Now that I am finished my first aid training for the LSE I am just putting some finishing touches on the policies and procedures. In order to do this I had to send a lot of emails to the Living Hope “high-ups” so they could make decisions on what they want done (for example, if a child is hurt and is on route to hospital who needs to be called and what is the policy on debriefing staff involved, etc). This is the stuff I don’t necessarily really enjoy doing but it still needs to be done!
Things are going really well in Kids Club. Meagan came up with the idea that we should give each child their own workbook for the lessons we do with them. Now that I have my own car we can just store the books in the truck (which is actually in the front of the car…gotta love the Beetle!). So we made a cover sheet for all the books that the kids colored in and pasted onto their books. There is a team coming in soon (the week of Dec 1 – 5 that is hosting a Christmas party for all kids clubs at each location (OV, Masi, Red Hill, Capricorn). The OV part is on Dec 3rd I believe. Each club within OV has to come up with something to perform for the other clubs (song or dance or skit). I think we are planning on doing a skit so for the next couple of weeks we are just writing the skit and practicing. I will try to tape it when we do it so you can all see it when I get back. I will give you more details about the skit as we make it.
This was a good week for me to get my own car. Nathan managed to get all of the OV LSE (and I) a free trial at the Fish Hoek gym with a personal trainer. So off we went Thursday. The gym is pretty nice and the trainer did a few short sessions with us including a core training session…man were my abs burning! After the workout Meagan’s family invited me over for dinner. Thursday is also the Youth night so after dinner I went with Meagan to Youth. Meagan is the Youth Leader while Chris, Al, Melissa, and Diego (soccer player) are on the committee and rotate leading the Youth. It was Chris’ night to lead and he did a great job. I haven’t seen much of the youth since the Retreat so it was nice to see everyone again. I think I am going to come every week from now on since I have my own car. After Youth Meagan and I ended up going to Fish Hoek beach for coffee. We ended up staying out a bit late and had quite an adventure on the way home. I will tell you the whole story when I get back (or individually on msn if you want to know now) but I probably shouldn’t be putting it on my blog. Just know that it wasn't anything really bad and everything is fine and we have learned our lesson about my driving home at night!
A new volunteer from America came on Tuesday. Her name is Krystal and she is a married 28-year old heart ultrasound/X-ray technician. She is only here for 2 weeks so we decided to try and pack as much sight-seeing into this weekend as possible. Friday was a half-day only so after we were all off Danielle took Ryan, Al, Krystal, and I into Cape Town. There is a tourist attraction just outside of CT called Table Mountain. You can look it up online if you would like. Everyone except Krystal and I have been up it multiple times so they dropped us off at the entrance and went exploring the town for a few hours while Krystal and I went up the mountain. It’s kind of like the Grouse Grind where you can either hike up it or take a cable car. Since it was scorching hot and we had a time limit we took the car up. The reason it is called Table Mountain is because at the top it is flat like a Table. This mountain overlooks ALL of Cape Town and the Peninsula and the surrounding areas. The view is breath taking. I will try to put up pics when I can but we are not allowed to up/download at the Teamhouse so it will have to wait til I have time to get to an internet café.
Saturday the OV girls came to the Teamhouse. We are starting to plan things for the Christmas break. They have a mandatory 3 weeks off around Christmas so that gives us plenty of time to get into trouble :P. We decided that watching a horror movie in a big dark empty (the other volunteers went to the waterfront) house on a fairly deserted beach road right by the ocean was a brilliant idea so we ended up watching Boogey Man 2. Horror movies don’t seem to bother Meagan too much but Melissa and I were pretty freaked out…the fact that Meagan seemed to pre-empt a few of the most suspenseful moments by grabbing Melissa and I in an attempt to freak us out more didn’t really help.
Sunday Danielle took Al, Krystal, and I to Cape Point. This is the Southernmost tip of Africa. Again, I was able to take so many amazing pics that I will bring back, some of which have me in rock faces and on edges of cliffs where the others really weren’t too keen on joining me. Come on guys, trails are meant to be walked off! This place is also infamous for its baboons (which we saw…one was sitting on top of this guys car…sooooo funny) and zebra (which we didn’t see) as well as the Bonte Bok and Ostrich (we saw these as well). It was nice to be able to check a few more things off of the sight-seeing list, I have now seen all the major tourist attractions in Cape Town and most of the ones on the Peninsula in the Sun Valley area.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
CAR TIME!!!
Today I got my Beetle. This was actually one of the biggest obstacles in my staying longer (if I wasn't staying with ACTS then I would need to get myself to and from work somehow) so now that I have it I am really excited! I phoned to confirm in the morning and told them that I MUST be back at Noordhoek by 2 p.m. at the latest (for Kids Club). The lady assured me that I would be back by then as the driver was to collect me at 10 a.m. So I waited. 10…1030…1045…finally he came. He was a really nice, friendly guy and we chatted most of the way. I wasn’t exactly sure how far away the car place was until I mentioned again that I had to be back by 2. He was like…you mean back at Noordhoek…I said well technically back at Ocean View. Ya, after that we didn’t talk a whole lot since he was driving quite quickly…to be perfectly honest it was actually like I was riding third in the Ambulance with lights and sirens…except there was no lights and sirens…nor were people really getting out of the way (although people don’t really get out of the way for the Ambulance either :P). Anyways, we made it and Best Beetle was absolutely amazing with getting me processed ASAP. I was told I could pick my Beetle (there were so many there that were AWESOME and I was really excited). The guy took me outside and said “Well would you like the green one or the white one?” “The green one :( (no cool paint job for me)” It is a pretty cool car though and has a lot of character. It has been in the African Beetle Rally before and has the HUGEST rack on top I have ever seen. The roof rack is actually the most solid thing on the car! The car itself has been very well…loved lets just say. It’s name is Chug-a-bug and it really does have a lot of character. I bet each scratch and each bump and each rust patch (and there are quite a few) has a story to tell.
After we got all the paperwork done the Beetle Man (I forget his name so I shall call him Bug) drove me to the petrol station (yes they call it a petrol station…gas here is also known as a cool drink which is basically a carbonated beverage). The attendant filled the car up (you DO NOT pump your own petrol here) and Bug handed me the keys. I was SOOOOO nervous. I explained to him that I had not driven stick in many years and that I am used to driving on the opposite side of the road. Bug said “Oh well then you’re better off than most of out clients…they haven’t EVER driven stick.” So off we went.
Did I mention yet that we had to scream at each other when we spoke? This car has quite a bit to say and it does so quite loudly :P Ii has a radio but I think that if we turned it on that you would not be able to hear anything over the engine anyways so the radio is pretty useless. It didn’t take me very long to get the feel of the car and so long as I remember that the driver stays close to the middle of the road (like it is everywhere in the world) then I will be fine. There really was nothing to be nervous about. So back we went to Best Beetle for the car inspection in case I brought it back with more damage (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…not possible!) and off I went back to Noordhoek and Ocean View.
I phoned Meagan as soon as I left (it was now 1 p.m.) to tell her I may be a bit late. She said not to worry, as the drive was about 45 mins. So off I went down the highway. OH MY LORD I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO SCARED IN A CAR! It is really windy here and Beetles are quite small so I was getting blown all over the road. Ryan warned me that the drive home would be the hardest thing and he WAS NOT kidding! In the contract I signed I was not allowed to drive faster than 95kph and I see why. Not only would the engine probably fall out, but the entire car would probably be picked up off the road and thrown to who knows where!!! Just so you know though this car is only being used around Fish Hoek/Noord Hoek/Sun Valley which is city driving. I am NOT taking that car on the highway again EVER. Best Beetle asked if I wanted them to come pick the car up when I was finished and I said YES!
I pulled into OV at about 2:15 p.m. (Meagan had already called to make sure I was still alive) and we packed up the car with all the Kids Club stuff. Chris and Melissa came along so I could drop them off at the Multi (where their Club is). Driving around OV is quite an experience in itself. Meagan, Melissa, and Chris laughed at me as I attempted to drive around the kids, cars, dogs, and people who really don’t get out of the way until you are almost on top of them. That will take some getting used to as well. It is safe though as I am exaggerating SLIGHTLY, but I am really glad to have my own car and it is quite safe in OV. I think a HUGE part of the reason I had problems the first day is that the people weren’t moving because they were staring at my car in disbelief that it could actually drive still. To be perfectly honest I don’t really blame them! I will be putting pics up as soon as I can!
After we got all the paperwork done the Beetle Man (I forget his name so I shall call him Bug) drove me to the petrol station (yes they call it a petrol station…gas here is also known as a cool drink which is basically a carbonated beverage). The attendant filled the car up (you DO NOT pump your own petrol here) and Bug handed me the keys. I was SOOOOO nervous. I explained to him that I had not driven stick in many years and that I am used to driving on the opposite side of the road. Bug said “Oh well then you’re better off than most of out clients…they haven’t EVER driven stick.” So off we went.
Did I mention yet that we had to scream at each other when we spoke? This car has quite a bit to say and it does so quite loudly :P Ii has a radio but I think that if we turned it on that you would not be able to hear anything over the engine anyways so the radio is pretty useless. It didn’t take me very long to get the feel of the car and so long as I remember that the driver stays close to the middle of the road (like it is everywhere in the world) then I will be fine. There really was nothing to be nervous about. So back we went to Best Beetle for the car inspection in case I brought it back with more damage (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…not possible!) and off I went back to Noordhoek and Ocean View.
I phoned Meagan as soon as I left (it was now 1 p.m.) to tell her I may be a bit late. She said not to worry, as the drive was about 45 mins. So off I went down the highway. OH MY LORD I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO SCARED IN A CAR! It is really windy here and Beetles are quite small so I was getting blown all over the road. Ryan warned me that the drive home would be the hardest thing and he WAS NOT kidding! In the contract I signed I was not allowed to drive faster than 95kph and I see why. Not only would the engine probably fall out, but the entire car would probably be picked up off the road and thrown to who knows where!!! Just so you know though this car is only being used around Fish Hoek/Noord Hoek/Sun Valley which is city driving. I am NOT taking that car on the highway again EVER. Best Beetle asked if I wanted them to come pick the car up when I was finished and I said YES!
I pulled into OV at about 2:15 p.m. (Meagan had already called to make sure I was still alive) and we packed up the car with all the Kids Club stuff. Chris and Melissa came along so I could drop them off at the Multi (where their Club is). Driving around OV is quite an experience in itself. Meagan, Melissa, and Chris laughed at me as I attempted to drive around the kids, cars, dogs, and people who really don’t get out of the way until you are almost on top of them. That will take some getting used to as well. It is safe though as I am exaggerating SLIGHTLY, but I am really glad to have my own car and it is quite safe in OV. I think a HUGE part of the reason I had problems the first day is that the people weren’t moving because they were staring at my car in disbelief that it could actually drive still. To be perfectly honest I don’t really blame them! I will be putting pics up as soon as I can!
Week 8 (Nov 10 – 16)
This week was probably the busiest week I have had so far. Thank God that the ticket details all came together so Danielle and I could get back to Home Affairs Monday to begin the process of my passport extension. When we got there many people were standing around waiting for their passports. Since I had everything with me a small part of me was hoping that I could get my stamp that day. HAHA…wishful thinking or what! I gave all my documents and was told to come back in 3 weeks. I certainly hope that all goes well because I will be past the 30-day deadline to be approved for my extension with a changed return flight! Since it took so long at Home Affairs I had to go straight to Ocean View in the afternoon and was not able to work on the presentation at all.
I worked on my presentation Monday night and Tuesday morning and night to have it ready by Wednesday. It was a lot of work but I was pretty excited about it. I haven’t seen many of the other LSE since the training session we had way back in week 2. Wednesday morning came and was I ever nervous. Some of the Living Hope “high-ups” came for the liability portion of my intro where I explained EXACTLY what this course was and was not. It was purely informal and they would get their accredited course in the New Year. This was more of an informational session that would serve purely as an intro to any course they took. Since they don’t have a lot of first aid training it would help them out, and if something happened during the Christmas Holiday Clubs then they may choose to use some of the info they learned in this course to try to help one of the children. (Basically covering Living Hope and myself…the LSE understood what was going on). The training went SO WELL! I was able to get some songs for the compression timing. From what you have read in previous blogs you will know that these guys LOVE music and thought that doing CPR on fake people to the beat of the music was pretty entertaining. One of the PR reps came in and took some pretty good pics. They all got it after the first day, so I gave them paper to write 3 things they wanted to go over for the second day. That however, meant that I had to go home and prepare it ALL THAT NIGHT!!!! :S
The next day was review of choking/CPR, the Secondary Survey, and some of the minor First Aid they wrote on the paper from the day before. They also had A LOT of questions about how the body works and why certain things happen (for example, why do the lungs close when someone gets stung by a bee on another part of their body?). I certainly don’t need a South African First Aid certification to explain that! Basically, it went really well again. They can be a bit tough to handle sometimes since they (and I) have a bit of ADD (I think all people who work with children do) but most were really interested in what I was speaking about since they really see the need for it in their Clubs. Apparently quite a few of the Clubs have epileptic children and of course like back home they have heard everything from sticking your fingers in their mouth to hold the tongue back to trying to restrain the person by holding their arms and legs, etc, etc (which you DO NOT want to do…unless you want to be fingerless and have a choking seizuring child). Even after the day was finished I had people coming up to me asking more questions. I was very glad when it was all over though so that I can actually get some sleep again!
Kids Club is getting better and better. Meagan and I are starting to form a routine which is really helping with all the craziness. We usually do a big lesson 1 day a week, a craft one day, and just hang out one day (the days change though so we don’t have the kids just coming to the hang out day). Everyday though we have some play and game time, review of the lessons (we are doing the 10 Commandments now), some prayer time, the roll call, and they get their snack. I have been using my guarding whistle to bring the kids inside and have them sit. They know that 2 whistles means 2 lines (one boys and one girls) and Meagan made it a game the first week where if they weren’t in perfect lines then she would run to the other end of the room and blow it again, then run back…and so on which they thought was pretty hilarious. There are still a few children (the older ones with attitude) that are causing a bit of a problem but things are generally going really well.
I spent most of the weekend with the OV girls. Melissa’s friend Diego plays for one of the pro soccer teams and he had a game nearby so we all went to watch him. It’s basically exactly the same except for one thing which made me laugh hysterically every time I saw it. I think most people know that soccer is infamous for its dives…you know when the guys roll around on the ground trying to draw a penalty…and then bounce right back up completely fine. Well here every time someone even TRIPPED and fell on came the EMS crew with the stretcher. Even if the player got back up they HAD to sit on the stretcher and were promptly carried off the field. Then they were put down on the side lines where they got up and walked right back on the field. This happened without fail EVERY TIME!
I also got to experience some of the popular weekend spots. Friday night Leanne (family friend of Avril and John Thomas) took us to Happy Hour (6 – 7p.m. Friday nights) at the little pub down the street from the Teamhouse. It was PACKED! People here are just so much more relaxed and less intense though so it had a great vibe and I think we are planning on going every Friday from now on. Saturday night Ryan, Brenda, Al, and I went to a Tappas Bar called Pilanas. It’s RIGHT on the water with huge windows and has live entertainment weekend nights. It’s a really good place to unwind although it’s really expensive here).
I also sorted out getting my car for Monday (YESSSSSSSS). I will not be able to stay with ACTS much longer due to finances. I will be moving out of the Teamhouse soon so I will need to rent a car to get myself around. It will be from Best Beetle, which has a fleet of 70’s Beetles with ridiculous names and paint jobs. These cars have CHARACTER! Ryan has one named Booger. A previous volunteer had one named Bumblebee (you can guess why). I am pretty stoked about getting my car tomorrow so I can drive myself around Cape Town and get some of my independence back. Oh, for those of you who don’t know this the Bugs are standard not automatic. So I will be driving around a strange place with a standard (I haven’t driven stick in like 7 years) on the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road. HAHA. It’s ok though I’m used to the opposite side now and many volunteers (Ryan and Danielle included) have made the change just fine. Still though… I think I will probably be praying the entire dive back from getting my car!
I worked on my presentation Monday night and Tuesday morning and night to have it ready by Wednesday. It was a lot of work but I was pretty excited about it. I haven’t seen many of the other LSE since the training session we had way back in week 2. Wednesday morning came and was I ever nervous. Some of the Living Hope “high-ups” came for the liability portion of my intro where I explained EXACTLY what this course was and was not. It was purely informal and they would get their accredited course in the New Year. This was more of an informational session that would serve purely as an intro to any course they took. Since they don’t have a lot of first aid training it would help them out, and if something happened during the Christmas Holiday Clubs then they may choose to use some of the info they learned in this course to try to help one of the children. (Basically covering Living Hope and myself…the LSE understood what was going on). The training went SO WELL! I was able to get some songs for the compression timing. From what you have read in previous blogs you will know that these guys LOVE music and thought that doing CPR on fake people to the beat of the music was pretty entertaining. One of the PR reps came in and took some pretty good pics. They all got it after the first day, so I gave them paper to write 3 things they wanted to go over for the second day. That however, meant that I had to go home and prepare it ALL THAT NIGHT!!!! :S
The next day was review of choking/CPR, the Secondary Survey, and some of the minor First Aid they wrote on the paper from the day before. They also had A LOT of questions about how the body works and why certain things happen (for example, why do the lungs close when someone gets stung by a bee on another part of their body?). I certainly don’t need a South African First Aid certification to explain that! Basically, it went really well again. They can be a bit tough to handle sometimes since they (and I) have a bit of ADD (I think all people who work with children do) but most were really interested in what I was speaking about since they really see the need for it in their Clubs. Apparently quite a few of the Clubs have epileptic children and of course like back home they have heard everything from sticking your fingers in their mouth to hold the tongue back to trying to restrain the person by holding their arms and legs, etc, etc (which you DO NOT want to do…unless you want to be fingerless and have a choking seizuring child). Even after the day was finished I had people coming up to me asking more questions. I was very glad when it was all over though so that I can actually get some sleep again!
Kids Club is getting better and better. Meagan and I are starting to form a routine which is really helping with all the craziness. We usually do a big lesson 1 day a week, a craft one day, and just hang out one day (the days change though so we don’t have the kids just coming to the hang out day). Everyday though we have some play and game time, review of the lessons (we are doing the 10 Commandments now), some prayer time, the roll call, and they get their snack. I have been using my guarding whistle to bring the kids inside and have them sit. They know that 2 whistles means 2 lines (one boys and one girls) and Meagan made it a game the first week where if they weren’t in perfect lines then she would run to the other end of the room and blow it again, then run back…and so on which they thought was pretty hilarious. There are still a few children (the older ones with attitude) that are causing a bit of a problem but things are generally going really well.
I spent most of the weekend with the OV girls. Melissa’s friend Diego plays for one of the pro soccer teams and he had a game nearby so we all went to watch him. It’s basically exactly the same except for one thing which made me laugh hysterically every time I saw it. I think most people know that soccer is infamous for its dives…you know when the guys roll around on the ground trying to draw a penalty…and then bounce right back up completely fine. Well here every time someone even TRIPPED and fell on came the EMS crew with the stretcher. Even if the player got back up they HAD to sit on the stretcher and were promptly carried off the field. Then they were put down on the side lines where they got up and walked right back on the field. This happened without fail EVERY TIME!
I also got to experience some of the popular weekend spots. Friday night Leanne (family friend of Avril and John Thomas) took us to Happy Hour (6 – 7p.m. Friday nights) at the little pub down the street from the Teamhouse. It was PACKED! People here are just so much more relaxed and less intense though so it had a great vibe and I think we are planning on going every Friday from now on. Saturday night Ryan, Brenda, Al, and I went to a Tappas Bar called Pilanas. It’s RIGHT on the water with huge windows and has live entertainment weekend nights. It’s a really good place to unwind although it’s really expensive here).
I also sorted out getting my car for Monday (YESSSSSSSS). I will not be able to stay with ACTS much longer due to finances. I will be moving out of the Teamhouse soon so I will need to rent a car to get myself around. It will be from Best Beetle, which has a fleet of 70’s Beetles with ridiculous names and paint jobs. These cars have CHARACTER! Ryan has one named Booger. A previous volunteer had one named Bumblebee (you can guess why). I am pretty stoked about getting my car tomorrow so I can drive myself around Cape Town and get some of my independence back. Oh, for those of you who don’t know this the Bugs are standard not automatic. So I will be driving around a strange place with a standard (I haven’t driven stick in like 7 years) on the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road. HAHA. It’s ok though I’m used to the opposite side now and many volunteers (Ryan and Danielle included) have made the change just fine. Still though… I think I will probably be praying the entire dive back from getting my car!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Week 7 (Nov 3 – 9)
Sorry I have not written for so long. These past 2 weeks have been really really crazy busy for me. You will see why!
During the mornings I was slowly starting to put the rest of the details for the First Aid program together. I made the secondary survey sheet they will all learn how to use when they get their full first aid course in the new year. I also researched ideas for what Meagan and I could do in the Kids Club. We decided to start speaking about the 10 Commandments. Our kids are starting to get a bit unruly so we are going to speak about why we need rules and well as the “rules” that God gave Moses. Then we would come up with our rules together. This came about because Melissa and Chris also came with us and actually commented on how bad our kids were getting. After the first few weeks they had become used to Meagan and I and had started misbehaving. I had an idea about using a whistle (I had apparently kept my work whistle in my jacket pocket all this time) to bring the children inside and calm them down. There would be rewards for coming quickly, and consequences for not (those had yet to be decided). We were going to start Tuesday.
Tuesday turned out to be a really really hot day so we decided to take them to the beach on Tuesday and would go over rules the following week. Imagine about 150 kids and 4 adults. The walk took 30-45 minutes and the kids were actually quite well behaved. We went to Long Beach which is on the Noordhoek side (the same beach the Teamhouse is on but much further down the coastline). It was so hot that day and we had to carry all the food with us. The kids here are really helpful though and we all rotated carrying the sandwiches and oranges, as well as the backpacks that Melissa, Chris, Meagan, and I had. I have pics and some video (will have to wait til I get home for you to see it). I was wearing Capri pants and rolled them up (I was planning on just getting my legs wet). See, the thing about this beach is that it is a bit more dangerous than Fish Hoek since the current and waves are so much stronger. So my plan of staying fairly dry lasted until the first big wave came. After I was completely soaked I started swimming with the kids. Most did not have any bathing suits and swam in their underwear. Meagan was smart and had brought a rope so Chris and I stood about knee deep (chest deep when the big waves came) to mark off the boundary. Some kids played in the ocean while others did back flips off the huge sand dunes (the lifeguard in me was just slightly freaking out but that’s just how things are here).
After they swam we brought them out of the water to sit and eat. I had my back turned to the group and was taking pics of some of the kids playing on the playground when Meagan started calling for me. I turned around to see all of them crowding around one of the children. His name is Shawn and he is in Meagan and my club. He is one of the youngest (I think he is 4 or 5 years old). I wasn’t sure what was going on until I came a bit closer and heard him coughing and wheezing. He was choking on his sandwich. I ran over beside him to see how badly he was choking. His breathing was pretty ineffective and he was barely getting enough air to cough. I started thinking…ok here we are and I am going to start doing abdominal thrusts (if I have time) and this kid is going to go unconscious and I’m not even sure what the emergency number is. His eyes started rolling into the back of his head as I was about to landmark when he was able (Thank God) to get one last decent breath in and cough up his sandwich (biggest chunk I have EVER seen…poor kid has probably not eaten in a while and literally inhaled his sandwich).
For those of you who are keeping up with my blogs you will know that I was considering starting an informal first aid training program until it became apparent that I could not be insured here. One of the First Aid training companies here offered Living Hope an incredible discount to train all the LSE. This will not happen until the New Year. In about a month the Christmas Kids Clubs will start. Just in Ocean view alone they are expecting about 450 kids. The children will be fed, and if anything goes wrong a lot of the LSE really aren’t sure what to do. Shawn choking right in front of me made me realize that they need something NOW. I would never forgive myself if I had the chance to train them but didn’t and something happened at one of the Christmas Clubs. I emailed Avril Thomas right away. She got back to me and asked me for dates. Another American volunteer Pat Ball was an EMT back in America. She agreed to help me run the training session, as well as get some Actar/Annie dolls for CPR training. Another company agreed to sponsor the training and rent out their dolls at a very cheap rate. We set up the training for (what Pat and I thought would be) Nov 21st and 28th.
On Thursday Meagan escorted me to Cape Town (I was not allowed to go by myself…I was at the receiving end if many jokes from the OV people about this) to get my passport stamp. I had phoned on 2 occasions to ask what I needed and was told that since I am Canadian all I needed was my passport and 425Rand (about $50). Meagan decided that in order to have a full Cape Town experience we needed to ride third class on the Cape Town train. It was quite an experience for sure. First of all I was the ONLY white person in 3rd class riding there and it was quite obvious that Meagan and I were riding the train together. Apparently this is not a common sight on the train since almost EVERYONE else was staring at us. After a few vendors came by selling pretty much anything you could ever want, and the infamous blind man who plays his keyboard as he is guided by the arm by his friend (it was really sad actually…although he was really talented) we made it. Meagan asked where we were going and I said “Home Affairs.” She asked where that was and I said “Come on now I thought we were here for an adventure…I didn’t exactly get all the directions.” So off we went.
The first thing we did was get coffee and Meagan bought something called Koeksisters which are like GINORMOUS Timbits with coconut. They were pretty tasty. We eventually found a police officer who pointed us in the right direction. Home Affairs was an adventure in itself. We got in to find 4 or 5 different lines with no signs. I just stood in the shortest line to find out that we needed to go up to the second floor. When we got upstairs there were 2 lines (and no signs) but the nice security guard pointed us in the right direction. We sat down in chairs (as the line moves everyone just slides down a chair). Sitting directly across from us was a nun. I start pulling my cards out and Meagan says…
“Jess that’s a nun we can’t play poker in front of a nun.”
So I said “Ok we will play a different game then.”
“Which game?”
“Have you ever heard of Go Fish?” I asked.
“No what’s that game?”
“Here let me show you…”
and I proceed to teach Meagan Go Fish. As I started explaining the game the nun looks at us and says…
“What are you playing?”
“Go Fish.” I answered. “Would you like to learn?”
“Sure.” she says and Meagan, a nun, and I proceed to play Go Fish in Home Affairs, Cape Town while everyone else in the room was watching. Turns out she is from Ireland and is working here. When Meagan asked what her name was she said with the STRAIGHTEST face (Meagan and I had a bit more trouble keeping our faces straight) “I am Sister Mary.” (duhhhh). We played Go Fish and Old Maid for the 2 hours or so that we were sitting in the line. Finally it was my turn and I gave him my passport and my Rand, and he gives me an application. I stare at him blankly. On the application it asks for a Letter (stating my purpose for being in Cape Town) and a return ticket. I told him that I had phoned in twice already and was told that all I needed was my passport and Rand. He asked what the name of the people I spoke to was. I asked if I could tell him whether it would make a difference or not. He said no and that I needed to come back when I have all I need. “Oh, and by the way you need to bring it back within 30 days of your current passport stamp.” I looked at it and it said November 16th. This was the 7th and they were not open weekends. NOT COOL! I emailed home to get my ticket changed ASAP (THANKS!!!!!!! :)) so I could go back the following week to get it all sorted.
On Saturday we (Ryan, Danielle, Ryan, and I) went into Cape Town to explore. We went to Company’s Gardens (the Gardens dedicated to the Dutch/East India company that founded Cape Town). There was a lot of historical sites in the Garden (I have lots of pics). After we went to a restaurant called Mesopotamia. We sat on the floor in the restaurant and decided to get the group meal. For 150 Rand (about $11) per person we had a 3 course meal and a belly dancer for entertainment. Our meal lasted almost 3 and a half hours. It was soooo tasty. They actually bring the appetizers out and tell you about each one and everyone picks one to share. We could have just come for the appetizers for how full we were but that was just the first course. We will be going back for sure!
Sunday at Church I ran into Avril. She said that she really agreed that the LSE needed training and said that she agreed so much that she bumped the training days up to Wednesday and Thursday. My response was… “This Wed and Thurs?” Well yes Jess will that be possible? “Ummmmmm….yes….I think so…I will try….wow…that’s pretty close to today eh?” So began my second stress (Keep in mind I am still thinking about the fact that I may not get everything with my plane ticket sorted in time to be allowed to stay longer). I went straight back to the Teamhouse and started preparing for my presentation. It would be 3.5 hours on Wed and 3.5 hours Thurs and I hadn’t finished my teaching materials or arranging for all the dolls. I went home and started preparing.
During the mornings I was slowly starting to put the rest of the details for the First Aid program together. I made the secondary survey sheet they will all learn how to use when they get their full first aid course in the new year. I also researched ideas for what Meagan and I could do in the Kids Club. We decided to start speaking about the 10 Commandments. Our kids are starting to get a bit unruly so we are going to speak about why we need rules and well as the “rules” that God gave Moses. Then we would come up with our rules together. This came about because Melissa and Chris also came with us and actually commented on how bad our kids were getting. After the first few weeks they had become used to Meagan and I and had started misbehaving. I had an idea about using a whistle (I had apparently kept my work whistle in my jacket pocket all this time) to bring the children inside and calm them down. There would be rewards for coming quickly, and consequences for not (those had yet to be decided). We were going to start Tuesday.
Tuesday turned out to be a really really hot day so we decided to take them to the beach on Tuesday and would go over rules the following week. Imagine about 150 kids and 4 adults. The walk took 30-45 minutes and the kids were actually quite well behaved. We went to Long Beach which is on the Noordhoek side (the same beach the Teamhouse is on but much further down the coastline). It was so hot that day and we had to carry all the food with us. The kids here are really helpful though and we all rotated carrying the sandwiches and oranges, as well as the backpacks that Melissa, Chris, Meagan, and I had. I have pics and some video (will have to wait til I get home for you to see it). I was wearing Capri pants and rolled them up (I was planning on just getting my legs wet). See, the thing about this beach is that it is a bit more dangerous than Fish Hoek since the current and waves are so much stronger. So my plan of staying fairly dry lasted until the first big wave came. After I was completely soaked I started swimming with the kids. Most did not have any bathing suits and swam in their underwear. Meagan was smart and had brought a rope so Chris and I stood about knee deep (chest deep when the big waves came) to mark off the boundary. Some kids played in the ocean while others did back flips off the huge sand dunes (the lifeguard in me was just slightly freaking out but that’s just how things are here).
After they swam we brought them out of the water to sit and eat. I had my back turned to the group and was taking pics of some of the kids playing on the playground when Meagan started calling for me. I turned around to see all of them crowding around one of the children. His name is Shawn and he is in Meagan and my club. He is one of the youngest (I think he is 4 or 5 years old). I wasn’t sure what was going on until I came a bit closer and heard him coughing and wheezing. He was choking on his sandwich. I ran over beside him to see how badly he was choking. His breathing was pretty ineffective and he was barely getting enough air to cough. I started thinking…ok here we are and I am going to start doing abdominal thrusts (if I have time) and this kid is going to go unconscious and I’m not even sure what the emergency number is. His eyes started rolling into the back of his head as I was about to landmark when he was able (Thank God) to get one last decent breath in and cough up his sandwich (biggest chunk I have EVER seen…poor kid has probably not eaten in a while and literally inhaled his sandwich).
For those of you who are keeping up with my blogs you will know that I was considering starting an informal first aid training program until it became apparent that I could not be insured here. One of the First Aid training companies here offered Living Hope an incredible discount to train all the LSE. This will not happen until the New Year. In about a month the Christmas Kids Clubs will start. Just in Ocean view alone they are expecting about 450 kids. The children will be fed, and if anything goes wrong a lot of the LSE really aren’t sure what to do. Shawn choking right in front of me made me realize that they need something NOW. I would never forgive myself if I had the chance to train them but didn’t and something happened at one of the Christmas Clubs. I emailed Avril Thomas right away. She got back to me and asked me for dates. Another American volunteer Pat Ball was an EMT back in America. She agreed to help me run the training session, as well as get some Actar/Annie dolls for CPR training. Another company agreed to sponsor the training and rent out their dolls at a very cheap rate. We set up the training for (what Pat and I thought would be) Nov 21st and 28th.
On Thursday Meagan escorted me to Cape Town (I was not allowed to go by myself…I was at the receiving end if many jokes from the OV people about this) to get my passport stamp. I had phoned on 2 occasions to ask what I needed and was told that since I am Canadian all I needed was my passport and 425Rand (about $50). Meagan decided that in order to have a full Cape Town experience we needed to ride third class on the Cape Town train. It was quite an experience for sure. First of all I was the ONLY white person in 3rd class riding there and it was quite obvious that Meagan and I were riding the train together. Apparently this is not a common sight on the train since almost EVERYONE else was staring at us. After a few vendors came by selling pretty much anything you could ever want, and the infamous blind man who plays his keyboard as he is guided by the arm by his friend (it was really sad actually…although he was really talented) we made it. Meagan asked where we were going and I said “Home Affairs.” She asked where that was and I said “Come on now I thought we were here for an adventure…I didn’t exactly get all the directions.” So off we went.
The first thing we did was get coffee and Meagan bought something called Koeksisters which are like GINORMOUS Timbits with coconut. They were pretty tasty. We eventually found a police officer who pointed us in the right direction. Home Affairs was an adventure in itself. We got in to find 4 or 5 different lines with no signs. I just stood in the shortest line to find out that we needed to go up to the second floor. When we got upstairs there were 2 lines (and no signs) but the nice security guard pointed us in the right direction. We sat down in chairs (as the line moves everyone just slides down a chair). Sitting directly across from us was a nun. I start pulling my cards out and Meagan says…
“Jess that’s a nun we can’t play poker in front of a nun.”
So I said “Ok we will play a different game then.”
“Which game?”
“Have you ever heard of Go Fish?” I asked.
“No what’s that game?”
“Here let me show you…”
and I proceed to teach Meagan Go Fish. As I started explaining the game the nun looks at us and says…
“What are you playing?”
“Go Fish.” I answered. “Would you like to learn?”
“Sure.” she says and Meagan, a nun, and I proceed to play Go Fish in Home Affairs, Cape Town while everyone else in the room was watching. Turns out she is from Ireland and is working here. When Meagan asked what her name was she said with the STRAIGHTEST face (Meagan and I had a bit more trouble keeping our faces straight) “I am Sister Mary.” (duhhhh). We played Go Fish and Old Maid for the 2 hours or so that we were sitting in the line. Finally it was my turn and I gave him my passport and my Rand, and he gives me an application. I stare at him blankly. On the application it asks for a Letter (stating my purpose for being in Cape Town) and a return ticket. I told him that I had phoned in twice already and was told that all I needed was my passport and Rand. He asked what the name of the people I spoke to was. I asked if I could tell him whether it would make a difference or not. He said no and that I needed to come back when I have all I need. “Oh, and by the way you need to bring it back within 30 days of your current passport stamp.” I looked at it and it said November 16th. This was the 7th and they were not open weekends. NOT COOL! I emailed home to get my ticket changed ASAP (THANKS!!!!!!! :)) so I could go back the following week to get it all sorted.
On Saturday we (Ryan, Danielle, Ryan, and I) went into Cape Town to explore. We went to Company’s Gardens (the Gardens dedicated to the Dutch/East India company that founded Cape Town). There was a lot of historical sites in the Garden (I have lots of pics). After we went to a restaurant called Mesopotamia. We sat on the floor in the restaurant and decided to get the group meal. For 150 Rand (about $11) per person we had a 3 course meal and a belly dancer for entertainment. Our meal lasted almost 3 and a half hours. It was soooo tasty. They actually bring the appetizers out and tell you about each one and everyone picks one to share. We could have just come for the appetizers for how full we were but that was just the first course. We will be going back for sure!
Sunday at Church I ran into Avril. She said that she really agreed that the LSE needed training and said that she agreed so much that she bumped the training days up to Wednesday and Thursday. My response was… “This Wed and Thurs?” Well yes Jess will that be possible? “Ummmmmm….yes….I think so…I will try….wow…that’s pretty close to today eh?” So began my second stress (Keep in mind I am still thinking about the fact that I may not get everything with my plane ticket sorted in time to be allowed to stay longer). I went straight back to the Teamhouse and started preparing for my presentation. It would be 3.5 hours on Wed and 3.5 hours Thurs and I hadn’t finished my teaching materials or arranging for all the dolls. I went home and started preparing.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Week 6
Well I have quite a few updates for you. I will start with my Housing situation with respect to staying longer. There is a Christian employee of Living Hope named Ursula. She hosts a few international students from the University of Cape Town in her home. Another Living Hope volunteer (Becky) is staying with her right now. It turns out that a few of her girls are leaving so she will have space in her house. It was actually Becky who thought of the idea of my staying with them instead of ACTS to keep costs a bit lower. Normally ACTS and Living Hope don’t let volunteers stay outside of the ACTS organization but due to certain factors such as the length of my stay and Ursula providing a safe Christian home, both ACTS and Living Hope said it would be ok. I WAS SO EXCITED. There were still quite a few logistical things to be taken care of such as my transportation, extending my insurance, changing my ticket, and asking work for the time off, but as the week went by almost everything was taken care of. I will be renting a cheap car from Best Beetle, my insurance could be extended for a reasonable cost, and I could take up to 3 weeks off from work. The only things I have left to do now are change my ticket and go to Home Affairs in Cape Town to get my passport stamped. The total cost for me to stay another month is about $900 including absolutely everything (not too bad at all).
The First Aid program is moving along. I received a few generous quotes from different companies. I looked further into my getting certified and even if they could fast-track me a bit it would still take about 6 months :(. So for now it looks like I may have a qualified assistant to help me teach a quick informal course before Christmas, and then the Life Skills Educators would get a fully accredited Level 1 course taught by a certified instructor sometime early next year. If anyone has any desire to support this please let me know!!! There MAY be some funds available but we are still not sure. They really need this training (in all communities they are involved with 2100 kids in schools and about another 1400-1500 in Kids Clubs).
The Kids Club this week was a bit challenging. Now that the kids are used to Meagan and I some of them are acting up a bit. The fact that I can’t speak Afrikaans really doesn’t help. Most of them are amazing and really are quite helpful but a few seem to enjoy stirring up trouble. For those of you that didn’t read my first post, my housemate Danielle is a schoolteacher who actually teaches the LSE most of the curriculum used in Kids Clubs and schools. I asked her for some advice on how to handle the kids and she was able to help me come up with a few ideas that Meagan and I can start using next week.
Also this week the lease was up on the Crags so Thursday we moved into THE TEAMHOUSE!!! This is the place where we had our Holiday Club training…you know, the one with the AMAZING VIEW!!! I have a few pictures of the sunset our first night here that I will put up as the week goes on. Ya, that’s pretty much how it is here every night now since the weather is so nice (not to rub it in or anything :P). We also met our new housemate Al. He is a 30-something American and he fits in really well. Also staying here is Brenda (an employee of Living Hope from the US) and Leanne (family friend of John and Avril Thomas who is here for 2 weeks). Oh, I forgot to mention the gourmet chef who cooks here. Her name is Nadine and she is a fabulous cook! She also makes desserts!! I am going to need to be careful. Speaking of careful, I was able to weigh myself the other day and I have started running again. I stopped for about 3 weeks because I had a bad cough and my lungs couldn’t handle it but I am better now. The sand at the teamhouse is really soft and I tried running on it and discovered that it is about a million times harder to run on then the trails I am used to. I got the best quad workout I have had in a long time and I can barely walk after my runs. The beach here (Noord Hoek beach) is not as safe as Fish Hoek though so Al and I go together and stagger about 20 secs apart so we will be fine.
A few of you have asked about Halloween here. Halloween is kind of here but it is VERY different than back home. Here it is seen as Satan’s birthday so it’s not quite the fun candy-filled dress-up in costume party that it is back home. In fact, as I mentioned before this is the time kids go missing for child sacrifices and such so to answer you…Halloween is here but I certainly will not be participating in the local Halloween festivities. The American volunteers and I did, however, go to the Talley’s house for homemade pizza’s and games that were really nice.
Construction Day Friday found half of us at Maggie’s to finish her roof while the other half painted the outside of the Living Hope building in Capricorn. It started as 4 containers on a concrete block. They were located at each corner of the cement slab. A team raised funds to close the gaps so now there is a closed-in building with containers at each corner. The containers are not the same color as the rest of the building though so we were asked to paint the containers white to match the rest of the building.
It was a busy weekend for us! Saturday morning was the fundraiser for the Mobile Music Academy (Ryan’s project). Funds have been raised to support 4 kids in Capricorn who have absolutely amazing NATURAL musical talent. One day each week Ryan assists in their training and mentoring. I have pics and video of the fundraiser. The Academy was only just thought up in July and even in such a short time the kids have done so well! Basil is the oldest boy, then Michaela, and Bronwill and Winston are the younger boys. Sunday after Church we went to the annual Noord Hoek Country Fair. It was so much fun and we were able to enjoy doughnuts (yes, they have them here too and they tasted absolutely amazing). We go to check out the craft tables (people here are so talented) and catch some of the shows. The first clown show was hilarious! The second guy was pretty good. I have pics of both of them that I will put up later this week. Make sure you don’t try any of their stunts at home!
The First Aid program is moving along. I received a few generous quotes from different companies. I looked further into my getting certified and even if they could fast-track me a bit it would still take about 6 months :(. So for now it looks like I may have a qualified assistant to help me teach a quick informal course before Christmas, and then the Life Skills Educators would get a fully accredited Level 1 course taught by a certified instructor sometime early next year. If anyone has any desire to support this please let me know!!! There MAY be some funds available but we are still not sure. They really need this training (in all communities they are involved with 2100 kids in schools and about another 1400-1500 in Kids Clubs).
The Kids Club this week was a bit challenging. Now that the kids are used to Meagan and I some of them are acting up a bit. The fact that I can’t speak Afrikaans really doesn’t help. Most of them are amazing and really are quite helpful but a few seem to enjoy stirring up trouble. For those of you that didn’t read my first post, my housemate Danielle is a schoolteacher who actually teaches the LSE most of the curriculum used in Kids Clubs and schools. I asked her for some advice on how to handle the kids and she was able to help me come up with a few ideas that Meagan and I can start using next week.
Also this week the lease was up on the Crags so Thursday we moved into THE TEAMHOUSE!!! This is the place where we had our Holiday Club training…you know, the one with the AMAZING VIEW!!! I have a few pictures of the sunset our first night here that I will put up as the week goes on. Ya, that’s pretty much how it is here every night now since the weather is so nice (not to rub it in or anything :P). We also met our new housemate Al. He is a 30-something American and he fits in really well. Also staying here is Brenda (an employee of Living Hope from the US) and Leanne (family friend of John and Avril Thomas who is here for 2 weeks). Oh, I forgot to mention the gourmet chef who cooks here. Her name is Nadine and she is a fabulous cook! She also makes desserts!! I am going to need to be careful. Speaking of careful, I was able to weigh myself the other day and I have started running again. I stopped for about 3 weeks because I had a bad cough and my lungs couldn’t handle it but I am better now. The sand at the teamhouse is really soft and I tried running on it and discovered that it is about a million times harder to run on then the trails I am used to. I got the best quad workout I have had in a long time and I can barely walk after my runs. The beach here (Noord Hoek beach) is not as safe as Fish Hoek though so Al and I go together and stagger about 20 secs apart so we will be fine.
A few of you have asked about Halloween here. Halloween is kind of here but it is VERY different than back home. Here it is seen as Satan’s birthday so it’s not quite the fun candy-filled dress-up in costume party that it is back home. In fact, as I mentioned before this is the time kids go missing for child sacrifices and such so to answer you…Halloween is here but I certainly will not be participating in the local Halloween festivities. The American volunteers and I did, however, go to the Talley’s house for homemade pizza’s and games that were really nice.
Construction Day Friday found half of us at Maggie’s to finish her roof while the other half painted the outside of the Living Hope building in Capricorn. It started as 4 containers on a concrete block. They were located at each corner of the cement slab. A team raised funds to close the gaps so now there is a closed-in building with containers at each corner. The containers are not the same color as the rest of the building though so we were asked to paint the containers white to match the rest of the building.
It was a busy weekend for us! Saturday morning was the fundraiser for the Mobile Music Academy (Ryan’s project). Funds have been raised to support 4 kids in Capricorn who have absolutely amazing NATURAL musical talent. One day each week Ryan assists in their training and mentoring. I have pics and video of the fundraiser. The Academy was only just thought up in July and even in such a short time the kids have done so well! Basil is the oldest boy, then Michaela, and Bronwill and Winston are the younger boys. Sunday after Church we went to the annual Noord Hoek Country Fair. It was so much fun and we were able to enjoy doughnuts (yes, they have them here too and they tasted absolutely amazing). We go to check out the craft tables (people here are so talented) and catch some of the shows. The first clown show was hilarious! The second guy was pretty good. I have pics of both of them that I will put up later this week. Make sure you don’t try any of their stunts at home!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Week 5
On Monday night we (Mandy, Ryan, Danielle, Kate (Mandy’s roommate), Rita (Mandy’s friend), some of the OV girls (Meagan, Melissa, Tracey, and Annie), and I went to Ryan Dalton’s rap concert. Ryan is an American volunteer who just fell in love with Cape Town (I think he has been here for 8 years now) and does a lot of fundraising through his concerts. He is a Christian artist who uses what he has seen in the communities in his songs. Some songs hit me pretty hard. A lot of his lyrics are pretty graphic. He is doing amazing things though.
The First Aid program development idea has changed a lot this week! Monday I got an email from Avril Thomas (wife of John Thomas who started Living Hope) saying that she wanted me to go ahead with developing a full first aid program. I am really excited about it! As the week went on however, conversations with people back home as well as here resulted in the program changing. Since my certifications aren’t valid in South Africa and due to insurance and liability reasons, I really shouldn’t be teaching the First Aid, although I can still develop the program and assist whoever does teach it. So began my search for First Aid organizations/donors. The best options I have discovered thus far are a full Level One program valid for 3 years for about 385Rand per person (about $48CAD). This is REALLY cheap, even for here. The other option I am still looking at is with a company that is affiliated with Living Hope. We are still negotiating the price, although they said they can certify me here for about 2000Rand ($250CAD). Of course there will be additional costs for renting supplies and equipment, which must be factored in. Which option we take depends a lot on the funding that is available. I will keep you updated on what we decide. I am also considering fundraising for it so if you are interested in helping please let me know.
The new Kids Club is really a lot of fun! On Monday Meagan and I got the kids to make little fish attached to straws and were taught about how the disciples were fishermen before being called by Jesus. They usually get 1 or 2 Biblical teachings a week. On Tuesday we made South African flags. I have pics of the flags; it was a pretty big hit! The kids are starting to get used to me and are actually listening…well…kind of. The Club continues to grow as the kids bring more friends and family. The other pics I have are of the first week of the new Club when Meagan and I went door-to-door promoting it. On Wednesday we brought some sports equipment and face-paints to just hang out with the kids and play with them. Most of them don’t really have a chance just to hang out and play with adults in a positive environment, so days like today are really important for forming relationships with the kids. Thursday is the planning day, both for the Kids Clubs and for the school lessons the Life Skill Educators during the day. They really have such a huge impact in this community and are doing amazing things for these kids.
Fridays the long-term volunteers (Danielle, Ryan, Becky, and I) along with Mandy and the Talley’s are starting to work on people’s houses in the communities. Our first day we started in Capricorn on a woman named Maggie’s house. Half of us started a veggie garden in her front yard, while the other half fixed the ceiling in her house which was leaking and water-logged and falling off. We finished the garden but didn’t quite get the ceiling done, so we will be coming back next Friday. I certainly hope it doesn’t rain, although it hasn’t rained here for about 2 weeks so I think it will be ok! (not to rub it in or anything).
On the weekend the OV girls came over to hang out and stay Sat night. Most of the pics I have are of breakfast the next day which was quite an ordeal! They don’t really eat breakfast, so they were pretty impressed with the pancakes, strawberries, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream that we had. Not the healthiest breakfast, but it was pretty tasty that’s for sure! Sunday morning I went to their Church instead of KOK. Their Church is pretty amazing!!! As I mentioned before their worship is quite active and a lot of fun. After that we went into what I estimate is about an hour of prayer. Their services are really charismatic, that’s for sure! Close to the end of the prayer time Meagan brought me up to her pastor. He had quite a few encouraging words for me, one of which was regarding my money situation with respect to staying here (which I hadn’t talked to ANYONE about from here). I was pretty blown away actually, especially since most people here fundraise to come and there is NO way he would know that I did not really fundraise (other than grad gifts I got from my parents and family which were very generous). Other than Becky and I, almost ALL other volunteers did not pay out of their own pocket. He said that I didn’t need to worry about it, that things would be taken care of soon, and that people I didn’t really know well would be able to support me in my decision. So it will be very interesting to see what happens now! I will keep you all posted for sure!
The First Aid program development idea has changed a lot this week! Monday I got an email from Avril Thomas (wife of John Thomas who started Living Hope) saying that she wanted me to go ahead with developing a full first aid program. I am really excited about it! As the week went on however, conversations with people back home as well as here resulted in the program changing. Since my certifications aren’t valid in South Africa and due to insurance and liability reasons, I really shouldn’t be teaching the First Aid, although I can still develop the program and assist whoever does teach it. So began my search for First Aid organizations/donors. The best options I have discovered thus far are a full Level One program valid for 3 years for about 385Rand per person (about $48CAD). This is REALLY cheap, even for here. The other option I am still looking at is with a company that is affiliated with Living Hope. We are still negotiating the price, although they said they can certify me here for about 2000Rand ($250CAD). Of course there will be additional costs for renting supplies and equipment, which must be factored in. Which option we take depends a lot on the funding that is available. I will keep you updated on what we decide. I am also considering fundraising for it so if you are interested in helping please let me know.
The new Kids Club is really a lot of fun! On Monday Meagan and I got the kids to make little fish attached to straws and were taught about how the disciples were fishermen before being called by Jesus. They usually get 1 or 2 Biblical teachings a week. On Tuesday we made South African flags. I have pics of the flags; it was a pretty big hit! The kids are starting to get used to me and are actually listening…well…kind of. The Club continues to grow as the kids bring more friends and family. The other pics I have are of the first week of the new Club when Meagan and I went door-to-door promoting it. On Wednesday we brought some sports equipment and face-paints to just hang out with the kids and play with them. Most of them don’t really have a chance just to hang out and play with adults in a positive environment, so days like today are really important for forming relationships with the kids. Thursday is the planning day, both for the Kids Clubs and for the school lessons the Life Skill Educators during the day. They really have such a huge impact in this community and are doing amazing things for these kids.
Fridays the long-term volunteers (Danielle, Ryan, Becky, and I) along with Mandy and the Talley’s are starting to work on people’s houses in the communities. Our first day we started in Capricorn on a woman named Maggie’s house. Half of us started a veggie garden in her front yard, while the other half fixed the ceiling in her house which was leaking and water-logged and falling off. We finished the garden but didn’t quite get the ceiling done, so we will be coming back next Friday. I certainly hope it doesn’t rain, although it hasn’t rained here for about 2 weeks so I think it will be ok! (not to rub it in or anything).
On the weekend the OV girls came over to hang out and stay Sat night. Most of the pics I have are of breakfast the next day which was quite an ordeal! They don’t really eat breakfast, so they were pretty impressed with the pancakes, strawberries, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream that we had. Not the healthiest breakfast, but it was pretty tasty that’s for sure! Sunday morning I went to their Church instead of KOK. Their Church is pretty amazing!!! As I mentioned before their worship is quite active and a lot of fun. After that we went into what I estimate is about an hour of prayer. Their services are really charismatic, that’s for sure! Close to the end of the prayer time Meagan brought me up to her pastor. He had quite a few encouraging words for me, one of which was regarding my money situation with respect to staying here (which I hadn’t talked to ANYONE about from here). I was pretty blown away actually, especially since most people here fundraise to come and there is NO way he would know that I did not really fundraise (other than grad gifts I got from my parents and family which were very generous). Other than Becky and I, almost ALL other volunteers did not pay out of their own pocket. He said that I didn’t need to worry about it, that things would be taken care of soon, and that people I didn’t really know well would be able to support me in my decision. So it will be very interesting to see what happens now! I will keep you all posted for sure!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Week 4: NEW PROJECT!!!
Over the past few weeks my projects have been changing but I didn’t want to share it until I knew what was going on. As I mentioned previously many of the staff including the LSE do not have first aid training. What started as a small, short workshop for the LSE and support workers (home-based care) is turning into a huge project. In my development of the short workshop I discovered that there are NO policies regarding emergency response. So if a child is injured, for example, the LSE have no procedures to follow. When you think about how many children are attending the camps (at least 400 in OV alone, more than 400 in Masi, about 100 in Red Hill, 100 in Capricorn…and the list goes on for each community) it is absolutely necessary that the LSE have some idea of how to help an injured child. In fact, most people are not sure what the emergency number is even (they don’t have 911 here). So I started asking around to the high-ups for Living Hope and they soon realized the need for a full First Aid training program for all their staff (180 and growing). They have asked me to develop it from the ground up, from the actual training in first aid to their policies regarding what to do if a child breaks a bone (it is not as easy as calling 911 here), to actually writing down the legal documentation for all of Living Hope to be approved by the Board of Directors. I am really excited about this!!! I will have to draw from all my training and experiences from Lifeguarding to BC Ambulance to pretty much everything in order to complete this.
After Youth Camp last weekend Meagan was driving me home when we passed a Church in Ocean view. She said, “Oh, that’s where I will be working tomorrow (instead of doing the Club at the Multi-purpose center).” I asked her what she meant and she said… “Oh I guess I should have told you, Nathan was wondering if you would mind helping me out starting a brand new kids club at the Methodist Church instead of helping Timmy and Julie in Mountain view?” I was so excited!!! So it would just be her and I building this new Club from the ground up. So now during the day I would be preparing the First Aid policies and procedures, as well as preparing to teach all of Living Hope/Living Way/Living Grace staff, and in the afternoons I would be preparing for Kids Club and running the new club with Meagan.
The first day of club (Monday) was a lot of fun. Melissa and Chris brought some Multi Kids and helped us out for the first day. We played capture the flag, which was a lot different then back home. The kids went crazy and pretty much dogpiled on the buckets with the balls inside. At the end of it there was a lot of laughing, a few tears, and little pieces of streamer everywhere (they had streamer bracelets on that the kids on the other team would try to rip off to get them “out”). We got the kids to clean up, then Meagan talked to them for a bit, then we prayed and sang a worship song, then got their names and fed them. Oh, I forgot to mention that Meagan was dressed as a clown and I was a cowgirl with face painting and everything. Now to put this into perspective, imagine this over-crowded community with lots of kids running around, and this face-painted clown with the wig and everything coming down the street with a white chick (white people usually don’t go into these communities) who is wearing a cowboy hat with a horse painted on her face followed by all these kids screaming and running around and being…well…kids. Needless to say, we attracted quite a bit of attention. On Day 2 and 3 of the Club Meagan and I went door-to-door around “The Flats” to promote the club. Some people were really receptive and asked us to come in a sit down for a while. A lot of the kids already knew Meagan from the presentations she does in the schools and were really excited that we were starting a new Kids Club in their area. Others were a lot more reserved, or were Muslim and were not quite as open or excited about the club. After we walked around we went back to the Methodist Church where there was about 30 kids waiting. We played a few games that I played in camp when I was young (Red Rover and Giants, Wizards, Elves), took attendance, and fed everyone. Kids Clubs only run Mon-Wed with Thursday as the planning day and Friday the training day. Meagan and Melissa wanted to learn how to play poker and I always have my cards with mw in my bag (the same cards that caused so many problems at customs in the Airport…stupid cards…I should have thrown them out :P) So we spent part of our lunch on Thursday playing poker. Of course the other OV LSE gave me a hard time about promoting gambling and bringing in my crazy Canadian customs but I know they just wanted in on the action ( :); they were kidding don’t worry, these guys are never actually serious).
PEPFAR is the company that supports a lot of what Living Hope does and have said they want at least 80 kids in this Club (with only Meagan and I running it that will be a challenge). Well after the first 3 days (not all of the surrounding areas even knew about the Club yet) we had 72 kids on the register. Cool!!!
On a more serious note, Danielle said that the body of a 3-year-old girl was found murdered in Masi on Monday. A lot of rumours were flying around that it was a Zimbabwean couple that murdered her. There is a lot of racism and bad pride in Masi because this Black community has a lot of history and pride in their culture and land. They don’t always appreciate people from other places coming in to take their land (a lot of Zim people migrate here; most of the community is made of people from the Eastern Cape). A lot of the Zim stores were raided and looted. It later came out that it was not a Zim couple, but possibly a Zim Sanghoma (Witch Doctor; I’m not sure of the spelling) that told the couple to do it. Apparently a lot of people rioted on Tuesday. It got so bad that Tuesday night the Police shut down Masi to all traffic (no one in or out). This is the season for children going missing due to sacrifices since Halloween is coming up, which commemorates Satan’s birthday here. On Wednesday a rumour started that another woman was missing in Masi and that her body had been found with her breasts cut off. Masi was still in a bit of panic and people were obviously scared and fearing for their and their children’s lives. A woman named Faith is involved in Living Hope. She owns the house that the murderous couple lived in. The people of Masi were mad that she allowed such a couple to live in their community, so some of the citizens torched the house that the couple lived in, as well as the house that Faith currently lives in. She now stays in a bungalow that she works in behind the preschool. On Thursday we heard that some of the LSE in Masi have organized a March with the preschool kids and some of the Kids Clubs kids through Masi to show that the kids aren’t afraid. Danielle was able to go see the March (she was actually the only white person there). What it turned into was completely incredible. Not only did the preschool kids and Kids Club kids march, but children in grades 1-3 were pulled out of school to join the march through Masi. They were equipped with signs that said things like… “My body is my own” and “We have a future, don’t destroy it,” “Stop the killing,” “I deserve to have a future” and other things in both English and Goza. Danielle got some pictures that I will put up soon, but she estimates that there was between 400 and 500 kids. With this many young children you would think that it would be chaos, but they were all really serious and walked nicely in long lines through the town. They seemed to understand what they were marching for and took it quite seriously. I really hope this is the end of what is happening there. Apparently the missing woman was found and there was no woman with cut-off breasts, so things should start to calm down…hopefully!
Friday afternoon Meagan and Melissa picked me up (Friday afternoons have ended early for me since there is no Kids Club; starting next week all the volunteers will be doing something like Habitat for Humanity on Fridays working on peoples houses which should be a lot of fun!). We headed out for Weinberg with Melissa so she could get fitted for a bridesmaid dress. On the way we got a Gatspy, which is pretty much the most AMAZING THING EVER!!! Basically it is a sandwich on bread filled with different veggies, a kind of meat (chicken, beef, or bologna), and FRIES!!! It is actually pretty tasty, you should all try it sometime!
This past weekend was really restful for me. The weather here is absolutely amazing (except for one cloudy day we have had straight sun for over a week!!) so I went to the beach by our house on Saturday. I realized that I have been here for over a month and haven’t gone in the ocean yet; I have run by it many times but I haven’t swam, so it was time. The water was really warm surprisingly, and so incredibly clear. It was pretty much the temp of the pool back home!! The beach was packed though, and I got to meet quite a few people. I will be going back very soon, that’s for sure!
At the end of week 4, I am totally immersed in what I am doing here. I am really enjoying it and time is flying by way too quickly! Sorry for taking so long to put up more updates, I will try to come on every weekend!
After Youth Camp last weekend Meagan was driving me home when we passed a Church in Ocean view. She said, “Oh, that’s where I will be working tomorrow (instead of doing the Club at the Multi-purpose center).” I asked her what she meant and she said… “Oh I guess I should have told you, Nathan was wondering if you would mind helping me out starting a brand new kids club at the Methodist Church instead of helping Timmy and Julie in Mountain view?” I was so excited!!! So it would just be her and I building this new Club from the ground up. So now during the day I would be preparing the First Aid policies and procedures, as well as preparing to teach all of Living Hope/Living Way/Living Grace staff, and in the afternoons I would be preparing for Kids Club and running the new club with Meagan.
The first day of club (Monday) was a lot of fun. Melissa and Chris brought some Multi Kids and helped us out for the first day. We played capture the flag, which was a lot different then back home. The kids went crazy and pretty much dogpiled on the buckets with the balls inside. At the end of it there was a lot of laughing, a few tears, and little pieces of streamer everywhere (they had streamer bracelets on that the kids on the other team would try to rip off to get them “out”). We got the kids to clean up, then Meagan talked to them for a bit, then we prayed and sang a worship song, then got their names and fed them. Oh, I forgot to mention that Meagan was dressed as a clown and I was a cowgirl with face painting and everything. Now to put this into perspective, imagine this over-crowded community with lots of kids running around, and this face-painted clown with the wig and everything coming down the street with a white chick (white people usually don’t go into these communities) who is wearing a cowboy hat with a horse painted on her face followed by all these kids screaming and running around and being…well…kids. Needless to say, we attracted quite a bit of attention. On Day 2 and 3 of the Club Meagan and I went door-to-door around “The Flats” to promote the club. Some people were really receptive and asked us to come in a sit down for a while. A lot of the kids already knew Meagan from the presentations she does in the schools and were really excited that we were starting a new Kids Club in their area. Others were a lot more reserved, or were Muslim and were not quite as open or excited about the club. After we walked around we went back to the Methodist Church where there was about 30 kids waiting. We played a few games that I played in camp when I was young (Red Rover and Giants, Wizards, Elves), took attendance, and fed everyone. Kids Clubs only run Mon-Wed with Thursday as the planning day and Friday the training day. Meagan and Melissa wanted to learn how to play poker and I always have my cards with mw in my bag (the same cards that caused so many problems at customs in the Airport…stupid cards…I should have thrown them out :P) So we spent part of our lunch on Thursday playing poker. Of course the other OV LSE gave me a hard time about promoting gambling and bringing in my crazy Canadian customs but I know they just wanted in on the action ( :); they were kidding don’t worry, these guys are never actually serious).
PEPFAR is the company that supports a lot of what Living Hope does and have said they want at least 80 kids in this Club (with only Meagan and I running it that will be a challenge). Well after the first 3 days (not all of the surrounding areas even knew about the Club yet) we had 72 kids on the register. Cool!!!
On a more serious note, Danielle said that the body of a 3-year-old girl was found murdered in Masi on Monday. A lot of rumours were flying around that it was a Zimbabwean couple that murdered her. There is a lot of racism and bad pride in Masi because this Black community has a lot of history and pride in their culture and land. They don’t always appreciate people from other places coming in to take their land (a lot of Zim people migrate here; most of the community is made of people from the Eastern Cape). A lot of the Zim stores were raided and looted. It later came out that it was not a Zim couple, but possibly a Zim Sanghoma (Witch Doctor; I’m not sure of the spelling) that told the couple to do it. Apparently a lot of people rioted on Tuesday. It got so bad that Tuesday night the Police shut down Masi to all traffic (no one in or out). This is the season for children going missing due to sacrifices since Halloween is coming up, which commemorates Satan’s birthday here. On Wednesday a rumour started that another woman was missing in Masi and that her body had been found with her breasts cut off. Masi was still in a bit of panic and people were obviously scared and fearing for their and their children’s lives. A woman named Faith is involved in Living Hope. She owns the house that the murderous couple lived in. The people of Masi were mad that she allowed such a couple to live in their community, so some of the citizens torched the house that the couple lived in, as well as the house that Faith currently lives in. She now stays in a bungalow that she works in behind the preschool. On Thursday we heard that some of the LSE in Masi have organized a March with the preschool kids and some of the Kids Clubs kids through Masi to show that the kids aren’t afraid. Danielle was able to go see the March (she was actually the only white person there). What it turned into was completely incredible. Not only did the preschool kids and Kids Club kids march, but children in grades 1-3 were pulled out of school to join the march through Masi. They were equipped with signs that said things like… “My body is my own” and “We have a future, don’t destroy it,” “Stop the killing,” “I deserve to have a future” and other things in both English and Goza. Danielle got some pictures that I will put up soon, but she estimates that there was between 400 and 500 kids. With this many young children you would think that it would be chaos, but they were all really serious and walked nicely in long lines through the town. They seemed to understand what they were marching for and took it quite seriously. I really hope this is the end of what is happening there. Apparently the missing woman was found and there was no woman with cut-off breasts, so things should start to calm down…hopefully!
Friday afternoon Meagan and Melissa picked me up (Friday afternoons have ended early for me since there is no Kids Club; starting next week all the volunteers will be doing something like Habitat for Humanity on Fridays working on peoples houses which should be a lot of fun!). We headed out for Weinberg with Melissa so she could get fitted for a bridesmaid dress. On the way we got a Gatspy, which is pretty much the most AMAZING THING EVER!!! Basically it is a sandwich on bread filled with different veggies, a kind of meat (chicken, beef, or bologna), and FRIES!!! It is actually pretty tasty, you should all try it sometime!
This past weekend was really restful for me. The weather here is absolutely amazing (except for one cloudy day we have had straight sun for over a week!!) so I went to the beach by our house on Saturday. I realized that I have been here for over a month and haven’t gone in the ocean yet; I have run by it many times but I haven’t swam, so it was time. The water was really warm surprisingly, and so incredibly clear. It was pretty much the temp of the pool back home!! The beach was packed though, and I got to meet quite a few people. I will be going back very soon, that’s for sure!
At the end of week 4, I am totally immersed in what I am doing here. I am really enjoying it and time is flying by way too quickly! Sorry for taking so long to put up more updates, I will try to come on every weekend!
Youth Retreat
The theme of the Camp is… “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” Teens here struggle with the same things as teenagers back home with respect to trying to figure out who they are without succumbing to peer and media pressure to fit in. Drugs and alcohol are also a reality for these kids. Along with that they were encouraged with the fact that God has a plan for their lives no matter what struggles they have faced and they need to wait on Him and His guidance. The camp was a YMCA camp about an hour out of OV. We got all our stuff into 2 combies (passenger vans) and a small trailer. There was about 30 of us. As we made our way to the camp we could see a roadblock in the distance. The vans pulled over and the drivers started speaking Afrikaans to each other and some of the LSE (Life Skills Educators). From what I could piece together the small trailer had no insurance on it. So we put all the stuff in the trailer into the vans (which were already pretty squishy), someone came from OV to pick up the trailer, and off we went again. The Camp was really nice with a Church, a few rooms with bunk beds, a kitchen, and a pool. Taryn and Torrina from Mountain view came on the camp and helped me get to know the other girls. All the guys shared one room, and all the girls (about 20 of us or so) shared so we didn’t get ANY sleep at all. We broke up into small groups for the weekend. In my group was Melissa (LSE Melissa), Scomie, Torrina, Lindsay, Meagan (not the LSE Meagan), and Debbie. We came up with a Team name of Chirst-like Soldiers and did a bit of a war cry (every group did this). We had a kitchen staff come with us so all of out food was prepared (it was pretty amazing actually).
The next day all the youth were really excited to go in the pool, and we finally got a chance on Saturday afternoon. OH, by the way, my intro to the pool was when Ricardo decided it would be a good idea to throw me in…with my clothes and shoes on. It was pretty funny I have to admit, and I think I may have deserved it since I got thrown in while I was trying to help a few of the other girls throw him in! It took a little while for some of the youth to open up to me (I was the only white person there so its understandable that some of them were a little weary), but after being thrown in things were good (so I guess it’s a good thing). There were a lot more activates and games, ending with each group preparing a Bible Story to act out, a Gospel Song to sing (yes, even I had to sing), and a T.V. advert to perform.
We also were asked to make our own dinner that night. Each group was given some ingredients (you will see in my pics), which were put into a ginormous pot and cooked on a grill over a fire. Chris and I made the fire as you will see from some of the pics as well. Unfortunately in our haste to make a big one we used all the wood, including what was supposed to be used for the next day (:S). Chris is as much of a pyro as I am so we made a pretty good team. What we made is called broetjie (I think…or maybe its potjie…). I am starting to learn more Afrikaans but I still get confused. Anyways it’s basically a stew served over rice. In the stew are veggies (including avocado which I didn’t really like until it was in this!), fruit like mangos, meat, and various spices (look at the pics) that are cooked over the fire for a few hours. Apparently after eating that with them I am no longer white but coloured (and I am getting pretty tanned so that is actually true!).
The last day was pretty amazing! The highlight was Church for sure. In Church I was asked to stand up and give a testimony. The Devotion for the morning was from the Book of Romans and Melissa spoke about having patience and waiting on God. I tried to tie that in with the theme of the Camp. I spoke about the last year or so of my life, going from having no idea what I was going to do after I graduated at the beginning of Summer ’07 through getting shingles because I stressed so much about it up to now. I told them about how I was taught to have patience and faith that when the time was right I would know what I was supposed to do instead of stressing about everything. Then I told them about being accepted into the Honours program when the deadline had long past, how doors were opened to me that should not have been with respect to all the volunteer positions I got which will probably get me into Medical School. I also talked about how if I had pushed to apply the year I finished my regular degree that I would not have had the time to come to South Africa and be with them. At the end of the service the Pastor asked if there was anyone who was not Christian and if they would like to take the first step. There was about 10 people who hadn’t accepted Christ and they ALL stood up and made the first step. They each received prayer from the LSE and it was quite an emotional and intense time. I have been to Church services like this before but this one was different. I do have some pictures, but they will not convey the intensity of emotion that everyone felt.
The ride home was hilarious. I was in the Combie with most of the guys, as well as Annie, Tracey, and Debbie. Imagine flying down a windy highway back home with the music playing full blast (we could barely hear each other when we spoke) and pretty much a circus performance going on inside. People were standing up in the aisles dancing. Then they decided that ganging up on the girls would be a good plan so we proceeded to have a wrestling/tickle match as we were flying down the road. And of course we had to make an entrance as we pulled into Ocean view with people sticking their heads out the windows and dancing and doing whatever else to get as much attention as possible. I do have some video of the ride home that I will put up when I can.
The next day all the youth were really excited to go in the pool, and we finally got a chance on Saturday afternoon. OH, by the way, my intro to the pool was when Ricardo decided it would be a good idea to throw me in…with my clothes and shoes on. It was pretty funny I have to admit, and I think I may have deserved it since I got thrown in while I was trying to help a few of the other girls throw him in! It took a little while for some of the youth to open up to me (I was the only white person there so its understandable that some of them were a little weary), but after being thrown in things were good (so I guess it’s a good thing). There were a lot more activates and games, ending with each group preparing a Bible Story to act out, a Gospel Song to sing (yes, even I had to sing), and a T.V. advert to perform.
We also were asked to make our own dinner that night. Each group was given some ingredients (you will see in my pics), which were put into a ginormous pot and cooked on a grill over a fire. Chris and I made the fire as you will see from some of the pics as well. Unfortunately in our haste to make a big one we used all the wood, including what was supposed to be used for the next day (:S). Chris is as much of a pyro as I am so we made a pretty good team. What we made is called broetjie (I think…or maybe its potjie…). I am starting to learn more Afrikaans but I still get confused. Anyways it’s basically a stew served over rice. In the stew are veggies (including avocado which I didn’t really like until it was in this!), fruit like mangos, meat, and various spices (look at the pics) that are cooked over the fire for a few hours. Apparently after eating that with them I am no longer white but coloured (and I am getting pretty tanned so that is actually true!).
The last day was pretty amazing! The highlight was Church for sure. In Church I was asked to stand up and give a testimony. The Devotion for the morning was from the Book of Romans and Melissa spoke about having patience and waiting on God. I tried to tie that in with the theme of the Camp. I spoke about the last year or so of my life, going from having no idea what I was going to do after I graduated at the beginning of Summer ’07 through getting shingles because I stressed so much about it up to now. I told them about how I was taught to have patience and faith that when the time was right I would know what I was supposed to do instead of stressing about everything. Then I told them about being accepted into the Honours program when the deadline had long past, how doors were opened to me that should not have been with respect to all the volunteer positions I got which will probably get me into Medical School. I also talked about how if I had pushed to apply the year I finished my regular degree that I would not have had the time to come to South Africa and be with them. At the end of the service the Pastor asked if there was anyone who was not Christian and if they would like to take the first step. There was about 10 people who hadn’t accepted Christ and they ALL stood up and made the first step. They each received prayer from the LSE and it was quite an emotional and intense time. I have been to Church services like this before but this one was different. I do have some pictures, but they will not convey the intensity of emotion that everyone felt.
The ride home was hilarious. I was in the Combie with most of the guys, as well as Annie, Tracey, and Debbie. Imagine flying down a windy highway back home with the music playing full blast (we could barely hear each other when we spoke) and pretty much a circus performance going on inside. People were standing up in the aisles dancing. Then they decided that ganging up on the girls would be a good plan so we proceeded to have a wrestling/tickle match as we were flying down the road. And of course we had to make an entrance as we pulled into Ocean view with people sticking their heads out the windows and dancing and doing whatever else to get as much attention as possible. I do have some video of the ride home that I will put up when I can.
Week 3
After Holiday Club I realized that a lot of the LSE don’t have a lot of first aid training. On Monday I talked to Mike Talley and offered to do a workshop for the LSE on basic first aid. This has turned into 3 one-hour sessions on Fridays for both the LSE and the support workers who do home-based care. I am really excited about the training and am currently looking at first aid organizations here to determine how easy (or not) it is for my to be a certified instructor instead of running a more informal course.
I also offered to teach part of the lessons for Julie and Timmy at Mountainview. They asked me if I would teach on Health and Hygiene. In my preparation for that I have made a few colouring pages for the little kids and thought of a few games for the older ones. Then I remembered an activity that I did during my first year at SFU. It involved streaking a few petri plates with swabs of different surfaces (toilets, floors, hands, etc) and waiting to see what grew. I decided to randomly email a few professors at the University of Cape Town to see if they would lend me a few plates. A few people emailed me back all pointing in the same direction, to a Dr. Andrew Whitlock. He emailed me back Tuesday saying that he would love to lend me a few plates for my demonstration. I am really excited about this and hope the kids will like it. I know a few of them are pretty interested in science, and one actually really wants to be a doctor so anything I can do to help give them a leg up and stay interested enough to finish school is the least I can do. On Thursday Mandy took me up to the University to meet Andrew and get the plates. The meeting went really well! He seemed really interested in what we were doing and instead of giving me regular agar plates he gave me blood agar (which is a very rich media excellent for the experiments I want to do). Now I am ready to do my presentation in Mountain view next week.
The HCC was a bit of a challenge for me this week. Monday I met an older lady from Fish Hoek (where I am staying) who had literally been thrown onto the street by her family (I am not sure why but I assume it was due to an illness of some sort). She had nowhere to go and was somehow brought to Living Hope who took her in. She was absolutely sad and broken. I ended up just sitting with her holding her hand while she cried. I asked her if I could pray for her and she said no, that the Church was the one who had landed her here in the first place. I asked her if she wanted to talk about it and she said no. I asked if she wanted to talk at all and she said no, that she just wanted to cry so I sat with her while she cried. Then some family friends came and took her to a more permanent care facility. Then I moved onto some of the other patients. One of the guys said he liked my jacket and asked if he could have it. I said thank-you but I would need it when it started raining again. Apparently he is one of the more pushy ones and will ask a few more times for things but as long as I always politely but firmly say no that he will eventually stop. I am still finding it fairly challenging to start conversations with most of the patients but am assured that as long as I press on it will get easier.
After Holiday Club last week I was invited to a brie (bbq) for the OV LSE and volunteers on Thursday. It was nice to be able to see them all again. I was also asked if I wanted to join Meagan, Melissa, Al, Chris, and Nathan’s Youth group retreat this weekend. I got approval from Mike Talley and so now am really looking forward to getting to go away with them, as well as getting to know more of the Youth. I already know quite a few of them since most are volunteers for the Kids Club or come to participate in all the activities. Apparently there is a small pool as well so I will see if any of them are interested in swimming lessons since I know most of them can’t swim. After the brie I went to the Youth group and got to meet everyone who was coming to the Camp this weekend. I can tell this weekend is going to be a lot of fun…and I probably won’t be getting much sleep!
I also offered to teach part of the lessons for Julie and Timmy at Mountainview. They asked me if I would teach on Health and Hygiene. In my preparation for that I have made a few colouring pages for the little kids and thought of a few games for the older ones. Then I remembered an activity that I did during my first year at SFU. It involved streaking a few petri plates with swabs of different surfaces (toilets, floors, hands, etc) and waiting to see what grew. I decided to randomly email a few professors at the University of Cape Town to see if they would lend me a few plates. A few people emailed me back all pointing in the same direction, to a Dr. Andrew Whitlock. He emailed me back Tuesday saying that he would love to lend me a few plates for my demonstration. I am really excited about this and hope the kids will like it. I know a few of them are pretty interested in science, and one actually really wants to be a doctor so anything I can do to help give them a leg up and stay interested enough to finish school is the least I can do. On Thursday Mandy took me up to the University to meet Andrew and get the plates. The meeting went really well! He seemed really interested in what we were doing and instead of giving me regular agar plates he gave me blood agar (which is a very rich media excellent for the experiments I want to do). Now I am ready to do my presentation in Mountain view next week.
The HCC was a bit of a challenge for me this week. Monday I met an older lady from Fish Hoek (where I am staying) who had literally been thrown onto the street by her family (I am not sure why but I assume it was due to an illness of some sort). She had nowhere to go and was somehow brought to Living Hope who took her in. She was absolutely sad and broken. I ended up just sitting with her holding her hand while she cried. I asked her if I could pray for her and she said no, that the Church was the one who had landed her here in the first place. I asked her if she wanted to talk about it and she said no. I asked if she wanted to talk at all and she said no, that she just wanted to cry so I sat with her while she cried. Then some family friends came and took her to a more permanent care facility. Then I moved onto some of the other patients. One of the guys said he liked my jacket and asked if he could have it. I said thank-you but I would need it when it started raining again. Apparently he is one of the more pushy ones and will ask a few more times for things but as long as I always politely but firmly say no that he will eventually stop. I am still finding it fairly challenging to start conversations with most of the patients but am assured that as long as I press on it will get easier.
After Holiday Club last week I was invited to a brie (bbq) for the OV LSE and volunteers on Thursday. It was nice to be able to see them all again. I was also asked if I wanted to join Meagan, Melissa, Al, Chris, and Nathan’s Youth group retreat this weekend. I got approval from Mike Talley and so now am really looking forward to getting to go away with them, as well as getting to know more of the Youth. I already know quite a few of them since most are volunteers for the Kids Club or come to participate in all the activities. Apparently there is a small pool as well so I will see if any of them are interested in swimming lessons since I know most of them can’t swim. After the brie I went to the Youth group and got to meet everyone who was coming to the Camp this weekend. I can tell this weekend is going to be a lot of fun…and I probably won’t be getting much sleep!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Week 2
Right now the kids are on a break from school for 1 week (kind of like our Spring break back home). My day starts with Devotions with the team (including Nathan (leader), the LSE, the teenage volunteers, the Brentwood Team, and myself). They are lead by Timmy who is actually one of the most inspirational speakers I have ever heard. He is quite gifted. Then we start to set up. At about 9 a few kids and leaders go out with a loudspeaker to call some of the neighbourhood kids. I was surprised at how well the racket was received. While we are out and a little while after we get back we play some circle games as everyone gets registered and comes in. Then Jessica starts the Lords Prayer in English and the kids go through the whole thing by themselves (I was pretty impressed). The one of the LSE teaches the memory verse for the day. Jess asks for volunteers from the audience and a few of the LSE teach the kids small parts to act out for the Bible Story of the day. Then we do some praise and worship including a few of the theme songs. Then the kids break into their age groups (K-2, 3-4, 5-7) and rotate between 3 stations that are the Bible study/craft, the music station where they learn the song for the day, and the recreation station (where I am). Then we come back together and Jess tests a few volunteers about the memory verse, bible story, and theme of the day for prizes. The day finishes with the Lords Prayer in Afrikaans and then the kids eat lunch and go home. We stay back to eat, debrief, plan for the next day, and clean up.
The first day there were about 170 kids and it went pretty well. I was surprised that the hardest group to manage was the K-2’s. The LSE are really amazing with the kids and do a really good job of keeping them under control. It is still pretty crazy at times but if it weren’t for them I don’t think we could manage at all. I have a lot of fun working with the team and the kids. I am learning a lot about their culture and a lot from them. Working with these guys in a group situation is easier then it is working in a large back home just because they are so open to ideas and are so community and family oriented that they know how to make people feel comfortable and welcome.
On Tuesday my new roommate Claire (a volunteer from the UK; she is 22 and just graduated as a paediatric nurse) got here. She seems really nice and I am looking forward to getting to know her better. The second day there was about 180 kids at camp (we were expecting about 250). It ran a bit smoother than yesterday just because we all had a better idea of what to expect and were able to learn from yesterday’s experience. It was also nice outside so we were able to do a lot of the circle games and all the recreation outside. We (Brentwood Team and I) went to a part of Living Way (Job creation branch) where the women sew things like bags and placemats. They were absolutely beautiful and I will be going back to buy something before I leave for sure; I wanted to let the Brentwood Team get what they wanted since they are leaving Friday). After camp I was able to show Claire around the beach and town a bit.
The third day Claire actually came with me to Holiday Camp. There were fewer kids today as there was a huge event at the Mosque that a lot of the kids were probably required to go to. Some of the families are Muslim here so the religious event would have taken priority for the Muslim kids. It was still pretty crazy and a lot of fun (I think there were probably about 160 kids there but normally there are about 250). There was well over 200 kids on Thursday. It was absolutely gorgeous outside so we were able to do the circle games and all the rec outside. Most of the games I got on video instead of pics so until I figure out how to get videos on here you will just have to wait to see how much fun it all is. :P
Friday was the last day of Holiday Camp and I was able to get video of almost every activity we do so you can get an idea of how the days went. After the camp Mandy stopped by to ask the LSE if they wanted to come to the concert we are all going to in a few weekends (YAY!!!) and then she told me that Claire had decided not to stay and to continue with her work in Joberg instead. I guess she wasn’t quite as excited about her project as the rest of us are, and she seemed fairly…organized…and I’m not sure the laid back South African culture agreed with her…which meant I got my room back to myself (which was fine with me!).
I was able to stay for the worship concert that night. The concert took place in a Hall in OV and was put on by Melissa, Meagan, Nathan, Chris, and Al’s Church. After Camp I drove around with Meagan to help set everything up (well…I mostly watched and carried stuff since I know NOTHING about musical equipment…but that’s ok). It’s funny, Mandy said the concert wouldn’t start until 8 (it was supposed to start at 7) and she was bang on. The concert was amazing! Meagan, Chris, Al, Marco, Rudolph (Meagan’s cousin), Cindy, Kay-lee, Lindsay, and a few others (most of whom were staff or volunteers at the Holiday Camp) are a part of the Joyous Worship Crew and they are all so talented. Shagmie (another LSE from a different community) was also there and is a part of a Christian rap group called Majotic. The crowd was so active as well. Worship in a coloured Church is certainly quite different from back home! Vancouver Nightclubs actually don’t really have much on this concert, that’s for sure!
The weekend was pretty relaxing. We went to a place called Simons’ Town (where the penguins are!!!) We also walked around the actual town a bit (its kind of like Fort Langley). The American Navy Band was playing and they were incredible, although there was quite a bit of contrast between the Navy Band and the worship concert last night!
This week (6th – 10th) I will be in the Health Care Centre during the day and Mountainview in the afternoon. I was also invited to a brie (bbq) for the Oceanview volunteers on Thursday and the Church most of the LSE attend is having a Youth retreat this weekend which I was also invited to. I am really looking forward to it, but I may not be able to put on more pics until next week. I am almost finished a video outlining the highlights of the Holiday Camp so I will put that up as well.
The first day there were about 170 kids and it went pretty well. I was surprised that the hardest group to manage was the K-2’s. The LSE are really amazing with the kids and do a really good job of keeping them under control. It is still pretty crazy at times but if it weren’t for them I don’t think we could manage at all. I have a lot of fun working with the team and the kids. I am learning a lot about their culture and a lot from them. Working with these guys in a group situation is easier then it is working in a large back home just because they are so open to ideas and are so community and family oriented that they know how to make people feel comfortable and welcome.
On Tuesday my new roommate Claire (a volunteer from the UK; she is 22 and just graduated as a paediatric nurse) got here. She seems really nice and I am looking forward to getting to know her better. The second day there was about 180 kids at camp (we were expecting about 250). It ran a bit smoother than yesterday just because we all had a better idea of what to expect and were able to learn from yesterday’s experience. It was also nice outside so we were able to do a lot of the circle games and all the recreation outside. We (Brentwood Team and I) went to a part of Living Way (Job creation branch) where the women sew things like bags and placemats. They were absolutely beautiful and I will be going back to buy something before I leave for sure; I wanted to let the Brentwood Team get what they wanted since they are leaving Friday). After camp I was able to show Claire around the beach and town a bit.
The third day Claire actually came with me to Holiday Camp. There were fewer kids today as there was a huge event at the Mosque that a lot of the kids were probably required to go to. Some of the families are Muslim here so the religious event would have taken priority for the Muslim kids. It was still pretty crazy and a lot of fun (I think there were probably about 160 kids there but normally there are about 250). There was well over 200 kids on Thursday. It was absolutely gorgeous outside so we were able to do the circle games and all the rec outside. Most of the games I got on video instead of pics so until I figure out how to get videos on here you will just have to wait to see how much fun it all is. :P
Friday was the last day of Holiday Camp and I was able to get video of almost every activity we do so you can get an idea of how the days went. After the camp Mandy stopped by to ask the LSE if they wanted to come to the concert we are all going to in a few weekends (YAY!!!) and then she told me that Claire had decided not to stay and to continue with her work in Joberg instead. I guess she wasn’t quite as excited about her project as the rest of us are, and she seemed fairly…organized…and I’m not sure the laid back South African culture agreed with her…which meant I got my room back to myself (which was fine with me!).
I was able to stay for the worship concert that night. The concert took place in a Hall in OV and was put on by Melissa, Meagan, Nathan, Chris, and Al’s Church. After Camp I drove around with Meagan to help set everything up (well…I mostly watched and carried stuff since I know NOTHING about musical equipment…but that’s ok). It’s funny, Mandy said the concert wouldn’t start until 8 (it was supposed to start at 7) and she was bang on. The concert was amazing! Meagan, Chris, Al, Marco, Rudolph (Meagan’s cousin), Cindy, Kay-lee, Lindsay, and a few others (most of whom were staff or volunteers at the Holiday Camp) are a part of the Joyous Worship Crew and they are all so talented. Shagmie (another LSE from a different community) was also there and is a part of a Christian rap group called Majotic. The crowd was so active as well. Worship in a coloured Church is certainly quite different from back home! Vancouver Nightclubs actually don’t really have much on this concert, that’s for sure!
The weekend was pretty relaxing. We went to a place called Simons’ Town (where the penguins are!!!) We also walked around the actual town a bit (its kind of like Fort Langley). The American Navy Band was playing and they were incredible, although there was quite a bit of contrast between the Navy Band and the worship concert last night!
This week (6th – 10th) I will be in the Health Care Centre during the day and Mountainview in the afternoon. I was also invited to a brie (bbq) for the Oceanview volunteers on Thursday and the Church most of the LSE attend is having a Youth retreat this weekend which I was also invited to. I am really looking forward to it, but I may not be able to put on more pics until next week. I am almost finished a video outlining the highlights of the Holiday Camp so I will put that up as well.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Training Weekend
Thursday was the first day of training. I got to meet all of the Life Skills Educators. They are a great group of people and all seem to get along really well. There are about 23 of them from all the different communities (Oceanview which includes Mountainview, Masi, Muizenberg, Red Hill, and Capricorn; in some communities there is more then 1 club as well). Basically how it works is the LSE work in the community they grew up in. In the morning/early afternoon they go into the various school in their community and talk about Life Skills such as hygiene from a Biblical perspective (some of the schools don’t allow them to talk about God but most of them do). After school they have Kids Club (which is what I am part of). They feed the kids and a different age group each day does some kind of craft and hears a Biblical story (it’s a lot like Sunday school), as well as just hanging out and playing in a safe environment. I have a huge respect for the LSE as they have all overcome huge odds to reach where they are. They have all had experiences that I can’t even imagine but have used them to strengthen their relationships with God and have a great sense of humour about life.
In training we had a lot of fun together and they totally remind me of work back home. They all have so much energy and pretty much goof off all the time...training was pretty much like one of the inservices at the pool. The training was lead by the Children’s Ministry Administrator from the team of volunteers that were coming later this week. He and a group of other kids ministers had come up with a curriculum for kids camps. He taught us the program which includes about 5 of the most ridiculous and hilarious kids camp songs (with actions) I have ever seen. I will be getting a video of those songs for sure! The curriculum is based on 5 Biblical Principles that cover some of the basics of what it means to be Christian, plus a lot of activities that are related to those principles.
The second day of training was just as fun as the first, especially since we got to learn more songs. I’m not quite so sure I want to get videos now because to have everyone back home know that I did the moves to these songs too is pretty embarrassing… J Training ends at about 4 p.m. and I was just able to rest and enjoy the beach after training was over.
Saturday the Brentwood Team joined us so we could meet them, quickly go over some of the lessons each day, and go over all the songs and actions that go with them again (YAY…no I’m kidding they are actually a lot of fun). I still am not quite used to the roads here though because on the break one of the LSE Chris and I went across the street to McDonalds (I wanted to see what they are like here) and I just about got hit by a car since I was looking the wrong way and cars here really don’t really stop for pedestrians. Chris grabbed my sleeve and pulled me back…and then proceeded to laugh at me…oops J. After the break we went into the planning phase and I will be in the group that is in charge of recreation (YESSSSSSSSS!!!). The LSE taught us some of the circle games they play at the beginning of each day until all the kids arrive. The videos I have are a few of the games they play…SO MUCH FUN!!!
After training was over some of the OV (Oceanview) girls (Jessica, Meagan, and Melissa) invited me to go shopping with them. It was a lot of fun and I was able to get to know them a lot more. We got a few looks in the mall though because they are all from the coloured communities and I am white (obviously) and I guess generally speaking South African whites don’t really hang out with people from the coloured communities (which I think is silly since they are pretty cool people).
Ryan and Danielle have spent a lot of time with the Brentwood team since they are from Danielle’s Church and Ryan had some relatives in this team. Since Ryan and Danielle weren’t really around over the past few days there was a lot of leftover food so I invited them over to eat after we left the mall. We stopped by Melissa’s house to pick up some things (she and the other OV LSE actually live in OV) and it was really nice. Everything is so bright and colourful inside and out. We also picked up Meagan’s friend Annie. It is like that in most of the places in OV actually (although I don’t think most of the places are quite as nice as Melissa’s). Meagan said that for the most part they are pretty safe and she walks home alone at night sometimes (don’t worry I won’t be trying this). Crime does occur, but it doesn’t sound like it happens any more than it does at home. And since most of the people in the communities know each other it is kind of pointless to steal something cuz they will just come ask for it back.
One thing I have really gained an appreciation for is my education. Over the day I was asked a lot of questions that Meagan, Melissa, and Annie about myself as well as scientific questions (they knew my background by now). They all have a desire to learn but really don’t have access to post-secondary education. It’s not really fair actually. I am really going to try not to take my education for granted again.
In training we had a lot of fun together and they totally remind me of work back home. They all have so much energy and pretty much goof off all the time...training was pretty much like one of the inservices at the pool. The training was lead by the Children’s Ministry Administrator from the team of volunteers that were coming later this week. He and a group of other kids ministers had come up with a curriculum for kids camps. He taught us the program which includes about 5 of the most ridiculous and hilarious kids camp songs (with actions) I have ever seen. I will be getting a video of those songs for sure! The curriculum is based on 5 Biblical Principles that cover some of the basics of what it means to be Christian, plus a lot of activities that are related to those principles.
The second day of training was just as fun as the first, especially since we got to learn more songs. I’m not quite so sure I want to get videos now because to have everyone back home know that I did the moves to these songs too is pretty embarrassing… J Training ends at about 4 p.m. and I was just able to rest and enjoy the beach after training was over.
Saturday the Brentwood Team joined us so we could meet them, quickly go over some of the lessons each day, and go over all the songs and actions that go with them again (YAY…no I’m kidding they are actually a lot of fun). I still am not quite used to the roads here though because on the break one of the LSE Chris and I went across the street to McDonalds (I wanted to see what they are like here) and I just about got hit by a car since I was looking the wrong way and cars here really don’t really stop for pedestrians. Chris grabbed my sleeve and pulled me back…and then proceeded to laugh at me…oops J. After the break we went into the planning phase and I will be in the group that is in charge of recreation (YESSSSSSSSS!!!). The LSE taught us some of the circle games they play at the beginning of each day until all the kids arrive. The videos I have are a few of the games they play…SO MUCH FUN!!!
After training was over some of the OV (Oceanview) girls (Jessica, Meagan, and Melissa) invited me to go shopping with them. It was a lot of fun and I was able to get to know them a lot more. We got a few looks in the mall though because they are all from the coloured communities and I am white (obviously) and I guess generally speaking South African whites don’t really hang out with people from the coloured communities (which I think is silly since they are pretty cool people).
Ryan and Danielle have spent a lot of time with the Brentwood team since they are from Danielle’s Church and Ryan had some relatives in this team. Since Ryan and Danielle weren’t really around over the past few days there was a lot of leftover food so I invited them over to eat after we left the mall. We stopped by Melissa’s house to pick up some things (she and the other OV LSE actually live in OV) and it was really nice. Everything is so bright and colourful inside and out. We also picked up Meagan’s friend Annie. It is like that in most of the places in OV actually (although I don’t think most of the places are quite as nice as Melissa’s). Meagan said that for the most part they are pretty safe and she walks home alone at night sometimes (don’t worry I won’t be trying this). Crime does occur, but it doesn’t sound like it happens any more than it does at home. And since most of the people in the communities know each other it is kind of pointless to steal something cuz they will just come ask for it back.
One thing I have really gained an appreciation for is my education. Over the day I was asked a lot of questions that Meagan, Melissa, and Annie about myself as well as scientific questions (they knew my background by now). They all have a desire to learn but really don’t have access to post-secondary education. It’s not really fair actually. I am really going to try not to take my education for granted again.
My first week
I was allowed to rest my first day here and the only thing they had scheduled for me on my second day was a meeting with my volunteer “boss” Mike Talley. I was told that in the mornings I would be in the Health Care Center where I would to get to know the patients and form relationships with them, pray for them, and just hang out with them, and help the staff when needed. In the afternoons I would be helping the Life Skills Educators at the Kids Center in a township called Oceanview in a section called Mountainview. I would start that on Monday but I was told I could go with Becky (another volunteer) to another Kids Center called Red Hill to see what the Centers are like (I really was not quite prepared for what they were like :S)
So, with a whole set of expectations in my head I set off to Red Hill later that day. This Childrens Center is in a township mostly composed of small shacks. That day it was really cold (I was wearing 4 or 5 layers including my winter jacket…apparently its not normally this cold here this time of the year). I can’t imagine what its like to live in one of those shacks…nor do I want to. We go into the Center (kind of like one of the portables in elementary or high school) where there were already a few kids. Stanton is the Life Skills Educator there and he was beginning to set up. The other kids started coming in, ranging from age 3 to about 13. Some of them I really don’t think have bathed in months but they were all absolutely adorable and were quite friendly. And they can ALL sing and have the most incredible sense of rhythm and beat I have EVER seen. Some of the kids were singing, others break dancing, others doing handstands on tables and chairs, others using pretty much whatever they could find as drums…I was just sitting there kind of in shock at first as the younger ones decided that I made a pretty good chair…or jungle gym…depending on how you want to look at it. It is like a busy public swim…on speed…lots and lots of speed!!!!
Basically how it works is the kids all get something to eat and then the certain age group for that day gets to stay and do the activities (today it was the 10-13 year olds). The activities are pretty much what you would do in Sunday school. After the activity the younger kids can come back and they are given a snack and then we went back home. I managed to get a quick picture of some of the kids, but it’s really hard to take pictures because the kids kind of go crazy pushing each other out of the way and then they all HAVE to see the picture afterwards.
We also got news that we would be moving the next day (Friday). On Friday I got to meet our volunteer coordinator Mandy and the ACTS coordinator for Cape Town Mike Massingham. We got our stuff and headed over to our new house in Fish Hoek. When we opened the gate…and the other locked gate…and the locked door (so much security) we saw how AWESOME THIS PLACE IS!!!! It has hardwood floors, 3 bathrooms and 3 bedrooms, a storage room with fitness equipment, a huge kitchen, and cable tv…and is fully furnished with all our kitchen stuff, bathroom stuff, living room stuff…it even has board games already. When we went outside onto the GINORMOUS BALCONY and looked over we realized that the beach is about a 45 sec walk away…you can apparently see whales…and sometimes sharks from the beaches here. Just in case there was any doubt in my mind about the whales when I went for a walk along the shoreline the next morning I saw a Southern Wright Whale jump out of the water and come up for air…so cool!
Going to a Baptist Church (King of Kings) Sunday was a bit different from my home Church (charismatic), but it was interesting to see how a different Church conducts its service. We are supposed to go to another Church next week in the township called Masi where the worship is absolutely incredible and the whole Church is pretty much a choir. Ryan said he was going to bring his laptop to record them sometime soon so you can here what is it like. I will post it when I get it.
My first day volunteering (Monday) went really well. At the Health Care Center (HCC) I met with the head Chaplain Moiriece who explained my role further and boundaries for interacting with patients (eg: Cameras aren’t allowed in the HCC in order to respect patients privacy and confidentiality; there is a huge stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS so pictures aren’t allowed). I also met the staff including the Registered Nurse but didn’t interact with the patients very much. The kids center at Mountainview was great! The staff have a lot of energy and pretty much joke all the time so they are great to be around. Living Hope had hosted a picnic/bbq for all of Mountainview and pretty much all of Mountainview had showed up. They had left some of the garbage and hay in the high school field and the birds had gotten into it and spread it out in the field. We were going to clean it up. Getting to watch the kids work (and mostly play) was pretty cool. I was able to get quite a few pictures here. The kids have a spirit that most kids back home really don’t have.
I got to go on a tour of all Living Hopes facilities on Tuesday. They started as a small clinic but have blossomed into 3 facilities including Living Hope (Hospice/Home Care/Mobile Testing and Counselling), Living Grace (homeless ministry), and Living Way (Job Training) that employ about 180 people, not to mention all the volunteers. I will get the story of how it all started (I forgot a lot of it) and put it on later. It is actually pretty amazing! At Mountainview I got to meet more of the kids. One of the younger girls asked if she could play with my hair. I said ok and after a few minutes I was surrounded by kids wanting to touch and play with my hair.
Wednesday was a Holiday (Heritage Day) so we got the day off. We went to the Waterfront in Cape Town and walked around the shops. It reminded me a lot of Granville Island actually. They also have a small aquarium where I got a few pictures (I stole some of Ryans too…he has a much better camera then I do). I found out that I can scuba dive with a guide in the huge predator tank for only about $60CAD…I will be coming back here for sure!!! I also talked to Mike Talley and he said that since I was staying for so long I would be joining the Life Skills Educators in training for the rest of the week (and Saturday) as they prepared for next weeks Holiday Camp (Spring Break) with a team of volunteers from the States. I was pretty excited about the training since the LSE are a lot of fun!
So, with a whole set of expectations in my head I set off to Red Hill later that day. This Childrens Center is in a township mostly composed of small shacks. That day it was really cold (I was wearing 4 or 5 layers including my winter jacket…apparently its not normally this cold here this time of the year). I can’t imagine what its like to live in one of those shacks…nor do I want to. We go into the Center (kind of like one of the portables in elementary or high school) where there were already a few kids. Stanton is the Life Skills Educator there and he was beginning to set up. The other kids started coming in, ranging from age 3 to about 13. Some of them I really don’t think have bathed in months but they were all absolutely adorable and were quite friendly. And they can ALL sing and have the most incredible sense of rhythm and beat I have EVER seen. Some of the kids were singing, others break dancing, others doing handstands on tables and chairs, others using pretty much whatever they could find as drums…I was just sitting there kind of in shock at first as the younger ones decided that I made a pretty good chair…or jungle gym…depending on how you want to look at it. It is like a busy public swim…on speed…lots and lots of speed!!!!
Basically how it works is the kids all get something to eat and then the certain age group for that day gets to stay and do the activities (today it was the 10-13 year olds). The activities are pretty much what you would do in Sunday school. After the activity the younger kids can come back and they are given a snack and then we went back home. I managed to get a quick picture of some of the kids, but it’s really hard to take pictures because the kids kind of go crazy pushing each other out of the way and then they all HAVE to see the picture afterwards.
We also got news that we would be moving the next day (Friday). On Friday I got to meet our volunteer coordinator Mandy and the ACTS coordinator for Cape Town Mike Massingham. We got our stuff and headed over to our new house in Fish Hoek. When we opened the gate…and the other locked gate…and the locked door (so much security) we saw how AWESOME THIS PLACE IS!!!! It has hardwood floors, 3 bathrooms and 3 bedrooms, a storage room with fitness equipment, a huge kitchen, and cable tv…and is fully furnished with all our kitchen stuff, bathroom stuff, living room stuff…it even has board games already. When we went outside onto the GINORMOUS BALCONY and looked over we realized that the beach is about a 45 sec walk away…you can apparently see whales…and sometimes sharks from the beaches here. Just in case there was any doubt in my mind about the whales when I went for a walk along the shoreline the next morning I saw a Southern Wright Whale jump out of the water and come up for air…so cool!
Going to a Baptist Church (King of Kings) Sunday was a bit different from my home Church (charismatic), but it was interesting to see how a different Church conducts its service. We are supposed to go to another Church next week in the township called Masi where the worship is absolutely incredible and the whole Church is pretty much a choir. Ryan said he was going to bring his laptop to record them sometime soon so you can here what is it like. I will post it when I get it.
My first day volunteering (Monday) went really well. At the Health Care Center (HCC) I met with the head Chaplain Moiriece who explained my role further and boundaries for interacting with patients (eg: Cameras aren’t allowed in the HCC in order to respect patients privacy and confidentiality; there is a huge stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS so pictures aren’t allowed). I also met the staff including the Registered Nurse but didn’t interact with the patients very much. The kids center at Mountainview was great! The staff have a lot of energy and pretty much joke all the time so they are great to be around. Living Hope had hosted a picnic/bbq for all of Mountainview and pretty much all of Mountainview had showed up. They had left some of the garbage and hay in the high school field and the birds had gotten into it and spread it out in the field. We were going to clean it up. Getting to watch the kids work (and mostly play) was pretty cool. I was able to get quite a few pictures here. The kids have a spirit that most kids back home really don’t have.
I got to go on a tour of all Living Hopes facilities on Tuesday. They started as a small clinic but have blossomed into 3 facilities including Living Hope (Hospice/Home Care/Mobile Testing and Counselling), Living Grace (homeless ministry), and Living Way (Job Training) that employ about 180 people, not to mention all the volunteers. I will get the story of how it all started (I forgot a lot of it) and put it on later. It is actually pretty amazing! At Mountainview I got to meet more of the kids. One of the younger girls asked if she could play with my hair. I said ok and after a few minutes I was surrounded by kids wanting to touch and play with my hair.
Wednesday was a Holiday (Heritage Day) so we got the day off. We went to the Waterfront in Cape Town and walked around the shops. It reminded me a lot of Granville Island actually. They also have a small aquarium where I got a few pictures (I stole some of Ryans too…he has a much better camera then I do). I found out that I can scuba dive with a guide in the huge predator tank for only about $60CAD…I will be coming back here for sure!!! I also talked to Mike Talley and he said that since I was staying for so long I would be joining the Life Skills Educators in training for the rest of the week (and Saturday) as they prepared for next weeks Holiday Camp (Spring Break) with a team of volunteers from the States. I was pretty excited about the training since the LSE are a lot of fun!
Flights and Arrival
Well for those of you who know me well you know that sometimes I create needless drama…whether I like it or not…and this trip proved to be no different. I made sure I took everything out of my carry-on bag just in case there was anything there that wasn’t supposed to be (or so I thought). The only thing I left in there was in the smallest pocket. I always have a loose deck of cards in there since I took the bag I use for small weekend trips and stuff. Well when I put by bag through the X-ray machine in customs a small pair of scissors showed up. I started panicking a bit because I was positive I had cleared everything out so I had absolutely no idea where the scissors were or how they got there. The officer came over to me and asked me to pull them out. I said I was really sorry but I had no idea where they were. So we proceed to pull everything out of by bag except the deck of loose cards in the smallest pocket (too bad!!!). Of course he didn’t find the scissors and put my bag through the X-ray again. The scissors still came up. He came over again and said “It seems like the scissors are not in the bag and are embedded in the material somewhere.” I was like… “ummm I really don’t think so.” Now I was really panicking! He grabbed another officer and they took by bag back to the machine. Finally they found the small pair of scissors in between a few cards in the deck. They were really good about it and started laughing at me cuz I guess over the course of a few minutes my face went from normal to really red to white. So began my trip…
The plane ride was really not very much fun…at all. Although both Lufthansa and South African Airways were amazing (everyone had their own personal screen and access to various movies and t.v. shows on demand which was great!) I didn’t sleep on either flight (9 hours Van to Frankfurt, 11 hours Frankfurt to Cape Town) or the 6.5 hour layover in Frankfurt. The second flight was especially brutal as my stomach felt at first like it was tying itself in knots and then like it was going to explode, despite the 6 or 7 gravol I took. I was actually concerned that I had gotten food poisoning and I would spend my first days in Cape Town lying in a bed. As soon as I stepped off the plane into the fresh air however I started feeling better. By the time I had cleared immigration, got my luggage, and cleared customs I was so excited that my stomach pain was gone. I was met by an ACTS driver named Gordon who drove me to where the other long-term volunteers stayed.
I arrived at about 4:20 a.m. Cape Town time, and by the time we were on the road from Fish Hoek (East side of Cape Town) towards Noord Hoek (West side…where I would be staying) the sun was beginning to rise (really…the sun rises in the East?). Cape Town is surrounded by ocean and mountains and actually looks quite a bit like the interior of BC in places. The sunrise was timed perfectly with out ascent up one of the mountains, and was truly amazing. I will definitely be going back with my camera to take pictures.
We arrived at the B and B where I would be staying called The Sandollar (it has its own site online if you want to see more pics than what I got). After about 30 minutes waiting outside the gate for someone to wake up we were met by Danielle (one of the volunteers). She showed me to my room which had a double bed, t.v., mini-fridge, and full bathroom (I was not expecting quite this much luxury). She then showed me the common area which had a living room, dining room, and kitchen. Outside, the patio leads to the small POOL :) and chicken coop where there were some baby chicks (which were pretty much the cutest things I have ever seen). Beyond the B and B property is a marsh full of water and beyond that are mountains along the South border of Cape Town (seriously this place is gorgeous and the pics are going to do it no justice). AND not only is it beautiful here, but we get dinner made for us every night, all our dishes are done for us everyday, and our rooms are cleaned and sheets changed every week (SWEET!!!!!!).
So I had finally arrived in Cape Town and was already so excited about being here. I think that my excitement is the only reason I didn’t crash that first day.
The plane ride was really not very much fun…at all. Although both Lufthansa and South African Airways were amazing (everyone had their own personal screen and access to various movies and t.v. shows on demand which was great!) I didn’t sleep on either flight (9 hours Van to Frankfurt, 11 hours Frankfurt to Cape Town) or the 6.5 hour layover in Frankfurt. The second flight was especially brutal as my stomach felt at first like it was tying itself in knots and then like it was going to explode, despite the 6 or 7 gravol I took. I was actually concerned that I had gotten food poisoning and I would spend my first days in Cape Town lying in a bed. As soon as I stepped off the plane into the fresh air however I started feeling better. By the time I had cleared immigration, got my luggage, and cleared customs I was so excited that my stomach pain was gone. I was met by an ACTS driver named Gordon who drove me to where the other long-term volunteers stayed.
I arrived at about 4:20 a.m. Cape Town time, and by the time we were on the road from Fish Hoek (East side of Cape Town) towards Noord Hoek (West side…where I would be staying) the sun was beginning to rise (really…the sun rises in the East?). Cape Town is surrounded by ocean and mountains and actually looks quite a bit like the interior of BC in places. The sunrise was timed perfectly with out ascent up one of the mountains, and was truly amazing. I will definitely be going back with my camera to take pictures.
We arrived at the B and B where I would be staying called The Sandollar (it has its own site online if you want to see more pics than what I got). After about 30 minutes waiting outside the gate for someone to wake up we were met by Danielle (one of the volunteers). She showed me to my room which had a double bed, t.v., mini-fridge, and full bathroom (I was not expecting quite this much luxury). She then showed me the common area which had a living room, dining room, and kitchen. Outside, the patio leads to the small POOL :) and chicken coop where there were some baby chicks (which were pretty much the cutest things I have ever seen). Beyond the B and B property is a marsh full of water and beyond that are mountains along the South border of Cape Town (seriously this place is gorgeous and the pics are going to do it no justice). AND not only is it beautiful here, but we get dinner made for us every night, all our dishes are done for us everyday, and our rooms are cleaned and sheets changed every week (SWEET!!!!!!).
So I had finally arrived in Cape Town and was already so excited about being here. I think that my excitement is the only reason I didn’t crash that first day.
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