Muizenberg

So we went to the beach today! Me and 4 other volunteers drove to Muizenberg Beach after the braai and water fight with the kids! It was windy. Very windy. Cape Town can get very windy in the summer I have been informed, but I wasn't expecting the beach to be that windy. Actually the problem wasn't the wind, it was the lovely but very fine sand that was on the beach. It was so smooth and fine, but this meant the wind whipped it up and threw it in your face. So me and Sarah sat under a blanket like the weirdest blanket monster you have every seen, trying desperately to not be blinded. Also, both me and Sarah have several patches of open skin on our feet and legs. Sarah because of her Foot and Mouth and eczema, and me because there is at least one mosquito in my room, possibly more, and my damn room-mate thinks that if she puts a fan on, it will blow away any bug in our room. This would work I imagine if you were on the top bunk, but because I'm on the bottom (with all its multiple advantages!) I'm effectively in a rectangular box that only has 1 side open, so if you put a source of wind at that one open side, any bugs that go near said wind source or fly into my bed, just cannot get out again. But then again why would you if you had an endless supply of fresh food?! Anyway, back to original point: I have lots of very itchy bites on my hands, arms, feet and legs and because I have dry skin and no self control (it feels so good to scratch) there are several places where I have scratched the skin off my legs, feet, hands and arms. :(  

A Pensive Wander Through My Mind!

I know I've written very little about what happens in the holidays here, so given that it is now the longest holiday of the year, I thought I'd write some of what goes on!

I mentioned in a previous post (Holiday Times) that most of the kids go home for the holidays. As I understand it, the kids don't go back to the place that put them in Home in the first place. There is a wonderful team of social workers here that look for other options for the kids. This may be relatives such as older siblings, aunties/uncles or grandparents that could potentially give the children a permanent home. Some children have foster families that they often spend weekends or days out with and I think some of the kids also have South African (local) volunteers that are also potentially becoming foster parents. And one of the ways the Home can test the 'compatibility' of the relationship between the child and adult is to send the child to live with whichever care-giver it is almost as a trial run. And this is what happens in the holidays.

Some kids don't even have these options. No suitable family members and no volunteers or foster family. Luckily kids are allowed to spend time with friends from school. One child I know spends most weekends staying at a school friend's house and thankfully is able to spend most of the holiday with that family, because the other option is being left at the Home. There are only 20-30 kids that stay behind every holiday, but this isn't all as sad as it may seem. These kids don't have a free day for the whole holiday. Seriously, I've seen the holiday plan and it is mental! They get to go to a musical, there have been cable car tickets donated for Table Mountain, so some kids get to do that, they're going to a crocodile park, camping, movie nights, climbing Table Mountain. All sorts!

As an international volunteer, you can sympathise with the kids sometimes. We won't see our family for up to a year. I haven't spoken to my parents, brothers or friends for nearly 4 months, and I won't for another 8 months. I won't get to spend x-mas or my birthday with family around me like I have done every year of my life. But unlike the kids, I'm doing it optionally. And I can technically go back any time I want. I could pick up the phone and phone my Mum or Dad or friends right now (well I could if I had enough airtime!). I could go to the internet cafe and skype my family. But, and this is going to be a slightly harsh 'but' so if you are related to me, please don't disown me (!) I don't actually miss any of my family or friends. Except my Granny. I miss her a lot! I have absolutely no plans to phone or skype in th forseeable future because I'm doing fantastic without them (sorry guys!). But I think it's probably different for those left behind. For me it is a whole different life (that I will never be able to live again after this year-this fact terrifies me) but all my family and friends have to live their normal Manchester life and day to day routine without me. For my brothers, they have never had to do that. My parents haven't had to do it for 18 (I imagine long) years. It must be tough, I don't envy them! But what an interesting experiment it is! As much as I really really never ever want to leave this life here, I can't wait to get back and see how much things have changed while I'm away. I'm almost certain that I'm now the shortest child in my family (although thankfully not the shortest person-thanks Mum!) even though I'm the oldest. In pictures, my littlest brother is looking awfully lanky and out-of-proportion like teenage boys do when they grow suddenly. I want to see how the kids I used to look after have grown, and how much they've learnt at school. .

I think I've also changed a lot already in such a short time. There are things I do or don't do now automatically. I would never think to call it a BBQ. It is a braai, always and forever. Lekker has become a part of daily language. I'm also proud to say I sometimes think in Afrikaans. Just the odd word that I've picked up here or there. There are behaviours as well. I automatically clean my plate and cutlery after I've eaten (we obviously don't have a dish washer!) and now I've got a technique for washing my undies without injuring myself, I just listen to my ipod and get on with it. It's quite relaxing, I might carry on doing it in England! I would also never even think about going out on my own after dark, it's just to dangerous. I think one of the biggest changes is that I've become so independent from family and at looking after myself, but I've also become slightly dependent on other people in general. And I actually love living with other people. I love that if I'm bored, I can just wander over to another living area and find someone to chat to, or play cards with. I also love that I can see my best friend's bedroom door from my bedroom window (in a none-creepy-stalker way obviously).  

Remember when England had that Foot and Mouth Epidemic?

Sarah's foot swelled up yesterday morning and she could barely walk. Sarah has terrible skin and is prone to fungus infections and the like so she just thought her eczema was flaring up due to the detergent the laundry uses here. She goes to the doctor after being told it could potentially be SCURVY! Only to find that she hadn't got scurvy, she has Foot and Mouth disease! Foot and Mouth. As in the thing that cows get killed for. Foot and Mouth!!!! She caught it from one of the kids she was working with, better than catching ringworm. And apparently it is very contagious so if she shares cutlery with anyone for a week (starting last Tuesday) or shares a bed with anyone (if only to watch a film) or basically touches or breathes on anyone, they will also get it. Which, in short, means that I also have it! Due to the fact, we regularly share cutlery, beds and what-not!

Ahhhhhh well!

Let it Snow/Things that Bite in the Night

This has got to be the hottest I've ever been in December. Thankfully, the weather has cooled off a bit today because yesterday it was 30 degrees, very sunny and very little wind. Bleaurgh! Because most of the kids are going home this holiday, the Home has x-mas a little early. So there was a lekker party yesterday where some of the kids performed songs and dances they'd prepared, there was a HIV/aids talk from one of the volunteers, and the kids got presents! I'm not entirely sure how the system works and who provides the presents, but some of the kids got LOADS, and others got only one or two. I think one of the supermarket chains provided a lot of presents, or they sponsored the party because they had representatives giving the kids the gifts. I've noticed that whenever there is any sort of event at the Home that gets sponsored by an outside company, they only want pictures of the younger children because they're young and cute which I find infuriating. Also because some of the older children were much more excited to receive their presents. No matter, x-mas is nearly over here now. On Friday most of the kids go home so the Home relaxes a bit. There is the Chirstmas concert on Wednesday which I've been asked to sing at-also performing is Zanne Stapelberg! I was supposed to be singing with one of the the kids who is very very talented, but he's too old for the Home so he had his leaving party last week and he leaves on Wednesday which unfortunately means that he isn't able to sing at the concert, so I need to talk to my boss to see if she still wants me and the other volunteer to sing, hopefully we can!

In other news, as the weather heats up, things start breeding. Things like fleas. Yes I have fleas. Although I am proud to say I was the last person in the room to get them. That counts for something, right? And apart from the bitey bitey fleas I had a mosquito incident last night. I'm on my laptop at about 11pm and I hear the zzzzeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee noise of a mozzie. The noise stops and I do the famous mozzie twitch. The one when you think it's landed on you so you make your whole body spasm to try and scare it off. I ehar the whine again, and this time, it flies in front of my computer screen so I can see it (one of my room-mates is asleep so the light is off) I try to grab it, but I miss. This whole debacle goes on for at least 10/20 minutes. And then, I catch it! Now I know I'm safe from the bitey bitey, itchy itchy, I trun on my ipod and try to go to sleep. Just as I doze off, I hear another zzzzzzzeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. THERE'S TWO OF THE CRITTERS!

Singing like a Bass

Tonight there is an event at the Home, and I've been asked to sing. Bleurgh. I love singing, I'm just not so keen on the solo part, more on the in amongst 50 other voices part! But I was told I was singing about 10 days ago, so I sing tonight. In theory, we are just background noise while the VIP guests arrive and mingle, but we've been warned that it is also entirely possible that people will arrive, not have anybody to talk to and we'll be the focus of attention.

It is a very formal event I believe, so we will have to dress up. After having a limit of how many clothes will fit in my rucksack and the weight limit airlines place on baggage, I haven't got any concert blacks (obviously). I have some clothes that I consider smart, and several combinations of smart clothes as well! I have also brought a skirt with me-the only skirt I own, bought about 2 months before I came here by my mother for my birthday (I don't wear skirts). And naturally my room-mate wants me to wear the skirt and warns me that if I don't, I will probably look under-dressed. This is fine for me, I have perfected the under-dressed look! And I would prefer to feel comfortable and look confident than add to the nerves and uncomfortableness, I feel when singing solo, with a SKIRT.

I might have also lost my voice a little bit, so here's for sounding husky and singing like a man!

8 legged updates:

We found a huge spider in the kitchen again on Wednesday! This one sat on the bin so we managed to get it outside. The only problem is that I'm not entirely convinced it was the same spider as before! The other one was big, fat, brown and hairy. But the one we took outside seemed more spindly and white and not hairy. But just as freaking huge!

In other news, one of my room-mates got a parcel from home that included her Nintendo DS. Holidays start on the 7th December for about 6 weeks (Summer holidays happen in December here what with being in the southern hemisphere and what not!) And both me and her have around 12 night-shifts over the holidays, and we're on opposite shift systems so I can use her DS when I have my night-shifts! YAY!

Update: Uses for a bunk bed

So I found another use for my bunk bed! And this is a good'un. When I was ill, my bestest friend ever, Sarah, came and watched a movie with me on my laptop in my bed. But because the top bunk is so low, we couldn't sit upright so we had to lie down with the laptop balanced on my stomach. This is fine if you are one person, but it's quite uncomfortable is there are 2 of you and neither can see properly (I have a Dell and the screen turns a funny colour when you view it from a wonky angle). So I decided there had to be better, more comfortable and more practical ways and places to out the laptop where we could both lie down and see properly. As previously mentioned I hang my washing off the slats, and if I can hang my washing up, why can't I hang my laptop up? And that's what I've done!

It took some planning-obviously. And I had to buy some twine, but it took me a couple of days to make it and now it's fully functional!

Basically I just deformed a wire coat hanger so it was a little bit bigger than the base of my laptop and wove/knotted/braided some twine across the bottom. Then I made a harness for over the keyboard because to be able to see all of the screen, you have to have it tilted down (if anybody has been lying in bed texting and dropped their phone on their face, you'll see why I wanted to make sure my heavy heavy laptop was properly secured...that thing could flatten my face). And it also can slide out of the whole thing-with a little difficulty, so if I need to take it outside to check emails or anything like that, I don't need to cut it down! It doesn't look fantastically pretty, but it works awesomely, so much so that I think we have planned to watch Madagascar or Despicable Me tonight! (On that note, if anybody wants to send me the new Ice Age DVD for X-mas, you will make me and Sarah VERY VERY happy volunteers!)