SI MONTHLY NEWS August 2008 Travellers Tales 1
From SI Exco News
Europe from Korea
Flying to Europe from Korea. Then directly going into a family, staying there for three days, eating, sleeping, talking, sharing cultures, local sightseeing and joining house chores etc. You were total strangers to us four Korean travelers at first. In three days we parted as good friends or relatives living abroad. Spending several hours together with day hosts retains unforgettable memories.
We traveled 31 countries in three months. If you argue that Oland is not an independent country, which is located between Finland and Sweden, OK, we traveled 30 countries. Please allow us to include this as a sovereign independent country, where the young people are not obliged to join the Army of Finland or Sweden.
We picked up a van, Peugeot 807 at Lisboa Airport, Portugal and started. We went to Spain, Andorra, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican, San Marino, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia to go on and on…
Almost two thirds of our itinerary was covered by Servas hospitality. Just imagine, one day if you got a message asking to host four adults at the same time, of course it is not easy. But when we sent the message, most Servas families welcomed us. When the situation was difficult to accommodate four, they arranged other families to host two of us. When we split and met again we had different stories on the way to other countries.
Four rice-eating Asian people went to the bread-eating people’s homes, further into their hearts. What an idealistic travel! Yes, this was possible as we belong to Servas.
We are home now to our daily routine. Any problem? Yes, we have too many good memories of Europe. On food, yes, we enjoyed eating bread for meals, which is not staple food in Korea. We eat rice with kimch every meal. Kimch is pickled and fermented vegetables. Drinking wine or beer at dinner is also not our custom, we think drinking wine or beer is alcohol for special occasions.
On the sleeping, when some host families provided us the floor to sleep on, we were more than happy for the comfort we have in Europe. As we have a floor-heating system, sleeping on the floor is our heritage and we like sleeping on it and eating with low-legged tables on the floor.
By the day hosts, our understanding went deeper and deeper to their history and cultures, which we could not see without such a guide. Most Servas people we met were enjoying their lives with enthusiasm and positive views on their lives with good education and a vast knowledge of their own history, culture and the local things.
As we have too many stories to tell you, we are compiling a travel journal. When it is published, you will get one copy of that. At this moment I am not sure when it will appear. We will try our best. Yes of course you should pick up Korean first to read it. I am sorry to have you taking too much of your time for learning Korean.
Europe 2008 was great for all four of us. Through the open doors of Servas, we could see, meet, experience and appreciate Europe. Our greater appreciation goes to all Servas families who opened your hearts and doors to us.
Summer 2008, In Peace and Servas, Kim, National Secretary Servas Korea
Travels in Southern Africa - an extract
I have long thought about returning to Africa, many years ago I spent two years in Ghana with Voluntary Service Overseas. Last year I became involved in the Servas Britain–Malawi link, so when I heard about the Southern Africa Regional Meeting in Livingstone, Zambia, in December, it seemed the moment to realise my dreams.
I arrived via Windhoek, Namibia, in Johannesburg, South Africa, where I stayed with the local Servas host co-ordinators. In fact there are very few hosts in Johannesburg, which I thought was going to be a problem; however my hosts very kindly invited me to stay on. My first impressions of Johannesburg, driving in from the airport, were of the networks of highways in this huge city, frighteningly fast and dangerous driving. Nearly all white residents live out in the suburbs, and there is virtually no public transport.
My first full day, 1 Dec, was World Aids Day, interesting for me as I am a Trustee of a UK charity supporting African Families affected by HIV. There was a lot going on in Johannesburg; I was not able to get to the main rally, but met and talked to some interesting people. ! picked up some useful material, including a free T-shirt!
The next day my hosts had arranged with a near-by back-packers’ hostel for me to join their mini-bus trip to Soweto. At first it seemed a bit voyeuristic to do this, but the size of the place, about 1 million inhabitants, and the distance from Johannesburg itself, make this the only practical way of getting there. Our driver had been born in Soweto, and still lived there, as do many of the new black middle class. Soweto, built to house mine workers under the strict segregation rules, has been transformed. We saw the original basic houses, which had no electricity or water in the early days, and the infamous hostel buildings where single males were housed, away from their families. But we also saw the ‘modern’ Soweto, houses now owner-occupied, some extended, some newly constructed, and facilities, including a large modern hospital & a new shopping mall which I was told is the largest in South Africa.
On leaving Soweto I had asked to be dropped off at the other museum which is an absolute must– the Apartheid Museum.The outside is plain but beautiful, with water and columns representing justice, reconciliation and peace. Inside this too was in many ways quite muted, but stark and shocking; the materials and documents on display spoke for themselves, no need for explanation or exaggeration. One feature of the visit was however significant, when you purchase your ticket you are quite randomly given a ‘pass’ to get into the museum – “Blankes” or “Net-Blankes”. I happened to be given the latter; I therefore had to walk past the entrance for “Blankes” and enter by the door marked “Net-Blankes”. This might seem contrived, but the arbitrary absence of any choice over this, and the feeling I was being treated in a different, possibly inferior, way, did have an effect.
Margaret Seelig, England
uploaded by Amelia
