold of the video, I'll put it up.

The Strike Goes On

Having stood on the picket lines (well no, this is South Africa – so having sang and danced on the picket lines) for over there weeks, there is still no clear end in sight service workers’ strike.  The government has made better offers but the unions don’t seem to be budging. Read more about it here: http://allafrica.com/stories/201009020018.html

From a GRS perspective we’ve had to improvise. Since we can’t go into the schools to do the interventions, we’ve brought the interventions to us. Coaches have recruited kids from throughout their neighborhoods, who haven’t already gone through the Skillz program, and have brought them to the Nike Center for a week of practices. For a last minute kind of effort, everything has gone pretty smoothly. Over 200 kids have been attending the sessions.

Hanging with the little brothers and sister
of the kids going through intervetions

I think kids were genuinely looking for something to do during the day – and the fact that they got to come inside the new Nike Center, something they’re usually not allowed to do, doesn’t hurt either. We've also held interventions at a local park for those kids who couldn't get transportation to the center.

Since I’ve been here, I haven’t been able to watch an actual intervention due to the strikes. So this week has been great for me because I’ve gotten to really see what the very core of GRS is all about – the coaches and their time with the kids. I think it’s so easy to get caught up in all the other things that go into running an International NGO that it could be easy to lose sense of the core mission. But at GRS Soweto, all I have to do is step outside to remember why I’m here doing what I’m doing.

Interventions at local park

New House

In addition to AJ finally arriving this week (congratulations to his sister on her wedding), we moved into our new house this past weekend. It’s a great place in a pretty cool neighborhood of Joburg called Melville. We’re literally a 1 minute walk from one of the more happening spots in the city – a small strip called 7^th street. Loads of bars, cafes, and restaurants.  The house is a 4-bedroom that Tizzy, AJ, and I share with a cool girl named Phoebe. We’re working on getting the place furnished in the next few days. It’s crazy how you don’t realize how many little things you need to furnish a house. We’re learning the hard way.

Special Treat

Nike Center the evening of the game...imaculate

One of the great things about working out of the Nike Center, is that because the fields and facilities are of such high quality, loads of professional and national teams come to train and play there. Last night, Ghana played the Kaiser Chiefs in a “closed door” friendly match. “Closed door” simply meaning that it wasn’t open to the public. But as an employee of the Nike Center, I was able to watch the match after work with some of the other coaches. Ghana plays Swaziland in a few days, and the Kaiser Chiefs are one of the best teams in the South African Premier League. It was an entertaining match that ended 2-2. I think the game epitomized how small a lot of South Africans are. The Ghanaians looked like giants compared to the Chiefs. It looked like they were playing against a U-15 team.

Ghana warming up with Kaiser Chiefs in background

That’s all for now...