Ok, so I never posted about Haiti.
Here's a link to the pix I posted on FB in case you're not on FB.
Let's just say the most valuable thing I learned was the importance of loving fearlessly, unconditionally, and without hesitation or thought of what comes next. Being present in the present and completely open. What an invaluable life lesson.
Which brings me to my latest project. A new blog. It's the same name as my original blog (as my twitter handle is @4thgradenothing). I hope Judy Blume never gets mad and makes me change it. Anywho...the blog focuses on new experiences and gives me an accountable reason to write every day.
Enjoy.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Why Haiti? Why Now...
Remember how The Nanny "had style, she had flair, she was THERE," and that's how she became The Nanny?
Well my story is kind of like that.
Except I had the availability, all my shots, and speak a little French. True story.
My parents took the news well. I guess after "I'm moving to Chicago;" "I'm moving to California;" "I'm moving to Paris;" "I'm going to Ireland for Thanksgiving;" "I'm going to backpack around Thailand and Cambodia for a while;" "I'm going to Kauai for Thanksgiving;" and "I'm quitting my jobs and going to Africa for 5 weeks;" they've reached a point of rolling with the punches when it comes to my announcements. One of my friends put it best (and this was several years ago) when she said, "We just know when you say you're thinking about doing something or want to do something that means you're going to do it."
But I had never really mentioned Haiti before. Sure immediately following the earthquake the breaking news buff in me would have jumped at the chance to jet down there. (And I got nerdy excited to find out I will be staying in the same hotel the 60 Minutes crew did during their month long stay following the quake.) Since then, my interest was only strongly piqued when I had to cover Anthony Bourdain's Haiti episode. He hung out with Sean Penn. They talked about the organization Sean works for, J/P HRO. I looked into that a little bit, but wasn't sure I was a good fit. Then I went to Africa and then I started volunteering around here and didn't give it much thought.
Until for some reason I did...and so I posted on FB and got responses, two of which connected to Global Orphan Project, which I saw as enough of a sign. I sent them a little note, basically saying: I was available for their next trip, I have all of the necessary shots to go and I know French. Which is apparently kinda like Creole. Which is apparently what they speak in Haiti. The lady emailed me back the next day and said "we'd love to have you." The day after that she had purchased me tickets. I would later say to my group leader that I really felt like they were being very trusting of me seeing as how they didn't/still really don't know that much about me. Apparently we all share a similar philosophy in that if you take things as they come, things happen as they should. (Which sounds passive, but in reality you're always taking the next step, until the next step doesn't work and you have to find a different path.)
As luck would have it, when I was exploring the GO network, I spotted one of my fellow Africa volunteers in one of their pictures. Signs, signs, everywhere signs.
So I'm gonna be hot, and sweaty, and might have to take cold showers (hot water is only avail when electricity is). But I'm also going to spend five days playing with kids who thrive on the love of strangers...who enjoy life despite their circumstances. This won't be my first third world country. Not even my first third world country post-disaster. But I'm preparing myself for it to be worse than anything I've ever seen, and better than anything I could imagine.
The (nearly) 5 days spent off the grid? A challenge I'm happy to take on.
Well my story is kind of like that.
Except I had the availability, all my shots, and speak a little French. True story.
My parents took the news well. I guess after "I'm moving to Chicago;" "I'm moving to California;" "I'm moving to Paris;" "I'm going to Ireland for Thanksgiving;" "I'm going to backpack around Thailand and Cambodia for a while;" "I'm going to Kauai for Thanksgiving;" and "I'm quitting my jobs and going to Africa for 5 weeks;" they've reached a point of rolling with the punches when it comes to my announcements. One of my friends put it best (and this was several years ago) when she said, "We just know when you say you're thinking about doing something or want to do something that means you're going to do it."
But I had never really mentioned Haiti before. Sure immediately following the earthquake the breaking news buff in me would have jumped at the chance to jet down there. (And I got nerdy excited to find out I will be staying in the same hotel the 60 Minutes crew did during their month long stay following the quake.) Since then, my interest was only strongly piqued when I had to cover Anthony Bourdain's Haiti episode. He hung out with Sean Penn. They talked about the organization Sean works for, J/P HRO. I looked into that a little bit, but wasn't sure I was a good fit. Then I went to Africa and then I started volunteering around here and didn't give it much thought.
Until for some reason I did...and so I posted on FB and got responses, two of which connected to Global Orphan Project, which I saw as enough of a sign. I sent them a little note, basically saying: I was available for their next trip, I have all of the necessary shots to go and I know French. Which is apparently kinda like Creole. Which is apparently what they speak in Haiti. The lady emailed me back the next day and said "we'd love to have you." The day after that she had purchased me tickets. I would later say to my group leader that I really felt like they were being very trusting of me seeing as how they didn't/still really don't know that much about me. Apparently we all share a similar philosophy in that if you take things as they come, things happen as they should. (Which sounds passive, but in reality you're always taking the next step, until the next step doesn't work and you have to find a different path.)
As luck would have it, when I was exploring the GO network, I spotted one of my fellow Africa volunteers in one of their pictures. Signs, signs, everywhere signs.
So I'm gonna be hot, and sweaty, and might have to take cold showers (hot water is only avail when electricity is). But I'm also going to spend five days playing with kids who thrive on the love of strangers...who enjoy life despite their circumstances. This won't be my first third world country. Not even my first third world country post-disaster. But I'm preparing myself for it to be worse than anything I've ever seen, and better than anything I could imagine.
The (nearly) 5 days spent off the grid? A challenge I'm happy to take on.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
So I'm Going to Haiti...And Here's How You Can Help! (for those not on FB)
Well, part of you can...like something you give me to give to the kids can...
Well, if you live in the Los Angeles area...sorry STL peeps...the rest of the group I'm going with is in Kansas City tho, so if folks there wanna pitch in, msg me and I can put you in touch...
Unlike when I went to Africa, we're actually asked to take stuff to the kids in Haiti...
Things like:
peanut butter
CROCS (Can be used...I'm asking about TOMS)
Medical things like Children's Motrin, Bandaids, etc.
Things the whole group can use:
books
coloring books/crayons
soccer balls
bubbles
sidewalk chalk
(you get the idea...nothing for each individual kid, all things for everyone to use)
I'm supposed to bring whatever I've collected *cough* at least 50 pounds in a huge duffel or military sack that I don't mind leaving there so if anyone has one of those that would be even awesome-er.
Since I'm leaving next Weds, I'd like to have everything by Tuesday (10/18). I live in Los Feliz, so if you live or work around here you could drop it off or msg me and we'll figure it out.
I know this is uber short notice so thanks in advance to anyone who can help out. No pressure.
I will also be blogging about this adventure that, even tho seems miniature in duration, I'm sure will have a profound effect on me. The thing is, I've made a promise to my team leader to go off the grid for the time we're in Haiti. I'll journal like crazy so that I can regurgitate here when I get back.
2 things.
A - I just looked up "regurgitate" to make sure I spelled it right and there's apparently a group of "Swedish grindcore assassins" using the word as a name. Awesome.
B - I just re-read my blog from Africa. What an awesome experience!
I have come to the realization in the 24 hours of knowing that I'm going to Haiti next week that the reason I'm so excited is because of how close it is. I fell in love with Africa and can't wait to go back, but it's really far away. Haiti is more realistic. It's closer. Added bonus: airfare was less than half of what I paid to go to Cape Town and that's with only 7 days notice.
So in seven sleeps, I'll be lusting in the wander once again. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
There's One in Every Bunch
Hilarious. The only one I had left after that last blog was Agcobile. (Unfortunately Analise (another one of my early faves) never returned to school after the first week and a half.) I super wish Gertie's was close enough for me to randomly drop in and see how things are going.
So back to Agcobile.
Sassypants!! I love when you can look at a child and see how they'll be when they get older. Agcobile is the ringleader for the little girl clique. Shocking I know. Here she is telling someone how to do something her way.
Then she realized I was not only standing there watching her, but I was taking a picture.
So I showed her the picture. And pointed out that she doesn't look cute when she's acting like that. I was of course speaking in English, but I hope she got something out of it. Then the other kids started imitating her thinking I would take pictures of them doing it. I was all, I am trying to teach her a lesson. Haha.
Life is going well. I've contacted and orientated at a couple of local volunteer opportunities. Who knew you didn't have to go all the way to Africa to volunteer? (Have I already used that joke here?) I've purchased a bike. I've still got lots of Oprah to catch up on. I also need to finish unpacking. (Before you freak out, I've done all the laundry...just need to unpack the rest and put the bags away.) Last week was my "rest" week and I'm getting things done this week. You know, before I head to St. Louis next week.
Life is good. Real good. So I think that's probably it for this blog. I mean until I travel again. And as much as I would love to go do the whole 3 months in New Zealand or Australia thing while I've got so much time off...I'm trying to be a little more moneywise (and would rather not go alone).
So back to Agcobile.
Sassypants!! I love when you can look at a child and see how they'll be when they get older. Agcobile is the ringleader for the little girl clique. Shocking I know. Here she is telling someone how to do something her way.
Then she realized I was not only standing there watching her, but I was taking a picture.
So I showed her the picture. And pointed out that she doesn't look cute when she's acting like that. I was of course speaking in English, but I hope she got something out of it. Then the other kids started imitating her thinking I would take pictures of them doing it. I was all, I am trying to teach her a lesson. Haha.Life is going well. I've contacted and orientated at a couple of local volunteer opportunities. Who knew you didn't have to go all the way to Africa to volunteer? (Have I already used that joke here?) I've purchased a bike. I've still got lots of Oprah to catch up on. I also need to finish unpacking. (Before you freak out, I've done all the laundry...just need to unpack the rest and put the bags away.) Last week was my "rest" week and I'm getting things done this week. You know, before I head to St. Louis next week.
Life is good. Real good. So I think that's probably it for this blog. I mean until I travel again. And as much as I would love to go do the whole 3 months in New Zealand or Australia thing while I've got so much time off...I'm trying to be a little more moneywise (and would rather not go alone).
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Bantwana Bam
So downloading my thousands (!) of pictures has become problematic as my start-up disc on my laptop is full and I have apparently become inept at all things computerific, namely anything to do with my external hard drive. (Work in progress...)
All of that to say, the individual pictures I took of my kiddos the day we made the necklaces have successfully been transferred, and since I will not be putting those on facebook, I thought I would introduce them to you here.
I miss them!! We'll start with my Anda. (To be fair, she was the first one done with her necklace, so the first one in my sequence. The kids will not be listed here in order of my level of like for them.) Admittedly, tho, she was one of my favorites from the beginning. I'm so glad I got to help celebrate her birthday. I loved seeing her feel so special.
Next up: Songezo. His was one of the first names-to-faces I learned. He was always one of the first kids to greet me in the morning. Big into hugs and physical contact.
Ok so this is Nombongo. Oft referred to as "the stick teacher" and the one who chases the kids around with her boob as if she was gonna nurse them. :) Turns out she's 34. Virtually the same age as me. What different lives we've had. She has a 9 year old and 1 year old and told me to never have children.
Oh, Likho. A quiet, kind and gentle soul. And adorable to boot.
Phumelele!! Look at that face! This kid had me wrapped around his finger with looks like that! I wish I had video of him dancing. He's got some moves.
One of my favorite pictures from Gertie's is one of Phuma and his little brother Themba. It wasn't lost on me that I loved them so much because they were like a South African version of Hunter and Jett.
Hope. Definitely one of those kids that you look at and know what he'll look like as a man. Hope is one of the oldest in the class and is very smart. You can tell he's kind of past the point of playing around, but does so sometimes to fit in. If we were playing house tho, I think Hope would be the dad. Which - this just dawned on me - there was no fake kitchen or playing of house or anything (like in an American kindergarten)...I didn't realize that until just now.
Siphosethu. Yes I had to refer to my notes to remember how to spell her name. A sweet girl who seems to be on the outside of the main little girl clique, but gets along with everyone. And yes, that's a weave. It won't be the last one you see.
Hlumelo. Tough name to say (and I had two of them!)...This one was a little jokester. Loves to laugh and make YOU laugh. But for the most part, stays out of trouble.
As if on cue...Hlumelo. Strong and silent. This guy flies under the radar. He's a good, sweet kid tho.
And here he is...my 5 year old suitor Ntando...
Zukhanne. Pronounced zoo-kanye. (I loved his name!) He's one of those quiet kids that you love catching having a great time. You know the ones I'm talking about?
Lerato is a part of the little girl clique I mentioned earlier. But she shares a Anda-like sweetness.
Ndinga. The first time I did the whole "what color is this person's shirt?" lesson, I forgot to use Ndinga's name. After calling each of the other kid's up - by name - I felt really guilty about it. So I made it a point the next day to say hello to him - by name - first thing. For me it was my whole respect thing I have with kids as little people. I thought it important to learn their names to say to them "I respect you enough to look at you in the face and address you by your name." It doesn't matter if you're 3 or 30. (Granted, sometimes I can be really horrible with names, but still...I like it as a personal policy.)
Sweet sweet Liyema. Also part of the girl group, but for the most part stays out of the chatty spats.
Without further ado, my first love. Iva. Wow did I love this kid the first minute I laid eyes on him. It broke my heart that I couldn't always give him the red bowl he asked for. He would look at me as if to say, don't you like me at all??? If only he knew how much I wanted to snatch him up. What you can't see in this picture is that he's not the tallest little boy, which gives him an adorable George-Jefferson-type quality.
Ahhh! Isn't he just the cutest?? Blogger is acting up, so I'm gonna have to continue this in a separate post...(perhaps not even the people at Blogger/Gmail/Google can handle these kids' faces!!)
All of that to say, the individual pictures I took of my kiddos the day we made the necklaces have successfully been transferred, and since I will not be putting those on facebook, I thought I would introduce them to you here.
I miss them!! We'll start with my Anda. (To be fair, she was the first one done with her necklace, so the first one in my sequence. The kids will not be listed here in order of my level of like for them.) Admittedly, tho, she was one of my favorites from the beginning. I'm so glad I got to help celebrate her birthday. I loved seeing her feel so special.
Next up: Songezo. His was one of the first names-to-faces I learned. He was always one of the first kids to greet me in the morning. Big into hugs and physical contact.
Ok so this is Nombongo. Oft referred to as "the stick teacher" and the one who chases the kids around with her boob as if she was gonna nurse them. :) Turns out she's 34. Virtually the same age as me. What different lives we've had. She has a 9 year old and 1 year old and told me to never have children.
Oh, Likho. A quiet, kind and gentle soul. And adorable to boot.
Phumelele!! Look at that face! This kid had me wrapped around his finger with looks like that! I wish I had video of him dancing. He's got some moves.
One of my favorite pictures from Gertie's is one of Phuma and his little brother Themba. It wasn't lost on me that I loved them so much because they were like a South African version of Hunter and Jett.
Hope. Definitely one of those kids that you look at and know what he'll look like as a man. Hope is one of the oldest in the class and is very smart. You can tell he's kind of past the point of playing around, but does so sometimes to fit in. If we were playing house tho, I think Hope would be the dad. Which - this just dawned on me - there was no fake kitchen or playing of house or anything (like in an American kindergarten)...I didn't realize that until just now.
Siphosethu. Yes I had to refer to my notes to remember how to spell her name. A sweet girl who seems to be on the outside of the main little girl clique, but gets along with everyone. And yes, that's a weave. It won't be the last one you see.
Hlumelo. Tough name to say (and I had two of them!)...This one was a little jokester. Loves to laugh and make YOU laugh. But for the most part, stays out of trouble.
As if on cue...Hlumelo. Strong and silent. This guy flies under the radar. He's a good, sweet kid tho.
And here he is...my 5 year old suitor Ntando...
Zukhanne. Pronounced zoo-kanye. (I loved his name!) He's one of those quiet kids that you love catching having a great time. You know the ones I'm talking about?
Lerato is a part of the little girl clique I mentioned earlier. But she shares a Anda-like sweetness.
Ndinga. The first time I did the whole "what color is this person's shirt?" lesson, I forgot to use Ndinga's name. After calling each of the other kid's up - by name - I felt really guilty about it. So I made it a point the next day to say hello to him - by name - first thing. For me it was my whole respect thing I have with kids as little people. I thought it important to learn their names to say to them "I respect you enough to look at you in the face and address you by your name." It doesn't matter if you're 3 or 30. (Granted, sometimes I can be really horrible with names, but still...I like it as a personal policy.)
Sweet sweet Liyema. Also part of the girl group, but for the most part stays out of the chatty spats.
Without further ado, my first love. Iva. Wow did I love this kid the first minute I laid eyes on him. It broke my heart that I couldn't always give him the red bowl he asked for. He would look at me as if to say, don't you like me at all??? If only he knew how much I wanted to snatch him up. What you can't see in this picture is that he's not the tallest little boy, which gives him an adorable George-Jefferson-type quality.
Ahhh! Isn't he just the cutest?? Blogger is acting up, so I'm gonna have to continue this in a separate post...(perhaps not even the people at Blogger/Gmail/Google can handle these kids' faces!!)
Saturday, April 30, 2011
A Bit of News Before I Go
So we're about to check out of the Granddaddy. We've shopped the markets one last time. The Airstream was as delightful as I knew it would be. There was even a guy playing guitar outside last night. He was very Andrew-Bird like. Perfection.
I can't believe today has finally come. The past 5 weeks have flown by. Last night as I was reminiscing about all I've done, I could acknowledge that the winery trip seemed like a lifetime ago...and that even Kruger seemed to be a distant memory. Every day is so new and so full of opportunity and options and that's what I'm taking with me.
Which brings me to this tidbit: when I get back to the states, I'll be unemployed. Like completely. Before I left I had joked about taking the summer off. Doing whatever I wanted, when I wanted. It sounded slightly irresponsible and uber delightful. After being here, I confirmed I wasn't doing things that made me happy anymore. I figured (correctly) that Eyeboogie would make other arrangements, and made the choice to not return to Let's Make a a Deal either.
We'll see what I come up with, but I'm not nervous. I'm excited to figure out what I want to be doing and where I want to be doing it. It sucks I won't be eligible for unemployment, but I've got some savings and I'm not above temp work or a Starbucks gig if that's what it takes.
I'm super stoked to have a summer of beaches and popsicles and bike rides and sewing and reading and writing and sightseeing and whatever else I decide I want to do. Not many other 33 year olds get a summer of freedom.
As far as going home. I'm excited to see my peeps. And for sushi. And pad thai. And my bed. And remembering what driving around is like. And what I hope is several episodes of 16 & Pregnant waiting on my dvr. :)
Thanks for reading. Picture posts to come.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Under African Skies
I know...I know...but internet in countries other than South Africa seem to be spotty so I decided to combine all of my safari adventures into one big blog.
Ok so when last I left we were headed to Kruger...after like an 8 hour drive from JoBurg we landed at the Kwa Madwala Reserve. Our room here was nothing short of a fantasy suite from The Bachelor. It was shaped like a big rock and super remotely located down the side of this hill. The only shower was one on the back deck. (It didn't matter because nobody could see you but maybe the animals.)
The first night we went out for a drive and saw a hippo just walking around. As well as a bush buck, a water buck and a couple of giraffes. Reality set in. The next morning we got up and went for a nature walk where the only thing we saw was a group of impalas running in the distance.
I have to be honest, I was expecting opening scene of Lion King stuff. I wanted to see a baby lion held triumphantly in the air as other animals stampeded toward the celebration and then bowed down as the music played. (Read as: my hopes were set high.)
Well it turns out Kruger (our next stop) is the size of Wales, and isn't one for disappointing. Did I see the scene of my dreams? Not quite. But have I seen a lot of awesome stuff? For sure. We've also learned some interesting things.
Like how an impala's teeth become loose during mating so they can "scratch" each other's backs. Then they tighten back up.
We also went to an elephant rescue and played a game with an elephant wherein I was one of three people to take my shoe off and walk away from it. The elephant (who had been turned around when I put it in the shoe line-up) picked up my shoe and came and gave it back to me. Turns out their sense of smell is 40 times better than that of a dog.
We did a lot of driving that day, but were rewarded with sightings of crocodiles, hippos, giraffes, elephants, more impala, wildebeast, buffaloes, owls and rhinos. Phew! We got to our campsite after dark. There was a group of dad-age Italians in our group and they, taking us for city girl damsels in distress, put our tent up for us. In reality, it was the type of tent both Katie and I have set up before, but it was a nice gesture and we appreciated it.
Our tour guides (Zinzo and Thabang) were cool and in addition to the Italians we had a couple of Spanish friends and then an American girl currently living in London.
Our second day in Kruger meant a 6a-3p game drive. Driving around looking for animals is very similar to driving around trying to get a baby to sleep and then once the baby is asleep you keep driving around so that he or she gets a full nap. I say that because you take all the turn offs, and you just keep driving. And driving.
This day started off at high speed tho because our driver had heard lions so we sped toward where the roars were coming from. We weren't the only ones who got lucky that morning. We saw three lionesses and one male. Eventually the male picked the one whose turn it was going to be and as she lay in the street he totally mounted her...right in front of us. We had hoped to see a lion eat a zebra but this was so much better. But apparently not for her as she was not a happy camper. We asked the guide about it (as the entire act lasted 5 seconds)...He told us something about a lion having a barbed penis and how it hurt the female. We have yet to google this but it seemed believable.
By lunch we had seen everything but a leopard. Turns out we didn't see anything new the rest of the day. And after a while, an elephant turns into another elephant, the newness wears off and you're ready to be back at the camp. That night we fell asleep to what we knew by then were the roars of hunting lions.
We kept being told how lucky we were to have seen more impala and guinea fowl than we could count, white and black rhinos, wild dogs, zebras, and kudu, in addition to everything I've already mentioned.
Sunday morning we got up and once again our Italian pops took care of the tent situation. On our way out of Kruger we caught sight of the most elusive of the big 5...the leopard. He was running but I got a blurry pic. We took the panoramic view home. I should have bought stock in Dramamine.
Next stop: Livingstone, Zambia where 5k kwacha equals one dollar. Price tags look crazy. It's a better taste of "Africa." Markets get exhausting. Everyone wants you to got their shop. See things. Touch things. Buy things.
Tuesday we decided to head to Botswana. We took a cruise on the Chobe River. We saw lots of hippo families and elephant families. Basically exactly what we had wished for. Playing and drinking and babies! Lots of animal babies!
Chobe offered different scenery than Kruger landscape-wise, so that was nice. After the cruise we went for another game drive. Chobe is known for its huge elephant population. We saw hundreds. Getting up close and personal with some. We had a standoff in the road at one point. Luckily he decided to let us pass him but it was definitely a reminder of whose turf we were on.
We watched a dung beetle hard at work and an elephant herd playing by the water. A calf rolled in the dirt, having just as much fun as a human child would. And I'm talking within 10 feet of where we were sitting in the truck. We saw two giraffes gracefully gallop across the sandy road...(which looked more like running in slow motion). And then we saw two baboons getting it on in the road.
I feel like The Beatles must have gone on a safari before writing "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" because it seems to be a popular place. They got that whole "Nobody will be watching part" wrong tho.
The last thing we saw before heading into our camp was a pride of lionesses with their cubs. We watched as they stalked a lone impala. We tried to warn the impala, and tell it to run away, but it froze for a while. Eventually it seemed to get far enough away.
We went to our camp where the only thing separating us from the wild animals we'd just seen were lanterns. Needless to say, there were no night-time potty breaks. In that case the "toilet" was a plastic seat set atop a hole in the ground next to a shovel. Rustic!
The only animal sound we heard that night was a hippo. You know, only the animal that kills more humans than any other of the big 5.
We came back to Livingstone the next day and chilled out. Then today we headed to Victoria Falls. We fit 18 people in a minivan for the 10k ride. That's nothing for Africa.
We got to the falls (still on Zambia side) and checked them out from various spots. As we had heard from other travelers, water was very high. Too high for rafting. We walked to the top and then hiked down to the "boiling pot." From there we watched as people bungeed (sp?) off the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Came back up and did a little more photo taking before coming across a group of baboons. Big baboons. Males in search of mates baboons. They blocked our path and looked very menacing.
We had joined up with a mother/daughter who were staying at our same place. The daughter went first and just as she passed, one of the larger ones gave chase. (None of us had food, but they didn't know that.) We of course freaked out. (not a smart move) So he turned around and acted like he was going to charge. So there we all were, stuck in our various locations on the path. Me holding on to the girl's mom as if she were my own. (not good in crisis, remember?)
Then along came a man behind us. Like a knight in shining armour. He bellowed and stomped and (in the monkey world) claimed us as his. As we walked away with no further problems, the guy told me what we should have done. "You're bigger," he said. "Stand your ground. Don't cower or he'll see you as weak." Easy for him to say, I already pictured myself mauled by a baboon. Hard to not back up when you've got that image in your head.
All's well that ends well. We decided not to cross over to the Zim side as the view wouldn't be any different since it's so full. Zambia has really been a chill place for us. The backpackers we chose is an oasis of loveliness. And only $25 a night.
I got my first three bug bites of the entire trip tonight at dinner. Not a bad track record. We head back to Cape Town tomorrow night. It's airstream time. Which also means last night in Africa time.
I don't want to process that right now.
Ok so when last I left we were headed to Kruger...after like an 8 hour drive from JoBurg we landed at the Kwa Madwala Reserve. Our room here was nothing short of a fantasy suite from The Bachelor. It was shaped like a big rock and super remotely located down the side of this hill. The only shower was one on the back deck. (It didn't matter because nobody could see you but maybe the animals.)
The first night we went out for a drive and saw a hippo just walking around. As well as a bush buck, a water buck and a couple of giraffes. Reality set in. The next morning we got up and went for a nature walk where the only thing we saw was a group of impalas running in the distance.
I have to be honest, I was expecting opening scene of Lion King stuff. I wanted to see a baby lion held triumphantly in the air as other animals stampeded toward the celebration and then bowed down as the music played. (Read as: my hopes were set high.)
Well it turns out Kruger (our next stop) is the size of Wales, and isn't one for disappointing. Did I see the scene of my dreams? Not quite. But have I seen a lot of awesome stuff? For sure. We've also learned some interesting things.
Like how an impala's teeth become loose during mating so they can "scratch" each other's backs. Then they tighten back up.
We also went to an elephant rescue and played a game with an elephant wherein I was one of three people to take my shoe off and walk away from it. The elephant (who had been turned around when I put it in the shoe line-up) picked up my shoe and came and gave it back to me. Turns out their sense of smell is 40 times better than that of a dog.
We did a lot of driving that day, but were rewarded with sightings of crocodiles, hippos, giraffes, elephants, more impala, wildebeast, buffaloes, owls and rhinos. Phew! We got to our campsite after dark. There was a group of dad-age Italians in our group and they, taking us for city girl damsels in distress, put our tent up for us. In reality, it was the type of tent both Katie and I have set up before, but it was a nice gesture and we appreciated it.
Our tour guides (Zinzo and Thabang) were cool and in addition to the Italians we had a couple of Spanish friends and then an American girl currently living in London.
Our second day in Kruger meant a 6a-3p game drive. Driving around looking for animals is very similar to driving around trying to get a baby to sleep and then once the baby is asleep you keep driving around so that he or she gets a full nap. I say that because you take all the turn offs, and you just keep driving. And driving.
This day started off at high speed tho because our driver had heard lions so we sped toward where the roars were coming from. We weren't the only ones who got lucky that morning. We saw three lionesses and one male. Eventually the male picked the one whose turn it was going to be and as she lay in the street he totally mounted her...right in front of us. We had hoped to see a lion eat a zebra but this was so much better. But apparently not for her as she was not a happy camper. We asked the guide about it (as the entire act lasted 5 seconds)...He told us something about a lion having a barbed penis and how it hurt the female. We have yet to google this but it seemed believable.
By lunch we had seen everything but a leopard. Turns out we didn't see anything new the rest of the day. And after a while, an elephant turns into another elephant, the newness wears off and you're ready to be back at the camp. That night we fell asleep to what we knew by then were the roars of hunting lions.
We kept being told how lucky we were to have seen more impala and guinea fowl than we could count, white and black rhinos, wild dogs, zebras, and kudu, in addition to everything I've already mentioned.
Sunday morning we got up and once again our Italian pops took care of the tent situation. On our way out of Kruger we caught sight of the most elusive of the big 5...the leopard. He was running but I got a blurry pic. We took the panoramic view home. I should have bought stock in Dramamine.
Next stop: Livingstone, Zambia where 5k kwacha equals one dollar. Price tags look crazy. It's a better taste of "Africa." Markets get exhausting. Everyone wants you to got their shop. See things. Touch things. Buy things.
Tuesday we decided to head to Botswana. We took a cruise on the Chobe River. We saw lots of hippo families and elephant families. Basically exactly what we had wished for. Playing and drinking and babies! Lots of animal babies!
Chobe offered different scenery than Kruger landscape-wise, so that was nice. After the cruise we went for another game drive. Chobe is known for its huge elephant population. We saw hundreds. Getting up close and personal with some. We had a standoff in the road at one point. Luckily he decided to let us pass him but it was definitely a reminder of whose turf we were on.
We watched a dung beetle hard at work and an elephant herd playing by the water. A calf rolled in the dirt, having just as much fun as a human child would. And I'm talking within 10 feet of where we were sitting in the truck. We saw two giraffes gracefully gallop across the sandy road...(which looked more like running in slow motion). And then we saw two baboons getting it on in the road.
I feel like The Beatles must have gone on a safari before writing "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" because it seems to be a popular place. They got that whole "Nobody will be watching part" wrong tho.
The last thing we saw before heading into our camp was a pride of lionesses with their cubs. We watched as they stalked a lone impala. We tried to warn the impala, and tell it to run away, but it froze for a while. Eventually it seemed to get far enough away.
We went to our camp where the only thing separating us from the wild animals we'd just seen were lanterns. Needless to say, there were no night-time potty breaks. In that case the "toilet" was a plastic seat set atop a hole in the ground next to a shovel. Rustic!
The only animal sound we heard that night was a hippo. You know, only the animal that kills more humans than any other of the big 5.
We came back to Livingstone the next day and chilled out. Then today we headed to Victoria Falls. We fit 18 people in a minivan for the 10k ride. That's nothing for Africa.
We got to the falls (still on Zambia side) and checked them out from various spots. As we had heard from other travelers, water was very high. Too high for rafting. We walked to the top and then hiked down to the "boiling pot." From there we watched as people bungeed (sp?) off the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Came back up and did a little more photo taking before coming across a group of baboons. Big baboons. Males in search of mates baboons. They blocked our path and looked very menacing.
We had joined up with a mother/daughter who were staying at our same place. The daughter went first and just as she passed, one of the larger ones gave chase. (None of us had food, but they didn't know that.) We of course freaked out. (not a smart move) So he turned around and acted like he was going to charge. So there we all were, stuck in our various locations on the path. Me holding on to the girl's mom as if she were my own. (not good in crisis, remember?)
Then along came a man behind us. Like a knight in shining armour. He bellowed and stomped and (in the monkey world) claimed us as his. As we walked away with no further problems, the guy told me what we should have done. "You're bigger," he said. "Stand your ground. Don't cower or he'll see you as weak." Easy for him to say, I already pictured myself mauled by a baboon. Hard to not back up when you've got that image in your head.
All's well that ends well. We decided not to cross over to the Zim side as the view wouldn't be any different since it's so full. Zambia has really been a chill place for us. The backpackers we chose is an oasis of loveliness. And only $25 a night.
I got my first three bug bites of the entire trip tonight at dinner. Not a bad track record. We head back to Cape Town tomorrow night. It's airstream time. Which also means last night in Africa time.
I don't want to process that right now.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Now sit right back and you'll hear a tale...
Ok...let me start by saying...I totally wrote an awesome "done with volunteering" blog that somehow disappeared into the abyss of the interwebs. I didn't mean to leave y'all hanging for this long.
So get ready, because this one's gonna be a doozy.
First things first...news on the DeAngelo front is good. His body reacted very well to the chemo and he was actually sent back to our volunteer house on Friday. Meaning I got to see him before I left. I was so relieved to see for myself that he was at least ok and we had a nice conversation through a window. He was on strict restrictions and given a four-week chemo plan to remission. He had very few side effects from the chemo and actually on Tuesday (yesterday) was flown back to the states to finish treatment. Again, so glad I got to see him. And so very glad they're back where they belong surrounded by loved ones who had known them more than a couple of weeks.
As for the last couple of days as placement. They were filled with pure joy and fun times. The teacher I was helping never returned (and attempts to contact her were not successful). I'm unsettled they were content with that, but I too have no way to find her. What it meant for me was that I had my 4s and 5s to myself. Thursday was the best day of my entire placement. The kids listened to me. And understood! None of the other teachers ever had to come out and yell or threaten the stick or USE the stick. The kids and I communicated in the ways we knew how, and I knew enough of their songs to start them to the point where one of the kids would take the lead. It was wonderful. It should also be said that I'm not a singer and I have no playground voice (meaning projecting-wise) so these kids really deserve some credit.
I finally felt like I got through to them. They paid attention. Lesson time went really well. For color time instead of using the poster they all have memorized, I called each child up to me - by name - and asked the rest of the class what color a particular part of their outfit was. They did really well. And for the first time I felt like I had done something educational. We also made noodle necklaces which were a hit. We used red yarn. I think I've mentioned the kids LOVE red but it really offset the fact that I could only find plain-colored noodles here. I took individual pix of them wearing their necklaces. The whole process went over awesomely.
Thursday night was our goodbye dinner. We've definitely become quite the group. I have no doubt I will stay in touch with these peeps. We've been through something here. We can't wait to come back.
Friday was my last day @ Gertie's. I asked Nombongo to tell the kids I was leaving. (Nombongo - who I've often referred to as the stick teacher - kept telling me she would miss me. Turns out we're very close in age. Life has obviously been harder on her.) Anyway, immediately after she told them, a little voice asked (in xhosa) "where are you going?" As I tried to explain California and the states, I could imagine how foreign it all sounded. And I wondered if Anda would ever leave Langa...or if Phumelele would go to college...or if Agcobile will really become the mean girl in high school I'm pretty sure she's well on her way to being...
So I got out the stereo. Insert wild cheers here. Thank goodness we had electricity that day because these kids love them some musical chairs. (Thanks again Dad!) It was so much fun to watch them, even the ones who got to play dj. Everyone was so excited for something new. And silly. And fun.
As I washed their faces after lunch, I told each of my kids "Ndiyakuthanda" (I love you in Xhosa). Well of course the first one was a little boy (altho not Ntando) so he flipped and ran and told the other boys that I loved him. I tried to explain that I meant I loved all of them (and continued to tell each one so) but I'm pretty sure the first little boy got a little more out of it. Anda was one of my OG favorites so when she came up for the second time I gave her a hug and kissed her on the forehead. Agcobile and Lerato said something to her and she looked at me and said "kiss" in English and pointed at their foreheads. I knew she was holding out on me!! (She was actually a very big help in leading the songs.)
When I left everyone was in nap position (I took pix so you can see the craziness) but they were allowed to tell me bye and we all blew kisses. Mama Nozi promised to give me kid-specific updates should I ask for them, altho mine will all be going to school next year. But still a nice gesture.
When I got back to the house, I packed, lunched, said my goodbyes and headed to Camps Bay. My spot for the next 5 days. I checked into my hotel, looked at Ashley and said "Daddy, are we bougie?" (a common phrase I use when things get fancy). It was a one bedroom apartment. A block from the beach. Dream fantasy. Great staff. A bar across the street that reminded me of my bar back home. Dreamier fantasy. A hot bartender. (You get the picture.) Needless to say we got tipsy waiting for Katie whose plane was late. Now I know why the bar is called Dizzy's. Katie finally got in around 11 and we crashed.
Saturday morning we woke up to a pretty day, but a super windy one. The wind had been crazy through the night, so we knew Table Mountain and Robben's Island would be out. No fear tho because we had the Biscuit Mill Markets. In a word? Loved. It made me want to move here so I could outfit an apartment in all the adorable furnishings and decor and then eat every week at the awesome farmer's market with the yummy sangria and tasty samosas and lovely French couple with their breads and stinky cheeses.
As it was still uber windy we headed to Kloof and Long Street for more shopping, stopping again at Green Market. I try out my Xhosa every time I see a black person and get good reactions about it. I love having convos with people here. Cab drivers have amazing stories, whether they be black, coloured or white. I always asked where they lived. What they remember.
We rested back at the apt for a bit before meeting the crew (plus Dave a former volunteer fresh from a safari) on Long Street. We again hit up Dubliner (where we heard Toto's Africa for the first time here) and Jo-Burg where I had to face palm a guy who came on to Lindsey a lil strong. (This move impressed/entertained everyone but I was just taking care of business.)
Sunday we woke up and headed to the top of Table Mountain with Ashley and Nancy. Nancy is a 60-ish year old volunteer with an incredible story. We learned more of it while waiting in line and riding the funicular. Super glad we chose that route after seeing from above the hiking "trail." Of course the views from the top were nothing short of horrendously ugly aka breathtaking.
We spent the afternoon on the beach with the girls and made dinner that night in the apartment. Monday we headed back to the waterfront and once Ashley and Bonnie (another volunteer) got off placement headed over to Robben's Island. The cool part is that former prisoners give the tour. Our's was in the joint for seven years. I'm glad I went but I can't say I was riveted by the experience. Maybe once I finish reading "Long Walk to Freedom" (which I've paused so I could read other books). The funny story was that it was a three-hour tour. That had been delayed. That now had a Mary Anne on it. And then we met a couple from Orange County that was just like Thurston Howell (the third?) and his wife. Luckily there was no Gilligan and we didn't sink. (Obviously.) That night we reunited with Vicky my favorite waitress from Balducci's.
Tuesday we went to Kirstenbosch Gardens. We were so lucky to only have the one windy day and have every day since be incredibly gorgeous. The gardens were beautiful. There was a garden of plants with uses that I found interesting (there were signs to tell you WHAT uses) and a garden of senses (to touch and smell) that explained why it's a hit with kids. During the afternoon I took another beach break. Got to say I love living a block from the beach. Not that I ever thought I wouldn't, but now I KNOW. I've also been listening to Mumford and Sons non-stop since I got here. It was Adele the first night and M&S ever since...I used to super love Winter Winds. And then lately I've been feeling Feel the Tide (which is what I had on repeat yesterday)...and then today I can't stop listening to After the Storm, the chorus of which is:
"And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair."
I don't feel like it applies to any where I am right now, but I'm stuck on it. It's interesting to have come on such a journey without feeling like I was seeking out anything. I'm not here looking for an answer or trying to figure something out. Have I learned things? For sure. Have I gained some clarity? I think probably. From my placement I definitely took away the importance of positive feedback. Eye contact - even with children. How important validation is no matter how old you are. I've always felt like I was good with children, but now I see a different importance in the way what you do and say affects who they are and will become. I feel like I always knew that but now I see it. If that makes sense.
So back to Tuesday. Tuesday night we set out on a hike up Lion's Head (the same mountain we paraglided from). We climbed to the tippy top, using chains and ladders and metal holds drilled into the rock faces. Intense. We watched the sunset as clouds rolled in and then descended in the dark. Intense-r. I definitely proved something to myself. And I am definitely feeling it today. (More the pain than the accomplishment.) I was happy to use my headlamp for more than just walking to bathrooms on random camping trips. I feel very outdoorsy. (She says before heading out on a 4-day camping safari.)
Afterward I got my favorite veggie burger from Caprice (after yelling at the cabbie for taking us the long way and paying him what the fare should have been (Mabsey don't take no crap!) I also gave him a speech about ripping off people that wouldn't have known.) Then we headed back to Dizzy's and Chris and karaoke night. There was a bachelor party there which was weird seeing as it was Tuesday. The singers also chose really weird songs to sing. Like Drops of Jupiter. Someone sang Africa (Toto) and I asked Chris if it was a hit here (he said yes). I then left Dizzy's - and Chris - and Camp's Bay - behind for the next adventure.
I can't say it was easy to leave Cape Town, because it most certainly wasn't. I mean it KINDA was because it was raining. But that city feels so right to me. I hate that it's so far away from my peeps. But onward and upward...northbound specifically.
I'm currently at a guesthouse in Johannesburg. It's no Camps Bay Resort, that's for sure. And I'm pretty sure this internet connex is dial-up (now you know why I didn't post the videos for the M&S songs), but it works. And it's free. We leave tomorrow for the safari. And when we come back I'll most likely blog again from this very computer before heading further north to Zambia. Thanks again for reading this far and know that even if you're not hearing from me every day, I'm having an amazing adventure. Love youse mean it.
So get ready, because this one's gonna be a doozy.
First things first...news on the DeAngelo front is good. His body reacted very well to the chemo and he was actually sent back to our volunteer house on Friday. Meaning I got to see him before I left. I was so relieved to see for myself that he was at least ok and we had a nice conversation through a window. He was on strict restrictions and given a four-week chemo plan to remission. He had very few side effects from the chemo and actually on Tuesday (yesterday) was flown back to the states to finish treatment. Again, so glad I got to see him. And so very glad they're back where they belong surrounded by loved ones who had known them more than a couple of weeks.
As for the last couple of days as placement. They were filled with pure joy and fun times. The teacher I was helping never returned (and attempts to contact her were not successful). I'm unsettled they were content with that, but I too have no way to find her. What it meant for me was that I had my 4s and 5s to myself. Thursday was the best day of my entire placement. The kids listened to me. And understood! None of the other teachers ever had to come out and yell or threaten the stick or USE the stick. The kids and I communicated in the ways we knew how, and I knew enough of their songs to start them to the point where one of the kids would take the lead. It was wonderful. It should also be said that I'm not a singer and I have no playground voice (meaning projecting-wise) so these kids really deserve some credit.
I finally felt like I got through to them. They paid attention. Lesson time went really well. For color time instead of using the poster they all have memorized, I called each child up to me - by name - and asked the rest of the class what color a particular part of their outfit was. They did really well. And for the first time I felt like I had done something educational. We also made noodle necklaces which were a hit. We used red yarn. I think I've mentioned the kids LOVE red but it really offset the fact that I could only find plain-colored noodles here. I took individual pix of them wearing their necklaces. The whole process went over awesomely.
Thursday night was our goodbye dinner. We've definitely become quite the group. I have no doubt I will stay in touch with these peeps. We've been through something here. We can't wait to come back.
Friday was my last day @ Gertie's. I asked Nombongo to tell the kids I was leaving. (Nombongo - who I've often referred to as the stick teacher - kept telling me she would miss me. Turns out we're very close in age. Life has obviously been harder on her.) Anyway, immediately after she told them, a little voice asked (in xhosa) "where are you going?" As I tried to explain California and the states, I could imagine how foreign it all sounded. And I wondered if Anda would ever leave Langa...or if Phumelele would go to college...or if Agcobile will really become the mean girl in high school I'm pretty sure she's well on her way to being...
So I got out the stereo. Insert wild cheers here. Thank goodness we had electricity that day because these kids love them some musical chairs. (Thanks again Dad!) It was so much fun to watch them, even the ones who got to play dj. Everyone was so excited for something new. And silly. And fun.
As I washed their faces after lunch, I told each of my kids "Ndiyakuthanda" (I love you in Xhosa). Well of course the first one was a little boy (altho not Ntando) so he flipped and ran and told the other boys that I loved him. I tried to explain that I meant I loved all of them (and continued to tell each one so) but I'm pretty sure the first little boy got a little more out of it. Anda was one of my OG favorites so when she came up for the second time I gave her a hug and kissed her on the forehead. Agcobile and Lerato said something to her and she looked at me and said "kiss" in English and pointed at their foreheads. I knew she was holding out on me!! (She was actually a very big help in leading the songs.)
When I left everyone was in nap position (I took pix so you can see the craziness) but they were allowed to tell me bye and we all blew kisses. Mama Nozi promised to give me kid-specific updates should I ask for them, altho mine will all be going to school next year. But still a nice gesture.
When I got back to the house, I packed, lunched, said my goodbyes and headed to Camps Bay. My spot for the next 5 days. I checked into my hotel, looked at Ashley and said "Daddy, are we bougie?" (a common phrase I use when things get fancy). It was a one bedroom apartment. A block from the beach. Dream fantasy. Great staff. A bar across the street that reminded me of my bar back home. Dreamier fantasy. A hot bartender. (You get the picture.) Needless to say we got tipsy waiting for Katie whose plane was late. Now I know why the bar is called Dizzy's. Katie finally got in around 11 and we crashed.
Saturday morning we woke up to a pretty day, but a super windy one. The wind had been crazy through the night, so we knew Table Mountain and Robben's Island would be out. No fear tho because we had the Biscuit Mill Markets. In a word? Loved. It made me want to move here so I could outfit an apartment in all the adorable furnishings and decor and then eat every week at the awesome farmer's market with the yummy sangria and tasty samosas and lovely French couple with their breads and stinky cheeses.
As it was still uber windy we headed to Kloof and Long Street for more shopping, stopping again at Green Market. I try out my Xhosa every time I see a black person and get good reactions about it. I love having convos with people here. Cab drivers have amazing stories, whether they be black, coloured or white. I always asked where they lived. What they remember.
We rested back at the apt for a bit before meeting the crew (plus Dave a former volunteer fresh from a safari) on Long Street. We again hit up Dubliner (where we heard Toto's Africa for the first time here) and Jo-Burg where I had to face palm a guy who came on to Lindsey a lil strong. (This move impressed/entertained everyone but I was just taking care of business.)
Sunday we woke up and headed to the top of Table Mountain with Ashley and Nancy. Nancy is a 60-ish year old volunteer with an incredible story. We learned more of it while waiting in line and riding the funicular. Super glad we chose that route after seeing from above the hiking "trail." Of course the views from the top were nothing short of horrendously ugly aka breathtaking.
We spent the afternoon on the beach with the girls and made dinner that night in the apartment. Monday we headed back to the waterfront and once Ashley and Bonnie (another volunteer) got off placement headed over to Robben's Island. The cool part is that former prisoners give the tour. Our's was in the joint for seven years. I'm glad I went but I can't say I was riveted by the experience. Maybe once I finish reading "Long Walk to Freedom" (which I've paused so I could read other books). The funny story was that it was a three-hour tour. That had been delayed. That now had a Mary Anne on it. And then we met a couple from Orange County that was just like Thurston Howell (the third?) and his wife. Luckily there was no Gilligan and we didn't sink. (Obviously.) That night we reunited with Vicky my favorite waitress from Balducci's.
Tuesday we went to Kirstenbosch Gardens. We were so lucky to only have the one windy day and have every day since be incredibly gorgeous. The gardens were beautiful. There was a garden of plants with uses that I found interesting (there were signs to tell you WHAT uses) and a garden of senses (to touch and smell) that explained why it's a hit with kids. During the afternoon I took another beach break. Got to say I love living a block from the beach. Not that I ever thought I wouldn't, but now I KNOW. I've also been listening to Mumford and Sons non-stop since I got here. It was Adele the first night and M&S ever since...I used to super love Winter Winds. And then lately I've been feeling Feel the Tide (which is what I had on repeat yesterday)...and then today I can't stop listening to After the Storm, the chorus of which is:
"And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair."
I don't feel like it applies to any where I am right now, but I'm stuck on it. It's interesting to have come on such a journey without feeling like I was seeking out anything. I'm not here looking for an answer or trying to figure something out. Have I learned things? For sure. Have I gained some clarity? I think probably. From my placement I definitely took away the importance of positive feedback. Eye contact - even with children. How important validation is no matter how old you are. I've always felt like I was good with children, but now I see a different importance in the way what you do and say affects who they are and will become. I feel like I always knew that but now I see it. If that makes sense.
So back to Tuesday. Tuesday night we set out on a hike up Lion's Head (the same mountain we paraglided from). We climbed to the tippy top, using chains and ladders and metal holds drilled into the rock faces. Intense. We watched the sunset as clouds rolled in and then descended in the dark. Intense-r. I definitely proved something to myself. And I am definitely feeling it today. (More the pain than the accomplishment.) I was happy to use my headlamp for more than just walking to bathrooms on random camping trips. I feel very outdoorsy. (She says before heading out on a 4-day camping safari.)
Afterward I got my favorite veggie burger from Caprice (after yelling at the cabbie for taking us the long way and paying him what the fare should have been (Mabsey don't take no crap!) I also gave him a speech about ripping off people that wouldn't have known.) Then we headed back to Dizzy's and Chris and karaoke night. There was a bachelor party there which was weird seeing as it was Tuesday. The singers also chose really weird songs to sing. Like Drops of Jupiter. Someone sang Africa (Toto) and I asked Chris if it was a hit here (he said yes). I then left Dizzy's - and Chris - and Camp's Bay - behind for the next adventure.
I can't say it was easy to leave Cape Town, because it most certainly wasn't. I mean it KINDA was because it was raining. But that city feels so right to me. I hate that it's so far away from my peeps. But onward and upward...northbound specifically.
I'm currently at a guesthouse in Johannesburg. It's no Camps Bay Resort, that's for sure. And I'm pretty sure this internet connex is dial-up (now you know why I didn't post the videos for the M&S songs), but it works. And it's free. We leave tomorrow for the safari. And when we come back I'll most likely blog again from this very computer before heading further north to Zambia. Thanks again for reading this far and know that even if you're not hearing from me every day, I'm having an amazing adventure. Love youse mean it.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
The Rest of The Story
So I was gonna keep blogging yesterday but a girl came into the lounge and started skyping with her mom and I felt weird being in here...
We had a weird day here in the house yesterday. I've talked about how close the ten of us volunteers have become. We - for all intents and purposes - are a family. The staff has commented on our quick connections and now it's all making sense.
I'm not sure how specific I was about the group that started the same day Ashley and I did, but two of the people were a couple from Ohio. De Angelo is the only male member of our family and has been quite the sport hanging with our giggly gaggle. This experience has already affected him in a way that had him knowing he is going to go back to the states and become a teacher. Since his first day here he has been teaching sixth graders on his own.
Well he had been sick before he got here (with the flu) and then has been pretty tired but we all just thought it was the remnants of the flu and jet lag and whatever. This week his gf finally talked him into going to the doctor as he just kept getting weaker. They found out he was super anemic. (Like out of the 16 hemoglobins you're supposed to have, he had 2.) And Tuesday they found out why. He has some super fast moving leukemia that crazily could have just appeared in his body like two weeks ago. It just showed up. The good news is that he is starting chemo today (they gave him a blood transfusion already on Tuesday)...It's been super crazy as we've all of course been worried and feel for them as they're so far away from their loved ones (but so lucky to at least have each other).
He quit his job to come here, so he has no insurance in the states. He's been told he's being treated by the best doctors in the southern hemisphere. I know my travel doctor back in LA couldn't say enough good things about the SA medical community.
He will be on chemo for the next month and then they expect it to go into remission. (Oddly that follows the scheduled time they were going to be here anyway.) It's apparently really treatable. We've rallied around his gf and they seem to be both doing remarkably well. They're staying positive and it's crazy because I know I talked about when Ronnie (the HIV positive guy) came to visit someone asking him if he ever got mad at God. That someone was D...crazy.
As his lady said, he came here to teach and he found out he had leukemia...it's a cross between symptoms being mis-diagnosed and it all happening very fast. We're just glad they caught it when they did, know what it is and are fixing it.
Needless to say we're all a little bit closer now. I'm bummed to leave them but will have one more night in Cape Town at the end of my trip before heading home so I hope to see him then.
Ashley, meanwhile, has decided to extend a week in the program. (Not JUST because of this, but because we're all having a great time and it is a fabulous group.) I'm excited to take away all the fabulousness from these past three weeks and the friendships I've made and move on to a kick ass vacay.
So yeah. There was lots of junk food binging last night. We ate our feelings and they tasted a lot like anything-we-could-find dipped in Nutella.
Now it's off to Gertie's...I wonder what Ntando has planned for me today. We decided at breakfast he's kind of running the bases backwards. Either way I think that means today is home plate.
We had a weird day here in the house yesterday. I've talked about how close the ten of us volunteers have become. We - for all intents and purposes - are a family. The staff has commented on our quick connections and now it's all making sense.
I'm not sure how specific I was about the group that started the same day Ashley and I did, but two of the people were a couple from Ohio. De Angelo is the only male member of our family and has been quite the sport hanging with our giggly gaggle. This experience has already affected him in a way that had him knowing he is going to go back to the states and become a teacher. Since his first day here he has been teaching sixth graders on his own.
Well he had been sick before he got here (with the flu) and then has been pretty tired but we all just thought it was the remnants of the flu and jet lag and whatever. This week his gf finally talked him into going to the doctor as he just kept getting weaker. They found out he was super anemic. (Like out of the 16 hemoglobins you're supposed to have, he had 2.) And Tuesday they found out why. He has some super fast moving leukemia that crazily could have just appeared in his body like two weeks ago. It just showed up. The good news is that he is starting chemo today (they gave him a blood transfusion already on Tuesday)...It's been super crazy as we've all of course been worried and feel for them as they're so far away from their loved ones (but so lucky to at least have each other).
He quit his job to come here, so he has no insurance in the states. He's been told he's being treated by the best doctors in the southern hemisphere. I know my travel doctor back in LA couldn't say enough good things about the SA medical community.
He will be on chemo for the next month and then they expect it to go into remission. (Oddly that follows the scheduled time they were going to be here anyway.) It's apparently really treatable. We've rallied around his gf and they seem to be both doing remarkably well. They're staying positive and it's crazy because I know I talked about when Ronnie (the HIV positive guy) came to visit someone asking him if he ever got mad at God. That someone was D...crazy.
As his lady said, he came here to teach and he found out he had leukemia...it's a cross between symptoms being mis-diagnosed and it all happening very fast. We're just glad they caught it when they did, know what it is and are fixing it.
Needless to say we're all a little bit closer now. I'm bummed to leave them but will have one more night in Cape Town at the end of my trip before heading home so I hope to see him then.
Ashley, meanwhile, has decided to extend a week in the program. (Not JUST because of this, but because we're all having a great time and it is a fabulous group.) I'm excited to take away all the fabulousness from these past three weeks and the friendships I've made and move on to a kick ass vacay.
So yeah. There was lots of junk food binging last night. We ate our feelings and they tasted a lot like anything-we-could-find dipped in Nutella.
Now it's off to Gertie's...I wonder what Ntando has planned for me today. We decided at breakfast he's kind of running the bases backwards. Either way I think that means today is home plate.
The Facts of Life
Well my little buddy Ntando took things to the next level today.
After briefly revisiting his leg-humping antics of yesterday, he caught me at a moment when other kids were climbing on me while I was in a squatting position. (I'll call that foreshadowing.) Now when you're in such a position and five kids are using you as their jungle gym, you're basically incapacitated. (I'll call that a valid point.) You can't stand up (at least not when you weigh 120 pounds). You can't free yourself. You can't yell at them (when you don't fluently speak their language and they are having too much fun climbing on you to hear you trying to). So here I was a human jungle gym, when along comes Ntando. I didn't think much of it until he started grabbing my face.
Let me preface this by saying...I have only ever kissed boo-boos and a couple of foreheads. If a kid has wanted to kiss me, I turn so they get my cheek. Altho I have seen that teachers kiss kids on the mouth so I shouldn't have been surprised about what happened next. Which is to say, that he kissed me, but he grabbed my face and turned it so he could kiss me on the lips.
The kids went carazy. In my mind he was telling them something in Xhosa. Something like: hold her down.
Needless to say my housemates enjoy the story.
I've got two days left at Gertie's. Crazy. Khutala hasn't been there all week. I hate that I haven't taken more pictures there. Going to try to remedy that in these next two days.
After briefly revisiting his leg-humping antics of yesterday, he caught me at a moment when other kids were climbing on me while I was in a squatting position. (I'll call that foreshadowing.) Now when you're in such a position and five kids are using you as their jungle gym, you're basically incapacitated. (I'll call that a valid point.) You can't stand up (at least not when you weigh 120 pounds). You can't free yourself. You can't yell at them (when you don't fluently speak their language and they are having too much fun climbing on you to hear you trying to). So here I was a human jungle gym, when along comes Ntando. I didn't think much of it until he started grabbing my face.
Let me preface this by saying...I have only ever kissed boo-boos and a couple of foreheads. If a kid has wanted to kiss me, I turn so they get my cheek. Altho I have seen that teachers kiss kids on the mouth so I shouldn't have been surprised about what happened next. Which is to say, that he kissed me, but he grabbed my face and turned it so he could kiss me on the lips.
The kids went carazy. In my mind he was telling them something in Xhosa. Something like: hold her down.
Needless to say my housemates enjoy the story.
I've got two days left at Gertie's. Crazy. Khutala hasn't been there all week. I hate that I haven't taken more pictures there. Going to try to remedy that in these next two days.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The World Spins Madly On
So much to fill you in on!
I can't believe how fast these first three weeks have flown by. (Friday will be three weeks and will mean the transition between being with CCS and being on my own.) I definitely feel like 3 weeks is not enough time. On the other hand, I am uber excited about the next phase of my African journey.
A little update: the teacher is still eating the kids' snacks and my kids are getting hit with sticks way more than I can even pretend to feel comfortable about. I do my best to build them up when I can (even when wiping their faces). I get smiles out of them, I get and give hugs. I do this little high fiving of thumbs thing they love to do. I give them red bowls at mealtime. Whatever it takes. (I don't undermine appropriate discipline, just when excessive.)
Today one of my kids came in running to me and jumped up into my arms. He did it in front of his dad (who always greets me in the morning) and it was funny how normal it all felt. And how next week the kids will probably all wonder where I went. Anyway, this boy is named Ntando. And at some point this morning he came up to me again and started humping my leg. Like a dog. The kids thought it was hilarious. I reached down to pull him off my leg (and of course now other kids were running up to grab on) and Ntando came around behind me and continued his moves. I guess when you've got a one-room house nothing is private.
(Of course now it's a joke here at the CCS house that my only suitors here have been a 50 year old (paraglide pilot) and a 5 year old. I'm really lucky.)
We had another great weekend. Saturday we got up and went paragliding, (which I already mentioned). Then we hung out on Camp's Bay before...we went back down to Long Street to barhop. We started at a little hole-in-the-wall called Julep that I super loved. We moved on from there and found a hipster bar with live music (Zanzibar?) before ending up at Jo Burg for dancing. It was a good night.
Sunday we went on a personalized tour of Cape Point. We drove along the coast and saw some of the most beautiful beaches (and definitely one of the biggest) I've ever seen in my life. The beauty of this place is unparalleled. It helps to get out there and see it as many of our cultural activies are trips to the slave lodge or district six museum. (Subjects that are kind of heavy.) It's nice, of course, to learn the history of where we are, but I'd be lying if I didn't enjoy all the pretty parts. I've now seen an ostrich cross a road. We frequently see zebras just chillin' in fields.
I'm not sure if I mentioned in my last post that Cape Town is giving Paris a run for its money in the MAB Favorite City category. Last night we hung out in Camp's Bay which is where I'll be staying this weekend and part of next week. There are nutella crepes there. And awesome unbelievably beautiful sunsets. And a restaurant with a veggie burger that comes with brie and cranberry sauce. I'm just sayin....
As much as I miss faces and voices, I have to say that living outside of the real world is my favoritest state of mind. On Friday night when we heard about the possible government shutdown, we checked the news for like the first time since we'd been here. We had some really good house discussions about it and then woke up and went paragliding. Besides making some jokes about looking for a post card (or creating one) that said "Greetings from one third world country to another," (Friday's discussion had led to the supposition that the states would eventually become one) there was no more talk of news or current stateside events (except to learn the government hadn't shut down). But it's not even just that. I like not working and seeing new things and learning new things while still being with people. I like pretending like money doesn't matter and that it will be there when I need it. Next week and the week after that I won't even be on a schedule (except to catch flights)...Dreamy. Can't I find a way to make money living like this?
If anyone knows of such a job, please comment or email me. Until then I will savor these next 2 weeks and 3 days. I'm excited for Katie to get here. I'm sad for Ashley to leave. We're bummed to have our new little family broken apart so soon. Too soon. I'm bummed to leave my kids. I'm bummed to leave a place where I have three meals a day cooked for me and my bed made every day. But I'm excited to relive it all through my pictures. I'm excited to show YOU all my pictures. I'm excited to see what I expect to be more "African" parts of Africa. I'm excited to camp out under the African sky. And most of all, I'm excited to come back here one day. Sooner than later.
I can't believe how fast these first three weeks have flown by. (Friday will be three weeks and will mean the transition between being with CCS and being on my own.) I definitely feel like 3 weeks is not enough time. On the other hand, I am uber excited about the next phase of my African journey.
A little update: the teacher is still eating the kids' snacks and my kids are getting hit with sticks way more than I can even pretend to feel comfortable about. I do my best to build them up when I can (even when wiping their faces). I get smiles out of them, I get and give hugs. I do this little high fiving of thumbs thing they love to do. I give them red bowls at mealtime. Whatever it takes. (I don't undermine appropriate discipline, just when excessive.)
Today one of my kids came in running to me and jumped up into my arms. He did it in front of his dad (who always greets me in the morning) and it was funny how normal it all felt. And how next week the kids will probably all wonder where I went. Anyway, this boy is named Ntando. And at some point this morning he came up to me again and started humping my leg. Like a dog. The kids thought it was hilarious. I reached down to pull him off my leg (and of course now other kids were running up to grab on) and Ntando came around behind me and continued his moves. I guess when you've got a one-room house nothing is private.
(Of course now it's a joke here at the CCS house that my only suitors here have been a 50 year old (paraglide pilot) and a 5 year old. I'm really lucky.)
We had another great weekend. Saturday we got up and went paragliding, (which I already mentioned). Then we hung out on Camp's Bay before...we went back down to Long Street to barhop. We started at a little hole-in-the-wall called Julep that I super loved. We moved on from there and found a hipster bar with live music (Zanzibar?) before ending up at Jo Burg for dancing. It was a good night.
Sunday we went on a personalized tour of Cape Point. We drove along the coast and saw some of the most beautiful beaches (and definitely one of the biggest) I've ever seen in my life. The beauty of this place is unparalleled. It helps to get out there and see it as many of our cultural activies are trips to the slave lodge or district six museum. (Subjects that are kind of heavy.) It's nice, of course, to learn the history of where we are, but I'd be lying if I didn't enjoy all the pretty parts. I've now seen an ostrich cross a road. We frequently see zebras just chillin' in fields.
I'm not sure if I mentioned in my last post that Cape Town is giving Paris a run for its money in the MAB Favorite City category. Last night we hung out in Camp's Bay which is where I'll be staying this weekend and part of next week. There are nutella crepes there. And awesome unbelievably beautiful sunsets. And a restaurant with a veggie burger that comes with brie and cranberry sauce. I'm just sayin....
As much as I miss faces and voices, I have to say that living outside of the real world is my favoritest state of mind. On Friday night when we heard about the possible government shutdown, we checked the news for like the first time since we'd been here. We had some really good house discussions about it and then woke up and went paragliding. Besides making some jokes about looking for a post card (or creating one) that said "Greetings from one third world country to another," (Friday's discussion had led to the supposition that the states would eventually become one) there was no more talk of news or current stateside events (except to learn the government hadn't shut down). But it's not even just that. I like not working and seeing new things and learning new things while still being with people. I like pretending like money doesn't matter and that it will be there when I need it. Next week and the week after that I won't even be on a schedule (except to catch flights)...Dreamy. Can't I find a way to make money living like this?
If anyone knows of such a job, please comment or email me. Until then I will savor these next 2 weeks and 3 days. I'm excited for Katie to get here. I'm sad for Ashley to leave. We're bummed to have our new little family broken apart so soon. Too soon. I'm bummed to leave my kids. I'm bummed to leave a place where I have three meals a day cooked for me and my bed made every day. But I'm excited to relive it all through my pictures. I'm excited to show YOU all my pictures. I'm excited to see what I expect to be more "African" parts of Africa. I'm excited to camp out under the African sky. And most of all, I'm excited to come back here one day. Sooner than later.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high
Paragliding. Ho-lee sh*t what a great time that was.
We started getting nervous on the ride to the mountain, and then we decided we couldn't talk about it anymore. After we met our pilots at the base, they told us the only way up was to hike/climb. Wait, what? We didn't know physical fitness was involved! We made it to the top, slightly sweaty and totally clear-headed. I appreciated the hike for that reason, as it really took your mind off what was about to happen.
While walking up, one of the pilots "Wayne" voiced that I would be his. He claimed it was because he's the heaviest pilot and I was the lightest passenger. But we're pretty sure it was a direct result of our dirty talk in the truck. And my involvement in that convo. Either way, once on the top, he repeated his partnership request a couple more times to the guy in charge.
There was a lot of back patting and requests mid-flight for kisses on the cheek..."photo ops," you know?
(Side note: Wayne was like a 50-60 year old bald man. Super nice, but not quite the stallion I was fascinating being attached to.)
The scariest part of take-off is standing on the edge of the mountain and then running. It all feels completely wrong to your body...and we kno how much I love running...but eventually we were in the air and on the most amazing ride ever.
The view was gorgeous...breath-taking...awesome. I have a video that I'll upload because it's hilarious. All I do is laugh and say awesome a lot. Our connection is not good here, so that might have to wait until I get home.
The whole experience was amazing. We were right over Camp's Bay and the colors of the water were so pretty!
Afterward we sunbathed on the beach at Camp's Bay. Perfection. I can't wait to stay there for five days next week!!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Runaway Train
So nothing huge to report from the last couple of days, but I wanted to get a post up before what will surely be another fantastic weekend.
Yesterday was an exhausting one at placement. Khutala was at training so I was supposed to have our class by myself. I was prepared for it, but it was too windy (a dust-blowing, cold front kind) so we were forced to stay inside.
(Side note: Ashley is currently blowing a vuvuzela in our room right now.)
Anyway, inside is not my favorite, but we made do and split up the worksheets I made between the 3s and the 4s and 5s...In a "What Would You Do?" moment, I caught a teacher eating the snacks out of the kids' backpacks. Bummer. I had decided I would tell the principal on my last day so as not to make anything awkward for me. Truth is, I'm hardly inside so I can't say how common a thing it is. And today I learned she's worked there the longest, (like since Gertie of Gertie's was alive). So we'll see about that...
I'm also not sure if I've mentioned that I have now seen them hit the kids with "the stick." BIG bummer. Mostly bottoms of feet at naptime, but I did see one kid get it pretty bad the other not during naptime. I mentioned something to our organizers (as it obviously makes me very uncomfortable). It's a cultural thing, and we talked about attempting to suggest/incorporate alternative punishments, but we're wondering if they're past the point of standing in the corner working if they basically beat the kids.
Today during naptime one of my boys got hit to the point of crying. My heart broke. Afterward, I didn't want to get him in any more trouble, but I wanted him to know I was on his side. So I just made eye contact and we started blinking back and forth. It's like all the sudden I'm mama bear and I wanted to grab the stick and start hitting her back.
You know what? I just realized this blog is an uber downer. So I'm gonna stop. Guess there's just been some serious days or something. No wonder I went to bed at like 6h30p last night. Today we headed out to Muizenberg Beach after lunch. I finally got to take pictures of my little colored houses! They were just as I imagined. Although I didn't imagine they would be shower houses. I also got to have Amarula gelato. Seriously with this liquer. New favorite.
(Side note: Lindsey is now playing Aldous Snow's "Inside of You." On itunes, not the vuvuzela.)
I'm excited for another scenic weekend. I can't believe how fast time is flying. Katie will be here a week from today and a whole new phase of the journey will begin.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
What a Nutella Pizza Day Looks Like
We just got back from the second largest mall in the southern hemisphere. I was on the hunt for a sleeping bag for Kruger that would pack small. I found one that didn't break the bank, will keep me comfortable in the forecasted temps and fits into my daypack. Win. win. win. Speaking of winning, we had pizza for dinner. Nutella pizza for dessert. We may or may not have serenaded its awesomeness.
It's hilarious right now because it's not even 10p and the entire house is asleep. These kids really take it out of us!!
I had one of my favorite days today. First, one of my kid's parents saw the way he ran into the creche to hug me this morning. Then, it was Anda's bday so we made her stand on a chair and sang to her. She ate it up.
After lessons, I brought out the cd player. I explained musical chairs to Khutala and we got started. The kids picked it up quickly and it was awesome. My little Phumelele was one of the first out, so I let him be the DJ. We'd exchange a look when it was time for him to pause the music. The kids became wise to watching action near the boom box and started reacting accordingly. We played through two entire rounds (with other kids working as DJ the second time around). So many laughs. And the kids loved it. And thanked me for teaching them.
Then we switched to pop music and had a dance party. Some of these kids have moves! We had a couple of break dancers and provocative movers. Again more laughs.
This trip has obviously offered a lot of retrospect about career choice and such, and what I'm happy to report is that as much as I love kids, I could never be an educator. These kids obviously learn by memorization and I find it very discouraging that while they can count to 20 they can't recognize the numbers - even on their poster - when I point to them out of order. We did count down from 20 today, but I really feel like I don't have what it takes. I don't know HOW to teach them any different way. And don't get me started on reading/writing. I love the fun parts tho. I really hope my kids have great teachers. I mean, I'll read to them all the time and answer any questions I can (cows have udders not penises), but otherwise...that French private school will hopefully really come through. :)
So today I ventured to the "park/playground" down the street. On our way we encountered a group of white tourists. The kids went crazy. (White people don't hang out in Langa.) And that's when I - and the teachers - realized they don't see me as a white person anymore. They address me directly. They thank me using my name. I'm one of them. As much as I love being called "my white person," having reached this point this soon makes me feel like I'm doing something right.
Yesterday I was sitting with one of my girls and we were going over colors on our outfits and our arms were side by side and she said "brown-brown" for both of us. (Editor's note: I'm no tanner than when any of you saw me.) But I l told her she was right. That there was no difference. Even tho apartheid is over, she lives in a black township. Coloreds and whites live in other townships. Sure there are areas in town where they're mixed, but not in Langa. Racial issues are still definitely a reality. We met a bakery clerk the other day who, when she found out where we were working, said she would never set foot in a township.
Back to the playground...it consists of a rudimentary pipe with handles welded onto it (a see-saw), a 6 ft metal wheel with spokes (a merry go-round), and a metal/wood slide that leaves splinters if you slide down it the wrong way. The sand/concrete is littered with broken glass. Of course I wore flip-flops today. But the kids do most of the time. If they have shoes on at all. All I could think of was, I know my tetanus shot is still good. How many of them could say that? Seeing kids (not from our creche but from the neighborhood) walking around barefoot where I knew glass bits were had me a nervous wreck, but they're used to it.
The playground is next to a church, and the white tourists caught not only my kids at the park, but the church letting out. One of the teachers was like, I'm sure those people are wondering what you're doing with us. I felt lucky to be on the inside.
One of the ladies from the church must have heard me speaking to the kids because she came over and started talking to Qeks (whose name I can now say) and then told me that she thought it was good I speak Xhosa because now I give the kids exposure to English while showing them that I'm efforting their language at the same time. I know it has improved my relationships with the other teachers. The parents have also been really receptive to me and greet me in English.
I obviously haven't figured out everything yet. I know what I've always known, that I love traveling and interacting with other cultures. I like the volunteering because it allows for an immersion in new cultures that just being a tourist does not. Unfortunately you don't get paid to be a volunteer. And truth be told, I think if I was staying here longer I would have to switch placements after 3 weeks in order not to become more attached. I thank God every day I wasn't placed in the infant room of an orphanage as I had thought I wanted. As much I as I love me some baby cuddling, adoption to the states is currently not an option. It would have been torture. I'm right where I need to be. And having a great time.
The only other news from today is that we had a drum class. I can apparently now accompany Shakira's Waka Waka on the drum. Just call me Mary Anne McConaughey. (And replace bongo with the traditional drum of the Congo.)
It's hilarious right now because it's not even 10p and the entire house is asleep. These kids really take it out of us!!
I had one of my favorite days today. First, one of my kid's parents saw the way he ran into the creche to hug me this morning. Then, it was Anda's bday so we made her stand on a chair and sang to her. She ate it up.
After lessons, I brought out the cd player. I explained musical chairs to Khutala and we got started. The kids picked it up quickly and it was awesome. My little Phumelele was one of the first out, so I let him be the DJ. We'd exchange a look when it was time for him to pause the music. The kids became wise to watching action near the boom box and started reacting accordingly. We played through two entire rounds (with other kids working as DJ the second time around). So many laughs. And the kids loved it. And thanked me for teaching them.
Then we switched to pop music and had a dance party. Some of these kids have moves! We had a couple of break dancers and provocative movers. Again more laughs.
This trip has obviously offered a lot of retrospect about career choice and such, and what I'm happy to report is that as much as I love kids, I could never be an educator. These kids obviously learn by memorization and I find it very discouraging that while they can count to 20 they can't recognize the numbers - even on their poster - when I point to them out of order. We did count down from 20 today, but I really feel like I don't have what it takes. I don't know HOW to teach them any different way. And don't get me started on reading/writing. I love the fun parts tho. I really hope my kids have great teachers. I mean, I'll read to them all the time and answer any questions I can (cows have udders not penises), but otherwise...that French private school will hopefully really come through. :)
So today I ventured to the "park/playground" down the street. On our way we encountered a group of white tourists. The kids went crazy. (White people don't hang out in Langa.) And that's when I - and the teachers - realized they don't see me as a white person anymore. They address me directly. They thank me using my name. I'm one of them. As much as I love being called "my white person," having reached this point this soon makes me feel like I'm doing something right.
Yesterday I was sitting with one of my girls and we were going over colors on our outfits and our arms were side by side and she said "brown-brown" for both of us. (Editor's note: I'm no tanner than when any of you saw me.) But I l told her she was right. That there was no difference. Even tho apartheid is over, she lives in a black township. Coloreds and whites live in other townships. Sure there are areas in town where they're mixed, but not in Langa. Racial issues are still definitely a reality. We met a bakery clerk the other day who, when she found out where we were working, said she would never set foot in a township.
Back to the playground...it consists of a rudimentary pipe with handles welded onto it (a see-saw), a 6 ft metal wheel with spokes (a merry go-round), and a metal/wood slide that leaves splinters if you slide down it the wrong way. The sand/concrete is littered with broken glass. Of course I wore flip-flops today. But the kids do most of the time. If they have shoes on at all. All I could think of was, I know my tetanus shot is still good. How many of them could say that? Seeing kids (not from our creche but from the neighborhood) walking around barefoot where I knew glass bits were had me a nervous wreck, but they're used to it.
The playground is next to a church, and the white tourists caught not only my kids at the park, but the church letting out. One of the teachers was like, I'm sure those people are wondering what you're doing with us. I felt lucky to be on the inside.
One of the ladies from the church must have heard me speaking to the kids because she came over and started talking to Qeks (whose name I can now say) and then told me that she thought it was good I speak Xhosa because now I give the kids exposure to English while showing them that I'm efforting their language at the same time. I know it has improved my relationships with the other teachers. The parents have also been really receptive to me and greet me in English.
I obviously haven't figured out everything yet. I know what I've always known, that I love traveling and interacting with other cultures. I like the volunteering because it allows for an immersion in new cultures that just being a tourist does not. Unfortunately you don't get paid to be a volunteer. And truth be told, I think if I was staying here longer I would have to switch placements after 3 weeks in order not to become more attached. I thank God every day I wasn't placed in the infant room of an orphanage as I had thought I wanted. As much I as I love me some baby cuddling, adoption to the states is currently not an option. It would have been torture. I'm right where I need to be. And having a great time.
The only other news from today is that we had a drum class. I can apparently now accompany Shakira's Waka Waka on the drum. Just call me Mary Anne McConaughey. (And replace bongo with the traditional drum of the Congo.)
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
That's What She Said
I keep forgetting to mention the aftermath of the shark cage diving. Both of my lower-knee/shins are bruised with my right leg taking the brunt of the damage. All of that "divers down!" yelling had me dropping quickly onto hard metal rods. I'm swollen and everything. While it was STILL totally worth it, it's kind of a bummer when you spend your days with little people who seem to hit you at just the right height. Especially when they love to run at you and hold on for dear life. Although the sting hardly lasts through the longevity of the hug. Overall, tho, no complaints.
Molweni Bantwana Bam
(Hello my children.)
So I'm only a week and a half in and I'm already dreading leaving these kids. I've worked so hard to learn their names. I do attendance and I write their names at the tops of their papers. (Our CCS supervisor is surprised I've been so quick with the names, but it was VERY important to me.) The kids - and teachers - see that I'm trying with Xhosa. They come to me for more than just hugs now. They want me to answer things and fix things and punish kids who hurt them. To them I'm now more than just a fresh white face in the morning. I'm Miss Mary.
Today the principal (Mama Nozi) and her sister (Sisanne) told Khutala (the teacher I work with most often) how much of a help I am and that they're gonna miss me. I can already see the hole I'll leave. It's crazy because some days I feel like I'm doing little to further their actual education, but in reality I'm still making a difference. If our kids are done eating, I go in and help feed the babies. I wash our kids faces. I see a need, I fill it. I say all this not to toot my own horn, but because I thought I wasn't doing anything special. Until today when they told me that I step up way more than previous volunteers. I can't imagine doing any less.
I love entertaining them. Yesterday (Monday) we made paper plate bean rattle things. The kids (and frankly Khutala) were mesmerized by the stapler and concept of stapling. Afterward we danced around the concrete outdoor area singing and clapping and using our new instruments. I took pictures as the looks of pure joy were not only infectious but so heartening. They did well with the camera, making me sure I made a good decision in waiting to bring it in.
It's funny how so many things with kids are universal. For instance, this morning I had a couple of grumps and I walked over and got down on their level and dared them not to smile. I spoke English the entire time and just kept repeating myself. Before I knew it, smiles broke through. Success. Now are they quiet for me and perfect little angels when other teachers aren't around? Not always. But do they still love the boogie shush? Of course. Khutala today was like, what does that mean? And I was like, nothing. It's just a little thing I made up.
I asked how much it cost to send a child to Gertie's. It's 120Rand (over 3) and 150Rand (under 3)...which exchanges roughly to around $20 - a month. Obviously you can't compare exactly because they earn money in Rands and nowhere near what Americans are paid in dollars. But still. The kids get two hot meals and all day care. Quite a steal. Even without regulated education.
Yesterday they practiced writing the letter C. On the page was the picture of a cow. A cow with udders. The boys were giggling so I walked over and they were pointing at the udders and saying "penis." I was like, no udders. Cows don't have penises. Cows have udders. Like breasts (the word they use). They liked their supposition better. Boys will be boys.
Speaking of, today a boy walked up, reached up and squeezed my boob today and made a suckling sound to which I was like, um nope. It was even Phumulele who I love, but I was like what the heck are you doing? This is probably directly related to one of the other teachers chasing kids around the room whilst squeezing her boob...ahh cultural differences. The kids also like to squeeze my butt, and one boy even essentially carried it across the outdoor area. As if it's so big I need help.
Today in language class we finally learned clicks. I've been practicing with Wonga my driver, but today I learned the differences between "c," "x," and "q." It's really a lot of work on your tongue.
I'm going to take music in tomorrow. A little musical chairs per my dad's suggestion, and I'm also pretty sure they'll love a dance party. It's a school holiday week right now so our numbers are slightly smaller. Tomorrow is also Anda's birthday. It will be the second time I've sang "Happy Birthday" in Xhosa, as one of the house staff had a bday over the weekend. It's actually really easy.
Our free time in the time we have left as volunteers is very limited, as in only the weekends, but we did get a few hours yesterday afternoon. We headed down to Long Street to a few vintage shops and then over to the Green Market. I've become good at working stands against each other and then going slightly lower. It also helps to say you only have so much left. They'd rather the sale than getting their original price.
I didn't know, however, that it also works in stores. I saw a cute pair of Sanuks (sandals I could get in the states, altho I've never seen this particular design)...the price was comparatively steep, but as soon as I mentioned I would have to use credit, he lowered the price for cash. Then when I told him I didn't have that much cash, he asked me how much I did have. I was honest as it was about 120Rand less than the price tag...and he gave them to me.
An interesting tidbit tho: many white people walk around Cape Town and the surrounding areas barefoot. The whole "no shirt-no shoes- no service" has no clout here. "It's a white people thing."
We're currently all sitting around in the lounge giggling like a bunch of high school girls. It's a common nightly occurrence if we don't have anything to do...as we try to keep each other awake until a decent hour. It's basically a lot of "would you rathers" and dirty talk...we're one step away from making prank calls.
It looks like this wkend we'll be paragliding off Lion's Head, beaching it up, and visiting the coast and Cape Point.
So I'm only a week and a half in and I'm already dreading leaving these kids. I've worked so hard to learn their names. I do attendance and I write their names at the tops of their papers. (Our CCS supervisor is surprised I've been so quick with the names, but it was VERY important to me.) The kids - and teachers - see that I'm trying with Xhosa. They come to me for more than just hugs now. They want me to answer things and fix things and punish kids who hurt them. To them I'm now more than just a fresh white face in the morning. I'm Miss Mary.
Today the principal (Mama Nozi) and her sister (Sisanne) told Khutala (the teacher I work with most often) how much of a help I am and that they're gonna miss me. I can already see the hole I'll leave. It's crazy because some days I feel like I'm doing little to further their actual education, but in reality I'm still making a difference. If our kids are done eating, I go in and help feed the babies. I wash our kids faces. I see a need, I fill it. I say all this not to toot my own horn, but because I thought I wasn't doing anything special. Until today when they told me that I step up way more than previous volunteers. I can't imagine doing any less.
I love entertaining them. Yesterday (Monday) we made paper plate bean rattle things. The kids (and frankly Khutala) were mesmerized by the stapler and concept of stapling. Afterward we danced around the concrete outdoor area singing and clapping and using our new instruments. I took pictures as the looks of pure joy were not only infectious but so heartening. They did well with the camera, making me sure I made a good decision in waiting to bring it in.
It's funny how so many things with kids are universal. For instance, this morning I had a couple of grumps and I walked over and got down on their level and dared them not to smile. I spoke English the entire time and just kept repeating myself. Before I knew it, smiles broke through. Success. Now are they quiet for me and perfect little angels when other teachers aren't around? Not always. But do they still love the boogie shush? Of course. Khutala today was like, what does that mean? And I was like, nothing. It's just a little thing I made up.
I asked how much it cost to send a child to Gertie's. It's 120Rand (over 3) and 150Rand (under 3)...which exchanges roughly to around $20 - a month. Obviously you can't compare exactly because they earn money in Rands and nowhere near what Americans are paid in dollars. But still. The kids get two hot meals and all day care. Quite a steal. Even without regulated education.
Yesterday they practiced writing the letter C. On the page was the picture of a cow. A cow with udders. The boys were giggling so I walked over and they were pointing at the udders and saying "penis." I was like, no udders. Cows don't have penises. Cows have udders. Like breasts (the word they use). They liked their supposition better. Boys will be boys.
Speaking of, today a boy walked up, reached up and squeezed my boob today and made a suckling sound to which I was like, um nope. It was even Phumulele who I love, but I was like what the heck are you doing? This is probably directly related to one of the other teachers chasing kids around the room whilst squeezing her boob...ahh cultural differences. The kids also like to squeeze my butt, and one boy even essentially carried it across the outdoor area. As if it's so big I need help.
Today in language class we finally learned clicks. I've been practicing with Wonga my driver, but today I learned the differences between "c," "x," and "q." It's really a lot of work on your tongue.
I'm going to take music in tomorrow. A little musical chairs per my dad's suggestion, and I'm also pretty sure they'll love a dance party. It's a school holiday week right now so our numbers are slightly smaller. Tomorrow is also Anda's birthday. It will be the second time I've sang "Happy Birthday" in Xhosa, as one of the house staff had a bday over the weekend. It's actually really easy.
Our free time in the time we have left as volunteers is very limited, as in only the weekends, but we did get a few hours yesterday afternoon. We headed down to Long Street to a few vintage shops and then over to the Green Market. I've become good at working stands against each other and then going slightly lower. It also helps to say you only have so much left. They'd rather the sale than getting their original price.
I didn't know, however, that it also works in stores. I saw a cute pair of Sanuks (sandals I could get in the states, altho I've never seen this particular design)...the price was comparatively steep, but as soon as I mentioned I would have to use credit, he lowered the price for cash. Then when I told him I didn't have that much cash, he asked me how much I did have. I was honest as it was about 120Rand less than the price tag...and he gave them to me.
An interesting tidbit tho: many white people walk around Cape Town and the surrounding areas barefoot. The whole "no shirt-no shoes- no service" has no clout here. "It's a white people thing."
We're currently all sitting around in the lounge giggling like a bunch of high school girls. It's a common nightly occurrence if we don't have anything to do...as we try to keep each other awake until a decent hour. It's basically a lot of "would you rathers" and dirty talk...we're one step away from making prank calls.
It looks like this wkend we'll be paragliding off Lion's Head, beaching it up, and visiting the coast and Cape Point.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
The Freakin' Weekend
We definitely made the most of our first free weekend.
Things kicked off Friday night at Mama Africa. The other girls in the house had told us about this Long Street restaurant and the unique-ness of the menu. On their suggestion, we ordered Mama's Game Grill and taste tested. That's right, I ate bites of crocodile, kudu, springbok, ostrich and venison sausage. Peeps liked the crocodile but I found it chewy. My favorites were kudu and springbok, altho I thought the ostrich was ok.
As far as drinks go, I'm addicted to Amarula. When we went to Balducci's last week, I had a pina coladarula. So. yummy. So at Mama Africa, I ordered the same. Our waitress brought me a regular pina colada and a shot of Amarula. It basically tastes like brownie batter. Two words: new favorite. Two more words: duty free.
It should be mentioned that I fell in love with the bottle first. I'm just glad I also like what's inside.
A friend of my friend Tara's met up with us at MA and topped off our meal with a super yummy Amarula beverage that tasted like ice cream soup. Meat and creamy things. My poor tummy proved to be quite the trooper. Hooray!!
From there we headed to Blu in Water Front/ Sea Point. It's a hotel bar right on the water. It was pretty until it started raining a little bit. Blu is where we experienced the customary "Welcome to South Africa" springbok shot. The bartender pours the Amarula (natch!) in first and then layers Peppermint Schnapps or the equivalent on top. When shot, it tasted just like a Thin Mint.
Next stop was French Toast, a tapas/wine bar a couple blocks off Long Street. Brent's cousin is the main chef there. (Brent is Tara's friend.) The decor and layout are dreamy. It was closed by the time we got there, but we're already planning a trip back this coming week. I already love everything about it.
So after collecting the cuz we headed down to Long Street and The Dubliner. I'm usually a fan of any bar with Dublin in the title. This was a huge white bar with a live cover band (yippee!) and a good dj, both of which played American hits from the 90s. As one of the other girls here in the house said, it's a lot like a wedding reception full of strangers, but we had a good time.
Before we knew it, it was curfew time! (We have to be back by 2h30a on wkend nights unless we sign out for the night.)
I haven't spoken much about the other peeps in the house. There is a total of 10 of us here right now. 6 in my group (meaning we all arrived at the same time). Ashley and I are staying the shortest amount of time.Sadface. If we would have known how awesome this group was we would have stayed longer!!
Right now there's only one guy, and he's here with his gf.
In light of our budding friendships and ability to have such great times as a group, we've decided to make this a tradition. Volunteervacays . Every year we'll pick a location and all sign up. The company we volunteer through gives a discount in subsequent trips, so we're all excited about that. Of course I was all, I wonder if France or New Zealand or Australia have a need for volunteers?! We're guessing probably not, so most likely we'll do South America or India or something...
We do know this placement has spoiled us, as we have hot showers, and easy internet access. One of the girls came from Tanzania where neither was the case. But at least we'll be together! We've also decided that any boyfriend we come across have to be into it too.
Saturday = wine time!!
We hit the first winery (Fairview) at around 10a. Bottoms up! We had super fun here as it was wine and cheese. The lady working our bar was super lovely and has now been dubbed Mama Lyn. She has three sons she wants Ashley, Lindsey and I to marry. My favorite wine was an award-winningChenin Blanc. I also liked the Pinotage Viognier , which is weird because I'm not usually a red fan. My favorite cheese was of the goat variety with garlic and herb..I also enjoyed the brie (of course!) and the feta, both of which tasted better with a dab of pomegranate-vanilla jelly.
Second stop was Warwick. (We made up our own plan and hired one of our regular drivers. It worked out very well.) The sommelier told us an awesome love story...I liked their Sauvignon Blanc and thought a couple of their reds were nice (you know, for reds). LOVED the grounds. Frolicked-through-the-field-in-my-sundress kinda love. Thanks for the suggestion, BL.
For lunch, we ventured to Dieu Donne, where I ate pasta and tried a bite of zebra for the first time (oddly enough I liked the texture). The views at this winery were unparalleled. It's simply gorgeous here. We facetiously kept telling the scenery to quit being so ugly.
Our third winery was Solms Delta. We were kind of in a food/wine all morning kinda coma but rallied through six selections at this one too. Our hands down favorite was the Solms-Astor Cape Jazz Shiraz. Think sparkling grape juice but with alcohol. There was also a rose here that wasn't as sweet as most rose I've had. (I would use accents if I knew how)...any way, it was pleasant.
Our final stop was Spier. We didn't drink tho. Instead we played with a cheetah. Or we pet him while he was asleep. Whatever. Interestingly enough, all my kids have these crazy names and there was this cheetah named Joseph of all things.
Needless to say we got home and crashed. I was asleep by 8, but for a good cause! We got up @ 4a to go shark diving!
We had a 2 hour car ride to contemplate what we were about to do. Again I was more worried about the boat ride and water temperature (which didn't end up being that bad) than the sharks. Until I had all that time to think about it. I had my little RX patch behind my ear, so I was hoping for the best seasickness-wise. The crew had thought the water was smooth, but in reality it was anything but. I'm 100% sure I would have yacked had it not been for that patch. I still felt crappy with it, but never got sick. (Unlike a sweet Irish couple and *cough* Ashley *cough*. Even tho I had given her two Dramamine.) We were pitching like crazy even when anchored. I still feel like I'm moving.
Anyhoo...the sharks. We wetsuited it up and joined the first group. (A good move in light of Ash's ishes) What you do is hold on to these cross bars with your knees on a bar about 2 inches from the front of the cage, and then when they give the word (or yell: Divers Drop!) you drop into the cage. You put your hands where your knees were and stand on the bottom of the cage. Or at least that's what you're supposed to do. I didn't have enough weight on and my legs kept kicking back behind me - like out of the cage. I kept realizing it (insert more shark diving dude yelling here) and would stand, but yeah...free feet in shark-infested waters.
We saw a total of 6 sharks. The crew had told us they would swim parallel to the cage, but we went face to face a couple of times, and once the shark even knocked the cage right where Ashley was standing next to me. FUHREAKY! You could see all his/her teeth. And our hands (and basically bodies) were mere inches away. Like less than 6. Even with the nausea it was super fantastic. He did say we got lucky because visibility was better today than yesterday...and that six is a really good number. Best of it was we didn't need to wait 5 hours on the boat like they have to sometimes. I'm sure everyone would have puked by then. So we were very happy. We returned with all our parts, and stomachs settled once we hit dry ground.
This afternoon we just piddled around. Rode the train out here in the suburbs a little bit. Perused some shops. We really feel like we made the most out of our firstwkend here. We're most likely (again as a group) going to hit the Garden Route next weekend. There are a couple animal sanctuaries and zip lining and beautiful hikes calling our names.
But tomorrow it's back to my kiddos. I'm taking paper plates and beans to color and create little rattle/tambourine things. Fingers crossed for no rain, as I don't think I have enough supplies for the 3 and up group...just my 4s and 5s.
In closing, Ashley has already mastered the click of Xhosa. She's not even taking Xhosa. She was assigned Afrikaans. I'm pretty sure it's because she's black. (It's not racist here to say that...) I'm working on it. (clicking with different parts of your mouth stand for different letters, so it's not as easy as it sounds. it's also not easy to click and keep talking.)
I love this city so much. Seriously. New favorite. The only drawback is being so far away. It's just not reasonable to pay $1500 and 22 hours to get back and forth to my peeps in the states. And communication would cost an arm and a leg. And I miss My Melody and Gma chats...so I'll most likely not move here, but I'll definitely come back to visit. Or volunteer again.
Longest. blog. ever. If you're here, thanks for indulging me. Happy bday Mom!
Things kicked off Friday night at Mama Africa. The other girls in the house had told us about this Long Street restaurant and the unique-ness of the menu. On their suggestion, we ordered Mama's Game Grill and taste tested. That's right, I ate bites of crocodile, kudu, springbok, ostrich and venison sausage. Peeps liked the crocodile but I found it chewy. My favorites were kudu and springbok, altho I thought the ostrich was ok.
As far as drinks go, I'm addicted to Amarula. When we went to Balducci's last week, I had a pina coladarula. So. yummy. So at Mama Africa, I ordered the same. Our waitress brought me a regular pina colada and a shot of Amarula. It basically tastes like brownie batter. Two words: new favorite. Two more words: duty free.
It should be mentioned that I fell in love with the bottle first. I'm just glad I also like what's inside.
A friend of my friend Tara's met up with us at MA and topped off our meal with a super yummy Amarula beverage that tasted like ice cream soup. Meat and creamy things. My poor tummy proved to be quite the trooper. Hooray!!
From there we headed to Blu in Water Front/ Sea Point. It's a hotel bar right on the water. It was pretty until it started raining a little bit. Blu is where we experienced the customary "Welcome to South Africa" springbok shot. The bartender pours the Amarula (natch!) in first and then layers Peppermint Schnapps or the equivalent on top. When shot, it tasted just like a Thin Mint.
Next stop was French Toast, a tapas/wine bar a couple blocks off Long Street. Brent's cousin is the main chef there. (Brent is Tara's friend.) The decor and layout are dreamy. It was closed by the time we got there, but we're already planning a trip back this coming week. I already love everything about it.
So after collecting the cuz we headed down to Long Street and The Dubliner. I'm usually a fan of any bar with Dublin in the title. This was a huge white bar with a live cover band (yippee!) and a good dj, both of which played American hits from the 90s. As one of the other girls here in the house said, it's a lot like a wedding reception full of strangers, but we had a good time.
Before we knew it, it was curfew time! (We have to be back by 2h30a on wkend nights unless we sign out for the night.)
I haven't spoken much about the other peeps in the house. There is a total of 10 of us here right now. 6 in my group (meaning we all arrived at the same time). Ashley and I are staying the shortest amount of time.Sadface. If we would have known how awesome this group was we would have stayed longer!!
Right now there's only one guy, and he's here with his gf.
In light of our budding friendships and ability to have such great times as a group, we've decided to make this a tradition. Volunteervacays . Every year we'll pick a location and all sign up. The company we volunteer through gives a discount in subsequent trips, so we're all excited about that. Of course I was all, I wonder if France or New Zealand or Australia have a need for volunteers?! We're guessing probably not, so most likely we'll do South America or India or something...
We do know this placement has spoiled us, as we have hot showers, and easy internet access. One of the girls came from Tanzania where neither was the case. But at least we'll be together! We've also decided that any boyfriend we come across have to be into it too.
Saturday = wine time!!
We hit the first winery (Fairview) at around 10a. Bottoms up! We had super fun here as it was wine and cheese. The lady working our bar was super lovely and has now been dubbed Mama Lyn. She has three sons she wants Ashley, Lindsey and I to marry. My favorite wine was an award-winningChenin Blanc. I also liked the Pinotage Viognier , which is weird because I'm not usually a red fan. My favorite cheese was of the goat variety with garlic and herb..I also enjoyed the brie (of course!) and the feta, both of which tasted better with a dab of pomegranate-vanilla jelly.
Second stop was Warwick. (We made up our own plan and hired one of our regular drivers. It worked out very well.) The sommelier told us an awesome love story...I liked their Sauvignon Blanc and thought a couple of their reds were nice (you know, for reds). LOVED the grounds. Frolicked-through-the-field-in-my-sundress kinda love. Thanks for the suggestion, BL.
For lunch, we ventured to Dieu Donne, where I ate pasta and tried a bite of zebra for the first time (oddly enough I liked the texture). The views at this winery were unparalleled. It's simply gorgeous here. We facetiously kept telling the scenery to quit being so ugly.
Our third winery was Solms Delta. We were kind of in a food/wine all morning kinda coma but rallied through six selections at this one too. Our hands down favorite was the Solms-Astor Cape Jazz Shiraz. Think sparkling grape juice but with alcohol. There was also a rose here that wasn't as sweet as most rose I've had. (I would use accents if I knew how)...any way, it was pleasant.
Our final stop was Spier. We didn't drink tho. Instead we played with a cheetah. Or we pet him while he was asleep. Whatever. Interestingly enough, all my kids have these crazy names and there was this cheetah named Joseph of all things.
Needless to say we got home and crashed. I was asleep by 8, but for a good cause! We got up @ 4a to go shark diving!
We had a 2 hour car ride to contemplate what we were about to do. Again I was more worried about the boat ride and water temperature (which didn't end up being that bad) than the sharks. Until I had all that time to think about it. I had my little RX patch behind my ear, so I was hoping for the best seasickness-wise. The crew had thought the water was smooth, but in reality it was anything but. I'm 100% sure I would have yacked had it not been for that patch. I still felt crappy with it, but never got sick. (Unlike a sweet Irish couple and *cough* Ashley *cough*. Even tho I had given her two Dramamine.) We were pitching like crazy even when anchored. I still feel like I'm moving.
Anyhoo...the sharks. We wetsuited it up and joined the first group. (A good move in light of Ash's ishes) What you do is hold on to these cross bars with your knees on a bar about 2 inches from the front of the cage, and then when they give the word (or yell: Divers Drop!) you drop into the cage. You put your hands where your knees were and stand on the bottom of the cage. Or at least that's what you're supposed to do. I didn't have enough weight on and my legs kept kicking back behind me - like out of the cage. I kept realizing it (insert more shark diving dude yelling here) and would stand, but yeah...free feet in shark-infested waters.
We saw a total of 6 sharks. The crew had told us they would swim parallel to the cage, but we went face to face a couple of times, and once the shark even knocked the cage right where Ashley was standing next to me. FUHREAKY! You could see all his/her teeth. And our hands (and basically bodies) were mere inches away. Like less than 6. Even with the nausea it was super fantastic. He did say we got lucky because visibility was better today than yesterday...and that six is a really good number. Best of it was we didn't need to wait 5 hours on the boat like they have to sometimes. I'm sure everyone would have puked by then. So we were very happy. We returned with all our parts, and stomachs settled once we hit dry ground.
This afternoon we just piddled around. Rode the train out here in the suburbs a little bit. Perused some shops. We really feel like we made the most out of our firstwkend here. We're most likely (again as a group) going to hit the Garden Route next weekend. There are a couple animal sanctuaries and zip lining and beautiful hikes calling our names.
But tomorrow it's back to my kiddos. I'm taking paper plates and beans to color and create little rattle/tambourine things. Fingers crossed for no rain, as I don't think I have enough supplies for the 3 and up group...just my 4s and 5s.
In closing, Ashley has already mastered the click of Xhosa. She's not even taking Xhosa. She was assigned Afrikaans. I'm pretty sure it's because she's black. (It's not racist here to say that...) I'm working on it. (clicking with different parts of your mouth stand for different letters, so it's not as easy as it sounds. it's also not easy to click and keep talking.)
I love this city so much. Seriously. New favorite. The only drawback is being so far away. It's just not reasonable to pay $1500 and 22 hours to get back and forth to my peeps in the states. And communication would cost an arm and a leg. And I miss My Melody and Gma chats...so I'll most likely not move here, but I'll definitely come back to visit. Or volunteer again.
Longest. blog. ever. If you're here, thanks for indulging me. Happy bday Mom!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Jumping Jack Flash
Today I taught the kids jumping jacks. Like I'm all fitness-y. They loved it and even told the teacher afterward that they really like me. Probably because I act a fool and don't give a second thought. We also practiced balancing on one leg. And laughing at the kids who fell. Because they laughed too. It's not far to fall when you're that little.
We did If You're Happy And You Know It Again, and Hey Diddle Diddle too. The teachers keep wanting me to write down the words, so (at the suggestion of another volunteer) I've decided to essentially make them a book of everything I'm doing. That way they can keep doing it once I'm gone.
I wish I could teach them how to read, write their names, and recognize numbers out of order (they can count to 20) but I dream too big.
Today I counted a total of 74 kids. I've decided a better estimate of the room size is 24x13...again just a slightly more educated guess...I'll have pictures to show of how small it is...when they're all laying on the floor like sardines for naptime. Even the teachers.
I forgot to mention about how they hardly drink anything at school. I'm there for 4 hours (8a-12n) and two meals and they don't have anything to drink. One day this week when we had played outside for a large chunk of the day, they brought a bowl of water out with like 3 cups and gave everybody a little drink, but that's all I've seen in the way of beverages...
Like I've said, for the most part I work with the 4 and 5 year olds. I'm getting better at learning the names, but here is what I'm working with:
Liyema
Yomelela
Songezo (he's one of the ones that always comes up to me)
Hlumelo (x2) (HL combos involve a special mouth sound, but not a click)
Agcobile
Ndinga
Likho
Linamandla
Siphosethu
Zukhanne
Anda (very smart)
Anelisa (super cute)
Phumelele (I heart him and how fun his name is to say)
Iva (my little old man boy)
Ntando (another easy to remember)
Lerato
Hope (I knew his name first!)
(Side note I don't just like the kids whose names I know)
Today the teacher told me Anda, Anelisa and Iva are not a sibling set after all. Anda and Anelisa are related somehow but Iva is probably just their neighbor or something. There's also a little boy named Andile who isn't in our class but is always the first one to wrap himself around my legs when I get there in the morning. He's a little trouble maker tho. And kind of a crybaby. But cute. There's also a baby who likes me to hold her but I haven't picked up her name yet. She's tiny...probably less than a year...and already has a weave. I mean, it looks cute, but still...
The kids love the color red and whenever I give them their food they beg/fight for red bowls and or red spoons. Today Andile was standing on his chair to get at the tray (I carry 6-8 bowls on a tray as if I were a waitress) and ended up falling and putting his hand into the porridge of the kid next to him. He then wiped his hand on that kid's jacket, as well as the head and sweater of a little boy seated behind them. Then he just started flinging it everywhere. Granted it was hot, but still.
I remembered all the teachers' names but one today which was exciting:
Nombongo (quick with the stick)
Khutala (the one I work with most often, she teaches the 4-5 year olds but is in "training" on Thursdays)
Nontle (the one I forgot this morning)
Tozama (she's always with the younger kids)
Nontembeko
Qeks (this is the one who works in the kitchen who I call Eunice because her name requires a click. our driver (Wonga) is hell bent on getting me to say it right and apparently hates that she lets me call her Eunice.)
Excited to spend my first weekend here. We're going to a restaurant tonight called Mama Africa. The veteran volunteers have suggested a taster platter of things including crocodile, ostrich, some other weird things...despite my pescatarianism, I'll be sampling as I may never eat these things again...or might find a new favorite.
Tomorrow is finally winery day. I'm so super excited!!!
We did If You're Happy And You Know It Again, and Hey Diddle Diddle too. The teachers keep wanting me to write down the words, so (at the suggestion of another volunteer) I've decided to essentially make them a book of everything I'm doing. That way they can keep doing it once I'm gone.
I wish I could teach them how to read, write their names, and recognize numbers out of order (they can count to 20) but I dream too big.
Today I counted a total of 74 kids. I've decided a better estimate of the room size is 24x13...again just a slightly more educated guess...I'll have pictures to show of how small it is...when they're all laying on the floor like sardines for naptime. Even the teachers.
I forgot to mention about how they hardly drink anything at school. I'm there for 4 hours (8a-12n) and two meals and they don't have anything to drink. One day this week when we had played outside for a large chunk of the day, they brought a bowl of water out with like 3 cups and gave everybody a little drink, but that's all I've seen in the way of beverages...
Like I've said, for the most part I work with the 4 and 5 year olds. I'm getting better at learning the names, but here is what I'm working with:
Liyema
Yomelela
Songezo (he's one of the ones that always comes up to me)
Hlumelo (x2) (HL combos involve a special mouth sound, but not a click)
Agcobile
Ndinga
Likho
Linamandla
Siphosethu
Zukhanne
Anda (very smart)
Anelisa (super cute)
Phumelele (I heart him and how fun his name is to say)
Iva (my little old man boy)
Ntando (another easy to remember)
Lerato
Hope (I knew his name first!)
(Side note I don't just like the kids whose names I know)
Today the teacher told me Anda, Anelisa and Iva are not a sibling set after all. Anda and Anelisa are related somehow but Iva is probably just their neighbor or something. There's also a little boy named Andile who isn't in our class but is always the first one to wrap himself around my legs when I get there in the morning. He's a little trouble maker tho. And kind of a crybaby. But cute. There's also a baby who likes me to hold her but I haven't picked up her name yet. She's tiny...probably less than a year...and already has a weave. I mean, it looks cute, but still...
The kids love the color red and whenever I give them their food they beg/fight for red bowls and or red spoons. Today Andile was standing on his chair to get at the tray (I carry 6-8 bowls on a tray as if I were a waitress) and ended up falling and putting his hand into the porridge of the kid next to him. He then wiped his hand on that kid's jacket, as well as the head and sweater of a little boy seated behind them. Then he just started flinging it everywhere. Granted it was hot, but still.
I remembered all the teachers' names but one today which was exciting:
Nombongo (quick with the stick)
Khutala (the one I work with most often, she teaches the 4-5 year olds but is in "training" on Thursdays)
Nontle (the one I forgot this morning)
Tozama (she's always with the younger kids)
Nontembeko
Qeks (this is the one who works in the kitchen who I call Eunice because her name requires a click. our driver (Wonga) is hell bent on getting me to say it right and apparently hates that she lets me call her Eunice.)
Excited to spend my first weekend here. We're going to a restaurant tonight called Mama Africa. The veteran volunteers have suggested a taster platter of things including crocodile, ostrich, some other weird things...despite my pescatarianism, I'll be sampling as I may never eat these things again...or might find a new favorite.
Tomorrow is finally winery day. I'm so super excited!!!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Be Wise...Condomize and Other Things I'm Learning
So I realized by not blogging yesterday, I've already started to forget about stuff that is happening. Our days are so jam-packed that it seems like we've been here forever, and yet I can't believe it's already almost been a week.
Ok - yesterday. It rained. Which meant that my class of 20 4-5 year olds would be forced to stay inside with the other 40 (ish) kids 3 and under. If you've been in my bedroom (hey-o!), the room is very similar in size to that. If you haven't, the room is probably about 14x11. I'm completely guessing with those numbers. All it is to say, the room is small. and 60 kids 5/6 and under make it smaller. And warmer. And louder.
They use a book shelf to divide the room up between under 3 and 3 and above. Ok so you get the gist of what we're dealing with here...
The kids were used to me, so while I wasn't a spectacle they still want to hug and hang on me. None of which I'm complaining about. We worked on counting to 20 and "If you're happy and you know it." They especially loved the shouting of "Hooray!" Now I don't claim to be a good singer. At all. But there I was in my quiet little English straining voice going through all the verses. Even the baby teachers stopped to listen.
Since I was inside, I had enough free time to help feed the babies. (Anybody under 3 is spoonfed.) Keyword: spoon. As in each teacher gets one. And then rinses it in water between kids. Needless to say, I'm used to more hygiene. The kids walk up to you when it's their turn, and you just spoon it in. Finish a bowl. Rinse. And repeat. Hence, you've got quite a number of snotty noses.
So what goes in must come out, and here's another huge difference. The "toilets" at the creche. It's a bench. With four circles cut out. Potty bowls are put in the holes and are periodically emptied out in the one flushing toilet on the property. Boys and girls go side by side. Whatevs. The interesting thing tho is how young they potty train. I would say anyone over one uses the toilet. One reason perhaps being they don't have enough hands to change many diapers, but I get the feeling diapers are a luxury not prevalent in the area I'm in.
I'm slowly but surely grasping kids and teachers names. The lady who works in the kitchen has a name that uses a click (which I haven't mastered yet) so she told me I could call her Eunice. :)
The teacher who likes to hit things/the wall with a stick (Not a child - yet, but she gets close) is Nombongo. (Discipline consists of slapping the tops of their hands or an arm yank.)
I know we're not supposed to have favorites, but there's a sibling set that I really like. A little boy who looks like an old man - I forget how you spell his name but it's pronounced ee-vah, and his sisters Anda and Analiesa. Wait until you see their faces! I haven't taken my camera to placement yet, but I plan on doing so when I take crafts to do, as that gives me a good excuse. (Ghertie's hasn't had very many volunteers, so I don't want to wear out my welcome by bringing a camera too soon.)
Today I took xeroxed coloring book pages for them to color and they loved it. Anything to break up their routine. I got beans to make paper plate tambourine things and noodles and yarn to make necklaces.
The highlight today tho - well a couple of them. One of the kids ASKED to play Duck Duck Goose. (I just taught them that on Tuesday, so I was excited because a- that meant he liked it. b- that meant he connected it with me.) We also played a racing game and at one point the teacher said: now me and you do it. As the kids had run back and forth the other kids were screaming their names, so it was helpful with my learning process. Well when I was running versus Nombongo, the kids were all shouting: Mary! Mary! (They totally wanted me to win. And I totally did. I felt bad, tho because the teacher totally had a limp I hadn't really noticed.)
It didn't rain today and so we spent the day outside in the sun. I really wish it was safe enough to walk through the townships more. Just driving through it to get to our placements is so interesting.
So we haven't had that much free time yet, but we got our first taste yesterday afternoon for a bit. Even tho it was raining, we headed down to the V&A Waterfront. The sky was so gray, my pictures of the ferris wheel look black and white. There's also a craft market, some touristy stuff, a huge mall, and a restaurant called Balducci's, where we landed for dinner. The where is not important as the who we met there.
Vicky. Our spritely waitress. She literally wrote us a book about where to go while we're here. Club-wise (hot guys here, no hot guys here), beach-wise (hot guys here, no hot guys here)...She gave us directions, she gave us rules, she gave us advice ("Be wise...condomize...haha...seriously.") and she gave us her phone number should we get arrested or need a ride or have a question. Above and beyond, this one.
On our way home we passed the One & Only. We girls immediately recognized it from The Bachelor and that's when our cabbie told us that's where Denzel is staying. We've seen two shoots in progress and he's apparently here until May. We're on the hunt.
As our schedule has been so full, I find myself struggling to stay awake until 9 or 10. That's getting better tho, maybe I'm finally getting used to the time flip.
I think we're all caught up. Today our post-placement speaker was a man living with the HIV. His positive outlook on life was inspiring. Somebody asked him if he ever gets mad at God about it, and he was just like, the scripture said there'd be diseases. This is mine. Wow. This is a man who lives in a hut in the backyard of someone else's township home. He's one of an estimated 6-million South Africans living with HIV (hence the condomize advice)...And the way he lit up talking about America. He REALLY wants to go to Chicago. And he was excited that Ashley and I were from LA/Hollywood...He told us that our convo with him energized him as he'd been to the doctor today and was feeling especially tired.
It's just like what Willy said. I'm meeting all these people who have such difficult lives and everyone is so happy. I'm not sure I have any issues that aren't #richpeopleproblems.
Ok - yesterday. It rained. Which meant that my class of 20 4-5 year olds would be forced to stay inside with the other 40 (ish) kids 3 and under. If you've been in my bedroom (hey-o!), the room is very similar in size to that. If you haven't, the room is probably about 14x11. I'm completely guessing with those numbers. All it is to say, the room is small. and 60 kids 5/6 and under make it smaller. And warmer. And louder.
They use a book shelf to divide the room up between under 3 and 3 and above. Ok so you get the gist of what we're dealing with here...
The kids were used to me, so while I wasn't a spectacle they still want to hug and hang on me. None of which I'm complaining about. We worked on counting to 20 and "If you're happy and you know it." They especially loved the shouting of "Hooray!" Now I don't claim to be a good singer. At all. But there I was in my quiet little English straining voice going through all the verses. Even the baby teachers stopped to listen.
Since I was inside, I had enough free time to help feed the babies. (Anybody under 3 is spoonfed.) Keyword: spoon. As in each teacher gets one. And then rinses it in water between kids. Needless to say, I'm used to more hygiene. The kids walk up to you when it's their turn, and you just spoon it in. Finish a bowl. Rinse. And repeat. Hence, you've got quite a number of snotty noses.
So what goes in must come out, and here's another huge difference. The "toilets" at the creche. It's a bench. With four circles cut out. Potty bowls are put in the holes and are periodically emptied out in the one flushing toilet on the property. Boys and girls go side by side. Whatevs. The interesting thing tho is how young they potty train. I would say anyone over one uses the toilet. One reason perhaps being they don't have enough hands to change many diapers, but I get the feeling diapers are a luxury not prevalent in the area I'm in.
I'm slowly but surely grasping kids and teachers names. The lady who works in the kitchen has a name that uses a click (which I haven't mastered yet) so she told me I could call her Eunice. :)
The teacher who likes to hit things/the wall with a stick (Not a child - yet, but she gets close) is Nombongo. (Discipline consists of slapping the tops of their hands or an arm yank.)
I know we're not supposed to have favorites, but there's a sibling set that I really like. A little boy who looks like an old man - I forget how you spell his name but it's pronounced ee-vah, and his sisters Anda and Analiesa. Wait until you see their faces! I haven't taken my camera to placement yet, but I plan on doing so when I take crafts to do, as that gives me a good excuse. (Ghertie's hasn't had very many volunteers, so I don't want to wear out my welcome by bringing a camera too soon.)
Today I took xeroxed coloring book pages for them to color and they loved it. Anything to break up their routine. I got beans to make paper plate tambourine things and noodles and yarn to make necklaces.
The highlight today tho - well a couple of them. One of the kids ASKED to play Duck Duck Goose. (I just taught them that on Tuesday, so I was excited because a- that meant he liked it. b- that meant he connected it with me.) We also played a racing game and at one point the teacher said: now me and you do it. As the kids had run back and forth the other kids were screaming their names, so it was helpful with my learning process. Well when I was running versus Nombongo, the kids were all shouting: Mary! Mary! (They totally wanted me to win. And I totally did. I felt bad, tho because the teacher totally had a limp I hadn't really noticed.)
It didn't rain today and so we spent the day outside in the sun. I really wish it was safe enough to walk through the townships more. Just driving through it to get to our placements is so interesting.
So we haven't had that much free time yet, but we got our first taste yesterday afternoon for a bit. Even tho it was raining, we headed down to the V&A Waterfront. The sky was so gray, my pictures of the ferris wheel look black and white. There's also a craft market, some touristy stuff, a huge mall, and a restaurant called Balducci's, where we landed for dinner. The where is not important as the who we met there.
Vicky. Our spritely waitress. She literally wrote us a book about where to go while we're here. Club-wise (hot guys here, no hot guys here), beach-wise (hot guys here, no hot guys here)...She gave us directions, she gave us rules, she gave us advice ("Be wise...condomize...haha...seriously.") and she gave us her phone number should we get arrested or need a ride or have a question. Above and beyond, this one.
On our way home we passed the One & Only. We girls immediately recognized it from The Bachelor and that's when our cabbie told us that's where Denzel is staying. We've seen two shoots in progress and he's apparently here until May. We're on the hunt.
As our schedule has been so full, I find myself struggling to stay awake until 9 or 10. That's getting better tho, maybe I'm finally getting used to the time flip.
I think we're all caught up. Today our post-placement speaker was a man living with the HIV. His positive outlook on life was inspiring. Somebody asked him if he ever gets mad at God about it, and he was just like, the scripture said there'd be diseases. This is mine. Wow. This is a man who lives in a hut in the backyard of someone else's township home. He's one of an estimated 6-million South Africans living with HIV (hence the condomize advice)...And the way he lit up talking about America. He REALLY wants to go to Chicago. And he was excited that Ashley and I were from LA/Hollywood...He told us that our convo with him energized him as he'd been to the doctor today and was feeling especially tired.
It's just like what Willy said. I'm meeting all these people who have such difficult lives and everyone is so happy. I'm not sure I have any issues that aren't #richpeopleproblems.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Gertie's Creche Day 1
A creche is an unregulated daycare. And today I started working at one. Unregulated meaning there's no mandated education component, although they do work with the kids a little bit.
I'm working with 4 and 5 year olds. As long as it's not raining, we get to be outside which is good, because - as warned - the inside is swarming with about 40 kids 3 and under. In a room smaller than most of your living rooms. Rain is in the forecast, so I'll get to experience mixing the 20 of my kids in with the others. I'm sure that will be a different experience.
I again walked into the room full of excited "white person" squeals. I'm glad to know that tomorrow when I go it won't be such a novelty. The teacher I'm helping has told them to call me Miss Mary instead of White Person. (I told her I didn't mind "White Person" but am not going to stand in the way of life manners.)
The day started with singing (all in one room) as a group. I hope to at least pick up some of the regular songs. It ended with a version of something I recognized. "God is great. God is good. Thank you for the food." And then the kids had porridge.
Afterward we had our group outside and went through the songs that teach the months of the year and the days of the week and the parts of the body. They do an extended version of head, shoulders, knees and toes...but it's clear they know that song as well.
The first thing I started doing that they picked up was the "boogie shush." All I did was combine a little dance move with putting my finger up to my mouth. It made shushing more fun and got them to smile, so that was cool.
The teacher wanted to work on coloring/writing but didn't have enough worksheets. I'm going to take some copies in tomorrow. She told me they don't know how to write their names. I can't fault them tho, because I can't yet say many of them. They say them once for me. I repeat it. They repeat back to me. I say what I think they're saying, they laugh and we move on to the next one. I have one little boy named Hope, so I at least have that one down. I'm hoping our weekly language classes (I'll be taking Xhosa (Kosah)) will help with that.
So anyway, since we couldn't do the coloring, we did puzzles. Many of which didn't have all the pieces. Such a bummer to not be able to help them with resources.
While doing the puzzles, one of the girls took to playing with my hair. I'm gonna bring a brush and clips tomorrow and try and find a time when it won't cause pandemonium.
After puzzles came playtime, and I had already told the teacher I wanted to try Duck, Duck Goose. Luckily one of the boys had played before. I relayed directions to the teacher and she translated. It went really well and was super funny. We all ended up laughing as the kids picked it up and figured out which way to run and when to sit down. Some of the head pats were harder than they should have been. I caught myself several times wanting to say "doucement" ("gentle"/"softly" in French). I have a problem that whenever I go somewhere where I don't speak the language, I feel like my French should work. It doesn't.
The kids then went to the park. I'm not allowed to leave the creche so I switched with a teacher in the 3 year old class. We worked on shapes and colors and unfortunately for them, their teacher wasn't always right...Anything is better than nothing I guess tho.
Next came lunch. As I gave each child (again in my class) their bowl they said "Thank you" in English. It was very sweet, very clear, and they were very happy to be speaking to me in my language. (I was happy too, altho I'm looking forward to knowing at least the basic words/commands in their language.)
We leave our placements after lunch, so it's not really a long day at all. Four hours. I hope to share a little MAB-ness with them and leave them feeling better, maybe knowing more...
(FYI I probably won't go this in-depth each day...will most likely stick with the highlights...) It was really fun to reconnect with the others at lunch and hear about everyone's mornings. The guy in my group ended up teaching a 6th grade class all on his own. His first day. He thought of some great ideas. Much better than I would have on the fly. I think 4 and 5 year olds are about my spur-of-the-moment knowledge building level. No, but really.
So, other things...
Last night we saw a comedian at the University of Cape Town (we can walk to the campus). His name is Siv Ngesi and the show is called DEKAF. It's touted as a "white, black comedy...about blacks who think like whites...told by a black guy..who sounds white." Race is very openly discussed here and this show was hilarious. At one point he asked a question and Ashley responded, giving away that there were Americans in the crowd...(he picked up the accent). He had some fun with that. There were of course a lot of SA-centric jokes, but for the most part we got it.
Also...the bell I mentioned in the last entry (apologies for all the verbal diahhrea)...They ring a bell in the house for meals, or when it's time to leave, or time for a class...we're already like Pavlov's dogs...the bell rings and we come a-runnin...
Well it's time for our language class...I really do wanna spice these entries up with some pix...truth be told I'm surprised at how few I've taken so far. Planning on improving that.
It's still hot and sunny, altho as I mentioned there's supposed to be rain for the rest of the week. We hope it clears up for our winery tour on Saturday. Of course after the first or second winery we probaby won't care.
I'm working with 4 and 5 year olds. As long as it's not raining, we get to be outside which is good, because - as warned - the inside is swarming with about 40 kids 3 and under. In a room smaller than most of your living rooms. Rain is in the forecast, so I'll get to experience mixing the 20 of my kids in with the others. I'm sure that will be a different experience.
I again walked into the room full of excited "white person" squeals. I'm glad to know that tomorrow when I go it won't be such a novelty. The teacher I'm helping has told them to call me Miss Mary instead of White Person. (I told her I didn't mind "White Person" but am not going to stand in the way of life manners.)
The day started with singing (all in one room) as a group. I hope to at least pick up some of the regular songs. It ended with a version of something I recognized. "God is great. God is good. Thank you for the food." And then the kids had porridge.
Afterward we had our group outside and went through the songs that teach the months of the year and the days of the week and the parts of the body. They do an extended version of head, shoulders, knees and toes...but it's clear they know that song as well.
The first thing I started doing that they picked up was the "boogie shush." All I did was combine a little dance move with putting my finger up to my mouth. It made shushing more fun and got them to smile, so that was cool.
The teacher wanted to work on coloring/writing but didn't have enough worksheets. I'm going to take some copies in tomorrow. She told me they don't know how to write their names. I can't fault them tho, because I can't yet say many of them. They say them once for me. I repeat it. They repeat back to me. I say what I think they're saying, they laugh and we move on to the next one. I have one little boy named Hope, so I at least have that one down. I'm hoping our weekly language classes (I'll be taking Xhosa (Kosah)) will help with that.
So anyway, since we couldn't do the coloring, we did puzzles. Many of which didn't have all the pieces. Such a bummer to not be able to help them with resources.
While doing the puzzles, one of the girls took to playing with my hair. I'm gonna bring a brush and clips tomorrow and try and find a time when it won't cause pandemonium.
After puzzles came playtime, and I had already told the teacher I wanted to try Duck, Duck Goose. Luckily one of the boys had played before. I relayed directions to the teacher and she translated. It went really well and was super funny. We all ended up laughing as the kids picked it up and figured out which way to run and when to sit down. Some of the head pats were harder than they should have been. I caught myself several times wanting to say "doucement" ("gentle"/"softly" in French). I have a problem that whenever I go somewhere where I don't speak the language, I feel like my French should work. It doesn't.
The kids then went to the park. I'm not allowed to leave the creche so I switched with a teacher in the 3 year old class. We worked on shapes and colors and unfortunately for them, their teacher wasn't always right...Anything is better than nothing I guess tho.
Next came lunch. As I gave each child (again in my class) their bowl they said "Thank you" in English. It was very sweet, very clear, and they were very happy to be speaking to me in my language. (I was happy too, altho I'm looking forward to knowing at least the basic words/commands in their language.)
We leave our placements after lunch, so it's not really a long day at all. Four hours. I hope to share a little MAB-ness with them and leave them feeling better, maybe knowing more...
(FYI I probably won't go this in-depth each day...will most likely stick with the highlights...) It was really fun to reconnect with the others at lunch and hear about everyone's mornings. The guy in my group ended up teaching a 6th grade class all on his own. His first day. He thought of some great ideas. Much better than I would have on the fly. I think 4 and 5 year olds are about my spur-of-the-moment knowledge building level. No, but really.
So, other things...
Last night we saw a comedian at the University of Cape Town (we can walk to the campus). His name is Siv Ngesi and the show is called DEKAF. It's touted as a "white, black comedy...about blacks who think like whites...told by a black guy..who sounds white." Race is very openly discussed here and this show was hilarious. At one point he asked a question and Ashley responded, giving away that there were Americans in the crowd...(he picked up the accent). He had some fun with that. There were of course a lot of SA-centric jokes, but for the most part we got it.
Also...the bell I mentioned in the last entry (apologies for all the verbal diahhrea)...They ring a bell in the house for meals, or when it's time to leave, or time for a class...we're already like Pavlov's dogs...the bell rings and we come a-runnin...
Well it's time for our language class...I really do wanna spice these entries up with some pix...truth be told I'm surprised at how few I've taken so far. Planning on improving that.
It's still hot and sunny, altho as I mentioned there's supposed to be rain for the rest of the week. We hope it clears up for our winery tour on Saturday. Of course after the first or second winery we probaby won't care.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)