Hello all!
I’ve decided to start a system of typing out my emails on word on the little laptop before I go to sleep at night, and then saving it on my handy dandy USB so all I have to do once I find a computer with internet access (not always the easiest task) is to plug in the USB, see if I need to add any answers to questions or more news, and then copy-paste the main part! See? I’m not just a pretty face.
I’ve started to write letters, but on Saturday when Tamara and I went shopping, we missed the post office being open – apparently it’s only open in mornings, and we finished groceries at around 1230 or so, so all the letters that eventually end up getting written will only be able to sent off next weekend! Oh the joys of living masses of miles away from anyone I would write to. We shall see how long it takes! I hope not too long… I want to hear from home, and be able to sit and re-read them at my leisure, instead of having to worry about the cost of being on the internet.
Sunday, January 9 we had the welcome Braai (Zulu for ‘BBQ’ that’s generally used by all South Africans) for me and the other new volunteer, Rhiall a Swiss German girl from a small town. She seems pretty shy and quiet, but I think that’s partly because of everything being in English so it takes a lot of mental energy to participate in conversations… hopefully she will open more as time goes by – she only arrived today, so it’s not unusual that she might be a bit out of sorts! I tried to be welcoming and talk with her for the couple hours before the Braai, and just smiled lots – so hopefully she doesn’t feel alone. She’s my next door room neighbour, in room #4! I’m room 5, so clearly we should be best of friends. Room #5 also happens to be closest to the bathroom, so that’s another added plus for having to go at night when it’s dark and there’s creepy-crawly things all over the place from going even just out my door, down the porch 10 steps, and to the toilet! Thank goodness for nice plumbing though – I’m quite thankful I don’t have to rough it quite too much other than the little animals and bugs. So far so good with no sunburns or bug bites though! We’ll see how long that lasts for ;)
I’m also super happy that I got my hair cut short before coming! The heat and humidity are quite intense, but it doesn’t really bother me so much - I guess mostly because I knew it would be hot, it doesn’t seem like such a hassle compared to only the occasional 30 degree weather in Canadian summer!
The kids are still off school until Jan 16 or something like that, so this week is programming with activities on site. I’m hoping to get to be in the clinic lots, but we’ll see how it goes. It is the first week after all, they might want to do general orientation or something instead. I will just go with the flow until I get really settled and then can better voice my opinion on things ;)
I feel quite safe while on site – there’s an electric fence surrounding the entire village, and locked gates at the entrances. There’s no need to lock doors during the daytime – I only lock my bedroom at night since my door has a particular tendancy to open itself, and I’d really rather not wake up to a frog infestation of my room the next morning.
I have happened to make a little lizard friend. I’m not sure what kind of lizard he is exactly (or she, don’t want to discriminate) – but there is one that greeted me as I first entered the room that was on the wall across from the door near a vent to outside, and has since found a way to squirm inside my closed closet. It surprised me there yesterday morning when I went to open the doors to get to my clothes, and I haven’t managed to figure out where it was hiding… perhaps a shoe. I just have taken to shaking out all my clothes and things before using them. Paranoia? Perhaps. I prefer to think of it as safety. J
Believe it or not, we actually have a tv in our volunteer flat! There’s the 3 of us girls living in here now, so we share cooking meals and doing chores. Tamara and I have a good flow I think already started which is nice to know!! We watch the news together after dinner to figure out what’s going on in the world and to see what ridiculous weather there will be the next day … and Tristan/Elaine/Karen/Beth on Sundays we watch TOP GEAR UK . (For real! I was so excited when I found out it was here!) There’s actually a surprising number of shows that have crossed the ocean and the continent from Europe and from the States – next after Top Gear was CSI: Miami , which we decided against. Funny! It was the same when going grocery shopping – so many brands not only from home, but from the UK and Europe … so silly to have traveled so far!
I’m definitely jet-lagged. It’s rather difficult to have to wake up at 7am here, which is midnight back in Ontario … ie. Usually the time I’d be just going to sleep. Mornings are difficult to stay awake! All this will come in time. I just have to force my body to realize what’s going on. It gets dark so early here! Earlier than I had thought… since it’s summer here, I just figured it would be light later, but nope. I forgot how the world moved around and all that important sort of stuff for daylight things… but nature clearly showed me differently.
Hopefully I’ve remembered to attach the photos I’ve taken so far, or I’ve posted them on fb or something equally useful. It’s really incredibly beautiful. Staggeringly different from anything I’ve seen before!
Love from,
African Heather (or AHHH for short … extra H’s added for emphasis and amusement)
Ps. Some vocab!
Bucky = pick up truck
Yebo = yes
Cha (where the c is a click) = no
… and some other stuff I’ve already forgotten. Whoops!
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