Sanibonani!! Hey all!! Sorry to have taken so long to write again, this experience has been full of ups and downs, some that couldnt be put in to words. I traveled with a highway hospice for a day and saw HIV/AIDS patients, some days away from death, others only 4 years old and on ARVs, not fun to see, put important to understanding the deadly combination of poverty and disease that exists here. The next day we visited an orphanage, again, a harsh reality of the conditions that exist here, but an overall uplifiting experience, these children lead a great life now that they are at the orphanage, and having a 5 month old baby fall asleep in your arms while feeding him his bottle, and playing firetruck with a trouble maker 2 year old...how could that not brighten your week. We also visited an art show, the world opening of Make Art, Stop Aids, it will travel around the world after it leaves here, the pieces were amazing, and several incredibly hard to handle.
The next week we traveled to a rural area called Impendle. We went on an amazing hike along a river and then up a mounatin to a massive plateau covered with Khoisan paintings. I'll upload pics as soon as I can they were truly amazing. The hike felt great too! The hike included a black mamba(dealist snake in africa) in the trail, some crazy colored grasshoppers, massive spiders, and a rather territorial pack of baboons. The next day a bunch of us went for another hike our own, i was dubbed leader to watch for snakes ( we dont cover than in Widerness First Aid training, but whatever) that led us to a HUGE pack of baboons, who checked us out from the cliffs before we got to a waterfall and pool weve named Baboob Lagoon, where we bathed. We spent those few nights living in a large hut together, braiiing (barbequing) and then moved to the rural village to live with families. Katie and I stayed together...gogo (zulu for grandmother) was awesome, and kinda crazy) and the rets of the family was great too. They took us for walks and taught me how to play net ball (before the hoop fell on someones head, but thats another story) Our sisi (sister) is training to be a commmunity health worker, and gogo runs a nursery, and would rant (going from english to zulu) about how women have babies for grant money but dont want to raise them. I miss them terribly but batombile our sisi has already called to catch up. We were locked into the house, from the outside all night, and katie and I bonded over sharing a bucket to pee in. Real friends arent afraid to pee in the same bucket I guess. The van got terribly stuck on the way to pick us up to visit the clinic, and spent the morning trying to get itou, showing up to the clinic with with mud up to our knees, and the van still stuck in the mud. We went around with homebased care workers, less depressing than the last time we did this in the urban area, and then chatted with sisters at the clinic.
We recently said goodbye to the mamas weve been living with this whole time, and moved into a hostel before going to another rural location. Last Thursday Britney and I took our families our to dinner (ribs and milkshakes all around) to say thank you, and then on Friday we had a going away party with all of our mamas, it was sad to say goodbye, especially to my neighbor Shlindile, who I have spent time playing stones with after school and who introduced me to the young group of dancers I have been teaching occasionally. I will also miss mama, and the place I am used to calling home.
Then we went to the hostel for the weekend, decided it was about time to stop getting turned down from bars and dace clubs, and bought ourselves from lbd(little black dresses for those of you who dont speak girl) We went out on the town one night, and danced the night away, and the next layed low with some serious amounts of movie watching and beach time, and made ourselves a quiet candle lit dinner.
This past monday we headed to another rural location, Amantikulu. A strange mix of families, some had nice houses with TVs, cars, electricity, the works. Katie and I stayed together again, our home did not have elctricity. It was made up of several huts, on for cooking, and boy did we eat, and learn to cook, Ill have to make you all some Rural South African breakfast, its got quite a kick to it, in the form of curry powder. Our mama was a community health worker, she goes from house to house and educates the community. We went on her rounds with her one day and the next visited a sangoma (traditional healer) and a rural school, and then learned how to bead...everyone else is bringing home a lovley beaded AIDS ribbon...I will not be...I fail, arts and crafts have never been my thing, I accept it and embrace it. Then we returned to our mama, who well, didnt really talk to us at all, all week, but she had serveral neices who although then did not speak a word of English, we managed to hang out with very broken Zulu every night. I have been leaving pictures of all of you scattered around Africa, with my address on the back in return for my families addresses and pictures. I have also aquired a coveted recipe for steam bread while here...just wait. Oh, mama (real mama) I have taken serval pictures of long drop toilets inside and out since you inquired.
Which leaves us at today...I'm moving into our apartment (Aidan, Molly, Katie and I) will be living in an apartment on the Indian ocean for the next two weeks, to get TONS of work done, before we head to where our independent studies will be. I finally had an organization email be back about my indpendent study, I'm going to call tomorrow to try to sort our details, I wont tell you all about it, as to not jinx it, but hopefully soon I will be able to unvail my final project. Thats all for now I think, hopefully I have pictures soon, sorry for how long this, but its a fun update, and hopefully interesting ( I think, i hope?) let me now about news state side, a little bird told me a RGM is in town?? hi! Hope all is well with you. I love you all!! Ngiyakuthanda!! Stay Well Salani Kahle!!
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I am so glad you are back! This is the first I am hearing about the black mamba. Next time maybe you could decline the invitation to lead. Did you get baboon pictures? It sounds like you are getting the African experience you have wanted since you were 8.
ReplyDeletekatie - I'm glad you're having a full South African experience, lions and tigers and bears, oh my!!!
ReplyDeletejim