Time To Get In The South African Mood :)

Although week 3 at the orphanage was indescribably rewarding like previous weeks, since most of the stories I have to share would be similar to what you’ve already read I thought I’d take some time to elaborate on the fun, quirky cultural aspects of my trip thus far.

To begin, while my initial Xhosa lesson was a rather big failure, after spending so much time around children who revert to their native tongue on a regular basis I have picked up on a few key words. They’re obviously quite simple and practical, so myself along with many other volunteers slip them into conversation from time to time. These are the main phrases we find entertaining, especially when imagining toddlers shouting them…

Molo – hello

Suca (soo-ka) – move

Puma (like the brand) – get out

Sapa – go away

Gayna – go inside

Yiza - come here/follow me

Siece (like “cease” in English) – stop it

Over the last 3 weeks I have also come across some questioning food (besides the variety of meat I’ve tried in Cape Town). Pap and samp are both staples in traditional Xhosa family meals; neither of which I plan to continue making once I’m home, you’re welcome Mom and Dad. To describe it most simply, pap is a flavorless hard mashed potato consistency. Nobody told me what it was, so when I tried to order it as a side at a restaurant in Cape Town I was rather perplexed as to why the waitress looked at me like I was insane. I later found out you only eat it with sauce on top and usually add meat in the same bite. When I finally ordered properly it was better than I expected, but not something I’d go out specifically for or spend time preparing. Samp is beans and potatoes mixed together, also seriously lacking in flavor so I guess you can say salt is a staple condiment here. There are 2 nights that samp is part of the dinner menu in the apartment and it’s consistently only touched by new volunteers, who quickly learn why they’re the only ones in line for that bowl. A type of initiation prank perhaps? Breakfast for all age groups in this country is a large bowl of porridge. I easily got on board with this until I saw it made once and realized roughly 80% of the recipe is sugar; as in multiple cups of sugar, and not the measuring cups you have in your kitchen – legitimate coffee mugs full. No me gusta! On a non-cultural note, there’s a vendor down the street who makes the best cinnamon sugar donut I’ve ever had and they’re only 2 rand, aka 20 cents (I’ve only bought 1 so far, but I’ll get another before I leave I’m sure). Oh, and the restaurant at the marina has an “American Pizza” that is bacon and mushrooms. Nobody has tried it, but all us Americans had to assure the British and Australians that’s not what we eat on a normal basis. At least we know I like ostrich! Ironic since the live ones still scare the s**t out of me…

The obvious, but still confusing, culture shock in South Africa is the driving. Driving on the other side of the road than in America is one thing, but they also don’t have cross walks or abide by speed limits – you can imagine how trying to cross a 4-lane road with cars coming from different directions than you’re used to feels! Especially with my history…Anyway, last but not least as I’ve mentioned before, GVI volunteers are from all across the world and it’s amazing how many language barriers we’ve encountered; makes for some really entertaining conversations when you finish talking and half the room is staring blankly because they didn’t understand the vocabulary! I’m not going to take the time to cover it all (my roommate and I have a list going of the American / British confusions, the Australian one would be just as long) but I love how I’m not only learning about the South African culture, but in day to day chats I gain awareness about at least 2 other countries too!

All right, as usual this ended up being longer than I planned so I’m going to stop blabbing and I’ll post again on Monday about the adventures of my last full weekend!! I’m in shock 3 weeks have gone by so quickly…

There's no time like the present...

It’s been a crazy week! Let me begin by stating the obvious - the children are still adorable and the volunteers are scheming how to kidnap them in our luggage. We all think they’d love riding the baggage claim carousel, don’t you agree? No…okay I won’t steal anyone. This past week at the orphanage was quite eventful. Most of the days were warm and sunny! A huge upgrade from the wind and rain of week one. As a result, besides getting all the little ones out to run, I was finally able to bring a few of the special needs kids outside which they absolutely loved! The highlight came on Monday by helping Alutha walk from house 4 (where the special needs live) to the field; I was told he usually gets tired or frustrated and needs to be carried by the half way mark. So that was exciting! He crawled around on the grass and basked in the sun for almost an hour, which is extremely rare.

During week one 2 children went home, which is obviously bittersweet but the ideal scenario. Much to our surprise, this week the orphanage got 5 new kids! It happens practically over night without any warning, but its great to see them adjust and make friends. While all of the children have their moments that you make you laugh hysterically or melt your heart, there is one in particular that stood out this week. Quick background point - on a daily basis the volunteers mock how the kids seem to be incapable of pronouncing the “er” at the end of “teacher”. Every day at 3:30 we do teeth brushing, on Wednesday we were doing it indoors because it was raining and I told Ricardo (he’s 3) to go wash his toothbrush before putting it in the bag, the next thing I know I hear “TEACHA, TEACHA, NOOOOO TEACHA” As I turned to look at him I saw steam rising from the sink and he was flailing his arms grasping the toothbrush in one hand and toothpaste in the other as the hot water splashed out of the sink – he had turned the wrong knob and then turned it on full blast so it was spraying all over him and he was in too much shock to move! He didn’t think it was amusing, but all of us were secretly dying of laughter. Hopefully that wasn’t a “you had to be there” kinda story, but I just had to share! For Fun Friday we took them to the park down the street, which was a ton of fun to see them so excited to be out of the orphanage and interacting with other kids their age! I also got trapped on the spinning wheel; the kids found it hilarious that I was dizzy for the rest of the trip.

Friday after project 6 of us “new” volunteers went on a walking tour of Langa Township, built in 1927 originally for 5,000 people – now there are over 70,000 but the township boundaries have not expanded! It was amazing to be able to walk down the streets, through the buildings, and interact with the people since all we are able to do during the week is drive to/from project sites. Our guide took us to a pottery factory that had beautiful pieces of art, to a local pub (aka a dark room the size of my bathroom where people sit on plastic crates and pass around a bucket – literally  - of beer), through the poor and middle class sectors of the township, and to meet a traditional medicine man. As in Nomzamo Township (where I volunteer) the conditions were shocking, but everyone had smiles on their faces and kids ran up to hug and wave to us. We weren’t able to walk through the poorest area (tin structures I mentioned in a previous post) because of safety reasons, but the class above them live in shipping containers. Doesn’t seem too bad? Well, each shipping container is split in ½ and one family (of no less than 5 people) lives in each side. The middle class citizens live in apartment buildings that have been converted into what they call hostels; so there is a common area that each room shares. In each room there are 3 beds – 1 bed = 1 family, so 3 families per room. Yes, you read that correctly. During the day space is converted into work areas or storage then at night blankets and pillows create more sleeping room. Residents of the middle, and upper, class have the financial ability to leave the township into “better” living conditions (better in our mind, not necessarily theirs) but don’t due to pride in their community and respect of their ancestors. On the streets, shipping containers have been converted into grocery stores, pharmacies, and hair salons. Every corner also had a barbeque going. **Full disclosure, this is gross** The most popular dish to cook on Friday is Smiley – sheep head. It took me by such surprise when I looked down and saw every step of the cooking process being prepared and children lined up waiting for it to finish. Anyway...the tour was eye opening and I’m so glad I was able to witness and participate in such a significant part of the South African culture!

Every 2^nd Friday GVI has a departure dinner at the Marina as a way to thank all the volunteers who leave the following day and to reflect on the accomplishments of the previous two weeks. At the start of the meal the program coordinators gave speeches then played a slide show of pictures they had taken of us with the children; it was such a lovely way to say goodbye to some really great people! Also, when I leave I will get a copy of 2 slide shows, definite bonus! Yesterday 6 new volunteers arrived, 3 of which will be at the orphanage, which I’m very excited about because 2 of the people who just left had been with me every day since I arrived.

As if the week hadn’t been thrilling enough, on Saturday I added a little more adrenaline to the mix and went PARAGLIDING! For those of you who know how terrified of heights I am, be impressed…I actually wasn’t scared! After a “short stroll” up Lion’s Head the guide stopped us at a clearing on the side of the mountain where a group of people were gathered to watch the take offs. Luckily they decided I was going first so before I knew it I was strapped in, looking down the slope being told to keep my feet planted until the wind picked us up, so there was no time to second guess anything. To my surprise, I barely even noticed when we got swept into the air – one second we were on the ground, the next we were floating above the mountaintop! The views were beyond spectacular! It was a crystal clear day so I could see for miles; all across Cape Town, Robben Island, whales swimming out at sea! We lucked out and the winds were in our favor so I ended up getting a 35-minute ride! People who had gone earlier in the morning only got 15 minutes. Of all the things I’ve done so far this was probably my favorite, such a once in a lifetime experience!

Alright, I think that’s it for now. Today was relaxation day because we have plans for every day over the next 2 weeks (actually, right up to the hour I have to be at the airport…hope I don’t miss my flight…) Clare, Eilis and I walked down to the beach today and laid on the sand for almost an hour, talk about some prime South African relaxing time! Then we met up with all the new volunteers for lunch at the marina. I’ve posted a few pictures below, but again check Facebook as well and stay tuned for more adventures and crazy kid stories!

It's been 10 days already???

Week one in South Africa went by in a flash, and I completely understand why previous volunteers have extended their stay. Although the kids at the orphanage were very welcoming when I arrived last Monday, by the end of the week they were much more lively – just small things like wanting to hold your hand as they walk to class, leaning in for a hug during story time, or telling you random pieces of information (that usually make no sense because they speak half English/half Xhosa when they’re really excited or frustrated). My work with the special needs children last week was pretty simple because I was trying to gauge their abilities so I spent time coloring with Gertrude (a young girl who doesn’t speak but smiles when you make eye contact and nods when you talk), reading to Ruben (the boy with cystic fibrosis), and helping Alutha walk around the room (he has poor eye sight and hearing, and his legs are very weak, so he needs to hold onto something at all times). This week I’m hoping to get a few projects going with Gertrude to stimulate her mind and the weather is supposed to finally be nice so I’ll get them outside for some exercises. On Friday’s we only volunteer until 1pm, but its “Fun Friday” so after song/story time we have 2 hours to either play games or do crafts. This past week we decided to bring cupcakes and let them decorate with icing and sprinkles, which they loved! Before we even got the completed cupcakes on plates they were climbing over each other in excitement. However, when the time came they licked the icing off and proceeded to take one bite of cake, say “ew teacher” and crush them…ultimately starting a food fight. There were crumbs in every corner of the room. Let’s just say this Friday no food will be involved!

I spent the weekend in Cape Town with 4 of my friends and had a blast! It was a side trip offered by GVI so the package included transportation to/from the city as well as 2 nights at a nice hostel near downtown and a tour on Sunday. We arrived around 5pm on Friday so we just walked around a bit then went out to dinner at a restaurant named Arnolds which is known for its authentic cuisine. I got adventurous and ordered the game platter – crocodile ribs, warthog ribs, ostrich fillet, and gemsbok fillet. When in South Africa, right? I surprisingly really enjoyed the ostrich, and the warthog wasn’t too shabby either. The gemsbok tasted like a cheap steak from home, and crocodile (in my opinion) is repulsive. On Saturday the plan was to take a tour of Robben Island, but we arrived at the harbor at 8:30am to find it was cancelled due to weather. Although I was really looking forward to it, the day was salvaged. We bought tickets for the double decker bus which ended up having a wine tour included so we took a little ride around the city (in the pouring rain) then went on the wine tour/tasting followed by an afternoon of shopping at the waterfront. There are multiple worthwhile markets in Cape Town, but at the waterfront there are 2 huge “sheds” – the blue and the red craft market. The red was mainly food, none of which looked appetizing, but the blue one…oh my gosh. The vendors had everything from cultural music and jewelry to unique art or random odds and ends. I woke up to sunny blue skies on Sunday for the first time since last Sunday, hooray! The bus tour began with a drive by the soccer stadium where the 2010 World Cup took place (of course, I’m already looking into the possibility of going to a game there before I leave!). From there we took a scenic cruise along the coast to the Boulders National Park, home of the African Penguins! They were rather adorable little creatures, and quite lazy haha Next we arrived at the Cape of Good Hope National Park where the bus dropped us off at the entrance and gave us bikes to take a 6k ride to the visitor center! It was a great way to see the sites, including a wild ostrich in the distance – yes, I rode a little quicker when I saw it. After a lunch break we journeyed on to Cape Point, which had the most picturesque views of the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other. On our way to the Cape of Good Hope, our last stop of the day and the most Southwestern point of Africa, we stumbled across a unique roadblock – baboons! All weekend I had seen signs stating, “don’t feed the baboons” but I somewhat assumed they were joking. It was very surreal; all traffic came to a complete stop as a pack of about 8 baboons walked down the road looking for open windows to jump in and the scent of food.

Ultimately I’d say it was a perfect first weekend in South Africa! Minus the rain on Saturday, but I’m going to try and reschedule the Robben Island tour for the morning I leave. Next weekend should be just as thrilling (weather permitting) and I’m excited for another great week of volunteering with the children so stay tuned! Here’s a few pictures of what I just rambled about (the internet is awful so hopefully at least 1 comes through) – if you’re friends with me on facebook there’s many more!

Posted in the wrong order, READ THE ONE BELOW FIRST

Hello again! Alright, now that the endless babble about “my new house” “my new town” “my new friends” is over (Did anyone read that in a whiney child’s voice? Just me? Must be the influence of the kids already…) here’s some information about the main reason I’m here – volunteering.

First of all, Monday morning we had a Xhosa (pronounced – Ku-Sa) lesson from a local woman named Connie. She is also the one who comes in Monday – Thursday and tidies up the apartments and prepares dinner, which we then heat up at night. So far all the food has been pretty good! They’re lacking on the vegetables, but there’s always salad and then we have fruit and other items available to us for breakfast and lunch – and a grocery store nearby. The only way I can describe the language lesson is OHHH MY GOSH, DISASTER; however, also so incredibly hilarious. It is nothing comparable to English, Spanish, Italian, or anything else I’ve come across. It may as well be Chinese (I’d say Greek, but my Greek friend actually did the best because apparently the pronunciation and letter combinations are similar). I can say hello! “Molo” – progress J

After the lesson Moses came and picked us up for a tour of the 3 volunteer sites – Nursery (pre-school), Grade R (kindergarten), and the Orphanage, which are all located in the same township. I wish I had pictures because I don’t think there is any way to describe it to truly do justice. Considering what I’m used to in America, when we drove through I couldn’t help but be utterly shocked and rather overwhelmed. In comparison to what I’ve grown up with and seen, these people live in unbearable conditions and yet I haven’t seen ONE unhappy/sad/angry face. Material goods aren’t important in the townships; it’s solely about pride in their community and culture. They have salons, “restaurants” that are cooking meat and vegetables, electronic stores, pharmacies, etc. But the buildings are stacked one next to another and while a couple are made of cement or brick, a majority are just rusty pieces of metal or slabs of wood nailed together into a structure the size of my dorm rooms in college. We aren’t allowed to bring cameras or phones on site (the program coordinators take pictures for us) so I’ll have visual displays as soon as I can.

Okay last bit – the orphanage, my project for at least the next 3 ½ weeks. There are 16 children in total, 9 rambunctious little ones (all under the age of 8) and 7 special needs children (all under the age of 12). There are 6 building on site, each with a different purpose. There are care takers on site 24 hours a day so our job is really just focused on the education and social behavior aspect of the kids day. We arrive around 9am and from 9-10 we have song time where everyone sits in a circle and we sing interactive games, then from 10-11 we have story time in small groups (that doesn’t usually last the full hour as you can imagine) From 11-12 they have snack time, and we do too haha, then from 12-1 they have class time. During this time they break up into age groups and each volunteer has their own students. I got placed with the special needs children, which at first I wasn’t thrilled with because everyone knows how I love my toddlers, but after spending an hour with them today and learning about their personalities/how I can help I couldn’t be more honored to have this opportunity. They are each so unique, and in their own way show so much gratitude for the smallest thing you do (for instance – today I played peak-a-boo with a child who has cystic fibrosis so he is bed ridden and can’t speak, I have never seen a bigger smile and happier laugh!!!!) So every day for an hour I will spend time with each of these kids, I have a few project ideas to do with a couple of them that I am going to run by my coordinator tonight. Next we have lunch for an hour, then the other volunteers take student 1 by 1 for individual help during which I get to play with the other kids – bring on the toddler time! Around 4pm Moses brings us home and we have free time/lesson planning/dinner. I think we also have social events once a week, but I’ll keep you posted.

Okay, even I’m tired of what I’ve said. But now everyone is up to speed! As I’ve said, internet is spotty and apparently I have the wrong converter, so I’ll check back in early next week to give an update of my cute kids and about my adventure of a weekend I planned J Love and miss everyone!

Hello Hello From Gordon's Bay, Western Cape!!

Quick follow up from the first entry - my bag finally arrived! Not until Monday afternoon, but I couldn't have been happier to see it.

I’m not sure who is following this, but I know my Mom has been anxiously waiting for an update so get ready! Due to jet lag/culture shock/meeting new people/the stress of not having my bag I will admit I have slacked on the blog responsibilities but I’ve got a system now so no more lagging I promise J Unless the Internet fails like it did yesterday when I tried to post...anyway, since SO much has happened in the last few days I’ve decided to create 2 posts so all you readers out there don’t have to sit through a novel in one sitting, especially since I won’t post again until Sunday or Monday when I get back from weekend #1 adventures. Also, the rest of my posts will have pictures included but since I haven’t had a camera and it’s not the best idea to have your Iphone out all the time, this one is strictly written descriptions. Here we go!

If we're being totally honest, I almost turned around 3 times on my way to South Africa. Luckily I've gotten smart enough to not listen to my brain when I start over thinking, and thank goodness I stuck with it! I can already say with confidence - I love it! To start, I was greeted at the airport by a man named Moses (he drives us to/from volunteer sites every day) who immediately after confirming I was the last person he was waiting on gave me a HUGE hug and said "Welcome to Africa!" From then on everyone I have met (in the program and locals) has been extremely nice. Here’s the rundown on where I live/who I’m spending all my time with -

I live in Gordon's Bay, which is about 45 minutes outside of Cape Town. From what I've seen and been told it's a pretty safe area, assuming you use common sense (don't flash around your money or electronics, don't walk alone at night, etc) If you take a 10 minute walk from my apartment you end up at a marina where there are a few restaurants on a pier, then another short walk down the beach is "main street" Gordon's Bay with a few pubs, restaurants, and tourist shops. On Sunday the program coordinators gave us a tour of the area that was a lot of fun, and it happened to be the only sunny day we're expected to have this week! I'd post pictures but my camera was in the lost bag. I’ll have plenty more chances to get some though so don’t fret :) For any of you who have been to or seen pictures of Northern Spain the beach/bay here looks like the ones in Bilbao and San Sebastian, but the water is a little clearer and has rocks protruding in the shallow areas.

Alright some info about my living situation/roommates! I live in a complex called Mont Blanc where GVI has 3 apartments next to each other, each with their common area serving a different purpose. One is the resource room with a ton of different books and arts and craft materials and tips from past volunteers, one is the "living room" where there are couches and a tv/dvd player, and the last (where I live) is the kitchen and shower (most bathrooms here only have a bath - ew haha) There is also a town house a few blocks away with 3 volunteers, there are 12 of us all together – plus 1 program coordinator at each location. My immediate roommate is Clare from England, she's really nice and we get along great. I am very proud to say that I converted her to being a fan of peanut butter yesterday! It’s a big deal considering in one of our first conversations she told me she hates it so I officially made it my mission to get her to like it by the end of my stay – only took 3 days! Our first night here we had a mini-vocabulary lesson on American vernacular versus British. In general, Americans seem to be the odd ones out compared to any other country - shocking haha I have also met people from Greece, Bolivia, New Jersey, Virginia, and there are multiple people from Australia and England. Needless to say dinner conversations have been quite entertaining! There is a group of 5 of us bonded right from the start so we already have plans for every weekend I’m here!

Okay that’s enough…

Travel is never boring

Well, my Europe blog seemed to be a success so here goes another one! As I'm sure everyone who is reading this knows, I am headed to South Africa to volunteer on community and child care initiatives in/around Cape Town for the next 4 weeks.

Since I'm not sure how my access to Internet will be once I arrive, I wanted to get this started while I wait in London so I can just update as needed. However, Heathrow hasn't gotten on board with the whole "free wifi" thing so since I only have 30 minutes of free usage here's a summary of the last 19 hours -

1 faulty piece of flight paperwork. My ticket out of Boston said British Airways, but in reality it was operated through American - they're in totally different buildings at the airport and most of you know how I feel about humidity haha

2 delayed flights. Thankfully there was a nice cafe near my gate and my red eye flight had personal TV's. Yes Mom, I looked for NCIS. No, they didn't have it. Good thing I got a great book recommendation!

My one and only bag (yep, that big one that almost made me fall over the first time I put it on) got left at JFK...that means I get to go shopping my first day in Cape Town, right?!

Word to the wise - I may not be the best travel buddy, but I keep things interesting!

Oh well, gotta go with the flow. I will update this as often as I can (hopefully once a week with pictures, and much more exciting news of course) I should also be reachable via Facebook and email. Time to find some yummy British food...or the Starbucks I'm sitting across from :) Let the adventure continue! Adios.