I can not believe this is my last weekend already! It was very nice because it was the very first weekend that I was on my own and had no schedule. I am not much of a planner and each weekend has been mapped out for me so far. This Friday a few of us went to this really adorable little bistro and had some wonderful food and great wine. Saturday I got a full body massage at a beautiful spa in town (and it was SO affordable). I went out for some lunch by myself and then rented a bike for 4 hours. I rode around town and along the ocean. It was fabulous and a great way to see the area. Everyone kind of did their own thing this weekend. Katie is at Phinda all weekend which is this extremely posh game reserve (about 600 dollars a night!), and Sarah is at Sodwana Bay scuba diving. Some of the others have just been around town. I think later today I will head to the beach with Heather (a new girl from Minnesota). I can't believe I have to say good-bye to the ocean so soon. Very sad about that.
This week went much better at the daycare. We had some REAL lessons and I feel like we got a lot more accomplished than before. I learned thatbeing absolutely silly and crazy with the kids is the BEST way to keep their attention since I can't speak Zulu. I was just plain nuts singing songs and dancing for them throughout our lesson and let me tell you it WORKS! I was very sick on Tuesday with food poisoning or something... so I am glad that is out of my system. Katie, Callie and I were able to visit the primary school this week which was quite the experience. We visited 2 english classes of 13 year old kids. It was obvious that many of the students have never seen a white person besides TV or magazines. They stared at us like zoo animals and laughed at us. They were nice, they just had to get used to us. It was a really good experience for me because I have never been the racial minority. I am so privileged and used to being white that I have never had to deal with that. At the daycare we are always the minority but the children have been around previous white volunteers so they are used to us and I have never felt awkward around them. Feeling out of place and uncomfortable because of your skin color is something most white people will never have to deal with so I am grateful that I can somewhat understand that feeling. I have not been mistreated because of my race or anything of that nature so I do not TRULY understand but I got a little glimpse on Wednesday. The english teacher kept insisting we keep in touch because he would REALLY like to visit the U.S. soon. He was very persistent with this so I promised I would keep in touch.
HIV education went well this week. We have 12 people attending this group of sessions which I feel is a great turn out. They travel quite far to get there so it shows they really want to learn. We have also had a lot of good questions...some I can not even answer.
It is so hard to believe that I am leaving this Friday already! I don't know how I am going to say good-bye to this place and these people. I really love it here. The scenery is breathtaking and the children are just incredible. It is amazing how close you can get to people that don't even speak your language.
I will be coming home with a better understanding of other cultures and a more well-rounded view of life and people...and also a little something called ringworm. Did I mention that?? Most of the kids at the daycare have it and now so do I. It was a lovely gift from them to me! :-)
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2 comments:
my sweet kate
i'm patiently waiting to call you in 10 minutes.
i really need one of your kind of weekends. i'm so sick of hiding from the cold. you make me want to ride my bike.
remember when you couldn't wait for the cooler weather? actually today is suppossed to be almost 40 outside. and tomorrow also but maybe 6 more inches of snow monday into tuesday. but they were wrong last week when we got zero. i pray they're wrong again. i need to sit outside in the sun.
i just have to say that i'm in love with African kids. really i would love to have one or two. i think they'll be sad when you and katie leave. i wonder if any of the previous volunteers made them laugh as they learned as you two have. hopefully the lessons learned will be with them forever.
you are a footprint in their little lives. maybe a couple of them will grow up to be teachers, just like the blond one that they'll remember from when they were little. maybe they'll be curious about where blond teachers come from and visit the US.
you probably have changed the future with your 4 weeks in their village.
i love you big.
in one more week i'll finally get to give you the big hug i've been waiting for. i can't wait to see you.
BIG kiss
love AK
Oh Sweetheart.... It was so good to read your comments again! I'm so glad to hear that you're feeling better and had an enjoyable weekend.
I am also glad to hear how much fun you were having at the daycare this week. You're absolutely right ... children LOVE silliness. And these children probably look forward to going to the daycare every day so they can eat and learn and smile and be smiled at. These children are SO beautiful. Do any of the volunteers ask the Zulu people if these children can be adopted by families from other countries? There are so many people here in the U.S. that would welcome them with open arms.
It would be wonderful if one of the folks from South Africa came to the U.S. to visit. I think that you would really enjoy showing someone what our country is like. However, I'm not so sure that someone from such a warm climate would enjoy the winter here. We're having such a hard winter. Much too cold this year!
Aaron came to Noelle's game on Saturday morning and they lost their first game. If you're reading this... Thanks for jinxing their winning streak Aaron! Ha! Just kidding!It was very sweet that Aaron came and a really nice surprise for Noelle.
I hope your last week in South Africa is a memorable one Honey. I think that you're going to have really hard time saying good-bye to all of those wonderful people.
My heart goes out to all of those women and children in South Africa that need help. And I'm so thankful for people like you and all of the other volunteers that travel so far from home to make a difference in their lives.
And ... If ringworm is all that you've picked up down there then I'm a very happy camper!
Okay beautiful girl, enjoy your last week and remember that I love you and I am always thinking about you.
Love,
Mom
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