I’ve thought about some random things that don’t have anything to do with a specific activity or tour that I’ve done, but that I thought were worth mentioning.
So, some verbiage that we use here. Diapers are nappies. Pacifiers are dummies. When someone says they’ll be back ‘just now’ that actually means in awhile, and if they say “now now” then that really means now. We Americans have been picked on for how we give the time when someone asks—we tend to give a fairly exact time, when they’re usually just expecting if it’s half past or quarter til, things like that. It’s somewhat of a running joke now when one of the English girls asks me what time it is she’s laughing already, but I still respond with 11:53. How am I to know if you want the exact time, like if you’re figuring something out, or if you just need an estimate? Better give the exact and you can go from there.
Also, I haven’t ever really introduced anyone. So, in our house we have a “house mom.” She is here on weekdays during normal work hours, buys groceries for the house (our breakfasts are provided), books tours for us that we request, and really is just here in case we need anything; her name is Megan. Then we have Nomsa, the house cleaner. She isn’t here to clean up after us, as we all need to make our beds and do our own dishes, but she does the hardcore cleaning that we don’t do. Oh, the house itself. When you walk in it’s a huge open room with tile floors and all of that. We have 3 couches and a couple chairs, the TV/DVD/stereo, a fireplace, and the computer in this room. Off to the right is the kitchen, which is through a huge doorway, that has glass sliding doors, so later when some people are talking in the kitchen and others are watching tv in the lounge, we can’t hear each other. In the kitchen there are 4 refrigerators, and a huge harvest table. There’s an island with a sink, as well as a regular sink in the back of the kitchen. One wall has 30 cabinets with locks on them and we’re each assigned one. Some people keep food in there and some just valuables. From the kitchen you can go down the hallway and there is a private bedroom (you can pay more to stay here, typically couples stay here), a boys room, a few bathrooms, and then a big room which has 7 bunk beds (so, 14 beds all together) where most of the girls stay. Back up to the living room. Off to the left is Megan’s office, and if you go straight you’ll walk out the sliding doors to the patio where we have a BBQ, picnic tables, and a pool. (Although way too cold to benefit from this right now!) If you walk past the pool there is an outdoor staircase leading upstairs where there is another room with 4 bunk beds (8 beds total) and two bathrooms. This is where I stay. It’s wonderful for privacy, but sucks when it’s cold or rainy that you have to go outside to get up there, however, I’m not complaining at all!! When I first got here there was just one other girl in the room, she actually just left today, and now there are 3 of us. So that’s the house. A little ritzy considering we’re all here volunteering and what not, but for my first time travelling this far alone and everything, I wanted to be sure I felt safe and comfortable. My only complaint with the house—it’s cold all the time, often times colder inside than outside. We all shuffle around with blankets, attempting to light the fireplace with no luck.
So, back to the people who live here. My roomie and co-worker who just left was 19, from the Boston area, and went to school in New York. She wants to be a lawyer someday and is interested in human rights and that sort of thing, which brought her here. She’s very knowledgeable and I learned quite a bit about South Africa’s laws and history from her. Another of my roommates is 20 I think, maybe 19, and from Canada. She is going to school for community development and just learning all of this as I am pretty much. We hit it off ok, however, she works the opposite shift from me at Home of Hope so we’re never off on the same days. Just see each other in the evenings. We just got our 3rd roommate last night, Bonnie. She is from Australia and works in social services/community development. She’s very knowledgeable as well and has done volunteer work in Tijuana, Cambodia, here, and a couple other places I think. All of the other people in the house right now are volunteering at SANCCOB, which is a place that rehabilitates penguins and various other birds. Some of them have an interest in that for work, and others just love penguins! In that group there have been people from England, Germany, Virginia, Idaho, and Canada that have been coming and going the entire time. Also, sometimes we’ll have people here for just a few days to a week while they are sightseeing around Cape Town before heading to their projects which are further away. So, that’s the house & people in it for the most part.
I’ve met a few more people volunteering at Home of Hope who aren’t with AVIVA. One of the girls, Rachel, volunteered at Home of Hope last year through AVIVA but is now back on her own. I think I’ve mentioned her before. She’s also the one who gives me the hard time about the exact time I give! She’s also in love with Lona… we’ve agreed we can come up with some sort of shared custody if we have to J haha She’s called me Mama Chelsey or if I’m busy I’ll tell Lona to go see Mama Rachel. Hah There’s another volunteer right now named Louisa who is from Holland—well actually her parents are Italian, but she was born in South Africa. She stayed here until she was about 16, and then moved to Italy. Then, she met her Dutch husband, and moved to Holland! She just happened to be staying across the street from Home of Hope last time she was here and asked them what it was all about. So she’s back as a volunteer! She raised a lot of money for them and brought a lot of clothes too.
What else…I have got a lot of great feedback from people reading the blog about how what I’m doing is great and everything. I love hearing that. BUT, what I hope is that it motivates you to find whatever it is you’re interested in and give back that way. There are a lot of ways to help in the states too, my passion just happens to lie in Africa. I would just encourage you to find something to give back to, because it’s good for everyone, and it really does feel great. Somewhat selfish J I’ve just been interested in Africa for a very long time. I’ve done my research, learned a lot, and one of the things I have learned is how different it is here. (Duh right?) But really, all the government assistance we have in the states, they don’t have that here. People have to pay to go to school, so if there’s no money, there’s no education. Which, obviously leads to poverty, which leads to poor health, substance abuse problems….in just goes on and on. While all of this stuff happens in the states, the resources available in the states are nearly endless compared to what is offered here and in a lot of 3rd world countries. Anyway, enough with my rant! Everyone finds their interest in different places, mine is here, and I’m glad I followed it.
So that's enough for odds & ends. Today I changed the trachea tube on my own. Normally we do it with 2 people just to be safe, but I kinda just wanted to see if I could do it on my own. I knew I could just yell if I needed someone and really the worst that would happen is it would take a long time... but I did it. Tomorrow we have a new volunteer starting and so I'll teach her and she'll take over. Plus, he goes for an appointment on Friday to see if he can breathe on his own!!! YAY! Let's hope.
Anyway, that's all for now.
