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!