There has not been too much stuff going on here since I last posted. Last weekend I stayed here on Saturday and did some work. We had report cards due but then had technical problems and teachers out sick so they got pushed back to this week. On Sunday I went to the surfer church, which is where I go most weekends and is my favorite. After church we went to the beach area. A few of us brought our laptops because we had seen a café with free wifii, it took be an hour and like 20 min to download 1 song. Had I known I would just get one I would have picked better but what eve. Then we just hung out on the beach and read and played cards. This last school week had been a little stressful because of using a new computer program for reports and just not really being sure how we were meant to do them. But we made it through the week and it was fine. Report cards are still not done but hopefully today after our staff meeting we will get some final clarification.
This weekend was fun. On Friday I was so over the week and just wanted to take a nap, but then I saw that I had mail and it made my day sooooooo much better. So thanks mom and Nat!! Friday night we had a Brai a South African BBQ. Those are always fun. We all eat EVERY meal together but it is like we all have assigned seats for the most part. I pretty much eat my meals with the same people every day, but when we have Brai’s outside we all just sit on the steps and it is a bit more mixed up. We also had an Academy camp out Friday night. I did not have to stay out on the field I just got to enjoy the smores. The campfire was made so much better because in the package mom sent where glow in the dark hair bands! Who new there was such a thing! So a few of us had those in and it just kind of made everything funnier. Of course because of smores there was a lot of Sandlot quotes going on exclusively by the “ adults” and the kids had no idea what was going on. It was great! A lot of the kids had never had smores before because well they live on a ship that does not like fire and or are not American. So it was funny to see them trying to make a smore, well not really a smore because it was will biscuits/ cookies not graham crackers but almost. On Friday nights now we have been having movie nights. There is normally a kids movie at 6 and an adult-ish movie at 8. There is not loads going on so that is our Friday night activity!
On Saturday a group of us went wine tasting. So we, the girls decided to get dressed up, which makes everything classier. We first stopped at a cute shopping area that was nice and had an amazing chocolate store. I had a chi latte chocolate that was really good. Some other ones where curry flavored or chocolate covered bill tongue which is south African jerky. The wine tasting was fun and really relaxing. It was just nice to be away from the compound, screaming children and to have wine!
On Sunday we went to church, as soon as we got there the power went out. It was a good service and nice to feel settled by going to the same church every weekend. We went to the mall after the service in hopes of a nice brunch/ lunch. But, the power was out there as well. We went to the market which had generators and got snacky food and ate on the sidewalk since there are zero benches and it was one of the few places under cover from the rain. We got a lot of looks and I am sure everyone was thinking strange Americans. But it was food and dry! When we got back here I took a nap/ watched movies. Then the thunder and lighting started. Our power was surging every once in a while and then finally just went out. We were with out power for about an hour and it was right before dinner. We are so trained to eat that if it is 5:01 you are hungry. So we ate cereal and sandwich meets, the power came on about 10 minuets latter. So the galley team got back to us and we had our hot dinner of fish and chips at 6, or chips if you are me and hate fish.
I know that this all sounds very trivial and not very exciting and well that’s cause it is. Sometimes I lose focus and start to wonder what and the hell I am doing here. I am volunteering in South Africa to teach. To be honest I teach 1 student most times. I love the people who are here and I love teaching. But I just think sometimes what is the purpose. But then I think about when we go to Sierra Leone in February. How there is so much need and so much that we can do. I will not be directly affecting the lives of Sierra Leon ions( Sp?) I will not be removing tumors, or helping VVF women who so badly need it. I will not be removing teeth that are rotting. So how am I helping? I am here so that the parents of my students can be here. I am here so these students can have a somewhat normal childhood where they can serve along with there parents and families can stay together. I have to remind myself of this sometimes cause it just seems strange. It is a weird time right now, we are not on the ship. But we are a hospital ship. We are meant to bring “hope and healing” to West Africa, but we are in South Africa and are only running the dental and eye teams. It is hard to keep the focus of what we are here for. I have found it really hard because I have never seen the hospital running. I got to the ship two days before we sailed, the hospital was closed and already packed for the sail. I can imagine what it is like with patients on the ship and being in a port where you are the hope for a healthy future. But I lose sight of that. It makes me so excited sometimes that I consider extending, the rumor is that the next outreach is going to be the Congo and well I want to go. I have not extended mom and have not committed to anything but I have to admit it can be tempting. This past weekend when we were driving back from the market a song called “ Good Life” by OneRebublic came on my iPod.
Woke up in London yesterday
Found myself in the city near Piccadilly
Don't really know how I got here
I got some pictures on my phone
New names and numbers that I don't know
Address to places like Abbey Road
Day turns to night, night turns to whatever we want
We're young enough to say
Oh this has gotta be the good life
This has gotta be the good life
This could really be a good life, good life
Say oh, got this feeling that you can't fight
Like this city is on fire tonight
This could really be a good life
A good, good life
To my friends in New York, I say hello
My friends in L.A. they don't know
Where I've been for the past few years or so
Paris to China to Col-or-ado
Sometimes there's airplanes I can' t jump out
Sometimes there's bullshit that don't work now
We are god of stories but please tell me-e-e-e
What there is to complain about
When you're happy like a fool
Let it take you over
When everything is out
You gotta take it in
Hopelessly
I feel like there might be something that I'll miss
Hopelessly
I feel like the window closes oh so quick
Hopelessly
I'm taking a mental picture of you now
'Cuz hopelessly
The hope is we have so much to feel good about
I love this song and it makes me want to live a large life, doing what I love and seeing the world.
ship
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
its the small things
Compared to my Safari weekend trip this last weekend has been slow and quite. Last weekend I went to the mall on Saturday and saw A- Team. I don’t know if it is the lack of new movies I have seen, missing home or loving Bradley Copper so much, but I really liked it. I thought it was funny and just made me feel good just to go to a movie with a few friends. On Sunday I decided to not go to church and just stay at the compound. It is funny we all complain about being stuck out here, myself included but then it sometimes just feels really nice to stay for the day with out any type of a plan and just relax. I layed out in the sun before it got to hot, I actually even got sunburned a little so it was nice to have something to show for the time outside. It got kind of gross out so I went in and took a nap. I know that this is really exciting stuff but it was needed. It just felt so good to lay in bed on a rainy afternoon watch a movie and take a little nap before dinner.
This last week was a pretty good one. Monday we had a staff meeting after school, we have one every Monday and they are usually good for a laugh. This one was no exception. It just makes me feel good when I sit in my staff meeting with other academy staff and laugh, and can be my self- with out all the swearing (mom you should be happy). On Tuesday we went on a field trip with the Nursery and Elementary school. Sometimes it can be strange cause I don’t have a class of my own really, I have students that I pull out from other classes, but Amy the third grade teacher is always great about having me with them as they are the 2/3 class so that is great. We went to the tidal pools at a beach about an hour away. It is the beach we all go to after church so we all knew it but it was far less crowded on a Tuesday and a rainy one for that matter. It was not warm but definitely not as cold as the Oregon coast so I thought it was great. The kids all had a lot of fun playing and looking for different creatures. It was nice to be part of that and show them my love for it. I have the reputation here and rightfully so as not liking bugs. So it was nice to show that I love animals and nature just not spiders and other bugs that they all catch and shove in your face to look at. After we left the tide pools we went and got ice cream at Steers the South African equivalent of Burger king with out the creepy king himself. Of course the kids loved that treat.
We left and went to the Sharks Board. The Sharks Board is the organization that is in charge of maintaining the shark nets around this province. The shark nets are a little confusing because they don’t go to the ocean floor, or the surface or actually enclose the beach. So I am still a little fuzzy how that keeps sharks out. They could easily go over, under, or around and come eat swimmers, but they have not had any fatal attacks since they went in around the 1950’s so they most work somehow. There are sharks that get caught in the nets, the Sharks Board has teams that go out everyday and try and release these sharks with out any injury or harm. When sharks are not able to move they are not able to get water running through their gills and they die. That is not the hope of the nets but it does happen. When the shark board finds dead sharks they take them back to their research facility. In hopes of educating the public they perform shark dissection four times a week. It was gross but fun.
The rest of the week has passed with out too much going on, which I guess is good in the no news is good news way. On Saturday we had an opportunity to help in the community just outside our gates. A bunch of us went and painted a house that the local church owns in hopes that if they fix it up they will be able to attract an associate pastor. It was nice to help the community. We live here in our little bubble and do not have to much chance for interaction so it was great to get that time. We were able to work along side locals and meet some of the children in the area. After painting there was going to be a braai, a South African BBQ. The church a bunch of us have been to Balito Bible church was coming up to see where we were staying and to hang out. It was kind of a great day. A lot more people stayed then normal because of the Braai and it felt like a normal BBQ we were all playing games and hanging out. A bunch of us played catch phrase for about 2 hours. It was nice and felt like home, people yelling really loud and being to competitive, myself included. The braai was great and it was nice to talk with the people from the church.
On Sunday the plan was to go to church and leave at 7:30 then go to the beach for the day after. This sounded great but my door had other plans. Our doors lock from the inside and outside with the key, and you have to have the key to unlock them even from the inside. I had a problem about the first weekend here of not being able to unlock my door from the inside. I was finally able to get it when I took the handle off from the inside. I have not really had to many problems since then, until Sunday morning. I got up and was not able to unlock my door. I tried for a few minuets then took the door handle off thinking, that although it is annoying it would allow me out to run to the bathroom since I was about to pee myself. But of course no luck. At this point I got up on a chair and opened the window above my door to listen for anyone in the hall. I am at the very end of the hall though with no one across from me so I knew there was little hope. I started to look around for a water bottle to use as a make shift bathroom because it was getting pretty bad. I decided instead to wake up my neighbor. I started yelling out the window above the door saying I was locked in. She did come and let me out and I quickly ran to the bathroom as I said thank you over my shoulder. But I am happy to report I did not need to use the water bottle and made it to the bathroom in time!
Church was good, it was a new one for me and everyone was very welcoming. We went to the beach after ward and had lunch as a big group. It is so nice when we go out to have the whole menu to chose from instead of what is cooked for you. It was a great day at the beach and was nice to be there. I always just feel relaxed at the beach. When we got back we had dinner and hung out. I tried to call my parents which with them is always a little complicated. My mom was in a bad service area so she kept dropping the calls. I ended up calling my brother Dennis, it was nice to talk to him. About three minuets into that conversation my mom called him so Dennis made it a conference call. It was funny that mom hijacked the call but then she just kept saying it’s a three-way and I could not stop laughing. It was good to talk to them even though it was brief and with lots of interruptions.
November, 11th 2010
This last week was a pretty good one. Monday we had a staff meeting after school, we have one every Monday and they are usually good for a laugh. This one was no exception. It just makes me feel good when I sit in my staff meeting with other academy staff and laugh, and can be my self- with out all the swearing (mom you should be happy). On Tuesday we went on a field trip with the Nursery and Elementary school. Sometimes it can be strange cause I don’t have a class of my own really, I have students that I pull out from other classes, but Amy the third grade teacher is always great about having me with them as they are the 2/3 class so that is great. We went to the tidal pools at a beach about an hour away. It is the beach we all go to after church so we all knew it but it was far less crowded on a Tuesday and a rainy one for that matter. It was not warm but definitely not as cold as the Oregon coast so I thought it was great. The kids all had a lot of fun playing and looking for different creatures. It was nice to be part of that and show them my love for it. I have the reputation here and rightfully so as not liking bugs. So it was nice to show that I love animals and nature just not spiders and other bugs that they all catch and shove in your face to look at. After we left the tide pools we went and got ice cream at Steers the South African equivalent of Burger king with out the creepy king himself. Of course the kids loved that treat.
We left and went to the Sharks Board. The Sharks Board is the organization that is in charge of maintaining the shark nets around this province. The shark nets are a little confusing because they don’t go to the ocean floor, or the surface or actually enclose the beach. So I am still a little fuzzy how that keeps sharks out. They could easily go over, under, or around and come eat swimmers, but they have not had any fatal attacks since they went in around the 1950’s so they most work somehow. There are sharks that get caught in the nets, the Sharks Board has teams that go out everyday and try and release these sharks with out any injury or harm. When sharks are not able to move they are not able to get water running through their gills and they die. That is not the hope of the nets but it does happen. When the shark board finds dead sharks they take them back to their research facility. In hopes of educating the public they perform shark dissection four times a week. It was gross but fun.
The rest of the week has passed with out too much going on, which I guess is good in the no news is good news way. On Saturday we had an opportunity to help in the community just outside our gates. A bunch of us went and painted a house that the local church owns in hopes that if they fix it up they will be able to attract an associate pastor. It was nice to help the community. We live here in our little bubble and do not have to much chance for interaction so it was great to get that time. We were able to work along side locals and meet some of the children in the area. After painting there was going to be a braai, a South African BBQ. The church a bunch of us have been to Balito Bible church was coming up to see where we were staying and to hang out. It was kind of a great day. A lot more people stayed then normal because of the Braai and it felt like a normal BBQ we were all playing games and hanging out. A bunch of us played catch phrase for about 2 hours. It was nice and felt like home, people yelling really loud and being to competitive, myself included. The braai was great and it was nice to talk with the people from the church.
On Sunday the plan was to go to church and leave at 7:30 then go to the beach for the day after. This sounded great but my door had other plans. Our doors lock from the inside and outside with the key, and you have to have the key to unlock them even from the inside. I had a problem about the first weekend here of not being able to unlock my door from the inside. I was finally able to get it when I took the handle off from the inside. I have not really had to many problems since then, until Sunday morning. I got up and was not able to unlock my door. I tried for a few minuets then took the door handle off thinking, that although it is annoying it would allow me out to run to the bathroom since I was about to pee myself. But of course no luck. At this point I got up on a chair and opened the window above my door to listen for anyone in the hall. I am at the very end of the hall though with no one across from me so I knew there was little hope. I started to look around for a water bottle to use as a make shift bathroom because it was getting pretty bad. I decided instead to wake up my neighbor. I started yelling out the window above the door saying I was locked in. She did come and let me out and I quickly ran to the bathroom as I said thank you over my shoulder. But I am happy to report I did not need to use the water bottle and made it to the bathroom in time!
Church was good, it was a new one for me and everyone was very welcoming. We went to the beach after ward and had lunch as a big group. It is so nice when we go out to have the whole menu to chose from instead of what is cooked for you. It was a great day at the beach and was nice to be there. I always just feel relaxed at the beach. When we got back we had dinner and hung out. I tried to call my parents which with them is always a little complicated. My mom was in a bad service area so she kept dropping the calls. I ended up calling my brother Dennis, it was nice to talk to him. About three minuets into that conversation my mom called him so Dennis made it a conference call. It was funny that mom hijacked the call but then she just kept saying it’s a three-way and I could not stop laughing. It was good to talk to them even though it was brief and with lots of interruptions.
November, 11th 2010
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