tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42592523301825891682024-03-14T02:38:56.991-07:00Back to my Paradiseghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-5193743890064620902013-07-23T07:53:00.003-07:002013-07-23T08:31:19.362-07:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Tuesday, June 11 </b>
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This morning we
woke up to frost on the ground. Um, what?? We are in Africa, how is
this happening?
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<b>Our schoolyard, with frost!</b></div>
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I went to the Day Care today (as I do every Tuesday) and they were
all cute in their their scarves and hats and gloves, something that
you would expect to see in Africa.<br />
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When I came back to school I got to play with one of our school
volunteer's baby. Esther had found some children from our school
wandering the streets today while she was doing some house visits, so
she updated me on that and a prior case.<br />
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I watched grade 1 and 2 outside today until their older siblings
got out of school, and then walked home with Magda, Mpilo, Thulani
and Rachel. The Irish volunteers were back at the house and we talked
outside (it was a lot warmer then) and then came inside and ate ice
cream. ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-80753541523457964602013-07-23T07:42:00.000-07:002013-07-23T07:42:52.580-07:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Monday, June 10: </b>
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This morning at
school we had no electricity again. I talked with Colm about the
school and showed him my office and he asked me if he would just be
throw into a classroom, and I said that he wouldn't be. So 5 minutes
later, as I am walking with him to find Sister Theresa and explaining
things to him, we meet Sister Theresa and she said “You're not a
teacher by any chance, are you?” and got thrown into the grade 4
classroom, since their teacher was absent. He is a teacher, at least,
but I felt bad telling him one thing, and then two seconds later...
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Because there was
no electricity, I had to go to our little kitchen trailer for hot
water. The lady inside was very nice, and was cooking oatmeal for
the students for breakfast in the biggest pot I have ever seen.
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Today I
interviewed many children so we can see what the children need, and
their background situations. And also to have proper case studies
and files for them. One of the boys said that he liked coming to
school and learning because he wanted to buy his family a bigger
house. That was heart-breaking to hear.
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I also found out
that one of the children here had the opportunity to walk onto the
field at a World Cup soccer match with a player. He will definitely
remember that for the rest of his life, and he was all smiles when he
spoke about it. He said it was very loud.
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At the end of the
day I watched the grade 1 and grade 2's outside while they were
waiting for their siblings to get out of school.
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The Priests and
“Brothers to be” (and Colm who is staying with them) all had no
power tonight, and we tried to get them to come over to at least have
a hot drink, because it was absolutely freezing tonight. But it did
not work out. All of us girls (there are now 6 of us) ate dinner
together and watched Miss Congeniality under lots of blankets. </div>
ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-45800228735553917572013-07-23T07:14:00.003-07:002013-07-23T07:14:55.760-07:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<b>Sunday June 9: </b>
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This morning we
attended mass in Finetown, where a lot of our children from school
live. Mass is held on the same property as the day care that the
Sisters run, and where I go every Tuesday. Actually, our elementary
school was first started in Finetown, and they used the big church
building for all of the classes. We then went to the Sister's house,
and while waiting for the new Irish volunteers, we all watched one of
the soccer matches on tv. It is really funny seeing the Sisters all
watching soccer and getting excited for it. The new volunteers came,
and actually one of them, Mary Theresa, is the grand niece of Sister
Margaret. There is also Amanda, Mary Theresa's best friend, and Colm
who lives in the same community as them. </div>
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<b>Saturday June 8:</b></div>
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It was a boring day today, as it was just a day to sleep in. Later in the afternoon Magda and I went to the Sister's house for internet access. I also did some work from home. Magda, Anezka, Rachel and I all had dinner together, and we were expecting some new volunteers from Ireland to come tonight, but we finally got a call to say that they were coming tomorrow.</div>
ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-74440359232795155562013-06-23T05:57:00.001-07:002013-06-23T05:57:29.193-07:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Friday June 7: </b>
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Apparently (How am
I just finding out about this now?) every morning in our big hall,
there is a session for any “Skills” student who wants to attend,
which is run by Father Mbongasani (from Africa) and Father Sean (from
Canada). We sang the national anthem and I was happily surprised
that the four verses are in Zulu, Sutu, Afrikaans, and finally
English. Luckily there were lyric sheets to look at and to try to
follow along. Then we had a talk by Father Sean about riddles in the
Bible, and Father Mbongasani does a talk each day about life skills.
Then we put the chairs away and did Zumba. Seriously. There was a
man who was up at the front, and we were all in lines, following
along with him and some dance music. I'm not sure if they do Zumba
every morning, but it was really fun to see 20 some guys and only a
few girls dancing.
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We found some more
case notes yesterday in our office, so I typed up some more today.
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Anezka and I went
for bread, and because there wasn't that much, they actually gave us
more today from the back. These loaves of bread were not cut properly
in the machine, so some of them had holes in the bags, but only
because of this reason.
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While sitting at
the gas station, getting gas, we saw a car accident on a corner
nearby. What was really weird is that a firetruck came really soon
after, like under 2 minutes. We are pretty sure it was just a
coincidence. We don't think there was anyone severely injured, and
it's a good thing the driver sits on the other side of the car, as if
they were on the left side, they probably wouldn't have made it.
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Today at Oratory
after school, a couple girls decided to braid my hair in tiny braids,
and one of them gave me a back massage at the same time. Hard life
here, huh?
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Oratory: </div>
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I had purchased a
football at a grocery store the other week, and the children were
happy to play with it, but I had to teach them how to throw it, as
they had never thrown one before. (Dad, are you proud of me for
passing on this important skill you taught me as a child?)
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After Oratory,
many children were going to walk over to the SOS Children's village's
soccer fields, so they all piled into the back of the truck, and we
traveled like that. Again, really unsafe, but perfectly legal here,
and so much fun!
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Just chilling in the back of the truck, driving down the highway a tiny bit over a bridge, and then a side street:</div>
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We had the Fathers
and “Brothers” over tonight, one last time before Anezka and
Magda go home next Saturday. We had South African beer (which tasted
like watered down beer) and South African wine. The Brothers stayed
longer to watch powerpoint presentations the girls made of pictures
throughout the year, and we played music and talked. </div>
ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-1719013617337472682013-06-23T05:43:00.000-07:002013-06-23T05:43:01.117-07:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<b>Thursday June 6: </b>
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Today Esther and I
went to visit the SOS Children's village, which is right down the
road from our school. One of the social workers toured me around the
facility, which was really beautiful. They have houses for children
to live in who have been orphaned or cannot be taken care of (due to
sick parents or are orphaned and their grandparents cannot take care
of them anymore). They are placed into these houses and are raised as
families by a “mother” figure and an “aunt” figure. I think
this is a wonderful idea, as each child has their own family to grow
up in, with brothers and sisters. The children are sent to school
around the community, or are placed in their own kindergarten
programs. When children become older, they help lead younger youth in
programs. They also have family strengthening programs where they
work with families and communities to empower them to effectively
protect and care for their children. I really enjoyed visiting, and
I will be working there on some Saturdays to come. They have SOS
villages all over the world, which could mean job opportunities!
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When we came back,
Sister Theresa was talking to Esther about a brother of some children
here who passed away from a drug problem. This is a big problem in
the area, and this turned into me saying that I can run a drug-free/
healthy choices program that I had designed for my final undergrad
social work project.
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I helped again in
the lunch room today, and the doctors came today, as they do every
Thursday, and I helped over-see that.</div>
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At the end of the
day, two girls were playing with my hair. Children here really like
to touch our hair and they always say how soft it is.
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<b>Wednesday June 5:</b></div>
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Today was just a day of catching up on typing case notes that I have done.</div>
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At the end of the day today, I found a child with a University of Michigan Sweatshirt on, so I took a picture of him to post to my sister on her birthday tomorrow. What a nice coincidence! </div>
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I made a birthday card for Laura and had many of the children sign their names during recess time. They went crazy over this, and everyone wanted to sign it. I was surprised how full it was at the end of the day with so many names. </div>
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ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-2029460669616857802013-06-23T05:30:00.000-07:002013-06-23T05:30:22.063-07:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Tuesday June 4: </b>Today
Esther and I were waiting for Sister Geovanna to pick us up to take
us to the Kindergarten/child center, but she was busy, so we walked
over there (about a half an hour walk) and we did a home visit along
the way. The family lived in a small, one room shack for the 4 of
them. The two little children, probably about 2 and 3 years old came
outside and were eating apple and smiling at me.</div>
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When I arrived at
the child center, I played with the children outside in their big
playground area. And then I “read” the children the other
African book I had brought from home, meaning we just looked at the
pictures and I would say some English words and they would repeat
them.
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They ate pap for
lunch, made of corn meal, (which looks like mashed potatoes) and
gravy overtop with some potatoes in it. I ate some as well when it
was offered to me. They eat pap with just their hands here, and they
use utensils when they eat rice.
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<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Anezka picked me
up to get bread, but there was very little for us to pick through, and
most of it had holes in the bags from animals that had gotten inside.
We then stopped for ice cream at a BP gas station where we normally
fill up the little truck we use (I was surprised to find BP and Shell
gas stations here!). When we got back, I went to the lunch room, and
helped there as well. <b> </b>
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi479vUycjgxw6jokx5UoC75zyrbQmNGST_2ZZmxA5QMO1EbCErVRA_jpsAxI4vihgSGd8jhSy6jm600CJrUAX5FS88y9oQYIVjsNiylzrhlrEKJTFbSTs3O8J7rC33H7q6C0G-V2gCyvs/s1600/DSC03709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi479vUycjgxw6jokx5UoC75zyrbQmNGST_2ZZmxA5QMO1EbCErVRA_jpsAxI4vihgSGd8jhSy6jm600CJrUAX5FS88y9oQYIVjsNiylzrhlrEKJTFbSTs3O8J7rC33H7q6C0G-V2gCyvs/s320/DSC03709.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglc2_BW-ki8URRwZ71iiVUz5wOgWWeDqZpmg9POQUZJf64OOoNFaSNllKU7BC5-7qH3xJNRhoMe_rWDfjrCC5t5ZR284G4rgZgcxBnrsUh_LRZQdgxxTO34h2m4B1RMgoW2xnfQ_5xVps/s1600/DSC03710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglc2_BW-ki8URRwZ71iiVUz5wOgWWeDqZpmg9POQUZJf64OOoNFaSNllKU7BC5-7qH3xJNRhoMe_rWDfjrCC5t5ZR284G4rgZgcxBnrsUh_LRZQdgxxTO34h2m4B1RMgoW2xnfQ_5xVps/s320/DSC03710.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Then I was in the
Crafts Skills class for a long time, as I really like being there,
and because one of the ladies had brought African place mats that she
had made for me to look at and purchase. I was also talking with some
of the ladies for a long time.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
At the end of the
day, I wrote down more about the community and the difficulties here,
as well as notes from prior home visits. I must keep track of these
things for my Learning Objectives for my school.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Monday June 3: </b>Right before I left to come here, Sister Jeannine in Toronto sent with me reusable grocery bags. Today Sister Margaret had me deliver them to the grade 6 class, because they had come up with the idea to start a recycling project and be the ones in charge of it. They were all really happy to receive them.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Esther and Sister Margaret and Theresa were dealing with the police today, so I was on my own, writing up my own case notes that I have done this past month, as well as other notes that I have taken.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I went for bread with Anezka, but there was none today.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Here is the bread factory and what the bread looks like in a pile on the steps: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPmT4xBQaJgN4ApXp-iRUak6zweFTU2-c2e5QRTHZxQ1FFJ6Lkpq-BLWpW6GmYVD6FXIXxUhuiFjR8ITTtFsYmWS5gMHXRZwWBpWeoNBg13OPsqRe5TQ_EeHQnxtqCos2IvGyDf_0FqY/s1600/DSC03669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPmT4xBQaJgN4ApXp-iRUak6zweFTU2-c2e5QRTHZxQ1FFJ6Lkpq-BLWpW6GmYVD6FXIXxUhuiFjR8ITTtFsYmWS5gMHXRZwWBpWeoNBg13OPsqRe5TQ_EeHQnxtqCos2IvGyDf_0FqY/s320/DSC03669.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7hhHFAxZo9LEHfSTh1xlwBj6F7E70UO_QfdCde4hKdx48DUmhvwRTWKPLJ_qnimdteuaIQKfJMtrbnBbe5pMp1YXlgLdHSrc317Zg6XGa1JhhmjPm5beS1Hq07TJ0_RyywbSCruU-dRo/s1600/DSC03705.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7hhHFAxZo9LEHfSTh1xlwBj6F7E70UO_QfdCde4hKdx48DUmhvwRTWKPLJ_qnimdteuaIQKfJMtrbnBbe5pMp1YXlgLdHSrc317Zg6XGa1JhhmjPm5beS1Hq07TJ0_RyywbSCruU-dRo/s320/DSC03705.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-59048659474199072502013-06-23T04:58:00.000-07:002013-06-23T04:58:07.139-07:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Sunday June 2: </b>Today
we went to mass, and then Rachel arrived at night. We spent a
long time with her telling her about everything and giving her an
“orientation”. She is from Alabama, and just got her masters in
early childhood education.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
By the way, here is a picture of the
volunteer house where I live:
</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacy06Wto8ppr1nLloCPbEsNctA1F4fMN1aNHrCb8uxl-iXuYWUZmTsocxqy7HNzWDJnPzBoyr2mWl5cUKZKR2hwgzdn9CooThyphenhyphenGfqX7Vgs1AOeyu0nCzhvbgK406CLHfyvFXOYhVF4bQ/s1600/DSC03651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacy06Wto8ppr1nLloCPbEsNctA1F4fMN1aNHrCb8uxl-iXuYWUZmTsocxqy7HNzWDJnPzBoyr2mWl5cUKZKR2hwgzdn9CooThyphenhyphenGfqX7Vgs1AOeyu0nCzhvbgK406CLHfyvFXOYhVF4bQ/s320/DSC03651.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ0ElD49t-Eddg9nLRAJuMe1xYGS_FGLIO6xcS2FLErQ4HIrv7byh6Zc45NUqniaDixgMBrlzE6eTILUg-rF7mpx2o_r4j6sZe_kt2INNe_q4QccM85QY2zUTRJMAOB9WkXNrL1rx25FU/s1600/DSC03653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ0ElD49t-Eddg9nLRAJuMe1xYGS_FGLIO6xcS2FLErQ4HIrv7byh6Zc45NUqniaDixgMBrlzE6eTILUg-rF7mpx2o_r4j6sZe_kt2INNe_q4QccM85QY2zUTRJMAOB9WkXNrL1rx25FU/s320/DSC03653.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Saturday June 1</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today Anezka, Magda and I went to Southgate mall which was a really nice mall. However, it was very busy as it was payday yesterday. While waiting for Magda and Anezka by a store, I ran into one of the teachers at the school here, and she waited with me until she saw them and then snuck up on them and scared them. It was really funny. I bought a light winter jacket because it is so cold in my office in the mornings, and because the weather is just going to get colder. There are some cracks inbetween the bricks in all of the buildings, and since all classrooms and most offices lead to the outside, it can get cold inside of them.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After we got back, we started cleaning our house since it needed it, and because a new volunteer is joining us tomorrow from the United States for 6 months. While cleaning, I discovered a 5<sup>th</sup> huge bedroom in our house. I guess I thought that the door went outside or something since it has always been closed up. It used to be the chapel here when this house was lived in by Sisters.</div>
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</div>
ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-14895528547971717252013-06-06T09:03:00.001-07:002013-06-06T09:03:16.526-07:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Friday, May 31: </b>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This morning there
was no electricity at the school. Luckily, they can cook with gas in
the kitchen for the children's meals. We don't turn the lights on in
the classrooms and offices, since the windows let in enough light, so
I didn't even know the electricity was off until Esther said
something.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today I gave out some of the supplies I
brought from home, like toothbrushes that I received from a dentist
(Thank you, Dr. Mead!) and soap, lotion and shampoo from his wife
(Thank you Deb!). Many of the children here do not have soap or
toothbrushes at their houses, and shampoo is really out of the
question.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I also typed up some more case notes
today. Today at recess time for the students, I played a hand
clapping game with them, where we all stand in a circle and put our
hands on top of each others (like the “Down by the banks” game.
But for this one, the children end up choosing an artist to sing a
little clip of a song, so I heard them sing Justin Bieber, Rihanna,
Chris Brown, Hannah Montana, etc. It was really funny.
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After school, we had oratory. So we
walked to the park with some of the children, and we were listening
to my ipod on the way there. The children liked singing the Soccer
World Cup songs from three years ago in South Africa , like “Waka
Waka” and “Waving Flag”. The boys played soccer while the girls
read books and made bracelets, and the baby Innocent came eventually,
so I was reading a story to him as well. After Oratory, all of us
girls walked home with the Brothers.
</div>
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<b>Thursday May 30: </b>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today about 50 children were super
late, so Esther took their names down, and we will be monitoring them
more. The problem is that most of them walk at least 20 minutes to
school, and some even farther to get to school. And, due to family
situations or parents working early, some of them must get themselves
up without a clock and get ready by themselves. So, you really can't
blame them for being late, but we have to teach them how to be on
time.
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I typed up more of Esther's
hand-written notes on children's cases today, and organized and
labelled the filing system.
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We talked with two children today and I
wrote out their case study. They have 8 family members living in a
one room shack, and they just lost a brother. Their mother is in and
out of the picture, so they must take care of themselves. We will
be referring them to social services for help, but in the meantime,
we gave them two food parcels to take home so at least they will have
food.
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When the doctors came today for the
students, there were North Carolina pre-med students with them. They
came to South Africa for 4 weeks to learn about the medical system
here, and to tour around different hospitals and clinics. When I
mentioned that I was going to school in Canada, one of them asked
where, because he had lived in Calgary for a little while when he was
younger for his dad's work.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There are more volunteers coming soon!
We already knew about one teacher from Alabama, coming this Sunday
for 6 months, but there are three more coming from Ireland next
Saturday for a month. </div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Wednesday May 29:</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This
morning the Sister's power was out, and they said that it may be
because the city is trying to save electricity. So they sometimes
shut off areas for a couple of hours, but there could have also just
been a problem with it for a while. I typed up case studies
notes today, and while Esther was dealing with an issue outside of
the office, I was dealing with some troublesome kids in her office.
As they were just sitting there, I made them do school work, which
meant I was making up school work for them to do. Since they were in
trouble and missing class, they might as well be doing school work.
I went for bread today, but again there was very little. This is sad
because for some of the children that takes a loaf home at the end of
the day, this is all of the food the family will have that night.
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There is a mother who comes to
volunteer a lot, and she sometimes brings her almost 2 year old with
her. He is the cutest baby, and now he is comfortable around me, as
today he ran over to me and hugged a bunch of times. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Tuesday May 28:</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Well, the teachers
never ended up showing up except for one, so I was put in grade 4 for
the morning by myself, and then Anezka joined me after their
breakfast time luckily. Again, I am thankful for the books that take
place in Africa my mother gave me from a neighbor before I left,
because it kept them quite for 10 minutes while I read the story to
them. Anezka taught math and I taught English, and then luckily the
children got to go home early after lunch. One of the Fathers here
said that he must have us over for “drinks” after school because
it was so crazy today!
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After
school Sister Geovanna took me to multiple to try to figure out my
phone working here, but with it being “locked”, no one knew how
to unlock it. (In Ghana, all of the phone places knew how to do this,
so I figured that they could just do it here). We went pretty
far away from Ennerdale, where I live, but it was nice to see the
area outside of the community that I live in. I also was surprised to
see a Kentucky Fried Chicken here!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Monday May 27: </b>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today we have been
hearing from the teachers that they will not come to school anymore
unless something changes because they are not happy with working
here. Which means that Anezka, Magda, and probably me will be
teaching all day tomorrow. Which is fine for one day, but we are all
currently freaking out, as the children do not learn as much when we
have to take over since we don't know the curriculum and they do not
listen to us as much as they do with their teachers. Also, most
students are already pretty far behind, and state testing is coming
up soon. Today I worked on my Masters of Social Work
goals/objectives while Esther was dealing with an issue with the
police.Esther also pulled out many files she had hand-written, and I
will be typing those up when I get a chance. I went to get bead with
Anezka today, but it was hard to find good loaves of bread for the
children. I also visited the crafts room, and when Esther came to
take me away, all of the girls were yelling at her because they
wanted me to stay. Esther and I talked a lot about culture today at
the end of the day, which is always interesting to hear about. Today
we walked home from school with the “brothers” as it was a nice
day, and we wanted to leave school instead of waiting to be driven
back home. </div>
ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-76055511803843486962013-06-02T04:30:00.000-07:002013-06-02T04:30:15.107-07:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Sunday, May 26</b>:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today we were at Lolli again for mass,
and after mass Magda led her younger children youth group, and Anezka
led her young adults bible study. After this, we were all invited to
a woman's house, as her granddaughter had graduated the day before
from the University of Johannesburg. So all of the younger children,
Magda and I climbed into the back of our truck, and Anezka and
“Nati”, (one of the brothers-to-be) drove us to the house. The
children and us girls played “keep-away” for a while, and then we
all sat in the garage with the many young adults. The graduate came
out dressed in her cap and gown, and different people would go up to
the front, and then in front of everyone talk to her and wish her
well, inbetween all of us singing. Of course, most of the talks were
not in English, and most of the singing, but it was neat to
experience what their graduation parties are like. This took about 2
hours, and we were all starving when the food was finally ready. We
ate a fancy pap, chicken, salsa, and sausage, and Nati, Magda,
Anezka, me and Mpilo (one of the “brothers”) had VIP seats in the
house on these really fancy seats. Their house was really nice
inside, with a giant China cabinet, and many rooms.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We drove Nati and Mpilo home, which
meant putting their bicycles in the back on the truck and cramming
Magda, Mpilo and me in the back. Another very fun ride.
</div>
<br />
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<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Saturday, May 25:</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today was a free day again. Anezka,
Magda and I went to visit a lady who they had met before. She lives
in a farther part of Finetown and she has started her own
organization that helps to take care of those with disabilities. She
has volunteers that help her to go and visit/take meals to over 80
children and elderly who are stuck inside homes in the area. Some of
their parents/caregivers are not there during the day due to working,
and some are ashamed of them so they hide them inside, as the
perceptions here on those with disabilities are not as advanced as in
Canada or the United States. We took her some food the girls bought
here and toothbrushes and toothpaste I had brought from home so she
does not have to use her own supplies. She is finally going to get
funding from the government next year, which will help purchase food
and other supplices, as sometimes she can only visit them without
food. She wants to build a center for them to be brought to every
day, so they can all be together, doing crafts, and eating meals
together during the day. It was very powerful sitting there and
listening to her speak about helping all of these people at her age.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Later that day I got to Skype with my
mom, dad and Laura for a long time, and it was really nice to see
them again. </div>
ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-21369907841719675032013-06-02T04:26:00.002-07:002013-06-02T04:26:18.575-07:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Friday, May 24 </b>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today we didn't have school due to it
being a feast day, and from the hectic week
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Our flooding bathroom water problem is
now“solved”; we now know that the flooding in our bathroom was
actually from the ceiling, as we believe that the water was turned
off again last night for a little bit, because there was more water
on the floor of our bathroom, and the ceiling is now falling down a
little bit.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We were up for mass for 7:30, and
walked to the Priest's house where the three “brothers to (maybe)
be” also live. It was the Feast of Mary Help of Christians, which
is the most important feast day to Salesian Sisters and Brothers. We
sang in one of their languages today at mass and had the words in
front of us. It was still hard to follow along at times because
sometimes the words were repeated when they were only printed once,
but it was still better than at church when we don't have the words
in front of us.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
At 2pm every Friday, the girls and
“brothers” host an “Oratory” session in the park in Finetown
for any child who wants to come. We picked up the three “brothers”
and because we have a small pick-up truck to use, we had to have me
and the three boys in the back while two girls were inside in the
front. (I should say right now that there is always one of us in the
back of the open truck bed when us three girls travel. Totally
unsafe, but perfectly legal here. (Sorry, mom). When we got to the
park (a really nice green space with trees and some playground
equipment), all of the boys there started to play soccer, while us
girls waited for more to join us. None ever did, and Magda and
Anezka said that this is mostly the case because even younger girls
in the area must help their mothers with household chores like
washing and cleaning. Magda had brought with her embroidery thread
for the children to make bracelets (and she passes it out at school
for the children to make bracelets after school as well). So we were
making those, and then I ended up playing soccer for a little bit
until a 2 year old boy came to us with his older brother, so of
course I abandoned soccer to go play with him. His name was
“Innocent” and he just sat on my lap for over an hour, and almost
fell asleep on me.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After Oratory was over, we went to one
of the shopping malls in the area with the boys, and while we were
pulling into a parking spot, a man was saying how wonderful a site we
were, since we conveniently were in the truck “coupled up” in
three rows of African boy and White girl.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I finally got cash out of the ATM
here. (I've just been using my debit card here). Their money here is
in “Rands”, and Nelson Mandela is on the front of all of the
bills, with different animals on the backs of them. We all got ice
cream cones for 40 cents US from a fast food chicken place, and ate
them on a picnic table outside. </div>
ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-77342657479402005502013-06-02T04:25:00.000-07:002013-06-02T04:25:17.042-07:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thursday, May 23 </b>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Well, the day finally came for our
grand opening. Thank goodness, because the whole week was pretty
crazy and busy. The children arrived in their uniforms, and
eventually members of the community started to arrive. My job for
the day was to be the camera girl, so until more people came, I was
talking to one of the priests from the area. This started my
conversations/meetings with the following people:
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Many priests who live here, either from
the local area or from other countries,
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sisters who live all over South Africa
from the area or from other countries,
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Archbishop of Johannesburg!,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
A family from Alabama visiting the area
for a few weeks,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
People from local NGOs,
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Local community people,
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
and representatives from the Board of
Education.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We all gathered in our auditorium,
where Sister Margaret showed the powerpoint I helped produce, and
then we listened to the Archbishop give a talk, as well as a
representative from the Mayor of the community. Then some of the
older elementary students danced and sang, and some of the Skills
students did the same. All of the “Crafts” skill students,
learning to bead traditionally were wearing traditional African
clothing and beading and it was lovely to see that. After all of the
speeches, the catering skills class had prepared a very nice
assortment of food, and so everyone ate and sat around and talked.
Then the Archbishop blessed the school, and the South African flag
was raised on the flag pole, as the children all sang the national
anthem. Then everyone left, and the children left early from school
as well.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Here is a link to some pictures if you aren't on facebook to see them: </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/set=a.4876748877452.1073741825.1259370088&type=1&l=719448d1e4</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Pictures are worth a thousand words,
right? :)
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-46024237097585875862013-06-02T04:17:00.001-07:002013-06-02T04:17:46.982-07:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Monday, May 20- Wednesday, May 22:</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This week we were
preparing for the opening of our school, so Esther and some of the
volunteer cleaning ladies (who have children in our school) cleaned
out the library, which meant putting books on the shelves, and
sorting out clothing and shoes that was stored in the library and
giving some away to students who needed it the most.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The teachers have
been taking exams this week at the University, so we were
short-staffed a lot this week.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
My new job is to
go with Anezka to pick up loaves of bread that a local bread factory
“donates” to us. This means that we drive the 20 minutes to the
factory, and we get to pick through the unwanted bagged bread that is
a day old or hasn't been cut into slices. Because it is just thrown
in a corner outside on the platform that the trucks come to, we must
look at each loaf to make sure it isn't moldy or has holes in the
plastic bag by rats or other animals. We take the loaves back to the
school and other Kindergarten center for the children to take home a
loaf of bread each day. (That is, if there is any good bread for us
to pick up, as sometimes we get there and there is none).
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Esther is also the
disciplinarian of the school, so throughout the weeks we have had
children in our office if they are in trouble or have been late to
school.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tuesday I went to
the Kindergarten Center and I walked with one class and their teacher
to a trailer that has toys in it. It's a community development
project run by the government (I believe) for children to come and
play on the playground and inside. So the children played for a long
time inside, and then outside before we went back to their classroom.
Then I “read” them one of the African books that I brought from
home, meaning that I showed them the pictures and said the animal
names, as they don't really understand English. For lunch, all of
the children ate “pap” with spinach, and I helped to pass it out
and then ate some when it was offered to me to try. It was salty,
but it was ok. After trying to get bread with Anezka (there was none
for us to take on Tuesday), I helped Anezka with the afterschool care
of the younger grades because they get out earlier and are waiting
for their brothers and sisters to take them home. This was a very
chaotic experience, as the younger children do not speak very much
english, and the teachers were not there to translate or help them to
calm down. I eventually read to them the book I read to the
Kindergarten, but again just said the animal names to them.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
On Wednesday, the
students were allowed to wear their “normal” clothes, to get
their uniforms ready for Opening Day. This was good for Esther and
I, as we could see who needed to receive donated “new” clothes
and “new”shoes, and I was in charge of the shoes. As the
children walked to the lunch room, I was looking at their shoes to
determine which ones were falling apart.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Also on Wednesday,
any old empty boxes from the library were burned behind our school.
So Esther, a volunteer and I brought them out in the empty field to
burn them. It was really weird, but they burn the fields a lot here
to clear them out. Sometimes the smoke from them is really thick and
I am scared that they will just get bigger, but they always seem to
die out by themselves.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wednesday I met a
volunteer from the University of Johannesburg who came because he
didn't have any classes that day and “couldn't just sit around
doing nothing”. So we unwrapped brand new chairs for the main
office, bookcases and shelves.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-7457820055652222702013-06-02T04:16:00.001-07:002013-06-02T04:16:54.768-07:00<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Sunday, May 19: </b>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today Father Sean
Sr. picked me up to go back to the church in Lolli (where we went
last week) because Anezka and Magda went to a different church to say
goodbye to some of the congregation. I wanted to go to Lolli
because a guy from the United States who has traveled all around
Africa producing local music for different areas and volunteering
with the Salesian Brothers was going to be there. He had a layover in
Johannesburg for 24 hours, and had volunteered here as well, so he
knew Father Sean Sr. It was neat to talk to him, and he was really
surprised to hear that I lived in Cincinnati for a year, as he was
from there.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After church, I
had to get back into the house by myself for the first time, which
meant turning off the alarm when I entered the house. When we first
enter the house, it starts to go off, but just a high pitch sound
until we enter in the correct code. So, being how it was my first
time doing so, I started to enter the wrong code, so the whole house
alarm started to go off in a full siren, until I punched in the right
one. I thought I would be ok, since I punched in the right code very
soon after, but 20 minutes later a guy from the alarm company came to
make sure that everything was ok. We have a secondary code that we
must say to him in order for him to know that I actually live here.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
For dinner, Magda
and I tried to fry potato slices on the stove, but it was taking way
too long, so I ended up cutting them into smaller pieces, and then
smaller pieces still, so they ended up being french fries. But they
still took forever to make, so the joke of the night was: “Africa.
Where everything takes longer, even cooking potatoes.” That night
I watched Big Band Theory with Magda.
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-27503125870785092372013-05-27T10:07:00.000-07:002013-06-02T04:14:20.211-07:00<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Saturday, May 18: </b>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today was a free
day, and I got to Skype my Dad and sister, Laura for the first time
being here. I tried to show them the Sister's guard dogs outside, and
they were both coming over to me, and one of them decided to just lay
his head on my lap while I was talking to them. Super cute. I ended
up coming back from the house late, and went to bed early to be up
for church early the next morning. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Friday, May 17: </b>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Every Friday is a shortened day for the
students. I had another “session” with the girl who had came to
talk to me on Wednesday, and then worked on the powerpoint for Sister
Margaret in her office. I went back to the Sister's house with them,
and continued to work on the powerpoint while waiting to skype one of
my good friends. (This 6 hour time difference is really hard for
trying to skype people). I tried Rooibus tea today, a South African
tea. It was horrible just black, but adding milk and sugar made it a
lot better. Anezka came back today from the retreat she was
observing, and it was nice to see her again.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Thursday, May 16 </b>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Last night Anezka brought out fruit tea
from her room and said her mom had sent it to her yesterday in the
mail. I was going to ask if you could get it here, and apparently
you can't in the main stores. While talking about over-priced foods,
she was really surprised that we can buy candies in movie theaters,
when in Czech, they only sell popcorn and drinks.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today at school in the morning, I
walked into the grade 1 class, and they were all lined up in two
lines singing without a teacher. (A lot of the time, the grade 1s are
better behaved than the older grades). It was really fun to hear them
singing in Zulu and English. I was then needed in the grade 3 class
for a while, and we went over their homework from the day before, and
then Sister Margaret showed me what she wanted me to do for a
powerpoint presentation I volunteered to work on. After that, Esther
and I went to talk with the Aunt of a child who was “missing”
from school. She lived in a nicer part of Finetown, and here the
families live in actual houses (though they are very simple and
small), and have electricity and water in their individual houses.
We sat in their small house for a long time, but besides the little
bit of English spoken, I could not understand anything. Esther was
finding out what happened to the child, since she had not returned to
school in a while. It turned out to be a custody battle case, as the
government gives money to households with children to help families.
We had tea in their house, and then left. On the journey home, we ran
into two young ladies working for the government passing out
pamphlets with information on HIV/AIDS and Women abuse.
Doctors-in-training came to the school today from the University of
Johannesburg to see children who were sick and to give our vitamins
and medicine to them. They do this work for free for our school, and
they come every Thursday after school. After school, I showed Magda
what “Angry Birds” was on my ipod, and she got addicted to the
game. She had never seen/played it before. </div>
<br />
<br />ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-7529669659886945872013-05-15T08:27:00.000-07:002013-05-27T10:07:37.469-07:00<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Wednesday, May 15.</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yesterday a lady came to the school looking to enroll her daughter in one of the “Skills” courses, and talked to Esther about her daughter. So today they came back and I talked with the daughter one-on-one in the social work office (she didn't want Esther there too) about her life. We made a goal sheet for her of things to work on, and I listened to her as she poured out her story of previous poor choices in life and how she knows she needs to return to school in order to have a better life for herself.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This morning, Esther and I sorted out over 200 blankets that were donated to the school. They were all different colours, but not very thick unfortunately. We handed them out to every child after they were done their lunch.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I also visited the grade 3 class today for a little while to see what they were learning, but because it was right before lunch, a student was up at the front telling a story in his own language so I didn't understand anything.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
At the end of the day, we handed out meal packets to some of the poorest children, and then we attended a staff meeting. I also saw a student from the Skills class today wearing a “Run Calgary” shirt, so obviously it was donated and sent over here.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Next Thursday is the grand opening of the new school, even though we are there everyday, and the Mayor and Bishop is coming, as well as a lot of important people in the religious community, the surrounding community, and possibly some board of education people. The workers are still finishing up the school, and the school yard is looking really nice. I don't want to post pictures of the school until it is done! I am hoping to video record a lot of the grand opening, and then create a video with the footage, so I will post that (if I get it approved). :)</div>
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>Tuesday, May 14. </b>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This morning the grade 4 teacher was
not there at the start of school so I was asked to walk the students
to their room. They sang their morning songs and said their morning
prayer, and after all of that, the teacher was still not there. (Some
of the teachers are still taking their exams). So, the grade 6
teacher who came by told me to read them a story, and so I read a
“Noddy” book to them, and then started a Venn Diagram with them
on the chalkboard, comparing Canada with South Africa. When I showed
them where Canada was on the map, (Not separated by countries, just
continents) they said “No, that's America!”. Thankfully breakfast
time came, so I was off the hook for a while when they were eating
their oatmeal, but then I was still in charge after that. So I was
starting to have them pull out one of their textbooks when one of the
grade 2 teachers came in to take over. Thank goodness! I'm not that
skilled in working with 8 year olds, and really had no clue what to
teach them/what they were learning about. But mostly the problem was
that they would not be quiet for me at all.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I met with the social worker, Esther,
after that, and we went to the Kindergarten Centre the Sisters also
run. This is where I want to be everyday, (with new black babies to
love!) and I will be there for a couple of hours now every Tuesday
morning. There were an insane amount of them, all playing in the
fenced-in yard, on the playground equipment and playing “house”
with some plastic dishes near the building. Only a few came up to me
at first, so I walked to where more children were playing. This is
where I started to get a following, so we walked to the grass and I
got the 30+ of them to form a big circle (which was the fastest I
have ever seen a group of children make a circle, and the best circle
I have ever seen made by children). The funny thing is that most of
the children do not speak/know English yet, or just know how to say
“good morning” and “hello”. This obviously didn't matter as I
was leading all of them in a “Monkey See, Monkey Do” sort of
game, and they understood my hand movements of where to go/what to
do. After a while of that “game” I took them all in the shade
and more joined us (but there were still so many of them playing) and
we sang songs they knew in English like the Alphabet (which they sing
a little differently) and Baa Baa Black Sheep and we counted and it
was so funny to watch them sit there and sing and then clap
afterward. The teachers there were laughing at us too, and the
children also sang some of their own African songs. I also taught
them a song from when I was in preschool. When we went back to the
grass, they eventually started playing one of their own games with
clapping and going around the circle and then it was time for me to
leave.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It was almost lunch time when we came
back, so Esther and I ate ours, and then I helped serve food to the
students in the lunch room and helped the students on “dish duties”
to dry them. Esther and I talked a lot then about what she does and
what I will do with her, and then it was the end of the day.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Magda and I came home, and then walked
to the Sister's house to cook for them for once, but we ended up
being able to heat up left overs from last night to make a casserole
with noodles we made, so it was very easy.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
It feels like I have been here for a
very long time, and just my time at school these past couple of days
have felt like at least a week. I received an email today from one
of my best friends who is volunteering in Belize for 2 years, and it
was sooo good to hear from her! Perhaps her love of Africa and
children as well will lead us to work together one day.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-31013971658847391252013-05-15T08:18:00.001-07:002013-05-15T08:18:03.368-07:00<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Sunday, May 12</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Today I went to church in Lolli,
another city 10 minutes away. Everyone was wearing heavy sweaters,
while I was sweating after a while in my thin sweater. That's what
it is like here, because to them, it is their winter, and it is
“cold” when it is 70*F.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Church was filled with traditional
music with drums, and other percussion which reminded me of Ghana.
However, the service was in their language, so clearly I didn't
understand the 2 ½ hours of Zulu mass, but was surprised and amused
to hear them sometimes use “clicks” in the Zulu language. And,
sometimes an english phrase would be said throughout the sermon, so
we could get the gist of it.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
After church, Magda and Anezka normally
run a youth program, but due to lack of students, only Magda's
program ran. We talked about respecting each other and ourselves,
and then made Mother's day cards. After church I also met social
worker, Esther who I will be working with, and who was very happy to
meet me. I will start work with her tomorrow.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We had lunch with Sisters, and Sister
Margaret talked to me more about the school, about how these children
attending are the poorest of the poor, and come from very terrible
living conditions.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Weirdly enough, a full page of the
South African newspaper at the Sister's today was of Justin Bieber.
Um, what??</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tomorrow water is off in all of my
community because they are doing something to the reservoir. This
should be interesting, especially at the school. Our power is running
out too. Here, you pay for the power at the electric company, and
then are given a code you enter into your power box in your house to
get more power. So kind of like reloading minutes on a pay-as-you-go
phone. And it shows up on the screen how much you have until you run
out.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Monday, May 13</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Well, today was the hardest day I have
had since I have been here. But I will start with my fun early
morning.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
First of all, this morning, Magda and
Anezka both said that they had never heard of peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches. (It was when I was making my lunch for the day). In the
Czech, they just have peanut butter and no jam with it. But they eat
nutella, so that's great. They said that we can buy it here, and I am
looking forward to that.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
They also told me that they have
something better than nutella, and pulled out kinder surprises!!!
But, only kind of. There is a factory in South Africa that makes
them, and when they aren't perfect, they donate them to the school
the Sister's run. So it was just the milk chocolate and some crunchy
almost “co-co puffs” in half the encasing. I tried to explain
how they are illegal in the United States due to there being a toy
enclosed completely inside a food, and Magda asked if Americans are
not as smart as Canadians and Europeans, since anyone can see that
the toy inside (which is fully encased in plastic) is not edible.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
We drove to school, and saw many other
children from the richer neighborhoods walking to school. The
children that we have at our school come from two different slums,
and would not be going to school if this school had not been built.
The Sister's help all 240+ students pay for or acquire a uniform, and
they must wear it every day to school. This helps them to not
compare themselves to each other, though all of them are really poor.
Before they blew the whistle for the students to all line up, all of
the children were gathered in the front of the school (which is huge
and new, by the way. They are still putting the finishing touches on
it still, so there are workers everywhere still). At this time, I
got to finally meet the priest from Halifax, Canada who has been very
excited to meet me. He was just ordained a priest and just arrived
in South Africa about 2 months ago.
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When the whistle blew, the students all
lined up in their grade levels (1-7) and one of the Sisters
introduced me to all of the children, who all greeted me back. I just
loved seeing all of them this morning, and got to talk to a lot of
them. So today was very different because 3 of the 7 teachers were
gone to take their teaching exams, and because the water was getting
shut off. Grades 4-7 were divided from the younger ones, and while
waiting for breakfast, they were singing in probably Zulu, which was
really fun to hear. They sounded great, too, and were having a ton
of fun moving to the music.
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After breakfast, the water shut off,
and so we walked some of the younger children back to their houses
because you can't run a school with that many people and no usable
toilets. While trying to get them to stay in 2 lines (which was
completely impossible), some of the boys were teaching me how to say
things in their language. Then I told them that I spoke Spanish, and
they said “Spanish is what you eat”, meaning spinach. Which is
just great, because of one of my favorite youtube videos:
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyWgJZ476NE">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyWgJZ476NE</a></div>
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When Sister had walked them to the
railroad bridge, she let them walk the rest of the way by themselves
since they were really close to all of their homes. The social worker
and I continued on to the “slum” to talk to the parents of one
child, and for me to see where and how most of the children lived. It
was really heart-breaking, and tears formed in my eyes when I had the
chance to look inside one of their “houses” made of sheets of tin
nailed together. No electricity. Mostly tiny, one-room shacks, where
I hear sometimes the children sleep on the floor with no bed. I've
never seen poverty this bad before. Luckily, when the tears came, I
was sitting with Esther talking to a parent, and had one of the
girls' on my lap, and I could hide behind her. One of the houses had
a little solar panel on his roof to generate a little light inside,
but the light was not bright at all. Luckily, there are clean water
taps around the “neighborhood” free for them to use.
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Esther knew everyone in the
neighborhood, and we would stop to talk to everyone we met
(traditional African style), but she knew most of them. She knows
more people than I do, (if that is possible). She would explain to
people who I was, but in their language (she speaks all of the
languages here, so about 4 plus English). So I would hear “language
I can't understand...CHRISTINE... more language I can't understand...
CANADA OVERSEAS... more language... Social Worker.” Everyone was so
friendly and happy to meet me or just greet me while passing on the
street. Africans are just so welcoming. When we walked back to the
school, I found out Esther has been a social worker for 31 years,
working in prisons and with delinquent youth in South Africa. The
sisters asked her to come out of retirement to help them at their
school. (This may be a good time to say that only half the school is
grades 1-7, while the other half of the buildings are used for
“Skills” programs for women and men to learn to obtain jobs.
They have plumbing, electrician, carpentry, and sewing/traditional
African crafts like beading, and I'm not sure what else yet.)</div>
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After
school, Magda, Anezka and I went to grocery store, and it looked like
a Canadian/American grocery store with food that I am used to. I
found my tortilla shells and cheese (they have real cheese here
unlike Ghana), so I was very happy. When the water was turned back
on, the bathroom I use (we have 3 in our volunteer house) had flooded
a little bit and we had to use a mop and a broom and dust pan to
clean it up. The only reasonable explanation of where the water had
come from was from the ceiling due to where there were water splashes
around the flooded floor. The ceiling was not wet, but there is this
random pipe opening, so another “I don't understand”
moment. Anezka is gone for the week to another site to learn about a
retreat they are running, so it's just Magda and me.
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Since today was the feast day of Sister
Mazarello, the founding sister of the Salesians (who the Sister's are
apart of), we had mass at the Sister's house with 4 priests, 4
Sisters, and 3 20-something year olds who are living with one of the
priests to see if they want to become one. They are from Swaziland,
and Magda and I ended up being at the same table as them for dinner,
and it was really fun to talk with them and the priest who was at the
mass yesterday. One of the priests asked me if I was in Johannesburg
last night. I was confused until they said that Justin Bieber was
performing there last night. Why is Justin Bieber in South Africa??
Weird. So we teased the priest back asking if he was there, and he
said no, that he wasn't a Bieliber. So funny!
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Magda and I instantly became best
friends tonight, and we are already making plans for me to come see
her and Anezka in the Czech.
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ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-19789817854877567242013-05-11T07:14:00.003-07:002013-05-11T07:22:56.248-07:00<b>Thursday, May 9 </b><br />
<br />
This morning, at 1:30 am, I awoke to a crazy amount of dogs barking. Apparently everyone in our neighborhood has guard dogs. By 2am I was wide awake, and I am guessing my body decided it was done sleeping. (Or was confused with the time zone). While I put my ipod on “shuffle”, it decided to play “Who Let the Dogs Out”, exactly when the dogs started barking again. Hahaha. Thanks, ipod. I love you too.<br />
<br />
I finally got back to sleeping at 4am.
I was up for 9:30 church, celebrating a Feast day. Anezka and Magda walked me to church and I caught up with two of the Sisters, as they had already gone to mass earlier in the morning. I felt great in the morning, but during church had one of my “dizzy/almost pass out” episodes, and the Sisters walked me back to their house for a little while, and then drove me back to the volunteer house where I slept some more. (I feel like all I do is sleep, but apparently my body really needs it after the insanely long flight, and change of altitude). Sister Margaret came to bring me lemon tea with homemade honey in it to make me feel better.
The girls made pasta for dinner, and we ended up talking for 2 hours, getting to know each other more. They told me more about what they teach at the school, and Magda has to take one more exam for her social work degree, while Anezka has 2 more years for her teaching degree. They say they believe that I will be following the school social worker who works with the children, their parents, and does home visits. Awesome! We had real ice cream for dessert, and then all went to bed.<br />
<br />
<b>Friday, May 10 </b><br />
<br />
Today, I feel normal again! (If that is possible for me). I am finally getting my room organized, and trying to catch up on blogging. Today was only a half day for the school in the morning, so I was told to just sleep in again by the Sisters. They are celebrating Maria Mazarello, the founding Sister of the Salesians. The girls came back to the house to quickly eat, and then left to run activities for children, a common Friday occurrence. I will most likely be helping with this starting next week. I start my real work on Monday!<br />
<br />
The girls told me some wonderful news today: The girls were living in a volunteer house connected to the Sister's house until about a week ago when they were told that I was coming. The house only has room for two volunteers, so now we are in the bigger volunteer house. However, in 5 weeks when they leave, and the new American volunteer is here, the American volunteer and I will probably move back to the house connected to the Sister's because they do not like having just two girls alone here. (Although the house is gated, alarmed, and has guard dogs). This is fantastic because I won't have to worry so much about driving, and the alarm system in our current house, and also, I will have internet access all the time. Actually, constant internet is probably a bad thing; as I was glad I don't have it at night to distract me from prayer and blogging. But, it will be nice to be able to skype and upload pictures and my blog without worrying about only doing it rushed in the little time before and after dinner.<br />
<br />
We had dinner together again, and they seem to put cream in everything, like ice cream, and today's meal of soup with rice in it. They made me try it, and it makes it more creamier. It's just a weird concept. They also made me try a little of Anezka's homemade custard, caramel Captain Morgan's concoction. So good! It really rained tonight, apparently a rare occurrence for their “winter”. The girls had bought South African wine to celebrate their 10 month anniversary here, so we drank a glass of that tonight to celebrate.<br />
<br />
Magda told me tonight that they call traffic lights here “robots”. How weird. I've been saying a lot of "I don't understand" to the other volunteers about the way things are here, and they say they've been here almost a year and still don't understand. I really like being here with them.ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-25145868046847632532013-05-11T07:10:00.000-07:002013-05-11T07:20:34.795-07:00<b>Wednesday, May 8, 2013. </b><br />
<br />
Today I slept. As in all day. But I was told to do that, and really needed it. At about noon, I finally got up to take a shower, and thank goodness they have warm water here, unlike the dorms in Ghana. But they have to turn on a water heater in order to get hot water. So I was up for about an hour and a half, and then was tired again and went back to bed until 4:30. Then the other two volunteers and I went to the Sister's house to use the internet and to eat dinner with the Sisters. This apparently is a daily occurrence. So, after dinner, we stayed on the internet for a while, and then came back to our house. I got to meet “Lucky” and “Nala”, our guard dogs, and Lucky decided he really liked me by jumping up on me multiple times.<br />
<br />
My concerns right now:<br />
<br />
Last night I was freezing! I didn't expect it to get so cold here at night, and the large windows in my room make it super cold. I found another blanket in my room, though, and I can use the space heater in my room for a little while before bed. I will need to buy more warm clothes here.<br />
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The volunteers have a car to use to get to the school we will work at, and to and from the sisters. Great! Except, first of all, I will be terrified to drive here due to the whole “driving on the other side of the road” thing. I'm still not used to it. But, mainly, they drive stick shifts here, and I don't know how to drive one. The two Czech volunteers here are leaving in 6 weeks, meaning I have to learn how to drive it. Oh dear.<br />
<br />
Thirdly, I am confused about everything. The volunteers talk with the Sisters about what's happening tomorrow, and who needs to do what/go where, and I'm just sitting there, confused. I know this will take time, and I'm half asleep anyway, so that's not helping. Tomorrow is a feast day, so school is canceled. Hopefully Friday I will get to go see what the school is like, and figure out what I am going to be doing. I'm excited to meet the social worker there and see what she does!<br />
<br />
Well, it's only 7:30pm here, but I am going to bed. I'm up at 6am tomorrow for mass, and then I don't know what else is going on. I need to start getting used to waking up early because I will begin work early every school day as well.
It's only 1:30pm where you all are. Thanks again for all of your prayers and happy thoughts when I was traveling here. I REALLY appreciate you all doing that. :) ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-1106814633732540742013-05-11T07:07:00.000-07:002013-05-11T07:26:29.793-07:00<b>Orientation and Flying here:</b><br />
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<br />
<b>May 3-5: Orientation </b><br />
<br />
My younger sister Laura, and my Dad dropped me off in Toronto to my orientation session before I left for South Africa. (My mom had to work) It just so happened that it was scheduled around the time I was leaving, so it worked out great for me. The Salesian Sisters were all so welcoming to me, and I ate dinner with them since I had to be dropped off early. The Sister who was in charge of cooking that night gave me chocolates and a fancy napkin in my cup at my place setting; it was really cute.
The other participants arrived soon after, and the orientation weekend officially started.<br />
<br />
Over the weekend I got to be good friends with two girls, Stephanie and Addy, both going to Cambodia at different times. Previous volunteers came back to tell us their stories, and to teach us the history of the Salesian Sisters, what to expect, how the Salesian Sisters operate their schools and development projects (exactly the way how we were taught in classes this past year), how to live in community, getting to know ourselves better in order to know how we best operate, etc. VIDES is actively involved in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in all of the places they work in the work, and is an International NGO with consultative status with the United Nations.<br />
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<b>May 6-7: Toronto to JFK, JFK to Dubai, Dubai to Johannesburg.</b><br />
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Well, I didn't get much sleep last night, but that's what always happens before a big trip, right? Sister Jeannine took me to the airport at 3:30am! On my flight from Toronto to JFK, I slept, and from JFK to Dubai (12.5 hours) I also could really sleep as I had all 3 seats to myself. (I buckled myself in the middle, and could lay across all three seats. The plane had a great entertainment centre, and I could watch Friends, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, etc. Awesome. And of course, Coldplay showed up again, having the option to watch their live “Paradise” video, and a documentary of their album. I slept a ton, though. The Dubai airport was cool, and it was neat to see the desert out of the plane window while approaching the airport. Also, I saw the Sailboat building, just like on the cover of Owl City's album.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx45SanRGwzZpGlRxTfzBbZ2H4e0YektoQi6gj4Mvqio1p65b1-_r2gwdyuUUtmK-T8w7t9rht4yZN_joctqM3uX6Y3Xhdx3GM5duiYrg5sTtlp5xuVknHJkMJA-FENQgpv-5Lkj6OtgQ/s1600/DSC03452.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx45SanRGwzZpGlRxTfzBbZ2H4e0YektoQi6gj4Mvqio1p65b1-_r2gwdyuUUtmK-T8w7t9rht4yZN_joctqM3uX6Y3Xhdx3GM5duiYrg5sTtlp5xuVknHJkMJA-FENQgpv-5Lkj6OtgQ/s320/DSC03452.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwi4b9CWPmOEJ-ir_GybezNt9e_IMDejLfgkCvRT7_W6TkHITiektGhD2jDV9zeLXd7Svr5RkQKqwauCyxezuycSnVzRtmiR9gv3EDCXROXn3xsDFT4I1v_CY_OU6-UdYgH7md76TbOs/s1600/DSC03465.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwi4b9CWPmOEJ-ir_GybezNt9e_IMDejLfgkCvRT7_W6TkHITiektGhD2jDV9zeLXd7Svr5RkQKqwauCyxezuycSnVzRtmiR9gv3EDCXROXn3xsDFT4I1v_CY_OU6-UdYgH7md76TbOs/s320/DSC03465.JPG" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigOxcE333DtiJEjgbJraZll2X5md9RVm5VgmDhC092LWPEKWoXKkDf_PYnDlNPoM8m3Irtmala2py-va4otQOd3pL_bx6yuQ4AQDlA0JDxsLg_WfG0sKCasVCKV7rGLCkLLBQJNAof2GA/s1600/DSC03480.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigOxcE333DtiJEjgbJraZll2X5md9RVm5VgmDhC092LWPEKWoXKkDf_PYnDlNPoM8m3Irtmala2py-va4otQOd3pL_bx6yuQ4AQDlA0JDxsLg_WfG0sKCasVCKV7rGLCkLLBQJNAof2GA/s320/DSC03480.JPG" /></a><br />
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<br />
On my flight from Dubai to Johannesburg, I wasn't so lucky with free seats by me, and most of the plane was occupied. I slept most of the time as well, 8 hours. I like how on the flights, instead of the plane safety instructions in French and English like in Canada, it was in Arabic and English. (And the coke I got in the Dubai airport was in Arabic as well!) Our flight was late coming in, and there was a long line for getting our passports stamped. When the passport man heard that I was going to see the Salesian Sisters, he stamped it and I was on my way. (I was told this was the case when other volunteers traveled as well.) I didn't have to go through customs because I didn't have anything officially to declare. Which is probably a good thing, since my suitcases were full of pencils, toothbrushes, books, mini shampoos and lotions, etc, and I didn't know how they would feel about that.<br />
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Two of the sisters were waiting for me with a sign with my name on it. Yes, like in the movies, like my sister Laura asked me. I was looking for them amid the rest of the people holding signs with names on them, and was thinking “man in suit, man in suit, man in suit, Ah! Sisters!!!" They drive on the other side of the road here! I have experienced it before in other countries, but I am still not used to it.
They took me back to their house, through the crazy traffic and I met the other two Sisters who lived there, as well as two other volunteers from the Czech, Magda and Anezka (pronounced “Annishka”), who has been here almost a year. They teach at the school. I ate homemade pizza with them, and tea (just like at home), was nicely greeted by one of their golden lab guard dogs who ran into their house, and then we traveled by car to the volunteer house, which is also surrounded by gates and has guard dogs. The volunteer house is really nice, and we each have our own rooms. I am so thankful that the other two girls are here with me.<br />
<br />
Since I am the first volunteer here from Canada, there was very limited information to give me before I came. While talking with the girls tonight, and drinking a glass of South African wine to celebrate, I had lots of questions answered. They are so wonderful and welcoming, and I'm already sad that they will be leaving in 6 weeks. However, before they leave, another volunteer will be joining us from the United States.
As far as internet access goes, I will have access at the Sister's house, and apparently Skype works well. Yay!<br />
<br />
One of the volunteers here said tonight that “South Africa is not really Africa”. That was my main concern when I was placed here. However, I know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. The Sisters told me while riding back from the airport, how people don't think of South Africa as poor, but in the area that we will be working, it is very poor. And, close to where we live, we passed by many “shanty towns”, little shacks, and people lighting fires outside to keep warm. It gets really cold at night here.
Also, there is a social worker that works in the school here, and so she may end up being my adviser for my master's program practicum instead of one of the sisters. But, we will wait and see.
Surprisingly, I am not as tired as I thought I would be. But, I did sleep as much as possible on the planes. We are 6 hours ahead of the Michigan, so it's not too bad.
Anyway, I should get some sleep, but I will be updating my blog quite often! Goodnight!
ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4259252330182589168.post-69307768045303671052013-05-11T07:00:00.002-07:002013-05-11T07:24:37.362-07:00Introduction:<br />
<br />
Well, it's back to Africa for me. This time, a different country and different purpose. I was in Ghana, West Africa in 2010 for a semester for undergrad at the University of Ghana. Currently I am pursuing a masters (graduate) social work degree in International and Community Development from the University of Calgary. My practicum is in South Africa, near Johannesburg. I will be interning through a Catholic organization called VIDES which have sites all over the world for volunteers from all over the world to volunteer in. I will be living with the Salesian Sisters there, and helping them carry out their development services for children and women.
First of all, you can watch Coldplay's Paradise video. Although it was shot at first in London, it then pans to South Africa. Coldplay went to both places to film this video. I have always liked this song, and while traveling to check out the University of Calgary 2 Christmases ago, the entire album was available to listen to on the airplane. Maybe that should have been my first “clue" of where I would end up.<br />
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<b>Africa has always been my paradise. </b> And it always will be. People tell me that there are children in the United States and Canada to help, and I don't need to go to Africa. Yes, that's true. But when your heart and your God tells you to go to Africa, you follow both of them. I'm living my dream.
Dreams are weird things, sometimes. Like what made me like Africa in the first place? I'm thinking it was the videos and photos of children, calling me there. (Ask any one of my friends about my "black babies" and they can tell you how much I love black children.) And actually being there, playing with the children was the best experience in my life. The people there are always happy, especially the children.<br />
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However, sometimes dreams force you to have to make sacrifices. Leaving family and friends is always hard. Trusting that everything will work out in the best way is difficult, but necessary when you are leaving everything behind.<br />
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The media makes Africa seem like nothing is there, and every child is starving. Not. True. This pains me that this is happening. In my studies, we have learned how the media does so, as well as how many efforts of people and NGO's trying to help really hurt communities instead of help them. I am so glad to have found and to have been accepted to study International Development as I have more knowledge now of how to help communities.
South Africa was not my first choice for my internship. I was hoping for some of the other sites with the Sisters, like Rwanda or Zambia. But, the only available space for me was South Africa. I have very little information on exactly what I will be doing, and any logistics of the whole thing, but I guess that just makes this more of an adventure!
ghanachicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02124597522929890912noreply@blogger.com1