One of the "downfalls" of being a social work student is not being able to take a spring break with the rest of the University. This is because we must complete a set amount of hours for our internships in a set amount of time, and taking a spring break would not make this easy. So once again I lament the passing of spring break without spring break...I can never be accused for getting a Master's for the spring break. But I guess the fact that I have spent the last two and a half months in warm weather and with visits to the beach will not help me plead my case either. So I think of all my friends who are gallivanting around the country on their breaks and I think of all my friends who are members of the "real" world and no longer have the hope of anything spring break...I feel your sadness. Thank you for reading about another week...I am doing my best to catch up.
Much love,
Lisa :o)
Sunday, March 8th
Sunny and warm. Finally a Sunday with cooperative weather! In celebration of the weather my South African family decided that we should spend the day outside at one of the nearby dams. The goal was to leave the house by 8:30am so it was a hectic morning trying to prepare everything to go: food, sand toys, chairs, and bags. The back of the car was so packed that it looked like we were going on a long holiday.
Breakfast: buttered crackers with cheese
The dam is about a 30-40 minute drive from where I am living, in a more rural and less industrial area. Rural in the sense that the houses are more scattered apart and the roads are more narrow and rough, but not rural in the sense that I observed farming animals wandering about or crops growing. The spot where we spent the day was a couple miles upstream from the actual dam structure and was more like a small lake/giant river. It is a beautiful area and so nice to breath the fresh air and be next to the water…but it was not exactly a serenely quiet area because of the jet skis!! Oh how I love that sound (but much more when I have the opportunity to ride). I did contemplate walking over to one of the groups scattered around and asking if I could borrow their jet ski for a few minutes but decided that I was not feeling that brave and could be content with watching. But there were probably eight to ten jet skis in the water at any given time. There is another part of the dam a short walk from our spot where people were boating and water tubing. Needless to say these sights, sounds, and smells (fuel) really reminded me of and made me miss camp. Hmmm….maybe a good spot for Beulah Beach South Africa?
The water was really not conducive for swimming and there was no sand but thankfully there was a small playground to keep Arvishka occupied. We also tried digging in the dirt with the sand toys but it is really not as fun as digging in sand. I enjoyed the sunshine, watching the water, and reading another one of the books in the Chronicles of Narnia and Ashika was hard at work on her laptop evaluating assessments.
We stayed for most of the day and the sky started turning cloudy and gray, and the wind starting picking up as we were leaving. On the way out of the area we spotted some zebras, bucks, and other wild life…which was much closer to the spot where we spent the day than I would have preferred. After seeing all these animals I stated that the perfect end to the day would be to find monkeys when we got home…and guess what?! There were monkeys!! And these monkeys were much more photogenic and stayed longer than the other ones that have visited so I was able to capture some good photos. And yes, my South African family still laughed at me as I was running around the house with my camera.
A few more words of South African English:
honking (the car horn) = hooting
apartment complex = mansions
assistant principal = deputy principal
Monday, March 9th
Sunny and warm…but windy so it did not feel hot.
Due to our inefficiency and bad attendance of attending the fitness center last week, Ashika and I decided to try going in the mornings before work. The locker room at the fitness center has personal showers so after working out we can shower and change. Hopefully this will be an effective and efficient solution…though I am not sure my body it ready for the challenge.
For a change of pace, instead of going to the University I decided to spend the day at Musgrave Center. There were I few things that I needed to look for and I thought it would be nice to do something different on a Monday and it was my small personal tribute to the spring break that I do not get to have. I had breakfast at Mugg and Bean, my favorite restaurant in South Africa, of an omelet (with tomatoes and mushrooms), potato wedges, buttered toast, and a giant cup of filtered coffee. It was very delicious but the omelet was gigantic so I struggled to finish eating it. I had brought a book to read as well so I enjoyed drinking two cups of coffee while reading my book. I normally do not like to go to eating places alone but this was truly a delightful experience…though the filtered coffee made me jittery a few hours later.
Arvishka: Mommy, I don’t want Lisa to go home. She mustn’t leave.
Tuesday, March 10th
Sunny and warm.
I heard the saddest phrase this morning in the social workers’ office at Umthombo: “There is virtually no hope for street children once they turn sixteen.” Why? They are viewed as beyond help: too much of a challenge, too much of a risk, too much of a danger, too hardened and influenced by the streets, too close to being an adult to take time to invest in. Most children homes in Durban will not take children once they are sixteen because of previous experiences with them running away or disrupting programs or harming younger children. Unfortunately for those who want to change, want a home, want to return to school, there are really no options. I hope someone rises to the challenge and creates a place where these children can find hope, find people who care, find a way to learn life skills and job skills, find a future.
I went to the beach with the surfing boys to continue getting to know them and build relationships. One of the boys that I met at the beach on Friday joined us while we were walking to the surf area. I spent time with him kicking the soccer ball and jumping in the little waves, since all the surf boys were in the water. I tried asking him questions but he did not want to answer them but we laughed and smiled together.
I had to leave Umthombo around lunch time and attend a planning meeting at UKZN for Global Social Work Day, which is next Tuesday. I stayed at University for the rest of the work day and completed some things for school. Of course I bought my traditional bag of popcorn. I tried cheese and onion flavor this time…it was not that good and the flavoring powder turned my fingers orange.
Wednesday, March 11th
Still sunny and warm…feeling a bit more humid.
The clinic and play group were very hectic and busy today as there were more than twenty children at any given time. Days with this many children are challenging as there is not enough staff to adequately watch them, there is not enough room for this many children to play, toys are easily broken or go missing, and you have to make sure the older ones do not run over or hurt the younger ones. It is the epitome of chaos control and crowd management, and far from the ideal of safe and effective child care strategies. There was an added challenge of a group of three siblings that did not want to listen to anyone, kept taking out toys without putting others away, and who were playing rough with one another and the toys. But I took to the task of trying to occupy the wee ones and keep them out of the way of the older children. Will I ever tire of playing tea party?
Once most of the children had left there was one little boy who was left because his mom was in line at the pharmacy and he did not want to wait with her. He did not understand English so we found ways to communicate through pointing. At one point he wanted to go on the swings but was having problems balancing himself on the seat. So I put him on my lap so he could swing with me and within a few minutes he fell asleep. Being at the clinic is an exhausting day, especially for the little ones.
After work I partook in my very first trip to Makro…it is like South Africa’s version of Sam’s Club. It is a gigantic warehouse-type building and they sell practically everything. We stopped because Ashika needed to purchase a birthday present for a weekend party and some groceries.
Arvishka: Mommy, the mosquitoes are being naughty, they are biting my leg. You must sort them out.
Ashika: How must I sort them out?
Arvishka: By hitting them on the bummie.
Dinner: soya burgers and French fries…fasting meat again…tasted very, very good
I think I broke my toe tonight when I ran into a piece of furniture…little toe on the left foot. I say “think” because it did not instantly bruise and pain like a broken toe does yet when I ran into the furniture it felt like it does when I break my toes and the bone is definitely not in the same place as before. It is the second time I have broken this toe so maybe I damaged all the nerves the first time which is why I am not feeling much pain. I think it is my body’s way of protesting the morning workouts. I am feeling very sore and very exhausted….no pain, no gain?!
Thursday, March 12th
Weather could not decide: one minute it was sunny, humid, and warm and the next it was cloudy, windy, and cool. Went from sweating to shivering and back.
My toe was bothering me at the fitness center so I definitely did something it to last night. Still not bruising though…
I was able to return to the rural community of Adam’s Mission again this week with two other student interns from UKZN. One of the interns is working at the town’s government clinic, which is newly constructed and a very very nice facility. Thola and I went to the secondary school and were able to meet and having productive conversations with the teacher in charge of student care and the deputy principal. The teacher and principals are very supportive of us working in the school and have identified many students in need of social services or counseling. The school is going to give us a space to meet with the students in the following weeks and I will be able to do a lot of individual counseling. So this is very exciting!
While we were waiting for the hospital transport to fetch us from the school, I received permission from the principal to take pictures of the school and classroom. If you have ever grumbled about the lack of resources or state of American schools, think again…this school literally has nothing. The classrooms have bare walls, no school supplies, no extra books, no computers, no teacher’s desk, no extra resources or learning tools, no air conditioning, no heat. Simply desks, a chalk board, and chalk. The school does not have a cafeteria so students must bring their own food or walk to the little stands outside the school that sell food…that is if your family has enough money to give you or if there is food in your house to bring. The teachers have a teacher room to keep their papers but there are no computers, no copier machine, no extra office supplies.
Even in the midst of rural Africa I cannot escape the University of Michigan. As we were exploring the school we found this that tells about the man the school is named after. (If you have trouble reading the plaque, the school is named after the first Zulu doctor to graduate from the University of Michigan). Seriously?!
One thing that always amazes me and blesses me is when people and places that have little are so generous and willing to offer and share what they do have. (Yet we who have so much come up with so many reasons of why we cannot give or share.) While Thola and I were sitting in the deputy principal’s office toward the end of the day, he apologize for not being a good host and offering us anything to eat and drink while we had been meeting with him and waiting for our ride to fetch us. He left the room and brought back a liter of cold Coca-Cola, glasses, and a plate of biscuits for us to enjoy while we waited. The school has nothing but it so willing to share whatever it has to make visitors feel blessed and welcomed. I couldn’t help but smile: it was the best Cola and biscuits that I had ever had.
Dinner: breaded fish patties, salad (cucumbers, onions, peppers, avocadoes, lettuce, cheese), and grilled veggies
Friday, March 13th
Sunny and warm.
My body is still being resentful about morning workouts…but they always say that the first two weeks are the most challenging. I will not give up! Okay, so it helps that my ride also goes in the morning so I have no other choice….
I attended the weekly staff meeting at Umthombo and then walked with the surfing boys to the beach. Some of the boys are participating in a surfing competition tomorrow so they had to focus on getting ready with one of the surfing coaches. The other surfing coach was gone at a surf competition in Cape Town so two of the older surfers worked on the beach with the newer surfers, teaching them how to paddle out and stand on their surf boards. It was great to watch the older children teaching the younger ones and witness their leadership. We could only stay at the beach for a couple hours (normally the surfing boys spend the entire day at the beach) because visitors from the UK were coming to the center. When we returned to the center we ate lunch and watched the movie Yesterday with the other children that had come. Yesterday is a beautiful South African movie (Zulu with English subtitles) about a woman (Yesterday) and her family (daughter and husband) and their struggle to survive and face the challenges of HIV/AIDS in their rural community. I encourage you to go rent the movie, as it is a compelling and challenging story and also shows some of the beautiful scenery of South Africa.
I have trying to figure out between the American elections and South African elections how many months I have been inundated with election frenzy. With the South African national elections being held next month it is constantly the topic of every news broadcast, a frequent topic of conversations, and there are signs and billboards every where. I am starting to forget what it is like to live in an “election free” environment without all the political talk and propaganda…but I guess not everyone has the opportunity to experience two national elections in a five month time span.
Dinner: pizza and chicken wings from Debonaire’s; four mini pizzas…one veggie, one chicken, one mince and one lamb…I never thought of lamb as being a pizza topping. Interesting.
Saturday, March 14th
Cloudy and warm.
Another early Saturday morning taking Arvishka to the fitness center for her swimming lessons. It was just Arvishka, Ashika, and myself because Ahvesh had to work, so we left the fitness center after Arvishka’s swimming lessons…but this still gave me plenty of time for a workout.
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with onion and chilies, buttered bread, sausage, and coffee…I did not know that breakfast could be so spicy!
After breakfast I took a shower, did my weekly hand washing, and spent some time reading. Around noon Arvishka, Ashika, and I left for the beach because we were going to watch the surfing boys in their competition. The weather did not look promising as the clouds continued to build and get darker. Unfortunately the ocean was not being very cooperative and the waves were smaller than usual, but competitions must go on. Arvishka and I stood at the water’s edge and jumped in the water as the waves creped up the beach. The water was cold and I got much wetter and sandier than I expected but those are the joys of the beach (I will not complain!) We did not stay for long as it starting raining and turned windy and cool. But we were a wet, sandy mess trying to get into the car. I was greatly looking forward to a warm shower and cup of coffee.
Lunch: bean salad and prawn brianni
In the afternoon my South African family started watching a Hindi movie which is a compilation of various wedding and love songs. It is more like watching music videos than a movie but all the clips have the same actress/singer/dancer because they are all from her various movies. Unfortunately all the songs were in Hindi so I could not understand what they were singing about but Arvishka and I had fun watching the dancers and trying to mimic their moves…the beats and rhythms of the music make it hard to sit still. I enjoyed watching the different songs as I learned more about Indian culture and weddings are very beautiful, colorful, and elaborate events. During one of the songs I commented on how the bride (who was crying) did not look very happy to be getting married. Ashika explained to be that weddings are often very sad events for the bride and her family because when a girl marries she becomes the property of her husband and his family, following their traditions and often moving a distance to live in their home or near their home.
My South African family is attending a birthday party tomorrow so Ashika baked a yummy chocolate cake with nuts and cherries inside. We ate warm pieces while watching the Hindi movie…a good treat on a rainy day. (yes, yes more coffee)
Ocean’s 12 was on TV tonight and it is one of those movies that I have seen several times but still like watching again and again anyways.
F-L-O-R-I-D-A S-T-A-T-E (what, what) Florida State! Florida State! Florida State! Wooooohhhh! I am so very proud of my basketball Noles for beating North Carolina in the ACC tournament. But I fail to understand why they choose to become so amazing the semester I am out of the country! It is becoming increasingly painful not to be able to watch.
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