IsiXhosa Crash Course Completed!

Today was another great day at Namzamo!  The kids were in a great mood and I was lucky enough to be puked on within the first 5 minutes of being there because one of the little girls got so excited after she ate breakfast.  Good times!  I helped feed the children and toddlers and then spent the morning outside playing with the children.  It’s been really neat to see how much one of the little girls has opened up since arriving.  At first she was very shy, introverted and had a difficult time eating but in the last few weeks has begun to smile, laugh and interact with the other children.  I then met with my supervisor to talk about a helping them take pictures of the facility and staff so they can show case the services Nomzamo offers. 

Shortly thereafter one of my favorite staff members stopped by with a broken wrist and to let us know that she needed to have surgery the next day.  It was really sad for me to say goodbye knowing she would no longer be there.  Muriel is such a kind woman who truly loves the children and she and I really connected.  After I said goodbye I met back up with the remaining staff and took some staff pictures and then moved on to the children.  They LOVE having their picture taken.  Unfortunately they are Xhosa speaking so I often need help translating to them in the process.  The minute they see the camera they start yelling, pushing and running up to me and the lense.  There is no such thing as stand back and smile…only full speed ahead.  They also love to jump in to each others pictures so there is minimal opportunity even with staff help to take individual pictures of the children.  None the less they loved it and then start yelling and laughing when I show them their picture on the review screen.  Simply adorable little ones…I know that leaving them is going to be really difficult.  I actually started tearing up today as I was getting ready to leave just thinking about the fact that I only have 2 days remaining with them.  On a positive note we are going to have a tea party as a farewell on Tuesday and I am bringing a dessert for them to share.  If anyone has any fun ideas please pass them on! 

After volunteering we went back to the Kirstenbosch Gardens and walked around.  The grounds are massive and it is impossible to get through the entire garden in one day.  It was very peaceful and relaxing and we were in awe of all of the amazing scenery and nature that was surrounding us.  After dinner we took a little adventure into our neighborhood downtown of Rondebosch to pick up a few things and eat some ice cream at a fabulous place called Marcel’s!!  Best soft serve in Cape Town!! 

We also had our last Xhosa class with Arthur.  He and Lihle came and he talked about how our group was one of the most enthusiastic groups he had ever taught which is why he extended our class an extra week.  He is such a kind man who really taught us a lot about the language and culture.  It was sad to see it over and I really wish we could have had more time to have language multiple times a week.  We spoke today a lot about cultural traditions and I can share more with all of you when I get back but it was incredibly interesting!  Well…off to bed!  I have another fun and exciting day tomorrow!

Nomzamo Bound!

Monday here we come!  Today was my first day back at Namzamo!  I was so excited to be back but truthfully a little nervous going back since it had been two weeks since I have been there last and I was worried that the kids would have already forgotten me.  Boy was I wrong!!  As I arrived and walked down the corridor I heard the kids in the dining room eating breakfast.  As I passed the glass window one of the little boys immediately saw me and smiled, said something to the other kids in Xhosa and pointed.  They all looked, smiled and got so excited!  The look on their faces made me want to cry!  They definitely remembered me!  I let them finish their breakfast and immediately headed in to see the Mama’s (caregivers of the children) and the babies in the nursery.  They too were very excited to see me again and it felt so great to be back and wanted!  I immediately started to feed the babies and play with the toddlers.  A few minutes later I heard the stampeed of little feet and voices coming towards me.  Before I knew it I was being engulfed by 10 little kids knocking me to the ground in the process and all giving me hugs, kisses and affection.  It was precious.  We spent the rest of the day playing outside, singing songs, coloring our handprints and taking pictures.  I can’t tell you how much fun I had being with them today. 

After volunteering Laurel, Becky and I went to St. George’s Cathedral, the Gardens downtown, the peace march exhibit and Long Street.  Then after getting stuck in traffic finally arrived home only to be picked up and whisked away to a South African softball game.  Pat is one of the staff members at Friends of Valkenberg Trust and her husband Michael is who I help teach the cooking class with.  He scores for a local softball team and he was excited that I played softball back in the day.  They are absolutely fabulous and took me to the game.  They even brought me softball snacks and a blanket.  I am telling you…they are awesome!  Ironically softball has always been viewed as a “colored” sport in South Africa and is not as wildly viewed or played as soccer, rugby and cricket is here.  We watched the first game and unfortunately they lost by one run but they played really well and were considered the underdog.  I then got to meet the coach and we went to the concession stand for some food.  In South African tradition…they have something called “chips on a roll.”  I had no idea what this was but when in South Africa…eat what South Africans eat!  In South Africa “chips” are the equivalent to our version of French fries and a roll is actually a hamburger bun.  So…you are basically eating French fries in a hamburger bun with either ketchup, mustard or chutney sauce on it.  It was a tasty treat but I can tell you that I met my caloric and carb intake for the day with that Softball treat.  I guess chips on a roll would be the equivalent in popularity to eating a hotdog at a baseball game…take me out to the ball game!  After our little snack we moved to the next field which is one level higher than our team (think A team and B team) and watched the remainder of that game and how fast the pitcher was throwing.  Even though the team we wanted to win also lost by one run...it was one of the most fun nights I’ve had while being here with great company!  Off to bed to rest up for the kids tomorrow...xoxo from Cape Town

Move Your Butt…

And we’re off again…surprise surprise!!!  Today is our Cape Point tour day where we travel along the coastline similar to the California Pacific Coast Highway.  We also went to the Cape of Good Hope which is the southwestern most part of South Africa!  Very exciting!  In the process we drove through some of the most amazing scenery I have ever seen!!!  I saw a seal, penguins, ostrich, antelope and lots of baboons!  Needless to say we saw National Geographic worthy exhibits of baboon love which left us shocked, disgusted and in hysterics.  We were traveling along the road when all of a sudden we came across some baboons.  There was a very dominant male that liked to pick fights with the other baboons.  As we drove on we were excited to see little babies with their mommy.  Before we knew what was happening the alpha male forced himself on the mama in front of her babies!  Let’s just say that there was no romance in this encounter and we were truly reminded of the blunt reality of nature…even in front of the babies!!  The funniest part of it all is that one of the volunteers was videotaping the baboons prior to this as I was photographing them.  Our driver was getting frustrated that they were just walking in the middle of the road forcing us to make a complete stop.  Other cars in front of us kept stopping to take pictures.  In his adorable South African accent he yelled at the cars in front of us to “move your butt.”  We watched it several times just for the cute accent because we couldn’t stop laughing.  If I can upload the video and hilarious picture I will do so.  PLEASE NOTE…it is NOT a G rated video but very funny! 

After that humorous yet traumatic episode…we were off to view more ocean and landscape pictures in the Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope area.  It left me speechless!  For more information on this area here is a link explaining more about it:  http://www.sa-venues.com/attractionswc/cape-point.htm

We also planned to go to a concert being performed by two South African artists named Lira and Crazy White Boy.  The concert was held at Kirstenbosch which is probably one of the largest botanical gardens in the world…check it out below!!  It is beautiful and the concert was awesome.  The view was incredible and the background was Table Mountain.  You are allowed to bring in your own food and beverages and have a picnic concert.  We all had a great day but were very excited to get home and relax.   Tomorrow is going to be a great day with the kids…I am so excited to see them. http://www.sanbi.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&Itemid=57&id=139  

Special price…just for you!!

The weekend has arrived!  Got up bright and early to say goodbye to some of the volunteers who were leaving today.  It’s starting to sink in that I am actually going to be leaving soon too.  As much as I of course miss all of you back home…it is going to be a bittersweet departure since I don’t know if I will ever see most of the people I have met down here ever again.  I think I will always wonder how people are doing and if the children and patients are okay or how the CCS staff are doing.  It feels so surreal in many ways.

This morning after I said goodbye to some of my fellow volunteers some of us decided to go to the Biscuit Mill.  This is a marketplace that has food vendors that cook everything under the sun in a setting similar to the Madison Farmer’s Market.  There are also vendors and cute little shops that you can buy almost anything from souvenirs to high end expensive items.  It was a lot of fun and we all tried some very yummy food.

We then headed to Green Market Square to shop around with local street vendors and see if we could haggle some of the prices down.  Every vendor that I came across all referred to me as “pretty lady” who all had a “very special price…just for you.”  It was a lot of fun to shop around and see what kind of negotiation I could do.  I think I did quite well if I do say so myself.  All in all…it was a lot of fun but at the end we were hot, sweaty, exhausted and ready for a little R n’ R back at the home base.  We also stopped at this very cute bistro downtown for some cool refreshments and to get in the shade.  The landscape was gorgeous and I got some very fun pictures.

By the way...did I mention that I get asked all the time if I am from Germany?  "Where are you from beautiful lady...Germany?"  I can only assume that it is the blue eyes and blond hair that might be swaying this observation.  If I wanted to be funny...I could pull this one off and refer back to my German speaking days but we are all now beginning to enjoy making up new places.  When I say that I am from the US I immediately get asked...California?  No.  New York?  No.  Miami?  No.  Then they give up and ask where.  When I say north of Chicago...I continue to get asked about Oprah...she is so popular here.  Today I was also from Mississippi!  Too bad they don't know that my southern drawl was not nearly up to par as it could have been had a practiced a little more.  Off to bed to dream about where I might be from tomorrow...I've had some suggestions from other volunteers that I could pull off Norway or Switzerland...the hills are alive...!!??!!

I get by with a little help from my friends…

Today is Friday and that means cooking class at Valkenberg!  I worked with the OT staff today and since it is so hot we made a fruit salad with ice cream.  This was a real treat for the woman and you should have seen how much ice cream they took.  It was funny to see and I can certainly tell that they don’t get this very often.  After cooking class I went to help another staff member in the Friendly Store where we sell items very discounted including cigarettes and tobacco for the patients that smoke.  I quickly realized it was a good thing I was there because it was payday for many of the patients who work minimally at the hospital in exchange for money to buy small things.  The shop was hoping and I was making change and taking money like crazy.  I then went back to the office and worked on the sentiment for the upcoming Valentine’s Day treat.  I created a template for approval and hopefully can get started on the 750 I need next week. 

Then I was off to Rondebosch (suburb by the homebase) to exchange money with my passport in my purse.  The line was really long and it took I while partly because it seems like all of the exchange students at University of Cape Town had arrived and needed to exchange currency.  This really sweet South African man came in line after me and promptly yelled at a “much younger gent” who was trying to skip in front of me in line.  He went right up to him with his little cane and asked him what he was doing.  It was slightly tense for a moment as I stood still and then the teller called me to her window.  Chivalry is not dead after all!  After I got my money exchanged another volunteer and I hit up a bigger grocery store and I began to see how I could cook or convert things here as I am planning on cooking treats for both my placements and the house before I leave.  Some things will be a challenge since they don’t have the same ingredients here.  For example…they don’t have Cool Whip or chocolate chips or graham crackers etc here.  Some of my recipes are going to be a challenge if I don’t find substitutes. 

After that adventure we came back to the house to get ready, eat dinner and headed out to Long Street.  Long Street in Cape Town is where the night life is alive!  There are tons of stores, restaurants, clubs, live music you name it…it’s on Long Street.  We hit up a few different ones and finally settled in to a place where there were couches and we could dance.  It was a complete girl’s dance party circle with all of the other volunteers.  They played lots of new and old school songs and we had a great time.  As many of you know…I am a cider girl!  They have a fabulous South African cider called Savanna Dry!  I am a big fan and highly recommend it if you ever are somewhere that carries it. Over and out for now from Cape Town!

Best Mexican Food in Cape Town!

Today was another outstanding day in Cape Town!  Placement went well…today was arts and crafts day and I went to an all male ward to help with an art project.  We painted sunflowers which was a lot of fun and very therapeutic.  I then found out some very exciting news!!!  I am going back to Namzamo on Mondays and Tuesdays to be with the children.  Although I love Valkenberg and the work I am doing there going back in the afternoons was not an option because they would be sleeping when I would be there for nap time and we determined that early mornings would be better.  So…starting next week I will begin my week at Namzamo for two days and spend the remaining three days at Valkenberg.  I will get the best of both worlds!! 

We then met with the CCS staff to talk about our experience so far and wish some of the volunteers who are leaving on Saturday a safe farewell.  They took us out to Pancho’s which is one of the best Mexican restaurants I have EVER eaten at!  They ordered appetizers that just kept coming and we were all full by the time our meal came.  Some of the staff came with us which was really nice and we just had one last family dinner together.

After dinner we walked around the corner to a Jamaican place called Trenchtown.  They had a Bob Marley cover band playing which was amazing followed by a drumming group which were outstanding.  We sat in an open area with a bonfire and listened to the drums being played.  At one point they started bring instruments into the crowd and had us play them along with them for a huge jam session.  It rocked!!!  We had so much fun and didn’t want it to end but curfew was calling our names!

P.S.  I went to exchange money today…too bad I didn’t know that I needed my passport to do so.  Third times a charm right?!?

South Africans like BBQ’s just as much as Americans!

Placement today went very well!  I worked in the salon with two other volunteers who are hairstylists and volunteer their time to come in and cut/style the hair of the patients for free.  They are super nice and I really enjoyed working with them.  I got to wash hair and talk with the patients that came in to the salon.  Wow…it is amazing to watch their facial expressions in the mirror as they are getting their hair done.  They walked out looking like completely different people and you could see the smiles it brought to their faces.  I then began working on a quote for the 750 treats we are putting together for the patients and staff at Valkenberg.  This is a much more difficult task than I thought.  First of all…not all of the patients and staff speak English.  Some might speak Afrikkans or isiXhosa and there is a varied degree of education so it needs to be something that everyone can understand.  I came up with 2 pages of options but we will need to work on narrowing them down. 

After volunteering the staff took us to a restaurant in one of the townships that is very well known and was showcased during the World Cup called Mzoli’s.  There was also a band that played called Abakhaya Marimba Band and they were fabulous.  We then went to see a youth group called Bongani perform and they were so gifted.  It is formed from a community center that tries to help those in the townships have healthy outlets through music, dance and the performing arts.  It was a real treat to have the opportunity to see them perform. 

After we got back I went in to town to try to exchange some currency…news flash…every other country besides the US I believe closes early.  Banks close here no later than 3:00pm or 3:30pm.  Better luck tomorrow!