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
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Greetings,
This week I have decided to do something a little bit different than I have been doing. Rather than break my week down day by day I am going to give a brief overview as I did with my vacation because I would like to spend some time talking family dynamics. You see, the house is going through some changes and I need to do a bit of complaining but I am also thinking it might be interesting because it is a subject that I haven't really touched on in a while.
So this week our two new dutch roomies arrived. They are Sjoert (Stewart) and Marten. I think in my past post I messed up their names quite badly. Most of this week has been spent hanging out with them and showing them around PMB. We have played alot of Risk because Marten is a huge Risk fan and I cannot tell you how excited that makes me because I am always looking for people to play with as well as people who share my passion for the game. We also went out to dinner last night. So that, in a nut shell, was my week.
Ok, so now to talk about the "family". Anne has strongly taken on a parental role in the household in the past couple months and it has cast her in a very different light to me. In fact I even noticed myself missing Rose this past week which is something I never saw coming. But Anne has been particullarly difficult for us English speaking Americans to deal with. Now in the past couple weeks she has very much distanced herself from the rest of us and almost never does activities with our group. She has become increasingly selfish in the house itself and even threatened to move out when the three Irish come here. Anne also has been speaking as little English as possible as of late. This is something she knows greatly offends me because it was becoming a problem with others in the house before and I have mentioned on several occasions. Now the other day we were talking groceries as a group and all of a sudden she stops midsentence and starts speaking Dutch. Even when the other Dutch people spoke English in response to her, she continued in Dutch. At dinner she doesnt even speak English at all except if she wants Aerin or myself to pass something. So I'll stop by complaining about Anne now that that is off my chest but let me continue with the rest.
Annalies and Esmeralda are actually sisters and they are also the oldest people in the house. Though they are quite quiet they are very friendly and easy to get along with. I cannot say that I have any problem with them at all infact except to say that Esmeralda and I sometimes dissagree on how to do things. This is not even a problem though. Their personalities are actually very like my own because they are flexible and easy going enjoy some quiet time to their selves.
Now the two new Dutch guys have brought a new spark into our house. Though Sjoert is much more low key than Marten, they are both a lot of fun and love playing games. Aside from the Risk, we had a 10 o'clock cricket match in our hallway. We have also invented several ball games with them that we play in our living room. Let me tell you I didn't realize how much I missed having other males around until they were introduced back into my day to day life. And let me also say that the women are adjusting quite well. That is too say, all except Anne. She utterly refuses to take place in anything with them other than a quiet conversation (in Dutch) unless she is the one coming up with the activity. Apparently the ball games are too much for her or something.
Ok, so to wrap this up quickly we have Aerin and Thirza, the two youngest females. As a result they are always goofing off with one another and frequently get into laughing fits. They are currently working on their six packs together. I cannot really say anything more because they are the two constants in our household.
Ok, so that is done and I am actually really starting to get low on time. I will be gone to work in the bush bush at L'Abri from tomorrow until next Sunday so it will be a little while until you all hear from me again. I hope your coming week is good.
To my dad, I am planning on calling you next Sunday so be prepared.
To the rest of you, Sala Kahle!
This week I have decided to do something a little bit different than I have been doing. Rather than break my week down day by day I am going to give a brief overview as I did with my vacation because I would like to spend some time talking family dynamics. You see, the house is going through some changes and I need to do a bit of complaining but I am also thinking it might be interesting because it is a subject that I haven't really touched on in a while.
So this week our two new dutch roomies arrived. They are Sjoert (Stewart) and Marten. I think in my past post I messed up their names quite badly. Most of this week has been spent hanging out with them and showing them around PMB. We have played alot of Risk because Marten is a huge Risk fan and I cannot tell you how excited that makes me because I am always looking for people to play with as well as people who share my passion for the game. We also went out to dinner last night. So that, in a nut shell, was my week.
Ok, so now to talk about the "family". Anne has strongly taken on a parental role in the household in the past couple months and it has cast her in a very different light to me. In fact I even noticed myself missing Rose this past week which is something I never saw coming. But Anne has been particullarly difficult for us English speaking Americans to deal with. Now in the past couple weeks she has very much distanced herself from the rest of us and almost never does activities with our group. She has become increasingly selfish in the house itself and even threatened to move out when the three Irish come here. Anne also has been speaking as little English as possible as of late. This is something she knows greatly offends me because it was becoming a problem with others in the house before and I have mentioned on several occasions. Now the other day we were talking groceries as a group and all of a sudden she stops midsentence and starts speaking Dutch. Even when the other Dutch people spoke English in response to her, she continued in Dutch. At dinner she doesnt even speak English at all except if she wants Aerin or myself to pass something. So I'll stop by complaining about Anne now that that is off my chest but let me continue with the rest.
Annalies and Esmeralda are actually sisters and they are also the oldest people in the house. Though they are quite quiet they are very friendly and easy to get along with. I cannot say that I have any problem with them at all infact except to say that Esmeralda and I sometimes dissagree on how to do things. This is not even a problem though. Their personalities are actually very like my own because they are flexible and easy going enjoy some quiet time to their selves.
Now the two new Dutch guys have brought a new spark into our house. Though Sjoert is much more low key than Marten, they are both a lot of fun and love playing games. Aside from the Risk, we had a 10 o'clock cricket match in our hallway. We have also invented several ball games with them that we play in our living room. Let me tell you I didn't realize how much I missed having other males around until they were introduced back into my day to day life. And let me also say that the women are adjusting quite well. That is too say, all except Anne. She utterly refuses to take place in anything with them other than a quiet conversation (in Dutch) unless she is the one coming up with the activity. Apparently the ball games are too much for her or something.
Ok, so to wrap this up quickly we have Aerin and Thirza, the two youngest females. As a result they are always goofing off with one another and frequently get into laughing fits. They are currently working on their six packs together. I cannot really say anything more because they are the two constants in our household.
Ok, so that is done and I am actually really starting to get low on time. I will be gone to work in the bush bush at L'Abri from tomorrow until next Sunday so it will be a little while until you all hear from me again. I hope your coming week is good.
To my dad, I am planning on calling you next Sunday so be prepared.
To the rest of you, Sala Kahle!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
hello hello,
How's it my people! Its been another week so here I am to fill you in. Not a whole lot this time I'm afraid.
I think I left you all on Wednesday so I'll begin with Thursday. Aerin and I went to go see the new movie Australia. The rest of the night was quiet I believe and we were just relaxing with our house mates before our busy weekend.
Friday we made our preperations to leave that evening for L'Abri as soon as the Durban guys arrived for our YDC camp. My favorite part was preparing a roach massacre. You see the roach problem which we though just might be under control was suddenly escalating and we were finding record sized roaches in our house. One was big enough even to make Thirza scream (she has never screamed in SA) as it ran over her foot :P. But we sealed away all our food, shut up the house, and as we left set off three cans of Doom Fogger in various locations around our house. We arrived at L'Abri pretty late in the evening to a house that had no running water. This made for an interesting camp I must say. We had a late dinner and sat around the fire before retiring to bed.
Next day we were up at 8:30 even though there was talk of sleeping in because the new Durban volunteers are insane. By 10:30 we were off on a hike to swing fall fore mentioned in previous posts. We actually spent quite a while down there and then returned for lunch. There was debate about what to do with the afternoon activities and half the durban group ended up dissappearing so the rest of us decided to do some team building activities from our camps. Thirza and lead the group, with some help from a couple L'Abri guys, in the "Web," the swinging tires and the "electric fence." Then we showered and had a Briaa and sat around the fire again.
Sunday we were up early again and headed out for boulder fall which I have also mentioned before. This hike (always an adventure) was more adventureous than anyone could have anticipated. For starters, the river was quite swollen and the current was two or three times as fast. At some points I was well up to my chest in water. There were also parts of the trail flooded or completely blocked by trees and vines which had fallen in the last week or so. Nevertheless, it was a great hike. The Durban guys left right after lunch but we being much more African in PMB took our time and bummed around until 5. We were all beat by the time we got home and pretty much crashed. This was also when we began discovering the first roach corpses.
Yesterday everyone was back to work except for Thirza and I so we went to the Game (a store kind of like Walmart) to buy some extra hangers and then came here to the internet cafe. But the internet was reallly slow so alas, that is why I am here again today. When everyone was home from work I went grocery shopping with Esmeralda and then I came home and started cooking while everyone else moved furniture to make room for our new house mates. The girls really liked to point out the reversal of roles that was taking place. I had no choice but to be a good sport about it. I am of course, greatly outnumbered.
Today I waited around for our two new dutch guys who finally arrived around 1. They are Steven and Mathew and they are really really tall. Aerin who was home early from work and I gave them a tour and then let them settle. I then talked with them for a while and they seem to be pretty cool guys. Finally some fellow males though just when I was really getting used to being the only guy. As much as I am sad to have to split up my L"abri Schedule with them, they seem cool enough.
Well thats about it. I think it was more than I expected but its not that much. Its going to start getting colder here for the next couple days which is a nice break from the heat we've been having. I think I'm going to be walking home in the rain. Oh well, nothing new there. Its either wet or blistering outside.
Bye for now.
How's it my people! Its been another week so here I am to fill you in. Not a whole lot this time I'm afraid.
I think I left you all on Wednesday so I'll begin with Thursday. Aerin and I went to go see the new movie Australia. The rest of the night was quiet I believe and we were just relaxing with our house mates before our busy weekend.
Friday we made our preperations to leave that evening for L'Abri as soon as the Durban guys arrived for our YDC camp. My favorite part was preparing a roach massacre. You see the roach problem which we though just might be under control was suddenly escalating and we were finding record sized roaches in our house. One was big enough even to make Thirza scream (she has never screamed in SA) as it ran over her foot :P. But we sealed away all our food, shut up the house, and as we left set off three cans of Doom Fogger in various locations around our house. We arrived at L'Abri pretty late in the evening to a house that had no running water. This made for an interesting camp I must say. We had a late dinner and sat around the fire before retiring to bed.
Next day we were up at 8:30 even though there was talk of sleeping in because the new Durban volunteers are insane. By 10:30 we were off on a hike to swing fall fore mentioned in previous posts. We actually spent quite a while down there and then returned for lunch. There was debate about what to do with the afternoon activities and half the durban group ended up dissappearing so the rest of us decided to do some team building activities from our camps. Thirza and lead the group, with some help from a couple L'Abri guys, in the "Web," the swinging tires and the "electric fence." Then we showered and had a Briaa and sat around the fire again.
Sunday we were up early again and headed out for boulder fall which I have also mentioned before. This hike (always an adventure) was more adventureous than anyone could have anticipated. For starters, the river was quite swollen and the current was two or three times as fast. At some points I was well up to my chest in water. There were also parts of the trail flooded or completely blocked by trees and vines which had fallen in the last week or so. Nevertheless, it was a great hike. The Durban guys left right after lunch but we being much more African in PMB took our time and bummed around until 5. We were all beat by the time we got home and pretty much crashed. This was also when we began discovering the first roach corpses.
Yesterday everyone was back to work except for Thirza and I so we went to the Game (a store kind of like Walmart) to buy some extra hangers and then came here to the internet cafe. But the internet was reallly slow so alas, that is why I am here again today. When everyone was home from work I went grocery shopping with Esmeralda and then I came home and started cooking while everyone else moved furniture to make room for our new house mates. The girls really liked to point out the reversal of roles that was taking place. I had no choice but to be a good sport about it. I am of course, greatly outnumbered.
Today I waited around for our two new dutch guys who finally arrived around 1. They are Steven and Mathew and they are really really tall. Aerin who was home early from work and I gave them a tour and then let them settle. I then talked with them for a while and they seem to be pretty cool guys. Finally some fellow males though just when I was really getting used to being the only guy. As much as I am sad to have to split up my L"abri Schedule with them, they seem cool enough.
Well thats about it. I think it was more than I expected but its not that much. Its going to start getting colder here for the next couple days which is a nice break from the heat we've been having. I think I'm going to be walking home in the rain. Oh well, nothing new there. Its either wet or blistering outside.
Bye for now.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sawubona
Before I get into recording this week's activities I just want to clarify the last paragraph of my post from last week because I am not happy with the way it sounded. You see, what is so difficult or strange about being back in PMB is that when you are out in public you often made to feel like you are in one of those what doesn't belong children's books. People stare at you constantly and sometimes you are treated second class when you are in a public place, particularly at fast food places and other like venues. This is something you get used to and don't normally notice but I was spoiled on vacation and it was kind of a shock to come back too. But I don't want to give a poor impression because its not always the case and service is far better at places where I am recognized like here at the internet cafe or at the store by our house. But South Africa still has a long way to go when it comes to race relations and integration.
Also there was a question this last week about whether or not L'Abri has any wild animals or not. There are indeed some animals out there in the bush such as the bush buck, snakes, and monkies, but there is nothing dangerous living their or in the most of the non reserve areas of SA. There are still leopards in some rural areas down in the central coastal mountains but even their they are seldom seen.
So with that all said let me dig in to last week. I spent most of last week just catching up on rest from traveling and being at L'Abri. Wednesday was Anne's birthday and we spent the afternoon and evening celebrating that with those of us in the house as well as some collegues. Thursday Aerin had off from work and so we went out to a movie and that evening we went out to dinner with everyone again for Anne's birthday.
With the week wrapped up it was time for me to head out to L'Abri again for another camp of prefects, this time, an all girls school. So friday at 10 we left for the bush. This camp was a little less active on account of our clientel but I also got to have a bit more of a role. Nevertheless I am still kind of in my training phase. We only did a short hike down to the swing fall but I enjoy that place alot because it is great fun on the rope swing, a truely gorgeous area to be in, and I am most active there helping one of the guys (siyabonga who looks like an African pirate and who gave me my new nick name Bazumba) with the swing and those on it. Anyway, in the coming camps I will get to do more and more but for now most of my job is either observing activities or hosting our guests. I am still very happy with my new work though.
This weekend Thirza and myself will be facilitating our own YDC camp for the volunteers here in PMB as well as those in Durban. I think we are going to put together a couple activities for them and take them on a couple hikes so that they can have something of a L'Abri experience. It is not a true L'Abri experience though because they will not be waking up at 6 or being made to heat thier own water for a shower.
Well that is all for this week I think. I hear its quite chilly back home but here it is sweltering. Hope everyone is doing well though and enjoying the new president.
Peace
Before I get into recording this week's activities I just want to clarify the last paragraph of my post from last week because I am not happy with the way it sounded. You see, what is so difficult or strange about being back in PMB is that when you are out in public you often made to feel like you are in one of those what doesn't belong children's books. People stare at you constantly and sometimes you are treated second class when you are in a public place, particularly at fast food places and other like venues. This is something you get used to and don't normally notice but I was spoiled on vacation and it was kind of a shock to come back too. But I don't want to give a poor impression because its not always the case and service is far better at places where I am recognized like here at the internet cafe or at the store by our house. But South Africa still has a long way to go when it comes to race relations and integration.
Also there was a question this last week about whether or not L'Abri has any wild animals or not. There are indeed some animals out there in the bush such as the bush buck, snakes, and monkies, but there is nothing dangerous living their or in the most of the non reserve areas of SA. There are still leopards in some rural areas down in the central coastal mountains but even their they are seldom seen.
So with that all said let me dig in to last week. I spent most of last week just catching up on rest from traveling and being at L'Abri. Wednesday was Anne's birthday and we spent the afternoon and evening celebrating that with those of us in the house as well as some collegues. Thursday Aerin had off from work and so we went out to a movie and that evening we went out to dinner with everyone again for Anne's birthday.
With the week wrapped up it was time for me to head out to L'Abri again for another camp of prefects, this time, an all girls school. So friday at 10 we left for the bush. This camp was a little less active on account of our clientel but I also got to have a bit more of a role. Nevertheless I am still kind of in my training phase. We only did a short hike down to the swing fall but I enjoy that place alot because it is great fun on the rope swing, a truely gorgeous area to be in, and I am most active there helping one of the guys (siyabonga who looks like an African pirate and who gave me my new nick name Bazumba) with the swing and those on it. Anyway, in the coming camps I will get to do more and more but for now most of my job is either observing activities or hosting our guests. I am still very happy with my new work though.
This weekend Thirza and myself will be facilitating our own YDC camp for the volunteers here in PMB as well as those in Durban. I think we are going to put together a couple activities for them and take them on a couple hikes so that they can have something of a L'Abri experience. It is not a true L'Abri experience though because they will not be waking up at 6 or being made to heat thier own water for a shower.
Well that is all for this week I think. I hear its quite chilly back home but here it is sweltering. Hope everyone is doing well though and enjoying the new president.
Peace
Monday, January 19, 2009
hello at last,
I am finally home from a fantastic three week vacation as well as starting at work.
Aerin and I took a trip south along the coast stopping once in each region along the way. Our stops included the heart of Xhosa country at Port St. John's and Jefferies Bay, and continued into the beginnings of Afrikaaner SA in Wilderness and Swellendam. We travelled through African jungle, endless plains and huge mountains and it was quite the site seeing adventure. Our last week we travelled to Zululand with some of our housemates. Now to try and give you all the details I think would be impossible in my time on this computer but to give you a taste we hiked, took a river cruise, rode horses, galloped on the beach, surfed, snorkled, had some briaas, went on a game tour in SA's most beautiful reserve, bummed on the beach and more. It was quite an amazing trip that really revitalized me.
When I arrived home on Tuesday night I was told that I had to leave for my first camp at 8 in the morning. I had no clue to expect out of this but it turned out to be a fantastic three days. We were running a leadership/ team building camp for some high school prefects and it was alot of fun with many activities, good food, and some crazy hikes. My job lies somewhere between camp counselor and guide. In fact, one of the hikes I ended up leading because I knew the way from my time visiting L'abri before and the others were helping campers down some of the more difficult parts. At the end, I got to swing off a rope into a big water fall pool. Our other hike was three hours over a very difficult trial, with the reward of jumping from a 10 meter water fall. I was the first one over the edge on account of everyone else being too scared. The campers agreed that I was quite an insane person which greatly tickled me. Now somehow I was able to come out of my shell and really bond with people which is something for me because I am usually a pretty shy guy. Anyway, I'm feeling really positive about my new job and I can't wait for my next camp this friday.
In the meantime I am enjoying the peace and quiet of the house while everyone else is at work. I think I am going to need to find something to occupy myself with while I'm not at L'abri though.
Ok so I know this is a short post for me being away so long but there are really too many details and I am still adjusting into my normal schedule. But let me say that travelling gave me some interesting new perspectives of South Africa because I was able to interact with the white population here. As synical as they are about their country and all its flaws, most of them really appear to have a deep sense of responsibility to prevent this country from becoming like the rest of Africa. They are also trying hard to shed the stigma attached to being a white South African because much of the world views them as racists. While I am certain that these people exist, those whom I met on my trip were down-to-earth, friendly and in most cases extremely helpful when we needed it. Coming back home to predominantly black PMB has almost evoked a question of where do I fit in in this country. You don't really notice how out of place you appear until suddenly you are surrounded by people of your color and culture. Anyway, I would like to believe that I am something more than just the white foreigner and my collueges at work certainly helped me feel like I had a place here.
So there is a huge line behind me and I only have six minutes left. I hope my last comments weren't too scatterbrained for you but the more I think about it now the more I realize how complex the world is as well as finding your own niche in it.
So long for now
I am finally home from a fantastic three week vacation as well as starting at work.
Aerin and I took a trip south along the coast stopping once in each region along the way. Our stops included the heart of Xhosa country at Port St. John's and Jefferies Bay, and continued into the beginnings of Afrikaaner SA in Wilderness and Swellendam. We travelled through African jungle, endless plains and huge mountains and it was quite the site seeing adventure. Our last week we travelled to Zululand with some of our housemates. Now to try and give you all the details I think would be impossible in my time on this computer but to give you a taste we hiked, took a river cruise, rode horses, galloped on the beach, surfed, snorkled, had some briaas, went on a game tour in SA's most beautiful reserve, bummed on the beach and more. It was quite an amazing trip that really revitalized me.
When I arrived home on Tuesday night I was told that I had to leave for my first camp at 8 in the morning. I had no clue to expect out of this but it turned out to be a fantastic three days. We were running a leadership/ team building camp for some high school prefects and it was alot of fun with many activities, good food, and some crazy hikes. My job lies somewhere between camp counselor and guide. In fact, one of the hikes I ended up leading because I knew the way from my time visiting L'abri before and the others were helping campers down some of the more difficult parts. At the end, I got to swing off a rope into a big water fall pool. Our other hike was three hours over a very difficult trial, with the reward of jumping from a 10 meter water fall. I was the first one over the edge on account of everyone else being too scared. The campers agreed that I was quite an insane person which greatly tickled me. Now somehow I was able to come out of my shell and really bond with people which is something for me because I am usually a pretty shy guy. Anyway, I'm feeling really positive about my new job and I can't wait for my next camp this friday.
In the meantime I am enjoying the peace and quiet of the house while everyone else is at work. I think I am going to need to find something to occupy myself with while I'm not at L'abri though.
Ok so I know this is a short post for me being away so long but there are really too many details and I am still adjusting into my normal schedule. But let me say that travelling gave me some interesting new perspectives of South Africa because I was able to interact with the white population here. As synical as they are about their country and all its flaws, most of them really appear to have a deep sense of responsibility to prevent this country from becoming like the rest of Africa. They are also trying hard to shed the stigma attached to being a white South African because much of the world views them as racists. While I am certain that these people exist, those whom I met on my trip were down-to-earth, friendly and in most cases extremely helpful when we needed it. Coming back home to predominantly black PMB has almost evoked a question of where do I fit in in this country. You don't really notice how out of place you appear until suddenly you are surrounded by people of your color and culture. Anyway, I would like to believe that I am something more than just the white foreigner and my collueges at work certainly helped me feel like I had a place here.
So there is a huge line behind me and I only have six minutes left. I hope my last comments weren't too scatterbrained for you but the more I think about it now the more I realize how complex the world is as well as finding your own niche in it.
So long for now
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