Sanibona,
It would seem that we have come to my final blog. After seven and a half months it is time for me to come home. I was originally planning on staying until July but an number of factors have led me to the decision to come home a bit earlier. With L'Abri closing done, and most of the people who I have lived with going home there is not a whole lot left here for me to do. I have done a lot of soul serching on the matter and I know that is time to finish this adventure and start on my next chapter. So seeing as this is my last blog I am going to share with the things that I will miss, the things that I won't miss, and the things I am looking forward to coming home to.
Things I will miss:
I will miss the beauty of South Africa to be sure. Never in all my life have I seen such amazing landscapes as here and they have been a great insparation to my art. You can hike here and not see the slightest hint of humanity which is a truely amazing concept.
I will miss my work at L'Abri, my home away from home away from home. Always adventures to be had out there in the bush.
I will miss a number of South African foods. Boorewaurst (an Africaaner sausage), Various Zulu meats, Chakalaka, Chicken Tandoori Masala to name a few.
I will miss the resturaunts we frequent, Quincy's and Honcho's.
I will miss paying so little for everything.
I will miss watching Rugby and playing soccer with my team.
I will miss the kindness and hospitality that people have here. Near everywhere you go people make you feel so welcome and there is always someone willing to do a favor for you or something nice without respecting something in return.
I will miss my multicultural house and specifically most of my house mates who have been great friends and always supportive when you need them. I will also miss playing lots and lots of Risk.
I will miss the video shop that has never charged us a single late fee though we never return things on time.
I will miss being able to put too many people in a car.
I will miss all the lessons to be learned living with people of different cultures and backgrounds.
Things I will not miss:
I will not miss being one of the few white people in town and therefore being treated, at times, as a lessor person or looked at like I don't belong.
I will not miss the smells of unwashed bodies, or all the garbage.
I will not miss being woken at sunrise by the shelter next door or by collueges.
I will not miss having no personal space what so ever nor housemates who don't pick up after themselves, nor house mates who are very picky about everything.
I will not miss Bantu time.
I will not miss always having dirty cloths even after I have washed them.
I will not miss the hot sun that makes you want to hide in a dark cave as it burns away at your scalp.
I will not miss all the bugs in my house.
Coming home:
Upon coming home I look forward to American foods and good chinese. I look forward to being reunited to old friends and family. I look forward to punctuality. I look forward to taking up old hobbies and starting some new ones. I look forward to being able to pet dogs again, especially my own dog. And I look forward to not having my interent time run out as mine is about to.
So I will see most of you soon I'm sure. Thanks for keeping up with my adventures; it has been a real treat sharing them. I look forward to even more sharing in the near future.
Peace, Love, Respect
Monday, May 11, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Hey,
So before I begin I will warn you that this is most likely going to be my second to last post. It has been wonderful sharing my adventures with you, and I thank you for reading them from time to time and leaving the occasional comment.
Now last friday began a three day birthday celebration for my 18th. Aerin took me to the only resturaunt in town that serves sushi. While the main course wasn't all that great the sushi was fantastic and it was even prepared by a real japanese guy. It was a nice quite evening and a great way to start things off. The next day I helped Aerin to bake the peanut butter pie which is the customary dessert for my birthday. I didn't really expect anything else to happen that day until we went out to our favorite resturaunt but the house surprised me with balloons and lights and a present that they had put together for me. Then we headed over to Quincy's and because the drinking age is 18 here, I had a birthday beer and our favorite bartender prepared me his favorite cocktail, a Blue Lagoon. We then went out to a late movie. The next day we went down to Durban to see a KZN Sharks Match, (one of the best Rugby teams in the world.) It was a great game despite the fact that they lost 13-10. Needless to say Rugby is a very exciting sport.
Sunday we kicked around the beach in Durban for a while before heading home.
Since the weekend I have helped Aerin at work one day, played about 6 games of risk, watched some movies, gone to the mall, been to quiz night at Quincy's and that is about it. There was also booking my plane home, drawing and making a trip to the spar.
So that is all for now. Be sure to read my last post because its going to be special and I think interesting for you as well. Bye for now.
So before I begin I will warn you that this is most likely going to be my second to last post. It has been wonderful sharing my adventures with you, and I thank you for reading them from time to time and leaving the occasional comment.
Now last friday began a three day birthday celebration for my 18th. Aerin took me to the only resturaunt in town that serves sushi. While the main course wasn't all that great the sushi was fantastic and it was even prepared by a real japanese guy. It was a nice quite evening and a great way to start things off. The next day I helped Aerin to bake the peanut butter pie which is the customary dessert for my birthday. I didn't really expect anything else to happen that day until we went out to our favorite resturaunt but the house surprised me with balloons and lights and a present that they had put together for me. Then we headed over to Quincy's and because the drinking age is 18 here, I had a birthday beer and our favorite bartender prepared me his favorite cocktail, a Blue Lagoon. We then went out to a late movie. The next day we went down to Durban to see a KZN Sharks Match, (one of the best Rugby teams in the world.) It was a great game despite the fact that they lost 13-10. Needless to say Rugby is a very exciting sport.
Sunday we kicked around the beach in Durban for a while before heading home.
Since the weekend I have helped Aerin at work one day, played about 6 games of risk, watched some movies, gone to the mall, been to quiz night at Quincy's and that is about it. There was also booking my plane home, drawing and making a trip to the spar.
So that is all for now. Be sure to read my last post because its going to be special and I think interesting for you as well. Bye for now.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Hey guys
Sorry I haven't been able to post, but I've been really busy.
I have had three camps since last time I posted. The first two camps were kind of fristrating for me because I was in a much more observant role than I like to have. The camps were primarily Zulu so there wasn't really a whole lot of leading that I could actually do. In fact, participating in general was hard. Nevertheless, the campers seemed to get a lot out of those camps and that is what really matters. The last camp I did just this past weekend was really good but quite a bit different than normal. The group was a church youth group coming from Jo'Burg and it was their first time to L'Abri. Being a youth group was different in itself but what was most unusal about this camp was that they were there for bonding as opposed to the team building or personal development. The camp also facilitated most of their own activities as well. As staff, our jobs were more centered around adventure walks and hospitality. Working in the kitchen is not really one of our normal duties but there we were cooking and washing dishes. Richie and I were also charged with making all the fires and those included cook fires as well as fires to heat the water. In four days we built around 30 fires. By the end, I was tempted to chop more than just wood with an axe; not really though. It was a great group though and they were full of energy. We were invited to participate in nearly all the activities and I took full advantage of this because that is why I am there. There were 7 American missionaries with the group as well and it was kind of nice talking to fellow countrymen though also kind of strange. We taught a bunch of the campers to play American football and that was a lot of fun. I was actually quite surprised how much the nonAmericans enjoyed it. So that was a really good camp. L'Abri is winding down now though and I only have one more camp at the moment. I'll be doing some work in town to keep myself busy.
Last week we got to house sit for the former boss of L'Abri. He had quite a sweet house up in the hills overlooking the entire city and in this house was a playstation, a pool, a pool table, a good kitchen and a big grill so we had a lot of fun there for a couple days. It was a bit sad to return home in fact.
Thursday we had a big soccer match of L'Abri staff vs Khayalethu staff which I have been putting together for weeks now. I played goal keeper which turns out to be a much better position for me. After 90 minutes we won the game 5-2 which was a rather embarrassing defeat for my former team. Of course they would like a rematch so we are planning one for the beginning of may. It will most likely be on the third. We got some really good pictures there and someone also managed to get a video of me making a save. All and all it was a really fun day and I am most looking forward to the next one.
Now I know its short but I do have something of a ruitine now and it would be redundent for you to read the same things every time. If not, its redundent for me to write them so I'm not going to any way.
Goodbye for now
Sorry I haven't been able to post, but I've been really busy.
I have had three camps since last time I posted. The first two camps were kind of fristrating for me because I was in a much more observant role than I like to have. The camps were primarily Zulu so there wasn't really a whole lot of leading that I could actually do. In fact, participating in general was hard. Nevertheless, the campers seemed to get a lot out of those camps and that is what really matters. The last camp I did just this past weekend was really good but quite a bit different than normal. The group was a church youth group coming from Jo'Burg and it was their first time to L'Abri. Being a youth group was different in itself but what was most unusal about this camp was that they were there for bonding as opposed to the team building or personal development. The camp also facilitated most of their own activities as well. As staff, our jobs were more centered around adventure walks and hospitality. Working in the kitchen is not really one of our normal duties but there we were cooking and washing dishes. Richie and I were also charged with making all the fires and those included cook fires as well as fires to heat the water. In four days we built around 30 fires. By the end, I was tempted to chop more than just wood with an axe; not really though. It was a great group though and they were full of energy. We were invited to participate in nearly all the activities and I took full advantage of this because that is why I am there. There were 7 American missionaries with the group as well and it was kind of nice talking to fellow countrymen though also kind of strange. We taught a bunch of the campers to play American football and that was a lot of fun. I was actually quite surprised how much the nonAmericans enjoyed it. So that was a really good camp. L'Abri is winding down now though and I only have one more camp at the moment. I'll be doing some work in town to keep myself busy.
Last week we got to house sit for the former boss of L'Abri. He had quite a sweet house up in the hills overlooking the entire city and in this house was a playstation, a pool, a pool table, a good kitchen and a big grill so we had a lot of fun there for a couple days. It was a bit sad to return home in fact.
Thursday we had a big soccer match of L'Abri staff vs Khayalethu staff which I have been putting together for weeks now. I played goal keeper which turns out to be a much better position for me. After 90 minutes we won the game 5-2 which was a rather embarrassing defeat for my former team. Of course they would like a rematch so we are planning one for the beginning of may. It will most likely be on the third. We got some really good pictures there and someone also managed to get a video of me making a save. All and all it was a really fun day and I am most looking forward to the next one.
Now I know its short but I do have something of a ruitine now and it would be redundent for you to read the same things every time. If not, its redundent for me to write them so I'm not going to any way.
Goodbye for now
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Hello
It has been a couple weeks now since I have been able to post. Since there is quite a bit to catch you up on, there is going to have to be some summorising. First I will say that the scabbies, after the edition of a take over bed bugs, has been all taken care of. Our house has actually been more or less pest free so that is a good thing. Let me also say that on the 17th I was able to cellebrate St Patty's day with some real Irish and that was rather fun though no one realised what day it was until later in the afternoon.
I will start two weekends ago. We left early friday morning with the Durban YDC and Sally and her family to go to Sanni Pass in the Drakensburg mountains. It was in fact the most beautiful place that I have ever seen in my near 18 years of life. We stayed in a smallish cluster of huts on a hill down in a massive river valley surrounded by even more massive mountains. It is in fact one of the few places here in South Africa that gets snow. We spent the weekend doing some hanging out, playing soccer, and taking some hikes. One such hike took us to a huge, three level water fall with ice cold pools of water to swim in that were so brightly blue the pictures we took didn't do them justice. We were surrounded by wildlife and I dare say that if there is such a place as heaven it looks something like this. I have never felt so on the edge of civilization as I did there.
We returned home Sunday evening rather reluctanly and I had two days to clean my things and get myself back to reality before heading up to L'Abri for my first camp in two weeks.
Wednesday we left early for L'Abri, this time a camp of fourteen year olds from a Christian School. This camp started off like all the others but immediatly there was something different, something truely odd. Yes, it was freezing cold up there. We were almost always in the mists and I had to huddle under two hoodies just to stay warm. I found this camp to be a less meaniful one both for the campers as well for myself. We were unable to do all we had planned as well on account of the weather. We did get to go on a night hike though it wasn't nearly as cool as I though it would be. It was hard enough trying to keep all 50 kids together in the pitch black and thick fog. Some of the highlights of this camp were a soccer match of five L'Abri staff against 25 campers with us winning 9-2 and a tallent show. Martin, Richy and I decided to put on a fashion show with garbage bags and it later ended in a Zoolander style walkoff to conclude the tallent show. The teachers then held a spiritual with the kids which we were not obligated to attend. I was glad I ducked out of there when it turned into a crazy madhouse of wailing and speaking in tongues which could be heard across camp. Not to pass judgement on such things but I was rather put off that they were doing that with kids. Anyway, there was still some success to the camp and we wrapped it up an hour late on friday.
Friday night we went out a cafe, which has become something of a favorite, for dessert. We ended up having a dance party there and were the last ones to leave the place. Fortunately, the staff seemed to be enjoying us.
Saturday, Richie, Thirza, Aerin and I were the only ones around the house and we actually had quite a nice time. We saw a Rugby match down the street with the premier high school rugby team in all of South Africa. We watch some movies and if I may brag, I cooked one of the best dinners ever (well, that I have cooked anyway.) That night we went out to an Irish style pub and ended the night searching for a food place which ended in vain.
Sunday we went down to Durban and spent the day on the beach. The ocean was as warm as bath water and we had a lot of fun. The way back was not so nice though because I fell asleep just as we were leaving the city and woke up an hour later back in the city completely lost. Turns out our driver doesn't know how to follow road signs. So after a long long time we made it home and collapsed.
This week has been pretty mellow. I saw a huge monkey yesterday about ten feet from me which was cool. Tonight we are going to Kareoke and friday I head back to L'Abri for another camp.
So long guys
It has been a couple weeks now since I have been able to post. Since there is quite a bit to catch you up on, there is going to have to be some summorising. First I will say that the scabbies, after the edition of a take over bed bugs, has been all taken care of. Our house has actually been more or less pest free so that is a good thing. Let me also say that on the 17th I was able to cellebrate St Patty's day with some real Irish and that was rather fun though no one realised what day it was until later in the afternoon.
I will start two weekends ago. We left early friday morning with the Durban YDC and Sally and her family to go to Sanni Pass in the Drakensburg mountains. It was in fact the most beautiful place that I have ever seen in my near 18 years of life. We stayed in a smallish cluster of huts on a hill down in a massive river valley surrounded by even more massive mountains. It is in fact one of the few places here in South Africa that gets snow. We spent the weekend doing some hanging out, playing soccer, and taking some hikes. One such hike took us to a huge, three level water fall with ice cold pools of water to swim in that were so brightly blue the pictures we took didn't do them justice. We were surrounded by wildlife and I dare say that if there is such a place as heaven it looks something like this. I have never felt so on the edge of civilization as I did there.
We returned home Sunday evening rather reluctanly and I had two days to clean my things and get myself back to reality before heading up to L'Abri for my first camp in two weeks.
Wednesday we left early for L'Abri, this time a camp of fourteen year olds from a Christian School. This camp started off like all the others but immediatly there was something different, something truely odd. Yes, it was freezing cold up there. We were almost always in the mists and I had to huddle under two hoodies just to stay warm. I found this camp to be a less meaniful one both for the campers as well for myself. We were unable to do all we had planned as well on account of the weather. We did get to go on a night hike though it wasn't nearly as cool as I though it would be. It was hard enough trying to keep all 50 kids together in the pitch black and thick fog. Some of the highlights of this camp were a soccer match of five L'Abri staff against 25 campers with us winning 9-2 and a tallent show. Martin, Richy and I decided to put on a fashion show with garbage bags and it later ended in a Zoolander style walkoff to conclude the tallent show. The teachers then held a spiritual with the kids which we were not obligated to attend. I was glad I ducked out of there when it turned into a crazy madhouse of wailing and speaking in tongues which could be heard across camp. Not to pass judgement on such things but I was rather put off that they were doing that with kids. Anyway, there was still some success to the camp and we wrapped it up an hour late on friday.
Friday night we went out a cafe, which has become something of a favorite, for dessert. We ended up having a dance party there and were the last ones to leave the place. Fortunately, the staff seemed to be enjoying us.
Saturday, Richie, Thirza, Aerin and I were the only ones around the house and we actually had quite a nice time. We saw a Rugby match down the street with the premier high school rugby team in all of South Africa. We watch some movies and if I may brag, I cooked one of the best dinners ever (well, that I have cooked anyway.) That night we went out to an Irish style pub and ended the night searching for a food place which ended in vain.
Sunday we went down to Durban and spent the day on the beach. The ocean was as warm as bath water and we had a lot of fun. The way back was not so nice though because I fell asleep just as we were leaving the city and woke up an hour later back in the city completely lost. Turns out our driver doesn't know how to follow road signs. So after a long long time we made it home and collapsed.
This week has been pretty mellow. I saw a huge monkey yesterday about ten feet from me which was cool. Tonight we are going to Kareoke and friday I head back to L'Abri for another camp.
So long guys
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Hello Everyone,
Let me begin by wishing everyone a happy March. I know some of you are still waiting for me to post some pictures. I have given up the notion because the internet is far to slow here to put them up. In fact the last time I tried they weren't even attached after 45 minutes and I ended up running out of time. So I think that everyone will have to wait until I get home. Now not a whole lot has really happened for me in the last week.
Friday was my busiest day since my last post with Aerin and I finishing our mural. Her boss and another guy she worked with took us to this place called the Crafty Duck for lunch. They have lots of animals there amoung other things so while we waited for our food Aerin and I wandered around to look at the animals. We spent most of our time in the nearby snake house which was actually quite a creapy area. The snakes, of which there were some extremely venomous ones were kept in these glass boxes which were closed by the tiniest of locks. In many cases, the boxes weren't even completely sealed. So Aerin and I were quite careful about where we were stepping. Now our lunch was most tasty so that was excellent payment for the murals.
The rest of my time has been spent walking around town or hanging out with the people I live with. This is a pretty slow time at L'Abri now and I'm not even scheduled for any camps. I think there are two that I can join anyway though and I will find a couple times to go up there and work on some projects. There are also some more opportunities for me to paint so I think I will begin pursuing those options in the meantime.
So the major event of this week/ African experience is an outbreak of scabies in our house. For those of you who don't know what scabies is feel free to search it on wikipedia before reading further. There is a very detailed article there that I have actually just read myself. Anyway, this infection began sometime a couple weeks ago with some clothing in the back laundry room from the street kids. One of the people I live with decided to move this pile. Shortly after moving said pile, this person noticed a very itchy rash appearing on parts of her body.The next time she saw Sally, she asked if she should go to the doctor. Sally immediatly said that that looks like it came from a kind of bug which infects your skin. This person decided to wait and see what would happen. Sure enough, the rash didn't clear up on its own. In fact, it got worse. So last Monday she finally went to the doctor. The doctor took one look and said, that is Scabies, here is some lotion and soap to kill them. What the doctor didn't think to tell us was just how contageous scabies is. Within a day or to of my housemate going to the doctor, others started noticing a strange rash appearing. One even came forward that she had had a rash now for a couple weeks as well. Turns out, you can get scabies from just about any surface an infected person comes in contact with; especially if they scratch alot. It took Sally last night to point this out. Well now everyone in the house is paranoid beyond belief. This morning I woke up to the sound of Sally giving some of the early risers a list of instructions. I came out of my room to see huge piles of linens and such waiting for the wash, surfaces being scrubbed, etc etc. Before going into the shower I was given my own bar of special soap and a bottle of special lotion. But I dont have scabies I protested. Too bad they told me, you have to use it anyway. Now let me just say that its not as simple as soaping up in the shower. You have to get wet, lather up, and then turn the water off and stand for 10 or so minutes until the soap drys. Only then do you get to rinse it off. Now this soap actually really burns, most of your body is fine, but boy in places that have soft skin, ouch. The lotion must be applied to wet skin as well and you can't dress until that is dry as well. Meanwhile, we can't go home now until this evening because we had to doom fog our entire house, plus the laundry room, plus the car that we use. Today, phone calls were also made to people we have come in close contact with so that they are warned. Personally, I think this is an over reaction, but I guess we aren't taking any chances...
So long, may you all remain scabies free
Let me begin by wishing everyone a happy March. I know some of you are still waiting for me to post some pictures. I have given up the notion because the internet is far to slow here to put them up. In fact the last time I tried they weren't even attached after 45 minutes and I ended up running out of time. So I think that everyone will have to wait until I get home. Now not a whole lot has really happened for me in the last week.
Friday was my busiest day since my last post with Aerin and I finishing our mural. Her boss and another guy she worked with took us to this place called the Crafty Duck for lunch. They have lots of animals there amoung other things so while we waited for our food Aerin and I wandered around to look at the animals. We spent most of our time in the nearby snake house which was actually quite a creapy area. The snakes, of which there were some extremely venomous ones were kept in these glass boxes which were closed by the tiniest of locks. In many cases, the boxes weren't even completely sealed. So Aerin and I were quite careful about where we were stepping. Now our lunch was most tasty so that was excellent payment for the murals.
The rest of my time has been spent walking around town or hanging out with the people I live with. This is a pretty slow time at L'Abri now and I'm not even scheduled for any camps. I think there are two that I can join anyway though and I will find a couple times to go up there and work on some projects. There are also some more opportunities for me to paint so I think I will begin pursuing those options in the meantime.
So the major event of this week/ African experience is an outbreak of scabies in our house. For those of you who don't know what scabies is feel free to search it on wikipedia before reading further. There is a very detailed article there that I have actually just read myself. Anyway, this infection began sometime a couple weeks ago with some clothing in the back laundry room from the street kids. One of the people I live with decided to move this pile. Shortly after moving said pile, this person noticed a very itchy rash appearing on parts of her body.The next time she saw Sally, she asked if she should go to the doctor. Sally immediatly said that that looks like it came from a kind of bug which infects your skin. This person decided to wait and see what would happen. Sure enough, the rash didn't clear up on its own. In fact, it got worse. So last Monday she finally went to the doctor. The doctor took one look and said, that is Scabies, here is some lotion and soap to kill them. What the doctor didn't think to tell us was just how contageous scabies is. Within a day or to of my housemate going to the doctor, others started noticing a strange rash appearing. One even came forward that she had had a rash now for a couple weeks as well. Turns out, you can get scabies from just about any surface an infected person comes in contact with; especially if they scratch alot. It took Sally last night to point this out. Well now everyone in the house is paranoid beyond belief. This morning I woke up to the sound of Sally giving some of the early risers a list of instructions. I came out of my room to see huge piles of linens and such waiting for the wash, surfaces being scrubbed, etc etc. Before going into the shower I was given my own bar of special soap and a bottle of special lotion. But I dont have scabies I protested. Too bad they told me, you have to use it anyway. Now let me just say that its not as simple as soaping up in the shower. You have to get wet, lather up, and then turn the water off and stand for 10 or so minutes until the soap drys. Only then do you get to rinse it off. Now this soap actually really burns, most of your body is fine, but boy in places that have soft skin, ouch. The lotion must be applied to wet skin as well and you can't dress until that is dry as well. Meanwhile, we can't go home now until this evening because we had to doom fog our entire house, plus the laundry room, plus the car that we use. Today, phone calls were also made to people we have come in close contact with so that they are warned. Personally, I think this is an over reaction, but I guess we aren't taking any chances...
So long, may you all remain scabies free
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sawubona,
I left you off about a week and a half ago and let me say that it has been quite a busy time for me...
Tuesday of last week Marten and I went up to L'Abri to join a camp for 7th grade boys going to Skaba. This was my first time actually staying at Skaba as well as my first camp with this age group. The hike to the camp was long and trying for many of the boys; some even breaking down and crying at some of the more difficult points. I found myself coaching the guys on at several points and I cannot say I had an easy time of it. Over all the hike was a positive experience for all though and the boys really got to see some nature. We even passed a Puff Ader on the trail which is one of South Africa's most poisonous snakes.
The camp itself was quite challenging and the hike was only a taste of the battles that I would face. I was finally thrust into the role of a facilitator at that camp and I believe that I had one of the more difficult groups. I am also quite inexperienced in facilitating discussions and such though I do have some experience leading children so as far as facilitating the actual activities I think I did pretty well. But getting the boys into discussion and getting them to focus was quite a challenge for me. I had a couple boys who were particularly testy but I think I managed to finally get through to them by the end of the camp. It was just what I needed though and I was really able to draw on everything I have learned. By the end of the camp, we could see a lot of growth in the group and that was the greatest reward for me.
Thursday afternoon Marten and I arrived home and found out that the Irish would be arriving around dinner time. So I quickly finished moving rooms and prepared myself for our new house mates. Steph, Richy and Inez arrived later than we expected and immediatly immersed themselves into our household dynamics. It has been quite fun living with them, especially Richy. Someone last night mentioned that it is really nice to see the developing "guy love" amongst us four males. I know I really do enjoy having other guys around and being not so outnumbered by the females.
This week I have been helping Aerin to paint two murals at the mission she works at. Marten helped us on monday and tuesday and we have been quite a good team. Infact we are making plans to continue to paint murals at various locations in the coming weeks. Now the first mural is finished and if I may brag it looks quite fantastic. It is a scene of a handful of African animals including an Elephant, lion, wildebeast, impala, zebra and more. Now Aerin and I are working on a magical sort of tree with lots of faces in it which we plan to finish tomorrow.
So now you are up to date. I will be in touch again soon.
bye for now
I left you off about a week and a half ago and let me say that it has been quite a busy time for me...
Tuesday of last week Marten and I went up to L'Abri to join a camp for 7th grade boys going to Skaba. This was my first time actually staying at Skaba as well as my first camp with this age group. The hike to the camp was long and trying for many of the boys; some even breaking down and crying at some of the more difficult points. I found myself coaching the guys on at several points and I cannot say I had an easy time of it. Over all the hike was a positive experience for all though and the boys really got to see some nature. We even passed a Puff Ader on the trail which is one of South Africa's most poisonous snakes.
The camp itself was quite challenging and the hike was only a taste of the battles that I would face. I was finally thrust into the role of a facilitator at that camp and I believe that I had one of the more difficult groups. I am also quite inexperienced in facilitating discussions and such though I do have some experience leading children so as far as facilitating the actual activities I think I did pretty well. But getting the boys into discussion and getting them to focus was quite a challenge for me. I had a couple boys who were particularly testy but I think I managed to finally get through to them by the end of the camp. It was just what I needed though and I was really able to draw on everything I have learned. By the end of the camp, we could see a lot of growth in the group and that was the greatest reward for me.
Thursday afternoon Marten and I arrived home and found out that the Irish would be arriving around dinner time. So I quickly finished moving rooms and prepared myself for our new house mates. Steph, Richy and Inez arrived later than we expected and immediatly immersed themselves into our household dynamics. It has been quite fun living with them, especially Richy. Someone last night mentioned that it is really nice to see the developing "guy love" amongst us four males. I know I really do enjoy having other guys around and being not so outnumbered by the females.
This week I have been helping Aerin to paint two murals at the mission she works at. Marten helped us on monday and tuesday and we have been quite a good team. Infact we are making plans to continue to paint murals at various locations in the coming weeks. Now the first mural is finished and if I may brag it looks quite fantastic. It is a scene of a handful of African animals including an Elephant, lion, wildebeast, impala, zebra and more. Now Aerin and I are working on a magical sort of tree with lots of faces in it which we plan to finish tomorrow.
So now you are up to date. I will be in touch again soon.
bye for now
Monday, February 16, 2009
Hey Everyone,
Another week has come and gone already and here is what I've been up to...
Monday the four of us L'Abri people left for the bush. We spent quite a while running errands around town but eventually made it up to camp late in the afternoon. After a quick lunch we grabbed some trail blazing tools and hopped in the back of a pick-up with one of our supervisors, Sya. Our destination, Skaba; the back to basics bush camp in a remote part of the L'Abri wilderness. Our task, to prepare a trail for cutting. We got out of the truck in knee high grass on top of a mountain with a truely amazing view. After marking out a new trail along a ridge, Sya took us around Skaba a bit to show us some highlights of that particular area. The most interesting thing was this massive strangler fig tree that you could crawl up inside of. (The center of a Strangler is hollow because it grows around another tree and when that tree eventually dies, there is nothing left inside.) After climbing around inside it we headed back to base camp do to a rapidly appoaching storm.
Tuesday we made the long hike back to Skaba to clean in order for a group that was staying there on thursday. This was an all day affair and ended with us hiking back in the pooring rain. Little did we know this rain was part of a huge tropical storm taking place somewhere in central Africa and would prove to be the bane of the week. The rest of the day we spent hanging out around the main site.
Wednesday morning we awoke to more rain. Indeed, this storm would last for about 48 hours straight with no stopping. We were also informed that morning that Sya's wife had just passed away do to a post op infection in her brain. This meant that our boss would not be around for the rest of the week and with the rain, our work plans at Skaba were shot. So Wednesday became about killing time. We played risk, indoor soccer, and whatever else we could find. That night we watched Brazil destroy Italy in an international friendly soccer match.
Thursday we cleaned the main site in preparation for another camp taking place this weekend. The remainder of that day was spent like Wednesday.
Though I was originally supposed to work the camp this weekend, I was picked up Friday to head back to Maritzburg because another one of my bosses decided to give me some time off. It was kinda of strange to be back home but also kinda of nice to be dry and warm and relaxing for a change. Saturday was Valentine's day, and we were doom fogging our house again to finish off the remainder of the roach population so Aerin and I went out for the day bowling and to a movie. That night we hung out with the non-L'Abri portion of our house. It was actually a very nice day.
Yesterday was the funeral for Sya's wife. It was my first Zulu funeral and only the second funeral I have been to in my entire life. The service lasted about two hours and was a mighty big celebration. Very different from the often times somber mood of a Western style funeral. Though they were all christian, we really got a glimpse of how traditional beliefs and practices are incorporated into their modern day religion. The most striking example of this was when the five preachers there commanded the evil demons out of anyone sick at the funeral in mighty and stoic voices. Of course, I guess there are Christians in America who do this too but it was still very interesting to me and still very African. Then EVERYONE went to the cemetary for the burial. After a prayer and such was said, all the men helped to bury the coffin with shovels and this took about an hour. Meanwhile the women sung songs. Now I forgot to mention the part when the opened the casket. First let me say that seeing dead people always creaps me out quite a bit. But also let me say that the funeral services here don't give the same attention to detail that they do in America. The eyes were partially open which was actually disturbing beyond belief and you could see that the face was deffinately starting to decay. Also before the casket was able to be buried, they had to use a bucket to drain water out of the hole. Trust me, you don't want to know what that water looked like. So that was my African funeral experience, and boy was it an experience.
So today is my last day off because I'm back to work early tomorrow morning. Update you soon.
peace
Another week has come and gone already and here is what I've been up to...
Monday the four of us L'Abri people left for the bush. We spent quite a while running errands around town but eventually made it up to camp late in the afternoon. After a quick lunch we grabbed some trail blazing tools and hopped in the back of a pick-up with one of our supervisors, Sya. Our destination, Skaba; the back to basics bush camp in a remote part of the L'Abri wilderness. Our task, to prepare a trail for cutting. We got out of the truck in knee high grass on top of a mountain with a truely amazing view. After marking out a new trail along a ridge, Sya took us around Skaba a bit to show us some highlights of that particular area. The most interesting thing was this massive strangler fig tree that you could crawl up inside of. (The center of a Strangler is hollow because it grows around another tree and when that tree eventually dies, there is nothing left inside.) After climbing around inside it we headed back to base camp do to a rapidly appoaching storm.
Tuesday we made the long hike back to Skaba to clean in order for a group that was staying there on thursday. This was an all day affair and ended with us hiking back in the pooring rain. Little did we know this rain was part of a huge tropical storm taking place somewhere in central Africa and would prove to be the bane of the week. The rest of the day we spent hanging out around the main site.
Wednesday morning we awoke to more rain. Indeed, this storm would last for about 48 hours straight with no stopping. We were also informed that morning that Sya's wife had just passed away do to a post op infection in her brain. This meant that our boss would not be around for the rest of the week and with the rain, our work plans at Skaba were shot. So Wednesday became about killing time. We played risk, indoor soccer, and whatever else we could find. That night we watched Brazil destroy Italy in an international friendly soccer match.
Thursday we cleaned the main site in preparation for another camp taking place this weekend. The remainder of that day was spent like Wednesday.
Though I was originally supposed to work the camp this weekend, I was picked up Friday to head back to Maritzburg because another one of my bosses decided to give me some time off. It was kinda of strange to be back home but also kinda of nice to be dry and warm and relaxing for a change. Saturday was Valentine's day, and we were doom fogging our house again to finish off the remainder of the roach population so Aerin and I went out for the day bowling and to a movie. That night we hung out with the non-L'Abri portion of our house. It was actually a very nice day.
Yesterday was the funeral for Sya's wife. It was my first Zulu funeral and only the second funeral I have been to in my entire life. The service lasted about two hours and was a mighty big celebration. Very different from the often times somber mood of a Western style funeral. Though they were all christian, we really got a glimpse of how traditional beliefs and practices are incorporated into their modern day religion. The most striking example of this was when the five preachers there commanded the evil demons out of anyone sick at the funeral in mighty and stoic voices. Of course, I guess there are Christians in America who do this too but it was still very interesting to me and still very African. Then EVERYONE went to the cemetary for the burial. After a prayer and such was said, all the men helped to bury the coffin with shovels and this took about an hour. Meanwhile the women sung songs. Now I forgot to mention the part when the opened the casket. First let me say that seeing dead people always creaps me out quite a bit. But also let me say that the funeral services here don't give the same attention to detail that they do in America. The eyes were partially open which was actually disturbing beyond belief and you could see that the face was deffinately starting to decay. Also before the casket was able to be buried, they had to use a bucket to drain water out of the hole. Trust me, you don't want to know what that water looked like. So that was my African funeral experience, and boy was it an experience.
So today is my last day off because I'm back to work early tomorrow morning. Update you soon.
peace
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