The Haves and The Have Nots

Alright, so maybe I should have brought my laptop, as photo uploads may be tricky. Believe me, they'll be awesome once you see them. Bear with me until you do.

So the last two days have been full of orientation. Orientation to the program, to the town, to the culture, etc. Yesterday started with a program orientation, followed by a traditional braai (barbecue). Auntie Linda (picture an ethnic sweeter version of the little lady in Poltergeist) takes into account everyone's culinary needs so there are vegetarian options and gluten-free fare for those of us in the group with special diets.

The house itself is an old Victorian. Ashley and I are in a room to ourselves as it's not very crowded right now. (Our room would usually sleep four.) The house staff makes up our beds and fixes our meals. Both things I could get used to. The food so far has been good. They mix in little cultural things. Lots of fresh food. Lots of balanced meals. All good news on that front. So far. :)

So after our morning of orientation we walked to the next town over to explore the stores...where we found - of all things - baby cologne. You know, because babies stink so bad. It comes in two scents: Splash and Joy. Neither of which compare to the natural smell of a clean baby's head. :)

There are also fun flavors of chips like Roast Beef. I heart foreign grocery stores.

Next we ventured out to the pretty parts of town. The town centre (where a film was being shot), Signal Hill (part of the Table Mountain chain), and Camps Bay. Camps Bay is the where Ashley and I - and Katie when she gets here - will hunker down for some R&R. It came highly recommended and from what I saw yesterday, it will not disappoint.

Driving over the hill as we crested the top the view literally took our breath away. Seriously, you could hear a collective gasp in our van. You feel like you can literally see the curve of the earth. I've been a lot of places and seen lots of gorgeous things. That view - one of the best.

We came home in time for dinner and then tried our hardest to stay awake. My goal was 9p and I barely made it.

Today we went into the townships. I don't want to call them the "have nots" but compared to what we saw yesterday, I guess that's what I'm referring to. The history and the culture of this area is very recent. Like 1994 recent. Like I was in high school when they were still segregated recent. I will be working in the Langa township, the first black township. We visited a hostel apartment where 14 families live. 14. They share one bathroom. One. bathroom.

Humbling.

I've been obsessed with the wrapping of babies in towels and I met a woman today who demonstrated the art. Twice. Using a towel. Like a bath towel. Who needs a Moby? I love how the baby naturally wrapped his legs around his mama so to speed up the process. Cute picture to come.

We also got to visit a couple of schools. Where the kids loved us. As I mentioned on facebook, we walked into the first one to the kids chanting. We asked what they were saying and our escort (Mama Ivy) told us they were saying "my white person." The tears welled up quickly and unexpectedly. But didn't fall. They loved posing for pictures and then seeing the finished product. They also stick up their thumbs and then like to "high five" your thumb.

Tomorrow I will start my placement. It's a one room school with about 50-60 kids under the age of 6. They've prepped me for feeling overwhelmed. After interacting with the kids today I'm excited. I know I'll fall in love with them.

We're going to a comedy club tonight. We finally get free time Wednesday afternoon, so we're planning to head to the city centre and waterfront. This weekend will find us at the wineries (natch!) and then church with Mama Ivy on Sunday in one of the townships.

Everyone keeps telling us how fast three weeks will go. Most of the people are here for at least six weeks or more. I'm glad I have the travel portion of my trip to look forward to.

Apparently Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds are both filming in town, so I'm crossing my fingers for sightings.

They just rang the bell for dinner, so I gotta go.